MNS has capacity to leadanti-terror war................................................Let NSC be an effectivedecision making body................................................2015: Year of EconomicRecovery

See Page 04

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—KSE-100 putting strong resis-tance at the week end to closeat 31993 level the KSE-100 al-lowed slight decline of 7 pointshere Friday.

The investment appetite in-dicated that market may witnessan unprecedented growth dur-ing coming trading sessionsnext week on the back of stableforex reserves, expected cut ininterest rate and further cut oilprices.

The Friday session closed

at a market volume of 209 million shares whilePak Electron Ltd was the top volume leader

KSE-100 resilient withslight decline of 7 points

Continued on Page 7

ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif on Friday consti-tuted a committee for the imple-mentation of the National ActionPlan.

The premier during a meet-ing on the National Action Plansaid, “I will personally supervisethe implementation of the Na-tional Action Plan, and will makesure that it is swift and effective.”

“Zarb-e-Azb in tribal areasand in our cities and streets is adefining moment in our history,”the prime minister said.

“An irreversible process ofelimination of militants hasstarted,” the premier added.

Nawaz went on to add thathe would go to each and everyprovince to meet their respectivegovernments, law enforcementand intelligence agencies to su-pervise this implementation plan.

“We now have a road map that will beeasily guided by the historic national con-

sensus that was reached on December 24,”

Committee formed toimplement Action Plan

Nawaz to supervise Stresses days, not weeksneeded to gear up war against militants

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chairing a meeting on the imple-mentation of National Action Plan on counter terrorism and extremism at the PM’s Office.

Continued on Page 7

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Two moreterrorists go to

gallows on Jan 14MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—A special anti-ter-rorism court in Lahore on Fri-day fixed January 14 for execu-

Continued on Page 7

NAZIR SIYAL

LARKANA—The 7th martyr-dom anniversary of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto isbeing observed in the back-drop of most barbaric assas-sination of over 135 schoolchildren in Peshawar by thesavage barbarians calledTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP).

It brings to mind her warning that the reli-gious fanatics were out to destroy the country

Continued on Page 7

and must be crushed with an iron hand. Todaythe nation pays homage to the prophetic visionof Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and sa-lute her and all those who laid down their livesfighting militancy and extremism.

In a message on the 7th martyrdom anni-versary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhuttoon Saturday former President Mr. Asif AliZardari said that it was reassuring that the na-tion today seemed more united than ever be-fore in its determination to exterminate themilitants.

The former President said that it was abun-

BB 7th martyrdom anniversary today

Religious fanatics out todestroy country: Zardari

Continued on Page 7

IS wall chalkingin Larkana ahead

of BB’s deathanniversarySTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Wall-chalking,carrying the name of militantgroup Islamic State (IS), ap-

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Senior CivilJudge Saqib Jawad issued anon-bailable arrest warrants onFriday against Lal Masjid

cleric Maulana Abdul Azizwhile hearing a case filed bycivil society members.

During the hearing, the in-vestigation officer of the case

Arrest warrants forMaulana Abdul AzizCleric threatens to resist move

Continued on Page 7

China laudsPak counterterrorism effortsBEIJING—China has laudedPakistan’s efforts to establisha national counter-terrorismplan to end the menace ofterrorism and extremism fromthe region. In a statementissued on Friday, ChineseForeign Ministry spokesper-son, Hua Chunying said thatChina is against terrorism inany form. He said that hiscountry firmly supportsPakistan in the implementa-tion of its anti-terrorismstrategy in accordance withits own national situation, andwelcomes its national anti-terror plan.

“China will continue toprovide assistance to Pakistanin its efforts to counterterrorism and safeguard itsnational security,” Huasaid.—INP

POL pricesslashed furtherSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The price ofpetroleum products willdecrease further ushering insome much needed relief forconsumers at the start of theNew Year.

Owing to a decrease in theprice of the commodity in theinternational market, POLprices have decreased for twoconsecutive months inPakistan.

In January a new decreaseContinued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

Peshawar schoolattack facilitatorkilled in Khyber

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—A key militantcommander Saddam, who wasresponsible for facilitating thePeshawar school massacre,was killed by security forces inKhyber Agency’s Jamrud areaon Thursday night.

Political Agent of KhyberAgency Shahab Ali Shah,while speaking at a press con-ference in Peshawar, said thatSaddam was killed in theGundi area of Jamrud, addingthat six of his accomplices wasalso arrested in an injured con-dition.

QUETTA—President Mamnoon Hussain has saidthat Pak-China Economic Corridor was a monu-ment of this century, which would open doorsof progress and prosperity, especially forBalochistan

He was speaking to stakeholders includingparliamentarians, political and tribal elders, pro-fessors, doctors, lawyers and civil society rep-resentatives at Governor House here Thursdaynight.

He said that Pak-China Economic Corridorwould start from Kashghar, China and reachGwadar and Karachi. “A railway track will alsobe laid along the 4,000 kilometers long road ofthe project,” he said. Lahore-Karachi Motorway,

Balochistan’s uplift linked withEconomic Corridor: MamnoonTerrorists to be punished to honour blood of martyrs

Hazara Motorway, Gwadar Deep Sea Port andGwadar International Port would be parts of Pak-China Economic Corridor, he added.

Mamnoonsaid the peopleof Balochistanwould be the biggest beneficiary of the corri-dor.

President said that the incumbent govern-ment has launched several power generationprojects including three atomic power produc-tion plants. He said that 2,000 MW electricitywould be injected in national grid system in 2015and 3,700 MW in 2016, adding that the national

ASHRAF ANSARI

ISLAMABAD—The deadlock intalks between PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf and the gov-ernment persisted on Friday astheir negotiating teams held ameeting to resolve the issue ofelection rigging.

Leaders from the PTI andthe ruling Pakistan MuslimLeague Nawaz talked to mediaafter the round of negotiationsand announced that the processwould continue on Saturday.

Finance Minister Ishaq Darsaid that the meeting discusseddraft of ordinance on proposed

Deadlock cloudsPTI, govt talks

judicial commission. He saidthat the draft was also sharedwith the participants of the AllParties Conference.

The minister said that onlythree points of the draft neededto be discussed between boththe sides.

Speaking on the occasion,PTI leader Shah MehmoodQurshi said that they would tryto address the “reservations” inSaturday talks.

He conceded that the gov-ernment had taken some tan-gible steps in an effort to move

Fresh strikes

23 terrorists including theircommanders killed in NW

TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—In a major offen-sive against the terrorists in thevolatile North Waziristanagency Friday, the Pakistan AirForce (PAF) war planes moweddown around two dozen troublemakers including notoriouscommanders in the volatileNorth Waziristan agency Fri-day evening as the OperationZarb-e-Azb goes on. A hugecache of ammunition dumpedunderground and a tunnel sys-tem was also destroyed in thefresh blitz.

The military sources saidthe security forces that had de-

cided to come hard on the al-leged terrorists in the tribal belt

after the deadly attack on theArmy Public school Peshawaron December 16 that had left150 people including 135 inno-cent students martyred, wentfor heavy bombings on the in-surgents positions in the DattaKhel Tehsil of NWA, and thejet planes targeted their posi-tions leaving as many as 23militants dead Friday night.

“In effective and preciseaerial strikes north of DattaKhel Tehsil of NWA, thisevening 23 terrorists includingimportant militant commanderswere killed. A huge under-ground ammunition dump andContinued on Page 7

Foreign terroristsamong 7 dead inUS drone attacks

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—At least sevenpeople were killed in dronestrikes in North Waziristantribal area on Friday.

According to media re-ports the US drones targeted

Sweden mosqueset on fire, 5 hurtSTOCKHOLM—As many asfive people were injuredwhen a mosque in Eskilstunawas torched on Thursdaynight.

According to reports, thefire started after 1 pm onChristmas Day in a prayerroom housed in a towerblock. A Swedish televisionsaid that a petrol bottle wasseen near the room entrancejust before the fire erupted.Police said that the firestarted when an object wasthrown through the windowof Somali association room,

See also Back Page

Pillion ridingbaned on

immunizationPESHAWAR—Deputy Com-missioner (D.C) Peshawar,Syed Zaheer-ul-Islam undersection 144 has banned theriding of motorcycle on oc-casion of Polio immunizationcampaign scheduled for thecoming Sunday.

In this connection, thedistrict administration hasfurther directed police fortaking action against theviolators under Section 188of CrPC.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Inspector General, NationalHighways & Motorways Police, ZulfiqarAhmad Cheema has said Motorway willremain open even during the fog and driv-ers of the vehicles would be requested totravel in special convoys led by patrollingmobiles of Motorway Police.

He said “foggy season is prevailing invarious parts of the country, which causesproblems for the travelers. Motorway willremain open even during the fog”,said astatement issued Friday.

He said that NH&MP has taken safetymeasures to facilitate the road users travel-ling in fog. The total numbers of patrollingvehicles have been increased in foggy ar-eas to provide instant help to the road us-

Motorway will remain openeven during fog: Cheema

ers, the IG said.The Inspector General advised “before

starting travel, travelers should adopt allsafety measures and inquire about fog situ-ation on motorways and highways fromNH&MP help line 130, necessarily installfog lights in the vehicle, doubled the dis-tance from the vehicle ahead as comparedto normal situation, avoid applying sud-den breaks, don’t overtake in any situationand avoid reversing the vehicle on high-ways and motorways.

The person sitting beside the driver onthe second seat should also concentrateon the road”. Vehicles without having foglights would not be allowed to enter themotorway, he added.—APP

QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch awarding degrees to the successful students duringconvention of Bolan Medical College.

Senate resumesdebate on

APS incidentISLAMABAD—Senate on Fri-day resumed debate onPeshawar incident andstrongly condemned thetragic incident.

Starting the debate,Senator Zahid Khan saidthat no example could befound in the history of theworld like Peshawar inci-dent. He said that leadersof Awami National Party(ANP) were killed by terror-ists adding that due to ter-rorism ANP had failed to runits election campaign effec-tively in general elections2013.

He said that terroristshave attacked governmentInstitutions, Schools, Ba-zaars and Military institu-tion and killed innocentpeople. Taking part in thedebate, Senator UsmanSaifullah strongly con-demned the Peshawar inci-dent and said that it was themost tragic incident in thehistory of the country.

He said that “war againstterror is our war and we haveto win it”. He said that chap-ter of good and bad Talibanshould be closed and sternaction should be takenagainst them.

Senator Hamza said thatno words for the condemna-tion of Peshawar incident asthe whole nation was in astate of deep shock and sor-row. He said that the Chris-tian community across theglobe strongly condemnedthe Peshawar incident onChristmas day and prayedfor the victims.

He said that time is ripefor taking concrete measuresto eliminate terrorism from thecountry. Senator MushahidHussain Syed said that pre-vious governments couldnot formulate counter terrorstrategy.—APP

12 killed in road accidentsMother, son among 3 shot deadHANGU—At least eight per-sons were killed includingtwo women and ten injuredwhen a coach fell into deepravine in Sara Mela Area ofLower Aurakzai agency Fri-day.

According to politicalauthorities, the ill fate coachwas on its way to Aurakzaiagency from Kohat when itmet a fatal accident while ne-gotiating a sharp turn nearSara Mela area and fell in deepditch.Abbottabad: At least four pas-sengers were killed and sevenothers injured when a speedybus plunged into deep ravineat Nari area here Friday morn-ing.

According to Police, theill-fated passengers in thebus were going to HaripurHavalian from Lora Jabriwhich fell into ravine when thedriver lost control over vehiclewhile negotiating a sharp turnin the mountainous region.

The dead include driver,two children and a woman.Police and local residentsrushed to the spot andshifted the injured to hospi-

tal at Havalian andAbbottabad. Khanewal: Arickshaw driver was killedwhile two others were in-jured when it collided with aspeeding bus near 158-Rplace.

According to police,Khizer Hayat died in the ac-cident and his body washanded over to the familywhile the injured, SajdaParveen and Noor Bibi, wereshifted to the DHQ hospital.HARIPUR:Three persons, in-cluding a woman and herson, were allegedly shotdead over a domestic disputein the jurisdiction of Ghazipolice station here Friday.

The police were reportedthat Mumtaz Ali (40), NisarBibi and her son Fahad Ali,residents of village Jammun,were aleegedly shot dead bytheir neighbour MuhammadNawaz after exchange ofharsh words.

After receiving informa-tion, DSP Ghazi Ishtiaq Khanand SHO Saeed Ur RehmanJadoon rushed the village andarrested the alleged murdererwith the weapon.—APP

Turkeydecorates

Pakistan envoyISLAMABAD—Turkish For-eign Minister Mevl•t•avusoglu presented medalof distinguished services tothe outgoing Ambassador ofPakistan, MuhammadHaroon Shaukat in recogni-tion of his services for pro-moting Turkey-Pakistan rela-tions, in Ankara on Friday.Senior officials of the Turk-ish Foreign Ministry includ-ing the Deputy Foreign Min-ister as well as officers of Pa-kistan Embassy attended theevent, said a message re-ceived here from PakistaniEmbassy.

Speaking on the occa-sion, the Turkish ForeignMinister said the brotherly re-lations of Pakistan and Tur-key predated the existence ofthe present states. He of-fered condolences over theloss of innocent lives in thetragic Peshawar terrorist at-tack. He said grief of Pakistanwas Turkey’s grief andprogress of Pakistan wasTurkey’s progress.

He hoped that the nextmeeting of High Level Stra-tegic Cooperation Councilwould soon take place in Pa-kistan where the leadershipof two countries would takefurther steps to boost eco-nomic and commercial ties.Mevl•t •avusoglu acknowl-edged the efforts of Ambas-sador Haroon Shaukat andlauded his services for fur-ther promoting Turkey- Paki-stan ties.

Ambassador HaroonShaukat, in his remarks, saidhe felt deeply honoured andprivileged to receive the mostvalued Award of Distin-guished Services by theTurkish Minister for ForeignAffairs.

“During my nearly threeand a half years of stay in thiswonderful, brotherly andfriendly country, I made mybest efforts to enhance thetrajectory of our exemplary bi-lateral relations, especially inthe economic and commercialdomain,” he added. —APP

HRCP restless overmilitary courts

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The HumanRights Commission of Paki-stan (HRCP) has expressedalarm over the decision toset up special courts to beheaded by military officialsto try terrorism cases.

In a statement issued onFriday, HRCP stated: “TheCommission is dismayedthat all political parties sup-ported this decision, evenwhen some had earlier ex-pressed reservations.

The HRCP claimed thatthe decision undermined ju-diciary and showed lack ofconfidence in an indepen-dent and strong judicial sys-tem in the country.

It also claimed that thesystem of ‘speedy justice’had never proved to be fair.

The HRCP believes thatthe need was to reform andstrengthen the system of in-vestigation and prosecu-tion. Reforms should in-clude more scientific meth-ods of investigation.

ENGRO providingbasic facilities tolocal population

ISLAMABAD—Engro Corpora-tion Pakistan is providing allbasic services including wa-ter, sanitation, infrastructure,education, health facilities,jobs and other facilities to lo-cal population in Sindh. Se-nior Advisor, Air Commodore(Retired) Syed Asghar Naqvisaid this while briefing mediaon Friday. He said that Engrowas Pakistan’s largest home-grown multinational companyand its portfolio consisted ofseven businesses which in-cluded chemical fertilizer, PVCresin, a bulk liquid chemicalterminal, industrial automa-tion, foods (ice-cream, dairyand beverages), power gen-eration and commodity trade,says a staement issued by theCompany here . “Every yearmillions of rupees are beingspent on Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) under whichbasic facilities are provided tolocal people”,he said addingthe company has adoptedmany schools and in additionto this,opened new schools inthe province including schoolat Ghotki.—APP

LAHORE—Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC)Central Chairman Maulana Tahir Ashrafi Fri-day said the Prime Minister ’s 20-pointagenda of the national anti-terrorism planwas a voice of the nation.

Addressing a press conference afterleading Juma prayers at Masjid SiddiqueAkbar, Johar Town here, he said under thePUC, Youm-e-Aman (peace day) was beingobserved today and the attack on innocentschoolchildren at Peshawar Army PublicSchool was being condemned in 73,000mosques of Wafaqul Masajid Pakistan.

He said voice against the Peshawar trag-edy and terrorism was being raised in allmosques and the nation should stand now

against terrorists. He said more than 2,000Ulemas would present a new strategyagainst terrorism and sectarianism at a gath-ering to be held at the Alhamra Hall, Lahore,on December 30.

He appealed the nation to come outagainst terrorism and barbarism. He said itwas a responsibility of Ulemas to present areal concept and image of Islam before theworld.

He said a consensus of political andarmed forces leaderships against terrorismwas the need of the hour. He hoped that thePM’s 20-point agenda of national anti-ter-rorism plan would be implemented in a realsense.— APP

PM’s agenda voice of nation

LAHORE—The Punjab Educa-tion Foun-dation (PEF) will arrange free school edu-cation of four million most deserving stu-dents through its partnering schools inthe prov-ince by the next year.

Chairman punjab education founda-tion engineer Qamar ul Islam Raja ex-

PEF to educate 4m students in 2015pressed these views while presiding overa departmental meeting of PEF officersat regional office Multan on Friday.

He said that all-out resources wouldbe utilized to ensure equal access to thebasic right of education to every child.—APP

LAHORE: Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, member of the Council of Islamic Ideology speakingat Jamia Masjid Saddiq Akbar at Johar Town.

PESHAWAR—The police arrested morethan 200 suspected and recovered armsduring search operations in differentareas of Peshawar on Friday.

According to details, the police inits ongoing efforts against crimes andterror activities conducted search andstrike operation in various areas ofPeshawar including Ring Road,Faqirabad and surroundings.

During crackdowns over 200 sus-pects were arrested besides recover-ing arms including rifles, pistols andhundreds of rounds from their posses-sion. Police have registered separatecases against the nabbed suspects atconcerned police stations and investi-gation was in progress.Some accused were detailed from medi-cal collage Lahore and Peshawar onFriday.

Intelligence agency detained fivesuspects including a doctor during asearch operation in a medical collegein Lahore. According to sources, ontip off, the search operation was con-ducted by intelligence agency in medi-cal collage where at least five suspectsincluding a doctor were arrested.

The sources said that all the ar-rested were belonging an outlawed or-ganization while the doctor worked asa facilitator to the banned organizationand played a pivotal role in strength-ening the network of the terrorists.

Action against the doctor has beentaken on the basis of an intelligencereport. In another event of a searchoperation carried out in Peshawar bythe police in Qazi Killey and adjoiningareas, more than 70 suspects includingAfghans were detained and huge cacheof weapons was recovered. Womenpolice searched the premises of thehouse while search dogs facilitated thecapture. Pictures of the family memberswere taken and data was collected dur-ing the search drive led by SP City.

Interior Ministry has planned to takeas many as 6, 777 suspected personsinto protective confinement across thecountry. The ministry has issued arrestwarrants to all suspected and it is likelythat they all would be arrested in next 48hours. Most of the suspected belongedto banned outfits.

The record of all these suspectedpresent in as per anti-terrorist act 1997in schedule 4. According to the furtherdetails out of 6,777 suspected 1416 resi-dent of Punjab, 4000 from KP, 1000 fromSindh, 338 from Baluchistan and 23 fromIslamabad. The government has takenthe measure in the implementation ofnational anti-terrorism action plan toeradicate terrorism and extremism fromthe country. The government hasbeefed up security measures in wake ofbarbaric attack on Army Public Schoolin Peshawar.

At least seven terrorists carried outbarbaric attack on Peshawar’s ArmyPublic School on December 16 andmartyred as many as 149 persons includ-ing innocents 134 children. Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif in his address to thenation on Thursday said that the bar-baric, horrendous attack has changedPakistan and the government will notleft any single terrorists in the countryunpunished.

Meanwhile it is reported that Iranhas been conducting seminars, con-tests and other programs during thepast three years to help young Afghansto return their country.

A senior official said the purposeof these activities of Afghans was tomake them familiar with the true aspectsof their original country.

The official said about one millionregistered Afghan refugees are pres-ently living in Iran. The Interior Minis-try official for foreign nationals andexpatriates Reza Mohseni made the re-mark in a press conference, IRNA Newsreported Friday.

He noted that Iran has been ren-dering remarkable services to foreignrefugees in the past three decades.

He said the second and third gen-erations of Afghan refugees living inIran are not familiar with their own coun-try and many of them have not evenvisited Afghanistan.—APP

Over 200 suspects arrestedin Peshawar, Lahore

Around 7000 terrorists being chased

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Me-teorological Department(PMD) on Friday forecastvery cold and dry weatherand dense foggy conditionsin most parts of the country.

According to detailsdense foggy conditionswould continue inGujranwala, Lahore,Faisalabad, Multan,Bahawalpur and Sahiwal di-visions, while foggy inSargodha, Rawalpindi,D.G.Khan, Peshawar,D.I.Khan and Sukkur divi-sions during night and morn-ing hours.

Weather remained verycold and dry in most parts ofthe country during the last24 hours.

However, light rain oc-curred in Quetta.

Coldest places with low-est minimum temperatures

Very cold, dry weather likelywas recorded at Skardu -9.0øC, Astore -7.0øC,Parachinar, Gupis, Hunza -

5.0øC, Kalat, Quetta,Rawalakot, Gilgit, Dir,Malamjabba -4.0øC, Kalam,Drosh -3.0øC, Lower Dir -2.0øC, Risalpur, Chitral,Mirkhani, Saidu Sharif,Bunji, Kakul -1.0øC.

The temperature of themain cities was recordedIslamabad at 01øC ,Murree00øC , Lahore 04øC,Peshawar 04øC, Quetta-3øC,Faisalabad and Multan 05 øC,Karachi 14øC andHyderabad 11øC. —APP

BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Army officials offering prayer on the occasion of dispatching trucks loaded with relief goods for people of famine-hit Thar.

Rs 480.366m forup gradation ofTaxila-Haripur

HighwayI S L A M A B A D — N a t i o n a lHighway Authority (NHA)has been maintaining Taxila-Haripur Highway throughPeriodic Maintenancethrough its own resourcesand the NHA intends to im-prove the road to 7.3 meterwide asphaltic carriageway.

An official of the NHAsaid Friday that for this pur-pose, Periodic Maintenancecontracts amounting toRs.480.366 million have beenawarded to various contrac-tors.

He said that rehabilita-tion and upgradation of 43-km Taxila-Haripur Highwaywill boost trade, tourism, in-dustry facilitate the people intheir travel in the area.

This highway starts atTaxila on Peshawar-Rawalpindi section of GrandTrunk Road (N-5) andreaches Haripur via Khanpurand this is an important linkbetween Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa.About sevenkilometre portion of thishighway falls in the Punjabwhile its 36 kilometers por-tion falls in the KhyberPakhtunkhwa.—APP

PESHAWAR—Central Ameer Jumaat-e-Islami, Sirajul Haq here on Fridaysaid that the government has beengiven a clear mandate to eliminatethe menace of terrorism.

Talking to mediamen after offer-ing fateha for departed soul of slainprincipal of Army Public SchoolTahira Qasi here at Landi Arbab, saidit was up to the government to formstrategies, plans and make actions.JI Chief demanded university statusto Army Public School and College(APS) at Warsak Road that saw adeadly terrorists attack on Decem-ber 16 last and declaration of 2015 asyear of peace.

Sirajul Haq said the nation hadsuffered heavily due to terrorism andthe blood of innocent students ofschool attack has united the coun-trymen to eliminate terrorism. He saiddisplaced tribal people deserved fullattention of the government. He de-

manded smooth and dignified returnof the temporarily displaced peopleof Fata to their native villages.

JI Chief said repercussions ofgood and bad situations in Fata di-rectly or indirectly fall on settled dis-tricts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.Sirajul Haq said about 2.1million chil-dren were being taught in seminar-ies without allocation for their edu-cation in the budgets, adding a com-prehensive system also required forseminaries.

Unfortunately, he said some ele-ments were again come out by mak-ing propaganda against seminarieswithout knowing its positive role inthe society. He said Shaheed Princi-pal Tahira Bokhari had laid down herlife for education and protection ofstudents, saying her sacrifice wouldnot go waste.

He said the resolve shown by thesurvived students and teachers for

education and peace was highlycommendable and praiseworthy. Hesaid the pain and sorrows of schoolvictims was felt in the entire countryand world, adding the victims’ fami-lies should not be left alone and fullsupport should be given to them.The people of Peshawar had sufferedhuge human and properties lossesdue to terrorism over the years andtime has come to work hard withunity and national cohesion to bringlasting peace to this walled city, heremarked.

Earlier, the JI Chief offeredFateha for the Shaheed Principal andprayed Allah Almighty to rest thedeparted souls in eternal peace.

Earlier, Minister of State for PostalServices Molana Abdul GhafoorHaidri on Friday said that thePeshawar incident has united thewhole nation.

In a statement Molana Haidri

who is also General Secretary Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI-F) said that po-litical and military leadership are onone page.

He said that the whole nationdesired good outcome of All PartiesConference (APC) against terrorismin the leadership of Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif.

He said that JUI-F always con-demned the killing of innocent peopleeither that took place in Peshawar orany other place of the country in-cluding Balochistan.

Molana Haidri said that unfor-tunately, some people are trying toconnect these terrorism with reli-gion, while in Islam their is no roomfor terrorism and killing of innocentpeople.

He said that even in the days ofwar, Islam teaches tolerance and doesnot allow killing of innocent children,women and senior citizens.—APP

JI demands university status to APS,declaration of 2015 as year of peace

SUKKUR: Activists of Shehari Ittehad holding a demonstration against low gas pres-sure in different areas of city.

MULTAN: People sitting around bonfire to keep themselves warm during cold weatherin the city.

Colonyinaugurated forChitral Scouts

martyresGUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

C H I T R A L — R e s i d e n t i a lcolony for the families ofmartyred of Chitral scoutsinaugurated at Singor some7 KM from here. Lt ColMuhammad Tahir com-mander 1 wing Chitral scoutswas chief guest on the oc-casion who unveiled plaqueof the colony and handedover keys of house to widowof Muhammad Karim Naikwho martyred at Dara AdamKhel on 26th June 2012.Addressing on the occasionColonel Tahir said that ac-cording to Quran martyrednever dye they alive andalso feeding them but we notpercept about them.

They martyred colonyand residential house wereallotted to widow ofmartyred on directive ofMajor General MuhammadTyaab Azam Inspector Gen-eral Frontier Corps KhyberPahtonkhwa.

Col Tahir said that thegovernment has decided tofully compensate familiesand bereaved of anymartyred not only by givingthem residential plot and freeeducation to their childrenbut now their children alsowill get stipend (scholarship)and their family will draw fullsalary as like of other ser-vants.

HARIPUR—Archaeologistshave discovered Buddhistsculptures and heads datingback to 2nd to 5th centuryAD during the ongoing ex-cavation at Buddhist Stupa,known as Bhamala Buddhistcomplex, situated nearKhanpur, District Haripur.

According to DirectorArchaeology and MuseumsKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, DrAbdul Samad said thatsculptures and heads dating2nd to 5th Century AD havebeen discovered during ex-cavation, initiated at theBhamala ruined BuddhistStupa. During excavationprecious coins of Kushanperiod were also unearthedaround the Stupa.

Dr Samad informed thatBhamala archaeological siteis a ruined of Buddhist stupa,declared as National andworld Heritage Site, locatednear Khanpur dam Haripur.He added the ruins date backto 4th century CE. The ruinsare situated very near to theKhanpur Dam. The stupa iscross shaped and looks likean Aztec Pyramid.

Bhamala stupa is anarchaeological site and isalso known as Bhamala Bud-dhist Complex, he main-tained. The Director said theBhamala World Heritage sitewas partially excavated in

early 1930 by Sir Jan Mar-shal. Now, he added that theexcavation work at the ar-cheological site has beenfully initiated by the HazaraUniversity Manshera. Dr.Samad said that during theexcavation, mostly terracottasculptures have been dis-covered.

He said archaeologists,conservators, diggers, andtreasury hunters took part inexcavation at Bhamala site.He said that a training andcapacity building programfor students and field staffsof Directorate of Archaeol-ogy and Museums KhyberPakhtunkhwa has initiated atthe Field training school(Bhamala), aiming at to im-part archaeological excava-tors regarding latest tech-niques and methods of ex-cavation.

More than 50 partici-pants, including studentsfrom various education insti-tutions, took part in the train-ing, which will continue formonths at the field trainingschool. While, he said firstbatch has so far completedtraining, the Director said.

He informed the leadingforeign scholars and archae-ologists, belonging to UnitedStates and UK, had been of-fered to extend services in thetraining program. —APP

Buddhist sculpture,coins of Kushan perioddiscovered at Bhamala

Funds releasedfor schemes

SIALKOT—The Punjabgovernment has releasedspecial development fundsof Rs 280 million for severaldevelopment schemes, in-cluding construction of 20roads in the constituencyNA-112 Sambrial.

MNA Rana ShamimAhmed disclosed this whileaddressing notables atJaamkey Cheema,Baddokey Cheema, Aadha,Rehan Cheema, Gadiyaala,Warsaalkey Cheema, Nagor,Uddowar and Kharoliyaan-Daska here after reviewingongoing schemes.

Rana Shamim an-nounced an early pavementof all thoroughfares inJaamkey Cheema and sur-rounding areas and said thegovernment was striving toraise a living standard ofpeople by ensuring an earlyand smooth provision of allbasic facilities to people attheir doorsteps.—APP

PIA regretsinconvenienceto passengers

MULTAN—Pakistan Inter-national Airlines (PIA) re-gretted inconvenience facedby the passengers due tocancellation and divergenceof flights to other destina-tion owing to dense fog,poor visibility and inclementweather during last fewdays.

PIA Chairman, NasirJaffer has taken stern noticeof the situation emergedowing to extraordinary rushof the passengers at differ-ent airports, a press releaseissued here on Friday said.

Senior officials of theNational Flag Carrier weredirected by the Chairman toguide and facilitate the pas-sengers accordingly, itadded.

Jaffer has ordered to in-crease manpower in the op-erational areas, the press re-lease said, adding that PIAextended apologies to thetravellers for this inconve-nience.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The Senate has passed theGas Theft Control and Recovery Bill 2014.During Friday proceedings, the bill, movedby Minister for Petroleum and Natural Re-sources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, providesfor prosecution of cases of gas theft andother offences relating to gas. It also pro-vides a procedure for recovery of outstand-ing amounts.

The house continued discussion on ter-rorist attack on Army Public School inPeshawar. Senator Zahid Khan called forstern action against proscribed outfits forelimination of terrorism. Denouncing thegruesome incident of Peshawar, he said thefederal and provincial governments shouldfulfill their responsibilities of protection oflives and properties of the people.

Osman Saifullah Khan said Pakistan isfighting the war of its survival. He said theTaliban and those spreading sectarianism arethe real enemies of the country. We shouldget united against these elements to win thewar on terror.

M Hamza, in his remarks, demanded strict

Senate okays gas-theft control billaction against the perpetrators of Peshawarattack. Mushahid Hussain Sayed said attackon Army Public School in Peshawar was ac-tually an attack on the future of the country.He appreciated the government for holdingimmediate meetings with the political leader-ship in the wake of the attack.

He also proposed constitution of a par-liamentary committee to oversee the imple-mentation of the action plan. Saeeda Iqbalwelcomed the government’s decision forestablishment of special trial courts sayingthis will help speedy conviction of terror-ists.

Minister of State Maulana Abdul GhafoorHaideri said Peshawar tragedy, which is un-precedented in country’s history, has unitedthe entire nation. He said the Prime Ministerpromptly took all the parties into confidenceafter the attack. Saeed Ghani said nationalconsensus is necessary to root out terror-ism and government should refrain fromsteps which could undermine the solidarityexpressed by the opposition parties in thewake of Peshawar tragedy.—NNI

GCUFpostpones examsFAISALABAD—GovernmentCollege UniversityFaisalabad (GCUF) has post-poned its BA/BSc secondannual 2014 exams up to Janu-ary 16, 2015.

Controller ExaminationsGCUF Dr MuhammadHadayat told here on Fridaythat earlier these exams werescheduled to commence fromDecember 19, 2014 but afterPeshawar incident and execu-tion on the death penaltiesof the terrorists, the univer-sity postponed exams up toJanuary 16, 2014.

Similarly, B.Com supple-mentary 2014 and M.ComAnnual 2014 exams will alsocommence from January 19,2015.—APP

ABDUL KHALIQ QURESHI

ABBOTTABAD—Former KhyberPakhtunkhwa PPP’s Law Minister,Shamaroze Khan Jadoon has said thatHavelian to Burhan Motor way was an-nounced by the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharifwith view that by road travel from Havelianto Islamabad would be traversed within 30minutes but such road’s starting Centre fromdivision headquarter Abbottabad was mostessential so that remaining distrits of Hazaracould be able to derive comfortable approachto Federal Capital Islamabad. This he saidwhile talking to newsmen after Friday prayershere on Friday.

He said that Havelian was a newly cre-ated tehsil headquarters but cannot be in-cluded in central part of Hazara region en-tirely, so such decision cannot be consid-ered a genuine verdict of the PML (N) rule.He said that such decision couldn’t be con-sidered tenacious because of work pendingadjudication as announced by the PremierNawaz Sharif; hence, it could be amendedeasily.

He said that Abbottabad was a hub ofHazara division together with its remainingdistricts such as Kohistan, Battagram,Torghar Mansehra and Haripur. In addition,the Peshawar High Court Bench, Commis-sioner Hazara Division together with DeputyInspector General of Hazara also sitting inAbbottabad while Nathiagali, Meera Jani

PPP wants Abbottabad to Islamabaddirect motorway approach

along with Narran, Kaghan valleys were alsoincluded in its additional beauty wherein thetourists from all over the country and theforeigners always visiting such top touristssummer resorts on every coming year to en-hance importance of historic Abbottabad citywherein hangar was also established by PPPgovernment at Nawansher but due to someunavoidable circumstances it was closeddown. However, Shamroze Khan Jadoonemphasizes that Pakistan Military Academy(PMA) Kakul also one of the top militarytraining centre was set up to prove impor-tance of Abbottabad Cantonment, which isfamous in all over the world as a role of itsplaudit.

He said that the PPP government was ofthe view to accelerate development work onexpressway earlier but now the PML (N) rulehad decided to create motorway untoIslamabad drive comprised on half an hourwas a best strategic plan, but it should notbe put on tardy work but its constructionshould be arranged fastly by the authoritiesto whom its construction has been handedover by the government.

He said that to start such motorway workfrom Abbottabad does not liable to be repu-diated keeping in view its historical impor-tance together with central part of remainingdistricts of Hazara so that the justice andfairplay could be appeared on the credit ofpresent PML (N) rule that could enhance anhistoric chapter as well.

Political parties,nation on one

page to root outterrorism: Aftab

ISLAMABAD—Minister ofState for Parliamentary Af-fairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmedhas said that all the politicalparties and nation is on onepage to root out terrorismfrom the country.

He said nation is unitedand is on the back of thegovernment,reported RadioPakistan.

The Minister of Statesaid Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharifhad taken bold steps in thiscontext and political and mili-tary leadership has evolvedconsensus on national ac-tion plan to root out terror-ism from the country.—APP

MNS has capacity tolead anti-terror war

IN his late night address to the nation, which was rightly re-telecast bysome channels the next day, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was firmand confident in conveying a clear message that the Government and

all other stakeholders were fully resolved to wipe out the menace of ter-rorism and extremism from the soil of Pakistan. The 20-point strategy,adopted at the meeting of the national Parliamentary leaders earlier in theday, unfolded by the Prime Minister also indicated that the civilian andmilitary leadership worked hard to come out with a feasible and effectiveplan of action for the purpose.

It was all the more significant to note that the Prime Minister cat-egorically talked about his commitment to personally lead the war againstterrorism. He remarked that as chief executive of the country it was hisresponsibility to provide lead and he has intention to do so at all costs. Itis a welcome decision, as in the past, an impression was created by somevested interests that the Prime Minister had neither capacity nor resolveto take bold decisions and that he has been incapacitated by inaction forunknown and unexplained reasons. Some ground realities also helpeddeepen this unfortunate impression as the Government single-mindedlyfocused on development and almost overlooked security related issuesthat posed serious threats to the country. There can be no two opinionsthat progress and development are deeply linked with peace and tran-quillity and therefore, none of them can be or should be ignored. Surely,the categorical and bold statement of the Prime Minister would not onlysend a strong message to terrorists but also wash away such unfortunateimpression. However, only pronouncements would not do and the Gov-ernment will have to move quickly to implement the plan of action asthere is no room for sluggishness and the authorities will have to pro-duce results. Army Chief General Raheel Sharif wasted no time andconvened a meeting at GHQ on Thursday to kickstart implementation ofmilitary part of the action plan and the same needs to be done by theGovernment as well to begin work on political, administrative, economicand legal reforms as contemplated to address the issue squarely.

Let NSC be an effectivedecision making body

IT is not less than a miracle that within few days of the Peshawar carnage the entire nation – the government, the military, the political lead-

ership and the media – are on the same page as far as addressing the issueof extremism and terrorism is concerned. Even if someone had reserva-tions previously on how to deal with the menace, these have gone andnow a consensus has emerged to root out the evil with full force.

It augurs well for the country that differences have evaporated, a con-sensus emerged and everyone is determined to extend a helping hand forthe greater good of the country and the nation. In the meanwhile, thedecision to have military courts for two years is reflective of the groundrealities i.e. the war against terror would be a long war. In our view, thereare two aspects of this war; one involving militant and terrorist elementsand the other relating to state of mind and thinking. Apart from the issueof terrorism, there are other serious security issues confronting Pakistaninvolving Kashmir dispute, relations with India and regional security en-vironment. All this demands that a permanent and sustainable mechanismshould be in place to take stock of the prevailing security situation, itsimpact and implications for Pakistan and how best to respond to thechallenge. And when we talk about such a mechanism, the institution ofNational Security Council comes into mind. The idea of NSC is notnew as the concept had been espoused time and again in the past butunfortunately it was made controversial because of limited thinking andunfounded apprehensions. NSC can never be intended to be a parallelgovernment as the body, as per proposition by different quarters, is tobe headed by the chief executive and it would only discuss securityrelated issues and formulate a firm and cohesive strategy to safeguardnational interests. There are some people who point out that in the pres-ence of Defence Committee of the Cabinet there was no justificationfor addition of or its replacement by any other institution. However, inpractice, the DCC has not proved to be an effective mechanism as wealso witnessed in the latest circumstances. Unfortunately, DCC meet-ing could not be convened even after massacre of innocent children inPeshawar – an incident that shook conscience of the entire world commu-nity. We, therefore, propose that NSC under the leadership of the PrimeMinister, should be formed to serve as a permanent and sustainable mecha-nism for taking decisions in the realm of security and defence.

2015: Year ofEconomic Recovery

After crucial decisions in the realm of security aimed at weeding outextremism and terrorism both on short and long term basis, the stage

seems to have been set for an all round economic development providedthere is political stability and the Government is allowed to implement itseconomic agenda unhindered.

There are already a number of positive indicators both on domes-tic and global fronts that lend credibility to optimism being expressedby different circles about prospects of a speedy economic recovery.The most important of them all is the steep fall in the prices of oil inthe international market that have come down by about fifty percent.This would surely cut the oil import bill by half providing significantfinancial cushion to the economic managers to spend on welfare ofthe masses and on projects and programmes aimed at poverty allevia-tion and addressing the dual curse of power and gas shortages. TheGovernment has already reduced the prices of POL products twice,albeit much less than they should have been, and another cut is duefrom the dawn of the new year, which would surely have a salutaryimpact on overall prices. There are also reports that the State Bank isset to further reduce the policy rate and maintain it at single digit,which should help spur investment and growth. We hope that the policymakers would re-order their priorities in view of the new but encour-aging scenario so as to get maximum benefits for the country.

National consensus on action plan

Religiousintolerance:Burden ofthe cross

THE invasion of Iraq in 2003and its aftermath can be seenin hindsight as the greatest ca-

tastrophe to strike the ancient Chris-tian communities of the Middle Eastsince the Mongol invasions. In someways it was worse. The Mongol in-vasions had as a side effect the post-ponement for about 50 years of thecollapse of Crusader kingdoms. Theinvasion of Iraq contributed nothingto the safety of any Christian com-munity anywhere. The hideous con-vulsions that followed have beendreadful for everyone in the region,but nobody has suffered more thanChristians, persecuted alike in Sunniand Shia states. In nations that arenot at war, they are tolerated but op-pressed; in the Gulf, most Christiansare servants, abominably treated.Their religion must be practised insecret, with converts threatened withdeath. In Iran, a missionary or a pas-tor is hanged from time to time as anexercise in public morality.

In the states where war rages,every man’s hand is against them.The Christian population of Iraq wasmore than a million in 2003. Now itis less than a third of that size, withperhaps half that number inKurdistan, which is functionally in-dependent of the Shia governmentanyway. They are not coming back.Nor can they feel safe in Kurdistan.It was Sunni Kurds who did muchof the killing in Turkey’s attemptedgenocide of the Armenian Christians100 years ago, and both sides re-member this. In Syria, a brutal sec-tarian insurgency drives some Chris-tians to support the ruthless Assadregime. In Egypt, the already vul-nerable Coptic Christians, who livedthere for 600 years before the Mus-lims arrived, had a dreadful Arabspring under the Islamist regime ofPresident Mohamed Morsi and, af-ter the counter-revolutionary coup,continue to be persecuted, both in-side and outside the law. Even Is-rael, which presents itself as a bea-con of religious liberty, is a dreadfulplace to live for Christian Arabs,caught between an occupying armyin the West Bank and Muslim fun-damentalism in Gaza. Further east,in Pakistan, a corrupt governmentfails to challenge deep prejudice thatleaves Christians vulnerable to judi-cial murder under the blasphemylaws, as well as to the lynchings andpogroms to which the authorities turnan understanding eye. Those rarepoliticians brave enough to speak upfor toleration can be assassinated,sometimes by their own bodyguards.

Across a wide belt of sub-Sa-haran Africa, but especially in Ni-geria, northern Kenya and the Cen-tral African Republic, there are sim-mering wars between Muslim andChristian ethnic groups. In somecases, in the Democratic Republicof the Congo and in South Sudan,Christian armies fight merciless civilwars against each other and civilianpopulations. It isn’t just a simplestory of Muslims persecuting Chris-tians. In China and in North Korea,atheist governments are persecutingChristians; in Russia, an OrthodoxChristian regime treats Catholicswith suspicion and Protestants withbrutality. In India, state governmentshave indulged the persecution ofChristians under the ludicrous pre-text that they are stamping outproselytism. Nonetheless, the prob-lem of Christian persecution is mostpronounced in Islamic societies, andespecially in places where oil richesare inflaming prejudice. Of course,Muslims in Europe or NorthAmerica confront intolerance too,but it would be silly to deny that thesituation of Christians in the MiddleEast is very much worse. The an-swer is not to inflame matching ani-mosity against Islam. A clearer un-derstanding of that faith’s complexi-ties would be a help, both to praisethe visions of peace it contains andto condemn the way that certainMuslim ideas are turned into aggres-sion by some adherents. But this isbest done in terms that Muslimsthemselves can embrace, through adiscussion involving people of allfaiths as well as those of none. Justas important is a resolute stand forthe principle of religious freedomeverywhere. Religious belief is fun-damental to many human identities.Freedom of faith must be defended,irrespective of whether attacks comefrom totalitarian atheist regimes ortheocracies. For the faithful, whatthey believe about God is inseparablefrom what they understand about hu-man beings. But God’s rights mustnever be allowed to trample on hu-man rights. — The Guardian

MEDIA WATCH

LEADERS of parliamentaryparties met in Islamabad onWednesday to discuss the

progress made by the committee sofar in chalking out the national ac-tion plan against terrorism with aview to approving it. Majority ofpolitical parties including PML-N,PTI, PPP, PML-Q, JUI-F, QWP,ANP and National Party announcedsupport for the measures envisagedto eliminate scourge of terrorismincluding establishment of militarycourts. Their leaders made an-nouncements in the ParliamentaryLeaders’ meeting in Islamabad,which was presided over by PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif. Only Jamat-i-Islami (JI) opposed the establish-ment of military courts, and alsoexpressed reservations on madrasareforms. JI suggested that wayshould be found within the Consti-tution, and Pakistan Protection Or-dinance with minor amendmentscould be the answer.

The government side stated thatit was not possible, and for expedi-tious dispensation of justice, mili-tary courts or courts under someother denomination such as speedytrial courts or special purpose courtscould be the answer. Addressing themeeting, Prime Minister NawazSharif said: “We are in an extraordi-nary situation and we need to takeextraordinary actions; the nation andhistory will not forgive us if we don’tdo anything now.” COAS RaheelSharif and DG ISI were also invitedby the premier. The civil-military

Where have all the flowers gone?

THE Peshawar APS terroristatrocity struck an emotionalchord through the broad

swath of the country, the unspeak-able crime against humanity suc-ceeding in what our leaders acrossthe board have failed to do for de-cades, unite the nation. The massrevulsion for the terrorists them-selves and their acts notwithstand-ing, their known sympathizerscame under severe pressure fromthe public. While from Karachi toKhyber spontaneous tears filledmillions of eyes, Lal Masjid’sAbdul Aziz refused to condemn theheinous crime. Civil society’s dailyvigil in front of Lal Masjid forcedthis hypocrite into making a con-trite apology. Can anyone preach-ing violence under the name of re-ligion be tolerated as a preacher?

The terrorists achieve their ob-jectives by instilling fear in thepsyche of the population, misinter-preting religion to romanticize andlegitimize their existence. The me-dia is an inadvertent but importanttool for disseminating both their per-vasive fear and warped message.Some give these monsters time andspace only to boost their ratings,highly irresponsible and making themedia culpable as accessories tomurder. Other than the media exer-cising self-accountability, the Cor-porate Social Responsibility (CSR)of the advertisers should be to boy-cott print or electronic media glori-fying terrorism. The terrorists are

The best thingsin life are free.

not “Talibs” by any stretch ofimagination, the school chil-dren they brutally murderedwere. One must not call thesemurderers “Taliban”, thesedevils must be called by theirreal name “Shaitan”.

The Federal Interior Minister’swarning of a blowback must betaken for a fact. Driven pell-mellfrom most of their sanctuaries inNorth Waziristan by “OperationZarb-e-Azb”, the terrorists not onlylost their hideouts, arms caches,stores, vehicles, etc, but more im-portantly their freedom of move-ment. Deeply embedded in urbanareas their retaliation can only be byspeeding up their campaign of“death and destruction” against softtargets like public and private edu-cational institutions (like the APS)within the Pakistan heartland, tailor-made for the evil and callous designsof the Shaitan. The State must beresponsible for the overall securityof all its citizens but individuals andorganisation must come out of thecomfort zone of passing on all re-sponsibility to the State, taking ef-fective steps to secure themselves.

We should be prepared to bearrecurring pain over for the shortertime rather than allow these brutalmonsters to influence and dictate ourdestiny over an extended period.Enacted by Parliament more than 10months ago, the “National SecurityPolicy”, must be implemented, mak-ing pragmatic changes wherevernecessary. Sensing the mood of thenation, the Committee crafting the“National Action Plan” thankfullydid not go the usual tea and sympa-thy route. Fortunately Ch Nisar AliKhan got his selection right, mostlymen of integrity and competence not

inclined to compromising on merit.The lessons learnt from the

Karachi Airport, Wagah Border in-cidents and dozens of such others areviz (1) unity of command (2) coor-dinated intelligence gathering andsharing with “actionable intelli-gence” acted upon immediately, in-terdicting terrorists before they canembark on their deadly mission (3)adequate weapons, equipment, com-munications, vehicles, light helicop-ters, etc (4) trained manpower dedi-cated to tackling terrorism and pro-tecting sensitive sites (5) eliminateduplication of effort and (6) stop bu-reaucratic interference and insensi-tivity to LEAs’ financial require-ments. The PM’s decision to lift themoratorium on hanging is excellent,will justice be served by delaying theextreme punishment? Add anothercaveat, judicial activism must notcross the fail-safe line between en-hancing rather than containing clearand present danger. Our esteemedjudges need to read upon JusticeOliver Wendell Holmes.

In an earlier article I had main-tained that “critical assets such asports, airports, etc must come undera unified command dedicated to or-ganizing, planning, training, equip-ping and implementing both protec-tion and counter-terrorism response.The mission statement for protect-ing public and non-public assets(airbases) remains the same, the cri-teria for actual deployment of pro-tection may differ. Presently ourprotection, response and rescue ef-forts remain fragmented, the Army’sfighting formations being denudedof infantry units for makeshift secu-rity protection arrangements.” Lookat the myriad number of disparateunits responding to such a crisis, the

leadership vowed to takestrict action against themilitants. The premiersaid the nation was look-ing towards the politicaland military leadershipfor strong measuresagainst those who killedthe future of Pakistan. Infact, government has

been mandated to take decisions; andin a democracy all the decisions aretaken by the government.

If certain issue is required to bedebated in Parliament, the decisionsare taken by the majority, as consen-sus on all issues is almost impossible.Such efforts often lead to confusion.In the meeting, MQM expressed fearthat military may be used againstpoliticians. It was however clarifiedby the government that militarycourts would not be used for politi-cal purposes. Meanwhile, MQMleader Altaf Hussain said that insteadof establishing military courts, it isbetter to have Martial Law, andCOAS Raheel Sharif should take therein of the country for two years. Inthe same breath, he said that Armycannot win the war without people’ssupport. He also raised controversialissues at this point in time when unityis needed most.

He should realize that the coun-try witnessed one of the worst terror-ist attacks on December 16 whenTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan gunmenstormed Army Public School andmassacred 150 people, mostly schoolchildren. This was the worst terrorattack in which future of the countryhad been targeted on such a largecase. Since the prime minister hadadmitted that militancy cannot betackled alone by an operation in onearea, and stressed that a “Zarb-e-Azb”is needed in other parts of Pakistan.Perhaps this statement had unnervedMQM head honcho Altaf Hussain,because the MQM has in the past re-

mained involved in violence. Accord-ing to Supreme Court’s verdict, it isone of the parties that had militantwings. Of course, the SC verdict re-ferred to two other political partiesthat were involved in violence.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ra-diated an aura of optimism when hepraised the new setup in Afghanistanand told the participants that both thecountries have agreed not to let theirterritories used by terrorists. GeneralRaheel Sharif briefed Parliamentar-ians, and during his address to theParliamentarians, he said that Zarb-e-Azab and Khyber-One operationwould continue until end of terror-ism and elimination of the last ter-rorist. He added: “It is our duty tosave the coming generations from theterrorists”. Meanwhile, in a meetingpresided over by Chief Justice of Pa-kistan Nasir-ul-Mulk stated that thecases of terrorism would be heard ondaily basis, and such cases would beheard separately from other cases.When the government, military andjudiciary are determined to take thewar to the logical conclusion, they arebound to succeed.

Interior Minister ChaudhryNisar also spoke on the occasion andmentioned the key points, whichamong others are: financing of ter-rorism and terrorist organisationsmust be stopped; misuse of mediaby the terrorists has to end. The so-lution may come through a mediacode of conduct; severe punishmentsto be handed out against those me-dia groups found violating the black-list; terrorist threats should not beaired as breaking news; an audit maybe conducted within a month on allcompanies dealing with explosiveswith civilian and military coordina-tion. There seems to be consensusat least on these points, and a fewparties including JI, PPP and ANPhad expressed reservations over es-tablishment of military courts. Af-

ter taking instruction from the topleadership, the PPP and the ANPapproved the action plan forcounter-terrorism strategy.

In the early hours of Thursday,Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ad-dressed the nation outlining thegovernment’s strategy. He an-nounced the government’s intentionof uprooting terrorism and claimedthat the terrorists’ days are num-bered. The prime minister an-nounced the creation of specialcourts which would be set up for twoyears to counter the surge of terror-ism in the country over the past de-cade or so. The special courts aredesigned for swift trials of terrorists.In his address on national television,the PM shared the results of themeetings of political leadership,claiming that the Peshawar attackhas transformed Pakistan. “As theprime minister of the country it ismy responsibility to lead the nation,”the prime minister said.

The PM also highlighted the in-clusion of an anti-terrorism task forcein the national action plan. “Madariswill not operate without proper reg-istration and will be regularized.Banned terrorist outfits will not beallowed to operate under differentnames and their funding will be cur-tailed”, he asserted.

The prime minister also high-lighted the need for constitutionalamendments to fortify anti-terrorismmeasures, with NACTA being mademore effective as well. He also men-tioned that the operation against ter-rorism in Karachi will be fast-tracked, and claimed that Punjabwill not be allowed to give any spaceto extremism either. “Peshawar trag-edy has transformed the country. Wehave to counter the terrorist mindsetin order to curtail extremism andsectarianism,” he said in his address.—The writer is Lahore-basedsenior journalist.

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—Proverb

resultant confusion due to lack ofcohesive command during actualconduct of operations must stop.

Counter terrorism needs asingle dedicated and effectivesingle command and controlmechanism. Internal security forcesprotecting strategic assets andcountering terrorism must comeunder a “Homeland Security Com-mand” headed by a senior three stargeneral, preferably someone withactual combat and internal securityexperience. The re-organized en-tity should immediately take oversecurity of ports, airports, air, armyand naval bases etc. A“Counterterrorism Force” (CTF)can be developed from within thisCommand. Given its present man-date and inherent capacity the ANFis virtually a CTF, why waste cru-cial time setting up a new entity?Legislation should convert the ANFinto a CTF by amending the ANFAct, fleshing it out with specialoperations and intelligence person-nel, arms and equipment, air mo-bility, etc. Our Parliamentariansmust not vacillate on a mechanismfor regulating Madaris and givingnecessary powers to the Army un-der Article 245 of the Constitutionfor setting up Summary MilitaryCourts to ensure speedy justice.

Those who remain insensitiveto the murder and mayhem in-flicted by the Shaitan on the APSschoolchildren must remember therecurring refrain “when will theyever learn?” of the age old song,“where have all the flowers gone”?When will our Parliamentariansever learn?— The writer, retired army officer,is a leading defence and securityanalyst.

Mohammad JamilEmail: mjamil1938@hotmail.com

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Ikram SehgalEmail:ikram.sehgal@smswppl.com

Israel’s bodyguard

Voice of the PeoplePeshawar attack

MUDDASIR FAYYAZ

On 16th December, one of the sad-dest events in the history of Pa-kistan happened that no one canever think about it, in which morethan 130 innocent children werekilled and hundreds of otherswere injured. Mothers of victimsare asking who is responsible forthe blood of their sons/daughters.We don’t have words to describethis tragedy.

Heart of every Pakistani isbleeding. This incident led to somany questions. First of all whycan’t we stop them, are they morepowerful than our security forces.Moreover, who is supportingthem, from where they get enoughconfidence to violate the rule andregulation and kill innocent citi-zens, despite the fact that army op-eration Zarb e Azam is at his peak.This is not humanity. I believe weall are hypocrites. We promise butdon’t fulfil. We make policies butdon’t implement. We speak off therecord something else and on cam-era exact opposite of it.

The whole country has be-come Waziristan. Powerful, cor-rupt people control everythingfrom police to judiciary. Fewmonths ago there was dispute overcalling terrorist as martyr or not;shame on our politicians andUlema who pass such remarks.The whole nation is divided intodifferent religious sects. Somepeople are calling terrorists as he-roes. Sorry to say this but this isnot what Islam teaches us. Islamis a symbol of peace not terrorism.It’s time to unite against these evilforces. Political leaders shouldkeep their egos aside and sit to-gether, and provide a solution tothe nation because terrorism is oneof the biggest issues of Pakistan.

If it is not solved, Pakistan willnot succeed. Army alone cannotwin this war. Politicians, civil ser-vants, law enforcement agencies,media and common man need tosupport them. May Allah grant thevictims of today’s tragedy Jannahand may their soul rest in peace!—Karachi

Peshawartragedy

FATIMA ASLAM

No words are there to condemn thecarnage in Peshawar. The massa-cre was cold blooded. So traumaticwas the tragedy that millions ofPakistanis took some time to ap-prehend what had happened. Pa-kistan today is different from theone that woke up on December 16,2014, a day that will live in op-probrium. In 1947, a nation neededa country, now a country needs anation. National unity is requiredto whole-heartedly back our es-teemed army and keep their mo-rale high. It is the time the nationanalyses the situation and sets upshort term and long term goals.Our government, judiciary andpolicy makers must take concretesteps in this respect. Our securitymeasures to tackle the perenniallaw and order situation and terror-ism are ad-hoc arrangements.

Our army has always been infore front at the time of any crisisin Pakistan whether it is a nationalcalamity or international dispute;but we cannot make the army re-sponsible for everything. All ourMinistries are equally responsibleand they must demonstrate theirperformance to the public. In myopinion, we should learn lessonfrom this incident, bring changesin our internal and external poli-cies and implement them indis-criminately. Otherwise everyonewill forget this catastrophe andGod forbid Pakistan will be hit byanother bigger disaster for anotherwake -up call.—Karachi

Saner settingof U-Turns

RAHMATULLAH

What hurts? U-Turns? No, illegalU-Turns. The world has becomeso fast and people don’t have timeand patience. Therefore, they useillicit U-Turns made by people orgo on wrong way to get the near-est U-Turns to save their time,because lawful U-Turns are veryfar from required turning point onKashmir High Way, Islamabad.

A lot of accidents, deaths andinjuries are caused by illegal U-Turns on Kashmir HighwayIslamabad. There are six unfairand two fair U-Turns at the dis-tance of 4 Km on Kashmir HighWay Islamabad. During currentyear so far 93 people have beenkilled and 142 people injured in89 fatal and non-fatal accidents, asreported by NHA. Longer gaps

Quaid-e-Azam’s PakistanFARAH ZAKI

We helplessly watched the blood of young souls splattered onthe floor of a school. We miserably failed to protect these flow-

ers; we killed their dreams and left their mothers to cry. When Quaid-e-Azam built Pakistan, he dreamt of having a peaceful state, a statewhere children could attend schools and groom themselves for theirbetter future. Apart from Quaid, there were many role models whostood firm and accompanied Quaid in his battle for a separate home-land. They fought tirelessly for several years; they succeeded butwe failed them. The ongoing battle against terrorism is not just thebattle of Army or that of Government. We, the ordinary citizens areequally responsible for what is happening in our homeland. All theseyears we remained quiet, we selfishly cared for our own lives ratherthan considering the ones who were crying out for help. More than140 individuals paid the price and lost their precious lives, but now,when the citizens of Pakistan have woke up, we are united againstterrorism, there is a hope for better Pakistan.—Via email

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Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

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

—Editor

View From Abroad

A tipping point for Pakistan?

ON Dec. 16, the Taliban attacked an army school inPeshawar and killed 132 chil-

dren and nine adults. The assault onthe military school was the singledeadliest attack in the Taliban’s his-tory. The question now is whether itwill turn out to be a turning point forPakistan in its relations with thegroup. Pakistan’s military is thecountry’s most respected and power-ful institution. By attacking the chil-dren of military families, the Talibanhas dramatically increased the likeli-hood that Pakistan will move reso-lutely against it. More recently, how-ever, three crucial developments havealtered the environment in the region.

For starters, in November 2013,Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ap-pointed Gen. Raheel Sharif as Chiefof Staff of the Pakistani Army. GenSharif views Islamic extremism as anexistential threat that needs to befaced and defeated. In a conversationI had with Gen. Raheel Sharif, whenhe visited Washington last month, he

placed Islamic extremism well aheadof Pakistan’s poorly performingeconomy and immature political sys-tem on the list of problems that thecountry must confront. Pakistan, hesaid, has the strength — and now thepolitical will — to move decisivelyagainst terrorism.

The second key development isthe election in Afghanistan of Presi-dent Ashraf Ghani. A former seniorWorld Bank official, Ghani is inter-ested not only in finding a durablesolution to the problem of Islamicextremism, but also in setting hiscountry on a path of sustainable eco-nomic development. Moreover,Ghani has been persuaded that heneeds Pakistan’s help on both fronts.One of Pakistan’s first actions afterthe Peshawar school attack was toapproach Ghani’s government andensure that Afghan authoritiesblocked the escape routes of thoseinvolved in planning and executingit. Sharif visited Ghani in Kabul justa few hours after the attack, and, evenas the battle was still underway,Pakistan’s military launchedairstrikes on terrorist hideouts alongthe countries’ border, after intelli-

gence officials concluded that the at-tack had been planned by a groupoperating in that area.

The third development is the sud-den rise of the Islamic State in Iraqand Syria. The group’s brutality is notso much an expression of religiousbelief as of tribal traditions that have,over the centuries, shaped a narrow,fanatical interpretation of Islam. Thisis the source of much of the troublein Afghanistan and Pakistan as well.Bringing the tribal system and itsmores into the mainstream and un-der the rule of law will be an impor-tant component in the effort to endthe reign of terror in both countries.

The border where OperationZarb-e-Azb is taking place high-lights the importance of all three de-velopments. To this day, Afghanistanhas not recognized the Durand Line— drawn by a British diplomat in1893 and imposed on Afghanistanby India’s colonial rulers — as theformal border with Pakistan. Af-ghanistan was the only state thatopposed Pakistan’s entry into theUnited Nations when it gained in-dependence from British rule in1947, contributing to nearly 70 years

Are you an idiot?

MOTHER! cried the littlegirl, “I don’t want to goto college anymore! The

lecturer called me an idiot!” Themother left her cooking andwalked over to where her daugh-ter sat, “And are you one?”

“I don’t know!” whispered thegirl and the mother watched sadlyas a tear rolled down her prettyface, “Maybe I am!” “You remem-ber in school, your class teachertold me you were a very gifted

girl?” “Yes!” said her daughter. “Butnow someone says something so dif-ferent!” “I wonder whom we shouldbelieve!” said the mother thought-fully, a smile on her face as she pulleda rupee coin from a shelf. “Shall wetoss? Heads your college lecturer isright, tails, your schoolteacher!”

“Ma, don’t be silly! How can acoin decide what I am?” The motherplaced the coin on the table, “Youdon’t think a coin can decide doyou?” “No!” “Why not?” asked themother. “We are gambling with animportant problem, we are basingmy identity on the flip of a coin, howcan I know what I am supposed tobe by tossing a coin?” “So,” said the

mother as she put the coin away,“How shall we find the truth?” “Bygoing to the one who knows thetruth!” whispered the little girl.

“Me?” asked the mother with atwinkle. “You’re biased ma, you’llthink I’m brilliant even if I camelast! When we went to the last wed-ding, you thought I was more beau-tiful than the bride!”

“So who should we ask, notyour mother, not your class teacher,definitely not your college lecturer,so who?” “God!” “Oh yes mychild,” said the mother as sheclasped her little one to herself, “weare made in His image and so wehave His characteristics, which are

wonderfully divine and yet…”“And yet what ma?”

“We are individually unique,in that six billion of us on thisearth do not look alike or thinkalike, but when we believe we areHis children, we are rooted to Hisdivinity, and express ourselves insix billion individual ways! Ifyour lecturer calls you an idiot,and you have an identity crisiswondering what you are, do youknow what I want you to tellyourself?” “I think I know,” saidher daughter grinning. “That weare God’s Idiots..!” they bothshouted happily.—Email: bobsbanter@gmail.com

of bilateral tensions. The DurandLine bisects the territory of severalPashtun tribes, including theMehsuds and the Haqqanis. Theformer have supplied the leadershipand foot soldiers to the PakistaniTaliban and the latter has fought,often with devastating effect,against the government in Kabuland American and NATO troops.

Both groups aim to replace theircountries’ governments with an Is-lamic caliphate, based on what theyinterpret as the tenets of Islam. Overthe decades, the governments inIslamabad and Kabul have donelittle to remove the sanctuaries es-tablished by the two groups, whosemembers freely cross the poorlypatrolled frontier. Today, the twocountries have a chance to mend tiesand join forces to rein in Islamicextremists on both sides of the bor-der. Last week’s slaughter of school-children in Peshawar could be thetipping point. The writer, former fi-nance minister of Pakistan and vicepresident of the World Bank, is cur-rently chairman of the Institute ofPublic Policy in Lahore.— Courtesy: The Japan Times

O’ help thy children when they call!

FATHER in heaven who lovestall, O, help thy children whenthey call”. The cold winter

morning of December 16 turned outto be the coldest mourning day forthe Pakistanis and the world. Paki-stanis were in plunged in utter shockand dismay. The bloodbath that tookplace in the cantonment school wasthe first of its kind in the turbulenthistory of the country.

The continuous killings and vio-lence has actually shaken the veryexistence of the statehood. Thereseems to be no end to these sense-less atrocities and elimination at-tempts by splinter groups spread allover the country. December 16, theday when Bangladeshis gain inde-pendence, began with usual mix offun and tears.

Since then we have been cel-ebrating our victory day with grow-ing enthusiasm and renewed pledgeto fight the forces of occupation andsubjugation. While we began thecelebration of freedom, thousandmiles away in the West, the flowersof heaven were trampled by the as-sailants in a school. One by one,from the tiniest to 15 years old, were

brought down by hail ofbullets. The indiscrimi-nate murder by the mas-querading squad turnedthe school premise intoa gory ground of heart-lessness.In a moment, theblessed lives of theyoung and sinless were

snatched. Their sweet voices mutedand their vision darkened. Manyfuture reformers, poets, writers, sci-entists and philosophers were nippedin the bud. What was their fault?None. They were targets of ven-geance. The Taliban has set out toretaliate against the deaths of theirpeople, who they claim, have beenmassacred by the Pakistan army.

So the angst and hatred hasreached such depths that the Talibanwould kill the most vulnerable groupsof the society, if need be - soft targetsare easy to strike. Heartless murdersand execution of innocents has beenthe principal apparatus of their strata-gem. It is not that they don’t knowthere weaknesses. They are a mis-guided and unethical lot who couldnot muster the potency to fight theregular forces of any country.

They made religion their spring-board. They claim themselves to beMuslims and dream to have a ‘pure’Islamic rule. But they failed to graspthe inner meaning of the messagesof Islam. Their hard line understand-ing and interpretations of the Quranand Hadith has put the entire peaceeffort in a shambles. They lost their

way. They tread the thorny path in-stead taking the soft trail of peaceand friendship. Bloodletting has be-come the only way that they can nowthink of. By committing this dread-ful and inexcusable act they haveonly managed to lose the last adher-ent on earth, if they had one. Re-ports of condemnation have beenstreaming in from all quarters, evenfrom their own camps.

The force which so deter-minedly rose to fight the foreignpowers in Afghanistan and laterspread in neighboring areas, hadwon sympathizers. They have beenprovided with all sorts of power tofight their enemies. The constantsupply of arms and gradual rise inthe number of forces joining theirranks from everywhere, gave hopeto those who sincerely wanted a re-gion and a state free from the domi-nation of the West.

Gradually the masterminds inthe West and the region intruded intheir ranks and promoted terrorism,turning them into mindless rebels.Weird political mantras funneled inthese groups worsened the situa-tion. Peace was the last thing thatthe masters wanted. They needed afighting ground where to trade theirmercenary. The arm manufacturersand dealers are minting money atthe cost of lives and property acrossthe globe. In fact, they are promot-ing and sponsoring the terrorist actsand infighting. Taliban and so manyothers in the world are only offshoots of these arms promoters.

Shahid Javed Burki

Now the Taliban have managed toinstil fear in everyone. Morepeople will come under attack. Thesafest citadel in the centre of anycity hardly remains safe. After along interval Pakistani politicalleaders sat together to deliberateon the security question of thecountry. They expressed their re-solve to face the situation collec-tively. Prime Minister NawazSharif has called upon all to for-get differences to face the impend-ing threat of the militants. Thearmy Chief Gen Raheel Sharifsprang into action. The insurgentsare already on the back foot. Mili-tants under captivity are beinghanged. Massive executions injails will start in few weeks time.There will be regular battles in thestrongholds of the Taliban. Therewill be ceaseless offensive by thePakistan forces.

Militants will be flushed outfrom some areas, but inside thetowns and homes we are likely tolose our dear ones in the hands ofthe suicide company. To all we say,spare the children and the innocent,for God’s sake, if you really believein God and his commands, show re-spect to the Prophet (PBUH) whoonly fought for peace. The Talibanleadership ought to know that Is-lam doesn’t need them, but to begood Muslims they need Islam.— The writer is Editor of GlobalNews Network (GNN) and SportsTimes and Dhaka Correspondentof Pakistan Observer.

School soldiers

WE have killed all the children in the Auditorium,one of the attackers told

his holder. “What do we do now”?He asked, wait for the army peopleand kill them all before blowingyourself, his holder ordered. Thedate is December 16th 2014 the cityof stories narrated a strange and truestory (not the concocted one) whichmade the audience sobbing and cry-ing for years to come.

Adopting a strange agenda ofterrorism the terrorists even not onlyface the willful deaths of themselvesbut life of others. This historic trendis prevailing all over in Pakistan forthe last many years which hasgripped the people in deep depres-sion and dismay. Tragicall enoughthat the terrorists are so-called Mus-

lims and claim to implement trueIslamisation not only in Pakistan butall over the world. Islam took spreadthrough weapons, do the terroristswant to make the fact to fact? Tragi-cally, the terrorists do not take Quran-i-Hakeem as the perfect body ofteachings and reduced it only to lyri-cal recitation (without understandingits meanings) the illiterate and igno-rant suicide bombers take killing andsuicide as visa to paradise.

Our Ulamas have played a verywrong role in teachings of Islam;they have given the new generationonly the lesson about the rituals ofthe religion and not the wisdomabout the religion. Our religiousleaders have made Quran only astudy subject and market commod-ity. They have reduced divine com-mands only to the rituals conse-quently Namaz is taken as corporalexercise, Roza a struggle for diet-ing, Zakat a show off and demon-stration and Hajj merely an execu-

tion tour. They made the religion amatter of Hell and Heaven only.

If we peep deep and far off oursocial set up has developed aggres-sion restlessness and extremism inour new generation. More over par-ents have also been taken as respon-sible for all this climate of combat.They have absorbed themselves inworldly affairs of money minting.They have given no education andlearning in religion. They have de-tached their children from homesand pushed them outside activities.The TV addicted children have notimes for any physical activity whichcould teach then both the moral andspiritual code of behavior.

The stories and cartoons dis-played the fabricated stories of hero-ism giving them the techniques ofusing the weapons to harass thepeople. Firstly they use the toy weap-ons and then the real ones. Parentingis not an easy job it is an uphill task ifwe take it as it is. Factually the un-

Islamic system in the homes andin the country has brought socialdiscrepancy and inequality whichnourished vindictive vision to theyounger generation and they to getrelief have been indulged in Ca-sus-Beli Culture. Now undoubt-edly the times have been changedglobally which has brought a newspectrum to the youngsters andthey in endeavor to know about ev-erything they go far off in search-ing all good and bad. WilliamShakespeare once said, there isnothing either good or bad butthings make it so.

Paying a tribute to the schoolsoldiers’ children all over the Pa-kistan are with black armed hands,mustered oil lamps and play cardsas the weapons the protestersbrought with them to fight the an-guish. They were chanting the slo-gans “Go Terrorism Go”.— The writer is Multan-basedfreelance columnist.

Muhammad Ali SattarEmail:malisattar@outlook.com

Dhaka CallingDhaka CallingDhaka CallingDhaka CallingDhaka Calling

Nighat LeghariEmail:nighatleghari@yahoo.com

between U-Turns and entry/exitoptions impel the commuters to optfor short-cuts, which generallyprove fatal.

I suggest NHA, CDA and ITPto revisit the existing sites of U-Turns, make them more logical andtraffic friendly, close down illegalU-Turns and maintain lawful U-Turns to reduce accidents and savepeople’s lives.—Via email

Energy crisis todefeat CERN honour

SIDRA TALHA

Pakistan’s association with Euro-pean organization for nuclear re-search (CERN), according to theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, willreap huge socio-economic benefits.After hearing such vows, questionslike, will this affiliation uproot theenergy crisis from our country?,usually arise in a citizen’s mind.

I mean, what’s the point of get-ting engineering contracts for in-dustrial sector when there is noelectricity available to completethese projects? What good, will thestaff positions for our scientists andengineers, in the prestigious orga-nization, bring when our state is onthe verge of brain drain and accessto what sort of educationalprogrammes is the governmenttalking about when most of ourchildren are deprived of the verybasic right of primary education.

Therefore, I request the govern-ment to kindly make it known toeverybody as to how this member-ship can favour us in the presenceof the above mentioned problems.—Karachi

Mobile snatchingFAIZA SOHAIL

Mobile snatching has become a se-rious crime nowadays, especially inKarachi where you can easily seetwo out of five persons as victimsof it; some of them even had theirbelongings snatched twice or thrice.

I, myself have been a victim ofmobile snatching twice and haveseen it with my naked eye, beingdone by burglars several times in acrowded place. They seem to haveno fear of police or anyone whetheryou’re travelling in public transportor you’re travelling on your per-sonal vehicle or you’re just walk-ing, you are not safe anywhere inKarachi.

Street crimes are increasing dayby day, the burglars take out theirloaded guns and they are not afraidof anyone, not the victim not theauthorities, nor government! Anddo you know what the worst partis? That the government is not tak-ing any action! The governmentshould wake up and take seriousaction about these street crimes be-fore the vicious burglars do! Thisshould have to be end.—Karachi

Plight ofHazaras

MAHNUR KHAN

One fails to understand as to whysome people come up with con-fused theories while writing innewspapers. Hazaras are certainlythe descendants of the soldiers ofthe Mongol army who chose to livein these areas. Hazara signifies thebranch of army which comprised athousand soldiers. Though oncewarriors, they chose the peacefulway to live since then and opted forother jobs than becoming soldiers.

Till now, they are one of the leastviolent tribes of Afghanistan and Pa-kistan and a very educated bunch initself. They are Shiites, yet they arenot into sectarian issues with othersat all. Though there are elementswhich cherish pro-Iran feelings butthey are not liked amongst their owntribesmen and are opposed. Talibanmassacred them during their reignin Afghanistan and this also showedthat they were not an Islamic but asectarian and an ethnic governmentthat killed Hazaras because of their

identity as Shiites and non-Pushtoons. The Hazaras are loyal toPakistan. ‘Peace’ is hallmark of thiscommunity. They are a rich additionto cultural diversity of Pakistan.

But quite unfortunate it is thatPakistan has lost its credibility inthe world. Hazaras need our moralsupport throughout Pakistan asfrom decade long history of Paki-stan since 9/11, Hazaras are themost ‘badly affected’ communityin Pakistan.—Rawalpindi

Child labourin Pakistan

ANEELA ANJUM

Child labour in Pakistan is lead-ing to mental, physical, moral andsocial harm to children. The HumanRights Commission of Pakistan es-timated in the 1990s that 11 mil-lion children were working in thecountry, half of those under the ageof ten. In 1996, the median age fora child entering the work force wasseven, down from eight years old 2years prior. It was estimated thatone quarter of the country’s workforce was made up of childlabourers. In a city of Pakistan,Hyderabad children enter workforce at the of age 4 or 5 years andthey make bangles and bracelets.They make around 12 sets (per setcontaining 65 bangles) and onlygain Rs.40 from all the hard work.

In Pakistan, children haveworked side by side with their par-ents either in their homes, in farm-ing or in other family occupations.But this was child work, an occa-sional form of work having no ele-ment of exploitation. This form ofwork was acceptable and in fact pre-pared children for adulthood. Butchildren seldom worked outsidetheir villages without their familymembers until the 1960s.

In this era, a dramatic effort wasmade to expand the manufacturingbase in Pakistan, which led to alarge increase in the number of chil-dren working outside their homesin factories and workplaces whoseowners sought to maximize profitsby keeping down labour costs. Therange of child labour extends fromchildren being involved in familyoccupations such as sheep rearingto pernicious forms reminiscent ofchildren’s work. Children work infamily based agriculture, factories,workshop, tailoring, handicrafts,carpet weaving, manufacturing sur-gical instruments, leather, footwear,brick kilns, stone/brick crushingand sports goods production.

The analysis shows that pov-erty is the main cause of childlabour in the city but there areother factors contributing to it suchas family size, schooling systemand illiteracy of parents. Theanalysis shows that at certain lev-els of poverty, child labour playsan instrumental role in the eco-nomic survival of the family. Thechild has economic value atpresent so parents maximise theirutility by making the best use oftheir economic assets at present forthe satisfaction of basic needs. An-other important factor causingchild labour is large family size.When family size is large, the fam-ily cannot afford food, clothing,education and other necessities andthus more children are sent towork. Parents below the poverty1ine cannot afford to send theirchildren to schools, where a childspends a lot of time and money onbooks and school fees, and ulti-mately he is unable to get a job ortheir education does not add totheir earnings.—Via email

WANG YI FOREIGN MINISTER OF CHINA

IN 2014, the world experienced a new roundof turbulence and instability following theinternational financial crisis. Conflicts in

some regions kept flaring up, the road to glo-bal economic recovery remained treacherous,and the transformation of the international or-der gained momentum. The call for peace anddevelopment was stronger, so was the call forcooperation and change and for building a com-munity of shared interests and destiny.

In 2014, the central leadership of the Com-munist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade XiJinping as the general secretary accelerated com-prehensive reform and advanced the rule of law,and it led the 1.3 billion Chinese people in a re-lentless effort to realize the Chinese dream of greatnational renewal. On the external front, Chinaremained committed to pursuing peaceful devel-opment and win-win cooperation and played aconstructive role in upholding peace, stability anddevelopment in both our region and the world.

On the diplomatic front, we explored newtheories and practices for conducting interna-tional relations, participated in global economicand financial governance, engaged in friendlyexchanges with countries in all major regions,and worked for the peaceful resolution ofhotspot issues in some regions. These effortscreated an enabling environment for China’sdomestic development. Building on the good

2014 proves success for China’s diplomacystart last year, we have continued to achievemajor progress in China’s diplomacy this year.

At the recently concluded Central Confer-ence on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs, Xipointed out that we need to pursue win-win co-operation, promote a new type of internationalrelations featuring win-win cooperation, andcontinue to follow the win-win strategy of open-ing-up and a win-win approach in all aspects ofour external relations including political, eco-nomic, security and cultural fields.

This important exposition is a synthesis ofthe new diplomatic theories and practices we havedeveloped in our relations with major countries,neighboring countries and developing countries.It has enriched China’s long-established diplo-matic principles of equality, mutual benefit, open-ing up and win-win cooperation, and added a newdimension to realism-based traditional theory ofinternational relations.

This new type of international relations isunderpinned by win-win cooperation. China isthe first major country to make win-win coop-eration the fundamental goal of international ex-changes. This is in keeping with the fine tradi-tions of Chinese culture, the abiding goal ofChina’s diplomacy and the contemporary trendtoward economic globalization and democracyin international relations. As a new approach tomanaging state-to-state relations in the contem-porary world, it will exert a positive and profoundimpact on the evolution of international relations.

Building partnerships is a distinctive fea-ture of China’s diplomacy. After the end of theCold War which was marked by the confronta-tion between alliance of nations, we drew onthe experience and lessons of history in a timelyway and succeeded in developing a new ap-proach of forming partners instead of allies.

China has established 72 partnerships in dif-ferent forms and at different levels with 67 coun-tries and five regions or regional organizations,which cover all the major countries and regionsin the world. Xi’s call for building a global net-work of partnerships is an incisive summary andenrichment of China’s successful diplomatic prac-tices over the past two decades and more. It hasincreased the strategic and global dimension forour efforts to build partnerships.

Xi first called for pursuing the Asia-Pacificdream and elaborated on it during the APEC Eco-nomic Leaders’ Meeting. He stressed that this dreamis about fostering a sense of the Asia-Pacific com-munity and shared destiny, jointly working for theprosperity and progress of our region, and drivingglobal development and making greater contribu-tion to the well-being of humanity. In the short spanof two years since the 18th CPC National Congress,Xi and Premier Li Keqiang have made 17 foreignvisits, covering over 50 countries across the fivecontinents and meeting foreign heads of state andgovernment close to 500 times. This has created a“Chinese whirlwind” globally.

Solid progress has been made in building a

new model of major-country relationship withthe US. President Barack Obama paid a suc-cessful visit to China. Following theirSunnylands meeting last year, the two presidentshad in-depth evening discussions at Yingtai inZhongnanhai Compound, Beijing. The visitdeepened mutual understanding and led to ma-jor progress in a wide range of areas, includingclimate response, reciprocal visa arrangementsand confidence-building measures between thetwo militaries. The China-Russia strategic part-nership of coordination has maintained a highstandard of performance. Breakthroughs havebeen made in a number of major collaborativeprojects, thus tightening the bond of commoninterests between the two countries.

The major-country diplomacy with Chinesefeatures is an unprecedented undertaking. It hasbecome all the more valuable just because of itsdifficult and challenging nature. To perseverein the major-country diplomacy with Chinesefeatures is what the central Party leadership withXi as the general secretary has asked of us, andit is also the glorious mission history has be-stowed on this generation of ours.

—Courtesy: Global Times[The article is an abstract of a speech by

Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered at the Sym-posium on the International Development andChina’s Diplomacy in 2014 co-hosted by ChinaInstitutes of International Studies and ChinaFoundation for International Studies]

Rebel and government forces have been fighting since December in South Sudan, the world’s newest state.

A barbed wire fence decorated with South Korean national flags is pictured near the de-militarized zone which separates North and South Korea.

ABDOULAYE MAR DIEYE

THE Ebola epidemic in West Africa is destroying lives, decimating communities and orphaning children at a rate notseen since the region’s brutal civil wars ended more than a

decade ago. In Liberia, 60 per cent of markets are now closed; inSierra Leone, only one-fifth of the 10,000 HIV patients who areon anti-retroviral treatments are still receiving them; and Guinea’sgovernment is reporting a $220 million financing gap because ofthe crisis. If the outbreak is not contained soon, most of the eco-nomic and social gains achieved since peace was restored inLiberia and Sierra Leone, and since Guinea’s democratic transi-tion began, could be reversed.

All three countries remain fragile, divided and, as the currentcrisis highlights, uniquely prone to shocks. More broadly, theregion’s current crisis should inspire reflection about how the worldsupports and advances development. One important reason for thesecountries’ vulnerability is the consistent lack of investment in theirpopulations, which has prevented ordinary citizens from reapingthe benefits of economic growth. Indeed, while the economies ofGuinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone grew rapidly in the ten yearsprior to the Ebola outbreak — at average annual rates of 2.8 percent, 10 per cent, and 8 per cent, respectively — their populationshave seen little improvement in their daily lives. More than 65 percent of foreign direct investment has gone towards mining andlogging, which are notorious for generating little employment andconcentrating wealth in the hands of a few.

Likewise, though health services in Liberia and Sierra Leoneimproved after their civil wars ended, quality and coverage haveremained well below West African standards. When Ebola struck,Liberia had only 120 doctors for its four million citizens. Add tothat sprawling urban slums — semi-governed, overcrowded andpoorly sanitised — and it is not surprising that these countrieshave struggled to contain the epidemic. The threat that Ebolaposes in all three countries extends beyond healthcare. Through-out the region, a history of conflict and a legacy of poor gover-nance have fuelled a deep distrust of governments and state in-stitutions, as indicated in a 2012 Afrobarometer survey. Indeed,these countries’ lack of an established social contract has beenthe main obstacle to establishing political authority and effec-tive governance. Moreover, this environment has created fertileconditions for the spread of wild theories including that the gov-ernment and aid workers are conspiring to infect citizens.

Many people deny that the Ebola virus exists at all, claimingthat their governments have invented it to raise additional funds— which they will never see — from the international commu-nity. Such doubts and fears are leading families to hide theirdead and conduct funerals at night, with some communities go-ing so far as to attack health workers. All of this is making itextremely difficult to halt the spread of the disease. With a highlycontagious and lethal virus devastating poor and fragmented so-cieties that distrust their leaders, business as usual is not enough.

The only way to halt the current Ebola outbreak, and preventsimilar epidemics, is to address the fundamental social and politi-cal vulnerabilities that have allowed the virus to flourish. The keyis to place people at the centre of development efforts, by increas-ing investments in healthcare, education, and other public services.

—Courtesy: Jordan Times[The writer is the United Nations Development Programme’s

director of the Regional Bureau for Africa. ©Project Syndicate,2014]. www.project-syndicate.org

Development forthe people

CLIFFORD A. KIRACOFE

WILL it be Bush versus Clinton in 2016? While there is along way to go with many twists and turns in the USelection process, it is possible. But do Americans re-

ally want yet another right-wing Bush as their president? JohnEllis Bush, nicknamed “Jeb,” the younger brother of the formerpresident, is a businessman. Long involved in politics, he servedas governor of Florida 1999-2007. His wife, Columba, is fromMexico where they met when he taught English there in 1971.They have three children. Bush converted to Roman Catholi-cism in 1995.

While often billed in the media as a “moderate,” his recordshows him to be clearly in the right wing. For example, Jeb Bushwas an early participant in the neoconservative Project for the NewAmerican Century (PNAC) created in 1997 by William Kristoland Robert Kagan. Bush signed the controversial 1997 PNAC state-ment of principles that promoted US military buildup and interna-tional expansion and intervention. The organization called for ag-gressive policy to promote democracy as defined by itself and toconfront states they deemed hostile to US values. Political andeconomic warfare coupled with military force were seen as theway to preserve the Western order and to extend it globally.

PNAC stridently promoted regime change and one key targetwas Iraq. PNAC members Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitzsigned an open letter to then president Bill Clinton calling for re-gime change in Iraq. In the run-up to the 2000 election, PNACprovided candidate George W. Bush with foreign policy adviceand guidance. Both Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld for many yearswere deeply influenced by the neoconservative policy network.Cheney co-chaired the Bush campaign with former secretary ofstate George Shultz and went on to become vice president.Rumsfeld became secretary of defense and both Cheney andRumsfeld surrounded themselves with neoconservative staff.

George W. Bush’s 2000 election victory hinged on the Floridavote which he obtained after a controversial recount. The stateplays an important role in US presidential elections as a swingstate and Jeb Bush was governor of Florida then. Jeb Bush’sneoconservative foreign policy views have been on display inrecent days when he attacked President Barack Obama’s newinitiative with Cuba. The entire world knows Obama made theright decision regarding Cuba even though it is five decades latefor Washington.

The new opening to Cuba is historic and it will certainly bean important positive part of Obama’s legacy. His policy isstrongly supported by the US business community and the farm-ing community, both of which for decades advocated normaliz-ing relations. The American people welcome better relations withCuba. So why is Jeb Bush joining the ranks of anti-Communistextremists? The answer lies in Bush’s deep ties with the farright-wing anti-Castro Cuban exile community in Florida.

The Cuban exile community for many years played a sig-nificant role in Florida politics as well as in anti-Castro lobbyingin Washington. The tiny minority community effectively heldthe American people hostage to their grievances for some fivedecades. Today, however, the Cuban-American role in Floridapolitics is changing because other Latino communities fromMexico and Central America are becoming more numerous there.Also, many in the Cuban-American community have shifted theirviews and welcome the opportunity to reunite with their fami-lies under normalized conditions.

Jeb Bush helped Cuban-American Republican Marco Rubiobecome a US senator from Florida. Rubio holds neoconservativeviews and has been seen as a possible contender in the 2016presidential race. The right-wing Republican US senator TedCruz, a Cuban-American born in Canada, is also seen as a lead-ing contender for 2016. With the new Cuba policy, their voicesmay fade. If Jeb Bush is running for president, he is not off to agood start. His attack on Obama’s historic change in Cuba policyunderscores his own neoconservative foreign policy perspectivewhich is a dead end for the US in a changing world.

—Courtesy: GT[The author is an educator and former senior professional

staff member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations].opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Jeb Bush stumbleson Cuban crusade

BANGKOK—Floods in south-ern Thailand have killed 13people and injured five otherssince Dec. 14, the director gen-eral of Disaster Prevention andMitigation Department said onFriday.

Eight provinces had beenhit hard by heavy rain-triggeredfloods, including Surat Thani,Nakhon Si Thammarat,Phattalung, Songkhla, Pattani,Yala, Narathiwat and Trang,Chatchai Promlert was quotedby the Nation newspaper assaying.

Nakhon Si Thammarat andSurat Thani had seen the situa-tion return to normal while the

Floods in S.Thailand kill 13

remaining six provinces werestill coping with inundation,Deputy Interior MinisterSuthee Makboon said.

In Yala alone, more than50,000 residents have been af-fected by flooding, with threepeople reportedly drowned andtwo others injured. Thousandshave been evacuated.

The Department of Disas-ter Prevention and Mitigationhad worked with the militaryand other agencies to help thoseaffected, Chatchai said. PrimeMinister Prayut Chan-o-chavisited flood victims in Tak Baidistrict of Narathiwat on Fri-day.—Xinhua

KHARTOUM—Sudan hasasked UN Resident Coordina-tor and Humanitarian Coordi-nator Ali al-Za’atari to leave thecountry, only one day after or-dering the UN DevelopmentProgram (UNDP) country di-rector Yvonne Helle to do thesame, the Paris-based SudanTribune reported in its websiteon Friday.

“I regret to inform you thatthe government had requestedme today to leave Sudan. I willdo so on Jan. 2,” al-Za’atari re-portedly told UN staff in Sudanin an email message on Thurs-day. On Wednesday, Helle saidin an email to her staff that theSudanese government informedal-Za’atari that she must leave.

Sudan expels two UN officials

“The Government of Sudanhas informed Ali that I am nolonger welcome in Sudan andhave been asked to leave byMonday. You can imagine thestate of shock I am in ... As youall know, I loved working andliving in Sudan. Given the tim-ing it will be impossible to saygoodbye to all of you in person,so herewith my heartfeltgoodbye to you in writing,”Helle’s email reads. Both al-Za’atari and Helle failed to ex-plain why the Sudanese govern-ment issued the order.

In early November the gov-ernment-sponsored SudaneseMedia Center (SMC) websitesaid that Za’atari had insultedthe Sudanese people and their

President Hassan Omer Hassanal-Bashir in an interview witha Norwegian newspaper. TheUN official reportedly said thatSudan is a country living in ahumanitarian and economiccrisis, and that the society hasbecome dependent on aid.

However, Za’atari sug-gested that translation errorsduring the interview may haveled to the misunderstandings.

On Thursday, UN Secre-tary-General Ban Ki-moon con-demned Sudan’s decision to ex-pel the two senior UN officials.Ban called on the governmentof Sudan to reverse its decisionimmediately and urged it to co-operate fully with all UN enti-ties present in the country.

The move came days afterSudan denied peacekeepersaccess to the site of an allegedmass rape of some 200 womenand girls in western Darfur, aregion plagued by conflict.

Tensions have been sim-mering across Darfur through-out the past few months. In Oc-tober, armed militants attackedthe peacekeepers of the AU-UN Hybrid Operation inDarfur, claiming the lives ofthree peacekeepers.

The United Nations esti-mates that some 385,000people have been displaced bythe conflict between the gov-ernment of Sudan and armedmovements in Darfur since thestart of 2014.—Xinhua

BEIJING—China has set up a special fund worthmore than 10 million yuan (1.6 million U.S.dollars) to support public service advertisements.

Radio and TV programs, roadside billboardsand banners have long played a key role in pro-moting good values and providing knowledgeon a range of topics, from furnace safety to giv-ing up bus seats to the elderly.

A total of 132 projects chosen from morethan 500 applications have been covered by thefund, the State Administration of Press, Publi-cation, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT)said Friday.

China sets up specialfund for public ads

Completed projects that have already airedinclude one by the Beijing Media Network call-ing for patience in parenting, as well as an anti-speeding ad by a radio station in east China’sZhejiang Province. Figures from the administration show thatcentral and local television groups made 16,000-plus public service ads under the organizationof SAPPRFT as of late November, with totalair time of some three million minutes.

SAPPRFT vowed to increase financial in-vestment to boost the production and airing ofpublic service programs.—Xinhua

TOKYO—Japan, the United States and SouthKorea are close to reaching a deal on sharing andsafeguarding sensitive information on NorthKorea’s missile and nuclear programs, Japan’sDefence Ministry said on Friday. As Japan lieswell within the range of North Korea’s mid-rangemissiles, acquiring military intelligence on NorthKorea in a timely manner is vital for its security.

“Ever since defense ministers of Japan, theUnited States and South Korea agreed on theimportance of information sharing in May, dis-cussion has taken place at various levels,” a Japa-nese Defence Ministry official told a mediabriefing. “And now we are in the final stagestoward signing.”

Japan close to S.Koreaon North’s defense

Under the framework, South Korea wouldpass relevant information to the United States,with which Seoul already has a legally-bindingpact to share and safeguard intelligence calledGeneral Security of Military Information Agree-ment (GSOMIA), and then the US would passthe information onto Japan.

It would also work the other way around asthe United States has signed a GSOMIA with Ja-pan as well. Some South Koreans have voiced con-cerns about signing a security pact with Japan, aone-time colonial ruler. Besides Japan’s annexationof Korean peninsula that ended in 1945, bilateralties have been plagued by a prolonged territorialdispute over a group of tiny islets.—Reuters

HAWAII—One week before the US combat mis-sion in Afghanistan draws to a close, PresidentBarack Obama and his wife, Michelle, thankedAmerican troops on Thursday during a Christ-mas Day visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii inKanoehe Bay. One man in the crowd yelled“Huah!”, a traditional cheer of the US military,and the audience applauded as Obama spoke ofthe United States officially ending its fighting rolein Afghanistan after 13 years of conflict.

“Because of the extraordinary service of themen and women in the American armed forces,Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own coun-try,” Obama said. The Taliban were ousted byUS-backed Afghan forces in 2001, following theSept. 11 attacks on America by Islamist militantsusing hijacked airliners, and the United States haskept a military presence there ever since.

With the end of the NATO-led combat mis-sion in Afghanistan, the Obama administration

Obama happy to endAfghan combat mission

said earlier this month it would leave a residualU.S. force of about 10,800 troops behind forat least the first few months of 2015 to helpprovide support to Afghan security forces. Thisyear has been the deadliest in the war, withmore than 4,000 Afghan soldiers and policekilled during the past 12 months. The conflicthas claimed the lives of more than 2,000 U.S.military personnel.

Obama told a crowd of 420 people, includ-ing troops and their families, gathered in theUS Marine base’s Anderson Hall dining facil-ity that Afghanistan is “not going to be a sourceof terrorist attacks again.” Obama said theUnited States still has “some very difficultmissions around the world,” mentioning Iraq,where U.S.-led coalition forces are counteringthe Islamic State. In Africa, US troops are help-ing to battle an Ebola epidemic that has killedat least 7,500 people.—Reuters

KATHMANDU—China haspromised to help Nepal improvenine sectors to get rid of the LeastDeveloped Countries ( LDCs)status as soon as possible, visit-ing Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi said here Friday.

Wang told a press confer-ence after his meeting withNepali counterpart MahendraBahadur Pandey, China alwayssupports Nepal in its efforts toalleviate poverty, adding thatChina is ready to help Nepalachieve the goal that Nepal willbe removed from the LDC listby 2022.

China is ready to helpNepal improve such sectors astrade, investment, agriculture,energy, infrastructure develop-ment, science and technology,tourism, security and law en-forcement as well as human

China to help Nepaldevelop nine sectors

resource development, Wangsaid. China has raised annualaid to Nepal from 150 millionyuan (24. 16 million US dol-lars) to 800 million yuan, ac-cording to Wang.

Describing the two coun-tries as friendly neighbors withadjoining mountains and wa-ters, Wang said, China appre-ciates Nepal ‘s firm support onissues relating to China’s coreinterests.

Nepal and China alsoagreed to enhance bilateraltrade and economic prosperityfor mutual development.

Pandey said that there willbe exchange of high level vis-its as well as various events onthe occasion of the 60th anni-versary of the establishment ofNepal-China diplomatic rela-tionship.—Xinhua

is expected to be implementedwhich will see the price of petroldrop by Rs 5.90 per litre. Theprice of diesel is to decrease byRs 11 while kerosene oil willdecrease by Rs13.50.

A summary for the pricedecrease will be issued on De-cember 29.

POL pricesFrom Page 1

the prime minister further said. “Now thatwe have reached a historic national con-sensus, let’s proceed with our nationalduty,” the premier said.

Nawaz told those present at the meet-ing that they were there to “weed out ter-ror” from the country. “To me, zero toler-ance is zero tolerance. Violence in anyform against my people equals to terror,and our polity and our army are very clearon this. We shall come down heavy on it[terrorism],” he said.

“We shall not let the memory of thePeshawar carnage fade away till we wipeout terror from Pakistan, for if we don’tdo that, there is no Pakistan,” the primeminister said.

“Laws will be made stringent to stopthe printing and publication of hate mate-rial promoting sectarianism,” Nawaz said.

Additionally, during the meeting, thepremier said, “I task the Ministry of Fi-nance and the State Bank of Pakistan tosupervise the anti-terror financing opera-tions.”

He also announced that that a federalcounter-terrorism force will be deployedimmediately with the help of the Ministry

of Defence.On a separate note, Nawaz said, “We

will make forced marriages of young mi-nority girls as a punishable offence. Thisis religious persecution which is unaccept-able.”

Further, Nawaz said he would give histeam “days, not weeks to gear up in thiswar against militants.”

The meeting, which has now come toan end, agreed that a legislation to stopthe glorification of terrorists on all formsof media may be prepared immediately,according to official sources.

Moreover, the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been tasked to present aplan on the registration of illegal Afghansin Pakistan. And timelines have been pro-vided to all those concerned.

Other members of the committeewill include Interior Minister ChaudhryNisar, Information Minister PervaizRasheed, Minister for Planning and De-velopment Ahsan Iqbal, Defence Min-ister Khawaja Asif, Advisor to the PMon National Security and Foreign AffairsSartaj Aziz, as well as other selectedmembers.

Attorney General of Pakistan SalmanAslam Butt was directed by the primeminister to immediately consult membersof leading parties for the finalisation ofconstitutional amendments.

The meeting for the implementationof the National Action Plan was held atthe PM House under the chairmanship ofthe premier.

Coordination and implementationmechanisms of the plan, along with time-liness, was also discussed during the meet-ing.

The 20-point National Action Plan thatenvisages the establishment of specialcourts for the speedy trial of terror sus-pects and a crackdown on jihadi and sec-tarian outfits was announced by PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif in a televised ad-dress to the nation late Wednesday nightfollowing a daylong meeting of the headsof all parliamentary parties at the PrimeMinister House.

The National Action Plan Committeewas formed after the tragic attack on theArmy Public School in Peshawar in whichover 150 people were killed, including 135children.

Committee formedFrom Page 1

dantly clear that the sole agenda of thesebarbarians was to take over the state andinstall what they call caliphate dismantlingall democratic structures. Their agenda isthe same as that of Daesh in Iraq and Syria,Al –Shabbab in Kenya and Boko Haramin Nigeria.

For the first time since the assassina-tion of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhuttoin 2007, her son and party chairman,Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is likely to skipher death anniversary because of reporteddifferences with his father, Asif AliZardari.

Zardari, who is the PPP’s Co-Chair-man, had gone to London to persuade his‘angry’ son to return home so that hecould attend the anniversary event inGarhi Khuda Bakhsh on Saturday. But byall indications he did not succeed. “MrZardari is returning to take part in BB’sdeath anniversary function, but we haveno confirmation as yet about Mr Bilawal’sreturn,” the former president’s spokes-man, Senator Farhatullah Babar, said.Badar, who was recently appointed po-litical adviser to Mr Bilawal, said: “I am

waiting for confirmation from the chair-man whether he will come or not.” Buthe hastened to add that there were no dif-ferences between the son and the father.

Former President of Pakistan and Co-chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Asif AliZardari along with her daughterBakhtawar Bhutto Zardari visited theGarhi Khuda Bux Bhutto and laid floralwreaths on graves of founder PPPShaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto, formerPrime Minister of Pakistan and slainChairperson PPP Shaheed Benazir Bhuttoand offered Fateha.

Asif Ali Zardari visited the graves ofBegum Nusrat Bhutto, Shaheed MirMurtaza Bhutto and Shaheed MirShahnawaz Bhutto placed floral wreathson their graves and offered fateha.On the occasion, strict security arrange-ments were made, the people insideBhutto mausoleum were asked to vacatethe mausoleum immediately by the po-lice.

In Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto andNaudero, 7000 policemen and comman-dos including 300 policewomen and rang-

ers have been deployed to provide fool-proof security to the workers, leaders,supporters and sympathizers of PPP forobserving 27th death anniversary event.

Walkthrough gates were installed at allthe entry points and all participants willbe physically checked for which a detailedsecurity plan has already been devised. Asmany as 200 check posts have also beenestablished along all the routes leading toGarhi Khuda Bux Bhutto town where po-lice patrolling has been intensified.

Senior police officers monitoringthroughout by watch tower and sniffingdogs as well and aerial monitoring of allparticipants, CCTV camera were installedin Naundero and around the Bhutto mau-soleum. The traffic policemen deployedto ensure smooth flow of traffic duringthe event and control room has also beenestablished by police to monitor the situ-ation and keep vigil on the performanceof security personnel.

On the occasion, Bomb Disposalsquad, bomb detectors, scanners, jam-mers, sniffer dogs, and mobile units wereput on alert.

Religious fanaticsFrom Page 1

peared in Larkana on Friday.The wall-chalking ap-

peared in a youth hostel locatedin Sachal Colony.

Following the emergenceof the wall-chalking, locals inthe area voiced their concernsafter which police started aninvestigation. with the IS.

The pro-IS wall chalkinghas appeared at a time whenpeople from different parts ofthe country are reachingLarkana in large numbers toobserve the seventh death an-niversary of former PakistanPeoples Party Chairman andthe country’s assassinated pre-mier Benazir Bhutto. A dayearlier, a grenade attack onRangers personnel injured asoldier, which was rumoured tobe linked.

IS wall chalkingFrom Page 1

with over 18 million sharestraded to their credit with a gainof Rs1.84 to close at Rs38.76.while the Bank of Punjab wasthe second volume leader withover 16 million shares and NIBbank was the third volumeleader as over 12 million shareswere traded in this stock.

KSE-100From Page 1

tion of two convicted terrorists at Faisalabaddistrict jail.

Superintendent of Faisalabad jail in hispetition stated that prisoner Faiz Ahmad wasawarded death penalty in 2006 for killingLance Naik Tariq Mahmood in NankanaSahib in 2000.

He said the second prisoner on death row,Muhammad Sharif, was convicted in 2000for involvement in various terrorism activi-ties.

The jail chief told court that mercy peti-tions of the both convicts had also been re-jected by President, therefore, the courtshould issue death warrants of the convictsfor their execution. The court approved theapplication and issued the death warrants.

Now the court has set January 14 for ex-ecution of both terrorists.

Punjab Home Minister, Shuja Khanzada,says 50 death row prisoners would be hangedin different jails of the province after legalformalities.

Officials say the government plans to ex-ecute around 500 militants in coming weeks.

Six terrorists have been hanged since Fri-day amid rising public anger over December16 slaughter in Peshawar, which left 149people dead including 133 children.

Of the six hanged so far, five were in-volved in a failed attempt to assassinate thenmilitary ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2003,while one was involved in a 2009 attack onthe army headquarters.

Two more terrorists go togallows on Jan 14

From Page 1

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Ms Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari visited GarhiKhuda Bakhsh and offered Fateha on the eve of death anniversary of former Prime Min-ister Benazir Bhutto.

requested the court to issue an arrest warrantfor Abdul Aziz for investigation, based on a FirstInformation Report (FIR) that was previouslyregistered against the cleric at Aabpara PoliceStation.

Judge Saqib accepted the investigationofficer’s request and an arrest warrant wasissued, which will be followed by the policetaking legal procedures to arrest Aziz for fur-ther investigation.

In response to the arrest warrant, spokes-man for the Lal Masjid Shuhada FoundationHafiz Ehtisham said that Maulana AbdulAziz will resist arrest. He added that therehave been arrest warrants against politicalleaders in different cases such as the ModelTown incident and the attack on PTV’s of-fice, but they were not arrested. Therefore,Maulana Aziz will resist any such move,Ehtisham said.

Also read: Lal Masjid protest: FIR reg-istered against Maulana Aziz

The non-bailable FIR was registered un-der section 506 (2) of the Pakistan PenalCode which states punishment for criminalintimidation or threats.

Following the deadly attack on ArmyPublic School in Peshawar, civil society ac-tivists gathered outside the capital’s LalMasjid last week to protest a statement bythe cleric in which he refused to condemnthe massacre.

A civil society activist, Ahmad Ali, toldmedia that Maulana Abdul Aziz refused tocondemn the incident in Peshawar and saidhe could not call the students who were killed‘martyrs’.

The protesters chanted slogans against

Maulana Abdul Aziz as a staff member cameout of the mosque and warned protesters thatany further chanting will not be tolerated bythe management. Police in riot gear also ar-rived at the scene and asked the protestersto disperse.

Station House Officer (SHO) at AabparaPolice Station Abdul Rehman confirmed thatan FIR had been registered against partici-pants of the protest. “The protesters violatedSection 144, they blocked the road and de-livered hate speech against the administra-tion of the mosque,” he said.

He added that the FIR had been regis-tered on the request of the mosque adminis-tration.

For two days, the protests were held infront of the mosque during which theMaulana also reportedly threatened the pro-testers. As a result, cases were registeredagainst both the sides.

Human rights activist Jibran Nasir, theorganiser of the protest, said that the policehad sought two days for the fulfillment ofthe protesters’ demand.

“The police promised to include the sec-tions in the FIR and arrest the cleric by De-cember 24. We did not hold a protest on De-cember 25 and celebrated Christmas with theChristian community,” he said.

“If the ATA sections are not included inthe FIR and the cleric is not arrested by 5pmon Friday, we will announce our next line ofaction,” he said earlier.

“Sections which have been demanded bythe civil society are non-bailable, so theMaulana cannot even get bail before arrest.Police have to arrest him,” Nasir explained.

Arrest warrants for MaulanaAbdul Aziz

From Page 1

Sweden mosqueFrom Page 1

and they were having prayersat that time.

Around 20 people wereinside the mosque, includingchildren. “Two suffer fromsmoke inhalation, two havecuts and bruises and one has a

fracture”, says LarsFranzell, who is heading up theinvestigation at Eskilstuna po-lice. He tells news agency TTthey are investigating the caseas aggravated arson. A pressrelease from theMälarsjukhuset hospital saysone person is “hurt badly butstable”.—AP

Balochistan’s upliftFrom Page 1

grid system would also receive 7,000 MWelectricity in 2017 and 4,000 MW in 2018.He said that the country would rid of powerload shedding by 2018.

Balochistan, he said, was rich in natu-ral resources and federal government wasready to extend its full cooperation to theprovincial government to get benefit fromthese resources. He, however, emphasizedthe need to take adequate measures to re-store peace in Balochistan, saying, severalforeign companies wanted to invest in ourregion but they had concerns over law andorder situation.

Mamnoon said that the governmentand the military have jointly resolved toeliminate terrorism on permanent basis. Hesaid that the government has invited an-gry youth of the province to sit on tablefor peace talks and their issues would beresolved on priority. He said the elementsinvolved in terrorism were misguidedpeople who have nothing to do with Is-lam.

He said the formation of special courtswas need of hour to deal with cases per-taining to terrorism. “I believe that judgesof the special courts would perform theirduties sincerely and honestly,” he said.

He said after law and order the secondbiggest menace, being faced by the coun-try was corruption. “About 700 to 1,000billion rupees were misappropriated in ourcountry during last seven to eight years.

He, however, said that no financialscam was reported during last one and halfyear tenure of the incumbent government.“Prime Minister Nawaz’s government hasovercome menace of corruption at satis-fied level as it has been enjoying an hon-est, capable and skilled team including Fi-nance Minister, Ishaq Dar and others,” headded.

He said that Saudi Arabia, China andTurkey have also extended their full co-operation to Pakistan to achieve goals ofdevelopment.

The parliamentarians and other stake-holders who called on President MamnoonHussain include Provincial Minister andPashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party(PkMAP) leader, Nawab Ayaz KhanJogezai, former caretaker chief minister,Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Barozai, HomeMinister, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, ProvincialMinister and PkMAP leader, AbdulRaheem Ziaratwal, Paksitan MuslimLeague-N leader, Mir Asim Kurd, PML-Q leader, Anwar-ul-Haque Kakar, ViceChancellor Balochistan University of In-formation Technology, Engineering andManagement Sciences (BUITEMS), Eng.Farooq Bazai, Principal Bolan MedicalCollege (BMC) Quetta, Dr. Saadat Khan,PkMAP leader, Usman Kakar, senior law-yer, Kamran Murtaza, civil society repre-sentative Surayya Allah Din, PkMAPleader Obaidullah Khan Babat and others.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Fridaysaid the exemplary punishment would beawarded to the terrorists as governmentfully honours the blood of martyrs. “To-day, a day of celebration, reminds me mar-tyrdom of my innocent children who werekilled for no reason and no sin,” he saidwhile addressing at the 8th convocation of

Bolan Medical College (BMC) at Gover-nor House here.

He said that government was deter-mined to eliminate terrorism and extrem-ism by launching crackdown against theterrorists. “The concerted strategy adoptedby the government would make Pakistanstrong, invincible and peaceful,” he main-tained. Expressing his soft corner and spe-cial attention he keeps for the people ofBalochistan, President Mamnoon said thatBalochistan always remained at top of hispriorities.

Terrorists he said have no more timeto proceed with their nefarious designs andwarned them to surrender else wait for anexemplary punishment. President notedthat resolution of the issues faced by thepeople of Balochistan was top priority ofthe government adding that Balochistanwould soon be brought at par with the de-veloped areas of the country.

He said that earlier, Balochistan onaccount of corruption and numerous otherreasons was a backward province as finan-cial resources and funds provided by thefederal government were not being spentin letter and spirit for its development.“Credit goes to PM Nawaz Sharif led fed-eral government who took practical mea-sures to make this province developed,”he maintained.

He urged parliamentarians and otherpeople to support the government to curbterrorism permanently. PresidentMamnoon said that the government wasmaking efforts to overcome menaces ofterrorism and corruption. He said that thegovernment wants to provide all necessaryfacilities to masses despite having meagerfinancial resources.

President on the occasion congratu-lated the passing out graduates and urgedthem to serve in their native towns. Sub-stantiating his plea he said the Mother andChild Mortality Rate is highest inBalochistan as compared to other prov-inces. The reason behind he addes wasdoctors unwillingness to work at rural ar-eas.

He lauded the up gradation of BMCto University and assured his all-out helpfor the resolution of issues faced by thegovernment of Balochistan. Chief Min-ister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch,Governor Balochistan Mohammad KhanAchakzai, Minister for Health Mir RehmatSaleh Baloch, Principal Bolan MedicalCollege Professor Saadat Barozai alsospoke on the occasion.

Earlier, degrees were conferred on thepassed out graduates of the Bolan Medi-cal College. Earlier, speaking to stakehold-ers including parliamentarians, politicaland tribal elders, professors, doctors, law-yers and civil society representatives atGovernor House here Thursday night. Hesaid that Pak-China Economic Corridorwould start from Kashghar, China andreach Gwadar and Karachi. “A railwaytrack will also be laid along the 4,000 ki-lometers long road of the project,” he said.Lahore-Karachi Motorway, HazaraMotorway, Gwadar Deep Sea Port andGwadar International Port would be partsof Pak-China Economic Corridor, he

added.Mamnoon said the people of

Balochistan would be the biggest benefi-ciary of the corridor. President said thatthe incumbent government has launchedseveral power generation projects includ-ing three atomic power production plants.He said that 2,000 MW electricity wouldbe injected in national grid system in 2015and 3,700 MW in 2016, adding that thenational grid system would also receive7,000 MW electricity in 2017 and 4,000MW in 2018. He said that the countrywould rid of power load shedding by 2018.

Balochistan, he said, was rich in natu-ral resources and federal government wasready to extend its full cooperation to theprovincial government to get benefit fromthese resources. He, however, emphasizedthe need to take adequate measures to re-store peace in Balochistan, saying, severalforeign companies wanted to invest in ourregion but they had concerns over law andorder situation. Mamnoon said that thegovernment and the military have jointlyresolved to eliminate terrorism on perma-nent basis. He said that the governmenthas invited angry youth of the province tosit on table for peace talks and their issueswould be resolved on priority. He said theelements involved in terrorism were mis-guided people who have nothing to do withIslam.

He said the formation of special courtswas need of hour to deal with cases per-taining to terrorism. “I believe that judgesof the special courts would perform theirduties sincerely and honestly,” he said. Hesaid after law and order the second big-gest menace, being faced by the countrywas corruption. “About 700 to 1,000 bil-lion rupees were misappropriated in ourcountry during last seven to eight years.

He, however, said that no financialscam was reported during last one and halfyear tenure of the incumbent government.“Prime Minister Nawaz’s government hasovercome menace of corruption at satis-fied level as it has been enjoying an hon-est, capable and skilled team includingFinance Minister, Ishaq Dar and others,”he added. He said that Saudi Arabia, Chinaand Turkey have also extended their fullcooperation to Pakistan to achieve goalsof development.

The parliamentarians and other stake-holders who called on President MamnoonHussain include Provincial Minister andPashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party(PkMAP) leader, Nawab Ayaz KhanJogezai, former caretaker chief minister,Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Barozai, Home Min-ister, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, Provincial Min-ister and PkMAP leader, Abdul RaheemZiaratwal, Paksitan Muslim League-Nleader, Mir Asim Kurd, PML-Q leader,Anwar-ul-Haque Kakar, Vice ChancellorBalochistan University of InformationTechnology, Engineering and ManagementSciences (BUITEMS), Eng. Farooq Bazai,Principal Bolan Medical College (BMC)Quetta, Dr. Saadat Khan, PkMAP leader,Usman Kakar, senior lawyer, KamranMurtaza, civil society representativeSurayya Allah Din, PkMAP leaderObaidullah Khan Babat and others.—APP

Peshawar schoolFrom Page 1

He said that as a key op-erational commander of theTariq Gedar group of Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP), Saddam hadfacilitated the Taliban gunmenwho had launched the attack onArmy Public School inPeshawar.

He was also said to be themastermind behind the 2013attack on a polio team inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa whichkilled 11 security personnel

Saddam was also involvedin killing eight scouts person-nel along with the deaths ofvarious of tribal elders, he said.

Separately, Shah said thatOperation Khyber One had ex-tended to other areas of KhyberAgency and that militants arebeing hunted down.

Intensifying their efforts tocounter militants in Khyber,security forces have upped ac-tion in the region in October.

In response to a query,Shah said that the area in Tirahfrom where the Mangal BaghFM radio is operational has notbeen cleared by security forcesas yet.

Deadlock clouds PTIFrom Page 1

forward the process. “We have to complete process of talks withinshort time and we don’t have much time if we want to take nego-tiations to an end,” the PTI leader said. He said that the oppor-tunity of political reconciliation might be lost if the talk processbecome protracted.

Meanwhile the PTI on Friday rejected the draft of an Ordi-nance prepared by the government for constitution of a judicialcommission on alleged irregularities and rigging in last generalelections. PTI Secretary General Jahangir Tareen while talkingto media said that the draft contained some points, which wereagainst already settled issues between the government and PTI.

He said that the draft Ordinance handed over to the PTI did notreflect the principle of give and take agreed by the two sides. Hesaid he had hoped that the government would not back off from thealready settled issues and they would be able to make headway inFriday’s meeting. But the meeting remained inconclusive.

23 terroristsFrom Page 1

tunnel system was also de-stroyed”. Inter Services PublicRelations (ISPR) communiquéissued to media late Fridaynight said.

Independent sources saidthose killed in the fresh strikesin NWA also include largenumber of fugitives believed tobe Uzbek militants.

The security forces, it maybe recalled , had come into ac-tion against the insurgents inthe Khyber agency the sameday the Army Public schoolwas attacked, and during threedays strikes heavily poundedmilitants positions in thetroubled Tiraah valley killing asmany as 130 militants.

The Pakistan Army led se-curity forces, it may be re-called, had come into action onJune 15 last after the peacetalks between the governmentand the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fizzledout and months long efforts tofind out negotiated settlementof the militancy issue eventu-ally exhausted.

The PAF birds since thenhave been pounding themilitant’s hideouts in theagency sometimes with apause of day or so and have sofar killed more than 1300 mis-creants besides destroyingmore than 200 militant’s hideouts. Likewise the ground op-eration was also started onJune 30th and the Pak Armylead security forces haveseized scores of bomb andother explosives manufactur-ing factories of the terroristsin various parts of the agen-cies as they successfully con-tinued their advancementsagainst the trouble makers.

Foreign terroristsFrom Page 1

two houses in Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan. Initial reportsstated that seven people were slain in the drone attacks. The resi-dents of the two areas recovered the dead bodies from the destroyedcompounds. Those killed in the drown attacks included three for-eigners in separate US drone strikes in North Waziristan Agency.

According to sources, the first strike took place near the Kundarea of Shawal in which the compound of Punjabi Taliban com-mander Qari Imran was targeted. The strike left four militantsdead but there was no confirmation as to whether Qari was killedin the attack. The second strike took place in the Mangroti areaof Shawal whereby a drone fired two missiles on a compound,leaving three suspected militants of Uzbek origin dead.

The compound was also destroyed in the strike. US Dronesremained flying over the area for a long time after the attacksthat frightened residents of the area. Following the two droneattacks, there have been 16 drone strikes in 2014 in which 95militants have been killed.

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

Jordanwarns ofgraveconsequencesAMMANAMMAN—Jordan’s lower house ofparliament threatened “graveconsequences” if theextremists harm Lt. MoazKasasbeh, 26, whose F-16crashed Wednesday nearthe Islamic State strongholdof Raqqah, in northeasternSyria. The statementsupported Jordan’s role inthe U.S.-led coalition wagingan airstrike campaign againstIslamic State in Syria andIraq, and urged the govern-ment of King Abdullah II to“do its utmost to ensure asafe return of the pilot.”Prime Minister AbdullahEnsour announced at a newsconference in the pilot’shometown south of thecapital that internationalnegotiations had begun tosave Kasasbeh’s life, but hedid not elaborate.— AP

QUETTA: President Mamnoon Hussain addressing convocation of Bolan Medical College.

GUWAHATI—India’s army chief pledged Fri-day to intensify a military offensive in Assamas it tries to track down separatist rebels whokilled 69 villagers in the restive northeasternstate this week.India has already deployed6,000 additional security forces and militaryhelicopters to scour the remote area wherearmed militants mounted a series of coordi-nated attacks on tribal villagers on Tuesday.

Police have blamed the attacks on theoutlawed National Democratic Front ofBodoland (NDFB), which has waged a vio-lent decades-long campaign for an indepen-dent homeland for the Bodo.

“We are definitely going to intensify op-erations,” army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag toldreporters after meeting home minister RajnathSingh in New Delhi to discuss the securitysituation in Assam.

The state, which borders Bhutan andBangladesh, has a long history of often vio-lent land disputes between the indigenousBodo people, Muslim settlers and rival tribes.

India scales up offensiveafter northeast attacks

There have been reports of tribal groupsarmed with machetes and bows and arrowssetting fire to houses and shops in Bodo-dominated areas in retaliation for the attacks,in which 18 children were killed.

Another three people were killed onWednesday when police shot at a mob de-manding justice over the attacks at a policestation. Around 7,000 people have fled theirhomes in the wake of the violence, manyseeking refuge in makeshift camps set upby the government.

Home Minister Singh has vowed au-thorities would be tough on those behindthe killings, which he called “an act of ter-ror”. India’s foreign minister has approachedthe government of Bhutan, where some ofthe rebels are believed to have fled after theattacks, he said.Rights groups have in thepast accused India’s government of notdoing enough to tackle violence in the iso-lated northeastern region, which is home tomany marginalised communities.—AP

Huge cache ofarms recovered

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Pakistan’s secu-rity forces have seized a hugequantity of arms and explo-sives from Safi Tehsil ofMohmand Agency on Friday,official sources said.

Military sources said thatthe security forces carried outa search operation in Lakaroarea of Mohmand Agency andrecovered 22 mortar shells, 66landmines and 35 kilograms ofexplosives from a house.

The sources added thatthe security forces also recov-ered rockets from the house.Meanwhile, a policeman waskilled and two others injuredin a militant attack on a policecheck post in Sarki Piyala areaof Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’sHangu district. The terroristsfled away after police retaliatedthe attack.

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifon Friday issued directives to Finance Min-istry and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) totake immediate measures to stop fundingto terrorists who are wagging war againstthe state of Pakistan.

Chairing a high level meeting at PrimeMinister’s House for implementation of theNational Action Plan approved by the na-tional political leadership to root out terror-ism from the country in the wake of Decem-ber 16 barbaric attack on Army Public SchoolPeshawar, the Prime Minister said that asthe national political leadership had givena clear road map to the government, it wasnow the responsibility of the governmentto implement the plan in letter and spirit.

He said that chocking the supply lines

Finance Ministry, SBP totake measures against

funding to terroristsof funding for terrorists was of utmost im-portance in successful fight against ter-rorists.

He ordered the Finance Minister andSBP to take measures to close suspiciousbank accounts and other funding chan-nels so that the fight could be take to itslogical conclusion as soon as possible.

It is to be mentioned here that theNational Action Plan Committee consti-tuted by the All Parties Conference heldat Governor on December 17 had pre-pared a 20-point National Action Plan toroot out terrorism from the country,which was also approved by the nationalpolitical leadership at a follow-up APCheld at Prime Minister’s House on De-cember 24.—INP

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said thatthe terrorists committed worst brutality bykilling innocent children in a school ofPeshawar which is most horrible act of ter-rorism in the history of the world. He saidthat the martyrdom of innocent childrenand teachers has shaken the entire worldincluding Pakistan. He said that due to themartyrdom of children and teachers, theentire nation has become united and it ishigh time to take effective and decisivesteps against terrorists. The Chief Minis-ter said that the consensus on nationalaction plan by national leadership is a his-

Peshawar incident worst act ofterrorism in history: Shahbaz

toric step. He said that political, religiousand military leadership has approved na-tional action plan against terrorism unani-mously which is a highly welcome and animportant step in the political history ofthe country.

He expressed these views while talk-ing to senior journalists, intellectuals, col-umnists and anchor persons who met him,here on Friday. On this occasion, specialprayers were also offered for the departedsouls of children and teachers who weremartyred in Peshawar tragedy.

Shahbaz Sharif expressed his determina-tion that extremism and terrorism will be elimi-nated forever and a safe and peaceful Paki-stan will be given to new generations.

MANY studies have suggested that consumption of unhealthy foods is a major contributor to childhood obesity,

and there has been much debate over the mar-keting of junk food to children, with many ex-perts claiming it encourages unhealthy eating.According to the PreventionInstitute, almost 40% ofchildren’s diets come fromunhealthy fats and addedsugars, and only 21% ofyouths aged 6-19 years eatthe recommended five por-tions of fruits and vegetablesa day.

In this latest study,Purtell and her team wantedto determine whether fast-food consumption affectshow well a child does inschool.

The researchers ana-lyzed data from 11,740 stu-dents who were part of theEarly Childhood Longitudi-nal Study-Kindergarten Co-hort. All students were inkindergarten in the 1998-99school year. When the children were in fifthgrade, they completed a food consumptionquestionnaire. From this, the team found thatonly 29% of children reported eating no fastfood in the week prior to the questionnaire.

Around 10% of children reported eatingfast food every day, while 10% reported eat-ing it four to six times a week. The remainingchildren reported eating fast food one to threetimes in the week before the questionnaire. Thechildren completed tests in reading, math andscience in fifth grade, and further tests in thesethree subjects were completed when theyreached eighth grade.

The study results revealed that children who

consumed fast food four to six times a weekor every day scored up to 20% lower on math,reading and science tests in eighth grade thanthose who did not eat any fast food. Childrenwho ate fast food one to three times a weekhad lower scores on the math test only in

eighth grade, compared withthose who ate no fast food. Theresearchers say their results re-mained even after accountingfor other potential contributingfactors for lower test scores,such as exercise, televisionviewing time, their family’s so-cioeconomic status, other foodconsumption, and school andneighborhood characteristics.

Commenting on the team’sfindings, Purtell says: “There’s alot of evidence that fast-food con-sumption is linked to childhoodobesity, but the problems don’tend there. Relying too much onfast food could hurt how wellchildren do in the classroom.

We’re not saying thatparents should never feed theirchildren fast food, but these re-

sults suggest fast-food consumption shouldbe limited as much as possible.” Although theresearchers say they are unable to say exactlywhy fast-food consumption in fifth grade ap-peared to affect test scores in eighth grade,they note that other studies have indicated thatfast food lacks nutrients associated with cog-nitive development, such as iron.

Furthermore, they say that previous re-search has linked high-fat and high-sugardiets to impaired memory and learning skills.Earlier this month, Medical News Todayreported on a study claiming children bornwith a low birth weight may have pooreracademic outcomes than heavier newborns.

Fast-food consumption in childrenlinked to poorer academic outcomes

Staff members of Turkish Embassy, donating blood during a ceremony organized by theEmbassy in coordination with Turkish Red Crescent, in memory of the victims of PeshawarIncident.—PO photo

Children of Sweet Home chanting slogans in support of Armed Forces during a ceremony to mark ‘Solidarity Day withPak Armed Forces’.

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D —Lite ra rycircles acknowledged thevaluable contribution ofParveen Shakir in Urdu lit-erature and paid glowing trib-utes on her 20th death anni-versary on Friday.

Parveen Shakir was bornon November 24, 1952 inKarachi. She was highly edu-cated with two masters de-grees, one in English litera-ture and one in linguistics.She also held a Ph.D and an-other masters degree in BankAdministration.

She was a teacher for nineyears before she joined theCivil Service and worked inthe Customs department. In1986 she was appointed thesecond secretary, CBR inIslamabad.

Talking to media, Promi-nent literary figure, Professor,Fateh Muhammad Malik saidthe first poetic collection ofParveen Shakir astonished theliterary circles in the countryand they were surprised by riseof a new personality on thehorizon of literature.

He said unfortunately shelost her life in a car accident

when she was at the peak ofher career and about to makehuge contribution.

He said although herwork remained incomplete butwhatever she has contributedis of immense importance andwould remain alive in thehearts and minds of literaturelovers.

Parveen Shakir was an in-tellectual and a gifted poetessand she enriched the literaturewith her unique collection andexpertise in the art of poetry,Malik said.

Chairperson ParveenShakir Trust, Parveen Qadir

Agha said the trust was estab-lished after the death ofParveen Shakir by her closefriends with the objectives topromote, preserve and protecther works and look after herminor son.

The trust arranges QuranKhwani and a function everyyear to mark her death anni-versary. Similarly, a functionwould be arranged on Satur-day (December 27) to pay trib-ute to her contribution, shesaid.

About her poetry, she saidher poetry was not confined toa single issue but she touched

variety of issues. Her poetrycarried universal thoughtsand ideas and was for thepeople of all ages.

The first book ofParveen Shakir was‘Khushboo’ which won theAdamjee award.Later shewas awarded the Pride ofPerformance award, whichis the highest award given bythe Pakistan government.

On December 26,1994, on her way to work,her car collided with atruck and the world ofmodern Urdu poetry lostone of its brightest stars.

Chairperson Parveen Shakir Trust Parveen Qadir Agha and others, offering Fateha on thegrave of renowned poet Parveen Shakir after Quran Khawani, on her 20th Death Anniver-sary, at Old Graveyard, Islamabad.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Parveen Shakir’s contribution to literature acknowledged

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—An exhibition showcasing Is-lamic calligraphy by a Chinese acclaimed artistkicked off here at Gallery6 on Friday. Compris-ing a total of 27 calligraphic works, the exhibi-tion titled, “Revered calligraphy by Chinese”,displays rare artworks from the collection ofAsad Raza, who is a US-based collector andconsultant on Islamic Arts.

According to Raza, He has been collectingthe artworks for the last three decades, his sev-eral trips to China and networking opportuni-ties with prominent calligraphers and ChineseIslamic forums enabled him to compile thischarming collection.

These calligraphy frames displayed on thewalls of gallery, were varied in sizes from smallpieces to very large sizes and had beautiful silkborders in different colours—white, yellow,green and red. Many of these artworks arepainted by the leading 85 years old Chinese

Muslim calligrapher, Haji Abdul Hakim, whoseChinese name is Haji Liu Jingyi. He is chair-man of Chifeng Islam Association and ‘imam’of the mosque of Chifeng.

Imam Hakim was attracted to the art of cal-ligraphy since childhood and he started study-ing Chinese calligraphy under the famous Chi-nese calligrapher Guo Zhenduo. He initially ac-quired a solid foundation in Chinese calligra-phy techniques and skills. But, when he was ateenager, he became attracted to Islamic callig-raphy and became student of one of the mostfamous Arabic calligraphers in the Eastern partof China, Imam Cao Jinzao. Hakim’s ability tolearn the skills of calligraphic writing in Chi-nese and Arabic helped him to produce workthat gained international appreciation.

He began his work by using the traditionalChinese method (i.e. the Chinese brush) to writeArabic calligraphy in the Sini style. But soon hestarted using the common reed pen and woodenspatula in his works also.

Islamic calligraphy exhibitionby Chinese artist kicks off

RAZA UR REHMAN

ISLAMABAD—The Capital DevelopmentAuthority (CDA) will complete develop-ment activities in its unique housingproject of Park Enclave in stipulated time.The housing project will be equipped withall state-of-the-art facilities.

Chairman CDA, Maroof Afzal saidthis during a high level meeting held hereat CDA Headquarters on Friday. Themeeting reviewed the progress about thedevelopment activities in Park EnclaveProject.

On this occasion Member Adminis-tration and Estate, Amer Ali Ahmed,Member Engineering, Shahid Sohail,Project Director Park Enclave HousingProject and officers of concerned forma-tions of the Authority were also present.

Chairman CDA, Maroof Afzal expressedhis satisfaction over the ongoing devel-opment activities in Park Enclave and saidthat a large number of applicants are par-ticipating in the balloting of plots in ParkEnclave as the development work con-tinue in the housing project with pace.

He said that people are taking keeninterest in Park Enclave Housing Project,which shows their full confidence inCDA. He said that CDA is providing op-portunities to the public, particularly tothe overseas Pakistanis to participate inthe balloting of plots in Park Enclave,adding that CDA has extended the datefor balloting of plots so that the peopleget the opportunity to apply for plots inthe luxurious housing project.

Chairman CDA was apprised thatCDA has received resounding response

from the public for plots in Park Enclave.He directed the Project Director Park En-clave to personally supervise the devel-opment activities and submit progressreport on daily basis so that the develop-ment could be completed within due timeto hand over the possession of plots tothe successful allottees of Park Enclave.Project Director Park Enclave apprisedthe Chairman CDA, that developmentactivities in Park Enclave Housing Projectare at full swing and 40 percent of earthwork has been completed.

He said that construction work on twounderground and two overhead watertanks is in progress. He further informedthe Chairman CDA that there are 44 smalland large roads in Park Enclave HousingProject, adding that work on 33 roads isin progress simultaneously.

He informed that boundary wallaround the Park Enclave has been com-pleted; however, work on constructionof check posts at four sites along theboundary wall is also in progress to en-sure foolproof security of residents ofPark Enclave. While construction workon culvert has also been initiated, headded. CDA is developing Park EnclaveHousing Project at the cost ofRs.1240.00 million, which includes con-struction of major roads, service roads,installation of streetlight, construction offootpaths, drainage system, water sup-ply lines and its network, sewerage sys-tem, construction of small and largebridges and electrification work. Theconstruction work on boundary linearound the Park Enclave Housing Projecthas already been completed.

Development of Park Enclave tobe completed in stipulated time

Joint initiativefor promotion of

research inIslamic world

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Dr. AminahObaid Ramadha Al Hijri, DeputyDirector General, Islamic Edu-cational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (ISESCO), Mo-rocco called on Prof. Dr. MukhtarAhmed, Chairman, Higher Edu-cation Commission (HEC) atCommission’s Secretariat on Fri-day. Both sides discussed jointinitiatives for promotion of re-search in the Islamic world aswell as steps to encourage re-search linkages between differ-ent Islamic countries.

The Chairman HEC em-phasized that developing hu-man resource was of utmostimportance for the Islamicworld.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed saidthat HEC was striving to fur-ther increase the access rate toinstitutions of higher learning,improve quality, equity and rel-evance of research to impactthe common man.

He further said that HECwas facilitating thousands ofPhD scholars in other countriesas well as in Pakistan. Heshared with the visitor the Pa-kistan Education Research Net-work (PERN) which was in-strumental in pushing forwardand facilitating research andvideo conference system whichenabled global lecture seriesamong meetings where traveltime and expense was beingcurtailed. Dr. Aminah ObaidRamadha Al Hijri appreciatedthe performance of HEC anddevelopment of Pakistan’shigher education sector in ashort span of time.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The pleasant season ofAutumn - an interval between summer andwinter is welcoming the fall hues in theair of Federal Capital to display vibrancyof eye-catching burnt colors throughglimpses of nature. The month of Decem-ber is usually referred in literature as aperiod with feelings of sadness and for-lorn attitude, perhaps owing to the combi-nation of autumn and winter, as both areintrinsic part of the this month.

Nostalgia grips every indi-vidual during the course of theseasonal transformation. Theseason typically begins in No-vember and brings pleasantchange in weather before win-ter that fill the air with autumnin a beautiful way of nature.

With changes in weather,plants start changing their colorand introduce a variety of eye-catching shades which alsogive unusual feelings to mood.“The season creates a majesticeffect on moods and is consid-ered as an enchanting attractionfor artists, poets and nature lov-ers to discover and explore thebeauty of nature,” said an artstudent who takes fall seasonas his inspiration to paint na-ture.

The most attracting thing in

this season is the phenomenon when plantschange their colors - black tone of greensand browns while reddish touch in rust,ocher and yellows depict the awesomecharm of the season with vibrant displayof colors.

“People don’t think much about leavesuntil autumn whispers in the air revealingthe multitude of colors that emerge fromwhat was previously a plain green back-ground,” said Nazish, a student of Pho-tography while talking to reporter.

Fall in the air offers a crispness to themorning air and sharper shadows as theangle of the sun starts to change and daysbecome shorter with various signs ofchange in the season.

“Walking on dry leaves with crispysounds provide an amazing feeling whichis considered as the best feature of the sea-son near autumn lovers,” she said. “Itfreshens the mood while looking somelively colors that nature offers for a lim-ited period,” she added.

Burnt colours’ autmn huesfloat in capital city

A view of fallen leaves on the road due to autumn season in federal capital.

06:25 01:3003:45

07:00

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

Fire fighters trying to control fire which erupted at Awan-e-Sir Syed on Friday.Chairman of PRCS Dr. Saeed Elahi and Chief Executive RMS Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq TI with participants of firstaid training programme organized by Roots Millennium School.

Artists presenting a stage play ‘Hum Aik Hain’ in connection with Quaid-I-Azam Day at Rawalpindi Arts Council.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The civil society leaders,writers, intellectuals, representatives ofhuman rights bodies, traders and com-mon people have fully supported theNational Action Plan worked out by thecivil and military leadership to com-pletely root out menace of terrorism fromthe country. The top political and mili-tary leadership during the longest meet-ing displayed absolute unity and de-vised a comprehensive strategy withconsensus to combat terrorism and ex-tremism.

Talking to media here on Friday, So-cial Activist and Gender Expert, Dr FouziaSaeed said it was good omen for thecountry that the present governmentand military leadership were in harmonyand coordination and held joint effortsto combat terrorism.

“The time has arrived when the gov-ernment can take even more braver stepsand citizens should back the governmentin its efforts to fight terrorism,” sheadded. Appreciating the efforts to com-pletely uproot terrorism, Chairman Pak-

China Institute, Senator MushahidHussain Sayed said that this was thereal time to implement the National Ac-tion Plan formulated to fight terrorism.

He said the nation has expressedconfidence into the present political andmilitary leadership toward pursuingstringent measures to root out terrorism.CEO, Mishal, a civil society organiza-tion, Amir Jehangir “It is a good signthat all political parties as well as mili-tary leadership are together to eliminatethe scourge of terrorism from its roots”.

“The APC would further strengthenthe democratic institutions in the coun-try and it would help out to settle downall the issues including terrorism andeconomic crisis”. Senior Representativeof Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies,Amir Rana said all the steps defined inthe Plan of Action against terrorism hadproper time frame which ensured its cred-ibility.

“The proposals made in the Plan ofAction have been incorporated withcomplete mechanism which would helpits implementation within prescribedtime,” he added. He said the Prime

Minister’s resolve to lead the war againstterrorism was in the larger interest of thecountry. He observed that the wholenation was standing together after theloss of innocent lives in Peshawar inci-dent to implement Plan of Action forfighting the menace of terrorism in letterand spirit.

Chairman of Trade DevelopmentAuthority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Pa-tron-in-Chief of United Business Group,SM Muneer said the resolve of the primeminister, chief of army staff and leadersof the major political parties had a posi-tive impact of the sentiments of the busi-ness community. “We fully back the de-cision to establish military courts andthe decision of the Chief Justice to givepreference to the terrorism relatedcases”, he said.

The stance of the present leadershipagainst terrorism has renewed hopes ofthe common citizens that their dream ofliving in a country free of extremistswould come true one day, he added.Chaudhary Jameel Ansari, a social ac-tivist, appreciated the determination ofthe Prime Minister and military leader-

ship against terrorists and called for ex-pansion of operation Zarb-e-Azb in otherparts of the country.

Eminent Educationist and Writer, DrInam-ul-Haq Javed lauded the politicaland military leadership for their sincereefforts to forge national consensus forthe counter-terrorism action plan. Pro-fessor Ehsan Akbar also expressed sat-isfaction over PM’s address and saidthat as a result of the action plantomorrow’s Pakistan would be muchsafer and peaceful.

Renowned lawyers, ChaudharyMuhammad Ashraf Gujjar said the 20-point action plan against terrorism andestablishment of special trial courts forswift disposal of terrorism cases wouldcounter the menace of terrorism. Sena-tor Zahid Khan of Awami National Party(ANP) appreciated the political and mili-tary leadership’s resolve for not allow-ing the country’s soil to be used for ter-rorism against any other country.

Zahid Khan said the entire nationwas on one page to uproot terrorism,with joint efforts. Former MNA and PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi said the action

plan would help wipe out terrorism fromthe country. The cowardly acts of ter-rorists could not frighten the nation.While appreciating the action plan, vari-ous people from different walks of life inFATA backed the decision of setting upspecial military courts to try terrorists.Human Rights Commission of PakistanCoordinator Habibul Hasan Yad, WomenRising of Pakistan Chairperson MissRaina Gul, Malik Mohammad Ayaz Khanand Hanifullah Jan Coordinator for theSociety for the Rights of Child termedthat the setting up of special militarycourts a bold and timely decision to-wards the complete elimination of ter-rorism in the country.

A number of teachers and studentsobserved that after the barbaric incidentof APS Peshawar, the government andmilitary leaders evolved a comprehen-sive strategy to root out terrorism fromthe country. While condemning the ter-rorism of its all forms, the were of theview that the government had taken rightsteps against terrorists and the wholenational stood shoulder to shoulder withthe government.

Civil society, intellectuals, writers fullysupport National Action Plan against terrorism

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—In connection with138th birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,Rawalpindi Arts Council arranged astage play “Hum aik Hain” based onnational solidarity.

The drama was written and di-rected by Aslam Mughal while SaeedAnwar, Naem Bubba, Naeem Tota,Reha Yousaf, Babar Abbas, Mehwish,Aslam Mughal, Noor, Imran, KhalilNoor and Sunny were in cast of thedrama.

Naheed Manzoor and ResidentDirector RAC Waqar Ahmed were alsopresent on the occasion.

It was the story of Pakistan from pre-partition of sub-continent to presentsituation of the country. The dramastarted with a scene of Hindu Muslimcombined society where Muslims werenot allowed to slaughter the cow.

Skirmishes between Hindus andMuslim were a routine matter due toslaughtering of cows in the sub-con-tinent then a movement for separatehomeland started by Muslims enthu-siastically under the dynamic leader-

ship of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah which resulted Pakistan.

The millions of families migratedto Pakistan in very miserable condi-tion. Pakistan was getting progresswhen India imposed war of 1965 andunity of Pakistanis was matchless dur-ing war.

Resident Director RAC WaqarAhmed said that the aim to conductdrama at RAC was to celebrate thebirth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam andto highlight the achievement of greatQuaid who gave the independent statefor muslims.

Hum aik Hain staged at RAC

RAWALPINDI—Launching operation onFriday, Rawalpindi police arrested 16 out-laws and recovered drugs, weapons, a dag-ger besides confiscating the firecrackersfrom their possession.

According to police spokesman, Banipolice arrested Adil and recovered 515 gramcharas from his possession while WarisKhan police held Suleman and recovered50 liter liquor from his custody.

Morgah police nabbed Yousaf and re-covered pistol 30 bore along 2 rounds fromhis possession. Jatli police arrested Farooqand recovered pistol 30 bore along 3 roundsfrom his possession. Kotli Syedan policeheld Kashif and recovered pistol 30 borealong 2 rounds from his possession.

16 outlaws arrested duringpolice operation

Pirwadhi police arrested Inam-Ullah and re-covered pistol 32 bore pistol along 3 roundsfrom his possession. Kalar Syedan policearrested Mubashir and recovered 32 pistol32 bore and 4 rounds from him. Kotli Sattainpolice arrested Aeer ul Hassan and recov-ered pistol 32 bore along 3 rounds from hispossession. Taxila police arrested MaroofShah and recovered rifle 12 bore along 3rounds from his possession. Ganjmandi po-lice held Sajid and recovered dagger fromhis possession. Cantt police arrested Hafeez,Asad Hamaad and Asif and recovered fire-crackers and material from their possession.

Police have registered separate casesagainst all of them and started investiga-tion.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The faithful have startedpreparations to celebrate Eid Milad-Un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him) to be held on12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, with great religiousfervour. The mosques, homes and build-ings with colourful lights and buntings arebeing decorated to express love with theHoly Prophet(PBUH).

They are also purchasing banners,badges, stickers and flags inscribed withthe slogans paying respect and reverenceto the Holy Prophet Muhammad Peace BeUpon Him (PBUH) from stalls set up at dif-ferent areas.

Naat Khawani and processions are be-ing planned by various social and religious

organizations to express devotion and paytribute to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on Hisbirth anniversary.

Banners and billboards containing in-formation about different Naat competitionsare being displayed at different entrancepoints of streets and main roads across thetwin-cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Newspapers have also started publish-ing special supplements, while televisionchannels and radio stations have startedspecial programmes since sighting of Rabiul Awwan crescent to highlight differentaspects of the life of the Holy Prophet(PBUH).

Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) admin-istration and police have also been directedto take extra security measures.

Preparations start to celebrateEid Milad un Nabi (PBUH)

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Sui Northern Gas Pipe-line Company Limited (SNGPL) is furtherupgrading the skills of its emergency at-tending teams with proper training, cour-tesy and prompt attention to consumer’scomplaints.

“The SNGPL teams are working roundthe clock to redress the complaints ofconsumers in an efficient manner particu-larly during the current peak season,”senior official of SNGPL Rawalpindi Re-gion told media.

“We have a complaint cell that wouldrespond to any information about gasleakage, theft or any other gas relatedproblem within 15 minutes in any area ofthe region,” he said. He said that due topro-active approach of the SNGPL teams,nearly 75 per cent of gas consumers com-plaints have been resolved in recentweek.

He said that for provision of betterconsumers services, the SNGPL es-tablished 42 consumer service centersto provide facilities like billing, opera-tions and sales. He said that SNGPL

also introduced a uniform PhoneNo.1199 for registration of complaints.

The official said that one window fa-cility was introduced for the consumersat consumer service centers and onlinegas complaints can also be lodged, add-ing that the gas bills were also availableon internet. The SNGPL official urged theconsumers to adopt safety measureswhile using gas appliances to avoid un-toward incidents.

He said that each year several gasrelated mishaps occur in different areas,particularly during the winter season.

SNGPL upgrades skills ofemergency attending teams

446 illegalseminaries

built in capitalISLAMABAD—446 seminarieshave been built on CapitalDevelopment Authority’s(CDA) land illegally, it hasbeen learnt relibaly.

All the land is worth ofRs 1.6 billion. Most of theseminaries are built on greenbelts in which around 22 thou-sand students are getting re-ligious education. None of itis registered in CDA and arebeing supported by peoplein the name of religious fund-ing (Sadka).

Madrassas’ in posh areasare creating security prob-lems. Most importantly, CDAis doing nothing to stop con-struction of more seminaries.Federal government directedCDA to take action against il-legal constructed seminariesbut CDA responded thatnothing can be done about it.However, CDA assured fed-eral government that no otherseminary will be built on itsterritory.—Online

Zakat recipients toget money

through easy paisaSTAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Punjab gov-ernment has decided to dis-tribute zakat among the re-cipients at district Rawalpindithrough easy paisa modefrom January, 1, 2015.

All the zakat recipientswill get Rs 3000 each in 166local zakat committees allover the district througheasy paisa. Ajab Hussain,district zakat committeechairman said that lists of allrecipients have been pre-pared and computerized.

Zakat will also be distrib-uted through easy paisa sys-tem in districts Jhelum, Attockand Chakwal. This method willsave the recipients particularlyold aged and sick from the in-convenience of makingrounds of banks. Howeverdowry amount will continueto be paid to the recipients,daughters of widows and or-phans under old system.

Closure of GBSirks citizensSTAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Green BusService (GBS), a public trans-port service plying betweenRawalpindi and Gujar Khanhas been closed down dueto non availability of gas.

The unannounced clo-sure of GBS has added to themiseries of citizens particu-larly government and pri-vate sector employees whotravel daily from Gujjar Khanto Rawalpindi and back.

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—President of the Board ofTrustees of Al Shifa Trust Lt. Gen.(Retd.)Hamid Javaid said that across Pakistannearly one in ten people is visually impaired.International statistics shows the numberof persons blind in both eyes at more thantwo million in Pakistan.

Realizing the colossal challenges of blind-ness & visual impairment, especially amongthose who were not fortunate to bear the ex-penditure for the eye checkups and treatment,Al Shifa is working hard. Keeping in view theincreasing number of eye patients the trusthas increased its number of eye camps he

added. President Al-Shifa Trust said that thehospital has treated 2590 patients in 4 differ-ent eye camps held in far-flung areas of Swatin collaboration with Pakistan Army and Al-Shifa Foundation of North America (AFNA) .

These free eye camps were organizedunder the community outreach program ofAl-Shifa Trust Centre for Community Oph-thalmology (ACCO) in the month of De-cember 2014. President AFNA (Al-ShifaFoundation of North America) Mr. TahirZafar’s active involvement made free eyecamps a great success. In this regard pro-vincial health authorities and local govt of-ficials praised the eye care services renderedby Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital.

Al-Shifa Trust treats 2590patients at free eye camps

SENSHA (AJK): Ex-member Kashmir Council and Adviser Ch. Muhammad Yaqub Khan inaugurating Capt. NathaKhan Boy’s Intermediate College at Plate Syedan on Friday.

MUZAFFARABAD: Kashmiri youth praying for the uplift of souls of Peshawar APS martyrs at Dulai Waterfall here on Friday.

NAYEEMA AHMED MAHJOOR

FRAGMENTED mandate in Jammu andKashmir has sown seeds for anotherpossible political upheaval that could

have serious repercussions on the integrity andstability of the state. Three divisions, Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh have voted for differentpolitical ideologies and seem, all three aredrifting apart from each other.

For the first time in independent India,Hindu ruling party Bhartiya Janata party hasmade inroads into the state politics and hasquickly become one of the significant stake-holders in power sharing. This electoral de-velopment, can be interpreted departure aswell, has left many to guess which party wouldopt for compromise which part of its electionagenda for the sake of cobbling for power.

Peoples Democratic Party which got 28seats in eighty seven member assembly hasemerged as the largest party. It runs short of16 members for government formationwhereas BJP has bagged 25 seats but has not

Kashmir impassebeen able to open its power account in thevalley of Kashmir. PDP, though largest, can-not make magic strength of forty four mem-bers required to form government if it allieswith Congress or National Conference. Onlychoice left is to cobble with BJP but it is notas facile as it might seem on the surface. Ithas obvious repercussions as well.

BJP has been demanding the abrogationof Art. 370 which PDP cannot compromise.BJP wants complete integration of state withIndia whereas PDP has demanded “self rule”for Jammu and Kashmir. Another stickingsnag is that BJP is not in favour of revocationof special powers for army (Afspa) whereasPDP has opposed immunity for security forcesunder disturbance act.

Further, PDP would not like to rotate chiefministerial office with its ally, that could bethe biggest irritation for BJP. Yet, keeping inview the sensitivity and the past history ofpolitical turmoil, Modi government may notpermit any type of misadventure in the valleythat could cost him stability, credibility and

development in the region.Because of his mantra of development

Modi will do utmost effort to get on boardPDP led by Mufti Mohammad Saeed who hasa political legacy and credibility in givinggood governance and integrating state withthe rest of India. Though most Indians arewary of party’s soft separatism stand but it’spolicy has never been out of the contours ofIndian constitution. In midst of all this politi-cal imbroglio, Pakistan has remained tightlipped. The country, which has too much onits plate after the brutal attack on army schoolin Peshawar, has neither questioned the In-dian stand that people of Kashmir have pre-ferred ballot over bullet provided by Pakistannor refuted the claim that the state has beenan integral part of the union of India.

There was 56% voter turnout in Fivephase election process in Jammu and Kash-mir. People did not heed boycott call of sepa-ratists who were arrested days before elec-tion process started. The reason for voting inlarge numbers this time could be to keep BJP

at bay which has fielded candidates in thevalley for the first time, most of whom lostsecurity deposits as just few cast votes to them.

The existing power pursuing scenarioemergeing in the state strongly indicates thatgovernment formation has become more com-plex than it appears to be, because it not onlyneeds magic numbers of members but lot ofsacrifice, courage, compromise and uninhib-ited considerations for the sake of integrityand stability of the state of Jammu and Kash-mir.

Every party who won more or less seatsin the recent polls is busy chiseling its strat-egy vis-a-vis alliance govt formation. ThePDP is not rushing to any pre-mature conclu-sion; it enjoys currently 28 seats margin inthe assembly of 87; some parties naturallylook to PDP as their winnable partner in par-liamentary politics in the State. Whatever maybe the outcome, parliamentary position willbe clear within next couple of days. BJP con-siders this moment a fortune falling fromabove - it has 27 seats baggage.—Email

I S L A M A B A D / A N A N T N A G — T h emother of senior pro-freedom leaderShabir Ahmed Shah passed away afterbrief illness. She was 98. Hundreds ofpeople including top pro-freedom lead-ers l ike Muhammad Yasin Malik,Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Altaf AhmedFantoosh, Pir Saifullah, MuhammadYousuf Naqash participated in her lastrites. The deceased was laid to rest ather ancestral grave yard located inKadipora Ananatnag.

Meanwhile, scores of leaders andorganizations have condoled the demiseof Habla Begum, the mother of Chair-man Hurriyat Conference Jammu andKashmir. Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has condoled the demise ofmother of senior Hurriyat leader, ShabirAhmad ShahExpressing their heartfeltcondolences with the bereaved family,the party patron, Mufti MohammadSayeed and party president, MehboobaMufti, described the deceased a respect-able social and generouspersonality.Conveying their sympathiesto Shabir Ahmad Shah and other mem-

Mother of Shabir Shahpasses away

bers of the family, the leaders prayedfor the everlasting peace of the de-ceased soul.Senior Party leaders,Muzzafar Hussain Baig, Tariq HameedKarra, Abdul Rehman Veeri, MLA-elect; Syed Altaf Bukhari, NaeemAkhtar, and others have also expressedtheir sympathies with Shabir AhmedShah.

Syed Ali Shah led Hurriyat G hasalso expressed grief over the demise ofthe mother of Shabir Ahmed Shah.Chairman Jammu Kashmir LiberationFront (JKLF) Mohammad Yasin Malikhas expressed his heartfelt grief andsorrow over the sad demise of motherof APHC JK Chairman Syed ShabirAhmad Shah. On hearing the sad newsof demise of this great lady’ Yasin sahibalong with senior leader ’s NoorMohammad kalwal and Altaf khan vis-ited Islamabad and participated in theJinaza of Mother. After the Jinaza andfurenil JKLF leader’s visited the resi-dence of the deceased and expressedsolidarity with the bereaved family.Paying rich tributes to the deceased

mother’ JKLF chairman said that thesacrifices of the deceased mother andhis family will always be remembered.Yasin Malik while praying for the heav-enly abode for the deceased mother alsoprayed for Sabr I Jamil of her bereavedfamily. Jammu Kashmir National FrontChairman and Hurriyat (JK) leaderNayeem Ahmad Khan has condoled thedeath of the mother of Freedom Partyand Hurriyat (JK) head, Shabir AhmadShah. Nayeem Ahmad Khan led a highlevel party delegation to Islamabad andparticipated in the Nimaze Jinazah ofthe deceased.

In his condolence message NayeemAhmad Khan said that the deceasedlady was a great soul who alwaysprayed for those busy in the freedomstruggle and she considered every free-dom loving youth as her son. NayeemAhmad Khan said that the deceased wasa victim of state terrorism as her hus-band is the first victim of custodial kill-ings. Her husband and Shabir Shah’sfather was martyred in custody in earlynineties.—KW

JAMMU—After the failure of Mission 44Bhartiya Janata Party top gun, Arun Jaitley istrying to execute Dirty Plan aiming to buy thesupport of non-BJP legislators with the authori-zation of party president Amit Shah to take fi-nal call on formation of a new government inthe state, reports reveal Friday.Soon after having a close-door meeting with thenewly elected legislators of the party, Jaitley toldreporters in Jammu that there are many optionsfor the BJP to form the new government inJammu and Kashmir.

“I have personally talked to all elected leg-islators and taken their opinion about who shouldbe the leader of Legislative Assembly,” he saidand added that, “PDP has slightly more seatsthan us, but popular vote is with the BJP.” Heasserted adding “BJP had the best strike rate inJammu and Kashmir assembly elections and asfar the formation of a government in the state isconcerned, the party legislators have authorizedthe central leadership to decide. Jaitley said thatthe people’s mandate shows that the BJP mustbe a part of the government” and that towardsachieving this goal the BJP will try to win the

BJP out to disruptpolls outcome

support of independent or “unattached” legisla-tors.When asked what he discussed with the legisla-tors in the closed door meeting, Jaitley said that,“all of them discussed all the relevant issues in-cluding government formation in a hung Houseand who the leader should be in the new Houseand what role the party would be adopted.” Heclaimed there was a consensus that governmentshould be formed and which benches the partyshould occupy.

He however, added that whoever forms thegovernment, BJP will have a crucial role to playin view of the fact that it has the highest ‘popu-lar’ vote in the elections. “We will go with threeprinciples based on national and state interest.They are: strengthening of national sovereignty,development, and regional balance.” Asked whatwould by the party’s strategy towards achiev-ing what appears to be difficult if not unattain-able for it, Mr. Jaitley said, “Whether to waitand watch or be active, we will not talk aboutthe strategy to the media.” He added there wereno two opinions among the MLAs on the strat-egy to be adopted.—KW

JAMMU—“Where is the concept of ‘veto power’in the Constitution which a Senior Advocate andUnion Minister has kept in store to be used in theformation of a government in J&K? This is adangerous trend which BJP-led government atthe Centre has evolved to mull a democratic sys-tem in J&K.” Reacted Bhim Singh. Chief Patronof National Panthers Party this morning fromNew Delhi. He reminded Mr. Arun Jaitley thatMr. Modi had asked vote for himself for devel-opment whereas each state in the Union has itsshare in financial support for development.

Gujarat could not have developed as Mr.Modi claimed that Gujarat is most developedstate, in Central government of that time whenhe was the Chief Minister have not releasedfunds to the state for the purpose of develop-ment. He was the opposition Chief Minister for15 years in the state. He said whether it is Gujarator Madhya Pradesh or Punjab, all states shareCentral funds in their own right so there is noth-ing special so far as J&K is concern.

Outside pressure amounts toveto power: Bhim Singh

The State-Centre relationship whether on fi-nancial side or political are based on the constitu-tional relationship as they do not exist on the mercyof the Union government. He said that threateningto use veto power would mean that Mr. Jaitley istrying to convey that they can make or unmakeany government in J&K no matter where is themandate and with whom. Such a statement is threatto democracy. This is out of sheer frustration ofMr. Modi as he failed to reach his Mission 44+. Itwas not the mission of BJP as Mr. Modi had askedvote for himself not for the BJP.

Prof.Bhim Singh asked Prime MinisterModi how shall he justify forming a coalitiongovernment with NC or with PDP when he hadasked the voters to throw out (jar se ukhar do)father and son as well as father and daughterfrom power in the interest of democracy. Claim-ing that Centre has veto power over states andcan intervene in formation of a government is adirect attack on democracy and free of WILL ofIndian people.—KW

SRINAGAR—Outgoing Kashmir chief min-ister Omar Abdullah has ruled out that hisparty National Conference was in touch withright wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya JantaParty to form government in the state.Omar’s response came on a day speculationsmade round that he met the BJP chief AmitShah in New Delhi and deliberated over thegovernment formation. “So many storiesdoing the rounds about a BJP-NC deal. Letme say this as strongly as possible - THEREIS NO DEAL NOR ANY DISCUSSION go-ing on (sic),” he wrote on the microbloggingwebsite Twitter.

The 44-year-old had offered his supportto the Peoples Democratic Party which man-aged to win 28 seats in the local governmentelections the results of which were declaredon Tuesday but with a rider that the partyheaded by former chief minister MuftiMohammad Syeed should ask for support.In another Tweet, he wrote: “I hope some-one from the PDP/BJP/Cong steps up &forms a government in J&K quickly. Deny-ing stupid rumours is fast becoming a fulltime job.”

The BJP made historic gains and won 25seats, but all in Hindu majority Jammu re-gion. In Kashmir, the saffron party failed toopen an account and all but one of 34 of theparty candidates lost security deposit. TheBJP also ruled out that a meeting took placebetween Omar and Shah.

Scotching speculation that it may support

No deal nor any discussionwith BJP: Omar

BJP in forming a new government in Kash-mir, a senior National Conference (NC)leader had tonight ruled out such a possibil-ity citing fundamental differences betweenthe two parties.

The comments by the leader came as BJP,the second largest party in the incoming 87-member Assembly, first explored the optionof tying up with NC which has 15 MLAs.The leadership of the two parties is believedto have held discussions which made noheadway.

The Jammu-based NC leader, who ruledout the tie-up, made it clear that his partyhad strong fundamental differences with BJPand that the possibility of NC joining handswith the saffron was “next to nil”.

BJP sources said that talks between theNational Conference and the BharatiyaJanata Party had hit a major roadblock be-cause of the BJP’s insistence on having aHindu chief minister.

The National Conference, the sourcessaid, was ready to support and even join aBJP-led coalition on the condition that theBJP gives up its demand for a Hindu chiefminister.At the same time, the PDP, while keepingits options open vis-a-vis the BJP, had sentfeelers to Sajad Lone that he could be adeputy chief minister if he supported a PDP-Congress coalition, the sources said. SajadLone’s People’s Conference has won twoseats.—KD

SRINAGAR—Amid uncertainty over governmentformation in J&K in the wake of fractured man-date that the elections delivered, the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) is in the process of pre-paring an “agenda” which it would place beforeother political parties before forming any alliance.

Informed sources said the PDP was “not in ahurry” to stake claim to the Government forma-tion. “We respect people’s mandate and faith re-posed by people in the party,” they said. The As-sembly election results threw up a hung assem-bly in J&K with PDP emerging single largestparty with 28 members followed by BhartiyaJantaParty’s 25. The National Conference and Con-gress bagged 15 and 12 seats respectively.

Sources privy to the developments said givethe “vague scenario” which has come to the foreafter the poll results, the PDP has decided tocome up with an “agenda keeping in viewpeoples’ aspirations” and put it before differentpolitical parties who are willing to come togetherwith the party (PDP) to form the next govern-

PDP shaping up an alliance agenda

Mufti should beallowed to formState govt: Soz

SRINAGAR—Jammu & KashmirState Congress president Profes-sor Saif-u-Din Soz has said that,“it is a worrying situation in whichcertain power hungry –politicalgroups and individuals are tryingto subvert the democratic verdictof the people in the just concludedelection to the J&K LegislativeAssembly.” He said that as iscommon knowledge and percep-tion, a suave, experienced and for-ward-looking politician like MuftiMohammad Sayeed should beallowed to lead a Coalition Gov-ernment in the State with the sup-port of other likeminded partiesor groups. He added that wayalone the people’s verdict wouldtruly be respected. In a statementto CNS, Professor Saif-u-Din Sozsaid that J&K State has experi-enced blackest periods of its re-cent history through armed mili-tancy and very recent devastatingfloods that left thousands ofpeople homeless and needy.

“It is a time when a Govern-ment should be at the helm to re-construct the economy, rehabili-tate a suffering mass of people andensure governance that brings re-lief in the hearts and minds of thepeople.” Soz said that the RSS-BJP leadership would be well-advised to resist the temptation ofcobbling a coalition that onlydeepens the polarization on reli-gious and regional considerations,which is, to say the least, detri-mental to the integrity of theState.“The RSS-BJP leadershipshould also appreciate the sensi-tivity of this border—KW

Kashmirisresolve tocontinuestruggle

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kash-mir, the Chairman of All PartiesHurriyet Conference, MirwaizUmar Farooq has reaffirmed theKashmiris’ resolve to continuethe ongoing liberation movementtill they achieve their inalienableright to self-determination.

The APHC Chairman ad-dressing a big gathering at theKhanqah of Naqashband Sahibin Srinagar, today, said that since1947 the Kashmiris had beenrendering sacrifices for securingtheir inalienable right and not forfarcical elections and formationof puppet administrations. Hesaid that the Hurriyet Conferencewould continue its efforts on po-litical and diplomatic fronts tillthe lingering dispute was settledin accordance with theKashmiris’ aspirations.

The veteran Hurriyetleader, Syed Ali Gilani, ad-dressing a gathering atHyderpora Jamia mosque inSrinagar said that holding ofthe so-called elections in theterritory could not affect theinternationally-recognizeddisputed status of Jammu andKashmir.—KMS

JAMMU—The BhartiyaJanataParty (BJP), which is making adesperate bid to form its first-evergovernment in Jammu and Kash-mir, is likely to name Dr NirmalSingh or Dr Jitender Singh as itsLegislative Party leader. Party in-siders told Greater Kashmir thatthe meeting of BJP’s newly-elected MLAs which was con-vened here late Thursday byUnion Finance Minister ArunJaitely, National General Secre-taries, Ram Madhav and ArunSingh, to elect Legislative leaderof the party remained inconclu-sive. “There was clear divisionamong the members on electingthe leader of the party,” they said,adding, “In view of the lack ofunanimity, the central leaderscalled each of the 25 MLAs indi-vidually to know their views.”They added, “The announcement

Nirmal, Jitendra BJP’sfrontrunners

ment in J&K. “The agenda will talk about theroad ahead to achieve political stability in J&Kand ensure its economic independence. Therewill be an emphasis on resuming the dialogueprocess between New Delhi and Islamabad formoving ahead on larger Kashmir issue and work-ing towards achieving breakthrough on differ-ent contentious issues,” sources revealed.

In this regard, the PDP has tasked an internalcommittee to frame the agenda which may also bemade public before the party moves ahead on anypossible alliance. “We are for an inclusive govern-ment and welfare of all regions of the state. Wealso respect the mandate that Jammu has thrownup,” said a senior party member. “Our larger con-cern is to take all the regions of the state along andaddress the political and economic aspirations.”

Soon after the election results were out onTuesday, the PDP President Mehbooba Muftisaid her party would explore “all options tochoose the best possible one” for governmentformation which would take time.—GK

of party’s Legislative leader whichwas to be made today was there-fore delayed and the final call willnow be taken by the nationalpresident, Amit Shah within a dayor two.” A newly-elected MLA,who attended the meeting atHariNiwas, said: “The centralleaders have taken our views re-garding our choice of the Legis-lative leader as also the Chief Min-ister, in case the party forms thegovernment.”

Meanwhile, party insiderssaid Dr Nirmal Singh andDrJitendra Singh are frontrunnersfor the LP leadership. “Althoughothers including State Presidentand Member Parliament (MP),Jugal Kishore Sharma, and formerMayor Kavider Gupta were infray, DrNirmal Singh and JitendraSingh emerged as frontrunners,”they said.—GK

And fifth, we willchampion small

businesses,America’s engine

of job growth. Thatmeans reducing

taxes on business,not raising them. Itmeans simplifyingand modernizingthe regulationsthat hurt small

business the most.And it means that

we must rein in theskyrocketing costof healthcare by

repealing andreplacing

Obamacare.

—Mitt Romney

Pak forex$15.09805bStaff ReporterKARACHI—Total liquidforeign reserves of thecountry increased todollars 15.09805 billion,said State Bank ofPakistan (SBP). Accord-ing to SBP’s weeklystatement here onThursday, the foreignreserves held by StateBank on December 19,amounted $ 10.36406billion and the netforeign reserves held byother bank were $4.73309 billion. Duringthe week ending Dec. 19,SBP’s liquid foreignreserves increased by $1.018 million to $ 10.365billion compared to $9.347 billion of theprevious week. Over theweek, SBP received $1.221 billion frommultilateral, bilateral andother sources whichinclude $ 1.051 billionreceived from Interna-tional Monetary Fund(IMF) under EFF.

Shipping activityat Port QasimKARACHI—Five shipscarrying containers,chemical, general cargoand sun flower seedsberthed at Qasim Interna-tional Containers TerminalMulti Purpose Terminal,FAP Terminal and EngroVopak Terminal respec-tively. Meanwhile towships carrying containersalso arrived at outeranchorage of Port Qasimduring last 24 hours. Berthoccupancy was 75% at theport on Friday where eightships namely MordicHong Kong, DynamicOcean, Atlantic Gloyr,HHL Amur, Annk Jersti,GSN Unity, Al Salam II andOcean Coral are currentlyoccupying berths to load/offload containers, cement,chemical, g.cargo, sunflower seed, LPG, diesel oiland edible oil respectivelyduring last 24 hours.—APP

108 profiteers finedRs0.55mKARACHI—City adminis-tration has fined 108retailers of Rs 0.55 millionand arrested five other forfleecing citizens andviolating the officiallyapproved price lists ofedible items, said a KarachiCommissioner office’sspokesman on Friday.Sharing details of theaction taken againstprofiteers, hoarders andadulterators by theassistant commissionersand magistrates duringpast 24 hours, the officialsaid 38 milk sellers, 11green grocers, 48 grocers,6 fruit sellers and 6 chickensellers were challanedduring the exercise. Thespokesman mentioned thatdespite being a holiday themarkets remained openedon Thursday and theadministration pertainingto different districts in thecity ensured to keep a vigilso as to protect the rightsof consumers regardingprice as well as quality offood goods.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Pakistan Association of Automo-tive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers(PAAPAM), criticized the Customs for reducingvaluation of Chinese motorcycle parts even be-low the rates of raw materials for commercial im-porters, and said that such arbitrary valuation rul-ings have been targeting the very survival of theauto parts industry. The Chairman MohammadSiddique Misri, in a recent letter written to Direc-tor General of Customs Valuation, observed thatthe new Import Trade Prices in ruling No. 685/2014regarding motorcycle parts of China has been re-duced by huge margins for commercial importers,which is detrimental to the local industry of partsmanufacturers.

The valuation ruling was issued without invit-ing PAAPAM or any of its members, the majorstakeholders of the auto sector, to the hearing,

Customs valuation rulings hit auto parts industry: PAAPAMwhich is clear violation of the rules, he added. Heasked Director General of Customs Valuation towithhold the implementation of ruling No. 685/2014and call an immediate hearing of all the stakehold-ers, including Pakistan Association of Automo-tive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers at theearliest.

Although 3 months have passed since therequest, no hearing has been convened by thecustoms authorities. PAAPAM Senior ViceChairman Mumshad Ali said that the auto partsmanufacturing (APM) industries employ morethan 2,000,000 highly skilled workforce, whichis around 95% of the total manpower employedin auto industry. During the last 15 years, theAPM sector has come a long way in terms ofacquiring technologies to manufacture a widerange of hi-tech products not only for domesticindustry but also catering for export market. Thelocalization levels achieved so far by this in-

dustry are 55 - 70% for passenger cars, over90% for motorcycles & tractors and 40% in caseof trucks & buses.

Mumshad said that ever-increasing smug-gling and under-invoicing of auto parts and ac-cessories is already severely affecting the busi-ness of local manufacturers of spare parts be-sides causing losses of billions of rupees to thenational exchequer. He said that arbitrary Cus-toms valuation rulings of imports by customsauthorities were turning the country into a trad-ing hub by favouring commercial importers onthe one hand and, on the other hand, adverselyaffecting collection of federal taxes at the im-port stage. PAAPAM vice chairman IftikharAhmad pointed out that the low valuation ofimports is already showing declining trends insales tax, withholding tax, Customs duty andFederal Excise Duty on imported items during2013-14 and the major reasons for lower revenue

collections was the absence of foolproof mecha-nism for accurate assessment of duties and taxesat the import stage.

PAAPAM office-bearers suggested that a spe-cial committee consisting of officials from FBR,Engineering Development Board, representativesof PAMA and PAAPAM be formed to suggestmeasures for eradication of this malpractice, andfor ending the influence of commercial importers,in order to safeguard the country’s revenue col-lections. PAAPAM fully supports availability ofquality goods at economical prices for the con-sumers in Pakistan, but its solution does not lie induty reductions through arbitrary valuations, atthe cost of government revenues and the indus-trial base of the country. In the end, ChairmanPAAPAM appealed to Honourable Chairman, FBR,that he should kindly direct the DG Customs Valu-ation to immediately call a hearing for re-consider-ing the above Ruling immediately.

Meeting on LPGair mix plants for

BalochistanSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Jam KamalKhan, Minister of State forPetroleum and Natural Re-sources, had a meeting withMD SSGC and their team toreview the status of plantsproposed for Balochistanremaining areas, the firstplant will inshallah soon beinstalled in Awaran townand the preliminary workingon others will be completedsoon. Surveys of all siteshave been done and con-cerned DCs have been toldin written to identify lands.The Minister instructed theauthorities that estimates bereviewed and seen properly assome parta were showing highnumbers. Government shallgive these plants in all districtsof Balochistan, which do nothave gas in their respectivedistrict headquarters and insecond phase major towns.Jam Kamal Khan over viewedthe matters and instructed theMD to speed up remainingworks and processes so thatthere be a proper start.”

JCR-VIS reaffirmsFSR of First Habib

Cash FundSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—JCR-VIS CreditRating Company Limited hasreaffirmed the fund stabilityrating (FSR) of First HabibCash Fund (FHCF) at ‘AA (f)’(Double A (f)). The previousrating action was announcedon November 20,2013, said apress release here on Friday.FHCF is an open-end moneymarket fund; in line with itscategorization. Exposure tovarious sources of risks hasbeen maintained at low endof the risk Spectrum, both bypolicy and actual asset allo-cation. The fund is mandatedto hold at least 60% of assetsin Treasury Bills while remain-ing assets are subject to mini-mum raring of ‘AA’.

The fund’s constitutivedocuments also limitWeighted Average Maturity(WAM) at 90 days. Actualasset allocation has re-mained conservative withaverage exposure to Trea-sury Bills having been main-tained at 89% during FY14.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Poultry Association(PPA) here on Friday stressed the need fordetermining the price control mechanism forpoultry products in order to control anyundue hike in its rates. “There is no forcebut few wholesellers in the market, whodetermine the poultry prices of there on inthe twins cities of Islamabad andRawalpindi.” “A few people are determin-ing the poultry products prices in the mar-ket, which is against the consumers rightsand new price control mechanism to facili-tate the people is need of hour”, ChairmanPakistan Poultry Association (PPA) DrHassan Sarosh told media here on Friday.

He said that the recent hike in poultryproducts prices was temporary and it wouldgradually come down by mid of January2015 and demand and supply situation be-comes balanced. Dr Hassan said that theprices of poultry products have increasedin the twin cities and the price of live chickenin the retail market has reached Rs.170 perkilo and same as eggs in Rs.118 per dozen.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—A delegation of Pakistan Kisan Ittehad ledby i ts Central PresidentKhalid Mehmood Khokharmet Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif,here today and thanked himfor resolving problems offarmers on priori ty basis .The members of the delega-tion while paying tributes toShahbaz Sharif on immedi-ate steps for abolishing ex-port duty on potato and re-solving other problems saidthat the Chief Minister haswon the hearts of farmersby resolving their problemson priority basis. President Pakistan Kisan Ittehad,

Concrete strategy in vogue topromote agri economy: Shahbaz

ISLAMABAD: Vendors displaying and arranging dry fruits variety to attract the cus-tomers at their shop.

He said that due to cold weather conditionsin Northern part of the country, most of thefarmers closed down their poultry farms,which resulted in shortage of the product”,adding that due to less supply and moredemand the prices went up.

He added that the winter season startedand due to recent cold waves resulted inhigh demand of the eggs. Chairman PPAsaid marriage seasons and Christmas alsocontributed in the hike of poultry products.Meanwhile, Secretary General, PPA DrBashir Mahmood said that because of thebad market situation, poultry chickensprices increased in capital cities and de-mand and supply problem is also cause ofhigh prices. He said that current energy cri-ses in the country was also cause of lessproduction, adding the increase in pricesof poultry feeds and medicines also effectedthe chicken rate in last couple of weeks.Replying to a question, he said that all thematters to be resolved with the consulta-tion of all the stakeholders and “we wouldalso consult the government in this regard”, he added.

PPA stresses for pricecontrol mechanism AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Heavy fog and bad weatherin Punjab led to diversion and cancella-tion of a number of PIA flights duringlast couple of days. This lead to over-crowding and violence at airports & ter-minals. PIA Management & staff offersuncondit ional apology to our valuedpassengers for the inconvenience andin-comfort due to cancellation and ordiversion of flights unforeseen. Chair-man PIA Nasser Jaffer took serious noteof this chaos at airports and assignedsenior executives to be present at termi-

KARACHI—Pakistan Petroleum Limited(PPL), announced another gas and con-densate discovery at its ex-ploration well Faiz X-1 lo-cated in District Sanghar,Sindh. PPL is the operator ofGambat South Block with 65percent working interest(WI) along with its joint ven-ture partners GovernmentHoldings (Private) Limitedand Asia Resources Oil Lim-ited with 25 percent and 10 percent WI,respectively,

This is the sixth discovery in the block,says a PPL statement issued here on Fri-day. It said that the exploration well FaizX-1 was spud on October 17, 2014 andreached final depth of 3,564 meters onDecember 1, 2014. Based on wire line logs,

PPL announces sixthdiscovery in Gambat South

potential hydrocarbon bearing zoneswere identified in the Basal Sand of Lower

Goru Formation, which areunder testing. Initial testingflowed 2,100 barrels per day(bbl/d) condensate and11.05 MMscfd gas at 40/64inches choke size, thus con-firming the presence of con-densate and natural gas atFaiz X-1.

This discovery willtranslate into approximately

4,030 bbl/d in oil equivalent and foreignexchange saving of USD 282,000 per day.The well is being flowed at different chokesizes to measure condensate and gas flowrates, following completion of which ac-tual flow potential of the well will be de-termined.—APP

Heavy fog disrupts PIA flightsnals round the clock to solve the pas-sengers problems and rebuild the cred-ibility of National Flag carrier.

Chairman PIA also directed to revampthe Human Resource at operating level totackle and facilitate the valued passengersat their satisfaction. PIA regrets the incon-venience caused to its passengers at air-ports due to flights delayed, diversion andor cancellation because of the thick fog inPunjab. PIA Management reaffirmed to ex-tend highest degree of passenger servicesto overcome their calamities and difficul-ties and ensures to provide comforts andconvenience to its passengers.

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Warid Telecom, Pakistan’smost trusted and innovative mobile ser-vice provider proudly announces the of-ficial launch of LTE services in Pakistan.Starting from yesterday,Warid customers are able toenjoy 7 days of free cus-tomer trials of LTE servicesin Lahore, Islamabad,Rawalpindi, Karachi,Faisalabad and Gujranwala.Warid has always takengreat pride on putting itsconsumers first; to this end, the companyhas always focused on introducing inno-vative and creative services to its cus-tomers. The company’s focus on excep-tional services has brought it great ac-claim for amazing customer care, excep-tional network quality, transparency, andinnovation in products and services.With the introduction of 4G services inPakistan, Warid has maintained its posi-tion as the leading innovator by launch-ing LTE technology in the country. Thismakes Warid Telecom Pakistan’s first op-erator to transform from 2G to LTE tech-nology.

To ensure that the company contin-ues to offer its users the most advancedtechnologies, Warid is investing aroundUS$500 million over the next five years toexpand its network across the country.Warid has a reputation for using only the

Warid Telecom launchesLTE services in Pakistan

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Abundant investment and busi-ness opportunities are available in varioussectors of Qatar including infrastructure,tourism, pharmaceutical and health- care forPakistani businessmen. Ahmed Hussainhead of six-member delegation from Qatarsaid this while speaking at the Lahore Cham-ber of Commerce & Industry here Friday.He said that Qatar was also in dire need ofskilled manpower as Pakistan could earnhuge foreign exchange through exportingskilled manpower to Qatar. He said thatQatar also needs Pakistan’s help in educa-tion, health and engineering sectors.

Ahmed Hussain said that a single coun-try exhibition had been designed for Pakistanibusinessmen in Qatar by the end of March2015 and we would like to request Pakistanicompanies to take part in the exhibition toestablish close contacts with their counter-parts. He stressed the need to develop ascreening mechanism. Speaking on the occa-

Pakistani businessmen urgedto invest in Qatar

sion, the LCCI President Ijaz A.Mumtaz saidthat despite the fact that Pakistan and Qatarare members of Organization of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) and also have close friendlyand cooperative relations but these pro-longed ties do not reflect in bilateral economicrelations. He said that from 2012 to 2013, mu-tual trade has been decreased from USD 425million to USD 243 million.

He said that Pakistan’s exports to Qatarwere consistently declining. In 2011, thevolume of total exports to Qatar was USD115.4 million, which dropped to USD 79 mil-lion in 2012 and remained the same in 2013.LCCI President said that the Lahore Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry was readyto play an effective role to promote tradeand economic cooperation between the twocountries. He said that Pakistani construc-tion companies which if provided properinformation can evaluate Qatar as a poten-tial market. Likewise Qatar can benefit fromcheap and abundant labour available inPakistan for this purpose.

very best of telecoms technologies; con-tinuing in this tradition, Warid has se-lected Ericsson, the world leader in LTE/wireless broadband technology, as itssole technology partner for the rollout ofits LTE network. Commenting on the

launch, Mr. MuneerFarooqui, CEO WaridTelecom, said, “Over theyears, Warid Telecom hasdeveloped a reputation forbreaking new ground inPakistan’s mobile landscape.We have always remained atthe forefront of innovation:

our decision to transform directly from2G to LTE technology is a reflection ofthis spirit of innovation.

With this move, Warid becomes the firstmobile operator in Pakistan to transformdirectly from 2G to LTE technology. Mov-ing forward to 2015 and beyond, we willcontinue to invest in premium technologiesand network infrastructure to ensure ser-vice excellence to our patrons who havealways held us close to their hearts. I amconfident that with the trust and loyalty byour customers, Warid Telecom will rise tostellar heights within this new telecomsparadigm.” Warid Telecom possessesPakistan’s largest postpaid customer base,as well as ‘Glow by Warid’ the country’sleading cellular youth brand. WaridTelecom is also committed to giving backto society via its active Corporate SocialResponsibility program.

Khalid Mehmood Khokhar said that Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif has resolved problems offarmers by taking personal interest, upon which, theyare thankful to him.

Talking to the delegation, Shahbaz Sharif said thatagriculture is the backbone of national economy andthe role of farmers is of great importance in agrieconomy. He said that Punjab government will con-tinue to take steps for the promotion of agricultureand prosperity of farmers.

The Chief Minister said that the government willensure protection of interests of farmers. He said thata concrete strategy has been adopted for promotion ofagriculture economy and development of agriculturesector. He said that effective steps have been takenfor the welfare of farmers. Provincial Minister for Agri-culture, Dr. Farrukh Javed, MPA Rana Sanaullah, MNAChaudhry Iftikhar Nazir, central office-bearers of KisanIttehad Rizwan Iqbal, Mian Farooq and others werepresent on the occasion.

Banks toremain open

late on Dec 31KARACHI—State Bank ofPakistan asked banks toopen branches concernedon December 31 till suchtime that is necessary tofacilitate special clearingonly for FBR collections.According to the SBP cir-cular issued, in terms ofFederal Board of Revenuerequest and to facilitate thecollection of Governmenttaxes, the NIFT will providespecial clearing facility onthe advice of the SBP onDecember 31, 2014(Wednesday) at 5:00 pm.

Banks are, thereforeadvised to keep theirbranches concerned openon December 31, 2014(Wednesday) till suchtime that is necessary tofacilitate special clearingonly for FBR collections,it added.—Agencies

HabibMetroBank conducts

lucky drawLAHORE—HabibMetro of-fered participants and au-dience a chance to win valu-able prizes in its brand acti-vation at the FortressSquare Mall in Lahore.Inaddition to three lucky drawprizes each day, the activa-tion offered a wide array ofgifts to all participants ofthe numerous games andactivities arranged for theaudience. Bank representa-tives were present at theactivation site to assist ex-isting customers with ser-vice management and tofacilitate customers open-ing new bank accountswith HabibMetro.—PR

Chinese sharesjump on new

business supportmeasures

S H A N G H A I — C h i n e s eshares jumped after thegovernment announcednew corporate support poli-cies aimed at boosting theeconomy, in thin trade withmost Asian markets closedfor the Christmas holiday.Shanghai jumped 3.36 per-cent, while Shenzhengained 1.44 percent. Mar-kets in Hong Kong, Aus-tralia, Singapore, NewZealand, Malaysia, SouthKorea, India, the Philippinesand Indonesia were closedfor public holidays. OtherAsian markets slipped, withTokyo shedding 0.25 per-cent, Bangkok falling 1.32percent, and Taipei losing0.3 percent. This came de-spite a positive lead fromWall Street, which edged toa fresh record in a holiday-shortened session, one dayafter topping 18,000 pointsfor the first time ever.

The Dow Jones Indus-trial Average gained 6.04points (0.03 percent) to18,030.21, posting its sixthstraight gain. The broad-based S&P 500 snapped afive-day winning streak, fall-ing a scant 0.29 (0.01 per-cent) to 2,081.88, while theNasdaq Composite Indexrose 8.05 (0.17 percent) to4,773.47. US stocks havebeen on a tear since theFederal Reserve last weekkept interest rates lowand pledged a cautiousapproach to raisingrates.—Agencies

Currency Selling Buying

USA 100.40 100.20

UK 156.20 155.89

Euro 122.67 122.42

Canada 86.42 86.25

Switzerland 102.03 101.82

Australia 81.53 81.37

Sweden 12.88 12.85

Japan 0.8349 0.8333

Norway 13.50 13.47

Singapore 75.97 75.82

Denmark 16.49 16.46

Saudi Arabia 26.75 26.70

Hong Kong 12.94 12.91

Kuwait 342.97 342.28

Malaysia 28.79 28.74

Newzealand 77.71 77.55

Qatar 27.57 27.52

UAE 27.33 27.28

Kr Won 0.0914 0.0912

Thailand 3.054 3.048

Daily opening& closing ratesPMEX Index 2,579Total Volume (Lots): 15,678Traded Value (Rs): 1,106,887,632

Commodity -------------------- Price Quotation -------------- Open ------------ CloseCRUDE OIL ------------------- $ Per Barrel -------------------- 57.00 ------------- 55.39SILVER ------------------------- $ Per Ounce ------------------- 15.692 ----------- 15.753GOLD --------------------------- $ Per Ounce ------------------- 1,173.3 ---------- 1,174.3GOLD --------------------------- Rs Per 10 gms ----------------- 38,012 ----------- 38,036MTOLAGOLD --------------- Rs Per Tola -------------------- 45,716 ----------- 45,830GOLD --------------------------- Rs Per Tola -------------------- 45,716 ----------- 45,830RICEIRRI6 --------------------- Rs Per 100 kg ------------------ 3,220------------- 3,201PALMOLEIN ----------------- Rs Per Maund ---------------- 3,501------------- 3,531SUGAR ------------------------- Rs Per kg ----------------------- 42.93 ------------- 42.92ICOTTON --------------------- US Cents per pound -------- 61.66 ------------- 42.92WHEAT ------------------------ Rs Per 100 kg ------------------ 3,427------------- 3,426

The total value traded was PKR 1.10 billion and number of lots traded was 15,678.PMEX Commodity Index closed at 2,579. Major business was contributed by crudeoil amounting to PKR 989 million followed by gold (PKR 110 million) and silver(PKR 7 million).

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Noted trade leader, chairman of the standingcommittee of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Indus-try (FPCCI) on freight, forwarding and logistic services,and president of Pak-China Club Javed Rashid AsgharArian expressing serious concern on the terrorism inci-dents and smuggling of arms, has asked the governmentto restrict Indian goods transport concerning Afghan tradestrictly to Wagah border. In a statement here on Friday, hesaid the trader community and transport sector of the coun-try have fully backed the bold stance of Prime MinisterMian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif regarding eliminating ter-rorism from the soil of Pakistan and they demand takingfirm actions in this regard.

He said to ensure check to smuggling of arms andsubversive activities in Pakistan, it is a must to restrict theIndian transport related to the Afghan trade the Wagah

border and under no circumstances allowed to go beyondit; otherwise, not only the Pakistani goods transport in-dustry would be harmed and thousands of loading andunloading labors at the Wagah border be rendered job-less, but it would also open floodgates of smuggled goodsand illegal arms in Pakistan and provide a golden chanceto Indian secret agent to infiltrate into the country. Heasked the Afghan transport entering Pakistan from theTorkham border should also be subjected to strict check-ing.

He said special security checkup points should be es-tablished at least 10 kilometers before the Wagah borderand Karachi port to check the smuggling of arms and nar-cotics. He said all crew of the foreign vehicles saving onedriver be stopped at these check posts and only one drivershould be allowed to drive the vehicle onward. He said inthis regard the instructions of the rangers and coast guardsshould be strictly followed.

FPCCI leader demands restrictingIndian goods transport

ISLAMABAD—President Islamabad Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)Muzammil Hussain Sabri on Friday wel-comed the government’s move to extendmetro bus project to Tarnol and Rawat inorder to connect these areas withIslamabad, which would greatly facilitatethe commuters. He called upon the govern-ment to ensure timely completion of ongo-ing Metro Bus Project to avoid any furtherinconvenience to business community andthe residents of twin cities, according to apress release issued by ICCI.

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (ICCI) Muzammil Hussain Sabrisaid that business community had sup-ported this important project due to its greatutility for the commuters and had demandedits completion within target date to avoidany problems to trade and industrial activi-

ICCI hails metro bus projectextension to Tarnol, Rawat

ties. He said Chairman Metro Bus ProjectImplementation and Monitoring Committeeduring his visit to ICCI had assured its fin-ishing at least two months in advance ofdeadline. He urged to speed up work on itsall packages to ensure its completion withingiven date in order to save the stakehold-ers from further trouble.

He stressed upon the Project Imple-mentation Committee to sort out all mat-ters for completing the remaining workwithin set timeframe. He said Islamabad’sresidents including business communityand thousands of daily commuters hadbeen facing great inconvenience for thelast 9 months due to road blocks, diver-sions and heavy dust on account of con-struction work of this project and in thesecircumstances, its timely completion wasof paramount importance.—APP

SBP declares6th coupon ratefor GoP Sukuk

KARACHI—State Bank ofPakistan (SBP) on Fridaydeclared 6th rental couponrate for 3-year Governmentof Pakistan Ijara Sukuk (GIS-12) at 9.4734 percent per an-num. The rental couponpayment date will be June28, 2015. The auction for the3-year Ijara Sukuk was con-ducted on June 20, saidpress release here on Fri-day.—APP

ISE-10 indexstays bearish

ISLAMABAD—The IslamabadStock Exchange (ISE) on Fri-day witnessed bearish trendas the ISE-10 index closeed at2002.03 points after downingby 27.29 points. A total of 2000shares were traded, whichshowed a negative growth of49,900 shares, when com-pared with previous day’strading of 51,900 shares.

Out of 153 companies,share prices of 62 compa-nies recorded increase whilethose of 91 companies de-creased. The share price ofSiemens Engineering in-creased by Rs 50 while thatof Fazal Textile decreasedby Rs 33.26. Askari Bank,Honda Atlas Cars and Paki-stan Oilfields remained thetop trading companies with1000, 500 and 500 shares re-spectively.—APP

Illegal medicineworth Rs 5m

seizedQUETTA—The Federal In-vestigation Agency (FIA) hasseized un-registered medi-cines worth Rs 5 million dur-ing a raid on a shop at ToghiRoad. “Acting on a tip-off,FIA Quetta raided on a shopwhere the illicit medicineswere being kept and recov-ered un-registered medicineswhich are worth five millionrupees in international mar-ket,” FIA Assistant DirectorNisar Ahmed told media andadded that no arrest was madeduring the raid.

The medicine was beingtransported to internationalmarket via the provincial capi-tal of Balochistan. “Thesemedicines are of variouscountries and always aretransported to internationalmarket via Pak-Chaman Bor-der,” Assistant Director FIAsaid.—Agencies

PESHAWAR: KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak chairing meeting of Board of Invest-ment & Trade about Peshawar Mass Transit and tourism schemes at CM Secretary.

LAHORE: President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ijaz A Mumtaz pre-senting chamber’s crest to Ahmed Hussain, head of visiting delegation from Qatar.

LAHORE: DCO Captain (Retd) Muhammad Usman presiding over a meeting to reviewLPG prices in local markets.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Mughal Steel has signed a contract with theworld’s biggest tech giant, Microsoft in introducing AX,ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions also knownas the next generation business model to integrate newtechnology into the company’s strategic planning for fur-ther development of innovative forms of competitive ad-vantage. Modern most technology being the benchmarkof the company, Mughal Steel has invested Rs. 30 Millionin adopting a futuristic financial eco system in the com-pany that will nourish the operational process in the mostefficient fashion.

Ensued to the rapidly upward trajectory trends of thecompany, Mughal Steel by introducing AX Microsoft’sERP solution has fulfilled company’s mission to deliver apromising operational control system to compliment thecompany’s trademark – the tradition of quality. MughalSteel believes that future belongs to businesses whichcan leverage technology to capitalize on the opportuni-ties that arise in today’s fast-evolving competitive arena.Given the economies of scale of the company, Microsoft’sERP solution would enable Mughal Steel to study microlevel insights of the operational and financial transactionsrecorded from the point of production to delivery.

Chairman Mughal Steel, Mr. Javed Mughal applauded

Mughal Steel signs contractwith Microsoft

the employees for the strenuous efforts under taken on awhole for the successful completion of the project. Mr.Javed stated that through adoption of this system, thecompany ranks as number one in the domestic steel sectorin terms of efficiency, quality assurance and transparencythroughout its business disciplines. He also informed thatin order to achieve optimized operational results; MughalSteel has not only invested in purchasing the softwarebut has also trained and hired specialized personnel toensure that the “tradition of quality” is articulated amongstthe stakeholders in real terms.

Addressing the journalists at the press conference,CEO- Mughal Steel, Mr. Khurram Javed stated that weconsider investing in technology as an asset and valueaddition to our brand equity with a vision to empower thepeople to anticipate and embrace change so the companycan thrive generations ahead. Mr. Khurram also sharedthat the group has successfully entered amongst the glo-bally recognized enterprises succeeding latest interna-tional procedures and practices concerning their businessmanagement. Mughal Steel is one of the leading indus-tries of Pakistan in the steel and iron sector. Mughal Groupof Industries prestige spreads over 55 Acres of produc-tion unit in the suburbs of Lahore, with an installed capac-ity of producing 800,000 tons annually. Mughal Steel issoon to convert into a Public Limited Company.

ISLAMABAD—The Economic Co-ordinationCommittee (ECC) of the Cabinet has decidedto lift 25 percent regulatory duty on export ofpotato; and it also approved a modified policyframework for on-site power projects basedon interim gas supply. Sources said the pro-posal was submitted by Ministry of Waterand Power in co-ordination with Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Resources to the ECCfor approval and subsequent utilisation ofover 200 million cubic feet per day MMCFDof natural gas available at various fields.

The gas cannot be injected into the sys-tem in the near future due to time required forestablishment of gas production and trans-mission infrastructure. The meeting presidedover by the Finance Minister gave approvalto a proposal of Ministry of Water and Powerregarding Modified Policy Framework for on-site private power projects based on interimgas supply with amendments as highlightedby Ministry of P&NR and FBR. The FederalBoard of Revenue made it clear that no newSRO will be issued to facilitate the on-sitepower projects, however they may avail ben-efits under existing provisions. It was alsoagreed that to secure payment of gas sup-plies, sellers will provide a Bank Guarantee or

Regulatory duty on potatoexport lifted

standby letter of credit, equal to mutuallyagreed periodic payment of fuel componenttariff, issued by a scheduled bank.

In response to a proposal from the Minis-try of National Food Security & Research theECC lifted a 25 percent regulatory duty on theexport of potato, paving way for its export.The chair was informed that farmers hadplanted the crop on a ten percent larger areathis year and abundant yield was on the cards,surely creating a surplus. The decision wouldcome into force from 20th of December. Thechair while allowing lifting of duty, with con-sensus of the house, directed for formationof a committee comprising Secretary Com-merce and Secretary National Food Securityto closely monitor the market situation andkeep the ECC updated regularly. “Interests ofthe local consumers will also to be kept inview,” the Finance Minister remarked.

On a proposal moved by the Ministryof Water and Power, the ECC approved theproposed agreement between TPS Guddu(GENCO- II) and M/s Engro for use of60MMCFD gas from Mari shallow by M/sEngro till December 2015 in lieu of gasbooster compressors to be installed byEngro for GENCO-II.—Agencies

LHC suspends16pc ST on small

beauty salonsLAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt has suspended theimposition of 16 per centsales tax on small beautysalons and sought replyfrom Punjab governmentwithin 30 days. The smallbeauty salon ownersthrough their counselpleaded that governmenthas snatched their right ofearning livelihood by im-posing 16 per cent sales taxon small beauty salons.

They are already facingfinancial crises and govern-ment had aggravated theirwoes. The court after hearinginitial arguments suspendedthe imposition of sales tax andsought reply from govern-ment.—Agencies

MULTA N—The Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) has arrested an employeeof Regional Tax Office Multan on the in-structions of NAB for extorting millionsof rupees from the jobless persons forproviding them lucrative jobs or sendingthem abroad. The FIA special team hasinitiated investigation against him. Theagency also seized his property recordand documents involved in makingmoney from citizens in the name of seniortax officials for creating jobs.

Earlier, a complaint was lodged byMalik Munir Ahmed vide FIR 195/12 withFIA, stating, RTO office stenographer,Haji Aasim received Rs 1 million from himin the name of creating two jobs for hissons in RTO office as tax recovery in-spectors. The tax officer neither pro-vided jobs nor returned his money.When the complainant pressurised himto return his money, the accused issuedcheques to the complainant equal to theamount received by him which were later

FIA arrests RTO employeebounced due to insufficient amount inhis account.

Later the complainant moved in FIA forregistration of case. The FIA has arrestedhim on the charge of fraudulently receivingone million rupees from complainant in ca-pacity of RTO office employee. The LahoreFIA director had ordered launching FIRagainst the Regional Tax Office employee.The FIA investigation has revealed the ac-cused tax office employee Haji Asim alsoreceived Rs 2.7 million from the complain-ant for making a deal to purchase Irani die-sel but failed materialising his deal after re-ceiving huge money.

During interrogation, the accused ad-mitted to receive another amount of Rs0.500M from a citizen Faiz Mujtaba for hisdaughters’ job. The accused also receivedRs 3 million from him for making a deal ofIrani diesel on lowest rates. The accusedconfessed to receive Rs 5 million from ajournalist based in Shujaabad for establish-ment of petrol pump.—Agencies

ISLAMABAD—The FederalBoard of Revenue (FBR) hasconstituted a transfer-pricingunit to enhance the capacityof the tax officials to effec-tively deal with the transferpricing related issues. Ac-cording to a notification is-sued by the FBR, a transferpricing unit is set up at theFBR that will work towardsestablishing a strong trans-fer pricing regime by provid-ing technical backstoppingto field offices and buildingtheir capacity, developing aresource base including da-tabase of comparables, pro-posing improvements in lawand policy and establishinga regime where transfer pric-

FBR sets up transferpricing unit

ing adjustments are givendue importance during pro-ceedings.

Sources said that the unitwill be headed by MalikAmjed Zubair Tiwana, Chief(Income Tax Policy-II), a sea-soned tax official engaged inthe tax policy of the country.Transfer pricing unit will besupervised by DrMuhammad Iqbal, SpecialAssistant to Chairman, FBR.Both Malik Amjed ZubairTiwana and Dr MuhammadIqbal are top income tax offi-cials having highly profes-sional background with expe-rience of policy, global taxa-tion, drafting of tax laws andenforcement.—Agencies

KARACHI: Chairman PCB Shehryar Khan with players and officials during his visit to Asghar Ali Shah Stadium.

LONDON: John Terry of Chelsea turns to celebrate after scoring the opening goal during the Premier Leaguematch between Chelsea and West Ham United.

Toure on targetfor fourth

straight Africanhonour

CAIRO—Manchester City’sYaya Toure will be favouriteto collect a record fourthsuccessive AfricanFootballer of the Year crownafter he was named in thelist of final three nomineesby the Confederation of Af-rican Football.

The Ivory Coastmidfielder faces competitionfrom Borussia Dortmundand Gabon forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, aswell as Nigeria goalkeeperVincent Enyeama, whoplays for Lille. Toure hascollected the award for thelast three years, matching thefeat achieved byCameroon’s Samuel Eto’oand Ghana’s Abedi Pele.

Victory again wouldmean he joins Eto’o on fourtitles overall but would bethe first player to reach thatmilestone in consecutiveseasons. The award isvoted for by the headcoaches of the 56 nationalassociations within the Af-rican governing body. Thewinner will be announced inLagos on Jan. 8.—APP

NBP Ist innings: ........ 242SNGPL Ist innings: .. 543NBP 2nd innings (over-night 375-3)Nasir c Adnan b Imran ... 3Sami Aslam not out ..... 100Nawaz LBW b Imran ....... 2Fawad b Manzoor ......... 33Kamran LBW b Tasir .. 137Umar c Adnan b Manzoor5Qasier LBW b Imran ....... 0Wahab Riaz run out ...... 36Raza c & b Rizwan ...... 123Ahmed Jamal b Imran ..... 8Zia-ul-Haq not out ........ 28Extras: (lb6, nb2, 2w) ..... 10Total: (all out) .............. 508Fall of wicket: 1- 21, 2-29, 3-71, 4-291, 5-309, 6-309, 7-309,

SCOREBOARD8-395, 9-421Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WAsad Ali ............. 12-6-25-0Manzoor Khan .. 27-4-98-2Imran Ali ............. 30-9-85-5Yasir Shah ........ 54-7-177-1Taufeeq Umar ...... 2-0-15-0Azhar Ali ............ 33-4-98-0Rizwan ................. 2.3-0-4-1SNGPL 2nd innings:Naeemuddin not out ..... 11Khurram Shazad not out17Extras: ............................... 0Total: (for no loss in 10overs) .............................. 28Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WDawad Alam ........... 5-1-8-0Kamran Akmal ..... 4-0-18-0Sami Aslam ............. 1-0-2-0

KARACHI—International Raza Hasansmashed a maiden first class hundredas National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)salvaged some pride by holding de-fending champion Sui Northern GasPipelines Ltd (SNGPL) to a draw in thefinal of Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Trophy

Raza hits maiden hundred asSNGPL retain Quaid Cricket Trophy

Gold League here at the National Sta-dium on Friday.

However by virtue of their massive301-run first innings lead, SNGPL re-tained their title.

22-year-old Raza from Sialkot, whois among the 30 probables for the

World Cup, stolethe limelight byscoring 123Adnan Akmal,who droppedRaza on 60s andmissed stumpingon 89, faced 209-ball in 292 minutesstay at the creaseand it was stud-ded with 14boundaries andfour sixes.

B a n k e r ssuffered a mini-collapse soon re-sumption on thefifth and final daylosing KamranAkaml (137),Umar Waheed (5)and Qasier Abbas(0) in space of 16-

ball.However, Raza and Test fast

bowler Wahab Riaz added 86 runs forthe 8th wicket. Wahab was run outafter making 36 with six boundaries.Zia-ul-Haq finished undefeated on 28also banging six fours.

NBP was all out for 503 in their sec-ond innings and SNGPL was 28 with-out loss in their second innings whenmatch was called off early with nochance of result.

Paceman Imran Ali finishedeexcedlent figures of five wickets fo85 runs in 30 overs.

The SNGPL captain Taufeeq Umarreceived giant glittering silver trophyfrom former Test cricketer and PCBofficial Salahuddin Ahmed with cashpurse of Rs.2.5 million while NBP skip-per Kamran Akram got the runners-uptrophy and purse of Rs.1.5 million.

Muhammad Rizwan collected theman of the match award for his maidendouble century.

Naeemuddin, who scored 1055runs got the best batsman award,Sohail Khan with 62 wickets wasnamed best bowler, and ZuhaibAhmed got best allrouner award car-rying Rs.50,000 each.—APP

ISLAMABAD: M.Com cricket team with winning trophy of cricket tournament playedamongst Advertising Agencies.

KARACHI—Because of the foggy and in-clement weather in Multan, the PentangularCup One-Day Cricket Tournament has beenshifted from Multan to Karachi, a spokes-man of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) saidon Friday.

The premier one-day of the country nowwill be staged here at the National Stadiumfrom December 31st to January 11.

PCB was holding this event ahead ofthe World Cup and to watch the perfor-mances of some of the players beforefinalizing and submitting the 15-membersquad to International Cricket Council(ICC) by the deadline of January 7.

Chairman Pakistan Cricket BoardShaharyar Khan held a meeting with Com-missioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiquiin his office, who gave go ahead signal tothe board’s boss. Senior Manager NSK

Pentangular Cup shiftedto Karachi

Arshad Khan was also present on the oc-casion.

Shoaib Siddiqui assured PCB Chairmanthat like always, local administrations willextended all the facilities the participatingteams and officials.

“Foolproof security arrangements willbe made for this major cricket event,” Com-missioner told PCB Chairman.

Country’s five outfits - Punjab, Sindh,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Balochistanand Federal Areas will be taking part in thecompetition.

Shoaib Siddiqui said staging such eventare always been great honor for the big-gest metropolis of the country.

He expressed the hope that the peopleof Karachi will once again enjoy best ac-tion as cream of Pakistan cricketers will beat the display.—APP

KARACHI—Purui Real Estate enjoyed topspot at the half stage of 2nd Asghar NaqviMemorial Bridge Tournament at AslamBridge Hall on Thursday evening.

Karachi Bridge Assocaition (KBA) hasgiven this event as status of Zonal trials toselect four teams for the National BridgeChampionship being staged next year.

The top four teams from this event willautomatically qualify for the Nationals,KBA said in a statement on Friday.

Having defeated Mazhar in the openerby 17.03 Victory Points (VPs). Puri Estateoutscored Rubina 18.92 in the second andwashed out Bilal in the third segment withmaximum score. Puri Estate is at the top witha total score of 66.91 VPs.

Overall It is a single round robin andseven rounds will be played.

Three rounds have been completed lastevening and at this stage, Puri Real Estateseems to be in a very comfortable position,winning all the three matches of the after-

Puri Estate on top in AsgharMemorial Bridge

noon.Foxy have put up much better perfor-

mance and seems to be a live danger who-ever wish to finish in the top four.

They outpaced 7-Stars in the opener20.00, then swept over their old team-mates,Mazhar 16.52 and Rubina was their next tar-get, Foxy annexed 19.14 VPs to finish be-hind Puri on the second position having ascore of 61.77 VPs.

Team Ahsan is in the run with a score of47.89 VPs, winning two matches, one froma strong contender, Data Steel 17.87 andthe other from 7-Stars.

Losing second round match to Bilal17.94. Bilal and Mazhar are following thetop three teams and Data Steel couldn’tproduce the shine, which was expected fromthe team. Following are the teams positionat the halfway mark: Puri Estate 66.91, Foxy61.77, Ahsan 47.89, Bilal 46.56, Mazhar 37.37,Data Steel 29.17, 7-Stars 24.75 and Rubina6.76 VPs.—APP

Kamran expectedto replace Umar in

WC squadKARACHI—Umar Akmal is atrisk of losing his World Cupplace to his elder brotherKamran Akmal.It was expectedthat in form Sarfraz Ahmedwould be named as the No.1wicket keeper of the squadand out of form middle orderbatsman Umar Akmal wouldbe able to make the squad as asecond wicket keeper.

But according to sources,Kamran Akmal who has beenPakistan’s wicket keeper in thelast two World Cups is beingconsidered as the back upwicket keeper and could betried as a third opener.Kamran’s inclusion couldbring the axe down on out ofform opener Nasir Jamshedand pave way for anallrounder.—APP

Saeed Ajmal’saction still not

legal: PCB chiefKARACHI—Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) chairman,Shehryar Khan has revealedthat Saeed Ajmal has beenunable to bring his action un-der the 15 degree restriction.

Talking to media atKarachi, the PCB chairmansaid that now it was up toSaeed Ajmal to inform PCBwhen he wants to be reas-sessed because if he doesn’tget it right this time it will jeop-ardize his carrier.

He also said that SaeedAjmal has worked very hardand he had other tricks up hissleeve than just the Doosraand the PCB would try to gethis action reassessed beforethe 7th January which is thedeadline to submit 15 namesfor the World Cup.

On a question aboutMoin Khan, the chairmansaid that this issue would bedealt with in the next coupleof days as Moin has beenasked to choose any one ofthe posts. He also informedthat he would make changesin the Pentangular Cupdates.—APP

LONDON—Leaders Chelsea kicked off ahectic holiday programme in the PremierLeague with a dominant 2-0 victory overhigh-flying London rivals West HamUnited on Friday.

A John Terry tap-in and DiegoCosta’s drilled shot sealed the points forJose Mourinho’s side al though thescoreline disguised a gulf in quality be-tween the two sides who were separatedby only three places in the table.

West Ham ground out a 0-0 draw inthe corresponding fixture last year whenMourinho accused them of playing 19thCentury football but once Terry hadscored after 31 minutes they offered littleand could have lost by a bigger margin.

Chelsea moved to 45 points from 18games, s ix more than championsManchester city who play against WestBromwich Albion later.

“We are playing well and obviouslyplaying before the other teams it was achance for us to go six points clear,” hetold Sky Sports . “The pressure is onthem now.

“We are playing great, everyone cansee that, and if we continue to do thatit’s going to be tough.

“It’s important we remain calm andkeep doing what we are doing. I see areal hunger in this side.”

Chelsea strolls to victoryover West Ham

The first half hour was one-way traf-f ic and the only surprise was thatChelsea did not score before Terryturned the ball over the line after Costaflicked on a Cesc Fabregas corner. It wasTerry’s second goal in successive leaguegames.

Costa, whose goal tally had slowedin recent weeks after an explosive startto his Chelsea career, showed his pedi-gree when he received a pass from EdenHazard just past the hour mark andlashed a left-foot shot past goalkeeperAdrian.

With Will ian and Nemanja Maticdominating the midfield and Hazard aconstant menace, Chelsea had numerousother chances to score with West Ham’sonly flurry coming near the end whensubstitute Morgan Amalfitano dinked aneffort against the post.

“We deserved it, we played a verygood game against a very difficult op-ponent,” Mourinho, who has never losta home London derby in two spells asChelsea boss, said. “When we scored wehad the game under control.”

Third-placed Manchester Unitedhost Newcastle United later whileSouthampton could climb above WestHam into the top four if they win at Crys-tal Palace.—AFP

PeshawarPanthers advance

in 5th ShahjeeGold Cricket CupP E S H AWA R — P e s h a w a rPanthers advanced to nextround after securing 103runs victory against Roseclub in the ongoing 5thShahjee Gold Cup CricketTournament being playedhere at Gymkhana groundon Friday.

Peshawar Panthers clubwon the toss and elected tobat first by setting up 290runs for the loss of four wick-ets in the allotted 35 runs.Muhammad Asif struck 130runs including 13 bound-aries, Janat Gul made 62 runsand Sajid hammered 36runs. For Rose club Rafiqueclaimed two wickets, IhsanUllah and Taimur onewicket.

In reply, Rose clubbundled out for 187 runs forthe loss of nine wickets af-ter playing the allotted 35overs with Faizan made 59runs, Esha scored 34 runsand Taimur made 22 runs.For Peshawar PanthersSajid claimed three wickets,Imran and Dawood tooktwo wickets each, Rizwanand Ali got one wicket each.Fakare Alam and Aziz Khansupervised the match whileSher Jamal acted asscorer.—APP

Junior, Senior KP Badmintoncoaching camp begins

PESHAWAR—A month long Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Badmin-ton Junior and Senior coaching camp started under theages of Directorate of Sports and Khyber PakhtunkhwaBadminton Association here at Murad International Bad-minton Hall on Friday.

Pakistan team national karate coach Khalid Noor andSecretary Pakistan Table Tennis Association Kifayat UllahOrakzai were graced the occasion as guests and inaugu-rated the coaching camp.

Chairman national selection committee Pakistan Bad-minton Federation Mian Sadaqat Shah, international bad-minton player Murad Ali, KP Sports Board BadmintonCoaches Nadeem Khan, Hayat Ullah, Masood Khan, andplayers were also present.

Talking to APP, Coach Nadeem Khan said that theyhave started the coaching camp on selfhelp basis only totrain and coach the upcoming youngsters so that theycould come up at national and international levels.

He said despite all such miseries they did not give upto that and held the camp in which more than 16 junior andsenior players have been inducted in the first phase. Thecamp, he said, would continue up one month. Soon afterthe camp a tournament in which both male and femaleplayers would be included.

He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inter-District Bad-minton Championship would be organized in first week ofFebruary 2015.

The players comprising Murad Ali, Junior ChampionHamza Ibrahim, Ihtisham Khan, Muhammad Zubair,Muhammad Aziz, Waqas Khan, Zeeshan Ahmad, NasirKhan, Usman Ali, Liaqat, Wajid Ali, Ihsan, Haroon, Rehman,Khalil Khan, Hayat Ullah, and Zohaib Khan, who recentlyrepresented Pakistan in the International Badminton eventheld at Bangkok. He also thanked President Pakistan Bad-minton Federation Mian Iftikhar, President KP BadmintonAssociation Zafar Ali, and Secretary KP Badminton Asso-ciation Amjad Khan for extending support in this connec-tion.

He said DG KP Sports Board Mian Adil promised toprovide shuttles during the camp.—APP

Farhan sets datewith Tayyabin Rangers

squash finalK A R A C H I — F a r h a nMahboob set the date withTayyab Aslam in Saturday’smen final of 8th DG RangersSindh National Squashchampionship after con-trasting victories in the pre-finals here at Sindh Rang-ers Jahangir Khan SquashComplex North Nazimabadon Friday.

Fourth seed Farhan ofWAPDA spent mere 27-minute at the court whiledemolishing 7th seedShaikh Saquib of Punjab inthree straight games.

Tayyab Aslam of ZTBLwas taken to full distance byZahir Shah of KhyberPakhtunkhwa before notch-ing-up an exciting 3-2 winlasting 50 minutes. 8th seedZoya Khalid will meet RiffatKhan in the final of women’sevent. —APP

Berdych hiresVallverdu asnew coach

PRAGUE—Tomas Berdychsays Dani Vallverdu has be-come his new coach, justweeks after the Venezuelansplit with Andy Murray.

Tuesday’s announce-ment on Berdych’s socialmedia accounts will seeVallverdu take over fromCzech coach Tomas Krupa.

The seventh-rankedBerdych opted for Murray’sformer assistant coach af-ter being turned down byfellow Czech Ivan Lendl.Berdych approached Lendlafter the eight-time GrandSlam champion ended asuccessful two-year stintwith Murray earlier thisyear.—AP

Bipin DaniOBSERVER CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Joe Burns had no memorableday on the first day of the Boxing DayTest in Australia. At Melbourne CricketGround (MCG) his parents (father Regand mother Grazia) could see their sononly batting for little over half an hourbefore Australian debut batsman was outfor 13 (unlucky) runs.

Back home in India, Lokesh Rahul’sparents in Bangalore will get up early onSaturday but don’t hope for Team India’scollapse.

Speaking exclusively over tele-phone from Kanchipuram, where thefamily went for shopping for LokeshRahul’s sister (Bhavana) wedding,scheduled to be held in March nextyear, the father, Prof. KNL Lokesh says,“we hope to see some good battingfrom my son in this Test”.

Had Rahul’s father had not mistakenfor Sunil Gavaskar’s son name as Rahul

Waiting to watch son’s batting inhis debut Test, says Rahul’s dad

instead of Rohan, the scorecard on Fri-day would have shown Lokesh Rohan asIndia’s new entrant in the Test.

“The name Rahul was very popular atthat time. Rahul is also the name of (late)Rajeev Gandhi’s son and I, also being agreat fan of Sunil Gavaskar wanted toname my son as his (Gavaskar’s) son’sname”, the father said.

The family woke up at 3.30 in the earlymorning to drive to Kanchipuram and onthe way got the news about son’s debut.

“Rahul’s mother had conversationwith his mother (Rajeshwari) when therewas no hint from my son on making hisdebut on Friday.

“We are very happy for his inclusionwhich will be challenging. Will reach latein Bangalore tonight but keen to watchSaturday’s game. The debut in a BoxingDay Test is also significant”.

Presently, Rahul is not in the WorldCup probable list and therefore will beable to attend his sister’s marriage. Hissister has been working in Nagpur.

Tskhadadzenamed new

head coach ofGeorgia

M O S C O W — F o r m e rManchester City defender

Kakhaber Tskhadadze hassigned a two and a half yearcontract to take over ashead coach of Georgia, thecountry’s football federa-tion said on its website(www.gff.ge).

Tskhadadze won 25 capsfor Georgia, scoring onegoal, and was also part ofthe CIS team that took partin 1992 European Champi-onships. Tskhadadzeplayed for Spartak Moscow,Eintracht Frankfurt andManchester City in the1990’s. Since 2009 he hasbeen in charge of Azerbaijaniside Inter Baku and will con-tinue to work with the clubuntil May. His first match incharge of Georgia will beagainst Malta on March 23.“I believe in our players andI want to say to them imme-diately that they are strongand have the ability to winand take part in major foot-ball tournaments,” he toldreporters.—APP

HANOI—Vietnam’s soccer federation hasbanned nine players for life for fixing anAsian club match, part of efforts to winback dwindling confidence of fans andrebuild a reputation tarnished by brib-ery scandals.

The former Vissai Ninh Binh playersreceived jail terms of up to 30 months inAugust for r igging an away matchagainst Malaysia’s Kelantan this year inthe Asian Football Confederation (AFC)Cup.

The scandal was one of many in re-cent years in a country notorious for il-licit gambling and with one of the world’sworst track records for match-fixing. Itled to Vissai Ninh Binh’s withdrawalfrom the Vietnamese top flight amid fears

CHRISTCHURCH—Record-breakingBrendon McCullum was at his bel-ligerent best as he led New Zealandto a commanding 429-7 on the firstday of the first cricket Test againstSri Lanka in Christchurch Friday.

His whirlwind 195 runs off 134deliveries included 11 sixes and 18fours and came after he lost the tossand New Zealand were made to baton a green wicket that bore all thehallmarks of a bowler’s paradise.

McCullum, who admitted he des-perately wanted to win the toss tobowl first, instead destroyed the SriLankan attack with the bat as hestood in century partnerships withKane Williamson and JimmyNeesham. Neesham was undone for85, Williamson for 54.

1st Test: McCullum 195flays Sri Lanka

New Zealand 1st innings:Latham c Kaushal b Eranga ..... 27Rutherford b Lakmal ................. 18Williamson b Prasad ................. 54Taylor run out .............................. 7McCullum b Kaushal .............. 195Neesham c Sanga b Mathews .... 85Watling lbw b Mathews ........... 26Craig not out ................................ 5Extras: (lb 4, w 2, nb 6) .............. 12Total: (7 wickets) ..................... 429Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-60, 3-88, 4-214, 5-367, 6-420, 7-429Bowling: ....................... O-M-R-WLakmal ............................. 17-3-83-1Eranga ............................. 18-1-82-1Mathews ....................... 9.3-1-34-2Prasad ............................. 12-2-62-1Kaushal ........................ 22-0-159-1Thirimanne ......................... 2-0-5-0

As McCullum bludgeoned thebowling, he cracked the fastest cen-tury in New Zealand Test history andbecame the first New Zealander toscore 1,000 runs in a calendar year.

He equalled the New Zealandrecord of 26 off one over, when hesmashed three sixes and two foursoff one over by Sri Lanka strikebowler Suranga Lakmal, and finishedwith 11 sixes, one short of the worldrecord of 12 sixes in an innings heldby Pakistan’s Wasim Akram.

It was a colossal captain’s knockwhich began with Sri Lanka skipperAngelo Mathews feeling satisfiedwith New Zealand at 88-3 when RossTaylor was run out in the first overafter lunch.The Sri Lankan optimismquickly evaporated as McCullumtook just 74 deliveries to reach his

11th Test century, eclipsing his own78-ball record set against Pakistanin Sharjah last month.

He had a scare on 153 whenKumar Sangakkara missed astraight-forward opportunity at longon, before he was eventually undonewhen he launched into off-spinnerTharindu Kaushal.

He hit a six, two and four off con-secutive balls off the Test debutantbefore getting too far under thefourth delivery and was caught by adiving Dimuth Karunaratne at long-off.

New Zealand had made a cau-tious start to the Test with openersTom Latham and Hamish Rutherfordbenefiting from wayward bowling bySri Lanka quicks Lakmal and Eranga.

But when the bowlers changedends they made amends. Lakmalbowled Rutherford for 18 and Erangahad Latham caught at point byKaushal for 27.

New Zealand’s senior batsmanRoss Taylor was run out on sevenwhen he slipped trying to return tohis crease after an aborted single at-tempt in the first over after lunch.

Williamson, who had a life on 39when Lakmal spilled a comfortablecaught and bowled chance, wasbowled by Dhammika Prasad for 54while Neesham reached 85 before hewas caught in slips by Sangakkaraoff Mathews.

Mathews took the new ball forthe last over of the day and had BJWatling lbw for 26 leaving MarkCraig unbeaten on five. For SriLanka, Mathews has two for 34 whileLakmal, Eranga, Prasad and Kaushalhave a wicket each.—AFP

Vietnam gets tough with lifebans for match-fixers

CHRISTCHURCH: Brendon McCullum of New Zealand made 195 off 134balls against the Sri Lanka in 1st Test’s first day on Friday.

league games could also have beenfixed.

Such measures are rare in Vietnam,which routinely hands down harsh pen-alties to criminals but has given rela-tively lenient punishments for throwinggames.

The Vietnam Football Federat ion(VFF) announced the bans on Thursday.

It has been working closely with po-lice to investigate suspicious activitiesand has previously suggested legalisingsmall-stakes betting to curb the prob-lem.

The VFF said in August it was “reso-lutely fighting with negatives in footballto regain the confidence of the country’sfans.”—APP

MELBOURNE—Steve Smith played an-other captain’s knock and Chris Rogersand Shane Watson hit fifties as Austra-lia shared the opening day of the thirdTest with India in Melbourne on Friday.

Before a huge Boxing Day crowd ofalmost 70,000, Smith joined teammateDavid Warner in reaching 1,000 Test runsfor the calendar year with his unbeaten72.

At the close, Australia were 259 forfive after winning the toss with BradHaddin seeking a confidence-boostinginnings as the other not out batsman on23.

Smith passed 50 for the fourth timein five innings in this series among theman unconquered 162 in Adelaide and 133in Brisbane. So far he has amassed 447runs at 223.5 for the series.

Smith, who won his first Test as skip-per in four days in Brisbane last week-end, was well positioned for his thirdton of the series after Rogers andWatson missed out on cashing in on

3rd Test: Smith leads from the front

Australia 1st innings:Rogers c Dhoni b Shami ......... 57Warner c Dhawan b U. Yadav .. 0Watson lbw b Ashwin ............. 52Smith not out ............................ 72Marsh c Dhoni b Shami .......... 32Burns c Dhoni b U. Yadav ...... 13Haddin not out ......................... 23Extras: (b-1 lb-6 nb-2 w-1) ....... 10Total: (for 5 wickets) .............. 259Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-115, 3-115, 4-184, 5-216Bowling: ...................... O-M-R-WI. Sharma ................. 21 - 6 - 54 – 0U. Yadav ................. 20 - 2 - 69 – 2M. Shami ................ 17 - 4 - 55 – 2R. Ashwin ............... 27 - 7 - 60 – 1M. Vijay ..................... 5 - 0 - 14 - 0

solid starts.Rogers hit his third straight half-cen-

tury of the series and Watson made 52in a 115-run stand before they were dis-missed five minutes apart in the hourafter lunch.

The pair had put on 59 runs off 131balls for the fourth wicket.

Rogers, who scored 116 in lastseason’s corresponding Boxing DayTest against England, pushed atpaceman Mohammed Shami and wassnapped up behind by M.S. Dhoni for57.

Watson followed six balls later in off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s sev-enth over with an ill-judged sweep shotand was out leg before wicket for 52 in89 balls.

Watson had a let off on 37 nearinglunch when Shikhar Dhawan fumbledhim at second slip at the third attemptoff Shami.

It was Watson’s 23rd half-centuryin Tests with just a below-par conver-

MELBOURNE: The cordon reacts after Shikhar Dhawan’s drop the catch during Australia vs India, 3rd Test’s.

sion rate of four centuries in his 55thTest for the senior top order bats-man.—AFP

MANY studies have suggested that consumption of unhealthy foods is a major contributor to childhood obesity,

and there has been much debate over the mar-keting of junk food to children, with many ex-perts claiming it encourages unhealthy eating.According to the PreventionInstitute, almost 40% ofchildren’s diets come fromunhealthy fats and added sug-ars, and only 21% of youthsaged 6-19 years eat the recom-mended five portions of fruitsand vegetables a day.

In this latest study, Purtelland her team wanted to deter-mine whether fast-food con-sumption affects how well achild does in school.

The researchers analyzeddata from 11,740 students whowere part of the Early Child-hood Longitudinal Study-Kin-dergarten Cohort. All studentswere in kindergarten in the1998-99 school year. Whenthe children were in fifthgrade, they completed a food consumptionquestionnaire. From this, the team found thatonly 29% of children reported eating no fastfood in the week prior to the questionnaire.

Around 10% of children reported eatingfast food every day, while 10% reported eat-ing it four to six times a week. The remainingchildren reported eating fast food one to threetimes in the week before the questionnaire. Thechildren completed tests in reading, math andscience in fifth grade, and further tests in thesethree subjects were completed when theyreached eighth grade.

The study results revealed that children whoconsumed fast food four to six times a week or

Fast-food consumption in childrenlinked to poorer academic outcomes

every day scored up to 20% lower on math, read-ing and science tests in eighth grade than thosewho did not eat any fast food. Children who atefast food one to three times a week had lowerscores on the math test only in eighth grade, com-pared with those who ate no fast food. The re-

searchers say their results re-mained even after accountingfor other potential contributingfactors for lower test scores,such as exercise, televisionviewing time, their family’s so-cioeconomic status, other foodconsumption, and school andneighborhood characteristics.

Commenting on theteam’s findings, Purtell says:“There’s a lot of evidence thatfast-food consumption islinked to childhood obesity,but the problems don’t endthere. Relying too much onfast food could hurt how wellchildren do in the classroom.

We’re not saying that par-ents should never feed theirchildren fast food, but these

results suggest fast-food consumption shouldbe limited as much as possible.” Although theresearchers say they are unable to say exactlywhy fast-food consumption in fifth grade ap-peared to affect test scores in eighth grade, theynote that other studies have indicated that fastfood lacks nutrients associated with cognitivedevelopment, such as iron.

Furthermore, they say that previous re-search has linked high-fat and high-sugar di-ets to impaired memory and learning skills.Earlier this month, Medical News Today re-ported on a study claiming children born witha low birth weight may have poorer academicoutcomes than heavier newborns.

Menace of bottled mineral water

Presence of dengue mosquito insealed bottle exposes Govt’s claims

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—The Mohajir Rabita Council(MRC) Executive Committee said Mohajirshad since past many decades been demand-ing for their separate ‘Mohajir Province’,which was from all aspect a constitutionaldemand and it was a sure reflection of na-tional solidarity and country’s integrity. How-ever, the oppressive rulers in Sindh had al-ways filled this just constitutional demandwith the hue of ethnic bias and politicalgrudge.

The MRC EC said that the forefathers ofMohajirs had offered 2 million lives for thecreation of Pakistan while fought shoulder toshoulder with Pak Army in East Pakistan inorder to save the then united Pakistan andagain offered 700,000lives for the defence ofthe country. In that fight, Mohajir women werealso very active and for that reason, they weresubjected to inhuman treatment and thousandswere humiliated and gang raped.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Fake mineral water bottlers now posingdirect threats of dengue and other deadly viral diseasesto the Karachiites while the authorities especially thecivil administration under the aegis of Karachi Com-missioner and ministry of local government had ut-terly failed to eliminate the sale of contaminated bottledwater.

A day earlier, a citizen had reached the KarachiCommissioner with a sample of bottled water, whichcontained ‘Aedes aegypti, the dengue causing mos-quito.

The Karachiites had since past couple of years beensandwiched by the inter-departmental rift of the KarachiWater and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) and the KarachiElectric (KE) under which the supply of potable water

through KW&SB’s lines remained widely suspendedowing to shedding of load or technical faults at theKW&SB’s pumping stations.

The situation created an artificial water crisis andthe people of the metropolis were compelled to de-pend on water supply through commercial water sup-ply services through tankers but owing to certain rea-sons that prevented the people from consuming thewater spent huge money on purchase of bottled water.

On the other hand, the business of bottled waterhad spread in all directions of the city especially inNorth Nazimabad, North Karachi, Gulberg, Gulshan-e Iqbal, Gulistan-e Jauhar, New Karachi, and other partsof the city.

Even the business of bottling water was confinedin a 10 by 10 feet shop in residential areas for whichthe owners of the property were equally responsible

for the spread of the menace.The scene of bottled water contaminated/infested

with the Aedes aegypti, the dengue causing mosquitowas exposed when a complainant Syed MuhammadHasnain had approached the Karachi Commissioneralong with the proof.

Traditionally, the Karachi Commissioner issuedstern directives to the Additional CommissionerKarachi-II and officials of the Pakistan Standard QualityControl Authority (PSQCA) to visit the bottler andsubmit a laboratory report in 10 days.

It would be pertinent to mention that the KW&SBhad since past many years been claiming to havelaunched a crackdown against the producers of fakemineral water but like illegal water hydrants, the men-ace of bottled water in a 10 by 10 feet size shop hadfully flourished.

MRC seeks COAS’ssupport for Mohajir Province

Pakistani’s leading cricket star Shahid Afridi meeting with Administrator DHA Brig Zubair Ahmed establishing a cricketacademy at DHA city.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki

KARACHI—Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad hascompleted 12 year as Governor Sindhon Friday to earn the spot in top threelongest tenure on the same post in theworld. Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad has been onthe post since 27 December 2002when he took charge as 30th Gover-nor of the province.

However, first and second spotholders belonged to two governors ofUnited States. He also holds therecord of youngest governor while heis also the first man to hold the postlonger than any other governor inPakistan from all four provinces.

Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad completes12 years as Governor Sindh

Ishrat-ul-Ebad also given the top civilaward of Pakistan ‘Nishan-e-Imtiaz’over providing his long services to thepeople.

He is the first governor to formhis own social media account fromwhich he interact people directly andsolve their problems as well. TheGovernor resigned on 27 June 2011,but his resignation was not acceptedby the President of Pakistan. He re-sumed his official Governor dutiesfrom Tuesday, 19 July 2011. He isalso one of the senior leaders ofMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

He also holds dual nationality as aBritish citizen as well.

Governor Sindh also played animportant after horrific Peshawar at-tack to keep the every society en-gaged. Ishrat-ul-Ebad played a piv-otal role in defusing tension and vio-lence in the province by holding po-litical talks with members of otherpolitical parties. He has played aninstrumental role in getting the 22hostages released from the Somalianpirates captivity with the partnershipof Ansar Burney who leads a humanrights organisation.—INP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) Karachi DivisionPresident Abdul Qadir Patel andGeneral Secretary Syed NajmiAlam in a joint statement saidthe anti-PPP elements andforces dreaming in daylight forthe disintegration of the PPPwould be humiliated in history

Those dreaming of PPP’s crashwould be humiliated

and their dream would nevercome true.

They said the PPP leadersand workers would not hesitateto shed their last blood drop forthe prosperous, enlighteneddemocratic Pakistan with notraces of extremism or terrorismbecause millions of peasants,labourers, students, lawyers andwomen were the real heir of the

PPP. Henceforth, those thinkingand conspiring against the PPPwould soon learn they did nothave the capacity and courageto face the real heirs of the PPP.

In their joint message on theoccasion of 7th death anniver-sary of slain PPP ChairpersonBenazir Bhutto Shaheed, theysaid that it was not just a cus-tomary to commemorate the

death anniversary but it was theday for each and every PPPworker to revive his and hercommitment for making thePPP stronger and defeating theforces of extremism, terrorismand conspiracies against thedemocracy.

Earlier, the PPP KarachiDivision arrived at the GarhiKhuda Bux along with a con-

voy of thousands of Jialas andJialis through a fleet of 265buses, coaches and cars. Theyset up reception camps for theleaders and workers, who ar-rived at the venue of anniver-sary from all corners. Later, theyoffered prayers for the departedsouls of Zulfiquar Ali Bhuttoand Benazir Bhutto and laid flo-ral wreath on their graves.

KARACHI—Sindh government is com-mitted to restore the glory of Karachi andhelp its residents provided with all mod-ern civic facilities, said provincial minis-ter for information, archives and localGovernment, Sharjeel Innam Memon.

Sharing details, here on Friday, of thedevelopment projects undertaken by the PPP

Sindh govt committed to restoreglory of Karachi: Sharjeel

People buying different items in connection with Eid Milad un Nabi at Pakistan chowk on Friday.

government in Karachi, the minister saidseveral development schemes have been al-ready completed while many more are nearcompletion. He in this context referred to thededicated “Elevator Bridge,” between JinnahBridge to Quaidabad, scheduled to be openedfor the people in next few days.

The minister said the double carriage

way is also being constructed from Nationalhighway to the Super Highway, while twoother bridges in Malir are also expected tobe completed in next two to three months’time. Minister Sharjeel Innam Memon saidSindh government was also working onrestoration, rehabilitation and establishmentof parks and playgrounds.—APP

The EC said Mohajirs were even todayplaying a vibrant role for the integrity of thecountry and their support to Pak Army wascandid clear. However, the rulers had alwaysleft no moment go for their humiliation andsuppression in return.

The EC while addressing the Chief ofArmy Staff General Raheel Sharif said he wasa true and brave General and hence the MRCEC while representing the Mohajir as a sepa-rate nation would demand him to take mea-sures for culminating the oppression againstMohajirs and ensure full provisioning and re-spect of their rights. The COAS should alsostep forward for curbing the decaying oppres-sive rule of the corrupt conglomerate and sup-port Mohajirs in their struggle for MohajirProvince.

The EC said the COAS should repulsethe forces of tyranny that had impeded thecreation of Mohajir Province, a constitutionaldemand, which would further the integrity ofthe country.

Women with their sick children are perturbed due to strike called by the doctors at NICHhospital on Friday.

MANY studies have suggested that consumption of unhealthy foods is a major contributor to childhood obesity,

and there has been much debate over the mar-keting of junk food to children, with many ex-perts claiming it encourages unhealthy eating.According to the PreventionInstitute, almost 40% ofchildren’s diets come fromunhealthy fats and added sug-ars, and only 21% of youthsaged 6-19 years eat the recom-mended five portions of fruitsand vegetables a day.

In this latest study, Purtelland her team wanted to deter-mine whether fast-food con-sumption affects how well achild does in school.

The researchers analyzeddata from 11,740 students whowere part of the Early Child-hood Longitudinal Study-Kin-dergarten Cohort. All studentswere in kindergarten in the1998-99 school year. Whenthe children were in fifthgrade, they completed a food consumptionquestionnaire. From this, the team found thatonly 29% of children reported eating no fastfood in the week prior to the questionnaire.

Around 10% of children reported eatingfast food every day, while 10% reported eat-ing it four to six times a week. The remainingchildren reported eating fast food one to threetimes in the week before the questionnaire. Thechildren completed tests in reading, math andscience in fifth grade, and further tests in thesethree subjects were completed when theyreached eighth grade.

The study results revealed that children whoconsumed fast food four to six times a week or

Fast-food consumption in childrenlinked to poorer academic outcomes

every day scored up to 20% lower on math, read-ing and science tests in eighth grade than thosewho did not eat any fast food. Children who atefast food one to three times a week had lowerscores on the math test only in eighth grade, com-pared with those who ate no fast food. The re-

searchers say their results re-mained even after accountingfor other potential contributingfactors for lower test scores,such as exercise, televisionviewing time, their family’s so-cioeconomic status, other foodconsumption, and school andneighborhood characteristics.

Commenting on theteam’s findings, Purtell says:“There’s a lot of evidence thatfast-food consumption islinked to childhood obesity,but the problems don’t endthere. Relying too much onfast food could hurt how wellchildren do in the classroom.

We’re not saying that par-ents should never feed theirchildren fast food, but these

results suggest fast-food consumption shouldbe limited as much as possible.” Although theresearchers say they are unable to say exactlywhy fast-food consumption in fifth grade ap-peared to affect test scores in eighth grade, theynote that other studies have indicated that fastfood lacks nutrients associated with cognitivedevelopment, such as iron.

Furthermore, they say that previous re-search has linked high-fat and high-sugar di-ets to impaired memory and learning skills.Earlier this month, Medical News Today re-ported on a study claiming children born witha low birth weight may have poorer academicoutcomes than heavier newborns.

Shahbaz reviews progress on solarprojects in Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park

Delegation of Pakistan Kisan Ittehad meets CM

LAHORE: Chairman Evacue Trust Siddiq ul Farooq presenting flowers to Indian HinduYatrees upon arrival at Wagah Border on Friday.

Boats are seen anchored due to low water level at River Ravi on Friday.

A delegation of Pakistan Kisan Ittehad lead by its Central President Khalid Mehmood Khokhar called on Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif on Friday.

SALIM AHMED

LA H O R E—Punjab ChiefMinister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif presided overa high level meeting which re-viewed the progress on solarprojects in Quaid-e-AzamSolar Park, Bahawalpur.

The meeting agreed tospeed up 900 megawatt solarprojects. Federal Minister forWater & Power KhawajaMuhammad Asif, officials ofChinese Company Zonergy,Chairman NEPRA, Addi-tional Secretary Water &Power Department, Manag-ing Director NTDC, MDPBIB, Chief Executive Of-ficer AEDB, Special Assis-tant Azm-ul-Haq, AdditionalChief Secretary Energy andconcerned officials attendedthe meeting.

Addressing the meeting,Shahbaz Sharif said that en-ergy crisis has badly affectedindustry, agriculture, educa-tion, health and all sectors oflife. He said that every nec-essary step is being taken forovercoming energy shortageat the earliest. He said that100 megawatt solar powerproject in Quaid-e-Azam So-lar Park Bahawalpur is at fi-nal stages of completion. Hesaid that Punjab governmenthas set up 100 megawatt so-lar power project from itsown resources.

The Chief Minister saidthat Chinese company is in-vesting for 900 megawatt so-lar project in Quaid-e-AzamSolar Park Bahawalpur. Hesaid that solar power projectis of great importance whichwill be completed speedily.He said that energy projectswill have to be completedwith hard work, determina-tion and honesty withoutwasting time. Speaking on theoccasion, Federal Minister forWater & Power, KhawajaMuhammad Asif said that so-lar power project is an ap-proved project on fast trackand all possible cooperationwill be extended for its earlycompletion.

A delegation of PakistanKisan Ittehad led by its Cen-

tral President Khalid Mehmood Khokharmet Punjab Chief Minister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif, here today and thankedhim for resolving problems of farmerson priority basis.

The members of the delegationwhile paying tributes to ShahbazSharif on immediate steps for abolish-ing export duty on potato and resolv-

ing other problems said that the ChiefMinister has won the hearts of farm-ers by resolving their problems on pri-ority basis.

President Pakistan Kisan Ittehad,Khalid Mehmood Khokhar said thatChief Minister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has resolved problems of farm-ers by taking personal interest, upon

which, they are thankful to him.Talking to the delegation, Shahbaz

Sharif said that agriculture is the back-bone of national economy and the roleof farmers is of great importance in agrieconomy. He said that Punjab govern-ment will continue to take steps for thepromotion of agriculture and prosperityof farmers.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif has saidthat the terrorists committed worst bru-tality by killing innocent children in aschool of Peshawar which is most hor-rible act of terrorism in the history ofthe world. He said that the martyrdomof innocent children and teachers hasshaken the entire world including Pa-kistan. He said that due to the martyr-dom of children and teachers, the en-tire nation has become united and it ishigh time to take effective and decisivesteps against terrorists.

The Chief Minister said that theconsensus on national action plan bynational leadership is a historic step.He said that political, religious andmilitary leadership has approved na-tional action plan against terrorismunanimously which is a highly wel-come and an important step in the po-

Martyrdom of children andteachers has united whole nation

litical history of the country.He expressed these views while

talking to senior journalists, intellec-tuals, columnists and anchor personswho met him, here today. On this oc-casion, special prayers were also of-fered for the departed souls of childrenand teachers who were martyred inPeshawar tragedy.

The Chief Minister announced toset up a utility store and center of ex-cellence in Journalists’ Colony, Lahore.He directed to constitute a committeefor resolving other problems of jour-nalists.

The committee will comprise Min-ister for Education Rana MashhoodAhmed, Spokesman Punjab govern-ment Zaeem Hussain Qadri, SecretaryInformation, Secretary Higher Educa-tion, Press Secretary to Chief Minis-ter, senior journalist and analystSalman Ghani and Anchor PersonNajam Wali. The committee will con-

sider the matters with regard to provi-sion of laptops, soft terms loans forpurchasing motorcycles, Phase-II ofJournalists’ Colony Lahore and issu-ance of medical health cards to jour-nalists. Special Assistant Azm-ul-Haq,spokesman Punjab government ZaeemHussain Qadri, Parliamentary SecretaryInformation Rana Muhammad Arshad,Secretary Information Momin Agha,Press Secretary to Chief MinisterShoaib Bin Aziz and DGPR Athar AliKhan were also present on the occasion.Those who met the Chief Minister in-cluded senior analyst Salman Ghani,Khadim Hussain, Naveed Chaudhry,Abid Tahami, President Pakistan Fed-eral Union of Journalist RanaMuhammad Azeem, Najam Wali, MianHabib Ullah, Naeem Mustafa, Presi-dent Electronic Media AssociationAsim Naseer, Zaheer Babar,Muhammad Aslam, Amjad Usmani,Zahid Abid and Saima Nawaz.

Measures underway to materializeCM’s ‘Yaqeeni Rozgar’ visionMUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Technical Education & Vo-cational Training Authority (TEVTA) istaking all required measures to imple-ment the mission of Chief MinisterPunjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif toprovide “Yaqeeni Rozgar” to unem-ployed youth.

In this connection, short courseswith the consultation of industry arebeing offered in selected TEVTA insti-tutes across the province of the Punjab.Present enrollment of TEVTA Instituteswill be increased upto four lac duringtwo years.

It was stated by ChairpersonTEVTA Irfan Shaikh while addressinga meeting to implement Information &Communication Technology for the pro-

LAHORE—Provincial Minister for Coopera-tives Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar andProvincial Minister for Social Welfare SyedHaroon Ahmed Sultan Bukhari have said thatthe roadmap announced by Prime Minister foreliminating terrorists and their facilitators fromthe country reflects that Prime Minister is play-ing a courageous role for ridding the nation ofmenace of terrorism.

They said that after Peshawar tragedy, Pa-

Days of terrorists, theirpatrons are numbered

kistan has changed and now there is no roomfor terrorism, extremism, sectarianism and in-tolerance in it. The Ministers said that the daysof terrorists and their facilitators have num-bered.

They said that those attacking our futureby killing innocent children have no place tohide. They said that every individual of thenation has become solider and will make theterrorists an example.

motion of Technical Education and Vo-cational and Training delivery across theprovince of the Punjab. Chief Operat-ing Officer Jawad Ahmed Qureshi, Gen-eral Managers Hamid Ghani Anjum,Abdul Qayyum, Azhar Iqbal Shad andothers were present at this occasion.

Irfan Qaiser Shaikh said that the re-sources spent on the students are not ex-penditures but a useful investment for aprosperous future of the country.

TEVTA has also signed MOUs withdifferent national and international or-ganization for implementation of I.T.and to impart training on internationallyrecognized curricula through e-learning.

To make optimal use of scarce re-sources of TVET trainers in cutting edgetechnologies, Tele-presence System wasencompassed for distance learning in

this regard. A good teacher at a par-ticular institute having better knowledgeof imparting the technical training willbe able to deliver the lecture throughTele-presence to the students of otherinstitutes as well.

Chairperson TEVTA further said thatan integrated computer based softwareapplication to collect online and real timeinformation from field formation wasalso felt necessary for better monitoringof academic and financial activities.

To achieve this objective an Enter-prise Resource Planning system wasplanned to implement in TEVTA for de-cision support and efficient planning. AllInformation & Communication Technol-ogy projects should be operationalizedon priority basis to get maximum ben-efits from IT, he concluded.