Friday, 19 April, 2013 Jamadul Sani 8, 1434Rs 17.00 Vol III No 292 19 Pages Karachi Edition

High earninggroups face lesserfood inflation

No matter which digit the inflationnumbers are hitting, the price hike inthe country is breaking the back ofthose earning the lowest amongvarious income groups. And thoseliving in the federal capital,Islamabad, appeared to be most-affected compared to their countrymen residing in other provincial capitals ofPakistan. pag e 16

aisam becomes no 1 in asia, 9th inWorld in doubles

Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisam ul Haq hasearned yet another laurel for hiscountry by gaining the number oneranking in Asia and world number 9ranking worldwide. According to the recent released ATPWorld Ranking List, Aisam with hispersonal ranking of No. 9 in the Worldis the top Asian tennis player on ATP World Ranking List ofDoubles players. page 15

pML-n’s solo flightmay have its consequences

With hardly any chance of makingalliances or noteworthy seat adjustmentin the Punjab and elsewhere in thecountry, the PML-N is all set to take a solofight in the upcoming general elections.With the final battle-lines almost drawnbetween the parties and contestantshaving almost finalised their candidates,it seems that the PML-N is nowhere nearjoining hands with any other politicalparty in the Punjab. page 09

taliban vow revengeover guantanamoshootings

The Taliban on Thursday pledged to takerevenge on US troops in Afghanistan afterguards at Guantanamo prison fired non-lethal rounds at inmates to quell unrest.Guards at the US-run prison in Cuba firedthe rounds last Saturday to halt unrest asthey relocated inmates into individualcells, US military officials said. Officialsmet with resistance from some detaineesas they moved inmates from communalhousing to individual cells. page 07

Malala makes it totime’s 100 Most influential people

story on page 04

tV channel taken off air forairing anti-Kayani remarks

US general againalleges ISI’s linkswith Haqqanis

LHC allows Pervez Ashraf tocontest elections

story on page 02story on page 04

stories on pages 03 & 04

story on page 03

story on page 02

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PML-N‘s persistent opposition

made Musharraf stand before a

court of law – Pervez Rashid

LHC allows Ashraf tocontest elections

LAHOREAPP

A full bench of the Lahore High Courton Thursday provisionally allowed for-mer prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashrafto contest elections from NA-51.The bench, comprising Justice ijazulAhsan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah andJustice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, or-dered the Election Commission of Pak-istan (ECP) to include Ashraf’s name inthe list of valid candidates. However, itlinked the decision with the final out-come of the petition.The LHC also issued notices to the ECPand objector, irfan Aziz, to appear onApril 22 and also sought replies. The bench passed the orders on a petitionfiled by Ashraf challenging the rejectionof his nomination papers by a returningofficer for NA-51 and dismissal of hisappeal by an election tribunal.

TV channel taken off air for airing anti-Kayani remarks

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The broadcast of Capital TV, a privateTV channel owned by former FiAdeputy director general Ahmed RiazSheikh, was taken off air across thecountry on Thursday when a guest on alive talk show used abusive languageagainst Chief of Army Staff GeneralAshfaq kayani. Sources told Pakistan Today on condi-tion of anonymity that a guest on a talkshow hosted by senior journalist EjazHaider ‘insulted’ the Army chief byusing foul language against him on air.The guests on the show were journalistand social activist Marvi Sirmed andAmad khalid, a former personal secre-tary to right-wing activist Zaid Hamid. Taking note of the situation, the de-partment concerned decided to take thechannel off air and cable operatorswere instructed to remove Capital TVfrom their networks for an indefiniteperiod.

A profile of political parties vote banksISLAMABAD: Gallup Pakistan carried out an Election Day Survey on February 18 across all four provinces of the country. Gallup says the survey is not meant to be an earlyprediction or to monitor the fairness of elections. According to them, it’s a survey to determine the age, income and education composition of the vote banks of the leading polit-ical parties. STAFF REPORT

PML-N HAS THE HIGHEST SHARE OF VOTERS BELONGING TO THE

MIDDLE AND HIGHER CLASS

Pakistan People’s Party has the highest share of poor voters (12%), as wellas the highest share of the voters belonging to the lower middle class(65%). Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has the highest share of voters be-longing to the middle and higher class (35%), followed by PML-Q (32%).

PML-Q HAS THE HIGHEST SHARE OF FEMALE VOTES

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid has the highest share of female voters (56%) andthe lowest share of male voters (44%). PML-N has the highest share of male voters(50%) compared with the other two parties. The findings were based on a survey of5,338 statistically selected voters from all the four provinces of Pakistan. They wererandomly selected as they stepped out of polling stations after casting their vote.

VOTE BANK OF ALL THREE LEADING PARTIES WAS FAIRLY SIMILAR

IN AGE COMPOSITION

The vote bank of all three leading parties was fairly similar in age composition, withall three parties claiming the same percentage of the youth vote (6%).

PPP HAS THE HIGHEST SHARE OF UNEDUCATED VOTERS

The PML-Nawaz vote bank had the highest share of college educated voters (11%), com-pared with PML-Q which had the highest share of voters who are educated up to highschool and intermediate (44%). PPP had the highest share of uneducated voters (43%).

ISLAMABADAPP

PAkiSTAN PeoplesParty’s (PPP) formerprime ministers YousafRaza Gilani and RajaPervez Ashraf said on

Thursday that postponement of elec-tions would be dangerous and all polit-ical forces would resist any such move.

They said this while addressing ajoint press conference at Zardari Housewhere Tehreek-e-islami leaders AllamaArif Wahidi and Allama ShabbirMaisani announced support for PPPcandidates in the upcoming generalelections. Gilani said that the adverselaw and order situation is not a validplea to postpone the elections as iranheld regular elections while it was atwar with iraq.

“Elections took place inAfghanistan during the war on terror,”he added. Gilani said elections shouldbe held on time as this was in the inter-est of the country. He said all stepsshould be taken for holding free andtransparent elections.

He said that the PPP leadership wasfollowing the vision and the policies of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhuttowho had sacrificed their lives for therights of the people and for democracy.

Gilani said that the 20th Amend-ment introduced by the PPP govern-ment has ensured the credibility of thecaretaker government and independ-ence of Election Commission of Pak-istan. “For the first time in the historyof this country, a government has com-pleted its term timely elections arebeing held. Both of these are theachievement of the PPP,” he said.

To a question regarding the law and

order situation, he said the governmentand ECP should provide adequate secu-rity to the party which is receiving threats.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said that politi-cal analysts believe that after the up-coming elections, a coalitiongovernment would be set up as no partywould be able to win enough seats toform government on its own.

To a question regarding allotmentof contracts for two roads in his con-stituency, he said that the NLC was ca-pable of building the road in a shorttime period and this was not a crime.

Shahbaz startscampaign in NA-129

LAHORE: Former Punjab chief minister MianShahbaz kicked off his own election campaign inLahore on Thursday. He visited his constituency(NA-129) from where he is contesting for both na-tional and provincial assembly seats.Sharifs are running from this constituency for thefirst time in which mostly the rural areas of the cityfall. This constituency is considered the most neg-lected area of Lahore. Meanwhile, PML-N leaderswho accompanied Shahbaz Sharif were surprised tosee Shahbaz Sharif spending several hours in hisconstituency. During his stay, he made stopovers ataround two dozen places. On each stop, he ad-dressed the people who had gathered, most of whomwere surprised to see Shahbaz. Speaking to the lo-cals, Shahbaz promised to bring the rural area of thecity at par with the urban areas. He also assured thepeople that his government would provide healthand educational facilities. He promised to reduceload shedding in the rural areas. He said that loadshedding was the biggest indicator of misrule andcorruption committed by the PPP government in thelast five years. “We will overcome load sheddingwithin two years,” he assured. STAFF REPORT

Parties to resistdelay in polls: PPP

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ISLAMABADTAyyAB HuSSAIn

in compliance with the order ofthe islamabad High Court(iHC), the interim governmenton Thursday decided to put for-mer dictator General (r) PervezMusharraf under house arrestand the same would be con-veyed either by the attorneygeneral or the inspector generalof police to the court today (Fri-day), Pakistan Today has learnton authority.

Meanwhile, Minister for in-formation Arif Nizami said thatthe court’s order regarding thearrest of General Musharrafwould be implemented in letterand spirit.

“No anarchy would befallthe country if Musharraf is ar-rested,” he added.

A well-placed source in thegovernment said that the matterwas taken up by the govern-ment’s high-ups and it was de-cided that the former army chief,who also served as the country’spresident, would be put underhouse arrest due to “securitythreats”.

“We have information thatMusharraf is facing securitythreats from several militantoutfits. He has also come underattack twice while many life at-tempts were thwarted in thepast. keeping in view the situa-tion, he could not be kept in anyprison as militants are also keptthere. So the government has de-cided to keep him under housearrest and his residence at Chak

Shahzad would be declared sub-jail,” the source added.

Meanwhile, another officialsaid President Asif Ali Zardarihosted a working luncheon forthe members of the federal cab-inet at the Presidency.

“The president was given adetailed briefing by Prime Min-ister Mir Hazar khan khoso onthe law and order. The presidentalso gave his input on mainte-nance of security and asked thegovernment to provide levelplaying field to all political par-ties so that impartial, free, fairand transparent elections couldbe held,” the source added.

The official said that thepresident, who is normallyblamed for having a leaning to-wards his own party – the Pak-istan People’s Party, urged thecabinet to conduct itself asstrictly impartial so as no onecould point a finger toward anyminister for being partisan.

“The president conductedhimself as a statesman. Helooked impartial and non-parti-san,” the official said.

The official said matters re-garding the Election Commis-sion of Pakistan also came underdiscussion and it was decidedthat a three-member ministerialdelegation would call on thechief election commissioner(CEC) to take up contentious is-sues. “The ministerial delega-tion would include informationMinister Arif Nizami, Law Min-ister Ahmer Bilal Soofi and in-terior Minister Malik Habib,”the official added.

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Friday, 19 April, 2013

Musharraf will be lucky if

gets the ‘luxury’ of house

arrest. – Aitzaz Ahsan

nIzAmI SAyS Govt wILL ImPLement CoUrt’S order, no AnArCHy If mUSHArrAf IS ArreSted

Musharraf is notmy enemy, he’san enemy of thestate: Nawaz

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Presi-dent Nawaz Sharif has said that he has no personalenmity with former dictator General PervezMusharraf, and all political parties should be pro-vided with a level playing field in the upcominggeneral elections.“The law should decide how to deal with the ene-mies of Pakistan,” Nawaz said in an interviewwith a private TV channel. He also called for achange in bureaucracy in the Centre and otherprovinces like Punjab.Nawaz said there was no option for delay in theelections and urged the people to cast as muchvotes in favour of any party for it to be able toform a strong government.Commenting on imran khan’s statement that hewould not take oath from President Asif AliZardari after being elected as the prime minister,Nawaz said the PTi chief was unlikely to take oathfrom Zardari any way.

Musharrafrefuses to‘surrender’ to police

ISLAMABAD: The islamabad senior superin-tendent of police (SSP) along with two SHOswent to former president General (r) PervezMusharraf’s house to persuade him to offer ar-rest. However, the former commando refused tomeet them. A source in police told PakistanToday that SSP Yaseen Farooq, Shahzad Townand Secretariat SHOs had gone to Musharraf’sresidence to urge him to offer arrest, but the lat-ter refused to meet them. Source added that aclose aide of Musharraf tried to persuade the for-mer army chief to hold meeting with police offi-cers, but he rejected their demand straightaway.On this, police officers returned. Later, the in-spector general (iG), the SSP and other seniorofficials held a meeting to prepare a report tosubmit in the iHC as Justice Shaukat Siddiquihad ordered the iG to appear before the court onFriday (today) to inform the court about stepstaken to arrest Musharraf. Source said that dur-ing the meeting they deliberated various options.“We are highly confused as if we will arrest theformer military chief then we have to face someresistance from establishment… if we will notarrest the accused then we have to face court,”the source added. STAFF REPORT

THe ruNAwAy GeNerALISLAMABAD

KASHIF ABBASI

HEARiNG thejudges’ house arrestcase, the islamabadHigh Court onThursday rejectedthe interim bail of

former president Pervez Musharraf,however, the former military dictatorwas escorted away from court premisesby his security staff for fears of his secu-rity.

The former president appeared in thecourt of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui toget extension in his interim bail in thejudges’ house arrest case. But the courtrejected his bail plea. After the rejection,the former president, contrary to his re-cent statement that he was ready to go tojail on court’s order, left the court withthe help of Rangers and intelligence ap-paratus detailed for his security. He wasescorted away to his Chak Shahzadfarmhouse.CRIMINAL ACTION

in its detailed judgment, the courtdeclared the ‘escape’ of Musharraf fromcourt a criminal act and ordered the in-spector General of islamabad Police toappear in court today (Friday) to explainthe steps taken for arrest of the accused.

in the six-page detailed verdict, thecourt also directed the police to insert asection of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as put-ting the judges in house arrest was a notan ordinary act but terrorism. The courtalso declared the personal guards of

Musharraf, who helped him escape, andpolice official who were present at iHC,culprits.

“The personal security guards of pe-titioner Gen (r) Musharraf facilitated andhelped him to escape instead of surren-dering him before officials of SecretariatPolice Station.”

“The iGP is directed to explain whyproper police force was not deputed tohandle the situation. The iGP is also di-rected to submit detail report about allpersons who acted in aid of petitioner,and action be taken against those policeofficials who remained napping, insteadof performing their duty with due dili-gence and care,” the order said.

According to law, police is bound toarrest the accused after rejection of hisbail, but in Musharraf’s case, islamabadpolice under the supervision of SSP Op-erations Yaseen Farooq did not try to ar-rest the former general. Later, Musharrafrushed to his fortified Mediterranean-styled residence in Shahzad Town, wherehe might be put under house arrest.

During the hearing of the case,Musharraf’s lawyer Qamar Afzal con-tended that his client did not order theconfinement of judges, rather the deci-sion was taken by the federal cabinet,which was chaired by the prime minis-ter.

in a case registered in Secretariat Po-

lice Station on August 11, 2009, Mushar-raf was booked under Section 344/34PPC for passing an illegal order of im-posing emergency in 2007 and confiningthe judges of superior courts, includingChief Justice iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry, and stopping them from per-forming duties. The case was registeredon the application of Aslam Ghuman.

in its judgement, the iHC said con-fining the judges of superior court andstopping them from performing dutieswas an act of terrorism.

Talking to reporters later, Mushar-raf’s lead counsel Ahmed Raza kasurisaid his client did not escape from court.

He went there escorted by the secu-rity personnel provided by the state andit was in state security that he came backfrom there.

kasuri said Musharraf was relaxed,confident and happy. “We were sippingcoffee and he was smoking a cigar,” ka-suri said.

“There were hundreds of Rangers inMusharraf’s security escort, he wentwith them and came back with them, itwas not an escape. How can you say hefled from court?”

“As for the court’s decision, thecourts also make illegal decisions andthey are not sacred cows. That is whythere is an option of review there.”

To a query, he said the high courtcould either accept or reject the bail ap-plication but could not order arrest.

“This is a unique decision in Pak-istan’s judicial history. Such decisionscould raise doubts about the judiciary,”kasuri opined.

After the verdict high security meas-ures were put in place outside Mushar-raf’s residence. Police also blocked themain road leading to Musharraf’s resi-dence.

mUSHArrAf evAdeS ArreSt After formerPreSIdent’S bAIL extenSIon PLeA IS denIed InjUdGeS’ detentIon CASe

CoUrt termS eSCAPe A CrImInAL ACt, dIreCtS IGP to exPLAIn SItUAtIon

ISLAMABAD: Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf leaves the

Islamabad High Court after his bail plea was denied by the judge.

Musharraf to be putunder house arrest

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Friday, 19 April, 2013

Previous government’s foreign

policy focused on promoting

friendly relations with neighbouring

countries. — Hina Khar

ISLAMABADAnwER ABBAS

ACCUSiNG Justice Shaukat Sid-diqui of being a strong supporter ofthe religious political party, Jamaat-e-islami, as well as leading lawyers

from Rawalpindi in the campaign againstPervez Musharraf during his tenure, the AllPakistan Muslim League (APML) onThursday said an application for the bail ofthe former president would be re-lodged inthe Supreme Court today (Friday).

Addressing a news conference –flanked by APML Additional SecretaryGeneral Chaudhry Shafique, and APML in-formation Secretary Aasia ishaq –theparty’s islamabad President Dr Amjad crit-icised Justice Siddiqui for his alleged bi-ased decision against Musharraf.

The islamabad High Court, led by Jus-tice Siddique, on Thursday ordered the ar-rest of the former president, howeverMusharraf’s security convoy safely shifted

him to his farmhouse at Chak Shahzad.Dr Amjad clarified that Musharraf

never passed any orders for the detention orhouse arrest of the judiciary during histenure and the judges were free to move.

“All allegations in this connectionagainst Musharraf are wrong and a delib-erate attempt to distort the facts and thishas already been proven by our lawyersduring the hearing this morning (onThursday),” Dr Amjad added.

Elaborating, Amjad said despite findingno answer to the arguments presented bylawyers leading the case for Musharraf, thejudge ordered his arrest under the Anti-Terror-ism Act, which itself was not part of the case.

Accusing Justice Siddiqui of being a sup-porter of the Jamaat-e-islami, Dr Amjad saidthe judge did this because of his loyalty andactive support for the Ji. “Siddiqui was alsoleading lawyers from the Rawalpindi Bar As-sociation actively during Musharraf’s era tocarry out rallies against the former militarychief and the president of the country,” he said.

Elaborating on his party’s strategy, theAPML leader said he would apply for apre-arrest bail for Musharraf on Friday

(today), and if Musharraf was taken intocustody, he would go for a post-arrest bailplea for the APML chief.

ISLAMABAD APP

Lawmakers in the Upper Houseof parliament on Thursday de-manded action against formerpresident Pervez Musharraf forhis crimes against constitution,democracy, political leadershipand the nation.

They also demanded thecaretaker interior minister informthe House how Musharraf es-caped from court to his residenceand why a former general couldnot be arrested if an electedprime minister of the countrycould be sent to jail.

Speaking on points of order,the senators claimed that doublestandard existed in the country inviolation of the constitution thatsaid every Pakistani was equalbefore the law. “We have beentalking of the rule of law and in-dependence of the judiciary. Buttoday we saw it is easy to send anelected prime minister to jail buta former general and military dic-tator cannot be arrested,” re-marked senior PPP Senator Raza

Rabbani. “in Pervez Musharraf’scase it is a test of time. When thecourt had ordered his arrest, whywas he not arrested? it is a ques-tion mark,” Rabbani added.

He charged Musharraf of in-volvement in the killing of Be-nazir Bhutto and Nawab AkbarBugti, abrogating the constitution

and putting judges under housearrest. “Musharraf is a usurperwho twice abrogated the consti-tution. He was announced to bearrested but he safely fled in con-nivance with state institutions.The caretaker government wasresponsible to arrest him and the

interior minister should informthe House why the governmenthad not fulfilled its ob-ligations,” Rab-bani said.

PPPP Senator Farhatullah Babarsaid he did not hold the caretakergovernment responsible for hisescape. “i have been looking atthe state apparatus. There are twolaws and double standards in thecountry. if we could not mend itover time, how we can hold the

caretakers responsible for thesedouble standards?”

“The caretaker governmentis as helpless as the civilian

governments used to be.This country had two

laws, one for thecivilians andother for the se-curity person-nel no matter ifthey are re-tired,” Babarsaid.

He said thedouble standard

was not the fault ofthe previous govern-

ment and the caretakers“but it is collective accumu-

lation that double standard existsin the country. Had there beenBenazir Bhutto and NawazSharif, they would been arrestedimmediately.” He also accusedMusharraf of twice holding theconstitution in abeyance and in-troducing 17th amendment andLFO and demanded the Houseresolve to immediately removeall banners and posters of Pervez

Musharraf in the capital.PPP’s Saeed Ghani de-

manded action against Musharrafand trial of those who assistedhim in escaping. He also de-manded action against those whoopenly claimed to have abrogatedthe constitution. PML-N’sMushahidullah khan said the listof crimes of Musharraf was muchlong as he killed Akbar Bugtiand Balach Marri, trampled theconstitution and democracy,handed over Aafia Siddiqui tothe US, fuelled terrorism result-ing in killing of 50,000 people,ruined the country’s economyand attacked Lal Masjid.

He feared that if Musharrafescaped the court premises today,he would be flown out of thecountry soon. “if justice is notdone in this case, the future ofdemocracy will be doubtful.”

He called for standing withthe court and strengthening thejudiciary. “Confining Musharrafto his residence will be againstthe norms of justice. He needs tobe arrested. Let us take this stepfor once and take it now.”

WASHInGtOnOnLInE

A top American commander hassaid the Afghan Taliban and theHaqqani network had sanctuariesinside Pakistan and there were in-telligence reports about their linkwith the Pakistani spy agency iSi.

“There have been intelligencereports that link the iSi particularlyto the Haqqani network,” JosephDunford, Commander of US andNATO forces in Afghanistan, toldmembers of Senate Armed ServicesCommittee during a Congressionalhearing on Afghanistan.

To a question from SenatorDonnelly, Dunford said he was notclear over what control the PakistanArmy had over the iSi.

“What control does the Pak-istan army have over the iSi, inyour opinion?” the Senator asked.

“Senator, i don’t know. Nomi-nally, of course, they work for Gen-eral kayani (the Pakistan Army

chief). General kayani is a formerdirector of the iSi. My sense is thatanything the iSi does is known byGeneral kayani, but i can’t confirmthat,” the American general said.

“i do think the Afghan Talibanhave sanctuary, particularly theHaqqani Network have sanctuaryinside of Pakistan, and they get sup-port from individuals in Pakistan.But i don’t believe anybody con-trols them,” he said when askedhow much control Pakistan hadover these terrorist outfits.

Responding to another questionfrom Senator John McCain, Dun-ford said Pakistan had not been ableto take effective action against theterrorist safe havens inside thecountry. To another question fromSenator Carl Levin, chairman of theSenate armed services committee,the general said of late the rhetoricfrom Pakistan had changed.

“At this point, i could only tellyou that the rhetoric from Pakistanhas changed. General kayani has

pledged cooperation. We have seen,at the tactical level, increased levelsof cooperation since the fall,” hesaid. “We have seen increased co-operation on the ground lines ofcommunication as we’ve tried tomove our equipment back and forththrough Pakistan. General kayanihas pledged i will meet with him ona monthly basis individually, andwe also will have routine meetingsat the trilateral level with Afghanleadership, as well as Generalkayani,” Dunford said.

Levin in his remarks said thegreatest challenge to Afghanistan’ssecurity was not the Taliban but thePakistan-based sanctuaries for mil-itant extremists launching cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

“Pakistan has said that it sup-ports a stable and secureAfghanistan, but its actions belie itswords. The US-Pakistan relation-ship will not be normalised so longas those extremist safe havens existon Pakistani territory,” Levin said.

MOnItORInG DESK

Malala Yousafzai was theonly Pakistani who made itto the annual list of 100 Mostinfluential People in theWorld released by TimeMagazine on Thursday.

Malala came under in-ternational spotlight afterTaliban attacked her inSwat for campaigning forgirls’ education. She re-ceived a bullet injury to herhead but successfully re-covered after undergoing asurgery in Britain.

“The Taliban almost madeMalala a martyr; they suc-ceeded in making her a sym-bol,” said the Time 100website.

“The memoir she is writ-ing to raise awareness aboutthe 61 million childrenaround the world who are notin school indicates she ac-cepts that unasked-for re-sponsibility as a synonym for

courage and a champion forgirls everywhere. HoweverMalala concludes her book,her story so far is only justbeginning,” it added.

Malala was named underthe “icons” category of thelist, with other renowned per-sonalities including Duchessof Cambridge kate Middle-ton, US first lady MichelleObama, singer Beyoncé andJustin Timberlake.

The “Leaders” categoryincluded US President BarackObama, US Senator RandPaul, Director Central intelli-gence Agency John Brennan,North korea’s SupremeLeader kim Jong Un andPope Francis.

Singer Christina Aguil-era, director Steven Spielbergand talk-show host Jimmykimmel came under the“Artists” category, while Bol-lywood actor Aamir khanand satirist Bassem Youssefwere named “Pioneers”.

SHC rejectsMusharraf’s pleaagainst rejectionof nominationpapersKARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC)on Thursday rejected the appeal of formerpresident General (r) Pervez Musharrafagainst the rejection of his nominationpapers for Karachi’s NA-250. AdvocateKhawaja Naveed appeared on behalf ofMusharraf before the three-memberbench comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar,Justice Abdur Rasool Memon and JusticeFarooq Shah. Naveed contended that hisclient had not been convicted in any caseso far. After hearing the arguments ofboth sides, the bench rejected the appealand upheld the decision of the electiontribunal. APP

Lawyers boycottcourts inBalochistanQUETTA: Lawyers boycotted the courtproceedings across Balochistan onThursday against attacks on PML-Nleader Sanaullah Zehri and ANP leaderGhulam Ahmed Bilour. According todetails, on the call of Balochistan BarAssociation (BBA) lawyers did notappear in the Balochistan High Court(BHC) and all district courts. Thelitigants had to suffer adversely due tothe boycott. Black flags were hoisted atbar room buildings on the occasion. Thelawyers expressed grave concern overthe attacks on political leaders anddemanded that the authoritiesconcerned ensure security for thecontesting candidates. InP

SC seeks detailsof funds to mediahouses ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court onThursday sought details of summariesapproved by the federal governmentfor disbursement of funds toadvertising agents/media houses. Atwo-member bench, comprising JusticeJawwad S Khawaja and Justice KhiljiArif Hussain, was hearing identicalpetitions about the formation of amedia accountability commission. Whiledirecting the deputy attorney generalto provide the details, the court alsoasked the representative of mediahouses to provide details of all pendingpayments with the federation. Later,the further hearing of the case wasadjourned until April 23. APP

us general again allegesisi’s links with Haqqanis

senators demand Musharraf’s arrest for supremacy of law

Malala makes it totime’s 100 Mostinfluential people list

LAHORE: Activists of the All Pakistan Muslim League shout slogans outside the pressclub in support of former dictator Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf after his plea for bailextension was denied by the Islamabad High Court on Thursday. OnLInE

We HaVe been taLKing of tHe ruLe of LaW and

independence of tHe judiciary.but today We saW it is easy

to send an eLected priMe Ministerto jaiL but a forMer generaL

and MiLitary dictator cannot be arrestedSEnAtOR RAzA RABBAnI

MusHarraf Hints at tensionsbetWeen state piLLarsISLAMABAD: Hours after evadingarrest, former president PervezMusharraf indirectly warned that theIslamabad High Court’s decision toreject his bail extension may cause“unnecessary tension amongst thevarious pillars of state and possiblydestabilise the country”. “We expect thisunwarranted judicial activism, seeminglymotivated by personal vendettas sincehis (Musharraf’s) return to Pakistan toparticipate in the upcoming elections,will cease and the Supreme Court,without prejudice, will immediatelygrant necessary relief followingprecedence and the Rule of Law; theabsence of which will cause mockery ofthe nation,” said the statement alsoposted on his official Facebook page onThursday. STAFF REPORT

Musharraf’s party accuses IHC judge of bias

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KARAcHInnI

Another PPP’s two candidates,Nadir Magsi and Murad Ali Shad,who were disqualified last week,have been allowed by the SindhHigh Court (SHC) to contest gen-eral elections.

Magsi was declared ineligibleby an election tribunal in Sukkurover charges of corruption. How-ever, the SHC reversed the deci-sion and allowed the formerprovincial minister to take part inelections from PS 40, QambarShahdadkot, and NA 206.

Meanwhile, the Sindh HighCourt also reversed election tri-bunal’s decision and allowedPPP’s former minister Syed MuradAli Shah to contest election fromPS-73 Dadu.

it may be recalled the electiontribunal had disqualified MuradAli Shah from contesting the pollsfor holding dual nationality.

in its short order on Thursday,the SHC said Shah had surren-dered his dual nationality beforethe tribunal’s decision.SINDH’S NINE-PARTY

ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES

CANDIDATES: Sindh’s nine-party alliance has issued names ofthe candidates who will finally gofor contesting the general elec-tions.

According to spokesman of thealliance, the names of 90 candi-dates for provincial seats and 47names for the national assemblyseats have been announced.

He further said that Pir Pagarawill announce 15 percent nameslater. PML-F leader imtiaz Sheikhsupported the alliance’s announce-ment saying the PPP will face atough competition in the elections. MQM FINALISES

CANDIDATES: MuttahidaQuami Movement (MQM) an-nounced the names of candidates

who will contest elections from thecity constituencies for seats in na-tional and provincial assemblies.

According to details, Dr khalidMaqbool Siddiqui will vie for Na-tional Assembly seat from NA 219,Syed Waseem Hussain from NA220; while Ghazi Salahuddin willcontest elections from NA 221.

Dilawar Qureshi has beenfielded from provincial con-stituency PS 45, Rashid khiljifrom PS 46 and Ali Ahmed Brohiwill contest polls for provincial as-sembly’s PS 47 seat.

Meantime, Zubair Ahmedkhan eyes provincial assemblyseat from PS 48 and SabirQaimkhani is the Muttahida’s can-didate from PS 50.

KARACHI

kFriday, 19 April, 2013

05The administrative secretaries should ensure good governance and

monitoring of their departments, and zealously improve the performance

to achieve the goals and targets assigned to them. – CS Ijaz Choudhry

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4:48 6:07 12:32 4:01 6:56 8:16

250CKARAcHI

nnI

CARETAkER Chief Min-ister Zahid kurban Alaviassured on Thursday thatthe provincial govern-

ment will fully support and provide allnecessary security and complete pro-tection to the teams engaged in per-forming duties and administering poliodrops to children. The chief ministerssaid this during a meeting held with in-ternational Moni-toring Board(GPEi) SecretaryGeneral Dr PaulRutter at the CMHouse regardingmeasures to eradi-cate polio from theprovince and makePakistan a polio-free country. Themeeting was also attended by PakistanPolio Plus Committee Chairman AzizMemon, National Coordinator of PMMonitoring Cell Dr Altaf Bosan, SindhHealth Secretary Dr Suresh kumar,Special Health Secretary Taha Farooqi,Project Director of EPi Sindh Mazharkhamisani, Provincial Technical FocalPerson for Polio Eradication Sindh DrAhmed Ali Shaikh, Polio Team LeaderWHO Dr Salah Tumsah, Dr Shaukat(UNiCEF) and others. The caretakerchief minister said it was our responsi-

bility to make concerted efforts foreradication of polio from the society

and make Pakistan polio-free. Alavisaid had there been a good sanitationsystem and clean drinking water betterresults could have been achieved. TheGPEi secretary general informed thecaretaker CM that during the poliocampaign maximum facilities and se-curity was to be provided so that fieldworker could perform their dutieswithout any harassment. The meetingwas further informed that due to mi-gration of people from one place to an-other, the germination of polio had in-creased. The CM assured that facilitieswill be provided to persons performing

duties and engaged in administeringpolio drops to children, while the iGpolice and DG Rangers will be di-rected to provide necessary securityand protection to polio teams. Headded that the deputy commissionerswere controlling authorities of respec-tive districts for the polio campaignthat they should monitor at districtlevel. A representative committee forGadap area should be constituted com-prising people of all communities, hesaid, adding they should also motivatethe people to get their children admin-istered polio drops.

ALAVI uP AGAINSTPoLIo ATTACKS

Cm SIndH PreSIdeSover meetInG onPoLIo erAdICAtIonProGrAmme

tHe ig poLice and dgrangers WiLL bedirected to proVidenecessary securityand protection topoLio teaMs

MQM complainsof ‘hindrances’

KARAcHInnI

A delegation of the Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) met withCaretaker Chief Minister Zahidkurban Alavi and told him theirreservations regarding law and ordersituation in karachi. Led by FarooqSattar, the MQM delegation said theirparty candidates were facing troubleswhile working on election campaign.The caretaker CM assured thedelegation of adequate security for allthe party candidates. The delegationincluded Dr Sagheer Ahmed, RazaHaroon and Aadil Siddiqui.

ranger kills manin dispute over girl

KARAcHIOnLInE

A Rangers on Thursday killed a youngman in korangi area of karachi,officials said.According to the police, the localsarrested a man, who was later identifiedas a Rangers personal, after he tried toescape from the scene where a youngman was killed in Zaman Town area ofkorangi.There was a dispute between two boysover a girl, they said. The local alsoprotested outside the Zaman Townpolice station after the officials refusedto register an FiR against the personal.Meanwhile, the body has been shiftedto a local hospital.

Six gunneddown in city

KARAcHISTAFF REPORT

At least six persons were killed indifferent incidents of shootings acrossthe city on Thursday. A tortured bodyof a child was also recovered. According topolice, threedead bodies,two of thempacked in sacks,were founddumped inkharadar area.Police said all ofthese werekidnapped, killed,dumped inkharadar, and wereyet to be identified.MLO CivilHospital DrAftab told themedia thatthree were shotin their head andneck and the bodiesalso bore torture marks.A tortured body of a child was alsorecovered from Bangali Para Area ofkorangi. in another incident, a deadbody of a lady was found from bushesnear kalapul area. in yet anotherincident, unidentified gunmen shot alady dead in Gulzar Hijri FareeraGoth area.

Magsi, Murad Ali allowedto contest elections

Zahid Kurban Alavi

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:40 AM Page 5

KARAcHIAFTAB CHAnnA

WHiLE the Supreme Court ofPakistan is currently hearing asuo moto case regardingkarachi’s law and order situa-

tion and has recently ordered removal of barri-ers, the city dwellers have found a new trickyway to hoodwink the law enforcement agenciesby removing costly barriers themselves to avoidseizure, Pakistan Today learnt on Thursday.

One can find barricades and barriers onmajor streets and service roads, blocking vehic-ular traffic as well as pedestrian movement.However, in posh areas people have started re-moving the barriers so that they could be usedagain to block the streets after the apex court’sattention is diverted from this issue, PakistanToday has observed.

The apex court, while hearing the case, is-sued orders that the constituencies of the metrop-olis should be delimited and electoral rollsshould be verified with the help of law enforcingagencies.

Localities which have been blocked with theerection of brick walls and by installing barriersinclude those dominated by the Urdu and Pashtospeaking.

interestingly, after the apex court’s order,people have started putting up barriers even onmajor service roads in the city.

in block 13-C and 13-D of the Gulshan-e-iqbal, barriers have been installed on 80 percentof the service roads.

People have difficulty finding routes intoHassan Square and Gulshan Chowrangi, a de-tailed visit conducted by the Pakistan Today re-vealed.

Barriers that have been placed across a largenumber of streets of the metropolis, in additionto being illegal, restrict the freedom of move-ment of citizens, law enforcement personnel andemergency workers.

However, the residents of these blocked-offlocalities argue that they have little option but totake self-help measures since the governmentand the law enforcement agencies appear help-less against the growing level of crime in thecity.

While various political parties have mixedviews regarding the legitimacy of such barriers,various observers point out that it is dangerousto section off the city that is already geographi-cally divided across ethnic and political lines.

in recent times, the city has witnessed thegrowing phenomenon of roads being blocked offpermanently or between certain hours by resi-dents or mohalla committees on the pretext ofensuring security for their localities.

in addition, various political parties, politi-cians, mosque and imamabargah managementshave installed barriers on certain streets to pre-vent the passage of ordinary traffic and therebyto protect their offices or residences.

Presently, the relevant authorities have nodata regarding the number of roads and streetsthat have been blocked off by such illegally-in-stalled barriers.

Official sources confirmed that other thanbarriers installed in the proximity of foreign mis-sions, all such obstructions are illegal. Sourcessaid no government functionary or departmenthas the authority to grant permission for the in-stallation of barriers on public roads. in fact,such an act is considered a punishable offenceby the Police Order 2002.

Subsequently, the Sindh government recentlydecided that all illegally-installed barriers, whichrestrict the movement of law enforcement agen-cies and emergency workers, would be removed.This decision drew strong criticism from thequarters which had forced the authorities to sortout the modalities before the launch of any re-moval operation.

The areas which where barriers have beenput up include Gulshan-e-iqbal, Mehmoodabad,

Shah Faisal Colony, Gulshan-e-Jauhar, NorthNazimabad, New karachi, Gulberg, Lalo khet,Mooninabad, Saddar town, Garden, Burns Road,Model Colony, Maskan Chowrangi, Quaid-e-Azam Colony, PiB Colony, Safoora Chowrangi,Mosmiyat, Rabia City, Pehlwan Goth, ChisthiNagar, Shanti Nagar, Lyari, korangi industrialarea, SiTE town, Shershah, Orangi town, Baldiatown, Gulshan-e-Maymar and around 300 othersareas.. interestingly, Article 139(c)(d) of the Po-lice Order 2002 states, “No person shall causeobstruction in any street or public place by usingany part of a street or public place as a haltingplace for vehicles or cattle; or by causing ob-struction in any other manner.” While, Article141 says that “any person who contravenes anyof the provisions of Articles 138 to 140 shall, onconviction, be punished with a fine, which mayextend to Rs10,000, or, in default of payment,with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30days.”

According to Article 124 of the Police Order2002, “Any police officer may, in an emergency,temporarily close any street or public placethrough the erection of barriers or other means,to prohibit persons or vehicles from enteringsuch areas.”

Furthermore, barriers costly from Gulshan-e-iqbal, Tariq Road, PECHS, Shahra-e-Faisal,Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Bahadurabad and SindhiMuslim Society have been removed to avoidseizure by the law enforcment agencies.

KARACHI06

k

Fair and free polls held in a scare-free environment in

Karachi will alter the previous mandate. – Dr Arif AlviFriday, 19 April, 2013

KARAcHISTAFF REPORT

Speakers at a conference on ‘Democracy, Mediaand Elections 2013’ on Thursday emphasised thatthe present democratic setup should continuewith a positive role of media.

The speakers said it was necessary for thePakistani women to take part in every walk oflife. The conference was organised by WomenMedia Center (WMC) at a local hotel in collabo-ration with Commonwealth Journalists Associa-tion and National Endowment for Democracy.

iA Rehman in his speech said it had been de-cided in many districts of Fata that women won’tcast their votes. The media has to support themfor casting their vote, he suggested. “But willmedia do this?”, he questioned.

The media has to expose everything which isagainst the public, he said, adding as it (media)is supposed to protect the public rights. Being ajournalist and a responsible citizen, it is our dutyto work for the democracy, he further com-

mented. Noor-ul-Huda Shah lauded the effortsof WMC. Before she talked about the role ofwomen in media, she discussed about the democ-racy. The civil society had interesting disagree-ments with democracy, she added. All of ourd e m o c r a t i ca p p r o a c h e slay withintheir cities.But when weface lack ofbasic facili-ties we needpublic repre-s e n t a t i v e s ,she averred.

“Popularmedia’s roleis quite contrast to the role of a journal-ist. A person can’t be biased. Themedia educates people to ask questionsbut not pointing fingers. The massesbring about democracy. Right nowpeople are double minded. Why shouldthey vote? A cycle should be in the run-ning process. Each one teaches one.Following on this, a female journalistshould spread positive thinking ahead.Don’t indulge yourself in any irrelevant activi-ties”, she commented.

iftikhar Ahmad, a renowned TV anchor, an-swered few questions of the participants regard-ing elections. He said a blank box in ballot papercould have affected the voters’ turnout. Finallywe had reached a decision that we want democ-

racy, he said, adding we had to bring peo-ple out of their homes for casting votes.

The participants asked different ques-tions on elections. They actively partici-pated in the discussion. Anchors are notthe leaders and the media houses are notalternate of political parties, the speakerssaid. Only vote is solution to all our prob-

lems, theyc o n c l u d e d .Women mediacenter execu-tive directorFauzia Sha-heen high-lighted role offemale jour-nalists andQazi Asif, asenior jour-nalist, talkedabout unfortu-nate facts that

how journalists were losing their lives due topolicies of the media owners.

expensive barriersbeing taken off toavoid seizure

‘election solution to all problems’SPeAkerS SAy tv AnCHorSAre not LeAderS And medIAHoUSeS Are not ALternAteto PoLItICAL PArtIeS

being a journaListand a responsibLecitizen, it is ourduty to WorK fordeMocracy

I A Rehman

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:40 AM Page 6

07

newsFriday, 19 April, 2013

The press is our chief ideological

weapon. — Nikita Khrushchev N

DALLASAgEnCIES

Amassive explosion at a fertiliserplant near Waco in the US stateof Texas has killed between fiveand 15 people and woundedmore than 100 others, police say.

The blast on Wednesday night rippedthrough the West Fertilizer Company plantand destroyed numerous buildings includinga school and nursing home, authorities said.

Authorities have refrained from di-vulging casualty figures, but said the deathtoll was expected to rise as search teamscombed through the rubble of the fertiliserplant and surrounding homes. West MayorTommy Muska told Reuters that five or sixvolunteer firefighters who were among thefirst on the scene in the blast zone were un-accounted for. He added that all the residentshave been evacuated and are in safe locations.

Dean Wilson, a spokesman for theTexas Department of Public Safety, said50 to 75 houses were damaged by the ex-

plosion and a fire that followed, and that anearby 50-unit apartment complex hadbeen reduced to "a skeleton standing up".

He said it would be some time beforeauthorities know the full extent of the lossof life and damage caused by Wednesdaynight's blast at the plant in the town ofWest, about 30km north of Waco.

The wounded have been taken to hos-pital, and a nearby nursing home had col-lapsed from the explosion and that peoplewere believed trapped inside, Wilson said.Rescue workers are trying to evacuate peo-ple from homes near the plant. Local policesaid the fire was still smoldering, preventingfirefighters from carrying out their work.

Jason Shelton, 33, a father-of-two wholives less than 2km from the plant, said heheard fire trucks heading towards the fa-cility five minutes before the explosion.

Lacerations and broken bonesHe said he felt the concussion from the

blast as he stood on his front porch."My windows started rattling and my

kids screaming," Shelton told Reuters. The

screen door hit me in the forehead ... andall the screens blew off my windows."

The blast was reported at about 8pmlocal time (01:00 GMT on Thursday) inWest, about 130km south of city of Dallas.A dispatcher with Texas Fire Departmentsaid the explosion happened on Wednes-day night. Tommy Muska, West's mayor,said buildings in a five-block radius fromthe plant were severely damaged by theexplosion. Hillcrest Baptist Medical Cen-ter in Waco reported treating 66 patients,including children, for injuries includinglacerations, burns and broken bones.

"We are seeing a lot of lacerations andorthopaedic-type injuries ... things youwould expect in an explosion," said DavidArgueta, vice president of hospital opera-tions. He said nine people suffering burnshad been transferred to the Parkland Hos-pital in Dallas. A third hospital, ProvidenceHealth Center, reported receiving morethan 30 patients from the disaster.RESIDENCES LEVELLED: A seniorofficial said the nursing home and much

of the centre of town had been evacuated,and that residences near the explosion hadbeen levelled.

The air in town remained thick withsmoke more than two hours after the ex-plosion, and the area around the blast sitewas littered with shards of wood, bricksand glass. Governor Rick Perry issued astatement saying his office had "mobilisedstate resources to help local authorities"deal with the incident.

"We are monitoring developments andgathering information as details continueto emerge about this incident,'' the state-ment said. A White House official said theObama administration was aware of thesituation and monitoring local and state re-sponse through the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency.

Gayle Scarbrough, a spokeswoman forthe Department of Public Safety in Waco,told television station kWTX that DPStroopers have been transporting the injuredto hospitals in their patrol cars. She saidsix helicopters were also en route.

KABULAgEnCIES

The Taliban on Thursday pledged to take revengeon US troops in Afghanistan after guards at Guan-tanamo prison fired non-lethal rounds at inmates toquell unrest.

Guards at the US-run prison in Cuba fired therounds last Saturday to halt unrest as they relocatedinmates into individual cells, US military officialssaid. Officials met with resistance from some de-tainees as they moved inmates from communal hous-ing to individual cells. No detainees were seriouslyinjured, according to the officials. Dozens of detaineesare in the third month of a hunger strike at the prison.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his in-surgent group would avenge the incident by attackingAmerican troops in Afghanistan.“The Mujahideen ofthe islamic Emirate… vow to avenge these wrongedprisoners by targeting the American invaders inAfghanistan with all might at their disposal, Allah will-

ing,” Mujahid said in the statement. The spokesmanalso called on rights groups to condemn “such cowardlyactions of America and take a firm stance against itbased upon evident humane principles”.

The jail in Cuba houses scores of prisoners, includ-ing former Taliban members captured when a US-ledinvasion toppled the islamists from power 12 years ago.

Deadly explosion in Texas fertiliserplant leaves many dead

taliban vow revenge overguantanamo shootings

SEOULAgEnCIES

North korea has demanded the withdrawal of UNsanctions and the end of US-South korea military drills asconditions for resuming talks with Seoul and Washington.The list of pre-conditions outlined on Thursday, whichcame from the North's top military body, insisted on ageneral apology for all "provocative acts" taken againstNorth korea. The North's statement said: "Dialogue cannever go with war actions." The conditions will likely berejected by South korea and the US, which havethemselves made any talks conditional on the North takingsteps towards denuclearisation. Dialogue has become thenew focus of a blistering rhetorical battle that has sentmilitary tensions soaring on the korean peninsula eversince the North carried out its third nuclear test inFebruary. Some analysts see the North's engagement in adebate over dialogue as a welcome shift from theapocalyptic threats of nuclear war that have poured out ofPyongyang in recent weeks. "i don't think Pyongyangreally expects these conditions to be met," said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North korean Studiesin Seoul. "it's an initial show of strength in a game of tug-of-war that at least shows a desire to have a dialogue downthe line,"Yang said. The first step demanded by the North'sNational Military Commission was the withdrawal of"cooked up" UN sanctions that were imposed after thenuclear test in February. North korea has repeatedly citedthe sanctions as a prime trigger for the current crisis. Theother main bone of contention has been ongoing jointSouth korea-US military drills, which have involved thedeployment of nuclear-capable B-52s and B-2 stealthbombers. Both countries must provide internationalguarantees that such "nuclear war drills" will never berepeated, the commission said. Daniel Pinkston, a Northkorea expert with the international Crisis Group, ruled outany suggestion that the North was softening its positionand said those hoping a dialogue might emerge were beingwilfully naive. South korea's new president, Park Geun-Hye, has made tentative and conditional offers of talks,which received the backing of US Secretary of State Johnkerry during his recent Northeast Asia tour.

nortH KoreaLists deMandsfor taLKs

uS Senate rejectsgun backgroundchecksWASHInGTOn: The US Senate hasrejected a bipartisan plan to expandbackground checks for gun buyers,dealing a sharp blow to PresidentBarack Obama's campaign to curb gunviolence after the Newtown schoolmassacre. Despite emotional pleas fromfamilies of victims of the Newtown,Connecticut, shootings and broad publicsupport nationwide, the plan to extendbackground checks to online and gun-show sales failed on a 54-46 vote onWednesday, six votes short of the 60-vote hurdle needed to clear the Senate.Speaking from the White House onWednesday, Obama blamed theblockage of the legislation on a"minority" in the US Senate, marking itas a "shameful day for Washington"."The gun lobby and its allies willfullylied about the bill," he said, adding thatthe proposal "represented moderationand common sense". The amendmentnegotiated by Democrat Joe Manchin ofWest Virginia and Republican PatToomey of Pennsylvania was seen asObama's best hope to pass meaningfulgun-control legislation after theDecember massacre of 20 children andsix adults at an elementary school inNewtown. AgEnCIES

Video footageshows Bostonbomb suspectBOSTOn: Investigators have spotted aBoston Marathon bombing suspect fromsecurity video taken before two blastsripped through central Boston onMonday, a US law enforcement sourcehas said, in what is potentially thebiggest break in the case yet. Noarrests had been made, and thesuspect in the video had not beenidentified by name, two US governmentofficials said on Wednesday. Policeconsidered making an appeal to thepublic for more information at a newsconference, a US government sourcesaid, but the FBI cancelled that newsconference after delaying it severaltimes, Boston police said. Thebombings, as well as subsequentreports that someone tried to mail asuspected ricin letter to US PresidentBarack Obama - the second report ofsuch a letter in two days - have createda climate of uncertainty in the country.Earlier the FBI had said there was noindication of a connection between thericin letters and the Boston bombattacks. The federal courthouse inBoston was evacuated amid reports asuspect for Monday's bombings at theBoston Marathon was due to appear incourt, but officials said they cleared thearea because of a bomb scare. AgEnCIES

FBI arrestsMississippi manin ricin letter caseCORInTH: A Mississippi man accused ofmailing letters with suspected ricin tonational leaders believed he haduncovered a conspiracy to sell humanbody parts on the black market andclaimed "various parties within thegovernment" were trying to ruin hisreputation. Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, wasarrested Wednesday at his home inCorinth, near the Tennessee state line.Authorities were waiting for definitivetests on intercepted letters that wereaddressed to President Barack Obamaand Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.Preliminary field tests can often showfalse positives for ricin. Ricin is derivedfrom the castor plant that makes castoroil. There is no antidote and it's deadliestwhen inhaled. An FBI intelligencebulletin obtained by The Associated Presssaid the two letters were postmarkedMemphis, Tenn. AgEnCIES

SEjOnG: South Korean soldiers

walk through smoke as they take

part in an anti-terror and security

drill at the Integrated Government

Complex on Thursday. AgEnCIES

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:40 AM Page 7

newsNFriday 19 April, 2013

08 Smuggling is a cancer for national

economy. – Interior Minister Malik Habib

ISLAMABADOnLInE

THE Supreme Court (SC)disposed of suo motoproceedings followingthe withdrawal of a noti-fication by the govern-ment on allowing life

time protocol, security and perks to the for-mer premiers and former interior ministerRehman Malik.

A five member bench of SC which waspresided over by the Chief Justice of Pak-istan (CJP) iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhryresumed the hearing of the suo motu caseon unprecedented security protocol andperks and privileges for former Prime Min-isters Raja Pervez Ashraf and Yousaf RazaGilani on Thursday.

The CJP said that drinking water wasnot available to the people, therefore, al-lowing security protocol and perks to theformer premiers and former interior minis-ter was a burden on the national exchequer.

The interior secretary did not appearbefore the court despite the court’s ordersand the CJP expressed displeasure on thisaccount.

The Attorney General (AG) said effortswere being made to contact the interior sec-retary but his phone has been switched off.

The CJP remarked said that the PM is-sued notifications regarding the security

protocol, perks and privileges on March,15. “This can only be done through legis-lation and not through notification,” headded. However, the AG said legislationwas not necessary in every matter.

The court summoned the interior sec-retary in the meantime. Later, the CJP toldinterior Additional Secretary Tariq Lodhi,“We have not called you. Court had sum-moned the interior secretary. if he can notcome then he would be arrested.”

in reply to this, the additional secretarysaid, “i’ll try to contact him again.”

However, the CJP said, “Don’t lie. Tellus what the interior secretary has to sayabout the March 15 notification. Why was

an order given to allow security protocoland perks and privileges to former interiorminister Rehman Malik”?

in the meantime, interior Secretarykhawaja Siddique Akbar appeared beforethe court.

The CJP welcomed him by saying thatif the interior secretary does not complywith the orders of the court he should besent to jail.

“You have made it your routine and thisattitude amounts to contempt of court,” headded. The interior secretary tendered anapology and said that this would not be re-peated in the future.

The CJP replied saying, “Review your

attitude. A full bench is sitting here. Readsection 6 and when you return after serving6 months imprisonment then we will see.Enough is enough. Whenever you are sum-moned you come up with some excuse. Thebench is assembling for the second timedue to your attitude.”

The interior secretary was read out thecourt order, which said that if all was doneby him, “then under what law had he donethis”.

The CJP remarked, “We are readingyour summary. Generally security shouldbe provided to all the people of the country.Extra security should be provided to thosewho need it. How can life time security

protocol be given to a former interior min-ister? Explain it. Otherwise action will betaken against you.”

interior secretary said notification inthis respect has not been issued so far.

The CJP remarked that the former inte-rior minister had also denied all this and thesame reply has come from him.

The interior secretary said this was amatter of wisdom and intelligence.

Justice Ejaz remarked, “We are alreadyconvinced of your intelligence. How youmust have done all this.”

The interior secretary said RehmanMalik had remained on the front line in thewar on terror; therefore it was necessary toprovide him with security.

“it was done so at the bidding of hisprivate secretary Javed iqbal,” he added.

The CJP remarked, “Why are you ac-quiring three services from NADRA for alife time. A person is appointed interiorminister for three months and you are readyto provide him with services for a lifetime”.

The interior secretary said the formerprime minister wanted to launch an electioncampaign, therefore, security should beprovided to him.

At this, the CJP remarked, “How muchmore burden do you want to put on this na-tion. A tablet is not available for headacheto the masses and Rs 270 million will nowbe paid for Malik’s security.”

Life time security, perks to former ministersa burden on national exchequer: CJP

13 percent rise indefence budget 2013-14 proposedISLAMABAD: The defence budget pro-posal for the financial year 2013-14 hasbeen prepared, which envisages overall 13percent increase, taking the total defencebudget allocation to Rs627 billion, localmedia reported. The ministry of finance andplanning commission in a meeting heremulled over the budget allocations of vari-ous ministries including the ministry of de-fence.Adviser ministry of finance, Asad Aminpresiding over the meeting approved a 13percent increase in the defence budget2013-14, taking the total allocation toRs627 billion as against the 2012-13 budgetallocation of Rs545 billion, which was laterraised to Rs570 billion. AgEnCIES

eCP to give votingrights to overseasPakistanis

ISLAMABADOnLInE

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)has decided to give the right to vote to over-seas Pakistani and the decision will be imple-mented through a presidential ordinance.According to news reports, the decision wastaken in a meeting held in islamabad onThursday with Chief Election CommissionerFakhruddin G Ebrahim in the chair.Briefing reporters after the meeting‚ ECPSecretary ishtiak Ahmad said the commissionhad finalised the draft for the ordinance‚which would be sent to the Law Ministrywithin two days.He said talking to the CEC, the president hadexpressed reservation over the security of theleadership of political parties and the candi-dates.He also directed the CEC to personally en-sure that political leaders and candidates con-testing the upcoming elections be providedcomplete security.Ahmad said the commission had written tothe provincial governments asking them toensure foolproof security for all politicalleaders as well as the candidates. He said the ECP will meet on April 25 to fi-nalise the security measures to be taken atpolling stations.

DOHAAgEnCIES

Taliban leaders living in Qatar have held noAfghanistan peace talks with US officialsin the Gulf state for more than a year andsee no prospect of any soon, Taliban sourcessay.

A team of envoys from the islamist in-surgent group flew to Qatar in early 2012 toopen talks with the US government, whichhas laid a greater emphasis on negotiationsbefore a handover of security to Afghanforces in 2014.

Among the most prominent membersof the delegation in Doha is Tayeb Agha, theformer chief of staff to the Taliban’s reclu-sive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar.

But more than a year later, the negotia-tions held in March 2012 have not been fol-lowed by further meetings, Taliban sourcesfamiliar with the matter told Reuters.

Many of the Taliban leaders living inQatar now appear to spend their time pur-suing private family activities.

Many can be seen at the shopping mallsof the gas-rich Gulf Arab state, pushing trol-

leys loaded with merchandise and with theirchildren in tow. “There has been no contactfrom the US with us at all this year,” saida Taliban source under condition ofanonymity. No date had been set to restartthe talks, he said, declining togive any further details.Talks among the UnitedStates, Pakistan and theTaliban about a possi-ble Afghan settle-ment have madescant progress inthe past few years.The Taliban sus-pended the talks inMarch 2012, sayingWashington was giv-ing mixed signals onthe nascent Afghan rec-onciliation process.RESILIENT

“Taliban had asked for the exchangeof prisoners and recognition as a group, butas far as i know there have been no moretalks,” said Mohammed Himat, counselorat the Afghan embassy in Doha, told

Reuters.The talks in Doha between the Taliban

and the United States in 2012 had takenplace at a US military facility, he said.

Afghan officials have not held formaltalks with the militants, who were

toppled by US-led forces in2001 in the wake of the

Sept. 11 attacks on theUnited States but haveproven resilient aftermore than a decadeof war.

The kabul gov-ernment has said itwants to start talks

with the Taliban toend the conflict before

the planned departureof most foreign combat

troops by the end of 2014.Last month, Afghan Presi-

dent Hamid karzai flew to Doha andheld talks with the emir, Sheikh Hamad binkhalifa al-Thani, in an effort to speed up theopening of a Taliban representative officein Qatar where further talks could be held.

karzai had initially resisted Westernplans to grant the Taliban an office in Qatar,concerned that it would give the movementpolitical legitimacy and reduce his controlover the direction of any future talks. Buthe endorsed the proposal in late 2011 underpressure from his allies.

Other countries who had also offered tohost the office were Turkey and Saudi Ara-bia, Himat added.

However, an Afghan government offi-cial familiar with the peace talks said SaudiArabia was not an ideal option as it wasseen as having strong ties with Pakistan.

Afghan officials have long accusedPakistan of backing the Taliban or toleratingthe movement’s leaders presence on its ter-ritory in the hope of using the force as proxyto influence events in Afghanistan.PAKISTAN DENIES THE

ACCUSATIONS

Nasrullah Stanekzai, an advisor tokarzai in legal affairs said that the openingof a Doha office for the Taliban would helpAfghanistan engage in direct peace talkswith insurgents and limit Pakistan’s influ-ence on the process.

Taliban in Qatar see no early peace talks with UsHYDERABAD : Students celebrate the end of exam season by sprinkling ink on each other on Thursday. InP

Judiciary wants rule of law,supremacy ofConstitution: CJP

ISLAMABADnnI

Chief Justice iftikhar MuhammadChauhdry said on Thursday that the judici-ary had only one aim, to maintain rule oflaw and the supremacy of the constitution.“The mounting numbers of cases reflect thetrust people have in the judiciary,” headded.At a full court meeting of the SupremeCourt in islamabad, Chief Justice iftikharMuhammad Chauhdry reviewed arrange-ments of tomorrow’s international JudicialConference.The CJP said in his address that theSupreme Court benches outside islamabadhad reduced the burden of delayed cases.The higher court concluded that over fivethousand cases had been heard during thelast three months.“This deserves appreciation,” he added.

Talks among the United states, Pakistan and the Taliban about a possible Afghan settlement have

made scant progress in the past few years.

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news N

09

Friday 19 April, 2013

Constitution guarantees equality to all citizens.

– Prime Minister Hazar Khan Khoso

PESHAWER: Cricketer Shahid Khan Afridi addresses an election corner meeting at Khyber Agency on Thursday. InP

Security clearedlamination paper for 0.3m passportsbeing arranged: DG

ISLAMABADAPP

Special arrangement are being made to pro-vide security cleared lamination paper for atleast 0.3 million passports to ease up thepressure of backlog, immigration and Pass-port Director General Zulfikar Cheema saidon Thursday.While giving a detailed briefing to WafaqiMohtasib’s probe committee on passportimbroglio, Cheema said this would help usissue up to 10,000 passports every day. “The directorate has also prioritised is-suance of passports, keeping in view the ur-gency to travel for medical treatment,studies and jobs,” he added.The DG said various initiatives had beentaken to improve the situation so that thesuffering of people could be mitigated.

LHC requested toappoint prosecutorin drone attacks case

LAHOREInP

The government on Thursday appealed tothe Lahore High Court to appoint a prose-cutor in the US drone attack case.LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial re-sumed the hearing of drone attack case.During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyertold the court that the drone attacks on Pak-istani soil were against sovereignty and se-curity of the country. He said further thegovernment only issued condemnatorystatements in this regard.The federation’s counsel, Deputy AttorneyGeneral Yasmeen Sehgal told the court thatUS drone attacks were a sensitive matter ofthe state, therefore a judicial prosecutorshould be appointed in this regard. Thecourt adjourned the hearing until May 21.

Lal Masjid report tobe made public: SC

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thurs-day rejected a petition to keep the LalMasjid report confidential and ordered thatit be made public.A three member bench of the apex courtheaded by Chief Justice iftikhar Muham-mad Chaudhry heard the Lal Masjid suomoto case. The Lal Masjid Commissionhad requested that the report be made confi-dential but after evaluating the report thecourt ordered for it to be made public.The report will be provided to all those whorequest for it and the apex court orderedthat copies be given to all members of thebench and the lawyer for Lal Masjid.The lawyer for Lal Masjid also informedthe court that his junior was receivingthreats and the bench summoned a replyfrom iG islamabad.

PML-n finalises nominations for 13 nA, 25 Punjab Assembly seatsnEWS DESK

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz hasfinalized names for 13 National Assemblyand 25 Punjab Assembly seats of Lahore.Of the 13 candidates for national seats,seven are repeat election contestants.

At least nine candidates, who won fromtheir constituencies in the previous provin-cial elections, have been replaced in thefinal list. As per details, PML-N chief andformer premier Nawaz Sharif, former Pun-jab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and hisson Hamza Shahbaz will contest election inthe constituencies of NA-120, NA-129 andNA-119, respectively.

PML-N’s returning candidates for na-tional constituencies include MuhammadRiaz Malik, NA-118; Hamza ShahbazSharif, NA-119; Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq, NA-

122; Muhammad Pervez Malik, NA-123;Sheikh Rohail Asghar, NA-124; khawajaSaad Rafique, NA-125; and MuhammadAfzal khokhar, NA-128.

Mehar ishtiaq Ahmad, who was elected toPunjab Assembly in 2002 and 2008 elections,has been fielded in NA-121 instead of MianMarghoob Ahmad. The former Lahore mayorand former Lahore Transport Company chair-man khawaja Ahmad Hassan has been chosenfor NA-126 over Umar Sohail Zia Butt.

Sohail Shaukat Butt has been pittedagainst contestants from other parties inNA-130, a largely rural constituency of La-hore, where PPP’s Samina khalid Ghurkiwon the last ballot. Similarly, the formerAnarkali nazim Waheed Alam khan hasbeen handed a ticket for election to NA-127constituency. Alam is said to have beenawarded a ticket in line with the party’s pol-

icy to accommodate workers. This seat waspreviously won by advocate ChaudhryNaseer Ahmad Bhutto.

Former premier Nawaz Sharif after a pe-riod of 17 years will be taking electoral test forNA-120. Bilal Yasin, nephew of Begum kul-soom Nawaz, had previously bagged this seat,but now he is in for a Punjab Assembly seat.

Former Punjab chief minister ShahbazSharif will be vying for NA-129 and twoprovincial constituencies of PA-159 and PA-161. in the last elections, PML-N had lostNA-129 seat to Tariq Shabbir Mayo of PPP.

in the finalisation of the candidates forthe 125 Punjab Assembly seats of Lahore,former provincial minister Chaudhry AbdulGhafoor, Dr Saeed Elahi (who had defeatedPML-Q’s Moonis Elahi in the last election),Muhammad Naveed Anjum, ijaz Ahmadkhan, Haji Allah Rakha, Dr Asad Ashraf,

Rana Muhammad iqbal khan, AjasamSharif, Hafiz Muhammad Nauman andWaseem Qadir have been dropped out.

Ticket holders for provincial con-stituencies of Lahore include khawajaimran Nazir from PP-137; MushtaqMughal from PP-138; Bilal Yasin PP-139;Majid Zahoor PP-140; Mian Mujtaba Shu-jaur Rahman PP-141; Hamza ShahbazSharif PP-142; Chaudhry Shahbaz AhmadPP-143; Ch Bao Akhtar Ali PP-144; Wa-heed Gull PP-145; Malik Waheed PP-146;Mian Mohsin Latif PP-147; Akhtar RasoolPP-148, Rana Mashhood Ahmad khan PP-149; Mahar ishtiaq Ahmad PP-150; TauseefShah PP-151; khawaja Salman Rafiq PP-152; Ramzan Siddique Bhatti PP-153;Zaeem Hussain Qadri PP-154; MianNaseer Ahmad PP-155; Ch Yasin Sohal PP-156; Rana Tajammal PP-157; Malik Ghu-

lam Habib Awan PP-158; and Saiful Mal-ook khokhar from PP-160.

Mushtaq Mughal, Majid Zahoor, HamzaShahbaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Bao Akhtar,Waheed Gull, Ch Akhtar Rasool, SyedTausiq Shah and Malik Ghulam Habib Awanare the ones who have replaced winners inthe past. Ch Akhtar Rasool and GhulamHabib have joined PML-N defecting fromPML-Q and PPP, respectively.

Sources say the party cleared the finallists after a detailed analysis of all the aspi-rants. The party has however dropped anumber of previously-elected legislators inview of their poor performance, complaintsagainst them by party workers, lack of con-tact with party men. Few of them have beendropped out on charges of corruption. Cer-tain others have not been awarded ticketsin view of their lackluster star appeal.

AHOREnADEEm SyED

WiTH hardly anychance of makingalliances or note-worthy seat ad-justment in the

Punjab and elsewhere in the country,the PML-N is all set to take a solo fightin the upcoming general elections.

With the final battle-lines almostdrawn between the parties and contest-ants having almost finalised their can-didates, it seems that the PML-N isnowhere near joining hands with anyother political party in the Punjab. TheUnification Group’s 30-plus memberssupported its government throughoutits five year rule, but the ‘N’ gave themshort shrift. Now, the Unificationgroup, like most other parties rangingfrom Ji to the Like-minded, is foundcursing the ‘N’ leadership for this‘great betrayal’. But it was actually outof its home base where ‘N’ neededpartnerships gain those crucial extraseats and it did make an effort to getinto alliances in khyber Pukhtunkhwa(kP), Balochistan and Sindh. But theseefforts have all come to naught.

in Balochistan, one has reliablylearnt, the PML-N’s talks with AkhtarMengal failed to make any headway de-

spite a desperate last-minute push fromits leadership. Shahbaz Sharif person-ally visited Quetta last week for talkswith Mengal, but failed to achieve any-thing tangible. Two days later, the PML-N sent another delegation, led by itsinformation secretary Mushahidullahkhan, yet the result was ditto, as leadersat both end shied away from making anyannouncement with regard to the talks.

The PML-N, the sources disclose,demanded about half the share out of11 National Assembly seats fromBalochistan. That Mengal rejected. Thesources further reveal that the party hadreached an understanding of sorts withPukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party(PkMP) chief Mahmoodchakzai on acouple of seats in the Pushtun domi-nated areas of the province.

Likewise in Sindh, the PML-N wasbanking on Ji and PML-F to make someheadway in the province. But despiteseveral rounds of talks with these two,nothing came off it. The PML-F, thesources said, said nothing doing, andfielded its own candidates in all the con-stituencies, not sparing even Ghous AliShah, the senior most ‘N’ leader in Sindh.

Even the last ditch effort by Shah-baz was not very heartening for ‘N’.True to its reputation of tilting towardsthe right, the PML-N seemed more in-terested in forging an alliance with Ji

in and around karachi, with the inten-tion to cut into the MQM vote bank.But after failure of talks over seat ad-justment with the Ji in Punjab, theprospects of cooperation between thetwo in karachi were minimal.

in kPk, the PML-N has not beenseeking any cooperation with anylocal party so far. The PML-N leadersare not sure whether the party will beable to field candidates from all theconstituencies in kPk, Balochistanand Sindh without any seat adjust-ment with a local or regional party.The main cause of concern for them:how this lack of political cooperationwill translate at the hustings? The po-litical analysts say, the PML-N isbanking on local political forces towin some extra seats that could beuseful in making alliances then toform the government at the centre.But that is only a fond hope, and theconsequences may yet make ‘N’ re-gret its inability to stitch allianceswith indigenous political forces insmaller provinces. interestingly, thePTi, the N’s main competitor in thePunjab, is also on its own. So an in-teresting equation is developing be-tween the two arch rivals. Even thePPP, apart from a soul mate in thePML-Q in the Punjab, is going to relyon its own strength.

Security at Imran Khan’sresidence beefed up

ISLAMABADInP

On the directives of caretaker interior Minis-ter Habib khan, the security around the resi-dence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTi) chiefimran khan has been beefed up.islamabad inspector General (iG) Police BinYamin along with DSP khursheed khan andSHO Fayyaz Ranjha held a meeting withkhan on Thursday and exchanged views onsecurity matters.Following the meeting, the number of policepersonnel at the residence of the PTi leaderwas increased from six to 16.PTi information Secretary Sheerin Mazarihad demanded strict security for khan.More than 100 enraged PTi workers onWednesday night protested against the unjustdistribution of party tickets in khyberPakhtunkhwa at the residence of khan andthe PTi Secretariat in islamabad. Window panes of the secretariat weresmashed by the enraged workers.The protesters also broke the main gate of theresidence in Bani Gala and entered the house.The protesters also tried to enter the familyquarters but the personal guards of khancalled in police and pushed the enragedworkers out of the house.khan’s spokesman Naeemul Haq held thefederal interior minister responsible for thesituation. He said security was not providedto khan by the federal government despitethreats to him.Talking to reports, Mazari condemned theincident and held the caretaker governmentand the interior minister responsible for theincident. She also demanded the minister’sresignation.

PML-N’s solo flight may have its consequences

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CoMMenT

CFriday, 19 April, 2013

10Musharraf has clearly taken the

running for president, the wrong

way. –Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi

THE PML-N, JUi-F and Jiremain tightlipped overthe ongoing attacks onpoliticians and electiongatherings. Shahbaz

Sharif has somewhat belatedly remindedthe caretakers of their duty to provide se-curity to all. The leadership of the threeparties has however consistently re-frained from condemning the terrorists.What is the cause behind this highly un-usual silence when the ECP, caretakerset up, politicians from various partiesincluding imran khan and civil societyorganisations like HRCP have all con-demned the perpetrators in no uncertainterms? Are these parties reluctant to crit-icise militants on account of some sortof doctrinal affinity with them?

This may be one explanation for thereticence. JUi-F seminaries have con-tributed to the proliferation of the Tal-iban. The Ji disagrees with the TTP only‘tactically’ of while sharing its ‘ideals’.Both religious parties want to achieveaims common with the terrorists throughparliamentary way. The PML-N hasbeen accused in the past of having a softcorner for the militants, even strikingelectoral alliances with their legal rein-carnations. There was in fact a notice-able slowing down of attacks in Punjabafter Shahbaz Sharif’s appeal to the ter-rorists to spare the province ruled by hisparty. While the Punjabi Taliban contin-ued to issue statements in the name oftheir group, the Sharifs denied that anyorganisation with that name ever existed.

is the silence caused by a beliefthat that the losses suffered by PPP andits erstwhile allies would strengthenthe position of the PML-N, JUi-F andJi in the elections? This too could beone of the reasons. The PPP has re-stricted Bilawal from public activitiesand there is hardly any party frontranker out in the public addressing ral-lies and gatherings. This is all the morenoticeable in Punjab, which has to electmore than half of the National Assem-bly members and where the PPP hadhoped to be able to form the next gov-ernment. Not that better campaigningwould have given Zardari’s party moreseats than in 2008 as its image has beenbadly tarnished by bad performance.

in Sindh, the stronghold of thePPP, the PML-N has allied itself with

Pagara’s PML-F. Despite the incum-bency factor that would go against thePPP, the party is still likely to emergeas the largest single winner if all itsleaders with a feudal-cum-tribal cloutcontinue to remain with it.

The PML-N may be hoping to ben-efit from ANP’s discomfiture in khyberPukhtunkhwa. Not that the two have notbeen bedfellows in the past but now thePML-N has a different strategy in view.That it had recently tried to reach anelectoral understanding with Ji andJUiF shows it is seeking a differentroute to power in the province this time.The understanding with the two partiescould not be reached on account of thedemands considered over excessive bythe PML-N leadership but the threecould join hands after the polls. Even ifthe PPP and ANP perform badly thistime in the province, the PML-N facesa potent challenge from the PTi. Thetwo religious parties would again proveto be hard bargainers with any of thetwo seeking their support.

in karachi, the PML-N hopes tomake an entry with the help of the re-ligious parties. As the MQM remainsa major competi-tor in the city, itmatters little tothe PML-N and itsallies if attackscontinue on itscandidates.

in Balochistan,neither the PPP northe PML-N haveany mass base. Thelatter pins hopes onthe Baloch nation-alists while bring-ing into its foldwhatever tribalchiefs are willingto join hands.

There is how-ever a more im-portant reasonalso behind the PML-N, JUi-F and Jidisplaying unconcern regarding mili-tant attacks on the secular trio.

The establishment thinks a newtype of ruling alliance would be helpfulto it in the coming years after the Natoforces leave the area. With the US-ledtroops out of the region, Pakistanwould once again be on its own to dealwith the terrorist groups. Whether thereis longer civil war in Afghanistan, ofwhich there is a good possibility, or aquick Taliban victory which seems lessplausible, the Pakistani militants nowoperating from their FATA sanctuarieswould pose a problem that any govern-ment will have to deal with singlehandedly without foreign support.What is more they would also com-mand a strategic depth in Afghanistan.

When the US had a presence inthe region and was helpful to Pak-istan, the establishment was contentwith a government with secular cre-

dentials, pro-US leaning and willingto fight the terrorists. With the UStroops withdrawn and US funds dry-ing up, the establishment would desirehaving a government able to negotiatewith the TTP when required.

The establishment would have pre-ferred imran khan but with the mo-mentum that the PTi leader had createdreceding over time, it is now lookingfor other partners. Mian Nawaz Shariffits the specifications but has a streakthat makes him somewhat unreliable.He has a tendency to amass all powersin his hands and in the process take onthe military leadership, if needed. Butwith the JUi-F and Ji sitting on oneside of Nawaz Sharif and a pro-estab-lishment Pagara on the other, an idealcontrol mechanism is in place.

As the TTP leadership continues toindulge in terror attacks as a policy ofchoice, it is also felling the heat in thetribal areas. The Swat valley where themilitants had set up their emirate is outof their control. They can still detonatea bomb here and there, albeit after a lotof costly preparations, which explainswhy they are quite infrequent. Bajaur

where the TTPhad virtuallyended the writ ofthe state is out ofits hands. Theagency is moret e r r o r i s m - f r e ethan Peshawar.This has givenconfidence toBadam Zaree, ani n d e p e n d e n twoman candidateon a general seat,to take part in theelections.

The army hasfreed most of thekurrum Agencywhile it is fightingthe terrorists in

khyber’s Tirah valley. There is mean-while a pressure from the tribal peoplefor peace that led to the recent peaceovertures from the TTP. With the UStroops gone and there being no excusefor jihad, the pressure from inside thetribes will multiply on the militants.

The establishment has long toyedwith the idea of bringing militants intothe mainstream. it claims it has doneso in the case of Hafiz Saeed and theDifa-e-Pakistan Council. Many chal-lenge the assertion as unrealistic.

The least the establishment wantsis to persuade the TTP to stop attacksinside Pakistan and hopes that onceparties like the PML-N, JUi-F and Jiwho are acceptable to the TTP are inpower the task would become easier.The way the three parties are acting in-dicates they are game.

The writer is a political analyst anda former academic.

Aziz-ud-Din AhmadEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

musharraf’s leash has finally been pulledThe general without clothes

Politicians under attack

THE news of a terror strike here, a suicide bombing there has become a routinematter for most of the citizens; however, recent strikes on the political cadreclearly show where things are headed. The three-way response – the civilian

government succeeding in managing the menace in a few troubled areas of late; the armypushing the terrorists into a corner; and most importantly a disapproval of their violentideology by the public – to the militants violent methods has assured that they won’t beable to achieve their agenda. However, they can still disrupt country’s business, just asthey did with attacks on politicians in the past few days.

As political parties have ramped up their campaigns for the elections on 11 May, itmakes them vulnerable to such attacks. With centre-left parties like the ANP on apronounced hit list of these militants, the situation gets even more serious. These attacksdo have the potential to derail the democratic system in the country, a concern voicedrightfully by imran khan the other day. The democracy in the country is not as strong yetto withstand such attacks on its foundations but giving in to the ideology of violencewould only ensure that the country is headed towards doom. Standing up against thisdark path is the responsibility of the state, which being in the hands of caretakers thesedays, might be a little difficult but not impossible yet. While they are not mandated tomake any strategic decisions, they still have to maintain law and order. Matters haveworsened so much that the CEC had to write a letter to the ANP leaders explaining thatthe CEC had not ordered any security to be withdrawn tasked with the party’s members.However, the ineffectiveness of the security measures calls for more stringent and foolproof security. The situation in Balochistan is even worse, where shutter down strike wasobserved in many cities the other day after an attack on Sanaullah Zehri’s convoy.

Surprisingly, most of the politicians appear to have a united stand on the issue.Holding the government and the security forces responsible for the politicians’ safety andsecurity, PTi has demanded that all political parties and leaders must be provided withadequate security, a demand that appears to be justified considering the number of suchattacks that have taken place all over the country, a number that is so alarming that theHRCP was forced to say that these “terrorist attacks on politicians may sabotage electionprocess”. However, the caretaker Cabinet’s decision to seek army’s assistance in thisregard could offer the much needed reprieve from these attacks and help restore law andorder to a peaceful state so that the election process goes ahead without any mishap.

WHEN the ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf returned to Pakistan as the caretakergovernment took charge, many speculated that it smacked of a deal andthat all major players, political parties, the army and – most importantly –

the aggrieved judiciary, were going to let him contest the elections. The man, who fornearly a decade wore the two crowns of president of the islamic Republic of Pakistanand the Chief of Army Staff, could not claim that he had not been forewarned. Thejudiciary appeared to have extended his leash in the cat-and-mouse game being playedon the labyrinth that the former general had constructed for himself. When Musharrafwas granted protective bail in four of the cases against him in the Sindh High Court, atactical move by his lawyers who knew the three other high courts were dead setagainst him, it appeared that his long announced return would at least allow him thedignity honour of contesting elections – and perhaps winning a seat to the NationalAssembly from the Chitral area.

But the ex-general’s luck was bound to run out. There were too many cases againsthim – and as he found out when his nomination papers were rejected in three of thefour constituencies he planned to contest from – the judiciary was not willing to abideby whatever ‘deal’ had been struck in the holy lands to allow him to return. With a lotof hype spun on his expected return in karachi, the city in which he allowed a freereign to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and his local bodies system hadapparently delivered, there was barely a crowd worth speaking of for those whoremember the martyred Benazir Bhutto’s return to the country in October 2007.Where there was hope when Benazir returned, there was indifference, and simmeringanger on the return of Musharraf: a man threw a shoe at him after a hearing at theSHC and his supporters were beaten up by lawyers in Rawalpindi.

Finally, when his papers were rejected from all four constituencies on April 16 andhis arrest was ordered by the islamabad High Court in the judges detentions case onThursday, did the general’s true colours showed. The ex-dictator who was famous forsaying, “Mein kisi se nahi darta, mein commando hon” (“i do not fear anyone. i am acommando.”), fled from the court premises in disregard of due process and apparentlytook shelter in his farmhouse in suburban islamabad. The questions over why he wasnot arrested there and then are also being asked, with some speculating that thesecurity establishment would consider it too embarrassing for its former head – andusurper president – to be put behind bars. But it is also worth noting that the militaryhas not intervened to prevent Musharraf’s political fall. The former general is trappedin labyrinths he constructed himself and he should have known better than to step inthere himself.

A united stand against terrorists is the only solution

do some political parties share the militants’ doctrine?

AzIz-uD-DIn AHmAD

A useless practice?This refers to kamran Rehmat’s enlightening article“Screwtiny” in your issue of April 15. i agree with hisvery acute observations regarding the on-going processof scrutiny of the aspiring candidates for MNA/MPAslots by the Returning Officers. Needless to commentthat the process adopted had much to be desired. i wouldlike to add the following observations. Firstly, as pointedout by the embarrassed candidates some of the questionsput forth by the worthy ROs had no relevance to theSections 62 and 63 of the constitution. it appeared thatthey wanted to belittle the politicians just to scorepoints/settle some grudge?

Secondly, the ROs most probably deviated and/oroverstepped the mandate so given by the ECP. Thirdly,some of the ROs seemed to be not so competent or onemay say not so qualified to effectively carry out the task.Fourthly, many a politician was not asked the pinchingquestions (may be due to some pressure or lack ofknowledge) which if asked could have disqualified them.

And finally, the aspirants went into appeal and mostof them were cleared due to insufficient evidenceproduced by the ROs. Being the first experiment of itskind one can take it as a good effort. But we may have todevise better procedures/rules to judge the potentialMNAs/MPAs next time.

RASHID MAQSOODLahore

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusivelyEditor’s mail

The army has freed most of theKurrum Agency

while it is fightingthe terrorists inKhyber’s Tirah

valley.

A studiedindifference

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:41 AM Page 10

THE State has often appeared as a cen-tral figure through which discoursesabout South Asian women are createdand understood with the passing of

time. Women’s identity and positionality withina state is reflected in its policies which either re-affirm or seek to modify societal notions aboutgender. On many occasions, women’s issues areannexed by wider government policies, present-ing women as residual victims in a schema overwhich they have very little control. The attitudeof South Asian states towards women hasevolved with changing socio-political regimessuch as movements towards secularism, partitionalong religious lines and the appearance of in-fluential non state actors like feminist groups.

The essentially male political culture of SouthAsia can be traced back to the Mughal Era whenelite masculinity was synonymous with public re-lationships of power and control-over knowledge,over material commodities and over women. Thewall of the Royal harem became symbolic for theseparation between the male and female worlds andmen exercised power through a literal and bodilyrejection of feminine behaviors. However, a closeinspection of the early Mughal history reveals theactive participation of women in the political andsocial arena. A striking example of women’s partic-ipation in politics is Maham Anga, Emperor Akbar’sfourth prime minister and wet nurse who heldcharge of the royal household and state administra-tion. Similarly, Emperor Jehangir’s wife Nur Jehanpractically ruled over the kingdom and edicts wereissued under her authority. it is interesting to notethat Maham Anga’s “manliness became the causeof her undoing” as noted by Mriducchanda Palit inan article titled Powers Behind The Throne as herwillful behavior that allowed her to establish con-trol was seen as “aggressive” by the patriarchalstate and she was eventually asked to step down.Palit explains that female figures of authority“worked primarily for the benefit of the male fig-ures around whom they orbited,” and “even whenthey were seated next to the throne… they movedin the shadow of it’s male occupant.”

The configuration of States as patriarchalprotectors of women meant that they operated onagendas that promoted the interests of the Stateas opposed to the actual welfare of women. Afterthe partition of india and Pakistan both statesmade efforts to recover missing women and re-

store them to their families. However, the resist-ance of many women to return to their originalfamilies was ignored and their children weretreated like ‘war babies,’ presenting the state as“an abductor” forcibly removing adult womenfrom their homes. The recovery of women be-came entwined with the establishment of india asa responsible and civilized state able to reclaimwhat was by rights its own, projecting women’sbodies as properties of the State. in addition, therelation of the abducted woman to national honorinvested her with the full responsibility of up-holding community honor and essentialised heras a helpless victim of a national dispute.

The State’s role as a ‘giver of values’ throughdrafting/implementation of legislation allows it toregulate gender identities and practices. The con-stitutional framework in South Asian countries isbased upon the varying markers of a distinct na-tional identity such as religion and language. Thestruggle of the indian nation to define itself as asecular state in opposition to an islamic Pakistan,is exemplified by the highly popular Shahbano casewhose judgment served to claim “a society ofequals between men and women”. The decision ofthe court for Shahbano to be provided maintenanceby her former husband reflected its struggle tothwart the “injustice done to women in all reli-gions” yet it was eclipsed by the larger concern ofnational integration. Shahbano’s rejection of thecourt’s decision in favor of islamic Law goes toshow her characterization as a “pawn” throughwhich powerful masculine institutions such playedtheir various games of honor and shame. The spe-cific description of the ‘woman as wife’ in this caseshows how states reaffirm the language which de-scribes women in relation to a masculine subject.

The manner in which the State enacts and ex-ercises various policies has a significant impact onthe life of women. Structuring Pakistan as an is-lamic Republic, with religion as the unifying prin-ciple of national identity, allowed the State topromote norms of behavior that controlled femaleapparel and conduct in the public sphere. islamisa-tion policies depicted women primarily as wivesand mothers, removing them from the visible pub-lic sphere which became exclusively masculine. incontrast, Bangladesh came into existence on thebasis of a separate Bengali identity and the man-nerisms of the women were symbolic of a ‘culturaldifference’ which gave them more freedom “to per-form in public”. Although political analyst Nailakabeer argues that while the secular stance takenby the Bengali State provided greater agency forwomen, she admits that such a policy became a“weapon for Zia’s political ambition.” The insis-tence of foreign benefactors such as the United Na-tions provoked Bangladesh to promote women’swelfare, as a result the “number of parliamentaryseats reserved for women was doubled to 30” al-lowing women to actively participate in the politi-cal arena. However, there was a gap between“public declaration” and practice apparent in the“gross inadequacy of public sector funding forwomen’s programmes” (kabeer 129) suggestingthat the government was only using women to gainpolitical capital. Strategies such as reserving seats

for women pose a threat as they present a false no-tion of improved conditions for women, allowingthe patriarchal state to exploit women for their ownvested interests. Many of the Bangladeshi state’sprojects targeted towards women’s rehabilitationhave a preoccupation with female virtue reiteratingthe conservative societal expectations of women.

Legislation on the property rights of womenhas served as a signifier of the degree of agencyand control granted to women within respectivestates. The opposition of most Congress leadersto the Hindu Code Bill, on the grounds that it sub-verted “the dependant position,” constructedwomen as the ‘other’ in the struggle for indiannationalism. The Hindu Women’s Right to Prop-erty Act 1937 did not apply to agricultural land,excluding women from the capitalist economyand reinstating their position as financial depen-dants. in Nepal, women can only inherit asdaughters if unmarried and over thirty five. insome cases, such as Pakistan, the state has takencorrective measures to remove ‘gender disabili-ties’ in inheritance laws. The position of women’sgroups and stances of urban-educated women todemonstrate outside the assembly chambers,speak on public forums and access leadership po-sitions, has largely contributed to the generallyimproved inheritance rights women enjoy today.The struggle of women’s groups against the lawsmandated by the state present the latter as a phal-locratic institution lacking female representation.

The emergence of the State as the most consti-tutive site of contestation for indian feminists pre-vents it from being viewed as a neutral actor. Thesupport of patriarchal and upper caste and majori-tarian religious interests has allowed it to be con-structed as an opponent to marginalized groupssuch as women. in contests against the state, espe-cially in the case of Phoolan Devi, the bandit queenturned politician, the official discourse excludedgender issues of any significance. The governanceof the State by a predominantly male hierarchy, al-lowed it to depict Phoolan Devi as a “hystericalwoman” as opposed to a “successful female out-law.” The terms of Phoolan Devi’s surrender sig-nified the threat of embarrassment the indian Statefaced on being unable to capture her. The paternal-istic manner of their dealings symbolized the state’sview of women as unequal opponents, preventingwomen from subverting stereotypical gender roles.

With the changing global climate of increasedpublic visibility and emancipation, The SouthAsian states are making efforts to open up differentsocial arenas for women. However, women’s is-sues often appear as a facade that the state uses topromote its own political or economic agendas.The constitution of the state as a patriarchal pro-tector allows it to regenerate normative ideas aboutfemininity, placing women in traditional privatespheres. Despite, the emergence of women in pol-itics and new legislation that grants them greateragency, South Asian states largely operate withina patriarchal discourse that presents women as de-pendants of powerful masculine institutions.

The writer is a staff member of Pakistan Todayand holds a degree from Mount Holyoke College.

CoMMenT CFriday, 19 April, 2013

11I have a conviction in my heart

that I have not done anything

wrong. –Pervez Musharraf

Patriarchal ‘benefactors’South Asian states continue to present women as ‘dependants’

nADIA KHAwAjA

Some innovative ideas to resolve the crisis

Getting out of thecircular debt cycle

AC C O R D -iNG to theUSAiD re-port on the

‘Causes and impacts ofPower Sector CircularDebt in Pakistan in2008’, the circular debtwas Rs161.21 billion thatincreased to Rs235.65billion in 2009. Similarly,circular debt in 2010 in-creased to Rs365.66 bil-lion and in 2011, thisamount swelled to Rs537.53 billion. Duringthe current fiscal year circular debt increased to Rs872.41 billion.

The report revealed that poor revenue collection from thedistribution companies in 2012 added Rs86.90 billion into thecircular debt while another Rs72 billion was added due to poorrecoveries by HESCO, PESCO, SESCO and QESCO. TheUSAiD report further stated that Rs197 billion were outstandingby private consumers under electricity bills, which was the majorreason of current circular debt.

The key to resolving the electricity shortfall issue is the gap inpayments to thermal power producers for the purchase of fuel. Thishappens due to the ever widening gap in payment collection andpayment for oil/fuel required. The government has been borrowingmoney mostly from the domestic sources to fill this gap throughvarious forms. These loans are hurtful to the overall economy andnot just the power sector in multiple ways, leading to scarcity ofprivate credit/funds for overall industry to grow.

Loans either in form of direct loans or term certificates are tobe paid back in-time along with profit and interest. To payback weneed the payments from the final consumer, which are to be col-lected after consumption and then directed back to DiSCOs andthen the power producers; who eventually pay this amount to thefuel suppliers or the banks. The collected amounts are not sufficientto cater for payment of both, which eventually leads to power cutsand more borrowing. At the end of calendar year 2012 these loanshad surged to almost four to five percent of the GDP.

The payment cycle of the power sector is burdened by the‘alien’ sharing partner – the loan provider. On the other hand it isimpossible to run the thermal power sector without further loans.

Solution: Borrow this money directly from the consumer bygiving it incentives and electricity. This may not resolve the issueovernight but it will contribute to smoothening things out.

How can we do this: This can be done through selling ad-vance electricity units to industry and private consumers atlower per unit price. There may be a possibility where purchaseof advance units by public sector may also be allowed. As mostgovernment-based organizations get their funding in proportionto their share in annual budgets, it becomes irrelevant whetherthey pay for the year’s utilities at the start of the financial yearor at the end. This will also discourage the collection losses in-curred to power distribution companies.

Consumers from both the commercial and industrial sectoras well as private sector are already spending this money on buy-ing generators and fuel. if load-shedding could be brought downthe funds used by individuals and businesses to cater for the highcosts of running small domestic and commercial generators willautomatically divert to purchase of future units.

Incentive for the high power consumer: The discount on perunit rate is to be based on saving of financial cost by the govern-ment and power producers. The schedule discount is correlatedto the number of units purchased. Higher number for compara-tively longer term unit purchases shall be given higher discount.Another incentive to attract commercial and industrial users is toallow the future units purchased completely deductible from thetaxable income of the organization as reinvestment. The incometax payable through electricity bills may also be exempted againstthe forward purchase units. in this manner the private sector willbe more interested in purchase of maximum number of futurepower units as a cost cutting and tax saving tool.

A detailed study on the comparative effects of the collectionthrough forward purchase and current methodology will unveilthe actual monetary gains of the process. However, the finan-cial cost reduction is already evident which is paid by the con-sumer as well as the producers.

Growth Opportunities: The same model can be replicated fordomestic and non-commercial users with a few exemptions ofcourse. The government is already trying to cut down power lossesand default in the collection, the forward purchase will also con-tribute in better collection of these losses. The same tool can alsobe used in better collection by applying conditional purchase ofpower units forecasted in developing/ licensing/approvals of newbusiness/ industry/housing schemes etc. A detailed sector-basedstudy is required to determine the exact window for application.

The purchased units can be made transferable through a se-cured mechanism. This will allow specific interest in purchaseand resale of units. However, the resale has to be guarded bystrong regulations restricting any artificial inflation.

Factors relating to future power production can be appliedin reverse to determine the power sale prices of the advance/ fu-ture units. The foreign currency conversion forecast and futurehedging too will have to be studied.

The industry can benefit by reduction in the cost of productionand better power supply. This will encourage the private sector toinvest more and strengthen the economy as well as reduce inflation.

The writer can be reached at: 786kidwai@gmail.com

FAHIm A KIDwAI

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arts

AFriday, 19 April, 2013

12Culture is properly described asthe love of perfection; it is a studyof perfection. — Matthew Arnold

‘i always miss achance to kiss

emraan Hashmi’

KALKI Koechlin,who played asocial activist inShanghai, had a

much hyped and talkedabout kissing scene withher co-star ProsenjitChatterjee, but she saysshe missed the chance tokiss the “serial kisserEmraan Hashmi”. “Thescript was such inShanghai that there wasno scope of a kiss. And inEk Thi Daayan, again Imissed the chance to kissEmraan. I think he doesn’tlike my face and it’sgetting complex day byday,” laughed Kalki whowas in Pune on Tuesdaywith her Ek Thi Daayanco-stars Emraan andHuma Qureshi. Kalki whohas worked in husbandAnurag Kashyap’s filmslike Dev D, That Girl inYellow Boots and Shaitan,has no plans to worktogether in a film as ofnow. According to her,Anurag is different as adirector and a husband.“As a director, he isconfident and very bossy.Whereas, as a husband he

is scared to upset me andis completely in love withme. Basically I wear thepants in the relationship,”she said. When askedwhether she plans to starta family, she was quick toadd, “Anurag and I arereally busy with ourrespective work schedules.We don’t get to see eachother for one or twomonths, I don’t want tohave children as of now. Imight adopt one in thefuture.” Known for herunconventional roles, likeof a modern dayChandramukhi in Dev D ora British woman whoworks in a massageparlour in That Girl inYellow Boots, is shegetting typecast? “I wantto challenge myself as anactor and explore variousgenres — from romantic tocomedy to action. Maybemy looks are such that Idon’t fit into every othercharacter. It’s reallyannoying when people askme, ‘Do you love India andspicy food?’. It can befrustrating at times,” sheends. nEwS DESK

nEWS DESK

s OFiA Vergara hasconfirmed that she hasgotten her eggs frozen sothat she may be able to

expand her brood with fianceNicholas Loeb in the future. The40-year-old actress, who isalready mother to Manolo

Gonzalez, 21, from a previousmarriage, told ABC News

that she just wanted to planahead. The Colombianborn star said that herboyfriend Loeb is three

years younger than her,and he’s never had ason. She asserted that

she has her son,Gonzalez, so it’s not anemergency for her to

have another kid, but forLoeb, he’s never had a baby.When asked of her optionsfor having more kids at herage she said that nothinghappens naturally anymore

and she had wanted totake advantage ofscience, Us magazine

reported. Asked how faralong in the process she was,she said that took them out andthey are in refrigerator now,adding, that they will be freshby the time she uses them.

My eggs are in therefrigerator, sayssofia Vergara

nEWS DESK

Pamela Anderson has decidedto not sell her Malibu house,which has been on the marketsince February for 7.75 mil-lion dollars. The 45-year-oldactress said at an Obliphica

Professional hair-care eventthat she put it on the market tosee what it was like, but shemost likely won’t sell it, theNew York Post reported. An-derson added that she had toomany people interested and itscared her.

pam anderson takeshome off the market

Aniston enjoysproducer role

jENNIFER Aniston, who played ahorrifying manager in the 2011comedy “Horrible Bosses,” has

revealed that in real life, she’s a total“pushover” when in charge. Aniston,who executive-produced theupcoming television movie ‘Call MeCrazy: A Five Film,’ admitted at themovie’s premiere in Los Angeles onTuesday that she’s a hardworking, no-nonsense boss who loves seeing afilm come together from the groundup, the Washington Post reported.The 44-year-old actor-turned-director/producer said that she findspassion projects, such as herupcoming movie, the most fulfilling.“These are the things you wake upexcited about,” she said. The film’scast includes Jennifer Hudson, MelissaLeo and Ashley Judd. nEwS DESK

Julianne Houghready to date

ACTRESS Julianne Hough, whorecently split from boyfriendRyan Seacrest, was spotted

flirting with English actor-model AlexPettyfer. The 24-year-old wasoverheard telling friends at theCoachella music festival that she can’twait to date again. “Julianne and Alexwere flirting a lot. She was drinkingvodka cocktails all night and bymidnight she was standing on theback of a couch with her friends,dancing like crazy and rubbing upagainst Alex,” contactmusic.comquoted a source as saying. “Juliannewas gabbing away with friends,saying she’s so excited to start datingagain,” added the source. Hough saidto have broken up with Seacrestbecause he didn’t want to getmarried. nEwS DESK

I AM JuST LuCKy,SAyS DICAPrIo

LEONARDO DiCaprio has saidthat there is no secret to hissuccess and he is just a lucky

man. The three-time Oscar nominee,told Esquire magazine that he did noteven realise what a massive hitTitanic was at the time, the Daily Starreported. The 38-year-old actor,whose upcoming 3D romantic dramafilm ‘The Great Gatsby’ is all set for arelease in next month, said that healways thought of himself as theunderdog. DiCaprio added thatgetting your foot in the door is likewinning the lottery. nEwS DESK

nEW YORK: Kate Hudsonand Elizabeth Hurley glam upthe Breast Cancer ResearchFoundation's Hot Pink Party inNew York City on Thursday.

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13ARTsFriday, 19 April, 2013

A

The power of preserving silence is the very first

requisite to all who wish to shine, or even please in

discourse; and those who cannot preserve it, have

really no business to speak. — Arthur Martine

ACTRESS Anna Friel says she has started drinkingan unusual tea made of curry leaves to preservethe natural colour of her hair. The 36-year-old whohas daughter Gracie, 7, from her relationship with

David Thewlis said she felt sick after she saw some greystrands in her tresses. So, she researched natural methodsfor preserving her brunette locks and discoveredthe unusual brew. “i felt sick recently becausei found one or two grey hair and i read thatcurry leaves help to maintain your haircolour, so i mix them with hot water anddrink it as a tea,” femalefirst.co.ukquoted Friel as saying. The “Look ofLove” star, who is now dating Rhysifans, also drinks around 12 cups a dayof the special brew of hot cayenne pep-per, maple syrup and lemon juice, as adetox and anti-ageing treatment. She isthrilled with the results. “it’s amazing.i’ve been drinking it for two months and ifeel so much better and my skin has reallybenefited. i’m always searching for pure,natural skin products,” she said. To preserveher youthful looks, Friel also has regularvampire facials, which involves having herown blood re-injected back into her face. “ifyou’re vain, as you get older you start thinking,‘i’ve got to do everything i can to save myskin.’ Vampire facials involve taking two vialsof blood from your arm and injecting itback into your skin. “it’s meant tohelp your skin heal itself andboosts collagen. itmakes my skinr e a l l yglowy andt i g h ta g a i n , ”she said.nEwS DESK

ANNADrINKSCurry TeATo ProTeCTHAIr

nEWS DESK

HOLLYWOOD actor BradleyCooper and British modelSuki Waterhouse are said tobe absolutely smitten

with each other and want tospend as much timetogether as possible.Cooper, 38, who previouslydated actresses like ZoeSaldana and ReneeZellweger, was reportedlyseen enjoying a romanticbreak with Waterhouse inParis this month. The couple’sfriends say they fell foreach other aftermeeting at a partyin London inFebruary. “Theyare absolutelysmitten.Waterhouseadores Cooper.They’re inconstant contact

and are trying to spend as much timetogether as they can in-betweenwork,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted asource as saying.While the couple is coming close,

Waterhouse’s former boyfriendMiles kane, who she split

from late last year, recentlypredicted their romancewon’t last because of theage gap between them.“She is a 21-year-old-girland you forget how youngshe is. i don’t know how

old he is, what, 40 orsomething? She is a

young girl andi’m surehe’llrealisethat,”saidkane.

bradley cooper smittenwith suki Waterhouse

nEWS DESK

Hollywood actor Vin Diesel has an-nounced that James Wan’s “Fast & Furi-ous 7” will hit screens on July 11, 2014.

The 45-year-old was joined by thehis co-stars in the film, including PaulWalker, to promote the latest installmentin the series. The chosen release datemeans the action-packed movie willcompete with Marvel movie production,“X-Men: Days of Future Past”, whichcomes out in cinemas a week after.

Diesel, who is also a producer of“Fast & Furious” franchise, hinted atwhat viewers can expect from the nextfilm. “The next one is probably going tobe the biggest one of them all,” female-first.co.uk quoted Diesel as saying.

Tyrese Gibson joined his fellow ac-

tors on stage and joked about how a lotof the scenes were improvised by thecast, who shared a lot of laughs on set.

Gibson said: “i’d like to say thejokes were all written out, but a lot of itis us reacting to each other. Diesel showsup with his pecs all out, we might makea joke about cleavage.”

FILMMAKER Sofia Coppola’s film“The Bling Ring” starring HarryPotter star Emma Watson willopen the Cannes Film Festival’s

new talent section Un Certain Regard,organisers said on Wednesday.Inspired by a true story, the film tellsthe story of a group of adolescentswho rob the homes of celebritiesafter becoming obsessed with theworld of ‘beautiful people’ and luxuryconsumer goods. Danish director,scriptwriter and producer ThomasVinterberg was also named aspresident of the section’s jury. Artisticdirector Thierry Fremaux will onThursday unveil the films in the runningfor festival’s coveted Palme d’Or at apress conference in Paris. About 50films will be named in the officialselection — half in the official race forthe Palme d’Or and the other half inthe Un Certain Regard section. TheFrench Riviera film fest, the world’spremier cinema showcase, runsfrom May 15-26. nEwS DESK

j ENNi Rivera had other chancesto act in films, but she chose tomake her movie debut in “FillyBrown” simply because her close

friend, Edward James Olmos, made therequest. in fact, Rivera didn’t even readthe script when she agreed to portray adrug-addicted prisoner in the movie.“i said, ‘i need a favor from you, a bigone,’” Olmos recalled. “She said,‘What is it?’ i said, ‘i need you to workwith me on a film. i’ll send you thescript. Let me know if you like thestory.’ And she goes, ‘Eddie, i’mdumbstruck with the understanding thatyou are asking me to do you a favor.’”Rivera, a U.S.-born singer who becamea huge star among Latin audiences, waskilled in a plane crash last Dec. 9 innorthern Mexico. “Filly Brown,” whichhas its limited release on Friday, washer first and only film. it also starsGina Rodriguez and Chrissie Fit as herdaughters, and Lou Diamond Phillipsas her husband. it was directed byOlmos’ son, Michael D. Olmos, andYoussef Delara. Rodriguez warmlyremembers working with Rivera - howapologetic she was when they wouldrehearse scenes where her character

was mean-spirited. “That was funny,like all the preparation we did for us toget on that set and for her to really, youknow be a mother to me, but a motherthat she is not used to being. So shereally transformed that woman,” saidRodriguez. “i am so proud of herperformance. i am so blessed i got towork with that woman. i miss her everyday. ... But now it’s about celebratingthat woman because that woman is andalways will be fierce.”Both Olmos and Phillips wereimpressed by Rivera’s acting. “Youmay know Lou (Diamond Phillips) oryou may know me and you are sittingthere but you don’t know anybodyelse,” explained Olmos. “You are goingto get your mind blown because theyare brilliant performances. But thenyou find out this was the first time sheever touched the art form, and this iswhat she gave us. You could onlyimagine where she could have gone.”Phillips admitted he knew nothingabout Rivera before they workedtogether on “Filly Brown,” but wasgreatly impressed by her performance.“This isn’t a glamorous role. This is adown and dirty, gritty performance,”

Phillips said. “She didn’t hesitate. Shecame in and grabbed it with both handsand just wrestled this beautifulperformance out of herself and that wasimpressive.”Rivera and six others died in the planecrash, which remains underinvestigation. Rivera, a mother of fivechildren and grandmother of two, was43. Rivera sold more than 15 millioncopies of her 12 major-label albums.Her soulful singing style and honestyabout her tumultuous personal life wonher fans on both sides of the border.Phillips first came to prominenceplaying Richie Valens in the 1987biopic “La Bamba,” which ends withValens’ death in a plane crash. ForPhillips, who got the news of Rivera’sdeath from Olmos, finding out felt likesomething from “The Twilight Zone.”“When Jenni (Rivera) went down in theplane, for me, maybe me more thananyone else, i had this bizarre sense ofthe surreal-ness of it because iwouldn’t be here if it weren’t for ‘LaBamba,’” confessed Phillips. “iwouldn’t have a career if it weren’t forthat role and for the tragic loss thatRichie’s family suffered.” nEwS DESK

fast & furious 7’ set for2014 release

olmos, phillips remember jenni rivera in filmCANNeS SPoTSoFIA CoPPoLA GeTS

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infotainMent

IFriday, 19 April, 2013

14

nEWS DESK

NEUROSCiENTiSTS atThe University of TexasHealth Science Center atHouston (UTHealth)have taken a major step

in their efforts to help people with memoryloss tied to brain disorders such asAlzheimer's disease.

Using sea snail nerve cells, the scien-tists reversed memory loss by determiningwhen the cells were primed for learning.The scientists were able to help the cellscompensate for memory loss by retrainingthem through the use of optimized trainingschedules. Findings of this proof-of-prin-ciple study appear in the April 17 issue ofThe Journal of Neuroscience.

"Although much works remains to bedone, we have demonstrated the feasibilityof our new strategy to help overcomememory deficits," said John "Jack" Byrne,Ph.D., the study's senior author, as well asdirector of the W.M. keck Center for theNeurobiology of Learning and Memoryand chairman of the Department of Neu-robiology and Anatomy at the UTHealthMedical School.

This latest study builds on Byrne's2012 investigation that pioneered thismemory enhancement strategy. The 2012study showed a significant increase inlong-term memory in healthy sea snailscalled Aplysia californica, an animal that

has a simple nervous system, but with cellshaving properties similar to other more ad-vanced species including humans. YiliZhang, Ph.D., the study's co-lead authorand a research scientist at the UTHealthMedical School, has developed a sophisti-cated mathematical model that can predictwhen the biochemical processes in thesnail's brain are primed for learning.

Her model is based on five trainingsessions scheduled at different time inter-

vals ranging from 5 to 50 minutes. it cangenerate 10,000 different schedules andidentify the schedule most attuned to opti-mum learning.

"The logical follow-up question waswhether you could use the same strategyto overcome a deficit in memory," Byrnesaid. "Memory is due to a change in thestrength of the connections among neu-rons. in many diseases associated withmemory deficits, the change is blocked."

To test whether their strategy wouldhelp with memory loss, Rong-Yu Liu,Ph.D., co-lead author and senior researchscientist at the UTHealth Medical School,simulated a brain disorder in a cell cultureby taking sensory cells from the sea snailsand blocking the activity of a gene thatproduces a memory protein. This resultedin a significant impairment in the strengthof the neurons' connections, which is re-sponsible for long-term memory.

To mimic training sessions, cells wereadministered a chemical at intervals pre-scribed by the mathematical model. Afterfive training sessions, which like the ear-lier study were at irregular intervals, thestrength of the connections returned tonear normal in the impaired cells.

"This methodology may apply to hu-mans if we can identify the same bio-chemical processes in humans. Our resultssuggest a new strategy for treatments ofcognitive impairment. Mathematical mod-els might help design therapies that opti-mize the combination of trainingprotocols with traditional drug treat-ments," Byrne said. He added, "Combin-ing these two could enhance theeffectiveness of the latter while compen-sating at least in part for any limitationsor undesirable side effects of drugs. Thesetwo approaches are likely to be more ef-fective together than separately and mayhave broad generalities in treating individ-uals with learning and memory deficits."

eyeBALLTATTooSANyoNe?

Got some existentialangst? Try tylenolThis could make forsome interestingcommercials: A newstudy suggests thatTylenol not only easesphysical aches, butexistential ones, too,reports Psych Central.Researchers found thatpeople asked to broodabout their own deathswere less, um, broody ifthey popped a Tylenolas opposed to a sugar pill. Best part of theexperiment: They got the same results with peoplewho had their existential angst stirred up bywatching David Lynch movie clips.“We’re still taken aback that we’ve found that adrug used primarily to alleviate headaches can alsomake people numb to the worry of thinking abouttheir deaths, or to the uneasiness of watching asurrealist film,” says the lead researcher from theUniversity of British Columbia. The study builds onprevious research that Tylenol's main ingredient,acetaminophen, eases another sort of non-physicalpain—that of being ostracized by friends. nEwS DESK

Pink diamond sellsfor $39.3 millionA rare pink diamond once owned by Indian royaltyhas sold for $39.3 million at auction in New YorkCity. The price for the 34.65-carat diamond thatsold at Christie's yesterday was the second-highestever for a jewel sold at auction. The seller andbuyer were anonymous. The gem nicknamed thePrincie Diamond was discovered 300 years ago inthe Golconda mines in India. It once belonged tothe Nizam of Hyderabad, an Indian prince. In1960, the diamond was purchased at auction bythe London branch of thejeweler Van Cleef &Arpels. Its name wasbestowed at a partyat the firm's Parisstore. It was called"Princie" in honor ofthe 14-year-oldprince of Baroda, whoattended the party withhis mother, MaharaniSita Devi. nEwS DESK

Scientists reverse memoryloss in animal brain cells

Human genome: Us supremeCourt hears patents case

I hereby accuse the North American

empire of being the biggest menace

to our planet. –Hugo Chavez

After Rodrigo Fernando dos Santosgot 70 percent of his body coveredin tattoos, the 39-year-old Braziliancitizen wanted something a littledifferent.So he got his eyeballs tattooed. Heturned the whites of his eyes intodark pools, via a procedure using aspecial syringe-like needle thatinjects the ink into the eyeball --permanently.“I cried ink for two days. Now to goback, only changing the color towhite again. But still, i think it’s halfgray,” Santos said, according toTheLocal.br.Santos, who is known to his pals inSao Paulo as "Musquito," is a tattooartist himself. He paid fellow inkerRafael Leao Dias nearly $500 to dothe eyeball darkening.“There is no drilling," Dias said,according to MyHealthBowl.com."We apply the ink between theconjunctiva and sclera layer thatprotects the eye. I studied theprocedure for two years andperformed my first application inOct. 2012. The law does not prohibitthis, here or abroad. There is no riskor discomfort due to the use ofspecific eyewash."Eyeball tattoos have been reportedfor nearly 2,000 years, according toan FAQ on the subject by BME.comthat stresses potential dangersinclude blindness.However, the injection method usedby Dias originated in Toronto aboutsix years ago, according toVancouver-based body modificationartist Russ Foxx who has done anumber of eyeball tattoos himself."The contrast and relationshipbetween a person's natural iris colorand the scleral tattoo can create allsorts of amazing and beautifuleffects," he told HuffPost blogger LaCarmina. "For example, tattooingthe sclera solid black will havediffering effects if a person hascrystal blue irises as opposed todark brown irises. Brighter colorshave drastically different effects."As beautiful as an inked-up peepermight be to some, Australian tattooartist Jack Smith doesn't see himselfdoing it anytime soon."With anything new you don't knowthe long-term risks to start with," hetold News.com.au. "A few of theguys are now losing their sight andother guys have had no realdrawbacks, but you don't reallyknow." COuRTESy THE HuFFIngTOn POST

nEWS DESK

The US Supreme Court has heardarguments questioning whether thehuman genome can be claimed asintellectual property.

The case relates to a lawsuitfiled by the American Civil LibertiesUnion in 2009, and centres onwhether companies should be ableto patent genes.

US authorities have been award-ing patents on genes to universitiesand medical companies for almost30 years. The case may have far-reaching repercussions for futuregene research.

Currently, researchers and pri-vate companies work to isolategenes in order to use them in testsfor gene-related illnesses, and inemerging gene therapies.

According to researchers atWeill Cornell Medical College in theUS, patents now cover some 40% ofthe human genome.

The ACLU lawsuit, filed in con-junction with the Public PatentFoundation, relates to seven patentson two human genes held by USfirm Myriad Genetics.

'PRODUCTS OF INGENUITY'

The genes are linked to breastand ovarian cancer, and Myriad hasdeveloped a test to look for muta-tions in these genes that may in-crease the risk of developing cancer.The company argues that the genespatented were "isolated" by them,making them products of human in-genuity and therefore patentable.

The ACLU rejects this argument,saying that genes are products of na-ture, and therefore can't be patentedunder US laws. Speaking immedi-ately after the hearing, the ACLU'slawyer, Christopher Hansen, said:"Myriad did not invent the humangenes at issue in this case, and theyshould not be allowed to patent them.

"The patent system was de-signed to encourage innovation, notstifle scientific research and the freeexchange of ideas, which is whatthese patents do." His co-counsel onthe case, Daniel Ravicher, saidgranting patents on genes was"morally offensive". "Genes are thefoundation of life, they are createdby nature, not by man," he said.

in 2010 a New York federalcourt ruled in favour of the ACLU,

but an appeals court has on two sep-arate occasions sided with Myriad.The Supreme Court rejected the ap-peal court's conclusions, and is nowreconsidering the case. A rulingfrom the court is expected in June.

The outcome may have signifi-cant repercussions for the multi-bil-lion-dollar US pharmaceuticalsindustry. Companies like Myriadargue that without patents, the de-velopment of genetic tests and ther-apies will stall as researchers willnot be able to recoup the huge levelsof investment needed.

"Countless companies and in-vestors have risked billions of dol-lars to research and developscientific advances under the prom-ise of strong patent protection," saidPeter Meldrum, the president andchief executive of Myriad. in state-ments submitted to the SupremeCourt, Myriad said the materials andmethods protected by the patentstook years to develop.

"This was the product of cre-ative, human ingenuity, resulting insignificant new applications forhuman health that were previouslyunavailable," it said.

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:42 AM Page 14

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

PAkiSTAN Cricket BoardChairman Zaka Ashraf ac-knowledges that foreign teamsare still reluctant to tour Pak-

istan due to security fears after Bangladeshtwice postponed its scheduled tours to Pak-istan last year. Ashraf says he talked toseveral presidents of cricket boards duringthe international Cricket Council's boardmeeting in Dubai, but "they are reluctant

after what Bangladesh did last year." ThePCB chief says he is now hoping to host aforeign women's team or an under-19 teamand that an iCC member country has askedhim to send a proposal about such a tour.No major test playing nation has touredPakistan since gunmen attacked the SriLanka team convoy at Lahore in 2009,killing six police officials and injuring sev-eral touring players.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket hasmet a deadline for a more independentconstitution, with the iCC wanting anoverhaul to ensure less scope for govern-ment interference. The PCB has met adeadline to present a more independentconstitution to the international CricketCouncil (iCC). The iCC had set a Junedeadline for the amendment of the con-stitution to provide less scope for govern-

ment interference. "it has been a long,consultative and thoughtful exercise, andincluded input from stakeholders includ-ing iCC," PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said

in a statement after handing the new con-stitution to iCC president Alan isaac inDubai. "i am delighted that in the end, wehave been successful in delivering a con-stitution that is in compliance with theiCC's requirement and will be beneficialfor cricket in Pakistan in the long run."

The iCC wanted cricket boards - es-pecially Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pak-istan - to amend their constitutions to al-low less interference and a moredemocratic means of electing chairmen.

"i must compliment Mr Zaka Ashraf,his team and the government of Pakistanfor their efforts in producing a constitutionwhich makes the process of electing itschairman more democratic and reducesthe risk of inappropriate government in-terference in line with the iCC's constitu-tional provisions," isaac said.

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Pakistan paceman Mohammad Asif'sremarkable talent promised much morethan he delivered.

Touted as one of the best new-ballbowlers, Asif's career appears to havebeen struck a fatal blow on Wednesdayafter the Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS) rejected his appeal against aseven-year spot-fixing ban.

Along with teenage pace partnerMohammad Amir and captain SalmanButt, he was implicated in a News of theWorld sting, which claimed that severalPakistani players took money to performspecific orders pre-arranged withbookmakers during the Lord's testagainst England in August 2010.

in 2011 the three players were allbanned by the international CricketCouncil Tribunal, with Asif and Buttturning to CAS in a last-ditch attempt toget their bans voided.

Scandal is nothing new for 30-year-old Asif, whose brief five-yearinternational career had more lows thanhighs. Asif, along with another paceman

Shoaib Akhtar, tested positive for abanned steroid in 2006.

He was banned for one year andAkhtar for two years, sanctions whichwere overturned on appeal, a decisionwhich many felt encouraged Asif tocontinue flouting the rules.

He again failed a dope test in theinaugural indian Premier League (iPL)season in 2008 and a two-year banfollowed. Asif suffered more miserywhen he was arrested at Dubai airport forpossessing a banned drug.

He was detained for 19 days only tobe deported after the police found thequantity of the substance "insufficient"to pursue a case.

Even after the ban ended, Asif'scareer was hit by a scandal with SouthAsian film star and model Veena Malik,who alleged he owed her huge amountsof money.

And when the spot-fixing scandalbroke, Veena called Asif an "eternalfixer". For many, Asif's failure to actresponsibly was disappointing.

"Asif has been through a lot in hislife, with doping allegations and bans,but he clearly has not learned from his

mistakes," said former captain RamizRaja in 2011. it was under Pakistan'scoach Bob Woolmer that Asif blossomed

as a genuine swing bowler. Woolmerpicked him for Pakistan's tour toAustralia and although Asif wentwicketless on his debut test at Perth,Woolmer never lost faith in the lithe anddetermined fast bowler. Asif claimed 11wickets in a tour match against Englandin 2005 and was brought back into thenational side for Pakistan's final testagainst india at home in 2006.

He took seven wickets in the winover india – including the prized wicketof Sachin Tendulkar – at karachi, whichalso helped Pakistan clinch the series.

He followed it with 11 victims inPakistan's test win at Galle, taking 17wickets in the two tests. His "five-for"also helped Pakistan beat South Africa inthe Port Elizabeth test in 2007.

But an elbow injury and worries overhis disciplinary record forced Pakistan towithdraw him and Akhtar from the 2007World Cup.

After he completed the iPL ban,Asif's career seemed to be back on trackuntil the ill-fated England tour where hegrabbed 23 wickets in six tests – twoagainst Australia and four against thehome team.

sPoRTs

SFriday, 19 April, 2013

15I must compliment Mr Zaka Ashraf, his team and the government ofPakistan for their efforts in producing a constitution which makes the processof electing its chairman more democratic. – ICC President Alan Isaac

Aisam becomesNo 1 in Asia, 9th inworld in doubles

LAHORE: Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisamul Haq has earned yet another laurelfor his country by gaining thenumber one ranking in Asia andworld number 9 ranking worldwide.According to the recent released ATPWorld Ranking List, Aisam with hispersonal ranking of No. 9 in theWorld is the top Asian tennis playeron ATP World Ranking List of Doublesplayers. He is followed by MaheshBhupatti at No. 1, Rohan Bopanna atNo. 12 and Leander Paes at No. 13on this list. STAFF REPORT

Alviro shinesas Smith toils

LOnDOn: South Africa star GraemeSmith suffered a frustrating debut asSurrey captain as his compatriot AlviroPetersen hit a superb 167 to put Somer-set in a strong position in their CountyChampionship match at the Oval onWednesday. Smith knows all about Pe-tersen's strengths and weaknesses afterbatting alongside him at the top of theorder in the South Africa team. But hecouldn't make that inside knowledge payoff as Petersen's impressive knockhelped Somerset reach 344 for eight atthe close of play on the first day. AgEnCIES

A troubled career is over and out

Injured Gul outof ChampionsTrophy

LAHORE: The Pakistan cricket’s preparationfor the upcoming Champions Trophy sufferedone of the biggest set back when fast bowlerUmar Gul was declared injured. The injuryruled Gul out of the Champions Trophy with aright knee injury, a Pakistan Cricket Board of-ficial said on Thursday. Australian orthopedicsurgeon Alexander David Young told Gul heneeds surgery after examining fast bowler."Dr. Young, after examining Gul's initial med-ical reports, has confirmed damage to hisright knee and has given a timeline of eight to12 weeks for his full recovery," Sarwar said ina statement. "Hopefully Gul will be operatedin Melbourne in the first week of May." Gulcomplained of pain in his right knee after thethird one-day international against SouthAfrica last month and did not participate inthe last two ODIs against the Proteas. Pak-istan lost the series 3-2. Young has previouslycarried out operations of many internationalathletes, including Pakistan's former test pacebowler Shoaib Akhtar and former captain In-zamam-ul-Haq. Gul's absence could be a ma-jor blow to Pakistan's chances in the Champi-ons Trophy in England this June as it is placedin Group B along with West Indies, SouthAfrica and archrival India. Group A comprisesdefending champion Australia, England, NewZealand and Sri Lanka. Gul will also miss leg-endary fast bowler Wasim Akram's trainingcamp for pace bowlers in Karachi which startslater this week. STAFF REPORT

ICC ASkS formore IndePendentConStItUtIon byjUne deAdLIne

Foreign teams reluctantto tour Pakistan: Zaka

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The English and Wales Cricket Board hascalled Mervyn Westfield to givestatement and evidence against Pakistanleg-spinner Danish kaneria. Westfield,the former Essex bowler, is to hold ameeting with the ECB on Thursdayafternoon as attempts continue topersuade him to give evidence at Danishkaneria's appeal hearing, reports said.

Westfield, whose evidence wascrucial in the original hearing that foundkaneria guilty of corruption, has had nocontact with the ECB for many monthsand has so far resisted all attempts topersuade him to appear at the appeal.While the ECB were successful ingaining a summons from the High Courtcompelling Westfield to attend theappeal hearing on April 22, doubtsremain as to whether the court has anyjurisdiction in this case.

Westfield remains angry with theECB and the PCA. He feels that the

harshness of his penalty - he spent twomonths in prison and was banned fromthe first-class game for five years and therecreational game for three - does notreflect that he cooperated with theinvestigating authorities, pleaded guiltyand gave evidence against kaneria.

The fact is, Crcinfo reported that hehas agreed to meet the ECB suggests adeal could be imminent, however.Westfield is understood to desire a returnto club cricket - he remains connectedwith Wanstead Cricket Club in the EssexLeague - and he could be offered a chanceto partially revive his career if hecooperates. Westfield would be expected

to earn several hundred pounds a week asa club professional. kaneria, the Pakistanlegspinner, was banned from the game forlife and charged £100,000 in costs by anECB panel in June 2012 for his part in thespot-fixing case involving Westfield.

kaneria had been found guilty ofinducing his former Essex team-mate tounderperform in a limited-overs game in2009 and of bringing the game intodisrepute. Westfield, who was jailed forhis role in the case, gave evidence againstkaneria at the hearing. As all boardsunder the governance of the iCC have anagreement to mirror bans imposed in suchcircumstances, kaneria's ban has beeneffective worldwide.

kaneria's appeal hearing wasoriginally scheduled for December but,after the ECB was unable to gainWestfield's cooperation, it was postponeduntil April. Without Westfield's evidence,the ECB's case against kaneria isseverely compromised. kaneria'slawyers are looking not just for his banto be overturned - at 32, he harbourshopes of a reviving his internationalcareer - but they are also claiming "verysubstantial damages" from the ECB.kaneria returned to the Uk onWednesday. His lawyers remain adamantthat, without Westfield's evidence, theECB "has no case".

spot-fixing(

(

westfield set for eCB meetingtHe eCb wAntmervyn weStfIeLd toAPPeAr At dAnISHkAnerIA'S APPeAL

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:42 AM Page 16

JAIPURAgEnCIES

AJiNkYA Rahane contributedan unbeaten half-century asthe Rajasthan Royalsdestroyed the Mumbai

indians by 87 runs in their indianPremier League match at the SawaiMansingh Stadium in Jaipur onWednesday. Rahane weighed in with 68not out off 54 deliveries with eight foursand a six as Rajasthan posted 179 forthree. Mumbai could only muster 92 allout off 18.2 overs with left-arm quickJames Faulkner capturing 3-16, off-spinner Ajit Chandila claiming 2-6 andseamer Stuart Binny picking up 2-14.

Opening batsman Rahane brought uphis seventh iPL fifty off 46 balls aftermaking a fast start to his innings, strikingthree fours and a six off the first 15 ballsthat he faced.

But he was then content to play ananchor role to allow the Royals’ otherbatsmen to play the role of aggressors.

The right-handed Rahane shared inthree half-century partnerships as

Rajasthan made full use of winning thetoss and electing to bat on a dry pitch.

Rahane and Shane Watson providedthe Royals with a superb start thanks toa 62-run opening stand off 7.2 overs.

Watson looked in good touch as hethrashed his way to 31 off 25 balls withfive fours and a six before he chased awide delivery from medium-pacerkieron Pollard to send an outside edgethrough to keeper Dinesh karthik.

Dishant Yagnik and Rahane thenbuilt on the good start with a dashingsecond-wicket partnership of 53 off 6.2overs before the left-handed Yagnik, whoblazed his way to 34 off 24 deliveries,mistimed a reverse-sweep off thebowling of off-spinner Harbhajan Singhand was caught at short third man.

Binny (4) was run out before BradHodge entered the fray with a quickfirecameo of 27 not out as he and Rahanepummelled 53 runs for an unbrokenfourth-wicket stand off a mere 29 ballswhich included the pair hammering 19runs off the last over of the innings,bowled by left-arm quick MitchellJohnson.

Harbhajan ended with 1-26 off fourovers but Johnson had a match to forgetas he conceded 41 runs off his fourovers.

Mumbai made a disastrous start totheir innings as they slipped to 10 fortwo with Chandila removing SachinTendulkar (1) and Ricky Ponting (4) inconsecutive overs.

Rohit Sharma (2) was the next manto depart, caught at midwicket off thebowling of seamer Siddharth Trivedi, asMumbai lurched to 26 for three.

The big-hitting Pollard (1) wasbowled by Binny with the score on 31.

karthik and Ambati Rayudu (27)took the total to 61 before the in-formkarthik, after scoring a watchful 30, wascaught at long-on off the bowling ofFaulkner as Mumbai’s challenge fadedaway with only Rayudu offering much inthe way of resistance before he was theninth man dismissed.RAjASTHAn ROYALS: AM Rahane, SRWatson, R Dravid (capt), BJ Hodge, STRBinny, JP Faulkner, K Cooper, DH Yagnik(wk), AA Chavan, A Chandila, SKTrivedi

MUMBAI InDIAnS: RT Ponting (capt),SR Tendulkar, KD Karthik (wk), RGSharma, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu,Harbhajan Singh, R Dhawan, MGJohnson, PP Ojha, SL Malinga.

sPoRTs S

Friday, 19 April, 2013

16

rajasthan destroy Mumbai

There's a limit to what we can do ahead of this race, but I'll be

talking to my engineers before we arrive at the circuit and seeing

where we can improve in the short term. – Lewis Hamilton

HARAREAgEnCIES

Brendan Taylor struck his third Testcentury to take Zimbabwe to 217 forfour at the close of play on day one ofthe first Test against Bangladesh at theHarare Sports Club on Wednesday.

Taylor was unbeaten on 105 at

stumps, his second test century insuccession against Bangladesh. itrescued the innings for the home sideafter they slumped to 65 for threehaving lost the toss and been asked tobat.

Taylor rode his luck, dropped atlong-off with his score on 35, and wenton to add 127 for the fourth wicket with

Malcolm Waller (55) in an excellentstand that handed first day honours tothe home side.

it was a sloppy effort in the field allround for the tourists, who also droppeddebutant opening batsman TimycenMaruma in the first over before he hadscored, and later Waller when he had 21.

Rubel Hossain then bowled EltonChigumbura late on off a no-ball tocomplete a frustrating day forBangladesh.

it started well enough though asVusi Sibanda (5) was first to go in themorning session, bowled by anexcellent yorker from Robiul islam.

Maruma tentatively edged his wayto 10 before he was trapped lbw by thesame bowler. When HamiltonMasakadza (25) edged off-spinnerEnamul Haque jnr to Mahmudullah atslip it looked like another battingcollapse was on the cards forZimbabwe.

But Taylor and Waller steadied theinnings with their fourth-wicket centurystand, the latter finally undone by anexcellent delivery from Rubel Hossainthat clattered into his stumps.

Chigumbura (six not out) willresume on Thursday with Taylor asZimbabwe look to put themselves into aposition to win successive test matchesagainst Bangladesh in Harare, the last a130-run victory in August 2011.

The hosts also handed debuts to allrounder keegan Meth and wicketkeeperRichmond Mutumbami.

Taylor ton puts Zim in control

LOnDOnAgEnCIES

England are confident kevin Pietersen willbe fit to take his place in this summer’s Ashesseries despite a setback to his return frominjury. The ECB yesterday revealed that the32-year-old would miss the two-matchinvestec Test series against New Zealandnext month due to ‘significant bone bruisingto his right knee’. Pietersen will bedetermined not to be forced on to thesidelines against Australia, having missed thefinal three matches of the 2009 victory withan achilles problem. indeed, he revealed mildconcern when he tweeted: ‘injuries are asportsman’s worst nightmare! This one ishurting me the most...’ But, in response tosupportive messages, he added that he was‘trying’ to be fit for the five-match campaignagainst Michael Clarke’s Aussies and had his‘fingers crossed’.

The prognosis on March 20 was thatPietersen would require an eight-weekrecovery period and the supportive brace heis currently sporting was scheduled to comeoff this week. However, following prolongeddiscomfort and further consultation withknee specialists in London, it will remain on

until he returns from Dubai, where he hasbeen on holiday following promotionalcommitments with his iPL franchise DelhiDaredevils.

An ECB statement confirmed: ‘kevinPietersen has been ruled out of the upcominginvestec Test series against New Zealand ashe continues his recovery from significantbone bruising to his right knee.

Pietersen will have a repeat scan nextweek to determine when he is able to resumetraining. ’The Surrey batsman incurred thedamage before England’s warm-up match inQueenstown before the series in NewZealand, possibly when he slipped during afielding drill. And although he played theTests in Dunedin and Wellington it wasevident that he was hampered.He wassubsequently withdrawn from the final Testin Auckland and withdrew from his iPLcommitments.

Returning Pietersen to full fitness aheadof the Ashes has been a team managementpriority, as has been nursing off-spinnerGraeme Swann back to full health, and therewill be no selection risks taken against theNew Zealanders. Meanwhile, Pietersen’sextended absence opens up furtheropportunity for another Yorkshire player

Jonny Bairstow, who is expected to start theinternational summer as he closed the winter,with a Test place against the New Zealandersin his possession. FLINTOFF SEES KP CONSIDERING

FUTURE AFTER ASHES: Englandbatsman kevin Pietersen may considerquitting test cricket after this year's back-to-back Ashes series against Australia, hisformer team mate Andrew Flintoff said onThursday. Pietersen, 32, has been ruled outof next month's two-match test series at hometo New Zealand because of a knee injury hesustained during fielding practice in the awayseries against the same side last month. "iwouldn't read too much into his not playingNew Zealand, kevin will be ready (for theAshes)," retired all-rounder Flintoff told SkySports News.

"There are 10 Tests against Australia inthe next few months, i expect England to winand expect kevin to be part of that. "But iwould be quite interested to see if kevin triesto play test cricket after that." Last year,Pietersen committed to playing for Englandin all three forms of the game until at least2015 after making peace with the Englandand Wales Cricket Board in a row over"provocative" text messages that led to himbeing dropped. The former England captainsaid he would play "as long as my bodyallows". England and Australia are playingback-to-back Ashes series this year to movethe series out of its position directly ahead ofthe World Cup in the international cricket

calendar. "We'll see what happens after that,if he is lured away to play iPL (indianPremier League) and Twenty20 cricketaround the world," Flintoff said. "i've got asneaking suspicion he'll be looking at those

10 tests and then consider his future."Pietersen has played 94 tests since makinghis debut against Australia in 2005, scoring7499 runs at an average of 49.01. He has hit22 test hundreds.

KP will be ready for Ashes: ECB

zImBABwE FIRST InnIngS

T. maruma lbw b Robiul Islam 10

V. Sibanda b Robiul Islam 5

H. masakadza c mahmudullah b Enamul Haque jnr 25

B. Taylor not out 105

m. waller b Rubel Hossain 55

E.Chigumbura not out 6

Extras (b-1, lb-3, w-2, nb-5) 11

Total (four wickets, 90 overs) 217

Fall of wickets: 1-10 2-22 3-65 4-192

To bat: R. mutumbami, K. meth, A. Cremer, S. masakadza, K.

jarvis

Bowling (to date): Robiul Islam 24-6-56-2 (w1), Rubel Hossain

20-6-42-1 (nb5, w1), nasir Hossain 5-2-3-0, Enamul Haque jnr

29-3-76-1, Sohag gazi 11-0-33-0, mahmudullah 1-0-3-0

Bangladesh: jahurul Islam, Shahriar nafees, mohammad

Ashraful, mushfiqur Rahim, mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan,

nasir Hossain, Sohag gazi, Enamul Haque jnr, Rubel Hossain,

Robiul Islam

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field

SCOREBOARD

TAUSEEF CLUB InTO QUARTERS

LAHORE: Tauseef Club has enteredinto the quarter-final of 28th MYaseen Akhter Memorial cricketevent when they crush Young ModelTown Club by 7 wickets at ModelTown Ground on Thursdayafternoon. SCORES: Young Model Town club143/8. Mubshhar 36, Abid 24,Hassan Rizwan 23, Bilal 17. MohsinAgha 3/24, M Ali 3/26, Sher BazKhan 1/26, Asrar Baig 1/41. TauseefClub 148/3. Sher Baz 48(no),Waqas Khan 35, M Ahmed 19, IbrarBaig 17(no). Hasan 2/23. AKHTER CLUB DOWn LUDIHAnA

GYM: Akhter Abdul Rehman clubhas entered into the 2nd round of16th Tauseef Trophy CricketChampionship when they beatstrong Ludihana Gym by 7 wicketsplayed at Model Town ground onWednesday morning. SCORES: `Ludihana Gym 131/9 in20 overs. Waseem Zahoor 14, UmerSiddiq 20, Ayub Abaas 24, Zeeshan36. Tajaml Ch 5/21, Asif Raza1/23,c HAfiz Amir 1/20, Qamar1/29. Akhter Abdul Rehman club133/3. Imran Butt 38, AsfandMehran 45, Asif Raza 39(no), HAfizAmir 10(no). KAshif Siddiq 2/22,Nazir 1/19. RISInG STAR RISE: Rising Starhas marched into the quarter finalof 28th M Yaseen Akhter Memorialcricket event when they outplayPindi Gym by 36 runs played atTownship Albilal Ground onWednesday Morning. SCORES: Rising Star 193/5 in 20overs. Aamir Butt 102(no), AbdulMuqeed 34, Yasir Ali 18, TaimoorTalib 13. Shahid 2/38, Imtiaz 1/35,Sajad 1/24. Pindi Gym 157 all out in16.5 overs. Imtiaz 45, NAdeem 31,Tariq 22, Asad 19, Umer 15(no).Abdul Muqeed 4/15, Ghulam Shabir2/39, Naseem ullah 1/33, SajadButt 1/20, Yasir Ali 1/24. SHAOAIB CRUSH ALBILAL CLUB:

Crown Club has marched into thequarter final of 28th M YaseenAkhter Memorial cricket event whenthey beat Albilal Club by 6 wicketsplayed at Township Albilal groundthe other day. SCORES: Albilal Club 113 all out. MZahid 11, M ALi 20, Waqas 14, MSalman 26, HAmdan Ali 13. MShoaib 6/30, Noor ul amin 1/10,Yasir ALi 1/18, NAsir 1/15. CrownClub 118/4. M Irfan 37, M Umer 26,M shoaib 29(no), Zaheer Abbas14(no). Nasir Abbas 1/25, M Zahid3/17. STAFF REPORT

LoCAL news

enGLAnd Are ConfIdent kevIn PIeterSen wILL befIt to tAke HIS PLACe In tHIS SUmmerS ASHeS SerIeSdeSPIte A SetbACk to HIS retUrn from InjUry

KHI 19-04-2013_Layout 1 4/19/2013 5:42 AM Page 17

THIRD CHIEF ARCHITECT

SPORTS GAMES

LAHORE: The third editionof Chief Architect SportsGames will be held on April27 at Nishtar Park SportsComplex’s veledrome nearGaddafi Stadium.This decision was taken ata meeting of sportsassociation of chiefarchitect Punjab here onThursday.Cricket, cycling, gymnastic,karate, tug of war andpowerlifting competitionswill be organised during thetwo-day event, saidorganising secretary of thegames, Bashir Ahmed Butt.He said chief architectPunjab, Zahra Ashraf willbe the chief guest at theclosing ceremony on April28 to distribute prizesamong notable performersof various competitions.He said various committeeshave been formed forsmooth conduction of thegames and a regularannual feature.nTDC WIn TABLE

TEnnIS TITLE: NTDC wonthe title of Wapda InterUnit Table TennisChampionship on Thursdayat Rawalpindi's ShahbazSharif Sports complex.LESCO, MEPCO, GEPCO,FESCO, IESCO and NTDCparticipated in the event inwhich FESCO claimed thesecond place followed byGEPCO.LESCO got the fourth placeas MEPCO finished at fifthplace as IESCO took thelast sixth place.Ghazala Basit of FESCOwas declared Champion inwomen event while AbdulRahim of GEPCO declaredChampion in men event.STAFF REPORT

KHAWAR SHAH APPOInTED In

BASEBALL ASIA

LAHORE: The Baseball Federation ofAsia (BFA) has appointed Secretary,Pakistan Federation BaseballPakistan (PFB) Khawar Shah as theExecutive Director of BaseballDevelopment in the West Asia inrecognition of his services for thecause of game."Khawar has done a lot not only forthe introduction of baseball inPakistan and he is in leading role inthe West Asia Region for thedevelopment of Baseball", said anannouncement of PFB here Thursday.The position appointed is part of theExecutive Committee of the BFA andrequires that the appointee bepresent at all Executive CommitteeMeetings of the Baseball Federationof Asia.PUnjAB jUDO GIRLS WIn TWO

GOLD, THREE BROnzE MEDALS:

The Punjab girls judo team in itsmaiden appearance performedbrilliantly in the PSP Inter-provincialU16 Judo Championship winning twogold and three bronze medals atIslamabad.Punjab girls won two gold medals in35 and 40 kgs weight classes. Mahaktook the 35 kg category gold whileAiysha Ayub of Punjab was declaredthe winner after the KPK playerKalsoom was found overage.A protest was lodged againstKalsoom who won gold medal butshe turned out to be overage andwas stripped of gold medal. Nimra Javed of Punjab won the firstbronze medal for his province in the57 kgs weight class. On the final day of the championship,Punjab girls won another two bronzemedals. Asma was placed third in 44kgs body weight class while Zainabalso won bronze medal in 52 kgscategory. The organisers havehowever, held the decision of thefinal team winner following protestsagainst some of the players and thewinner team will be announced bythem in a day or two.PAKISTAn TO HOST SOUTH

ASIAn BODYBUILDInG: Lahorewill be the focus of a majorbodybuilding activity by hosting the10th South Asian BodybuildingChampionship and Mr South Asiacontest from May 2-6.SAARC member countries wereinvited to take part in thiscompetition and majority of themhave confirmed their participation inthe event, said a spokesman ofPakistan bodybuilding federationhere on Thursday.Competition will be held in followingweight categories including 55 kg,60kg,65 kg,70 kg,75 kg,80 kg,85 kg,90kg and above 90 kg classes. Juniorswill be competing in 70 kg and Above70 kg Classes. "All the affiliated Unitsof Pakistan Bodybuilding Federationhave been advised to prepare theirmusclemen for this challenging eventand to produce favourable results",he said. STAFF REPORT

sPoRTsS

Friday, 19 April, 2013

17Ultimately we are all human.

We have morals. We have ways

we see things. – Mark Webber

PESHAWARSTAFF REPORT

The Malik Saad Shaheed Sports Trust(Registered) Pakistan (MSSST) is doinga valuable services to the community byproviding them opportunities for healthysports activities apart from encouragingdeserving youth in education section.

This was stated by His ExcellencyMr. Choong Joo Choi, Ambassador ofRepublic of korea during his visit theMSSST Headoffice at Central PoliceOffices (CPO) Thursday afternoon. Thevisiting korean Ambassador C.J Choiwho was accompanied by H.E Mr. AfhanAziz newly-appointed Honorary Consulof Republic of korea in khyberPakhtunkhwa was warmly-received byMSST Chairman Malik Naveed khan,Member Board of Trustees (BOT) AhmadHassan, Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani, Mazhar-

ul-Haq, imtiaz Ahmad Ali, Zia-ul-HaqSarhadi along with staff of MSSST officeupon his arrival. The Ambassador alsoappreciated the MSSST initiatives for thepeace through Sports, education andhealthcare facilities while reviewing thepicture gallery at MSSST office.

MSSST Chairman Malik Navvedkhan briefed the Ambassador on the aimsand objectives of the MSSST and alsoinformed him about future planning tofurther enhance the network of the Trustto other parts of the country. TheAmbassador was pleased to know aboutthe establishment of more than 100 Sportsacademies of different disciplines in allmajor city towns of khyber Pakhtunkhwaand FATA during short span of timewhich shows the dedication and devotionof the MSSST team towards theachievements of aims and objectives ofthe establishment of the MSSST.

Korean Ambassador appreciates MSSST services

AUGUStAAgEnCIES

Three players who had the chance to winthe Masters have the opportunity to put lastweek's heartache behind them in the RBCHeritage at Hilton Head this week.

Jason Day, Marc Leishman and BrandtSnedeker were all in contention on adramatic final day at Augusta, with Daycoming closest to a first major title.

The 25-year-old Australian briefly helda two-shot lead when he birdied the 15th,but bogeyed the next two holes andfinished two shots out of the play-off wonby compatriot Adam Scott.

Day was also joint second at Augustain 2011 and finished joint ninth at HarbourTown two weeks later, when Snedeker wonthe title in a play-off.

Snedeker shared the lead with Day andAngel Cabrera early in the final round onSunday only for his usually brilliant putting

to let him down on the back nine, whileLeishman was in contention until a costlybogey on the par-five 15th saw him finishjoint fourth alongside Tiger Woods.

Also in the field is England's Brian

Davis, who called a penalty on himselfduring a sudden-death play-off with JimFuryk at the event in 2010.

Davis, still searching for his first PGATour title, had forced the play-off with a72nd-hole birdie to pull level with Furyk,who had been the overnight leader.

The pair went back to the 18th tee andDavis found himself in trouble aftersending his second shot off rocks next tothe green and onto the beach.

Davis decided to play from where hisball lay and chipped onto the green, butcalled a penalty on himself for touching aloose impediment with his club during hisswing. He informed PGA Tour rules chiefSlugger White who, after consulting withcolleagues, determined a two-shot penaltywas in order, leaving Furyk to hole out forvictory. Meanwhile, Monday's bombings atthe Boston Marathon hit close to home forone player in the field, Boston native JamesDriscoll.

Masters contenders turnfocus to RBC Heritage

LoCAL news

LoCAL news

Murrayrecordsroutine win MOnTE CARLO: Andy Murray started hisclay court season with a routine victoryover Edouard Roger-Vasselin at the MonteCarlo Masters. Stepping out on the redsurface for the first time in 2013, theScot`s first preparatory match ahead ofthe French Open lasted one hour 12minutes, winning 6-1 6-4. The US Openchampion is seeded second in theprincipality - above Rafael Nadal who isseeking a ninth successive title at theevent - and he started as if to show why ashe broke twice for a 4-0 lead. His Frenchopponent managed to get a foothold in thegame to break back to 4-1, but he wasquickly put to bed in the first set withanother loss of service. The second set washarder going for Murray, despite an earlybreak pushing him out in front. In the end,once Roger-Vasselin found his range, serveheld through to the finish giving Murray athird-round meeting with StanislasWawrinka. "I got to 4-0 early on whichhelped," Murray assessed on Sky Sports 1."I think he was a bit nervous, didn`t movethat well at the beginning and then hestarted to play better."He was getting a lot of balls back and Itried to attack as much as I could. It`s apositive and good start." The win certainlyticked a number of boxes for Murray, whobecame the world number two with victoryin his last tournament in Miami, He sentdown eight aces and won 90 per cent ofthe points on his first serve, whileconverting four of six break points. AgEnCIES

PESHAWAR: C.J CHOI, Ambassador of Republic of Korea in Pakistan during his visitto Malik Saad Sports Trust (MSSST) office.

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STAR SPORTSMonte-CarloRolex Masters06:00 PM

GEO SUPERIPL: Sunrisersv Kings XI07:30 PM

Benitez can'tpromise two-goalTerry a start

LIVERPOOL: John Terry may havenetted twice in the win at Fulham, butChelsea boss Rafael Benitez haswarned that might not be enough for astarting berth at Liverpool. The 32-year-old was an unused substitute inSunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat toMan City but returned to the startingline-up for Wednesday's west Londonderby at Craven Cottage, where henodded home either side of half-time.Terry's headers complemented DavidLuiz's exquisite long-range opener in a3-0 win, which moves Chelsea back upto third in the Barclays PremierLeague. Next up is a trip to interimmanager Benitez's former clubLiverpool - a match in which Terrycould find himself back on the benchas the Spaniard juggles domestic andEuropean exertions. AgEnCIES

sPoRTs SFriday, 19 April, 2013

18We had to stand up to a lot, we went down twice

but we kept going. We played like champions

tonight [Wednesday]. – Alex Ferguson

wAtCh It LIve

DUBAIAgEnCIES

Bahrain has arrested several peopleaccused of stealing and burning cars amidheightened security in the island kingdombefore Sunday's Formula One race, whichthe opposition sees as a chance to publicisea pro-democracy campaign. Watched bymillions around the world, the Grand Prixis the biggest sporting event hosted by theU.S.-allied country and the government ishoping for a healthy turnout at this year'srace despite continuing violent unrest.

The Gulf Arab state, where the U.S.Navy's Fifth Fleet is based, has been hitby unrest since pro-democracy protestsbroke out in early 2011, putting it in thefrontline of the region-wide tusslebetween Shi'ite Muslim iran and Sunni

Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.Bahrain's state news agency said late onWednesday that authorities had arresteda man who later confessed to an incidentin which a car burned and exploded in thecountry's financial district on April 14.

Four other people accused of stealingand burning a car near a roundaboutwere also arrested and another personwas detained over an accusation heblocked a main road and caused damageto a Bahraini's car. The race at the Sakhirdesert circuit was cancelled in 2011when protests were crushed and at least35 people were killed. Activists put thedeath toll far higher. Last year's racewent ahead against a backdrop ofburning tyres and riot police firingteargas at protesters throwing petrolbombs in Shi'ite Muslim villages.

Bahrain steps up arrests ahead of F1 motor racing event

Masters considersofficials withevery group

AUGUStAAgEnCIES

Rules officials from golf organizations aroundthe world work at the Masters, most of themassigned various parts of the golf course. Butit remains the only major championship thatdoesn't have a rules official walk with everygroup. Even more peculiar is that the Mastershas the smallest field. With only 93 playersthis year, there were only 31 groups all fourdays -threesomes on Thursday and Friday,and twosomes on Saturday and Sunday forthe 61 players who made the cut. Could thatchange in light of the ruling involving TigerWoods? He took an incorrect drop on the15th hole after hitting into the water in thesecond round. Fred Ridley, chairman of thecompetition committee, responded to a TVviewer calling in the violation and did notimmediately recognize the mistake based onvideo evidence. it was only after Woods saidin an interview he dropped it 2 yards fartherback did Ridley review the tape again. Woodswas given a two-shot penalty, but notdisqualified. Ridley invoked Rule 33-7,which gives the committee discretion not todisqualify. in this case, he felt Augusta erredby not presenting the evidence to Woodsbefore he signed his card. Ridley would notsay if the Masters would have officials witheach group next year. That likely would beup to Masters chairman Billy Payne. “ifthere's one thing about the Masterstournament ... we look at everything,”Ridley said. “What could we do in thefuture? is there any different processes wecould employ? We look at the entirecompetition every year and try to get better.”

MOntE cARLOAgEnCIES

NOVAk Djokovic's gambleon his injured ankle at theMonte Carlo Mastersappeared to be backfiring

before he dug in to battle past RussianMikhail Youzhny 4-6 6-1 6-4 in thesecond round on Wednesday. WhileDjokovic grimaced and growled throughthe pain barrier to fight back from 0-4down in the opening set, Rafa Nadal wasall smiles after launching his bid for aninth consecutive Monte Carlo crownwith a ruthless 6-1 6-2 win overAustralian Marinko Matosevic.

World number one Djokovic, whosprained his ankle on Davis Cup duty 10days ago, made a late call to participatein the tournament in his adopted hometown and was relieved to have survivedhis first match on clay this season.

"i'm not 100 percent because of myphysical issue but i'm still in the draw. ilive here. Everything's alright," Djokovicsaid in a courtside interview. During atraining session on Tuesday, Djokovic

avoided putting too much pressure on hisankle but he did not have that luxury asYouzhny made him chase the ball aroundthe court. Once Djokovic levelled at 4-4,he relied on his greater weight of shot tosee him through even though he twistedhis ankle again during the second set. "(itwas painful) for the next 15 minutes, thenit kind of faded away because i had agood protection ... i am happy to winbecause i'm happy to compete,"Djokovic told reporters.

Following an exchange of breaks inthe third set, he broke decisively in theninth game and sent Youzhny packingwith an ace on match point. The Serbianwill next take on 14th-seed Juan Monacowho took full advantage of ErnestsGulbis's third-set meltdown to win 6-0 3-6 6-3. The Latvian was penalised a gamefor smashing his racket against theumpire's chair following a point penaltyfor kicking the ball.

Third seed Nadal returned from amonth-long break to record his 43rdsuccessive victory in the principality. TheSpaniard, who missed seven months lastyear due to knee problems, was loudly

cheered by the packed crowd. Matosevicopened a 2-0 lead in the second set butNadal reeled off the next six games toadvance to a meeting with 16th seedPhilipp kohlschreiber of Germany. "iplayed well at the beginning, with theright intensity, with no mistakes. i wastrying to do the right things to find a goodfeeling on the ball, to find the rightrhythm. And i think i did," Nadal told anews conference.

"i played to the right places, and thatgave me confidence." The world numberfive announced his comeback by winningthree of his first four tournaments,including the indian Wells Masters Series,and is favourite to continue his reign onthe picturesque Centre Court that has beenhis stage since he first won the tournamentin 2005. World number two Andy Murrayalso enjoyed a solid start by beatingqualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin ofFrance 6-1 6-4. "it takes time (to adapt). itdoesn't matter how much training you do,until you get the matches and the feel ofhow to play under pressure, it's completelydifferent," said the Briton who next facesSwiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

HUYAgEnCIES

Spaniard Daniel Moreno won the second of the ArdennesClassics, the Fleche-Wallonne, on Wednesday giving his teamkatusha their second successive victory in the race.

The 31-year-old - whose team leader Joaquim Rodriguezwon last year -beat two Colombians Sergio Henao and CarlosAlberto Betancur to the line in the 205km race.

Rodriguez failed to mount a challenge as the effects of hisfall in last weekend's Amstel Gold Race took their toll.

Moreno, whose previous best win was a stage in the Tourof Spain, made the decisive burst when he passed the worldtime-trial champion Philippe Gilbert, who had gone afterBetancur, on the final climb.

Morena wins Flech-wallone

Djokovic battles throughpain, Nadal cruises

Mancini relievedCity managed tosee off wiganDUBAI: Manchester City boss RobertoMancini admitted his side had beenbelow par after labouring to a 1-0 winover Wigan at the Etihad Stadium. TheBarclays Premier League championswere outplayed for large periods bytheir relegation-threatened FA Cup finalopponents, but snatched victory with abrilliant late Carlos Tevez goal.Mancini said: "We worked really hardbecause Wigan played really well andevery game we play against them isdifficult because they play football andthey like to win every game. "I don'tthink we played very well because wewere so tired. Only in the last 20-25minutes we played better. "They played very well, they don'tdeserve to be relegated." Mancini felthis players were probably still feelingthe effects of their energy-sapping FACup semi-final win over Chelsea atWembley on Sunday. AgEnCIES

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Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

Friday, 19 April, 2013

QUEttA/ISLAMABAD/MASHKAILSHAHzADA zuLFIQAR/AgEnCIES

THE aftershocks of Tuesday’searthquake hit parts of Dalbandinand adjacent areas in the earlyhours of Thursday.

The Meteorological Department saidthe epicentre of the quake, measuring 4.9on the Richter scale, was in the NorthWest of Dalbandin in Balochistan.

At least 34 people were killed anddozens were injured in various parts ofthe province as a powerful earthquake hitthe Pak-iran border area on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, President Asif Zardariassured the earthquake victims of thegovernment’s full support and asked thecaretaker Balochistan chief minister totake measures for relief and rehabilita-tion of the affected people.

During a meeting with caretakerBalochistan chief minister GhausBakhsh Barozai, Zardari directed him toprovide best possible medical treatmentto those who sustained injuries in theearthquake. The two discussed the over-all situation in the province with focuson relief and rehabilitation of quake vic-tims and the security arrangements madefor holding free and fair elections.

The chief minister briefed the presi-dent about steps taken for the relief of theearthquake-affected people in Balochis-tan. He also updated the president on the

latest law and order in Balochistan andthe steps taken to maintain peace, and tobring to book the culprits involved in therecent attack on Sardar Sanaullah Zehri.Separately, a rapid survey report con-ducted by a Quetta-based NGOBalochistan Rural Support Programme(BRSP), said over three quarters ofMashkail’s total population of 20,000has been affected by Tuesday’s earth-quake. However, the number of peopleaffected in the town close to the iranianborder is likely to increase after a de-tailed survey is completed.

“it was a rapid survey, however de-tailed assessment, including going door-to-door in each village, will be carriedout later after donor agencies commit for

relief goods,” said Mahboob Ali, the dis-trict coordinator of the BRSP.

He said the BRSP surveyors gath-ered this information after interviewingthe people living in the area and sent areport to his organisation for further dis-patching to donors/partners asking fortheir support in the provision of reliefgoods. Another survey carried out by anNGO, Seher, said over 3,000 houses hadbeen damaged. Seher Disaster ManagerRauf Jamal told Pakistan Today, “Ourvolunteers conducted the survey andfound that around 3,000 houses werecompletely or partially damaged,” hesaid, adding that the houses partiallydamaged could not be used as they couldcollapse at any moment.

WASHInGtOn APP

US Secretary of State John kerry has rejecteda Congressman’s suggestion on cutting off as-sistance for Pakistan, advocating that such amove would be unwise in view of bilateral co-operation on high-stakes issues.

“Well, you know the old saying, Dana,about cutting off your nose to spite your face.Cutting off aid to Pakistan would not be agood move, certainly, at this point in time, fora lot of different reasons”, kerry firmly toldRepublican Congressman Dana Rohrabacherduring a Congressional hearing.

Rohrabacher, who has a history of adopt-ing anti-Pakistan stances, was insisting thatinstead of conducting quiet diplomacy Wash-ington should stop aid to Pakistan over im-prisonment of Pakistani doctor, ShakeelAfridi. Dr Afridi, working for CiA, ran a fakevaccination campaign in the hunt for Osamabin Laden, but has been jailed due to his linkswith militants. “We are working with Pakistanwith respect to nuclear weapons safety andnonproliferation. We are working with Pak-istan to get our supplies both in and out ofAfghanistan,” kerry said while underscoringPakistan’s key importance in the countdownto 2014 military drawdown from neighbour-ing landlocked Afghanistan.

kerry was testifying before the HouseForeign Affairs Committee on the Obama ad-ministration’s request for 2014 budget. Pak-istan is expected to receive $1.2 billion ineconomic and military assistance in the newfiscal year. in his answer, the top US diplomatalso reminded the Congressman of Pakistan’s

sacrifices in the fight against terrorists, sayingthe country lost perhaps 50,000 people in thelast years to terror. He also drew the lawmak-ers’ attention to complications surroundingthe issue of Dr Afridi, saying, “it is just not assimple as holding everything accountable toone thing where they – they assert that therewere certain laws that were broken.”

Questioned by another lawmaker about hisperspective on india’s role in Afghanistan, kerrysaid New Delhi can play an important role but atthe same time pointed out implications of a com-plicated circle between Pakistan, india andAfghanistan. “i’ve always believed in – becauseof their democracy, because of their tradition,there are great reasons for us to partner with indiain many significant ways. But india and Pakistanobviously have a very different relationship. Andso it’s a very complicated circle betweenAfghanistan, Pakistan, india.” He also noted thatthe extent of indian presence in Afghanistan, af-fects islamabad’s views.

Aftershocks joltparts of Balochistan

Kerry for continued usassistance to pakistan

MASHKAIL: A child sits on the ground on Thursday as the destructioncaused by the massive earthquake can be seen in the background. OnLInE

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