E paper pdf (15 05 2017) (lhr)

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Monday, 15 May, 2017 i 18 sha’ban, 1438 i rs 20.00 i Vol Vii No 317 i 64 pages i lahore edition

imran Khan accuses Pml-n leadership of rs62 billion corruption

No geographiCal bouNdaries

STORY ON PAGE 02

Ch Nisar takes notice of criticism of army on social media STORY ON PAGE 04

PSP, Ji stage rallies; police detain mustafa Kamal and others g

in today’s issue

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rime minister muhammad nawaz Sharif on Sunday said that the china-Pakistan economic corridor (cPec) under the one belt, one road (obor) initiative, was open to all countries in the region and emphasised the project must not be politicised. “let me make it very clear that cPec is an economic undertaking open to all countries in the region. it has no geographical boundaries,” he said in his address at the plenary session of the highlevel dialogue on belt and road forum (brf) with the theme “cooperation for common Prosperity” here in china’s capital.

Prime minister nawaz called for

building a peaceful, connected and caring neighbourhood by shunning mutual differences. “it is time we transcend our differences, resolve conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, and leave a legacy of peace for future generations,” he said at the platform, with 29 heads of states and governments and 1,500 delegates in attendance. he said that peace and development go hand in hand, and nothing can pave the path for peace and security more than economic development achieved through regional collaboration. the obor signifies that geoeconomics must take precedence over geo-politics, and that the centre of gravity should shift from conflict to cooperation, he said.

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PSP chief barred from entering red Zone

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govt may charge PSP leaderShiP with anti-terror clauSeS

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02 NEWS

Monday, 15 May, 2017

BELT ROAD FORUM IN BEIJING

chIna PLedges $124bn for new sILk road PLan XI SAYS CHINA SHARING ITS OWN WISDOM, SOLUTIONS FOR GLOBAL GROWTH, GOVERNANCE BEIJING

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HINESE President Xi Jinping pledged $124 billion on Sunday for his new Silk Road plan to forge a path of peace, inclusiveness and free trade, and called for the abandonment of old models based on rivalry and diplomatic power games.

Addressing the opening of the prestigious gathering, he used a summit on the initiative, attended by leaders and top officials from around the world, to bolster China’s global leadership image.

“We should build an open platform of cooperation and uphold and grow an open world economy,” Xi told the opening of the two-day gathering here.

China has stated what it formally

calls the Belt and Road initiative as a new way to boost global development since Xi unveiled the plan in 2013, aiming to expand links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.

President Xi said that the world must create conditions that promote open development and encourage the building of systems of fair, reasonable and transparent global trade and investment rules. He pledged a major funding boost to the new Silk Road, including an extra 100 billion yuan ($14.50 billion) into the existing Silk Road Fund, 380 billion yuan in loans from two policy banks and 60 billion yuan in aid to developing countries and international bodies in countries along the new trade routes.

In addition, he said that China would encourage financial institutions

to expand their overseas yuan fund businesses to the tune of 300 billion yuan.

The Chinese president did not give a timeframe for the new loans, aid and funding pledged on Sunday. Leaders from 29 countries attended the forum, as well as heads of the UN, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

President Xi said the Belt and Road Initiative was a project of the century that would benefit people across the world. “Spanning thousands of miles and years, the ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit,” Xi told an audience of more than 1,500.

He said that the Silk Road spirit has become a great heritage of human civilization. By linking countries and regions that account for about 60 percent of the world’s population and 30 percent of global GDP, the initiative is a perfect example of China sharing its own wisdom and solutions for global growth and governance. “The pursuit of

this initiative is based on extensive consultation and its benefits will be shared by us all,” he said.

All countries, from either Asia, Europe, Africa or the Americas, can be international cooperation partners of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said. Xi noted that the humankind has reached an age of great progress, great transformation and profound changes, while the world is fraught with challenges. He said that the global growth requires drivers, development needs to be more inclusive and balanced, and the gap between the rich and the poor needs to be narrowed.

With the Belt and Road Initiative, China wants to turn the legends of the ancient Silk Road into a modern story of inclusive growth and cross-continental cooperation. In Washington, White House adviser Matt Pottinger said that the United States welcomed efforts by China to promote infrastructure connectivity as part of its Belt and Road initiative, and the American companies could offer top value services.

Senate chief for collective narrative against terrorists RABBANI SAYS REDEFINE FOREIGN POLICY WITH A STRONG PARLIAMENT TO WIN WAR AGAINST TERRORISM QUETTA APP

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has said that all the parliamentary parties must come forward to adopt a unified stand against terrorism through their proposals to the parliament.

He said that a collective national narrative against terrorists and extremists ideologies cannot come from the Islamic seminaries rather all stakeholders and political parties will have to reach a consensus in this regard and present it through the parliament. He said that war against terrorism cannot be won without a refined foreign policy

and a strong parliament. Owing to the promotion of wrong policies, ethnic clashes and sectarianism by some of former rulers, Pakistan was struggling and gripped with terrorism in its worst manifestations, he said.

He was talking to journalists outside the Combined Military Hospital here in Quetta, following his visit to inquire after the health of Senate’s Deputy Chairman Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and other injured

persons of Mastung carnage. “We should learn some lesson from history and must change our attitudes with our own people,” he said.

He said that the American war was imposed on Pakistan and the wrong policies of the past were ugly faces of the terrorism taking place in Mastung and Gwadar. The Senate chairman said that military and civil leaders have to be united for defeating terrorism.

He said the current war was an ideological war and all the parliamentary parties have to present proposals for its elimination.

He said that all have to come on a single page for the success of the Radd-ul-Fassad security operation after the success of the Zarb-e-Azab operation. “Pakistan is passing through a ‘critical time’ and national solidarity is the need of time instead of blaming each other,” he said.

Rabbani said that relations with India cannot improve until the solution of the Kashmir issue, adding that the initiation of the negotiation process with Iran, Afghanistan and other SAARC member countries is much essential to open the doors of durable peace and prosperity in the country.

cowardly acts won’t break our resolve: haideri Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Secretary-General and Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said on Sunday that cowardly acts such as Mastung incident will not break our resolve.

He remarked this in a video message, which he recorded at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta, where he is currently seeking treatment.

“We will continue to work towards restoring peace in Balochistan,” he added.

Maulana Haider, along with 30 others, was injured in a blast, which was later reported as a suicide attack, in Mastung area of Balochistan on Friday. The explosion claimed 27 lives.

He explained that he was on his way back from a dastarbandi at a madrassah when the explosion occurred.

He also said that he was initially taken to a nearby mosque, where he also heard fire shots after the incident.

He added that it took him an hour to reach the hospital. However, if it would have taken him longer then his health could have been compromised.

He said that he is regaining health and feels better now.

Moreover, he also cancelled the shutter down strike, announced by the JUI, in the fear that it will be used by the enemies for their own advantage.

JUI-F ARRANGES RALLIES, PUBLIC GATHERINGS TO PROTEST MASTUNG BLAST: To protest the Mastung blast, rallies and gatherings were organised by JUI-F on Sunday in various cities of Balochistan.

During a public gathering in Pishin district, the workers and leaders of JUI-F decried the Balochistan government for failing to restore peace in the province. The government should step down if they cannot fulfil their duty, they said.

In Jhal Magsi, a rally was taken out, while a protest was held in Kharan.

The protesters demanded that those involved in the bomb attack in Mastung on May 12 should be arrested and dealt with an iron hand.

INJURED DISCHARGED: Six of the injured persons admitted to the civil hospital of Quetta were discharged after getting medical treatment, according to hospital sources. At least 13 injured persons were admitted to the hospital after the blast in Mastung. News Desk

Imran accuses PmL-n LeadershIP of rs 62bn corruPtIon

‘People know reality of Imran’s false allegations’

ABBOTTABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has said on Sunday that leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stole Rs 62 billion that belonged to the people of Pakistan. He addressed a rally in Abbottabad and in his speech he said that money laundering done by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was proved by material published

by Panama Papers. “The Joint Investigation Team would reveal a lot more,” he added. The PM has been caught redhanded, said the PTI chairman. He said it’s a pity that loans are taken by someone else and paid by the nation. “Nawaz Sharif didn’t keep anything on his name, instead he acquired things under his children’s name,” he said. He held rampant corruption a reason for the lack of foreign investment in Pakistan. Khan said that the country could not progress until persons guilty of corruption are not put behind bars. Khan asked how can the “King of corruption” end the practice of corruption from the country. He termed PM Sharif as the “Godfather of Corruption”. Khan stated that unemployment is increasing in the country due to corruption. “I will only rest by sending you to jail,” he said. “The country cannot progress unless the rulers are held accountable for their deeds,” the PTI chairman said. He added that the rulers are continuing to take loans from the International Monetary Fund and the money is being laundered outside Pakistan. The PTI chief stated that federal government tried to defame the military through the Dawn Leaks issue. Imran Khan in his address also paid tribute to the struggle of Kashmiris, who he said are being brutally oppressed by the Indian forces since years.

KHAN LASHES OUT AT FAZL: Hitting back at Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman over his claim that “Jews” had offered him money to back the PTI agenda, PTI chief Imran Khan said that they should have offered him diesel permits instead. “I think the Jews made a mistake. They should have offered him [Maulana Fazlur Rehman] diesel permits,” Khan took a jibe at his rival politician. The event, being held at Abbottabad’s degree college ground, was earlier addressed by senior party leaders from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the centre. Earlier, speaking to the media at the venue, PTI-led cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister Mushtaq Ghani, said 20,000 chairs have been set up at the ground to accommodate PTI supporters. INP

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Advisor Dr Asif Kirmani on Sunday said people of the country has been well aware of the reality of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s politics, which were only based on allegations.

Kirmani, in a press statement, said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was currently in China to open up new windows of development and prosperity for Pakistan.

He said the people knew who their wellwisher was, and they would reject elements, which have been a hurdle in development, in the 2018 election.

Asif Kirmani expressed the confidence that the journey of development and prosperity would continue under the dynamic leadership of Nawaz Sharif even after 2018. APP

Ghost teachers ask students to not report their absences ISLAMABAD HAMID kHAN wAZIR

The teachers of the Government High School for Girls, South Waziristan Agency (SWA), have threatened students with expulsion if they raised voice against the teachers’ absences.

Owing to the incessant absence of the teachers, future of hundreds of students of the troubled-hit area of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is at stake as there is no other government high school in the proximity. The Government High School

for Girls located in Dab Kot village of SWA was destroyed by unknown miscreants in 2012 and is yet to be constructed; however, students have been attending classes regularly in the building. According to details, most of the non-local teachers failed to attend the school after the blast, despite getting salaries regularly. It is the oldest government high school for girls in the area, which was built back in 1964 in which around 800 students were enrolled; however, due to the absence of teachers, the strength of the school was drastically reduced.

The students of the school held an un-

precedented protest in Wana, headquarter of SWA and blocked the main highway for hours in April against non-construction of the school and long absences of the teachers. Owing to their protest, all the teaching staff living in Islamabad and Dera Ismail Khan left for Wana on April 19 to join their duties, but they spent only a week there in the Political Compound.

Talking to Pakistan Today, students of the school said that there are some teachers whom they had never seen.

They said that after their protest, they arrived in Wana and hired six Matric pass stu-

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dents whom they paid six thousand rupees and left for their hometowns on April 27.

The students said that during one week stay in the school, the teachers harassed the students instead of teaching them. “Teachers threatened them with expulsion if they ever staged a protest against their absence,” they complained.

FATA Student Female Wing President Samreena Khan Wazir said that it is a very serious issue, which they raised with FATA Director Education Hasham Khan several times, but nothing was done.

She said that there is no mechanism

for monitoring schools on a regular basis; hence teachers in most of the schools remain absent.

While citing the example of Zarmeena Wazir, who recently aced CSS exams from FATA, Samreena said that there is a great talent in FATA if girls are provided with good education.

She demanded that the Education Department should take a stern action against the teachers who threatened the students, besides ensuring their attendance in the school.

FATA Director Education Hasham Khan could not be reached for comments.

Monday, 15 May, 2017

NEWS KAMAL BARRED FROM ENTERING RED ZONE GOVERNMENT MAY CHARGE PSP LEADERSHIP ON ANTITERRORISM CLAUSES KArACHI

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AK Sarzameen Party (PSP) staged a ‘million march’ in Karachi whereas Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) took out a rally against K-Electric (KE) on Sunday.

According to details, the PSP carried out a rally in order to get their 16 demands met.

PSP’s rally which started from Shahrah-e-Faisal was supposed to conclude ‘peacefully’ at the Chief Minister House but police started shelling tear gas at protesters to stop them from reaching the Chief Minister House and took into custody Pak Sarzameen Party leaders Mustafa Kamal, Raza Haroon and Dr Sagheer.

PSP Chairman Kamal said that the

PsP, JI stage raLLIes; PoLIce detaIn mustafa kamaL and others

party workers had not entered Red Zone.

At the time of his arrest, further adding that police is taking him into custody for demanding water for the children of Karachi.

According to police sources, authorities are considering to press charges against the party’s leadership comprising anti-terrorism clauses.

Raza Haroon and Dr Sagheer were shifted in a prison van after being taken into custody by the police authorities.

PSP leader Advocate Anis has also been taken into custody.

Police also arrested more than 10 party workers. Anees Qaimkhani was hit by water canon, although party workers, later on, surrounded him to save him from any harm.

Police also used water cannon to disperse the crowd gathered near Aisha Bawany College. The party had also invited leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan to attend the rally.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami’s held a

rally against the power distribution company from Sakhi Hasan till Five-Star Chowrangi.

PSP Chief Mustafa Kamal and JI Karachi wing President Hafiz Naeem-urRehman, speaking to media, stated that both parties have come on the same page for resolving the issues of the provincial capital.

INTERIOR MINISTER CONDEMNS CRACKDOWN: Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the detainment of the PSP leaders. Nisar said the action against a peaceful political rally is completely illogical.

Police sources informed that more than 20 people have been taken into custody and shifted within the remits of Artillery Maidan police station.

Earlier, the talks between Pak Sarzameen Party and Pakistan Peoples`Party failed to reach a breakthrough.

The PSP representatives said that the

party would only re-enter into negotiations only when the authorities let its protestors gather outside the Chief Minister House. The four-member PPP delegation; included Murtaza Wahab, Rashid Rabbani and Waqar Mehdi and was led by Sindh Health Minister Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro. The negotiations were held near Aisha Bawany Academy.

SECTION 144 IMPOSED: The provincial government has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Karachi’s Red Zone just hours ahead of the march to the Chief Minister’s House. As per the imposed section of the law, the assembly of more than 4 people in an area is prohibited.

PSP Chairman Mustafa Kamal had said on Saturday that it is likely that the march would be attended by ‘one million’ people.

Kamal had previously criticised the government role during the party’s 18day sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club.

Kh Asif blames India for Gwadar incident SIALKoT APP

Federal Minister for Defence, Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that the killing of labourers near Gwadar, Mastung blast and other such incidents are an attempt to destabilise Pakistan by India.

Talking to the media here Sunday, the minister said that the attacks were being carried out by India and other anti-Pakistan forces to sabotage development projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Kh Asif said that all Pakistani geographical boundaries would be protected at all costs. Khawaja Asif referred to the killing of labourers, who were gunned down in two separate incidents on the outskirts of Gwadar on May 13.

The incidents took place in the Pishgan and Guns Road area of Gwadar where the labourers were working on construction projects. Most of the victims are

said to be natives of Naushero Feroze, Sindh, according to sources. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the killing of innocent labourers, saying every

step will be taken to bring peace to Balochistan.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti had termed the incident an attack on Pakistanis, saying the perpetrators will be brought to book. He added that it seems that RAW-funded terrorists are behind the attack.

GWADAR INCIDENT VICTIMS LAID TO REST: The nine labourers, martyred in firing of terrorist elements in Gawadar, were laid to rest at their native village Siddiq Lakho of district Naushahro Feroze on Sunday.

Sindh Law Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, former deputy speaker Syed Zafar Ali Shah, deputy commissioner Naushahro Feroze Dr Waseem Shamshad, SSP Pervaiz Chandio, government officials and a large number of local people attended the funeral prayer of martyred. The corpses were laid to rest at Pir Morand Shah graveyard of the village. Grief and sorrow gripped the area and people deplored the heinous incident of terrorism. At the occasion, Sindh Law Minister announced Rs50,000 each to families of the deceased.

Pakistan says CPEC open for all countries CoNTINUED froM pAGE 01 The prime minister said that OBOR could be regarded as a powerful tool for overcoming terrorism and extremism.

“As OBOR is unfolding across continents, it is fostering inclusion, creating tolerance, and promoting acceptance of cultural diversity,” he said, He said that CPEC was a core project of OBOR and had rightly been called its flagship for aiming to connect the neighbourhoods of East and West Asia.

He said that CPEC made Pakistan both a conduit and destination for crossregional investment and trade. Terming China as Pakistan’s close friend and trusted ally, Nawaz said that his participation at the forum was to celebrate the remarkable success of the seminal initiative of One Belt, One Road (OBOR).

He expressed confidence that the historic event would build critical pathways in the years to come for economic and financial cooperation, business-tobusiness collaboration, and people-topeople contacts. He paid the Chinese leadership his deepest tributes for their dynamic and creative leadership and said Pakistan admired China’s vision and ingenuity in developing corridors

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across the regions.

He said that OBOR connected Asia, Africa and Europe, besides covering half of the world population, half of its resources, and 65 countries. International investors from all over were pouring their resources into it, he added.

President Xi’s initiative made win-win partnerships possible for all and accelerate economic growth in developing countries; yield dividends for international investors; and tear down barriers to trade and commerce, he said.

Even more importantly, he said OBOR would help repair and reform global economic governance as it was not merely the revival of ancient Silk Road.

Rather, a conscious and humanistic endeavour to take humankind to a higher level of prosperity, peace and stability through connectivity and close contact.

“Such a broad sweep and scale of interlocking economic partnerships and investments is unprecedented in history.

We stand at the cusp of a geo-economic revolution. In fact, this is the dawn of a truly new era of synergetic intercontinental cooperation,” he remarked.

He believed that the most powerful impact of OBOR would be on the lives of poor and marginalised people, who

would have higher incomes, better education and more health facilities. It would help in eradicating poverty and achieving Sustainable Development, leaving no one behind, he added. Prime Minister Nawaz said that the infrastructure, energy and industrial projects in Pakistan were moving on fast pace with many to be completed by or even before their timelines.

He expressed the optimism that unprecedented economic, social and cultural benefits will accrue from the CPEC – not just for the people of Pakistan, but also for the people of the entire region.

He said that his government had shaped an enabling environment for the CPEC to take off as it was producing new entrepreneurs, creating new jobs and businesses, and attracting international investment. He said that CPEC was a project owned and nurtured by all citizens of Pakistan and was fully compatible with government’s own Vision 2025, which invests country’s resources in multiple corridors of regional cooperation, including energy, industry, trade and transportation. “In pursuance of this vision, we are also bridging the gap between economic growth and social development by focusing on poverty alleviation, education, health, and gen-

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der mainstreaming,” he said.

“We would tap the full potential of our youth, who constitute more than 60 per cent of our population,” the prime minister said. He told the high-profile gathering that Pakistan’s economy was doing very well with stable macroeconomic indicators, bright economic outlook, rising growth rate and the Pakistan Stock Exchange was performing as one of the five best stock exchanges in the world.

“Today, I present to you a rising, confident and secure Pakistan – a Pakistan that is now increasingly perceived as a turnaround story, and a winner. It is now an emerging economy, with even greater capacity to absorb new investments and equities,” he resolved.

Nawaz emphasised that OBOR had gained wide traction as it negated the logic of polarisation and rejected the encirclement of any country.

“It is about connectivity. It is about emancipation. It moves us out of silos into shared space. The fact is that now OBOR belongs to us all – those who are participating in it and those who are not as yet,” he elaborated. He urged the audience to sustain the OBOR with full vigour and robust political will. “Let OBOR become a metaphor for a new, mature, resilient and cooperative world.

We all must keep alive the spirit of One Belt One Road,” he said.

He said that the government did not try to resolve issues, instead, it tried to ‘befool people,’ he had said at a press conference on Saturday.

At the time, Kamal had said that the city’s Red Zone where the Governor House, CM House, Sindh Assembly are located are not a sacrosanct place where people could not lodge their protest.

NO ‘RED ZONE’ FOR THE PUBLIC: Earlier, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) President Anis Qaimkhani said that there is no ‘Red Zone’ for the public. We will come out on the streets no matter what for the sake of our children’s future.

He expressed these views, while addressing the media, at his party’s protest camp at Shahrah-e-Faisal.

Speaking to the media, Qaimkhani claimed they had obtained permission for their rally. “Come 6 pm they [Sindh government] won’t know what hit them as hundreds of thousands will be out on the streets.”

IcJ likely to hear Jadhav’s case today THE HAGUE AGeNCIes

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear an extremely rare case involving Pakistan and India, as tensions between the two neighbours rise over conviction of Indian Navy officer and agent of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency for espionage.

On Monday, the ICJ will hear the complaint from New Delhi accusing Pakistan of ‘egregious violations’ of the Vienna Convention for its treatment of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a 47-year-old Indian military officer who has been in Pakistani custody since March 2016.

Last month, Jadhav was convicted of espionage and sabotage, and sentenced to death, in a military tribunal. India complained to the ICJ that its 16 formal requests to Pakistan for consular access to Jadhav have been repeatedly rebuffed — in ‘contravention’ of international law — and has asked for a stay on his execution.

Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz shared the charge sheet against the Indian spy and a timeline of his trial in a media briefing, and said that since India has no credible explanation about why their serving naval commander was in Balochistan, it has unleashed a flimsy propaganda campaign.

India claimed Jadhav was ‘kidnapped’ from Iran, while Islamabad insists he was arrested from Balochistan province. The appeal to the ICJ is an unusual departure for India, which typically insists its differences with Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally, without international mediation.

India’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay said that New Delhi was determined to save an Indian citizen being held in Pakistan. “This is a course of action we have chosen after ‘careful’ deliberation and consideration in the interest of saving a life and ensuring justice for a son of India,” he told reporters. The adviser reassured critics that steps had been taken to ensure transparency during the trial of the Indian spy under Pakistan’s laws and the Pakistan Army Act. Elaborating on these steps, he said Jadhav’s confessional statement had been recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, whereas the proceedings had been conducted under the Law of Evidence.

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Monday, 15 May, 2017

COMBINED INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES

PaKIStaN aSKS thINK taNKS to joIN haNdS oN oBoR SARTAJ WANTS FOCUS ON CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH COLLECTIVE WISDOM BEIJING

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DvISER to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Sunday said that the One Belt One Road (OBOR) concept was the most significant transformative initiative in recent human history, which was a harbinger of shared hopes, common prosperity and win-win cooperation among the people of the world.

Addressing the thematic session on ‘Connectivity of Think Tanks’ here in Chinese capital, he said that through focus on connectivity of infrastructure including roads, rail links, sea routes, ports, and connectivity of policy, trade and finance, they were observing a phenomenon which has few historical parallels.

In a civilizational sense, the true impact of the initiative would be in the realm of thoughts, ideas and cultures, and the think tanks were the breeding grounds for those elements, he said, adding that the dialogue of the think tanks was an extremely important, crosscutting segment of the OBOR summit.

He said that Pakistan lauded the spirit of the OBOR initiative. The concept of shared partnerships, and voluntary cooperation were the basic principles of the Belt and Road vision. Sartaj said that China had created the necessary cooperative mechanisms and brought its intellectual, technological and financial resources to make it a reality.

He said that it was for the participat-

ing countries of the forum to carry the initiative forward and play their due role in realising its true potential. Through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said Pakistan was privileged to be the first flagship project of the Belt and Road initiative. He said the CPEC was making excellent progress.

In its first phase, the focus was on building the requisite infrastructure and establishing connectivity. Simultaneously, several energy generation and distribution projects had been launched, while Gwadar port was being developed as the corner stone of OBOR. Sartaj said that the establishment of several special economic zones was an important part of the CPEC. The Chinese government, state-owned corporations and financial institutions were providing funds, technology and support to CPEC projects. Gas and oil terminals would distribute energy throughout Pakistan and pipelines could be set up for transporting oil and gas to western China.

The important flagship project would lead to not just national but regional development through connectivity. “As we proceed forward in implementing these projects, the role of academia, scholars, experts and think tanks would become increasingly important. Connectivity of ideas through exchange of information, mutual learning and joint research, among the OBOR countries would be very useful in sharing experiences and lessons learned,” he said.

Nisar takes notice of criticism of army on social media Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar took notice on Sunday of the criticism of Pakistan Army on social media, directing the FIA to take strict action against those found involved. The minister said that under the constitution it is not permissible to criticise national security matters and related institutions. He added that the Constitution, while providing guarantee of freedom of expression, makes it clear that no citizen would indulge in any such activity that negatively impacts the prestige, repute and respect of the armed forces. “Ridiculing the army or its officers under the garb of freedom of expression is unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. He elaborated that targeting a disciplined and reputed organisation of the country was not only a matter of concern, but was also a serious offence and strict action should be taken against those who, intentionally or unintentionally, were committing such an offence. The minister directed FIA to take action without any discrimination against everyone involved in such condemnable act regardless of their party affiliation, group or profession. The sources said that these instructions were issued after many social media users criticised the military establishment in its recent standoff with the government over the Dawn Leak issue. nEwS DESk

He said that Pakistan was willing to share its experiences with the think tanks community. Those linkages had helped in mutual understanding of the OBOR vision and focusing on complementarities between the people of the two countries. He said that the think tanks of China and OBOR countries needed to come together and utilize their combined intellectual resources.

Through collective wisdom, “we can explore and focus on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

Firstly, the revival of the ancient Silk Road had been a passionate dream for billions of people of Eurasia. President Xi Jinping’s vision had brought realisation to that dream. The quest to rediscover and revive the bonds at the level of the people had solid historical and civilizational underpinnings. He said that the think tanks needed to further explore the historical and cultural linkages and find ways to link today’s realities with them.

Secondly, the OBOR initiative comes at a time when we are witnessing major changes on a global scale. At this juncture, the evolving negative considerations of geo-politics, anti-globalization sentiments, protectionist barriers to the free movement of people and goods, ethno-centric nationalism and xenophobia have to be countered.

Thirdly, for the vast majority of developing states, the OBOR signified a new wave of globalization propelled by the East, which was infused by Asian values. However, that win-win cooperation was intended to lead to a harmonious development of both the East and the West. The think tanks could identify common objective and priorities between the East and the West.

Fourthly, a broad spectrum of opportunities was offered by the OBOR. Exploring the entire range of possibilities was a task that think tanks must fulfill. Be it trade, finance, infrastructure, or technology; the potential is immense.

It is up to us to explore this potential.

Fifthly, national development policies and priorities of all the participating countries, he said, would naturally be different, keeping in view national circumstances and local conditions. The think tanks can explore how the OBOR policy initiatives and national development policies can be harmonized.

Sixthly, broader oversight of the initiative by the think tanks would also be helpful in making the requisite adjustments in its course, which, in turn, would require identification of obstacles and any adverse consequence of different projects. Constructive criticism could lead to improvement and amelioration of such initiatives. The OBOR was a long term initiative and the think tanks would be pivotal in ensuring the continuous evolution of its basic principle and positive impact in the light of actual experience, he added.

Sartaj said that the people-to-people exchange through think tanks could provide opportunities for crosscultural linkages, improved understanding of each other’s concerns, core interests, sensitivities and then finding common grounds. On the concrete way forward, he proposed an annual gathering of selected think tanks of OBOR countries. Such an annual gathering, bringing together academia, experts, scholars and practitioners from every walk of life, would provide an immense opportunity for shared introspection and collective wisdom.

PM to inaugurate Diamar Dam with Chinese venture ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

While construction work on the much-awaited project of the DiamarBhasha Dam is yet to be started since the first inauguration of the project in 2006, the federal government has planned another inauguration of the project by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif next month.

The prime minister would be laying the foundation stone of the $15 billion project for the third time as the project was earlier inaugurated by then president Pervez Musharraf in 2006 and then prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in 2001.

Ministry of Water and Power, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and other authorities concerned have been asked to make necessary arrangements for the foundation laying ceremony after China given a green signal for investing into the multibillion dollar project.

“Musharraf and Yusuf Raza Gilani had inaugurated the project without any development on ground like acquisition of land and arrangement of the funding. We are going to inaugurate the dam after due homework after which work on the muchdelayed project will practically be

started,” said Barjees Tahir, federal minister of Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir Affairs.

“We have paid over Rs 50 billion to victims of the dam as compensation to their land so far and almost 90 percent required land for the project has been acquired. We are also moving forward to establish a colony with education, health and others facilities for the relocated families,” he said, adding that transparency in the fund disbursement has been ensured.

Officials at WAPDA office in Diamar confirmed that the authority has been asked to make necessary arrangements for the next groundbreaking ceremony of the project.

The official said that the government has decided to inaugurate the project after assurance and subsequent agreement with China for financing the project as no lender including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and others was ready to fund the dam power plants. Pakistan has previously been running from pillar to post for the past several years to secure funding but to no avail, reportedly due to influential Indian directors sitting at international donor institutions.

Even the World Bank and the

ADB refused to provide funds for the project. At the time of the first inauguration of the dam on April 26, 2006, the estimated cost of the project was about $6.5 billion. But till 2011 when the dam was inaugurated for the second time, the cost of the project was swelled to $12 billion.

The cost has jumped to $15 billion before the third time laying foundation stone ceremony.

With Chinese investment, it is expected that work on the dam would be started by the end of this year as Islamabad and Beijing on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop North Indus River Cascade (a hydrobased energy projects) with an estimated cost of $50 billion.

Under the initiative, initially five huge dams will be built in a region that starts from Skardu in GilgitBaltistan and runs through KhyberPakhtunkhwa as far as Tarbela, in the first-ever private sector investment in Pakistan’s mega hydel projects.

Under the MoU, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) would oversee financing and funding of Diamer Basha Dam, Patan Hydropower, Thakot Hydropower, Bunji Hydropower and Dasu Hydropower projects.

India is changing Kashmir’s demography, Sartaj writes to UN ISLAMABAD OnLinE

Pakistan has urged the United Nations to take notice of Indian attempts to bring demographic changes in occupied Kashmir.

In a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Foreign Affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz has specifically pointed out the issuance of permanent residence certificates to nonresidents, allotment of land to retired Indian army personnel, and issuance of land to nonKashmiris in the occupied territory. Sartaj also mentioned the establishment of separate townships for Kashmiri pundits, settlement of West Pakistan refugees to convert Muslim majority of the valley into a minority, and preempt the results of UN administered plebiscite. The adviser said non-implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions is leading to a grave human tragedy in occupied Kashmir. He said implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions is the only way to end the immense sufferings of millions of Kashmiris and bring peace and stability to South Asia. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi has forwarded the letter of Aziz to the world body.

Marriyum urges social media to refrain from negative propaganda ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb Saturday urged the social media users to refrain from negative propaganda against constitutional institutions of the state and warned them of severe action under the Cyber Crimes Law. The minister, in a statement here, said, “Those, who are using social media for slanderous and negative propaganda against the constitutional state institutions, are warned to desist from this undesirable activity.” “All the suspicious accounts, which are being used for propaganda against these entities, are under strict surveillance and action will be taken against the users of these accounts under the Cyber Crimes Law,” the statement added.

‘PML-N under illusion of forming govt in Punjab again’ PESHAWAR OnLinE

Former President and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said on Sunday that rulers have a misunderstanding that they would form a government once again in Punjab.

While addressing a ceremony organised in the metropolis of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zardari said that this time around, the rulers would not be able to steal the mandate through rigging in elections.

The economic condition of the country is not right and the government is relentlessly printing currency bills, he added. The rulers of the country believe that ‘Mughal rule’ would continue, he said.

Zardari said that the political organisation would not get votes by erecting metro stations and introducing trains.

He reiterated the CPEC project would be brought back to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We have decided to merge FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We had dreamt the CPEC project for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Quetta blast injures two security men QUETTA STAFF REPORT

Two security men were injured in a roadside explosion in Quetta, on Sunday morning.

According to details, a roadside bomb planted at Margit area exploded due to which two frontier constabulary men sustained injuries. The wounded se-

curity men were rushed to a medical facility for immediate treatment.

Security sources stated that the blast took place when the FC convoy was near the area. The area was cordoned off by the security teams immediately after the explosion.

Political secretary, guard killed in kurram agency: In another incident, uniden-

tified assailants shot dead a political secretary and his security guard in Kurram Agency, on Sunday, political administration officials said.

The officials stated that when the suspects opened fire and killed them, Secretary Sarfraz Hussain and his guard were travelling in a vehicle in Kurram Agency's Walicheena area.

Officials of the political administra-

CMYK

tion and security forces surrounded the area following the incident. Bodies of both the victims were transferred to Kurram headquarters hospital.

A few weeks ago, two census workers were injured, along with nine others, when the van in which they were travelling hit a landmine in Godar area of Kurram Agency.

In the same incident, 14 others

were killed, including five women and four children.

While the banned extremist group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the incident, the political administration said it was a matter of personal enmity.

The administration also announced to have arrested a person in connection with the double murder.

Monday, 15 May, 2017

LUKaSheNKo INvIteS Nawaz to vISIt BeLaRUS VIETNAMESE PRESIDENT ACCEPTED INVITATION TO VISIT PAKISTAN BEIJING

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APP

RIME Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko met on the sidelines of One Belt, One Road Forum and discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral ties.

The two sides focused on increasing trade between Pakistan and Belarus and emphasised on exploring their in-

vestment potential in diverse fields particularly agriculture, culture and education sectors. Both the leaders also focused on regional connectivity and its importance in bringing improvement to the lives of common people.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction that the relationship between the two countries had strengthened in a short span of time. Nawaz recalled the fond memories of his official visit to Belarus last year and said the camaraderie between the two leaders was the foundation of a strong Pak-Belarus relationship.

President Lukashenko extended invitation to Prime Minister Nawaz to again visit Belarus, which was accepted by him. Nawaz also met Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam De-

China ready to promote substantial, overall cooperation with Pakistan: weidong BEIJING APP

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong Sunday said China was ready to work closely with Pakistan to further promote substantial and overall cooperation to bring benefits for peoples of two countries and other regions. “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is playing a pivotal role and has become the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said while talking to the agency after the plenary session of high-level dialogue at China National Convention Center (CNCC).

The Chinese Ambassador said both China and Pakistan were all-weather strategic partners and working together for the success of CPEC. Terming the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) an important opportunity for all the countries along the belt and road, he said the forum had provided an opportunity to all these countries to sit together for common and shared development and the win-win cooperation. “We are glad to see that a large number of countries and international organisations, heads of state and government have come to attend this show,” he added. The welcomed all the countries which attended the forum and said the other countries of the world would get an inspiration from it and would join the belt and road initiative. About the inaugural speech of the Chinese President Xi Jinping at the forum, he said, President Xi delivered a keynote address and highlighted the winwin cooperation and connectivity along the Belt and Road Initiative.

Sehwan celebrates Qalandar’s urs today HyderaBad: The 765th 3-day urs celebrations of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA) will officially commence in Sehwan on Monday, May 15. The celebrations will feature cattle show, agricultural and industrial exhibition, and musical nights, besides other activities. Talking to the media, Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner Munawar Ali Mahesar said that unprecedented security measures had been introduced. He said that the provincial government had planned to double the deployment, while also enhancing the digital monitoring. The DC told that 4,500 policemen and 500 personnel of the special branch in addition to the Rangers and the Bomb Disposal Squad would perform the duty for the security. The traffic in Sehwan would be regulated by 400 traffic wardens, while the parking for the vehicles had been arranged outside the town, several kilometres away from the shrine, he added. The DC said that the security officials would monitor the activities in the town as well as inside and outside the shrine through 270 close circuit television cameras and 4 drone cameras. APP

salegn. During the meeting, both the leaders discussed matters of mutual interests and bilateral issues.

The prime minister emphasised to further enhance the bilateral ties by promoting cooperation between the two countries in multiple spheres. State Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rehman was also present. The Ethiopian prime minister expressed the interest to cooperate with Pakistan in sharing experiences on development initiatives.

In a meeting with President of vietnam Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nawaz said that Pakistan considered vietnam as an important country of the region and wanted to maintain economic and political relationship with it. He stressed the need for the two countries to strengthen and explore their business

NEWS

and investment opportunities.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the bilateral political consultation and working of Joint Ministerial Commission and Joint Trade Commission between the two countries. He mentioned that Pakistan and vietnam had been supporting each others' candidature at the international fora including ASEAN. He expressed vietnam's deep appreciation for supporting Dr Sania Nishtar's candidature for the top slot in World Health Organisation, helping her get shortlisted in the first phase. He invited the vietnamese president to visit Pakistan which he accepted. Pakistan’s ambassador to China Khalid Masood and senior government officials were also present during the meetings.

Nepal votes in first local election in 20 years KATHMANDU AGEnCiES

Nepal held local-level polls on Sunday, the first since 1997 and a key step in its rocky road to democracy more than a decade after a civil war ended. Around a third of registered voters across three provinces were eligible to vote, with the rest of the country due to do so in a month´s time. The Election Commission estimated turnout of at least 71 per cent as preliminary data trickled in Sunday evening.

The vote has been split into two phases because of unrest in the southern plains bordering India, where the minority Madhesi ethnic group is refusing to take part until an amendment to the constitution is passed.

Local representatives were last elected in 1997 and their five-year terms expired at the height of the brutal Maoist insurgency.

The 10-year war ended in 2006 and the country began a fraught transition from a Hindu monarchy to a secular federal republic, which has seen it cycle through nine governments. The long gap between polls has left an institutional void at the local level and graft has become a way of life in Nepal, hampering the delivery of basic services as well as the recovery from a devastating 2015 earthquake.

"It is difficult to expect much from our politicians—they have always been selfish and not worked for the people -- but I hope that with this

election things will change," housewife Shova Maharjan, 41, told agencies after casting her vote in the capital. With nearly 70 per cent of the population aged under 35, many were voting for their local representatives for the first time.

Polls opened at 7:00 am (0115 GMT) and closed at 5:00 pm, with each voter casting a ballot for seven local representatives: mayor, deputy mayor, ward chairman and four ward committee members. The ballot paper in the capital Kathmandu—one of the largest constituencies—was around one metre long (three feet) to accommodate the 878 candidates.

Nearly 50,000 candidates were standing for election across 283 local municipalities in the first phase.

Many registered as independents or with a number of small reformist parties hoping to grab some votes from the traditional political heavyweights.

While the youth vote is seen as key in undermining the grip of the three main political parties, the elderly were also out in force, including an 105-year-old man who cast his ballot in Gorkha, the epicentre of the 2015 earthquake, according to the election commission. draWn-out Peace Process: There were sporadic reports of violence on Sunday, with one person killed when police opened fire on a group attempting to raid a polling station in Dolakha district, 180 kilometres (110 miles) northwest of the capital Kathmandu, police told agencies.

A bomb was also found early Sunday outside the house of a mayoral candidate for the main opposition CPN-UML party in Bhaktapur, 15 kilometres east of Kathmandu. It was defused. The remaining four provinces, considered potential flashpoints for election-related violence, will vote in the second phase on June 14. But with results expected from Sunday´s vote later this week, observers have expressed concern that the first phase will influence the outcome of the second.

As part of the deal that ended the civil war, a new constitution was written and finally adopted in September 2015. The charter mandated that local elections, followed by provincial and then national elections, be held by January 2018—the final step in the drawn-out peace process.

But the constitution sparked protests by the Madhesi community—who say the document leaves them politically marginalised—and led to a months-long blockade of the India-Nepal border in 2015 that caused a crippling shortage of goods across the country.

The Madhesi threatened to boycott the local polls unless the constitution is amended. This forced the government to split the vote into two phases.

The government has promised a vote on an amendment to the constitution after Sunday´s election, but the fragile ruling coalition is struggling to get a majority in parliament to pass the bill.

05

opposing CPeC, India wants talks with China NEW DELHI AGEnCiSE

Without announcing a formal boycott of the Belt Road Forum in Beijing, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson highlighted concerns about the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, a massive undertaking to link China with Africa, Asia and Europe through a network of ports, railways, roads and industrial zones. The spokesman also reaffirmed India’s opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

“Guided by our principled position in the matter, we have been urging China to engage in a ‘meaningful dialogue’ on its connectivity initiative,” said foreign ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay in a statement. “We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side,” he said.

“Regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being projected as the flagship project of the OBOR, the international community is well aware of India’s position,” he claimed. “No country can accept a project that ignores its ‘core concerns’ on ‘sovereignty and territorial integrity’,” he said. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. India is also concerned because the 3,000 kilometres corridor ends in the strategic Gwadar port. India fears the port could become a Chinese naval base facing its navy in Mumbai. The spokesman said that India had been ‘formally’ invited to the Beijing summit. But he said that India believes that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality.

Indian legislator booked for calling hyderabad 'mini Pakistan' An Indian lawmaker has been booked for describing the city of Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana, as “mini Pakistan” and other ‘objectionable’ remarks, according to an Indian channel. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Raja Singh Lodh—who is a member of Telangana State Assembly from the Goshamahal constituency—was quoted as telling a television channel that the Constitution and the law currently in force were not his prime concern. The lawmaker also said he was preparing a private army of youths to fight others.

“His interview is provocative, promoting enmity among the public and leading to the disturbance of peace, public order and communal harmony,” Hyderabad deputy commissioner of police v Satyanarayana said. A case under the Indian Penal Code has been registered against him at the Mir Chowk Police Station in the old city.

Singh is a divisive figure and has several cases of hate speech pending against him.

Singh came out on Sunday saying there was “nothing wrong” with his “mini Pakistan” remark. nEwS DESk

ROOTED IN A SHARED VISION

Guterres relates China’s OBOR with UN’s SDGs UN CHIEF STRESSES SHARED DEVELOPMENT GOALS BEIJING APP

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has drawn comparisons between China’s One Belt, One Road initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals, saying both are rooted in a shared vision for global development at a major international conference in Beijing.

“Both strive to create opportunities, global public goods and win-win cooperation. And both aim to deepen ‘connectivity’ across countries and regions: connectivity in infrastructure, trade, finance, policies and, perhaps most im-

portant of all, among peoples,” he said addressing Chinese President Xi Jinping and dozens of other state leaders, including Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, at the Belt and Road Forum.

The attendees represent some of the more than 60 countries included in the Belt and Road plan that China introduced in 2013 to stimulate trade and economic growth along the ancient Silk Road and beyond. “In order to the participating countries along the Belt and Road to fully benefit from the potential of enhanced connectivity, it is crucial to strengthen the links between the Initiative and the Sustainable Development

Goals,” Guterres noted.

He said that the 17 goals could guide the policies and actions under the belt and road towards true sustainable development. The initiative reportedly includes nearly $1 trillion worth of infrastructure investments in Africa, Asia and Europe. As these projects - which include bridges, nuclear plants and railways -unfold, Guterres highlighted the need to work together to uphold international environmental and social standards, and ensuring that rural areas, not just cities, benefit.

“With the initiative expected to generate vast investments in infrastructure, let us seize the moment to help countries make the transition to cleanenergy, low-carbon pathways - instead of locking in unsustainable practices for

decades to come,” he said, praising Chinese leadership on climate change.

He also urged donor countries to continue investing in development projects through official development assistance (ODA), and urged them to fulfill their commitments under the Addis Ababa Plan of Action, which finances projects related to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Guterres also called on governments to settle peacefully any tensions related to the One Belt, One Road initiative, saying “Just as the initiative opens new corridors for goods, let us also keep open the channels for dialogue.” He praised the initiative for its immense potential to promote access to markets, and as far-reaching in geography and ambition.

06 LAHORE

WEATHER UPDATES MONDAY

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WCLA’s PACkAge-2 fACes hurdLes in eArLy ComPLetion LAHORE

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sAMiULLAH RAnDHAWA

He conservation of Royal Trail Package-2, another project of Walled City Lahore Authority (WCLA), is facing hurdles in its completion due to mismanagement of WCLA officials, Pakistan Today has learnt on Sunday.

Soon after the completion of Royal Trail Package-1, the WCLA started conservation work on package 2 in June 2015 with an aim to bring same improvements as in package-1.

An amount of Rs 720 million was allocated for this project with a completion time of two years, from Chowk Kotwali to Masti Gate.

Next month, the given time for the project will be ended but there seems no chance of completion of the project as WCLA officials remained fail to acquire specific land for the installation of electricity transformers.

Sources in the WCLA said that the project was facing hurdles as at the time of designing the project—Royal Trail Package-2—some officials misguided the project consultants regarding the acquisition of land.

“The project team was informed that there would be no problem in acquiring land and after this assurance the team designed the project to kick off the restoration work”, they said, adding that when the consultants started their work they faced problems because locals showed reservations regarding the project. However, they said that senior officials of WCLA with the help of city district government officials persuaded the locals regarding the project, which also included the installation of sewerage pipelines and electricity transformers.

For the completion of package-2, at

least 25 transformers had to be installed at different sites within the designated area with a value of Rs 4 million each.

Sources said that WCLA also had submitted its plan to Lahore electric Supply Company (LeSCO) for which LeSCO has spread transmission lines in the area.

An official, on anonymity, alleged that before the execution of the project, Marketing Director Asif Zaheer assured the project team that he will acquire the required land for the project.

He said that almost all the land was acquired but WCLA failed to acquire land near Choona Mandi College so far, while an amount of 50 million was allocated for the land acquisition. Giving reason for the importance of that land, official said, “We had made the design of the project and this is impossible to change it as more than 70 per cent work has been done.”

Sources further revealed that the hurdles in acquiring lands were being created by the officials who wanted to get land to be sold over the actual rate.

They said that the value of the required land is not more than rupees 10 million

but a key official for obliging his dear ones want to procure land above than the actual price.

When contacted director marketing Asif Zaheer, he rejected allegation of creating hurdles in acquiring land while he also rejected the allegation that he wanted to oblige any one in procurement process. He said that he was director of marketing and had nothing to do with the land acquisition process as this was the responsibility of engineering and Consultants departments.

WCLA Director General Kamran Lashri while talking to Pakistan Today confirmed that project is facing some hurdles because of unavailability of land, which is required according to the design. “I have said that if the said-land is necessary for the project then the authority is even ready to pay more money to the owners”, he said adding that but it would be paid on the decision of price evaluation committee.

On a question, he assured that if there would be chance of any corruption by its any official in land acquisition then he will be strictly dealt according to the rules.

People reject PTI’s politics of sit-ins: Ranjha SARGODHA APP

Federal Parliamentary Secretary Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha on Sunday said that people have rejected PTI’s politics of dharnas and blame games.

Addressing the participants of worker’s convention and gas inauguration ceremony held at Mouzamabad, he said the PTI leadership was creating hurdles in the way of prosperity by levelling baseless allegations on an elected prime minister.

He claimed the PML-N would suc-

ceed in next general election due to its performance, adding that development work in the present government was a proof of the people-friendly policies of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Criticising Imran Khan, the parliamentary secretary said that politics of dharna had caused a loss to the country, adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif believed in serving the people and struggling hard for the prosperity of the country.

“Imran Khan should launch an accountability process in KP instead of

Senior Citizen Foundation wants more old age homes in Punjab LAHORE APP

Senior Citizen Foundation of Pakistan (SCFP) Lahore chapter President MajGen (r) Ashraf Chaudhry on Sunday called upon the Punjab government to set up old age homes across the province and provide all basic facilities to the elderly people.

Talking to the agency, he said that the country needs to develop a national health policy on ageing, which would help integrate the ageing population and provide them with better social security and healthcare.

He said that a recent WHO report showed that 5.6 per cent population of Pakistan was above 60 years of age.

According to the report, 47 per cent

elderly men and 24 per cent women were forced to work hard for earning their livelihood and sometimes they are tortured physically and mentally.

Having spent years toiling to build the future of their country and their children, senior citizens find themselves on the margins of society, he added.

To a question, he said that the number of old homes was on the rise in Lahore as the new generation did not realise their responsibility of looking after their parents and family elders.

They are so much busy in their personal lives that they find it as a burden to keep their parents/ elders with them.

He regretted that the new generation was becoming more materialistic and their attitude towards parents was changing.

levelling allegations against the PMLN leadership,” Ranjha said. Ranjha said that Imran Khan was surrounded by corrupt elements which harmed the country and he (Imran) should launch accountability against them instead, the MNA questioned.

Ranjha said that over a hundred villages of NA-65 had been provided with gas and electricity supply without any discrimination.

The convention was also addressed

by Chairman District Council Asim Sher Maken, MPA Manaazar Ali Ranjha and other notables of the district.

Pakistan’s first female pilot passes away LAHORE Agencies

Pakistan’s first female commercial pilot Shukriya Begum has passed away in Lahore at the age of 82 years, a local media outlet reported on Sunday.

According to family sources, she passed away in a hospital during treatment.

The female pilot also served as ground instructor in her aviation career. The cadet pilots used to receive training at CPL Ground.

Her family members stated that she was ill for some some and was shifted to medical facility for treatment.

LAHORE 07

Saturday, 13 May, 2017

‘Xi’s oBor hArBinger of PeACe, eConomiC integrAtion in region’ LAHORE

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sTAFF RePORT

UNJAB Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a key address to Belt and Road Forum on Sunday in Beijing. The chief minister addressed the forum verbally in a comprehensive manner instead of reading a written speech.

The chief minister said that the Belt and Road vision is a harbinger of a new era of connectivity and integration. He said President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative is not only bold and futuristic but also a historic move.

He said the Belt and Road is a wonderful platform to boost cooperation, build future cooperative frameworks and share cooperation outcomes.

Launched in the backdrop of slow global economic recovery, new threats posed to economic globalisation, and greater calls for protectionism, President Xi’s initiative is an innovative and trailblasing concept, he added.

He said this bold Belt and Road initiative of President Xi Jinping has laid the foundation of safe future and will give new dimensions to development plans.

He said President Xi’s Belt and Road vision has the potential to bring about lasting peace, stability and economic integration in the region.

He said it is an effective recipe to neutralise and overcome the scourges of terrorism and extremism by empowering the peoples. The incorporation of the OBOR in the United Nation Security Council resolution signals greater global ownership of the project and an affirmation of President Xi’s visionary leadership, he added.

Chief Minister Sharif said the Silk Road is not only meant for merchandise and other commodities trade but it will also transmit knowledge, ideas and help bring different cultures closer. The connectivity of people remains at the heart of creating a community of nations with a common destiny, he added.

The aim of OBOR is to make the

process of economic globalisation more inclusive, more sustainable and more reinvigorated.

He said the economic disparity between developing South and developed North is a glaring reality.

The real potential of the OBOR lies in bridging the gap between the North and South through win-win partnerships, he added. He said we support President Xi’s vision and are grateful to him for this historic gift of over $50 billion investments in the form of China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC).

Commenting on CPeC, he said history has yet to record such example of generosity, and largeheartedness. He said progress is being made in the implementation of CPeC in Pakistan and with the highest level of transparency, efficiency and effectiveness the building blocks of CPeC are being installed.

CPeC is reshaping the geo-

LAHORE: Journalist Nasira Ateeq along with members of a popular club cut cake on Mother’s Day. sTAFF PHOTO

Deep brain stimulation may treat anorexia Anorexia can cause severe health issues, and the illness can sometimes be fatal. New research suggests a surgical technique can stimulate the patient's brain into improving their mental health and overall well-being.

Anorexia is an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than what is considered healthy. According to the the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders.

The researchers - led by Dr Nir Lipsman from the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Canada - examined 16 women with ages between 21 and 57 who had lived with anorexia for an average of 18 years. These women had a body mass index (BMI) of 13.8, making them severely underweight.

The women chose to participate in

the study because they had tried other treatments with no success, and they were at risk of dying prematurely because of the disorder.

Dr Lipsman and colleagues surgically implanted electrodes in the subcallosal cingulate area of the patients' brain. This brain region has been shown to display changes in serotonin binding in patients with anorexia. After implantation, the electrodes were used to stimulate the area every 90 microseconds for 1 year. The voltage used was between 5 and 6.5 volts.

Overall, there were few adverse effects to the treatment. Some of these negative effects were attributable to the anorexia-induced, poor overall health of the patients; one patient had an infection at the site of the electrodes, and five patients had persisting pain after surgery.

One patient had a seizure several months after the electrodes were implanted. The seizure is yet to be explained.

At the end of the trial, there were 14 participants left for follow-up.

Mood and anxiety improved for five of these 14 patients, and depression symptoms decreased for 10 of them. The participants' quality of life also improved, according to their own testimony.

The technique

also seemed to have a positive effect on the weight of the participants. After 3 months, the first signs of weight improvement began to show, and by the end of the study, the average BMI of the group increased by 3.5 points. Additionally, six of the participants reached a normal BMI, defined as 18.5 or more.

"Anorexia remains the psychiatric disorder with the highest mortality rate, and there is an urgent need to develop safe, effective, evidence-driven treatments that are informed by a growing understanding of brain circuitry," says study author Prof. Andres Lozano, from the University of Toronto in Canada.

"While our results show some early promise, more research will be needed before this becomes available for patients with anorexia," he continues.

"Our findings emphasise the need for continued research into novel neuromodulation strategies for anorexia nervosa, and for psychiatric disorders more broadly." The study's lead author also comments on the significance of the findings. "Our study suggests that a focal brain intervention, deep brain stimulation, may have an impact on the circuitry of symptoms that serve to maintain anorexia and make it so difficult to treat," Dr Lipsman says.

Dr Carrie McAdams, from the University of Texas, weighs in on the findings in a linked commentary.

"Nearly half of adult women with anorexia nervosa relapse within a year [of receiving intensive conventional treatment]. This work shows how modern neuroscience can lead to a new treatment and simultaneously improve understanding of perpetuating factors in a complex, multifactorial disease. OnLine

economic landscape and is a gamechanger not only for Pakistan but also the entire region, he added. He said revival of New Silk Roads, which is at the heart of OBOR, ushers in a new era of hope, and a break of a new dawn.

CM Shehbaz said OBOR is about shared prosperity, making peace and development on the basis of interactions among peoples. He said OBOR seeks to turn Silk Roads into new pathways to discover the humanity’s limitless potential for growth, and reconstruction.

He said President Xi Jinping’s crusade against corruption has inspired him personally and he has undertaken a similar fight against corruption under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with the result that transparency has become the hallmark of his government, as a zero tolerance policy has been adopted against the corruption.

08 FOREIGN NEWS

Monday, 15 May, 2017

Trump calls for Tougher sancTions afTer norTh Korea missile SeOUl

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AGenCieS

RESIdEnT donald Trump called for tougher sanctions against north Korea after it fired a ballistic missile Sunday in an apparent bid to test the South´s new liberal president and the US. "Let this latest provocation serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against north Korea," the White House said in a brief statement.

The missile flew more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) surrounded by the Korean peninsula, Japan and the Russian far east. It impacted "so close to Russian soil ... the president cannot imagine that Russia is pleased," the White House said. north Korea "has been a flagrant menace for far too long," it said.

Multiple sets of Un and US sanctions against north Korea have done little to deter Pyongyang from pursuing its nuclear and missile ambitions.

Trump has threatened military action against the north but recently appeared to have softened his stance, saying he would be "honoured" to meet leader Kim JongUn under the right conditions. new South

Korean President Moon Jae-In, who was inaugurated on Wednesday, slammed the missile test as a "reckless provocation" after holding an emergency meeting with national security advisors.

He said the government strongly condemned this "grave challenge to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the international community," his spokesman Yoon Young-Chan said. ´SEEKING LEVERAGE´: Moon, unlike his conservative predecessors, advocates reconciliation with Pyongyang but warned Sunday that dialogue would be possible "only if the north changes its attitude".

Moon had said in his inauguration speech that he was willing to visit Pyongyang "in the right circumstances" to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"The north is apparently trying to test Moon and see how his north Korea policy as well as policy coordination between the South and the US will take shape," said Yang Moo-Jin, professor at the University of north Korea Studies in Seoul. The launch was also aimed at "maximising the north´s political leverage" ahead of possible negotiations with the US, as Pyongyang and Washington both recently signalled they were open to talks, he added.

"The north wants to show before negotiations that their precious, powerful weapon is not something they would give up so easily," Yang said. Moon and Washington have signalled an interest in negotiations to ease months of tensions.

Choe Son-Hui, a senior official at the north´s foreign ministry handling its US policy, also said Saturday the north would be willing to hold talks with the US if the conditions are right. Washington has been looking to China for help in reining in Kim and the missile test is likely to embarrass Beijing, which is hosting a summit Sunday to promote its ambitious global trade infrastructure project.

China, the isolated north´s sole major ally and economic lifeline, has been reluctant to exert pressure to upset the status quo in Pyongyang and risk an influx of refugees from its neighbour. ´FAST PROGRESS´: The latest test was also the north´s first launch since a controversial US missile defence system deployed in the South became operational on May 2 and follows a failed April 29 ballistic missile test.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slammed the latest missile launch as "totally unacceptable" and a "grave threat" to Tokyo. "We strongly protest against

north Korea," he said. One recent missile launch staged in March saw three north Korean missiles falling provocatively close to Japan, sparking alarm in Tokyo.

The north has staged two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the start of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the US mainland.

Most experts have doubted that the north has developed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with that range.

But many say the isolated nation has

made a great progress in its nuclear and missile capabilities since Kim took power after the death of his father and longtime ruler, Kim Jong-Il, in 2011. The US Pacific Command said Sunday´s launch did not appear to be an ICBM. Yang said however it showed "fast progress" in Pyongyang´s missile capability.

The missile was fired from a site near the northwestern city of Kusong. A previous test at the same site in February sent a missile 500 kilometres, far less than Sunday´s launch.

Macron takes office as France’s youngest ever president PARIS AGenCieS

Trump weighs further us troops for afghanistan WASHINGTON Online Hanging in a corridor outside the Pentagon press office, a blow-up of a Time magazine cover shows a weary US soldier drawing deeply on his cigarette.

Barbed wire and snowy foothills loom behind him.

The headline: “How Not to Lose in Afghanistan.””

The date: April 20, 2009. More than eight years later, the Pentagon finds itself in the same quandary. Again. This time round, it is President Donald Trump looking for answers, just as Barack Obama and George W Bush did before him. Having given Afghanistan little more than a passing mention as president, he is now being forced to confront the issue by a grim drumbeat of bad news and warnings from his generals. Almost any year from its turbulent recent past can serve as a showcase for Afghanistan´s dire predicament. Take 2016, which marked 15 years since the US-led invasion. Nearly 11,500 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded, according to the United Nations.

Adding to the carnage, local officials say, the Taliban and other insurgent groups killed about 7,000 Afghan security force members—many of whom had been trained and supported by US and NATO experts. Dan Coats, Trump´s director of national intelligence, hammered home the depressing point this week, warning that the political and security situation will “almost certainly”” continue to worsen. “Meanwhile, we assess that the Taliban is likely to continue to make gains, especially in rural areas,”” he said. Trump, who campaigned on an “America First”” platform and a pledge to reduce US overseas involvement, must now decide whether to approve expected requests from the military´s top brass to send thousands more US troops back to Afghanistan.

Administration advisers are reportedly urging him to green light some 3,000 to 5,000 additional troops, adding to the 8,400 already there. The president is expected to make the decision this month, and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said his own recommendation would come “very shortly.””

Emmanuel Macron becomes France´s youngest ever president on Sunday, taking over from Socialist Francois Hollande in a solemn ceremony. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, arrived at the Elysee Palace in central Paris in a motorcade and walked down the red carpet under light rain to be greeted by Hollande for his inauguration.

The new president´s wife Brigitte, a 64-year-old who was his high school drama teacher, arrived separately for the ceremony wearing a light blue Louis Vuitton outfit.

A week after his victory over farright leader Marine Le Pen in a tumultuous election, Macron will have a private meeting with Hollande at which he will be given the codes to launch France´s nuclear weapons.

He will then attend a ceremony in front of hundreds of politicians and invited guests at which the official election results will be read out.

At the end of the formalities, a 21-gun salute is to ring out from the Invalides military hospital on the other side of the River Seine.

Macron will then be driven to the Arc de Triomphe to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

The new president faces a host of daunting challenges including

tackling stubbornly high unemployment, fighting violence and uniting a deeply divided country.

Socialist Hollande´s five years in power were plagued by a sluggish economy and bloody terror attacks that killed more than 230 people and he leaves office after a single term.

The 64-year-old launched Macron´s political career, plucking

PM NAMED, THEN BERLIN: Macron´s first week will be busy.

On Monday, he is expected to reveal the closely-guarded name of his prime minister, before flying to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It is virtually a rite of passage for French leaders to make their first European trip to meet the

him from the world of investment banking to be an advisor and then an economy minister.

"I am not handing over power to a political opponent, it´s far simpler," Hollande said on Thursday.

Security was tight with around 1,500 police officers deployed near the presidential palace and the nearby Champs Elysees avenue and surrounding roads were blocked off.

leader of the other half of the socalled "motor" of the EU. Pro-EU Macron wants to push for closer cooperation to help the bloc overcome the imminent departure of Britain, another of its most powerful members.

He intends to press for the creation of a parliament and budget for the eurozone.

Merkel welcomed Macron´s de-

cisive 32-point victory over Le Pen, saying he carried "the hopes of millions of French people and also many in Germany and across Europe".

In June, Macron faces what the French media are calling a "third round of the presidential election" when the country elects a new parliament in a two-round vote.

The new president needs an outright majority to be able to enact his ambitious reform agenda.

HOST OF NEW FACES: Macron met many of the candidates gathered at a Paris museum on Saturday and told them they had an "immense responsibility". "You are the new faces of French politics," some of those present quoted him as saying.

Macron won one of the most unpredictable French elections in modern history marked by scandal, repeated surprises and a last-minute hacking attack on his campaign.

Just as campaigning ended, hundreds of thousands of emails and documents stolen from his campaign were dumped online, leading Macron to call it an attempt at "democratic destabilisation".

US authorities have said they believe Russian hackers were behind the attack. The election saw voters reject France´s two traditional political forces of left and right. Their candidates were eliminated in the first round.

3 killed as Greek train derails, rams into house in Thessaloniki THeSSAlONIkI AGenCieS

An express train that slammed into a house after derailing near Greece’s second city Thessaloniki killed three people and seriously injured two others, the train’s operator said on Sunday.

Trainose had initially reported four deaths from the accident which occurred at 1640 GMT on Saturday, with five people suffering serious injuries.

It then revised the toll to just two dead, but one of the injured later died.

The company did not identify the victims, but said the train driver

was among the injured after all five carriages of the express train travelling from Athens left the track and the engine carriage ploughed into the house.

A 24-year-old man who lived in the house which was hit told reporters that he managed to jump off a balcony to safety just before the crash.

Search and rescue operations ended in the evening. Most of the 70 passengers were safely evacuated within three hours of the accident which happened near the station at Adendro, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the northern city of Thessaloniki.

The cause of the derailment was

not immediately known, police said, and Trainose said it had opened an investigation.

But a regional official, Voula Patoulidou, said the train might have been travelling too fast as it shuttled

between Greece’s two biggest cities.

A senior national railway official, who arrived at the crash site, said there had been no problems or incidents reported on that stretch of the railway line.

FOREIGN NEWS 09

Monday, 15 May, 2017

BASED ON EQUALITY, RESPECT FOR SOVEREIGNTY

iran's Khatami urges voters to re-elect rouhani as president DUBAI: Former president Mohammad Khatami, considered the spiritual leader of Iran's reformists, urged voters on Sunday to re-elect President Hassan Rouhani and support his policy of seeking to end Iran's isolation from the rest of the world. Iran's hardline security and judicial powers, which operate separately to the presidency and are close to Iran's ultimate authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have banned media from publishing Khatami's image or mentioning his name.

But Khatami has played a prominent role in elections by using social media to urge voters to back pro-reform candidates. "We have started on a path with Rouhani and we have come half way. We have resolved some problems and bigger problems remain for us to resolve on this difficult path with him," Khatami said in a video message released on social media. "It is now your turn to renew your vote for our dear Rouhani in order to strengthen hope for a better future," he said. Rouhani, a pragmatist Muslim cleric, was elected in a landslide victory in 2013 on promises to ease the Islamic Republic's international isolation and open up society. AGenCieS

We should seT a role model for global communiTy: puTin RUSSIA PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY READY TO JOIN DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MODERN TRANSPORT CORRIDORS BeIJING

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AGenCieS

USSIAn President Vladimir Putin on Sunday noted that, unfortunately, protectionism and unlawful restrictions have become the new norm in the modern world.

“We cannot resolve modern challenges by using old approaches. We need new ideas. We need to abandon all stereotypes,” he urged while speaking after Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Belt and Road conference here.

“We should set a role model for the global community of how we can work together, develop together, based on equality and respect for national sovereignty based on international law and the United nations principles.”

Russia is ready to join the development of new modern transport corridors, Putin said, as well as to contribute to “large scale energy infrastructure projects.” Putin also called for scientific cooperation and to “set up international laboratories” which can contribute to regional development.

“Civilization project for the future,” as Putin called the new Silk Road, should bring stability and prosperity along its way. Taking the stage after Putin, Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan emphasised that a project of such scale will encourage greater intergovernmental cooperation and strengthen the “climate of solidarity” among all partners. The establishment of a new, coherent political and economic system will “pave the way in a new era,” said the Turkish leader leader whose country was an important point of convergence during the times of the ancient Silk Road.

Putin arrived in Beijing to offer concrete initiatives to implement and strengthen the Beijing-led Silk Road

project which top delegates of 29 nations will discuss over two days at the Belt and Road Forum in the Chinese capital.

Hosted by Chinese President Xi, the forum will offer a unique opportunity for the world leaders to engage in a wide range discussions. Putin is one of the keynote speakers. High-level interactions between Russia and China have intensified over the recent years and Moscow is ready to promote ways to cooperate in trade, cultural and scientific exchange in an effort to boost the reincarnation of the ancient and famed Silk Route.

According to the Russian president’s press service, Putin plans to present Moscow’s vision, outlining the

prospects for economic development in Eurasia. He also plans to propose a number of concrete initiatives to build the shortest cost-effective and efficient transport routes through the territory of Russia for the delivery of goods from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Among other plans, Russia wants to strengthen the interconnection of the Asian Pacific countries in the energy sector. As the demand for electricity in the Asia-Pacific region is rapidly growing, Moscow wants to create an energy ring between Russia, Japan, Korea, China and Mongolia which was first discussed at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in 2016. China and Russia share infrastructure development plans in the Far East region.

China, for instance, has attached great importance to integrating the Eurasian Economic Union with this Beijing led mechanism. “China regards Russia as a key partner when implementing the concept,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

“Russia, in turn, is interested in using the opportunities provided by the Chinese initiative for implementing major joint projects – including the economic development of the Russian regions of Siberia and the Far East.” Xi and Putin have been discussing potential development regularly throughout the course of the year. Both leaders met at high-level international forums, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in June in Astana, Kazakhstan.

India to open ‘strategic’ bridge in fear of China pope says will be 'sincere' with Trump at Vatican meeting VATICAN CITy: Pope Francis said on Saturday he would be "sincere" with US President donald Trump over their sharp differences on subjects such as immigration and climate change when the two hold their first meeting at the Vatican later this month.

But the pope also told reporters aboard a plane returning from Portugal that he would keep an open mind and not pass judgment on Trump until first listening to his views at their meeting on May 24. "Even if one thinks differently we have to be very sincere about what each one thinks," Francis said in a typically freewheeling airborne news conference. "Topics will emerge in our conversations. I will say what I think and he will say what he thinks.

But I have never wanted to make a judgment without first listening to the person." The pope's meeting with Trump could be potentially awkward given their diametrically opposed positions on immigration, refugees and climate change, which he told reporters on the plane "are well known". AGenCieS

PM MODI TO INAUGURATE 9.15KMLONG DHOLA-SADIYA BRIDGE OVER BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER IN ASSAM DIBRUGARH AGenCieS

India’s longest river bridge, capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, will be inaugurated in Assam close to the border with China on May 26 by Prime Minister narendra Modi.

With the inauguration of the 9.15km-long dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra river, the prime minister will kick start the celebrations of the ndA government’s three years in office from this eastern-most part of Assam.

The bridge is seen as an attempt by India to shore up its defence requirements along the Sino-Indian border particularly in the northeast besides providing easy access to the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with air and rail connectivity. It is 3.55km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge in India.

“The prime minister will dedicate the strategically important bridge to the nation on May 26. It will bolster the road connectivity in the northeast as the bridge will be used by people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh besides defence forces extensively,” Assam

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.

The construction of the bridge began in 2011 at a project cost of Rs950 crore. The design is such that the bridge can withstand the movement of military tanks. “Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have huge strategic value to the country. Since the bridge is located close to our border with China, it will help quick movement of military troops and artillery in times of conflict,” Sonowal said.

The bridge is located 540-km away from Assam capital dispur and 300km away from Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar. The aerial distance to the Chinese border is less than 100km. After Kaliab-

homora Bridge near Tezpur, there is no bridge over the Brahmaputra for the next 375km upstream till dhola, where the new bridge is constructed. Currently, all the transport between the two banks of the river are being carried out through water only.

The bridge, when opened for the public, will cut down the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by as much as four hours. As there is no civilian airport in Arunachal Pradesh, this bridge will help people of the state to reach the nearest rail head in Tinsukia and the airport in dibrugarh easily. Sonowal said the delayed works of the bridge was expedited after Modi assumed the charge in 2014.

Over 1,500 rebels, families evacuate devastated Damascus district AMMAN AGenCieS

More than 1,500 rebels and their family members left the devastated district of Qaboun on the edge of the Syrian capital damascus after more than two months of aerial strikes and artillery shelling, rebels and state media said on Sunday.

The rebels had agreed overnight to a secret evacuation deal after being cornered in a small pocket of Qaboun, which lies on the northeastern edge of damascus. The area has been largely reduced to rubble after being struck by hundreds of aerial strikes and missiles over a period of about 80 days.

The Syrian army had resumed its intensive bombardment of the district on

CMYK

Wednesday after a one-day ultimatum it gave the rebels mainly drawn from the area to surrender and agree to evacuate to rebelheld areas in northern Syria.

"The regime has threatened to destroy what is left of Qaboun and will not accept anything but a military solution," Abdullah al Qabouni from the local council of the district told agencies. Hundreds of rebels and their families were evacuated this week from the adjacent Barzeh district after rebels there decided to lay down their arms and leave to rebel-held Idlib province.

Syrian state media said evacuations had almost been completed and the district was now securely in army hands.

Most of the residents of the oncebustling area, which had sheltered thousands of displaced people from

other parts of Syria in the course of the conflict, fled in the last two months as the bombing escalated.

REBELS UNDER PRESSURE: The loss of Qaboun following Barzeh is another blow to rebels as they battle to keep a foothold in the capital and face government troops who are supported by Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias.

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has promoted the use of evacuation deals, along with what his government calls "reconciliation" accords, for rebel-held areas that surrender to the government as a way of reducing bloodshed. But the United nations has criticized both the use of siege tactics which precede such deals and the evacuations themselves as amounting to forcible displacement.

10 COMMENT

Monday, 15 May, 2017

Extending the hand of friendship to India It might take time, but there is no alternative to peace

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AWAZ Sharif’s address at the plenary session of OBOR’s High-level Dialogue stressed the need for cooperative and inclusive development. Sharif made an impassioned plea for India to be a part of the CPEC (which was purely an economic undertaking open to all in the region) instead of politicising the flagship project of the OBOR. Sharif called for transcending the differences and resolving conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy. The region’s economic integration, he maintained, would bring an end to poverty and create conditions for the eradication of terrorism and extremism.

India has only isolated itself by declining to join the CPEC and boycotting the OBOR moot. All countries in the South Asia region with the exception of India and Bhutan were represented at the moot. Heads of government of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar and high-level delegations from Bangladesh and nepal are attending the two-day Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. The event is being attended by29 heads of state and government and delegates from around 130 countries. At a time when India’s neighbours have joined hands to build connectivity and economic cooperation through the Chinese led initiative, new Delhi needs to realise that economic diplomacy is a more effective way of winning friends than muscle flexing. nawaz Sharif’s plea comes at a time when cross border shelling continues along the LoC between India and Pakistan. The recent series of daily exchange of fire which has led to double digit casual ties began after two Indian soldiers were found beheaded on the Indian side of the LoC. India accused Pakistan army which rejected the allegation as false and demanded actionable evidence. new Delhi needs to realise that terrorist networks like ISIS or al-Qaeda can commit highly condemnable actions of the sort to keep the two countries at loggerheads. There were meanwhile three terrorist attacks in Balochistan leading some in Pakistan to point fingers at India. Prime Minister Modi needs to understand that economic diplomacy is more effective in winning friends than muscle flexing.

Pakistan meanwhile has to keep the door open for talks with India despite the latter’s hostile posture.

The Quixotic Ch Nisar

Where there’s a will, there’s a loophole The ingenuity of the police force really leaves one gobsmacked

ArsAlAn rAjA

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n 2014, a newly-appointed Inspector General of Sindh Police ordered the initiation of an SMS service to improve the performance of the Police helpline number “15”and sought a detailed report about its benefits, which is still pending. In 2015, another newly appointed Inspector General of Police in Sindh issued instructions for the deployment of one standby mobile van in each police station to ensure rapid action in response to Helpline 15 complaints, with the help of representatives of Citizen police liaison committee (CPLC) to effectively fight crimes and to respond to distress calls, the Muhafiz Force and the police helpline 15 were also merged to form a unified force. The new system was designed to ensure a prompt response to the citizens’ complaints. However all these by the Sindh Police efforts went in vain, as there were persistent complaints about non-attendance of distress calls, lazy and lethargic attitude of the telephone operators, and concerned Police officials.

On July 15 2016, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, at the Karachi registry, took strict action

Fighting imaginary enemies

What do our youngest voters take with them to GE 2018?

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ITH the election campaigns having started virtually, various political parties are holding public meetings. In Karachi PSP leader Mustafa Kamal called for a million march on Sunday to get the Karachiites’ problems resolved. The Punjab PPP held a public meeting earlier this month in Lahore to protest against the load shedding while Zardari addressed a number of gatherings in KP. Imran Khan addressed the largest number of rallies in Punjab. Finding that it was not possible for a busy Prime Minister to compete with Khan, various PML-n leaders undertook to arrange gatherings on their own in Punjab and Karachi.

Finally Interior Minister Ch nisar Ali Khan too has been forced out of his cocoon to interact with his voters.

The Chaudhry addressed several meetings in his Rawalpindi constituency. What he said about the PTI amounted to a slap on the wrist like “Change does not come by chanting slogans” and need to avoid “the politics of baseless allegations and false claims.”But he really hit out at those he called his ‘secular’ political opponents, charging full force at the imaginary windmills. He claimed that some political parties criticised him as he raised his voice for the principles of Islam.” If you are proud of being secular, of being nonbelievers, then I am proud of being pro-Islam.”

Those who have criticised Ch nisar, and there are quite a few, have done so on all-together different issues. He has been called an inefficient Interior minister on account of his failure to implement the nAP, put life into nACTA and take action against banned networks continuing to operate under different names. He has also been accused of intolerance and of being unable to work with fellow PML-n colleagues. Also because of the itch to interfere in the affairs of other ministries especially the foreign ministry. He has also been criticised for maintaining a soft corner for some of the most lethal terrorist networks.

Pakistan comprises an over-whelming majority of Muslims. Islam therefore does not need a defender in Pakistan, least of all in the form of a man who cannot even pull on with his fellow cabinet ministers.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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and other Senior Police ofagainst the non-compliance ficials are either ignorant of the complaints lodged by or party to the aforemencitizens of Karachi via tioned ingenious idea. using police helpline 15.

Moreover, there is a From August 2016 till The current inspector GenApril 2017, several police eral of Sindh Police, in desperate need for stations of Karachi lodged open court, admitted the fact that the recording sys- legislation, modification and numerous FIRs under Section 25-D of the Telegraph tem of the helpline 15 had been out of order for the scrutiny of the entire system Act of 1863 against the genlast four years, and it has of the police helpline, so uine complainants. Interestingly, all of the FIRs were not been fixed till date.

In July 2016, the that aggrieved persons may quashed by the relevant Supreme Court of Pakistan, trust it and feel comfortable courts for lack of evidences and lack of credible police while hearing the Karachi witnesses. The concerned law and order case, ordered using the same. magistrates while quashing the Inspector General of the FIRs must also initiate Sindh Police that the Sindh inquiry under Section 190 police was to inquire into and 200 Criminal Procedure every complaint lodged by Code, against the SHO, the citizens of Karachi via police helpline number 15. Additionally, the complainant of the case and Investigation Offiapex court also ordered that the relevant police cer for lodging false and fabricated FIRs. Morestation through its SHO has to submit details of over, there is a desperate need for legislation, the inquiry conducted by them to the SSP con- modification and scrutiny of the entire system cerned of the area. However, corrupt Police of- of the police helpline, so that aggrieved persons ficials of Karachi have found an ingenious way may trust it and feel comfortable using the same.

Instead of enacting the least needed laws in to exempt themselves from the aforementioned burden of investigation, by lodging FIRs against Pakistan, such as increase in salaries of the Parthe genuine complainants, under Section 25-D liamentarians and the Ehtram-e-Ramzan (Amendof the Telegraph Act of 1863, by accusing them ment) Bill, 2017 etc., the legislators of Pakistan of falsely registering complaints using the 15 must introduce new laws and repeal the laws inpolice helpline, and wasting time of the depart- herited by Pakistan from the British colonial era ment and subsequently forcing the complainants such as Criminal procedure code 1898, civil proto write an apology letter to the SSP and SHO cedure code 1908, Pakistan penal code 1860, concerned and to withdraw their complaints. In and the aforesaid telegraphic act 1863, to tackle this ingenious way, Karachi police is success- the current law & order situations in the country fully discharging the burden of investigations and to fill out the loopholes in current system. of the lawful complaints lodged by the citizens Arsalan Raja is an Advocate. via using Police Helpline number. The SSPs

Hint: It’s not a reformed political narrative facts were twisted, grandeur tales of conspiracies were spun, speculations were made and strictures were passed around The army spokesperson’s publicly during this ordeal as the public watched with bated public display of breath. annoyance was because This entire episode is also instructive of those people who facts were twisted, present themselves as ‘sympagrandeur tales of thisers’ of the Armed forces. As soon as it was announced that conspiracies were spun, the recommendations of the inquiry board have been implespeculations were made mented in their entirety and that the matter has been amicably re- and strictures were passed solved the same brigade of self- around publicly during this styled ultra-loyalists turned their ordeal as the public backs on the military high command. Regrettable comments watched with bated breath. and insinuations were implied on social media. The impression of a compromised settlement or a deal was projected before the public. The previous narrative on the matter was also turned on predecessors or the ones before its head. Consider the tweet by them had made. Is it not tragic? It Imran Khan on April 29: “Dawn is our collective responsibility to leaks was a deliberate attempt to discourage all those who support malign Pak army…” Then on May and cultivate room for extra-consti10th he again tweeted: “Dawn leaks tutional steps implicitly and explicwas never about Army and govern- itly. This can only happen with a ment…” reformed political narrative that However, I digress.

Pakistan’s success in the future lays All those who voted for the in continuity of the governance first time in the General Election system with incremental improve2013 have received a very poor po- ments and the right level of awarelitical education ever since. This is ness in the general population. because this period has been Our common remorse for the marred with the worst type of agi- lack of institutional mechanisms to tational-politics in recent memory. curb social problems like corrupThis has put the current generation tion and crime are also inextricably at risk of repeating the same mis- linked to the right political narrative takes in the political realm as their amongst the masses. no institution

rAjA Omer shAbbir

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E seem to be in a perennial struggle to formulate a political narrative in Pakistan regarding governance. A consensus has always been lacking amongst the country’s stakeholders on how best to run its affairs. We say that Pakistan is a constitutional democracy but our history betrays the authenticity of our claim. The political process has been on flimsy grounds since 1958 and the role played by politicians themselves has been questionable at best.

Take the recent case of the Dawn leaks and the ensuing Tweet-saga. Had it not been for the sagacity shown by the Army Chief and the Prime Minister, fractious opportunists in the garb of politicians and analysts would have spurred another institutional clash, much to the horror of those who genuinely want to see this country flourish, and all this in the name of national security.

Addressing a press conference after the issuance of the complete notification of the inquiry board recommendations, the military spokesperson rightly condemned those who were hoping for another showdown between the federal government and the Armed forces by projecting them as being at odds with one another. This public display of annoyance was because

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or system can prosper or cement its place to regularly uphold public good and interest if the model of governance keeps alternating. The teetering institutions of today are being held back by the clutches of our historical mistakes. A remarkably high number of precedents of poor judgment and mal-intent have been set in our democratic history.

We have suffered enough to agree moving forward constructively. now is the time for setting new precedents based on principles of goodwill, trust and the collective struggle for the wellbeing and progress of the country. Resorting to populism in every issue should be curbed and pragmatic solutions should be explored in the interest of Pakistan. Our competitors in the international arena will not wait for us to resolve our internal infighting as they are continue to explore new avenues of shaping the world in their favour at a much faster rate than our inflated egos.

In the end, it is worth reiterating the positive role played by the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in exhibiting the foresight, wisdom, and the intent and the will to adhere firmly to democratic principles in the most recent challenge to civil-military relations.

Three cheers for the brave General!

Raja Omer Shabbir is a professional services consultant.

He graduated from NUST with a bachelors in Computer Engineering. He can be reached at omerraja@live.com, and on Twitter at: @raj_omer.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

COMMENT 11

Monday, 15 May, 2017

Editor’s mail

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 exclusively

Pakistan delegation in Beijing

Kashmiri leadership and the paths to resistance It’s another chapter in the history of liberty

Dr GhulAm nAbi FAi

N

EL noddings, eminent American educationalist wrote in Peace Education: How We Come to Love and Hate War that “Gandhi, convinced of the power of Satyagraha, suggested that it be used by the Jews against the nazis. In response, Martin Buber – who had earlier (1930) written that much could be learned from Gandhi – said that this method could not be used against the nazis. It is one thing to use non-violent methods against those who would deprive you of some material benefit, but if their basic aim is to deprive you of life itself, how can you resist non-violently?”

Occupiers are not all alike, of course. After all, Britishers were very sensitive to human rights and felt that bloodshed and killing of innocent lives is not an option they withdrew from British India.

What does this mean in the context of the Kashmir dispute?

We have a different problem with India. Constant and consistent non-violent protests in Kashmir obviously has had little visible effect in moving the discussion toward the hope of Kashmiris, which is self-determination. The fundamental issues involved in the conflict remain just as they were 70 years ago. To whom does Kashmir belong? Who has a right to rule Kashmir? Why has India become a colonist just as the British were more than 70 years ago? And why is Indian army so brutal with Kashmiris in their repression?

It has become rather clear that India has little regard for the lives of Kashmiris. In Kashmir, India has legalised methods of torture and killing to give total immunity to its occupational forces. When those who protest are simply shot down or maimed for life, this is a clear message that Kashmir is to India a land occupied not by its own, or those for whom it has affection and wishes to include in its family, but rather by a hostile people who perhaps do not or should not belong there. To India, the Kashmiri are simply terrorists the whole lot of them. Kashmir is to India, an integral part of it, it is often stated. Those who do not see themselves as Indians need to go somewhere else or they will be killed.

Such is the overall effect that such a policy has. The failure to include “the people” of Kashmir in the meaning of “Kashmir” runs completely counter to the need to achieve peace and sends a very clear message that India’s presence is meant to crush, subdue, and tame, if not obliterate any opposition. It is

apparent that they are greedy for the land, for the status of possessing this ‘Jewel of the Himalayas,’ ‘Paradise on Earth’ ‘Switzerland of Asia’ and have no concern for its people. Here is an apparent example of the height of abhorrence of Indian leadership towards the people of Kashmir.

When a 26-year old Kashmiri youth, Farooq Ahmed Dar was tied (April 15, 2107) in front of the army jeep to use as a human shield, Ram Madhav, Secretary General of BJP (the ruling party of India) did not hesitate to justify it by saying, “In war and love, everything is fair.”

“If man were infinitely malleable,” Eric Fromm, German Psychologist wrote, “there would have been no revolutions; there would have been no change because a culture would have succeeded in making man submit to its patterns without resistance. But man, being only relatively malleable, has always reacted with protest against conditions which made the disequilibrium between the social order and his human needs too drastic or unbearable. The attempt to reduce this disequilibrium and the need to establish a more acceptable and desirable solution is at the very core of the dynamism of the evolution of man in history. Man’s protest arose not only because of material suffering; specifically human needs...are an equally strong motivation for revolution and the dynamics of change.”

Obviously, when the people want to seek freedom from an occupation, they have to resist. Resistance takes different forms and shapes according to the circumstances. Some do resist openly while others prefer tacit support of the resistance movement though their ultimate objective is the same.

Certainly peaceful resistance, wherever possible and whenever viewed as effective, has always been preferred. Other methods of resistance have succeeded in various countries. Gandhi’s Satyagraha against the British, civil resistance in Tunisia, non-violent mass street protests in Egypt, the Green revolution of Georgia, etc., have all led to historic and revolutionary changes in the politics of their time and place.

Resistance to conditions viewed as unacceptable by a group or segment of a population is no doubt as old as man himself. Stone pelting, a practice in Kashmir that might be considered an amalgamation or cross between armed resistance and peaceful protest, can certainly be traced back to the time when David slew Goliath with a stone. Alexander the Great was injured seriously and suffered blindness by a stone while laying siege to Cyropolis in 329 BC. Kashmiris have used stone pelting at various times since Dogra rule. I personally do not subscribe to it, nor do I advocate this phenomenon. The message of stone pelting is clear, however, that those who throw stones are unhappy with present conditions and the rule of an occupying force of armed men. The point of this

type of resistance, as with many other forms, is often not to propose specific changes but to simply point out that the current occupation by India is unacceptable. The slogans raised by these stone-pelters are shared by majority of the population, “We want freedom” and “Go India. Go back.”

Mass street demonstrations have also been very popular in history. The people of Czechoslovakia used political mass demonstration as a weapon of resistance against Germany in early 1930’s. It is reported that there were 25 mass demonstrations in 1931 alone. In France, an agitation began on november 11, 1940 by staging a public protest wherein thousands of people, mostly students, participated. The following year, in May 1940, over 100,000 miners participated in the public protest. Other mass public protests were held in Albania against the Italian army in April 1939. Belgium witnessed tens of thousands of people participating in protests against Germany in May 1940. The recent Women’s March on January 21, 2017, protesting the policies of President Donald Trump in which millions participated reportedly involved 673 marches and took place worldwide on all seven continents, including 29 in Canada, 20 in Mexico and one in Antarctica.

It was the largest ever in US history.

And during the latest phase of the freedom struggle, virtually all the citizenry of Srinagar (Capital city of Kashmir) - men, women and children - came out multiple times on the streets to lodge a non-violent protest against the continuance of Indian occupation. At times more than a million people poured into the streets to express their anguish and dissatisfaction against occupation authority.

Certainly, terrorists cannot compose the entire populations of the major towns of Kashmir. And one million people cannot be instigated and provoked by a remote control. One million people reflect the true nature of the peaceful Kashmiri resistance and not a movement of terrorism.

Hartal, or the practice of stopping all commercial activity as a means of protest, and similar to a labour strike is a centuries-old form of resistance. It was used during the colonial period as well as during the days of India’s fight for independence against Britishers. The practice was institutionalised by the founding father of India - Gandhi. It has perhaps become the preferred and primary form of resistance in Kashmir. During Hartal, every business, be it shops, colleges, schools, transport, or offices, shuts down. It is believed to be one of the best ways to force an occupier to accept the fact that there is a problem. It is also believed that it can help in raising awareness about suffering and force the occupier to negotiate a dispute.

Hartal can shake the conscience of the world powers if done wisely and properly. However, those countries that believe in democratic rights and universal values remain often times silent when the occupier has

significant economic strength. India’s money and buying power invariably rules and corrupts values that support human rights. These large economies can become an instrument of investments of tens of billions of dollars.

The silence of these Western countries effectively crushes the souls of those who are oppressed, voiceless and have no means to signs contracts for billions of dollars.

Hartal and other non-violent techniques will prove instrumental to achieve one’s objective only if the oppressive regime is moved by compassion. Stokely Carmichael, American civil rights leader, summed it up well, “In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience.”

The strategy for various paths of resistance has to include long-term and short term planning. It is the responsibility of a leader to plan these tactics and techniques and make decisions which are important for the movement no matter how unpopular.

The leader has to define every step of every kind of resistance. Ultimately, it is the support of the people that matters and will ultimately bring one closer to achieve one’s goal.

President John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Before announcing a plan (in Kashmir’s case, the Calendar for the week), a leader must have a clear vision and understanding of the plan and its possible consequences on the masses. The leader must involve all stakeholders in the planning, be it sit ins, mass demonstrations, Hartals, performing national songs, holding of seminars, meeting with foreign diplomats, including Indian intelligential, press briefings, etc. A leader must gain the confidence of the people and should be perceived by the people to be authentic before announcing a plan. As President Dwight Eisenhower said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”

A leader has to be always open to fresh ideas and new methodologies. George Washington Carver said, “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” Tactics, techniques and methodologies can change on a weekly or monthly basis. That is not only desirable but advisable as well. What cannot change is the ultimate objective, which is the right of self-determination of the people in Kashmir.

There is no doubt that the people are willing to make sacrifices when they see in their leader the qualities of persistence, insightfulness, optimism and accountability. A leader must always lead by his example. In other words, he cannot call people to go to Hartal in Lal Chowk or to the United nations office while he himself sits behind to escape the hardships of such an activity.

Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai is Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness. He can be reached at: 1-202-607-6435 OR gnfai2003@yahoo.com

CHInA is hosting a two day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation from May 14 and is being attended by heads of states and governments of 27 countries.

Most significantly the delegation symbolises national integration and harmony which is quite appreciable and commendable to say the least.

The delegation is headed by Prime Minister Mian Muhammad nawaz Sharif and includes Chief Ministers of all the four federating units, Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Punjab), Syed Murad Ali Shah (Sindh), Pervez Khattak (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and nawab Sanaullah Zehri (Balochistan) besides some federal ministers and senior officials concerned.

It is rather premature to say anything about the forum deliberations but the very composition of high level Pakistan delegation which is very good indeed.

Hopefully, the outcome of the PM led Pakistani delegation and its participation in the forum deliberations and allied activities will be quite positive and productive and will augur well for Pakistan and its people in more than one way. For next couple of days, all eyes are on Beijing and on the engagements of the high level Pakistan delegation.

Please keep your fingers crossed in this regard.

AAMER A NAJMEE Lahore

Remember Karachi KARACHI, being the biggest metropolitan of Pakistan has its own merits and demerits of living. Karachi is famous for its street foods and active citizens making it a vibrant and energetic city. But unfortunately, a host of problems surround the Karachiites at every step. Solving one problem give rise to another. Its population has increased rapidly and accordingly given rise to many social problems.

One of them is electricity shortfall and shortage of water. Lack of these essential resources is disturbing and its unavailability create obstruction in everyday life.

Another problem which tops the list is traffic. The people of Karachi don’t observe traffic rules due to which perils of major road accidents increases which may lead to life loss as well.

This beautiful city is now known for the unpleasant smell, open sewerages and heaps of garbage everywhere across its streets. This gives rise to land and water pollution along with many dangerous and lethal diseases.

Apart from this, the root cause for the above-mentioned problems is the education framework of Karachi. Its literacy rate is not compelling thus leaving us questioning why the authorities aren’t concerned about it?

Through your newspaper, I would request government to analyse these problems and find a better solution for them before time slips away from our hands.

MAHA SOHAiL Karachi

Right man for the right job THE appointment of senior civil servant and a renowned educationist Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik as secretary schools education department, in the population-wise largest province of Punjab, is a good news indeed. He carries with him rigorous educational as well as administrative experience of many years, and it’s hoped that he will utilise his expertise to help succeed the educational reforms agenda which would ultimately benefit the students.

As the Punjab government is in the last leg of its five year tenure; therefore, it was all the more important that an experienced person of his statue and calibre should be brought in to give solid footings to education. And I believe that Dr Malik is the best choice. He is a balanced blend of civil service as well as experience as an educationist.

It may be added here that he is the architect of Punjab’s largest free school education programme who revamped and expanded the Punjab education foundation to emerge as the strong ray of hope for the hopeless. He introduced education voucher scheme to help the children of low income families to study free of cost in partner schools.

I am quite hopeful that his vital contribution in Schools Education Department will wholly benefit the students.

QUDRAT ULLAH Lahore

Speak up, speak out SExUAL harassment, molestation, eve teasing etc. are some very common problems women face at their workplace, just because they are ‘women’ or just because they are ‘working’ and ‘independent’ and are challenging men in every field.

Harassment in the workplace also emerges as one of the five top critical issues. nearly one-third of women when interviewed admit to having experienced harassment, although more than 60% do not report it.

The status of women in Pakistan has undergone a considerable change since the past but there is a lot more development yet to take place. Though many Pakistani women are independent and aware of their rights, a majority of women are still unaware of the rights they are entitled to.

The change has to be brought now as now is the best time to do so.

HOORMA M AHMED Karachi

12 WORLD VIEW

Monday, 15 May, 2017

Are HezbollAH, IsrAel HeAdIng for A tHIrd wAr? Al-MOnitOr

I

NOURSAmAHA

T has been more than a decade since the last open confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel; yet in the last few months, there has been a lot of chatter among Hezbollah and Israel observers over the rising tensions between the two adversaries. The drums of war have been beating even more loudly in the media.

The cost of the 2006 war was severe enough for both sides that they both seem to be making every possible effort to avoid another war: Israel stopped bombing Hezbollah's locations inside Lebanon, while the latter stopped kidnapping Israeli soldiers or launching rockets into northern Israel. However, both parties know that peace in the Middle East is fragile and fleeting. Preparations for a new round of war — now dubbed the Third Lebanon War — have only increased. Both sides appear to be using every opportunity to display not just the military buildup for the upcoming war, but also expose the weaknesses of the other in the event of a war.

On April 20, Hezbollah arranged a tour for journalists to south Lebanon to expose the recent Israeli fortification activities south of the Blue Line. As Israeli military bulldozers busily cut at the landscape across the electrical fence, Hezbollah members pointed to the infrastructure — newly carved military roads, concrete walls, cement blocks and high-tech monitoring radars — all placed along the border in the last year.

These defensive fortifications are the

most recent measures taken by Israel in anticipation of the looming confrontation with Hezbollah. Previous measures included, for instance, merging all Israeli army commando units into a single commando brigade, completing the multi-layered air defense, and conducting various war games and drills specifically designed to mimic a war with Hezbollah.

Israel is almost certain Hezbollah has advanced mobile air defense systems.

This means the Israeli air force might not be able to fly over Lebanon as freely as it did in the past. Furthermore, airborne operations using helicopters, which the Israel Defense Forces depends heavily on, might be too risky in the presence of such advanced air defense systems.

Hezbollah, for its part, has been busy preparing for war as well. Today, it is considered by many in Israel to be the strongest nonstate actor in the region, and it has analyzed the lessons of the 2006 war to prepare for the next one. Rockets and missiles proved to be effective enough in 2006 for Hezbollah to continue increasing their quantity, while also upgrading the quality of its arsenal.

Yet the most important development in Hezbollah's military capability is the unprecedented opportunity that came with its participation in the Syrian war. It now has the ability to train thousands of its fighters, who are rubbing shoulders with Syrian, Iranian and Russian elite special forces, while also developing its telecommunications, logistics, and command and control capabilities to handle a situation where hundreds of its fighters can fight nonstop for weeks and months

in a vast, hostile environment. This is a huge leap from 2006, when Hezbollah only deployed independent small fire teams and squads in defensive fortified positions, in a friendly environment, while awaiting the advance of Israeli infantry and armor units.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's threat in 2011 to invade northern Israel is no longer so far-fetched, neither are his threats to hit the nuclear facility in Dimona. Israel takes these threats very seriously, hence the fortification works along the Blue Line. Hezbollah's plan is simple and bold: Saturate Israel's multilayered air defense with hundreds of rockets and missiles while its fighters go on the offensive across the Blue Line — and perhaps even the Golan Heights.

According to sources familiar with Hezbollah, "A wider front will force Israel to spread out thinner, so now having the front expanded from Naqoura on the sea all the way to the end of the Golan Heights will prove to be more difficult for Israel in the event of a war."

Amidst the war cries, both sides have made it clear they are not interested in embarking on another war. Hezbollah is indeed busy in Syria and has little interest in fighting on multiple fronts. Furthermore, the domestic atmosphere in Lebanon is not that of 2006. There are now around 2 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon for Israel to consider, as well as a Hezbollah-hostile section of society that would not be as welcoming as they were in 2006 to internally displaced people fleeing airstrikes. In addition, the SyrianLebanese border will not be open to those

escaping the attacks, essentially turning Lebanon into an open-air prison.

It is also worth noting that with all of Hezbollah's upward trajectory in the region (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen), today's region is incredibly hostile toward it. Thus, the last thing Hezbollah and its backer, Iran, would want is to create a situation where even on its home territory it is on the defensive and dealing with a hostile population — while also fending off attacks from one of the strongest and best-equipped armies in the world.

Nor is Israel prepared to fight a war in which it cannot guarantee a total achievement of its goals. While it does have the capability of causing severe damage to Lebanon, it still cannot guarantee neutralizing Hezbollah. Israel also knows Hezbollah's missiles have the potential to cause serious damage to both Israeli infrastructure and the security of its population.

Furthermore, if the Golan front is indeed activated, it will be a battlefield with a lot of unknown and unpredictable variables.

These variables include the role and position of the differing opposition groups, as well as whether both Hezbollah's allies and Israel's allies would be dragged into the confrontation, moving the war from what Israel would prefer — contained, surgical, quick — to an open-ended, messy and complex conflict.

As one Hezbollah fighter told AlMonitor, "While Israel may have the key to open the door for a war, it does not have the ability to close that door again when it chooses, and therefore won’t take the risk."

While this could encourage some an-

Do Muslims have to be Democrats now? new YOrk tiMes WAJAHAT ALI

American Muslims face a choice: vote Democratic, or vote themselves off the island.

That’s how Haroon Moghul, the author of the coming memoir “How to Be a Muslim,” put it to me this month — and how many of my fellow American Muslim voters feel.

As Republicans have embraced an extreme anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim platform, has the Democratic Party emerged as our only viable political home?

“As a Muslim, I’d vote for Jesus, but the Republicans won’t let him in, and the Democrats don’t believe in him,” said Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Barnard College, who concedes that he’s a tad bitter about his political options. Like him, many American Muslims can’t imagine voting for the “Home Alone 2” actor who trumpeted anti-Muslim bigotry all the way to the White House. They also support progressive policies, like affordable health care and a living wage. But privately, they adhere to traditional values, believe in God and think gay marriage is a sin, even though an increasing number support marriage equality.

Can the progressive tent stretch to include them?Sabir Ibrahim, a Pakistani-American lawyer from the San Francisco Bay Area, is skeptical. Even though he “held his nose and voted for Hillary Clinton,” he perceives a hostility from progressives toward socially conservative sensibilities.

As an example, he cited liberals’ derision earlier this year when a news report noted that Vice President Mike Pence once said that he avoids dining alone with women who aren’t his wife — something some practicing Muslim men do, too.

The liberal ridicule, according to Mr. Ibrahim, results from a narrow-minded dogmatism that demands across-the-board acquiescence to a certain set of

cultural values.

Nearly every person I talked to warned that Democrats cannot take the Muslim vote for granted. Even though there are only about three million of us, we live in critical battleground states. (In Florida, Muslim voters helped push George W. Bush to victory in 2000.)

Many Muslims believe that any embrace from the Democratic Party today is just another pity invite given by the popular kids to the freaks and geeks so they can continue using us for homework, eating our mothers’ tandoori chicken and wielding us as a club to beat up Republicans.

Muslims, among the most diverse religious community in America, still seem to exist in two bland flavors: the angry progressive or the angry religious fundamentalist. From many Republicans, I am asked, “Why aren’t you condemning extremism?” or “What are you doing to fight the Islamic State?” as if I can magically uncover militants using my extremist spidey sense.

In liberal circles, I am apparently only a safe, useful Muslim until they find out I don’t drink alcohol and I do take my religion seriously. I’ve heard: “Oh, you pray? I thought you were progressive” — a comment that seems to assume I’m against women’s rights, democracy, marriage equality and deodorant just because I fast during Ramadan.

During the 2016 primary, it did seem to me that Democrats were actually slobbering over Muslims, including those who are practicing and traditional. At

one event, Bernie Sanders invited a young woman in a hijab to the stage and promised to fight against “all forms of racism.”

The Democratic convention featured the Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan.

This embrace of Muslims has continued since the election. Hasan Minhaj recently received a standing ovation at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner after his blistering roast of Mr. Trump.

Progressives are rallying behind Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American in Brooklyn who was one of the organizers of the Women’s March.

It might seem like a kumbaya love parade, but I’m not convinced the halal Kool-Aid isn’t still spiked with some fear.

It was just nine years ago that workers for the Obama campaign in Detroit prevented two women in hijabs from sitting behind the candidate, where they might appear in photographs. Two months before the 2008 election, I was invited to a fund-raising event in Silicon Valley attended by Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I asked him why the Democrats weren’t openly embracing Muslim voters. “Why? The elections are just two months away,” he said.

Even though there’s still an unpleasant edge beneath the Democrats’ courting of Muslim voters, it’s not as if the Republicans will be getting our votes back anytime soon. That leaves Democrats — or neither party.

Dalia Mogahed, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

in Washington, noted that data shows that many Muslims favored neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Trump.

“Some liberals can show up also as extremists,” said Imam Makram El-Amin of Minnesota, citing Bill Maher as an example of a person who fails to see the “layeredness” of American Muslims. As a black Muslim American, Mr. ElAmin says he’s “not going to be defined or forced to make decisions by those who make litmus tests.”

Both progressives and Muslim communities still need to question their own bubbles and orthodoxies.

Some practicing Muslims, like their Republican and progressive counterparts, are unwilling to open their tent, fearing that if they accept everyone, then everything will fall apart. If religious communities accept “progressive” values — or even the existence of gay Muslims, feminist Muslims, people marrying outside their faith — the consequences, they imagine, will be that their sons will abandon the religion, engage in a threesome, and snort cocaine off a bar table on which Muslim women, with lower back tattoos, are dancing in stiletto heels.

On the other side, Fawzia Mirza, a gay storyteller born to Pakistani immigrant parents, said that, in her experience, many progressives “still haven’t met anyone who is queer and Muslim.” For them, she says the worst nightmare is that Muslims will “come in and hijabify their daughters.”

One positive thing emerging from this political moment is that our respective communities are forced to confront issues like racism, sexism and anti-Muslim bigotry that have always existed but have been hidden under toothless slogans promoting progress. Now we have to actually do the hard work to achieve it.

Wajahat Ali is a playwright, lawyer and contributing opinion writer.

alysts to rule out the possibility of a confrontation, one needs to remember that what happens between Hezbollah and Israel is motivated, to a great extent, by what happens in the region — namely the wider confrontation between US allies and Iran.

Hezbollah is certainly wary of the new US administration, with sources close to the organization pointing to the fact that the previous administration under Barack Obama was not interested in entertaining a new Hezbollah-Israel war, whereas the Donald Trump administration has proven so far to be an unknown variable.

"Before Trump, there was no indication of a war [between Israel and Hezbollah] in the future," said one official close to the party. "But now with Trump, no one has a clue about his foreign policy.

What we have seen so far, his priorities seem to be North Korea, the Islamic State and Iran."

Is it likely the Trump administration would entertain a confrontation with Iran via a Hezbollah-Israel war? It is so far unclear, but the fluidity of the battlefield and the players in Syria mean such a confrontation would prove to be incredibly risky, with the likelihood of eventually dragging the United States further into an already messy arena.

As one source put it, "If there is going to be a war between Hezbollah and Israel in Syria, it would be an expansive confrontation with many unknown variables."

Mohammed Saleh Alftayeh has contributed to the report.

CIA opens a new office to watch North Korea Defense One CAROLINE HOUCK

Two years after the CIA reorganized itself to create 10 “mission centers,” the spy agency is adding a new one devoted specifically to North Korea.Then-director John Brennan launched that 2015 restructuring — it also created the Directorate for Digital Innovation, the agency’s first new directorate in half a century — to modernize the agency and eliminate stovepipes between its analysts, agents, and hackers. Instead of offices built around kinds of expertise, the new mission centers house cross-functional teams focusing on a threat or a region. That allows them to “harness the full range of CIA’s operational, analytic, support, technical and digital capabilities,” the CIA said in a Facebook post.

The new Korea Mission Center at CIA headquarters in Virginia is intended to do the same thing for a country that at least one intelligence expert calls “the hardest of hard targets.”

In a press release, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said the new center “allows us to more purposefully integrate and direct CIA efforts against the serious threats to the United States and its allies emanating from North Korea.”

Pompeo also said the move reflects the CIA’s agility. Keeping the organizational chart malleable and adding the new center is part of the agency’s efforts to stay responsive as national security threats evolve and priorities shift.

When Brennan created the mission center structure, it “involved an arbitrary way of splitting up the world” that could later be tweaked, according to Paul Pillar, the former National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. “I think the expectation always was that there might be some shifting of where the geographic lines were drawn to reflect changes in priorities given to particular countries or areas.”

The new center will join a mission center for East Asia and the Pacific (six of the existing 10 centers focus on geographic regions; the

other four are functional). This will be the most geographically narrow center.

“Interestingly, I don’t see one specifically for China or Russia,” said Bruce Klingner, a Heritage Foundation senior research fellow on northeast Asia who has worked for the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Otherwise, Klingner said, it’s “a pretty straightforward announcement of a response to the growing North Korean danger, particularly as it gets closer to a nuclear ICBM capability.”

Leaving office, President Barack Obama reportedly warned Donald Trump that North Korea would be his most urgent problem, and the new president has largely treated it as such. Trump’s administration has had an unflagging focus — if occasionally scattered message — on the regime in Pyongyang. Visiting the peninsula last month, Vice President Mike Pence announced that “the era of strategic patience is over.”

“The administration has made it very clear that in the early days of this administration, Korea is a particular priority,” RAND Corporation analyst Bruce Bennett said. “This is a time where the administration’s not saying ‘We’d like a broad view of Europe or Central Asia.’ They’re saying we have a very particular problem here.’”

That focus has contributed to a ratcheting up of tensions between the US and North Korea over the past two months, which has included all the usual moves on the Pacific chessboard: from Korean missile tests and military parades to patrolling US aircraft carriers and discussions with China. The latest: The US House of Representatives voted to tighten sanctions on North Korea, and Pyongyang responded with a rare letter warning that would only encourage its nuclear weapons development.

“The US has always done a lot of work on North Korea, but we’re now at a point in time where being more effective at it is key, because the threat is developing in key ways,” Bennett said. “If North Korea really has 30 or 40 nuclear weapons … with a leader who is paranoid, that’s something that we really need to be on top of.”

LEISURE 13

Monday, 15 May, 2017

HaGaR tHE HoRRIblE

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

You seem to be growing increasingly impatient each day, especially if someone is more interested in getting to the bottom of your current feelings than moving on to whatever happens next. You might feel.

Your emotions may not be apparent to others now, but that doesn't make them any less important. An old memory that's buried in a hidden corner of your mind has unexpected power over your unconscious actions.

You might feel threatened by a coworker's competitive nature today as the primal Scorpio Moon intensifies already raw emotions and lessens your interest in playing fair. You are postured to defend your.

dIlbERt

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Your fear of rejection makes you feel uncomfortable about sharing your innermost thoughts with others. A cluster of planets in sympathetic Pisces urges you to take your emotions more seriously.

You love the notion of being close to someone special, but still prefer to keep the energy lighthearted today. However, competent Mars is approaching dreamy Neptune in your 8th House of Deep Sharing, instigating.

You take quiet pride in being able to analyze the dynamics of a situation and create an effective plan that's beneficial for all. However, several planets are traveling through diffusive Pisces now, making.

GaRFIEld

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Your world may be settling down now, after a few days of lunar instability. But it's challenging, nonetheless, to keep your spirits up when sobering Saturn is in the picture. You are ultra-serious today;

Your own thoughts might overwhelm you today until you stop resisting the shifting emotional tides.

Fluctuating moods complicate your interpersonal communication as the inconstant Moon visits your sign,.

Although you might be afraid that you're approaching the end of a road, you are also at the start of something new. Instead of trying to stop the inevitable, finish what you can while the powerful Scorpio.

baldo

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Your friends may be shocked when they learn of your unorthodox perspective. However, you're so focused on reaching your goals now that you're not worried about anyone else's expectations. Nevertheless,

Normally, you're not one to succumb to peer pressure, yet people seem to be offering you sound financial advice now. But even if you don't have a solid plan in place, you still prefer to figure it out.

You are inclined to take radical measures once again. The intensity can present problems because several planets in imaginative Pisces blur the fine line between being spiritually inspired and losing yourself.

cRosswoRd

woRd sEaRcH

ACROSS

1 Limit of one's ability (4)

5 Gardening equipment (11)

2 Britain (slang) (7)

7 Dry (of champagne) (4)

3 Man of god — drape (anag) (5)

8 Execute by strangulation (8)

4 Self-important (8)

9 Almsgiving (7)

5 Kindly (4-7)

11 Make predatory raids (5)

6 Gardening equipment (8,3)

13 Intermission (5)

10 Sees porn (anag) —

14 Glaringly obvious (7)

answer (8)

16 Very wicked act (8)

12 Behave in an overdramatic

17 Hit very hard (4)

manner (4-3)

18 Ruin (11)

15 Unit of volume (5)

DOwn

17 Loose one's footing (4)

cHEss AGAIN ANGER BARE BASS BEEf BEfORE BROAD BROOD CHURCH CRUSH DECREE ExPRESS fOUND fRIENDLESS HEAT LUMBER MECHANIC PEER PIANO QUACK RELIEVE

SARCASM SASS SCHOLASTIC SEER SHACK SHUffLE SIRE SLIGHT SNAG SNARL SOBER SPEECH SPOKE STARK STERN TEAL THATCH TIDES TOLERATE TRUST

white tO PLAY AND MAte iN three MOVes 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

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Today’s soluTions

bRIdGE sEcoNd MIlE

sUdokU crossword solution sudoku solution

1.Nd5 exd5 2.bxf6 Qxf6 3.Qh7# * chess solution

How to play fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

14

Monday, 15 May, 2017

ARTS

WITH MY SHADOW IN ATHENS…

Maqbool ahMed Mirza

I

entered the city of dreams and knowledge; early in the morning when the entire city was sleeping in the lap of Acropolis with the golden lights of ancient landmark spreading like the flood of love on the roof tops of peaceful Athens. The silence at dawn is the best time to wake up the worldly and materialistic mind of a person like me. The shadow of love came right outside the exit of Airport and I was no lonelier as I’m destined to be.

With the shadow guiding me, the whole city started revealing itself - unveiled to my blind sight. With this newly attained vision, my eyes began to witness the splendour of Athens at the falling night and emerging dawn of that day.

Athens - the land of prophets, unknown to mankind, the cradle turned to heaven of light is all across me, all around me.

The city with its serene fragrance of spirituality and mystic existence opened like a title of a majestic film about the universe. I felt that the gods of all religions have stared revealing secrets of life just as the azan in the mosques of Istanbul wakes up the sleepy creatures. The deserted roads all appeared to be shining in the darkness of my shadow’s light.

All the modern world was around me, with me, the roads, the signals, even the bus I was travelling in, to reach the place of my residence. Every gadget of modern world could be found there, from ticket machines to Google maps but I was not interested in the modern world. I was lost somewhere in the BC era, and if you are not lost in the streets of Athens with all those glorious philosophers, mathematicians, physicists and the astronomers then may be you shouldn’t be there.

The bus seemed to be flying in real too, but for me it was flying in my dreams’ land, in lands of my fantasy, in lands of my real self, in lands of mystery and knowledge, in lands of divine curiosity of philosophers, in lands of search and truth. For me, the bus was like a spaceship on the journey of stars, like a magic carpet floating in heavens beyond stars, in space beyond space, touching finite infinity.

I felt the bus was being driven by an unseen pilot - a magician of paradise, an

angel arranged by the gods of Athens for a lost traveller like me to witness the majestic sights of the city. My shadow, my companion of the centuries, my imaginary associate who brought me on this trip to one of the oldest and the most learned city of the universe - guiding me about the signs and paths of stars.

The bus like a ship so broad and there was time when I felt it will not reach anywhere. Do we want to reach anywhere?

And do we need to reach anywhere?

Shall we remain nowhere to be somewhere? Shall we not desire to be in peace of moving and yet remain stagnant.

It was simple to feel the peace of going nowhere and yet the bus was moving. Yet the earth is moving, still we are going and we are not going anywhere.

Still the earth is moving and only encircling like an insane child going around the tree and getting nowhere.

Like all, we are kids playing in the park on a merry-go-round and park is all but our universe. Bus was not going anywhere and I never wanted the bus to go somewhere but still I was in boundaries of time and space. I was not as lucky as earth or I’m the one encircling too since millions of years? I’m the human.

But the bus now stopped and I remember how I have stepped out of the moving bus onto the moving land of Athens.

The bus had stopped at a few places, souls being dropped from time to time at their predetermined destinations. Some people stepping down the stream of time, entering into new dimensions of the universe. I stepped out of the bus and felt stars to be walking along with me towards the flat I was staying in, in the vicinity of Acropolis. The footpaths were broad and clean. I felt music in the air, a light early morning breeze has started touching the pores of leaves. The bells of paradise started ringing as goddesses of Athens must have woken up by now and being welcomed by the nature. All the arches built by the lords of the glorious past remained unseen in dark but I felt them in my soul.

Streets around Acropolis going up and down hill - it was same as journey to heavens passing through the valleys of love. Those who want the love to be a plain track of soothing grass should be in love to see that it can’t be plain, and yet also be called love.

I counted my steps while walking from the bus stop to the flat and each step felt like stepping on clouds to reach right under the shades of Acropolis. Walking on the footpaths along with my thoughts about the greatest philosophers of history was something like holding hands of Plato and Aristotle. The meanings of the words and meanings of all subjectivities surrounding the mankind.

Will I get to learn a bit about right and wrong, about good and bad, about love and justice, will all those revelations and intuitions come to me? After all, the land so fertile for the prophets of knowledge chosen by the lords of the universe has allowed me to step in.

The sun was on its way to illuminate the earth and a few of its rays had already broken the web of darkness when I have unlocked the door of my flat and rushed to see the terrace. What a beautiful place to live and ponder upon the meanings of life! The lights of Acropolis reaching the terrace of the flat. The myth and the mys-

tery of my stay in the flat was my shadow and my imaginary angel with me, a dream so real that can’t be considered as shadow - if one can live in my intensity of fantasy.

It was almost the time of dawn and in my excitement of reaching to the land of Socrates and Plato, my own existence seemed forgettable. My swinging mind reminded me after a while that I’m not an angel or a devil but a human being with the physical and mental compulsion to sleep. I’m not sure if that huge portrait of Socrates and Plato is still mounted in Philosophy department of University of Punjab, which was always an inspiration for me, from my very first day at the University and during my quest to learn about Philosophy. I’m an inferior student of Philosophy with limited knowledge and understanding but harbour a keen interest in the all philosophical schools of thought. I felt my love for philosophy rejuvenated, after stepping in this haven of Philosophers.

The freedom of thoughts and expression of self, is something mankind is striving to achieve since long. The historical sacrifice of many learned people, for freedom of expression has strengthened the movement for freedom and Socrates was the most prime example - the majestic martyr of freedom. The same aura of freedom, I could also feel in the atmosphere of Athens.

My love for Philosophy had become dormant after the completion of my masters, remaining passively active, unconsciously during my struggle to climb up the ladder of my career and business. As a humble businessman, I feel the cemented layers of Philosophy that engulf my mind keep me safe from animalistic materialism. However, the business makes me ponder upon the economics and consumerism of the 21st century.

The next morning, in the streets of Athens, I started thinking about how the consumer is willing to buy and a seller is equipped to sell. This is what the market needs. A consumer with the need to buy and seller with the commodities needed by the consumer. This is what I felt about the economy of Greece, the economies of the world can go up and down, markets may have recessions but an alive market is an inevitable indication of prosperity, to come soon.

All across the globe, wherever we go people are selling and buying, the banks, the ATMs, the grocery stores, the cafes, the fruit shops, clothing, and Athens was no different. The world itself seems to be a huge market where everyone is selling something and everyone is buying something. When we are tired of selling goods and commodities, then we start selling ourselves to others. Some time our personalities are sold at higher price and sometimes the valued selves are sold at so low a cost.

It’s a market - what we call earth, from paradise to fortune and dogmas to beliefs, everything is on sale and there is always a buyer of everything.

In the most learned and advanced markets, a smart buyer with innocent desires and conscious wishes seems to run after dreams - chasing their dreams through fake commodities. We, as humans, buy gadgets with the wish to buy happiness.

Not realising that we are bringing into our homes the tools to avoid the natural world of love, passion, peace and serenity.

Besides this philosophical - comparatively conservative and idealistic views - about a marketplace, the city of Athens was full of life. Young and old, rich and poor, tourists and natives - all running behind the same life. When you see them running, you also see an enthusiasm so visible, the energy glorified with life

smiling on their faces.

In the market passing through the ruins of the lost empires, comprised of castles and schools with signs of the brutality of time. The time that did not allow the strongest of kings to survive, the time that has buried the most beautiful queens.

I saw a madman, on the street talking on his toy phone. He was telling everyone about some woman - he kept asking her to wake up as they were late for court. He was telling her that grass is shining with dew and each ray of sunlight is making the petals glitter like gold. He was telling her in Greek and I keenly listened on while my host translated the whole story of the madman’s sermon to me. Later, he made some gestures of anger and abused the whole world of technology in his own dialect hanging up that call as if he was angry with his lady on the other side of the phone.

He looked like a time traveller, someone who was living in these streets of Athens since thousands of years. I imagined that he must have been roaming in the streets in those times too - asking people about the meaning of this life. I imagine him asking about justice and wisdom, about rules of life and the values of this society. Maybe the madman made all these rules we follow and narrated all the conventions - chalking down all the traditions for the mankind to follow - from time to time. I imagined him to have had intuitions or revelations about what we should and should not do.

The markets of Athens were full of people and full of aesthetically made goods to excite the travellers. The culture and civilisation - beamed out of everything from the architecture of the city, the streets and houses, to the crafts and dresses and faces of the natives. The culture has its roots which stems out like bushes and flowers and can be seen only by the vigilant eyes.

Even if we don’t see it in flowers, we can’t ignore or suppress its fragrance. My nostrils have enjoyed the fragrance of Athens and it was all around - in the dust and grass, even in the stones and mountains, and of course, from the great ancient monuments.

Maqbool Ahmed Mirza is a freelance columnist. He can be contacted at: www.maqboolmirza.com

Monday, 15 May, 2017

ARTS

15

SPaniSH band La bEjazz SizzLES at SErEna Islamabad

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stAff RepoRt

HE Embassy of Spain and Serena Hotels collaborated to host a fundraising gala dinner featuring a performance

by renowned Spanish Band, La Bejazz. The proceeds of the evening amounted to Rs5 million and were donated to the Aga Khan University and Hospital to finance children’s heart surgeries. La Bejazz is a group of musicians from the south of Spain, who perform

an extraordinary fusion of two distinct musical styles, Jazz and Flamenco. Their performances are masterful, harmonious and balanced where the fantastic worlds of Jazz and Flamenco commune.

Serena Hotels CEO Aziz Boolani said, “We are delighted to welcome the Flamenco-Jazz Band La Bejazz, to perform their spellbinding music for your entertainment. Serena Hotels is privileged to be able to host events that strengthen the cultural exchange between Pakistan and Spain while

at the same time supporting a cause dear to our hearts – providing healthcare to the less fortunate.”

He added that Serena is a platform that provides the space and opportunity for cultural exchanges by bringing unique and unusual talent to Islamabad. There is a universal passion for music, art and sports across different ages and types of people which transcends linguistic and socio-cultural differences and brings people together.

Art and culture build the strongest and most interesting bridges link-

ing people and countries.

His Excellency Carlos Morales, Ambassador of Spain said, “The Embassy of Spain is honoured to welcome in Pakistan La Bejazz, one of the leading flamenco-jazz bands.

Tonight’s gala in Islamabad, is a showcase of how contemporary Spanish music, evolving from the classical roots into the 21st century, can be a bridge between cultures and how performing arts can help promoting and supporting the most valuable causes. This fundraising event is our contribution, together

with the Serena Hotel, to the commitment of the Embassy of Spain and the Spanish Government to support health initiatives in favour of those in need, such as the impressive work of the Aga Khan University Hospital with children with congenital heart disease.”

Under its cultural diplomacy banner, Serena has promoted the arts and intercultural activities to inspire an ethos of peace and hope and engaging with foreign missions able to raise funds to support worthy causes.

Leading soprano Renee Fleming bids adieu to signature role

Humorous ‘Guardians’ set Marvel on new path for superhero movies The surprise success of the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” with its intergalactic gang of misfits and quirky tone, launched Marvel Studios into making action movies starring lesser-known comic book figures that could make audiences laugh. Two years later, the bet that comedy could help catapult characters such as the “Guardians,” “Ant-Man” and “Doctor Strange” into box office stars has paid off again. The “Guardians,” led by actor Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, debuted in 2014 with more than $700 million at the global box office.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2” opened in the United States last week and has already grossed more than $500 million worldwide. “The first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ film allowed us to perhaps go a little bit further, not just in humour, but types of characters,” Kevin Feige, chief executive of Marvel Studios, told foreign media agencies. Comedy has flavoured Marvel movies since 2008’s “Iron Man” featured star Robert Downey Jr’s cocky one-liners. Many of the studio’s upcoming releases, including “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” are expected to build humour into their audience appeal. The “Guardians” franchise has gone farther by putting comedy at the core of the movie. Audiences fell in love with the roguish Peter, nononsense Gamora, the alien Drax who didn’t understand irony and the bromance between Rocket Raccoon and tree-alien Groot. “Laughter is the way you hook the audience, and then you can scare them, then you can hopefully touch them emotionally deeper than they were expecting to in a film about a tree and a raccoon and aliens that don’t understand metaphors,” Feige told reporters in April. “Humour is the secret into the audience’s other range of emotions,” he added. Agencies

Opera superstar Renee Fleming bid adieu Saturday to one of her trademark roles, performing Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier” for the last time before a warm and enthusiastic crowd at the Metropolitan Opera in a soldout matinee. Fleming beamed from the stage and patted her heart in gratitude to the cheers at the finale of Strauss’s bittersweet comedy as confetti shimmered to the stage from above. Fleming, 58, often considered the leading American soprano of her generation, plans to continue to sing in concert and some staged opera. But she has retired many of her signature opera roles, saying she is excited about new singing challenges and that she feels it is time to move on from playing women decades younger who comprise most of the possibilities for a lyric soprano in the opera repertoire. Fleming is not on the Met schedule for 2016-7, but a Met spokeswoman said she will be back in the 2018-9 season. In “Der Rosenkavalier,” Fleming was cast as the wife of a field marshal in Vienna high society in the early 20th century who turns away a much junior lover, sensing that it is only a matter of time before he rejects her for a younger woman.

An emotional high point occurs at the end of the first act when Fleming, whose character is called the Marschallin, ponders the passage of time and imagines herself as an old woman. “Everything fades away like mist and dreams,” she tells the young lover Octavian, shortly before she sends him away. Flem-

ing has praised the character as one of opera’s most fully developed for a woman.

“There is so little repertoire in the classical literature that has anything to do with women who are really fully drawn, who have the complexity and the challenges that they truly face,” she told foreign media agencies last year. “So often in opera, women are symbolic and sort of archetypal and mostly very young, mostly victims,” she said. Raised in Rochester, New York, and the daughter of two music teachers, Fleming has attained unique stature within opera, enjoying rare crossover appeal among the general public and a nickname as “the people’s diva,” a testament to a combination of glamour, talent and a touch of grittiness. She sang the “top 10” list for former late-night host David Letterman in 2013 and won praise for her rendition of the national anthem at the 2014 Super Bowl. That prominence has made Fleming a reliably bankable star, a status on full display with “Der Rosenkavalier,” one of the Met’s most highly anticipated new productions of 2016-7, a season that commemorates 50 years at Lincoln Centre. Five of the nine Met performances of “Der Rosenkavalier” completely sold out and the run as a whole reached 98 per cent capacity, making it the best attended Met opera of the season, a Met spokeswoman said.

Besides “Rosenkavalier,” Fleming’s other signature parts include Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” and Desdemona in Verdi’s “Otello.” Agencies

Kareena Kapoor gives diet tips to pregnant Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan, who is expecting her first child with actor Kunal Khemu, says her sister-in-law and actor Kareena Kapoor Khan has been giving her diet tips and more for expecting mothers.

Soha’s elder brother and actorproducer Saif Ali Khan welcomed his first child with Kareena last year.

“Kareena has been very helpful.

She recently went through this. So, I keep asking her a lot of questions on a daily basis. What should I eat, what is allowed, what isn’t,” Soha said at an event here on Friday.

The upcoming Mothers’ Day on Sunday will be a milestone for Soha.

“I really don’t know what to expect or how the journey ahead is going to be like. This Mothers’ Day will be a milestone for me because all my life I’ve appreciated my mother (veteran actor Sharmila Tagore) so much and now I am going

to be a mom myself,” said Soha, who was present with Kunal at the event.

After dating for a few years, Soha and Kunal tied the knot in January 2015. Talking about her husband, Soha said: “Kunal and I have been together for nine years now. We

feel very blessed and were ready for this phase in our life. But I haven’t felt alone at all.”

“Pregnancy changes a woman not just physically, but also emotionally. It is important that a mother feels calm and stress-free at all

CMYK

times. This is where fathers can play an important part,” Soha said in a statement. “Kunal has been extremely supportive of me in this journey and takes care of me in all way possible and makes me feel like a yummy mummy,” she added.

“I have my and Kunal’s family.

Kunal has been a wonderful partner and this phase can be overwhelming for the to-be mother and father. He has done very well.” Golmaal Again actor Kunal also shared some important tips for husbands during pregnancy. “You can say that I am part of this, but actually all the headaches, backaches, nausea… this woman is going through,” he said.

“The least a man can do is just extend his support. The actual partnership happens when the baby comes out. So, I am trying my best to be the supportive and silent partner,” he added. Agencies

Portugal wins Eurovision Song Contest for the first time Portugal’s Salvador Sobral won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday performing a jazz-style ballad written by his sister, taking the top spot for the first time in the country’s history and celebrating with a call to “put emotion back into music”. Along with singers from Italy and Bulgaria, Sobral was a favourite going into the final of the annual song fest, which was hosted in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, and he led the voting throughout the evening. Portugal finished ahead of Bulgaria and Moldova. A soft-spoken, 27 year-old with a scraggly beard, Sobral won with “Amar Pelos Dois” (“Love For Both of Us”), sung in his native Portuguese. This is the first time Portugal won since it first entered the contest in 1964. After being announced as the winner, Sobral performed the ballad again, this time in duet with his sister Luisa. “Music is not fireworks, music is feeling,” he said after winning.

“Let’s put emotion back into music.” Asked later at a press conference whether he was now a national hero, he said: “Honestly man I just want to live a peaceful life, if I thought of myself as a national hero it would be a bit weird, you know.”

Ukraine hosted the competition while it also fights a war, hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in the east, against Russian-backed separatists. As is custom in the contest, geopolitics played a part. Russia boycotted this year’s event after Ukraine barred its contestant from entering the country - a symptom of the countries’ toxic relations since Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014. Ukraine won last year’s Eurovision with its Crimean Tatar entry Jamala.

In a grim reminder of the continued conflict in the east, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cancelled his scheduled appearance at the competition after four civilians were killed in artillery attacks that Kiev blamed on the separatist rebels. This was the 62nd edition of Eurovision, recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest-running annual TV music competition. It began in 1956 with just seven countries.

Ireland have won most often - seven times in all following by Sweden. Sobral came into the competition having told local media that he has a heart problem, without giving details. In the run-up he wore a sweatshirt drawing attention to the migrant crisis in Europe, but was asked to stop wearing it by the organisers. “I hope this can bring a change not only to this contest, but to music in general, and pop music,” Sobral said about his win, contrasting his song to music normally pumped out “16 times a day” on radio stations. Other hopefuls this year included Italian Francesco Gabbani. Jacques Houdek, known as ‘Mr Voice’ in Croatia, blended pop and operatic singing styles in the song “My Friend”. Romania fielded a duo that combined rap and yodelling. Ukraine has won the competition twice, including last year with a song about the mass deportation of Tatars from Crimea by Josef Stalin, and its winners performed on Saturday. Agencies

16 BUSINESS

Monday, 15 May, 2017

NAC lIkely to estImAte 5pC GDp Growth ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE National Accounts Committee (NAC) is likely to estimate a GDP growth rate of more than 5 per cent, at its meeting, convened to finalise the national accounts for the outgoing financial year (FY17) here on Monday.

An official source said that the GDP growth rate will surpass the 5 per cent figure after a decade. After the global financial crisis, Pakistan faced a worse energy crisis during the last decade leading to a decline in production and exports. Official estimates put a 2 per cent GDP loss every year due to the energy crisis.

The improvement in electricity supply was mainly due to the import of LNG have lessened the crisis in the urban load centres of Punjab. The local manufacturing sector has revived but so far exports have not picked up due to various reasons, officials said.

The committee will discuss provisional growth figures for the outgoing financial year and finalise figures for the last financial year. The government

had projected a growth target of 5.5 per cent for the current fiscal year, as compared to 4.7 per cent GDP growth of last fiscal year.

The GDP growth is estimated to remain close to 5.2 per cent, as already assessed by the World Bank. The growth would be in the range of 5.2 to 5.5 per cent and the final figure would be assessed by the committee. Usually, the growth rate is close to the assessment of the IFIs, who have all estimated a growth rate of more than 5 per cent for

Pakistan, the source said.

There is an improvement in the agriculture sector that showed a negative growth first time in 40 years last financial year, the source said adding that the incentives provided on agriculture inputs like reducing GST on fertiliser have played an important role in crop output enhancement. All the major crops like wheat, maize, rice and sugarcane have shown an increase in production. Cotton production has remained low but is bigger than last year’s yield.

However, the source said that the depressed commodity prices continue to affect the farming community. The growers of wheat, rice and sugarcane got less return on their produce. If the government had been able to export the surplus commodities, it would have further improved the agriculture output.

The wheat production is estimated to be over 26 million tonnes. The government is procuring 6.9 million tonnes from the farmers to stabilise the prices of the commodity. The production of sugar has massively increased over the last two years from 5 million tonnes to 7 million tonnes. The major reason attributed is the best cash payment for the produce as compared to other agriculture products.

The source said that the manufacturing sector has shown good growth.

The availability of electricity and gas have led to the increase in the output of manufacturing sector. During last year, the government announced zero load shedding of electricity for the industrial sector. The industry was also allowed to purchase imported LNG for power generation. This helped major units to revive their industrial output.

The government also provided tax incentives to five major export-oriented sectors. The objectives were to lower their production costs due to high energy tariff to keep them competitive in the international markets.

The services sector, the source said had shown good results like the past years. The major players in the sector financial services and technology also showed good progress this year.

BoI to hold roadshows for increasing FDI ISLAMABAD APP

The Board of Investment (BoI) has said that the government would hold roadshows in China, Singapore and the Gulf countries in the next few months, aiming at increasing Pakistan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Under its new work plan, BoI would hold roadshows in collaboration with chambers of industries and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) for focusing on textile and steel industry, said a Spokesman of the Board of Investment (BoI) Shah Jahan while talking to APP here. He said that through proactive approach, we have mainly focussed on achieving the FDI target US$15 billion by 2025. He said that Pakistan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had increased by 12.4 per cent in third quarter of the current fiscal year, from 1st January till the end of March. The Board of Investment (BoI) said that huge foreign investment in the automobile sector would be expected from different groups because of the prudent policies of the government. The spokesman said that foreign investors were keen to invest in various sectors of Pakistan. He said the government is committed to providing ease of doing business for foreign investors and also global competitiveness for Multinational Companies (MNCs). He said that BoI had digitalised the visa process for foreign investors and now the investors could apply online for a business visa from anywhere and they would be responded to in a very short period of time. The duration of the visa process had now been reduced from six months to weeks, subject to the verification from different agencies, he added. Spokesman of BoI said, “We have also transformed the liaison and branch office from manual to online to facilitate the investors”. He informed that Pakistan was in the top 10 countries in the world for improving in investment laws and providing facilities for doing business to foreign investors. Shah Jhan said that seven Special Economic Zone (SEZ) cells had been approved for facilitating the investors through one window operation to provide them facility at one place. The spokesman said that SEZs investors would get the facility for plant and machinery import without customs duty in all the four provinces of the country. Three each SEZs would be established in Punjab and Sindh and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he added.

Replying to a question, he said that nine more industrial zones had been approved for high tech industry to enhance the export and employment opportunities in the country.

He said the SEZ Cell had been furnished on the contemporary corporate style and would be equipped with state-of-art facilities.

CHINIOT: Farmers busy in thrashing wheat crop in their field. ONLINE

Ahsan Iqbal urges huawei to open r&D centre in pakistan BEIJING AGENCIES

Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal urged the Chinese leading IT manufacturer Huawei to open a research and development (R&D) centre to support Pakistan in its information and knowledge revolution. He expressed these views while inaugurating Huawei Technologies Pakistan 3rd Seeds for the future program in Beijing on Sunday.

Students from all over Pakistan are participating in the program aimed at enhancing IT education in the country. The minister said that CPEC does not focus on infrastructure and railway but it also includes a strong data optical fibre project so Pakistan can take advantage of the technological revolution. "Now we are in the information and knowledge revolution era which is driven by the digital world and success now depends on the brain power and data backbone," minister remarked. He said that Pakistan is now investing on knowledge capital and the country is blessed with talented youth. He said that Higher Education Commission's budget has been doubled in the last 3 years. "This year, we will increase it further and 3 centres of excellence in various areas including robotic would be established," he added.

Minister further said that the cyber world has created new opportunities, so Pakistani students should invest time in technology.

"Develop skills as employers today and focus on the ability to learn new knowledge," he said, adding that students should plant seeds of inquiry as well as observation and come up with new ideas, translating it into salable products.

Polish company poised to take oil, gas exploration to Rs100b per year ISLAMABAD APP

PGNiG, a Polish oil and gas company, operating in Pakistan since 1997, has planned to step up its exploration and production activities and take the business volume to Rs 100 billion per year.

“We have the intention to take the company’s production to $100 million per year in the coming days,” President PGNiG Management Board Piotr Wozniak said while addressing a ceremony held here to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. Polish ambassador to Pakistan Piotr Opalinski, Managing Director PGNiG Pakistan Branch Andrzej Kaczorowski and General Manager (Commercial) Shahid Karim were also present on the occasion.

The PGNiG President said the company would drill 14 more oil and gas exploration wells in hydrocarbon potential areas and play an important role in meeting Pakistan’s growing energy needs. Before acquiring the current Kirthar Concession (Block 2667-7), he said, the company operated and carried out exploration activities in four other Concessions namely Khanpur West, Sabzal, Mekhtar and Sabzal South.

He said the Rehman Gas Field was discovered in the Kirthar Block in 2009

which started production in 2013. “This was the first-ever gas produced from a “Tight Gas” reservoir in Pakistan,” he claimed. In 2015, Piotr said, the company discovered the Rizq Gas field which was the second Tight Gas Field in Kirthar Block and commissioned the Rehman Production Facility with a capacity of processing up to 40 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMS CFD) gas.

“PGNiG more than doubled its production from the Kirthar block when gas from Rizq Gas Field was added to the national grid in November 2016, which helped to reduce the increasing demand-supply gas for natural gas in the country,” he remarked. Piotr said two more development wells have been planned at the already mature Rehman Gas field, an appraisal well on the new Rizq gas Field and an exploratory well to test a potential prospect on the northern side of the block.

He said the company has so far invested more than 125 million dollars in Pakistan, adding that current daily production from the Rehman field stood at 24 MMS CFD from four producing wells, which would be increased up to 90 MMS CFD gas with full field development. He said the increase in production requires advanced technologies

(horizontal wells, multiple transverse hydraulic fracturing, etc) for which an investment of more than $ 300 million would be made.

“PGNiG is in active pursuit to increase its footprint in the Pakistani’s upstream oil and gas sector and is also interested in developing the shale gas deposits here,” he remarked.

Polish ambassador Piotr Opalinski also spoke on the occasion and highlighted different aspects of bilateral relations between Poland and Pakistan.

The envoy astonished the partici-

pants when he started speaking in the Urdu language after delivering some introductory remarks in English.

He said Poland was keen to have good relations with Pakistan in a diverse field and expressed confidence that the bilateral ties would further strengthen in the coming days.

The ambassador said the environment was conducive for foreign investment in Pakistan and expressed the firm resolve that Poland would accelerate oil and gas exploration activities to meet energy need of Pakistan.

Monday, 15 May, 2017

ADB reADy to trANsForm AsIA-pACIFIC INto oAsIs oF sustAINABle DevelopmeNt ISLAMABAD

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APP

SIAN Development Bank is working on a comprehensive roadmap for the transformation of Asia and the Pacific into an oasis of inclusive and sustainable growth through underpinning power, transport, telecommunications and water with a focus on infrastructure development, needing $ 1.7 trillion per annum.

The bank will continue streamlining its operations ensuring development solutions are delivered more quickly with efficacy while enhancing finance for this part of the planet, it was stated during the briefings held on the eve of 50th Annual Meeting of ADB Board of Governors in Yokohama, concluded last week.

The event, comprising back to back briefings, seminars and discussions besides business sessions of BOD Annual Meeting from May 4 to 7, was attended by over 4000 delegates including media persons from across the world.

Finance and development ministers, central bank governors, senior government officials, business executives, media persons, academics, representatives from civil society, development organisations and youth from the Asia and Pacific were present on occasion, ensuring effective participation through their brain-storming interactions and perennial contribution to the discussions and discourses from dawn to dusk during four-day long activities.

Amidst pleasant and hospitable ambience, the golden jubilee events were organised at the imposing National Convention Hall and Conference Centre flanked by massive high-rise buildings, portraying fascinating landscape of architecture and state of the art technology.

The annual meeting and side events noted with satisfaction rather jubilation unsung achievements and success stories scripted by the Asian Development Bank during the last 50 years by lending loan,

grants and cofinancing for the economic development and social emancipation of member countries.

Identifying major Bank’s future priorities, mainly infrastructure development, President ADB, Takehito Nakao said the region will require $1.7 trillion per year in investments in power, transport, telecommunications, and water through 2030.

In his speech at the Annual Meeting of ADB Board of Governors Takehito Nakao said: “this is more than double our previous estimate, reflecting additional investments, needed to support continued growth and address climate change.”

Listing five chief priorities of the Bank, the ADP President said supporting infrastructure development will remain a priority. In this regard “we will incorporate more advanced technologies. Our developing member countries care about maintenance costs and the resilience of infrastructure,” he added.

The President informed the gathering that the Bank approved $17.5 billion in

CORPORATE CORNER ‘private sector Credit & Growth in tax revenue’ seminar held

financing in 2016 from its own resources and attracted $13.9 billion in cofinancing, both new highs. ADB also disbursed $12.48 billion, another record besides surpassing its target for public-private partnerships, supporting 58 transactions during the 2013-2016 period and outperforming the target of 50.

Scaling new heights, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cofinancing operations touched dollar 14 billion mark, reflecting the importance of partnerships in meeting Asian and the Pacific’s persistently growing development needs.

The bank leveraged dollar 14.06 billion in cofinancing last year, boosting its annual operations to dollars 31.7 billionthe highest even in ADB’s 50-year history, according to a new Partnering for Development Donor Report 2016.

Addressing the opening session of Annual Meeting, the Crown Prince Naruhito lauded the role of the Bank in working closely with its member countries and across a range of areas with development assistance.

BUSINESS 17

Even with such progress, he noted that much more still needs to be done, specifically in the area of poverty reduction. “There are, however, still over 300 million people living in poverty in this region, and poverty reduction through sustainable and inclusive growth remains an important agenda to us,” he said.

Leading a high-level delegation, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar attended the four-day long Annual Meeting of Board of Governors, Asian Development Bank.

With his hands full during a stay in Yokohama, the Finance Minister held oneon-one meetings with deputy Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso, heads of AIIB, JICA and other bilateral and multilateral donor institutions besides attending an unofficial meeting of Saarc finance ministers on the fringes of Annual Meeting.

He also held meetings with the finance ministers of Germany, Afghanistan and Maldives on the occasion. The Minister also participated in the debate on ‘Trade’ organised by CNBC along with President ADB, Takehito Nakao, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Stressing upon connectivity during the debate, the minister exuded unequivocal support to the One Belt One Road (OBOR), a giant initiative by China in response to reservations voiced by the Indian finance minister in this regard.

In his capacity as governor at ADB, the finance minister addressed the business session of the Board of Governors at the National Convention Hall and stated, having achieved macroeconomic stability, Pakistan was now focused on realising higher sustainable growth as part of the economic turnaround.

The minister further said the developing world had made remarkable progress in lowering poverty in last two decades.

Around 125,000 people were coming out of poverty on daily basis globally and Asia was leading that endeavour of reduc-

FPCCI urge government to focus on agricultural development ISLAMABAD ONLINE

LAHORE: The CEO of Allied Bank Limited, Mr Tahir Hassan Qureshi hosted a Seminar on “Private Sector Credit & Growth in Tax Revenue" at Faletti's Hotel Lahore, Chief Guest, Chairman of FBR, Mr Muhammad Irshad addressed the audience on Private Sector Credit and Growth in Tax Revenue. Other members present at the seminar were the CFO of Allied Bank Limited, Mr Farhan Ullah Khan, Member Reform Commission FBR, Mr Masoud Ali Naqvi and Leading Tax Consultants, Dr Ikram Ul Haq and Ms Huzaima Bukhari The discussion was very fruitful and will most likely lead to great things. PRESS RELEASE

ing poverty through its phenomenal economic growth, he added.

Pakistan’s Vision 2025, which prioritised investments in human capital and social services, recognised the importance of inclusive and balanced growth and shared prosperity aiming at redressing geographical and social inequality, he added.

Finance Minister Ishaq during his meeting Japanese deputy Prime Minister urged the Japanese corporations to reap the advantage of economic opportunities in Pakistan.

The Japanese firms already working in Pakistan were enjoying the tremendous beneficial run, he added. Apprising Taro Aso of investment potential in Pakistan, Dar also mentioned the recent report of PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers-one of the world’s largest professional services firms), which said Pakistan would be a member of G20 by 2030.

The Japanese Deputy Prime Minister appreciated the economic performance of the ruling democratic dispensation in Pakistan, saying the country was well poised for Japanese and international investors as an attractive investment destination especially in the textile sector.

Meanwhile, the minister told the media that Pakistan was eyeing on the financial allocation of $ 2.5 billion as infrastructural financing from Asian Development Bank which would help country’s economy to post 7 per cent growth rate by 2019.

During his meeting with ADB President, the minister said the Bank was requested to consider the financial allocation of $ 2.5 billion under infrastructural financing in view of the surging requirements of this sector.

In his address at the second business session of Annual Meeting, Ishaq Dar stated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is expected to be above five per cent during the current fiscal year with inflation slashed to single digit around 4 per cent; the lowest in 47 years.

The government, as a result of these efforts, successfully brought down the fiscal deficit from 8.2pc in FY 2013 to 4.6pc in FY 2016 and projected at 4.1pc for FY 2017, he added. “Our focus, after achieving macroeconomic stability is now on realising sustainable, inclusive and higher growth and country’s target is to reach to GDP growth rate of 7pc by FY 2019,” he added.

The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Sunday asked the government to pay special attention to the agricultural development in the upcoming budget.

Pakistan’s economy is based on agriculture and this sector is providing the majority of jobs but its share in the GDP is just 22 per cent which should be enhanced, said Chairman of FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries Atif Ikram Sheikh. He said that this sector deserves special attention as eighty per cent of the national exports are linked to this critical sector. Development of agriculture sector is linked to the prosperity of the farming communities which should not be ignored, he added.

Atif Ikram Sheikh said that 69 per cent of cultivable land is located in Punjab where 80 per cent cotton, 63 per cent sugar cane,

surplus wheat, rice and other products are produced but it is amazing that the same province gets over 90 per cent share in agricultural loans. He noted that provinces of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK get less than ten per cent share in the loans, which is a sheer discrimination.

The business leader said that despite farmers’ package and other initiatives the agricultural production and quality of life of farmers could not be improved, therefore, the whole matter should be revisited. The exports of rice and textiles continue to fall while cotton crop has failed, necessitating imports.

He noted that urea companies’ keeps local prices more than international market discouraging farmers, loans are uncommon; the market is flooded with substandard seeds and fake pesticides, while landed elite and loan sharks have hijacked the system.

Agri development is linked to reduced input prices, quality seed and pesticides, and loans for which we lack a transparent and effective system, putting growers at the mercy of loan sharks, he said. These issues will keep the agricultural sector from development unless addressed properly, he warned.

Self-sufficiency in edible oil can help country save $2.5 billion annually ISLAMABAD PPI

Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Sunday asked the government to promote edible oil sector to save import bill and empower farmers who are at the mercy of middlemen.

Self-sufficiency in the edible oil production can help the country save 2.5 billion dollars annually, which need some steps, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt in a statement.

Until 1960, Pakistan was self-reliant in edible oil production after which imports

started due to the exploitation of farmers and lack of interest on the part of authorities, he added. Butt said that farmers of different oilseeds were at the mercy of middlemen which was the biggest reason behind reduced production and increasing imports.

The government should take steps to increase the size of land under cultivation, announce support price and incentives, introduce latest varieties of seed and give preference to the coastal belt of Sindh and Balochistan for cultivation.

He called for enhanced research and development, subsidy on inputs, interest-free loans, a gradual increase in duty on imports,

employing better technology, improving the capacity of grinding mills and empowering concerned institutions. Butt said that primitive grinding process resulted in wastage of two lac tonnes of cotton seed while 30,000 tonnes could be extracted from rice bran which is yet to gain proper attention.

Pakistan’s per capita consumption stands at 12-13 litres, which is increasing by three per cent annually which will increase import bill. Focus on local production, establishing new edible oil refineries and better functioning of the oilseed extraction industry can help improve the situation, create a million jobs and improve forex reserves.

18 SPORTS

Monday, 15 May, 2017

NadaL HEadS tO Madrid fiNaL aftEr bEatiNg djOkOviC Madrid

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Agencies

AFAEL Nadal broke a sevenmatch losing streak against Novak Djokovic in masterful fashion as he sailed into the final of the Madrid Masters 62, 6-4 on Saturday.

The Spaniard looks in portentous form with just over two weeks to go till the start of the French Open as he stretched his perfect record on clay this season to 14-0 with a dominant display.

Nadal will look to cap his fifth title in Madrid in Sunday’s final against Austrian Dominic Thiem in a repeat of the Barcelona Open final Nadal won 6-4, 61 two weeks ago. "It is a great result. To win against Novak by that score you have to be playing very well, otherwise it’s impossible," said Nadal. An open era record 50th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic served to highlight the Serb’s dramatic dip in form since they last met in Rome almost exactly a year ago.

"It was an important match for me. I lost a lot of times in a row. To break that means there are always nerves," added Nadal. "The circumstances nowadays are completely different compared to those

seven matches that occurred before.

"I think that the last two years perhaps haven’t been my best two years. For Novak, they were really good years."

Djokovic has won his last 15 sets stretching back to the 2014 French Open final against the 14-time Grand Slam champion. However, that run was emphatically ended as Nadal, willed on by a fervent home support including Cristiano Ronaldo in the VIP boxes, made the perfect start by breaking the Djokovic serve to love. "Rafa was obviously a better player today," said Djokovic.

"He deserved to win. He controlled

the game from beginning to the end."

Indeed Djokovic could only muster four points in the opening four games as Nadal raced into a 4-0 lead.

He did recover some pride by seeing off more pressure on his serve to at least hold twice and force Nadal to serve out to take the first set in 40 minutes.

"It wasn’t a very high quality of tennis from my side. I made a lot of unforced errors," added Djokovic.

"His quality was very high. He managed to do whatever he wanted really, especially in the first set."

Djokovic played his first tournament

in Madrid since parting company with his long-term coach Marian Vajda.

And on this evidence he needs new guidance as quickly as possible if he is to defend his French Open title as two more forehand errors gifted Nadal another break at the start of the second set.

Djokovic showed his resistence of old to break back when Nadal netted after being stretched out on the backhand side to level at 2-2.

But his fight back was temporary as he handed the break straight back as he fired wide with a backhand after a brilliant Nadal passing shot had set up a fresh break point opportunity.

Again Djokovic’s level improved as the set wore on to make Nadal serve it out. And Nadal was forced to save a break point in the final game with a drop shot Djokovic couldn’t get back over the net. "I am humble enough to come here and say that I was nervous," said Nadal.

"Especially to go from 40-15, to break point for him, that was a very hard moment for me." Djokovic, though, fired long with a volley on Nadal’s third match point sparking wild scenes of celebration. Victory also ensured Nadal closes the gap on Djokovic’s lead in their head-to-head record to 26-24.

England will ‘hit lights out’ of opponents in Champions Trophy Halep beats Mladenovic to retain Madrid Open title Madrid Agencies

Romanian third seed Simona Halep retained her Madrid Open title with a three-set win over France's Kristina Mladenovic in a gripping final. Halep, playing her third Madrid final in four years, held off a Mladenovic fightback to win 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-2. Mladenovic, seeded 17th, forced a deciding set despite appearing to struggle with a back injury.

Halep's frustration was clear when she kicked her racquet into the path of a ball boy and received a code violation.

However, the world number eight came through to clinch victory after two hours and 43 minutes. She has now won 22 of her last 25 matches on clay and will head into the French Open later this month as one of the favourites for the title. "I feel great that I could defend this title," said Halep, who will move up to fourth in the new rankings. "It means a lot because it's very big and gives me confidence for the bigger tournaments. "I feel that actually I have the game to win big tournaments. I have just to be consistent mentally. I started pretty bad this year. Now I'm back with the confidence."

Yafai retains title by beating Muranaka on points SPOrTS dESK Britain's Kal Yafai managed to retaine his WBA super-flyweight title with a points win over a game against Suguru Muranaka. In front of a home crowd in Birmingham, 27-year-old Yafai won 118108, 119-107 and 119-107 on the judges' scorecards. Yafai knocked down the 31year-old Japanese in the second round, but was Was given a tough time by his opponent as he got caught several times himself on the way to recording his 22nd unbeaten fight.

SPOrTS dESK Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta is set to leave the club at the end of the season after playing at the club for nine years. The 32-year-old Argentine, who shifted from Espanyol, is out of contract this summer. City's third longest-serving player after Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany, he has played more than 322 games for the club, winning two league titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups.

However, he has started only 22 games in all competitions this season. His final home appearance could come in Tuesday's match against West Brom, with City's last game of the season at Watford next Sunday. Talking to media this week, Zabaleta said: "As players, we cannot play for 20 years. "I'm not getting any younger and we see new players coming in for the future, that is normal in football, and you have to accept, especially for this club which is so demanding in terms of trying to win trophies." Yaya Toure, Jesus Navas, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Willy Caballero are among the other City players out of contract in the summer.

Sunderland will not return to EPL without 'major surgery'

SPOrTS dESK Englands all-rounder Moeen Ali believes that England's fearless approach to their limited-overs cricket makes them a dangerous team in the Champions Trophy.

Trevor Bayliss' side go into the tournament, which starts on 1 June, as favourites in a group together with Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh.

"The mindset of the players has changed," Moeen said, referring to the influence of captain Eoin Morgan.

"He wants us to play without fear and to hit the lights out.

Since exiting the 2015 World Cup at the group stages, Morgan has led the team to seven wins in nine. They have defeated New Zealand, Pakistan (twice), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies and most recently Ireland. They only lost to Australia and South Africa by the odd game in five.

Much of the credit is given to Morgan and his side's switch from a conservative to an ultra-attacking style of play - England have posted eight scores of 350-plus since 2015 having done so just twice in history before that period.

Zabaleta to leave Man City after nine years

SPOrTS dESK

Moeen, who has scored 1061 runs and taken 44 wickets in his 52 one-day internationals, said: "Morgan is a very calm person which comes across on TV too. "He hardly panics and is very good at controlling his emotions. He is very relaxed which is good from a player's point of view." Batsman Joe Root has been announced as England Test captain in February to replace Alastair Cook, who gave up the responsibility after a record 59 Tests.

But Moeen believes Yorkshireman Root, who takes charge for the

first time in the summer series against South Africa, will make his own mark on the team. "Joe is quite a cheeky guy and he will bring that personality into his captaincy. He will take more risks as captain than Cook and bring his own style into the side," Moeen, 29, said at a 'NatWest - Cricket Has No Boundaries' event.

"He has been the same since becoming England Test captain. I don't think he is going to change too much, he will be the same Joe Root as he has been for the last three years."

Former England captain Alan Shearer has called the current team as “disgraceful” and said that they need to make major changes if they are to play in the Premier League again. The Black Cats, who were demoted with four games to go, were beaten 2-0 at home by Swansea on Saturday. Former Newcastle striker Shearer termed the hosts' display as "pathetic" and fans should demand a refund. "There is no way that team will get back up into the Premier League," he said on the BBC's Match of the Day. Manager David Moyes has said he will remain in charge despite relegation, but striker Jermain Defoe wants to quit. Shearer said Moyes and club owner Ellis Short had been "deservedly" criticised this season, but the players - booed off at half-time and full-time against Swansea - should also be blamed. "In the first half they were absolutely disgraceful - there was a complete lack of effort," said Shearer.

Quinton de Kock wins South Africa’s most prestigious award SPOrTS dESK South African Cricketer Quinton de Kock has been named South African Cricketer of the Year along with four other titles at the annual awards.

De Kock's winnings were one short of the six prizes handed to Kagiso Rabada last year. Along with being named Test Cricketer and ODI Cricketer of the Year, de Kock also won the Players' Player of the Year and the Fan's Player of the Year. Imran Tahir was named the T20I Cricketer of the Year.

Sune Luus was named Women's Cricketer of the Year and their Players' Player award was won by Lizelle Lee. The international newcomer awards went to Keshav Maharaj and Laura Wolvaardt.

De Kock's current years performance includes a career-best ODI score of 178 against Australia as well as his Test century in Hobart which helped clinch the series victory last November. Tahir's

T20 feats included a career-best 5 for 24 against New Zealand at Eden Park.

Temba Bavuma and Rabada earned acknowledgment for individual moments of brilliance, which both came in the same match: Bavuma for his run out of David Warner at Perth and Rabada for the delivery which bowled Usman Khawaja. CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said "What a year Quinton has had," Haroon Lorgat, he has shown the maturity of a seasoned campaigner with performances that have really counted when needed most, often blowing away the opposition in the process.

"It is encouraging that for the second time in a row our premier award has gone to one of our young stars who is shining with distinction alongside our world-class senior players.

"The way the Proteas have come through to rise up the ICC rankings, in meteoric fashion, has been quite brilliant and we now have a real team in the true sense of the word.

CMYK

"Our domestic cricket remains blessed with great talents. Congratulations to all the winners in those categories as well. "I warmly congratulate all our winners, both at international and domestic level, and I also wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge our

umpires, grounds staff and scorers, too."

On the domestic scene, Duanne Olivier, who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka, was named Sunfoil Series Cricketer of the Year, Henry Davids took the one-day award and Farhaan Behardien the T20 honour.

SPORTS 19

Monday, 15 May, 2017

CONtE SaYS tEaM CaN iMPrOvE aNd HE CaN kEEP bESt PLaYErS LONdON

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Agencies

HELSEA can keep improving after winning the Premier League title and will try to retain their best players, says manager Antonio Conte.

The Blues became champions of England for a sixth time with a 10 victory over West Brom on Friday.

Conte, 47, has been linked with the vacant Inter Milan job, while there is speculation over the future of striker Diego Costa and playmaker Eden Hazard. "If you can continue with these players you can improve a lot," said Conte. The former Juventus and Italy boss led Chelsea, who finished 10th last year, to the title in his first season in charge.

Reports in Italy suggest Chinese-backed Serie A club Inter are prepared to offer Conte £250,000 a week if he leaves Stamford Bridge

one season into a three-year deal.

The Italian said he and his squad had only "started to do our work". "Now they know my idea, I know them, the characteristics of my players, and we can improve," he added. Belgium international Hazard, 26, has been linked with Real Madrid, while Spain forward Costa, 28, was left out of a game at

MELBOUrNE Agencies

Australia´s cricket board has warned players will not be given alternative contracts if they fail to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement in an escalation of a protracted and increasingly bitter pay dispute.

Australia´s professional cricketers rejected a pay offer from the sport´s governing body last month, saying the proposal was "a win for cricket administrators but a loss for cricket".

CA released their proposal in March, offering large salary increases, particularly for women, but breaking with the 20-year model of a fixed percentage of revenue from the game going to the cricketers. Sutherland told the players´ association that they needed to meet terms with CA or players would go unpaid when the existing collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30."In the absence of the ACA (Australian Cricketers´ Association) negotiating a new MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), players with contracts expiring in 2016-17 will not have contracts for 2017-18," Sutherland said in a letter received by the ACA on Friday. "To be very clear, in the absence of a new MOU, CA is not contemplating alternative contracting arrangements to pay players beyond 30 June if their contracts have expired."

Cricket Australia declined to comment further when contacted by Reuters. The ACA said in response that the "threats... were a window into the nature of CA´s behaviour in these negotiations so far." "There is incoherence and aggression in what we have experienced at the negotiating table from CA," ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said in a statement on Sunday.

"This has further been demonstrated this week with some top players being offered multi-

Leicester in January after a disagreement with a fitness coach, amid widespread reports of interest from Chinese clubs. "The club want to fight to win every competition we have the same ambition," said Conte. "For this reason we try to keep the best players."

Chelsea have two Premier League fixtures remaining - against

Watford and Sunderland - before facing Arsenal in the FA Cup final at Wembley on 27 May. Guus Hiddink took interim charge of Chelsea last season, with the club 16th in the Premier League and one point above the relegation zone following the departure of manger Jose Mourinho.

The Dutchman, who led the side to a 10th-place finish, met with Conte at the end of that season.

Hiddink described the Italian as "a man who had already achieved a lot before he came to Chelsea" and that winning the title was a "confirmation of his attitude, professionalism and energy". On speculation linking Conte with a move to Italy, Hiddink told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek: "There are always rumours coming up but I think the club is very stable. It is a huge club to work for, perfect circumstances and very ambitious people everywhere.

"It's more rumour than reality."

Australia’s cricket board threatens players with unemployment

years deals one day only to now be threatened the next." The ACA has asked CA to go into mediation talks to try to end a dispute that has rumbled for over six months.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc hinted at a players´ strike for the upcoming Ashes, the lucrative five-test series against England which starts in November. "Makes for an interesting men´s and women´s ashes," Starc wrote on Twitter.

Former test all-rounder Shane Watson responded: "Well said @mstarc56 (Starc). It will

be an interesting game of cricket without any players. "The current MoU will expire midway through the women´s World Cup which starts in England and Wales on June 24. The Australian women´s World Cup squad will be paid in advance of the June/July World Cup and will be employed until the end of the event," Sutherland said. Former Australia captain Mark Taylor, a CA board member, said the ACA were not prepared to negotiate and that players had threatened to strike as far back as January.

bravO HOPES tO bE fit iN tiME fOr CPL TriNidad Agencies

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo wants return to competitive cricket in the 2017 Caribbean Premier League in August, having spent the first half of the year away from the game due to a hamstring injury. Bravo had suffered the injury during his period with Melbourne Renegades in December last year and had to undergo surgery. He had to miss the Pakistan Super League in February, then joined his IPL franchise Gujarat Lions in India but did not play as his rehabilitation continued. Bravo said he would play a friendly match for the opening of the Brian Lara Cricket Academy this month, but wanted to ensure he did not rush into full-time cricket without regaining full fitness. He also repeated that he remained available for selection in the West Indies T20 squad, the only format which he plays for the team. "My next competitive cricket will be for CPL. I am playing the game for Brian Lara on Friday," he told line&length, a Barbados-based network. "I'll bowl two overs, maybe, just to see how it is getting back.

International cricket is different. I want to give myself the best chance of coming back and playing the way I usually play, which is give 100% and do all the crazy things I do. I am not going to rush into anything. My target is to keep training and get my entire body in shape. "I have improved a lot. I am closer to playing now than I was three-four months ago. The surgery itself was successful. It's just a matter of continuing my rehab programme. I don't want to rush things, it's a very severe injury. I want to make sure I am feeling good and comfortable in my mind. "I am available for T20 selection, it's the only format in which I am available for selection. So if selected for T20s, I will play. I will always have the passion and the drive to play for West Indies. I am only limited in being able to play one format and those are things that I don't have control over."

He played an ODI for West Indies in October 2014 in which Bravo was almost certain that he would not play the format again unless the selection criteria for the West Indies team changes. Currently, players need to participate in the Regional Super50 List A competition to be available for selection in the ODI side. "I am not going to give up the contracts that I have around the world to come back and play in the domestic tournament," he said. "I did it already and I got burned. I am not going to allow the same mistake to happen again. I gave up half of my contract in BBL in 2015 to come and play and make myself eligible for selection for the World Cup and the Sri Lanka tour, but I was not selected. "Playing in those tournaments doesn't guarantee you selection. It makes you available but it doesn't guarantee selection. I am past the stage where I will give up certain amount of money on my contract and make myself available without any guarantee. If the structure changes or something different happens, then yes."

Battling Ireland lose by 51 runs to New Zealand in ODI SPOrTS dESK Despite a career best one day international score of 109 by Niall O’Brien, Ireland fell to a 51 run defeat to New Zealand in an entertaining Walton Tri-Nation series game at Malahide.

O’Brien did his best to hold up his end, but he ran out of partners throughout his innings and Ireland, who were 112 for 2 at one stage, were all out eventually 238 in the 46th over with O’Brien’s magnificent innings not enough to help Ireland over the line.

Earlier in the day Ireland won the toss and decided to field, giving a debut to 30year-old Simi Singh, who was born in India, but who recently became an Irish citizen. Luke Ronchi and captain Tom Latham put on a quick 50 in the first few overs before Gary Wilson took a steepling catch off Barry McCarthy’s bowling to get rid of Ronchi for 37 in the eighth over.

Latham quickly followed Ronchi to the pavilion when McCarthy had the New Zealand captain caught behind by O’Brien for 15, and having being in control early on the Black Caps were suddenly 55 for two. However, a third-wicket stand of 84 between George Worker and the experienced Ross Taylor took the vis-

itors into three figures.

Taylor completed his half-century before he fell for 52 in the 30th over, caught at backward point by William Porterfield off the bowling of Kevin O’Brien to give the all-rounder his 250th Irish International wicket. New Zealand found runs hard to come by in the middle overs on a slow pitch, but Worker made his 50 before he was caught on the boundary with his side on 194 by Singh to give Tim Murtagh his first scalp in the 39th over.

Broom accelerated the New Zealand innings in the latter overs, making his 50 off 42 deliveries before there was a short interruption due to a sharp shower.

The players were quickly back on the ground, though, but New Zealand efforts to post an even more imposing total, in only the third One Day International between the sides, were thwarted by three late wickets as Broom, Neesham and Chris Munro all fell. In reply Ireland lost opener and captain William Porterfield caught at second slip in the 4th over for 12 with the score on 19 and Paul Stirling quickly followed making 14 before he became Scott Kuggelejin’s second wicket, bowled in the 6th over Niall O’Brien and Andy Balbirnie began the Irish rebuild at that point and they moved the score onto 112 by the

24th over, in between an hour’s break for rain before Balbirnie was caught and bowled by Mitchell Santner for 38 breaking a promising partnership.

Kevin O’Brien made one before he was trapped LBW by spinner IshSodhl as the Irish innings began to wobble.

Niall O’Brien and Gary Wilson

CMYK

though put on a 65 run fifth wicket partnership before Wilson became Kuggelejin’s third victim when he fell for 30 in the 36th over.

Simi Singh (9) George Dockrell (1) went before O’Briens fine innings came to an end in the 45th over when he was stumped off the bowling of Mitchell San-

ter who took five for 50 in his 10 overs With O’Brien’s departure, Ireland’s innings faded away with Barry McCarthy (6) Tim Murtagh (2 not out) and Peter Chase (1) all failing to hang around late in the innings. Irelands next game is in the series is against Bangladesh, also in Malahide, next Friday.

SPORTS Monday, 15 May, 2017

‘Defeat in seconD test match comes back to haunt Pakistan’

f

ORMER cricketer Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu said Pakistan missed a golden chance to win the series when they lost the second Test match against West Indies at Bridgetown.

Pakistan, in the third Test match, after scoring 376 runs in the first innings, are trying to win the three-match series in order to give retiring captain Misbahul Haq and veteran batsman Younus Khan a rousing farewell.

“We missed a golden chance to bag the series when we lost the second Test match against West Indies,” said Sallu.

“Now we are in a very weak position to win the third Test as we couldn’t enforce follow-on on the hosts. If we could’ve gotten them out for a low score and enforced follow-on, we could have made a match out of it.”

Sallu further said that, even after batting slow on the first two days of the match, we had to plan to dismiss them but that didn’t happen.

“The most important thing is that we couldn’t get them out as quickly as we would have liked,” said Sallu. “This has tilted the match towards a draw and

there is rain forecasted for the coming days too, so we might go home with a levelled series.”

Pakistan opener Azhar Ali scored 127 off 334 balls in the first innings for Pakistan to help the visitors put 376 runs on the board and Sallu thinks the pitch and the outfield are to be blamed.

“You are able to score quickly when the pitch and the outfield are quick,” he explained. “However, the pitch at Roseau is slow and the outfield

is not really helping the batsmen, so Azhar’s innings cannot be really scrutinised.”

He then praised the Azhar for scoring two centuries in the Test series against West Indies. “Azhar is a technically sound batsman. He is ideal for our Test team. We need to give him confidence so that he can hold the reins of the middle-order after Misbah and Younus retire.”

Pakistan are left with only two days

in the Test where they have to get Windies out and then put up a target for the hosts to chase, but the 70-year-old thinks Pakistan still have a chance.

“If weather permits and there is no rain, then Pakistan should try to get West Indies out as early as possible and then put up a substantial target for the hosts to chase on the fifth day,” he said.

“We were bowled out for 81 on a fifth day pitch; we can surely do the same with West Indies.”

“Misbah played a discrete role of picking up the team when we were surrounded by the [2010] spot-fixing scandal. His role has been great is taking Pakistan to the top of the Test rankings,” he said. “Meanwhile, Younus has been a world-class player for Pakistan.

He is an equally great human being too.

I believe he is still the fittest player in the national team which is evident from the reflexes he has shown while taking catches at slips or anywhere he has been asked to field.”

He concluded: “Whenever cricket’s history will be written, Misbah and Younus’ name will be written in golden words.” SPORTS DESk

Younis, Misbah walk back to pavilion one last time Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and legendary batsman Younus Khan were given guards of honour by team-mates and opponent team as they played their final Test innings.

With Pakistan in their second innings on the one-day of the third Test against West Indies in Dominica, the old-timer pair came together at 57-3.

But Misbah, 42, was caught for only two before Younus, 39, top-edged a sweep on 35 from the last ball before tea.

Between them, the duo has scored 15,321 runs in 193 Test appearances.

Both received guards of honor after their final innings.

Misbah had announced last month that he would retire from international cricket after this three-Test series in the Caribbean - which is level at the moment shortly after he and Younus were named as two of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the year. Younus, Pakistan's leading Test run-scorer who captained them to World Twenty20 success in England in 2009, revealed his own retirement plans two days later.

The match itself is intriguingly poised going into the final day, with West Indies on 7-1, chasing a victory target of 304 as Pakistan bid to seal a series win in the Caribbean for the first time in their history. SPORTS DESk

shehbaz sharif ProuD of misbah, Younis LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has paid tributes to Test Caption Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan on their invaluable services for cricket. The chief minister lauded the services of Misbah ul Haq for cricket and said that he has leadership abilities in the real sense and his services for Pakistani cricket are highly appreciable. He said that Caption of Pakistani Cricket Team Misbah ul Haq decided for retirement on the peak of his career. Shehbaz Sharif said that Misbah ul Haq is first Pakistani cricketer winning ICC Spirit of Cricket Award and under his captaincy, Pakistan first time achieved top position in test ranking. The chief minister said that Younis Khan has done an excellent job by scoring more than ten thousand runs in his test career and added that he has won laurels for the country by crossing this milestone. Shehbaz Sharif said that Younis Khan also has unique record of maximum catches by Pakistan. Misbah and Younis have always displayed sportsman spirit in the ground and played positive cricket, he added. He said both players are our cricket heroes and their services will be remembered forever. STAFF REPORT

steyn out of england tests Durban AgEnciES

Dale Steyn will miss South Africa's tour of England, which starts next week and ends in August, as he continues to recover from a shoulder surgery. Steyn, who has been out of action since the Perth Test against Australia last November with a broken bone, was due to play in two four-day games for the South Africa A side in the UK, to put himself in line for Test selection. However, considering he is still undergoing rehabilitation, he has opted to withdraw from those matches. "My recovery is going well but it is taking a little longer than I expected it to," Steyn said at the CSA Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday.

"I am able to do a lot of things, like running, hiking and gym work, but bowling is not one of them, and I won't be ready in time." When Steyn was initially diagnosed, it was expected he would need at least six months on the sidelines, which could have put him in contention for the UK tour. Instead, he is now targeting the home series against Bangladesh in September-October to make an international comeback, but understands he will need game time before that if he is to make the squad. "Obviously, one of the reasons for me playing with the A side was so that I could get some match fitness before the Tests. So, before that Bangladesh series, I will need to play a bit," Steyn said. South Africa A will play in a limited-overs tournament against India A and Australia A late in the winter, which could give Steyn his much-needed game time, but he has also not ruled out the possibility of a short county stint in order to get some overs in. "In a way it could be quite funny - South Africa will be playing a Test series in England and maybe at some ground down the road, Dale Steyn will be playing for another team," he joked.

Steyn could not put a timeline on when he will return to bowling but stated that he was not experiencing any pain in the shoulder when "doing normal things." He is on an extensive rehabilitation program which runs five days a week and includes activities to strengthen the smaller muscles around the shoulder joint. His plan is to gradually work his way up to being able to return to bowling. "We have to understand that fast bowling is not something normal people do, so it's going to take time. Normal people do things mostly below the shoulder line; it's unusual to have something above the line except for things like bowling and tennis. I just have to be patient," Steyn said.

Yasir’s brilliant bowling leading Pakistan towards victory rOSEau AgEnciES

On the first three days in Roseau, a total of 15 wickets fell. On the fourth, fourteen batsmen succumbed as the deciding Test between West Indies and Pakistan burst into life. With the hosts needing 304 to win, all three results are just about possible, in the game, and by extension, the series.

The start of the evening saw West Indies strike the perfect notes, Alzarri Joseph getting rid of the last two recognised batsmen, Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq. With Pakistan 90 for 7, the lead just over 200 but well below what would make Misbah-ul-Haq feel comfortable, Jason Holder's men might have sniffed the possibility of a sensational win.

But that was before Mohammad Amir and Yasir Shah put together a gutsy 61-run stand that steered Pakistan out of troubled waters and could well have batted West Indies out of the contest. Yasir continued haunting his opposition as he picked up a wicket off what became the last ball of the day.

Misbah and Younis Khan would be quietly confident that they can retire from Test cricket with the honor spearheading Pakistan to their first series win in the Caribbean. Finishing their careers with scores of 2 and 35 respectively in exchange for that seems like a pretty good trade off. Both men were welcomed back to the pavilion one last time by a set of

grateful team-mates lined up in a guard of honor.

All that emotion had to be kept aside, however, during the last hour and a half of play. Pakistan did so and as a result enjoyed complete domination.

Yasir, who was caught off a no ball, and Amir, who was drawn into a few verbal arguments, swung merrily during the final five overs of the innings to ransack 47 runs. Then came the declaration.

The West Indies openers were left with the unenviable task of batting out the day's last 25 minutes against the new ball. They hung in bravely right till the final over, but Yasir had one final blow to land and Shan Masood helped out by staying low at silly point and diving to his right to pull off a remarkable catch to dismiss Kieron Powell.

The day began with Pakistan scuttling West Indies' last five wickets out within the first hour. Mohammad Abbas was chiefly responsible for the damage, taking his first five-wicket haul to give Pakistan a seemingly impregnable lead of 129. There was still time for Pakistan to bat seven overs before lunch would be taken but they were rather tentative during that period, scoring just eight runs, while losing two wickets.

Azhar Ali slashed a short, wide delivery to point and Babar Azam followed him off the last ball of the session, edging to short leg. The third umpire was called in to check if the ball had carried to the closein fielder and though there were visuals that seemed

to indicate the ball had kissed the ground before going into Shimron Hetmyer's hands, Richard Kettleborough went with the on-field official's soft signal of out.

The second session brought Misbah and Younis - the most prolific batting partnership in Pakistan's Test history - together at the crease for one final time.

It wasn't the fairytale ending - 8 runs off 28 balls and the team was back in trouble again but nothing could divert attention away from Misbah as he walked off the field one last time with bat in hand.

Younis appeared in good form, moving his feet adeptly, rotating the strike without any trouble even on a slow pitch. Aside from that, he ushered his protégé Shan Masood through some tough times early in the innings but after struggling to cope with his weakness outside the off stump, Masood was trapped lbw by Shannon Gabriel for 21 off 68 balls.

That brought Misbah to the crease and there was hope that the pair could combine for one last hurrah, a flourish to remember them by, one for the road, whatever you

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

CMYK

wished to call it. However, while imaginations took off, the run-rate did not.

Misbah probably felt it too, and tried to rectify it the way he knew best. Devendra Bishoo flighted one up to him, and he couldn't resist one final slog sweep over long-on. It was poorly miscued, flying straight up in the air, and Shane Dowrich took a comfortable catch. Pakistan's longest-serving captain's innings was played. Younis fell off the last ball before tea, top-edging a full toss to Kieron Powell at short fine leg, who ran to his left and secured a tumbling, onehanded catch. And so ended a grand era.