E-paper Pakistantoday KHI 19th January, 2012

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Mansoor Ijaz in kinky music video PAGE 03

Rs15.00 Vol ii no 203 22 pages Karachi — edition

Yousaf Raza Gilani says he is a man of crisis PAGE 02

thursday, 19 January, 2012 Safar 24, 1433

ISLAMABAD

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Bill introduced to give legal cover to election of 28 legislators elected in by-polls conducted after passage of 18th Amendment ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

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pakistantoday.com.pk

Govt tables 20th Amendment bill

To give legal cover to the election of 28 legislators of the national and provincial assemblies, who were elected in by-polls held after the passage of the 18th Amendment, the government on Wednesday introduced the 20th Constitutional Amendment bill in the National Assembly. Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah introduced the bill, which proposes amendment in Article 219 of the Constitution. The statement of objects and reasons of the bill says, “In judgement of the Supreme Court dated April 25, 2011 in the constitution petition No 32/2009, a direction was given to the federation for constitution of an election commission in accordance with the amended provisions of the constitution and certain observations were also made in the course of hearing of the petition, particularly with reference to by-elections which had been conducted by the chief election commissioner in the interregnum.

In order to give legal cover it has become necessary to amend the constitution for the said purpose.” Another bill, seeking establishment of a national commission for women moved by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, could not be passed as after opposition from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the speaker as well as members from the treasury benches decided to defer the voting to develop consensus on the piece of legislation.

Barack Obama raises pressure for Syria regime change

After Nawaz, Gilani is second PM summoned on contempt charges

MaSooD RehMan

LL eyes are set on the Supreme Court where Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will appear in person today (Thursday) in a contempt of court case before a seven-member special bench. The court had issued a show-cause notice to the PM asking him to explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against him for not writing a letter to Swiss authorities for reopening corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

A seven-judge special bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed will hear the case. The prime minister will appear along with his senior counsel Aitzaz Ahsan.

“In the circumstances we have been left with no option but to issue show-cause notice under Section 17 of the Ordinance 5 of 2003 read with Article 204 of the constitution to the prime minister as to why he should not be proceeded against for contempt of the court,” the bench had said in its order while issuing contempt notice to Gilani. If dissatisfied with the PM’s explanation, the court may indict him for committing contempt and initiate a trial. However, the prime minister can continue in the office until the case is decided. Section 19 of the contempt law also provides an intra-court appeal before a larger bench of the court which can even suspend the conviction.

However, the law makes it possible for the contemnor to tender an apology at any stage. Gilani is the second prime minister who will appear before the Supreme Court in a contempt case. Earlier, a similar contempt notice was issued to Nawaz Sharif in 1997 for making a speech against the judiciary in parliament. Although Nawaz had appeared before the court and apologised, the SC refused to accept the gesture and indicted him.

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Zardari enjoys immunity: Aitzaz PPP legal ace says he does not agree with PM’s stance on replies filed by COAS, ISI DG in memo case

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt/MonitoRing DeSk

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan on Wednesday said President Asif Zardari enjoyed immunity under Article 248, therefore there was no need to write a letter to the Swiss authorities regarding the opening of cases against the president. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) top legal brain who is set to defend Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in a contempt of court hearing today (Thursday) however told Geo News that he did not agree with the PM’s stance on the replies filed by the army chief and ISI director general in the memo case. Talking to reporters at the Islamabad High Court earlier in the day, Aitzaz said the court had a responsibility not to insist on writing a letter that would eventually be dismissed in Switzerland. “The grounds on which the Swiss authorities will reject the letter will be that the president has immunity in Switzerland too,” he said. He said that President Zardari enjoyed immunity in

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02 News Today’s

thursday, 19 January, 2012

KArAChI

nAtIOnAl

FOreIGn newS

airblue crash: inquiry reports revives compensation issue

age of military coups is over: imran khan

Wikipedia, google protest internet bills

Story on Page 08

Story on Page 05

Story on Page 17

Quick Look

Pak-Iran gas pipeline to complete by 2014: Khar ISLAMABAD app

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has told a foreign media organisation that the gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan would be completed by 2014.

Rejecting the impression that recent US sanctions on Iran had slowed down the pace of work on laying the pipeline, she said the project was being completed speedily. She said the sanctions on Iran were focused on petroleum, and not on natural gas. She added that unilateral sanctions by the United States against Iran would not be productive, and most of them had been ineffective. To a question, the foreign minister said that Pakistan was aware of its international responsibilities.

“We know that the sanctions declared by the UN should be followed by its member nations,” she said. She said that the gas imported from Iran would reduce the current energy crisis in Pakistan.

Under the agreement, Iran would supply more than 700 million cubic feet gas to Pakistan on daily basis through the 2,100 kilometres long pipeline.

ISI DG briefs Abbottabad Commission ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha on Wednesday briefed the probe commission on the event related to the Abbottabad raid by the US. The DG ISI provided the commission with a detailed briefing on the events of May 2 during which al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert operation

by US special forces at a compound in Abbottabad. The commission, which is headed by Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, also held a question-answer session with the ISI DG.

French ambassador calls on COAS Islamabad: French Ambassador to Pakistan Philippe Thiebaud called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at General Headquarters (GHQ) on Wednesday. “The visiting dignitary remained with him for sometime and discussed matters of mutual interest,” an ISPR statement said. Staff RepoRt

Chinese, French envoys meet CJCSC Islamabad: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Khalid Shameem Wynne on Wednesday and discussed matters related to mutual interests. Later, French Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud also called on General Khalid Shameem Wynne. “He remained with the chairman for sometime during which matters related to mutual cooperation came under discussion,” said a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Staff RepoRt

kaRaChi: Labourers sift through wood on Wednesday. Low gas pressure has increased the use of wood for domestic cooking purposes. INP

Gilani says he is a man of crisis ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

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day ahead of his appearance in the Supreme Court on contempt notice, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday called himself a “man of crisis” in context of Pakistani politics.

He was talking to an Indian parliamentary delegation that called on him at the Prime Minister’s House. The delegation is currently on a tour of Pakistan and holding exchange of views with their Pakistani counterparts under the banner of PILDAT. During the meeting, an Indian delegate said that the Indian prime minister had rightly said Yousaf Raza Gilani was a man of peace. The prime minister responded by saying that in context of Pakistani politics, he was “a man of crisis”.

The prime minister said his government was committed to a constructive, sustained and resultoriented process of engagement with India. He said Pakistan wanted a just, peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

“There is also a need by India to ensure full implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty and address concerns relating to that,” he said referring to the dozens of dams being constructed by India on Indus River in violation of Indus Water Treaty – an-

other contentious issue between both the countries other than Kashmir dispute.

Gilani also recalled his meetings with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Sharm el Sheikh, Thimpu, Mohali and Maldives on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit, saying the interactions created an enabling environment paving the way for the meaningful dialogue process.

Earlier, Mani Shankar Aiyar, former union minister and leader of the Indian National Congress and Yashwant Sinha, former union minister and a BJP leader, thanked Prime Minister Gilani for his warm hospitality at the PM House.

They said uninterrupted dialogue could bring peace and stability in both countries on durable basis, which could entitle the both prime ministers for Nobel Peace Prize. They said the Indian prime minister had rightly said that Yousaf Raza Gilani was a man of peace. They said that they had witnessed a complete transformation in Pakistan in terms of friendly and hospitable environment in Pakistan, compared to their last visit in January 2011 last year. They delegation members added that there was a vast potential for trade between the both countries that could touch the figure of $15 billion instead of the current $2 billion.

The delegation also handed over the joint parliamentary resolution to the prime minister.

The Indian parliamentary delegation consists of Mani Shankar Aiyar, Derek O Brien, Naresh Gujral, Satish Chandra Mishra, Sitaram Yechury, Yashwant Sinha, Asaduddin Owalsi, Baijayant Jay Panda, Dasgupta Gurudas, Hamdullah Sayeed, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Shatrughan Prasad Sinha, Supriya Sadanad Sule, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Tathagata Sathpathy.

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thursday, 19 January, 2012

ArtS & entertAInMent

SPOrtS

i have always looked up to kishore kumar, says ali zafar

india woes leave Dhoni feeling the heat

News 03

COMMent good choice: Aitzaz Ahsan’s the man.

no grandstanding, please: We need to deal with the US reasonably.

nazir naji says: Our Balochistan blindspot: The situation worsens and we bury our head...

ahmed Yusuf says: Agenda for Balochistan APC: We must reach out or it will be too late.

Quick

imran husain says: The shot’s been fired: Who will it end up taking out?

Story on Page 14

Story on Page 18

Today’s

Look

Articles on Page 12-13

TreAson cAse AGAinsT MushArrAf

Malik asks PML-N, judges to act as complainants g

Interior minister says Musharraf will be arrested if he returns, but complainant needed for case to be registered ISLAMABAD tahiR niaz

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hizb-e-Islami supports US, taliban talks but doubts success PeShAwAr ShaMiM ShahiD

Although the Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) headed by Gulbadin Hekmatyar is supporting a political solution to the long standing Afghan conflict, but doubts that the contacts between the United States and Taliban militants would yield fruitful results.

Ustad Qareebur Rehman, one of the five top HIA leaders, expressed these fears in a recent email from Norway.

Rehman has been in contact with the government of President Hamid Karzai since March 2010.

Despite offering resistance to the USled alliance since Taliban regime was toppled in November 2001, HIA chief Hekmatyar is on good terms with Karzai, who recently accredited the HIA as a “well popular and influential group” in the war-stricken Afghanistan. The HIA also holds a solid representation in the Afghan government and parliament through its former members. Despite holding positions in the Afghan government and parliament, almost all former HIA leaders and commanders respect Hekmatyar. About the ongoing attempts for negotiations between the US and Taliban, Rehman welcomed the efforts and hoped that they would continue until the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan. He said the talks should be open and include all parties involved in the conflict.

HROWING the ball in the court of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday asked them to be the complainants in the treason case against former president Pervez Musharraf as a complainant was required to make the federal government move forward amidst calls from some members to also implicate in the case the generals and politicians, who abetted the former military ruler in extrajudicial acts.

Malik asked the PML-N, the judges and other affected by Musharraf’s martial law to be complainants in the case and lodge an application with the federal government to initiate proceedings against the former president under Article 6 of the constitution.

To a point of order raised by Senator Raza Rabbani, Malik said the PPP never opposed an FIR under Article 6 against Musharraf. “He will be arrested in the Bughti murder case. He is a proclaimed offender in the Benazir murder case and

nawaz vows to create ‘a new Pakistan’ Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said he had always talked about the country’s progress and vowed to create a “new Pakistan” with the people’s support. Addressing a public gathering in Sargodha, the former prime minister said people who were deceiving the country’s youth were bound to fail. The PML-N chief said, “A military dictator wasted 10 precious years of his and people’s life.” He said he had never deceived the youth and would establish a new Pakistan if the people supported him. MonitoRing DeSk

the government was in contact with the UK authorities for his extradition. He will be arrested in three cases after he lands in Pakistan,” Malik said, adding that the government would take action according to the law. However, he told the House that a complainant was needed to make the federal government register a case against Musharraf under Article 6.

Malik asked the PML-N to come forward as it was the most affected party of

the October 12, 1999 coup and lodge a complaint with the federal government.

He also asked the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts to act as complainants as they were also kept under arrest during the November 3 emergency imposed by then president.

He also appealed to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take a suo motu notice in this regard. Malik said the slain PPP leader, Benazir Bhutto had rejected the NRO, adding that many case were pending under the NRO but only those cases had been reopened which involved the PPP leaders.

Senator Zahid Khan and Abdur Rahim Mandokhel were of the view that the generals and politicians who supported Musharraf in his extrajudicial acts should also be tried under Article 6.

Salim Saifullah Khan said those liable to be tried for abetting Musharraf were sitting in the cabinet.

Senator Nilofer Bakhtiar said those who saw off president Musharraf with a guard of honour were talking of Musharraf’s trial under Article 6. She also declared the NRO “a deal”.

Earlier, Rabbani stood on a point of order in the House and referred to a letter written by one of the Musharraf’s

confidants to the US authorities seeking assurances from them on a ‘safe landing’ of the former president in Pakistan as well as other favours. He asked the interior minister to assure the House that Musharraf would be arrested immediately after he landed in the country.

Other senators including Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Prof Khurshid Ahmad and Zahid Khan also endorsed Rabbani’s point of view and sought registration of a case against Musharraf under Article 6.

Rabbani rejected as ‘illegal’ Malik’s proposal for passing a resolution and forming a committee of the House to draft a complaint against Musharraf, saying “an individual can move an application in this regard but the whole House cannot be a party in the case”. Subsequently, Deputy Speaker Jan Jamali asked the potential complainants including Zafar Ali Shah to meet the interior minister and discuss the issues separately.

JI Senator Prof Khurshid moved a privilege motion in the Upper House saying the government did not present reports of the Council of Common Interest and the National Economic Council in parliament since the past 19 months which he termed contempt of the House.

Mansoor Ijaz in kinky music video?

NewS DeSk A music video featuring PakistaniAmerican businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the memo scandal, and scantily clad female wrestlers has been creating a buzz among Pakistani users of social networking and micro-blogging websites.

The video for DJ and remixer Junior Jack’s 2007 hit song “Stupidisco” which features Ijaz as a commentator at a female wrestling competition - was posted on Twitter late last night.

It was subsequently shared by users at other social networking websites. The

video for a song with a pulsating backbeat, which reached the number 20 slot in the UK singles charts, has Ijaz commenting on a wrestling match between

two wrestlers named “Ms Double D” and “Nasty Nasty”.

At one stage, he is heard saying: “Look at that, we’ve got some real tumbling going on here”.

Ijaz laughs and describes the action at the match, saying, “Ms Double D’s got the take down, she’s on top. She’s the reigning world champion. Oh she’s giving it to her good now”. As some users of Twitter raised questions about the authenticity of the video, one enterprising blogger even tracked down an even racier making-of video that showed Ijaz participating in the shoot for the music video.

NADRA likely to miss ECP deadline kArAchI aaMiR MaJeeD

Although, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has closed NADRA Resource Centres (NRC) for the general public to complete voters’ lists but it may fail to comply with the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) deadline of handing over the final list 21 days before February 23, Pakistan Today has learnt.

According to details, the Supreme Court (SC) had ordered the ECP to complete the voters’ list before February 23 on which the ECP had asked NADRA to handover the final list 21 days before the given deadline. NADRA

had utilised all of its resources and manpower to complete the task and asked the ECP that the final list would be handed over on February 5 but the ECP needed the final list until January 31 for publication. Earlier, the ECP requested the SC for an extension in deadline but the CJP turned down the request.

Due to closure of NRCs, citizens were facing immense difficulties in getting new CNICs. NADRA had displayed banners at gates of all NRCs stating that the process of issuance of new CNICs was suspended for an indefinite time to meet the deadline. But the authority moved some mobile NRCs to city centres but failed to facilitate

NRCs with mobile facilities. People had started approaching NRCs where the facility of mobile NADRA centres was available.

According to law, the ECP had to publish the final voters’ list at public places 21 days before, as if anyone’s name could not be included due to some errors, he or she could be facilitated, ECP Sindh-Circle Chief Sonu Baloch said. “We have asked NADRA to handover the final voters’ list before February 2 to meet the legal formality of completion of the process until February 23,” Baloch said. He said that NADRA would inform the ECP about its progress in a few days. He said that NADRA had provided the voters’ list to

the ECP, which was sent back after verification.

The NADRA spokesman told Pakistan Today that the authority had sent some mobile NRCs in some of its centres to facilitate the masses. He said that NADRA Deputy Chairman Tariq Malik had instructed NADRA officials that all normal NADRA NRCs will carry out data entry of ECP until February 5.

The ECP Data Entry Project was of national importance and all quarters concerned were looking towards NADRA for its timely completion, Malik said.

He instructed that all resources deputed on registration will work on Sundays and other gazette holidays until completion of the project.

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04 News

thursday, 19 January, 2012

NAB to scrutinise election candidates Sends letter to the eCP asking it to provide information about candidates filing nominations

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ISLAMABAD

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HE National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will thoroughly scrutinise candidates for all kinds of elections in the country, and a letter has been sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in this regard on Wednesday.

According to wellplaced sources, NAB sent a letter to the ECP, asking it to provide “information pertaining to the candidates who file the nomination documents to contest any kind of elections in future within the meaning of the Election Laws.”

Sources told Online that NAB would also seek records of the contestants of previous elections, in addition to scrutinising

candidates for future elections. “It would not be an unusual move on part of NAB, but a simple application of law in retrospect especially on eligibility cases,” the sources said.

In case a candidate is found to have filed incorrect information, NAB would act under the legal instructions.

“Not only that the person in question would be removed from the elected position as being disqualified, but NAB would also ensure the recovery of remunerations and perks drawn therein,” sources said.

The documents NAB has sought from the ECP include nomination papers submitted under the Political Parties Order, 2002, and the People’s Act, 1976, and details of assets and liabilities under clause 3 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1977.

Besides these essentials about the candidates, the NAB has also asked the ECP to provide information received from various authorities and organisations for the sake of verification.

Under the laws mentioned in the letter, the commission is also required to update NAB regarding details of forged/fake/improper education and qualification degrees established through the verification process undertaken by the commission.

Sources said the ECP would have to provide required information to NAB on occurrence as well as in the times of need. NAB would also independently verify the information about the candidates’ available with the Federal Board of Revenue and other relevant organisations, the sources added.

Pakistanis among Zardari enjoys immunity 30 immigrants issued a show cause notice to Continued fRom page 1 the prime minister on the escaping detention Switzerland under the Vi- charges of contempt of court in Indonesia enna Convention until he for not taking any action on the implementation of the sURabaYa: Thirty Pakistani and Afghan immigrants tunnelled their way out of an Indonesian detention centre using spoons, nails and wooden sticks, an official said on Wednesday.

The men escaped through the two-metre tunnel in Surabaya city on Monday after digging their way from a toilet, under the main gate to freedom. As some dug, others had played the traditional South Asian board game of carrom to distract the guards. While police have arrested 11 of the escapees, 19 remain at large. afp

was holding the seat of the president, “so it will be useless to right any letter to the Swiss authorities”. To a question, Aitzaz said it was not for him to decide whether the case would be over if the letter was written.

Asked what the next step would be if the prime minister was declared ineligible by the SC, Aitzaz said the SC would send its decision to the National Assembly speaker who will then forward it to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“The ECP will then make a final decision of whether the prime minister is guilty or not….” The SC on January 16

apex court’s verdict on NRO. “If the judges ask me about my previous statements regarding immunity to former president Pervez Musharraf, I will try to convince them that Musharraf had no immunity because a civil suit had been filed against him… President Zardari, on the other hand, faces criminal cases in which he enjoys complete immunity until he’s holding the President’s Office”.

To a query, he said a review petition regarding the NRO cases would not be filed, as “we do not want to create any rift among the government institutions.

India rejects US, EU sanctions on importing Iranian oil New DeLhI onLine

As China drastically cuts down its oil imports from Iran ahead of possible new sanctions by the United States and the European Union, India has announced to continue importing crude Iranian oil, Indian media reported on Wednesday.

Brushing aside US sanctions that prevent financial institutions from doing business with Tehran and its central bank, Indian Foreign Secre-

two-day Indo-Pak dialogue concludes ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Indian parliamentary delegation, upon conclusion of the two-day PakistanIndia Parliamentarians Dialogue-III on Wednesday, issued a joint statement stressing a comprehensive economic framework for cooperation should be initiated to realise the full potential of economic cooperation between India and Pakistan. The statement was presented to Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani at the PM’s Secretariat by Dialogue Co-Chairs Senator SM Zafar and Yashwant Sinha.

Mani Shankar Aiyar and Yashwant Sinha reiterated the views of MPs of both sides in expressing satisfaction at the pace and maturity of the dialogue.

tary Ranjan Mathai said India would only accept sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

“We have accepted sanctions which are imposed by the UN. Other sanctions do not apply to individual countries. We can’t accept that,” said Mathai, adding that India had not sought any waiver from US sanctions.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton told an Indian daily on Tuesday that the sanctions against Iran by the EU,

which is on the verge of banning oil imports from Iran, were designed to make Iran fulfil its obligations as a signatory to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“It’s not impossible for countries like India to have a strategic relation with Iran and yet convey that it is not fulfilling its international commitments in pursuing a nuclear weapons programme. The sanctions are designed to prevent Iran’s nuclear programme and nothing beyond that,” Ashton said.

Afghan government Govt tables 20th Amendment bill demands British Continued fRom page 1 child abuse probe kABUL afp

The Afghan government on Wednesday said it was “disgusted” by the alleged abuse of Afghan children by two British soldiers and demanded an immediate investigation into the case. The Sun newspaper in Britain reported that a sergeant and a private from the Mercian Battle Group had been arrested over claims that they abused an Afghan boy and a girl, both aged about 10, and filmed the incidents. The allegation comes less than a week after a video emerged showing US Marines urinating on the corpses of militants in Afghanistan.

“The government of Afghanistan is immensely disgusted by the rise in recent incidents of immoral

nature among foreign soldiers,” President Hamid Karzai’s office said. “(Such incidents) clearly undermine public confidence and the Afghan people’s cooperation with foreign troops.” The statement said the government was “deeply disturbed by reports that two British soldiers have encouraged two Afghan children to touch them through their clothes”.

“The Afghan government asks the UK government to launch an immediate probe into the report and apply necessary punishment to those involved in the act,” it added.

In London, a British Defence Ministry spokesman said, “We are aware that an allegation has been made concerning alleged inappropriate behaviour by two servicemen in Afghanistan.

‘Imran’s interview incompatible with SC’s observation’ All eyes on SC as PM goes to court ISLAMABAD onLine

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) sources on Wednesday strongly regretted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s interview given to AFP and published in the local media in which he demanded Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification over the Supreme Court’s alleged terming of the PM as ‘dishonest’.

The sources referred to Justice Asif Saeed Khosa’s remarks published in newspapers on January 17, in which the SC judge clarified that the bench never used words ‘dishonest’ and ‘corrupt’ for the PM in the context highlighted by the media and termed it as a misconception.

Continued fRom page 1 With the split among the judges (10 turning against then chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah and two supporting him), the case had strained the relations between the judiciary and executive to the extent that on November 28, 1997, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers forcibly entered and vandalized the court’s premises.

Eventually, a case for rowdy acts was registered against them. The standoff between the two organs of the state ended with the departure of chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

According to Supreme Court’s security sources, the prime minister would reach Court Room No-IV, commonly known as Bench-IV, through the route used by commoners, as he was appearing before the court as an accused facing con-

tempt charges. He is likely to be accompanied by several ministers.

Ahead of the prime minister’s arrival to the court, strict security measures have been enforced in and around the Supreme Court building.

Islamabad Inspector General Police Bani Amin and other security officials, as well as security staff of the Prime Minister House visited Bench-IV of the Supreme Court building twice on Wednesday to secure the passage from the main entry gate of the building to Bench-IV. The seating capacity of Court Room-IV is about 70, but over 150 entry passes have been issued.

Speaking on a point of order, PML-N MNA Raja Asad claimed that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had allocated large amounts in development funds for NA-148 from where his son, Ali Musa Gilani was contesting election on the seat vacated by Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

PPP MNA Begum Naseem Chaudhry rebutted Asad’s allegation, saying no extraordinary development funds were being provided to NA-148. She said Qureshi had done nothing for the uplift of his constituency in the last four years.

On a point of order, PPP’s Qadir Patel urged the chairman to form a House committee to investigate the reports about a new airline namely, Indus Airline, in which some top PPP leaders were allegedly involved so that the matter could be resolved.

Minority Member Nelson Azeem said a Minority Commission should also be set up to protect the rights of minorities such as the National Commission for Women Rights.

Speaking on a point of order, PML-N MNA Abdul Qadir Baloch said there was no representation of Balochistan in federal secretaries, labour attaches and heads of corporations.

“The US and India are interfering in the affairs of Balochistan but the government is not concerned… the special parliamentary committee on Karachi and Balochistan has not come up with any solution over the crisis despite passage of more than three months,” he lamented.

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News 05

Age of military coups is over: Imran Khan g

PtI chief says govt taking on independent Supreme Court g Democracy to lose if Supreme Court loses ISLAMABAD

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onLine

ehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday said the age of military coups was over and there would be no coup in Pakistan despite opposition’s press for the exit of the government due to the escalating crises.

Speaking exclusively to Indian NDTV’s Barkha Dutt in Islamabad, Imran said, “The age of martial law in Pakistan is now permanently over.”

The army, he said, realises that people will not accept this anymore.

“The threat to Pakistan’s government’s survival lies in two matters that are before the Supreme Court - one accuses the government of using a secret

memo to ask the US for help against a military takeover; the other holds Pakistani PM Yousaf Raza Gilani responsible for failing to reopen cases of corruption against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government’s legal battles intersect with unprecedented hostility with the army,” he said. Imran also accused Gilani of trying to shield a corrupt president.

Asked about the rise of his party, Imran said the PTI was now the number one party and had the biggest public support. “I think our democracy has evolved.

And these entire crises, as you just mentioned in your opening remarks, what has come out is that the army is no longer prepared to come out in the open,” Khan said.

Talking about the “memogate”, Imran said the scandal was such a shameful scandal that if ever the army would

have intervened, it would have been then.

“Because, it’s effectively a president asking the US to come and help him get rid of the army hierarchy so that he could serve them better. That’s in effect the “memogate” and normally, the army would have...that would have been enough to take over. I mean, as it is, there is public outrage against that and so you would’ve had the public backing”.

But he said Pakistan had moved on.

“At the same time, the Supreme Court, I mean the Supreme Court has taken a stand. Finally, the Supreme Court, for the first time in Pakistan you’re seeing the court taking on the powerful.

Normally, the Supreme Court has been a part of the executive and taken orders from the government literally. For the first time, the Supreme Court is challeng-

ing the most powerful people in this country and challenging the corruption cases. And so, we have a vibrant media which is a third pillar and we have a very politically aware public”.

Imran observed that the government was trying to demolish an independent Supreme Court.

“What is...are early elections going to destroy a democracy? Or if the independent judiciary is destroyed, would that destroy a democracy? Pakistan, as I said, has moved on. First time we’ve had an independent Supreme Court. Now, if this government takes on the Supreme Court just so, then it can protect Asif Zardari’s corruption of billions of dollars. I’m afraid, that if you stand...if people stand by the judiciary and it wins, then our democracy wins. If our judiciary loses,

our democracy loses,” the PTI chief said.

To a question that certain voices were suggesting that in some ways, the judiciary and the military in this country were on the same side in this debate, Imran replied, “I don’t know if there is any indication of that but all I know is that the Supreme Court has been very lenient with this government”.

To a question about the impression that he was backed by the Pakistani Army, Imran said, “This is what all politicians are petrified of. Because they don’t know what’s happened, how come this tsunami has suddenly built up? But if the army has now helped us, then surely it must be manipulating the Pew polls, which are American opinion polls, where Tehreek-e-Insaaf has been number one for six months now”.

Personal examples of honesty required for judicial impartiality: CJ ISLAMABAD nni

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday stressed on judicial independence and impartiality and stated that this could be achieved only through setting personal example of honesty, independence and impartiality.

He was talking to a nine-member delegation of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association headed by its President Khawaja Muhammad Khan Gara and Secretary General Aminur Rehman that called on the CJ at the Supreme Court.

The delegation had come to extend the support for efforts of the chief justice.

The delegation informed the CJ about the recent unanimously-passed resolution by the bar to the effect that they would stand by the judiciary and support the rulings and decisions of the Supreme Court. The members said a judicial academy has been established recently by the provincial government of KP to train judicial officers, court staff and young lawyers in the field of law and judicial administration.

Moreover, they informed that they had been provided funds by the government, but the bar wanted to distribute the funds amongst district bar associations for the uplift of libraries at district levels. The CJ said the bar was an integral part of the judicial administration and lawyers had contributed a great deal to the maintenance of rule of law and supremacy of the constitution in the country. He also commended the role played by the Peshawar High Court Bar for constitutionalism, rule of law and supremacy of constitution, which was historical and beyond comparison in the judicial history. The delegation invited the CJ to visit the Peshawar High Court Bar and the CJ conveyed his gratitude and assured to visit them at a suitable time.

BSF kills suspected smuggler close to Pakistani border AMrITSAr inp

The Indian Border Security Force shot dead a Pakistani citizen in the border area between Tuesday and Wednesday night. The Indian BSF claimed that the man killed was a narcotics smuggler and that a packet with 17kgs of heroine, worth Rs 85 crore, was recovered from the body. Indian media quoting BSF officials said the patrolling party challenged the person to stop and surrender but he ignored their warning and continued his journey, upon which the patrolling party opened fire and killed him.

LoWeRDiR: newly recruited frontier Corps personnel celebrate after their passing-out ceremony in timargara on Wednesday. STAff PhoTo

‘Smoke bomb’ SNGPL authorities thrown inside directed to prepare plan white house for provision of gas to FATA PeShAwAr Staff RepoRt

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has directed the SNGPL authorities to prepare a comprehensive plan for provision of natural gas to FATA. Presiding over a meeting at the Governor’s House on Wednesday to review the progress on the project of provision of gas to FATA under the prime minister’s directive, he said the entire FATA region should be surveyed on technical grounds rather than selected areas. “There should be a proper master plan, identifying the areas to be provided this common utility gradually and on priority basis,” he stressed.

The governor emphasised that survey and feasibility should be simultaneously carried out, directing the FATA Secretariat to ensure foolproof security and other assistance to the field staff.

FATA Acting Additional Chief Secretary Shah Sahib, SNGPL Peshawar General Manager Muhammad Haroon and SNGPL Chief Engineer Muhammad Ashraf Nadeem attended the meeting.

The KP governor was also given a presentation on the progress so far made in this respect and was

informed that 150 kilometres of transmission line and 150 km of distribution line would be required to implement the prime minister’s directive. He said the total estimated cost of the project was Rs 3 billion against the declared amount of Rs 1 billion.

The meeting was told that certain areas had been surveyed with the required transmission and distribution network proposed including certain areas in Peshawar, Khyber Agency, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Kohat and North Waziristan. The governor said the security situation in FATA was not as alarming now as was being perceived. “Security problem is more a perception than a reality,” he said, adding that the political administration would provide security and facilitate the survey teams in their respective jurisdictions.

He said the process should be well organised and well coordinated. “There should be a complete plan of action so that on availability of funds it is executed without any hindrance or other technicalities.”

The governor pointed out that gas deposits had also been discovered in FATA and vowed that when gas was procured from those deposits, it would be preferably provided to the Tribal Areas. He directed the FATA Secretariat and the SNGPL to coordinate their efforts and come up with final proposals.

washington onLine

The US Secret Service started investigation after a suspected smoke bomb was thrown over the fence of the White House during a mass Occupy protest, US media reported on Wednesday. No arrests were immediately reported after Tuesday night’s incident and demonstrators dispersed from the area. A Secret Service spokesman said the projectile was thrown as 1,000 to 1,500 Occupy DC protesters gathered outside. President Barack Obama and the First Lady were reportedly out with friends for Michelle Obama’s 48th birthday. Journalists from the White House media pool were initially prevented from leaving the grounds during the incident. The Secret Service spokesman, George Ogilvie, said measures were taken to remove the projectile. Earlier in the day, four people were arrested as hundreds of Occupy protesters converged outside Capitol Hill to denounce what they see as the corrupting influence of money in politics. Police denied the “Occupy Congress” activists entry to the congressional corridors during that rally, which took place as lawmakers returned from their winter break.

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US embassy condemns journalist’s murder ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The US Embassy on Wednesday condemned the murder of journalist Mukarram Khan and asked for a transparent investigation into the incident.

“The US Embassy in Pakistan strongly condemns the murder of reporter Mukarram Khan Atif. We extend our condolences to his family and friends,” a US Embassy statement said. “Atif’s reporting on security and extremism from the tribal belt brought to light the threat extremism poses to peace and stability of Pakistan and the region. We admire his commitment to finding the truth wherever it led him, in accordance with the highest principles of his profession,” the statement said. “We urge a full and transparent investigation that identifies the culprits of this crime and brings them to justice,” the embassy statement said. “The US stands in solidarity with the journalists of Pakistan.

A free and open press is the best guarantee of the freedom and security of Pakistanis,” the statement said.

kaRaChi: nato oil tankers parked at Shireen Jinnah Colony on Wednesday as closure of nato supply routes continues after the Salala checkpost attack. oNLINE

China banking on Pakistan for India intelligence: report New DeLhI

T

onLine

HE Indian media on Wednesday claimed that there was a tieup between Chinese and Pakistani agencies to share intelligence on India.

“There is mounting evidence within the Indian intelligence agencies that suggests that China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has outsourced collection of vital intelligence, including aspects of Tibetan activity in India, from Pakistan’s ISI, as the latter has better

penetration in the sub-continent,” the Hindustan Times said in a report.

The paper quoted Indian government sources as saying that intelligence inputs indicated that there was an institutionalised tie-up between the two agencies and some five structured meetings at high official level had taken place in the past two years with India figuring in the dialogue.

This information has been shared with top officials in the government, it said. According to the report, the ISI would also share intelligence on India with their Chinese counterparts as it has

known access in restive regions of India including in the north eastern states.

Beijing’s key interest is in the Dalai Lama set-up and it is closely watching Indian involvement in the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala.

With Bangladesh not allowing NE insurgent groups to target India from its territory and Myanmar making similar noises, insurgents are getting monetary and logistics support from Yunan province in south China, the paper claimed.

“However, it is the flip-side of this tie-up that is worrying India. A section

of the Indian intelligence community feels that the ISI could exacerbate tensions with China by exaggerating New Delhi’s role in the Tibetan movement.

Even though India has little to do with the Tibetan set-up, the perception is that it is the ISI, which has made the MSS suspicious of India’s involvement.”

After the 2008 Lhasa riots, Beijing has been very sensitive about the Tibet issue.

Chinese PM Wen Jiabao last week extracted a commitment from Nepal on not allowing any Tibetan activity in the erstwhile kingdom.

PIA adds two more flights to KarachiMuscat route LAhOre Staff RepoRt

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has added two more flights on its KarachiMuscat sector from January 14 to facilitate Pakistani expatriates, Pakistan Today learnt on Wednesday.

The new flights would facilitate outgoing passengers from all over the country via Karachi to join their work places on Saturday, the first working day of the week, but will also provide variety in inbound travel on Saturday for Karachi and connections for all over Pakistan and Dhaka. In an effort to deal with the increasing traffic in the SialkotMuscat route, another busy route for the airline, PIA has increased its capacity to carry more passengers to their destinations. “Keeping in view the tremendous demand on Muscat-SialkotMuscat sector, PIA has upgraded PK229/230 Wednesday/Thursday to operate by Airbus instead of B-737.

Now, ample seats would available on this flight,” PIA officials disclosed.

New provinces bill test case for commitment of politicians ISLAMABAD Mian abRaR

With the twentieth amendment bill laid before the Lower House of parliament, political sloganeering on creation of new provinces is all set to be exposed as the bill would prove a test case for the commitment of political parties who have been playing on the popular wave of carving out smaller provincial units.

Almost all major political parties of the country, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), PML-Q, JUI-F and others have been using the media to voice demand to create smaller units, while the PML-N and ANP quietly rejected the demand, but none of the former parties took practical step for the cause of decentralisation of powers. Rather, these parties’ governments in the centre and provinces also violated the constitution by not holding local government elections since coming into power in 2008.

But it was Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNAs, led by Wasim Akhtar, who took the lead on Tuesday by introducing a bill in the National Assembly session as a private member bill, seeking amendment in the constitution to

simplify the procedure for creation of new provinces.

The bill titled, “The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Bill, 2012” proposed amendments in Article 1, 51,106 and 239 of the constitution for creation of new provinces ‘Hazara’ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ‘Southern Punjab’ in Punjab. The bill also provided holding of referendum for one or more provinces to ascertain the public aspirations about new provinces.

However, this is not first bill submitted in parliament for simplifying the procedure for creation of new provinces, as Senator Mohammed Ali Durrani had submitted such a bill on June 25, 2009, with the Senate Secretariat seeking amendment in the constitution for facilitating the process of creating new provinces with a simple majority of the parliament.

He had also requested the parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments, which was led by Raza Rabbani, to include his bill as 19th amendment, but it was rejected by the committee due to the narrow-minded politicians included in the committee.

The MQM bill also projected that the allocation of general seats and seats for women to the newly carved out provinces, as provided under clause (1) of Article 51 and clause (1) of Article 106, shall be made on the basis of the popula-

tion in the same proportion as it exists in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Wasim Akhtar told Pakistan Today he had moved the bill feeling the sense of deprivation in South Punjab and Hazara areas but the major political parties had adopted double standards.

“In the National Assembly, these parties don’t oppose idea of new provinces but in provincial assemblies, they even don’t allow tabling such a resolution, let alone talking about a piece of legislation,” he said while referring to a joint resolution by the PPP and PML-Q tabled in the Punjab Assembly for the creation of Southern Punjab province that was turned down by the speaker.

The same happened in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly where the ANPbacked government did not allow a resolution for Hazara province.

“Just take example of South Punjab where there are only two universities while in central Punjab only, there are 30 universities. This discriminatory attitude needs to be shunned and this is also base for rising voices for new provinces,” he asserted. The overgrowth of population almost in geometrical proportion, increased demand for delivery of social services and the inaccessibility of the chief executive, cabinet members and the bureaucracy including the law enforce-

ment agencies, are the factors that have rendered dispensation of justice to the people of the far-flung areas almost impossible, the bill says. Besides, administrative inconvenience, the cultural and social diversity within the ideological unity also necessitates grater harmony with a psychological bias, the bill added.

Meanwhile, the same day, a young PPP MNA from Okara, Khurram Jahangir Wattoo, also introduced a bill on the same subject and with the same title seeking new province namely South Punjab.

However, the idea of creation of new provinces was actually conceived and floated in June 2009 by Senator Mohammed Ali Durrani, who also served as information minister from 2005-2007.

“My bill had sought making the procedure of formation/creation of new provinces simple and was reflective of wishes of the people of the country for faster development in the country. It is imperative to form new provinces of a manageable size. This will not only make the administration easy but the underdeveloped areas will be able to make rapid progress,” Senator Durrani told Pakistan Today.

“The foremost need today is adaptability to the demands of the changing times and to introduce international administrative practices into our system. To better address to the needs of growing

populations, nations around the world have formed new and smaller administrative units. But we have failed to do so since 1947. We urgently need to follow the success story adopted by our neighbours decades back,” he added.

He said developed countries made considerable efforts to promote good governance by forming smaller administrative units for better delivery system of justice, basic human rights and development.

However, he added, the greed of ruling elites in Pakistan to centralise power has remained a constant factor for over more than half a century.

Considering the huge population and weak institutions of the country, power needs to be decentralized, he said. From USA to Spain, decentralisation has played a major role in democratic development and high quality of governance.

“But there is a tendency of our leadership to put more and more resources to the federal and provincial capitals rather than devolving them to the under developed cities and districts for the common good of the people,” he added.

Senator Durrani said even minor decisions were being made by every chief minister and for a population of 81.5 million in Punjab, there is one health secretary, one education minister, one finance minister and one housing secretary; who cant even look after the affairs of central Punjab.

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After Ghotki and Karachi, PtI ‘tsunami’ to flood Umerkot Imran’s ‘11th match’ 09 SINDh ASSEMBLy SESSIoN

Calling all state institutions: Know your constitutional limits ■ reposing full confidence in the present democratic setup, Sindh Assembly follows national Assembly in showing state institutions their ‘limits’ kArAchI

F

iSMaiL DiLaWaR

OLLOWING the National Assembly, the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday also showed the state institutions their constitutional limits and reposed full confidence and trust in the present democratic dispensation.

“All state institutions must strictly function within the limits imposed on them by the constitution,” read a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-backed resolution tabled by Member Provincial Assembly Ghulam Mujadid Isran under Rule 211 of the Rules of Procedures of the provincial legislature that reassembled under the chairmanship of Speaker Nisar Khuhro at 11:30 am, instead of 10:00 am, the scheduled time.

The resolution asserted that the basic constitutional principle of trichotomy of powers, held in a democratic setup by the parliament, executive and the judiciary, must be fully respected for the furtherance of democracy and democratic institutions.

“This house reiterates the belief of the democratic forces that the future of Pakistan and the wellbeing of its people lay in the continuation and strengthening of democratic institutions and constitutionalism for the resolution of national issues, strengthening of the federation and empowering the people of Pakistan,” the resolution said.

The composers of the resolution kept in mind one of the three amendments proposed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the Awami National Party (ANP) chief’s resolution and which was accepted by the treasury benches, that sovereignty rests with Almighty Allah. “Sovereignty belongs to Almighty Allah and the authority to be exercised through the people and the parliament is the repository of the collective wisdom of the people of Pakistan,” the draft reiterated.

Endorsing the efforts made by the “political leadership”, the provincial legislature through the resolution reposed “full confidence and trust” in the former for strengthening democracy in the country.

Terming the resolution as important, house leader Qaim Ali Shah indicated that the move was in continuation of a resolution tabled by ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan in the National Assembly that had received the support of, what Shah said, “all democratic forces” except the PML-N, PPP-Sherpao and others.

Shah indirectly criticised the PMLN and others for not putting their weight behind the federal resolution as well as their disbelief in the present democratic government’s landmark

city quakes not ‘bad jolts’: Marri KArAchi: The Sindh government is concerned and all for ascertaining the extent of human and infrastructural damages and possible remedies as lowintensity earthquakes frequent Karachi, the country’s most congested city.

On Wednesday, Information Minister Shazia Marri told the Sindh Assembly that she was in contact with seismic experts at the NED University to ascertain the nature of the minor jolts that rocked the metropolitan several times this month. The minister said the experts at the varsity had formed a special committee to study the “city scenario” keeping in mind Karachi’s setting on certain vulnerable plates. The people of the metropolis are also believed to be apprehensive of a devastating natural disaster in consequence of these small jolts, given that the city’s vulnerable situation on a coastal belt where, the experts say, an underground seismic activity is more likely. “The committee would determine if, God forbid, a big quake hits Karachi, what would be the extent of damage and its impact on our economy,” Marri said. Her statement came in response to the concern expressed by Pakistan People’s Party lawmaker Anwar Khan Maher a day earlier over the low-intensity earthquakes jolting the city of 18 million people. However, referring to her initial inquiries, the information minister said these earthquakes, were not of a dangerous nature. “These minor jolts are not ‘bad jolts’ as they release energy and are not worrisome,” the minister quoted the seismic experts at the NED University.

The minister, however, warned against complacency, saying one should keep in mind any “precarious conditions” that could arise due to the city’s unique geographical location. Responding to another point of order raised by a Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker, Marri clarified that the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) had stopped issuing and processing applications for new computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to meet the self-set deadline of February 5 in line with the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order to prepare the voter list. She said NADRA is issuing CNICs through certain vehicles parked outside its offices, and there might be delays, but they are not confined to only Karachi, as the situation exists across the province. ISMAIL DILAWAR achievements. Recalling the 18th amendment and the National Finance Commission Award as some of the prominent achievements of the present coalition government, Shah said his party was not afraid of elections.

“We are prepared to face the elections and the people anytime, as we have and are serving the people,” he declared amid desk-thumping.

The resolution, Shah concluded, is an expression of solidarity with Sindh as well as Pakistan.

The speaker then put the resolution to vote, and it was adopted by the house amid slogans of “Long Live Bhutto”.

Minutes before the chair called it a day – until Friday, 10:00 am – the provincial lawmakers adopted a resolution moved by PPP lawmaker Anwar Maher to pay homage to Sufi Shah Inayatullah Shaheed on his 303rd urs.

On the legislative front, the house enacted the Sindh Service Tribunals (Amendment) Bill-2011 to, what Law Minister Ayaz Soomro said, increase executive powers of the judges of the tribunals concerned.

The introduction of a government bill, the Sindh University Bill-2011, was deferred until Friday on the request of the law minister.

Also presented in the house were re-

ports of the standing committees on irrigation, power and board of revenue regarding the matters pertaining to directing the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company to recover the electricity arrears from the rural areas and the forged mutation of the record of rights of Christians with regard to St Andrew’s church.

Voices of “shame, shame” resounded in the house when PPP’s Imran Nazir Leghari moved an adjournment motion against what he claimed was a widely-known corrupt bureaucrat, an assistant mukhtiarkar who had mistreated flood affectees at his Dadubased office and lodged a First Information Report against them.

With Functional League’s Nusrat Saher Abbasi wanting Leghari to name the corrupt officer, the latter lambasted the provincial irrigation minister concerned and the Member National Assembly representing the Qaim Shah constituency of Dadu district for not attending his telephone call for help.

The discussion, however, ended on an inconclusive note as the speaker disposed of the motion after the completion of 30 minutes, the scheduled duration to discuss an adjournment motion in the assembly, and this made Leghari, Imdad Pitafi and other PPP legislators walk out of the house.

without any concern for safety, labourers demolish the shrine of Shah Ahmad noorani on wednesday. oNLINE

Malir River Expressway?

In your dreams!

■ Project not ‘commercially viable’ and initiating it under public-private partnership scheme ‘as good as dumping it’ kArAchI WaQaR haMza

The Sindh government has put aside the Malir River Expressway project, which is to serve the population of 5 million with the objective of increasing the traffic corridor of the city, and this strategic expressway is required to carry the increased traffic on account of increased economic activities in northern Karachi.

The Education City and the DHA City are to put tremendous amount of pressure on the existing infrastructure of the metropolitan, especially the transport, as the increase in these projects’ development activities would multiply the traffic load on the existing corridors, so the Malir Expressway project is a must for the biggest city of the country.

The project worth Rs 80 billion would be one of the most strategic economic corridors of the city that on the one hand, provides a strategic link to the Super Highway, and on the other, is the main passageway to the Education City and the DHA City.

It is to serve a population of 5 million apart from visitors and transport-related people, as this 47.62-kilometre road with three lanes up to the Super Highway would most likely be the future trade corridor of the city.

However, the provincial government has asked the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to complete this project through the public-private partnership scheme, despite the fact that this is not a commercially viable project and the investors are not interested in it, said the sources.

They said in the first week of this month, a meeting of all project stakeholders was held under the provincial chief secretary, and it was decided that this project should be completed through the public-private partnership programme.

Therefore, the sponsor of the project, the KMC, has recently advertised for Expressions of Interest (EOIs), which means this crucial project has been put aside for an indefinite period, they added.

The KMC has shown the presentation to the chief secretary, and is now going to show it to the governor on Thursday, after which they would show it to the chief minister for further deliberations, said the sources.

They said three applications for the issue of EOIs have been received and the pre-bid meeting is to be held on January 24, whereas the last date of submitting the EOI is February 17.

Public-private partnership programmes do not work in Pakistan, as initiating any project under this programme means relegating it, and this kind of infrastructure projects are not commercially viable because the dominant sharing from the private sector is to be paid back only through tool taxes, which the investors think of as a less-effective business, they added.

The KMC does not even have Rs 1 billion, so it is beyond imagination that they would be able to complete the project, and the Sindh government does not have the funds either.

Consequently, this important project might never be initiated, but experts say that there is one provision in the Public-Private Partnership Act-2010, namely the Gap Fund, through which the government provides funds to the projects that are not commercially viable.

The Indian government has a good track record in the public-private partnership sphere, as their government provides 40 percent of the total cost of such projects through this provision of Gap Fund, so the Sindh government could do the same to make this project a reality for the citizens of Karachi, reasoned the experts.

One example of the unfruitful public-private partnership programme is the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Carriageway, a 60-kilometre road, which was initiated in 2010 with the partnership of a Korean company, and the project was supposed to be completed a while ago, but it still remains unfinished due to financial issues of both the parties.

The importance of the Malir River Expressway project could be gauged from the fact that it is to connect the DHA City and the Education City – a setup of $5 billion – to the main city.

Therefore, it would also provide ample relief to the citizens in the years to come by acting as an alternate main highway to the Jinnah International Airport.

It is pertinent to mention here that to meet the already growing demand of transportation in this area, the KMC has decided to convert the existing embankments of the Malir River to a road facility with two separately aligned carriageways.

This project would in turn provide impetus to economic productivity by facilitating high speed transportation facility for transportation of exportable produces to various areas of the country and abroad.

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PakistaN today

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Altaf for avoiding confrontation at all costs kArAchI Staff RepoRt

The country is encircled with threats and avoiding confrontation and conflict is the need of the hour, said Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday. He said this while discussing the prevailing political situation in the country in detail with constitutional and legal experts, MNAs, MPAs, senators, MQM’s Legal Aid Committee and Coordination Committee in a meeting especially convened to discuss the current situation. At the meeting, it was agreed in the light of constitutional and legal points that confrontation should be avoided at all costs. Hussain said the MQM believes in the supremacy of the constitution and law, and has always respected the judiciary. “We respect all constitutional institutions, including the judiciary and the parliament,” he said, “The MQM desires promotion of democratic culture in the country.”

A craftsman prepares garlands from currency notes that are traditionally worn by grooms during wedding ceremonies. oNLINE

‘Institutions complement each other, not undermine’ ■ Civil society activists express concern over attempts to subvert democratically-elected parliament kArAchI

E

Qazi aSif

xPRESSING concern over the prevailing political situation in the country, several civil society organisations have called on all state institutions and their subsidiaries to function within their defined constitutional parameters to complement and not attempt to undermine each other to detriment public interest.

In a resolution passed unanimously at a meeting held in the PMA House, representatives of civil society organisations including lawyers, doctors, journalists, peasants, women, students and human rights activists decried the blatant attempts to subvert the

democratically elected parliament and the constitution through “crises manufactured on frivolous grounds”.

Prominent among the participants at the conference were former adviser to Sindh chief minister Dr Kaiser Bengali, PILER’s Karamat Ali and Dr Aly Ercelan, Anjuman Taraqi-e-Pasand Musanifeen Pakistan’s Rahat Saeed Khan, HRCP’s Uzma Noorani, Syed Shamsuddin and Asad Iqbal Butt, Pakistan Medical Association’s Dr Tipu Sultan, Peoples Worker Union’s Latif Mughal, Urban Resource Centre’s Zahid Farooq, Network for Women Rights’ Saleha Athar, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum’s Mohammad Ali Shah, Aurat Foundation’s Shireen Aijaz, Bright Educational Society’s Abdul Waheed and Pakistan Workers Confederation’s Noor Muhammad

among others.

The civil society activists maintained that the role of elected representatives is to represent their constituents’ interests and arrive at negotiated agreements to differences without pressure from extra-parliamentary sources.

The resolution stated: “We assert that the principle of parliament being the supreme authority in the land is inviolable and it cannot be compromised under any circumstances. We hold that the constitution defines three arms of the state: executive, legislature and judiciary, while all other agencies are subsidiaries of the state.

“The role of the judiciary is to protect the rights of citizens from arbitrary abuse of executive power and act when there is an explicit violation of laws or constitution or

human rights and not on itself becoming a prosecutor or a source of arbitrary executive power. It is not only imperative that the judiciary is independent of the executive, but also from individual and institutional biases, and proceeds with a mind free of extra-judicial influences.

“The role of the state’s security agencies is to act under stipulated constitutional provisions under the command of the executive and not to define what is or what is not in the national interest. The threatening tone of the ISPR statement with respect to the democratically elected prime minister is unacceptable.

“We reassert that parliament is the voice of the people and the right to install or remove a government rests solely with the electorate and not with any agency or the courts.

“Governments may be incompetent or corrupt but the sole judge of a government’s performance is the people. Any attempt to subvert the will of the people holds the potential to create conflict and endanger national integrity and must, therefore, be resisted,” the resolution concluded.

Appealing to the people of the country to stand united and firm in support of democracy and resist all attempts, in the name of national security or combating corruption, to subvert democracy, the civil society members said that the Pakistani people have made great many sacrifices for the cause of democracy and they should not let any opaque vested interests trample their rights to have a democratic and elected representative system in the country.

Airblue crash: inquiry report revives compensation issue ShAh MUrAD The issue of compensation to the families of Airblue crash victims has resurfaced after the release of the investigation report into the reasons leading to the fatal Airblue crash of July 28, 2010.

As the inquiry by the Safety Investigation Board revealed negligence of pilots behind the fatal flight ED202 crash, the Airblue may have to face more severe financial and legal complications in the settlement of insurance claims.

The flight from Karachi to Islamabad had crashed into Margalla Hills, resulting in the death of all 152 passengers onboard.

Following the incident, the Defence Ministry had constituted a tribunal under Rule 273 (1) of Civil Aviation Rules, 1994 to investigate the tragic accident. The investigation team completed and submitted the inquiry report to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Director General on March 7, 2011. However, the report was submitted in the Peshawar High Court in December last year.

According to the findings, the aircrew failed to display superior judgment and professional skills in self-created unsafe environment. “In their pursuit to land in inclement weather, they committed serious violations of procedures and breaches of flying discipline, which put the aircraft in an unsafe condition over dangerous terrain at low altitude,” it was stated in the report.

The International Leasing Finance Corporation (ILFC) had leased the aircraft to Airblue on dry lease. It was insured against $35 million under hull insurance with EFU General Insurance Ltd and has London-based Lloyd’s Syndicate behind its back as re-insurance

companies.

The Lloyd’s of London is the world’s largest aviation insurance market. It is made up of members of syndicate who underwrite insurance risks together. In aviation market, generally re-insurers are not able individually to carry the larger risks that are attendant to the operation of commercial aircrafts.

Domestic aviation laws regarding compensation in the event of aircraft accident are multifaceted and very complex.

According to Section 4 of the Second Schedule to the Carriage by Air Act, 1934 duly amended with SRO 1033(K)/67 dated May 25, 1967, a passenger of domestic flight is entitled for compensation Rs.39,500 for damages sustained in the event of the death or wound sustained onboard the aircraft or in the course of any operations of embarking or disembarking.

The Contract of Carriage of Airblue says that Rs 1 million are payable as compensation to each victim’s family while the Carriage by Air Act, 2011, which was passed by the Senate in October 2011 and now awaits assent of the president, offers a compensation of Rs 5 million to legal heirs of each passenger.

On the other hand, Rule 179 (2) (c) of Civil Aviation Rules, 1994 requires that each airline seeking permission to operate flights to and within Pakistan shall maintain a comprehensive insurance policy covering aircraft, passengers, cargo, and third party risks at that level required by the ICAO Convention.

A literal interpretation could lead to the conclusion that the Rule 179 (2) (c) has interlinked the air carrier’s liability with ICAO convention without making any difference between a domestic passenger and an international passenger for compensation purpose.

Currently, the ICAO’s Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air – commonly known as the ‘Montreal Convention, 1999’ – is governing the international air carrier liability regime. Pakistan ratified the Montreal Convention, 1999 on 19 December, 2006.

The convention introduced a twotier liability system. In the first-tier, passenger only has to prove under Article 17 (1) that the aircraft accident caused the death or injury and it took place onboard the aircraft or during the course of any operation and the air carrier is strictly liable under Article 21 (1) to pay 113100 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (approximately Rs 15.5 million) as compensation to each passenger.

In the second tier of liability, the air carrier, under Article 21 (2) is also liable for proven damages in excess of 113,100 SDRs, unless the carrier proves that the damage was not caused by the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the carrier or that the damage was due solely to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of a third party. In the absence of such proof by the carrier, there is no monetary limit on the amount of recoverable compensatory damages.

Here is also a possibility of conflicts of law that the Rule 179 (2) (c) which requires all domestic and international passengers should be insured against risks as per ICAO conventions; however, amount of compensation for domestic and international passenger is different under the Carriage by Air Act, 2011.

Besides domestic and international aviation laws, aviation insurance is also a complicated issue. In absence of any information about passenger’s liability insurance policy, it is still not clear as how much and under which law the amount of compensation would be de-

termined and settled in case of negligence on the part of air carrier.

The crisis over the passengers’ liability insurance will continue for crash victims as no one is sure that either the airlines has maintained passenger liability insurance for Airblue Flight ED202 under SRO 1033(K)/67, Contract of Carriage, Carriage by Air Act, 2011 or the Montreal Convention, 1999.

The investigation report of aircraft accident is proper for the purpose of fact finding and that portion of the report is admissible in the court for civil liability.

But the portion that acts on ‘probable cause’ is not admissible in the court to apportion criminal liability.

If negligence, wrongful act or default of the air carrier or its servants is proven, the compensation amount has no limit and air carrier is liable for ‘proven damages’ on top of basic compensation which victims’ families have already received from the airline.

Important factors that may determine the amount of compensation are: (1) age of the deceased; (2) educational status; (3) employment/business; (4) marital status; (5) loss of dependency; (6) loss

of love and affection, among others.

Losses of pecuniary benefits, which the claimant have been deprived on account of negligence of the air carrier, would be assessed based on principles enunciated by the judgments of the superior courts regarding claim under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1955, while the nonpecuniary benefits would be evaluated on the premises of Common Law of Torts and overall compensation amount will be determined based on liability rules under aviation laws.

If the victims’ families, who have already received compensation, feel that they have not been compensated enough, they still have the right to pursue the court and can get more amounts.

The current aviation regulatory framework in Pakistan is outdated and ambiguous. The government should prepare and implement a transparent regulatory framework in Pakistan in conformity with ICAO Conventions and Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

The writer is an aviation lawyer and can be reached at shahmurad@live.com

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thursday, 19 January, 2012

karachi 09 PakistaN today

‘Arts council helps soften city’s image’

■ KMC administrator hands over cheque of annual grant to ACP delegation kArAchI Staff RepoRt

An elderly man puts together a jharoo (local broom). oNLINE

After Ghotki and Karachi, PTI ‘tsunami’ to flood Umerkot kArAchI

T

Staff RepoRt

HE Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday announced holding another public rally in Sindh, this time at Umerkot, after successful rallies in

Ghotki and Karachi PTI vice president and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced the decision while talking to the media at the residence of Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded leader Maqbool Shaikh.

“Imran’s 11th match will be held at Umerkot on February 19,” he said.

“Many Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders are looking to play on the same wicket as several parliamentarians of the party are not happy with their leadership.”

Michael Javed to head PTi’s sindh minority wing kArAchI Staff RepoRt

Former Sindh MPA and Christian leader Michael Javed has been appointed the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh minority wing.

This was announced on Wednesday in a statement issued by PTI Sindh President Naeemul Haq. Besides Javed, Rizwan Ahmed was appointed as the party’s secretary coordination in Sindh. The latest appointments are a part of the PTI’s process to complete its office in the province.

“After organising successful public meetings in Ghotki and Karachi, the PTI’s third big public meeting will be held in Umerkot,” he proclaimed.

Replying to a question regarding contempt of court notice served to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Qureshi was of the view that it would not be possible for Aitzaz Ahsan to protect Gilani. “He may remain safe if he brings flexibility in his attitude,” he added.

Earlier, during the meeting with

former provincial minister Shaikh, the PTI leader discussed the current political situation of the country with the Likeminded member and exchanged views regarding him joining the PTI. This was the second meeting of Qureshi with Shaikh to coax the latter into joining the PTI, but Shaikh did not announce joining the PTI, as he is weighing his options with fellow politicians in Sindh.

‘300 acres of industrial land in hyderabad still in mafia’s control’ kArAchI aftab Channa

Though the Sindh government has been carrying out strict action against the land mafia, at least 300 acres of industrial land are still in the clutches of land grabbers in Hyderabad, adversely affecting the industrialisation of the province’s second largest city, it has been learnt.

The realisation surfaced on Wednesday during a daylong tour of the Nooriabad Industrial Area and the Kotri Industrial Area, Hyderabad Industrial Area, and the Hala Industrial Area arranged for journalists by

Sindh Commerce and Industries Minister Rauf Siddiqui.

The minister said his department would not allow the future of the province to be put at stake at any cost.

He said no land mafia, however powerful it might be, would be allowed to encroach upon state lands earmarked for industrialisation.

He admitted, however, that some 300 acres of industrial land are still under the control of the land mafia in Hyderabad.

Although the provincial revenue department has been claiming retrieving thousands of acres of land from the land mafia with the help of

the law-enforcement agencies (LEAs), the operation remains limited to Karachi, and thousands of acres are still under the land mafia’s control in other districts.

The industries department is launching a strict action to retrieve encroached lands and letters have been written to the LEAs in this regard, said Siddiqui.

He said, “There are no outstanding dues of any utilities against the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate, but the industrial body owes a handsome amount to industrialists in pending dues. The amount recovered would be utilised for the development of the industrial estate from where the

amount is recovered.”

The minister, along with the journalists, also visited the site from where water is supplied from the Keenjhar Lake to Nooriabad and announced that this important project would be completed by February 15.

He also visited the Kotri Effluent Treatment Plant and instructed the authorities concerned to ensure its completion as soon as possible.

Claiming that if the industrialists are provided with foolproof security, Siddiqui said the situation of Sindh would be different in the next five to 10 years with regard to huge investment, both local and international.

With artistic, cultural, literary and educational programmes held throughout the year, the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) portrays a soft image of the city of Karachi to the world, said Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed.

He expressed these views while talking to an ACP delegation which called on him at his office on Wednesday.

Earlier, Syed had handed over the annual grant check to ACP President Ahmed Shah.

“Rise of literary, educational and cultural activities is considered a good sign for any society,” he said. “Nations that protect their cultural heritage never see a downfall.”

The city administrator said that organisations like ACP should especially patronise new artists, writers and poets so that they could be encouraged and the current generation can deliver people who promote the name of our country in the world.

“The KMC has decided to hold weekly programmes in the city that would include sports events, paintings exhibitions, literary programmes and events for special children,” Syed said.

Thanking the administrator for providing the annual grant, ACP President Shah said it would help the council to continue its literary and educational activities.

ACP Vice President Mehmood Ahmed Khan, Community Development Senior Director Muhammad Rehan Khan and District Officer Khurshid Shah among other officers were also present on the occasion.

Civil society to stage demo tomorrow for dismissal of Sindh University VC kArAchI Staff RepoRt

The civil society of Karachi extended its support to the Sindh University Teachers Association (SUTA) on Wednesday in its demand of dismissing the varsity’s vice chancellor (VC), and decided to hold a demonstration in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Friday (tomorrow).

This was announced at the KPC during a press conference that was addressed by the civil society’s Saeed Baloch and Asad Butt, SUTA’s Dr Azhar Ali Shah and Arfana Mallah, and Karachi University Teachers Society’s Dr Riaz.

The teachers’ bodies and other civil society representatives condemned the assassination of Prof Bashir Ahmed Channar at the University of Sindh-Jamshoro, and demanded the government to remove Vice Chancellor Dr Nazir Mughal.

They also demanded constituting a judicial commission to probe the assassination of Channar, removing Rangers personnel from the campus, put a ban on student wings of political parties, and restore student unions.

They said a consultation of civil society representatives, academicians, political leaders, student unions and trade unions was held before the press conference at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s office, where they demanded the governor, also the chancellor of public universities in the province, to resolve all the problems of the Sindh University.

They demanded arresting the killers of Channar and restoring normalcy at the campus.

Civil society representatives expressed concern over increasing cases of violence at Jamshoro’s varsity, revealing the grim situation of the academic environment, which is being ruined by miscreants.

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:22 AM Page 10

PakistaN today

10 karachi

‘Ya Alice, Ya Bhatti’

weAther UPDAteS

26°C high

Clear skies

14°C low

23% humidity

FrIDAy

SAtUrDAy

SUnDAy

25°C I 13°C

26°C I 13°C

25°C I 15°C

PrAyer tIMInGS Fajr 5:59

Sunrise 7:18

Zuhr 12:43

Asr 3:46

Maghrib 6:07

Isha 7:27

Starting time in Karachi

CIty DIreCtOry eMerGenCy helP POlICe 15 BOMB DISPOSAl 15, 99212667 FIre BrIGADe 16, 99215007, 99215008 eDhI 115, 32310066-2310077 KhIDMAt-e-KhAlq FOUnDAtIOn 36333811 reD CreSCent 35833973 GOVernOr’S hOUSe 136 ChIeF MInISter’S hOUSe 99202051 MOtOrwAy POlICe 130

hOSPItAlS ABBASI ShAheeD CIVIl JInnAh nICVD AGA KhAn tABBA

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32238405-8 32225284, 32258656 99215740, 32735214

COMPlAInt KeSC PtCl KwSB CDGK SUI GAS

118 1218 1339 134 1199, 99231603

rAIlwAyS InqUIry CIty StAtIOn CAntt StAtIOn

117, 99213565-6 99213538 99201118

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COlleGeS / UnIVerSItIeS KArAChI UnIVerSIty neD UnIVerSIty FUUASt DUhS SMIC FASt-nU SZABISt IOBM IBA IVS

thursday, 19 January, 2012

99261300-06 99261261-8 99244141-9 99215754-7 99217501-3 111128128, 34100541-7 111922478 35090961-7 111422422 35861039-40

T

HE patients of the Sacred Heart Hospital for All Ailments are looking for a miracle, and Alice Bhatti is looking for a job. Alice is a candidate for the position of junior nurse, grade 4. It is only a few weeks since her release from Borstal. She has returned to her childhood home in the French Colony, where her father, recently retired from his position as chief janitor, continues as part-time healer, and full-time headache for the local church. It seems she has inherited some of his gift. With guidance from the working nurse’s manual, and some tricks she picked up in prison, Alice brings succour to the thousands of patients littering the hospital’s corridors and concrete courtyard. In the process she attracts the attention of a lovesick patient, Teddy Bunt, apprentice to the nefarious ‘Gentleman Squad’ of the Karachi police. They fall in love; Teddy with sudden violence, Alice with cautious optimism.

Their love is unexpected, but the consequences are not.

Alice soon finds that her new life is built on foundations as unstable as those of her home. A Catholic snubbed by other Catholics, who are in turn hated by everyone around them, she is also put at risk by her husband, who does two things that no member of the Gentlemen Squad has ever done – fall in love with a working girl, and allow a potentially dangerous suspect to get away. Can Teddy and Alice ever live in peace?

Can two people make a life together without destroying the very thing that united them? It seems unlikely, but then Alice Bhatti is no ordinary nurse...

EXCERPT: As the door swings open, they all stand in a line, a dozen of them, not in an orderly sort of line but in three files, with hands folded at crotches, heads bowed. They look at Sister Alice and then look beyond her and when they don’t see anyone following her, they disperse as if they had taken her for someone important and now having realised that she is an ordinary nurse, all alone, feel disappointed but relieved. “We knew you were coming. We were told.” A shrivelled old man goes into a corner, takes his pants off and starts shouting at the top of his voice, “Dard aur, dawa aur; dard aur, dawa aur.”

Another one goes to him and slaps him and shouts. “No mother tongue here. Did you bring your mother with you? Then why are you complaining in your mother tongue?”

“They told us you’ll come,” says a tall man with a burly moustache and a turquoise handkerchief tied around his neck. “They told us three months ago but now you have come. You are late. But you are here now.”

Then he goes down on his knees and prostrates himself in front of her as if he is in a mosque.

Sister Alice has seen people do this in the Sacred’s open-air prayer area and the gesture has always seemed a bit ridiculous to her. Raising your ass to the sky has never seemed to her the best way to express your devotion. But that is probably the best some people can do. There are those who walk on their knees in Nazareth. To each their own, she

believes, not that you can talk about these things in public and hope to live. Even to express your bafflement at these things is to invoke the wrath of god’s henchmen.

She feels the man’s tongue licking at her toes, and she tries to move back. The man grips her ankles and pulls. She flies in the air, the flip chart in her hand hits the ceiling.

Her first thought is that if she doesn’t get that chart back, Sister Hina will be very, very angry with her.

Missing documents make Sister Hina angrier than patients defecating in the Sacred corridors. She should have held on to the clipboard, whatever else might have happened.

Alice feels she is airborne for a long time and then she lands in the waiting arms of two men who shout “howzat” like deranged cricketers.

They lift her up in the air. She feels exalted. And scared. “Lord. Yassoo.

Yassoo. Save me.”

“Welcome,” they say. And she feels she is on a bed of hands and being carried by twelve men who seem to have emerged from various levels of hell. She feels she is a part of some private celebration as they shout, “Ya Alice, Ya Bhatti.” A new arrival shouts, “Death to America” but finds himself out of synch and falls into their rhythm, like casual marchers do at a protest. There is something drone-like but pacifying about their gibberish. There is the comfort in knowing that these people actually need her help. Dawdling in air, supported by 12 men, for a moment she feels like an animal from a species that has not yet been discovered by scientists.

They put her on a bed which has

faRazeh SYeD

no bed sheets, and the Molty Foam label on it has been slashed to reveal mud-brown sponge underneath. It looks like the skin of a diseased dog. They hover over her and whisper, “She knows how we live and how we die. She knows. She knows.” She sees one man hitting himself repeatedly on the chest with her stethoscope, another item of hospital property that she should have held on to.

“Don’t do that,” shouts the old man in the corner with his pants around his ankles, both his hands covering his privates. Half his dentures are broken to accommodate a swollen tongue that stirs like a sleepy animal trying to wriggle out of a cage. “You’ll hurt yourself,” his voice booms in the room. “Do you want to hurt yourself? You are not allowed to hurt yourself. Hurting yourself is against the law.”

Sister Alice sees Teddy entering the room, his junior Mr Faisalabad’s arms frozen on his sides, his eyes squinting. With the arms of his t-shirt ripped to show off his heavy shoulders, Teddy looks like a window display in an expensive butcher’s shop. The thumb on his left hand is covered in a soiled bandage.

Here comes the chief charya, she thinks.

She has seen him hanging around A&E. She knows that he is some kind of pimp for the police and medico legal. She has always ignored him. She thinks she knows who has sent him on this rescue mission.

“Leave her alone,” he shouts. It doesn’t come out as an order, though. It is more like a hoarse, tiny voice as if someone has sta-

thRee in a CRoWD

pled his vocal chords together.

Alice Bhatti has read many stories about women being hacked and burnt or simply disappearing in the corridors of the Sacred and now Sister Hina has told her that she should consider everything in this place normal. Alice has a feeling that although she can fight and cajole these 12 loonies, this towering hulk with a funny voice is going to be her real nemesis.

“She has been sent for us,” the man with the turquoise handkerchief shouts at Teddy. They all huddle behind her. “You can’t take her away. She’ll be sent back.

You’ll see that she’ll come back for us.”

“Unauthorised personnel are not allowed in the ward,” she screams, as Teddy scoops her in his arms. “I still need to give them Lithium Sulphate.” As she is carried out of the ward, cradled in Teddy’s arms, Sister Alice Bhatti is still gripped by the fear of not having done the job she was assigned to do. She tries to scratch his eyes out. She kicks and screams, hitting him with clenched fists, then trying to claw his face. She spouts the kind of filth that has been heard in these corridors before but only from its residents, never from the medical staff. Teddy Butt walks unfazed, jerking his head left and right to avoid her punches; they look like a boy and his father in a mock boxing match. Through it all Teddy grimaces and whistles a happy song, “We are one under this flag. We are one. We are one...”

Excerpted from Mohammed Hanif’s ‘Our Lady of Alice Bhatti’; synopsis

by Jonathan Cape; photo courtesy Afrah Jamal

ahMeD anVeR

ArT eXhIBITION UNTIL JANUArY 20 VeNUe: UNIcOrN GALLerY

ArT eXhIBITION UNTIL JANUArY 21 VeNUe: ArTchOwk GALLerY

ArT eXhIBITION UNTIL JANUArY 24 VeNUe: cITI ArT GALLerY

Farazeh Syed’s art exhibition until January 20 at the Unicorn Gallery. Call 35831220 for more information.

Atif Khan, Sophiya Khwaja & Zaira Ahmed’s ‘Three in a Crowd’ until January 21 at ArtChowk-the Gallery.

Call 35300481 for more information.

Ahmed Anver’s art exhibition until January 24 at the Citi Art Gallery. Call 35822755 for more information.

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:22 AM Page 11

thursday, 19 January, 2012

Editor’s mail 11

Bhasha dam: a catastrophic risk for Pakistan Bhasha dam’s site is not a natural site for a storage dam, like Tarbela and Kalabagh. It was identified as a site for hydropower development by the World Bank in 1967. However, its first feasibility report was drawn for a storage dam on cue by Wapda in 1984. The RCC Bhasha dam height is 922 feet with a water storage capacity of 6.7 maf and hydropower generation of 4500 mw. There is no other dam of this height in the world.

Being a former UN and World Bank Chief Technical Advisor, I have observed some reservation and I think they need to be addressed first. The safety aspects of 922-feet high RCC Bhasha dam stemmed from its unprecedented height and field risk factors. There is no RCC dam anywhere higher than 620 feet in China.

RCC is relatively soft and vulnerable to cracks and leakage compared to conventional vibrated concrete used for building thousands of high dams, bridges and skyscrapers etc.

The location of Bhasha dam falls under an active earthquake zone and in the valley terrain prone to extraordinary environmental hazards. This region is seismically very active due to its position near the collisional boundary of the Indian and Asiatic tectonic plates.

The proposed dam site is located in the Kohistan region. The Kohistan terrain represents an intra oceanic "Island Arc" which was formed as the result of the collision process of the Indian and Eurasian plates. Grave seismic risk was demonstrated by magnitude 7.6 earthquake of October 8, 2005. Incidentally, it had also been predicted by a German consultant of a hydropower project that Bhasha site falling in a seismically very sensitive zone, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 could occur any time here. He proved right as noted above. The earthquake devastated the region causing a great loss of life and property, particularly in Azad Kashmir.

Another serious risk factor may be

Bounty on Musharraf reservoir induced seismicity primarily due to immense weight of water stored behind a dam. It can trigger tremours.

India's Koyna dam induced magnitude 6.4 earthquake killing 180 people in 1967. A far more disastrous was the recent exceptionally 7.9 magnitude earthquake believed to be induced by water weighing 320 million tons stored behind 511 feet high Zipingpu dam built in 2004 on the Minjiang (Min) tributary of China’s Yangtze River. Reportedly 80,000 people were killed. (Wall Street Journal Feb 6, 2009).

In 2005, the government retained Diamer-Bhasha dam Consultants (DBDC) with a German company as the lead firm.

This company was not qualified to be retained as it was blacklisted by the World Bank for having been found involved in cases of corruption and payoffs. This firm was also Consultant for India’s controversial Baglihar project.

Construction of Bhasha roll-crete dam with unprecedented height of

922/892 feet in a very active seismic zone and a valley bedevilled by hazards like avalanches, massive landslides and lake bursts, would be like sailing in unchartered waters.

Both Zipingpu and Vajont disasters occurred on tributary rivers. Their Impact largely dissipated by the time each joined respective parent river. However, in the event of failure or overtopping of Bhasha dam built on the main Indus – world’s fifth largest river, could be a recipe for a disaster of catastrophic proportions.

I appeal to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of this issue in the public interest and prevent construction of 922/892 feet high RCC Diamer-Basha dam to protect life and limb of 180 million people of Pakistan and their country from catastrophic risks all the way 1200 miles down the valley to the sea coast.

ENGR BASHIR A MALIK Lahore

the Alhamra tragedy Reading about the Alhamra tragedy that resulted in the death of three girls’ on account of a stampede with overcrowding at the end of a show, I am prompted to ask a few questions based on the reports: Why was only one exit available for so many to move out? Were there any other emergency exits which particularly large public buildings must have? Was a fire drill ever carried out? Will those responsible ever be punished? Overcrowding caused many deaths in a school children’s bus near Kalar Kahar not so long ago.

Even if punishments are awarded it in no way will lead to preventive measures to avoid unnecessary loss of life.

Have penal or curative measures been applied ever to improve the system? Certainly not. Almost all catastrophes on examination lead to finding a series of self-reinforcing deviations from sensible practice.

MASOOD HASAN Lahore

Another controversy Cricket between Pakistan and England seems to be jinxed. No series goes by without controversy, bitterness, accusations and counter-accusations. This year again the first shot has been fired by Bob Willis who has alleged that Saeed Ajmal has a suspect action. This after he had taken seven wickets in the Test mach currently being played in Abu Dhabi. The question that arises is why has this matter been raised now? Are the English playing mind games or are they simply whining as is their habit? They are known to be bad losers.

Irrespective of what transpires in the future, my advice to the management of the Pakistan cricket team and the players is to simply ignore the whole matter and concentrate on the game. This too shall pass.

PERVEZ MASUD Lahore

Gen Musarraf’s return to the country has posed new problems for his benefactors, the Americans. On his behest, his supporters have approached Washington to ensure that the former dictator, who served American interests assiduously when in power, is not arrested on arrival in the country. There’s a long list of demands Mush has made to the Americans to take care of him. Before returning, he intends meeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Saudi intelligence chief, King of Jordan, and Hillary Clinton to pave the way of his smooth return to the country.

As it is, America has become extremely unpopular in the Muslim world, especially in Pakistan where public angst against it is at the peak because of its frequent drone strikes that kill innocent Pakistanis. To protect one of their former proxies would be hard for the Yanks. In fact, Mush has cleverly put them to test by playing a mischief on them: if you don’t protect me, nobody in future would act as your puppet. Take your pick. It is a hard decision for the Yanks as they need puppets in all Muslim countries.

That’s not all, even if all security arrangements are in place for Mush at government level, who will protect him from angry kin of those he sold for bounty? There was time when Mush sold people for bounty and now he has bounty of a billion on his own head.

DR A P SANGDIL Oslo, Norway

Pack this government

only when the last tree has been cut...

Perhaps, we do not consider trees to be living beings, else we would not be cutting them down so mercilessly. We, the Pakistanis, don’t give much thought to the consequences of our actions. Apart from losing valuable natural resource in the form of trees, we are also causing severe disturbance in the environmental balance, leading to global warming, increased tempera-

law and order Pakistan’s foreign direct investment is declining day by day due to deteriorating law and order situation in the country. We are also losing by not being allowed to host international sporting events.

For instance, international cricket teams are not visiting Pakistan. We have missed the previous World Cup which was scheduled to be held in Pakistan. We are being isolated at the international level gradually. Because of this, our country is suffering huge losses in the

ture, acidic rains and more carbon dioxide in the air.

We must shun such practices and try making this world a better place to live in and move around, both for us and the generations next.

KAINAT FATIMA Lahore

form of possible revenue. Our economy is already on a ventilator. This will add to the suffering. I appeal to the authorities to improve the law and order situation and save the country from huge losses.

TARIQ HUSSAIN KHAN Karachi

Gender responsive police The initiative taken by Islamabad police to establish women complaint cells in the city is a progress towards the right direction: making the police force more gender responsive.

Although it is an excellent initiative, the prerequisite for this to actually be successfully implemented is through the development of trust in the public regarding the department of police. As long as a trust deficit exists between the police and the citizens, the police will not be approached for assistance.

In the prevalent scenario, many crimes remain unreported, especially crimes against women because the citizens do not have necessary confidence in police and the legal system.

HASSAN BASHIR Islamabad

The Supreme Court has issued contempt notice to PM Gilani for not writing letter to Swiss courts and constantly defying orders of the highest court. If the government of the day is bent upon ridiculing orders of the SC, it should shut down and close its office. It’s very unfortunate for our country that our present rulers are ridiculing court orders by reciting cheap verses in front of the SC. These people should be thrown out from judicial circles. People who have no regard for judiciary should not be treated with such privilege.

Our rulers are bent upon to humiliate the judiciary. If they think that by removing PM they can hold SC’s criticism, they are living in a fool’s paradise. And then what is the guarantee that another PM would write that letter? So it is my request to the SC that it’s better to pack this government as they are not going to write any kind of letter whosoever is the PM. It won’t serve any purpose to give them relaxation as they don't deserve it.

People are now sick and tired of this present lot of corrupt leaders. They all are bunch of crooks and criminals and nothing else.

ASMA AHSAN Islamabad send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan Fax: +92-42-36298302 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

It would be appreciated if letters were addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

of a fox and hounds

By Tariq kashmiri

S

o finally the fox (gender neutral here) is surrounded by the hounds, blood thirsty hounds that love to chase, always breathe down the neck of their prey and ultimately corner even the cleverest of foxes before tearing it into pieces. It is not that the fox is by any measure less smart than the hounds, it’s the shear number of hounds which outsmarts the fox. I wish George Orwell could be asked to write another ‘Animal Farm’ in Pakistani context. The book may have been a blockbuster as all the ingredients of drama, thrill, love, hate, betrayal, intrigues, counter-intrigues, and above all sting operations make a fascinating reading.

Here is how it would read: There was a farm which was long

ruled by hounds. The farm had a herd of sheep and goats. Hounds told the herd that they were facing imminent threats from packs of jackals and hyenas. Hounds took it upon themselves to protect the sheep and goats. Soon after, they formed an alliance with the ‘wolves’.

Although the wolves lived in a far off land but after the demise of ‘Lions’ they became the most powerful animals of the jungle. The hounds established a strong government in the farm. Assuming that the wolves are at their back the hounds attacked hyenas, the help from wolves never came and the hounds could barely save the onslaught of hyenas.

The goats were unhappy and uncomfortable with the rigid and stiff rules laid down by hounds and one day they rebelled against the hounds. A number of goats were killed but with the help of hyenas

they managed to breakaway from the farm and formed their own separate farm. Hounds were crest fallen and defeated, a leader emerged from the sheep and told the hounds to give it a rest, and all the sheep were inspired by the leader to become masters of their destiny.

Things started moving and the farm life started retuning to normality. Wolves were watching all the developments from the distance; they were never comfortable with the fact that sheep are now the rulers. In the vicinity of the farm, wolves had an old score to settle with the jackals. Wolves needed hounds at helm, unrest was created in the farm and soon there was trouble in the farm.

The popular sheep leader was removed and the hounds took over the charge of the farm, this time on the premise that the jackals were interested in the disintegration of

farm and the farm must join hands with the wolves to eliminate the threat. Full blown war was fought, the jackals were made to run away from the proximity of the farm and the rule of hounds was perpetuated with no resistance from the sheep.

Meanwhile, some hounds cohabited with sheep and a new breed of animals was born. This experiment was tried a few times before but not at the same magnitude. The results were heartening for the hounds. The new breed looked like sheep and enjoyed great acceptance amongst the sheep. Some years passed and the sheep became uncomfortable again, a young she-sheep took the task of challenging the hounds and the hybrid sheep at the same time.

After great struggle and with the help of other fellow sheep, the young sheep assumed the charge of the farm. The hounds and the hybrid managed to take a part of

farm. The power struggle between the sheep and hounds carried on.

Once when the hybrids were in power, they realised that although they have to face the criticism of the sheep, the real power is enjoyed by the hounds. The hybrids turned against the hounds breaking the unholy alliance.

The struggle between the hounds and the sheep went for years till somehow a fox managed to become the leader of the sheep.

Hounds were extremely perturbed by this development but certain events had ended their power.

Hounds always knew how to get the fox, although there were events when the incompetence of hounds was exposed beyond a shadow of doubt and once the hounds were so brutally exposed that the fox had to intervene and pacify the sheep who were demanding accountability of hounds.

Hounds gave the impression that

they were grateful but in fact they hated more than anything attempts from the fox to form alliance with the wolves ignoring hounds.

The hybrids were called and the hounds made up with them, some other very powerful animals also came in to play and operation “Get Foxy” was launched. A case was registered against the fox. The fox is cornered, the sheep are unhappy with the performance of fox as king of the animal farm.

There is not a single ally to protect the concerned fox; the wolves being longtime allies of hounds are indifferently watching the developments. Any day fox will be torn to pieces, the hounds will become the de-facto rulers and life in farm will go on. Long live the farm, long live the sheep.

The writer is a senior police officer.

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:22 AM Page 12

12 comment Good choice legal, not political

T

here is an expression, peculiar to American sports, regarding powerhouse players: give him the ball and get out of the way. With certain players, that just seems to be the best strategy a team’s management can employ.

The government has decided to give Aitzaz Ahsan the ball. And just the way the laws of physics seem to suspend themselves for exceptional athletes, the whole dynamic of the game will change now that ace lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan has entered the fray. This is not just a comment on his skills as a lawyer; would it, if it were that simple. For the outgoing Babar Awan, though not of Mr Ahsan’s calibre, was not a lightweight either. His grasp of the law has not been found lacking during the course of his rather public career. It was just that there was no love lost between him and the judiciary. The odds, yes, were stacked against him, what with him defending the incumbent government, but he also made no attempts to mend fences with the apex court either.

When, for instance, the court finally slapped a contempt notice on him after a particularly caustic press conference of his, Mr Awan chose to respond, not with some affirmation of respect for the court but with lines from a hit seraiki pop ditty. The media lapped it up; the court, predictably, was not amused.

With Mr Ahsan, however, the court has an entirely different relationship. He was president of the highest liaison body between bar and bench during a most critical part of the lawyers movement. He was the then deposed chief justice’s counsel, confidante and, occasionally, chauffer. The opposition PML(N) is said to have offered him an electoral ticket from an “electricity-pole electing” League constituency in Lahore; the populist PTI is said to have pulled out all the stops in trying to woo him over. Mr Ahsan, however, won’t budge from the PPP, even though his conciliatory attitude with the judiciary strained his relations with his party.

If his appointment as the PM’s counsel is indicative of the government wanting to take a conciliatory attitude with the courts, his line about the issue of the letter to the Swiss authorities, also, remains unchanged: the government should send it as that is what the honourable court has ordered. The premier, however, is not guilty of contempt, he says, and that is what he is going to plead in the court.

As opposed to trying to resolve the issue through political means, like press conferences and what-have-you, it seems the government has finally wisened up to trying to solve it through legal means.

no grandstanding, please time for pragmatism

P

ak-US relations are too important an issue to be exploited for playing to the gallery. There is no doubt that the Nato attack on Pakistani posts leading to the killing of 24 troops was a dastardly act requiring an apology from the US which has yet to come.

Having said this, there remains a need on the part of the two countries to remain engaged over how to deal with the terrorists who present an existential challenge to Pakistan and have considerably raised the number of the US and allied casualties.

There is a perception that the estrangement between Islamabad and Washington has provided a godsend opportunity to the militants to regroup and fight with greater confidence. It has also been maintained that Pakistan army operating against militants in a number of Fata agencies has suffered more on account of the lack of information exchange and end to coordinated attacks. The hope that the cessation of cooperation with Washington would encourage the militants to stop attacks inside Pakistan and lead them to the negotiating table has proved to be false. Early this month, the TTP executed 15 Pakistani security personnel who they had kidnapped a month earlier. Brazen and deadly attacks on police and FC checkposts have taken place in Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Tank and outside Peshawar.

A TTP spokesman had made it clear last month that the outfit would not stop attacks inside Pakistan till the establishment of the type of Islamic system that the Taliban government had introduced in Afghanistan. He also maintained that the attacks on Pakistan army would, meanwhile, continue unabated. He had also denied that any TTP group had entered into talks with the government. The issue of Pak-US relations has been handed over to parliament. One expects the parliamentarians not to be carried away by rhetoric. Any indulgence in grandstanding would harm the country. Those outside parliament who really call the shots too need to realise that it is of utmost importance to resolve the differences with the US at the earliest.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

thursday, 19 January, 2012

our Balochistan blindspot We have eyes but fail to see

By Nazir Naji

I

t doesn’t seem that in the power games between the parliament, judiciary, commanders and the media, the people busy making this move and that manoeuvre have noticed what is coming to pass in Balochistan. Kabul, Washington, the Emirates, Tehran and Delhi are paying close attention to what is happening in Balochistan but Islamabad has its head buried deep in the sand. The Pakistani government and political leadership has tried to understand the problems of the Baloch but it has amounted to naught.

The government did present the Aghaz-eHaqooq package initially but its status is akin to a message that was rubbished by the recipient even without opening the envelope. From the opposition’s side, Nawaz Sharif toured the area and reached out with sincerity. But he could only gain access to veteran Ataullah Mengal who himself admits that ‘the youth don’t listen to (him) anymore.’

Sardar Mengal has the experience of dealing with Pakistan. If any leader could become a bridge between Islamabad and Balochistan, it would be him. Twenty-five years ago, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Sardar Khair Bux Marri, Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo and Sardar Mengal were all there and desirous of solving matters with Islamabad. I remember what all of them used to say. Mir Ghaus Bux said that we’ve lived 50 years with Pakistan and Islamabad has come to know a lot about us and we’ve come to know a lot about Islamabad. He also said that it should not be difficult to talk matter out and it must be understood by those who call us ‘Indian agents’ that our politics has organically developed here in Pakistan and we know nothing of Delhi. He said that being approving from a distance was a different thing than sitting to-

gether and fleshing things out. Why would the Baloch, he added, abandon the known (Pakistani rulers) for the unknown (Indian ones) as they had no idea what Delhi would want and do if they did indeed gain independence and tried to contact it. He said that there is no substantive difference between Delhi and Islamabad in how they mete out treatment to ethnic minorities. So why would the Baloch prefer Delhi over Islamabad. He said that Islamabad should trust us when we say that we want to work with them. He warned that they should not set up obstacles in their (these leaders’) path as what progress could be achieved during their lives would not be possible after.

Nawab Akbar Bugti used to say openly in gatherings in Lahore that ‘(they) had no other gripe with Islamabad. They could just keep the pounds as long as they give the Baloch their deserved pennies and put an end to all the oppression. Sardar Khair Bux Marri also talked of justice and regional parity but he was the first amongst the four aforementioned leaders who made up his mind that attaching hopes with Islamabad was an exercise in futility. The most enthusiastic about establishing contacts with Islamabad was Mir Bizenjo and this earned him the epithet of ‘the father of negotiations’ sarcastically from Sardar Marri.

Sardar Mengal was the one who was the keenest on living with Pakistan. It was his magnanimity that he did not hate Pakistan despite the martyrdom of his young son Asad Mengal and allowed his son Akhtar Mengal to become CM at a time when the Baloch leadership was not ready to be part of the government given the federation’s conditions. If the process of reaching out had started during Akhtar Mengal’s tenure, we would have been reaping its fruit by now. It is unfortunate that we arrested Mengal ignominiously and put him through hell and he was the one in whose tenure Pakistan was able to clandestinely conduct nuclear tests.

Now the situation is such that there is no Baloch leader left who has both the experience of dealing with Islamabad and also has the respect of the young and active nationalists. Mir Bizenjo is no more. Nawab Bugti was martyred. Sardar Marri has disassociated himself from politics and Sardar Mengal himself admits that the young nationalist aren’t ready to listen to him.

It won’t be wrong to say that those Islamabad picks to sit in the Balochistan assembly have no association with the people’s senti-

ments. Neither do their interests lie in Balochistan. Whatever money and resources they get from Islamabad, they divvy among themselves. Even the resources that the military tries to get to the Baloch public through them do not reach its intended recipients. The reality is that the supposedly ‘elected’ representation of Balochistan, comprising of those that Islamabad ‘trusts’; is the one that is to blame for keeping this distance.

So should we abandon Balochistan as a ‘lost cause’ and wipe our hands clean of it? Can any region and its people be forced into stagnation? If those that oversee the workings of the state are not working for change, will the process of change be interred as well? This cannot and does not happen. The unrest and unrelenting bloodshed is cause for concern in the entire region. A few days ago, a representative of the US state department revealed online that they were getting constant queries from Balochistan and its adjoining areas about what the US was doing to deal with the atrocities being committed in Balochistan. The representative officially stated that the US is deeply worried about the situation and are talking to Pakistan authorities about it.

In present day Balochistan, unlike Balochistan of yesteryear, there is no leader who can or wants to talk to Islamabad. The youth that has taken up arms is moving farther away from Islamabad with each passing day.

The attacks on the security forces in Balochistan show that they now have greater expertise and better training. Now they target people after proper political planning. Energy sources are being picked out one by one. Even AlJazeera covered the activities of these insurgents the other day which showed that the areas where the security forces are not in control are becoming hotbeds of resistance. Nobody has the guts to bring out the flag of Pakistan in rallies there as flags of Balochistan fly high. The commander of an insurgent group said clearly on TV that they would increase the scope of their armed activities to Lahore and Islamabad.

Those grappling for power in Islamabad are not looking to Balochistan. Will they do so when the deafening sound of blast reaches their own ears? Will Islamabad open its eyes and reach out when there will be no one left to talk with in Balochistan?

The writer is one of Pakistan’s most widely read columnists.

how to reach out to the Baloch

By Ahmed Yusuf

A

n apology from the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, was obviously not enough. Nor was the Aghaz-eHaqooq package. Away from the public eye, a civil war rages unabated in Balochistan, every bullet fired pushing the Baloch people further away from Pakistan.

Very few, seemingly including Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, understand that the break-up of Pakistan is a very real possibility.

Equally, very few are willing to accept that Balochistan is a real problem, that neo-colonialism can coexist with neo-liberalism, or that the colonial policy of silencing dissent is no longer viable.

Yes, there is a need for an all parties conference because Balochistan is not a matter to hide from the public eye any more. An APC should be convened, in Quetta, but its agenda should be shorn of political grandeur, and rooted in a brutally honest narration of Pakistani history. Following are some suggestions for an APC on Balochistan; I write these

lines with the intention that there is some debate on what we, Pakistan, have to offer to our Baloch friends in order to convince them that Pakistan is still a viable option for them.

1. Accept that we were wrong.

We are negotiating from a position of weakness – obviously not in military terms, but certainly, in moral terms. There are many things we have to apologise to the Baloch for: we went to war against the Baloch people in 1948, 1958, 1963 and 1973; the most recent war, which started during General Musharraf’s regime, continues till this day and shows no sign of drawing to a close. In essence, there are countless Baloch who were killed at the hands of Pakistani security forces. Accepting that “citizens” of Pakistan were killed in Balochistan by the state is a premise and a good starting point. True, many Pakistani security personnel have also lost their lives in the war, but the aggressors must apologise first.

2. A truth and reconciliation commission must be formed immediately. There are many Baloch sons who are missing; identifying the missing and their whereabouts needs to be top priority. Non-ethnic Baloch have also been murdered, some claim by security agencies while others believe by Baloch nationalists. The families of these people don’t have closure because they don’t know who killed their beloved. Baloch activists claim that there are mass

graves in Balochistan; let the commission assign responsibility. Pakistani agencies make similar claims, let the commission rule on this accusation as well.

3. Recognise and bring banned nationalist organisations to the discussion table. Despite their “banned” status, most of these organisations continue to operate under the same name and with greater ferocity. They are legitimate actors; delegitimising them doesn’t solve any problems.

4. Initiate a discussion on the structure of the federation in Pakistan. The 18th Amendment and the new NFC Award seem to have initiated a process of stronger provinces, but what a large section of Baloch nationalists are demanding is independence altogether from Pakistan. Any serious debate on the federation should ask two questions: first, what is “Pakistan” offering to Balochistan as incentive to remain part of the federation; and second, are we prepared to let Balochistan go?

For Pakistan, it is important to think about creating a number of independent states, which in turn form a federation. Debate and legislation on new provinces is meaningless without assessing whether the current structure of the federation has worked. Handing provinces the choice to be part of Pakistan means that terms of engagement in the new federation will be on a basis of parity, not subservience. This will allow nationalist segments of Balochistan,

Sindh and lower Punjab, as well as those arguing for a “Qabailistan” to become part of the solution.

5. Plans to build cantonments in the interior of Balochistan should be abandoned, and existing military facilities be handed over to civilian authorities. The military should head to the border areas, where their need is more pressing.

6. Both the army chief and the CJP should induct more Baloch in the military and judiciary. In the case of the former, Baloch youth should be equipped and tasked with defending the borders of Balochistan. For a people without any trust in the deployed forces in Balochistan, knowing that their own are defending them and their borders holds more meaning than any cosmetic transfer.

7. All development in Balochistan must be put solely under the purview of the provincial government.

8. Increased quotas for Baloch students in all government-run universities.

9. Increased quotas for Baloch youth in federal government and bureaucracy posts.

10. Full disclosure on all gas deals. Revised tariffs, if Balochistan agrees to sell gas to Pakistan.

11. Full disclosure on economic and military deals made in the name of protecting Balochistan.

The writer is a Karachi-based journalist. Connect with him on Twitter @ASYusuf

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:22 AM Page 13

thursday, 19 January, 2012

Arab opinion matters Listening and learning

Washington Watch

By Dr James J Zogby

I

listened attentively to Syrian President Bashar al Assad's most recent speech in which he berated the Arab League's intervention to help stem the violence currently racking his country. Claiming that he was listening to his countrymen and speaking for them and that his regime was the standard-bearer of "Arabism,” al Assad denounced the League as not representing true Arab sentiment. For obvious reasons our institute can't poll in Syria right now, but as the past ten months of mass protests have made clear, al Assad may speak for some, but certainly not all, Syrians.

On the other hand, we have polled about Syria across the Arab World, and what we find is that it is al Assad who is out of touch with the reality of Arab opinion or, as he might put it, "the beating heart of Arabism.” In every country surveyed, including Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, we learn that overwhelming majorities of Arabs side with the Syrian demonstrators and say that it is time for the al Assad government to step down.

I love polling because it erases doubt as to what people are really thinking. I call it the "respectful science.” You ask, they answer.

Responses get organised by age, gender, education level attained, income, region, and more. When you present the results, it is as if you've opened a window, letting in the voices of a society.

I'm in the United Arab Emirates right now, teaching a short course on the importance of public opinion at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus.

Looking at the most recent polling we have done across the Middle East and North Africa makes clear some of the problems facing this

region while providing keys to solutions for some of the big issues, as well.

It is not only in Syria that we need to listen and learn. When we go next door to Iraq, where we see the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki making a power grab, exacerbating the risk of internal civil conflict, we find strong majorities deeply worried about the future of their country, rejecting division and favouring instead a government that can create jobs, end corruption, and provide the stability and basic services needed for all Iraqis to lead their lives.

While Iran's leadership is busy provocatively and aggressively playing their nuclear card, our polling there reveals that the democracy movement remains strong among Iranians.

All across the country, the top priority concerns, in addition to employment, are democracy, civil and personal rights, political reform, and an end to corruption.

At the same time, polling in the Arab World also offers a cautionary warning to the West's strategy to confront Iran's leaders.

While it is true that Iran's favourable ratings among Arabs have plummeted and are now less than one half of what they were just five years ago, should the West or Israel attack Iran, all bets are off. Since the only countries with significantly lower favourable ratings than Iran in the Arab region are the US and Israel, the best way to resurrect Iran's ratings would be for the US or Israel to attack it.

While we are looking at the US, it too needs to listen better to Arab opinion.

America's favourable ratings among Arabs, which were at dangerously low levels during the Bush Administration, got a boost from the change in policy expected by the election of Barack Obama.

Three years later, US favourable ratings are lower than they were in 2008, as Arabs see no change in how America relates to the issue they still see as central to their relationship with the West – that is, the unresolved matter of Palestinian freedom.

Israel, too, should listen, but given that country's hard-line direction, they have become increasingly tone deaf to Arab and world opinion. Our polls show

that the Arab public still supports the Arab League's peace initiative for a two state solution, but a majority of Arabs in every country no longer believe that Israel has any interest in making peace.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's behaviour and US acquiescence to Israel's policies are radicalising Arab opinion creating a more volatile environment with every passing day.

We have also polled in the two Arab countries where uprisings brought down governments, creating the possibility for change.

But those who have been newly elected in Tunisia and Egypt must now pay attention to what the voices of their countrymen are saying. In both countries, the number one concern is expanding employment. While Tunisians also want an expansion of democracy, and "increasing women's rights" is high up on their list of political priorities, Egyptians are more focused on the basic needs of life and "ending corruption.” The success or failure of these "revolutions" will be measured by their ability to meet the expectations that inspired them.

Listening to opinion is also critical for other governments in the region. In Saudi Arabia, for example, far and away the number one concern is the need to expand employment. With a "youth bulge" necessitating the creation of three million new jobs over the next decade, Saudis want to know that their children will be educated and find meaningful work in their country. And in our surveys of business leaders in the Gulf region we find a growing concern that opportunities be created to support private sector economic growth, so that small businesses can become the engine driving this needed job creation.

As I explain in my recent book "Arab Voices: What they Are Saying to Us and Why It Matters" and now in my NYU course, Arab opinion matters. It clearly matters to the West which has long ignored Arab sentiment. But the views of the public matter within the region as well. The sooner leaders, East and West, listen and learn, the sooner real change can occur.

The writer is President of the Arab-American Institute.

comment 13

The shot’s been fired Can the bullet be deflected?

A

fter tumultuous and prolonged priming of the trigger, the apex court has finally pulled it. On Friday, the Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan submits to the jurisdiction of the court in response to a contempt notice. The ricochet has already hit the main council in the Bhutto reference. Avoidable and unfortunate events, to say the least, added to the ever-growing list of inexplicable happenings endemic to the land of the pure.

In the normal course, a simple glance at the massive problems facing the country would immediately have one visualising all the prime institutions deeply embedded in addressing solutions to provide relief and benefits commensurate with needs. Instead incomprehensible priorities have overwhelmed the scenario. Conflicts and confrontation are the order of the day where restraint and coherent response are desperately needed.

Scandals, omissions and commissions are not unknown in the civilised world but then they are handled in accordance with the law of the land discharged impartially, without prejudice and implemented in letter and spirit.

Thus, achieving the perfect constitutional balance between pillars of the estate. I believe it is an unbiased observation to say that abundant gray incidences can be cited in a chequered past to create serious mistrust between the lead players. This drives the atmosphere of incessant instability in which we exist.

Since our part of the world is in constant negative focus of the developed world, it is not out of place to mention the innumerable calls being received from overseas, forRandom thoughts eigners and the diaspora alike, seeking clarification and information. To

By Imran husain say they are puzzled is being polite.

Commerce is at a standstill. Investments are in limbo. Pakistan’s losses in this crisis are inestimable.

Pakistani leadership at all levels must take time to cast a glance at some very recent economic indicators. A US-based consortium has proposed investment of $10 billion in the Thar coal and energy project.

Given the current power and gas crisis, and estimated to get worse, this is a godsend. The rewards of developing almost two billion tonnes of coal reserve will have a colossal impact on the economy. Every institution in Pakistan must facilitate this.

Recent evidence, unfortunately, is to the contrary. Concessions granted for investment have been viewed as scams and jeopardised. In some instances, it may be correct, however it must be understood that the word “concession” implies special terms and incentives to induce large investment in infrastructure and development projects that are unlikely to be achieved under normal cir-

cumstances. Granting concessions is the privilege of the government.

On the domestic front, for the first time during the current government tenure development spending has not been curbed despite the fact that government needs to provide Rs 3 trillion in power subsidies. Rs 100 billion have been provided for power, water infrastructure and transportation projects during the first six months. The finance ministry has also restricted government expenditure for the first six months and revenue collection has achieved its six-month target of Rs 840 billion. Exports are up and likely to improve upon last year’s $ 25 billion. Remittances are up by 20% and reserves of $ 17 billion remain adequate to meet financial commitments that are to become due.

All this is lost in the current melee. The institutions of this country need to focus on the economy. Build on these indicators and implement reforms, build processes and expansion of the tax net, encourage investment and lending, empower entrepreneurial skills, develop venture capital and transfer opportunity from the robber barons to new, committed businesses. Law and order, discipline and the fight against terrorism require unlimited focus and commitment. The very basic needs of the people require attention and focus. When and where is this going to happen if the executive is tied up in chaos? When will the people get relief from the courts when the application of a contractually employed, retired general dismissed by government in exercise of its legal prerogative is taken up immediately while hundreds of more deserving petitions are either ‘discharged’ or given long dates?

It is a shame that better sense has not prevailed in all quarters. Confrontation is avoidable. Perhaps not easily; it requires restraint and forbearance. Adopting a position that damages one’s ability to function and continuing to perpetrate it is shooting oneself in the foot. Sucking the energy from the momentum only feeds the morass. It is difficult to fathom why a government given all the support it had at the commencement of its tenure would allow ego and poor judgement to bring it to this state. We stand for democracy and support the government in its endeavour to make parliament supreme. But that supremacy functions within the limitations of the constitution. And yes, all, repeat all, institutions are governed by the very same constitution.

There is no such thing as ‘no turning back’.

Even now there is ample opportunity for all sides to climb down from the high horse and reach a settlement that would bring the situation back from the horns of the precipice. In the recent past, a phone call from General Kayani, reversed Nawaz’ long march from Gujranwala. Perhaps a similar call now will deflect the bullet.

The writer may be contacted via e-mail at imranmhusain@gmail.com

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:22 AM Page 14

14

thursday, 19 January, 2012

I have always looked up to

SOCIETY

Kishore Kumar, says Ali Zafar

A

NewS DeSk

LI Zafar is gearing up for his latest romantic comedy ‘London, Paris, New York’.

The multi-talented actor, who has not only acted in the film but also composed the music and sung songs for it, says he is inspired by late Bollywood legend Kishore Kumar. “Big compliment for me (when people compare me with Kishore Kumar) because he is one man who I always look up to. He was so talented that I cannot dare to stand any closer to him. He was somebody who used to sing and act,” the 31-year-old said at the promo launch of ‘London, Paris, New York’. “Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra these are the people whom I idolise a lot.

They have done movies and they used to sing songs. I just hope, in my small way, I can be somewhere close to these big names,” he added. Ali says it is not tough for him to multitask and added: “I feel I am an artist, these are different forms of expression to create. I love to create, that’s it. I create music, I write poetry. I love to act,” said Ali who debuted in Bollywood with ‘Tere Bin Laden’ in 2010. ‘London, Paris, New York’ is set to hit theatres on March 2 and also stars Aditi Rao Hydari of ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ fame. Meanwhile, Ali also has David Dhawan’s remake of ‘Chashme Buddoor’.

Ambreen and Hijab

Farah

Mrs Akram and Hina

Roshana and Anaab

HIJAB

taylor Swift aims at Jake Gyllenhaal on new album? lOs aNGElEs: Taylor Swift says her new album will be about an “absolute crash-and-burn heartbreak”, prompting speculation in the media that the latest subject of her song-writing skills may be her short-lived 2010 crush on Jake Gyllenhaal. Swift, 22, whose ‘Dear John’ song was seen as a bitter ode to ex-boyfriend John Mayer, told Vogue magazine that she was working on her fourth album, and is currently single. The country-pop crossover artist, who famously wears her heart on her songwriter’s sleeve, said that writing about past loves is a way to ease the pain. Swift dated ‘Brokeback Mountain’ star Gyllenhaal for about three months in late 2010 before their much-photographed relationship ended suddenly around the Christmas holidays that year. U.S. celebrity magazines claimed that Gyllenhaal had ended the relationship because he was unhappy at the attention the couple was generating. The Grammy-winning young singer’s previous romances with ‘Twilight’ actor Taylor Lautner and singer Joe Jonas are widely thought to have inspired her songs ‘Back to December’ and ‘Forever and Always’. “I think I am smart unless I am really, really in love, and then I am ridiculously stupid,” she told Vogue. But she said she had learned some of the romantic pitfalls to avoid, including obsessive privacy. “I can’t deal with someone who’s obsessed with privacy. People kind of care if there are two famous people dating. But no one cares that much,” she said. ReUteRS

Vidya Balan to get dirtier than Kat MUMbai: It’s common knowledge that actress Vidya Balan has been approached to do an item number for ‘Ferrari Ki Sawari’, a film backed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. with A-league actresses like Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone doing the occasional item number that becomes a rage of sorts, Vidya feels it’s time she tried her hands at it, too. After all, the girl is known for her versatility. however, Vidya is up to a great challenging task. She isn’t known much for her dancing skills. It can be remembered that her part in the peppy dance number in ‘Kismet Konnection’ was canned, because she just couldn’t match steps with Shahid Kapoor. the girl is now adamant to do things differently. She is going to practise for hours on end until she manages to give the current Chammak Challos and Chikni Chamelis a run for their money. So with a little weight loss programme in place and a choreographer at her disposal, Boombaat Balan is getting set to create a storm. agenCieS

Humaira

Saad and Zainab

Sonia

‘Friends’ movie

not happening LoS angeLS: Matt leblanc, better know for playing Joey tribiani on the hit sitcom ‘Friends’, has denied rumours of a ‘Friends’ movie, insisting that he’d rather fans remember the beloved tV characters, as they were when the sitcom ended. there has been much speculation about a ‘Friends’ reunion ever since the hit show went off the air in 2004, but leBlanc insists a get together is as unlikely as ever, and talk of a possible film is utile. the actor insists ‘Friends’ will never be able to make the transition from the small screen to the big screen like ‘Sex and the City’ did. “Sex and the City’ is always a single kind of a show, like a film, so it made the transition from television to film much more readily,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying. “Also Friends was about this final period in six people’s lives. you know the saying that the book is always better than the movie because your imagination as to what these characters have moved on to and done with their lives is gonna do more justice for the characters than for us to try and put them back in a room together. It was about that 20-something age and that’s how I feel. there’s no plans for a movie,” he added.agenCieS

Anaab

lAhOre: ‘labels’ recently held a ‘Design your Own Silk Kurta’ event where top designers such as Saira rizwan, Ayesha Khurram, SrS, nSr, teena by hina Butt, Kaamdani by Sonia hummayun, Iffat Omar and Zainab Salman participated. the event’s media and Pr was managed

by Voila Pr.

Madiha

‘Not motivated by

awards’ LoS angeLeS: the ‘J. edgar’ star - who has been nominated for three Oscars in his career -prefers to think about the people he will work with instead of the possibility of being critically acclaimed for his parts. he said: “I don’t think I ever expected anything like an Oscar ever, to tell you the truth. that is not my motivation when I do these roles. I really am motivated by being able to work with great people and create a body of work that I can look back and be proud of.” the 37-year-old actor is always grateful when people are talking about movies he is in, but has come to learn not all of his films will be a success in the eyes of audiences. he told the Scotsman newspaper: “I have learned from my experiences in this industry that there is absolutely no way to control people’s opinions on your performance in your movie. you go out there, promote your film and hope people like the work you did. But they’re going to respond the way they’re going to respond when they’re in a room with that ballot. I’m thankful people are talking about it in that capacity, but ultimately I truly have no control over it.” agenCieS

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:23 AM Page 15

Lindsay Lohan still on right track LOS ANGeLeS

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Babar and Kinza

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Competition heats up as ‘American Idol’ returns LOS ANGeLeS ReUteRS

Uzma and Sumbal

Buy tom Cruise’s pool water

C T R E S S Lindsay Lohan is doing well in complying with the terms of her probation, a judge said Tuesday, in the second positive report in a row for the perennially-troubled starlet. The 25-year-old, who made headlines by posing nude for the latest issue of Playboy, was complimented at her latest hearing before judge Stephanie Sautner near her home in the trendy Venice district west of Los Angeles. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you appear to be doing it well,” said Sautner, adding that the “probation officer has written a favourable report, as has the volunteer center.”

If Lohan sticks to the schedule, her probation will terminate at the end of March, Sautner said. Lohan-the promising child star of hit Disney movies ‘The Parent Trap’ and ‘Freaky Friday’- is well known for her hard partying and has faced a series of legal tangles over the years. She was sentenced to 35 days of house detention last May as part of a plea bargain over the alleged theft of a $2,500 necklace from a jewellery shop near her home in Venice Beach. In November Lohan spent five hours in prison after being sentenced to a 30-day stretch for breaching probation on previous offences including a 2007 drug and drunk driving misdemeanour. The star is featured in a nude photo-spread in the January/February issue of Playboy, for which she was reportedly paid nearly $1 million.

Arooj and Yasmin

Mehwish and Naveen

15

‘American Idol’ returns on Wednesday for an 11th season, facing a new wolf at the door as it tries to retain its place as the No. 1 U.S. TV program — not so much age, but competition. Rejuvenated by a judging panel makeover and the discovery of its biggest star in years in country singer Scotty McCreery, the talent show last season saw a four percent increase in audience, reversing a trend that had seen viewer-ship slip.

But that was before NBC launched its surprise 2011 summer hit ‘The Voice’ and Simon Cowell brought his ‘The x Factor’ in September with outsize hype but underwhelming critical reviews.

Each show attracted about half the average 25.2 million viewers who watched ‘American Idol’ in 2011. According to industry experts, ‘American Idol’ faces more competition this year than ever. “You are a month away from the end of ‘x Factor’ and a month away from the beginning of ‘The Voice’. And so you do wonder if, even though ‘x Factor’ was not as big a success as Simon Cowell had anticipated, if it managed to cannibalise viewers from ‘Idol.’ That will be the big question going in.”

Fox says it is not overly concerned

about the competition, calling ‘American Idol’ the ‘gold standard’ of TV singing contests which has produced bona-fide stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson. TV critics were predicting the demise of ‘Idol’ following the exit of acerbic judge Cowell. But, thanks partly to the addition of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and pop star Jennifer Lopez as judges, “it came roaring back.” Yet this year, more than ever, questions are being raised about viewer fatigue, given the new, rival shows. ‘The Voice’, which put a twist on the format with blind auditions and live performances by its superstar judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, is not considered the foremost competitor. ‘x Factor’, however, was so similar to ‘Idol’ that viewers might have little appetite for another singing binge so soon, Mansfield said.

‘Idol’ caught fire in 2011 as teen country stars Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina emerged as likely finalists. McCreery, 17, the eventual winner, went straight to the top of the Billboard album charts in October in the best debut by an Idol champion since 2008.

Last week, McCreery’s ‘Clear As Day’ album went platinum after selling more than one million copies.

Sehar

Salman punishes

‘Veer’ producer MUMbai: For the uninitiated, there is one rule in B’wood which if broken, can cost one dearly. no one messes with the Khans, especially Salman Khan. the man paying the price this time is the producer of the 2010 historic drama ‘Veer’ which starred Salman. According to reports, the Federation of western India Cine employees (FwICe) has banned ‘Veer’s producer Vijay Galani from producing any movies until he pays Salman his remaining dues for the film. the complaint had been lodged with FwICe by Salman himself who had allegedly not been paid dues amounting to rs. 12 crore. Although the big budget movie ‘Veer’ starred Salman and was hyped for its leading actress Zarine Khan who shared an uncanny resemblance with Katrina Kaif, it failed to create any impression at the BO. But it seems Salman was more upset about not getting his dues than the movie’s failure. the actor, sources say, had contacted Vijay several times to settle the issue amicably but nothing worked out. It was then that Salman took up the issue with the Union and asked for a meeting with the producer. when the FwICe was approached for comments they confirmed the issue and said that they wanted the issue to have a resolution soon. we all know how ugly things turned out for Vivek Oberoi when he went public with his war against Salman. hopefully Vijay Gilani hasn’t forgotten that lesson and will pay up Salman soon! agenCieS

An eBay seller is offering a jar of pool water that has apparently touched the holy hides of the Cruise family. You can buy Tom Cruise’s pool water which will come in a jar, helpfully labelled ‘Tom Water’. To be fair, apparently there’s some Katie Holmes in there as well, as the sample was taken from a Miami Beach pool where Tom, Katie and their daughter Suri swam. The seller will even include a print of this blessed event as proof of authenticity. Why one would ever want a jar of dirty pool water with faint essence of Tom Cruise is best left for therapists and higher-level officials of Scientology to discuss, but the seller has included some suggestions: “Tom Cruise water can be used in rituals, potions, or perfumes. It can be dabbed behind the ears or on the wrists for good luck. You can place some of it around the hearth of your home or baptize your baby with it.” Baptize your baby with it! That’s right!

Slather your baby’s head in chlorinated people stew! This can’t be real. This isn’t real, right?

Actually, it’s $130 worth of real, according to the latest bid.

Unfortunately there is no ‘Buy It Now’ option. Now if you will excuse us, we need to go douse ourselves in Tom Cruise water and wait for the apocalypse. agenCieS

Shah rukh Khan promotes Priyanka’s film!

MUMbai: when it comes to promoting and helping colleagues and friends from the film fraternity in popularising their products, Shah rukh Khan takes the cake. he proved it once again while co-hosting an award event when he told the audience to go and see Priyanka Chopra’s next film when it releases. the film is Kunal Kohli’s tentatively titled under-production ‘teri Meri Kahaani’, which he has just finished shooting. the actress has teamed up with Shahid Kapoor in the movie. Kohli who was present on stage when the incident happened, said: “It was really very sweet of Shah rukh Khan. he was on stage co-hosting the show with Vidya Balan. I went up on stage to give Priyanka Chopra an award, and I said I hoped she’d get one next year for my film.

Shah rukh turned around and asked me, ‘what is this, plugging your film at any given opportunity?’ I told him, ‘Sir, I learnt it from you only.’ then Shah rukh announced to the audience that they must watch my film. I thought it was a thoughtful gesture.” agenCieS

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16 Foreign News

thursday, 19 January, 2012

Syria’s Brotherhood rejects Iran power deal: report NIcOSIA afp

The Muslim Brotherhood has rejected an Iranian proposal to play a leading role in Syria’s government in exchange for President Bashar al-Assad staying in power, one of its leaders told Al-Hayat newspaper. Iranian intermediaries proposed that the Brotherhood “lead a government (in Syria) on condition we give up our demand to replace Bashar alAssad,” the group’s deputy secretary, Mohammed Faruk Tayfur, told the Londonbased daily. “It is the responsibility of the international community to protect civilians and establish security corridors,” as French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe stated, said Tayfur. “We must ask the Arab League to publish a report and transfer it to the (UN) Security Council,” added the Islamist leader, who was speaking from his office in Istanbul.

Tayfur, who is also a member of the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group, dismissed reports the uprising against Assad’s regime is turning more radical. He accused the regime of “pushing (the revolt) towards militarisation and sectarianism.”

nuclear talks ‘most probably’ in Istanbul: Iran ANkArA afp

A new round of talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme will “most probably” take place in Istanbul, Tehran’s foreign minister said during a visit to Turkey Wednesday, Turkish media reported. “I am not sure, but most probably it will be in Istanbul,” Ali Akbar Salehi said, a year after the last round of talks collapsed. The date will be set in “the near future,” Salehi was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

Iranian officials have said Tehran is ready for talks with world powers on its nuclear programme, which the West believes masks a drive to develop atomic weapons. Tehran insists the nuclear drive is exclusively for peaceful purposes. In Ankara, Salehi said his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, was in contact with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and European Union chief diplomat Catherine Ashton. The negotiations between the Islamic republic and six world powers — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany — were last held in Istanbul in January 2011, but made no progress. Salehi was due to meet Wednesday with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, an embassy spokesman said, adding that political and economic issues would figure high on the agenda, without elaborating.

Israel raid kills one, wounds two in Gaza GAZA cITY afp

An Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip killed one Palestinian and wounded two on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-run emergency services told AFP. The strike hit a field used by Hamas militants just east of the town of Beit Hanun, Palestinian security sources said.

“We recovered one martyr and two other people with injuries after the air raid carried out by occupation aircraft in Beit Hanun,” spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya told AFP, adding that one of the injured was in critical condition. He identified the dead man as Mohammed Abu Awda, 23, and said medics were combing the area for any other casualties from the strike.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the target was “a terrorist squad that was attempting to place an explosive device by the security fence” in the second such incident this year. She said an Israeli aircraft and the armoured corps had fired at the squad, and the device that they were trying to plant had exploded. In 2011, there were “approximately 30 such incidents,” she added.

iSoLa DeL gigLio: passengers of a ferry boat on Wednesday look at the cruise liner Costa Concordia aground in front of the harbour of the isola del giglio (giglio island) after hitting underwater rocks on January 13. AfP

Israel’s Barak says Iran attack decision ‘far away’ Russian fM warns strike on Iran will be a ‘catastrophe’ which will have ‘severest consequences’ g

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NY decision by Israel about a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities remains “very far away,” Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday as tension rose between Iran and the West.

“We don’t have a decision to go forward with these things. We don’t have a decision or a date for taking such a decision. This whole thing is very far away,” Barak told army radio. Washington has been spearheading a campaign for much tougher sanctions against the Iranian economy in a bid to rein in a nuclear drive that Israel and many Western governments believe is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

But Israel does not believe Iran has yet taken the decision to begin producing a nuclear warhead, Barak said. “The Iranians have not ended the oversight exercised by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” he said. “They haven’t done that because they know it would constitute proof of the military nature of their nuclear programme and that would provoke stronger international sanctions or other types of action against their country.” Israel, which has the Middle East’s sole if undeclared

Saudi ex-spy chief says ‘all’ options open on Iran DUBAI Saudi Arabia will use “all available options” to defend itself against Iranian “threats” that might trigger “unwanted military confrontation,” its former intelligence chief told a Gulf security conference. Prince Turki al-Faisal’s comments to the conference in Bahrain late on Tuesday came after Tehran demanded Riyadh rethink its offer to

make up for any oil lost to world markets as a result of threatened curbs on Iranian exports. “Any threat to our interests or security will force us to use all available options to defend our interests, and national and regional security,” Faisal said in remarks carried by the Al-Arabiya news channel. “The mounting escalation and persistent tensions might end up in an adventure with unpredictable consequences or in an unwanted military confrontation.”

nuclear arsenal, has said an Iranian nuclear weapons capability would pose an intolerable threat to the Jewish state, and has not ruled out military action to prevent it from becoming a reality.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned any strike on Iran would be a “catastrophe” which would have the “severest consequences.” “As for the chances of this catastrophe happening, you would have to ask those constantly mentioning it as an option that remains

on the table,” Lavrov said. Reports have suggested a divide between Israel and Washington on the question of military action against Iran, with the United States reportedly pressuring the Jewish state to hold back. But Barak, speaking on the eve of a visit by top US military chief Martin Dempsey, denied Israel was facing US pressure. “The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is not coming with a view to putting pressure of the state of Israel,” he said.

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US, allies say N. Korea must give up nukes wAShINGTON afp

The United States and allies South Korea and Japan on Tuesday urged North Korea to recommit to giving up nuclear weapons amid deep concern following the death of the regime’s leader Kim Jong-Il. Senior officials from the three countries held talks in Washington to plot their next steps following Kim’s sudden death on December 17, which left control of the nuclear-armed state to his young, inexperienced son Kim Jong-Un. The US State Department said in a statement that the countries were committed to a six-nation 2005 agreement on North Korea “including its core goal of the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner.” “We also agreed that a path is open to North Korea towards the resumption of talks and improved relations with the United States, Japan and Republic of Korea through dialogue,” it said, referring to South Korea by its official name. The 2005 agreement — which also involved China, Russia and North Korea itself — called on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons in return for badly needed economic assistance and security guarantees. North Korea stormed out of the six-way talks in April 2009 to protest what it described as US hostility. It has since sought to resume dialogue, but the United States has repeatedly insisted that Pyongyang commit to past agreements. The United States has also urged North Korea to reduce tensions with the South. Pyongyang in 2010 shelled an island in the South and was accused of torpedoing a warship, incidents that killed 50 people in total.

hundreds participate in ‘occupy Congress’ protest wAShINGTON afp

Lawmakers returning from a three-week winter break were greeted Tuesday by hundreds of protesters from the “Occupy” movement, who gathered outside the US Capitol building to decry the corrupting influence of money in politics.

Protesters from the self-proclaimed Occupy Congress group — met by scores of uniformed police officers — were denied entry to congressional corridors and said they planned to spend the day on the grassy areas that surround the building.

As they chanted amid a steady winter drizzle, the protesters wielded signs urging lawmakers to “Come out of your ivory tower and hear the people.” Another told lawmakers that “We are here to be heard.” By late afternoon, four people had been arrested. Three were charged with illegally crossing police lines and the fourth with assaulting a police officer, a Capitol Police spokesman told AFP. Speakers in front of the Capitol building included Kimberly Haas, an unemployed chemist from Hillsborough, New Jersey. She accused politicians of acting to protect their self-interest. Marsha, a

lawyer, said people who work in the Capitol are “corrupt.” Jalen Matney of Orlando, Florida, called Barack Obama a huge “disappointment” who was motivated by money.

In addition to protesters from other cities, some of them have been camped since October in two downtown Washington parks called the “Occupy Washington” and “Occupy DC” sites.

Washington’s Mayor Vincent Gray last week asked the National Park Service to evict protesters to eliminate rats and trash and allow restoration of the park at one site in MacPherson Square, near

the White House. The Occupy movement took its cue from mass protests against budget cuts and unemployment in Europe. The movement’s leaders say they also were inspired by democracy revolutions in North Africa. Since US cities began evicting protest campers in parks from New York to California, the movement has lost much of its momentum. Protests in Washington have remained stronger during what has been a mild winter. The first Occupy encampment began four months ago in a park in New York City’s Wall Street financial district.

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thursday, 19 January, 2012

Foreign News 17

China backs Syria monitors, Russia opposes sanctions DAMAScUS

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HINA on Wednesday defended the Arab League’s widely criticised observer mission to Syria as Russia warned against imposing sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s state-run media accused the Gulf state of Qatar of fuelling the crisis by financing and arming rebels fighting the security forces after Damascus flatly rejected Doha’s proposal to send in Arab troops. “Since the Arab League observer mission began, the violence in Syria has not completely ended, but the security situation of major areas has improved,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin. “(This) shows the mission is effective,” he added. Russia, which insists the Syrian opposition is as much to blame for the violence as the regime, warned against Western calls for punitive measures

against Damascus.

“For us, the red line is fairly clearly drawn. We will not support any sanctions,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country was a Cold War ally of Damascus and retains a naval base at Tartus on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. Despite the opposition from Moscow, European Union foreign ministers are set to tighten the bloc’s unilateral sanctions against Damascus next week, diplomats said. Eight companies and 22 individuals will be added to an existing EU blacklist, the diplomats said. “As long as the repression continues, we will step up our restrictive measures,” one diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Syria’s state-owned media stepped up its rhetoric against Qatar ahead of a meeting of ther Arab League on Saturday and Sunday which will discuss its proposal for Arab troops as well as the future of the observer mission. The Gulf state “can help Syria get out of its crisis... by stopping its financing of armed (groups) and the traf-

ficking of weapons” to insurgents, the government newspaper Tishrin charged.

Damascus routinely blames the violence in Syria on “armed groups” and “terrorists” backed by foreign powers pursuing an agenda of regime change.

In an interview with US television network CBS aired at the weekend, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, said he favoured sending Arab troops to Syria to “stop the killing.” From its base in Turkey, the rebel Free Syrian Army called on the Arab League to “quickly transfer the case of Syria to the UN Security Council,” in a statement signed by its leader Riyadh alAsaad, a dissident colonel. Western governments oppose the Russia text which they say wrongly equates security force violence with what they say is far less frequent armed action by the opposition. In violence on Tuesday, at least 20 civilians were killed, eight of them when a blast hit a minibus in Idlib province in the northwest, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

obama raises pressure for Syria regime change DAMAScUS afp

Us President barack Obama vowed to redouble efforts to force a change of regime in syria as the UN security Council struggled to agree on a resolution on damascus’s crackdown on dissent. Obama said concerns about the crackdown on demonstrators by President bashar al-assad’s forces had been “uppermost” in talks with visiting Jordanian King abdullah II on Tuesday. “We continue to

see unacceptable levels of violence inside that country,” Obama said. “We will continue to consult very closely with Jordan to create the kind of international pressure and environment that encourage the current syrian regime to step aside so that a more democratic process and transition can take place inside of syria.” The Us president thanked King abdullah for being the first arab leader to call publicly for assad to go and for taking part in arab league efforts to mitigate the crisis.

India calls army chief’s birthday row ‘unfortunate’ New DeLhI afp

India on Wednesday described as “unfortunate” a lawsuit filed by the chief of its army asking for his birthday to be changed, which would allow him to remain in office for an extra year. The defence ministry broke its silence over the development, which has led to an embarrassing clash between the government and India’s 1.13-million-strong military, the fourth largest in the world. “It is an unfortunate development and it is not a healthy precedent either for the defence ministry or the armed forces,” India’s junior defence minister Pallam Raju told the CNNIBN television channel. “It is a very sensitive issue,” Raju added. General V.K. Singh on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court asking for his birthday to be changed on official records to prevent him being forced into retirement in May. He has asked the Court to recognise what he says is his correct birthday as May 10, 1951, making him one year younger than the age shown on government records which state his date of birth as May 10, 1950. Indian government employees must retire at 62. The defence ministry has previously rejected Singh’s claim twice, citing the date marked on his documents when he entered the army. The government has indicated it will fight the legal case and has filed a submission to the Supreme Court asking it not to issue any ruling in the case without hearing its arguments.

5 europeans killed in ethiopia attack ADDIS ABABA afp

Ethiopia said Wednesday that five tourists killed in an attack blamed on terrorists in the northeast were all European, and that two other foreigners in the group had been kidnapped. The government confirmed the attack, first reported by state television late on Tuesday, and blamed terrorists backed by its arch-foe neighbour Eritrea. “Terrorist groups trained and armed by the Eritrean government crossed the border and attacked them and the assailants have gone back,” government spokesman Bereket Simon told AFP. “They killed five, wounded two and kidnapped four, out of which two foreigners, one police and one driver,” Bereket Simon said. Eritrea vehemently denied involvement in the attack. Simon earlier said those killed were a German, a Belgian, an Italian, a Hungarian and an Austrian. He did not give the nationalities of those wounded or abducted. State television said the wounded had been taken to hospital by government forces in the region. The attack occurred Monday in the remote Afar region near Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea. The group was visiting the Erta Ale volcanic site.

kaSSeR eL-YahUD: Christian pilgrims arrive at the Monastery of St John the baptist near the Jordan River during epiphany celebrations on Wednesday. thousands of orthodox Christian pilgrims participated in the procession at the kasser el-Yahud to celebrate the annual festival, which commemorates Christ’s baptism by St John in the Jordan River, according to tradition. AfP

Wikipedia, Google protest Internet bills wAShINGTON afp

Wikipedia went dark, Google blotted out its logo and other popular websites planned protests on Wednesday to voice concern over legislation in the US Congress intended to crack down on online piracy.

Wikipedia shut down the English version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate version, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Google placed a black redaction box over the logo on its much-visited US home page to draw attention to the bills, while social news site reddit and the popular Cheezburger humor network planned to shut down later in the day.

The draft legislation has won the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the Business Software Alliance, the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce. But it has come under fire from digital rights and free

speech organizations for allegedly paving the way for US authorities to shut down websites accused of online piracy, including foreign sites, without due process.

“For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history,” Wikipedia said in a message posted at midnight (0500 GMT) on its darkened website. “Right now, the US Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia.” The founders of Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo! and other Internet giants said in an open letter last month the legislation would give the US government censorship powers “similar to those used

by China, Malaysia and Iran.”

“We oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet,” a Google spokesman said Tuesday.

“So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this

issue on our US home page,” the spokesman for the Internet search giant said. Reddit said it will shut down for 12 hours — from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm (1300 GMT to 0100 GMT) — to protest the legislation. “We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t believe this legislation and the forces behind it were a serious threat to reddit and the Internet as we know it,” reddit said.

“The freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy.” Ben Huh, the founder of Cheezburger network, said on his Twitter feed that his 58 sites, which include icanhascheezburger.com, FAIL Blog and The Daily What, will observe a blackout on Wednesday. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced the plans to shut down the site in a message on his Twitter feed.

“Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!” Wales said. “This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know!” he said. Volunteerstaffed Wikipedia turned 11 years old on

January 15 and boasts more than 20 million articles in 282 languages. The White House expressed concern about the antionline piracy bills in a statement over the weekend. “While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet,” it said.

“Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small,” the White House said. News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch, who backs the US legislation, accused the “blogosphere” of “terrorizing many senators and congressmen who previously committed” to supporting it. “Nonsense argument about danger to Internet. How about Google, others blocking porn, hate speech, etc?

Internet hurt?” he wrote on the popular micro-blogging website.

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thursday, 19 January, 2012

wozniacki tames Georgian to progress Page 21

Hafeez misses ton but Pakistan forge ahead SCoReboaRD

DUBAI: Pakistan’s taufeeq Umar plays a shot during the first test against england. REUTERS DUBAI

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AKISTAN built on a strong start from openers Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar to take a 96run first innings lead with three wickets in hand after the second day of the opening test against England on Wednesday. Openers Hafeez (88) and Umar (58) shared a 114-run stand and captain Misbah-ul-Haq struck a patient

warne in spin after spat with cyclist MeLBOUrNe afp

Cricket great Shane Warne on Wednesday hit out at "antagonistic" cyclists after a road rage incident that he reported to police.

In a Twitter rant late Tuesday, the spin-king said a cyclist had grabbed on to the back of his car for a free ride as he headed home from a training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Then at a change of traffic lights, he said the man rode past and hit the bonnet with his hand. "I yell, 'hey buddy what the hell are you doing'?" Warne tweeted. The cyclist then pulled up in front of his car, halting traffic, and abused the cricketer, Warne said. The 42-year-old, who has called for mandatory registration for cyclists, told reporters Wednesday that he was fed up with the attitude of some riders. "Let me make it clear, I do not hate cyclists... I think what disappoints a lot of people is the attitude of the bike rider," he said. "Bike riders, please obey the road laws and stop antagonising car drivers." The cyclist told a different story, however, accusing Warne of ramming his bike and damaging it so badly he was unable to ride home. The bike rider, who wanted to remain anonymous, sent an email to website cyclingtipsblog.com, which verified and posted it Wednesday, giving his version. The cyclist denied thumping Warne's car and said it was the cricketer who was aggressive. "The driver lurched his car forward, forcing my bike wheel and almost my leg under the front of his car," he wrote. "Dumbfounded at how overtly aggressive the driver had been and aware that we were now holding up the traffic, I pulled my bike from under the car and attempted to continue riding. "My wheel was jammed against the frame of my bike and the chain was tangled so I had to carry it to the footpath to fix it." He said Warne never stopped to check if he was injured and said he had witnesses who could back up his story.

Warne has come out of retirement to play with the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash League.

52 as Pakistan reached 288 for seven after bowling England out for 192 on the opening day at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Adnan Akmal was unbeaten on 24 at stumps and will have the tailenders for company when he returns on Thursday.

Resuming on 42 for no loss, the right-left combination of Hafeez and Umar thrived on a placid track, helping themselves to easy boundaries on offer.

Umar hit Chris Tremlett for two bound-

DUBAI: Mohammad hafeez plays a shot during their first cricket test match against england. REUTERS aries in the same over on his way to a 13th half-century and Hafeez took a single off the same bowler to score his seventh fifty.

Desperate for a breakthrough, England captain Andrew Strauss brought Stuart Broad back into the attack and the change paid off when the lanky bowler, from around the wicket, pegged back Umar's off-stump. Broad returned to remove Azhar Ali (one), who poked outside off-stump to depart caught be-

hind. Hafeez looked good for his fifth test century but paid the price for playing a premeditated sweep off Graeme Swann to completely miss the line. Even reviewing the leg before decision could not save him and Hafeez departed after a measured 164-ball knock that included 11 fours and a six.

Younus Khan (37) appeared to have settled in for a long stay but another clever bowling change by Strauss sent him back. With the former Pakistan skip-

QuesTions on AJMAl’s AcTions

Wily old Willis, playing a familiar English tactic LAhOre Staff RepoRt

Pakistan's cricket fraternity is outraged at the questions being raised about the bowling action of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who bamboozled England with seven wickets in the first Test in Dubai, but former captain Rashid Latif believes some doubt is understandable. The Pakistan cricket community reacted with anger over remarks by former England fast bowler Bob Willis about Ajmal's action being suspicious while bowling the "Doosra".

"I can understand the reaction of our former players to what Willis and the English media is saying because they have always depended on negative tactics to pressurise and defame players who hurt England," Latif was reported to have said.

"But if you look closely at his action while bowling some deliveries it appears to me the match officials could report his action and I think the Pakistan team management and board should be prepared for this," he said. Willis had claimed that in some instances, Ajmal's bending of the arm could be reviewed by the ICC. "I don't want to discourage him or demean our team's brilliant performance on the first day of the Test but it would be a good move on part of the team management and players to sit down and analyse some things themselves and be prepared for the worst."

Latif said Ajmal had developed into a quality spinner but should be prepared to bear any pressure that comes in the next few days. Ajmal has been reported for his bowling action once before in April 2009 but an ICC panel cleared him after biomechanical Tests. Since than no umpire or match referee has raised issues over Ajmal's action even while bowling the "Doosra" but Latif felt the English media and commentators will not let up on the issue.

"They know Ajmal is the main threat to them and they are finding it difficult reading his variation so they will try to pressurise him and making an issue of his action is the start of this campaign." Ajmal himself was pretty nonchalant when asked about the comments by Willis. "Look my job is to bowl well for my country and I am doing that. The umpires and referee is out there to decide about my action.

I am taking no pressure on this count at all," he said.

Ajmal said he had enjoyed taking seven wickets on the first day of the Test but his job was still not done in the match or series. "Let them say what they want I am coming under no pressure. I will try to bowl with all the variations I have at my disposal," he added.

Pakistan's former Test off-spinners Saqlain Mushtaq and Tauseef Ahmed also advised Ajmal not to be bothered by the issue being raised in the England camp. "The 'Teesra' is all part of mind games played at this level. But Ajmal has bowled well and he should just stick to his job because these issues will always be there," Saqlain said. Tauseef said England first needed to sort out the "Doosra" from Ajmal before even thinking about the "Teesra".

Ajmal’s action was tested from all angles

Comment Dr PAUL hUrrION Saeed Ajmal was tested in 2009 in Australia and we have used the same methods for many bowlers across the world.

The process is very robust. We use a big enough sports hall so the bowler can make his typical run-up and bowl a full-length delivery. It is important to replicate what it is like in the middle as best we can. There are stumps to aim at but no batsman and we use synchronised footage of the player bowling in a match to check that they are not just going through the motions or altering their style. They have to replicate the speed of a delivery from a match, the deviation and the revolutions of the ball. When being tested, the bowler is topless and has reflective markers all over his bowling arm, so the 3D, highspeed cameras can film him from every angle. On TV, what you see is an optical illusion because the pictures are only 2D so the angle you see is often very different from the reality.

We then check if the arm is bent more than the permitted 15 degrees, which we decided was appropriate as anything under that would be hard to see with the naked eye. Of course, until technology is good enough to have x-ray cameras from the boundary at a live game we can’t ever be 100 per cent sure that our testing is perfect. I’m sure in 10 years’ time there will be the technology to test as the game is happening.

The writer is head of head ICC’s biomechanics analysts.

engLanD, 1st innings: 192 (M. prior 70, g. Swann 34; Saeed ajmal 7-55) pakiStan, 1st innings: (overnight 42-0) Mohammad hafeez lbw b Swann 88 taufiq Umar b broad 58 azhar ali c prior b broad 1 37 Younis khan lbw b trott 52 Misbah-ul haq lbw b Swann 16 asad Shafiq c prior b anderson 24 adnan akmal not out 4 abdul Rehman b anderson eXtRaS: (b2, lb4, nb2) 8 totaL: (for seven wkts) 288 fall of wickets: 1-114 (Umar), 2-128 (ali), 3-176 (hafeez), 4-202 (Younis), 5-231 (Shafiq), 6-283 (Misbah), 7-288 (Rehman) boWLing: anderson 23.3-7-57-2, tremlett 20-6-48-0 (nb1), broad 26-6-72-2 (nb1), Swann 27-3-89-2, trott 8-2-16-1 overs: 104.3 toss: england Umpires: billy bowden (nzL) and bruce oxenford (aUS) tV umpire: Steve Davis (aUS) Match referee: Javagal Srinath (inD)

per looking comfortable against pace and spin, Strauss tossed the ball to occasional bowler Jonathan Trott and the medium pacer trapped Younus leg before, only his third test victim. James Anderson, otherwise off-colour, accounted for Asad Shafiq (16) but Misbah played with characteristic caution to complete his 15th test fifty and found an able ally in Akmal.

Pakistan are hosting the three-match series in the Gulf due to security concerns in their own country.

India woes leave Dhoni feeling the heat New DeLhI afp

Less than a year after being hailed as India's greatest cricket captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni finds his head on the block after another woeful Test series abroad. The 30year-old could do no wrong when he led India to World Cup glory at home in April last year, his second big success as skipper after winning the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007. He now presides over a disintegrating Test team that has lost seven consecutive Tests on foreign soil, four of them by an innings and the rest by margins of 196, 319 and 122 runs. After 67 Tests and 3,509 runs, some say Dhoni barely merits a place in the team any more. "The need is to find a new captain from beneath the wreckage.

Dhoni is no longer the answer in Test cricket," former Australian skipper Ian Chappell wrote in the Hindustan Times on Tuesday. "He has failed dismally to rally the troops in two disastrous overseas campaigns and his own form, not just with the gloves but also with the bat, no longer warrants a guaranteed place in the Test side."

Dhoni made 220 runs in four Tests in England last year at an average of 31.40 and has managed just 102 runs in three matches in Australia at 20.40. India, ranked the world's top Test side until they were blanked 4-0 in England, will slip to fourth place if they lose the fourth and final Test against Australia in Adelaide next week in another series whitewash. Current form suggests they will lose, and lose heavily. Dhoni won't be playing, having been banned by the International Cricket Council for one match for slow over-rates during the third Test in Perth, his second offence in the last 12 months. Ex-captains Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly have gone on record to say they feel Dhoni needs a quick turnaround to secure his place as Test skipper, while stressing his position at the helm in one-day cricket is not in doubt. Batting great Sunil Gavaskar supports Dhoni's retention as Test captain -- but only because there is no suitable replacement.

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thursday, 19 January, 2012

whatmore wants freedom, PCB in a fix LAhOre

Broad praises England’s fightback in first Test DUBAI

Staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Cricket Board is in no hurry to take the decision of appointing the new coach of the Pakistan team and it would take about another month before a coach is appointed, it was learnt on Tuesday. Australia’s Dav Whatmore is the front-runner for the job and has shown keenness on becoming the head coach of the Pakistan but reports attributing from different quarters say that the PCB is in no mood of taking the decision in haste.

"Nothing is final as yet I have had healthy discussions with the PCB about the coaching assignment. But I think any final decision will come after a month," Whatmore said before leaving for Australia. In a statement, the PCB insisted that no contract had been signed with Whatmore.

"The Board Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and the head of the Board's coaches committee all held detailed discussions with Whatmore about the terms and conditions of his contract which is yet to be signed by him," reports said.

A board official said the board had also decided to rethink its plans to appoint a foreign coach after hearing the viewpoint of Whatmore and how he intended to run Pakistan cricket team affairs.

"There is also the issue of some clear demands put forward by Whatmore to the PCB during his meetings with them," he said.

Whatmore himself sounded excited about any coaching assignment with Pakistan pointing out to the abundant talent in the country's cricket ranks.

"It would be a challenge coaching the Pakistan team because they have great ability and talent and are capable of being the number one team in the world," Whatmore said.

The former Australian batsman has also coached the Sri Lankan and Bangladesh teams in the past.

Interestingly, while the PCB has claimed that Whatmore is not the only candidate for the coaching position, no other names have come to the fore as yet.

Whatmore had also applied for the Pakistan coaching position in 2007 but couldn't get the job as the Board preferred to hire another Australian, Geoff Lawson.

"For one he is asking for a big pay package, he wants his own support team and absolute authority in many areas concerning the team and selection," one source added.

"They also have to look at fears about his temperament and short temper," he said.

Interestingly Whatmore was not very pleased with the Pakistan media and arrangements made by the Board on Monday when he went to the Gaddafi stadium to meet with Chairman, Zaka Ashraf.

"There was a lot of media around when Whatmore was being taken to the Chairman's office and a lot of pushing and shoving by the cameramen which didn't go down well with Whatmore at all," the source confirmed.

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ACEMAN Stuart Broad felt fighting England deserved wickets in the dying moments of the second day in the first Test and if they score big in their second knock they can pose problems for Pakistan. England grabbed the prized wicket of Pakistani skipper Misbah-ul Haq (52) in spinner Graeme Swann's penultimate over and then dismissed Abdul Rehman in the next to keep Pakistan's total at 288-7, a first innings lead of 96. Broad said England stuck to their plans.

"We deserved those wickets. We came to the ground this morning knowing well that it is not going to be easy and we wanted to keep them to 2.7 (runs per over) and with that pressure you pick up wickets," said Broad, who gave England an early breakthrough. Pakistan were cruising along nicely with openers Mohammad Hafeez (88) and Taufiq Umar (58) putting on 114 for the first wicket before Broad dismissed Umar and Azhar Ali (one). Misbah and Adnan Akmal had put on 52 for the seventh wicket and it seemed they will carry on before Swann trapped Pakistan skipper leg-before and had the original decision overturned through Decision Review System (DRS).

"Swanny wants to refer everything and it is about gathering whether it is wise or not. So (Andrew) Strauss was

right to go for that and with two referrals left and him being a key player on 50 it was worth that risk." Broad felt if England bowl Pakistan for another 30 runs they can fight back.

"If we can get them ahead by only 30 we will be in a good position. Pakistan is still strong and we are chasing the game a little bit," said Broad, who reminded England had fought back to wins in recent Test matches.

"If you look back to Brisbane (against Australia in November 2010) and Trent Bridge (versus India last year) where we had a bad first innings the bowlers kept us in the game and then our second innings went really big," said Broad, 25.

"We need to learn from the mistakes, certainly we batted really badly.

It is important that we put those runs right. It is an exciting challenge, the guys obviously have to play the Pakistan bowlers a little bit differently," said Broad. Hafeez was confident Pakistan were still in a strong position.

"We just lost a couple of wickets lately, we are still very much in control of this game with two spinners in our side and we are having very good chance to win this game," said Hafeez.

Hafeez praised England's disciplined bowling. "Our middle-order should have scored big but this is part of the game, England bowled well and consistently hit the right area. Sometimes in cricket the other teams get you out with good bowling," said Hafeez,

who rued missing out on a century. "Its disappointing to miss a century, I got out on 95 in 2006 (against England at The Oval), but hopefully I will do better in future."

Amir Khan withdraws appeal of loss to Peterson LOS ANGeLeS afp

Former light welterweight world champion Amir Khan has withdrawn an appeal of last month's controversial loss to Lamont Peterson. The appeal was supposed to be heard Wednesday by the International Boxing Federation, one of two governing boxing bodies that sanctioned the 140-pound world title fight in Washington, D.C on December 10.

Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) won the fight on a split decision against Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) to claim the IBF and World Boxing Association belts.

The WBA, which also sanctioned the fight, ordered a rematch on January 12 after Khan complained of unfair judging. "Team Khan have decided to withdraw their appeal and focus their full attention on Amir's next fight," Khan's promoter Golden Boy Promotions said in a news release.

"We are pleased to have been vindicated by the World Boxing Association's recent decision to mandate an immediate rematch." The withdrawal of the appeal means Peterson will keep the IBF title. But he could be stripped of the WBA belt if he decides not to stage a rematch with Khan.

Khan lost his titles after referee Joe Cooper docked him two points for excessive pushing. Khan has called for a rematch saying he is willing to split the earnings 50/50 with Peterson.

Sri lanka govt orders probe after defeats cOLOMBO afp

The Sri Lankan government has ordered a probe into the national cricket team's "crisis situation" after they fell to another defeat in their one-day series in South Africa, an official said Wednesday. Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage asked the country's cricket governing body to investigate and recommend remedial action to end the side's recent poor performances, his spokesman Harsha Abeykoon said.

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by four runs on Tuesday to take a winning 3-0 lead in their five-match ODI series.

"Carefully investigate the current crisis situation in the national cricket team and report back to me within a week," Aluthgamage told the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket.

The probe was ordered a week after another minister slammed the side, blaming lack of team spirit for a 258-run thrashing by South Africa, the island's worst one-day international defeat. The Sri Lankan government is often accused of meddling in the sport and recent uncontested elections for the cricket board were mired in allegations of interference. Sri Lanka did reach the final of last year's World Cup but since the retirement of bowling star Muttiah Muralitharan in July 2010, the team have won only one Test match. Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan has blamed his side's inconsistent results on the island's weak domestic scene. Some players have complained about months of unpaid wages as the cricket board struggles with debts of $69 million after building two new venues and revamping a third ground for the World Cup.

Africa Cup of nations stars ready to dazzle JOhANNeSBUrG afp

There will be no shortage of stars on show at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations from Saturday despite the absence of big guns Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.

Each of the 368 footballers at match venues Libreville, Franceville, Malabo and Bata will dream that his country can conquer Africa and he can collect the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award given to the star of the three-week showcase.

The award has been the preserve of Egyptian midfielders in recent tournaments with veteran Ahmed Hassan voted number one in 2006 and 2010 and Hosny Abd Rabo topping the charts at the 2008 championship.

Ajmal deserves credit for his superb performance Comment STeVe JAMeS

W

ELL, it certainly wasn’t a quiet start to this Test series, was it?

Those expecting a slow day of English accumulation after they had won the toss were shaken from their slumbers as early as the sixth over. The introduction of the off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez- he has been used early in Tests before and has even opened the bowling, as spotted so perspicaciously by my colleague Scyld Berry last Sunday- brought instant reward as Alastair Cook was caught behind cutting, and that was the beginning of a rather painful trial by spin for England.

That is how it is going to be for most of 2012, so we the viewers and they the England players must get used to it quickly. England batted poorly, but credit to Saeed Ajmal for a quite superb

performance, ending up with careerbest figures of 7-55. At lunchtime I caused a bit of a fuss on Twitter when I reacted to a slow-motion replay shown on Sky TV of Ajmal’s action when bowling from around the wicket. It did not look good, and pundit Bob Willis was particularly strident on the suject. He left nobody in any doubt as to his opinion. I am less sure. There is enough tension between England and Pakistan as it is, and the grapes can be easily perceived to be tasting sour.

Ajmal’s action has been heavily scrutinised before, reported even. Indeed when it was cleared in 2009, the ICC report said: "whenever Ajmal bowls in a match in the future, his action will be under the scrutiny of the match officials". But, of course, there is now a 15degree toleration in operation. I could not tell you whether Ajmal’s arm bends more than that in certain circumstances.

It needs to be monitored, but for now it

should not detract from a stellar effort.

More of a problem is that England’s batsmen are unable to pick his ‘doosra’ (‘the other one’, going away from the right-handed batsman for the uninitiated). It is a good ‘doosra’ too, far too good for Ian Bell, who could only edge a beauty behind first ball. I think in such circumstances that the batsmen should look to sweep. Going down the pitch is dangerous when you do not know which way the ball is turning. Not that the pitch was spinning like a top, but it was spinning enough, as Graeme Swann the batsman will testify after being bowled by left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman.

Of course, two batsmen – Eoin Morgan and Stuart Broad- were out sweeping and that will doubtless lead to criticism of the shot. That has always been the case with England, and has contributed to many players not wanting to play the stroke. But like any other stroke it needs to be well executed. It

wasn’t today by Morgan and Broad.

Some might say that the low bounce counts against the shot, but that is surely better than high bounce which rules out the sweep even more obviously. Those sweeps were certainly nowhere near as poorly advised as Andrew Strauss’s horrible attempted pull at Ajmal. As county dressing-room wags used to chuckle: he definitely was trying to ‘pull a half-volley’!

Ajmal claimed five lbw decisions, and it is true that the Decision Review System has changed the way batsmen have to look to play spin (they certainly have to look to defend with their bat out in front of their pad) but I still think England allowed Ajmal to settle into a rhythm too easily. They did not challenge him enough. It should be every batsman’s desire to set the opposing spinner thinking immediately. ‘Cat and mouse’ was how the Glamorgan offspinner Robert Croft has always de-

scribed the battle between spinner and batsman, and he is right. The trouble is that England’s mice were a little too meek today.

All apart from Matt Prior, of course.

He was quite magnificent. There were some chuckles recently when Kevin Pietersen described him as one of the best players of spin in the world, but today he proved it. He deserved a century. Doubtless his knock from No 7 will prompt calls for him to be moved up a place and a second spinner, Monty Panesar, to be included. That seemed to be the view of many of the Twitterati today, for sure. But it is too early to be thinking of as much.

There is still a game on here, even if Pakistan have had a dream first day.

England needed early wickets tonight.

They didn't get them. They will need to strike early in the morning.

Your thoughts?

Courtesy Telegraph

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:24 AM Page 20

20 sports

thursday, 19 January, 2012

new Indian pair win opener

MeLBOUrNe afp

New Indian doubles pair Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna said bid for Olympic glory was taking shape after they won through to the second round at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Bopanna split from doubles partner Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi of Pakistan so he could pursue his Olympic dream, and said he was happy with how the new pairing was working out after a win over Australia's Matthew Ebden and Chris Guccione. "We had a good start for the season in Chennai, reaching the semi-finals. That was a good three matches before coming here for our first grand slam," Bopanna said. "Obviously winning our first match today, it was a close one, a tight one but coming through these hard matches always helps us in longer matches and building our partnership stronger." When asked about the Olympics, he said the focus remained on the Australian Open and the other grand slams before London 2012. "Right we're here in Australia.

Our focus is to do well at this slam and then take it further, all the way towards the Olympics," he said after the 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win. The pair are looking to bring a smile to Indian sports fans with their cricket team trailing 3-0 in the ongoing Test series against Australia but Bopanna said he was confident the cricketers could salvage some pride. "You win some, you lose some. It's always hard playing Australia here at home and they've been lethal in the bowling.

Hopefully they can still stay strong and hopefully win that last Test." Dubbed the "Indo-Pak express", Bopanna and Qureshi, also playing in Melbourne, actively promoted India-Pakistan rapprochement and even offered to play tennis over the border.

They announced their split in November.

Punjab Cycling C’ship from Feb 1 LAhOre

Aisam off to a winning start MeLBOUrNe

Staff RepoRt

aLi akbaR

The Punjab Cycling Association is organizing the Punjab Cycling Championship in Lahore on February 1 to 3. The competition will be held in five track events and two road events. In all five cyclists and two officials per team are permitted for participation. Medals and trophies will be awarded to the winners and shields to the technical officials. This is one of the biggest cycling events of Punjab. All the districts of Punjab have been invited to participate in this mega sporting event and most of them have confirmed their participation.

Aisam Qureshi made a winning start to his Australian Open campaign as he and his partner Jean Jlien Roger of France defeated Ivan Ljubicici of Croatia and Cedric Marcel Steebe of Germany in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3. This was Aisam's first success with his new partner and he was looking forward to his next match against Phillip Marx of Germany and Adil Shamasdin of Canada. Aisam and partner are seeded 8 in the 64-team draw and if all goes well, are scheduled to meet American Eric Butorac and Bruno Soares in the quarters. Anaud Clement and Lukas Dlouhy are dangerous floaters in Aisam's quarter. In a post match chat, Aisam seemed confident of winning his second round match. He stated that he and his partner were a work in progress and would improve as they gained better understanding with each other. All the seeds advanced in the second round apart from David Nalbanadian who was shocked by American John Isner. Earlier, US Open champion Samantha Stosur could not handle the local pressure to succeed and went down tamely in her first round match.

Khanewal to host PFF Referees Course LAhOre Staff RepoRt

Khanewal will host Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Talent Acceleration Referee’s Course from January 20-24. Punjab Football Association (PFA), with the collaboration of PFF, will organize five-day Course during which 24 participants from various districts of Punjab will turn up for the course. The course being conducted by Mr. Naveed Bashir Butt as Technical Instructor will conclude on January 24. Mr. Rauf Bari will act as Technical Fitness Instructor and Mian Abdul Bari, Course Coordinator.

On the directives of PFF’s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, PFF used to conduct such courses. It will be first of the five such courses in year 2012.

Khanewal is the first one from January, 2024 followed by Islamabad (March 12-16), Lahore (April 12-16), Peshawar (October 812) and Karachi (October 19-23) being the other, during which prominent AFC/PFF Referees instructors will give lectures to

Under-24 Referees “The PFF Talent Referees Acceleration Program will equip referees with the knowledge and skills to take charge of the coming matches in Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL), Pakistan PFF League and Age-Croup competitions. Most of the referees are new to the discipline and are therefore in need of the course to give them a solid platform for development.” said PFF Secretary General Lt. Col ® Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi TI (M).

During the course, the referees will learn physical, practical and theoretical aspects of refereeing.

The best referees may be asked to further develop their skills in the AFC Talent Acceleration Referees Course later on, AFC Project Future Program.

ThE PaRTICIPaNTs aRE: Muhammad Ahmed Rauf (Khanewal), Hunain

Rasheed (Jahanian), Muhammad Najeeb Sarwar (Sargodha), Asad Ali (Faisalabad), Raja Zubair Shakir (Rajanpur), Muhammad Yasir Iqbal (Sahiwal), Muhammad Adnan Maqbool (Khanewal), Muhammad Shoaib Khan (Mianwali), Muhammad Husban Ehsan (Mianwali), Arbab Ali Gohar (Nankana), Sajjad Ali (Toba Tek Singh), Naveed Arshad (Faisalabad), Muhammad Islam (Toba Tek Singh), Muhammad Faheem Latif (Khanewal), Muhammad Latif (Kasur), Bilal Fareed Sabana (Sahiwal), Waseem Shafique (Vehari), Muhammad Afzal (Lahore), Muhammad Asad Khan (Lahore), Nawazish Ali (Lahore), Muhammad Ahsan (Lahore), Bilawal Khan (Sialkot), Muhammad Shehraiz Tariq (Dera Ghazi Khan) and Muhammad Umer (Faisalabad).

wAPDA, Army advance in Junior hockey LAhOre Staff RepoRt

WAPDA, Army, NBP and Punjab Colours eased to wins in the 31st U-21 National Hockey Championship here at the National Hockey Stadium.

However, WAPDA, NBP, Punjab Colours and SSGC are leading two teams of the two pools E and F and will play in the semi-final after a day’s rest. WAPDA will face SSGC and NBP take on Punjab (C).

WAPDA beat Punjab (W) 3-1 (full time), 3-0 (half time). WAPDA: M. Suleman 15th minute (FG), Javed 20th minute (FG) & Tassawar Abbas 35th minute (FG). Punjab (W): Jawad Riaz 70th minute (PC).

Army beat Railway 3-1 (Full Time), 1-1 (Half Time). ARMY: Fawad (Capt) 25th minute (PC) & Sahroaz Ghori 2 Goals 58th & 63rd minutes (FG). RAILWAY: Khurram Sarwar 20th minute (PC).

NBP beat PHF Academy 2-0 (Full Time), 1-0 (Half Time). NBP: M. Kashif Javed 22nd & 45th minutes (PC).

Punjab (C) beat SSGC 2-0 (Full Time), 0-0 (Half Time). Punjab (C): M. Mushtaq (Capt) 47th minute (PC) & Abdullah Babar 70th minute (FG).

point tabLe pooL e: pS teaMS 1. wAPDA 2. nBP 3. PUnJAB (w) 4. PhF ACADeMy pooL f: 1. PUnJAB (C) 2. SSGC 3. ArMy 4. rAIlwAy

p 3 3 3 3

W 2 2 0 0

D 1 1 1 1

L 0 0 2 2

gf 7 6 3 1

ga 3 3 6 5

ptS 7 7 1 1

gD +4 +3 -3 -4

3 3 3 3

3 2 1 0

0 0 0 0

0 1 2 3

10 6 5 2

2 3 8 10

9 6 3 0

+8 +3 -3 -8

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:24 AM Page 21

thursday, 19 January, 2012

MELBOURNE: Spectators fill Margaret Court arena to watch Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland play Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in their second round men's singles match of the 2012 Australian Open tennis tournament. AfP

Nadal beats Haas as Federer puts feet up

MeLBOUrNe

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Wozniacki tames Georgian to progress MeLBOUrNe afp

World number one Caroline Wozniacki survived a second-set fight-back from Georgia's Anna Tatishvili to reach the Australian Open's third round 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) on Wednesday. The top-seeded Dane looked headed for an easy win when she raced through the first set but she had to hang on against the free-hitting Tatishvili to win in 1hr 49min. "Well, I pulled through," a relieved Wozniacki said later. "I thought the first set I played pretty well. I stayed aggressive and made her run.

"Second set, she went a bit more for her shots and I stepped back a little bit and she punished me for that." Wozniacki was pushed hard throughout the first set by Tatishvili, a player she has known since they were both 11 years old, and she never had it her own way despite the 6-1 scoreline.

"We played doubles together in juniors here once and I think we made the semi-finals -- she knows my game and I know hers," Wozniacki said. Both women hit some ferocious ground strokes throughout the first set but Wozniacki's greater consistency proved decisive as she claimed the opener in 28 minutes. The second set was a different story, however, as Tatishvili cut down her error-rate and began to pressure the world number one. Wozniacki dropped serve in the fourth game and only just managed to hang on two games later to stop Tatishvili opening a 5-1 lead.

The top seed broke back to make it 42, but in the next game she was out-hit by the Georgian, who came from 15-40 down to break Wozniacki and move to 5-3. But a poor service game from the world number 83 allowed the Dane back into the match

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AFAEL Nadal cranked up his bid for a second Australian Open title with victory over Tommy Haas as great rival Roger Federer had a walkover into the third round on Wednesday.

World number two Nadal overcame four-time grand slam semi-finalist Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in 2hr 29min on Rod Laver Arena, while Federer put his feet up after his second-round opponent Andreas Beck pulled out injured.

Beck injured his lower back warming up in the morning and gave the 16time grand slam champion a saloon passage into the last 32. The third day also had its share of drama with David Nalbandian furious at being refused the use of Hawk-Eye adjudication by the chair umpire at a crucial moment in his five-set defeat to American John Isner. Nadal, a 10-time major winner, was given a good match by Haas, who reached a career-high number two ranking in 2002 before a succession of shoulder operations derailed his career. Haas, at 33 years and nine months the oldest player in the men's singles draw, reached three Melbourne semi-finals in 1999, 2002 and 2007 and provided a reminder of his former glories with some cracking forehands and backhands. Nadal, who will face Lukas Lacko of Slovakia next, again played with his right knee heavily bandaged but reported no problems with it during Wednesday's match. Haas, on the comeback trail, had plenty to be pleased about after missing last year's Australian Open.

"I still feel like I'm lacking the experience of matches because it hasn't been really that many in the last almost two years now," Haas said. While Nadal was hard at work getting past the stylish German, Federer was taking

it easy after losing his opponent through injury. "I was completely focusing on the match, thinking that I would probably have two, three hours to go. So from that standpoint, the energy is there," Federer said.

"Now, I'll just take it easy this afternoon and come out tomorrow and hit intensely tomorrow, and then I'll be ready for the next match." Ironically, what would have been Federer's first match on the secondary Hisense Arena never materialised after playing his last 52 matches at the Australian Open on the main Rod Laver Arena.

Nalbandian was refused a key video challenge towards the end of his 4hr 41min marathon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 10-8 loss to Isner. Holding a break point at 8-8 in the deciding set, Nalbandian, the 2002 Wimbledon runner-up, asked for a Hawk-Eye video review when the umpire overruled a fault call on Isner's serve. But chair umpire Kader Nouni told him he was "too late" to request the challenge, according to Nalbandian, who argued with the umpire for several minutes and called the match supervisor on court. However, Nalbandian was told Hawk-Eye was used at the umpire's discretion -- and he lost the game, and was then broken, to end the 99-minute decider in acrimonious fashion. Australian teenager Bernard Tomic won again, overturning American Sam Querrey, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 and will play Ukraine's 13th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round.

Elsewhere in the men's draw, American eighth seed Mardy Fish was knocked out of the tournament by Colombia's Alejandro Falla, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 7-6 (8/6). Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych had a straight setsvictory over Belgium's Olivier Rochus, and former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro ousted Slovenia's Blaz Kavcic 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

WAtCh it Live STAR SPORTS Australian Open Tennis 05:30AM

TEN SPORTS Pakistan V England First Test Day 3 11:00AM

Clijsters, li edge towards final rematch

MeLBOUrNe afp

World number one Wozniacki reached the Australian Open third round on Wednesday as Li Na and Kim Clijsters moved towards a 2011 final rematch and Victoria Azarenka thrashed Casey Dellacqua. Wozniacki was pushed hard in the second set by Georgia's Anna Tatishvili before she sealed it on a tiebreak to win 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) and set up a clash against Romanian Monica Niculescu. In the last match of the day, third seed Azarenka shrugged off the crowd's mockery of her distinctive screaming to crush Australian wildcard Dellacqua 6-1, 6-0 with a ruthless display of power and control. After Dellacqua won her first service game, the world number three seized control to win the next 12 games in a row, serving well and returning beautifully to keep the Australian under constant pressure. Earlier, 2011 finalist Li cantered to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Australian wildcard Olivia Rogowska and defending champion Clijsters demolished France's Stephanie Foretz Gacon 6-0, 6-1 in just 47 minutes. Their wins left them on course for a highly anticipated fourth round meeting.

The shock of the day came on the Margaret Court Arena, where little-known Italian Romina Oprandi outshone 10th seed and compatriot Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-3.

And the top-seeded Wozniacki was in trouble during the second set against Tatishvili, only to dig herself out of a big hole. The Dane dropped serve in the fourth game and only just managed to hang on two games later to stop Tatishvili opening up a 5-1 lead. The world number 83 had a chance to serve for the set at 5-3 but a poor service game let Wozniacki back into the match and she won the tie-break to seal victory.

Azarenka unperturbed by scream jibes MeLBOUrNe afp

and she took full advantage, fighting off a set point on her own serve to level the score at 5-5. Both players held to send the set into a tiebreak and Wozniacki stepped up, opening a 5-2 lead and holding off the Georgian's late rally. Wozniacki is renowned for her tenacity and she said there was no player on the tour who she thought could outlast her. "I usually believe I can stay out there the longest. I believe that I can be out there forever if I have to," she said. The Dane next plays Romania's Monica Niculescu, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 winner over Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier.

Third seed Victoria Azarenka shrugged off the crowd's mockery over her distinctive screaming as she blitzed local favourite Casey Dellacqua to reach the Australian Open's third round Wednesday. Azarenka, who is unbeaten this year after winning this month's Sydney International, extended her superb form as she downed Dellacqua 6-1, 6-0 in the final match in the Rod Laver Arena.

The Belarusian was in no mood to show any mercy to Dellacqua, who is trying to return to the main tour after a series of major injuries. Dellacqua opened the match with confidence and held her first service game comfortably. But from that point on it was all Azarenka, who attacked relentlessly and maintained her concentration impressively, despite large sections of the crowd

mimicking the unusual scream she makes when she hits the ball.

Azarenka served well throughout and returned Dellacqua's serves beautifully, never giving the Australian any time on the ball. Dellacqua's time away from the sport at the top level was obvious as she made 33 unforced errors, many of them coming at crucial stages, including match point.

Azarenka, who can finish the tournament ranked number one in the world, will take on German qualifier Mona Barthel in the next round. "I thought I played really well today," she said. "Casey started very aggressively and I tried to hang in there and take my chances."

Azarenka said she had been working hard on her movement around the court and that work was beginning to show dividends. "I've been working on my fitness in the off-season, more on fitness than tennis, so I am glad it's paying off," she said.

KHI 19-01-2012_Layout 1 1/19/2012 4:24 AM Page 22

tuesday, 19 January, 2012

nAB to act against top generals in nlC case

sharifs get to keep their assets ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

T

app

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday took serious notice of no response from AG’s Branch at GHQ despite issuing four reminders in connection with the NLC scam case. “The NAB executive board meeting took a serious notice of getting no response from AG’s Branch GHQ despite four reminders in the NLC scam involving losses worth billions of rupees incurred

by Lt Gen (r) Afzal Muzaffar, Lt Gen (r) Khalid Munir and Maj Gen (r) Khalid Zahir Akhtar,” said a press release issued

by NAB. The meeting, which was chaired

by NAB Chairman Admiral (r) Fasih Bokhari decided to write a letter to the Ministry of Defence in the matter to enquire whether any proceedings were underway against the officials in the case.

“If no response is received from the ministry within a week, NAB will take cognisance of the matter and proceed according to law,” the statement added.

gni

Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday said Mansoor Ejaz had not yet applied for a Pakistani visa, however, Pakistani embassies had been directed to issue him a visa whenever he applied.

Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House, Malik said news stories regarding the issuance of visa to Ejaz were baseless. He said Ejaz should come to Pakistan so that rumors could come to an end. To a question, Malik said the Pakistani-American should apply for visa from his resident city Washington, as per rules.

seize assets and property of the Sharif family.

Dismissing NAB’s plea, the court held that NAB had failed to produce before the court any agreement on handing over the properties of Sharif family to it (NAB). Appearing on notice, NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha presented an agreement signed between Nawaz and the government. The chief justice noted that neither it was mentioned in the document that the assets of the Sharif family would be surrendered to NAB, nor it had signatures of the Sharif family.

The court told Agha to submit in court any legal document about handing over the properties of the Sharif family to NAB. However, Agha submitted that the anti-terrorism court had awarded sentence to the Sharif family and fined them. The court

oGrA chairman, nePrA vice chairman resign aMeR SiaL

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

HE Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the release of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif and his family’s assets.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing NAB’s plea against the release of Sharifs’ assets by the Lahore High Court.

During the hearing, the court held that NAB could not take hold of their property against their sentence. The court noted that Nawaz’s sentence was over, thus NAB had no right to

ISLAMABAD

Mansoor ejaz hasn’t applied for visa yet: Malik

22

The government was shaken on Wednesday when two top officials, acting chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Sabir Hussain and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Vice Chairman Maqbool Khawaja resigned from their offices.

An official source said the acting OGRA chairman submitted his resignation to the Cabinet Division secretary citing differences with senior officials in curbing illegal and corrupt practices in the regulatory body, while the NEPRA vice chairman resigned over differences with the government of Sindh on energy issues. The prime minister will decide on both resignations.

Sabir Hussain was trying to conduct an enquiry against malpractices in OGRA, especially the illegal grant of licences to 500 CNG sta-

tion owners despite a ban on issuance of new licences slapped during the tenure of former chairman Tauqeer Sadiq. However, senior OGRA officials were hampering his efforts, the source added. Hussain has resigned from his acting charge, but would continue working as a member (oil) OGRA. Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain had said on record several times that his efforts to streamline the energy sector were being thwarted by OGRA. He recently told reporters that the policy directives of the ministry were being tampered by the middle cadre officials of OGRA. An official source said NEPRA vice chairman and Member Sindh Maqbool Khawaja resigned from his post under the Sindh government’s pressure. The provincial government had reservations over Khawaja’s dissenting notes on several issues, particularly regarding the rental power plants.

Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd. Printed by Ghulam Akbar, AA & NHT Group, Plot 24, Shalimar Road, Lilly Market, Soan Garden, Islamabad.

then observed that the cases in which the Sharif family was awarded sentences were evicted in appeal. Later, the court upheld the Lahore High Court verdict and dismissed NAB’s appeal. In December last year, NAB had challenge before the Supreme Court the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) October 4, 2011 verdict of releasing the assets of the Sharif family. The Lahore High Court had directed NAB to return the Sharifs’ share certificates worth Rs 100 million, prize bonds worth Rs 115 million, documents pertaining to land in Murree, Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Hudabiya Engineering Services, Hamza Shipping Corporation and Ramzan Sugar Mills, saying NAB had no authority to seize the property of a citizen after his acquittal in cases.