E-paper PakistanToday KHI 24th Nov, 2011

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America loses key ally in Pakistan

IMF, Pakistan agree on short, mediumterm reforms

Pakistan close cricket series in style

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PROFIT | PAGE 01

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pakistantoday.com.pk

rs15.00 Vol ii no 148 22 Pages Karachi edition

Nawaz moves SC over ‘memogate’ petition names Zardari, COaS, ISI chief and Haqqani respondents among others

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thursday, 24 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 27, 1432

another ppp loyalist

Govt picks Sherry for Washington post

Taliban ‘send message’ to govt with attacks on security forces PESHAWAR AgencIeS

appointment suggests decision still prerogative of political government even after ‘memogate’

ISLAMABAD

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The Pakistan Muslim Leaguenawaz (PML-n) on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court with a constitutional petition, praying the court to summon President Asif Ali Zardari and other respondents in person to explain the matter of the memorandum allegedly written to the uS government.

PML n President nawaz Sharif has filed the petition under Article 184(3), making President Asif Zardari, former ambassador to uS Hussain Haqqani, Mansoor Ejaz, COAS general Ashfaq Kayani, ISI chief Lt general Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the federation and the foreign secretary respondents in the case. The PML-n chief prayed the court that all the respondents be summoned in person to explain “the detestable, the despicable and the treacherous memorandum in question”.

He cited an article, published in Financial Times on October 10, 2011, saying that after the publication of the article, former ambassador to uS Hussain Haqqani and the president, dismissed the author’s claim by lightly brushing it aside as a mere fantasy. He said that the contents of the memorandum in question are designed not only to demoralise and cow down the armed forces, which was a national asset being a national institution obligated to defend the

ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HUSSAIn

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country and its people by seeking foreign intervention for the said purpose, but it also threatened the very foundation and the future of Pakistan. “The act in question of the ones who initiated the said memorandum, the ones who rendered any help or assistance in the matter and those who blessed or approved it are culpable for acts of high treason against the state and the constitution,” the PML-n chief submitted. nawaz informed the court that despite his demand, no step at all was taken by the competent authorities to set up any independent committee or commission to look into the fateful affair in question.

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related story | Page 04

uSHIng up speculation as to who would succeed Husain Haqqani as Pakistan’s ambassador to the united States, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza gilani appointed on Wednesday another Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) loyalist and former information minister Sherry Rehman as Pakistan’s new envoy to Washington, suggesting that the appointment was still a prerogative of the political government even after the explosive situation it faced following the emergence of the secret memo that appeared to threaten civil-military relations.

Haqqani was removed on Tuesday when he was confronted by Chief of Army Staff general Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt general Ahmad Shuja Pasha, in the presence of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister gilani, for his “involvement” in the memo controversy.

Sherry Rehman, who, after she had resigned as information minister, was Continued on Page 04

ISLAMABAD: Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s new ambassador to the US, smiles after talking to journalists on Wednesday. afp

Militants on Wednesday attacked security forces in the northwest, killing four officers in gunfights that underscore the potent militant threat despite reported peace talks.

Heavily armed militants attacked a police station in Dera Ismail Khan and killed two officers. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn assault. District Police Officer Suhail Khalid said the militants, who had arrived in three vehicles, fired rockets on the roadside police station in Daraban area at 4am. He said after firing the rockets, the militants surrounded the police station area and hurled hand grenades inside the building, killing a police officer. Another policeman succumbed to injuries later in hospital “There were around 10-12 militants, who came in vehicles and used grenades, rockets and firing during the attack. They fled in the same vehicles,” he said. The DPO said at least four policemen, including Station House Officer Zulfikar, were injured. Police official Riaz Hussain, who was injured in the attack, said the fight continued for more than 40 minutes.“We suddenly heard a hand grenade blast, followed by the intense firing. We retaliated and fired back,” Hussain told AFP from his hospital bed, injured by a bullet in his right shoulder.

Responsibility: The TTP’s main spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan said, “We accept the responsibility for the attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan,” “We are not talking to the government and will not be part of any dialogue with the government.

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02 News

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

NEwS

iSLAMABAd

Today’s

worLd viEw

Winter brings more misery to millions of flood victims gilani, Kayani real winners out of ‘memogate’ episode Mansoor Ijaz – America’s secret emissary

Quick Look

Story on Page 10

Story on Page 06

PML-N postpones Gujranwala public meeting lAHoRe: Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) has postponed its public gathering in gujranwala scheduled for november 25. According to a party statement, the new date for the public gathering in the city would be announced after the holy month of Muharram. According to the statement, the memo issue was of sensitive nature and hence, it could not be left on just rallies and processions. Meanwhile, Punjab government spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid told Pakistan Today that the PML-n had filed a petition over the issue in the Supreme Court and the party could not hold gatherings during the hearing of such an important case. StAff RePoRt

Security forces kill dozens pARAcHinAR/oRAkzAi Agency: Over a dozen militants were killed and 14 others were injured during a military offensive backed by gunship helicopters on Wednesday in Kurram Agency. Official sources claimed that the security forces, backed by gunship helicopters, pounded hideouts of the militants in Kurram Agency and claimed to have killed over a dozen insurgents and inflicted injuries on 14 others. Four hideouts were also destroyed, they said. On Tuesday night, at least 18 militants were killed and six soldiers wounded in clashes in Central Kurram Agency. Meanwhile, at least 10 militants were killed and six troops were wounded in a fresh battle in the upper Orakzai Agency on Wednesday, officials said. According to officials, the clash erupted during a search operation in Khadezai area of upper Orakzai, leaving 10 militants killed. Six security personnel were also injured. They were taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Kohat. AgencIeS

NAB arrests ex-SSEP director pesHAwAR: The national Accountability Bureau (nAB) on Wednesday arrested former Small Scale Enterprises Programme (SSEP) project director Fasih-uz-Zaman, who had been absconding for about 9 years. The accused was the project director of the programme that had been funded by the Swiss government through the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) for vocational training in Pakistan. The programme was initiated in 1998 and Fasih-uz-Zaman has been accused of misappropriating funds of around Rs 27.56 million during the period from 1998 – 2002. The nAB authorities authorized inquiry into the matter and issued arrest warrants of Fasih-uz-Zaman in August, 2003. The accused, after a long stay abroad, decided to return to Pakistan and get transit bail from the Islamabad High Court. StAff RePoRt

Afrasiab re-elected KP ANP chief pesHAwAR: The AnP provincial council on Wednesday re-elected Sentaor Afrasiab Khattak the party provincial president and Baz Mohammad Khan senior vice president. Arbab Tahir was elected the AnP provincial general secretary. Addressing the party workers after the elections for AnP’s provincial offices, AnP chief Asfandyar Wali said his party would not allow the country to be used against its own citizens, adding that the government was ready for dialogue with the militants who surrender and accept the government’s writ. “AnP will not be a part of any unconstitutional step for removing the government and the democratic regime must be allowed to complete its constitutional tenure.” Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain were also present on the occasion. They congratulated the AnP provincial leadership for holding peaceful elections. StAff RePoRt

Story on Page 15

Pakistani pilgrims continue to suffer islAMAbAD: Pakistani pilgrims continue to suffer at the hands of the national airline in the post-Haj operation, as only seven percent of the 125 Haj flights have so far arrived on time from Saudi Arabia. The post-Haj flights have so far brought 44,000 pilgrims back to Pakistan, but not before making the pilgrims wait for hours at Saudi airports. Although the pilgrims were provided much better facilities by authorities in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the national flag carrier chipped in agonise them during travel. Sources in the Ministry of Religious Affairs said so far, 16 flights had brought 7,300 pilgrims to Karachi, 24 flights brought 11,900 people to Islamabad and 16 flights transported 7,990 pilgrims to Lahore. Twenty-eight other flights landed at Peshawar, 30 at Quetta and four flights at Sialkot carrying 8,610, 6,200 and 2,000 pilgrims, respectively. Meanwhile, PIA’s return Haj flight PK 2226 narrowly escaped a major accident at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, when the brakes of Boeing 747 plane developed faults during the landing, forcing one of the plane’s engines to chafe the due to imbalance. The aircraft was carrying 500 pilgrims and was scheduled to land at Sialkot, however, it was diverted to Lahore due to poor weather conditions. Sources said it was fortunate that the plane had managed to avoid a major accident while landing at the airport in harsh conditions, which the control tower had not clearly explained to the pilots. StAff RePoRt

KARACHI: Migratory birds from Siberia flying over the sea on Wednesday.

online

Imran’s stride continues with more politicians joining pTI LAHORE StAff RePoRt

Imran Khan’s triumphing stride continues and this time he succeeded in denting the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Lahore, as former PPP Lahore president Chaudhry Asghar gujjar along with a large number of PPP members joined the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI).

Prominent figures joining the PTI on Wednesday include former PPP senator Shafqat Mahmood and Awami national Party (AnP) leader neelam Shah, among a dozen politicians from the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) and the PML-Quaid. Imran Khan after arriving from London spent a busy day in collecting more and more members for his party. Khan refused to comment on the meeting between Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PML-n chief nawaz Sharif, however confirmed that

his party had already invited Qureshi into its fold. At the residence of Shafqat Mahmood, the PTI chief said the PPP and the PML-n were not political parties but dynasties of specific families, and that their members were like the servants of those families.

Imran said that after the month of Muharram, he would publicly announce the details of his properties and assets. He said the Punjab government was not permitting the PTI to hold a rally on november 26 at Shujaabad, where notables of Multan were expected to join the party. He warned the Punjab government to refrain from using such tactics to resist the PTI. He announced to hold a rally in Karachi on December 25.

Later at his residence in Zaman Park, Lahore, Khan said the nation in the coming days would hear “more good news” of politicians entering the PTI. While welcoming the fresh entrants, Khan announced that only

those who had a strong belief and faith in the party’s manifesto would be allowed to stay in the PTI. Responding to a query on including old political faces in his party, the PTI chief said the new members “were from Pakistan and not imported from abroad”. He added that a scrutiny committee of the party had been formed and a parliamentary board of the party would finalise the names of the candidates for the next election. He made it clear that the PTI would prefer new faces as candidates in the next election.

Among those joining the PTI on Wednesday, prominent figures include former PPP senator Shafqat Mahmood, former PPP-Lahore president Chaudhry Asghar gujjar, PPPLahore Vice President Mian Aslam, Rahimyar Khan District Bar President Hassan nawaz niazi, Sheikh Anwar, Manzoor Warraich, former PML-n MPA Zia Ahmed Khan, for-

mer Sargodha tehsil nazim Asghar Larri, former narowal nazim Javaid Kahlon, former Rawalpindi nazim Raja Tariq Kiani, AnP-Punjab women wing president neelam Shah and former MnA Riffat Kahlon.

Earlier talking to reporters at Lahore Airport after returning from London, Khan urged the formation of a judicial commission to probe the memo controversy. Regarding his former wife’s visit to Pakistan, he said, “My wife came to Pakistan with her family and the PML-n unleashed a mudslinging campaign against her that she had come in connection with my public meetings. The PML-n also charged her with working for the Jewish lobby despite the fact that her family is Christian.”

“The uS is fighting in Afghanistan for the last 10 years, but no solution has been evolved. Therefore, the Afghan issue could be resolved through talks,” he stressed.

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Thursday, 24 November, 2011

forEiGN NEwS

ArTS & ENTErTAiNMENT

Syria at ‘point of no return’, says gul

‘the Dirty Picture’ reaches parliament for promotion court rejects Butt, Amir appeals

SPorTS

News 03 CoMMENT Haqqani’s resignation No need to go overboard.

When in London...

Do as the Karachiites do.

nazir naji says From whom to whom?: This memo business is too fishy.

Imran Husain says: Pakistan’s PR crisis: More disinformation than information.

Kuldip nayar says: Trade for peace: The only way out.

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 17

Story on Page 20

Articles on Page 12-13

‘US pressure delayed IP pipeline’ g g

Parliamentary secretary for defence tells NA PiA working on three-year turnaround plan Punjab tops list of number of murders, rapes ISLAMABAD

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ARLIAMEnTARY Secretary of Petroleum Engineer Tariq Khatak on Wednesday informed the national Assembly that laying of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline on the Pakistani side was delayed due to uS pressure and the volatile law and order in Balochistan.

“Iran has completed a 900-kilometre stretch of the pipeline of the total 1,220 kilometre. However the work on the Pakistani side was delayed due to uS pressure,” he said while responding a supplementary question during the nA question hour.

Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Azeem Doultana said that of 39 airplanes in use by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), 23 were old. Re-

sponding to a question in the House, the parliamentary secretary said PIA had formulated a three-year plan according to which six new airplanes would be included, while the 23 old ones would be repaired within a year.

To a supplementary question, Doultana said a special division was established in PIA to bring improvement in the cabin, as a number of complaints were being received about mismanagement. To another question regarding incident of tyre burst at Lahore Airport on Wednesday, he said the tyres were changed on time, however, the plane touched the ground very hard, forcing the tyre to bust.

He further informed the House that the financial losses suffered by PIA on account of cancellation of flights due to strikes and protests in PIAC last year was Rs 78.19 million and the said cost did not include goodwill losses.

To a supplementary question regarding union offices, he said the management was looking into the possibility of closing down union offices in operational areas.

He told the House that the accumulated losses of PIA stood at Rs 1,11.543 billion on September 30, 2011.

To another question relating to the minister of defence, he said it was not in his knowledge if Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar during had paid $20,000 a rent for a limousine.

To another question regarding salaries of PIA deputy managing directors, he said the salaries if compared with international airlines were at a lower level. He said issues of PIA could not be solved with deduction in salaries.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Human Rights Mustafa nawaz Khokar said a total 12,580 people were mur-

Germany expresses interest in Balochistan development india spent rs 500m to keep Kasab alive MUMbAi: The Indian government might have spent at least Rs 500 million — three times more than the government’s claim of spending Rs 160 million — to keep alive Ajmal Kasab, geo news quoted a report by Indian media on Wednesday. On Monday, the Indian Home Department submitted that the state government had so far spent Rs 160 million on the gunman captured in the attack on a Mumbai hotel in november 2008. But a day later, if top police brass and bureaucrats associated with the case are to be believed, it transpired that a whopping Rs 487.5 million had been spent on the jailed terrorist, the TV channel reported.

“From our estimates, the state government must have spent a minimum of Rs 500 million to keep the terrorist alive,” a senior official was quoted as saying. MonItoRIng DeSK

QuEttA StAff RePoRt

german Consul general Dr Tilo Klinner said that his government wanted to become a partner in the development of Balochistan by providing facilities to the people of the province.

He was talking to reporters on the eve of his first visit to Balochistan. german Second Secretary on Political and Economic Affairs Ferdinand Jenrish and german Honorary Consul general Brigadier (retired) Abdur Razzak Baloch were also present on the occasion.

The german diplomat said that germany was involved in three sectors in Balochistan, including Balochistan Rural Support Programme, imparting technical education to youth and rehabilitation of Afghan refugees with the support of the united nations.

He said that german government was involved in imparting technical education in Balochistan since 1990. Training centres have been set up in Quetta and the

districts of Lasbela and Loralai, he added.

He said that the german investers were very keen to invest in Balochistan as germany was a major producer of alternate energy, adding that Balochistan had a great potential for producing alternate energy, including solar and wind energy.

The diplomat said that germany had aimed to switch its power source to renewable energy by 2050.

On investers’ interest in the Coppergold project after the Balochistan government rejected the application of the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), the german consul general said that the Balochisan government and TCC were still negotiating. He hoped that the two parties reach an amicable decision that builds the confidence of foreign companies in investment in the province.

Dr Tilo said further that the pharmaceutical company Merk was the biggest employment provider in private sector within the country with around 600 employees, while over 5,000-6,000 people were being benefited indirectly.

dered in Pakistan in 2010. Punjab topped the list with 6,242 killings, followed by Sindh with 3,289 KP with 2,501 and Balochistan with 548 people killed.

In rape cases, Punjab topped the list with 2,581 cases, Sindh followed with 289 and Balochistan with 33. no rape case was reported in KP. To a supplementary question regarding damaging a hospital building during a military operation in Miran Shah, Khokar said the building was safe, however, the doors and windows were damaged.

In a written reply, Minister for Law Maula Bakhsh Chandio told the House that of 81,213,620 voters appearing on the existing electoral rolls prepared in 2007, nADRA had declared 37,186,053 voters unverified after comparing the same with their citizens database of CnIC holders.

Shazia may replace Sherry in NA ISLAMABAD KASHIf ABBASI

Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri comes next to Sherry Rehman on a priority list submitted by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Member of the national Assembly (MnA) Sherry Rehman has been appointed Pakistan’s new ambassador to the united States, replacing Hussain Haqqani, who resigned in the backdrop of the memogate scandal. Shazia Marri is next to Sherry Rehman on the priority list for the nomination of parliamentarians on reserved seats for Sindh women in the national Assembly.

On the list, Marri is followed by Ruqia Soomro, Surayya Jatoi and Yasmeen Siddiqui. However, PPP sources said that President Asif Ali Zardari would decide who would occupy the nA seat vacated by Rehman. A PPP member said that Marri was likely to be asked to continue, as party leadership was satisfied with her performance in the Sindh Cabinet. A senior ECP official told Pakistan Today that upon receiving Rehman’s resignation, the commission would write a letter to Marri to get her opinion on the notification, as she is already holding a seat in the Sindh Assembly. Marri was elected to the provincial assembly in 2008 from PSW-13 on a seat reserved for women.

pML-Q’s new strategy to curb defections from the party LAHORE nADeeM SyeD

In order to keep its house in order and check defections from the party in the coming days, the PML-Q leadership has decided to make it clear to party ranks that no electoral understanding had been reached with the PPP so far that many leaguers find it against their constituency politics, making them easy pickings for other political forces, including the PTI and PML-n, that are out to woo them.

Party sources said the Chaudhrys had planned a series of party meetings starting with Rawalpindi division (on Thursday) to dispel the impression and address

concerns of party leaders on the very nature of their understanding with PPP for the coming election.

After joining the PPP–led government, some PML-Q leaders gave wrong signals to the party when they shared with the media an exaggerated account of a deal between the PPP and PML-Q, as if some formal seat-to-seat adjustment between the two parties had been finalised.

According to their version, the two parties would not challenge each other’s candidates in the coming election, implying that if a constituency was manned by the PPP, the PML-Q would not field its candidate. But more damaging was the clause according to which the con-

stituency where both parties failed, the runner up will get the ticket, if he/she was from the PPPP or PML-Q. Party leaders, especially the ones interested in contesting future elections, found themselves pretty irrelevant in the new arrangement. With no future in the PML-Q, they became soft targets for other political parties interested to expand their electoral base or in the need of more electable candidates.

For example in Lahore, most of the seats were won by the PML-n in previous polls, with the PPP coming in second.

As such, PML-Q leaders from Lahore such as Aleem Khan must be weighing their options outside the fold of the PML-

Q. Recently former nA speaker Chuadhry Ameer Hussain hinted at joining the PTI. With the same understanding, he had no chance of getting ticket from the PML-Q, as PPP leader Firdous Ashiq Awan had returned winner from that constituency in the last election.

With the emergence of Imran Khan as a real political force, the PML-Q members have already become vulnerable to outside influence that includes the PTI and the PML-n.

Both parties are out to woo anybody with some political credentials. Some PML-Q members have crossed the fence while others are weighing their options per reports. This trend is worrying for the

Chaudhrys.

Meanwhile, to mitigate the concerns of party leaders, the Chaudhrys have decided to contact party leaders across Punjab. On Thursday, they would meet leaders from Rawalpindi division, including MnAs, MPAs and former ticket-holders. In these meetings, the Chaydhrys would be telling party leaders to take it easy, as no seat adjustment had been finalised with the PPP. The party leadership, witnessing a re-alignment of political forces through these contacts, would firm up its future political strategy.

At the moment, their primary concern is to keep the party intact and protect it against possible defections.

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04 News

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

House passes three bills as opposition members ‘relax’

MQM leaders write to Zardari to act against Mirza KARACHI APP

PPP Balochistan MNA Nasir Ali Shah ends protest after PM assures him of taking measures to stop killing of Hazara people

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ITH no opposition member in the national Assembly taking interest in the legislation process, the treasury benches made hay with lawmaking process, passing three important bills unanimously in ten minutes without an objection.

The House deferred debate on the shortage of fertilizer in the country per the motion moved by the Syed Khursheed Shah. Though a debate was also on the agenda of the session, it was deferred due to the absence of Opposition Leader Chaudhry nisar Ali Khan.

Taliban ‘send message’ to govt Continued from Page 1 This is a clear message for those who are thinking that we are involved in negotiations.” Police declined to finger the Taliban explicitly.

“Many militant groups are active in the area and we can’t say who is in fact involved in this attack, we can’t identify them,” senior local police official Imtiaz Shah told AFP. kURRAM AttAck: Meanwhile, in Kurram, militants attacked paramilitary troops, killing two soldiers and injuring eight others.

An army spokesman said an unknown number of militants were killed when troops retaliated.

Kabul shares info about rabbani murder islAMAbAD: The Afghan delegation on Wednesday shared information with Pakistani officials about the assassination of Afghan High Peace Council chief and former President Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani. The delegation, headed by national Directorate of Security (nDS) Deputy Director general Hesamuddin comprised senior officials from the Ministry of Defense, Interior and nDS. onLIne

NEwS ANALySiS Rana Qaisar Hussain Haqqani’s removal over his alleged involvement in the conspiratorial ‘memo’, which the author of Financial Times op-ed piece, Mansoor Ijaz, claims to have been masterminded by the now former ambassador, seemingly appears to have swept the treacherous issue under the carpet as the government has not constituted an investigation team and formulating its Terms of Reference (ToRs) to find out as to how and where this plot was conceived and who had given a go-ahead for its execution.

With four petitions having been filed in different courts of the country on

The significant feature of the proceedings was the return of rebel PPP MnA from Balochistan, nasir Ali Shah, who was staging a sit-in outside parliament against targeted killing of people belonging to Hazara ethnicity in and around Quetta. On the assurance of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza gilani, nasir Shah ended his boycott.

The House also unanimously adopted a resolution pertaining to ensuring preventable maternal mortality as basic human rights.

Taking up the legislative business, the Lower House passed three bills. It adopted the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) 2009 to empower the existing tribunal to entertain appeals against

the decisions of national Tariff Commission.

The Banks (nationalization) Amendment Bill 2010, passed by the House seeks removal of House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) from the Banks (nationalization) Act 1974 in the light of non-agreement of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to classify HBFC as a bank or DFI. The Islamabad Consumers Protection (Amendment) Bill 2010, moved by law minister Maula Bux Chandio, seeking appointment of special magistrates to try the cases of profiteering, hoarding, black-marketing, adulteration and selling of expired food items food was also passed unanimously.

Qureshi keeps options open ISLAMABAD MIAn ABRAR

Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi continues to keep his options open after leaving the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with all his cards close to his chest, leaving the politicians and analysts guessing whether he will join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) or form his own group in the near future.

Though PTI Chairman Imran Khan had publicly said that Qureshi would join him at the ghotki public gathering on november 27, the latter continues to remain tight-lipped and also met the PML-n top brass in Lahore on Tuesday. A source told Pakistan Today that after having a result-less meeting with PML-n chief nawaz Sharif, Qureshi held a quiet meeting with Imran Khan and informed him about his future plans. Some other politicians were also present.

After the meeting, Imran told reporters that Qureshi was an honest politician but he was free to take his political decisions independently – clearly hinting that Qureshi might delay joining the PTI. However, when contacted, the former foreign minister avoided comment on his meeting with

Imran, saying he was busy with a family function. It has also been learnt that Imran will visit Sadiqabad on november 26, where some more politicians will join his party. A source told Pakistan Today that a political alliance of two Makhdoom families of the south is also emerging, with the engagement of Qureshi’s son with the daughter of Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood.

In line with the traditions of southern Punjab, both spiritual families are also mulling the option to form an independent group for a possible seat adjustment with the PTI and PML-n against the PPP to shatter the myth that Southern Punjab and Sindh belong to the ruling party. The source said that because of the quickly changing political situation, Qureshi might not unfold his political plan on the 27th at ghotki as announced earlier, and rather it was likely that the decision might be delayed for some time.

Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood has also met nawaz Sharif but did not make any decision on his future political strategy.

Though some PML-n leaders have been claiming that Qureshi and Mahmood would join their party, the two Makhdooms continue to weigh their options.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Deputy Conveners Dr Farooq Sattar and Anees Kaimkhani have demanded the government and Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry take action against Dr Zulfiqar Mirza for “maligning the image of MQM chief Altaf Hussain.” According to a statement issued by the MQM on Wednesday, in a letter written to President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the MQM leaders alleged Dr Zulfiqar Mirza was telling people lies and accusing Altaf Hussian of being a separatist without proof.

Parliamentary body to discuss memogate on 25th islAMAbAD: The Parliamentary Committee on national Security will meet on november 25 under the chairmanship of Senator Raza Rabbani to discuss the alleged memo that led to resignation of Pakistan Ambassador to Washington Hussain Haqqani. o n LI ne

Nawaz moves SC Continued from Page 1 “I would have ordinarily approached parliament to take stock of the situation, but the fate of the resolutions of parliament regarding drone attacks and others compelled me to look towards other independent and effective institution for the purpose,” the PML n chief said. He prayed to the apex court that the ones responsible or involved in initiating the process leading to the said memorandum, authoring the same, providing any assistance whatsoever in the process and the ones blessing or approving the said act, may graciously be identified. nawaz further prayed that the dreadful conspiracy to demonise, ridicule, malign and consequently destroy the invaluable and valiant armed forces of Pakistan, to trade away the sovereignty of Pakistan and to barter away the very existence and the future of Pakistan, which also amounted to waging a war against Pakistan, be unearthed.

Govt picks Sherry Continued from Page 1 considered close to the prime minister since she was said to have lost the confidence of President Zardari for taking a position different from his on media-related issues, emerged as a dark horse and her appointment clearly suggested that she was approved by all for the important responsibility at a time when Islamabad’s relations with Washington have plummeted. nevertheless, she will have to face a daunting task of being the Pakistani envoy in the world’s most important capital and improving Pakistan-uS relations, which suffered a serious blow after differences erupted between the two countries following al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s killing in a covert uS raid in Abbottabad on May 2.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday after her appointment as the new ambassador, Sherry said: “We all have to forge a progressive, dynamic Pakistan out of the ashes that are often left to us by the fire of terrorism and by the fire of extremism.”

Earlier, a press statement from the prime minister’s office said: “Prime Minister Yousaf Raza gilani has appointed Ms Sherry Rehman as Pakistan’s Ambassador to united States of America.” Sherry also called on the prime minister and discussed matters relating to her diplomatic assignment.

She is a member of the national Assembly and currently serving as chair-

woman of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. Sherry Rehman, 50, is a senior PPP leader and has been a vocal supporter of civilian supremacy in the country. She resigned as information minister in March 2009 owing to her opposition to the Presidency’s move to order cable operators to block a private TV channel because of its criticism of government policies.

The new Pakistani ambassador is the founding president of the Jinnah Institute in Islamabad, an independent public policy institute committed to regional peace and inclusive democracy in Pakistan.

She also co-chairs several track-two strategic dialogues with India, and is convener of a similar institutionalised dialogue process to be held between Pakistan and Afghanistan later this year. She lectures widely on strategic security challenges facing Pakistan, and is a key member of the legislative councils that govern both Azad Kashmir and gilgitBaltistan.

Sherry Rehman is also the former editor of leading English magazine Herald and her background as a journalist for some 20 years has given her wide media outreach as an incumbent second-term lawmaker with a frontline public position against religious extremism.

The appointment of Sherry Rehman left some observers in surprise as they were expecting the army, which supposedly pressured the government to oust

SC asks whose right Continued from Page 24 Awan submitted that observance of judicial restraint would support the system otherwise there would a chance of clash between the institutions, adding that the federation believed in protecting the constitution of Pakistan.

Awan contended that the federation’s responsibility included protecting the rights of its citizen, institutions, laws and constitution of Pakistan. He said the federation was not heard in the case, adding that the nRO was a temporary law, promulgated by former president Pervez Musharraf that lapsed after 120 days, adding that the president was part of parliament.

Awan said the accused could not be punished in absentia and that was why closed cases could not be reopened. He said the SC could not direct the federation to reopen cases abroad.

The chief justice said why was the federation interested in supporting a law under which would make it easy for corruption to run rampant, to which Awan said the nRO’s life was over.

This gave rise to a heated exchange of words between Awan and the SC judges.

Awan said the Lahore High Court had given a stay order in tax evasion of Rs 100 billion.

“Babar, we had summoned the FBR chairman and asked him to pursue the cases of tax theft,” Justice Jawwad S Khawaja told

Is the ‘memo’ controversy over?

Wednesday, one by PML-n President nawaz Sharif in the Supreme Court, it is understandable that the courts will now take over this issue and the military or civil investigation would probably not take place. If the Supreme Court admits the petition for hearing, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza gilani would certainly be relieved of the pain he may suffer by undertaking this undesirable isometric that would certainly involve President Asif Ali Zardari in the process when the Pandora’s box opens.

And, there is a strong possibility that a judicial commission would be formed

to probe the ‘memo’ conspiracy and like other such commissions already investigating the May 2 uS raid and the murder of a journalist, this commission would also take months to come up with its findings and meanwhile much water would have passed under the bridge – the dust will also settle with some other event of an equal proportion overshadowing the ‘memo’ controversy. not only the government has taken time to wait and see by delaying the formation of an investigation team, it has also not restricted Hussain Haqqani’s movement barring him from

travelling abroad. This also indicates how serious the government is in proceeding further. The likely inference is that Hussain Haqqani has been made a scapegoat to avoid a situation that would pit the civil and military leaders against each other.

Another indication of the civil-military equation staying undisturbed is the appointment of Sherry Rehman as ambassador of Pakistan to the united States. While some know-itall analysts were suggesting that the new ambassador would be a person close to the army, Sherry’s appointment is also a sign of busi-

Haqqani from the ambassador’s office in Washington, to push for the appointment of a retired senior army officer as the new envoy.

Pakistan’s new envoy to the uS was also close to slain PPP chairwoman and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and was in the same motorcade with her when Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack in December 2007. She was, however, not injured in the bombing.

She came under heavy criticism from hardline religious elements in the country when she started speaking against rising militancy and also the flaws that she saw in the blasphemy law. She had to go abroad for a while in the wake of the assassination of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer and even after her return she had to live under heavy protection.

Haqqani, who also met Sherry Rehman on Wednesday, expressed his best wishes for the new ambassador and later tweeted: “Ah! To wake up in my motherland, without the burden of conducting Pakistan’s most difficult external relationship.” He also called Sherry a “dedicated democrat”.

In her press briefing, Sherry also hailed the services of Haqqani and said that he had served his country well. “[Haqqani] has gracefully tendered his resignation because he doesn’t want to tarnish the country’s image just because he became controversial. But this doesn’t mean he has admitted any involvement in the memo scandal.”

ness back to normal as the president and the prime minister did not let their authority erode and replaced Hussain Haqqani with a party loyalist instead of picking a career diplomat or a retired general with the army and the ISI also not rejecting a political appointment in the most important world capital.

As her name had surely been agreed upon by all while considering many others, it unmistakably suggests that the military establishment was not in a mood to impose any decision on the government. Maybe the army and the ISI, which had

gathered the evidence to confront Hussain Haqqani, did not consider it going beyond what was required – removal of the ambassador who had throughout been in the midst of controversies one after another mostly related to the army or the ISI ever since his appointment. understandably, if this ‘memo’ issue had to see some more heads rolling, the constitution of the investigation team would have been announced immediately after the top four had decided that Hussain Haqqani would no more represent the country in the united States. His is cer-

Awan and added that the FBR chairman was not an employee of the court. “You should not speak about the matter about which you have no knowledge,” the bench asked Awan. “You should limit yourself to arguing your petition,” he added.

Awan said larger benches had been formed but several cases were not heard, upon which the chief justice asked him to cite a particular case. Awan cited the Asghar Khan case.

“You should not intervene to regulate the case as you are not the chief justice,” the CJP directed Awan.

The CJP directed Awan to complete his arguments before 11am on the next date of hearing and adjourned proceedings until today (Thursday). tainly a “consensus removal” for becoming dangerously controversial and also a softbelly of the government for the opposition’s punching.

But it cannot be concluded that the ‘memo’ controversy has been buried deep in the grave of expediency. It will continue hanging over the Zardari-gilani dispensation as Damocles’ sword. And, what the Supreme Court decides on the petition of the PML-n president also remains to be seen. However, the mystery would continue to shroud the conspiracy wrapped in the ‘memo’, which had been considered an act of treason against the state, as the details are being kept secret for the people at large, media and analysts to speculate as to what transpired.

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Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Bring out the danburo, been and dhol and protest! demonstration with a melody 07

Whose share of floods is bigger, Mirza or Zardari’s?

■ Bureaucracy sidelines losses suffered in ‘worst-affected’ Badin, highlights plight of Benazirabad’s people ■ Sindh Livestock and fisheries department reports livestock losses in president’s hometown at rs 3.7bn while Mirza’s at only rs 800m KARACHI

I

AftAB cHAnnA

n a bid reported to please the presidency, the provincial bureaucracy, in a survey to ascertain livestock losses, has sidelined the losses sustained by flood survivors in Badin – the hometown of former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza – and highlighted the losses suffered in the Benazirabad district – the hometown of President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Today has learnt.

Although the media and international agencies working in the flood-hit areas had reported Badin as the worst off, the Sindh Livestock and Fisheries Department

has “intentionally” sidelined the outspoken minister’s constituency, as “political tensions deepen between President Zardari and his close friend Mirza”, well-placed sources told Pakistan Today.

Monsoon rains had displaced over 9 million people in the province and in the Badin district only more than 6,000 villages were inundated by rainwater, overflowing from the Left Bank Outfall Drain.

Besides displacing millions of people, the rains and the subsequent flooding also destroyed cattle stocks and thousands of acres of standing crops.

Even the un representative, John ging, had described the flood situation in Badin as “serious”, saying that around 50,000 acres of

land had submerged. ging, who brings with him the experience of directing operations of the un Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, had said this at a press conference after meeting with the Sindh Provincial Disaster Management Authority officials.

The sources, however, said that in a report compiled by the Sindh Livestock and Fisheries Department in September 2011, the officials have presented the Benazirabad district as relatively the worst-affected by rains and flooding in the province.

It is stated in the report – prepared a few days after Mirza resigned from his ministry – that during rains from August 12 to Sep-

tember 21, the livestock sector in the affected districts including Tharparkar, Benazirabad, umerkot, Mirpurkhas and Badin suffered approximate losses of Rs 14 billion.

According to the break up of animal losses, the Tharparkar district is reported as the worst off with around 27,861 cattle dead or washed away, followed by 16,495 in umerkot, 12,258 in Benazirabad, 11,991 in Mirpurkhas and only 3,098 in the Badin district.

But the highest amount of monetary losses in the report – despite the huge number of cattle heads lost in Tharparker – have been put up with the umerkot district for Rs 3.8 billion, followed by Benazirabad with losses up to the tune of Rs 3.7 billion, Tharparkar Rs 3.3 billion,

Mirpurkhas Rs 2.2 billion and Badin only Rs 800 million.

The livestock losses in other districts, including Dadu, ghotki, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Kashmor, Khairpur Mirs, Larkana, Matiari, nosheroferoz, Qambar, Sanghar, Shikarpur, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan and Thatta also get a mention in the report.

It is stated in the Sindh Livestock and Fisheries Department report that around 26,951 small animals died in the Tharparkar district, 12,000 in umerkot, 9,949 in Mirpurkhas, 9,003 in Benazirabad, 2,191 in Badin, 150 in Khairpur Mirs, 143 in Tando Allahyar, 128 in Sanghar, 110 in nosheroferoz, 108 in Qamber, 63 in Jamshoro, 51 in

Tando Mohammad Khan, 38 in Dadu, 30 in Thatta, 28 in Larkana, 15 in Shikarpur, two in Hyderabad while a single small animal died in Matiari.

The report also mentions that 4,495 large cattle heads perished during rains and flooding in the umerkot district, 3,255 in Benazirabad, 2,042 in Mirpurkhas, 910 in Tharparkar, 907 in Badin, 163 nosheroferoz, 143 in Khairpur Mirs, 68 in Dadu, 65 in Qamber, 63 in Larkana, 53 in Sanghar, 35 in Thatta, 34 in Tando Mohammad Khan, 33 in Matiari, 29 in Tando Allahyar, 18 in Jamshoro, 11 in Shikarpur, four in Kashmore, two in Hyderabad while a single large animal was reported to have died in ghotki.

AKd, Carlton Hotel vie for Keenjhar Lake resort project

An illustration of the Keenjhar Lake resort project.

KARACHI JAVeD MAHMooD

cRoUcHIng tIgReSS: An artiste performs at a hip-hop concert organised by the fEw Collective at the US consul general’s residence on wednesday. aSIM REHMaNI

CLIfTON BEaCH BLaST

Sleuths find terrorists used both desi and walaiti equipment ■ Explosives in suicide jackets same as those manufactured for Pakistani armed forces ■ PETN cord suggests suicide bombers used American equipment KARACHI tARIQ HABIB

The terrorists, who blew themselves up on the night of november 16 at the Clifton beach to avoid being arrested, had used a mix of Pakistani and American equipment, Pakistan Today learnt from the investigators on Wednesday.

Law enforcement agencies personnel found the intact body of an attacker outside the Bolan hi-roof van, which was being used by the terrorists. The deceased was found wearing a suicide jacket, with a trigger in his right hand and night vision goggles around his forehead. He was one of the terrorists who had attempted to escape, but was hit by the blast inside the vehicle.

“The body of the terrorist was

intact because he was outside the vehicle at the time of the blast, whereas others’ bodies had been transformed into pieces,” sources said.

The investigators discovered that the terrorists had used American-made equipment, including detonating cords and night vision goggles.

The sources said the detonating cord that was found at the blast site was American-made and is called PETn cord in American military circles because it is filled with pentaerythritol tetranitrate, one of the most powerful high explosives known.

“The cord is attached to the suicide jacket and when the trigger is pushed, explosives are detonated,” said an investigator wishing to remain anonymous.

Investigators pointed out that American-made night vision gog-

gles were locally used by the terrorists for the first time. night vision goggles enable the person wearing them to see in the dark, and terrorists use them to search and hit their targets at inadequately lit sites.

Sources said all the terrorists at the Clifton beach had their suicide jackets on and were ready to blow up, just like when terrorists had attacked the PnS Mehran Base.

Investigators said the explosives used in the suicide jackets were locally made and were used for the first time in an attack in Pakistan.

Sources said, “The explosives used were in a solid state and black in colour. They are the same as those manufactured in Pakistan for the armed forces.”

The discovery has raised eyebrows in the intelligence agencies,

which are now vigorously trying to ascertain the means and contacts through which terrorists gained access to the explosives.

A large quantity of dynamites was also mixed with the explosives, making it 10 times more dangerous.

Intelligence agencies of the country have taken samples of the explosives and sent them to four different laboratories for being tested.

Following the blast, investigators had told the media that a woman was also among the terrorists, but they refused to confirm this information later.

However, the sources claimed, intelligence agencies have found hairs, a leg and pieces of skin from the scene of the blast, which suggests that a woman was also among the terrorists.

The Carlton Hotel management and the renowned stock market tycoon, Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, have entered the race to get hold of the Keenjhar Lake Resort development project worth around Rs 3.40 billion, Pakistan Today has learnt.

The Sindh Tourism Department in collaboration with the provincial government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) unit had offered the Keenjhar Lake Development Project on PPP basis, under which the government would foot 40 percent bills and the investor would inject 60 percent capital into the project.

Well-placed sources told Pakistan Today that both the intending parties have submitted their expressions of interest with the Sindh government to acquire the project and in the next couple of months the government may decide the fate of Keenjhar Lake Development Project, which envisages massive expansion in the tourism sector.

The Sindh government would examine the bids of both the interested parties and take the decision keeping in view the exposure of the party in real estate, development of resorts, management and the financial health of the aspirants.

The sources said that Rs 400 million would be provided to the Sindh Board of Revenue to settle the land acquisition. To attract tourists and promote tourism in Sindh, Rs 3 billion would be spent on developing huts, motels, parks and a golf club among other facilities at the Keenjhar Lake.

An overriding objective of the Keenjhar Lake Development Project is to create an eco-friendly tourist destination which would provide high quality business and recreational facilities, supported by infra-

structure and amenities within a secure and hearty environment that encourages extended stay at the site.

One of the most attractive tourist destinations in Pakistan, the Keenjhar Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan spread over an area of 145 sq km with an irregular shoreline of 192 km. The maximum depth is around 8 metres at the lake, which is an important source of drinking water for Karachi.

The location of the lake is also ideal as the national Highway (n-5) passes nearby while the Jhimpir Railway Station, the first station after Karachi, is also located within close proximity. A large variety of migratory waterfowl stay during winters at the lake that also is rich in flora of submerged, floating and emergent aquatic plants. However, lack of infrastructure and over-exploitation of resources at the Keenjhar Lake are leading to environmental degradation and deterioration of natural habitat around the lake. The Sindh government also intends to develop infrastructure and facilities to further facilitate travelling to the lake.

Plans are underway to develop the Thatta city and the district area to meet the gap in infrastructure, utilities and services that has eluded many small urban cities and towns in interior Sindh.

This is not only expected to improve the quality of lives of people there, but also enable the city to support tourism activities. Furthermore, the development would add to the value of projects at the Keenjhar Lake.

The sources said that plans are afoot to develop and explore the tourism potential of gorakh Hills in the Dadu district. “The access road to gorakh Hills was swept away by torrential rains and would be rebuilt.

Entertainment facilities would also be provided atop the hills to attract tourists to the province,” they added.

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PakistaN today

06 karachi

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

It’s time for non-paying KWSB to pay, says KESC ■ Power utility says gas supply reduction to 115mmcfd, which is merely 40 percent of the required and approved quota of 276mmcfd, leaves it with no choice but to increase load shedding hours for water board

KARACHI

T

AAMIR MAJeeD

roubled by the decline in gas supply, the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has decided to increase power load shedding hours for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), which has not paid its dues worth Rs 15.3 billion to the power utility.

According to the KESC, the KWSB has been provided with uninterrupted power supply despite the non-payment of dues mainly to facilitate the residents of Karachi. How-

ever, given the circumstances that the Sui Southern gas Company (SSgC) is giving to leeway to the KESC in terms of gas supply, the power utility will be unable to continue providing uninterrupted power supply to the KWSB. The water board would either have to curtail its power consumption by 50 percent or face load shedding at its installations.

According to the KESC spokesman, gas supply to the power utility’s plants has fallen to an abysmal level of 115mmcfd, which is merely 40 percent of the required and approved quota of 276mmcfd.

At the current level of gas supply, the KESC’s generation capability has reduced by 600MW, including the 350MW from the Bin Qasim II Power Plant - a project that cost $450 million dollars and would be able to generate 560MW by the end of the first quarter of the next year.

The KESC spokesman said that being a private sector entity, the KESC is fully aware of the importance and the role of the industrial sector and that is why it had declared all industrial zones of Karachi exempted from load shedding.

“However, with the unilateral action of the SSgC to reduce gas supply

‘Timely treatment can save children born with heart disease’ KARACHI StAff RePoRt

to the KESC, it has become impossible to keep industrial zones exempted from load shedding,” he added.

“But if the gas supply improves to even 250mmcfd, load shedding in residential and commercial areas will be reduced immediately and all the industrial zones of city would again be exempted again.”

The spokesman said that the current power crisis in the city has been brought about by the “unexplainable actions” of the SSgC, as only the KESC has been subjected to the cut in gas supply, while all other gas consuming sectors have only been asked for a ‘voluntary reduction’.

Early diagnosis and timely treatment can markedly improve the chances of survival of the children born with congenital heart disease, consultant paediatric and cardiologist at the Aga Khan university Hospital (AKuH) Dr Babar Hasan said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a public awareness seminar organised at the university. Dr Hasan said that since the inception of the AKuH’s congenital paediatric cardiac surgery unit in 2006, over 800 surgical procedures of varying complexities have been performed. “We provide the most comprehensive cardiovascular services throughout the country with designated surgeons, cardiologists, intensivists and cardiac anaesthesiologists all trained in the management of congenital heart disease,” he added. Other speakers on the occasion shed light on varying topics including infectious diseases in young children and the importance of adequate diets.

Dr Farah Qamar, consultant for paediatric infectious diseases at the AKuH, said that most episodes of diarrhoea are selflimiting and medications such as antibiotics and anti-diarrhoeal are generally not necessary; instead, they could be harmful. She warned that immediate medical attention should be sought for children if they refuse to eat or drink, have periodic abdominal pain that lasts over two hours and if they become irritable or cranky. “Bloody diarrhoea or signs of moderate to severe dehydration are alarming conditions too,” she added. AKuH’s consultant paediatricians Dr Maqbool Qadir and Dr Khalil Ahmed discussed at length children’s growth and eating habits. “The most common complaint that we hear from mothers is that their one-year-old has stopped eating,” said Dr Qadir. “However, as long as your child is active, developing adequately and has some weight gain, parents should be reassured that their child is growing normally.”

Authorities at work

Provincial minister Sheikh Muhammad Afzal and East district Municipal Commissioner Shafiqur rehman preside over a meeting to review Muharram arrangements in Korangi zone.

Construction of a flyover is in full swing at Habib Bank Chowrangi.

ONLINE

‘Blatant liar’ Mirza should repent for his sins: MQM KARACHI StAff RePoRt

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), again refuting the charges levelled by Dr Zulfiqar Mirza against its chief Altaf Hussain, demanded on Wednesday that the government and judiciary should take appropriate action against the former home minister.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, MQM deputy convenors Dr Farooq Sattar and Anees Kaimkhani pointed out that Dr Mirza’s claim that Hussain is hatch-

ing a conspiracy to break the country has been snubbed by his own fellow Pakistan People’s Party member Pir Mazharul Haq. Calling Dr Mirza a “blatant liar” for his “unfounded and baseless allegations”, the MQM leaders demanded strict action against the former home minister as he “hurt the sentiments of Hussain’s followers”.

“Dr Mirza must repent before god for his sins as he lied with the holy Quran over his head,” they said.

AttAck on pAkistAnis in lonDon conDeMneD: The MQM has denounced and con-

demned the violent attack on the members of the Pakistani community by the “terrorists” of the former home minister of Sindh Zulfiqar Mirza in a programme held in Willesden green area of London.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the Rabita Committee of the party said that Mirza was addressing a meeting in the community centre of Willesden green area of London. “When some of the participants of the meeting raised questions on his highly incendiary speech containing the objection-

able sentences, the terrorists with Zulfiqar Mirza turned violent and attacked them,” the Rabita Committee said in the statement.

“These terrorists did not even spare a young girl from their cruel attack.”

The Rabita Committee said that Mirza is spreading hatred among the Pakistani community in London through his spiteful speeches.

It said that Mirza was blatantly violating the law and spoiling peace of the city. They appealed to the British government to take notice of the Mirza’s “terrorism” and stop it.

Karachi Municipal Corporation Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed talks to a group of students visiting the Karachi zoo.

Malir district Administrator farid Ahmed Magsi inspects maintenance work along the route of the Ashura procession from Saudabad to Liaquat Market.

MPA rehan Zafar, Central district Administrator Nazir Lakhani and Municipal Commissioner (Central) Kamal Mustafa talk with the board of trustees of the rizvia imambargah.

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karachi 07 Bring out the danburo, been and dhol and protest!

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

PakistaN today

■ folk artistes demonstrate against Culture department for restraining them from organising a charity show aimed at collecting donations for their flood-affected colleagues

Motorway police issue a ticket to a motorist on the Lyari Expressway on wednesday. ONLINE

Rs 4 million bank heist at Civic Centre

folk artistes play music outside the press club on wednesday to lodge their protest against the Culture department. IMRaN aLI KARACHI StAff RePoRt

A policeman inspects the area outside a local bank at the Civic Centre after the bank was robbed.

KARACHI StAff RePoRt

Four robbers made off with Rs 4 million from the branch of a private bank at the Civic Centre, located within the jurisdiction of the Aziz Bhatti police station, on Wednesday.

Police said that four armed men, dressed in jeans and shirt, snatched the weapon of the bank’s secu-

rity and beat him up on resistance. Later, they held the bank manager and other staff hostage at gunpoint, grabbed Rs 4 million in cash from the bank’s counter and escaped.

They also took the bank’s CCTV camera footage along with them. The bank manager has lodged an FIR at the police station.

MURDeRs AnD sUiciDe: A man named

Waseem Shah was murdered by unidentified people in Defence Phase-VII within the jurisdiction of the gizri police station on Wednesday.

Separately, police found the bullet-riddled body of a man near the shoe market at nishtar Road, within the jurisdiction of the garden police station. The victim could not be identified till the filing of this report.

A woman named Rahat

ONLINE

Bibi allegedly committed suicide after a quarrel with her husband over a minor dispute.

ARRest: Police arrested two men on Wednesday and recovered weapons from their possession. The law enforcers said the arrested men are affiliated with the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and were planning to attack a Muharram procession.

A

group of folk artistes staged a protest against the provincial Culture Department on Wednesday for restraining them from organise a charity show aimed at collecting donations for their flood-affected colleagues.

Sitting along the road outside the Karachi Press Club, they protested in a unique way by playing traditional musical instruments including danburo, been,

dhol and harmonium, while some of their colleagues, holding banners and placards, chanted slogans against the Culture Department.

“Hundreds of folk artistes are among those affected by the recent floods in the province and they have approached the Culture Department for financial assistance. But the department has not only turned down their request, but also restrained them from organising a charity show that was scheduled on Tuesday,” said Abdul Hameed alias Seengar Ali Solangi, president of the

audIT REpORTS

Irrigation, Revenue depts giving ppp a bad name ■ in three years, Sindh irrigation department recovered only rs 150 million of the rs 2 billion it was supposed to ■ Public Accounts Committee seeks purpose of the department’s existence

KARACHI RAZZAK ABRo

“The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government is getting a bad reputation due to the Sindh Irrigation and Revenue departments. What is the purpose of their existence if they cannot improve their performance and have failed to provide relief to the common man?” Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Jam Tamachi unnar said on Wednesday. unnar, who is also the ruling PPP’s member of the provincial assembly, was presiding over a PAC meeting at the Sindh Assembly building to examine the Irrigation Department’s audit reports of 2006-

09.

“What is the purpose of the Irrigation Department if it has failed to recover the outstanding money as well as provide water to the tail-end areas?” unnar asked.

The committee expressed concern and annoyance over the Irrigation Department’s failure in recovering Rs 2 billion that were supposed to be recovered during a period of three years.

Irrigation Secretary Khalid Memon told the PAC that only Rs 150 million have been recovered during that period.

Irrigation Department officials failed to settle the paras of the audit reports and sought time of two more months to be able to do so.

The PAC deferred the proceedings on the audit paras at their request, but directed them not to claim TA/DA of the meeting.

The committee recommended the Sindh government to withdraw the recovery powers of the Irrigation Department officials if they fail in recovering the outstanding amount.

The PAC has summoned the Sindh irrigation minister in the next meeting of the committee. It also directed the PAC secretary to inform Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah that bureaucrats belonging to different departments are not taking the PAC meetings seriously.

Sindh Fankar Welfare Association. “We had planned a charity musical show at Makli gymkhana, with the consent of Thatta’s Deputy Commissioner Jaffar Abbasi, to collect money for the flood-hit artistes of the province,” Solangi went on.

“However, when we had finalised all the necessary arrangements after spending money from our pockets, we were asked to cancel the show as the Thatta district administration had cancelled our reservation at the Makli gymkhana on the day scheduled for the event.”

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PakistaN today

08 karachi wEATHEr UPdATES

35°C High

Clear skies

22°C Low

22% Humidity

fridAy

SATUrdAy

SUNdAy

34°C i 21°C

33°C i 21°C

33°C i 21°C

PrAyEr TiMiNGS fajr 5:35

Sunrise 6:54

Zuhr 12:19

Asr 3:22

Maghrib 5:43

isha 7:03

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

99260400-09 99215749, 99215960 99201300-39 99201271-6 34930051 36811841-50

BLood BANK HUSSAiNi fATiMid PwA

32238405-8 32225284, 32258656 99215740, 32735214

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Govt’s lack of interest in child rights worries SPARC

■ NGo believes federal and provincial governments give the impression that no one has taken the responsibility of protecting children’s rights in the country KARACHI

S

StAff RePoRt

OCIETY for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) has expressed concern over lack of interest of past and present Pakistani governments in improving the state of child rights in the country, which is evident from the fact that several bills regarding children’s rights are pending and there has been no follow-up on the concluding observations and recommendations of the united nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on Pakistan’s last periodic report.

According to a statement issued by SPARC on Wednesday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah or his cabinet on the occasion of the universal Children’s Day neither issued any statement renewing the provincial government’s commitment to promote and protect children’s rights in light of Pakistan’s national and international obligations, nor did they share with the nation what steps have been taken by the provincial government in this regard, giving the impression that no one in Pakistan has taken the responsibility of protecting children’s rights.

SPARC has urged the Sindh government to expedite the process of enacting the legislation that embodies the rights of children and is pending either with the relevant departments or the law department for vetting.

The non-governmental organisation (ngO) doubts the legislation process based on the pending bills – including Sindh Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Against Children Bill, Sindh Free and Compulsory Education Bill, Child Protection (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill, Charter of Child Rights Bill, and Child Marriages Restraint

(Amendment) Bill – most of which have been trickled down to the provinces after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

Highlighting the role of Provincial Commission for Child Welfare & Development (PCCWD)Sindh in the interim setting, SPARC Sindh Manager Suhail Abro said the commission still has relevance and mandate to deliver until the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act (SCPAA) is implemented in letter and spirit; but due to lack of commitment and devolution of the national Commission for Child Welfare & Development, the PCCWD-Sindh has stalled its activities; however, it should be made functional until the rules of SCPAA could be formed as well as the child protection units established and made functional.

SPARC urged the government to immediately enact all the bills pending in the Sindh Assembly and formulate the rules of SCPAA 2011 to protect children from abuse and exploitation.

The ngO asked the provincial government to immediately enact laws for implementation of Article 25-A of the Constitution, according to which education has been made a fundamental right of children between the ages of five and 16, as it would be an effective preventive step to protect children from labour.

The provincial government was also requested to allocate funds for implementation of all national and provincial laws regarding the rights of children.

Photos courtesy SPARC

Society for the Protection of the rights of the Child doubts the legislation process based on the pending bills – including Sindh Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Against Children Bill, Sindh free and Compulsory Education Bill, Child Protection (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill, Charter of Child rights Bill, and Child Marriages restraint (Amendment) Bill – most of which have been trickled down to the provinces after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

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KIDS’ fILM feStIVAL

ARt MoMentS

JeAn cLAUDe noVARo

CHILDREN’S EVENt NOVEMBER 23 tO 25 At 6:30 PM VENuE: RANGOONWALA CENtRE

tÊtE-À-tÊtE ON NOVEMBER 24 At 7:00 PM VENuE: t2F 2.0

ARt EXHIBItION StARtS NOVEMBER 25 At 5:00 PM VENuE: uNICORN GALLERY

‘Karachi International Children’s Film Festival’ is running from november 23 to 25 at the Rangoonwala Community Centre.

Call 0303-2311169 for more information.

‘Art Moments: An Evening of Conversation featuring Marjorie Husain’ on november 24 at The 2nd Floor. Call 35389033 for more information.

Jean Claude novaro’s glass sculptures exhibition is running from november 25 to December 2 at the unicorn gallery.

Call 35831220 for more information.

KHI 24-11-2011_Layout 1 11/24/2011 1:46 AM Page 9

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

News 09

weakened TTP limps into peace talks PESHAWAR AfP

After a deadly campaign of attacks, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are weakened and exploring peace talks with authorities perceived as increasingly at odds with the united States, observers say.

Taliban commanders now say they have started initial talks with Islamabad, mediated by former army officials, in a move that could end years of “holy war” that saw 500 attacks killing more than 4,700 people, according to an AFP tally.

The army and the spokesman for the main umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban faction, allied to al Qaeda, strongly denied the claims and low-level violence continues on a near daily basis, as do clashes between troops and militants.

Any negotiations underway need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Rebel factions are eclectic and nebulous and it remains unclear whether they are united enough to clinch a deal or how long any such deal would last. nevertheless, the rhythm of attacks has changed dramatically in Pakistan, with the death toll steadily diminishing in a pattern that continued after uS navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2.

Significantly, there has been no major militant attack in Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed 46 people at a funeral in Lower Dir on September 15.

According to an AFP tally, around 800 people have been killed in bomb attacks so far this year, significantly fewer than the 1,360 killed in 2010.

About 556 people died in attacks in the six months before bin Laden was killed and 412 in the six months afterwards.

“TTP was at its peak in 2007-2008.

But it has since been weakened and is divided,” said Saifullah Khan Mehsud, an analyst at the FATA Research Centre, a think tank dedicated to the Afghan border areas where Taliban are based.

In 2009, the Taliban marched to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad, sending Western allies into a tailspin of panic, worried that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into rebel hands.

The army went on the offensive, local anti-Taliban militias proliferated and the rebels were pushed back into the mountains on the Afghan border. TTP founder Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a uS drone strike in August 2009.

Militants’ main base, north Waziristan, has been targeted for three years by uS drone strikes which “kill TTP militants for the most part”, according to one frequent visitor to the district.

The army has also stepped up searches and checkpoints on the roads linking the semi-autonomous tribal zone to the rest of the country. More and more rebels are also reported to have fled into Afghanistan.

RAWALPInDI: the wife of US Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Marilyn Wyatt, embraces an old woman during her visit to eidgah Sharif. INp pHOTO

Bara refugees demand IDP status, basic facilities

T

ISLAMABAD PReSS ReLeASe

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) has noted with great concern that the federal government has proposed a two-year term for the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a bill introduced in the national Assembly on Monday. The Election Commission (Oath of office, salary, allowances, perks and privileges) Bill, 2011, if passed, will fix the official term of ECP members to 2 years from the date of administering the oath. PILDAT has learnt that the ECP itself had recommended that the official term of its members should be fixed at five years, but the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs decided to arbitrarily reduce this term to two years. It is important to note that the 18th Amendment had increased the official term of the chief election commissioner from three to five years, but it left the question of the members’ term and other service conditions unanswered.

PILDAT has taken a strong exception to the government’s efforts to reduce the term of ECP members to two years and has demanded that this term be fixed at five years like that of the chief election commissioner.

ISLAMABAD

PESHAWAR

StAff RePoRt

StAff RePoRt

People’s Liberation Army (PLA) China general Staff Headquarters Deputy Chief of the general Staff (DCgS) general Hou Shusen called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) general Khalid Shameem Wynne on Wednesday.

Shusen talked to Wynne about matters of mutual cooperation between the two armies.

In ISPR statement said the CJCSC expressed his satisfaction over the ongoing defence related projects between the two countries especially in the field of joint production, training and exchange programmes.

Earlier, Wynne presided over the senate committee of the national Defence university and reviewed the academic regimen along with the benchmarks set for the coming sessions.

HE tribesmen of Bara tehsil, Khyber Agency should be declared Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as they were forced to leave their houses ahead of a military operation against militants, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Sahibzada Haroonur-Rasheed said on Wednesday.

While addressing a protest camp by Bara refugees, the JI leader for Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) said the military offensive in Bara tehsil had displaced thousands of families without giving them any proper living arrangements. The former parliamentarian said the government, despite receiving billions of dollars from all over the world in the name of IDPs, had not spent any funds to facilitate the Bara IDPs, who were living in miserable conditions at Afghan refugee camp, Jalozai.

He claimed the military operations in the tribal belt had killed 30,000 tribesmen, disfigured another 50,000, destroyed 60,000 houses and made millions of people psychological patients. “The government has provided basic living facilities to the IDPs of Malakand division, Bajour and Mohmand agencies, and gave Rs 25,000 to each dead and Rs 10,000 to each injured, while registering 100 percent of the IDPs,” Raseed said, adding that even the most basic necessities of life were

PiLdAT demands 5-year term for ECP members

General Shusen calls on General wynne

not available to the Bara IDPs. He announced his party’s support for the refugees for their protests on november 30 and December 5, 2011.

Another movement leader, Shah Faysal Afridi, said that markets and educational institutions in Bara had been closed for the last three years due to the military operation.

He demanded special grants and incentives for the businessmen of Bara.

The protesters appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the human rights violations in FATA, saying the united States was hatching a conspiracy to sow hatred between the tribal people and the Pakistan Army.

NDMA received only 35pc of pledged flood aid, new appeal coming soon ISLAMABAD StAff RePoRt

The national Disaster Management Authority (nDMA) on Wednesday said that it received only 35 percent of the amount pledged by world donors after a united nations appeal for Pakistani flood victims, and that it would soon launch a fresh appeal to meet its requirement of $400 million. nDMA Chairman Dr Zafar Qadir, while addressing a press conference, said the un had asked the world community in September to provide $356 million for the flood victims, but the world remained skittish in donating the money. Qadir said the nDMA had curtailed some of its projects due to shortage of funds, adding that the provinces would now prioritise the projects and provide a list of crucial projects within a week.

He said the nDMA had cut down the management fee of the un and other international agencies from 25-30 percent to 15 percent of the aid money. giving details of the revised Response Plan, the nDMA chairman said the total affected population

was 5.15 million, with 4.82 million in Sindh and 0.332 million in Balochistan. He added that around 16 percent of the affected families were still living in temporary shelters due to several reasons, and that around 76 percent of the families required shelter in order to start a normal life again regardless of the fact that they were living in refugee camps or their broken houses. He said the floods had damaged 800,000 houses, of which 330,000 were completely destroyed. He added that 2,000 health facilities in Sindh and Balochistan were either damaged or completely destroyed in the recent floods. Qadir also informed that Malaria and Diarrhoea were the most common diseases in the flood affected areas and that the nDMA would need international assistance to combat the outbreaks. About agricultural losses, the nDMA chairman said that crops over 2.28 million acres were destroyed and around 116, 557 heads of cattle had perished in the floods.

According to the revised figures, approximately 9,781 schools were damaged in Sindh and Balochistan, affecting the education of one million children.

oman ambassador calls on foreign minister ISLAMABAD StAff RePoRt

Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman Mohammad Said Mohammad Al-Lawati called on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar here on Wednesday.

“The foreign minister lauded the efforts being made by the ambassador in further strengthening the existing fraternal relations between Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman,” said a foreign office statement.

The ambassador appreciated the help and assistance he had been receiving from the government of Pakistan during his stay for fortifying relations between the two brotherly countries.

The two sides discussed bilateral relations and ways and means to strengthen the existing cooperation in various fields.

They noted with satisfaction that there existed similarity of views between the two countries on a number of issues.

KHI 24-11-2011_Layout 1 11/24/2011 1:46 AM Page 10

10 News would-be Afghan suicide bomber tells of Taliban lure KABuL

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Republican rivals hit out at aid to Pakistan

Texas governor says islamabad should not be sent a single penny until it clearly shows ‘that they have America’s best interests in mind’ g

ReUteRS

Islamuddin never imagined joining the Taliban to become a suicide bomber but things changed for the teenage Afghan farmer when he said his best friend was shot dead by uS troops in a night raid.

In a rare insight into the mind of an Afghan suicide bomber, Islamuddin told Reuters the shooting 18 months ago was a turning point in his decision to join the Taliban – and ultimately, to train as a suicide bomber.

“I was really upset and it had a bad impact on me. I became alone. My work was not enjoyable anymore.

The whole world became boring for me,” he said. Four months later, Islamuddin, 17, was arrested for planning to blow himself up in an attack on a uS convoy in Kunduz province.

He is now serving a four and a half year sentence in a juvenile detention centre. Islamuddin’s mother, who asked Reuters not to release her name, said her son changed after his best friend, who was also his nephew, died – and that the insurgents took advantage of his grief to recruit him.

“Whenever (Islamuddin) comes into my mind I am upset,” she said. “He was young and was deceived by the Taliban.”

Suicide bombings – one of the main methods the Taliban use to target coalition and Afghan forces – are a relatively recent tactic. The first suicide bombing by an Afghan was in 2004. The majority of victims have been Afghan civilians. Many Afghans are horrified by the bombings and they have been declared un-Islamic in fatwas by senior clerics.

But numbers of the attacks have been steadily rising. In the past six months, Afghan police have arrested at least 20 would-be bombers. Many get training abroad, or are foreigners, according to the Interior Ministry.

Afghan suicide bombers can be motivated by a lack of jobs, education, financial and religious rewards, opposition to foreign troops, as well as revenge for the death of relatives or friends, according to academic and un reports. Islamuddin’s nephew’ also 17, was killed in a night raid, long one of the most hated foreign military tactics in Afghanistan, that critics say often claim innocent victims but the military say are an important, and precise, tool.

A spokesman for nATO did not confirm the raid.

WASHINGtON

R

AfP

EPuBLICAn presidential hopefuls on Tuesday poured scorn on America’s faltering alliance with Pakistan and sounded a vote of no confidence in the Islamabad leadership, arguing that aid must be cut.

“The bottom line is that they’ve showed us time after time that they can’t be trusted,” Texas governor Rick Perry said in a candidates’ debate centered on foreign policy. “until Pakistan clearly shows that they have America’s best interests in mind, I would not send them one penny, period,” he added.

Having sided with the united States and joined the “war on terror” after the September 11 attacks a decade ago

Washington’s relationship with Islamabad has consistently come under strain, but the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May plunged relations to a new low.

Perry’s remarks set the tone for a strongly critical stance on the nations’ strategic relationship.

Former uS ambassador to Beijing Jon Huntsman said the dangers posed

by Pakistan, with whom China has been increasing its diplomatic and military leverage in recent months, remained a significant concern.

“That’s the country that ought to keep everyone up at night,” Huntsman said of Pakistan. “You’ve got over 100 nuclear weapons. You’ve got trouble on the border. You’ve got a nation state that’s a candidate for failure.”

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said Pakistan was “one of the

most violent, unstable nations that there is”, and said the fact that Islamabad has a cache of nuclear weapons had to be taken “very seriously”.

“Potentially al Qaeda could get hold of these weapons,” she said. “These weapons could find their way out of Pakistan into new York City or into Washington, DC. That’s how serious this is,” Bachmann said.

She also questioned the billions of dollars in aid that the uS has given Pakistan since 2001.

“We need to demand more,” she said. “The money that we are sending right now is primarily intelligence money to Pakistan. Whatever our action is, it must ultimately be about helping the united States... our safety and our security.”

Former House speaker newt gingrich, who has surged in opinion polls in

JPJM to launch drive against inflation, unemployment MuLtAN PReSS ReLeASe

MULtAn: former national Reconstruction Bureau chairman Daniyal Aziz addressing a Jeevay Pakistan Jeevay Muqami Hakumat (JPJM) rally on Wednesday.

Gilani, Kayani real winners out of ‘memogate’ episode MIAn ABRAR

If any significant achievement emerges out of Tuesday’s enquiry meeting attended by the country’s civil-military top brass into the “memogate”, it is Prime Minister Yousaf Raza gilani who has emerged as the major trouble shooter, equally acceptable to the military establishment and President Asif Ali Zardari, while he also managed to accommodated Sherry Rehman, who he wanted to accommodate since long.

A highly-placed source claims that it was gilani who convinced President Asif Ali Zardari to visit PM’s House for the meeting and to sack his close associate Hussain Haqqani as a damagecontrol measure.

“The prime minister is pleased to appoint Sherry Rehman as the new ambassador to the uS,” spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office confirmed.

“Prime Minister gilani has also

the past week, said the uS-Pakistan relationship had to change given that American forces remain heavily committed in neighbouring Afghanistan.

“You overhaul the State Department to get the job done and you do it for real and you do it intensely and you tell the Pakistanis help us or get out of the way,” he said. “But don’t complain if we kill people you’re not willing to go after on your territory where you have been protecting them.”

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, with whom gingrich is now tussling with at the head of the Republican pack, bidding to unseat President Barack Obama in november 2012, echoed his main rival’s concerns.

“Right now the American approval level in Pakistan is 12 percent,” Romney said. “We’re not doing a very good job with this huge investment.”

been instrumental in convincing the army chief about appointing a PPP nominee as ambassador to the uS instead of a career diplomat to clear the air about differences between the government and the military. Finally, the prime minister convinced general Ashfaq Kayani to appoint Sherry as ambassador to Washington on Tuesday, while President Asif Ali Zardari was also taken onboard. This arrangement served purposes of all – the army chief and PM gilani – who wanted to accommodate Sherry Rehman since long but could not as President Zaradri was opposed to it,” the source added. Sherry had been sidelined by PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari after she tendered resignation as information minister on March 14, 2009 to protest government’s gags on a leading media group.

Recently, the prime minister had appointed her as the chairperson of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

Another source in the PPP claimed that though Zardari was on the back foot, he would surely bounce back soon.

“Let us see how this probe gets to a

conclusion. until then, the president would remain silent but afterwards, there might be some payback time as the president is a fighter and he would never give in,” added the source.

The venue of the meeting to decide the fate of Hussain Haqqani also hinted how things had went against the plan conceived by the Presidency and the meeting took place at the PM’s House, despite the fact that president was supreme commander of the armed forces and his office should have been the meeting place.

Defence analyst Syed Hassan Askari Rizvi said the entire episode had brought about a “slight remission” in clout of the president, as allegations were levelled against the Presidency, not the prime minister.

“Yes, the prime minister has gained as he was not the Haqqani’s link and rather it was the president. Taking advantage of the situation, he also got appointed Sherry, who was not in the good books of Zardari. To some extent, the army chief has also accommodated gilani by accepting Sherry’s appointment.

But in my view, military is a true winner out of this controversy and it has build pressure on the civilian government.

Since political parties were against the government and instead of reconciling with politicians, the government decided to reconcile with the military,” he said.

He said that the appointment of Sherry was “highly political” and the new ambassador faced huge challenges ahead. “The major issues between Pakistan and uS are the same as trust deficit is yet to be plugged. So this appointment would not affect Pakistan-uS ties. Sherry would have to break the barriers raised by the “memogate”, as the uS administration, the Pentagon and uS thinktanks would not open up with her immediately, as her credibility is also at stake,” he said. Rizvi said it was being assessed that a career diplomat would be appointed as ambassador to the uS so that he could serve the military and civilian administration equally.

“Though this appointment is a surprise for many, it reflects that Sherry has also won support of the military establishment,” he added.

Addressing a Jeevay Pakistan Jeevay Muqami Hakumat (JPJM) rally with exlocal government representatives and common folk, Daniyal Aziz promised to launch a struggle against inflation and unemployment after Muharram.

He said those in parliament were not sympathetic to the problems of people.

He said local government was the way to develop around the world but in Pakistan bureaucracy had failed the nation for 60 years by ruling in the name of democracy.

He said local government funds were being illegally utilized by provincial governments and local government polls were being delayed in violation of Article 140A of the Constitution. He said Local Council Associations have filed 27 cases over the last 2 years in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and High Courts to restore Local governments and against the appointment of administrator instead of nazims but no progress was seen in courts. He said the suspension of the Police Order 2002 had made Public Safety Commissions non-functional and incidences of police harassing people had increased.

‘fATA blessed with natural wealth, youth’ PESHAWAR StAff RePoRt

The Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is blessed with tremendous natural wealth and its youth are a great asset which the government will strive hard to facilitate, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor Barrister Masood Kausar said on Wednesday. Addressing a public gathering at the Sports Complex Parachinar, Kausar said the bonds of brotherhood and religious harmony had re-built the tarnished image of Pakistan and Islam. Kausar witnessed a PT parade by students of government High School for Boys, Yarda Sarqalam of Kurram Agency. Senator Rasheed Ahmad, MnAs, Haji Munir Orakzai and FATA ACS Sajid Hussain Toori, Kohat Division Commissioner Fazal Karim Khattak, Sahibzada Muhammad Anis and Political Agent Kurram Shahab Ali Shah were also present on this occasion.

Kausar praised the army and police for sacrificing life to restore peace to Kurram. He appreciated the response of the tribes of FATA, especially Kurram Agency. He announced a cash prize of Rs 0.1 million to the students who presented the PT show and two prizes of Rs 25,000 each for the winning and runners-up football teams.

KHI 24-11-2011_Layout 1 11/24/2011 1:46 AM Page 11

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

in Hussain Haqqani's defence It is very unfair of the government of Pakistan to expect an individual who has voluntarily adopted another country for any immigration status to represent Pakistan as its ambassador and have undivided loyalty to Pakistan. The problem is with those who hold constitutional offices and give such sensitive assignments to those who are liable not to deliver when the going goes bad. It is just like pushing an individual into a lion's den and then expect him to survive. The fault lies with those who appointed Hussain Haqqani and not with him.

A man works all his life to have a family, build a home and other assets to facilitate his lifetime and then leave these assets for inheritance by his children.

national patriotism to your motherland is also related to the fact that your parents, grandparents, siblings, wife, children and friends live in that country and also that all your assets earned through hard work are located there. When a man moves out of his country of birth where he has a good financial standing and voluntarily adopts residential status, immigration or nationality, he breaks the bond that links him with his native country.

The only exceptions are those who have no livelihood and are forced by circumstances to live in foreign countries to feed their families living in Pakistan.

Even if an individual has not taken nationality of his newly adopted country, the fact that all his assets, or majority of

what’s in store? them are located in another country, makes him susceptible to succumb to pressure of the place where his possessions exist and his family resides. This is basic human nature. It takes a lot of character for a man to resist this temptation. There are very few men, with character and commitment to a country to forgo his assets.

For those who have not read the oath that every citizen has to take when he becomes a uS or any other national please just google it and check it out. The uS oath of nationality reads as follows:-“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom

or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the united States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the united States when required by the law; that I will perform non-combatant service in the Armed Forces of the united States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me god.”

MALIK TARIQ ALI Lahore

Transgressing authority It is unfortunate that there is no proper police complaint system in place to provide relief to the public in case of any transgressions by the police personnel. On a daily routine basis, one observes various incidents of police torture and abuse of authority surfacing in the news, but till now no comprehensive measures have been taken to curtail such episodes. The primary objective of the police should be to safeguard the rights of the citizens, but entirely the opposite has been taking place. The relevant authorities and citizen groups should look into this matter on urgent basis while a proper complaint mechanism should be established.

YASIR HAMEED Islamabad

Social media for change

US troops for Australia “China has not been angered as its response is measured on uS to post some 2500 marines in north Australia by 2016-17.”

I mean, Australia, as we know, is a western entity except that it is a next door neighbour of Asia. The combination of the east and the west creates a unique opportunity for it to serve as a bridge between these civilisations and becoming an important player for peace in the world. If they can reconstruct the desire, they can still recover the loss.

For now, at least, I want to remind Australia of the new Zealand factor. For one, and as against Australia, it never allowed any nuclear naval ship to enter into its water. This would have to change if the uS enters this region.

Z A KAZMI Karachi

Something big is always happening in Pakistan that invites the attention of the whole world. This gives enough fodder to the electronic and print media to keep the entire nation busy discussing the issue and coming up with their bright forecasts. now the man behind the Memogate, Mansoor Ijaz, who initially named President Zardari as the person calling the shots regarding the notorious memo, has very conveniently said that Zardari may be "unaware" of the situation. This gives the readers a feeling that Ijaz may be unreliable. This latest disclosure leads us to believe that Mr Haqqani is" the immediate scapegoat".

Is there a possibility that after Haqqani's proposal to resign to help resolve the issue, the case is dropped?

Would the opposition be satisfied with this? Sometimes, one tends to believe that those who claim to be big planners do not understand that god is the biggest planner. Only He knows what is in store for the people of Pakistan.

RASHID MAQSOOD Lahore

no development without education Education is a need of any society and more so of that one is lagging behind in development and is fragmented along many fissures. There was recently much talk of an education emergency being imposed in Pakistan but nothing of note was done.

The federal government only allocated less than 3 percent of its budget to education.

This is extremely low for a country where literacy is on the decrease rather than otherwise. now that the education portfo-

A tragic incident

America in Afghanistan

This is with reference to news item that appeared in your esteemed paper (22 nov) regarding an attack on the FC personnel. What a tragedy for this nation! Our soldiers are dying every day while protecting vital installations and local population while our leadership is engaged in an unending personal feud.

They all seem to be totally unconcerned and unmoved and take it as a routine matter. The latest attack on FC convoy in Balochistan killing 15 soldiers including a Major is a big setback and should be an eye-opener both for the army and the government. The responsibility of this attack has been claimed by BLA. The time has come that Pakistani nation must get united and leave petty matters of conflict to ensure that Pakistan, especially the troubled provinces, not only reject foreign influence but also form part of Pakistani fold to put up a united and stronger defence. The promises made with the people of Balochistan must be honoured, mere rhetoric shall serve no purpose.

There is definite requirement of revising our SOP on the movement of soldiers from point A to B. As a precautionary measure, no move should take place during night and all moves should be undertaken during day under air cover because our forces are operating in a land where there enemy is every where.

Lastly, when a policeman dies he is adequately compensated and invariably the bereaved family is paid between Rs 2 to 5 million, but when a soldier dies, the compensation is minimal. The rule should apply mutatis mutandis.

LT COL (retd) MUKHTAR A BUTT Karachi

The first response that one gets upon asking what the American aim in Afghanistan is comprises of phrases such as ‘not very clear’ accompanied by a shrug. Well, the superpower surely has aims and objectives. Some have been achieved and some still await accomplishment. Some are explicitly stated while the covert ones are in danger of turning into a brain drain for those who have genuine interest in the future of Afghanistan.

The Americans are on the lookout for an honourable exit in Afghanistan and the ambiguous policy they are pursuing exemplifies the fact that a clear and transparent roadmap that moves towards bringing the Afghan insurgency to a decisive phase is surely not on the uS agenda.

The idea of the formation of a Muslim allied force is undoubtedly the best possible alternative for the uS for replacing the ISAF forces and managing the security situation in the region relatively successfully. This idea has been floated as a segment of the same obscure objective that aims to buttress the American designs in the region.

Despite agreeing upon the issue that Afghanistan requires political handling, nothing substantial has been done to strengthen the central government or the state institutions. The grievances of the locals and dominant groups are far from being redressed. Talks about the need for talking does nothing but protract the misery of the people and further highlight the uS intentions.

The road ahead is surely not clear.

But one thing that does become clear in this backdrop is that the American aims in the region are not the explicitly stated ones that deal with countering insur-

lio has been devolved, one can expect the situation to improve.

But if they continue to spend money wastefully on schemes like the Daanish schools in Punjab rather than working on improving the existing system, one will not expect much of a quick betterment. Education is the cornerstone of a civilised nation and we must act on this on an emergency basis.

SAMINA A Lahore

gency anymore, but of the second variety, that is the covert ones that are always talked about with a shrug to keep the world guessing. But for how long?

AYAANA MALIK Islamabad

Protecting interests nations, it is said, are like corporations as they always pursue their own interests. And superpowers are more likely to pursue their interest with an increased vehemence in comparison to the rest of the world. That despite the economic crisis looming large on the American horizon, $1million is being spent on one uS soldier deployed for one year in Afghanistan by the uS exemplifies how far the Americans can stretch themselves to achieve their national objectives.

Plans are being worked out to consider the parameters of establishing permanent military bases in Afghanistan that is bound to turn the country into a uS stronghold allowing it to keep an eye upon the entire Central and South Asian region. The oil and gas deposits of Central Asia and the rich mineral wealth of Afghanistan and Balochistan are far too precious to be ignored for the sake of a few million dollars a year on uS troops.

Furthermore, the permanent presence of troops in Afghanistan can help achieve a continuous control over Iran, China and Pakistan, including any regional hegemonic designs that China harbours.

The Americans are notorious for establishing permanent bases, according to a senior American scholar Dennis Kux, in whatever country they enter so that it becomes difficult for them to leave. This is true, but there is more truth in the fact that the Americans select, with great deliberation and care, the regions that have

the capacity to benefit them. Thus every American move is driven by national interest such as the one to extend military presence in Afghanistan, whether it aids and extends the Afghan insurgency becomes irrelevant.

LUBNA UMAR Islamabad

violence in society

Regrettably, violence in its various forms, such as physical, sexual or emotional, is bursting in our society nowadays. It is present almost everywhere – be it homes, offices, schools, colleges, universities, public places or the streets – and nowhere is this eruption more intense than right behind the doors of our homes.

Behind closed doors of one’s home, people are being tortured, beaten and killed. It is happening both in the urban and rural areas. It is present all social classes, genders, racial lines and age groups.

Since times immemorial, domestic violence has been an intrinsic part of the society. The contributing factors could be the desire to gain control over another family member, the desire to exploit someone for personal benefits, the flare to be in a commanding position all the time, showcasing one’s supremacy, so on and so forth. On various occasions, psychological problems and social influence also add to the vehemence as domestic violence dominates the headlines of different dailies.

However, the need of the hour is to address the causes behind violence, particularly domestic violence prevalent in the Pakistani society. People, especially the socalled educated ones, may be re-educated and sensitised about the human dignity so as to make this society violence-free.

HASHIM ABRO Islamabad

Social media has helped bring revolutions in some parts of the world, but we in Pakistan are still far from any such revolution. We use social websites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc) just for entertainment. The youth of this land upload their funny photos, videos and tagged pictures, songs from different websites to other friends, groups.

Friends and bloggers comment with funny remarks and waste time only on chatting and hahahaha texting.

It is the role of social media that people in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are now free, movements in Yemen, Syria and other Arab Muslim countries are on high peak against the dynastic governments and dictatorships.

Death of one labourer brought the revolution in Tunisia only with the help of social media. But we seem to avoid such topics of interest as suicide of Raja Khan Rind and Dhani Bux Soho from nowshehroferoz and nasirabad, Sindh have been forgotten. Shouldn’t we use social media to our advantages as well?

MAQBOOL SANDEELO Karachi

Hike in electricity tariff The federal government has a monopoly on power transmission and distribution, denying the hapless consumers the basic right of choice. The Competition Commission of Pakistan is responsible to protect the consumers’ interest against monopoly. Why does it not take any action against those government organisations that have a monopoly over power transmission and distribution?

Why does the government not allow the private sector, which is producing electricity as well, to also distribute electricity to the consumers like KESC? As the government has a monopoly over the supply of fuel used by power generation plants, it is not allowing the Independent Power Plants to import natural gas and petroleum products directly from other countries and manage their own production of electricity and its sales to the consumers. Why the government is following such policies which are making people’s lives miserable day by day?

Why do we have the national Electric Power Regularity Authority (nEPRA), when it has failed to protect the rights of the consumers? nEPRA since its creation is working as a division of Ministry of Water and Power, managed by bureaucrats, without any representative of consumer rights. As long as we have the present management structure of government owned organisations, the power crisis cannot be solved on long term basis.

It is not the government’s responsibility solely to control and run the business of providing utilities to the citizens, the major responsibility should be shared with the private sector. There should be a fair competition allowing private sectors to generate electricity and sell directly to consumers. The powerful unions and over-staffed government organisations will never be free from corruption.

S T HUSSAIN Lahore

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 should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

KHI 24-11-2011_Layout 1 11/24/2011 1:46 AM Page 12

12 comment Haqqani’s resignation Keeping it in perspective

J

ustice requires that an enquiry be conducted before removing any important functionary of the state for any commission, omission or indiscretion on his part. This is what was done after the Abbottabad affair which had stunned the entire nation. The demands for the resignation of Hussain Haqqani by certain sections were, thus, indicative of double standards. What needs to be done now is to appoint an enquiry committee comprising members seen by the general public as independent and non-controversial to afford the former ambassador a chance to clear his name. The appointment of Sherry Rehman sidelined by the PPP government avowedly for her independent views on certain media related issue as the new ambassador would be welcomed by many. Known for her enlightened opinions, Rehman would help project a soft image of Pakistan abroad.

The issue of the memo sent by Mansoor Ijaz to Mike Mullen has already been blown out of proportion. It is time there is respite to the hype. It is surprising that while Mullen didn’t care to touch the memo with a ten foot pole for doubts about the authenticity of the document and reliability of the man who had forwarded it, sections of the opposition and national media went overboard on the matter. nawaz Sharif threatened that his parliamentarians would no longer sit in the assemblies if an immediate enquiry was not launched into the memo controversy. Some of the lesser lights of his party lost all sense of proportion. Even before the arrival of Haqqani and a proper enquiry, sections of the media initiated a trial by implication of the president and prime minister.

The matter assumed top priority in national politics.

It is time rationality is restored. The country faces highly serious issues, some with existential ramifications. Priority needs to be given to the resolution of these issues, foremost being the national economy and law and order. The issue of the memo must not be allowed to become a red herring.

when in London..... ...do as the Karachiites do

I

t appears the revolution of educated, middle-class politics is being exported to London as well.

During a recent speech by PPP firebrand Dr Zulfiqar Mirza in the city, hecklers, believed to be activists of the MQM, disrupted the gathering and the ensuing tumult resulted in some of the audience members sustaining injuries. The police acted quickly and controlled the situation, using necessary force. Till the filing of this editorial, none of the major TV stations in the uK have been running a marathon session decrying a victimisation of an enlightened political party. A stark contrast from Pakistan.

Dr Mirza claims he is not one given to go out of the country to talk about local politics but the visit was necessary as the Imran Farooq murder case - about which he claims to have some leads - was in the jurisdiction of the London police. For better or for worse, London has had a place in our politics. During our history, many leaders have gone into exile there, operating from the uK before making good their return. Others have met there and signed declarations.

The city has otherwise hosted many nationalists and dissidents from many different political parties, across the political and ethnic divide of our polity. The prime example being the MQM’s own leader Altaf Hussein, who has had the distinction of not returning to his country despite his party having successive stints at being in power.

The MQM’s appeal to the uK authorities to take care of the situation specifically on account of incitement of racial hatred in particular is a profile in chutzpah unto itself. As is the plea to British authorities not to “allow the British soil to be used for creating lawlessness in Karachi”. It is hoped the British authorities remain objective and that the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan itself take a leaf out of their book. Views, politics and ideologies aside, no state should ever cede its monopoly on the use of violence.

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, 24 November, 2011

from whom to whom? of disputed authors and even more disputed missives

By Nazir Naji

T

he case of Hussain Haqqani is curious. He must be the world’s first diplomat who has been asked to resign on the basis of the contents of an unverifiable piece of paper and the media statements of an unreliable man. That infamous scrap of paper that is supposed to incriminate him does not carry a signature and its authorship is disputed. The one who wrote the letter is someone else.

The one who was blamed for writing the letter is someone else. The one who delivered the letter is someone else and the recipient is a fourth someone else in this fiasco. All four of these people are not prepared to take any kind of responsibility.

Mansoor Ijaz says that I ‘wrote’ the letter but the contents were dictated to me by Hussain Haqqani over the phone. Hussain Haqqani says he did nothing of the sort. general Jones says that he was just delivered the memo to Mullen and had no idea about what was in it whereas Admiral Mullen says that he received the memo but put its aside, thinking it to be unimportant. An unholy mess of denial and confusion.

But can one find another case in the world where someone had been punished amidst such confusion when no facts had been ascertained. This is what has been done to Hussain Haqqani. He was asked to resign as a punishment first. The inquiry will be conducted now. Who will do so? Even this is another unknown. Will it be a special team? Or will it be a judicial commission? Will one of Pakistani agencies conduct the investigation or will it be a foreign one? Citizens of two countries are involved in this case.

If Pakistan does conduct the investigations, then it will be that Mansoor Ijaz will not fall under the jurisdiction of Pakistani laws. He has offered to cooperate but that cooperation will come as and when he wants. none of our law enforcement agencies can ‘order’ him to do anything. They can only do so with Hussain Haqqani. He has already surrendered his laptop and his Blackberry. His entire record is now open. Will Mansoor Ijaz also do this? never. How can one then expect justice to be done? The alleger will only provide selective proof that buttresses his case. Why would he willingly offer proof

that incriminates him?

Mansoor Ijaz has yet not offered nay credible explanation for his actions. He says that he wrote the Financial Times oped because the Pakistani media is running a campaign against Admiral Mullen. Thus, being an American, he felt it his duty to defend a rank officer of his country’s army. But the article he wrote didn’t even mention the Pakistani media. Then what is it that was motivating Masoor Ijaz?

What makes him tick? If we look at his background, he is always been in search of influential positions. He often meets dignitaries from other countries even though he does not have the official position or capacity. For instance, he tried to mediate between the Sudanese president and American officials but the results were concertedly different from his tall claims.

He met one of our famous diplomats Zafar Hilaly once and was asked what authority/position did he have. The answer: nothing. He was there in his personal capacity but requested Zafar Hilaly to ask the Pakistan government to accept Israel.

Zafar Hilaly says that he was confounded as to who he was representing, America or Israel?

Similarly, Mansoor Ijaz once went to Indian PM Vajpayee during his tenure and started telling him formulae for solving the Kashmir dispute. He was asked why he was doing this. He said that he was doing this to bring peace to the subcontinent on his own. Maulana Tahir Ashrafi who has taken part on the Afghan jihad and has link with various groups of mujahideen said that this man once went to a group of mujahideen active in Kashmir and told their commanders that Pervez Musharraf was ready to ink a peace deal with India which meant that the mujahideen’s lines of support would be cut off. He offered to help them meet with the Indian authorities so that they could work out something with them because they would otherwise be in a fix if an IndiaPakistan peace deal was to materialise.

The simple-minded mujahideen trusted him as a fellow Muslim and fell for this gyp. He claimed that he had arranged a meeting with RAW officials in Dubai and took the passports of two commanders for visa purposes.

Coincidentally, Maulana Ashrafi found out and he stopped the commanders from being defrauded by Ijaz and told them that they had no need to meet RAW officials. On the other hand, Maulan Ashrafi informed the Pakistani authorities and the matter reached the ISI. They conducted an investigation into the matter and the record will be with the ISI to this day. When the ISI chief went to Britain to meet Mazoor Ijaz, had he not seen his record? And if he had not seen it, was it appropriate for the head of a country’s intelligence agency to go on a visit abroad to meet such a shady character.

It is also apparent from Mansoor Ijaz’s

record that he had been trying all kinds of tactics to get a position of authority with the uS government. When the Abbottabad incident happened, everybody knew that relations were extremely tense between the uS and the Pakistan army and also that the public was up in arms about the violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity and that the army was under quite a bit of pressure. Is it not possible that Mansoor Ijaz wrote this memo of his own accord and offered Mullen that he could get the contents of this from the Pakistani government? He could’ve easily concocted the story of his contact with a Pakistani diplomat to add weight to his claims so that he could convince Mullen that he could come though on the assertions made in the memo; all this could’ve been done to extract an authoritative position from the uS government. He could’ve asked to become President Obama’s special representative to Pakistan so he could get all the things mentioned in the memo done in American interests. Obviously, he must’ve tried to get the support of Haqqani so he had some kind of official backing and then when Hussain Haqqani relented, he might’ve turned against him.

All the information that we have comes from Mansoor Ijaz. He has only mentioned the memo. Is it not possible that the memo was accompanied by some kind of written request for a position in the uS government? After all, what could one expect from somebody’s who has Mansoor Ijaz’s record? He has been marauding around the world making offers he could not have come through on. He must’ve been wrongfully accorded some credence in certain countries but he did not fall through and never did anything purposeful. Once he even came to Pakistan to say that he could help them attain Russian missiles. The man whose memo was rubbished and put aside as ‘unimportant’ by the officials of his own country is now deemed ‘most reliable’ by the prime agency of our country.

Everybody knows of his views about the ISI and the Pakistani army. He is one of their worst enemies. If he bring him to the witness stand, what guarantee is there that he will limit his statements to that of the memo? What will stopping him from fibbing about the Pakistani army based on that memo. It is also possible that the American administration is trying to get back at the Pakistani army through him.

Whatever he ‘divulges’ to the investigative commission will not be able to kept under wraps. Mansoor Ijaz will tell it how he wants it to, whom he wants it to? He could present it to the international media and say anything he wants about the Pakistan army.Why are we stirring this hornets’ nest? We’ll attain nothing of value in this game. But we could lose a lot.

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

Regional Press

A lame commissionerate?

Daily Kawish

T

hough the commissioner system has been restored in Sindh, it has only been done so partially. The administrative powers of the commissioner and deputy commissioner to control the revenue department have yet to be restored.

Such changes are not possible practically until the government makes amendments in more than fifteen basic laws including Colonisation of Land Act, Land Acquisition Act and others. until the changes in these basic rules take effect, the commissioner system will not be able to work practically. The absences of such basic changes are the hindrances to let this system run smoothly. Perhaps due to its policy of ‘reconciliation’, government is unable or unwilling to bring about these changes, but why should public suffer due to the government’s inaction?

A system is not put in place merely by the issuance of an official notification: it is the responsibility of the government not just to issue the notification, but to implement it in letter and spirit and make sure that the system is running in effect with honesty. But it seems that almost all the rulers have sacrificed the system in the past just to save their rule, which has destroyed the basic institutions.

It seems that the benefit of the general public is not important for the rulers; what is important is how they can protect their government. The same has happened with current government that has left Sindh to run without any system. Although it has issued the notification, it has not bothered to take the requisite steps necessary to let the system run smoothly.

Because of this, the entire administrative machinery that is essential to run the system has become like a vehicle without fuel.

It is very difficult to understand what forces are stopping the government from taking the necessary steps. Instead of thinking what is in their benefit and what advantages the coalition partners will gain, it would be better for the rulers to think about what is in the favour of the general public and the province of Sindh. It is necessary that the government look into the matter. In Karachi, even though the former five districts have been restored, all the deputy commissioners of these districts are powerless. Moreover, no one is attempting to resolve the confusion over the demarcation of the revenue limits.

It is requested to the higher authorities that to run the commissionerate system smoothly, the administrative powers and control of revenue-related matters should be handed over to the commissioners and deputy commissioners as soon as possible.

– Translated from the original Sindhi by Amar Guriro

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Thursday, 24 November, 2011

comment 13

Trade for peace

pakistan’s pR crisis

Being our neighbour’s keeper

It’s all about the marketing

Border crossing

By Kuldip Nayar

W

e are back full circle to a proposal long familiar to the people in India and Pakistan: keep business separate from Kashmir.

There was a time when Pakistan would refuse to have any trade with India until Kashmir was solved. new Delhi would say that it was not opposed to a solution of Kashmir, but the starting point should be business.

The meeting between PM Singh and PM gilani broke the deadlock. As Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Kher said after returning from Maldives that Pakistan would “bend backwards” to be friendly with India. This is a welcome development, not only for the two countries but also for South Asia. nothing in the region would move because the estrangement between India and Pakistan cast its shadow on any joint step forward. Islamabad should be complemented because it went away from an old beaten path.

Whatever Pakistan’s compulsions – the army is on board – it is a bold step which can lead to the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan. PM Singh’s decision not to link trade with the sentence to the terrorists, who are being tried in Pakistan for the attack on Mumbai three years ago, is courageous at a time when his own stock is not high. The Indian media is mostly critical and the hawks are even abusive. But they represent a minority which sees everything in Pakistan as negative. They do not want Pakistan to fall apart but they continue talking about punishing Islamabad. Their outlook tallies with India’s main opposition party, the BJP. And left to both, the

criticism of any breakthrough with Pakistan will be considered anti-national. The Pakistan media may be a shade better.

But it too does not rise from the parochial angle it has followed for decades.

The bureaucracy and the intelligence agencies on both sides do not see the development at Maldives as an opportunity to shed the baggage of the last six decades and start with a clean slate. I concede that all will not change at one sweep. Relations between India and Pakistan have to be evolved and tended carefully. The path the two governments have taken will have to scale the mountains before they hit a sunny valley.

India’s grievance of Pakistan not yet punishing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks is genuine. no explanation by Islamabad is convincing. Yet it has a point when it says that the evidence which India has provided is too weak to get favourable verdict in court. now that Pakistan’s judicial committee is coming to India, it should be collecting as much evidence as it wants. The case must move forward. Once it happens, doubts on this end would be assuaged to a large extent. And PM Singh is quite right when he says that another Mumbai may lead to unforeseen consequences. new Delhi will expect that Islamabad does not to allow cross-border terrorism from its soil.

Yet I do not think that the case is the only hitch. Both countries do not have trust in each other and refuse to rely on the facts even when placed on the table. They are prey to a mindset and see to it that they stall the people’s desire to live as good neighbours. So long as terrorism is there no argument against mistrust will work. Joint mechanism to eliminate terrorism was supposed to be set up a few months ago. But the proposal remains on paper.

When it comes to trade, new Delhi will have to ensure that there is a level playing field for Pakistan. The balance of trade will be one indication. If Pakistan’s exports are too small compared to Indian exports, doubts may surface about new

Delhi’s bona fides. True, the list of items would be prepared. But India can ask Pakistan which goods it can conveniently export to India so that there is no room for grievance or discrimination.

Maybe, some of the tariff concession new Delhi has offered to Dhaka can be extended to Islamabad.

India’s aim should be aid Pakistan’s economic development so that it is not dependent on America or Saudi Arabia for assistance. This will ultimately stop foreign interference in the affairs concerning the region.

Pakistan, on its part, should open the country to India’s investors. If they can buy large concerns in the uK or the uS, they should be able to do so in Pakistan as well. There may be joint ventures between India and Pakistan. Economic ties in due course will become the sinews for friendship and then the gun will become superfluous.

It is understandable that the Pakistan government is under great pressure not to keep Kashmir apart. But there is no doubt that trade between the two countries will generate so much goodwill that a solution of Kashmir may become easy. After all, the governments on both sides did arrive at some understanding on Kashmir. Once when nawaz Sharif was the PM in Pakistan, the coup by general Pervez Musharraf stalled the solution. The remark by the then PM, Atal Behari Vajpayee, was: “We were almost there.” The second time when Musharraf brokered a solution and was on the verge of inviting PM Manmohan Singh for signing the agreement on Kashmir, the lawyers’ agitation changed the scenario.

I realise that it is difficult for both sides to rub off the history.

But there is no alternative to peace. They cannot change their geography and have to accept each other as they are, not as they want them to be. If germany and France could become friends after years of war, why can’t India and Pakistan?

The writer is a senior Indian journalist.

O

n my flight to Europe last week, the young man seated next to me raised a subject that is very close to my heart. He works in media, specialising in building images of nations, personalities, governments, corporations and the like. The six hour journey was over too soon.

He enthralled me with the highlights of some projects he’d been associated with across a valuable cross-section of our world. From taking mental notes, I quickly pulled out my iPad and started jotting down stuff. It was soon obvious that we in Pakistan have not even touched on this topic in the real sense. When he told me that he knew some young Pakistanis working in London and Europe well, the question of what Pakistan should do to fight the losing public relations battle became the epicentre of discussion.

Apparently his Pakistani friends had been asking him the very same question. Forced onto the defensive in countries and cultures alien to them, these young people were looking for ways and means to counter the negative perceptions being created around them by happenings in Pakistan, sometimes even non-happenings that were being belligerently touted by both local and international media.

So how does Pakistan portray its real self rather than the portrait painted and on exhibition becomes the moot point and how should generic government restructure or define its media policy? What one imagines is the topic of a long drawn out thesis, reveals itself to be addressable, to some extent fairly easily, given the will. The first and foremost step could be to establish a high quality PR team both in terms Random thoughts of human resource and allied tools.

For years I have been querying

By Imran Husain the necessity of an information ministry, popularly known as the disinformation ministry, in my writings.

The first question put to me referred to its functions and usefulness. The answer is quite simple. It serves as the handmaiden of the government. unfortunately, being poorly staffed, the limited capacity just creates more confusion. Patronage of some happy journalists, control of media owing to advertisements etc makes it a coercive tool with little or no results. In sixty plus years, no real benefits have accrued although the leader of the day may have enjoyed the sycophancy.

“Who portrays the Pakistani nation? I mean who or what organisation is responsible for building the image? Of providing an insight to the wonderful natural endowments.”

I was nonplussed by this question.

Struggling with a fading memory, I came up with some lame duck answer about a very valuable documentary produced eight years ago on the occasion of an economic summit organised then by the current for-

eign minister Ms Khar in her capacity as deputy finance minister. That’s all I could think of. If anyone reading this knows of more, please do let me know.

During the course of our discussion, we very quickly agreed that even the basic tools to create and then implement an image booster for Pakistan are sadly lacking in the current structure.

But we were also in positive agreement that the wherewithal to do so was available in abundance, even within the country, although financial constraints may have made it out of reach. So a fresh look at the entire subject ensued.

It didn’t take him long to convince me to do away with the information ministry. All it does is promote a lack of credibility; it is a negative bias.

The free press in Pakistan is vibrant and recent years have removed its shackles. Perhaps, it too requires to be governed by responsible covenants agreed upon by all. The absence of defamation laws or their implementation has allowed the media to be highly speculative, and the emergence of the electronic media brings this factor to an even larger swathe of the population.

The American model focuses on ‘The Spokesperson’. This official is an expert in the field of information dissemination with high intellect, excellent connections and respect within the journalistic community. He or she heads the Press corps established in the White House.

Which in effect means that the publications and news agencies assign a reporter to cover all activities and these persons have offices there with complete access to the Spokesman. So if rumours abound in the market, they can immediately ascertain the veracity or have access to the government’s viewpoint. Of course, they may disagree with this and publish the fact, BuT not without due reference.

The Pakistani model looks at placing the most trusted ally in this office, or at the MinInfo regardless of the capability or capacity. The result: utter fiasco. In the FO, we use a mid-career bureaucrat who can speak fairly well. no experience in media management is required. Another disaster. Other ministries are assigned press information officers; mid-level career bureaucrats who through the years have become chummy with some journalists. This is the 21st century, you don’t really expect to manage national image in this way do you?

I was introduced to an investment banker who met Pakistan’s finance minister a couple of weeks ago. The guy couldn’t stop praising the FM; his acumen and intellect. He was impressed with the statistics on growth and exports, especially the financial growth of the rural economy. “The guy really wants to do something, is doing something. Why doesn’t anyone know of this? Why doesn’t his PR team project all of this?” I looked down and said, “He doesn’t have one”. no wonder we are in a constant tailspin fighting rearguard image battles.

The writer may be contacted at imranmhusain@gmail.com

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14 Foreign News

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Egypt protesters battle on to end army rule CAIRO

S

ReUteRS

T R E E T clashes rumbled on in Cairo on Wednesday as protesters derided a deal struck between Egypt’s ruling generals and mostly Islamist parties for a faster transfer to civilian rule.

The death toll in five days of violence climbed to 37 by a Reuters count after a man was killed in the city of Alexandria.

Hardcore protesters battled police through the night in Cairo.

The Health Ministry said 32 people had been killed and 2,000 wounded in disturbances across the country of 80 million.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the military council that has run Egypt since Hosni Mubarak fell on February 11, promised on Tuesday that a civilian president would be elected

in June, about six months sooner than the army had planned.

“Leave, leave,” responded crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “The people want to topple the marshal.”

The military had originally pledged to return to barracks within six months of Mubarak’s removal. Its apparent reluctance to relinquish its power and privilege has fuelled frustration among Egyptians who feared their revolution had changed nothing.

Tantawi, who was Mubarak’s defence minister for two decades, adjusted the schedule after generals met politicians, including leaders of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, which is eager to turn decades of grassroots endeavour into electoral success.

A parliamentary election, billed as Egypt’s first free vote in decades, will start on Monday as planned, Tantawi confirmed.

Iran won’t give up nuclear ambitions, says ahmadinejad

tEHRAN AfP

Iran will not back down from its nuclear ambitions despite new Western sanctions announced this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in a speech broadcast on state television.

“The Iranian nation will not back down an iota, and will not allow the slightest move to encroach on the nation’s rights,” he told a crowd in the town of Pakdasht, east of Tehran.

Referring to the united States,

Britain and Canada, which Monday unveiled coordinated unilateral sanctions against Iran’s financial sector, he said: “I advise them to cease these tantrums, and stop thinking that baring their claws and fangs will stop the Iranian nation.” Ahmadinejad reiterated that, contrary to Western claims Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons, “we do not need an atomic bomb.”

“They ask us to prove that we do not have an atomic bomb... How can we prove something that does not exist? It is as if someone asks another person to prove that he is healthy... Sickness is proveable,” he said. Ahmadinejad said Western leaders “just talk with their eyes shut,” and described the Europeans as “lackeys” of the united States.

He took a swipe at a call by France for the West to freeze Iranian central bank assets and put an embargo on Iran’s oil exports. “The slightest move to grab Iranian assets is akin to a great heist — and Iran will treat the person responsible as a thief,” he said. Turning to uS sanctions, which declare the whole of Iran’s financial sector “of primary money-laundering concern”, Ahmadinejad said: “They accuse the Iranian nation of money laundering. We have no need to launder money.”

Voting for the upper and lower houses will only be completed in March under a staggered, complex process. Parliament will then pick an assembly to draw up a new constitution, an exercise which the Brotherhood and its rivals are keen to influence.

Tantawi angered many youthful demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and other cities by suggesting a referendum on whether military rule should end earlier, which they viewed as a ploy to appeal to the many Egyptians who fear further upheaval. ‘be pAtient’: A referendum on temporary changes to the constitution made by the army won 77 percent approval in April, when the generals were still widely popular for helping remove Mubarak.

“We have to wait and be patient with army rule. We shouldn’t have a referendum, it’s a waste of time,” said Mohamed Rasheed, 62, a salesman in a Cairo jew-

ellery shop, who pointed to a discordant thrum of opinions among protesters in Tahrir.

“If we listen to them all, we are going to become like Lebanon,” he said, evoking a nation notorious for conflict.

Skirmishes between stone-throwing protesters and riot police firing tear gas, pellets and rubber bullets erupted intermittently around the Interior Ministry near Tahrir.

“As soon as daylight broke they started shooting, because they could see us,” said Tareq Zaki, 32, a furniture maker.

Police have denied using live ammunition but most of the 36 dead in five days of violence had bullet wounds, medics say.

The streets were strewn with surgical masks protesters use to ward off tear gas.

Ambulances ferried the wounded away.

In Tahrir, where hundreds of protest-

Britain’s Guardian sorry for Sun hacking probe claim LONDON AfP

Britain’s Guardian newspaper was forced to apologise to Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun on Wednesday for falsely alleging that the tabloid’s reporters doorstepped a lawyer at the phonehacking enquiry.

In an unwelcome twist for the leftleaning paper which has led efforts to expose hacking at Murdoch’s nowdefunct news of the World weekly tabloid, the guardian admitted in court that its front-page claim was wrong.

It also published a correction on its website, saying: “In a piece sketching the Leveson inquiry we incorrectly stated that the Sun newspaper sent a reporter to the home of a junior counsel to the Inquiry.

“The Sun did not send a reporter to the barrister’s home. We apologise for the error and any suggestion that there was an intention by the Sun to show a lack of respect to the Inquiry or Lord Justice Leveson.”

The lawyer in question, Carine Patry Hoskins, became the subject of a brief craze on Twitter on Monday, when she was dubbed “womanontheleft” by users after appearing in the background of the live televised enquiry hearing.

The enquiry, chaired by senior judge Brian Leveson, was commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron in July after revelations of widespread phonehacking at the news of the World.

HeRAt: Burqa-clad Afghan women walk in the old part of the city. afp

ICC prosecutor happy for Libya to try Gaddafi son tRIPOLI ReUteRS

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said on Wednesday he was happy for Libya to try Muammar gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam, if it could set up a proper hearing, and cast doubt on whether its former intelligence chief had been caught.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo was in Tripoli for talks with officials after Saturday’s capture of Saif al-Islam, whom the ICC indicted for crimes against humanity during Libya’s civil war, along with Muammar gaddafi and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi.

Human rights groups and some western leaders had called on Libya to hand over Saif al-Islam to the global court, saying gaddafi’s son might not get a fair trial in his home country.

But Moreno-Ocampo appeared to support the country’s new leaders in their wish to try Saif al-Islam on Libyan soil.

Asked what standard Libya had to meet to try Saif al-Islam itself, MorenoOcampo said, as long as genuine charges were brought, the ICC would step aside.

“My standard, the standard of the

ICC, is that it has to be a judicial process that is not organised to shield the suspect. That’s it, that’s it,” Moreno-Ocampo said, adding that Libya did not have to show that the trial would be completely fair.

“I hope they do a fair trial. My point is that we are not a system to monitor fair trials. We are a system to ensure no impunity,” he added.

The ICC, based in the Hague, is a court of last resort and only steps in when there is no genuine national legal system to prosecute a suspect.

Libyan officials have been adamant that their country’s courts can give Saif al-Islam a fair trial despite concerns about the solidity of Libya’s institutions after 42 years of dictatorship and a bloody civil war.

Moreno-Ocampo also fanned doubts surrounding the reported capture of Senussi, who used to head gaddafi’s powerful and widely feared secret police. national Transitional Council (nTC) officials said on Sunday that Senussi had been caught the day after Saif al-Islam, and in the same southern desert region.

The prime minister-designate, Abdurrahim El-Keib, later said he needed to

ers camped out overnight in tents or in the open, people collected garbage in bags or burned it in small piles. Others passed around food.

“We will stay here until the field marshal leaves and a transitional council from the people takes over,” said Abdullah galal, 28, a computer sales manager, in the square.

“There are many viruses in the system. It needs to be cleaned out entirely,” galal said. “We need to change the regime like they did in Tunisia and Libya.”

Tantawi may calculate that most Egyptians, alarmed by turmoil that has hammered an already troubled economy, would prefer army rule to the uncertainties of a radical upheaval.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which helped organise a big protest on Friday but stayed out of subsequent demonstrations.

verify whether Senussi had indeed been seized before being able to confirm it.

Since then the nTC has neither confirmed nor denied the capture, even though a military commander has stood by his report that Senussi had been caught.

“I understand he has not been arrested,” Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters in an interview after his news conference, adding: “I have no better information than you.”

Charges have not yet been brought in Libya against Saif al-Islam, who is being held in the Western Mountains town of Zintan by the fighters who found him in the desert and then flew him to their stronghold.

If he is tried in Libya, he could face the death penalty. The harshest sentence the ICC can impose is life in prison.

When pressed on the standard that Libya had to meet in order to satisfy the ICC that it could hold Saif al-Islam’s trial, Moreno-Ocampo said all that was required was a “genuine” judicial process. “genuine means, in the ICC context, that it should be a process not organised to shield the accused,” he said, later telling Reuters: “I don’t think they are

trying to shield Saif al-Islam gaddafi here. I have no evidence of that.” wHAt is FAiR? Whether or not a Libyan trial would be totally fair was not the ICC’s concern, Moreno-Ocampo said.

“It’s not my role to tell them how to hold a fair trial... There are so many different traditions, it is difficult to say what is fair,” he added.

The Zintan fighters who captured Saif al-Islam have said they are keeping him in their custody for his protection after Muammar gaddafi was killed following his capture by a different militia in his hometown of Sirte.

They have said they will hand him over after a national government is formed. The new cabinet was announced on Tuesday, though its members have not yet been sworn in.

The provisional government faces a vast task in guiding the country towards democracy, with elections to a constituent assembly due in the middle of next year.

Moreno-Ocampo said he understood the importance of holding Saif al-Islam’s trial in Libya as the country emerges from gaddafi’s long rule and the bloodshed involved in ending it.

Bahrain enquiry finds no clear iran link to unrest MAnAMA: There is no clear no evidence linking Iran to the unrest that swept Bahrain, the head of a government-commissioned inquiry into the anti-government protests by mainly Shia Muslims and the kingdom’s crackdown on them said on Wednesday. “The evidence presented to the committee regarding the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran on internal events in Bahrain did not reveal a clear link between...events that took place in Bahrain and an Iranian role,” said Cherif Bassiouni. Bassiouni leads a group of international law experts the kingdom funded to investigate protests led by Shias and the government’s crushing of them. He was speaking as he delivered his findings to Bahrain’s king. Bahrain’s rulers had suggested the protests were fomented by Shia Iran among its Bahraini co-religionists in order to expand its influence in the gulf. ReUteRS

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Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

Medvedev threatens missile deployment on EU borders MOSCOW AfP

Russia on Wednesday warned the West that it could deploy missiles on the Eu’s borders to strike against missile defence facilities that the united States plans to install in Eastern Europe. President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia was prepared to deploy Iskander missiles, which officials said have a range of up to 500 kilometres (310 miles), in the Kaliningrad exclave that borders Eu members Poland and Lithuania. If measures were not taken to limit the plans, “the Russian Federation will deploy in the west and the south of the country modern weapons systems that could be used to destroy the European component of the uS missile defence.” “One of these steps could be the deployment of the Iskander missile systems in Kaliningrad,” Medvedev said in a televised address.

Romania and Poland have agreed to host part of a revamped uS missile shield which Washington said is aimed solely at rogue states like Iran but Moscow believes would also target its soil. The issue has repeatedly been an obstacle to a “reset” in relations between Russia and the united States and Medvedev said it could impact disarmament cooperation with its former Cold War foe.

cAIRo: egyptian protesters wear masks for protection against tear gas during clashes with riot police along a road which leads to the Interior Ministry, near tahrir Square. aFp

Law protecting Afghan women has ‘long way to go’: UN KABuL ReUteRS

Afghan authorities are failing to enforce the law to protect women from murder, beating, rape and other violence and being sold into marriage and prostitution, the united nations said on Wednesday.

The un Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (unAMA) revealed in a report that only a small number of cases of violence against women have been prosecuted under the Elimination of Violence Against Women law, passed more than two years ago.

Prosecutors in Afghanistan filed indictments in 155 cases of 2,299 estimated incidents of violence against women, the un mission said in the report.

Just 101 cases were brought to court for final judgments.

“There is still a long way to go to ensure that more cases of violence against women are prosecuted,” unAMA human rights director georgette gagnon told reporters.

She said cases that are prosecuted “sends a message that these are crimes and they need to be stopped and perpetrators... need to be punished”. Women had few rights under the harsh rule of the Taliban, who were ousted in 2001, and an improvement in the lot of women has been a top priority of Western backers of the government of President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled since then.

Syria at ‘point of no return’, says Gul LONDON

S

AfP

Y R I A has reached a “point of no return” as the regime steps up violence against pro-democracy demonstrators, Turkish President Abdullah gul warned on Wednesday. “unfortunately Syria has come to a point of no return,” gul said in a speech in Britain during a state visit, adding that the whole region could be dragged into “turmoil and bloodshed” by the crisis.

“The Baath regime continues to use oppression and violence on its own people. Violence breeds violence,” gul warned.

The united nations says more than 3,500 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the Syrian regime’s crackdown on the protests which first broke out in March. gul’s comments come after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for Syrian

President Bashar al-Assad to go, branding him a coward and warning he risked the same fate as dictators who met bloody deaths. gul told an audience in London that the fate of Syria, where the risk of civil war is looming, was “important for the entire region, since the country sits on top of sectarian fault lines”. “new and old divisions between and within the countries of the region should not be allowed to take root,” the president added.

And he warned: “Defining this democratic struggle along the sectarian, religious and ethnic lines would drag the whole region into turmoil and bloodshed.”

He also called on the West to offer assistance to Middle Eastern countries where authoritarian regimes have been overthrown by the Arab Spring.

Before the revolts, many Western nations “preferred to have friendly but undemocratic regimes in power and this was abused by the political elites for their own survival.”

“It is now high time for the West to erase the bitter memories of the past and offer sincere and substantial assistance to the countries in transition,” gul urged.

He also urged Israel to “adapt to the new political climate in the region” because the Jewish state’s “wellbeing will depend on an honourable peace with the Arabs.”

On Tuesday, Erdogan insisted Turkey had no intention of interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs but said Ankara could not “remain indifferent” to events in a country with which Turkey shares a 910-kilometre (565-mile) border.

Turkey has become increasingly vocal in its criticism of Assad after its diplomatic missions came under attack by pro-government demonstrators in several Syrian cities earlier this month.

Tensions worsened further on Monday when two busloads of Turkish pilgrims travelling through Syria on their way back from the hajj in Mecca were attacked by Syrian gunmen.

Turkish PM sorry for 1930s Kurdish massacres ANKARA AfP

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday apologised for a bloody military campaign that killed thousands of Kurds in southeast Turkey at the end of 1930s. “If it is necessary to apologise on behalf of the state... I will apologise, I am apologising,” Erdogan told his Justice and Development Party (AKP) members in Ankara in televised remarks. It was the first official apology for the air strikes and ground operations in the city of Dersim now named Tunceli - that killed 13,800 people between 1936 and 1939, according to an official document of the time Erdogan cited in his speech. The offensive took place under the rule of the current main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which was established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish state. Turkey was under oneparty rule of the CHP until 1946. “Dersim is one of the most tragic events of our near history. It is a disaster waiting to be enlightened and boldly questioned,” Erdogan said. The strikes targeting Dersim were tried to be legitimised as “quelling an uprising,” Erdogan said, but “there was an operation which was planned step by step.” Erdogan slammed the CHP for the killings and urged the party to “face” that bloody campaign.

Saleh to sign exit plan but Yemen protests rage on SANAA AfP

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was in Saudi Arabia Wednesday to sign a gulf plan that will finally end his 33-year rule, a un official said, even as thousands rallied in Sanaa against the deal.

Yemeni state television said Saleh arrived in Riyadh for the signing during the morning and un envoy Jamal Benomar said the 69-year-old president was finally to ink the deal he had so long rejected under which he will immediately hand his powers to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

“The signing ceremony will take place today in Riyadh,” Benomar told AFP by telephone.

Yemeni state television said Saleh was in Riyadh “in response to an invitation by the Saudi leadership to attend the

signing of the gulf Initiative and its implementation mechanism ... to take the country out of its crisis.”

But even as hopes rose of an end to Yemen’s deadly political logjam, thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against the deal’s promise of immunity from prosecution for Saleh and his family in return for his stepping down.

“Signed or not, martyrs will not be lost,” chanted the protesters, who have faced a brutal 10-month government crackdown that has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded. “no immunity, no guarantee, Saleh must be tried with his regime.”

There were also brief clashes in Sanaa during the morning between dissident troops and forces loyal to the president, residents said.

Saleh has repeatedly backed out of

signing the deal brokered by his impoverished country’s wealthy gulf neighbours since the parliamentary opposition inked it back in April.

During his months of prevarication, deadly clashes between loyalist and dissident troops have riven the capital, while militants, some of them linked to AlQaeda, have taken advantage of the decline of central government control in the provinces to set up base.

The un envoy said he was confident that Saleh was now finally ready to sign, after a un-crafted roadmap for implementing the gulf plan was agreed by both his loyalists and the opposition.

The opposition too expressed quiet confidence that the ceremony would go ahead.

“It seems like President Saleh finally found himself forced to sign. He will sign and I don’t think there will be any sur-

prises,” Mohammed Qahtan, spokesman for their Common Forum parliamentary bloc, told AFP. under the un blueprint, Saleh will hand to Hadi “all powers necessary for proceeding with the gulf initiative and its implementation mechanism and for organising early elections within a 90-day period which begins immediately after the signing,” Benomar said.

The opposition will immediately put forward a candidate to head a government of national unity, which will be charged with holding talks with the youth activists who have spearheaded the 10 months of protests.

Saleh will remain honorary president for 90 days until Hadi is elected as consensus president for an interim two-year period, political sources said.

The opposition spokesman warned that the protesters were unlikely to give

up their almost daily demonstrations until Saleh has finally quit office completely.

“The streets reject the gulf initiative,” Qahtan said. “People will not go back to their homes until the honorary term ends.”

During the first three months of the agreement, Hadi will also form a committee that will oversee the restructuring of Yemen’s deeply divided armed forces and security services.

Saleh’s son Ahmed commands the Republican guards, his nephew Yehya heads the central security services, and Tariq, another nephew, controls the presidential guard.

But two major army divisions - one in Sanaa and one in Yemen’s second-largest city Taez - rallied to the opposition and have fought repeated battles against Saleh’s loyalists leaving scores dead.

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16

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Vivek’s two minutes of fame at

IN LIMELIGHT

ash’s party MuMBAI MIRRoR

On Aishwarya Rai’s big day, Vivek Oberoi inadvertently got his two minutes of fame as well. The actor indirectly ended up becoming the talking point at the Bachchan family press conference to celebrate the latest addition to their family, Beti B, when journalists were distributed DVDs of his co-production ‘Watch Indian Circus’ right outside the Bachchan residence. Journalists who had gathered at a Juhu hotel for the DVD launch the of Vivek’s home production, had to cut short their interaction to rush to Jalsa, where the Bachchans were holding their press meet. The DVDs had not arrived by then but most of the media persons were not willing to wait. At Jalsa, just when Amitabh and Abhishek were meeting and greeting the media, an SMS was sent out from Vivek’s event manager. needless to say, the journalists were pretty shocked and somewhat amused at the bizarre coincidence. When some of them did step out of Jalsa eventually, there was indeed a man waiting there with a boxful of Vivek’s DVDs.

Salman hits women, hunts deer, says Shakti MuMBAI ZeeneWS

Looks like Shakti Kapoor is still not over his eviction from the ‘Bigg Boss’ house. The actor, who was evicted from the reality show a few weeks back, lamented about the show and Salman Khan on micro blogging site Twitter late Monday night. The actor called Mehak a strong contender for the winner’s spot in the show as she was Salman’s friend. The actor tweeted, “Mehak is salmans girl.soo she has a big contestant 2 win.big bos is salman(sic).” Shakti who had earlier claimed that the show was planned, stated again that the show was planned. “Even salman cud nt save d biggest fraud called BIg BOSS(sic).” Shakti also blasted Salman with whom he has been having a long standing tiff. Salman who was earlier planning to launch Shakti’s son, Siddhant in Bollywood, changed plans due to his and Shakti’s cold war. Shakti tweeted about Salman, “A person who hits women.gets drunk and drive over people.hunts deers.shame(sic).” Shakti, looks like you have missed out a chance of returning to ‘Bigg Boss’ as a wild card entry.

ToKyo: Models display creations made of sweets and chocolate by Japanese patissier Rei Tanimichi during the Tokyo Sweets Collection. aFp

Slender

Sonakshi and I Deepika lashes out are not good friends: Ranveer is a ‘complete Anushka Sharma

at ‘anorexic’ label

MUMBAI: Anushka Sharma was one angry woman at her latest press interaction. the actress just couldn’t stand being labelled as ‘anorexic’ by various sections of the media. “I am offended. I am extremely angry. If I am anorexic, I’d be in hospital! I am tall. I am 5 foot 9 inches, 175 cms tall. I am lean, I am active and athletic. there are so many women who are naturally lean and so am I. I have been like this for the longest time. What hurts the most is the way these stories affect my family. they call me wondering what’s happening and it’s really sad. It’s extremely upsetting.

Just because we are actors doesn’t mean remarks like these don’t affect us! the remark was derogatory, if someone wants to say I looked or acted terrible in so and so film, it’s fine with me but why comment like this out of context,” retorted Anushka. the actress who did look waif thin even during the interview, reiterated, “I was asked to gain weight for ‘Rab ne Bana di Jodi’ for the character that I played, otherwise I was always this thin.” AgencIeS

MUMBAI: ranveer Singh has mellowed down a bit. His slight change in demeanor makes it clear that the actor is aware about the huge expectations that ride on him post the success of his debut film ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’. Excited yet shy and humble, the poster boy of yash raj films has modified himself physically as well. He is leaner, more muscular and definitely sexier as ricky Bahl, the conman who cons women in ‘Ladies vS ricky Bahl’. But has the supposed womaniser fallen into the love trap in real life as reported? News of the actor seeing ‘dabangg’ girl Sonakshi Sinha has been doing the rounds. we asked ranveer himself about his relationship status to which he reacted, “we are young and we work in a glamorous world of films. i am doing a film with Sonakshi called ‘Lootera’ and we have interacted during a photo shoot and at an award performance.

A lot has been made out of this. we are friends but we are not good friends. we do not hang out as often as it’s mentioned.”

After a little more probing, ranveer confessed, “i am single.” AgencIeS

foodie’ MUMBAI: Bollywood actress deepika Padukone may be one of the fittest actresses in the industry but she does not believe in starving herself. in fact, she is a self-confessed foodie. “i love food. i love trying out different types of cuisine. i love eating in different kinds of restaurants, trying out new things and i think i have the luxury to do that because i travel a lot,” said deepika at the unveiling of a food magazine. She feels staying fit is about following the right diet. “it’s about eating correctly, healthy and eating what suits your body. i don’t believe in dieting. for me, diet is about eating correctly and eating healthy,” deepika said. Last seen in ‘Aarakshan’, the 25-year-old is geared up for her next, ‘desi Boy’”, which is coming out Nov 25. AgencIeS

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17 Lucky didn’t die young, still a

Bachchans want ‘exotic, catchy’ name for daughter

bad girl:

MuMBAI ZeeneWS

Angelina Jolie WASHINGtON

O

AgencIeS

SCAR-WInnIng Hollywood mega-star Angelina Jolie says she’s lucky to have survived her younger days when she dabbled in “dangerous” things, but says there’s a part of her that is still a “bad girl”. “I went through heavier, darker times and I survived them.

I didn’t die young,” the 36-year-old actress told CBS in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday. “So I am very lucky. There are other artists and people that didn’t survive certain things... people can imagine that I did the most dangerous, and I did the worst, for

many reasons, I shouldn’t be here,” she added. Jolie, who is now the partner of fellow actor Brad Pitt, was once known for wearing a vial of her then-husband Billy Bob Thornton’s blood around her neck. And she has been estranged from her father, the actor Jon Voight, who once said publicly that he thought his daughter needed help.

Jolie, who is now a mother of six children, said there were “too many times where you came close to too many dangerous things, too many chances taken too, too far”.

But speaking during an interview in Budapest where she filmed some of the scenes for her directorial debut ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’, Jolie said that despite building a family with Pitt, she had still kept her edge.

“I’m still a bad girl,” she said. “I still have that side of me... it’s just in its place now... it belongs to Brad. Or... our adventures.”

Abhishek and Aishwarya’s darling daughter will have her naming ceremony just after Christmas this December. Apparently, the Bachchan family will be holding a private ceremony at Pratiksha for the naming ceremony. A source said, “They have ordered vegetarian food for the occasion and we know that a small private party is being organised by them. The food will be simple and there are a few South Indian dishes as well.

Big B will be choosing the name. As of now, nobody has been consulted for the name. Basically what we have heard is that a name that both Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya will agree on, will be finalised.” Meanwhile, Jr. B has welcomed his Twitter followers to suggest names for Beti B. “It seems that everybody has agreed that the name has to be different and catchy. So, a short but exotic name is what everybody is expecting to zero in on... something that will always catch your ear,” added the source.

‘The dirty picture’ reaches parliament for promotion NEW DELHI ZeeneWS

Producer Ekta Kapoor is leaving no stone unturned in making her dream project ‘The Dirty Picture’ a super success. In an attempt to ensure her upcoming flick starring Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor rakes in the moolah, the ambitious girl is running from pillar to post. The controversial film that is supposed to be a biopic on late south Indian sex-symbol Silk Smitha has a unique promotional plan. Lead actor Emraan Hashmi was at the parliament to promote his film on Wednesday. Explaining the unique the promotion strategy, Emraan while addressing reporters said, “It an unusual way to promote the film. I am here at the Parliament. We have exhausted all other ways of film promotion.”

Talking about his plans to promote ‘The Dirty Picture’, Emraan had earlier said to a daily, “given the amount of time I’ve been spending in Delhi, Mumbai soon might disown me. I’m looking forward to today. It’s just the film for the fun-loving north-wallahs who want entertainment, and more entertainment.”

Neha Dhupia Raj Kapoor

When couldn’t recognise herself MUMBAI: Known for her glamourous image, Neha dhupia will be seen in a complete deglamourised avatar in her next film.

“The film is called ‘Maximum’ where i play the wife of an encounter specialist played by Sonu Sood. it is nothing like what i have played before. i am really looking forward to the film”, says an exited Neha dhupia. Talking about her look, she says, “you will be surprised when you see me in the film. And why just you... even i couldn’t recognise myself when i peeped in the mirror. i have gone complete deglam in the film”. The actress admits that her character is based on a real-life personality but she is not authorised to reveal the identity at the moment. directed by Kabeer Kaushik, ‘Maximum’ also stars Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur. AgencIeS

would’ve been proud of Ranbir, says Rishi MUMBAI: Actor rishi Kapoor watched son ranbir Kapoor’s recently released flick, ‘rockstar’. while all and sundry have gone praising ranbir to the hilt, the otherwise critical dad, too, has some great things to say about ranbir this time round. “i told ranbir that if his grandfather raj Kapoor would’ve lived to see this film, he would’ve been very proud of him,” said rishi. ranbir is overwhelmed with this compliment. He’s only too glad to have said yes to the movie. Apparently, rishi wasn’t too sure if ranbir should do ‘rockstar’. However, the Kapoor lad loved the unique script and the team he was working with, and made his own decision to be a part of the imtiaz Ali directed venture. Ask ranbir about the reactions he has been getting to his performance in ‘rockstar’, and the actor says that he is only too happy with the encouragement coming his way. AgencIeS

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Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Classy federer routs Nadal to Page 23 make last four

Court rejects Butt, Amir appeals LONDON MAJID KHAttAK

P

AKISTAn former captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Amir lost their appeals against their jail sentences in a London court on Wednesday. Both the players were not present at the Court of Appeal in London for the proceedings before the Lord Chief Justice and two other judges of uK High court dismissed the appeals. Butt, 27, was jailed for 30 months and Amir, 19, received a six-month term.

They were sentenced over bowling deliberate no-balls in a Test match against England. In the case, Mohammad Asif, 28, and British born Pakistani cricket agent Mazhar Majeed were also jailed. The judges rejected the plea that Butt's sentence was "manifestly excessive" and the argument that Amir should have been given a suspended sentence.

Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge said the corruption had been "carefully prepared" and the cricketers had betrayed their team, their country, their sport and the "followers of the game throughout the world".He said their "notorious" case was a "carefully prepared" corruption conspiracy which merited a "criminal sanction". If corruption continued then the enjoyment of those who watch cricket would "eventually be destroyed", Lord Judge said.

Butt's lawyer Ali Bajwa argued his client’s sentence was "out of proportion to the seriousness of the offence that was committed". Bajwa described Butt as a broken man in a state of "ruin and disgrace", and added that the very fact of imprisonment "amounted to exceptional punishment".

Amir's lawyer Henry Blaxland argued for a suspended sentence that would allow his immediate release.

Amir would have remained in the uK to carry out any community service, Mr Blaxland added. Lord Judge said the conspiracy "was not set up on the spur of the moment and it was not the result of some temptation to

Bd batsmen wary of Ajmal LAHORE StAff RePoRt

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal has said the offspinner Saeed Ajmal will be the biggest threat to Bangladesh when Pakistan tour there. Ajmal is the jointleading wicket-taker in Tests this year, with 41 from 6 matches at an average of 23.41, and also features in the top ten wicket-takers in ODIs this year. Tamim recognised Ajmal was in form and said the Bangladesh batsmen would have to watch his variations carefully. "I've only faced him [Ajmal] for one delivery and that was in county cricket when I was playing for nottinghamshire and he was representing Worcestershire," he told Pakpassion.net. "I scored a single and was happy to be at the other end. He's a very good bowler and is in great form at the moment. It is going to be a real challenge to face the Pakistan bowlers in the upcoming series, especially Saeed Ajmal.

Bangladesh could tour Pakistan in 2012 LAHORE StAff RePoRt

which either appellant succumbed, in effect, on the spur of the moment". He said the court had to make clear that what the cricketers did was "not simply a matter of breaking the rules of the game" and therefore subject to internal discipline and regulation. "It is also criminal

conduct of a very serious kind which must be marked with a criminal sanction," he said. The fixing plot was uncovered by the news of the World, the Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid which was shut down in July over the phone-hacking scandal.

Mohsin wants to be a coach, not selector LAHORE StAff RePoRt

Mohsin Khan, who was interim coach of the current Pakistan cricket team which won both the Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka, said he preferred the role of a coach to that of a selector. The chief selector of the Pakistan team was named as interim coach for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series, which ends on Friday in Abu Dhabi and the former opening Test batsman was quoted by gulf news as saying that he preferred ‘Coaching’.

With the PCB looking for a full time coach and Khan having been successful on this tour (Pakistan won the Test series 1-0 and the 5-match ODI series 3-1) the interim coach seems to have thrown his hat into the ring.

When asked whether as selector and coach there was any conflict of interest, Khan said, “Well I’m not a se-

lector now. Because this is my request to the PCB that if I go as a coach with the team release me from the duties as a selector,” he said. “I feel that a selection job and coaching job, both are very difficult, demanding and thankless jobs.

So I would request that if the PCB wants me to do many jobs at the same time I’m ready to do it but if you ask from the bottom of my heart I want to do only one at a time and concentrate on that completely,” he said. “When I was leaving Karachi on this tour somebody asked me a question: You have got a job which is for one month and few days. What do you feel?

I said, for cricket even if I have to serve for one day I will do it and so whenever my board needs my services I’m ready to give it since I owe it to my country.”

“Senior players must realize they should do whatever they can for the betterment of cricket. We should be really jumping on that,” Khan said.

The resumption of international cricket in Pakistan could be the result of a deal between the PCB and its Bangladesh counterpart over choosing the next ICC vice-president, Cricinfo reported on Wednesday.

The nomination rests with the two countries and Pakistan are reportedly ready to concede its right for an expected tour by Bangladesh in 2012.

The deal, however, is being explained in official circles as the conclusion of a gentleman's agreement that resulted in Pakistan's Ehsan Mani becoming the ICC president in 2003.

The ICC executive board, at its meeting in October, had asked the PCB and BCB to nominate a candidate for the vicepresidency for the 2012-14 term, in keeping with the rotational system. The nomination has to be firmed up by December 31, the ICC will discuss it in January and the appointment will be effective in June. The two board chiefs, Zaka Ashraf of the PCB and the BCB's Mustafa Kamal, have already held one reportedly inconclusive - meeting in Dubai. They are due to meet again in Dhaka on the sidelines of Pakistan's tour in December.

For Pakistan, the benefits are clear: they are keen for international cricket to return to the country and Ashraf, barely a month into his job, has set that as his primary target - even at the cost of what will lead to the top job in international cricket. To that end, he has repaired relations with Bangladesh to an extent, from the frosty ties under his predecessor Ijaz Butt. The ties were strained after cancelled junior cricket tours to Pakistan and by Bangladesh not supporting Pakistan over the staging of matches during the 2011 World Cup. On the face of it the deal is a formality.

When, in 2003, the two boards agreed on Mani's candidature for the president's post, it was on the understanding that the next cycle would go Bangladesh's way. Even the mooted tour is not expected to be a problem; Bangladesh don't have any problems with travel to Pakistan - the national football team went there earlier this year for a World Cup qualifier - and the series is part of the ICC future tours programme, scheduled for April 2012.

Pakistan, however, has reportedly sought written assurance from Bangladesh that it will not backtrack from the understanding.

Wrestling, blind cricket mark revival of Pakistan-India sporting ties LAHORE AfP

As Pakistan loosens up hamstrung trading links with arch-rival India, sporting ties between the traditional foes have burst back onto the agenda, reviving hopes for a broader rapprochement. Traditional hostilities between the neighbouring nations have long been played out in cricket, hockey and wrestling -- the three most popular sports of the Asian subcontinent.

But fearful of the constant threat posed

by Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan, Indian teams have stayed away since 166 people were killed in Mumbai in 2008, carnage widely blamed on Pakistani militants. A gun attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore just over three months later sounded the death knell for mainstream international sport in Pakistan.

But the arrival of two Indian sporting teams to Lahore in the past week -- for a bout of traditional wrestling and a blind cricket series -- are the first concrete signs of sporting ties being revived. And organisers of cricket and hockey -- watched with fanat-

ical enthusiasm in both countries -- say talks are under way to bring mainstream Indian teams back within months.

Pakistan’s new cricket chief Zaka Ashraf said he has “high hopes” for future matches following initial talks in Dubai last week, and that he will visit India in the next few weeks to further efforts to cement a deal.

Hockey once topped cricket as the big sporting draw, with India and Pakistan teams dominating the Olympic finals throughout the fifties and sixties.

India’s team have not visited Pakistan since 2006, but Pakistan organisers said they have proposed a four-match tournament to be played as early as January or February 2012 when both teams have a gap in training schedules. “They’re looking into it. I haven’t received a final response from them,” said Pakistan Hockey Federation chief Asif Bajwa. The warming relations follow Islamabad’s decision earlier this month to work towards a normalisation of commercial trading ties with its arch-foe, heralding a spirit of bilateral optimism not seen for years.

India and Pakistan have also revived a peace process this year, although dialogue

has struggled to gain any real traction since its formal resumption in an atmosphere of mutual recrimination and mistrust.

“It’s political, these cricket and hockey ties, with both governments. now with bilateral relations with India we are opening up a lot of trade, so diplomacy is on the right track,” added Bajwa. There has been no major bomb blast since February in Punjab region that borders India and is home to most bilateral sporting events. The last major attack in Pakistan was in a relatively remote northwestern district on September 15. Forty-six people were killed at a funeral.

Military brinkmanship continues to loom large on both sides of the border over territorial disputes that have sparked three wars since independence from British rule in 1947, and regional ambitions in Afghanistan.

But last week, blind cricket players on their first visit to Pakistan in five years were undaunted. “This is a message for the mainstream team -- if we can come here without fear then they can also come to play cricket and make some peace,” said India blind cricket player Manvindra Singh Patwal.

Manager of the Pakistani side, Abdul

Razzaq, said the series was the “first drop of rain” after a three-year sporting drought.

While Pakistan’s cricket team continues to raise gate and sponsorship income when hosting international matches abroad, the country loses out on valuable side earners that come with the crowd of visitors who fly in for each event. Mud wrestlers clad in

briefs tussled in the dirt in front of massive crowds in gujranwala and Lahore held over the past few days, the first time Indian practitioners of the Punjabi sport were in Pakistan since 2008. But the visitors nearly did not make it after authorities denied them entry for three days, saying that they did not have the right kind of visas.

LAHorE: Pakistani wrestler Shahid Khoaiwala (L) shakes hands with indian wrestler Satinder Singh before start a bout at the Punjab stadium. fILE pHOTO

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sports 19 Pakistan close series in style Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Mobilink jazz cup 2011, 5th odi

ABu DHABI

ScoReBoARD

AgHA AKBAR

u

nLIKE the past, especially the recent years, Pakistan’s approach these days is a whole lot of method and much less frenzy. This perhaps is a direct consequence of Misbah-ul-Haq’s composure as captain. And this indeed is most welcome, for it has brought on something that never was Pakistan’s hallmark: consistency.

With the series at its fag end, the green shirts still closed out the deadrubber game in a manner most unruffled, their poise something to behold.

The margin of victory, a mere three wickets, may not reflect the authority with which it was achieved, as at no point did they look like losing.

Fighting to get back his form, skipper Misbah played a captain’s hand, and in two sizable partnerships first with Younus Khan and then with slightly more intrepid but determined umar Akmal, he took the side a handshake’s distance from the target. Though wickets fell in a bunch, first Misbah followed by Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir – all three quite needlessly, with the skipper’s penchant for the reverse sweep causing his fall at an inopportune moment – but it did not have any bearing on the result.

It would have been different had the Sri Lankans on a slowish wicket been allowed to get deeper into Pakistan’s middle order early on. But Misbah and Akmal denied them that opening.

As the batting power play was imposed on Pakistan (from over 36 to 40, with them having no choice) the beleaguered Sri Lankan captain in a last throw of the dice pressed his slinging pace ace Lasith Malinga into action. That was to no avail. Malinga was driven imperiously in the covers and then behind the square for fours in successive overs by Akmal. In between, Misbah and Akmal kept rotating the strike quite efficiently, and Pakistan’s run rate galloped. With 50 required off the last 12 overs, the home stretch was well within their sights.

In the quest for 219, Pakistan had faced a hiccup or two. The openers, especially Asad Shafiq, given an opportunity in place of Imran Farhat, got out after getting well set. Younus Khan promised much but was undone by Jeevan Mendis’ leg break that he read to be a googly.

Shoaib Malik (what would he do to get some runs with good wife in attendance) followed next ball, conversely reading the googly as leg break. Both perished leg before on successive deliveries, but not just the hat-trick was avoided, a partnership also blossomed that by Misbah’s (66 off

Misbah’s penchant for the reverse sweep caused his fall but not before he had steered his team to safety. afp 99 balls, five fours) fall had contributed 84 runs to effectively shut the Sri Lankans out.

Afridi and Tanvir did not put much of a price on their wickets, but Akmal, unlike the second one-dayer which was Pakistan’s only defeat during this series, this time round was in a mood to finish and clobbered Dilhara Fernando over long-on for four to seal the victory.

For Akmal this wrapped up a great all-round performance: unconquered 61 at better than a-run-a-ball, and three scalps behind the stumps (two brilliant catches and a highly adept stumping).

Playing only to salvage the muchdented pride, Sri Lanka won the toss and promptly chose to bat in conditions that were overcast, cool and windy. That got Pakistan’s pace duo upfront, this time round umar gul and Tanvir, into a swinging mood. Tanvir helped himself to a brace with two lovely deliveries, and gul didn’t take long to get amongst the wickets. And when Junaid came as first change, he too accounted for Chamara Silva and it seemed Sri Lanka would be shot out for a way below-par total.

Kumar Sangakkara was again left to do a rearguard and he found a keen and willing ally in Angelo Mathews. Both contributed 118 for the fifth wicket at a decent clip, and with conditions having eased out, not sparing any of the Pakistan bowlers. Shahid Afridi went for

Umar Akmal wrapped up a great all-round performance with unbeaten 61 at better than a-run-a-ball. afp plenty, umar gul was hit over his head for two sixes by Mathews. But once these two departed, Sangakkara snared

first by Mohammad Hafeez, none could press on other than a little cameo by Thisara Perera.

Junaid out for six weeks ABu DHABI SPecIAL coRReSPonDent

Owing to partial tear of the abdominal muscle, Pakistan’s promising pace bowler Junaid Khan has been ruled out of cricket action for six weeks. This was announced by the Pakistan team’s associate manager, Syed naushad Ali. After the MRI scan, Junaid has been advised six weeks of rest and rehabilitation, said naushad Ali. “He’s in pain, and would not be taking any further part in the rest of the fifth match, and he is out of the Friday Twenty20 match and quite likely the Bangladesh tour,” said naushad. Junaid’s replacement for the Bangladesh tour will be

named in due course. Junaid was in the Twenty20, ODI and Test squad for the Bangladesh tour. naushad further said. "His replacement is obviously important as we have already lost Razzaq but will be decided in the team meeting." umar gul, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Talha form the pace attack in the Test series.

Junaid was impressive in the Test series against Sri Lanka in the uAE, taking 12 wickets in three Tests. He missed the first four ODIs and replaced Cheema only in the dead rubber, the fifth and the final ODI, in Abu Dhabi. He bowled just three overs and then left the field complaining pain in abdomen. The MRI scan revealed that he had a partial tear in his right abdominal muscle.

Mobilink lauds Pakistan team’s victory LAHORE StAff RePoRt

Mobilink, the official sponsors of Pakistan’s cricket series against Sri Lanka, congratulated Pakistan team on their series victory in the Jazz Cup 2011 in the uAE on Wednesday. Jazz partnered with the Pakistan Cricket Board to organise ‘The Mobilink Jazz Cup 2011’ in the uAE as the home series for Pakistan, with Pakistan winning both the Test and ODI series comfortably.

The series provided impressive all-round performances by the entire team, commendable leadership by Misbahul Haq, and sterling performances by Shahid Afridi, who is the brand ambassador for Jazz.

The Jazz Cup was also notable as it was during the ODI series that the Sharjah Cricket Stadium was acknowledged by the guinness Book of World Records for hosting the highest number of ODI matches. Mobilink’s Director Marketing (Jazz), Moied Javeed, said: “Pakistan’s national cricket team has made the entire country proud with their passion and commitment to their sport.

I would like to extend heartiest congratulations to Team green on behalf of Mobilink and the entire nation for their commendable performance and for renewing our faith in the talent that Pakistan has to offer.” Mobilink has a long standing commitment to tcricket and is also the official service partner for the PCB.

SRI LAnKA: U. tharanga c Akmal b tanvir 3 t. Dilshan c Akmal b gul 12 D. chandimal c younis b tanvir 7 K. Sangakkara c Misbah b Hafeez 78 c. Silva c Misbah b Khan 1 A. Mathews b Ajmal 61 J. Mendis st Akmal b Afridi 2 t. Perera b tanvir 25 S. Prasanna not out 8 L. Malinga c Misbah b tanvir 4 eXtRAS (lb6, w11): 17 totAL (for nine wkts): 218 fall of wickets: 1-13 (tharanga), 2-20 (Dilshan), 3-32 (chandimal), 4-46 (Silva), 5-164 (Sangakkara), 6-176 (Mendis), 7-180 (Mathews), 8-214 (Perera) Bowling: gul 7-1-34-1 (w1), tanvir 7-0-34-4 (w4), Khan 3-0-18-1, Ajmal 10-2-26-1 (w2), Afridi 10-0-60-1 (w1), Hafeez 10-1-29-1 (w1), Malik 3-0-11-0 (w2) overs: 50 PAKIStAn: Mohammad Hafeez c Sangakkara b Mathews 14 Asad Shafiq lbw b Mathews 26 younis Khan lbw b Mendis 34 Misbah-ul Haq c Perera b Mendis 66 Shoaib Malik lbw b Mendis 0 Umar Akmal not out 61 Shahid Afridi c Sangakkara b Malinga 4 Sohail tanvir c b fernando 1 Saeed Ajmal not out 0 eXtRAS (b2, lb3, w8): 13 totAL (for seven wkts): 219 fall of wickets: 1-25 (Hafeez), 2-51 (Shafiq), 3-113 (younis), 4-113 (Malik), 5-197 (Misbah), 6-202 (Afridi), 7-215 (tanvir) Bowling: Malinga 9-2-28-1 (w1), Perera 7-1-32-0 (w1), Prasanna 8-0-48-0 (w2), fernando 9.2-0-47-2 (w3), Mathews 5-1-11-1, Mendis 7-0-36-3, Dilshan 2-0-12-0 (w1) oVeRS: 47.2 ReSULt: Pakistan won by three wickets toSS: Sri Lanka UMPIReS: Marias erasmus (RSA) and Ahsan Raza (PAK) tV UMPIRe: Richard Illingworth (eng) MAtcH RefeRee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

The target may have seemed respectable given the Lankan’s plight at four for 46, but it was never going to be enough.

This was an important win in more ways than one. Had Pakistan lost, they would have been back to sixth in the ICC rankings, swapping places with England after having been promoted in the previous game. This is for the first time in two years and a half, since May 2009 to be precise. A couple of other noteworthy stats: out of 10 games as ODI skipper, Misbah has lost just one – earlier this series. Though the other teams involved were Ireland and Zimbabwe, this still is pretty consistent. That the spot-fixing scandal has been good for Pakistan cricket is also beyond a shadow of a doubt. Of the last 34 games, Pakistan has ended up winning 23 – a pretty good run by any standards.

Uniwear, Hataff victorious in Treet Cup lAHoRe: uniwear and Hataff registered comprehensive wins in the Treet Polo Cup while Security 2000 qualified for the next round on Wednesday.

Playing at the Lahore Polo Club grounds, uuiwear hit Al Saqib with 10 goals.

Shahzad Sadiq Magoon scored the only goal for the losing side. Saqib Khan Khakwani showed class with two hat-tricks in his seven goals while Shah Qublai Alam managed two and Sufi Muhammad Haroon one for the winners. Hataff produced five goals after facing tough competition from Equestrian that responded with four goals. Kasim Ahmad Khan managed three goals for Hataff while Hassan Ali Farrukh and Kashif Jamal shared one goal each.

Equestrian fought well through Sameer Habib Oberoi with two goals while Samee Ibrahim and Danyal Hashmi got one each.

In the two chukker encounters, Security 2000 got wins against Pessi 6½-3 and Master Paints won 2½-2. Later Master Paints beat PESSI. The matches were supervised by Shah Shamyl Alam, Ahsan Javed Sher, Hamza Mawaz Khan, Ahmed Zubair, naveed M Sheikh and Adnan Jalil Azam. StAff RePoRt

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20 sports

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

wAPdA teach Balochistan hockey lesson FAISALABAD StAff RePoRt

WAPDA hammered Balochistan by 13 goals in the All Pakistan nBP gold Cup Hockey Tournament at Faisalabad Hockey Stadium. On Wednesday three matches were played with wins for WAPDA, Port Qasim and nBP. WAPDA scored eight goals in the first half. Muhammad Imran came up with five goals, Rehan Butt, Suleman and Rana umair produced two goals each while Muhammad Zubair and Muhammad Irfan shared one.

Port Qasim beat Sindh 3-2. Port Qasim were well in control of the game by the breather but wilted in the second session to concede two goals after leading the first half by three goals. Port Qasim got their goals from Abbas Haider who hit two goals while and Samiullah Khan banged the board once. Sindh responded through Shujaat Ali twice. nBP beat Railways by 9-0. The winners got three goals in the first 35 minutes.

Akhtar Ali hit three goals while Muhammad Atiq got two and Sabtain Raza, Muhammad Dilber, Yasir Shabbir and Arslan Qadir shared one goal each.

Olympian Saleem Sherwani was the chief guest on the last match between nBP and Railway. Organising Secretary Olympian Rana Mujahid Ali, Tournament Director Olympian Khalid Bashir, Haji Rana Muhammad Mazhar Khan President DHA Faisalabad, Olympian Danish Kaleem, Olympian Malik Shafqat, Olympian Anjum Saeed, international Shahid Hussain, international Shahzad Chishti, Mr. ghulam Muhammad Khan, Advisor to Sports national Bank and officials of DHA were also present on the occasion.

Qasim Zia elated at Pakistan’s sports successes LAHORE StAff RePoRt

President Pakistan Hockey Federation Qasim Zia has congratulated Pakistan cricket team for its excellent performance of winning the Test and the one-day series against Sri Lanka in united Arab Emirates.

He also congratulated the Pakistan Karate Federation on the outstanding performance of two female and three male karate players as both the teams won seven gold medals in the recently concluded 1st South Asian Men’s & Women Karate championship. In a statement here the President PHF showered praise on the showing of the team in Test and ODI and attributed the success to collective team effort.

He also congratulated Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Chaudhary Zaka Asrhaf on the recent achievements of the team and hoped that under his dynamic leadership cricket will flourish.

He also greeted Pakistan women’s cricket team for qualifying for the ICC Women World Cup. “It is a encouraging performance by our women cricket team which has made the entire nation proud,” said President PHF. Qasim Zia congratulated nida Dar who scored century in ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

ABU dHABi: Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi (C) celebrates with his teammates the dismissal of Sri Lanka’s Jeevan Mendis (r). afp

Classy Bravo punishes India MuMBAI AfP

D

ARREn Bravo continued his dream run with a third century in four Tests to help the West Indies post a mammoth 575-9 on the second day of the third and final Test against India on Wednesday. Bravo, cousin of former West Indies batting great Brian Lara, dominated the Indian attack with a superb 166 as the tourists scored 308 runs on a batsmen’s day after resuming at 267-2.

Kieran Powell (81), who replaced injured batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Marlon Samuels (61) also made merry on a batting track at the Wankhede Sta-

dium in Mumbai.

The West Indies’ batting flourished for a second successive day, with the top-six batsmen all scoring a half-century or more.

The left-handed pair of Bravo and Powell consolidated their team’s position with a 160-run stand for the fourth wicket to virtually shatter India’s hopes of making a clean sweep. The hosts lead 2-0 in the series after winning the opening Test in new Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.

Powell hit nine fours in his second halfcentury in four Tests before being caught behind off spinner Pragyan Ojha while Bravo became debutant seamer Varun Aaron’s first Test victim, caught behind

while attempting to drive.

The day belonged to Bravo, whose superb run in Test cricket began in Bangladesh where he scored 195 in Dhaka for his maiden hundred in his team’s seriesclinching victory early this month.

The 22-year-old then cracked a brilliant 136 against India in the last innings of the previous Test in Kolkata before scoring a second successive hundred on Wednesday. Bravo, 57 overnight, completed his century in the morning with an aggressive shot when he square-drove off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for a boundary. He hit 17 fours in his 284-ball knock.

It was another frustrating day for India on a pitch offering no help to bowlers as

ScoReBoARD

Navy, Aghan play drabbed draw LAHORE StAff RePoRt

As many as two matches were played in the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Wednesday. The first match saw navy playing draw with Afghan FC at the Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi. Both the teams produced one goal each with Afghan Club taking lead in the fourth minute of the match while navy were lucky to move past Afghan defence when their defender scored in the 71st minute of the game. PAF beat Police 30 at the Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi.

Irfan Ali (FW) two goals 25 & 36 minutes and Mansoor Khan (FW) one goal.

they could take just two wickets in the opening two sessions, with paceman Ishant Sharma and Ojha bagging one each.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also pressed part-timers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag into the attack in a desperate bid to break the Bravo-Powell stand before Aaron struck thrice in four overs in the evening. Aaron also bowled Carlton Baugh (four) and had skipper Darren Sammy (three) caught by wicketkeeper Dhoni, who took five catches.

He nearly got another wicket but Dhoni missed a difficult chance off Samuels when the batsman was on 46. Ashwin has so far taken four wickets, including two on Tuesday. Sharma was rewarded for his hard work in the opening session when he had Kirk Edwards (86) caught behind with a delivery that moved away.

Edwards, 65 overnight, looked set for his third century in six Tests as he began on an impressive note, flicking and pulling Aaron for two fours in the opening hour. He hit 13 fours in his 165-ball knock and added 164 for the third wicket with Bravo.

MUMBAi: west indies batsman darren Bravo plays a shot. afp

WeSt InDIeS 1st innings (overnight 267-2): A. Barath c Dhoni b Ashwin 62 K. Brathwaite c Kohli b Ashwin 68 K. edwards c Dhoni b Sharma 86 D. Bravo c Dhoni b Aaron 166 K. Powell c Dhoni b ojha 81 M. Samuels c Dravid b Ashwin 61 c. Baugh b Aaron 4 D. Sammy c Dhoni b Aaron 3 R. Rampaul c Kohli b Ashwin 10 f. edwards not out 7 D. Bishoo not out 2 eXtRAS (b8, lb15, nb2) 25 totAL (for nine wickets; 181 overs) 575 fall of wickets: 1-137 (Barath), 2-150 (Brathwaite), 3-314 (K. edwards), 4-474 (Powell), 5-518 (Bravo), 6-524 (Baugh), 7540 (Sammy), 8-563 (Rampaul), 9-566 (Samuels).

Bowling: Sharma 30-9-72-1 (nb1), Aaron 28-4-106-3, ojha 48-10-126-1, Ashwin 51-6-154-4, Sehwag 16-1-61-0 (nb1), Kohli 2-0-9-0, tendulkar 6-0-24-0. toSS: West Indies UMPIReS: tony Hill (nZL) and Bruce oxenford (AUS) tV UMPIRe: Shavir tarapore (InD) MAtcH RefeRee: David Boon (AUS)

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Thursday, 24 November, 2011

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Bin Hammam appeals to CAS against FIFA ban Asia united after bin Hammam axing: Blatter KuALA LuMPuR AfP

GENEVA AfP

O

Multan, faisalabad advance in women’s T20 Cricket MuRIDKE StAff RePoRt

Multan and Faisalabad won their matches of the u-19 national Women’s T20 Cricket Championship that started at the Country Club Muridke on Wednesday.

Multan beat Islamabad by 22 runs while Faisalabad beat Hyderabad by 56 runs.

Scores: Multan Region 123-4 in 16 overs (Kiran Irshad 28, 30 balls, 5x4s, najma 19, 17 balls, 2x4s, Kalsoom Hanif 16, 7 balls, 1x4, 1x6) v Islamabad Region u-19 – 101-4 in 16 overs: (nazish Akram 25, 40 balls, 2x4s, Saba Samual 23*, 14 balls, 4x4s, Huma Shafiq 22, 31 balls, 1x4) Result: Multan Region won by 22 runs, Toss Multan Region, umpires: Afia Amin & Sultan Mehmood, Match Referee: Zaigham Barki, Official Scorer: Sajjad-ulHasan. Faisalabad Region 117-5 in 20 overs (Farwa Batool 37, Shagufta Perveen 17, Sadia Iqbal 16*) v Hyderabad Region u19 –61-8 in 20 overs: (Anzal Ali 28, Asma Zafar 3-17, Sehrish Arif 2-13) Player of the Match: Farwa Batool (Faisalabad Region), Result: Faisalabad Region won by 56 runs, Toss: Faisalabad Region, umpires: Humaira Farah & Sultan Mehmood, Match Referee: Sohail Khan, Official Scorer: Waqar Ahmad.

NAdrA to sponsor Pak hockey team lAHoRe: The Pakistan hockey team has got national Database and Registration Authority (nADRA) as the main sponsor for the upcoming series of Europe and the Champions Trophy.

The formal signing ceremony of the sponsorship will take place on november 24 in Islamabad.

During the ceremony, nADRA branded uniform will be handed over to the PHF. The Sports Wing of nADRA will be announced. StAff RePoRt

uSTED Asian football chief Mohammed Bin Hammam has appealed against a lifetime ban imposed by football’s governing body over corruption in the FIFA presidential race, CAS said Wednesday.

“The appellant requests the annulment of the FIFA decision,” said the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a statement.

The Qatari was slapped with the ban in July after he was found guilty of trying to buy votes in the FIFA presidential race by offering Caribbean football officials $40,000 each.

CAS said the parties in the dispute would first exchange written submissions. A hearing, whose date would be determined at a later stage, would then be held.

Bin Hammam lost his post as head of Asian football to China’s Zhang Jilong after FIFA’s ruling.

The Qatari appealed to CAS to block Zhang’s appointment by the Asian Football Confederation but the court struck down the request. nevertheless Bin Hamman had vowed to continue with his quest to clear his name, and had described the charges against him as “politically motivated.”

His suspension also led to his withdrawal from FIFA’s leadership election, handing incumbent president Sepp Blatter a fourth consecutive term in office. The controversy highlighted allegations of corruption in FIFA and sparked calls for reform of its governance structure.

It also led to a series of sanctions on several Caribbean football officials, who were in the infamous meeting in Trinidad on May 10 and 11 when Bin Hammam was accused of trying to buy votes.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Asia’s football leaders were united and moving towards a “fabulous” future Wednesday despite the shock banning of the region’s soccer chief over bribery claims.

Blatter, himself no stranger to controversy, praised the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) progress under acting president Zhang Jilong, who took charge after Mohamed bin Hammam’s ousting in June. The Qatari was suspended and later banned from football after being found guilty by FIFA of trying to buy votes in his bid to replace his ally-turned-rival Blatter as the body’s president.

“I can only congratulate and commend the Asian Football Confederation, how they have dealt with the problem that has occurred here in this confederation especially by having to replace the president,” Blatter told reporters.

“We have now an acting president, we have an executive committee that’s working together in solidarity and in unity, and I’m very happy to have been here today.”

Blatter was speaking at AFC head-

quarters in Kuala Lumpur, where he joined an executive committee meeting and will attend Asia’s annual football awards ceremony later Wednesday.

But in signs of ongoing internal debate at the body, the press conference was delayed by an hour for extended executive committee talks which also continued after the briefing. Asian football is in limbo after the banning of bin Hammam, who cannot be replaced until next year under AFC rules and who is appealing his case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Blatter, who refused to comment directly on bin Hammam’s case, said he was “looking forward to a fabulous development of football in Asia”.

“The future of football still is Asia.

Asia is more than two-thirds of the world population now and two-thirds of the world population can see immense potential for football,” he said.

“Especially when you look at the subcontinent called India, where you have 1.3 billion people and they are eager to play football.

“Asia is also a big economic market... if you look at all the traditional markets, they are suffering and Asia is doing well.”

KUALA LUMPUr: fifA President Sepp Blatter (r) shakes hands with Asian football Confederation (AfC) Acting President Zhang Jilong (L). afp

watch it Live NEO CRICKET India v West Indies Test 3 Day 3 09:00PM

STAR SPORTS Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – London 07:00PM

No cakewalk for Amir Khan in Peterson bout

WASHINGtON AfP

Lamont Peterson, once struggling as a homeless youth on the streets of Washington, is all about timing as a fighter and he says his time has come to beat England’s Amir Khan and be a champion.

Peterson, 29-1-1 with 15 knockouts, will fight Khan, 26-1 with 18 knockouts, on December 10 in the uS capital to try and claim the Englishman’s World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation lightwelterweight titles.

Peterson’s only loss came two years ago to unbeaten American compatriot Timothy Bradley, but has progressed since that fight and become confident in his style, skills and ability.

“I’m more confident at that level, world championship fights, being more confident in doing what I know how to do,” Peterson said Tuesday. “I feel I’ve progressed enough to become a star in this sport.

“I believe that it’s my time as a professional to be on top.”

Khan, who has won his past eight fights, plans to beat Peterson and move into the welterweight ranks where such stars as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao await.

But Peterson dreams of such big paydays as well and likes how his speed matches up against that of Khan.

“I’m a timing type of fighter,” Peterson said. “He throws a lot of punches and he throws them in bunches. He’s fast.

But I’m fast too. And timing beats speed every time. Sometimes you can go too fast. Timing is everything.

Berdych subdues Tipsarevic to keep semi bid alive LONDON AfP

Tomas Berdych remains in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals after he battled back to beat Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) on Wednesday. Berdych, who lost his opening game against novak Djokovic, looked on the way out when Tipsarevic, playing in place of the injured Andy Murray, held a match point in the final set tie-break, but the Czech seventh seed recovered to seal a crucial group A victory at London’s O2 Arena. now Berdych has to beat David Ferrer in his last match on Friday and hope other results go his way to reach the semis, while Tipsarevic’s participation is likely to end with his final fixture against Djokovic.

With nothing to lose and a place in the semi-finals still up for grabs, Tipsarevic was able to swing freely at the start and his ground-strokes caused Berdych problems as he broke in the opening game of the first set.

He broke again for a 4-1 lead before

LoNdoN: roger federer of Switzerland hits a return to rafael Nadal of Spain. afp saving three break points on his own serve to seal the set. But 2010 Wimbledon finalist Berdych had given world number one Djokovic a run for his money on Sunday, holding a match point before eventually

losing a final set tie-break, and the Czech gradually built up a head of steam again.

The 26-year-old’s big serves kept Tipsarevic at bay and allowed him to concentrate on breaking the Serb, which he

eventually did with some bruising forehands in the eighth game to land the decisive break in the second set. clAssy FeDeReR RoUts nADAl to MAke lAst FoUR: Roger Federer crushed old rival Rafael nadal 6-3, 6-0 as the defending champion swept into the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday. Federer went into the match knowing victory would guarantee his place in the last four after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Mardy Fish in the earlier group B match. The Swiss star seized the opportunity with a brutal demolition of the world number two in just one hour on court at London’s O2 Arena. The 30-year-old hadn’t beaten nadal since they met in the final of the ATP’s season finale here last year, but he produced his most emphatic ever win against the Spaniard to ended a run of three successive head to head defeats. While Federer can relax in his final group game against Fish, there is no margin for error for nadal, who needs to neat Tsonga on Thursday to make the last four.

KHI 24-11-2011_Layout 1 11/24/2011 1:47 AM Page 22

Thursday, 24 November, 2011

Yemen’s Saleh finally signs deal to quit power RIYADH

SC will make example out of RPPs case: CJP

AfP

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a deal on Wednesday to hand over his powers after 33 years in office, ending months of delay that had seen protests that erupted in January degenerate into deadly unrest. Saleh promised “real partnership” with the opposition in implementing the gulfand un-brokered agreement, and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who hosted the signing ceremony at his Al-Yamama palace in Riyadh, hailed a “new page” for the impoverished neighbouring country. But thousands of demonstrators again to took the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday to protest against the deal’s promise of immunity from prosecution for both Saleh and his family. A spokesman said they rejected the agreement signed in Riyadh. The organising committee of youth protesters said the gulf-brokered deal “does not concern” protesters, Walid al-Amari told AFP. It called for new demonstrations to demand his immediate departure. under the agreement, which Saleh had stalled for months in defiance of intense domestic and international pressure, the veteran leader will hand his powers to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi but remain honorary president for 90 days. Saleh has repeatedly backed out of signing the deal brokered by Yemen’s wealthy gulf neighbours since the parliamentary opposition inked it back in April.

earlier story | Page 17

ISLAMABAD

C

StAff RePoRt

HIEF Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed on Wednesday that the Supreme Court just wanted to check transparency in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) and would make an example out of the case so that in future everyone maintained transparency in every project.

A two-member bench of the apex court comprising the chief justice and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing a suo mottu case and two identical petitions filed by Federal Housing and Works Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat and Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PMLn) MnA Khawaja Muhammad Asif against the RPPs. Waseem Sajjad, counsel for former water and power minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, continued his arguments and submitted another Civil Miscellaneous Application of some 127 pages, which according to him was enough to prove the transparency of the RPPs. He submitted some definitions of policy from renowned dictionaries and stated that policy decisions were always made by the cabinet or by the prime minister, while ministers had to assist the prime minister in carrying out policies.

Justice Hussain said that still a policy was supposed to exist, “so please show us that policy”. The chief justice

Whose right has NRO verdict impeached, asks SC ISLAMABAD StAff RePoRt

Resuming hearing in the national Reconciliation Ordinance (nRO) review petition on Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked whose right was impeached or which component of the federation was aggrieved by the nRO verdict. The bench allowed former law minister Babar Awan to appeal on merit on behalf of the federation. During the course of day-long hearing, the bench observed that the review petition scope was limited whereas the federation’s counsel Awan contended that the petition was unique in which the court did not provide a chance to plead.

Addressing Awan, the chief justice asked which part of the nRO verdict had adversely affected the federation.

Continued on Page 04

observed that since there was no policy for accountability, nothing could be done in this regard. Sajjad replied that as it was a matter taken up by the federal cabinet, it could be challenged on the floor of parliament but not in court.

The chief justice said that was not the case but “we were asking about any black and white policy if it exists re-

garding RPPs”. Sajjad said there was no single document for the policy, however, there were several decisions of the federal cabinet which were being produced in court. He said further that before his client took the charge of the ministry, four RPPs were decided in a high level meeting by the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and guidelines were chalked out, which stated that rates should be close to the tariff of independent power producers.

He said further that the minister was not the one to determine the tariff, and it was the duty of the national Electric Power Regulatory Authority (nEPRA) to set the rates, which approved it at that time and was now wrongly accusing his client. upon Sajjad’s insistence that the RPPs were transparent, the chief justice asked him why two parliamentarians had decided to approach the court if the matter was so transparent.

Sajjad replied that the problems with the RPPs still persisted but no one was ready to come to Pakistan because of various reasons, including security issues. He said if there were problems with the line, the minister was not supposed to check it but line staff must be responsible for that. The chief justice expressed dismay at the fact that the national exchequer had incurred huge losses because of the project and questioned Sajjad why his client had not taken action against those responsible for the failure of the policy.

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.

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wheat support price fixed at rs 1,050 per 40kg islAMAbAD: The government has fixed the wheat support price for next year at Rs 1,050 per 40 kilogrammes. The decision to fix the price was taken in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza gilani at the Prime Minister’s House on Wednesday. The meeting was informed that wheat support price would duly cover increased cost of production of wheat this season and wheat would be procured by PASSCO. The meeting decided that the shortage of fertilizers, estimated at one million tonnes for Rabbi crop, will be met through expeditious import. The subsidy of Rs 25 billion on import of fertilizers by the government of Pakistan would benefit the growers. It was also decided in the meeting that the import of fertilizers must be ensured during the month of December, which was the highest consumption period as far as wheat crop was concerned. A committee comprising federal ministers for finance and industries was set up to remove bottlenecks in distribution of fertilizers and disparity between imported and domestic urea.

The Committee will also ensure the elimination of black marketing, profiteering and hoarding by middle men. STaff REpORT