e-paper,PakistanToday,Islamabad,

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:25 AM Page 1

Ali Zafar is no gigolo ‘even though he is perfect for the part’ Page 19

rs15.00 g

g

vol II no 137 32 Pages Islamabad — Peshawar edition

PM assures Kabul of full support in Rabbani murder probe Karzai says Afghanistan understands instability in Pakistan cannot be source of stability in Afghanistan

Clinical Pakistan thrash Sri Lanka Page 22

pakistantoday.com.pk

saturday, 12 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 15, 1432

Pakistan committed to peace, Gilani tells Karzai

ADDU

R

StAFF RePoRt

EITERATING their commitment to the peace process, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday decided to work to further strengthen their cooperation to ensure peace, security and stability in the region, with President Hamid Karzai expecting Islamabad to help investigate the assassination of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani.

In their one-hour meeting on the sidelines of the 17th SAARC summit, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed bilateral relations, regional situation and SAARC affairs, mainly focusing on peace in Afghanistan. As President Karzai termed Professor Rabbani’s death a setback to the peace process, Prime Minister Gilani assured him that Pakistan would fully support and cooperate in the investigation into the killing of the Afghan leader. Talking to reporters after his meeting with President Karzai, Gilani said that Rabbani’s killing was a setback to the peace and reconciliation process. “Pakistan will extend full cooperation to the recently constituted joint investigation commission to probe Professor Rabbani’s murder,” he said, adding that Rabbani was a sincere friend and his death was a great loss to Pakistan.

“We need to sincerely commit not to allow our respective national territories to be used for activities detrimental to each other’s interests,” Gilani said, emphasising that reconciliation and reintegration in Afghanistan had to be entirely Afghan-led, Afghanowned and part of a domestic political process. The prime minister said that his government had made unprecedented efforts to improve relations with Afghanistan.

He said that Pakistan was prepared to work

ADDU: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai before their meeting on Friday. in a cooperative mode with Afghanistan and other international partners to promote the shared objectives of stability and peace in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan had joined the joint peace and reconciliation commission on the request of Afghanistan and was still ready to facilitate this process, if requested, adding that various trilateral and quadrilateral processes were aimed at creat-

ing an enabling environment to work on development agenda and promote trans-regional development cooperation.Gilani said these and other important processes such as the ECO and SCO were now gaining momentum. Both the countries agreed to convene the postponed trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan on mutually agreed dates. To a question,

I will rein-in army, ISI when in power: Imran NEW DELHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan on Friday said he would insist on civilian supremacy over the country’s powerful military if his party came into power, adding that he would rather resign if the army and the ISI did not function under him as prime minister.

Days after the PTI stunned its opponents by drawing a mammoth crowd during a rally in Lahore, the cricketer-turned-politician said if he became the prime minister, he would press for civilian supremacy over the army and the ISI so that he could implement his agenda. “Unless I can implement my agenda – which means I take responsibility for everything that’s happening in Pakistan – it will mean that the army was under me and it will mean that the ISI can do nothing unless it reported to me, it means that the army’s budget will be audited by a civilian setup, it means I will take responsibility for anything that will happen inside my country, it means I will take responsibility that no terrorism will take place from the Pakistani soil otherwise, I will resign,” he told Karan Thapar in an interview with CNN-

IBN. Khan, 58, was responding to a question on whether he would challenge army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani and the corps commanders. Asked specifically if he would be Gen Kayani’s boss on becoming the premier, Khan said, “100 percent. I have never ever been controlled by anyone.” “When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was prime minister, he sacked the army chief and the air chief…

When the great Jinnah was in charge, you could never imagine the army asserting itself. We have non-leaders in Pakistan.

These people are here to make money.

They are not interested in governance,” he said in the interview.

He said the army was controlling the situation in Balochistan, the Tribal Areas and the erstwhile Taliban stronghold of Swat with “no civilian input” while the country’s largest city of Karachi was controlled by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers. Asked about media reports that his party had the backing of the military and questioned about his lack of criticism of the military, Khan contended that he had never been controlled by anyone in his public life

Hamid Karzai said strategic agreement between Afghanistan and India was not against Pakistan or any other country in the region. He said it would help promote education and development in Afghanistan.

“We fully understand that instability in Pakistan cannot be a source of stability in Afghanistan and vice versa,” the Afghan president said.

Gilani invites Singh to visit Pakistan ADDU AGencieS

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has invited his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan and reinforced this with an emotional appeal, requesting him to visit his birthplace in an area which is now in Pakistan. “Pakistan’s prime minister was very keen that the Indian prime minister should visit Pakistan,” Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters. It will be an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations as well as an opportunity to visit his ancestral place, Gilani told Manmohan Singh, according to Mathai. The dates would be decided by mutual consultations. Manmohan Singh was born in Gah, a village which is now located in Pakistani Punjab. If Manmohan Singh does visit Pakistan, it will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to that country since 2004 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee went there for the SAARC summit and held bilateral talks that led to the resumption of the dialogue process between the two countries. Gilani said he respected Singh’s comments, who described him as a “Man of Peace”, following his talks on the sidelines of the SAARC summit. “I respect his sentiments,” Gilani told reporters when asked to comment about the remarks. “We all are working for peace. He really wants better relations with the neighbours,” Gilani said.

Manmohan Singh has said his government had decided to sign preferential trade agreement with Pakistan. The meeting of trade ministers of Pakistan and India will be held in New Delhi on the 14th of this month. The Indian PM also said a visa-free system would be implemented soon to replace the current system. Indian media has called the measure in response to according India the Most Preferred Nation status by Pakistan for trade. According to the Indian media, PM Singh said the people of the two countries were closely related and that the era of accusations and counteraccusations should now end.

Gen Kayani pushes US on intelligence sharing Army chief tells CENTCOM chief Pakistan would facilitate Taliban talks but cannot guarantee success g

ISLAMABAD SHAiq HUSSAin

of 35 years. “Have I got a price tag on me?

Can anyone buy me?” he asked. “Why should I criticise [the army chief] when in a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is the head of state? He has all the authority, he has all the responsibility,” he said. Khan claimed the premier was responsible for tackling any corruption in the army. “This is supposed to be a democratic setup, either they should say that they are not in charge (or) they should resign. If they cannot be responsible for what is going on in Pakistan, they should resign,” he said. INP

TTP says Imran an ‘amerIcan slave’ | Page 04

Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday asked the US military to share intelligence information on terrorist hideouts so that the Pakistan Army could take action against them, instead of the CIA carrying out drone strikes on its own in the Tribal Areas.

General Kayani was taking to General James N Mattis, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), who called on him in Rawalpindi. General Kayani also told the US general that Pakistan would facilitate Washington-backed dialogue between Kabul and the Taliban, but it could not extend any guarantee for the success of the talks. “The two military commanders discussed bilateral issues and matters of mutual interest, with special emphasis on improving coordination between ISAF and Pakistan Army, at PakAfghan border,” said a brief ISPR statement.

An official said General Kayani and General Mattis agreed on the need to improve intelligence cooperation between the two sides in the fight against terrorism. conTInued on Page 04

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 2

02 News

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

ISlAMAbAd

Today’s

Baby zebra born at Marghazar Zoo

NEwS

wOrld vIEw

need illegal ammunition? Go to Gujranwala

Widow of opportunity

Quick Look

Story on Page 07

Story on Page 10

Story on Page 14

Zardari envisions 500MW of wind power by 2012 KARACHI AGencieS

P

AKISTAN should be producing 500 megawatts of wind power by the end of 2012, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday. For this purpose, he has called for periodic reports to be submitted to the Presidency indicating the progress made and bottlenecks encountered.

During a briefing by Alternate Energy Development Board, Board of Revenue Sindh and Sindh Investment Board on wind power projects at Bilawal House Karachi, Zardari was informed that three wind power projects of 50MW each would start producing power within a year while the work on another 10 projects of 50MW each would start early next year. The president was informed that another five projects were in the initial stage of financial close in 2012.

He directed the authorities to expedite land allocation process for 18 other wind

power projects.

President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the president was informed that all projects companies involved with wind power projects suggested announcement of upfront tariff to save at least six months project time which was spent in tariff determination by the concerned authority.

The president asked NEPRA to examine the suggestion and expressed hope that NEPRA would soon arrive at a consensus upfront tariff regime for all the projects until the capacity to produce 2000MW was achieved. However, the option of normal tariff determination system would remain open for the companies opting not to go for the upfront tariff, he said.

Zardari said incentives would be given to companies to enable them to start their power productions within a year. He also directed for finalisation of schemes for construction of road networks in the areas of the power projects.

KARAcHi: People welcome their relatives at Karachi Airport upon their return from the Haj pilgrimage on Friday. ONLINE

‘I don’t believe my father SC slams Foreign and FIA died in Samjhota carnage’ MinistryISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

GUJRANWALA inP

Roheela, who has been searching for her father in jails in India for over a year, on Friday rejected claims made by Indian media that her father died in the Samjhota Express carnage.

Addressing media at her home, Roheela, who belongs to Hafizabad, said she was certain her father was alive and she had proof.

She said she had been searching for her father in jails in India for over a year before she registered a case.

She told media she has visited India thrice and will go again next month after receiving a letter from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

She refuted claims made by Indian media that her father died in the Samjhota Express tragedy since her DNA matched one of the victims.

She said she learnt about the arrest of seven persons in India through a letter by the Interior Ministry after which news of her father’s death emerged in media. She termed the news ‘propaganda against her family’.

She said she had been trying to get an Indian visa for a year but to no avail. She said the Indian government was not cooperating in the search for her father. She asked the Pakistan government to help her find her father.

According to official records in

India, the person buried in a grave number 38 at Mehrana village is Hafizabad resident Mohammad Vakeel. Vakeel came to India on February 14, 2007 to meet relatives at Bhasani village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. He bid farewell to his relatives on February 17 and left for Pakistan. His family, however, remained uncertain whether he boarded the Samjhota Express, which made them believe that he could have been lodged in one of the jails in the country.

Roheela then started searching for her father across 60 jails of the country, but her attempts proved futile.

Hearing a case involving the recovery of two minor daughters of model-turnedactress Sofia Mirza from her former husband, a two-member Supreme Court bench on Friday said the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had touched the extremes of ineligibility.

The bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan directed Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq to personally see into the matter of the girls’ recovery, take it up with the foreign affairs secretary and submit a comprehensive report on the matter by November 23.

Appearing on notice, Mansoorul Haq, a representative of Foreign Affairs Ministry, told the court that Umar Farooq, former husband of Sofia Mirza, had left Dubai on May 12, 2011, however, it was still unknown where he had gone.

Expressing dismay over the statement, the chief justice told him that one year ago, he had informed the court that Umar Farooq’s passport had been cancelled. He asked the official how Farooq could have left Dubai without a passport.

The CJP said the Foreign Affairs Ministry and FIA had shown extreme ineligibility in the matter, as despite the lapse of a year, both institutions did not know where Farooq had left along with the two girls.

Appearing on notice, FIA’s Director (Legal) Azam Khan told the court that all countries had been informed in writing that Farooq’s passport had been cancelled. The chief justice asked the representative of Foreign Affairs Ministry that although the ministry takes the court orders for granted, it was a state order that had not been taken seriously.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 3

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

FOrEIgN NEwS

ArTS & ENTErTAINMENT

SPOrTS

Flood-ravaged thailand prays to water goddess

Murray claims Jacko lied

Zaka Ashraf welcomes ecB chief’s remarks

News 03 COMMENT Breaking ice: Pakistan-India process on the rails again.

Upsetting the applecart: Inviting the ‘third force’?

Arif nizami says: A surreal peace: Or so it feels?

White Lies: At the Lahore Safari Park, we hear that the meat allocation for the cat population is bought on paper only. Some of the meat that actually makes it to the park, often lands up on the keepers’ dinner tables.

Story on Page 18

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 20

Articles on Page 12-13

ECC approves import of 20 more items from India

balochistan CM rejects more provinces

Forms committee to finalise TAPI project g Approves natural gas load management programme for winter g

ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

T

First returning Haj flight lands six hours late LAHORe iMRAn ADnAn

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) started its post-haj operation on Thursday and the first returning Haj flight from Saudi Arabia landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport, around six hours later than scheduled time, causing inconvenience to pilgrims and their families waiting at the airport.

Talking to Pakistan Today, a middle-aged pilgrim Allah Ditta said though the pilgrimage remained satisfactory, but people had to face great hassle at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah.

He said pilgrims had to complete approximately four-and-a-half-hour journey in over 15 hours due to overcrowding and mismanagement on part of both PIA and Jeddah aviation authorities.

He said per PIA’s instruction, almost all passengers had reached Jeddah airport seven to eight hours before the flight’s scheduled departure time, but the flight was delayed for over six hours.

Sharing his plight, Muhammad Shafique said PIA’s Haj flight PK-2202 was scheduled to reach Lahore at 6:40am, but it landed after a delay of over six hours at 12:40pm.

According to PIA spokesman, the first Haj flight Boeing 747 (PK-2202) brought home 503 pilgrims from Jeddah.

PIA Lahore District Manager Manzoor Ahmad, Haj Deputy Director Zahid Mahmood and other officials welcomed the passengers at the Lahore airport.

The PIA spokesman said the airline had made special arrangements for pilgrims at Jeddah airport to expedite document processing.

HE Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Friday approved import of 20 more items from India, approved the gas load management plan for winter and constituted a committee to finalise the draft of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (TAPI) pipeline project.

An official source said the Ministry of Commerce had sought approval for expansion in the positive list for importable items from India.

The committee approved import of textile spinning machines, cone bobbin winding machines, reeling machines, power looms, empty aluminum alloy milk cans, accessories for leather bags and footwear, jigs and dyes for vehicles, other polymers of ethylene in primary form, lufenuron, cotton linters, fungicides for leather industry, Ucer-50 for leather industry, sewing, mending and embroidery needles, fly ash for cement industry, traction motors and their spares, all kinds of printed books and flavouring powders. It also approved the import of newsprint, frozen vegetables, polypropylene and polyethylene PTA through the land route.

The committee approved the natural gas load management programme for winter under which the CNG and industrial sector will face gas supply cut-off three days every week. Industries having 9 month gas supply agreements will get gas supply for that period, while for rest of the duration they will have to use alternate fuel.

The fertilizer sector on Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) system will get 100 mmcfd supply instead of 240 mmcfd during November.

The ECC decided to constitute a committee headed by the petroleum minister, including secretary cabinet, secretary finance, and secretary revenue to fine tune proposals for the finalisation of TAPI pipeline project draft. The committee will submit its report before the upcoming visit of the president of Turkmenistan.

The source said the petroleum minister informed the committee that import of Iranian gas would start from the agreed date of December 2014.

The ECC approved allocation of 750 mmcfd imported gas from Iran to SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on 65 percent and 35 percent ratio respectively. It was also decided that the imported gas will be supplied only to efficient power plants approved by the Ministry of Water and

President replaced Durrani after Wasan threatened to resign KARACHI iMDAD SooMRo

The President House had succumbed to the pressure by Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan after he threatened to resign if former Sindh inspector general of Police (IGP) Wajid Durrani was not transferred from his office, sources told Pakistan Today on Friday.

The dispute between Wasan and Durrani erupted when the police chief did not entertain the home minister’s wishes over the postings and transfers of 105 station house officers (SHOs) of Karachi division. Karachi Additional IG (AIG) Saud Mirza, who issued the transfer orders, also got involved after the home minister enquired about the postings.

Sources in the Sindh CM House said that a high-level meeting presided over by CM Qaim Ali Shah was held a few weeks ago to discuss the law and order situation in Sindh, particularly Karachi. The home minister, senior officials of police and other law enforcing agencies attended the meeting during which a senior officer of a premier intelligence agency expressed his dissatisfaction over the appointments of SHOs in Karachi. The senior spy said a majority of the SHOs had been appointed after receiving

huge bribes.

The home minister did not show any reaction during the meeting. However he started gathering information on the SHOs’ transfers and postings, and found out that only five out of 105 SHOs had been posted according to his directions, while the rest were posted at Durrani’s discretion with orders issued by the Karachi AIG. Wasan held a meeting with Durrani and Mirza to enquire about the postings, however his questions enraged both police officers who allegedly misbehaved with him.

Wasan then contacted the President House but received a very cold response. He then resorted to take a very strong position on the issue and threatened to resign if Durrani was not removed from his office. At that time, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was already reeling from the resignation of its Sindh cabinet minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and could not afford to lose another minister, sources said. The President House therefore decided to remove Durrani from the office of Sindh police chief and appoint Syed Mushtaq Shah at his place. After assuming charge, Shah immediately trashed his predecessor’s administrative orders regarding promotions of the low rank police officers.

Power. Sui companies will enter into back-to-back Gas Sales Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with the power plants. Even though the Petroleum Ministry had sought resumption of petroleum products supplies to all the 13 ex-depots, the committee approved supplies to only four depots of Faqirabad, Kotla Jam, Sahiwal and Shershah.

The committee also approved renewal of government guarantee of Rs 2 billion for the Pakistan Steel Mills.

It also waived competitive bidding requirement under the (Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) PPRA rules for emergency response and social administration information system project of the state owned National Telecommunication Corporation under a memorandum of understanding with ZTE Corporation of China.

The meeting decided to constitute a committee that would look into the two of the four proposals of the Ministry of Interior for the import of bullet proof vehicles. The Interior Ministry’s summary had said that the number of terrorist attacks on people from different walks of life was on the rise and import duties should be waived for the import of bullet proof vehicles.

QUettA StAFF RePoRt

Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Nawab Aslam Raisani rejected the idea of more provinces in the country and said it would open a Pandora’s box.

Talking to media on phone from Islamabad on Friday, Raisani said he was not in favour of new provinces and the priority should be improving governance in existing provinces.

He said slogans for new provinces were being used to dupe people and increasing vote banks. He said a move for new provinces could harm Pakistan’s integrity. He said governance in existing federating units must be improved. He said the resolution of all problems lay in implementing the 1940 resolution to empower federating units. He defended his government’s decision to make Gwadar the winter capital since it would generate trade and business activities.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 4

04 News 2 more Cd shops blown up in KP

Taliban misconceive liberalism: Imran

PeSHAWAR

ISLAMABAD

StAFF RePoRt

StAFF RePoRt

Two CD shops were blown up and six other shops partially damaged when two bombs planted by suspected militants exploded one-after-other on late on Thursday night. The incident occurred three days after a suicide bomber killed Awami National Party leader Hanif Gul Jadoon. Police said it was the second time in two months that CD shops were targeted in the Chota Lahore region of Yar Hussain. The bombs were planted next to the CD shop at Javid Market, destroying it completely and partially damaging shops adjacent to it. A Yar Hussain Police Station official said, “We heard two explosions and rushed to the Javid Market where only the watchman was present. No casualty was reported since the market was closed when the blast occured.

The explosions woke people up and residents rushed to the spot. However, it could not be determined how the bombs were planted since a watchman took charge of security after shops closed. A majority of CD traders have already given up the business due to the continued threat from suspected militants. A former CD trader said, “The sword of a blast hung over our heads and the best option was to leave the business. The same tactics are being adopted in other regions, including in the district headquarters. Market owners warned CD traders to either stop their business or leave the market due to the threat.

Pakistan-India cooperation winwin for region: US WASHINGtON APP

Applauding the constructive approach shown by Pakistan and India at a meeting between their prime ministers in Maldives on Thursday, the United States has said that cooperation between the two regional powers would be a win-win situation for the entire region.

State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said Washington was backing constructive dialogue between the two South Asian nuclear neighbours and cooperative ties between them would benefit the region. “We’ve said many, many, many times from this podium that we support constructive dialogue between the two countries,” Toner stated.

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

TTP says Imran an ‘American slave’

C

ALLING Islam a liberal religion, Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday said he was a liberal and a follower of Allama Iqbal.

Khan was addressing reporters on the occasion of former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Masood Sharif Khattak’s joining the PTI. In reaction to a recent statement by the Taliban in which they described Khan as a slave of the US and Europe as he called himself liberal, the PTI chief said there must be a misconception in the minds of the Taliban about the definition of liberalism. “Yes. I am liberal. I’m a follower of Allama Iqbal who was liberal,” Khan said.

He said it seemed that those forces which played a role in blaming Taliban for Be-

nazir Bhutto’s assassination were behind the statement.

Meanwhile, addressing the press conference, Khattak formally announced joining the PTI. “I was inspired by Imran’s vision and now under his dynamic leadership we will bring change in the country,” he said.

Welcoming Sharif in his party’s fold, Khan said no one could stop ‘the PTI ‘tsunami’.

He said corrupt politicians and political parties were scared of the PTI’s growing popularity. “The PTI will not accept any corrupt leader, there is no room for corrupt leaders in our party. However,

our doors are open for the honest ones,” Khan said.

The cricketer-turnedpolitician said transparent elections were not possible under President Asif Ali Zardari, adding that opportunists were ready to joining the PTI but decision of accepting them would be taken after

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Taliban have described cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan as a ‘’slave of the US and Europe’’ after he called himself a liberal. Tehreeke-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan made the remarks in an interview with BBC Urdu. Ehsan noted that Khan had said he is not a Taliban supporter and remarked: “We also think Imran Khan is not our sympathiser.” The Taliban spokesman advised Khan to talk in Urdu, the language of the Pakistani people, if he considers himself the representative of the people. In a recent interview with the BBC, Imran had said that he is a liberal and does not support the militants. But the Taliban spokesman said: “Those who call themselves liberal are in fact free of Islam and other religions. A liberal man does not believe in any religion and particularly does not believe in Islam.” Ehsan questioned Khan’s remarks describing several Pakistani leaders as slaves of the US. He claimed Khan was a “slave of those Americans who are no more in the world”. onLine complete scrutiny of their assets. About Sharif’s background, Khan said he was first the IB director general

Pakistani teenager launches debut novel in Berlin ISLAMABAD APP

MiRPUR KHAS: Federal Minister for information Firdous Ashiq Awan hands over relief goods to flood survivors at Jhudo on Friday. Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Aziz Al Ghadeer is also seen in the picture.

Afghan mother and daughter stoned, shot dead A group of armed men have stoned and shot dead a woman and her daughter in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, security officials have told the BBC. The officials blamed the Taliban, who they said had accused the women of “moral deviation and adultery”. The police said two men had been arrested in connection with the murder. The attack was only 300m from the governor’s office in Ghazni city, which is on a list of places to be transferred to Afghan security control. The incident happened on Thursday in the Khawaja Hakim area of Ghazni city, where the family lived. The BBC’s Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says it is close to the governor’s office, the police chief’s office and a Western-backed Provincial Reconstruction Team. Security officials said armed men entered the house where the young widow

lived with her daughter and took them out to the yard, where they were initially stoned and then shot dead. “Neighbours did not help or inform the authorities on time,” an official said. Officials said a number of religious leaders in the city had been issuing fatwas (Islamic religious edicts) asking people to report any one who was “involved in adultery”. In October last year, a woman accused of murdering her mother-in-law was killed by the Taliban in Ghazni. Ghazni has seen an upsurge in violence in recent years. Strategically located on the route between Kabul and Kandahar, the province was once a centre of trade. Ghazni city is on the list for the second tranche of areas to be transferred from Nato to Afghan control but critics say the government is struggling to secure it. MonitoRinG DeSK

Asad Shabbir, a 16-year-old blogger and writer, whose debut novel,”Leo Solay” was launched in an impressive ceremony organised by his alma mater, Berlin International School on Friday.

According to a message received from Berlin, the ceremony was largely attended by students and their parents besides representatives of the Pakistani community and officials of the Pakistani embassy in Berlin. Asad was just 15 years old when he came from Pakistan and started writing “Leo Solay”. Apart from his love for writing and reading, he is also an avid tech enthusiast.

To Asad, Leo Solay represents his childhood fantasies and his multicultural exposures

in Iran, Hong Kong and Bulgaria. Asad is currently an IB student in Berlin. The novel is about a 15-year old boy Leo, who discovers that he has been chosen as a liberator with the sole purpose in life to protect and maintain peace.

With time, the young liberator makes incredible sacrifices

PML-N, MQM face off at wedding of Javed Hashmi’s daughter An interesting situation developed between the leaders of PML-N and MQM at the wedding ceremony of PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi’s daughter on Friday, Geo News reported. According to the channel, friction between MQM and PML-N began as Hamza Shahbaz arrived at the wedding. Punjab provincial minister Haji

Ehsaan and a MQM leader had a heated argument after the former pushed the MQM invitees aside to make way for Hamza. According to sources, as he shook hands with Javed Hashmi, Hamza conveniently ignored the presence of MQM leaders, including Farooq Sattar and Babar Ghouri who were standing next to Hashmi. MonitoRinG DeSK

ECNEC requests SC for an early decision on Islamabad Safe City project g

Committee approves seven projects amounting to rs 86.3 billion ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Friday decided to request the Supreme Court to expedite the hearings and give an early decision on the Islamabad Safe City Project, announcing that the project would activate after court’s decision.

then he served as the PPP vice president under the leadership of former prime minster Benazir Bhutto.

Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh chaired the ECNEC meeting, which was held at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

The committee told the Interior Ministry to keep active a loan being acquired from China’s Exim Bank for the project, as its activation was subject to the court’s decision.

In its Friday’s meeting, ECNEC held lengthy discus-

sions on the safe city project, which was approved previously. In a summary sent to the committee, the Interior Ministry had requested a waiver on the restriction that the project could be activated only after the apex court’s decision.

In a meeting on July 29, ECNEC approved the project at a revised cost of $124.9 million from an original cost of $151.151, slashing the

amount by $27 million.

The seven projects worth Rs 86.3 billion approved by ECNEC have already been presented in the final meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) to ECNEC for a final approval. The projects include the 26MW Shagarthang Hydropower Project, Skardu, the 48 MW Jagran-II Hydroelectric Power Station (Phase-2) in

District Neelum, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the 220 KV Grid Station at Lalian, Chiniot.

On Friday, ECNEC also approved the Population Welfare Programme 2010-15 for Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and AJK at a cost of Rs 48,571.140 million. ECNEC approves scholarships for studies at home and abroad for the students of Balochis-

tan under the Aghaz-eHaqooq-e-Balochistan Package using an available funding of Rs 3138.692 million. The finance minister formed a committee to investigate reported irregularities in the scholarships given through the Higher Education Commission. The committee is scheduled to meet next week to review the scholarship programme for Balochistan students.

for the ones he loves as he prepares for the impending war.

He learns the art of his lost peers, finds his way through a maze of entangling oaths, and deals with the pain of love. A war, revolving around Leo,is being waged between the Veldin Empire and the Irrutian Empire.

Kayani pushes US conTInued from Page 1

He said General Kayani was of the view that the US side should share intelligence, if there was any, on terrorist hideouts in the Tribal Areas and the Pakistani security forces would take them out, and hence there would be no need for drone strikes.

“The drone strikes should be stopped as they have proven to be counterproductive,” the official quoted General Kayani as saying during the meeting. “General Mattis reiterated the US demand to squeeze the Haqqani network by blocking the funds’ provision to the most powerful militant outfit, taking out its hideouts being allegedly used for explosives making in the Tribal Areas and making its cross-border movement more difficult,” the official said.

He said General Kayani observed that Pakistan was trying its best to end the menace of terror and it had no sympathies with any particular militant group.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 5

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

not a rosy eid for florists PAgE 08

Arbab Alamgir to look after CAdd affairs ISLAMABAD KASHiF ABBASi

Federal Minister for Communications Arbab Alamgir Khan has been given the responsibility to represent Capital Administration and Development Division (CAAD) in both house of parliament, it has been learnt. A source in CAAD on Thursday told that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had directed Arbab Alamgir to represent CAAD in parliament.

“On Thursday, through, a fax, we have been directed by PM Secretariat to report Arbab Alamgir for responding to the quarries of the lawmakers in Senate and National Assembly,” said a senior official of CAAD. The official said that earlier there was no designated minister for responding lawmakers’ questions in parliament house and due to absence of minister CAAD’s officials concerned had to face difficulties to submit replies of lawmakers’ queries regarding CAAD. CAAD was established after the devolution of Education Ministry and Health Ministry to province under 18th constitutional amendment to look after the affairs of Islamabad based educational institutions and health departments. Currently, CAAD is looking after the affairs of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) run 418 educational Institutions , Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Poly Clinic and some others departments whom ministries have been devolved to provinces.

iSLAMABAD: An elderly man takes a nap on greenbelt near Jinnah Super Market on a sunny day. STAff PHOTO

Man accused of harassing women acquitted ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

A lower court on Friday acquitted a man involved in cyber crime and disposed of the case registered against him for allegedly harassing women by hacking their email accounts. Additional District and Sessions Judge Yar Muhammad Gondal heard the case registered by the FIA against Usman Ullah Madni. According to the FIA, during interrogation the accused also confessed that he had hacked email accounts of many females. The accused, according to the prosecution, confessed to creating a fake profile on Facebook where he had uploaded obscene pictures of various females of several families. However, the defence counsel contended that his client wanted to compensate the aggrieved party through any kind of penalty with the consent of the party. The counsel for the complainant also said that his client was willing to patch up the matter if the accused admitted his mistake. On hearing arguments from both the parties, the Judge acquitted Usmanullah Madni.

MAjor reshuffle In fDe

FG Commerce College gets principal, finally ISLAMABAD KASHiF ABBASi

A

FTER waiting for three months’, the Federal Government Post Graduate Commerce College finally got a principal on Thursday.

The seat of the principal fell vacant on 4 August and since then around 3,500 students had been suffering because teachers would not take their taking classes on time.

A senior official in the Capital Administration and Development Division (CAAD) told Pakistan Today that FG College H/8 4 Professor Raja Hafeez was transferred to FG Post Graduate Commerce College as its new

principal while Professor Kazim Hussain serving as Principal FG College F/10 was mad the principal of FG Post Graduate College H/8-4.

The official said that Professor Mumtaz, who had served as Director Colleges in the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), was transferred to Government College F/10 to replace Professor Kazim Hussain.

The official said that Professor Mahmood Akhtar, who was teaching at the FG Post Graduate College H/84, was appointed as new Director Colleges.

In another development, FG College G/10-4 Principal Rehana Shabir was transferred to FG College F/7while Ms Durdana, the principal of

the F/7-2 College, was posted at G/10 College.

It is relevant to note here that due to negligence of the CAAD’s Joint Secretary Professor Rafiq Tahir, the seat of Commerce College’s principal had been vacant since 4 August when Professor Zafarullah Khan Buttar retired as the principal.

The FDE had repeatedly taken up the issue with the CAAD joint secretary but he did not pay attention.

According to sources, the main reason behind the delay in appointing the principal of the Commerce College was the collection of huge funds which had been generated through self-finance admission in the evening classes at the college.

Hand washing can prevent common diseases ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

Speakers at a seminar on Friday urged the youth to make hand washing a habit for a healthy life. The event was arranged by Islamabad Crescent Lions Clubs (ICLC) and Development Communications network (DEVCOM-Pakistan) at Islamabad Model School for Boys, Sector G-6/4, to raise awareness about importance of hand washing.

Syed Mustafain Kazmi, the director general of Social Welfare and Special Education, was the chief guest on the occasion. The speakers included ICLC Vice President Sibtain Raza Lodhi, social activist Khawaja Zia Siddique, and DEV-

COM-Pakistan Director Munir Ahmed.

Syed Mustafain Kazmi said, “For the last few years, the international community is emphasising on importance of hand washing whereas cleanliness is half of the faith in our religion, Islam. We need to practice the basic Islamic principles if we wish to maintain discipline in our lives and remain healthy.”

He said that in developing countries like Pakistan people were more prone to diseases including diarrhea that was most common disease the children suffered from. “Children suffer disproportionately from diarrhoeal diseases – with more than 2 million children under five dying every year from diarrhea and pneumoniarelated illnesses,” he added.

Munir Ahmed was of the view that children could avoid the most common diseases by just a simple act of washing hands with soap and that it was a key costeffective and life-saving intervention.

He said we all should ensure hand washing particularly at the critical moments such as after using the toilet and before handling food to avoid stomach infections. He said, “Most f these infections may lead to loss of lives if not treated timely and adequately. Research has shown that hand washing with soap can reduce the incidence of diarrhea among children under five by almost 50 per cent, and respiratory infections by nearly 25 per cent.” Munir urged the government and educational authorities to keep on re-

minding the message of hand washing every now and then. “The education directorates shall take action and ask the heads of educational institutions to keep reaping this message in the assemblies and special events they arrange throughout the year,” he added.

Sibtain Raza Lodhi said, “in order to create awareness on the simple way of saving lives the international community launched the Global Hand washing Day on October 15, 2008. Since then this day is increasing awareness and understanding of the importance of hand washing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases.” He also thanked the partners and the Federal Directorate of Education for holding the event.

AIOU to conduct study on women empowerment ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is going to conduct a nationwide research study on ‘Role of Open Distance Learning (ODL) in Women Empowerment in Pakistan: Perceptions of Postgraduate Female Students of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU)’ next week. The study is being carried out by Ms Nasim Khan Mahsud, M.Phil research scholar, who is working as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, AIOU, Islamabad. Today improvement in the lives of women is being focused by international community and the Pakistan government. The study will examine the role of ODL in women empowerment in Pakistan as per perceptions of AIOU female postgraduate students. Education has been recognised as cornerstone for sustainable development. It is recognised that education plays a very important role in empowering individuals through providing them with the knowledge and skills required for successful existence as well as development in the society. The AIOU is an institution offering many academic programmes at different levels through ODL. In this connection, AIOU with its unique distance learning system plays an effective role in promoting women empowerment from centre to the far-flung areas of Pakistan. It is not only an institution which provides education to all to uplift their living standards, but it can also be considered as a means of promoting the empowerment of the most marginalised sections of the population, especially women. In the study, women empowerment will be assessed by its different dimensions, especially areas related to political, economic; social empowerment to family/interpersonal and individual level will be focused.

The data shall be collected through detailed questionnaires from postgraduate female students all over Pakistan. In addition, it will also be tried to explore the problems and challenges faced by students of the university in different areas of Pakistan to suggest possible initiatives for improvement.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 6

06 Islamabad

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

world diabetes day to be observed on Monday

iSLAMABAD: chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian gives cheques to the members of ex-chinese association in connection with eid. STAff PHOTO

wFP providing food to 100,000 people in flood-hit areas daily ISLAMABAD APP

World Food Programme (WFP) is providing food ration to around 100,000 people daily in flood affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Talking to APP on Friday WFP Programme Spokesperson Ajmad Jamal said that WFP was planning to provide food to 2.5 million people in coming four months. He said initial assessment in Sindh and Balochistan showed that as many as 5.8 million people had been affected during floods. To a question he said WFP had provided life-saving food assistance to more than 2.0 million people in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. To another question he said World Food Programme (WFP) was facing a critical shortfall of around US $109 million dollars for the floods operation in Sindh and Balochistan. He said funds were needed for the flood victims on urgent basis. He added malnutrition was a severe problem in the flood-affected areas and the coming winter could increase the toll.

IHC seeks comments from CDA chairman, others ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

T

HE Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday sought comments from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman and others on a petition filed against the installation of generators and erection of private security posts in several residential and commercial areas of the capital.

A single-member bench comprising Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan was hearing the case in which counsel for the petitioner, Advocate Hashmat Ali Habib, contended that illegal installment of generators in several sectors of the capital had been causing environmental hazards while it was also a threat to the lives of the people. He submitted that the environment hazard

could cause respiratory diseases and was also damaging the green image of the federal capital.

Earlier, in the petition, the petitioner, Naveed Asdaq Khan, through his counsel, contended that land grabbers were active in the capital owing to negligence of the city’s prime agency; on the other hand, many influential people in the residential sectors had encroached upon the land by illegally installing generators and erecting security posts for their private guards.

The petitioner pointed out that it was a violation of the Supreme Court`s orders of January 14, 2011, in which it had directed the CDA to retrieve the encroached land. He made the interior secretary, the CDA chairman and the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency director general as respondents in his petition.

It was stated in the petition that smoke from commercial generators had polluted many residential areas of the city and termed it a direct threat to the beauty of the capital. He criticised the role of the CDA and other departments concerned in protecting the government land from land grabbers.

The counsel for the petitioner prayed to the court to direct the authorities concerned to remove all generators and security posts, established on greenbelts by encroaching upon the government land, and take strict action against the officials facilitating the encroachers in their bad deeds.

After hearing arguments, Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan sought comments from the interior secretary, the CDA chairman/director enforcement and the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency director general in this regard.

ISLAMABAD: World Diabetes Day will be observed on 14 November over the world including Pakistan to increase an awareness of the effects of diabetes and its complications amongst the general population and professionals in a range of sectors.

It is also hoped that the increased awareness will lead to more resources to fight the causes of diabetes and help fund research into improved treatment options.

World Diabetes Day raises global awareness of diabetes its escalating rates around the world and how to prevent the illness in most cases. Started by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and WHO, the Day is celebrated on 14 November to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, was instrumental in the discovery of insulin in 1922, a lifesaving treatment for diabetes patients.

WHO estimates that more than 346 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to more than double by 2030 without intervention. Almost 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. The World Diabetes Day campaign is led by the International Diabetes Federation and its member associations around the world, including the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes UK, Diabetes Australia, the Canadian Diabetes Association, Diabetes South Africa, Diabetes New Zealand and the Diabetic Association of India. These organizations arrange events at international, national and local levels. Conferences, workshops and seminars for health and public policy professionals. Events to highlight diabetes in local and national media, including television, newspapers and Internet publications Civil leaders around the world issue proclamations on World Diabetes Day to raise awareness of diabetes in their communities. APP

Pakistan Today news agent passes away ISLAMABAD: Rasheed Abbasi, a senior newspaper agent, passed in away here on Friday after protected illness.

He had been associated with newspaper selling business for the last two decades.

Currently, he was serving with Pakistan Today as its news agent. His funeral prayers were offered in Chak Shahzad, Islamabad. Later, his body was shifted to his native town, Phagwari Murree where he was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard. StAFF RePoRt

I AM The fAce of PneuMonIA

World Pneumonia Day being marked today g

disease sickens 155 million children under five and kills 1.6 million every year ISLAMABAD MAHtAB BASHiR

With the theme “I am the face of pneumonia” the World Pneumonia Day is being observed today (Saturday) across the world including Pakistan. The occasion would be marked to raise awareness of pneumonia as a public health issue and help prevent the millions of avoidable child deaths from the disease each year.

The day is organised by the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia, a network of international, government, nongovernmental and community-based organisations, research and academic institutions, foundations, and individuals that was created in 2009 to bring muchneeded attention to pneumonia among donors, policy makers, health care professionals, and the general public.

This year’s World Pneumonia Day theme: “I am the face of pneumonia” aims at connecting the personal, human stories that illustrate pneumonia’s direct impact. Pneumonia is a preventable and treatable disease that sickens 155 million children under 5 and kills 1.6 million each year. This makes pneumonia the number one killer of children under 5, claiming more young lives than AIDS, malaria, and

measles combined.

Yet most people are unaware of pneumonia’s overwhelming death toll due to which pneumonia has been overshadowed as a priority on the global health agenda, and rarely receives coverage in the news media.

There are effective vaccines against the two most common causes of deadly pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza type B and Streptococcus pneumonia. A course of antibiotics which costs less than $1(US) is capable of curing the disease if it is started early enough. The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia (GAPP) released by the WHO and UNICEF on World Pneumonia Day, 2009, finds that 1 million children’s lives could be saved every year if prevention and treatment interventions for pneumonia are widely introduced in the world’s poorest countries.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organisations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015.

The fourth of these goals is to reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate. Because

pneumonia causes such a large number of under five deaths (almost 20%), in order to achieve MDG 4, the world must do something to reduce pneumonia deaths.

According to a study conducted by Save the Children Pakistan in collaboration with Family Planning and Primary Health Care Program, World Health Organisation (WHO) and Boston University children treated at home for severe pneumonia by Lady Health Workers were more likely to recover than children referred to health facilities. The study has been published in The Lancet medical journal today.

In the first rigorous randomized study of its kind, the study showed that 91% of children suffering from severe pneumonia treated by community health workers recovered compared to 82% of those treated by the WHO-recommended method of one dose of antibiotics followed by referral to a health facility.

The results come a day before World Pneumonia Day, which aims to focus the world’s attention on the leading cause of child death. Roughly 1.4 million children under the age of five die annually from the disease – almost all of them in the developing world.

“We know that pneumonia can be

treated quickly and effectively with affordable antibiotics, yet it remains the world’s number-one killer of children,” said Patrick Watt, Global Campaign Director at Save the Children. “Today’s results show that health workers treating children with severe pneumonia in the home is a practical way of saving children lives. Recruiting, training and supporting more frontline health workers is at the heart of the solution.”

Previous studies have shown that community health workers can successfully treat children with non-severe pneumonia at home and substantially reduce mortality rates. However, current WHO guidelines do not allow for in-home treatment for severe pneumonia. Instead, community health workers are to administer the first dose of antibiotic and then refer a child to a facility. This Lancet research shows that “Lady Health Workers” in Pakistan treated cases of severe pneumonia effectively at home. The study highlights a significant barrier to effective treatment for millions of poor families around the world – the difficulty in accessing quality health services. Around the world, many families never make it to a health facility. In poor and isolated communities where pneumonia takes its

biggest toll, major challenges include distance to a health facility, lack of transportation and costs.

Amidst a global health workforce crisis, Pakistan is one of a growing number of low-income countries to deploy community health workers to improve child and maternal health. In Pakistan, Lady Health Workers receive several months training, ongoing supervision and basic supplies and attend to about 150-200 families at home monthly. “Our study aimed to show that children can recover just as well from severe pneumonia when treated at home as when referred to a health facility. In fact, we found that frontline health workers treating children at home can be even more effective,” said Save the Children’s Dr Salim Sadruddin, the study’s principal investigator.

Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director of WHO’s Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, said: “The results of the Pakistan trial are very promising, and we will be looking closely at future studies. If we see similar results in other places, we can update the global guidance to make treatment much more accessible for families, help governments make the most of limited resources, and save more children’s lives.”

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 7

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Islamabad 07

Weekly inflation goes up by 0.9pc ISLAMABAD APP

T

HE Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended on November 10, for the lowest income group up to Rs.8,000, has registered increase of 0.90 per cent over the previous week.

The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 173.36 points as against 171.82 points registered in the previous week, according to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

The weekly SPI has been computed with base 2007-2008=100 covering 17 urban centres and 53 essential items for all income groups and combined.

The SPI for the combined group registered increase of 0.85 per cent by rising from 177.68 in the previous week to

179.19 in the week under review.

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 5.80 percent.

As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups ranging from Rs.8001-12000, Rs.12001-18000, Rs.18001-35000 and above Rs.35,000 witnessed increase of 0.90, 0.91, 0.87, percent and 0.77 percent respectively.

During the week under review average prices of only 09 items registered decrease, while that of 22 items increased with the remaining 22 items’ prices unchanged.

The items which recorded decrease in their average prices during the week under review included, gur, cooked dal plate, georgette, beef, moong pulse washed, mash pulse washed, gram pulse washed, mustard oil and lawn.

The items which registered increase in their prices included, tomatoes, banana, onions, chicken live, egg hen farm, potatoes, rice basmati broken, red chilies powder loose, garlic, rice irri-6, firewood, wheat, milk fresh, sugar, cooked beef plate, curd, long cloth, vegetable ghee loose, LPG (11 KG cylinder), kerosene, wheat flour bag, masoor pulse washed.

The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included, bread plain (mid size), mutton, milk powdered nido, cooking oil, vegetable gee, salt powered, tea packet, tea prepared, cigarettes K-2, shirting, sandal gents bata, chappal spng bata, sandal ladies bata, electric charges, gas charges upto 100M, energy savor 14 watts, washing soap, match box, petrol, diesel, tele local call and bath soap lifebouy.

PovERty SuRvEy uNDER BISP coMPLEtED: The nationwide poverty survey under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), has been completed across the country except FATA. The survey exercise in seven Agencies of FATA is in progress and is likely to be completed by end of this month, an official at BISP said here Friday.

The official said basically the survey was started from Balochistan on priority basis and it was completed in major parts of the province in three months time. He said the number of beneficiaries declared eligible so far after data entry and analysis by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), was 3.16 million while data entry and analysis of other surveyed families is in progress.

The eligible beneficiaries, pending due to non-availability of Computerised

National Identity Card (CNICs), are 2.56 million, he said and added total amount disbursed to above mentioned beneficiaries (the persons selected for the said survey) so far is Rs. 20.386 billion.

Replying to a question, the official said an amount of Rs. 50 billion was allocated to BISP in current budget 20112012.The budget is allocated on lumpsum basis and BISP makes the distribution according to the number of beneficiaries in each province.

The details of number of families being provided funds under the programme, identified through the ongoing scorecard survey basis are presently as under: Azad Kashmir 56269, Balochistan 139075, Fata 1466, Gilgit-Baltistan 13605, Islamabad 4751, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 608787, Northern Areas 9336, Punjab 819111 and Sindh 1066881.

baby zebra born at Marghazar Zoo ISLAMABAD APP

iSLAMABAD: children enjoy makeshift swings in the slum area of Sector-i 10/3 Markaz. INP

Change in weather to prevent dengue spread ISLAMABAD APP

Due to change in the weather the dengue virus is on the decline in Punjab. According to health experts, in winter months the dengue mosquitoes cannot breed, and therefore, the dengue virus is not transmitted to human beings, private news channel reported.

The media should keep the campaign alive and arrange for awareness lectures in schools and colleges in addition to spraying the breeding sites of the dengue mosquito. Doctors working at various hospitals say if there is decrease in the virus the people have been asked to take care with the virus.

They further said that till now the death with this virus has reached 317, in which 274 belonged to Lahore.

Talking to a private news channel, the Secretary health Punjab Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan lauded the efforts of the doctors who performed their duties on Eid days. He said that Punjab government had set a plan to send nurses and paramedical staff abroad for getting training against the dengue virus and the Punjab CM had finalised the names of those paramedical personnel.

They will proceed to Thailand soon

and the delegation would there take full medical training against the spread of the virus, he added.

He said should the virus resurface, the trained experts would be able to tackle the virus at an early stage.

‘AvoID kEEPINg MEAt IN REfRIgERAtoRS foR ovER 10 DAyS’: The public has been advised to avoid keeping meat in refrigerators for more than 10 days as such practice exterminates the proteins and affects its hygiene, which could cause fatal diseases like food-poisoning and gastrointestinal (GI) complications.

“Always use fresh and healthy meat to stay away from the GI diseases because such complications even may lead to malfunctioning of liver, kidneys and brain,” Gastrologist at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Dr Waseem Khawaja told APP here on Friday.

He said major reasons for GI diseases were consumption of unhealthy meat and improperly cooked food as bacteria flourished rapidly in unhygienic meat.

Dr Khawaja said liver diseases could cause hepatitis and liver disorder, which were fatal at an advanced stage, adding kidney malfunction could lead to renal failure, if not treated on time.

He said meat of sick animals called ‘Laap’ hardly carry any proteins and vitamins rather use of such meat is a source of diseases in human beings.

Laap could also cause ‘botulism’ a diseases in which intestines are paralysed and diarrhoea went on non-stop in children that could lead to death, while in adults it might cause paralysis of a part of body, brain or other complications. Dr Khawaja advised the people to avoid excessive use of beef and mutton called “red meat” to lead a healthy and active life.

He was of the view that eating food regularly from hotels, stalls and open places often cause GI diseases, terming meat at these places “unhygienic.”

He also advised that people should avoid meat, if they were not sure about its hygiene. If healthy meat was unavailable, people should use pulses, eggs and milk to get proteins.

Pulses are second source of getting the required proteins after meat, while one glass of milk or one egg could provide sufficient protein to human beings.

Dr. Khawaja suggested that people should use seasonal vegetables, which are cheap and full of vitamins, minerals and even proteins. Spinach is another good source of getting proteins.

The birth of a zebra baby at Murghazar Zoo Islamabad on Friday (11/11/11) became a source of excitement for public and the staff at the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Talking to APP here on Friday, Dr Bilal from the Environment Wing of Capital Development Authority (CDA) said the baby was born to a pair of zebras which had been brought to the zoo in 2006.

About the sex identity of the baby zebra, Dr Bilal said, “Normally we disclose the identity of animal after keeping it under observation for few days. However, it seems to be a mael.”

“We have kept the baby in an attached room with its mother and will monitor it 10 to 12 days and then reveal its characteristics to the general public,” he said.

“The visitors to the Murghazar Zoo are not being allowed to see the baby zebra yet”, Dr Bilal added.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 8

08 Islamabad

Not a rosy Eid for florists

wEATHEr UPdATES

23 °C High 12°C low

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

SUNNy

SUNdAy

MONdAy

23°C I 12°C

22°C I 12°C

TUESdAy 22°C I 12°C

PrAyEr TIMINgS Fajr Sunrise 05:40 06:10

Zuhr 13:30

Asr 16:00

Maghrib Isha On sunset 19:00

CITy dIrECTOry EMErgENCy HElP POlICE EMErgENCy AMbUlANCE rESCUE HIlAl-E-AHMEr EdHI FOUNdATION bOMb dISPOSAl FIrE brIgAdE CENTrE CIvIl dEFENCE

15 115 1122 9250488 2827844 9270698 16 9262830

HOSPITAlS MAHrOOF INT PIMS POly ClINIC CdA SHIFA INTErNATIONAl AlI dISTrICT HqS UlTrASONIC ClINIC HOly FAMIly

2222920 9261170 9218300 9221334 4603666 4444435 5556311-14 2824862 9290319

ISLAMABAD

P

EOPLE exchange flowers to express a range of emotions and florists and flower shops always anticipate a good business ahead some special occasions such as Valentine’s Day and Eid. But last Eidul Azha brought no profit to florists and flower shops in Islamabad since the business was slow in the Eid holidays. Talking to Pakistan Today on Friday, various flower sellers said that most of their customers remained busy in the Eid sacrifices and distributing meat.

Hameed Qureshi, a flower seller at the Jinnah Super Market told this scribe that he had to face a big loss. He said he had bought a huge supply of flowers which withered and decayed since he could not sell it. “Almighty Allah has blessed my wife and me with a son after fiver daughters. Now he is five. I had promised him that I would bye him a tricycle after Eid. I was hoping for a big profit but to no avail. Now I go home late so that he might be asleep by then. I can’t face my son because I couldn’t keep my promise,” Qureshi added. Pointing towards a boy at a stall next to his, Qurush said, “Jumma Khan, however, had a good business. He had put up a stall at a local cemetery where many people had come to visit the graves of their loved ones.” “I had set up my stall there a day before Eid for the convenience of people, since most of them would visit cemeteries right after Fajr prayers. And people there won’t hassle over price because they are there to pay their respects to their departed loved ones,” Juma Khan explained secret behind his success. There are two beautifully decorated flower stores and florist shops at the Super and Jinnah Super markets. Many people buy flowers and bouquets from these markets. Now when the Eid holidays are over and the market life is getting back to normal, Hameed Qureshi is planned anew to buy a tricycle for his son. This times his eyes are set on Valentine’s Day celebrations.

blOOd bANK PIMS blOOd bANK POly ClINIC blOOd bANK

9261272 9209123

COMPlAINT wAPdA SUI gAS

111-000-118 1199

rAIlwAyS CITy STATION (INqUIry) rESErvATION rAIlwAy POlICE

117 9273614 1333

AIrPOrT FlIgHT INqUIry PIA rESErvATION

114 111-786-786

ASMA KUnDi

nATIonAl chIlDrIghT ArT

KAhAnIyAn by Moeen fAruqI

overloAD AT Kuch KhAAs

COllEgES / UNIvErSITIES INTErNATIONAl ISlAMIC UNIvErSITy 9260765 bAHrIA UNIvErSITy 9260002 NUMl 9257677 qUAId-E-AZAM UNIvErSITy 90642098 ArId AgrICUlTUrE UNIvErSITy 9290151 FJwU 9273235 rIPHA INTErNATIONAl UNIvErSITy 111510510 NCA rAwAlPINdI 5770423 PUNJAb lAw COllEgE 4421347

dATE: NOv 17 - 20, 2011 vENUE: ISlAMAbAd

dATE: NOvEMbEr 01 TO 15, 2011 vENUE: KHAAS ArT gAllEry ISlAMAbAd

dATE ANd TIME: NOv 12, 2011 vENUE: KUCH KHAAS

In 1954, United Nation general Assembly recommended that all countries must institute the “Universal Children day” to promote the welfare of the children and protect their basic rights without any discrimination. On 20th November the UN Assembly adopted the declaration of the rights of the child.

The exhibition is called Kahaniyan (Stories), a solo show by eminent artist Moeen Faruqi. The Karachi based artist will exhibit in Islamabad after many years at Khaas Art on 1 November 2011. do join u ...

Following the success of their 2011 hits "batti" & "Neray Aaah", the busiest & most exciting touring Pakistani act in the world, OvErlOAd, will be blasting your neigbourhood with an exclusive upclose & very personal live set

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 9

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

News 09

Pak-China joint military exercise starts from 16th RAWALPINDI APP

A Pakistan-China joint military exercise, aimed at sharing and enhancing expertise of both armies in countering terrorism, will begin from November 16 in Pakistan.

The joint military exercise “Youvi - IV”, spread over two weeks, is aimed at mutual exchange of experience and information through a comprehensive training programme in real time. The joint exercise will encompass techniques and procedures involved in the Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) operations’ environment. According to the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday, this joint interaction in the form of military exercise aims at sharing and enhancing expertise of both armies in countering terrorism. The exercise Youvi, which literally translates to “friendship”, started in 2004. Pakistan Army was the first foreign army to conduct any exercise on the Chinese soil. So far, three exercises have been conducted, including two in China and one in Pakistan.

road accident kills one, injures 16 in Karak KARAK StAFF RePoRt

KARAcHi: Muhajir qaumi Movement leader Afaq Ahmad waves to his party workers after a hearing at the Sindh High court on Friday. ONLINE

London police chief confirms arrest of Dr Farooq’s killers

MARDAN StAFF RePoRt

Security officials say alleged killers belong to a political party g Killers flew to london on student visa, killed dr Farooq and escaped to Sri lanka

g

One person was killed and sixteen others were injured in a road accident on the Indus highway on Friday.

The injured were taken to Karak District Headquarters Hospital, where four people, said to be in critical condition, were referred to the Kohat Divisional Headquarters Hospital.

Police sources informed that a coach (LAT 3287) going from Takht Nusrati to Kohat was involved in a head-on collision with a car (LSD 9987) near Jamea Chowk on Indus highway in the Karak Police precincts. The car driver died on the spot.

Four other car passengers were said to be in critical condition while the 12 bus passengers sustained minor injuries.

The identity of the deceased could not be ascertained, while the other car passengers have been identified as Iqbal, Sherin Zaman, Muddasar Shah and Mukamal Shah. They were residents of Muslimabad, Kohat district. The 12 injured bus passengers have been identified as Arif Rehman, Naveed, Ameer Zaman, Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Irfan, Azmat Ali, Muhammad Hayat, Asal Muhammad, Sanaullah, Abid Nawaz, Speen Gul and Afsarullah.

rulers have brought economy on brink of collapse: Sherpao

LONDON/KARACHI

L

inP

O N D O N police commissioner Bernard HoganHowe has confirmed the arrests of two alleged killers of Dr Imran Farooq, co-founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), at Karachi airport a few days ago.

The suspects are said to be affiliated with a political party whose name has not been disclosed yet. The police commissioner said the British authorities were working with Pakistan on Farooq’s murder case, and that the killers would not be allowed to roam freely on the streets of London.

Officials have not yet disclosed the arrested men’s identities, but said the president, the prime minister and the security establishment had been informed about the developments.

ZIP IN ZIP out: Sources said the arrested men had travelled to the United Kingdom on a student visa, stabbed Dr

Farooq to death and then flown to Sri Lanka. The accused had flown to London in August, 2010 and the murder took place on September 16.

They were apprehended at the Karachi airport soon after their flight

from Colombo landed. Officials said a tip off from the British intelligence agencies and some other sources facilitated the arrests. A premier intelligence agency of Pakistan made the arrests with the help of photographs and videos provided by the British authorities.

London Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard had launched an investigation after the murder and arrested a suspect who was released later for a lack of evidence.

Farooq had co-founded the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation, the parent organisation of the MQM, with Altaf Hussain. He was the deputy convener of the party, and hierarchically next to the MQM chief. However he quit the party in 2009 after developing differences with Altaf over organisational matters.

The arrest of the suspected killers is being considered a major breakthrough in the case. Farooq was killed on September 16, 2010 outside his residence in London.

Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao Chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the wrong policies of rulers have brought national institutions and the economy on the verge of collapse. Addressing a public gathering at Baghdada Mardan, Sherpao said almost all significant national assets were suffering losses and the corruption in Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan International Airlines had left them ‘worthless.’ He said the government had preferred personal interests over national interests and misgoverned. He said the parliament had become a rubber stamp parliament which had no role to play. He said Pakhtuns had been deprived of their rights in the last 64 years and now so-called nationalists had failed to deliver.He spoke out against the Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) government for failing the mandate of the Pakhtuns. He said indigenous problems should be solved through indigenous policies and a new Pakhtun leadership was needed. He said the PPP-S was the appropriate alternative for Pakhtuns.On this occasion, former Nazim Union Council Baghdada and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Al-Haj Humayun Khilji along with family and supporters joining the PPP-S.

All parties should unite in national interest: Shujaat ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

PeSHAWAR: An elderly man makes traditional Karakuli caps that are usually worn in the winter season. TARIQ AZIZ

Urging to shun egoistic politics, PMLQ President Shujaat Hussain on Friday said all political parties should be united in the country’s national interest.

Asked about the merger of various factions of the Pakistan Muslim League, Shujaat said, “A merger of different factions of the Pakistan Muslim League alone cannot resolve the crisis in the country. The situation needs unity at the national level and all political parties should shun egoist politics and forge unity in the national interest.”

To another question, Shujaat said some of his ‘dry-cleaned friends’ wanted to join the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but PTI chief Imran Khan’s successful rally changed their minds and “now they are looking forward to joining the PTI”.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 10

10 News

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

EPI technicians demand unpaid salaries KARAK StAFF RePoRt

KARAcHi: President Asif Zardari chairs a meeting of the Alternate energy Development Board on wind power projects at Bilawal House on Friday. INP

Khan of Kalat says baloch nearing independence QuEttA: Self-exiled Baloch tribal leader, Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman Daud Khan, on Friday made a passionate appeal to the Baloch living in the region to bring unity among their ranks as they were close to their ultimate goal of independence. He said this while talking to a group of newsmen over telephone from London, where he is struggling for an independent Balochistan for the last five years. Khan said the Muslims were celebrating Eidul Adha by following Hazrat Ibrahim, while Pakistani establishment was playing a bloody game with the people in Balochistan by sending decomposed bodies of Baloch youth. He said he appealed to the common Baloch to gather under the Balochi flag as they were close to achieve their objective of independence. Khan expressed his sympathy with the mothers, fathers and sisters of those who had been picked by intelligence agencies and brutally killed, saying it was a message for Baloch population to take out the longing and thoughts of independence from their hearts and minds. StAFF RePoRt

SC adjourns NICL hearing due to unavailability of judge ISLAMABAD

T

StAFF RePoRt

H E Supreme Court on Friday adjourned proceedings of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam case until November 14 due to the unavailability of a judge comprising the three-member bench hearing the case.

A two-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan held that Justice Ghulam Rabbani, who was a member of a three-judge bench, had retired and the case would be heard on November 14 by a three-member bench.

The chief justice noted that since

Justice Ghulam Rabbani had retired, a three-member bench, which had asked him (Justice Ghulam Rabbani) to probe the matter of anti-apex court advertisements in electronic and print media and allegations of FIA’s Additional Director General Zafar Ahmad Qureshi against PMLQ chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, could decide whether to allow him (Justice Rabbani) to continue probing both the matters despite retirement or appoint some other judge for the purpose.

He said today (Friday), the available bench consisted of two judges, thus on November 14, the threemember bench would be constituted to hear the NICL scam case.

When the court took up the case, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat

Hussain and Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed were present in the courtroom.

Talking to reporters after the adjournment, Wasim Sajjad, counsel for Moonis Elahi, an accused in the NICL scam, said the application filed

by Zafar Qureshi with the apex court claiming that his life was in danger as he was receiving threats and if he died of unnatural death then Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former chief minister Punjab, Moonis Elahi and Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain would be responsible, was baseless and a bundle of lies.

He said Qureshi had leveled baseless allegations for earning cheap publicity and to create prejudice in the court against his client.

The Expended Program of Immunization (EPI) staff in Karak district on Friday demanded payment of their salaries that had been unpaid to them since one and a half year.

Addressing a press conference, EPI members said that 169 EPI technicians were recruited by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department under the GAVE project about seven years ago during the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government. They said the government had made an agreement in PC-I that GAVE employees would be made permanent after four years. The EPI technicians informed that despite nonpayment of their salaries since one and a half year, they were performing their duties and participating in health campaigns, including Polio and Measles programmes, as the government had not given any termination letters to them.

The technicians said that the government intended to recruit fresh candidates over the vacant posts of EPI, instead of making their services regular, adding that the EPI technicians have the right on the vacant posts. They said that they would go on hunger strike or do self immolation in front of the Parliament house if their issues were not addressed.

The Peshawar High Court will also be approached if the issues are not resolved, the technicians added.

Two held for grave robbing in Hyderabad HYDeRABAD onLine

Police claimed to have arrested at least two people on charges of stealing bones of dead bodies from graves at a graveyard located in the Liaquatabad area. Media reports said the arrests were made late on Thursday night. Police said an anti-crime cell team raided a compound and arrested two people accused of stealing bones from graveyards. The accused were identified as Islamuddin and Siraj. Police say they received complaints that the accused stole bones from graves, especially the bones of infants. Officials claimed to have recovered stolen bones, pieces of cloth, and other material from their possession.

Need illegal ammunition? Go to Gujranwala g

dealers selling prohibited bore ammunition without check, transferring licences illegally to Pashtuns GUJRANWALA AtiF BUtt

Unhindered sale of prohibited ammunition is going on cities near Lahore, especially in Gujranwala Division, which is then smuggled into the provincial metropolis, Pakistan Today has learnt.

Despite the ban on rifles, .44 bore, 7mm, 8mm, .222, .223, .303, AK47 are being sold openly in Gujranwala Division under the eyes of authorities where no dealer is authorised to sell prohibitedbore sale. Dealers with Non-Prohibited Bore licenses (NBP) are selling prohibited bore (PB) ammunition openly while illegal weapons are being imported from Darra Adam Khail and one is offered easy access to these weapons through ammunition dealers working in collaboration with corrupt elements in the ammunition branch.

No AMMuNItIoN DEALER HAS PB LIcENSE:Requesting anonymity, an ammunition dealer told Pakistan Today no ammunition dealer in the Gujranwala Division had a NPB dealership.

He said while the transfer of ammunition license was prohibited as per the constitution of Pakistan, 70 percent dealers had sub-contracted their business to Pashtuns. “To counter the legal provision, they show fake partnerships,” he

said. He said Pashtuns are smuggling prohibited ammunition from Darra Adam Khail and are selling it without check. “Before a raid, ‘moles’ in the ammunition department inform them after which they return to their hometowns. In the meanwhile, a brother or relative carries the business on,” he said.

Smuggling arms under legal cover: He said ammunition from the area

was smuggled to other places under ‘legal cover’ in cahoots with corrupt officials in the Gujranwala ammunition branch. He said the ammunition was smuggled throughout Punjab, including Lahore, Sialkot, Sheikhupura and Narowal.

Opening up about how gun smuggling takes place, he said the freight charge from Darra to Gujr anwala for a

rifle is Rs 3,500, for a pistol it is Rs 1,000. A non-prohibited bore rifle bullet costs Rs 4, a pistol bullet Rs 2 and a prohibited bore bullet costs Rs 5.

He said a contractor is given the cargo at Gujranwala By-Pass, after which he carries it inside Gujranwala or smuggles it to outstation points such as Lahore, Sialkot or elsewhere. He said ammunition is sold without entering data

in their register to avoid checking. He added that most arms dealers don’t even have strong room, compulsory as per the constitution of Pakistan. “What is worse is the licenses of many dealers were cancelled but they were still operating due to links in the ammunition branch. He said most arms dealers had contracted their shops which was a serious offence bailable for a Rs 30,000 bond. He said most license owners had died or gone abroad while Pashtuns worked on their license by showing fake partnership deeds. He said, “While the license fixed the place, contractors shuffle location throughout the Gujranwala division and have extended their mafia to the whole region.”

He said arms dealers including Khawaja and Khawaja, Farooq Brothers, Aroop Ammunition dealer, Sufi arms dealers, Sardar traders amongst others were working in collaboration with corrupt officials in the ammunition branch.

Gujranwala District Coordination Officer (DCO) Nabeel Awan told Pakistan Today teams had raided several locations and cancelled the licenses of several arms dealers but it would take time to put a halt to this large mafia. He said the mafia had a huge network beyond the jurisdictional authority of a DCO and the support of Federal Government was necessity to end the trade.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 11

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

Imran and the establishment Allama Iqbal is back in business. But this time, he is not being quoted by some Iqbal Scholar; instead it is our very own Kaptaan who is quoting him every now and then to win the Lahorites’ votes.

Irony: Imran remembers the features of a living nation highlighted by Iqbal, but forgets the qualities Iqbal wants to see in a leader.

Merely idealising the great poet, praising him through words and not through deeds, is not enough. The Kaptaan should understand the fact that the very Lahorites whom he is trying to charm do know very well what Iqbal wanted to see in a true leader and what he said about the conventional political

leadership in his diary “Stray Reflections”.

One wonders why Imran did not contest the Kashmir elections, never talked of the judicial enquiry into the massacre of 12 May in Karachi once he left talking of it long ago, never talks of Mehran base negligence by the Pak forces, never denounces the Abbottabad operation, never resolves to take the defence budget to the parliament, never admires the political leaders who defied the establishment in order to keep the wheel of democracy moving etc.

He is no more impartial when it comes to criticising the political leadership and does not know what the major-

Another blue-eyed boy ity of voters feel and think when he ridicules their elected representatives.

These are the points because of which he is doubted to be a pro-establishment leader. Never criticising those forces that have been derailing the democratic process time and again and throwing the country to the nadirs of deterioration cements the suspicions about that he is backed by the forces he avoids to criticise. There is hardly any citizen left in Pakistan who is in favour of giving a trusted pass-through to the forces who have a great share in destabilising Pakistan.

Imran must realise the fact that Nawaz Sharif has become a symbol of re-

sistance against the establishment which has seemingly done nothing so far but damaged the integrity and dignity of Pakistan.

Due to Nawaz’s resistance, he is disliked by the policy-makers home and abroad. Now the very policy-makers have marked an honest, influential and patriotic Kaptaan so that the man could be used as a remedy of the ‘ailment’ known as Nawaz Sharif.

We do not doubt Imran’s intentions.

But we doubt those who have marked him and ensured him to be made powerful enough to make decisions.

AHMAD HAMMAD Lahore

Child abuse on the rise There is a disturbing rise in child abuse cases in Pakistan. According to UNICEF, the reason is lack of proper law enforcement, negligence of parents and lack of awareness among the children and the society.

He also said that the major factor for paedophilia in Pakistan was the easy access of people to children due to the negligence of parents.

When unable to feed a growing family, desperate parents farm out their children to affluent homes to serve as servants, maids or nannies (child-keepers is the more proper sense in which these children are employed in those households). These children then become, effectively, the wards of their employers.

The birth parents remain out of sight, perhaps hundreds of miles away, unaware that their babies are just so much flesh and burdened bone for the caprice of their unbecomingly unkind lords. Justice has been put aside for these children.

The brutal murder of a 12-year-old maid, believed to have been killed by her powerful employer, has stunned the country. But from the corrupt government to the honour killing of a wealthy woman, the country's rich always get away with it.

Shazia Masih, a tiny 12-year-old who looked years younger than her age, was laid to rest a few days ago after a Christian funeral at Lahore's Cathedral Church. She had been employed by the wealthy and influential lawyer, and for a generous $8 a month.

The term ‘child abuse’ covers a wide array of very diverse kinds of crimes subjected towards the minors. It signifies physical as well as mental pain. When an adult tries to fulfil his labour needs at a lower cost, that is also child abuse. When a child is exploited as a commodity and traded for monetary or non monetary produce, it is child abuse.

When an adult forces the child to push himself beyond his strength overlooking all health guidelines for children, that can also be considered child abuse.

Pakistan is a country that does little in protecting its young children from the many horrors of child abuse that they are exposed to in and around the green pastures.

SANA SULTAN Faisalabad

Police in action One should commend police authorities for busting two drug dealers who were busy in running a liquor distillery in Faisalabad.

All across Pakistan, due to the lawlessness and poor governance, the villains of our society are running loose and are busy in harming the lives of many people. No one is taking police authorities seriously and assume that they can get away with any sort of unlawful activity.

Keeping these aspects in mind, police is starting to exert pressure by catching such culprits and putting them behind bars. We as citizens of this country should appreciate and encourage the efforts of police, so that such officials can be motivated more to perform their duties well.

If police authorities keep on working like this, the lawlessness of our society will soon be the talk of the past in our country.

WALI KHORO Lahore

education and rule of law

The world has just five years to avoid being trapped in a scenario of perilous climate change and extreme weather events. Rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change.

The door to 2°C, the ceiling for averting unmanageable climate damage, is closing. Governments must engineer a shift away from carbon intensive fossil fuels. Carbon emissions must be curbed to keep atmospheric concentration of Carbon Dioxide under 450 parts per million to limit the rise in global warming to 2°C. Business-as-usual emissions will put us on a dangerous track toward a 6°C increase, heralding violent extremes of

Corruption everywhere

A senior citizen, Kishwar Naheed, was cheated the other day at a post office where she had gone to pay her electricity bill. She recovered from the shock after learning that everybody is experiencing cheating, short-changing and graft which have become our national traits and very

few like our cricket heroes are punished if caught abroad.

For very small cheques, I had to personally visit the office of Account General of Pakistan Revenue, Islamabad to hear the remarks that a pensioner should learn to face such delays. I have not been able to receive revised Last Pay Slip despite the intervention of a friend who holds an important position in a very important agency in the Government. The counter for Pensioners has not become operational at AGPR. There is urgent need to humanise the bureaucracy.

Kishwar Naheed, take heart. You are not alone in suffering at the hands of cheaters and corrupt people in Pakistan.

ASGHAR MAHMOOD Islamabad

Our country is now inflicted with corruption to such an extent that no state institution is spared and those working in a power of position in state institution are short of moral courage and moral values.

The corruption has destroyed the social fabric of the society and people have accepted corruption as a way of life. The opponents are already raising their fingers on Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders who are in close circle of party.

Their honesty and integrity have been questioned. Some people believe that Imran Kahn is being supported by the establishment which has been at unease to accept Asif Ali Zardari as their supreme commander.

Imran Khan is on public record calling the army to support Supreme Court for implementing its orders in corruption cases. A political leader who believes in democracy will never ask army to solve those issues which the politician and civilian state institution are responsible to solve.

I wish all the success to Imran Khan with the hope that he will not disappoint his supporter and the young generation if he ever comes into power.

S T HUSSAIN Lahore

dancing girl.

The situation may not be as straightforward as narrated, especially when the Hindus have often been subjected to religious acrimony and injustice by Muslim extremists who categorise non-Muslims as perpetual enemies and never acknowledge, let alone respect, their status as equal citizens of Pakistan regardless of their religious affiliation, a principle we are taught to respect by our constitution and Islam.

For a long time, the Hindu community has been the victim of discrimination and persecution in the province of Sindh. With the growing incidence of kidnappings and abductions of young girls, forced conversions to Islam and premeditated murders, the Hindus in Sindh have every reason to worry.

These acts of continual persecution have often been turned a blind eye to by

the authorities concerned, and so the Hindu community continues to live in a state of fear and insecurity.

While the president and the prime minister have taken notice of this tragic incident and demanded an inquiry into the matter, as per the standard procedure, the importance of recognising the gravity of the situation cannot be highlighted enough.

The government must take immediate steps to ensure the protection of all minorities in the country and provide them with all the rights that they are entitled to as equal citizens of Pakistan. The longstanding issue of religious intolerance must be dealt with a firm hand and vehemently condemned.

FATIMA BAREE Karachi (II) The brutal killings of Hindu doctors

in Chak (Shikarpur) on 7 November, 2011 are a major blow to the rights of minority to live safely, freely and peacefully in Pakistan. Recently, a similar incident occurred in Pano Aqil (Sukkur), which is a cantonment area too, where Hindu families were made hostage within the homes for couple of days by scoundrels who also set ablaze their property and also looted their belongings and insulted their families. Nothing was done by the administration and elected representatives.

After the incident, many have left their businesses and migrated to India in search of peace and protect their rights and respect. To restore confidence of the affected minority, the concerned authorities are requested to take those involved and accomplices to the task.

DHARM Karachi

Sindh is rich with resources but majority of its ill-fated inhabitants are living in abject poverty. Regrettably, the schools which were shut by the past successive military rulers are still shut and doors of the prisons are still open. It appears from the situation that our present rulers are least bothered about education and well-being of the people of Sindh.

Otherwise, they might have opened many schools because education is considered as the mother of democracy. When there is no education, what can we say about democracy and the rule of law in the country? It is an axiomatic truth that the rule

warning by IEA

The appointment of Ch Zaka Ashraf as new Chairman of the PCB is yet another display of nepotism and cronyism by the present government. Anyone who is close to President Asif Ali Zardari or is his staunch supporter stands a chance for key posts in various major organisations which fall vacant. The top men in PSM, PIA, NAB, OGDC and now PCB are a few examples where merit has not been kept in view and the top men have been just nominated.

No doubt, the Chairman PCB is an administrative post and any administrator of good repute should be able to manage the cricket affairs of Pakistan; but the person being appointed must have a strong sports background especially in cricket i.e. should have played cricket at national level plus he should have a clean track record in his previous appointments.

The sports lovers especially cricket fans would like to know the antecedents of the new Chairman of PCB. His only qualification is that he is a close friend of the President, the appointing authority and the patron-in-chief of PCB. He is following the foot steps of his predecessor Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf who also appointed the chairmen of PCB who were his personal friends and they all mishandled the cricket affairs.

The criteria for the post of the PCB chairman must be laid down in its constitution and the post advertised. A neutral Board of Governors should, after short listing the names, appoint a chairman through election by a secret ballot. Unless the appointment of chairman of the PCB is made on merit, we cannot have correct selection of the national cricket team.

We have seen enough disgrace in the recent spot fixing case where our three top players were given jail sentence besides the ICC ban on their playing cricket from 5 to 10 years.

MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA Lahore

of law is lacking as the judicial system is weak, overburdened, and inefficient. Well-armed criminals know there is little chance they will be caught or punished; hence, they commit more crimes. It is high time for our present rulers to address the genuine issues of the people, such as promotion of education, rule of law, democratisation of the institutions, etc. Otherwise, they will have to sow what they reap because life is an echo and it always comes back to us.

HASHIM ABRO Islamabad

drought, flooding, heat waves, storms and rising sea levels. The planets average temperature has risen by about 1°C over the last century. Forecasts for future warming, without course correction, are an additional 5°C by 2100. The future of our children is in our hands.

ENGR KHURSHID ANWER Lahore

Cheated

Protect the minorities Sindh is home to the majority of our Hindu community that makes up less than three percent of the total population of Pakistan.

The Hindus, like all citizens, deserve the protection of not only their basic rights but also their right to live, the safeguarding of which is the legal and moral responsibility of the government.

On the eve of Eid, four doctors were killed, three of whom were brothers, allegedly in a dispute over a dancing girl who was brought to the area of Shikarpur

by Hindu boys about three days prior to Eid. The conflict between the Hindus and the Muslim Bhayo community had been brewing for quite some time. However, while the full details of the incident and the motive behind it are still being investigated, it seems a bit early and a bit naive to conclude that the killings were perpetrated as merely a quarrel over a

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.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 12

12 Comment breaking ice One swallow does make a spring

I

f you’re looking for fireworks, the torturously slow Indo-Pak diplomatic dance is the wrong show to attend. Small victories, minute agreements over this mound of sand or that, go a long way in this most curious of relationships. That anything is happening is quite something, to paraphrase the foreign minister.

Already, the repercussions have started. The BJP in India have accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of an error in judgment when he declared his Pakistani counterpart to be a man of peace. A similar reaction from the leader of the opposition here, however, was missing.

In fact, if anything, N-League Chief Nawaz Sharif has quite unequivocally stated his desire for better relations between the two countries. In Pakistan, the usual impediments to better relations have now been, to a large extent, weeded out of the political class (or within the major parties at any rate) and are now limited to the permanent establishment.

It is the aforementioned establishment, unfortunately, that is empowered enough to take strong, lasting decisions on this front. The Indians will not settle for anything less. Incorrect, also, is the assumption that Pakistan is going out of its way to please them. The granting of the MFN status to India is a reciprocation that is fifteen years too late; India granted us the status back in 1996. Yes, they can do more to make it all better, like ease up on non-tariff barriers and also visa restrictions but that all will take time.

There is much suspicion, also, about India’s involvement in Afghanistan but that is a crime it does not suit Pakistan to speak of. The opening up of diplomatic consulates and, yes, posting intelligence operatives there pales out in comparison to a history of treating Afghanistan as a fifth province. If we are nervous about a post-American Afghanistan, then, so would the Indians, the Chinese, Iranians and, let it never be forgotten, the Afghans.

It remains to be seen how much space either side of the subcontinental divide are willing to cede in an effort for peace. Hoping for some real progress.

Upsetting the applecart Inviting the ‘third force’?

I

f there were really any differences between Mian Nawaz and Shabaz Sharif over removing the government before the March Senate elections, they were smoothed over during the meeting of the party leadership on Thursday. The meeting rejected the offer by Interior Minister Rehman Malik for dialogue. The party chief gave a go ahead for a countrywide ‘Go Zardari, go’ movement, though the idea to resign from the assemblies was dropped on the ground that this might be used by the ‘third force’ for their own benefit. Nawaz has said that the PPP government has to be overthrown before March. So despite the CoD and claims of learning from the past, the PML(N) is again on way to the sort of ferocious collisions it went for during the 1990s.

The PPP has rejected the demand for mid-term elections. In view of the alliances the ruling party has structured, its government cannot be removed through a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. It cannot be sent home through rallies and public meetings the PML(N) is planning to hold, provided they remain orderly and peaceful. Under the circumstances, the only way left for the PML(N) is to take recourse to extraconstitutional means to remove the federal government.

Imran Khan has suggested one: a massive civil disobedience movement paralysing the system. Will the two parties join hands to remove through pressure, and possibly through violent means, a government elected for five years?

A government in power in a province is supposed to preserve peace and suppress any resort to lawlessness. It would be highly anomalous to find the Punjab Chief Minister presiding over the mayhem and the police looking the other way. Three provincial governments have already announced full backing for the federal government against any move to cart it off before the expiry of its term. A movement confined to Punjab would be interpreted as a conspiracy against the other provinces. What is more, a violent agitation would provide a chance to the ‘third force’, if there is one keen to grab power, to take over the stage.

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

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

A surreal peace We need it more than others

I

n the backdrop of more than six decades of an adversarial relationship, the bonhomie created between the Pakistani and Indian Prime Ministers on the sidelines of the SAARC summit at Maldives is almost surreal. Without any substantive progress on specific issues plaguing the relationship, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart promised to write a new chapter in the history of their countries.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dubbing Gilani “a man of peace” and he in turn optimistically predicting that the next round of talks will open “a new chapter in the history of relations between the two countries” signifies a dramatic shift, albeit a pleasant one, in the acrimonious relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.

The question that begs an answer, however, is that does the thaw being witnessed in the past few months signify a real change of heart on both sides? Is PakBy Arif Nizami istan merely responding to overtures from across the border, or both sides have finally realised the folly of perennially being at each other’s throats?

In order to further its own strategic goals in the region, the US has been urging India and Pakistan to improve their relations. Even China, Islamabad’s longtime ally and trusted friend, has been pressing upon its leadership to endeavour to resolve bilateral disputes with New Delhi through talks. Since war between the two nuclear-armed states is no longer an option, common sense demands that a process of peaceful conflict resolution be initiated.

But common sense has been a rare commodity especially amongst the hatemongers on both sides of the divide. This includes the ruling elites, the foreign policy establishment and the ubiquitous establishment itself.

Hence, it is no surprise

that the BJP has labelled the meeting between the two countries as “disastrous”, and has termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s comment that Gilani is a man of peace as ridiculous. In sharp contrast, the leader of the opposition in Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif, has welcomed the thaw in Maldives.

Both India and Pakistan are nuclear weapons states; billions are being squandered on a wasteful arms race at the expense of teeming poverty on both sides of the divide.

India has been lucky in several respects. It has a viable democracy and solid democratic institutions and its economy has been growing at a fast pace in the past decade or so.

In sharp contrast, as a result of protracted military rules, Pakistan is still struggling with democracy. Civilian control over the armed forces still remains a pipedream. Pakistan’s economic growth rate in recent years is dismally lower than its population growth rate.

As a result, poverty with all its appended social and political problems is on the rise.

Owing to poor economic growth, it has become impossible to sustain the fiction of military parity with India. Naturally, for strategic reasons, Pakistan can continue with its expensive missile program. But its fragile economic base simply cannot sustain the present level of defence expenditure for an indefinite period.

In this sense, Pakistan needs peace more than India. Till now, peace with honour has remained an elusive goal. Since Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s visit to New Delhi for bilateral talks with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna last July, a thaw of sorts has been in the offing. This process has been cemented as a result of the summit on the sidelines in Maldives.

According to both the leaders, all issues were discussed and all of them are on the table. Although there has been an agreement on revival of the joint commission and a liberal visa regime, intractable issues and differences remain. The India-Pakistan rivalry and differences in perceptions thereof are grounded in the troubled history of the sub continent.

Within the establishment in both countries, there are lobbies that resist any talk of normal and friendly relations or taking any concrete steps in this direction. These lobbies are especially strong within the Pakistani military and intelligence community, big business and in sections of the media.

Intractable differences between India and

Pakistan cannot be resolved in a single oneon-one meeting between the two prime ministers. The “core issue” of Kashmir has been virtually put on the backburner. Interestingly, the water disputes, Saichen and Sir Creek have also been labelled as “core issues”.

The thorniest issue is India’s newfound role in Afghanistan that has been formalised as a result of the signing of a strategic partnership agreement between New Delhi and Kabul last month. Plans to train Afghan army combat troops at India’s top counter-insurgency schools on top of a $2 billion civilian aid package to build roads, dams and power transmission lines in Afghanistan gives India a firm foothold in the post-2014 scenario when NATO troops finally leave Afghanistan.

Although President Hamid Karzai has assured that the deal with India will not threaten Afghanistan’s neighbours, Islamabad is dismayed at the US-backed New Delhi-Kabul axis. It considers the whole scheme of things as destabilising and detrimental to its interests in the region.

Islamabad’s flawed strategic paradigm and its downslide of relations with the US have helped New Delhi to fill the vacuum in the region. According to a Reuters’ report, Pakistan’s repeated offers to train the Afghan army were spurned by Kabul for fear of the Pakistan Army “Islamising” the Afghan troops.

In future talks with New Delhi, the budding Indo-Afghan alliance will be on top of Islamabad’s agenda. However in the backdrop of its own predilections, there is little Pakistan can do now to change the ground realities.

Commerce secretaries of the two countries are due to meet on Monday to discuss the modalities of the much-touted MFN (most favoured nation) status granted by Islamabad to New Delhi on a reciprocal basis. They will also discuss moves towards a preferential trade agreement. Resistance by certain sections of trade and industry in Pakistan and India’s reluctance to lower self imposed nontariff barriers continue to impede progress and make trade a meaningful CBM. How the military in Pakistan views moves towards better relations with India will determine the future course. The progress made till now is in itself a welcome break from the past and would not have been possible without a nod from the powers that be.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

whiteLieS T

by Ess Aich

he Lahore Safari Park, off Raiwind Road in Lahore, was created on the pattern of Britain’s Windsor Safari

Park.

The imported lions and tigers were to be given a near-natural habitat where they could roam about freely within a large well-guarded compound. Of course, they were to be wellfed by keepers and not expected to hunt and scavenge for themselves. For this, they were provided the required 40 kilos of meat each to keep them kicking. The Windsor Safari Park has a burgeoning lion population and actually exports big cats to African countries where their numbers have been depleted by unscrupulous poachers and hunters.

Not so at the Lahore Safari Park. We hear that the meat allocation for the cat population is bought on paper only. Some of the meat that actually makes it to the park, often lands up on the keepers’ dinner tables. The lions and tigers, far from proliferating, are starving slowly; some have already died of malnutrition. As for the Safari Park staff; besides being well-fed, they are busy demanding tips, even to open a gate for ticket

W

ord has it that while Zulfiqar Mirza constantly takes a dig at Rehman Malik, Malik consistently harps on one theme to the Q-Leaguers. That they do not speak in defence of the coalition. In answer to this complaint, Chaudhry Shujaat always claims “But you do not take us into confidence.”

Recently President Zardari, Chaudhry Shujaat and Rehman Malik were in Jeddah to meet King Abdullah and offer their condolences on the death of the Crown Prince.

We hear that while doing so, the matter of an exchange of note on terrorists between the two governments came up between Presi-

holding visitors. Now what was this project all about?

dent Zardari and RM. The latter gave a hushed reply to the President. “I will tell you about it later”.

Chaudhry Shujaat overheard the answer despite the low volume and promptly pointed to the policy of secrecy he finds so irksome.” See you never take us into confidence”, he said. Point taken, we hope. ************** t is becoming quite obvious that Hamza Sharif is emerging as the heir to the Sharif political dynasty. NS’s sons seem to have no interest in politics or for that matter in Pakistan. Of the two daughters, one lives in Dubai and the other, considered his

I

brightest and the one dearest to the late patriarch of the Sharif clan, refuses to display any signs of entering the political arena. We hear that her husband who once kept a high media presence has seen the signs and gone into the background or, as some would say, been elbowed out by Hamza.

The word around is that if anyone can veto a decision by father Shahbaz it is Hamza and if anyone has the ear of NS, it is Hamza.

Last week, Hamza dominated the TV chat shows and seemed to be getting the respect reserved for a future CM or even a PM. It seems the chat show hosts, too, have seen the signs.

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 13

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Comment 13

Imran’s avowed 1,000

Politics, more politics

But where’s the manifesto? And the party machinery?

the lurking fear has many faces

By Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

I

mran has initiated his campaign for change, an end to corruption and a clean and efficient administration at a highly opportune moment. Both PPP and PML(N) are fast losing popularity and they very well know it. With a two party system in place, what both the PPP and PML(N) are banking upon is that the other side might turn out to be more unpopular.

The PPP has tried to bolster its electoral position through alliances while the PML(N) is belatedly trying to follow suit.

A number of questions however remain unanswered.

Can Imran emerge as a power capable of defying the scheme created by a two party system where a relatively less unpopular party is bound to form the government? Will Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf be able to emerge as a party capable of replacing the two major parties?

Will Imran be able to realise the ideals of revolutionary change with the type of the team that he intends to bring into the electoral field?

Will his avowed 1,000 candidates create a clean set up, an efficient government and eradicate the rampant corruption prevailing in every state institution and government department?

Will Imran be able to form a government of his own by winning a majority of seats in the National Assembly or will he make alliances? In case of failing to get a majority, will he be able to resist of lure of power through the all too common wheeling dealing?

Imran often refers admiringly to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

who formed the PPP in December 1987, jumped headlong into the anti-Ayub movement and a year later gave tickets to several unknown candidates, popularly known as electric poles, and got them elected. Among other things that stand in Imran’s way is the absence of a political agenda that can attract vast majority of the masses.

The four point programme announced by the PPP at its formation – Islam is our faith, Democracy is our politics, Socialism is our economy and All Power to the People – resonated with the majority of population. Soon followed a detailed election manifesto promising land reforms, housing for the landless in rural areas, reform in labour laws and details of how to provide jobs to the unemployed. The agenda was reflected in the slogan “Roti, kapra aur makan” which got immediate currency. Habib Jalib’s poem castigating the 20 families of the super rich became a hit song during the elections.

The promise to turn the Thar coal reserves into energy to remove the shortages and fend for the next many decades or of bringing back the looted wealth to Pakistan to make it prosperous attract only a small section of the people. Imran Khan has yet to present a detailed and workable programme for the lower middle and working classes and the urban and rural poor.

As things stand, the programme has little relevance for the millions of poverty stricken landless masses.

Again, Imran’s programme l has no appeal for the smaller provinces where people continue to suffer from an acute sense of deprivation.

Unless, Imran uncovers a detailed election manifesto which relates to the concerns of the common man like poverty, lack of medical cover and cheap and quality education, and inflation and widespread unemployment, he will fail to attract the masses

either for a movement or for voting him to power. His appeal would thus remain limited to the important but relatively miniscule section of the urban middle class which thronged his public meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan and where there was no more than a mere smattering of, to borrow the term from the Occupy the Wall Street protestors, the 99 percent.

But can he implement a pro-people manifesto with the type of team he is gathering around him. During the past by-elections, Imran displayed little hesitation in adopting political castaways or scions of families who have been a part and parcel of the corrupt system he has vowed to end.

He continues to welcome turncoats from the PPP, PML(N) and PML(Q), even those known for corruption of all sorts. How many will get themselves cleansed of the muck in which they have revelled for years and decades?

How many will work for the change he has promised instead of working for themselves? He can maintain that the end justifies the means.

But is he aware that means sometime start determining the end itself?

Imran’s dilemma is that the change he envisages has to be brought through elections. Elections need an efficient countrywide organisational machinery. If one doesn’t have it, as is the case with Imran, one will have to rely on undependable allies.

In case there is no party network in the provinces, as is presently the case with the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), Imran would have to look for winnable candidates with enough clout and sufficient resources. In case he recruits the rural and urban elite, they would bring the traditional culture of corruption, cronyism, misuse of authority and inefficiency with them.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.

A

friend is visiting from London and our home has been witness to incessant discussions about what may or may not happen in the country through the coming days, weeks and months and, more particularly, PTI’s chances in any future dispensation in the wake of its impressive showing at the Lahore rally. Let me begin with one unanimous commonality that marked all these interactions among people from divergent backgrounds: PTI had arrived as a formidable player on the political chessboard that other outfits will have to contend with.

Seldom have I seen one single instance reshaping and redefining the course of politics like the PTI Lahore rally has done. Things have changed irreversibly since October 30. A party that was considered a mere presence has become a formidable political force and what was passed off as wishful idealism has suddenly assumed the status of tangible agenda everyone is interested in knowing more about. What a virtual political ‘outcast’ did on that eventful day has also become the yardstick to measure others’ performance. One’s mind races back to the sixties and the seventies and the enthusiasm of those times that, unfortunately, was never realised. There are also cynics who, while drawing comparisons with those heady days, don’t forget to cloud the prospects as being centred on the person of one individual.

But, while making the comparison, they forget that the individual they are talking about has never failed on his dreams and ideals, be it his cricketing career, or his cancer hospital, his forays into the education

By Raoof Hasan sector or his philanthropy. In the process, he has earned impeccable credibility that cannot be matched by any member of the corrupt political mafias that have ravaged this country for all of its sixty-four years.

War against corruption remains an integral component of the PTI drive for change. What is grotesque is the manner in which some of the major political players and their hired lieutenants are trying to trivialise this mother of all evils. Even the most corrupt of them have come out brazenly to support the PTI demand that all political leaders should declare their assets as an essential requirement for claiming eligibility to contest the polls claiming that they had already done so at the time of the last elections. But the fact that their declared assets may not even be a negligible fraction of their real assets causes no compunction as the heads of these political mafias continue to stake their claim to their illgotten right to lead this country.

Apparently, this is no longer going to work as the media and PTI have raised the level of consciousness to a level where such false pretensions are bound to boomerang.

candid corner

I also believe that there is a heightened level of desperation that is creeping into the manner most of the ruling mafias and their stalwarts are behaving in public. While they are reluctant to come up with straight answers to piercing questions, they don’t stop repeating stale arguments even when they have been adequately responded to. While it may not help these proponents to score any brownie points with the people, it may contribute to further perpetuating a crisis of credibility that has been building ever since the time the incumbent concoctions took charge at the centre and in all the provinces. Their lack of performance and delivery has rendered them toothless in terms of laying any claim on their right to rule. That is why there is this visible desperation that may eventually provoke recourse to undemocratic means and methods to prolong their hold on power and its various instruments.

But there are a lot of other things happening too, like the President promising the visiting US Congressmen that he would “eradicate the Haqqani network”. Measure this against the Joint Resolution of the All Parties Conference that had resolved that it was time to “give peace a chance”. Is it the NRO talking? On the one hand, the President does not tire of repeating the human and material losses that Pakistan has suffered through its espousal of the US-led ‘waron-terror’ while, on the other hand, he does not shy away from reiterating his allegiance to his US masters. Where is the real President? Is he there somewhere at all? While the US is not relenting in its belligerent tirade against the Pakistan military and the ISI with someone or the other from their top political and military hierarchy pouring venom with monotonous frequency, it is the Pakistani President who is seen bending over backwards to cater to the ill-conceived perceptions and demands of the American leadership. Where does Pakistan come into this, or does it come in at all?

It is Pakistan that seems to be at the receiving end of a lot of bargaining that is being incessantly struck among the traditional beneficiaries of the status quo. While each beneficiary may differ with the other in terms of the nature and quantum of his or her share, there is a general consensus among all regarding the need to continue sponsoring and promoting a corrupt and degenerate system that is neither equipped nor geared to delivering anything other than what it has done through all the years that Pakistan has been there: crafting appropriate tools for a corrupt leadership to continue their loot spree. In the process, the institutions that provide the pillars on which the state edifice is built have crumbled. Imran and PTI stand for reversing that.

That’s why there is this lurking fear among the beneficiaries of the system. That’s why there is this desperation for thwarting the prospect of the impending change.

The writer is a political analyst and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can be reached at raoofhasan@hotmail.com

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 14

14 Foreign News UNESCO halts new spending after US funding cut PARIS AFP

United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has been forced to suspend new spending programmes until the end of the year after the United States withdrew its funding, its director general said Thursday.

In an address to UNESCO diplomats, Irina Bokova said the agency faces a $65 million (47 million euro) funding shortfall and would not make new spending commitments, following a row with Washington over Palestinian membership.

“This deficit corresponds to the sum due from the United States for the year 2011. The United States have a habit of paying their contribution at the end of the year for reasons of their own budget caledar,” she said.

“We will not receive this sum. We will therefore have to take radical measures, and we will need to take them now, at this general conference.

“I have suspended the entirety of our undertakings. I have suspended the execution of our programmes, during our review process, until the end of the year,” she explained, promising her office would review the entire budget.

Clarifying her statement, UNESCO officials said the cuts would principally hit new undertakings and ongoing running costs such as staff travel, publications and communications. US funding accounts for 22 percent of the UNESCO budget. The Palestinians have also asked the UN Security Council for recognition, but the request is still being examined and Washington is all but sure to veto it.

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Seven killed, Syria accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ DAMASCUS

A

AFP

T least seven people were killed in Syria on Friday, most of them in the restive city of Homs, as Human Rights Watch accused the regime of crimes against humanity.

The Arab League, meanwhile, held a ministerial meeting to discuss the Syria crisis which, according to the United Nations, has claimed more than 3,500 lives since protests against President Bashar alAssad erupted in mid-March.

Five people were killed in Homs, including a defecting soldier and a 63-year-old man,

the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement received in Nicosia.

The deaths in Homs came amid mass anti-regime rallies demanding the Arab League suspend Syria’s membership in the pan-Arab body to sanction its brutal, eight-month crackdown on dissent. The Observatory also reported “mass protests” in Idlib’s Sheikhun in the wake of a “retreat by security forces from government buildings following violent clashes.”

And “security forces unleashed heavy gunfire to disperse demonstrations,” in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor.

Friday prayers have become a lightning rod for demonstrations in Syria, which each week

adopt a new theme and this week called for the Arab League to suspend Syria’s membership.

The League, under international pressure to act after Syria failed to honour a peace plan and instead stepped up its brutal protest crackdown, held talks ahead of a meeting on Saturday to discuss the crisis.

Syria’s envoy to the Arab League, Yussef Ahmad, presented early Friday a memorandum in which Damascus expressed its willingness to receive a pan-Arab delegation.

“This will help assess Damascus’s commitment to the (Arab) plan and to unveil motives behind certain external and internal parties working for the failure of the Arab

blueprint,” the official SANA news agency said.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report accused Syrian government forces of “crimes against humanity” based on the systematic nature of abuses against civilians.

It said protesters were unarmed in most clashes, but that defectors from the security forces had intervened when the demonstrators came under fire from regime troops and militiamen. Based on the accounts of 110 victims and witnesses, HRW said “violations by the Syrian security forces killed at least 587 civilians” in the central city of Homs and its province between mid-April and the end of August.

In their latest assault on the flashpoint city, at least another 104 people have been killed since November 2 when the regime agreed to the Arab League initiative to end the violence. “Homs is a microcosm of the Syrian government’s brutality,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director.

“The Arab League needs to tell President Assad that violating their agreement has consequences, and that it now supports Security Council action to end the carnage,” she said.

Under the Arab peace plan, Damascus would release those detained for protesting and withdraw military forces from towns and cities. It says it has already released more than 500.

US Afghan ‘kill team’ head jailed for life WASHINGtON AFP

The ringleader of a rogue US army unit responsible for “thrill kills” of Afghan civilians was sentenced to life behind bars Thursday. But a fiveperson military panel said Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs - who was found guilty at the end of a week-long court martial - would be eligible for parole after serving at least 10 years.

Gibbs was found guilty of 15 counts in all, including three charges of premeditated murder for his role in three so-called “thrill kills” in southern Afghanistan between January and May last year. The prosecution portrayed Gibbs as the ringleader of the rogue unit, which also harvested body parts from the victims as grisly war trophies.

Three members of the unit have already pleaded guilty in a scandal that has threatened embarrassment for the US military on the scale of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse in Iraq disclosed in 2004.

Each of the convictions for murder carried a minimum sentence of life in prison, but his defense team successfully managed to avoid life without the possibility of parole.

bANgKOK: A boy swims next to floating Krathongs, small lanterns made of banana leafs, in floodwaters during the loy Kratong festival when Thais thank the water goddess for sustaining life. AfP

Eyeing Iran, US plans munitions sale to UAE

9 dead in yemen clashes

WASHINGtON

SANAA

The United States has plans to provide thousands of advanced “bunker-busting” bombs to the United Arab Emirates as part of efforts to contain Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The advanced munitions are designed to demolish bunkers, tunnels and other thickly reinforced targets, making them well-suited for a potential strike on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, according to the newspaper.

The proposed package to the UAE - said to include up to 4,900 joint direct attack munitions, or JDAMs, and other weapons - is to be formally presented to Congress “in the coming days,” the Journal said.

AFP

Forces loyal to Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh shelled the country’s second largest city Taez early on Friday, killing nine people, among them two women and a child, witnesses said. “The bombing killed nine people this morning (Friday), all of them civilians,” a medical source said, adding that two women and a nine-year-old child were among those killed and that dozens of other people were wounded.

Security forces began operations shortly after midnight in the area of Freedom Square, where demonstrators had rallied to call for the fall of the regime, witnesses said.

AFP

In recent years, President Barack Obama’s administration has moved to shore up Arab Gulf countries with major arms deals, part of a policy of strengthening regional allies to ramp up pressure on Tehran.

The long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear program flared this week when the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had “credible” evidence that Iran was trying to build nuclear warheads for its mediumrange missiles.

Iran has always denied it is seeking atomic weapons, insisting that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

The United States and Israel have in turn warned that all options are on the table for dealing with the issue, including military action.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday warned of the risks from any military strike on Iran, saying it could have a “serious impact” on the region. The former CIA director added that a military strike on suspected Iranian nuclear sites would only delay Tehran’s nuclear program for about three years.

The United Nations has slapped four rounds of sanctions on Iran since 2006 and the United States and European Union have imposed their own restrictions.

Israel has meanwhile signaled it may stage air strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, while Tehran has threatened to hit back against any attack or even the threat of military action.

Flood-ravaged Thailand prays to water goddess BANGKOK AFP

Each year as the monsoon draws to an end, Thais thank the water goddess for sustaining life. But with deadly floods now plaguing the kingdom, many feel she has been a little too generous of late. The centuries-old Loi Krathong festival is usually an occasion for celebration with ornately-decorated traditional banana-leaf lanterns set adrift in rivers, canals and lakes under the night sky. This year it is a reminder of the kingdom’s bitter-sweet relationship with water, which has left more than 500 people dead and wreaked havoc in the worst flooding to befall the nation in half a century.

The festival, which also aims to seek forgiveness for polluting the precious resource, comes as questions mount over successive governments’ management of water development and urban planning. “I apologised to the goddess of water, thanked her for giving us water to use and wished all the bad luck to go away,” said Usanee Krapukthong, who launched her lantern on a lake in a Bangkok park. “I wished my house and also the whole country would be dry,” said the 37-yearold expectant mother. “Normally I do it at a river, but this year I escaped the floods to come here.” The authorities in the capital city of 12 million asked people not to launch their lanterns in canals and streets that have been transformed into rivers, to avoid blocking drains and adding to the rubbish problem. Many - though not all - heeded their call. Despite the brave faces, it was a much more subdued affair this year.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 15

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

Papademos set to take helm in troubled greece AtHeNS AFP

A new government headed by Lucas Papademos took office in Greece on Friday tasked with saving the debt-stricken nation from bankruptcy after a power-sharing deal struck between rival parties.

The swearing-in ceremony was delayed by two hours as the coalition partners were still hammering out the cabinet and was to be held at 1400 GMT. Papademos, 64, a former vice-president of the European Central Bank, will lead a transition government which will have to ratify a crucial 130billion euro ($178 billion) international bailout and pave the way for new elections.

He was welcomed with relief in a country exhausted by two years of austerity and exasperated by political squabbling over cutbacks demanded by its global creditors, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. “A new era, relief in Greece and Europe after historic deal,” trumpeted the centre-left Ethnos newspaper.

Papademos, who played a crucial role in Greece’s entry into the eurozone nearly a decade ago, emphasised its benefits after weeks of speculation that Greece’s problems could force it out of the 17-nation currency club. “The Greek economy is facing huge problems despite the enormous efforts made... Greece is at a crucial crossroads,” he said after being named prime minister on Thursday. “The course will not be easy.” His first job will be to persuade the European Union and International Monetary Fund to disburse an eight-billion-euro slice of aid from a 2010 bailout deal that is needed by December 15 before state coffers run dry.

Then he must force through painful austerity measures exacted as the price for a second EU rescue package which gives Athens 100 billion euros in loans, the same amount in debt reduction and a further 30 billion in guarantees.

UN-backed court mulls trial for Hariri murder suspects LeIDSCHeNDAM AFP

A UN-backed court Friday mulled a possible trial in absentia of four Hezbollah members accused of killing former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, a move prosecutors said would be a “last resort.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the only international court that has a mandate to try suspects in absentia and if it does, it would be the first such occurrence since the post-WWII Nazi trials at Nuremberg, a defence lawyer said.

Senior trial prosecutor Iain Morley opened the hearing, saying a trial in their absence for the four operatives of the Iran-backed Shiite militia would be “premature” because not enough has been done to track and arrest them.

“A trial in absentia should be a last resort and not a first choice,” Morley told the STL, based in the suburb of Leidschendam outside The Hague.

The four men are accused of murdering Hariri and 22 others in a massive car bomb blast in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

PArIS: France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy lays a wreath onto the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe on Friday as part of Armistice day ceremonies marking the 93rd anniversary of the end of world war I. AfP

Security comes under scrutiny at NY protest NeW YORK

A

AFP

FTER a sexual assault at the crowded tent camp set up by Occupy Wall Street protestors in New York, security issues are starting to overshadow the more idealistic concerns of the activists.

Ironically, the intense police presence deployed to keep the protestors under control does not extend into the camp at Zuccotti Park itself, where less savory residents have started to appear among the several hundred anti-capitalist demonstrators.

“There are problems sometimes,” admitted Sean Dolan, who takes part in the camp’s kitchen, serving out free meals. “But we have our own security force, and usually, we are successful in de-escalating (tensions).”

That security force, comprised of volunteers, as in every other aspect of Zuccotti Park life, will step in to stop brawls or even expel troublemakers from the camp. Repeat offenders can also be expelled, Dolan said. Accord-

ing to Occupy Wall Street’s website, people involved in criminal activity are turned over to the police.

But that’s not happening, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who criticized the “outrageous” practice of what he said was the protestors’ attempt to exclude police and resolve criminal matters on their own.

Andrew Smith, who is part of the security detail, said the alleged sex assailant, who had been working in the kitchen, was immediately turned over.

“OWS security personnel forcibly removed the individual and handed him directly to the NYPD,” he said.

Self-policing, however, is complicated by the simultaneous policy of welcoming anyone and any cause to the non-stop protest. Signs protesting war, energy policy, Israel, China and high education costs can be seen, among many others, in the crowd.

The make-up of the population at Zuccotti Park is just as varied. People stay a night or a week, or just a few hours, then go, while only a few are permanent residents.

On a broader scale, there are di-

visions between the western end of the small park and the eastern end, where organizers have set up bustling attractions such as a library, a media center and a welcome desk. At the eastern end there are homeless people and travelers mixing heavily between the regular protestors.

“At least 50 people do nothing.

They are here just for food, and for comfort,” said Monica Lopez, 25, who joined OWS after taking part in the “Indignant” protests in Spain.

Lopez said she was not against the presence of the squatters, saying that “homeless people also have a problem with the system, but we are not capable to take care of all that, the drugs, alcohol.”

The sex assault case set off alarm bells and a wave of negative press coverage. Occupy Wall Street responded by creating a women’s safe area. “We have a women-only tent, we have been proactive,” Karanja Gacuca, a media representative. The troublemakers are a minority he said, adding: “We don’t have a homeless population problem. The city does.”

Air strikes on South Sudan may be international crime: UN GeNeVA AFP

The UN human rights chief on Friday condemned a deadly air strike on a refugee camp in South Sudan, saying the attack could amount to an international crime.

“We condemn the bombing. It’s an extremely serious matter and could amount to an international crime,” spokesman Rupert Colville told journalists.

“We need more information about exactly what happened and who carried out the bombing,” he added. South Sudan has accused Khartoum of carrying out the strike on a refugee camp in Yida town in Unity State on Thursday, which a local official said killed 12 people and injured more than 20. Just hours before the reported raids, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir accused his northern counterpart Omar al-Bashir of trying to drag the new country back to war and seize its oil fields.

The UN refugee agency said Friday that several bombs dropped by an aircraft hit the camp sheltering more than 20,000 refugees who fled violence in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled across Sudan’s poorly defined border with the newly independent south to escape the fighting in the Blue Nile border area and nearby South Kordofan.

Africa to miss Gaddafi’s money, not his meddling tRIPOLI ReUteRS

Muammar Gaddafi plucked some fluff from his flowing golden robes, poured himself another steaming cup of tea and continued with his lecture, not seeming to notice the wide yawns around him. It was 2am. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was dozing in a corner. The leaders’ rigid stares and sour faces at an African Union summit in 2009, witnessed by journalists peering through a gap in the curtains, showed how most African leaders felt about the continent’s self-styled “King of Kings”. “There goes the sideshow clown,” one African diplomat muttered, as Gaddafi swept out of the room and told the waiting journalists to get some sleep.

Now, the man whose theatrics overshadowed their summits for so long is dead and buried, and sub-Saharan African leaders are trying to assess what a

world without Gaddafi will mean for them, according to interviews with a dozen or so African diplomats in Tripoli.

Some enjoyed substantial investments and gifts from his oil coffers. But many also hated what they saw as his meddling, even while they paraded solidarity with a fellow African who saw himself as an anti-colonial revolutionary. African ambassadors and diplomats say they are already starting to feel the impact of the shift in power from Gaddafi to his enemies. Many feel frozen out by Libya’s interim rulers, the National Transitional Council (NTC). Some suspect the new government is even going to want some of Gaddafi’s gifts back. Whatever happens, Gaddafi’s vision of a united Africa - always quixotic - is gone. “He made us feel important,” one said. “But there aren’t so many of us being invited to sit and break bread with NTC leaders. They think that we sided with Gaddafi.”

That perception has arisen in part

from a belief among NTC and western officials that the African Union’s attempt to mediate during the civil war was designed to protect Gaddafi. For Libya’s new leaders, the western allies who helped them to power will be more important. “The new administration in Tripoli will want to set relations with the AU off right,” said Mark Schroeder, sub-Saharan Africa analyst at consultancy Stratfor. Western diplomats have become more visible in Tripoli, shuttling back and forth between the two luxury hotels where most meetings with NTC officials take place. Some even wear wristbands in the revolutionary colours, their drivers flashing the “V” for victory sign at checkpoints run by NTC forces. African diplomats are more rarely seen out and about in a capital where fellow non-Arab Africans can risk arrest, and worse, as suspected pro-Gaddafi mercenaries.

With Gaddafi gone, others also feel vulnerable. “There was a sense that we

were supporting him at all costs just so that we could protect his investments in our countries,” one sub-Saharan African ambassador in Tripoli said. While some African leaders may indeed have been keen to keep Gaddafi’s cash, others saw the West’s action in Libya as “an act of colonial aggression”, he said. Whatever African leaders’ motives in supporting Gaddafi, now could be payback time: “The poorest on the continent will pay.”

Officials in Tripoli say the Gaddafi government’s investments across sub-Saharan Africa were massive, although so far there is no complete picture of them.

He invested widely in projects from donated tractors in Gambia to $90 million telecoms deals in Chad, in what most political analysts saw as an attempt to buy clout on a continent he aimed to unite with anti-colonial rhetoric. Entire hospitals and mosques bore his name. He gave Gambian President Yahya Jammeh

aid and huge herds of camels.

“It wasn’t all cynical,” said another African ambassador in Tripoli of Libya’s spending spree. “He did a lot of good for African countries ... There was little racism in him, unlike some other Arabs, who treat us like slaves when we come here looking for work.” There is real fear in African capitals that the NTC is going to want to take that money back, though it has not yet outlined official policy on the issue.

The African Union’s already meagre budget may take a hit: the former Libyan strongman paid more than his allotted share. Libya’s formal contribution was 15 percent of the half of the Union’s budget that is put up by Africans themselves. But African Union officials say Gaddafi also paid the contributions of several small west African nations, more than doubling the share of funds coming from Tripoli.

In public, officials deny a possible loss of funding is a concern.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 16

16

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Murray claims

Jacko lied

12Th annual laTin Grammy awards ceremony in las VeGas Franco devita poses with his two grammys for best long Form Music video e. gianmarco poses with his best Singer/ backstag Songwriter Album grammy backstage.

Calle 13 pose with their nine grammys.

Shakira rejoices upon winning the award for best Female Pop vocal Album. denisse guerrero from belanova poses backstage.

C

MONItORING DeSK

ONRAD Murray, convicted of manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death, has said that the pop icon kept him in the dark about his addiction problem. Murray was Jackson’s personal physician at the time of his death in June 2009. Jackson died due to an overdose of anesthetic drug propofol. In an interview to NBC’s ‘Today’ show days before his conviction, the 58-year-old doctor said that Jackson lied to him about his medical history.

“Absolutely not. Did not have a clue. I would hate to put blame on Michael as an individual. I only wish maybe in our dealings with each other he would have been more forthcoming and honest. To tell me these things about himself,” Murray said.

When asked if he thought Jackson lied to him, Murray said, “Definitely. Certainly he was deceptive by not showing me his whole medical history, doctors he was seeing, treatments that he might have been receiving.”

Murray was convicted for supplying the insomnia-plagued Jackson with propofol to help him sleep as he rehearsed for his big comeback. Jackson referred to the medicine as “milk” but the doctor says he was not the one who introduced the drug to the pop star.

“I cannot prevent Michael from seeing other doctors for whatever reason. I met Michael with propofol. This was not something I introduced to Michael,” Murray said defending himself. When asked if he was the cause of Jackson’s death, Murray said, “No, I am not. I loved Michael too. I’m as much of a fan as any of the others. To be blamed for his death has not been an easy thing.”

Bramhanad wins ‘the real rockstar hunt’

Singers romeo Santos and Usher perform.

Colombian musician Shakira performs during the ceremony.

DeHLI AGencieS

Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri and director Imtiaz Ali, were in Delhi on Wednesday for the finale of The Real Rockstar Hunt. Like most filmi events, this one too, was late, by more than three-and-a-half hours. But as soon as they arrived, Imtiaz apologised to hundreds of fans and the participating bands that had gathered there, blaming Delhi’s infamous traffic. The actors and the director then got to work playing judge, and picked Delhi band Bramhanad as the winner of the contest. It was also Ranbir’s ‘fourth anniversary in the film industry’ that day, as he put it, because ‘Saawariya’ had released on November 9, 2007.

Nargis, when presented with a bouquet, took a pink flower out of it and wore it in her hair. When the bands performed for the finale, she even threw flowers at some of the ones she liked!

Track teasers for new Rihanna album released LoS AnGeLeS: rihanna on Thursday released track teasers online from her upcoming album ‘Talk That Talk’, pushing the album up to no. 12 on the iTunes chart ahead of its November 21 release. The snippets from all 11 songs on the album comes after the singer posted a picture on her official Facebook page last week, revealing the track listing. Fans took to Twitter and Facebook to comment on the teasers, calling the album her best release yet, and pre-orders sent the album climbing on iTunes. AGencieS

Mayra veronica arrives to attend the ceremony.

Adele to have throat

Ang boy elique arriv er atte es to cere nd the mon y.

surgery LonDon: british singer Adele is going to have throat-related surgery and is canceling her remaining live appearances for the rest of the year, Columbia records said Friday.

“She is to undergo surgery to alleviate the current issues with her throat and a full recovery is expected,” the record company said in a statement. “As a result, doctors have ordered her to rest her voice and completely recuperate before looking to schedule any work commitments.”

Ticket holders will receive a refund from the point of purchase, the record label said.

Earlier this month, the 2011 American Music Awards announced that Adele, 23, lead artists with four nominations — for favorite pop or rock female artist, favorite pop or rock album (for ‘21’), favorite adult contemporary artist, and artist of the year.

In July, the soulful singer’s ‘21’ was ranked the year’s biggest album to date, with over 2.5 million sold since it was released in late February. Also in July, the disc was a consistent best-seller; it has spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks at Number One and has never ranked lower than Number Three on the albums chart. AGencieS

Paulina rubio arrives to attend the ceremony.

Taylor lautner tries to stay away from reading about himself online, but his efforts are rarely successful. “It’s tough because sometimes you’ll just be on the web and things pop up or you get emailed something from a friend,” the “breaking dawn - Part 1” actor, 19, tells PArAdE. “It’s definitely impossible to avoid stuff about me sometimes, but it’s pretty important to try.” Most importantly, he dislikes seeing things written about himself because they are usually false.

“It’s very rare that things are true about yourself that are on the Internet,” he says. “It’s just sad sometimes. So you definitely want to stay away from it as much as possible.”

One thing that hasn’t been exaggerated about lautner is the key to his stellar abs. The teen star says getting his buff body took just as much work as it looks like it did. “I had people bringing me food and shoving it in my face, saying ‘Eat, Taylor!’ “, he explains. “They sort of had to force me. Then I had to get my butt in the gym and that’s difficult because we were filming 12 to 15-hour days.”

MonitoRinG DeSK

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 17

17 Singer Sie7e accepts the best New Artist award.

Ali Zafar is no

gigolo Singers Marc Anthony and Pitbull perform.

NeW YORK AGencieS

Skyrim unleashes its magic on videogame lovers on Friday, opening a boundless world of medieval adventure complete with death-dealing dragons, Nordic gods, and foreboding prophecy.

The hotly-anticipated new installment in the popular Elder Scrolls series is being hailed by critics as a standout game amid an army of must-play titles launching for the year-end holiday season.

Skyrim was crafted by Bethesda Softworks game designers who produced openworld post-apocalyptic shooter Fallout 3, so players are welcomed into an expansive mountainous kingdom that they are free to explore at their peril. Innovative software perpetually generates missions such as saving villagers and righting wrongs, meaning that the game is technically endless even if players complete the main story campaign.

Skyrim opens with a player in the role of a nameless prisoner being carted off to a village for beheading. The axe man is interrupted by a dragon attack that triggers a harrowing escape into a rich, fantasy realm torn by civil war and treachery. The land bears signs foretold in the Elder Scrolls as marking the return of a Nordic god of destruction that will come in the form of a colossal dragon and devour the world. As luck would have it, the player’s character was born with the soul of a dragon and chosen by benevolent gods to stop evil from prevailing.

The virtual world of Skyrim spans 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) from mountains to open plains that players can

lautner rumoured about on internet

Pregnancy has been no inconvenience for Jessica Simpson so far. In fact, she loves it.

“Pregnancy was meant for me, it really was,” the Fashion Star mentor and beauty Mint spokesperson tells PEOPlE. “I can’t wait to have more kids. I love being pregnant. I have such an incredible connection with myself and with my body that I’ve never had before.”

Simpson, 31, also says pregnancy has been a spiritual time, too.

“Just knowing that you’re creating a life is such a spiritual thing,” she says. “Everything is growing, but you’re making a life. It’s pretty cool.”

On the flipside, Simpson has discovered not all the perks of pregnancy are true either.

“People always say that pregnant women have a glow,” she says.

“And I say it’s because you’re sweating to death. I think they just tell pregnant women they’re glowing to make them feel good about themselves, because everything makes them a little bit emotional.”

Contributing to the experience is having her fiancé Eric Johnson at her side every step of the way.

MonitoRinG DeSK

A

MONItORING DeSK

LI ZAFAR, due to his remarkable abilities to act and sing, is getting a number of offers from Bollywood these days. He was recently offered the role of a male prostitute (a gigolo) by a producer who insisted that he was perfect for the part. According to TOI, Ali turned the role down even when the producer of the film offered to pay him whatever fee he demanded. It seems Ali, at the moment, is not looking for such serious roles.

Ali, who recently got done with the shooting of his big Bollywood project with Fox Star Studios, started working on his next. He tweeted, “London, Paris, New York! Lovely experience shooting with lovely people Goldie Behl, Shrishti Arya, Anu, Aditi (Rao Hydari), Sameer Arya, Vivek and the whole crew.

From LPNY straight to Chashme Buddoor. During flight character mein aana paray ga.”

He just began shooting for his new Bollywood romantic-comedy ‘Chashme Buddoor’ which is the remake of an 80s classic. Ali Zafar will be playing the lead role which was played by Farooq Shaikh in the original movie. David Dhawan is directing the film.

The film is about three students; Siddharth (Ali Zafar), Omi (Sonu Nigam) and Jai (Siddharth Narayan) at Delhi University, who do not go home during summer vacation and how a girl Neha comes in their lives. The film will also feature Rishi Kapoor in a role played by Saeed Jaffrey in the original movie. Judging from the kind of choices he is making, Ali does not seem inclined to play a serious character in a film anytime soon!

Of dragons, Nordic gods and prophecies

freely range on horseback. The grand, immersive design of the game and the allure of endless numbers of missions promise players will be tracking game play by weeks

Jessica wants more

kids

instead of days. Players can opt to be elves, orcs or humans, with game makers even letting them become vampires as it did in Skyrim predecessor Oblivion.

MUMBAi: Saif Ali Khan hasn’t spoken about his impending wedding to Kareena Kapoor, until now. Contrary to stories doing the rounds that the wedding, to be held in his ancestral Pataudi Palace, has been postponed due to delays with Agent vinod and his father Mansur Ali Khan’s recent death, Saif confirms for the first time that they will marry early next year.

Kareena had always maintained that she and Saif would tie the knot in 2012 but there was some confusion if it would be early 2012 or end of the year. Saif’s mother Sharmila Tagore has also declared that her son is planning to marry Kareena “very soon.” The plan was to get married after the release of Saif’s home production Agent vinod, which was to release on december 9 but the film got delayed, which sparked speculation that the wedding would be postponed.

Saif confirms, “Kareena and I will definitely get married by early next year. we plan to get married in February 2012 after Agent vinod releases, but if the film’s release gets delayed we will still get married by March. we won’t postpone the marriage beyond that anymore.”

AGencieS

‘Salvator Mundi’ authenticated as da vinci’s LONDON AGencieS

A newly discovered painting by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci has sent shock waves through the art world, prompting speculation that more of his paintings could be as yet undiscovered. The ‘Salvator Mundi’ was, for years, thought to be a painting by one of da Vinci’s pupils or associates. But after a lengthy period of study and conservation, it has been authenticated as a da Vinci. The painting was sold in 1958 for £45, about $125 in today’s currency, by descendants of British collector Sir Frederick Cook, who bought the painting in 1900. Today, the painting is estimated to be worth $200 million, according to some scholars. Though the conservator who helped to reveal the painting’s true identity called it “the rarest thing imaginable,” speculation is rife that there are other Leonardo da Vinci paintings still at large, possibly lying unknown in private collections.

There are currently some 15 authenticated Leonardo da Vinci paintings in the world. But they are difficult to attribute, because da Vinci often left his works unfinished and some are thought to have been worked on by other artists in his workshops. Martin Kemp, Emeritus Research Professor in the History of Art at Oxford University and a leading expert on Leonardo da Vinci, gives the careful estimate that there are probably no more than 20 paintings by the master in the world, which suggests there could be five more to be discovered.

Saif Ali Khan unveils

relationship going-ons

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 18

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Pettersen, Inkster lead Ochoa Invitational Page 23

Mohsin gets extension as interim coach LAHORe StAFF RePoRt

The Pakistan Cricket Board has given Mohsin Khan an extended stint as coach of the team up till the tour of Bangladesh, it was announced Friday. Pakistan will be visiting Bangladesh for a series of Test, ODI and T20 matches from November 26 till December 22. An official of the board said: “Since no coach has been appointed for the Pakistan team, Mohsin Khan will continue as coach for the Bangladesh series. According to a PCB official, the Board has shortlisted a foreign name for the post, and for that matter, the formal procedures might take a while to come out with a final notion since negotiations between the officials and the likely candidate are still in progress. “We are in advanced stages of talks with a prospective candidate who has been picked from the list of candidates recommended by the committee that was formed by the board to scrutinise and recommend a new head coach,” the official said. “It is in that scenario that the PCB had put faith in Mohsin to continue as interim coach for the Bangladesh series,” he added.

women’s cricket academy inaugurated LAHORe StAFF RePoRt

Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated a cricket academy solely for women cricketers here at the Model Town. Speaking on the occasion, Mian Shahbaz Sharif said that women should work along side men for the better future of the country. He further said that Pakistani women were immensely talented and they need proper platform to excel. A number of Pakistan Cricket Board officials including Zakir Khan, Shafique Papa, Haroon Rashid, Intikhab Alam, Ali Zia, Shakeel Khan, Raza Rashid, former PCB chairman Khalid Mahmood, LCCA president Khawaja Nadeem, PHA director Ahmer Malik, PCB women wing chairperson Bushara Aitzaz and Aiysha Asher were also present on the occasion. An exhibitions match was also played between Punjab Reds and Punjab Blacks and the chief minister was also introduced with the women players and he appreciated the performance of the players.

Nothing sweeter than victory: Misbah LAHORe

P

StAFF RePoRt

AKISTAN captain Misbah-ul-Haq Friday urged his players to be more responsible and perform exceptionally well to overshadow the spot-fixing controversy. "The most important thing is to focus on performance and ensure that we play good cricket. The team must focus on cricket and only cricket," Pak Passion quoted Misbah, as saying. "In the last year-and-a-half the team has done very well in all formats of the game. The priority and attention has to be on playing good cricket and that is what we have been trying to achieve. All players are putting other things to the back of their minds and concentrating only on cricket," he added.

Last year's spot fixing scandal has tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket team, with many within the cricket fraternity calling it an 'unfortunate' incident. But, Misbah said that this will not affect the performance of the Pakistan cricket team. "We did well in the

World Cup and also our performances in Test cricket have been consistent and that is our aim. What has been going on in London is painful, but we are all mentally very tough and we will not let it affect our performance," he added. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was handed a 30-month prison sentence for spot-fixing in London. Fast bowler Mohammad Asif was also sent to prison for one year and teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir for six months for deliberately bowling no-balls during a test against England last year.

Zaka Ashraf welcomes ecb chief’s remarks LAHoRE: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf has welcomed the England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke remarks on spot-fixing. In a television interview, Zaka Ashraf said that Pakistan needed cordial ties with all cricketing bodies. “I sincerely appreciate Giles Clarke for his constructive remarks, and look forward to capitalising on the hint of cooperation given by the ECB chief.” Earlier in an interview, Clarke praised the PCB for the rebuilding work after the recent spotfixing episode. He also described the initial measures taken by the new PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, as “impressive”. “World cricket is a group of colleagues and friends; we compete, but the decline or damage of one of us damages us all,” Clarke had said. Zaka Ashraf, the ex-president of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), said that he would call on his English counterpart on the first available opportunity. “I will be meeting with the officials of the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board in UAE later this month, and as soon as the opportunity comes by I will surely meet with the ECB chairman who has been kind in his efforts to bring international cricket back to Pakistan”, added Ashraf who has replaced Ijaz Butt as the new PCB chief last month. The PCB chairman reiterated that the return of international cricket to Pakistan is the foremost priority and, for this very purpose, he had already written letters to all the Test playing countries. StAFF RePoRt

Kaneria vows to fight on KARACHI AFP

Fbr investigating cricketers’ assets LAHORe

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria Friday vowed to clear his name over a spot-fixing case in which he was released without charge in Britain, saying he would take his case to higher courts in his home country. A two-member Sindh high court bench on Thursday dismissed Kaneria’s petition against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for refusing to select him since spot-fixing claims emerged in 2010, saying the matter was outside their jurisdiction. “I’m under a lot of pressure and will seek legal advice on how to go about it,” Kaneria told AFP. “We can file the case in the Lahore High Court or Supreme Court after consultation -- it’s very stressful.” The 30-year-old Kaneria has not been selected to play for Pakistan since being withdrawn from the squad to face South Africa in October last year. He was arrested in Britain along with Essex county teammate Mervyn Westfield over allegations of spot-fixing during a Pro40 match against Durham in September 2010, but was released without charge, although Westfield faced criminal proceedings. But the PCB’s integrity committee did not clear Kaneria and instead asked him to produce the transcripts of the Essex police investigation. Kaneria’s lawyer Farogh Naseem said their next move would be decided soon. “Our petition was dismissed only because the Sindh high court doesn’t have the jurisdiction to hear the case,” Naseem said.

PCB legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi said the case could be contested in any of the courts. “If he wants to go to the Supreme Court or Lahore High Court then we will contest. But at the same time PCB has nothing against Kaneria,” said Rizvi.

“There are some integrity concerns over the player, just like with Shoaib Malik who cleared his name -- we want all players to clear their names,” he added.

Kaneria’s case comes after three Pakistan players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- along with their agent were handed prison sentences for fixing during a Lord’s Test against England last year.

StAFF RePoRt

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is investigating assets and accounts of imprisoned Pakistani cricket players, an official of FBR was reported to have said.

“FBR’s Headquarters in Islamabad has taken the cases of Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir and is investigating their assets. We are collecting information about their accounts in different banks,” Assistant Commissioner at FBR Headquarters Yasmin Fatima was quoted as saying.

A British court recently convicted the three of corruption in cricket matches.

Authorities accused Butt of transferring US $181,000 (Rs. 15.6m) to his mother’s bank account in September 2010 when the spot-fixing scandal erupted.

“The movable and immovable properties (real estate), including all assets and bank accounts of Asif and Amir, are also under investigation,” Fatima said. “We are trying to confirm the source of income of these players and will take legal action if we find any unfair means.”

Justice done but damage to Pakistan irreparable g

Culprits got what they deserved but Pakistan cricket will take a long time to recover from the ignominy

exPeRt coMMent

wAqAr yOUNIS It was heartbreaking when spot-fixing scandal came to the fore. There was depression, a lot of frustration and anger over

what happened. Wherever we went the media followed us, even on helicopters, showing what we are doing.

Every move of us was being watched.

Cricket is a sport where you make friends and not enemies and not run away from anyone. It was tough but I must give credit to the boys because still they could focus on the game and manage a 3-2 result in the one-dayers. When Salman Butt was made the captain I thought we have finally found a captain who can go on for a longer period of time because we have been struggling without a captain. Butt could have led Pakistan for the next seven to ten years. I never knew all this was happening and I feel so bad it all happened. I

wish I could even have thought of it. I met Mazhar Majeed many times during the series. I was told he was the agent of the boys and looks after their contracts. It

never occurred to me that he was such a kind of person. I am happy that it has all ended now, but ended in a bad way.

Never had I had this feeling (that

players were involved in fixing). Maybe I was too naive, I guess, because I cannot think of any match being fixed. That is why when Justice Malik Qayyum’s report on match-fixing came out I could not get the right picture. I never realised it because I consider cricket as a top profession and I played it clean. So it is so sad this has happened and I will be happy if cricket from now on will be clean. This incident is a lesson to the youngsters. I hope youngsters will learn from it and realise that spending time in jail is not easy.” Justice was overdue and I am happy it is being done. The world can understand and now look at Pakistan with a cleaner eye and probably a cleaner heart.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 19

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Camp for Champions Trophy from tomorrow

Sports 19

SA cruise to victory over Australia ScoReBoARD

LAHORe

AUStRALiA, first innings: 284 SoUtH AFRicA, first innings: 96 AUStRALiA, second innings: 47 SoUtH AFRicA, second innings (overnight 81-1) G. Smith not out 101 J. Rudolph c Haddin b Siddle 14 H. Amla c clarke b Johnson 112 J. Kallis not out 2 extRAS (lb4, nb2, w1) 7 totAL (2 wkts, 50.2 overs) 236 Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Rudolph), 2-222 (Amla) Bowling: Harris 14-2-67-0, Siddle 12.2-0-49-1 (1nb), Watson 10-0-44-0, Johnson 11-1-61-1 (1nb, 1w), Lyon 3-1-11-0 MAtcH PoSition: South Africa won by 8 wickets SeRieS: South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0 toSS: South Africa UMPiReS: Billy Doctrove (WiS), ian Gould (enG) tV UMPiRe: Billy Bowden (nZL) MAtcH ReFeRee: Roshan Mahanama (SRi) Man of the match: Vernon Philander (RSA) Remaining Match: nov 17-21, Johannesburg

StAFF RePoRt

The Pakistan senior hockey team will participate in the Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand, from December 3 to 11. The training camp for the preparation of the team will be established at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium Islamabad on November 13. The PHF has directed following probable players to report to camp commandant Khawaja Muhammad Junaid at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, Islamabad, on November 13th 2011/afternoon, positively. Muhammad Imran, Shakeel Abbasi, Syed Kashif Shah, Muhammad Rizwan Junior, Waseem Ahmed, Rashid Mehmood, Fareed Ahmed, Muhammad Tousiq, Muhammad Waqas, Sohail Abbas, Muhammad Rizwan Senior, Muhammad Zubair, Abdul Haseem Khan, Imran Shah, Muhammad Umar Bhutta, Muhammad Irfan Senior, Shafqat Rasool, M. Kashif Javed, Ali Shan, Muhammad Irfan Junior, Salman Akbar, Tasawar Abbas, Muhammad Suleman and Muhammad Kashif = 24. The trials to select the final lineup will be held on November 20 at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium Islamabad.

Pakistan outclass Norway in Kabaddi world Cup

CAPE TOwN: South African bastman Hashim Amla plays a shot from a ball of unseen Australian bowler ryan Harris. AfP first player in history to score four centuries ness of the win seemed improbable less than CAPe tOWN

G

AFP

RAEME Smith and Hashim Amla both hit centuries to take South Africa to a comfortable ninewicket victory over Australia on Friday to end one of cricket’s most topsy-turvy Test matches. Amla raced to a 126-ball century before being caught for 112 with his team 14 short of their target of 236.

South African captain Smith became the

24 hours earlier when South Africa were bowled out for 96 in their first innings, giving Australia a lead of 188 runs. But Australia were shot out for 47 to swing the odds back in the home team’s favour. Smith and Amla started the day on 88 for one and there was an early alarm when Amla, after adding only one to his overnight score of 29, was dropped at first slip by Shane Watson off Ryan Harris.

Amla had been dropped off the last ball of the second day’s play by Mike Hussey at gully,

in winning fourth innings run chases, reaching the mark with a single to level the scores and then hitting the winning run to finish on 101 not out. Smith and Amla put on 195 for the second wicket in only 184 minutes off 248 balls. The ease of their strokeplay on a sunny morning made a mockery of the previous day’s batting collapses by both teams.

South Africa completed their win before lunch on the third day to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. Both the speed and decisive-

also off Harris. Harris beat Amla again when he struck the batsman on the pads in his next over. He appealed for a leg before wicket decision which was turned down by umpire Billy Doctrove. He asked for a television review but unlike the second day, when four decisions were overturned in favour of bowlers, replays showed the ball was going down the leg side. After playing themselves in, Smith and Amla increased the tempo and posted a century partnership off 164 balls. With Amla in particular in aggressive mode, the run rate increased rapidly before Amla played one extravagant stroke too many and was caught at gully by Australian captain Michael Clarke off Mitchell Johnson. Harris was the most impressive of the Australian bowlers but could not take a wicket, while Shane Watson was unable to repeat his heroics of Thursday when he took five for 17 to send South Africa tumbling. Johnson, who shone against South Africa in home and away series three seasons ago, was unimpressive and conceded 61 runs in 11 overs despite taking Amla’s wicket.

LAHORe StAFF RePoRt

Pakistan registered their fourth win in the Kabaddi World Cup after beating Norway in their fifth group match in India on Friday. Pakistan outclassed Norway by 67-15. In the other matches of the day, Argentina beat Sri Lanka by 53-49 while United States defeated Spain. Now Pakistan will face Spain in their final group match on Wednesday.

brazil open national stadium with 2-0 gabon win LIBReVILLe AFP

World Cup 2014 hosts Brazil celebrated a 2-0 friendly win over Gabon Thursday as the hosts inaugurated the Stade de l’Amitie.

Gabon’s new national stadium will stage the final of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, on February 12. And the hosts gave the former world champions a run for their money, creating a host of scoring chances but ultimately failing to respond to first half goals by Sandro and Hernanes.

Victory after less than 100 in the first innings g

Etihad Airways joins hands with Abu dhabi grand Prix LAHORe

SA second team in 60 years to win after being bowled out below 100 stats corner S. PeRVez QAISeR

G

RAEME Smith (101 not out) and Hashim Amla (112) struck centuries in South Africa’s humiliation of Australia on the third day at Newlands, Cape Town, on Friday (November 11). The winning run came when Greame Smith, who finished unbeaten on 101, clipped Peter Siddle through midwicket. This was a team that on the second day had been bowled out for 96. In doing so, South Africa became just the second team in 60 years to win a Test having been bowled out for less than 100 in their first innings; the only other occasion in the modern era was New Zealand’s success against India in Wellington in December 2002.

It was ninth occasion in when a team achieved victory having been bowled out for less than 100 in their first innings. The 195-run stand between Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla is South Africa's highest for the second wicket against Australia.

The previous best, of 173, had stood for more than 109 years.

The match lasted only 1007 deliveries, which is among the shortest since 1940 for a Test with a decisive result. In these 71 years, only six Tests have ended in fewer deliveries.

VictoRY AFteR ScoRinG UnDeR 100 in tHe FiRSt inninGS: ScoRe WinneR 45 England

LoSeR Australia

VenUe Sydney

SeASon 1886-87

ReSULt 13 runs

63 75 75 76 91 92 94 96

Australia England Australia England S Africa England N Zealand S Africa

England Australia South Africa South Africa England South Africa India Australia

The Oval Melbourne durban leeds Johannesburg Cape Town Hamilton Cape Town

1882 1894-95 1949-50 1907 1905-06 1898-99 2002-03 2011-12

StAFF RePoRt

7 runs 94 runs 5 wickets 53 runs 1 wicket 210 runs 4 wickets 8 wickets

SMItH fIRSt to ScoRE fouR cENtuRIES IN LASt INNINgS vIctoRIES Graeme Smith’s unbeaten 101 in South African second innings was his fourth hundred in the fourth innings of a Test, which equals the record held by India's Sunil Gavaskar. All four of Graeme Smith’s fourth-innings hundreds have come in wins, making him the first player to score four centuries in victories. He is also the first to pass 1000 runs in fourth-innings wins. Of Graeme Smith’s 23 hundreds, 16 have come in wins and seven in draws, which means he hasn’t yet scored a hundred in a Test defeat.

MoSt RUnS in FoURtH inninGS FoR WinninG cAUSe BAtSMAn graeme Smith (S Africa) Matthew Hayden (Aus) gordon greenidge (wI) Justin langer (Aus) ricky Ponting (Aus)

i 18 27 23 23 22

no 6 11 10 6 13

RUnS 1030 913 850 849 835

AVG 85.83 57.06 65.38 49.94 92.77

HS 100 154* 4 101* 1 214* 1 127 2 143* 3

50 5 6 4 5 3

Japan through, China’s WC dream over HONG KONG AFP

Japan thumped Tajikistan 4-0 to advance into the final qualifying stage for the 2014 World Cup Friday but there will be no China after they lost to Iraq and Australia were shock losers to minnows Oman.

Uzbekistan join Japan in the next round after they squeezed past North Korea 1-0 at home, meaning the North are out, but their great rivals South Korea are all but there after a late double saw off a stubborn United Arab Emirates.

Japan, the reigning Asian Cup champions, started slowly at the Dushanbe Central Stadium in the Tajik capital, struggling to find their rhythm on a pitch which was almost bald. And the Blue Samu-

rai, who defeated Tajikistan 8-0 at home, survived a mighty scare when midfielder Dilshod Vasiev hit the post with a sizzling shot in the 31st minute. But that sparked Japan to life and they opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Kengo Nakamura’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Alisher Tuychiev only for defender Yasuyuki Konno to pounce for his first international goal. Japan made it 2-0 in the 61st minute when Shinji Kagawa sent a cross from the left edge of the area for Shinji Okazaki to head home from close range.

Second-half substitute Ryoichi Maeda added another in the 82nd minute after he received the ball on the edge of the area with four defenders in front of him, moved to the right and hit a fierce

shot into the net. Japan completed the victory in injury time with a fluid passing move finished off by Okazaki. Japan’s Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni said: “For us, the result is the most important. Our team scores goals by creating many chances, not by creating only a few chances. “The Middle Eastern and Central Asian teams are physically strong. On top of that, the pitch condition was very bad today. “Personally, I feel that it is very difficult to play an away game in Asia, but we are the only team to score 12 goals against Tajikistan.” Uzbekistan join Japan in the final round of qualifying thanks to a Timur Kapadze goal in the 49th minute at home to North Korea, who will now not make it to Brazil.

0 1 1 1 1

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has joined hands with this year’s Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel will once again look to defend his crown and make it a hat-trick of pole positions at this venue. As the penultimate race of the season, the 2011 F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will again likely play a key role in deciding the 2011 Championship. For the 2011 Formula One season, the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be held on the Yas Marina Circuit, for the weekend of November 11, 12, 13. Over the three days, there will be three practice races, followed by a qualifying race and finally the Race.

The Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix began in 2009 and was Formula One's first ever day-night race, starting at 17:00 local time. Floodlights used to illuminate the circuit were switched on from the start of the event to ensure there is a seamless transition from daylight to darkness.

berdych outlasts Murray in Paris marathon PARIS AFP

MUSCAT: Omani player Abdul Aziz Humaid (r) vies for the ball with Australia’s Mile Jedinak (l). AfP

Tomas Berdych outlasted second seed Andy Murray in a marathon battle of missed opportunities on Friday to earn a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 trip into the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.

The frustrated Murray ended with a forehand wide on a second match point for fifth seed Berdych, who qualified into the field for the yearend World Tour Finals starting a week from Sunday in London.

The quarter-final struggle lasted for nearly three-and-a-quarter hours, with Murray missing on 15 of 17 break point chances and Berdych managing to break twice from 14 opportunities.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:26 AM Page 20

20 Sports

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Aisam-bopanna in Paris Masters semis

LAHORe StAFF RePoRt

Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna advanced to the men’s doubles semifinals of the Paris Masters Tennis Tournament after defeating second seed M Llodra of France and N Zimonjić of Serbia in a thrilling quarterfinal contest in Paris on Friday. Seventh seed pair of Aisam-Bopanna won the encounter in super tie breaker. In the quarterfinals, AisamBopanna lost the opening set by 6-3. But IndoPak express came back strongly and played very well in the second set. They broke the opponent serve twice and won the set by 6-4. The match was decided on super tie breaker. IndoPak express won the tie breaker by 10-6.and won the contest. The scoreline of the match remained 3-6, 6-4, 10-6. Now Aisam-Bopanna will take on third seed M Mirnyi of Belarus and D Nestor of Canada in the semifinals.

Amir can appeal spot-fixing jail term LONDON ReUteRS

Mohammad Amir, one of the Pakistan cricketers jailed for fixing parts of a Test match in England last year, was given permission on Friday to challenge his sentence. The teenage fast bowler was sentenced earlier this month to six months in prison for bowling no-balls at prearranged times during a match at Lord's in August 2010. A judge at the Court of Appeal in London refused Amir, 19, bail but granted him permission to appeal against his sentence, the Press Association reported. Justice Kathryn Thirlwall directed that the appeal should be heard before November 29. Salman Butt, who was sentenced to 30 months at London's Court as part of the same plot.

ePl crysTAl bAll: InTernATIonAl breAK sPecIAl

Team of the season so far... comment KUNWAR KHULDUNe SHAHID

ent as well.

cB: Vincent KoMPAnY

S the Premier league takes a breather owing to the international break for the Euro Playoffs, the Crystal Ball is taking a look back at the season so far, and assembling a squad of players who have stood out the most. After carefully examining the 11 rounds of fixtures, here’s the team of the season so far…

A

Possibly the strongest candidate for the defender of the season so far this season; Kompany has taken over the captain’s armband at City and has oozed dependability and solidity. Without him City’s defense is all over the place and he is absolutely imperative for City’s title aspirations.

GK: MicHeL VoRM

LB: JoSe enRiqUe

Vorm has been an absolute monster in goal, merely conceding a single goal at home. His goalkeeping has been one of the most paramount reasons why Swansea find themselves in the top half of the table.

Liverpool finally seem to have plugged their problem area as far as defense is concerned. Enrique is solid at the back, and provides attacking impetus on the left as well. With three assists already this season, the former Newcastle fullback has demonstrated his crossing ability from decisive positions as well.

RB: JoSe BoSinGWA While clean sheets have been hard to come for Chelsea, Bosingwa has still managed to shine on the right flank. The Portuguese fullback has enhanced the defensive part of his repertoire and his marauding runs forward are a menace for the opposition.

cB: PHiL JoneS Proving himself to be a bargain purchase, Jones has been an absolute marvel and has excelled in various positions for United. He has the defensive savoir faire and couples it up with his dynamism.

With Ferdinand and Vidic on a decline, Jones and Smalling are United’s future – and possibly pres-

cM: cHeicK tiote The best defensive midfielder in the league, Tiote has easily been Newcastle’s outstanding performer this season. Breaking plays, screening his defense, and allowing Cabaye to do his mastery on the ball – Tiote is the single biggest factor behind Newcas-

tle’s upsurge and defensive stability.

cM: RAFAeL VAn DeR VAARt Van Der Vaart is one of the most talismanic figures in the league and more often than not Spurs’ principal protagonist in attack. With six goals and a pair of assists – in an injury-hit start to the season – already, the Flying Dutchman still has a lot of wizardry up his sleeve.

cM: DAViD SiLVA The unanimous choice for EPL’s Player of the season so far, Silva orchestrates the table toppers with an awe-inspiring brand of passing, vision, and linkup play.

He pulls City’s strings in midfield, and with a deadly strike force ahead of him, the Spaniard ensures that his team profits to the fullest.

St: GABRieL AGBonLAHoR The forward with the most number of assists (six) so far this season, and he has backed them up with five clinical and significant finishes. Agbonlahor has combined seamlessly with Bent on numerous occasions with Villa benefiting the most.

St: WAYne RooneY Rooney had a blistering start to the season, but he has begun to tail off

recently and has been playing in the midfield off-late.

That experiment shouldn’t last long, and one would expect Rooney to be back upfront for United, bidding to rediscover is all-conquering form up top.

St: RoBin VAn PeRSie The most valuable player in the league, as far as singlehanded influence over league standings is concerned. Arsenal’s skipper is the top-scorer in the league with 11 goals, and is undoubtedly the nucleus of all of Wenger’s aspirations.

MAnAGeR: ALAn PARDeW With inflated expectations and little sanity in the boardroom, being Newcastle’s manager is one of the most strenuous tasks in football. However Pardew has done a resounding job in ensuring that his side rises up from being early season relegation contenders to veritable challengers for the Champions League places.

SUBStitUteS BencH ALi AL-HABSi: wIgAN’S ‘gOAlS AgAINST’ COlUMN wOUld lOOK lIKE A TElEPHONE NUMbEr wITHOUT HIM

SteVen tAYLoR: THE HEArT OF THE STATISTICAlly MEANEST dEFENSE IN ENglANd KYLe WALKeR: SPUrS HAvEN’T lOST wITH HIM IN THE SIdE Scott PARKeR: SPUrS’ MIdFIEld dyNAMO, wHO ENSUrES THAT HIS TEAMMATES FINd THEIr ATTACKINg lIbErTy JUAn MAtA: HIS SPArK wIll bE PIvOTAl FOr CHElSEA’S MUlTI-PrONgEd qUEST FOr SIlvErwArE LUiS SUAReZ: AT HIS bEST, HE IS A MATCH FOr ANy EPl STrIKEr SeRGio AGUeRo: HAS SCOrEd A HANdFUl OF gOAlS, vINdICATINg HIS 35 MIllION POUNd PrICE TAg.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:27 AM Page 21

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

DUBAI: Abdul Razzaq (2L) celebrates with others the dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara (R) in the first One Day International. AfP

Clinical Pakistan thrash Sri Lanka DUBAI

L

It wasn’t a bad pitch, but all credit goes to the bowlers as they kept relentless pressure on the batsmen and then Farhat and Younis batted well to ensure a win.

Sports 21

AFP

EG-SPINNER Shahid Afridi capped an excellent return to international cricket with three wickets as Pakistan thumped Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first day-night match here on Friday. Afridi took 3-27 in his first match since returning from a sixmonth exile, helping Pakistan dismiss Sri Lanka for a paltry 131 in 40.3 overs before Younis Khan and Imran Farhat hit fifties to anchor the chase at Dubai stadium. Pakistan lost Mohammad Hafeez (five) in the second over of their innings but Farhat added 103 for the second wicket stand with Younis Khan (56 not out) to ensure a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Farhat hit leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna for his seventh boundary to reach his ninth one-day fifty but with only 17 needed he was trapped leg-before wicket by paceman Suranga Lakmal for 50. Younis, whose fifty was his 45th in one-dayers, took the team past the target in just 21.5 overs. He hit seven boundaries during his 57-ball knock. Pakistan were on course for a comprehensive win thanks in large part to Afridi, who finished with 3-27 and was ably supported by Saeed Ajmal (2-21) and Mohammad Hafeez (2-24) as Sri Lanka lost their last seven wickets for 54 after opting to bat.

Dinesh Chandimal top-scored with 28 while opener Tharanga Paranavitna (25) and Mahela Jayawardene (24) were other notable scorers but none went on to make a big score against some lethal spin bowling. Sri Lanka lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over of the match, bowled by paceman Aizaz Cheema for four.

With their captain back in the pavilion, Sri Lanka did not recover as wickets continued to fall, in-form Kumar Sangakkara falling for five after struggling through 24 deliveries.

Chandimal and Paranavitana added 30 for the third wicket before Pakistan’s spinners ran riot, grabbing the last seven wickets for a mere 54 runs. Afridi, who only last month decided to go back on a decision to retire from international cricket in protest at being sacked as oneday captain, struck in his first over of the match. Chandimal hit him for a six off his fourth ball, but the leg-spinner had him leg-before the very next ball. Chandimal hit two sixes and a four off 31 balls.

The 31-year-old Afridi then dismissed Prasanna (five) and Lasith Malinga (11) during his incisive 9.3 overs spell. Jayawardene and Paranavitana were the others to provide some resistance but they too departed to spinners.

The second match will also be played in Dubai on Monday. The remaining matches are scheduled for Dubai (November 18), Sharjah (November 20) and Abu Dhabi (November 23). The teams will also play a Twenty20 in Abu Dhabi on November 25.

ScoReBoARD SRi LAnKA 25 U. tharanga c cheema b Hafeez 4 t. Dilshan b cheema K. Sangakkara c Ahmed b Razzaq 5 D. chandimal lbw b Afridi 28 M. Jayawardene c Razzaq b Ajmal 24 A. Mathews run out 10 K. Kulasekara c Gul b Hafeez 0 S. Prasanna st Ahmed b Afridi 5 L. Malinga b Afridi 11 0 S. Lakmal st Ahmed b Ajmal 0 D. Fernando not out extRAS: (lb5, nb1, w13) 19 131 totAL: Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Dilshan), 2-36 (Sangakkara), 3-66 (tharanga), 4-77 (chandimal), 5-104 (Mathews), 6-107 (Kulasekara), 7-120 (Jayawardene), 8-122 (Prasanna), 9129 (Lakmal) Bowling: Gul 5-2-11-0 (1nb, 2w), cheema 5-1-18-1 (5w), Razzaq 5-0-25-1 (w2), Hafeez 10-0-24-2, Afridi 9.3-027-3 (w3), Ajmal 6-0-21-2 (w1), overs: 40.3 PAKiStAn Mohammad Hafeez c Kulasekara b Lakmal 5 imran Farhat lbw b Lakmal 50 56 Younis Khan not out Sarfraz Ahmed not out 4 extRAS: (lb6, nb4, w7) 17 132 totAL: (for two wkts) Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Hafeez), 2-115 (Farhat).

Bowling: Malinga 5-0-35-0 (nb4, w5), Lakmal 4-0-16-0, Fernando 5.5-0-35-0 (w2), Prasanna 4-0-23-0, Kulasekara 3-0-17-0, oVeRS: 21.5 toSS: Sri Lanka, UMPiReS: Marais erasmus (RSA) and Ahsan Raza (PAK), tV UMPiRe: Richard illingworth (enG)

Misbah’s new record as skipper stats corner S. PeRVez QAISeR Misbah-ul-Haq became the first skipper ever to win first seven matches in limited overs international cricket. The eightwicket victory in the first one day international at Dubai International Stadium on Friday was seventh in as many matches under Misbah-ul-Haq. — Australian Adam gilchrist who won first six international matches as Australian skipper held the previous record.

— Pakistan's eight-wicket win was the biggest against Sri lanka in terms of balls remaining. It was Pakistan's sixth biggest victory in terms of balls remaining in limited overs international cricket.

— The 103-run stand for the second wicket between younus Khan and Imran Farhat was Pakistan's 10th century stand for this wicket position against Sri lanka in limited overs international cricket.

— Chamith Kosala bandara Kulasekara became the 149th player to represent Sri lanka in limited overs international cricket. The right-hand batsman and right arm fast medium bowler from Mavanalle made his debut after playing 74 domestic matches.

— Shahid Afridi received his 25th man of the match award in 326 matches. It was his seventh such award in 53 matches against Sri lanka. The former skipper became the second Pakistani after Saeed Anwar (28 man of the match awards in 247 matches) and 13th player overall to win 25 or more man of the match award in one day internationals.

WATCh iT Live STAR SPORTS Bnp Paribas – Paris Semifinals 06:00PM

ESPN FIA F1 World C’ship Qualifying 2011 05:50PM

Pettersen, Inkster lead Ochoa Invitational GUADALAJARA AFP

American Juli Inkster fired a bogey-free five-under 67 Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with last year's runner-up Suzann Pettersen at the $1 million Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Inkster, 51, is seeking to become the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history. Beth Daniel was 46 when she won the Canadian Women's Open eight years ago. South Korea's Meena Lee shot a first round four-under 68, and Scotland's Catriona Matthew was another stroke back in the 36-player field at Guadalajara Country Club. American Michelle Wie was three strokes back at 70. Wie won this event in 2009. She was tied in a group that also includes Se Ri Pak, Maria Hjorth, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Sophie Gustafson. Inkster's last victory on the LPGA Tour was at the 2006 Safeway International and the last time she converted a first round lead into a win was the 2003 Evian Ladies Masters. She has 31 career LPGA wins. "I just put the ball on the fairway and made a couple putts," said Inkster. "I didn't have any bogeys, so it was nice." World No. 2 Pettersen already has two LPGA Tour victories this year.

PAKiStAn UnDeR MiSBAH-UL-HAq

— beat India by 8 wickets at Karachi on July 2,2008.

— beat Ireland by 7 wickets at belfast on May 28, 2011 — beat Ireland by 5 wickets at belfast on May 30, 2011 — beat Zimbabwe by 5 runs at bulawayo on Sept 8, 2011 — beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets at Harare on Sept 11,2011 — beat Zimbabwe by 28 runs at Harare on Sept 14,2011 — beat Sri lanka by 8 wickets at dubai on Nov 11,20011.

MiSBAH

Blue-eyed boys with the blue-collar mentality g

Sitting pretty at the summit of the Premier league, City’s brigade have disproved the clamours of ‘mercenaries’

T

he Russian revolution of 2003 had famously disturbed the status quo resoundingly and brought about sweeping changes, and once again the EPL realm witnessed a major convulsion that promised to restructure the hierarchy in 2008.

Another blue lightning – that was about to strike the same locus again – was scrutinised with sceptical rose-tinted (red to be precise) glasses.

Abramovich’s empire was vilified by drivel such as a lack of ‘class’, ‘history’ and ‘status’ , which was followed by a prolific spell of silverware – the ‘finger on the lips’ gesticulation. Likewise, the Arabian Sea in the blue half of Manchester was declared to be a pool of mercenaries – this clamour was the most vociferous in their neighbourhood. Nevertheless, City are well and truly on their way to shushing the doubters – if the Six and the City episode hasn’t already done that.

“We are building a structure for the future, not just a team of all-stars,” expounded Sheikh Mansour as he took over the club. But no one was willing to buy that. Fast forward three years and the all-stars are working in tandem to construct a well-structured dynasty. Of the 11 games played this, City have won 10, dropping a meager two points in the process.

They have a staggering goal-difference of +29, have

scored 39 goals – nearly four goals per game – and have dazzled the league with breathtaking football.

In Silva they have the player of the season so far; Kompany has been a towering presence at the back – well supported by Richards and Lescott; Hart – although occasionally below the lofty standards that he has set himself – has been prudently reliable and Toure provides the midfield engine.

City are blessed with a gaudy gamut of striking options, and each one has made the headlines for an assortment of reasons. After last season’s expertise from their former skipper, a City team banging in goals without Carlos Tevez was unfathomable.

Cue Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli and City have unleashed a strike force that is a mélange of skill, flair, stardom and lethal finishing.

Whenever a player has been linked with City in the past, he was dutifully dumped into the ‘merce-

naries’ bin by the “connoisseurs” of the beautiful game. Be it Nasri hankering after a move away from the Emirates, Balotelli, Toure, Aguero or the recent ship-jumper Hargreaves; none was spared of the chastisement. First of all there is nothing wrong with getting the best deal out of your profession and your employers; that’s what we all strive to do, and just because the footballers have a considerably more elongated queue of zeros that on their wages does not entitle that they lie in the lower echelons of morality. Secondly, and more significantly, the team-spirit and the hunger that City’s luxuriously assembled superstars have exhibited has clarified their priorities, showcased their desire to bag silverware, and illuminated their quest of being the number one team in England and maybe one day in Europe.

Mancini deserves a lot of credit for instilling the culture of toiling for the common cause, of playing

as a group and that injection of winning mentality that has been synonymous with their eminent neighbours for over a couple of decades. With such a grand assembly of luminaries, keeping the entire squad satisfied was no mean task. Even so, the entire City squad has been unified under the Italian tactician. A notable example was a couple of weeks ago, when Mancini picked almost entirely dissimilar sides for their league wins against United and Wolves, but the camaraderie, the synchronisation of wavelengths and the quality of play was identical.

With nearly a third of the season gone, City are raising the bar higher and higher. After getting themselves into an early predicament in Europe, Mancini’s side have dug themselves out of the hole via that same ethos that has seen them overpower one and all in England. Football gods had thrown down the gauntlet before the start of the season for Manchester City to pick up and prove their mettle. They have done that, and now the onus is on them to convert the promise into tangible silverware. All the same, what is unambiguous is the fact that City’s regiment isn’t a bunch of money hoarders, even if their hefty wages might entertain our neurons. We can envy their paycheques but we cannot doubt their intent.

KUnWAR KHULDUne SHAHiD

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:27 AM Page 22

Indian dichotomy and MFN 3 Female education can change paradigms Page 2 Cement manufacturers urge govt to clear payments Page 8 Pages: 8

profit.com.pk

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

PR could earn Rs500m by land leasing, claim railway officials ISLAMABAD

P

StAFF RePoRt

AKISTAN Railways (PR) officials claimed that the entity can earn up to Rs500 million annually by leasing out railway land, easing the financial crunch of the national entity.

Railway officials were briefing the sub-committee of senate standing committee on railways about progress on the issue of illegal occupation of railway land by individuals in Lahore.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of head of sub-committee senator Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi.

The two member committee comprised of senators Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Abdul Khaliq Pirzada.

Director Technical Railways from Lahore Abdul Saeed Khan informed that the enforcement division has got retrieved 13 acres of agriculture land, 4.5 commercial and 4.27 acres residential land from the illegal occupants during last three month.

He further said that FIRs are lodged

and police memos are issued against illegal occupants, adding that occupation of railway land by government department has already been taken up with the concerned departments and is being pursued for mutual settlement. PR also recovered Rs2 million on account of penalty from the occupants of land through an operation that was conducted in coordination with the task force. The committee was informed that 98.32 acres land of Pakistan Railways in Lahore was illegally occupied.

Addressing a case study of land oc-

encroachment on railway land was on the rise and the progress to retrieve the land is very slow. While expressing their dissatisfaction on the progress they directed the railway authorities to submit a detailed report in this regard within a month. Regarding the railway strategy to lease out land, senators were of the opinion that renting out precious railway land, on throw out prices, would not improve the institution until the authorities launch a strategy and operation against the ongoing corruption in the department.

cupation by individuals, Saeed Khan said that a person got some railway land on lease for Rs800,000 to set up a ‘Bachat Bazar’, but he constructed 350 cemented shops and sold them to different people for Rs300 million. Overall about 5,000 acres of land owned by Pakistan Railways has been under illegal occupation. As per break up of occupied land, citizens have been occupying 3,000 acres; government 1,000 acres and Pakistan army, rangers and Frontier Corps Balchistan 860 acres of land.

Committee members observed that

Dhaka’s ‘miscommunication’ costs Pakistan 50-60m euros

HDF shows concern over drop in Human Development Index of Pakistan g

g

Pakistan ranks 145 in human development index of 187 countries Government needs to coordinate with NGOs: CEO, HDF ISLAMABAD StAFF RePoRt

H

OMMENTING on Bangladesh’s surprising objection to Pakistan’s preferential trade agreement with the EU, sources in the WTO have revealed that Dhaka had decided to support Islamabad’s case, but it could not communicate the decision to its team in time for the crucial Nov 7 WTO meeting.

the EU member states. Sources in the commerce ministry have also hinted that the possibility of behind-the-scenes connivance between India and Bangladesh cannot be ruled out. They added “out of the 153 members of WTO, 152 nations supported the trade deal, therefore the objection from Bangladesh eluded the collective wisdom of EU member states, the WTO member countries and all stakeholders by objecting to the unilateral trade concessions.”

LOSt EuROS

SPANNER IN tHE wORKS

“This puzzling stance of Bangladesh has cost Pakistan at least 50-60 million euros in lost exports of the 75 products included in the list of goods to be traded under the special trade concession,” the sources explained. This objection will delay the matter of EU trade concessions by at least another three months, they added. Earlier, after almost a year of negotiations with India, New Delhi agreed to drop objections to the Pak-EU trade deal conditional to Pakistan granting the former MFN status. However, Pakistan said the MFN will still be subject to India seriously addressing non tariff barriers. The dilly dallying tactics of India for the last year or so have cost Pakistan an enormous 250-300 million euros in terms of lost trade with

“What is being termed a ‘goof up’ has cost us tremendously, and on such international forums it is unbecoming of countries to be unscrupulous regarding decisions of prime strategic and economic importance to other countries. We have supported Bangladesh on all forums and have extended support in every possible way, therefore such decisions could create fissures in longstanding political and economic partnership with the South Asian country,” said a source in the ministry of commerce. It is expected that as Bangladesh creases out the communication gap, Pakistan will request a special meeting to be convened in order to pass the unilateral trade concessions that require a waiver from the WTO.

LAHORe

C

ALi RiZVi

FACt CHECK The special Pak-EU trade concession was offered in lieu of unprecedented damage in the wake of floods and Pakistan’s participation in the war against terrorism. It is estimated that the combined damage to Pakistan’s economy from of the floods amounted to around $43 billion. According to rough estimates by Pakistan cotton ginners association, this natural calamity resulted in the destruction of two million bales of cotton, which affected its international price. These catastrophic floods also resulted in a massive loss of food production as 17 million acres of Pakistan’s most fertile crop land was submerged in water.

Damage to agriculture was calculated at $2.9 billion, which included 700,000 acres of lost cotton crops, 200,000 acres of sugar cane and 200,000 acres of rice, in addition to the loss of 500,000 tonnes of wheat stocks. In recognition of Pakistan’s sacrifices against extremism and AlQaeda, taking into account the economic losses suffered due to terrorism and devastating floods last year, the EU leadership decided to give Pakistan-specific tariff concessions in the form of autonomous trade preferences under which 75 Pakistani products would benefit from duty free access to the European markets.

UMAN Development Foundation (HDF) showed concerns over diminution of Pakistan in the human development index of United Nations. Pakistan ranked 145 in the human development index of 187 countries has dropped 20 points this year in an index that represents better livings conditions available to the citizens of a country. In the previous human development index, Pakistan was at the 120th number.

According to the UN report, income distribution has worsened, and environmental degradation threatens future prospects. Most people live longer, are more educated and have more access to goods and services than ever before.

Chief Executive Officer of Human Development Foundation (HDF) Azhar Saleem termed this declining trend of human development index a matter of great concern.

Explaining the situation, Azhar said that there are a number of non-government organisations working in different fields in Pakistan but the living conditions cannot only be achieved by education, health or economic development alone.

He said that a higher position in human development index, the government needs to work in tandem with NGOs. In 2010, Pakistan was ranked 125th in the human development index rankings.

According to the 2011 rankings, India ranks 134, Bangladesh 146, China 101 while Norway tops the group with Australia in 2nd place. Human development index is the comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide.

He further stated that HDF is based on the principles of the human development theory adopted by the UN and applies a holistic approach to development including education, health and economic development.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:27 AM Page 23

23

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

debate

PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC DESTINY

FEMALE EDUCATION CAN CHANGE PARADIGMS Shan Saeed

I

T was 1986 and my mother was talking to our late father. Female education can change Pakistan’s economic future going forward she said. These words still echo in my ears after 25 years and it is so true. If we educate a boy, we educate one individual but if we educate a girl, we educate a society whether the girl is a home maker or a working female, she takes care of the children.

STRATEGIC VALUE OF FEMALE EDUCATION I like testing my idea on different waters to get global insight about economic success. I was attending a session of Ms Christina Romer-former adviser to President Obama Economic team on 9th March, 2009 at Brooking institute at Washington DC (Professor of Economics at Uni. of California, Berkley, USA) on the invitation of my MIT/Harvard friends. I asked her an informal question as to how Pakistan can move ahead economically, politically and socially; she replied female primary/secondary education is the key to success. Countries that have really progressed economically, socially and politically, invested heavily in female education to make a remarkable turnaround for their nation. HRH Prince Karim Aga Khan has always advocated the importance of female education.

BENEFITS OF FEMALE EDUCATION: n n n n n n n

n

Economic productivity Social development Intergenerational education Social equity Sustainability of development efforts Lowers infant mortality rate Improve economic health and purchasing power of the productive labor force Intrinsic value: Economic & Social efficiencies

GDP GROWTH RATE IN PERCENTAGE TERM S.NO 1 2 3 4 5

COUNTRIES Malaysia Indonesia Singapore South Korea South Korea

2005 5.2 5.6 6.4 4.1 22,600

2006 5.8 5.5 8.7 4.8 24,500

need PhD’s. In fact, we need to focus on primary and secondary education which would make a huge impact on the national economy. IRR is best in primary and secondary education level up to 17 per cent and drops at university level to 11 per cent. Even in USA, after junior college IRR in US has been less than average interest rate (individual discounted cash flows may be positive because of state subsidy). PhD’s are important for university level faculty for improvement in their skill set and capability enhancement. HEC’s myopic vision and non-productive approach is doing more harm than good. They forced the students (sponsored

by GoP) who are pursuing PhD to sign a bond to serve Pakistan upon return. This is non-productive approach. The productive and strategic approach (idea of my good friend Izhar ul Haq, PhD from Cambridge University) should be to ask the students who are pursuing their PhD’s abroad to train 2/3 PhD’s in Pakistan upon their return, carry out research work and then they can go wherever they want if they find a job outside Pakistan. That is their fundamental right. The Singaporean universities are following the same pattern. I am sure this approach is not authoritative but harmonious for all stakeholders involved in the process to ponder upon.

I have traveled extensively in the APAC [Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia] region and North America, having studied the economies, I would like to share few analyses, and how these countries have performed by investing in female education.

These countries have remained ahead of the game in economic progression and growth.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

SOURCES

Our policy makers have their priorites all wrong in the last 20 years. Pakistan doesn’t

Sonia Raj, Research student at Dow Institute of Health Sciences, World Bank, IMF,

2007 6.5 6.3 8.8 5.1 25,000

2008 4.7 6.0 1.5 2.2 27,600

2009 4.3 4.6 1.7 2.4 28,100

THREE VARIABLES WITH DEEP MACRO ECONOMIC IMPACT 2010 7.2 6.1 14.5 6.1 32,000

IFC, Economist Magazine, Business week University of Chicago, Library, USA, Prof Gary Becker—Nobel Laureate at University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, USA research in human capital.

EMPIRICALLY PROVEN The above variables clearly illustrate how investment in female education can help the economies to succeed in moving ahead in this era of economic acceleration and prosperity as the markets turn uncertain towards depression. There is a very strong correlation between female literacy and GDP growth rate which is empirically proven. GDP growth rate and economic prosperity is tied to female education as well as emancipation. Educated females contribute 83 per cent to the overall GDP growth rate. This is very conspicuous and proves my point of educating females at grass root level.

In Pakistan, we can make economic progress by investing at the grass root level of female education i.e. primary and secondary. We have to educate our females on war footing in order to get out of this economic malaise and financial repression. We can take assistance of some of the leading female role models of our country including Marina Khan, Shahnaz Sheikh, Naveed Shahzed, Salima Hashmi, Moneeza Hashmi and Dr. Anita Ghulam Ali who are well respected in the country to carry out this mission to turnaround the economy for the betterment of the people in the long run. I would like to utilise my networking including inviting American actress/model Katheryn Swann, Brand Strategist Libby Gill and French/ Lebanese fashion designer Rola Ezzedine to help us in this cause to progress economically and so-

PER CAPITA INCOME IN DOLLAR TERMS S.NO COUNTRIES 2005 1 Malaysia 12,000 2 Indonesia 3,600 3 Singapore 28,600 4 South Korea 22,600

2006 12,900 3,900 31,400 24,500

2007 14,500 3,600 41,900 25,000

2008 15,200 3,900 46,500 27,600

2009 16,800 4,000 47,900 28,100

2010 17,700 4,200 49,100 32,000

RATIO OF FEMALE EDUCATION IN PERCENTAGE TERMS S.NO 1, 2, 3, 4,

COUNTRIES Malaysia Indonesia Singapore South Korea

2005 95.8 97.4 97.6 98.1

2006 96.5 96.3 98.6 98.9

2007 97.5 97.8 98.9 99.4

2008 97.8 99.4 99.9 99.7

2009 98.7 98 99.8 99.8

2010 98.9 98.5 99.5 99.8

cially. The government needs to galvanise its efforts and hard work to remain focused to improve the living standard of the masses by educating the people of this country. I strongly believe that female education is the only hope that can bolster our efforts to achieve economic and social prosperity in the country.

Education investment dividends can come in handy in the next 510 years. Based, on what my mother said, the motivation to write this article was mainly due to her, Aftab Saeed and my father, Saeed Hafeez. Happy investing in female education to bring about change in the living standards of our society.

Shan Saeed is a financial economist and commodity expert with 12 years of financial market experience. He has graduated from Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, USA and IBA Karachi. Blogs at www.economistshan.blogs pot.com

Repercussions of granting MFN to India Ismat Sabir

A

T last Pakistan has decided to grant India the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN). India granted this status to Pakistan in 1996 but Pakistan did not reciprocate. Therefore, India is rightly demanding that Pakistan should give it the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN). They said the government of Pakistan should not only give India MFN status but also shift from positive list of imports to a negative list. The Indian officials claimed that it would result in a five fold increase in bilateral trade, which would increase from the present $2.7 billion to more than $10 billion between the two countries in next a few years.

STREAMLINING CUSTOMS PROCEDURES India has a 'sensitive list' of about 850 tariff lines for all Non Least Developed Countries members of SAFTA, including Pakistan. Trade under these items is allowed under MFN basis.

India claimed that in coming years, tariff rates would come down to the global levels. To improve infrastructure along with streamlining and harmonising customs procedures at land borders, the Indian government is setting up a modern integrated check post at India Pakistan border at Attari for trade facilitation, which was expected to be ready by April 2011. Presently goods are

traded from Wagah post only. Pakistan allows import of about 110 items from India through land route while it is exporting only one item, cement, to India through the same route.

According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), “MFN status means that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods or services from all its trading partners, whether rich or poor, weak or strong”.

MFN is one of the instruments in use by the WTO to make member countries’ trade, more competitive and non discriminatory. India and Pakistan are the signatories of the WTO Agreement; therefore, Pakistan is bound to grant MFN status to all member countries including India, without any discrimination.

HISTORY In the early days of international trade, most favoured nation status was usually used on a dual party, state-tostate basis. A nation could enter into a most favoured nation treaty with another nation under which the US granted most favoured nation trading status to Britain.

The documents indicated that “generally bilateral, in the late 19th and early 20th century unilateral most favoured nation clauses were imposed on Asian nations by the more powerful Western countries. One particular example of MFN status is the Treaty of Nanking as part of the series of unequal treaties. It

was implemented in the aftermath of the First Opium War between Great Britain and Chinese Qing Dynasty involving the Hong Kong islands”.

After World War II, tariff and trade agreements were negotiated simultaneously by all interested parties through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which ultimately resulted in the World Trade Organisation in 1994. The WTO requires members to grant one another MFN status. A most favoured nation clause is also included in the majority of the numerous bilateral investment treaties concluded between capital exporting and capital importing countries after the Second World War. The MFN also called normal trade relations, guarantee of trading opportunity equal to that accorded to the most-favoured nation. It is a method of establishing equality of trading opportunity among states by making originally bilateral agreements multilateral. As a principle of public international law, it establishes the sovereign equality of states with respect to trading policy. As an instrument of economic policy, it provides a treaty basis for competitive international transactions, according to WTO documents.

NTBS A MAJOR HINDRANCE India said if trade between the two countries expands it would reduce freight cost, quick deliveries and short inventories.

However, much depends on smooth political relations between the two countries.

The share of India in Pakistan’s total exports remained about 1 to 2 per cent, whereas in total imports, it has been 1.24 to 2.66 per cent. This decision would also legalise the ongoing illegal trade of Indian goods to Pakistan via Dubai or any other third country.

A SBP report indicated that allowing import of items from India, i.e. expanding the current list of positive items, will give Pakistan an average saving of $400 to $900 million.

Out of the 100 countries with which Pakistan trades, India is Pakistan’s ninth largest trading partner. This indicated that Pakistan’s trade with India is more than its trade with France, Italy, Thailand, Iran, Canada, Malaysia and Japan in 2007-08. In September, during a meeting between the two commerce ministers, India and Pakistan, agreed to more than double bilateral trade within three years, from the present level of $2.7 billion per annum to about $6 billion. New Delhi had pointed out that trade could be enhanced in petroleum, energy and commodities. Main items of exports to India are vegetables and fruits, textile yarn and fabrics, leather and leather manufacturing, petroleum crude, plants for perfume, pharmaceuticals, rice, sugar refined etc.

In 2008-09 Pakistan exported goods worth $320 million that reduced to $268 million in 2009-10. The trade between the two countries was $1.4 billion in 2009-10. Of which Indian exports to Pakistan were $1.2 billion and exports to India were only $268 million. In 2010-11,

India Pakistan trade was $2.6 billion but in real terms it is actually one way trade.

It also indicated that India has not liberalised trade for Pakistani products.

Tariff rates of India are significantly high, especially for goods of particular interest to Pakistan, such as textiles, leather and onyx. There are many factors hindering trade between the two countries like poor railway and road linkages, making trade more costly and difficult. Besides, inadequate sea shipments facilities, issuing limited number of visas, cumbersome payments, customs procedures and bureaucratic attitude are also restricting trade.

INDIAN INTRANSIGENCE

It has been said that the trade liberalisation process is linked with the removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) by the Indian government.

The commerce ministry said the MFN is not a new issue as Pakistan and India had signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) under which all member states had enjoyed MFN status. From 1947 to 1965 both the countries had signed four agreements.

Pakistan has already assigned MFN status to over 100 countries.

Welcoming the decision Indian Trade Secretary said it would not only be good for commerce but it would increases confidence on the economic front that both Pakistan and India are committed to moving the social and trade agenda. India wants Pakistan to grant it MFN status without linking it to non-tariff barriers.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:27 AM Page 24

saturday, 12 november, 2011

Indian dichotomy and MFN

ediTorial

Urea again

W

E must keep addressing the urea issue so long as the government’s handling of it leaves a little something to be desired, especially since the commodity’s shortfall has a direct bearing on food prices. And now that gas shortage has already bid up prices, translating quickly into ag-flation, it behooves the government to ensure farmers’ complaints of miss-pricing the subsidy and hoarding are addressed urgently.

Already, despite the subsidy, the price per bag has increased a good 53 per cent. And to make matters worse, there’s yet no mechanism to check hoarding typical of the sector, pushing up prices unrealistically and burdening the end consumer. Since much of the periphery already survives on mere subsistence, thanks to the long high-inflation trend, lack of proper official attention might just push marginalised groups into revolt, by no means a novelty in the present international environment.

The official position is surprising since handling some of these issues is not very difficult. Once handling gas-shortage was mistimed, relevant authorities should have moved quickly to ensure compliance with proper price structures to keep an already uncomfortable situation from turning volatile. Should the situation turn still worse, there will be no prizes for guessing where inefficiency is rooted.

Animal sacrifice The dip in the practice of animal sacrifice this Eid was pretty obvious, and it was clearly because of the inflated prices of the animals. It is a shame that we haven’t even spared our religious customs from becoming means of unethical profit making. I, for one, could not afford even one of the modestly priced goats and had to make do with sharing the sacrifice to prevent a burning hole in my pocket. Although, we are used to escalating prices, but it is my humble request to the government that they should help an average man perform his religious duties; at the very least.

ANSAR KHAN iSLAMABAD

dr ashfaque h Khan

T

HE Government of Pakistan has agreed in principle to accord the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. This decision has created debate in Pakistan – some are favouring while others are expressing concerns. Before I share my views on the subject, it is pertinent to dispel some misunderstanding about the MFN status.

What is MFN status? The MFN status is a clause in international trade treaty under

are regressive non Tariff Barriers in return for mFn promoting fair trade? which the signatories promise to extend each other any favourable terms offered in agreement with third parties. For example, if country A negotiated a tariff cut with Country B, and subsequently B negotiated an even more favourable cut with Country C, then the tariff rate applying in the second case will also be extended to country A. Furthermore, if commodity A is imported and x-per cent duty is charged then the same per cent of duty must be charged irrespective of the origin of imports of commodity A. in other words, MFN status simply means prohibiting discriminatory treatment among trading partners with respect to tariffs, border charges, as well as other taxes.

As a signatory to the WTO, Pakistan is obliged to extend MFN status to all WTO member states including India. In other words, Pakistan cannot discriminate India in international trade. India has already provided MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.

While India granted Pakistan the MFN status in 1996, one wonders why Pakistan did not reciprocate the favour. The primary reason is that Pakistan believes in a fair trade regime. With India according us the MFN al-

most 15 years ago, trade volumes from Pakistan to India have not improved. The balance of trade remained in favour of the former, while exports from Pakistan were negligible owing to a plethora of Non Tariff and ParaTariff Barriers. Therefore, Pakistan’s point of contention has been the fact that there exists an unnerving dichotomy in Indian policy that on the one hand presses for trade liberalisation and on the other suppresses a fair trade regime through NTB’s.

In 2010, owing to the devastative floods that struck Pakistan, the European Union (EU) decided to extend special trade concessions that may enable Pakistan to earn extra foreign exchange for a limited period of two years. In particular, the EU decided to offer unilateral trade concession on 75 items to Pakistan allowing duty free access to the European markets. However, these trade concessions by the EU required a waiver from the WTO before it could be implemented.

What was most striking that India was the only country who objected to the EU offer to Pakistan in the WTO, other than Bangladesh.

Interestingly, India at no stage claimed that it would be at a disadvantageous position by this trade deal. The uncompromising stance of our neighbour has resulted in the trade deal being delayed to date as the WTO works by consensus and EU required all WTO members to consent to its proposal.

India linked the grant of the MFN status to removing objections from the Pakistan – EU trade deal. Such intransigence compels one to wonder whether Pakistan is seeking trade liberalisation with Europe or India. Is Pakistan giving Europe the MFN status? Is this about seeking fair trade with the Eurozone?

To deal with the Indian opposition to WTO, the Government of Pakistan has agreed in principle to accord the MFN status to India. India will soon be granted the MFN – its cherished goal, in return for supporting EU trade concessions to Pakistan.

Ironically, they have yet to address Pakistan’s concern about the non-tariff barriers (NTBs) which have restricted trade between the two countries thus far.

It has been the principle stand of Pakistan that to strengthen SAARC as a regional organisation, India and Pakistan should pursue a fair trade regime. If Pakistan and India expand their trade relations it would encourage other member countries of the SAARC to enhance their trade within the region. Such a regime between India and Pakistan can only be instituted if the

former removes all the NTBs and allow level playing field to Pakistani exporters. Many countries in the world including Pakistan have expressed extreme reservations about India’s continued use of NTBs to trade. Pakistani businessmen feel that there are some NTBs which are Pakistan specific.

What the government of Pakistan needs to explain to its people is how can trade between India and Pakistan flourish in the presence of NTBs? It is indeed intriguing that Pakistan moved in haste without protecting its own interests and those of the SAARC region.

In the recent meeting of WTO Committee for Trade in Goods, although India did not object to the trade package but surprisingly Bangladesh who now raised objection to the said deal which has delayed the concessions once again.

The EU concession issue is not likely to be resolved soon even if Bangladesh raises no objection at the WTO. There are other countries, namely Brazil and Peru who could oppose EU concessions to Pakistan. Their argument is that like Pakistan they also suffered heavily on account of massive flooding and if the EU wants to assist Pakistan then they should be extended the same treatment. Who knows, some other countries might raise their concern in the next meeting of the WTO. Pakistan has decided in principle to accord MFN status to India in return to a temporary (two year) deal. It has compromised on its principle stand that trade between the two countries must be enhanced in a fair trade regime environment. By according MFN status to India, are we promoting trade between India and Pakistan or between Pakistan and European Union?

For meaningful progress that will result in mutual trade and economic gains, India must finally move beyond the dichotomy that has defined its posture towards Pakistan for far too long. It can no longer make trade advances while incorporating regressive Non Tariff Barriers at the same time, defeating the very purpose of the exercise.

As the recent episode regarding the MFN status and Pakistan’s EU concessions shows, there is an inherent insincerity in the Indian establishment with regard to Pakistan. If it expects Pakistan to open its trade borders to New Delhi, India must first prove its commitment to progressive change that both capitals have been trumpeting.

The writer is a prominent economist and principal, NUST business school. He can be reached at ahkhan@nbs.edu.pkbank.

Giving quality education a chance

U

maheen syed

NFORTUNATELY, even in the 21st century where excessive media exposure and massive level of globalisation have entirely metamorphosed the concept of change and development for many of us; the government of our country remains indifferent with only a tiny bit of its budget being allocated for the education sector. The figures and literacy rate of Pakistan, however, show the brighter side of the picture. This is mainly because the definition of a ‘liter-

ate person’ in Pakistan does not really describe a literate person. Ironic, isn’t it?

According to the definition of literacy that has been drafted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. It involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.

Surprisingly, someone who can read and write a simple letter, in any language happens to be a literate person in Pakistan!

This definition is in stark contrast to many developed as well as developing countries where the definition is more qualitative.

So technically, what explains a ‘simple’ letter? Does this refer to a written element of an alphabet that represents a single phoneme or ….? The definition also fails

to specify the language of the letter and the newspaper. So that means if I am able to read a newspaper in Hebrew and also write a simple letter in the same language; this would earn me the title of a literate person, irrespective of the fact that I am a part of a South Asian country whose national language is Urdu?

So are we blinded by ignorance or what? Talking in the same context, if we skim through the pages of the past or even consider the current efforts being made by the government for the improvement of the educator sector, we analyse the lack of political commitment, low quality education, lack of stress on primary education, improper checks and balance, etc.

I got a chance to teach at a local government school in Punjab and was baffled to see the number of mistakes in the text books provided by the government under the education promotion schemes. It was indeed appalling because the students would not believe me over the book. ‘A book

SHAHAB JAFRy Business editor

KuNwAR KHuLDuNE SHAHID sub-editor

BABuR SAGHIR creative head

ALI RIZvI news editor

mAHEEN SyED sub-editor

HAmmAD RAZA layout designer

change should be understood as a concept that has to take place through existing social institutions

is always true and authentic,’ they said.

Be it the ‘Benazir Income Support’ programme or the ‘Parha Likha Punjab’ programme; each has proved yet another futile effort that has failed to do any good; the major reason being lack of stress on quality education.

This makes us come to the conclusion that even if a higher per cent of the budget is allocated for this sector, there would still not be enough of good news because of the many loop holes and grey areas associated with the allocation.

The proper solution lies in the standard and quality of education that need to be focused upon. Efforts should be made to replace the out-dated curriculum with international standards of quality education, which has little relevance to the present day. In this way, standardisation in the ed-

ucation system can also be ensured, when both the private and public schools will be following the same system of education and text books.

Similarly, proper quality training should be given to the teachers.

Finally, economic and social change should be understood as a concept that has to take place through the existing social system and the networks of social institutions.

The need to realise the role of education, in this respect, as an agent or instrument of social change and economic development has to be widely recognised. Mainly because youth is the backbone of any country and it is expected to play a constructive role towards change and a better tomorrow. Let the change, and revolution, be through quality education!

The writer is sub editor, Profit

For comments, queries and contributions, write to: muNEEB EJAZ layout designer

Email: profit@pakistantoday.com.pk Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 website: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:28 AM Page 25

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

25

globalisation offers marvellous potential profits to all nations of the world

news

LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh

Swiss ambassador upbeat about Pak investment climate Pakistan’s decision to grant mFN status to India an added attraction for Swiss Investors g Switzerland currently sixth largest investor in Pakistan g

LAHORe

L

StAFF RePoRt

AHORE Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Friday, invited the Swiss investors to avail marvellous opportunities available in livestock, dairy and agriculture sectors.

In a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Pakistan, Christoph Bubb with LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, senior vice president Kashif Younis Meher and vice president Saeeda Nazar also sought Switzerland’s help over GSP plus status to Pakistan. LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh informed the visiting ambassador that Pakistan’s decision to grant MFN status to India is an added attraction for the Swiss Investors to put their money in Agriculture, Livestock, dairy and a number of other sectors.

“Prices of agricultural land in India are three times higher than that of Pakistan and any investment

made in Pakistan would definitely find its way to India”.

LCCI president also stressed the need for exchange of business delegations between the two countries so the business community could have first hand knowledge about the huge potential that exists.

“Globalisation offers marvellous potential profits to all nations of the world and both Pakistan and Switzerland have a great deal of opportunities in this context to expand their trade and economic relations therefore sector-specific measures are needed to realise untapped areas of business.”

Both the sides also agreed to expedite the process of sharing of trade related information so that businessmen could be able to do business with each other.

The ambassador was of the view that Swiss business community was quite impressed and they are ready to make further investments despite the fact that Switzerland was the sixth largest investor in Pakistan.

He said the government would have to focus on electricity shortage, security situation in the country and rule of law to restore the confidence of foreign investors.

He said there are quite a few sectors wherein there is huge potential for Swiss businessmen particularly transfer of technology for textile sector has a lot of scope. He said that several Swiss companies were already operating in Pakistan and doing a successful business, which is enough to prove that Swiss investment has a bright future in this country. The ambassador expressed the hope that Swiss investment would see a boost in coming months due to liberal investment policies. Speaking on the occasion, LCCI office-bearers said major bottleneck in promotion of trade and economic activities between the two countries is lack of information about business opportunities available. We need to undertake frequent activities like exchange of business delegations, organising

country exhibitions, participation in fairs & exhibitions, seminars and workshops etc to ensure a continuous liaison. Interaction between the chambers can be highly beneficial.

They said the country has abundant natural resources and skilled cheap manpower but lacks technology. It is a key market of 180 million people. It is a gateway to Central Asian Republics, South Asia and Gulf countries. Population of SAFTA alone stands at 1.4 billion people.

The market of these countries, including Afghanistan, can be effectively and conveniently serviced from Pakistan. They said that Swiss economy is one of the most developed economies of the world. It has highly advanced industries such as machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles and precision instruments. They also informed the ambassador that the present government has adopted a liberal investment policy and there is no restriction on sending back the principal, dividends, profits and royalties. Hence, the Swiss businessmen should come forward and seize upon the unprecedented investment opportunities in Pakistan. Honorary Consul in Lahore Suleman N. Khan was also present in the meeting.

MFN to India hailed

Swiss Ambassador visits APTMA LAHoRE: Swiss Ambassador His Excellency, Christoph Bubb visited, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and discussed issues related to bilateral trade and investment prospects in textile industry of Pakistan. Chairman APTMA, Punjab Ahsan Bashir welcomed the Swiss Ambassador and briefed him of the potential of textile industry of Pakistan. Vice Chairman APTMA, Punjab Shahid Faraz and member Central Executive Committee, Ali Ahsan, were also present on the occasion.

Secretary APTMA, Punjab Anis-ul-Haq made a detailed presentation on APTMA as a premier textile industry association to the Swiss envoy. StAFF RePoRt

LAHORe StAFF RePoRt

T

HE decision to grant MFN status to India is a welcome step; but before signing any formal agreement both the Pakistani and Indian governments would have to ensure proper infrastructure at Wagah Border with private sector participation.

In a statement issued here Friday, former LCCI Vice President and Convener Standing Committee on Pakistan-India, Aftab Ahmad Vohra has said that there was a dire need to establish

a container yard, expand loading and unloading space, create fullfledged online banking facility, and establish Quarantine department and other labs.

Aftab Ahmad Vohra also alleged that the NLC team at Wagah is charging huge amounts under the head of service charges.

Therefore, the government should constitute a board or trust comprising of members from both the public and private sectors to monitor the day-to-day working at Wagah border.

He said the government must focus on solving the problems being faced by business

community, especially by importers at Wagha Border. National Logistic Cell (NLC) is handling all cargo arrangements at Wagha Border terminal and has drastically increased loading and unloading charges, scanning charges, inward and outward local truck gate pass charges, demurrage charges, storage charges and wharfage charges, without prior consultation with stake holders. In addition to this, the coordination between the departments including customs, NLC and banks engaged at Wagha Border Terminal needs a lot of improvement.

Bourse closes with 50 point gain, technical error witnessed KARACHI StAFF RePoRt

D

UE to technical error the market closed 15 minutes earlier from its official closing, therefore, today’s trading has been merged in the coming Monday’s session.

According to the notice issued by the Deputy General Manager Operations Karachi Stock Exchange it was informed that due to technical fault the KSE building terminal got disconnected that resulted in the suspension of the Friday’s trading session earlier than closing time.

‘Consequently, it has been decided that trading of Friday November 11, 2011 and Monday November 14, 2011 will be merged and settlement for both days will take place on Wednesday Novem-

Govt must ensure uninterrupted power supply to compete with Indian market: ICCI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is confronted with an acute energy crisis which is taking a heavy toll on economy. Granting Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to India could create difficulties for Pakistan’s trembling economy. President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Islamabad, Yassar Sakhi Butt said in a statement that there is a dire need to provide business friendly environment to our local industries by ensuring uninterrupted supply of electricity and gas. Otherwise, our domestic industry can not compete with Indian cost effective products. He said that before giving MFN status to India, the government should have make sure that at least our industry is running in full swing so that we are in a position to take the benefit of a big Indian market. It is however, surprising that no chamber and association have highlighted this issue. President ICCI said that pharmaceutical industry would definitely suffer which is one of the fastest growing industries in Pakistan and has shown growth of 17 per cent in the last 5 years despite the deplorable economic conditions. He said government should also take notice of the fact that Pakistan could not take any advantage of the MFN status given to it by India some 15 years back. StAFF RePoRt

SECP extends facilitation to the corporate sector ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) extends facilitation to the corporate sector in collection of annual returns and accounts for filing of annual statutory returns and accounts. Last date of filing Form 29 for most of the companies is 14th November 2011. Companies are also required to file annual returns on Forms A/ B within 45 days, in case of listed companies and 30 days in case of other companies, of holding of Annual General Meetings (AGMs). Annual audited accounts are also required to be filed within 30 days of holding of AGMs. CROs shall also remain open on the coming Saturday during 8:30 am to 5:30 pm and till late hours, i.e., 8:00 pm; on the 14th, 29th and 30th November 2011, respectively. Special facilitation desks have been established at the CROs with designated staff to facilitate companies in submission of annual returns and accounts. StAFF RePoRt

APCNGA demands revision in 3 day load shedding plan for CNG ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Compress Natural Gas Association (APCNGA) while rejecting government’s three day gas load shedding plan, proposed a new gas load management formula; suggesting that it will enable every one to get CNG and benefit the general public and government. APCNGA central executive committee meeting has demanded to revise the load shedding plan for CNG in order to resist the immense pressure from consumers, public and transporters. “People go harsh on refusal of CNG on CNG stations, which is harmful for our business” the Central Chairman, Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha said to the media after the meeting. This way the hardships of public will be increased and our business will be ruined, he said. StAFF RePoRt

PIAF asks withdrawal of electricity tariff increase LAHoRE: Sudden increase of Rs3.40 per unit in electricity tariff ostensibly in the name of fuel adjustment not only has its repercussions in industry, but is against the masses as well. It could be perceived as the last straw on camel’s back, so to speak. Bulk increase would also give a bad name to the government and therefore, the government should withdraw it immediately. These views were expressed by the Chairman, Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF), Sohail Lashari, Chairman, Auto Parts Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Tahir Javed Malik and Chairman, Lahore Township Industries Association (LTIA), Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry in a press statement. StAFF RePoRt

All model Customs Collectorates to remain open on Saturday ber 16, 2011,’ the notice stated.

Market men informed this scribe that by dint of this error they could not make clearance to their stocks. The market usually closes at 4:30 pm on Fridays, but by dint of a technical error occurring in the IT department the clearing of the day has been moved to coming Monday.

Prior to close, the KSE 100 index closed at 12019.32 levels with the gain of 50.27 points, while KSE 30 index gained 73.08 points to close at 11373.46 levels.

All Share index closed at 8312.17 levels after gaining 30.90 points.

Total 154 scrips advanced 77 declined and 2 remain unchanged out of total 260 scrips traded.

Total volume stood at 35,040,710 along with the value of 2,781,764,718. The highest point of the index was 12111.98 during the trading session and the lowest was 11969.05, with the closing percentage of positive 0.42 percent. Top symbols included MCB, Nishat Mills, National Bank, DGK cement, and Arif Habib.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) directed all the Model Customs Collectorates to remain open on Saturday and consider it as a normal working day in order to facilitate the trade and industry in getting their cargo cleared for imports and exports. The FBR requested State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to provide banking facility by the designated branches in order to ensure the payment of duty and taxes. FBR has also advised the port authorities and port operators to synchronise their working, accordingly. StAFF RePoRt

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:28 AM Page 26

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

The most important element to overcome this crisis is a very trusted and able new Italian government that can really fulfill the structural changes that are needed

news

ECB Policymaker Ewald Nowotny

26

Italy pushes through austerity ROMe

I

ReUteRS

TALY'S Senate approved a new budget law on Friday, clearing the way for approval of the package in the lower house on Saturday and the formation of an emergency government to replace that of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Obama spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy late on Thursday and also called Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who in turn was due to speak to Sarkozy in a round of telephone diplomacy. A German government official said there had been an "exchange of opinions" between Merkel and Obama, while Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner demanded fast action from Europe.

"The crisis in Europe remains the central challenge to global growth. It is crucial that Europe move quickly to put in place a strong plan to restore financial stability," Geithner said in a statement following a meeting with finance ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation countries.

After months of dither and delay, Rome appears to have got the message as bond markets pushed it to the brink of needing a bailout that the euro zone cannot afford to give. If the votes pass smoothly, Napolitano will accept Berlusconi's resignation over the weekend and ask veteran former European commissioner Mario Monti to form a government.

Fellow technocrat and ex-European Central Bank policymaker Lucas Papademos will head a new unity government in Greece.

Berlusconi, who lost his majority in a vote on Tuesday, has promised to resign after the financial stability law is passed by both houses of parliament.

He had insisted on early elections but

then softened his stance. Markets were calmed by the prospect that there would be an interim government, rather than a three-month vacuum before elections are held. "The most important element to overcome this crisis is a very trusted and able new Italian government that can really fulfill the structural changes that are needed," ECB policymaker Ewald Nowotny told Reuters in Beijing.

The euro firmed but investors doubted whether it would climb far, given that even a technocrat Italian government might struggle to make progress on long-promised, never-delivered fiscal reforms. Italian 10-year borrowing costs fell sharply to 6.7 percent, having hit an unsustainable 7.5 percent earlier in the week. "We can have maybe two or three days of calm -- in inverted commas -- but nothing has really changed underneath," one bond trader said.

Spain, the euro zone's fourth largest economy, which holds elections in nine days' time, stopped growing in the third quarter, raising doubts about its ability to meet deficit reduction targets.

RELUCTANT ECB With European leaders dithering over how to tackle the deepening crisis, pressure has mounted on the European Central Bank to act more forcefully by becoming a full lender of last resort, as the Federal Reserve and Bank of England are. Three senior ECB policymakers on Thursday rebuffed arm-twisting from investors and world leaders to intervene massively on bond markets to shield Italy and Spain from financial contagion.

Germany Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said on Friday the ECB did not have "unlimited firepower," adding that if it opened its floodgates fully, they could never be closed again.

Germany strongly opposes the ECB taking on a broader crisis-fighting role, arguing this would compromise the independence of the bank.

The euro zone's plan for a more powerful rescue fund may also be running into trouble. Klaus Regling, the head of the 440 billion euro European Financial Stability Facility, was reported by the Financial Times as saying the recent market turmoil had made it more difficult to scale it up to 1 trillion euros, as proposed by euro zone leaders who promise a definitive plan by December.

Luring investors by offering insurance on losses, the centerpiece of a plan agreed in Brussels on October 26, would now probably use up more of the fund's resources, Regling said. "The political turmoil that we saw in the last 10 days probably reduces the potential for leverage. It was always ambitious to have that number, but I'm not ruling it out," the FT quoted him as saying.

NOWOTNY EXPRESSES CONCERN "It is very important that these plans -- actually these decisions -- now really get operational, and I'm a bit concerned that this takes a long time, perhaps too long," he said.

PAPADEMOS IN POWER In Athens, Greece's prime ministerdesignate was set to name a new crisis cabinet to calm the political turmoil that has threatened to bankrupt Athens and force it out of the euro zone.

Greece's two main parties agreed on Thursday to make Papademos head of a new unity government, ending a chaotic search for a leader to save the country from

Italy's parliament is rushing through austerity measures demanded by the European union to avert a euro zone meltdown, after President Barack Obama ratcheted up pressure for more dramatic action from the currency bloc default. He must now fulfill the terms of a 130 billion euro bailout plan agreed with European partners in October. The former ECB vice president faces huge challenges after a chaotic power struggle between Greece's two main political forces.

Sources in the ruling Socialists and opposition New Democracy said Evangelos Venizelos was likely to remain finance minister when the new cabinet is sworn in at a ceremony scheduled for 1400 GMT. Automo-

tive giant Daimler spoke out against keeping Greece in the euro zone at all costs and said the euro would survive even if it w e r e forced out.

"I wouldn't consider one link splitting off from the rest as a 'break-up' of the euro zone," Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told Reuters in an interview.

CORPORATE CORNER PtCL trains senior managers in new management concepts

Mediterranean for trade and export. Benghazi is home to numerous industries, including oil refining, food processing, cement production and fishing, which would benefit from the new flights to and from Doha and Qatar Airways’ connecting points across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. PReSS ReLeASe

Digger by Borjan holds strength competition ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) has successfully trained 30 senior managers through its ongoing dynamic Management Development Program. “I congratulate our senior managers on this achievement,” said PTCL Chief Technical Officer, Muhammad Nasrullah while addressing participants at the certificate awards ceremony held at the program’s conclusion. PReSS ReLeASe

Qatar airways launches flights to Libyan city of Benghazi

300 uBL branches to remain open on Saturdays nationwide

ISLAMABAD: Borjan organised a fun filled competition, “Are you the Digger strongman?” at National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad. The competition was held to discover and promote the hidden talent of society and also engage the young generation in healthy activities. Advertising Manager, Digger shoes, Mr Shahid Riaz was the chief guest at the thrilling event. PReSS ReLeASe

the Karachi chapter of DIL showcases, “Karachi: Haar Na mano” BENgHAZI: Qatar Airways has launched scheduled flights to the Libyan port city of Benghazi in North Africa. Operating four-times-a-week from Doha, Libya’s second largest city is a leading economic centre, ideally located on the

underprivileged children, especially girls. Nida Butt, renowned for being one of the most dynamic and original choreographers working in theatre in Pakistan, and Hamza Jafri, seasoned music composer, have put together an original play with a completely original sound track. The coproducer for this production is Waqas Bukhari. “It is the first time we are doing a play in Urdu,” said Nida Butt, the driving force behind Made for Stage Productions. “And it is also the first time we are doing a story which is so relevant to us, our city and our times.” PReSS ReLeASe

kARAcHI: The Karachi chapter of DIL, Developments in Literacy, held a special showing of the acclaimed original musical, “Karachi: Haar Na Mano” at the Karachi Arts Council. DIL Karachi is part of DIL international, an NGO which is dedicated to educating and empowering

kARAcHI: For greater customer convenience and facilitation, 300 UBL branches will remain open between 9:00am to 1:30pm on Saturdays, nationwide. To further facilitate the valuable customers, 472 UBL ATMs will also offer cash withdrawal, intrabank funds transfer, Inter Bank Funds Transfer (IBFT) between partner banks, Utility Bills Payments Service (UBPS), balance inquiry, mini statement and PIN change facilities. Also, over 5000 other banks’ 1 Link and M Net ATMs will also be facilitating all type of UBL cards (debit, credit and wiz prepaid). PReSS ReLeASe

tCP awards tender for import of 440,000 mt urea kARAcHI: Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), in response to its international Gallop Tender Notice, awarded import contracts for a total of 440,000 metric tonnes (MTs) of Urea @ US$ 540.75 per metric tonne (PMT) C&F, on the lowest bid basis, to four (4) different responsive bidders. In all, 13

responsive bidders participated in the tender and quoted prices ranged from US$ 540.75 to US$578PMT (C&F). M/s Dreymoor Fertilizers Overseas PTE Ltd. offered the lowest price of US$540.75PMT C&F initially for 50,000MT. As the offer conformed to all technical specifications and evaluation criteria given in the tender document, the bidder was awarded contract for import of 100,000MT Urea. Three more bidders viz.

M/s Keytrade AG Switzerland, M/s Transmonia, Switzerland and M/s Incitec Pvt Ltd., Australia who had quoted higher rates agreed to match the lowest price of US$540.75PMT C&F for supply of 100,000MT, 150,000MT, and 90,000MT, respectively. Hence, the contracts for the agreed quantities were awarded to them, as well. PReSS ReLeASe

President ABF supports mFN status to India LAHoRE: President American Business Forum (ABF), Salim Ghauri has supported the government’s decision to extend Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, saying Pakistan is strong enough to compete with India economically. Also, he said, only an economically strong Pakistan would be in a position to resolve political disputes in the region. Salim said it is time for Pakistan to go out of way in developing trade relations for economic survival in fast changing global economy. Regarding Kashmir dispute with India, President ABF said this issue would remain unsettled for another 60 years if no improvement on bilateral Indo-Pak trade relations takes place. He also said that the federal government’s decision to extend MFN status to India is a step in right direction, and it would not only benefit Pakistan and India but the whole region as well in future. PReSS ReLeASe

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:29 AM Page 27

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

27

Markets top 10 sectors

59% 09% 09% 04% 07%

chemicals

01% 04% 01% 04% 02%

industrial Transportation

construction & materials electricity Banks

Fixed line Telecommunication

oil & Gas

Financial services

Personal Goods

equity investment instruments

STOCK MaRKeT HIgHLIgHTS index 12019.3 3171.09 2690.5

Kse-100 lse-25 ise-10

change + 50.27 -4.87 +34.5

Volume 35,040,710 943,455 50,261

market Value 2,781,764,718 35,963,687 1,585,776

Major gainers company Bata (Pak) ltd. colgate Palmolive siemens Pak attock Petroleum sanofi-aventis

open 812.31 561.00 924.75 415.68 145.27

high 852.92 588.00 949.00 423.89 149.99

low 795.00 588.00 878.55 416.60 149.99

close 852.92 588.00 949.00 421.00 149.99

change 40.61 27.00 24.25 5.32 4.72

Turnover 19 1 100 11,994 1

3185.00 5599.00 133.00 63.15 65.60

3080.00 5589.98 133.00 62.00 59.47

3080.00 5599.00 133.00 62.00 59.47

-81.93 -25.93 -7.00 -3.23 -3.12

88 21 7 2,510 10,004

Major Losers

top 5 perForMers sector wise SymBOL

OPEN

HIGH

LOw CuRRENt

CHANGE

vOLumE

404.69 120.40 6.98 93.80 334.90

396.00 116.10 6.75 89.30 308.94

396.87 117.57 6.77 92.03 310.82

-6.98 -1.21 -0.12 1.02 -14.37

61,485 833,559 399,510 91,674 314,938

15.00 31.05 71.99 143.49 40.80

14.00 29.29 65.17 137.50 37.06

15.00 29.30 70.64 139.79 37.39

0.00 -1.53 2.05 -0.90 -1.57

1,500 2,485,646 855 4,017 244,529

Oil and gas attock PetroleumXd attock ref.Xd Byco Petroleum mari Gas co.XB national ref.Xd

403.85 118.78 6.89 91.01 325.19

agritech ltd. arif habib coXdXB sd Biafo industriesXd clariant Pakistan dawood hercules

15.00 30.83 68.59 140.69 38.96

Volume Leaders mcB Bank ltd nishat mills Xd national Bank d.G.K.cement arif habib

160.41 45.56 44.89 21.38 31.10

167.50 46.65 45.99 21.58 31.65

160.00 44.40 44.90 21.25 31.12

164.50 45.56 45.75 21.42 31.31

4.09 0.00 0.86 0.04 0.21

3,130,808 1,863,755 1,848,206 1,395,850 1,187,889

Bullion Market Gold 24K Gold 22K silver (Tezabi) silver (Thobi)

Per Tola (PKr) 57,322.00 51,608.00 1,102.00 1025.00

Per 10 Gm (PKr) 49,196.00 44,245.00 945.00 880.00

Per ounce us$ 1,764.00 – 35.05 –

Interbank Rates us dollar uK Pound Japanese yen euro

23.25 1.41 8.60 34.00 11.00

23.59 1.45 9.00 34.50 11.00

-0.31 0.00 0.07 -0.48 -0.56

al-abbas cement attock cementXd Berger Paints Bestway cement cherat cement

2.00 51.11 11.79 8.11 7.66

29.62 2.49 41.17 7.72 22.00

Buy 86.40 116.87 136.35 1.1028 84.03 10.85 23.33 22.85

sell 87.00 118.78 138.47 1.1225 87.83 11.18 23.62 23.12

Brent Crude Oil

$113.71

6.93 184.30 28.50 7.00 108.00

2.00 51.99 12.00 9.11 8.19

1.90 50.81 11.60 8.11 7.50

1.92 51.02 11.91 8.11 8.01

-0.08 -0.09 0.12 0.00 0.35

26,799 108,952 4,762 100 197,042

58.00 169.52 117.00 2.63 168.53

30.40 3.25 42.00 7.95 22.00

28.14 2.21 39.12 7.01 20.95

28.14 3.08 39.60 7.65 22.00

-1.48 0.59 -1.57 -0.07 0.00

14,022 614,084 16,802 993 70

abdullah shah colony sugar mills engro Foods ltd. habib sugar mills habib-adm ltd.Xd

8.00 1.75 23.52 28.10 11.58

8.00 1.75 23.90 28.50 11.70

7.90 184.30 28.50 6.90 108.00

6.93 184.30 28.25 6.25 102.60

58.00 170.00 118.00 2.79 169.99

0.00 0.00 -0.24 -0.30 0.00

10 90 5,055 5,004 2

58.00 168.94 117.94 2.51 168.53

0.00 -0.58 0.94 -0.12 0.00

2,000 240 302 39,802 31

109.00 111.18 145.05 145.58

0.69 -4.44

1,170 203

58.00 168.50 117.00 2.43 168.53

110.49 111.43 150.02 150.00

(colony) Thal al-Qadir Textile amtex limited annoor Textile artistic denim Xd

1.70 11.25 1.67 13.00 18.50

1.11 11.25 1.70 14.00 18.50

31.00 30.82 4.01 120.42 119.16

ahcl-noV ahcl-ocT anl-ocT aTrl-noV aTrl-ocT

31.00 30.82 4.25 121.50 120.30

abbott laboratories Ferozsons (lab) ltd.

GlaxosmithKline Pak. highnoon (lab) iBl healthcare Xd

102.49 80.00 68.92 28.09 10.92

103.00 80.00 68.26 28.09 11.92

6.93 184.30 28.26 6.70 108.00

P.T.c.l.a Pak datacom ltdXd Telecard limited wateen Telecom ltd worldcall Telecom

10.89 35.03 0.95 .68 1.13

10.98 34.01 1.00 1.70 1.19

P.T.c.l.a Pak datacom ltd.

Telecard limited wateen Telecom ltd worldcall Telecom

11.47 31.65 1.09 1.51 1.32

8.00 1.74 22.54 27.88 11.50

0.00 -0.01 -0.98 -0.22 -0.08

53 23,501 91,748 70,820 2,995

1.11 11.25 1.45 14.00 18.25

1.11 11.25 1.60 14.00 18.49

-0.59 0.00 -0.07 1.00 -0.01

1,000 500 132,822 1,000 1,049

29.45 29.28 3.90 117.90 116.50

29.51 29.32 3.95 119.21 117.71

-1.49 -1.50 -0.06 -1.21 -1.45

376,500 516,500 24,500 201,000 200,000

101.00 78.10 67.01 27.65 10.99

102.10 80.00 68.06 28.09 11.92

-0.39 0.00 -0.86 0.00 1.00

1,283 45 1,557 100 25,154

10.71 34.01 0.90 1.65 1.06

-0.18 -1.02 -0.05 -0.03 -0.07

470,873 500 68,502 152,954 235,458

10.65 34.01 0.90 1.52 1.00

11.77 32.66 1.09 1.68 1.35

11.42 31.65 1.01 1.47 1.15

11.64 32.66 1.03 1.50 1.28

0.17 1.01 -0.06 -0.01 -0.04

4,752,418 1,430 194,249 449,333 649,632

0.50 36.38 0.75 1.70 41.36

0.50 36.50 0.77 1.70 41.80

0.36 36.10 0.70 1.56 41.25

0.50 36.10 0.71 1.60 41.53

0.00 -0.28 -0.04 -0.10 0.17

1 1,022,035 38,682 752,756 220,355

63.16 11.15 5.94 11.15 29.95

64.00 11.29 6.08 11.35 30.20

62.50 10.75 5.79 10.70 29.55

62.69 10.89 5.83 10.89 29.91

-0.47 -0.26 -0.11 -0.26 -0.04

32,694 944,906 319,287 1,929,563 175,090

electricity Genertech hub Power co.Xd Japan Power K.e.s.c. Xr Kot addu PowerXd

Banks allied Bank ltd askari Bank B.o.Punjab Bank al-Falah Bank al-habib

SymBOL

OPEN

HIGH

LOw CuRRENt

CHANGE

vOLumE

Non Life Insurance 7.00 1.70 22.50 27.50 11.50

Fixed Line Telecommunication

Beverages murree Brewery co. shezan int’l

vOLumE

Pharma and Bio Tech

automobile and Parts agriautos indus.Xd atlas Battery ltd. atlas honda ltd. dewan motors exide (PaK)

CHANGE

Future Contracts

general Industrials cherat PackagingXd ecoPacK ltd Ghani Glass ltdXd macPac Films merit Pack

LOw CuRRENt

Personal goods 40,885 8,285 3,035 25,300 63,850

Construction and Materials

ados Pakistan al-Ghazi Tractors Bolan castingXd Ghandhara ind. hinopak motor

International Oil Price WTI Crude Oil

$98.19

24.70 1.50 9.00 35.00 11.52

Industrial engineering

86.6114 137.7988 1.1192 118.1207

us dollar euro Great Britain Pound Japanese yen canadian dollar hong Kong dollar uae dirham saudi riyal

23.90 1.45 8.93 34.98 11.56

HIGH

Household goods

Industrial metals and Mining crescent steel dost steels ltd. huffaz seamless Pipe int. ind.ltd. inter.steel ltd.

OPEN

Food Producers

Chemicals

nestle PakistansPoT 3161.93 unilever Pak ltd. 5624.93 Philip morris Pak. 140.00 agriautos indus.Xd 65.23 Pak Tobacco co.

62.59

SymBOL

adamjee ins Xd ask.Gen.insurance atlas insurance central ins co. century insurance

49.64 8.50 34.49 48.67 7.16

49.50 8.50 35.00 50.00 7.50

48.60 8.10 33.86 48.00 7.06

49.40 8.47 33.99 49.79 7.50

-0.24 -0.03 -0.50 1.12 0.34

6,785 1,651 1,110 3,909 1,500

13.50 1.40 65.53

14.50 1.40 65.53

0.00 0.00 0.00

2 1 157

0.30 14.89 17.71 0.86 7.25

-0.02 -1.00 -0.25 -0.02 -0.01

9,463 13,487 19,659 9,495 2,100

Life Insurance american life east west life assur eFu life assur

14.50 1.40 65.53

14.50 2.34 68.80

Financial Services amZ Ventures a arif habib invesXd arif habib ltd. dawood equities invest & Fin.sec.

0.32 15.89 17.96 0.88 7.26

0.35 15.50 18.34 1.09 7.26

0.22 14.89 17.20 0.86 7.25

equity Investment Instruments 1st.Fid.leasing mod 1.70 al-noor modarXd 3.98 allied rentalmodXdXB 19.90 atlas Fund of Fund 6.00 B.F.modarabaXd 5.56

1.50 4.00 19.90 6.10 5.56

1.50 3.60 19.88 5.90 5.00

1.50 4.00 19.90 5.90 5.56

-0.20 0.02 0.00 -0.10 0.00

15,000 25,100 3,700 414,000 7

13.80 32.98 35.25 1.55 9.25 31.70 11.00 7.00 30.50 15.60 70.00 1.68 72.49 8.60 59.47 133.00 29.50 16.50 2.01 17.77 20.15 27.20 1.70 11.50

13.80 32.98 35.25 1.60 9.25 31.70 11.00 7.00 30.50 16.00 71.00 1.70 72.49 8.60 59.47 133.00 29.50 16.50 2.15 18.00 20.50 27.20 1.78 11.50

-0.06 0.91 -0.35 0.02 0.10 0.20 0.00 0.00 -0.50 0.00 1.06 0.00 0.19 -0.12 -3.12 -7.00 0.22 0.00 -0.07 0.34 0.31 1.14 0.04 -0.04

2,700 110 447 14,144 1,600 150 500 11 20 275 102 27,597 1 100 10,004 7 2,000 1,000 192 54,104 28,169 319 27,116 30,876

Miscellaneous century Paper Pak Paper Prod. security Paper dost steels ltd. huffaz seamless Pipe int. ind.ltd. inter.steel ltd.

Johnson & Philips Pakistan cables P.n.s.c.Xd Pak.int.con. sd TrG Pakistan ltd. murree BreweryXdXB Tariq GlassXd Pak Tobacco co.

Philip morris Pak. shifa int.hospitals hum network Xd P.i.a.c.(a) sui north GasXdXB sui south GasXdXB aKd capital ltd.Xd Pace (Pak) ltd. netsol Technologies

13.86 32.07 35.60 1.58 9.15 31.50 11.00 7.00 31.00 16.00 69.94 1.70 72.30 8.72 62.59 140.00 29.28 16.50 2.22 17.66 20.19 26.06 1.74 11.54

13.85 32.99 36.00 1.63 9.50 31.70 11.00 7.00 30.50 16.00 71.97 1.72 72.49 8.61 65.60 133.00 29.50 16.50 2.30 18.05 20.80 27.35 1.85 11.79

Mutual Funds Fund alfalah GhP cash Fund askari islamic asset allocation Fund askari islamic income Fund askari sovereign cash Fund atlas income Fund atlas islamic income Fund atlas money market Fund atlas stock market Fund crosby dragon Fund

Offer 501.2900 114.7196 103.6501 100.6900 519.3500 519.0900 516.9700 453.1500 82.9800

Repurchase 501.2900 111.8516 102.6136 100.6900 514.2100 513.9500 516.9700 444.2600 81.3500

NAv 501.2900 111.8516 102.6136 100.6900 514.2100 513.9500 516.9700 444.2600 81.3500

Fund hBl money market Fund hBl multi asset Fund hBl stock Fund iGi income Fund iGi stock Fund Js Principal secure Fund i Js Principal secure Fund ii KasB cash Fund lakson equity Fund

Offer 100.2768 87.0103 97.6745 101.8987 112.3545 121.5000 104.1200 0.0000 106.3763

Repurchase 100.2768 85.3042 95.2922 100.8898 109.6141 111.5200 96.5000 0.0000 103.2779

NAv 100.2768 85.3042 95.2922 100.8898 109.6141 117.3900 101.5800 100.1087 103.2779

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:29 AM Page 28

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

PNSC is not planning to get the loan of $40m from ECO because of the recent decline in the international shipping industry, and buying a vessel at this time would be a bad decision

news

28

Official sources

Cement manufacturers urge government to clear payments g

Government fails to give Rs269.293 million claimed subsidy g Local consumption of cement remains stagnant KARACHI

A

StAFF RePoRt

LL Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has strongly urged the government to clear payments of long-awaited inland freight subsidy claims and facilitate the industry in exporting cement as local consumption is stagnant and the industry is working under capacity leaving 12.796 million tonnes of installed production capacity unutilised.

ADDRESSINg coNcERNS: In a letter written to Ministry of Finance, Chairman APCMA, Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh, recalled that cement makers had approached the government in 2009 to allow 50 per cent inland freight subsidy for export of cement by sea to boost cement exports as high inland freight cost of the units, located in the north, makes it impossible for them to compete in the international market for export of cement by sea. Chairman APCMA added that after a lapse of six months, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP) allowed inland freight subsidy at the rate of 35 per cent for cement exports by sea only for the period from March 26, 2010 to June 30, 2010.

He said that cement industry after fulfilling all conditions, started filing claims for inland freight subsidy to TDAP and as of date, cement makers have filed claims to the tune of Rs269.293 million.

Unfortunately, he said, neither any cement maker has received claimed amount from the State Bank of Pakistan nor any intimation has been received from TDAP regarding approval of the said claims. It was also learnt that Ministry of Finance has not released any funds yet for the claims, he added. uNutILISED PRoDuctIoN cAPAcIty: Aizaz further mentioned that cement production capacity in Pakistan is 44.217 million tonnes per annum, 80 per cent of this capacity is situated in the North and 20 per cent in the South of the country. During the year 2010-

2011, domestic demand for cement was a mere 22.002 million tonnes and exports were 9.419 million tonnes, thus leaving substantial production capacity unutilised, he added. He said that the reason behind allowing inland freight subsidy was to maximise cement exports via sea and facilitate the cement units located in the north zone in particular. Keeping in view the inland freight subsidy facility, the cement makers had accepted export orders on the assumption that the freight claims would be honoured, he added.

Chairman APCMA requested the Finance Secretary to intervene in the matter and issue instructions to ensure immediate clearance of long-awaited inland freight subsidy claims by the cement manufacturers.

Delay in clearing legitimate claims of the cement industry is leading to colossal losses, he added.

ExPoRtS of cEMENt: He pointed out that Pakistani cement is being exported to Afghanistan and Central Asian States at very competitive rates. However, he said, there is ample scope to increase exports through sea. Cement manufacturers could get export orders by sea, provided the issue of high inland freight cost from upcountry is addressed.

He also requested the authorities that in order to encourage exports by sea, inland freight subsidy should also be extended to the current financial year as this will not only help to bring in precious foreign exchange but also assist the cement industry to overcome its present financial crisis. APCMA spokesman feared that the loss-making mills situated in the Northern part of the country would not survive for long if they are not facilitated in increasing their exports.

NoN-RELEASE of RS7 BILLIoN fuND fRoM Mof: According to sources, despite the public announcement of various kinds of subsidies on the export of different items, the government has failed to pay billions of rupees to exporters due to non-release of funds from Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Though a large number of exporters have applied for the announced subsidies, aimed to promote the

country’s exports under ‘New Trade Initiatives’ of TDAP, the authority has not paid a penny to the applicants for the last one year, sources told Profit.

As the authority is yet to receive around Rs7 billion under export development fund from MoF, it was not only unable to pay the subsidies under different heads to the exporters but also many projects like establishing warehouses and retail outlets abroad were also not being completed for lack of money, they added.

Exporters from various sectors especially from pharmaceutical and cement industry have claimed millions of rupees worth subsidy from TDAP but the authority was yet to clear the declared dues to the respective sectors.

NoN-PAyMENt of SuBSIDy: Despite the announcement of around 35 per cent of inland cost from the government, the payment of over Rs350 million was yet to be made as subsidy to the cement exporters for the last one year for unavailability of funds, they said.

The authority had earlier announced 50 per cent subsidy to leather apparel exporters for on the floor expert advisory/ consultancy services, in February last year, while 25 per cent share in the cost of design studies in tanneries, announced in November 2009.

Through another category of subsidy, TDAP had also announced the 25 per cent freight subsidy on the export of live seafood, and markup subsidy for Cool Chain Projects, in October 2009. TDAP had also announced the 50 per cent sharing of cost on each Halal Certification and UL certification last year beside the 6 per cent support on the export of processed food in 2009. Besides, the authority has also announced inland freight subsidy a range of developmental products including Cement, Light Engineering, Leather garments, Furniture, Soda Ash, Hydrogen Peroxide, Caustic Soda, Sanitary Wares including Tiles, finished Marble/cut to size marble blocks/ granite/onyx products. The authority had also announced one per cent Adhoc Relief in June 2010.

PAK-uAE JmC ON OCt 15 At ABu DHABI ISLAMABAD

F

JALALUDDin RUMi

INANCE Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh would lead Pakistan’s delegation at Abu-Dhabi in PakistanUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) 10th round of Joint Ministerial Conference (JMC) starting from Tuesday next week. Delegates of both countries would review cooperation in areas of bilateral trade, banking and finance, investment, agriculture and livestock, energy and water, petroleum and natural resources, health, education, telecommunication and IT, civil

aviation, sports and media.

Both countries would also review the status of the $270 million grant announced by UAE in the Tokyo donor Conference. Pakistan will also raise the issue of financing of Diamer-Bhasha hydropower project and Kurram Tangi Dam project with the counterparts of UAE. Pakistan would also discuss ratification of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Agreement in the two-day JMC talks. In telecommunication and IT sectors, transfer of 147 properties in the name of Etisalat and exemption of Pakistan International Communications from taxes worth 10 per cent on annual profits would

also be discussed. Both countries would discuss cooperation in the matters relating to visas, transfer of offenders, cooperation in the field of metrological and seismic, humanitarian and charitable assistance would also be reviewed in the 10th JMC meeting.UAE is at the top with $ 62.7 million in JulyAugust, the first quarter of current financial year while last year it invested $284.2 million in various sectors of Pakistan. UAE has also become the largest single source of foreign remittances through banking channels.

UAE’s sustained official and private sector interest and growing FDI inflows, make it the 4th biggest

investor in Pakistan in several sectors; including telecom, airlines, banking, financial services, construction and real state. Trade between the two countries is increasing and UAE has emerged as second largest destination of Pakistani exports. There is a significant increase since the beginning of 2006 and approximately a rise of eight per cent on average in exports in value terms on average is seen.

Statistics show that from 2000-2001 to 2004-2005 bilateral trade grew at an annual average of $200-300 million. Exports experienced a constant growth during the last eight years and they rose from $626

Kinnow export begins KARACHI

P

GHULAM ABBAS

AKISTAN, which has fixed almost 0.3 million tonnes export of kinnow this year, has started exports as first consignment of 56 tonnes has been shipped to Dubai on Friday. The country is also ready to export almost 30,000 tonnes of kinnow to India if the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) are removed in the neighbouring country under the claimed liberalised trade between the two South Asian states.

According to Waheed Ahmed, Co Chairman, All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA) told Profit that two containers with almost 56 tonnes of kinnow were exported as the first consignment of export this year. This season’s targeted export is 0.3 million tonnes.

Though Iran, Indonesia, Russia, and Middle Eastern countries are the main markets for Pakistani fruits, India could also become a huge market after the MFN grant to Delhi. Islamabad will also export almost 90000 tonnes of small sized kinnow to Russia where the fruit has a huge demand as the Russians have a fondness for the same brand of kinnow. Indonesia was also likely to be another important market for Pakistani kinnow as due to a healthier valuation of Pakistani Kinnow. Even so, only 200 to 250 containers have been exported to the far-eastern country during last few years. But with the reduced value the export of fruit was expected to be around 56,000 tonnes with 2,000 fruit during the current season. For the enhanced export, Pakistani exporters are already negotiating with Indonesian buyers, Waheed claimed.

million to over $2 billion (20002001 to 2007-08). Pakistan’s main export products to UAE are rice, textiles, petroleum products, gold and jewellery, fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, fish and fish products. United Arab Emirates and Pakistan have signed five agreements in last JMC meeting in 2009 that includes establishment of a joint UAE-Pakistan Business Council, protocol on cooperation in media, cooperation in terrorism and organized crime, and cooperation in the field of culture. UAE has agreed to provide a $265 million soft loan for building mega dams in Pakistan.

UAE is also organizing 7th Expo at Karachi Expo Centre from 30th November to 2nd December the first ever UAE Expo in Pakistan. An agreement for the display centre in Sharjah will also be signed during UAE Expo in presence of commerce ministers of both countries.

Investment and trade between the two countries are rapidly increasing since to boost official and private investment in Pakistan, including financing mega projects. These mega projects are estimated to cost $36 billion— a part of the financing for which Pakistan expects to come from UAE. UAE is now one of Pakistan’s biggest trading partners in the world.

The two sides would also review the state of bilateral economic relations and agreed to further intensify their ties as there was a great potential to further enhance their trade relations.

UAE wants to invest in agriculture especially in corporate farming from which it could secure its food needs and for this UAE is willing to invest in the building of mega dams in Pakistan.

Layout 29 ISB pages_Layout 1 11/12/2011 1:29 AM Page 29

Saturday, 12 November, 2011

Islamabad, New delhi agree on calendar of meetings to tackle terrorism ISLAMABAD

No one will be allowed to play ‘secret game’: Nawaz PMl-N president says no mafia can ‘reoccupy Pakistan’ g Says present government broke all records of corruption g

StAFF RePoRt

Pakistan on Friday welcomed India’s readiness for a broad-ranging engagement, saying both countries had agreed to finalise the calendar of meetings for talks on various conflicting matters on composite dialogue agenda, including the Kashmir problem. Commenting on talks between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said, “The bilateral summit in the Maldives has contributed to impel a seriousness of purpose to the process of engagement with both sides reaffirming their commitment to the pursuit of peace and discussing all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir in a result oriented manner.”

“Pakistan had positively evaluated the talks and welcomed India’s readiness for a broad ranging engagement. It had been agreed to finalise the calendar of meetings. Both sides had also agreed to convene technical working groups prior to the holding of Pakistan India Joint Commission,” Khar said, in a press statement issued by the Foreign Office. “Both leaders had noted that terrorism was a common problem.

Instead of remaining mired in accusations and counter accusations, the real way forward was “cooperation”, she said.

“Interior/home secretaries had been mandated to discuss counter terrorism and counter narcotics. Pakistan’s Interior minister was prepared to visit New Delhi and was awaiting dates for the visit from India,” she said. Hina said Pakistan also awaited dates for the visit of the judicial commission from India. She said Mumbai, Samjhota and other terror-related matters needed to be addressed by both sides in the Interior/ Home ministries segment.

LAHORe

F

StAFF RePoRt

EARING hidden hands being involved in a conspiracy to derail democracy once again, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President Nawaz Sharif on Friday said those involved in the “secret game” would not be allowed to manipulate things any longer.

“I am duty bound to foil any underhanded game against the country. No move can de-track the Pakistani nation from achieving its objective and no corrupt mafia will be allowed to impose itself on the country,” Nawaz said while addressing an overseas convention at

Raiwind. He rejected claims that a clandestine game of “forming government one after the other” was going on, saying only those who secured votes would get into power. “We will not allow any mafia to reoccupy Pakistan. People now have knowledge of everything and know who is dancing upon whose instructions,” he said. Nawaz said no one could inflict any further damage to the masses anymore. “To run the government is a noble mission that cannot be compromised on,” he added. “Those calling themselves champions of virtue were absent at the time of long march.”

Nawaz said the PML-N considered politics sacred, which was why it did not use “long march” for its political gains. “We are proud of walking

our talk and the movement to reinstate judges is the best example,” Nawaz claimed. coRRuPtIoN REcoRDS: He said the present government broke all records of corruption. “I advised the government on the lines of Charter of Democracy to evolve a policy for the betterment of masses, but it found another way round each time,” Nawaz said. The PML-N chief said Pakistan was facing internal and external problems and the situation was not satisfactory. He said that under these circumstances, the country should be in safe hands, as it cannot afford more crises, adding that he was ready to make every sacrifice for the people of Pakistan.

‘Possible incident’ at nuclear power station in Pakistan VIeNNA AFP

A spokesman from Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency on Friday said there were “unconfirmed reports” about a possible incident at a nuclear power station in Pakistan. However, he said the information required further confirmation. The UN atomic agency said “very low levels” of radioactive iodine-131 had been detected in the air in the Czech Republic and in other countries, but presented no risk to human health. The Czech nuclear safety office said the source of the contamination was “most probably” outside the Czech Republic, and that its information suggested the cause was not an accident at an atomic power plant.

Poland, Slovakia and Austria also said they had detected abnormal but still very low levels, with Poland saying they had been “100 times higher” in March afer Japan’s Fukushima nuclear accident. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had received information from Czech authorities “that very low levels of iodine-131 have been measured in the atmosphere over the Czech Republic in recent days.

India’s top court ‘shocked’

by Pakistanis in jails NeW DeLHI AFP

China seeks greater role in SAArC ADDu: China is seeking an active role in the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), an official said on Friday, in a move likely to be resisted by India. The eight-member grouping wraps up a summit on Friday in the Maldives. Maldivian officials said China, an observer along with the United States, Japan and the European Union, was expecting a higher profile as a “dialogue partner” in the light of Beijing’s increased strategic interest in many South Asian states. Hectic behindthe-scenes moves were under way over China’s bid to elevate its status, diplomatic sources said, adding that Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka appeared in favour. Beijing was said to be unhappy being a mere observer and wanted a more active role as a “dialogue partner” because of its investment in the economies of many member states. India would likely be suspicious of any greater Chinese role. New Delhi has watched with anxiety as Beijing has forged ties with many countries in the South Asia region, often by dispensing aid and soft loans for infrastructure. Beijing established an embassy in the Maldivian capital Male just two days before SAARC leaders opened their 17th summit in the Addu atoll, the southernmost point in the archipelago on Thursday. The summit is expected to endorse a draft agreement which calls for the “comprehensive review of all matters relating to SAARC’s engagement with observers, including the question of dialogue partnership.” AfP

29

BAnGKoK: A man takes advantage of receded flood waters to check his car in the parking lot next to the Don Muang Airport on Friday. the thai capital, built on swampland, is slowly sinking and the floods currently besieging Bangkok could be merely a foretaste of a grim future as climate change makes its impact felt. AfP

India’s Supreme Court expressed shock on Friday that more than 250 Pakistanis were being held in Indian jails without ever having faced trial, with at least one behind bars since 1965. The court, hearing a public interest case filed by a member of the public, ordered the central government to file a comprehensive report explaining the detentions. “It’s shocking that over 254 Pakistani nationals are languishing in jails without a trial,” said Supreme Court judge RN Lodha. The inmates are being held in the north-western state of Jammu and Kashmir, with many thought to be people arrested after unwittingly crossing the disputed border in the area, the court heard. Four are women. It is thought that there may be inmates held without trial in other states too.

SAARC members vow to promote connectivity ADDU APP

The 17th SAARC Summit concluded on Friday adopting a promising 20-point agenda reaffirming its commitment to peace, confidence building, liberty, dignity, democracy, mutual respect, good governance and protection of human rights.

The summit, which was attended by eight member countries and nine representatives from observer states, also renewed its firm commitment to alleviate poverty and reduce income inequalities within the societies and reaffirmed its resolve to improve the quality of life and well-being of their people through people-centred sustainable development. The summit through the “Addu Declaration” also expressed its deep concern about the continuing threat of terrorism in all its forms and manifesta-

tions, transnational organised crimes, especially illegal trafficking in narcotics drugs, and trafficking in persons and small arms, and increased incidents of maritime piracy in the region and reiterated its resolve to fight all such menaces. The summit also expressed concern on the environmental degradation and vulnerabilities of the region to the threat of climate change. The summit also emphasised the need to further strengthen the institutional mechanism of SAARC in order to bolster and enhance regional cooperation. The summit welcomed the signing of SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, SAARC Seed Bank, SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment and the SAARC Agreement on Implementation of Regional Standards.

Through the declaration, the summit recognised the importance of the full im-

plementation of SAFTA as a measure towards the creation of an enabling economic environment in the region. The summit appreciated the representatives from the observers, including Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Korea, Mauritius, Myanmar, the United States of America and European Union. Through the declaration, the summit asked the SAARC finance ministers to prepare a proposal that would allow greater flow of financial capital and intra-regional long term investment. The member states also emphasised the need to conclude Regional Railways Agreement and to convene the Export Group Meeting on the Motor Vehicles Agreement before the next session of Council of Ministers and conduct a demonstration run of a container train among Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

The declaration also directed the mem-

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.

ber states to conclude the inter-governmental framework agreement for energy cooperation and the study on regional power exchange concept. The summit also decided to make efforts to resolve the operational issues related to the SAARC Food Bank by the next session of Council of Ministers with a view to ensuring its effective functioning. The summit also recommended to make efforts for the finalisation of work on elaboration of the SAARC Regional Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in women and children for prostitution with a view to its adoption by the next summit. The 17th Summit also agreed to expedite the work on mutual recognition of academic and professional degrees and harmonization of academic standards, and establishment of long term linkages among universities, research institutions and think tanks in the region.