E-paper 27th December, 2011

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Al Qaeda leadership Provinces demand almost wiped autonomy: Petroleum Policy approval delayed out in Pakistan

PML-Q workers not happy with PPP alliance: Amir Muqqam

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PROFIT | PAGE 01

pakistantoday.com.pk

rs15.00 Vol ii no 180 22 pages lahore edition

Contradictions galore ISLAMABAD RANA QAISAR

While Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday tried to brush aside the impression that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha were being removed, the intrinsic contradictions in what the government publicly says and what it practically believes continue to confuse the situation, giving credence to the speculations that the civil and military leaderships are not on the same page. Though the prime minister, in his interaction with the representatives of electronic media on Monday, made a calculated attempt to diffuse the situation by contradicting what he had himself been saying throughout and what position the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s leaders had been taking without directly attacking the army and the ISI, the government’s response filed with the Supreme Court in the memo case also suggested that its words and actions did not match. To start with, the affidavit submitted by the Interior Ministry on behalf of the federation said that former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani was not asked to resign while a statement issued by a spokesman of PM’s House on November 22, had said: “The prime minister has directed to conduct a detailed investigation at an appropriate level and in the meanwhile he asked Pakistan Ambassador to the USA Husain Haqqani to submit his resignation so that the investigation can be carried out properly.” On Monday, the prime minister said Haqqani was not asked to resign as the ambassador had already tendered his resignation. He also admitted that it was he who had convinced General Kayani and General Pasha that their tenures should be extended and that they were pro-democracy, besides there were no differences between the civil and military leaderships. This statement of the prime minister again appears to be a bid to normalise the situation as his unusual outburst at a Christmas ceremony and then in the National Assembly last week was in absolute contrast to what he said on Monday. Though he tried to explain that his remarks were not against the army or the ISI as it was about the Defence Ministry, his reference to “a state within a state” was understandably in a larger context and it did imply that he had implicitly targeted the army and the ISI as his allusion to Osama bin Laden’s six-year presence in Abbottabad was not without purpose. Similarly, the underlined and unmistakable message in a series of Continued on page 04

tuesday, 27 december, 2011 safar 1, 1433

No plans to sack army chief or ISI DG, says Gilani Prime minister says opportunists are presenting an ‘absurd’ theory to the nation g Says army, iSi chiefs received extensions at his request g Govt can’t remove generals in the middle of a war

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ISLAMABAD

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APP

RIMe Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani rejected as “absurd” on Monday the impression and rumours that the government had any intention to remove the chief of army staff (COAS) or the InterServices Intelligence (ISI) director general and said only some opportunists were presenting this theory to the nation.

“There are rumours that the government probably wants to remove them (COAS, ISI chief). This is absurd. Some opportunists are presenting this theory before the nation, which is wrong,” Gilani said in response to a question while talking to reporters here at Prime Minister’s House. The prime minister said it was on his request COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha were given extensions. “I am happy with him,” Gilani remarked with reference to Gen Kayani.

In response to another question about his remarks of “a state within a state”, Gilani clarified: “It pertained to the attitude of the federal defence secretary,” and added that every institution was under the government and there could not be a separate government. In response to a question about the extension of Gen Kayani and Lt Gen Pasha, Gilani said: “You cannot change the generals in the middle of a war,” - a reference to the war on terror. “That was on my request”, he said, adding they did not seek extensions. “Gen Kayani is pro-democracy,” he remarked further. In response to another question, Gilani also rejected the notion of any tension between the government and the army and said: “How can we run a government if there is any tension?”

Gilani also said he had spoken to the Joint Chiefs of the Staff Committee chairman on “certain issue” on Monday.

About his recent speech to the National Assembly, the prime minister said addressing the National Assembly and Senate was his prerogative. He said the

performance of the democratically elected government could not be compared to the regime of General (r) Pervez Musharraf, which had no mandate to rule the people of the country through a referendum. He said at the start of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar was the finance minister and he was on record about the dismal state of the economy inherited from the Musharraf regime.

He said 2012 would be the year of Balochistan and the government would also focus its attention on controlling inflation and the issue of circular debt.

The government, he said, could not go on using the option of borrowing and printing money as it would not be good for the economy.

He said it was the right of the opposition to play to the gallery and embarrass the government. “Politics is a day to day affair and nobody should worry whether the country or religion is in danger,” he

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Questions why it took army chief so long to report the matter to the PM Affidavit says ‘worthless piece of paper’ cannot bring down morale of armed forces

pM, president disCuss Firdous, MeMo | page 03

Benazir’s death anniversary today, Zardari’s speech awaited ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

LARKANA: President Asif Ali Zardari laying a floral wreath on the grave of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. online

Memo ‘a pack of lies’, government tells SC g

remarked. Gilani said he realised that people were facing problems of electricity and gas shortage but wanted to provide relief within available resources as every government would like to get votes on the basis of its performance.

The prime minister said it was customary not to accept the result of elections. “The same happened in the 1977 elections when results were not accepted and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and opposition parties held talks and all points were agreed but the third force came and a long martial law followed,” he said. Gilani also said he never stated that the government should complete its tenure, rather he always stressed that parliament, which was a nascent institution, should complete its tenure.

He said he never insisted to stay in office. “It is not a bed of roses. It is a bed of thorns,” he remarked.

ISLAMABAD MASOOD REHMAN

The government and the army clearly faced off on Monday as the federation stated in its affidavit, submitted to the Supreme Court in response to the affidavit of Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, that if the army chief had come to know the details of the memo issue through Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha on October 24, 2011, why did he take so long to report the matter to the prime minister in a case where, according to him (Kayani), time was of the essence.

The army chief brought the memo issue to the notice of the prime minister on November 13. In an 18-page reply to the affidavits of the army chief, ISI DG, former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani and Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, a main character of the memo issue, the federation submitted its affidavit in the Supreme Court through the Interior Ministry on Monday, terming the alleged memo “a pack of lies” and declaring that Ijaz had tried to pitch the institutions of Pakistan against each other. The affidavit, submitted in response to the Supreme Court’s December 19 order by Interior Secretary Khawaja Muhammad Siddique Akbar on behalf of

federation through Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, stated that the worthless piece of paper admittedly authored by an alien who had not made even a pretence about his allegiance and who admittedly had no credibility could not bring down the morale of the Pakistani people and the armed forces.

“This respondent (federation) has gone through the witness statement (testimony of Mansoor Ijaz) and finds no substance into it worth name because it is a pack of lies regarding the self styled ‘memo’ and the matters related thereto,” the interior secretary stated in the affidavit.

Continued on page 04

As all is set to observe fourth death anniversary of former chairwoman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and twotime prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, Larkana, President Asif Ali Zardari’s address to a public meeting on this occasion is being eagerly awaited across the country amidst the memo controversy. Before leaving for Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Zardari held a detailed meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday and discussed with him the government and the PPP’s strategy. After the meeting, the prime minister, in his interaction with the representatives of the media, attempted to brush aside the impression that a confrontation between the civil and military establishments was imminent.

However, it was being widely speculated that the president would make a hardhitting speech on the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in a suicide attack on December 27, 2007, after a public meeting at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, as part of her election campaign when she had returned to the country after a long exile. Her fourth anniversary is a reminder of the same political environment it was at the time of her assassination… as though there was little more than a year to go for elections, with all political parties warming up and holding public meetings and rallies across the country.

Continued on page 04

speCial page on benazir | page 10

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02 News

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

lAHOre

Today’s

Orders issued to clear all barricades

NewS

wOrlD vIew

Remembering Benazir Bhutto

India’s secret war in Bangladesh

Quick look

Story on Page 10

Story on Page 08

Story on Page 15

Troops kill 15 militants in Orakzai, Kurram offensive PESHAWAR: Security forces on Monday targeted militants’ positions near Afghan border areas in Orakzai and Kurram Agencies, killing 15 suspected Taliban militants, local officials said. The paramilitary forces shelled militants’ hideouts in the Mamozai and Khadizai areas of upper Orakzai, leaving seven militants dead.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing operation against insurgents in the region, heavy shelling was also carried out on militant targets in the Musazai and Jogi areas of Kurram Agency. eight militants were reported dead in the assault. More than 200 militants have been killed so far in the ongoing military operation in upper Orakzai and Kurram Agency. elsewhere, Dera Ismail Khan police killed two militants after a successful 24-hour standoff to retrieve three kidnapped government workers from their possession. A local police official said on Monday that two militants blew themselves up during the crossfire near Dera Ismail Khan. APP

Targeted killings have gone down: Balochistan IGP QUETTA: Balochistan Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Amin Hashim on Monday claimed that effective security measures had reduced the targeted killing incidents of Hazara people.

Talking to journalists at his office, the IGP said he was confident in his claim that targeted killings on ethnic and sectarian grounds had gone down. He said that enhanced security measures included deployment of police personnel, including plainclothesmen, at all sensitive areas, installation of security cameras at important points, and special protection for the Hazara people during their routine movement in Quetta. He admitted that kidnappings for ransom were still continuing in the province, saying that Hindus were usually targeted for their wealth and business.

However, he did not agree that police had failed in controlling abductions for ransom. He said the police had busted a number of gangs involved in kidnapping. Talking about the problems limiting police performance, the IGP said that police cover in 8 percent of the province, insufficient technical support, outdated equipment, lack of cooperation between police and the levies, lack of training for investigators, limited exposure, and unavailability of good and experienced officers were the major issues facing Balochistan Police. StAff REPORt

Two tribesmen killed in firing in Quetta cattle market QUETTA: Two tribesmen were killed and three others injured in two separate incidents of firing and landmine blast in Quetta and Dera Bugti on Monday. Police said unidentified armed men opened indiscriminate fire on a group of people at a cattle market near eastern Bypass area of Quetta. As a result, two people identified as Muhammad Jan Marri and Amir Humza were killed on the spot, while Jamshed Marri sustained critical wounds. Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site and moved the injured and deceased to Civil Hospital Quetta. Police said the motive behind the killing could be old enmity. In another incident, two people were injured in a landmine blast in Sui area of Dera Bugti. The two were on way home on a motorcycle when it hit an anti-personnel mine. Meanwhile, a woman and her two children were killed by suffocation in Kuchlak area, some 20 kilometres north of Quetta on Monday. StAff REPORt

Office to help parents of abducted children reactivated ISLAMABAD: In order to assist the families in child abduction cases linked to more than one country, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has reactivated the office of the International Cooperation of International Family Law to provide assistance, including legal advice, to parents seeking their child abducted to another country. According to the Law Ministry, globalisation has resulted in an increasing number of international family and child abduction cases involving multiple countries and legal systems. In order to address the issue of child abduction, it was decided in the International Family Justice Judicial Conference for Common Law and Commonwealth Law Jurisdiction held in 2009 that all the 42 participating countries will make appropriate arrangements to provide assistance, including legal advice to the left behind parents against child abduction and wrongful removal or retention from one country to another, the ministry said in a statement. StAff REPORt

Pakistan asks india to fix judicial commission’s visit date ISLAMABAD

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tAHIR NIAZ

He government on Monday asked India to fix the date for the proposed visit of Pakistani judicial commission to India to interview the key persons linked to the investigations into the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Sharat Sabarwal called on Interior Minister Rehman Malik at the Ministry of Interior.

According to ministry sources, both sides discussed various issues including the Mumbai terror attacks. Malik apprised the Indian high commissioner about the progress made in the investigation so far. He asked Sabarwal to fix a date for Pakistani judicial commission’s proposed visit as early as possible, the sources said.

The Pakistani commission will record the statements of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate RV Sawant Waghule and Investigating Officer Ramesh Mahale, who have recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor allegedly involved in the Mumbai attacks. It also wanted to record statements of the two doctors who carried out the post mortem of the terrorists killed during the attack.

Pakistan has already issued a notification on the formation of the judicial commission and has listed the names of the members who will represent Pakistan. The delegation will include Khalid Qureshi, the head of the FIA’s Special Investigation Group and Muhammad Azhar Chaudhry and Chaudhry Zulfiqar, the two main prosecutors.

The defence lawyers too would be part of the commission. The lawyers of seven Pakistanis allegedly involved in the attacks had informed the

anti-terrorism court Rawalpindi that they were ready to go to India as member of the commission. The lawyers included Lakhvi’s counsel, Khwaja Sultan, Riaz Cheema, Asam bin Haris and Fakhar-e-Hayat.

The notification was issued on the orders of the anti-terrorism court that is conducting the trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who have been charged with planning and financing the attacks. India had already agreed to the Pakistani proposal to host the judicial commission which is necessary as part of the judicial process in the country.

Pakistan maintains that the charges against the seven LT operatives are based on Kasab’s statement who is under detention in Mumbai and hence the magistrate and the investigation officer’s statements are necessary to submit before the ATC Rawalpindi. The sources said the judicial commission was likely to visit India in mid January next year. However, confirmation from the Indian side was yet to be received. During the meeting, Malik conveyed to his Indian counterpart the good wishes on the eve of New Year.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan also met Sabharwal and discussed the overall political situation in the country. “Asfandyar Wali and the Indian high commissioner discussed matters relating to PakIndia relations, the political situation in the country, peace in the region, particularly in the background of Afghanistan,” ANP Senator Zahid Khan told Pakistan Today. A source in the ANP said the party president also talked to the Indian high commissioner about the matter pertaining to the release of 18 Pakistanis who were currently languishing in an Indian jail.

SCBA wants JCP to nominate judges appointed under Dogar ISLAMABAD StAff REPORt

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Yaseen Azad on Monday suggested the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) nominate judges who were appointed with consultation of defacto chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, but were removed later through a Supreme Court order.

Talking to reporters at the Supreme Court building, he said the judges, who were appointed during the tenure of incumbent government and removed through the apex court’s July 31, 2009 verdict, could not be considered PCO judges.

He said if they were declared PCO judges, then objection could be raised on a couple of sitting judges, who were also appointed with the consultation of Justice (r) Abdul Hameed Dogar. He demanded the JCP to nominate judges on merit rather than nepotism. expressing concern over shortage of judges in superior courts, he said of 39 posts of judges in the Sindh High Court, 25 were still vacant. He said of the 60 posts of judges in the Lahore High Court, posts of 25 judges were lying vacant and litigants were facing immense problems due to the shortage. Regarding the resignation of Peshawar High Court’s Justice Shahjahan Khan, who resigned on the contentions that his promotion was bypassed, Azad said the SCBA would take up the issue on the proper forum.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

fOreIGN NewS

ArTS & eNTerTAINmeNT

uS mulling Saleh's travel request: official

Demi Lovato slams Disney for eating disorder joke Nadal looks to recover spark in 2012

SPOrTS

News 03 COmmeNT Imran’s pie in the sky: Imran Khan’s popularity is high but where are his solutions?

On spin-doctoring: The role of ministry of information.

Dr faisal Bari says: The quest for quality…: We lack quality education in both private and public sectors.

Rabia Ahmed says: Not another feudal enclave: PTI must not become another feudal party.

Syed Hassan Belal Zaidi says: Best laid plans: Imran Khan’s plans seems to be working, but for whom?

Story on Page 18

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 20

Articles on Page 12-13

PM, president discuss Firdous’s resignation, memogate ISLAMABAD

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BANNU: Dozens pour out on Peshawar Road to protest against unannounced gas load shedding on Monday. Online

StAff REPORt

RIMe Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called on President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday and discussed with him the circumstances leading to Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan handing in her resignation during the 100th meeting of the federal cabinet on Sunday.

A source told Pakistan Today that the prime minister briefed the president about his viewpoint regarding facts about the information minister’s attempt to resign.

The source said the two leaders also discussed other important issues.

“Gilani also discussed the apex court hearing to be held here today (Tuesday) on memogate. The prime minister also informed the president about the government’s strategy to deal with the issue,” added the source. An official

handout said the president also hosted a lunch for the prime minister. earlier, Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan called on the prime minister and discussed with him the issues faced by her ministry.

The prime minister asked the minister to develop a strategy to showcase the achievements of the democratic government.

He emphasised the need for projection of the record development work undertaken during the last three years throughout the country at the cost of around Rs 1.5 trillion.

Firdous assured the prime minister that the Information Ministry had been geared up to evolve a strategy in consultation with other ministries to launch the projection campaign.

The minister also discussed some matters pertaining to her ministry aimed at making it an effective instrument dedicated to defending and projecting government policies.

Benazir was a living embodiment of courage, determination: PM ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Monday that former PM and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto was a living embodiment of courage and determination, who continued to serve as a shining example of struggle against oppression and injustice. In his message on Benazir’s fourth death anniversary’s eve, the PM said that she was firm in her resolve and had full faith in the people of Pakistan.

Gilani said that December 27 revived the scars caused by a gruesome incident in the country’s history when Pakistan was deprived of a leader of international stature. Following the footprints of her illustrious father former PM and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and as an inheritor of his legacy, Benazir joined politics for restoration and strengthening of democracy in the country, the PM said. He said that Benazir was a brave woman who regarded the restoration and protection of people’s rights as her foremost responsibility despite dangers posed to her life, adding that she devoted her energies, God-given qualities of head and heart and even her life for the cause of the people. Gilani said that history would remember Benazir as a statesperson, political leader of the highest order and an intellectual who made the ultimate sacrifice for safeguarding the rights of the people. APP

petrol, here comes overseas Pakistanis support army After the gas bomb!

LONDON

JI wants immediate polls

MAJID KHAttAK

LAHoRE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Munawar Hasan on Monday advised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to admit its failure and announce immediate elections in the present high political temperature of the country.

Talking to journalists at Mansoora after JI’s Central Committee meeting, he said that the PPP had miserably failed to deliver. He said the only honourable way out for the PPP in the prevailing situation was to announce elections. The JI chief said that the country’s nuclear assets were a national asset and a deterrent against the enemy and their protection was the joint responsibility of the government and the armed forces. StAff REPORt

UK-based Pakistanis announced their support for the Pakistan Army in wake of the recent NATO attack and the memogate issue.

Terming the propaganda against the army as part of an international ploy to destabilise Pakistan, community leaders across the UK pledged to stand together to defeat any conspiracies against Pakistan and its army. A meeting of Voice of Overseas Pakistanis (VOICe) UK was held at Sheffield to express solidarity with the army.

The meeting was chaired by VOICe

UK Chairman Councilor Ilyas Khan and attended by British Pakistanis from different parts of the UK. Ilyas, addressing the meeting, said that the army under leadership of General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha had rendered great sacrifices for the defence of their homeland and maintaining peace and stability in the region.

He said that Overseas Pakistanis acknowledged the sacrifices rendered by the army in not only protecting the borders but also its leading role in national disasters of the 2005 earthquake and last year floods in Pakistan. He said that the

so-called friends of Pakistan were leveling baseless allegations against the army to demoralise it and gain access to Pakistan’s atomic programme but the army was fully capable to protect its national assets.

Appreciating Kayani’s statement that the military would not takeover, Ilyas said that the army leadership was fully supporting the democratic process in the country and providing every opportunity to the government to complete its tenure. Ilyas condemned the statement of Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani in parliament about the presence of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is all set to increase gas prices by Rs 15.71 per kilogramme from January 1. According to sources in the Petroleum and Natural Resources Ministry, the gas tariff for all consumers will be increased by 15 percent from January 1. Sources said that the federal government had finalised a massive increase in gas prices for all sectors under the Petroleum Levy on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Gas Infrastructure Development Surcharge (GIDS) for fertilizer, industrial, commercial and domestic consumers from January 1.

After the increase, the new gas price would be Rs 78.80 per kilogramme. On being contacted, Petroleum and Natural Resources Secretary Ijaz Chaudhry said that gas prices increased two times a year. He said that prices increased on operating basis of gas companies. ONLINE

What does PML-N need to survive PTI’s tsunami?

ISLAMABAD IRfAN BuKHARI

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) of Imran Khan, dubbed a non-entity a few months ago, is now a reality and its rapid growth is not less than a nightmare for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

As an emerging and formidable third force to be reckoned with, the PTI is set to shatter the dreams of the Sharifs, particularly Nawaz Sharif, to make their government in the country after the fall of PPP’s.

Khan’s tsunami is getting impetus with every passing day and has also swept away Javed Hashmi, but the PML-N leaders either refuse to accept the PTI as a reality or apply wrong political tools to confront their rival.

Background discussions with political leaders from various parties revealed that there could be some political steps with which the Sharifs can counter (to some extent) Khan’s threat, even if they failed to fully knock out the PTI. They (politicians) have suggested these measures as follows: Accept PTI’s reality: The saner elements in the PML-N are advising party’s top brass to shun practice of ridiculing Imran Khan

and admit that the PTI has become a political force, as it would be the realistic approach and would help the party in countering Imran’s threat.

Discourage hereditary politics: The PML-N parliamentarians as well as political analysts believe that the Sharif Brothers must pull their family members and children back from the front rows and the positions should be awarded to those party workers who rendered sacrifices for the cause of democracy during Musharraf’s days. They believe that the promotion of Hamza Shahbaz, Salman Shahbaz, Maryam Nawaz, Captain (r) Safdar, Abid Sher Ali and others would have adverse effects on the PML-N’s acceptance in the media and masses, apart from creating reservations in genuine party workers.

Open doors to all: A central leader of the PML-N said that time had come for the Sharifs to induct, without any hesitation, all politicians willing to join the PML-N. He said the party had already shunned its obstinacy in accommodating such politicians, as recently a number of the PML-Q and the PPP leaders and lawmakers had announced joining the Sharifs. He added that if the party remained in a fix on selection of politicians intending to join the PML-N, they

might increase PTI’s strength.

Stop bashing the army: Some political analysts believe that the PML-N’s policy of bashing the military establishment would cost it dearly, as the party’s tirade would create permanent mistrust between the NawazLeague and the powers that be.

Have a concrete action plan: Irrespective of the PML-N’s scathing criticism against the government for its failure in resolving people’s problems, the PML-N leadership has so far not come up with a solid roadmap for steering the country out of existing crises.

The PML-N leaders are advising the party to draft party’s manifesto at the earliest to satisfy the perturbed masses.

Stop giving preference to bureaucracy in Punjab: The PML-N members of the national, as well as provincial assembly feel humiliated when the bureaucracy calls the shots in the province with full support of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and no party worker or lawmaker has authority over civil servants. Most of the PML-N workers and lawmakers who are angry with the party’s top brass are angry on this account and these are the men who can opt quitting the party sooner or later. Be the real opposition: Seasoned political players have firm and unani-

mous opinion that Imran Khan captured empty space of opposition, as the PML-N kept on adopting friendly opposition posture in the Centre, apparently to save its government in Punjab. They advise Nawaz to relaunch its paused ‘Go-Zardari-Go’ movement and not go into any kind of parleys for reconciliation and understanding with the PPP, as the step might prove detrimental for PMLN’s credibility among the masses.

Don’t call Imran establishment’s horse: The naming of Imran Khan as establishment’s horse by PML-N leaders like Nisar Ali Khan and Rana Sanaullah is not damaging, rather boosting Khan at grassroots level.

These charges push political workers at the community level to take Imran seriously and it increases the value of PTI among common citizens. Such charges can make Imran unpopular with some media people and representatives of the civil society, but the common man has no problem if any politician works in affiliation with the country’s security establishment, as they too, in the current circumstances, are looking towards the men in khaki.

Improve governance in Punjab: The PML-N will have to bring remarkable improvement in governance in Punjab, where

deteriorating law and order in terms of killings, dacoities, abductions, incidents of police torture etc has virtually gone out of Shahbaz’s control. Take practical steps for new provinces: There is no doubt that the demand of creation of Seraiki and Hazara provinces has strong roots in masses of respective areas, but no political party has yet taken practical steps to appease millions of supports of the cause. The PTI has already dented the PML-N in southern Punjab and Hazara by winning support of some local stalwarts and if the PML-N continues to be in two-minds over the issue, it might loose the remaining support.

Bring their investment back to Pakistan: Commenting on PML-N’s challenges posed by the PTI, a leader from the PML-N said Nawaz should ask his sons Hassan and Hussain to wind up their business empires in Saudi Arabia and england and bring investment in Pakistan. He said the surprise move might help the PML-N regaining its lost ground to the PTI, with a lot of appreciation by the media and civil society.

Mend fences with religio-political parties: Though the religio-political parties are in search of their identity, they are getting united at a platform again. The relationship between the religious parties and PML-N is not ideal in terms of politics and the latter needs to get close to the former so as to grab the vote bank of religious cult.

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04 News

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Afghanistan sets ground rules for Taliban talks KABUL REutERS

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FGHANISTAN will accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar to start peace talks but no foreign power can get involved in the process without its consent, the government’s peace council said, as efforts gather pace to find a solution to the decade-long war.

Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, in a note to foreign missions, has set out ground rules for engaging the Taliban after Kabul grew concerned that the United States and Qatar, helped by Germany, had secretly agreed with the Taliban to open an office in the Qatari capital, Doha.

US officials have held about half a dozen meetings

with their insurgent contacts, mostly in Germany and Doha with representatives of Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura, this year to prepare the way for faceto-face talks between the group and the Afghan government.

A representative office for the group is considered the starting point for such talks and Doha has in the past served as a meeting ground for initial contacts.

But the Afghan peace commission which has suffered a series of setbacks including the assassination of its head in September said that negotiations with the Taliban could only begin after they stopped violence against civilians, cut ties to Al Qaeda, and accepted the Afghan constitution which guarantees civil rights and liberties, in-

Three murdered across lahore LAHORE StAff REPORt

Three people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in various parts of the city on Monday. In the first incident, a 32-years-old man was shot dead in Barki police precincts. The deceased was identified as Yasir, resi-

dent of Madina Colony.

Yasir, was on way back home when unidentified men shot him dead near BRB Canal in Barki Area. In a second occurrence, a 30year-old man was found dead in Sundar police precincts. The deceased was identified as Muhammad Iftikhar, resident of

cluding rights for women.

The council, according to a copy of the 11-point note made available to Reuters, also said any peace process with the Taliban would have to have the support of Pakistan since members of the insurgent group were based there.

The government would prefer such an office in either Saudi Arabia or Turkey, both of which it is close to, but was not averse to Doha as long as the authority of the Afghan state was not eroded and the office was only established for talks, officials said.

The peace council said Pakistani support was necessary for talks to take place, another condition that makes the task harder because of fraught ties between the US and Pakistan which fears it is being shut out of the process.

Nankana, who worked at a local factory in Sundar area.

Separately, a man died after receiving bullet injuries under mysterious circumstances in Kahna police limits. The deceased was identified as Qasim Meo, resident of Kahna. Police said the deceased was drinking liquor with his two friends Rehmat and Bashir when he was hit by a bullet.

DERA GHAZI KHAN: Jamiat ulema-e-Islam-fazl chief fazlur Rehman addressing a public meeting. online

US gears up for limited relationship Contradictions Continued FroM page 1 with Pakistan: report WASHINGTON AfP

US officials believe the country’s relationship with Pakistan has been seriously damaged and a counterterrorism alliance can survive only in a limited form, The New York Times reported late on Sunday.

Citing unnamed US and Pakistani officials, the newspaper said officials acknowledge this deterioration will complicate the ability to

Benazir death anniversary today Continued FroM page 1 In his message, President Zardari paid tribute to Benazir’s for her courage and leadership while reiterating the PPP’s resolve to continue fighting for the values she had upheld and laid her life for.

The president said the best way to pay tribute to her “is to defend and protect democracy and democratic institutions in the country and foil all conspiracies against it”.

“Let us on this day rededicate ourselves to the democratic mission of Benazir Bhutto whose life was dedicated to fighting dictatorship and those seeking to defame and dismantle democratic institutions. I, therefore, urge all the democratic forces and the patriotic Pakistanis to foil all conspiracies against democracy and democratic institutions,” he emphasised.

Benazir was the first elected female chief executive anywhere in the Muslim world. The daughter of the

country’s first directly prime minister, she was the undaunted champion of democracy and a great fighter for the cause of women, underprivileged and marginalised sections of the society. She believed in the power of the ballot and rejected violent and extremism as an instrument of change.

“She not only believed in these values but also led the fight for democracy and against militancy from the front. In doing so she laid down her life and illumined the path for future generations to traverse. Today therefore our thoughts go to her and to all the martyrs who laid down their lives and many hundreds more who were maimed and wounded while protecting the life of their leader. Today also we pledge that we will continue to tread the path she illumined with her blood,” the president said.

He said her assassination

was a conspiracy to rid the world of its best weapon to combat international violent extremism. “It was a conspiracy to rob Pakistan of its best hope to establish a fully functional democracy. The government is determined to expose and punish in accordance with the law the conspirators and perpetrators of the crime.

They cannot and will not go unpunished,” he said, adding that “on this occasion, I wish to emphasise that those who assassinated her may have succeeded in eliminating her physically but the ideas and ideals of Benazir Bhutto shall never be killed. Let there be no doubt or mistake about it”.

PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira told Pakistan Today that all arrangements had been finalised and the anniversary would be held at the mausoleum of Benazir Bhutto at 2pm with President Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Prime Minister Gi-

lani and other top notch party leaders, federal and provincial ministers, party leaders and workers in attendance.

He said prayers would be offered exactly at the time of Benazir’s assassination. However, he said unlike in the past, the party’s central executive committee (CeC) would not be meeting this time.

Kaira said the party had a tradition to hold a public meeting on the death anniversaries of its martyred leaders.

Party leaders and workers from across the country had reached Larkana in large numbers.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government has finalised arrangements for the death anniversary. Drinking water facilities, lighting arrangement, standby generators, car parking area and identification of various routes for the vehicles had been arranged.

Control rooms at various district and regional offices had been set up.

launch attacks against Islamic extremists based in Pakistan and move supplies into Afghanistan. US-Pakistani relations took a serious hit last month after a series of US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the border with Afghanistan. A joint USNATO investigation concluded that a disastrous spate of errors and botched communications led to the deaths. Pakistan has rejected the findings. The United States will be forced to re-

strict drone strikes, limit the number of its spies and soldiers on the ground and spend more to transport supplies through Pakistan to allied troops in Afghanistan, the report said. United States aid to Pakistan will also be reduced sharply, the paper noted. “We’ve closed the chapter on the post-9/11 period,” The Times quoted a senior US official as saying.

“Pakistan has told us very clearly that they are re-evaluating the entire relationship.”

Govt to close gas supply for faisalabad industries ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the acute gas shortage and low pressure for domestic consumers, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is all set to shut down gas supply to the industries of Faisalabad during the next few days.

Officials privy to the development told Online that the SNGPL wrote a letter to the unions of Faisalabad industries and informed them about the closure of gas supply. Officials added that industries were directed to adopt other means of fuel to run their business during the closure of gas. They said the decision was taken after increasing complaints about low gas pressure to the domestic consumers. Officials said that due to the non-availability of gas, protests were gaining momentum with every passing day and were creating law and order problems. On the other hand, experts believe that this decision would badly affect the production of the industries and increase unemployment. ONLINE

Changes expected in Information ministry ISLAMABAD: Changes are expected in the Information Ministry after consultations at the top government level on Monday and following Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan’s protest during a special cabinet meeting. According to a source, the name of Ashraf Azeem is being considered for the position of PTV managing director with Chaudhry Rasheed Ahmed likely to be appointed principal information officer (PIO). A summary to appoint Chaudhry Rasheed is already pending with the Prime Minister’s Office. The decision was put on hold but it is expected that the prime minister will approve the summary as part of changes in the ministry. StAff REPORt

statements issued from PM’s House during this period was that the government and the party (the PPP) would thwart all attempts against the democratic process. This also reflected the government’s fear that there was a threat to the democratic process. And, this must also not have been imaginary.

Most importantly, if there are no differences, why does the government not budge from its position on the memo issue and continue to take a stance opposite to that of General Kayani and General Pasha, who, in their affidavits, have unambiguously said that the memo did exist and someone, somewhere did it and it needed to be investigated? The government, however, termed it ‘a pack of lies’ while responding to General Kayani and General Pasha’s replies submitted to the Supreme Court.

But the prime minister termed as “absurd” the impression and rumours that the government had any intention to remove General Kayani and General Pasha. “I am happy with him (General Kayani),” Gilani said, “How can we run a government if there is any tension?”

Genral Kayani’s conspicuous absence at two separate receptions hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for the Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo last week clearly suggested that relations between the executive and the army were strained. The government’s actions and words will, however, speak for its intentions. President Zardari’s address at the fourth death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto today would be significant in this perspective.

Memo ‘a pack of lies’, government tells SC Continued FroM page 1 It said such efforts on Ijaz’s part were a non-issue from the point of view of the federation and the stance taken by the chief executive of the country.

“As the federation has already denied categorically the baseless allegations of Mansoor Ijaz, therefore, his testimony is worth no credence and qua the issue in hand is totally denied,” the affidavit stated.

Responding to Para 4 of the army chief’s affidavit, the federation stated that according to him he came to know the details of memo issue through the ISI chief on October 24, 2011, however he did not mention anywhere in his affidavit why it took him so

long to report to the prime minister in a case where he said time was of the essence.

Replying to Para 9 of Kayani’s affidavit stating that on November 22, a meeting was held at PM’s House that was attended by the president, prime minister, ISI chief and Kayani, in which Haqqani was called in to brief and thereafter the premier took the decision to ask for Haqqani’s resignation and also ordered an investigation, the federation submitted that on November 16, 2011, Haqqani had addressed a letter to the president proposing that pending ascertainment of facts, he would resign in the national interest. The reply submitted

further that Haqqani resigned and his resignation was accepted by the competent authority and duly notified.

“These documents have already been filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the federation and the prime minister has also directed a probe into the memo issue by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security,” the federation stated.

To Para 10 of the army chief’s affidavit stating that there was nothing denying the facts that the memo existed and it was also admitted to have been delivered and received by the US authorities, the federation’s affidavit submitted that Kayani’s opinion

needed no comments.

The affidavit recalled that the federal government as well as the Presidency had already issued denial of the contents of the article published in the Financial Times on October 10, 2011 about the alleged memo.

The affidavit said it was the stance of the federation that the federal government (including the constitutional head of state, the constitutional chief executive of the country, or any other component of the federal government) had neither conceptualised nor initiated or in any manner had anything to do with the alleged memo or the allegations or views expressed therein.

It said the Parliamentary

Committee on National Security, which had representation from all the political parties of the country as mandated by both Houses of parliament, was examining the facts and circumstances of the matter. It submitted that the sacrifices rendered by the Pakistan armed forces for the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan were unquestionable and unprecedented.

Similarly, it said the people of Pakistan and their democratically elected representatives took the brunt of every aggression equally on their chests and children, women, students and common citizens including former

prime minister Benazir Bhutto laid down their lives to defend their homeland fearlessly.

It said Pakistan was a lucky country to have the 8th largest army in the world, which comprised of men and women. “Therefore, no one can weaken the morale of the Pakistani armed forces and certainly not the alleged memo, which is not worth even the paper on which it was printed,” the affidavit stated.

Meanwhile, contradicting his own as well as the federation’s stance that in the presence of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, which was probing the memo issue, there was no need for any other enquiry

commission, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said the memo controversy would be thoroughly probed at the “highest level” and an enquiry committee would be formed “very soon” to investigate the matter.

He, however, did not comment on the composition of the enquiry committee and also did not mention any specific timeframe in this regard. On Thursday, he had reportedly said that Haqqani was summoned back and asked to resign, which was mandatory to ensure justice.

However on Monday he contradicted it by saying that Haqqani had tendered his resignation on his own.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Orders issues to clear all barricades

PAGe 08

Private laB fOr a PuBliC hOSPital?

KEMU private lab approval rings alarm bells g

mayo Hospital set to become first public sector hospital to launch private lab g exorbitant expenditure to be incurred on already available facilities LAHORE uMAIR AZIZ

B

eLYING the claims of the Punjab chief minister to provide free treatment facilities to the poor, King edward Medical University (KeMU) has decided to set up a diagnostic laboratory on the lines of the private sector, Pakistan Today has learnt.

The lab will be operated by the KeMU administration while private companies will provide machinery on “reagent” and “share” basis, implying private companies will receive a share from revenue generated. The spadework has been done with a place already rented out on Jail Road for the purpose. The project, a first in public sector hospitals across Punjab, has been launched considering the “scope of income generation” as per the minutes of the KeMU syndicate meeting, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today. KeMU acting VC Pro-

fessor Asad Aslam further said in the meeting that “the project will be assessed for one year and will then be considered for further extension.”

WHY NoT EQUIP MAYo HoSPITAL? : However, the decision to set up a government diagnostic laboratory on lines with the private sector has sent alarm bells ringing amongst all stakeholders, who said no other public hospital had a private laboratory since government labs perform tests either free of cost or at nominal rates.

Moreover, most diagnostic facilities including X-Ray, CT Scan, Doppler’s Ultrasound, Mammography, etc are already available at Mayo Hospital, and the new diagnostic facility would incur exorbitant costs for facilities already available either free-of-cost or at nominal charges. A senior doctor at Mayo Hospital said MRI and PCR test facilities were not available at Mayo Hospital and it was “pitiable” that the facilities were being established at a

3-year-old killed in Gawal mandi shooting

new private diagnostic centre instead of providing it for 7,000 mostly poor patients, who visit the Mayo Hospital emergency and outpatient department (OPD) everyday. Fears are being raised about a trend emerging of doctors “referring” patients to the costly private facility instead of offering them free-of-cost diagnosis. The comparative cost of a CT Scan at a private lab is around Rs 8,000, while Mayo Hospital offers it at the nominal price of Rs 3,000. However, KeMU acting VC Professor Asad Aslam said the diagnostic facility for indoor patients will remain “as it is now”, and all doctors will “never” recommend anyone to the private diagnostic laboratory for “monetary” reasons.

PRIvATE CoMPANIES To BE ‘SET fREE’: Sources revealed the diagnostic facility will offer different machines placed on “Regent Basis”, “Share Basis” and “F.O.R Basis”. Mayo Hospital Pathology Department head Professor Munir explained the

system, “Regent means that a company will provide a machine free of cost but the institution will pay for reagents. The share basis implies a company will set up a machine and will take a share in revenue generated, while the F.O.R basis means that the government will open up a letter of credit upon the recommendation of the company and will receive the machine.”

Sources said this clearly implies that private companies will be “set free” to earn profits off poor people, which was “ridiculous” since “the institutions was established to serve patients and not for business and profit earning”. However, Aslam said the model is already being practiced in Sindh where Dow Medical University has opened up several collection centres for private patients. “We have six teaching hospitals attached with the KeMU. Imagine the revenue the institution will generate once all doctors attached with the prestigious institution begin to recommend patients to KeMU di-

agnostic laboratory, whom are currently referred to Shaukat Khanum or Agha Khan or other private labs,” he added.

DoUBTS ABoUT vALIDITY of DECISIoN: Sources revealed that as per the KeMU Act the syndicate meeting should have included departmental representatives from Health, Higher education and Finance departments who should be “not less than additional secretaries”, however as per the minutes of the syndicate meeting which approved the diagnostic lab deputy secretaries represented Higher education and Finance departments, which raises doubts about the validity of the decision made.

However Aslam said, “To hold a meeting of any body including senate and syndicate only the quorum of one-third members should be present and there has been no mention of the specific members that should be present.” He further said the rates at the laboratory will be less than being charged at the private sector.

fIRE-PROOf: A boy jumps over a fire after traders blocked Gt Road during a protest against load shedding on Monday. ONLINE

LAHORE StAff REPORt

Nauman, 3, was killed from bullet injuries after a man opened fires on his father Muhammad Naeem in the Gowalmandi Police Area on Monday. He was a resident of Tara Devi Street in Gawalmandi. Naeem said he was carrying his son and accompanied by his two brothers when accused Zahid threatened to kill him for stopping him from aerial firing. He said Zahid fired on him but the bullet hit Nauman, who died at the spot. Nauman was the second of Naeem’s three children. Sources confirmed the verbal clash between Zahid and Naeem.

They said the child became his father’s shield when the gun shot was fired. The accused managed to escape from the scene. Police registered a case on Naeem’s complaint but no arrest had been made. earlier Gowalmandi Police Station House Officer SI Hamza told media that the accused had an old enmity with another local, Shano, who had killed his brother a few years ago and would fire in the air to offend his rival but the bullet hit minor Nauman, who died instantly. In another incident in Gowalmandi, resident of Gordwara Street, Muneer Ahmed, 45, was murdered by his neighbor after a verbal clash between the two. Sources said the clash was over giving meat to pigeons, after which his neighbor Shareef alias Kino shot him dead. Police removed the body to morgue and registered case on complaint of the family of deceased.

‘Model Roads’ gridlocked LAHORE StAff REPORt

Traffic remained deadlocked on the first day of a traffic rules awareness campaign on 20 Model Roads in the city, including Canal Road and Jail Road 18 other designated roads. During the traffic awareness campaign, 20 designated ‘Model Roads’ would be equipped with timing traffic signals and 10,000 cyclists were to receive free reflectors to be put on their bicycles.

The Traffic education Team distributed 45,000 pamphlets amongst motorists on Model Roads on first day of the campaign. However, the campaign was marred by the traffic mess caused by the blockade of the Jail Road to The Mall Underpass for carpeting purposes, which had extended beyond the Canal Road expansion Project’s December 25 deadline. Vehicles remained deadlocked on Jail Road for hours.

The situation worsened when traffic signals were turned off due to a power shut down, making it impossible for traffic wardens to control the situation. The traffic police’s awareness campaign vanished on these two major arteries of the city. The gridlock started building up in the early hours of the day and reached its peak mid day. The traffic problems in this part of city persisted till late night and Mall Road to Jail Road, and Jail Road up till Shadman and Jail Road to the FC College Underpass remained congested with traffic.

Traffic was also badly disturbed on Canal Road near Doctors Hospital, where the flow of

vehicles remained suspended as a bridge was being constructed across the canal. There are currently five under passes being constructed on Canal Road and the one near Doctors Hospital was the first to enter this stage. The traffic disturbance on Canal Road is likely to continue due to construction of these bridges, despite the expiry of the proposed deadline of the expansion project. The awareness campaign also aimed at removing encroachments from footpaths and slow traffic lanes to improve the flow of traffic and facilitate pedestrians. Streamers and banners creating awareness about Stop Lines, Lanes and traffic signals were displayed on the chosen roads.

The Model Roads include Canal Road, Mall Road from PMG Chowk to Hajj terminal, Jail Road from Qartaba Chowk to Old Airport, Ferozpur Road from Qartaba Chowk to Gajju Matta, Multan Road from Chauburji to Thokar Niaz Baig, Lower Mall Road, Inner Circular Road, Outer Circular Road, GT Road, Wahdat Road, Main Boulevard Road Allama Iqbal Town, Main Boulevard Road Gulberg, Peco Road, Mcleod Road, Madr-eMillat Road, Main Boulevard Road Johar Town, Davis Road, Sabzazar Road, Ravi Road and Moulana Shaukat Ali Road.

ALL 15 PoLICE EMERGENCY CALLS To BE RECoRDED: Capital City Police Officer directed Lahore police on Monday to keep a record of the calls made on Police emergency 15 at each respective police station.

Pa PraiSeS BB’S Struggle

Resolves to strengthen institutions LAHORE StAff REPORt

The Punjab Assembly on Monday passed a unanimous resolution praising the services rendered for democracy by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and resolved to strengthen the country’s institutions. Opposition leader Raja Riaz Ahmed moved the resolution on the

fourth death anniversary of slain party chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

The resolution stated that the House paid tribute to Benazir Bhutto, the first woman PM of a Muslim state. It also said she served twice as the prime minister and gave her life for the integrity and sustainability of democracy in Pakistan. earlier, the Punjab Assembly held a brief debate over urea and sugar cane

REMEMBERING BB: PPP workers hold a candle light vigil at faisal Chowk. STAff PhoTo

crushing but could not continue after the House failed to meet the quorum. The quorum was pointed out by PML-Q MPA Samina Khawar Hayat when the PML-Q forward bloc member Sheikh Alla ud Din had just started his speech.

The Punjab government also remained at the centre of the opposition’s criticism for taking no practical steps for the welfare of farmers and the agricultural sector which was the back bone of the country’s economy.

PML-Q MPA Seemal Kamran voiced her concerns over the way the provincial government was handling the sector. She said: “During the tenure of the previous government, when Pervaiz elahi was the chief minister, remarkable steps were taken for the sector. Agri-marketing was also introduced.” She added that the Punjab government was not paying any heed to controlling the black marketing or hoarding of agricultural products, causing severe losses to the farmers.

PPP MPA Syed Hassan Murtaza demanded fresh legislation be introduced and that the 1950 Act be abolished to facilitate farmers. ehsan ul Haq Nolatia, a PPP legislator from Muzaffargarh, also pointed out major loopholes in the legislations concerning the agricultural sector.

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06 Lahore

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

After outages, now delayed bills

PU first, lUMS third LAHORE StAff REPORt

g

leSCO consumers angry over utility’s refusal to deduct fuel price adjustment charges LAHORE NAuMAN tASLEEM

A

FTeR trying unscheduled power outages, LeSCO has found another way of troubling its consumers and making their lives more miserable.

LeSCO delivered electricity bills to consumers this month very late and hence causing severe problems, for them, Pakistan Today learnt on Monday. earlier people from almost every part of the city have been complaining about the inflated bills and wrong billing. Hence, LeSCO has become a nuisance for the people because it carries out unscheduled loadshedding, over charge its customers and now it is delivering the bills late.

In many areas such as Township,

Green Town, Faisal Town, Johar Town and Model Town, the electricity bills are delivered very late and hence making it difficult for the consumers to pay it in time. The last date in those areas was December 27th while the bills were delivered there on Monday (December 26th).

Interestingly, the issuance date mentioned on the bills is December 19th but the utility never bothers to timely deliver these bills. In many cases, the meter-reading mentioned in the bill does not match the actual reading.

Many consumers who have approached the sub-division of their areas concerned complain that no body pays attention towards their complaints. The Sub-Division Officers (SDO) of Township and Green Town are not ready to listen to the

complaints of the consumers.

“The meter reader of my area deliberately added extra units to my bill. I approached the SDO concerned for correction in my bill but he refused to do that saying there was nothing wrong with the bill,” lamented Muhammad Rizwan, a resident of Green Town. Another consumer, Jamshed Latif of Township, said the LeSCO officials were refusing to deduct the fuel price adjustment charges from their bills. He said the officials told them that they could not do that since they had not received any written orders from their head office. He said the consumer centres of LeSCO had closed their doors for the public.

Meanwhile, residents of Rewaz Garden staged a protest demonstra-

tion on Monday against fuel price adjustment (FPA). A large number of consumers had come to the LeSCO office at Rewaz Garden and sought deduction of the FPA from their bills but the officials on duty refused to comply with their demand. enraged, they held a demonstration denouncing LeSCO for not complying with the LHC’s orders on FPA. “The court has clearly ordered to readjust FPA but the LeSCO officials are not obeying the court orders,” said the one of protesters.

LeSCO officials, however, say that only the NePRA is responsible for the FPA deduction. Meanwhile, the Lahorites had a tough day on Monday as well since they had to face 10 to 12 hours of power outages in last 24 hours.

‘Disease is in your genes’ LAHoRE: Thousand of mostly defective viruses exist in each human’s genes, including some which could trigger infections such as schizophrenia, breast cancer, haemophilia, rheumatic disorders, multiple sclerosis, type-I diabetes and even AIDS. These viruses are called human endogenous retroviruses (HeRVs), which were originally discovered in some animals, but their pathogenic threat to humans only became clear with the discovery of sexually transmitted diseases, and even more so with the arrival of human immunodeficiency viruses, which ushered in the lethal pandemic now underway. This was stated

by University of South California Laboratory of Viral Oncology and Proteomics Research Director Prof Suraiya Rasheed during a lecture on “Human endogenous Retroviruses in Health and Disease” at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Monday. A large number of medical students attended the lecture.

Suraiya said HeRVs made up 98,000 elements and fragments – nearly 8 percent – of the entire human genome. StAff REPORt

Punjab University ranked first in Pakistan in the emerald Publishing Group and Higher education Commission National Digital Library Programme’s (NDLP) ranking for most articles published in emerald journals during 2011, while Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) ranked third.

This ranking was done at a two-day workshop on ‘Publishing with emerald’ which was jointly organised by HeC’s NDLP and emerald Publishing Group. Institutions were ranked and awarded for the highest number of articles published in emerald journals during 2011 and the highest usage of journals by the various institutions. For the highest number of published articles, University of the Punjab, Lahore was ranked on top with 54 authors; University of Agricul-

ture, Faisalabad came second with 52 authors, while LUMS came in third with 20 authors being published at emerald. emerald Publishing Group Middle east, Africa and Turkey Vice President Alastair Cook was the resource person at the workshop. The opening session was chaired by HeC (IT) Director General Anwar Amjad. The workshop had over 60 participants from universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, while another 120 participants from 32 universities took part via video conferencing.

Cook highlighted various aspects of publishing, presented an insider’s view on the various stages of publishing and addressed the various factors authors needed to take into account before submitting their articles for reviewing.

Cook emphasised especially on ‘Publish or Perish’, and announced a twomonth free trial for every institution in the country.

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StAff REPORt

Renowned rights activist Fouzia Saeed’s latest book ‘Working with Sharks’ was formally launched in the provincial capital on Monday.

The book follows the author’s struggle against the perpetrators of sexual harassment against her and her female colleagues in the United Nation’s Pakistan office.

The launching ceremony was attended by Saleema Hashmi, anchorperson Abdul Rauf, actor and director Sarmad Sultan Khosat and Dr Tariq Rehman. Dr Fouzia said the proceeds from her book’s auction would be donated to the “Its Time for Women to Speak out Against Sexual Harassment” campaign initiated on December 22.

robbers steal car, rs 0.3 million LAHoRE: Robbers lifted a car and stole valuables worth Rs 0.3 million from a house located situated in a street adjacent the Governor House in the Civil Lines Police Area on Monday. Unidentified robbers broke into the house of Arif Lateef, resident of house no 2Kashmir Road, late on Sunday night and escaped after lifting a Honda Civic (registration number LXY-300) worth Rs 1 million. Robbers also stole valuables, including gold wrist watch, wallet, ID card, a credit card and mobile phone worth Rs 318,000.

Learning about the mishap, Arif Lateef informed police concerned, who arrived at the scene, collected circumstantial evidences and registered a case (nnumber 1156) and started investigations.

StAff REPORt

TIme

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

LHC orders WAPDA to explain power outages LAHORE StAff REPORt

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He Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued notices for December 28 to the federal government and WAPDA on plea against electricity load-shedding after non-payment of outstanding dues to the IPPs, resulting in reduced generation by them. The court also sought reply from the respondents, directing them to give reasons behind the current loadshedding. expressing concern on the situation, Chief justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed observed it was strange that the LHC had also been experiencing power outages, which was hampering working of the court.

The petition was filed by Muhammad

Azhar Siddique, submitting that government was not paying oil companies and IPPs, therefore, they were not producing electricity and load shedding had been started. Report sought on substandard CNG cylinder: The Lahore High Court on Monday sought report and para-wise comments from the federal and provincial governments by January 24 on a petition seeking crackdown against substandard CNG cylinder manufacturers for public transport buses and vans, killing passengers in the rising incidents of cylinder explosions.

CoURT MovED foR CANCELLATIoN of APML’S REGISTRATIoN: A petition has been moved in the Lahore high court for cancelling registration of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) of General (r) Pervez Musharraf as he has been declared

a ‘traitor’ and subverter of the constitution through a judgment of the Supreme Court.

The petitioner, Ghazi Illumuddin Advocate, contended that Musharraf and his party should be banned from taking part in the politics and its registration as a political party should be cancelled forthwith.

He also prayed to the court to declare all the notorious military dictators of the past as ‘traitors of the nation’ for subverting the Constitution of Pakistan and overthrowing governments. He pleaded that after SC declared Pervez Musharraf traitor and subverter of constitution, he was not eligible to head APML or taking part in next elections. He said if APML was not yet registered in Pakistan as a political party the same should be restrained to getting registered in the light of the SC verdict.

four dead on roads in one day LAHORE StAff REPORt

At least four people were killed in separate road accidents here in the provincial metropolis on Monday. In first of these incidents, a car crashed into a tree in Mustafabad police precincts claiming life of a middle-aged woman while 6 others including two children were badly injured.

The deceased, identified as 45-year-old Rukhsana Bibi was in the car along with his son-in-law, three daughters and two grandchildren, when the vehicle hit a tree. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced Rukhsana dead upon arrival. Meanwhile in other accidents on Jail Road and Nawab Town, 22-years-old Qasim and Rasheed were crushed to death by speeding vehicles respectively.

Separately, Muhamad Akram, a resident of Kahna who had sustained injuries in a traffic accident two days ago also succumbed to his wounds.

LABoURER foUND DEAD: A man was found dead under mysterious circumstances from the Lower Mall police precincts here on Monday. Police said 25-yearold Muhammad Akhtar hailed from Narowal and was in Lahore for his work as a labourer.

The deceased was found unconscious by his comrades on Friday and was taken to a hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. The police moved the body to a city morgue for an autopsy PoLICE RoUND UP foUR GAMBLERS: Iqbal Town police claimed on Monday to have arrested four alleged gamblers here on Friday. Police said one of those arrested, Mian Ahmad, ran a gambling den and the arrests were made in a raid. Police also recovered mobile phones, money and computers from them. Similarly, Akbari Gate police claimed on Monday to have arrested a robber and recovering firearms from him on Friday. Farman was captured by the locals when he tried to snatch mobile phone and money from a shopkeeper.

The locals then handed him over to police.

GANG BUSTED: The AMCLS City Division Investigation Police busted a bike snatchers gang and recovered 10 motorcycles on Monday.

Police said three members of the ‘Lenda bike snatcher gang’ were arrested by a police team. They were identified as ringleader Zubair alias Lenda, Ilyas alias Chacha and Waqas.

The snatched motorcycles are said to be worth Rs 0.4 million.

Police also seized some firearms from the suspects.

Faculty politics hampers PU, says VC LAHORE StAff REPORt

Punjab University (PU) Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Mujahid Kamran has said faculty members appointed on a political, rather than merit basis were the real hurdles in the varsity’s development.

He expressed these views while inaugurating the polymer and material research laboratories at the Polymer engineering and Technology Department on Monday. Faculty of engineering and Technology Dean Dr ehsan Malik, Institute of Chemical engineering and Technology Director Dr Zahoor-ul-Hassan Rizvi, Department Chairman Dr Tahir Jamil and senior faculty members were also present on the occasion.

The VC said PU had the

potential to become the region’s top university and could also be included in the top 500 universities of the world, but its progress to the top had been hindered by faculty members recruited on a political basis. He said these senior members of the faculty camouflaged reality and perpetuated a culture of stoking politics within the administration.

He said the present administration made decisions and recommendations by evaluating which projects would promote a culture of research at the varsity, and was not influenced by political bias. The Department’s chairman briefed the VC about laboratories, while the VC also visited the laboratories and inspected the experimental instruments.

Lahore 07

GCU wins programming competition LAHoRE: The Government College University (GCU) Lahore has won the Brainiac 2011 Speed Programming Competition organised by the University of engineering and Technology (UeT) Lahore Al-Khawazmi Institute of Computer Sciences at the concluding day of the 5th International Conference on Open-

Source Systems and Technologies. The Punjab University College of Information and Technology (PUCIT) came second in the competition. As many as 255 students from various institutions took part in the competition. The winning GCU team comprised Saqib Ali, Ajmal Ismail and Kiran Sarfraz. StAff REPORt

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08 Lahore

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RAFFIC-ReLATeD issues have gained importance, while the precautionary measures taken for terrorism threats are seen fading as various public buildings, big hotels and schools have been asked to clear out the adjacent roads occupied by security fences and barricades.

Various building managers have started working on clearing the adjacent roads which was occupied by security blockades owing to the wave of terrorism wave that once surrounded the city. Notices have been received by various public building mangers, especially large scale hotel managers after a meeting which was held on last Thursday under the supervision of Lahore Commissioner Jawad Rafique Malik.

After the meeting, notices have been served to major public buildings.

The main focus of the drive initially is The Mall and areas in its vicinity.

Notices ordering to vacate adjacent road and to remove barriers have been issued to WAPDA House, Punjab Assembly, Avari Hotel, Alhamra and Hospitability Inn and others public building.

The WAPDA House, Avari Hotel and Alhamra had completely closed down service lanes and were using them as security slip lanes where vehicles were searched thoroughly before entering to the building compound.

The Avari Hotel assistant manager, while speaking to Pakistan Today, said that the lanes were being used as extra space to check vehicles entering in the hotel. The hotel management volunteered to clear out the lanes saying that it was the right time now. The assistant manager said that not only it was creating traffic problem it was also a source ofnuisance for people visiting Avari as the entry to the hotel was quite confusing.

Security blockage and security slip lanes were made mandatory in all big hotels after a suicide attack in a five start hotel in Islamabad

in September 2009. Not only that schools and colleges were made to review there security measures after which road block were seen commonly in the metropolis of Punjab. Road blocks can also been seen in front of Punjab Assembly and Alhamra which shall be removed in the coming days as well. The changes are being made in light of growing traffic problems in the city. With the help of traffic police and the city management are clearing such roads to maintain a flawless flow of traffic in the metropolis of Punjab.

‘reSCuing’ MuSliM WOMen

The lanes were being used as space to check all vehicles entering the hotel. The management has volunteered to clear out the lanes. we feel it is the right time

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DATe: DeC 30, 2011 TO JAN 30,2012

veNUe: veNUe: CAfé BOl

veNUe: lAwreNCe GArDeN Be a successful documentary maker and learn the art from the media professionals including Orya maqbool Jan.

Itrath Syed, a PhD student in the School of Communication at Simon fraser University, shall speak on the topic ‘rescuing’ muslim women: Toward an Anti-racist muslim feminist Praxis. She teaches courses in women’s studies, popular culture and Canadian politics. . In the 2004 federal election, Itrath ran as a candidate for the New Democratic Party.

DATe: DeC 29, 2011, 5:30 Pm veNUe: SHAKIr AlI mUSeUm. 93 TIPU BlOCK NewGArDeN TOwN An exhibiton of painintings by ms Irum Asfaque organised by PNCA.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

PML-Q workers not happy with PPP alliance: Muqam

PESHAWAR

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StAff REPORt

H e ‘waiting in the wings’ PML-Q Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president engineer Amir Muqam on Monday said party workers were not happy with the alliance with

US to share the fate of the Soviets: Taliban ISLAMABAD ONLINE

the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Speaking to media in Peshawar, he said differences had developed with the Chaudhry brothers due to their alliance with the PPP, which had left party workers unhappy.

Muqam said the party had put interests above party members wishes and refused to share the written agreement with the PPP, which had compelled him to quit the ministry.

To a question, he said t both PMLN and PTI had contacted him but he would not make a decision before consulting party workers. Regarding memogate, Muqam said both the government and the army had a different stands He said the Army-Chief had made efforts to kept the army away from politics but the current political climate was such that anything could happen. He said the current government should quit and announce general elections without further delay.

50 Pakistanis in sunken Indonesian boat: fO ISLAMABAD StAff REPORt

Afghan Taliban on Monday used their message to mark the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to warn the US and its NATO allies that they are destined to meet the fate of the Soviets. In an email to Online news agency, Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called upon people in western states to push their rulers to stop committing war crimes in Afghanistan and let Afghans live freely. He said, “Thirty-two years ago, on this day, 27th December, 1979, the former Soviet Union, in the same way and for similar reasons as the US, violating all human rights and ethics, invaded our country.” He said three decades after the Red Army invased Afghanistan, Afghan were still suffering from the aftermath of that war.

Fifty Pakistani nationals, many of them Hazaras from Baluchistan were aboard the ship carrying 250 people that sunk in the east Java Sea Indonesia on 18 December 2011, the foreign office said on Monday.

“Nearly 95 bodies have been recovered and placed at two different islands in Indonesia.

However, none of the bodies has been identified as a Pakistan national,” said a foreign office statement. It said, “Our embassy in Jakarta has set up an emergency Cell which is working round the clock, in coordination with the relevant authorities in Quetta, for the identification of nationality of the deceased. The Consular Team of the embassy has already met 6 Pakistani survivors in Surabaya Island.”

Abbottabad Commission gets input from journalists, analysts ISLAMABAD: Journalists and analysts Ayesha Siddiqa, Tahira Abdullah, Hamid Mir and Imtiaz Gul on Monday appeared before the Abbottabad Commission and submitted their information and understanding about the US raid on Osama Bin Laden’s hideout. The commission’s meeting was held at the Cabinet Division with Justice (r) Javed Iqbal in the chair. Commission members Jahangir Ashraf Qazi and Lieutenant General (r) Nadeem Ahmed were also present. StAff REPORt

News 09

HAPPY BIRtHDAY, KHuSHBO! Eunuchs attend the birthday of renowned eunuch Khushbo in Bannu on Monday. online

Militants deprive Swabi of both electricity, gas PESHAWAR

StAff REPORt

District Swabi was left without both electricity and gas supplies on Monday, when unknown militants blew up the main sui gas supply line with explosives planted in Shahmansoor area.

Local police said the main six-inch gas supply line was damaged when explosive planted late at night went off. No casualties were reported. The blast dam-

aged a nearby seminary, whose windows panes were shattered. The area of the blast was well-populated.

Fire brigade personnel were able to extinguish the resulting fire. Sui Northern Gas Pipeline supplies to the entire district had to be stopped due to the blast.

The raging fire from the gas pipeline engulfed a high voltage power transmission line and melted it which disrupted power supply to the entire district. How-

nA speaker calls upon political forces to work for democracy ISLAMABAD StAff REPORt

Calling upon political forces to rise above party lines and work with unity for democracy to rebuild Pakistan, National Assembly (NA) Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza said on Monday that the best way to pay tribute to former PM and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto was strengthening state institutions.

In her message on Benazir’s fourth anniversary, Fehmida said that Benazir believed in supremacy of parliament and always worked for strengthening democratic institutions and promotion of democratic norms in the country. She fought for the downtrodden, oppressed people and longed for a forward-looking Pakistan, where women be treated with

respect as equal partners to progress and prosperity instead of being subjected to humiliation and torture, the NA speaker said.

Fehmida said that people from all provinces had their confidence in Benazir whose party had been elected whenever the nation had got a relatively free chance to choose its representatives. She said that Benazir, being a towering and multi-dimensional personality, had the courage to challenge the worst dictatorship of the time and pass through the whirlpool of vendetta by repressive regimes and faced the brutal judicial murder of her father former PM and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, murder of her two brothers and imprisonment of her husband bravely without compromising her commitment to the people and democracy.

Action Aid, Blue Veins to help flood affectees PESHAWAR StAff REPORt

The 2010 floods in Pakistan were one of the biggest humanitarian crises the world had seen. The unprecedented monsoon floods in July-August 2010 caused extensive human suffering and damage to social and economic infrastructure across Pakistan. The floods inundated millions of acres of the most populous, fertile cropped lands, washed away large stores of grain and damaged millions of housing structures, schools, health and other social & economic infrastructure such as roads, railways, telecom, electricity and gas lines, schools, BHUs, WATSAN schemes and other public service units.

The flood reconstruction presented the single most important opportunity for promoting growth and poverty reduction. Reconstruction will revive livelihood and promote growth, create employment opportunities for the affected people and reduce poverty substantially. Above all the reconstruction gives people a message of hope in an environment that was badly damaged by floods. Since sustainable reconstruction was the key to economic renewal in Pakistan, Action Aid Pakistan & Blue Veins joined hands to streamline issues related to reconstruction and recovery in Nowshera and Charssada.

Qamar Naseem, programme coordinator Blue Veins shared with journalists that Action Aid carried out a baseline

survey in Nowhsera and Charssada in collaboration with two consultations with flood affected communities and a provincial-level seminar in Peshawar.

Qamar said, “The activities meant to give a voice to the concerns of the common people & both the organisations will keep their efforts going so that the reconstruction-related concerns are addressed at the policy level. There was a dire need to initiate an advocacy campaign on rehabilitation issues of flood affectees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Steps should be taken to highlight and streamline issues, concerns, flaws & gaps in the reconstruction process so that they can be addressed accordingly. Similarly, there is a need to sensitise legislators, relevant disaster management authori-

ties, media & other civil society organisations on issues related to reconstruction and floods, as all of us were a nation and as society had stakes in this issues” he added.

He said, “NGOs, other civil society organisations and the government must work together to ensure that the needs & participation of the vulnerable groups are not overlooked at this stage and they must not only be consulted but their participation should be ensured at the level of recovery & reconstruction activities”.

Naseem told journalists that based on recommendations of the two districts and a provincial seminar, a charter of demand was prepared, which will be shared with legislators and disaster management authorities.

ever, PeSCO, was able to restore electricity supply to the area within short notice.

SNGPL officials visited the blast site and supervised repair work on the gas supply line, which was restored, however gas supplies were not restored, after bomb disposal squads had to diffuse two-home made bombs in the Anbar area in the district. Sources said police were still scouting the supply line for other threats.

25 policemen reprimanded in Uzma Ayub rape case KARAK StAff REPORt

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police informed on Monday that action has been taken against 25 police officials in the Uzma Ayub alleged gang rape case and the murder of her brother Alam Zeb. He said police had decided to provide all possible legal help to the affected family. The DIG was speaking to Uzma Ayub’s family members in the office of SDPO Takht Nusrati on Monday. He informed them that the Alamzeb murder case enquiry was underway and a monitoring committee had been formed to oversee the performance of the enquiry committee. He said action has been taken against 25 police officials and if necessary, more police personnel would be reprimanded.

He directed police to beef up the security of the affected family and asked them to inform the police if they needed any sort of help. The mother of Uzma Ayub reportedly expressed satisfaction over the ongoing enquiry and said police would be informed if they had concerns over the enquiry.

G-B radio employees to get 25% special pay ISLAMABAD StAff REPORt

The employees of Radio Pakistan in Gilgit and Skardu would be given 25 percent special pay on their basic pay on June 30, 2012 and approval in this regard has been given. The radio employees would get the special pay with effect from the present month and Radio Pakistan Director General Murtaza Solangi issued orders in this regard.

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10 News A SYMBOL OF HOPE SHARMILA fARuQuI

The forces of moderation and democracy must, and will, prevail against extremism and dictatorship. I will not be intimidated. I will step out on the tarmac in Karachi not to complete journey, but to begin one’. Benazir Bhutto Time has come to pay a tribute to the inimitable combination of courage, charisma and defiance. On 27th of December 2007, Benazir Bhutto was martyred while she was leading a political rally in Rawalpindi. One is unable to reconcile with the fact that Benazir Bhutto is no more, but the reality, however nightmarish cannot be blotted out of one’s mind. It cannot be wished away. Our days of mourning are going to be long, hard and bitter. For long we will remain mired in her memories and her struggle for the revival of democracy in Pakistan. She lived for the poor and died for the poor. Benazir Bhutto epitomized courage and courted death because she said it was important for her to reclaim the political space lost to the extremists by the policies of the Musharraf regime. She was a woman swimming against the tide of obscurantism. She died because she represented the aspirations of millions of her countrymen. In her death, Pakistan has robbed of the jewel in its crown. It is a tribute to a politician who kept her father’s political legacy alive. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had championed the popular cause and had given a sense of dignity to the common man in Pakistan. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto did the same. The Pakistan People’s Party is a party of the die-hards. It has always stood against the dictators who robbed the people of their basic right to rule themselves. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was martyred because he championed the cause of the common man. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto followed in his footsteps. She challenged the demons of darkness in Pakistan and was the most potent rallying point to combine the forces of Islam and modernism. On her return, she was mobilizing a new politically credible resistance to primitivism.

Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, after nine years of exile, hopeful that she could be a catalyst for change. Upon a tumultuous reception, she survived a suicide bomb attack that killed nearly two hundred PPP’s stalwarts. But she continued to forge ahead, with more courage and conviction than ever, since she knew that time was running out for the future of her nation. While briefing the media after the attack, she said that it was not an attack on her, but an attack on democracy, and the unity and integrity of Pakistan.

Benazir Bhutto challenged the forces of dictatorship and extremism. The restoration of democracy and ridding the country from the clutches of dictatorship were her articles of faith. She was the hope of masses, the downtrodden and the marginalized. Benazir was martyred on December 27, 2007, while she was leading a mammoth political rally in Rawalpindi. All hopes of the extremists to bury her ideals with her physical obliteration have been smashed by her followers, who have vowed to continue the struggle spearheaded by her for democracy and rule of law in Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir’s husband and the president of Pakistan has followed in her footsteps to accomplish her ideals.When audiences around the globe hear Benazir Bhutto’s dramatic story of democracy and deposal, they are awed by the tireless strength with which she struggled to bring freedom to the people of her country. Benazir Bhutto is a living icon of the battle for democracy, and stands with only a handful of female executive leaders who have shaped the global events of the last century. During her terms of office, she was faced with an enormous challenge: how to effectively govern a poor, politically factitious and ethnically diverse nation. Benazir Bhutto moved swiftly to restore

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

civil liberties and political freedom, suspended under military rule.Benazir Bhutto did great things for Pakistan. She had very strong determination as can be seen in her life and her decisions. Benazir Bhutto was demonized by the civil-military oligarchy that has virtually run Pakistan since 1958. But she retained a hard core of popular support, and her social-democratic Pakistan People’s party is widely regarded as Pakistan’s largest political party. Benazir Bhutto had the combination of political brilliance, charisma, popular support and international recognition. Benazir Bhutto has played a exemplary role in the democratization of Pakistan. She saved her people from the military and brought much advancement in their lives. She was a courageous lady. In 2007, despite the threat of Islamic extremists and the hostile government, Benazir decided to return to her homeland. While commenting on her return, Benazir Bhutto said, “Some people may not understand why I left a comfortable life and faced these threats. So many people have sacrificed much for so many things, so many died and so many see me as the hope of liberty. Now I cannot run away from the battle. Dr. Martin Luther King’s phrase comes to my mind: “Our lives end when we keep our silence on important issues”. And I confide myself to my own people by my belief in God.” President Asif Ali Zardari has followed in her footsteps to accomplish her ideals. Although Benazir Bhutto did not live to see these developments, the party she led and the causes she championed are in the ascendant, and her spirit pervades the political life of contemporary Pakistan. Zardari has an unshakable belief that Pakistan should embrace the modern world with the same confidence and courage that Shaheed Mohtarma had. The passage of the 18th Amendment is a milestone in Pakistan’s constitutional history. The signing of the 7th NFC Award, reinstatement of the employees, Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan, political reforms in Gilgit-Baltistan and Fata, reconstruction of the Council of Common Interests, allocation of 120 billion rupees to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as net hydel profit, launching of Benazir Income Support Programme to alleviate poverty and increasing gas development surcharge for Balochistan stand out as a testimony to the accomplishment of Benazir’s ideals. Benazir Bhutto is no more but her ideals are the guiding principles of the People’s government. Hundreds of thousands of PPP workers are ready to sacrifice their lives for the accomplishment of Benazir’s ideals. Pakistan can avenge Benazir’s martyrdom by adhering to the democratic path that has always been the hallmark of the PPP’s political culture. The writer is Adviser to the chief minister Sindh on Media and secretary information, PPP Women Wing, Sindh.

I

FAKHAR ZAMAN have been fortunate to be close to the Bhutto family in various capacities, as PPP, political adviser to Begum Nusrat Bhutto, president of Cultural Wing. In the second tenure of PPP government in 1993, I was appointed chair-

man, Pakistan Academy of Letters and National Commission of History and Culture and Minister of Culture. I used to meet Mohtarma with reference to my duties and to seek her guidance. I remember meeting Benazir Bhutto for the first time in 1973, when Bhutto Sahib was the prime minister. I co-authored a book “Foreign Policy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto”.

Benazir Bhutto was then Assistant Director in the Foreign Office. Her first priority was to join Foreign Service and thus Mr Bhutto had sent her to the Foreign Office to get some orientation. I had not met her before that. I called on her and presented my book. When she saw the book, she admired it. I had written a sentence in that book: “Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Mao Tsetung have the same policy. She appreciated the sentence and asked me, “Do you really think so? “I replied “Yes.” That was my first meeting with Mohtarma.

When I worked with Begum Sahiba as her Political Adviser, I had a number of meetings with Benazir Sahiba in Lahore and Karachi. Since I was in charge of the elections of Women Wing of PPP, I used to meet Prime Minister Bhutto Sahib quite frequently.

Then afterwards, Ziaul Haq removed Mr Bhutto and sent him to Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore in 1977. Mrs Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto stayed at Noon House. I used to go there at 9 in the morning and return at night after spending the whole day there. Quite interestingly, in 1995, she had said without mincing any word that fundamentalism and Mullahism were the greatest dangers that faced the country. She had also predicted then about the threats of fundamentalism, narrow-mindedness and religious extremism.

After she had finished her speech, some foreign delegates met her and asked her why she had made such an emotional speech whereas the conference topic was “Peace, Literature and Democracy”. What I want to emphasise here is that she had a great vision and farsightedness to sense the lurking dangers. Though she was also receiving life-threats, still she continued to talk about reconciliation. She was gifted with the quality of flexibility. She was also very kind, affectionate, very humble and had a lot of compassion in her heart. I remember, we had organized an election public meeting in Sialkot in 1990. I was the President of PPP Punjab at that time. I was driving a Pajero with BB sitting on the front seat. We talked a lot and listened to songs and ghazals.When we were returning, an Australian journalist who was very eager to interview BB for the last couple of days, suddenly appeared in front of our vehicle and Mohtarma asked him to sit in.

Another major quality of her was that she never got exploited by the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy plays havoc when the politicians, Ministers and Advisors are incompetent. If the politicians and the ministers are men of honesty, integrity and competence, bureaucracy can never dare to disobey them or delay the matters. Bureaucratic procrastination has its roots in politicians’ ineptitude.

Bhutto Sahib always used to say in very clear terms that Benazir was his political heir and will carry his legacy forward. And, it had happened in the same way.

Whatever his legacy or vision was it was carried forward by BB. I travel worldwide to deliver lectures and take part in conferences. Wherever I had gone, whether Mohtarma was the Prime Minister or not, I had noted that her image was of a great leader. Once, I had gone to the Central Asian countries of Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The ministers who accompanied me during the visits told me that it was in their personal knowledge that their relatives named their daughters after Benazir.

Once, our deputy ambassador in the US had said he had been receiving many emails from South America especially from Brazil in which people had told him that they had named their daughters after Benazir.

This means that she was a role model especially for the women of the deprived regions of the world. There are some reasons for that. Firstly, she was the first Muslim woman prime minister in this male-dominated society.

Secondly, she had a tremendous personality and charisma like her father. Thirdly, her eloquence was exemplary. Her overall intelligence, wisdom, courage and bravery were also commendable qualities. A leader without bravery cannot lead a nation. Whosoever used to look at my green passport, would remark that I was lucky to be born in a country where leaders of the stature of ZA Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were born.BB also enjoyed great respect and esteem in India. Irrespective of the strained ties between India and Pakistan, her image was tremendous. I would like to cite two examples here. On June 21, 2007, her birthday, I was in Delhi. We thought of celebrating her birthday in Delhi as it had never been celebrated in India. So in Delhi Press Club, we gathered and cut her birthday cake. In June 21, 2008, we organised a big seminar in Delhi on the theme “Benazir Bhutto and Peace”. Former Indian prime minister IK Gujral presided over the seminar. After her passing away, her qualities had become even more prominent. Her tragic demise had come as a great shock to everyone, irrespective of po-

litical and other affiliations.

BB had a profound fondness for Sufism. She was innately associated with the mystics. BB used to quote Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai extensively. Her long poem “Marvi” is an example of her commitment to Sufis and saints. I regard it as an epic poem in which she had mentioned all her struggle and related it to Bhitai’s character Marvi. It was a combination of local culture and local political currents and cross-currents, her exile and martyrdom of Bhutto. She had used the technique of juxtaposition in it and knitted it beautifully to form a bouquet of beautiful thoughts. The symbols, metaphors and sensibility in her poem were such that it matches any great piece of poetry. There was a mystic and Dervaish (ascetic) in her which was manifested from time to time. Whenever, we used to hold World Punjabi Conferences with reference to the mystics, she always sent us messages. When she was elected as the prime minister for second term, she called me over and asked to publish Bhutto Sahib’s books like “If I am assassinated”, “The Great Tragedy” and “ Myth of Independence” as lot of foreigners and Ambassadors who called on her always asked about her father’s books.

When I sat to compile list of books written by ZA Bhutto from the time he had come back from Berkley till his assassination, I found that he had written 21 books including his speeches in the United Nations. I got hold of all these books, invited the publisher and asked him to publish all those books within a week.

The publisher did accordingly. I wrapped all 21 books in a gift pack and went to present to BB. The military secretary to the prime minister told me that I could not meet the prime minister who had a heavy schedule and an Ambassador was already in a meeting with her. On my insistence, however, he agreed to take my chit on which I had written that I wanted to present Shaheed Bhutto’s books. After the ambassador came out, the Military Secretary presented the chit to her and Mohtarma instantly called me in.

She asked about the box which a boy had carried in with me. I replied that the box contained 21 books of Mr Bhutto instead of just three. On hearing this, tears started running down her cheeks. She said that she knew that Bhutto Sahib had written profusely but she could not imagine that I would collect all of them and publish them so quickly.Then she wrote a letter to me and I don’t think that she would have written such a letter to anyone. It is matter of record that in a Cabinet meeting she had told the ministers and then also the members of the PPP Central executive Committee about my work and while appreciating, had remarked that this was the way of completing an assigned task.

BB also said that had there been any other minister, he would have demanded a huge sum of money for publishing books. She was such a great lady.

The writer is a central leader of the PPP.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Editor’s mail 11 Army chief’s assurance

Imran Khan – how far will this hope take us?

The apparent ray of hope illuminating politically disappointed hearts across the country, the chain of promises tying the patriotic youth to an expectantly prosperous future – Imran Khan – is currently the most popularly discussed personality across the country. enrolled in a reputed institute of Pakistan, I witness the growing support of the educated class for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) each day where every enthusiast is ready to argue their case for the man of their hopes. However, a practical analysis of his situa-

tion signifies several challenges that might pose a threat to Imran Khan’s much awaited success in the upcoming elections.

His aim cannot be fulfilled by merely mobilising the youth; an agenda based appeal would be essential in an attempt to scrape away the traditional party loyalties embedded amongst the rigid masses. From a positive perspective though this work has been made fairly easy with the ‘help’ from the parties themselves by revealing their true pictures in the form of corruption scandals and unfulfilled commitments.

Imran Khan’s extremist stance against every other party eventually has placed him in a weak spot as far as coalitions and alliances to attain formal power are concerned. Will the mounting electoral awareness of this session draw enough votes for Imran Khan’s success without such dependence?

Another forthcoming challenge is concealed in the entry of several controversial political figures into PTI. Will the ‘PTI spirit’ smudge their negativity or can their inclusion prove harmful to the sustained pure image of the party?

Imran Khan’s choice of regional candi-

dates is also worth considering. It would be interesting to see if supporters would blindly vote for PTI or base their decisions on the credibility of the respective candidates of their areas.

The real curiosity however is to see how far the unorthodox political approach of this leader would take him and whether he will be able to keep himself aloof from the colours of politics in this country if he is given the ruling position or will disappointingly end up as ‘another one of them’ in the history.

REJAA FARUQ LUMS, Lahore

Surge in PTI’s popularity The recent surge in PTI’s popularity has set the stage ready for a showdown in the upcoming general elections next year. But despite huge turnouts in rallies accompanied by massive advertising on social media, will the outcome of the general elections next year be any different?

For one thing, it is obvious that the increase in popularity of the PTI is more attributable to dismay associated with dismal performance of the incumbent government over the last four years rather than the appeal of the party on its own. Second, it is also quite evident that recent charm of the party is due to the charisma of its leader, Imran Khan and its relatively novel entrance in the political arena. even if these two factors are discounted, the fact remains that the voting turnout in Pakistan’s history has been disappointing, hence it begs the question: although the people support the PTI wholeheartedly, will they actually turn up on the election day to cast vote? There seems a cloud of uncertainty shrouding our nation’s politics.

SHEHARYAR KHALID Lahore

Another Arts Council As a senior member of the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP), I was really shocked to note the press statement of comedian Omer Sharif who after facing the big defeat for the post of President in the recent elections of the council, has announced to form another Arts Council.

It would have been better if he had accepted the defeat with a big heart instead of parting ways.

Mr Sharif had obtained 1064 votes whereas his opponent Ahmed Shah bagged 2001 votes. I hereby warn Mr Sharif that he should not bifurcate the prestigious Council for his personal interests as it would not be a joke but a tragedy for the nation and the arts.

MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL Karachi

A martyr of democracy Today is the fourth anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir. She will be remembered forever as someon who fought for democracy with bravery, someone who is a source of pride for all democracies and women of the world. Her politics revolved around democracy, modernisation and development in

Another form of violence This is in response to your report “President signs two women’s rights bills into law” published on 23 December 2011. These two bills seek to punish severe offences and crimes against women in Pakistan.

I would like to put light on a more unfortunate aspect of this process. If we look into the past, certain bills and laws have been formulated to protect and secure women rights. But unfortunately, most of them have proved im-

Pakistan. Her sacrifices continue to live on in the hearts and minds of her countrymen and her name shall always remain alive as long as the last supporter of democracy is breathing.

SHAFIQ SOLANGI Hyderabad

practical regarding their implementation. According to certain human rights reports, physical and mental abuse against women in Pakistan has increased. Not only that, most of the women are unaware of these laws and bills, hence unable to benefit from them.

To eradicate these two problems, the government needs to get realistic with their targets, starting with a base policy, which once functional, would pave way for further developmental policies to be formulated and imple-

mented.

Besides this, the governmental women welfare organisations should be assigned their roles in creating a communicational bridge between the policymakers and the women for trickling down of laws into women’s consciousness. Using this two-tier formula, the government, without waiting for the next national day for working women, can cope with the problem of violence and lack of awareness.

SIBTAY HASSAN HYDER LUMS, Lahore

This letter is in apropos to a recent news item “There will be no military coup, assures Kayani” published in your newspaper. The army is supposed to be subservient to the civilian rule, so they should not interfere in the government of the country.

Ideally, in a democratic state, even such assurances from the army chiefs that there will be no coup are seen with disdain. However, in Pakistan, the words from military leadership are seen to be more authentic than civilian rulers. Army is still very strong in Pakistan, and this can be witnessed in the recent Memogate issue.

A few days back, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani used not so nice words for army. He practically mocked them over the issue of Osama bin Laden. Army has genuine reasons and excuses right now for being angry over the political setup, that it is highly corrupt and has been unable to deliver.

Still, the army chief came out saying that they would uphold the constitution. That’s very encouraging, but one wonders whether it is because generals have really learned their lesson to obey the constitution or because of some weakness.

There are many reasons to believe that the army is not as strong as it used to be. In recent past there have been numerous incidents which have damaged the image and morale of the army.

There has been attack on GHQ in Rawalpindi and ISI headquarters were blown up in Lahore.

The most damaging of all was the OBL incident, and it raised many question whether the army can defend the country if such an operation can be carried out by a foreign force right besides the capital. These issues might have forced army on the back foot as they are not in a position of a coup d’état now.

Whether the army is weak or not, it is good for the civilian government that military rule is out of question at the moment. It will help in the evolution of democratic institutions in Pakistan.

However, the civilian government should also learn its responsibilities and resolve the public issues.

Democratic government should also give the army the respect it deserves.

SULTAN MEHMOOD Lahore Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan fax: +92-42-36298302 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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

The much-need space for growth reforms

By Nadeem-ul-Haque

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am writing only to clarify economic reforms and their role in our society. I have no issue with any other agenda in the country. A reporter from an english daily called me and told me that I was scheduled to talk against the nuclear programme at the National Defence University (NDU) on 26 December. I told him the factual position that I had scheduled a conference at NDU on the said date on the Planning Commission’s (PC) New Growth Framework (NGF). The conference had been cancelled because NDU felt attendance might be weak given the end of year holidays.

The NGF which was adopted by the National economic Council

last June needed a national discussion to develop understanding and ownership. For that the PC had arranged about 20 conferences around the country with a simple message that growth and development requires strong national effort and a large measure of economic reforms in coming years.

Conferences in various universities and chambers, in our view, were necessary for us to debate reform and development issues for a better mutual shaping of a national agenda.

I also told him that society at large and the media seem to be uninterested in reforms, economic development and growth. The media needs to give more attention to these issues alongside security and other issues. Unless a society takes interest in reforms, they will not happen. Pakistani intellectual space, which is fuelled daily by the media, is too preoccupied with issues other than economic development. Because of this, economic reforms remain little understood. Unless this changes, there will be no economic development in the coming years.

I also clarified that the PC never discussed defence or nuclear issues. Our focus is on economic development. Our NGF is focussed

on economic reforms which are constraining growth and development. It clearly identifies areas of reforms that can allow productivity and economic growth. Such economic reforms can happen without large doses of public investment. As someone who has written extensively on Pakistan, I have never written on issues of defence or nuclear for the simple reason that my analysis suggests that countries can choose their own levels of defence provided they allow serious forces of economic growth and development to be unleashed.

NGF argues that our lack of development is not because of a lack of resources but because of a lack of reforms. Pakistan is not growing and developing because we as a people do not accept change. To make this change we need a national discussion. My efforts have been to make that national discussion happen. That is why we at the PC went to universities at Lasbella, Karachi, Gujranwalla, Jamshoro, Abbtabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Isamabad among others.

People need to understand what the continued low rankings of Pakistan in global indicators such as “competitiveness” and

“cost of doing business” means.

Our analysis clearly shows that while we are focussing on developing hard infrastructure, our efforts at developing “economic software” (governance, management) are coming up severely short. All indicators suggest that our assets such as Railways, PIA, educational institutions, power generation and irrigation can all be managed better for increased productivity, increased growth and more employment. The NGF places strong emphasis on this “software” development. These are complex reforms involving all tiers of government and society and they need much research and discussion.

The international growth experience illustrates the power of vibrant and creative cities that foster entrepreneurship and are ever changing. Such cities are densely populated, allow for high-rise and mixed use construction, and discourage excessive reliance on cars.

Cities so configured have been shown to increase individual and national productivity, and foster creativity and entrepreneurship.

Our cities are highly over-regulated to be the opposite of what this international evidence is suggesting. We would like all of us to debate this difference. Making

such modern, dense, mixed use and walk-able cities will unleash construction activity that could buoy employment and growth for years. The economy surely needs this flip; the youth needs employment. Our cities also need more community and public space where creativity and commerce abound. Why does this new thinking must now permeate our city management? Once again, a software issue.

Why should such reforms not get media space? Whose fault is this? I keep telling the media that our mindset is not the result of the policy or views of any one government. I know they want a headline against the current establishment.

Consequently, I tell them that all governments regardless of creed and origin have avoided serious governance/civil service reforms.

All have failed to change the paradigm on market competition. No government has attempted to use public service delivery to underpin our governance approach. No government has reviewed our current approach of urban development that fairs a sprawl. This government has adopted the NGF which is taking up these issues. Let the media review the NGF. But then why blame governments? Society

also unveils its preferences through discussion and debate.

Our intellectuals’ efforts, evident in the media, display little interest in these crucial issues. Countries seeking development spend a far larger proportion of their public debate on crucial development issues than we do.

We must learn from the rest of the world and change. For development we look only at stray whimsical infrastructure projects while others have understood that development happens with quality policies and programmes for lowering transaction costs and improving public service delivery.

The NGF argues for results based governance as opposed to our current input/project based governance. These are deep reforms requiring much thought and research. Will the media be interested? Will society at large take an interest in this? I hope you appreciate why I am deeply absorbed in growth reforms and development and have no time to worry about other agendas. I argue only for space for growth reforms and development without trying to pull down other agendas.

The writer is Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.

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12 Comment Imran’s pie in the sky But a solid agenda is still missing

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hat Imran could manage to hold what is being described as the largest public meeting in Karachi’s history is a testimony to his rising popularity. That he could perform the feat in MQM’s traditional stronghold is all the more significant. While he has succeeded in recruiting a number of well-known political figures from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, what should worry him is that there was not a single widely known leader from either Sindh or Balochistan on the stage.

The roadmap for revolutionary change promised by Imran is likely to give birth to a lively debate in days and weeks to come. While some of the goalposts set by him might be useful as a distant ideal, they are simply impracticable unless Pakistan develops into a highly industrialised and prosperous country which is not possible during the fiveyear tenure of the next government, irrespective of the party or the alliance that comes to power. Foremost among these is his peculiar concept of an Islamic welfare state which is based on the British model of the welfare state of the early 70’s. economic crunch has already led to the curtailment of the welfare programme in Britain. PTI chief has made promises to provide free quality education, access to medical facilities and legal aid to all in the country. Small farmers have been assured that they would get cheap power and fertiliser and free seeds. Imran has also vowed to end the country’s dependence on foreign aid. He plans to achieve all this by making everyone pay taxes and luring foreign investments by improving law and order. A dedicated administration can no doubt bring about changes of the sort.

As things stand, these would be incremental rather than revolutionary. It is simply hyperbolic to promise that his party would “control and finish corruption in 90 days.”

There was nothing concrete in Imran’s programme to address the concerns of the smaller provinces and minorities. While he promised to divert funds for the development of Balochistan, he took no notice of forced disappearances and killings in the province which are a source of deep concern for the Baloch as well as people in other provinces.

On spin-doctoring The role of a ministry

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abinet meetings are probably never all fun and games, but the 100th meeting of the federal cabinet would have been particularly uncomfortable. A tearful Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tendering her resignation to the prime minister probably caught everyone off guard, even those in the know of whatever circumstances that led to her decision. The prime minister declined to accept her resignation and gave her some assurances. A good call. Dr Awan might have her detractors – as everyone in government does – but she has a certain rustic charm to her and is, after all, one of the few directly elected female legislators in the parliament. Hers is also one of the most thankless berths in the cabinet.

Had her resignation been accepted, she would have been the third information minister that this government would have seen through. She had been preceded by two ministers skilled in their own right.

The news, however, has sparked off an old debate that rears its head from time to time: should democratic governments have information ministries in the first place?

The answer isn’t as simple as one might think. Though the very name has an Orwellian Ministry of Truth ring to it, the ministry doesn’t go about picking journalists up; that isn’t the style of political governments (for the most part) and even in military governments, such tactics are usually employed by the spooks, not the ministry.

Yes, it is the duty – after the freedom of information laws and also for purposes of PR – for all departments to give information to the public but these positions are usually manned by officers from the Information Service (again, sounds more sinister than it actually is.)

The information ministers, in their capacity as the boss of the PID, serve as the spin-doctor-in-chief of the government; all countries have a variation of the sort.

Leverage can come through state ads (the government is one of the country’s largest advertisers) and that though its misuse should be discouraged, it is unavoidable to have a system without it.

Though a vibrant media is a blessing for a country, the problem of third world democracies is the unreasonably high expectations the popular media can have of any sitting governments. That can actually serve as a deterrent to development. All governments deserve a sporting chance to explain their case to the public.

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

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

The quest for quality… ...in both private and public sector schools

By Dr Faisal Bari

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ome popular perceptions, that are persisting in certain circles in Pakistan, are that private schools only work for the better off, work for profits only and make a lot of profits, work in urban areas mainly, but do provide better education for the money that they charge. Although some of these perceptions have a degree of truth to them, things are changing quite rapidly in the sector and, equally importantly, these perceptions need to be contextualised as well.

There are about 55,000-odd private schools and some 8 million school-going children in Pakistan that go to private schools. This is not a small sector anymore. Most of these 55,000 schools are small, local, low-fee private schools (LFPS) that charge up to Rs 500 per month, and many of them charge less than Rs 300 a month, while the elite private schools, charging thousands of rupees a month are not more than a few thousand. This reflects market realities as well. The elite schools cater to the middle and higher income brackets, while the LFPS cater to the lower and lower-middle income groups.

It is true that the very poor do not go to private schools in as large a number as they do to public schools, but private school enrolment now does span the entire income spectrum.

These schools are also spread over the urban and rural landscape, though it is true they are concentrated in places where population density is higher (urban areas, or rural areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and where the supply of educated females is present. Rural Balochistan and Sindh do not have many private schools.

In terms of profits, while private schools charge money for providing the service, and education is a business for them, most of the LFPS do not make a lot of money. They cannot charge a lot to the market they cater to and hence their net returns are not very high. Imagine a class of

30 students being charged Rs 200 a child on average. The school will have gross revenue of Rs 6,000 from this class or section. They have to pay for the teacher, the utilities and for other overheads (rent) out of this revenue. The net income of the school owner might not be much.

Many schools try to tie markets (sell uniforms or books) and/or charge other fees (admission fee, examination fee, etc) but these are limited in LFPS. So, the perception of large profits, for LFPS, is incorrect, and most of them might be making only ordinary returns. The perception, though, holds for schools charging higher fees.

There are many surveys that show that on average children from private schools, even LFPS, do better than children from public schools in standardised tests, and across most subjects, even after controlling for a host of factors such as parental income, education and so on, but there is substantial variation in quality in both types of schools, and overall, the quality of education, in both type of schools is very poor. On an absolute quality basis, when we test children against what they should know at a certain age in mathematics and languages, we find that most children are way behind where they should be. So both types of schools are failing our children and failing us, but the children in public schools, on average, are doing worse than the private school children.

On the cost side private school costs, per child, are much lower than public school costs, but most LFPS are not regulated, do not face the salary related, employee related, tax related and other labour/regulatory structures that public schools live under. So, it is unclear how much of the cost differential is driven by efficiency and how much of it is due to structural differences. This needs more investigation.

The context above should help in deepening our understanding of the perceptions about private/public education. Pakistani policymakers have encouraged private education over the last couple of decades and it has expanded significantly to the point where it caters to some 8 million children now. It has expanded much faster than the government has been able to expand the public sector. And has the potential to continue to expand.

Sadly, by design and default, the government has also taken this expansion as an excuse for keeping its commitment to education low, and in the process there have been negative consequences on public schools as well: exit of children from middle and higher income groups from public schools and concurrent reduction in government’s willingness to

reform public school system. And it has also led the debate, about private and public, in the wrong direction.

We want all children in Pakistan to have access to quality education: under Article 25A of our constitution, it is our constitutional obligation to provide for this. The real issue is how is this objective to be achieved? We have decided that we will do this through government schools as well as private schools. The word ‘private’ has connotations that are not appropriate for the context. A school where our children go will never be private space of the entrepreneur. We are not going to entrust our children to any individual or company. We have the right to not only know what is being taught there and how, we, as a society, have a right to regulate and monitor it.

Society has certain objectives and expectations regarding education and these need to be implemented and monitored irrespective of the ownership and/or management structure of school. If the quality of education is poor, irrespective of school type, we, as a society, need to work on improving it. The best way to improve private sector quality is by improving quality of provision in the public sector: since private sector has to compete, and charges money, it will have to deliver better quality than the free alternative.

But reforming public sector has been difficult, largely due to lack of incentives for such reforms. But that does not mean the society should not be looking into how private school quality should be improved to some minimum threshold. The nature of the intervention would be different for LFPS and elite schools as LFPS have little fiscal space. Accordingly, from grants to loans, we will have to develop all sorts of products and instruments that can provide access to finance for different types of schools. We will take up the issue of appropriate products/instruments in a later article. educational quality is poor in Pakistan, for most schools. We need to fix that, irrespective of whether the school is owned/run by government or not. The instruments for doing that will vary according to the type of school, the group it caters to, and so on, but the facts of their ownership/management, private, forprofit, public or not-for-profit, do not matter for this argument.

The writer is an Associate Professor of Economics at LUMS (currently on leave) and a Senior Advisor at Open Society Foundation (OSF). He can be reached at fbari@sorosny.org

The rally: AnP is the biggest loser

By Ahmed Yusuf

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redit where it is due, the PTI hit all the right notes for the two or three generations that had filled the venue. AntiZardari, mild suggestion of antiMQM, the slogan of clamping down on corruption, including the promise of filling up the coffers by retrieving money from corrupt politicians – all were the right albeit very general notes for the kind of audience the PTI wanted to draw in: either completely apolitical, or with very direct political grievances.

A large section in the audience wasn’t politicised hitherto; even if their demands of change are framed in abstract terms now, the nature of these demands is nonetheless political. This was a section tired of the intrusive politics of both the PPP and the MQM in Karachi; this was a section that pays its taxes without fail but never reaps any benefit from the money it gives to the government; this was a section that has wit-

nessed the exploitation of “terrorism” to mean newer and shinier cars, greater and longer security protocols, and barricading of busy and important thoroughfares.

Most Karachiites do not want to see “others” or enemies in neighbours and co-workers that usually exist peacefully; sometimes, this becomes the norm in Karachi due to the culture created and perpetuated by the larger parties.

For these people’s need to find some peace and normalcy in their everyday lives makes that search for a messiah, even for a jalsa, understandable and even justifiable.

And then there was a section of Pashtun youth, disenchanted with the policies of the ANP. Neither has the ANP been able to effectively safeguard their ethnic rights nor has it been able to benefit them in the way, say, a Shahi Syed has benefitted. Common street knowledge in Karachi is that Syed managed to set up businesses in Dubai, in partnerships and with the help of foes and friends alike – all in the letter and spirit of the policy of reconciliation.

With the demolition of the Pakistan Railways in progress under ANP’s minister, Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, road traffic businesses have witnessed increased sales. Only that the profit is for those politically connected, and not the ordinary Pashtun youngster. Combined with the ANP’s seemingly toothless behaviour and

political impotence to rebuilding areas supposedly cleaned up by the military, the common Pashtun has now been presented with a very viable alternative to the ANP. In truth, while those in attendance at the Karachi rally may be assumed as genuine voters, the PTI will only be able to take firm root in Karachi if it cuts into the vote bank of existing parties – people who not only go out to vote, but also ensure themselves that their vote matters. It is one thing to ride on the waves of public sentiment and popular rallies, quite another to ensure that the popularity translates into votes that count.

Being “Pakistani” is an innocent and idealistic fascination in the context of Karachi’s politics.

Given the party’s manoeuvrings elsewhere, we must assume that the PTI is mindful of Karachi’s dynamics. On a practical level, cutting into neighbourhoods that are staunchly defined in terms of PPP or MQM loyalties will almost be impossible. Put another way, the PPP’s Sindhi-speaking and Balochi-speaking vote bank in Karachi remains unaffected, and the MQM’s Urdu-speaking following in Karachi remain loyal to their parties. The major groups left are the Pashtuns and Punjabis, neither of whom have been antagonistic towards each other, and the Memons and Gujaratis.

It is the first group that should be of high interest to the PTI,

mainly because they don’t form the majority of the PPP’s or the MQM’s constituents. As a result, contesting political space is not going to be a violent process. With news of dissension being made very public from within the ANP’s ranks, there is also speculation that part of the ANP’s militant wing in Karachi wants to part ways with the party. If these rumours are indeed true and they end up joining the PTI, Imran Khan would have fulfilled one of the basic necessities of operating in Karachi.

What did sit uncomfortably was PTI’s overuse of religious terminology: religion is used and overused as an argument only in circumstances where belief is on shaky grounds. It is a reaffirmation of sorts, that an honourable “Pakistani” identity is still Muslim.

That car stickers claiming ‘Victory in Afghan Jehad’ were being distributed but no one was present to wish the Christian support a Merry Christmas is damning: we are still creating exclusionary parties and cultures. The need for continuous theological affirmation points to the kind of social spaces that will be allowed or created if the PTI were to form a government. Such spaces are usually fascist in nature. Are we prepared for a fascist revolution?

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

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

not another feudal enclave PtI, sajjada nashins and lotas

By Rabia Ahmed

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ell, what could be nicer than the news of Javed Hashmi joining the PTI? It appears to have tried, but the PML(N) leadership was unable to lure him back into a rapidly sinking ship.

Yes, the PML (N) is definitely sinking, and like a couple of desperate housewives the brothers Shareef have witnessed texts in the city from the chief of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf to the cell phones of an avid electorate, inviting them to join the PTI rally in Karachi. That rally turned out to be a resounding success. Now let’s see how many of his promises Mr Khan is able to honour. If he can manage to ‘keep (even one of) the *&^%$!@# honest’, he will have earned his keep.

Years of imprisonment and a stroke could not prevent Mr Hashmi becoming a much respected “political scientist, geostrategist and a statesman” or “one of the most vocal critics of General Pervez Musharraf's military regime (who) openly criticised General Musharraf's treatment of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, and his policy on the war on terror.” He will be a valuable addition and an asset to a party on the scramble for stalwarts.

Mr Hashmi’s inclusion might go some way towards righting the balance for a party that is threatening, but not sure, to become another feudal enclave what with the inclusion of stray sajjada nashins and other lotas.

The PTI is now pretty sure to be the major opposition to a government that will almost certainly still be an amalgam of the PPP and MQM, plus whoever else joins the circus – who knows, perhaps even the eternally miffed PML(N)? It will be

interesting to see Imran’s choice of some of those shadowy persons in opposition parties who say “Yo!” and rise purposefully when the man calls “Minister for Defense?” or “Foreign Minister?”

On quite another positive front was news of the rescue of 45 students discovered chained in the basement of a madrassah in Karachi’s infamous Sohrab Goth. The news was lost somewhere between the Memogate and the political maneuverings that monopolise media attention in this country. The wonderful fact of these kids,

mango with the instructions to go forth and detonate.

Please, Pakistan Police, check all madrassahs and all remote buildings and make sure that their basements are free of our precious children. And thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We may be happy to see the last of this government, but we’d much rather it was sent on its way under circumstances other than yet another military ouster. The mind boggles at the prospect of going through the whole coup process once more, of yet another bimbo in khaki

Hashmi will be a valuable addition and an asset to a party on the scramble for stalwarts.

Mr Hashmi’s inclusion might go some way towards righting the balance for a party that is threatening, but not sure, to become another feudal enclave what with the inclusion of stray sajjada nashins and other lotas. most of whom aged around 20, being found and set free definitely deserves a resounding hurrah.

A police official involved in the operation said that "The madrassah officials claim that they had chained those students because they were drug addicts and they wanted to rehabilitate them and make them better Muslims."

Yay for madrassah wisdom and logic! Way to make good Muslims and cure junkies.

While you’re at it, drag them into the fold in chains, club them on their heads and get them to detox. Zia-ul-Haq did not die in an air crash; he parachuted straight into Sohrab Goth where he landed bang on top of Jimmy Hendrix and gave birth to a litter of suicide bombers to each of whom he bequeathed an exploding

with political aspirations hogging the airwaves again.

Definitely Imran Khan will be a welcome change with Hashmi to give him direction, if he can sort the wheat from the chaff entering his party. Here is a man with some integrity who is worried about his ‘kursi’, true, but mostly that he could have ended up paying for them all if they had been stolen in bulk by the Quaid’s children after the PTI’s rally at the Quaid’s mazaar on Sunday.

If the army is so keen to safeguard the nation and ‘support the democratic process in the country’, it should guard the chairs at such free and democratic political rallies so that politicians can indulge their penchant for making rash promises in peace. We can then hang them at leisure if they fail to keep them.

Comment 13

Best laid plans the party looked less at ease, after having cured its constipation with some Hashmi ispaghol

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f you were in Karachi this Sunday and missed the grand PTI carnival, you seriously need to get a life. I mean, for decades, young Pakistanis have been whining, “There’s never anything to do here!” and “Why can’t we have more social events, like Glastonbury?” And now, when the son of a Pathan (a Mianwali Pathan, but Pathan nonetheless) has actually taken the initiative and provided them an outlet, people like you have no excuse for not being there.

Indeed, Sunday’s Mardi Gras was the cure to a lot of ills. Imran Khan looked decidedly more at ease, after having cured his constipation with some Hashmi ispaghol. Abrar-ul-Haq was not his usual, domineering Punjabi self and actually sounded coherent. Shah Mehmood Qureshi chewed, enunciated and articulated his way into the history books and Imran’s legal team (Wajih, Hamid and Co) made sure that no libelous material was spewed forth. All in all, it was a civilised affair and everyone who went had a really good time. But is that what we really wanted from ‘IK: Live in Concert’?

Back in 2008, a black man was roaming the United States asking for change.

Not in dollar bills, mind you, but in the shape of a paradigm shift.

Obama’s message was clear: the status quo has let us

By Syed Hassan Belal Zaidi down and its time to take matters into our own hands.

This was all music to the unassuming American masses’ ears and they fell for the honey trap hook, line and sinker. Four years on, and now people are starting to wise up. Where are the landmark foreign policy and economic reforms?

Has Obamacare made life better for the average American?

How long can the Democrats ride the wave in the mosh pits of Pearl Jam and Green Day concerts that they use to draw people towards their cause? And most importantly, why is the US still involved in places like Guantanamo and Afghanistan? Can it be that the promise of change was merely a mirage? Have the American people been duped? OH NO! For those who fail to see the writing on the wall, the message of the graffiti artists is quite clear. Imran Khan is

Mighty Obvious

a good man. He belongs to a good family, is well educated and of sound mind (sort of). He is eloquent and just as devilishly handsome today as he was when he lifted the crystal trophy in Melbourne in 1992.

And, above all, he’s never been in power before, which means we can ‘trust’ him. I don’t know about you, but all of the above doth a good dulha make, but not necessarily a good leader of nations. Pundits, naysayers and sundry others have been yelling themselves hoarse, asking Imran to let on his actual cunning plans for the future of our fair backwater. But no answers have been forthcoming. All we’ve got is a veritable cyber army of trolls, uncouths and social misfits, willing to lay down life, dignity and honour to defend IK’s chances in the next general elections.

I hate to say it, but (even at the risk of sounding like a broken record) batting (or bowling) credentials don’t quite cut it when it comes to abstract constructs such as development policy! Or land reform. Or women’s empowerment. Or poverty alleviation. If they did, Shahbaz Sharif’s motorcycle sojourn through flooded Rajanpur and his dinner at the dastar khwaans of our kissans would make him the next Jinnah (God forbid!).

Seriously though, I do hope that IK wins a few seats this time around. enough to put him in contention for the Leader of the Opposition slot, or better yet, Minister for Sport, Culture and Youth Affairs. I wish this because I am not comfortable handing over the reins of my hollowedout shell of a country to a man who is a certifiable megalomaniac. Right now, the cult of personality works in his favour because there is no actual work to be done yet. But come election time, all this fervour will be so much hot air. I want to know what good will come of a HashmiQureshi-Leghari-Tareen nexus in South Punjab. I want to know how Imran plans on capturing the hearts and minds (sic!) of the rural populous with his Twitter and automated phone call-campaign. I want to see what happens when this holier-thanthou all-rounder from Zaman Park has to decide between cutting subsidies on petrol or wheat flour. Because this is the true test of the mettle of a man.

And above all, I want to be there when he breaks down and proclaims on national television, “You have no idea how hard it is to run a country!” I want to be there because I want to say to him, “Well son, neither did you. But you asked for it.”

Follow @mightyobvious on Twitter for more incoherence in 140 characters or less.

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14 Foreign News US mulling Saleh's travel request: official HONOLULU REutERS

The US government would only allow Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to travel to the United States for "legitimate" medical treatment, and is now considering the request, a senior Obama administration official said on Monday.

The official said Saleh's office recently contacted the U.S. embassy in Sanaa to say the president plans to leave Yemen soon and wants to get specialized care in the United States related to injuries he sustained in a June assassination attempt that forced him into hospital in Saudi Arabia.

"The request for approval for President Saleh to travel to the United States is currently under consideration. The only reason that travel to the United States by President Saleh would be approved would be for legitimate medical treatment," the official said.

On Saturday, just hours after his forces killed nine people who had demanded he be tried for the killings of demonstrators over the past year, Saleh said he would leave for the United States and give way to a successor. He did not say when he would depart. The Yemeni leader said he would undergo some medical tests but characterized his intended trip as one of temporary exile. "I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I'm fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections," he said.

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Observers urged to head for Homs as Syrian toll rises DAMASCUS AfP

H

eAVY gunfire killed 20 people in Syria’s besieged city of Homs on Monday as newly arriving Arab League observers were urged to head immediately to one of the country’s most serious hot spots. An initial group of 50 observers was to land in Syria later Monday to oversee a deal aimed at ending a bloody crackdown on anti-regime dissent, which has showed no signs of abating since erupting in March.

“Rocket fire and heavy machineguns in the Baba Amro quarter killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement received by AFP in Nicosia.

“The situation is frightening and the shelling is the most intense of the past three days,” it said. Six civilians died in other parts of the central Syrian city, while another three, including a 14-yearold boy, were shot dead when security forces opened fire on a demonstration in Khattab in neighbouring Hama province.

On Sunday, the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said Homs was under siege and facing an “invasion” from some 4,000 troops deployed near the city that has become a focal point of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. “The observers must head immediately to the martyrs’ district of Baba Amro to stop the assassinations and meet with the Syrian people so that they witness the crimes being perpetrated by the Syrian regime” the Observatory said on Monday.

That demand was echoed by France.

“The Damascus authorities must imperatively, in accordance with the Arab League plan, allow observers access this afternoon to the city of Homs, where the violence is particularly bloody,” foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said. Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi said the observer “mission has freedom of movement in line with the protocol” Syria signed with the Arab League last week. Under that deal, the observers are to be banned only from sensitive military installations.

Ironically, the Observatory said the authorities had changed road signs in another hot spot, Idlib province, to confuse the observers, and urged them to make contact with human rights activists on the ground. An advance team of Arab monitors arrived on Thursday to pave the way for the observer mission to oversee the deal aimed at ending the crack-

British queen’s husband spends third night in hospital SANDRINGHAM AfP

Seven die in yemen army clashes with Qaeda suspects ADEN AfP

Ongoing battles between al Qaeda suspects and Yemen’s army near the restive southern city of Zinjibar killed five soldiers and two al Qaeda suspects, military and medical sources said on Monday.

“Five soldiers were killed and seven wounded in late Sunday battles” between the army and al Qaedalinked militants, a military official told AFP. The army fired artillery rounds on the militants’ hideouts on Zinjibar’s outskirts. Medics confirmed the toll, adding that two of the extremists were also killed in the fighting. The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the country to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.

russia replaces head of military spy agency: official MOSCOW AfP

Russia has replaced the head of its GRU military intelligence organisation, who presided over major reforms of the secretive body, a defence ministry spokesman said on Monday. “Major General Igor Sergun has been appointed the head of the GRU through a Kremlin decree,” a defence ministry spokesman told AFP. Sergun replaces Alexander Shlyakhturov, who had spearheaded a shake-up of the service since his appointment in 2009. The defence ministry spokesman did not provide further details. The state RIA Novosti news agency said, citing a ministry spokesman, that Shlyakhturov had reached retirement age. No other reason was given for the move.

down, which the UN estimates has killed more than 5,000 people since March.

Opposition groups have said the observers must stop their work if they are blocked by the authorities from travelling to places like Homs. “We hold the Arab League and the international community accountable for the massacres and bloodshed committed by the regime in Syria,” the SNC said.

General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, a veteran Sudanese military intelligence officer who is heading the observer mission, arrived in Damascus on Sunday evening, a source told AFP. In a meeting with AFP in Khartoum last week, the 63-year-old Dabi distributed a curriculum vitae that outlined a hardcore military background, including three years as chief of military operations against the insurgency in what is now South Sudan.

mOSCOw: A man walks along the red Square with St Basil Cathidral in the background on monday. AfP

Queen elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip was set to miss the royals’ traditional Christmas pheasant shoot on Monday after a third night in hospital following heart surgery. Philip, 90, was rushed to hospital on Friday complaining of chest pains and required an emergency procedure to unblock a coronary artery.

The prince, known as the Duke of edinburgh, spent another “good night” in hospital, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said on Monday. He was given a festive boost on Sunday with a Christmas Day visit from grandsons Prince William and Harry and four other of his eight grandchildren.

Philip, who has a famously brusque manner, is said by aides to be eager to leave the Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, eastern england, but no date for his release has been given.

He usually leads the royal family’s shoot at their Sandringham country estate, held on December 26, or Boxing Day as it is known in Britain. The shoot was expected to go ahead as planned.

In a statement on Sunday, the Palace said he was “in good spirits and will remain in hospital under observation for a short period.

“The Queen will continue to be briefed on his condition. We do not have details of a release date at this stage.”

The queen visited her husband of 64 years at the hospital on Sunday after the royal family’s Christmas church service.

nigeria probes Christmas carnage ABUJA AfP

Nigeria on Monday probed a wave of Christmas Day bomb attacks that killed at least 40 and was blamed on extremists, including one blast that ripped through a crowd of worshippers exiting mass.

The government blamed Islamist sect Boko Haram for three attacks on Sunday, including bomb explosions at two churches -- the deadliest as Christmas mass ended near the capital Abuja -- and a suicide attack in the northeast.

A third church was targeted in the northeast on Christmas eve, but no one was reported killed. Residents reported another explosion near a church in the northeastern city of Maiduguri late Sunday, but an army spokesman denied it.

The attack at St. Theresa

Catholic Church in Madalla outside Abuja killed at least 35 and left a gruesome scene, with rescuers picking up body parts and putting them in plastic bags while emergency workers pleaded for ambulances.

Some of the wounded, including one man whose entrails protruded from his body, ran toward a priest for final blessings. The attacks drew widespread condemnation, including from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, the United States and Britain. Authorities and officials pledged to bring the attackers to justice, but the government in Africa’s most populous nation has so far been unable to stop the Islamists, whose attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated and deadly. President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the violence and his national security adviser called it “unnecessary bloodletting by

a group whose objectives are not in consonance with any genuine religious tenants.”

While the government blamed Boko Haram and a purported spokesman for the sect claimed responsibility for the violence, conflicting accounts emerged of both the investigation and the attack in Madalla. A spokesman for police in Niger state, where Madalla is located, said on Monday that authorities had not yet determined who was behind the attack. “We are looking beyond Boko Haram because other people bent on destabilising the government might be doing these things in the name of Boko Haram,” said Richard Oguche.

Describing the attack, National Security Adviser Owoye Azazi said attackers threw improvised explosive devices from a moving vehicle in

Madalla, adding that “two of the criminals had been apprehended, caught in action.”

Oguche said no one was arrested and the blast occurred after a minibus pulled up near the church. He added that three police officers were among those killed.

“It was just about the time people were leaving the church and there was a (minibus),” said Oguche.

“There were three police officers at the gate and they were trying to prevent those people from coming in. There was an argument and in the process the thing exploded.”

The attack sparked further chaos in the area, with angry youths setting fires and threatening to rush a police station.

Police fired into the air to disperse them and cleared a road for rescue workers.

Other explosions occurred

in the central city of Jos, where a church was targeted and policeman was killed in a resulting shootout, and in the northeastern city of Damaturu, where authorities have clashed with Islamists in recent days.

A suicide blast occurred in Damaturu when the bomber sought to ram into a military convoy in front of a secret police office, killing himself and three security agents. Sporadic gunfire broke out in the city on Sunday afternoon.

In Damaturu on Monday, hundreds of residents were seeking to flee, lining up at taxi and bus stands, seeking to take advantage of the momentary calm in the tense and violencetorn city.

Boko Haram had also claimed responsibility for a deadly wave of attacks in the Jos region on Christmas eve last year.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Foreign News 15

Strike paralyses london underground train system LONDON AfP

London’s underground train service was virtually halted by a strike over pay on Monday, disrupting the start of the postChristmas sales and sporting fixtures. Most lines were shut or operating a vastly reduced service, with people forced to use buses or taxis to reach shops which are desperate for business after disappointing sales in recent months. Members of the London Underground train drivers’ union ASLeF voted overwhelmingly to hold a 24-hour strike on December 26, a public holiday in Britain known as Boxing Day, and on three more dates in the coming weeks. Drivers are angry that their employer is refusing to give them extra pay and a day off for working on Boxing Day. The operator has described their demands as “outrageous”.

North Korea’s Jong-Un gets new title, meets South Koreans SEOUL AfP

North Korea on Monday added a key title to the credentials of its untested new ruler Kim Jong-Un, who met his first South Korean delegation since he was hailed as “great successor” to his late father. In a move that experts said shows the successor is on track to take full control of the secretive nation, the ruling party newspaper hailed Jong-Un as head of its Central Committee. “Let’s stake our lives to safeguard the party’s Central Committee led by dear comrade Kim Jong-Un,” Rodong Sinmun said. Jong-Un, in his late 20s, has also been touted as “supreme commander” of the military since his father Kim Jong-Il died on December 17 of a heart attack at the age of 69.

rockets strike Iran dissident camp in Iraq BAGHDAD AfP

At least two rockets struck a camp in central Iraq housing Iranian dissidents Sunday evening, a senior army officer said, as Baghdad and the UN signed a pact aimed at resolving the residents’ status. Sunday’s deal had been welcomed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said his government would extend a year-end deadline for the removal of the camp residents from Iraq.

“Two rockets landed on Camp Ashraf last night,” an Iraqi army colonel said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The casualties are unknown because we are forbidden from entering the camp.” It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets. The group which occupies Camp Ashraf, the People’s Mujahedeen, said in a statement that four rockets struck their base at 8pm on Sunday evening, and accused groups loyal to Iran of being behind the attack.

ABIDJAN: A picture taken late on December 25 shows a woman filming a Christmas tree in the Plateau district of Abidjan with her mobile phone during Christmas celebrations. AfP

Baghdad suicide bomb kills 5 as standoff deepens BAGHDAD

A

AfP

suicide attack killed five people at the interior ministry in Baghdad on Monday as a key political bloc called for early elections in a worsening standoff that has stoked sectarian tensions.

The blast, which left dozens wounded, came just days after the capital was struck by its deadliest violence in more than four months and as US Vice President Joe Biden urged dialogue between Iraqi politicians to resolve their differences. The parliamentary movement loyal to anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, meanwhile, said it backed the dissolution of parliament and early elections in a row that has seen Iraq’s Sunni vice president accused of running a death squad and a deputy prime minister call the government a “dictatorship”.

In Monday’s attack, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed car into the interior ministry compound when guards opened the main gates to allow electrical maintenance workers through, a ministry official

said. At least five people were killed and 39 wounded, security and health officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Among the casualties were at least two policemen killed and 14 wounded. The blast came after a wave of attacks across Baghdad on Thursday killed 60 people, and violence in the provinces the same day claimed another seven lives. It was the deadliest day in Iraq since mid-August.

The spike in attacks comes with Iraq mired in political dispute. On Monday, the political bloc loyal to Sadr called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections.

The movement’s parliamentary chief Baha al-Araji said in a statement that his bloc in Iraq’s Council of Representatives wanted to “dissolve parliament and repeat elections.”

An official at the movement’s headquarters in the southern holy city of Najaf said Araji’s statement “represents all of the bloc, and it represents the opinion of the bloc.”

The call comes after authorities issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq alHashemi on charges he ran a death squad, while Prime Minister Nuri al-

Maliki has called for his Sunni deputy Saleh al-Mutlak to be sacked.

Hashemi denies the accusations, and Mutlak has decried the premier as a dictator “worse than Saddam Hussein”. The Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, to which both Hashemi and Mutlak belong, has boycotted the cabinet and parliament.

Hashemi, holed up at the official guesthouse of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in the country’s autonomous Kurdish region, told AFP in an interview on Sunday he would not go to Baghdad to stand trial and raised the prospect of fleeing Iraq.

Asked if he would return to Baghdad to face trial, Hashemi told AFP: “Of course not.” The 69-year-old attributed his refusal to travel to the capital to poor security and politicisation of the justice system. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Ankara will not turn Hashemi away if he requests asylum, but that he should stay in Iraq.

“I have no intention to leave Iraq at this time, unless my personal security is endangered,” Hashemi said in Sunday’s interview. “Then, we will talk about this.”

Shia militia ready to lay down arms: leader NAJAF AfP

An Iraqi Shia militia group behind the kidnap of a British consultant and his four bodyguards, and blamed for the killing of US troops, said on Monday it would join the political process. Qais al-Khazali, leader of Asaib Ahel al-Haq or League of the Righteous, said the departure of American forces a week ago meant violent “resistance” was no longer required.

“The sons of resistance have carried out their duty successfully,” Khazali told a conference in the holy Shiite city of Najaf in south Iraq. “They are ready to sacrifice to participate in the political process.”

Mohammed al-Hamed, spokesman for Iraq’s National Reconciliation Commission, said authorities held a series of talks with the League of the Righteous’s political section and the deal was agreed after the US completed its withdrawal from Iraq on December 18.

“They felt the withdrawal is real, and there is no need to carry weapons,” Hamed told AFP. “It has been agreed by the two sides to support the political process and take part in it.” Asaib Ahel al-Haq still holds the body of Alan McMenemy, one of four bodyguards working with British IT consultant Peter Moore, when the five were kidnapped from the finance ministry in Baghdad in May 2007 by some 40 gunmen from the Shiite militia.

Seven dead in US Christmas shooting

Thousands march in Casablanca for political change

GRAPEVINE AfP

CASABLANCA AfP

Several thousand people took to the streets of Casablanca on Sunday to press for deeper political reforms, saying recent changes did not go far enough.

The protesters, mobilising on a call from the so-called February 20 pro-democracy movement, held their first demonstration without the Islamist Justice and Charity group.

The group withdrew from the February 20 movement earlier this month, claiming it had been the object of “attacks” from youths within the movement.

Up to 5,000 people demonstrated in Casablanca’s poor Hay Mohammadi suburb, an AFP

journalist witnessed, while police said about 3,500 people in total protested countrywide.

“We are here to to say that the fight will continue despite the withdrawal of political organisations, Islamic or otherwise,” protester Hamza Mahfoud told AFP. “Our demands are legitimate and they have not changed: a parliamentary monarchy and more social justice,” said Mahfoud.

About 300 to 500 people took part in a similar protest in Rabat. earlier this month, the February 20 movement said it was willing to talk with the newly elected Islamist head of government under conditions that included the release of political prisoners, a guarantee of press freedom and more individual liberties.

TUNIS: Outgoing Tunisian Prime minister Beji Caid essebsi (r) shakes hands with the new Prime minister Hamadi Jebali on monday during a handover ceremony. AfP

Police found seven bodies in an apartment on Sunday in the US state of Texas after what officials described as a Christmas Day murder-suicide. Two handguns were discovered at the apartment in Grapevine, Texas, near Dallas, and there were no signs of forced entry. “We believe the shooter is one of those dead in the apartment,” said Grapevine police Lieutenant Todd Dearing.

All seven people were found near a Christmas tree in a living room area of the two-story apartment. “It’s a great tragedy, something our department has not seen before,” said Grapevine police Sergeant Robert eberling. “You read about these types of reports, but they always seem to happen somewhere else.” Dearing said that authorities believe it was a family Christmas gathering, with the victims ranging in age from 18 or 20 to their 50s or 60s. Their names were not immediately released.

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16

Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Demi Lovato slams

IN LIMELIGHT

Disney for eating

disorder joke LOS ANGELES

F

AGENCIES

ORMeR Disney star Demi Lovato has slammed the channel on Twitter over a joke about eating disorder on one of their shows. The 19year-old singer-actress, who entered rehab last year for bulimia and bipolar disorder was upset with a character on ‘Shake It Up’ who quipped, “I could just eat you

up, well if I ate”, reported Us magazine. “I find it really funny how a company can lose one of their actresses from the pressures of an eating disorder and yet still make a joke about that very disease. #nice (sic),” the former star of ‘Sonny With a Chance’, tweeted Friday. Lovato added, “And is it just me or are the actresses (on Disney Channel) getting thinner and thinner... I miss the days of Raven, and Lizzie McGuire,” she said, referencing former Disney actresses Raven Simone and Hilary Duff. She then sent one final message to her former employer: “Dear Disney Channel, eating disorders are not something to joke about.” In addition to reaching more than five million followers, Lovato’s rant clearly made it to Disney. Just a few hours later the company’s official public relations responded to her with two tweets, “@ddlovato - we hear you and are pulling both episodes as quickly as possible & reevaluating them.” “@ddlovato - It’s never our intention to make light of eating disorders!” As a result, Disney pulled the ‘Shake It Up’ episode titled ‘Party It Up’ and an episode of another show called ‘So Random!’.

RoMe: A book damaged by termites is displayed in the museum at the Central Institute for the Conservation and Restoration of Damaged Books.

Hong Kong: A girl poses in a Cosplay, short for "costume play", a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea, often drawn from popular fiction in Japan.

tBILISI: A picture taken late on December 25, 2011, shows New Year's street decorations.

mUmBAI: veena malik poses during a Christmas promotional shoot.

five years elapse since demise of

famous poet Munir niazi LAHORE StAff REPORt

December 26 marked the death anniversary of famous poet Munir Niazi who wrote many poems in both the Urdu as well as the Punjabi languages. Munir Niazi was born in Khanpur on 19 April 1928, in a village. He belonged to the Niazi tribe. He was initially educated at Khanpur and after the partition he migrated to Sahiwal, where he passed his matriculation. He earned an intermediate degree from S.e. College, Bahawalpur and a BA from Diyal Singh College in Lahore, Pakistan. Niazi launched a

weekly from Sahiwal in 1949. It was called ‘Seven Colours’ or ‘Satrangi’.

Besides he wrote numerous film songs and made his name as one of the biggest lyricists. He also wrote for newspapers, magazines and radio. Literary experts are of the opinion that Niazi had brilliant imagery in his writing using only a few words. He also experimented with poetic forms and tried to create a new style, rhythm and diction in Urdu poetry.

Innocence, mythology, nostalgia, dreams, eroticism, and romance are some of his most common themes in both poetry and prose. Munir Niazi died of respiratory illness on 26 December 2006 in Lahore.

Priyanka gives SRK’s bash a miss to be

with family MuMBAI: Priyanka Chopra confirms via a micro blogging site that she chose to skip SrK and Gauri Khan's Christmas bash to be with her parents. meanwhile tongues have been wagging about her absence from mannat. much has been spoken about Priyanka not being present at Shah rukh Khan's Christmas bash at mannat on Saturday night. Hostess Gauri has been planning the party the whole of last week. while some suggest that Gauri did not extend an invitation to the actress, who has in the past made headlines for her closeness to King Khan, others claim the actress was too busy with personal commitments to make it to the celebrations at mannat. with regulars like Karan Johar, Hrithik-Sussanne, Arjun-mehr, farhan-Adhuna, riteishGenelia, mahesh-lara, Dino-Nandita, Karisma Kapoor, malaika Arora Khan and others present, PC 's absence was surely noticed. friends however confirmed that the actor decided to give the party a miss and spend time with her family who was going out of town. And now, PC has come out and cleared the air in a subtle yet strong manner. "Toooo early to wake up man! eSP with Christmas spirits in the house..my family's been leaving for our holiday in installments since 3 days. ha! (sic)," posted the actor on a micro blogging site. "Now home alone.. BooHoo! But working like crazy so will try and compensate for missing them..what r ur new year plans?" she further posted. AGENCIES

MuMBAI: Sonam Kapoor poses during a Christmas promotional shoot.

Shahid to pay

Jolie criticised for

dancing tribute to Dev, Shammi MuMBAI: The glitterati of Indian cinema are all set to descend in macau on January 21 at Zee Cine Awards 2012. In an exciting announcement about the awards show, the channel has confirmed that heartthrob Shahid Kapur will be performing at Zee Cine Awards 2012 . Shahid will pay a dancing tribute to the superstars of dance from the yesteryears - the late Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor - at the awards soiree in macau. excited about bringing alive the aura of these iconic heroes, Shahid said, "I'm grateful to Zee for having approached me with such an interesting proposition. It's a sheer privilege to pay homage to great men like Dev saab and Shammi ji. They are both exceptional and superlative talents who have made invaluable contributions to the world of Indian films. If I can recreate even a fraction of their magic, I will consider it an accomplishment and a humble tribute to these luminaries." AGENCIES

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17 British military wives claim

coveted pop accolade

to be held at Al Hamra

on January 1 LAHORE StAff REPORt

LONDON

A

AGENCIES

charity single recorded by wives of British soldiers on Sunday claimed the country’s prestigious Christmas number one spot, outselling its nearest rival by almost five to one. The Military Wives choir, which was formed for BBC entertainment programme The

Choir, marched to the peak of the chart after their song ‘Wherever You Are’ sold 556,000 copies, the Official Charts Company revealed. Profits from the single are being given to military charities the Royal British Legion and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA). Gareth Malone, the BBC presenter who formed the group, said the honour was well deserved. “This is so surreal,” he said. “Who would have

guessed in those first rehearsals that we could take Christmas Number 1? It’s testament to the Military Wives’ hard work and the nation’s support of them, as well as the power of choral singing.” The Military Wives outsold second-placed ‘X Factor’ winners Little Mix by nearly five to one, while Lou Monte’s ‘Dominick the Donkey’, which was originally released in 1960, placed third after a campaign by BBC radio DJ Chris Moyles.

Shah Rukh Khan wants to be Mr Vidya Balan MUMBAI ZEENEwS

MuMBAI: Bipasha Basu poses during a Christmas promotional shoot.

LOS ANGELES: A celebrity hair stylist has criticised actress Angelina Jolie for letting her six-year-old daughter Zahara get hair extensions. "She is far too young for that, and Angelina is creating insecurity in the little girl that what she has is not good enough," aceshowbiz.com quoted Darico Jackson as saying.

"Growing up with siblings who have long flowing hair, Zahara may grow to feel that her own natural hair is not pretty enough, and that without the fake hair she is not beautiful.

She should be made to embrace who she is," she said.

Zahara was pictured sporting new hair extensions when stepping out in las vegas with parents Jolie and Brad Pitt and siblings. Jackson said Zahara's natural hair was enough to be braided. "If Angelina wants Zahara to be in touch with her roots and have her hair braided then she can do that with the child's own hair and she doesn't need to add extensions. There are many cute styles that Zahara can have without adding fake hair at such a tender age," she said. AGENCIES

With Vidya Balan’s ‘The Dirty Picture’ turning out to be both a critical and a commercial success, Indian audiences’ fondness for women-oriented films has come forth. The film had no backing of any of the Khans in Bollywood, yet the ekta Kapoor production kept the box office coffers ringing. An elated Vidya had earlier said that the Khans should probably add her surname to their names, for even she could solely make films a super hit. “Saare Khans ke naam ke aage Balan laga

dete hai”, the talented actress had said. And Bollywood’s Badshah was the only one to respond to Vidya’s suggestion. King Khan expressed his desire to get hitched to Vidya and also said that he had no inhibitions being addressed as Mr Shah Rukh Khan Balan. “If Vidya Balan gets married to me, I won’t mind to putting her surname after my name,” SRK said. All of us know that Vidya is a huge fan of SRK and we are sure she wouldn’t mind being called Mrs Shah Rukh Khan.

But we really wonder what Gauri Khan and Siddharth Roy Kapoor (Vidya’s beau) have to say to this.

As part of the New Year’s festivities, the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) will be held at the Al Hamra Art Council on January 1, 2012. The performances on January 1, will be presented by Faheem Mazhar and Muhammad Saad Farooq both on vocals. Jugal Bandi will be performed by (Flute) Muhammad Hanif, (Sarangi) Zohaib Hassan, (Tabla) Haroon Samuel, (Harmonium) Pervaz Paras and (Tanpura) Zafar Qadri. erum Ashfaq’s exhibition: A solo paintings’ exhibition is to be set up at the Shakir Ali Museum on Thursday December 29, 2011, which will last till January 15, 2012. The artist, erum Ashfaq, has made all arrangements for the show. The exhibition is titled ‘The Revival of Cultural Heritage’ and is expected to be opened by well-known social and cultural figure of Lahore, Mian Yousuf Salahuddin, who will also be the chief guest. On display will be more than 24 paintings depicting the old historical buildings of Lahore and Bhera’s Mughul era including Shalimar Garden, Masjid Wazir Khan, Haveli Chuna Mandi, Lahore Fort, Jharoka of an abandoned building of Bhera among others. This will be Ashfaq’s second solo show in a year.

Her first solo paintings’ exhibition was held at Nayyer Ali Dada’s Nairang Gallery in Lahore about the same time last year. She has also participated in some group shows, most of which were held at different art galleries of Lahore.

‘Single’ Charlize theron wants to find new man LONDON AGENCIES

Charlize Theron has revealed that she is now single and wants to find a new man. But the Academy Award winner is fearful that her eccentricities might put off potential suitors. The 36-yearold actress, who stars in the hit comedy ‘Young Adult’, opened her heart to Piers Morgan on his chat show. “I’m single! I need to find a man!” the Daily Mail quoted the actress as telling the CNN host. Theron also revealed that she does not feel she will ever marry, but refused to open up about her split from Irish actor Stuart Townsend earlier this year.

Louis Vuitton sues

'Hangover 2' makers over fake bag NEw YORK: fashion house louis vuitton has sued the makers of 'The Hangover 2' over a purse carried by Zach Galifianakis' character in the hit comedy. executives of the french brand have filed a lawsuit against the movie bosses claiming that a handbag seen onscreen in the hands of Galifianakis is a louis vuitton fake.

According to the legal papers, filed at a federal court in New york, the fashion house bosses are unhappy with a scene in which the actor carries a bag with a lvm logo and says, "Careful, that is a louis vuitton", the Daily express reported. They claim the bag is not a real louis vuitton and could cause confusion among consumers, the Hollywood reporter revealed. The brand bosses want the scene to be cut from the film, and they are also demanding a share of the movie's profits. AGENCIES

was not my style: Katrina MuMBAI: Katrina Kaif is garnering a lot of praise for gyrating to item number ‘Chikni Chameli’ in Karan Johar's forthcoming film ‘Agneepath’, but the actress says the "lavni" style dancing was not a cakewalk for her. "the response to 'Chikni Chameli' has been fun so far. It was hard work. It was very fast and it was not a style I was used to, but I took it as a challenge. I think we all went for it as a team and did the best we could. I am happy people like it," the 27-year-old actress said. Even actor Salman Khan is smitten by the song and Katrina is happy about this. "He has not told that to me but I think that's a great thing.

He has a great taste in music and songs.

So, if he likes it then it's great," said Katrina. New Year is round the corner and Katrina is pleased with the way 2011 shaped up for her. "2011 has been a really great year for me. All the goals I had in hand, I think everything turned out really well. I am very grateful for that...the best I could have wanted to come out of every project has come true this year," said Katrina who had two releases this year – ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’. AGENCIES

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Ponting leads Aussie fightback as review row rages Page 20

Aamir Atlas in Pakistan Open Squash semis

PaKiStan annOunCe SquaD fOr englanD SerieS

LAHORE StAff REPORt

Aamir Atlas Khan is the only the top seeded player to have qualified for the semi-finals of the Pakistan International Squash Circuit No. IV here at the Punjab Squash Complex on Monday.

Muhammad Saqib Yousuf, Farhan Zaman and Nasir Iqbal complete the semi-final line-up.

Saqib stunned second seed Waqar Mehboob while Farhan Zaman showed doors to Mansoor Zaman in a 45 minutes game.

Both the semi-finals of the championship will be played today. President Punjab Squash Association Malik Amjad Ali Noon will be the chief guest of the first match while Secretary Sports Govt. of the Punjab Dr. Allah Buksh Malik will be the chief guest of the second semi-final.

Result: quarter final round Muhammad Saqib Yousuf (PAK) bt Waqar Mehboob (PAK) 10-12,11-2,115,11-5 [41 mins], Farhan Zaman (PAK) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-5,15-13,911,11-6 [44 mins] , Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt Waqas Mehboob (PAK) 11-6,11-7,9-11,112 [46 mins], Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Auquib Hanif (PAK) 11-5,11-9,11-5 [30 mins].

PCB recalls Umar Akmal, Wahab as Malik axed LAHORE

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StAff REPORt

He Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday announced two teams for the england series bringing back Umar Akmal in place of Shoaib Mailk for the Test matches while Wahab Riaz has also been named among the 16 players.

The other team, the PCB XI, was named with Fawad Alam among the 12member squad for the three-day opening match against england.

Announcing the team, chief selector Mohammad Ilyas said that Umar Akmal is being called in the team for his domestic performance while Malik was given rest and time to overcome from the bad patch.

It has been learnt that the PCB got clearance from the ICC to include Wahab for the Test matches as he is named among the 16-member team announced here at the Gaddafi Stadium.

There were rumours that Wahab is being linked with spot-fixing but now

the PCB has got everything cleared about him. Pakistan will get the services of the left-handed pace bowler Wahab who has been cleared by the ICC. Also, the youngster, Junaid Khan makes a comeback in the squad but his inclusion in the team is subject to his fitness.

Apart from Wahab and Umar, Mohammad Talha will make comeback while young Ayub Dogar would debut against the england. The team will be led by Misbah-ul-Haq and Pakistan will play their home series against england at Abu Dhabi and Dubai which will start

from January 2012.

Pakistan will be playing three Test matches and the same numbers of ODIs and T20 games at UAe. He said that the ODI and T20 teams will be announced later. The first Test will start from January 17 at Dubai.

The selection committee also named the PCB XI which will be led by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. The three-day match be played against england from January 11 to 13.

Test Team: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal (Wicket Keeper), Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Mohammad Talha, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan (subject to fitness), Wahab Riaz.

The PCB XI: Nasir Jamshaid, Afaq Rahim, Harris Sohail, Muhammad Ayub Dogar, Fawad Alam, Usman Salahuddin, Sarfraz Ahmad (Wicket Keeper/ Captain), Raza Hassan, Muhammad Khalil, Muhammad Talha, Ali Imran Pasha, Yasir Shah.

nadal looks to recover spark in 2012 Bangladesh to meet Pakistan in Asia Cup opener

Pff dissolves women’s wing

MADRID AfP

LAHORE StAff REPORt

The Pakistan Football Federation has dissolved the women’s wing of the federation and has named Rubina Irfan as head of one of the committees constituted to look after the women’s soccer.

According to an official of the PFF, the step was taken in conformity with the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) constitution and the PFF Congress in its recent meeting unanimously approved the amendments in relevant provisions of PFF constitution.

“The PFF Women’s Wing stands dissolved and the PFF has constituted 21 standing committees including Women Football Committee to perform special tasks for the improvement and development of football in Pakistan. each committee is headed by Chairman who is directly responsible for its business and assists President PFF. “The Women’s Football Committee has five women members and Rubina Irfan has been elected as its Chairperson,” he added.

Rafael Nadal says his game this year has been too predictable and he has sometimes lacked drive on court -- weaknesses he plans to overcome for Wimbledon and the 2012 Olympics.

"With the years, you lose a bit of intensity. Intensity in your self-belief, concentration, being positive, believing things will go well -- those are in the mind. With the years you lose that a bit," he told the Spanish daily el Pais in an interview published Monday. The 25-yearold world number two led Spain to a fifth Davis Cup title in December and won the French Open this year.

But he lost in the Wimbledon and US Open finals to Novak Djokovic and surrendered his number one spot to the Serb as a result. "My mind was good in the first half of the year, not perfect because I needed a bit more in the games against Djokovic. But it was fine," he told the paper. "I have started to work, fight again.. but clearly I lacked a bit in my level of tennis. When you have it, your mind responds better. I have needed to be less predictable playing. I have been

DHAKA AfP

too predictable many times during the season," Nadal said. "Those are things that I have to recover for 2012."

Nadal said he had to play more inside the court to overwhelm his opponents and take control instead of letting them dictate matches. "In 2011 there

have been moments where I have lacked an extra something," he said." The Spaniard said he had a good 2011 overall but felt he was "bad" towards the end of the year and "very bad" when he crashed out of the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Bangladesh will meet Pakistan in the opening match of the four-nation Asia Cup cricket tournament starting in Dhaka in March, an official said Monday. The Shere-Bangla National stadium will host all the matches, including the inaugural tie on March 12 and the final on March 22, Asian Cricket Council chief executive Syed Ashraful Huq said. "All teams including India and Pakistan have confirmed their participation," he told AFP. India won the last edition of the tournament in Dambulla in Sri Lanka in June 2010.

ASIA CUP SCHEDULE: March 12: Bangladesh v Pakistan March 13: India v Sri Lanka March 15: Pakistan v Sri Lanka March 16: India v Bangladesh March 18: India v Pakistan March 20: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh March 22: Final March 23: Reserve day.

PHF threatens legal action against detractors g

Players warned of five-year ban over world Series Hockey LAHORE StAff REPORt

The Pakistan Hockey Federation on Monday directed all the national hockey players to stay away from the World Series Hockey or face a fiveyear ban. The decision came in the PHF executive Committee meeting which assembled here at the PHF headquarters on Monday morning and lasted till the evening.

A PHF official said that it is an unauthorised event which is not being recognised by the International Hockey Federation and thus the PHF cannot allow its players to take part in this illegal activity and any player opts to play in it, he would be sidelined from the game for five years.

The 48th PHF Congress Meeting was presided over by President PHF Qasim Zia. The Congress unan-

imously approved the budget for the fiscal year 2011-12 which was approved unanimously by the Congress. Total Income during the fiscal year was Rs 210 million and expenses were 460 million. The deficit amounting to Rs 250 million, which was covered by saving the money by minimising the expenditures from

various heads including the carried forward amount from the previous fiscal year. The Congress also approved the appointment of Auditor for the PHF Accounts M/s. Aslam Malik & Co., who are PHF Auditor since 1978. The Congress also approved the forecast of the events for the year 2012. The 31st National

Junior Hockey Championship will be played from 10th to 22nd January in Sialkot and 59th edition of the National Senior Hockey Championship will be played at HCP Stadium Karachi from January 26 to February 11, 2012. The President and the Secretary General informed the members of the instructions received from the FIH on March 2011, requiring that no person can either hold or participate in any unsanctioned event. The requirements for obtaining the sanction from their relevant units were also explained and disciplinary action that would follow. Under direction of FIH, the Congress approved the amendments to be made in the PHF Constitution.

“We have asked the members to identify at least 100 schools all over the country, which have playgrounds and the PHF will provide equipment and gear to the schools and shall own them,” said an official of the PHF.

“The PHF Congress also decided that PHF should take the legal action against those elements who are defaming and blemishing PHF by writing letters to higher authorities. “The decision was taken that the federation would take legal action against former Olympians who are making allegations of corruption and misuse of power against PHF officials.”

"The council agreed that all those who defy the PHF and go and play in any tournament that is not sanctioned by the FIH will be immediately banned for five years and would not be able to play in Pakistan," PHF President Qasim Zia said. It has been learnt that some of the top Pakistan players have signed to play in the WHS which is to be held in India from February 2012. Forward Rehan Butt, former Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf, half-backs Waseem Ahmed and Shakeel Abbasi, goalkeeper Salman Akbar and some

other players are believed to be among the among those who have shown their desire to play in the WHS. "Former Olympians are free to criticise the federation or performance of team but we can't have any of them making serious and unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against PHF officials," Zia said.

The council also reviewed the performance of the senior and junior teams for the year 2011 and also discussed preparations for the 2012 London Olympics. "There was also lot of debate on performance of Dutch coach Van Den specially his reluctance to remain in Pakistan for any long period of time," one source said. The Dutch coach has come in for criticism after Pakistan finished seventh in the eight-team Champions Trophy in New Zealand and he also skipped the recent home series against China because of Christmas vacations.

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messi convinced Argentina can win world Cup

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Samaraweera, Chandimal rescue SL SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA, first innings t. Paranavitana c Boucher b De Lange 12 47 t. Dilshan c Morkel b Imran tahir 0 K. Sangakkara c Boucher b De Lange 31 M. Jayawardene b Morkel 86 t. Samaraweera not out A. Mathews c and b De Lange 30 D. Chandimal c Boucher b Morkel 58 t. Perera c Amla b De Lange 12 13 EXtRAS: (lb8, nb5) 289 total (7 wkts, 89.3 overs) fall of wickets: 1-35 (Paranavitana), 2-47 (Sangakkara), 3-84 (Dilshan), 4-117 (Jayawardene), 5-162 (Mathews), 6-273 (Chandimal), 7-289 (Perera) BOwLING: Steyn 19-3-55-0, Morkel 17-2-55-2 (3nb), De Lange 16.3-2-60-4, Imran tahir 28-3-87-1, Kallis 9-1-24-0 to bat: R. Herath, C. welegedara, D. fernando Match situation: Sri Lanka are 289 for seven in the first innings, toss: Sri Lanka, umpires: Steve Davis (AuS), Richard Kettleborough (ENG), tv umpire: Rod tucker (AuS), Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

BUENOS AIRES AfP

Barcelona star Lionel Messi says he is convinced he can lift the World Cup with Argentina, the forward said in an interview published Monday with the Argentina Football Association. Messi has won a host of top honours with Barca but has yet to taste major honours with the albiceleste, who are without a top title since 1993 and who flopped at the Copa America on home soil in July with many observers puzzled as to why his club form rarely appears at international level. "I still have this dream and that is to be a world champion and lift the Copa America with the national side.

And I know I'll do it, I am convinced I shall," insisted Messi. "I don't have to demonstrate anything to anybody. I would love to win a title with the national team but I am just another one in the group who wants to do the best for Argentine football, nothing more," added Messi.

Under new coach Alejandro Sabella, Argentina got off to a mediocre start to their World Cup qualifiers with an embarrassing loss to Venezuela but their recent win over Colombia put them on a more even keel and they are now level on points with regional group leaders Uruguay - albeit having played a game more - and Venezuela.

"The group are doing fine. But we needed a win like that to strengthen ourselves. It has revitalised us," Messi said, recognising that "sometimes we don't quite get up to the mark either in terms of performance or the result. We are aware of that."

On the difference between playing for his country and Barca, with whom he has just won the world club title, Messi said: "They are two different things. Barcelona are the best team in the world - even nonfans admit as much. That is the result of years of hard work with the same teammates. "It's more difficult with the national side and we've been through a lot of chopping and changing of coaches in recent years," he said pointedly.

DUrBAN: Sri lanka's Thilan Samaraweera is watched by South Africa's mark Boucher as he plays a shot. ReUTeRS DURBAN

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AfP

HILAN Samaraweera and new cap Dinesh Chandimal shared a century partnership as Sri Lanka made a strong recovery on the first day of the second Test match at Kingsmead on Monday. Sri Lanka finished the day on 289 for seven, with Samaraweera (86 not out) and Chandimal (58) adding 111 for the sixth wicket after Marchant de Lange, South Africa's new fast bowler, had ripped out three of Sri Lanka's leading batsmen.

De Lange took another wicket in the last over of the day when he had Thisara

Perera caught at short leg to finish with four for 60 in his first day in Test cricket.

De Lange, 21, who received a late callup after Vernon Philander was ruled out by a knee injury, had Sri Lanka in trouble at 162 for five on a good batting pitch after dismissing Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews. But De Lange's efforts on a hot, humid day were stymied by Samaraweera and Chandimal.

Samaraweera made a bright start but scored only 23 runs between lunch and tea as he settled into an anchor role. He made his 86 runs off 218 balls with ten fours.

Samaraweera was caught and bowled by leg-spinner Imran Tahir when he was on 50 but gained a reprieve when Tahir was

no-balled. He also survived a stumping chance to Mark Boucher off Tahir when he had 63. Chandimal, 22, justified the decision of the tour selectors to pick him as wicketkeeper ahead of Kaushal Silva because of his superior batting skills.

Strong on the cut, he was not afraid to go for his shots in an 86-ball innings which included seven fours. Chandimal was also handed a reprieve when De Lange failed to pull down a leaping catch at mid-on off Tahir when he had 25. But the second new ball was Chandimal's undoing as he flashed wildly at a short, lifting delivery from Morne Morkel to be caught behind by Boucher. Veteran Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene became the ninth batsman and first Sri Lankan

to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket when he opened his scoring with a single. The 34year-old made 31 before he was bowled by Morkel. The tall, strongly-built De Lange had opening batsman Paranavitana caught behind by Boucher for 12 with his 12th ball in Test cricket. He followed up two balls into his next over when Sangakkara was caught behind for nought. In mid-afternoon De Lange ended a promising fifth-wicket stand of 45 between Samaraweera and Mathews when he held a sharp, right-handed return catch to dismiss Mathews for 30. Before Philander's injury, De Lange was due to be released to play for the Titans franchise in a domestic first-class match.

De Lange was brought into the attack after six overs and immediately impressed with his ability to generate pace and lift. He drew Paranavitana into a drive against a full length delivery after sending down several short balls, then forced Sangakkara into a hurried jab against a fast ball just outside his off stump. Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan backed up his decision to bat first on an even-paced pitch with some aggressive strokes at the start of the innings but was forced to become more circumspect after losing his first two partners. He made 47 off 69 balls with six fours before hitting a full toss from Tahir to Morkel at fine leg.

Krl victorious in PPfl

lahore win National Tenshinkan Karate

LAHORE

LAHORE

StAff REPORt

StAff REPORt

Lahore Division won the 19th National Tenshinkan Karate Championship having gained 85 points here at the Punjab College Hall on Monday. Sahiwal got second position with 60 points and Balochistan were third with 45 points. A total of 17 divisions took part in the event. General Secretary PbOA Idris Haider was the chief guest in the opening ceremony and in the closing ceremony President Punjab Karate Association M Umair Khan.

lAHOre: The participants of the SICAS-Salamat School Tennis Championship with Aisamul Haq Qureshi. STAff PhoTo

SICAS-Salamat School Tennis begins LAHORE

StAff REPORt

The SICAS and Salamat School Tennis Championship started here at the Bagh-i-Jinnah’s LPTA Coaching Centre on Monday.

Around 175 players have been registered in this December 26 to 30 championship to be contested in five categories of under-10, 12, 14, 18 boys and girls.

On the opening day Pakistan tennis star Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Pakistan’s number one coach Rashid Malik encountered in a mixed doubles match also featuring national champion Ushna Suhail and junior champion Iman Qureshi. Although in the opening exhibition match there were no winners but the match was quite interesting in which Malik tried to prevail over Aisam who in return responded with the same vigour.

Aisam is also the patron of the championship while Rashid Malik is the tournament director of the event which is in its third year. Kh Mohammad Bakhsh will supervise the activity as the secretary of the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association.

lAHOre: Aisamul Haq Qureshi plays a forehand in the exhibition match. nADeeM ijAz On the opening day 12 matches in the under-18 category were played which saw Omair beat Ahmed Sultan 6-1, Hammad Imran beat BIlal Saqib 6-0, Arsal Khan beat Shoaib Akbar 62, Asad Amin beat Ijalal Zaka 6-0, Shahid Iqbal beat Moiez Saeed 6-4,

HUssain Sheikh beat Taimur Ali Ahmed 6-4, Abdul Haider beat Nazir Bashir 6-1, Ahmed Waqas beat Bilal Toor 6-2, Ali RAza beat Ali Turab 6-0, Hamza Amin beat Haider Ali 6-1, Awais Khan beat Zafar 6-2, Amir Aslam beat Maroof Mir 6-1.

KRL won their match of the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Monday. Playing against KeSC, KRL got a one goal win at the Jinnah Football Stadium, Islamabad, and earned three points.

KRL’s Asim Mansoor, playing at the forward position with the support of mid-field, banged in the ball to register the most important goal of the match in the 84th minute.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Ponting leads Australia’s fightback as review row rages MELBOURNE

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SCOREBOARD

REutERS

eBUTANT ed Cowan said the lack of a decision review system cost Australia two wickets and precious momentum after the hosts ended a controversial opening day of the first test against India on 277 for six a Monday. The opening batsman ground out a half century before he was given out caught behind off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shortly after Mike Hussey had departed angrily when he was dismissed in a similar manner for a first-ball duck off a fiery Zaheer Khan.

Australia recovered through an unbeaten 63-run stand by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and paceman Peter Siddle to give the hosts a slight edge at the close, but the outspoken 29-year-old Cowan said the chance to drive home that advantage was stolen.

"Today, momentum went against us because of it. Two of the top six (wickets)... that's the game," he told reporters after scoring a 68 at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"Of course, I was disappointed for (Hussey). It was a massive moment in the game. We thought we were half an hour away from really nailing them, driving them into the dust.

"We get through Zaheer Khan's spell unscathed and it's a totally different complexion on the day's play."

India's cricket board (BCCI) vetoed the use of the review system before the series, leaving both players fuming that they had no recourse, but the tourists were also frustrated when numerous appeals were turned down in the final session. Zaheer dismissed Hussey a ball after bowling captain Michael Clarke for 31, before Ashwin made it three wickets for the addition

AuStRALIA, first innings: 68 E. Cowan c Dhoni b Ashwin 37 D. warner c Dhoni b Yadav 0 S. Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 62 R. Ponting c Laxman b Yadav M. Clarke b Khan 31 M. Hussey c Dhoni b Khan 0 B. Haddin not out 21 P. Siddle not out 34 EXtRAS: (lb-21, w-2, nb-1) 24 tOtAL (six wickets, 89 overs) 277 Still to bat: J. Pattinson, B. Hilfenhaus, N BOwLING: Z Khan 23- 5-49-2 (1nb, 1w), I Sharma 206-40- 0, u Yadav 20-4-96-3(1w), R Ashwin 26-2-71-1 tv umpire PR Reiffel Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire AJ Barrow

melBOUrNe: Australian batsman ricky Ponting pulls a ball away on the first day of the first Test match between Australia and India. AfP of nine runs to leave Australia reeling on 214-6. The number six Hussey's dismissal by umpire Marais erasmus left him furious and television replays appeared to show the ball missing his glove and glancing his sleeve on the way through to India skipper MS Dhoni. Amid the drama, Haddin (21)

and Siddle (34) rode their luck to stumps but the Australian wicketkeeper appeared particularly fortunate when a strong lbw appeal was turned down despite it appearing plum in front on the replay. Resuming on 170-3 after the tea interval, Clarke and Cowan added a brisk 45 for the

fourth wicket, before Zaheer, who had struggled for rhythm in his first test after a four-month injury layoff, found his line in devastating fashion.

The 33-year-old beat Clarke with a sizzling rising delivery that faded away wide from off-stump, then had him chop onto his wicket with the next ball that cut back in. Following Hussey's dismissal, Haddin flicked a single off his pads to deny Zaheer a hat-trick and briefly quell the Indian fans' raucous cheers. Cowan displayed impressive composure as he posted his half-century and built a 113-run stand with former captain Ricky Ponting after lunch.

The pair pushed Australia to 159 before tea to steady the ship after the hosts had wobbled to lunch on 68-2.

Desperate to score his first century in nearly two years, Ponting was out for 62, poking at an Umesh Yadav delivery that bounced savagely and glanced the bat before giving VVS Laxman a simple catch in the slips.

Ponting's wicket was Yadav's third and the rangy 24-year-old had the day's best bowling figures of 3-96 in just his third test, though Ishant Sharma was unlucky to miss out on a wicket after a tight afternoon spell.

MeLBoURNe: Australian batsman David Warner (C) hooks a ball away on the first day of the first Test match between Australian and India at the MCG. AfP

Cowan pans iCC over india’s review block MELBOURNE AfP

melBOUrNe: Australian batsman michael Hussey is hit on the gloves and caught behind for a golden duck from a delivery from Zaheer Khan. AfP

Opener ed Cowan called on cricket's governing body to use the review system in all Test matches after two controversial umpiring decisions went against Australia on the opening day of the first Melbourne Test against India on Monday.

Debutant Cowan (68) and senior batsmen Mike Hussey (0) were given out caught behind but were unable to seek a referral to the video umpire for adjudication because of India's refusal to use the review system for this series.

Replays raised doubts whether either Cowan or Hussey catches had come off the bat.

Cowan didn't shirk the issue when he was asked about the dismissals at his post-stumps press conference. "With the DRS (Decision Review System) I am in an interesting perspective because I have been a consumer of cricket for so long," Cowan said. "This is day one on the job for me so as someone who loves

their cricket and has watched a lot of cricket I just don't understand why it can't be handed down by the ICC (International Cricket Council) to be uniform in all games.

"That's me speaking as an outsider, not as someone who has been in the bubble for a long time. "It is an interesting one, we'll see how it pans out, I'm sure it will even itself out over the course of the series."

Of his dismissal off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Cowan said:"You saw the replays, you saw my reaction. You can join the dots." But Cowan was more definite about the dismissal of Hussey for his third Test golden duck in eight innings after replays appeared to show the delivery from Zaheer Khan had brushed his sleeve and not his bat. "I feel for any batsman who gets out, it's a bit of a gutwrenching experience, whether it's your first ball or you're 150," Cowan said.

"Of course, I was disappointed for him. It was a massive moment in the game, it was a huge momentum

(switch). "We just had a 100-run partnership, wrestled back momentum and then almost a 50-run partnership and we felt we were half an hour away from nailing them, really grinding them into the dust. "We get through that Zaheer Khan spell unscathed and it's a completely different complexion to the day's play." Cowan said the two contentious decisions cost Australia the chance of building a big first innings total.

"Today momentum went against us because of it. Two of your top six," he said. "But that's the game and we'll take the good with the bad." Left-hander Cowan protected his wicket with steely patience and a willingness to leave the ball in his 177-ball knock. Australia recovered from 214 for six as Brad Haddin (21 not out) and tailender Peter Siddle (34 not out) shared a 63-run stand to take the home side to 277 for six at stumps. India also appeared to be victims by the absence of the DRS when a strong lbw appeal by Zaheer was turned down by South African umpire Marais erasmus with Haddin on 19.

Quetta in PCB-Pepsi Cricket Stars final LAHORE StAff REPORt

Quetta reached the final of the PCB-Pepsi Cricket Stars U-16 One Day Tournament here on Monday. Quetta beat Rawalpindi by just five runs at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Mir Saeed Ullah and Zain Ullah made the win possible for Quetta with their bowling when they took four and three key wickets to leave Rawalpindi stranded five run shot of the total they were given to achieve.

SCoRES: Quetta U-16 – 154-9 in 45 overs: (Jamal Khan 56, 68 balls, 6x4s, 1x6, Sagheer Ahmed Sr. 32, 45 balls, 1x4, Mukhtar Ahmed 20, 25 balls, 3x4s, Muhammad Farhan 4-16, Ali Raza 2-36) v Rawalpindi U-16 – 149-9 in 45 overs: (Haseeb Afzal 71, 99 balls, 8x4s, Muhammad Farhan 21, 40 balls, Naqi Raza 15*, 22 balls, Mir Saeed Ullah 4-25, Zain Ullah 3-15) Result: Quetta U-16 won by 5 runs, Toss: Quetta U-16, Umpires: Rasheed Memon & Abdul Wasay, Official Scorer: Azhar Hussain.

India’s stubborn rejection of DRS: An issue in black and white Comment CHRIS BARRETT

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NDIA'S stubborn rejection of state-ofthe-art decision review technology has taken only hours to cause a major storm in Australia, with ed Cowan and Michael Hussey dismissed in controversial circumstances on day one of the Boxing Day Test.

Australia, led by a patient 68 on debut from Cowan, was 6-277 at stumps but the opener's contribution was overshadowed by the drama of his and Hussey's exits. Both were given out caught behind - Hussey for a golden duck - but new technology used by television broadcaster Channel Nine indicated nei-

ther had hit the ball. There was trepidation in the lead-up to this Test series about the potential for umpires to be embarrassed by Nine's use of its ball-tracking and Hot Spot devices in its coverage after India once again refused a decision review system despite Cricket Australia pleas. Those predictions proved spot-on, unlike the disputed pair of decisions from umpires Marais erasmus and Ian Gould. Hussey's dismissal, in particular, looked farcical. The 36year-old was clearly agi-

tated as he walked from the middle immediately after arriving there. He was furious at erasmus' conclusion he had snicked Zaheer Khan to wicketkeeper-captain M.S.Dhoni. Presumably, even more so because he could not have the decision reviewed. employing Hot Spot, Nine's footage suggested a fending Hussey had not gone anywhere near hitting ball with bat, with the infra-red technology indicating a lifting, swinging delivery had only caught the veteran's shirt. There was more outrage as

Cowan, having palmed off everything India had thrown at him in a steely halfcentury, was undone by another questionable call. The imminent return of all-rounder Shane Watson to the batting order means someone has to go at some point in this four-Test series and, after a series of low scores against New Zealand and South Africa, his time could soon be up with another failure.

The tension of the infamous Sydney Test between Australia and India in 2008 was elevated by a disputed decision and while there was no suggestion yesterday of similar bad blood between the teams, Michael Clarke's side could feel hard done by even if Cowan was philosophical. ''Umpiring decisions always change

momentums of games, it doesn't matter if it's an MCG Test match or me playing club cricket, that's the game,'' Cowan said. ''Today, momentum went against us because of it.'' International Cricket Council rules require both competing nations in a series to agree to the use of review technology but the Board of Control for Cricket in India continues to go against the tide and oppose it on the grounds of accuracy. India could have little complaint when Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was given not out late yesterday despite Nine's eagle eye ball-tracking footage, which tracks the ball 130 times between bowler and batsman, indicating he was more than likely trapped leg-before by Khan. (The Age)

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Sports 22 wATCH IT LIve ESPN Swansea City V Queens Park Rangers 10:25PM

STAR CRICKET Australia V India Test 1, Day 2 4:30AM

TEN SPORTS South Africa V Sri Lanka 2nd Test Day 2 1:00PM

five wAPDA players in national weightlifting team LAHORE StAff REPORt

The Quaid-e-Azam day Weightlifting Championship was held here at the Punjab University Ground Weightlifting Center the other day with almost all international and national players participating in the competitions. After the competitions, a nine-member team was selected which will take part in international events coming in the day ahead. The following team was also selected for the next international assignments: Muhammad Shahzad, Abdullah Ghafoor, Akbar Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Rana Yasir Khan (all WAPDA), Zohaib Manzoor, Sajid Rasool (Railway), Imran Ismail and Mustaqeem Butt (HeC). This team will participate in the ISSF Weightlifting Championship in Saudi Arabia, South Asian Championship in Nepal, International Weightlifting Championship in Iran and the Senior Asian Weightlifting Championship in Korea to be held from February to April 2012, said secretary Pakistan Weightlifting Federation Hafiz Imran Butt. All the selected players have been asked to bring their passports in the training camp being established from January 9 at Punjab University Ground Weightlifting Center Lahore.

Silk Bank win Berbatov hat-trick puts United level with City SBP Governor’s ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGuE Cup match LONDON AfP

Dimitar Berbatov fired Manchester United level on points with Manchester City as his hat-trick inspired a 5-0 win over 10-man Wigan, while the Premier League leaders were held to a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

Berbatov has been a bit-part player for long periods this season but the Bulgarian striker seized a chance to replace the rested Wayne Rooney with a clinical treble and futher goals from Park Ji-Sung and Antonio Valencia destroyed third bottom Wigan.

United's five-goal spree -- their second in six days after a 5-0 win over Fulham -means City are now top only on goal difference after Roberto Mancini's side suffered a rare setback at the Hawthorns.

City, who were five points clear of United earlier this month, enjoyed most of the possession, but couldn't find a way past Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster with Mario Balotelli hitting the woodwork and also hav-

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ing a goal disallowed. At Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson played midfielders Valencia and Michael Carrick in defence, but Park put the hosts ahead in the eighth minute when the South Korea midfielder converted Patrice evra's cross. United got another

boost when Wigan striker Conor Sammon was harshly dismissed for an elbow on Carrick just before half-time. The champions took full advantage as Berbatov increased their lead with a clinical finish in the 41st minute. Berbatov added his third goal in two games with another cool strike from Valencia's pass in the 58th minute. Former Wigan star Valencia struck in the 75th minute and Berbatov completed his treble from the penalty spot three minutes later after Park was tripped by Antolin Alcara.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's title hopes suffered another major blow as Clint Dempsey's equaliser gave Fulham a 1-1 draw against their west London neighbours. A third successive draw means even a place in the top four can't be taken for granted as Chelsea will slip to fifth if Arsenal beat Wolves on Tuesday.

Andre Villas-Boas's spluttering side took the lead two minutes into the second period when Spanish playmaker Juan Mata drilled his shot past Stockdale. But Martin Jol's side punished sloppy Chelsea defend-

ing to equalise in the 56th minute as American midfielder Dempsey tapped in a Bryan Ruiz cross. "The title will be pretty difficult now," Villas-Boas admitted. "It would have been a good December for us if we'd finished with six points from two home games, but taking this draw into account it makes it difficult now. You have to be realistic."

Liverpool's challenge for a Champions League place was dented as struggling Blackburn earned a 1-1 draw an Anfield.

Rovers, beaten in their previous three matches, took the lead in first half stoppage time when Reds midfielder Charlie Adam deflected Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner into his own net. Maxi Rodriguez equalised with a header from Martin Skrtel's flick in the 53rd minute and Reds boss Kenny Dalglish sent on england midfielder Steven Gerrard, finally back from an ankle injury, for the final 20 minutes. But Liverpool have now won just one of their last six home league games after Rovers goalkeeper Mark Bunn made a series of fine saves to give boss Steve Kean some breathing space.

LAHORE StAff REPORt

Silk Bank won their match of the 8th SBP Governor’s Cup Inter Bank Super Series Cricket Tournament by seven wickets against Al Baraka here on Monday.

Al Baraka made 127 runs with Imran making 30, Awais 22. Aqeel had three wickets for 15 while Tayyab two for 17.

In reply, Silk Bank achieved the score losing three wickets. Awais 64 not out and was named the man of the match while Arsalan Butt scored 30 not out. Nadeem Karim took two wickets for four runs.

Qublai leads master Paints to victory LAHORE StAff REPORt

mANCHeSTer: manchester United’s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov (r) scores their third goal during the english Premier league football match. AfP

lONDON: Chelsea’s Spanish striker fernando Torres (l) vies with fulham’s english midfielder Danny murphy (r) during the english Premier league football match. AfP

Park View Villas and Master Paints won their matches of the MMA Polo Cup on Monday. Park View Villas defeated Technimen 8-3½ with the winners getting their goals through all of their four riders with Hamza Mawaz Khan being the major scorer while Ahmed Ali Tiwana, Bilal Hayat Noon and Atif Yar Tiwana shared the win ride. Ibrahim Pataudi and Lt. Col. Asif Zahoor responded from the losing side. Master Paints led by Shah Qublai Alam proved better than Shah Shamyl Alam-led Sakuf with the score being 7-6. Qublai got five goals with able support from Saqib Khan Khakwani who got two goals while Shah Shamyl Alam and Omar Asjad Malhi shared three goals each. Umpires for the matches were Raja Temur Nadeem, Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana, Santiago Mendivil and Bilal Haye.

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Tuesday, 27 December, 2011

Pakistan, india discuss loC arms, other CBMs

john Allen asked to ‘take corrective actions’ to improve ties with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HuSSAIN

Pakistan and India on Monday opened their two-day talks on conventional and nuclear CBMs with discussions on vital proposals, including removal of weapons along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir and increase in the cross-LoC trade and travel, return of citizens who inadvertently cross the border and betterment in advance notification mechanism of military exercises. Senior officials from the rival nuclear neighbours will deliberate today (Tuesday) on important nuclear CBMs such as inclusion of “cruise missile tests in the advance notification pact on missile tests”, which currently encompasses ballistic missile tests.The other nuclear CBM that is likely to be taken up for discussion is cooperative arrangement between the two countries for dealing with Fukushima-like crisis, which occurred in Japan a few months ago. “India is also expected to urge Pakistan again for ‘no-first-nuclear-use pledge’, but it is unlikely to be accepted by Islamabad,” said a Pakistani diplomat, seeking anonymity.

He said a 10-member Indian delegation was taking part in the talks as part of the bilateral dialogue process. “Joint Secretary in charge of Pakistan desk in the India’s external Affairs Ministry, YK Sinha will lead the Indian side at the talks on conventional CBMs. It will be followed by talks on nuclear CBMs. This is the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on nuclear and conventional CBMs in over four years, though other officials, including the two foreign secretaries, have discussed these issues in recent meetings held in the two capitals. The diplomat said that on Monday, the officials from two sides had candid discussions on vital conventional CBMs, like a pact on removal of weapons from the LoC and steps to increase the cross-Line of Control trade and travel. “Moreover, there were talks on proposals such as return of citizens of the two states, who cross the border inadvertently and betterment of advance notification mechanism of military exercises by the two sides,” the diplomat said. Pakistan and India are holding these vital talks on conventional and nuclear CBMs a few days ahead of an exchange of lists of their nuclear installations and facilities on January 1 under “Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities”. The nuclear neighbours signed this agreement on December 31, 1988 and both countries exchange their lists every year on January 1.

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WASHINGTON AfP

KARACHI: Oil tankers are parked at Shireen Jinnah Colony after the closing of NAtO supply by Pakistan. online

PPP, ‘Q’to move resolution for Saraiki province in NA PMl-Q leaders tell PM they are losing ground in their areas as people are sceptical about govt’s sincerity in creating separate province

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He leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has decided to bring a resolution to the National Assembly for the creation of a separate province in Punjab (a Saraiki province) apart from the establishment of a commission by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the issue, Pakistan Today learnt on Monday.

The decision was taken in a meeting between Prime Minister Gilani and PML-Q leaders from southern Punjab, including former minister of state for foreign affairs Khusroo Bakhtiar, former Lodhran district nazim Abdul Rehman Kanju, former Multan district nazim Faisal Mukhtar, former Khanewal district nazim and Special Assistant to the PM Ahmed Yar Hirraj,

which took place a few days ago at PM’s House. A source in the government told Pakistan Today that the PML-Q leaders from southern Punjab told the premier that the time had come for the PPP and the PML-Q to take practical steps for the creation of a separate province in Punjab as the people were fed up with ‘hollow promises’ by the coalition government in this regard.

“They told the premier that they were losing ground in their respective constituencies as the people were sceptical about the government’s sincerity in its pledges of creating a separate Saraiki province in Punjab and were demanding practical steps instead of claims and promises,” the source said. The source also said the PML-Q leaders told the premier that if the coalition government delayed the process of taking practical steps, other political entities such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Move-

ment (MQM) could succeed in winning sympathies of the local population, grabbing vote banks of both the PPP and the PML-Q. “In response to the PML-Q leaders’ reservations and political concerns, the prime minister assured them that he would soon constitute a commission on provinces and the coalition government would bring a resolution in favour of a new province in Punjab in the National Assembly, which would be sent to the Punjab Assembly after passage,” the source added. Abdul Rehman Kanju told Pakistan Today the PML-Q leaders had called on the premier for the creation of a Saraiki province. “Prime Minister Gilani assured that all possible steps within in the ambit of law and constitution would be taken to create a new province in Punjab … He told us that he was in more of a hurry to create a Saraiki province than the PML-Q leaders,” Kanju added.

With hashmi gone, nawaz scrambles to make corrections LAHORE StAff REPORt

Following the departure of senior and prominent party leader Javed Hashmi for the PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif has decided to initiate meetings with all party members of national and provincial assemblies to hear out their grievances and to try finding a way to address them.

A high level meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was held on Monday under the chairmanship of party chief Nawaz Sharif that was attended by Shahbaz Sharif, Opposition Leader Nisar Ali Khan, Senator Parvaiz Rasheed, Zulifiqar Khosa, Khurram Dastagir and Khwaja Saad Rafique among others. According to

sources, several preemptive measures were devised by the PML-N to prevent such an occurrence in the future. “New strategies have been devised to clear out reservations and extended, as well as maintain, healthy relations with party members, workers, MNAs, MPA, and ministers, ensuring that incidents like Hashmi leaving the party do not happen again,” the sources said.

They said keeping in mind the changes in political dynamics, the party was planning an intense makeover in terms of restructuring. Besides, the arrangements of the party rally being held in Gujranwala were also reviewed.

Addressing the meeting, Nawaz said national issues like inflation and unemployment would be dealt with on emergency

basis. He said the current government had failed in meeting the needs of the public and should not toss its failure on others. Nawaz said had the government rectified its act, the country would never have been this way.

He said the PML-N would not let the incompetence of the current government affect democracy and any unconstitutional step would be stopped with full force. He also welcomed the army’s statement to clear the political air. The PMLN meeting also decided to hold its general election in party’s provincial chapters.

The party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter election will be held on December 28, Sindh election on January 2, Punjab election on January 4 and Balochistan election on January 6.

The head of US Central Command, General James Mattis on Monday directed NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander General John Allen to take a number of corrective actions to improve the now-moribund relationship with Pakistan, including fostering “improved, mutual trust” between forces working in the Tribal Areas. Urging greater trust and communications with the Pakistani military amid the diplomatic crisis after US airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last month, Mattis said troops should also “clarify authorities, responsibilities, and standard operating procedures” in the area as well as conduct formal exercises and drills to improve coordination and reduce chances of conflict. Mattis also called for “full disclosure of all border area facilities and installations” on both sides of the border, with updates using a shared database and map as well as organising coordination visits. Mattis made his recommendations after his command, which oversees US military operations across a wide swath of North Africa, the Middle east and Central Asia, released the results of its own investigation into the November 25-26 incident. A joint US-NATO investigation unveiled last week portrayed a disastrous spate of errors and botched communication in which both sides failed to inform the other about their operational plaans or the location of troops. “The strongest take-away from this incident is the fundamental fact that we must improve border coordination and this requires a foundational level of trust on both sides of the border,” Mattis said in a statement.

Islamabad rejected the earlier US inquiry after the Americans insisted their troops responded only after coming under heavy machine-gun and mortar fire.

Parliament elected on bogus votes will choose similar senators: Imran MONITORING DESK Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Monday that a parliament elected through 45 percent bogus votes would obviously choose senators similar to itself, Geo News reported. The PTI chief said his party would either clean sweep the next elections or sit in the opposition. He also said the present government would not complete its tenure. “It may fall victim to any crisis. elections are expected to be held before schedule,” Imran said. He told Dunya News at Karachi airport that participation of a large number of people in the PTI public gathering in Karachi had proved that people were looking for a change in the country. He said he could not say with certainty whether the people of Karachi would vote for him or not, but he would form the best team in politics. He vowed that after coming to power, if the establishment compelled him to do anything against his ideology, he would not bow down. “I will remain steadfast and stick to my ideology,” he added. He termed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a great leader as he would address huge public gatherings, which reflected his popularity, but said his followers had hidden themselves behind the NRO.

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