E-paper Pakistantoday Lahore 15th Nov, 2011

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Wedding bells for Reema as cardiologist ‘steals her heart away’ PAGE 18

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Vol ii no 140 32 pages Lahore edition

Qureshi leaves PPP, targets Zardari g

Former FM also resigns from NA, asks ‘patriotic’ MNAs to seek fresh mandate ISLAMABAD ARIF TAJ

Urging the “patriotic” members of the National Assembly as well as the opposition to resign and seek a fresh mandate from the people, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced on Monday his resignation from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the National Assembly.

“I am announcing this with a heavy heart today because it is not easy to break away from long-time relations. It was the most difficult decision of my life. I am resigning from the Zardari League and the membership of the National Assembly,” Qureshi said in a press conference outside Parliament House. Reportedly, Qureshi is set to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) at its public gathering in Ghotki on November 27. Qureshi said the current PPP was not the party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari had buried her politics along with her at Ghari Khuda Bux. “Zardari has disowned and drifted away from the vision of Benazir Bhutto. The PPP existing at present is not the PPP of Benazir Bhutto, this is Zardari League.

Zardari is following politics of capitulation. He has converted Benazir’s politics of resistance into politics of perpetuation of his rule. Zardari is ready to put everything, the party, its ideology and its workers at the altar of perpetuating his rule,” said the former foreign minister. Giving reasons for his resignation from the National Assembly, Qureshi said the House had failed to implement resolutions passed unanimously by parliament.

Continued on page 04

to greener pastures | page o4

Obama to China: Behave like a ‘grown up’ PROFIT | PAGE 05

pakistantoday.com.pk

tuesday, 15 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 19, 1432

Pakistan and Turkmenistan sign GSPA on gasline g

Pakistan interested in importing 1,000MW of electricity ISLAMABAD

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AmeR SIAl

N a major leap forward, Pakistan and Turkmenistan on Monday signed the Gas Sale Purchase Agreement (GSPA) for the proposed $7.6 billion TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline that will pave the way for the supply of 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (bcfd) from the South Yolotan/Osman and adjacent gas fields to south Asian states.

Both countries have agreed on the gas sale price of $360 million cubic meter (mcm) at the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border after deduction of $29 mcm as transit and transportation cost through Afghanistan. The cost will be $10.28 mmBTU. The base price comes to 70 percent of Brent oil parity in the mid country delivery point of Multan. The contract price formula comprises basket fuels of HSFO 380 centistokes (cst), HSFO 180 cst and Gasoil 0.5 sulphur, is based on prices of Singapore quotation of Platts oil gram.

To share the risk of transportation and transit variability through Afghan territory, both countries agreed to a risk-sharing formula. The agreement also contains clause for gas price review after five years.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov witnessed the signing

of the agreement on GSPA relating to TAPI gas pipeline by the Managing Director of Inter-State Gas System Mubeen Saulat and Chairman of Turkmenistan Gas Trade Concern Amanali Hanalyev. An official source said the price of gas had remained the major outstanding issue. Pakistan wanted the buyers to negotiate price jointly with the seller, but Afghanistan and India negotiated a price on bilateral basis with Turkmenistan. The base price number agreed by the countries would be tendered at the final signing of GSPA by the four participating countries, which is expected to be signed in the next few weeks in Ashgabat. The process for hiring transaction adviser is expected to be completed

by December 2011. The project will take between four to five years to complete after signing of all the contracts.

Initial feasibility study of the project was conducted in 2004. The momentum on TAPI project negotiations picked up after mid 2010 and in December 2010 Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA), Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement (GPFA) and Heads of Agreement (HOA) were signed in Turkmenistan. Several rounds of bilateral negotiations were held between Turkmenistan and Pakistan on TAPI gas price ending in October, 2011.

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piCture | page 24

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02 News

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

lAHore

NeWS

‘IT consultant, DCo responsible for Inter result fiasco’ TTp chief warns govt of more attacks

Today’s

WorlD vieW Fed up with Netanyahu

Quick Look

Story on Page 05

Story on Page 10

Story on Page 15

Afghan forces kill suicide attacker near loya jirga venue KABUL ReuTeRS

Afghan security forces killed an alleged suicide bomber on Monday near the location of a major meeting of tribal elders and political leaders set to begin in two days.

President Hamid Karzai has called the loya jirga, or the traditional assembly, to discuss among other issues a possible US military presence after 2014 when foreign combat troops leave.

“A suicide bomber who was carrying a bag of explosives was shot dead near the loya jirga tent,” Sediq Sediqqi said.

“He was killed before he could carry out his mission.”

The four-day gathering in Kabul, due to start on Wednesday, will bring together more than 2,000 politicians, tribal elders, community leaders, businessmen and civil society representatives from across the country.

Last month, the Afghan Taliban said it would target participants in the assembly which will deliberate upon the possibility of long-term U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have long fought against presence of foreign troops in the country.

On Sunday, the Taliban said they had obtained a copy of the detailed security plan for the loya jirga, a claim the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), responsible for security in much of the country, dismissed as “fabricated propaganda”.

Lutfullah Mashal, a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, told journalists the alleged security plan was not genuine, and was instead a Taliban reaction to successful security measures which had prevented insurgents from bringing explosives into Kabul.

Earlier on Monday, National Security Advisor to Karzai, Rangan Spanta, said an investigation was underway, but did not rule out the possibility the document may have been genuine.

“Afghan security forces are investigating that and it is a matter of concern and regret for us,” he told parliament.

ATToCK: The wreckage of the JF-17 Thunder aircraft of the pakistan Air Force (pAF), which crashed in Attock on monday. ONLINE

Pakistan, India begin trade talks Commerce secretaries are holding two days of discussions in New Delhi aimed at doubling annual trade in the next three years to $6 billion g

NEW DELHI

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AFp

O P officials of India and Pakistan began talks on Monday to flesh out a plan to open up trade between the countries, after Islamabad said it would grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to its arch rival.

Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood and his Indian counterpart Rahul Khullar are holding two days of discussions in New Delhi aimed at doubling annual trade in the next three years to $6 billion.

The visit followed the federal cabi-

net’s decision on November 2 to grant MFN status to India, reciprocating a move made by New Delhi in 1996. “The cabinet not only gave its full approval but also mandated the Commerce Ministry to achieve complete normalisation of trade” with India, Mahmood told the meeting in New Delhi.

Mahmood said Pakistan “hopes to cover a lot of distance” in this week’s talks. “We will have interactions in the spirit of mutual cooperation and confidence so please have trust and faith in the process (as) times have changed and the world is coming closer,” he said.

“Through this meeting we want to create an atmosphere through which

the composite dialogue can go forward,” Mahmood said.

Khullar said India welcomed the MFN status that was intended to remove discriminatory higher pricing and duty tariffs that stood as barriers to exports between the South Asian neighbours.

“Our business communities, our politicians and our citizens are looking to both our delegations to deliver a substantial breakthrough - not only for full normalisation of our trade relationship, but to go beyond and lay a strong foundation for preferential trading arrangements,” Khullar said.

Analysts have said the decision to

ease trade barriers could open enormous opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, textiles and pharmaceuticals for the two countries.

Khullar also said India and Pakistan had reached a “broad agreement” to liberalise business visas which would help spur cross-border trade. “We are hopeful that an agreement shall be finalised during the next round of home secretary level talks, slated for December,” he told the delegates.

India’s Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has said he would lead a trade delegation to Islamabad next February at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

SC seeks reply over advertisements in favour of former ZTBL chairman ISLAMABAD

STAFF RepoRT

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a reply from the finance secretary within four weeks on who financed the advertisements that appeared in the print media in favour of Zaka Ashraf, former head of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and the incumbent chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

A two-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing a petition filed by the senior executive vice president of ZTBL, Nadeem Chohan through his counsel Abdul Rauf challenging Ashraf’s appointment as head of ZTBL. Zaka Ashraf, who is also chairman of

the Ashraf Group of Industries, is considered a close friend of President Asif Ali Zardari. The petitioner also sought recovery of huge losses suffered by the nation because of irregularities and corruption allegedly committed by Ashraf as ZTBL head.

The court was informed that the petition had become ineffective as Ashraf had now been appointed the PCB chairman.

The chief justice asked when Ashraf was no more the ZTBL chairman, how come advertisements were being published in his favour. He said if Ashraf’s appointment as the ZTBL head was illegal, the court could examine it.

Meanwhile, the court was informed that a case was pending adjudication in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against Zaka Ashraf. The court then directed the IHC to

dispose of the pending case within four weeks. The court adjourned further hearing for an indefinite period.

According to the petition, on August 30, 2008, the Finance Division had nominated Ashraf as president of the ZTBL and the bank’s board of directors confirmed his appointment on September 3, 2008. But the central bank declared him unfit to hold the post. Subsequently, challenged before the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court, the appointment was declared illegal, prompting Ashraf to institute an intra-court appeal that was transferred to the IHC and is still pending there.

After his term as ZTBL president expired on September 3, 2011, the Finance Division issued a notification on September 28, allowing him to continue to hold the

post. His appointment, the petition alleged, was illegal and malafide and a result of his direct influence with the person at the helm of affairs. The petition accused Ashraf of being involved in corruption, committing irregularities and serious violations of law and indulging in favouritism and discrimination.

The petition said despite a ban imposed by the federal government on fresh recruitments from April 2008 to February 2009, Ashraf illegally employed 11 officials in the Kissan Support Services (Pvt) Ltd without any advertisement in the newspapers and open competition. The Auditor General of Pakistan also objected to the appointments for creating a liability of Rs 23.9 million.

These officers were later reappointed in the bank with the same designations knowing well that two of them had been fined by the

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Ashraf allegedly awarded Rs 100 million contract of designing and consultancy of ZTBL building in Abbottabad in violation of procurement rules and transparent process to a firm owned by his brother-in-law. Likewise, he got his Secretariat on the 12th floor of the building in Islamabad renovated bypassing procurement rules. He also allegedly awarded a contract for supply of fertilizer to a single company in violation of rules and created exclusive franchise/monopoly at public cost, the petition contends. He said as ZTBL president. Ashraf exposed the agriculture sector to immense losses and the growth level witnessed a slide resulting in decline in lending. The tractor loans scheme alone registered a negative trend by 93 percent, the petitioner contended.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

ArTS & eNTerTAiNMeNT

ForeiGN NeWS

SPorTS

europe could be in worst hour since WWII: merkel emraan and Imran

News 03 CoMMeNT

mickey Arthur says no to pakistan coaching

In quest of Holy Grail Another futile attempt, or?

Constitutionalism Hiding behind the unknown factor

Dr Faisal Bari says: Don’t you know who I am?: Power, influence and class

Rabia Ahmed says: Not the great unwashed: Who is the real educated class?

Syed Hassan Belal Zaidi says: nYou dare speak against us!

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 20

SC seeks govt’s reply over not appointing ombudsman g

50,000 complaints pending against various government officials ISLAMABAD

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STAFF RepoRT

two-member Supreme Court bench on Monday took up a petition against the government’s failure to appoint a federal ombudsman and asked the federal government to submit its reply within 15 days.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain ordered Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq to seek a reply from the federal government for delaying the appointment of a federal ombudsman. The court observed that the vacant position was a very important constitutional office

Man tries to torch case record at Aiwan-e-Adl laHore: Tired of long court proceedings, a man tried to torch his case records at Aiwan-e-Adl on late Monday night. Police arrested the man and registered a case against him after recovering three bottles of kerosene oil from his possession. The arrested man was identified as Javed, resident of Neeli Baar, Chowk Islampura. Sources said the accused had filed a case in Aiwan-e-Adl 8 years ago to get his land back. His parents and son had died during the period but his case was still pending.

On Monday, he visited the Aiwan-e-Adl record room and demanded his record back. The person concerned at record room saw him holding kerosene oil and matchbox and informed police. STAFF RepoRT

People await change: Musharraf laHore: Former Pakistan president and APML Chief Pervez Musharraf said people in Pakistan were desperate to bring positive change and the APML would lead the country to prosperity and progress. In a video address on Monday to a ceremony in which former Nazims, Councilors, retired army officials and other social activists formally announced to join the APML, Musharraf said the PPP-led ruling alliance had failed since growing terrorism and the deteriorating economic situation had put the country on the verge of bankruptcy. STAFF RepoRT

and could not be left empty for such a long time.

The ombudsman’s office is lying vacant since October 27, 2010. Almost 50,000 complainants against the maladministration of various government departments’ officials are lying pending. Petitioner Dr Muhammad Aslam Khaki argued that the federal government had shown grave negligence in its mandatory duty of appointing a federal ombudsman, or at least an acting ombudsman under Article 3 or 7 of the Establishment of the Office of the Wafaqi Mohtasib Order, 1983, (President’s Order No 1 of 1983). He said the currently non-functional secretariat of the ombudsman was the only inexpensive and speedy source of justice for the

poor people.

In his petition, Khaki stated that the ombudsman’s office was globally recognised as a credible means to address the aggrieved citizens’ complaints against maladministration and injustices of federal ministries, divisions and autonomous bodies. He said the office was essential in ensuring accountability and transparency in the everyday public service delivery throughout the world. Under Articles 3 and 4 of the Ombudsman Order, 1983, the president of Pakistan appoints a federal ombudsman for a term of four years.

Former federal ombudsman Javed Sadiq Malik completed his tenure on October 27, 2010, and the office is lying vacant for over a year.

NADRA sues Nisar for ‘defamation’ islaMaBaD: National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) on Monday filed a civil suit against the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for damaging the credibility of the organisation by leveling ‘false’ allegations of issuing fake CNICs in Rawalpindi.

NADRA, in its petition made PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab Chief Sectary, SHO Civil Line police station and oth-

ers respondents.

In the petition, NADRA contended that the PML-N leader had badly damaged the reputation of the government organization by putting false allegations of issuing fake CNICs in NA 52 Rawalpindi. It also alleged that during March 2011, some unidentified people, on the directions of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, picked up the NADRA officials by attacking on MRVs, alleging that the officials were issuing fake CNICs in the said locality. STAFF RepoRT

Female robbers arrested Ji to protest

laHore: Nawab Town Police arrested two swindler woman involved in kidnapping and looting valuables from a woman. Per details a woman namely Khadija Bibi (50) resident of J-Block Johar Town was heading back home after seeing her relatives in Gowalmandi when two women and a man riding a car approached her. The car riders offered a lift to Khadija Bibi which she accepted. The woman sitting on the back seat covered Khadija’s face and snatched Rs 40,000 and jewellery from her. Meanwhile the driver of the car started driving in order to avoid being noticed and ran into another car owned by one Arif. The driver of the car after accident tried to escape from the scene but Arif followed him and managed to stop the culprits. As Arif came closer to the car Khadija shouted for help over which Arif informed police, who after reaching the scene arrested two women including Sumaira and Kausar while their accomplice Irshad managed to escape from the scene. Police also recovered Khadija Bibi and looted valuables from the two arrested women. susPeCt arresteD: Raiwind Police arrested a suspect from the venue of upcoming Tableghi Ijtama on Monday. The arrested accused was identified as Usman. Sources said police arrested the suspect during a search operation which was conducted in order to search and sweep the area for maintaining foolproof security during upcoming Tableghi Ijtima at Raiwind. According to police sources investigations are underway from the arrested man and further details are not known yet.

Car liFtiNg gaNg HelD: Sadar Division Anti-Vehicles Lifting Staff (AVLS) has claimed to have arrest three culprits of Khalid alias Stupny Car lifter gang, including its ringleader and recovered 14 vehicles worth more than Rs 77 lac from their possession. The criminals have confessed to 22 cases of car lifting during preliminary interrogation.

The arrested were identified as Khalid Mehmood alias Stupny, Arshad Ali alias Achh and Muhammad Ali. STAFF RepoRT

against india LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) announced a countrywide protest on November 18 against the Federal Cabinet decision to accord Most Favoured Status (MFN) to India. JI chief Munawar Hasan asked people to participate in the protest in lieu of their sentiments. Rallies will be taken out Friday prayers and seminars will be held in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. In a press statement on Monday he said the government, after accepting US slavery, was now allowing India to be supreme over Pakistan. He said the award was part of a plan to destroy the country’s industry in the name of trade. He said the government was planning to bury the two nation theory for a few rupees in their pockets.

Dialogue over air strikes: Separately, JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch said the government and military high command should review their strategy regarding the war on terror after the Air Chief’s statement in Dubai that air strikes in the tribal areas had only achieved ten percent success and any solution lies in dialogue.

Baloch was reacting to Air Chief Rao Qamar Suleman’s statement.

Articles on Page 12-13

250,000 applications pending with SNGPl laHore: Over 250,000 applications for new gas connections are lying unattended at the head office of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) for the last two months, gas officials told Pakistan Today on Monday. The applications were submitted manually before May 2010 at SNGPL offices in areas including Shahdara, Harbanspura, Okara, Sahiwal and Kasur. In June 2010 the company introduced a computerised method of filing applications. However, the manuallyfiled applications were not entertained and remained unattended in the respective offices. Some two months ago, the company decided to move all the records from regional offices to the head office in order to end the backlog and issue demand notices to the applicants. Despite a lapse of two months, the SNGPL authorities are not interested in attending these applications. Sources said the staff at regional offices had been telling the applicants that their requests for gas connection had been sent to the head office and that they could not do anything about it.

The applicants who proceed to contact the head office are told that their requests were under process, sources said. According to official standards, the SNGPL issues a demand note six weeks after receiving the application and tells the applicant to deposit the required amount in the bank. After receiving the money, the gas connection is

approved and the company is bound to install a gas metre at the consumer’s premises.

However, this procedure is not followed and the consumers are waiting for more than one and a half years. An SNGPL official confidently said that there was no chance of entertaining the pending applications, adding that since the company was not giving new connections, the applications would not be possibly addressed in the coming months.

The recently introduced computerised system for filing applications is not working properly either. The applicants have to wait for hours to file a single application. “The computer system seldom works and only a few applications are accepted,” said another gas official, adding that the computerisation of record had created problems for the consumers. Mukhar Ali, a consumer who claimed to have been visiting the SNGPL office at Multan Road for one month to file an application, also appeared disgruntled with the computerised system at the gas company.

“Often the SNGPL employees say that the computer is not working, therefore the application cannot be accepted. When the system starts to work, office time ends,” he said, adding that freelance agents were demanding Rs 2,000 from the consumers to file an application with the SNGPL. The public relations officer of the SNGPL was not available for comments. NAumAN TASleem

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04 News

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

President, PM take up critical matters ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

P

RESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday discussed a host of issues, including domestic political developments and regional situation in the context of the prime minister’s meeting with his Indian counterpart on the sidelines of the SAARC summit.

Later, the meeting was joined by some selected ministers at the Presidency under the chairmanship of Presi-

dent Zardari.

Briefing reporters, President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the prime minister briefed the meeting about his recent visits to Australia, Russia and Maldives and his meetings with the leadership of the host countries, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries on the sideline of the events. The meeting expressed satisfaction and felicitated the prime minister on his successful visits which helped highlighting Pakistan’s role and position on important issues of regional as well as international outlook

and also pleading Pakistan’s case for SCO’s full membership. Discussing the prime minister’s visit to Maldives to attend 17th SAARC summit and his meeting with his Indian counterpart and other leadership of the SAARC countries, the meeting welcomed the desire of the countries in the region to move forward terming it hopeful for peace and stability of the region.

The meeting expressed satisfaction over the forward movement in the process of promoting regional peace and liberalisation of regional trade.

The meeting also welcomed

forward movement in the region for peace. The president also briefed the meeting about his visits to Jordan to attend World Economic Forum and to Istanbul to participate in 6th Trilateral Summit of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey hosted by the Turkish government where, among others, one of the important decisions taken between Pakistan and Afghanistan was to evolve a joint mechanism to investigate the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani.

The current political situation and coalition matters were also discussed during the

meeting. Relief and rehabilitation measures taken so far for the flood-hit people in various parts of the country, especially in Sindh, were also discussed.

Babar said the meeting reposed full confidence in the leadership of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and expressed satisfaction over the party’s policy of reconciliation. During the meeting, President Zardari directed for party mobilisation and completing the party’s organisational structure. He directed the MNAs to be present in their constituencies particularly in

the flood-affected areas and to address the issues of their people. He directed for the party’s manifesto be implemented and all measures be taken to provide relief to the common citizens. The meeting also advised the Law Ministry and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to expedite finalisation of NAB law.

Babur said the meeting also decided to call Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington, to Islamabad to brief the country’s leadership on a host of issues impacting on Pak-US relations and the recent developments.

To greener pastures reactions to Qureshi’s resignation LAHORE NASIR BuTT

T

H I S will be the third time Makhdoom Shah M a h m o o d Qureshi has decided to switch his political affiliation since he began his career in politics in 1985.

Qureshi first supported General Ziaul Haq, then became a part of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, and later joined the Pakistan People’s Party. He is now likely to join Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaaf. PPP circles are abuzz with the fact that Qureshi has always been a fickle politician. “Qureshi is now expressing chagrin at the PPP’s alliance with the PML-Q, but this didn’t seem to bother him when he was with the PML-Q people for years,” said a PPP leader. Now he has pushed aside his old love

for the PPP, even though he was never a stalwart of the Bhuttos’ party. He was just a part of the PPP and now he will comfortably be a part of the PTI, he added.

Qureshi’s father Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain Qureshi had been similarly fickle. He joined Ziaul Haq’s government as Punjab governor and enjoyed the post for years. “The lady doth protest too much,” commented another PPP leader on Qureshi’s resignation from the party as well as his National Assembly seat. Qureshi started his political career in 1985 when he was elected to the Punjab Assembly in the 1985, 1988 and 1990 elections. He was also elected Multan District Council chairman from 1987 to 1991, MNA from 1993 to 1996 and Multan nazim from 2001 to 2002. He served as Punjab finance minister from 1990 to 1993 and minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 1994 to 1996.

PIA delayed 103 flights for technical reasons, NA told ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) delayed or cancelled 103 domestic and international flights during August and September, 2011, because of technical reasons or aircraft inspection, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said on Monday in a written reply to the National As-

sembly. In another written statement, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain said that 8,741 gas pilferers had been punished during July 1, 2010, to October 28, 2011. The National Assembly also unanimously passed a motion to pay tribute to late Begum Nusrat Bhutto for her services and sacrifices to restore democracy in the country.

Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s resignation from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the National Assembly drew ire from PPP circles, even as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan welcomed Qureshi with arms wide open.

He has written his ‘obituary’ islaMaBaD: Federal Information Minister Dr Firdous A s h i q Awan said on Monday that by resigning from the National Assembly and the PPP, Shah Mehmood Qureshi had written his political obituary and political wilderness was his destiny.

Qureshi to join PTi on Nov 27 islaMaBaD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman I m r a n Khan said on Monday that his party would hold a massive public meeting in Ghotki on November 27 and predicted that it would be attended by more than 100,000 people.

In an interview with a private TV channel, when Imran was told that Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also holding a public meeting at Ghotki the same day to announce his political decisions, he said the former foreign minister and the PTI were one, and Qureshi

would announce his decision to join the PTI.

from the vision of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Power-hungry man Charges baseless can never be loyal guJraNWala: PPP In reaction to Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s resignation from the PPP and the National Assembly, Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa said on Monday that those quitting the PPP had lost all credibility and “a man with a lust for power can never be loyal to anyone”, a private TV channel reported.

Qureshi has no principles islaMaBaD: Reacting to Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s resignation, PPP central leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Monday that those who believed in politics of power had no principles.

“Some politicians change political parties for psychological reasons too,” he told reporters outside Parliament House. He said Qureshi should say when he first learnt that President Asif Ali Zardari had side-tracked

Punjab President Imtiaz S a f d a r Warriach told reporters at a press conference on Monday that the resignation of Shah Mehmood Qureshi from the PPP was his reaction to not getting a ministerial post. Warriach said the charges Qureshi had levelled against the president and the PM were baseless.

resignation astonishing islaMaBaD: PPP Central Information Secretary Q a m a r Z a m a n Kaira said on Monday that Shah Mehmood Qureshi resigned because he was stripped of his foreign minister portfolio, which was astonishing. He said Qureshi violated party rules by rejecting the Water and Power Ministry when he was offered the charge.

Somersaults family tradition MuZaFFargarH: Reacting to the resignation of S h a h Mehmood Qureshi, PPP leader and National Assembly Member Jamshaid Dasti said on Monday that political somersaults were a tradition of the Qureshi family. Dasti said Qureshi wanted to leave the party when President Asif Ali Zardari nominated Yousaf Raza Gilani for prime minister.

He trying to regain popularity: PPP karaCHi: The PPP condemned the allegations made by former FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who resigned from the party and the National Assembly on Monday, against President Asif Ali Zardari and the Bhutto family. In a statement issued by the PPP Media Cell, Bilawal House spokesman Aijaz Durrani likened Qureshi to the characters of Mir Jaafar and Mir Sadiq. “Qureshi is trying to regain his lost popularity with his politics as done by Mumtaz Bhutto, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, Farooq Leghari, Jam Sadiq and other enemies of the Bhutto family,” the spokesman added.

STAFF RepoRT/AGeNCIeS

Qureshi Continued from page 1 “The House has become irrelevant as it has failed to implement its resolutions. No one is serious in their implementation. It has now been more than two months since the APC (All-Parties Conference) was held. The government has failed to resolve the crises and revive the economy. Talks with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) have almost failed and the deficit is in double digits,” he said. He said further that no one was interested in restructuring the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Railways, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Pakistan Steel Mills, all of which had eaten up over Rs 1 trillion. He said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani claimed to protect the interests of the people of southern Punjab, who had no choice but to sell their cotton at the rate of Rs 1,500 or Rs 2,000. Farmers had to buy urea fertiliser at the rate of Rs 2,000 or Rs 2,200, he added.

“Now I appeal to all the patriotic members of the National Assembly and the opposition parties to resign and approach the people and seek a fresh mandate through new elections in the country under an independent Election Commission and impartial caretaker government,” said Qureshi. He said PPP workers today were suffering from hopelessness and it was Benazir Bhutto who, being a charismatic leader, always invoked the spirit of resistance and kept the party alive. He said he had accepted the Foreign Ministry on the insistence of President Zardari, not by his own choice. He also asked the government to challenge the claims of Mansoor Ijaz that President Zardari had sought US help against the Pakistan Army. “I replied that only the party leadership could decide if it wanted an alliance with the PML-Q or not. I later told Zardari everything and he said that PPP could not make an alliance with the ‘Qatil League’ (Murderous League) and the PPP workers would not accept this kind of alliance,” the former foreign minister said.

He said he had opposed the alliance the two parties had struck later on. Qureshi also said Gilani’s government had failed to expose the murderers of Benazir Bhutto despite being in power. “You have the government, the administration and the secret agencies at your disposal but you have not exposed the killers of Benazir Bhutto,” Qureshi said.

Pakistan and Turkmenistan sign GSPA on gasline Continued from page 1 The TAPI pipeline will cover 1,680kms from Turkmenistan through Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan, cross the Pakistani border near Chaman to pass near Zhob, DG Khan, Multan, and onwards to Fazilka near Pak-India border. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is acting as the facilitator and coordinator for the project and had funded the feasibility study of the project.

Both countries also signed accords to enhance bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, media and culture.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Turkmen Minister Rashid Meredov signed an MoU on coopera-

tion between the foreign ministries of the two countries. Hina and Turkmen Culture Minister Gulmurad Muradov signed a MoU on cultural cooperation. Minister for Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Turkmen Minister for Culture Gulmurad Muradov inked an agreement on cooperation between the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Turkmen News State Service, while and MoU on cooperation between Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan was signed by Federal Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Turkmen Minis-

ter Byar Abayev.

MeetiNg WitH ZarDari: During his meeting with the Turkmen president, President Asif Ali Zardari said Turkmenistan had the capacity to meet Pakistan’s growing energy requirements, whereas they could provide trade corridor to Turkmenistan, over both land and sea.

He called for an early realisation of the TAPI project, as it had the potential to spur growth and transform the region’s economic landscape. He proposed that the two countries enter into a currency swap agreement, preferential tariff arrangement and a free trade agreement to enhance bilateral trade and investment ties.

Zardari urged for establishing rail and air links between Pakistan and Turkmenistan to the mutual benefit of the two countries.

He called upon the business communities, trade facilitation bodies and chambers of commerce and industries of the two countries to establish and advance communications to further enhance bilateral trade.

MeetiNg WitH gilaNi: During the Turkmen president’s meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral relations through increased cooperation in diverse fields. They emphasised that the joint ministerial commission (JMC) should hold regular

meetings to explore the avenues of enhancing cooperation in the fields of energy, trade, science and technology, railways, exchange of parliamentary delegations, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

The prime minister offered Turkmenistan corridor over land and sea routes.

He said the Pakistani senior minister would visit Turkmenistan to discuss export and manufacturing of cement in Turkmenistan. He said Pakistan wanted to import 1,000MW of electricity from Turkmenistan.

The Turkmen president said his country was ready to export electricity to Pakistan and also gas from newly-discovered gas fields.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

pTI is modern-day JI, says Ghulam Abbas

‘IT consultant, DCO responsible for Inter result fiasco’ LAHORE JAmAluDDIN JAmAlI

L

AHORE Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Acting Chairman Allah Baksh Gondal told the judicial enquiry commission probing the Intermediate results fiasco on Monda that Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Ahad Cheema and IT consultant Dr Majid Naeem, who was appointed by Cheema, were responsible for the problems faced by the students.

“And likewise the former board chairmen and controllers are also guilty of remaining silent when they knew that the online system and centralisation of eight boards could result in a big mishap,” he added. The judicial enquiry commission, headed by Justice Shahid Saeed of the Lahore High Court (LHC), decided to summon Dr Majid Naeem, the chief IT consultant of eight boards of Punjab. It was also decided that he be summoned on daily basis during the commission’s proceedings so he, while staying the NAB’s custody, could observe ‘the transparency of the inquiry’.

Commenting on the menace of cheating in the examination, Justice Shahid observed: “What kind of nation we are who’ve failed to curb cheating in the last 64 years.

He said both parents and teachers had failed in the character-building of students.” Holding parents responsible for it, the judge said that in the past children would respect their parents but now the situation was altogether different because of “the negative influence of the objectionable Indian TV dramas and films”.

“Where we are heading to?” the judge posed a question. Gondal said DCO Ahad Cheema was the competent authority and it was he who appointed Dr Majid and made him “the second big Boss of Punjab”.

During proceedings of the commission on Monday, Justice Shahid Saeed deemed it necessary that Dr Majid must listen to each of the allegations being leveled against

him by “an army of suspended chairmen and controllers” of all the eights boards of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) in Punjab.

The judge observed that since Dr Majid was ‘the main character’ in the fiasco of the boards’ online system, the commission wanted him to be part of its proceedings.

At 4pm on Monday, the commission put off the proceedings till Tuesday (today) citing shortage of time. Dr Majid, who is in the NAB’s custody until Nov 21, was summoned to join the proceedings from next week. The serving and former (suspended) chairmen and controllers of the boards of Punjab, in their written statements, held Dr Majid and Lahore DCO Ahad Cheema responsible for the exam results fiasco. They said both of them wrongly centralised working of eights boards that made it impossible to manage and keep record of data of each board separately.

The judge asked BISE Rawalpindi Acting Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashraf about errors and inaccuracies in the intermediate results for the year 2011.

Dr Ashraf said the system was good but it had some major faults that were not rec-

tified despite being pointed out. He blamed Dr Majid saying that he was the top boss and he would not heed any suggestions.

He went on to say the boards’ chairmen dared not speak to him because of his “bossy attitude” Ashraf mentioned that back in 1991; the Rawalpindi board had a computerised as well as a manual system to counterchecking the data. “But with the advent of the new system, that parallel systems were dropped,” he added.

He said had the new system accommodated the separate functioning of the boards, it could have worked better.

All Pakistan Private Schools Management Lahore Chairman Ibrar Ahmed Khan said he had moved the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench seeking the revival of parallel checking systems. He said the court did summon Dr Majid and he assured the court that manual system would not be abolished. But, he said, Dr Majid ended the manual work “to promote his online system made by his own software firm”.

Rawalpindi BISE Chairman Dr Qasim said the computer operating staff had no proper training to look after the data of

eight boards and they had to follow the instructions that came from Lahore “as orders from Dr Majid”.

Mansoor ul Hassan, former controller of the Lahore BISE said that in previous manual system, it was mandatory to keep award lists for record verification contrary to the new system.

He said the faults in scanning the students’ data caused errors in results and the software of online was also faulty. Akram Kashmiri, former Lahore BISE chairman said the computerisation policy was introduced by the government and he was dutybound to carry out the orders issued by Dr Majid and DCO Ahad Cheema.

MaJiD NaeeM’s reMaND exteNDeD: An accountability court on Monday extended the physical remand of Dr Majid Naeem, ex-principal Punjab University College of Information Technology till November 21.

Earlier, NAB authorities produced the accused before the trial court after completion of his one day physical remand given by the duty judge of the accountability court on Saturday.

NAB authorities sought fourteen days extension in the physical remand of accused to investigate him and were granted a week’s permission.

Accused, who is presently computerisation consultant of eight boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education in Punjab, had been arrested from Lahore when he was going back from Lahore High Court after attending the hearing of a judicial commission formed over failure of online system prepared to hold the statistical data of matriculation and intermediate examination and results. According to details, in December, 2010 a references was filed against Naeem in an accountability court over the charges of misappropriation of Rs 27,97,850 through misuse of authority. On the other hand, according to sources accused has moved an application showing his will to voluntarily return the embezzled amount.

PAGe 07

Woman kills husband laHore: Muhammad Riaz, 33, was killed by his wife, Sadia, over petty fights in the Kahna police precincts on Monday.

Police officials said Riaz, resident of a house near Norani Masjid, was stabbed to death by his wife Sadia. Sub-inspector Shehbaz said Sadia called at 4:43am to confess to the crime. He said she handed over the murder weapon (knife) to police. He said Sadia claimed that she had stabbed Riaz after he attacked her with a knife. He said Sadia had an injury on her hand that she claimed was from the scuffle with Riaz. He said the two had children from earlier marriages and had a four-year old daughter together. He said Riaz ran a cigarette pan kiosk near his house and would have regular fights with Sadia and threaten her.

He said an FIR has been lodged on the complaint of the deceased’s brother Mukhtar under section 302/34 PPC against Sadia and unidentified people. staBBeD: Razia Bibi, 40, was stabbed to death over old rivalry at Baghbanpura police precincts on Monday. Inspector Qari Zafar said Razia was allegedly attacked in her house at Tiba Khanzana by Asghar and Jahangir. He said the accused were residents of the same locality and had a dispute with Razia two moths back. He said they developed a grudge against her and stabbed her to death. He said an FIR has been lodged against the two accused.

Fire: Fire burnt valuable worth Rs 750,000 in two different fire incidents in parts of city on Monday. Fire fighters said clothes shop Saleem Fabrics at Liberty Market erupted in flames due to unknown reason. They said valuables worth Rs 500,000 were destroyed in the fire which was controlled by fire brigades. In another incident, a house at Naim Peer Darbar Darogawala Dhobi Ghatt erupted in flames due to short circuiting. They said the house owner the house Abdul Manan claimed losses to equate Rs 250,000. sHot iNJureD: Muhammad Amjad Anwar, 20, was shot injured for resisting robbery at Nawab Town police precincts on Monday. Amjad was stopped near Shoukat Khanam Chowk when going towards Wapda Town signal by two men on a motorcycle. He was shot injured after he refused to hand over his valuables. Rescue 1122 shifted Amjad to the hospital where he was treated for wounds. However, Nawab Town police officials claimed to be unaware of the incident. STAFF RepoRT

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06 Lahore

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Charges proven false in Sabzazar case LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

P

OLICE under the supervision of the DIG Operations on Monday concluded investigation into Sabzazar Police torture case and said that the charges had been proved to be fake ones.

The victim of alleged police torture, Basharat, changed his statement at Sabzazar cPolice Station, saying that he was not tortured by any policeman.

As per details, DIG Operations Ghulam Mehmood Dogar visited Sabzazar Police Station in order to finalise the inquiry where he recorded the statements of arrested persons, Imran and Umer, who were nabbed by police on Sunday after registering a case against them and their five accomplices on the complaint of Basharat’s father. The DIG also recorded statements of locals, policemen and victim Basharat as well.

After completing interrogation, Dogar flanked by SP Operations Saddar Division Shoaib

Khurram Janbaz and ASP Sabzazar Jahanzaib briefed media about the whole story. He said during the course of interrogation, it was proved that Imran and Basharat had a clash on the day of reported incident. He said Imran had blamed Basharat for allegedly kidnapping his son.

According to the DIG, Imran came to know that his son was seen last time with Basharat over which he questioned Basharat that lead to a serious scuffle. The DIG maintained that the police party in fact rescued Basharat and took him to hospital for his medical check up. He said he had not suspended policemen for torturing Basharat but because of the delay in registering a case.

To a question that police has pressurised Basharat and his family to get the statement in their favour, the DIG presented Basharat before media.

Basharat, while talking to media, claimed that he was brutally beaten by Imran and his accomplices, as a result of a conflict.

To a question why Basharat and his family

blamed police for torture, his father described it as his mistake and said he had found his son unconsciousness in police custody, adding that some locals suggested him to blame police for the matter and acted on their advice because he was not aware of the facts. He said police had supported him and he was quite happy from the course of investigations.

However, things went wrong once again after the briefing when Basharat and his family told media that they had withdrawn their initial statement on the pressure of police.

Late on Saturday night, Basharat and his family had claimed that he was subjected to severe torture by Imran and his accomplices including officials from Sabzazar Police Station, including Sub-Inspector Ashfaq, Assistant SubInspector Qaiser and Constable Ishtiaq Gujjar.

However from day one, police officials were of the point of view that the police party rescued Basharat while responding to a call to 15 and that Imran and his accomplices had tortured Basharat over the allegation of kidnapping a boy.

Police to remain on high alert during Muharram laHore: Lahore Police will remain on high alert during the Raiwind congregation and Muharram and foolproof security during the holy month would be ensured at all costs, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ahmed Raza Tahir said on Monday. Tahir was talking to a 10-member delegation of Shia clerics at his office. He said a comprehensive security plan had been chalked out afte consultation with leaders belonging to various schools of thought and 184 potential trouble points had been identified in the city. The CCPO said more than 12,000 policemen would provide security to the Raiwind congregation and during Muharram at 4,000 majalis and 640 processions. He said 134 mobile squad, 85 motorcycles, 75 cars, 11 cars of Elite Force would also be deployed on this occasion. Similarly, the Lahore Police would provide security to 297 imambargahs and 787 mosques falling on routes of the procession. Tahir said that all entry and exit points of majalis will be covered and rooftop deployment will be made at imambargahs, majalis and routes of processions. STAFF RepoRT

PU holds seminar on US-Pak ties laHore: Punjab University Pakistan Study Centre (PSC), in collaboration with Department of History, organised a seminar on ‘Recent Irritants in Pak-US Relations’. US South Asia expert, Dennis Kux, was the keynote speaker while PSC Director Prof Dr Massarrat Abid and Prof Dr Farooq Hasnat also spoke on the occasion. STAFF RepoRT

Khosa stresses generation of knowledge LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Punjab Governor Latif Khosa said on Monday that knowledge generation in the 21st Century was knowledge economy. Addressing the 1st Annual All Pakistan Bilingual Declamation Championship 2011 at a college, he said that educational institutions had to encourage exploring of potentials and create opportunities, take advantage of valuable resources available to strike off path of students’ choice to lead and organise activities to set new traditions, refresh old ones to reach out to the world and explore new horizons, multi-sector partnerships by tapping the rich diverse human resources of Pakistan.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Lahore 07

recover traffic warden’s wife, lHC orders police LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

The Lahore High Court on Monday ordered A-Division Police Station Okara SHO to recover the wife of a traffic warden of and produce her before the court today (November 15). It also directed DSP Okara Circle to provide assistance to the SHO in the matter.

Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu passed the order on a petition filed by traffic warden Hamayun Shahzad, seeking recovery of his wife allegedly confined by her family members.

The petitioner said he married with Maryam Khan on October 17, 2008 but she went to see her family members before Eid on November 4, 2011, adding that they detained her.

He alleged that the family members, including his brother-in-law Usman Lashari and sister-in-law Amna Lashari, had made his wife a hostage, adding that she was in danger; therefore, directions be issued to police for her recovery.

Earlier, the said SHO, Aziz Cheema, appeared before the court and sought some time for action. However, the court rejected the request and asked him to recover the girl and produce before the court by 3pm. Later, the SHO again appeared before the court and requested for some time while informing about the actions taken for the purpose.

The court accepted the request and adjourned the matter till November 15. lHC takes NotiCe PiNDi killiNgs: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Monday, while taking suo motu notice of the firing incident at Rawalpindi District Courts, sought a detailed report from the LHC Human Rights and Vigilance Cell (HR&VC) Director General (DG) by November 18.

The chief justice ordered DG Kazim Ali Malik to hold an inquiry into the matter and submit a report regarding mode and manner of the incident, proposed action against negligent officials and suggestions to avoid such like incidents in future.

He also summoned Punjab inspector general of police to appear before the court on said date along relevant documents.

The chief justice passed these orders on a report submitted by the LHC registrar.

The suo motu was taken on the firing incident within the premises of Rawalpindi District Court wherein four people, including two real brothers, their nephew and a passer-by were shot dead while another person was injured on Saturday last over an old enmity.

‘People need modern transport’ LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said provision of modern transport facilities to the masses is among the priorities of the government and a comprehensive policy has been adopted for this purpose.

He said the project of plying cost-effective, comfortable and most modern CNG buses in the provincial metropolis had been started from Monday.

He was addressing a meeting of Lahore Transport Company, which was also attended by Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Assembly Members Khawaja Salman Rafiq, Transport Secretary Mehr Ishtiaq Ahmed and officers concerned. LTC Chairman Ahmad Hasaan gave a detailed briefing regarding the project of provision of transport facilities to the masses.

MuHarraM seCuritY: The CM presided over a high level meeting to review security arrangements for Moharram-ul-Haram which took a number of decision for maintaining religious harmony and law and order during the month. A cabinet committee headed by Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa was also formed to ensure implementation of the plan devised for security arrangements in the province. The CM said no stone should be left unturned in assuring peace in Moharram in the province and that Wapda should also be contacted for uninterrupted power supply.

oNCe IN A YeAR AFFAIR: Volunteers set up tent for the yearly Raiwind congregation. NADEEM IjAZ

PTI is modern-day JI, says Ghulam Abbas LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

T

ERMING the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) as the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) of modern times, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas said on Monday that the PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were two sides of the same coin.

He was holding a press conference at the Lahore Press Club. PPP leaders Chaudhry Aslam Gill, Chaudhry Ashraf Gill and Dilawar Butt were also present.

Abbas said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan succeeded in holding a big public gathering in the city just because of the PML-N’s ill planning and Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif’s rally just two days prior to the PTI’s show proved as starter for Imran ‘s gigantic show. The PPP leader called Imran a “chocolate hero” and said that he could not succeed in luring idealist party workers.

The former PPP Punjab general secretary said that he had no intensions of joining the PTI, as his political career was attached with the PPP only. Abbas said that he was an idealist PPP worker and could not think of leaving former PM and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s party. Contradicting media reports, he said that it was based on

mala fide and he was sending an Rs 50 million notice to the newspaper concerned for defaming him.

To a question regarding formation of a forward bloc in the PPP Punjab Parliamentary Party, he expressed complete ignorance about it, adding that the party was united. Responding to a question about former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his working relationship with him, the PPP leader said that Qureshi was never his ideal and he spent time under his PPP Punjab presidency due to former PM and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s orders.

Commenting on cancellation of 40 million fake votes, Abbas said that all these votes were being used to obstruct

entrance of the PPP into power corridors but it would not happen this time. Blasting the Sharif brothers, he said that the Punjab government was being run by them solely without any cooperation and the provincial cabinet was incomplete even after three and half years, as CM had 16 departments with him. Abbas termed the Punjab government responsible for death of hundreds of innocent people in Punjab because of dengue. The PPP leader said that 90 percent district headquarter hospitals (DHQ) were closed and nobody knew that where medicines of these hospitals were being used.

Abbas terming Punjab as a police state said that every institution in the province was victim of mega corruption, including education. Even schools and colleges of Punjab were closed and the government was busy in safeguarding its favourites, the PPP leader alleged. He said that on one side, the Punjab government was crying for price hike while it had done nothing on its part to provide relief to the masses. Abbas said that the PML-N feared a big defeat in the upcoming Senate elections while its other big concern with the federal government was the Benazir Income Support Programme, which was helping the PPP strengthen its roots among the poor masses.

Solo oil paint show at Collector’s Galleria laHore: A solo show by Faiza Khan will be displayed at the Collector’s Galleria today (Tuesday) at 5pm. Faiza’s recent work is a manifestation of her emotions and abomination faced by humanity, as she describes it, done in oil paints on canvas. “My final complete piece is always in oils,” says Faiza. “I feel more in control with this medium,” she says. The solo show will continue until November 26. STAFF RepoRT

Health Dept clarifies Rebutting a story published in Pakistan Today titled, “Punjab government is criminal in the dengue outbreak”, the Health Department said activities proposed in the PC-I were included in the regular budget and work plan of the Health Services Directorate General and the CDGL. It also said dengue had broken down in epidemic form and it could not be anticipated and the department had done its best to control it.

UeT entry test on 20th laHore: University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore Entry Test for BSc Technology/B-Tech Programs (Entry-2011) is scheduled to be held on November 20. Applications are open till Nov 18. STAFF RepoRT

Agricultural expert joins PTI LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Renowned agricultural expert Jamshed Iqbal Cheema on Monday joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

Holding a press conference along with PTI Vice-President Ijaz Chaudhry and PTI Lahore President Mehmoodur Rashid, Cheema said that Pakistan had a huge potential in agriculture and capacity to feed 180 million people but unfortunately even today 44 percent of the population slept hungry and there was a 15 percent decrease in food annually. He said that poverty was not our faith but due to

CiNeMA

dominance of a few families in politics since 1970. “Politicians use the name of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to gain votes and later make them their slaves. In fact, a few leaders are emotionally blackmailing people to gain their voters,” Cheema alleged.

The agricultural expert said that it was time to shun politics based on personalities and focus on addressing the issues confronting the country. He said that in Pakistan issues were managed and not addressed but PTI Chairman Imran Khan was the only leader, who will break conventional wisdom and bring a change.

PTI leaders said that before criticising others, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President Nawaz Sharif should clarify his position on getting Rs 3.5 million from the ISI. They said that Imran was an open book and believes in politics based on principles.

“The PML-N has a history of corruption and entered into politics with support of agencies,” they said. The PTI leaders said that the PML-N had violated the mandate given to it by the people and acted as a friendly opposition. They disclosed that Imran would visit rural areas of the country from January.

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08 Lahore

Cultural evening brightens Hazoori Bagh

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Krishn lal Bheel’s ektara mesmerises audience LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

T

HE fourth day of the THAAP events comprised the opening of the craft’s exhibition at the Tollinton Market and performances at the historic Hazoori Bagh, Lahore Fort.

The Craft’s Exhibition was organised by the Punjab Arts Council and was held at the historic market of the colonial period known as the Tollinton Market. This exhibition was jointly inaugurated by the Punjab University College of Arts and Design Principal Dr Rahat Masud, Punjab Arts Council Executive Director Ghulam Mustafa, and Prof Sajida Haider Vandal, trustee of THAAP along with all the teachers of Punjab University and National College of Arts.

The occasion was well attended and the displayed craft was of the utmost brilliance. The exhibition displayed the rich cultural heritage of Lahore.

The evening comprised of colourful performances full of folk songs and recitations while music lovers came in large crowds to view the performances. The evening was organised by the Punjab Lok Sujag and Punjab Lok Rahs.

From Rahim Yar Khan came Krishn Lal Bheel, who performed various folk songs of the area. He belongs to Cholistan and his local language is Marwari, but the musical genius can also sing in Hindi/Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Urdu Saraiki, Registani and Rajasthani.

Typical of his style he played the Ektara, a folk stringed instrument especially used in the Indus plains, while singing.

There was a performance by Arif Sulehri from Narowal, and Saeein Mushtaq, followed by

some other musicians who recited Ustaad Daaman’s poetry, who is acknowledged as one of the great Punjabi poets.

The Hazoori Bagh is known as one of the most unique meeting places since the Mughal era. It was built by Maharaj Ranjeet Singh who used to hold open court there and solve public problems on the spot. Later during British times it became an open public place where people themselves took the initiative to follow in Ranjeet’s footsteps and hold public meetings. This carried on for about 150 years.

The evening started with a walk through the

Walled City of Lahore in different groups which proceeded towards the Hazoori Bagh gateway.

Dholis played the traditional dhols along the walking crowd and the spectacle of masses of people coming out from the streets of the Walled City towards the Hazoori Bagh Garden mesmerized the entire gathering. It reminded of the life of the place in its former glory of festivities, poetry and literary exchanges at the Bagh. Architects, artists, performers, theatre, poets, and students attended the event. There was a Folk Sangeet Akath, a Heer Recitation, Kalam of Ustad Daaman and a Dholi performance.

World Diabetes Day commemorated LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

The World Diabetes Day was observed globally on Monday to raise awareness about the disease.

In the provincial metropolis, several events marked the day, which were mostly held in hospitals where special medical camps for diabetic patients were set up. Observance of the day was started by the International Federation of Diabetes, which was later embraced by the UN, through a resolution in 2006.

Observance of the day on November 14 is because of birthday of Frederick Banting on this date, who along with Charles Best, discovered insulin in 1922.

Leonardo Thomsin was the first child who received insulin at age of three. The World Diabetes Day logo is the blue circle. According to WHO, more than 346 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to more than double by 2030 without intervention.

Almost 80 percent of diabetes deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.

This year the theme of the day was Diabetes in Children and Pregnancy. According to a study, in Pakistan, 13 percent of the population in urban areas and 11 percent of the population in rural areas is affected with the disease. Within the age

range of 25 to 30 years, the disease rate would be double while Pakistan will have the third largest population of the world at that time. Representative of the International Diabetes Federation in Pakistan, Dr Javed Akram said that disease complications might start in a patient if blood sugar is not properly controlled. He emphasised the need of controlling the blood sugar level of diabetic mothers during pregnancy otherwise there might be congenital malformations in the child. Akram advised to avoid oral medicine of diabetes during pregnancy for women. He said that 50 percent of patients were transferred the disease by their parents and there was no remedy for it while others who became diabetic due to environmental factors could be saved by lifestyle modifications. Introducing more physical activities and exercise to routine and sensible eating could reduce the risk of being diabetic, he said. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body’s systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.

Protest against killing of Hindus LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

The Institute of Peace and Secular Studies, including members of civil society, and other human rights activists, held a protest at the Charing Cross, The Mall, against killing of three Hindu doctors in Shikarpur, on Eid. Diep Saeeda, a renowned social activist, told Pakistan Today that it was outrageous that the state of human rights in Pakistan today, especially with regard to minorities was deplorable and getting worse.

“There is no writ of the state concerning this matter,” she said. “Our demand is that the government should fix this issue on a long and permanent term basis so this horrendous murder of non-Muslims is stopped,” Saeeda said.

She said that minorities were equal citizens in this country and needed the nations’ support. “We will also hold a meeting on Friday to make some more decisions regarding this issue and our demand,” she said. HRCP Chairman IA Rehman was also present.

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LHR pages 15-11-2011_Layout 1 11/15/2011 2:10 AM Page 9

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

News 09

Pakistan and Afghanistan must avoid bad blood: Khattak PESHAWAR STAFF RepoRT

Awami National Party (ANP) Provincial President Senator Afrasiyab Khattak said the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan should not allow ‘space’ for elements on their soil that may cause bad blood between the two neighbours. He said there was a need to bring more amendments to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) act to restore the rights of tribal people. Addressing a press conference at Officers Mess Peshawar on Monday, Khattak said about 2.3 million people in the region had obtained ANP membership in the last four years.

Responding to a question, he said, “We do not fear nomadic political parties.”

Commenting on the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaaf gathering in Lahore, he said a single public meeting was not enough to bring change to the country. He said the ANP had lost 500 workers to the war on terror. He said when the ANP inherited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa it had 30 illegal FM radio stations run by militants and more than 10,000 terrorist training camps.

Cracker blast in DG Khan DERA GHAZI KHAN oNlINe

A low-intensity explosion occurred at the Dera Ghazi Khan district courts on Monday.

No causalities were reported. The blast sent lawyers and other staff running from their offices and the court premise was evacuated soon after the explosion. Police arrived the scene and cordoned off the area. No casualties are reported. The bomb disposal squad said the blast was caused by a cracker thrown by unknown miscreants.

DeRA AllAH YAR: Tyres are being burnt on the Sindh-Balochistan National Highway during a demonstration by the Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat and other religious parties against kidnappings for ransom. ONLINE

70% of boys’ primary schools lack non-teaching staff Free and Fair election Network report says 82% schools found without sanitary workers, 75% without security guards, 70% without peons g Serious lack of transparency of information also observed g

ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

rabbani appointed corps commander ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

Lt General Khalid Rabbani has been appointed Corps Commander Peshawar to replace current corps commander General Asif Yasin Malik who will retire at November end. General Rabbani was serving as Commandant Command and Staff College Quetta. The post of corps commander Peshawar is important since the Pakistan army has been engaged in military operations in different tribal areas for the last decade.

M

ORE than two-thirds of the 152 boys’ primary schools in 89 districts across the country have been found having a shortage of non-teaching staff like peons, sanitary workers and security guards.

According to a monitoring report issued by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Monday, 82 percent of the monitored schools were found to be operating without sanitary workers, 75 percent did not have security guards, while there were no peons in 70 percent of the schools.

FAFEN Governance Monitors visited 152 boys’ primary schools in 89 districts across Pakistan in September 2011. In Punjab, 79 schools were vis-

ited in 35 districts; 29 in Sindh across 19 districts, 27 in 18 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 14, two and one school in as many districts of Balochistan, FATA and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), respectively.

However, the report added that the hygienic conditions of classrooms in 73 percent of the monitored schools were found to be satisfactory despite the unavailability of sanitary workers, suggesting the responsibility of keeping the classrooms clean had been taken up either by the teachers or the students themselves.

Among the 152 schools monitored, a serious lack of transparency of information and availability of non-teaching staff was observed. As many as 82 schools failed to share information regarding the number of sanctioned posts and the appointed non-teaching staff. However, among the monitored

schools in Balochistan, ICT and FATA that did provide information, all sanctioned posts for non-teaching staff were occupied. In Punjab, Sindh and KP, the occupancy rate stood comparatively lower at 86 percent, 77 percent and 96 percent respectively.

Nationwide, the report said the situation appeared to be better with respect to the teaching staff, as 144 of the schools monitored provided information on sanctioned posts and appointed teaching staff. As far as the availability of teachers was concerned, 76 percent to 100 percent of the posted teachers were present in 113 of the monitored schools. A similar level of students’ attendance was observed in 104 of the schools monitored in September 2011.

The report further said that the highest number of students-perteacher (47) was observed in schools monitored in KP - higher than the stan-

PML-N has lost interest in Senate opposition leader’s office ISLAMABAD TAHIR NIAZ

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) seems to have lost interest in the office of the Senate leader of opposition, despite the fact that it is in a better position now to claim it after the MQM, which had supported JUIF’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri for the slot, has rejoined treasury benches.

The office which remained a bone of contention between the PML-N and its supporters in the Upper House and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) for weeks, had finally gone to the Fazl-led party after the Senate Chairman Farooq H Naik ruled in JUI-F’s favour. The controversy which continued to dominate the House proceed-

ings in several sittings came to an end with the chairman ruling that JUI-F parliamentarian Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri enjoyed the support of the majority of opposition members in the Upper House.

In July, the chairman ruled that Haideri enjoyed the support of 25 members of the House, including six MQM members, while Senator Ishaq Dar had the support of 15 opposition members. The chairman had stuck to his June 6 decision.

Annoyed with the chairman, the PML-N had at the time decided to challenge the chairman’s ruling in the Supreme Court. The PML-N believed that the ruling was not given on merit and also leveled allegations of tampering with the record of the Senate in favour of Haideri.

Keeping in mind the MQM’s political somersaults, the PML-N later decided to hold its decision of challenging the chairman’s ruling in

the apex court. They were of the view that if the MQM rejoined the treasury benches, Haideri would lose confidence of a majority of the opposition senators in the House and Ishaq Dar would be in a better position to plead his case in the court.

Per PML-N expectations, the MQM again left the opposition benches and joined treasury as a result of its patch up with the PPP, but the PML-N now seems not interested in the office.

According to a source in the Senate Secretariat, the PML-N has decided not to raise the issue again with just around three months left in the next senate election.

Asked about the logic behind the PML-N’s decision, the source said that at a time when the Nawaz-led party was striving hard to block the coming Senate election, the office of the opposition leader has no attraction for it.

Rather, the PML-N is focusing not to let the PPP gain majority in the

Upper House as a result of coming Senate election.

It is striving to dislodge the incumbent PPP-led government as early as March 2012. The Nawaz-led party is hopeful that prior to the next Senate election, it would manage to oust the PPP-led government. The other option of the PML-N could be the dissolution of the provincial assembly of Punjab to block the Senate election, the source further said. Though the PML-N is denying any move to disrupt Senate elections fearing the PPP majority in the Upper House with current provincial assemblies intact, but the recent PML-N statements suggest that it wanted to wind up the incumbent political dispensation before March 2012. The change in the PML-N decision regarding challenging the Senate chairman’s ruling in the SC speaks volumes of the changing priorities of the party ahead of the next Senate election.

dard official limit of 40 students-perteacher for all government-run primary schools. In the remaining regions, the number of students-per-teacher was lower than the standard official limit 36 in Punjab, 34 in Sindh and Balochistan, 35 in FATA and 21 in ICT. Contrary to government policy, four of the schools monitored in Balochistan, three in Punjab and one in Sindh charged students for textbooks, which were supposed to be provided free of cost. All the schools monitored in September 2011 were housed in proper buildings, except for three in Punjab and one in KP. Clean drinking water was not available in 41 of the monitored schools. Despite the importance of physical education for children, 60 percent of the 152 boys primary schools monitored nationwide did not have playgrounds.

NAB seeks transfer of Pr pending cases islaMaBaD: National Accountability Bureau Chairman Adm (r) Fasih Bokhari has asked authorities concerned to transfer all proceedings pertaining to corruption in Pakistan Railways and pending with FIA to the NAB. According to a press release issued by NAB, Bokhari has ordered an inquiry against the officials of Pakistan Railways who were presumably involved in the mega corruption scandal pertaining to massive misappropriation, embezzlement and misuse of authority. The inquiry has been ordered by the NAB chairman in compliance with an SC order and a high-level team has been tasked to carry out the inquiry. The inquiry so conducted would determine the amount embezzled and the extent of responsibility of the railways officials as well as others. STAFF RepoRT

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10 News

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

SC orders ECP to register eunuchs as voters ISLAMABAD

A

STAFF RepoRT

two-member Supreme Court bench told the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday to register eunuchs as legitimate voters and submit a report on the matter to the apex court within two weeks.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, ruled that the eunuchs who had Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) would be eligible to cast their votes in the next general elections. The court directed the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to collect data of remaining eunuchs and issue them CNICs. The court also asked the eunuchs to submit their claims forms to the offices of the deputy commissioners concerned in order to get their rights in in-

heritance. According to the record submitted to the Supreme Court, there are 80,000 registered eunuchs in the country. The court told the ECP and NADRA to submit the report by December 12 detailing the steps taken to implement the court’s orders.

During the hearing, the court was told that the process of issuance of CNICs to the eunuchs was not being carried out effectively. The court then directed NADRA authorities to accelerate the process. All the provinces submitted their reports to the court about the steps being taken for the welfare of eunuchs, including transfer of inherited land to them. A representative of the Sindh government told the court that employment had been provided to the eunuchs in the provincial Health Department. He said a piece of land had also been allocated to a residential colony for eunuchs. The court appreciated the Sindh government’s steps and told the other provinces to take similar measures for the welfare of eunuchs.

registered eunuchs eligible to vote in general elections: Nadra islaMaBaD: All registered eunuchs will be eligible to cast votes as citizens of Pakistan in general elections, as their names have already been added to the electoral rolls, a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) spokesman said on Monday. He said the authority ensured the registration of all citizens irrespective of their caste, creed or gender. He said NADRA was the first organisation in Pakistan that was providing job opportunities to the third gender at its regional offices in order to engage them as productive citizens of society. He said NADRA issued Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC) to eunuchs in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Court, and The chief justice said eunuchs were part of our society and could not be deprived of their right to inherit. Later, the court adjourned further hearing till November 14.

the authority was also extending registration facilities to the third gender at its mobile registration vans (MRVs) to facilitate eunuchs in remote areas. Their registration was carried out without any medical proof of their given particulars and details at the time of registration, he added.

He said according to Supreme Court instructions, the eunuchs could choose to have “male transgender”, “female transgender” or “Khinsa-e-Mushkil” written on their CNICs. He said after the registration of the third gender as eunuchs, their rights were more protected and it would pave the way for more job opportunities for them in the public and private sector. STAFF RepoRT

Meanwhile, Almas Bobby, president of the She-Male Association of Pakistan, told reporters that the credit of registration of eunuchs as voters went to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muham-

mad Chaudhry. She said the federal and provincial governments should implement the apex court’s orders and expressed gratitude to the court for granting the eunuchs their rights.

Pakistan-China military exercise kicks off in Jhelum ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

The two-week long Pakistan and China Joint Military Exercise YOUYI-IV commenced on Monday near Jhelum. “The joint exercise, spread over a period of two weeks, is aimed at sharing mutual exchange of experience and information through a comprehensive training programme in real time. This exercise is fourth in the series in which Special Forces from both sides will participate,” an ISPR statement said.

“Exercise YOUYI-IV is a Brigade-level joint exercise between the two armies. The Chinese Army being well equipped and highly technical in nature is very meticulous, keen and equally professional in their approach. During last joint exercise in China they demonstrated high sense of professionalism and friendship towards Pakistan,” it said. Exercise YOUYI, which literally translates into “friendship”, started in 2004. So far three exercises have been conducted with two in China and one in Pakistan. These exercises were mandated to boost existing professional relationship between the two friendly armies. The forthcoming joint military exercise YOUYIIV will certainly pave the way for further cementing the existing bilateral relations between the two countries. Senior Military leadership from both sides will also attend the Exercise. The YOUYI-IV exercise will be a true manifestation to a famous Chinese phrase “Pakistan China friendship is higher than the mountains and deeper than oceans”.

TTP chief warns govt of more attacks

SuKKuR: Fishermen have tied birds on the bank of the River Sindh to lure other birds. ONLINE

Omar meets Manmohan, Chidambaram over AFSPA issue NEW DELHI

DOHA

oNlINe

oNlINe

Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram amid the ongoing controversy over the issue of withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some parts of the occupied valley.

Abdullah, who is pitching for removal of the AFSPA from those areas where normalcy has returned, discussed the issue during his half-anhour-long meeting with the prime minister, sources said.

The two leaders also discussed the security situation in the occupied valley, they said.

After his meeting with Singh, Omar met Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The meeting with the Prime Minister comes a day after Omar had discussions with Indian Defence Minister AK Antony and Indian Army Chief VK Singh to press for early removal of the Act from certain parts of the state.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud has warned that his fighters are planning orchestrated attacks against the government and the military, an Arab TV reported on Monday. In an Eid message posted on the organisation’s website, Mehsud claimed his fighters had withdrawn from certain areas as part of a “war strategy” and were planning attacks to regain areas they had lost control of in Swat, Malakand and the Tribal Areas. He claimed some of the areas vacated by Taliban fighters had again fallen into their hands. The militants were waging a guerrilla war and inflicting losses on Pakistani security personnel and US elements, he claimed. Mehsud has rarely been seen in public since the US stepped up drone strikes targeting him and the Pakistani military launched operations against him and his fighters. However, he claimed that the TTP was continuing the “open war” that was declared by slain TTP founder Baitullah Mehsud against the Pakistani state in January 2008 due to the country’s alliance with the US.

At the meeting with Antony, Omar had presented his case for removal of AFSPA from at least four districts two each in occupied Kashmir and Jammu.

While Antony conveyed the reservations of the army over such a move, Omar emphasised the need to translate the promises made by the National Conference-Congress alliance on ground and reward the people of the state for maintaining a peaceful year.

The Indian Army has voiced its serious reservations over withdrawal of AFSPA from certain parts citing security concerns.

After meeting Indian defence minister, Omar had tweeted on Sunday, “Yes, I have just finished meeting the defence minister & no, I don’t intend to speak to the media for the time being.”

Omar will also be meeting Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the AFSPA issue.

IHK government has been pressing for partial removal of AFSPA and suggested that it could be removed from Srinagar and Budgam areas besides Jammu city and Sambha.

Over 7,500 Pakistanis overstayed in india: rti NeW DelHi: As many as 7,691 Pakistanis and 32,644 Bangladeshis were found to be overstaying in India even after their visas expired, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed, Indian media reported on Monday. The information was given by Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), foreigners division, in response to an RTI application by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal. The foreigners division of MHA has informed that the data is available only until 2009 and the data for last year and this year has not been compiled yet. “It is not possible to estimate the total number of such foreign nationals, including Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals, who have entered into the country without valid travel documents and are staying in the country since the entry of such foreign nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious,” the MHA said in the RTI reply. According to December 31, 2009 statistics of MHA, 7,691 Pakistanis, many of them Hindus and Sikhs, were overstaying in India. “A number of Pakistani nationals belonging to the minority community in Pakistan, the Hindus and Sikhs, have come to India with a desire to get Indian citizenship. But the central database about Hindus who have come from Pakistan and Bangladesh in anticipation of Indian Citizenship is not maintained,” the MHA has said in the RTI reply. Almost 32,644, Bangladeshi nationals have overstayed in India. Apart from Pakistan and Bangladesh, 33,106 individuals of other nationalities were also found to be overstaying in India. The RTI data indicate that after Pakistan and Bangladesh, the other nationals belong to Afghanistan (13,569), Sri Lanka (2,490), US (1,535) and Nigeria (1,121). The ministry has also revealed that during 2009, 12,147 foreign nationals, including five Pakistani nationals and 10,602 Bangladeshi nationals, were deported from the country. oNlINe

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

implications of MFN status India granted Pakistan MFN status in 1995-96, the cabinet division of Pakistan unanimously reciprocated this move after 16 years. Although the Parliament was not given an opportunity to debate the MFN issue as what political consequences may be found for this decision? In SAARC conference Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India stressed the need that both Pakistan and India should jointly work for economic prosperity of the poor masses of this region. The ministers of both sides agreed to jointly work for more than doubling bilateral trade within three years, from the current level of 2.7 billion US dollars per annum to about 6 billion dollars.

These actions and responses seem meaningful for the people of this region but granting India as MFN should not distract from political issues like Kashmir; rather bilateral trade agreements should ease and mobilise the efforts to resolve political conflicts

between India and Pakistan. Supportive trade relationships should be used as an instrument to resolve political conflicts between both countries. These conflicts have been impediment in awarding India MFN status by Pakistan.

Pakistan steadily softened the bilateral trade policy by increasing the number of items in the list of importable goods from India. The list had 1,075 items as part of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) process. Despite having a large number of items, the list remained restrictive and rather ambiguous. To strengthen the relationships number of items was increased A questionable point is would it be advantageous granting MFN to each other in the presence tariff and non-tariff barriers in both nations. Though, India appreciated Pakistan’s decision but there has been a more restrictive trade policy in India than any other large emerging economies such as China, Mexico, Brazil.

Highest Trade Tariff Restrictiveness

Pak-Turkmenistan ties Index (TTRI) of India than Pakistan as depicted by World Bank may be impediment in achieving trade liberalisation objectives for both countries. Further highest tariff in India particularly on agricultural, textile, automobile and apparel goods are still barriers for Pakistani exporters to access the Indian market. These are considerable obstacles in trade liberalisation without removing these barriers targeted results may not be achieved to both countries.

Among many other measures, a dialogue should continue to ease the mobility of goods and services across the borders and further to make MFN successful, both countries should mitigate visa restrictions. Other hindrances for traders of both sides are financial and logistic problems. To encounter these problems both countries should set up ware houses, Electronic Data Interchange system, and bank braches at their borders to financially

facilitate their traders.

A status of MFN to India is the part of debate among politicians, traders, business communities now days in Pakistan. Would present government be able to get support from military highups on the issue? A recent meeting of military authorities, DG, ISI with foreign minister Hina Rabani Khar at foreign office is significant. The information minister Firdous Ashiq Awan declared this a unanimous decision of the cabinet, but without the opinion of the Kashmir committee chairman would it be worthy, unless the reservations about its impact on the Kashmir policy are ruled out.

Anyhow this time it is different move instead of discussing political conflicts, trade related issues are on priority, which may lead both countries to resolve their other conflicts through dialogue, if the granting of the MFN turns out to have a positive outcome.

NAWAZ AHMAD Lahore

Another act of brutality Religious intolerance and violence against the rights of religious minorities has become trend in our country. Recent incident of killing of three Hindus in Shikarpur in the name of honor by the Bhaya Muslim tribe is shameful and we the citizens of democratic Pakistan strongly condemn this criminal act.

Religious violence has increased in our country in the last few years because an adequate attention was not being paid by the authorities despite the increased killings and discrimination of religious minorities. The government, law enforcement agencies, HRCP, and other concerned departments should have protected the rights of minorities, if they are threatened by any religious extremism.

No one would have dared to commit this brutal act had such elements been punished earlier.Sherry Rahman has condemned the brutal act and moved adjournment motion in the National Assembly. She said that “This kind of open bias on the part of a state institution towards a minorities group not only amounts to violation of constitutional rights of minorities, it also creates mistrust over the state’s role as guarantor of a citizen’s protection.”

Amendments in the constitution were made for the protection of life, property and dignity of minorities, but were never implemented effectively and government has failed to prevent discrimination against religious minorities.

The government, law enforcement agencies, liberal institutions and the nation as whole should work together to reduce human rights violations in the country to make minorities feel safe and secure in the Pakistan.

IRSHAD KHATOON SOLANGI Islamabad

Dialysis units Some time back a disturbing report appeared in the media which said that 10 out of 14 dialysis units at Chandka were found not functioning. The rural Sindh already has meagre health care facilities; non-functioning of life saving machines would certainly increase the sufferings of needful people.

If such pathetic condition an important city is left with, what about other less significant towns. Due to worsening state of public health organization, the people have no other alternative except to look for the private medication. Of late, there has been mushroom growth in private clinics, pathology laboratories, and they are fleecing the public at their terms. General conditions of sanitation is far from satisfactory in our towns and villages across the country, yet what I observed in Larkana during 1989, for a day's stay is bitter memory.

In those summer days, no sooner the night fell swarms of mosquitoes invaded the city, and were looking around to drinking human blood. The invasion continued until sunrise. The host made best efforts to make me comfortable by switching on air-conditioner on full but frequent power failure did not allow room temperature to cool down even for a little time. We sure don’t want a reprisal of any such period.

S BUKHARI Karachi

Pakistan and Turkmenistan enjoy excellent economic, social, cultural and political relations since 1991 when Pakistan recognised the independence of Turkmenistan. For the last two decades, Pakistan and Turkmenistan have been developing good diplomatic relations.

In October 1994, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto had visited Turkmenistan and subsequently Nawaz Sharif also visited Turkmenistan in October 1997. The President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov’s current visit to Pakistan would boost these bilateral relations. “Presidents of Pakistan and Turkmenistan expressed the resolve to expedite the $7.6 billion TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, which was inked last December in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

The two sides agreed to start direct airlinks between Pakistan and Turkmenistan which would develop a trade corridor in the region.”

Pakistan is currently suffering from energy crisis and TAPI gas pipeline project will prove one the remedies to Pakistan’s energy crisis. This Central Asian state also wants to build this pipeline to sale energy to energy hungry countries like Pakistan. TAPI gas pipeline project would surely provide energy security in the region.

It is welcoming to note that the government is strengthening its relations with Central Asian states which would help to counter terrorism, enhance regional trade and development.

HAFIZ MUHAMMAD IRFAN Islamabad

The role of SAArC

can never desert us. They remain always with us as true guides. The habit of reading good books not only enriches our mind but enriches our experience too.

There are some readers who want to read what is romantic, thrilling and full of suspense. But the pleasure of reading these types of books is momentary. In this age of cheap printing and mass output, we should develop a good taste for reading. We must select good books to find real and permanent pleasure.

Hence, we should be careful while making selection of books. We must not forget the words of Milton in this regard, "A good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured upon purpose to a life beyond life". Thus we can elevate our life and can make it meaningful.

SHOAIB SHAH Kandiaro

South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was established in 1985. Initially, it was comprised of seven members: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan due to its political influence on the region was also included as 8th member during 14th SAARC summit at India.

The main purpose of SAARC is to promote cooperation and friendly relations among member states. To some extent SAARC has made progress and brought the member states together but due to conflicting relations between two strong states (India and Pakistan), SAARC was unable to be much productive and couldn’t move in a smooth way as it should have moved.

During this summit, Pakistan and India got an opportunity to improve their ties and there seems to be a hope that the process of table talk will continue in the future as well.

All South Asian states need to cooperate in all aspects because it is going to have a positive impact on this South Asian region which is full of natural resources. Member states should enhance trade within regional states. They should give priority to neighboring states.

Climate is also major concern of states; it affects the whole region equally.

Apart from that, we have issues of terrorism, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, gender discrimination and many others.

They can be solved through mutual will which they have shown during this summit.

Now, all member states should implement decisions taken during this summit to make this region prosperous and developed.

SABA SAHAR SOLANGI Islamabad

lieve is conjured where there is no ground to reality. In other worlds the 2-3 minutes of advertising is nothing more than an immerse script and a perpetual motion picture.

This is evident typically in whitening creams advertisement. The notion of white skin which attracts marriage proposals and is a symbol of magnificence in truer sense is conveyed effectively and have a catalytic impact of the mind of the viewers, especially young girls who get more beauty conscious and frustrated to bring their appearance, if not, to correct perfection.

The folly, however, lies in the fact that the audience cannot distinguish be-

tween image and reality, no cream can guarantee flawless beauty and that the whiteness is in reality the result of the lightening thrown on the model face and how the camera is positioned to exhibit the targeted features.

In essence, these advertisements shows how consumer is made powerless against these advertisements and how the consumer culture propagated by these skilled advertising agencies perpetuate their own interests; consumers consume not through their choice but through unprecedented power exerted on them which they are oblivious to.

HADIA MUKHTAR SINGAPURI Karachi

Police brutality There is no end to grisly reports of police brutality on suspects that shows a picture of an ignorant society. The graphic pictures of police beatings displayed on TV channels are repulsive. It is suggested that CM Punjab may deliver such policemen to Shariah Courts for beating them blue and black on the principle of an eye for an eye as per Shariah norms.

listen to Arundhati roy A renowned Indian novelist and political activist Arundhati Roy has once again demanded for Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination before an American audience, with an impassioned call for an end to the “brutal” Indian occupation of Kashmir. She had time and again demanded the same but Indian government is not interested to listen to her voice which is actually a voice of hundreds and thousands of Kashmir’s who have lost their identity and are living miserable life in IHK. I don’t know why the world is gone hypocritical while addressing issues of brutality in Kashmir.

The world is conscious about minor issues but is blind when it comes to the issue of massacre in Kashmir. Indian brutalities in Kashmir have gone high to the extent that its own citizens, like

Unless and until exemplary punishments are not given to tyrant policemen, the atrocities on poor people would continue for which square responsibility falls on the Khadim-i-Punjab who claims to vouch for stern accountability.

DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

Arundhati Roy, couldn’t resist their passion and have gathered the courage to stand by with the oppressed.

DR HASNAT NABI Islamabad

Pleasure of reading Exercise is to the body what reading is to the mind. A cultured mind, truly finds immense pleasure in reading. By reading we get information, facts and knowledge of the affairs of the world. It is reading that broadens our outlook by removing narrow thinking.

The books prescribed for our formal education do not sometimes provide pleasure to us. The books that provide us pleasure are the books of liking and interest. Good books are better than our best friends. Our friends may ditch us, they may leave us in the lurch, but books

language-games in advertising Advertising tactics in this post modern era have taken a linguistic turn and the mode of communicating ideas tends to shape our views of reality. Products are advertised through television and consequently we see human life disbanding into TV; TV watches us, TV alienates us, TV manipulates us, TV informs us.

There are games in which each statement or utterance is a move that may aid the participants in trying to win the game – to get their version of what is true or right. If this is true then the notion of freedom fashioned by free-market economy is nothing but an illusion; at the end of the day it is the consumer that gets exploited as they fall prey to these profes-

sional “spin doctors” as they thrive at the expense of scrutinising individual liberty.

Entrepreneurs and advertising agencies form an “emergent shared culture” and this tactic enables them to disclose selective attributes of the products and consequently promote them by stimulating aspirations, lifestyles and way of behaving generally. They append “connotative codes” to material objects; in other words the advertised products are laden with a range of positive attitudes, feelings and desires within the targeted group which exacerbates the sale of the preferred product.

The images in advertising are a mere simulacra; the whole world of make-be-

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk. Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

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12 Comment

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

in quest of Holy Grail Don’t you know who I am?

Following the well-trodden path?

W

hile few would disagree that corruption needs to be weeded out from national politics, to many Imran’s search for pure politicians is nothing short of a quest for the Holy Grail. Corruption among the political elite is by and large a gift of the successive military regimes who debarred genuine politicians critical of military takeovers from participation in politics and raised political nurseries of their own to recruit all sorts of fortune hunters for political support. It is comforting to note that the PTI has politicised a considerable section of highly educated urban middle class disillusioned by rampant corruption in rulers which mostly abstained from casting votes. Finding that few among them might be able to get elected, Imran has opened the door of his party to everyone with the condition that only those found honest would be given party tickets. Does it mean there is no bar for the corrupt to be a part of the party hierarchy? It is understandable to find lawyers and even former NAB officials in the committee formed by Imran to probe the politicians’ assets. The presence in the committee of retired army officers who have little expertise in probing corruption is however surprising. What would matter in the long run is how far our political parties succeed in creating independent and powerful institutions of accountability which alone can bring down the level of corruption in politics.

The Election Commission was unanimously formed early this year by a parliamentary committee comprising both the treasury and opposition members. Hopes were thus roused that unlike its processor, the new ECP would be able to hold free, fair and transparent elections. Instead of rejecting the Commission out of hand as not being independent, the PTI leader should have suggested measures to further ensure its nonpartisan character.

Imran has announced to hold the next big rally in Karachi which he hopes would be bigger than the one in Lahore. While this would be a challenging task in view of the position enjoyed by the MQM, PPP and ANP in the mega city, this would also prove that Imran’s party is not confined to Punjab and KP alone. What is more it would also disprove those who maintain that Imran has been assigned the task of luring away the PML(N) votes in Punjab.

Constitutionalism …and bad governance

T

hey won’t allow anyone take unconstitutional steps, PPP leaders keep telling us, but fall short of saying what exactly those are. Whereas the PML(N) keeps bringing up the establishment bogeyman, the federal government doesn’t do even that.

Is the PPP, like the League, hiding behind the threat of the unknown every instance it possibly can? Perhaps if the more established political parties stop grabbing at phantoms and start looking at the malaise inside, we can move on. The rifts within the PPP cannot be attributed to any “third force.” True, in any political party, there are bound to be cases of alienation of between certain groups and individuals at certain tiers of the party structure. That is the cost of empowering other, more promising individuals more than others. It is only when these cases increase in frequency when a genuine disconnect between the party leadership and cadre becomes a distinct possibility. The party’s problems in Sindh, in the aftermath of force-of-nature Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, show the signs of turbulence come next elections. Though the Badin politician has insisted he will play no role in dividing the party in any way, there are many fissures that will reveal themselves as the elections comes closer. A lot of them will do with the nature of the party’s relationship with the MQM. And, consequently, with the smattering of Sindhi nationalists.

There is also the issue of a rift within the PPP’s Punjab set up. With former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi having resigned from the PPP, there is much tumult expected there. There might be a forward bloc within the party from south Punjab to deal with.

The peculiar nature of politics within the country ensures that there is no such thing as politics-as-usual in the traditional sense of the term. Parties deemed as antiestablishment (and the N League is, now, under Nawaz Sharif’s newest avatar, firmly in that category) seem to be able to get away with a level of incompetence, corruption or inability to rein in wily party members by citing that ever-ready scare. Matters are further compounded, of course, on account of that scare being genuine.

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

Where patronage rules the roost

By Dr Faisal Bari

A

few years back, I was at the Lahore airport to pick someone who was arriving from an international flight. There was a huge rush of people around the arrival doors. I think it was post-Hajj season and Hajj flights were coming quite regularly.

It was also right after a bomb explosion in Lahore or another city, so there was a security alert too. There were a bunch of policemen, airport security and para-military personnel around who were all trying to maintain some order. They would ask people to move back from the gate and push them if they did not move, but after a while the people would creep closer again. So this game of pushing and shoving was going on regularly with the usual intermittent flair ups between the police and the people every so often.

There was a suited-booted guy standing next to me. In one of the to-and-fros he also got pushed back by a policeman quite rudely.

They started exchanging the usual salutary greetings that Punjabis do on such occasions. The voices got raised, they challenged each others paternity and so on. And then suddenly the young man said, "What is your name, I will see to it that you pay for your insolence." The policeman replied, "Tanvir, and you can do whatever you want with my name." "Don’t you know who I am," the young man shouted. The policeman came back with a gem: "If you were really someone you would not be standing here. You would have gone through the VIP entrance. So, do what you want but just step back." The young man was livid but the dialogue ended with the brilliant line from the policewala.

Dipankar Gupta, a professor of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, wrote a book in 2000 titled “Mistaken Modernity”. He argued in the book that India was actually not modern even today.

Forget the gadgetry, the amenities that modern science and technology have bestowed upon the rich and middle classes of the country, as that was no way to judge modernity.

Modernity, for Gupta, has to do with human interrelationships. Is the society based on universalistic principles, does it accept human dignity as a basic value, does it demand accountability from public life and is human interaction based on basic tenants of human equality or not? Are rights extended to all on the basis of citizenship or not? If human interaction in our society is still based on caste, family, creed, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and other such characteristics that lie outside of the individual and over which the individual has little control, then the society is not really modern. And this has tremendous implications for everything that happens in that society.

Using the same lens Pakistani society seems to be primitive. It is an exceptionally divided society. Though we take pride in how Islam did away with castes and other divisions in human interaction (not identity but as a basis for interaction) in a society, we live in a completely fractured and division-driven society. The gentleman mentioned in the above paragraphs was very aware of being from the ‘elite’ of the country. The policewala was also very aware of the fact that where this gentleman might have been from some ‘elite’, he was not from the ‘elite’ in power.

So he need not have worried about him.

It does not matter which field one looks at, we see the effects of class in Pakistan. In education whether you go to private school or public, whether the private school is English medium or not, whether it is an elite school or not, what kind of accent do you speak English with, and even Urdu, whether you went abroad for your undergraduate or for graduate studies, all determine gradations of class and how people will interact with you, and even more importantly and sadly, how even institutions of the state will interact with you.

If you are from the elite you will obey no rules, break all rules, in fact your status in

society is determined by your ability to flout rules publicly – the more publicly, the better.

The bigger the car you travel in, the fewer the traffic rules you will obey. And so on and so forth. If you happen to be a minister or a senior bureaucrat you will be one of the last people to board the PIA flight, and you might be the cause of the delay too, but you will of course sit right at the front where you will act in a way that signals: “We may be equal but I am way more equal than you.” Our society is a beautiful and symptomatic example of tribalism and primitive relationships.

But it should be borne in mind that this is neither accidental nor irrational. In a state where resources are constrained and competition for them strong, and state institutions are weak and there is no understanding in society or state institutions that rights are on the basis of citizenship and not on the basis of class, people survive through patronage networks based on non-universalistic characteristics. We talked of this in detail last week. Today we are linking these patronage networks to lack of modernity and the spirit of modernity.

Once returning from overseas, I was stopped by Customs officers and asked to open my bags. While they were looking through my books and clothes and discussing various books with me a gentleman passed through Customs with a lot more luggage. When asked to stop, he just said ‘the Prime Minister is my mamoo’. The officer just waved him through. I asked the officer if he knew the gentlemen or how did he know he was not bluffing. The officer’s logic was simple. ‘If he is not, we might have lost some money, but if he was, though that was unlikely, but if he was and I stopped him I could lose my posting.’

Just for comparison, at that very minute, each worker coming in from the Gulf, even if he was just bringing a few toys for his children, had to pay something to get through the same officer. It is hard for me to come up with a more telling example of the elitist, patronage based, tribal society we live in.

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

Not the great unwashed Is there a reason to celebrate?

By Rabia Ahmed

T

he fact that an educated class of persons, those other than the ‘great unwashed’ had a prominent presence at Imran Khan’s rally in Lahore appears to give heart to the millions longing for social and political change in Pakistan.

It is interesting though. Who, after all, are these educated persons amongst us who are supposed to enable change in our society? Are they the lawyers? The judges? The doctors?

In a country where up to ten percent of the parliament is said to be composed of persons holding fake degrees, where many schools exist only on paper, where academic excellence is assessed on the basis of the best memory for useless, tedious facts, what difference can this education and those who possess it, make?

Musharraf overreached himself in many ways, but it was when he messed with the judiciary back in 2007 that things be-

came tough for him. Lawyers, mobilised by Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, began protests, including a Long March. There is little doubt that the judiciary found its voice once again as a result of their efforts. It is quite another matter that the judiciary has used this voice since with a degree of disorientation, appearing at times to confuse itself with the police, at others with various political and government departments and often simply issuing mystifying statements.

The hero of the piece, Chaudhry Iftikhar, presumably the most learned of them all given his position as Chief Justice, was responsible for a court ruling in 2002 because of which Musharraf got to keep both his uniform and the presidency simultaneously. As for the lawyers who attain their status after years of study, many violent protests, tantrums and unreasonable displays of pique have arisen from that quarter.

In September, this newspaper reported that ‘a group of lawyers thrashed two motorway police inspectors for confiscating a lawyer’s car on the motorway and imposing a fine for violations of traffic rules.’

The following month, ‘dozens of furious lawyers ransacked the courtroom of the judge who passed a verdict against Salmaan Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri, smashing windows to protest against the judgment.’ Earlier on

these same lawyers had garlanded Mr Qadri for assassinating the Governor.

Maybe these supposedly educated professionals are simply, as Ambrose Bierce says, “persons skilled in the circumvention of the law,” and nothing more.

Another bastion of professional, educated society is the medical brotherhood, which in recent years has also proceeded to spit the dummy several times.

Doctors on strike do not need to be violent to cause grievous bodily harm; when doctors go on strike people die, as in May of this year, when several people died as a result of young doctors’ strike. In Quetta, it was said that striking doctors were also preventing senior doctors from working.

Recently, doctors in Lahore’s teaching hospitals went on strike to protest against a murder case lodged against one of their colleagues, causing untold hardship to those requiring medical care.

In the midst of a dengue epidemic, dengue centres of some hospitals failed to function as a result of this strike.

It makes one ponder the distinction between being ‘educated’ and being merely ‘instructed’ in a certain field alone, law, medicine, or any other field of science, commerce, or humanities. If educated persons are supposed to make such a difference, why have they not done so already in Pakistan?

Where is the research or the in-

ventions? Where is the application of this education in our lives, social, political, religious, or any other?

Some 36 percent of Pakistan’s total population lives in its cities.

For the rest of the 64 percent the real power lies with the wealthy feudals, who in the main are notorious for not having personal education, nor for the support of education for others. The educated therefore constitute a small fraction of the population.

If our education is poor and is restricted to only a few persons, it is perplexing why the fact that these limited people have finally emerged from their turpitude to take interest in political issues is perceived as being cause to celebrate?

And yet life is full of tantalising contradictions. A great change for us as a nation was wrought by a wealthy, urbane lawyer comfortable mainly in English, extremely ill versed in any ‘native’ language.

The other change with far greater consequences, of course, was wrought by a man who was not educated in the academic sense of the word, who had amassed no personal wealth whatsoever, and was illiterate to boot.

It is a puzzle. Clearly, other factors do and are expected to come into play. So, let us wait for the elections to see what effect his ‘educated’ supporters have on Imran’s campaign, if any.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Comment 13

Valued at cost price Whispers of a new Left Gone are the days when bold journalists spoke out against injustice or corruption; now anyone critical of Imran Khan is considered brave

T

he few friends that I have left have now all but sworn off PTI-related discussion. This is because every time we start talking about Imran Khan’s chances in the next elections, someone looses a limb. It is also advisable not to bring up the subject of Imran Khan during high pressure situations, such as paintball matches, where one stands to lose more than just an eye. Generally speaking, steer clear of any PTI-doublespeak and you should be fine.

A lot of people are writing, ranting, raving and regurgitating hackneyed witticisms about how Tehreek-e-Insaf is just another bubble and that all the coyotes signing up are the same farm hands that have milked us dry in the past. There are also accusations that the party is merely an establishment tool; that they do not have a strong policy guideline on any issue; that they are suspiciously soft on the Taliban and unnecessarily hard on the US, and so on. Then there are the cautious stoics, who advocate the asking of ‘tough questions’ from the PTI high command – tough questions that are designed to extract real answers to burning questions, not meant for rhetorical purposes but policy decisions.

A lot of people have tried to reason with these Insafians, or PTI trolls. But the consensus seems to be that there is now a clear ‘us and them’ diBy Syed Hassan Belal Zaidi vide in contemporary Pakistani society: Those that are ‘with’ Imran Khan and those that will be burnt at stake when the PTI hordes sweep the next elections. This narrative is disturbingly prevalent among the people I hang out with, so I might have to move to Barbados and change my middle name to ‘Johnston’ if the hordes do ascend to power. I hear Reporters Without Borders will soon be issuing an advisory and before we can say “Big Brother is a Pathan from Mianwali”, we will hear that the US is granting asylum to writers such as the right honourable Waqqas Mir because a post-jalsa Pakistan is not a safe place for any PTI-skeptic. Gone are

mighty obvious

the days when bold journalists spoke out against injustice or corruption or the establishment or irregularities within the armed forces; now anyone critical of Imran Khan is considered brave.

Such dogmatic disdain for constructive criticism would be troubling if not for the fact that this is Pakistan. Indeed, anyone who dares to speak against the rising tide of public opinion/ignorance should be prepared for reprisals. Fellow revolutionaries may remember Habib Jalib’s epilogue to his iconic reading of the epic ‘Mein ney uss sey yeh kaha’ (available with subtitles on YouTube), where he recounts a meeting with the poet Hafeez Jallundari, who was then adviser to despot-extraordinaire Ayub Khan. The British social scientist and filmmaker Adam Curtis also refers to the supplanting of one autocratic social order with another revolutionary one in his tour de force ‘The Trap: What Happened to our Dream of Freedom?’

The clear and present danger here is that the mob which will rally behind Imran’s socalled revolutionary manifesto might end up creating and perpetuating the same inequalities that they are campaigning against. It happened in the French Revolution, what’s to stop it from happening here?

Speaking of asset declaration, a neat little trick that many rich and famous people pull when trying to evade taxes or too many questions, is the valuation of immovable assets at cost price. This means that if a particularly wealthy scion wants to write off his 20-acre mansion, which daddy built him sometime during the early 70s, he will value said property at a ridiculously low Rs 1,000 per acre, or something like that. This is especially true for land that has been obtained on 99-year leases or other similar deals. So even the great Khan Mansion in the swanky (and rural) Islamabad suburb of Bani Gala can be valued at next to nothing, since it was “a gift”.

There would be nothing wrong with this, if the average Joe on the street were also able to do such things. Unfortunately, those who work hard for their money also have the disadvantage of buying things at full price. This means that even if I wanted to write off that house my dad brought in 1999 after having worked for 25 straight years, I couldn’t because my dad, not being a scion of a feudal family, did not acquire it on a 100-year lease at Rs 50 per year.

Come to think about it, this is exactly the kind of inequality Imran Khan says he will be fighting against. And I for one support him in this noble endeavour. I’ll just go now and get my papers ready, so when the mob sweeps into power, I too will have the right to value my Suzuki Cultus at Rs 20,000, because that’s how much I pay for it… every month.

The NSF seems to be back

By Ahmed Yusuf

“M

y heart garden garden” is a phrase jokingly used amongst my group of friends. It is a literal translation of the Urdu phrase “Dil Bagh Bagh Hona” – the crassness of translation providing us many a laugh. And yet, my heart went garden garden last Sunday, the death anniversary of Hassan Nasir, an iconic figure in the Pakistani Left. The National Students Federation (NSF), the students group of the Left, had put together a great show to commemorate Nasir’s martyrdom. Whisper it now, the NSF is back, at least in Karachi.

Hassan Nasir Day is an annual event in the Left, almost kick-starting nationwide activism that lasts till spring. Such is the influence that Nasir (along with Nazeer Abbasi, a student leader) wields over the Left, even in martyrdom. Nasir’s politics were of course about socialism and anti-imperialism; he was after all the secretarygeneral of the Communist Party of Pakistan. In the era of two superpowers, it was his practical advances that turned him into a threat significant enough for his silencing to become a necessity. Nasir was arrested in 1960 – incidentally after disregarding party advice, chucked in a tiny cell in Lahore Fort, and brutally tortured to death.

Last Sunday, as I attended what used to be a customary and staid commemoration, filled by narratives of valour of have-beens, and hollow and empty rhetoric, I realised things had changed. This truly is a new NSF, dissociated and hence unburdened by the usually reductive and reactive politics of the Left parties and groups. Their event had attracted about 100 followers, a significant show that prompted Shahram Azhar (of Laal fame) – tuned in to the event from the United States via Skype – to comment that these youngsters were leaders of tomorrow.

The current NSF in Karachi is broadly divided into three units. One of those units operates in the University of Karachi, with a young woman leading the charge. I mention this fact be-

cause this is a break from the current practice in Left parties: leadership structures in parties are not as encouraging for women to step forward and take control, while affirmative action is almost non-existent. NSF leaders explained that although women assuming control “just happened naturally”, there were no barriers to women’s entry as had become the norm in the past. There was no need felt by the NSF to create a separate wing for young women, since young men and women acted in the spirit of gender equity. No compartmentalisation, they argued.

The NSF’s reliance on youth is admirable too. With no ideological qiblas, the students themselves are decision makers. It is because of this youth that the event started 15 minutes late owing to some technical glitches at the venue, as opposed to the customary hour or so delay at Left events. Among the staid narratives, it was the youth of the NSF that captured the audience’s imagination with a skit about Hassan Nasir. I was told later on that the skit was prepared by one of the three units, whose primary task is to create and enact street theatre. Such division of labour had been planned and implemented by the NSF-Karachi’s organising committee whose decisions are binding.

Those who started this NSF were in fact members of a communist party, the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP). Some 24 young men had approached the CMKP to seek their support in building the NSF. Some of them were even prepared to join the party proper. The CMKP, however, denied entry to all on the pretext that they were concerned with the quality of the entrant, not the numbers. Only four were let in; of them, only two are politically active today, both members of the NSF-Karachi. They are close to graduating from the NSF now, having completed their journey as students.

But graduating to what, should be the question.

With their model of ensuring no Left parties can ever “control” their group, the NSF-Karachi’s organisational setup mirrors that of Dr Sarwar’s Democratic Students Federation. Despite that, the usual motley crew was all there at the event: a vice-president of a party, trade union leaders, activists.

Some were there to check progress, others to network, some to report to party superiors and some elsewhere.

The Left’s historical bond with the NSF is emotional, yet the assumption that the NSF will join or graduate into a wing of any particular party is all too presumptuous. Left parties have shown

little capacity to be able to capture the youth’s imagination; the youth’s attraction to Imran Khan is but one phenomenon that explains the Left parties’ seemingly unending slide into redundancy and their failure to attract and even politicise a younger generation.

But there are factors such as party culture, party institutions and camaraderie that help build a party. Those factors are at play in student groups in Lahore as well, with the Progressive Youth Front and NSF trying to create space for themselves. These factors are not yet at play across major parties in Punjab; till complete generational changes take place in parties’ leaderships, political culture will be rooted between personality cults, caste associations, and talk of the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s, and the persecution of the 1980s. The NSF and PYF have grown precisely for their emphasis on the youth, not the converted.

Left parties will also have to reevaluate their definitions of class, of who forms the vanguard of change, and of what needs to be pled to those they claim to represent. Such questions need to be asked for Left parties to recreate themselves and their image.

Only then can they become viable political alternatives for politicized youth.

Failure to do so means that relying on “capturing” someone else’s work and effort will remain the modus operandi.

For all of the NSK-Karachi’s success in developing a model, and carrying out genuine grassroots activism, the result is the creation of members politically aware not to be either fickle or trapped in a leader’s cult of personality.

But they should now be asking themselves, what next? For those who want to continue their activism, the NSF is a training ground. Values of social justice and equality of opportunity for all are noble; yet, these are political demands and will inevitably be carried forward by a political party.

Whether the NSF forms a party, joins one, or remains dissociated is a decision their committees will have to take. What the NSF currently enjoys over almost all Left parties is a stronger political culture and adherence to their institutions. In eventual calculations, groups with stronger political cultures and institutions will absorb the weak.

Not the other way around, as seems to be the calculation of Left parties. This is a new NSF, and this might just be the beginning of a new Left in Pakistan.

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

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14 Foreign News

Tuesday, 15 Novermber, 2011

EU, Arab League tighten noose on Syria g

eU slaps more sanctions, Arab league calls for more economic, political punitive measures BRUSSELS

E

AFp

UROPEAN Union nations tightened the noose on Syria on Monday, slapping new sanctions on Presidant Bashar al-Assad's regime and urging UN action to protect civilians after eight months of bloodshed.

Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc blacklisted a further 18 Syrians, mostly members of the military, bringing to 74 the members of Assad's inner circle hit in past months by an EU assets freeze and travel ban.

Fresh pressure was needed due to the "bloody stubbornness" of the regime, said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on joining talks with counterparts. The ministers also agreed to stop Syria accessing funds from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the latest move by the EU to tighten economic pressure on Damascus.

"The EU will continue to impose additional and more comprehensive measures against the regime as long as the repression of the civilian population continues," the ministers said in a joint statement. EIB loans to Syria between 1978 and 2010 totalled over 1.7 billion euros, more than half in the energy sector. It has earmarked 10.7 billion euros in the 20072013 period for projects in nine Mediterranean countries, including Syria.

To date, the EU has passed seven rounds of sanctions against the Assad regime, including an arms embargo, and

europe could be in worst hour since WWii: Merkel ROME/ATHENS ReuTeRS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Europe could be living through its toughest hour since World War Two as new leaders in Italy and Greece rushed to form governments and limit the damage from the euro zone debt crisis. Financial markets on Monday took heart on relief that a key Italian bond auction drew decent demand from investors and hopes that new leaders in Greece and Italy would take decisive action to breathe new life into their sick economies. "Europe is in one of its toughest, perhaps the toughest hour since World War Two," Merkel told her conservative party in Leipzig, saying she feared Europe would fail if the euro failed and vowing to do anything to stop this from happening. But in a one-hour address to the Christian Democrats (CDU), Merkel offered no new ideas for resolving the crisis that has forced bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and has raised fears about the survival of the 17-state currency zone. "If the euro fails then Europe fails, and we want to prevent and we will prevent this, this is what we are working for, because it is such a huge historical project," Merkel said in the east German city of Leipzig.

bans on imports of Syrian crude oil and new investments and credits to the Syrian petrol sector. It previously blacklisted 56 people and 19 companies or utilities involved in the crackdown.

"It's very important in the European Union that we consider additional measures to add to the pressure on the Assad regime to stop the unacceptable violence," said Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague. The EU also "salutes and full supports" the Arab League's weekend suspension of Syria for failing to implement a plan to end violence that has left 3,500 dead since mid-March, according to the United Nations.

The suspension "shows the increasing isolation of the Syrian regime," the EU said, adding that the bloc "stands ready to engage with representative members of the opposition ... such as the Syrian National Council."

In a move that triggered anger and mob violence in Damascus, the Arab League also urged economic and political sanctions against the regime, failing enactment of an Arab plan for resolving the crisis accepted by Damascus on November 2.

Under the deal, the Assad regime agreed to release detainees, withdraw the army from urban areas, allow free movement for observers and media and negotiate with the opposition.

"It's very good that they have demonstrated the muscle that is necessary," Sweden's Carl Bildt said of the Arab League.

DAMASCUS: Syrians hold up their national flag and images of President Bashar al-Assad as they rally in front of the Foreign Ministry. aFP

syria says arab league suspension ‘dangerous step’ Beirut: Syria said on Monday an Arab League decision to suspend it was "an extremely dangerous step" at a time when it was implementing a deal with the organisation to end violence and start a dialogue with the opposition. Syria had withdrawn troops from urban areas, released prisoners and offered an amnesty to armed insurgents under the terms of the initiative agreed with the Arab League two weeks ago to end eight months of unrest, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told a televised news conference in Damascus. Moualem described Washington's welcome of the Arab League move as "incite-

ment". He apologised for attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria after the suspension was announced. "As for attacks on foreign embassies, as the foreign minister I apologise for these aggressions," he said. Moualem expressed confidence that Russia and China would continue to block Western efforts at the United Nations to condemn Syrian actions, and also played down the prospect of any Western military intervention in Syria. "The Libya scenario will not be repeated", he said, arguing that Arab and Western countries knew they may pay a higher military price to confront the Syrian Army.

Israeli generals fight gender segregation NATo chief falls off bike, breaks arm JERUSALEM ReuTeRS

Israel's military must not give in to Jewish religious demands to prevent the mixing of men and women in the ranks, a group of reservist generals told the country's defence minister on Monday.

The 19 generals, among them former army, air force and navy commanders, listed times when they said women had been sidelined or segregated during military events because of pressure from male Orthodox soldiers.

"These include ... the separation of women soldiers

from their units during ceremonies as a result of religious considerations, demands to prevent women from singing at such events and the demand that women be fenced in a closed, isolated area when (holiday) dances were held," they said. The letter called on Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz "to issue immediate, detailed directives to (Israeli military) units to refrain from imposing religious norms on male and female soldiers". The appeal, printed in the Haaretz newspaper, opened a new front in an emotional public battle over what the military has acknowledged is a growing influence of religion in its ranks.

ReuTeRS

News Corp's James Murdoch was "kept in the dark" about the scale of phone hacking at the News of the World by his subordinates who tried to manage the problem, the newspaper's former chief reporter said on Monday. Neville Thurlbeck has become a key figure in the scandal because he appears to be named in a crucial piece of evidence that critics of the company have seized on as proof the problem is widespread.

The evidence -- an email addressed 'for Neville' -- included the transcripts of voicemail messages and resulted in

ReuTeRS

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen fell off his bicycle and broke his arm at the weekend, forcing him to call off a planned visit to the Baltic states this week, a NATO spokeswoman said.

"He was biking in the woods in Brussels on Sunday and crashed," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Monday.

She said he had broken his left arm in three places, near the shoulder. "He's fine, but he's going to be away from the office for a few days, resting."

Rasmussen had been scheduled to visit Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia this week.

Officials will try to reschedule the trip for a later date, Lungescu said.

Bomb kills 10, wounds 27 in northern Myanmar YANGON ReuTeRS

XIAN: A Chinese man walks past the site of an explosion that ripped through a fast-food restaurant in a high-rise building in northwest China's Shanxi province on monday, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, while shattering windows up to three kilometres away. AFP

james Murdoch ‘kept in dark’ on hacking: reporter LONDON

BRUSSELS

James Murdoch agreeing to make a payout of around 750,000 sterling ($1.2 million) to an early hacking victim, the soccer union boss Gordon Taylor.

Critics of the company have said the much larger than normal payout was intended to buy the victim's silence and prevent the scale of the problem from being made public because Taylor had secured a copy of the email. However James Murdoch has consistently argued he was not made aware of the relevance of the email and said he simply followed legal advice in agreeing to the payout.

News Corp's British newspaper arm News International had long argued that the hacking of phones to secure

stories was carried out by one rogue reporter, Clive Goodman, with the help of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

That defence crumbled earlier this year under a host of disclosures.

"Mr Murdoch had been kept in the dark and deprived of vital evidence showing phone hacking went far wider than the Goodman/Mulcaire issue," Thurlbeck said in a statement to Reuters.

Thurlbeck said he had sent a memo to the then editor Colin Myler and legal manager Tom Crone which also implicated another senior executive at the paper.

"Myler and Crone failed to disclose this critical evidence to Mr Murdoch," Thurlbeck said in the statement. He said

he had also recorded another reporter and another executive discussing the case and asked to speak to the News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks, but had been rejected on all counts.

"The contents of the taped call had exonerated me and identified the executive responsible. I offered this to Tom Crone but he refused to take the tape."

"Mr Murdoch has been kept in the dark by those who he trusted most," Thurlbeck said. "Based upon my first hand experience of the chronic lack of full disclosure over the past two and a half years, (Murdoch's) account to the CMS (Culture Media and Sport) committee seems entirely credible to me."

At least 10 people were killed and 27 wounded from a bomb blast in the capital of Myanmar's northern Kachin State bordering China, local sources said on Monday.

The blast took place late evening on Sunday in the city of Myitkyinar and caused a blaze at three houses. Those killed included nine orphaned students and a child, local residents told Reuters.

"A study group was taking place at the time of the bombing, that was why the number of casualties was high," a resident told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

It was not immediately known why the orphan homes were targeted, or who was behind the bombing.

Monday's official newspapers did not report the incident, but said a bomb went off and another was defused in Myitkyinar on Saturday, and there were no injuries.

Kachin state is one of Myanmar's most dangerous regions, plagued by decades of conflict between ethnic separatists and government troops.

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Foreign News 15 Norway killer Turkey to take ‘resolute admits July massacre stance’ against Syria Tuesday, 15 Novermber, 2011

ANKARA ReuTeRS

R

ISING Middle East power Turkey said on Monday it would galvanise a global campaign to halt Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's repression of his people, adding that Damascus could no longer be trusted after attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria. "Turkey's policy on this issue is open and clear. We will stand by the people's just demands and we will mobilise the necessary regional and international platforms to counter this Syrian pressure," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Turkish parliament. Davutoglu is due to meet Arab foreign ministers in Rabat on Wednesday, on the sidelines of a Arab-Turkish forum. Non-Arab Turkey, after long courting Assad, has lost patience with its neighbour's failure to end an eight-month crackdown and implement promised democratic reforms.

Turkey now hosts the main Syrian opposition and has given refuge to defecting Syrian soldiers, and Davutoglu on Monday praised an Arab League decision to suspend Syria. Despite tough talk, Turkey has moved cautiously, compared to its European Union and U.S. allies, which have been swift to approve sanctions against Damascus, as Ankara weighs the domestic and regional challenges involved.

Jordan king calls for syria’s assad to step down

OiC head warns syria’s regime of ‘internationalisation’ JEDDAH

DAMASCUS

AFp

AFp

The head of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation on Monday warned of a possible internationalisation of the Syrian crisis if the regime does not comply with calls for reform and end the bloodshed. If Syria "does not comply with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people and international calls by the OIC, the Arab League and the United Nations, it will risk the internationalisation of its crisis," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said. The secretary general said internationalising Syria's crisis will "not be in anybody's interest and will have dangerous outcomes on the security in Syria and in other (OIC) member states." The pan-Islamic 57-nation organisation is ready to "support all efforts seeking to work out a peaceful solution to the crisis in order to ensure the security and stability of Syria as well as respond to the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," he said in a statement. "In this context, the OIC general secretariat is conducting consultations to convene a meeting of the OIC executive committee at the ministerial level," the English-language statement added.

Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday called for Syrian President Bashar alAssad to step down, the first Arab leader to do so after his regime said it will not budge despite mounting international pressure. "I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down," said King Abdullah. "I would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing." His remarks were aired on the BBC after Assad's foreign minister, Walid Muallem, said the Syrian government would not budge despite being suspended from the Arab League.

OSLO ReuTeRS

The anti-Muslim militant who killed 77 people in attacks in Norway on July 22 acknowledged carrying out the massacre but refused to plead guilty in his first public court appearance since the attacks.

Anders Behring Breivik, speaking on Monday at a court just two blocks from where he detonated a huge home-made bomb before shooting 69 people at the ruling Labour Party's summer camp, also rejected the court's authority to hear his case.

"I am a military commander in the Norwegian resistance movement and Knights Templar Norway. Regarding the competence (of the court), I object to it because you received your mandate from organisations that support hate ideology (and) because it supports multiculturalism," Breivik told the court. "I acknowledge the acts but I do not plead guilty," Breivik told the court.

The killings shattered a nation known for its open society, peace and relative prosperity, sparking a debate about immigration and security. Breivik, speaking at a court picketed by a group of protesters holding a banner that read "No speakers' platform for fascists", attempted to address survivors and victims' relatives but the court denied his request.

The hearing was the first opportunity for the media, surviving victims and victims' relatives to hear Breivik, 32, speak publicly.

The hearing, required under Norwegian law to keep a suspect in prison before trial, was Breivik's fourth, and as expected, the court decided to keep him in custody. He will likely remain in prison until he goes to trial, probably in the first half of next year.

BANGKoK: local residents travel in a boat against the current of floodwaters after angry villagers partially destroyed a sand bag wall in front of Don muang airport on monday. AFP

Thai floods recede in places, weeks of hardship ahead BANGKOK R eu TeR S

The centre of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, looks like it will escape the flooding that has hit some suburbs and provinces to its north, but evacuation orders are still issued each day in outer districts and many residents face weeks of hardship. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said on Monday 562 people had died in the flooding since late July and that 22 of Thailand's 77 provinces were still affected. Flooding is receding in parts of Bangkok

but remains high on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, swollen by high tides in the Gulf of Thailand, and to the east of the capital, where authorities have diverted run-off floodwater from the north to try to protect the heart of densely populated Bangkok.

Kawin Prachanukul, a 21-year-old student at Bangkok's Thammasat University, decided to stay with his dog in his home in Nong Kham district in the west of Bangkok, when it flooded in early November.

"My food supplies are starting to run out. Now I've just got some packs of

instant noodles left. But it's not too bad for me -- at least I'm able to walk through the knee-deep water in my street to the main road, where there are a few food vendors," he said, adding that only a few men remained in his neighbourhood.

Krissana Laongkaew, 54, had to leave her house in western Bangkok on Nov. 2 with her husband and two sons after the floodwater rose to waist level.

She has also lost the traditional Thai massage shop nearby that she put all her life savings into.

"The shop had only been open for

three months. We only finished decorating it in late October. Everything is gone," Krissana said, close to tears.

"It's very stressful for me ... My husband and I started everything from scratch and now we're back to zero," she said. "I don't know how much I can salvage from the shop. The water came in so quickly and I had no real time to prepare. They told me the water would be knee-high. Initially, I planned to stay at my house, but the water just kept rising."

Big CleaN-uP: Many main roads remain closed in the western Thonburi area. A limited bus service oper-

ates on some routes but most people have to rely on army trucks or small boats, always packed. In the parts of the capital that have remained dry, drinking water is back on shelves of supermarkets but still rationed in places.

The overhead Skytrain and underground railway have stayed open throughout, even in flooded areas. In one such area in the north of the city, Chatuchak, a big market popular with tourists was closed at the weekend but the floodwater had started to recede in some streets after almost two weeks, a Reuters reporter said.

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16

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Reema to

tie the knot

IN LIMELIGHT MUMBAi: Deepika Padukone attends the first D Y Patil Annual ‘Achiever’s Awards’ ceremony.

HollYWooD: oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone poses at the 3rd Annual Governors Awards.

with US-based Pakistani doctor MONITORING DESK Lollywood actressturned-director Reema is all set to get married.

According to reports, the internationally known Pakistani celebrity will tie the knot on November 18, 2011 with USbased Pakistani, Dr Tariq Shahab. Reema is currently in Washington with family and friends for pre-wedding celebrations (dholkis). Her mayoun will take place today and mehndi on November 16. Nikah and rukhsati are scheduled for November 18. Reema will remain in Washington for a couple of weeks after the marriage before returning to Pakistan.

john Abraham spotted with new ladylove MUMBAI ZeeNeWS

It has been a while since Bipasha Basu and John Abraham broke up after being in a relationship for over nine years. Since their break-up, both have been linked with

co-stars and gossip mills have been relentlessly working overtime to juice out on their love lives.

While Bips has been linked with Shahid Kapur, Josh Harnett and Rana Duggabati, John’s relationship ‘status’ escaped constant

Amitabh looking forward to

new addition in family

vigilance. However, there were speculations of him dating a banker chic. But now the time has come when this Bollywood hunk has no qualms unfolding his new love story. John arrived at a book launch in the city with 26-year-old former banker Priya Runchal last Friday evening.

And his arrival with a lady by his side raised many eyebrows and the paparazzi were quick enough to grab them their lenses.

John was very much at ease being with his lady love in public. While talking to reporters, the hunk said, “There is someone special in my life, but I don’t want to say anything more than that. It is extremely personal.”

Hmmm….we wonder what Bipasha has to say!

mumBAI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, whose daughter-in-law Aishwarya rai is expected to give birth mid-November, can't wait to see the new arrival and says he is enjoying the hustle bustle in the house. "The family gathers together from all over as we wait for the 'arrival' ... Greatest joy for me - a full house and the 'chahel - pahel' (hustle bustle)," the 69-year-old posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. Aishwarya is expecting her first child with actor-husband Abhishek Bachchan.

Apart from waiting excitedly for the baby, Amitabh also took some time off to watch ranbir Kapoorstarrer ‘rockstar’ which released Friday and the actor says he is impressed with the entire team. "it's late but not without cause... just back from 'rockStar' and living in the brilliance of all imtiaz Ali, ranbir, Ar and Nargis... Still with 'rockStar' and its beauty," he further posted. Directed by imtiaz Ali, ‘rockstar’ chronicles the journey of an aspiring singer Janardhan Jakhar, who wants to make it big in the music world. it introduces two new faces PakistaniAmerican model Nargis Fakhri and Brazilian model Moufid Aziz.

AGeNCIeS

MUMBAi: Salman Khan and Dr Ajeenkya D Y Patil onstage at the first D Y Patil Annual ‘Achiever’s Awards’ ceremony.

ColoMBo: A Sri lank an model shows off a bridal cre ation during a fashion show . loS ANGeleS: Singer Gwen Stefani arrives at 2011 MoCA Gala, ‘An Artist's life Manifesto’, directed by Marina Abramovic.

Supermodel Kate Moss suffering from

marriage shock loNDoN: Tension is growing between supermodel Kate Moss and her new husband Jamie Hince less than five months into their marriage. The 37-year-old catwalk queen has already told friends that she is suffering from marriage shock, reported Daily Mail online. Now a delay in plans for Moss and her rocker husband to move into an eight million pounds new home is causing further strain. The newlyweds should already be settled in at the townhouse in Highgate in North london as it was due to be ready last month. But a number of setbacks during its 2.5 million-pound renovation mean they are unlikely to move in before Christmas. "The house is causing a lot of problems and a great deal of tension between them. They were meant to move in last month but Jamie has been away on tour and the building works have run over.

Kate has been complaining she has been left to sort out everything, from dealing with the architect to planning permission. She thought this is what husbands are for," a friend said.

Hince, 42, was on tour in South America and is now in europe, so Moss has been liaising with Camden Council, which has just granted planning permission for CCTv cameras, along with a steam room and basement gym. AGeNCIeS

mumBAI: Salman Khan might be one of the most controversial celebrities but what one can’t deny is that the hunk has a heart of gold.

Salman and Katrina, who were shooting in Turkey for Yash raj’s ‘ek Tha Tiger’ directed by Kabir Khan decided to make this Diwali extra special for the crew members. it was Kat’s idea to gift her personal staff and the crew members gold coins as a token of love. When Khan learnt of his ex-ladylove’s plan, he decided to follow in her footsteps. A source said, “The crew was shooting in Turkey around Diwali. Katrina wanted to do something special for her staff and the crew. The crew was away from home shooting during the festival, instead of celebrating it with their respective families. She decided to gift them gold coins. When Salman found out about Katrina’s generous gesture, he also got inspired and decided to gift them gold coins. everyone in the unit from the direction and the production team and the spot boys got two gold coins each.” zeeNeWS

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17 MUMBAi: vidya Balan dances during the seventh anniversary party of indian Tv programme 'Saas Bahu aur Saazish'.

Audience, pirzada laud ‘Romeo and Juliet’

MUMBAI

T

ZeeNeWS

LAHORE

HE serial kisser tag might have been slapped hard on Emraan Hashmi in Bollywood, but Pakistan sees the actor in a different light altogether. Emraan is equally popular as the Khans across the border and more so for the chartbusters pictured on him. The actor is perhaps the only one in the current lot to have had the maximum number of hit songs to his credit. Reportedly, a prime time TV show in Pakistan has Emraan’s name in the title. The producers of the show have been wise enough to spell the name differently to prevent copyright infringement. The show titled ‘Main Tum Aur Imran Hashmi’ has popular Pakistani TV artists that include Noor Ul Hassan, Neelum Munir, Rubina Ashraf and Tipu Shah. The show revolves round Chanda, the protagonist, who is in love with the Indian actor. She is so crazy about Emraan that she keeps humming his songs all day. A source said, “Clearly, Emraan’s name has been spelt wrong to evade copyright issues. However, if you watch the show once, you will immediately know that the producers wanted to capitalise on Emraan Hashmi’s popularity in the country. Surprisingly, Hashmi’s permission wasn’t taken on this. This is the second time that a show has been named after an actor, the first being ‘Kya Meri Shaadi Shah Rukh Se Hogi?’.” The actor himself is amused to hear the news. He tweeted, "Ha ha! So i heard & read about a serial in Pakistan with my name in its title ! Flattering !" And now that Emraan’s film ‘The Dirty Picture’ is nearing its release, the producers will certainly cash in on, for the sun is shining very bright!

STAFF RepoRT

The English Dramatics Society of Defence Degree College for Women, DHA Lahore received a great acclaim for its annual production’ Romeo and Juliet’ staged at the DHA Tanzeem Hall.

The chief guest, Usman Pirzada, a seasoned TV and film actor appreciated the wonderful presentation of the Shakespearean classic, encouraged other such future artistic endeavours and invited the college to participate in the Youth Drama Festival. The apt use of lights, creative backdrops, elegant costumes and the unique element of royal music created a classical Elizabethan ambiance.

The audience highly appreciated touching performance and the powerful narration which enhanced the effect of the tragedy. The entire play arrested the attention of the audience and created a spellbound atmosphere.

Director Education was also present on the occasion.

Singer crashes Obama summit with 'Occupy' song HONOLULU AGeNCIeS

HollYWooD: Actress Sofia vergara poses at the world premiere of the movie 'Happy Feet Two'.

Salman, Kat rain gold on

‘Ek Tha Tiger’ crew

A popular Hawaiian recording artist turned a topsecurity dinner of Pacific Rim leaders hosted by President Barack Obama into a subtle protest with a song in support of the "Occupy" movement.

Makana, who goes by one name, was enlisted to play a luau, or Hawaiian feast, Saturday night for leaders assembled in Obama's birthplace Honolulu for an annual summit that is formulating plans for a Pacific free-trade pact. But in the midst of the dinner on the resort strip Waikiki Beach, he pulled open his jacket to reveal a T-shirt that read "Occupy with Aloha," using the Hawaiian word

No more mumBAI: She is Bollywood's very own fashionista. But it seems that the iT girl, Sonam Kapoor, will have to turn her style quotient several notches down to get into character for rakeysh omprakash Mehra's ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’. And to essay a village girl residing in Punjab during the 1950s also means that the actress will have to do without her gizmos and gadgets. Mehra has asked Sonam to sweat it out without air conditioners and mobile phones and live like the village belle she is supposed to play in the film. An entire village on the indo-Pak border, a few kilometres away from Ferozpur is now being transformed, to represent 1930s india by art director Sumit Basu. No cellphones, no computers, no gadgets, not even air-conditioners that's the rule Mehra has laid down for the lead actors. "Sonam and Farhan have to feel like they belong to the 1950s, just as i've started feeling. Nowadays when i wake up, i am shocked to feel the chill of the air conditioner in my house. i am gradually cutting myself loose from all the luxuries we take for granted," he says. mIRRoR

whose various meanings include love and peace.

He then sang a marathon version of his new song ‘We Are The Many’. "I was pretty nervous. In fact I was terrified. I kept thinking 'what are the consequences going to be?'" Makana, 33, told AFP. "It was incredibly comical. I was terrified but also enjoying it," he said. Makana, who was born Matthew Swalinkavich, said the song prompted awkward stares from a few of those present but the Obamas appeared too absorbed with their guests to notice what was happening. The performance occurred at a dinner for summmit participants from 21 economies around the Asia-Pacific, including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev,

amid a security lockdown in Waikiki. As Makana sang, about 400 protesters including anti-globalization and native Hawaiian rights activists staged a protest march toward the dinner site but turned back after encountering the smothering security.

Makana released the song on the Internet the day before and decided to play it at the urging of fans, he said. The song features the refrain, "We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts, we’ll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few." He sang it "over and over" for 40 minutes, varying his tempo and delivery to avoid triggering an overt reaction. "Whenever I felt the heat might come down, I would ease off.

It was a very careful procedure," he said.

DiCaprio fails to beat

luxuries for Sonam Kapoor

'Immortals'

at box office

loS ANGeleS: Big-budget 3-D epic ‘immortals’ topped the top of the box office this weekend, beating an Adam Sandler comedy and a leonardo DiCaprio biopic, industry estimates showed Sunday. Set in ancient Greece, ‘immortals’ scored $32 million in weekend receipts, pushing it past Sandler's ‘Jack and Jill,’ in which he plays both a successful los Angeles advertising executive and his needy identical twin sister Jill. The comedy came in second with $26 million, according to monitor exhibitor relations. Animated kids' romp ‘Puss in Boots,’ last week's leader, took third place.

The flick features voice work by Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, zach Galifianakis and Billy Bob Thornton. in fourth was ‘Tower Heist,’ with an all-star cast led by eddie Murphy. it was trailed by Clint eastwood's ‘J. edgar,’ which stars DiCaprio as late FBi director J. edgar Hoover. Comedy sequel ‘A very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas’ fell to sixth place, besting futuristic thriller ‘in Time’ starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfield. ‘Paranormal Activity 3’, ‘Footloose’ and ‘real Steel’ rounded off the top ten. AGeNCIeS

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Castano clinches storm-hit play-off Page 22

Dravid puts India in control

Mickey Arthur says no to Pakistan coaching LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Former South African coach Mickey Arthur has reportedly turned down an offer from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to succeed Waqar Younis as national coach, it was learnt on Monday. The PCB had held talks with Arthur’s agent, but he made it clear that his client was not interested in making a move to coach the troubled team. “The agent for Arthur turned down the offer from the outset,” a website reported Monday. The source also revealed that the board many not end up signing a foreign coach. “Dean Jones and Dermot Reeve are no longer in the run and the PCB apparently has had a change of plan and is now looking at hiring specialist coaches for batting, fielding and bowling instead of hiring a head coach,” the source said. According to reports, the PCB is now considering the names of Moin Khan, Aaqib Javed and Sabih Azhar for the national coach position.

Amir moved to Portland Prison LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

KolKATA: india's rahul Dravid plays a shot as West indies wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh looks on. AFP KOLKATA

R

SCoReBoARD

AFp

AHUL Dravid cracked a brilliant 119 to put India on course for a big total on the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. The 38-year-old batsman hit two sixes and nine fours in his 36th Test hundred, and the fifth of the year, as the hosts reached 346-5 in their first innings at stumps after winning the toss on a good batting pitch. Only India's Sachin Tendulkar (51), South African Jacques Kallis (40) and Australian Ricky Ponting (39) have scored more Test centuries than Dravid.

India lead 1-0 in the three-Test series following their five-wicket win in the opening match in New Delhi. Dravid never looked in trouble in his 207-ball knock, impressing with his shot-selection during his long stay at the crease to put India in a strong position with three valuable partnerships. He added 83 runs for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir (65), 56 for the next with Sachin Tendulkar and 140 for the fourth wicket with Venkatsai Laxman, who was unbeaten with a solid 73 when bad light stopped play.

Dravid completed his hundred when he turned a no-ball from paceman Kemar Roach behind square-leg for a four before inside-edging part-time spinner Kraigg Brathwaite's delivery on to his stumps in the day's penultimate over.

"It feels that I am in some good form. I have hit

INDIA, 1ST INNINGS: G. Gambhir c Barath b F. edwards 65 V. Sehwag c Barath b Sammy 38 R. Dravid b Brathwaite 119 38 S. Tendulkar c Samuels b Bishoo 73 V. laxman not out I. Sharma c Baugh b Roach 0 eXTRAS: (lb5, nb6, w2) 13 346 ToTAl: (for five wickets; 87.3 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-66 (Sehwag), 2-149 (Gambhir), 3-205 (Tendulkar), 4-345 (Dravid), 5-346 (Sharma).

BoWlING: F. edwards 13-0-45-1 (nb1), Sammy 14-0-78-1 (w1), Roach 15.3-157-1 (nb4, w1), Samuels 16-0-65-0, Bishoo 27-1-87-1 (nb1), Brathwaite 2-0-9-1.

Toss: India, umpires: Rod Tucker (AuS) and Bruce oxenford (AuS), TV umpire: S. Ravi (IND), match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZl)

a good patch and I am in a good space with my game, so I am really trying to make it count," said Dravid. "Cricket is a funny game and you never know when the tough time is around the corner, but as long as you have the good time going, you have to keep it going. "(Getting out in closing overs) was a little disappointing. It would have been nice to start fresh tomorrow. It's always better to come back fresh the next day with a hundred behind you."

India lost one more wicket when nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was caught behind off Roach.

Laxman, who made an unbeaten 58 in the last Test, has so far hit five fours in his second successive half-century. Tendulkar, who needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100th international century, had been batting confidently before falling for 38, pulling leg-spinner Devendra

Bishoo to Marlon Samuels at mid-wicket.

Dravid continued to bat comfortably against both pace and spin, lofting Bishoo over long-off and part-time spinner Samuels over long-on for sixes. Tendulkar, who has also scored 48 hundreds in one-day internationals, looked in excellent form as he turned Fidel Edwards to fine-leg for his first four and then drove Roach through the covers for another boundary. He survived a confident appeal for leg-before on 25 while attempting to sweep Bishoo before being dismissed by the same bowler in the afternoon session, much to the disappointment of nearly 10,000 spectators. The West Indies struggled for success on a pitch which had little in it for the bowlers, with seamer Darren Sammy, Edwards, Bishoo, Roach and Brathwaite each taking one wicket.

"It was a tough day for us because there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers," said West Indies coach Ottis Gibson. "But India did collapse in the first innings of the last Test and we are hoping something like that happens here too."

Gambhir fell to a loose shot, driving an Edwards delivery straight to Adrian Barath at short cover after adding eight runs to his lunch score of 57. He hit eight fours in his 17th half-century in 43 Tests. India got off to a solid start as Gambhir and aggressive Virender Sehwag (38) put on 66 in 12.1 overs for the opening wicket.

Sehwag played some handsome shots against the West Indies pace attack, hitting eight fours in his brisk 33-ball knock before driving Sammy straight to Barath at short mid-wicket.

Former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Amir has been moved to a safer seaside prison days after his conviction in a spot-fixing scandal. Amir, who began serving his six-month sentence at Feltham Young Offenders Institution in West London on November 3, has been transferred to Portland Prison on the Dorset coast. "Feltham is a grim place to be - especially for a young international sports star. Amir will be glad to get out.

And Portland is a walk in the park by comparison," the Sun quoted a source as saying. Feltham had earlier come under scanner after a racist inmate murdered his Muslim inmate. A 2010 report had pointed out "frequent" fights and "gang culture" in the jail. Amir is expected to appeal against his sentence for bowling deliberate no-balls in exchange for payments at a Lord's match against England in August 2010.

Assault twist in roebuck death SYDNEY AFp

Renowned cricket writer Peter Roebuck plunged to his death from a hotel window in South Africa after being questioned by police about an alleged sexual assault, his employer said on Monday. The English-born Roebuck, 55 and a former firstclass cricketer, was covering the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia when he died on Saturday night.

South African police confirmed he committed suicide and the Australian newspaper group he worked for, Fairfax Media, said he fell to his death from the Southern Sun Hotel in Cape Town. Roebuck had written on cricket for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne since 1984, and the newspapers said his death followed questioning by police from the sexual crimes unit about an alleged sexual assault. They provided no further details although. Fairfax said Roebuck was agitated and asked a fellow cricket journalist for help. "Can you come down to my room quickly? I've got a problem," he said and asked for help to find a lawyer. Fairfax said it was believed a uniformed police officer was in the room at the time.

Let’s not be vindictive of the fixing trio g

Big daddy iCC takes equal blame for the fiasco Comment AvIJIT PATNAIK

H

UMAN beings are hypocrites, lack reasoning and can be easily manipulated. This was my conclusion after running through the thousands of updates on social media on Asif, Amir and Salman - the three cricketers banned in cricket's yet another match fixing saga. The updates ran from hanging them, to life imprisonment, to public prosecution, to whipping, to burning their homes with families!

For a start, people need to gauge the magnitude of crime involved - the financial value is said to be around 150K pounds peanuts when compared to scams in which politicians, industrialists, bureaucrats and corporatrs get involved. Sums of this magnitude seldom even get reported. If your

brother was involved in a money laundering scam of this amount, would you have recommended the same treatment? Besides, if jail terms were to start for this sum of money, there would be more jails required than houses across the world!

But then, sports (along with movies) touch the masses like nothing else. Fans like us are passionate to the point of eating, drinking and sleeping the game. In the subcontinent, the cricket team's performance, reflect our own identity, our pride of place in the world. We have stronger opinions about people involved in sports. And Amir, Asif and Salman tried to make money by playing a 'gentleman's game' in a non-gentlemanly manner. Jailing Asif, Amir, Salman for the said terms won't wipe away fixing. It will just destroy three careers and give Pakistan more belief that the world is against them. After all it's the same world which

brushed aside claims that Mark Waugh and Shane Warne made money by playing a 'gentleman's game' in a non-gentlemanly manner. Even the ACB had managed to effectively hide it for a long time.

Amir, Asif and Salman can at best be charged for taking undue and unfair advantage of a precious cap, a responsible position, handed over by the nation and in process tarnished the sport and the country. No, they weren't selling their country - thats an overstatement. Pakistan and cricket surely have been embarrassed, since this incident! However, that brings us to this question; did both these entities do enough to ensure prevention? Pakistan is a state media has made synonymous with terrorists, jihadis, extremists, bomb blasts and hell. It's unfair, disgraceful and the truth lies somewhere in between.

Any budding Pakistan cricketer indirectly becomes a victim of this perception. Thanks

to a few connected unfortunate incidents, Pakistan cricket didn't find much room in the heavily active ICC future tours programme. In short, Pakistan was at mercy of certain nations and neutral venues to get a game of cricket. For an average twenty year old, coming from challenging backgrounds, with limited education and knowing only one art to survive, it isn't the best of times. In a sport, where the average career spans barely half a decade, time was and is running out for their community. Imagine the state of a world class bowler like Mohammad Asif - sitting at home and awaiting the next series to play, when a lesser talented, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was leading the life of a superstar and an unknown, Manpreet Gony, was minting money, just across the border!

Certain boards have invested and given a structure to their domestic cricket, enough to give an average domestic cricketer a living.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Pacquiao’s struggle could spur Mayweather fight LAS vEGAS AFp

Manny Pacquiao's struggle to a controversial victory over Juan Manuel Marquez could nudge the Filipino boxing icon closer to a megafight showdown against unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao stretched his win streak to 15 fights with a majority decision over Marquez on Saturday at Las Vegas, but lacked the overpowering form he had shown in seven fights since a previous controversial triumph over Marquez in 2008. "PacMan" needed 28 stitches to close a cut over his right eye suffered in a 10th-round head-butt and had two judges who gave him the final round scored it the other way, the fight would have been scored a draw. Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum dismissed Marquez's talk that he might retire, saying the likely $10 million payday for a fourth fight could change his mind and that he would try to stage a fourth Marquez-Pacquiao fight next May. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said he felt Marquez deserved a rematch before the Asian southpaw faced Mayweather. And while Pacquiao was open to a Marquez rematch, he made it clear he was also ready to face Mayweather, saying when asked about the prospect, "Let's get it on. Let's make the fight happen." Mayweather, through advisor Leonard Ellerbe, has said he wants to fight Pacquiao next May. Arum dismissed Mayweather having already set a date and site for the fight and Roach said Mayweather has no business trying to set terms. "I'm kind of tired of Floyd. Shut up and fight or don't," Roach said.

Sports 19

Pakistan fall to Malinga’s pace DUBAI

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LING-ACTION paceman Lasith Malinga took three wickets to help Sri Lanka to a 25-run win over Pakistan in the second one day international to level the five-match series 1-1 here on Monday. Malinga took two wickets in the first over and then returned in his second spell to finish with 3-36 to help dismiss Pakistan for 210 in 46.3 overs after setting them a target of 236 runs at Dubai stadium.

Pakistan won the first match by eight wickets, also played here on Friday. Umar Akmal led the chase with a brilliant 102-ball 91 but Pakistan lost three wickets in succession in the batting power-play, including that of Akmal which saw them lose their way. Akmal hit one six and eight boundaries -- three of them in Dilhara Fernando's 38th over -- before hitting the sixth delivery of the same over straight into the hands of mid-on to end Pakistan's hopes of winning.

Earlier the 28-year-old Malinga removed opener Mohammad Hafeez (four) with the third delivery of his first over -- his 150th oneday wicket in his 96th match -- and then Younis Khan (nought) off the fifth -- both caught behind. Thisara Perera, who finished with 230, removed Imran Farhat (three) before Akmal steadied the innings through a 64-run fourth wicket stand with Misbah-ul Haq (21) and another 62-run stand for the next wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed (24).

Shahid Afridi, who hit a 14-ball 29, and Saeed Ajmal added a quickfire 30 in four overs before Afridi was run out by Tillakaratne Dilshan, much to the relief of the Sri Lankans. Earlier Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga (77) and Mahela Jayawardene (50) set the foundations for the Sri Lankan total. Dilshan and Tharanga gave a solid 56-run start to their team by the 12th over when leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, manof-the-match in the first game for his 3-27,

SRI lANKA: u. Tharanga c Younis b Afridi 77 T. Dilshan b Afridi 28 K. Sangakkara c and b Razzaq 5 D. Chandimal b Ajmal 15 50 m. Jayawardene b Ajmal 3 A. mathews c Ahmed b Cheema 17 J. mendis not out 13 T. perera st Ahmed b Ajmal 2 l. malinga not out 25 eXTRAS: (lb8, nb1, w16) 235 ToTAl: (for seven wkts) Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Dilshan), 2-65 (Sangakkara), 3-94 (Chandimal), 4-179 (Tharanga), 5-189 (mathews), 6-210 (Jayawardene), 7-233 (perera) BoWlING: Gul 7-1-35-0 (nb1, w5), Cheema 8-0-56-1 (w4), Ajmal 10-0-61-3 (6w), Razzaq 7-1-18-1 (w1), Afridi 10-1-35-2, Hafeez 8-1-22-0 overs: 50 pAKISTAN 4 m Hafeez c Sangakkara b malinga 3 Imran Farhat lbw b perera 0 Younus Khan c Sangakkara b malinga 21 misbah-ul Haq lbw b Fernando umar Akmal c Chandimal b Fernando 91 11 Abdul Razzaq run out Sarfraz Ahmed lbw b malinga 24 Shahid Afridi run out 29 umar Gul lbw b perera 0 Saeed Ajmal not out 8 Aizaz Cheema run out 6 eXTRAS: (b1, lb5, w7) 13 210 ToTAl: Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Hafeez), 2-4 (Younus), 3-11 (Farhat), 4-75 (misbah), 5-102 (Razzaq), 6-164 (Akmal), 7-164 (Sarfraz), 8-169 (Gul), 9-199 (Afridi) BoWlING: malinga 9-1-36-3 (w5), perera 9-1-30-2, Fernando 9-0-54-2 (w2), prasanna 9.3-1-38-0, Dilshan 10-3-0, mendis 9-0-43-0 overs: 46.3 Result: Sri lanka won by 25 runs, Toss: Sri lanka, umpires: Richard Illingworth (eNG) and Zameer Haider (pAK), TV umpire: marais erasmus (RSA), match referee: Andy pycroft (ZIm).

DUBAi: Umar Akmal played valiantly for his 91. AFP provided Pakistan with a breakthrough.

Afridi bowled Sri Lanka captain Dilshan with a sharp googly after he had threatened to make a big score by hitting four boundaries. He fell for a 40-ball 28. Kumar Sangakkara made just five. It became 3-94 when Dinesh Chandimal (15) fell to off-spinner

Saeed Ajmal, leaving Tharanga and Jayawardene to give the innings some respectability. Tharanga hit eight boundaries during his 120-ball knock before he was caught off Afridi. Jayawardene, who was lacklustre in the Tests as well as in the first one-dayer, hit five boundaries during his 57-

Only talent can’t save WI cricket Comment BRIAN LARA We have a very long way to go. I would not have been surprised if we won the game in India because I know what we are capable of - sporadic, good sporadic performances - one here, one next year, but in terms of consistency, Trinidad, West Indies lack that, and that is not something that you regain overnight. I think our infrastructure is terrible administratively, we have got it wrong on many occasions. Our

player-board relationship - that has gone wrong for many years, gone sour and we need to improve these things, fix it, set a base, get the infrastructure in and then think about five, 10 years down the line. So it might be a dismal outlook, but if we keep just trying to put a plaster on every sore that we have, it's not going to work. So, I hope one day somebody's going to take it up and really get things going. As I said, on any given day, I think we've got the best talented cricketers in the world.

It's always been the case over the

years, since even before my days ... cricket has gone a long way now. Talent is only a very small part compared to 20, 30 years ago, when it was a major part - your physical fitness, your talent - that played a bigger role. Now (with) technology, there is a lot of things coming into play and I say it all the time - we in the West Indies take very good talent and make it average and people (in places) like Australia and England and India take average talent and make it very, very good, and that is where the problem lies.

Crown Club outplay Champion Punjab club LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

lAHore: Girls in action at the sports gala of lahore School of economics. lahore School, Beaconhouse, lUMS, lahore Grammar, UCl, FAST NU, Comsats and Kinaird College participated in the event. PR

No DRS, no drama eXpeRT CommeNT

SANJAY MANJreKAr

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VEN the ICC will concede the current situation in international cricket is far from ideal. Some series are played with the Decision Review System (DRS) in place, with all the available technology, some with the DRS but with limited use of technology, while in others there are no reviews at all. However, this enforced compromise in international cricket allows us to watch and compare the effects of these different approaches to the game.

The West Indies tour of India, broadcast under the direction of the BCCI, has no DRS, and minimal use of technology in its television coverage, while Australia's tour of South Africa is being played with the DRS, using all the technology available.

As for my stand on the DRS, to start with, like a typical cricketer, I was opposed to technology. But when technology became an integral part of decision-making, I started to see some benefits and joined the masses who had

begun to support the DRS. But now, watching the India-West Indies series, which takes you back to a time when there was limited use of technology, I am beginning to see some positives in the old-fashioned approach to cricket.

The BCCI's stand on the DRS is well known, but during the India-England oneday series the board went a step further and decided that the ball-tracking results for lbws wouldn't be broadcast for the benefit of television viewers either. I was outraged when I first learnt of this decision, but with time I began to understand the logic behind it. Why show the viewers what the board considers a flawed piece of technology and mislead them? Of course, the counter-argument would be: why not continue showing it as a viewing enhancement, as it was originally meant to be? But let's not forget that what started off as a "valueadd" on TV had such a powerful effect on fans, players and administrators that it forced its way into the core of the game.

This viewing enhancement was too potent to be used as just a television graphic.

The one thing I particularly liked about the DRS-free, ball-tracking-free coverage of the India-West Indies series was illustrated by the decision against Gautam Gambhir. He was given out legbefore by Rod Tucker in the second innings at the Kotla. It looked to many like the ball could have been slipping down leg. A review may have given Gambhir a lifeline, but because there was no DRS to confirm the line of the delivery, everyone - the players and the fans watching on TV

ball knock before he was bowled by Ajmal.

Ajmal finished with 3-61 while Afridi bagged 2-35. The remaining matches in the series will be played in Dubai (November 18), Sharjah (November 20) and Abu Dhabi (November 23). Both teams will also play a Twenty20 in Abu Dhabi on November 25.

- just moved on. Without ball-tracking technology, which could have thrown up further doubts, the dismissal incident did not become an issue. Obviously Gambhir would feel hard done by that there was no DRS, but his was one of the 40 wickets that can fall in a Test. Is one wicket that big a deal in the larger scheme of things?

Gambhir was out, not so much because the umpire decided it wasn't going down leg, but because he played across the line.

And with no one making a fuss about the decision, that is what he would have concluded himself in the dressing room.

Those who tend to be dramatic and suggest that one wicket can indeed change the course of the game are looking at it the wrong way. A team never loses a match because of one moment in the game; it's always more than one event - in fact, a series of events - that determines a team's defeat. But often, taking our anger out on the umpires after a game is lost seems to give us greater relief.

The BCCI's decision has also made the umpire the boss again, as it should be. I still can't come to terms with the fact that the umpire's finger going up is not the end of the matter, as it once was. I also strongly believe that umpiring has become better over the years, and we have to thank TV technology for it. So maybe it's time to give the umpires the final authority again. Considering the number of decisions an umpire gives in one Test, howlers are rare.

Once again, we are reminded of the virtues of the old methods, which cannot be dismissed as signs of old-fashioned,

rigid thinking. It's about which is better for the game as a whole in the long run. To rubbish this approach because it's being led by the BCCI is not right.

Of course, there are obvious advantages of using technology, and we saw its best endorsement at Newlands. Having an all-inclusive DRS helps keep calm among players in a high-intensity contest, because they feel the best possible effort has been made to arrive at the right decision.

Secondly, the viewers, who drive the cricket market, love a DRS situation. They lean forward on their sofas with great excitement to see what transpires as technology takes its course. What the DRS also does well is help balance the game out by taking much of the human element out of decision-making, which has always been based on the principle that the batsman should get the benefit of the doubt.

But I don't like how the DRS gets far too much attention during a match. When a not-out decision gets reviewed and overturned, and the batman starts walking back to the dressing room, the talk revolves around the DRS rather than how good the ball was or what mistake the batsman made. Cricket should always be about the players, not umpires and video evidence.

And like cricketers, technology can have a good or a bad game; it had a good run at Newlands but it failed in England.

We are running out of time on this issue. Very soon the ICC will have to standardise playing conditions in international cricket: it has to be DRS for all or for none.

I am glad I don't have to vote on this.

Crown Club defeated Champion Punjab club by eight wickets in the 27th M Yaseen Akhter Memorial cricket tournament at Model Town ground. Fine all round performance by Shoaib was the main feature of the match. Punjab Club 105 for 8. Afzal 15, Shafqat 22, Awais 10, Faisal 13. M Soaib 3 for 21, Rauf 2 for 19, Noor-ul-Amin 1 for 18, Wasim 1 for 15. Crown Club 106 for 2 in 14 overs. M Shoaib 45 (no), Noorul-Amin 50 (no). Faisal 1 for 30, Ahmed Khan 1 for 35.

Stags win SPM lahore veteran Cricket opener LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

SPM Stags beat Golden Eagle by four wickets in the opening match of the third SPM Lahore Veteran Cricket League that started at here at the Cricket Center Ground Model Town.

Golden Eagle made 191 for 8 in 30 overs. Asif Mahmood 42, Faisal Peerzada 37, Ali Amjad 27 and Babar Adil made 19 Runs respectively.

Khawaja Naseer-ud-Din took 2 for 13, Javed Hayat 2 for 29, while Iftikhar Ahmed, Zia-ud-Din, Imtiaz Tarar and Asad Iqbal took one wicket each. In reply, SPM Stags scored 192 in 24.4 overs for six. Kamran Khan 57, Jamshed Sidiqui 54 and Javed Hayat 24 runs, Asif Mahmood 2 for 38, Zahid 2 for 29 and Muhammad Rafique 2 for 29. Khurrum Siddique and Tassaduq Jamal were the umpires while Waqar Ahmed was scorer. In the end chief guest Fahim Ahmed Malik gave away the man of the match award to Jamshed Siddiqui. Aizad Syed also announced tournament committee and prize money.

The teams have been divided in to four different groups and the participating teams are: Sayid Paper Bucks, lahore Whites, Siddique Motors, lahore Shaheen, lahore Muhammadans, lahore Greens, Textile Tigers, Ch. Sports, Golden eagles, Gulberg Gymkhana, Hajvery Sports, Sayid Paper Stags, lahore Tigers and Amar Cables.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Zaka vows to lure world’s best back to Pakistan DUBAI

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AKISTAN'S new cricket chief Zaka Ashraf Monday vowed to bring international cricket back to the country, suggesting the game's governing body could form a board to assess security before teams' tours. International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, which left eight people dead and seven visiting players and their assistant coach injured.

Those incidents, coupled with continued security fears in Pakistan, have led to refusals by international teams to tour the troubled country. Ashraf, who replaced Ijaz Butt as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman last month, said his first task is to bring international cricket back to the country.

"We are doing our level best to bring international cricket back to Pakistan," Ashraf, who met International Cricket Council (ICC) officials, told AFP. "I have suggested the ICC should form a board to assess security in Pakistan." After the terrorist attacks of 2009, the ICC was forced to strip Pakistan of its share of matches in the 2011 World Cup. Sri Lanka also turned down an invita-

No Test championship until 2017: lorgat DUBAI

DUBAi: PCB chairman zaka Ashraf (r), iCC President Sharad Pawar (C) and iCC Chief executive Haroon lorgat (l) pose for photographers at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. AFP tion to tour Pakistan after a military base was attacked in Karachi in May this year, forcing them to play the series in the United Arab Emirates. Ashraf, regarded as a close friend of President Asif Ali Zardari, said he can take help from the government on implementing security for international teams.

"Once the ICC forms a security board we can also take help from the government and implement the best arrangements for international teams," said Ashraf. Ashraf said Pakistani fans are deprived of international cricket. "What happened in Pakistan was disappointing and that left millions of fans

Pakistan reach semis g

Doping mars Kabaddi World Cup AMRITSAR

and Afghanistan was awarded their group match in a walk-over. Australia has been officially kicked out of the tournament, the first team ever suspended. ''Five of Australia's players tested positive in anti-dope tests and two absconded, maybe out of fear of facing such a test,'' organising secretary Pargat Singh told reporters. ''Since eight players have to be on the ground, Australia failed to have a quorum at a group stage match yesterday and so have been disqualified.

They are out of the tournament.''

AGeNCIeS

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International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat on Monday ruled out the possibility of holding an ICC World Test championship until 2017. The game's governing body considered the Test championship between the top four teams in 2013 instead of the 50-over ICC Champions Trophy, which is scheduled for England, but Lorgat said the event is not possible until 2017. "I am afraid that's no longer going to happen in 2013," Lorgat told media on the sidelines of the second day-night international between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai. "At the last board meeting we decided that the first opportunity that we can play the World Test Championship is 2017. So I am disappointed that it is not going to take place sooner." Lorgat said the delay was due to prior ICC commitments. "It is a reality of the commitments that we have got already through to 2015," he explained. Lorgat said a Test championship would ensure the status of the longer version of the game, widely regarded as under threat from 50-over matches and now from more popular Twenty20 cricket. "We attempted to form the World Test Championship which I think would have been a very good context to ensuring the primacy of Test match cricket. But again we will have wait for 2017 to see that as a reality," he added.

in our country deprived of international cricket and we now seek help from the cricket world to restore activity so that our fans get to see that," said Ashraf.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat, who met Ashraf on Monday, said the ICC was doing its best to revive cricket in Pakistan. "It was something that could not get much time (for consideration) due to the spot-fixing issue, but now in order to have some teams playing in Pakistan the security situation has to be considered," said Lorgat. Ashraf said he has also written to Indian cricket chiefs to revive what he termed the "mother of all cricket" series. "I have written to Narayan Srinivasan (President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India) to revive the series between the two countries because it's a game and should be kept away from politics," said Ashraf. It is a move backed by Lorgat. "India-Pakistan is a seriously important fixture. It is also something which Ashraf has uppermost in his mind and we will support that. We can make a request to India, it is up to India to decide where they want to play." Ashraf said he has also met Bangladesh Cricket Board officials to break the ice. "I have also met Bangladesh officials and in order to break the ice. I have invited them to tour Pakistan and I hope they reply in a positive way."

Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup Kabaddi in India after they topped their group on Monday. The United States team were scrapped after their players refused to undergo dope tests by the organizers.

AUSTRALIA'S national team has been already thrown out. After five players failed drug tests and two more fled from testers, Australia were left without enough players to field a team,

This World Cup has staggered from controversy to controversy, its credibility annihilated by near-daily reports of positive drug tests. FILE PhOTO

Australian coach Ravinder Singh has said his team would accept its expulsion. ''We cannot protest the ban … the doping scandal should not have happened. It is very unfortunate but we didn't have enough time to conduct tests before departing for the World Cup.'' The Kabaddi World Cup is being played in the sport's spiritual homeland, the Punjab in north-western India.

Almost unknown to Australian audiences but hugely popular in South Asia, kabaddi is a physical, often violent, game played between two teams of between six and nine players, occupying opposite halves of a small field.

His opponents, who hold hands, try to snare the raider, tackling him to stop him returning to his team's half.

This World Cup has staggered from controversy to controversy, its credibility annihilated by near-daily reports of positive drug tests.

So far, 29 players, from Canada, Britain, the US, Norway, Spain, and India, have tested positive to banned substances. US team member Manjinder Singh allegedly tried to substitute his urine samples with water and verbally abused National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) staff when he was caught. Officials have refused to disclose which banned substances have been detected, but it is understood several players tested positive to the steroid nandrolone.

Fernandez Castano clinches storm-hit Singapore play-off

iCC WOMeN’s WOrld CuP QualiFiers

Pakistan prevail over hosts Bangladesh LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Pakistan, West Indies, the Netherlands and South Africa all claimed victories on the opening day of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Dhaka, Bangladesh today.

Sana Mir’s Pakistan defeated hosts Bangladesh by 73 runs in a hard-fought game played in front of strong home support. Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium saw over 4000 supporters fill the stands to cheer on the Bangladesh women’s side in its first round of the tournament that could see it qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2013.

Elsewhere, centuries from West Indians Juliana Nero and ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2011 Stafanie Taylor showed Ireland the Americas side’s

intentions for the event are serious and a superior bowling attack saw Isobel Joyce’s side defeated by 213 runs at BKSP* 3. At Khanshaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Sri Lanka had South Africa all out for 114 but fell short of reaching the target by just six runs after Sunette Loubser took an impressive 5-27 to secure victory for the Africans.

Meanwhile Netherlands defeated Zimbabwe by six wickets after putting on a superior batting display led by KerryAnne Tomlinson and Miranda Veringmeier at BKSP 2.

In front of a lively crowd and playing live on national television, Bangladesh lost the toss and were put into field first in Mirpur – a decision that Mir may have regretted after some tight bowling from Salma Khatun and her bowling attack.

Khatun was instrumental in the dismissal

of the opener, Mir, after the 25-year-old mistimed a hit off the bowling of Lata Mondol to give the captain a nifty catch.

The rest of the Pakistan top order performed well with the bat, with the standout performance coming from Bismah Maroof with her patient 79 off a 106 balls, the 20-year-old from Lahore was dismissed by in-form bowler Khadiza Tul Kubra who had Bismah caught by Khatun. The Bangladeshi captain had a strong game in the field, claiming two wickets and three catches to see Pakistan 197 all out in its allotted overs.

In reply, Bangladesh’s batting attack failed to have a response to the strong bowling from the Pakistanis, with the side managing to make just 99 runs, while Pakistan’s bowlers gave away some 15 extras to give the Bangladeshis a total of 114 all out in just 42.4 overs. Nida

Rashid proved to be the star bowler of the side with four wickets for just 29 runs, however, Bismah also claimed 2-16 and was judged by the on-field umpires to be most deserving candidate for Player of the Match award.

Bangladesh’s coach Mamatha Maben admitted that the Group B game had been tough with some areas needing to be worked, especially the middle order batting performance.

“We let too many extras go today which helped Pakistan in creating their total and we missed out on some chances to have them on the back-foot, whether it be with missed catches or poor fielding on our part. We let the Pakistanis create a partnership in the middle with Bismah and also Qanita Jalil showed some good batting which meant our bowlers couldn’t finish what they had started.

SINGAPORE AFp

Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the US$1 million Barclays Singapore Open play-off on the second extra hole early on Monday after storms forced the players to endure an agonising overnight wait. The 31-year-old from Madrid seized victory with a ninefoot birdie putt on the par-five 18th hole as opponent Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines pushed his effort just wide.

The conclusion was witnessed by just a smattering of fans at Sentosa Golf Club who braved a 7:30 am start after the play-off was twice interrupted and finally postponed a day earlier amid torrential rain and lightning strikes.

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Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

Sports 21

DUBAI: Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi (C) celebrates with teammates after dismissing Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan. AFP

watcH it LivE ESPN Sportscentre 08:00PM

NEO CRICKET India v West Indies 2nd Test Day 2 08:30AM

4th inter-school, Collegiate Games from today LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

The 4th Inter-school and Collegiate Games are set to glisten the Punjab Stadium from today (November 15) with around 2000 boys and girls of different institutions displaying their skills in around 27 disciplines.

On Monday, a full dress rehearsal was carried out here at the Stadium under lights and Secretary Punjab Olympics Association Khawaja Idris Haider reviewed the performance of the athletes so that there won’t be any anomalies before they present their performance in front of the chief guest Punjab’s Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday.

According to an organising committee member, Tania Malik, students of around 270 schools and colleges are taking part in the games while contingents of Sindh and Khyber PK have also arrived here to compete in different events.

In hockey, which started before the formal start of the event, Government College University Lahore beat Superior College 3-2 to clinch the title. Government College of Science defeated Garrison College 5-2 to secure third place.

Meanwhile, on the opening day of the women’s hockey, Baghbanpura College beat Himayat-e-Islam College 6-0, Kinnaird and Jinnah Colleges played a 1-1 draw, APWA and Lahore University played a 1-all draw while Wahdat Road College beat Model Town College 1-0. The badminton and basketball competitions also started on Monday while contest in other 23 disciplines will start on Tuesday.

WAPDA down Afghan in PPl LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

As many as four matches were decided in the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Monday.

WAPDA beat Afghan FC 2-1at the Railway Stadium, Lahore. WAPDA faced tough resistance after dominating the first half of the match. Muhammad Afzal scored the first goal for WAPDA in the 16th minute and Arif Mahmood (captain) doubled the lead in the 29th minute. From thereon, Afgha Club kept mounting attacks and counter-attacks but the Wapda defence kept them at bay. However, by the 76th minute Afgha Club’s Haneef Ullah found the net and the score was reduced.

KRL and Muslim FC played a goal-less draw at the Municipal Football Stadium, Rawalpindi in the second match of the day.

Later at the same venue, Army beat Baloch FC 3-1. Army conceded the goal to Balochs in the 30th minute into the game when losing side’s Habib Ullah successfully netted the goal. But their one-goal lead did not last long and Army’s Sarjeel brought the equalizer in the 64th minute which was doubled by Muhammad Shabeer in the 83rd Minute and Mubashar Hussain found the bars just before close of the match to provide Army clear win.

In the fourth match, PMC Athelco Club beat Police by two goals at the Agriculture University, Faisalabad.

Muhammad Rashid and Haroon Yousuf scored the winner teams’ goals in the 27th and 61st minutes of the game.

Peter Roebuck: A brilliant brain but a tortured soul eXpeRT CommeNT

DereK PriNGle Peter Roebuck possessed one of the keenest, most analytical minds of his generation, and one not easily swayed once made up. What made him consider all outcomes bleak enough to launch himself from the sixth floor of a Cape Town hotel on Saturday night is not yet fully understood, only that the fall ended a life as troubled as it was rich with talent.

Suicide is something Roebuck, 55 when he died, predicted would never take him, though those who had known him since his youth were less certain. In his foreword for the reprint of David Frith’s book on cricket suicides, Silence of the Heart, he wrote: “Some people have predicted a gloomy end for this writer. One former colleague said so to my face in September 1986. It will not be so. The art is to find other things that matter just as much as cricket, which stretch you just as far. “Certainly a man needs beliefs. Principles are not enough. But belief can spring from satisfaction in his own work, for to believe in your self is an act of faith.

Since 1983 I have led a stable, remarkably

untroubled life, and such vicissitudes as have occurred have been connected with cricket form rather than temperament.”

Roebuck wrote that early in 2001, a few months before the scandal of him caning three 19-year-old boys in his care in Taunton came to court and he was forced to admit common assault. Like his controversial move in 1986, when he replaced Somerset’s overseas players Vivian Richards and Joel Garner with Martin Crowe, a tempestuous time that saw him branded as “Judas” by Ian Botham, who left Somerset in protest, the stain never really faded. Time usually dilutes such things but with Roebuck, who shunned England as a result to become an Australian citizen based in Bondi, you sensed these were seminal moments in which the shame and controversy were accreting with age not dissipating. Suggestions that he was gay have circulated since his playing days, but if true he has never acknowledged it to anyone I know. In any case, he did not crave partners on an equal footing but followers. An intense, driven man, Roebuck was never destined to have an easy life and in a way he resented those who did. He despised sloppiness of any kind, though that contradicts his hero worship of RJO Meyer, the controversial founder of Millfield School in Somerset, which Roebuck and his younger brother, Paul, attended on scholarships. Meyer, a former Somerset cricketer, would think nothing of gambling school fees on the stock market or a horse race, any winnings providing extra bursaries for the talented but less well heeled. Roebuck acquired Meyer’s educationalist zeal, setting up

scholarships for the underprivileged in South Africa, but not his raffish touch.

Roebuck was a fine cricketer; a brave, organised batsman who could have considered himself unlucky not to have been one of Graham Gooch’s opening partners for England in the late 1980s. He probably came closest when asked to captain an England side, in which your correspondent also played, in two one-day matches against Holland in Amsterdam during 1989. England lost the first game but won the second, though the lack of faith in Roebuck was immediately apparent when Mickey Stewart, the coach, rushed up to journalists after the defeat and told them to discount everything Roebuck had said at the press conference.

He had the sharpest of minds (he took a double first in law at Cambridge) and, when the mood overcame him, a lacerating tongue as well. A brilliant writer on cricket for among others The Sunday Times and the Sydney Morning Herald, he was once accosted by Mark Nicholas, who penned a regular column himself at the time and informed Roebuck that they were the best cricket writers around. “Who told you that” quipped Roebuck, “your mother?”

I first encountered him on an Oxbridge tour of Australia in 1979/80, where he and Paul Parker, both playing club cricket in Sydney at the time, were drafted in to strengthen our team. Roebuck’s disdain for most of the opposition (he was a Somerset regular at this stage who had shared record batting stands with Viv Richards) was obvious and in one game against Monash University, he had completed at least two crosswords at second slip before we had bowled them out.

lahore Shalimar in sight of victory LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

Hasan Dar with his six wickets brought Lahore Shalimar in sight of victory on day three of the Division II Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match here at the LCCA ground on Monday. Hyderabad, resuming innings at 205 for five, were left stunned by Dar and were bundled out for 266. Dar gave 67 runs to take six wickets that also pushed the match into an interesting phase with Lahore needing another four wicket to win and Hyderabad require about 64 runs for the same. At Gaddafi Stadium, SNGPL forced Lahore Ravi to follow-on. SNGPL first scored 491 for eight declared and then bowled out Lahore at 242 in its first innings and by the close of play took another two second innings wickets of Lahore at 25 to consolidate their chances of win.

National Women’s Hockey from Dec 9 LAHORE STAFF RepoRT

The 27th National Women’s Hockey Championship will be played at National Hockey Stadium here from December 9 to 18. The women hockey teams from each region of Punjab (8), Sindh (5), KPK (1), Balochistan (2) and Islamabad (1) as well as Departmental teams of WAPDA, Railways, Army, HEC & Police will participate. The Championship will be organised by the Punjab Women Hockey Association on behalf of the PHF Women’s Wing. The PHF Women’s Wing will comprise a panel of technical officials for the smooth conduct of the premiere event. All the have been asked to make preparations for the event.

LHR pages 15-11-2011_Layout 1 11/15/2011 2:10 AM Page 22

Tuesday, 15 November, 2011

PAF jet crashes in Attock, pilot killed

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Pilgrim dies in Jeddah as PiA sticks to delays LAHORE

ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

ImRAN ADNAN

A Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jet crashed during a training flight on Monday in northern Pakistan, killing the pilot, the air force said. “A PAF jet aircraft, while on a routine training mission, crashed due to technical malfunction near Attock,” said a PAF statement, without specifying the aircraft’s type. “The pilot was fatally injured. No loss of civilian life or property has been reported on ground. A board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of accident,” the statement added. Reportedly, the body of Squadron Leader Hussain was recovered some three kilometres from the crash site.

Earlier media reports said the pilot remained safe after the plane crashed in Mulla Mansoor mountains near Attock soon after it left the Kamra airbase. The PAF has a fleet of Chinese aircraft, including F-7PGs and A-5s, plus USbuilt F-16s and French Mirages. It recently acquired medium-tech JF-17 or Thunder jets, manufactured jointly by China and Pakistan.

There was no respite for pilgrims even on the fifth day of the national flag carrier’s post Haj-operation on Monday, as almost all Haj and routine flights were delayed for hours due to ill planning and mismanagement by the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). PIA sources told Pakistan Today that the airline had to bear great embarrassment when a pilgrim, Abdul Rehman, passed away at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, while waiting for PIA’s delayed flight PK2010 that was scheduled to land at Karachi airport at 12pm. PIA Public Relations General Manager Sultan Hasan confirmed the death, saying Rehman was accompanied by his Moallam, who brought him to Jeddah airport where he breathed his last. He said the body of the deceased had been handed over to local authorities, who would contact the Pakistani embassy for its transfer, he added. Meanwhile, statistics reveal that not even a single return Haj flight could match its scheduled time during the last five days. Sources said PIA had so far operated 45 return Haj flights, of which most were delayed by over 10 hours. Around 11 aircraft have been grounded because of the non-availability of spare parts. Two Boeing 747s were grounded in Karachi, while two Airbus A310s and one AP BFT have been grounded due to various reasons.

Similarly, five Boeing 737s were grounded in Islamabad. One AP BCD is grounded in Lahore after a bird-hit incident. The PIA spokesman categorically denied the fact about grounded aircraft, saying, “It has never happened in any single time that some six or seven aircraft get out of order.

Right now only three aircraft, including one Boeing 747 and two Boeing 737s, are grounded. However, they will join the operations in a day or two after getting certification from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).” To a query, he said extraordinary crowding at Jeddah airport was the root cause of the delay in PIA’s post-Haj operation, while an unavailability of aircrafts was the reason for domestic delays. Meanwhile, PIA flight PK-7441 carrying more than 400 pilgrims, including federal ministers and parliamentarians, reached Karachi after eight hours delay on Monday. The flight, which was scheduled to reach at 8pm on Sunday, landed at the Karachi Airport at 4am on Monday.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah,National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Kareem Kundi and several parliamentarians were among the passengers. Talking to reporters at the airport, Shah blamed Saudi authorities for 80 percent of delays in PIA Haj flights.

Pakistan trying to get $3.5b loan from iMF DuBai/islaMaBaD: In a desperate move to steer Pakistan out of the capital crunch, the government is striving hard to convince International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a fresh loan programme to the tune of $3.5 billion. According to sources, a 22-member Pakistani delegation, currently engaged in two rounds of talks with IMF, was primarily looking for an endorsement of a medium-term macroeconomic framework. Besides a clean chit under Article IV consultation, Pakistan is also seeking an agreement on macroeconomic and fiscal framework, which is a pre-requisite to negotiations for a fresh loan programme, the sources added. However, the government delegation was still insistent upon its earlier stance that they were not looking for a fresh loan programme. “Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and I have repeatedly said that neither a fund programme has been asked nor is there a need for it now,” said Finance Secretary Waqar Masood. The secretary was leading the delegation until the arrival of finance minister on Monday night or Tuesday. ONLINE

4 soldiers killed by militants in Khyber PESHAWAR AFp

Four paramilitary soldiers were killed on Monday when militants attacked their convoy in Khyber Agency, officials said. The attackers opened fire on the paramilitary convoy in the Nala area, five kilometres west of Bara, the district headquarters of Khyber.

“The militants opened fire at the convoy when it passed from the area and killed four security personnel,” Rehan Gul Khattak, a local administration official told AFP. “The security forces fired back but the militants managed to escape,” he said. In the neighbouring Mohmand Agency, security forces said they killed four militants and injured five others who were later arrested, as the group tried to enter Pakistan from across the unmarked border in Afghanistan.

“Those who have been arrested were injured during the exchange of fire as the militants attacked Pakistan forces and they retaliated,” said Maqsood Hassan, a local administration official. Security officials in Peshawar confirmed both incidents.

ISlAmABAD: Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani look on as Turkmen Foreign minister Rashid meredov and Foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar shake hands after signing an agreement at the prime minister’s House on monday. AFP

Govt’s writ can’t be established without good governance: CJP Chaudhry expresses surprise at swift end to load shedding g Says all issues can be resolved if govt works with honesty g

ISLAMABAD

C

mASooD ReHmAN

HIEF Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Monday that the government’s writ could not be established without good governance, and illegal appointments and political compromises would never bring good governance.

“We are astonished that when people came out onto the roads, just one statement came from the prime minister and finished load shedding,” said Chaudhry, who was heading a twomember Supreme Court bench, also comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, hearing a suo motu case and two identical petitions filed by Federal Housing Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Khawaja Muhammad Asif against corruption in the award of contracts for Rental Power Projects (RPPs). “If the government worked in accordance with law and honesty, all is-

sues could be resolved,” the chief justice said, adding that if the government had any morality, it would have stepped down or started hiring honest people on key posts and started a new history of good governance.

The court also rejected a proposal to constitute a commission to identify dysfunctional RPPs. The chief justice said if the government could maintain its writ, it could get 100 percent electricity bills from the consumers. He questioned how load shedding was ended in a single day. At the onset of hearing, Khawaja Tariq Rahim, counsel for the Water and Power Ministry, told the court that all the RPPs were established in accordance with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) rules after approval from the cabinet. He said advertisements were given not only in the national media but also in the international media for these RPPs. “The companies that did not produce anything were given permission and were given 14 percent mobilisation advance instead of 7 percent,

and the cabinet was not consulted,” the court noted, adding that the machinery was not checked deliberately and advertisements were also not transparent.

However, Rahim stated that these agreements were made with good intentions and the companies that failed to fulfil their commitments were penalised. The court noted that penalties were not enough and enquired why the people responsible for load shedding were not being prosecuted by the accountability bureau.

The counsel sated that Rs 70 billion were due from Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) consumers and cases were pending in court. The chief justice noted that the government should approach the Supreme Court and the court would order the disposal of such cases on a priority basis. He said if the government maintained its writ, such problems would never occur.

The court said the government must rely on honest people and stop political transfers.

SC questions Moonis’s acquittal without regular trial ISLAMABAD STAFF RepoRT

The Supreme Court on Monday questioned Moonis Elahi’s acquittal in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam case without a regular trial and his visit abroad despite being on the Exit Control List.

The court also sought the attorney general’s opinion on transferring the investigation of the case from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). A threemember special SC bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim was hearing the mega scam case in-

volving over Rs 5 billion. During the hearing, Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq could not give a satisfactory reply when the court asked him about the government’s next step after the main accused in the NICL scam, Moonis Elahi, was acquitted on October 21 by Lahore District and Sessions Judge Mujahid Mustaqim. The court then asked the AG to submit his opinion by today (Tuesday) for transferring the probe from the FIA to NAB. It also directed the AG to submit the details by today (Tuesday) about Moonis’ visit abroad.

During the hearing, former FIA additional director general Zafar Qureshi, who was the chief investigator of NICL scam, told the court that Rs 420 million had yet to be recovered from Moonis and

Mohsin Warraich. He said Moonis’ name was on the ECL, but still he was allowed to go abroad. The chief justice inquired whether an accused could be acquitted without a regular trial. Qureshi contended that he was pressurised for releasing Habib Warraich. However, he said he was committed to rendering duties assigned to him by the SC. Justice Muslim asked why the government had not filed an appeal against Moonis’ acquittal.

Babar Awan, counsel for Moonis, told the court that wrong statements had been submitted before the court, adding that concrete evidence had been given to district and sessions court in the case. The court also took up the matter pertaining to the allegations levelled by Qureshi

Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

against the Chaudhry brothers. Wasim Sajjad, counsel for the Chaudhry brothers, termed the allegations biased, saying Qureshi had not yet filed his reply over the plea of his clients. He said Qureshi had not told the court how he was threatened, despite the fact that the Chaudhry brothers had already denied the allegations. “I need to know who is blaming my client,” said Sajjad to which Qureshi said “a reliable source” had informed him about it and he was willing to tell the court about the person at some other time. “Nothing is confidential in front of the court and you can tell us in the chamber,” the chief justice told Qureshi. The court later adjourned proceedings until today (Tuesday).