E-paper Pakistantoday Lahore 16th nov, 2011

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Lessons learnt from defeat, says Misbah

Indo-Pak talks: Trade to lead ‘normalisation roadmap’

Yemen’s Saleh says ready to step down in 90 days

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PROFIT | PAGE 01

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pakistantoday.com.pk

Vol ii no 141 32 pages lahore edition

wednesday, 16 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 19, 1432

Army supports democracy, Kayani tells Zardari US Ambassador Munter calls on Zardari shortly after Gen Kayani leaves g Army chief takes up with president case of alleged memo sent to Washington

g

ISLAMABAD Shaiq huSSain

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani on Tuesday held an important meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari amidst speculation of uneasy ties between the country’s civilian rulers and the military establishment, telling the president that the army wanted to strengthen the democratic system in the country. An official seeking anonymity said apart from other issues, the vital matter of an alleged “memo” being linked to the presidency and sent to senior most military official in Washington in a bid to seek help of Washington against possible military coup in Pakistan was also discussed during the meeting between the president and army chief.

“General Kayani observed during the meeting that the armed forces wanted to strengthen the democratic order in the country, but he also expressed the resentment among the military cadres over such reports,” the source said.

The three service chiefs, including General Kayani and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne, were not among the guests invited to a reception hosted by

President Zardari in the honor of Turkmen President Gurbangul Berdymukhammedov at the Presidency on Monday.

Although the ISPR denied that the top brass of army avoided participation in the reception, saying that army chief did not get an invitation and General Wynne was abroad, their absence triggered speculation about the strained relations between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. “Current security situation and professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting,” said a brief official statement issued from presidency after the meeting.

In a related significant development, US Ambassador Cameron Munter also called on President Zardari a couple of hours after the crucial meeting between the president and army chief. Officials said the purpose of US ambassador’s meeting was to have an idea of what transpired in the hour-long meeting between the president and General Kayani, as the US is keenly monitoring the situation in Islamabad as reports emanate Continued on page 04

Haqqani Called for briefing| page 09

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Landmark legislation brings end to brutal traditions and social practices against women

ISLAMABAD iRFan BuKhaRi

In a landmark legislation that brings an end to brutal centuries-old traditions and social practices against women, the National Assembly unanimously passed the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill of 2011 on Tuesday, which declares exploitation of and discrimination against women a crime punishable under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The private member’s bill,

moved by Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid (PML-Q) MNA Dr Doniya Aziz, will now go to the Senate for ratification and if it is also passed by the Upper House, it will be sent to the president, who will then sign it into law. “Whoever gives a female in marriage or otherwise compels her to enter into marriage, as badal-e-sulh, wanni, or swara or any other custom or practice under any name in consideration of settling a civil dispute or a criminal liability shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and shall not be less than three years and shall also be liable to fine of Rs 500,000,” the bill states. This bill was tabled in the National Assembly in October but was put on hold because of some legal lacunae and opposition from several treasury members. A similar bill had been introduced in the National Assembly by PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in 2006 but was not passed.

The bill also seeks to prohibit depriving a woman from inheriting property by adding a new chapter titled “Offences Against Women” to the PPC. “Whoever by deceitful or illegal means deprives any woman from inheriting any movable or immovable property at the time of opening of succession shall be punished with imprisonment for either description for a term which may extend to 10 years but not less than five years or with a fine of Rs 1,000,000,” says the bill. Similarly, when this bill becomes law, forced marriage will also be declared a punishable offence.

Continued on page 04

gilani Congratulates Mps on passage of woMen’s bill | page 04

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02 News

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

LAHoRe

‘Who cares, it’s just a building’

Today’s

NeWS

WoRLd vieW

Don’t expect miracles from indo-Pak talks: antony israel behind deadly explosion at iran missile base

Quick Look

Story on Page 10

Story on Page 08

Story on Page 14

Taking back advance payments to RPPs not enough: CJ Chaudhry says SC will have to determine who paid the RPPs huge sums of money and why g

ISLAMABAD MaSOOD REhMan

C

HIEF Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed on Tuesday that taking back the unjustified huge advanced payments to rental power companies would not be enough, so the court would determine who made these advanced payments and why.

He said all those responsible for the failure of Rental Power Projects (RPPs) should be pointed out, rather than grilling only former water and power minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. He hinted that the hearing of the suo motu RPPs’ case would be completed by Friday, which he is conducting as the head of a two-member Supreme Court bench also comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain.

Counsel for the Water and Power Ministry Khawaja Tariq Rahim told the court that 14 percent, against the already agreed seven percent, mobilisation advance and other payments were given to the rental power companies just to save the investment.

He said the approval of RPPs was given by the federal cabinet

at the time and the Finance Ministry had said in May 2008 that it would pay for the RPPs, however in December it declined.

Justice Hussain observed that the matter of RPPs was not negligence, but criminal negligence.

“Don’t think that you will be given a clean chit after you have taken back the money given to the rental power companies in the head of mobilisation and other advances,” Chief Justice Chaudhry noted, adding that it would also be determined who paid this huge sum and why.

Rahim stated that the price of furnace oil per tonne was Rs 24,000 which went up to Rs 65,000 per tonne in a year after the contracts were awarded to the RPPs. The chief justice observed that because of the absence of result-oriented policies of the government and its irresponsible approach, the matter of RPPs had become complicated. He said payments were made without any justification to the government’s favourites.

The chief justice remarked further that after spending billions of rupees, the national grid was receiving less than 100 megawatts of electricity, and at present there were only eight

RPPs instead of 18. He said the court would not tolerate financial loss to the national exchequer at any cost. Rahim then said if the money of poor people was being wasted in the RPPs, the projects should be shut down.

“This is the hard-earned money of the poor people, people who barely earn enough to have two meals a day. We have to see how much benefit the poor people reaped and how much they suffered [because of these projects]. There is a difference between running a government and running a shop. What you are talking about is running a retail shop,” Justice Hussain remarked.

Citing Para 22 of the Asian Development Report relating to the RPPs, the chief justice said the contents of the report had recommended fact finding in the RPPs’ case. Federal Housing and Works Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, one of the two petitioners against the RPPs, informed the court that the contract of Reshma RPP did not come into existence.

Rahim said he would defend the allegation. The court later adjourned further hearing until Wednesday (today).

Mirza leaves for London with ‘evidence’ against MQM KARACHI: Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza left for London “to provide evidence against” the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to London authorities on Tuesday. Mirza told reporters at the airport that he would provide evidence against the MQM and its chief Altaf Hussain to the British authorities and asked the people of Pakistan to pray for his success. Prior to his departure, Mirza visited Afaq Ahmad, the detained leader of Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-Haqiqi), in the premises of Sindh High Court (SHC) and had an hour-long meeting. On the occasion, Ahmed levelled several serious allegations against his rival, the MQM. He vowed not to leave his homeland, announcing to continue politics after his release. He agreed with Mirza that the MQM had taken Karachi and its citizens hostage. He said the

Pakistani people would know the reality of MQM when illegal arms would be seized from terrorists working under the party’s “militant wing”. He alleged that Altaf Hussain had ordered the murders of party’s founding chairman Azeem Ahmed Tariq, vice chairman Badar Iqba, secretary general Imran Farooq, central joint secretary SM Tariq and former Sindh Assembly speaker Raziq Khan. Mirza told reporters that he was preparing himself to face possible graft charges. He called Shah Mehmood Qureshi a “big politician”, adding that he could not match Qureshi because he was an ordinary party worker. While answering a question on Pakistan Tehrik-eInsaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, he said the cricket legend would be caught behind the stumps while trying to bat, although he was “good at bouncers”. iMDaD SOOMRO

QUETTA: Female teachers protest against the government. INP

SC tells FIA to return Rs 20m from Moonis’s accounts ISLAMABAD MaSOOD REhMan

Declaring the reactivation of Moonis Elahi’s accounts a violation of its orders, the Supreme Court told the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Lahore director on Tuesday to return the Rs 20 million unfrozen from the accounts of the key accused of the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam within two days. A three-member special bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim was hearing the NICL scam case. The court warned FIA Lahore Director Waqar Ahmad and Assistant Director (Legal) Zulfiqar Ali to ensure the unfrozen money was returned, otherwise they would be sent to jail. The chief justice noted that FIA Director General (DG) Tahseen Anwar Shah was not implementing court orders and told him to pay TA/DA to former FIA additional DG Zafar Qureshi, who was heading the scam’s investigation.

During the hearing, the court sternly reprimanded the FIA Lahore director for unfreezing two accounts of Elahi, which contained Rs 20 million. The court asked Waqar Ahmad on what grounds he reactivated Elahi’s accounts, and said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would be brought on board in the NICL scam case.

The chief justice asked both officers to recover the money first and then the court would decide on what action to take against them. He said many of the court’s orders in the NICL scam case, wherein the FIA was directed to take NAB into confidence while investigating the scam, were not implemented. “Why were our orders not implemented in letter and spirit?” the chief justice enquired, adding that the court would send the case to NAB. When the court asked FIA Director (Legal) Azam Khan whether the agency had taken NAB into confidence while probing the NICL scam, he could not give a satisfactory reply. Justice Tariq Parvez noted that it had to be determined by the

FIA and NAB whether the case of Moonis Elahi should be sent to the trial court or not. “In this matter too, the court orders were violated,” Justice Parvez said. He said the letters on whose basis Elahi’s accounts were unfrozen were not available on FIA records.

Appearing on notice, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq told the court that Justice (r) Ghulam Rabbani was probing political involvement in the scam’s investigation and he had also collected some evidence; however after his retirement he could not complete the enquiry.

The court then ordered that Justice (r) Rabbani would continue the enquiry and submit his report within a month. The attorney general also presented before the court a copy of Elahi’s acquittal orders. Wasim Sajjad, counsel for Moonis Elahi, told the court that misunderstanding between Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Zafar Qureshi would be settled amicably out of court. The court then adjourned further hearing until November 24.

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Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

foReiGN NeWS

ARtS & eNteRtAiNMeNt

SPoRtS

new York police evict anti-Wall Street protesters

Sheila turns chikni chameli

PcB to set up Vigilance Division

News 03 CoMMeNt no pipe dreams: Our needs, our programmes.

a dark horse?

Will Imran Khan prove his political prowess?

Dr hasan askari says: The Imran Khan alternative: Can he be the replacement we seek?

Shaukat umer says: Iran’s nuclear challenge: Diplomacy offers the only sensible way forward.

harris Bin Munawar says: Dancing girls, Jihadi boys: Theatre and anti-theatre in Pakistan.

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 20

UK police arrest 4 British Pakistanis in counter-terror probe LONDON aSiF MEhMOOD

The British Police has arrested four men of Pakistani origin under the Terrorism Act as part of a major ongoing investigation on Tuesday.

Officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit detained the men at their homes in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham city on suspicion of travelling to Pakistan to undertake terrorist training and of raising funds for terrorist purposes.

The chairman crime stoppers of West Midlands police, Mazhar Iqbal told Pakistan Today that all four arrested were born in Britain and have ancestors in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. One of them is an Englishman and new Muslim. A police spokesman said the suspects, aged between 19 and 24, were not charged yet.

“We cannot disclose their names unless they are charged,” Iqbal said. They have been arrested as part of Operation Pitsford, a large-scale inquiry which has already seen eight other people charged with a variety of offences.

Qureshi left PPP for personal reasons: Kaira ISLAMABAD

R

aRiF taj

EFUTING allegations of former PPP foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday said differences of the former foreign minister with the party and its leadership were not political, but personal and he would have been in the party today had he been made the Minister for Foreign Affairs per his desire.

“Why did Qureshi not raise objections when he was the foreign minister? Why did he not say that the party and its leadership were deviating from the legacy and vision of Benazir Bhutto? He turned against the party and its leadership when he was not made the foreign minister. He parted ways for personal reasons, not on account of political differences,” Kaira said during a press conference along with Federal Minister for

NA demands probe into Hindu doctors’ killings ISLAMABAD StaFF REPORt

Parliamentarians on Tuesday vociferously protested the killings of Hindu doctors in Sindh and demanded a judicial commission or a parliamentary committee to probe the killings of minorities.

As legislators from the treasury and opposition benches united in their demand, the government however did not announce a high-level body to investigate the incident in which three Hindu doctors were murdered in Sindh. The house nonetheless observed silence for one minute to express solidarity with the victims’ heirs.

Speaking on a point of order in the

National Assembly, Kishan Chand Parvani demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to probe the reasons behind the killings. He said Hindus were the indigenous inhabitants of the country, adding that the families of the murdered doctors had made a futile attempt to seek help from the local Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership. Manwer Lal of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) demanded a thorough inquiry to ascertain the causes of the murder. He said Hindus were the biggest business community and were providing billions of rupees in revenue to Pakistan.

Another Hindu legislator, Ramesh Lal, told that President Asif Ali Zardari had ordered immediate arrests of the

‘PML-N may resign from assemblies within two months’

accused and to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the culprits. He informed that seven people had already been arrested while four more accused were still at large. Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khurshid Shah condemned the murder and assured that the culprits would be award exemplary punishment. Khatu Mal Jeewan, while condemning the incident, blamed former president General Zia-ul-Haq for starting the conspiracies against the minorities and killing four Hindus in a temple.

Sherry Rehman urged the House to take practical steps to ensure protection for the minorities and women. She also urged the National Commission of Minorities to probe the incident.

‘Resignations will be drone attack on democracy’

ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

agEnciES

StaFF REPORt

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that his party members might tend resignations from assemblies within two months. Speaking to a private channel outside the Supreme Court, Asif said the parliament had become inactive. He said the parliament had become hostage to executive decisions and become ineffective. He said Shah Mehmood Qureshi has admitted the parliament is inactive, which is what he had been saying for two years. Qureshi resigned from both his party and membership of the National Assembly membership on Monday. He said he hoped the PML-N will decide soon, possibly within two months to resign from assemblies. He said he could not violate party discipline and resign alone.

Articles on Page 12-13

Terming Shah Mahmood Qureshi a ‘political nomad’ who keeps changing political parties, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday said the tendering en bloc resignation by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members of parliament would be like a drone attack on democracy and the democratic process in the country. Talking to the media outside Parliament House, she said the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leadership had known Qureshi’s plan but did not expel him from the party to allow him to show his real face. She said, “We gave him time and avoided taking action against him so that PPP workers could see his real face themselves.”

Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s resignation recevied ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) Secretariat received the resignation of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday, an official source told Pakistan Today. On the condition of anonymity, the official said, “We have received Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s resignation.” Qureshi resigned from his NA seat on Monday and asked all ‘patriotic’ MNAs and members of Opposition parties to resign from the Lower House to seek a fresh mandate from people under a neutral caretaker set-up and independent Election Commission claiming the house had failed to implement its resolutions and the government had failed to resolve crisis in the country. By-elections would be held on Qureshi’s constituency if the NA speaker accepts his resignation. Pakistan People’s Party Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Tuesday that by-elections will be held in Qureshi’s constituency soon.

The election commission will announce the election schedule after the Qureshi’s resignation is accepted by the Speaker. StaFF REPORt Textiles Makhdoom Shahabuddin.

QuReSHI StAnDS ALone, SAyS WARRAICH: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab president Imtiaz Safdar Warriach said Shah Mahmood Qureshi does

not have the support of other parliamentarians and stands alone. Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Tuesday, he said the proof was that no other lawmaker had resigned with him.

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04 News

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Embarrassed Qamar withdraws WAPDA report ISLAMABAD aMER Sial

P

INPOINTING of gross mistakes in the power generation data and power tariff submitted by the Ministry of Water and Power (MOWP) to the National Assembly Special Committee on Power Crisis forced Minister Naveed Qamar to accede that there were discrepancies in the submitted data and he withdrew all the provided documents from the committee.

The committee’s meeting was chaired by Usman Khan Taraki. Pointing out that the documents submitted to the committee were misleading, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-

Nawaz (PML-N) said, “It appears that nobody in the MOWP is aware of the actual problem, so how can we talk about the solution for which the committee was set up.”

He said unfortunately the government and MOWP had for the last four years confused everybody, as they had failed to find a reason for the power crisis. “It is a myth what affects the energy sector,” he said.

Criticism began on the very first slide of the MOWP’s presentation. Abbasi said the slide presented “very expensive fuel mix” as the problem.

He said the ministry’s officials were misleading the government and the NA committee by saying that only the power generation on furnace oil was too expensive. He said the

presentation contained no comparative cost estimates of investment required for generating one megawatt power from alternative resources, which were “comparatively expensive than oil on short term basis”. Abbasi said the presentation did not explain how an installed power generation capacity of 20,823 MW, which was reduced to 18,784 MW, could only provide an output of 14,300 MW. An embarrassed Naveed Qamar conceded that the presentation had discrepancies and sought permission for withdrawing the documents, while assuring the committee to provide correct data in the next meeting.

Chairman Taraki allowed withdrawing of all the presentations.

German foreign minister arriving tomorrow ISLAMABAD StaFF REPORt

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will arrive in Islamabad tomorrow (Thursday) on an important visit to discuss the forthcoming Bonn Conference with the Pakistani leadership, which is being held on December 5 in Germany. This will be the second Bonn conference and is being held 10 years after the first Bonn conference, which was held after the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

The International community will refresh their commitments for Afghanistan and according to the host country Germany, around 100 representatives from various countries and international organisations will attend the conference.

Afaq cleared of kidnapping, torture charges 26 militants killed ing complainant Khalid Hus- of Muttahida Qaumi Move- in orakzai offensive KARACHI sain requested the court to ment worker Jameel Baloch StaFF REPORt

The Sindh High Court on Tuesday cleared Mohajir Quami Movement-Haqiqi Chairman Afaq Ahmed of charges of torture and abduction, rejecting the complainant’s plea for more time for preparation.

A single bench comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar started the proceedings on Tuesday on the bail application filed on behalf of Ahmed. Advocate Muhammad Jewan represent-

Legislators slam removal of security from NA speaker’s residence ISLAMABAD StaFF REPORt

As legislators unanimously condemned the withdrawal of security from the residence of National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza in Karachi, former law minister Afzal Sindhu held Interior Minister Rehman Malik responsible for the move.

Speaking on a point of order, Sindhu, a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), said the speaker was the third most important person in the country’s hierarchy, and that it was the federal government’s job to provide her security. He asked the prime minister to clarify the government’s position on providing security to the speaker.

“I do not hold Sindh government responsible for the lapse,” he said, adding that the interior minister was responsible to provide security.

In reply, the interior minister said he had sought a report from the Sindh inspector general of police regarding the removal of security from the speaker’s residence.

Malik acknowledged that providing security to the VIPs and members of the parliament was the responsibility of the federal government.

grant him at least a day’s time so he could prepare for the hearing. Justice Baqar granted him two hours for preparation, but after two hours the counsel requested for a day. The court rejected his plea and disposed of the matter. Another single bench comprising Justice Shahid Anwer Bajwa issued notices to the advocate general and the Sindh prosecutor general in the bail application of Afaq Ahmed in the murder case

and ordered the jail authorities to present the detained the political leader in the court on November 18.

A third high court bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, in a constitutional petition filed by Ahmed against MQM chief Altaf Hussain and other leaders Waseem Akhtar and Anis Qaim Khani issued notices to the counsels of the Sindh government for filling of comments on November 26.

Oppressed no more!

Continued froM page 1 “Whoever coerces or in any manner whatsoever compels a woman to enter into marriage shall be punished with imprisonment of description for a term, which may not be less than three years and shall also be liable to fine of Rs 500,000,” says the bill.

Prohibition of ‘marriage’ to the Holy Quran is a significant step forward to rein in the feudal culture and traditions.

“Whoever compels or arranges or facilitates the marriage of a woman with the Holy Quran shall be punished with imprisonment of either description which may extend to seven years but shall not be less than three years and shall be liable to fine of Rs 500,000,” says the bill. The bill states that an oath by a woman on the Holy Quran to remain unmarried for the rest of her life or not to claim her share of inheritance would be deemed ‘marriage’ to the

Holy Quran.

The provincial governments have also been legally barred from interfering in sentences of rape by inserting a new section (402D) in the Code of Criminal Procedure.

“Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 401, 402 or 402B, the provincial governments shall not suspend, remit or commute any sentence passed under section 376 of the PPC,” says the bill.

The statement of objects and reasons of the bill explains that there are several practices in vogue in the country which are not only against human dignity but also violate human rights. “Such customary norms are likewise contrary to Islamic injunctions. It is, therefore, necessary that such inhumane practices and customs are done away forthwith and the persons continuing such practices be dealt with severely by providing penal and financial liabilities,” the statement said.

ORAKZAI OnlinE

At least 26 militants were reportedly killed on Tuesday in an operation conducted by security forces in Upper Orakzai Agency. Sources said the security forces proceeded towards Dabori, Gokamar and Shadala areas and targeted six hideouts after which militants started to escape from the area. Sources added that the operation would continue until peace is restored in the area. “We have been chasing militants and will continue it until we eliminate them and bring back peace to the once peaceful area,” a military official told a private channel.

Another PPP MNA turning coat?

LAHORe inP

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and Minister National Assembly Nabeel Gabol on Tuesday called on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to discuss the political situation. The Karachi MNA met Imran in Lahore.

Gabol is the second PPP leader to have called on Imran Khan in two days. PPP leader Dr Israr Shah had met Imran earlier. Analysts are giving importance to the PPP leaders meeting Imran Khan with some questioning if a series of defections from the PPP to PTI were about to occur.

President okays appointments of SC, IHC judges ISLAMABAD OnlinE

The president on Tuesday, upon confirmation of nominations by Parliamentary Committee and on the advice of the prime minister, appointed Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, and Justice Gulzar Ahmed as judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the Judicial Commission of Pakistan had nominated them and Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed, former judge of the Sindh High Court, for ap-

pointment as judges of the Supreme Court of the Pakistan. However, as deliberation of the Parliamentary Committee on the recommendations of the Judicial Commission in respect of Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed for his appointment as judge of the Supreme Court remained inconclusive, the provisions of the Clause 12 of Article 175 of the constitution would become operative in his case.

The president also approved the appointment of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed as the chief justice of the Lahore High Court.

Farhatullah Babar said the president also confirmed

Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan as judges of the Islamabad High Court.

The president also appointed Noorul Haq N Qureshi, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Muhammad Azeem Khan Afridi as additional judges of the Islamabad High Court for a one year period.

The confirmation of the two Judges of the Islamabad High Court and appointment the three additional judges of Islamabad High Court for a one year period was approved by the president in accordance with the procedure laid down in the constitution, Babar said.

‘I would do it again 100 times’ MONItORINg DeSK A Canadian Muslim father charged with murdering his three daughters in apparent act of honour killings has said he would do it again - even if they came back to life 100 times.

Mohammad Shafia, 58, cursed his daughters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, saying they were “treacherous” as he likened them to prostitutes during a conversation that was recorded by police.

He is on trial for their murders after they were found dead in the family car along with Shafia’s first wife, Rona Amir, 50, in the Rideau Canal, located in the Kingston area of Ontario in Canada in 2009.

However, his version of

accounts did not add up and he was arrested and charged with their murder.

Geeti Shafia was just 13 when she was found dead in the submerged car Shafia, who moved to Canada from Afghanistan with his family, is polygamous and after his arrest was heard telling his second wife, Tooba Yahya, that their daughters had brought shame on the family. He said, “Even if, God forbid, they hoist us on to the gallows... we accept it wholeheartedly,” a day after his arrest.

The court heard the recordings in which Shafia talks about his daughters and the fact that they were dating while ranting about the family’s honour.

Zainab had married her boyfriend – a Pakistani man – angering Shafia and causing family turmoil.

After Tooba said that she knew Zainab was “already done” but wished “the two others” weren’t, he responded saying “No Tooba, they were treacherous”.

Tooba, 41, and their son, Hamed, 20, are both on trial with him facing charges of first-degree murder.

Speaking about pictures of his daughter he said he was consoled, adding, “No Tooba, they were treacherous. When I tell you to be patient, you tell me that it is hard. It isn’t harder than watching them every hour with (boyfriends).

For this reason whenever I see those pictures, I am consoled.”

‘Clean Party’ to meet tomorrow to decide on future strategy ISLAMABAD

iRFan BuKhaRi

The Jahangir Khan Tareen-led group, generally called the Clean Party – of former and sitting parliamentarians from the Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid (PML-Q), the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded – is meeting tomorrow (Thursday) in Islamabad to discuss various options and to decide whether to first launch a new political party for forging an

alliance with Imran Khan or straightaway join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

A source close to the dissident group of the PML-Q and the PML-F parliamentarians told Pakistan Today on Tuesday that the likeminded leaders would hold a brainstorming session to reach a decision whether to first launch a new political party – the ‘clean party’ or ‘development and justice party’ – to forge an alliance with the PTI or directly join Imran.

“Around two dozen former and sitting parliamentarians,

Gilani congratulates MPs on passage of women’s bill ISLAMABAD StaFF REPORt

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani congratulated all parliamentarians, especially women parliamentarians, on the unanimous passage of the Anti-Women Practices Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2008.

Recalling the services of Benazir Bhutto, Gilani said Benazir had always given priority to legislation protecting the rights of women.

“In this same spirit, all the legislators of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lent their full support to this

bill moved on the private Members Day by Donia Aziz,” the prime minister said.

He said the PPP and its democratic government had always risen above party politics when it was a matter of the rights of women.

The prime minister said he would continue to lend full support to legislation and its implementation when the rights of women were at stake.

Prime Minister Gilani’s daughter, Fizza Gilani also congratulated the parliamentarians on the passage of the pro-women bill.

Country in crisis due to govt policies: JI LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Punjab ameer Dr Waseem Akhtar said on Tuesday that Pakistan is facing problems due to corrupt policies by the government.

He said that thousands of industrial units have been closed down because of load shedding, which had made 400,000 labourers jobless in Faisalabad alone. Waseem

said that the people were dying of hunger, adding that the corrupt politicians should bring their money from foreign banks to Pakistan and bring the country’s economy out of the current situation.

He said that the country cannot progress as long as those responsible for massive corruption in the institutions such as Railways, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Steel Mills are not brought to the book.

mainly from the PML-Q, including Jamal Leghari, Awais Leghari, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Sikandar Bosan and Ishaq Khakwani will attend the meeting while Jahangir Tareen will be attending from the PML-F,” the source added.

He said until now the likeminded group of parliamentarians had not taken a final decision regarding joining the PTI or forging an alliance with Imran’s party after getting their own party registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Army supports Continued froM page 1 from Pakistani capital about the relations getting tense between the civilian government and the army. The meetings at the Presidency are being dubbed important owing to the ongoing controversy in Islamabad over the alleged memo sent by President Zardari to a senior military official in Washington seeking US help to counter any possible coup by the army. President Zardari was quoted as telling t he army chief that the government acknowledged the support of army leadership to the democratic process in the country. The source said the president also deplored the reports about alleged secret communication between presidency and Washington and said efforts to malign the armed forces and civilian rulers would not be allowed to succeed. Meanwhile, diplomatic sources said speculations were once again rife in the Islamabad’s diplomatic community about the possible resignation of Pakistani ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani, who was directed by the government on Monday to report to Islamabad and brief the authorities on various aspects of PakistanUnited States relations with focus on current stalemate in the ties between Islamabad and Washington. “The main reason behind the speculation and rumors about ambassador Haqqani’s resignation is because of the displeasure in the ranks of military leaders over his alleged role in the memo episode,” the source said

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Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

‘Who cares, it’s just a building’

The buses are here, finally!

LAHORe

I

g

SalahuDin SaFDaR

N a delayed response to public transport woes in the provincial capital, Punjab government has finally added the much-awaited 56 new CNG buses to the fleet of public transport in the city with private partnership, which, many claim, is nothing more than a drop in the ocean as at least 2,000 buses are needed to cater to the city’s population of 10 million.

The new buses are air-conditioned and are allocated to routes B09, B-20 and B-33. Dilapidated and insufficient buses were previously catering to these routes. In a recent delivery from China, 111 new buses, including these 56, had come to Pakistan. The rest are yet to reach the city. “We have signed an agreement with a private company, Orbit, which will run 200 buses and the CM has also approved the plan of getting 700 more buses,” Lahore Transport Company spokesperson said, adding that 500 of these buses would be for Lahore and the remaining would be divided between Rawalpindi and Multan.

InAuGuRAtIon oF BuSeS: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said provision of modern transport facilities to the people was among the top priorities of the government hence an affordable, comfortable and air-conditioned CNG bus service had been launched in the provincial metropolis. He said a network of public

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CM inaugurates 56 new CNG, air-conditioned buses Citizens wonder how long they will last with 5-day CNG load shedding

transport would be spread in the entire province and provision of transport to people in Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Dera Ghazi Khan and other big cities will be ensured. He said the former government had plundered money in the name of improving public transport, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had honoured its promise of providing a cheap and comfortable bus service to the people. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of air-conditioned CNG urban bus service at Model Town on Tuesday. He expressed gratitude to the

PAGe 08

for WASA, it is either privatisation or bankruptcy LAHORe YaSiR haBiB

Chinese companies Foton and Busco for extending cooperation to the Punjab government.

Foton Vice President Xong Criss praised the CM for his commitment to the people. Busco general manager also addressed the occasion.

SCePtICS: “This plan is not going to materialise since urban transport is not on the government’s priority list,” a source claimed.

Citizens welcomed the induction of new buses but suspected their future. They asked how CNG buses would run during days of CNG load shedding in the city. “I travel by buses on B-33 route every day and the buses are so old they breakdown during the journey. These new buses are great but I wonder how long they will last since the passengers are many and the buses are few,” Rabia Zafar, Punjab University student and resident of Township, said. Describing the buses on route B-09 in the same way, Mudassir Iqbal, a resident of Nishtar Colony, said “Punjab government should focus on solving the problems of the people to counter its political rivals like Imran Khan instead of making tall claims in rallies”.

THREE HAPPY SISTERS WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN TO SCHOOL: Zainab, Ayesha and Qayamat gather recyclable material from a waste heap in Singpura, which they will sell and make Rs 300 to 400 per day. IRFAN CHAudHRy

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s fascination with changing government organisations into companies is in full swing and its next target is the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA). Since the CM assumed office, four companies including Lahore Waste Management Company, Lahore Transport Company, Lahore Meat Company (now Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company) and Punjab Land Development Company have been established. A plan is afloat to transform WASA (subsidiary of Lahore Development Authority) into a company. The development unfolded when the CM held a meeting to review WASA’s performance some days back.

Showing disappointment, he hinted at reorganisation of WASA, its reformation and induction of the best workforce in it. He said despite heavy expenditure, WASA’s performance was not satisfactory. “The CM gave two options that he wanted to turn WASA into a ‘company’ or ‘an authority’,” a senior WASA official told Pakistan Today, adding that the officials had opposed the move. “Any model can work that is not the point.

Unless WASA is not allowed to increase its tariff no miracle can save it,” another official said. WASA DMD Naveed Ahmed said the plan to change WASA into company or authority was in the pipeline and the Planning and Development chairman had been asked to prepare a blueprint. After formal approval by the Punjab Cabinet, final plan would be implemented, he added.Per data available with Pakistan Today, the CM had made various efforts to outsource or privatise WASA in a bid to improve its operation in the past. However, due to reasons best known to CM, his dream could not come true. Another reason behind the move is learnt to be WASA’s inclination towards bankruptcy due to its budgetary deficit which has surged from Rs 3 billion to Rs 3.5 billion. Of Rs 3 billion, electricity bill deficit was Rs 2.5 billion. With the regular increase in petroleum and electricity prices, WASA’s annual bill has inflated to Rs 500 million.

Sources in WASA said the Punjab government allowed the WASA to sell all its scrap with immediate effect to cope with its financial crisis. “The scrap money is like a drop in the ocean it won’t really help,” a WASA official said. “WASA is all set to be doomed since the government is not issuing any grants and it has also turned down the offer to increase water tariff,” an officer from the Financial Department said. Sources said WASA had paid heavy bills to LESCO and had also installed around 70 new tubewells and that had led to an increase in the deficit.

Murderer breaks loose at Lahore High Court LAHORe StaFF REPORt

A murder accused on Tuesday escaped from police custody in the Lahore High Court premises after the court rejected his bail plea and could not be caught by the police.

The accused, who was being held from his trouser cord instead of being handcuffed, pushed the policemen and ran away in broad daylight. The incident made the police and the LHC’s security staff a laughing stock in the eyes of the lawyers and the public who accused the police of helping him. Earlier, Justice Rauf Ahmad Shaikh had rejected the bail plea of the accused, Atif, in a murder case registered at Saiyanwala Police Station, District Faisalabad, for killing a man namely Asif.

InterMedIate reSultS fIaSco

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Judge asks why manual system was abolished in haste by Ahad and Majid Why online system was not tested as a pilot project LAHORe jaMaluDDin jaMali

The intermediate results judicial enquiry commission headed by Justice Shahid Saeed of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday summoned District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore Ahad Cheema for Wednesday (today) to cross-examine him in the light of allegations levelled against him by the top officials of eight education boards of Punjab.

However, Information Technology (IT) Consultant of eight education boards Dr Majid Naeem, being in custody of NAB on physical remand till November 21, has been summoned for appearing be-

fore the commission on November 22. He will also be questioned by the commission about the allegations made against him regarding failure of his brainchild ‘Computerised Online System’ that broke down in Intermediate results 2011.

On Tuesday, scores of acting and suspended chairmen and controllers of eights Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) of Punjab appeared before the inquiry commission.

The officials tabled charge sheets of allegations against IT consultant Dr Majid and former Punjab Higher Education secretary Ahad Cheema, holding them guilty of giving an abortive and faulty online system for the education

boards of Punjab.

Punjab Higher Education Secretary Haseeb Ather, who succeeded Ahad Cheema, said that the online system of his predecessor was not bad but it required certain corrections which were not done and it was put in use in the boards in the raw form. To a question by the judge, Haseeb said that abolition of the manual system was done in haste in by Ahad, adding that Dr Majid and the education boards were dependent on the online system before they could test it as a pilot project for exams of the few classes or at some of the boards only.

Haseeb said Ahad, who later became DCO Lahore also, was a junior officer of grade 18 but he was placed on grade 20 post of higher education commission secretary in violation of the rules. Upon the judge’s question on who appointed Ahad in violation of the rules, Haseeb revealed hesitantly that as per the posting procedure, the services secretary recommends

names to the Punjab chief secretary, who then makes the appointments accordingly.

The judge also inquired about the authority for appointment of IT consultant Dr Majid. Haseeb replied that it is the Higher Education secretary’s responsibility but perhaps Ahad, being a junior officer, chose a wrong person for the job.

Former BISE Faisalabad controller Muhammad Riaz said that the online system had in-built faults and it was pointed it out in one of the meetings of controllers of the eight boards. Riaz said that he had suggested theonline system should be run as a pilot project and manual system should not be abolished until the new system is successful. To a question from the judge, he said, being a subordinate, he did not raise his objection in writing as he could not afford to offend Dr Majid and Ahad Cheema.

Boards’ system Assistant Analyst Muhammad Ikraam said that earlier when the errors came in results, he along

with others pointed out the fault to Dr Majid but he was infuriated and ignored the complaint. Later, as a punishment for his increment was stopped by the board chairman on the directions from Dr Majid, he alleged.

Board’s Employees’ Association President Khalid Javed Niazi said that he had filed a writ in court against Dr Majid’s appointment and his online system on March 31, 2011 and also wrote a letter to the Punjab chief secretary that the manual system should be abolished. He had also asked that Dr Majid, being accused in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case should not head the IT system of the boards, but in vain.

Former Gujranwala Board chairman Basher Ahmed said that the online system had some unidentified problems in its software and they led to the errors in roll numbers and results. He also complained that his office was set on fire by the students of Punjab Group of Colleges.

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06 Lahore

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

SZH doctors end 19-day strike LAHORe

A

StaFF REPORt

FTER 19-days long strike of doctors, police dismissed the case against doctors of Sheikh Zayed Hospital on Tuesday.

Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and SZH doctors also announced that they were ending their strike and took back their call of a province wide strike. Doctors rallied in Khayaban-e-Jamia Punjab on Tuesday and demanded police quash the FIR. The “victorious” doctors called it result of their unity and struggle while police said that the case was invalidated on merit after due process.

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dHA PH: 35747531 CiNe StAR PH: 35157462

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Commenting on the whole episode, Punjab Health Parliamentary Secretary Saeed Elahi said that a case under Section 302 of the PPC was registered in case of intentional murder while a patient dieing during treatment was not intentional murder due to which the case was invalid. The Punjab government was unable to resolve the issue in less time, as once a case was registered, only a superintendent of police (SP) could dismiss it and after completion of the due process only, he added.

tiMe 1:00 PM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 11:30 PM 12: 00 AM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM 9:00 PM 12:15 PM 2:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 11:15 PM 1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 AM 11:00 PM 2:30 PM 4:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 11:30 PM

Although the Health Care Bill was approved but police was yet to be communicated about it, he said.

On the Health Care Commission, Saeed said that it was also yet to be made functional despite its announcement.

PMA Lahore General Secretary Dr Izhar Chaudhry said that they had ended the strike as soon as their legal demand was accepted. He said that after promulgation of the Health Care Bill, police was not authorised to register any case of negli-

gence in treatment unless the Health Care Commission found the doctor guilty of negligence. Doctors did not want to create problems for the common man but were forced to do so and now as promised, doctors immediately ended the strike, he said.

Muslim Town Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammad Qasim told Pakistan Today that after viewing the autopsy report, chemical examination and medical board, it was found that the patient died because of pneumonia and tuberculosis and there was no negligence of the doctor in his death. He said that due to absence of any evidence against the doctors, the case was dismissed.

Accountability court accepts Majid Naeem’s application LAHORe StaFF REPORt

An accountability court on Tuesday allowed an application filed by former Punjab University College of Information Technology (PUCIT) principal Dr Majid Naeem, seeking permission to get important documents from his confiscated car.

Dr Majid’s car had been confiscated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday at the time of his arrest.

In his application, he had asked the court to pass an order for the release of his personal documents which he has to produce before the judicial commission formed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) over the failure of online system prepared to hold the statistical data of matric and intermediate examinations and results.

After allowing the application, the court adjourned the hearing of reference filed against Dr Majid Naeem till November 21 and summoned prosecution witness Sadiq Ali Gill for the next date of hearing.

A reference is pending in accountability court against Dr Majid over the charges of misappropriation of Rs 27,97,850 through the misuse of authority.

The accused is in NAB custody on physical remand till November 21.

Suzuki Motors: An accountability court on Tuesday handed over former

Suzuki Motors Sialkot accountant Khalid Mahmood NAB on physical remand till November 29.

Khalid was arrested on Monday over the charges of misappropriation of Rs 380 million.

KAnAL MotoRS: An accountability court on Tuesday extended the judicial remand of Kanal Motors directors Hafiz Usman Yousaf, Rana Qaisar Nazeer, Muhammad Anwar Khan, Mohsin Abbasi and Ahsan Abbasi till November 29.

The accused persons had offered attractive packages of profit on investment in sale and purchase of cars. They allegedly misappropriated Rs 1.2 million and transferred the money to accounts of Benamidars. The court, while extending the remand, directed the NAB authorities to file a reference against the accused by the next date of hearing. tAWAKAL GRouP: An accountability court on Tuesday issued a non bail-able arrest warrant of a businessman from the Tawakal Group in Karachi Abdul Qadir Tawakal till November 28. A reference of wilful bank default of hundreds of millions of rupees is pending in an accountability court against Abdul Qadir. Despite being issued several summons, the accused has not appeared before the court yet. Therefore, the court issued his non bail-able arrest warrant on Tuesday.

UHS issues MBBS selection list LAHoRe: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has displayed the selection lists of candidates to be admitted in MBBS in 11 public sector medical colleges of the Punjab on open merit basis.

The lists which are available on UHS’ website www.uhs.edu.pk, were displayed after a division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions filed by some candidates challenging the entrance test weightage criteria of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for admission to medical and dental colleges of the country. A UHS spokesman said merit was higher this year as compared to the last. A total of 6,717 applications were received, from October 5 to October 15, from eligible candidates for admission against 2,842 open merit, 61 underdeveloped districts and 20 disabled candidates’ seats.

The merit list was prepared giving a weightage of 10 percent to matriculation, 40 percent to intermediate and 50 percent to entrance test marks, according to the criteria laid down by PMDC. The spokesman further said a total of 76 candidates applied for admission against 20 seats reserved for disabled students whereas 578 candidates applied for admission against 61 seats reserved for the students of 6 under-developed districts of Punjab including Muzzafargarh, Rajanpur, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Layyah and DG Khan. The selected candidates would be issued call letters for interview by concerned colleges.

The classes in medical colleges would commence on November 28. StaFF REPORt college 1. King edward Medical University, Lahore 2. Allama iqbal Medical College, Lahore 3. Services institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore 4. fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore 5. Nishtar Medical College, Multan 6. Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi 7. Punjab Medical College, faisalabad 8. Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur 9. Sargodha Medical College, Sargodha 10. Nawaz Sharif Medical College, Gujrat 11. Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan

First Merit 95.0489 91.8827 88.3208 87.9406 93.0558 91.9593 94.1541 89.5000 85.1508 87.5472 88.0108

last Merit 88.2372 86.4009 85.0027 84.5380 84.1701 83.6778 83.6214 83.0039 82.9150 82.6433 82.5283

13 new dengue patients LAHoRe: According to the report of Health Department, 50 confirmed dengue patients have been reported in Punjab and of them, 13 patients belong to Lahore. The total number of dengue patients in Punjab has reached 21,075 and of them 17,343 belong to Lahore. According to the reports, at present 209 patients are under treatment in different hospitals of Punjab, of which 163 patients are admitted in different hospitals of Lahore. The total official number of deaths in Punjab has reached 330 whereas the total number of deaths in Lahore is 284. S ta F F R E P O Rt

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Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Whereto ECP? g

Lahore 07

over 1.7m voters still unregistered as public complains of eCP’s ‘negligence’ LAHORe haSSan SiDDiquE

A

large number of citizens would be deprived of their right to vote in the next general elections due to the ‘negligence’ of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as citizens complain that the staff of ECP did not come to their houses to verify their vote.

Sources have claimed that about 1.7 million voters are yet to be registered. ECP claimed to have gone house to house to verify voters till October 31st. On the other hand, confusion surrounds the purpose of the landline

number (111293031), which ECP claims to be a helpline where complain can be launched if the registration staff does not reach one’s house. However, the staff on the helpline claims that they are sitting there to register votes. Citizens have alleged that that nobody receives the calls on the helpline and if they do, their attitude is extremely unfriendly. “Millions of people have been waiting to get their votes registered but have not been able to do so because of ECP’s negligence,” Insaf Students Federation (ISF) Information Secretary Waqas told Pakistan Today.

“A large number of students are yet to be registered and ECP should open camps in colleges and other institutions to facilitate them,” he said, adding that the youth, the only hope for Pakistan, was being deprived of casting their votes and the federal government should look into the matter.

“The citizens can register their votes by submitting a form at the ECP office or by calling the helpline,” Election Commission Assistant Officer Abdul Waheed said,

adding “This is not the final list. After we verify the list with NADRA and display it, citizens can file complains if they do not find their names in them.” He said ECP staff visited every house and it was the people who were not available. People eager to witness a political change in the country desperately want to register their votes. Different NGOs have also been working to increase awareness about the significance of the right to vote. “Nobody came to our house and we do not have time to visit the ECP office,” said Anzar, a student, adding “My friends and I are eager to take part in the political process and ECP should facilitate us, instead of being negligent.”

“I called on the helpline and the operator told me to call in the morning and then nobody received the phone,” he said.

“I have been trying to contact the helpline for over 3 weeks now but nobody receives it. I wonder where all the money ECP is being paid to register votes is going if they can’t even make a helpline work,” said Noreen Khalid, a professor.

LWMC launches cleanliness programmes in schools LAHORe StaFF REPORt

The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC)’ Clean Lahore campaign is gaining momentum as the company has started taking government school teachers and students in the loop.

The company launched first of its kind “School Awareness Program” in November by arranging awareness activities, presentations and painting and writing competitions in schools in different union councils of the city. Second activity of the campaign was held at Lady Maclagan High School at Lower Mall. LWMC’s Communication Department gave a detailed presentation on benefits of cleanliness specially designed for young children. The primary section students, teachers, principal and vice principal were also present on the occasion. After the presentation, the students had a colouring, drawing and essay writing competition on ‘How to keep our city clean’. LWMC management presented a dustbin to the students to be placed near their canteen area.

Action against factories treating animal fat ordered LAHORe StaFF REPORt

haStE MaKES WaStE: the Kalma chowk Flyover is being repaired only two months after its inauguration. INP

MSM congregation on 19th LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Mustafvi Students Movement (MSM) will organise a Students’ Awareness Congregation on November 19, MSM President Tajjamal Hussain said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, he said religious scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri will deliver a special message to the youth at the congregation, in view of the prevailing situation in the country.

Tajjamal said that the congregation will be the largest gathering in Lahore, with around 50,000 students expected to gather at Nasir Bagh from across the country. He said that the participation of students in large numbers would give a message to the people of Pakistan that the student community is ready to play its role for a change in the country. He said that the MSM has struggled consistently against intolerance, extremism and radicalization in the society. Tajjamal said that thousands of students would start their struggle for a positive and peaceful change under the leadership of Dr Tahirul-Qadri, adding that the struggle would continue until corruption is eliminated from Pakistan. He said that the students associated with MSM have always promoted the culture of knowledge.

SC dismisses petition against Nawaz Sharif LAHORe StaFF REPORt

A two-judge bench of Supreme Court at Lahore registry dismissed on Tuesday an appeal seeking reopening of cases relating to illegal allotment of plots made against Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz chief Mian Nawaz Sharif during the rule of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto (late).

Lahore Development Authority’s former director general Major (r) MH Ansari had filed this appeal challenging an order of a Lahore High Court full bench wherein the cases of corruption in LDA plots were cancelled.

An advocate-on-record informed the bench that the petitioner had not been pursuing the case for many hearings. At this the bench dismissed the appeal.

LHC SCoLDS oKARA DPo FoR FAILInG to ReCoveR WARDen’S WIFe: The LHC on Tuesday scolded the Okara district police officer (DPO) for failure of police in recovering the wife of a traffic warden from illegal custody of her parents in a love marriage case.

Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu ordered DPO Muhammad Abid to present the girl alive in the court in the next three days using any of all ‘policing means’.

The judge was hearing a petition filed by traffic warden Humayan Shahzad seeking recovery of his wife Mariam, who was allegedly confined by her family members for marrying him against their will. The judge said that police was not realising the sensitivity of the matter because the life of the girl was in danger and police was making excuses in the court. The DPO Okara sought time for the girl’s recovery and the court, giving him three days, adjourned the case’s hearing until November 18.

PetItIonS AGAInSt PMDC DISMISSeD: A division bench of LHC on Tuesday dismissed all petitions against the entry tests system of the PMDC for students seeking admissions to the medical colleges. The petition was filed by eight FSc students including Muhammad Zubair and girl students through their counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique requesting the court to abolish

entry test system for medical colleges as the allotment of 50 marks for the entry test against 40 marks for FSc was unfair. Earlier, bench comprising Justice Ch Shahid Saeed and Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan had reserved the judgment. Later the counsel for the students told reporters that LHC’s decision would be challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Lahore Commissioner Jawad Rafique on Tuesday announced a crackdown against the factories polluting environment while treating waste and animal fat.

The decision was taken in a meeting regarding the factories making chemicals out of animal fat. Jawad directed Environment District Officer Tariq Zaman to register cases on such factories and take stern action against them.

Jawad said that the environmental pollution caused by such factories in Bakarmandi was causing spread of various diseases in the city. He directed the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and town officers to dump the offal from slaughter houses properly so that no one could use them for chemical treatment purposes. The meeting was attended by Members Provincial Assembly (MPA) Maher Ishtiaq, Chaudhry Shahbaz, Khwaja Imran Nazeer and other concerned officials.

UK, SZH surgeons to work together LAHORe StaFF REPORt

A team of British surgeons will reach Lahore to assist Sheikh Zayed Hospital doctors in liver transplant operations on December 2 and will perform transplants in the hospital with the local experts, SZH chairman said while talking to prize distribution ceremony held for the team that carried out the first cadaver liver transplant in the hospital three months back. The team, consisting of 54 surgeons, anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, nurses and paramedical staff was awarded cash prizes. The chairman appreciated the hard work put in by the members.

Discussing future plans, he said in 2012 around 50 liver transplants would be performed in the hospital.

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Zuhr 11:48

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N violation of its own ‘The Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordinance, 1985,’ the Punjab government has made alterations in the historic Lakshmi Building that it had earlier declared to be a ‘special premise’.

The Lakshmi Building, which was constructed way before the partition, is associated with the memories of Hindus and Sikhs.

The Punjab government, however, has completely altered the look of the building by painting it camel white and blue. Apart from this, ‘AllahuAkbar’ has also been written on the top of the building. The history of the building traces back to the pre-partition era. The Lakshmi Building located on Lakshmi Chowk of today was owned by Lakshmi Insurance Corporation in 1935. It was later used by the Muslim League of Hindustan who gathered here for meetings and social events.

This building also has the honour of housing renowned personalities like former PM Meraj Khalid, short story writer Saadat Hassan Manto, former FM Zafarullah Chaudhry and India’s petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

After thorough investigation it was deduced that the change has been made specifically by the Town Municipal Authority in a drive to renovate all the buildings present on that road since the CDGL plans to construct a new food street there.

Unfortunately the CDGL was not familiar with legal and historical stance of the building as no permission was taken from the owner or the Punjab Archeology Department, the legal caretaker of the building.

Violating law, Punjab govt alters the historic ‘Special Premise’ Lakhsmi Building without consulting owner, Archeology Department ‘SPeCIAL PReMISe’ The structure is one of the 116 buildings in Lahore which has been declared as “special premises” by the Punjab government under The Punjab Special Premises (Preservation), Ordinance, 1985. The ordinance defines special buildings as “…premises of historical, cultural or architectural value declared as such by the Government by notification and includes the land externally appurtenant thereto and the outer walls thereof”.

The ordinance further clearly states that such building cannot be changed, altered or modified without the permission of the government.

The ordinance states “No alteration in or renovation, demolition or re-erection of such portion of a Special Premises as is visible from outside, or any part of such portion, shall be affected without the prior permission in writing of the Government or a Committee”. The ordinance while defining the penalty of such an offence states, “…Whoever contravenes the provisions of this Ordinance or the rules shall be liable to imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine or with both…”

CARetAKeR The Lakshmi Building is looked after the Punjab Archeology Department which did not want the building to be altered. Punjab Archeology Depart-

ment DG Haroon Ahmad refrained from commenting on the issue. However, Deputy Director Afzal Khan while talking to Pakistan Today said he had no clue as to who had changed the façade of the building. “We did not change it, I think the CDGL people would know,” said Khan. He added that the Archeology Department was neither asked nor informed about any alternation in the building by any department. “It’s just whitewash, it will wear off after one rainfall,” he said. oWneR The owner of the building happens to the mother of the former chairman of High Education Commission, Dr Attaur Rehman. “Nobody asked and nobody informed us of the changes in the building and we did not even know since we live in Karachi,” Rehman told Pakistan Today.

WHo DID It? When contacted, Data Ganj Bakhsh Town TMO Sadar Naseer Ahmad said, “I think the engineer has repainted the building but what is wrong in repainting that building?” he questioned. He said painting the building was not an issue and that it was done for the betterment.

When the engineer, Mian Muddassar was contacted he said no permission was needed to alter the building. “Who cares, it is just a building.”

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CALLiGRAPHY CLASSeS are on-going, interested students can enroll throughout the year. the duration of one module is three months. there are four modules of learning calligraphyt: primary, secondary, advanced and higher. the course includes traditional pen and traditional paper making.

ACtiNG 101 is a two month certification course for anyone aged 16 and above who wants to learn the basics of stage, theater, acting, script writing. the course will particularly focus on teaching students improvisation, facial expressions, stage movement, theater ethics and understanding plays.

exhibition of Photography by, Maryam Arif "in modern times Photography has moved in as a strong Art form. Recently Art galleries have recognized photography as a strong Art medium, and there have been frequent Photography exhibitions.

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:03 AM Page 9

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

News 09

‘Pakthuns exploited due to religion, deprivation’ g

Conference identifies causes of deprivation in KP and looks for solutions PeSHAWAR

T

StaFF REPORt

HE Pakthuns have been exploited in the name of religion and ethnicity by foreign and local groups due to material deprivation, participants of the 2-day International Conference titled Dynamics of Change in Conflict Societies: The Pakhtun region in Perspective at the University of Peshawar concluded on Tuesday.

Participants identified economic backwardness, low literacy and continuous conflict as reasons for their deprivation.

Participants said while there was no doubt Pakthuns had not been politically suppressed, they had been unable to adapt to modernisation and globalization.

They said groups have used Pakthun discomfort with divergent cultural norms

to use them for their own strategic benefits.

The session on the 2nd day of the conference was chaired by University of Erfurt Germany Islamic Studies Chair Professor Dr Qibla Ayaz criticised the madrassa reforms proposed by the Afghan government.

He said, “Statistics show 70% of suicide bombers in Afghanistan had studied in government schools and the singular focus of putting the blame on madrassas for producing religious extremism was too narrow. Government school systems need more reforms.”

Speaking about the interplay of progressive and regressive forces in shaping gender relations in Pakhtuns, Sarhad Rural Support Programme officer Kaneez Fatima said pakhtunkwali was the foundation of the individual, family and communal lives of Pakhtuns and provides them a

common cultural identity outside geographical bounds.

Foundation University Islamabad faculty member Hina Shahid said the link between gender empowerment and peace works well in both theory and practice. She said the first step should be social reconstruction through the rehabilitation of social services.

In his closing remarks, University of Peshawar Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Azmat Hayat Khan closing remarks said the contributions of participants from different spheres of life to the conference showed their commitment to address the issues facing the Pakthun regions. He hoped the recommendations of the conference would make themselves into policy.

Later, University of Peshawar Chairman Dr AZ Hilali and Hans Seidel Foundation officer Sara Hulls thanked the audience for keep participation.

Khyber agency admin must ease difficulties of displaced tribesmen: Kp governor PeSHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Barrister Masood Kausar directed the Khyber Agency political administration to take steps to overcome law and order problems in parts of the agency and make efforts to minimize the difficulties faced by displaced tribesmen.

Speaking with Khyber Agency Political Agent Mutahar Zeb at Governor’s House Peshawar, Masood said while the situation in the Khyber Agency was difficult, the timely efforts of security forces and the administration are appreciable. He directed Mutahar to facilitate dislocated families and provide camps, food and healthcare. He said the provisions must include items of daily use. Speaking of his visit to the Jalazoi Camp near Pabbi in Nowshera District, he said he hoped relief measures had improved further.

Over 1300 tribal families dislocated from Khyber Agency have temporary been lodged in the camp. Khyber Agency Political Agent Mutahar briefed the Governor about law and order situation. He told him of steps taken to facilitate dislocated tribesmen. StaFF REPORt

Lull in Pak-US ties: Haqqani called to islamabad for briefing ISLAMABAD OnlinE

Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Husain Haqqani, has been summoned to Islamabad to brief the top leadership about Pakistan-US relations.

Well-placed sources quoted by a private TV channel said an apparent lull was prevailing after Secretary Clinton’s Pakistan visit, but deep down, the US reservations towards Pakistan were still very much present.

“We anticipate the relationship aggravating again in the days to come”, the source feared.

Given this background, Islamabad has requested Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Husain Haqqani, to brief the top leadership about these intricacies and challenges in bilateral relationship at some point in the near future and he is expected to travel to Pakistan after the hearings in the US Congress and Senate and other related issues.

Contrary to some reports, he has not been “summoned” to Pakistan immediately and will only be going later this month, once the agenda involving Pakistan in the Congress and Senate comes to a conclusion.

In the next couple of weeks, the US Congress is expected to take-up appropriations bill involving assistance to Pakistan in the mark-up hearing and the mood of the members towards Pakistan, in a Republicandominated House, is not very encouraging, sources pointed out adding that “any serious cut-back in Pakistan s assistance will be seen as another blow to the relationship”.

“Unless and until core differences are resolved between both countries, including the position in the war on terror and the future of Afghanistan, no major headway could be made,” sources said. “It is unlikely that the US will severe ties altogether because it fears a repeat of 1989 but it will continue to exert pressure on Pakistan to achieve the desired goals”, sources pointed out.

To a question, they said that “US would maintain a relationship with Pakistan on two parallel tracks in the foreseeable future, meaning thereby that it will appreciate whenever there’s good cooperation and will ask tough questions if the situation is otherwise”.

The recent aggressive statements of Republican presidential candidates in a way were also indicative of the prevalent mood in the US towards Pakistan, the sources argued.

Meanwhile, Haqqani is also meeting some big names in the US media on a breakfast meeting on Wednesday to convey the Pakistani viewpoint on critical issues, in a bid to encounter reporting based on allegations against Pakistan in the recent past.

PEShaWaR: a handicapped person displays jackets on his cart in Saddar Bazaar. STAFF PHOTO

Afghan jirga to debate uS ties despite doubts g

talks to be held under lockdown security g observers unclear how jirga can help KABUL aFP

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has convened a “loya jirga” of elders from across Afghanistan today (Wednesday) to discuss long-term relations with the US and efforts to broker peace amid the threat of violence.

After 10 gruelling years of war, the talks will be held under lockdown security that is a reminder of the constant danger even in the capital, while observers say it is unclear how the jirga can help. Some 2,000 Afghan elders are set to gather in a giant tent for several days of talks on two of the most sensitive issues in Afghan politics, as US-led combat troops start leaving before a full withdrawal in 2014.

Diplomats in Kabul say Karzai is likely to use the talks to secure a sweeping mandate as he pursues a controversial agreement with the US on the strategic partnership which will govern their relationship after 2014.

But parallel talks with Washington and a lack of transparency over the agenda have prompted accusations Karzai is trying to manipulate the jirga to his own ends, substituting the talks for real progress on ending a 10-year war.

“It would have been wise to postpone but I think these jirgas have become a kind of ritual for President Karzai because he lacks a genuine political agenda,” said Kabul-based political analyst Haroon Mir. “He’s not tackling the major issues.”

The Taliban have threatened to disrupt the jirga.

In 2010, they launched rockets at the site of the last such event, prompting the departures of two ministers charged with handling security.

The area around the venue is on lockdown, with Afghan security forces stepping up protective measures, searching houses and mounting “constant” police patrols around Kabul, the interior ministry said.

Insurgents claimed to have leaked the event’s security plan Sunday, although Afghan and Western officials dismissed the document as a fake.

On Monday, a suspected suicide bomber carrying a bag of explosives was shot dead near the loya jirga venue and two accomplices arrested, officials said.

Some attendees say they have received threatening text messages and are scared to go as a result.

After a 10-year military adventure in Afghanistan, costing thousands of lives

and hundreds of billions of dollars, attention is focused increasingly on how many US troops will remain in the country in the long term.

The US insists it does not want permanent bases in Afghanistan, but it is likely to want to retain a significant troop presence after 2014 — prompting a wary response from some Afghans, plus neighbours like Pakistan and Iran.

Karzai has made a string of hostile comments about the US in recent months, including saying in October he would side with Pakistan if Islamabad went to war with Washington. His office later tried to row back on the comments.

But the government wants to pursue a partnership, due in large part to the billions of dollars of aid which the US has poured into Afghanistan since the war started in 2001, which it hopes will continue.

“We’re wondering what will be the substance. To me, it looks like a useless move,” a senior Western diplomat said of the jirga, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Karzai will have to content himself with fairly general outcomes. He will seek and obtain a very general mandate to negotiate with the US.” Some senior Afghan figures say they

will boycott the jirga because of a lack of transparency about its aims. Abdullah Abdullah, one of Karzai’s main rivals and leader of the Afghanistan National Coalition for Hope and Change, has said he will not attend. Leading Soviet-era warlord and former Karzai ally Abdul Rashid Dostum is also boycotting it.

Abdullah’s movement has denounced a “lack of transparency” in the jirga’s objectives and its outcomes will be “illegitimate”. With some lawmakers concerned that the meeting could be used to bypass their authority, officials insist the meeting’s decisions will not be binding and that parliament will be able to accept or reject any findings.

After the assassination of his peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani by a turban bomber believed to be a Taliban intermediary in September — a major setback to attempts at negotiation — Karzai said that the jirga would also decide the country’s peace strategy. The exact agenda on this issue is unclear. The diplomat said Karzai would likely submit the name of a proposed successor to Rabbani for discussion, plus some principles for negotiations with the Taliban and Pakistan, which Afghans accuse of fuelling the insurgency.

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:03 AM Page 10

10 News

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Qureshi joins demand for polls MULtAN OnlinE

Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday demanded early general elections, saying the “Zardari-league government” had failed to tackle the common man’s problems. Talking to reporters at Multan airport, he said the current Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lacked a visionary leadership to deal with security and financial matters. Qureshi said he had not been fired from his office rather he quit the ministry himself. He revealed that President Asif Ali Zardari was forcing him to declare diplomatic amnesty for CIA spy Raymond Davis, who had killed three innocent Pakistanis. The dissident PPP leader said he presented his resignation before the president on January 30, 2011, following Zardari’s pressure because it was against the dignity of the nation. He said his decision to quit the ministry was based on principles and that he was accountable only to the nation. The former minister said that it was time to consult the people and that the government should quit for general elections. On a query over his political future, Qureshi said he would announce his plans in Ghotki on November 27.

Responding to a question on his likely participation in the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, he asked the media to wait until November 27. He said he had good terms with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and would meet him after his return from the United Arab Emirates, if the PML-N leader invited him

Haj flight delays due to overcrowding: PiA LAHORe PRESS RElEaSE

Thirteen airlines, including the PIA, operating from the Jeddah Haj Terminal on post-haj departures of pilgrims to various countries are facing six to eight hours of flight delays due to inherent infrastructure constraints at the Jeddah Haj Terminal, which is beyond PIA’s control, a spokesman for the national carrier said in a press statement on Tuesday. According to a detailed performance report, airlines from Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries have faced flight delays ranging from two to 11 hours.

The PIA spokesman said for passengers check-in and baggage acceptance, immigration and security of 500 passengers at a time requires at least six to eight hours. Another cause of delays is the completion of immigration formalities and security checks. There are about 14 security checks at the terminal that takes almost 10 to 15 minutes per passenger to clear the immigration and security. Around 80,000 to 100,000 passengers have to clear the immigration and security process, which results in congestion resulting in flight delays.

nEW DElhi: commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood in a meeting with indian commerce, industry and textile Minister anand Sharma on tuesday. ONLINE

don’t expect miracles from Indo-Pak talks: Antony indian defence minister sees positive signs in bilateral trade relations, ‘but there is nothing beyond that as of now’ g

NeW DeLHI

I

OnlinE

NDIAN Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday sought to calibrate the growing expectations from the bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan, saying “don’t expect miracles”.

Antony said there were positive signs in trade relations between India and Pakistan, but there was nothing beyond that as of now.

“Don’t expect miracles,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a South Asian Security Conference organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), reported IANS. “At the moment, we find a positive sign in relations with Pakistan in the

area of economic cooperation. It is a good beginning,” he said, referring to the talks between prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in the Maldives last week.

“It is a positive signal. But we cannot expect miracles. It is a good sign.

Beyond that we cannot say,” he said.

Earlier at the conference, Antony said the comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan had been “steady”.

“There are already clear signs that India-Pakistan trade relations might improve and expand. The expansion in cooperation has created an atmosphere to expand the dialogue on cooperation security,” he said.

“However, we need to change our

mindset, if we really wish to reap the benefits of mutual cooperation,” he added. Supporting the idea of a cooperative security framework for South Asia on the lines of those in Southeast Asia and Central Asia, Antony said the latter two regions had made considerable progress in their combined security architecture.

“Such a security framework for the South Asian region will require regular consultations and dialogue – both at official and non-official levels. Some of these issues are being discussed at such forums as the SAARC and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in the framework of socio-economic development.

KP govt finalises 3-year strategy against corruption PeSHAWAR: After much debate the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government and the National Accountability Bureau (KP) finalised the anti-corruption strategy on Tuesday under the KP Chief Secretary’s chairmanship. The basic objective of three years strategy (2011 – 2014) is to end corruption from KP and improve governance through implementing the National Accountability Ordinance’s awareness and prevention regime. The plan was made after the KP Chief Minister ordered its formulation during a seminar on 9 December 2010. The NAB KP Director General (DG) met the KP government to formulate the strategy. In the meeting on Tuesday the NAB KP DG briefed the Chief Secretary and other secretaries concerned of the final draft. The draft was approved with slight amendments and will be sent to the Provincial Cabinet for final approval. StaFF REPORt

Long road ahead for improving Indo-Pak relations ISLAMABAD Shaiq huSSain

Pakistan and India resolved to open a new chapter in their relations and settle the Kashmir problem and all other conflicting matters as the prime ministers of the South Asian nuclear rivals held a meeting few days back on the sidelines of the 17th SAARC summit in Addu, Maldives.

Nonetheless, this resolve on the part of arch rival neighbouring states in not something new as in the past too, on many occasions, they have expressed same determination when their leaders met and they have come up with same optimistic statements.

In the past too, one single act of terrorism led to the derailment of the Indo-

Pak peace process as was the case with Mumbai attacks in November 2008.

Hence, the fears and concerns among the people on both sides of the border are not misplaced when they say that despite all the positive gestures and praises for one another by the two prime ministers any terrorist act again could sabotage all the efforts for peace between the two countries.

It was in Maldives that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not only appreciated the services for peace by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani calling him the “man of peace” and also accepted the invitation to visit Pakistan by his Pakistani counterpart but only after making it clear that his trip to Islamabad would not be possible before a stern legal action against terrorists responsible for Mumbai attacks by Pakistan.

The conditionality attached by Prime Minister Singh to his Pakistan’s trip shows that the two states have still to

cover a lot of ground as for doing away with the mutual mistrust despite whatever they say publicly and all the positive overtures that they come up with towards each other.

Given the serious nature of problems that the two states are confronting such as the Kashmir issue, Siachen and Sir Creek problems, a very strong will is required at the top government level on both sides of Indo-Pak border to end their conflicts and normalise their strained relations.

Keeping entangled in same web of animosity would not serve the purpose of peace and leaders on both sides would have to come up with extraordinary courage to resolve the issues that have bedevilled their ties for decades now.

In the past as well, Pakistan and India have met and held several round of peace talks on Kashmir and other issues but to no avail as not a single conflicting matter could be resolved by them.

The ongoing peace process, which was

initiated years back in 2004 by the then president General (r) Pervez Musharraf and former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, got suspended as a result of Mumbai attacks in 2008.

This process aimed at the resolution of all bilateral issues was resumed again some months ago when the US started pushing Islamabad and New Delhi towards the resumption of stalled peace dialogue as it wanted improved ties between the nuclear neighbours for the sake of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Owing to Pakistan’s opposition to growing Indian influence in Afghanistan, the US felt that without the resumption of Indo-Pak peace process, it would be very difficult for it to persuade Islamabad for playing a decisive role for the success of ongoing reconciliation between Afghan government and the Taliban.

The resumed dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi is, however, once again moving at a snail’s pace and despite

the passage of months, the only achievement that the two states could boast of and take credit for is the Islamabad’s decision in principle to extend the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) to New Delhi in the field of trade and commerce.

The rest is same as it was in the previous decades as there have been no resultoriented talks on Kashmir or any other issue so far.

And this is why Pakistan is urging India for the commencement of meaningful and fruitful dialogue and the foreign policy makers in Islamabad claim that they have been given firm assurance in Addu by Indians that they would reciprocate.

Whether that is true or not and whether this time the two states succeed to settle their conflicting matters will only be evident from the official level talks on various issues in the months to come, for which a calendar of meetings is currently being worked out.

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:04 AM Page 11

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

Corruption, population and pollution Corruption is chronic in Pakistan.

But it seems that the present rulers, bureaucrats, technocrats and activists in my home province Sindh have decided to take the lead from other federating units.

Several relevant examples of financial corruption can be cited here but a few for understanding the scale of corruption in Sindh province can be quoted here.

A famous Larkana Flyover has developed cracks just after a few months of its opening, all the government hospitals are without medicines because money goes into the pockets of those who matter in the ministry and the ambulances are being used by the political party workers.

Furthermore, the local and national NGOs are making every effort to fleece the international relief organisations and donor agencies. Relief items are either

stored to be given to the blue-eyed boys or let get rotten, or sold out at a throwaway price in black market. Huts are being made for the last year’s mega flood’s victims in district Dadu and Kashmore Kandh Kot. Broken and old drains are being repaired and substandard material is being used.

The NGO workers are charging the international relief and donor organisations in full. The Pakistani employees of the INGOs are reported to be involved in financial corruption with the help of local workers. The victims, who work shoulder to shoulder with them, are raising a hue and cry about the poor quality of rehabilitation and reconstruction works but nobody bothers to look into the matter.

Regrettably, honest and committed officers, though difficult to find, are re-

in defence of Pti ported to be in hot waters. Their juniors man and manage them. However, the need of the hour is to devise effective strategy to combat corruption in all walks of life. I am confident that when corruption is stopped in the country, particularly in Sindh province, it will be the day when we wave goodbye to pervasive poverty and other socioeconomic evils.

Population explosion in the country is really an alarming issue. It is reported that more than ten million illegal refugees are gulping down the resources of the province but it is not yet a lost cause. A strong political will is required to tackle the population boom and illegal immigrant influx in the country. This is all the more important in Sindh where people are still living in primitive age – devoid of all basic amenities with more

than 70 percent of the population haing no access to potable water, what to speak of education and health care facilities.

With huge population, cities and towns have become polluted. Every city can be named sewer city. Political leaders have spent billions of rupees over showy and cosmetic projects but not even a single penny on productive, durable and sustainable civic projects have been used.

Like many others who understand the horrendous effects and side-effects of pollution, I am also concerned about them and appeal to the president and political leadership of the country to make collective efforts to address these monumental challenges; otherwise, we will be on a suicidal path.

HASHIM ABRO Islamabad

Peace deals formula Peace deals so far have been nothing but examples of the state’s utter failure to translate words into on the ground active peace. For one, all the previous peace deals have been entered into from a position of weakness that has buttressed the militant’s strength and provided them with ample reason to defy the points of agreement between the two parties. Secondly, no active implementation and monitoring apparatus had been provided by the authorities to measure the extent to which the deal was being adhered to. Thus the deals have been doomed to failure even before they began.

These gaps and inefficiencies further provide reason to the militants to act on their own while operating in the region.

Socio-economic factors have been studied as the most potent around which the entire militancy framework is woven upon. From all those who join the militant factions, the majority is driven primarily by economic needs and almost lastly on religious grounds. Religious underpinning only legitimises their sinful crimes and makes it much easier for them to justify themselves as true harbingers of faith.

Before the state decides what it wants to achieve, it must develop an exact understanding of the roots of violence and the precise characteristics of the perpetrators along with the exposition of the factors that favour acts of violence. For this Pakistan needs to execute a programme of reforms aimed, not only to bring the militants on the negotiating table, but also must begin removing the root causes of violence in society, by initiating developmental programmes, employment opportunities, education and awareness programs along with enhancing law and order, security and justice.

LUBNA HAMEED Rawalpindi

Where is Shahbaz taseer?

Our fellow citizen was kidnapped months ago as leaks to the conservative religious community were made suggesting their ‘hero’ would be hanged to death. Where is Shahbaz Taseer? Is he in FATA? Is he going to be a martyr like his father if his murderer was to be hanged?

What is our government doing to get him released? Should they be lying to the religious community like they lie to us and get things done the way they always do?

Or should they be counting the change in their pockets?

It has been months since Shahbaz Taseer was last spotted. What does the government has done in this regard?

ALI A Lahore

Why so angry The people of Pakistan often display their anger and aggression violently. Recently, what happened to three Pakistani cricketers is a case in point. Instead of burning their puppets, we should focus as to how to solve this issue once and for all. If they had done spot-fixing and betrayed Pakistan, they are Pakistani criminals and only we have the right to punish them, not the outside world. So, it is responsibility of our government and, especially the PCB, to bring them back and award them whatever punishment should they deem fit.

HINA MEHDI Karachi

The PML(N) in every talk show is uttering the same propaganda that the ISI is supporting PTI and that PTI is working under the cover of establishment, and I'm sorry to say that non of the PTI representatives have responded to these allegations in a logical and proper manner.

I would like to logically refute this claim by answering it below: 1) PTI believes in the power of pubic vote. Establishment is afraid of public vote.

2) PTI went to court to ensure new voters’ lists are formulated by weeding out fake votes so that everyone has a right to vote. How can a party relying on establishment's help can do that?

Neither PML(N) nor PPP has shown any interest in voters’ registration process.

3) PTI launched a campaign in different parts of Pakistan and encouraged people to register their votes. Again, no establishment party would do that.

4) Only PTI demanded extension in voters’ registration deadlines.

5) Only PTI used social media, videos and articles to encourage people to become part of a change and register their votes.

6) Only PTI'S leadership went to all colleges and universities to get support of the youth.

7) PML(N) is actually insulting the people who came out on 30 October jalsa by calling them army agents.

8) Imran Khan went to all parts of Pakistan with his message. No establishment would party do that.

9) If anyone joins PML(N), then it is okay; but if someone joins PTI, he is branded an agent of the establishment.

ADNAN ILYAS Lahore

Science and us

“The US would not object to Muslim brotherhood win in Egypt”, said William Taylor, the US points-man appointed for democratic transition in the Middle East.

Sir Winston Churchill once remarked, “Democracy is the worst form of government except that there are no better substitutes.” It seems that he was an academically qualified man of democracy’s principles and discipline. Good topic for research, eh?

Z A KAZMI Karachi

The modern age is the era of science. Science has provided us a lot of comforts in life. It has a great influence on human life. Radio, television, telephone, computer, satellite and aircrafts are some of the inventions of science.

As a result of remarkable achievements in the field of medicine, agriculture, education, communication and banking, the standard of human living has greatly improved.

Electricity is also a remarkable triumph of science. All the industries and machinery are working on electricity.

Radio, TV and computers are sources of information and in the field of medicine it has helped us fight against fatal diseases. It has reduced the severity of different diseases. Science has also revolutionised the field of surgery. Delicate operations have now become easier to perform due to the many blessings of science.

A large number of vaccines are being developed to save human life. Science has also transfigured the field of agriculture by providing different kinds of fertilisers and new species of plants.

Production has increased for an average farmer.

But it also increases pollution in environment. This is becoming a cause of several breathing diseases and allergies.

The polluted liquid and toxic substances released from industries get mixed with drinking water and not only affect human health but also destruct the marine life. In spite of having disadvantages, we have become addicted to science.

NIDA ZEHRA Karachi

Chaudhrys from running for elections, which he was determined to pursue prior to the 2008 elections and even showed their bank default papers in front of the media. I am still waiting for Imran Khan to conduct a rally in Karachi, Quaid-e Azam’s home city, and refer to Altaf Hussain by a self-generated name like he did for the PML(N) leaders by calling them the ‘dengue brothers’.

I am still waiting for Imran Khan to bring new leadership ahead rather than giving the second seat on stage in his Lahore rally to a controversial figure like Mian Azhar, who has only recently joined the PTI. Perhaps, now I am waiting for PML(Q)’s outdated politicians to start

joining PTI and sit on the stage pushing down the diehard workers, who have been with PTI for so many years. There is a long list of things that I am still waiting for, but with his present style of leadership and his opposition of PML(N), I have lost hope in him.

With all the above-mentioned promises that he could not deliver being in the opposition, assuming that he does come to power, I am sure that he will either be hijacked by the incumbent politicians from the PML(Q) or would continue doing what he has always done i.e., make empty promises.

FATIMA BAREE Karachi

chained to the begging bowl When we look at the countries like China and Japan, which got independence almost at the same time as our country, our heads bow in shame. They came out triumphant from basic hurdles in the fields of health, education and employment. They now have advanced technologies. These countries are great examples for us in breaking our own “begging bowl” which has become bigger and bigger with every passing year.

Even many Muslim countries are far more advanced and developed than us. It is my humble request to our public, especially the youth, to play their part at individual and collective level because this is the only key to a prosperous and successful future for our country.

IMRAN ALI Lahore

the good and bad of KU Hoodwinked by the corrupt Karachi University is Pakistan’s largest and one of the oldest universities.

More than 24000 students are studying there. The university includes 53 departments and 20 established research centres. Its main library, named Dr Mahmud Hussain, has 350,000 volumes, some of them dating back to the 17th century. KU also runs a radio channel FM 90.6 which is operated by mass communication department. It also has a press, Karachi University Press which publishes university books and other material. Students here have the opportunity to participate in several activities, like debate competitions, sports, fun fair, etc.

But despite all this, it is plagued by some negative activities chief among them is too much involvement of political parties. Students have joined different political parties and they often fight with each other and cause injuries.

AREESHA ABUBAKAR Karachi

A renowned poetess, Kishwar Naheed, was cheated the other day at a Post Office where she had gone to pay her electricity bill. She was shocked to learn that everybody is experiencing cheating, and few are punished, if caught at all.

I would not advise the respectable poetess to avoid contact with government functionaries. It is inevitable in many situations. As a matter of fact, the government has grown too much in this part of the world. However, utility bills can be paid at banks and I have experienced staff at foreign banks operating in Pakistan reasonably courteous. Every honest person is suffering at the hands of the corrupt elements in the government.

I had to personally visit the office of revenue department in Islamabad to hear the remarks that a pensioner should learn to face such delays. I have not been able to receive revised Last Pay Slip despite the intervention of a friend who is holding an important position in a gov-

ernment office. Counters for pensioners have not become operational at AGPR. There is urgent need to humanise bureaucracy.

Madam Kishawar Naeed, please don’t despair. If it may help, you are not alone to suffer at the hands of cheaters and corrupt in Pakistan.

ASGHAR MAHMOOD Islamabad

democratic transition in Me

tall claims of the Pti leader The talk of the town is Imran Khan’s ‘Pakistan Bachao Tehreek’ (Save Pakistan Movement). In every meeting and discussion, I often hear about the attendance at Minar-e-Pakistan and it seems that this power show is becoming the basis of support for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). One sensible quarter has asked for an effective plan and strategy on how Imran Khan would change the system. I, too, have my concerns and would like to ask Imran Khan’s supporters, who think that he will bring about a 180-degree change in the direction of the country, about all the tall claims that he has made in the past that have not yet been accomplished.

I am still waiting for Imran Khan to share the details of the model houses and/or villages for the flood affected people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, for which he had collected donations and said that he would put everything in black and white. I am still waiting for Imran Khan to visit and assist the flood affected people of Sindh and visit victims of target killings in Karachi. I am still waiting for Imran Khan to pursue cases against Altaf Hussain in London that he claimed he would. His action on the ground is now in contradiction to his claims regarding MQM. I am still waiting for Imran Khan to go to the superior courts to keep the

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.

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:04 AM Page 12

12 Comment Not pipe dreams tAPi, iP and all the rest

T

wo realities dawned upon the world in the mid-aughts. That the era of cheap food had gone by and so had that of cheap fuel. Not far behind would be the effects of these new realities on the geopolitical stage. Indeed, the diplomatic corps of many countries are chucking out older paradigms of regional power matrices in favour of ones that make cold, composed calculations about food and energy supplies.

The quest for oil, though it has, in the past, led to much warring and bloodshed, also has the potential for achieving a measure of peace, given the increasingly multilateral nature of agreements over pipelines and power-lines. If geographical contiguity traditionally breeds rivalries between states, the same feature provides an incentive for keeping good relations.

Pakistan and Turkmenistan’s recently signed MoUs bring the long-awaited TAPI project closer to reality. The total project would be a $7.6 billion pipeline that will take Turkmen gas through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. The US administration, presumably, would be pleased at every step in this direction. Because the possibility of importing fuel from Iran is one that is usually mentioned in any discussion on TAPI, this very editorial being an example.

The need of the hour is to establish to the Americans that movement on the TAPI pipeline has been quicker on account of a better rate being negotiated with Turkmenistan and nothing else.

Indeed, given our energy needs, we might be going ahead with both programs. There is absolutely no need to be apologetic about it nor should we let anyone interpret this as a sign of a political shift. If energy concerns could make the Indians, in the late 90s, talk to us, their traditional foes, about the possibility of importing electricity, there should be no stopping us from approaching Iran, a friendly nation, for similar reasons.

A dark horse? the changing political scenario

S

o far it was taken for granted that whatever coalition government comes into existence after the next elections would be headed by one of the two major parties, PPP or the PML(N). With the emergence of the Imran Khan factor, this can no more be guaranteed. Both the traditional rivals suffer from the factor of incumbency. They can claim with some justification that they failed to deliver during their earlier stints in power as their tenures were repeatedly cut short and they were required to work under the constraints imposed by an army dominated system.

For a while after the 2008 elections, many accepted the excuse that most of the ills faced by the country like power and gas shortages and inflation were the legacy of the Musharraf regime. After three years and a half, the excuse is no more valid. Bad governance, lack of financial discipline, corruption and target killings in Karachi are often blamed on the incompetence of the PPP and the concessions it has given to its coalition partners to remain in power. Equally bad governance in Punjab is widely ascribed to the CM’s penchant for retaining all powers in his own hands. He hounded out his coalition partners and continues to micromanage the affairs of the province through hand picked bureaucrats instead of letting the ministers run their departments. While many expect the CM to concentrate on running an efficient administration he has decided to embark on an agitation, a highly unusual thing for the chief executive of a province.

To many who thronged the public meeting at Minar-ePakistan, Imran represented a break from dynastic politics and promise of good governance and clean administration. Whether significant sections of population in other provinces also share the view would become clear from the public meetings at Karachi and Peshawar. A number of political figures from other parties are meditating to join the PTI which has lacked electable candidates.

One is yet not certain whether Imran can also mobilise the support of the working class, the urban poor and the rural masses. He has yet to spell out how he intends to redress the decades old grievances of the smaller provinces. One thing however is certain: the two major parties now face a serious challenge from an unexpected quarter.

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

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

The Imran Khan alternative Sloganeering not enough

W

hat are the prospects of a credible alternative to the two major political parties, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Group (PML-N), that have dominated Pakistan’s political scene since 1988? Is it possible to discover a new breed of politicians that are totally honest and fully committed to public with no personal agendas?

There are no categorical answers the above questions. The PPP and the PML(N) leaders do not expect that the new breed of leaders can replace them. They think that their parties have the capacity to accommodate new aspirants in the political domain and thus they will continue to dominate politics.

Imran Khan and his young supporters think that Pakistan is at the brink of an “Imrani Revolution” that will sweep aside any political party targeted by Imran Khan. Their over-enthusiasm has led them to draw conclusions about all-Pakistan politics on the basis of Imran’s success in mobilising people in central and north Punjab, known for conservative-right wing and Islamist orientations.

Imran Khan’s display of his support in Lahore on October 30 has posed a credible challenge to the political primacy of the PPP and the PML(N). They will have to focus on two major issues to dilute the long term implications of Imran Khan’s “arrival” on the centrestage of politics.

First, the federal and provincial governments will have to pay more attention to governance and corruption issues. The performance of these governments in managing administrative and political affairs has been abysmal. All governBy Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi ments are tainted with excessive use state machinery and resources for personal advantage. The ruling parties will have to improve their governance and check financial corruption that appears to have become very widespread.

They will have to take steps to reduce economic pressures on the common people due to inflation, price-hike and personal insecurity. There is an urgent need to devote more attention to relief and rehabilitation work in the flood-affected areas in Sindh.

Second, the growing resentment in both major parties against personalised party management should be addressed. The PML(N) did not elect or appoint its office bearers for almost two years. Some of the posts like the Secretary General are still inactive while the decision on some appointments is awaited. Add to this intra-party factionalism and the efforts of the Chief Minister, Punjab, to run the party to

serve his personal agenda, like the on-going “Go Zardari Go” campaign which has hardly any chance of succeeding within the constitutional framework.

The PPP has become the fiefdom of President Asif Ali Zardari. Some senior leaders and activists are alienated either because of the personalised management of the party or due to the poor performance of the PPP governments in Islamabad and Karachi. There are serious internal party rumblings in Sindh.

The PPP will have to review its assets and liabilities in a realistic manner.

These alienated leaders, including some from the PML(Q), view Imran Khan’s rise as an opportunity to increase their bargaining power vis-à-vis their current party by talking about the option of joining Imran Khan. Some of them will actually join him, hoping that the Imran wave will ensure their electoral triumph. Some people who have secure constituencies are expected to join him in the hope that they can acquire nationwide political stature by riding on Imran’s bandwagon.

The major political parties will have to take Imran Khan seriously because he is expected to cause them some electoral dent.

The challenge appears stronger for the PML(N) and PML(Q) because of their ideological overlap and the fact that Imran Khan has shown strength in Central and Northern Punjab where the PML(N) has traditionally been strong.

The coming of Imran Khan can also be viewed as a sign of growing fragmentation in Pakistani politics, especially in the right of centre to rightist-Islamic political spectrum.

In addition to the traditional Islamic political parties like the Jamaat-i-Islami, the JUI, the Jamiat-i-Ahle Hadees (two groups), there are new Islamic groups in the field. These have sectarian-denomination based agendas and compete with each other on religious and political issues. Some of them will be contesting elections. The JUP has lost its salience but its religious-political perspective is well represented in the political domain.

Now, Imran has entered the race, appealing primarily to the right of centre, nationalist and Islamist constituency. However, he has a stronger appeal because a large number of educated people, especially the young ones, with rightist-Islamist orientations would prefer to

join Imran rather than Islamic political parties that are more dogmatic and narrowly focused.

Imran Khan will be competing effectively with the PML(N) and PML(Q). He will also get support from the alienated PPP activists. The floating and the first-time voters are expected to lean towards him.

There are some new groups coming up like the one being set up by Jahangir Tareen (PML-F) and others from PML(Q), projecting them as technocrats but from the same political spectrum. They will try their luck either by solo flight or by joining hands with Imran Khan.

Most of the new entrants, projecting them as the champions of corruption-free and ethnical politics, hail from the Punjab or feel comfortable there in political mobilisation. Two key questions are critical to their role. First, can they build enough support elsewhere? In other provinces, the key issues are ethnicity and provincial rights and interests which these parties are not adequately addressing.

Second, most of these groups maintain varying degrees of sympathy or support for Islamic orthodoxy and militancy. Some Islamic groups approach the Taliban phenomenon purely on sectarian-denominational basis. Imran Khan endorses the political discourse of the Taliban and wants the military to stop its operations against the Taliban and other militants.

If Imran Khan and his enthusiastic supporters want to become the number one party, they will have to sustain and enlarge their support base within and outside Punjab. They also need to provide a plan of action for the problems they identify.

Imran Khan wants everything to be left to him and that he will rectify everything once he assumes power. The one-man show will turn his party into one of the many parties that are personal fiefdoms of the leaders. He needs to do some cool-headed long-term thinking on the ways to address the problems. He cannot become a genuine alternative to the PPP and the PML(N) merely by slogans and criticism of other political leaders. It is going to be a long and arduous political competition.

The writer is an independent political and defence analyst.

Regional Press

Preparing for a Grand Jirga Daily Wahdat

W

ith the start of arrangements for organising Grand Jirga in Afghanistan, the interior ministry of the country has started beefing up security measures as well because there is increasing opposition to the holding of the same.

According to reports from Afghanistan, the opposition comes from within as well as from certain foreign quarters. The other day, former foreign minister of Afghanistan and currently chief of ‘Taghayoor Ao Umeed’ (Change and Hope) political party, Dr Abdullah, told a public gathering in Kabul that the Grand Jirga holds importance both from legal and traditional point of view in the country but it was is hard to say with certainty whether the ‘Jirga’ could fetch the desired results.

One of the conveners of the jirga, Safi Sadique, told reports the same day Abdullah issued his statement that they had invited even those quarters to the jirga that stand opposed to the government including Taliban leaders and the Haqqani group adding that delegates from foreign countries and that from within country including women folk have enlisted their names for participation in the grand jirga.

Along with certain political quarters and Taliban that oppose the jirga, a group of Ulema under the leadership of Maulvi Zakiri main-

tained that in the presence of about one lac and fifty thousand foreign troops in the country, the jirga could not to be a legal one nor a free one in its decisions.

Political analysts said that in the face of opposition from Taliban, it could not be a successful event even if the attendance was double what was expected. Afghan authorities and President Hamid Karzai expressed the wish that the grand jirga should be arranged in time as the opposition is increasing day by day for holding the jirga.

Political analysts said that there are two factors to the opposition wherein one is internal and the other one is external (from neighbouring countries). US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said that 90 percent of the work has been chalked out for strategic agreement with Afghanistan and only the formalities remain. It is feared that the jirga would further smooth out the way for that strategic agreement as it is an American wish to make permanent bases in Afghanistan through the signing of a strategic agreement.

Now it depends upon the Afghans to ponder over the matter and consider all its pros and cons. But those intending to participate in the grand jirga should not only consider Afghan interests but also take into account considerations of the neighbouring countries for lasting peace in the region.

-Translated from the original Pashto by Abdur Rauf Khattak

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Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Comment 13

Iran’s nuclear challenge

dancing girls, Jihadi boys

is there a peaceful solution?

theatre and anti-theatre in Pakistan

By Shaukat Umer

I

n its latest report, the International Atomic Energy Agency has delivered a damning critique of the current status of Iran’s nuclear program.

While acknowledging that the Agency had found no evidence that Iran had actually decided to build nuclear weapons, a fact conveniently overlooked by the international media, the report underlined the growing sophistication and expansion of the program suggesting a move in the direction of weaponisation. In specific terms, Iran was accused of carrying out computer simulations of nuclear explosives, developing detonators and creating over a dozen designs of warhead attachments to missiles.

The release of the report was preceded by ominous Israeli sabre rattling involving the test firing of a ballistic missile and hints of surgical strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.

Following the release of the report, talk of military action acquired wider currency within Israel and in the Western media.

Warnings of the direst consequences by the Iranian leadership inducted a measure of moderation in the debate prompting the US Secretary of Defence to caution against military strikes as these would have ”unintended consequences” for American interests and forces in the region. The Israelis are now calling for the imposition of “destructive sanctions” which would effectively neutralise Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The United Kingdom, France and Germany have also called for additional sanctions.

Already the Security Council has imposed four layers of sanctions against Iran since 2006 when Iranian non-compliance

was first reported by the IAEA Board of Governors. According to the West’s own admission, these sanctions have not worked. Further proliferation of penal measures are unlikely to produce the anticipated results and are, in any case, opposed by China and Russia who have expressed a clear preference for the diplomatic option. Even the reticent Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General, has come out against the use of force and has called for a negotiated solution.

The issue is relatively simple. Iran, consistent with the NPT and IAEA provisions is entitled to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Thirteen states are currently engaged in the production of enriched uranium and plutonium for use as fuel rods in power reactors. Japan, one of whose nationals currently heads the IAEA, boasts amongst the largest reprocessing plants in the world. These activities are closely monitored by the Agency through a stringent safeguards regime which has been significantly upgraded in recent years.

There are two reasons why this right is being denied to Iran: its radical Islamist orientation manifest principally in its unrelenting hostility towards Israel and the fact that its nuclear infrastructure was clandestinely constructed fuelling the fear that Iran was pursuing the path of nuclear weapons using peaceful applications as a façade.

While the first has no locus in international law the second is considered legitimate even though the Iranians claim that secrecy was imposed on them as otherwise the West would have used its immense clout to pressurise its sources of supply to deny Iran the means to acquire the technology. The Iranians also contend that under the IAEA Statute, declaration of nuclear assets becomes mandatory only when nuclear material is introduced into the facility which was not done until 2003 and that too under intimation to the Agency. By those criteria, in strictly legal terms, Iran claims it had not breached any Agency regulations.

That the debate on the Iran-

ian nuclear issue is driven in good measure by political considerations is beyond question. Three instances clearly bear this out.

The decision of the IAEA Board of Governors in 2006 to refer the Iranian dossier to the Security Council was taken through a vote which is unprecedented. The Board takes all its decisions by consensus, a time-honoured practice which was breached in this instance.

Several previous instances of non-compliance were never reported to the Security Council, the most glaring being the detection of highly enriched uranium in one of South Korea’s nuclear facilities. The enrichment was found to be in the range of 80 percent which is close to if not actually bomb grade level. Yet the Board did not take any action. According to Goldsmith, a former Deputy Director General of the IAEA, these discriminatory practices were actuated by purely political considerations.

As Pakistan’s former Permanent Representative to the IAEA in the late nineties, I would be most interested to know whether the information disclosed in the Agency’s latest report was available during the incumbency of Mohammad ElBaradei, the previous Director General. El-Baradei was a seasoned and astute Egyptian diplomat who understood well the political undercurrents of this issue. He tried not to allow political factors to impact on the evidence based approach of his organisation.

The moot point is that if this information was available earlier why it was not published.

If it was discovered recently all its sources should be made public in the interest of transparency particularly since these revelations have the potential to unleash war in the region.

Diplomacy offers the only sensible way forward which will be discussed next week.

The writer is Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the United Nations and European Union. He can be contacted at shaukatumer@hotmail.com

T

he Dancing Girl of the Indus Valley Civilization was slender, subtle, sensual and naked. Lahore’s popular Nargis is voluptuous, bold, crude, and dressed so loud that her co-actors call her ‘pathano ki cycle’.

The Dancing Girl clasps her hand, joining the tips of the thumb and the index finger, to make the traditional Indian dance posture that signifies a lotus bud. Nargis clasps her hand too, but slides the index finger down the thumb, to make a hole that signifies an invitation to copulation.

The Dancing Girl is a figurine and cannot speak. Her hair, jewellery and posture are the media that mirror the social life of the Indus Valley Civilization about 4,500 years ago.

Nargis is the queen of pun. She speaks loud and always accentuates social and moral dysfunction. Her jokes are the circus mirror of today’s Punjab.

What is common between Nargis and the Dancing Girl of India is their chin-up self assurance. Nargis is perhaps a degenerate form of the temple dancer that has come back to haunt us and avenge her suppression. If that is true, what will happen if we suppress Nargis?

Nargis and the theatre in which she and dancers like her perform is already in a constant state of crisis - as a medium (looming threat of police raids on vulgarity, blackmailing

By Harris Bin Munawar by tax authorities and fear of terrorist attacks) and as a message (miscommunication, broken families, mistaken identities and absurd plots).

Earlier this month, right before Eid-ul-Azha – the three-day feast that earns Lahore’s theatre industry a significant income – Nargis was banned for vulgarity. Vulgarity is considered by many Pakistanis as one of the primary reasons of the society’s failure. There is strong faith that it invites God’s wrath. There is no real logic to why violations involving women have more serious consequences than the rampant corruption in Pakistan involving men.

In these politics of gender, Nargis is defenceless. Like many women before her – from the ancient sacrificial virgins to the more

Man bites Dog

recent burnt witches – she is the scapegoat.

The term scapegoat was coined by Tyndale in 1530, as a translation of the Latin word caper emissarius, which itself is a translation of the Hebrew 'azazel’, read as 'ez ozel’ – the goat that departs.

Eid-ul-Azha is the Eid of the annual ritual slaughtering of goats. A ritual is a re-enactment of a prior event, usually a myth. While a debate on the primacy of ritual or myth remains unresolved, a ritual in itself, as a cultural practice, is nothing but repetition and substitution.

Theatrical practice started possibly with the substitution of an animal for a human sacrifice. Eventually there was no bloodshed

if Nargis is Pakistan’s theatre, terrorist groups are Pakistan’s anti-theatre. in a way, they are two sides of the same coin. at all, and only a re-enactment. Theatre artists, like Nargis, are descendants of priests in that sense.

An odd kind of descendants of the sacrificial priests are the Jihadi groups involved in the contemporary practice of broadcast beheadings – slaughtering of humans in the name of religion. Most of those beheaded are labelled traitors and spies – impurities that are responsible for social and moral dysfunction.

The practice probably began with the videotaped beheading of American Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. It “has grown into a more systematic tool of political expression”, according to one of the most interesting professors I’ve had the opportunity to study with. In his book, Fear of Small Numbers: an essay on the geography of anger, he sees the trend as a return to “the simplest form of religious violence, the sacrifice.”

“My father's Jewish. My mother's Jewish.

I'm Jewish," Daniel Pearl had said before he was beheaded and his body was cut into 10 pieces. It looks like these boys have gone back full circle.

If Nargis is Pakistan’s theatre, terrorist groups are Pakistan’s anti-theatre. In a way, they are two sides of the same coin.

The writer is a media and culture critic and works at The Friday Times. He tweets @paagalinsaan and gets email at harris@nyu.edu

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14 Foreign News

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

New York police evict anti-Wall Street protesters More than 70 people arrested, last protesters removed NeW YORK

P

REutERS

OLICE wearing helmets and carrying shields evicted protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement early on Tuesday from the park in New York City’s financial district where they have camped since September.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said that about 70 protesters were arrested in Zuccotti Park during the nighttime operation for defying orders to leave and several more were arrested nearby, although most left voluntarily. Authorities declared that the continued occupation of Zuccotti Park — which had become a sea of tents, tarps and protest signs with hundreds of demonstrators sleeping there — posed a health and safety threat.

About a dozen protesters had chained themselves together and another two had chained themselves to trees before being cut loose and removed, Browne added. The office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the protesters were ordered to “temporarily leave” the park and remove their tents and tarps. Police said protesters

would be allowed to return once the park was cleaned, but would have to abide by rules banning items like tents, tarps and the storage of belongings. The protesters had set up camp in Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17 to protest a financial system they say mostly benefits corporations and the wealthy. Their movement has inspired similar protests against economic inequality in other cities, and in some cases have led to violent clashes with police. Police barricaded streets around the park, which had been lit up with spotlights, and were keeping people about a block away.

The operation began at around 1 a.m. (0600 GMT) and the last protesters had been evicted by about 4:15 a.m. (0915 GMT). Authorities continued to sweep up and remove mounds of debris.

Police used a loudspeaker to tell protesters they would be arrested if they did not leave.

“They gave us about 20 minutes to get our things together,” protester Sam Wood said as the eviction was taking place. “It’s a painful process to watch, they are sweeping through the park.” More people arrived at the scene to support the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators after the protesters sent out a mass text message alerting followers to the raid.

ukraine parliament rejects Tymoshenko reprieve g

Yanukovich’s party rejects proposal to free his foe KIeV REutERS

Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday rejected a move to downgrade the abuse-of-power offence under which former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been jailed, dealing a blow to prospects of an early release for the charismatic opposition leader.

The move, which killed off any immediate chance of a compromise being found to free Tymoshenko and put Ukraine’s relations with the European Union back on track, deepened the gloom in her increasingly sombre camp. The outcome “left no doubt that the authorities intend to continue political repression,” Andriy Kozhemyakin, a deputy of her BYuT party said.

The opposition leader was jailed for seven years last month for exceeding her powers as prime minister in forcing through a gas deal with Russia in 2009 which the present Ukrainian leadership says saddled the country with an exorbitant price for Russian gas. She denies wrong-doing and says the trial is a vendetta against her by President Viktor Yanukovich who beat her for the presidency in a bitterly-fought runoff vote in February 2010. The case has soured the ex-Soviet republic’s relations with the EU weeks ahead of a summit in which the sides had planned to initial deals on political association and free trade. The 27-member bloc sees Tymoshenko’s prose-

cution as politically motivated and has warned Kiev the deals may not be signed if she remains in jail. All the same, deputies from Yanukovich’s Party of Regions, which dominates parliament, voted down a proposal by her allies to reclassify the abuse-ofpower offence as a misdemeanour — a move which would have led to her being freed from detention. Only 147 deputies out of 438 supported the proposal when it went to the vote. A few other similar proposals were also turned down by the majority.

StALIn-eRA: Deputies from Tymoshenko’s BYuT party walked out of the room after their defeat. Kozhemyakin said: “You (parliament) had a chance today to cancel the shameful Stalin-era (Criminal code) articles that were used against popular leaders in the previous decades.”

Tymoshenko’s lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko told Reuters this week she was pinning her hopes on foreign courts such as the European Court of Human Rights where she could apply after a local appeals court rules on her case.

Her supporters say the 50-year-old charismatic politician, known for her trademark peasant hair braid, stylish dressing and fiery public speaking, is in bad health and has been unable to walk for more than a week. While she has been in police detention pending appeal against her conviction, prosecutors have continued to pile further charges on her. Last week she was further charged with tax evasion and theft dating back to the 1990s.

NeW YoRK: A New York City police officer scuffles with occupy Wall Street protesters after they were evicted from Succotti Park on tuesday. Hundreds of police in riot gear dismantled the occupy oakland camp, evicting and arresting protesters in the second such US move in as many days as authorities get tough against the two-month-old protest movement. AFP

Afghan to be forcibly deported from Australia SYDNeY aFP

An Afghan asylum seeker who fears for his life if returned home is to be forcibly deported from Australia, the first such case under a new deal with Kabul, the government said Tuesday.

Ismail Mirza Jan, 26 and of the Hazara ethnic minority, fled Afghanistan 10 years ago and made his way to Australia via Pakistan, Iran, Greece and Britain, where he was refused

refugee status in 2004. He failed to disclose his British rejection when he arrived in Australia in February 2010 on false documents, claiming he had come directly from Afghanistan, the Sydney Morning Herald said. A fingerprint trace revealed his earlier application, leading to the ultimate failure of his Australian asylum bid.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Jan would be the first forced return under a deal struck in January with Kabul. “Never before today has

there been an involuntary return from Australia to Afghanistan so this underlines the importance of today,” Bowen told reporters. “Without today’s agreement it would be impossible to contemplate involuntary repatriation to Afghanistan.” The deal allows Australia to forcibly deport Afghans whose claims for asylum have failed, and it was signed off as part of efforts to curb the thousands of refugees arriving here from the strife-torn central Asian nation.

Faith overtones in Occupy protests but leaders wary PARIS REutERS

Religions condemn greed. The “Occupy Wall Street” protests around the world condemn greed. So theoretically, religious leaders should find common ground with the rallies denouncing the inequalities of capitalism.

Some activist clergy have turned up at protest camps. Not long after Occupy Wall Street began in New York, some Christians arrived in Zuccotti Park with papier-mache statues of a golden calf, a Biblical symbol of idol worship. But the hierarchies have kept their distance - or tried to - even though the protests have religious overtones with appeals to equality, charity and justice. When protesters camped at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, its Church of England staff found itself torn between God and Mammon.

In the United States, Roman Catholic bishops are meeting this week without eco-

nomic inequality on their agenda. The Jewish Week newspaper called the Occupy movement a “new third rail for the Jewish mainstream”. Some imams have joined the protests to speak about the advantages of Islamic finance, which bans interest and focuses on investing in the real economy. But the movement has not been a central issue for most large Muslim organisations.

Katherine Clark, from the Interfaith Center of New York, said people from many faiths supported the movement but “the denominations most active with the interfaith service we have been organising are progressive Protestants.” An activist rabbi, who asked not to be named, said Jewish groups were mostly silent because the movement was undefined and had no detailed programme.

“It is too inchoate,” he said.

AnGLICAnS CHALLenGeD: The diffuse nature of the protests, which have no central leadership or agreed list of demands, make them a difficult partner for established religion even if they seem to

share some basic values. The Church of England found that out the hard way when Occupy protesters camped in front of St Paul’s Cathedral when they could not pitch tents closer to the London Stock Exchange.

The cathedral, closely linked to the financial community, shut its doors and considered clearing out the protesters. The debate led two leading clerics to quit and prompted several Anglican bishops and other Christian denominations to criticise the cathedral for not showing more support. “Church denominations very rarely criticise another church at all, let alone publicly,” said Jonathan Bartley, co-director of the theological think tank Ekklesia in London. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion, stepped in on the protesters’ side and said Vatican proposals for sweeping reforms to the world economic system offered possible options. After that, a think tank linked to St Paul’s published a poll of London City

workers showing most felt the gap between rich and poor was too wide in Britain and pay in the financial industry too high. Despite this unusual support, Church leaders do not tend to be as anti-capitalist as the protesters, said Bartley. The majority think “capitalism is not just neutral but good because it generates wealth, but we need a nicer version of it,” he added. One of the few other churches to side with the protests was the Episcopal Church, the main Anglican denomination in the United States. Its Executive Council said on Oct 23 that the protest movement “bears faithful witness in the tradition of Jesus to the sinful inequities in society.”

CAtHoLICS, JeWS AnD A HInDu MonK : The Vatican seemed to back the protests the next day when its Justice and Peace department said the financial crisis had exposed “selfishness, collective greed and hoarding of goods on a great scale” and condemned “the idolatry of the market”. It called for a

global authority and a tax on financial transactions to promote ethical business practices and foster “an ethic of solidarity” between rich and poor countries.

While it won applause from more liberal Christians, the document upset conservative Catholics who stressed it did not come from Pope Benedict and questioned why it was issued. Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Justice and Peace department, defended it as part of a long tradition of progressive social teaching in the Catholic Church. “We’re just doing our job,” he said. He noted that Pope Benedict had made similar suggestions in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth) in 2009. Small groups of activist rabbis in New York and London have also supported the protests and some Jews have held religious services at Zuccotti Park. But Clark, who organises interfaith services at the park, said Jewish leaders told her “they don’t yet have a community stance on the OWS movement.”

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:04 AM Page 15

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

Yemen’s Saleh says ready to step down in 90 days SANAA REutERS

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Monday he was ready to step down within 90 days of reaching a deal on a formal process for implementing a Gulf initiative aimed at ending the nine-monthold crisis in his country. Saleh, who has so far refused to sign the accord proposed by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council in April, told France’s Channel 24 television in an interview that he had given his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, authority to negotiate a deal with the opposition. Asked when he would leave office, Saleh said: “When an agreement on the Gulf initiative is reached, and when it is signed, and (it is agreed) on the operational mechanism and when elections are held, the president will leave.” Asked if there was a time frame for his departure, he said: “It is defined. It is within 90 days (of an agreement).” “I have 33 years of experience in power and I know the difficulties, I know the negatives and positives. The one who clings to power is mad,” he said. An opposition official said on Sunday that Saleh was trying to thwart a mission by U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar to implement the U.N.-backed Gulf initiative, by insisting on staying in office until new elections are held. “Saleh wants to preserve all his powers until the election of a new president and that is rejected by the opposition and because of this the U.N. envoy’s mission is going to fail,” said the official, who declined to be identified. Benomar urged all Yemeni factions on Monday to reach an agreement “to save the Yemeni people from the sufferings of the current crisis,” the Yemeni Defence Ministry’s website said. “I am in nearly daily contact with all political sides in Yemen and efforts are continuing to reach a peaceful end to the crisis,” he added. Under an “operational mechanism” proposed by Benomar, Saleh would step down immediately, triggering the formation of a national unity government ahead of early presidential elections. A body would be set up to restructure the armed forces.

Philippines blocks Arroyo from leaving country MANILA aFP

The Philippine government blocked expresident Gloria Arroyo from leaving the country Tuesday after she dramatically turned up at Manila airport wearing a neck brace, insisting she must face graft charges.

President Benigno Aquino’s administration defied a Supreme Court ruling that Arroyo should be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad immediately for what the 64-year-old has said is a life-threatening bone disease. At the end of a tension-filled day of Philippine politics, Arroyo arrived at Manila airport in an ambulance and was escorted into the building in a wheelchair wearing a neck brace, with the events broadcast on television. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said immigration authorities had been told to stop Arroyo from leaving the country, prompting outrage from the ex-president’s camp. “We have rights enshrined under the constitution, we will fight for our rights,” Arroyo’s spokeswoman Elena Bautista Horn told ABS-CBN television from inside Manila airport as they sought to negotiate with airport officials. The Supreme Court had earlier in the day overturned a government ban imposed last week barring Arroyo from travelling abroad. A spokesman for the Supreme Court said the justices had ruled 85 that the ban, which also applied to her husband, was unconstitutional because they had not yet been charged with any crime.

“They (Arroyo’s lawyers) were able to show... the (travel ban) would probably work (as) an injustice against them,” spokesman Midas Marquez said. “This was of course consistent with the constitutional presumption of innocence.” However de Lima insisted that the travel ban would remain in place until the government formally received the Supreme Court’s decision.

KAMPALA: Some of 12 suspected Al-Shabaab-linked terrorists appear in a court on tuesday to face charges in connection with a twin terrorist attack in July 2010 that killed at least 76 people in Kampala, the region’s worst attacks in more than a decade. AFP

Syria crackdown gets bloodier as regime isolation grows DAMASCUS

M

aFP

ORE than 70 people died in one of the bloodiest days of Syria’s eightmonth uprising, activists said Tuesday, as President Bashar al-Assad’s loyalists reacted angrily to growing isolation.

Around 100 of his supporters stormed the Jordanian embassy in Damascus overnight — the latest regional mission to be targeted since the Arab League voted on Saturday to impose sanctions — after Jordan’s King Abdullah II became the first Arab leader to publicly call for Assad to quit. Buoyed by the fast-growing diplomatic pressure, Syria’s opposition stepped up its contacts with the regime’s remaining bulwarks, holding talks in Moscow, which last month joined Beijing in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution that would have threatened “targeted measures.” Neighbouring Turkey, a former close Syrian ally that has been one of the most outspoken champions of reform, prepared to hold talks in Morocco with Arab leaders Wednesday that are expected to be dominated by the bloodshed.

In a sign of the potential for civil war in one of the Middle East’s most pivotal countries, five regular army troops were killed on Tuesday in clashes with mutinous soldiers who refused orders to shoot on civilians, a human rights group said, after 34 were killed the previous day. The fighting erupted in the town of Hara in Daraa province, where the unprecedented protests against Assad’s 11-year reign erupted in mid-March, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. In Idlib province in the northwest, close to the Turkish border, “clashes between the regular

US military college ‘sorry’ about sex abuse inaction CHARLeStON

turkey says Syria Gulf states on ‘knife-edge’, oppose Arab summit on Syria demands apology RIYADH

ANKARA

aFP

REutERS

The six Gulf Cooperation Council states said on Tuesday that they oppose a Syrian request for an emergency Arab summit on the bloody crisis in the country. The GCC “sees that the request to hold an Arab summit at this time is useless,” knowing that Arab foreign ministers will meet in Rabat on Wednesday, GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani said. The Arab League on Saturday voted to suspend Syria from all of the panArab bloc’s activities over its failure to implement a deal to end the violence which has left around 3,500 dead since March, according to UN figures.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad his government was on a “knife-edge” and demanded an immediate apology after attacks on Turkey’s diplomatic missions in Syria.

“Nobody now expects the (Syrian) people’s demands to be met. We all want the Syrian administration, which is now on a knife-edge, to turn back from the edge of the cliff,” Erdogan told a party meeting. NonArab Turkey, after long courting Assad, has lost patience with its neighbour’s failure to end an eightmonth crackdown and implement promised democratic reforms.

army and armed men, probably deserters, caused at least 14 casualties — dead and wounded,” the Britainbased watchdog added. A child was killed in the province’s Kfar Uma district where more than 20 explosions were heard during the clashes between the army and presumed deserters, it said.

In the flashpoint central city of Homs, scene of a deadly offensive by loyalist troops since the signing of an abortive Arab League peace deal earlier this month, 19 unidentified bodies were delivered to the main public hospital. The Observatory said it feared the dead were among the victims of a spate of kidnappings by

pro-government militia in the city — Syria’s third largest. Desertions within Assad’s security forces — which have a professional hard core but also much larger conscripted ranks — triggered much of Monday’s death toll of more than 70. A total of 34 soldiers and 12 suspected army deserters were killed in clashes, as well as 27 civilians shot dead by security forces in the regime’s intensifying crackdown, the Observatory said. Most of the victims were killed in Daraa province, the uprising’s birthplace close to the border with Jordan, which has become increasingly outspoken about the bloodshed in its northern neighbour.

REutERS

The president of The Citadel said on Tuesday he was “profoundly sorry” the South Carolina military college failed to tell police about child sexual abuse allegations against a man who had served as a summer camp counselor at the institution. The Citadel disclosed the matter on Saturday in the wake of unrelated allegations of child sexual abuse by a former assistant football coach at Penn State University. The college, located in Charleston, said on Saturday it had investigated in 2007 the allegations against the man — who was arrested last month on separate charges of abusing five boys — but did not report the matter to police. Citadel President John Rosa told a news conference on Monday: “This should have been reported (to police).” “We’re profoundly sorry, sorry that we didn’t pursue it more. We acted on what we thought was our best information. ...

We’re all held accountable,” Rosa told reporters. “I am saddened and sickened that someone so close has betrayed our trust,” Rosa added. The Citadel released documents on Monday linked to the 2007 internal probe of child abuse allegations brought by a former Citadel summer camper against Louis Neal “Skip” ReVille. ReVille was arrested last month on charges of abusing boys in the Charleston suburb of Mount Pleasant and police have said he has admitted to the crimes, with more charges pending. A graduate of The Citadel, ReVille had worked as a counselor at the school’s camp for three summers between 2001 and 2003. The Citadel closed its camp in 2006. ReVille had also worked elsewhere as a school principal and sports coach.

SHARInG WItH PoLICe The Citadel said it was now sharing all its information with police, and had hired a consulting firm to review the college’s procedures in the matter and recommend improvements. In 2007, the former Citadel summer camper said that five years earlier, when he was 14, ReVille had invited him and another camper to his room, showed them pornography on his computer, and that they had masturbated.

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:04 AM Page 16

16 Wedding bells Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

IN LIMELIGHT Christian Serratos

After years of speculation on their relationship status, Riteish and Genelia are set to wed in February 2012 MUMBAI MiRROR

H

YATT Regency, Mumbai booked for three days for the wedding; the Bachchans, Imran Khan, Rana Daggubatti, Sajid Khan, Boman Irani, Ram Gopal Varma and Abbas Tyrewala on the

Brad Pitt intends to quit acting, turn producer

guest list. Nine years and millions of speculations later, the Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’souza love story is all set to find its ‘happily ever after’ ending. The actors who met during their debut film ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’ in 2003 will tie the knot in February 2012. According to sources, the date has been set for February 4.

Divulging the wedding plans, a friend of the actors said, “The families have decided to keep it a very low-key affair. So only close family and friends will be invited.” The guest list to this low key wedding will include Genelia’s friends from Bollywood and the south Indian film industry. “Riteish’s guests will include the Bachchans, Karan Johar, Boman Irani, Sajid Khan and Ram Gopal Varma,” revealed a source.

According to the source, unlike the buzz in the industry, Genelia would continue with her Bollywood career even after the marriage. “Riteish’s parents have no objection to her working in films,” informed the source. Riteish and Genelia, who had always maintained that they are ‘just friends’ and managed to keep their romance under wraps went public earlier this year by gracing a media event together. Interestingly, Riteish and Genelia starrer ‘Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya’, which is currently on the floors, has been scheduled to release in the same week as their wedding. The filmmakers of ‘Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya’ are probably looking at pulling a Mani Ratnam, who released his film ‘Guru’ soon after the AbhishekAishwarya engagement was announced.

one grace Johnst

kristen Stewart

megan Park

SeOUL agEnciES

Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt signalled his intention Tuesday to move into film production after revealing that he plans to stop acting in three years after he turns 50. Pitt, 47, told a news conference during a visit to South Korea to promote his latest film ‘Moneyball’ that moving into the producer’s chair was something that appealed to him. “I do quite enjoy the producing side,” the star of ‘Fight Club’ said, adding that he would like producing films which are difficult to make under the current system or “getting behind talent that we believe in”. Pitt’s comments came just days after he said he intended to quit acting when he turns 50. During an interview with an Australian current affairs show in Tokyo broadcast on Sunday, the American actor was asked how much longer he would like to “do your business for”. “Three years,” he told the interviewer on ‘60 Minutes’. The actor, who played starring roles in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and ‘Troy’ also told the programme he was content with life. “I think happiness is overrated, truthfully. I do. I think sometimes you’re happy, sometimes you’re not.

There’s too much pressure to be happy,” he said. “Satisfied, at peace, those would be more goals for myself.”

Bhai tag peeves SALMAN MuMBai: Salman Khan, who is lovingly called bhai by his close friends and fans, seems to have had enough of being addressed as “brother”. the actor believes that he doesn’t want to carry the burden of universal brotherhood, for even girls have started calling him by the same name. And that is what irks Salman ‘dabangg’ Khan. Recently, at an event held in dubai, a south indian actress referred to him as bhai and the flamboyant star instantly reacted and asked her to call him Salman. He said, “don’t call me bhai! i’ve got two sisters that’s more than enough!" Arguably still the most eligible bachelor of Bollywood, Salman will be turning 46 next month. the superstar’s witty side came out in full form when Anna aka Suniel Shetty too referred to him as Bhai to which Salman said, “Sohail and i were five and 10 years old when we came to your wedding. Why are you calling me bhai?” ZEEnEWS

LoS ANGeLeS: Celebrities pose on arrival for the world-premiere of ‘the twilight Saga: Breaking dawn - Part 1’. the movie opens in theatres on November 18. AFP

Taylor Lautner

Imtiaz Ali to direct

‘2 States’ with Ranbir in lead MuMBai: Sajid Nadiawala’s ‘2 States’ has found a new lease of life as the film is finally back on track, courtesy director imtiaz Ali and actor Ranbir Kapoor. Shah Rukh Khan was about to play the lead in ‘2 States’, but the project was put on backburner when filmmaker vishal Bharadwaj left the project midway. As of now, ‘Rockstar’ director imtiaz Ali will helm the film, which stars Ranbir as the north indian guy who is in love with a south indian girl. A source revealed that Ranbir is mighty impressed with imtiaz and the actor firmly believes that it’s only imtiaz who can translate Chetan Bhagat’s novel into film. the

source said, “Ranbir will now finish ‘Barfee’.

He will then move on to Ayaan Mukerjee’s ‘Yeh Jawani Jai deewani’. After that he wants to work on yet another feel-good project. And that’s exactly where ‘2 States’ would come in. of course, along with imtiaz Ali.” ZEEnEWS

MuMBai: Katrina Kaif's first official item song name is out: 'Chikni Chameli'. After her famous item number 'Sheila ki Jawaani' had become a rage, she is all set for a yet another sizzling performance in Karan Johar's ‘Agneepath’.

Karan Johar recently tweeted, "Katrina Kaif is doing a full on item song in Agneepath....its a total swinging number called Chikni Chameli....we shoot it in a week!!" ‘Agneepath’ is a remake of his father's 1990 critically acclaimed ‘Agneepath’ where Amitabh Bachchan played the lead role.

But here in Karan's ‘Agneepath’, Hrithik Roshan will play the role of Big B. Priyanka Chopra will be the female lead, whereas Sanjay dutt and Rishi Kapoor are the main villains. the new Agneepath will release on January 26 next year. agEnciES

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:05 AM Page 17

Robert Pattinson

Zahra Saeed Lifestyle to launch

new line of home décor LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Z

AHRA Saeed Lifestyle will be exhibiting a brand new line of home décor pieces on Thursday, 24 November 2011, at their flagship store, 10 Q, Lahore. Presenting a wide array of accessories ranging from lamps, frames, candles, office accessories, bar accessories, pillows to bathroom accessories in a European style sampler store, the Zahra Saeed Lifestyle Brand offers a little bit of everything for your home.

Talking about her upcoming exhibition, Zahra Saeed has

marisa Quintanilla

said, “I enjoy sourcing pieces for the home, from the more lavish to those more simple. My store is set up in a way that

James Bond watch sells for $198,000 geNeVA agEnciES

A Rolex watch worn by Roger Moore in the James Bond film ‘Live and Let Die’ – complete with rotating saw and bullet deflector – fetched 180,000 Swiss francs (150,000 euros, $198,000) at auction on Monday. An anonymous buyer snapped up the gadget-lover’s dream after it failed to reach its estimated 200,000 to 400,000 franc price tag at Christie’s in Geneva. The “Submariner” Rolex boasts a saw used by 007 in the film to cut through a rope to save Solitaire - played by Jane Seymour - from some hungry sharks. Its hyper-intensified magnetic field was meanwhile intended to help Bond deflect bullets, but instead was used to unzip the dress of a love interest at the beginning of the 1973 film.

Sheila

turns Chikni Chameli

visitors will keep finding new things every time they come.”

Zahra Saeed introduced a home décor store under her

internationally acclaimed label, Zahra Saeed Lifestyle. Indeed it was in response to the increasing demand for the latest trends in international home décor that led Zahra Saeed to launch her store, where she also currently retails her own fashion line along with other international brands, all handpicked from across America by Zahra herself. Also, on display will be Zahra Saeed’s exclusive fashion line which includes Western and Eastern Wear.

Check out the Zahra Saeed Lifestyle for fashionable retail for your home and yourself on Thursday, 24 November 2011 from 11 am till 8 pm.

Hospital turns fortress as Aishwarya nears delivery MUMBAI agEnciES

After passing through various security check-posts, the first thing you notice in the lobby of SevenHills Hospital is the lack of people. The almost hidden receptionists on the right side of the lobby give a deserted appearance. But these days, SevenHills in Andheri is no less than a fortress.

As the time of the junior-most Bachchan’s arrival is fast approaching, security at the hospital is getting tighter. At the hospital, apart from CCTV cameras, there are security personnel at every 50 steps-all vigilant and communicating with each other on walkie-talkies. “All facilities will be provided for the Bachchans, as everything is arranged for all our patients,” said a hospital spokesperson. “The only difference is that we have to keep all details related to the Bachchans a little more secret to maintain privacy. Once the delivery is done, they will be in a better position to talk.”

The hospital has, however, chalked out protocol for the Bachchans when it is time for the little one’s arrival. There are many entry points, say hospital authorities, and any of them can be used by the Bachchans.

However, now, only the main and rear gates are operational, according to a security guard. “The main gate is used by patients and employees. The rear one is used by labourers who are working on non-operational parts of the hospital,” said the guard.

More than 100 security personnel have been posted at the entry points and within the 300-functional bedded hospital.

Though camping media photographers can see the sprawling 17 acres from outside, only patients and employees can enter the hospital. Relatives of patients have visiting hours in the evening. “Only ICU patients are allowed to have a relative around. Others have to wait till the visiting hours to meet relatives,” said a source. As soon as Ash is brought inside, depending on her condition, she will either be taken to the operation theatre on the third floor by the elevator or to the VIP suite that has been booked.

John, Bipasha won't share screen space in MuMBai: While the two ex-flames are a part of the sequel of ‘Race’, John has confirmed he won't be sharing screen space with Bipasha. ever since John Abraham has been added to the cast of the sequel of ‘Race’, people have been putting two and two together and coming up with stories that he would be facing his ex-love Bipasha Basu in the film. While Katrina Kaif and Akshaye Khanna who die in the first part are no more a part of the sequel, all other actors including Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu and Anil Kapoor have been retained in the sequel. of course to fill up for the lost souls, John and deepika have been added to the cast. With John and Bipasha in the same film, speculations have been rife that the ex-lovers, who broke up earlier this year and have been consistently avoiding each other even at public events, would finally be seen together. However this just seems to be a dream not coming true. John Abraham recently confirmed, "Bipasha and i don't have any common scenes in ‘Race 2’.” agEnciES

17 Iranian

FILMS

screened at Al Hamra LAHORe StaFF REPORt

THAAP’s fifth day event of the screening of Iranian films at the Alhamra Arts Council was held on Tuesday morning. These films were presented by Iranian Dr Taraneh Yalda, an urban designer and a conservation architect, and architect Mehrdad Bahmani. The event showed a screening of three films in total, centered around the city of Tehran, so that its similarities with Lahore could be seen, not in terms of duplicity but in terms of similarity of culture.

The first film titled ‘From Tehran to Teran’ was about the history of Tehran and its architectural evolution through the ages. The second film was titled ‘Restoration and renovation of Tehran’s old parliament building’. This was in reference to the parliament building that was destroyed during the great fire of Tehran in 1993. The documentary comprehensively documented every step of the conservation and how the building was brought back to its former glory.

The third film was titled ‘Tehran Has No More Pomegranates’ which described the contemporary cultural situation of Iran before and after the Iranian revolution. Director Massoud Bakhshi shows Tehran from the Qajar time (middle of 19th century) to present. Tehran has become a metropolis from a small village, now a developed city with many social problems. It is a post-modern featurelength documentary offering a sarcastic and comic portrait of Iran’s capital city. Made over the span of five years, the film uses never-before-seen archival footage from the past 120 years, modern images of Tehran, and an amazing soundtrack to show the transformation of the city from a small village into a huge modern mega-city.

As the introduction to the film states, it is “a musical, historical, comedy, docu-drama, love story, experimental film” that uses style and subject to capture the chaotic and paradoxical soul of one of the most wonderful cities of the world.

The event was well attended by both teachers and heads of the participating institutes. On Wednesday, Thaap will once again screen more films, this time on Lahore and Pakistan as a whole.

‘Race 2’

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Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Pakistan thrash ireland in iCC Women’s World Cup qualifiers Page 22

Lessons learnt from defeat, says Misbah DUBAI aFP

S

RI Lanka’s win over Pakistan in their second one day international has given them a badly-needed confidence boost for the rest of the fivematch series, captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 25 runs at Dubai Stadium on Monday to level the fivematch series 1-1 and give Sri Lanka their first victory on the tour.

Pakistan won the first match, also played in Dubai, by eight wickets on Friday. The third match is scheduled here for November 18. “It’s a big relief to win, we badly needed to win the match,” said Dilshan, whose team lost the preceding three-Test series 1-0. “It was a fantastic team effort and now we have more confidence for the rest of the matches.”

Sri Lanka posted 235-7 in their allotted 50 overs with opener Upul Tharanga (77) and Mahela Jayawardene

(50) the main contributors, before paceman Lasith Malinga restricted Pakistan to 210 by taking 3-36.

Dilshan said early wickets in Pakistan’s innings turned the match in Sri Lanka’s favour.

“We needed early wickets and thanks to Lasith we got two in the first over but we still kept the pressure because we knew Pakistan has a strong batting line-up and I am happy that our bowling unit did well,” said Dilshan.

Umar Akmal hit an aggressive 91 and Shahid Afridi a fiery 14-ball 29, but three run outs did not help Pakistan’s run chase.

Dilshan praised experienced batsman Jayawardene and hoped he will continue his return to form.

“Before the match Mahela had knee problem but he showed a lot of character and I am happy to have him and other senior player (Kumar) Sangakkara in my team, both are assets for us,” said Dilshan.

Since Dilshan took over in May, Sri Lanka have yet to win a Test or one-day series, losing to England in England and against Australia at home.

“We have to keep consistency and I hope that we play this brand of cricket for which we are known for,” said Dilshan.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq rued the early fall of wickets to the Sri Lankans.

“We lost three early wickets and then kept on losing wickets, and that built pressure on us,” said Misbah, who put on 64 for the fourth wicket with Akmal before being trapped leg-before by paceman Dilhara Fernando for 21.

“It was a bad day for us and now we need to put our heads down and learn from our mistakes,” said Misbah, who was appointed

PCB to set up vigilance division LAHORe StaFF REPORt

captain for all three forms of the game in June.

The remaining matches in the series will be played in Sharjah (November 20) and Abu Dhabi (November 23). Both teams also play a Twenty20 international on November 25.

Meanwhile, chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf has reiterated that Pakistan are keen to tour India in 2012.

"It is absolutely necessary for Pakistan and India to play bilateral matches and for this purpose, if required, we are even willing to send our team to India next year," Ashraf said.

The ICC's future tours programme includes a Pakistan tour to India for a Test series in March and April next year but, until now, the PCB has said it first wants compensation for the cancelled 2009 tour. "Cricket has always played a positive role in improving ties between us," said Ashraf. "I have requested the Indian Board president to finalise the series as soon as possible."

Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Zaka Ashraf announced Tuesday that "Vigilance Division" will be set up soon to prevent players from illegal betting practices.

The move comes less than two weeks after former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Paceman Mohammad Amir had already admitted his part in the plot to bowl fraudulent no-balls during the Lord's Test against England in August 2010.

He was quoted by dubaisportscity.ae as saying: "My immediate plans are that I am setting up a Vigilance Division in the cricket board and there we are going to keep a very strict eye and bring in strict discipline so that players, wherever they are, don't get in touch with people who try to drag them into such negative business.

"We want to discourage that, we want to eliminate that. "We have to be a respectable board, we have to work with the ECB, with the rest of the world and we have to move forward." "We have had a meeting with the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and we discussed a lot of things," said Ashraf, speaking during the second one-day international between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai on Monday. "He was of the view that Bangladesh would come and play one or two matches (in Pakistan). "We will arrange all the security so there will be no lapses.

It should be a foolproof security system. "Then the other teams can start coming and the arrangements will be such that there will be no security lapses, all sides will be covered.

"What we discussed with the chairman of the BCB probably will be discussed in December in Dhaka and we will then formulate the plan."

Every country has fixed matches, not just Pakistan Comment MIHIR BOSe There can have been few observers of cricket's spot-fixing trial who have a better knowledge of the threat the issue poses to the game than Lord Condon.

After all, in 2000 he set up the ¬International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit, which he chaired for a decade. We meet in the wake of the convictions of the three Pakistan cricketers, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who conspired to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Fourth Test with England last year.

While Lord Condon is concerned with the rise of spot fixing - trying to manufacture a specific incident in a game - he reveals the extraordinary levels of match fixing that were once rife in the sport and says they were not confined to the sub-continent.

"In the late 1990s, Test and World Cup matches were being routinely fixed," the 64year-old peer says. "From the late Eighties certainly through to 1999-2000 there were a number of teams involved in fixing, and certainly more than the Indian sub-continent teams were involved.

"Every international team, at some stage, had someone doing some funny stuff.

A whole generation of cricketers playing in the late 1990s must've known what was going on and did nothing. When they look back on their careers, a bit of shame must creep in. The last fixes of whole matches, or even series, were probably in 2001 before

we'd really got the unit going."

He then adds: "You and I will have to be very careful we're not involved in saying things which could get us into legal trouble."

Keen to emphasise that match fixing is not a sub-continental speciality, Lord Condon places this country at the very root of the problem.

"It started with friendly fixes in the UK in the old Sunday leagues," he says. "Over a weekend you'd have a county side playing their county match and then a Sunday league match and there would be friendly fixes, not for money but for manipulating places in the leagues. If you're Team A and have a higher position in the Sunday league and I'm captain of Team B and my team have no chance in the Sunday league, I might do a deal to ensure you got maximum points in your Sunday league match. You would reciprocate in the County Championships. These friendly fixes quickly became more sinister, probably in the eighties."

In the decade that followed, despite much media speculation about match fixing, the cricket authorities only took action in 2000, when South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was unmasked for taking money to rig games.That is when Lord Condon, having just retired as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, was approached by the ICC to set up their anti-corruption unit. "The game was in meltdown, sponsors were walking away, demanding their money back," he says.

After initially turning the job down, Lord Condon targeted stamping out the

problem for the 2003 World Cup and is sure he delivered a clean tournament, helping eradicate wholesale fixing of matches.

However, he reveals, the competition in South Africa may have marked the moment when spot fixing arrived. "In one group match during a couple of overs two guys suddenly went from scoring runs in double figures to just ones and twos. For spot fixing, that's all you need."A panel of former Test players shown the footage could not agree if this was corruption.

Naturally, Lord Condon will not name the players involved but says: "From 2003 spot fixing became the name of the game."

And he believes events such as the $20million match between England and a Stanford All-Stars team in 2009 - the brainchild of businessman Allen Stanford, who is in jail facing fraud charges - and, in particular, the launch of the money-spinning Twenty20 Indian Premier League a year earlier, left some players determined to profit from the game regardless of how they did it. Lord Condon says: "The frenzied commercialisation of Twenty20 changed the whole dynamic. Cricket lost control of its integrity for about 18 months. People lost sight of what cricket was about. So you had the saga of helicopters landing at Lord's, that whole Stanford thing with a million pounds coming out of helicopters.

"This made it easier for cricketers to have a twisted logic. 'Well, everyone else is making squillions. All I'm going to do is bowl a couple of no-balls. I'm not even going to

affect the outcome. We can still win, I could still be man of the match and a hero.'"

Lord Condon was sufficiently alarmed to warn the ICC Board at a meeting at Lord's in 2008. "I remember saying you've got two choices. You can either say T20 is such a crazy form of the game, you quarantine it.

If current Test players go into that, they can't come back to Test. But that would never work. You've got to have a fit and proper regime, as you would with gambling, and a proper anti-corruption endeavour to monitor tournaments.

"However, there was a lot of anger from the Indian representatives who said I had no right to suggest that. They felt I was challenging the legitimacy of the IPL." But if Lord Condon saw the danger why did his anti-corruption unit, now headed by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, not carry out a sting as the News of the World did to catch Butt, Asif and Amir?

"We considered it and a policy decision was taken that, firstly, it would be highly unlikely the police would prosecute. They would say, 'This is entrapment, the cricket authorities setting up their own people.' The laws of entrapment are pretty clear. And, secondly, in our early education programmes, cricketers were told, 'If you're approached for a fix, this is not some scare by cricket trying to set you up. This will be for real either by fixers or journalists. So, if you get involved, you must take the consequences.'"

In fact, Condon had long told the ICC to watch out for a News of the World-style operation and when it took place advised them

to prosecute the cricketers. Not surprisingly, having persuaded the Government to make cheating in sport a criminal offence in the 2005 Gambling Act, he has little sympathy for the cricketers, not even 19-year-old Amir, who was given six months a in young offenders institution. "Amir is an unsophisticated young man," he says. "If you're put in an environment where you think your future career is threatened if you don't do what your captain's asking you to do, and there's no one in the team management you feel you can go to, in that sense you feel sorry for that young man. But that's not to say he doesn't deserve a symbolic punishment. He's the only one I have even a moderate amount of sympathy for. To keep cricket clean sentences have to be exemplary."

Condon is well aware of the pressures Pakistani cricketers can come under and he narrates a story from 2001 which sounds more like something out of the pages of John le Carre than ¬Wisden. "We had this Pakistani cricketer who was genuinely frightened that if he had revealed what he knew, there would be repercussions on his family. He was a very valuable informant.

We flew him from Pakistan at the ICC expense and put him up in safe accommodation in London for about a week while we debriefed him." He is adamant that cricket must now implement two of the measures he recommended back in 2001. "The players must be involved. Cricketers have less power than players in probably any other major sport like golf, tennis or football.

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:05 AM Page 19

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Sports 19

Pakistani players may skip World Series Hockey NeW DeLHI

P

agEnciES

AKISTAN Hockey Federation (PHF) has categorically said their players will not be a part of the $2 million World Series Hockey to be held in India from next month otherwise they might face ban from domestic hockey.

"There is no question of Pakistani players taking part in WSH. Not a single player will play. Chinese team is touring Pakistan from December 19 and our national team will play against them," PHF general secretary Asif Bajwa said.

"FIH has written a letter to us which clearly states that this league is unsanctioned. Our national team members will not take part in it and those who are not in the team at present will also follow the

Sri Lanka board dissolved COLOMBO aFP

The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday cleared the way for the national cricket board committee to be elected for the first time in seven years in line with International Cricket Council (ICC) rules.

Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said he was dissolving Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim managing committee and hoped there would be elections before the end of the year.

“I will sign a gazette (notification) tonight dismissing the interim committee,” Aluthgamage told AFP. Interim committees appointed by the government have run cricket in Sri Lanka for the last seven years, prompting accusations that politicians were interfering in the sport.

tauseef club outplay Prince Club LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Tauseef club has moved to the second round of the 5th Nazar Mohammad Memorial Cricket Tournament beating Prince club by five wickets at Wahdat Colony ground on Tuesday.

Scores: Prince Club 157 all out in 38.1.

Mubashir Yaqoob 43, Amir Tariq 17, Saddiq Khan 41, NAdeem Butt 15, Sadam ulhaq 11. Sher Baaz Khan 5 for 13, Sheraz Baig 2 for 32, Waqas Khan 1 for 23, Israr Baig 1 for 23, M Ali Rana 1 for 38.

Tauseef Club 158 for 5 in 25.5 overs.

Waqas Khan 53, Sher Baaz 36, M Ali Rana 33(no), Israr Baig 17(no). Siddiq Khan 2 for 38, Sadam ul Haq 2 for 38, Mubashar Yaqoob 1 for 26.

suit," he said.

"All the players who are affiliated with our units will have to avoid this league."

WSH is a lucrative league organised by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and Nimbus Sports. IHF is not affiliated to the FIH and the world body recognises Hockey India (HI) as the national federation for Hockey in India.

FIH has also threatened to bar the players from its future tournament if they take part in WSH. In the same letter, the world body has suggested them to wait till 2013 when FIH and Hockey India will launch their own world league. As many as nine players from Pakistan have signed the contract with WSH and striker Rehan Butt is the captain of one of the eight franchises.

Rehan also admitted that it is now very difficult for them to be a part of this league.

"I don't think that we will be able to

play in current circumstances. I have sent the copy of FIH letter to Neo Sports yesterday and asked them to clarify the position.

They have asked for three days. I am waiting for their reply," he told from Lahore.

"It is clearly mentioned in our contract that we can stay out of the league if our job is in jeopardy. In present scenario, if we play the league then not only we will have to face ban from international and domestic Hockey but might loose our jobs," said Rehan.

Earlier, it was stated that those who have signed the contract before 28th March 2011 can play in the league but now the situation has changed as FIH has termed the league ' unsanctioned'.

"We were told that those players who signed the contract before 28th March 2011 can play but that is not the case now. We have asked the organisers to clear the air," said the 31-year-old.

Former captain and ace defender Zeeshan Ashraf too sound apprehensive when asked about his chances of playing in WSH.

KabaddI World cup

Organisers plotting to ‘fix’ final between Pakistan, India: uS players CHANDIgARH agEnciES

The US kabaddi team players claimed Tuesday that they believed the World Cup was a well thought-out plan to target their team in doping tests as the organisers were keen on an India-Pakistan final clash. The team from the US that was taking part in the World Kabaddi Cup being and opted out after they were asked to undergo dope tests.

At a match in Hoshiarpur the team had refused to give samples to NADA, alleging that anti-doping body officials were playing foul.

World Cup Kabaddi may have started off on the right note - by engaging Punjab's youth in the traditional sport and weaning them away from drugs - but the doping taint on Punjabi players from other countries has taken the wind out of its sails.

A brainchild of deputy chief minister and sports minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the tournament was highlighted as a showcase event of the Punjab government. However, it has been left embarrassed by a growing number of players testing positive for drug use. The entire Australian team has been suspended from the tournament by its technical committee after seven of its players tested positive. While five Canadian players have tested positive for drugs, the US and British teams also have four and five such players each. "So far over 30 players have already tested positive for the use of banned drugs. Most of them were found using performance enhancing drugs by anti-doping agency officials," a Punjab sports department official said.

On Monday, the remaining players from the US team refused to provide samples to the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) at Hoshiarpur, a spokesman of the

fARidKot: Nepalese kabaddi team player (C-down) tussles with an Australian opponent during the second Pearls World Cup Kabaddi Punjab. FILE PHOTO organisers said. The US team has already made it to the semi-final round of the tournament and their fate will be decided by the technical committee. Sources in the department said 25 percent of the samples of players picked up randomly by the NADA officials had tested positive. "In one instance, three players from a foreign team ran away after the officials asked for their samples for dope testing. In another incident, a player from another country tried to manipulate the sample by replacing his urine with water," the official said.

"We are taking strict action against the players testing positive. We had told the teams beforehand about the strict rules on use of drugs," said Punjab sports director Pargat Singh, who is himself a hockey Olympian and former Indian hockey team captain. A NADA official wondered how so many players using drugs could be selected

for the kabaddi event that began Oct 31 and will be on till Nov 20. "I don't know what the organisers are doing. If more players test positive, some of the teams will run out of players even before the teams reach the semifinal stage," he said.

"We will not show any mercy towards players who test positive for drugs. We want to keep it a drug-free tournament," a spokesman for the tournament said. Though teams from 14 countries are participating in the men's section of the tournament, the majority of players are of Punjabi origin settled in those countries. The teams have not been officially designated by the authorities or the sports federations of those countries and are not even regular and recognized club sides there. In some of the countries like Norway, Afghanistan, Argentina, Germany and Australia, kabaddi is neither recognized as a sport nor known to people.

F1 needs a fully fit Lewis Hamilton ExPERt cOMMEnt

dAvid CoULtHARd Hamilton appeared to have made a conscious decision to be brutally honest about his own form, his season, his life.

It made for great headlines, of course, but with each passing race and each collision — whether through his own fault or someone else’s — the pressure on him was piling up and I felt it may have had something to do with him exposing so much of himself. I take my hat off to him following his win in Abu Dhabi. I saw him just before we did the BBC post-race show and made

sure to shake his hand.

After all the column inches, the speculation over his mental state and his driving, he came back and delivered a near-faultless weekend.

We will never know what might have happened had Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull not blown a tyre on the opening lap but that's immaterial now.

Lewis was in position to capitalise and didn’t put a wheel out of place.

Lewis is a naturally emotional guy, and there will be times when this handicaps him, but when you see the unadulterated joy, the relief, the passion on his face, after a win like he had on Sunday, you can’t help but admire someone who is prepared to let it all hang out.

I saw him afterwards, away from the cameras, holding hands with his mother and it was deeply touching.

We are lucky to have someone so honest. For the past 10 to 15 years the trend has been to hide behind a wall of PRs and deliver sound bites.

We have self-help books and psychol-

ogists telling us how to behave. But everyone is wired differently.

I watched a documentary about James Hunt on the plane back to Nice on Monday and was struck by how emotional he was on the grid before a race; how he would have to talk himself down from a high state of nervousness. Can this be a turning point for Lewis? I have no idea. As he has told us enough times, his problems stem from issues off the track — personal issues — but there has never been any doubting his talent or speed. I hope he comes back strong next year because Formula One needs a fully fit, fully functioning Lewis Hamilton.

And that is to take nothing away from Jenson Button, who is entitled to feel extremely proud at having become the first of Lewis’s team-mates to beat him over the course of a season.

Lewis is wrong to call that achievement “irrelevant”. I can understand what he means — that he has bigger problems to worry about — but as drivers our first duty is to beat our team-mate and Jenson has done that, fairly and squarely, when

many said he wouldn’t have a prayer.

I heard some ludicrous suggestions on Monday that McLaren might have deliberately caused his KERS issues on Sunday to allow Lewis some breathing space.

Some even linked this theory to the presence of Ron Dennis in the McLaren motor home for the first time in a while.

Nonsense. Jenson has simply driven beautifully this year and did brilliantly again on Sunday to hold off Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa for third spot in spite of his issues.

With three wins apiece, both he and Lewis will be eager to win for the first time in Sao Paulo, on Nov 27. In fact, the championship may be long since over but I fancy Brazil will be highly competitive.

Seb will want to get back on the horse, Mark desperately wants a first win this year, Felipe is battling for his Ferrari future in front of his home fans, and that is not to mention the battles for 2012 race seats going on further down the grid.

I’m looking forward to ending the season with a bang.

"Nothing is sure as of now. We will wait and watch but one thing is certain that we will not defy PHF directives," he said.

An employee of National Bank, Zeeshan also said that he will have to take NOC from his employer and does not want to take any risk as far as job is concerned.

On the other hand, IHF president RK Shetty still sounds optimistic about Pakistani players' participation in the league.

"As of now there is no hurdle in their participation. They are very much a part of this league and we have already received their consent in this regard," he said.

Apart from Rehan and Zeeshan, seasoned campaigner Mudassar Ali, Tariq Aziz, midfielder Adnan Maqsood, half back Waseem Ahmad, Pakistan's most capped player and drag-flicker Syed Imran Warsi and striker Shakeel Abbasi have also signed the contract with WSH.

Remington Pharma down valvoline Lubricants LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Remington Pharma defeated Valvoline Lubricants 6-5 in the Members Polo Cup here on Tuesday.

Bilal Haye was the star of the win with four of the six goals Remington Pharma scored against Valvoline Lubricants.

The remaining two goals of the winning team came from Dr. Faisal Khokhar and Ibrahim Akbar while Mian Khurram Munir registered four goals and Samee Ibrahim brought one goal in their close fight from Valvoline Lubricants.

In the two chukker competition between Hataff, Nurpur and Waste Busters, Hataff won both of their matches and qualified to play semi-final. Hataff first defeated Waste Busters 4-0 and then defeated Nurpur 3-2. Nurpur were good enough for Waste Busters to edge them 5-1.

Umpires for the matches were Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa, Taimur Ali Malik, Ahsan Khan and Shah Shamyl Alam.

Warid to sponsors sports at LUMS LAHORe StaFF REPORt

The Sports Society of Lahore University of Management Sciences has got Warid Telecom (PVT) Ltd as sponsors for the Year 2011-12. Amer Aman Khan, Head of Sales & Distribution Warid, signed an agreement with Dr. Ali Khan, Patron SLUMS, to provide year long support to SLUMS. Warid was also the main sponsor for SLUMS activities last year and has generously extended support to SLUMS this year as well. Currently, LUMS students participate in 20 sports (athletics, darts, badminton, volleyball, basketball, handball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rugby, horse riding, squash, table tennis, tennis, softball, water polo, weightlifting and boxing, swimming), intra-LUMS sports events, as well as inter-varsity/International tournaments that are held throughout the year, and involve not only the students at LUMS, but also student networks outside LUMS.

Servis Club down Garhi Shahu Gym LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Servis Club has advanced to the second round of the 27th Mohammad Yaseen Akhter Memorial Tournament beating Garhi Shahu Gymkhana by four wickets at Iqbal Park ground.

Scores: Garhi Shahu Gym 120 all out.

Kamran Khalil 29, Kamran Javaid 39, Faizan 12. Adnan Danish 3 for 23, Satar Khan 3 for 19, Mudassar Ali 3 for 17. Servis Club 121 for 6. Ali Zahid 53(no), Imran 22, Kashif Nizami 24(no). Zafar Iqbal 2 for 24, Hashim Ali 2 for 19, Kamran Khalil 1 for 15.

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20 Sports india’s blind cricket team to reach Pakistan today

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

LAHoRe: Young athletes from across the country made the opening ceremony colourful at the Punjab Stadium. IRFAN CHAudHRy

LAHORe StaFF REPORt

The Indian blind cricket team will tour Pakistan from November 16 to 27 for a series of three T20s and three One-day Internationals.

This will be the Indian blind team’s first visit to Pakistan in five years and this series will be helpful to resume sports ties and friendship through sports for peace and harmony between the two countries. The PBCC said that this series will highlight the soft image of Pakistan and consequently encourage other countries to tour Pakistan.

This series is being sponsored by Brien Holden Vision Institute (a Leading Australian eye research organization), Pakistan Cricket Board, Punjab government, Pakistan State Oil and Islamabad Cricket Club of the Blind.

The last time, both teams played against each other was in December 2006 in the final of the third Blind Cricket World Cup, which was won by Pakistan. Indian team will reach Lahore on November 16.

Itinerary of India’s Tour to Pakistan Nov 18: 1st T20 Pak Vs India Nov 19: 2nd T20 Pak Vs Indis Nov 20: Pak Vs India All the three matches will be played at Lahore Gymkhana Cricket Ground, Bagh-e-Jinnah Lahore.

Nov 22: 1st ODI Pak Vs India Nov 24: 2nd ODI Pak Vs India Nov 26: 3rd ODI Pak Vs India All these games will be played at Shalimar Cricket Stadium, Margalla Road, Islamabad.

Hyderabad, SNGPL advance in Quaid trophy LAHORe StaFF REPORt

SNGPL and Hyderabad won their respective matches of Division II for the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy on the fourth and final day here Tuesday.

At the LCCA ground, Hyderabad requiring nearly 64 runs with four wickets in hand beat Lahore Shalimar by four wickets. Their overnight batsmen Mir Ali Talpur and Ghulam Yasin achieved the score with ease. Talpur scored 67 and Yasin made 33 and both the players remained not out.

At the Gaddafi Stadium, SNGPL defeated Lahroe Ravi by an in innings and 120 runs. SNGPL scored 491 declared and bowled Lahore twice first at 242 in 85 overs and then in the second following-on at 129 in 43.1 overs. Asad Ali 536, Bilawal Bhatti 2-40 were the architect of win.

ScORES: LCCA Ground, Lahore. Lahore Shalimar 348 in 111.5 overs (irfan Haider 148, 325 balls, 15 x4s, Adnan Raza 82, 152 balls, 11 x4s, tanzil Altaf 25, 32 balls, 4x4s, imran Chandio 3-67, Zahid Mahmood 2-50) and 76 in 37.2 overs (Ali Manzoor 33, 69 balls, 2x4s, Mir Ali talpur 5-15, imran Chandio 321) v Hyderabad 266 in 72.3 overs (Rizwan Ahmad 72, 128 balls, 10x4s, Lal Kumar 69, 130 balls, 8x4s, 1x6, Asif Raza 3-52, Nasir Awais 25*, 40 balls, 4x4s, Hasan dar 6-67, Asif Raza 4-81) and 162-6 in 41.2 overs (Jamshed Baig 32, 57 balls, 4x4s, Mir Ali talpur 67*, 59 balls, 4 x4s, 3 x6s, Ghulam Yasin 33*, 83 balls, Asif Raza 4-43) RESult: Hyderabad won by four wickets. OVERnight ScORE: Hyderabad (Second innings) 74-6 in 20.2 overs tOSS: Hyderabad uMPiRES: iqbal Butt & Khalid Mahmood Sr. REFEREE: Parvaiz Akhtar ScORER: Najam us Saeed. At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. SNGPL 491-8 dec in 139 overs (Usman Arshad 158, 281 balls, 20x4s, , 128 balls, 9 x4s,Naeem-ud-din 136, 301 balls, 15 x4s, 1 x 6s, Azhar Shafiq 53, 64 balls, 9x4s, Azeem Ghuman 44, 60 balls, 7 x4s, Saad Nasim 2101, Muhammad irfan 2-81) v Lahore Ravi 242 in 85 overs (Usman Sallah-ud-din 76, 160 balls, 10x4s, Muhammad Zuhaib 59, 138 balls, 11x4s, Hamza Paracha 44, 71 balls, 5x4s, Asad Ali 5-52, Bilawal Bhatti 3-68) and after following-on129 in 43.1 overs (Mohammad Saad 54*, Mohammad irfan 17, Waqas Aslam 17, Asad Ali 5-36, Bilawal Bhatti 2-40) RESult: SNGPL won by an in innings and 120 runs.

OVERnight ScORE: Lahore Ravi (Second innings) 25-2 in 14 overs tOSS: SNGPL uMPiRES: Ghaffar Kazmi & Shozab Raza REFEREE: Aziz-ur-Rehman ScORER: Azhar Hussain

Icc WoMen’S World cup

Pakistan thrash Ireland LAHORe StaFF REPORt

P

AKISTAN, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa won their matches in ICC’s Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Bangladesh on Tuesday. Pakistan beat Ireland despite an improved batting performance from Isobel Joyce’s side at Khanshaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

The side managed to make 140 with Jill Whelan proving to be the pick of the Ireland batters, managing to contribute 35 runs to the total, while her teammates didn’t prove to be quite as successful. Sadia Yousuf was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers, with the 22-year-old claiming 4-19.

In reply, Pakistan lost just two wickets, openers Qanita Jalil and Sana Mir with the captain departing off the bowling of 13-year-old Elena Tice. Tice tempted the Pakistani captain to edge the ball through to Whelan behind the stumps and she walked on 34 runs. Javeria Wadood and the star of the previous match batting, Bismah Maroof, guided the side to victory.

Sri Lanka bounced back from defeat to South Africa by beating Netherlands by seven wickets at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, hosts Bangladesh also recovered from its loss to Pakistan yesterday by crushing Japan by ten wickets at BKSP* 2. Salma Khatun’s side skittled Japan for 38 runs and knocked off the target in just 4.4 overs without losing a batter in the process.

Sana Mir scored 34 runs. FILE PHOTO The second day saw Pakistan and South Africa beating Ireland and USA respectively. At Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dilani Manodara and Helmien Rambaldo led their sides in front of a crowd of 300 in the sides’ oneday international game in Dhaka.

Rambaldo elected to bat having won the toss and it was a choice the 31-yearold may have regretted after her side failed to post more than 61 runs on the board or make it to 50 overs.

Sri Lanka’s spin bowling attack of Suwini de Alwis, Sherina Ravikumar and Udeshika Prabhodani proved to be the

key players for the innings with the trio taking two wickets each. Rambaldo’s top order failed to make runs, with opener Marijn Nijman departing for a duck after having her stumps rearranged by Sripali Weerakkody. Kerry-Anne Tomlinson along with Esther Lanser and Denise Hannema attempted to stabilise things but Manodara’s bowlers had other plans in mind. With some strong fielding and tight bowling the side had the Dutch all out for just 61 as the sun begin to rise to its midday position.

In response, the Sri Lankans made 47 towards the total before lunch, but not before the team had lost Yasoda Mendis and Eshani Kaushalya, the former being clean bowled for 26 by Laura Brouwers.

After lunch it took Chamari Attappattu and de Alwis to knock off the remaining runs but not before Attappattu was stumped by Miranda Veringmeier as the 21-year-old fell just short of her mark.

It left Weerakkody and de Alwis to finish the innings and give Sri Lanka an early finish ahead of tomorrow’s rest day.

Hosts Bangladesh bounced back from yesterday’s defeat to claim a resounding victory over the East-Asia Pacific qualifiers, Japan, making its debut in the tournament at BKSP 2.

Salma Khatun’s side proved to be the stronger of the two, with Ema Kuribayashi’s team bowled out for a meagre 38 runs in 28.3 overs. Katun and Suktana Rahaman proved the pick of the bowlers with the duo taking five wickets each, Khatun’s five wickets for just five runs earned the 21-year-old her first Player of the Match award.

Australia through as N Korea stun Japan SINgAPORe aFP

Australia scrambled into the last stage of Asia’s 2014 World Cup qualifying with a 1-0 win over Thailand on Tuesday, as North Korea stunned Japan in a spiteful game loaded with political tension.

Iran thumped Indonesia 4-1 to move within sight of the next round and China kept alive their flickering hopes of reaching the tournament in Brazil with a big win over Singapore. In Bangkok, Brett Holman’s second-half header was enough to give Australia a scrappy win and take them through with 12 points from five games, joining already qualified Japan, Jordan and Uzbekistan. But it was far from the majestic procession earlier promised by Australia, who won their first three games -- including a last-gasp home victory over Thailand -but came badly unstuck with Friday’s 01 shock against Oman. A near-capacity crowd at Supachalasai National Stadium, used instead of the normal Rajamangala venue which is occupied by refugees from Bangkok’s crippling floods, provided vocal support as Thailand shaded the first half.

PYoNGYANG: Japan’s Hiroshi Kiyotake (C) fights for the ball against NKorean players. AFP

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Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Sports 21

Curtain rises on Inter-school and Collegiate Games

watch it LivE ESPN Sportscentre 07:30PM

NEO CRICKET India v West Indies 2nd Test Day 3 08:30AM

Kvitova crowns golden year with WtA awards

LAHoRe: Punjab Senior Minister Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa with PboA officials Syed Shahid Ali and iftikhar Ali Malik. STAFF PHOTO LAHORe

T

StaFF REPORt

HE 4th Inter-school and Collegiate Games formally rolled into action here at the Punjab Stadium in an impressive and colourful ceremony on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who was to declare open the Games, did not reach there due to his busy schedule and Senior Minster Sardar Zulifqar Ali Khosa inaugurated the Games at the Punjab Stadium.

Also present on the occasion were President Punjab Olympic Syed Shahid Ali, Sr. Vice President Iftikar Ali Malik, secretary PbOA Idris Haider KKhawaja, Associate secretary Tania Malik, Ijaz Gull, Parveen Sikan-

der Gill and lots of other dignities.

Khosa, while speaking on the occasion, said that this was a great moment for the youth of the country and a large number of participants assembled at one place just for sports which is a great for the athletes of the country.

He hoped that in the next games, all the schools of Punjab would have their representation and also congratulated the PbOA for organising the games for the youth.

On Tuesday, cycling event in both school and college boys’ categories were held.

In the boys college team events Superior College grabbed first position, Unique Academy was second, Kips got third place. In individual event Wajahat Ali and Amir Sohail of Superior College were first and

second respectively with Hafiz Waqas from Unique claiming third position. Hamaza Foundation was first in the Cycling Boys Schools team event, Model High School second and Adbistan Sofia got third position. In school event (Individual), Abid Shafiq and Umer Aslam from Hamza Foundation grabbed first and second positions respectively while Ahsan Ijaz from Adbastan Sofia got third position.

In netball event which was held at Lahore College University, Lahore Allama beat City School, LGS Shah Jamal beat DHA Seniors, Beaconhouse Liberty downed LGS Model Town, LGS 55 Main defeated Govt Fatima School. In girls college event, Lahore Allama defeated LGS and LGS beat Govt College Women Gulberg.

Laxman, dhoni pile misery on Windies KOLKAtA

ScOREBOaRD

aFP

Venkatsai Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni led India’s run-spree with superb centuries to put their team in command on the second day of the second Test against a hapless West Indies on Tuesday.

Middle-order batsman Laxman hit a stylish 176 not out and skipper Dhoni a robust 144 as India posted a massive 631-7 declared in their first innings at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The West Indies faltered in reply, reaching 34-2 when play was called off due to bad light. Kirk Edwards was unbeaten on 12 and Darren Bravo on four not out.

Indian seamer Umesh Yadav struck in his first over when he had Adrian Barath (one) caught by Virender Sehwag at second slip before off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin removed Kraigg Brathwaite (17), caught by Gautam Gambhir at short-leg.

Laxman hit 12 fours in his 17th Test hundred, and the fifth at this venue, while Dhoni smashed five sixes and 10 fours in his fifth Test century as India continued to gather runs comfortably against both pace and spin. “It is always a special feeling playing at this venue. Eden Gardens is a great place to play cricket, especially with all the spectators here, even though there are not many this time,” said Laxman, 37.

“You get value for your shots. I think this was an important knock from me because it came soon after the tour of England (where India lost 4-0 in Tests).

“The pitch has remained more or less the same, but slightly slower over the past few years. It is a good Test wicket like it should be in India. It may be difficult to play spin on the last day of the match.”

Laxman and Dhoni exposed the West

KoLKAtA: vvS Laxman plays a shot as wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh looks on. AFP Indies’ bowling limitations on a slow pitch with a 224-run stand for the seventh wicket as the hosts added 285 runs to their overnight total of 346-5.

It was India’s second-highest total in Tests against the West Indies, their best being 644-7 declared at Kanpur in 1979.

It was a demoralising day for the West Indies, who could get just two wickets in more than two sessions as none of their bowlers could trouble Laxman and Dhoni.

Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, paceman Kemar Roach, seamer Darren Sammy and part-time off-spinner Marlon Samuels all conceded more than 100 runs in a mediocre West Indies’ bowling performance. “You have just got to bat the way India batted. It’s a very good batting

wicket,” said West Indies team manager Richie Richardson.

“It’s not going to be easy. The Indian bowlers are going to put pressure on us, but I believe we have the ammunition to go out there and bat for the next two days.”

Dhoni dominated the big stand with Laxman with rich strokeplay. He reached his century -- his first since February 2010 -- in the afternoon with a single to long-off off part-time spinner Brathwaite.

The Indian skipper, caught behind off Roach no-balls when on 13 and 16, punished the spinners as he lofted Bishoo and Samuels over long-on for sixes before hitting Brathwaite for two sixes in an over.

Dhoni was caught behind in the last session immediately after hitting Roach

inDia 1st innings (overnight 346-5): g. gambhir c Barath b F. Edwards 65 V. Sehwag c Barath b Sammy 38 R. Dravid b Brathwaite 119 S. tendulkar c Samuels b Bishoo 38 V. laxman not out 176 i. Sharma c Baugh b Roach 0 Yuvraj Singh lbw b Sammy 25 MS Dhoni c Baugh b Roach 144 R. ashwin not out 4 ExtRaS (b6, lb5, nb9, w2) 22 tOtal (for seven wickets decl; 151.2 overs) 631 Fall of wickets: 1-66 (Sehwag), 2-149 (gambhir), 3-205 (tendulkar), 4-345 (Dravid), 5-346 (Sharma), 6-396 (Yuvraj), 7-620 (Dhoni).

Bowling: F. Edwards 22.2-1-81-1 (nb1), Sammy 25-0-132-2 (w1), Roach 26-1-106-2 (nb6, w1), Samuels 27-0-104-0, Bishoo 45-2-154-1 (nb1), Brathwaite 6-0-43-1 (nb1).

WESt inDiES 1st innings: a. Barath c Sehwag b Yadav 1 K. Brathwaite c gambhir b ashwin 17 K. Edwards not out 12 D. Bravo not out 4 tOtal (for two wickets; 12 overs) 34 Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Barath), 2-30 (Brathwaite).

Bowling: Ojha 6-2-10-0, Yadav 1-0-3-1, ashwin 5-2-21-1. tOSS: india uMPiRES: Rod tucker (auS) and Bruce Oxenford (auS) tV uMPiRE: S. Ravi (inD) Match REFEREE: jeff crowe (nZl)

for his fifth six. Laxman, 73 overnight, completed his hundred with an attractive shot, flicking Sammy between mid-on and mid-wicket for a four.

The West Indies relied on fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Roach in the morning in a bid to put pressure on India, but the duo went wicketless with the second new ball.

The tourists’ lone success in the morning session came when Sammy trapped Yuvraj Singh leg-before for 25 after the batsman had added 50 for the sixth wicket with Laxman.

St PeteRSBURg aFP

Czech Republic tennis star Petra Kvitova's astonishing year ended with her being voted by the press the WTA player of the year on Monday. The 21-year-old - also voted Most Improved Player - won six titles in all including Wimbledon, her first Grand Slam crown, and the end of season WTA championships and also led her country to the Fed Cup trophy at the expense of Russia. "This season has been simply a dream," said Kvitova, who rose from 34 in the world at the beginning of the season to second behind Caroline Wozniacki, who unlike the Czech has yet to win a Grand Slam. "It is an incredible honour to win the Player Of The Year award and join the ranks of some of the best players that have ever played the sport, especially Martina Navratilova. "I will always cherish the 2011 season and look forward to building on it." Kvitova's compatriot Kveta Peschke was named alongside Slovenian playing partner as doubles team of the Year for a season that saw them also triumph at Wimbledon. Peschke was also pivotal to the Czech Republic's Fed Cup success as she teamed up with Lucie Hradecka to give the Czechs the decisive point in the 3-2 victory. Romanian IrinaCamelia Begu won Newcomer Of The Year after a breakthrough season that saw her reach two finals - both on clay at Marbella and Budapest - and rise from 214 in the world to 38, eventually finishing it at 40th.

Awards: Player Of The Year: Petra Kvitova (CZE) Doubles Team Of The Year: Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) Comeback Player Of The Year: Sabine Lisicki (GER) Most Improved Player Of The Year: Petra Kvitova (CZE) Newcomer Of The Year: Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM)

PAf gets walkover in PPfL LAHoRe: PAF got walk over in the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Tuesday which also earned them full points.

PAF got the credit when PEL failed to appear for the match at the Municipal Football Stadium Rawalpindi and the walkover was awarded in favour of PAF. Navy beat HBL 3-0 in the other match at the Municipal Football Stadium, Rawalpindi. Nomi Martin Gill was the hero of the win with all the three goals that came in the 25th, 80th and 89th minutes. StaFF REPORt

LHR pages 16-11-2011_Layout 1 11/16/2011 2:05 AM Page 22

Wednesday, 16 November, 2011

Pakistan wants to settle all issues with India: PM Gilani hails Guru Nanak’s role in spreading religious harmony g

LAHORe StaFF REPORt

Terming establishment of peace in the region the key to eradicating poverty, disease, injustice, ignorance and unemployment, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday that Pakistan wanted to settle all issues with India through dialogue. Delivering his keynote address here

on Tuesday at the international seminar on “Sikh Muslim Sanjh Tareekh De Aainey Vich” organised by Dyal Singh Research and Cultural Forum (DSRCF), the premier said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government believed in friendly relations with all neighbouring countries. He said Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry had initiated the process of dialogue for balance of trade and to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India and the negotiation between the commerce secretaries of both countries were underway in New Delhi. “Recently, I have had a very successful meeting with In-

dian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the Maldives. We agreed that negotiation is the way to resolve all outstanding issues,” said Gilani. The prime minister said all the PPP governments took practical steps, which were never taken by any other regime, for the welfare and prosperity of the minorities in Pakistan. He said the PPP-led democratic government believed in interfaith harmony and the PPP was a progressive and enlightened party.

He said the party’s manifesto specifically mentioned that followers of other faiths were citizens of Pakistan and enjoyed equal rights under the constitu-

tion. He said the government had completed many development projects through special funds in the minorities’ areas.

The prime minister also congratulated the entire Sikh community on the 543rd birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak and welcomed them to Pakistan.

“The people of Pakistan, especially of Punjab, extend warm welcome to you on your arrival here, and they pray for your safe return after your visit to holy places and the performance of your religious rituals in a peaceful environment.

I am sure you must have got spiritual satisfaction in the real sense during your stay here,” he said. He

said personalities like Baba Guru Nanak were rare. There were hundreds of religions in the world today and the essential message of all of them was the promotion of peace and love, he added.

“Today we are in need of religious tolerance which was propagated

by Baba Guru Nanak, who accepted the Oneness of God as the ultimate truth and travelled all four corners of the world to spread this message. He went to Tibet, holy cities of Makkah and Madina.

A memorial in Baghdad today has the name of ‘Nanak Faqeer’ written on it,” he said.

Continued on page 04

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

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US drone kills six militants in NWA MIRANSHAH aFP

A US drone strike targeting a militant compound killed six militants in North Waziristan on Tuesday, security officials said. The strike took place in Miranshah Bazaar, part of the town of Miranshah. “At least six militants were killed when a US drone fired two missiles on a rebel compound in the bazaar,” a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said thick smoke was seen coming out of the compound after the strike, adding the identities of those killed could not be immediately verified. Another security official also confirmed the strike and rise in the death toll, given as three earlier.