E-paper Pakistantoday LHR 23rd Nov, 2011

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Mullen confident memo not sent by President Zardari

Erdogan calls on ‘coward’ Assad to quit

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pakistantoday.com.pk

rs15.00 Vol ii no 147 32 pages Lahore edition

Gilani directs envoy to resign, face formal enquiry in Memogate scandal g

ISLAMABAD

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SHAIQ HUSSAIN

he weeks-long ‘memogate’ controversy, which had raised a storm in the corridors of power, finally saw a head rolling as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, in a bid to reduce tension between the civil and military establishments, sought resignation from Ambassador husain haqqani on Tuesday and asked him to face a formal investigation.

The axe fell on the ambassador in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s house when, according to sources, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha confronted haqqani with evidence implicating him in the conspiracy.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani were also present at the meeting.

Importantly, the meeting of the country’s top military and civilian leadership took place at PM’s house instead of the Presidency. earlier, all such important meetings used to take place at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Though the government did not announce the composition of the investigation team, it was learnt that the ISI, which had collected the evidence, would complete the process with the assistance of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). “It’s not just the removal of Ambassador haqqani, the venue of the meeting also suggests that the civil-military relations have been reshaped, with the prime minister now holding the fort instead of the president,” said a source privy to the developments. An official statement, issued by PM’s house, said: “The prime minister has directed

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to conduct a detailed investigation at an appropriate level and in the meanwhile he asked Pakistan’s Ambassador to the USA hussain haqqani to submit his resignation so that the investigation can be carried out properly.”

OPPORTUNITY: The statement said all concerned would be afforded sufficient and fair opportunity to present their views and the investigation would be carried out fairly, objectively and without bias. It stated further that as a result of the controversy generated by the alleged memo admitted to have been received by an “authority in USA”, it had become necessary in the national interest to formally arrive at the actual and true facts.

Citing its sources, Online news agency reported that haqqani answered a plethora of questions raised by the military and civilian leadership. In a nutshell, he denied having any link to the memo, the sources said. however, an official said with haqqani no longer in the ambassador’s office in Washington, the tension between the civilian rulers and the military leaders that erupted after the surfacing of the memo allegedly sent by the president through haqqani to Admiral Mike Mullen would decrease and the two ‘parties’ would get back to business as usual.

Continued on page 04

more stories | pages 02,03 & 04

Pakistan looks to pile more misery on Sri Lanka PAGE 20

Wednesday, 23 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 26, 1432

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02 News Today’s

wednesday, 23 November, 2011

lAHore

NewS

PTI cries foul play after office sealed

Time for alliance with Zardari gone: Pir Pagara Is change coming to Saudi Arabia?

Story on Page 08

Story on Page 09

world view

Quick Look

Story on Page 15

Haqqani’s nemesis welcomes resignation MONITORING DESK Reacting to husain haqqani’s decision to resign as Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the ‘memogate’ scandal, said on Tuesday that he respected haqqani’s decision and welcomed the announcement that the controversy would be investigated at the highest level, Geo News reported.

Ijaz said Pakistani agencies had asked him to cooperate in uncovering the truth and he was certain that the agencies’ information had played an important role in the events that had taken place. he said he would be willing to help in the investigation if the Pakistan government contacted him. he said he had been told in October to help the agencies with the evidence he had at hand. Born in 1961, Ijaz is an American businessman of Pakistani ancestry. he is an investment banker and media commentator, mostly in relation to Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. he is the founder and chairman of Crescent Investment Management (LLC), a New York investment partnership since 1990 that includes retired General James Alan Abrahamson, former director of President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. Ijaz has had ties to former CIA Director James Woolsey. he is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mansoor Ijaz was born in Tallahassee, Florida and grew up on a farm in rural Virginia. he received his bachelor’s degree in nuclear physics from the University of Virginia in 1983 and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985. his father, Dr Mujaddid Ahmad Ijaz, was a theoretical physicist who played a major role in nuclear deterrence development throughout 1970s and 1980s. Ijaz developed CARAT, a currency, interest rate and equity risk management system. Away from Crescent’s daily business affairs, Ijaz serves on the College Foundation Board of Trustees at the University of Virginia and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. he used to appear regularly on a variety of financial and political news programs for CNN, Fox News, BBC, Germany’s ARD TV, Japan’s NhK, ABC [disambiguation needed] and NBC. he has commented for PBS’ News-hour with Jim Lehrer and ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel. he has also contributed to the editorial pages of London’s Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The International herald Tribune, Newsweek International, The Christian Science Monitor, The Weekly Standard, National Review, USA Today, and the Times of India. he endorsed views in the period prior to the Iraq War, later proven to be false, that included the presence of WMDs in Iraq and ties between Saddam hussein and Al Qaeda.

Among other topics, he commented on the Osama bin Laden and Nuclear Proliferation IRaN NUke exclUsIve: In 2006, in an interview with Gulf News, he made the world exclusive claim that Iran already had a nuclear bomb and that US think-tanks were already formulating strategies to overthrow the Iranian Government INTeRNaTIONal NegOTIaTOR: Mansoor Ijaz has been involved in unofficial negotiations between US and Sudanese governments with regard to extradition of Osama bin Laden. In 1996 the United States Congress had imposed sanctions against the Sudanese government over the terrorist operations on its soil.

Islamabad: a five-member UK delegation led by sir Peter Ricketts, National security adviser, calls on Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani at Pm’s House on Tuesday.

The rise and fall of Husain Haqqani ISLAMABAD MIAN AbrAr

Born on July 1, 1956, husain haqqani was appointed Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in April 2008. he resigned on November 22, 2011. haqqani is widely critiqued in the media and by opposition politicians as representing Zardari’s interest over those of the nation. he is colloquially referred to as “American Ambassador to America from Pakistan” in reference to his alleged appeasement of American policy.

Previously, he has held numerous high-ranking positions in and out of the government, including as adviser to three former prime ministers and as envoy to Sri Lanka. he has been a prominent journalist, scholar and educator. his appointment in 2008 marked a return to government service after being exiled in 1999 following criticisms against the government of then chief executive General Pervez Musharraf. haqqani was born in Karachi and was raised in a conservative but educated family in Malir, which is a relatively poor suburb of Karachi. he began his interest in journalism while in high school. In year 1972, haqqani became pres-

ident of the student union of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami) at Government National Science College.

In 1973, he joined Karachi University and frequently visited the library at the US consulate, reading volumes of American history. Later, when students wanted to attack the consulate as part of a protest against the United States, haqqani refused to do so. haqqani has an excellent academic record with distinctions at all stages. he received a BA degree with distinction in 1977 and an MA degree with distinction in international relations in 1980 from the University of Karachi.

In March 2000, he married Farahnaz Ispahani, a former producer at CNN and MSNBC and current member of parliament, and the granddaughter of Mirza Abol hassan Ispahani, Pakistan’s first ambassador to Washington.

Their official residence in Washington was purchased and donated by her grandfather. he has lived in the US since 2002, and has developed a taste for the Boston Red Sox baseball team and news programmes.

At the time of his appointment as ambassador on April 3, 2008, haqqani was viewed as a respected figure on the world stage, coming to the post well versed in the ways of diplomacy and Washington. he succeeded Mahmud Ali Durrani,

who became national security adviser to the Gilani government.

Prior to his appointment, haqqani had been critical of the Musharraf regime and past US support to Pakistan’s military. In 1988, he worked in the political campaign for IJI – an alliance led by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. In 1990, he was special assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; from 1990-92, he was special assistant and spokesman for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; from 1992-93, he became one of Pakistan’s youngest ambassadors, serving in Sri Lanka. however, later from 1993-95, he switched sides and joined Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as her spokesman. From 1995-96, he was chairman of the house Building Finance Corporation.

From 2004-08, haqqani was an associate professor for international relations at Boston University. In addition, he co-chaired the Project on Islam and Democracy at the hudson Institute in Washington, and was editor of the journal Current Trends in Islamists Ideology.

Among his numerous writing credits are “Pakistan Between Mosque and Military” for the Carnegie endowment for International Peace; “Islam’s Medieval Outposts” for the journal Foreign Policy, and “The Role of Islam in Pakistan’s Future” for Washington Quarterly.

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

foreigN NewS

ArtS & eNtertAiNMeNt

Iran blasts new Western sanctions

‘Zindagi To Hum bhi Hain’ a visual treat Pakistan thrash Netherlands

SPortS

News 03 CoMMeNt Grim reaping: The Baloch’s grievances have been mishandled.

A heavy cross: Talking to the TTP might not be straightforward.

Dr Hasan Askari rizvi says: The civil-military dynamic: No prizes for guessing who’s on top.

Shaukat Umer says: On Iran’s nuclear crisis: There might be a way forward?

Harris bin Munawar says: In defence of Mir Jafar: Looking at history from a different perspective.

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 20

Articles on Page 12-13

Pakistan should resolve ‘memogate’ itself: Munter US ambassador says America prepared to help in any probe by Pakistan into secret memorandum g Says he never met imran Khan, iSi chief together

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ISLAMABAD

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STAff rePorT

S Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter on Tuesday said the US supported political and democratic process in Pakistan and it believed that the Pakistani institutions would address the ‘memogate’ issue.

Ambassador Munter was talking to reporters in Rawalpindi after visiting the office of the Medical Transcription Billing Company (MTBC). he was asked for his comments on the issue of the secret memo allegedly sent by Ambassador hussain haqqani to senior US official Admiral Mike Mullen seeking support of the Obama administration to prevent a military coup in Pakistan. Munter said the American administration was prepared to help in any probe by Pakistan into the secret memorandum. however, he made it clear that Pakistani authorities would have to de-

Shujaat clears Zardari of memo blame ISLAMABAD STAff rePorT

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat hussain on Tuesday said that President Asif Ali Zardari was not involved in the memo controversy and that the issue would soon be resolved. he was talking to reporters at a gathering organised by his party to celebrate the passage of “the Prevention of Anti-women Practices Bill”. Regarding his party’s strategy for the next general elections, Shujaat said that seat-to-seat adjustment between the PML-Q and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would be held on merit. The PMLQ president hoped that his former party members, who defected to the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), would soon come back. earlier while addressing the ceremony, Shujaat said his party had presented the bill to ensure equal rights to the women, adding that some members of his party had opposed the bill when the PML-Q tried to move it during its government in 2006. PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid hussain also supported Shujaat’s statement that the party president had suggested moving the bill in 2006. he believed that women were more active than the men, and that female PML-Q members in Punjab Assembly were playing a very positive role as opposition. PML-Q legislator Donia Aziz said that almost three and a half years were invested in the bill before it was passed. Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had demanded resignation from Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States hussain haqani in order to ensure a fair and transparent inquiry into the issue. She told the Pakistan Television (PTV) that the prime minister had announced to investigate the issue. She said haqqani’s resignation was being demanded by all stakeholders and the media. She said the inquiry would be conducted by an impartial body.

cide how to handle the matter and the modalities for any investigation into the issue. “We just leave it to the Pakistani authorities, we think they are the people who should decide. I think whatever solution, whether it’s (probe by a Supreme Court panel) or another… that’s for Pakistan to decide and we’ll be as helpful as we can.”

Concerning haqqani, he said, “I believe he’s back in the country, he’ll be talking with the authorities here to find out what really happened. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know. We need to find out from this inquiry what this memo is and what it meant,” he said. Munter said he had not seen the memo until it was published. he said the US State Department had been very careful in giving its reaction on the memo issue as it was Pakistan’s internal matter. he said, “We respect Pakistani institutions to address this issue.” he said the US was supportive to the democratic process in Pakistan.

“We support the rule of law, your

country and the will of Pakistani people to make sure that there will be justice,” he said.

Asked about the possible replacement of Pakistani Ambassador hussain haqqani in US, Ambassador Munter said, “We have to wait and see.” To a question on his reported meeting with Pakistan Chairman Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan in the presence of Inter Services Intelligence Director General Lt General Ahmed Shujah Pasha, the US ambassador said, “I separately met Imran Khan and I also met with Lt General Pasha, but I have not met them together.” When asked about the US soft corner for Imran Khan, he said the people in Pakistan were looking for leadership and they were looking for a kind of society where there was openness. “Many people of this country are talking about a political system that will be transparent, that will be open and democratic, prosperous and stable. You will always hear from us supporting those kinds of ideas,” he said.

Memogate eclipses NA session ISLAMABAD MIAN AbrAr

The memogate scandal eclipsed the National Assembly’s session on Tuesday, as a meeting between top civilian and military leaders remained the focus of parliamentarians’ and media’s attention.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislator Qudsia Arshad was the lone voice calling for the formation of a judicial commission to probe the memo controversy, as she was not supported by her own party colleagues. however, an interesting situation developed when some PML-N legislators clashed with the parliamentarians of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) over allegations levelled by former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza against MQM chief Altaf hussain. MQM leader Sajid Ahmed triggered the debate about Mirza and invited the anger of PML-N legislators. Things were normal when, on a point of order, Ahmed proposed to invite Pir Mazharul haq to the National Assembly session and enquire him about Mirza’s allegations against the MQM chief.

“Pir Mazhar has claimed that Mirza had levelled false allegations against Altaf hussain … he should be called here to tell the truth to the nation about those false allegations,” he asserted. however, member of the National Assembly (MNA) Shireen Arshad responded quickly and called Mirza “a respectable member of the Sindh Assembly”, while forgetting that Mirza had resigned from the provincial legislature. “Dr Mirza had informed the nation on oath about the extortion and corruption of MQM. his documents should be shared with

the nation,” she added.

PML-N leader Rohail Asghar also responded by saying that the Pakistani nation was facing a series of disasters because of four incidents of swearing by government ministers on the holy Quran. he said the use of the holy book to make political statements had brought the country rampant killings, heavy floods, terrorism and high inflation.

Meanwhile, Communications Minister Dr Arbab Alamgir told the NA that work on the Lowari Tunnel project would start soon after receiving funds of Rs 2 billion. On a point of order by an MNA about suspended work on the project, Alamgir said the prime minister had sanctioned Rs 1 billion for the project, while another Rs 1 billion had been earmarked in the current year under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). he said the Korean construction company building the tunnel had halted work because of insufficient funds, adding that it would be asked to resume work after funds were made available. he said the Rs 18 billion tunnel project was approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and the executive Committee of National economic Council (eCNeC). Meanwhile, the house referred to a point of order about the verification of arms licenses by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah said the Standing Committee on Interior should be directed to investigate into the matter and present its report in the house.

The house also adopted a bill by Justice (r) Fakhar-un-Nisa to further amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1898 (The Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2011, insertion of 377A, 377B and amendment of Schedule II) and referred it to the committee concerned.

Separately, Parliamentary Secretary for Industries Pir haider Ali Shah informed the NA that production of urea fertiliser in the country was 400,000 tones more than the national requirement, adding that gas shortages were badly affecting the local fertiliser industry. Responding to a notice by Yasmeen Rehman and others regarding the unavailability of urea fertiliser and its high prices in the country, he said the government was providing a Rs 31 billion subsidy on urea. he added that the government was purchasing one bag of urea from the international market at Rs 3,000 and providing a subsidy of Rs 1,300 to 1,500 on it. he said that there was a shortage of 700,000 metric tones of urea in the country, adding that 200,000 metric tones urea had reached the port while 500,000 metric tones would arrive by December, 2011.

Regarding the unavailability of urea during the sowing season, the parliamentary secretary said the provinces were responsible to ensure the fertiliser’s availability and keep a check on hoarding and smuggling. Advisor to PM Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the law and order situation was a provincial subject and the federal government could not intervene in that directly.

The house was discussing the issue of law and order under Rule 87.

MNAs Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, Nisar Tanveer, Tasneem Siddiqui, Shireen Arshad Khan and Nighat Parveen took part in the discussion.

Khokhar said the human Rights Ministry had no power to take action and stop human rights violations.

Haqqani’s resignation a victory for army MONITORING DESK Pakistan’s envoy to Washington husain haqqani lost the battle with the country’s powerful military leadership to keep his job on Tuesday over allegations he wrote the controversial memo that has caused uproar in Pakistan, a foreign news agency said in a report. The resignation of haqqani highlighted tensions between the country’s nominal civilian government and the army, which has ruled Pakistan for most of its history.

Although haqqani said he hoped his stepping down would end the scandal — which Pakistanis have called “memogate” — speculation remained over whether it could yet engulf Zardari.

The unpopular leader has faced questions over whether he also knew about the mysterious memo, which right-wing, pro-army media outlets have described as treasonous. The envoy and his supporters have alleged the memo was a hoax cooked up by the military establishment to get rid of him and weaken the Zardari government and democratic institutions — explosive charges in a country that has seen at least three military coups.

‘Mullen confident memo not sent

by Zardari’

WAShINGTON oNlINe

The Pentagon has said that retired chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen was confident that the memo delivered by Mansoor Ijaz was not sent by President Asif Ali Zardari. A spokesman for Mullen asserted that the former chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff committee never met or knew the central figure in the controversy. “Mullen never met Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who has alleged that Pakistan’s ambassador to the US hussain haqqani asked for assistance in getting a message from President Asif Ali Zardari to the then top US military leader,” Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby told reporters. Asserting that the admiral did not take the alleged secret memorandum seriously as it was “not signed” and there was no indication that it was coming from the Pakistani president, Kirby said, adding that the contents of the said letter were not reliable and authenticated.

Asked about a Pakistani media report that former national security adviser Gen James Jones had admitted to carrying the memo to Mullen, he said: “I am not going to speak to Gen Jones participation in it and if he is speaking that is certainly his account.”

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04 News

wednesday, 23 November, 2011

‘Husain Haqqani’s resignation tip of the iceberg’ ISLAMABAD STAff rePorT

D

KArACHI: Donkey carts taking part in a rally organised by the PPP near Kala Pul on Tuesday. onLIne

FBR unearths Rs 55b tax evasion in ISAF containers’ case, SC told

Blast kills 3, injures 5 at PAf scrap depot SARGODhA

28,000 containers carrying commercial cargo under AttA go missing g remaining 322,000 containers meant for iSAf dispatched not found yet g

ISLAMABAD STAff rePorT

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has unearthed evasion of duties and taxes of over Rs 55 billion, as 28,000 containers carrying commercial cargo under the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) on way to Afghanistan went missing, the Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the remaining 322,000 containers meant for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan dispatched from the Karachi port have not been found yet, further denting the national exchequer. A twomember SC bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif hussain was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to pilferage of containers in Pakistan meant for ISAF. FBR Chairman Salman Siddique apprised the bench

on the scam. The court was told that former president General Pervez Musharraf’s nephew and former Karachi corps commander’s son played a major role in the scam.

The court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to cooperate with the FBR chairman to initiate proceedings against those involved and also take action against them. The FBR chairman told the bench that pleas were pending in the Sindh high Court, filed by the accused involved in the scam including importers, clearing agents, terminal/port operators, custom officials, shipping agents and transporter, which caused delay in taking action against them.

The court asked the FBR chairman to provide details of pleas pending before the Sindh high Court, so that the ShC could be asked to expedite hearing of these cases.

Justice hussain said it

would be a result-oriented act if the NAB came to help to probe the cases, adding that no pressure would be accepted by the FBR. Giving details of the missing containers, the FBR chairman said the trend of steep fall in import of transit trade cargo continued in ensuing months. he said an investigation conducted by FBR revealed that 63,264 commercial ATT containers were imported from February 1, 2010 to September 20, 2010. he said the quantum of such imports in the corresponding period of this year had fallen to 33,414 containers, signifying a massive fall by approximately 50 percent.

Siddique said non-commercial ATT imports had also fallen by 26 percent to 28,802 containers which had gone missing. he said issuance of SCN was actively in progress, adding that the loss of revenue in terms of duties and taxes was around Rs 55 billion.

oNlINe

Three people were killed in a blast at Sargodha’s Pakistan Air Force (PAF) firing range in Chiniot district on Tuesday.

According to PAF officials, a blank cartridge exploded when three contract labourers were collecting scrap from the PAF Firing Range in Lallian, situated at Sillanwali-Badan Road. Officials said five people were injured as well.

Station house Officer (ShO) Khalid Mehmood Gondal said the blast occurred in the scrap depot when labourers and employees were cleaning it. he identified the deceased as Umer hayat, Mushtaq and Mumtaz. Gondal said that the PAF administration was not allowing police to enter the premises, saying they were handling the matter internally and waiting for permission from senior officials.

At least seven people were injured in a clash between supporters of former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) during his address in London on Tuesday, Geo News reported. Following the disturbance, a heavy contingent of police arrived at the community centre where Mirza was addressing his supporters.

Geo News reported the injured men belonged to the MQM. MoNITorING DeSK

Continued from page 1 haqqani has been denying all the allegations levelled against him by PakistaniAmerican businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who has been the key character in the controversy, claiming to have delivered the secret letter to the Obama administration in May this year after the US had carried out a military raid in Abbottabad to kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin

3 FC personnel, 2 tribesmen killed, FC denies QUETTA SHAHZADA ZUlfIQAr

Three Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan personnel and two tribesmen of the Bugti peace force were reportedly killed and nine others were injured in a bomb attack in Dera Bugti on Tuesday, while the Chinese engineers were unhurt.

FC Spokesman Murtaza Baig, however, categorically denied the reports and said no such attack had taken place, while the district administration said one of the FC’s vehicles had hit a landmine but

Laden. haqqani, who has been using Twitter since his arrival in the country to deliver his message to the people and explain his position, tweeted after the decision: “I have requested PM Gilani to accept my resignation as Pakistan Ambassador to US.” he went on say: “I have much to contribute to building a new Pakistan free of bigotry & intolerance. Will focus energies on that.”

The downfall of

caused no loss of life or injuries, only minor damages to the vehicle.

According to local sources, Chinese engineers of BJP working on the Pat Feeder Canal were going for a survey under heavy protection of dozens of FC personnel and armed tribesmen of the Bugti peace force loyal to the government when a roadside bomb was detonated by remote-control in the Gopat area. As a result, the sources claimed, three FC personnel and two tribesmen were killed while nine others were wounded.

Benazir murder case judgement reserved till Nov 29 RawalPINdI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday reserved the judgment of the Benazir Bhutto assassination case till November 29 on the request of the counsel of the accused in the case. The hearing of the case was held by ATC judge Shahid Rafique.

The court reserved the judgment against the seven accused persons, including former City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz, former Rawal Town Superintendent Police (SP) Khurram Shehzad, Atizaz Shah, Rafqat, hussan Gull, Sher Zaman and Rasheed Ahmad for their alleged involvement in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. earlier, Khurram Mehmood Qureshi advocate, counsel for Sher Zaman and Rasheed, had submitted an application in the court for amending the charges against his clients. In the hearing on Tuesday, counsel of the accused had asked for more time to defend their case after which the court reserved the judgment till November 29. STAff rePorT

in firing case APP

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) convicted Sheikh Nawaz Akram – brother of MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram – along with eight of his bodyguards on charges of resorting to firing, creating panic and terror in Kotwali police precincts in Jhang district.

According to the prosecution, Nawaz had a dispute with his cousins Sheikh Zafar Iqbal over a transport terminal.

Nawaz and his bodyguards resorted to indiscriminate firing and injured Ali Raza, Zafar’s party member on August 18, 2010. Police registered a case against Nawaz and his guards.

ISLAMABAD AfP

The government rowed back on Tuesday from demands that text messages containing nearly 1,700 “obscene” words should be blocked, following outrage from users and campaigners.

On November 14, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) distributed a list of 1,695 words in english and Urdu, the national language, to operators, giving them seven days to implement a filtering system. But the list was met with uproar, both at the attempt to censor messages and the inclusion of many seemingly innocuous terms, among them “Jesus Christ”, “lotion”, “athlete’s foot”, “robber”, “idiot”, “four twenty” and “harder”. On Tuesday, PTA spokesman Mohammad You-

Haqqani axed haqqani, who has always been dubbed by his critics and fans as the eyes and ears of President Zardari, started when Ijaz wrote an op-ed piece in the Financial Times claiming that he had been approached by “a senior Pakistani diplomat” based in the US to help the Presidency seek US help to pre-

scandal as is revealed by the memorandum … other members of the team must also face the music,” Gul said. he said in his opinion, Americans had exposed the memo as the Pakistani rulers had failed to honour their commitments made with the US administration on introducing radical changes in the country’s security system.

PML-N Senator Mushahidullah said the fallout of the ‘memogate’ would be drastic and the nation needs to be taken into confidence and briefed on how things occurred. he said haqqani was forced to resign and it was yet to be proven who was guilty, as the ambassador himself was unable to do all by himself. The PML-N senator also added that independent judicial inquiry should be conducted into the issue.

Govt shelves ‘obscene’ Qureshi calls for fair probe MNA’s brother, 8 others convicted text message ban FAISALABAD

Seven injured during Mirza’s address

e F e N C e analysts and politicians believe that the sacking of husain haqqani would not diffuse the tension between the civilian and military leadership, as the ball will keep on rolling until all faces behind the ‘memogate’ are punished in light of an inquiry into the scam.

Lt Gen (r) Talat Masood said the acceptance of husain haqqani’s resignation was just the beginning of the process. “The process has just started … the outcome of detailed inquiry into the issue will define relations between the government and military establishment,” he said. he said the inquiry would reveal all facts revolving around the issue and

would also expose motives behind the move if the allegations of Mansoor Ijaz proved right. “It is a complicated situation and things will not become stabile with mere resignation of haqqani,” he added.

PPP-Sherpao chief Aftab Khan Sherpao said it was the first step and the “memogate” scandal would not stop there. “This is the first step. The ball will keep rolling and will not stop here. The investigations are yet to begin and its fallout is yet to occur,” Sherpao said, adding that the fallout could be explosive.

General (r) hamid Gul said things in Pakistan would not stabilise with the ouster of husain haqqani only. “The probe into the ‘memogate’ will reach its logical conclusion… not only haqqani but a team of Pakistanis was involved in the

vent a possible coup by the army against the Pakistan People’s Party-led government in the wake of the Abbottabad raid.

Another Pakistani official, who asked not to be named, said that with haqqani leaving his office, things had become clearer now and it would also lead to

the reshaping of the civilianmilitary relationship in the coming months. “Now the authority of the civilian government will get further weakened and the army would dominate the future course of action in the country. On the civilian side, it will now be the prime minister who will come to the driv-

nis Khan told AFP the authority would consult civil society representatives and mobile phone operators on refining a much shorter list of words, giving no timeframe for any eventual ban.

“At the moment we are not blocking or filtering any word,” Khan said. “No final decision has been taken in this regard,” he added. A PTA committee with representatives of civil society and mobile phone operators will decide on a “final list of objectionable words” which Khan conceded could be only around “a dozen”. “We have no plan to block any word until and unless it is approved by that committee and it will take time to reach that decision,” he added. A letter accompanying the list on November 14 said filtering was legal under the Pakistan Telecommunication Act of 1996.

laHORe: Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has termed the ongoing memo controversy “a serious matter” and demanded an investigation to reveal the faces behind the drama.

Talking to reporters after a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, the estranged Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader added that Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States hussain haqqani had done the right thing by resigning from his position. he said haqqani was now in a better position to face an inquiry. Qureshi, who is embarking on a brand new political career, claimed that he was being prevented from holding a public gathering in Ghotki. he added that his future political plans would be announced in Ghotki on November 27. STAff rePorT

ing seat and the president will go to the back, leaving space for the premier to become the government’s face,” the official said. he said that enquiry into the controversy would, however, continue and it would be like a sword hanging on the civilian government’s head.

HaQQaNI deNIes: Meanwhile, haqqani stood by his earlier denials and called for a transparent enquiry into the controversy to

strengthen the hands of the elected Pakistani leadership.

“A transparent enquiry will strengthen the hands of elected leaders whom I strived to strengthen,” he said in a message sent to reporters in Islamabad on Tuesday. he said: “To me, Pakistan and Pakistan’s democracy are far more important than any artificially created crisis over an insignificant memo written by a self-centred businessman.”

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Security for the Sharifs a nuisance for their neighbours PAge 08

fog sets in laHORe: Since the onset of winter, the provincial capital has witnessed misty conditions. early Tuesday morning visibility in the city was especially reduced. The foggy conditions seen late at night and early in the morning took citizens by surprise, as since the past few years, fog has been a phenomenon associated with mid-December.

The minimum temperature recorded in the country was minus three degree Celsius in Sakurdu. There is no forecast of precipitation in the cultivating areas of the country. The meteorological department reported that during the next two days dry weather was expected in most parts of the country, with chances of isolated light rain in Malakand, hazara divisions, Gilgit-Baltistan and the adjoining hilly areas. Foggy conditions are most likely to prevail in the planes of Punjab late at night and early in the morning. Chief Meteorologist Riaz Khan said the dry weather prevailing in most parts of the country had caused dust-particle levels in the air to increase, limiting visibility. he said except in the far-north of the country, all other parts would face similar conditions of dryness for some days.

The Motorways and National highways, however, were clear from fog and visibility was enough for the flow of traffic to continue, he said. STAff rePorT

WINTer NoT fAr AWAY: A view of Minar-e-Pakistan on a misty Tuesday morning. InP

PTI cries foul play after office sealed g

Party leaders say PMl-N employing arm-twisting moves LAhORE

T

STAff rePorT

he Punjab government’s excise and Taxation Department on Tuesday sealed and later unsealed an office of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) after a strong protest by Imran Khan’s stalwarts and intervention of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The move is believed to be an armtwisting move by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to sabotage the PTI campaign to muster support of the masses.

In the afternoon, PTI leaders accused the Punjab government of harassment, warning that they would stage a protest on November 25 (Friday) if the excise officers who illegally sealed the

party office were not suspended.

Addressing a press conference at the party office, PTI Lahore President Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed alleged that the excise department was being used against the PTI on the directions of the chief minister. he said tax officials should public apologise from the PTI leadership if they had sealed the party office by mistake, otherwise, the provincial government should suspend them.

Mehmood said the PTI would seek remedy from a court of law if the provincial government continued harassing the party leaders. he said the party had deposited the property tax of the party office on Tuesday, whereas the last date for depositing the tax was November 23, Wednesday.

Rasheed said the excise department sealed the PTI office at 9am, but

later unsealed the premises. PTI leaders Ijaz Chaudhary, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Saloni Bukhari, Talat Naqvi, Zaheer Khokhar, Ishtiaq Malik and Murad Raas attended the press conference on this occasion.

Meanwhile, PTI Central Vice President Mansoor Siddiqui alleged that the Lahore district coordination officer had forced a local hotel’s administration to cancel a seminar arranged by PTI to attract professional engineers. he alleged that the hotel management refused to provide them space for holding the seminar “engineers for change”, where PTI chief Imran was scheduled to address the participants.

Mansoor said the Punjab government was using unlawful and unethical tactics to suppress the increasing support of the masses to the PTI, “but all such moves would be in vain”.

IJT acTIvIsTs beaT up Two sTudenTs

PU teachers and students slam CM over ‘tacit support’ for IJT g

warn of protest campaign against Sharif brothers if Ji’s student wing is not reined in LAhORE STAff rePorT

Punjab University (PU) students and teaching community strongly criticised Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Shrif for having a soft corner for the Islami Jamiat Taliba (IJT), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. The criticism came after two university students were roughed up by the IJT activists outside the university’s vice chancellor’s office.

Infuriated teachers and students of the varsity told Pakistan Today that the Punjab government in general and the chief minister in particular should not be pro-IJT and warned they would launch a long march against Sharifs if the CM failed to take action against the high-

handedness of the IJT activists on the campus. They demanded a disciplinary action against the organisation. earlier on Tuesday, some of the IJT activist forced two students to hold their ears through their legs as the university’s security staff looked on with apathy.

Reportedly, a group of IJT activists from the Statistics and Mathematics departments approached two male students who were sitting in lawn outside the VC office and beat them up. Their female classmates were seen crying during the hooliganism on the campus, student told this scribe.

The protesting students said that Punjab CM Punjab had never been supportive to the current VC in putting an end to what they said “the hooliganism of IJT”. They said the CM was rather trying

to appoint a “Pro-IJT” VC. The manhandling of the boys did not end there, as later on the IJT activists forcibly took them to one of hostels and even the PU security officials were unable to tell about their whereabouts and plight.

Almost all the students seeking anonymity said the IJT activists were “controlled by” a bearded man called Nazim Sahib (the organiser).

The students and teachers complained that it was the chief minister who had allowed the IJT to hold their congregation at the varsity. They said the CM did that “despite knowing that the same organisation was promoting violence and extremism on the campus”.

A female student of the economics Department said that by resorting to vi-

olence, the IJT members were doing disservice to the very Islam they claimed to uphold.

A PU professor said that enough was enough because even the security staff of the varsity seemed helpless before “those miscreants.” he said the activists had piled up weapons at the varsity hostels and they won’t even shrink from beating up teachers. he said it was a rumor that a pro-IJT teacher might be appointed as the VC. “And if it turns out to be true, it would be a complete disaster for the academic environment of the varsity,” he observed. he said Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran did his best to curb “their hooliganism” but the CM’s tacit support was hindering the VC’s efforts. he said it was a national tragedy that

despite tall claims of fighting against extremism, the state was tolerating the same to thrive in the varsities.

PU’s Chief Security Officer Muhammad Shaukat said the IJT activists responsible for Tuesday’s incident included Atif Gujjar, haris and three of their unidentified associates. Both the parties had fled from the scene when I reached there,” he added.

IJT’s PU chapter head, Zubair Safdar, when contacted, said he was out of city at the time of the incident so he was unable to comment on the issue. he said had it been an issue of “that great significance”, he would have been informed about that. PU Resident Officer Dr Javaid Sami said it is an uncalled for aggression and that the authority would investigate the matter sooner.

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06 Lahore

wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Climax of DHA Cinema fiasco looms LAhORE

T

Shafqat Mahmood expected to join Pti today

AlI TAHIr

he tug of war between the Defense housing Authority (DhA) and the DhA Cinema management is about to reach its climax as December 1, the day the cinema is scheduled to reopen, closes in and the cinema’s closure is being challenged in court.

The DhA has remained stable on its claim that the cinema would reopen on December 1, even as the conflict between it and the DhA Cinema management, which was contracted to Mandviwalla entertainment before the closure, is in court.

Adding to that, a DhA spokesman claimed that the cinema would be operated by the DhA directly from the 1st of December and that it would not be contracted to anyone this time.

The DhA Cinema was closed down by the housing authority on October 27 owing to security concerns, and it was expected to reopen on three days later.

But the cinema was kept sealed and a notice was presented by the DhA, which announced that the cinema would remain closed until November 30. Upon receiving the notice, Mandviwalla entertainment went to court as the DhA was in contract with it until November 15.

Now that the contract is over, the DhA says it would not contract the cin-

ema to anyone and that it would run the cinema directly.

The reasons behind the cinema being shut down in the first place and later being sealed remain vague. The DhA cites security reasons, but police say there were no threats of any kind against the cinema and that if there were any, the police would have been informed too. Mandviwalla entertain-

ment still refrains from commenting on the issue, saying that the case is sub judice.

On the other hand, a worker of the DhA Cinema who wished to remain unnamed had earlier disclosed to Pakistan Today that the closure of the cinema had something to do with the digital projector that had been installed at the cinema, after which the

cinema was immediately sealed.

The DhA public relations officer told Pakistan Today that advance tickets bought by customers were being refunded by the DhA. he said the cinema would reopen on the announced date irrespective of whether the case was in court or not. “The cinema will reopen on the 1st of December and the DhA will run the cinema on its own,” he said.

laHORe: Famous Urdu columnist and intellectual Shafqat Mahmood would join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Pakistan (PTI) today (Wednesday), sources said on Tuesday.

According to the sources said, PTI chief Imran Khan is expected to visit Shafqat’s residence for a meeting, where Shafqat will make the announcement of joining the PTI. Shafqat did Masters in Public Administration from the harvard University Cambridge, USA, in 1981. he got another Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Southern California in 1987. he served as assistant commissioner in Murree and Pakpattan from 1975 to 1978 after which he was posted as a provincial deputy secretary in Lahore till 1980. he also served as deputy commissioner in Gujranwala and DG Khan for 5 years and also as additional commissioner Afghan Refugees Organisation for quite some time in 1985. he was additional secretary finance in Punjab during 1988-89 and later served as joint secretary PM’s Secretariat from 1989 to 1990. Shafqat was elected as member of Senate in March, 1994 for a six-year term. he is a member of the Senate Standing Committees on Cabinet, establishment and Management Services, Defence, Defence Production, Aviation, Foreign Affairs, Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, and the Functional Committee on Govt Assurances. STAff rePorT

An era ends with Mustafa Sadiq LAhORE STAff rePorT

The journalistic, social and political circles have paid tributes to former federal minister, Daily Wafaq editor and worker of Pakistan Movement Mian Mustafa Sadiq, saying that an era of missionary journalism has closed with his death.

Mian Mustafa sadiq was laid to rest in Miami Sahib Graveyard after funeral prayers at Takoni Ground, Samanabad on Monday. The funeral prayers were lead by Jamia Ashrafia cleric Maulana Fazalur Rehman and attended by editors of newspapers, prominent writers, former president Muhammad Rafiq Tarar and people from all walks of life.

Mian Mumtaz Mustafa was a

renowned journalist and had served as the minister for religious affairs during the era of general Zia-ul-haq. he served as the president of All Pakistan Newspaper Society and Council of Pakistan Newspapers editors also.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) chief Shujaat hussain and others leaders condoled the death of the veteran journalist. In their separate messages‚ they expressed sorrow and prayed for the departed soul.

Meanwhile, people from different walks of life, including intellectuals, writers, journalists and lawyers have expressed grief over the

death of Mustafa Sadiq.

The Pakistan Newspapers Society had awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award to Mustafa Sadiq on March 28, 2011 in recognition of his life long services for the promotion and development of print media.

Mustafa Sadiq was born at Mozia Berchha, District hoshyarpur and completed his education in Persian from the University of Punjab, Lahore in 1946. he took active part in the Pakistan Movement and worked with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a Muslim League worker until 1948. he joined the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) in 1948 and was appointed as the JI secretary in 1950. Mustafa Sadiq worked in the Daily Tasneem from 1954-57 and as Daily Afaq, Faisalabad editor from 1957-59. he founded his own publication, Wifaq, in 1959 and published the weekly Ittefaq also. he continued to serve on the Standing and executive Committees of CPNe and APNS since the beginning of his career in journalism. he was elected as the CPNe president in 1988 and the APNS president in 1991 and 1993.

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roCKStAr tHe AdveNtUreS of tiN tiN PUSS iN BootS tHe AdveNtUreS of tiN tiN roCKStAr

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Lahore 07

dar serves warraich, Manzoor legal notices LAhORE STAff rePorT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab President Imtiaz Safdar Warraich and Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed have been served legal notices by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Ishaq Dar for damaging his reputation by attaching him with Lahore Board of Intermediate IT consultant Dr Majid Naeem. Ishaq Dar’s counsel Ashtar Ali & Co on November 17 served notices to both PPP leaders and sought their unconditional apologies before public as well on media within 14 days after receiving the legal notices, otherwise not only damages but also a criminal case would be registered against them.

Both PPP leaders were not available for comments over the legal notice.

Shahbaz accepts AgP’s resignation LAhORE STAff rePorT

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif accepted Tuesday the resignation of Advocate General Punjab Khawaja haris Ahmad which he had submitted citing personal reasons. The chief minister said Khawaja haris had rendered great services in constitutional and legal matters of great importance. he lauded haris’s role in cases such as Bank of Punjab case, haris Steel Mills Scam case and 18th Constitutional Amendment case. The CM said Khawaja haris performed his duty honestly and with professional commitment.

IN SeArCH of THe AfforDAble: Women buy warm clothes from a roadside vendor. STAFF PHoTo

Flop coMpuTerIsaTIon!

Majid Naeem accuses ‘booty mafia’ of sabotage g

former it consultant tells judicial commission that he is not involved in corruption g Accusers unable to produce corruption proof LAhORE

D

STAff rePorT

R Majid Naeem, the former IT consultant hired to computerise examination system of all the eight boards of intermediate and secondary examination (BISe) of Punjab, told a judicial commission on Tuesday that an internal rift between the employees was behind the attempt to fail the computerised system and “booty mafia” in the of the BISes tried to give an impression that the system had collapsed.

Appearing before the commission comprising Justice Shahid Saeed, Dr Majid said during the matriculation exams in 2009, the BISe Lahore employees went on a strike and refused to prepare the results, adding that the government had to detain some employees under Section 16 of MPO, as made the

BISe chairman a hostage. he said the same chairman was again appointed before this year’s exams and the employees tried to fail the computerised system in a bid to take revenge from him. earlier, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials produced Majid before the commission. Giving details about his arrest by NAB, he said the admission papers of Punjab University (PU) in 2001were prepared for which the PU vice-chancellor (VC) had himself made payment but illegally implicated him.

About his previous appointments at PU, Government College University (GCU) and University of engineering and Technology (UeT) besides the reason for his ouster from service, Majid said he resigned from the GCU in protest against illegal admissions by then the registrar. he said he was given a three-month project at UeT which he completed. he further claimed that he served at the UeT and PU

without getting any salary. he said he was hired by the Punjab Boards Chairmen Committee (PBCC) as a contractor against Rs 500,000 for four months. he said he served for one-year term and four months for the BISes but could get only 220,000 only. he said the PBCC had assigned the same task to the Pakistan Telecommunication Limited for Rs15 million. he also rejected the allegations that he received commission in purchasing of equipment and said he had nothing to do with the process, as it was the BISes responsibility to procure different items.

Majid said the accusers should show a single receipts of purchasing with his signature to prove that he was involved in the matter, adding that he even gave recommendations for cancellation of various tenders for unnecessary computer devices. he said the BISes authorities charged Rs 100 per student and collected Rs 200 million but they did not men-

Heinrich von Kleist remembered LAhORE STAff rePorT

On the 200th death anniversary of famous German poet and playwright heinrich von Kleist, his fans paid tribute to him by reading his works at more than a 100 places worldwide, at the same time on Monday.

In the provincial capital, the reading took place at Annemarie-Schimmel-haus, commonly known as the German Cultural Centre, on Monday evening. A small literary gathering heard the impressive works of the 19th century writer read by famous radio jockey Ayesha Alam Khan.

Ayesha read part of heinrich’s novel “The Marquise of O” and excerpts from his letters. The three letters se-

lected for the reading were the writer’s farewell letters written to his cousin, sister and beloved before committing suicide. Born to an ancient Prussian family in 1777, Kleist was a crisis expert and project-maker at the turn of the 19th century who regarded Germany as a waiting room lacking movement.

he attempted to shake his contemporaries back to life with futuristic experiments, in many areas other than literature. As a character, playwright and storyteller with extreme positions and misunderstood by his contemporaries, Kleist is nowadays seen as a modern figure who got caught up in the political and

societal upheavals of his times and whose life was marked continuously by instability, despite the fact that he belonged to an aristocratic family from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. he shot himself on November 21, 1811, in a suicide pact. “Kleist Prize”, the esteemed German literary award, is named after him.

tioned in their accounts in a bid to hide the matter, while they also made unnecessary purchasing and wasted the money. he said the consultants of all BISes were taken on board, adding that he had briefed the chairmen and their IT consultants on the progress made in the work and never bypassed them. he said all chairmen of the BISes did not know the basics of the computers and had to brief them by translating computer terminology in their own language. he also denied the allegations that he designed complicated answer sheets and admission papers and said he reduced the admission forms from six to only a single page and made the bubble filling optional, which was also be filled by teachers, not only by the students.

Majid said he worked an already running system introduced by Yousaf hamdani, who was terminated over his inability to handle it. he said he had requested the BISes

employees in written to prepare results manually too, a suggestion which was rejected, while they also did not used his introduced software. he said different BISes used their own software and could not handle the results.

Lahore BISe Store Superintendent Tahir said Majid cancelled various tenders terming them useless. he said different items were purchased by Majid but he had no proof of the procurement. On this, the commission ordered him to appear on Thursday with proofs. he also admitted that the bar code readers were purchased on lesser rates on recommendations of Majid, instead of the higher-priced ones, which were finalised by the BISe authorities.

Malik Nisar, a representative of Multan BISe employees union, said the corruption of millions was committed through the system but could not provide any record to substantiate his claims. The commission adjourned the hearing for November 24.

Abductors rape, kill 5th-grade student laHORe: The body of a young girl, who had been kidnapped on Monday for ransom, was found on Tuesday, wrapped in a piece of cloth, from hanjarwal police precincts.

Police said Bisma, a school-going girl and the youngest daughter of Murad Ali, a rickshaw driver of Nawakot, was abducted by some unidentified men.

Police suspected the culprits raped and killed the girl after her father had failed to pay them the ransom money. The investigation officer (IO) told this scribe that the girl was a fifth-grade student at a local school. he said the girl went missing since she had left for school on Monday morning.

Worried, Murad Ali went to school to ask the administration about the whereabouts of his missing daughter. he was told she had not showed up at school that day.

Panicked, Murad Ali informed the police that his daughter was missing. he was told to check with his relatives in case she might be with them. The helpless father kept looking for her the whole day on Monday.

Murad told Pakistan Today that it was Monday evening, when he received a call from the abductors who were demanding Rs 0.3 million as ransom for the girl’s safe return. he said he could only arrange Rs 50,000 and he took the money to a place near a public park in Sabzazar Colony, as demanded by the abductors. he said that after leaving the money there he returned to his home. After some, he said, he repeatedly tried to contact the abductors but to no avail.

“The next day (on Tuesday), I heard about announcements being made from local mosques about the body of an unidentified girl found by the residents. It was at the hanjarwal police station where I finally saw the body of my daughter,” he said, while choking back his tears. The police send the body for an autopsy and started the investigation. STAff rePorT

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08 Lahore

Security for the Sharifs a nuisance for their neighbours

weAtHer UPdAteS

28 °C High 15low0C

wednesday, 23 November, 2011

SUNNY iNtervAlS

tHUrSdAY 26°C i 11°C

fridAY

SAtUrdAY

26°C i 10°C

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PrAYer tiMiNgS fajr 05:11

Sunrise 06:34

Zuhr 11:48

Asr 14:42

Maghrib 17:02

isha 18:27

CitY direCtorY eMergeNCY HelP reSCUe edHi CoNtrol MotorwAY PoliCe PoliCe goverNor’S HoUSe CHief MiNiSter’S HoUSe fire BrigAde BoMB diSPoSAl MCl CoMPlAiNtS lAHore wASte diSPoSAl

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HoSPitAlS Mid CitY 37573382-3 ServiCeS 99203402-11 MAYo 99211100-9 geNerAl 35810892-8 SHeiKH ZAid 35865731 Sir gANgA rAM 99200572 UCH 35763573-5 ittefAQ 35881981-85 CMH 366996168-72 SHoUKAt KHANUM 35945100 JiNNAH 111-809-809 Adil (defeNCe) 36667275 CHildreN’S 99230901-3 defeNCe NAtioNAl HoSPitAl 111-17-18-19

LAhORE

T

AlI TAHIr

he residents of and routine commuters to Model Town are forced to cross several hurdles, especially near the entrance to h Block, every day because of the security measures taken for Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his son hamza Shahbaz’s located there.

The southwest area of Model Town, mainly h Block, is fortified with a heavy contingent of police and roadblocks, which is becoming a growing nuisance for routine commuters and the residents of the area. They claim that accessibility to their houses has been sidelined in order to protect the chief minister and his son’s residence.

As soon as one takes a left into Model Town from Qainchi Bridge, Ferozepur Road, roadblocks are seen on the street barring access to the old residence of Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz President Nawaz Sharif and his brother.

The entire Sharif family lived in their sprawling estate in Model Town prior to their exile at the hands of former president Pervez Musharraf.

The area still remains the most visited by the chief minister. Though the Sharif brothers do not reside there anymore and have moved to there newly-built house in h block a few metres away, police checkposts and roadblocks have been permanently placed in the area. Adding to that are the barriers and heavy contingent of police that fortify the new residence of the Sharif family.

Ali hussain, a student of Lahore School of economics (LSe) and a resident of A Block, Model Town says he is forced to take a longer route to and from his house as several of the entrances to Model Town are usually blocked when Shahbaz Sharif is at his residence.

“This roadblock has not moved since the last time Shahbaz Sharif became the chief minister of Punjab,” he said. he also said the police did not let him approach his own house during the open court session of the chief minister. “No matter what I say to the police, they do not let me enter from that side of the town saying they can’t do anything about it and it’s their duty.

What can you say to them then? It’s not even their fault, I drive off and try entering from the Model Mor side,” he explained. “everyone likes

the idea of the open court session of the chief minister but it should not be done at the cost of other people’s time, which can be precious sometimes,” he added.

On the other hand, the caged residents of h Block whisper about other problems of being the neighbours of the Sharif family. A resident of the same street in h Block where the newly-built Sharif mansion is located, who asked not to be identified by name, said it was very hard being the neighbours of the Sharif family as the street had been blocked from both sides and the heavy presence of police left little privacy.

The resident said not only the street where the mansion was located was occupied by police, but two other connecting streets too were constantly teeming with cops. he said his family’s guests had to go through several hold ups and security checks to reach their home. “Guests rarely find my house and even if they do, they have to go through an intense interrogation,” he said. he said it was also very difficult for his family members to enter their house without being eyed by policemen standing on guard outside the Sharifs’ mansion.

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annual chrysanTheMuM show

conversaTIons wITh The arab sprInG

dAte ANd tiMe: Nov 11 to JUN1, 2012, 4PM to 6PM

dAte: NoveMBer 30-deCeMBer 05,

veNUe: HASt-o-NeeSt CeNter

veNUe: JillANi (rACe CoUrSe) PArK, JAil roAd Horticultural Society of Pakistan-lahore is holding its Annual Chrysanthemum Show-2011 with a flower arrangment show and other fun-filled activities.

dAte ANd tiMe: Nov 27, 06:30PM veNUe: CAfé Bol

arabIc callIGraphy

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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.

we invite AliA MoSSAllAM (a participant in the tahrir Square activities in Cairo and the wider uprising) for a discussion on the movement in egypt and the search for 'new politics' in the Middle east more broadly.

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

‘British Muslims more proud of nationality than other UK citizens’ g

Survey finds British Muslims are more optimistic and able to appreciate political freedoms LONDON

B

MAjID KHATTAK

RITISh Muslims feel a greater sense of national pride than an average UK citizen, according to the results of a new poll. While 79 percent of the Britons said they agreed with the statement “I am proud to be a British citizen”, the figure rose to 83 percent among Muslims. The poll of 2,000 people, conducted by the United Kingdom-based think tank Demos, was designed to find what symbolises the best of Britain.

The Muslim Britons were also found to be significantly more optimistic than the rest, with just

31 percent agreeing with the notion that Britain’s best days are in the past compared to an average of 45 percent. The poll suggests that Muslims are more able to appreciate the political freedoms than other Britons, as they can trace their family roots to far more oppressive and non-democratic regimes.

The results of the survey shatter the myth that Muslims are not patriotic.

British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan, one of the most prominent flag wavers among the nation’s Muslim population, often speaks in interviews about his sense of national pride.

The report found, “This optimism in British Muslims is significant as - combined with their high score for pride in being British - it runs counter to

a prevailing narrative about Muslim dissatisfaction with, and in the UK.” Around half of the people questioned for the survey said they believed Britain benefited from being a multicultural country. The survey also discovered that courteous and generous behaviour inspired patriotism more than institutions such as the monarchy or the BBC. British Women were found to be significantly more optimistic about the country’s future than men, while young Britons were found to be only 10 percent less patriotic than those aged over 65. Two thirds of the respondents said they had volunteered at least once during the past year and the act is the biggest single indicator of national pride.

News 09 ANP holding polls today PEShAWAR STAff rePorT

The Awami National Party (ANP) is holding its provincial election today (Wednesday), and the party’s current provincial president, Senator Afrasiab Khattak, is strongly contesting for a reelection. A total of 540 members of the Provincial executive Council, including members of national and provincial assemblies and party’s office bearers will cast their vote to elect their party’s provincial chief. The poll is part of a delayed election process to overhaul the party’s leadership at all levels, as the ANP had set October 15 as deadline to complete the process after a six-month extension granted by its Central executive Committee. The previous deadline was in March this year. ANP Provincial Information Secretary Arbab Tahir said the party had re-nominated both Asfandyar Wali Khan and Afrasiab Khattak for the offices of central and provincial presidents. he said the party’s general secretary would be decided on the eve of ANP’s electoral meeting. he added that majority of central and provincial office-bearers, including the central president had been re-nominated, but they would have to go through the electoral process.

Police dismantle human trafficking ring, 17 arrested BELGRADE AfP

Serbian police said on Tuesday that they have arrested 17 people and dismantled a human trafficking ring suspected of organising the transfer of hundreds of clandestine immigrants to the european Union countries. The migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Tunisia and Sudan were smuggled between July and November, the Serbian Interior Ministry said in a statement. The suspects took the migrants in groups of between 18 and 50 people from northern Serbia over the border to neighbouring hungary, it added. The 17 suspects will remain in custody, pending a judicial investigation.

Serbia lies on a Balkans route often used by criminals to smuggle people, drugs and weapons into the european Union.

Chilean Air force commander-in-chief visits Air Headquarters PeSHAWAr: female students presenting tableau at the Annual Schools Competition on Tuesday. STAFF PHoTo

Whither supremacy of parliament?

ISLAMABAD ISLAMABAD STAff rePorT

Chilean Air Force Commander-in-Chief General Jorge Rojas Avila visited the Air headquarters, Islamabad on Tuesday.

On his arrival at the Air headquarters, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman received the distinguished guest.

“A smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) presented the Guard of honour. After reviewing the Guard of honour, he was introduced to the principal staff officers of the Pakistan Air Force,” said a PAF statement.

The visiting guest paid homage to the martyrs of PAF by laying floral wreath on the Martyrs’ Monument at the Air headquarters. he also called on the air chief marshal in his office. Both remained together for some time and discussed matters of professional interest.

The delegation attended a briefing at the Air headquarters on the organization, role and functioning of Pakistan Air Force. Meanwhile, Australian Chief of Defence Force (CDF) General David hurley called on Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wynne on Tuesday. “Both the leaders discussed matters related to mutual cooperation between the two Armed Forces and the emerging geo-strategic environment of the region, with a special emphasis on Afghanistan,” said an Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

IrfAN bUKHArI

The government’s sincerity to its claims of upholding the supremacy of parliament is exposed from the fact that it has failed to implement reports of two special parliamentary committees regarding lease of Pakistan Railways land in Lahore and massive financial fraud in National Assembly employees Cooperative housing Society (NAeChS) despite the passage of more than a year and nine months, respectively.

PILDAT, a non-governmental organisation, in its recently released Citizens Reports on 3-year analysis of the performance of the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan at one point says: “During these three years, Special Committee on Railways chaired by Nadeem Afzal Gondal presented a bold and landmark investigative report about the alleged irregularities in the award of lease of a Railway Golf Club land in Lahore during General Musharraf’s time. house and Library Committee also did a good job while investigating alleged irregularities in an employees housing Scheme.” PILDAT did not say a word about government’s apathy towards these investigative reports and failure in implementing “bold” and “landmark” reports.

The report on Pakistan Railways land lease scam was tabled in the house in October 2010, but until today, the report has not been brought in the Lower

house even for opening a debate on the scandal worth billions of rupees.

Though the special parliamentary committee was constituted by NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza herself in April 2008 to probe into the lease of Pakistan Railways land to a private consortium for developing a world standard golf club in Lahore at throwaway price, the National Assembly Secretariat is reluctant to table its report in the house for debate.

The Special Parliamentary Committee on Railways, after a laborious task of around 28 months, submitted its report to the NA Secretariat in the first week of October 2010, recommending the termination of a contract pertaining to the allotment of the land to Royal Palm Golf and Country Club. A source in the National Assembly told Pakistan Today that PML-Q MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram, who was also part of the 20-member parliamentary committee, submitted two applications with the NA Secretariat under Rule 237 of the Rules of Business of the National Assembly for initiating a debate on the committee’s report in the house, but his request was turned down. The committee chairman also submitted an application in this regard in October 2010.

The source said the requests were rejected on the direction of a top government functionary who had close ties with the lessee’s family, currently running the Royal Palm Golf & Country Club. When contacted, Sheikh Waqas Akram confirmed that he had submitted

two separate applications in the 26th and 27th sessions, seeking a debate and voting on the parliamentary committee’s report, “but my applications were not entertained”.

The report had further recommended that action be initiated against former railway minister Lt-Gen (r) Javed Ashraf Qazi, former railway secretaries, chairmen and PR general manager, including Lt-Gen (r) Saeeduz Zafar, Khurshid Alam Khan and Maj Gen (r) hamid hassan Butt.

Similarly, officials of National Assembly Secretariat allegedly involved in depriving employees of the National Assembly of their hard-earned money in the name of a housing society have not been held accountable despite the house recommended punitive action against them. In February this year, the National Assembly through a unanimous vote endorsed a report of a parliamentary committee on house and Library that recommended strict disciplinary actions against the people who were found involved in robbing employees of the National Assembly in the name of a housing society.

Meanwhile, PILDAT in its report has raised questions over delay in passing new accountability bill saying that the public representatives in the parliament had failed to institute an effective accountability mechanism in the country. A bill originally titled ‘holders of Public Office (Accountability) Bill, 2009’ is before the National Assembly

since April 15, 2009. “Weak oversight of the parliament on crucial areas such as national security and foreign policy remains another area of concern,” the report said.

Analysis of the 3rd year of the National Assembly’s performance by PILDAT shows that in almost every sector of the legislative activity, the National Assembly witnessed a decrease in performance compared to that of the previous year. “A comparison of the legislative performance of the National Assembly with the Indian Lok Sabha for the calendar year 2010-2011 reveals that the Lok Sabha passed 60% more bills than the National Assembly of Pakistan during the same period,” it added.

Apparently, the decrease in performance can be attributed to growing political bickering between the treasury and opposition benches, as well as among ruling coalition partners.

Though PILDAT appreciated the performance of the Public Accounts Committee, it said the parliamentary watchdog had not met for the last fifty days, apparently due to indecisiveness of committee’s chairman over issue of tendering resignation from the chairmanship of the body.

“The Public Accounts Committee’s performance is also worth highlighting as the PAC held an average of 34 meetings per year during the past three years and it has cleared a backlog of audit reports for the past 9 years,” the PILDAT report said.

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10 News

wednesday, 23 November, 2011

SWAT/MArDAN: (left) UAe Ambassador essa buksh and Mingora Corps Commander Asif Yaseen Malik praying after unveiling the plaque to inaugurate the Government High School. (right) locals gather outside a girls school after a bomb attack on the outskirts of Mardan. onLIne/AFP

Balochistan to give land for Pak-iran gas pipeline QUETTA APP

The Government of Balochistan has agreed to give land for the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project. Official sources said on Tuesday that Federal Petroleum Secretary ejaz Chaudhry called on Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani.

The chief minister told him about his government’s decision to allocate land in Gwadar and Lasbella districts for laying the gas pipeline through Balochistan.

The pipeline will provide natural gas to the areas along its route, besides creating chances to install new gas-run power plants in the province. Raisani, however, demanded that the contract to lay the pipeline in Balochistan be given to local contractors in order to boost the local economy. he emphasised the need to strengthen relations with Iran, saying other regional countries would take benefit if Pakistan did not improve its ties with Iran. During the meeting, the two decided that the Gwadar Inter-estate Gas Company Limited would register the contractors in this regard, while Gwadar Industrial area would also be provided natural gas from the gas pipeline.

PMl-Q demands amendment to local govt ordinance laHORe: Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) has submitted a bill in the Punjab assembly secretariat, with a demand to amend the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 179-A (XIII), on Tuesday. The Punjab Assembly members belonging to PML-Q, Mohsin Leghari and Seemal Kamran, demanded that the Punjab government should give an ultimate date for holding the local body elections in Punjab. They said that since October 27, 2011, there has been no law pertaining to the local bodies system in the province as the 12-month deadline obtained through an ordinance has ended.STAff rePorT

US visa programme for Afghans comes up empty KABUL

A

reUTerS

FGhANS who have spent years working for US troops, diplomats or agencies say their lives are at risk for that service as soldiers head home, and fear a visa programme that promised an escape for those facing serious threats has failed them. The Afghan allies programme was approved two and half years ago for Afghans who have worked for the US government. Since then, of the 2,630 who have so far applied, 48 have been rejected and one has received an interview.

Not a single visa has been handed out under the programme.

Those still waiting said they have been marked as traitors by the Taliban, and fear they will be targeted if they remain when the last of foreign combat troops leave at the end of 2014.

“My real concern is when the coalition forces and American troops withdraw from Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Zaher Moshtaq, employed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for the past two and a half years. he applied for his visa more than seven months ago and has not heard back.

“I will be worried about my life.

That is my concern. If I have not heard anything from this programme I don’t know what my other option would be after 2014,” he said.

Interpreters working with the US military already face grave dangers in the line of duty. An Afghan interpreter died along with three foreign troops in southern Afghanistan in late October when an

Afghan soldier opened fire on them.

Outside work there are further threats. Assassinations of government and foreign military employees, or those seen as their supporters, are rising. Others receive “night letters” warning them to quit their jobs or they will be killed.

An interpreter, one of several Afghans who did not want to be named for fear of upsetting their US employer and visa hopes, worked for 7 years for US troops. An anonymous phone call two years ago labelled him a spy and told him to quit his job based in Kabul or “you will be killed.”

If Americans trusted Afghans enough to work with them in deadly Afghan environments, they should trust them enough to let them enter the United States, he said.

“We have helped them night after night, day after day. Now we want their hand,” he said. “If they don’t help us, every Afghan will know they abused us, used us.”

The US embassy in Kabul said it is putting more resources into processing applications for a scheme that allows for 7,500 visas to be issued until 2013, or 1500 per year.

A unit set up in September “has made significant progress in reducing the backlog” for initial stages of applications, said acting assistant chief of mission Alaina Teplitz.

“The pipeline is full and moving and it wasn’t previously,” she said. “It has not been simple, our feeling on this is we had to get this right,” she added, without specifying what problems have held up the programme since 2009.

The embassy said it has now issued 110 initial approval letters — the first

of five steps to getting a full visa, which requires checks of factors including background and employment.

But Jamshid Anwari, 26, an interpreter for the US military since July, 2006, said time is running out.

“I can’t trust Afghan national security forces, I can’t trust the police...I have to get out. If I live in Afghanistan, somebody definitely will kill me.”

Anwari first applied two years ago to an older programme that awards up to 50 US visas a year for Afghan interpreters, except for 2 years where 500 were allowed. So far a total of 797 interpreter visas have been issued, the US embassy said.

But when that programme was full, he applied to the Afghan Allies programme. he received an email ten months ago saying the initial mission approval letter would arrive shortly.

“I am still waiting,” he said. “It is frustrating.”

Afghans must prove an ongoing threat and at least one year’s employment by the US government to gain a visa.

The first half of this year was the deadliest for civilians yet in the last decade of conflict in Afghanistan, with nearly 1,500 killed, according to the UN. Some Afghans fear higher fatalities if the Taliban regains power either through US-backed peace talks or through force.

Moshtaq, 27, a former senior logistics manager for a USAID agricultural project, has spent $1200 on the visa applications for his family. he was warned by a Taliban commander’s brother in Kapisa to quit his job. “Most of the people knew that I had a senior position, which was a high risk,” he said.

Bomb attack on Mardan girls school kills policeman PEShAWAR AfP

A bomb attack on a girls’ school in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday killed a policeman, wounded eight others and destroyed a wall, police said.

The remote-controlled bomb was planted at the outer wall of the government-run middle school in the outskirts of Mardan in the troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

The bomb exploded after police arrived to investigate complaints about a suspicious plastic bag outside the school, which was closed at the time.

“One policeman was killed and eight other people including five civilians were wounded,” Zeshan haider, Mardan police chief, told AFP by telephone.

Three policemen were also wounded but no pupils were hurt. haider said the target was the school.

“The outer wall of the school was also destroyed,” he added.

The seven injured were rushed to District headquarters hospital, Mardan while one critically injured was shifted to Peshawar. The explosion was so loud that it was heard in the entire city. early on Tuesday, Taliban militants killed two anti-Taliban militia men on the outskirts of Peshawar, police said.

Dilawar Khan, head of the anti-Taliban militia, said that Taliban killed his men and dumped their bodies in Matni, one of the north-western areas where villagers have raised militias to fight the militants.

US removes maps from website showing AJK as part of Pakistan WAShINGTON oNlINe

The US State Department has removed ‘inaccurate’ maps of India and Pakistan from its website which did not reflect the correct boundary and geographical locations.

“We have taken the map (of India) off the website. It did contain some inaccuracies which were associated with the boundaries of some geographic features,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

“My understanding is that it was inaccurate, that it wasn’t drawn properly,” Nuland said. “We will put up the new map when we acquire one that we are confident is accurate,” she said in response to a question but did not answer

questions from where such inaccurate map came from.

“This was unintentional. We’re going to get the map fixed and put up a fixed map,” Nuland said. The State Department is also pulling out such maps from other sections of its website, she said, adding that this was unintentional.

The State Department pulled out from its website the maps of both India and Pakistan, as they showed Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as part of Pakistan, which was first reported by a major Indian daily, following which the Indian government had lodged a strong protest with the State Department. Under its A-Z list of countries, the website www.state.gov carries profiles and maps of all countries with which the US has diplomatic relations.

pakistani leaders should act on country’s constitution: us WAShINGTON o N lI Ne

Amidst the raging ‘memogate’ controversy in the country, the US hopes that Pakistani leaders will act in accordance with the country’s constitution.

“We always expect that Pakistan’s leaders will act in accordance with Pakistan’s constitution and in a manner respectful of its democratic institutions,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters at a news conference.

Nuland was responding to ques-

tions about the controversial memo which according to a Pakistani-American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, was drafted by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US husain haqqani on behalf of President Asif Ali Zardari.

The memo was delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen, the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, by former US national security adviser James Jones. haqqani has refuted his role in the drafting or delivery of such a memo, which expresses concern about an imminent military coup in Pakistan in the aftermath of the killing of

Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. haqqani has since tendered his resignation, which has not been accepted. haqqani is currently in Pakistan to explain his side of the story to the top leadership.

Nuland, however, refrained from making any comment on this issue.

“Our understanding is that Ambassador haqqani is home on consultation. So I would refer you to the Pakistani government with regard to his consultations and what he is specifically up to. You know, so beyond that, I don’t have any specific comments on this issue,” she said.

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

equal playing field for all parties Nawaz Sharif and his party are on the attack against the army in the garb of their criticism against the undefined establishment. Nawaz Sharif wants the establishment to be neutral in the political process. But we as a society generally and the political parties specifically can learn a great deal from the army and other military institutions.

A neutral establishment would mean that the traditional sources of power and influence such as wealth, connections, clan, religious power, sectarian divides, nepotistic advantage can have a free run over the masses and Nawaz Sharif having amassed his wealth would be free to do as he pleases with the not so well-off.

Our political parties and the society generally lack well defined processes for the upward mobility of new entrants. A boy from poor area in a kachi basti can

only hope to end up as a worker and a sloganeer for the wealthy political candidate and nothing beyond. On the other hand, a lower class or a lower middle class boy can at a young age through hard work and merit enter the Pakistan army, compete with the sons of generals etc, excel in his chosen field and can one day hope to command the army.

There is merit, there is a process and there is an equal and open playing field for everyone in the army. Do we have that in PML(N)? Imagine hamza Sharif being a middle class blue collar worker; what chance or future he would have in any of the existing political parties in Pakistan? The answer is none.

On the other hand, hamza Sharif could hope to enter army and through hard work and merit hope to climb the ranks and end up in command. Albeit he

if politicians were good could have faced court martial on any incidence remotely akin to the treatment meted out to Ayesha Ahad. But in our political parties he can still become a candidate for the chief minister. This brings out the irony in the criticism that PML(N) throws at the army. Our political parties should first adopt merit, fairness, openness and discipline in their midst and learn from the army in this regard.

What powers does one use in the army to get ahead? hard work and natural talent. What about the existing political structure? Money, connections, sifarish, biradari, force, violence, police, patwaris, guddees and more.

Do the political parties and their leaders follow the law in terms of the campaign budgets? No. Do you think that PML(N) hopes to contest the next elections based on merit and reason alone?

No. What PML(N) really wants is the dance floor to itself without any discipline enforcing bouncers who can check their excesses which are bound to be many.

So who will protect those who follow reason and merit? how do you create an equal playing field? In this respect the establishment does need to, without being apologetic, adopt the reverse discrimination policies such as: Free and equal airtime on TV channels for all the candidates including independents; State campaign funding for those less privileged; Strict penalties for those using biradri, thana, sectarianism or guddees and the like for political purposes etc.

ADIL SALEEM KHAN Lahore

Priority to education education is the basic pillar for economic growth and poverty reduction.

Without education no nation can take advantage from technology and can’t compete with others. education is an escape from poverty because educated people are offered better jobs and opportunities. Pakistan is suffering from a lot of problems and the literacy rate is another additional and big problem.

South Asia and South east Asia were at the same level of development in 1960s but the only difference was the literacy rate. In South Asia, literacy rate ranged between 9 percent to 15 percent while it was around 70 percent in South east Asia. east Asian developing countries almost reached their goal of educating most of the people of their country.

As a result, east Asian countries are well-beyond the comparable range of South Asian countries. The rapid economic progress in South Asian countries in 1980s was totally based on education.

In the education sector, the overall result is disappointing. Pakistan’s net primary enrolment rate is well behind its neighbours in South Asia; net primary enrolment rate is 65 percent in Pakistan, 75 percent in Bangladesh, 77 percent in India and close to 100 percent in Sri Lanka. From Pakistan’s net enrolment rate it is obvious that if the education rate in Pakistan does not increase, we will never get success.

There is shortage of trained and qualified teachers, especially female teachers. Teachers mostly have no interest in teaching and lack focus towards their work. The schools have lack infrastructure problems. These are but just some of the main problems which should be solved first to offer universal education to the nation. We must not forget that education is the only way to success.

AREESHA ABUBAKAR Karachi

levels of corruption The recently reported news of an Indian former minister of information technology being awarded five years imprisonment for bribery of only Rs three lacs compares favourably with a bribery of Rs 99 lacs to a son of a top gun in the form of an expensive car.

This shows the tolerance of corruption in India and Pakistan as in the latter case we have not heard as yet of any action whatsoever.

The authorities that be ought to think deeply of the malady inflicting our dear country when the high and mighty enjoy a free for all impunity against any kind of accountability for their case of ill-gotten wealth. It is our fate that billions are gobbled down by the ruling families of our politicians that shake the very foundations of our society.

The state of poverty is such that a poor sweeper of DhA requested for a 100 rupees to be doled out to him on the 20th of a month to buy flour for his family as his salary had been spent leaving him penniless. The abject poverty is the result of a sea of difference between the incomes of haves and have-nots and that is the bane of all evils in our society. One of the reasons for this is the runaway corruption in the country.

DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

Nowadays, every politician is playing his cards by discussing a variety of hot topics, like policy to combat terrorism, assets of his opponents, rampant corruption etc. PTI and PM(N) are particularly challenging the assets of opponent party's leaders. In his recent address, the President of PML(N), Mian Nawaz sharif also clarified the allegations about his assets.

Theoretically and ideally, politicians, civil and military high officials, businessmen and prominent social workers must work only for the welfare of this nation. They usually do not have any personal motives. As they want only to serve this country and have no individual incentives, it is not an awkward ambition that their assets must be known to every citizen. Besides, every citizen should also be apprised about their tax payments and bank loans.

If the Federal Board of Revenue puts up the information about these personalities on its site, it would be in direct access to the public, making the overall system more transparent. This will be helpful not only to curtail the increasing corruption but also to tell us how poor the politicians of this poor country are.

MUHAMMAD NADEEM Lahore

Peace in Sindh

In the middle of the road One of the traffic problems we face on daily basis is people stopping right in the middle of a crossing and arguing over who should get the right of way first. Only the other day, I was going to Liberty Market when the traffic came to a halt all of a sudden. Two drivers stood there arguing loudly without caring for the other people on the road. Most of the people stuck in traffic were using pressure horns, aggravating the situation overall. It

Politics of rhetoric The political scenario in Pakistan has changed. As PPP has spent almost four years in governance and political parties have started keeping their eyes are on the coming elections, they are busy in rallies and arranging public meetings to attract public’s attention towards their rhetorical speeches. The politics of cross-allegations have started among the political parties to humiliate or disgrace one another.

Recently, Nawaz Sharif addressed a public meeting in Dhobi Ghat, Faisalabad and claimed rhetorically to apply ointment on the injuries of the nation. he vowed to heal the nation’s sorrows claiming that he would root out corruption and bring the corrupt leaders to book. Will he bring himself to book for what he did in the past? Didn’t he embezzle during his governance? he levelled allegations on PPP and Asif Ali Zardari. The sitting government has pushed Pakistan to darkness. Corruption, inflation, energy crisis, gas loadshedding, hike in petrol prices and

wasn’t a scene one would like to be in.

There is an urgent need to bring to end such unethical and illegal practices. Only truly progressive societies care for rules and regulations so that the facilities that are offered for all can be taken proper advantage of.

KAAINAT FATIMA Lahore

various other crises have engulfed Pakistan due to PPP’s wrong policies. Unfortunately, we daily listen to various accords signed by the sitting governments concerning trade issues, energy issues and others but the accords disappear from the sight after a short time.

Countering Nawaz Sharif’s address, PPP’s Mr Babar Awan immediately called on a press conference. he claimed Nawaz Sharif’s public meeting in Faisalabad was the start of PML(N)’s end. how disgusting it is! Perhaps Mr Awan has forgotten his own tenure when he used to be secretary of Zia-ul-haq and made speeches in Dhobi Ghaat on behalf of the late general. Now he speaks against the general because of his position and other interests in PPP. Rhetorical speeches cannot solve nation’s problems. We condemn such politicians who just speak and do nothing for the nation. Also Mr Babar Awan should leave politics of the martyred and start politics of the alive. The PPP government always refers to their martyrs

but why they don’t think of the alive who are losing their lives due to bad governance and policies.

HAFIZ MUHAMMAD NOMAN Karachi

incident in Peshawar

I vividly remember those golden days when peace was a way of life in Sindh province. There were no enemies within, I mean the enemies of peace, progress and prosperity, as we have nowadays in the province. Indeed, men of character were the rulers. honest, upright and men of integrity were the officers. Men of ethics and morality were the teachers and preachers who used to preach "be the very best you can be."

Pious people who lived by the three Rs, – respect for self, respect for others and responsible for all their actions, were the tribal chieftains and sardars.

They used to strive for brotherhood and happiness and not for bloodshed. The criminals were cursed. The illegally living people who are criminalising the Sindhi society with the massive flow of weapons and other crimes were not mentored by the tribal chieftain, rulers and the topmost bureaucrats as is being done nowadays.

I hope against hope that perpetual peace will come to Sindh, including its capital city, Karachi, where we have no peace, only and only if three education, ethics and economics are accorded the topmost priority.

HASHIM ABRO Islamabad

Smoke-emitting vehicles

The recent horrific incident in Peshawar has made evident the treatment which is being extended to the police department. The mentioned incident involves an official’s son unleashing dogs on a police constable for damaging his car, while he was also probably deputed illegally. This sorry state of police is prevalent throughout the country as there is no respect for the law and the institutions present to uphold it. As a concerned citizen, it is my appeal to the relevant authorities to initiate reforms within the police, so they can not only function at their maximum level but also gain the trust and respect of the citizens.

HASSAN BASHIR Islamabad

The number of smoke emitting vehicles on the roads is increasing day by day but the traffic department seems ignorant of the problem. In the past, vehicles were checked annually for their fitness and the vehicles not coming to the standard were not given fitness certificate and they could not run on the roads. It is said that monthlies are being paid regularly to the traffic police by the owners of these vehicles. In return, they can do what they like on the roads.

The smoke emitting vehicles are a great source of pollution and a great hazard to peoples’ health. The traffic authorities should look into the matter and try to remedy the situation.

M FARAZ HAIDER Karachi

together with the Sindh Assembly’s sans debate resolution against “such people who have levelled false allegations” without naming Mirza, has all but put paid to earlier speculation.

Whether Mirza transgressed his initial mandate or was rogue to begin with is now only a matter of curiosity and a moot point, with party discipline having kicked in in the shape of Sharjeel Memon and Imdad Pitafi’s fates. It took frantic effort and activity on the part of the PPP to keep Mirza’s name out of the resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly. It was not for love of Mirza , but for his fol-

lowing in interior Sindh and his loyalists in the Sindh assembly who threatened not to sign any resolution naming him.

The PPP appears torn between the desire to keep the coalition intact with the MQM, and the need to keep Mirza and his interior Sindh voter base onside.

Given the fact that Memon and Pitafi were not the only Mirza loyalists representing Sindhi interests, theirs may not be the last casualties at the altar of keeping at peace with the MQM, and keeping peace in Karachi.

MALIHA FATIMA SAEED Karachi

PPP's politics in Sindh PPP’s Sindh politics continue to surprise with unexpected twists and turns in quick succession. The party has kept analysts guessing as to its intent vis-à-vis the Zulfiqar Mirza factor. Mirza’s initial outburst against the MQM and Altaf hussain a few months back, and the acceptance of his subsequent resignation from ministerial office and from the provincial assembly, elicited scepticism from most quarters with regard to him being a rogue element. It was widely believed that he would soon return to the inner sanctums of the party following a quiet period after having done the need-

ful. Only recently, that perception gained momentum when PPP’s Information Minister Sindh Sharjeel Memon was spotted emerging together with Zulfiqar Mirza from the heathrow airport.

Mirza was a man on a mission, who had travelled to the UK to present ‘highly sensitive evidence’ against the MQM, and perhaps specifically against Altaf hussain, to Scotland Yard in the Dr Imran Farooq murder case. Upon the MQM’s vociferous demand for an explanation, Memon was summoned back to Pakistan immediately and a decision taken to “accept his resignation”. This development,

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

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12 Comment grim reaping the seeds of discontent were sowed

T

his albatross was hung around our neck back in 1948 when the Kalat problem reared its head in Balochistan.

A budding problem that could’ve easily been talked out then, the solution to it was deemed to be boots on the ground. The deep state rushed in where angels would’ve feared to tread and thus began the mishandling of a situation that has progressively worsened and worsened over time. The 15 FC personnel killed there day before is but one indication of that. how and why has the situation been allowed to debilitate so? Well, one of the biggest problems is the peculiar nature of our state: While the writ of the civilian structure of our state has been eroded consistently in the province, the footprint of our military has expanded and the cantonmentisation of the region has increased unabated. People may point that it was a civilian prime minister with the ‘original sin’ of imposing a martial law there in the 1970s but they would be ignoring the fact that it has been the successive military regimes that have made a hatchet job of the issue.

The civilian government announced the Aghaz-e-haqooq Balochistan package which included unprecedented measures to address Baloch grievances. The government had its heart in the right place but, unfortunately, not its arms. how could this even begin to be effective when accompanied with abductions, target killings and torture of activists and journalists with impunity by the powers that be?

The sad thing is that in the aftermath of the killing of the FC personnel, we will choose to recycle the same rehashed elements surrounding discourse on the subject: foreign involvement, destabilising conspiracies and ‘fringe’ separatists (led by angry tribal sardars) who are taking up arms against the state. The policy makers will continue to see this problem as a ‘security’ issue which needs the stamp of more, not less, military might.

Who makes this decision is evident from the fact that we are ready to talk to the TTP but not to these nationalists. Not quite the right kind of selectivity.

If we keep conflating genuine Baloch grievances with militant separatism, there will come a time when it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It remains to be seen whether our socio-political context will allow to break free from the current paradigm and engage the Baloch in a purposeful manner.

A heavy cross tread with caution

I

nitial talks between the government and the TTP are reportedly being held with an aim to jumpstart peace negotiations. Interestingly, the news of talks had not come from any official source but from unnamed intelligence officials and a senior militant commander while the ISPR categorically denied such reports of talks. Given the public has not been kept abreast, one does not know what to make of the simultaneous announcement of a ‘ceasefire’ by the Taliban on one hand and the ISPR’s denial on the other.

The army is currently fighting the TTP in Khyber, Orakzai and Kurram Agencies. No day passes without reports of heavy casualties on both sides. Scores of non combatants have fallen victim in the cross fire. Thousands of displaced persons have taken shelter in camps set up by the government. The casualties among the security personnel include a number of army officers.

It is not uncommon during active hostilities to hold talks with the opposing side provided the objective is clear, in this case a complete end to militancy. But one needs to be careful about the hazards. To start with, the TTP is more of an umbrella organisation than a monolithic group. With one official TTP spokesman declaring the chapter of peace with government closed and another commander announcing a ceasefire, one has to wonder whether those claiming to represent the terrorist network are in a position to enforce any agreed deal. It is not enough to agree not to launch attacks inside Pakistan. equally important is to respect the government’s pledge not to allow Pakistan’s territory to be used against any other country. Will the terrorists agree not to wage jihad against the US, India or any other country from FATA? Will they agree to expel foreign nationals getting training inside the tribal areas?

Pakistan burnt its fingers by entering into a deal with the Taliban in Swat. Those negotiating peace agreed to allow a parallel judicial system in Malakand Division and the army units were withdrawn. The period of peace was used by the Taliban to regroup and refurbish their arsenal. Soon after, their leadership announced that Shariat Courts were not enough. They rejected the Constitution, rubbished the Parliament and Supreme Court and announced that they would continue to set fire to schools, destroy bridges and government installations and launch terrorist attacks till a system of their own choice was enforced all over Pakistan with the power of the gun. The deal cost Pakistan heavily and the army had to re-conquer Swat to establish the writ of the state. Given that the TTP have announced a ceasefire, talking to them makes sense in the situation. But those who are conducting the talks bear a heavy cross.

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, 23 November, 2011

The civil-military dynamic Troubled, to say the least

h

armonious civil-military interaction holds the key to political stability in Pakistan.

The civilian government has always found it difficult to keep a balance between the imperatives of democratic politics and the need of keeping the top brass of the military satisfied and happy. The civilian government has to pursue its political agenda in a manner that the generals are not alienated.

The domain of interaction between the civil and the military can be divided into three broad categories. First, there are policy areas that are of no interest to the military. These include the day-to-day administrative and civilian management affairs that do not impinge on military’s interest. Second, the shared decision making on foreign policy and security issues, defence budget and the military’s perks and privileges and related matters. Any unilateral decision making by the civilian government on these issues causes resentment in the military. They are, however, open to dialogue on these issues and accommodate the civilians. Third, the military top brass resist any civilian interference in their internal service affairs, discipline, promotions, posting and transfers, military intelligence services and disbursement of defence budget and their economic and business interests.

This is a flexible relationship that varies from issue to issue and also depends on the political and societal context of the issue under consideration.

The present civilian government made amateurish attempt in 2008 to place the ISI under the interior ministry. Within hours, this decision was reversed. In 2009, President Zardari made an offer of no-first use of nuclear weapons

By Dr hasan Askari Rizvi to India in total disregard to the shared civilian-military decision of not committing on this issue. Zardari was unable to follow-up on his statement.

The civil-military relations stabilised as the two sides adopted accommodative disposition towards each other.

Gradually, the military top command and the ISI took virtual control of Pakistan’s foreign policy towards India, Afghanistan and the United States as well as the operational side of countering terrorism.

The military already enjoyed primacy in the nuclear policy. however, the military needed civilian leadership because it wanted the civilian government to own and support its efforts to counter terrorism protect Pakistan’s

interests at the global level.

It appears strange that at a time when the federal government faces a difficult internal political situation and the economy is faltering, it could risk adventurism in its relations with the military. The military top brass took a strong exception to the reports that the presidency indirectly sought the support of the US military top command for dissuading the Pakistan military from staging a coup in the immediate aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden in the raid by American security personnel in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011. What perturbed the military most were the proposals in the memo for curbing the role of the military and regulating its counter terrorism role.

To register their resentment, the army and the navy chiefs did not attend the president’s dinner in honour of the visiting President of Turkmenistan (The air force chief and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee were out of the country) on November 14. The army chief held a meeting with the President on November 15. The army chief met with both president and the prime minister of November 16.

The president and the federal government are expected to adopt some corrective administrative measures. however, the military’s distrust of the civilian federal government, especially the presidency, is likely to persist. This will have negative ramifications for the civilian government and democracy in the long run. In order to pacify the top brass the civilian government may have to yield more space to the military that will further reduce the former’s role in foreign policy and security domains. There was no likelihood of military takeover after the Abbottabad raid. The raid exposed the weakness of the air force and the army because they could not make any military move while American helicopters stayed in Pakistan’s airspace for over an hour and the raid was conducted in the vicinity of army installations. The military was busy in damage control. At that time the military needed the support of the civilian government which was available. One wonders why some senior civilian leaders dreaded a coup?

It is not clear that the proposals for controlling the military and revamping the security and counter-terrorism arrangements in the memo were the brainchild of Mansoor Ijaz, known for shrewd manipu-

lation or were partly or totally suggested by the Pakistani diplomat in question.

Though it would be difficult to link these proposals directly to the president, the episode is an embarrassment for the Pakistani government and the president.

Any person who understands the dynamics of civil-military relations in Pakistan knows that the present federal government cannot implement any of the offers projected in the memo to control the military.

The military top brass are perturbed but they are not expected to remove the federal government because the direct assumption of power does not appear to be on their agenda, although they jealously guard their professional and corporate interests from the sidelines. The direct assumption of power exposes them to a lot of opposition within and outside Pakistan.

Further, the military is committed to counter-terrorism that requires civilian support rather than overwhelming civilian political order.

The memo issue has got entangled into Pakistan’s highly partisan politics, reducing the prospects of a dispassionate and professional investigation of the issue. The political parties opposed to the PPP are using this incident as yet another opportunity to pull down the government.

The PML(N) pursues contradictory policies. On the one hand, it wants to knock out the federal government and President Zardari and it is now using the memo issue to accuse the key officials of high treason. On the other hand, it wants to control the role of generals in politics. how can the military be contained if the political forces are divided and have declared war on each other?

No civilian government can assert its role over the military through political adventurism or by seeking external support.

It needs to put its economic and political house in order to create a credible civilian alternative to military rule that enjoys widespread popular support.

Civilian primacy cannot be guaranteed without changing Pakistan’s internal and external security profile, ensuring peace in and around Pakistan, and strengthening of the civilian order by political coherence, economic rehabilitation and popular legitimacy.

The writer is an independent political and defence analyst.

regional Press

Peshawar’s traffic mess Daily Khabroona

T

raffic problems have turned into a matter of grave concern in Peshawar nowadays. The misery of the travelling masses in reaching their destinations has doubled in the capital city, mostly because of the traffic thwarts that occur most frequently now.

The public while condemning the sufferings at the hands of traffic issues in the city has demanded of the government to promptly come up with tangible steps to deal with the problem at hand. Public figures have pointed at encroachments as a cause of the traffic problem and have said that the issue has lingered on because of the illegal bus stands that are present at Bacha Khan Chowk, Faqirabad, Ganj, Dwa Darwazai, and certain other parts of the city.

It has also been revealed that the authorities concerned are shutting their eyes to the mushrooming of unlawful terminals for various vehicles across the city. By greasing the palms of the officials, those involved in setting up illegal bus stands are allowed to function with-

out an iota of fear from the authorities.

Despite complaints being lodged time and again with the provincial government and the district administration of Peshawar, no concrete action has materialised against these illegal terminals. Due to the delay of the government, the problems of the people are increasing with each passing day. Government employees, businessmen and traders and students attending various educational institutions have to face the utmost difficulty while travelling and they fail to reach their destinations in time and lose the peace of mind required to focus on their work.

It goes without saying that the concerned authorities should show promptness of purpose in doing away with these illegal terminals. They should also take stern action against encroachments, the factor most exacerbating the traffic mess. If timely action is not taken, the public might come on to the roads to protest the apathy and inefficiency of the government in solving the issues which are annoying people from all walks of life.

-Translated from the original Pashto by Abdur Rauf Khattak

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Comment 13

on Iran’s nuclear crisis

In defence of Mir Jafar

A possible way forward?

loyalty has to be earned

By Shaukat Umer

N

ow that the furore created

by IAeA’S latest report on the Iranian nuclear program has subsided and the sword, temporarily at least, returned to the scabbard the international community needs to make another effort to explore avenues for resolving the crisis peacefully before it explodes on the world stage again.

For the moment, wiser counsel seems to have silenced the Israeli war trumpet. Objective assessment of the implications of military action has created a visible current of opinion against this option. The very real apprehension that surgical strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities would likely trigger an uncontrollable wider conflict has inducted a measure of moderation in the Western calculus.

Sanctions remain an option but their successful implementation would require the support of Russia and China who are opposed to the imposition of wider restrictions against the Islamic Republic. The current penalties have proven to be largely ineffective.

A balanced approach, which upholds Iran’s right to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes while eliminating that country’s potential for acquiring nuclear weapons needs to be explored. Given the heavy political overhang of this issue, the Secretary General of the United Nations will have to take the lead. he would need to come out of his self-imposed inactivity and take some bold initiatives in the higher interest of international stability and security.

The previous head of IAeA, Mohammad el Baradei, had made vigorous efforts to peacefully defuse the crisis. One of his

proposals warrants special mention. In February 2006, he put forward a package under which Iran would forego industrial scale enrichment limiting its programme to a small pilot facility and import its nuclear fuel from Russia for use in its power plants. This compromise would have effectively excluded weaponisation while giving Iran a face saving concession.

The Iranians indicated that though they would not, as a matter of principle, sign away their right to enrichment, they would be prepared to consider the suggested formula in all seriousness. hope evaporated when a month later President Bush announced that his administration would not allow any enrichment in Iran. even the act of symbolic enrichment in a fully safeguarded pilot facility was found objectionable. earlier, to allay fears of diversion, Iran had itself offered a range of concessions including more intrusive and stringent verification measures, renouncing plutonium reprocessing and immediate conversion of enriched uranium into fuel rods. More importantly the package included the key offer to operate the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz as a multinational fuel centre with the participation of foreign representatives. Most of these ideas were drawn from the findings of an IAeA Committee which was set up to investigate avenues to minimise the risk of diversion from peaceful applications to weapons programmes.

None of these useful suggestions were seriously pursued by Iran’s interlocutors.

Given that this issue carries the potential of creating incalculable afflictions in the region, a fresh effort for peaceful resolution needs to be launched. Since bilateral efforts between the eU and Iran have so far failed, the UN Secretary General should step forward. One possibility would be for him to appoint a Special Representative to pick up the threads from previous efforts. Mohammed el Baradei, provided he can be persuaded to spare time from his political preoccupations, is ideally suited

for this assignment. his deep personal knowledge of the relevant issues as also his stature and objectivity cannot be easily matched.

Prior agreement on two basic precepts would need to precede any such mission: acceptance of Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy and categorical renunciation by Iran of nuclear weapons. Within this paradigm, it might just be possible to successfully explore a mutually acceptable solution.

The right to engage in peaceful nuclear applications under appropriate safeguards is granted by the IAeA and the NPT. This universal right cannot be denied to Iran. Admittedly, it used deception in developing its nuclear infrastructure incurring widespread global distrust. The answer to this rests not in the denial of a fundamental right but in the enforcement of stronger verification measures to pre-empt diversion. A right granted under law cannot be taken away by any one or group of countries. Insistence on denying Iran the benefits of nuclear technology is no solution but a signal of disinclination on the part of the adherents of this view to a negotiated settlement.

Second, Iran would need to agree to give concrete and practical shape to its avowed renunciation of nuclear weapons. Mere pronouncements would not suffice. Iran would have to notify in advance its willingness to accept the most stringent verification mechanisms permitted under the IAeA system. This would be necessary to dispel the doubts created, in good measure, by Iran’s own past behaviour.

It is plausible that one or both of these assumptions may turn out to be incorrect but that is no justification for the Secretary General of the United Nations to fail to act on the mandate given to him by the Charter in his capacity as the custodian of international peace and security.

The writer is Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the United Nations and European Union.

He can be contacted at shaukatumer@hotmail.com

“A

d i s g r a c e to faith, a disgrace to humanity, and a disgrace to the motherland,” Allama Iqbal had said of Mir Jafar, who deceived Nawab of Bengal Siraj-udDaulah in the Battle of Plassey against Robert Clive in 1757. his stronger army surrendered without fighting, Mir Jafar became the Nawab, and the move laid the foundation of British rule in India.

Two centuries later, his name is a key phrase in Pakistan’s political rhetoric. All key political and military leaders of Pakistan have been accused of treason, especially those who oppose the military establishment. The most recent recipient of the title is hussain haqqani. haqqani is back in Pakistan with his side of the story. But Mir Jafar is dead. Does that mean we should not look at the situation he was in? Is loyalty essentially good and defection always bad? even in the case of Shah Mahmood Qureshi?

Mir Jafar’s boss Siraj-ud-Daulah was a 20-year-old drunken opium addict and a cruel tyrant.

“Mirza Mohammed Siraj, a youth of seventeen years, had discovered the most vicious propensities, at an age when only follies are expected from princes,” British historian Robert Orme wrote about Siraj-ud-Daulah’s youth in Ali Vardi Khan’s palace.” (History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan from 1745) “Taught by his minions to regard himself as of a superior order of By harris Bin Munawar being, his natural cruelty, hardened by habit, in conception he was not slow, but absurd; obstinate, sullen, and impatient of contradiction.”

During his youth in Ali Vardi Khan’s palace, Siraj-ud-Daulah “lived in every kind of intemperance and debauchery, and more especially in drinking spiritous liquors to an excess, which inflamed his passions and impaired the little understanding with which he was born,” Omre said.

Orme was no neutral observer. he had been a member of the St Fort St George Council in Madras and was instrumental in sending Robert Clive with a military expedition to Calcutta to avenge what is known as the Black hole incident of 1756. After recapturing Calcutta, Siraj-ud-Daulah had put

Man bites Dog

146 British men in a 20 square foot closed chamber. Of them, 123 had died by the next morning.

Reports of the incident are perhaps exaggerated, but even the French, who were friends with Siraj, did not have a favourable opinion of him.

"Before the death of Ali Vardi Khan the character of Siraj-ud-Daulah was reported to be one of the worst ever known,” Jean Law, who knew Siraj as chief of the French east India company in the West Bengal city of Cossimbazar, wrote in his memoir.

“In fact, he had distinguished himself not only by all sorts of debauchery, but by a revolting cruelty. The hindu women are accustomed to bathe on the banks of the Ganges. Siraj-udDaulah, who was informed by his spies which of them were beautiful, sent his satellites in disguise in little boats to carry them off. he was often seen, in the season when the river overflows, causing the ferry boats to be upset or sunk in order to have the cruel pleasure of watching the terrified confusion of a hundred people at a time, men, women, and children, of whom many, not being able to swim, were sure to perish.”

The British would refuse him admission into their Cossimbazar factory and their houses, he wrote, “because, in fact, this excessively blustering and impertinent young man used to break the furniture, or, if it pleased his fancy, take it away.”

A Muslim historian of the time, Ghulam husain Tabatabai, said the following about Siraj-udDaulah: “Making no distinction between vice and virtue, he carried defilement wherever he went, and, like a man alienated in his mind, he made the house of men and women of distinction the scenes of his depravity, without minding either rank or station. In a little time he became detested as Pharaoh, and people on meeting him by chance used to say, ‘God save us from him!’"

Peter harrington defended Siraj-ud-Daulah (Plassey 1757: Clive of India's Finest Hour) saying Siraj’s “alleged pastime of pulling the wings off birds or watching boats deliberately overturned so that he could watch the occupants drown” were not true. But he did quote Muslim historian Ghulam hussain Salim: “Owing to Siraj-ud-Daulah’s harshness of temper and indulgence, fear and terror had settled on the hearts of everyone to such an extent that no one among his generals of the army or the noblemen of the city was free from anxiety.

Amongst his officers, whoever went to wait on Siraj-ud-Daulah despaired of life and honour, and whoever returned without being disgraced and ill-treated offered thanks to God.” Why would Mir Jafar want to be loyal to such a tyrant? Siraj-ud-Daulah only “displayed facets of a character common to oriental dynastic politics of the period”, harrington says in his defence.

That might be true, but then, so did Mir Jafar.

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 g

g

Russia says new US sanctions on Iran unacceptable eU to slap sanctions on 200 Iranian firms, people

wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Iran blasts new Western sanctions TEhRAN AfP

A

N angry Iran and its powerful ally Russia on Tuesday slammed new Western sanctions imposed on Tehran over its suspect nuclear programme, saying they were illegal and futile.

The measures against Iran’s financial, petrochemical and energy sectors announced Monday by the United States, Britain and Canada amounted to no more than “propaganda and psychological warfare,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. They were “reprehensible” and would prove ineffective, he said. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, warned Britain and other Western nations “should wait for the Iranian reac-

tion” to the sanctions. Russia — which with China had blocked any possibility of the Western steps going before the UN Security Council for approval — said the sanctions were “unacceptable and against international law.” The declarations set the stage for a hardening of diplomacy over Iran and its nuclear drive. The issue has already generated speculation that Israel is mulling air strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

The United States and its allies cited a November 8 report by the UN’s International Atomic energy Agency asserting “credible” evidence of Iranian nuclear weapons research as justification for the new sanctions.

President Barack Obama said in a statement Monday: “As long as Iran continues down this dangerous path, the

United States will continue to find ways, both in concert with our partners and through our own actions, to isolate and increase the pressure upon the Iranian regime.” The country is already subject to four sets of UN sanctions designed to force it to give up uranium enrichment, along with additional, unilateral US and eU sanctions. The latest sanctions put more pressure especially on Iran’s financial sector, with the US and Britain invoking anti-terrorist laws to target the central bank and other financial institutions. Washington has declared Iran of “primary money-laundering concern” — a label that could dissuade non-US banks and businesses dealing with it under threat of US reprisals.

London said it was “ceasing all contact” between its financial system and

Yemen troops, tribesmen kill 14 Qaeda suspects

Syrian SNC says discussing post-Assad with Arab league

ADEN AfP

NICOSIA AfP

The opposition Syrian National Council said Tuesday it is organising a conference with the Arab League to prepare for a “transitional period” after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “The Syrian National Council, in cooperation with the Arab League, will organise a national conference to prepare for the transitional period in Syria,” it said in a statement. The SNC, the largest and most representative Syrian opposition grouping, said it was in talks with activists and dissidents to prepare for the transition “in accordance with the Arab League initiative.” “It was determined that the conference will issue a memorandum concerning the post-Syrian regime phase,” it said, adding this would ensure “inclusivity and the participation of all political forces in Syria.” On Monday, British Foreign Secretary William hague urged the Syrian opposition to unify to become stronger as he held his first meetings with their representatives in London. France’s foreign minister, Alain Juppe, issued a similar call last week, saying “the SNC must get organised” before it can win recognition from the French government. The SNC has so far only been officially recognised by the new postGaddafi Libyan authorities.

Bahrain opposition says repression ‘systematic’ DUBAI

that of Iran, while Canada said it was halting “virtually all transactions” with the Islamic republic. France said it, too, was “in favour of new unprecedented sanctions” and called for an embargo against Iran’s most vital export: oil.

Diplomats said eU sanctions on some 200 Iranian firms and individuals were being considered and would likely be announced at an eU foreign ministers meeting on December 1.

Russia’s foreign ministry said the Western move “seriously complicates moves for constructive dialogue with Tehran” on its nuclear activities. “We believe that the constant strengthening of sanctions has long ago gone beyond the bounds of decisions on non-proliferation tasks surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme,” it said.

SeoUl: lawmaker Kim Sun-dong (bottom) of the democratic labour Party detonates a tear gas canister towards the chairman’s seat at the National Assembly to try to stop the ruling grand National Party’s move to ratify a bill on a free trade agreement with the United States on tuesday. AFP

Yemeni soldiers and tribesmen killed 14 Al-Qaeda suspects, including two North Africans and a Saudi, in the country’s restive south, local officials and tribal sources said on Tuesday. The 119th Brigade commanded by dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar fired artillery shells and rockets on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, on Monday evening killing 11 militants. “The 11 Al-Qaeda members killed include a Mauritanian, an Algerian named Samir Boumedienne, and a Saudi named Al-Sayadi, in addition to two Somalis,” a local official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that the brigade launched the attack from the adjacent village of al-Kud. “Seven militants were wounded in the Zinjibar bombing,” another official said.

Meanwhile in the nearby village of Mudia, “three Al-Qaeda fighters were killed and two wounded when gunmen attacked a house where they were hiding,” a tribal source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The attack took place “shortly after an explosive device blew up in Mudia killing two armed tribesmen and wounding five others,” the source said, blaming Al-Qaeda linked militants for the attack. Tribesmen have joined government troops in battling the Al-Qaeda linked Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) group which overran Zinjibar in May. The militants have taken advantage of a weakening of central authority since January, when tens of thousands of Yemenis launched an unprecedented protest movement against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime. Despite months of clashes, government troops have so far been unable to take back full control of Abyan’s towns and cities.

AfP

Bahrain’s largest opposition group dismissed Tuesday a government statement acknowledging “instances” of abuse, saying the repression of mainly Shiite antigovernment protesters is “systematic.”

Al-Wefaq said in a statement the Sunnidominated government is trying to escape responsibility for “violations leading to numerous fatalities and hundreds of injuries on junior security personnel.” The Wefaq statement said the February and March bloody crackdown on the protest movement was “systematic” in nature and was a result of a “planned” government policy. Al-Wefaq argued that the sheer number and nature of “abuses could not have taken place without prior knowledge and consent of influential officials,” adding that the “ultimate responsibility lies with the top decisions makers rather than junior officials and soldiers.” On Monday, the Bahraini government acknowledged there were “instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees,” and said 20 officers are being prosecuted. Authorities say 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in the month-long uprising , while the Shiite-led opposition puts the death toll at 30. hundreds more have been injured and detained.

Turkish PM calls on ‘coward’ Assad to quit ANKARA AfP

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip erdogan Tuesday urged Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down, branding him a coward and warning that he risked the same bloody fate as had met other dictators.

In his fiercest criticism yet of his one-time ally, erdogan also ridiculed Assad for pledging to fight to the death against domestic opponents while being unwilling to risk his life to retake the occupied Golan heights from Israel. “Quit power before more blood is shed ... for the peace of your people, your region and your country,” erdogan told the Turkish parliament in Ankara. After weeks of mounting criticism of the Syrian president, it was the first time the

Turkish premier had directly called for his removal from power. he is the second leader of a neighbouring country to do so, after Jordan’s King Abdullah last week called on Assad to go. “Bashar alAssad is saying he will fight to the death. Fighting your own people ... is not heroism but cowardice,” erdogan said, referring to a recent interview with Assad published by the Sunday Times in London. “If you want to see someone who fought and died, take at look at Nazi Germany, take a look at hitler, take a look at Mussolini and Romania’s Ceausescu,” he said.

Adolf hitler died in his bunker as Allied forces closed in on Berlin, wartime Italian leader Benito Mussolini was strung up from a lamppost by an angry mob and Romanian communist dictator

Nicolae Ceausescu was executed by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989.

If the Syrian leader had failed to learn lessons from history, erdogan invited him to consider the more recent fate of Libya’s late strongman Muammar Gaddafi who was executed by his opponents after being chased from power. erdogan insisted that Turkey had no intention of interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs but added “we cannot remain indifferent” to what happens in a neighbouring country with which Turkey shares a 910kilometre border.

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

attack, erdogan said: “The Syrian administration did not prevent the attack on buses carrying pilgrims,” accusing Damascus of failing to protect its citizens. “Protecting citizens of a foreign country ... is a matter of honour for a country,” said erdogan. he called on the Syrian leadership to find the perpetrators of the attacks on Turkish diplomatic missions as well as the pilgrims and “deliver them to justice at once.”

Turkey last week joined the Arab League at a meeting in Morocco in calling on the Assad regime “to stop the bloodshed and to spare Syrian citizens from new acts of violence and killing”. In an interview with The Guardian published on Tuesday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who is on an official visit to Britain, said Assad had reached a “dead end.”

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

Egypt military rulers in crisis ahead of vote g

egyptians swarm for rally against military rule, two dead, hundreds injured CAIRO

F

AfP

ACeD by angry street protests, egypt’s military rulers are under fire from all political sides and are locked in their worst crisis since the fall of hosni Mubarak, ahead of next week’s crucial polls.

In a bid to defuse the crisis and contain the clashes, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) began an emergency dialogue with a number of the country’s political forces following a cabinet resignation. Prime Minister essam Sharaf’s government announced on Monday it had resigned “owing to the difficult circumstances the country is going through” — but the resignation has yet to be accepted by SCAF. Sporadic clashes continued on Tuesday for a fourth day running be-

tween police and protesters demanding democratic change with a mass antimilitary rally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The military council, which vowed to put the country on the path to democracy after it took over in February, is accused of seeking to embed itself in power and to perpetuate the former regime’s repressive system. “The SCAF was considered as the protector of the revolution, but it has become a burden on the revolution,” columnist Fahmi howeidi said. Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi has expressed “great concern” and called for maintaining a “political process to move towards democratic change” in line with the demands of egypt’s revolt. The developments have overshadowed preparations for November 28 parliamentary elections, the first since protests ended Mubarak’s 30-year rule in February, paving the way for the military to cede power to a civilian au-

thority. “If the polls are held as scheduled, they will take place in a climate of crisis,” said Mosaad.

Several politicians have urged the military to review its plans to develop a precise timetable for the transfer of power to civilians, by organising a presidential election before the parliamentary polls. But the Muslim Brotherhood, highly critical of the military rulers, are against any postponement of the legislative elections as they feel they are in a strong position. In response, the SCAF has renewed its commitment to hand over power to a democratically elected civilian authority once a president has been voted in, but it has not specified a date. “The parliamentary elections scheduled for next week are the first step in this process,” the military council said on Sunday night, suggesting that delaying the polls was not likely. egyptians applauded the military

for not suppressing the revolt against Mubarak earlier this year, but now the honeymoon is well and truly over in the face of unmet promises and a worsening economic crisis. Thousands of protesters swarmed Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Tuesday to demand an end to military rule, heightening tension after days of deadly clashes that threaten to derail next week’s legislative polls. “The army gives the impression that the fall of Mubarak was the result of a coup and not a popular revolt,” Mosaad said. The Muslim Brotherhood, egypt’s best-organised political force, said it would take part in the talks but there was no indication if those driving the protests would attend. Medics said another two people were killed early on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from clashes between security forces and protesters since Saturday to 26.

Parties agree to transition plan, says UN Yemen envoy SANAA AfP

The UN’s Yemen envoy said on Tuesday a Gulf sponsored power-transfer deal aimed at ending months of political deadlock has been approved both by the opposition and by President Ali Abdullah Saleh. “All the parties have agreed to implement the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative,” Jamal Benomar told reporters in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. “We are now discussing the practical arrangements related to the actual signing ceremony,” Benomar said adding that there would be a media conference later in the day where further details would be released.

Benomar, who arrived in Sanaa on November 10, has been working tirelessly to secure an agreement on the Gulf transition plan that calls for Saleh to hand power over to his deputy, Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur hadi, in return for immunity from prosecution for him and his family. Saleh’s continued refusal to sign the initiative has triggered months of political deadlock that has left the government in a state of chaos and the economy in shambles. The political crisis has also exacerbated tensions on Yemen’s streets where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have faced a brutal 10-month government crackdown that has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded. Benomar did not say when or where the signing ceremony would take place.

libya will not hand over Seif to iCC: NtC TRIPOLI AfP

CAiro: An egyptian man walks with a stick and holds up a national flag as demonstrators dodge tear gas during clashes in a Cairo street on tuesday. AFP

Tunisia enters new era of democracy TUNIS AfP

Tunisia entered a new era of democracy Tuesday with the inaugural session of its democratically elected constituent assembly, 10 months after a popular uprising ended years of dictatorship.

The 217-member assembly, the first elected body produced by the Arab Spring, was expected to confirm a deal whereby the Islamist ennahda party and two other parties split the country’s top three jobs between themselves. The lawmakers, who will be tasked with drafting a new constitution and paving the way to fresh elections, sang the national anthem as the session got under way in the Bardo palace on the outskirts of Tunis. “I give thanks to God, to all those martyred and wounded and those who fought so we could witness this historic day,” ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi told AFP after the opening.

After longtime dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali’s ouster in January and

internationally acclaimed polls on October 23, the inauguration marked yet another landmark in the Arab Spring trailblazers’ democratic revolution.

“This event is like a second independence for Tunisia,” said Ahmed Mestiri, an iconic figure in the struggle for Tunisia’s 1956 independence from France. Several hundred demonstrators, including relatives of some of the protesters killed in the uprising, nevertheless greeted the newly-elected lawmakers at the Bardo palace with a warning. “We’re watching you,” read some of the banners.

“We’re here to remind the lawmakers of the demands of the Tunisian revolution — dignity and freedom — and to tell them the Tunisian people have not handed them a blank cheque,” said Rafik Boudjaria of the Civic Front for Democracy and Tunisia. Despite ennahda’s assurances, some Tunisians have expressed concern that an Islamist-dominated Tunisia could roll back hard-earned rights such as the Code of Personal Sta-

tus, seen notably as one of the Arab world’s most progressive sets of laws on women. “Tunisia wants to hold up a model to society in which Islam is not a synonym of terrorism, fanaticism, extremism or hostility to democracy,” Ghannouchi said Sunday during a visit to Algiers. Speaking to AFP Tuesday, Ghannouchi — who does not sit in the assembly and insists he does not seek any official post in the new executive — promised to promote “a national reconciliation project... not a revenge project”. On Monday, Tunisia’s three main political parties formalised a power-sharing agreement hammered out in the aftermath of last month’s polls. ennahda’s hamadi Jebali is to take the post of prime minister, the Congress for the Republic (CPR) party’s Moncef Marzouki will become president and ettakatol’s Mustapha Ben Jaafar the chair of the new assembly. A popular uprising that started in December 2010 over unemployment and the soaring cost of living ousted Ben Ali, who had been in power 23 years and was thought to be one

of the world’s most entrenched autocrats.

The revolt touched off a wave of prodemocracy protests across the region and Tunisians anchored their revolution last month with a historic election for a constituent assembly. ennahda, a moderate Islamist party inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, holds 89 seats while the CPR and ettakatol control 29 and 20 seats respectively. The chamber’s freshlyelected members are also expected to pick two deputy chairs and adopt a set of internal rules based on a document drafted by the now-dissolved body in charge of political reform after Ben Ali’s ouster.

Challenging the bloc formed by the three main parties, the Progressive Democratic Party and the Democratic Modernist Pole, which have 16 and five seats respectively, will be main opposition forces.

A question mark still hangs however over the Popular Petition, a previously unknown group lead by a London-based millionaire which came out of the woodwork to clinch 26 seats, making it the assembly’s third largest party.

Libya will not hand over Moamer Gaddafi’s most prominent son Seif al-Islam to the International Criminal Court for trial, a minister said Tuesday as the war crimes court’s prosecutor visited the country. “In a nutshell, we are not going to hand him over,” interim justice minister Mohammed al-Allagui said when asked about Seif, who was captured in Libya’s far-flung Saharan south on Saturday after three months on the run. Trying Seif “is the special responsibility of the Libyan courts. It is the prerogative of the Libyan courts. It is a question of our sovereignty over our territory and our citizens,” said Allagui. his comments came as the ICC’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo was in Tripoli for talks on jurisdiction in the cases of Seif and Gaddafi’s spymaster Abdullah al-Senussi, both of whom are wanted by the court on charges of crimes against humanity. Allagui said the prosecutor was very welcome to have a meeting with Seif al-Islam in custody to allay concerns that he might be subjected to ill-treatment after his father was killed when he was captured last month. “If he (Moreno-Ocampo) asked for one, he would be most welcome,” the minister said.

But asked whether he expected to meet Seif during his current visit, the ICC prosecutor said: “No.” After talks in Libya’s second-largest city Benghazi on Tuesday, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said she had received assurances there would be no retaliatory mistreatment of Gaddafi’s longtime heir apparent. “The officials with whom I met assured me that Seif al-Islam was being held safely in a secure location, that he was being well treated and humanely treated... and that he would be tried and treated in a fair fashion and held accountable according to international standards,” she said. “So that was a clear-cut commitment that was made by the senior officials with whom I met,” the US ambassador added. Asked whether Washington had put any pressure on Libya’s new authorities to hand Seif over for trial by the ICC in The hague, Rice said: “We first of all think that these are issues for the Libyan people to determine.” Ahead of his trip, Moreno-Ocampo had said: “The issue of where the trials will be held has to be resolved through consultations with the court.

“In the end, the ICC judges will decide, there are legal standards which will have to be adhered to,” he added. Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council insists that Seif be brought to Tripoli where he could face the death penalty. The ICC, which received the green light to probe crimes in Libya through a UN Security Council resolution on February 26, can only prosecute perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity if a country itself is unwilling or unable to do so.

Moreno-Ocampo’s office said on Tuesday that it was continuing its investigation in Libya, which is nevertheless not a signatory to the ICC.

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16 Justin Bieber wednesday, 23 November, 2011

IN LIMELIGHT

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undergoes paternity test to prove innocence LONDON AGeNCIeS

Justin Bieber has undergone a paternity test. The 17-year-old singer has vehemently denied being the father of fan Mariah Yeater’s four-month-old son and wanted to prove his innocence by undergoing DNA testing. According to website TMZ, Justin took the test at a lab on Friday (18.11.11) under “very controlled circumstances”, which means it will be hard for Mariah or her lawyer to challenge it. Justin’s team will not settle or even discuss settlement with Mariah or her legal team and it is now up to her to provide DNA results from her son. Although Mariah dropped her lawsuit against the ‘Baby’ hitmaker, her lawyer stated they planned to pursue the matter privately. Justin previously revealed he was happy to take a DNA test to prove his innocence but insisted he would not “waste” his time meeting his accuser face-to-face because her fabricated claims were vindictive. Justin - who is currently dating Selena Gomez - said: “All this stuff is dealt with by my legal team. But if they want me to (take a paternity test) then I will.” When asked what he would say to Mariah if he could meet her, he said: “Nothing, I wouldn’t waste my time. I guess [she’s done this] for attention, but it’s not something I am interested in. These people are not worth my thought or time.”

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faiza Khan’s solo show open at Collectors’ galleria LAhORE STAff rePorT

A solo show by Faiza Khan opened at the Collectors’ Galleria at Al hamra Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. Faiza’s major work has been done in oil on canvas. Oil colours in fact, she admits, are her strength and fascination.

In the vivid coloured paintings displayed at the vast hall of Collector’s Galleria, Faiza’s paintings were seen by Lahore’s art circles and art critics. “My recent

work is a manifestation of my personal, socio-political activities and abomination faced by humanity,” says Faiza Khan, who is doing a fourth solo show since 2000. “I strive to highlight an eclipsed journey of emotions which often depicts oscillation conditions of women between integrity, grace and benediction, isolation, oppression and struggle for a life liberated from fear.” She says she particularly focuses on the sensitive portrayal of the weak in the society, especially women and children.

set to sign $4m Weight Watchers deal NeW YorK: Jessica Simpson is set to sign a $4 million deal with weight watchers to shed her baby weight. the singer-andactress is currently expecting her first child with fiance eric Johnson but before she fell pregnant, she had been in talks with the dieting firm to become its new face after gaining a few pounds. But Jessica, 31, will now highlight her weight loss by following weight watchers’ healthy eating plan when she gives birth early next year. Under the contract, Jessica would reportedly have one year to use the point-counting system to “lose a significant amount of weight”.

Jessica – who had a star-studded baby shower at her Hollywood home over the weekend – recently revealed she was “bigger than ever” but was loving showing off her new figure. She said: “i like wearing things more fitted. You want to show off your bump! it’s just so fun.” Previous faces of weight watchers include Sarah ferguson and Jennifer Hudson. AGeNCIeS

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Kangna’s

UK-based beau a mystery MUMbAI: Kangna ranaut has admitted to dating UK-based doctor Nicholas lafferty for over a year, claiming they were introduced by Kites actress Barbara Mori’s brother Kintaro. the actress has also admitted to being in love on a chat show, adding that despite being a world apart they keep in touch through video chat. while the two haven’t been spotted publicly or even with friends, the actress maintains that this relationship is for keeps. recently, a celebrity magazine printed a photograph of lafferty, provided to them by the actress. A little investigation on Kangna’s man on facebook reveals cosy pictures of him with another girl. in fact, there are pictures of him there with everyone except the actress. that could be because she is a public figure or that they want to keep photographs private. A common friend denies that Kintaro introduced the supposed couple, saying, “while he knows Kangna socially, he never introduced her to anybody called Nicholas lafferty. He’s a tad miffed that his name is being bandied about in this story. if she is seeing him, then why don’t her friends have a clue about him? this is really mysterious!” AGeNCIeS

NeW YorK: Hannah Yelland attends the ‘Hugo’ premiere at the Ziegfeld theatre. beverlY HIllS: Actress Jessica Alba hosts Swarovski elements and rodeo drive Holiday lighting Ceremony.

ToKYo: An employee of Japanese jeweller tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry unveils a 150 million yen (1.95 million USd) Christmas tree which will be on display till Christmas day. the 2.4 meter tall Christmas tree is decorated with heart and orchid shaped ornaments, ribbons and a star made of gold.

NeW YorK: lady gaga attends the 39th international emmy Awards.

Tel AvIv: A model presents a creation by italian designer roberto Cavalli during the tel Aviv fashion week.

Robert Pattinson wants to give kids

canine names

loS ANGeleS: robert Pattinson wants to name his children after dogs. the 25-year-old actor’s character edward Cullen becomes a father in his latest movie ‘twilight Saga: Breaking dawn Part 1’ but the British star believes at the age of 25 he is far too immature to be a parent right now and would probably call his children ridiculous names. Asked what he would name his own kids, robert said: “i have no idea. i still think like a 12-year-old. i have no idea what i’m going to do with a baby.

Yeah, i’d quite like to call them Killer like a dog’s name . [or] Butch!” robert - who is dating his ‘twilight Saga’ costar Kristen Stewart - recently revealed, “A father, yes. A young father, no. i have no experience with children. in my circle of friends, there are none.

And i don’t even have a little brother.

You should have seen me when we shot the scenes for ‘Breaking dawn’. there were two babies, not older than two or three weeks and i feared that i might break them.” AGeNCIeS

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asHeR ImTIaz

‘Zindagi To Hum Bhi Hain’ a visual treat LAhORE

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N an era dominated by colour, saturation and hue, 39K gallery takes the initiative of exploring life from black and white lens. Founded and run by Abdullah Qureshi, 39K is known for introducing new talent and as the originator puts it, “We provide a project space for artists. We invest our energy in finding new people and introducing them.” Keeping up with this tradition, their latest exhibition ‘Zindagi To hum Bhi hain’ showcases works of 7 unique photographers: Umair Ghani, an internationally famed photographer who is the brain behind the exhibition feels that colours can be overwhelming, “when we suck the colours out of a photograph and see it in black and white then

we begin to see the heart and soul of the picture.” Umair also feels that one has to be very courageous to work with black and white, “ you have to bring in something very engaging and intense- something which grabs you from the collar and says ‘look at me’” With this exhibition, Umair aims to bring revival of classical medium of photography. From the bubble maker to an abaya clad lady preparing to have ice-cream and a mosque showing how sects are concealing the true essence of religion, Umair Ghani demonstrates excellence as he captures everyday people in an extraordinary way.

Rabbania Shirjeel, a student of fine arts admits that she wasn’t exactly working around a concept, “I just took my camera along and clicked it on my way. Umair encouraged led me to polish my work.” Rabbania captured idle people on the streets, “We tend to ignore

sHIRjeel aNzaR these people, but the fact remains that they signify life too.” Rabbania now plans to continue photography alongside pursuing her aspiration of becoming a textile designer.

Shazia husain, an international photographer who won the gold medal in 2007 from Photographic Society of America and has had her work displayed in UK and USA portrays life in a rather unique way. While the other photographers capture people, Shazia’s pictures illustrate life in landscapes.

She believes, “in peace and in nature. I feel that as humans we are not as connected to nature as we should be. All of us seek peace in our surrounding and I have tried to provide an escape from the violent images by

my photography.”

Asher Imtiaz brings forth the livelier aspects of life in his photography. he highlights the dance, fun, innocence and beauty of life by capturing a dancing dervish, musician malang and a charming child among others. Asher strongly feels, “When there is no commercialism involved, you carry out photography with a different mood altogether.” he feels that good photography involves, “a little bit of skill combined with luck and commitment to photography”. he further adds, “It’s not about how cool a camera is but it’s rather about capturing a particular moment.”

Raj Jalal who has been in this field for 11 years beautifully captures the joys of people on the streets, “I’ve mostly taken portraits and my photographs are self-explanatory. They speak for themselves.” Two of his pictures which are sure to make you smile include one where a child is holding a fake currency but enjoying it as if it were real and another one which shows a child with a mischievous smile; tongue curled up and a running nose. Raj feels that a photographer must know some basic technicalities, but the rest of the skill comes with experience.

Sharjeel Anzar takes photography as a hobby, “When I see a subject or a scene I instantly form a mental picture as to whether it would look better in coloured or black and white. Sometimes the result of images from black and white photography is better than when one sees it with naked eye.” Sharjeel brings some amazing photographs to the exhibition capturing various activities: classical dance performer, a foggy night in Murree, lovers at a beach in Karachi and women running their errands on a regular day in Cholistan.

Dr. Javed Chawla captures the pot making process in different lights and different moods. he recalls capturing scenes in black and white during the pre-digital photography era using his enlarger and chemicals in a dark room to develop pictures. Dr Javed confesses, “Black and white photography fascinates me more than coloured photography.”

‘Zindagi To Hum Bhi hain’ will continue until November 29 at 39K Model Town from 10:00am till 7:00pm.

Meeting Pakistanis an unbelievable experience, says Sharad Kapoor LAhORE STAff rePorT

In the wake of some new film projects, Indian actor Sharad Kapoor visited Pakistan and held a press conference for journalists at the Press Club on Tuesday, where he said that his visit had been a positive experience and that he felt connected with the people here. “I feel honoured to be here and the press has given me a lot of respect,” he said to the media. “Lahore’s a great experience and I am glad that I chose to come to Pakistan.”

Sharad Kapoor says that he will be working on some new projects. his alliance in working in films with Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt both had given him an important boost in his career. “I am doing another film with Mahesh Bhatt in the coming months, while I am also working on a film called ‘Rajannayak’,” said the actor.

Super-toned Bipasha

beats Sonam in bikini race MUMbAI: looks like when it comes to exhibiting oomph wearing a red hot two piece, sultry Bipasha Basu has few challengers. the ultimate “bongshell” Bipasha feels great about her sexy image, but to slip into a bikini for ‘Players’ the actress had to compete with lissome beauty Sonam Kapoor. interestingly, the makers of ‘Players’ floated a contest to rate the sex quotient between the two actresses. in a recent media event, Bipasha let her cannons loose and animatedly talked about her sizzling bikini act to which Sonam had no option but succumb. So, finally it has emerged that Sonam will not be seen in the itsy-bitsy twopiece and it is Bipasha who would up the oomph quotient with her red bikini and fab toned body.

Sharing the saucy bit with media, Bips said, “we were made to have a race. whoever won the race, would get to wear a bikini,” she said, “i won, simple!” Meanwhile, Sonam had no qualms wearing a bikini but feels sorry as she doesn’t have a body to flaunt one. ZeeNeWS

Kapoor said that as he had been about to leave for Cuba, he had discovered that his visa in Pakistan had been accepted. he hurriedly changed his plans. “My experience in meeting the people of Pakistan was ‘unbelievable’, and that as an artist, though it was important to stay away from the political aspect, it was also an important issue that the relations between the two countries improve,” he said. “I would put my hands together and ask both the Governments to work on this because the people belong together.”

Concerning his meeting with PM Gillani, he said that he had received a very warm response from him, and said that he was glad that he felt right at home here.

“My film ‘Dastak’ with Sushmita Sen was a great one, especially because Bhatt’s direction. ‘Lakshya’ was also a good project to work in,” he said speaking about movies that he had done.

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Aisam-Bopanna lose again in AtP Page 23 world tour finals 5Th and FInal odI Today

Pakistan look to pile more misery on Sri Lanka ABU DhABI AGHA AKbAr

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heN Misbah-ul-haq and his charges step onto the field in what is their last but one encounter, Friday’s Twenty20 match their last of the ongoing rubber, they'd surely fancy their chances of heaping more misery on their hapless opponents. After the series-wrapping victory in the fourth game that must have deflated the Sri Lankans no end, the momentum definitely is with Pakistan.

Seemingly down and out, with Sri Lanka cruising after having made three-fourths of the required 200 with two of the best wielders of the willow in business on the crease and batting like a dream, who could have thought of Pakistan making a comeback? But that they did, on the back of Shahid Afridi’s superlative bowling. It was Afridi's day after a long time, and he wouldn't have allowed anything and anyone to stand between him and glory – not even the injury that at one point looked crippling. The result was another fascinating all-round performance that decisively changed the sway in favour of Pakistan.

The series having already been won, this is a dead rubber game. But other than maintaining the run that has seen just one reverse on this tour in the second overslimited game, there is added incentive here for Pakistan.

Winning the series 4-1 would help them jump ahead of england in the ODI rankings, and that is the kind of boost they'd be aiming for, particularly because england is the next foe come New Year. Being ahead in rankings thus would be of some psychological advantage.

The steadiness, and lately the never say die spirit, that the Pakistanis under Misbah have shown reflects well on the skipper and his man management. In the aftermath of the scandalous happenings of 2010, that culminated in the sentencing of the infamous fixing trio only recently, this is indeed remarkable that the captain has been able to maintain his composure, despite having to make do with some serious depletion in resources.

Calm and fair in his dealings, Misbah was effusive in his praise for Shahid Afridi, in his post-match press conference and later in his various interviews. "We were in impossible situation twice. When batting it looked impossible to get to 200. Afridi got us there, playing sensibly yet at a decent clip. Then bowling, it seemed there was no containing the Sri Lankans, and Afridi delivered again,” said Misbah.

And Afridi too acknowledged the skipper's influence on the team and on himself. "Misbah is leading the side very well. I came back with the objective of performing well and the manner in which the captain has handled me has indeed helped me settle down. This was very important,” said he.

Abu dhabi a good hunting ground for Pakistan StatS Corner S. PERvEz QAISER The fifth and final one day international match of the series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday (November 23). This day/night match will start at 16.00 hours (PST).

Pakistan have won nine and lost seven in 16 previous one day internationals at this ground. Sri Lanka on the other hand have won one and lost two in three previous one day internationals played here.

Pakistan have won two and lost one in three limited overs internationals against Sri Lanka at this stadium which cost $22 million to build and is arguably one of the world’s finest cricket grounds.

Pakistan recorded a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka when two teams met first time at this ground on May 18, 2007. In the next match two days later, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by 98 runs. Sri Lanka's only victory against Pakistan came in the third match of the series on May 22, 2007. The Islanders won the match by 115 runs. eACH TeAM'S PerforMANCe Team Pakistan Sri lanka Australia New Zealand South Africa India West Indies

P 16 3 3 3 2 2 3

W 9 1 2 2 1 1 -

l 7 2 1 1 1 1 3

Success% 56.25 33.33 66.66 66.66 50.00 50.00 00.00

HIGHeST INNINGS ToTAlS 313-9 Pakistan v Sri lanka 20-05-2007 303-8 New Zealand v Pakistan 06-11-2009 296-9 Sri lanka v Pakistan 22-05-2007 295-6 Pakistan v West Indies 12-11-2008 294-9 West Indies v Pakistan 12-11-2008

loWeST INNINGS ToTAlS 149 New Zealand v Pakistan 03-11-2009 171 Pakistan v Australia 27-04-2009 181 Pakistan v Sri lanka 22-05-2007 197 India v Pakistan 18-04-2006 197 Pakistan v Australia 01-05-2009

HIGHeST INDIvIDUAl SCoreS

ABU dHABi: Shahid Afridi (C) walks with teammates Umar Akmal (l) and Sohail tanvir during a practice session. AFP Though the win happened to gloss over it, but the point that Pakistan's batting collapsed to put itself in dire straits is not lost on the skipper. "We're analysing it, and I am also keen to get back my own form with the bat".

Such self-analysis and accent on everyone contributing the team's success is perhaps the reason Pakistan has consistently held its own against almost every opposition that it has come across in recent times.

131 brendon McCullum (NZ) v Pakistan 06-11-2009 122 Chris Gayle (WI) v Pakistan 16 -11-2008 116* Shane Watson (Aus) v Pakistan 03-05-2009 116* Kamran Akmal (Pak) v Australia 03-05-2009 113 Chris Gayle (WI) v Pakistan 12-11-2008

beST boWlING IN AN INNINGS 5-35 Douh bollinger (Aus) v Pakistan 01-05-2009 4-27 lonwabo Tsotsobe (SA) v Pakistan 29-10-2010 4-33 Saeed Ajmal (Pak) v New Zealand 09-11-2009 4-59 Iftikhar Anjum (Pak) v West Indies 16-11-2008 3-15 Michael Clarke (Aus) v Pakistan 27-04-2009

Pakistan thrash Netherlands to qualify for Women’s World Cup LAhORE STAff rePorT

Pakistan entered the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers after beating the Netherlands by 193 runs in the quarterfinals at Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Fatullah Dhaka, on Tuesday.

With this victory Pakistan women’s team qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 scheduled to be played in India and for ICC T20 Championship to be played in 2012 in Sri Lanka.

Apart from Pakistan, Sri Lanka has also joined South Africa and the West Indies to play in the big event.

Pakistan women’s team won the toss and batted first. Pakistan Women’s 277-4 in 50 overs, Javeria Khan 67, Bismah Maroof 66 not out, Nida Dar 57 and Sana Mir 49. e Lanser took two wickets. Netherland in response were 84 all out in 37 overs. Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar took three wickets each. Bisah was named Player of the match.

On this marvelous achievement Chairman PCB Ch. Zaka Ashraf and the Chairperson Women Wing PCB Mrs. Bushra Aitzaz have congratulated the team and have praised their performance whole heartedly.

In 2008, Pakistan team participated in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers which were held in South Africa and after the event the team

qualified for World Cup which was held in Australia in 2009. Therein the team played exceptionally well and made its presence felt and proceeded to the super sixes stage. In this event the team improved their ranking from no. 10th to no. 6th in the world.

After the ICC Women World Cup, 2009 and the (2) ICC World T20s, the ICC decided that instead of six teams, only the top four teams will qualify for the next World Cup to be held in India in 2013.

The ICC introduced another ranking tournament i.e. (ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge) in 2010 wherein Pakistan also participated but unfortunately the team’s ranking deteriorated from no. 6th to no. 8th in the world.

The ICC Women World Cup Qualifiers being held in Bangladesh were crucial for the future of women cricket in Pakistan as in this tournament the fate of the team had to be decided.

All the teams ranked between 5th to 10th are participating in this event including the Asian Cricket Council teams which have done well in the past in ACC tournaments.

Although West Indies and Sri Lanka are the participants of the tournament but they have already qualified for the ICC World T20, 2012 to be held in Sri Lanka because West Indies topped the ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge tournament and Sri Lanka got the automatic qualification as of the hosting right of the ICC World T20, 2012.

dHAKA: Pakistan players celebrate their victory over the Netherlands.

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Sports 19

Lorgat to leave ICC chief executive post DUBAI AfP

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NTeRNATIONAL Cricket Council chief executive haroon Lorgat is to stand down from the position on June 30, 2012, the ICC announced on Tuesday. The 51-yearold former South Africa first-class cricketer, took over as ICC chief executive in 2008 and already has a one-year extension, but he has made it clear he does not want another one.

“Lorgat has informed the ICC nominations committee, chaired by ICC President Sharad Pawar, that he will not seek to renew his term of office which expires on 30 June 2012,” said a ICC press release.

Lorgat will step down after the 2012 annual conference of cricket’s governing body scheduled in Kuala Lumpur in June after agreeing to only one year extension despite being offered another three year term.

Lorgat said he wants to leave the post after the successful hosting of this

year’s World Cup. “My sense is to step aside after having delivered a successful ICC World Cup and the new global ICC strategy which is now in place,” Lorgat was quoted as saying in the release.

The World Cup staged in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh was won by India in April.

Lorgat said the ICC had also dealt with the important issue of illegal spot-fixing in the sport during his tenure.

“We had to protect the integrity of the game and restoring the reputation and image of the ICC and having dealt decisively

with the spot-fixing issues, delivered a highly successful World Cup and adopted a new global strategy, I feel the time is right to move on.”

Pakistani players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were sent to prison for their roles in the illegal betting scam which marred the Lord’s Test against england last year.

Lorgat said he believes he has has left a legacy for posterity.

“I am hopeful that the independent governance review currently in progress and due to be published after the next Board meeting would find acceptable outcomes and thereby

leave a legacy for future generations,” he said.

“Overall I feel personally satisfied with having successfully led the ICC through some difficult issues.”

The ICC nominations committee has decided to engage an executive recruitment agency to advertise and identify a successor to Lorgat. The recruitment process will be managed by the ICC Vice-President, Alan Isaac.

ICC president Sharad Pawar lauded Lorgat’s contribution.

“Lorgat has steered the ICC through some tricky situations, such as the location of the ICC headquarters in Dubai, the response to the Lahore attack (on the Sri Lankan team in 2009), several doping issues, the recent spot-fixing hearings and the highly successful ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

“I am satisfied that his contribution to the ICC and to cricket leaves us in a solid position. The game owes Lorgat a debt of gratitude for his good leadership,” said Pawar, who will also be replaced by Isaac in June 2012.

Pakistan blinds down India again LAhORE STAff rePorT

Pakistan blind cricket team outplayed India by 127 runs in the 1st ODI of the three-match series at Islamabad’s Shalimar Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

India won the toss and put Pakistan into bat. India got early breakthrough when Masood Jan was run out after scoring eight runs. Then Muhammad Jamil and Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, who was later named the man of the match, built the innings slowly and steadily. After the 10th over, both changed their gears and hammered Indian bowlers around the park. The pair added 256 runs for the second wicket and completed their centuries in the way. Muhammad Jameel was caught after scoring 116 runs while Muhammad Zafar was bowled by Vikas after

lahore City Jr Squash begins laHORe: The Lahore City Open Junior Squash Championship started here at the Punjab Squash Complex courts on Tuesday with matches played in different age categories. Dr. Arif hassan Khan was the chief guest of the opening ceremony. On the opening day around 32 matches were played in under-13, 15, 17, 19 age categories while under-19 girls matches were also played. The quarter-final matches in some of the age groups will be played today (Wednesday).

ResUlTs: Under – 13 BoYS: Ahsan Ayaz beat Zain ramza 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 15 Min; Ahmad Ali Khan beat wajid Akbar 11-2, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 10 Min; Mehran Javaid beat Sikander Khan 12-10, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9 11 Min; ismail rauf beat Amir Khan 16-14, 11-7, 11-8 10 Min; Shoaib Khan beat Umair gul 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 10 Min; Bilal Khan beat faizan Khan 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 12 Min; Shehzad Umar beat faizan Khan (sindh) 11-6, 11-8, 11-10, 12-11, 4-11, 5-11 10 Min; Kashif Asif beat Marwan 11-9, 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 19 Min UNder–11 BoYS: Sumaid rasheed beat Abdul Qadir 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 10 Min; Uzair rasheed beat Hamza islam 13-11, 119, 11-7, 10 Min; Abbas Zeb beat Salman Saleem 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 12 Min; Mansoor Zaman beat fawad Khalid 4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 13 Min; Suleman gillani beat daroosham Khan 11-2, 11-7, 11-3 10 Min; Arsalan ramzan beat Shahzad Khan 11-7, 13-11, 11-9, 11-6 11 Min; Samiallaha beat Zeeshan gul 4-11, 11-8, 4-11, 12-10, 11-9 15 Min; Ali Karamat beat Usmar Hussain 11-6, 11-5, 11-9` 10 Min UNder–15 BoYS: rishwan beat Haseeb gul 11-3, 16-14, 911, 11-5 35 Min; Shan Ullah beat Javaid Ali 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 27 Min; Abbas Shukkat beat Umar Alauddin 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 12 Min; israr Ahmad beat Hamza Bhatti 11-8, 11-6, 12-10, 33 Min; Arif gul beat farsat Hussain 4-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 35 Min; waqas Yousuf beat Arsalan Aqeel 10-12, 11-5, 8-11, 118, 11-7 35 Min; Hasnain Ali beat Abdul Basit 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 30 Min; Zeeshan Khan beat Hamza imtiaz 10-12, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5`40 Min UNder–19: Monisa Nasir beat Aroma Kamran 11-5, 11-3, 111 15 Min; Neha Mukhtar beat Noor ijaz 11-3, 11-6, 11-1 10 Min; Samar Anjum beat Areesha 11-2, 11-1, 11-2 11 Min; riffat Khan beat Aqsa 11-1, 11-0, 11-1 10 Min; Nimra Shahid beat rooma 11-1, 11-0, 11-4 10 Min; Amna latif beat Nastasia iqbal 11-1, 11-3, 11-4 12 Min; Kaiynat liaqat beat Aiman Shahbaz 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 10 Min; fatima Munir beat rabia Mehboob 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 19 Min.

scoring 142 runs. Anees chipped in with 61 runs not out. Mahendra and Shekhar Naik took one wicket each.

India in reply lost their way when inform batsman Parakash was bowled by Abdul Razzaq on the first ball of the innings. Thereafter, Pakistan curtailed Indian scoring rate and restricted them to 285 runs for eight in stipulated 40 overs.

Ganesh was the top scorer with 69 and Shekar Naik remained not out on 67 runs. Abdul Razzaq and Muhammad Waqas took 2 wickets each while Muhammad Idrees claimed 1 wicket.

Pakistan won by 127 runs Pakistan now lead the Brien holden Vision Pakistan-India ODI series by 1-0.

Rehman Malik, Federal Minister of Interior was the chief guest of the occasion and distributed prizes among the players.

The 2nd ODI of the series will be played on November 24 at the same venue.

ABU DhABI AfP

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul haq expressed his hope Tuesday that there could soon be a resumption of Test matches between his country and India, stalled after the terrorists attacks on Mumbai in 2008.

“Of course, we’d like to play against India,” Misbah said. “It’s a very important series for both players and fans.”

“It’s always good fun to play in these contests. The interest is high, I hope it happens because for all fans and players it is a good occasion.” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf is due to meet Narayan Srinivasan, his counterpart in India’s Board of Control for Cricket in India, in Chennai early next month to discuss the possibility of a resumption of ties sooner than later. Both countries are slated to play in International Cricket Council (ICC) Future Tours Programme but are hard pressed to find a slot because of India’s hectic schedule.

Misbah, speaking here ahead of Pakistan’s fifth and final one-day international against Sri Lanka on Wednesday with an unassailable 3-1 lead, said the current Pakistan team was more mature than the one which lost to India in the Cricket ODI World Cup semi-final in March. “That World Cup team wasn’t so different to this side, maybe one or two changes,” he said. “That also had teamwork and commitment in it.

razzaq a doubt for B’desh tour ABU DhABI AfP

iSlAMABAd: Pakistani players celebrate their victory. AFP

Amir named fighter of the year lONdON: Unified WBA and IBF light-welterweight world champion Amir ‘King’ Khan has scooped the 2011 British Boxer of the Year Award. The Bolton star shook off stiff competition from contenders such as Ricky Burns, Carl Froch, Nathan Cleverly and Jamie McDonnell who have all enjoyed a fruitful year.

Khan, though, has had a highly successful 12 months, having beaten Argentine bruiser Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas last December before his homecoming to england in which he saw off the challenge of undefeated european champion Paul McCloskey in Manchester. The highlight of the year, however, came against tricky New Yorker Zab Judah in July, when he unified the 140 pound division after a sensational performance in which he stopped the IBF world champion in the fifth round. “I’m very proud to have won the British Boxer of the Year Award,” said Khan. “It means a lot to me to be recognised with this award and

gives me the motivation to strive for even more success in my career,” he said.

“I would like to thank my team and fans for helping me pick up this award, without their help I would not be able to reach the levels I have over the last year. Freddie Roach, my trainer, has been a key figure in helping me become a unified world champion and I’m sure that the next 12 months will get even better for me. The Olympic silver medallist was unable to make it to the event as he is currently in training ahead of his December 10 showdown with Lamont Peterson in Washington. Speaking from his Los Angeles camp, Khan is confident ahead of a bout that he hopes will kick-start a big 2012. “Training is going great and I feel ready to do the business on December 10.

Lamont Peterson is a tough opponent and is a fighter with a very big heart, which showed in his comeback against Victor Ortiz,” Khan said. AGeNCIeS

Qasim Zia to contest PoA polls SPM Stags hammer Mt greens

LAhORE STAff rePorT

President Pakistan hockey Federation Qasim Zia will contest the election of President Pakistan Olympic Association being held next March, a TV channel claimed on Tuesday.

"Qasim has taken the decision of contesting the elections of the Pakistan Olympic Association,” a wire agency claimed Tuesday.

Current President Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif hassan’s term ends in March and the names of Maj Gen (retd) Mohammad Akram Sahi and Qasim Zia have emerged as the likely candidates.

Khyber PK minister Syed Aqil Shah was also reported to be a potential candidate for the POA presidency.

Misbah wants to have a go at india

Qasim, these days is seen busy in having separate meetings with the officials of national sports federations as well as the provincial sports associations.

laHORe:SPM Stags beat Model Town Green by eight wickets in the 3rd SPM Lahore Veteran Cricket League at Model Town Club Cricket Ground on Tuesday. Batting first, Model Town got 125 for eight in 30 overs. Tauseef Mughal 36, Sohail Daar 25, Mian Amjad 17 and Zubair hussain 18 runs not out. Javeed hayyat 3 for 20, Zia-ud-din 2 for 12, Shahid Anwar 2 for 19 and Shakeel Malik 1 for 29 wickets. In reply, Stags reached 126 for two in just 12.2 overs and won the match. Kamran Khan added 82 not out and Asad Iqbal 32. Yaari Khan 1 for 45 and Mansoor hameed 1 for 43 wickets. hanif Muhammad, Khurrum Siddique and Waqar Ahmad were the scorer. STAff rePorT

Allrounder Abdul Razzaq was Tuesday ruled out of Pakistan’s two last matches against Sri Lanka, throwing into doubt his participation in the tour of Bangladesh starting next week.

The 31-year-old injured his shoulder during the third day-night international against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday and missed out on the fourth match in Sharjah two days later.

“Razzaq has injured his shoulder and will be returning home,” assistant manager Naushad Ali told AFP. “he will undergo rehabilitation in the academy in Lahore.”

Pakistan lead the ODI series 3-1 ahead of the fifth and final match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The teams also play a Twenty20 here on Friday.

The Pakistan team are scheduled to then play a Twenty20 international against Bangladesh on November 29, and go on to also play three one-day internationals and two Tests there.

Razzaq has so far played 46 Tests, 265 one-day internationals and 26 Twenty20s in a career that started in 1995.

Dropped after the World Cup for his poor performance, Razzaq scored 11 and three and took two wickets in the three matches he played against Sri Lanka, and a replacement will be called up should he not be able to make the tour.

Jayawardene to miss fifth odi aBU dHaBI: Injured middle-order batsman Mahela Jayawardene has been ruled out of Sri Lanka’s last two matches against Pakistan and returned home, team manager Anura Tennekoon said on Tuesday. The 34-year-old batsman hit a half century in his team’s 26-run defeat in the fourth match in Sharjah on Sunday, but played in some discomfort after injuring his knee. Tennekoon said Jayawardene has returned home to regain fitness ahead of next month’s tour of South Africa. “After Sunday’s game Mahela’s injury got worse so he has returned home,” Tennekoon told AFP. “Chamara Silva was brought in as cover.”

Pakistan has an unassailable 3-1 lead in the one-day series with the fifth and final match to be played on Wednesday. AfP

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wednesday, 23 November, 2011

Sabir sets new record in National Cycling LAhORE STAff rePorT

Sabir Ali of WAPDA created new national record in the 59th National Cycling Championship being held here at the Cycling Velodrome.

The event that rolled into action on Monday is being organised by the Army Sports Directorate under the supervision of the Pakistan Cycling Federation. And on day two of the event, Sabir recorded the fastest time in 40 Kms Individual road time trials final clocking 53 min. 02 sec. 06. he was followed by Asad of Army and habibullah of SSGC for the second and third places.

In the second event of the day, WAPDA won the 1000 metres team sprint with a time of 1 min. 10 sec. 92 while SSGC and Railways were second and third respectively.

Results of Day TWO 40 Kms Individual Road Time Trials (Final)Sabir Ali, WAPDA, 52 min. 42 sec. 23, haroon, WAPDA, 53 min. 02 sec. 06, Asad, Army , 54 min. 18 sec. 23, habibullah, SSGC, 54 min. 28 sec. 88, Ismail, Army, 55 min. 57 sec. 07, Zameer, SSGC, 56 min. 36 sec. 23.

1,000 Meters Team Sprint (Qualifying Round) WAPDA, 1 min. 10 sec. 92, Army, 1 min. 12 sec. 38, SSGC, 1 min. 13 sec. 72, Railway, 1 min. 13 sec. 95.

SSgC, PM Athletico victorious in PPl LAhORE STAff rePorT

As many as three matches were played in the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Tuesday.

In the opening match PMC Athletico played draw with hBL with both the teams failing to get a goal in the Agriculture University, Faisalabad ground.

SSGC thrashed GPA 5-2 at the Korangi Baloch Football Stadium, Karachi. SSCG victory leaders were midfielder Shahzad who scored two goals in the 27th and 37th minute, forward Asim Fayez who got the goal in the 36th minute, Sabir Khan found the net in the 53rd minute and defender Shah Nawaz came up with the fifth goal in the 89th minute.

GPA responded through defender Shah Nawaz in the 67th minute and forward Asim Sarwar in the 69th minute.

Pak Steel beat PPWD by one goal at the Korangi Baloch Football Stadium, Karachi. And the only goal of the match came from forward Abdul Wahab in the last minute of the first half.

PiA, Port Qasim off to winning start in NBP gold Cup Hockey LAhORE STAff rePorT

As many as three matches were played on the opening day of the All Pakistan NBP Gold Cup hockey Tournament that started at Faisalabad hockey Stadium.

The inaugural ceremony of the tournament was performed by Rana haji Muhammad Mazhar Khan, President District hockey Association Faisalabad, during the match between PIA and Army. On the occasion, Organising Secretary Olympian Rana Mujahid Ali, Tournament Director Olympian Khalid Bashir, Olympian Danish Kaleem, Olympian Malik Shafqat, Olympian Anjum Saeed, International Shahid hussain, International Shahzad Chishti and officials of DhA were present. In the first match of the event, Railways and Balochistan remained goal-less while Port Qasim beat heC 5-4 after the winners led 3-1 at half time. Port Qasim scorers were Ali Azlan Khan (2 goals), Abbas haider (2 goals) and hanif Shahzad (1) while heC goals came through Rizwan, Ali hassan, Zeeshan Ashraf and Sundar Mustif.

PIA beat Army in a close-contested match 2-1 while they were one-all at half time.

PAleMBANg: A view of the closing ceremony of the 26th Southeast Asian games. AFP

Chelsea, Arsenal look to clinch last 16 berths PARIS AfP

C

heLSeA and Arsenal have enjoyed contrasting domestic fortunes recently, but both can seal their places in the Champions League last 16 with wins against German opposition on Wednesday evening.Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Norwich left the Gunners with ten wins and one draw in their last 12 matches. “We have some way to go to show that this is the right way,” said manager Arsene Wenger, sounding a note of caution.

“Five weeks ago we were 17th in the league and I had to answer a question about whether I thought we would battle relegation. “At the time I said no but in football things change quickly. We are back in a stronger position.”

Next they play host to Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund in a Group F showdown at the emirates Stadium, where they have not lost in 25 matches in the group stages of the competition. Arsenal will be through to the last 16 for the 12th season running with a win, but they can expect a tough test against a Dortmund side who won 1-0 away to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga at the weekend. Mario Goetze scored the only goal in that game, and the 19-year-old will be the focus of much of the attention in North London, with Arsenal said to be keen to prise him away next summer.

The game comes in the middle of a massive week for Dortmund, who entertain Schalke in a local derby on Saturday, but Jurgen Klopp’s side really need a win to keep alive their chances of advancing.

In the other game in Group F, Marseille entertain Olympiakos in the knowledge that a win could be enough to take them through depending on the result in London. At Chelsea, the pressure on manager Andre Villas-Boas is increasing after they slumped to a third defeat in

four Premier League games at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday. The Blues travel to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen in Group e knowing that a win will see them through to the knockout stages of a competition that owner Roman Abramovich

is so desperate to win.

Their poor domestic form has led to suggestions that the Russian oligarch may once again look to appoint Guus hiddink in a bid to rescue his side’s season, but

Villas-Boas insists he is not concerned about job safety for the moment. “he didn’t pay 15 million euros to get me out of Porto and another fortune to get me out of Chelsea,” said the Portuguese in the wake of the Liverpool defeat. “I have said we have set out to build something new at this club and the club is committed to what we are building for the future.” however, Abramovich’s patience will be seriously tested if Chelsea slip up at the BayArena.

In what remains a very open group, Valencia are currently third on five points, but a win against Belgian outsiders Genk at the Mestalla will keep them firmly in contention ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge next month. Milan and Barcelona are already through from Group h, but meetings between the two clubs are always eagerly anticipated and Barca can clinch first place in the section with a win at the San Siro. The Catalans, who travel without the injured Andres Iniesta and the suspended Dani Alves, are preparing to come up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first time since he left them last year.

Curtain falls on troubled games JAKARTA AfP

A mesmerising closing ceremony for the Southeast Asian Games Tuesday was unable to lift the pall cast over competition by the deaths of two fans in a stampede at the headline football final.

Fireworks and dancers lit up the centrepiece stadium in Palembang, which cohosted the Games, but there was a sombre undertone to the event after the stampede that proceeded Indonesia’s clash with Malaysia for football gold.

Two victims died in the crush before the Monday night match in Jakarta when stadium gates were opened and the crowd surged to get in, Jakarta police told AFP, adding that a boy taken to hospital had slipped into a coma.

Games organisers Inasoc had warned of potential flashpoints ahead of the highlyanticipated final -- which defending champions Malaysia won 4-3 on penalties after the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 after extra time.

The tragedy took the gloss off a glittering Games for the hosts, who collected 182 golds out of the 554 available in a bulging total medal haul of 476 overall. It meant Indonesia topped the Games medals charts for the first time since 1997 -- when they last hosted the competition -- and left 2009 winners Thailand trailing on 109 golds, with Vietnam further back on 96.

The biennial event saw athletes from 11 nations compete for hundreds of medals, regional bragging rights and a rare chance to shine on the international stage.

Indonesian athletes scored memorable victories in many of the headline track and field events, while also cleaning up in niche sports such as paragliding, roller skating and traditional Indonesian martial art pencak silat.

The hosts also swept the drama-filled badminton competition, while their under-23 football team stirred the passions of the nation with its run to the final.

But the Games struggled to shake off nagging organisational problems, including a delay in building venues and a lack of accommodation and transport in the South Sumatran city of Palembang.

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Sports 21

Edwards, Bravo make Windies day

watch it Live TEN SPORTS Pakistan v Sri Lanka 5th ODI 04:00PM

TEN SPORTS UEFA Champions League: AC Milan v Barcelona 12:00AM

NEO CRICKET India v West Indies Test 3 Day 2 09:00PM

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

Mullings hit with lifetime doping ban

MUMBAi: west indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite (r) plays a shot as indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh dhoni watches. AFP MUMBAI AfP

I

tsonga beats fish to keep semifinal hopes alive LONDON AfP

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga remains in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals after the French sixth seed defeated America’s Mardy Fish 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 on Tuesday. Tsonga, who lost his opening Group B match against Roger Federer, still has to beat Rafael Nadal in his final fixture on Thursday to have a chance of advancing, while Fish faces an early exit from the season finale at London’s O2 Arena. The result also means defending champion Federer will be guaranteed a semi-final spot if he defeats Nadal in tonight’s match. With both players beaten in their opening games, this encounter was a battle for tournament survival as the loser would be eliminated.

Tsonga started in aggressive mood, earning three break points before finally breaking at the fourth attempt with a brilliant winner on the run.

The 26-year-old had out-lasted Fish to claim a five-set victory in their only previous meeting, in the US Open fourth round earlier this year, and this was another rollercoaster clash. Fish broke straight back in the next game, only for the American eighth seed to surrender his own serve again to give Tsonga a 2-1 lead.

Tsonga became the first player to hold serve in the next game, but the often-erratic Frenchman crumbled when he served for the set.

N-FORM Kirk edwards and Darren Bravo capped an impressive West Indies batting performance with unbeaten half-centuries on the opening day of the third and final Test against India on Tuesday. edwards (65 not out) and lefthanded Bravo (57 not out) put on 117 for the unfinished third-wicket stand as the West Indies reached 267-2 at stumps in their first innings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The tourists suffered a setback even before the first ball had been bowled when key batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was ruled out of the Test due to a calf injury.

But the West Indies made the most of winning the toss on a good batting track, with teenager Kraigg Brathwaite (68) and Adrian Barath (62) adding 137 for the opening wicket to give their team a solid start.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin removed the well-set openers in four overs in the afternoon session, but there was no respite for India as edwards and Bravo executed attractive shots.

“We lost two wickets, but we have two batsmen who are well set. We would like to dominate tomorrow with the two batsmen getting big scores. I will say it is the best pitch we have played on this tour,” said Brathwaite.

“It’s good to get two fifties against India (in the series). It has done good to my confidence.”

India took the second new ball in the 85th over, but failed to break the edwards-Bravo stand. edwards, who scored a century on Test debut against India in Dominica in July, extended his impressive run in Test cricket as he has so far made two hundreds and three half-centuries in six matches. he has so far hit 10 fours in his 117ball knock in the ongoing Test.

Bravo, who cracked a brilliant 136 in the last Test in Kolkata, was lucky to survive on 33 when he was dropped by Rahul Dravid at lone slip off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. he hit seven fours in his seventh Test half-century.

India struggled for success on a first-day pitch which had little in it for the bowlers as they went wicketless in the opening and last sessions.

“It was a good wicket and I feel there will be a lot of runs scored in the next four days,” said Indian debutant paceman Varun Aaron.

“One has to work hard for wickets, especially on such a pitch.”

The hosts had to wait for more than three hours for their first wicket, with Ashwin having Barath caught behind.

Barath, who scored 62 in the last match, hit eight fours in his second successive Test half-century.

Ashwin struck again when he removed Brathwaite, with Virat Kohli holding a bat-pad catch at forward short-leg. Brathwaite cracked eight fours in his third Test half-century.

Brathwaite, who turns 19 next month, was dropped on 57 by Venkatsai Laxman at backward short-leg off Ash-

win, but failed to capitalise on the chance as he could add only 11 more runs.

The West Indies openers batted patiently in the morning, with Barath playing some handsome shots especially against Aaron and Ishant Sharma in the opening hour.

Barath fluently drove Aaron through the covers and turned him to fine-leg for fours before cover-driving Sharma for another boundary. he continued to punish loose deliveries, cutting and driving Ashwin for two fours in an over.

The hosts lead 2-0 in the series after winning the opening Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs. The West Indies made two changes from the side that played in the last Test as they brought in batsman Kieran Powell and paceman Ravi Rampaul in place of Chanderpaul and Kemar Roach.

SCoreboArD WeST INDIeS 1st innings: A. barath c Dhoni b Ashwin 62 K. brathwaite c Kohli b Ashwin 68 K. edwards not out 65 D. bravo not out 57 15 eXTrAS (b4, lb10, nb1) 267 ToTAl (for two wickets; 91 overs) fall of wickets: 1-137 (barath), 2-150 (brathwaite). bowling: Sharma 17-6-33-0 (nb1), Aaron 16-3-47-0, ojha 26-7-55-0, Ashwin 27-2-86-2, Sehwag 3-0-23-0, Kohli 20-9-0.

ToSS: West Indies UMPIreS: Tony Hill (NZl) and bruce oxenford (AUS) Tv UMPIre: Shavir Tarapore (IND) MATCH referee: David boon (AUS)

KINGSTON AfP

Disgraced Jamaican sprinter Steve Mullings received a life ban from athletics by a three-man disciplinary committee from the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) on Monday. The decision came four days after Mullings, who turns 29 later this month, was found guilty of an anti-doping violation by the same panel. Mullings was found guilty of taking the masking agent furosimide, a powerful diuretic that showed up in his urine sample after he finished third in the 100-meter final at the Jamaican national championships on June 24. That marked the second failed drug test for Mullings, who was banned for two years in 2004 after testing positive for an elevated level of testosterone, also at the Jamaican championships, while a student at Mississippi State University in the United States. The panel of attorney Lennox Gayle, football administrator Peter Prendergast and Dr. Japheth Ford had delayed their final verdict in the case to Monday while they awaited details of the prior doping case. Mullings, who is based in Florida and trains alongside US sprint star Tyson Gay, won the 200m crown at last June’s Jamaican meet but was not part of the Jamaican team that competed at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in late August and early September.

Aisam-Bopanna lose again in ATP World Tour Finals LONDON AGeNCIeS

Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-haq Aisam and India’s Rohan Bopanna wasted too many opportunities to go down 6-7(6), 3-6 to second seeds Michael Llodra of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in a dramatic Group B match of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals here on Tuesday.

Both the pairs had lost their opening round matches. With Aisam and Bopanna losing two in two, it is virtually the end of road for the fifth seeded Indo-Pak express. Aisam and Bopanna had beaten Llodra and Zimonjic at the recent BNP Paribas Masters, en route to the Paris title, but could not stretch their winning run here.

The first set went with serve with holds till 4-4, when three mistimed volleys put Llodra under pressure on serve.

Llodra and Zimonjic saved one break point, but at sudden death deuce, Bopanna ripped a backhand winner down

the line past Zimonjic.

In the next game, Aisam over-hit a smash long of the baseline at set point, 40/30. In the sudden-death decider, Llodra hit a backhand winner past Bopanna for 5-5.

The set was finally decided on a tiebreak. Llodra and Zimonjic took a 2-0 lead, before Bopanna and Aisam won six straight points to 6-2. They squandered three set point chances.

Aisam and Bopanna then lost their concentration. At 6-5, Bopanna lob forehand went inside the video scoreboard above the Centre Court. Zimonjic thought he and Llodra had won the point, but the ball dropped into play and Llodra fired a smash winner at Aisam. After consultation with the umpire and the ATP supervisor, the point was replayed. Llodra and Zimonjic completed their streak of six points to win the 50-minute set, when Bopanna hit a forehand volley long.

In the second set, Llodra and Zimonjic created one break point opportunity in

loNdoN: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan (r) watches as his partner rohan Bopanna of india (l) returns against Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and his partner Michael llodra of france. AFP the third game and the latter hit a backhand return winner past a net-rushing Bopanna.

The Indian then went on to strike two unreturned serves to hold for 2-1.

Aisam came under fire at 2-2, dropping his serve. After Zimonjic held to love

for a 5-3 lead, Aisam double-faulted twice to lose his serve for the third time in the match that last 84 minutes.

They drop to a 38-25 season record, highlighted by three titles. The pair also lost their round-robin opener to Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor on Sunday.

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Confusion surrounds reports of govt-taliban talks ISLAMABAD

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No law defends corruption: SC g

Court says govt not fearing nRo verdict, but its effects g Terms nRo a ‘stinking black law’

STAff rePorT/AGeNCIeS

ISLAMABAD

There was utter confusion over the government’s purported peace talks with the Taliban, as both the government and the Taliban claimed to be engaged in talks with each other, while some members of both sides categorically denied that the two sides were holding any talks. A senior Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander on Tuesday said the organisation had ceased fire around the country in support of nascent peace talks with the government, but the organisation’s Mohmand Agency spokesman Sajjad Mohmand said the reports were untrue.

The Inter-Services Public Relations also came up with a denial, further strengthening the fallacy of the news, but things became unclear again after Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government was not directly holding talks with the Taliban, however, “some messages have been sent by the Taliban, which should be reviewed by all stakeholders”. earlier, the TTP commander said the group’s ceasefire had been in effect for the past month.

But his statement adds credence to recent announcements by the Taliban that they were in peace talks with government intermediaries. however, TTP Mohmand spokesman Sajjad Mohmand rejected media reports that the TTP was holding peace talks with the government. The spokesman said that after media reports about the talks, he had contacted TTP chief hakeemullah Mehsud, who had rejected the claims. A spokesman of the ISPR said the army was not in any kind of negotiations with the TTP or its affiliated militant groups.

“Such reports are concocted, baseless and unfounded,” he said, adding that any contemplated negotiation or reconciliation process with militant groups had to be done by the government.

But the interior minister said, “A few days ago, we received a message from the Taliban for talks and yes we also offered them. We are happy they have realised that killing innocent people is wrong and the only way forward is the path of peace.” The minister said he could not say much on the issue, adding that all stakeholders would sit together to find an amicable solution.

MASooD reHMAN

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IReCTING the government to explain in writing by today (Wednesday) how the federation was affected by the verdict that declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) unconstitutional, the Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that no law could be made in the world to protect corruption and looting.

This was observed by a 17-member larger of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that was hearing the government’s review petition against the apex court’s December 16, 2009 verdict that declared the NRO, promulgated by for-

mer military dictator Pervez Musharraf, unconstitutional. The court observed that under the constitution, no political party was the federation. “Does the federation want to protect the people involved in criminal cases by protecting the NRO?” the bench said, noting that the government did not fear the NRO verdict, rather it was afraid of its [NRO verdict’s] effects.

“When no NRO beneficiary came to the court against the NRO verdict, why is the federation defending this stinking black law?” the court observed. The federation’s counsel, Babar Awan, argued that the court had no authority to order reopening of cases abroad. he asked the court to remove the words about Benazir Bhutto from its verdict. he said all political parties benefited from NRO, adding that this law was promulgated by the

president under law. The court asked Awan to tell which para of the verdict was against the government. The chief justice remarked that the NRO was a “stinking black law” and the incumbent government improved its credibility by not supporting it. he said the apex court also supported the government by giving verdict against the black law as well as other cases of corruption. Awan submitted that the PML-N government, through its attorney general, wrote letters to the Swiss government in 1999 for reopening of money laundering cases against PPP Cochairman and President Asif Ali Zardari.

Under the law, he said the Supreme Court or any other office like that of the attorney general’s could not issue orders for reopening such cases abroad.

To a court query, Awan said when

After meeting Nawaz, Qureshi leaves ‘N’ guessing LAhORE NASIr bUTT

Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart and foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi kept the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership guessing about his future plans as he met PML-N President Nawaz Sharif at Raiwind on Tuesday.

It was expected that Qureshi would announce that he is joining the PML-N at the much-hyped meeting, but the meeting seemed to have been inconclusive in this regard. Recently Nawaz had expressed the desire to meet Qureshi after the latter had given positive signs vis-à-vis joining the PML-N. Political analysts believe Qureshi will take some time before putting his cards on the table. They said right now, Qureshi was trying to forge a better deal with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and the PMLN, and for now keeping all his options

open. Qureshi held an over two-hour long meeting with Nawaz at Raiwind, yet no announcement came from him about joining the PML-N. Qureshi also held a one-on-one meeting with Nawaz, which was later joined by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

The PML-N chief and Qureshi exchanged views on various issues, and Qureshi reportedly expressed conformity with the viewpoint of the PML-N and supported them, yet he made no announcement to join the party. Later, while talking to reporters, he avoided replying to questions regarding his future political association and said instead that he would make an announcement regarding his political future at the Ghotki public meeting. however, he supported the stand of the PML-N that the assemblies had lost their effectiveness and being part

of them was useless.

On the other hand, PML-N sources claimed that Qureshi was attempting to get a lucrative offer for his group of PPP dissidents, who have assured him of their full support. They said even though the PML-N leadership had expressed willingness to have Qureshi and his followers become part of the PMLN, they refrained from showing an extraordinary desire for him to join the party. Meanwhile, PPP sources said the ruling party would suffer no fallout if Qureshi joined the PML-N or the PTI, but if he formed a group of dissidents within the PPP ranks, it would spell trouble for the PPP. Those close to Qureshi claim he is working on various options, including joining the PML-N or the PTI, but prefers to establish an independent stature in southern Punjab with the help of his PPP followers.

‘Stable, sovereign Afghanistan in Pakistan’s interest’ IslaMaBad: Reiterating support to the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said an independent, prosperous, stable and sovereign Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s interest. however, he emphasised that Pakistan did not want an Afghan solution that could destabilise Pakistan as was the case last time when three million Afghan refugees took shelter in Pakistan and were still in the country. Talking to a five-member UK delegation led by National Security Adviser Sir Peter Ricketts at the Prime Minister’s house, Gilani said Pakistan wanted an “early return of the Afghan refugees with honour and dignity”.

The prime minister said an Afghan delegation would soon visit Pakistan, adding that the government would extend full cooperation in the investigation of the murder of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was a great friend of Pakistan and said his murder was a setback to the peace process. The meeting, part of the enhanced strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the UK, also discussed other components including counterterrorism cooperation, trade and commerce relations, financial macro economic stabilization, development assistance and cultural cooperation. Meanwhile, in a separate meeting with the UK delegation, President Asif Ali Zardari urged the need for enhancing strategic and cooperative ties between the two countries on shared interests and mutual respect. AGenCIeS Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

the hearing of NRO case was in progress, Kamal Azfar, then counsel for federation, had apprehended the interference of GhQ and CIA. he said threats received by Kamal Azfar by Abu Bakar Zardari were of a minor nature.

Justice Nasirul Mulk noted that Kamal Azfar had withdrawn his concerns the very next day. Justice Tariq Parvez insisted Awan tell the court in which para of the NRO verdict a single word or content was used against the federation. however, Awan failed to answer the query. The court repeatedly asked Awan to tell where the federation was deprived of its due right by the NRO verdict. however, Awan could not furnish a clear reply, except contending that the federation was not heard properly in the NRO case.

india accuses iSi of continued support to terrorist outfits NEW DELhI AGeNCIeS

India alleged on Tuesday that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) continued to support various terrorist outfits in order to spread violence in India. “... As per available intelligence inputs, Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, particularly Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT), Jaish-e-Mohammed, hizbul Mujahideen etc., continue to receive support from ISI,” Indian Minister of State for home Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha in a written reply, reported PTI. he said the Indian government was committed to combating terrorism, extremism and separatism in all its forms and manifestations as no cases, genuine or imaginary, could justify terrorism. The government, he said, had taken various measures in this regard. Replying to another question, the minister said according to available information, investigation into terrorism related cases by state police forces and disclosures of arrested persons revealed names of a few terrorist elements in Bihar having links with the LT. “On the basis of inputs, four LT operatives of Bihar were identified and arrested between 2004 and 2009,” he said. sPY MOdUles: Singh also told the Lok Sabha a total of 46 Pakistan-backed spy modules were busted by the security forces since 2008 in the country. however, Singh said, no cases of espionage specifically by people working in foreign companies had been reported.

govt mulling candidates to replace Haqqani ISLAMABAD STAff rePorT

With husain haqqani finally resigning as Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington on Tuesday, the government has started to consider who will replace him, and along with Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, another important figure being considered for the important position is former InterServices Intelligence (ISI) chief General (r) ehsanul haq. Until the decision is finalised, Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in Washington Iffat Gardezi will be the acting ambassador. Also among the candidates for the position are former army chief General (r) Jehangir Karamat and former ambassador Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Dunya News reported. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Brussels Jalil Abbas Jilani, Ambassador to Kabul Muhammad Sadiq, and hussain haroon, the country’s permanent representative at the United Nations, are also being considered for the position. A Pakistani diplomat who asked not to be named said the decision on the new envoy to Washington would be made in consultation with military leaders and it could take some time, keeping in view the importance of the office and the current state of relations between Pakistan and the US.