e-paper Pakistantoday 07-11-2011 Islamabad

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Attack on Iran ‘more and more likely’: Israel

Pakistan ready to tour India first to break the ice: Zaka

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Pakistan facilitating fair trade, Indian NTBs retarding progress

pakistantoday.com.pk

Vol ii no 134 32 pages Lahore edition

Monday, 7 november, 2011 Zul-haj 10, 1432

Big names in close contact with Imran Politicians from PPP, PML-N, and PML-Q willing to join PTI g 14 former ministers to announce affiliation after Eid g PTI leaders say party not welcoming opportunists g

ISLAMABAD MIAN AbrAr

M

eSMeRISeD with the popularity of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), politicians unhappy with their respective political parties are in close contact with PTI Chairman Imran Khan, but are reluctant to take a final leap to join his party.

A PTI source told Pakistan Today on Sunday that several leading politicians from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and the PML-Quaid (PML-Q) were in touch with Khan.

“Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Salim Saifullah, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Senator Jamal Khan Leghari, Khawaja

Wishes its readers a joyous and blessed

Eidul Adha The offices of Pakistan Today will remain closed on November 07 and 08 on account of Eidul Adha, therefore there will be no edition on November 08 and 09.

Khan Hoti, Rana Nazir Ahmed and many others are in touch with Imran Khan and would join us at the right time,” said the source, adding that some former parliamentarians including Marvi Memon and Khurshid Kasuri were also in contact with the PTI chief.

“Though Marvi Memon is also mulling her options to launch her own party, she is also in touch with the PTI leadership. Many more are in touch through common friends and we welcome all on board,” the source said.

The source said former foreign minister Qureshi was so interested in the PTI that he had sent thousands of his supporters to attend Imran Khan’s rally at Minar-e-Pakistan and even paid for their transport from Multan.

He said the parliamentarians willing to join the PTI had told Khan that

since they were members of the parliament, they could not switch parties immediately. “However, they have told Imran Khan that they would resign from parliament if he asked them to do so,” added the source.

Former ministers: According to a report, 14 former ministers, including Jehangir Khan Tareen and Ishaq Khakwani, also expressed their intention to join the PTI. Tareen, former minister for industries, production and special initiative, said on Sunday that he had informed Imran Khan about other members of his group who were willing to join the PTI. Continued on page 04

pML-Q to organise pro-Zardari raLLy | page 02

Mirza demands BB’s killers MONITORING DESK Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza demanded on Sunday that the government find out who killed former premier Benazir Bhutto and who was responsible for the security lapses that caused her assassination, Geo News reported. Addressing a public meeting at Qasimabad, the former home minister said he had come out for Sindh’s rights and honour and he had issued 300,000 arms licenses for this purpose. “My agenda is to protect Sindh province,” he stated. He said out of the 300,000 licenses, 50,000 Continued on page 04

SAARC Summit

Pakistan to stress resolution of issues with India g

Indian foreign secretary says 4 pacts to be signed ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HUSSAIN

Pakistan will urge India to engage in “meaningful, result-oriented and sustained dialogue” to settle the Kashmir and other bilateral disputes when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani meets his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh on November 11 on the sidelines of 17th SAARC Summit in the Maldives. Gilani will lead the Pakistani delegation at the summit of South Asian nations, which is scheduled for November 10 and 11, 2011. This year’s summit’s theme is ‘Building Bridges’, which means enhanced focus on increasing transportation and communication links, promoting regional trade and investment and free movement of people to facilitate their interaction across the SAARC countries’ borders.

“Pakistan also looks to build bridges with India like other regional states. The message from Is-

lamabad will be plain and clear: Islamabad wants meaningful and result-oriented dialogue and a sustained one that helps in the settlement of Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and all other Continued on page 04

KashMiri Leader rejeCts indo-paK trade paCt | page 03

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02 News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

LAHore

Today’s

Sellers storm into the city with their herds

NewS

worLD vIew

Afghans in Pakistan celebrate eid on Sunday

‘Walking with the comrades’

Quick Look

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Shujaat, Pervaiz encourage spirit of sacrifice in people Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid (PML-Q) chief Shujaat Hussain and leader Pervaiz elahi said on Sunday that politicians should sacrifice their personal good for national interests.

In an eid message for the nation, the two PML-Q leaders said that eidul Adha teaches Muslims the meaning of sacrifice, adding that, “We should pledge on this eid that we will sacrifice personal interests over national interests.”

Shujaat and Pervaiz said, “We should also not forget our brothers and sisters in trouble due to flood devastation and help them to have the true pleasure of eid.” They said that every Pakistani should bow before Allah and pledge to follow the teachings of Islam in letter and spirit, adding that everyone should promise to render every sacrifice for countering conspiracies against Pakistan. STAff rePOrT

Pakistan continuing to harbour terrorists: India NeW DeLhI: The Indian government said on Sunday Pakistan was continuing to harbour terrorists on its soil and despite repeated requests it had taken no steps to dismantle the terror infrastructure there.

“We have been taking up [the issue] with Pakistan. We have taken [it] up with Pakistan in various forums, bilateral as well as multilateral. But unfortunately, it has had no effect on the ground,” Union Home Secretary RK Singh told reporters in the Indian capital.

He was replying to questions about whether Pakistan had been taking action to stop cross-border terrorism.

“Though they (Pakistanis) keep telling us that they do not encourage terrorists or that they do not encourage people to operate from their soil, on the ground there has been no difference,” he said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had recently said there were reports of cross-border camps being reactivated and attempts being made to induct fresh batches of militants. ONlINe

Pakistan Army will train Afghanistan Army ISTaNBUL: A tripartite conference was held between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey in Istanbul, on Sunday. According to Afghanistan’s government, on the basis of the agreement signed in this conference, Pakistan Army will train Afghanistan Army. According to a British channel, the foreign ministry of Afghanistan has given a confirmation of this agreement. The Afghan government has stated that on the basis of this agreement, the armies of these three countries will practice together in a combined form.

Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua had already indicated this. She said that during this conference, two agreements were signed, one was related to the combined practices of the armies and the other was about training of the Afghan police forces. NNI

HDF concerned over UN HD report ISLamaBaD: The Human Development Foundation (HDF) on Sunday has shown concern over the United Nations (UN) Human Development report in which Pakistan had dropped 25 places in the Human Development Index (HDI) rankings to 145 out of 187 countries during last one year.

HDF Chief executive Officer Azhar Saleem in a statement said, “Income distribution has worsened and environmental degradation threatens future prospects of the country. This matter should be of great concern to Pakistan.” He said Pakistanis still suffer from inadequate incomes, limited schooling opportunities, and life expectancies far below world averages. Azhar said that the UN HDI measures poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy and other factors. He said Pakistan can achieve substantially higher ranking in this table if there is a coordinated effort by the government and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Pakistan. STAff rePOrT

ANYONe WANT A freSH blADe? Vendors sell slaughter knives by the road in Karachi. ONLINE

No PPP nominations received for APC parliamentary committee g

Seriousness of PPP government questioned by ‘lack of interest’ in sending nominees ISLAMABAD

T

TAHIr NIAZ

He seriousness of the government can be gauged from the fact that it is yet to submit nominations of its parliamentarians in the National Assembly Secretariat for the formation of the parliamentary committee on All Parties Conference (APC).

The government had announced to form the committee, after the much propagated APC, to oversee the implementation of earlier parliamentary resolutions as well as the APC resolution passed. All other parties have submitted their nominations in this regard. According to NA

sources, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League (F), parliamentary leaders from FATA have finalised names for committee. MQM has nominated senior member Haider Abbas Rizvi for the committee. FATA parliamentarians have proposed Munir Orakzai, parliamentary leader of FATA MNAs. MNA Haji Khuda Bux Rajar has been nominated from PML-F. PML-N and PMLQ has nominated parliamentarians in this regard.

In the last national assembly session, the leader of the opposition in national assembly Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan raised concerns over the delay in constituting the committee, saying that the NA session was going to adjourn but the parliamentary committee has not been consti-

tuted. In response to him, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in the national assembly, said it was up to parliament to expedite the nomination process as the matter had been referred to the speaker.

On it National Assembly Secretariat had written separate letters to party leaders including Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Asfand Yar Wali, Maulana Fazalur Rahman, Faisal Saleh Hayat , Munir Orakzai and others to send nominations for the committee. As per the thirteenth (last point of resolution) point of the APC resolution, ‘a parliamentary committee be formed to oversee the implementation of earlier resolutions as well as this Resolution and progress on the same be made public on monthly basis’.

PML-Q to organise pro-Zardari rally Pregnant woman tortured by police ISLAMABAD ONlINe

In an expression of loyalty with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Chaudhrys of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) have ordered their party workers to gear up for a pro-Zardari rally in order to counter the ‘Go Zardari Go’ rally organised by the PML-Nawaz.

Sources said PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had told

its party members to prepare for a countrywide competition with the PML-N in order to revive their party’s image. Sources said Shujaat had a soft corner for the PML-N, however former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez elahi was determined to oppose the Nawazled party.

Sources added that the Chaudhrys had also asked the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement to support them in their proZardari rally.

ABBOTTABAD INP

Police tortured a pregnant woman on charge of theft and later shifted her to a hospital after she fell unconscious, on Sunday.

According to details, City Police Station personnel arrested a pregnant woman over charge of stealing valuables from a house. She was taken to the City Police Station where she was subjected to torture. She fell unconscious due to the beating by police and was taken to a hospital in serious condition.

After regaining consciousness, she told reporters that she was innocent.

A station house officer (SHO) said that the lady police personnel were investigating the accused in the police station.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

News 03

ForeIgN NewS

ArtS & eNtertAINMeNt

SPortS

Thai floods death toll rises above 500

‘rockstar’ cannot allude to ‘free Tibet’

Pakistan ready to tour India first to break the ice: Zaka Misplaced confidence:

CoMMeNt PM Gilani is too calm given the state of things.

leagues within the league: The PML(N) in trouble.

basharat Hussain Qizilbash says: Man of many contradictions: Qaddafi and his eccentricities.

Ali Aftab says: Who’s got the Khan’s back?: It could be the powers that be…

Waqqas Mir says: Never another Amir: Our cricketing heart aches.

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 16

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Articles on Page 12-13

Adopt spirit of sacrifice, president tells people ISLAMABAD

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APP

ReSIDeNT Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called upon people to adopt values of sacrifice, brotherhood, kindness and charity to create a tolerant and harmonious society. In a message on the auspicious occasion of eidul Adha to be celebrated on November 7, he said, “I congratulate my countrymen and pray that Allah Almighty keep them safe and secure and bestow on them happiness of the two worlds.”

The president said eidul Adha is about following Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi and it is celebrated in memory of the profound devotion of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and exemplary submission of Hazrat Ismail (AS). He said the aim of this sacrifice is to create submission before Allah and making a promise that “we will not hesitate to lay down our lives

in fulfillment of the rights of Allah”.

“We should follow eid’s message of submission to Allah and spread it to the world besides waging Jehad against poverty, deprivation and unemployment,” he added. The president noted the problems being faced by the nation, including floods and terrorism and said, “To overcome these challenges, we need values of sacrifice, brotherhood, fraternity, kindness, tolerance, peace, charity and love more than ever,” he stressed.

He urged the Muslims to do away with regional prejudices and religious intolerance and work for progress and prosperity of the country and nation.

“I pray to Allah to engender in us the true spirit of sacrifice as nothing significant can be achieved without sacrifice.

Allah Almighty may keep us safe and protected,” the president concluded.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani urged the people not to forget families affected by terrorism

and floods, in his message on the occasion of eidul Adha.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar also issued a greetings message to the people of Pakistan and the province.

Shahab promises strong PPP in south Punjab KHANPUR APP

‘US was hostile towards India in 1971 war’ NEW DELHI ONlINe

Some top secret papers recently declassified by India on the 1971 war show that United States was hostile towards India during the conflict, the Times of India reported on Sunday.

The documents reveal that India moved ahead to create Bangladesh despite reports that Nixon Administration had put three battalions of Marines on standby to deter India, in addition to deploying the aircraft carrier USS enterprise with orders to target Indian Army facilities. The documents show how the Americans held back communication regarding Pakistan’s desire to surrender in Dhaka by almost a day. The documents claim that the US 7th Fleet ostensibly deployed in the Bay of Bengal to evacuate US nationals could also be used to attack the Indian military.

They say that the Nixon administration continued to arm Pakistan despite imposing an embargo on providing both Islamabad and New Delhi military hardware and support.

They suggest that India suspected the US was sending weapons to Pakistan and planned to intercept three Pakistani vessels for ammunition before the war. However, India dropped the plan after its foreign ministry’s assessment that the move could trigger hostilities.

Newly-appointed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) South Punjab President Makhdoom Shahabuddin told party workers in a public gathering at Mianwali Qureshian on Sunday that President Asif Ali Zardari had won the hearts of the people of southern Punjab by bifurcating and establishing a separate organisation of the PPP in southern Punjab.

He said the decision would help strengthen the party in this part of the country. The PPP would have better results in future in southern Punjab, he added.

He thanked the president for giving the right of representation to the people of southern Punjab and for expressing confidence in him and appointing him the regional president of the party. He said the PPP was a popular party in the country and would sweep the next general elections on the basis of its performance. He said the PPP would create a Saraiki province and give due rights to the people of the province. The PPP leader said construction of the Benazir Shaheed Bridge would begin in the current month. After completion of the project, people of Chachran Sharif and Kot Mithan would be linked, he added.

Kashmiri leader rejects PakistanIndia trade pact mUZaFFaraBaD: Pakistanis should rise and compel their government to withdraw a decision to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, a Kashmiri separatist leader said on Sunday. Kashmiri separatists have rejected the Pakistan-India trade pact, saying it was being done under pressure from the United States. “Pakistani government is taking dictation from America and this deal is also result of that dictation,” Syed Ali Geelani said in a telephonic address to the Muzaffarabad Press Club, from Srinagar, the capital of Indian-held Kashmir. “It is a great source of pain for us to see Pakistan granting MFN status to India when Indian security forces are raping our women and destroying Islamic culture,” said Geelani. “I appeal to the Pakistani nation to protest on this development so that the government is compelled to take back its decision,” he said. Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, PML-N Convener Raja Farooq Haider and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi have assured support to Geelani. “The entire nation is ready. We will not step back an inch from our stance because freedom is our destination,” Alvi said. AfP

Minor killed after being sodomised by four teenagers haFIZaBaD: An 8-year-old boy was strangulated to death after being sexually abused in the Chattadad town of Hafizabad on Sunday, police said. Hafizabad District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rab said that Amir Ali, son of Hamid, was strangulated to death after being sexually abused by four teenagers. After committing the loathsome act, they dumped the boy’s body near a local mosque, he added. The DPO said four suspected teenagers had already been arrested. He assured that police would punish all those involved in the gruesome incident. INP

PPP to show strength in Nov 13 rally

AbANDONDeD: A rare glimpse of an empty lahore railway Station platform. INP

KaraChI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is preparing to show its strength and support for the leadership especially President Asif Ali Zardari on November 13, PPP Karachi Division Secretary General Saeed Ghani said on Sunday.

The rally, organized by PPP Karachi division, will start at 1400 hours from Tower at MA Jinnah Road and terminate at Jamia Cloth Market after being addressed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, PPP ministers and the party officials of Karachi. Saeed said the local PPP officials and workers were making their best efforts to make this rally a great success. “Against Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leadership who brought people from all over Punjab for their recent show in Lahore, our rally will be restricted to Karachi only. We have good strength here,” PPP leader remarked. He said PPP local leadership was finalizing logistic and security arrangements for the rally. NNI

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Big names in close contact with PTI Continued froM page 1 They include Awais Leghari, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Ishaq Khakwani, Jamal Leghari and Sardar Tufail. Most of the 14 former ministers had been members of the PML-Q. They said they would formally announce their loyalty to the PTI after eidul Adha.

No opporTUNISm: Another PTI leader said that his party was not banking on opportunist parliamentarians, and rather a new cadre was being searched to replace the country’s existing political leadership.

“Although former parliamentarians Mian Azhar, Noor Mohammed Khan Bhabha, Tahir Rashid and others have already joined the PTI, the decision to award party tickets will be taken by a party board after thorough discussions and considering ground facts,” the PTI leader said. The source said that in addition to parliamentarians, Iftikhar Jhagra, Sardar George Faisal Zaman, Sardar Yousaf Ayyub and Parvez Khattak and several other politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were willing to join.

PTI Additional Secretary Saifullah Khan Niazi also confirmed that several parliamentarians were in contact with

Imran Khan, but the party was not in a hurry to bank all of them. “We would welcome the newcomers, but our ideological workers are our main asset.

South Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are the key areas from where strong politicians are contacting Imran Khan to join the party. People would see major surprises in November, as a number of politicians will join the PTI this month,” Niazi said. He added that the newcomers would include current and former parliamentarians, and former ticket-holders of major political parties called ‘electables’.

When asked if those newcomers would include leaders from the PPP, PML-N and PML-Q, Niazi said such people were in the ‘pipeline’ and their PTI membership would be announced accordingly, as election Commission’s rules prevent members to switch party affiliation. “They will make the announcement when and if needed,” he said without revealing the names of parliamentarians who were planning to join the PTI. He said ‘key electables’ were in contact with the PTI chief and other leaders either directly or through mutual friends, however he refused to disclose their names.

issues on the composite dialogue agenda and Prime Minister Gilani will himself deliver this message to his Indian counterpart during their meeting in Maldives,” said a senior Pakistani official here on Sunday, requesting anonymity.

He said Pakistan would tell India it did not want the peace process to get derailed again after any subversive act the way it happened in November 2008, when terrorists struck in Mumbai and New Delhi suspended dialogue with Islamabad after blaming it for supporting the militant that attacked India’s financial hub.

Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders have undergone serious in-house consultations before the meeting and they feel that now is the time the South Asian nuclear neighbours should move towards the settlement of bilateral issues no matter how complicated they are.

“We feel that there have been decades-long talks on Kashmir and other issues and off late the two sides have been able to

PARIS reUTerS

flOWerS fOr SOMeONe? A vendor displays flowers to attract customers at a roadside stall in Quetta. ONLINE

Iranian cleric dismisses ‘empty’ Israel threats g

warmongers in Israel and the United States call for pre-emptive strike TEHRAN reUTerS

Pakistan to stress resolution Continued froM page 1

France hit by storms in south, three dead

come up with important confidence-building measures, but unfortunately none of the eight major issues on the composite dialogue agenda has been resolved. It’s time now to strive for their settlement,” the official said. Another Pakistani official told Pakistan Today that the talks for normalisation of trade ties between the two countries and for the purpose of granting Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India would also be an important part of Gilani’s talks with Singh.

FoUr aGreemeNTS: Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters on Sunday the Indian premier would ink four agreements at the summit covering the establishment of a SAARC seed bank, multilateral arrangement on recognition of conformity assessment, and rapid response to natural disaster and implementation of regional standards.

Foreign secretaries of SAARC will meet on November 7 and 8 to finalise the agenda of the summit and the summit declaration.

A

senior Iranian cleric on Sunday dismissed talk of a military strike by Israel as empty propaganda, taunting the Jewish state for screaming “like a cornered cat” rather than roaring like a lion.

Israeli media have speculated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet consensus to attack Iranian nuclear sites as Western diplomats say new evidence that Tehran researching ways to build atom bombs will be published this

week.

Some analysts dismiss the speculation as part of a strategy of psychological warfare to raise pressure on Iran and bolster a case for harsher international sanctions sought by Washington, rather than endorse or participate in military action.

“The recent threats of the Zionist regime against Iran are more for internal consumption for themselves and their masters who are struggling with the Wall Street movement,” said Ayatollah Mahmoud Alavi, referring to anti-capitalism protests that began in New York and have spread around the world.

“There is a difference between the roar of a lion and the scream of a cat that has been trapped in a corner,” he said. “And this threat of the Zionist regime and its master America is like the scream of a cornered cat.”

Alavi, a member of the Assembly of experts, a body that appoints and supervises Iran’s supreme leader, said Israel would not dare attack Iran. “If they make such a mistake they will receive a crushing response from the Islamic Republic,” he told the official IRNA news agency.

Iran says it would respond to any attack by striking US interests in the region and could close the Gulf to oil

traffic, causing massive disruption to global crude supplies.

TICKING CLoCK: Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Friday that Western intelligence services were “looking at the ticking clock, warning leaders that there is not much time left” to stop Iran getting the bomb.

Iran is already under four rounds of United Nations sanctions due to concerns about its nuclear programme, which it says is entirely peaceful. Washington is pushing for tighter measures after discovering what it says was an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Russia, China to discuss Pakistan’s SCO membership moSCoW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao will meet Monday to discuss expanding their loose Central Asian security alliance to include Pakistan and Iran.

Putin will host Wen in his native city of Saint Petersburg almost exactly 10 years after the two countries joined forces with the four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics to form the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Russia has previously billed the alliance as a

regional alternative to NATO and discussed at past meetings the option of including other regional powers in its ranks.

“We are talking about Pakistan and Iran, which have applied for membership,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters ahead of the talks. “India is also intent on joining, and Afghanistan has said it wants to be an observer,” the Russian spokesman said. But analysts

said China prefers to view the group as primarily an economic organisation and note that Pakistan’s membership has already been under discussion for five years. Russia is also upset that the group still receives no formal recognition from NATO. “Of course, SCO expansion is not an easy process. It requires careful analysis and assessment,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman conceded.

The meeting between Wen and Putin will be their second

since the Russian premier announced in September plans to next year regain the Kremlin post he held in 2000-2008.

Bilateral relations are particularly important to Russia’s attempts to find new Asian clients for its energy exports just as european growth stalls. A top Russian official said the meeting will note slowing global growth’s impact on the price of commodities - the bulk of Russia’s exports - and financial market stability. AfP

Heavy rains and flooding in southern France over the weekend forced the evacuation of about 600 people and killed three people on Sunday.

Rivers overran their banks, flooding streets and homes and leaving hundreds stranded. Television images showed cars floating along roads and residents mopping up their sodden, muddy homes.

A retired couple, both aged 71, in the southeastern coastal town of Bagnols en Foret died late Saturday night or Sunday morning from carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to bail out rising water in their cellar, police said.

On Saturday, police said they found the body of a 51year-old homeless man who had been washed away from his campsite in the Herault southern region.

Mirza demands BB’s killers Continued froM page 1 were sold by Zahid Bhurgary. Mirza equated those who joined ranks with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to an association with a ‘Yazidee gang’.

He said he failed to make President Asif Ali Zardari understand his point of view and that was why he had now turned to the people, saying he was committed to the cause of Sindh’s rights.

WaSSaN: Separately, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan told a public rally in Goth Talpu Road on Sunday that “politicians of land” were now criticising the principled politicians.

He said the next general elections would be held in November 2012 and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would win again, Geo News reported.

Wassan said 2012 would be the year of general elections, and asked workers to prepare for the polls from now.

“We will complete our term,” he told those who he said were hoping to see the government fall.

The minister said peace had now been restored in Karachi to a great extent and he would start meetings with the tribal leaders in Sindh to seek their support against robbers terrorising the people in interior Sindh.

Muslims mark Eid in shadow of unrest triple blasts in Baghdad MINA AfP

The world’s Muslims on Sunday marked the eidul Adha overshadowed by the Arab uprising and deadly attacks in Africa and Central Asia.

This year the feast coincides with the turmoil of the democracy protests that swept the Arab world and led to the ouster of the autocratic leaders of Tunisia, egypt and Libya. eid was being observed amid fears and tears in Nigeria, two days after attacks claimed by Islamists killed at least 150 people in the northeastern city of Damaturu.

Thousands gathered for eid prayers at an open ground in Damaturu patrolled by dozens of armed police following Friday’s gun and bomb attacks.

In Libya, people were struggling to find the funds to mark the feast due to skyrocketing prices in the wake of an eight-month rebellion.

In Syria, devotees emerged from eid prayers on Sunday morning to rally against President Bashar alAssad’s regime despite a protest crackdown which according to the United Nations has killed at least 3,000 people since March. And the security forces shot dead at

least another 10 civilians, most of them in the restive central city of Homs.

The latest bloodshed came as Syrian state radio reported Assad himself attended Al-Nur mosque in the northern town of Raqqa for morning prayers to mark the Muslim holy day.

In Yemen, where protesters have been calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ouster since January, dissident general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar said his forces foiled a regime plot to blow up a car as he prayed in Sanaa. In Gaza City, Ismail Haniya, head of the Islamist Hamas government, ad-

dressed worshippers at the Palestine Mosque, and hailed the feast as the “eid of Freedom” for the Arab world. Haniya said the feast was also an “eid of Victory,” hailing a landmark prisoner swap deal that saw the movement free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in return for 1,027 jailed Palestinians.

In Saudi Arabia, almost three million pilgrims began stoning pillars representing Satan after massing in a valley near the holy city of Mina, the last and most dangerous rite of the annual hajj.

“This ritual gives me moral strength. Right now I feel as though I’m defeating Satan,”

said Mokhtar Khan, a 29year-old who arrived at the site with dozens of fellow Bangladeshis who chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest). But despite their prayers, the first day of eidul Adha was marred by more violence around the Muslim world. elsewhere in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed seven people, mostly civilians, as they returned from eid prayers at a mosque in the northern city of Baghlan.

And in Iraq, four bombs exploded in Baghdad’s Shorjah market, killing at least one person and wounding eight.

leave at least 10 dead

BaGhDaD: At least 10 people were killed when three bomb blasts rocked a busy market in Iraq’s capital on Sunday where people were shopping for the Muslim festival of eidul Adha. The blasts occurred in Shurja, an important commercial district in central Baghdad where shop owners and vendors sell clothes, electronics, textiles, food and other goods. “I can see fire and black smoke rising and a large number of fire engines, ambulances and police patrols rushing to the market,” a witness close to Shurja market said. Police sources said 10 people had been killed in the attack and a source at Baghdad’s central morgue said it had received 10 bodies. A source at al-Kindi hospital in Baghdad put the toll at eight killed and 26 wounded.

“The reason behind the fire was sabotage. The perpetrators used gasoline to set ablaze the market,” Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Baghdad security operations, said. reUTerS

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Doctors warn against excessive intake of meat, sweets PAge 06

ISlAMAbAD: People buy sacrificial animals ahead of eidul Azha here on Sunday. STAff PhOTO

CDA will approve Rs 50m for Marghazar Zoo after Eid ISLAMABAD SAlMAN AbbAS

The cash-strapped Capital Development Authority (CDA) is likely to approve Rs 50 million for construction work at Marghazar Zoo after eidul Azha, it has been learnt.

A senior CDA official told Pakistan Today that the CDA had been facing severe financial crisis due to which it could not upgrade the Marghazar Zoo project in a single phase, so it had decided to upgrade the zoo in separate packages. He said that in this regard the CDA would approve Rs 50 million under package-B within two weeks. The official added that the proposal had been sent to the finance wing and it would approve funds for the project

within a few weeks, adding the construction work would also hopefully be started in December.

The official said the funds would be utilised on the construction of animal enclosure, pavements, lights and others. The project of the Marghazar Zoo had faced many hurdles due to the financial crunch, he said.

He added the cost of the three-year expansion project which kicked off in August 2008 was Rs 1407.8 million.

The aim behind the construction of the zoo was to provide a semi-natural environment for the animals and enhance the experience of the visitors through an efficient designing.

Under the plan of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) mentioned on the official website, the proposed zoo was going to be

extended to over an area of 82 acres, including 20 acres of the current facility. Similarly, 200 different species of animals were going to be added to the current flock. It was also proposed that in the upgraded zoo, the animals would be kept in open areas and the visitors would use elevated walkways to view them.

The Marghazar Zoo houses around 77 mammals of 17 species, 569 birds of 45 species and 13 reptiles of three species. Unfortunately, most of these are also being kept in an unsuitable atmosphere.

The official said that each enclosure covered one acre and consisted of ponds, keepers’ area, fans, water connection and food storage area.

He added the CDA had planned to construct another six enclosures for

two African lions, three black bears, two brown bears, three blue bulls, cheetahs and four sambar deer.

The project includes an amphitheatre, two restaurants and separate entrances for commoners and VIPs. As per the PC-1, the zoo will also have a nocturnal enclosure (for animals that appear in the night), dolphin enclosure and a butterfly park.

The butterfly park would be covered by a net and butterflies of various species would be kept there; however, arrangements would be made to stop visitors from touching them, he said. Three aviaries have been planned that will be segregated keeping in view the kinds of birds; one for heavy birds, another for parrots and sparrows and the third one for wild birds.

Women finalising Eid preparations ISLAMABAD ONlINe

Women are finalising their preparations for eidul Azha with special focus on cooking a variety of dishes besides purchasing dresses.

Shama, a housewife, said sweets were something that could not be neglected. “eid without sweets is incomplete. People present sweets to their relatives and guest when they visit their

home on eid day.”

The focus is on buying spices, recipe books and ingredients for grilling special meat dishes and barbecue. After offering eid prayers, slaughtering the sacrificial animals to seek Allah’s blessing is the common practice as an individual or in groups as per their convenience. A variety of dishes are cooked on eid, as barbecue parties add charm to the festive moments.

“The occasion of eidul Azha is always fun-

filled as my entire cousin gathered at our rooftop and we enjoy the barbecue party and other meat dishes at night,” Aliyaan, a local resident, said.

“However, mutton biryani, pulao, beef nehari and shami kabab are the special dishes, which are cooked during the three days of eid,” he added.

A colourful eid cannot be imagined without women as they cook, make dresses and cheer on their family members.

Prayer timings for Eidul Azha ISLAMABAD STAff rePOrT

eid prayers will be offered in the twin cities’ mosques at the times given against their names.

1)eidgah F/11 and G/11 cricket ground Islamabad: 7:30am, Markazi eidgah Ahl-e-Hadith. G/6-1 Islamabad: 7:30am, Jamia Masjid Hoz Harmen Officers’ enclave: 7:15am, Jamia Masjid Imam bin Tima, G/10-2 Islamabad, 7:15am, Jamia Masjid Taqwiat-ul-Islam, G/7-3, Islamabad: 7:30am, Jamia Masjid Abuzar Ghaffari, GOR 1, Rawalpindi: 7:30am, Jamia Masjid Zia Gulzar-e-Quaid Street 26, Rawalpindi: 7:30am, Jamia Masjid Zahra, CDA Colony I/101, Islamabad: 7:30am, Ground G/8-2 Islamabad: 7:30am, Masjid-e-Farooq-e-Azam, Sara-e-Kharbooza: 7:30am, Jamia Masjid Ghausia, G/9-2, Islamabad: 7:45am. Masjid Siddique-e-Akbar, Habib Colony, Dhoke Syedan, Rawalpindi: 7:45am, Jamia Masjid, Bilal Maskeenabad, Dhoke Syedan, Rawalpindi: 7:45am, Ahl-e-Hadeeth, Greenbelt, G/9-2, G/10-3, Islamabad: 7:45am, Jamia Masjid-ul-Islamia, G/92, Islamabad: 7:45am, Jamia Masjid Noorani, Muhallah Hafizabad, Rawalpindi: 7:45am, Jamia Masjid, Sabzi Manid, Rawalpindi: 8am, Jamia Masjid, Imam Bokhari, Ahl-e-Hadith, G/8-4, Islamabad: 8am, Markazi Jamia Masjid, Qasimabad, Rawalpindi: 8am, G/8-4 Park T&T Colony, Islamabad: 8am, Jamia Masjid Ghausia, Girja Road: 8am, Jamia Masjid, Makki Pindora: 8am, Masjid-ul-Bilal, BBlock, Sattelite Town: 8am, Markazi, Jamia Masjid/Imambargah, G/6-2, Islamabad: 8am, Imambargah, Yadgar Hussain, Sattelite Town: 8am, Markazi Imambargah Qadeem, Rawalpindi: 8am, Masjid/Imambargah Imamia, G/6-4, Islamabad: 8am, Markazi eidgah, Gawalmandi, Rawalpindi: 8:15am, Jamia Masjid-ul-Faisal, C-Block: 8:15am, Jamia Masjid Roshan, Jhandi Chichi: 8:15am, Liaquat Bagh, Maidan: 8:30am, Markazi eidgah, Asghar Mall Road: 8:30am, Makki Jamia Masjid, Commercial Market: 8:30am, Imam Bargah Alamdar, Sir Syed Road Cantt: 8:00am, Masjid Imam Hussain, G/10-4, Islamabad: 8am, Jamia Masjid Farooqia Mangtal: 8:30am, Masjid Muhammadi Muhallah Siddique Akbar Tarnol: 8:30am, Jamia Masjid Ghausia F-Block, New Parial: 8:30am and Jamia Masjid Chungi No.22, Cantt: 9am.

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06 Islamabad

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Eid through the eyes of the underprivileged

g

Most of the people from low-income groups pessimistic about the festival ISLAMABAD

I

MAHTAb bASHIr

T seems that the festivals like eidul Azha are meant for the people who are prosperous. Notwithstanding that one cannot buy happiness with money, perhaps good health and pleasure come with it.

Let us look at the festival through the eyes of Mohsin Khan, a cobbler, who works at Sector I-10 of Islamabad. every year, eid becomes a burden for him, as he has to prepare special meal, buy new clothes and keep up the pretence of happiness. This is eid after all, a time to go merry. Khan does not have the means to buy a pair of shoes and a T-shirt for his son, or a frock for his daughter – the things that they crave for as they watch the children of their mother’s employer trying out their outfits while peering into the mirror. For Mohsin, who is always hand-to-mouth, situation is very depressing and buying sacrificial animal

to him is a dream.

Most of the poor people in Islamabad are domestic workers, who live in slums and work in small restaurants. Some of them are taxi drivers and hawkers, the people who belong to the lowest income group. These people grab any means of employment to sustain themselves - from breaking stones to managing teashops, barely scraping together an income of Rs 70 to Rs 100 a day.

While most of the low income group appeared depressed during a random Pakistan Today survey, a newspaper hawker was very optimistic. He said if he got the commission and bonus on time, he might visit his family in his home village. “My family members at my village has purchased sacrificial animal some time back, therefore, I hope my eid will be much better, though the purchasing power was not there but somehow I managed it,” he said.

A security guard at a bank was also very positive. He said religious and cul-

tural festivals should be celebrated in befitting manner, if possible. He said having sweets before eid prayers, slaughtering the goat, a hearty lunch with the family and a visit to some picnic spot were much-awaited and desired eid treats. Although he did not have the money yet, he was waiting eagerly for his employer to show some consideration.

Wearing new clothes, Haadia said, “Red hair-ribbons, eye makeup, red colour lipstick to go along with a frock that dad bought will be my prized eid excitement.”

Rehman, Haadia’s father, regretted that because of the high cost of living, he could not buy a goat and even better dress for her daughter than the one he bought from the Aabpara Market for Rs 150.

Rafia Manan, a garment worker, will visit her hometown if she receives the extra bonus as promised by her bosses.

Many cab drivers are aiming at high profits on the eid day, charging their cus-

tomers more than usual, which add to the miseries of common people like Rafia.

“I will work in the morning shift and make as much as possible so that I can take my family to watch a movie,” said Zahoor Ahmed, a CNG taxi driver. “My eid shopping will be limited to Rs 1,000 for my family of seven and hopefully I will get the best deal from Raja Bazaar in Rawalpindi,” he added. A domestic female worker in F-10 said she might be able to feed her family well if she worked hard on eid day. The work will fetch her some extra money as well. Talking about sacrificial animal, she is not in position to say whether she will manage to buy one.

Besides the other lower middle class segments of society, policemen, who are deployed at various spots in the federal capital for providing security to the Islooites, are the most aggrieved ones.

As soon as commuters see policemen at a checkpost, first they frown then a silent murmuring. But none of them appreciate the policemen for putting their

lives on stake and giving protecting them (commuters), who have a negative perception about police personnel, despite the fact that the majority of them are constables. As these cope are tackling the looming terror threats, these policemen are also sacrificing their eid holidays and are unable to celebrate the auspicious days with their beloved ones.

“It is unfortunate that people are annoyed with us, as soon as they watch us from a fair distance. Nonetheless, we are here for their protection even on eid days when we should have been with our dear ones. People have a negative mindset about us and we don’t know how to change it,” said Bashir Ahmed, a constable on duty at a thoroughfare.

According to Bashir, many of the policemen are deputed at mosques on eid days, but when people greet with each other after prayers, hardly anyone comes my way to embrace me and say two little words ‘eid Mubarak’, he said emotionally.

EAting tipS foR Eid

Doctors warn against excessive intake of meat and sweets ISLAMABAD MAHTAb bASHIr

Today eidul Azha, one of the major Muslim festivals, will be celebrated across the country. This is a time for religious celebrations, parties, family get-togethers and bulging bellies. eidul Azha is marked with celebrations that include lots of food especially high in protein. For some people, the day can also mean enjoying too much meat, sweetmeats, desserts and drinks, but excessive intake of meat and sweetmeats may lead to hospital visits due to diarrhoea, vomiting, cardiac ailments, gastric discomfort, increased acidity, abdominal cramps, constipation and high level of blood sugars.

With a little know-how and vigilance, one can enjoy oneself during eid without feeling guilty or unhealthy. There are strategies to help people get through the eid holidays without having to put their healthy eating habits on hold.

Pakistan Today approached medical experts to find out how people enjoyed food, mostly meat-based, on the occasion without falling ill.

According to medical physicians, people should be aware of the fried and fatty foods they consume during the day, often without realising it.

They suggested that people should cook dishes with less saturated fat, salt and sugar and avoid adding cream, butter, salt or sugar at the table. ‘On eid day people should try to have smaller portions and take their time when they are eating- chew more, chat more, eat less,” they said.

Medical experts also advised people to do something active on this day and every routine day – even if it meant going for a 10-minute brisk walk with the family or running up the stairs to pick up some more pres-

ents. “Cleaning up after the celebrations can also be good exercise,” they said.

Dr Waseem Khawaja of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said calorie-laden foods did not have to be completely off limits but people should take them in smaller portions. “The taste is usually enough to satisfy a craving without overindulging. To help eat smaller portions, choose a salad plate instead of a dinner plate and serve,” he said.

He also said to prevent overeating during eid, people should not skip meals and arrive at functions with an empty stomach. “This means eating meals regularly throughout the day and having a light snack between meals to keep blood sugar level consistent,” he said.

According to Dr Khawaja, the people should fill up on healthy foods first. “That means taking fatty, spicy or smoked food less and more of salad, fruits other healthy dishes.”

Dr Farid Khan Zimri from a private hospital urged people to plan get-togethers around activities instead of meals. “While a meal is quickly forgotten, a fun event will be remembered for years to come. Playing any sort of game as the focus of a get-together will take the emphasis off food and burn calories,” he said.

He said most of the dishes prepared on eidul Azha were meat based. He said people should prepare dishes with low-fat sauces to keep calories at a minimum, and use traditional spices to add extra flavour without adding extra fat.

Dr Zimri said to avoid disappointment this eid, people should focus on setting realistic goals instead of a constant ban on eid indulgences so they were ready to feel better about the eid holidays once they were over.

Sanitary workers’ leaves cancelled RAWALPINDI ONlINe

ISlAMAbAD: A boy on his way to a market for selling radish. STAff PhOTO

To ensure proper cleanliness in the city during eid, workers in the Sanitation department have had their leaves cancelled.

Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and Sanitation department has finalised a comprehensive cleanliness plan for eid to dispose off animal entrails under which 800 sanitary workers will perform duty in the city. Additional Chief executive Officer (ACeO) Kamran Towfeeq said a comprehensive cleanliness plan had been formulated under which maximum available resources would be utilised to accomplish the task during eid holidays.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Islamabad 07 CDA yet to appoint e&DM head ISLAMABAD STAff rePOrT

ISlAMAbAD: faisal Avenue presents a deserted look as most of people have left for their hometowns to celebrate eid with their dear ones. STAff PhOTO

EnviRonmEnt iS not An iSSuE

CDA fails to carry out ‘Cleanup Streams’ plan ISLAMABAD

T

ASMA KUNDI

He failure of the capital city developers to complete the vital project of ‘Cleanup Streams’ started by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) years ago will lead to further environmental degradation as tonnes of offal and other garbage will be dumped in the streams during the eid days.

The inhabitants of Islamabad will sacrifice thousands of animals across the city and this time too, like the previous years, most of the animal waste is to be dumped in the streams and drains around the city. Hence, more damage to the environment. But the CDA authorities are least bothered to complete the project, as a result of which watercourses are rather getting more polluted with the each passing day.

An official in the CDA, while seeking

anonymity, said, “Almost two years ago, the CDA formed a taskforce on ‘Cleanup Streams’ but the project was dumped in the files only after the cleaning two streams near Sector e-11 of the federal capital.” He said, “The project was aimed at cleaning around 11 polluted streams and nullahs to restore biodiversity, flora and fauna of the federal capital. The project was also focused on identification of major natural and manmade point and non-point sources of pollution in the natural streams of Islamabad.”

The CDA was supposed to develop a restoration and pollution control strategy that would act as a guideline in preparing the action plan for improved wastewater management to protect the quality of drinking water.

He, however, admitted that some cosmetic measures had been taken to rectify the problem but nothing significant was done to resolve the issue on a permanent basis.”

It is learnt that the taskforce includes people from the CDA building control and environment protection cells besides roads, maintenance and sanitation departments.

The Building Control Cell was responsible to remove illegal connections of sewage disposal where as the Maintenance Department had been assigned the duty to maintain all depleted sewerage system. The Sanitation Department was mobilised to collect all the solid waste dumped in these streams. An official of Pakistan environment Protection Agency (PePA), with a request not to be named, said almost three year ago, his organisation conducted a survey of the streams and collected water samples from them, the results of which proved that the watercourses in Islamabad were heavily polluted but the PePA did not issue even a legal notice to the CDA, a responsibility that was supposed to be fulfilled.

Now, the PePA has almost forgotten

No action against cop illegally occupying house ISLamaBaD: Despite sending written applications to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a poor clerk is still waiting to get his house vacated of a police official illegally occupying it currently.

A Federal Directorate of education (FDe) lower division clerk (LDC) has been running from pillar to post for the last six months to get his house vacated by an Islamabad police sub-inspector, but police officers are paying no heed.

LDC Khan Muhammad Bughio told Pakistan Today that he was a poor man and he had been serving in the FDe since 1988 and after a long struggle he had been allotted a government-owned house in April. He said after taking control of the house, he locked it for a few days, and went to visit his hometown to share his happiness with his family. However, he said that upon returning after one week he found his house occupied by a policeman.

Bughio said despite his repeated requests, police officials were avoiding the illegal occupant. He said that he had submitted applications to the IGP’s office (Diary no 21984 dated 25-10-2011) and SSP’s office but no action had been taken.

He said that he had also filed a written complaint at Ramna Police Station against the said sub-inspector, but nothing was being done.

“They know that I am a low paid employee and have no political influence, so they let it continue,” Bughio said. He said that he was a permanent resident of village Phul Khan Bughio, Taluka Mor, district Nowshero Feroz in Sindh and due to the recent floods which had wreaked havoc in the southern province, his house had also been badly damaged and currently his family was living under the open sky.

The clerk said that since his house had been destroyed in the floods, he wanted to shift his family from Sindh to Islamabad but financial constraints stopped him.

Bughio appealed to the chief justice also.

“I was allotted a government quarter in sector G/10/3, but an Islamabad police sub-inspector illegally occupied my quarters and whenever I have asked him to vacate it he has threatened me with dire consequences,” he said.

Bughio said that on April 29, the estate Office Islamabad had allotted him quarter no 57/14- Category V in sector G10/3. “Since the day of the allotment the government has been deducting the house rent from my salary against the allotment of the said quarter, which is occupied by Islamabad Police Sub-Inspector Muhammad Akmal, who is currently serving in the Anti Terrorism Squad there,” the clerk said. “Despite the passage of ten days, the concerned police officials have not made a move against their belt fellow,” Bughio concluded.

When contacted last Sunday, the sub-inspector said, “I will vacate this house in a few days as I am in search of an alternative shelter.” However, nothing has happened since then. STAff rePOrT

the serious issue and there is no plan to repeat the survey or chalk out a strategy to clean the streams.

While describing the reasons for the degradation of streams, he said the reasons were multifarious and interlinked, which included throwing of different pollutants into these water channels like everyday household garbage, municipal and industrial waste and cow dung by the residents of various slums areas.

He said, “The release of solid waste from industrial units and local hospitals into these water channels is of particular concern as it causes a number of diseases. More than thirty industrial units in Islamabad are releasing various pollutants into these streams, creating serious environmental hazards and destroying aquatic life. equally responsible are the routine bureaucratic snags and lack of cooperation and coordination among different government agencies.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has yet to appoint a new director for its directorate of emergency and disaster management (e&DM), it has been learnt.

Despite the fact that Directorate of e&DM is the sole body of the federal capital, but it is running without its chief for the last five months as the city bosses seem reluctant to appoint the new director for the said directorate.

A CDA official, who wished not to be named, told Pakistan Today that during the month of April 2011 the then director e&DM Ahsan Ali Mangi left the job after getting promotion. “Since then the post has been vacant, creating a number of problems for the employees and the directorate as well,” he added. The official alleged that high-ups of the authority might want to induct one of their favourites against the post because of which they were adopting delaying tactics. The emergency and disaster management directorate was established in 2008 in the aftermath of 2005 earthquake and the Marriot Hotel bombing, realising the increasing importance of a fully equipped, pro-active and a fast disaster mitigation and response unit of trained and motivated men and women. “The directorate was working efficiently in the presence of its head; the employees of the e&DM also served in the recent disasters in the country and abroad,” the source said, adding the directorate with a strength of 559 persons had a well-equipped fire brigade, a well-trained team of searchers and rescuers, a fire prevention and an audit wing, thus reducing the risk of incidents. But even after the positive output, the directorate had no boss to deal with the affairs smoothly. An official further said that DMA Director Mansoor Ahmad Khan had been currently holding the additional charge of the post vacated

by Mangi. But Mansoor did not give time to both the departments and heavy burden of work might be the main reason behind the problem, he noted.

“Interestingly, Mansoor has sent the summary to the CDA board to merge the directorate of e&DM into DMA which shows his interest in holding dual offices,” the official went on saying.

Delay in appointment of the new director has created a number of problems for low-ranking employees. “We have a lot of problems but no solution,” said a lowranking employee of e&DM, adding that Mangi was a technical officer and it was difficult for him to deal with disasters and emergencies for lack of experience in the field. Talking to Pakistan Today, CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid said the authority would appoint a suitable person as and when he was made available.

Regarding the proposal sent by Mansoor to merge the directorate of e&DM into DMA, he said the CDA was a vibrant body and every head could send a proposal, but it was up to the CDA stakeholders to accept or reject it. “We have established the said directorate with full conviction and it is working efficiently in the federal capital.

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08 Islamabad

Monday, 7 November, 2011

weAtHer UPDAteS

22 °C High 12°C Low

SUNNy INtervALS

tUeSDAy weDNeSDAy 18°C I 15°C

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tHUrSDAy 22°C I 16°C

PrAyer tIMINgS Fajr Sunrise 05:40 06:10

Zuhr 13:30

Asr 16:00

Maghrib Isha on sunset 19:00

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BLooD BANK PIMS BLooD BANK PoLy CLINIC BLooD BANK

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ISlAMAbAD: Afghan children buy perfume for eid from a roadside vendor. SAjjAD ALI QurEShI

Beware of amateur butchers Many seasonal unskilled and unemployed ‘workers’ masquerade as professionals ISLAMABAD

W

MAHTAb bASHIr

HeTHeR trained, semi-trained or amateur, butchers have pulled their socks up to make roaring business today in the federal capital. The butchers, who are deemed as rare commodities, especially on the first day of eidul Azha, have received innumerable orders, despite the exorbitant charges for their services.

They are charging up to Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200 to slaughter a goat, Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 for a bull or calf and Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 for a camel this eid, but the money will be well spent if they do the job properly, as paying less to get an amateur may ruin your sacrifice.

At least that was the experience of Mohammad Hamza, a government officer who lives in sector G-10, last year. His sacrificial goat turned out to be pregnant, but the ‘butcher’ did not notice that. Islam does not encourage the slaughter of pregnant animals.

“What kind of a butcher he was who did not know a pregnant animal?” asked Hamza, who could not afford another animal. “This is just another way of making money. “What these people forget is that they will be held accountable by the God and punished.”

In posh sectors, services of professional butchers have been hired on advance payments.

The package includes slaughtering of animal, peeling off the skin without any cut and chopping the meat into pieces. They have set different rates for goat, cow and camel slaughtering. They

are offering two options to the clients - first is to slaughter the animal at the doorstep of the client on higher rates and the second is that rate will be reduced if the customer brings the sacrificial animal at their shops.

After smelling the lucrative charges of slaughtering sacrificial animals, a large number of seasonal butchers (majority of them of Pakhtun or Afghans) have sprung into action.

They have even set up booking stalls at various locations normally in main market (markaz) of every sector. With a view to trap the innocent people, they are offering 50 percent less rates than being charged by the professional butchers.

It has also been observed that a majority of the unemployed youth venture into slaughtering the sacrificial animals and try to gain experience so that they may earn more on next eid. Sometimes, people who are lured by the low rates offered by the inexperienced butchers, non-availability of skilled ones and in a bid to have an early go for sacrifice, repent for the rest of day.

Shakil Akhtar, a resident of Sector I-10, says people should be wary of the butchers charging too little. He became suspicious when a man he was negotiating with for the slaughter of his animal on eid went from an opening offer of Rs 2,100 immediately down to Rs 1,000.

“More than 70 percent non-professionals will be operating on this eid,” Billu Ustad, a butcher associated with the profession for the last 20 years, told this scribe. He said many labourers, who were unable to find work due to eid activities these days, had also adopted this profession for the time being to earn livelihood.

nAtionAl ChildRight ARt

He further said he himself had hired a group of six persons from his native area for slaughtering the maximum number of animals.

Kashif Pervaiz, a resident of Sector G-7, said last year, they had caught several non-Muslim butchers pretending to be Muslims and handed them over to the police. Animals slaughtered by non-Muslims are not considered halal.

Talking to this scribe, a retired government officer Pervaiz Akhtar said, “A new tradition has started in which people get the meat cut, packed and then store it directly in their freezers with no distribution.”

In the next few years, he added, it would become a regular fashion and thus, the true spirit and tradition of Qurbani would fade.

Qari Allah Yar Al-Azhari from the Hajveri Mosque and the affiliated seminary in I-10/2 says amateur butchers not only ruin the sacrifice but are also cruel to the animals. “Islam does not allow the torture of animals, he said.

“The neck must be quickly slashed with a sharp knife. Otherwise, the sacrifice is resented (makrooh),” he said.

He added that learning about the traditional Islamic method of slaughtering animals would help people judge proper butchers from amateurs. Qari also condemned those who stored all the meat and do not distribute it into three equal chunks.

He said butchers were the most wanted persons on eidul Azha. They should act with decency and behave like good citizens with their customers to add to the happiness on the auspicious festival.

KAhAniyAn by moEEn fARuqi

ovERloAd At KuCh KhAAS

CoLLegeS / UNIverSItIeS INterNAtIoNAL ISLAMIC UNIverSIty 9260765 BAHrIA UNIverSIty 9260002 NUML 9257677 QUAID-e-AZAM UNIverSIty 90642098 ArID AgrICULtUre UNIverSIty 9290151 FJwU 9273235 rIPHA INterNAtIoNAL UNIverSIty 111510510 NCA rAwALPINDI 5770423 PUNJAB LAw CoLLege 4421347

DAte: Nov 17 - 20, 2011 veNUe: ISLAMABAD

DAte: NoveMBer 01 to 15, 2011 veNUe: KHAAS Art gALLery ISLAMABAD

DAte AND tIMe: Nov 12, 2011 veNUe: KUCH KHAAS

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

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

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

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

News 09

‘Mengal has offered to help CPr tells US policymakers to choose trade-based strategy diffuse Balochistan crisis’ tells them to establish Pakistan enterprise Fund to stimulate private-sector development g

ISLAMABAD ArIf TAJ

P

AKISTAN People’s Party (PPP) Senator Lashkari Raisani said on Sunday that prominent Baloch leader Attaullah Mengal to held end the Balochistan crisis, and asked the establishment to take Mengal’s offer seriously.

Talking to Pakistan Today about his meeting with Mengal, the senator said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the common grounds which could help end violence in the province. “I met the Baloch leader last week and he wanted to play a positive role in resolving the Balochistan crisis,” Raisani said.

When asked if he had met the Baloch leader on behalf of the PPP government, he said, “I have been in contact with various political leaders in Balochistan because a dangerous great game is being played in our province

with the help of certain foreign forces.

We want to save our people and province from disaster”. He added that he had been active for resolving the issue and had also convinced some groups for negotiations.

“Recently I met some armed groups

No stone will be left unturned to save nuclear assets: SPD head ISLAMABAD STAff rePOrT

No stone will be left unturned to secure Pakistan’s nuclear installations and assets, Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Director General Major General Muhammad Tahir said on Sunday.

Tahir was chief guest at the graduation parade of a fresh batch of 700 security force trainee officials in Rawalpindi after they completed six months of advanced training in nuclear security.

An ISPR statement said Tahir expressed his satisfaction on the quality of training imparted and motivation of trainee officials. He said extensive resources had been made available to train, equip, deploy and sustain an independent and potent security force to meet threats to the nuclear program.

He said the SPD planed to increase its capacity by inducting an additional 8,000 personnel in the nuclear security force.

Training is being imparted at the SPD training academy where recently retired SPD Director General Lieutenant Gen (r) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai reviewed the graduation parade of a batch of 200 trainee officials.

who wanted to talk to the establishment and resolve the issue of law and order in the province but the establishment did not respond”, said the PPP senator.

“Now I met Attaullah Mengal so that a lowest common denominator could be evolved to bring the situation under control through political initiatives. Mengal has influence in the area and experience which can help in brining peace in the province and convince the people to that common denominator,” Raisani said. However when asked what could be that common denominator, he refused to give details.

When asked if the establishment supported his initiative, he refused to comment, but added that he would soon meet other leaders on the issue.

He said the situation was extremely tense in the educational institutions in Balochistan, and that some elements wanted to exploit the situation and convert the insurgency to sectarian and ethnic violence.

Families of killed miners await compensation peShaWar: A relative of the marble mine workers who were killed during stone sliding in the mine, demanded the chief minister and All Pakistan Workers Welfare Board to grant compensation for the loss of labourers’ lives. Talking to reporters, Imdadullah said that six of his relatives were killed in the marble mine when a heavy rock fell on them while they were loading a truck. He said that among the six persons killed, two were owners of the mine and four were daily wagers and sole bread earners of their children. He said that the families of the victims were in desperate need of help. He appealed to chief Minister and president of All Pakistan workers welfare board to provide compensation to the families as they were awaiting assistance from the government. heavy SeCUrITy IN peShaWar : The Capital City Police has chalked out a security plan to prevent any untoward incident during the eidul Adha holidays. Heavy contingents of police and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) would be deployed on mosques, Imam Bargahs and other important public places to prevent terrorist activities during the three days of eidul Adha. STAff rePOrT

Afghans in Pakistan celebrate Eid on Sunday PESHAWAR NNI

eidul Adha was celebrated in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and in the Afghan camps in Pakistan on Sunday.

The Afghans living in refugee camps in northwest Pakistan celebrated the occasion with Saudi Arabia. The camps include Shamshatu, Zanday, Baghban and Harasan. Over a hundred thousand people attended the largest eid congregation at Shamshatu camp. Strict security arrangements were made for the congregation. europe, United States and the Far eastern countries also celebrated the eid on Sunday. In Britain, over 1,500 small and large eid congregations were held, while in France the main congregation for eid was held in the central mosque of Paris. In the US, major eid congregations were held in Virginia, Maryland and New York. Pakistanis are celebrating the eid today (Monday).

WASHINGTON NNI

The Council on Pakistan Relations (CPR), a non-profit advocacy organisation to represent Pakistani Americans, called on Congress to support a trade-based policy toward Pakistan beginning with establishing an enterprise Fund to stimulate private sector economic development.

The FY 2012 State Department/Foreign Operations appropriations bill, approved in September by the Senate Appropriations Committee, includes a provision to establish enterprise funds in Pakistan, along with three Mideast countries.

It is modeled on legislation introduced in 2010 by Senators John Kerry and Charles Lugar, the Pakistan-American enterprise Fund Act, designed to hasten private enterprise growth, using funds already allocated for economic assistance to the region.

Like last year’s bill, the current Senate provision would allocate previously appro-

priated aid funds and provide emerging Pakistani businesses with the capital necessary to grow and help stabilize the country’s economy.

Small to medium size businesses make up almost 90% of all Pakistani enterprises, employ 80% of the non-agriculture work force, and constitute some 40% of the gross domestic product. With foreign investment sharply falling off in recent years, Pakistan’s private economy is a difficult state.

The Council has also urged Members of Congress to reintroduce Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ) legislation, which would lower tariffs on Pakistan exports from certain regions of the country most impacted by terrorism and natural disasters.

In discussions on Capitol Hill, CPR has argued for a U.S. economic development policy with a renewed focus on trade, both bilateral and regional. CPR met with Rep. Charles Boustany (R-7th/LA) and Rep. Todd Young (R-9th/IN), both of whom voiced support for trade-based aid.

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10 News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

gilani leaves for russia to attend SCo summit ISLAMABAD APP

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani left for a two-day visit to the Russian city of St Petersburg to represent Pakistan at the 10th Heads of Government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Sunday.

The prime minister told reporters at Chaklala airbase prior to his departure that the SCO was an extremely important forum and the meeting would focus on security and economic issues.

He said the SCO countries would hold discussions on regional infrastructure, connectivity, energy projects and various other areas of mutual interest.

Gilani will meet the prime ministers of Russia and China on the sidelines of the SCO meeting, which will take place on November 7.

Gilani is attending the summit on the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

He said he would be meeting the Russian premier for the third time and gas imports and issues related to Pakistan Steel Mills would come under discussion.

To a question, Gilani said trade was an important component of regional cooperation. He said Pakistan had already signed a transit trade agreement with Afghanistan and was looking for ways to expand commerce with Central Asian states. The focus would remain on bolstering trade with immediate neighbours of Pakistan, he added.

Gilani will present Pakistan’s case at the SCO forum and will seek full membership of the organisation. Pakistan wants to become a full member of this forum on account of its immense potential for dealing with common regional challenges.

The SCO, founded in Shanghai in June 2001, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan holds observer status along with Mongolia, India and Iran, whereas Sri Lanka and Belarus have been granted the status of dialogue partners.

The upcoming session is aimed at highlighting the importance of coordination among the member states on issues of resolving economic crises and developing trade and diplomatic ties along with other observer states and regional partners.

eVerY GOAT HAS ITS’ DAY: A mountain goat stares at the camera as it awaits a buyer at the cattle market in Quetta. ONLINE

8 feared killed in suicide attack near Afghan mosque MAZAR-I-SHARIF

A

AfP

suicide bomber killed up to eight people as they returned from prayers at a mosque in north Afghanistan Sunday, the first day of eidul Adha, officials said.

Most of the dead were civilians and at least 20 other people were thought to have been wounded in the attack in the city of Baghlan at around 9.30am.

The blast came two days after Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar urged his fighters to avoid civilian casualties in the decade-long Afghan war. “eight people were killed including two commanders of Afghan militia forces. The rest were civilians,” said

Amir Gul, a local government official.

Other officials gave varying death tolls.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqui in Kabul put the death toll at seven, with 15 wounded, while Baghlan police chief Asadullah Shirzad said the figure was six including one police officer.

Siddiqui said there were two suicide bombers involved, one of whom detonated himself and caused the casualties, while the other was arrested by police before he could blow himself up.

The suicide bomber who blew himself up was on foot.

A doctor at the main hospital in Baghlan said 20 wounded people had been admitted.

The Taliban were not contactable

to comment on the attack but Siddiqui said that initial indications suggested the insurgents were behind the attack.

Previously seen as relatively stable, Baghlan has seen an uptick in militant attacks in recent years.

On Friday, the Taliban published a statement on their website attributed to Mullah Omar calling on fighters “to take every step to protect the lives and wealth of ordinary people”.

The statement, issued to mark eidul Adha, warned of punishments under Islamic law for fighters responsible for civilian deaths.

The United Nations says the number of civilians killed in the Afghan war in the first half of this year rose 15 percent to 1,462, with insurgents behind 80 percent of the deaths.

one woman killed in raid from Afghanistan KHAR ONlINe

A woman was killed and six others injured when a group of unidentified armed militants intruded from Afghanistan and launched an offensive against local residents on Sunday. Sources said a group of militants crossed the border from Afghanistan overnight and attacked residents living in Kamangira area tehsil Nowagai of Bajaur Agency. An eyewitness reported around 50 Afghan militants equipped with heavy weapons conducted the assault but security forces and the Aman Lashkar cordoned off the area and began retaliation which killed one militant and injured several others. The exchange of fire lasted several hours Militants opened fired at people, killing a woman and injuring six others. The injured were shifted to Agency Headquarters Hospital for medical treatment.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

remembering 3rd November While 3rd November should be remembered as a dark day in the history of Pakistan, when a military dictator, abusing his oath of office, once again chose to flout the constitution and harm our superior judiciary, it should also be time for us to mediate whether the struggle for justice has borne fruit for unfortunate citizens of this country.

The judges of Supreme Court have been seen to enforce rule of law and accountability, but the lawyers have failed to come up to the expectations of

the common men and women of this country. This was definitely not a struggle by the people to witness few lawyers mint money by hiking their legal fees, nor was it waged to facilitate them in abusing their privilege and form yet another cartel of sorts. The silence of the lawyers’ community leadership on the rape of a lady by a member of their community in Sialkot is shameful, repulsive and sickening.

Their resort to illegal use of violence and intimidation to prevent justice being done, when one of their own

PML(N) vs PtI breaks the law, is unacceptable.

Where are all the leaders, men like Ali Ahmed Kurd, Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir Malik and others, who the people supported so that rule of law prevails.

This was not a struggle to replace the tyranny of a dictator with the tyranny of few black sheep wearing black coats. If what happened to Dr Shazia Khalid in Sui at the hands of brute is to be done by a lawyer in Sialkot, then no change or relief has been given to the women of Pakistan, who have suffered for years.

While every criminal has a right to

defence, why should such cases involving plunder of state assets, or crimes of rape be taken by those who made tall claims for delivering justice, just because the temptation of millions in fees is too much to resist. It pains us when we learn that these men, whom we looked upto as icons, have been beneficiaries of LPG quotas, just like the corrupt generals, bureaucrats and political vultures who were part of Musharraf team.

ANEELA CHANDIO Sukkur

where have trillions gone?

As a citizen of Pakistan can I ask the sitting National Assembly, Senate and PM of Pakistan where has the Rs 4.6 Trillion of Total Public Debt piled up since 2008 to Sept 2010 gone along with US $8.1 Billion in external Debts between Dec 2008 to Dec 2010. The collapsed Pakistan Railways, Steel Mills, PIA, OGDC, NICL, NHA, OGDC, PASSCO etc and despicable state health services, education, law and order, inflation and energy crisis all point out to gross irregularities, incompetence and rampant corruption.

Pakistani rupee devaluation and galloping inflation is directly related to rise in external debts, tax pilferages and deterioration in trade imbalances.

There is no rocket science involved in analysing what has happened and the cause for these failures. As long as there is no transparency and those involved in financial irregularities are not prosecuted against, there is no hope, nor will more loans resolve this crisis, except buying more time.

It is the government which has failed if tax is not being collected from the rich and those who kill citizens are allowed to get away for the sake of short term political benefits and controversial corrupt appointed as Auditor General.

MALIK TARIQ ALI Lahore

Politicos of our time “Pakistani Taliban should join clerics”, said Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Would he, like Pervez Musharraf, on some suitable day, again abandon them for the same reason?

Z A KAZMI Karachi

It seems that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is impressed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s strategies as Shahbaz Sharif has now opened his account on social networking websites. Punjab Chief Minister has opened his account on facebook, twitter and bringit.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a very much active on social networking websites and PTI has succeeded in getting touch with young people of Pakistan because of this.

The move by Shahbaz Sharif is good one as in the modern world, these social media networks allow leaders to remain in touch with people.

But it has prompted PTI supporters to call PML (N) the Photocopy Machine League.

MUBASHIR MAHMOOD Karachi

Hide snatching If mobile snatching, car theft, robberies and target killings were not enough, there is also the practice of hide snatching of animals sacrificed during eid-ul-Azha. It is not a surprise that the security situation in the metropolis has deteriorated to such an extent that even sacrificial animals during religious festivities are not spared. Although Karachi police has set up a monitoring cell for the sole purpose of curtailing this trend, but one wonders whether to congratulate them for this initiative or to criticise them for allowing the situation to get so much out of hand in the first place.

HASSAN BASHIR Islamabad

thrashing of an officer

innocent little children who may be asking them for new clothes to wear on eid day.

Unfortunately, the elected representatives are not seen anywhere - when they have not bothered to come and console them in their hour of trial and tribulation, how can one expect them to do so on this great religious day of sacrifice. Many victim families are reported to be starving so what to speak of celebrations. Let’s behave and act like human beings; let’s do the work of the deputies of the Lord on earth and make these illfated people celebrate their eid like other Muslims.

HASHIM ABRO Islamabad

It has been recently reported that lawyers thrashed two motorway inspectors at Lahore, as they arrived at the high court for a case regarding issuance of fine to a lawyer. This is a shocking incident, highlighting the disregard for the rule of law by the ones who are supposed to uphold it. If our legal fraternity does not abide the law and respect the law enforcement apparatus, then how can we expect any citizen to do so? Such examples can only lead to chaos and anarchy. This also highlights the differences which exist between the law enforcement institutions and the legal apparatus.

YASIR HAMEED Islamabad

responding to the breaking of the scandal initially, nor was the PBC bothered to look into the allegations so as to hold the perpetrators to account for their ignominious deeds.

The illegal practice of corruption and cheating in sport, especially cricket at the domestic, club and international level, has been ongoing for decades. It is a consequence of the failure of the ICC and the respective country boards to crack down on this menace. The spirit of the game must be restored and it can only be done by implementing a zero tolerance approach towards corruption.

FATIMA BAREE Karachi (Iv) Spot fixing scandal and punishment awarded to our three young cricketers have shaken the entire cricket world, and this will certainly put caution on all the sportsmen to behave like gentleman.

Punishment awarded to our cricketers have drawn mixed reaction from cricket lovers, so much so President Asif Ali Zardari has also taken notice and ordered investigations and to extend help to the cricketers.

Who is to be blamed for this debacle? Frankly speaking, it is the PCB Board and the officials who accompanied the team during their tour to england. Practically these bunch of officials mostly accompanying the team are busy in all other activities except cricket. These youngsters are susceptible to outsider influence. As a matter of policy, no player should be allowed to leave the hotel and meet any outsider due to the sensitivity of the

game and it must be enforced strictly.

Punishment awarded to cricketers has been as per British Law after due process was met. The judge has been very lenient in view of tender age of players and has also given an indication that if the accused showed good behaviour, their sentence can be further reduced.

This is a lesson for PCB, the players and the government to tighten their loose ends to avoid such disgrace and embarrassment in future.

MUKHTAR AHMED Karachi (v) Finally, three cricketers of Pakistan were found guilty of fixing parts of a Test against england. It has not only thrown the credibility of international game into doubts but also highlighted the negligence of PCB that did not notice the suspicious activities of players. everyone is crying that this shameful act of players has besmirched the image of the country and demanded that the accused players should also be tried in Pakistan.

I think, the guilty must be punished to avert such situation in the future.

But punishment alone can’t solve the problem. Remember that corruption is not the problem of our cricket team alone: it is the problem of our whole society and can be eradicated by the cooperation of the whole society. To eradicate the corruption from cricket, we have to depoliticise the PCB, make adequate legislation and have a zerotolernace attitude towards dishonesty and corruption.

MUHAMMAD NADEEM Lahore

eid under open skies Like Muslims around the globe, the Muslims in Pakistan will be celebrating eid-ul-Azha on 10th of Zul-Hajj with traditional religious zeal and fervour. But unfortunately, more than eight million rain and flood-affected people in twenty one lower and upper Sindh districts, many of them still marooned, will not be celebrating their eid with traditional fervour and solemnity. They will have their “miserable” eid under the open sky camping on roads and sand dunes.

They will not be visiting their families and friends to wish them ‘eid Mubarak’ and exchange eid gifts with them.

They have not even a single penny to purchase anything to cook on this auspicious day and meet the demands of their

our cricketing shame: the PCB’s fault too The damage inflicted on Pakistan by the shameful acts of three cricketers is more than what could have been done by all the negative propaganda by our enemies. It would be grossly unfair to blame these players alone, for all this could have been prevented if timely remedial measures had been taken by the PCB, its politicised governing body and the patron who appoints all of them. The officials who accompanied them and the controversies that stick to most of them, are responsible for throwing these young men, two of whom came from very humble backgrounds into the lion’s den.

This was waiting to happen and was bound to happen given the tolerance and patronisation that the political establishment of Pakistan has for those whose greed knows no limit. The cricket mafia that is responsible for infiltrating and controlling PCB for more than 15 years are all responsible for what has happened. This young talented fast bowler Amir was tempted by the examples of senior players accused of match fixing and yet managed to get away. The millions that they made and their opulent lifestyle were too much of a temptation for this novice to resist.

Had the State of Pakistan and its powerful establishment allowed accountability process to gain a foothold in this country, this could have been prevented. Musharraf and Zardari in their role as all-powerful patrons are guilty for not enforcing discipline and punishments for those found involved in irregularities by failing to appoint men of integrity on merit to head PCB. This was waiting to

happen and those in power, including the military dictator, are guilty of bringing shame to this country.

GULL ZAMAN Peshawar (II) When cricket becomes slave to politics and the undisciplined manage to get away because there is no accountability, than what has befallen our cricketers was bound to occur. It is PCB and their legal experts who are responsible for the shame and embarrassment that Pakistan had to endure, because either political interference, or incompetence of the board had prevented action against these players, when initial reports about irregularities surfaced.

There were numerous officials accompanying these players, whose job it was to protect these young players from being lured by bookies. The cricket betting mafia is huge with annual stakes of over $30 Billion and India is the capital of betting mafia.

Recently another player who was not cleared on issues of integrity has managed to stage a comeback because he was recommended by a minister of ruling party hailing from Sialkot. Can anybody imagine the fallout if this player ever gets caught red handed, since his meeting with the Patron was publicised?

What about the former selector against whom a player had given a signed complaint of demanding bribes for selection and yet managed to accompany the team as an official, when this incident occurred. Such allegations have in the past been made against other senior executives of PCB,

who were accused of betting during their tenures in PCB. The PCB’s lack of will and determination to enforce discipline has brought disgrace to Pakistan and those responsible are as much guilty as these players.

IRFAN BUTT Karachi (III) This week marked the end of a dark chapter in the history of Pakistan cricket that began with a scandalous exposé of three Pakistani cricketers involved in spot-fixing in their tour of england at Lord’s last year. The guilty verdict criminally convicting Pakistan’s ex-captain Salman Butt, 27, and Muhammad Asif, 28, was saluted by many all over the world and is seen as a positive move in the right direction towards ridding the sport of corruption.

Cricket was once the epitome of ‘gentleman-like behaviour’. However, this image of cricket has been tarnished over the years. The massive sums of money that it now brings in via ticketing, satellite television rights and competition, sponsorships from a range of companies, etc, has led to insatiable greed amongst some players. Also, its increased popularity has contributed to its evolution in terms of the introduction of different formats as opposed to the traditional test matches.

An anti-corruption and security unit set up by the ICC to monitor deviant behaviour has time and again proved a failure in exposing all those allegedly implicated in jeopardising the integrity of the sport. Needless to say, the role of the PCB in this regard was neither sufficient in adequately

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

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12 Comment Misplaced confidence?

Maybe not

I

s he being a little too confident, the prime minister, when he says no force can unseat democracy? After all, isn’t he the captain of an unsteady boat in some rather turbulent seas? Isn’t he heading a government replete with charges of corruption and incompetence? Be that as it may, however, recent history has proved that he just may have reason to be sure of his position. Lest candid posterity forget, talk of his government being overthrown has been doing the rounds almost since it started its term in office. That too despite this government having a shorter honeymoon period compared to others owing to the fallout with the PML(N) over the issue of the restoration of the then deposed senior judiciary.

The now widely acknowledged agility with which the president has navigated his party has ensured that his government has gotten more powerful, if not necessarily more popular, in the scheme of things. Were the media, and within it, the commentariat, subject to any of the accountability that the corporate sector, the bureaucracy or governments themselves are subject to, many hacks would have lost their jobs for getting it wrong over and over again. In the republic, however, the fat cats, as opposed to the feet-on-the-ground reporters, keep getting fatter.

The premier’s statements were, of course, in connection with the recent successful anti-government rallies by the PML(N) and Imran Khan’s PTI. Since the latter was more of a show of force against the former, he wasn’t as bothered as a man whose government was the brunt of two major rallies would presumably be. The business of political demographics and psephology is dicey, granted, in Pakistan but the number crunchers and analysts all seem to be suggesting that any possible PTI gains in the future will be at the PML(N)’s expense.

To further cement a walling in of the League, the PPP is finally engaging in a policy that many party watchers say was long overdue: establish separate secretariats for north and south Punjab.

Interesting times, these. The heating up of the political arena is bound to lead to a more forceful wooing of the electorate. This is bound to yield better attempts, by all parties, to engage the disenfranchised.

That all can’t be a bad thing.

Leagues within the League As if it weren’t besieged enough already

T

he distancing of leaders in the PML(N) from Shahbaz Sharif’s recent anti-government diatribe is indicative of their being a difference of opinion within the party. This was bound to happen. If it does, indeed, lead to an impasse (unlikely as that might be) it would actually be the end of an arc that started since the ‘99 coup itself.

A lesson in democracy, the coup was for Nawaz Sharif. To be fair, even though the boy-king derived his initial power from the establishment, his two tenures had already shown signs of his becoming his own man.

The coup merely reinforced that bent of mind. He returned a leader better educated and trained in the theory and practice of democratic statesmanship. His younger brother, though, seems not to have changed much in certain areas. Though the League became a populist juggernaut, especially in the second phase of the lawyers’ movement, Nawaz Sharif made it a point not to cross boundaries that would imply a disrespect towards the democratic scheme of things. He also became more critical of the military than the traditional anti-establishment parties, now in government, have managed to be. Shahbaz Sharif, on the other hand, is rumoured not to share those views.

The recent Lahore rally, where the Punjab premier started a ‘Go Zardari Go’ routine is now being put through an image management machine. He only meant to rally against rising corruption, not to eject the president out of office, we are told. This would, presumably, be under orders from the party high command. Casual investigations reveal that though Nawaz Sharif might be more popular with the rank-andfile of the party, their ideological framework resembles his brother’s. An elaborate good cop/ bad cop? Maybe. either way, it is a pickle that threatens the future of the party unless dealt with properly.

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

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Man of many contradictions Qaddafi: An Arab maverick

V

iolence begets violence is the lesson one can learn from the life and death of the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who grabbed power through a violent act and was kicked out of power by violent protestors that ultimately assassinated him in a brutal manner. For over four decades, he ruled as a romantic revolutionary, who thought he could fashion the world according to his whims and fantasies. Like a true romantic, he was a man of many dreams, who was quite passionate about them. He was the leader of a small country yet he chose the whole world as the theatre of performance.

From Africa to europe, he supported all brands of revolutionary liberation movements such as the Front of National Liberation in eriteria and Irish nationalists struggling against Britain in Northern Ireland. At the same time, he was equally critical of the capitalistic American neo-imperialism and the atheistic Russian

By Basharat Hussain Qizilbash communism. His most cherished dream, however, was pan-Arabism as he wanted to forge on a common political platform a United States of Arabs to confront the challenges posed by the West as well as the communist bloc but he lacked the vision, means and stature to overcome the centuries old Arab prejudices, parochialism and tribalism.

One may disagree with his approach but one can never question the sincerity of his purpose in uniting the Arab states into a political unity. In 1969, he persuaded egyptian President Gamal Nasser and Sudanese President Jafar Numeiri to launch the Revolutionary Arab Front. Undeterred by Nasser’s sudden demise, he prevailed upon the new egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Syrian President Hafez Assad to form the Federation of Arab Republic in 1971. Frustrated by Sadat’s lacklustre attitude, he proposed to President

eye on History

Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia that their states should merge into an Arab Islamic Republic in 1974. His selflessness to the pan-Arab cause was unique in the sense that he had been the only leader, who publicly declared that he would step down as the head of the Libyan state in favour of Sadat to realise the dream of the federation with egypt.

One wonders when he was so enthusiastic in pursuing his ideals, then why did he fail in all of his enterprises. I think the most important factor that caused his failures was his maverick bent of mind which did not permit him to be consistent in his words and deeds. Consequently, even if he had the noblest of intentions; he could not be taken seriously by others.

His whole life is replete with erratic behaviour. For example, he announced that Libya would quit the Arab League if egyptian President Mobarak were invited to its 1989 session. Later, to the utter amazement of everybody, he not only accepted Mobarak but was the first person to embrace and kiss him.

Such a maverick attitude irritated many and caused more ill-will than goodwill. The August 1990 Arab League summit convened to find a solution of Iraq’s attack on Kuwait is another case in point.

Qaddafi suspected that the resolution that was to be passed was actually prepared in Washington and then translated in Arabic. Fair enough! But the way he communicated his displeasure was annoying to the Sheikhdoms. First, he confronted Sheikh Zayed, the ruler of UAe: “Why are you hiding behind the Americans?

Wouldn’t it have been easier to get the Israelis to protect you? They are nearer.”

Then, in a sheer display of bravado, he bellowed to a group of other Gulf foreign ministers that included Sheikh Saad of Kuwait: “Why don’t you ask the Israelis to come and defend you?” He was probably the only Arab leader, who personally led a demonstration of about half a million people in Tripoli in support of Iraq and against the US military intervention.

This maverick personality trait made him a man of many contradictions. The same Iraq with whom he was expressing solidarity in 1990 was castigated by him in 1972 for signing a treaty of friendship with socialist Russia. He argued that Iraq had broken the ranks of Arab solidarity and so recalled his ambassador from Baghdad but three years later had himself signed a $1 billion arms deal with Moscow. even Moscow found it quite difficult to forge a stable relationship with such a

maverick mind. He was an Islamist at heart and enforced strict Islamic regulations in the early 1970’s by banning alcohol, closing bars, cabarets and other places of entertainment as he firmly believed that one day the world would reject capitalism and communism and would ultimately embrace Islam.

Ironically, he was not consistent even in his opposition to communism.

First, in 1971, after the communists had brought a successful coup against President Jafer Numeiri of Sudan, Babakr elNur boarded a BOAC flight from London to Khartoum to take over as the new President, had his flight forcibly brought down in Libya on the orders of Qaddafi, was put in jail and subsequently handed over to the Sudanese authorities. However, the very next year, the maverick Libyan leader supported the Marxist South Yemen government in its civil war against North Yemen.

These eccentricities had completely estranged him from his Arab brothers, the imperialist West and the Russian communists. If any country that was strong enough to save him in his last confrontation against the US-led NATO forces, it was Russia. A few days ago, the incumbent Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov clearly warned the world that his country would not allow a Libya-style military intervention against Syria, however, no such warning was issued by the Russians in defence of Qaddafi. Why? Just because Russians had not forgotten Qaddafi’s tirades against them. The Soviet President Brezhnev, while communicating his displeasure at Qaddafi had enquired from Sadat in a meeting: “We don’t know him; we have never met him; we have nothing against him or against Libya.

So, I don’t know why he is attacking us, and communism and Soviet Union.”

Sometimes the wounds caused by words can be more cutting than a sword.

The Russian prestige was definitely wounded. The annoyed Brezhnev reminded Sadat, “We judge people by what they say. Why is Qaddafi attacking us?

We aren’t attacking him... Obviously what Qaddafi says can’t harm the Soviet Union, and the time will come when he will repent of everything he had said against the Soviet Union.” Qaddafi should have marked his words but he didn’t and thus, met an ignominious end.

The writer is an academic and journalist. He can be reached at qizilbash2000@yahoo.com

Who’s got the Khan’s back?

The establishment’s aaloos and Imran’s anday

By Ali Aftab

A

nd here I am thinking, can PTI clean sweep the next elections? Do they even have candidates in Sindh, Balochistan or Southern Punjab for that matter? Is it going to remain the party of unsullied eggs if the likes of Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Mushahid Hussain join it?

And let’s not forget, even if they don’t make an alliance with any party at the moment, won’t they inevitably have to after the elections? Then, who will it be with? Cracking the shell in two, if PTI just ends up placing a pixie dent in PML(N)’s electorate bum, who will benefit from that?

Should PPP support PTI for

future dharnas in Punjab? even if rumour has it, I will have the facts on the rocks: the establishment always assures that there are no hurdles when they support someone in a vested cause. Keeping in mind that it’s Shahbaz Sharif’s government in Punjab, Imran Khan’s impeccably smooth jalsa in Lahore is an unmistakable indication of the above; his peaceful protest against drones in Peshawar is the other. Also, Mian Nawaz’s perpetual grudge against the army was evident in the APC when he addressed General Kayani by saying where there’s smoke there’s fire. That can be taken as acknowledging the US point of view to some extent and the beef in the establishment’s ‘kosher’ menu card. With Sharif’s guns trained on them, maybe the powers that be are looking for other props?

Moving on, Imran Khan is very determined about keeping a check on the assets of the current political figures. But shouldn’t these good intentions begin at home? A well-known political analyst from PTI said that Imran’s annual income culminates to 2 crores from

which he donates around 1 crore to Shaukat Khanum and other non-profit institutions.

But one can’t but have conjectures about where the dough is coming from for all his campaigning. The lighting at Minar-i-Pakistan that day was very well. And then there was the new campaign style introduced by IK - inviting singers to jalsas and covering their boarding and lodging. There were also the caravan of floaters (publicity vans) that roamed around the city with Imran’s posters. These ring a bell in one’s mind about the finances. Given Imran’s insistence that party members aren’t rich enough, one has to ask: where is the money coming from?

Imran Khan also announced his visit to China during his jalsa to which he went and quietly ironically (I must consider it situational irony) he came back on a private plane which seemed to be arranged by state authorities. In what capacity did he go there? A couple of days prior to the eye-opening and white-washing jalsa, China seemingly put Pakistan in a critical position

(Though not embarrassing) by asking for establishing military bases in FATA, definitely to counter the rising danger of extremism in Xinxiang. Imran, perhaps would have to take a contradictory position if he agreed to the “demands” put forward by China. Imran would be supporting the Taliban for their cause in Afghanistan and simultaneously would be discouraging Muslim separatists in Xinxiang. If he goes to Saudi Arabia or the Middle east after this, won’t it be more conclusive that he is playing in the hands of the establishment?

I was terribly disappointed with some analysts as they predicted Imran denting both right- and left-wing vote banks by offering prayers on stage and then letting the musicians play music before his speech. Is playing music all that is required to prove your ‘liberal’ ‘leftist’ credentials? These things once meant entirely something else. That it has come down to this tells us a lot.

The writer is a member of the band Beygairat Brigade that has recently released the single Aaloo Anday.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Never another Amir

Our cricketing heartbreak

By Waqqas Mir

I

t is hard to describe to anyone outside the subcontinent how much we love our cricket. We worship the game but that is not all. We worship for the game. We go to our temples and our mosques beseeching God to help our team win. Win or lose, God and this religion of cricket stay intact. But as so often happens, religion and tragedy share a deep bond.

As our car pulled into the parking lot of an eatery on the Motorway that balmy evening in 2004 the noise from afar would have made you think that a political rally was about to start. The occasion: Pakistan v India at the eden Gardens. India had piled up a sizeable total and Pakistan’s chase had just begun. I had to stand on tiptoes to see the small screen in the KFC where I could see a left hander creaming Zaheer Khan repeatedly through the covers. When Zaheer pitched up, this young man put his foot forward and drove, when Khan pitched short the bat slashed horizontally. He moved with ease and his bat flowed like an uninhibited painter’s brush strokes. “Who is he?” I asked a friend. He shrugged.

“New guy. Salman something.”

Two hours later, Salman Butt became a hero to a nation that maybe has only one common undisputed love: its cricket team. Butt scored a century, we beat India. A new cricketing star had arrived — we were sure of it.

Fast forward to Karachi in 2006 and that is when I first watched a lanky fast bowler named Muhammad Asif. He sent Sehwag, Laxman and Tendulkar’s stumps cartwheeling on a breezy Karachi afternoon as a stadium and countless homes erupted in euphoria.

We beat India 1-0 in the Test series and all was well in the world.

Another memory: it’s a friend’s wedding party but all the guests present keep asking, ‘Score kya hua?’ A child runs through the

crowd screaming the sweetest words a Pakistani can hear when we play India: “Tendulkar out ho gaya!” High fives all around! “Who got him?” asks one cheerful voice.

“Muhammad Amir!” shouted another. An 18 year old dismisses the greatest batsman playing the game; commentators mention how the young man will remember that moment for a long time. An established genius had just fallen to a raw but spellbinding talent.

Over the next few months, the world saw Amir establishing himself as by far the most exciting young fast bowler to have arrived in the past decade. There was something of a Lionel Messi about him. His talent at swinging the ball was almost unfairly breathtaking. He was the sort of sparkling young talent that forced commentators to confront the inadequacies of language. He was Pakistan’s favorite 18-year old. He was our ticket to glory: a nation’s redemption at its favorite sport.

August, 2010: And then we wake up to that ignominious morning where papers screamed headlines we did not want to believe. This was a tragedy and denial, our second most popular sport, would not get us anywhere.

Our players’ actions brought shame to themselves while disgracing our country and a sport we worship. Michael Holding’s tears on live television for Muhammad Amir summed it up. This story can be told in many different ways but it will always have this heartwrenching end where corruption and human frailty won over greater, perhaps nobler, passions.

Sportsmen are geniuses. They absorb pressures most of us can never imagine. In tense situations, with screaming crowds or with lips muttering prayers we trust only thing: their judgment about their own talent. But they are human and prone to temptation and the most egregious mistakes.

Cricketers better than most people should know the value of a bad judgment. And three of our heroes got their judgments desperately wrong. They made a choice — an awfully bad one — but in the ensuing tragedy there are countless victims. The actions of three players are worthy of condemnation but disgraceful conduct does not make human frailty any less of a tragedy.

Cricket must protect its own. The

ICC has for a long time been an idle bystander as corruption scandals have been revealed through different sources. Instead of waiting for leaks, the ICC must ensure that all countries must counter ways in which money threatens the sport. Money is neutral some might say, but it isn’t always so. If you allow money’s influence, you have to guard against it too. equally culpable is the PCB which has been criminally negligent in its disciplinary management. It is almost impossible to fathom that the PCB was unaware of a culture of players acting through their agents in a nontransparent manner. Stricter regulation of agent-player relations must follow along with who the agents deal with. All agents must endure thorough background checks and on-going disclosure requirements of their actions/contracts that directly or indirectly affect a player’s earnings. Compliance audits with international best practices are another necessity.

This need not be draconian.

The PCB just has to come up with an effective and transparency facilitating corporate governance mechanism and the goals can be achieved. What is most important is the will to implement. With a new and widely respected Chairman in place, one hopes that cricket will be served with the passion with which it is followed. PCB must also take steps to try and insulate the families of the players from media harassment.

In early 2011, as I was leaving a restaurant in Sri Lanka an old gentleman stopped me to ask where I was from. When I said Pakistan, he grabbed me by the arm and leaned closer. I saw his eyes well up with tears as he said, “I am 75 years old. And I am so sorry about Muhammad Amir that it breaks my heart.” He nearly lost his voice before saying, ‘there may never be another like him’. Today, as I look back at the tragedy that the cricketing world will remember as Muhammad Amir, I have a different prayer: May there never be another Muhammad Amir.

The writer is a Barrister and an Advocate of the High Courts.

He has a special interest in Antitrust law and is currently pursuing an LLM at a law school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Comment 13

Speechless in Wonderland Nonsense: an exercise in intelligence

T

o test their level of english reading and comprehension, ten girls were asked to read an extract from ‘Alice in Wonderland’, taken from a Grade Four english textbook.

These girls were ‘Inter pass,’ and not from homes where english is normally spoken. One and all mispronounced the name ‘Alice’, which was expected. What really stumped them though was the concept of a girl jumping down a rabbit hole after a white rabbit that could speak. Alice rendered them speechless.

It is hard to understand why. We’re exposed to a great deal of nonsense in desi magazines starting from their lurid covers to the sentimental tosh within. Television, a major source of entertainment for the public, is also replete with nonsense, not much of which is intelligent. Intelligent nonsense would be programmes such as Hasb-e-Haal with the talented Sohail Ahmed, but sans the cackling hostess on the side, please.

What could be bigger nonsense for example, than the drama serial ‘Uttaran’ on a private television channel that claims to offer ‘pure entertainment’? An Indian soap, Uttaran incredibly shot up to the top twenty in India and is extremely popular here.

If viewers can stomach men and women behaving the way they do in this series, why do they find the white rabbit, the Mad Hatter

By Rabia Ahmed or the hookah smoking Caterpillar so unsettling?

The tears, the obsessive focus on marriage, the excessive makeup and jewelry, the soppy idiom, the dreadful, dreadful music …why did Alice resonate like such an unidentifiably frightful object to girls reared on the doings of the likes of Ichcha and Tapasya?

Pakistani plays, although better, still have much the same focus: marriage, unreasonable filial obedience, marriage, tears, marriage…and have I mentioned marriage?

Flipping through the channels on television, you see programmes about space flights, or animal habitats, or people who invented something mad but brilliant, sports programmes or a funny sitcom or two. Interspersed with these are the Indian and Pakistan shows predominantly featuring groups of curiously dressed persons performing synchronous stomping contortions; strongly reminiscent of the PT once popular in schools.

Of course there are other desi channels, talk shows where everyone talks/shouts in synch or other shows compered by women with sunflowers tucked behind their ears.

In recent days Lahore witnessed further deaths as a result of dengue, a whole family was shot dead by a brother frustrated at being unemployed, and another man set himself on fire for the same reason.

The Chief Minister of the Punjab and his brother have been taking swipes at the President of the country, and a man died after queuing all night at the bank to receive his pension from Pakistan Railways. The President of Pakistan ‘noticed’ this occurrence, and ordered an enquiry into the matter, another expensive exercise which will obediently not produce any useful conclusions.

The BBC claimed that Pakistan’s Intelligence Service is training and protecting Taliban in this country.

Meantime, Maulana edhi in a completely senior moment declared that General Kayani should take over at the helm of government for six months in a bid to control poverty and corruption, and the long suffering Nusrat Bhutto heaved a sigh of relief and turned up her toes. To its bewilderment, the entire country was asked to close shop for the day as a result.

The crown prince of Saudi Arabia died, and another stepped into his expensive shoes, and in Turkey hundreds of people died in an earthquake.

Qaddafi the leader of Libya for more than forty years was dragged through the streets and killed, and people fled the capital of Bangkok as the city became inundated with flood waters.

Shouting “We are the 99%” protestors demonstrated in New York City’s Zuccotti Park against unfair distribution of wealth and financial greed within capitalist societies. ‘Occupy Wall Street’ quickly became the prototype for other ‘Occupy’ protests, including ‘Occupy Bilawal House’ (okay, okay, I’m kidding, but it may well come true).

All this while, on television in Pakistan, people continue dancing, shouting, and wearing sunflowers, while fluorescent women continue to grace the covers of various magazines and digests. As Alice said, “it would be so nice if something would make sense for a change.’

We could do without with much of this entertainment, only some of it interesting, very little of it intelligent. We need the kind of nonsense that makes people smile.

True nonsense is a valuable exercise in lateral thinking that teases the brain into questioning one’s surroundings and arriving at conclusions that would not occur in the routine and mundane.

“I like nonsense,” said Dr. Seuss. “It wakes up the brain cells.”

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14 Foreign News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

thai floods death toll rises above 500 BANGKOK AfP

The death toll from Thailand’s worst floods in decades jumped above 500 on Sunday as the seemingly unstoppable waters crept deeper into Bangkok, swamping main roads and threatening the city centre. The government said the disaster has now killed 506 people nationwide - an increase of 60 from the figure reported a day earlier. So far no deaths in Bangkok have been reported in the official toll. At least 20 percent of the capital is already submerged in floodwater contaminated by rubbish, dead animals and industrial waste, raising fears about outbreaks of disease in the densely populated metropolis of 12 million people. The slowmoving water is now just a few kilometres (miles) away from business and tourist districts, and authorities are desperately seeking to push the floods through waterways in the east and west of the city and out to sea.

In Bangkok, more than a million people have been told to evacuate 10 districts out of a total of 50 in the capital, and a partial evacuation order has been issued in five others. But many have chosen to stay in their homes despite risks including electrocution, disease and lack of food and drinking water, complicating relief efforts. Thai authorities failed to save a number of major industrial parks from the floods, despite earlier assurances they would be protected. The crisis is taking its toll on the lucrative Thai tourism industry, with countries including the United States, Britain, Singapore, Canada and the Netherlands advising against all but essential travel to Bangkok.

4 killed as Syrians rally on eid DAMASCUS AfP

Security forces killed four civilians as antiregime demonstrations were staged across Syria on Sunday, the first day of the Muslim feast marking the end of the Haj, a human rights group said. Three of the civilians were killed in Homs, the flashpoint central city where protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad were held in most districts despite a weeks-long military crackdown. In Homs, “a civilian was killed by security forces gunfire in Bab Dreibi district, another died in shelling in Baba Amro... and a third was killed by snipers,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement received in Nicosia.

Security forces also shot dead another civilian in the city of Hama, which lies further to the north. And in Talbi, a town near Homs, “four protesters were wounded, one seriously, when the security forces fired on a demonstration,” said the Britain-based Observatory.The latest reported crackdown on protests came as Syrian state radio reported President Assad attended Al-Nur mosque in the northern town of Raqqa for prayers on Sunday morning to mark eidul Azha.

AYUTTHAYA: A resident in a boat travels through floodwaters near a statue of buddha at a temple, on Sunday. REutERS JERUSALEM

I

AfP

SRAeLI President Shimon Peres warned late on Saturday that an attack on Iran was “more and more likely,” days before a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Iran’s nuclear programme.

He told Israel’s privately owned Channel Two television: “The intelligence services of the different countries that are keeping an eye on (Iran) are worried and putting pressure on their leaders to warn that Iran is ready to obtain the nuclear weapon.

“We must turn to these countries to ensure that they keep their commitments... this must be done, and there is a long list of options,” Peres added.

In recent days, speculation in Israel has grown about the possibility of a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. On Wednesday, it was reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister ehud Barak were seeking cabinet support for an attack. The military last week carried out what Israeli media called a “ballistic missile” test, as well as a large-scale civil defence drill simulating the response to conventional and non-conventional missile attacks.

Officials said both events were longplanned and unrelated to the specula-

Attack on Iran ‘more and more likely’: Israel g

Conclusive UN Iran nuke report expected later this week

tion about military action, but both helped drive talk here about whether Israel is ramping up plans for an attack.

On Sunday, it was reported that US officials had failed to secure a commitment from Israel that it would coordinate any plans to attack Iran with Washington. Citing unnamed US officials, Haaretz said US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had used a recent visit to Israel to make clear Washington did not want to be surprised by any Israeli attack, but received only a vague response from Netanyahu and Barak.

Still, media reports suggested no final decision on a strike has been taken and that a report by the International Atomic energy Agency (IAeA) nuclear watchdog on November 8 would have a “decisive effect” on decision-making.

Previous IAeA assessments have centred on Iran’s efforts to produce fissile material - uranium and plutonium

- that can be used for power generation and other peaceful uses, but also for the core of a nuclear warhead.

However the new update, which diplomats say will be circulated among envoys on Tuesday or Wednesday, will focus on Iran’s alleged efforts to put the fissile material in a warhead and develop missiles to carry them to a target.

Israeli defence analysts have described the Iranian programme as “alarming,” and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said the report would prove “beyond doubt” its military aims. He said he hoped Iran would be targeted by a new package of international sanctions.

On Monday, Barak was forced to deny media reports that he and Netanyahu had already decided to launch an attack against Iran over the opposition of military and intelligence chiefs.

But he said “situations could arise

in the Middle east under which Israel must defend its vital interests independently, without having to rely on regional or other forces.”

Haaretz said a majority of the 15 members of Israel’s security cabinet were still against an attack on Iran.

Only that body can take such a momentous decision. A poll published by Haaretz on Thursday found Israeli public opinion divided on a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, with 41 percent in favour, 39 percent opposed and 20 percent undecided.

Israel has consistently warned all options remain on the table when it comes to Iran’s nuclear programme, which the Jewish state and Western governments fear masks a drive for nuclear weapons. Iran denies any such ambition and insists its nuclear programme is for power generation and medical purposes only.

Last mountain priest dies in India’s Sikkim NEW DELHI AfP

An ancient ritual of worshipping Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain, has ended with the death of the last Lepcha priest in remote northeast India, reports said Sunday.

“The tradition... has ended forever. It is not possible for another person to learn the rituals and take Samdup Taso’s place,” local resident Sherap Lepcha told the The Times Of India.

The indigenous Lepcha people of Sikkim have worshipped the Himalayan peak for hundreds of years in an annual ceremony led by direct descendants of the original “bongthing” or priest. But the death of Samdup Taso, 83, has left the Lepchas without a priest to continue prayers for the mountain, which is

SIKKIM: A view of mount Kanchenjunga taken from Kaluk Bazaar.

On Sunday, an ancient ritual of worshipping Kanchenjunga ended with the death of the last Lepcha priest. Afp

revered as Sikkim’s guardian deity, the paper reported. Taso had one son who has not become a priest, the newspaper reported, adding that Taso died in his na-

tive Nung village in the Dzongu region of north Sikkim on October 31 without anointing a successor.

The Lepchas are seen as the original

inhabitants of Sikkim, a tiny former kingdom nestled between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan that only became part of India in 1975. “Taso, believed to be a descendant of the first ‘bongthing’, used to lead (the) elaborate rituals that would commence with overnight prayers at his residence,” the Times reported.

Details of the Lepcha creation myth vary, but the Calcutta Telegraph in its report on Taso’s death said locals believed that the first Lepcha couple had been made from fresh snows at Kanchenjunga’s summit. The British climbers who conquered Kanchenjunga in 1955 stopped just short of the peak out of respect for the Sikkimese belief that the spot is sacred, and other expeditions have since followed suit.

The mountain, measuring 28,169 feet, straddles Sikkim’s western border

with Nepal, and tourists from around the world travel to the region to admire its distant peaks from viewpoints and hotel balconies.

Sikkim was controlled by “chogkals” (kings) until 1975, when India intervened after an uprising against the monarchy by the majority-Nepali population who migrated into the region in the 19th century.

The Times reported that about 55,000 Lepcha people remain in Sikkim, 800 years after they settled near the base of Kanchenjunga. It said many Lepchas had turned from nature-worship to Buddhism or Christianity, and that ceremonies devoted to Kanchenjunga had become rare in recent decades.

Reports said that Taso died after mild earthquake tremors shook the region.

Sikkim was hit by a severe quake in September that killed at least 100 people.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

Prince Salman named Saudi defence minister

greek leaders launch bid to break political deadlock ATHENS

RIYADH AfP

AfP

King Abdullah late on Saturday named his half-brother Prince Salman, who is governor of Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia’s defence minister to succeed the late Crown Prince Sultan, state television Al-ekhbariya said. Although Prince Salman served as governor for more than half a century, he has not previously held a ministerial post.

Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz was appointed Riyadh’s governor in Prince Salman’s place, the report said, citing a series of royal decrees, under which Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the late crown prince’s son, was named deputy defence minister.

The appointment of Prince Salman comes as Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is holding negotiations with the United States on the final details of a 60billion-dollar arms deal.

Greek leaders were poised Sunday for a fresh round of talks to break the political deadlock over efforts to form a unity government and keep crisis-ravaged Greece in the eurozone.

Amid dire warnings that Athens is fast running out of time to implement a crucial eU bailout plan designed to save Greece from bankruptcy, Prime Minister George Papandreou has offered to step down in favour of a coalition government. But Antonis Samaras, leader of the main conservative opposition party, has snubbed the proposal, calling instead for “immediate” elections.

Papandreou in turn has dismissed the idea of early polls as a “catastrophe” and said the bickering was giving the rest of europe the impression that Greece did not want to stay in the 17-nation eurozone. “The application of this deal is the precondition for us staying in the euro. It’s as important as that,” he told reporters on Saturday after visiting President Carolos Papoulias. Papandreou was referring to a rescue package thrashed out in late October after tortuous negotiations in Brussels that would see banks write off half their holdings of Greek debt and offer massive loans to keep the country afloat. The cabinet meeting was due to prepare a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday that would debate an eight-billioneuro ($11-billion) slice of bailout cash that Finance Minister evangelos Venizelos says is needed by December 15.

Colombian rebels promise to continue fight BOGOTA AfP

Colombian leftist rebels promised late Saturday to continue their struggle, despite the death of their Marxist leader Alfonso Cano. “Peace in Colombia will not come as a result of a demobilization of the rebel force, but as a result of eradication of the causes that had led to the rebellion,” the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said in a statement.

Cano, who had led the group since 2008, was gunned down in a firefight late Friday during a day-long operation in which his female companion also died, government and local officials said. The operation taking out Cano was the latest in a string of recent military victories in the government’s quest to eradicate Latin America’s longest-running leftist insurgency, after years of unsuccessful attempts to find a negotiated solution.

Speaking after Cano’s death, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos urged the rebels to surrender their arms and start talks with the government. But the FARC statement said the group “has charted a policy, and that policy will continue.” The FARC acknowledged Cano’s death, but promised that he will be replaced by people “with courage and absolute conviction in the final victory.” The FARC, believed to have 8,000 members, has been at war with the government since its launch in 1964. It began a campaign of kidnappings in the mid1980s, seizing army hostages to serve as bargaining chips for FARC prisoners. By the late 1990s, civilians and political leaders were also being snatched, winning the group greater notoriety. But the group has suffered some serious losses since 2008, when its number two Raul Reyes died during a Colombian army raid in ecuadoran territory.

That same year, the FARC also lost Manuel “Sure Shot” Marulanda Velez, the reclusive 80-year-old rebel chief, who was last seen in 1982. He died after a brief illness.

KAbUl: Afghan men greet each other outside the Shahe do Shamshera mosque, as Muslims around the world celebrate eidul Azda to mark the end of the Haj pilgrimage by slaughtering sheep, goats, camels and cows. rEuTErS

150 die in Islamist attacks in Nigeria DAMATURU

A

AfP

T least 150 people died in a “heinous” wave of gun and bomb attacks in northern Nigeria that were on Saturday claimed by the Islamist Boko Haram sect.

President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the assaults which officials said included at least five suicide bomb blasts and “directed security agencies to ensure the arrest of perpetrators of these heinous acts,” said a statement from his spokesman Reuben Abati.

As corpses piled up in the morgue, a rescue agency official said the body count stood at 150.

“I was involved in the evacuation of corpses to the morgue. I personally counted 150 bodies,” the official,

speaking on condition of anonymity, said at the hospital. He said some families had already collected their loved ones for burial, reducing the number to 97 by end of the day.

The Red Cross earlier said the death toll stood at 63, while police spoke of 53, of whom 11 were members of its force.

The 15-nation UN Security Council released a statement saying it “condemned in the strongest terms” the attacks in Nigeria. The council expressed condolences to the families. A member of Nigeria’s Boko Haram sect on Saturday claimed responsibility.

“We are responsible for the attack in (northeastern) Borno (state) and Damaturu,” Abul Qaqa said by phone. “We will continue attacking federal government formations until security forces stop persecuting our members and vulnerable civilians,”

Qaqa warned.

The Friday bomb and gun attacks targeted police stations, an army base and churches in the cities of Damaturu, Maiduguri and two other small towns.

Militants from Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education Is Sin” in the regional Hausa language, have in the past targeted police and military, community and religious leaders, as well as politicians.

The sect, which wants to see the establishment of an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, staged an uprising which was brutally put down by security forces in 2009. Nigeria’s more than 160 million people are divided almost in half between Muslims and Christians, living roughly in the north and south of the country respectively. Regions where they overlap are prey to frequent tensions.

Four dead as Indian ship sinks off oman MUSCAT AfP

Four crewmen died and five are still missing after an Indian ship sank in bad weather off the coast of Oman, state media in the Gulf sultanate reported on Sunday.

The Omani coastguard rescued six sailors and recovered four bodies after the sinking around 12 kilometres off the town of Sadh in the southern Dhofar region, reports said.

Torrential rains this week sparked flashflooding in Dhofar that killed 12 people, authorities in the region said.

China web firms vow to curb ‘harmful’ info BEIJING AfP

The heads of China’s largest Internet and technology firms have vowed to stop the “spread of harmful information” on the web. Web firms came to a “common agreement” to “safeguard” the spreading of positive information online and “strengthen self-management and selfdiscipline”, the report said. The pledge by the private and state-owned companies backs efforts by the government to tighten its grip on the fast-growing Internet sector, which has become a platform for citizens to express their opinions and frustrations.

Stranded Everest trekkers walk to safety KATHMANDU AfP

Hundreds of foreign tourists stranded by heavy fog in the everest region are hiking their way to safety across the Himalayas, an official said Sunday.

With continuing bad weather hampering their rescue, up to 400 of the thousands of stranded trekkers have given up waiting for the fog to lift and are heading to Jiri, a four-day walk away, to pick up buses back to Kathmandu. Managers on Wednesday were forced to close the only airstrip in Lukla, the gateway for climbers heading to everest and surrounding mountains, grounding all flights in and out of the region. “There is a very low visibility so we are not expecting the resumption of regular flights today,” said Utsab Kharel, the manager of Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla.

“Around 300 to 400 tourists have walked from Lukla to Jiri after losing hope of an improvement in the weather.” The army had hoped to deploy its rescue helicopter, which carries up to 40 people, but bad weather

has prevented it from accessing Lukla, 135 kilometres (84 miles) from Kathmandu.

“Small helicopters have continued rescuing tourists from Surke, a village a one-and-half hour walk from Lukla,” said Kharel. “They have carried around 400 foreigners to Kathmandu.” The stranded trekkers, including Americans, Britons and Germans, have been sleeping at the airport and in tents and dining halls at Lukla hotels, officials say, with the fog not expected to lift until at least Monday. “300 are in Surke are still waiting their turn. Around 2,200 to 2,500 are languishing in Lukla,” Kharel said. “The prices of daily commodities have soared up and the stock of meat and vegetables is running empty.”

Nepal, a popular destination for mountaineers and trekkers, has eight of the world’s 14 tallest peaks over 8,000 metres, including the world’s highest, Mount everest, at 29,029 feet. Thousands of foreign tourists visit the everest region during the peak tourism season late in the year.

Around 500 travellers fly in and out of Lukla on a normal day when weather conditions are good.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

‘Ra.One’ premiers in Lahore

Society

LAHORE

S

STAff rePOrT

HAH Rukh Khan’s latest superhero action film ‘Ra.One’ hit the Pakistani cinemas and grabbed a large audience for premier show.

The much awaited sci-fi action movie, ‘Ra.One’ (Random Access-Version 1.0) recently premiered in Lahore as celebrities including Nabeel Khan, fashion model Iffat Omer, fashion designers Nickie & Nina, Tony, Shafaq Habib, Imtisal Zafar attended the premier show. There has been a mixed response of the ‘Ra.One’ is directed by SRK’s wife Gau-

rai Khan and SRk himself. The movie is studded with performances by Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal who form the main cast of film along with SRK. Priyanka Chopra, Sunjay Dutt and super star Rajnikanth have given guest appearances in the movie.

Ayzel Maison De Couture extends collection ISLAMABAD STAff rePOrT

Multi designer fashion house ‘Ayzel Maison De Couture’ now brings more fashion collections for fashion lovers by placing latest collections of many Pakistani fashion designers.

Fashion label Ayzel Maison De Couture recently opened in Islamabad and besides having collections by many renowned fashion designers; amateur designers’ collection has been exhibited there now.

The fashion store exhibits ladies’ dresses by well known Pakistani fashion designers and also displays high end jewelry, handbags and accessories.

The new fashion designers displaying their collection at Ayzel Maison De Couture include Urban Wear, Sadaf Sherazi, Rabia J., KHM Couture and Waseem Noor.

Agha Sheraz opens Burnout cafe ISLAMABAD STAff rePOrT

Famous Pakistani television artist, Agha Sheraz, has launched an auto mobile themed café in Islamabad with his two friends Babar and Waqas. The café is called ‘Burnout’.

Burnout is the only café in Pakistan based on such an innovative theme that has an automobile themed décor as its main attraction. Pakistani celebrity, Agha Sheraz, has introduced car shaped seat sofas with tyres and flashing lights in this Burnout café. Logos of various automobiles have also been used in the décor.

Federal Minister Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain inaugurated the café. Many Pakistani celebrities such as Laila Zuberi,

LAHore: wasabi, the first of its kind home-delivery service for Japanese cuisine, launched at y-block. PhoTos By AmIr BABA Zeba Bakhtiar, Shabbir Jaan, and Tony attended the launching ceremony of Burnout café in Islamabad. The café serves Italian, Thai, Mexican, continental and Lebanese cuisine.

Should ‘the chase’ continue?

MUMBAI AGeNCIeS

Come December, and Farhan Akhtar will be back with the second instalment of action thriller ‘Don’ with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Don 2: The Chase Continues’.

Shah Rukh has always maintained that their intention of doing Don 2 was “to pay tribute to Amitabh ji. There is only one ‘Don’ and he is Amitabh Bachchan.” But the fact is that the original Don personally doesn’t favour the trend. Bachchan had said that neither he nor his son Abhishek favour remakes of classics and that the original should be left as original. Does this rattle him?

“I am a huge fan of Amit uncle. But to say that classics should not be remade.

Perhaps he said it in a different context. It cannot be a standalone statement because the same person has done a remake of Sholay,” said Farhan.

He continues, “When you look back - the most remade film ever in the history of cinema is Devdas. It has been made eight times. When it was being remade with Dilip Kumar people objected saying that how can one make Devdas with Dilip Kumar and that only K L Saigal can do it. People are fascinated by certain stories and they want to retell the story for today’s audience. What is wrong in that?”

Sandalwood can’t afford Raima MUMBAI: Actress raima Sen says she was offered a role in a Kannada movie, but didn’t take it up because it wasn’t financially viable. Actress raima Sen has certainly made a career in offbeat cinema, so it’s little wonder that she’s called an indie heroine of sorts. “I am not interested in commercial cinema because I have always been different, right from my debut when I played the role of Sejal in ‘godmother’. Sure, there was ‘Honeymoon travels Pvt Ltd’, ‘Mirch’ and now ‘raakh’, but I get the kind of roles I want to do in Bengali cinema,” says raima.

Now that Bollywood is changing, with directors like Dibakar Banerjee and Bejoy Nambiar making edgy films, wouldn’t she want to lend her offbeat film experience to B-town? “of course I would love to do experimental films. I am a director’s actor and seeing the way Bollywood has changed over the years, it would be great,” says the actor. given that she has only two upcoming B-town films - a cameo in John Abraham’s I Me Aur Hum and tanjua Chandra’s raakh alongside rajeev Khandelwal and vir Das - it seems like the Bong bombshell has made the right move in shifting her gaze down south. raima recently made her Mollywood debut with veeraputhran, a biopic on the life of freedom fighter Mohammed Abdul rahman, directed by Pt Kunjumohammed. How did she bag the role? “there was a film festival in Kerala and Mohammed happened to see the Japanese wife. He liked it and flew to Mumbai and told me that when he saw the film he could only think of me in the role,” says raima, adding, “I was a bit sceptical initially, but he was so confident that I decided to do it. And it was a fabulous experience, I never felt like an outsider on the set.”

Is she game for tollywood and Kollywood as well? “My sister (riya Sen) has done some films down south and she has had a good stint in these industries. If I get good projects, I will definitely take them up,” says raima. Buzz is that the actor was approached for a Sandalwood film. Prod her about this and she says, “there were talks, but it didn’t materialize as it wasn’t financially viable. Also, my dates didn’t work out.” AGeNCIeS

Bobby Deol likely to play

‘Jat Dehati’ MUMBAI: Satish Kaushik plans to start a film next year with Bobby Deol tentatively titled Jat Dehati, where he plays a truck driver. “the film’s screenplay is ready and Bobby has liked it but talks are still at an initial stage”, said Kaushik, who has been building a library of movies post ‘Milenge Milenge’.”would you imagine Bollywood heroes agreeing to play a truck driver few years back, or have a title like rowdy rathore for a film? everybody wanted to do romcoms and go abroad to exotic locations for shoots”. says vijay galani, the producer of Jat Dehati. AGeNCIeS

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17 LOS ANGELES

T

AGeNCIeS

O transform himself into an aging J. edgar Hoover, Leonardo DiCaprio sat for hours at a time while makeup artists gave him liver spots, yellow teeth and big, bulbous love handles. He spends a good chunk of Clint eastwood’s film ‘J. edgar’ that way, sweating and sneering in the unforgiving lighting of F.B.I. headquarters.

The part also meant memorizing endless monologues that needed to be delivered with Hoover’s own breakneck cadence.

Additionally Mr. DiCaprio, who typically comes accessorized with a supermodel girlfriend in real life, had to wrestle aggressively with a man and then kiss him.

oh, and wear a dress.

Faced with a role with demands like that, most superstar actors, even those eager to catch the attention of Oscar voters, would have turned and run. Look unhandsome and unheroic? Too big a risk, even with Mr eastwood at the wheel. But Mr DiCaprio, at least the post-‘Titanic’ one, has made a career of highly risky choices, and somehow it keeps paying off not only on the awards circuit — he has been nominated for three Academy Awards — but at the box office as well.

“When I can’t immediately define the character, and there’s an element of mystery to it and still a lot to be explored, that’s when I say yes,” the 36-year-old Mr DiCaprio said in an interview last week on a patio at the Bel Air

Leo’s risk-taking Leo’s choices range from a urine-collecting howard hughes in ‘The Aviator’ to a Zimbabwean smuggler in ‘Blood Diamond’ to a mental patient in ‘shutter Island’ to a dream extractor in ‘Inception’ These may be eccentric but he maintains his knack of judging what works g

g

Hotel here. “I like those kinds of complicated characters. I just do.”

Hollywood typically doesn’t like that answer. The star system may have become more subtle since the days of Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart, but it’s still a system: American actors are supposed to be more steady persona, less shape shifter. “The apparatus likes to box actors up,” said Brian Grazer, a producer of ‘J. edgar’, which is set for release on Wednesday. “Once they become successful in one role, get them into picture after picture where they can do exactly the same thing.”

Mr. Grazer added: “To resist that, you have to make very hard choices. Most people are too afraid.”

It probably helps that DiCaprio has managed to retain a mystique about his personal life in the celebrity blogger era. Keeping that distance is something he works on. In an interview, for instance, he didn’t pretend to be a friend the way a lot of stars do. He likes his privacy, but this game

also makes his performances more successful; people are more likely to accept him as a largerthan-life character if they don’t have a very clear idea of who he is off screen.

DiCaprio’s choices may be unusual, but he does have his own version of sticking with what works. The characters are mostly tortured, unsympathetic, larger-

‘Tower heist’: Comedy of comeuppance MONITORING DESK Forty-five minutes or so into ‘Tower Heist’ the question arises: Is this movie with the title of purest generica — was ‘Stealing Money’ taken? — truly good, or simply less bad than most of what director Brett Ratner has done previously?

Played by the Trump Tower just off Columbus Circle across from Central Park, the luxe high-rise of ‘Tower Heist’ is home to a Wall Street tycoon (Alan Alda) whose ethics recall Bernie Madoff's.

He's entrusted by building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) to handle the employees’ pensions. Poof: Pensions, be gone. Political connections favor the tycoon getting away with his $2 billion crime spree, a portion of which represents the staff's life savings. It is up to Kovacs, with the aid of semi-pro burglar and

fellow Queens resident Slide (Murphy), to locate and swipe a missing $20 million hidden somewhere in the tycoon's penthouse, the centerpiece of which is a beautifully maintained classic Ferrari once owned by Steve McQueen. The promotional imagery for ‘Tower Heist’ does not hide the sequences involving the Ferrari dangling from a cable outside the building, while down below the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade proceeds along Central Park West. Compared with the outsized chaos of the ‘Rush Hour’ sequels, though, Ratner's latest has a pleasing sense of scale. The film actors such as Matthew Broderick (as a sad-sack Wall Street victim), Michael Pena (as a newly hired bellhop), Casey Affleck (whose droll line readings as the concierge are consistently surprising) and Gabourey ‘Precious’ Sidibe (as a safecracking maid).

‘Rockstar’ cannot allude to ‘Free tibet’ MUMBAI: the Censor Board has clamped down on certain audio and visual portions of the much-awaited ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘rockstar’ that opens next week. one would think Imtiaz Ali's musical odyssey about a small-town boy's journey from anonymity to superstardom on the wings of love would have flown through the censors, but it was not to be. It was only after Ali and the film's producers agreed to make the required deletions that the Censor Board passed the film with a UA certificate. the changes ordered by the board included the muting (beeping no longer allowed) of the words ‘sex’ and ‘bastard’ in the soundtrack -- words that commonly occur in our films and would have been allowed if the ‘rockstar’ team had agreed to an 'A' certificate. Likewise, a Hindi expletive which apparently ranbir Kapoor's character uses whenever he's emotionally aggravated, has been muted wherever it occurs. Again, the word, common in the films of Anurag Kashyap, vishal Bhardwaj and other purveyors of cowbelt lingo, was not permissible in a film passed for kids with parental guidance.

Most notable of all is the board's instruction to do away with a reference to tibetan freedom from Chinese dominion.

Apparently, Imtiaz Ali has been asked to do away with a flag in the film that reads 'Free tibet'. the Ceo of the Censor Board, Pankaja thakur, has confirmed the alterations in the film. AGeNCIeS

than-life guys created with the help of a tiny club of A-list directors, most notably Martin Scorsese.

“Leonardo could make a lot of money making mechanical genre pictures, but he wants to be challenged,” Mr eastwood said by telephone. “And it’s much more of a challenge to play someone who doesn’t have the slightest thing in common with you.”

Next on Mr. DiCaprio’s docket is the title role in Baz Luhrmann’s remake of ‘The Great Gatsby’, and he’s ready to play Frank Sinatra in another Scorsese biopic. “That is in Mr Scorsese’s hands,” he said of a potential Sinatra film, pausing to pop a wedge of watermelon into his mouth and pour himself another cup of coffee. “I’m always incredibly game for anything that he decides to do.”

‘J. edgar’ fits snugly into this canon. The best biopics offer a portrait of person, warts and all, and invite viewers to make their own judgments about him, and Mr eastwood’s film strives to do just that. Hoover is depicted as a

brilliant patriot who invented modern forensics and stopped at nothing to protect America through eight presidents and three wars. But the omnipowerful FBI director was an impediment, to put it mildly, to the civil rights movement and worked as hard to distort the truth as he did to collect it (and file it away) to secure his power.

All of that is more or less fact.

The treacherous part of ‘J. edgar’, written by Dustin Lance Black, an Oscar winner for his “Milk” screenplay, involves the gray. Was Hoover homosexual? Nobody knows for sure. He certainly had an unusually close relationship with his FBI colleague Clyde Tolson, played in the film by Armie Hammer (‘The Social Network’). even less clear is whether Hoover liked to wear women’s clothes, but Mr eastwood and Mr DiCaprio decided to retain Mr Black’s artful nod to the rumour.

“Obviously there’s a love story here,” Mr eastwood said.

“Whether it is a gay love story or something else — well, the audience can interpret it. My intention was to show two men who really love each other, and beyond that it’s none of my business.”

Mr DiCaprio’s risk taking is cheered by the Hollywood contingent that loves serious films, raising him to the level of deity for his willingness to make the kind of drama that is an endangered species at major studios these days. But a more business-minded crowd — agents, studio chiefs — says taking on all of these biopics is a mistake. The worry is that at some point Mr DiCaprio will become uninteresting to audiences if he doesn’t pepper his road with a wider variety of roles.”

On screen, real figures danced Satosphere is a scion of the circle-Vision theater, unveiled at the 1967 international and Universal exposition’s Bell Pavilion in Montreal g

CANADA AGeNCIeS

The audience finds itself inside a giant uterus. Or it flies around cathedral ruins. Or it is transported to a dark, lonely forest. Such are the experiences offered by Satosphere, a new cinema with a massive dome screen in Montreal designed by the Society for Arts and Technology to provide spectators with a 360-degree view of art projections. eight video projectors splash images over the entire surface of the steel-framed shell, which juts from the roof of the building, while 157 speakers emit sounds, creating the world’s first wholly immersive cinema. So advanced is it that it allows for viewing art in three dimensions without 3D glasses. Satosphere’s first show in October, Marie-Claude Paulin and Martin Kusch’s “Interior,” tickled all the senses as guests also sampled fragrant tomatoes and Sichuan pepper drinks. “In the beginning of cinema we hung a sheet in a room and arranged chairs in rows in front of it.

And for 100 years that is how we have addressed the contents, like in a box. “We said to ourselves that now we have a created a playground for the next century,” said President Satosphere Monique Savoie. “Today with the ability to take pictures from multiple viewpoints we can show someone an environment in 360 degrees or we can put that person inside the image. “Or we can create something which allows us to project a person onto screens, more like mirrors, and allow us to have someone almost floating in the space right in the middle of the experience,” she added. The Satosphere is both for showing today’s most immediate multimedia works as well as a powerful digital tool for creating a new form of art. Architects and developers might also use the cinema to present their ideas before starting construction of new buildings. even hospitals are interested in the technology that opens up vast new possibilities for creating pleasant virtual environments for recuperating patients. In

offices above the domed theater, teams of researchers are already working on a next generation of the technology. A six-lens camera that uses software to patch together images seamlessly to allow for the filming of 360degree films. “What makes the Satosphere unique is this idea of projecting something really from ceiling to floor,” said production and development director Louis-Philippe StArnault. “Unlike in stereoscope (or 3D) where using glasses you create a feeling of depth, here it is by really moving into the image that you can really feel this notion of three dimensions.” Another use of the satosphere promoted by Luc Courchesne, a digital art and interactive multimedia guru, would be bringing artists and the public together in a sort of virtual chat room. Two or more people separated by thousands of kilometers (miles), he said, for example in Montreal and Paris, or Vancouver and Hong Kong, could come together in “mirror spaces.”

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Hometown hero Federer a win away from 5th Basel crown Page 23

Majeed’s brother says Pak player blew the whistle

SpECiAl vigilAnCE tEAm to monitoR pAKiStAn plAyERS

Pakistan ready to tour India first to break the ice: Zaka LAHORE

K LAHORE STAff rePOrT

In another intriguing twist to the spot-fixing saga, the elder brother of convicted bookie Mazhar Majeed has claimed that a Pakistani cricketer was responsible for blowing the lid off Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer’s involvement in the scam.

“He was a member of the Pakistan team and he harboured a grudge against the then captain (Butt) and blew a whistle on the relationship between the players and Mazhar my brother,” Azhar said in an interview to a private television channel from London. “This player who is not well-educated set the (New of the World) journalist, Mazhar Mahmood on the track for the spot-fixing story,” he added. Azhar’s brother, Mazhar who acted as an agent for Butt, Asif and Aamer was jailed for 32 months by a British crown court on Thursday for his role in the scandal. The three Pakistani players got different jail terms as well from the court. Azhar made it clear that while he knew and represented several leading Pakistani players including Saqlain Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, and Mushtaq Ahmed but he never knew what his brother was involved in. Azhar added that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) believed he was Mazhar’s business partner, which was not true at all. “It is disappointing what Mazhar did, it is deplorable and was wrong because both of us love cricket and are very passionate about it and Pakistan cricket in particular,” Azhar said. Interestingly, a top lawyer, who represented Test discard Yasir Hameed in his case against the ‘News of the World’, has also revealed how the newspaper informed him in writing that it was a Pakistani player who had tipped them off about the shady dealings of Mazhar, Butt, Asif and Aamer. “I have it in writing and the NOW has named the player but for obvious reasons I can’t name him. But yes they also confirmed it was an insider who did the job. Definitely I believe there is more to come out of this case and more culprits need to be held accountable for their actions of damaging Pakistan cricket,” lawyer Umar Khayyam said.

STAff rePOrT

eeN to revive bilateral cricket ties with India, PCB’s new chief Zaka Ashraf said if needed the Board is willing to make the first move and send the national team across the border for a series to break the ice. “I want to see our traditional bilateral ties revived as soon as possible and for that even if we have to send our team to India to make a start we will do it,” Ashraf said on Sunday.

The PCB chief is hoping to hold constructive talks with the officials of the ICC and the India and Bangladesh Cricket Boards during a visit to Dubai immediately after eid holidays.

“I will be going to Dubai to meet the Pakistan team and officials and will also be visiting the ICC headquarters on the 13th for a meeting in which I hope to have talks with Bangladesh and Indian board officials,” Ashraf said.

The biggest criticism against Ashraf’s predecessor, Ijaz Butt, was his failure to improve ties with other boards particularly the Indians and Bangladesh with whom Pakistan didn’t have cordial relations since the shifting of the 2011 World Cup matches in 2009. Ashraf said it was important for the traditional series between Pakistan and India to be revived

because it was a big attraction of the cricket world and guaranteed good earnings for the boards and also lifted the profile of the sport in the sub-continent.

Meanwhile, Pakistani cricketers will be monitored by a special vigilance team of the PCB in future when they are on foreign tours so that there is no repeat of the spot-fixing scandal. The chairman of the board said that the PCB would now be taking more steps to prevent a repeat of

the spot-fixing scandal that has badly damaged the image of Pakistan cricket.

“We have decided that on future foreign tours a special vigilance team will accompany the touring squad and keep a close watch on activities of the players and officials,” Ashraf said.

“We have been sending a security officer with the team since last year but we need to expand and improve our methods of monitoring the activities of the players,” he added.

The PCB chief admitted that although some players might not like this idea but after the spot-fixing scandal the board was left with no choice but to take such preventive measures.

“Our image was hit badly by the spotfixing scandal and trial and we now need to take a lot of steps to repair it.” Ashraf also disclosed that the board would be arranging for sports psychologists to have counselling sessions with the players.

“We will have counselling sessions supervised by prominent sports psychologists and educationists for the players who need to be aware of their responsibilities as ambassadors of the country and how they need to conduct themselves and how to keep away from corrupt elements in the game,” he explained.

The new PCB chief has stepped in at a time when Pakistan cricket is still reeling from the spot-fixing scandal that first

broke out in england last year in September. A British crown court on Thursday handed over different jail sentences to Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer for their involvement in corruption and trying to spot-fix some parts of the series against england.

The players have already begun their jail terms. Ashraf said while he was very disappointed and sad at the recent turn of events involving the three players, he had no sympathy for them at all.

“Whatever you do, you reap in life and these players acted negligently and without thinking about the image of Pakistan cricket and their countrymen. They got the punishment they deserved for their actions,” he said. Ashraf said while his responsibility is mainly to improve the Pakistan cricket management structure, his priority was to repair the damaged image of Pakistan cricket.

“The team is performing well and we have good players but for the future we also need to work on improving our damaged image at home and abroad,” he said.

Since 1994, Pakistan cricket has been haunted by allegations and suspicions of players being involved in fixing and in 2000 an independent judicial commission headed by Justice Malik Qayyum had after an 18-month inquiry banned former captain Salim Malik for life and fined five other players.

Aamer deserves lighter punishment: Latif LAHORE STAff rePOrT

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes that after the confession the judge came down harsh on young Muhammad Aamer, and feared that it would not help the real cause of eradicating the menace of corruption in cricket.

The painstaking trial against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer is over and the trio is now serving their respective sentences awarded to them by the London Court.

“I am not advocating Aamer, but he should have been appreciated rather punished after the confession, and now I am afraid, no-one would come forward and plead guilty in the future,” said Rashid Latif said in a television interview.

“It will put a lid on this practice but only for the time being. To achieve the goal, Aamer should have been persuaded to reveal the hidden hands that control this crime,” added Latif.

“Recently FIFA offered rewards to match-fixing whistleblowers, so why can’t it be done in cricket? after all the ultimate purpose is to root-out the menace,” asked Latif who himself is considered as the very first

man to have come out loud against match-fixing.

Latif also felt that this verdict had brought the trio in the focus and in the process the players doing it without getting caught were overlooked. “The entire attention is on these three players and the rest were actually given the clean chit by the Anti Corruption and the Security Unit (ACSU). Now the players linked to this mafia will only target the countries where laws are not similar to those in england,” believed Latif.

Commenting on the recurrence of such incidents Rashid Latif reiterated that the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) have not been successful in this regard. Latif was off the view that with the amount of cricket being played, it not possible for the apex body to keep an eye on every match. “Live telecast is somewhat a problem, and I am convinced that only a 30-sec delay in the telecast would kill the spot-fixing. Secondly, the betting in a match starts from the coin toss and I don’t think it’s a rocket science to show the coin on television,” questioned Latif who has earlier criticised the composition of the ACSU for not having ex-cricketers in it. The delay in a telecast is not possible under the existing agreement between cricket boards and broadcasters (TV, radio etc) which emphasises on an immediate telecast,

therefore this bilateral accord needs to be revisited,” added Latif “In a country where more than one channels broadcast a match the dissimilarity in signals of each broadcaster is evident, and in this situation all the bets are placed on the channel which shows the footage without delay” “It is the best short-term solution available to curb the spot-fixing, the authorities should at least give it a try,” concludes Latif.

Brathwaite, Chanderpaul steady West Indies NEW DELHI AfP

New DeLHI: west Indies cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul (r) plays a shot as Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C) looks on. AfP

Teenager Kraigg Brathwaite and veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit half-centuries to steady the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test against India on Sunday.

Brathwaite, who turns 19 next month, was unbeaten on 61 and Chanderpaul on 55 not out as the tourists reached 159-3 at tea in their first innings after winning the toss.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha bagged two wickets in the first session and debutant offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin one in the second to reduce the West Indies to 72-3 before Brathwaite and Chanderpaul added 87 runs.

SCOrebOArD WeST INDIeS 1st innings: (at Tea) K. brathwaite not out 61 K. Powell lbw b Ojha 14 K. edwards c and b Ojha 15 D. bravo b Ashwin 12 S. Chanderpaul not out 55 eXTrAS (lb1, nb1) 2 TOTAl (for three wickets; 64 overs) 159 fall of wickets: 1-25 (Powell), 2-45 (K. edwards), 3-72 (bravo). bowling: Sharma 13-3-36-0 (nb1), Yadav 8-3-23-0, Ojha 20-6-30-2, Ashwin 20-2-62-1, Sehwag 2-05-0, Yuvraj 1-0-2-0.

TOSS: West Indies UMPIreS: Kumar Dharmasena (SrI) and rod Tucker (AUS) TV UMPIre: Sudhir Asnani (IND) MATCH referee: Jeff Crowe (NZl)

Chanderpaul hit the first six of the match when he lofted Ashwin over long-on. He also cracked four boundaries in his 88-ball knock

for his 57th Test half-century.

Brathwaite batted patiently for four hours, having so far hit only four boundaries in his 196ball knock for his second Test half-century.

Ojha, playing his first Test in a year, put pressure on the West Indies when he trapped opener Kieran Powell (14) leg-before in his second over and then held a return catch to dismiss Kirk edwards (15).

Ashwin got his maiden Test wicket when he dismissed Darren Bravo, who was bowled while attempting to cut in the first over after the lunch-break.

Bravo, who smashed 195 in his previous Test innings against Bangladesh in Dhaka last week, contributed 12 runs.

Ojha, who was pressed into the attack after just nine overs, had an opportunity to remove Powell in his opening over but failed to hold on to a return catch. But the batsman fell in the next over.

Ojha has so far conceded just 30 runs in his 20 tight overs.

India went into the opening Test of a three-match series with two pacemen, Ishant Sharma and debutant Umesh Yadav, and as many spinners, Ashwin and Ojha.

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, the world’s leading scorer in both Test and one-day cricket, needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries.

The remaining two Tests will be played in Kolkata and Mumbai.

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ICC clueless when it comes to spot-fixing: Cronje bookmaker

Sports 19

Sri Lanka boost lead in third Test

LAHORE STAff rePOrT

The bookmaker who had contacted former South African captain Hansie Cronje to fix a Test match against england reckons that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is clueless when it comes to spotfixing. Marlon Aronstam now works in horse racing, but claims that he has seen enough in cricket to suggest that fixing remains rife. “The game is still crook. The ICC anti-corruption unit are a bunch of idiots who employ people who don’t know what they are looking for,” the Sun quoted Marlon Aronstam, as saying.

“They need people to look at strange incidents during a game and ask why they are happening,” he added. Aronstam also insists that Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were lured into the fixing world because of their poor pay package. “I think a team like england are whiterthan-white today, because their salaries have been increased. You compare that to what a Pakistan player earns. The TV rights when they play cricket are worth so much in India, and yet the players themselves are paid peanuts,” he said. “Get that part fixed and with an international board that knows what they are looking for, the problem will start to disappear.

And when things occur in a match that don`t look right, you can then ask the player why they occurred,” he added.

Khadam-i-Aala Dangal on 23rd LAHORE

SCOrebOArD SrI lANKA, 1st innings: 413 (K. Sangakkara 144, T. Dilshan 92; Saeed Ajmal 4-132) PAKISTAN 1st innings (overnight 282-6), (at Tea) 6 M Hafeez c Jayawardene b Welegedara 19 Taufiq Umar st Silva b Herath 53 Azhar Ali b Kulasekara Younis Khan b Welegedara 122 89 Misbah-ul Haq c Dilshan b randiv Asad Shafiq c Silva b Welegedara 16 Adnan Akmal lbw b Herath 7 Abdul rehman c Paranavitana b Welegedara 3 Umar Gul c Mathews b Herath 5 Saeed Ajmal not out 12 Junaid Khan b Welegedara 0 8 eXTrAS: (lb2, nb3, w3) TOTAl: 340 fall of wickets: 1-8 (Hafeez), 2-35 (Umar), 3-133 (Ali), 4233 (Younis), 5-258 (Shafiq), 6-277 (Akmal), 7-282 (rehman), 8-289 (Gul), 9-336 (Misbah) bOWlING: Welegedara 35.2-10-87-5 (w1), Prasad 4-0-90, Kulasekara 25-7-65-1 (nb3, w1), Herath 42-14-85-3 (w1), randiv 25-5-74-1, Dilshan 7-1-18-0 Overs: 138.2 SrI lANKA T. Paranavitana not out 19 4 T. Dilshan c Hafeez b Gul 43 K. Sangakkara not out 2 eXTrAS: (nb2) 68 TOTAl: (for one wkt) fall of wickets: 1-5 (Dilshan) bOWlING: Gul 6-1-10-1, Khan 5-3-9-0, rehman 4-1-14-0, Hafeez 7-1-23-0, Ajmal 5-0-12-0 27 Overs: Toss: Sri lanka Umpires: Simon Taufel (NZl) and Shahvir Tarapore (IND) TV umpire: Shozaib raza (PAK) Match referee: David boon (AUS).

SHArJAH: Umar gul (L) celebrates after dismissing Sri Lanka’s captain tillakaratne Dilshan (r) during the fourth day of the third test match. AfP SHARJAH

STAff rePOrT

The 10th Khadam-i-Aala Punjab Dangal will be held at Lodhran on November 23 and Rustam-i-Pakistan Usman Majeed Billu will compete with Rustam-iPaksya-o-Hind Azam Laraka Pahlwan.

Convenor to chief minister Mohsin Arshad, on wrestling, said that municipal administration Lodhran would organise the dangal. He informed that in all 15 bouts would be held on the day and several committees had been formed to smoothly organise the event. DCO Lodhran Ghulam Fareed will be the chief guest on the prize distribution ceremony.

Shamoon wins cycle race LAHORE STAff rePOrT

Shamoon of Lahore has won the 30 kilometer race held here at Ring Road under the aegis of The educators School elite Campus. Syed Nazakat was the chief guest on the opening ceremony of the event. Kashif earned second position, Talha third, Sunny fourth, Umar Gujjar fifth and Tanvir Ahmad sixth position. At the end, owner of The educators elite Campus Muazzam Khan distributed the prizes among the winners.

S

AfP

RI Lanka increased their overall lead to 141 after losing an early wicket on the fourth day of the third and final Test against Pakistan at Sharjah Stadium here on Sunday. Sri Lanka, aiming to level the three-Test series after losing the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai, moved to 68-1 at tea after losing skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan in their second innings.

At the break, Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten on 43 and opener Tharanga Paranavitana was 19 not out, as Sri Lanka look to score faster and set a target for Pakistan to force a result. Pakistan lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the second Test by nine

wickets in Dubai. The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw. earlier, left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegadara took his maiden fivewicket haul, finishing with 5-87 after Misbah-ul Haq missed his hundred by just 11 runs as Pakistan were dismissed for 340. Sri Lanka had made 413 in their first innings. The lanky paceman improved on his previous best of 4-87 he took against India at Ahmedabad in 2009.

But despite Welegedara’s effort, it was Misbah’s fighting knock of 89 which brought Pakistan closer before the 37-yearold right-handed batsman fell 10 minutes before

lunch, top edging a sweep off spinner Suraj Randiv.

Misbah hit seven boundaries and a six during his 261-ball knock. He added an invaluable 47 runs for the ninth wicket with Saeed Ajmal (12 not out) after Pakistan lost Abdul Rehman off the last ball of the first over of the day, caught in the slips off Welegedara. It could have been worse for Pakistan if the Sri Lankan fielders had not dropped Misbah three times.

Wicket-keeper Kaushal Silva failed to grab a faint edge on a defensive push

Amar Cables beat SPM Bucks to claim title LAHORE STAff rePOrT

Amar Cables retained the second Amar Cables Veterans T20 cricket Tournament title after beating SPM Bucks by five wickets in the final played here at the LCCA ground on Sunday. Batting first, SPM Bucks made 169 for eight in 20 overs.

Tariq Mahmood scored 58 runs while Tariq Ramzan made 27* runs. Tariq Hussain and Tariq Rashid grabbed three wickets each.

In reply, Aamr Cables achieved the target of 170 runs for the loss of five wickets in 19.4 overs. Amer Ilyas Butt scored 48 runs while Dastigar Butt and Zahid Umer made 43 and 30

runs respectively. Romail Bashir, Ashfaq Aslam and Zahid took one wicket each.

In the end, the chief guests former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed gave the prizes to the prominent players. LCCA President Kh Nadeem Ahmed, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Chief Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, Izat Hussain, Chief executive Amar Cables Amer Ilyas Butt were also present on the occasion.

Munir Shah was named the player of the final. Dastigar Butt was the player of the tournament while Tariq Rashid was best bowler, Sadat Ali and Masood were the best wicketkeepers and Munir Shah and Naseer Bhatti were declared the best fielders.

Pakistan seeks to restore pride after scandal KARACHI AfP

Pakistan cricket is undergoing a severe soul searching for ways to restore its international pride after three of its top players were jailed over a match-fixing scandal in england. Former Test captain Salman Butt was on Thursday handed a 30-month prison term while Mohammad Asif got a year and Mohammad Aamer six months for their roles in fixing the Lord’s Test against england last year.

The scandal rocked the cricket world and left Pakistan’s millions of loyal fans feeling betrayed in a country where the game is an obsession. “It is really introspection time for Pakistan cricket,” said former captain Ramiz Raja. “We don’t need cricketers who sell their souls to the devil, but we need players who are good ambassadors and play for

the honour.” The International Cricket Council (ICC) came down hard on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the wake of the scandal, directing them to take strict measures and warning that failure could lead to their suspension. The PCB have shown willingness to clean up the sport but experts say Pakistan will face a tough time in the months and years ahead following the worst scandal since South African captain Hansie Cronje was banned for life in 2000.

Pakistan is also facing a huge challenge in bringing international cricket back to a country which has not hosted any top-drawer matches since militants attacked the visiting Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009. Cronje’s former team-mate David Richardson, now ICC general manager cricket, said it was a tough period for the sport in South Africa after their match-fixing scandal.

Scotland yard stopped pCb punishing players SharJah: Scotland Yard had stopped Pakistan cricket authorities from taking any action against players involved in the spot-fixing scandal, fearing it may have prejudiced any criminal enquiry, a report seen by AFP revealed on Sunday. Former Test captain Salman Butt received 30 months, Mohammad Asif 12 months, Mohammad Aamer six months and their agent Mazhar Majeed 32 months in prison for their roles in fixing part of the Lord’s Test against england last year. The scandal, which rocked the cricket world, surfaced only after a sting operation by the now defunct British tabloid News of the World in August last year. Scotland Yard raided Pakistan’s team hotel in London and interrogated the players before allowing them to leave the country only after assurances from Pakistan authorities they would return for further investigation. The Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard wrote a letter to the then chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on September 1, 2010 asking them not to take any action against the players. The PCB has come in for serious criticism from former players and analysts for not taking any action, but the letter -- a copy of which has been seen by AFP - stopped the authorities from taking any action. AfP

off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath when the batsman was on 57.

Two runs later Misbah’s uppish drive off Welegedara went between the hands off Angelo Mathews at mid-off and then at 67 Misbah was let off by Tharanga Paranavitana off the same bowler. The Pakistan captain took full advantage of the lapses, hitting Welegedara for a straight six and four to take his team’s total past the 300 mark.

In between Herath dismissed Umar Gul for five, but Ajmal provided Misbah the much needed assistance to bring their team closer to the Sri Lankan total.

Welegedara finished the innings when he bowled number 11 Junaid Khan for nought. Herath finished with 3-85.

Kalsoom 23rd in world weightlifting C’ship LAHORE STAff rePOrT

Pakistan’s women weightlifter Kalsoom Abdullah Kakahel stood 23rd on the opening day of the World Weightlifting Championship at Disleney Land, France on Sunday. According to PRO PWLF Suhail Javed Butt, she represented the country in 48 kgs category. She lifted 40 kgs in snatch, 52 kg in jerk and total of 92 kgs.

Tian Yuan of China won the gold medal with 90 kg in snatch, 117 kg in jerk and total 207 kg. M Irfan Butt will compete in 77 kg category on November 9 while PWLF Secretary Hafiz Imran Butt is also there to attend the World Weightlifting Congress and will act as referee in the event.

Ivanovic wins C’wealth Bank final NUSA DUA AfP

Ana Ivanovic celebrated her 24th birthday on Sunday with a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues in the final of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions. The Serbian former world number one and crowd favourite maintained the upper hand in the match, hitting aces and breaking the Spaniard’s serves to claim the crown on on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

gaultier reaches another world open final

ROTTERDAM AfP

Gregory Gaultier, the former world number one from France, earned another chance of achieving his life’s ambition when he reached the World Open final for the third time Saturday.

The 28-year-old from Aix-en-Provence beat James Willstrop, last year’s World Open runner-up from england, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 with a semi-final performance which suggested he is playing well enough to atone for losses in two previous finals.

Gaultier appeared relaxed and confident, his movement was superb, and he avoided any clusters of errors which occasionally disfigure his great talent.

Only when Willstrop led 6-2 early on did it seem that his long reach and excellent racket skills would cause trouble.

There was also a brief spell in the middle of the second when Willstrop fought hard to get back on terms, but thereafter it was steady progress for Gaultier.

“It was a bit of a fight in the first game and then we both relaxed, because I don’t think we want to be aggressive on court it’s just a better game,” Gaultier said.

“He’s not like that and I don’t think I’m like that,” he added mysteriously, perhaps a reference to the sledging which Willstrop later alleged had passed between them.

Asked about his chances of atoning for the five match points he missed against David Palmer in the 2006 final in Giza, and the straight games loss to Amr Shabana in the following year’s final, Gaultier gave reasons for being hopeful.

“I am quite mature now, even if I am 28,” he claimed. “Is this when you were world champion?” he asked his interview Vanessa Atkinsoner, the winner of the women’s World Open seven years ago.

“At 26, 27, 28, everything comes together.

With me mentally was how it happened. I worked with people, and I have managed to stay more calm on court.

“But of course I talk a lot on court, and this is my character - you are not going to change someone like this.”

The first signs that Gaultier was getting on top happened when he played a forehand volley kill, followed by a forehand cut-off volley, and then a forehand cross court length winner, to hurry to a 7-5 lead.

Despite a brief altercation with the referee at the end of that first game, he was soon motoring to leads of 3-0 and 7-3 in the second game, sometimes making the tall Willstrop twist and turn uncomfortably.

Once Willstrop lost his racket and fell heavily, and on another occasion both men fell and ended sitting on the court, staring at each other, eventually grinning.

After that Willstrop’s challenge began to fade, and when Gaultier clinched the second game with a drop shot to a treacherously clinging line, it became mostly one way traffic in the third.

BASeL: Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka (Bottom) returns a ball to compatriot Roger Federer. AfP

fergie relieved after win as City maintain lead LONDON AfP

Manchester United celebrated the 25th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s appointment with a 1-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday as Manchester City maintained their five-point lead with a 3-2 win over QPR. Sunderland’s United old boy Wes Brown gifted victory to his former manager, heading in an own goal on 45 minutes to settle a lacklustre Premier League encounter at a packed Old Trafford.

Ferguson had earlier been given a guard of honour by both teams as he walked out onto the pitch before club officials revealed the north stand had been renamed in his honour. But the celebratory mood fell flat after kick-off as United struggled to break down Sunderland, managed by former United captain Steve Bruce. Ferguson later said he believed his players had been affected by the emotion of the occasion. “It was an anxious day for the players

and I think they showed that today. They improved in the second-half, but the last 15 minutes was torture,” he said.

“Possibly the occasion got to the players. The players wanted to do well for me, I think that was obvious, but these occasions can be a bit like that.” Ferguson said United -- who have now registered four consecutive clean sheets since their 6-1 derby thrashing by City last month -- were now preparing for a decisive part of the season after next week’s international break.

“This is a pivotal moment for us because we now have three and a half months with no interruptions -- we can really kick on and have a go now,” he said. City later took the gloss of the celebrations at Old Trafford with a battling victory over newlypromoted QPR at Loftus Road.

Goals from edin Dzeko, David Silva and Yaya Toure secured all three points for Roberto Mancini’s men, who remain unbeaten in the league and have now reeled off eight straight wins in all com-

petitions. QPR had given City a scare after taking a first-half lead through Jay Bothroyd before Dzeko equalised. A clever Silva goal gave City a 2-1 lead but Rangers battled back to level their Heidar Helguson before a towering Toure header settled it for City. elsewhere Saturday, Newcastle maintained their superb unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 victory over everton at St James Park. The Magpies -- who remain unbeaten after 11 games -- sealed their third consecutive league victory courtesy of a John Heitinga own goal and a spectacular Ryan Taylor volley. everton pulled one back through Jack Rodwell on the stroke of half-time but the Toffees were unable to salvage a positive result after the break. Chelsea ended their mini-slump with a first victory in three league games against Blackburn, Frank Lampard scoring the game’s only goal to relieve the pressure on manager Andre Villas Boas as the Blues won 1-0.

LoNDoN: Manchester City’s midfielder David Silva shoots to score their second goal. AfP

Valencia turn the heat on Barcelona in La Liga MADRID AfP

vALeNCIA: valencia’s midfielder Jordi Alba (L) fights with Levante’s defender Javier venta (r). AfP

Valencia beat city rivals Levante 2-0 away from home on Saturday evening to go joint-second with Barcelona in La Liga on 24 points and one point behind leaders Real Madrid, ahead of games on Sunday.

On Sunday, Real Madrid entertain Osasuna in an unusual midday kick-off and in the evening Barcelona go to an Athletic Bilbao side unbeaten in nine games. A Javi Venta own-goal and a Tino Costa free-kick were enough for Valencia to edge a typically bruising derby match. The opening goal came on 35 minutes when Costa played in Jordi Alba with a majestic threaded pass, Levante full-back Venta was quick to react but unlucky when all he could do to avoid a

clear scoring opportunity was steer the ball into his own net. Costa then doubled the away team’s lead with a floating freekick from distance on 50 minutes that deceived Gustavo Munua in the Levante goal. To their credit Levante rallied and created a host of chances and Ivorian Arouna Kone should have pulled one back on 73 minutes when presented with a clear opportunity from close range.

Vicente Guaita remained solid in the Valencia goal and ‘Los Che’ now exchange positions with a rival who had previously never started a local-derby ahead of them. For Levante, previously surprise leaders of La Liga, it is the second consecutive defeat and after such a good start perhaps a sign that their objective of survival is the most realistic they can hope for. In other games on Saturday Real Betis ended a run of six

consecutive defeats on Saturday holding Malaga 0-0 in an entertaining Andalusian derby as Sevilla were also held to a goalless draw at Real Mallorca.

Real Betis missed the chance to claim a much-needed victory when striker Ruben Castro’s close range effort proved off target while in the second period goalkeeper Casto espinosa did well to keep out a header from Malaga’s Jose Rondon.

For Betis however the result ended a spiral of six losses and leaves them in 11th position in La Liga as Malaga consolidate their sixth position. earlier, Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas once again proved the hero for his side in a 0-0 draw under torrential rain in Real Mallorca.

Both sides needed a morale-boosting victory with Sevilla suffering their first

defeat of the season 2-1 at home to Granada last weekend as Mallorca were looking for a first win under new coach Joaquin Caparros in a run that now stretches to five matches.

But it was Varas, the goalkeeper of the moment in Spain after saving a lastminute penalty from Lionel Messi in Barcelona two weeks ago, who proved the man of the match.

The 29-year-old did well to save a first-half effort from emilio Nsue from distance and proved solid again early in the second period against Chori Castro.

Mallorca offered less attacking options as the game went on and seemed content with a point by the full-time whistle. The result leaves Sevilla fifth, a point ahead of Malaga, while Mallorca struggle two points above the relegation zone.

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Monday, 7 November, 2011

Sports 21

Federer a win away from 5th Basel crown BASEL

R

Bnp Paribas – Paris Round 1 03:00PM

TEN SPORTS Pakistan v Sri Lanka 3rd Test Day 5 11:00AM

Bute dominates Johnson to keep title

QUeBeC CIty: IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (r) of romania punches glen Johnson of Jamaica. rEuTErS QUEBEC CITY AfP

BASeL: Switzerland’s roger Federer returns the ball to compatriot Stanislas wawrinka. AfP Monday, with Djokovic now in serious doubt of fronting up. He said he is likely to travel to the city and hope for the best.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to train for the next few days.” Djokovic said that his gruelling first-round win over Xavier Malisse on Tuesday could have set the tone for the rest of the week.

“It was a shock to the body,” he said of the opening struggle. “Competition is different to practise.

“I may have forced things too much I was feeling afraid of the shoulder and what might happen to it. My rhythm on my serve has been completely off.”

Nishikori needed a set to overcome his jitters against Djokovic, but showed his potential as he levelled at one apiece

after a 71-minute marathon with seven unforced errors while Djokovic’s errors mounted to a massive 18 in the set. It was all Nishikori in the third set.

“I played well from the second set,” said the Japanese winner, “I got my rhythm and hit some unbelievable shots.

“After Shanghai (where he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) I’ve felt different with my game. I’m playing differently, more solid from the baseline and not making any stupid errors.”

Federer trained once with Nishikori five years ago in Miami and could see that the teenager had potential. “He’s been playing well in recent weeks and really rising in the rankings. It will be a tough match, but I go in with the experience.”

Djokovic’s dream may end in nightmare BASEL AfP

SEOUL AfP

A possible date with Barcelona’s glittering line-up was a “wonderful thing” for Al Sadd, said coach Jorge Fossati Sunday, after qualifying for the World Club Cup by winning the AFC Champions League. Fossati, who led the Qatari side to a dramatic win on penalties against South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, said his team could meet Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi in the competition which starts on December 8 in Tokyo.

“It’s a wonderful thing for my players,” the Uruguayan told AFP, explaining that the draw means his side must win at least one game before setting up the clash between the little known Qataris and the Catalan giants.

“We must enjoy our victory now, but we will soon represent Asia in the World Club Cup, so we need to be in top condition for that.

“We will continue to improve and I will push the team to go to Japan to have more than just a look... we must perform and see what happens.”

Fossati was speaking in Incheon airport before the team flight to Doha after a night of celebrations following their 4-2 win on penalties in the thrilling Champions League final against favourites Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

His side triumphed after a nail-biting 2-2 stalemate forced extra-time and then penalties, which saw Al Sadd claim a continental trophy for the first time since 1989. “I’m proud of the these players and the mentality they have shown to win the trophy,” he said.

“They can now trust themselves.”

The World Club Cup will see clubs from every continent compete over ten days in Japan. The field is led by Barcelona and Santos, with Al Sadd joining the winners of the J-League and Mexico’s Monterrey.

STAR SPORTS

AfP

OGeR Federer stands one win away from a fifth home title at the Swiss Indoors after winning his tenth match against good friend and compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 on Saturday.

“It’s always tough to play Stan,” said Federer, 10-1 against his Beijing Olympic gold medal doubles partner with four victories in 2011 alone. “It’s never easy. We know each other’s game so well.”

The 16-time grand slam champion and holder will face Japanese surprise packet Kei Nishikori, who pounced upon an injured world number one Novak Djokovic in a 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 semifinal upset. Federer is searching for his first trophy since the first week of the year when he won Doha. While he’s played semi-finals at the Australian and US Opens, it’s been an off-year for the onetime tennis dominator.

Nishikori, ranked 32nd and now a winner over three Top 10 players in a month, owns one career title at age 21, which he claimed three years ago in Delray Beach. Djokovic, who has had a charmed run for most of 2011 with ten titles, lost only his fourth match of a season which could now turn into an injury nightmare. The Serb revealed that he had been playing all week with a sore shoulder similar to the injury which forced him to quit the Cincinnati final in August against Andy Murray before the US Open.

“I could barely serve for much of the match, I was in pain,” said the player who only returned this week after six weeks out with a back injury.

“My shoulder is very bad, we won’t even talk about the third set. I have a lot of pain in my body from the competition this week. I hope I can be ready for Paris.” That Masters event starts on

Fossati eyes Barcelona in world Club Cup

WatCH It LIVe

BASeL: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns a ball during his semi-final match against Japan’s Kei Nishikori. AfP

Novak Djokovic’s dream season could be at risk of ending on a low note after the world number one lost only his fourth match of 2011 when he went down 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 on Saturday to Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors. Djokovic said he had been playing all week with a sore shoulder similar to the injury which forced him to quit the Cincinnati final in August against Andy Murray before the US Open. “I could barely serve for much of the match, I was in pain,” said the Serb, who has won ten titles in 2011 but only returned this week after six weeks out with a back injury. “My shoulder is very bad, we won’t even talk about the third set. I have a lot of pain inmy body from the competition this week. I hope I can be ready for Paris.”

That Masters event starts on Monday, with Djokovic now in serious doubt of fronting up. He said he is likely to travel to the city and hope for the best.

Lucian Bute kept his undefeated record intact with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Glen Johnson in an International Boxing Federation super-middleweight title fight on Saturday. The 31-year-old Canadian-based Romanian Bute improved 30-0 and made the tenth defence of the title he won in 2007. “It was a great fight and a great performance for me,” said southpaw Bute, who saw his string of six consecutive KOs snapped.

“Glen Johnson is a great fighter. To beat him, you have to avoid the jab. I did that and I tried to out-jab him. I have to be able to beat guys like him.”

Two of the three judges gave Bute all 12 rounds and he lost just one round on the other judge’s scorecard in front of a crowd of 15,306 at the Colisee arena.

The 42-year-old Johnson, of Jamaica, fell to 51-16-2. He has lost five of his past nine fights.

Johnson (51-16-2) injured his right arm in the fight but continued to fight.

He didn’t take the loss well. “I think I won the fight,” said Johnson. “I beat him with one hand.

“It’s tough to win in your opponent’s hometown because as soon as he does one little thing, the crowd goes crazy instead of paying attention to what the punches are telling you.”

On the undercard, Canadian super-bantamweight Steve Molitor outpointed Sebastien Gauthier in a 10-round split decision to improve to 34-2. In Hollywood, Florida, Panama’s Guillermo Jones scored a sixth round technical knockout of Mike Marrone to retain his World Boxing Association cruiserweight title on Saturday. Jones knocked Marrone down in the fifth and sixth rounds at the Hard Rock Live Arena. Jones improved to 38-3-2 with his 30th knockout, while Marrone fell to 20-4.

Brilliant Kaymer takes HSBC Champions title SHANGHAI AfP

Germany’s Martin Kaymer carded a sensational seven birdies on the back nine on Sunday to take the HSBC Champions title in Shanghai by three strokes over in-form Swede Fredrik Jacobson.

The world number six Kaymer finished 20-under overall in the seven-million-dollar showpiece with his timely round of 68, capping off his remarkable day with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

Jacobson had commanded the summit of the leaderboard since round two but the 54th ranked player fired three bogeys as Kaymer went three strokes clear with clinical green finishes -- including a blistering 30-footer on the 16th.

Kaymer, who had nine birdies in all on the day, finished Asia’s flagship tournament on 268 at the Sheshan International course in Shanghai.

“It was an ok year, now it is a good one,” said the understated 26-year-old German.

Kaymer began the year with his triumph at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship but then saw his form dip until Sunday, when his game came together in spectacular fashion to snatch the win from Jacobson.

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell redeemed himself in part after his nightmare weekend at the Andalucia Masters last week. He carded five birdies in his five-under 67 to finish in third. england’s injury-recovering Paul Casey finished tied fourth alongside South African Charl

Schwartzel and world number three Rory McIlroy.

Northern Irish star McIlroy, who was shadowed inside the ropes by tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki throughout the tournament, saw his front nine rally to gain the lead peter out with two bogeys. england’s world number two Lee Westwood endured a miserable day at the office with five bogeys and a spell looking for a wayward ball in a fir tree to finish tied 13th.

Australian Adam Scott, whose caddy Steve Williams is at the centre of a race storm after comments about Tiger Woods, saw his challenge slip, finishing tied 12th after carding four bogeys. Scott is under pressure to sack Williams, who called Woods a “black arsehole” during a gala awards dinner on Friday night.

SHANgHAI: Martin Kaymer of germany poses with the trophy. AfP

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investment strategies in tough times 2 None so blind page 3 pakistan: failing economy, failed state? page 8

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profit.com.pk

Monday, 07 November, 2011

oNe sTeP forwArD, Two sTePs BACk

Pakistan facilitating fair trade, Indian NTBs retarding progress LAHORE

“P

AlI H rIZVI

AKISTAN has gone an extra mile in facilitating India for trade liberalisation,” a commerce ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity, said while talking to Profit. “However the real roadblock in trade liberalisation remains to Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs) by India, due to which trade volumes could not increase in the last 16 years despite India having granted us the MFN status,” he added.

ADDressINg BoTTLeNeCks According to reports, the federal cabinet on 2nd November approved the proposal for granting India the MFN status in an attempt to improve bilateral relations between the two countries. “The Indian counterparts during their talks with the Federal Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim had acknowledged that Non Tariff Barriers were major bottlenecks that have served as an impediment to increasing trade volumes,” commerce ministry sources explained.

NoN TArIff BArrIers In the year 2011, Indian exports to Pakistan stood at $1.445 billion, whereas exports from Pakistan to India amounted to a marginal $286 million.

“While India granted Pakistan the MFN status in 1996, the Non Tariff Barriers such as visa issues, and conditions whereby exporters are expected to have an office in India have retarded progress in establishing a fair trade regime. It is beyond the scope of understanding that India expects indigenous exporters from Pakistan to have offices in India, when they might not even be granted visas,” commerce ministry sources elaborated.

mfN sTATus To INDIA Pakistan has in principle agreed to grant India the MFN status, while India in return has decidedly made its intentions clear that they would not raise objections to the Pak-eU unilateral trade concession. According to the eU preferential Trade package, Pakistan will be given duty free access to european markets mainly for 75 textile related products. This preferential

trade package was given to Pakistan in light of the devastative floods that hit the country in 2010, resulting in a cumulative loss of $43 billion to Pakistan’s economy. “The cabinet unanimously decided in principle to accord MFN (status) to India, which both sides will have to work towards in further engagements by their commerce secretaries,” the Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua explained in her weekly press briefing.

eu TrADe CoNCessIoN Sources in the WTO, while giving an update on the european Union unilateral trade concessions, said Bangladesh has now raised some item specific concerns over the Preferential Trade Package. While seeking a clarification on the same issue with the commerce ministry, they said it was strange that Bangladesh was raising objections over the trade deal when Pakistan has, over the years, sought to facilitate Bangladesh on all forums, therefore intransigence on their part was puzzling to say the least. elaborating further the source said, that NTB’s need to be addressed on an urgent basis, in the absence of which the entire concept of MFN would be nullified.

PerCeIveD u-TurN oN mfN Apparently, there seemed some confusion as it was perceived initially that the cabinet had agreed to grant India MFN, whereas Prime Minister Gilani while talking to reporters had said “The Cabinet has only given its approval in principle to move forward on the issue (of MFN) and permitted the ministry of commerce, which is actively engaged in trade talks with New Delhi, to negotiate trade-related issues.”

The premier further added, “We will give it the go-ahead if the situation is quite favourable

and in the national interest. Otherwise, proceedings on it would be withheld.”

rIsINg Pressure Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, an eminent economist, was of the view that the statement by the prime minister was indicative of the rising pressure by the business community to grant the MFN status only after India addresses the Non Tariff Barriers. “Till India does not eliminate the NTBs and a fair trade regime is not established, there can be no progress,” he said. Dr Ashfaque was of the view that it was indeed intriguing that while on the one hand the two countries were focusing on establishing a fair trade regime between themselves and on the other, India was linking MFN by Pakistan to removing its objections on the preferential trade agreement being offered by the eU. Pak-eU trade is a different matter altogether and India should not link it to Pakistan’s trade with the eU.

CoNCePToPeDIA

Non Tariff Barriers Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs) are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff. Some common examples of NTB's are anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties, which, although they are called "non-tariff" barriers, have the effect of tariffs once they are enacted. Their use has risen sharply after the WTO rules led to a very significant reduction in tariff use. Some non-tariff trade barriers are expressly permitted in very limited circumstances, when they are deemed necessary to protect health, safety, or sanitation, or to protect depletable natural resources. In other forms, they are criticized as a means to evade free trade rules such as those of the World Trad Organization (WTO), the european Union (eU), or North American Free Trad Agreement (NAFTA) that restrict the use of tariffs.

1

Specific Limitations on trade

2

customs and entry Procedures

3

Standards

5

charges on imports

6

others

mIsLeADINg rePorTs “Till India does not address these issues, such attempts at establishing a fair trade regime will prove to be non-starters,” Dr Ashfaque said. It is pertinent to mention that while elements in international media have accused Pakistan of backtracking on the MFN issue, the foreign office spokesperson clarified, “The cabinet gave the ministry of commerce the mandate to take the process of normalisation forward, which would culminate in the observance of the MFN principle in its true spirit.” “Such reports in international media, raising doubts over Pakistan’s intentions, are indeed disturbing since Pakistan has made all possible efforts to facilitate the trade process, and has taken serious steps to ensure the implementation of the MFN status to India which has to follow proper procedures before it is implemented in letter and spirit,” commerce ministry sources added.

Committees formed to identify NTBs sec’y Commerce KARACHI

S

STAff rePOrT

eCReTARY commerce Zafar Mehmood wants to be fully prepared for the second round of talks with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi scheduled for 14th and 15th November. He is collecting details of non-tariff barriers and other impediments applied intentionally or unintentionally by the Indian side.

In an informal chat with business community at TDAP head office, the secretary commerce very candidly discussed the pros and cons of trade with India while forming committees to identify barriers to exports to India and advised the business community to be optimistic towards regional trade, the

economic growth and consumer interest. The meeting was attended by Vice President FPCCI Khalid Tawab, DG PAMA Abdul Waheed, Chairman PAPAAM Nabeel Hashmi, and former Chairman PAPAAM Amir Allahwala besides representatives from auto, motorcycles, and steel sheets manufacturers and other sectors.

The secretary commerce said that the federal cabinet has given mandate to the ministry of commerce regarding MFN, and it is his duty to ensure and protect the interest of Pakistani business community while asking India to implement the MFN conditionality in letter and spirit. He said that while India has not given relaxations to Pakistani exporters, under MFN already granted in 1996, Pakistan has also kept its principle

stand intact. “A negative list in excess of 500 items out of over 7,000 tradable items will be maintained initially, but will be eliminated with the passage of time,” he added.

The commerce secretary said that Pakistan is not giving any favour to India by offering the status of ‘Most Favored Nation’ (MFN), but all this is covered by existing laws of the World Trade Organisation and international treaties.

Auto industry representatives expressing their reservations said that the government should take a holistic approach towards trade and protecting the local industry. On the one hand it ensures level playing field, on the other, one of its important wings i.e. planning commission, recommends tariff rationalisation which will devastate engineer-

ing and smaller industry.

The government, while pursuing initiatives like trade with India should realise that it already has the most liberal used car import policy which shows that there is no preparation for the likely impact of opening trade with India.

Currently Pakistan allows 1,996 items’ import from India under Appendix G of Import Policy Order, which constitutes a positive list. This will now be replaced by a negative list.

The secretary commerce stated that both the countries would be required to dismantle non-tariff barriers to move towards normalisation of trade and explained that it was not something new as both the countries had enjoyed MFN status from 1947 to 1965 and signed four agreements.

a) Quotas b) import Licensing requirements c) Proportion restrictions of foreign to domestic goods (local content requirements) d) Minimum import price limits e) embargoes

a) b) c) d) e)

Valuation systems Anti-dumping practices tariff classifications Documentation requirements Fees

a) Standard disparities b) intergovernmental acceptances of testing methods and standards c) Packaging, labeling, and marking 3. Government Participation in trade: a) Government procurement policies b) export subsidies c) countervailing duties d) Domestic assistance programs

a) b) c) d) e) f)

Prior import deposit subsidies Administrative fees Special supplementary duties import credit discrimination Variable levies Border taxes

a) Voluntary export restraints b) orderly marketing agreements

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Monday, 07 November, 2011

debate

what is the future of europe? have they misdiagnosed the problem?

Can you really trust President obama and his low interest rate policy?

In a volatile market gripped with uncertainty, do you know where to invest? with investment options in financial space drying, our market expert shan saeed explores the treacherous web of international finance, answering these questions, and more…

Investment strategies in tough times ‘TroPhy’ No 1: oIL

gLoBAL eCoNomIC ouTLook Europe’s problems are not all over yet europe has been thrust into a debilitating credit crunch debacle. Tough times lie ahead for the eurozone. While everyone is talking about Greece, the big elephant is Spain whose GDP is estimated at $1.49 trillion. Greece fudged the numbers so it could join the eU in the first place, courtesy Goldman Sachs. There’s only one word for what Greece did; fraud. This severe misrepresentation alone should give the rest of europe the chance to simply kick Greece out of the eU, declare its debts invalid, and end the emerging european credit crunch in its tracks. In europe however it’s not about the debt crisis; but rather the currency crisis.

The reasons are simple and straight forward. Let us analyse the reasons one by one.

four Issues of euro sINgLe CurreNCy CrIsIs 1. Gap in competitiveness between Northern and Southern europe is growing. Productivity is down among euro zone members 2. Intra-eMU current account deficit has risen to a level that requires correction 3. Monetary Integration is poisonous from the start.

4. euro currency is misaligned with various countries in euro zone strategically. Now is it really making progress? europe is in a messy situation and it is because of euro single currency since it is historically flawed. Different countries with different culture/ monetary division cannot survive this issue.

CreATINg AN AuToNomous euroPe You can’t resolve a disease if you don’t even understand what’s causing it.

Merkel’s comments are eerily similar to what everyone’s heard from Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson in 2008 when they misdiagnosed a household debt crisis as a banking crisis. europe must understand that this is a currency crisis and that there is only one true fix – the creation of an autonomous europe. I think that can best be done via a split in the euro (which would still require a central Treasury) or dissolution. I have said there is a third option – a United States of europe. But I can’t expect them to move in the right direction if they still think this is a banking and debt crisis. That will simply lead to bank bailouts and the American disease of bailing out banks without fixing the actual cause of the economic problem.

us govT AND ITs fALTerINg eCoNomIC PoLICIes Does the US government hate people who save? That may be a little over the top. But then again, what else is left for the Americans to believe when Ben Bernanke, with the full support of President Barack Obama, drives down interest rates to horrifically low levels? President Obama has disappointed the American people. Lack of leadership, the first-ever federal credit downgrade, a failed debt deal, un-

employment nearing record levels, fresh warnings of a double-dip recession, and the most toxic political climate in Washington’s history. Given this scenario can you really trust President Obama? And, while he continues to be the mainstream media darling, are you even getting the real story from sources you can trust? I asked this question from many friends based in USA. Mostly said, they are not happy with the government’s working. Confidence is lacking in the US market - that is the main driver for the economy.

sTrATegIC fINANCIAL ANALysIs Analysing the 3-months Treasury bills, recently paying out an actual rate of 0.00%. In other words, the government is perfectly content paying investors absolutely nothing for the privilege of taking and using investor’s money. And, Bernanke has already guaranteed that he will not raise interest rates until 2013. In theory, these actions will stimulate the economy. In reality, it certainly punishes those who are saving or looking for income from their investments. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has guided the central bank to “reckless,” inflationary policy that is depressing the economy. The Fed has lowered its predictions for GDP growth to 1.6-1.7 per cent this year from 2.7-2.9 per cent previously, and to 2.5-2.9 per cent next year from 3.3-3.7 per cent previously. Some people might call it over propaganda. I think the U.S. economy is getting worse, and the Fed is constantly having to ratchet down its previous expectations. If data are more accurately reflected the amount of inflation [11% according to Independent economists] that Ben Bernanke is creating, we can see that the real US economy is actually shrinking.

weALTh ProTeCTIoN for gLoBAL INvesTors “Trophies” are enormously valuable caches of strategic minerals and commodities. Because they’re so valuable, investors who own them could watch their stakes rise by many multiples. And because commodities rise during periods of high inflation, these TROPHIeS are a slam-dunk idea right now. But there are only handfuls that are “Trophy-worthy”. I’m talking about things like energy, precious metals, currency and food. China is busy hunting for the biggest trophies in these categories. Why? Because they have more to lose from inflation than anyone else. As I mentioned, China is sitting on at least a trillion U.S. dollars ($1.14 trillion - according to IMF). every time the U.S. Government prints more dollars, China’s dollar holdings become worth less. So they’re pouring this cash into “TROPHIeS.” I was in New York in August 2011 and talking to Robert Kapito – President Black Rock Assets managing $3.6 trillion who shared his strategy for his clients: 60% in stocks, 20% in short term corporate bonds and 20% in commodities. How big investors can get trophies to ensure that they achieve piece of mind with valued returns by investing in the following 5 trophy investment option.

Global investors are aware of the Athabascan oil basin in Alberta, Canada. It’s well documented. In short, Canada has 175 billion barrels of recoverable oil trapped in sand. This stuff doesn’t gush like a traditional oil well. It’s more like clay or sludge. Extracting it is a messy, expensive and time-consuming process. But with oil over $90 a barrel, it’s well worth the hassle. Athabasca is a HUGE “TROPHY.” Arguably the most valuable trophy asset of any sort in the world for asset portfolio protection. While it is second to Saudi Arabia in terms of oil reserves it is much more valuable because it’s in friendly, stable Canada – not the Middle East. Take position in Oil market as known oil reserves are shrinking. But first, how could this “TROPHY” asset protect you against inflation? Now, take a look at the chart of oil from the past 10 years: Oil – is intrinsically valuable. There’s real demand for it. And there’s a real shortage too. On its own merits, the price of oil is rising. Saudi Arabia is quitting oil business in the next 10-years. Saudi Arabia is making huge investment in SHALE GAS (The next revolution in the energy market) amounting to $130 billion which is roughly 3-years Net Income of Exxon Mobil. This investment is coming from the Saudi Royal family. This is absolutely impressive. I really admire the strategic leadership of the Saudi Royal family for analysing this trend and maneuvering in the right direction as the geo/political landscape is changing at a very rapid pace.

Most investment banks and hedge funds are placing massive investment in shale gas companies. TIME Magazine has reported on Shale Gas on April 11, 2011 issue and Financial Times reported on May 8, 2011 about the growing importance of Shale Gas globally.

‘TroPhy’ No 2: fooD

Investment in Food assets would quadruple investment value going forward. Rice/Sugar/Wheat/Corn are real trophy assets. The United States is home to the most valuable food “Trophy” in the world – the American Midwest. This is a huge chunk of fertile land, right in the middle of the country. The Mississippi River runs right through it, giving producers easy transport access to the Gulf of Mexico. US farmland has skyrocketed – outpacing inflation by 58 per cent. In Iowa, for instance, farmland values have risen 19.7 per cent in the past 6 months and 25.4 per cent this year alone.

In Kansas and Nebraska prices of farmland have jumped nearly as much. If investors can refer to TIME magazine article dated 11th July 2011 titled ‘become a farmer’ by Stephen Gandel pages 36-38, it is an eye opener.

‘TroPhy’ No 3 goLD/sILver My recent visit to New York took a very surprising and interesting turn, when I visited a Chinese bank. Bank of China’s branch in New York was accepting Yuan related deposits. Americans have been accusing Chinese for manipulating its currency according to the Economist magazine Oct 11, 2011 issue. This perception is totally wrong about Chinese currency.

Jim Rogers—the commodity expert is taking positions in Chinese Yuan.

He shared his strategy when I met him in Singapore two months back.

This is a huge development in the currency market. I am bullish on Chinese Yuan/Renminbi currency and have mentioned that on my blog many times that this currency would become a real force in the global currency market. Investors should position in currencies like Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss France, Norwegian Krone, Brazilian Real, South Korean Won and Singapore Dollar.

‘TroPhy’ No 4 DIvIDeND PAyINg sToCk fIrms Investors should make their portfolio valuable by investing in dividend paying stocks that provide protection against uncertain economic times. Dividend paying stocks are like hedge against volatile equity market and wealth destruction. In one-week alone from August 1-6, 2011, $3.17 trillion of wealth destruction took place and wealthy investors saw their value going down. Some of the valuable companies that protect and enhance asset portfolios include Unilever, Nestle, Coke, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, P&G, Medtronic, General Mills, Cononoc Philips, Aflac, Boeing to name a few. Investors that are in the accumulation phase of their portfolio have the flexibility to seek high total returns from their investments rather than requiring high current yields. I personally advise my clients to analyse a mix of low, moderate, and high yielding investments.

‘TroPhy’ No 5 CurreNCy mArkeT — ChINese yuAN My recent visit to New York took a very surprising and interesting turn, when I visited a Chinese bank. Bank of China’s branch in New York was accepting Yuan related deposits. Americans have been accusing Chinese for manipulating its currency according to the Economist magazine Oct 11, 2011 issue. This perception is totally wrong about Chinese currency. Jim Rogers— the commodity expert is taking positions in Chinese Yuan. He shared his strategy when I met him in Singapore two months back. Investors should position in currencies like Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss France, Norwegian Krone, Brazilian Real, South Korean Won and Singapore Dollar.

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

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Monday, 07 November, 2011

eDitoRiAL

None so blind

A severe liquidity crunch

I

T is noted with deep concern that despite appeals from all quarters, the government is just unwilling step out of the money market, resulting in a severe liquidity crunch that continues to compromise all efforts at stimulating growth. At present, with central bank printing presses still in overdrive, and the rupee at its weakest, and exports nowhere near requisite levels to leverage currency depreciation, there is practically no way the easing monetary environment can have any positive effect save inducing increased central borrowing.

It bears noting that Islamabad’s recent ‘no’ to the Fund raised hopes of focusing on indigenous growth, aimed at increased productivity, revenue collection and exports to move forward.

Yet within weeks it is apparent that the government has no intention of freeing bank credit to induce private sector investment. Also, with reports of finance ministry officials visiting IMF

offices again, it is becoming clear that tax revenues cannot be raised in time, nor exports enhanced enough to grow on our own.

So long as liquidity is scarce, economic activity will remain stagnant.

Inability to manage growth and ease employment, at a time when official policy is too weak to preempt food inflation, is a sure recipe for disaster. The last thing Pakistan needs is frustrated masses taking to the streets to make the government realise where its priorities should lie. Much of its borrowings fund non-productive expenditure. At a time when it should effectively be in electionmode, its disregard for people’s most basic concerns is startling. Now, there is hardly any time for policy turns anymore.

It seems the fiscal’s end will bring the same scenario of budget targets falling horribly short. The people need change.

If it will not be delivered at policy level, then it will be made to come at the government level.

A just economic order

The MFN coin

The great divide between the rich and the poor is escalating day by day especially in the developing countries of South Asia.

The figures are alarming in the region as a whole. We would have been able to make a better analysis of the situation, if the writer provided the figures of the poverty rate of all the South Asian countries. Also, the reference to the regional cooperation between the countries should have been given; for it is just a mere fabrication which is not working in any capacity to look into the matter of eradicating poverty and social inequalities, which by any means are one of the major problems existing in the region.

I really liked the coin analogy that the writer brought into his article to express the various sides of the MFN debate. Both the pros and the cons have their weight, and I for one believe in a positive way of thinking. Increasing commercial ties could eventually result in the ease of tension between India and Pakistan, but of course India needs to make a positive statement themselves after we have taken a strong initiative. Also, we need to appreciate India’s growing economy and hence enhancing trade is the way forward for us, for India and for South Asia as a whole.

AHMED MANSOOR

USMAN BUTT

KArACHI

lAHOre

Shahab Jafry

T

HeRe’S none so blind as those who refuse to see, taught my financial markets mentor as he warned of ‘the coming financial crash’ (Khaleej Times, January 1, 2007) long before investment giant lehman brothers went belly up, sending the international financial system into a tailspin. Yet right up to the credit crunch, market pundits continued to preach and practice wall street’s new mantra, that steroid shots of leverage into speculative investments, with risk priced virtually at zero, underpinned unprecedented financial growth, the new century’s assured capitalist nirvana.

The following market rout was a sobering reminder that “every boom contains the genesis of its own bust”.

But its aftermath also proved that modern western democracy is incapable of catering to such crises. Politicians need to bankroll campaigns, a tactical gap often filled by corporates. In return, of course, for privileged positions for their blue-eyed. Remember former goldman sachs CeO Hank Paulson as treasury secretary? Little surprise, in hindsight, that his watch saw the largest-ever bailout package, in response to the greatest financial tsunami on record, directed to his wall street patrons whose moral hazard was at the heart of the great crash. In the world’s strongest democracy, billions in taxpayer money were deliberately channeled towards reckless institutions that had just caused the worst financial glut in main street history. Yet no manner of public concern could shift the narrative to the real economy. No bailout was engineered for manufacturing and industry. No fed presses printed overtime to keep consumers solvent, the life and blood of the modern economy. The change of guard in Washington only brought more of the same (QeII), with increasing sings of QeIII, the rationale being the same. There is but one policy

Are the worlds of international politics and economics on the verge of monumental change?

Money talks but what walks?

Sakina Husain

W

HILe Marxism may not be the ‘way’ for the day, it is an ideal framework for understanding the inherent dynamics under capitalism for those who are increasingly reminded of their importance as mere ‘cogs’ (unless one wishes to change the first alphabet). In simple words, it tells you that labour pay is not determined by the value of their production. Instead, compensation imparted is

a direct function of labour and their offspring’s sustenance needs. And, from there emerges the concept of low wage traps, which leads generations into cycles of low productivity and most importantly great discontentment.

Before transposing this discussion onto the current remuneration dynamics, it is important to highlight that in the development discourse, the predicaments associated with unemployment and underdevelopment of skill renders the limelight miles away from the malaise that affects youth from the middle class. These are families who have spent fortunes on acquiring private higher education only to find out that there are very few willing to provide monetary compensation for skill, education and creativity. While there would be many who would beg to differ, most will also agree that the degree of professionalism and employee worth differs across cities. Thus, fresh graduates finding themselves in a city that lacks a

thriving job market would speak of woes involving lower pays, exploitation and generally lower hope regarding how the future intends to reveal its colours.

Aside from the city factor, in the recent economic downturn, rent seeking does not seem to be characteristic of politicians only.

While owners and top management are finding it extremely hard to part with the smallest of earnings percentage, the toll of lower demand and increasing infrastructure costs seems to have unfairly fallen upon the salaried class, deprived of much deserved raises bonuses, etc. How, may one ask, can a person focus on being productive when s/he is unable to make ends meet?

The answer as a corollary would clearly explain why it is in the interests of the top to ‘slave drive’ and for those at the bottom to offer brandishing smiles with subservience and servility. And might one belong to the clan that states how it feels, then nay, the world of the corporate aint for thee!

As a result, unofficial statistics reveal

shAhAB JAfry Business editor

kuNwAr khuLDuNe shAhID Sub-editor

BABur sAghIr creative Head

ALI rIZvI News editor

mAheeN syeD Sub-editor

hAmmAD rAZA Layout Designer

at play in the home of modern capitalism, save the neoliberal financial system.

Strangely, the unwinding of the capitalist doctrine has also led to a collapse of the left, predominantly in europe. Political heavyweights long associated with the moderate left are facing angry agitations against themselves. In Greece, socialist international president Papandreou is implementing harsh troika-prescribed austerity – privatisation, civil service cuts, etc. In Spain and Portugal, public agitation against draconian cuts is directed as much against their socialist governments as the IMF. Far from producing an adequate response to the crisis, as in the days before the fateful fall of the Berlin Wall, the european left seems increasingly capitulating to the forces of neoliberalism, sacrificing social equality for balanced budgets even as the free market system enters its endgame. Of course, it helps when ratings agencies immediately downgrade entire economies at the first sign of a hard left turn. In europe, just as in the US, regardless of the government in office, policy focuses on preserving the economic order.

In both cases, the power structure is subservient to financial nerve centres, relying simply on pumping more money into a hemorrhaging system. Yet doing so reflects a failure to understand the evolution of a new paradigm. The rapid growth of speculative finance spiked income disparities right across the economic north. The rush to safeguard this structure has now led many to revolt. First in europe, then in the US, public opinion has swung sharply against quantitativeeasing-politics as people refuse to be subject to extreme austerity so banks are flush with liquidity every time they crash the system. The intertwined worlds of international politics and economics are seemingly on the threshold of a new way of functioning. There will be no more miraculous money making from non-productive speculation. And there will definitely not be public funded giant bailouts for reckless institutions whose negligence has been repeatedly proved criminal. In resisting this change, capitals on both side of the atlantic only delay the day of reckoning, making eventual default that much more painful, with spill-over effects that much more profound. Years of throwing good money after bad has turned toxic institutional debt into existential sovereign dilemmas. With the system not half-way solvent enough, and people refusing to be milked further, the immediate future can only bring systemic collapse. I feel an eerie echo of my mentor’s words again as Washington and Berlin throw their lot behind wall street dogma. There’s none so blind as those who refuse to see.

The writer is Business Editor, Pakistan Today

in the recent economic downturn, rent seeking does not seem to be characteristic of politicians only

that more than seven million Pakistani’s live abroad and thousands wait for the Almighty that resides in developed nations to beckon them somehow. Given this entire lament, it is interesting and very ironic to state that the number of people migrating into Pakistan versus those who leave is much higher and has been growing over the years; the net migration rate stood at negative 0.9 per 1000 population in 2000 and has grown to negative 2.17 in 2011. Clearly, those who see a future in this godforsaken country do not need to be pointed out; they’re everywhere!

Needless to say, in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-actualisation just may be a distant proposition for the population at large. One day when studies will reveal that investment is also a function of creative thought and processes, aside from

other well known factors, they will connect the struggle and stress related to survival with a loss of creativity and faith. If philosophy were a core subject being taught, many would understand why thinkers are placed at such a high pedestal, to the extent, that marriages between the highest rung and the lowest, ie the bourgeoisie are frowned upon. And if history were being rampantly taught in the way that it should be, many would know that it was the practice of the Church to gobble the biggest scoop of the pie and ask the pie maker to believe in the hereafter. Have we, quite literally, glided back?

The writer is an economic researcher and freelance finance journalist. She can be reached at sakina.husain@gmail.com

For comments, queries and contributions, write to: muNeeB eJAZ Layout Designer

email: profit@pakistantoday.com.pk Ph: 042-36298305-10 fax: 042-36298302 website: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Monday, 07 November, 2011

india should oblige the commitment to support pakistan in Wto to accomplish gSp plus in european Union while pakistan offers MfN to india

news

25

kCCI President, Abdul majid

NTBs are under discussion: Indian HC KARACHI

G

STAff rePOrT

OVeRNMeNT of India is discussing issues related to trade with Pakistan especially the list of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) presented by Pakistan.

This was said by Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal addressing the members of Karachi Chamber Of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), during a meeting here on Saturday at KCCI. He informed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s vision is to transform South Asia with the cooperation of all neighbouring countries of India, including Pakistan, the region moves from poverty to prosperity and from ignorance to a knowledgeable society.

He said Indo-Pak Commerce Ministers in their recent talks agreed to double bilateral trade from the current level of $2.7 billion to $6 billion as the first step and mandated to fur-

ther strengthen cooperation for a high ambition of preferential trade relations under the framework of SAFTA. Talking about the NTBS he said that Government of Pakistan has given the Non-Tariff Barriers list which is under discussion. Some perceived that Non-Tariff Barriers are regarding quality control and packing issues which are uniform for all countries, he said.

Deliberations are underway to improve infrastructure of land routes and open trade from the Monabao-Khokrapar border. Pakistan and India have a bilateral visa regime based on reciprocity and the Indian interior ministry is working on visa liberalisation, he said.

In his welcome address, he stated, “We at KCCI, firmly believe that both countries will have to demonstrate greater political will to foster relations. It is the need of the hour that both governments, besides opening new land routes, should positively consider connecting Mumbai with Karachi through air and sea

links. He said, “We at KCCI observe the present moves to forge closer commercial ties as the biggest push ever for trade liberalisation between India and Pakistan. The issue of granting MFN to India needs to be realised as an economic obligation instead of political framework. India should come forward with an open mind, to promote bilateral investment to further strengthen the economic relations.

“India should oblige the commitment to support Pakistan in WTO to accomplish GSP Plus in european Union while Pakistan offers MFN to India.” President KCCI said Karachi and Mumbai, the third and the second largest cities of the world respectively, share remarkable similarities. Foreign trade handled by Karachi and Mumbai is estimated at around 90 and 40 per cent of their national volume, respectively. Both cities have huge, vibrant and informal sectors that some estimates put at about the size of the formal one. KCCI & the Bombay chamber have already kicked off the

joint activities like issuing visa recommendation letters and exchange trade information to facilitate their members and to bridge together the business community of the two countries.

An Indian business delegation, led by the president of the Bombay chamber, is also expected in the next month. We have also planned to organise an Indian Pavilion in the KCCI’s 9th My-Karachi, Oasis of Harmony exhibition scheduled in July 2012, he added. earlier, Chairman Businessmen Group Siraj Kassam Teli appreciated the present moves by Indo-Pak Governments for strengthening commercial and economic ties. He said that the Business & Industrial Communities on both sides have high expectations and willingness to improve trade. He was of the view that such similar hypes between two governments were made in the past which were affected by some elements.

For recent developments, we urged both governments to bring productive results and

Shareholders remain subdued at textile firms’ calm distribution of payouts KARACHI STAff rePOrT

T

He textile industry has faced windfall gains in FY11, due to the high cotton prices that led to a turnaround in their margins, as per the analysts. Textile is the largest industry in Pakistan and has the highest listed companies (207 out of 638 firms listed at KSe); even though in terms of share trading their representation is hardly five per cent.

“After compiling the full year results of these listed textile companies, we found out that the sector is trading at a trailing Pe of 2x (excluding loss making firms), 71 per cent discount to market Pe of 7x,” said, Mohammed Millwala of Top line Securities. He said that, “Our sample is based on 147 companies that have an-

nounced their full year results representing 97 per cent of market capitalisation.”

Interestingly, the analyst said that, there were 33 firms (35 per cent of profitable companies) that were even trading below their earnings i.e. Pe of less than 1x. Moreover, 32 per cent companies were trading at Pe between 1-3x while 12 per cent are trading in the range of 3-7x.

“In spite of abnormal profits made by textile firms, the market participants seem aloof as the sector has underperformed the broader index by 19 per cent in 2011YTD,” Millwala said. Adding this was important, because investors’ doubts regarding future earnings, lack of faith in management of the family controlled textile set ups and most importantly higher profits were not adequately shared with minority shareholders.

He said that the concern in the

minds of investors was whether the same earnings would be witnessed next year? “We know that improvement in earnings mainly attributable to rise in cotton prices owing to a difference in demand supply of the crop.”

However, the analyst said, with global cotton crop production expected to surpass the consumption after 7 years, it was expected that cotton prices would fall gradually.

Thus, it would create a concern for millers to realise inventory losses on cotton inventories available with them.

Furthermore, as yarn prices had moved in tandem with the change in its raw form, the margins of spinning segment were expected to remain under pressure in FY12. “Inventory losses combined with higher input costs would drive down the abnormal mar-

gins witnessed by textile mills in FY11, resulting in a steep decline in earnings as compared to last year,” he said.

The analyst claimed that majority of textile sector was dominated by family business structure as opposed to formal corporate structure and the investors were staying wary of investing in such business as the management of the company was being selected on basis of kinship rather than capabilities.

“This result is the lack of faith in company’s management and investors do not trust the company with their money.” The analyst said that the shareholders expect return from a stock in two ways, namely the dividend and capital gain. “In last few years, it is generally seen that most of the textile companies remained shy in distributing payouts,” he said.

also focus on political and other issues to resolve amicably. He demanded that while defining parameters and before taking decisions, the enlightened business community leaders of both countries must be consulted to avoid any adverse decisions with respect to trade. He said that the Bombay-Karachi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry will act as the driving force to strengthen the trade ties. He was of the view that the Business Community of Pakistan would avail more benefits from huge Indian market as compared to its counterpart.

Commercial and economic Counsellor Arvind Saxcna, First Secretary (Consular & Visa) Acquino Vimal, High Commission of India in Islamabad, ex-Presidents Anjum Nisar, Majyd Aziz, Senior Vice President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir, Vice President Zia Ahmed Khan and Managing Committee Members also participated in the meeting.

Over a dozen companies barred from share trading at Karachi Stock Exchange KARACHI: ISMAIl DIlAWAr

T

RADING in the shares of over a dozen companies listed at the Karachi Stock exchange (KSe) has been suspended. At least 13 companies from various sectors, like textile, mutual fund, insurance, dairies, leasing etc have been under fire since September for not complying with the orders of the KSe management. AI-Mel Securities and Services Limited, Unity Moderabe, Inveetec Securities Limited, First lnvestec Modereba, Usmen Textile Mills Limited, Delta Insurance Company Limited, Sterling Insurance Company Limited, Pakistan Guarantee Insurance Company Limited, Adil Polypropyl-ene Products Limited, Adil Textile Mills Limited, National Asset Leasing Corporation Limited, Inter Asia Leasing Company Limited and UQAB Breeding Farms Limited are the firms whose shares would not be traded for further 60 days. “The companies have not so far removed the cause of suspension of trading in their shares, the Karachi Stock exchange in the interest of trade and public has decided that

At least 13 companies from various sectors, like textile, mutual fund, insurance, dairies, leasing etc have been under fire since september for not complying with the orders of the kse management trading in the shares of these companies shall be kept suspended for a further period of 60 days,” said the KSe notices issued separately to the defiant firms. The KSe has taken action against the companies under Listing Regulation No 5(2) (ii) and Section 9(7) of the Securities and exchange Ordinance, 1969. Through issuing notices numbering KSe/N-6102, -6103, -6104, 6105, -6106, 6107 and -6108, the authorities at the country’s largest bourse asked the said firms to remove the cause of suspension in the trading of their shares in compliance with the relevant rules. The KSe management has extended their suspension period for a further two-months to take effect verily from November 6, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 14 or until such time as the cause of suspension is removed. Such suspensions are likely to reflect adversely on the volume of traded shares at the already volumes-starved Karachi bourse that, the analysts fear, was nearing to lose its title of being Asia’s most liquid stocks market.

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processors would shift boilers to alternate fuel during winter gas load management plan

news

rana Arif Tauseef

UNACCOUNTED FOR GAS LOSSES

CORPORATE CORNER

SSGC working with World Bank on $200 million project registers net profit of rs4.724 trillion for fy11 against rs4.399tln of fy10 g shareholders entitled to 25per cent cash dividend, 5 per cent bonus shares g Non-payment of rs32b dues by kesC forces company to seek bank loans g

KARACHI

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STAff rePOrT

He Sui Southeren Gas Company (SSGC), in line with its five-year development plan, is working on a $200 million Natural Gas efficiency project in collaboration with the World Bank to reduce the company’s Unaccounted for Gas (UFG) losses.

The project would bring about a phased reduction in the UFG losses over a five-year period by rehabilitating 5,000kms of aging pipelines.

Also, the SSGC has registered a net profit of Rs4,724 billion for FY 2010-11 against Rs4,399 billion of FY 2009-10. The company has declared a 25 per cent cash dividend and 5 per cent bonus shares for its shareholders.

Addressing the 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of SSGC, under the chairmanship of Chairman, Salim Abbas Jilani, the company’s Managing Director, Azim

Iqbal Siddiqui told the shareholders that the company was working on a development plan.

He said that a $200 million Natural Gas efficiency project had been formulated in cognisance with the World Bank that would bring about a phased reduction in UFG losses over a five-year period by rehabilitating 5,000kms of aging pipelines. Furthermore, the MD said, the distribution network in the biggest gas consuming centre in the city had been bifurcated in three operational regions on the basis of its natural geographical boundaries. “This strategy has started showing results in quantifying UFG levels with respect to sale and purchase volumes,” said Siddiqui.

Attended by the company directors, senior management and a large number of shareholders, the AGM approved the financial statements along with the Auditors’ Report for the financial year ending June 30.

The AGM approved the payment of 25 per cent cash dividend and 5 per cent bonus shares to the

shareholders.

During FY 2010-11, the company registered a net profit of Rs4,724 billion against Rs4,399 billion in FY 2009-10. These impressive numbers won tremendous appreciation from the shareholders who expressed their utmost confidence in the company’s management by lauding its proactive role in increasing the net profitability by the steps it is undertaking to bridge the widening imbalance of demand and supply of natural gas.

The chairman and the managing director responded to the queries raised by the shareholders. They informed the house that a number of progressive steps have been undertaken such as, the fast track import of LNG through a third party regime which will bring in 1.4 billion cubic feet gas by 2012.

Shareholders were also informed that SSGC has acquired Pro gas LPG plant that would not only provide additional gas to the far flung areas, where gas distribution through con-

Dr Asim assures four days a week gas supply to textile industry Number of measures taken to streamline gas supply g uninterrupted gas supply soon be extended to five days a week g

LAHORE STAff rePOrT

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eDeRAL Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr Asim Hussain has assured four days a week uninterrupted gas supply to the textile industry in Punjab during winters, which may further be enhanced to five days a week with the entry of 200MMCFD in the system sooner than later.

He was talking to the APTMA members at the APTMA Punjab office along with group leader Gohar ejaz. Chairman APTMA, Mohsin Aziz participated in the meeting through a video conference from Peshawar.

The Federal Minister said that he has asked the ANV companies (working on exploration of gas) to increase production up to 200MMCFD for three months to meet gas shortage for textile industry during winter.

It may be noted that the textile industry in Punjab had strong apprehensions of 90 days

gas supply cut during winter.

However, the minister dispelled the impression and made clear that the four days a week gas supply would continue uninterrupted, followed by five days a week gas supply accordingly.

He said that a number of measures including, gas infrastructure surcharge, gas theft act, levy on domestic LPG and end of price distortion have been taken to streamline gas supply to the consumers, particularly the textile industry. The federal minister also stated categorically that the CNG stations are proving a burden on industrial growth as they are consuming textile industry gas.

According to him, 500MMCFD shale gas would be part of the system within two years in result of further explorations. Dr Asim said that he would be in a position to share good news with the nation about new gas explorations in Sindh within the next 10 days.

He said the system was producing 29 trillion MMCFD gas at present, having a potential of

26

79 trillion MMCFD in future. earlier, Chairman APTMA Mohsin Aziz highlighted the role of textile industry in Pakistan economy in his welcome address. He said that Punjab was the house of 60% of the textile industry and any gas curtailment would end up on joblessness, followed by socio-economic problems. Rana Arif Tauseef from Pakistan Textile exports Association proposed to the minister for gas supply for processing units on quota basis in order to run generators on gas. He said that the processors would shift boilers to alternate fuel during winter gas load management plan.

Group leader APTMA, Gohar ejaz urged the APTMA members to give a standing ovation to the federal minister. He said that the industry was looking forward to the government to keep its operations intact during next three months. Shahzad Ali Khan, Chairman energy Committee APTMA, paid vote of thanks on the occasion.

ventional pipelines is not cost-effective, but will also allow for diverting natural gas to the industry.

The MD acknowledged two major issues. Firstly, in view of the mounting receivables from KeSC which have touched a massive figure of Rs32 billion, the management is proactively working to negotiate a Gas Sales Agreement that would help in the recovery of new bills. The chairman added that KeSC’s receivables issue was a major sore point for the company, compelling it to borrow from bank at higher rates.

The other issue of overstaffing which occurred due to the reinstatement of some 2,500 employees through Presidential Ordinance in 2009 had been resolved by effectively utilising these reinstated employees in different functional areas through proper training and skill development.

Members of SSGC’s Board of Directors including, Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri, Fazal-ur-Rehman Dittu, Nessar Ahmed, Aurangzeb Ali Naqvi, Mirza Mahmood Ahmad, Ayaz Dawood, Azhar Maud, Zubair Habib, Syed Hassan Nawab, DMD (Operations), Zuhair Siddiqui, DMD (Corporate Services), SGMs, GMs, DGMs and other officials were also present at the AGM.

seCP registers 257 companies during october KARACHI STAff rePOrT

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URING the month of October 2011, the Securities and exchange Commission of Pakistan (SeCP) registered 257 new companies. Private companies (244) have the highest share in new incorporation followed by 11 single member companies, one not-for-profit association and a foreign company from the UK in the fuel and energy sector. Foreign investment by US nationals was made in a new local company in the power generation sector. The sector-wise position reveals that 36 new companies were incorporated in the trading sector, followed by information technology (27), services (24), transport (21), Hajj and Umrah Services (16), food and beverages (14), construction (10) and power generation (10). Seven companies each were incorporated in the textile, pharmaceuticals and corporate agricultural farming sectors, 6 companies each in the education and chemical sectors, while 5 companies each in the tourism, fuel and energy and communications sectors. eighty five companies were registered in Lahore followed by Karachi (82) and Islamabad (61). 12, 8, 7 and 2 companies were registered in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad and Quetta, respectively. The authorised capital and paid up capital of companies incorporated in October 2011 is Rs1.58 billion and Rs298.47 million, respectively.

During the month, 23 companies increased their authorised capital with the aggregate authorised capital increment of Rs10.98 billion and 57 companies raised their paid up capital with the total paid up capital increment amounting to Rs6.9 billion.

khurrum sayeed hails the grant of mfN status to India KaraChI: executive Committee Member IndiaPakistan Chamber of Commerce, Mr Khurram Sayeed, Senior ViceChairman Petroleum Standing Committee of FPCCI and Chief executive Planet Petrochemicals welcomed the proposal of granting MFN status to India. He thanked the Prime Minister for his commendable decision and also appreciated the role played by the Commerce Minister and the Secretary Commerce and his team for their untiring efforts to liberalise trade with India. He also thanked the Indian Commerce Minister and his team for their positive role and for their support to Pakistan at WTO. He said that this will lead to bi-lateral investment and will create much needed employment opportunities in Pakistan. PreSS releASe

moL Pakistan supports flood affected districts of Pakistan KaraChI: MOL Pakistan, the member of oil and gas giant MOL Group, handed over the consignment of relief items worth US $50,000 in order to help the flood affected districts of Tando Muhammad Khan and Sanghar. The supplies were handed over to the DCO's of district administration of Tando Muhammad Khan and Sanghar. Officials of MOL Pakistan were also present on the occasion. This is not the first time when MOL Pakistan has given a helping hand in the time of need. Managing Director of MOL Pakistan, Mr erno Liptak in his message on the occasion said “MOL Pakistan is committed to help the people of Pakistan in need and that it is fully aware of the difficulties faced by the people of Sindh.” PreSS releASe

emirates, reports half year profits of Dhs827 million despite global challenges KaraChI: emirates airline produced a net profit of Dhs827 million (US $225 million), for the first six months of its current financial year ending 30th September 2011. In addition, the company’s revenue has increased steadily by 20 per cent per annum over the same time period resulting in a record 23 years of profitability, unmatched by any other airline. Since 2004, when emirates acquired its first long-haul wide-body aircraft, allowing for much broader global expansion, the airline has opened 39 new outstations and now flies to 115 destinations in 67 countries. PreSS releASe

KArACHI: On the occasion of the welcome ceremony of vessel Hyundai Colombo, 6 8 00 Teus capacity, federal Secretary for Ports and Shipping, Mr Agha Sarwar raza Qazalbash, presenting the memento to the Master of Vessel, Captain Sho ryong lee,Mrs Nasreen Haque.

Chairperson KPT and CeO, United Marine Agencies, Mr Sohail Shams are also present. PrESS rELEASE

KArACHI: Mr Muhammad bilal Sheikh, President and CeO, Sindh bank limited (sitting 5th from left) and Naim farooqui, COO (sitting 1st from left) with participants of the Sindh bank branch Managers Conference, recently held in Karachi. PrESS rELEASE

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perhaps there was a bit of wait-andsee and the idea that investors are more comfortable not doing anything today, and waiting for the (Mf global) dynamic to play itself out

Markets

erik gebhard weekly review

Index bounces back with OGDC leading the pack g

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Bulls storm kfe with 307 point gain Bull-run well supported by oil and gas exploration Bull-run inspires gains in frontline stocks 165 advance, 83 declined and 85 remained unchanged out of 333 scrips

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KARACHI

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STAff rePOrT

He benchmark performance was fairly impressive in the outgoing week as the index gained around 3.52 per cent. The index heavy weight OGDC came back strongly with a Rs14.28/share gain adding approximately 299 points of the total week gain of 396 points. The upwards movement in Oil sectors stock can be attributed to expectation of circular debt resolution.

During the week inflation numbers were released where MoM inflation was up by 1.44 per cent while year to date inflation comes to around 11.34 per cent.

We believe the pre-eid season and flood impacted the inflation numbers, said Bilal Asif at HMFS, adding that we estimate year end inflation to be around 12.5 per cent, hence SBP may not be able to cut the DR in the upcoming monetary policy.

On the positive side, LSM growth was fairly

Local equities undergo technical adjustment as kse loses 106 points volume leaders undergo technical correction as well show of strength prominent in engro stock massive turnover in fertliser sector

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Index recovers on account of ogDC to post minor losses mfN status invites vibrations in the beneficiaries 105 advance, 115 decline, 93 remain unchanged out of total 313 scrips

impressive, but concerns over exports and current account situation remain critical. During the current fiscal year, around USD2billion payment to IMF may impact our reserve and current account status. Fertiliser stocks backed by frequent price hike remain in the limelight, Oil stock were in active mood backed by possible resolution of circular debt. But we believe the current resolution would be temporary, hence circular debt may one again occur going forward. moNThLy revIeW: INDex BaND oF 1,000 poINTS DepICT voLaTILITy: The benchmark was moving in a wavy pattern moving in a band of 1,000 points. Single day in the preceding 4 weeks of the month dominated the week. The surprise DR cut of 150bps taking the cumulative YTD DR cut to 200bps can be considered as a sentiment booster, but the impact didn’t last long. HUBC’s one time sell-off of 140mn shares impacted overall volumes positively while having the opposite effect on FIPS

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Bulls storm kse with 150 point gain Top three index contributors add over 100 points 151 advance, 82 decline, 103 remain unchanged out of total 336 scrips

fertiser sector leads bulls with 61 point gain 121 advance, 121 decline, and 90 remain unchanged stocks invite trading activity on mfN

numbers and the share price of the stock. The overall average daily volume for the month jumped to 81.42mn shares and if we exclude HUBCO’s 140mn shares, average daily volume for the month tones down to 74.42mn shares depicting a mere improvement of 3.7 per cent MoM. Furthermore fertiliser stocks remain in the limelight as Fatima price appreciated by 40.7 per cent followed by FFC 19.5 per cent on account of frequent upward adjustment in Urea prices. Quarterly Results of OGDC, PSO, UBL, FFC, LUCK and FFBL results were fairly impressive. But most of the above mentioned stocks were unable to present the same kind of trend in the share price appreciation.

T-BILL aUCTIoN: During the week SBP conducted T-bill auction raising Rs 293billion including NCBs against the target of Rs 215billion as Cut-off yield on 6 months paper witnessed the highest rate cut of 11bps to 11.81 per cent followed by 3 month paper which was lowered by 9bps to 11.78 per cent

while rates on 12 months paper was slashed by 6bps to 11.88 per cent. It is pertinent to note that recent attrition in primary yields have lowered rates on 12 months paper by 200bps since the peak of 13.91 per cent touched in the beginning of fiscal year. Furthermore, CPI for the month of October landed at 10.96 per cent YoY, depicting increase of 1.4 per cent MoM basis. Inflation during October was largely driven by increase in prices of food essentials and non-alcoholic beverages.

Government borrowing for budgetary support has swelled by Rs280 billion to Rs2.9 trillion for the week ending on October 21, 2011, whilst money supply accretion remains negative at 0.18 per cent on a FY12TD basis. Despite widening rate differentials and looming debt payment, targeted intervention by central bank has also arrested depreciation of Pakistani Rupee against green back to 0.96 per cent since the beginning of fiscal year from 1.8 per cent at the end of 1QFY11.

gold drops in thin volume, tracks riskier assets NEW YORK/LONDON reUTerS

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OLD fell on Friday in one of the quietest trading day, as the metal tracked riskier assets on fresh worries about the euro zone bailout fund and a mildly encouraging US nonfarm payrolls report. Bullion came under pressure on market frustrations that the euro zone won verbal support but no new money at a Friday’s G20 summit for its tortured efforts to overcome a sovereign debt crisis. The metal — a traditional safe haven which has recently taken to tracking riskier assets — fell with US equities

after data showed US hiring slowed in October but the unemployment rate also fell, pointing to some improvement in the still-weak labor market.

Gold was also pressured as commodity brokers raced to finish transferring thousands of customers of bankrupt rival MF Global, shifting their attention to the delicate task of ensuring new clients’ margins are topped by next week. “Perhaps there was a bit of wait-and-see and the idea that investors are more comfortable not doing anything today, and waiting for the (MF Global) dynamic to play itself out,” said erik Gebhard, principal at futures broker Altavest. Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,754.89 an ounce by 3:18 p.m. eDT. US gold futures for December delivery settled down $9 at $1,756.10 an ounce. US futures trading volume was less than 88,000 lots by 3:20 p.m., Reuters data showed,

set to be the top three lowest daily volume in 2011. Traders cited the demise of now-defunct commodities broker MF Global for weak turnover in gold futures.

Following a court order on Wednesday, the MF Global trustee has worked with the CMe Group (CMe.O) and a handful of other mostly independent futures commission merchants (FCMs) to move the bankrupt broker’s 50,000 or so commodity accounts in bulk to new clearing firms, along with 60 percent of collateral.

The metal, however, posted its second consecutive weekly gain, helped by renewed safe-haven buying amid uncertainty to the future of the european Union.

“We are holding technical support at the 25-percent Fibonacci retracement at $1,747 an ounce. Risk is coming off because some people think everything

is going to be fine, and others who think gold is going to explode next week,” said COMeX gold options floor trader Jonathan Jossen. The gold market will closely monitor news out of the G20 meeting this weekend.

Leaders of the world’s major economies told europe to sort out its own problems and deferred until next year any move to provide more crisisfighting resources to the International Monetary Fund.

Silver was down 1.2 percent at $34.05 an ounce. The silver market largely ignored an update from the US futures regulator about its continuing investigations onto possible unlawful acts or manipulation in silver markets in a probe that began more than three years ago.

Platinum was off 0.3 percent to $1,628.74 an ounce and palladium was up 0.2 percent at $653.75.

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analysis

28 Pakistan: Failing economy, failed state?

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MAHA KHAN PHILLIPS

N the wake of the killing of Osama bin-Laden five months ago, Pakistan increasingly appears to be a country on the brink. The daring raid by US Navy Seals on Pakistani territory has fueled public opposition to the war on terror. The ability of the government to control the country appears shakier than ever, with terrorist attacks on the rise and ethnic violence besieging the economic capital of Karachi.

Relations between Islamabad and Washington hit a new low following the damning accusation last month

by Admiral Mike Mullen that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency had provided support to the Haqqani terrorist group that attacked the US embassy in Afghanistan.

weAk eCoNomy, DysfuNCTIoNAL PoLITy As daunting as the political and security risks are, Pakistan’s economic problems are every bit as bad. Growth has slowed to a crawl in recent years, unemployment and inflation are both high and rising, and investment has plunged to a 40-year low. Fully 60 per cent of the country’s 187 million people are getting by on less than $2 a day. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani have done little to combat the country’s endemic corruption. external support to help Pakistan deal with its problems is drying up. Last year the International Monetary Fund halted payments to Pakistan under an $11 billion economic stabilisation program because of the government’s failure to cut its deficit and pursue economic reforms. The danger is that the weak economy and dysfunctional political system will feed on each other, with corruption and mismanagement fostering stagnation and poverty that, in turn, fuel more extremism. It’s no wonder analysts talk of Pakistan as a failed state. “There are three key, fundamental issues on which economic development and foreign direct investment in any country are based,” says Saad Amanullah Khan, vice president of the American Business Council of Pakistan, a chamber of US businesses and one of the largest groups of singlecountry overseas investors. “They are consistency of government policy, infrastructure availability and general law and order. Unfortunately, all three have gone down in the past four years.” Daniel Wagner, chief executive of Country Risk Solutions, a US political and economic consulting firm, is even more blunt, arguing that the government has lost control over its borders.

“My perspective on Pakistan is that it does not have to worry about becoming a failed state because it already is a failed state,” he says.

rICh DIvIDeNDs The current situation is a far cry from the halcyon days in the middle of the past decade, when a technocratic government led by Shaukat Aziz succeeded in reviving the economy — and hopes for a better future. Aziz, a former Citibank executive, was drafted as finance minister

by General Pervez Musharraf after a military coup in 1999. Both men promised to root out corruption and provide the fiscal discipline and stability for economic growth. Musharraf’s decision to stand with the US in its war on terror after the attacks of September 11, 2001, also paid rich dividends. Western governments agreed to write off $1.7 billion of the country’s debt and reschedule a further $12.5 billion, easing Pakistan’s debt service burden, while Washington stepped up economic and military aid. The results were impressive. Pakistan’s economy grew at an average rate of just over 7.25 per cent a year between 2004 and 2007, according to the IMF. exports nearly doubled, as did foreign exchange reserves. The government embarked on a privatisation campaign, helping the country attract $8.4 billion in badly needed foreign direct investment. The ultimate seal of approval, seemingly, came in 2005 when Goldman Sachs Group named Pakistan as one of its “next 11” emerging markets, a group that the bank asserted would follow the BRIC nations to become among the leading economic powers of the 21st century. Instead of capitalizing on the good times, however, Pakistan reverted to its old ways. Aziz, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2007, did little to develop the country’s infrastructure or reduce costly subsidies. Political instability accelerated the economic downturn. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto returned from exile in 2007 to lead her Pakistan Peoples Party in parliamentary elections, only to be assassinated at a political rally in December of that year. President Musharraf declared a state of emergency, then resigned and went into exile in 2008

after the PPP and its rival, the Pakistan Muslim League, called for his impeachment. Bhutto’s widower, Zardari, was elected president in September 2008, but his government has done little to stem the decline. economic growth will average just under three per cent a year between 2008 and 2011, according to IMF figures, while India has grown at an annual rate of nearly 7.75 per cent over that period. Investment slumped to 13.4 per cent of GDP in the 2010–’11 fiscal year from a peak of 22.5 per cent just four years earlier. With inflation running at an official rate of 14 per cent and food prices soaring, employers say some blue-collar workers are asking to be paid in wheat instead of money.

fuNDeD reLIef Pakistan agreed to an IMF stabilisation program in 2008 and has drawn nearly $8 billion in loans. The Fund also provided an additional $478 million in emergency aid last year after floods devastated a fifth of the country’s territory. The IMF has suspended further loans, however, because of the government’s failure to rein in its deficit, expand the country’s notoriously porous tax base and shrink bloated state-owned companies. “Pakistan needs to focus on growth and reduce poverty and raise employment levels,” says Adnan Mazarei, IMF mission chief for Pakistan. “For that you need improved institutions and hopefully an improvement in security, which is not entirely in the hands of the government.” Zardari is known in the country as “Mr 10 Per cent” because of allegations that he took kickbacks when his wife was in power. Criminal charges against him for corruption, money laundering and murder were dropped as part of a 2007 agreement with Musharraf that enabled Zardari and Bhutto to return from exile. The president has been accused of cronyism for surrounding himself with a kitchen cabinet of politicians with dubious credentials. Babar Awan, a PPP heavyweight who once served as minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, claimed to hold a doctorate degree from Monticello University in the US, but that “school” turned out to be an unaccredited diploma mill that was fined and ordered to stop offering degrees by a Hawaii court. “These guys have no qualifications. They have fake degrees and don’t do anything for the country,” says one Karachi-based chief executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Why are they in these positions of power? Because they are yes men, high school friends of Zardari’s.”

PATroNAge oPPorTuNITIes Zardari has appointed a number of credible professionals to key economic and financial posts, but none of them has managed to stay in his job for very long.

Within the past year first Salim Raza and then Shahid Kardar resigned as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank. Shaukat Tarin resigned as finance minister in 2010 and was replaced by Hafeez Shaikh, a Boston University–trained economist who had worked at the World Bank in the 1990s and served as privatisation minister under Musharraf. Insiders say the technocrats are frustrated. Tarin, for instance, drafted a nine-point plan to boost the economy, including tax reforms and infrastructure development, only to resign when the government disregarded his proposals. Kardar has refused to comment publicly on his resignation, but he made his views clear in a newspaper column, contending that the government needs to privatise state companies to increase efficiency and combat corruption and cronyism. He accused politicians and bureaucrats of blocking privatisation “because of the resulting reduced opportunities for patronage or earnings.” The stagnant economy provides a fertile environment for growing militancy. Without schools, parents turn to madrassas, or religious institutions, to provide instruction and food to their children. Finance minister Shaikh acknowledges concerns about political resistance to reform but insists that the government has taken some positive steps, including measures to expand the tax base, freeze expenditures and deregulate oil prices. “I am a great believer in Pakistan’s future,” he says. “Its geographic location, its abundance of natural resources and underexploited potential make it a serious candidate for doing well in the medium term.”

Business executives say other government actions are more telling. In January, for example, Dubai-based Abraaj Capital, which had acquired a controlling stake in Karachi electric Supply Co in 2009, decided to cut 4,500 workers in a bid to increase efficiency. The workers attacked the utility’s offices, trapping management inside, and destroyed parked cars. One employee held

We’ve been talking about raising tax revenues for the last 64 years, and every year there are these completely unrealistic targets which are bandied about in the budget

Adnan Aziz Ahmed

up a sign that said, “Do not force us to become suicide bomber.” Under pressure from unions, the government intervened and prodded the company to reinstate the workers. Business executives rolled their eyes.

“The government backed the unions publicly. Just look at the signal that sends out,” says Muddassar Malik, chief executive of BMA Capital Management, a Karachi-based fund management firm.

hIgh ProfILe TAx evAsIoN The government has also demonstrated little willingness to back the efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue to increase the tax take. Pakistan has one of the lowest income tax rates in the world at about 10 per cent, and the government has said it is committed to increasing revenue. However, senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Gilani, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rehman Malik are among those who did not pay a penny in income tax between 2004 and 2007, according to a report in a local newspaper. “We’ve been talking about raising tax revenues for the last 64 years, and every year there are these completely unrealistic targets which are bandied about in the budget,” says Adnan Aziz Ahmed, managing partner of Alpha Capital Partners in London and former economic adviser to Benazir Bhutto. Notwithstanding their frustration with the government, business leaders insist that Pakistan still has great potential.

“We’ve had war, we’ve had natural disasters, and we are in a time when Pakistan’s export markets are in a recession,” says BMA Capital’s Malik. “It’s remarkable that the economy has actually grown and not gone into a tailspin.” Remittances from Pakistanis working abroad, especially in the oil-rich Gulf, have helped. Those funds quadrupled in eight years to reach $7 billion, or 4.2 per cent of GDP, in 2008, according to the IMF. “We’ve been lucky in the sense that agricultural commodities picked up last year and we got compensated,” says Nasim Beg, chief executive of Arif Habib Investments, one of the country’s largest asset management companies. “There is no serious pressure on the currency. The stock market is doing well on the back of good earnings of listed companies and also sustained growth.”

CuLTs of PersoNALITy Another bright sign is the fact that the asset management industry continues to grow, albeit from a low level. Between 2001 and 2010 the number of investment funds in Pakistan grew to 135 from 38 and their combined assets rose to $2.3 billion from $331 million, according to BMA Capital. Pension funds’ assets grew by 48 per cent in 2010, driven largely by the performance of the Karachi stock market. Those gains could easily go out the window, though. In Karachi, the commercial hub that generates 80 per cent of the country’s economic growth, ethnic violence has left more than 100 people dead in recent weeks. The city’s deteriorating security, a symptom of Pakistan’s growing instability, could be the last straw for the economy. The ethnic violence is occurring partly along political lines. The Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), which represents Mohajirs, or immigrants, who came to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, is in conflict with the Awami National Party (ANP), which represents the Pashtun community that has moved more recently from the north of the country to Karachi. The PPP has its own activists who are involved in the fighting.

Gangs and drug cartels have added themselves to the mix, allying with different political groups. The fact that the ANP is part of the PPP’s governing coalition, and that the MQM has gone in and out of the coalition several times in recent months, helps explain the government’s dysfunction. The main opposition power, the Pakistan Muslim League, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, offers no credible power-sharing alternative or much in the way of an economic policy. Instead, all the parties rely on cults of personality. every campaign poster for the PPP has Zardari’s face as well as those of his murdered wife and her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former prime minister who was executed in 1979 after a coup by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Bringing order to such a turbulent political environment is daunting. Politicians should heed the advice of James Carville, the campaign strategist to former president Bill Clinton: It’s the economy, stupid.

This article first appeared in Institutional Investor

CurrenCy Market FoCus

It’s still about europe

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SHAHAB JAFRY

HeRe is something fundamentally wrong in europe if the eCB follows a three per cent inflation announcement with a 25 percentage point cut. The hype of the previous week’s euro summit got the wind knocked out of it as central banks departed from market expectations, the fed holding steady despite “significant downside risks” and Draghi cutting at his first conclave amid “mild recession” expectations. More importantly, unanimity in the euro decision betrays real recessionary fears across europe, with Bundesbank hawks also softening opposition, probably banking on inflation fizzling out with slowdown growth.

The euro’s week-long drop from 1.4170 to 1.3789 speaks of more than just the paralysis in Greece. It has never been about saving Greece, a standpoint gaining currency with the spread of anti wall street and anti austerity dissent across the world. europe’s financial elite remains obsessed with preventing a violent unwinding of its leading banks, with heavy exposure to distressed PIGS economies. Hence the complementing downward pressure on cable, with British banks likely to figure prominently in any potential domino effect featuring hemorrhaging european financial institutions.

The landmark euro summit failed to bid the single currency to the significant 1.4250 resistance, but the call to short was spot on. Watch for more weakness as the debt drama spreads. Papandreou may have survived the confidence vote, but the seat of government in Athens is no longer significant. All decision-making has moved to the troika, and any subsequent coalition will face the same problems, and the same public resistance to austerity. The eCB’s refusal to remain ‘lender of last resort’, the IMF’s inability to generate consensus on increased funding, Draghi’s surprise rate cut, incrased rioting across the continent, rumours of Germans printing deutsche marks, all combine to deliver the kiss of death to the euro. Stay committed to the long-term short. Failing a game-changer, the euro does not have much life left.

Finally, the collapse of the G-20 summit and fears of further risk aversion and safe haven trading pushed the Japanese to intervene, strengthening the dollar almost five per cent on Oct 31. Already, scrambling from crisis to crisis, pundits have seemingly lost sight of the harm recessionary tendencies in europe and the US are doing to the currency market. If weakness in suffering economies pressuring currencies of more stable ones wasn’t bad enough, interventionist positions are setting precedents that will ultimately result in currency rigidities. The Japanese and Swiss both came under intense pressure from export lobbies, and following both interventions, the greenback is the only safe haven refuge left. That makes for more complications with US unemployment easing, albeit only slightly, major markets ending lower despite the eCB rate cut, and US ISM still above 50, although slightly below expectations. This is no time to trade the yen, franc or cable, except in sharp, targeted, intra-day adventures.

Commodity currencies, too, have begun losing confidence in the turnaround narrative, with the Aussie dollar recording its first weekly fall since September as the country’s central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a per cent. As noted repeatedly, windows of risk appetite have become increasingly short-lived, and weekly trading will reflect a resumption of the epic battle of uglies, with prudent shorts eyeing weakest links providing the most gains for eager traders. europe will dictate currency market movements for the foreseeable future.

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Pakistan eyes health certificate from IMF g

Positive letter of assessment from the fund will allow $2 billion from World Bank, ADB ISLAMABAD

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AMer SIAl

FTeR resolving the circular debt, expediting power sector reforms and restructuring state-owned entities, the government is hopeful of getting a “certificate of health” for its macroeconomic framework from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the upcoming talks under the consultations in Dubai from November 9 to November 17.

An official source said the government had nearly implemented all its commitments to the IMF on reforms and hopefully the fund would issue a letter of assessment to the international financial institutions and other donors, who could then provide financial assistance to the country.

The economic team would be leaving for Dubai after eidul Adha, as technical

talks with IMF will be held on November 9 to 13 while the policy level talks would be held from November 14 to 17. The government has already said it would not be seeking a new programme from IMF and the focus would be to get a certificate of health on the macroeconomic framework to keep getting project financing from the donors.

WorLD BaNK, aDB: Pakistan is expected to start getting external inflows that will further improve the country’s financial position, even though it would have to begin returning $1.2 billion to the IMF from February next year. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are likely to provide $1 billion each for the power sector after the report, the source said.

Under Article Four, the IMF holds a review of the economy of every member country once a year and then gives its report. The review for Pakistan has not taken place for the last two years, as it was under

an IMF programme and its performance was regularly monitored by the fund staff.

After the suspension of the IMF programme in May 2010, external inflows from donors dried up but an increase in remittances and exports helped Pakistan stay afloat. One of the major concerns of the IMF was to bring the Rs 391 billion circular debt in the budget books, which was parked outside the budget to retain the fiscal deficit on the lower side. The IMF was concerned that the anomaly was affecting the health of the banking sector and the budgetary figures were not authentic, the source said.

The government on Friday resolved the issue by swapping the Rs 391 billion circular debt TFCs into PIBs and T-Bills of the power sector and commodity financing operations on budget books. The move will increase the budget deficit by 1.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Prod-

uct (GDP) against the estimated budget deficit of 4 percent of GDP for the current fiscal year. This measure ended the anomaly and will end the financial crisis in the banking sector, which would in turn enable it to provide investment for power and other projects.

Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had said Pakistan would be retaining its relationship with the IMF, even though there was no need for a new programme during the current fiscal year, but if there was a need then the fund would be approached. He also said the revenue and power sector reforms would be pursued as under an IMF programme. The withdrawal of tax exemptions in March this year and improvement in revenue collection, reducing expenditures and not doling out any financial assistance to the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Railways, who had been asked to firm

up their restructuring plans to get financing from banks, would help get a better assessment from the IMF. The government is negotiating with the ADB to get financial assistance to retire the circular debt as even after resolving the previous circular debt, another Rs 300 billion had piled up last year because of the tariff differential subsidy and line losses during the last fiscal year.

The ADB is conducting a study to find a permanent solution. The government plans to induct new professional management in distribution and generation companies during the current month to end losses caused by inefficiency. The government also plans to increase the power tariff by 14 percent during the current fiscal year to avoid piling up another Rs 67 billion in liabilities because of the differential between the notified and applied power tariff.

Jd banned no more ISLAMABAD INP

ISLAMABAD: Children showing their affection towards a sacrificial animal ahead of eid.

Pakistan denies it moved nukes in insecure vans

ONLINE

Nawaz calls consultation meeting after eid

ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

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ONlINe

Pakistan described as “pure fiction” a US media report that suggested American plans to secure the country’s nuclear weapons in the event of any extremist threat and said on Sunday that no one should underestimate its capability to defend its national interests. Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a press statement that the article titled “The ally from hell” published in The Atlantic was “baseless and motivated”. She also rejected the claim made in the report that the country’s nuclear weapons were “transported in delivery vans on congested and dangerous roads”, saying the report is baseless and motivated. The Atlantic had reported in its latest edition that Pakistan had begun moving its nuclear weapons in low-security vans. Janjua said the report was a part of a deliberate propaganda campaign meant to mislead opinion. The spokeswoman said: “The surfacing of such campaigns is not something new. It is orchestrated by quarters that are inimical to Pakistan. No one should underestimate Pakistan’s will and capability to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif has called a consultation meeting of the provincial presidents and key leaders of the party after eidul Adha to make the ‘Go Zardari Go’ campaign more affective.

Nawaz has returned to the country from his visit to Turkey and Britain and has sought the record of the speech delivered by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif against President Asif Ali Zardari during the PML-N rally in Lahore.

Nawaz also sought reports on

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders’ reaction to the speech, as well as a report on the party’s offices being set on fire in Sindh. Sources said Nawaz had decided to launch the anti-Zardari across the country soon after eid to rid the country of the current government. The party’s manifesto and coming elections would be discussed in the meeting and a decision on activating the district organisations to participate in the drive would also be taken, said the sources.

An important leader said on condition of anonymity that the party’s district presidents would be sacked if the number of activists from their constituency were low.

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

The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JD) is not included in a new list of 31 banned extremist and terrorist groups released by the Interior Ministry.

The ministry released the list of banned organisations on Saturday as part of efforts to bar such groups from collecting the hides of animals sacrificed on eidul Azha, reported a private TV channel.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT) was included in the new list, but the JD was not on it. After the 2008 Mumbai attacks the UN Security Council had declared JD a front for the LT. Following the attacks, Pakistani leaders such as Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said JD had been banned, however, during a hearing at the Lahore High Court in 2009, a senior law officer admitted that no notification had been issued to that effect. The new list of banned groups includes Jaish-e-Muhammad and its front organisation Khuddam-ul-Islam, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and its front organisation Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-eJhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Tehreek-eJaafria Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi and Hizb-ut-Tehrir.

Other groups on the list are Tehrik-e-Islami, Jamiatul-Ansar, Jamiat-ul-Furqan, Khair-un-Naas International Trust, Islamic Students Movement of Pakistan, Islami Tehreek Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam, Ansar-ul-Islam, Haji Namdar Group, Balochistan Liberation Army, Balochistan Republican Army, Balochistan Liberation Front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Balochistan Liberation United Front and Balochistan Musallah Difa Tanzeem. New additions to the list were People’s Amn Committee of Karachi, Shia Tulaba Action Committee of Gilgit, Markaz Sabeel Organisation of Gilgit and Tanzeem-e-Naujawanan-e-Sunnat of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Interior Ministry warned that any members of the banned groups found collecting animal hides during eidul Adha would be booked under the AntiTerrorism Act. Members of the banned groups cannot assemble, maintain offices, continue their activities and operate bank accounts, an official statement said.

The Interior Ministry said all persons who want to collect hides would have to obtain permission from the district administration chiefs or district magistrates. Traders involved in purchasing hides were directed to deal only with sellers who had permission from authorities to collect hides.