19th November, 2011 Pakistan Today - Islamabad

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Pentagon chief Leon Panetta calls India, China ‘threats’

People committing suicide over domestic issues, not poverty

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pakistantoday.com.pk

Vol ii no 144 32 pages islamabad — peshawar edition

saturday, 19 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 22, 1432

Zardari braves

memogate

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President tells PPP core committee he had several options available other than choosing Haqqani to convey ‘memo’

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Gulf continues to widen between civil and military establishments as Haqqani’s arrival doubtful ISLAMABAD

isLaMaBaD: President asif zardari chairs a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party core committee at the Presidency on Friday. afP

rana qaisar

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HE growing controversy over the treacherous ‘memo’, which has generated a heated debate on the issue of national security dragging President Asif Ali Zardari in the fray for allegedly having schemed to convey his fear of a military coup in Pakistan to the US administration through a senior diplomat, purportedly Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, is most likely to create a wedge between the country’s military and civil leaderships as it is being believed that this conspiratorial plan, which could not have been initiated by Mansoor Ijaz on his own, was conceived in Washington with Islamabad’s consent.

Though President Zardari, in a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s core committee on Friday, dissociated himself from the ‘memo’ conspiracy and told his top aides that in case he had wanted to convey such a message, many other options were available to him instead of choosing Hussain Haqqani, the vibes coming from the General Headquarters (GHQ) suggested that business was not as usual, with Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani restlessly shuttling between Rawalpindi and Islamabad to discuss this issue with the president and the prime minister.

A source confirmed to Pakistan Today that the government had been asked to summon Hussain Haqqani to Pakistan for a “briefing” to establish the authenticity of the ‘memo’ and trace its origin. However, the source, who is closely monitoring this issue, doubts that Hussain Haqqani would come to Pakistan as he would possibly prefer to send his resignation to the president instead of being questioned in Islamabad. It was learnt that the government had not yet decided to remove Ambassador Haqqani without hearing him. The president told the PPP’s core committee that Hussain Haqqani was expected to arrive in a day or two. Haqqani was instructed to fly back on Monday but he stayed in Washington citing already scheduled engagements.While the rumours of a political change in the country have throughout been in circulation ever since the present dispensation is in place, the clouds of uncertainty started thickening with the contents of this ‘memo’ - allegedly drafted by a “senior diplomat” on the instruction of no other than President Asif Ali Zardari - appearing in the media.

Continued on page 04

related stories and text of memo | pages 02,03 & 04

No unconstitutional change will take place, PM assures opposition g

Gilani says ISI a national institution and govt will protect it ISLAMABAD Mian aBrar

Amid calls from opposition members to summon a joint session to debate on the controversial secret anti-Pakistan memo written to former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and to try those involved in the episode under treason charges, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani assured the Lower House on Friday that the matter would be resolved amicably and no undemocratic or unconstitutional change would take place as such issues did not destabilise countries.

Like the past two days, the latest revelations in the media about the memo written to Admiral Mullen by Mansoor Ijaz, allegedly on behalf of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Hussain Haqqani, dominated the National Assembly proceedings.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNAs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ayaz Amir, Khawaja Asif and Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan demanded the government summon Ambassador Haqqani to the National Assembly for a thor-

ough probe into the issue by parliament and try those found involved for treason. “This matter will not end with a resignation from some individual. Mr Zardari should disassociate himself from this issue and bring all those involved in this episode to justice. The prime minister, foreign minister and all concerned should come to the House prepared on Monday to make the situation clear on the memo and urea shortage issues,” said Nisar.

The treasury benches seemed on the defensive, with no one contradicting the memo but assuring the opposition that the matter would not go uninvestigated. Prime Minister Gilani, who attended the session only after severe criticism from PML-N members, tried to sweep the matter under the rug saying the government and the opposition were on the same page over the issue. He said he had already summoned Haqqani in order to investigate the matter, so this issue should not be debated in the House until the findings of the government were shared with parliament.

Taunting PML-N members, Gilani reminded them that the view-

point of the opposition vis-à-vis the armed forces was a bit different today than soon after the May 2 covert raid by the US that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

GOVT WILL PROTECT INSTITUTIONS: Responding to various points of order from opposition members, Gilani said the government had always defended the country’s armed forces and institutions in the past and it would do so still. He said the InterServices Intelligence (ISI) was a national institution and the government would protect it too. “We are resolving the issues in line with the constitution. But those talking about disintegration of the country are wrong. Many things are published in newspapers. Things are also reported against my party or against the opposition. Should we believe all of them?

This issue will also be resolved just as we have resolved other issues. Every issue does not cause the country to fall apart,” he said.

‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE’: Gilani said no unconstitutional change would take place in the country that could destabilise the political process. “No unconstitu-

tional change will take place before the 2013 elections. You (PML-N) will be given a chance if the people elect you,” he said. Earlier, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on a point of order, claimed Ambassador Haqqani had hosted a dinner at the Pakistani embassy in Washington where he told the participants that he knew of a US plan to bomb 362 sites in Pakistan, some of which would include “army-related people”.

tHe memo coNtroversy

HaqqaNI dIctated tHe text ISLAMABAD agencies

Mansoor ijaz

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who is in the limelight over the memo controversy, said on Friday that Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani had asked him in May to appeal to the Pentagon to help the civilian government ward off a coup by Pakistan’s powerful military, and the ambassador told him former army chief General (r) Jehangir Karamat was on board with the plan.

Ijaz told Reuters on Friday he wrote a memo outlining the civilian government’s fears of military

No, I dId Not!

intervention and sent it to the Pentagon on Haqqani’s instructions. “Yes, Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, whom I have known for over 10 years, was indeed the senior Pakistani diplomat who asked me to assist him in privately delivering his message to Admiral Mullen,” Ijaz said. “And I have clear evidence in my Blackberry messages that he not only did everything in his persuasive, sometimes friendly, intimidation style to keep the entire saga under wraps, he actively – in my view – attempted to and did indeed orchestrate denials from each official body that mattered.

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WASHINGTON agencies

hussain haqqani

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani yet again denied writing or sending any secret memo to former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and termed it a conspiracy against him.

In a statement given to The Cable over email on Friday, Haqqani flatly denied all of the allegations made against him by Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. “I refuse to accept Mr Ijaz’s claims and assertions. I did not write or deliver the memo he describes, nor did I authorise anyone including Mr Ijaz to do

so,” he wrote. “I was in London and stayed at the Park Lane Intercontinental on the date in May mentioned in one of the alleged conversations but I was there to meet senior British government officials, including Sir David Richards, Chief of General Staff and Mr Tobias Ellwood, then parliamentary Secretary for Defence. These officials will confirm that threat of a coup was not on my mind at the time, the state of US-Pakistan relations was,” he added.

“I fail to understand why Mr Ijaz claims on the one hand to have helped the civilian government Continued on page 04

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02 News Today’s

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

iSlamaBad

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world view

state, society apathetic to plight of the disabled 3m afghans face hunger as winter looms: aid groups When will the us drone war end?

Quick Look

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People committing suicide over domestic issues, not poverty: minister ISLAMABAD

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EOPLE in Pakistan are committing suicide due to domestic disputes, and not because of financial miseries, Federal Textiles Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin told the National Assembly on Friday.

The minister’s hypothesis came in response to a question that suicide cases in the country were increasing due to high poverty levels and that the government should curb inflation to control the trend. He said poverty was not a factor behind suicide attempts, as domestic disputes had caused several suicides in recent months. He said the government had already introduced austerity measures and the annual fiscal deficit would be brought down to a single-digit number next year.

Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, in a written reply to a question posed by Tahira Aurangzeb, said the total international assistance to

Pakistan for flood victims this year amounted to $198.28 million. He said Pakistan’s total debt, both domestic and foreign, since March 2008 to August 2011 was Rs 4,384.49 billion, whereas domestic currency loans were Rs 3,083.43 billion, and foreign currency loans were Rs 1,301.06 billion, while US currency loans were US$ 14.9 billion.

In another written reply, Sheikh said the domestic debt in March 2008 was Rs 3,020.19 billion, permanent debt Rs 615.77 billion, floating debt Rs 1,407.24 billion, unfunded debt Rs 997.18 billion, foreign debt Rs 2,779.71 billion and foreign US dollar debt $40.7.

In August 2011, according to the minister, the domestic debt soared to Rs 6,103.62 billion, permanent debt Rs 1,155.07 billion, floating debt Rs 3,262.18 billion, unfunded debt 1,686.37 billion, foreign debt Rs 4,786.42 billion and foreign USD debt $54.7 billion.

Giving debt servicing of foreign loans during the last three years, the minister told the house that principal amount in 2008-09 was $2,566 million, interest was $873 million and the total amount was $3,439 million. Principal amount in 2009-10 was $2,339 million, interest was $871 million and the total amount was $3,120 million and during 2011-12 the principal amount is $3,232 million, interest is $892 million and the total amount is $4, 124 million, Sheikh said.

raWaLPinDi: underpriviledged children attend afternoon classes at a government school on Friday, a day before universal children’s Day. afP

With memo, US gave Pakistan signal to oust Zardari, Gilani: Dr Hasan LAHORE iMran aDnan

The United States has given a clear signal to Pakistan to get rid of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, if it wants, through former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, who admitted the existence of a memo from the government of Pakistan to Washington sent by Pakistan’s Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, former finance minister and veteran politician Dr Mubasher Hasan told Pakistan Today here on Friday.

“It is now up to Pakistan to decide whether it will proceed legally or illegally; the contents of the memo are patently treasonous. The die is cast,” said Dr Hasan. “In my humble opinion the ball now is in the court of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The matter is of the highest importance. If no legal way

can be found to deal with the situation, the question will pass on to the forces having power in the polity of Pakistan,” he added. He believes that for the Supreme Court, the matter is the mother of all suo motu actions. The position of Zardari, Gilani and their allies is untenable, but they have to be given a chance to prove their innocence. That chance, he said, could come only through institution of a commission comprising a panel of judges of the Supreme Court.

He said further that Zardari and Gilani should avail this opportunity by proceeding on leave and should pledge not to leave the country while the investigations last. “Gilani is prima facie guilty of culpable inaction. What was he doing when the plot of bringing American boots into Pakistan, of a purge in the military and its intelligence and action against extremist elements in Pakistan by America was

being hatched?” said Dr Hasan.

“What was he doing when the plan for launching an insurrection in Pakistan by persons nominated by the US was being hatched? What were his intelligence services doing? Almost a year has passed since the plot of insurrection in Pakistan was hatched. What investigation did he launch in May when the plot was aborted?”

‘SC can’t hear plea against President calls for greater appointment of judges in GB’ Pak-German cooperation ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

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During the hearing of a petition challenging the appointment of retired judges as chief judge or judge of the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq submitted before the Supreme Court on Friday that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the plea.

He argued before a two-member Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain that only the Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan had the jurisdiction to entertain the plea.

Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that the Legislative Assembly of GilgitBaltistan had passed a resolution unanimously that Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court was not according to the constitution, thus it had demanded that it should be made per constitution of Pakistan.

Expressing hope for an early finalisation of a roadmap for strategic partnership between Pakistan and Germany, President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said time had come to transform existing broad-based equation with Germany into a broad-based, comprehensive and substantive partnership based on shared values of democracy, pluralism, economic liberalism and common interests. He was talking to Dr Guido Westerwelle, German federal minister for foreign affairs, at the Presidency. The president said Pakistan sought to further enhance its relations with Germany, both at the bilateral level as well as in the EU context.

The president stressed the need for greater economic cooperation between the two countries, saying Germany was a global economic power and Pakistan offered great opportunities to investors in economic projects.

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

News 03

ForeiGN NewS

artS & eNtertaiNmeNt

SPortS

Wall street protesters march into third month

i have a beautiful body: Veena Malik

Butt and amir appeals to be heard next week off with his head?:

CommeNt The other Haqqani in trouble…

timely action: The police to the rescue.

arif nizami says: The medium and the message: Controversy surrounds both.

White Lies: The worn out “carrot and stick” idiom proved evergreen when the controversy about the SOS sent to a Washington lobbyist, Mansoor Ijaz, by Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, exploded in the media. HH, who has airs that befit an HH, denied he had ever asked the said businessman MI.

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Zardari liable to high treason for sending memo: experts ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

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EGAL and constitutional experts have sought initiation of criminal proceedings under Article 6 against President Asif Ali Zardari for high treason if the truth about the secret memo he allegedly sent to the US administration is determined. By sending the memo, President Zardari tried to pitch the state institutions against one another and he strands guilty of high treason, they said.

Asked to comment on the legal position in the light of the alleged secret memo, Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmad termed it an antistate activity on part of the president, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US and the

federal government. “It is not an ordinary situation… the supreme commander of the armed forces is seeking help from the US against his own army,” he added.

“The very act could invite applicability of Article 6,” he added. He was convinced about the truth of the story and that more than one person was involved in the same.

“It doesn’t seem an act of a single person, rather many are involved in it and that might be the president and

Pakistan’s ambassador to the US besides the federal government,” he added. Senior lawyer Fakhruddin G Ebrahim called it a “very wrong act” on part of the accused. However, he remained short of declaring it a crime that might invite applicability of Article 6. Habibul Wahab Elkhairi said “As per the evidence available in media reports, he (Zardari) has committed high treason… he is guilty of high treason and should be hanged.” He further said President Zardari is working against the interests of the armed forces and asked the federal government to initiate proceedings against him under Article 6 of the Constitution.

Senior lawyer, Hashmat Ali Habib said if the story was based on facts, President Zardari had committed

high treason. “But the problem is that only the federal government can initiate proceedings under Article 6, which seems impossible until the PPP is in the government. May be the next government takes a decision in this regard,” he added.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Nafees Siddiqui also expressed similar views, saying the issue may have repercussions, including application of Article 6.

However, senior lawyer Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada presented a different point of view. “This (secret memo) is a diplomatic correspondence which is protected under the law and cannot be discussed in the media,” he opined. He was of the view that there was no offence involved in the story due to its nature of diplomatic correspondence.

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Fia can interrogate president but can’t try him: aitzaz ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

Former Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) president Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan on Friday said the president of Pakistan could be interrogated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in any matter, however, neither any case could be registered against him nor any prosecution could be initiated or continued against him in the court of law during his term in the office.

Talking to reporters at the Supreme Court building on Friday, Aitzaz said investigation against the president could be started but no prosecution could be initiated or continued against him in the courts, as he enjoyed immunity.

To a question, he said the issue of Mansoor Ijaz memo was a serious matter.

He said Hussain Haqqani, who had allegedly asked a Pakistani-

American businessman to assist him in privately delivering his (president’s) message to Admiral Mike Mullen, should be given chance to prove himself innocent, and if the story of the memo is wrong, Mansoor Ijaz should be punished.

Aitzaz said that after the recent visit of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza to the UK and his media statements, issues had been complicated.

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04 News

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

tHe ‘memo Issue’

Political leaders call president’s alleged act betrayal ISLAMABAD staFF rePort/agencies

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HE political leadership of the country has termed the secret memo allegedly sent by President Asif Ali Zardari to the US administration a betrayal and demanded a thorough probe into the matter to determine the facts and bring the culprits to task.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad called the dispatching of the memo a shameful act on the part of the accused, adding that it should be thoroughly probed. However, he said he was convinced that the memo been sent as established by the statements of Mike Mullen.

“It is simply a high treason case and the accused be tried under Article 6 of the constitution,” he said.

PPP-Sherpao President Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said it was an attempt to sabotage national interest. “President Zardari and others invited the intervention of foreign elements into state’s affairs which is not acceptable,” he said. He demanded a thorough investi-

memon resigns over mirza row KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon on Friday resigned from the provincial cabinet. Memon had been summoned by the President Asif Ali Zardari to the Presidency to explain his accompanying Zulfiqar Mirza to London.

According president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar, Sharjeel regretted embarrassment caused to the party by his act.

President Zardari said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah would accept his resignation. staFF rePort

gation into it to get to the depth of the issue and added that the culprits must be taken to task.

Parliamentarian from FATA Muneer Orakzai also demanded an investigation into the matter, saying if the facts were established, the culprits be taken to task by registering a case under Article 6 of the constitution.

Jamiat Ulema-e-IslamFazl Senator Dr Ismail Buledi termed the alleged memo a serious issue. He demanded formation of a commission to probe the matter, adding that the culprits must be booked for acting against national security.

He said Article 6 of the constitution must be invoked if the accused were found guilty of the crime. PML-N Information Secretary Mushahidullah Khan called the alleged act on the part of the president and Hussain Haqqani very concerning.

He said in a lenient view of the law, the accused was liable to be charged under Article 6 of the constitution.

Khan said resignation by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani would make him scapegoat. He demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

ISLAMABAD gni

The medical board constituted on the orders of Anti-Terrorism Court No-III Lahore for the examination of Ayesha Ahad Malik, claiming to be wife of Hamza Shahbaz, son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, reported several brutal injuries inflicted on the victim who was brutally beaten by the Punjab police three times during the first week of October 2011.

The seven member medical board, comprising senior doctors and specialists submit-

BRIEFING FOR ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: During the past 72 hours since a meeting was held between the president, the prime minister and the chief of army staff, there has seen a significant deterioration in Pakistan’s political atmosphere.

Increasingly desperate efforts by the various agencies and factions within the government to find a home - ISI and/or Army, or the civilian government - for assigning blame over the UBL raid now dominate the tug of war between military and civilian

sectors. Subsequent tit-for-tat reactions, including outing of the CIA station chief’s name in Islamabad by ISI officials, demonstrates a dangerous devolution of the ground situation in Islamabad where no central control appears to be in place.

Civilians cannot withstand much more of the hard pressure being delivered from the Army to succumb to wholesale changes. If civilians are forced from power, Pakistan becomes a sanctuary for UBL’s legacy and potentially the platform for far more rapid spread of al Qaeda’s brand of fanaticism and terror. A unique window of opportunity exists for the civilians to gain the upper hand over army and intelligence directorates due to their complicity in the UBL matter.

Request your direct intervention in conveying a strong, urgent and direct message to

Continued from page 1 Notwithstanding the credentials of Mansoor Ijaz, the contents of this conspiratorial plot have shaken the country’s security establishment besides threatening the political setup that had been beset with one after another, mostly self-created, controversy that increased the trust deficit between the military and civilian leaders instead of reducing it. As the detractors of the government had already started fueling the rumour machinery to churn out reports of a political change before the Senate elections, the ‘memo’, until investigated to establish its veracity, would continue dogging the relations between the civil

No, i did not!

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ted the report to court. The medical report states it examined the details of the torture inflicted on Ayesha’s body on October 12 2011 and could disclose the victim (Ayesha) had received about a dozen bruises on various body parts inflicted by a blunt weapon. As per the medial report Ayesha Ahad was beaten by police on three different occasions: on 3 October 2011, 5 October 2011 and 6 October 2011. The brutal nature of the torture can be gauged from the fact the size of the bruises ranged from 1×1 cm to 12×3 cm.

by delivering his memo and on the other insists on trying to destroy democracy by driving a wedge between elected civilians and the military in Pakistan with his persistent claims. It is bizarre to say the least,” he wrote further.

Haqqani told The Cable that Mr Ijaz, whom he had known and communicated with off and on for 10 years, once said he was richer and smarter than Haqqani so he should pay attention to what he said.

“Clearly he does not think about the consequences of his actions,” said Haqqani.

“He may be the only socalled secret emissary in the world who likes so much publicity. He has yet to explain why, if all he says is correct, he wrote his Oct 10 op-ed and himself deliberately blew the cover off his own secret memo and mission,” said Haqqani. The ambassador claimed many people were against his posting in the US because a civilian ambassador had been appointed after a long time. He said he had no objections to the matter being investigated. Geo News reported late on Friday that Haqqani would reach Pakistan on Saturday evening.

Gen Kayani that delivers Washington’s demand for him and Gen Pasha to end their brinkmanship aimed at bringing down the civilian apparatus - that this is a 1971 moment in Pakistan’s history. Should you be willing to do so, Washington’s political/military backing would result in a revamp of the civilian government that, while weak at the top echelon in terms of strategic direction and implementation (even though mandated by domestic political forces), in a wholesale manner replaces the national security adviser and other national security officials with trusted advisers that include ex-military and civilian leaders favorably viewed by Washington, each of whom have long and historical ties to the US military, political and intelligence communities.

Names will be provided to you in a face-to-face meeting with the person delivering this message. In the event Washington’s direct intervention behind the scenes can be secured through your personal communication

with Kayani (he will likely listen only to you at this moment) to stand down the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment, the new national security team is prepared, with full backing of the civilian apparatus, to do the following: 1. President of Pakistan will order an independent inquiry into the allegations that Pakistan harbored and offered assistance to UBL and other senior Qaeda operatives. The White House can suggest names of independent investigators to populate the panel, along the lines of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, for example.

2. The inquiry will be accountable and independent, and result in findings of tangible value to the US government and the American people that identify with exacting detail those elements responsible for harboring and aiding UBL inside and close to the inner ring of influence in Pakistan’s Government (civilian, intelligence directorates and military). It is certain that the UBL Commis-

Police beat ayesha Malik thrice: medical report

TEXT Of MEMO Following is the text of the controversial memorandum allegedly written by Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz on behalf of President Asif Ali Zardari, as reported by NNI:

PML-N leader Khwaja Muhammad Asif said Haqqani’s delivering a memo to Mike Mullen was “a reality that can’t be denied”.

Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House, Asif said, “How can reality be refuted. Haqqani is a corrupt man, which everybody knows.”

Asif that all organizations and secret agencies were working under the prime minister, adding that Yousaf Raza Gilani must investigate into the matter “but it is very strange that he is using delaying tactics”.

MQM senator Abdul Haseeb Khan was of the view that there was nothing in the case until the allegation was proven. He also demanded a probe into the issue to dig out the truth.

Meanwhile, speaking on the memo controversy in the National Assembly on Friday, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said the entire issue was “speculative, fabricated and engineered”. She said Haqqani had already denied writing any memo to the US authorities. She said the view point of the PML-N members on the matter was based only on media reports.

Memogate and military leaderships with the analysts and constitutional expert considering it a conspiracy and treason by the government against the state, and opposition parties also raising a storm on the issue.

Meanwhile, the government has been advised not to let a parliamentary committee quiz Pakistan’s envoy on his return to Islamabad. President Zardari’s close aide and legal adviser Senator Babar Awan opposed the suggestion of some members of the PPP’s core committee that Ambassador Haqqani should appear before a parliamentary committee, arguing that it would open Pandora’s Box. However, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani threw the ball in the court of the presi-

dent and said he would act in accordance with whatever the president decided.

Speaking to the members of the PPP’s core committee, the president, who the source said did not appear upset as he was in his usual spirits, expressed his hatred for Mansoor Ijaz, calling him a dubious character. “I could have directly spoken to President Obama, who is prodemocracy and does not like military intervention,” the source quoted him as saying.

The source also said the prime minister too was equally relaxed, giving an impression that the situation was not as serious as it was being portrayed.

However, another source believed that Mansoor Ijaz, a

billionaire Pakistani-American businessman, had equally high stakes attached to the controversy as he would ruin his “reputation and credibility” in case it was proved that he had fabricated this ‘memo’ and that it had no link to Ambassador Haqqani or President Zardari. “This makes one take the memo seriously,” he argued.

However, he did not see the civil-military relations worsening to the extent of military intervention as, he opined, the change, if it took place, would be within the constitutional framework.

“The evolving political situation is suggestive of a constitutional change and the next two months are very important,” he said.

Haqqani dictated the text Continued from page 1 When the Foreign Office denial didn’t work, he tried the presidency with a stronger rebuttal,” he said.

Ijaz said Haqqani called him on May 9, one week after the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, to help get a message to the Americans. “The memo’s content in its entirety originated from him,” Ijaz told Reuters, referring to Haqqani. “At a certain point he started talking so fast, I opened up my computer and I started typing the basic outline of the verbal message he wanted me to transmit. He was originally asking me to deliver a verbal message. And

when I went back to my US interlocutors - all three of them - said they wouldn’t touch this unless it was in writing,” said Ijaz. Ijaz said he doesn’t know whether the memo was authorised by President Asif Ali Zardari or if Haqqani was acting on his own. “I don’t know if Haqqani had a blanket power of attorney with Zardari, whether he ever discussed this with Zardari or whether he was acting on his own,” said Ijaz.

Ijaz said he decided to disclose the contents of the document because he was offended by attacks in the Pakistani media on Mullen, who he claimed was Pakistan’s

“truest friend”. He claimed Haqqani even got an “unsuspecting and unwitting” Mullen to deny the existence of the document.

“Admiral Mullen, honest man that he is, went back and checked and found out the truth, and duly issued a clarification stating the truth,” he said. “Obviously, there were a lot of people in Pakistan – including the army chief, the ISI chief and the prime minister – whom he (Haqqani) did not take into confidence on this matter,” Ijaz said.

Ijaz released details of his purported Blackberry conversations with Haqqani to the Pakistani media today to buttress his claims.

JI and JD protest against MfN award to India LAHORE/PESHAWAR staFF rePort/agencies

The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) held protests in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Islamabad, Multan and Peshawar on Friday against the Federal Cabinet’s decision to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.

Clerics spoke against the decision in their Friday address and opposed the decision in protests were held after Friday prayers.

The JI demanded a ban

sion will result in immediate termination of active service officers in the appropriate government offices and agencies found responsible for complicity in assisting UBL. 3. The new national security team will implement a policy of either handing over those left in the leadership of Al Qaeda or other affiliated terrorist groups who are still on Pakistani soil, including Ayman Al Zawahiri, Mullah Omar and Sirajuddin Haqqani, or giving US military forces a “green light” to conduct the necessary operations to capture or kill them on Pakistani soil. This “carte blanche” guarantee is not without political risks, but should demonstrate the new group’s commitment to rooting out bad elements on our soil.

This commitment has the backing of the top echelon on the civilian side of our house, and we will ensure necessary collateral support.

4. One of the great fears of the military-intelligence establishment is that with your

on trade with India. Speaking at Mansoora, JI chief Munawar Hasan said the people must oppose the move and begin a movement against the US. He said while Commerce Secretaries had finalised the trade list, Prime Minister (PM) Gilani was deceiving people that no decision was taken. Addressing a protest at Multan Road near Mansoora, JI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch said people will not accept the government’s decision. The protest outside the National Press Club Islam-

stealth capabilities to enter and exit Pakistani airspace at will, Pakistan’s nuclear assets are now legitimate targets. The new national security team is prepared, with full backing of the Pakistani government - initially civilian but eventually all three power centers - to develop an acceptable framework of discipline for the nuclear program. This effort was begun under the previous military regime, with acceptable results.

We are prepared to reactivate those ideas and build on them in a way that brings Pakistan’s nuclear assets under a more verifiable, transparent regime.

5. The new national security team will eliminate Section S of the ISI charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban, Haqqani network, etc. This will dramatically improve relations with Afghanistan.

6. We are prepared to cooperate fully under the new national security team’s guidance with the Indian government on bringing all perpetrators of Pakistani origin to account for

abad was addressed by JI Islamabad chief Mian Muhammad Aslam. A protest outside Masjid al-Ikhwan in Karachi was addressed by Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto. Protest rallies were also held at Multan, Peshawar and Quetta.

Seperately, Jamaat-udDawa (JD) organised a protest on the matter at Chauburgi Lahore in which they burnt Indian flags and chanted slogans against India. The JD warned it would stage a sit-in at Wagha border to stop Indian trade.

the 2008 Mumbai attacks, whether outside government or inside any part of the government, including its intelligence agencies. This includes handing over those against whom sufficient evidence exists of guilt to the Indian security services.

Pakistan faces a decision point of unprecedented importance. We, who believe in democratic governance and building a much better structural relationship in the region with India AND Afghanistan, seek US assistance to help us pigeon-hole the forces lined up against your interests and ours, including containment of certain elements inside our country that require appropriate re-sets and re-tasking in terms of direction and extent of responsibility after the UBL affair.

We submit this memorandum for your consideration collectively as the members of the new national security team who will be inducted by the President of Pakistan with your support in this undertaking.

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

state, society apathetic to plight of the disabled PaGe 08

isLaMaBaD: a beautiful view of the sunset in the capital on Friday. SaJJaD aLI QUrESHI

82 suspects Housing Ministry sends FGEHF arrested Bara Kahu scam report to NAB, FIA ahead of Housing scheme’s high-ups held responsible for causing huge losses to national exchequer ISLAMABAD

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irFan BuKhari

HE Ministry of Housing and Works has sent an inquiry report on the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) Housing Scheme (Phase-VI) scam, involving misappropriation of millions of rupees, to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for legal action against those responsible for causing huge monetary losses to the national exchequer.

Unearthing embezzlement amounting to millions of rupees, the inquiry report, conducted by Senior Joint Secretary MB Awan, on the orders of Federal Housing Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, into irregularities in the Housing Scheme (Phase-VI) of Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) in Bara Kahu, has recommended the government to assign Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to recover the embezzled money from the culprits.

It is pertinent to mention that the scam surfaced during former housing minister Rehmatullah Kakar’s tenure and the Supreme Court also took suo motu notice of the case. The inquiry report, a copy of which is exclusively available with Pakistan Today, recommends that all directors of the FGEHF posted there during the period from 2005 to 2010 should immediately be repatriated to their parent departments and their parent departments should be asked to initiate disciplinary action against them under the Government Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 1973.

In his recommendations, the senior

joint secretary says that Federal Investigation Agency should be assigned to investigate the above irregularities and recover the embezzled money from the defaulters and proceed against them under the Criminal Procedure Code.

“The FGEHF may consider launch of another housing scheme in Sector F-12 for allotment of plots to federal government employees on ownership basis as already approved by the prime minister,” the inquiry officer has further recommended.

The aforesaid probe was conducted on the orders of Federal Minister for Housing and Works Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat and its report has also been submitted to the Supreme Court which is hearing suo motu case on the said scam.

The inquiry report says that instead of developing a housing society in F-12 for which a full sector measuring 750 acres was allocated to the FGEHF in 2005 by the CDA on the orders of the then prime minister, the FGEHF management, in connivance with the director (urban planning), managed to launch Housing Scheme (Phase-VI) in Zone-II or IV of the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The report says that the FGEHF invited expression of interests (EOIs) without formulating terms of reference (TORs) and evaluation criteria for selection of land owners as well as builders, which was mandatory under rule 23 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.

“Therefore, proposals received by the FGEHF cannot be treated competitive, which was the root cause of the financial irregularities,” the report adds.

It further says that the executive committee of the FGEHF in its 105th meeting held on March 17, 2009, approved the rate of raw land of Rs

950,000 per kanal as negotiated by the sub-committee of the executive committee and also accorded approval to the price of developed land at the rate of Rs 2.3 million per kanal, (Rs 4,600 per square yard). “The approved rates of developed land per kanal and per square yard are contradictory to each other. If we apply the rate of Rs 4,600 per square yard, the cost of one kanal (605 square yards) comes to Rs 2.783 million.

The FGEHF director (finance) explained that developed land of 1,800 kanals (60 per cent of total raw land) would be purchased in the unit of per square yard instead of in the unit of per kanal, which showed mala fide on his part and his clear involvement in these ambiguous rates despite a query in this regard of the Ministry of Housing & Works secretary before signing the agreement with M/S Green Trees (Private) Limited, therefore, a huge amount of money was embezzled,” it claims.

The inquiry report further adds that the executive committee of the FGEHF, at its 105th meeting on March 17, 2009, accorded approval to the assigning of development of the housing scheme to M/S Green Trees (Private) Limited as builders at very higher rates.

The inquiry report reveals that Dr Muhammad Hafeez Abbasi, chief executive of M/S Green Trees (Private) Limited, is real brother of one of the members of the FGEHF executive committee, Muhammad Zafeer Abbasi, the then additional secretary, Ministry of Interior, while another director of the firm is the real father of the said member.

It adds that the senior joint secretary heard Ali Akbar Sheikh, the then director general, Pakistan Public Works De-

partment (Pak-PWD), being a member of the executive committee of the FGEHF, who said that he had raised objections to the high prices and location of the housing in question at the 105th meeting of the executive committee.

However, the company secretary, in connivance with the chief executive, did not mention his objections in the approved minutes of the meeting.

The report says that an agreement between FGEHF and M/S Green Tress (Private) Limited was executed on April 1, 2009 without prior concurrence of the Ministry of Law & Justice, which is full of ambiguities and lacunas in favour of M/S Green Trees (Private) Limited.

The report further reveals that despite the lapse of three years and huge payments made to M/S Green Trees (Private) Limited, they could neither get NOC from the CDA for launching the Housing Scheme (Phase-VI) nor did they show considerable progress of development work at the site. It was due to the influence of the then secretary, Ministry of Housing and Works, in his capacity as the FGEHF chief executive.

In his findings, the senior joint secretary says that decision of shifting Housing Scheme (Phase-VI) from Sector F-12 to Bara Kahu is based on mala fide intention. “Site of the housing scheme located 6 kilometers ahead of Bara Kahu does not contain a compact piece of land and is not situated in close vicinity of the Islamabad city,” it further says. The inquiry officer holds the CGEHF director (technical), director (law), director (admn), director (finance) and the then director general responsible for the said lapses and the massive misappropriation of funds.

muharram ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

Koral police on Friday arrested 82 suspects, including Afghan nationals and those hailing from tribal areas, as they failed to produce any document for their identity. The police conducted search operation in various areas of its jurisdiction during which they screened houses, workshops, markets, underconstruction buildings and residential areas. Following the directions of IGP Bani Amin Khan and SSP Muhammad Yousuf Malik, the police are conducting checking in slum areas, hotels, restaurants and Afghan habitats also.

These measures are being taken to ensure foolproof security on the eve of Muharram-ul-Haram and keep a vigilant eye on suspected elements.

Several teams of Koral police, under the supervision of SP (Rural) Faisal Bashir Memon, conducted a thorough combing and search in various areas. These teams, headed by DSP Ahmed Iqbal and SHO Koral Inspector Sajjad Hussain Bukhari, screened houses, underconstruction buildings and other places in Bilal Town, Khana Dak, Soodra, Sharifabad, Tarlai, Jang Syedan, Taramri, Service Road, Ghori Town, PWD Colony and National Police Foundation Colony.

Police commandos, including lady commandos, also participated in the operation while sniffer dogs were also used in some areas. Such operation would continue in the coming days to conduct combing of sensitive areas, a police spokesman said. The SSP has directed all police officials to intensify efforts against antisocial elements and nab suspected elements.

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06 Islamabad

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Moot on globalisation and indigenous culture ends on optimistic note ISLAMABAD

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staFF rePort

N international conference on “Globalization and its Impact on Indigenous Cultures”, jointly organised by the Iqbal International Institute for Research and Dialogue (IRD) and Critical Thinking Forum of the Department of English Language and Literature of the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) and International Institute of Islamic Thought, (IIIT), USA concluded here on Friday.

International Institute of Islamic Economics (IIIE) Director General Dr Asad Zaman chaired the proceedings of the second day of the conference.

Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan Vice Chancellor Professor Hasan Abbas Hasan, and Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayyed also attended the con-

ference.

IIUI faculty members, administrative officers, staff members and a large number of students were also present on the occasion.

Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Dr M Nazrul Islam spoke on “Globalization-New Threats and Old Insecurities: Bangladesh Perspectives”, Dr Tugrul Keskin spoke on “The Religious and World Dimension of the Gulen Movement” and Dr Safeer Awan spoke on “Radical Islamisation and Globalization: Impact on Cultural Multiplicity in Pakistan”.

Dr Tugrul Keskin said that after the single party era which ended in 1946 during the initial stages of cold war, Turkish foreign and domestic policies began to shift towards a new relationship with US and NATO with the help of the Marshal Plan.

He added that in Turkey there was high inflation after the 1973 elections.

He said that globalisation started in Turkey after the process of privatisation under IMF & World Bank programs in 1984 to 1988.

He said the Islamist parties in Turkey also followed privatisation & free market and accepted globalization. “The modern Turkish society consists of two major thinking forumsthe Islamic movements and the secular movements.

The globalisation gives excellent strength to the education which improved standard of living in turkey to bring freedom of speech and human rights,” he added.

Dr Asad Zaman concluded the conference while saying that Islam was the only hope to change the prevailing circumstances of the world as capitalism and feudalism had failed.

He added that there was no need to be afraid of the pomp and glory of the West since the Muslims had a complete

code of life in the form of Islam.

Dr Asad Zaman further said that all the nations of the world were trying to increase their GNP and despite an ample increase in that, they had failed to improve the standards of life of the masses.

Dr Nazarul Islam said the impact of globalisation on Bangladesh might not be observed as that of developed nations but it was better compared to the other neighbouring countries.

He added that the negative impacts of globalisation in Bangladesh could be linked to the international policymaking.

He said 25,000 non-formal schools were being operated in Bangladesh under the NGOs which was a great symbol of globalisation.

Dr Safeer Awan said Islam had been a unique ideology throughout the history and that the globalisation could only be successful if all the humanity were considered as one single brotherhood.

isLaMaBaD: residents of jhelum stage a demonstration in favour of their demands outside the national Press club. STaff PHOTO

SNGPl refuses to provide CNG for Cda bus service ISLAMABAD FazaL sher

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) worth Rs 481 million is likely to face delay as the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has refused to provide CNG for it owing to shortage of gas.

“The SNGPL has informed the CDA’s directorate concerned that it could not provide CNG for the CDA’s BRT Project in the current situation. The SNGPL would provide CNG for the project if new source of gas was explored in future in the country,” a senior official of CDA told Pakistan Today on Friday.

He said the CDA earlier demanded 25,000 cubic feed per day (CFD) uninterrupted supply of gas from the SNGPL for the project. “The CDA would be unable to start the project if the SNGPL did not provide the required uninterrupted supply of gas,” he said.

However, he said the CDA had also held meeting with the high ups of Ministry of Petroleum regarding allocation of CNG for the project. The high officials of the Ministry of Petroleum had assured the CDA that they would allocate gas for the project, he said.

The official said the CDA Project Management Office (PMO) had prepared major terms and conditions for the launch of BRT under which they would purchase 32 buses worth Rs 256 million. The civic authority had constituted a committee, consisting of representatives of the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP), Islamabad Transport Authority, the CDA engineering wing, National Transportation Research Center (NTRC) and other related departments, he said. He said the CDA had allocated Rs10 million for the project in the budget 2010-11. The air-conditioned CNG buses would ply on limited number of routes, including Faizabad to Secretariat, Secretariat to Sector I10 and between Faizabad, Blue Area and Sector F-11, he said. He added that, currently, private transport was a major means of mobility between two cities whereas 1,600 minibuses were plying on 16 routes within and between the twin cities.

The official further said there was no organised bus service operating between the twin cites and the level of service offered by the minibuses was far below any acceptable standard, so commuters had to rely on either two wheelers or other forms of private transport.

‘Younger generation should get acquainted with inherited values’ National Heritage minister Samina Ghurki pays first visit to lok virsa museum after assuming charge of ministry g assures cooperation for lok virsa activities

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ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

Federal Minister for National Heritage and Integration Samina Khalid Ghurki paid a formal visit to Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage), an autonomous body of her ministry, on Friday.

This was her first visit to Lok Virsa after assuming the portfolio of the National Heritage Ministry. On arrival, she was given a warm welcome by Executive Director Khalid Javaid and other senior officials of the institute. The minister was taken around various three-dimensional creative dioramas at the first state museum of ethnology, popularly known as Lok Virsa Heritage Museum, depicting living cultural traditions and lifestyles of the people of Pakistan, including those living in remote regions.

The minister took keen interest in the hall of antiquity and continuity, hall of ballads and romances, thematic display

on textile presenting the mastery of women artisans, hall of architecture portraying more than 32 dying traditional architectural skills such as mirror work, marble intarsia, fresco work, tile mosaic and blue tiles. Addressing the meeting of Lok Virsa officers, the minister, who is also chairperson of Lok Virsa board of governors, highly appreciated the efforts of Lok Virsa in documenting and preserving the cultural heritage of Pakistan in such a beautiful and professional manner.

She assured full cooperation and facilitating role from her ministry in successful holding of activities and programmes of Lok Virsa. “The purpose of my visit today is to express that we proudly own you (Lok Virsa employees) and would like to work with you as a team for betterment of our magnificent cultural heritage,” the minister maintained.

While talking to media people, the national heritage minister said, “Though a lot of work has already been done for

the preservation of Pakistan’s culture, but in my view, we need to have a more cohesive approach to ensure fruitful interaction with youth so that the younger generation should get acquainted with the traditional values inherited by us through our forefathers. For this, we would encourage students to interact with Lok Virsa’s valuable assets such as heritage museum and heritage library. In order to fight extremism, we need to devise an alternate engagement strategy for promoting our soft image of the country to the world through culture.”

Later, a detailed multi-media presentation on Lok Virsa’s administrative structure, legal status, functioning and activities was given to the minister by the Lok Virsa ED. The minister was informed that Lok Virsa was currently holding a folk festival in Sialkot at Garrison Park, which was opened on November 16 by Federal Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. The

other two programmes that Lok Virsa was going to hold in November included a conference on Sufism as mainspring of peace, love and harmony (23 November)

and launching ceremony of the book on “Forgotten Faces in the Traditional Folk Theatre,” focusing on women artists, by Dr Fauzia Saeed (24 November).

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Islamabad 07 mFN status to india negation of Kashmiris’ sacrifices: Ji ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

Scores of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) activists staged a protest demonstration on Friday to press the government to reverse its decision of giving the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. They said such a step must not be taken until the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. The JI Islamabad Chapter organised the protest demonstration outside the National Press Club in response to the party chief Munawar Hassan’s call.

JI Islamabad Ameer and former MNA Mian Aslam said the MNF status to India meant to undermine the Kashmir cause.

He said that MFN status to India was an absolute negation of Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir and sacrifices of people of Kashmir. Aslam said Pakistan could face “far-reaching economic and political consequences by giving MFN status to its archrival”.

He said the government took the step unilaterally and without consulting the Pakistan Army and the parliament. JI leaders–Kashif Chaudhry, Malik Abdul Aziz and Khalid Farooq—also spoke on the occasion.

isLaMaBaD: ji activists protest outside the national Press club against the government decision of giving MFn to india. STaff PHOTO

FBiSe announces SSC supplementary exams’ results ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), Islamabad announced Friday the results for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Supplementary examination held in September, 2011. The FBISE reported an overall pass percentage of 47.76.

According to a statement issued here by the FBISE controller, as many as 8038 students had appeared in exams, out of whom, 3,839 students were declared successful and 4,187 students failures.

In Science Group, 5,079 students appeared in the examination including 4,161 male students and 918 female students. Of them, 2,828 passed the examination with the passing percentage of 55.68 while 2,240 were declared fail. In Humanities Group, out of 2,959 students, 1,011 passed the examination with the passing percentage of 34.17. The statement said that the results would be available on the FBISE website and could also be made available through SMS.

iHC suspends gas load management plan ISLAMABAD aPP

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday suspended the order of gas load management plan in Federal Capital and issued notices to the Ministry of Petroleum, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and Sui Northern Gas limited in this regard.

Single member bench comprising Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan resumed hearing of the petition filed by owners of 47 CNG stations against the existing gas load management plan in Islamabad. Makhdoom Ali Khan counsel for CNG owners apprised the court that according to the license which was issued by the competent authority, concerned gas departments are bound to supply gas to CNG outlets till 15 years.

Ministry of Interfaith Harmony holds Diwali festival ISLAMABAD

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MahtaB Bashir

IWALI or Deepavali, popularly known as the “festival of lights,” is a religious festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-November for different reasons.

For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC. The name “Diwali” is a contraction of “Deepavali” which translates into “row of lamps”. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one’s house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are

burst in order to drive away evil spirits.

During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends On late Thursday night, the Ministry of National Harmony, in collaboration with Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), held a Diwali festival at the National Art Gallery (NAG) to bring peace, prosperity, progress and happiness to all sections of the society and promotes goodwill among all communities. The event was attended by the large number of people including federal ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, dignitaries, community and religious leaders and students.

Adviser to Prime Minister for National Harmony Dr Paul Bhatti while addressing on the occasion said government was committed to ensure equal rights for all minority communities as enshrined in Constitution of Pak-

istan and UN Declaration of Human Rights.

He said the government attached due importance to the minorities that was why the Hindus’ festival of Diwali was being observed at official level.

Dr Paul said, “May this festival of lights dispel darkness and gloom and bring joy, happiness and prosperity to the people of our country,” and added that the festival signified the victory of good over evil.

He said it was a festival in which all communities could rejoice in amity and friendship and celebrate the solidarity of the nation. “I also wish to reiterate our commitment to respect and uphold the UN resolution calling for interfaith harmony and the pledges made by the government to safeguard the rights of all minorities,” he added.

Bhatti said minorities in Pakistan had suffered because of terrorism and

Hospital, govt dept served notices in liver transplantation case ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued notices on Friday to Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore and Human Organs Transplant Authority (HOTA) on a petition filed against the liver transplantation of a poor boy who had died in an accident.

Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan heard the case in which the petitioner, who runs as human rights organization in Islamabad, had contended that the liver of a fifteenyear-old poor boy was transplanted to an influential person.

He said according to the relevant laws, no human organ could transplanted in case the donor was less than 18 years of age.

In his petition, Syed Liaqat Banori, told the court that the poor can easily be exploited in that fashion.

He requested the court to look into the matter on which Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan sought a reply from the respondents within two weeks.

Scouts’ life laudable, says NUML rector: National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Rector Maj-Gen (retired) Masood

Hasan on Friday said the life of a scout was very exemplary and commendable as it taught endurance, discipline and diligence.

Addressing scouts at regional boys scouts camp at Pakistan Scouts’ Headquarters, he said their six-day-long camp in Campuri would not only help them to learn how to serve humanity but would also promote discipline, diligence, respect of their fellow scouts and endurance to face every challenge in life.

On the occasion, guard of honour was also presented to Masood Hasan by young scouts.

poverty. He said issues like Kashmir dispute, Afghan wars, terrorism, and unstable governments in the past had hit the minorities hard.

He said the condition of religious minorities could be improved by safeguarding their rights, ensuring life safety, imparting education, providing legal support, security, real protection of the freedom and rights of citizenship through interfaith harmony dialogue.

Talking about steps taken by the government for the minorities in Pakistan he said 4 seats have been reserved for minorities in Senate, 5 percent quota has been fixed in government jobs and 11 August has been declared as minority day.

Minorities’ protection bill will soon be tabled in the National Assembly to introduce Marriage Registration Act for Sikh, Hindu, Parsi and Bhai communities in the country, he added.

anti-women practices bill lauded ISLAMABAD Pr

The SDPD, a parliamentary development programme of UNDP, has appreciated the passage of Prevention of Anti–Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill 2011, terming it a landmark achievement for women’s empowerment. Marvi Sarmed, national manager of SDPD, congratulated NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, Dr Donia Azizauthor of the bill, members of Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, women’s rights activists and all the women of Pakistan for this huge success.

The bill covers anti-women practices like forced marriages, wani, badla–e-sulh or using women for settling disputes and recommends punishments for these crimes. The bill also ensures that women are not denied their share in inherited property. Marvi Sarmed expressed the hope that the bill would pave the way for greater gender equality in Pakistan and empower women.

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08 Islamabad

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

State, society apathetic to plight of the disabled

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Government does little for them, social attitude towards special people is also deplorable MAHTAB BASHIR

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isLaMaBaD

ISABLED people face a multitude of barriers that limit their access to education, employment, housing, transportation, health care, rehabilitation and recreation. And the disabled people with little or no means of support are among the poorest of the poor in Pakistan. In addition to other problems, transportation is the one disabled people in the capital are acutely facing.

With the devolution of the Ministry of Women Development, and Special Education, the problems of these underprivileged have increased manifold.

Talking to Pakistan Today a few of these special persons said on Friday that they had to face innumerable problems wherever they would go; be it a public park or a shopping mall or a hospital.

Though the CDA have designated special facilities for the special persons at public places but people often violate the rights of the disabled despite seeing warning signboards. The special people told this scribe that only 30,000 out of total 3.7 million disabled people in the country had access to basic education.

Hamza Khan, a 29-year-old disabled boy, said special persons usually had extraordinary qualities and talent compared to “normal” people.

“But in this part of the world they are being neglected everywhere. Special persons

ought to be an important part of society and they do deserve attention, encouragement and love,” he said.

Talking about his daily ordeal, he said at the end of the day when after staying idle and confined to his home, he would go out to get some fresh air, he had to face trouble because people never minded the signboard reading “reserved for the disabled”. He said he just could bear with people’s encroaching upon parking spaces and slopes meant for the special persons.

Hamza said almost every special person wanted to be self-sufficient through training so he or she might not be a burden for those around him or her. “I believe that with vocational training the disabled can also contribute to their households and society,” he added. He lamented the fact the terrorism too had rendered many people disabled, who with proper care and training could become as useful to society as anybody else.

This scribe during a visit to Melody Food Park in Sector G/6 and Aabpara Market was shocked to see wheelchair ramps closed with barbwires in the name of security. The special people visiting the places were having a good deal of trouble.

On public transport as well, there are no reserved seats for special persons hence their mobility is further limited.

“I am a government employee working at the Pakistan Secretariat. I have to go to my office from Saddar in Rawalpindi on public transport. Since there are no seats reserved for the disabled, I have to board a van after a consider-

NatIoNal cHIldrIgHt art

able physical effort, particularly in the morning,” said Kashif Pervaiz, a commuter with physical disability.

Talking to this scribe, Jamal Hussain, a person with impaired vision, said the rights of the special persons in Pakistan were at stake because the rulers had always been busy in serving their own interests. He said not a single policymaker in any government ever bothered about the plight of the disabled.

He cited the societies of the developed world where a special attention was given to the disabled people there.

He demanded government should announce a 50 percent concession for special people in transport fares, utility bills. He said there should also be a state allowance for the disabled. Syed Mustafain Kazmi, the director general of Directorate General of Special Education and Social Welfare, said that since the ministry’s devolution, his department’s jurisdiction was limited to the capital.

“Currently, 26 government centers are providing services to 1,500 special people in the twin cities. A consolidated survey to find out more information about the special children was being planned with the help of international agencies. We will not tolerate any discriminatory behaviour against special children”, Kazmi said.

He stressed that parents should not take their special children as an embarrassment and rather they should send them to special education centers and encourage them to become active members of the society.

ImpedImeNt

ustad raHat FateH - lIve

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 06 to 28, 2011 veNue: KHaaS art Gallery iSlamaBad

date aNd time: Nov 21, 6:00 Pm veNue: GuN & CouNtry CluB

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.

'impediment' by Beenish usman & Nadia tufail. opens on wednesday 16 November 2011 at Khaas Gallery at 5:00 p.m onwards. do come and enjoy their edgy contemporary miniatures in person!

Bring your friends along!

overseas event management , etZ and ultraSpectra Presents "rahat Fateh ali Khan live in concert in prayer For Peace Pakistan on 21st Nov,2011

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

uS says Haqqani’s resignation Pakistan’s internal matter WASHINGTON inP

US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner has refused to comment on the news of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Hussain Haqqani’s resignation, saying it is Pakistan’s internal matter. Briefing the media on Thursday, Toner said Haqqani’s resignation was his personal issue with Pakistan’s sitting leadership who appointed him and gave tasks on certain issues and the US has nothing to do with it. Commenting on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, the State Department spokesman said the US considered the Afghan loya jirga an important process despite the fact that some elements had opened new war fields against the jirga to halt the progress on peace and stability. “We are going to wait for it to run its course, the loya jirga, before we comment on all the specific outcomes of it,” he said. Toner said it was a chance for the Afghans to use this forum to discuss the future relationship between Afghanistan and the US. “We believe the end result is going to be an affirmation of that partnership. The US and Afghanistan, in terms of bases, that we share the same goals,” he said. Toner said loya jirga was an opportunity for the Afghans to discuss these goals in detail and they should avail it for resolution of their reservations.

News 09

Private school targeted in Peshawar, girls school blown up in Bajaur PESHAWAR

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homemade bomb planted by suspected militants exploded near the boundary wall of a renowned private college before dawn on Friday, said police officials.

Officials said that in the last two months it was the second time that bomb went off near a private educational institution, creating panic among students and teaching staff.

A recent campaign to target public

sector educational institutions began in Ramadan in which both girls and boy schools across the district have been targetted.

Earlier, the Quaid-i-Azam Public School on Swabi-Jahangira road was targeted when a bomb exploded at its entrance gate, damaging the building and injuring the watchman. The Quaid-iAzam Group of Schools and Colleges is owned by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf working committee provincial chairman and former president.

Now, another college of the Quaid-iAzam Group of Schools and Colleges near

Panjpir route was targeted. Officials said the bomb was planted near the college’s boundary wall and only the wall was damaged and not the building. Watchmen were present in the college when the blast occurred and informed the college owner within no time.

College Principal Qaisar Waheed said some people wanted to defame the institution under a well-planned strategy.

Meanwhile police sources said they had arrested two people for investigation.

However, officials refused to name them, saying media would be told soon.

Separately, another Government

Girls’ Primary School was blown up in Pushat in Bajaur Agency on Friday.

Official sources said militants planted explosive material in the Government Girls’ Primary School building which went off with a loud sound.

The blast razed the schools building to the ground. No loss of life was reported since the school was closed at the time of blast. Security forces cordoned off the area and started searching for those responsible. The tribal regions have witnessed an increase in terrorist attacks in which insurgents have targeted government schools.

8 militants, 1 policeman killed in orakzai clashes HANGU onLine

At least eight militants and one policeman was killed in clashes between security forces and militants in the Wacha Wana area in Upper Orakzai Agency, local government officials said.

The clash occurred on Friday morning.

Official sources said security forces acting on a tip-off regarding the presence of militants, initiated search operation in the Wacha Wana area of Upper Orakzai Agency. Sources said the security forces operation was still in progress against militants and the area has been cordoned off.

Washing uP the trucK: a young boy poses for the camera as he washes a truck near quetta Bypass. ONLINE

guardIaNs oF lINguIstIc purIty

PTa’s offensive words ban ‘incredulous’ g

after ‘serious’ deliberations, officials came up with list of 1,500 words ranging from the most innocent to the most bizarre MONITORING DESk

Guardians of linguistic purity have long warned against the pernicious impact that text messaging may have on the young, but in Pakistan, officials have taken such concerns to a new extreme by demanding that mobile phone operators block all text messages using offensive words.

With a creativity and dedication to the task unusual for local officialdom, the country’s telecom regulator has issued a list of more than 1,000 words and phrases which will be banned, according to an article in the Guardian.

After serious deliberation and consultation, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officials have come up with more than 50 phrases using the “F” word and 17 involving “butt”. The list includes several apparently innocuous words and phrases, including “flatulence”, “deposit” and “fondle”. Others would likely only make sense to frustrated teenagers. Among the more printable terms are “strap-on”, “beat

your meat”, “crotch rot”, “love pistol”, “pocket pool” and “quickie”.

The officials’ flair for the task was apparent, with prohibition embracing more figurative language, such as “flogging the dolphin”, and 51 terms with the suffix “ass” – although only one variation of the word ‘arse’. Officials managed to produce eight obscenities involving the word “foot”, and also added two variants of the word “Jesus Christ” to the list.

Mobile phone firms were ordered to stop messages including the offending words this week, although tests by the Guardian suggested the blocking technology was not 100% effective.

While admitting that Pakistan’s constitution guaranteed free speech, the regulator told mobile phone companies that such freedom was “not unrestricted” under court rulings.

Furthermore, said the telecom watchdog, they had obligations under their licences to prevent “obnoxious communication”.

In the letter to mobile phone firms,

watchdog director Muhammad Talib Doger said “the system should be implemented within seven days ... and a report submitted to PTA on monthly basis on the number of blocked SMSs”.

The list was attached to the letter, with 1,109 words and phrases in English to be banned and 586 in Urdu. The watchdog has yet to tackle obscenity in Pakistan’s four main regional languages, including the raucous Punjabi.

Mohammad Younis, a spokesman for the PTA, said the ban was “the result of numerous meetings and consultations with stakeholders” after consumers complained of receiving offensive text messages. He said the list was not finished and the authority would continue to add to it.

“Nobody would like this happening to their young boy or girl,” said Younis.

Mobile operators expect the PTA to fine them for any banned words that get through, which means that they will have to cut the connection of customers who persistently try to send such messages.

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10 News

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

illegal toll plaza active on Ferozepur road: petition kASUR staFF rePort

A private company is illegally collecting toll tax on Ferozepur Road near Mustafabad town for the last several months without an agreement or legal formalities, Yasin Farrukh alleged in a recently filed petition.

Farrukh, a lawyer at Kasur district bar, told reporters that the agreement submitted by the Highways subdivisional officer in the court turned out to be bogus.

He said the agreement was not singed by the contractor, and under the rules and regulations an agreement cannot be implemented unless it is duly signed.

He said the agreement was a mandatory requirement for auctioning of toll plazas.

He said all required fields in the agreement were blank, the guarantee form was not filled, and no witnesses were mentioned in the form.

He said the submitted agreement testifies that the toll plaza was operating illegally and influential people were extorting money without being checked.

three dead, 2 injured in Karak hanD-WeaVing threaD: an artisan waves thread at the Lok Mela Festival in sialkot. INP

kARAk staFF rePort

Seven afghan children die in two blasts KABUL: Eight Afghans, including seven children, were killed in two separate blasts on Friday, officials said, the latest civilian deaths to hit the troubled country. In the first incident, four children died when a roadside bomb went off as they played near their home in Nangarhar province. In the second, three children and an old man, all members of the same family, were killed when their rickshaw hit another roadside bomb in the southern province of Uruzgan. “Four children were killed and six others were slightly injured as a result of a roadside bomb explosion,” said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar. But the Interior Ministry said the explosion was caused by a mortar apparently left over from Afghanistan’s decades of war. It put the death toll at two. A spokesman for the chief of police in Uruzgan, Farid Ail, said the second blast came as the three children and one man were driving towards their home. “As a result of the explosion, three children and an elderly man died,” he said. aFP

Taliban peace talks have failed: ex-Afghan minister WASHINGTON

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F G H A N I S T A N ’ S former interior minister on Thursday said efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table had failed and warned that those who have renounced violence were not the main threat.

“I don’t have any evidence that this has happened,” Mohammad Haneef Atmar told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington, alluding to whether peace talks had produced results.

“Of around 30,000 insurgents, only eight percent have reconciled so far – and 99 percent of them are not from the south,” he said, referring to Afghanistan’s most violent

region and the Taliban’s spiritual homeland.

“Frankly speaking, it does not work. The eight percent that are reconciled, most of them are not genuine insurgents, particularly not from the regions that matter.”

Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president of Afghanistan who had been given the Herculean task of seeking peace with the Taliban, was assassinated in Kabul on September 20 by a suicide bomber wearing explosives in his turban.

The bomber had claimed to be a peace emissary from the Taliban leadership, whom Afghan authorities blamed for the attack. After the killing, President Hamid Karzai said the country would review how to advance the peace process.

But Atmar, interior minister between 2008 and 2010 and who per-

sonally held talks with Taliban leaders during that time, said the strategy would continue to fail unless Pakistan reversed its policy of giving sanctuary to insurgents.

He also said that many leaders of the Afghan Taliban had placed their families in Pakistan because they believed they were safer there.

The United States has increasingly been looking for a negotiated end to the Afghan conflict given that the insurgency remains virulent more than 10 years after the September 11 attacks prompted American forces to invade the country.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last month urged Pakistan to take action within “days and weeks” on dismantling Afghan militant havens and encouraging the Taliban into peace talks.

Three persons were killed and two others, including a woman, seriously injured in two separate incidents in Karak district on Friday. Police sources said in the first incident four persons from the same family were going home after attending a case in Takht Nusrati court when an opposing party ambushed them near Banjakh Banda. The accused opened firing on the car when driving near Banjakh Banda. Two people, Banjakh Banda residents Sher Dad, son of Sher Ali, and Naseerullah, son of Yousaf Khan, were killed on the spot while two other Sher Ali Khan, son of Ghani Sher, and Zainab Bibi. daughter of Sher Ali Khan, were critical. They belonged to the same family. The injured were shifted to Tehsil headquarters hospital Takht Nusrati in critical condition. Injured Sher Ali Khan registered an FIR in Shah Saleem police station against Banjakh Banda residents Abdus Satar, Noor Qalam Khan, Mehboobur Rehman and Muhammad Suleman. Sources claimed there was old enmity between the two families. In second incident, the bullet riddled body of a young man was recovered from the Lawagher seasonal dry nullah near Ahmadabad .

Upon receiving information, police took the body in custody and handed it over to relatives. Sources added the body was identified as Ahmadabad resident Ziaur Rehman. Takht Nusrati police have registered a case.

Three million afghans face hunger as winter looms: aid groups MONITORING DESk Up to three million people in Afghanistan are facing hunger, malnutrition and disease after a severe drought wiped out their crops and extreme winter weather risks cutting off their access to vital food aid, a group of aid agencies warned on Friday.

Poor rains earlier this year destroyed 80 percent of wheat crops in the country’s north, northeast and west, leaving impoverished farming communities with little food to eat, said the nine charities which included Oxfam and Save the Children.

With food prices almost doubling since last year, families are being forced to skip meals, borrow money or migrate.

Access to life-saving aid is now in jeopardy as heavy snowfall will, within weeks, block roads and risk avalanches.

“Villagers are telling us that this year the drought has destroyed everything.

Their food stocks are already low, and they are worried about how they will get through the coming months,” Oxfam’s country director Manohar Shenoy said in a statement.

“Time is running out to be able to provide communities with the help they most desperately need before a harsh winter makes many areas inaccessible.

Snow is already falling and many mountainous areas are likely to be cut off within weeks.”

Afghanistan’s harsh winter which lasts from November to March often results in heavy snowfall of up to 13 feet (4 metres) deep, blocking remote mountain passes and leaving hundreds of thousands of villagers isolated for months.

As winter sets in, people are feeling the effects of the drought by cutting down on meals, moving across the border to Pakistan and Iran or taking loans to buy food, driving them into debt. Schools

have closed as children are being put to work.

Despite 14 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces – including Faryab and Badakhshan – being hit by the drought, an October emergency appeal by the United Nations for $142 million has only so far only been seven percent funded by international donors.

Aid workers warned that if the international community does not respond and aid supplies are not stockpiled in affected areas in the coming weeks, children are at risk of dying.

“Families are facing being cut off for winter without enough food and clean water,” said David Skinner, Save the Children’s Afghanistan country director.

“We know children are going hungry, and with malnutrition levels already high in Afghanistan, unless aid efforts are ramped up, children could die because they do not get enough to eat.”

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

Better late than never The struggle for women’s liberation from the age-old practices of social and financial discrimination is finally materialising into legal redress. For years, Pakistani women – especially in the interior of Sindh and Punjab – have been subjected to the oppressive customs of a patriarchal and feudal society that has not only deprived women of their right to property but treated women as property themselves.

The passing of the Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill 2011 is a milestone for us. It focuses specifically on forced marriages, marriages to the Holy Quran, and denial of the right to inheritance. According to the Bill, “Whoever coerces or in any manner compels a woman to enter into marriage shall be punished with imprisonment of three to ten years or is liable to a fine of Rs 0.5million.” Prohibiting marriage to the Holy Quran, the Bill says, “Whoever compels or arranges or facilitates the

uS troops’ presence marriage of a woman with the Holy Quran shall be punished with imprisonment of three to seven years or is liable to a fine of Rs 0.5 million.” And last but not least, “Whoever, by deceitful or illegal means, deprives a woman from inheriting any movable or immovable property at the time of opening of succession, will be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to ten years and no less than five years or with a fine of one million rupees or both.”

The significance of this legislation cannot be emphasised enough with its two-pronged protection to women in the sense that it not only defends women from forced marriage but also criminalises so-called marriage to the Holy Quran, which not only deprives women of their freedom to marry but also their right to inheritance of property. The bill that was put on hold twice last month, apparently due to some drafting and procedural irregularities, has been

pending since 2008.

Attempts to delay or altogether derail the process through irrational excuses such as the unavailability of printouts of the drafts were not infrequent and such instances were reflective of attempts at thwarting the passing of a Bill that was not in the interests of the vested interests in the mainstream parties. Nevertheless, the bill must be hailed as a landmark decision by the National Assembly as it has taken a concrete step towards addressing the grave dilemmas faced by a majority of Pakistani women.

These narrow-minded practices stem considerably from the ever-widening gap between the social structures and class differences of the urban and rural areas.

In order to emancipate women from the clutches of the feudal system, there is a pressing need for social reforms and education. Efforts to ensure total respite from such oppressive traditions can only be effective by changing the backward

and chauvinistic mindsets that characterise traditional society. While the existence of such a legal framework is essential in preventing these discriminatory practices against women, the passing of the Bill is only a first step towards the solution of a problem that dates back ages. It is pertinent to remember that many such cases go unreported.

The government must devise a mechanism to reach out to the affected women and empower them to come forward with their complaints so that they can be given redress in accordance with the law. Here, the media has an important role to play vis-à-vis informing women of their rights, exposing cases of mistreatment and helping women get justice. Therefore, a lot more needs to be done to guarantee the application of this legislation to prevent it from becoming mere words with no effect.

FATIMA BAREE Karachi

Pml(N)’s threat The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML(N)) has decided to adopt the option of collective resignations from parliament in order to compel the government to hold early elections. The PML(N) leaders term this move as constitutional and democratic. However, their statements have brought severe criticism from the PPP stalwarts who think this move is unconstitutional and a direct attack on democracy.

The PML(N)’s announcement of launching an anti-government movement in October, its rally in Lahore, later a grand public meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the recent resignation of PPP MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi have already heated up the political environment. However, the PML(N)’s threat of collective resignation reflects its desperation to bring down the government before the Senate elections in March 2012 where the PPP anticipates gaining a fair majority.

This move, if followed through, could nevertheless end up embroiling the Senate elections in uncertainty. Now we have to see whether there is any such provision in the constitution that allows holding the Senate elections in the absence of representation from the largest province and if there is no such constitutional provision, how would the government fill the void created in Punjab by the PML(N)’s resignations. In such a scenario, the government thinks it can resort to bye-elections in Punjab.

The contradictions among the political parties are becoming severer with announcements of long marches, sit-ins, rallies and processions against the present government.

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

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

According to a news report, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has set the US with terms and conditions for a long term troop presence in Afghanistan. That he wants and demands for national sovereignty to be given back to him while on the other hand is ready to allow indefinite foreign invasion and troop presence are antithetical to each other.

Such demands, it needs to be noted, have been made for a long time now.

Conditions or no conditions, allowing extended US military presence in the region is something that will affect the entire South Asian region. Prospects of further extension in the insurgency can surely be guaranteed as the Taliban have already made this amply clear. And that its aftershocks will prevent peace in the tribal areas of Pakistan that is inextricably linked to the security situation in Afghanistan is inevitable.

All previous endeavours made towards attaining a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan that views of every group either in minority or majority, need to be accommodated and the objectives that are to be achieved should also be presented in a clear transparent manner.

Does the fact that a prolonged military presence be beneficial in training the Afghan National Army enough reason for doing so or is there more to it than what meets the eye?

DR SAFA RAHMAN Islamabad

mFN to india

Playing with people’s health There was a news item in the press a few days back that the CM Punjab has ordered to launch crackdown against quacks. I have a firm belief that superficial and showy acts are not going to bring any result as has happened in the past. I am confident that the government is making the same mistake again. They should at least attempt to commit different mistakes.

Unfortunately, shallow steps of the Punjab government are exposing that the officers at the helm of affairs are devoid of any

is money the religion?

Our former Religious Minister Hamid Saeed Qazmi has now come up with startling disclosures that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani appointed Rao Sahkeel as Director General Hajj last year, bypassing all rules of appointment and in return, prime minis-

vision or farsightedness. All the organised health facilities should be regulated by the government through proper licenses.

Before launching a half-baked campaign, the government should consult intellectuals of the health field to help them devise a strategy to eradicate the root cause of quackery. Otherwise, it will be a futile exercise.

FAROOQ BASHIR BUTT Lahore

ter's son Abdul Kader Gilani received a gift (read bullet proof car) worth PKR 99 million.

Last year, after the Hajj scandal came to light, Hamid Saeed Qazmi was quizzed by a well-known television anchor Javed Chaudhry to bring facts of Hajj corruption to light. Hamid Saeed Qazmi, instead of spilling the beans, decided to

remain dumb. He is now openly telling the media that the PM and his son are involved in the Hajj scandal.

Even if former religious minister is not involved in Hajj corruption scandal, he should be punished for concealing the facts before the court of law.

M RAFIQUE ZAKARIA Karachi

The MFN status is no big a news, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s claim that Pakistan army was onboard about the decision of granting it is certainly an explosion. It is not that the military establishment does not want it to, but the bigger news is the government seems to have played the best shot of its political career by creating the impression reportedly through its pre-conceived statements, saying the army was taken into confidence before the decision of granting the MFN status.

No one amongst the journalists’ community, nor could the political circles gauge, as Sheikh Rashid has perceived, that the factual position can be other way around. All newspaper editorials and most of the TV talk shows discussed the merits and demerits of the decision to grant MFN status to India, and as a result it seemed 95 percent votes went to the favour.

This is being exploited by both electronic and print media in India and other countries and the mum on the side of military adds to the confusion. Some believe that the army has reason not to speak, so to avoid giving wrong impression that there exist differences between the government and establishment, at a moment when deliberate attempts are being made to drag the army in, go impatient and react. The Zardari-memo issue is another such example. The cool heads must evaluate as to who wants it to exploit to what extent.

F Z KHAN Islamabad

a wake up call for the bar

By Sarwar Mohammad khan

W

e have all stood witness to the recent Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections which took place in all the four provinces of the country wherein Yasin Azad contested for president and won. It is worthy to note that prior to the elections which was widely covered by the print and electronic media, not many lawyers knew who Yasin Azad was. This is despite the fact that he is a sitting member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). All eyes were targeted at his competitor Rasheed A Razvi, a former judge of the Sindh High Court, a hero of the Lawyers’ Movement, four-time President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) and had remained vice chairman of both the PBC and Sindh Bar Council.

The unfamiliarity of Yasin’s name amongst the practicing lawyers of the nation was perhaps due to the fact that he had hardly appeared in the High Courts or the Supreme Court of Pakistan. But then how did he manage to win?

There are numerous facts cited by the supporters of Razvi which caused this colossal loss. Amongst them is the fact that the famous case of (SHCBA), reported as PLD 2009 SC 879, wherein over 90 PCO judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court were sacked. This case was spearheaded by Mr Razvi when he was the President of SHCBA. However, Mr Razvi still maintains that this was a big step towards regaining an independent judiciary and termed it as a major success. But the fact still remains that all those who were sacked stood united to oppose him in his SCBA elections.

Another major role was played by the predecessor of Azad, Ms

Asma Jehangir, another lawyer with hardly any court appearance.

Her only claim to fame is her active role in HRCP. Ms Jehangir, like Azad, was supported by PPP. Ms Jehangir managed to gather the same support for Azad as could be easily seen on all polling stations across the country. The Attorney General of Pakistan was working in favour of Azad at the Islamabad polling station as was Mr Shahadat Awan, the Prosecutor General at Karachi. Numerous Supreme Court lawyers received phone calls from Governor House requesting for Azad’s vote, not excluding the former Law Minister Babar Awan and Governor of Punjab Sardar Latif Khosa who played a major role in Mr Azad’s win.

A random donation of millions of rupees to the district bars, High Court Bar Peshawar, Karachi Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council and Lahore High Court Bar by the prime minister, federal law minis-

ter and then by the Punjab governor only days before the SCBA elections have also raised several questions. A country like ours which is begging for financial support from IMF and other countries to help the flood victims and to fight terrorism all of a sudden could afford to donate millions of rupees to bar associations with not more than a few hundred members. The end result was that Razvi lost by approximately 79 votes according to the un-official count.

Surprisingly, the winner from six polling stations, Azad, lost from his home city Karachi where he had practiced law all his life.

The result does somewhat reflect that those who knew him well did not want him elected. It also shows that no matter which province’s turn it is to field a candidate, the decision will be taken in Lahore. Thus, the purpose of provincial representation was frustrated.

The active participation of the government in the bar elections shows how important these elections are to them and to the nation. The SCBA during the period of Qazi Anwar had repeatedly highlighted corruption in the country and had supported the decisions of the Supreme Court. Not surprisingly Asma Jehangir had deviated from this path. The bar associations and councils were instrumental in restoring the CJP and ousting a military dictator.

The power of the black coat has also been felt by Zardari & Co and in order for him to keep working the way he is, it is absolutely imperative that he controls all the bars so that no one raises any important issue in public. For this the PPP is willing to invest millions of rupees in the bar elections and appoint their own puppets.

Once these puppets are installed the government can rest assured that no one will shout the slogans

of rule of law and independence of judiciary.

Today the job description of these puppets is simply to malign the judiciary, take their lawyer friends on expensive foreign trips, provide government cases to their friends and in return all they ask is to remain silent and keep their eyes closed.

If the bars are filled with these puppets, the day is not far when vacancies of both bar and bench are decided in the President House and in order to get any sort of relief a litigant has to first engage a PPPapproved lawyer.

The defeat of Rasheed A Razvi will soon be forgotten but it should serve as a wakeup call for all the members of the bar. Soon their survival will depend on whether they support any political party, and if so, which one?

The writer is an advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan.

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12 Comment off with his head? what the crowd wants, the crowd gets

I

t is clear they want his scalp. The military wasn’t ever quite comfortable with Hussain Haqqani. And this whole memo business appears to be what is finally going to be the ambassador’s undoing.

Mr. Haqqani, for what it is worth, is denying the whole thing. His defence is plausible enough. He doesn’t employ the dazzling sophistry he is famous for but common sense. The argument: if he is indeed as well-entrenched in the US administration as his detractors claim (the American ambassador to America, as the joke goes) why would he, instead of communicating with whoever he wants to, use a person like Mansoor Ijaz as a conduit? Mr Ijaz is a bit of a shady character. There is anecdotal evidence of late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto having this view about him. Maleeha Lodhi, another ambassador, went to the extent of calling him an Israeli agent.

The media, however, will throw any pinch of salt by the wayside when it wants to. For better or worse, however, public discourse is what it is. If it has come to include an issue, the government must step up to the plate and resolve it. There needs to be an inquiry on who indeed is the Pakistani official – if indeed it is an official – that wrote to Admiral Mike Mullen.

Having said all of that, perhaps a step back is in order to have a look at the larger picture. In the aftermath of the Abbottabad incident, tensions were indeed high. Yes, General Kayani has maintained an admirable public stand on democracy. But the Kargil war, a mini-war in its own right as it might have been, pales in comparison to the strike against the man most wanted in the world. If that ’99 snafu was followed by a military coup, are similar fears entirely unfounded in our hapless republic, regardless of who is at the top in the military?

Treason – to use a word that is being thrown around these days – would traditionally be used for a military conspiring with foreign forces to the detriment of an elected government. Things are – allegedly – the other way around here. Could the same word be used here or should the lexicographers corps dig another one up?

timely action it’s possible

T

he Karachi police foiled what could have turned out to be a major suicide attack in the city on Wednesday. Finding no way to escape the three alleged suicide bombers blew themselves up. Two courageous police officials, who deserve the city’s gratitude and adequate compensation for their families, fell victim to the blast.

This shows that the incidence of terrorism can be reduced if the Home Department in the province is vigilant and is duly assisted by the interior ministry.

The police in this case appears to have received real time information and acted efficiently. As the unending spree of target killings and terrorist attacks in Karachi till about a couple of months back would indicate, the Home Department lacked the will or the ability to do what was required. With the Supreme Court taking up the issue of Karachi and promising to revisit the issue and the powers given to the Rangers, the situation on the ground has significantly improved. There is a respite to target killings which had continued for nearly three years while the last major incident of terrorism occurred on September 19 when the house of a senior police officer was attacked leading to eight dead.

There is a need to keep up the momentum against the killers who at one point seemed virtually unstoppable. Dealing with organised crime requires efficient intelligence gathering. This is possible only of the intelligence agencies are highly professional and unbiased. There seems to be a significant improvement in the working of the intelligence agencies in Karachi. The agencies are currently interrogating a number of target killers who have reportedly made startling revelations about their handlers. What is required is to prepare foolproof cases against both the pawns and the behind the scene players and take them to the courts. Meanwhile, the government has to devise ways and means to provide protection to witnesses and their families.

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

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

The medium and the message the troubled civil-military nexus

I

t seems difficult for Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, to still keep his job.

His repeated denials about having written the memo to the outgoing Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen seeking his help to get rid of the COAS General Ashfaq Kayani and the ISI Chief General Shuja Pasha will not amount to much.

Ironically, the whistleblower in this case is the messenger himself. Mansoor Ijaz, an American businessman of Pakistani origin who lists his profession as an international negotiator and a media commentator, is a maverick of sorts. An unabashed publicity monger, this is not his first brush with Pakistan.

At one time, he embarked on a quixotic mission to Indian-occupied Kashmir to resolve the Kashmir dispute. On another occasion, he claimed that he could deliver votes in the US House

By Arif Nizami of Representatives for the passage of the Brown Amendment. He fell out with the Government of Pakistan after its refusal to fulfill his demand of 15 million dollars to deliver votes.

He claims to be closely associated with former CIA Chief James Woolsey. His mission to Sudan for a deal between the Sudanese president and President Clinton for the extradition of bin Laden also failed.

The 9/11 Commission did not find any evidence to support his assertion that the Sudanese government would have been willing to extradite bin Laden if the US administration had gone along with his proposal.

The question that begs an answer is how a suave and adroit person like Haqqani who must have known Mansoor Ijaz’s credentials could choose him as an interlocutor for such a sensitive mission?

Mr Haqqani is sticking to the story line that no memo was dictated to Mansoor Ijaz by him whom he claims to have met socially only a few times.

Ijaz’s Blackberry BBM transcripts and now his categorically naming Haqqani as the “Pakistani official” dictating the memo, however, speak otherwise.

Mansoor Ijaz’s veiled threat that if the Pakistani government’s “vicious cabal” stops telling lies about him he would stop telling the truth about them, has obviously not worked. The truth, as we know it, is finally out. If the memo was initiated in Islamabad as being claimed, whoever advised the course of action has done no service to his masters.

The last straw has been Mike Mullen’s belated acknowledgement of having received the memo. He has claimed that he did not act upon it. Obviously as head of the US armed forces at the time, he was not the appointing authority of the Pakistani military high command.

However his harsh denouncement of the Pakistani military and the ISI in the last few days before his retirement raised many an eyebrow and certainly surprised General Kayani who considered him a personal friend. Now that everything is in the open, the military will link Mullen’s strident tone to the memo. The contents of the memo appearing in the media are extremely damaging for the credibility of the government and it should come out clean by clearly distancing itself from it.

Haqqani should have been doubly careful in not associating himself with this hatchet job. Being author of the book, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, which is critical of the alleged nexus between the military and the mullahs, his stock with the military leadership is extremely low. The army was skeptical of his role during the passage of the Kerry Lugar Bill and had demanded his scalp. Mr Haqqani, however, managed to save his job at the time by using his widely acknowledged inter-personal skills.

Mansoor Ijaz claims to have written the damaging article in the Financial Times to ‘protect Mike Mullen’s reputation’. The publicity hound that he is, he could not have done otherwise. What is really surprising is how Haqqani fell right into his trap?

The “Memogate” has far-reaching implications for the future of democracy in the country. It was generally perceived that the military leadership and the civil-

ian government had an excellent working relationship. Unlike his predecessors, President Zardari has been meticulously careful not to ruffle feathers at the GHQ. The civilian government under him has generally towed the security paradigm dictated by the military. There were voices in the parliament as well as in the media demanding resignation of the ISI chief because of the manner in which the security and intelligence apparatus had remained unaware of the Abbottabad operation. The government however resisted these calls and summoned a joint parliamentary sitting, which was briefed by the ISI chief in the presence of General Kayani.

It is all the more surprising that the government was apprehensive of a coup d’etat when the military itself was on the ropes in the aftermath of the Abbottabad operation.There is, however, a precedent for this: Nawaz Sharif losing his government after the Kargil debacle.

Nawaz rushed to Washington in July 1999 and managed to get a fig leaf for the army to broker a ceasefire with the Indian forces. He begged President Clinton to include Kashmir in the final draft agreement with India arguing that, in the absence of the same, Musharraf would overthrow him as soon as he returns to Islamabad. Later he sent his brother to Washington to extract a statement in support of democracy and constitutionalism. Musharraf did not take this very kindly. The rest is history.

It is unlikely that in the present scenario, history will repeat itself. But another lesson from history is that we are condemned to repeat the same mistakes.

It is axiomatic that the air should be cleared without losing more time (as Prime Minister Gilani has assured).

General Kayani is a firm believer in democracy and has kept the army out of active politics. This does not mean that there are elements within the military especially the intelligence community who subscribe to his hands-off policy. That is why this is the most serious crisis of Mr Zardari’s presidency. He has to extricate himself in a manner that does not harm democracy and democratic institutions. If Haqqani has to fall on his sword in the process, so be it!

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

whiteLies T By ess aich

he worn out “carrot and stick” idiom proved evergreen when the controversy about the SOS sent to a Washington lobbyist, Mansoor Ijaz, by Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, exploded in the media. HH, who has airs that befit an HH, denied he had ever asked businessman MI on the request of his “boss” to save his government from the Pakistan Army. But when MI, gloating in his sudden stardom, actually wrote an article owning this episode and Mullen confirmed receiving such a memo, every one knew it was time for the stick.

Apparently, the “stick” in question is no ordinary stick. It is made of a special wood which is bendy and some say is regularly dipped in oil to maintain its flexibility, should its owner decide to give a sound thrashing to some one who steps out of line. In a totally unrelated event, General Kayani called on the President and although the COAS never leaves without his stick this time insiders noted that he was actually holding it throughout the meeting. That

W

e hear that Aitchison College, also known as Chiefs College, once the most elitist school in pre-partition India, was created to keep royal dynasties alive and ruling.

But with the departure of a bulk of royals after partition it had to take in a huge dose of middle class to function as a school. But it does seem that once bitten by the dynasty bug, the school cannot help but create dynas-

day, Mrs HH who is a media advisor to the President was conspicuously absent and was later spotted in Washington.

Now that reminds us of another idiom: “Sticking together in good times and bad.”

ties of its own, even if they are not royals in the common sense of the term.

Aitchison has in fact become a major victim of its own dynasty syndrome.

We hear that its present Board of Governors consists of members of many of the middle class dynasties the school created. They are either ex- students related to former and present board members, ex-principals who happen

to be related to ex-principals, ex students who are sons of friends of present principals, a nephew or two of chronic board members, ex students who were pets of a former principle who also happens to be on the present Board. It is one big happy family looking after the matters if the school.

With such an inbred Board of Governors, what can one expect from the institution. Retardation, what else.

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Comment 13

The third option?

In the dock

not quite

With woe piling upon woe, one or all to go?

By Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

W

ith the restoration of democracy in 1988, the PPP and PML(N) emerged as the two parties who could form governments either single-handedly or in partnership with smaller parliamentary groups. It was a foregone conclusion that whatever coalition came into existence would be headed by either Benazir or Nawaz.

In fact, it took two elections for the situation to crystallise. The PML(N) fought 1988 and 1990 elections as a component of the IJI while the PPP also contested in 1990 under the banner of the PDA. As a result of the two elections, the leaders of the two major parties were elected prime ministers, Benazir in 1988 and Nawaz in 1990.

There was further development in the direction in 1993 and 1997 elections when the two parties faced each other without forming any pre-election fronts. The PPP emerged as the largest parliamentary party in 1993 though it had again to rely on smaller groups for forming the government.

The PML(N)’s landslide victory in 1997 provided it an opportunity to form a government without the help of an ally. The trend was generally referred to as a move towards a two party system.

Gen Musharraf’s military coup in October 1999 blocked the natural growth of the system. The military ruler raised a new nursery of politicians besides undertaking large scale political engineering to manipulate desertions from the PPP and PML(N). This gave birth to the PML(Q) which led the new ruling alliance. The 2008 elec-

tions however once gain brought the PPP and PMLN to the political center stage leading many to conclude that the country was once again on way to the two party system.

The performance of the PPP at the centre and the PML(N) in the largest province of the country however turned out to be abysmal. The PPP earned notoriety for widespread corruption and bad governance. Attempts by the federal government cover up corruption on the part of party high-ups and allies brought it on several occasions to the collision course with the Supreme Court.

The PML(N) government in Punjab was led by a chief minister with a penchant for keeping all powers concentrated in his own hands. He drove away the PPP from the coalition government. Then for a long time he did not appoint cabinet members to head the key ministries like Education and Health. Even after the completion of the cabinet he ran the administration through handpicked bureaucrats rather than ministers. He treated the officials like a medieval potentate, transferring and dismissing them at will.

Shahbaz wasted huge funds on unsustainable projects to gain cheap popularity. The PML(N) thus gradually lost its appeal in its traditional stronghold of Punjab.

The two party system had provided an incentive to the PPP and PML(N) to vie with each other in improving the people’s livelihood. The leadership of the two parties however felt contented with what each one saw as the declining popularity of the other. This assured them that even if they lost one election they were bound to win the next on the basis of the opponent’s bad performance.

With a country with four score political parties registered with the Election Commission, there has never been a shortage of options for the voters. What has been absent however was a realistic alternative. Can Imran Khan prove

himself to be a viable option?

As things stand, Imran suffers from four serious handicaps: a limited constituency, lack of a programme with a mass appeal, absence of a countrywide party apparatus and no winnable candidate in view. Imran’s promise of a clean and efficient administration carries an appeal mainly for the new urban middle class comprising highly educated professionals, ‘progressive farmers’ and entrepreneurs fed up with the dynastic politics and the shenanigans of the old guard. The promise however fails to resonate with the much larger section comprising the urban and rural poor, the working class, small landowners and the landless labour. With the state handing over its traditional responsibilities to the private sector this section of society finds itself deprived of facilities like education, basic health care, cheap transport and housing.

Unemployment and inflation continue to drive chunks of this section of population towards levels below the poverty line. This large mass of population wants a programme that redresses their grievances.

Fifteen years after the formation of the PTI, the organisation moves around one man, Imran Khan. It has failed to evolve any middle level leadership. The party has not been able to set up branches at provincial levels, let alone lower down. One is not sure if the party will have enough of a cadre to act as election agents for its candidates.

To even think of becoming prime minister, Imran needs a sufficient number of candidates capable of winning the election. He has opened the doors of the PTI for dissidents from other parties. One is not sure how many will come. And even if they come in droves, would it be wise to pin hopes on old sinners to lay the foundation of an honest system?

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.

T

he Mansoor Ijaz memo has become the proverbial albatross around a faltering and weakened government’s neck that is trying desperately to escape its monumental repercussions. The critical question that awaits an answer is whether Ambassador Haqqani did it of his own initiative, or he was asked by his leader to approach the US military hierarchy in a bid to save his occupation of the presidency from (real or imagined) danger from the military?

Reportedly, in the wake of the May 2 attack near Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden, a memo from President Zardari promising a variety of initiatives including an independent enquiry into allegations that Pakistan harboured and offered assistance to Osama and other Al-Qaeda operatives, constituting a new security team to either hand over those left in the leadership of Al-Qaeda or other affiliated terrorist groups on Pakistani soil or giving the US military forces a “green light” to conduct the necessary operations to capture or kill them on Pakistani soil, developing an acceptable framework for discipline for the nuclear programme, eliminating section ‘S’ of the ISI charged with maintaining relations with the Taliban and Haqqani network and promising cooperation with the Indian government on bringing all perpetrators of Pakistani origin to account for the 2008 Mumbai attacks was delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen in exchange for the US support to save his tottering government. Treasonous to say the least! While the initial denial by Mike Mullen’s office in the US regarding the existence of any such memo has since

By Raoof Hasan been retracted, Islamabad has become the hotbed of activity among the troika in a bid to come to grips with the grievous fallout. Understandably, the military is shaken by the blatant accusation contained in the memo that it was planning a coup to topple the government and that the matter had to be addressed to the US for intervention. Actually, it should not have come as a surprise as a besieged government, stricken by accusations of massive corruption, abdication of governance, rubbishing of the judiciary’s adjudications, crass nepotism and systematic dismantling of state institutions had no option but to beseech its master, ala National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), to intervene. In an unfortunate development, the memo became public knowledge raising a question mark about the fate of the regime.

After faltering at the internal and external fronts, the PPP government has been showing signs of increasing vulnerability in the face of mounting pressure from different quarters, both political and security.

While its performance on numerous

candid corner

fronts has been the subject of lethal attacks for long now, the serious charges levelled by its former foreign minister have further dented its credibility.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi has accused President Zardari of having exerted pressure on him to grant diplomatic immunity to Raymond Davis. He has also said that the President failed to safeguard Pakistan’s interests.

Not to be left behind, Zulfiqar Mirza added his bit to further precipitate the raging controversy when he took off for the UK in a bid to show ‘proofs’ of the MQM’s involvement in heinous crimes. It had been speculated for long that he had many friends in the Sindh government and also in the centre. He showed a glimpse of it when Sharjil Memon was shown accompanying him on his visit which prompted the MQM to raise a ruckus asking the PPP to explain why Mirza was being accorded the official protocol even after he had been ‘expelled’ from the government and the party that seems headed for an implosion.

While there is no denying the gravity of the crisis that the government has landed itself in, the question that everyone seems to be asking is that whose neck would it be? Will the resignation that, ostensibly, has been offered by Ambassador Haqqani be enough to soothe the rattled tempers, or will it end with the exit of President Zardari?

One understands on the basis of sheer logic that the ambassador would not have acted without the prompting from his leader, but he has obligingly offered his sacrifice to save President Zardari.

When the military intervened in the matter, summons was sent to the ambassador to return to Pakistan immediately to explain the matter. That was a few days ago and Mr Haqqani is reportedly still busy finalising his travel plans as if he were returning from the Mars. It is not beyond speculation that, knowing his complicity in the matter and that of his leader, he fears arrest once he returns to Pakistan. That’s why he may actually abort his travel plans altogether pending favourable developments.

While there is no doubt that the federal and provincial governments have far outlived their utility and relevance if ever there were any, the institutions tasked with checking their corruption and lack of governance fall woefully short on realising the urgency of the matter and taking adequate steps to come to grips with the issues. The long pendancy of critical cases before the Supreme Court is a case in point as also its apparent unwillingness to move against the rulers of Punjab whose files have remained unattended without any credible reason. This appears discriminatory and may prompt the judiciary to go slow on cases against the federal government and its errant functionaries just to give an appearance of impartiality.

But, true to tradition, with a government squarely in the dock, plans may be afoot already to craft another NRO for reprieve.

The writer is a political analyst and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can be reached at raoofhasan@hotmail.com

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16 Foreign News

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

US-China tensions spill over into Asia summit g

uS has no place discussing sea dispute, says China NUSA DUA

T

NuSa dua: uS Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wearing traditional indonesian attire attends the gala dinner during the association of Southeast asian Nations (aSeaN) Summit and east asia Summit on thursday. afP

reuters

ENSIONS between the United States and China spilled over into meetings of Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday as the two countries jostled over how to handle competing claims to the South China Sea. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao demanded that “outside forces” had no excuse to get involved in the complex maritime dispute, a veiled warning to the United States and other countries to keep out of the sensitive issue.

“It ought to be resolved through friendly consultations and discussions by countries directly involved. Outside forces should not, under any pretext, get involved,” Wen told a meeting with Southeast Asian leaders, several of whose countries claim sovereignty to parts of the South China Sea. The remark is the latest barb between the two countries in recent weeks when President Barack Obama has

sought to reassert US presence in the Asia-Pacific region to counter the growing influence of China, its biggest economic rival. Obama said on Thursday that the US military would expand its Asia-Pacific role despite budget cuts, declaring America was “here to stay” as a Pacific power, while voicing, days earlier, growing frustration at China’s trade practices as he pushed for a new Asia-Pacific trade deal with some of Beijing’s neighbours.

The moves are seen as an attempt to reassert US leadership to counter China’s growing influence around the Pacific Rim and reassure allies such as South Korea and Japan that it would remain a strong counterweight. The United States wants the dispute over the South China Sea discussed on the Indonesian resort island of Bali at meetings of the 10-member Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and eight regional powers, including the United States, China, Russia and Japan. Bilateral meetings are being held on Friday before a full East Asia summit on Saturday. Vietnam,

Wall Street protesters march into third month

Corruption bill tops india parliament agenda NEW DELHI reuters

India’s next parliament session will focus on passing a controversial anti-corruption bill, overshadowing calls for a renewed push on economic reforms seen as urgent as growth slows and inflation stays stubbornly high.

The legislation to create an ombudsman’s office, or Lokpal, to investigate and prosecute suspected government corruption is seen as crucial for the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as parliament reconvenes for a month-long session on Tuesday. If the bill is delayed or watered-down, the Congress party-led coalition risks renewed national protests organized by the legislation’s architect, social activist Anna Hazare, who led a hunger strike in August to protest a string of corruption scandals in the past year.

“The prime minister has assured us of a strong Lokpal bill and we sincerely hope that we get it in this session,” said Arvind Kejriwal, an aide to Hazare, on Friday.

NEW YORk/LONDON aFP

Occupy Wall Street marched into its third month Friday after protests in several US cities and parts of Europe, with 250 arrests and clashes with police in the movement’s New York epicenter. Thousands of activists protesting against alleged corporate greed marched across New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Thursday in a show of force after being evicted from their home base in a Manhattan park earlier this week. The protests were part of a “Global Day of Action” to mark the movement’s two-month anniversary, with hundreds of demonstrations planned across the country to protest against the “one percent” of political and business elites. In London, protesters refused to budge as a deadline to leave their camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral passed, with the City of London Corporation now expected to start legal action to remove them. Thousands also marched in Spain and Athens to protest austerity measures and public spending cuts, although the demonstrations were not directly linked to the OWS movement. “We are unstoppable! Another world is possible!” chanted the crowd on the Brooklyn Bridge, which organisers said was 20,000 strong.

New York police refused to offer a crowd estimate. The ensuing clashes sent police and protesters clattering to the ground. Police repeatedly clubbed one man with a baton, while several protesters were handcuffed and dragged into police trucks. Up to 2,000 people later regrouped in Zuccotti Park, the symbolic heart of the movement, where a sprawling encampment was dismantled by police in a nighttime raid early Tuesday. “We need to show we are bigger than Zuccotti Park, that we are resilient, that we refuse to submit to brutal police tactics,” said Jessica Lingel, 28, a librarian from New Jersey. At least one exasperated New York cop seemed to concede victory to the protesters. “They’ve blocked everything off. This is what happens when you kick them out of the park: you stir a hornet’s nest,” said the officer, who would not provide his name. “They wanted to disrupt Wall Street, and they’ve done it.” In Washington, more than 200 protesters marched under police escort through the heart of the US capital and across a bridge over the Potomac River. On the West Coast protests included a morning sit-in at a major downtown intersection in Los Angeles. More than 460 protests were planned across the country, according to activist group MoveOn. LONDON PROTESTERS OCCUPy BANK BUILDING: The Occupy London Stock Exchange movement activists have occupied an empty office block in London owned by Swiss banking giant UBS, their third protest site in the British capital, the movement said Friday. As banks repossess families’ homes, empty bank property needs to be repossessed by the public,” Occupy LSX member Jack Holburn said in a statement.

“We hope this is the first in a wave of ‘public repossessions’ of property belonging to the companies that crashed the global economy.”

the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei are the other claimants to parts of the South China Sea, a major route that carries some $5 trillion in trade each year. The Southeast Asian countries along with the United States and Japan, are pressuring Beijing to try and seek some way forward on the knotty issue of sovereignty, which has flared up again this year with often tense maritime stand-offs. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged claimants earlier this week not to resort to intimidation to push their cause in the potentially rich waters, itself an indirect reference to China. In bilateral meetings on Friday, Obama said the dispute should be discussed by the regional leaders at the talks, known as the East Asia Summit, which could embolden some Southeast Asian countries with claims.

China says it does not want such talks to take place and that the issue should be resolved via bilateral negotiations. Raising the issue in multilateral summit talks would not help foster East Asian co-operation, it argues.

Suu Kyi announces return to myanmar politics YANGON aFP

loS aNGeleS: Police manhandle a protester to the ground in downtown los angeles where over 20 anti-wall Street protesters were arrested as west Coast demonstrators joined in marking the movement’s two-month anniversary. afP

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition announced its return to Myanmar’s political arena Friday, as the country’s nascent reforms received a dramatic seal of approval from the United States. After speaking directly to Nobel laureate Suu Kyi for the first time, in a call from Air Force One, US President Barack Obama said Hillary Clinton would next month become the first secretary of state to visit Myanmar for 50 years. In rare elections a year ago, Myanmar’s military rulers gave way to a nominally civilian administration which released Suu Kyi from years of house arrest and has since made a surprising series of conciliatory gestures.

Protests called in Syria to press isolation DAMASCUS aFP

Activists called for fresh protests on Friday to urge nations to expel Syrian ambassadors and to further isolate Damascus, as neighbour Turkey joined Russia in warning of the risk of civil war.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, whose country was a major player behind NATO’s military intervention in Libya, was in Turkey for talks focused on Syria ahead of a tour of Arab states. “I say there is a risk of transforming into civil war,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, pointing to army defectors attacking key regime targets, a day after Moscow raised the same risk. “It is now the right time to stop this massacre,

and therefore the Arab initiative is important,” he said. “If it is not successful of course there is always a risk of civil war or high level tension in Syria.”

Juppe, for his part, said France and Turkey had an “overlapping approach” to the crisis in Syria. Activists called for fresh anti-regime protests on Friday to urge countries around the world to expel Syrian ambassadors. “They are the ambassadors of crime. Expel them, oh free ones,” the Syrian Revolution 2011, one of the main groups behind the protests, said. The Arab League on Wednesday gave the Syrian regime three days to halt the deadly violence against its people or face economic sanctions.

The Arab bloc has also suspended Syria’s membership over its violent crack-

down on dissent. Meanwhile the United States disagreed with a Russian assessment that attacks by renegade Syrian troops risked plunging Syria into civil war, blaming the regime in Damascus for the violence. “We think that’s an incorrect assessment,” US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of civil war in Syria. “We don’t view it as a civil war,” he said. Despite the US position, analysts and opposition leaders say the risk of civil war cannot be ruled out. “We are at a turning point,” Burhan Ghalioun, who heads the opposition Syrian National Council. “One path can lead us to freedom and dignity, the other toward a civil war that the regime keeps pushing for in order to un-

dercut the revolution,” said Ghalioun, a professor of political sociology in France.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday called for “restraint and caution” over the escalating standoff in Syria between the regime of President Bashar alAssad and the opposition. “We are calling for restraint and caution. This is our position,” Putin told a news conference.

SYRIAN FORCES KILL 11 IN FRIDAY PROTESTS: Syrian security forces shot dead at least 11 people on Friday as they opened fire to on several rallies to disperse protesters. Meanwhile SANA, the state news agency, quoted an official source as saying two members of the security forces were killed and an officer was critically wounded in a bomb blast in the restive central city of Hama.

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

afghanistan faces ‘regional war’ if Nato troops go WASHINGTON aFP

Afghanistan risks falling into civil and regional war if all US and international troops leave as planned by the end of 2014, the conflictwracked state’s former interior minister warned on Thursday. Mohammad Haneef Atmar, speaking in Washington, also said Kabul’s efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, which the United States sees as crucial to a peace settlement, had failed to attract hard-core insurgents. Atmar said it was wrong to assume that violence would taper off after a scheduled 2014 pullout of NATO forces, and that 20,000-30,000 foreign soldiers should remain. “With 450,000, we have a problem at the moment,” he told an audience at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, referring to the combined numbers of Afghan security forces and international troops. The United States has increasingly been looking for a negotiated end to the Afghan conflict given that the insurgency remains virulent more than 10 years after the September 11 attacks prompted American forces to invade the country. Atmar said Afghanistan would only succeed if security gains in hotspots such as Kandahar are built upon and forecast that the Kabul government could fall. “Why would it fall? If there is a premature drawdown of troops, if there is a significant reduction of economic assistance... and if the vacuum created is to be filled by regional actors,” he said, alluding to Afghanistan’s neighbors Pakistan, Iran, Russia and India. “If these things happen we will fall.

There will be a perfect scenario for a regional wargame and it will be a proxy-led civil war in Afghanistan which would lead to the disintegration of Afghanistan,” he said, noting that such conditions would provide more safe havens for anti-American insurgents.

Foreign News 17

Proposed sanctions on Iran’s central bank unveiled g

Strike on iran could hurt world economy: uS WASHINGTON/ HALIFAX

L

aFP

OOKING to heap economic pressure on Iran over its suspect nuclear program, US senators introduced legislation aimed at collapsing the country’s central bank with tough new sanctions.

“This, in my judgment, is one of the few remaining actions short of an embargo of Iranian shipping and military intervention to slow or end the Iranian nuclear program,” said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The measure, crafted by Republican Senator Mark Kirk, would empower President Barack Obama to cut off any foreign financial institution that does business with Iran’s central bank from the US economy and to freeze its US assets. The amendment includes a six-month grace period for oil-related transactions “to ease the burden on US allies and send a calming signal to the oil markets,” Kirk’s office said.

It would exempt firms that engage in transactions with the central bank in connection with sales of food, medicine, or medical devices to Iran, which denies Western charges that it seeks nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy program.

And it would give Obama limited ability to waive application of the sanctions if he certifies doing so is in the US national security interest. The measure’s prospects of becoming law seemed solid: 92 senators signed a letter earlier this year embracing the proposal, and Democratic Representative Howard Berman has introduced a companion piece in the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Pentagon chief Leon Panetta said he would convey US concerns about the risks of military action against Iran when he meets with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday. Panetta, on a visit to Canada for a security forum that will include talks with his Israeli counterpart, renewed his warning of “unintended consequences” if Israel launched

bombing raids on Iran’s nuclear sites.

President Barack Obama’s administration favored a diplomatic approach designed to isolate Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment work, he told reporters in Halifax. “That is the most effective way to try to confront them at this point. Obviously to go beyond that, raises our concerns about the unintended consequences that could result,” Panetta said. A strike on Iran would at best only delay the nuclear program by about two years, endanger US forces in the region and possibly damage both the American and global economy, he said.

“I have to tell you ...there are going to be economic consequences to that, that could impact not just on our economy but the world economy,” he said. “So those things all need to be considered.” He did not elaborate on the possible economic effect of war against Tehran, but Western governments have long calculated that oil-rich Iran could throw world oil markets into turmoil by disrupting shipping lanes in the Gulf.

libya’s ex-rebels demand role in govt aFP

monti rushes to launch radical reforms to save italy ROME: Prime Minister Mario Monti, who has won overwhelming support from the Senate, rushed to firm up ambitious proposals to revitalise the economy Friday as Italy’s lower house prepared to vote. The premier is unlikely to meet opposition in the second confidence vote on his new technocrat government after unveiling a series of bold measures to lift Rome out of the eurozone crisis and to win Europe’s support. In his first speech to parliament, Monti announced a plan to balance Italy’s crucial austerity measures with schemes to boost “growth and equity”, including investing in women and the young as well as tackling unfair privileges. Although Monti is racing to implement initiatives demanded by Europe, he assured Italians fearful of losing their sovereignty that the reforms were not being “imposed by external forces,” insisting: “We are Europe.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the premier after his speech for an “in-depth discussion on the economic situation” and voiced their “full support,” Italian authorities said. afP

GROTON aFP

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta referred to India and China as “threats” late Thursday, but his spokesman quickly sought to clarify his remarks.

The Pentagon chief, speaking to workers at a Connecticut shipyard that builds attack submarines, described an array of threats facing the United States, including Iran, North Korea and cyber attacks. He then strayed from standard US policy rhetoric by adding India and China to the list of security dangers, saying the United States would need to make clear to these “rising powers” that it would not be pulling out of the Pacific region. “We face the threats from rising powers, China, India, others that we have to always be aware of, and try to make sure that we always have sufficient force protection out there in the Pacific to make sure they know we’re never going anywhere,” he said. The US government never openly portrays China as a security threat, even though it frequently voices concern about Beijing’s military buildup and assertive stance in the South China Sea.

Contested ‘faster-thanlight’ experiment yields same results

TRIPOLI Former rebel fighters in Libya are raising the stakes by demanding a role in the interim government which is currently being formed, amid rising tensions over the naming of an army chief of staff. Abdelkarim Belhaj, the former jihadist who heads the military council in the Libyan capital, said a deal had been reached with the ruling National Transitional Council for civilian ex-rebels to sit in the new cabinet. The NTC has said a new government led by interim premier Abdel Rahim al-Kib is expected to be announced on Sunday. Kib has said the new government will be formed of technocrats, but pressures from Libya’s tribes and from the various armed factions make his promise a difficult one to keep. “We have reached an agreement that candidates from the thwar (civilian rebels) will receive certain very specific portfolios,” Belhaj said at a military parade, without elaborating.

Pentagon chief calls india, China ‘threats’

PARIS aFP

Cairo: tens of thousands of egyptian protesters wave national flags during a rally in Cairo’s landmark tahrir Square on thursday, with the aim of pushing egypt’s ruling military to cede power, 10 months after an uprising that toppled Hosni mubarak’s regime. afP

Egyptians demand military handover power CAIRO aFP

Thousands of Islamist and secular protesters gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday for a mass rally to press the ruling military to hand over power to a civilian government.

As legislative elections draw near - the first polls since a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February - protesters are demanding more control over the constitution the new parliament is set to draft. They want the withdrawal of a government document that proposes supra constitutional principles, which could see the ruling military’s budget shielded from public scrutiny.

While Friday’s protests will group varying political stripes under differ-

ent banners, the unifying call is for the military to transfer power to a civilian government as soon as possible. The protest is due to start officially after the noon Muslim prayers, but early morning crowds pointed to a large turnout.

The powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party have led the call for the Tahrir protest. Liberal, leftist and other Islamist parties said they would participate in the rally, as did pro-democracy movements that launched the January 25 uprising.

The contested government document, presented by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Silmi, drew fire from most quarters for including clauses that removed the military’s budget from parliamentary oversight and al-

lowed the SCAF a final say on military-related matters.

The government revised the draft, but Islamists, who organised a mass protest in July against such a charter, have rejected the very idea of a document that would limit parliament’s authority to draft the constitution, branding the articles undemocratic. The Brotherhood, through its Freedom and Justice Party, may emerge as the largest bloc in the election, the first since the fall of Mubarak. The SCAF, which took charge after Mubarak’s ouster and suspended the constitution and parliament, says it will hand over power once a new president is elected. Parliamentary elections will start on November 28 and are expected to end in March.

A fiercely contested experiment that appears to show the accepted speed limit of the Universe can be broken, has yielded the same results in a re-run, European physicists said on Friday. But counterparts in the United States said the experiment still did not resolve doubts and the Europeans themselves acknowledged this was not the end of the story. On September 23, the European team issued a massive challenge to fundamental physics by saying they had measured particles called neutrinos which travelled around six kilometres (3.75 miles) per second faster than the velocity of light, determined by Einstein to be the highest speed possible. The neutrinos had been measured along a 732-kilometre (454-mile) trajectory between the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland and a laboratory in Italy. The scientists at CERN and the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy scrutinised the results of the so-called OPERA experiment for nearly six months before cautiously making the announcement. In October, responding to criticism that they had been tricked by a statistical quirk, the team decided they would carry out a second series of experiments. This time, the scientists altered the structure of the proton beam, a factor that critics said could have affected the outome. The modification helped the team identify individual particles when they were fired out and when they arrived at their destination. The new tests “confirm so far the previous results,” the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) said in a press release. “A measurement so delicate and carrying a profound implication on physics requires an extraordinary level of scrutiny,” the INFN’s president, Fernando Ferroni, said.“The experiment OPERA, thanks to a specially adapted CERN beam, has made an important test of consistency of its result. The positive outcome of the test makes us more confident in the result, although a final word can only be said by analogous measurements performed elsewhere in the world”.

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Abhishek nicknames daughter

IN LIMELIGHT

SydNey: British twins James Phelps (2nd l) and oliver Phelps (2nd r), who play Fred and George weasley from the ‘Harry Potter’ film series, pose with Harry Potter fans during the opening of the Harry Potter exhibition at the Powerhouse museum.

NEW DELHI

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BHISHEK Bachchan, who became father of a girl with Aishwarya Rai, has thanked friends and family for their good wishes and said he was eagerly waiting for the mother and daughter to come home. He also thanked the media for respecting their privacy. Aishwarya gave birth to her first child Wednesday morning. “It’s a momentous occasion for the family and we are overwhelmed with all the love we have received. From all our fans, the media and the industry. Both Aishwarya and the baby are doing great and we can’t wait to have them home,” Abhishek said in a statement. “I would specially like to thank the media for being so supportive, kind and respectful at such an important juncture in our lives,” he said.

“It means the world to us. This is a very overwhelming and exciting phase we enter into and hope to have your continued love and support,” he added. Meanwhile, the new father is seeking some parenting tips from his parents Amitabh and Jaya. “How do women/mothers do it? I’m walking around like a zombie and the Mrs. is like a super trooper with a bit of bionic woman

thrown in,” the 35-year-old posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. “Just as I step into fatherhood and parenthood, I’ve never seen myself rely and depend on my parents more. Guess that happens with every new (sic),” he further posted. The actor has nicknamed the little girl ‘Beti B’ and says he spends his whole day noticing the little actions of the child. “And till we find a name for the little lady a dear friend Shahana Goswami gave me a great one. We have Sr B and Jr B already so... Beti B!...Much like my father SrBachchan I too spent the day observing every little thing about the little one,” he posted.

While Abhishek is enjoying his fatherhood, megastar Amitabh Bachchan is in seventh heaven after becoming a grandfather the third time over and he is looking forward to start the process of bringing up the child. “...Soon we shall be home and then shall start the process of bringing up.

Of teaching and bearing and learning. Of etiquette and manners, of religious indoctrination, of schooling and further monitoring...,” Amitabh wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. “A day spent with the new born, observing each movement, breath and presence .. recording it for posterity and for us in our old age,” he posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

I have a beautiful

body: Veena Malik

MuMBai: Pakistani actress veena malik has signed not one or two but five Bollywood films we hear. the ‘Bigg Boss’ seductress has fair share of fan base in india too. Be it her intimacy with ashmit Patel or shenanigans at the ‘Bigg Boss’ house, veena malik has managed to stay in the limelight. the starlet is currently in news owing to her ‘Swayamvar’ on tv. apparently she has shown interest in getting married on tv through the 4th season of the wedding reality show. we asked veena if it’s true. “i can’t say anything about ‘Swayamvar’ but i am looking forward to getting married in real life. i’ve been unlucky in love though” admits veena. ask about ashmit and she says, “i am fond of him. He is a dear friend.” as far as safeguarding her ‘sexy’ image is concerned, veena is quick to add, “i have a beautiful body and i have done some sexy photo shoots here in india but they are all aesthetically shot and i won’t call them semi-nude.” looks like after ‘Bigg Boss’, ‘Swayamvar’ seems to be next on veena’s agenda. agencies

JaKarta: a model presents a creation by designer ina thomas during the Jakarta Fashion week.

Simon Cowell now

tweetshis mind on Twitter Washington: it’s been some time coming, but sharp-tongued transatlantic music mogul Simon Cowell has made his debut on twitter - and he claims he loves it. “it’s official, i know it’s taken a while. it’s really me! we’re live in 10 minutes. i’ll keep you posted. lots of love #iamsimon,” read Cowell’s inaugural tweet, which came a skilful 12 letters within twitter’s 140-character limit. By “live” he meant wednesday’s prime time telecast of the uS edition of his reality talent show ‘the X Factor’, during which he tweeted swipes at fellow judges Paula abdul, la reid and Nicole Scherzinger. “i love being on twitter,” he added - with indifference to capitalisation after the show. “thank you for allowing me to beat the other 3 in the popularity poll. Paula looked like she’d sucked on a lemon!” By 1800 Gmt thursday he had gathered close to 240,000 followers on twitter - while he himself had chosen to follow just 11 others, mostly from ‘the X-Factor’. agencies

Karisma trains Kareena for ‘Heroine’

role

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19 mumBai: rahul Khanna & dia mirza attend the Peta awards Ceremony.

Hollywood power couple

Moore, Kutcher split LOS ANGELES

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CTRESS Demi Moore announced “with great sadness” Thursday the end of her high-profile marriage to Ashton Kutcher, after his reported infidelity with a woman less than half her age. The confirmation comes after months of media reports about problems between the Hollywood power couple, who married in 2005 when she was 42 and he was 27. She had earlier been married to actor Bruce Willis for 13 years.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton,” the 49-year-old said in a statement issued through her publicist. “As a woman, a mother and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life.”

Thirty-three year-old Kutcher, who recently took over from troubled star Charlie Sheen in the hit TV series ‘Two and a Half Men’, tweeted a poignant message minutes after Moore’s announcement. “I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail.

Love and Light, AK,” he wrote. Moore may have to get a new Twitter name: her current one is @mrskutcher. She made no immediate comment on her Twitter feed - her usual method of sharing news,

BudaPeSt: a member of the Jinan acrobatic troupe presents a new performance called Fenmo, a mix of acrobatics and opera, during a jubilee gala.

MuMBai: Kareena Kapoor is finally set to start work on madhur Bhandarkar’s ambitious project ‘Heroine’ by this month-end. and guess who is proving of big help to her? elder sis Karisma Kapoor. it’s a known fact that Karisma has always been there for Kareena whenever she needed her. Says a source close to the film, “the film is about the journey of this protagonist from being a nobody to the biggest heroine in the industry and then again falling down to an all-time low”. while this character graph reminds of Priyanka Chopra’s supermodel role in Bhandarkar’s earlier flick ‘Fashion’, Kareena seems to have a better reference point in sister Karisma. Karisma too has seen the highs and lows in her career and, more importantly, is returning to films with vikram Bhatt’s ‘dangerous ishq’. From being paired opposite the mighty Khans to working opposite a relative newcomer like rajneesh duggal now, she has seen it all. and beyond that, buzz is that lolo is suggesting dvd titles for Bebo to refer to get her act together. Perhaps Kareena could return the favour by a thank you note to Karisma in the opening credits! agencies

comments or other information - after announcing the split via her publicist.

Rumors of trouble in the marriage flared in recent weeks after Kutcher reportedly had unprotected sex with a 22year-old woman during a trip with friends to San Diego - allegedly on September 24, the night of his sixth wedding anniversary with Moore. The blonde Texan, Sara Leal, said afterwards that Kutcher told her that he was no longer with Moore. “He said he was separated and it felt natural,” Leal told US magazine last month. “He was good... It wasn’t weird or perverted,” she added, saying that their pillow talk involved politics, particularly the Republican candidates for president.

Earlier this year, Moore and Kutcher launched the Demi and Ashton Foundation aimed at ending child sexslavery. But signs of strain could be seen in September, when Moore posted a picture of a broken heart, and tweeted: “2day can U feel some1 else’s heart pain needs desires as U can feel your own? At the core we’re all reaching 4 the same.” Kutcher answered with the post: “When you ASSUME to know that which you know nothing of you make an ASS out of U and ME,” according to People magazine, the celebrity bible.

On Thursday Moore said she would now focus on rebuilding her life separately from Kutcher. “This is a trying time for me and my family, and so I would ask for the same compassion and privacy that you would give to anyone going through a similar situation,” she said.

United States police re-open probe into Natalie Wood’s death LOS ANGELES agencies

US police are to re-open an investigation into the death of screen legend Natalie Wood, the ‘West Side Story’ star who died in mysterious circumstances while yachting in 1981, they said Thursday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said new information had come to light over the death, which was deemed an accident at the time but which has long fueled speculation. Wood

drowned aged 43 while boating off of Catalina Island, near Los Angeles on November 29, 1981. Here death was investigated by the LASD and the LA County Coroner’s Office, who ruled it was an accident. “Recently Sheriff’s Homicide Investigators were contacted by persons who stated they had additional information about the Natalie Wood Wagner drowning,” said an LASD statement. In response, the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau “has decided to take another look at the case,” it added.

Taylor Lautner cries for

‘Twilight’ Los angeLes: taylor lautner broke down on his last day of filming the ‘twilight Saga’ franchise. the actor plays werewolf Jacob Black in the movie series and admitted shooting his final scene where he has to cry was easy because he was already so emotional about the ending of the film series. He explained to movies.ie: “it was not good because my last scene with rob [Pattinson] and Kristen [Stewart] was the second-to-last day of filming and it was actually a scene where i was dancing with Kristen and i’m saying goodbye to her - she’s getting ready to leave and go on her honeymoon and i’m dealing with everything for the first time, so it was a pretty emotional scene for Jacob, so it wasn’t fun doing that, when it was actually me saying goodbye to filming with Kristen and rob as well.” taylor added: “i am so sad! No, i really am. the only reason i’m smiling is because i know that i am going to be promoting these films for the next year and a half, so i know we are going to be seeing each other all the time. But the real bummer is that we are done filming, and that’s probably the toughest thing.” agencies

sung in Adeel Burki’s voice

LAHORE staFF rePort

A private function at Faiz Ghar brought smiles to faces in the audience as Adeel burki’s golden voice sang Ghazals of Faiz. The Adab Saraee Literary Forum organized the program to celebrate the Faiz centennial. The program titled “Aao Sur Mein Fazi Ki Baatein Karein” was held at the Faiz Ghar, with a small private gathering but open to all. Adeel Burki was a student of Ustad Israr Ahmad Sahib and Muhammad Sadiq, who taught him to play instruments and to sing raags. He has sung Ghalib, Josh Malihabadi, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Aatish, Perveen Shakir, Faraz and Wasih Shah among others. His renditions of ‘Sheikh Sahib Say Rasam-o-Rah Na Kee Shukar Hai Zindagi Tabah Na Ki’ and ‘Zindagi Say Yehi Gillah Hai Mujhe, Tu Bahut Dair Say Milla Hay Mujhe’ by Faraz are remembered by many people, but here at the Faiz centennial, he sang several Faiz ghazals that were thouroughly enjoyed by the audience. Burki was once also offered a chance to sing with Lata Mangeshkar for the film ‘In Do Naino Kay Beech’ by Gulshan Kumar. However the film remained unannounced due to the tragic death of Gulshan Kumar.

Here’s why Kim Kardashian

split with hubby Kris Los angeLes: Kim Kardashian had decided to break off with Kris Humphries after seeing back footage of her new reality show. the show – ‘Kourtney and Kim take New york’ - finished filming in mid-october and will start airing on e! from November 17. Kim has viewed all the footage and has editorial control of what is shown - despite not being an executive producer. when she saw Humphries’ behaviour towards her and her family she reportedly burst into tears. this was the final straw and two weeks later Kim filed for divorce. “it was hard for Kim to watch all the footage, she has been unable to review it without bursting into tears,” the daily mail quoted a source as telling radar. “[She was] absolutely mortified when she saw on camera, the way that Kris was treating her,” the source said. Kim decided to end the marriage after the final edits had be made - but didn’t tell the producers until the day she filed for divorce - october 31. agencies

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

on-song Federer targets record in london Page 23

Pakistan down India in blind series opener

laHore: Pakistani blind cricketer muhammad Jamil (r) plays a shot as indian wicketkeeper Prakash Jayaramaiah stands in position. (right) a cricket fan raises the Pakistani flag. afP LAHORE

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UHAMMAD Jameel shone in Pakistan blind team’s comprehensive win over India in the opening match of the T20 series here at Bagh-i-Jinnah on Friday. Punjab Governor Latif Khosa officially inaugurated the Brien Holden Vision Pakistan-India Blind Cricket Se-

Butt and amir appeals to be heard next week

LONDON aFP

Britain’s top judge will next Wednesday hear appeals by Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir against their sentences for spot-fixing, a judicial official said.

Former Pakistan captain Butt, 27, was on November 3 sentenced to two and a half years in prison and fast bowler Amir, 19, was sentenced to serve six months in a young offenders institute.

Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge, the head of the English judiciary, will hear their appeals, a spokesman for judiciary told AFP, adding: “It has been scheduled for next Wednesday.”

In a scandal that rocked the world of cricket, Butt, Amir and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, were all jailed for their parts in fixing elements of the August 2010 Test match against England at Lord’s.

Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was also jailed.

Asif and Butt were found guilty charges of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments after a trial, while Amir and Majeed admitted the charges.

Under the current arrangements, the four will serve half their sentences before being released on licence.

The fixing plot was uncovered by the News of the World, the Rupert Murdochowned British tabloid which was shut down over a phone-hacking scandal in July this year.

ries. Pakistan beat India by 71 runs to go one up in a three-match series. India won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first.

Pakistan started briskly but Shekhar Naik dismissed the dangerous Muhammad Zafar cheaply. Muhammad Jameel and Masood Jan then build the innings and accelerated after a conscious start.

Masood and Jameel added 106 runs for the second wicket. Masood lost his wicket after scoring 46 runs while Pakistan

score was 129 runs at that time. India came back strongly and ripped through the middle order of Pakistan as four of their wickets tumbled for just 17 runs. Pakistan were hovering around 146 for 6 in the 16th over but Jameel stood in India’s way and played extraordinary shots and took Pakistan to a competitive total of 201 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. He was the last batsman to fall, and that on the last ball of Pakistan innings. He scored 89 runs off 53

balls with the help of 11 fours and a six.

India failed to bowl 20 overs in the stipulated time and bowled two overs after the break – conceding 12 runs and by these additional runs Pakistan score reached 213.

Shekhar Naik was the best bowler for India. He took 4 wickets by giving away only 22 run in 4 overs. India, in reply, started steadily and their first wicket fell for 79. When Hatish was stumped on the bowling of Waqas, the second wicket fell when

Masood Jan ran out Vikas Patel. He scored 10 runs. Thereafter Pakistan tightened the screws with brilliant fielding and tight bowling and Indian middle and lower order fell like a house of cards. India scored 142 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs.

Parkash was the top scorer with 75 runs.

Jameel took two wickets while Abdul Razzaq, Muhammad Waqas and Yasir shared a wicket each. Later Muhammad Jameel was named the Man of the match.

Zaka to tour India next month indo-Pak wrestling DUBAI aFP

Pakistan cricket chief Zakar Ashraf said Friday he hoped to visit India next month to further efforts to revive bilateral ties stalled since terrorists attacks on Mumbai three years ago.

“I have high hopes of reviving ties with India,” Ashraf told AFP on the sidelines of third day-night match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka here on Friday. “I have received a positive reply from India today and hope to tour them next month.” Ashraf’s comments came on the day when blind teams from both the countries started a low profile series in Pakistan, the first visit by any cricket team to Pakistan in three years.

India stalled all bilateral ties with their South Asian neighbours in the wake of terrorist attacks on their commercial hub Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan. But there has been a recent thaw, with Pakistan declaring India

“the most favoured nation” and both prime ministers vowing to improve ties during their meeting at the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) conference

earlier this month. Ashraf expressed hope he would meet with Narayan Srinivasan, his counterpart in Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“I have high hopes of a positive meeting and when we can have sporting events like kabbadi and blind cricket with India, why not top level cricket which is already regarded as the most sought after series in the game,” said Ashraf, who took over last month. Ashraf said the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already termed Indo-Pak matches as an “iconic series” and everyone is waiting for both the nations to play.

As per the ICC Future Tours Programme, Pakistan and India are slated to play in March next year but India’s hectic schedule is a big hurdle in the series. But Ashraf hoped a slot will be found. “When there is a will, there is a way and we hope the bilateral ties to resume sooner than later,” said Ashraf.

Pakistan last toured India in 2007, while their rivals have not toured them since featuring in the Asia Cup in 2008.

series begins at Gujranwala today LAHORE staFF rePort

The visiting Indian wrestlers will face Pakistani wrestlers today at Gujranwala in the Indo-Pak Dangal being held at three different venues of the province.

The Indian wrestlers who were to arrive on November 16 came on Friday due to some documentation issues. On their arrival, the wrestlers were accorded warm welcome at Wagah Bordar on the beat of drum. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, MNA/Chairman standing committee Pakistan Railways and Khawar Shah, Chairman organizing committee of the Dangal, were also present among the welcoming party.

The 2nd Indo-Pak Dangal will be played at Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Lahore.

The touring Indian party includes wresters Jagroop Singh, Shah Muhammad, Satandar Singh and three officials.

May calls on Condon to prove corruption claims SYDNEY agencies

Tim May, the head of the international players association, has expressed outrage over suggestions made by Lord Condon that every team was involved in match-rigging shortly before his time in charge of the ICC's anti-corruption unit.

Lord Condon, who was invited to head the ICC's anti-corruption unit in 2000 after retiring as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, suggested in the Evening Standard that before his time in office cricket had become deeply dishonest. "In the late 1990s, Test and World Cup matches were being routinely fixed. There were a number of teams involved in fixing, and certainly more than the Indian sub-continent teams were involved," he said. "Every international team, at some stage, had someone doing some funny stuff. A whole generation of cricketers playing in the late 1990s must have known what was going on and did nothing. When they look back on their careers, a bit of shame must creep in." It is Lord Condon's implication that

all countries were involved in match-fixing that has angered May, whose comments have the full support of England's Professional Cricketers' Association. "Player Associations are getting sick and tired of people coming out making these general accusations, the effect of which cast doubts over the entire player base," May said. "If people are going to make these type of accusations, make sure that they are specific and make sure that you have the proof to back up such claims. "You have to ask the question if the ICC knew such facts and had such information, why was there no retrospective action taken by the ICC or the individual Boards."

There were no criminal trials against players during Lord Condon's time as head of the ACU. May was an international cricketer for Australia in the period that Lord Condon depicted as widely corrupt. To contend that a whole generation of cricketers knew what was going on was "without foundation" he said as no evidence of widespread corruption had ever been made public. He also took issue with Lord Condon's suggestion that international players in the 1990s

should feel shame. "That is an excessive observation," he said.

"There was no education re corruption in cricket, no reporting structures and a general lack of genuine concern from authorities re the issue." May did support Lord Condon on one aspect. "I can readily agree with Sir Paul in one regard – his belief that players should be more closely involved by the ICC in the search for solutions. "FICA and its member associations have for a long time being pushing for greater involvement with anti-corruption education and input into general anti-corruption issues, and welcome the call from Lord Condon for cricket's governing bodies to recognise the importance of establishing and empowering strong player associations in all countries where cricket is played."

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Pakistan crash out of Kabaddi world Cup

Sports 21

moBIlINK JaZZ cup 2011-3rd odI

Gul, Ajmal script Pakistan’s win

LAHORE staFF rePort

Pakistan crashed out of Kabaddi World Cup after losing to Canada in the semifinals on Friday. Pakistan lost to Canada by 44-39 in the second semifinal of the Kabaddi World Cup. Earlier in the first semifinal, India outclassed Italy by 74-15. The final of the tournament will be played between India and Canada on November 20. In the women’s round robin encounter, India defeated United States by 57-07.

u-19 National women Cricket Championship LAHORE staFF rePort

The U-19 National Women Cricket Championship, organised by the PCB Women Wing, will be played from November 23 to December 5. All the matches will be played at Lahore Country Club, Muridke. The matches will be (20) over a side and all (11) regional U19 teams will be participating in the event. The teams have been divided into two groups with Pool A having Islamabad, Hyderabad, Abbottabad, Karachi, Multan Faisalabad and Pool B comprises: Peshawar, Sialkot, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Quetta.

australia plans 10-year jail for match-fixing SYDNEY aFP

Law ministers in Australia’s states and territories on Friday struck a deal that will see sporting match-fixers face up to 10 years in jail. The ministers agreed to draft new legislation to deal with the issue and ensure it is handled with consistency throughout the sprawling country. The new laws with impose a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment for anyone found guilty of using inside information for the purposes of placing bets where they know the outcome of a sporting event has been fixed.

There will be similar penalties for those who engage in match-fixing conduct or encourage others to do so. “The introduction of specific match-fixing offences will send the message to anyone seeking to corrupt sport that we are serious and we won’t tolerate that behaviour,” national Sports Minister Mark Arbib said.

textile tigers victorious LAHORE staFF rePort

Textile Tigers beat Lahore Shaheen by 81 runs in the third SPM Lahore Veterans Cricket League match at Model Town Greens Ground. Textile Tigers scored 257 for eight in 30 over. Asif Quershi 45, Rizwan Nisar 23 and Muhammad Nadeem 82. Muhammad Munir 3 for 35, Shokat Ali 2 for 33 and Muhammad Arshad 1 for 25 wickets. Lahore Shaheen all out 176 runs.

Muhammad Athar 33, Tanveer Razaq 40, Shokat Ali 28 and Muhammad Arshad 19 runs. Maqsood Ali 3 for 9, Saleem Abbas 3 for 29, Rehan Raouf 1 for 12. Munwar Hussain, Javed Hayyat Umpire and Asif Ali, Qasim Shafiq was the scourer. Chief Gust Rizwan Nisar gave away man of the match award to Muhammad Nadeem Khurram Hafeez also present.

duBai: Pakistan’s cricketer Saeed ajmal celebrates with teammates after dismissing Sri lanka’s cricketer thissara Perera (r). afP DUBAI

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AKISTANI bowlers held their nerves to stop a threatening Sri Lankan team to win the third day-night international by 21 runs here on Friday to take a 21 lead in the five-match series. Umar Gul (348) bowled well in the final overs to make sure good work by spinners Saeed Ajmal (342) and Shahid Afridi (2-42) do not go waste as they dismissed Sri Lanka for 236 in the penultimate over at Dubai stadium.

Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan topscored with 64 but it was Angelo Mathews whose aggressive 40-ball 32 kept Sri Lanka in the hunt before Gul took the last two wickets in a thrilling finish. Sri Lanka were in a tight corner at 186-6 in the 41st over before Mathews and Jeevan Mendis (19) added 32 for the seventh wicket in quick time to threaten Pakistan but in the end Pakistan carried the day. Pakistan won the first match by eight wickets last

scoreBoarD PaKistan Mohammad hafeez b Prasanna 83 imran Farhat c jayawardene b Dilshan 70 abdul razzaq c Perera b Prasanna 6 Younis Khan run out 42 umar akmal b Malinga 7 7 Misbah-ul haq run out 15 shahid afridi c Mathews b Perera 3 sarfraz ahmed b Malinga 10 sohail tanvir not out 0 umar gul not out eXtras: (lb4, nb1, w9) 14 totaL: (for eight wkts) 257 Fall of wickets: 1-151 (hafeez), 2-161 (Farhat), 3-167 (razzaq), 4-177 (akmal), 5-193 (Misbah), 6-226 (afridi), 7-234 (ahmed), 8-256 (Younis) Bowling: Malinga 10-0-57-2 (nb1, w5), Perera 10-1-45-1 (w1), Fernando 10-1-59-0 (w3), Dilshan 8-0-38-1, Prasana 9-0-392, Mendis 3-0-15-0 50 oVers:

Friday while Sri Lanka levelled the series with a 25-run win in the second match on Monday -- both played in Dubai. The remaining matches will be played in Sharjah (November 20) and Abu Dhabi (November 23). Both teams also play a Twenty20 international in

sri LanKa 4 u. tharanga b gul 64 t. Dilshan b afridi K. sangakkara run out 45 31 D. chandimal c sub (Malik) b ajmal M. jayawardene st ahmed b ajmal 17 a. Mathews not out 32 L. Malinga lbw b afridi 0 j. Mendis lbw b hafeez 19 4 t. Perera b ajmal 5 s. Prasanna c afridi b gul D. Fernando b gul 0 eXtras: (lb5, w10) 15 totaL: 236 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (tharanga), 2-111 (sangakkara), 3-133 (Dilshan), 4-168 (jayawardene), 5-186 (chandimal), 6-186 (Malinga), 7-218 (Mendis), 8-224 (Perera), 9-235 (Prasanna) Bowling: gul 8.5-0-48-3 (w4), tanvir 9-0-52-0 (w2), razzaq 40-18-0, hafeez 7-0-29-1, afridi 10-0-42-2, ajmal 10-0-42-3 (w4) oVers: 48.5 resuLt: Pakistan won by 21 runs, toss: Pakistan, uMPires: Marias erasmus (rsa) and ahsan raza (PaK), tV uMPire: richard illingworth (eng), Match reFeree: andy Pycroft (ziM)

Abu Dhabi on November 25. Sri Lanka were set on course for a win by Dilshan who added 106 runs for the second wicket with Kumar Sangakkara (45) after they lost opener Upul Tharanga (four) in paceman Umar Gul’s first over. Sangakkara, who survived a run out with

PCB chief meets Indian ambassador in UaE DUBAI

azharuddin rubbishes Kambli’s claim NEW DELHI

aFP

Indian ambassador to United Arab Emirates (UAE) Kapanaiah Lokesh, who met PCB chief Zaka Ashraf here Friday, said he will convey the sentiments of people in UAE to New Delhi for a bilateral series between Pakistan and India.

"India playing Pakistan is the highlight of international cricket and in the recent positive atmosphere between the two countries it is conducive to play cricket and I will convey this to New Delhi," said Lokesh.

PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already termed Indo-Pak matches as an "iconic series" and everyone is waiting for both the nations to play.

As per the ICC Future Tours Programme, Pakistan and India are slated to play in March next year but India's hectic schedule is a big hurdle in the series. But Ashraf hoped a slot will be found.

"Cricket is in the blood of people in both countries and it can be used as soft diplomacy as in the past, relations have improved in the past as well through cricket," said the Indian ambassador.

Pakistan's ambassador to UAE Jameel Khan welcomed the prospect of

the total at 89-1, finally failed to beat a direct throw from Shahid Afridi from mid-on after he set off for a quick single. He hit three boundaries during his 66-ball knock. Pakistani spinners Afridi and Ajmal then put the brakes on Sri Lankan innings, as Dilshan dragged a leg-break from Afridi onto his stumps after hitting eight boundaries in his 78-ball knock. Jayawrdene completed his 10,000 runs during his brief knock of 17, becoming the ninth batsman and second Sri Lankan to achieve the landmark. Earlier, openers Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat hit attractive half-centuries to help Pakistan post a challenging total. Hafeez made a 101-ball 83 and Farhat notched an 82ball 70 to give Pakistan, who won the toss and batted, a solid 151-run start before Sri Lanka grabbed four quick wickets in the space of 26 runs. Hafeez, who took 26 balls for his first ten runs, hit paceman Dilhara Fernando for four boundaries in the 18th over to step up the tempo before he was finally bowled by spinner Seekkuge Prasanna in the 30th over.

agencies

duBai: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Zaka ashraf (C) is seen with indian ambassador Kapanaiah lokesh (r) and Pakistani ambassador Jameel Khan (l). afP a bilateral series being revived.

"People from both India and Pakistan want to see both the teams play and if the venue is UAE we are more

than keen to host the matches," said Khan. "It is the most followed series in the world and people should not be deprived of it."

Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin on Friday lashed out at Vinod Kambli for hinting that India’s 1996 World Cup semifinal match could have been fixed, saying the allegations have been made by a person who lacks character and were “absolutely rubbish”.

“Absolutely rubbish, whatever he (Kambli) is talking. He doesn’t know what he is talking, when you have people who have no character and no background come on TV and talk absolute rubbish in front of the nation and demeaning all the players who played in the team, it is totally disrespectful and its very sad,” a livid Azhar told reporters. Azhar, who was the Indian captain at that time, said the decision to field first was a collective decision. “May be when he was sitting in the meeting, he must have been sleeping,” he added. Kambli, a former Indian cricketer who has often been embroiled in controversies both on and off the field, on Thursday raised suspicion on the 1996 World Cup semifinal between India and Sri Lanka and said he found “something amiss” in the game. “I will never forget the 1996 match because my career ended after this and I was dropped from the team. I was stunned by India’s decision to field,” Kambli had said.

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22 Sports

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Blatter sorry for racism remarks but won’t quit LONDON aFP

FIFA president Sepp Blatter apologised Friday for his “unfortunate comments” on racism in the game but rejected calls to resign as head of world football’s governing body. “It hurts and I am still hurting because I couldn’t envisage such a reaction,” Blatter told the BBC in an interview, admitting he had used “unfortunate words” which he “deeply regretted.” “When you have done something which was not totally correct, I can only say I am sorry for all those people affected by my declarations.”

But when asked about calls from a British minister and others that he should quit for his remarks suggesting that disputes on the pitch involving racist abuse should be resolved by a handshake, he refused. “I cannot resign. Why should I?” he told the BBC. “When you are faced with a problem you have to face the problem. To leave would be totally unfair and not compatible with my fighting spirit, my character, my energy.”

Blatter insisted however that he had a “zero tolerance” attitude towards racism in the game, and that any players found guilty of it on the pitch should be thrown out of the game.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also called the comments “appalling” and sports minister Hugh Robertson and the head of England’s Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, said Blatter should quit.

Blatter’s initial comments came after

DUBAI: Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi (2R) celebrates with teammates after he dismissed Sri Lankan’s Kumar Sangakkara (unseen) during the third ODI against Sri Lanka at Dubai Cricket Stadium. afP

Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was charged by the English Football Association for allegedly racially abusing Manchester United’s French international defender Patrice Evra. England captain John Terry is also facing a police and FA investigation over allegations he hurled racist abuse at QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Blatter’s remarks have sparked a storm in England, where he was already unpopular for the way in which he and FIFA dealt with the country’s failed bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Players also criticised him, with former England captain David Beckham adding to the condemnation on Thursday, although he stopped short of calling for Blatter to resign. “I think the comments were appalling. I think a lot of people have said that,” Beckham said at a press conference to preview his Los Angeles Galaxy’s clash with the Houston Dynamo on Sunday for the MLS Cup. “I don’t think the comments were very good for this game,” he added. Manchester United defender and former England captain Rio Ferdinand was one of the first players to criticise Blatter, eventually engaging in a war of words on Twitter with the FIFA chief.

Manchester United need two Wayne Rooneys epl crystal ball kUNWAR kHULDUNE SHAHID

W

AYNE Rooney’s passing in midfield for Sir Alex’s side reminds football aficionados of a certain ginger prince who used to orchestrate matters in that particular segment of the field.

However when his pass is completed via three-act ham-fisted culminations or a Bulgarian touch of lethargy, those aforementioned buffs long for another talismanic figure to complement Rooney’s passing – Wayne Rooney himself. Playing Rooney in the middle might have hushed up United’s midfield woes, but in a classic case of Victorian irony it has illuminated a dilemma upfront.

With United’s number 10 dropping down in midfield the striking options left with United’s manager run the whole gamut between sublime poaching, Elizabethan snobbery and the physical defiance of a tissue paper.

Hernandez has been a class act ever since his arrival at Old Trafford, but his game is not suited to being deployed as a lone option up-top. This little problem means that he’d have to be partnered upfront with either one of a trio. Danny Welbeck – a lot of hustle, little dexterity, or Dimitar Berbatov – a lot of ballet dancing, little end product, or Michael Owen – a lot of medical receipts, little playing time.

Therefore not only does Rooney playing in midfield mean that Rooney is not playing as a striker, it also connotes that United’s next best striking option is reduced to the stature of a hunting dog stationed in a botanic gar-

How United need Rooney to pass the ball to Rooney, Liverpool need to learn to open stubborn doors and Torres needs to calm down den. Therefore, Sir Alex needs to play Rooney upfront with Hernandez and think of other excuses for his AWOL when players like Van Der Vaart, Arteta, Cabaye et al were being bartered around for – in footballing market value – half a pinch of peanuts. Sir Alex might need to solve his midfield predicam e n t Cleverley (pun intended), or he could trust his ever-dependable midfield comrade Michael Carrick again (seriously, how long will he be punished for not being as good as Xavi?)

That’s like penalising Alex Lifeson for not being as good as Jimi Hendrix!

Another manoeuvre that might aid United’s cause is that of advertising for their snooty Bulgarian. If rumours have veracity, Anzhi Makhachkala are interested in reducing Sir Alex’s burden. The Russian club is named melodiously enough to appeal to Berba’s tuneful needs and might be willing to splash around £15-20 million. Who am I kidding Sir Alex would be fortunate to receive a set of corner flags in ex-

change for Dimitar Betbatov.

LiVerPooL anD LocKsMiths How often does a commentator describe goalmouth action by juxtaposing it with the act of opening a door? If in this parallel universe of bizarre metaphors, opening the door equals scoring a goal then Liverpool’s doorstep struggles are worth elaborating.

If one were to persist with the aforementioned analogy, then Dalglish’s side have quite often knocked on the door with all of their fists, clattered a plethora of hammers and have resorted to an old-fashioned elongated log – without desired effect.

Liverpool have scored 14 goals in the 11 games so far this season.

However what exacerbates the stat’s mediocrity is the fact that barring City, no other club has taken more shots than Liverpool. So basically, they have generated the highest noise amplitude and have clobbered the door with every possible device; yet actual acts of unbolting have been minimal – as many as Fulham and Sunderland to be precise. Unlocking the door doesn’t call for frequency in efforts or brutality in force. All it needs is the right combination of loads of spare keys and the skill-set of competent locksmiths. Suarez is one of the most subtly skillful options that Liverpool have, but the Uruguayan has been trying to force in the wrong keys in the wrong holes – 51 shots for four goals divulges everything.

Liverpool’s lock and key makers need to take a cue from City’s ensemble of door opening techniques – they understand the configuration of most EPL locks, can break in most habitats and even have personnel who could climb pipes and jump in from nearby trees if need be. Liverpool have the locksmiths and the keys, all they need is to figure out the fitting permutations. Dalglish has categorically stated

that Liverpool are going to hand out a hiding as soon they start converting their chances – yes Kenny, and I’d be a millionaire as soon as I start earning millions.

torres’ hiDDen truth Like a crossover between a political drama and a whodunit – this combination can also appositely describe El-Nino’s stint at Chelsea – Torres has claimed that Liverpool fans don’t know the truth behind his unceremonious exit and hence should not judge him through rose-tinted glasses. Torres’ earthshattering proclamation comes ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Stamford Bridge, when he’d be expecting a passionate love-in from the away supporters.

Not only does the assertion depict Torres’ miserable time in Chelsea’s blue – honesty, had he been banging in goals for Chelsea, he’d be more like, Liverpool who? – it also puts added pressure on himself to finally convert his promising patches into a continuum of goal-scoring returns. Maybe, just maybe, it is best if Torres were to let his football – or whatever he does on the football pitch nowadays – do the talking, and shelve his storytelling skills for a wee bit longer.

Big Match PreVieW With a change in format the Crystal Ball would now throw the spotlight on the biggest game of the week and we have a

couple of huge ones this time round.

MAN CITy VS NEWCASTLE: The two unbeaten sides go head-to-head as Newcastle’s umpteenth – albeit strongest – litmus test awaits them. If Newcastle can put up a strong show they’d further bolster their credentials of being veritable top four challengers. City on the other hand could rubberstamp their authority with a convincing triumph over a side placed third. Silva vs Tiote is the defining matchup, and if Newcastle’s defense can continue their impressive trade fair, it could be a close game – however one fancies City to edge this one. If Newcastle were to beat City today would they be genuine titlecontenders?

CHELSEA VS LIVERPOOL: Two clubs in transitory phase and in need of putting in a run together. Liverpool are without Gerrard and might have Suarez on the bench – at best. Carroll’s immobility might force Dalglish to risk the Uruguayan, especially if things go pear-shaped early on. Chelsea have problems in defense with Terry out of sorts and in need of a regular partner to stabilise matters. Liverpool could close the gap on fourth with a win - nevertheless Chelsea should come out on top in this one. Expect Lampard to have a major influence on the game, and he might even squeeze in a goal from nowhere like only he can.

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Sports 23

Australia lead despite South African fightback

WAtCh it Live TEN CRICKET South Africa v Australia - 2nd Test Day 3 01:30PM

TEN SPORTS Spanish La Liga 10:55PM

Guard Group in members Cup final LAHORE staFF rePort

JoHaNNeSBurG: South africa's vernon Philander (C) celebrates taking the wicket of australia's Phillip Hughes (r). afP JOHANNESBURG

A on-song Federer targets record in london

aFP

USTRALIA took a 30-run first innings lead despite a strong South African fightback on the second day of the second and final Test at the Wanderers Stadium on Thursday. Australia were bowled out for 296, losing all their wickets for 122 runs after an opening partnership of 174 between Shane Watson and Phil Hughes. Only four balls were bowled at the start of South Africa’s second innings, with no runs scored, before bad light ended play. Fast bowler Dale Steyn took four for 64 and leg-spinner Imran Tahir ripped out the tail to take three for 55, his first wickets in Test cricket.

Watson and Hughes both scored 88.

The openers scored 169 in an extended morning’s play, racing along at more than five runs an over, to put their side in a strong position to press for a series-levelling win. But the run feast stopped when Hughes was caught at first slip by AB de Villiers off Vernon Philander in the fourth over after lunch. Watson, Ricky Ponting and captain Michael Clarke all followed Hughes to the dressing room as only 51 runs were scored for four wickets in 25 overs between lunch and tea.

Watson, who had scored 76 off 99 balls before lunch, laboured for another 41 balls to add 12 more runs before pulling

scoreBoarD south aFrica, first innings: 266 austraLia, first innings s. Watson c tahir b Kallis 88 88 P. hughes c De Villiers b Philander usman Khawaja lbe b steyn 12 r. Ponting lbw b steyn 0 11 M. clarke c De Villiers b Morkel M. hussey b steyn 20 B. haddin lbw b tahir 16 38 M. johnson not out P. siddle b tahir 0 P. cummins c Boucher b steyn 2 2 n. Lyon lbw b tahir extras (b4, lb8, nb4, w3) 19 total (76.4 overs) 296 Fall of wickets: 1-174 (hughes), 2-192 (Watson), 3-193 (Ponting), 4-212 (clarke), 5-228 (Khawaja), 6-233 (hussey), 7-255 (haddin), 8-255 (siddle), 9-285 (cummins) Bowling: steyn 18-3-64-4, Philander 15-4-47-1 (1nb, 1w), Morkel 17-4-62-1 (3nb, 1w), Kallis 13-2-56-1 (1w), tahir 13.4-2-55-3 south africa, second innings g. smith not out 0 0 j. rudolph not out eXtras 0 totaL (0 wkts, 0.4 overs) 0 Bowling: johnson 0.4-0-0-0 Match situation: south africa, with all second innings wickets remaining, trail by 30 runs toss: south africa uMPires: Billy Bowden (nzL), ian gould (eng) tV uMPire: Billy Doctrove (Wis) Match reFeree: roshan Mahanama (sri)

Jacques Kallis to deep midwicket where Imran Tahir took a diving catch. It added to a history of Watson falling short of a century. It was his 18th score of 50 or more but he has only converted two of

those innings into centuries.

Ponting fell for his second successive duck when he shuffled across his stumps and was leg before to Dale Steyn in the next over - the third time in as many innings that he has fallen in the same way.

Clarke did not look comfortable as he made 11 before edging Morne Morkel to De Villiers at first slip. It did not get much better for the tourists after tea, with Steyn dismissing the last two specialist batsmen, Usman Khawaja and Mike Hussey in successive overs. Mitchell Johnson hit 38 not out to steer Australia into the lead.

Watson, showing no sign of the hamstring injury which kept him off the field for more than two hours on the first day, played some crunching drives before lunch, while Hughes was strong square of the wicket as he made 85 not out.

The host nation missed an opportunity to claim Hughes’ wicket when the batsman got a thin edge to a ball from Kallis which then went on to his pad and through to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

The South Africans appealed and Hughes, on 38, was given not out by umpire Ian Gould. The South Africans did not seek a television review. Hughes earlier gave a sharp chance to Hashim Amla at backward short leg off Morkel when he was on 30 and the total was 65.

Hughes faced 111 balls and hit 14 boundaries, while Watson faced 140 deliveries, hitting 14 fours and two sixes.

Guard Group moved past Cherat Cement to take on Remington Pharma in the main final of the Members Polo Cup to be played on Sunday. Earlier, Black Horse Paints won two polo matches to qualify for the subsidiary final against Nurpur.

In the two chukker matches, Black Horse Paints hammered Master Paints by four goals and did not let them score a single goal and later they beat Newage Cables 3-2. However, Master Paints managed to beat Newage Cables 3-1.

Taimur Ali Malik with a six goal burst took Guard Group through to the final beating Cherat Cement 8-7.

In this closely-contested match, if Taimur was the master of win with two goals from Mian Hussain Iftikhar, it was losing side’s Shah Qublai Alam who provided tough time to the winners by scoring six goals while Faisal Shahzad brought the opener for Cherat Cement.

Malik Azam Hayat Noon, Hamza Mawaz Khan, Bilal Haye and Feroze Gulzar were the umpires for the matches.

Navy, muslim win in PPl LAHORE staFF rePort

Navy and Muslim Club won their matches of the 8th Pakistan Premier Football League on Friday. Navy beat Baloch FC 3-1 at the Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi. Navy’s Nomi Martin Gill scored two of the three goals in the 28th and 82nd minutes while the third goal came in the 58 minute through defender Muhammad Ramzan. The only goals of the losing side Baloch Club came from Najeeb-ul-Allah in the 69th minute. In the other match of the league, Muslim FC beat PAF 2-1 at the Municipal Stadium, Rawalpindi. Muslim Club got their goals through midfielder Muhammad Rafique in the 52 Minute and defender Muhammad Hanif in the 58th Minute while PAF goal scorer was Amir Hussain who found the cage in the 39th minute.

INter-scHool, collegIate games

GCU, Aitchison claim athletics honours LAHORE staFF rePort

LONDON agencies

Roger Federer will aim to finish an off key year on a high note by winning a record sixth title at the ATP World Tour finals which start on Sunday at London's O2 Arena, a venue more famous for staging the biggest acts in the music business. The world number four, who opens round robin action in the defence of his crown on day one against dangerous Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, is level in the season-ending tournament's roll of honour with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. Despite being the oldest player in the eight-man draw, and arriving with his lowest ranking since 2003, few would bet against the Swiss 16-times grand slam champion supplying a show-stopping end to a year dominated by Serbia's Novak Djokovic. Now in its third year beside the River Thames, the appeal of the tournament has never been higher with more than 250,000 people set to watch eight days of action at the event often dubbed the "fifth" Grand Slam.

The 4th Inter School and College Games are in full swing at different venues of the city with Government College University and Aitchison College winning the athletics event of college and school categories.

The final ceremony of the games will be held today here at the Punjab Stadium and Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman will be the chief guest of the closing ceremony.

Secretary Punjab Olympics Association Kh Idris Haider was elated with the success of the event and was delighted to see the players demanding the organisation of the event twice a year.

GCU got 151 points to win the athletics event while Superior College was second with 150 points and Akhwan Burki College was third with 48 points.

Aitchison School was winner with 119 points and was followed by DPS Model Town with 84 points and Govt High School Attock was third with 50 points. Govt Higher Secondary School Jallo Mor Lahore Cantt won the rugby title 10-7 beating Garrison Post Graduate College Nishat Colony DHA Lahore

Cantt while Defance Degree College RBlock, DHA Lahore Cantt took the third position beating FC College Lahore.

Abdul Ahad Lateef from Garrison Post Graduate College Nishat Colony DHA Lahore Cantt was named the Man Of The Tournament.

Govt Islamia College Civil Lines clinched the college category boxing title with six gold medals, two sliver, two bonze and overall 120 points. Superior College secured second place with two gold medals, three sliver, five bonze while Govt College University were third with 70 points gained after they won two gold, three sliver and three bonze medals.

The school boys category was won

by Don Bosco after they won five gold, four sliver and got 115 points. They were followed by MP High School who got two gold, four sliver got 70 points and the third position went to Muslim Model School which got 2 gold, 1 sliver, 1 bonze 60 points.

In karate boys school event, The Laureate Lahore won the title with 101 points with three gold, five sliver, one bronze. Hono Kidergatern School with 79 points was second after winning three gold, one sliver and four bronze

medals and The Educator Amir Road was placed third with 47 points having got one gold, two sliver and three bronze.

Karate boys college event, Superior Group of College was the winner with 86 points (4 gold, 2 sliver, 1bronze) Islamia College Civil Lines was second with 63 points (1 gold, 3 sliver, 3bronze) and Kip Joher Town 46 points was third (1 sliver, 6bronze).

Arsalan Khan (GCU) took the Inter college boys single badminton title, Talha Khalid (Jamia Ashrafia) won the inter school boys single, Ghazala Siddique (L.C.U) won the inter college girls singles and Arfa Hassan (K.P) won inter school girls single final here at the New Khan Hall on Friday.

In the doubles, Anjum and & Nadeem (G.C.U) won the Inter College boys doubles , Talha Khalid & Adnan( Jamia Ashrafia) won the school boys doubles, Aqsa & Arfa (K.P) won the school girls doubles and Fariha & Shumaila Wasti (Kinnaird College ) take the College girls doubles.

FinaL BaDMinton resuLts

School boys singles: talha Khalid (Jamia ashrafia) beat usama Ch (City school model town) by 21-14 , 21-13; 3rd Position taken by ahmed imtiaz of unique

H/S 93 –a muslim town lahore.

Boys doubles: talha Khalid & adnan (Jamia ashrafia) beat Saad & Hamza (dPS model town) by 21-17 , 21-17. 3rs Position taken by muaaz & Jibran lahore learning Campus abid majeed road.

School girls singles: arfa Hassan (K.P) beat aqsa Hassan (K.P) by 9-21, 21-17 ,21-19. 3rd position taken

by Zainab ijaz Beacon House School 47-C Gulberg. girls doubles: arfa Hassan & aqsa Hassan (K.P) beat ramsha & Neelam (lahore learning Campus) by 218,21-3. 3rd position taken by Javeria & momal of Houner Kiindergarton.

College boys singles: arsalan Khan(G.C.u) beet Hassan raza (F.C.C) by 21-5, 21-13. 3rd position taken by usman Zahid of Superior College Garden town.

College boys doubles: anjum & Nadeem (G.C.u) beat usman & Zargum (Superior College) by 21-9, 21-11. 3rd Position taken by aideed & aqib of lGS Paragon City.

College girls singles: Ghazala Siddique (l.C.u) beat Fareeha imtiaz (Kinnaird College) by 21-15, 21-8. 3rd position taken by laraib aslam of lGS 1-a1 Ghalib market (Sr) College girls doubles: Fariha & Shumaila (Kinnarid College) beat Ghazala & Farwa (lCu) by 12-21, 2115,21-17. 3rd positon taken by laraib & abeera of lGS 1-a-1 Ghalib market (Sr) Best player of the compitition as under: School Boys talha Khalid ( Jamia ashrafia), Girls arfa Hassan (K.P), College Boys arsalan Khan (G.C.u), Girls Ghazala Siddique (l.C.u)

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Saturday, 19 November, 2011

24

No hidden Afghan agenda, Germany told

PPP decides to cancel mirza’s basic membership

German Fm says afghan military solution vital for protecting political aims g

ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) decided on Friday to cancel the basic party membership of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza as an upset President Asif Ali Zardari told his close associates that his old friends had “crossed all limits to offend him”. A source told Pakistan Today that during the party’s core committee meeting held at the Presidency, a perturbed President Zardari asked his comrades to examine ways to dismember Mirza, whose recent onslaught against the leadership of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had “disappointed” him very much. “This man has gone overboard… He has crossed all limits to offend me,” the source quoted the president as saying. The source said further the president also scolded Fauzia Wahab for going “unprepared” on TV talk shows and not presenting the party’s viewpoint in a proper manner. He also directed all party leaders, ministers and other office-bearers to remain present in the Supreme Court during the hearing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case scheduled to be taken up by the apex court on November 21. The president also shared his dislike for Mirza’s visit to London and his meeting with Scotland Yard and assured the core committee that he was not directing the former Sindh home minister, said the source. The meeting also discussed the upcoming hearing of the NRO cases and it was decided that Senator Babar Awan would defend the federation in these cases to be taken up by the apex court on November 21. The meeting was chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Briefing reporters about the meeting, Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the overall political situation with particular reference to recent developments was discussed during the meeting. The meeting noted that Ambassador Hussain Haqqani had been called to Islamabad to explain his position to the country’s leadership on the controversial memo. It observed that natural justice demanded that the ambassador was given a fair opportunity to give his version of the controversy, he added. “The meeting noted that NROrelated cases will come up for hearing before the Supreme Court on 21 November.

reshma rPP returns rs 4.5 billion mobilisation advance ISLAMABAD staFF rePort

In compliance with Supreme Court orders, the Reshma Rental Generation Company Limited returned Rs 4.5 billion to the national exchequer on Friday, which it had taken as mobilisation advance over two years ago for the installation of a rental power plant that it failed to install or operationalise. According to a report submitted to the apex court on Friday by the finance director of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO), the company had deposited Rs 4.576 billion in compliance with court orders but did not pay the markup on the sum for two years. A twomember Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had ordered the company on Thursday to return the mobilisation advance within a day with markup or face legal consequences.

ISLAMABAD

G

staFF rePort

ERMAN Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Guido Westerwelle on Friday said a military solution to Afghanistan was not possible, but military presence would be vital for protecting political solution, as Pakistan made it clear that it did not have any hidden agenda regarding Afghanistan.

Addressing a press conference with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, the German foreign minister said, “I welcome the clear commitment by Pakistan that it has no hidden agenda in Afghanistan….I welcome commitment of Pakistan to continue its fight against terror. Both countries

have consensus that both countries have to stay together in fight against terror.” The German foreign minister’s visit is in the context of consultations with Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership about the Bonn Conference, which seeks to draw up a roadmap for the Afghan endgame.

The Bonn Conference is scheduled to start on December 5 and would be attended by delegates from 90 countries, besides representatives of the UN and other international organisations. “We seek a political solution to the issue of Afghanistan as we know military solution is not possible, but military presence is necessary to protect the political solution,” Westerwelle said, adding that leaving Afghanistan without bringing stability and peace would neither be in the interest of the region nor that of the world.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hina Khar said Pakistan was committed to peace and stability in the region and did not have any hidden agenda on Afghanistan. “Pakistan has no hidden agenda. We are committed to pursuing

isLaMaBaD: german Foreign Minister guido Westerwelle speaks with his Pakistani counterpart hina rabbani Khar on Friday. afP peace in Afghanistan and the region….we want a stable and peaceful government in Afghanistan which allows us to function peacefully,” Hina added. To a question, she said when Pakistan was asked to play

a positive role, “a positive space needs to be created for Pakistan to play that role”.

Moreover, the German FM also met President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani.

Nawaz using personal contacts to attract Shah mehmood qureshi ISLAMABAD Mian aBrar

nusa Dua: us President Barack obama reaches out to shake hands with indian Prime Minister Manmohan singh during a meeting on the sidelines of the association of southeast asian nations (asean) and east asia summits at indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Friday. afP

‘N’ undecided on course of action in memo affair g

Nawaz Sharif calls for enquiry committee, ahsan iqbal wants SC tribunal LAHORE Yasir haBiB

While Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif has demanded an independent inquiry committee instead of a judicial commission to investigate the ZardariMullen memo controversy, the party’s Deputy Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal has called for a Supreme Court tribunal to probe the issue.

The variety of opinion among party leaders reflects the lack of consultation among party leaders on important issues.

The memo allegedly sent by President Zardari to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen through PakistaniAmerican businessman Mansoor Ijaz sought the US administration’s influence to prevent a military coup feared by the Presidency. Nawaz demanded an inquiry committee comprising members of civil society, legislators and lawyers to investigate the rumoured memo. While giving a 15-day deadline for the committee’s for-

mation, the former PM rejected the idea to form a judicial commission to handle the issue. Talking to reporters in Model Town, Nawaz said the government’s failure to form the proposed committee would indicate something fishy in the affair. He said the national security was at stake and the controversial case was too important to be ignored. “If we ask for a commission to investigate the controversy, it will be like putting the issue on the backburner. We strongly demand an inquiry committee to be set up by the chief justice of Pakistan. We want a committee instead of a commission because the Abbottabad commission, which was formed to investigate the US raid, has not delivered any results so far. Its meetings are held for a few hours after several months. The commission’s style of work shows that the matter is being silenced,” Nawaz said.When asked about Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Nawaz said he would meet the former foreign minister on November 22 and expected him to join the PML-N. He said his party had not fi-

nalised the decision to resign from assemblies en masse, but was considering the option. He also rejected allegations by government members that his party was using “undemocratic tactics”, saying the PML-N would not support any unconstitutional move.

Later at a press conference in Model Town, the PML-N deputy secretary general said that all roads went to the President’s House on the memo issue, adding that Zardari’s attempt was meant to compromise security institutions. “We demand a Supreme Court tribunal to hold accountable those behind the heinous game,” he said. About PML-N’s rally in Faisalabad on November 20, he said the party chief would address the gathering and announce their future strategy.

When asked about impeaching the president, he said the step required 51 percent votes in legislatures which PML-N did not have. However, he added that the present government had lost its utility and would go soon.

With Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan claiming that former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would announce that he is joining the PTI at a public meeting on November 27 in Ghotki, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif is going all out to keep Qureshi away from the PTI and mutual friends are being pushed to attract him to the PML-N, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday. Khan recently said in a talk show that Qureshi would be announcing his decision to join the PTI at the public meeting in Ghotki. Interestingly, Qureshi has opted to remain silent over his future ambitions and with the date of his Ghotki public meeting approaching, he has left for Dubai to keep analysts guessing. “Qureshi is an old friend. We haven’t met as yet but we’ve spoken over the phone and will meet very soon,” Sharif had told reporters at Sukkur airport on Thursday. PML-N sources claim that the meeting will be held on November 22, however no one was ready to confirm the meeting on the record. A PML-N source told Pakistan Today that his party chief thought Qureshi joining the PTI would give a huge boost to Imran Khan’s party, which would further dent the diminishing popularity of the PMLN and the only way to stop Qureshi was to use personal contacts. However, the source said further that there were irritants in Qureshi’s way into the PML-N and the biggest of those was Makhdoom Javed Hashmi. “Both Hashmi and Qureshi are arch rivals and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Javed Hashmi were working on an alliance on both constituencies of the National Assembly falling under Qureshi.

Gilani wants to field his brother or son in one of the constituencies while the other would be decided by Hashmi. This is also in the knowledge of Qureshi and he had conveyed his concerns to Shahbaz Sharif in his last meeting,” said the source. The source said that Qureshi was also mulling over reviving his own faction of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and he had also contacted PPP-SB leader Ghinwa Bhutto, urging her to field her daughter Fatima Bhutto against the Zardariled PPP. However, the source said Ghinwa had dropped the proposal.

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