E paper pdf (08 09 2014) (khi)

CMYK

FLOOD ALARMS SOUNDED IN PUNJAB, SINDH!

g

g

g

Monday, 8 September, 2014 Zul Qida 12, 1435 Rs 17.00 Vol V No 71 16 Pages Karachi Edition g

AS FLOODS SPREADS, MODI OFFERS RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN

GOVT, PTI NEGOTIATORS SEE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

KAPTAAN’S NEW SCHEDULE: QADRI THREATENS TO FLOOD RELIEF IN MORNING, DECLARE WAR IF JUSTICE DENIED DHARNA AT NIGHT STORIES ON PAGE 02

CHINESE PRESIDENT’S VISIT’S POSTPONEMENT CAN’T THREATEN PAK-CHINA TIES g

Chinese diplomat expresses confidence that Chinese president will visit Pakistan ‘soon’, says no to interference in Pakistan’s internal political affairs

STORY ON PAGE 02

FAFEN FOR HOLISTIC FAZLULLAH OUSTS TTP COMMANDER ASSESSMENT OF KHORASANI 2013 ELECTIONS STORY ON PAGE 03

STORY ON PAGE 03

Emergency declared in Punjab, Sindh, authorities put on high alert in Jhelum, Sialkot, Nankana Sahib, Narowal districts as Met Dept forecasts severe flood in two provinces on 13th and 14th FFC says River Chenab flowing in “very high flood” at Marala, Khanki, Qadirabad bridges and water flow is expected to rise to 900,000 cusecs 182 people killed by rains, flash floods, 5,000 rescued from flood-stricken areas PM visits flood-hit areas, reassures locals of govt’s support in relief efforts which he says are more important than staging sit-ins

STORIES ON PAGE 03

02 NEWS

Monday, 8 September 2014

Govt, PtI neGotIators see lIGht at the end of the tunnel QURESHI SAYS NEGOTIATION’S SUCCESS CANNOT BE MEASURED ON A SCALE, BUT CAN SAY THAT IT IS PROGRESSING ISLAMABAD/QUETTA

a

STAFF REPORT

S the negotiation teams of the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) met Sunday in pursuit of a truce between the protesters and the government, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the journalists that the talks were heading towards a meaningful conclusion however there was no yardstick to measure the success achieved.

PTI EYES GRAND ALLIANCE WITH OPPOSITION IN SINDH ISLAMABAD ONLINE

According to Online news agency, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has invited Sindh National Front (SNF) Chairman Mumtaz Ali Bhutto to join PTI along with his group, in a bid to give a tough time to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Sindh. PTI Chairman Imran Khan has reportedly offered Bhutto, who is a key ally of the ruling Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N), to join PTI as the party’s central president in place of the estranged Javed Hashmi. Bhutto’s son Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto has been offered PTI’s provincial president’s seat. A meeting between the two leaders is expected soon in Karachi, the report said. Following Khan’s offer, Mumtaz has summoned a meeting with party leaders and political associates to discuss the offer. According to Online sources, Khan called Mumtaz and invited him to join hand with PTI, remarking that sincere and principled leaders like Mumtaz are the need of the nation and PTI. The sources added that Khan said that leaders like Mumtaz did not look good in alliance with “non-principled people and thieves who have become united in the name of democracy while ignoring political principles”. Party sources confirmed that Khan is considering changes in PTI’s Sindh chapter and it is expected that after Mumtaz joins PTI, a large group of PML-N and PPP leaders including Habib Khan Baloch and Aziz Baloch would join PTI. Meanwhile, SNF central information secretary has confirmed that Mumtaz has received invitation calls from Khan, adding that a decision to join PTI has not been made yet.

TEAM FORMED TO PROBE KUMAILI’S MURDER IN KARACHI KARACHI ONLINE

A special team was formed Sunday to probe the assassination of Allama Ali Akbar Kumaili, who was assassinated in Karachi’s Azizabad on Saturday. The probe committee established by Sindh Police Additional Inspector General Ghulam Qadir Thebo comprises senior superintendent of Police (SSP), SP Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and officers of Crime Investigation Department (CID). Deputy IG West will head the probe body, mandated to accomplish its task within 24 hours. In the meanwhile, SHO Azizabad has been suspended and demoted. Kumaili was laid to rest Sunday afternoon following funeral prayers that were offered by a large number of people. Shia organisations are observing a three-day-mourning for the assassination of Kumaili, the son of prominent Shia scholar Allama Abbas Kumaili.

DAR SAYS JIRGA’S WORK DONE AFTER CONFLICTING PARTIES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO THE TABLE

Flanked by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Jahangir Tareen, Qureshi said that he had a concern for the economy and did not want it plummet. He stressed the importance of the negotiations for the resolution of the political crisis, saying the around five demands made by PTI had been accepted however the details yet had to be finalised.

“Issues pertaining to the composition of judicial commission and the process by which election rigging will be probed

HAQ BOASTS OF POLITICAL JIRGA’S ACHIEVEMENT FOR RESOLUTION OF POLITICAL CRISIS, SAYS 80 % WORK DONE

have to be decided yet. However, talks are going good and the process is progressing which is a positive sign,” Qureshi added.

Addressing the journalists, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the work of the political jirga was to bring both the parties on the table and now when the parties were holding negotiations, the work of the jirga was over. The talks were progressing rapidly and the teams will come up with a solution of the crisis, Dar said, adding that the revival of the econ-

omy was of utmost importance, for which the political impasse had to be resolved.

After the eleventh round of talks yesterday, the negotiators are scheduled to meet today at 2:30pm.

HAQ SAYS 80PC WORK DONE: Earlier Sunday, while addressing Gaza Rally organised by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Quetta, JI Ameer Sirajul Haq said that problems pertaining to the political deadlock in the country have been resolved up to 80 percent owing to efforts of the political jirga and claimed that they had a

KAPTAAN’S NEW SCHEDULE: FLOOD RELIEF IN MORNING, DHARNA AT NIGHT PTI CHIEF ASKS HIS SUPPORTERS TO HELP FLOOD VICTIMS DURING DAY AND ‘FREE PAKISTAN’ AT NIGHT ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Addressing the participants of Azadi March on Sunday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan directed his workers to help those affected by floods and said that he too would visit flood-hit areas in the morning and would join the dharna at night.

Khan, who has been leading the protest and sit-in in the federal capital against alleged rigging in general election turned the canons towards Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali and said that both came into power through massive rigging.

Khan said that Dr Malik won his seat with the help of returning officer.

The PTI chairman alleged that Balochistan CM got 4,500 votes, Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) Ahsan Shah got 4,150 votes but 600 votes of BNP candidate were “made to disappear” by the presiding officer

KHAN ACCUSES BALOCHISTAN CM OF WINNING ELECTIONS THROUGH RIGGING WITH HELP OF RETURNING OFFICER and Baloch was declared the winner.

“I don’t accept the person as my prime minister who has come into power through stolen mandate,” he said adding that if an independent probe was conducted, sitting prime minister, and former chief justice would prove to be the chief culprits while Najam Sethi will stand third in the list.

Khan said that former president lied on the floor of assembly about Surrey Palace while the PM has to return loans of Rs 6 billion to banks.

He pledged that he would bring back the looted money from Swiss banks.

Both former rulers cannot bring back plundered money from Switzerland, he added.

Khan further said that he will play the BBC documentary on Monday in which the media giant was showing prime minister’s corruption.

PTI chairman once again invited all the farmers, workers, army and police personnel to join his march, which he claimed had provided jobs to many.

“formula” which would enable both the government and anti-government protesters in Islamabad to come out of the crisis.

The JI chief said that the participants of dharna had put on shrouds and started digging their graves but leaders of all political parties constituted political jirga which had brought the protesters on the negotiation table.

Haq said that it was a matter of pleasure that after four-day work of political jirga, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and the government had agreed over 80 percent of the problems. “We have a formula through which three parties can escape failure and bad name,” Haq said, adding that they had been supportive of electoral reforms, independence of judiciary and other protesters’ demands.

“There has been selections and not election. People have made politics their business. By spending huge money people reach parliament. This is the reason jagirdars and waderas have been occupying assemblies for decades. There is no place for commoners there.”

Haq said rulers should show flexibility because if the participants of dharnas failed they would be disappointed in the country’s future.

QADRI THREATENS TO DECLARE WAR IF JUSTICE DENIED

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Allama Tahirul Qadri has threatened to “declare a war” against the government if marchers were not provided justice.

“If we declare a war, whoever comes in front of us will be swept away,” Qadri told his supporters in Islamabad Sunday. “We will continue this struggle for rights even at the cost of our lives,” he said.

The PAT chief warned that if these

unarmed protestors became “hungry lions”, nobody would be spared from their wrath.

Qadri also rejected media reports that people were brought to the sit-in on rent. Not a single person was paid for joining the Inqilab March, he stated.

Qadri said that he was fighting the war in line with the vision of Quaid-eAzam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. “I want to demolish the incumbent system of oppression and replace it with a genuine democracy,” he said, asking for a new social contract.

CHINESE PRESIDENT’S VISIT’S POSTPONEMENT CAN’T THREATEN PAK-CHINA TIES Chinese diplomat expresses confidence that Chinese president will visit Pakistan ‘soon’, says no to interference in Pakistan’s internal political affairs ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

The Chinese Embassy Sunday formally announced the postponement of visit of Chinese President Xi Jingping to Pakistan while a senior Chinese diplomat has clarified that the postponement would have no effect on bilateral ties.

The clarification was made in wake of propaganda launched by the government suggesting that the visit was postponed due to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) sit-ins in the federal capital and that the postponement had jeopardised investment to the tone of 35 billion dollars that the president was likely to announce during the visit.

The government has claimed that

diplomatic channels and officials of the two countries have done a lot of preparatory work for the positive and concrete outcome of the visit, adding that all would go in vain because of the political turmoil created by the antigovernment sit-ins.

LET’S FOIL ATTEMPTS OF SABOTEURS OF PAK-CHINA FRIENDSHIP: However, at a media briefing in Islamabad, the Chinese diplomat said, “All the projects agreed between the two countries will be pushed forward and implemented in letter and spirit.”

He said that the postponement of the visit will not negatively impact the deep-rooted and time-tested Sino-Pak relations. “How can the postponement of a single visit affect decades of his-

CMYK

toric strategic partnership?” he asked, adding that the number of top-level visits between the two countries in recent years was unprecedented. He said that officials were actively engaged in finding a way to work on projects which are to be signed during President Jingping scheduled visit to Pakistan.

“Let’s work together to foil the attempts aimed to harm our relationship.”

Reiterating the basis of Pak-China relations, he said, “It is not the question of short-term interest or one country’s benefit. We are working for mutually beneficial cooperative partnership.”

“We want to help Pakistan; its economic interests are important to us. We will keep maintaining the relationship’s momentum through all possible means.”

The diplomat said that both coun-

tries are working to take up economic projects, such as the construction of Lahore-Karachi Motorway and two power plants at Port Qasim.

“Pakistan is our largest investment destination in South Asia and will remain so in the years to come. A stable and prosperous Pakistan is in the interest of China,” he added.

CHINESE PRESIDENT WILL DEFINITELY VISIT PAKISTAN: Expressing confidence that the Chinese president will visit Pakistan as soon as the political situation in Pakistan returns to normal, the Chinese diplomat said, “We are sure the Pakistani people have the capacity to resolve their political issues amicably.”

He added that politics is any internal matter of Pakistan and no foreign country is entitled to interfere in it.

Monday, 8 September 2014

NEWS

03

flood alarMs sounded In PunJaB and sIndh!

EMERGENCY DECLARED IN PUNJAB, SINDH, AUTHORITIES PUT ON HIGH ALERT IN JHELUM, SIALKOT, NANKANA SAHIB, NAROWAL DISTRICTS AS MET DEPT FORECASTS SEVERE FLOOD IN TWO PROVINCES ON 13TH AND 14TH

FFC SAYS RIVER CHENAB FLOWING IN ‘VERY HIGH FLOOD’ AT MARALA, KHANKI, QADIRABAD BRIDGES WHILE WATER FLOW IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO 900,000 CUSECS

182 PEOPLE KILLED BY RAINS, FLASH FLOODS, 5,000 RESCUED FROM FLOOD-STRICKEN AREAS

PM VISITS FLOOD-HIT AREAS, REASSURES LOCALS OF GOVT’S SUPPORT IN RELIEF EFFORTS WHICH HE SAYS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN STAGING SIT-INS

AS FLOODS SPREADS, MODI OFFERS RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN

KARACHI/LAHORE/ISLAMBAD

s

STAFF REPORT

INDH and Punjab are expected to face severe flooding in the coming days, Pakistan Meteorological Department warned on Sunday as recent heavy monsoon rains and flash floods have already claimed 182 lives.

Though flood water is receding in many areas of Lahore and other districts, a red alert has been issued in four districts – Jhelum, Sialkot, Nankana Sahib and Narowal – where the situation is still “precarious”. A Met Department press release stated that the water level in River Indus at Sukkur and Guddu Barrage was constantly rising and consequently there would be severe floods on September 13 and 14 in the two provinces.

National Weather Forecasting Centre Director Dr Muhammad Hanif has also said that so far there is no indication of floods in Sindh but “in next three to four days, parts of the province especially low-lying areas around Guddu may witness heavy floods when water-flows of River Chenab and Sutlej will accumulate in River Indus”.

Meanwhile, Federal Flood Commission (FFC) has said that presently River Chenab is flowing in very high flood at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad bridges since the flood has entered the river from India. The water flow is expected to rise to 900,000 cusecs. The department has called on government officials and the district machinery to adopt necessary rescue measures.

EMERGENCY IMPOSED ACROSS PUNJAB, SINDH: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Sunday that a state of emergency has been declared in the province to tackle the floods following heavy monsoon rains in several areas while the Sindh government has also imposed rain emergency across the province.

Sindh Revenue and Relief Minister Makhdoom Jameelul Zaman said that a medium-level flood will enter Sindh by September 12. He announced that focal persons have been appointed in three cities of the province and the administration of these cities has been put on high alert.

Muzaffar Shajra will be the focal person in Karachi, Taj Hyder in Hyderabad and relief commissioner will perform his duties in Sukkur. Moreover, an emergency centre has been set up to monitor and cope with the torrential rains. The situation of rains and flash floods will be inspected on daily basis.

WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION: Flash floods triggered by heavy rains have caused widespread destruction across vast swathes of the country and wreaked devastation in Hafizabad, Sialkot and Gujranwala, inundating hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land.

Senior rescue official Ali Imam Syed said that more than 5,000 people had been rescued since Thursday while three soldiers had gone missing during the rescue operation. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Spokesman Ahmed Kamal said that that the floods have hit 286 villages in Punjab as several rivers breached their banks. He said that 48 people have died in Pakistan-administered parts of Kashmir and 11 in Gilgit Baltistan area since the floods began.

Authorities fear that the death toll may rise as more torrential rains and flooding is predicted in the upcoming days and a number of cities in the province have received over 130mm of rain.

ARMY TO THE RESCUE: Pakistan Army is continuing relief and rescue operations in flood-hit areas of Punjab, said a statement issued Sunday by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The areas include Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Chiniot and Mandi Bahauddin, among

others. The statement added that army troops have also moved to Multan, DG Khan, Layyah, Sahiwal and Trimoo to help those in distress in this time of crisis.

The ISPR stated that 16 helicopters rescued 2,300 people from flood-hit areas of Punjab, including Chiniot, Kot Momin, Phalia, Hafizabaz, Khanki, Qadirabad and Bajwat, among others.

Food packs were dropped by army helicopters in various places, while over 6,500 stranded have been moved to safer places so far, the statement added.

“Besides ground troops, 300 boats and five helicopters have been employed for rescue and relief activities.”

PRIME MINISTER VISITS FLOOD-HIT AREAS: In the backdrop of the natural calamity, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Major General Saeed Aleem Sunday visited the flood-hit areas of Punjab where he was briefed by the civil administration on the ongoing rescue and relief activities.

Addressing the victims and Sialkot inhabitants, the premier said that the government was making all-out efforts for relief activities and termed the situation “unexpected”, adding that the recent rainfall spell had broken the record of past 20-30 years. The PM expressed his grief over the death and destruction caused by recent rains and floods and directed provincial and district authorities as well as NDMA to coordinate with authorities concerned in Punjab and ensure immediate rescue and relief activities.

Sharif said that in various flood-hit areas, the populace was successfully relocated as the government and armed forces were carrying out relief and rescue operations while adding that the government should be assisted in these efforts “which are most important than staging sit-ins”.

FAFEN FOR HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT OF GE 2013 ISLAMABAD PPI

Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has expressed concerns over subjective interpretation and selective use of its observation findings by political parties to support their respective views about the quality of General Elections 2013, urging them to take into account the findings holistically for realistic reforms.

In line with its mandate to observe all phases of elections, FAFEN has produced more than 50 observation reports related to 2013 polls, beginning in September 2011 when ECP released the draft electoral rolls.

FAFEN HAS EVIDENCE OF SOME IRREGULATITIES: In an effort to clarify any confusion and avoid misinterpretation of its findings, FAFEN restates that it has documented evidence about following irregularities related to General Elections (GE) 2013 which can be verified through ECP data.

CHANGED POLLING SCHEMES: In 93 National Assembly constituencies, the number of registered voters listed for each voting area in Finalised Polling Schemes is different from that docu-

mented on Form XVII (Result of the Count), which makes it impossible for ECP or independent observers to analyse election data accurately and detect any problems in those constituencies.

Furthermore, polling stations were changed or combined by Returning Officers (ROs) on or immediately before Election Day, contrary to election law, also in constituencies other than 93 constituencies where the discrepancy in the number of registered voters has been documented.

EXCESSIVE REJECTED BALLOTS: In 35 NA constituencies, the number of rejected ballots was greater than the winning candidate’s margin of victory. The number of rejected ballots in GE 2013 was 54 percent higher than in GE 2008.

An audit of all rejected ballots is needed, especially in the 35 constituencies, to understand whether each ballot was rejected appropriately and whether election results are valid.

WITHHOLDING ELECTION DOCUMENTS: ECP has yet to make public essential documents related to polling station vote counts, accounting for ballots and consolidation of election results (Forms XIV, Forms XV and Forms XVI),

despite requests by FAFEN and political parties. EUEOM also called upon ECP to release all of these forms, which are fundamental to any objective assessment of the elections, but ECP has not done so, reportedly because ECP members have yet to approve it.

INCORRECT OR INCOMPLETE ELECTION FORMS: If election officials fail to fill out all forms completely and accurately, neither ECP nor independent observers can analyse election data properly or detect and correct any irregularities. There are many examples of Forms XIV and XV that are not duly filled as required by law, or have many mistakes in basic recording of data and arithmetic, or do not have the signature or other required details of presiding officer responsible at the polling station.

ILLEGAL APPOINTMENT AND TRANSFER OF OFFICIALS: Moreover, the appointment of judicial officials as District Returning Officers (DROs) and ROs violates Section 7(1) of Representation of Peoples Act (ROPA) and judicial officials have demonstrated repeatedly that they cannot and will not be accountable to ECP when implementing election-related duties.

CMYK

SRINAGAR: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed anguish at the loss of lives and property caused by the recent floods and offered assistance to Pakistan to tackle the disaster. Expressing his grief over the loss of life and property on the Pakistani side of Line of Control, Modi offered assistance in relief work to Pakistan in a letter to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, saying, “In this hour of need, I offer any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the Government of Pakistan. Our resources are at your disposal wherever you need them.” This humanitarian gesture by Modi comes against the backdrop of his visit to the disputed Kashmir valley, following the devastation caused by massive flooding in River Jhelum. Declaring the Jammu and Kashmir floods a “national level disaster”, Modi had called upon other states to pitch in relief assistance. The Indian premier announced that Indian Rs 200,000 will be provided to the next of kin of each person killed in the calamity and Rs 50,000 would be provided to each grievously injured person. “I visited some of the areas affected by unprecedented rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir today. The devastation caused by the record rains and the consequent flooding is unprecedented. There have been many deaths and heavy damage to property and infrastructure,” Modi’s letter added. On the other hand, Pakistan also expressed deepest condolences over the loss of lives in India caused by torrential rains and flash floods and offered assistance to the Indian government in relief efforts. According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “We also feel the pain of the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir and are ready to help in whatever way possible to mitigate the suffering of the people affected by the floods.” AGENCIES

He asked the nation to take notice of the elements staging sit-ins and hindering national progress and prosperity. He told the people that the Chinese president was going to bring with him a mega project of prosperity for the people of Pakistan, including programmes to end power load shedding within the next three to four years and the construction of roads. He regretted that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “significant” visit had to be postponed “due to the sit-ins”.The PM, along with elected representatives and officials of the district administration visited the most adversely affected areas of the city including Khawaja Safdar Road, Shahabpura Sublime Chowk, Pasrur Road and Commissioner Road and asked the dwellers about the relief work being carried out.

ASIF IS ON HIS TOES: On the occasion, Defense Minister Asif apprised the PM about the damages caused by the seasonal nullahs passing through Sialkot and its adjoining areas and that a vast area of agricultural land was submerged by floodwater in the district.

Directing Sialkot Tehsil Management Authority (TMA) to expedite relief and

rescue operations, the defence minister said that the government would not leave the affected and stranded people alone in the testing time. Later, talking to reporters, Asif said that the flood water was receding in Sialkot and other flooded areas in the district, adding that he was actively monitoring the flood situation in Sialkot.

Earlier, the PM and defense minister took an aerial view of the inundated areas in the vicinity of Marala Headworks and the villages inundated in the areas surrounding River Chenab. The NDMA officials also undertook aerial view of Qadirabad Headworks, Khanki Barrage and Rasul Headworks. The NDMA chairman also held meeting with district administration officials and secretaries of different departments to get a real picture of the situation and for better on-ground coordination.

NDMA teams have already been deployed in rain-affected areas to coordinate and facilitate the civil administration in coping with the emergency situation. The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) at NDMA is functioning round the clock since the commencement of the monsoon season to monitor weather updates, river flows and the flood situation.

KHAN MUST PUT ALL ALLEGATIONS ON DIALOGUE TABLE: RASHID ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Sunday said that the allegations of poll rigging repeated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan should be placed on table of dialogue. Talking to a private TV channel, the minister said that the allegations Khan had been levelling in his speeches for the last 14 months were not tabled before the government’s dialogue committee. He said that the demands tabled in dialogue process were related to the procedural work of the Election Commission and government could not interfere in the matters of Election Tribunals. Rashid said that if the working pace of election tribunals were not acceptable for PTI then he should move his suggestions to the Parliament. He said that according to record, the majority of cases were delayed due to non-cooperation of PTI candidates. The minister said even before the long march, the government had formed parliamentary committee for electoral reforms and a judicial commission was also announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to probe into allegations of rigging. APP

FAZLULLAH OUSTS TTP COMMANDER KHORASANI PESHAWAR: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah has ousted the militant outfit’s Mohmand Agency chief Umar Khalid Khorasani on charges of “conspiring against Emirates of Afghanistan Emir Mullah Omar and having links to shadow militant organisations”. In what appears to be a further disintegration of the Pakistani Taliban structure, well-placed sources within the TTP told a private news outfit that a meeting of the Taliban shura led by Fazlullah decided to oust Wali Muhammad alias Khorasani as Mohmand Agency chief and also cancelled his TTP membership. The meeting reportedly observed that Khorasani had been conspiring against Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Omar and had formed “dubious” organisations such as Junaid-i-Hafza, Ihrarul Hind and now the splinter group Jamatul Ihrar which were damaging the TTP cause. AGENCIES

04 NEWS iran launches largest gas storage facility in middle east ISLAMABAD: Iran launched the largest gas storage facility of the Middle east on Sunday in Sarakhs city of the country’s north-eastern Khorassan Razavi province. The Shourijeh gas storage facility was launched in a ceremony attended by Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. The gas storage facility is expected will store five mcm/d of gas over the next seven months and boost Iran’s gas delivery capacity to 10 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) by the next winter while eliminating the need to import gas from neighbouring countries. The storage facility will transfer gas to North Khorassan, Khorassan Razavi, Mazandaran, Gilan and Ardebil provinces in north, north-east and north-west of Iran. The facility is capable of storing up to 4.8 billion cubic meters of gas. Iranian companies have manufactured and supplied 55 percent of Shourijeh facility’s equipment and the remaining 45 percent has been imported from Ukraine. APP

Three-day anti-polio campaign begins in tribal agencies today PESHAWAR: An emergency immunisation campaign against polio disease begins in Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur, Orakzai and Kurram Agencies today to check the increasing number of polio cases in tribal areas. During the three day campaign, more than two thousand vaccination teams would administer polio drops to about 0.6 million tribal children. So far 138 polio cases have been reported in the four provinces and tribal areas during the current year. Polio virus has been confirmed in 102 children belonging to tribal areas. Twenty three polio cases have been reported in Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa, eleven in Sindh and one each in Punjab and Balochistan. Officials said that special security arrangements have been made for the security of anti polio vaccination teams in view of attacks on them in KPK and FATA in the past. INP

Monday, 8 September, 2014

Pakistan navy sailor goes missing during australian military exercise SYDNEY

T

AGENCIES

He Royal Australian Navy said Sunday it had launched a search for a Pakistan Navy sailor believed to have disappeared overboard during a multinational military exercise in the north of the country.

The navy said the sailor, who was not named, went missing early Sun-

day while the Pakistan Navy ship PNS Nasr was anchored at Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory during the biennial KAKADU military exercises.

A Northern Territory police spokesman told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the sailor might have deliberately jumped into the crocodile-infested waters to swim to the mainland.

“A backpack was found in the

water which would indicate that the person leaving the ship did know what he was doing at the time and didn’t simply fall off the ship,” Superintendent Rob Burgoyne said.

“He was described as skulking in the bushes (on the mainland), so one can work out from that, probably he didn’t want to be found.”

“The Australian Defence Force is assisting with the search and rescue efforts,” the military said in a state-

ment, adding that the hunt for the sailor would involve boats and aircraft.

More than 1,000 people, eight warships and 26 aircraft from 15 AsiaPacific and Indian Ocean nations are involved in the maritime exercise, which lasts until September 12.

Burgoyne said the sailor was “probably lucky that he didn’t come across one (crocodile) when he was in the water”.

Journos close QPC to mourn killing of three colleagues QUETTA AGENCIES

Journalists have announced that they will close Quetta Press Club (QPC) on Monday as part of a protest movement against the killing of three colleagues.

On August 28, gunmen barged into the office of Online News Agency in Kabir Building area on Quetta’s Jinnah Road and killed its Bureau Chief Irshad Mastoi, reporter Abdul Rasool and accountant Muhammad Younas.

“We will close QPC from 9 am to 6 pm as a sign of protest,” Balochistan Union of

Journalists (BUJ) President Irfan Saeed announced while addressing a protest rally on Sunday. The BUJ president said that Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has also assured the closure of press clubs across the country on Monday as sign of solidarity with the journalists of Balochistan.

Members of BUJ and QPC marched on Qandahari Bazar, Bacha Khan Chowk and other roads of Quetta to mourn the triple murder. They flashed banners and placards and chanted slogans against attacks on media and demanded that the government ensure security of journalists in Quetta and other troubled parts of Balochistan.

‘Tsunami’ hacked!

ANONYMOUS PAKISTAN’S HACKING SPREE CONTINUES, PTI SITES TARGETED Attacks continued on Pakistani websites related to the government and security forces across Saturday and Sunday.

The attacks included DDOS attacks leaving sites inaccessible, and defacement of target pages with derogatory messages, largely connected to the ongoing political crisis and the Model Town tragedy. A network of hackers claiming to be a part of Anonymous — the global hacktivist network — leads the ongoing campaign. The groups, going under the names ASOR Hack Team and Anonymous Op Pakistan, have so far hacked into multiple websites and leaked private data of government employees and security forces as part of their ‘hacktivism’ campaign that closely mirrors the ongoing PTI and PAT protests. Surprisingly however, the hackers network opted to target websites connected to the PTI on Sunday.

Attacked sites included http://www.fundyourtsunami.com/ and http://fundyourtsunami.insaf.pk/. Messages on the sites targeted PTI Chairman Imran Khan and called on site administrators to work on their security systems as, “Our fight is not against any individual, but the system as a whole”. MONITORING DESK

174 go missing in deosai in snowfall, storm SKARDU: Around 174 people have gone missing in heavy snow fall and storm in Deosai plain and Kala Pani areas of the Gilgit-Baltistan. According to details, 452 people got struck in the snow storm alongwith their livestock. Local authorities on information by their relatives managed to reach to 280 people and shifted them to safer places.

However the administration said 174 people with their livestock are still missing. They said due to extremely harsh weather condition, they are unable to launch search for the missing persons.

The officials said that once the weather improves, they would launch rescue operation to search the missing persons and save their lives. INP

Child homicide rate in Pakistan among world’s worst 30 PERCENT OF GIRLS AGED 15 TO 19 SURVEYED SAY THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE SINCE THE AGE OF 15, WITH 24 PERCENT SAYING THEY EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE WITHIN THE LAST 12 MONTHS NEWS DESK A report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICeF) has revealed that one in 10 girls globally – 120 million – have been sexually abused, with violence against children taking increasingly insidious forms. The report, ‘Hidden in Plain Sight: Statistical Analysis of Violence against Children’, surveys 190 countries, including Pakistan, and surveys boys and girls aged up to 19 years.

While the statistics on vio-

lent acts such as homicide are startling – Pakistan is among 10 countries with the largest number of victims of homicide among children and adolescents up to the age of 19, with close to 3000 victims in 2012 – the findings on violence against girls stands out: 30 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 surveyed say they have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, with 24 percent saying they experienced physical violence within the last 12 months.

The report acknowledges the

myriad forms violent acts can take and to that end, details different kinds of violence: physical (ranging from bullying to degradation or torture and including smacks, kicking, forced ingestion or any act intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort), sexual (including unlawful or harmful sexual activity, exploitation, forced marriages), mental (including verbal abuse, threatening, isolating or ignoring, exposure to domestic violence and cyber bullying), and neglect (the failure to ade-

quately care for a child’s physical and psychological needs).

When girls were asked to identify the perpetrators of the violence, parents and caregivers (including stepmothers or stepfathers) were most commonly named, as well as husbands or partners (depending on the girls’ marital status). Among married girls, 85 percent of Pakistani girls surveyed identified their current partner as the perpetrator of violence. One percent listed former partners, 10 percent listed mothers or step-mothers while 15 per-

CMYK

cent listed mothers-in-law as perpetrators of violence. Seventeen percent of girls said they experienced physical violence while pregnant. These girls remained silent about the abuse they suffered, with 51 percent saying they never told anyone.

When it comes to accountability for such violence, 53 percent of girls said a ‘husband or partner is justified in hitting or beating his wife or partner under certain circumstances’. Comparatively, 34 percent of boys agreed that violence is condoned

in certain situations.

The report notes that children who are abused or neglected may suffer from low self-esteem, depression and hampered development (often performing poorly at school).

Witnessing violence can also cause distress, with many children internalising the nature of the violence they are exposed to and repeating patterns of abuse against others. Unicef states that the nature and impact of violence on children remains largely undocumented and underreported, while legal systems across the world fail to adequately respond to cases of violence against children.

Monday, 8 September, 2014

NEWS

05

FIGHTING RESUMES IN UKRAINE AS CEASEFIRE UNDERMINED A DEAL TO END FIGHTING BETWEEN PRO-RUSSIA SEPARATISTS AND UKRAINE GOVERNMENT FORCES WAS SIGNED LESS THAN TWO DAYS AGO DONETSK AGENCIES

woman was reportedly killed in the government-held port city of Mariupol as violence between separatists and Ukrainian forces erupted overnight Saturday to Sunday near a government checkpoint on the coastal city’s eastern edge.

Mariupol’s local council on Sunday confirmed the woman’s death, as local media reported she had been travelling in

A

AMNESTY ACCUSES UKRAINE RIVALS OF WAR CRIMES KIEV APP

Amnesty International accused rival fighters in the Ukraine conflict of war crimes including indiscriminate shelling, abductions, torture, and killings, in a report compiled ahead of the ceasefire deal.

“All sides in this conflict have shown disregard for civilian lives and are blatantly violating their international obligations,” Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty said in the report published Sunday.

The London-based rights group also charged that Russia – accused by the West of secretly sending in troops and heavy weapons to support the rebels – had been “fuelling separatist crimes” in Ukraine. It said its researchers on the ground had interviewed people fleeing the fighting in a string of cities across the war-ravaged eastern industrial belt.

Civilians they spoke to said Ukrainian government forces had subjected their neighbourhoods to heavy shelling.

TEN FEARED DEAD IN COLOMBIA PLANE CRASH BOGOTA APP

Colombian authorities said there was little chance of finding survivors after a small plane with 10 people on board crashed in the Amazon jungle.

The aircraft with registration number HK-4755 PA 34 Navajo took off from Araracuara Airport in the country’s south around 3:00 pm local time (2000 GMT) on Saturday. It lost contact with air traffic control as it went over the town of Florencia. Authorities have yet to find the occupants — two crew members and eight passengers — although it is almost certain they are dead. “The aircraft was located – fragmented and incinerated – 10 kilometres (six miles) from the urban centre of the town of Puerto Santander.

It is possible that no passengers will be found,” the Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. “Specialised rescue personnel are currently in a search and rescue mission for the bodies of the occupants of the aircraft.” The unit is responsible for ensuring the safety of commercial flights in Colombia.

a car that was riddled by shrapnel from an artillery attack. Three people were also reportedly injured.

The city council blamed separatist forces for breaking the truce by attacking a government checkpoint, while the separatists blamed Kyiv’s forces, who they accused of attacking them with missiles.

Mariupol is located on the Sea of Azov, some 115 kilometres (70 miles) south of Donetsk and fears have been raised that the separatists were trying to claim an overland corridor between Russia and Crimea, which Russia an-

council, Volodymyr Polyovyi, as saying that it appeared the separatists had tried to attack the airport. Again, the separatists issued statements accusing Ukrainian forces of violating the ceasefire, and reported that several of their fighters had been killed.

“As far as I know, the Ukrainian side is not observing the ceasefire. We have

nexed in March.

DONETSK UNDER FIRE: In separatist-held Donetsk (pictured above), blasts from the area near the airport, which is under the control of Kyiv forces, were loud enough to be heard in the city’s downtown on Sunday.

A news agency quoted a spokesperson from Ukraine’s national security

BRITISH GOVERNMENT PROMISES SCOTS MORE POWERS IF THEY REJECT INDEPENDENCE THE PROMISE COMES AFTER AN OPINION POLL SHOWED THAT 51 PERCENT PEOPLE ARE PRO-INDEPENDENCE LONDON AGENCIES

The British government is scrambling to respond to a lurch in opinion polls towards a vote for Scottish independence this month by promising a range of powers for Scotland if it chooses to stay within United Kingdom.

British Finance Minister George Osborne said Sunday that a plan of action would be evolved to give Scotland more autonomy on tax, spending and welfare if Scots vote against independence in a historic referendum on September 18. Ironically, UK Prime Minister David Cameron had vetoed a third ballot option for greater devolution, betting that the stark choice of yes or no to independence would deliver a clear victory for the status quo as cautious voters turned away from an uncertain future. A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed supporters of independence had taken their first opinion poll lead since the referendum campaign began. The poll put the “yes” to independence campaign on 51 per

SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER ALEX SALMOND REJECTS PROPOSED DEVOLUTION PLANS AS ‘BRIBE’ TO SCOTS TO GIVE UP INDEPENDENCE DEMAND

cent, overturning a 22-point lead for the unionist position in just a month.

“You will see in the next few days a plan of action to give more powers to Scotland ... Then Scotland... will both avoid the risks of separation but have more control over their own destiny, which is where I think many Scots want to be,” Osborne told BBC. INDEPENDENCE BLITZKRIEG: Scotland already enjoys massive devolution and has had its own parliament since 1999 with the power to legislate in policy areas of education, health, the environment, housing and justice.

Further devolution, often referred to as “devo max” could see all powers handed over to Scotland except defense and foreign affairs. Polls have previously shown many Scots would favor this over outright independence, and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond had unsuccessfully pushed to have it as an option on the referendum ballot.

Pro-independence Scottish National Party deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the YouGov poll as a “significant moment” in the cam-

paign but rejected talk of more devolved powers for Scotland.

“If the other parties had been serious about more powers, then something concrete would have been put forward before now,” she said, adding that the other parties were desperate to keep that option off the ballot paper.

Salmond termed the talks of devolution plans as a bribe to the Scots to give up independence. “A two-point gap is too small for us to call the outcome but the fact that the contest is too close to call is itself remarkable, as Better Together seemed to have victory in the bag,” YouGov President Peter Kellner wrote on his blog.

NO IFS, NO BUTS, NO POUND: The pound suffered its worst week against the dollar in more than a year after YouGov’s last poll. “Sterling looks to be set for another challenging week,” said economist Howard Archer. “While there will likely be a significant reaction early on in the week ... how much further the pressure on sterling ramps up will likely depend on whether polls continue to show the yes vote improving.”

SHEBAB’S NEW LEADER A ‘DEVOUT, RUTHLESS’ HARDLINER WASHINGTON: The new leader of Somalia’s Al-Qaedalinked Shebab rebels is thought to be a devout and ruthless hardliner who was one of the most trusted lieutenants of the group’s late chief, according to experts and analysts.

The Shebab acknowledged in a statement on Saturday that Ahmed Abdi Godane, its previous leader, had been killed in a US air strike on Monday. The Islamist group named Ahmad Umar, also known as Abu Ubaidah, as its new head. Very little is known about Abu Ubaidah, and a senior Shebab official only described him as having been

very close to Godane, a hardliner who had overseen the group’s transformation from local insurgency to major regional guerrilla threat. “Avenging the death of our scholars and leaders is a binding obligation on our shoulders that we will never relinquish nor forget no matter how long it takes,” the Shebab statement said.

“By the permission of Allah, you will surely taste the bitter consequences of your actions,” it added, while also renewing a pledge of allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s successor. AGENCIES

wounded on our side at various points.

We are observing the ceasefire,” the deputy premier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s republic, Vladimir Antyufeyev said.

Amnesty International has condemned the five-month conflict’s toll on civilians, saying “all sides” carry blame for the violence.

EGYPT ARRESTS SEVEN OVER ‘GAY MARRIAGE’ VIDEO CAIRO: Egypt has arrested seven men accused of debauchery for taking part in a “gay marriage” video that spread on social media networks, state news agency MENA reported. Homosexuality is not included in a list of sexual offences explicitly outlawed

by Egyptian law, but it can be punished under several different statutes on morality.

The seven were arrested on Saturday after appearing in a video showing two men celebrating a marriage ceremony and exchanging rings surrounded by friends.

“Nine of the 16 participants were identified in an investigation and seven were arrested,” MENA reported, without specifying whether the two men at the centre of the ceremony were among those detained. The seven were remanded in custody for up to four days, accused of “incitement to debauchery” and “publishing indecent images,” MENA said. APP

IRAQI GOVERNOR WOUNDED DURING ISLAMIC STATE CLASH BAGHDAD: An Iraqi army spokesman says the governor of the country’s contested Anbar province has been wounded during fighting with Islamic State militants. Army military spokesman Lt Gen Qassim alMoussawi said Gov Ahmed al-Dulaimi was wounded Sunday during clashes near Haditha. The U.S. said Sunday its forces launched airstrikes at the Haditha Dam to stop Islamic State militants from capturing it. Al-Moussawi did not elaborate on alDulaimi’s condition. Anbar long has been a contested region between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants backed by allied Sunni tribes. The situation deteriorated significantly in late December, and the militants took over parts of the provincial capital of Ramadi and the city of Fallujah.

Iraqi forces have been trying unsuccessfully to take back Anbar since January. The US airstrikes may boost their efforts. AGENCIES

US AIRSTRIKES TARGET ISLAMIC STATE NEAR HADITHA DAM BAGHDAD AGENCIES

US warplanes launched four airstrikes against Islamic State militants threatening western Iraq’s Haditha Dam early Sunday, witnesses and senior officials said, broadening Washington’s campaign against the fighters.

The leader of a pro-Iraqi government paramilitary force in the west said the strikes wiped out an Islamic State patrol trying to attack the dam—the

country’s second biggest hydroelectric facility that also provides millions with water. “They (the airstrikes) were very accurate. There was no collateral damage. If Islamic State had gained control of the dam, many areas of Iraq would have been seriously threatened, even Baghdad,” Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha told a foreign news agency.

The strikes were Washington’s first reported offensive into Iraq’s western Anbar province since it started attacks on Islamic State forces in the north of

CMYK

the country in August. The move brought its planes closer to the border with Syria.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said they had been carried out at the request of the Iraqi government.

“If that dam would fall into ISIL’s (Islamic State’s) hands or if that dam would be destroyed, the damage that that would cause would be very significant and it would put a significant, additional and big risk into the mix in Iraq,” he told reporters during a trip to

Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

Islamic State has overrun large areas of Iraq and Syria and declared a crossborder Islamic caliphate.

Iraqi government forces and a small number of Sunni militias have been confronting Islamic State and other fighters in Anbar since January.

Iraq’s outgoing Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari welcomed the growing US air campaign and said Islamic State was trying to control strategic assets, including dams across Iraq.

06 KARACHI

WEATHER UPDATES MONDAY

340C 260C

TUESDAY

340C 260C

WEDNESDAY

340C 260C

THURSDAY

340C 260C

Monday, 8 September, 2014

PrAyer tImIngs FAJR

SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR

MAGHRIB

ISHA

4:59

6:15

12:30

3:59

6:44

8:01

YOUM-E-KHATME NABUWAT OBSERVED IN SINDH KARACHI: Like other parts of Pakistan, the Youm-e-Khatme Nabuwat was observed in Sindh province on Sunday with traditional fervour and zeal. Noted religious motivational speaker and amir of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Sindh chapter Dr Merajul Huda Siddiqui has said that the belief of Khatme Nabuwat is integral part of our religion and all Muslims are ready to sacrifice their lives to defend the belief of Khatme Nabuwat. He said the founder of JI Maulana Abul A’la Maududi wrote a historic book on the issue of Khatme Nabuwat, while many other religious scholars including Mufti Mehmood, Allama Shah Ahmed Noorani and Prof Abdul Ghafoor Ahmed along with other parliamentarian played an important role to defend the Khatme Nabuwat. He urged the younger generation to continue these laudable traditions of their elders. However, Mufti Abu Hurera Mohiuddin, chairman of Association of Voice of Islam, said that defending the belief of Khatme Nabuwat was the collective responsibility of whole ummah. PPI

DILAPIDATED ROAD AWAITS REPAIR KARACHI: Dilapidated sections of the University Road Karachi await urgent repair and the citizens are seeing towards the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to give attention to this important civic problem. Both tracks of the University Road from Hassan Square to Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technology (FUUAST) and from Staff Colony Gate of Karachi University to Safoora Goth are in shambles needing urgent repair. Some sections of good track, especially in front of Safari Park and Nadra Office, Gulshan-e-Iqbal near Civic Center, have also developed potholes resulting in problems for motorists. Many sections of the road especially in front of Masjid Baitul Mukkaram and from Mosimiyat Chowrangi to KU Staff Gate have become almost non-motorable and need urgent repair work to facilitate citizens, said ex-MPA and chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) District East chapter Yunus Barai. He asked the Sindh local government department, KMC and district East administration to take notice of the situation and ensure early repair of the broken road to lessen the sufferings of motorists, commuters and pedestrians. PPI

KARACHI: Excavation work is under process for laying sewer line at Nipa Chorangi. ONLINE

Cop among three killed, five injured in violenCe KARACHI

t

stAff rePort

HREE people, including a policeman, were killed and five others injured in different violence incidents in the city on Sunday.

A policeman, Hatim, 35, son of Abdullah, was shot dead and a passerby, Iqbal, son of Abdull Sagheer, injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on policeman at Khajoor Market in Lee Market area of the city. The body and the injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi.

SHO Kharadar PS Zafar informed that PC-10764, Hatim Morio, son of Abdullah Morio, posted at PS Kharadar, was deployed on duty at Main Khajoor Bazaar. He was on duty in uniform when unidentified armed men reached at the spot and opened fire on him. Resultantly, the constable

was martyred whereas a passerby, Iqbal, son of Abdul Sagheer, received bullet in his shoulder.

The medical legal officer (MLO) Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) reported that a person, Javed, 35, son of Muhammad Sohail, was brought dead from Orangi Town Sector 11. He was killed by the firing of unidentified armed men in at Islam Chowk in Orangi Town.

The Police Station Pakistan Bazaar duty officer verified the above information and further informed that the deceased was opening his general store when two unidentified motorcyclists reached the spot and tried to loot him. He added that criminals had come to commit robbery and on resistance they opened firing on him.

The Station House Officer (SHO), Surjani Town PS, informed that unknown armed men reached Dua Estate Agency in Surjani Town Sector L/1 and killed a person, Abdul Aziz,

PAF CONTINGENT LAYS FLORAL WREATH RASHID MINHAS’S GRAVE

50, son of Abdul Rasheed. The body was shifted to ASH for medico-legal formalities.

The MLO ASH reported that a minor girl, Samina, 5, daughter of Agha Khan, was brought injured from Lasi Goth, near Tuba Masjid, Sohrab Goth having received bullet injury. Police Constable, Younus of ASH, confirmed that the girl sustained a stray bullet injury.

Sohail, 35, son of Ghazi Mohammad, was shot and injured by unknown armed men at Safoora Goth in Memon Goth area. The injured was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment.

Two men, Ameer Hamza, 22, son of Abdul Wahab, and Bahadur, 23, Marfat Shah, were shot at and injured by unidentified armed men at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in Nazimabad. Police and rescue teams were reached the crime scene and started operation.

PML-F law makers reiterate full support to democracy KARACHI: The elected representatives of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueFunctional (PML-F) have reiterated their full support to democracy and supremacy of the constitution. A meeting chaired by PML-F chief Pir Sighatullah Shah Rashidi expressed concern over the prevailing political situation and stressed the need for early resolution of the political impasse through dialogue. The meeting, held here on Friday, was attended by MNAs, MPAs and senior leaders of the party. The PML-F chief said it was high time that all political forces should unite for the continuity of democratic system in the country. The elected representatives expressed firm resolve that they would strongly resist any move to derail democracy in the country. The meeting also demanded of the government to conduct local bodies elections on the basis of fresh census so that empowerment at the grassroots level be witnessed. APP

SINDH POLICE SALARIES TO BE MADE AT PAR WITH PUNJAB POLICE: IGP KARACHI: Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Haider Jamali on Saturday said that a summary for raising Sindh police salaries making them par with Punjab police salaries had been sent to the Sindh government and a positive development was expected soon. He was speaking to police officials and families of martyred policemen on the completion of one year of Karachi Operation at Garden Police Headquarters. Jamali said the gettogether was organised to applaud efforts of those policemen who not only forced criminals to bend their knees in front of law enforcement agencies but also sacrificed their lives for securing lives and property of citizens. The IG also distributed appointment letters among 31 heirs of slain policemen and said that 24 heirs were given appointment letters earlier while 38 more would be given letters in the current week.

He said from now onwards, two heirs of slain policemen would be given jobs in the department. He said that allotment of plots for slain policemen heirs had completed and the department had asked the chief minister for more land to be allotted as the allotment at 300 acre land had completed.

He said the chief minister had directed concerned authorities to allot more land to their heirs. “It is the prime responsibility of police to safeguard lives and property of citizens and it will happen when the policemen will ensure their safety first,” he said, adding that the SOP for police safety was enhanced and the department had ensured its implementation. He said that steps for providing small firearms to onground policemen was underway while provision of bullet proof helmets and bullet proof jackets for on-duty policemen would also be ensured. The IG also stressed on the need of community policing through better role of police stations and said that peoplefriendly atmosphere should be provided in police stations for better cooperation between citizens and police.

He also applauded sacrifices of armed forces during 1965 war and said that policemen should also be ready to sacrifice their lives for the homeland. PPI

ALL SET FOR INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY KARACHI PPI

KARACHI stAff rePort

A PAF contingent led by Air Vice Marshal Syed Azhar Hassan Rizvi, Air Officer Commanding, Southern Air Command, Pakistan Air Force, offered ‘Fateha’ and laid floral wreath on behalf of Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, at the grave of Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed.

The contingent paid homage to the young pilot who sacrificed his life in the defence of motherland showing exceptional courage and determination.

The Defence Day of Pakistan, celebrated by all the three services, reminds us of those Shaheeds and Ghazis who with their dauntless courage and gallantry thwarted the evil designs of the enemy in 1965 Indo-Pak war leaving behind several unforgettable tales of unparalleled valour and chivalry.

The international literacy day will be observed on Monday in Sindh province.

Senior Minister Education Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has said that according to article 25-A of the constitution of Pakistan it is our responsibility and commitment to provide education free for all. He said the Sindh education department was considering to give the incentive package of 20 marks for those SSC, HSC and BA passed student who will voluntarily prepare to impart education to un-educated chil-

CMYK

dren of the Sindh province, with this 5 lacs uneducated children could be able to get education which would be helpful in reducing the illiteracy in the province.

He said it had been decided to establish 1,500 consolidation campus school in Sindh to improve the education and identification of 700 consolidation campus school had been made in the different district of the Sindh in the first phase.

Nisar Ahmed khuhro said Head Teachers for such consolidation school campuses will be recruited for 3 years on the contract basis through

National Testing Service (NTS).

He said education is key to the nations development and teachers as an important role to build the future of nation therefore they should come forward and play role in increasing the standard of the education in the Sindh Province and teachers should perform their duties with honesty and sincerity otherwise I will start target operation in education.

He said all non functional schools will be opened in Sindh. He claimed that out of 5 thousand non functional schools 18 hundred schools have been made functional.

KARACHI 07

Monday, 8 September, 2014

IGP GIVES APPOINTMENT LETTERS TO HEIRS OF MARTYRED COPS

KARACHI: Kids enjoying swing in the area of Gulistan-e-Jauhar. ONLINE

KARACHI APP

Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Haider Jamali has distributed appointment letters among 31 eligible legal heirs of martyred policemen.

The appointment letters were given at a ceremony held at the Police Headquarters to mark completion of one year of the ongoing targeted action against terrorists and criminals in the metropolis, and to pay tributes to the martyred police personnel, said a handout issued on Sunday. Police Darbar was also held where arrangements were made for a meal. Besides, a large number of police officers and officials, family members of martyred policemen attended the ceremony. The IGP was told that 24 legal heirs of the martyred policemen had already been handed appointment letters, while 38 more appointment letters would be distributed in this week. He was informed that necessary departmental process will also be completed for giving jobs to remaining heirs of the martyred policemen.

Addressing the ceremony, the IGP announced that now onwards two eligible legal heirs of each martyred policeman will be provided employment in the police department.

He said that the process of plots' allotment has been completed for the family members of all the police personnel who had been martyred from 1992 to to-date, adding that town planning and other civic works are smoothly underway on the allotted land.

Ghulam Haider Jamali said that the Sindh Chief Minister had been requested for the allotment of more land for the heirs of martyred policemen, as allotment on 300 acres provided earlier, had been completed. He said the Chief Minister has issued directives to the departments concerned in this regard.

The IGP directed police officers to complete departmental process at the earliest for giving compensation to the family members of martyred police officials. He also called for steps to ensure education and health facilities for them.

He informed that the Sindh government has been sent recommendations for bringing the salaries of Sindh's police personnel up to the level of the Punjab police, and positive development in this regard is expected soon.

Ghulam Haider Jamali stressed that protection to the life and property of the public is among the basic responsibilities of the police, and it will only be possible when police personnel will ensure their own safety. He called for upgrading and implementing standard operating procedures in this regard.

He said that documentation formalities should be promptly completed for providing small weapons to the police officers and jawans working in the field, besides provision of bullet proof jackets and bullet proof helmets should also be ensured. Ghulam Haider Jamali also called for resolving the problems of law abiding citizens on a priority basis through community policing. In his speech, Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Qadir Thebo also paid tributes to martyred police personnel. On behalf of the Sindh police, he presented salute to the Armed Forces and the martyred police personnel and expressed solidarity with the heirs of policemen.

Cng buses re-routed from gulshan-e-hadeed KARACHI

r

APP

ESIDENTS of several localities beyond Quaidabad who are facing transport difficulties have expressed reservations on launching of CNG Bus Service from Quaidabad to Tower instead of making Gulshan-e-Hadeed as its starting point.

These localities with a huge population include Pakistan Steel Township, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Pipri, Shah Town, Universal Royal City, Shah Abdul Latif Town and the adjoining areas maintain that while Quaidabad is already served by alternative transport to some extent their localities are virtually dependent on only one coach service, which also has a long route.

A large number of people including women and students do travel to the main city areas for their jobs and education daily. They have to depend on a single Muslim flying couch route between Gulshan-e-Hadeed to Tower via Sharea Fasial and II Chundrigar Road. Besides, the population of Malir and other areas touching this route also use this coach service. The single route of Muslim coach falls short of provid-

ing a suitable transportation for this huge number of commuters, said the people of these areas.

The worst part of this scene is that the coaches mostly break their journey in the middle at Quaidabad while going to and back from the main city to double their income, they said. They

pointed out that the newly-launched CNG buses leave their starting point of Quaidabad with a few passengers because there are already three routes mini bus no 16 for Saddar, 16-D for Tower and Marwat coach for Tower operating through this point.

The real difficulty is for the residents

of Gulshan-e-Hadeed and other areas of Bin Qasim Town who face serious problem in travelling to the main city. The people have appealed to the concerned authorities to ply these CNG buses from Gulshan-e-Hadeed to Tower via Sharea Faisal and II Chundrigar Road which is their long awaited demand.

TRANSPORT DEPT YET TO GET MOTOR VEHICLE FITNESS POWERS KARACHI PPI

The Sindh transport department is yet to take over motor vehicle fitness powers, which are still exercised by traffic police, despite promulgation of amendments in motor vehicle ordinance on March 31, 2014, and its approval by Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad one month ago.

The provincial assembly passed an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1969, through which traffic penalties were modified and the authority of issuing fitness certificates to commercial and public transport vehicles

was handed over to the provincial transport department.

According to an official in transport department, it has been one month since the department sent a summary to Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah for transfer of manpower and property being used by traffic police for fitness purposes. “Qaim Ali Shah has not yet given approval to the summary sent by the department,” he said.

The official set aside questions being raised by home department as to how the transport department would run the fitness affairs as these affairs were run by traffic police since promulgation of fitness rules and said that there was no need

for transport department to devise a new mechanism or hire new people for this purpose as the entire system which was involved with traffic police would now work under the supervision of transport department.

He said there were some resistance from home department, traffic police and even motor vehicle inspection department for transfer of powers to transport department because they had been working with each other for a long time but now after final nod by the governor it was the responsibility of the government to shift powers to transport department.

The official set aside the reservation

CMYK

that transport department was not able to handle fitness of vehicles and said that in every province except Sindh, the fitness issues are dealt by transport department.

“It will not be transport department that would deal with fitness issues in the province instead it would be the same motor vehicle inspection department that would deal with it after being transferred under their department,” he added.

He also set aside accusations made by some traffic police officials that the department wanted to take charge of fitness issues in order to regularize Qinqui Rickshaws in the city. “These rickshaws have been running on Karachi streets before this amend-

ment was tabled in assembly with the nod of these traffic police officials,” he said, adding that the department was working closely to resolve this issue as jobs of hundreds of people were linked with it.

Talking to PPI, Secretary Transport Department Taha Farooqui acknowledged that the process was being initiated to take fitness powers under the department, however, he did not elaborate on the kind of process.

He said the department was taking every step to improve conditions of existing transport and bringing new transport facilities in the city to lessen miseries of people being faced during commuting.

08 COMMENT

Monday, 8 Septemebr, 2014

Time to call it a day Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri need to look beyond themselves

T

He mudslinging match between Aitzaz Ahsan and Ch Nisar has been called off thus belying expectations of any cracks in Parliament’s unity.

Altaf Hussain has deferred the decision on his MNAs’ resignations. The PTI and PAT have withdrawn their camps from forward positions presumably under SC’s pressure. This would allow the federal government offices to start functioning. Meanwhile talks between the teams trying to negotiate between the government on one side and the PTI and PAT on the other continue.

The 23-day long protest is already taking toll of the morale of the protesters, particularly of those in Imran Khan’s camp. Both Qadri and Imran Khan had kept the expectations high by announcing firm dates for government change from time to time. With Nawaz Sharif seen to be riding out the storm, many among the protesters are likely to think that they have been led down the garden path by their leadership.

The floods playing havoc in Punjab and other provinces would consume much of the time of the electronic media in days to come and take away public attention from the protests. The continuation of the sit-in when the country faces a major natural calamity would be interpreted as insensitive pursuit of political power ignoring human suffering. With the visit of the Chinese President called off, the government would face no urgency even if the protests were to continue for weeks.

The PTI is already facing difficulties in sustaining the sit-in. Many of its workers are suffering from fatigue. Others have resumed their day-to-day economic activities. The more tenacious PAT workers face problems like sickness caused by exposure to bad weather, inadequate food and unhygienic living conditions. The PTI has already got four of its five demands accepted.

On Saturday Qadri announced that the revolution had already taken place with heightened public awareness of the government’s misrule. This provides them enough face saving. It is time both announced that they have won the battle and are calling it a day.

Hardest part of Zarb-e-Azb Waziristan was relatively simpler

D

eSPITe some merit in the otherwise exaggerated tales of unconquerable tribes of the north – that the TTP rallied its rank and file with in face of the military operation – it was never going to be too difficult for the armed forces to clear and hold North Waziristan. And, as the operation has shown, intelligence gathering was up to the mark, as was the operational part. Going by news reports, especially after Defence Day, it seems only a matter of time before NW is declared safe and IDPs allowed to return.

But a much harder fight will begin once NW is in the bag. The army, and its agencies, will face a tougher time taking the operation to main cities. And since, as Gen raheel said the other day, the fight will continue till all forms of terrorism are eliminated, thelashkars and jaishes spread across Punjab and Sindh will have to become fair game. If the military, or the government, was counting on the operation in the badlands to deter militant organisations in the cities, the last few days must have been unpleasant. Saturday was an uncomfortable reminder of how minorities remain vulnerable. An attack on a shrine in Sargodha killed a brigadier and two others, while another typical hit targeted the son of a prominent Shi’a scholar in Karachi, who was killed along with his guard.

Nobody needs reminding, of course, that many of these non-state actors, especially what is now the Punjabi Taliban, were pretty close to the ‘establishment’ for a long, long time. Things changed with the Lal Masjid incident, when the proxies realised that the equation was shifting.

Yet, even as it became clear that former assets had turned on their masters, security agencies have been behind the curve when it comes to netting the most prominent, and active, bad guys in big cities. And all this while minorities have borne the brunt of this relationship going sour. No doubt the military realises what needs to be done, and while it has been cleaning NW, it must have made contingency plans for the cities. It will not be long before they are put to action. If Gen raheel’s promise of going all the way is fulfilled, there may be some hope after all.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963, 042-36375965

I

The unending protests What’s the endgame? Who will it benefit?

Khurshid AKhtAr KhAn

T

rue to their words, Imran Khan (IK) and Allama Tahirul Qadri (TuQ) made history by leading the marches of thousands from Lahore to Islamabad and further advancing to stage sit-ins in the red Zone. They have also earned the dubious distinction of being the first to force their entry into the Parliament House compound, Secretariat building, Pakistan Television building, beating the police and taking pride in it. The same history will deliberate on what the two individuals, their followers, our political system and our nation gained or lost.

Also true to their words, the star-struck charged crowds remained peaceful and in a festive mood for the first two weeks. The two leaders addressed their followers at frequent intervals from the roof of their containers in theatrical styles - rain or shine. In much delayed efforts to negotiate compromise, the government ministers bent backwards, begged, ate their words and traversed an extra mile to appease the rebels. They kept fumbling and retreating further at each step. Both IK and TuQ firmly held their grounds (not too distant from each other), as they smelled blood and grew increasingly hostile and taunting. After two weeks of waiting and cajoling, the war bugles for marching on were sounded.

A sort of history was made on the other side too. eleven of the twelve political parties with representation in the Parliament stood beside the government to combat the assault and save democracy. This was an unprecedented and rare show of consensus among divergent viewpoints and interests in our highly polarised democracy. The solidarity, however, appeared impotent against the belligerence of the thousands of protesters gathered by a novice political party and a religious group with no political background.

This has exposed the inherent weakness of the political acumen of our traditional politicians, their reach and influence among the masses. The seasoned political leaders with proven credentials of personal sacrifices, hardships, long struggles for democracy against military dictators, looked helpless as the entrance to the Parliament and Secretariat were virtually under siege of the protesters. All their fiery speeches, their unity and negotiation skills have so far failed to politically subdue the inexperienced and relatively late entrants on the political scene. All mediation efforts have met dead ends.

This is revolution Pakistani style, where na-

The writer is an engineer and an entrepreneur. He can be contacted at: k.a.k786@hotmail.com.

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Editor’s mail

The sit-ins The sit-ins by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri have been going on for almost a month. As a consequence the government in Islamabad is more or less paralysed, there is a security situation in the capital, the stock exchanges have tumbled, the rupee has lost about three percent of its value, direct foreign investment is frozen, the Presidents of Sri Lanka and Maldives have cancelled their visits and the visit of the Chinese President is in doldrums. Conservative estimate of the loss to the country is of about rs500-600 billion.

Imran has and continues to repudiate the oath he took after being elected to the National Assembly. Without going in points on which there could be different opinions, no one can deny that his tamasha of “long march”, “sit-in” and “civil disobedience” has harmed and continues to harm the wellbeing and prosperity of Pakistan. One does not understand the purpose behind the continuation of the sit. Now there is hardly any possibility of Nawaz Sharif resigning and mid-term elections. In fact to start with Imran was ill advised. The whole scheme was amateurish. The political parties would never agree to an elected government being forced to resign by a motley gathering of a few thousand people. To agree to the resignation of Nawaz would have set an unacceptable precedent. This was the reason behind the full support to Nawaz by all the political parties in the National Assembly.

Imran must realise that his bid to derail the

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

representation in the National Assembly. For a first time entrant, it was a tremendous success.

But for Imran Khan, it was not. He was disappointed, as he wanted it all. He immediately geared up to throw a challenge.

It is now common knowledge that IK and TuQ got together in London where they allegedly developed a coordination in their plans for the long march and dharnas. This appears to be a marriage of convenience, as their paths and their ambitions run parallel and are unlikely to converge. IK has emerged as a popular national leader and has stakes in the system. He has made his future in Pakistan and has a lot to lose if his bid to force the government out by agitation fails or if he is unable to extract meaningful concessions. Conversely, TuQ is an outsider. The only way he could accelerate his ascent on the power ladder can be through disruption of the system. He has little to lose and can take the next flight home at any time, to live and fight another day.

The deadlock will end sooner or later with some formula for an honourable exit and this episode will eventually conclude, as all events do. The reverberations will however leave a lasting impact on the national scene and will not be without repercussions, as the monumental financial impact caused by this disturbance will be calculated. An overhaul of the system will be inevitable and the multiple fall-outs from this adventure will have to be carefully handled for least damage to the nation.

The overwhelming domination of the Punjabi population (barring a relatively smaller presence from KP in IK’s camp) among the protesters in both contingents has imparted a dangerous impression of the alienation of smaller provinces from national issues. Both the leaders, aspiring for the highest office in the country, ignored the necessity to include equitable representation from all provinces in this campaign that may leave disastrous consequences.

The wisdom of the democrat Imran Khan joining with TuQ that has an agenda of demolishing the system will raise questions on his judgment. His inability to keep the entire party together at critical junctures and his proclamations without thinking through and then backtracking will raise serious doubts on his leadership. Only time will tell if the gamble that IK has played will strengthen the PTI or he will have to resurrect it from ashes. Politics is much more serious than a game of cricket or to raise funds for a hospital or a university.

tional representation of labourers, farmers, technocrats, intellectuals, trade unions, business and ordinary people is blatantly missing. It is led by wealthy people driving in caravans of luxury cars with access to normal comforts of life. One leader is a cricketer-turned-playboy-turnedpolitician and a-man-in-a-hurry, too impatient to wait for his turn and desperately looking for a short-cut to the top.

The other is a preacher, who magically descends from Canada with immaculate preparations, vast resources and a comprehensive agenda. Both couldn’t be different in person, background and in their political philosophy. Yet, they have discovered and proclaimed a bond of brotherhood. Both appear obsessed with an illusion of being ordained divine rights to bring ‘freedom’ and ‘revolution’ to our hapless people.

Both embarked simultaneously from Lahore to Islamabad with an army of committed crowds of tens of thousands on their tails and held an entire nation of 1p0 million people hostage. The state functions were crippled, state institutions became subjects of suspicion and ridicule and state visits of foreign heads were cancelled. The sole mission was declared to be to humiliate and bring the government to its knees and to force it to submit to their charter of demands. The constitution, the courts, the existing political system and the Parliament be damned.

What must be recognised is that the PAT movement originated from a religious organisation and transformed itself into a political force.

So far, the group has not exhibited its electability, though it has proved its street power twice by successfully bringing the Capital to a virtual standstill. Their workers (many among them women, children and infants) are from working classes, mostly from Punjab. They are motivated, well organised and not averse to defend themselves with violence. Their leader is well informed, aggressive, fearless, resourceful and a master strategist.

The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) was infused a new life in October 2011 after years in wilderness when it successfully held a massive gathering in Lahore, the heart of the PML-N stronghold. It brought in a new generation of enthusiastic young people and women of the middle and lower classes that had traditionally stayed aloof from street politics. The source of attraction was the charisma of Imran Khan, who had established his integrity as a star and a philanthropist. The spectacular surge in his following convinced IK of his certain victory across the board in the 2013 elections.

However, his party failed to achieve a majority in the National Assembly. It secured the control of one province (KPK), role of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and a substantial

I

economic progress and seek the resignation of Nawaz Sharif has failed.

Now that PTI assembly members have gone back to the assemblies and all his demands except the resignation of Nawaz Sharif have been agreed to, to continue with the sitin will only further damage the economy and is not in the national interest.

It is time that Imran should retrieve his position and announce that he is calling off the sit-in in Islamabad in national interest to enable the government to make preparations for the impending visit of the Chinese President.

INAM KHAWAJA New York, USA

Have they not failed?

This is in reference to Arif Nizami’s precise analysis of unfortunate state of affairs in Pakistan. There is no doubt that the political leadership and paid establishment have failed to come up to the aspiration of the public. The solution lies in more democracy, tolerance for dissent, with no role for any state funded institution and a process of accountability, economic reforms and justice, already specified in constitution but never implemented in letter or spirit. What we need is to shun the legacy of Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf and adopt the vision of our founding fathers. The PML-N needs to put on leash their bulls and start delivering and so must the PPP. However it is with a sense of deep pain and anguish to witness anarchy set in our

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

CMYK

I

motherland, a country for which thousands struggled under selfless leadership of Quaide-Azam, Allama Iqbal, Sher-e-Bengal Maulvi Fazalul Haq etc. The moment SSP Islamabad in uniform was beaten by danda carrying hooligans, carrying flags of PAT in red Zone, which had a three-tier security cordon in place, and events like storming of PTV, preceded by unhindered tearing down of fence of our Parliament, the writ of state stood violated and these shameful events were carried live by private channels.

The state of Pakistan today stands weakened and we cannot blame Chinese President for cancelling or postponing his official visit.

Who wins or loses really does not matter in this battle for turf, but Pakistan has been weakened because of misplaced egos and myopic vision of those for whom this country has assumed a secondary priority. every institution of the state seems to be politicised; otherwise, the sanctity of state symbols would not have been allowed to be tarnished in this manner. use of force within Pakistan and on our borders is an exclusive monopoly of the state and its organs and under no circumstances can protestors or vigilantes assume this right to themselves. When this happens anarchy sets in and we have witnessed how terrorists, target killers, extortion collectors have been allowed to nurture and strengthen and today they hold to ransom this country and its constitution. Where is the state and its organs armed by taxpayers to protect them? Have they not failed?

MALIK TARIQ Lahore

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

WORLD VIEW 09

Monday, 8 September, 2014

Pakistan’s perennial crisis

HIndu

P

hUsaIN haQQaNI

AKISTAN’S current political turmoil should be seen as the symptom of a deeper malaise.

Although most political parties represented in Parliament have rallied to the side of preserving the country’s fragile democratic system, there are still powerful forces that oppose democracy. And the unwillingness of Pakistan’s powerful military to disengage from politics even when it is not ready to assume power in a coup will continue to be a disruptive factor for some time to come.

In any other democracy, protests against the alleged rigging of polls 15 months after the counting of votes would have been pooh-poohed. But Imran Khan was still able to turn his star power into a crowd of a few thousand protesters, arguing that the Parliament to which he was elected did not have an honest mandate. The Canada-based cleric, Tahir-ulQadri was also able to return from his exile for a second time in two years to

demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with a call for a people’s revolution.

Elsewhere, protesters would make their point and go home while their leaders built up support to challenge the government at the next election. But here they camped outside Parliament for several days while the leaders garnered live television coverage from air-conditioned shipping containers. When the leaders incited violence, the Army offered to protect state buildings but neither soldiers nor the police were willing to forcibly end the sit-in.

The Punjab police, which takes orders from Mr. Sharif’s brother, Shehbaz, who is Chief Minister of the province, had botched an earlier attempt to deal with Qadri’s cult-like followers in Lahore; 19 people were killed in that incident. This time, the government wanted to keep the body count down.

A few dozen deaths during anti-election rigging protests in 1977 had been used by General Zia-ul-Haq as justification for the imposition of martial law.

Mr. Sharif clearly wanted to avoid that fate by allowing Mr. Khan and Qadri to paralyse life in Islamabad without using force and creating martyrs. Mr. Khan and Qadri are hoping to bypass the waiting time until the next elections even as they tap into disenchantment in Punjab’s urban middle class. In doing so, they are emulating Nawaz Sharif himself, who became Prime Minister by not allowing Benazir Bhutto to complete her first term after the 1988 elections. Then, the Pakistani constitution — as amended by Gen. Zia — allowed the President to dissolve Parliament and dismiss the Prime Minister on grounds of corruption or incompetence. Now, the Constitution has been restored to its original form and has no such provision.

Given that Mr. Sharif was elected

only 15 months ago and still has threeand-a-half years left in his term, how did Mr. Khan and Qadri expect to oust him with protests involving only a few thousand hardcore supporters? Using a cricket metaphor, Imran Khan hinted that he expected Mr. Sharif to be forced out by “the third umpire” — a clear reference to the military.

Pakistan has a long history of direct and indirect military intervention in politics, usually after a round of street violence or a political stalemate. In 1969, General Yahya Khan replaced Pakistan’s first coup-maker, Field Marshal Ayub Khan after five months of protests. At the time, veteran commentator Herbert Feldman summed up the Pakistan military doctrine in relation to domestic politics: “Whenever it was felt in General Headquarters that things were not going according to the taste and opinion of senior officer, the armed forces (in effect the army alone) would move in or contrive to do so.”

The Army overthrew civilian governments in 1977 and 1999 after disturbances. Between 1988 and 1999, generals, with support from politicians, were able to successively oust civilian governments by presidential fiat. That then is Pakistan’s deeper malaise, the belief that the road to power in Islamabad runs through or should run through Army headquarters.

Admittedly, some things have changed in Pakistan. The major political parties are no longer willing to align with the military to topple their rivals and the country’s boisterous media does not allow the kind of secret manoeuvres that were the hallmark of palace coups and military takeovers of the past.

Moreover, the Army now insists that it has no political agenda. But the generals continue to cast a long shadow.

Imran Khan’s close associate and

NATO should stop Putin from restoring Czarist Empire WorldPost NathaN Gardels

WorldPost: In light of the Ukraine crisis, NATO allies at the summit in Wales will announce a new rapid deployment force of 4,000 troops to respond to any threat to one of its members on the Russian periphery.

Along with sanctions, is that enough to deter Putin?

Zbigniew Brzezinski: That depends on how the situation itself in Ukraine gets resolved. If deployment of potential forces in the Baltic states enhances their security in the immediate term, their security will still be in question over the next months if the Ukrainian issue is resolved in a fashion that makes Putin the victor and the democratic forces in Ukraine the losers and victims.

That, in turn, will raise the issue of how safe all the other countries around Russia’s rim will be in the longer term, particularly the Baltic states.

WorldPost: How do you define “resolved in a fashion that makes Putin the victor?"

Brzezinski: What Putin is striving to do is create so much hardship and so much disorder in Ukraine that, eventually, the Ukrainian government will collapse and some thuggish elements backed by Putin can assume power and abandon the effort to take Ukraine into the democratic West. Those in power would then join Putin on the march to create a Eurasian Union. That Eurasian Union is nothing but a new name for the former Soviet Union, or for the former Czarist Empire.

WorldPost: How would you define a democratic outcome of

the Ukraine crisis?

Brzezinski: Eventually, some sort of accommodation in which Ukraine moves toward a deeper involvement with Europe -- but does not seek to join NATO -- while still keeping an economic relationship with Russia.

WorldPost: Should NATO provide arms directly to Ukraine?

Brzezinski: If it does not, it signals to Putin that he can militarily escalate as he wishes in order to destabilize Ukraine altogether.

WorldPost: Do you assign any validity to the present view of liberal reformers of the Gorbachev era -– including Gorbachev himself –- who feel “betrayed,” as Gorbachev told me, by NATO expansion to Russia’s border? This was not the “new thinking” he agreed to with the West at the end of the Cold War, he said, but a return to “sphere of influence thinking.” That is why Gorbachev and others like him support Putin’s pushback in Ukraine.

Brzezinski: It is quite conceivable that they sincerely think this is a correct version of what was discussed at the end of the Cold War, and thus a legitimate case for them to make. But you have to ask yourself, “What was the desire of the people who, after more than 40 years of Soviet oppression, became free?”

They didn’t want to be pawns between a residual West that ended somewhere on the borders of the old West Germany and a resurgent Russia. They wanted to be part of the democratic West and, eventually, of the European Union. Those are perfectly legit-

imate aspirations. This is no threat to Russia –- except to those Russians who cannot conceive of Russia as anything else but a dominant empire that rules not only over the Russian people but over those adjoining Russian territory.

WorldPost: As justified as sanctions or even military action

by NATO against Russian forces might be, isn’t the effect to drive Russia and China together into an anti-Western bloc? Wouldn’t it be wise for the U.S. to “re-open to China,” so to speak -- as Nixon did in Soviet times -- in order to drive a wedge into this bloc before it consolidates?

Brzezinski: First of all, we are not in a position to manipulate Chinese policy. However, I do not support the argument that what is happening is creating a more solid Chinese-Russian relationship. I think the Chinese are watching very carefully what is happening. They did not support Russia in the United Nations when there was a crucial vote on Russian misconduct. They are, at the same time, quietly increasing their influence over Central Asia and do not support the incorporation of countries like Kazakhstan into a new union with Russia. The Chinese are playing a clever game and benefiting from Russia’s crisis with the West. They struck a fantastic deal with the Russians on energy because the Russians had no choice but to submit to their terms.

WorldPost: So any Russians who believe that China will somehow ally with them against the West are deluded?

Brzezinski: Yes, they are whistling in the dark.

president of his party, Javed Hashmi, has now gone public with accusations that Mr. Khan told his colleagues that he was being backed by senior Army officers.

Some suspect that the recent protests were timed to coincide with the pending retirement of five top generals, including the head of the ubiquitous Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. General Zahir-ul-Islam.

Previous civilian governments, too, have faced engineered crises just as they were about to replace chiefs of the ISI. But there can never be anything other than circumstantial evidence of a link between street protests led by politicians and the desire of certain men in uniform for longer service tenures.

The result of the recent destabilisation is that Mr. Sharif’s proclaimed agenda of economic reform and peace with India appears wounded, if not dead. The optimism about civilian ascendancy, generated by the first transfer of power in Pakistan’s history from one civilian government to another, last year, is also dissipating.

But Pakistan cannot forever remain in crisis mode if it is to make progress as a modern nation. The military’s policy tripod that includes emphasis on Islam as a national unifier, hostility towards India as the principal foreign policy objective and an alliance with the United States that helps defray the costs of Pakistan’s massive military expenditures cannot endure with its debilitating effects.

Pakistan’s disproportionate focus on ideology, military capability and external alliances continues to weaken Pakistan internally. Pakistan’s GDP stands at $222 billion in absolute terms and $547 billion in purchasing price parity — the smallest economy of any country that has so far tested nuclear weapons. Disruptions, such as the recent stand-off, are unlikely to enable consistent economic growth.

But macroeconomic issues and

problems such as Pakistan’s low literacy and poor quality of education barely get any mention in Pakistan’s national discourse. The oversimplified Pakistani middle class narrative focusses on Kashmir and India and on opposing the corruption of elected civilian leaders. The world sees Pakistan as an incubator for terrorism but Pakistanis are lost in debates unrelated to this existential threat.

Mr. Sharif’s latest troubles, too, are linked to his attempt to change the focus of Pakistan by taking over foreign and national security policies from the military.

He spoke of normal trade relations with India, without insisting on resolving the Kashmir dispute first, and argued that Pakistan’s interests are better served by staying out of Afghanistan’s internal matters.

His governance is poor and his tendency to fly solo diminishes his ability to fulfil his grand promises. He needs to recognise that winning an election does not mean that elected leaders can govern arbitrarily and only with the aid of family members. Mr. Sharif’s weaknesses, however, do not justify abuse for being proAmerican and pro-Indian heaped on him

by Imran Khan and his over-exuberant supporters in the Pakistani media. If he is ousted by an orchestrated crowd, a similar fate will await his elected successors.

The Pakistani military does not realise that its overt or covert meddling makes Pakistan more unstable, not less, as does its insistence on a narrow definition of Pakistan’s national interest, which civilians are not allowed to alter.

That, and the inability of the country’s politicians to be patient with one another, keep the country in its permanent state of crisis.

Husain Haqqani, director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute, was Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011.

Boxed in by Pakistan IndIan ExPrEss raja MeNoN

Five years after the nuclear tests, India published its doctrine, which spoke of “no first use”, minimum credible deterrence and implied a massive retaliatory strike if attacked with nuclear weapons.

Although Pakistan’s doctrine is still unwritten, there is no ambiguity in New Delhi that Pakistan intends its nuclear arsenal to deter India’s conventional forces by nuclear first use. Since 1998, there have been three Indo-Pak crises in what might be called a nuclear environment. They are the Kargil conflict, the post-Parliament attack mobilisation and the attack on Mumbai in 2008. It was, however, Operation Parakram after the Parliament attack scenario that led to much theorising on the salience of nuclear weapons. The inability to mobilise the Indian army’s strike corps quickly enough led to talk of a “cold start” as a possible course of punitive action. Although cause and effect can only be speculated upon, Pakistan in 2012 deployed short-range nuclear-tipped missiles that could be used as battlefield nuclear weapons.

Between 2002, when Operation Parakram was executed, and 2012, an argument has been conducted in a shadowboxing kind of manner between India and Pakistan. The Indians have held that Pakistan’s ongoing strategy of abetting terrorism in India will lead to reprisal using India’s conventional superiority, and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons will not deter it. Delhi and the three Indian armed forces did nothing, however, to implement any change in strategy or hardware to execute this punitive reprisal, apart from what had already been designed for a regular state-to-state conflict. Words such as “war below the nuclear threshold”, “space for conventional war below the nuclear threshold” and “full spectrum deterrence to close the threshold gap” were used. Normally countries that rely on nuclear deterrence resort to what is called “nuclear signalling” to convey nuclear intentions to the other side. Signalling should, over time, create stability, thereby avoiding nuclear crises. In South Asia, Pakistan has resorted to more and not always measured nuclear signalling, while India has been over-reticent in conveying nuclear intentions. The result is that there is deep nuclear instability in the Indo-Pak relationship, which unfortunately resembles no other bilateral nuclear relationship of the Cold War. The result is that there is a tactical imperative on India to resort to a conventional punitive strike which, in a stable nuclear environment, would be

hazardous. A couple of army chiefs who declared that India has the ability to wage a conventional war below the nuclear threshold were silenced by an obstructive defence minister, signalling Indian confusion to the Pakistanis. Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) have been seen by India as a signal that the window for a conventional strike has been closed, thereby boxing India in between terror and TNWs. India needs to respond, either practically or by signalling. The establishment has so far preferred to do nothing, implying that India’s nuclear doctrine is meant to perpetually signal its intentions of massive nuclear retaliation. The BJP manifesto speaks of “revisiting” the nuclear doctrine. This is eminently sensible after 16 years because the circumstances have altered. What options does India have? The first is to adhere to the existing doctrine and signal that intention as India’s response to Pakistan’s changed inventory. It is important that India disregard Pakistan’s nuclear threshold in its determination to punish it for a major terror strike by resorting to an overland armoured strike. This option is better than doing nothing, because a reinforced nuclear signal is sent that we consider the doctrine to be adequate against Pakistan’s TNWs. A second option is to remove all references to “massive”, substituting it with “punitive”.

This is of huge consequence. First, it reinforces India’s intention to punish terror with conventional war. Second, it deters the use of TNWs at the perceived nuclear threshold to fight “past” it. Third, it signals the readiness to fight an escalatory nuclear war and therefore the threat not to go there. The second option certainly has advantages over the first.

A third option is to signal readiness to punish terror by “means not necessarily limited to army action”. This option requires much homework by the navy and air force, which have to provide better answers than normal attritional warfare. War-gaming is called for. The government should also hasten the setting up of a long-overdue, strong special operations command. A fourth option is to threaten to fight “through” TNWs by overtly preparing to fight an armoured battle “through” a nuclear attack which, incidentally, has already been gamed by the Americans as producing negligible tank casualties.

Appropriate nuclear signalling is also required. So getting out of the box is not difficult, with many options available to India in facing simultaneous threats from terror and TNWs. The writer, a former rear admiral in the navy, is author of ‘A Nuclear Strategy for India’.

10 BUSINESS Stock market hopefuls face harder sell as investors weary of IPO flood LONDON: The european stock market listings are kicking off again after a summer break, but many companies hoping to copy successful flotation earlier in the year now have to convince investors weary from a flood of new names and burned by high prices. enthusiasm for initial public offerings (IPOs) has quadrupled the amount raised in europe in the first nine months of this year compared to last to a total of $55.5 billion. But the sheer number of deals is starting to put fund managers off and prompt fears from bankers that some of their IPO clients will get lost in the noise, with investors simply not able to schedule time to listen to them all. Alastair Gunn at Jupiter fund management is already suffering from the deluge. “I’m starting to get a regular stream of stuff coming through the mail,” Gunn, co-manager of Jupiter’s distribution and high income funds, said. “When we invest in anything, we want to do the legwork, meet the management, understand the business model. But the kind of sausage factory environment we’ve been is not very conducive to doing your homework.” Craig Coben, co-head of Global equity Capital Markets (eCM) at BoA Merrill Lynch sees the problem too. “With so many IPOs in the pipeline, there is a risk of market indigestion, with the weaker companies and more marginal names finding a less receptive hearing,” said Coben. “One of the practical challenges will be to carve out the time in investors’ diaries and ensure they can devote the necessary time to analyse and model all of these IPOs.” APP

Monday, 8 September, 2014

People unwilling to sacrifice economy for politics ISLAMABAD

T

APP

he Pakistan economy Watch (PeW) has lauded the masses and the business community for thwarting call for civil disobedience and economic rebellion by an opposition leader.

“The childish call was taken as an immature move by masses, business community, expatriates and even by the central leaders of the party whose chief

issued it recently,” said Dr Murtaza Mughal, President PeW. The demand was ignored by all and sundry which proves that masses have reservations but they are not highly disappointed with the performance of the incumbent government, he added. he said that the private sector publically and absolutely rejected the idea while other sections of society that decided to remain silent over the matter also disliked the notion.

Dr Murtaza Mughal in a press statement issued here said that asking masses

to stop paying taxes, duties and utility bills and called upon overseas Pakistanis to prefer hundi over legal transactions which was unreasonable.

Asking donors to stop supporting Pakistan and declaring that his government will not repay foreign loans if his party came to power was nothing short of height of irresponsibility, he noticed.

Dr Murtaza Mughal said that all the demands of the PTI leader were not taken seriously otherwise it would have landed Pakistan into serious problems at

a time when country is facing multiple challenges of serious nature.

The widespread rejection of the call issued by PTI leader in his speeches in Islamabad should be enough for everyone to know that masses may or may not like PML-N but they don’t want to see economy damaged for political ambitions. It has also exposed the myth of popularity of some leaders within Pakistan and the western world as their outcry proved to be much more than the support of public they enjoy, he concluded.

Weekly inflation eases by 0.12pc KARACHI: The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the combined group has been decreased by 0.12 per cent for the week ended on September 04 as compared to previous week. The weekly SPI with base 2007-2008=100 covering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups and combined has been computed by the Pakistan Bureau Statics (PBS). The SPI for the week ended on September 4 for the lowest income group up to Rs 8,000 registered decline of 0.12 per cent as compared to the previous week. The points in the above mentioned group was recorded at 208.26 points against 208.00 points registered in the previous week, according to data of PBS. As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs 8001-12,000, Rs 12,001-18,000, Rs 18001-35,000 and above Rs 35,000 decreased by 0.11 per cent, 0.11 per cent, 0.12 per cent and 0.14 per cent respectively.

During the week under review average prices of 17 items registered decrease, while that of 11 items increase with the remaining 25 items’ prices unchanged. The items which registered decrease in their prices during the week under review includes onions, potatoes, bananas, dozen, pulse moong, washed, petrol(super), kerosene oil, garlic, hi speed diesel, pulse masoor (washed), pulse gram (washed), tomatoes, red chilly powder, tea, wheat, vegetable ghee, firewood whole, wheat flour. The items which recorded increase in their average prices include sugar, georgette, average quality,eggs (hen), chicken (farm, broiler, live), shirting, average quality, (sn), milk (fresh, unboiled), mutton, beef, gur, curd, LPG cylinder. INP

KBP urges govt to build new dams LAHORE: The Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) has urged the government to build new dams to store rainwater. Talking to a delegation of farmers on Sunday, KBP President Sardar Zafar hussain said that flood had badly damaged standing crops in Punjab, KP, Kashmir and Balochistan. he said that heavy rains and winds had affected the sugarcane crop and its produce would be 33 per cent less. Rains have also destroyed vegetables besides fodder and KBP would visit all flood-hit areas to monitor relief activities for farmers, he added. he also demanded the government to contact international forums to stop India from constructing illegal dams. The KBP has also appealed to its member to help flood-hit people. APP

QUETTA: Despite holiday on Sunday, an elderly man is forced to earn his livelihood for supporting his family. PPI

PFCCI to collaborate with CII for revamping Pak SME sector LAHORE APP

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) will collaborate with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for revamping the SMe with an aim to accelerate the pace of economic growth and expedite trade activities.

FPCCI Chief Usman Zakeria told APP on Sunday that he alongwith Chief executive Trade Development Authority Pakistan S.M.Munir and Chairman United Business Group Iftikhar Ali Malik had a detailed interaction with the leader of Indian delegation Rajesh Menon, (head of South and Central Asia) Confederation o f I n dian Industry who re-

turned home yesterday after 3 day visit to Pakistan. he said the CII wants to collaborate with Pakistan to enhance bilateral co-operation for the promotion of SMS sector in Pakistan. he said that Pakistan will take full benefit of the rich experience of the Indian counterparts for refurbishing Pak SMe. he said that Pakistan has full potential and if SMe sector fully exploited it can bring economic revolution in the country. he said that SMe sector played a key role in rapid economic growth of Japan and it constitutes major part of its economy. he said Pakistan possessed great resources than Pakistan and there was vast scope to remodel SMe through active participation of private sector.

Usman Zakeria that CII has invited Pak

counterparts for participation in intel conference on “Global SMS” being held in India. he said Pak delegation with share their views with international experts to improve and better SMe sector, a backbone of the economy worldwide.

Iftikhar Ali Malik said the CII wants to extend support and training facilities to develop human resources in industrial sector in Pakistan to meet the international standards of exports and modern trends in global marketing. he said that the deputy leader of the delegation Pranav Kumar, head of International Trade Policy, CCI told him that CII would work out viable strategies and mechanism to promote bilateral trade between the two neighbours exclusively through SMe sector. It may be mentioned here that CII delegation visited Pakistan at the personal invitation of Iftikhar Ali Malik,VP SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry who extended invitation during his recent meeting with CCI Chairman in India.

LCCI’s Malaysia tour achieves desired target

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (LCCI) current Malaysian tour has taken everyone by storm unleashing new business trends to ramp up trade volume finding new niche in halal market between Pakistan and Malaysia. Pakistan delegates succeeded in bagging many orders for halal cosmetics, rice, halal meat, animals for eid-ulAzha and various products. Leading businessman and Oversees Pakistan Protection Forum vice president, and FPCCI press and media standing committee member Agha Muhammad Niamat Ullah was the part of delegation led by LCCI president engineer Sohail Lashari. Agha Niamat said that during the business trip, the delegation interacted with a number of Malaysian traders and industrialists and made meaningful talks to design business strategies afresh between two countries. he claimed that Pakistan products were great draw and there was gigantic opportunity to fine tune halal products as value-added commodities to capture the halal market in the world. STAFF REPORT

LEISURE 11

Monday, 8 September, 2014

baldo

aries

taurus

gemini

Some new information could come your way that causes you to focus on a new interest, Aries. It'll set your mind traveling to faraway places and times. You may also meet some new people who are highly educated, from foreign lands.

You could have some intense dreams tonight, Taurus. You might find that they bring inspiration for creative projects, perhaps for redecorating or otherwise beautifying your home.

A welcome communication from a business or romantic partner could arrive today, Gemini. This could generate a lot of enthusiasm on both your parts and do wonders for your relationship.

cancer

leo

virgo

Today is a good day to ask for a raise or consider other ways to increase your income, Cancer.

Superiors will be in a receptive mood and likely feeling more benevolent than usual. The facts may differ from what you read.

You should be feeling especially romantic and sensual now, Leo, and you might draw admiring glances from those around you - even strangers. Your passion is high, so this is an excellent day to plan a romantic evening.

Strange, passionate stirrings could find you wanting to escape from civilization with a lover, Virgo. This is a great day for it. At least plan a quiet evening at home with your special someone.

libra

scorpio

sagittarius

Interesting communications from friends could center on possible world developments or maybe some juicy gossip about people you know, Libra. Enjoy yourself, but don't take everything you hear at face value.

Today you might earn corporate kudos, Scorpio, for all signs indicate that your imagination is flying high and can be put to work to increase your job effectiveness. You might even earn a promotion or increase in salary.

Your mind is likely to be going a thousand miles an hour. Ideas for imaginative and innovative projects may come faster than you can possibly turn them into reality. You may not have time to work on them, but you will later.

capricorn

aQuarius

pisces

You may have strange dreams and vivid premonitions today, Capricorn. Your intuition and telepathic faculties are operating at a high level. You could think of someone who later phones or drops by.

Today you could be feeling warm and friendly toward everyone.

You might be involved in social events or receive invitations to future parties. You'll probably have a great time and make some new friends.

Relations with people on the job should be warm, Pisces, and this could do wonders for your career. Take nothing at face value. All may not be as it seems.

Someone has issues with you that render him or her untrustworthy.

crossword

garfield

sUdoKU

word search

ACROSS

bridge

how to play Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

Today’s soluTions

logical thiNKiNg

chess black TO PlaY aND MaTE IN fIvE MOvEs 8

DOWN

7 6 5 4 3 2

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

chess solution

A

1...rc1+ 2.bxc1 Qa7+ 3.Kh1 Nf2+ 4.Kg1 Nh3+ 5.Kh1 Qg1# *

1

sudoku solution

2 not present (4) 3 caprice (4) 4 triple (anag) (3,3) 5 sufficient (6) 6 get a reaction by raising a sensitive issue (3,1,5) 7 unpleasant death (6,3) 11 extreme sport (9) 12 nonconformist (3,3,3) 13 Worker in stone (5) 14 have a desire (for) (5) 18 caprice (6) 19 seafood (6) 22 do they justify the means? (4) 23 building block — small military force (4)

right rival scat seat solar spoil stamp storm strip strong table tans third tongue touch tsar utility

crossword solution

1 careless pedestrian, a danger to motorists (9) 8 short skirt worn in scotland (and by old egyptian warriors) (4) 9 departure from the norm (9) 10 brandy made from the remains of pressed grapes (4) 13 tight-fisted (5) 15 take as hostage (6) 16 iconoclasm (6) 17 small dark-purple plum (6) 19 cowardly (6) 20 impossible (3,2) 21 Wine (slang) (4) 24 repellent (9) 25 sound judgement (4) 26 isn't in yet (anag) (9)

assist celebrity cloud commercial commission cover crash critical daily documentary dream emotion line medical mountain nations panel pier

12

Monday, 8 September, 2014

ARTS

Facebook rolls out a privacy checkup to all users to make sure they're not sharing too much

o

vER the next few days, Facebook users will see a 'Privacy Checkup' appear when they log in. The tool, which began rolling out yesterday, will help users review their privacy settings and control who they are sharing their content with. The system uses a blue dinosaur which guides Facebook users through three steps to navigate its maze of privacy settings.

The first step will allow users to review and change the default audience for their status updates. It will then go over Facebook-connected apps, and finally review and edit different items on a profile.

'We know you come to Facebook to connect with friends, not with us,' Facebook's Paddy Underwood said in a blog post. 'But we also know how important it is to be in control of what you share and who you share with.'

Facebook announced the plan in June in its latest response to concerns about privacy, following criticism over its data mining practices for marketing purposes.

The social network, which has grown to more than a billion members worldwide, has been dogged by privacy issues for years. It has also been fighting lawsuits claiming it fails to ensure personal data is safeguarded from marketers and

FACEBOOK TO SPEND BILLIONS TO BRING WHOLE WORLD ONLINE

third-party apps.

The group agreed with a US government agency to submit to external audits of how well it guards users' data.

But Facebook has faced a backlash in recent months after it forced its users to download its Messenger app.

Many raised concerns about the app’s permissions, that give Facebook access to send texts and make calls on the user’s device.

According to Google Play, the app has access to find accounts on the device, read contacts, access the user’s, as well as edit, read and receive text messages.

Other permissions give Facebook the ability to directly call phone numbers, modify or delete files on USB storage, take pictures and videos, record audio, download files without notification, control vibration and change network connectivity. ONLINE

MEXICO CITY: Facebook Inc (FB.O) is prepared to spend billions of dollars to reach its goal of bringing the Internet to everyone on the planet, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said .

"What we really care about is connecting everyone in the world," Zuckerberg said at an event in Mexico City hosted by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. "Even if it means that Facebook has to spend billions of dollars over the next decade making this happen, I believe that over the long term its gonna be a good thing for us and for the world." Around 3 billion people will have access to the Internet by the end of 2014, according to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) statistics. Almost half that, 1.3 billion people, use Facebook. Facebook, the world's largest social networking company, launched its Internet.org project last year to connect billions of people without Internet access in places such as Africa and Asia by working with phone operators. "I believe that ... when everyone is on the Internet all of our businesses and economies will be better," Zuckerberg said. AGENCIES

'TELEPATHY' EXPERIMENT SENDS 1ST MENTAL MESSAGE WASHINGTON AGENCIES

For the first time, scientists have been able to send a simple mental message from one person to another without any contact between the two, thousands of miles apart in India and France.

Research led by experts at Harvard University shows technology can be used to transmit information from one person s brain to another s even, as in this case, if they are thousands of miles away. "It is kind of technological realiza-

tion of the dream of telepathy, but it is definitely not magical," Giulio Ruffini, a theoretical physicist and co-author of the research, told a foreign news agency by phone from Barcelona.

"We are using technology to interact electromagnetically with the brain." For the experiment, one person wearing a wireless, Internet-linked electroencephalogram or EEG would think a simple greeting, like "hola," or "ciao."

A computer translated the words into digital binary code, presented by a series of 1s or 0s.

Then, this message was emailed from India

to France, and delivered via robot to the receiver, who through non-invasive brain stimulation could see flashes of light in their peripheral vision. The subjects receiving the message did not hear or see the words themselves, but were correctly able to report the flashes of light that corresponded to the message.

"We wanted to find out if one could communicate directly between two people by reading out the brain activity from one person and injecting brain activity into the second person, and do so across great physical distances by leveraging existing communication pathways," said co-author Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.

"One such pathway is, of course, the Internet, so our question became, Could we develop an experiment that would bypass the talking or typing part of Internet and establish direct brain-tobrain communication between subjects located far away from each other in India and France? " Ruffini added that extra care was taken to make sure no sensory information got in the way that could have influenced the interpretation of the message. Researchers have been attempting to send a message from person to person this way for about a decade, and the proof of principle that was reported in the journal PLOS ONE is still rudimentary, he said. "We hope that in the longer term this could radically change the way we communicate with each other," said Ruffini.

SOY PROTEIN FOUND TO SPEED UP GROWTH OF THE DISEASE, STUDY FINDS Adding soy to your diet could speed up the rate at which breast cancer cells spread, scientists have warned. Researchers at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York studied 140 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

Half took soy protein powder containing genistein while the other half took a placebo for between seven and 30 days before they had surgery to remove their cancer.

The scientists compared tumour tissues from before and after the operation and found changes in the expressions of certain genes, that are known to promote cell growth, in those women taking the soy supplement.

The findings led them to conclude the soy protein could potentially accelerate the progression of the disease. The study states: 'These data raise concern that soy may exert a stimulating effect on breast cancer in a sub set of women.'

All those taking part in the study had recently had breast biopsies and were diagnosed with stage one or two breast cancer.

They were all scheduled to have a mastec-

tomy or lumpectomy two to three weeks later.

The researchers said it is not yet clear if the effects can be reversed. Jacqueline Bromberg, co-author of the study, said: 'Although the genes were being expressed, it is not clear that this will translate into actual tumour growth.

'But the concern is that there may be the potential. 'Only 20 per cent of those patients who took the soy had really high levels of the genistein metabolite.'

She said the reasons behind the disparity are

unclear, adding that there is no way to predict who would have this reaction after consuming soy. Of the women with high genistein levels, a few of them experienced changes in a specified set of genes that are known to affect breast cancer cell growth, death, or some aspect of breast cancer pathology, Dr Bromberg, said.

The changes were seen in women who consumed around 51.6 grams of soy - the equivalent of about four cups of soy milk a day. The researchers concluded those who eat soy regularly could 'reasonably consume that amount' through the course of a day, particularly vegetarians and those who do not eat dairy products.

They warned those living in Asian countries could be especially at risk, due to the high levels of tofu and soy in traditional diets. Dr Bromberg, said: 'We're not talking about 20 times more soy.

'We're talking about something that a person could eat.' The research did not address the question of whether soy does or does not prevent breast cancer, or whether soy would have any effect on women who have not already been diagnosed with the disease. COURTESY MAIL ONLINE

CMYK

FLOWER POWER! RESEARCH CLAIMS A PLANT ON YOUR DESK CAN MAKE YOU HAPPIER AND MORE PRODUCTIVE

Having plants in your office can make staff happier and more productive, researchers have claimed. They said a bit of greenery can boost productivity by 15% Researchers say their study is the first to examine the effects of 'green' vs 'lean' or minimalist offices with little furniture. Researchers studied the effects of greenery on staff's perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands. Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, from the School of Psychology, said: 'Our research suggests that investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers quality of life and productivity.' 'Simply enriching a previously Spartan space with plants served to increase productivity by 15% - a figure that aligns closely with findings in previously conducted laboratory studies. 'This conclusion is at odds with the present economic and political zeitgeist as well as with modern 'lean' management techniques, yet it nevertheless identifies a pathway to a more enjoyable, more comfortable and a more profitable form of office-based working.' 'Although previous laboratory research pointed in this direction, our research is, to our knowledge, the first to examine this in real offices, showing benefits over the long term. 'It directly challenges the widely accepted business philosophy that a lean office with clean desks is more productive.' By studying the effects in real offices, the researchers found plants in the office significantly increased workplace satisfaction, self-reported levels of concentration, and perceived air quality. Theories on why plants are beneficial suggests that a green office increases employees' work engagement by making them more physically, cognitively, and emotionally involved in their work. 'Psychologically manipulating real workplaces and real jobs adds new depth to our understanding of what is right and what is wrong with existing workspace design and management,' said Co-author Dr Craig Knight, from the University of Exeter. COURTESY VIA DAILY MAIL

Monday, 8 September, 2014

ARTS

13

use star status rationally: fawad Khan

h

E may or may not take up a bold and intimate roles, but Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan, who enjoys a clean image, is clear about his responsibilities as a celebrity. The "unpredictable" actor-singer feels star status should be used "as rationally and as logically as possible".

With a star-status in Pakistan, thanks to his clean and rewarding roles in TV shows like Dastaan, Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hai and telefilmsKhuda Kay Liye. His popularity transcends the border and he struck a right chord with Indian audiences with the same shows.

Now the 32-year-old is set to take this further with his Bollywood debut Khoobsurat, again a clean family drama.

Asked why he chose a family entertainer for his debut, he said: "You do certain projects, play certain characters and present it to the audience because you tend to educate them.

"Celebrities, as public figures, have an opportunity to use their status as ra-

REMEMBERING ASHFAQ AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: The death anniversary of renowned legendary writer, broadcaster, and intellectual Ashfaq Ahmad was observed on Sunday. Ashfaq Ahmed authored more than 20 books in Urdu. His works included novels, short stories and plays for television and radio as well. He was awarded President's Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz for meritorious services in the field of literature and broadcasting. APP

MARIAH CAREY BANS HUSBAND FROM SPEAKING ABOUT SPLIT

Pop star Mariah Carey has reportedly banned her husband, Nick Cannon, from speaking out about their split. The 44year-old singer has been living apart from her husband since June and has started the divorce process, reported Daily Mirror.

“Nick and Mariah have the paperwork in place for the break-up. Both will not have to give away their fortunes, and will split very easily in legal terms,” a source said.

“The one clause that is a problem is that he must not speak about Mariah or kiss and tell. If he does Mariah can come after him legally. Mariah has always been controlled about her personal life. Nick is a much more open book and could face troubles if he lets slip,” it added. Mariah and Nick, who have three-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe, together, married in 2008. AGENCIES

tionally and as logically as possible. It is a very dangerous position and when you take on that responsibility you have to take a lot of things into account."

WILL he Accept BoLD or IntIMAte roLeS? In his response, he pointed out the difference between presenting something crassly and with class.

"There is a difference between vulgarity and aesthetics. When any such thing comes to me, and if I feel I am ready for it, you never know... I am unpredictable. "The ball game is open, but I will play a little safe... it's not hypocrisy," he said reminding his character in Zindagi Gulzar Hai. So far, a number of Pakistani artists like Ali Zafar, Veena Malik and Humaima Mallick, among others, have tried their luck in Bollywood but none could attain stardom. Fawad is pretty open ended about success or failure.

"Everyone fears a financial crisis.

And that matters to me as well. You have to keep your house running.

"I have had minimum expectation

from my work even back home, but I have been fortunate in many ways. No one in my family is into music or films.

For me, it has been an immense journey.

You tend to learn a lot.

"I don't think about what's going to happen tomorrow, because if I start doing that I will tend to limit myself," he added.

Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, Khoobsurat, a remake of the 1980 superhit film, will see Fawad romancing Sonam Kapoor, who is central to the story. When asked if he was sceptical about debuting in a female-centric story, he said: "It has its advantages and disadvantages, but choice matters at the end of the day. There were also male-centric films offered to me, but I wanted to try this.

"There are a lot of interactions between these two characters (Fawad and Sonam). Even if you have 15 minutes to be part of a project, you can do a lot with it. It depends on how you take what's given to you," said Fawad, who made an impact as second fiddle to Shan in Khuda Kay Liye. COurtESy IANS

INDIAN SLUMGIRL’S STORY TO BE MADE INTO HOLLYWOOD FILM The inspiring story of Jilian Haslam, a girl brought up in abject poverty in the Indian slums of Kolkata who metamorphosed into a successful entrepreneur in London will soon be made into a Hollywood film.

Haslam had put down her experiences in the autobiography ‘Indian.English’, based on which British screenplay writer Neil O’ Neil has made a script.

“The film would be based on my life and my book. The script is ready and casting would go on shortly. Seven production houses have shown interest in making the film but we are yet to finalise one of them,” 43-year-old Haslam told PTI during a recent visit to the city.

She said shooting would begin from next year and would include Kolkata where she had spent her childhood in

the slums of Khidirpore.

When asked which Hollywood actress will play her role in the yet-to-be-titled film, she said she would want American actress Julia Stiles as she has facial resemblance with her.

Besides being a motivational speaker, Haslam also runs a corporate training company in the UK. Born in Kolkata to British parents who stayed back in India after 1947, she had a harrowing time in the dark squalid by-lanes of the city where her family often slept with a hungry stomach.

Being home-

less, she was also abused and even lost her four siblings to poverty and hunger. But her courage and fighting spirit brought her out of the mess as she gradually rose to become a successful banking professional and left Kolkata in the 90s.

Haslam later migrated to London as a motivational speaker and corporate trainer.

Her real life fairy-tale journey from rags to riches would be the subject of the film.

“We lived in an 8×10 room with no electricity. We had

JENNIFER ANISTON LOVES KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS Jennifer Aniston is obsessed with 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians'. The actress was thrilled to meet Kim Kardashian West at a party in Los Angelesrecently and revealed the reality series is her guilty pleasure and she is a huge fan of the busty beauty's appearance.

A source said told Life & Style magazine: ''Jen couldn't wait to meet Kim during a recent party. She told Kim that she secretly watches 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians'. She was gushing to Kim about how much she loves her skin and her hair.'' Kim, 33, was shocked to discover the 'Friends' star is a fan and replied: ''But you're Jennifer Aniston. It's your hair that's famous!'' As well as being a huge fan of Kim, Jennifer also enjoys party planning and recently admitted she would love that to be her career if her movie roles. She said: ''I like connecting people, I love my friends, I have a great group of friends. I really see that in myself that I would be a great party planner. I enjoy putting together gatherings. ''I've been paving the way. I've got my contacts in my back pocket.'' BANG SHOWBIZ

Katy Perry couldn’t afford music lessons Pop star Katy Perry says she couldn’t afford music lessons when she was younger. The 29-year-old ‘Roar’ hitmaker says she didn’t have the best educational system as she moved around a lot growing up, reported People magazine.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to experience the best educational system, because my parents moved around a lot. I was often pulled out of school – even in the middle of the year. “I ended up being home-schooled and going to really strange Christian private schools before I left to pursue my dream. But even though I didn’t always have the greatest education, I was influenced by a lot of my music instructors,” Perry said. AGENCIES

CMYK

a hand-to-mouth existence and I had given up all hopes of ever coming out of that. I lost four siblings due to malnutrition and poverty. Some people abused us while others were kind enough to help us. This is what gave me the hope,” said the Briton who calls herself a ‘Kolkata girl’.

She said the film would be a motivational story to inspire people that human spirit can overcome all odds.

“It will recall some of the darkest moments of my life when I lived under a staircase, was abused racially and physically, but survived all attacks.

Some people in the neighbourhood attacked us, but some others helped us survive,” Haslam said.

She now plans to come back to the city and work for the development of underprivileged people with her NGO. AGENCIES

MILA KUNIS WANTS ASHTON KUTCHER TO BE MORE CAREFUL

Mila Kunis wants Ashton Kutcher to stop being ''a daredevil.'' The heavily-pregnant actress was unimpressed when her fiancé fell off his bike in May during a motocross race and has reportedly asked him to be more careful ahead of the birth of their daughter. A source said: ''With the baby coming, Mila wants Ashton to be a lot more careful.'' The 'Black Swan' star is also tightening her circle of friends, as she doesn't want anyone leaking information about their unborn baby. The insider added to Us Weekly magazine: ''She's tightening the amount of people who come through their house. Ashton has a group of guys who like to hang out - and some of them can be a little much. So it's just close family and friends now.'' Ashton is certainly one of those people who are staying close to Mila and it was recently reported that he has been spending as much quality time as possible with her. A source said: ''Ashton is not letting Mila out of his sight. They are spending every moment together. He can't wait. COurtESy WENN

14 SportS

Monday, 8 September, 2014

Winfield best helps

ENGLAND COMPLETE SWEEP EDgbaSTOn

A

AGENCIES

career-best innings from Lauren Winfield helped England Women complete a 3-0 whitewash of South Africa in the NatWest T20 series.

Winfield, who had not reached 40 in her previous 19 international innings, demonstrated timing and power in making 74 from 60 balls. If the most memorable stroke was a heave over midwicket for six, the most impressive shot was a perfectly timed square drive through point off Shabnim Ismail that brought one of her nine fours.

England were grateful for the contribution. With Charlotte Edwards suffering a rare failure, caught off the leading edge as she tried to hit an outswinger through midwicket, the somewhat brittle middleorder was exposed for the first time in the series and, Winfield apart, no-one else reached 20.

But if Winfield provided the bulk of England's total, they were equally grateful for the outstanding fielding of Lydia Greenway for sealing the win.

South Africa appeared to be on course for a first victory in 11 completed

T20s against England after an opening stand of 59. But Greenway conjured wickets from successive balls as South Africa lost their way in the last five overs.

First Marizanne Kapp was run-out by Greenway's direct hit from the long-on boundary - an outstanding, flat throw that just beat Kapp's despairing drive - before captain Mignon du Preez was brilliantly caught by Greeway, running to her left and leaping to cling on to a ball that had looked as if it was heading over the midwicket boundary.

But if South Africa were not quite able to pull-off a memorable victory, they will take a huge amount of confidence from this performance. Earlier this year they were thrashed by nine-wickets by the same opposition in the semi-final of the World T20 and lost the first match of this series by the same margin.

But they are clearly improving rapidly. Just a few months after appointing their first full time coach and the entire squad becoming professional, they showed a huge amount of potential in this performance. Not only did seamers such as Kapp - who has an uncannily similar action to Shaun Tait - and Ismail bowl with greater pace than any of the England seamers, but legspinning allrounder Dane

van Niekerk, whose run out attempting an optimistic single may well have been the turning point of the game, looked one of the most outstanding players on display and the team lost nothing at all in comparison with England in terms of their fitness and the athleticism of their fielding.

If that improvement continues, they may well challenge in global competitions within the next few years.

"We're disappointed to lose 3-0, but we can see real improvement," Kapp told the BBC afterwards. "We are learning every game we play."

England deserve credit for holding their nerve under pressure. With South Africa punishing the out-of-sorts seamers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, England's spinners - Danielle Hazel and Heather Knight - bowled with good control and put the batsmen under pressure.

As the run-rate rose, the relatively inexperienced South African line-up lacked the requisite composure and three runouts and a stumping - a superb piece of work by Sarah Taylor standing-up to Brunt - were the result.

But question marks remain for England. Winfield and Edwards apart, no England player contributed an innings of more than 21 in the series and, while

BRILLIANT HAMILTON CLAIMS MONZA TRIUMPH

England Women 126 for 6 (WinďŹ eld 74) beat South Africa Women 118 for 6 (van Niekerk 35) by eight runs

Greeway and Nat Sciver look exceptionally good in the field, several of their team-mates have a great deal of room for improvement. While England's interna-

tional season is now over - they do not play again until they go to New Zealand in February - South Africa travel to Ireland next week for three more T20s.

BAILEY QUITS AS AUSTRALIA'S T20 CAPTAIN SPORTS DESK

SPORTS DESK Lewis Hamilton overcame a nightmare start to clinch a brilliant victory over rival Nico Rosberg in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Briton started on pole position but immediately dropped to fourth due to a software failure in his Mercedes at the start. But Hamilton clawed his way back into contention and passed Rosberg when the under-pressure German overshot the first chicane and had to wend his way through the run-off area.

Mercedes' seventh 1-2 of the season sees Hamilton reduce his team-mate's championship lead to 24 points, and strike an important psychological blow ahead of the last six races of 2014. The aftershocks of the events at Spa continue, however, with Rosberg receiving a mixed reaction from the Monza crowd.

On being asked on the podium whether the pair

were "friends again", Hamilton responded: "Of course, we're team-mates," patting Rosberg briefly on the back.

Some may be unconvinced by that show of unity in a race where Rosberg's team referred to Hamilton over the radio as "the other car".

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo had an impressive afternoon, coming from ninth with some outstanding overtaking and skilful use of the brake to finish fifth, ahead of his colleague Sebastian Vettel in sixth. Ferrari endured a torrid afternoon on their home track, with Fernando Alonso retiring and Kimi Raikkonen finishing 10th.

RACE ORDER 1-Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2-Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 3-Felipe Massa (Williams), 4-Valtteri Bottas (Williams), 5-Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), 6Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 7-Kevin Magnussen (McLaren), 8-Sergio Perez (Force India), 9-Jenson Button (McLaren), 10-Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

NIEMIEC WINS AT LAGOS DE COVADONGA, VALVERDE CUTS THE GAP SPORTS DESK Poland's Przemyslaw Niemiec held on for a famous win besides the iconic Covadonga lakes in northern Spain as Alejandro Valverde regained ground on fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador during a thrilling stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana. Despite frequent out-of-the-saddle attacks Contador was unable to drop his main rivals on the misty 12.2km ascent in the Picos de Europa mountain range in Asturias. A dig in the final three-hundred-metre ramp to the finish saw Valverde take second place on the stage with third-place Rodriguez right in his wheel - just five seconds behind winner Niemiec. Contador came home five seconds later for fourth place, while Italy's Fabio Aru (Astana) and Britain's Chris Froome (Team Sky) battled over the line seven seconds later for fifth and sixth.

With six bonus seconds over the line, Valverde moved within 31 seconds of Contador's red jersey in the overall standings.

Rodriguez and Froome are tied in third place at 1:20.

George Bailey has stood down as Australia's Twenty20 captain to focus on his World Cup preparation and increase his chances of a Test recall by playing more first-class cricket for Tasmania.

Bailey has also made himself unavailable for Australia's upcoming T20s against Pakistan in the UAE and at home against South Africa, although he has not retired from the format. Australia are expected to announce their squads for the UAE tour on Monday and a new T20 captain will be required after Bailey held the job for the past two and a half years.

The unusual Australian schedule for this summer would have meant that had Bailey remained in the T20 side, he could have had as few as two Sheffield Shield games this season to press his case for a Test comeback. Instead, he should now be available for four of Tasmania's five pre-Christmas Shield games; his likely presence at the World Cup will mean he will not play Shield cricket postChristmas. "It just made me reflect a little bit on where my priorities lay for the next three or four years and what I want to get out of my career," Bailey said of his reaction when he first saw this summer's fixture. "It's only going to buy me another couple of Shield games this year but longer term it just was something that I wanted to do in terms of working harder on my four-day cricket.

"I know I was picked out of one-day cricket for my last opportunity to play Test cricket and I don't think that would happen again. I think the only way is through Sheffield Shield or first-class runs. The best chance for me to do that is to play as many Shield games as I can." Bailey, 32, was one of the beneficiaries of Australia's change of selectors in 2011-12, when the new chairman John Inverarity named him as the new T20 captain despite having never played an international match. His tactical nous was viewed as a key asset by Inverarity, who was keen for Australia to push up the T20 rankings from their place at No.5.

His emergence as an international player led to him becoming a key ODI batsman for Australia and making his Test debut during last summer's home Ashes, when he played all five Tests in Australia's clean-sweep. However, although he made useful Ashes contributions he did not manage a century and was dropped for the tour of South Africa that followed. "I've thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility and honour of leading Australia in T20 internationals," Bailey said. "Over the last couple of months I have had the opportunity to reflect on my role as T20 captain and the direction I want to take my cricket over the next few years. Personally, I want to focus on my one-day cricket as well as becoming the best long-form player I can."

Bailey will leave the captaincy with Australia still at No.5, having won exactly half of the 28 T20s in which he has led the side. He captained Australia to two World T20 campaigns but they were unable

CMYK

to reach a final in either of them, although that had more to do with Australia's struggles in the spinning conditions of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh than Bailey's leadership. Just as Australia's first T20 squad during Inverarity's tenure as chairman of selectors installed Bailey as captain, the first T20 squad named by new chairman Rod Marsh will need to include a different captain. Aaron Finch, Shane Watson and David Warner could be candidates to lead Australia in their one-off game against Pakistan, although going back to Bailey's predecessor, Cameron White, is another option.

BAILEY NOMINATES FINCH AS SUCCESSOR: George Bailey has endorsed Aaron Finch as a potential captain of Australia's Twenty20 team and said that discovering a world-class T20 spinner should be Australia's priority in the shortest form.

Bailey stood down from the captaincy on Sunday and may have played his last T20 international, although he hopes to win selection again in the future.

He was installed as captain on debut in early 2012 and led Australia to a World T20 semi-final in Sri Lanka later that year, although they were unable to progress to that stage in Bangladesh earlier this year. Bailey said that with the next World T20 to be played in India in 2016, stepping down from the captaincy now would give his successor a chance to develop in the role.

"I think there's plenty of candidates," Bailey said from Zimbabwe, where he led Australia in the ODI tri-series after Michael Clarke flew home with a hamstring injury. "It's a bit speculative, but I think Aaron Finch would be really good. I think he's someone who has done it really well domestically [for Melbourne Renegades] and I think he thrives on it. "I think he's going to have a lot of opportunities to play. He's someone who would do it really well.

But whoever the selectors go with I'm sure will do it really well. They will know the challenges that come with it. But I think it will be someone of the age where they really embrace the T20 culture."

SportS 15

Monday, 8 September, 2014

RussiAns block hingis RetuRn to gRAnd slAm WinneRs ciRcle

R

SPORTS DESK

USSIANS Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Martin Hingis and Italy's Flavia Pennetta 2-6 6-3 6-2 to capture the

US Open doubles title on Saturday, denying the Swiss a return to the Flushing Meadows winner circle for the first time in 16 years.

Hingis, winner of five grand slam singles titles, nine doubles and one mixed doubles crowns, had

SIDELINED SRINIVASAN GETS SUPPORT FOR RE-ELECTION

looked poised to add a second U.S. Open doubles trophy to the one she won in 1998 after easily taking the opening set.

But the fourth seeded Russians, beaten earlier in the year by Hingis and Pennetta at Eastbourne, rallied

PITCH NOT AN ISSUE FOR WALES, SAYS BALE SPORTS DESK

SPORTS DESK Twenty-one BCCI member representatives have unanimously decided to support N Srinivasan for the board presidency at an informal meeting in Chennai on Sunday.

The members were briefed that the BCCI AGM, where the election will take place, would be postponed and the decision to do so would be formalised at a working committee meeting on September 26.

Despite being sidelined from BCCI affairs by the Supreme Court for over five months because of the on-going investigation into the IPL corruption scandal, Srinivasan hopes to be re-elected as president for the next three years. Sunday's meeting was a show of strength, with Srinivasan sending out a strong message days after the court granted the Mudgal inquiry committee a two-month extension to file its corruption report and said that Srinivasan was barred from BCCI duties until then. It is understood that 18 members, including five of the six voters from the east zone, were present in Chennai. Rajeev Shukla, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Assocation chief who is also a BCCI vice-president, joined over teleconference, as did Shivlal Yadav from Hyderabad and Arindam Ganguly from Tripura, the sixth member from the east. The fact that all six east-zone units pledged support to Srinivasan means, if he is allowed to contest the election, he will be re-elected unanimously. No individual can file nomination papers in this year's election for the president's post without support of two east-zone members. Among other BCCI member associations, Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan [suspended] and three government bodies did not attend the meeting. "The working committee will discuss and finalise how to proceed further in this issue," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said after the meeting. "After taking all the possible technical and legal opinions, at the moment, there seems to be no other option but to postpone the AGM." Meanwhile, Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the IPL corruption scandal, has stated he will move Supreme Court if the BCCI doesn't hold its AGM and election before September 30. "I will pray to court to direct BCCI to conduct their AGM on time and also to appoint an observer for the smooth and fair election of BCCI," Verma said.

to claim revenge and the title.

"We definitely had our chances, but when we look back starting the tournament, if you ask me to sign a paper that I'm in the finals, I would probably accept it with my eyes closed," said Hingis, who won her last slam title at the 2006 Australian Open in mixed doubles with partner Mahesh Bhupathi of India.

"When you're that close of course you want to win.

"We beat them before. It's not like we didn't have a chance. We showed that we can beat the best doubles teams out there today again, but I felt like the juice ran out a little bit at the end. "I'm really happy. Still a great tournament," smiled Hingis.

"That (loss) is not going to take anything away from that.

"Hopefully we will have more opportunities in the near future. We'll go to Asia and try to do our best there, and then next year there is again four grand slams."

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has promised Wales will forget the Andorra 3G pitch controversy when they start their Euro 2016 campaign in the Pyrenees on Tuesday night.

Andorra's artificial surface was only cleared to stage the opening Group B match last Wednesday after UEFA had ordered a series of inspections with previous tests showing the ball rolled too fast on the pitch. Ahead of the qualifier in the capital Andorra La Vella, Wales manager Chris Coleman chose to train his squad on traditional grass surfaces rather than 3G pitches for fear of his players picking up injuries.

But Bale insists the pitch will not be an issue as Wales seek to make a flying start against opponents ranked 199 in the world.

"There's been a lot of talk about it (the pitch) but you have to put it to one side," Bale told FAW TV.

"Certain players and people don't like it and that's normal. "But we have a job to do and when you're playing for your country, no matter where the game is or what it's played on, we're going to give 100 per cent and try to win the game."

Bale carries the hopes of a nation after an incredible year which has seen him transformed from Tottenham talent into a Real galactico.

The 25-year-old has flourished in Madrid and scored the decisive goal in Real's Champions League final victory over city neighbours Atletico in May, but he says the expectation on him to deliver in Wales colours is not a burden. "I don't feel any added pressure whenever I pull the shirt on for my country," he said. "It's just an honour to play for Wales and I feel the excitement of playing in front of the home crowd.

"Hopefully we can do them proud this time round and qualify."

ECUADOR ROUT BOLIVIA 4-0 AHEAD OF BRAZIL MEETING SPORTS DESK Ecuador put internal problems behind them and fielded several newcomers to crush Bolivia 4-0 in preparation for their meeting with Brazil on Tuesday. The team, coached by Sixto Vizuete, won Saturday's friendly in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with goals from World Cup players Christian Noboa and Enner Valencia and debutants Juan Cazares and Junior Sornoza. Englandbased World Cup captain Antonio Valencia and winger Jefferson Montero both had asked not to be picked, a request Vizuete accepted. Vizuete, who took over from Colombian Reinaldo Rueda after the Brazil tournament, said the pair were aggrieved by a controversy over World Cup bonuses and an alleged split in the squad possibly exacerbated by Ecuador's failure to get past the group stage."They're very worried about what's going on in the country (Ecuador), the problems that have arisen," Vizuete said at the time. World Cup defender Frickson Erazo said, however, the squad were concentrating on the future and drafting young talent into the team for next year's Copa America in Chile. "There's no need to talk about what has already passed, but rather about what we have ahead," said Erazo, who plays for Brazil's Flamengo. There were no such worries on Saturday as Ecuador dominated fellow South Americans Bolivia ahead of their meeting in New York with Brazil, who beat Colombia 1-0 in Miami on Friday.

BAN RIBERY FOR INT’L RETIREMENT, SAYS PLATINI SPORTS DESK UEFA president Michel Platini has called on FIFA to ban Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich matches for retiring from international football. The Bayern winger quit the France team after missing World Cup through injury. But Platini said the player does not have right to refuse a call-up from coach Didier Deschamps and should be suspended from club football for three games. "I have zero understanding of this," Platini told Bild. "It is not the decision of the players whether they come to the national team. This is the decision of the coach. He continued: "Franck cannot decide himself whether he plays for France. If (coach) Didier Deschamps picks him, he must come.

"That's the FIFA rule. If he doesn't come, he will be suspended for three Bayern Munich games. "I don't understand him anyway. He is French, the European Championship in 2016 will take place in France."

Despite his hard line attitude to his compatriot, Platini said the same did not apply to Germany's World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm, whose exit from the national side was apparently agreed with coach Joachim Loew. "If there is disagreement between Lahm and Loew, the Germany coach will no longer call on him, that's one thing. But basically it is not Lahm's decision, it's Loew's.

I'LL PLAY ANYWHERE FOR ENGLAND, SAYS ROO SPORTS DESK Wayne Rooney does not care what anyone is saying about him - all the England captain is concerned about is leading his country to success.

The forward has been the subject of scrutiny ever since breaking onto the international scene as a fresh-faced teenager 11 years ago. The intensity of that focus has recently gone up a notch following the retirements of the socalled 'Golden Generation' and his new role as Three Lions captain.

Rooney's 96 caps make him far and away the most experienced player at Roy Hodgson's disposal, but one whose position in the side is constantly spoken about. Former England manager Glenn Hoddle got in on the act ahead of Monday's European Championship qualifying opener in Switzerland, saying they need the Rooney of old.

Such comments compound constant talk about where the Manchester United

player is best deployed - not that the 28year-old himself gives a hoot. "That is not something I don't expect," he said of the constant spotlight. "Obviously I feel like I am quite an adaptable player. I can play in a number of positions. "Wherever Roy wants me to play, I am happy to play. It is as simple as that.

"I am not interested in what anyone

CMYK

else thinks. I am here to play for England. Roy's the manager, he picks the team. "I'll play to the instructions the manager wants me to do."

Reports on the eve of the match suggested Rooney will be used on the left wing in Basle, despite the role of frontman being up for grabs following Daniel Sturridge's injury.

Arsenal new boy Danny Welbeck, instead, could be chosen to lead the line after impressing as a second-half substitute in Wednesday's uninspiring 1-0 friendly win against Norway.

Rooney admitted England were "really bad" at the start of the second half and said that dampened the already subdued mood at half-full Wembley. The match attracted the lowest attendance for an international since the stadium opened in 2007, with the players' underwhelming display compounding post-World Cup negativity. "That was always going to happen coming off the World Cup and how that went," said Rooney, whose penalty decided the match. "Every game now is a tough game and sometimes you've got to be happy with a victory, which we were. We were happy we got the win, which we set out to do. "We are focused on (Monday's) game. We're ready for it. We've obviously had a few more days to prepare for this game than we did for the Norway game.

SPORTS Monday, 8 September, 2014

India fall short despite Dhoni, Kohli EDgbASTOn

T

HE final match of the tour came down to the final over, 17 to win from six balls with MS Dhoni on strike - just the sort of equation the Edgbaston crowd, filled with India fans, might have asked for if they had been handed a questionnaire at the gates. Dhoni clubbed a six off the first ball and brought it down to five off two, before refusing a single off the penultimate ball.

Taking the single would have meant Ambati Rayudu could have won it with a last-ball four. But Dhoni is the sort of batsman who backs himself to hit the last ball for six. The pressure was on Chris Woakes, and he produced a slower ball that wasn’t full enough to hit down the ground. Having to manufacture all the power himself, Dhoni heaved, didn’t connect cleanly, and it rolled down to Moeen Ali, sweeping up on the leg-side boundary.

It was only appropriate that the slower ball won England the match, since it had been an essential ingredient in their death-overs fightback, which began just as India seemed to be cruising. Virat Kohli, having failed to cross 40 across 14 innings in the Tests and ODIs, finally made a half-century - his fourth in a row in T20 chases - and it looked while he was in like being a fourth successive match-winning fifty. Eoin Morgan’s 31ball 71 had powered England to 180, and it was beginning to look inadequate.

When Kohli holed out looking to hook Steven Finn, the equation still seemed to be in India’s favour: 50 to get from 34 balls. But James Tredwell bowled

Good news for Fawad Alam?

Alam likely to be next T20 captain LAHORE: Ahmad Shahzad’s controversial statement and Umar Akmal’s poor performance gave way to inform Fawad Alam to lead the national Twenty20 team.

The sources told this scribe that the important decision of naming Pakistan T20 captain is in line and it is highly likely that Fawal Alam would replace M Hafeez as new T20 captain. The announcement in this regard would be made in a few days, the sources added.

“Fawad’s brilliant performance in Asia Cup and sensible and responsible batting against Sri Lanka impressed the decision makers of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) who are almost agreed to announce him as T20 captain,” the sources said. In his 17 innings of 24 T20 matches, Fawad Alam scored just 194 runs with the average of 17.63 and his best score is 28. He managed to score just 14 boundaries in his 24 matches while on the other hand, Ahmad Shahzad, in his 26 T20 matches, scored 666 runs with the average of 27.75 including one century and three fifties and his best score is 111. Umar Akmal played 56 T20s, and scored 1221 runs with the average of 27.75 with the help of six fifties, his best is 94 runs. He smashed 94 fours, 35 sixes in his impressive innings while he also took 36 catches and also managed two stumps. He also performs wicketkeeper responsibility. The stats clearly indicate who is capable of performing the major responsibility of leading the team. Now it’s up to the cricket board decision makers, if they reconsider their decision in the larger interest of the country or just do stuck to their current decision. AGENCIES

Burton beat Portsmouth to go back on top Burton returned to the top of Sky Bet League Two with a 2-0 win that handed Portsmouth a second successive defeat. Goals from Adam McGurk and Lucas Akins extended Albion’s unbeaten start to the season to eight games in all competitions. Burton made the perfect start with the opening goal after just one minute and 25 seconds. Pompey were caught cold as Stuart Beavon turned on a Akins centre to fire across goal, with McGurk on hand to fire into the roof of the net from close range. After more home pressure, Jed Wallace went close to the leveller with a 20-yard thunderbolt that flew inches too high. And Pompey top scorer Craig Westcarr saw his header deflected over as half-time approached. The visitors could have restored parity six minutes after the break but Alex Wynter’s close-range shot was blocked on the line in a frantic scramble.

The Pompey fightback was halted in the 56th minute when Akins turned just inside the area before lashing a left-foot past goalkeeper Paul Jones. SPORTS DESK

SCOREbOARD

AGENCIES

ENGLAND JJ Roy c Rahane b Mohammed Shami 8 AD Hales c Rahane b Jadeja 40 MM Ali c Rahane b MM Sharma 0 JE Root c Rayudu b KV Sharma 26 EJG Morgan c Rahane b Mohammed Shami 71 JC buttler c Rayudu b Mohammed Shami 10 RS bopara not out 21 CR Woakes run out (†Dhoni) 0 Extras (lb 3, nb 1) 4 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 180 Did not batJC Tredwell, ST Finn, HF Gurney Fall of wickets 1-26 (Roy, 2.5 ov), 2-27 (Ali, 3.1 ov), 3-75 (Hales, 9.5 ov), 4-85 (Root, 11.4 ov), 5-130 (buttler, 17.1 ov), 6-166 (Morgan, 19.2 ov), 7-180 (Woakes, 19.6 ov) bowling R Ashwin 4-0-37-0, MM Sharma 4-0-39-1, Mohammed Shami 4-0-38-3, KV Sharma 4-0-28-1, RA Jadeja 4-0-35-1 INDIA AM Rahane b Ali 8 S Dhawan b Woakes 33 V Kohli c Hales b Finn 66 SK Raina b Gurney 25

a tight 16th over, and Harry Gurney produced a peach of a yorker to bowl Suresh Raina, who had put on 42 with Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja ran himself out going for a non-existent second run. India were panicking, Dhoni and Rayudu struggled to time the ball, and England won the game by winning the death-overs mini-contest.

England had smashed 81 in their last five overs, with Morgan clearing his front leg and launching the ball over the ropes seven times. Karn Sharma, who had bowled three tight overs on debut, bowled too short in his last over and went for 17.

Mohammed Shami, whose yorkers had been inch-perfect in the final ODI, failed to land them and went for 29 in two overs.

Mohit Sharma, serving a series of fulltosses, bowled the most expensive over of the innings, conceding 21 in the 19th.

Till that late onslaught, it looked as if

MS Dhoni not out 27 RA Jadeja run out (bopara/Finn) 7 AT Rayudu not out 3 Extras (lb 4, w 4) 8 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 177 Did not batR Ashwin, KV Sharma, MM Sharma, Mohammed Shami Fall of wickets 1-10 (Rahane, 1.2 ov), 2-89 (Dhawan, 10.1 ov), 3-131 (Kohli, 14.2 ov), 4-145 (Raina, 16.5 ov), 5-153 (Jadeja, 17.4 ov) bowling ST Finn 4-0-28-1, MM Ali 3-0-31-1, HF Gurney 4-0-29-1, CR Woakes 4-0-43-1, RS bopara 1-0-14-0, JC Tredwell 4-0-28-0 MATCH DETAILS Toss - England, who chose to bat Series - England won the one-off match T20I debuts - JJ Roy (England); AT Rayudu and KV Sharma (India) Player of the match - EJG Morgan (England) Umpires - IJ Gould and RT Robinson TV umpire - RJ bailey Match referee - RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire - DJ Millns

England might not take full toll of friendly batting conditions and shortened boundaries. They began with a 17-run over - and Jason Roy got off the mark in international cricket with a reverse-swept four off R Ashwin - but they lost wickets at just the wrong moments. Roy and Moeen Ali went early, popping soft catches to cover, and Alex Hales and Joe Root holed out just when they were looking dangerous.

At the end of the 15th over, England’s run-rate had come down to 6.60, with Root, Morgan and Jos Buttler having failed to find the boundary even once in the previous 25 balls. And then Morgan got into gear. He smacked the first ball of the 16th over back past the bowler, Ravindra Jadeja, for four, and swatted the next ball over wide long-on for six. The start of the last five overs seemed to have flicked a switch in Morgan’s mind.

LESS OFFICIALS, THE BETTER MUSHTAQ, SHAHID LIKELY TO BE AXED AS TEAM OFFICIALS LAHORE AGENCIES

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to reduce the number of national team’s officials.

As the first step, services of two officials — spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmad and assistant coach Shahid Aslam — are most likely to be terminated and they will be asked to work at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

According to reliable sources, the PCB came to the decision following chairman Shaharyar Khan’s separate meetings with head coach Waqar Younis, captain Misbah-ul-Haq and the most powerful person of the team management Moin Khan after Pakistan team’s dismal tour to Sri Lanka.

The Islanders whitewashed Pakistan in the two Test series and earned 2-1 victory in the three Oneday International match series. The sources said that two foreign coaches Grant Flower (batting) and

Grant Luden (fielding), and other staff of the team management would not be replaced in the first phase.

Head coach Waqar Younis was a Test fast bowler himself so there is no need for a spin-bowling coach in his presence.

“It is better to take advantage from Mushtaq’s experience, therefore, his services will be utilised at the NCA to coach spinners, especially those who have suspect bowling action because of which offspinner Saeed Ajmal is facing serious threat to his international career,” the sources said.

“Shahid Aslam is the manager of coach education at the NCA and it is better to work there instead of assisting Waqar, who has services of batting and fielding coaches,” the sources added.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that there is no immediate plan of Shaharyar to reduce the burden over Moin Khan, who is currently doing dual jobs as manager of the national team and chief selector.

Ironically, almost all the six members of the selection committee do not have proper time to watch domestic cricket matches. Saleem Yousuf and Shoaib Mohammad are employees of Customs and PIA respectively so they cannot watch all domestic

matches keenly. Two other members of the committee are Mohammad Akram and former Test cricketer Ijaz Ahmad who belong to the NCA. The sixth one is former Test cricketer Wajahatullah Wasti who is an employee of a bank. “A review of national selection committee affairs is also necessary to make it more productive but no decision is taken at this stage,” the sources said.

Moreover, the sources said Moin in his meeting with Shaharyar expressed his surprise over the erratic performance of Misbah but he backed him as captain because it was his first dismal show in any series. “Since leading the national team from 2010, Misbah has played a leading role as a middle-order batsman to win and save several matches for Pakistan despite the fact he had been under great pressure for his slow [but responsible] batting style.

“His performance faced considerable decline in the last series but just one bad show is not enough to change him as captain,” the sources said. “The next year’s World Cup is fast approaching besides series against Australia and New Zealand are also around the corner so it will not be wise to change the skipper at this time,” the sources concluded.

Steyn hasn’t forgiven Clarke for personal sledge Cook stood down

for rest of season

SPORTS DESK South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has said he hasn’t forgiven Australia captain Michael Clarke for what he considered to be a personal sledge during the Newlands Test earlier this year. Clarke had publicly apologised to Steyn following the incident, but six months later Steyn feels the issue has not been resolved.

“I haven’t really spoken to him [Clarke] much since then to be honest. I don’t take many things personally, but what he did say to me I did take personally,” Steyn said after his spell of 4 for 34 helped South Africa win the tri-series final against Australia in Harare. “I know he apologised in the media and I should be playing this down.

“But the day he comes and shakes my hand and says, ‘I really mean what I said,’ and behaves like the way he should, maybe then I will (forgive him). But for right now, he’s not here so I’ll wait until I get to Australia.” Clarke had left Zimbabwe mid-way through the competition because of a hamstring injury, but before his departure he said that he had dealt with the issue right after play on the final day of the third Test in Cape Town, which Australia won to take the series 2-1. Steyn had been involved in an exchange with James Pattinson when Clarke intervened and the problem escalated. “I would hope Dale and I have a good enough relationship. I’m pretty sure he would front me if he still had an issue with me,”

Clarke said during the tri-series. “I think my apology at the time was well taken and respected by Dale.”

Before leaving the tri-series, Clarke said he did not believe there had been a falling out between the teams, and that if South Africa had a problem with any of the Australian players, it was up to them to sort it out. His comments came after South Africa’s ODI captain AB de Villiers said it would be hard to maintain an off-field relationship if the sledging got personal. “If not one player in their team wants to talk to anybody in our team, I don’t think it’s going to bother anyone. But I think in cricket it’s a lot bigger than two teams going their separate ways.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi.

CMYK

Despite struggling for form this season, Alastair Cook has been stood down for the remainder of the season by the ECB. Cook has only made four half-centuries in international cricket in 2014 but with England’s packed schedule from November onwards in mind, the England management prescribed rest for Cook. He will therefore not take part in Essex’s three remaining County Championship matches this season but all other members of the England squad have been cleared to take part in the climax to the season. Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire are involved in a push for the Championship title and all three will have their England players available for at least one of their final matches. Gary Ballance and Joe Root are available for Yorkshire, who travel to Trent Bridge next week for a crucial fixture. Notts have Alex Hales, James Taylor and Harry Gurney free to play. Warwickshire have also reached the Royal London Cup final on September 20 and Ian Bell has been given permission to play, as has Chris Woakes who is also free to play in Warwickshire’s penultimate Championship match against Northamptonshire. SPORTS DESK