E-Paper October 23, 2012

CEC, CJP review general polls preparations

ECP can’t act against accused politicians: Ebrahim ISLAMABAD—Chief Election ment of Sessions Judges as Dis- the meeting. Sources said that Monday that Supreme Court’s Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim called on the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday and exchanged views on the decisions related to the decisions of the commission. They also exchanged views on the appoint-

General polls to be held in time: Zardari ISLAMABAD—President Asif Ali Zardari has said the general elections will be held on time.

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No political cell in ISI: Defence Secy ISLAMABAD—Defence Secretary, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Asif Yaseen has said no political cell has been working in Inter-Services Intelligence for the last five years.

A meeting of Senate’s committee for Defence and Defence production was held on Monday in closed doors led by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed.

Members of the committee, Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, Tahir Mashhadi, Raja Zafar

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trict Returning Officers in the general elections.

According to private television channels reports, the matters related to upcoming general elections and preparations made by the Election Commission of Pakistan were discussed during

the Chief Election Commissioner had requested to the Chief Justice that the district returning officer in the elections should be appointed by the judiciary.

Meanwhile Chief Election Commissioner (ECP) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim said

ruling in the Asghar Khan petition has not left any room, according to the Constitution, for the commission to carry out proceedings against politicians involved in rigging the 1990 election. Speaking to the me-

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Abbottabad Commission report

Govt, mily cleared of protecting Osama L ONDON —The Abbottabad Commission, assigned to investigate the US raid in Abbottabad which killed Osama Bin Laden, has cleared Pakistan’s government and military establishment of involvement in protection of the al-Qaeda chief .

The Daily Telegraph quoting a senior government official says that no one else in the town

knew that the world’s most wanted man had taken up residence there.

It clears Pakistan’s government and military establishment of involvement, a verdict that will prompt accusations of a cover-up and infuriate Western diplomats.

The Abbottabad Commission had spent the past year and

a half questioning military officers, Osama’s wives and residents of Abbottabad.

Osama’s presence in Abbottabad, a little away from Islamabad, was deeply embarrassing for the country’s leaders.

The investigation describes how the daughter of one of bin Laden’s two couriers, who

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Pakistani youth make largest human national flag

CHASNUPP-2, KANUPP production decreases

LAHORE—Pakistani youth on

Plants’ licences amended

Monday made another world record in making the biggest human national flag with the help of 24,200 students, breaking the earlier record set by 21,726 participants in Hong Kong in 2007.

Adjudicator of Guinness World Records (GWR) Gareth Daeves announced the award for Pakistan, saying that the country has achieved the record.

Earlier, as many as 1936 students belonging to different

Picture on Back Page schools in Punjab created the largest mosaic, setting up another new Guinness world record.

The students broke an American world record that was achieved by 1458 people in South Carolina in the United States on December 3, 2011. Officials of the Guinness World Record witnessed the occasion and announced that the Pakistani students had made the new world record. The students made the image of historical Shahi Qila, holding small pieces of the photo above their heads. Many more records were made by talented youth of Pakistan during this youth festival.—Online

ALI SYED ISLAMABAD—It is shocking to know that Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-2 (CHASNUPP-2) which was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on May 12, 2011 will now not be able to generate 340 MW of electricity; rather it will generate 325 MW. This shows that the project is not giving the dividends 100 per cent as per the PC-1 approved

by Planning Commission, a senior official at National Electric Power Regulatory Authority told Pakistan Observer.

This was unveiled in the decision of Nepra under which Pakistan Atomic Energy (PAEC) came up with the disclosure the Chashma nuclear power plant-2 constructed by Chinese company about one year back has lost its capacity by 15 MW, the official said and addd saying, “This ques-

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Pakistan Human Rights record

Hina to present report in UNHCR LIAQAT TOOR ISLAMABAD—Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will present Pakistan’s National Report on human rights in United Nations Human Rights Council where she will be leading Pakistan del-

egation on October 30 in Geneva.

The report will highlight the “democratic Government’s endeavours for the promotion and protection of human rights,” said a statement by spokesman of Foreign Office on Monday.

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Cholistan gets drinking water supply

World’s 7th largest dwellers get water on experimental basis M ULTAN —The Rohillas of Cholistan, the world’s seventh largest desert, have started getting drinking water through a system for the first time on an experimental basis in Darawar union council, Yazman tehsil of district Bahawalpur. The Rohillas greeted the historic event with traditional festivities like customary dances and Cholistani songs at a site near the centuries-old grand edifice of the Darawar Fort after witnessing potable water coming out of their taps.

Representatives of social welfare organizations, journalists and political workers

were also present to witness the development and local peoples’ celebrations. The water supply scheme was installed and made operational

by Cholistan Development Authority (CDA).

Spread over 4.655 million acres in Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan and Bahawalnagar, Cholistan is the world’s seventh largest desert that is 480 kilometre long and its width varies from 32 to 192 kilometres.

The population of the area is 200,000 with 1.3 million cattle as their main source of livelihood which includes 600,000 cows, 350,000

sheep, 225,000 goats and 80,000 camels. However, the people and livestock have been without water supply for centuries and rainwater was their mainstay. Rain used to fill 1100 Tobas (ponds) in Cholistan for the survival of the Rohillas and livestock.

Life runs through the whole Cholistan once these Tobas are filled with rainwater.

However, the Rohillas migrate to other areas when these Tobas dry up. The cleaning of these Tobas become mandatory after every three years, however, 90 per cent of

them have become useless in the absence of maintenance. The Rohillas had suffered the last droughtlike situation in Cholistan in 1998 that had cost lives of people and cattle heads. In 2004-05, two potable water supply lines were laid in Cholistan on the demand of the people. A 256-kilometre long water supply pipeline was laid under a Rs 450 million project. Another 87.22 kilometre long pipeline was laid from Darawar to Nawan Kot at a cost of Rs 130 million.

However, water could not be released to the lines

for many years prompting NGOs and the people to launch a move to activate CDA to release water into the lines. These efforts bore fruit when CDA installed water supply connections at each home in Darawar union council (UC-105) having a population of 9,466. CDA focal person Imtiaz Lashari told APP that not only the system would supply water to homes but also facilitate livestock.

Separate facilities (Chambals) to provide drinking water to bigger animals like buffaloes, cows and camels and smaller animals like

COAS lauds Military College Murree

UN Day tomorrow I S L A M A B A D —The United

M URREE —Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Military College Murree Monday. Military College Murree was established four years ago with the aim of providing quality education in a disciplined environment.

It is now working at full capacity, with standards comparable to any other institution of similar standing.

COAS appreciated the College faculty and students for excellent results achieved in a very short span of time, and urged them to keep up the effort to improve further.

Earlier on arrival at Murree, COAS was received

by Commander Rawalpindi Corps, Lieutenant General Khalid Nawaz.—Online

PTCL internship MURREE: Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani awarding trophy to a distinguished student during his to benefit 500 visit to Military College.

Private schools graduates M U LTA N —Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has opened its doors to the educated youth of the country through a special one-year paid internship programme to impart practical exposure and learning opportunities. As part of PTCL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, PTCL one-year paid internship programme is a systematic and transparent effort, said a press release issued here on Monday.

More than 50,000 candidates across Pakistan applied for the programme that offers an attractive stipend of Rs 12,000 per month. “PTCL, being a socially responsible entity strongly believes in giving back to the community in which it operates”, commented President & CEO PTCL Walid Irshad. “This paid internship programme will play an important role in capacity building of our human resource in the larger interest of the country,” he said.

“We plan to explore such innovative approaches to serve the society in the future as well”, he added. After a rigorous selection process of tests conducted by National Testing Service (NTS) and subsequent interviews by board-based panels, 500 interns were selected for multiple disciplines including Technical-Engineers.—APP

sheep, goat have been set up at different points. The quality of water being supplied was in accordance with the standards set by WHO. Political leaders and civil society representatives including Abida Durrani, Desert Welfare Society chairman Riaz Baloch, SPOs programme specialist Shah Nawaz Khan, Civil Society Network vice chairman Omar Farooq, Asad Jafri and UC Darawar former Naib Nazim Shah Nawaz Baloch termed it a historical day. They thanked all government departments and NGOs that played a role in it.—APP

Flood-hit infrastructure rebuilding underway: Haleem NAZIR SIYAL

L ARKANA —Sindh government is committed to provide relief to the affected people of Kamber-Shahdadkot and Jacobabad districts. About 0.2 million people have been affected and 0.265629 million are settled in camps, said Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister.

Addressing a press conference here at Circuit House on Monday, Advisor Haleem Shaikh told media that the health and education sectors were badly affected by the natural disaster in Jacobabad,

Kamber-Shahdadkot and other parts of rain and flood affected areas. The school buildings are still submerged and closed due to the damages caused by floods, while majority of affected population is residing in schools and other buildings, he said.

Haleem said a total of 0.1 million acres of land was still under water, while 0.422158 million houses/homes were damaged and a large number of people were facing health hazardous and serious diseases, which had claimed hundreds of lives of innocent children too.

He said Chief Minister had directed the health department to take special measures and set up medical camps and provide medicines in the remote areas of districts of Sindh. Sindh government is keenly interested to resolve the issues of common man without any discrimination, he said.

Haleem further said that 0.245459 million acres agricultural crops were damaged by rain and floods and 1,826 cattle perished, shows a survey by Sindh government, he said. Sindh government has provided 10,000 tents.

Asghar Khan case SC ruling

PESS rejects retired Generals’ court martial SHER GONDAL M ANDI B AHAUDDIN —Exservicemen in a meeting at Kadhanwal, a suburban village have rejected politicians demand for court martial of army-retired generals. Major Sher Muhammad Gondal District President Pakistan ExServicemen Society (PESS) presided the meeting. Addressing the meeting, he said that some politicians, on the basis of SC ruling in Air Mar-

shal Asghar Khan case were demanding court martial of retired General Aslam Beg and Gen Asad Durrani for distributing money among politicians during 1990 elections.

He said SC recommended action against those involved in doling out and receiving government money. He said the money was given by the then president who was also Supreme Commander of Armed Forces and politicians received it. The generals only distrib-

uted that money among the politicians on the order of their Supreme Commander in good faith as the president told them that this act was in the interest of public at large. With this perspective the generals did not commit any offence. Subedar Riaz Warriach, District Information Secretary (PESS) said these both generals are honest and competent who rendered meritorious service and rose to top positions in the army with their share hard work.

reject Regulatory Authority Act OUR CORRESPONDENT

Nations Day will be observed on 24th of October (Wednesday) around the world. The day has traditionally been marked throughout the world with meetings, discussions and exhibits about the achievements and goals of the organization. On October 24, 1945, the United Nations (UN) came into force when the five permanent members of the security council ratified the charter that had been drawn up earlier that year. These members were: France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Since 1948, the event’s anniversary has been known as United Nations Day. It is an occasion to highlight, celebrate and reflect on the work of the United Nations and its family of specialized agencies. The United Nations General Assembly declared this day in 1947 as United Nations Day. It proclaimed that the day shall be devoted in making known to the people of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gain their support for its work.

In 1971 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (United Nations Resolution 2782) declaring that United Nations Day shall be an international holiday and recommended that it should be observed as a public holiday by all the UN member states.

HYDERABAD: Hindu devotees offer prayers at a temple on the first day of the Navratri festival.

Dry weather likely I SLAMABAD —Pakistan Me- recorded at Gawadar and the teorological Department on Monday forecast dry weather in most parts of the country during next 24 hours.

According to met office, Continental air is prevailing over most parts of the Country. Mainly dry Weather is expected in most parts of the Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Kashmir.

Main With the onset of winters and dipping of the mercury due to rains in various parts of the province recently, people have started wearing warm clothes and switched off air conditioners and fans.

Reports of showers are being received from northern parts of the province, as 06 mm rain has been recorded in Patan and 10 mm in Kalam area of district Swat. Moreover, met office has forecast partly cloudy weather for upper parts of the province during the next 24 hours whereas the weather would remain dry in plain areas of Khyber pakhtunkhwa. The Quetta Met Office has forecast a dry weather for the city on Tuesday with the maximum temperature expected to range between 25 degrees Centigrade and 27 degrees Centigrade.

Dry weather has been forecast for the rest of the region. On Monday, the highest temperature of 37 C was

lowest of 1 C at Kalat Hill Station. Karachi Meteorological Department on Monday forecast a hot and dry weather for the metropolis during the next 24 hours.

According to the weather report issued ,the maximum temperature would remain in the range of 35 to 37 while minimum in the range of 22 to 24 degree celsius. The weather report said that mainly hot and dry weather is likely to prevail in the region. The Multan Met Office has forecast dry weather for Multan and its suburbs during the next 24

hours. On Monday, the maximum and minimum temperature was recorded as 30.5 and 18.8 Celsius respectively.

Humidity was recorded at 86 per cent at 8 am and 46 per cent at 5 pm.

The weather pundits said that scattered thunderstorm/ rain is expected over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , GilgitBaltistan and Kashmir. Isolated thunderstorm rain may occur Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, DG Khan and Multan divisions.—APP

T IMERGARA —All Private Schools and Colleges Management Association, Dir Lower, on Monday rejected the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s private schools Regulatory Authority Act 2012 and threatened to launch a campaign against it by closing their schools and colleges .

Addressing a press conference here, President of All Private Schools and Colleges Management Association, Abdul Wadood Khan, General Secretary Asadullah Khan, Press Secretary Mushtaq Khan, Deputy Director Islami Nizam-e-Taleem Hazrat Mulk Shahi, Wilayat Khan, Islam ud Din and Faridullah alleged that provincial government wanted to disturb the peaceful environment in private sector educational institutions.

They said due to importance of these institutions the government should have encouraged them rather than to discourage them by hard conditions for them. They regretted that they had great reservations over the passage of the bill for establishment of Private Schools Regulatory Authority without consent QUETTA: Women showing Benazir Cards outside a local bank. of stakeholders.

I am content that most who were martyred at Karsaz were from Lyari: Baloch M M ALAM

W

HY & how Convener Friends of Lyari & Former Member PPP Sindh Council Habib Jan Baloch (HJB), facing hundred cases of terrorism including high profile murders, despite being in ECL escaped from Lyari? “Since Zulfiqar Mirza had extended a helping hand towards Lyariites, I welcomed him in London. As a result I was informed by my friends including Lord Nazir Ahmed that I would be eliminated in Pakistan”.

Once here his advocate told him not to count on bailbefore-arrest as cases were being registered against him daily: “I could not participate in the 27th April Amn March led by Sattar Edhi Sahab in which 20,000 people turned out. I was implicated in cases like murder of Abdul Rasheed leader of Katchi Rabita Committee & killing of SHO Fawwad Khan in Lyari Operation though at

that time I had crossed the border. Chaudhry Aslam deliberately sent him in & did not provide Ambulance later.

I thank God that at least there is no theft, dacoity or rape case against me”!

While Lyari elders were pondering over the situation, Barrister Sabghatullah Qadri (chief of UK Lawyers’ Forum) told them that he had information about a plot to slay HJB, who was advised to leave & raise the issue globally instead of dying in a fake encounter. Having dual nationality HJB remained in contact with British Deputy High Commissioner. Taking advantage of the electricity outage he escaped from Lyari combat zone in the night of 29-30 April through an unmanned exit with two poor laborers who used to carry carpets from Iran. He reached Baluchistan & after crossing the desert riding a camel for a complete night reached Iran.

Not only the vigilance at the Iranian border was strict, his

sympathizer told him that British Passport would further create hindrance.

He took a detour & after walking for a whole day, crossed Afghan border at Khurasan & reached a friend’s place at Kabul. Later he flew to Dubai & due to influence of his seekers there, traveled to Bahrain by road & finally took a flight to London where he lives in Wimbledon with his wife & five children. He had lost ten pounds due to exertion: “During Lyari’s 5-day Operation & 7 days of travel, I was cut off from the world; mobile phones, Internet etc. were jammed & PEMRA ordinance was imposed on me & Uzair Jan Baloch (Chief of banned People’s Amn Committee).

Even a cyber crime case was registered against me charging that my facebook and twitter were fake”.

Thanking Allah that despite the desires of many he was not killed, HJB told that he had commenced his

struggle from the very next day by means of demonstrations & seminars etc. in London: “Even in England I have been asked not to eat or drink with unknown people as they will try to poison me. After the murder of Dr. Imran Farooq I deem those who can murder in England can do anything!” Fifty-year-old HJB was born in Lyari where he got his early schooling. He went to Islamia Science College known for its Cricket team & introduced the game in Lyari by forming Combined Cricket Eleven. When his father, who was in Oman Army, expired in 1983 he was offered his job but being the eldest amongst nine siblings he started driving a Suzuki as school van. During vacations he carried wholesalers from Lee Market to Subzi Mandi & drove back loaded with vegetables. In those days HJB was very active in Khaliqdina Hall’s Students Welfare Organization as SVP. Since political heavyweights

used to converge there, HJB was introduced to politics & friends there also got him a contractor ’s license. When HJB started getting small contracts he employed people from Lyari. Recalling yesteryears HJB said: “Everybody used to listen to BBC News attracted by its signature tune played at 8 PM on radios at pan shops.

Then the word Bhutto was repeated everywhere (as though it was name of one of us) & we naturally became Butthos. I was fond of public speaking & since I used to stammer my father also encouraged me. I started my political life in 1979 by canvassing for a Local Bodies candidate & accompanying neighborhood kids to rallies & protests. Four decades passed like this”.

Three incidences made HJB popular in Lyari. When he was PPP’s District South Coordination Secretary, Lyariites wanted to invite Begum Nusrat Bhutto for Iftar. As he was pledging

the case kneeling before Nusrat Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto (BB) walked in - back from Umra - & accepted his invitation. At Lyari BB acknowledged that she came on HJB’s invitation; Secondly, he got a KMC contract to organize a football tournament in Lyari & started giving some money to players.

Though his plan to organize an international competition was short-circuited by envious seniors he became popular; Thirdly, when police picked up their donkeys, gadhagari race champion Ali Baba & others approached him instead of going to MNA Nabeel Gabol & HJB helped him out. They used to organize a race every Thursday & rest in front of US Consulate at Frere Hall. When Consul General Joseph H. Miller saw them he wished to witness the event. HJB organized it & sitting with the CG in Governor Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim’s car watched the race that was won by an Urdu

speaking dhobi from Korangi. On CG’s proposal a dinner was organized in honor of the participants at the Governor House. As they reached with their gadhagaris, CG arrived with grass (luhsan) for donkeys in his Mercedes!

When action against PPP commenced in Jam Sadiq government HJB went to US. There he met BB who asked him not to go back but as family elder he had to return.

Here he was arrested in police officer Malik Ahsan’s murder case & was tortured in various lockups for a couple of weeks (that resulted into perpetual spinal problem). He was asked to change loyalty & become Advisor Youth Affairs but on his refusal he was released without any FIR. When Nawaz Sharif came into power HJB was working for UBL & was dismissed for launching a campaign against privatization. When he was asked to join the Gov-

ernment he left for London in December 2000. BB who was also in exile made him incharge of Media Cell. He observed that BB managed the Party through emails that she read at 4am.

HJB remarked a difference between the elders in England & Pakistan who tried to impede his growth: “English try to transmit all their knowledge to the youth.

Just yesterday I met five councilors from Asian community who were hardly in their early twenties. Politics was a hard job then & there was no media coverage, we used to go door to door but today just through SMS you can gather 5000 people.” On HJB’s suggestion Lyari was opted by BB for a public gathering: “Then I was given Party Ticket & was exempted from paying Rs. 100,000/contribution. That irritated many seniors who even asked BB not to let me contest elections”.

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Paul congratulates Wattoo Staff Reporter

I SLAMABAD —Minister in charge National Harmony Ministry and Advisor to Prime Minister on Interfaith-Harmony Dr Paul Bhatti on Monday congratulated Mian Manzoor Wattoo on assuming the charge of the President of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Punjab.

He appreciated the decision of President Asif Ali Zardari and said that it would provide an impetus to the PPP activities in the Punjab region. He expressed confidence that Mian Manzoor Wattoo throuh his experience and wisdom, would make remarkable contribution in strengthening the party in Punjab. “On behalf of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), I assure my collaboration and support to Mian Manzoor Wattoo in strengthening our bond and work for the goodwill of both Muslims and Christians in the region,” said the minister. A source said Fazalur Rehman Butt, Lahore vice-president and former bodyguard of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto, questioned the leadership on what grounds it had made Wattoo the central Punjab president. He said he and some other PPP workers faced hardship at his (Wattoo’s) hands. “How can we gather workers for reception of this person,” Mr Butt was quoted as having said. Dr Paul condemns attack on church; Minister In-Charge Ministry of National Harmony and Advisor to Prime Minister on Interfaith-Harmony Dr Paul Bhatti on Monday condemned the attack on Philadelphia Pentecostal Church of Pakistan (Karachi) and assured that all possible measures would be taken to prevent the recurrence of such attacks in the future. “We do realize that this is the working of a specific mindset bent on creating wedge between the Muslims and the Christians in country, but we will do our utmost to thwart the nefarious designs of such a mindset,” stated the minister in a statement. Dr Paul said that no Muslim could do such acts due to the fact that Muslims also have belief in Jesus Christ. He emphasized that it was high time to forge unity in ranks to collectively face the growing menace of extremism in the country.

Tickets on merit Staff Reporter

P ESHAWAR —Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa Labour Minister and Chief Coordinator of PPP for FATA Sher Azam Wazir said on Monday that PPP will fully participate in the general election and ticket would be awarded on the basis of merit.

Talking to a representative delegation of FR Darra Adam Khel and FR Peshawar led by Malik Firdous Khan Afridi and Malik Jahanzeb Khan Afridi here the minister said that the time of political jugulars contested election in past on power of money has been gone and people would reject them in the upcoming polls.

He said Pakistan Peoples Party has always been victimised in the past referring to the landmark decision of the Supreme Court in Asghar Khan case. He said it has been admitted during the proceedings of the case that the general election in 1990 was rigged to defeat the PPP. He said that PPP was always emerged victorious from every difficult situation and would give tough time to opposition in the upcoming poll.

He said that focus would be made on speedy development of FATA and Frontier Regions if elected again. He said he would contest next election on NA-47 and vowed to remove the long deprivation of tribal people. He said PPP was making all-out efforts to live up to the expectations of the people and provide them maximum relief adding PPP leadership had always considered workers as real assets and held their sacrifices in high esteem. He said PPP was custodian of people rights and democracy as it leadership had sacrificed their lives but never compromise on rights of masses and principles. He said PPP is the most popular political party of the country and has strong roots in masses in the all four federating units, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK. The situation demands from workers to show unity and inform masses about the major achievements of the elected government and work tirelessly for strengthening of democracy in the country, he remarked. On this occasion Malik Jahanzeb Khan and Malik Hazrat Gul Afridi assured full support to the minister.

2 killed, 6 injured in different incidents OUR CORRESPONDENTS DI K HAN \Q UETTA —As least two persons lost their lives in two different incidents in the city on Monday.

According to police, Khan Muhammad, s/o Ramazan Mehsood r/o Wanda Mochianwala, drowned in Indus river while taking bath.

His body was not found till filing of this report.

In the second incident, a young man, whose name was not ascertained, was electrocuted to death while working in a factory at Neem Wali Gali. At least six persons were injured in a collision between a truck and a car on Chaman-Kuchlak National Highway on Monday.

Police sources said that the car was on way to Quetta when a speedy truck hit it at Hashim Hotel near Kuchlak area outskirts of the provin-

cial capital. Resultantly, six people including a driver sustained injuries.

The injured have been taken to Bolan Medical Complex (BMC) for treatment where the victims were identified as Faizullah, Nazir Ahmad, Bashir Khan, Syed Zafar Shah, Behram Khan and driver Abdul Wali. Police are looking into the matter.

Unidentified gunmen shot at and injured a man in Khuzdar district. Police said on Monday that the victim identified as Khan Muhammad was on way home when gunmen on motorbike opened fire on him and fled from the scene. As a result, he received wounds and was rushed to nearby hospital for medical aid. The reason behind the attack could not be ascertained.

Police are investigating the QUETTA: Patients are perturbed due to strike called by the doctors in the province. incident.

SAARC Scout camp to develop better understanding among youth: Kausar

Let us wage war against poverty, ignorance, intolerance STAFF REPORTER P ESHAWA R —The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Barrister Masood Kausar has described the 2nd SAARC scouts camp, a great success in the efforts to bring youth of the region closer to each other and develop better understanding amongst them. “You all are the ambassadors of youth of your respective countries and it is highly fascinating to be amongst this gala of scouts of the entire South Asia”, he added.

Addressing as the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the camp at Islamabad, the Governor

who himself is the Chief Scout for the province and FATA, he further remarked “it seems a good change and let us wage war against the common enemies; the poverty, ignorance and intolerance.

Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court, Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmad Khan who is also the Chief Scout Commissioner, while welcoming the Governor, he highlighted various aspects of the camp and especially thanked the President Asif Ali Zardari for hosting reception in honour of chief scout commissioners at the Presidency.

Some of the Judges of the Federal Shariat Court and Am-

bassador of Sudan were also present on this occasion. Besides international level scout troupes from the member countries of SAARC, all the units of Pakistan Scouts Association including Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, FATA, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, PIA and Pakistan Railways presented cultural activities at the concluding ceremony.

Appreciating the well performed cultural events by scout troupes from all the seven members of SAARC, the Governor said, “we indeed have missed this wonderful event to host at Governor’s House, Peshawar or elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and

would look forward an opportunity to present our hospitality in future.

The Governor also declared to make the ensuing FATA festival to be held shortly; a highly befitting occasion for display of the historic cultural and traditional values of the area. “I will make sure that the Pakistan Scouts Association should get ample opportunity to contribute in the festival”, the Governor said.

Pointing towards the foreign guests, the Governor said, I wish you must have visited FATA which is custodian of rich culture.

Though, he added, we have experienced difficulties over

the recent past, yet, we have overcome them. “Our security forces and the people have offered tremendous sacrifices in making this possible and we salute their valour and courage”, he said.

In fact, he remarked, whatever the state of circumstances we have been experiencing for the past almost four decades, are not the homegrown rather the off-shoots of many ups and downs of the historic facts. “Our people, especially the youth are very humble and friendly and I believe the same are the inbuilt qualities of their counterparts of the entire SAARC region.

He also assured every possible support to further

strengthen the Pakistan Scouts Association. “Being Chief Scout of the province and FATA is my proud experience and I will do whatever is possible to carry forward its noble objectives”, he said.

Meanwhile, scout troupes alongwith their leaders; hailing from Bengaladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nipal and Sri Lanka besides Pakistan presented souvenirs in interesting manners, depicting the culture and art of their respective countries. Later on the Governor was mixed with the gathering and exchanged views with scouts. He highly eulogised the efficient participation of both the scouts and guides from FATA.

PAC directs recovery in Shahi Mehman Khana purchase case STAFF REPORTER PESHAWAR—Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has termed the at a time purchase of double curtains for Shahi Mehman Khana (Official Guest House) and spending of Rs.0.737 million as waste of the national exchequer and directed recovery of the amount.

The meeting of the Public Accounts Committee was held here in the Conference Room of the Assembly. The meeting was held in two sessions. First session was presided over by Speaker, Kiramatullah Khan, HYDERABAD: Sindh PML-N leader Mumtaz Bhutto talking to media at STP hunger while the second one was strike camp.

Govt to plant saplings to combat warming: Ayub STAFF REPORTER PESHAWAR—Terming global warming a major threat to environment, the Khyber Pakhtukhwa Minister for Agriculture Arbab Ayub Jan said on Monday that a large number of saplings of different species would be planted with the help of model forms services of agricultural department to offset the effects of global warming and climatic change. He said focus is being made for promotion of social forestry imperative to counter the danger posed by global warming to the envi-

ronment of the region. This was stated by him while talking to a group of farmers of Bara Bungalow here today.

He said two lac olive trees are being distributed free of cost among farmers of the province to get self sufficiency in edible oil. In addition to it the government has approved a plan regarding raising gardens of different food plants in the province. Similarly, planning has been made for increasing the production of seasonal and unseasonal vegetables in the province to ensure smooth supply to consumers. Global warming is the

increase in the temperature of the earth’s near-surface air and that of the temperature of oceans. This rise in the temperature will cause the sea level to rise.

This will increase the intensity of the occurrence of extreme weather events, leading to a change in agricultural productivity, trade, water crisis, glacier melting, extinction of species and an unchecked increase in disease rate. Global warming in Pakistan presents a grimmer picture as the country depends heavily on its natural resources. Pakistan does not have the required technology.

TAKMC demands following rules in appointment of principal STAFF REPORTER P ESHAWAR —The Teaching Association of Khyber Medical College (TAKMC) on Monday demanded for strictly following the prescribed rules and regulations for the selection of principals of Khyber Medical College to protect this premier institution from politicisation.

Dr Amer Azhar, General Secretary TAKMC in a press statement said the Khyber Medical College (KMC) is the premiere institution imparting quality education to the students of medicine for more than half a century.

chaired by Abdul Akbar Khan.

The meeting besides, members of provincial assembly, Mohammad Zamin Khan advocate, Saqibullah Khan Chamkani, Mufti Said Janan and Mukhtiar Ali Khan advocate was also attended by Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Attaullah Khan, Secretary Communications & Works (C&W), Zahid Arif and senior officials of the departments of law, finance and audit.

The meeting discussed in details audit objections relating to departments of C&W, Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority (PHA), and PBMC

during financial year 2010-11.

The committee also directed investigation into expenses and repairmen of the damages occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House due to bomb explosion in the year 2009-10 and purchase of material worth Rs.6 million and inspection of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Islamabad and verification of the purchased items.

The committee also issued directives for audit verification of issuance of income exemption certificate and other documents of 8.5 kilometer Kohat City-Indus Highway Road.

Pregnancy diseases kill 1 woman out of 89 STAFF REPORTER P ESHAWA R —Daily one woman out of every 89 dies due to pregnancy related diseases and about 500 newborns in the country owing to lack of proper maternal and newborn health (MNH) services especially in restive areas of FATA, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This was revealed in an assessment study conducted by SoSec Consulting Services in collaboration with the Research and Advocacy Fund (RAF) to understand the dynamics and provision

of health services in the restive areas, especially for those persons, who have limited or no access to MNH services. Based on qualitative research, the aims of the study are to capture views and perceptions of both users and providers of health services besides providing evidence based recommendations for improving or designing MNH initiatives/ programmes ensuring equitable access in restive areas.

One of the major causes affected provision of MNH services are natural calamities and law and order situation in Fata

WB, IHT organize workshop on creative industries STAFF REPORTER I SLAMABAD —Indus Heritage Trust (IHT) in-collaboration with World Bank here on Monday has organized a day-long workshop on “Regional Creative Industries Stakeholder Consultation”.

The objective of the consultation was to clearly identify the strengths and the constraints of the artisan sector, conduct a detailed value chain analysis and explore and suggest innovative tools and mechanism to address these constraints that can be piloted through a project.

Leading Pakistani artisan stakeholders attended the event. Addressing the event, Chairperson of the Trust, Siddiqa Malik said that rural communities, especially in remote areas, despite being rich in traditional craft, remained the poorest and the most vulnerable. They are constrained by poor infrastructure, lack of market information and linkages with mainstream markets, absence of institutional support from the private sector, difficulty in obtaining raw materials, and financing facilities, she addd.

They often have to sell

their products to middle men and traders at marginal value or produce products for local markets only, she noted. She said that youth unemployment and lack of livelihood opportunities for those at the lower end of the income scale, the landless and the most vulnerable community members was emerging as a major issue.

The IHT invited craft organizations, NGOs, microfinance organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, designers, artists and crafts people to meet the regional players from Afghani- THAR: In many areas of Pakistan, people are facing severe shortage of water, especially stan, Bangladesh. in Sindh areas.

NWA: President opts for saner course

MEDIA WATCH

Lebanon’s delicate hour

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N the backdrop of different voices being raised in favour of military operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), President Asif Ali Zardari made a categorical statement on Sunday that the Government would not go for such an option till a national consensus is evolved on the issue. Speaking at a function of SAFMA he, however, vowed that the Government as well as other organizations are committed to fight terrorism.

The assurance of the President is welcome and reflects ground realities despite propaganda campaign being launched by some vested interests to pressurize the Pakistan Army to go for the venture, which is pregnant with serious consequences for the army and the country. No doubt, Malala attack was universally condemned and all segments of the society expressed their anger over the tragic incident yet attempts being made by some circles to make it an excuse for launching a military operation in NWA were treacherous. The President, his entire Government, Americans, their allies and Kabul — all are talking about reconciliation and peace but unfortunately when it comes to NWA, some circles see only use of force as an option to address situation. In the first instance, we must realize that even if militants were there in the Agency, they would not be naïve enough to remain their when there is talk about operation every now and then. Secondly, the West and the Kabul Government are trying to convey an impression as if only NWA is the root cause of the problem in the region as they conveniently forget frequent attacks on this side of the border from Afghanistan. It was in this context that Pakistan has demanded of the US Special Representative Marc Grossman to urge Afghanistan to hand over Fazlullah who is enjoying hospitality of the Afghanistan Government ever-since he fled from Swat in the wake of military operation and is sponsoring acts of terrorism in Pakistan. If the United States and Britain have come to the conclusion that use of force was not serving the objective in Afghanistan then why to exercise this option in Pakistan. Instead, we would urge Pakistani leadership to establish a task force consisting of strategists, economists, former diplomats and representatives of the people to study the problem minutely and recommend an allencompassing strategy for mainstreaming of the entire region ie FATA to address the problem on sustainable and long term basis.

Raja too focuses on hometown I

N his first public meeting after assuming the coveted office, at his hometown Gujar Khan on Sunday, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf launched a scathing attack on opposition and claimed that the PPP is poised to win the next general elections with two-third majority. On this occasion, he also announced a package for socio-economic development of his constituency.

The enthusiasm with which people of Gujar Khan received their leader was understandable also their expectations that the chief executive would take measures to address the problems confronting them. Establishment of an IT University and provision of IT labs in all educational institutions of area could help promote education and upgrade educational facilities but the idea to give Gujar Khan status of a district is questionable as the area is at a stone’s throw from the existing district headquarters Rawalpindi and hardly deserves any such consideration. But above all, the announcement of the PM was in line with the discriminatory approach adopted by almost all successive chief executives to focus more on their home constituencies for petty political considerations at the cost of other but deserving regions. Former Prime Minister Gilani reportedly spent Rs 45 billion in Multan forcing people to joke whether Multan was entire Pakistan. There is similar focus on Raiwind, Benazirabad and Mardan as was done by previous PMs and CMs in the past. We believe that election considerations notwithstanding, the incumbent and future Prime Ministers should treat all districts and regions equally. Developmental activities should be initiated in each district and tehsil as per its requirements and needs so as to addressing the problems of the local people and accelerating pace of socio-economic development. This should be done purely on merit and not on political considerations.

Punjab youths set world records T

HE initiative by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to galvanize youths paid the dividends, as several world records were broken at the Punjab Youth Festival. It was a well-organised healthy activity, which was spread over several months starting from district level and then culminating with a mass participation in a joyous mood in Lahore.

Patriotic emotions ran through the sky when thousands of participants joined in singing the national anthem and Guinness World Records representative announced that Pakistan reclaimed the world record saying 42,813 participants sang it while ambitious organizers claimed that around 70,000 people participated. Also new world records were set in most martial arts kicks, plug wiring, fastest chess set up, pulling a truck by a mustache, fastest time for wearing a cricket kit, longest frog jump and most football headers. We believe that it was a praise worthy step taken by the Chief Minister to activate youths and involve them in healthy activities. Pakistani youths have unique qualities and capabilities and they can perform wonders if enabling environment is provided to them. There is need for constructive engagements of youths in building social cohesion, economic prosperity and political stability in an inclusive and democratic way. Though many policies and charters had been formulated in the past but very few practical steps were taken towards the inclusion of youth in nation building and development and the result is that a number of youths have become disillusioned, hopeless and menace to society. Therefore, we hope other provinces would also follow Punjab example to organise healthy activities and the Federal Government too take steps at the national level. We say so because as a nation we need a vibrant youth to get the best by creating an enabling framework for them to contribute to development of the nation.

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Conjectures about NWA operation it was reaction to drone attacks.

The ruling and opposition parties have to understand that to win the war against terrorism entails Mohammad Jamil concerted act of Email: mjamil1938@hotmail.com the state’s military power and civil power to take on merchants of death and destruction. ilitary is busy in disman The military fights them on mountling the infrastructure of tains, in caves, in jungles and in Tehrik-e-Taliban and tak- deserts. The civil power has to coning on the remnants of its militants front them on city streets and lanes in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Neverthe- and in markets and public places usless, there is no military action in the ing IB, CID and police. But, they offing in North Waziristan. COAS have shifted the entire burden of comGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and bating terrorism on the military’s the government functionaries have shoulders. If TTP leaders are angry categorically stated that any opera- at drone attacks and America’s tion, if necessary, will be launched adventurism in Afghanistan, do they with the approval of the parliament. have to take out their anger by slaughYet, a raging discourse is going on tering our own children, women and in the media and among the political men? There have to be some limits elites after an assassination attempt to conceits and hypocrisies; those on Malala Yousufzai. Religious right can’t be unlimited. The terror apolopropagates that attack on Malala gists must understand that if harm Yousufzai will be used as a pretext comes to this country, all will be hurt to conduct military action in North unsparingly.

Hence, leaders of ruling and opWaziristan. However, much of this discourse is misinformed, populist position parties must put their act toand dishonest. Those who favor dia- gether to confront terrorism, which logue with the militants seem to have poses the biggest internal existential a short memory, as the government threat to the country. It is an irrefuthad more than once entered into able fact that Afghan provinces Kunar peace agreements with them. How- and Nooristan have become a hub of ever, when they declared that they anti-Pakistan activities from where neither accept the constitution nor the Maulvi Fazl-ullah and his militant parliament, military operation in group are operating. Recent incident Swat was launched with, and TTP of attack on Malalah Yousafzai is also leaders crossed over to Afghanistan’s pointing towards the militants operating from Afghanistan; in fact provinces Nuristan and Kunar.

Though almost all political and spokesman of TTP has claimed the religious parties condemned the responsibility of the attack. Pakistan dastardly attack on Malala should demand of ISAF and NATO Yousafzai, a few of them during to hand over Maulvi Fazl-ullah to their discourse on the TV channels Pakistan. President Hamid Karzai has try to justify terrorists’ acts saying condemned attack on Malala

News & Views

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Yousufzai, but he conveniently forgot that the man who claimed the responsibility of this savage act, Fazlullah, is holed up along with hundreds of his brigands in safe sanctuaries right inside Afghanistan. After being vanquished in a military operation in Swat where he had thrown an armed challenge to the Pakistani State, Fazlullah at the head of battalions of his thugs had slipped into Afghanistan.

From safe havens in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nuristan provinces, now they have been freely launching murderous attacks on Pakistani border posts and villages and even beheading captured Pakistani soldiers, which they videotape and then put out the footage for worldwide viewing. But who is hosting them in Afghanistan? Both the provinces are very much part of Afghanistan, and never ever have the Afghan officials said if those are not under their writ. Then who in Afghanistan is feeding them, funding them and arming them so lethally that they launch such deadly attacks on the Pakistani border posts and civilian villages without any hindrance on the Afghan side? And who in Afghanistan is masterminding their assaults across the border? Till now, President Karzai kept mum on this count. Only Karzai’s intelligence spooks keep bragging openly that over the years they have infested Pakistan’s tribal territories and adjacent settled areas vulnerably.

After his meeting with General James N. Mattis, Commander US CENTCOM on 17th August, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had categorically dispelled the speculative reporting in foreign media, regarding joint operations in North Waziristan. He had reiterated: “We might, if necessary, undertake operations in NWA, in the timeframe of our choosing and requirements.”

It will never be a result of any outside pressure. Yet some local

commentriat and politicos started criticising civil and military leadership. Of course civil and military leaderships are on one page in this regard that if at all operation is required to be undertaken, its timings will be decided by Pakistan and not on America’s dictation. Anyhow, final decision whether the operation would be undertaken or not will be made keeping in view the Parliament’s resolution, which exhorts to negotiate with the militants.

But there is a proviso that in the event all other efforts fail then the government could resort to military action. However, people of Pakistan would have to be taken on board before any military operation is launched in North Waziristan.

According to defence analysts, well-planned covert operations must be undertaken to isolate the militants from the locals, though a difficult proposition till the time locals carry the impression that militants are waging ‘jihad’ against foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Speedy rehabilitation and initiation of political process after successful military operation are imperatives for a permanent solution, which must be planned in advance.

The experience indicates that successful military operations in Swat and South Waziristan were backed by the required political process.

Therefore, any future military operation must be preceded by creating the consensus so that political leadership takes full ownership.

During the last four years, our forces undertook operations in Swat and South Waziristan; and since the border on Afghan side was not sealed, the terrorists went across the border to Afghanistan. Since then, they are conducting terrorist activities against Pakistan with impunity from their safe-havens in Afghanistan.

—The writer is Lahore-based senior journalist.

The Russian dilemma Taliban and the resistance seem to be the immediate answer, but if, for inS M Tariq Pirzada stance, the US denies them the right to Email:stariqp@yahoo.com form a government, then the consequence would be none other than a dashed hope for he Russians are expressing peace, and the risks to region’s indeep concern over the likely stability, as the Russians fear, could threat-scenario as the US- very well spin out of control.

NATO forces gear to withdraw Thus, like it, or not, the bitter prefrom Afghanistan in 2014. The Rus- requisite-the centrality of Taliban’s sian are warning against “prema- role for the restoration of peace in Afture” withdrawal of the foreign ghanistan- must not be disregarded, forces, saying that Afghanistan not even for a moment, by any stake “must” be able to provide for its holder i.e., the US, Russia, PRC, or own security before the alliance the bleeding Pakistan for that matter. begins a withdrawal. Nikolay The unnerving challenge for these Korchunov, the Russian envoy to powers is to ensure that, If allowed NATO, stressed the imperative for back in saddle, the Taliban and their “confronting threats to security allies live up to a commitment to coming from the territory of the keeping peace within, and preventcountry (Afghanistan) and risks to ing terrorism from spreading out side stability in the region as a whole”. Afghanistan. The solution lies within The risk to the stability of region is the spectrum of conventional wisvital to Russians for the reason that dom that the people in power canthe “security-threats”, as they see not jettison the inherent burden of stemming from Afghanistan, could external accountability. Once restrengthen the extremist movements turned to power, the wounded already brewing in their neighbor- Taliban, and the resistance woild be hood from Ubekistan, and its sister busy guarding, their hard-earned Central Asia states to the restive government, bearing the burden of Muslim regions of Chechniya etc a devastated state in a grueling inin the Russian Caucasus. ternational arena under the unsparWhile Moscow’s concerns are ing accountability regime of a ruthunderstandable, the strategic rem- less new world , a world so radically edy that can help resolve a whole different from the one they encounrange of issues, is the most obvi- tered between 1996-2001. ous of all –the restoration of peace During 1996-2001, the US-led in Afghanistan. But the question is West imposed on the Taliban regime who shall hold the reins of power the guillotine of total global isolation, in Kabul after 2014.The Afghan seeking ,in earnest, their diplomatic,

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political, and economic strangulation to occasion their instant collapse.

Still, the Taliban survived until they were ousted by the US in 2001.The US and the West could have shown, in 1996, the amount of patience with the Taliban, as they are showing now after 11years of a “generational US war”, 2000 American deaths, the destruction of Afghanistan, and the constant terrorization and destabilization, in particular, of Pakistan.

Moscow knows that the geographically contiguous Russian federation, the Central Asia states, the PRC, Iran, and Pakistan have no choice but to work for a legitimate regime in Kabul. Now that 2014 withdrawal of the majority of the US- led forces from Afghanistan is almost irreversible , sacrifices are needed, and regional assistance facilitated by countries from the Russian federation to Pakistan shall constitute key to introducing peace in Afghanistan. Handpicked successors to an imported Karzai, or a planted warlord from the Northern alliance, cannot be acceptable to the Pastun majority, already sidelined since 2001 .

To preserve its post-withdrawal influence, the US plans to maintain, as we know, a host ofmilitary bases, and some 20- 30 thousand troops in Afghanistan until 2024, yet, it goes without saying that the political and security vacuum to be created by the US-Nato exit has to be much proactively filled by the region’s concerned quartet— the Moscow led CIS, Beijing, Tehran, and Islamabad.

The quartet could provide external security-assurance to Afghanistan including a collective commitment to its sovereignty, and noninterfer-

ence in the Afghan affairs coupled with an economic assistance package in return for the same non interference in and respect for the borders of the neighboring, or distant countries with specific guarantees of non-indulgence in any trans- border ideological activity, or terrorism.

Engaging the Afghan Taliban, and the larger resistance is indispensible for the US, Russia led CIS, China, Iran, and Pakistan to build the edifice of peace, needless to say, not only in Afghanistan but also in the region, and beyond. But asking for continued US military action against theTaliban, and the resistance, as Mr. Korchunov has suggested, can, to the contrary, only undo the prospects of peace in, and around Afghanistan, A new Russia initiative, timely aimed at framing partnership with Afghnistan shall also help eliminate the bulk of bitterness left by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It’s high time that Moscow and its old, and new partners show leadership as the US withdraws from Afghanistan.

Following the October trip to Pakistan by the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, the Pak-Russsia expression of a convergence of Interest over Afganistan certainly underlines Russia’s new strategic direction, and recognizes Islamabad’s role as a critical stakeholder in the Afghan crises. What Russia, Pakistan and other members of the regional quartet cannot, however, ignore is the post withdrawal presence of the US military bases in Afghanistan, verily a long term threat to Pakistan’s security, and stability, and that of the region in general.

eirut is confused and is on the edge and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has spelt out his agenda. His decision to continue in office despite criticism for being an ally of Hezbollah, which is pro-Bashar Al Assad, is quite meaningful. Apparently, he wants to save Lebanon from plunging into a crisis of governance at this critical juncture and avoid a power vacuum that could only stimulate the ongoing crisis. His resolve to bring to book the culprits that killed his top security sleuth will determine how Lebanon comes out of this difficult hour. His actions will closely be watched by opposition elements, especially the March 14 alliance of Saad Hariri, which has already expressed its no confidence in the dispensation in Beirut for allegedly having a soft corner for the Damascus regime. Mikati has a responsibility to deliver and that too on two counts: save Lebanon from political instability by avoiding a civil war that is knocking at its doorstep and take measures to minimise Syrian influence in the country.

Lebanon, which is rightly termed as the nerve of the Middle East, is in a fix as the civil strife in neighbouring Syria is directly impacting its security and demographic balance. Being a melting pot for different communities and religions, Lebanon’s political fabric, especially its constitutional arrangement, has weathered every kind of storm. But now, in the wake of Syria unravelling, it is very difficult to estimate how the resultant fissures can be dealt with. This is a delicate moment for the Lebanese and all that they need to ensure is to avoid warfare from overwhelming their sense of resilience. The United Nations and the regional organisations, especially the Arab League, can’t afford to sit on the fringes at this juncture. An instant mediation is indispensable. Lebanon and Syria should talk it out, and chart out a roadmap to uphold peace and tranquillity. It is quite unfortunate that Damascus hasn’t come out with a proper rejoinder to the upheavals in Lebanon, and especially on the murder of Wissam Al Hassan. This could serve as adding fuel to fire. It is incumbent upon Damascus to respond to the mess in Lebanon and make its position clear. Syria should have no business other than putting its own house in order. — Khaleej Times

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Cuba unlocks the door

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t has taken half a century but Cuba has finally bowed to the in evitable and announced the lifting of foreign travel restrictions on its citizens. From next January they will no longer require exit permits to go overseas, leaving North Korea as the only communist state left that continues to immure its own people. The move – announced on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis – is the most significant act of liberalisation yet from Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel as Cuba’s president four years ago.

His cautious programme of economic modernisation, which has already seen modest moves towards private ownership and some market reforms, was ratified by last year’s party congress, the first for 13 years.

There is no doubting Mr Castro’s reforming instincts but the speed of change is woefully slow. Cuba remains an impoverished country – the average monthly salary is $20 – where corruption and cronyism are rampant. But the lifting of travel restrictions may mark a step change in the process. Freedom of movement will inevitably sharpen Cubans’ appetite for greater economic freedoms – or even more dramatic developments. After all, it was the fall of the Berlin Wall that triggered the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. This latest move will be watched with keen interest by the United States, which will be the destination for most Cubans who decide to use their new-found freedom of movement. Since 1966 Washington has granted Cubans automatic residence if they can reach the United States – as many thousands have, usually in makeshift vessels. Raúl Castro has dropped his brother’s anti-American posturing, recently declaring that good relations between the two countries would be “mutually advantageous”.— The Telegraph A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

Samuel Goldwyn — US writer

American Muslim vote in 2012 election Voice of the People Abdus Sattar Ghazali Email: asghazali2011@gmail.com

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emocrats and Republicans are seen by many as the two sides of the same coin since both are aligned with the rich against the American people. For some Democrats are seen as a lesser evil. Gerald Celente says when confronted with the choice between the two evils, you don’t vote for the lesser evil. “Lesser or greater, evil is evil.” However, the seven-million strong American Muslim community – remained under siege since 9/11 tragedy - has decided to actively participate in the nation’s political process in a bid to make its voice heard. Muslim community’s political activism was reflected at the Democratic National Convention where the number of Muslim delegates had quadrupled since 2004.

There were more than 100 Muslim delegates representing some 20 states at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September last.

That’s up from 25 delegates in 2004.

Ironically, there has been little effort to court Muslim voters this election year. In the 2008 election the McCain campaign basically ignored American Muslims while the Obama campaign had a special outreach co-

ordinator that reached out to the ArabAmerican community as well as the American-Muslim communities. But this election season there has not been the same kind of outreach from the Obama campaign, and no word from the Mitt Romney campaign. Muslim Americans perceive Mitt Romney as the more anti-Islamic candidate due to his irresponsible comments regarding sensitive Middle Eastern issues, including the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. American Muslims were also disappointed with the Republican Party when its convention adopted an amendment to their platform supporting a ban on foreign law (read Sharia). The so-called antiSharia legislation has become another tool to foment hatred against Islam and Muslims. At the same time many Republican leaders continued rhetoric against Islam.

The Democrats’ inclusion of support for Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in their official party platform may have disillusioned some Muslim voters, who were already critical of Obama’s failure to properly address the discrimination their community has faced. Four years ago, Obama enjoyed overwhelming support from Muslim voters – 89 percent Muslims voted for him.

There is currently no polling data indicating the percentage that in-

tends to vote for Obama this November, but politically active community members agree that enthusiasm for his candidacy has waned. In particular, many say they are disappointed by the way Obama has shied away from addressing an apparent rise in Islamophobia spreading throughout the United States. However, despite these misgivings American Muslims are likely to vote for President Obama next month, says Princeton political science professor Amaney Jamal. The American Muslim minority community has become a more important player on the political landscape, especially in key swing states, says a report titled Engaging American Muslims: Political Trends and Attitudes released in April last by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

According to Farid Senzai, author of the report, although it is true that American Muslims constitute a small percentage of the national population, they are concentrated in key swing states such as Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida.

“Despite being very diverse and far from monolithic, this constituency is growing faster than any other religious community and has become increasingly visible and sophisticated in its political engagement. Republicans who found the Muslim commu-

nity an easy target in the primaries may find themselves in trouble in the states that may determine the winner of the election.”

In an OpEd in New York Times, Farid Senzai, pointed out that as the 2012 presidential election picks up steam, Republican candidates find it tempting and beneficial to bash Muslims as a way to attract voters. He went on to say: “In the wake of the 2010 midterm elections, “Americans are learning what Europeans have known for years: Islam-bashing wins votes,” as the journalist Michael Scott Moore wrote that last November. At the time, many of the 85 new Republican House members buoyed by the surging Tea Party movement found the political virtues of anti-Muslim rhetoric an easy way to prove their mettle to the surging conservative base.

While an anti-Muslim strategy may have worked in the past, it is risky because many agree that the outcome of the 2012 presidential election will probably be determined in no more than twelve states, Senzai warned and added that these are the same states where minority groups, including American Muslims, are likely to play a decisive role.

—The writer is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America

Too many skeletons in UPA cupboard acquired huge wealth due to his DLF connection with the company being given 350 acres of land by the Sunita Vakil Haryana government Email:sunitavakil@yahoo.co.in as a quid pro quo, is shocking on 5th October in a press conference held in New Delhi, IAC activists here is no denying that the Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant present national landscape is Bushan slammed Mr. Vadra for his dogged with scams and corrup- alleged dealings with premier real tion. Beleaguered by multitude of cor- estate company DLF. They alleged ruption scandals dominated by the 2G that DLF had given Vadra an unsespectrum allocation scam and cured interest free loan of 6.5 crore Coalgate, the Congress again finds in return for favours which the IAC itself in a tight spot due to the renewed wants investigated. The IAC allegafocus on the non transparent business tions have raised many questions transactions of Robert Vadra’s busi- about the impropriety of corporate ness empire. With the spate of recent dealings and political influences.

In light of the meteoric rise in his corruption scandals sullying the grand old party’s image, the party manag- business fortunes, isn’t it strange that ers seem to be riddled with another a mediocre businessman suddenly headache, thanks to the controversy becomes Mr. Richie Rich? Within surrounding Robert Vadra’s dealings hours of Kejriwal’s allegations, the with the DLF. Indeed, there seems to Haryana government denied any be no end to the UPA’s woes. Con- wrong doing and said that it had not gress spokespersons need to do a lot favoured DLF as alleged by the acto defend Mr Vadra. Arvind tivist. DLF also issued a point by Kejriwal’s allegation that Mr. Vadra point rebuttal of Kejriwal’s new alle-

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gations and said that an attempt was being made to sensationalise the charges. In the wake of the controversy surrounding her son-in-law Robert Vadra’s dealing with the DLF, congress president Sonia Gandhi’s image has taken a severe beating.

Though the amount involved in the Vadra DLF transaction is peanuts in comparison to the moolah in 2G and Coalgate but its importance lies in being symptomatic of how the ruling class has almost legalised crony capitalism and made impenetrable structures which further its interests.

As for Sonia Gandhi’s spontaneous reaction coming to the rescue of her son-in-law in contrast to her stoic silence on the Coalgate scam has only added to the party’s embarrassment.

Even as Mr Kejriwal sought a “white paper” and a special investigation team probe into the alleged shady dealings, the Congress accused him of “cheap publicity”. If the party feels that and attack on Mr. Vadra is an attack on the party itself, it is all the more necessary for its leaders to clear the air. But curiously, in their over enthusiasm to defend Mr Vadra Congress leaders have only shot themselves in their foot. The week de-

fence mounted by Mr Vadra and his Congress rescuers strengthens the suspicion about the business dealings of Mr Vadra. A thorugh probe should be ordered into the affairs involving DLF. Once again, the focus is on the need for an independent investigative agency outside the influence of power structures.

The BJP also has once again failed to take up the issue. One wonders whether it is keeping mum because of the fear that if it points one finger at the Congress the other four will point at it. It seems that the Congress and BJP go soft on each other by turns to protect themselves.

Instead of selectively rubbishing corruption the two parties need to work towards restoring the common man’s faith in politicians. Arvind Kejriwal’s accusation can’t be brushed aside as wild allegations of a publicity seeker. The public is seeing in his party a change it has been desperately looking for. India needs a change. It is sick of corruption.

Let’s hope he will be the change we have been dreaming about for long.

—The writer is a New Delhi-based senior journalist

Views From Abroad

A lesson in restraint Michael Lumbers

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ow is an American president to handle an ideological, seemingly irrational adversary that may be on the cusp of acquiring nuclear weapons even as it continues to stir up trouble in a region pivotal to US interests? One could be forgiven for assuming this conundrum describes only President Obama’s difficulties with Iran. The last presidential debate on foreign policy will make clear, the question of how to respond to the possibility of an Iranian bomb may be America’s most pressing international challenge.

Obama has declared that a nuclear-armed Iran could not be contained and must be prevented, but he deliberately has been vague about the lengths to which he would go in preempting such a threat or how long he is willing to pursue the negotiation track. The Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, has derided efforts to resolve the dispute through talks, claiming that Israeli concerns have been ignored and insisting that Tehran must be left with no doubt that it will

never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. While there has been much recent discussion on whether, and how, the United States should preempt a nuclear-armed Iran, little attention has focused on how previous US decision makers reacted when faced with the prospect of an enemy acquiring nuclear weapons. In fact, President Lyndon B. Johnson confronted the same problem with China.

While the situations are not identical, Johnson’s prudent decision to forgo a pre-emptive attack against Chinese nuclear installations carries pertinent lessons for today’s standoff with Iran.

As it became clear in 1964 that China was preparing a nuclear test, supporters and opponents of a preemptive strike within the Johnson administration advanced arguments in terms strikingly familiar to those heard today. Declassified papers from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library reveal that the prevailing argument of those calling for restraint — most of whom were in the State Department — was that the relative military insignificance of a Chinese nuclear capability and the unlikelihood of a US strike dealing a deci-

sive blow to the program did not warrant the risks associated with such an option. Regarding the widespread fear that a Chinese bomb would trigger a regional arms race — another claim similar to those made by Iran hawks today — these same officials argued that this could be headed off by reassuring Asian allies of the US commitment to its defence guarantees and by increasing conventional assistance. Some contended that an unprovoked attack on China would merely feed Beijing’s narrative that the United States was an aggressor and undermine US prestige throughout the world. This argument should resonate among those today who fear that unilateral US action might prompt intensified anti-American sentiment among Muslims, potentially strengthening jihadist ideology.

China’s behaviour after becoming a nuclear power bears out the wisdom of Johnson’s restraint. During the Vietnam War, the tensest period in Sino-American relations over the past 50 years, Beijing continued to support its communist ally in North Vietnam. As State Department analysts predicted, however, China did so without directly involving itself in

hostilities or brandishing nuclear weapons, so as to avoid a confrontation with the Americans. As China’s means for inflicting harm on the United States increased, its willingness to pursue such an option decreased. This restraint played no small part in keeping the Vietnam War limited.

Johnson understood that a preemptive strike against China was likely to spark new conflict in a region already overflowing with flash points, just as opponents of military action against Iran fear such an option could invite retaliation in a highly combustible neighbourhood.

Nuclear deadlock between the two powers kept tensions contained, leaving LBJ’s successor well positioned to pursue new initiatives toward China.

Strategic concerns and political impediments on both sides make an imminent breakthrough in IranianAmerican relations unlikely. Nevertheless, Johnson’s level headed response to China’s nuclear program suggests that it’s possible to keep a lid on hostilities and lay the foundation for an eventual reconciliation.

— Courtesy: The Washington Post

Missing the familiar..!

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here was no lunch laid out for me today. It’s a habit of mine to leave my home door open, while I write in my study. The cook comes in everyday as she has been coming for the last fifteen years and she cooks a meal for me.

When the children were at home she cooked for all of us, but now it’s just for me, as my wife has her lunch between surgical cases at the hospital. But, today, there was

no lunch laid out for me. “Where’s my food?” I nearly shouted, and found both my dogs staring back at me, silently telling me that no food for the master meant no food for them also. “Did you see the cook?” I asked the first fellow but he yawned, and continued looking at my toes.

I looked once again at the table, and groaned. What was I supposed to do? What had happened to the cook? Why hadn’t she come? Would I have to starve?

Was this the beginning of a twomeal day I would have to follow? A diet conspiracy? Suddenly I faced the unknown. As I wondered what to do, I remembered what the children did, when something like this happened.

“Let’s ring up mummy!” they would say. “Yes,” I said to myself, “Let’s ring her up!” But as I took the phone in my hands, a bit of adult thought ran thorough me. What would she say anyway? She would work out a way to get me my food. “Hey!” I suddenly thought, “This could mean I can go out and eat!”

I shouted for my driver, but found he had gone out for lunch. That’s when I found the menu. Pizza!” I exclaimed to myself. What a wonderful excuse to have pizza. And that’s how today’s unknown was converted into a delicious, mouth watering lunch, just by enjoying the fact that the cook hadn’t turned up. How often we look petrified at the future

when we don’t see the familiar. My lunch laid out on the table, was what I was familiar with, my cook arriving on time, was what I was used to, but finally, the pizza I ate was much tastier than anything she could have whipped up for me.

We walk through life happy to have the same routine. We are not like mountain climbers, facing a different peak everyday, and enjoying the new view from a different mountaintop. We love the familiar.

But if your familiar is getting a bit disturbed, then smack your lips and rub your hands together as a mouth watering experience arrives for you to enjoy..!

—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

Compensate other Malalas!

JUNAID ASHRAF Terrorism is a deep rooted global problem and it continues to plague the civilians of Pakistan to bear the cross. Civilians continue to be at the receiving end with thousands killed or injured every year. The latest of the hyped attack is the one on Malala Yousafzai. Malala has been compensated well but that has brought my attention to an issue of compensation of other civilian victims of terrorism. Although she has been well compensated, there are many others who have not been compensated enough or at all. I am not arguing against compensation to Malala since she has been a voice of a dead nation, against the strong non-state actors. It is very encouraging that our government is taking steps for Malala. However, there are many other brothers and sisters who also need support of the government, other Malals should also be taken care off. My point is that all the civil population should be dignified and respected, and their sufferings should be alleviated. There is lack of uniformity and political discretion to compensate the civilians.

People, who have a political advantage, get the compensation early while the others are left helpless.

Why is our government not treating its people equally?

In our country, there is a dire need to eliminate terrorism and it’s after effects. Government should not only take steps to curb terrorism, but also introduce quick steps to compensate the civilian victims or the so called collateral damage. No doubt it is a hard task but the government need to give their heart and soul to solve this issue because if these victims are not compensated well, there is a strong possibility that they will become the future criminals as a hungry person is an angry person; therefore, government needs to take speedy actions in order to compensate all the civilian victims on equal footing. We need to think as Pakistanis first, keeping the provincial issues aside and working to assuage the pains of the victims of terrorism.

—Via email

Plight of senior citizens JAWED AHMED KHURSHEED Hats off to Syed Mustafa Kamal, the City Nazim (Administrator) of Karachi, for what he did during his five years tenure ended in 2007, particularly to give a face-lift to the dilapidated infrastructure of Karachi: the city of lights. He pioneered many infrastructural development of the metropolis such as the underpasses, signal-free-corridors and bypasses of multiple arteries.

In spite of radical changes to the infrastructure, there is always a room left for improvement as a planner or a team of planners can fail to spot a thing or two while planning which are addressed later on usually. Here is the case of signal-freecorridors where vehicular traffic is no doubt plying without any hindrance but the senior citizens are affected tremendously to cross a thoroughfare as they are neither able to use a pedestrian bridge nor do they prefer to hire either a cab or a three-wheeler to cross a road.

I have witnessed many senior citizens compelled to take their precious lives on their hand while crossing a road even dividers are fenced with iron grills. I can share that hundreds of pensioners including many wheel-chaired pensioners flock the Civic Centre, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi to get their monthly pensions as but they are physically unable to use a pedestrian bridge. They have to hire a cab from their meager monthly pension to cross a nearby road of Civic Centre in order to get a public transport.

In this regard, I want to invite attention of the pension disbursing branches all over Pakistan to devise a system to disburse pension at their homes and the city planners can ease the problems of the elderly by installing escalators at both sides of the pedestrian bridges of the metropolis.

—Karachi

Poor water supply NIMRAH AMJAD With the latest hefty increase in water charges, you would have thought that the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board would be better organised to handle water distribution in an equitable manner by becoming more efficient and technically competent.

However, every time you notice that the KWSB’s engineering standards have been lowered to a point where

Mass transit system NIMRAH AMJAD

P

etrol prices have hit the roof, CNG is unavailable most of the week and not everyone owns a car that runs on diesel. This has made the lives of the people a lot more difficult than they already were. If only the government invests in a mass transit system can our commuting problems be solved. Not only will such a system make the roads less busy, it will also help hundreds of thousands of people who cannot afford to buy cars yet have to because they do not have any other option. A new and improved public transport system will in effect lead to less usage of fuel as well. I hope the authorities take note of this issue and come up with a solution.

—Karachi we are just solving the present problem on an ad hoc basis without any plans for the future. In a recent visit to KDA Scheme No1, it was noticed that the KWSB was installing new ‘plastic’ pipes with poor jointing as a replacement to the earlier steel pipes which lasted for many decades. These plastic pipes were being laid in trenches and were being covered with large rocks and stones which will soon damage these pipes.

Besides, the pipe joints were not of any approved standard and were likely to start leaking with the pressure of the water supply. You would have hoped that the KWSB would improve its engineering quality to meet minimum international standards. But, like everything else, the nation is destined to suffer poor quality and shortage in the water supply simply because of lack of concern for good workmanship by the authorities concerned.

—Karachi

Disparity in education RIZWAN KAREEM Private schools have mushroomed all over Pakistan. There is no doubt that they are imparting quality education.

But they are also the reason of poor education affairs because when private schools increased, the government schools were stopped being checked for delivering quality education. Even government teachers send their children to private schools and only those students who cannot afford high fees are enrolled in government schools.

This scenario creates misery in society. Those who cannot study in private schools are being looked down upon, while parents of those children also feel alienated because of class difference. If this situation continues, it will be difficult to root out the evil from our society. The government should make a solid strategy to eliminate this disparity in society, especially in the education sector.

—Karachi

Gateway to success MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM TARIQ

latest trends or simple leisure puffing just because others are doing it.

In addition, its usage isn’t confined to Shisha bars only but is also stretching roots in educational premises as well.

It isn’t rare to find students using their own water pipes in university corners and hostels. Also a fact worth mentioning here is that under the cover of Shisha tradition many other drugs are being paved in too.

Many bars have been reported to serve Shisha mixed with illegal drugs like heroine and hashish. Also, at many Shisha spots it is available with wine in the filtering base instead of water. With the news circulating that the Punjab government is considering banning Shisha smoking, many willing investors feel discouraged to step in the previously blooming Shisha business.

Although a 100 per cent ban on anything cannot be deemed possible, even a few effective measures here by the government can lead to a relatively large potential drop in the Shisha market. Now it is up to policymakers to intelligently tackle this. Instead of declaring a complete ban, minor initiatives like strict action against serving it to those below 13, heavy taxations, official checks and certain restrictions on Shisha bars will act as smarter tools for this cause.

Whatever the case may be, formulating a serious strategy and then properly enforcing it for offsetting the gripping Shisha culture is the need of the hour.

—Karachi

Open favouritism NIMRAH AMJAD Favouritism and nepotism is the order of the day as far as employment is concerned. Recently the Education and Literacy Department of Sindh conducted written tests for the post of office assistant, lab assistant and junior clerk.However, appointment orders are being issued for people with contacts, without even announcing the results of the test.

I request the President to take stern action against the authorities concerned and ask them to provide jobs on the basis of merit only.

—Karachi

Horrendous act IFTIKHAR MIRZA

Women serve to be a supreme segment of a healthy society. By the intense inherit of poverty in various parts of the world; the predicament topples the list of the problems, which have crucially affected most of the female population of our world. The women have been neglected and under-nourished. Their rights have been denied, opportunities retrenched and voices silenced, deepening the situation from just scarcity and want.

In many societies around the world, women never belong to themselves, and they are the property of others throughout their lives. The laws treat women as minors, incapable of making decisions. It is astonishing to think of ourselves as a “modern” world, when we are the same as we were years back. We need to change the destiny of our future generations; and this is only possible if we educate and improve the status of our women. It is indeed the gateway to the success of our world as a whole.

—Lahore

Shisha culture RIZWAN KAREEM Shisha emerged as a style icon in the elite circles in the beginning but within a few years its fan club covered people from nearly all groups of society. The most enthusiastic of these were, of course, young people.

Recent attempts by the Punjab government to put a check on this fast growing Shisha culture has led to many debates and question marks — the most important of which is: when consumption of cigarettes and other drugs remains unchecked, what’s this hype over Shisha? The answer is simple: social acceptance.

Where people may refrain from trying cigarettes and other drugs due to the conspicuous black label, the seemingly innocent fruity hubble bubble appears to be a quite harmless choice. For many it is a hobby, a favourite past time with buddies, a means of being uptodate with the

According to news reports Kalsoom Bibi, daughter of Irshad Masih and Muhammad Bilal son of Ashraf Masih, residents of a Christian colony of Kalore Kot, Bhakar were shot dead at point blank for embracing Islam by Kalsoom’s brother Imran. The wicked murderer also seriously injured, two year Alisha.

Imran is still at large and no arrests have been made so far. Chauvinism has eaten up our taboos like termite.

Absence of tolerance and giving space to move freely with one’s religion and beliefs is completely missing in our minorities.

Whenever a conversion to Islam takes place, our westernized media starts roaring against it and objections are raised by Human Rights Organizations in a bid to prove it a forced conversion. It is a matter of fact that most of the Muslims of Indo- Pak are coverts from other religions who are now crying against it. The sad murder of young converted Muslims speaks volumes of mentality of killers. The paranoid murderer should be arrested as soon as possible and must be sent to gallows so that horror and terror may not prevail in society, especially the converted Muslims.

At the same time, Muslims must provide financial and physical security to their brethren to avoid sad incidents. This gory event should also be given coverage like Malala to show the outer world that nobody is safe in Pakistan, what to speak of a Malala?

—Islamabad

READERS are requested to type their letters legibly with double spacing and only on one side of the paper.

—Editor Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

Fear Factor in Nuclear Iran JAMES R HOLMES

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IFFERENT types of regime repub lics, democracies, autocracies “do” strategy differently. Right? Not if you ask Thucydides. The chronicler of the Peloponnesian War opines that “fear, honor, and interest” comprise “three of the strongest motives” that propel states’ actions.

The Greek historian disregards the nature of the regime as a variable in his fear-honor-interest calculus. Freewheeling democratic Athens obeyed his logic of statecraft. So did oligarchic Sparta.

In other words, the link between how a country is governed, its leadership’s decision to go nuclear, and the kind of strategy it drafts to govern the use of nuclear weapons appears tenuous. Consider these motives in turn.

Thucydides’ third driver, interest, is reasonably quantifiable. By applying raw intellect, representatives of different societies and cultures will probably come up with the same list of interests and options for a given state in given geopolitical surroundings. How to uphold these interests, though? Most aspirants to nuclearweapons status are developing countries.

Pressing economic interests limit the funding they can devote to armaments. Having resolved to breach the nuclear barrier, they construct the fewest weapons they believe will deter potential adversaries. In the second nuclear age, consequently, the universal logic of interest prods resource-constrained governments to-

ward “minimal deterrence,” with little surplus capability. Hence the apparent continuity in Iranian nuclear strategy since the days of the shah.

What about honor? The desire for honor and prestige pervades everything else nations

bal rivals’ predatory intent or overbearing capabilities. A minimal nuclear posture would provide an adequate buffer against rivals not seen as bent on Iran’s destruction. More or less secular rulers would probably content themselves

which the regime can pursue its goals through diplomacy, economics, and conventional military force. Yet despite the constants in Iranian foreign policy, Iranian strategic behavior could

Pariah states are not irrational, but subjective factors like fear and honor shape their rational actions. Acknowledging this—and affording prospective antagonists the re-

look quite different from regime to regime even under doctrines formally classified as minimal deterrence.

spect they merit is the sine qua non for thinking about strategy in the second nuclear age.— Courtesy - The Diplomat

The Islamic Republic of Iran may as well. In Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age, my pal Scott Jones and I argue that the nature of the regime influences nuclear strategy and force structure less than common sense says it should. Tehran pursued a policy of nuclear ambiguity under the Shah, only to press ahead with nuclear-weapons R&D under the Islamic regime following the 1979 revolution. The Iranian nuclear program, then, has endured for some four decades across diametrically opposed regimes. and individuals do, including the weight they place on their interests and the methods they select to further those interests. Whatever their political leanings, Iranians see nuclear weapons as a token of national greatness and a way to restore lost grandeur. Regime change in Tehran would not dissipate these passions— and thus, in all likelihood, would not bring about disarmament. In Thucydidean terms, then, fear promises to act as the arbiter of Iranian strategy following a nuclear breakout. How Tehran sizes up the external threat environment when ruled by different regimes could result in different nuclear postures. The more fearful Iranian leaders are, the more drastic measures they will be prepared to take. A secular regime, that is, would presumably carry on routine power politics and would be less prone to hype regional and glo-

with a few nuclear weapons kept at fairly low readiness levels. By contrast, a clerical regime that defines itself in opposition to the secular West would discern hostile designs lurking everywhere. All-consuming fear could goad Tehran into a mania for security of the arsenal.

Nuclear forces able to ride out a preemptive assault and strike back represent the gold standard for nuclear deterrence. Fielding a large arsenal rather than just a few score weapons would bolster deterrence accordingly. Concealment would be an obvious measure, as would dispersing the arsenal among hardened sites. Cultivating ambiguity about the conditions under which Tehran was prepared to use nuclear weapons would be yet another. Nuclear weapons, then, serve dual purposes. They burnish Iranian prestige while providing top cover under

Egyptians turning toward Iran, Escalating tension between India and China want nuclear weapons ASHIT BARAN AICH

JOSH ROGIN

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HE poll of 812 Egyptians, half of them women, was con ducted in a series of in-per son interviews by the firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and sponsored by the Israel Project, a pro-Israel advocacy organization with offices in Washington and Jerusalem. According to the poll, Iran is viewed favorably in Egypt, with 65 percent of those surveyed expressing support of the decision to renew Egypt-Iran relations and 61 percent expressing support of the Iranian nuclear project, versus 41 percent in August 2009. Sixty-two percent of those polled agreed that “Iran and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are friends of Egypt,” though 68 percent held unfavorable views of Shiite Muslims.

Iran’s deputy defense minister said recently that the Iranian regime is seeking more military cooperation with Egypt. “We are ready to help Egypt to build nuclear reactors and satellites,” he said on the occasion or Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy’s meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month. Morsy’s office has said the two didn’t discuss military cooperation. Eighty-seven percent of respondents want Egypt to have its own nuclear bomb.

Israel Project CEO Josh Block told The Cable that the statistics show the effect of Morsy’s outreach to Iran and the danger of regional proliferation of nuclear weapons if Iran is successful in obtaining a nuclear bomb. “Very scary to people opposed to proliferation of nuclear weapons, let alone to unstable countries in the world’s most turbulent part of the world, is the 87 percent who want Egypt to build nuclear weapons,” he said. “Morsy’s dangerous embrace of Iran is leading a surprising shift in favor support for Tehran, which has for decades been seen by Egyptians as their top threat, as well as for their work on nuclear weapons.”

Egyptians are overwhelmingly focused on the dire state of their domestic economy. Only 2 percent of those polled said that “strengthening relations with other Muslim countries” should be one of Morsy’s top two priorities, and 45 percent agreed with the statement that “Egypt needs to focus on things at home and should be less involved in regional politics.” Nevertheless, 74 percent of those polled said that disapprove of Egypt having diplomatic relations with Israel — an increase from 26 percent in August 2009 — and

support for a two-state solution to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at only 30 percent. Seventy-seven percent agreed that “The peace treaty with Israel is no longer useful and should be dissolved.”

Block blamed that result at least partially on the stance of leading Egyptian politicians like President Morsy, who has indicated recently he does not plan to abrogate the Israel-Egypt peace

Brotherhood.

Forty percent felt warmly about the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, but only 11 percent felt warmly about the Salafist Nour Party, a hard-line Islamist party that fared well

in the parliamentary elections American politicians fared poorly in the poll, but among them Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the most popular at 25 percent favorability. President

A recent poll of Egyptians conducted shows that they have increasingly positive views of Iran, believe that both Iran and Egypt should obtain nuclear weapons, and still trust their own military more than any other institution in Egypt. treaty but whose Muslim Brotherhood party identifies Israel as a racist and expansionist state. “The fact that Morsy and other leading politicians in Egypt regularly express disdain for the peace treaty leads to such decay in public attitudes,” Block said. “Then again, nearly half the public voted for a presidential candidate who openly declared his intent to travel to Israel and support for the Camp David accords.”

Block was referring to retired Air Force general Ahmed Shafiq, who served as prime minister under Hosni Mubarak and was defeated narrowly in a runoff election earlier this year. The poll found that 64 percent of Egyptians still feel warmly about the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which ran Egypt in the interim period before Morsy was elected, and 81 percent approve of the job they are doing.

Forty-nine percent of Egyptians polled felt warmly about Morsi, and 43 percent felt warmly about the Muslim

Barack Obama scored 16 percent and Republican nominee Mitt Romney only 8 percent, although only half of Egyptians polled knew who Romney was.

(Ahmadinejad’s favorability rating?

Forty-three percent.)

Most Egyptians don’t seem to buy Romney’s line that Obama has “thrown Israel under the bus,” but they’re not too happy about his handling of the region, either. Asked, “Do you think that President Barack Obama is more on the side of Arabs or more on the side of Israel?,” 68 percent of Egyptians said Israel, and 60 percent said that Obama’s presidency had been “a negative thing” for the Arab world.

39% of the Egyptians polled expressed interest in learning more about Israel, especially it’s political system. The Israel Project runs an outreach program to the Arab world, focusing on social media. Its Facebook page is called “Israel Uncensored.”— Courtesy - Foreign Policy

T

RAVELLERS to the northeast get their first glimpse of the river Brahmaputra, the “son” of the mythical Hindu Lord, Brahma, when they cross the Saraighat bridge across the river to enter Guwahati. Amidst the greenery of the surrounding hills, one gets a feeling of grandeur, awe and admiration. This river is possibly one of the least polluted in the country and is endowed with enormous water resources that have played a critical role in the development of agriculture, transport, industry, even music in the northeast. Tragically, however, this riverine development will become a thing of the past if China’s plan to construct dams on the Brahmaputra materialises. And one of these dams may be ready very shortly.

This will not only disrupt the lives of millions in the region, but might also turn out to be the worst environmental disaster on planet earth.

The river Brahmaputra or Yarlung Tsangpo, as it is known in China, originated in the lake, Manas Sarobar near Mount Kailash in the southern Tibet plateau. It meanders eastwards for more than 2,000 kilometres before entering Siang in Arunachal Pradesh after taking a spectacular and abrupt U-turn famously known as the Great Bend and merges eventually in the Bay of Bengal after traversing southwards through Assam and Bangladesh. Without this U-turn of more than 90 degrees, the river would possibly have continued its eastward journey and ultimately gone to the China Sea. But Nature apparently had some other design for the people of the subcontinent. This curious turn of the river and its subsequent impact on the lives of Indians has accorded the Brahmaputra a unique place in the history of Indian civilisation. In terms of importance, therefore, it is as important as the Indus and the Ganga.

But certain ominous trends are noticeable. China has undertaken a number of projects to trap water resources in the vicinity of the Great Bend. The first of a series of six dams on the Brahmaputra is called the Zangmu hydropower project, situated to the southeast of Lhasa. The people of the northeast and environmentalists throughout the world have taken a serious view of this construction.

China is known for its secrecy. Its government is driven by the compulsion to meet the energy needs of industry, irrigation, and domestic consumption. And most importantly, it has the responsibility to feed more than one billion and a quarter of its people.

As a sovereign country, it is free to manage its rivers to meet its needs.

But these actions should not be taken at the expense of the survival of other nations, people, and their environment and ecosystems. Since the 90s, China has denied the construction of any dam on its side of the Brahmaputra. It was only in 2010 that

volving the Brahmaputra. There has been considerable opposition to its plan from the lower riparian countries such as India. Admittedly, China is facing a major crisis in terms of water resources.

Or will it pursue its projects to meet its requirement, with scant regard for the opposition and concern articulated by others? An urgent imperative is a

Fifty years after the India-China war, the conflict of interests is palpable enough, if a news item circulated in June this year is authentic. It states that the Chinese Government has announced its plan to increase tourism and create a national park in Tibet near the Brahmaputra river, rather than pursue the construction of a massive and controversial dam.

This ignores the demands of hydropower proponents and lobbyists in that country. it admitted that several water-related projects on the Brahmaputra are on its agenda, including the one at Zangmy

water treaty between the two great powers of Asia to ensure that sharing of information can lead to a better under-

which may be ready by 2014-15.

Beijing has assured India that these dams are hydropower projects and will not affect the lower riparian states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Furthermore, it claims that there is no plan to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra to the arid north China or to construct reservoirs as reported in the media time and again. The government of India has appealed to the northeastern states not to panic.

In the absence of a water treaty between India and China, one has to depend on Beijing’s assurance and the available satellite and intelligence data as collected by India from time to time.

The important question at this juncture is the extent to which China is willing to compromise on its grand design on water and energy management in-

standing of the uses of water resources.

This will ensure transparency and develop trust between the peoples of the two countries. Diplomatic channels and bilateral agreements may be allowed to fructify in due course of time.

The people of the northeast can fervently hope that the pristine beauty of their land is preserved and that the green and fertile country is not reduced to a sterile desert by the diversion of the great and mighty Brahmaputra.

In studying the damming of the Brahmaputra, an analyst of international affairs observed: “Current efforts on behalf of China to divert the water resources of the Brahmaputra river away from India will compound a situation that has remained tenuous since the 1962 India-China War”.

— Courtesy - The Statesman

Barack Obama, the Arab spring and a series of unforeseen events IAN BLACK

O

N 4 June 2009 Barack Obama bounded on to the stage at Cairo University to deliver a speech which promised to seek “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world”. It was, he said solemnly, a time of great tension. Speaking from a lectern set against a backdrop of plush red curtains, Obama sought to move beyond the toxic legacy of the 9/11 attacks, the US-led invasion of Iraq, the “war on terror” and the long and occasionally bloody impasse on the Palestinian issue.

Expectations were enormous. Even at the time it was hard to imagine that this young AfricanAmerican president with Muslim roots could meet them all. Still, Obama had opposed George Bush on Iraq and chided him for not doing enough to promote a just peace for the Palestinians – the two defining Middle Eastern issues of the preceding, turbulent years.

The 55-minute speech was widely praised for its eloquence and ambition, but the reviews were mixed. For one commentator, the key was to get beyond the courtesies – mujamalat in Arabic – to the beef. Honeyed words were welcome, went a typical response. But would actions follow? Was Obama really any more than “a Bush in sheep’s clothing”? Now, as the end of his term nears, the answer is clear: Obama was different from his predecessor. Yet his record is as varied as the responses to the Cairo

address. An extraordinary chain of unforeseen events – a hazard for any leader – has created new circumstances and new dilemmas. On Pal-

now fading fast.

From the start, Obama reached out to Iran with a friendly message to its people and hints

After promising Muslims a new beginning in his Cairo speech, the president put the US squarely on the side of the Arab street estine, always a touchstone for Arabs and Muslims, Obama has been a grave disappointment.

Having strikingly called the situation of the Palestinians “intolerable”, he blinked first in the confrontation with Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, over whether settlements in the occupied territories would have to stop before peace talks could resume. US domestic politics interceded. Hopes of a two-state solution to the world’s most intractable conflict are

at flexibility in negotiations with its government.

But his efforts to engage have failed, leading only to tougher sanctions and a covert war. Unless long-running diplomacy starts to work, a potentially catastrophic confrontation over its nuclear programme still looms. US troops have now left Iraq, but the country is racked by sectarianism and is not a reliable friend, its postSaddam leaders in thrall to Tehran.

On another post-9/11 front, US forces are beginning to wind down the war in Afghanistan. Obama has, though, escalated drone strikes against alQaida from Pakistan to Yemen. The killing of Osama bin Laden in his Abbotabad hideout was a national security triumph. Yet the dangers of jihadi violence, spreading to areas such as Somalia and the Maghreb, live on. The Guantánamo Bay detention centre, which Obama pledged to close, remains open – a stain on his record.

In Cairo, Obama touched on the broad issue of political change in a sclerotic Arab world whose rulers sold themselves as guarantors of

stability and western interests. That required an especially delicate balance. Watching as he spoke was Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, a US ally for whom democracy was a dirty word. And Obama had spent the previous night at the desert ranch of the octogenarian King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the indispensable guardian of cheap western oil supplies. America, the president said, with a humble nod to these ageing Arab autocrats – and in a lightly coded reference to Bush’s controversial “freedom agenda” – did “not presume to know what is best for everyone”. But there was a bigger nod: “I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.”

Eighteen months later, the uprisings of the Arab spring tested that awkward construct.

From the short and mostly peaceful revolution in Tunisia to carnage in Syria, Obama’s responses have, as one admirer put it, mixed “pragmatism and values”. Egypt’s revolution provided the first hurdle. Obama was criticised for backing stability as the drama of Tahrir Square unfolded. But on 1 February came his call for Mubarak to step down “now”. As the New York Times wrote: “Obama upended three decades of American relations with its most stalwart ally in the Arab world, putting the weight of the

United States squarely on the side of the Arab street.”

So when Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who succeeded Mubarak to become Egypt’s first democratically elected president, visited Washington last month – after demonstrations in Cairo and far beyond over a crude Islamophobic film the tension was as obvious as the change was palpable. The US hope is that engagement, combined with the responsibility of exercising power, will encourage Islamist-led governments toward pragmatism. Libya’s revolution illustrated Obama’s ambivalent attitude to force and his reluctance to get involved in another war in a Muslim country. Washington “led from behind,” providing air power and intelligence but leaving it to Nato’s European powers and their Arab allies to help overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

The brutal aftermath – in which jihadis killed the US ambassador in Benghazi – painfully underlined the dangers. Syria, the bloodiest front of the Arab spring, has been the biggest challenge. Obama demanded Bashar al-Assad’s departure but resisted pressures to arm the opposition or impose a no-fly zone. Now anxiety is growing about the rise of jihadi-type groups and the “blowback” on the Gulf and the wider region.

Critics say that in trying to balance US national security with the promotion of democratic values and human rights, Obama has ducked hard choices.— Courtesy - The Guardian

War against terrorism ‘unwinnable’: Kabul KABUL—The war against terrorism cannot be won if the international community does not pressure Pakistan to do more to fight terrorism on its soil, Afghan Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqi said.

“As long as the insurgents safe havens are not eradicated from Pakistan and the country does not come under more pressure to be more serious against the insurgents, the war against terrorism will be unwinnable,” Sediqi told TOLOnews.

As the foreign forces hand over responsibility of security to the Afghan security forces, the fear of Taliban and insurgent infiltration into the Afghan forces ranks is rising as attacks by uniformed Afghans on foreign and Afghan security forces have spiked this year and deteriorated relations between the allies.

Adding fuel to the fears is a report that as foreign troops draw down nears from Afghanistan, Al Qaeda network is trying to take over some of the eastern parts of the country to expand their presence.—INP

Non implementation of verdict

SC moved against chairman Senate ISLAMABAD—Supreme Court (SC) has been moved against chairman senate Nayyar Hussain Bokhari and interior minister Rehman Malik on non implementation of court verdict in dual nationality case.

A petition was filed in the apex court by Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi Monday in this respect. The petitioner took the plea one month had been elapsed after the announcement of decision in dual nationality case but reference had not been sent to election commission so far.

He prayed the court to take action against senate chairman Nayyar Hussain Bokhari and interior minister Rehman Malik on non-implementation of its verdict.—Online

General polls to be held in time: Zardari From Page 1

He was talking to PML- Q President Ch. Shujaat Hussain who called on him in Islamabad on Monday The two leaders also discussed the Supreme Court verdict in Asghar Khan case besides overall political situation.

Ch. Shujaat Hussain apprised the President of the stance of PML-Q on different issues.— Online

I am content that most who were martyred at Karsaz were from Lyari: Baloch From Page 2 Claiming that he had not spent any money on polls HJB said: “I had won the elections.

Next day, when 285 votes were converted into thousands, we moved High Court.

NADRA reported that 2500 votes had same thumbprint; Presiding Officer too submitted in writing that he was kidnapped. But when the Party told me that Muttahida would not join Federal Government until I withdrew, I went to Pakistan & signed the documents for the sake of peace in Karachi”. In the past Baloch felt proud to have Urdu speaking friends believing that would enable them learn sophistication. And Urdu-speaking populace used to be happy of Baloch friendship. That era can be brought back & all children can get education in a peaceful milieu like mine & Altaf Sahab’s daughters here (in London)”.

At first BB was scheduled to go to Pakistan from London & HJB’s name was in the passengers list. But she went via Dubai on 18th October: “I am content that most who were martyred at Karsaz were from Lyari”. Comparing the present Government with that of BB’s he said that as an active Party worker he never met B.A. Qureishi & believed that was an imaginary character created by BB. Those in need of employment used to post applications to him & within few months used to get a job: “On the contrary now summaries are sent to Zardari Sahab seeking favors for family members, there is no criterion. Initially Zardari Sahab was not involved much in Party matters hence at BB’s shahadat backbenchers dominated. Naheed Khan’s room too was occupied. I still have cell number of Zardari Sahab who had positively reacted to my 7 or 8 SMS apropos workers’ problems. I will not accuse him for today’s state of affairs, he tries to comprehend root of the problem, obliges friends & disadvantaged but his advisors misguide him”.

He said though Lyariites desperately needed jobs, following elders never licked any dictator’s boots: “Yearly 750 Lyariites used to get jobs in KPT, Port Qasim, KWSB, KESC, PIA etc. by excelling

in sports like football, boxing & cycling. Sports events are not taking place for decades now. As boxing ended, we managed to bring some improvement when in response to my SMS Zardari Sahab has announced a package.

Then I have been pledging in vain to include Baloch in the Community Police.

Children of those who got jobs in BB’s time are disappointed too as son quota has been abolished. The minimum qualification of Matric is again dispiriting for illiterate Lyariites.

They used to work as seamen, but (while Bangladesh increased its fleet to 300) authorities here (amassed billions for themselves in a decade &) reduced the fleet to four. No Lyariite ever ‘slipped’ from ship, today they merely recount their stories at street corners”. Speaking of Abdur Rehman (aka Rehman Dakait) HJB said: “Our team introduced him in National politics as Sardar by changing the ‘I’ into ‘we’. As a result some 80,000 people attended his funeral including Edhi. I will give credit to Sardar Uzair & Lyari-based media team for raising the Lyari issue. When Rehman was murdered I had only one choice ‘join & amass crores like others or stand with my people’.

Uzair of 2009 & Sardar Uzair of 2012 are two different people. He is taking the mission forward that was started in Rehman’s life. Despite problems we got Medical College & University in the name of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, Law College is in process & there is advancement in sports”.

Observing that MQM had their Governor, “under oath officers & policemen”, HJB pointed out: “Altaf Hussain’s grievance that Mohajirs had neither DCs nor clerks, is presently Lyariites’ complaint. Altaf Hussain’s earlier philosophy of honesty & cleanliness was fine but today Muttahida shares percentage with the Federal Government!

Crime & corruption are universal phenomenon but when it crosses a limit people become intolerant. History of Lyari’s Gang War goes back to pre-partition days & there

From Back Page are same kind of pockets all over Pakistan: Pindi’s Raja Bazaar, Lahore’s Gulburg/ Liberty/Hira Mandi, Karachi’s Nazimabad & Liaquatabad etc. But Lyari is being highlighted methodically even on twitter by a certain group”.

HJB insinuated: “Are Lyariites reckoned as hindrance in the making of Jinnahpur? If agencies were wrong Altaf Sahab should have got cases registered against the Army of that time without accepting Brigadier Imtiaz’s apology.

MQM has been in the helm of affairs for decades now; even Mustafa Kamal did not utilize funds provided by Musharraf on Lyari. There could have been investment on transportation, construction & horticulture. Instead of closure of industries if there were projects like Steel Mills or Shipyard providing employment to all communities there would have been no Amn Committee or Friends of Lyari.

Everyday over ten low profile Karachiites die in target killings but never revenue-providing people like (Pathan) contractors are assassinated.

It is innate for your starving neighbor to react if only you are flourishing next-door.

MQM can create peace in Karachi by fairly distributing resources. No go areas must be opened; there should be fresh census & demarcation of constituencies accordingly.

We have accepted MQM reality they should also recognize our existence”.

Maintaining that Lyariites were the real inheritors of Pakistan who had been at the forefront of all movements & had played a significant role in its creation HJB pointed out: “People like Mohammad Ali & Shaukat Ali Johar used to hold public gatherings at Chakiwara Chowk. Quaid-eAzam was born in Lyari; Dr. Abdul Qadeer had spent his early age here. Instead of occupying palatial evacuated buildings Lyariites housed immigrants there. Karachi came into existence & flourished due to Lyari, if there is no Lyari, Karachi will move towards separation”! HJB concluded.

Court (IHC) has issued contempt of court notice to Chief Minister Balochistan, Aslam Raisani for not distributing income allocated for earthquake victims.

Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Dr Zafar Qadir and Chief Secretary

issued notices for contempt of court. Chief Justice IHC, Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman heard the contempt of court case on Monday.

In addition to issuing notices, the court has asked all the parties to submit a written reply within 14 days.

Two campaigns skirt talk of tough choices in Afghanistan & Pakistan: WP WASHINGTON—US Vice Presi- how fast to get out. dent Joseph R. Biden described the Obama administration’s latest war strategy in deliberately stark terms in his debate with Representative Paul D. Ryan: “We are leaving Afghanistan in 2014, period.” Mr. Ryan did not dispute that deadline, but insisted on a little wiggle room, saying that Mitt Romney would consult with his generals about the timing and resources and conditions on the ground, to avoid imperiling America’s gains in a war that began in 2001. Remarkably, that exchange 11 days ago may have been the most substantive discussion all campaign season about how to manage the longest-running conflict in American history.

It was not an argument over what America’s goals should be, but

Yet for either President Obama or Mr. Romney, finding a satisfactory end to the war in Afghanistan and maintaining American influence in the continuing covert battle in Pakistan will be a far greater challenge than simply deciding whether to turn out the lights, or dim them, on the war effort after 2014.

Managing the conflict while America heads for the exits will require the next president to confront a series of difficult choices, some of which may finally surface Monday night at the third and final presidential debate, when Afghanistan will be one of five subjects the two candidates discuss, Washington Post said.

Even after more than a decade of conflict, the decisions

that will be required will be painful: Will the United States keep training the Afghan Army, even if “green- on-blue” attacks — Afghan troops turning on their trainers — keep taking a deadly toll? Will the next president work through the increasingly hostile Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, or work around him, since he is supposed to leave office around the time that American troops depart? Will he keep trying to negotiate with the Taliban, or exercise influence by keeping an “enduring presence” of 10,000 to 15,000 troops inside Afghanistan?

Even if the next president successfully negotiates that longterm American presence in Afghanistan, a part of the administration’s plan that was

never acknowledged by Mr. Biden in the debate, will it prove long enough to keep the Taliban from retaking strategic cities?

Will it sustain attacks inside Pakistan against insurgents, and, if necessary, enable the United States to respond quickly enough if Pakistan’s fast-expanding nuclear arsenal appears in jeopardy of falling into the hands of extremists? For his part, Mr. Romney has rarely delved into the question of how he would handle the war differently. In January, trying to appeal to his conservative base, he declared, “We should not negotiate with the Taliban, we should defeat the Taliban,” adding that his strategy would amount to, “We go anywhere they are, and we kill them.” —INP

PPP to sweep next elections: Wattoo From Back Page Zardari wa a corrupt but in fact the Supreme Court proved Nawaz and Shahbaz corruption in the verdict of Asghar Khan case. “After the decision of the apex court, Mian Shahbaz Sharif is no more competent for the slot of chief minister and he should resign immediately on moral basis.

He said he was grateful to chairperson Bilawal Bhuttoo and President Asif Ali Zardari for nominating him as a president of PPP Punjab. He said he would spread the mission of the party’s

martyrs in Punjab and he salutes the workers for their loyalty and warm welcome.

He said Punjab’s education and health system had failed and the Chief Minister Punjab was busy in baton charged the doctors and setting up Danish Schools in jungle. PPP Punjab General Secretary Tanveer Ashraf Kaira said PPP would sntach Punjab from PML-N and will make a coaliltion government with its ally. Samina Gorki said PPP would sweep in the general elections. Dr Firdus Ashq

Awan said PPP had made clefts in the walls of the PML-N fort of Punjab and they would conquer Punjab.

Earlier, dozens of activists of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) sustained minor injuries in a scuffle with the Airport Security Force (ASF) personnel when they tried to enter the domestic arrival lounge here at the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Monday.

The PPP workers who were carrying sticks turned angry when ASF personnel tried to stop

verdict have provided a moment of joy for the entire nation that has suffered long to see the apex judiciary act in vindication of genuine democratic leaders rather than bailing out military dictators and their anti-democratic hirelings.

The resilience of our people as manifested by Malala and continued sustainability of democracy on the move despite a long catalogue of intrigues, machinations and extra-constitutional interventions symbolises our national determination for overcoming all internal and external challenges.

These landmark events would need separate comments I would like to salute the likes of Begum Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and now Malala Yusufzai as well as Pakistani masses, government, civil and military leadership who have remained steadfast in their commitment to pursue the destiny chosen for them by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and those great men, women and girls like Malala who braved worst possible persecution to keep alighted the torch of freedom and knowledge.

Best tribute to the departed soul of Begum Nusrat Bhutto would be to ensure—come what may—education to girls and rights of women besides of course upholding aloft the flag of democracy, sovereignty of the Parliament and inculcation of a cultural of tolerance and peaceful co-existence.

—The writer is the High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK

ECP can’t act against From Page 1

dia in Islamabad, Ebrahim said that after court’s ruling, a few politicians urged the ECP to carry out proceedings against politicians who were involved in rigging. He said Election Commission could not take action against the politicians involved in Asghar Khan case.

He said that the EC could take action against Interior Minister Rehman Malik in dual nationality case only after Senate Chairman sent a reference in this regard.

Answering a question regarding his meeting with Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, he said tat he had requested the CJ to appoint disreturning officers during IHC a few months before trict elction. He said that the CJ ashad given directions to ensure sured him that the issue would distribution of the amount allo- be considered.—NNI cated for earthquake victims of Ziarat and Pasheen. But, the order was not implemented. Consequently, a relevant petition was filed in IHC in which Chief Minister Balochistan was made a party.—Online

IHC contempt-notice to CM Balochistan ISLAMABAD—Islamabad High of Balochistan have also been

Begum Bhutto, Malala and Benazir’s historic vindication

them from entering the domestic arrival lounge premises. They gathered at the airport to welcome PPP Punjab’s newly appointed president Mian Manzoor Wattoo whose flight was to land at the Lahore airport.

The PPP workers vandalized the airport in protest and continued their violent behaviour. There were crazy scenes of stick fights, as the crowd was challenging the security men everywhere, who were just trying to do their job.

After over an hour, the situation came under controlled.

CHASNUPP-2, KANUPP production From Page 1 tions the quality of the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant.”

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has amended the generation licences of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) and Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-2 because of incessant reduction in production of electricity.

According to the officials, Nepra has amended the licences of both the nuclear power plants on the request of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission of Pakistan.

The PAEC in his petition

adopted the stance that under the earlier licence which the regulator had extended, it was necessary that Chashma Nuclear Power Plant would generate 340 MW but it failed to do so from March 14, 2011 to August 2011.

Now, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-2 is now able to generate 325 MW electricity, which is why it is requested to amend the licence for generating 325 MW instead of 340 MW. Similarly, the capacity of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant has been reduced by 7 MW from 93

Hina to present report From Page 1 A lot of questions have been raised at international level on Pakistan’s human rights record.

A UN team had visited in the recent past to compile a report on human rights violations in Balochistan, particularly on missing persons which triggered a controversy in the country.

Hina’s report will be important in the backdrop of such developments Besides Pakistan, Japan, Sri Lanka and Switzerland will also present their National Reports at the 14th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UNHCR. The Universal Periodic Review is a four-year cyclical mechanism of the Human Rights Council, which is based on equal treatment for all countries. The mechanism involves discussions and review of the steps taken and efforts made by all 192 Member States of the United Nations, in order to pro-

mote and protect human rights in their respective countries.

Under this mechanism, all UN Member States are afforded an opportunity to present their national reports once every four years (48 Member States each year).

During the first cycle of the UPR (2008-2011), Pakistan’s National Report was presented in 2008 by late Fouzia Wahab. The second cycle of the UPR commenced in May 2012 during which a number of countries including India, UK, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa have already presented their Human Rights reports.

During the presentation of its Second National Report under the UPR, the Government of Pakistan will underscore the significant strides made by the democratic government for the promotion and protection of human rights in the country since 2008, the statement added.

MW to 86 MW. Therefore, Nepra also amended the generation licence of KANUPP and under the mended licence, KANUPP will now generate 86 MW of electricity.

With reduction in capacities to generate electricity, it was mandatory to amend the generation licences of both the power plants.

Now the Central Power Purchase Agency will make payments to both the nuclear power plants under the amended licences.

Magsi’s brother switches to opposition benches Q UETTA —Brother

of Balochistan Governor, Tariq Magsi, MPA has announced to shift from the treasury to opposition benches, indicating a wind of change in the province.

Tariq Magsi said that he has already submitted an application to the provincial assembly speaker to allot him a seat on the opposition benches.

With Tariq Magsi’s decision to change sides, the number of opposition members in Balochistan Assembly has reached four. Earlier there was only one member Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind on the opposition benches. A few days back, the provincial assembly speaker had also criticised Chief Minister Aslam Raisani, and demanded his removal after the Supreme Court verdict on Balochistan situation. —INP

No political cell in ISI: Defence Secy From Page 1 Akmal and Farhatullah Babar also participated in the meeting.

Defence Secretary, Asif Yaseen said that during the current year, Rs 92 billion have been allocated for intelligence agencies and institutions for defence production, which makes 16 percent of the total defence budget that is worth Rs 545 billion.

On the occasion, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed told the committee that a briefing about the intelligence agencies would be conducted during the next meeting.

Defence Secretary, Asif Yaseen further told the meeting

that Pakistan received no payment from the US for lending Shamsi airbase.

The airbase was under the use of the United Arab Emirates, he noted. He stated that in the past, Shamsi airbase was used for drone attacks in accordance with the will of the Pakistani officials.

He informed that on account of defence expenditures, Pakistan occupies 33rd place in the world, by spending 6 billion dollars.

He apprised the members of the committee that in India, the payment of military pension is made from the civilian budget,

however, if the government decides to change the current policy, it will be implemented accordingly.

Defence secretary Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Asif Yaseen informed that Pakistan has been given 12 billion dollars on account of Coalition Support Fund.

He said that the family members of the martyrs of war on terror are being given scholarship for international military agency training program.

Chairman Committee Mushahidullah announced that the first defence policy strategic document would be released in January 2013.—Online

Govt, mily cleared of protecting Osama From Page 1 lived with their families in separate buildings inside the high-walled compound, saw the al-Qaeda leader as she climbed the stairs in his private area for a Koran lesson with one of his wives.

According to the Pakistani source, she was oblivious to his identity until she saw his picture on television some days later.

This prompted a hurried security conference inside the compound, which ended with

bin Laden giving up his exercise routine in a covered part of the courtyard.

A senior government source said they would find few answers in the commission’s report.—Online

PPP to sweep next elections: Wattoo MUZAFFAR ALI

NATIONAL BRIEFS Curfew relaxed in North Waziristan MIRANSHAH—The curfew was relaxed from 6am to 4 pm in North Waziristan on Monday to facilitate the people to purchase essential commodities and move out in case of emergency. The political administration imposed a curfew in North Waziristan four days ago for an indefinite period after a bomb attack at Miran Shah check post.

However after a meeting with tribal leaders, curfew has been eased from 6am to 4pm, an official of the political administration said.—INP

Hoti escapes blast NOWSHERA—Two persons were injured in an explosion in Jehangira area at Swabi road here on Monday. According to police sources, the bomb was planted on a stationary motorbike in the area for targeting KPK Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti’s convoy. The bomb went off soon after the convoy passed from the area, injuring two persons. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. —INP

No loadshedding on Eid ul Azha

LAHORE: Students numbering 24,200 made the biggest human national flag breaking the earlier record on Monday.

Investigators get Dr Afridi’s phone data PESHAWAR—Jail officials have handed over the data of the cellular phone recovered from Dr. Shakil Afridi to the secret agencies.Some days ago, a satellite phone was recovered from Dr Shakil Afridi in Peshawar Central Jail.

He helped USA in tracing out former Al-Qaida Chief, Osama Bin Ladin before the Abbottabad operation, by carrying out fake anti polio campaign.

PTA and other relevant organizations have provided the data of the satellite phone , which revealed that Dr . Shakil Afridi made total 58 calls from the jail , out of which 22 calls were dialed to USA, 15 calls to UK and 21 calls to the different people living inland at Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi .

Those persons have also been included in the investigations , to whom Dr. Afridi had contacted from prison. After receiving the phone record the sensitive departments has expanded their sphere of the probe and some government officials are also being questioned in this regard.—Online

ISLAMABAD—The government has decided not to carry out Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) gas and electricity loadshedding across the country on the occasion of Eid ul Azha.

The Ministry of Petroleum announced on Monday that CNG filling stations will remain open from Oct 26 to 29 to facilitate the masses to celebrate the holy festival of Eid. Sindh and Punjab observe two-day and three-day weekly L ONDON —The head of the closure.—Online BBC’s flagship current affairs TV programme stepped aside on PM invited to Monday as accusations grew of address public a cover-up of sexual abuse claims against late television meeting star Jimmy Savile. Newsnight editor Peter Rippon had given Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD—Sardar Saleem an inaccurate account of why the show dropped its investigation Haider, Minister of State for into Savile, the shamed preDefence called on Prime senter who died last year, the Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at BBC said in a statement.

Prime Minister’s House on The BBC, the world’s largMonday and invited him to est public broadcaster, has address a public meeting at Attock, which the Prime Minister launched two independent inaccepted. Minister of State for quiries into the allegations Defence also apprised the Prime about Savile while British police have launched a criminal Minister about the ongoing investigation. developments projects in his “The BBC has announced constituency. The Prime Minister that Peter Rippon is stepping asked the Minister of State for Defence to focus on completion aside with immediate effect from his post,” the BBC said.—AP of the development projects.

BBC editor steps aside over scandal

People can’t be impacted by wrong propaganda: Nawaz SALIM AHMED LAHORE—President Pakistan Muslim League-N, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said that the people could not be impacted by wrong propaganda at all. He said the people must keep firm faith that tomorrow belongs only to Pakistan Muslim League-N, which will spare no effort for progress, prosperity and welfare of Pakistan and the nation.

While talking to the officebearers and workers of Pakistan Muslim League–N Okara, alongwith affectees of Military Estate Renala Khurd at the central secretariat of PML-N, Nawaz said that history of PML-N is closely associated with the rule of law and predominance of justice. He said, despite two broken eras in the past, we have served the country and the nation in an exemplary manner. He said the track record of PML-N is full of progress and prosperity, which

is acknowledged by the whole world. Nawaz said that he has complete sympathy with the military farm Renala Khurd affectees, and called upon the administration of military farm to provide maximum help to the affectees. He said he would also direct Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to play his role in the matter on behalf of Punjab government. Talking to Muslim League office-bearers, Nawaz said that they should vigorously prepare for the next general elections by spreading in every city and village and solving the problems of masses by utilizing all their energies.

The affectees of Renala Khurd military farm informed Nawaz about the cruelty and highhandedness shown to them during the Musharraf era. The affectees informed that Punjab government has given them proprietary rights for 5500 at Kalyana Estate, Okara. They said that the people of area

deeply appreciate the step taken by the Punjab government and the Chief Minister Punjab in this regard. The affectees demanded that they should also be given houses at military estate farm Renala Khurd, Okara, on the same pattern.The Muslim League workers and office-bearers presented a detailed report to Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on organizational matters and forthcoming elections. Chaudhry Mumtaz, brother of former MPA and renowned politician from Okara, late Ch. Irshad, announced to join PML-N on the occasion.

Those who met Muhammad Nawaz Sharif included Brig.

Zahid Hassan, Syed Zahid Gillani, President PML-N Okara, Syed Ashiq Kirmani, General Secretary, Rao Zaigham Mujtaba, City President Renala, Rana Nazir, President Renala Estate Affectees, former union council Nazim, Nadeem Ashraf among others.

Pakistan foreign policy most critical issue: ex-CIA officer WASHINGTON—Pakistan is the leadership,” he wrote. most critical foreign policy issue which the two presidential candidates - incumbent Barack Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney - need to address during their third and final face-to-face debate in Florida, a top American expert has said.

In an op-ed in Daily Beast, former CIA officer Bruce Riedel issued a strong warning to the two candidates that Pakistan is more important foreign policy issue than Libya, the Middle East or the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi.

“It is a battlefield between extremists, often linked to alQaeda, and those who want a progressive and modern Pakistan. The sixth-largest country in the world - and soon to be the world’s largest Muslim country - it already has the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal on the planet.

And it is home to al-Qaeda’s

“It is the epicenter of the global jihad. From 9/11 to the 2008 attack on Mumbai, alQaeda and its allies like Lashkar-e-Taiba have plotted their schemes in Karachi, Lahore, and Abbottabad. Since our last election in 2008, Pakistan has been the launch platform for plots to attack the New York City subway and Times Square. Three of the five terrorists on our most-wanted list are in Pakistan today,” said Riedel.

Both Obama and Romney rightly agree we should transition our troops out of Afghanistan by 2014, he said, but what the people of the United States need to hear from them tomorrow is how they will keep the pressure on the terrorists in Pakistan when we bring US troops home from Afghanistan.

“How will we continue to undertake the necessary counterterror missions from Af-

ghan bases?... Do we have a plan B if the Afghan Army starts to disintegrate? Do we have a plan to protect the more than 3 million young Afghan girls now going to school in their country who would be treated just like Malala if Taliban regains power?

How do we fight terror ? ...

These are the really tough questions,” he said.

Riedel said America’s ties with Pakistan are tortured and complex.

The US has been very generous to Pakistan. Since 9/11, the US has disbursed more than USD 25 billion in military and economic aid to Islamabad.

“No other country except Israel has received so much American aid since 2001.”

On the other hand, Pakistan and America are adversaries in Afghanistan, Riedel argued in the Daily Beast, adding that in many ways the US is fighting a proxy war in Afghanistan.—Online

LAHORE—Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and newly appointed president of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo said PPP will sweep in next general elections by taking allies on board and will set up a coalition government in Punjab with its principal ally Pakistan Muslim League (Q). “ I defeated PML-N twice in Punjab and in coming general elections the same will be repeated in Punjab,” adding he said PPP is the party of workers while Mian Nawaz Sharif elected his own relatives for high slots in the government and his party. He expressed these views in a public meeting held at Nasir Bagh Lahore here on Monday during his maiden visit to Lahore after becoming president of PPP Punjab.

He was warmly welcomed by the party office-bearers, MNAs, MPAs and workers at the airport from where he

Wajid Shamsul Hasan

A

s I sat down to pen my thoughts on the first death anniversary of Begum Nusrat Bhutto—one of the greatest leaders of Pakistan by her own right, I received the good news that brave M a l a l a Yusufzai targeted by TTP is on her way to recovery. She is fully conscious and managed to stand on her own feet with assistance in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Soon after came yet another historic news. Supreme

Court of Pakistan—after 16 years—vindicated Benazir Bhutto’s charge that elections in 1990 were stolen from her through a conspiracy by the then President Ishaq, Army Chief Aslam Beg, their intelligence apparatus in collusion with IJI politicians that included some of those leaders who even today continue to masquerade as champions of democracy and never get tired of pot calling the kettle black. The Supreme Court concluded that all those high and mighty in power in cahoots with their political puppets shamelessly violated the Constitution and should be given Draconian punishment.

The anti-democratic conspirators with perhaps longest collaboration among themselves that continues in one form or the other even today with backdoor entry of others, had stooped so

low to accuse Benazir Bhutto of being anti-state and piled up plethora of charges of corruption against her and her spouse upheld as proven by the then Supreme Court on the basis of clippings of newspapers—no where accepted as admissible evidence.

Prophetic words of Benazir Bhutto reverberated in my e a r s .

“Inshallah, a day will come Nusrat Bhutto when I shall stand vindicated.” Indeed, Supreme Court has dealt a severe blow to all those summer soldiers and sunshine patriots who still harbour the dream to be kicked into power by the jackboots and their Taliban support-

ers since they orchestrate that Taliban are waging a “Jihad” to free themselves of “foreign occupiers”. Having adopted a denial mode to ride into power on the backs of TTP, despite being Oxford educated unlike those clerics who are bigoted by their bearing, individuals forget that TTP is not killing any foreigner in its “Jihad” but targeting innocent, harmless Malala Yusufzai Pakistani education-hungry teenagers like Malala, Pakistani soldiers, innocent people especially girls and women who believe in enlightenment rather than remain tied to slavish taboos. And TTP agenda is not to free Afghanistan from what TIP

leader Imran Khan calls “foreign occupation” but to occupy Pakistan and claim it to be their independent state.

Why I have opted to co-relate Malala with Begum Nusrat Bhutto is relevant since Malala—a 15-year old brave girl after having experienced worst during the Swat occupation by Taliban—is fighting for her life.

Like Begum Bhutto and Benazir she stood up fearlessly against the barbarians opposed to education of girls and women rights.

Hers is a commitment in the illustrious footsteps of Begum Nusrat Bhutto and martyred Benazir who fought and sacrificed their lives for the empowerment of women, education of girls and less privileged. Malala emerged as a crusader for the right of education for girls in Pakistan when the TTP took over Swat and banned female

LAHORE—An elderly man in his 90s, widely known as Chacha Pakistani and regular participant of flag ceremony reached at Nasir Bagh in cara- held at Wahga border breathed van. PPP-Punjab General Sec- his last on Sunday.

Chacha Pakistani dressed in retary Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, Federal Minister National Regulation and Services Dr Firdus Ashq Awan, federal minister Samina Gorki, Chaudhry Manzoor, Aslam Gill, Raja Riaz and other party leaders were also present on the occasion. Mian Manzoor Wattoo said he had defeated PML-N in Azad Kashmir and he challenged them to contest in by-election on the vacant seat of Diwan Mahiaddin in Lahore.

He claimed that he would defeat PML-N nominee on this seat in Lahore. He said President Asif Ali Zardari sent him to Pakistani national flag colour Punjab with the mission of was symbol of zeal for youngeliminating “dengue” Chief ster since he used to raise slogans in favour of Pakistan during PaMinister Punjab.

He said he would go ahead kistan India joint flag ceremony along with PPP workers and he addressing to participants. would go himself door to door His real name was Mehar Din to remove the grievances of his who born in 1922 and was unparty’s workers. He said Mian married. While his brothers miBrothers alleged that Asif Ali grated to Pakistan at the time of its creation, Chacha came here Continued on Page 7 post partition. —Online

Raja for tight security arrangements on Eid ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has directed interior minister for sufficient security arrangements on Eid Interior Minister Rehman Malik Monday called on Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and apprised him of the overall law and order situation in the country.

The prime minister directed the interior minister to make sufficient security arrangements on Eid. He appealed to all shades of public to exhibit complete unity and harmony and demonstrate to the world at large that Pakistanis are a peace loving and tolerant society.

Raja Pervez Ashraf lauded the services and sacrifices of the law enforcement agencies in meeting the challenges posed by the extremists and anti-state elements who want to destabilize the country.—Online

Britain ends 10-year boycott of Narendra Modi A HMEDABAD —Britain held talks Monday with Indian regional leader Narendra Modi, ending a 10-year boycott over deadly religious riots in Gujarat state that left more than 2,000 dead, including three Britons.

Modi, a Hindu nationalist who is tipped as a possible future prime minister, came to power in Gujarat shortly before the 2002 riots and is accused of doing little to prevent India’s worst religious violence since independence.

After the riots, Britain stopped dealing directly with Modi but the government this month changed its policy and announced that its ambassador to India, James Bevan, would travel to Gujarat. “This is about engagement, it is not about endorsement,” Bevan told reporters after the meeting.—AP

Begum Bhutto, Malala and Benazir’s historic vindication Comment

Chacha Pakistani passes away

education, destroying schools (over 1000 have alone been destroyed in northern areas) and killing any one who protested. Although Begum Bhutto is not with us any more, her spirit must be feeling elated about the brave Malala, the relentless commitment of the PPP government and Pakistani people to fight against obscurantism and the Supreme Court verdict in Asghar Khan’s petition. It was General Ziaul Haq who had abused the Supreme Court to get forced legitimacy when he replaced Justice Yaqub Ali in Begum Nusrat Bhutto Vs State of Pakistan case and appointed a pliant Chief Justice Anwarul Haq to sign on the dotted lines.

Malala’s gradually recovery and the Supreme Court

Continued on Page 7

‘Bigger than 7/7’ UK attack plot disrupted LONDON—Three British men planned to carry out suicide bombings which could have been more devastating than the July 7, 2005 attacks in London, a court heard on Monday.Fifty-one people died and over 700 were injured in coordinated suicide bombings on London underground trains and a bus by four British Islamists in the so-called 7/7 attacks.Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, both 27, are accused of being central figures in the plot, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court were told.

“The police successfully disrupted a plan to commit an act or acts of terrorism on a scale potentially greater than the London bombings in July 2005 had it been allowed to run its course,” said prosecutor Brian Altman.

“The defendants were proposing to detonate up to eight rucksack bombs in a suicide attack and/or to detonate bombs on timers in crowded areas in order to cause mass deaths and casualties.

“One of them even described a plan to cause another 9/11,” he added, referring to the 2001 attacks in the United States.

All the men, from the city of Birmingham in central England, are accused of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, which they deny.Naseer is accused of five counts of the offence, Khalid four and Ali three, all between Christmas Day 2010 and September 2011. Nasser and Khalid are also accused of travelling to Pakistan for training in terrorism. —Reuters

Punjab Bank loan case

NAB performance displeases SC ISLAMABAD—Supreme Court Dubai based property valuing Rs (SC) has taken serious exception to the poor performance of NAB in the process of loan recovery from owners of Haris Steel Mills in Punjab Bank loan case.

A 3-member bench of Supreme Court (SC) led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took up Punjab Bank loan case Monday.

The court expressed displeasure over non-settlement of sale of property matter towards recovery of loan in arbitration committee.

Counsel for Sheikh Afzal, owner of steel mill told the court plea bargain had been made to considerable extent and more than half amount had been paid.

He also informed the court

1.5 billion had been sold out.

CJP remarked that not a pen could be sold out without the willingness of any one. How the property worth Rs 1.5 billion was sold out, he inquired. NAB does not investigate any matter in the country , therefore, what investigation of any matter it will make abroad, he further remarked. He observed “ All object to NAB. You may see today’s newspaper wherein objection is being raised on FIA. Justice Jawad S Khawaja observed, these are state institutions on which no one expresses trust.

Has NAB corrected the system here in the country that they be sent to Dubai to correct system therein, he questioned. —Online

Sherry discusses Pak-US relations with PM I SLAMABAD —Ms. Sherry Rehman Pakistan Ambassador in to USA called on Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at prime minister’s House and discussed with him Pakistan- USA relations.

The Ambassador apprised the Prime Minister about the visit of high level US delegation

and the scheduled meetings of the Working Groups to enhance cooperation between the two countries. The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the performance of Ambassador and said that the relations between the two countries have been normalized due to her hard work. —NNI

Extra weight tied to higher risk of hospitalization R

EGARDLESS of lifestyle and other health-related factors, heavier people were more likely than lean ones to be hospitalized for a variety of conditions, according to an Australian study. What’s more, this was the case not just for obese people but also for those who were merely overweight as well, the researchers wrote in the International Journal of Obesity.

Among middle-aged adults, researchers found that every extra body mass index (BMI) point - equal to about 2.7 to 3.2 kilograms (six or seven lbs) was tied to a four percent higher chance of being admitted to the hospital over a two-year period.

“There is considerable evidence that severe obesity is bad for your health, resulting in higher rates of disease and consequently higher use of health services and higher death rates,” said lead author Rosemary Korda, from the Australian National University in Canberra.

“What this study shows is that there is a gradual increase in risk of hospitalization as BMI increases, starting with people in the overweight range. In other words, even being overweight (but not obese) increases your risk.”

Korda and her colleagues recruited close to 250,000 people aged 45 and above from New South Wales. After surveying them about their height, weight and other

health and lifestyle issues, the researchers tracked participants through hospital data. Over the next two years, they had more than 61,000 total hospitalizations lasting at least one night.

Korda’s team found that among people considered in the normal range for BMI, there were 120 hospitalizations for every 1,000 men and 102 per 1,000 women each year. For those considered severely obese, on the other hand, there were 203 hospitalizations for every 1,000 men and 183 per 1,000 women, on average. Overweight and moderately obese people had hospitalization rates somewhere in between.

A BMI of 25 to 30 is classified as overweight, while obese is from 30 on up.

That pattern held up even after taking into account whether participants smoked, how physically active they were and their general health at the start of the study.

Extra weight seemed especially to play a role in people’s chances of being hospitalized for diabetes, heart disease, chest pain, arthritis and asthma, the researchers reported. “Extending the research to overweight individuals... is a unique contribution,” said Robert Klesges, a preventive medicine researcher from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

ISLAMABAD: A beautiful view of the Saidpur Model Village, seen from the rooftop of a temple in the village.—PO photo

British HC calls on Gen Wynne STAFF REPORTER R AWALPINDI —British High Commissioner, Adam Thomson called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Khalid Shameem Wynne on Monday.

According to ISPR here, they discussed matters related to mutual interests.

NUML students excel in debating contest STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—Young talented students exhibited their debating muscles to knock down their opponents in the first round of “All Pakistan Inter University Debate Contest” for Award of Allama Iqbal Shield which was held at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, Monday. The students like veteran wrestlers employed all those skills and techniques that help them performing well in their arena.

Careful selection of words, dramatic rise and fall of voice, native like accents, precise

and accurate narrations, realistic themes, exuberant deliverance, though provoking contents and clarity of thoughts and minds were some of techniques used to stand out the competition.

Talking reporters Abubakar Bhutta, a faculty member, said that “it was admirable demonstration of the art of public speaking and students’ sensitivity towards national and international issues and their vitality, enthusiasm, and patriotism, visible in their art of speech, are features worth appreciating”.

A total of 22 student participants from different depart-

ments of the University participated in the English and Urdu categories of debate competition and presented their views with masterly acumen.

The rules of the contest require the speech must be completely memorized, no notes allowed, and must be between four to five minutes in length. Ahmed Nawaz of the Mass Communication Department secured the first position and Rs 2500/- cash prize, Mirza Atta-ur-Rehman from English Graduate Studies Department secured 2nd position and Rs 1500/- cash prize while Khadeeja Atta .

STAFF REPORTER

I SLAMABAD—In an unprecedented move, the newlyappointed Chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz Monday transferred 70 officers of the Capital Development Authority also including some senior officials considered as ‘heavyweights’ in the civic agency.

According to a notification No: CDA-3(1) (1)-Pers/ 88/Sec- I/4141 issued by the Human Resource Directorate of the Authority, among the RAWALPINDI —The Rawal officers who have been transTown Municipal Administration (RTMA) office complex is still incomplete, while the offices are established in a commercial plaza constructed to earn revenue for the RTMA. According to sources, Rs25 million were allocated for the construction of the RTMA offices but the construction work could not be completed in the I SLAMABAD —National Asgiven amount. Moreover, the sembly Standing Committee on authorities concerned could Cabinet Secretariat constituted not estimate cost for the con- a sub-committee to implement struction of the rest of the Supreme Court and committee recommendations of the combuilding.

The sources revealed that mittee regarding removal of the RTMA offices are now es- Afghan settlement located in tablished in a commercial plaza the federal capital. The meetbuilt by the authority to give it ing of the committee was held on lease and rent, resultantly, here on Monday with Dewan the civic body is also bearing a Ashiq Bukhari in the chair.

MNA Dr Tariq Fazal loss of millions of rupees annuChaudhry would head the sub ally.

The RTMA borrowed committee while its members Rs70 million from the Punjab would be from the national aslocal government board for the sembly, ministry of interior and construction of the offices the ministry of state and froncomplex and commercial plaza, tier regions. Chairman Capital the sources informed, adding Development Authority (CDA) the money has mounted to told the committee there were Rs300 million due to addition 487 plots in the Afghan settleof interest but neither the ob- ments in sector I-11 and I-12, jective of the commercial com- out of which 130 plots were plex could be achieved.—INP occupied by the refugees.

Incomplete RTMA complex raises eyebrows

RAWALPINDI: Adam Thomson, British High Commissioner, called on General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee at Joint Staff Headquarters.

Massive reshuffle in CDA, heavyweights shaken ferred from their posts include three director generals, nine directors, 14 deputy directors, 42 assistant directors and also Secretary CDA Board.

Among the influential officers who have been transferred include Director General Civic Management Rawal Khan Maitla who has been posted as DG Law, Habibur Rehman currently Acting DG Law has been made DDG law and DG Design Ghulam Sarwar Sandhu has been made officer on special duty (OSD).

According to notification, Fawad Anwar Khan has been posted as DG Civic Management, Shamsul Haq as Director Emergency and Disaster Management, Ali Asghar as Director Law, IK Rizwan as Director Regulations, Aftab Alam as Secretary CDA Board and Muhammad Mushtaq as Director Law replacing Nadeem Akbar Malik.

Among the deputy directors who have been transferred include Saeed Ahmed Dar, Rafaqat Ali, Roshan Khan, Khizar Hayat

Culex mosquito Committee formed for Citizens urged to removal of Afghan take preventive settlements from Capital measures He suggested these refugees should be removed to Jalozai Camp or some other location should be allotted to them. He cleared CDA would bear all expenses of this transfer. He informed the members in 2005 the land was evacuated by the CDA but the authority appeared failed to continue its occupation on the land. “Presently, only 10 per cent refugees are there and remaining 90 per cent are other illegal occupants, “he added.

He said this settlement is a major security threat for the capital as most reported crimes are linked to the people residing over there. MNA Dr. Triaq said there are clear evidences that officials of the CDA were involved in illegal possessions of the land in the above mentioned sectors. —Online

R AWALPINDI —The health authorities were already exhausted in dealing with the mosquito causing dengue, and now the complaints of spread of another mosquito, culex, are on the rise in the garrison city.

According to sources, focal person for anti-dengue virus campaign, Dr Ansar Ishaq said that now the complaints of fever due to the culex fever were increasing than those of dengue.

The bite of the mosquito causes severe fever and the part of the body bitten by the mosquito swells, he said, adding the citizens should take measures against the culex mosquito along with the dengue causing mosquito and immediately go to hospital in case of fever and headache.—INP

Floral Art blooms in Autumn SANA JAMAL I SLAMABAD —Beautiful shades of red, yellow, orange and pink flowers bedecked with bright green stem and leaves sprinkled beauty and serenity in the atmosphere, leaving the visitors with a delightful feeling.

The artistic and exquisite Flower Show in the capital city was indeed a wonderful ode to fall – the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” as John Keats called it.

Flower lovers and the floral art novice gathered in huge numbers to see the floral arrangements at the show that was

organised by the Floral Arts Society of Pakistan (FASP).

The flower show was in fact a competition on flower arrangement under the main topic “Flora Flamboyance”.

Many of the arrangements came from the members of Floral Arts Society, most of them being housewives, who participated to show off their best work in flower arranging.

Ambassador of Norway Cecilie Landsverk and Vice President Floral Arts Society, Wiqarunnisa Boolani both appreciated the work of the amateur artists, highlighting different aspects of floral art and techniques.

The staging time for the

Satti, Allah Yar Khan, Nadeem Akbar Dar, Haseen Raza, Mumtaz Ali Sher, Azhar Khurshid, Asad Abbas, Muhammad Kashif, Taimur Ahmed, Kamran Bakht, Shafiullah Khan, Abdul Hakeem, Iftikhar Haidri, Ali Naqi Shah and Ammadud Din. Four officers have been made OSD including DG Design Sarwar Sandhu, Secretary CDA Board Nadeem Akbar Malik, DD Rehabilitation Rafaqat Ali and DD Estate Management Iftikhar Haidri.

competitors was about 3 hours that whizzed by with all the frenzy of putting up the exhibits, with ongoing chatter that turned to silence as the finishing time approached and the exhibits were judged by Samia Sikander, Sameena Salman and Ayesha Zahid.

Around 30 floral exhibits were put on display.

Viewers were fascinated by the artistic arrangement of everyday flowers which were painstakingly created for the exhibit.

Mrs. Nighat Masud, a visitor, seemed intrigued ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Norway Cecilie Landsverk and Vice President Floral by the use of different Arts Society of Pakistan Wiqar-un-Nisa Boolani taking keen interest in the floral parts of a single plant in arrangements displayed during an exhibition “Floral Flamboyance” at a local hotel.— all facets of their arrangement. “The use of roots PO Photo Sultan Bashir

and leaves used in an innovative way and too in a single plant is simply amazing!”

A comprehensive multimedia presentation, unveiling the art of flower arrangement, was demonstrated by Ayesha Zahid and then Farhana Azim of FASP. “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower” said the French philosopher, Albert Camus.

And the elegant combination of beautiful flowers, containers and foliages at the Flower Show was a statement that fall is not just the season of decay, but the season of fruit, of ripeness, of harvest.

Mobile cattle markets turn city into garbage dump STAFF REPORTER RAWALPINDI—Illegal mobile markets of cattle set up by sellers of sacrificial animals have turned the city into garbage dump.

Rawalpindi administration has allowed cattle market at specified places but the traders in defiance of these orders have established mobile cattle market at various locations.

These mobile markets have not only polluted the respective areas but also have posed traffic jams. “We are facing difficulties in reaching our offices in time as the herds of sacrificial animals block the road and we have to wait for hours to drive our cars and vehicles ahead, said a group of government employees on Farooq Azam road.

The areas including Khanna Pull, Shakrial, Faiz Abad, Pir Wadhai, Liaqat Bagh are seen herded with sacrificial animals causing prolonged traffic jams. The citizens demanded immediate action for removing these mobile cattle markets to ensure pollution free environment for them.—Online

Zohr

05:40 01:30 04:45 07:30

October 23 EXHIBITION titled Paper cuts works by Rabeya Jalil, Nadia Batool Hussain and Sophiya Khawaja, at the Rohtas Gallery, House No 57-B, Street 26, sector F-6/2 at 5:30 pm. ***** FACULTY of Islamic Studies (Female) of the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) is organizing a workshop on “True Spirit of Love For Prophet” on October 23 (Tuesday). The workshop will be organized by female campus of the university in collaboration with World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY).

Director WAMY, Ibrahim Anwar and Director, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Dr. Khalid Rehman shall be the speakers on the occasion.

November 1 PUBLIC talk on ‘A Security Architect for South Asia’, speaker: Dr Farooq Sobhan, organised by the institute of Strategic Studies, at the institute of Strategic Studies, Sector F-5/2, Islamabad, 11:30 am – 1 p.m.

Pakistan successfully transitions law rule: CJP STAFF REPORTER I SLAMABAD —Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that the present day Pakistan successfully transitioned itself to rule of law based upon complete implementation of constitutionalism in the country.

He was addressing an Indian lawyers delegation led by Dr. Pravin H. Parekh, President, Supreme Court Bar Association of India in the Supreme Court building on Monday.

“Our law enforcement agencies are striving hard to check this menace and the court system in the country including the Anti Terrorism Courts are geared to handle these cases expeditiously and dispense justice in a forthright and transparent

manner,” he added. He observed that he did not see any reason why Pakistan should not regain its position as a civilized and progressive country which was at peace with itself and with countries in the region and beyond.

The CJ said that it was a proven fact of history and considered opinion of historians and scholars of law and politics that only those societies thrived and prospered where the twin principles of “rule of law” and “supremacy of constitution” were practiced.

“However, in societies which suffer from weak rule of law and where constitution is held in abeyance, frequently the writ of state gradualy loosens and society starts unraveling,” he added.

The CJ referring to judiciary in both countries opined that the institutions of judiciary both in Pakistan and India had a common cultural, social and legal background as they drew inspiration from the same source of jurisprudence and followed the same pluralistic and all encompassing representative democracy based on the twin principles of rule of law and supremacy of the constitution.

The Supreme Court of India had rendered benchmark judgments in the field of Public Interest litigation, similarly, Supreme Court of Pakistan had also endeavored to ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in a group photo with ensure implementation of Indian lawyers delegation in Supreme Court building. fundamental rights to the citizens as enshrined in the Con- Haris Steel Mills case stitution by taking suo moto notices in wider public interest, he added.

‘Parliamentary oversight on defence spending a must’ CITY REPORTER ISLAMABAD—Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said Monday that parliamentary oversight of the defence spending is must to ensure good governance and transparency. Briefing the mediamen on the defence budget with the view to remove misperceptions, Senator Mushahid informed that a comparative analysis were placed before the committee.

He said the committee underlined need for more

transparency in the budget being spent on defence of the country. He said Pakistan stands at 33rd position as far as defence expenditure is concerned, adding that it is now 2.3 percent of the GDP. Mushahid said that Senate Defence Committee has decided to revisit the defence paradigm and would prepare a defence policy strategy document after having input from all the stake holders. He also sought view point of the ministry of defence in this regard so that a comprehensive document could be floated.

He said that the public

hearings initiated by the Committee have received wide acknowledgment, adding that the committee would organize a policy seminar on November 5, 2012 on “Towards 2014- challenges of NATO withdrawal”. The chairman said the committee appreciated Senator Sehar Kamran for making Hajj arrangements for mother of Shaheed Col. Tanveer-ulHassan.

He said the committee had already expressed its solidarity with the martyrs of Giari Sector and that the committee fully supports the armed forces in the defence of the country.

November 8 ALUMNI Association National Institute of Psychology (AA-NIP) will hold Annual Alumni Dinner, 2012 on 8th November, 4:30 P.M to 10:00 P.M at Geo Physics Auditorium, QAU. For Registration please contact Irum Naqvi. 0519 0 6 4 4 0 4 7 , Irumnaqvi2006@gmail.com.

November 10 GENERAL Body Meeting of the Human Resource Development Network at the HRDN Secretariat, House No. 41, Street 56, F-6/4, Islamabad.

National Rehabilitation Conference hosted by ISRA STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—Two days conference/workshops organized by the enthusiastic team of Isra institute of rehabilitation sciences Islamabad campus lead by the principal IIRS Dr Muhammad Naveed Babur in collaboration with ,Higher Education Commission, Pakistan,Isra University, Hyderabad, Karachi, Islamabad Campuses, International Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences (IJRS),The News International,FM 102.

In the opening ceremony The Vice Chancellor & Patron in Chief NRC-2012 addressed the participants by welcoming them and appreciated commitment and efforts of the nation’s nearly 2.0 million registered Rehabilitation practitioners and the significant role they play to advance and improve health everywhere and furthermore he stated I hope that the conference will live up to your expectations, and you will enjoy being with us. Chief Guest Dr Manzoor hussain soomroo chairman Pakistan science foundation highly appreciated the Isra institute of rehabilitation sciences on conducting the first ever National Rehabilitation Conference in the country.

The Chairman NRC2012 Dr. Muhammad Naveed Babur On behalf of National Rehabilitation Conference, NRC-2012 and its executive committee, organizing committee, Coordinating Committee, stated that it is my great pleasure to extend a warm invitation to you to participate in the 1st National Rehabilitation Conference scheduled to take place in the capital ,20-21 October 2012.

SC orders authorities to compile details of assets

CDA finalizes offals’ disposal arrangements on Eid CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Sanitation Directorate of the Capital De-

I SLAMABAD —Directing au- velopment Authority (CDA)

thorities to compile the details of assets in the Haris Steel Mills case, also known as the Bank of Punjab (BoP) scam case, in three days’ time, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said former BoP president Hamesh Khan, the principal accused in a Rs9 billion scam, and Sheikh Afzal, the owner of Haris Steel Mills and the main character in the scam, could not be kept in jail indefinitely.

Haris Steel Mills and its two sister concerns had secured Rs9 billion loan from BoP in connivance with its officials including its then president Hamesh Khan in 2007.

According to a private television channel, a twojudge bench of the apex headed by the chief justice heard the case.

During the hearing, Afzal’s counsel told the bench that his client had paid more than half of the required amount, adding that, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should provide his client with a schedule for the remaining payment. In his remarks, Chief Justice Iftikhar said that no assets could be sold without the consent of the owner(s).—NNI

has finalized the arrangements for collection and disposal of entrails, offals and carcasses of sacrificial animals in Islamabad during Eid-ul-Azha and general cleanliness on this occasion. In this connection a review meeting was held to review and finalize the arrangements made by the Sanitation Directorate of CDA for removal of offals, entrails and carcasses of sacrificial animals in the federal capital was held here that was chaired by Chairman CDA, Syed Tahir Shahbaz.

Member administration, CDA Munir Ahmed Chaudhry Director General

Civic Management Rawal Khan Maitla and other relevant officers were also present in the meeting.

Chairman was informed that on the occasion of Eidul-Azha, officials of Sanitation Directorate will work round the clock in three shifts and leaves of entire sanitation staff have been cancelled. Each and every street of all sectors of the city would be cleaned by the workers during this occasion.

Chairman was also informed that city has been distributed in five zones.

Zone-I includes E-7, F-5, F-6 , F-7, G-5, G-6, G-7, Blue Area and Bari Imam . Zone-II consists of sector F-8, F-10, F11, E- 11, , Golra Sharif and Faisal Mosque where as the

Zone-III includes G-8, G-9, G10, G-11,and the Zone-IV includes H-8, H-9, H-10, H- 11, I-8, I-9, I-10, I-11. The ZoneV areas include Model Town , Bahra Kahu, Highway, Model village, Shahzad Town , Rawal Town , Margalla Town and Humak.

At least 22 deep ditches would be dug at easy accessible locations in entire Islamabad for proper disposal of offals. Lime powder would be sprinkled and applied to garbage trolleys and sacrificial places. Two emergency cells would also be constituted in Fire and Sanitation Directorate G-6 office. DG Civic Management also briefed the Chairman that around 2500 staff and more than 100 vehicles would take part in this entire exercise.

Police arrest 1,813 criminals I SLAMABAD —Saddar Zone tive and a total of 1813 crimi- 254 criminals including 254

of Islamabad Police has ar- nals including 299 proclaimed absconders. A total of two rested 1813 criminals during offenders as well as court vehicles, 3 Kalashnikov, 73 the current year and recov- absconders were arrested pistols, 80.216 kilogram hashish, 34 wine bottles, 4.396 kiered a total of 42 vehicles, during the current year.

During the ongoing year, logram opium and 26.434 kieight Kalashnikov, 179 pistols, 128.842 kilogram hash- Margallah police registered a logram heroin were also reish, 2256 wine bottles, 29.216 total of 499 cases and ar- covered by Shalimar police kilogram heroin, 5.836 kilo- rested a total 274 criminals during this period.

Ensuring effective policgram opium and stolen items including 98 absconders. worth Rs. 85 million from their Margallah police also recov- ing, Golra police registered 326 possession, a police spokes- ered 28 vehicles, 30 pistols, cases against criminals and man said on Monday. Fol- 2.701 kilogram hashish, 591 arrested 189 persons includlowing the directions from wine bottles from them. Simi- ing 55 absconders. Police IGP Islamabad Bani Amin larly, Shalimar police regis- also recovered three vehicles, Khan and SSP Islamabad tered a total of 326 cases and three Kalashnikovs, 47 pisYaseen Farooq, Saddar Zone arrested 188 criminals includ- tols, 34.955 kilogram hashish, of Islamabad police headed ing 94 absconders besides 19 wine bottles, 2.870 gram

by SP (Saddar) Sajid Kiani recovering six vehicles, 12 heroin and 1.440 kilogram made every possible efforts pistols, 3.355 kilogram hash- opium from their possession to ensure effective policing. ish, 414 wine bottles from too. Ramana police also contributed its efforts to ensure The Sub-Divisional Police them.

Likewise, Tarnol police effective policing and regisOfficers and Station House ISLAMABAD—Arrival of win- Officers made every possible registered 323 cases during tered a total of 347 cases ter has doubled the due Eid effort to achieve this objec- the current year and arrested against criminals. —NNI ul Azha shopping so kids Eid dresses are oozing out of all the garment shops in twin cities of Islamabad Rawalpindi. Eid ul Azha is approaching and bringing along a changed season of winter this time. People are seen rushing to bazaars as the variety available is just irresistible.

As just few days remaining in Eid-ul-Azha, the people accompanied by children comes out for shopping after Magrib and are found busy in shopping of Kids’shoes, suits, readymade garments and other items for Eid celebrations.

To attract customers, most of the shopping markets have artistically been decorated and illuminated with colorful lights and buntings looking festive look during night.—APP RAWALPINDI: President RCCI Manzar Khurshid Shaikh and CEO Roots International Schools Mr.Walid Mushtaq exchanging documents after signing MoU.

Kid’s Eid dresses shopping spree

ISLAMABAD: Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme, Farzana Raja talking to representatives of Korean International Cooperation Agency here at BISP Secretariat.

AIOU adopts new strategy to impart skill-based education STAFF REPORTER I SLAMABAD —The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has adopted a new strategy aimed at providing technology and skill- based practical education to its students across the country, enabling them to meet new challenges and live a respectable life. This was stated by AIOU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi, while presiding over a discussionsession held here on Monday.

Dr Muhammad Ashraf Iqbal on the occasion delivered a lecture on topic of “Excellent Education for every

Malala”. The discussion was arranged by the Faculty of Education. The Vice Chancellor underlined the need of promoting effective interactivity among the students by taking advantage of the new technology.

He said that the AIOU was incorporating necessary amendments in the existing curriculum of its various programmes to make the education more productive and result- oriented.

“We want to develop curriculum and teaching system that help bring improvement in knowledge, skill and attitude of the students”, he said.

The students are also being

provided quality-education material and CDs, he added.

He emphasized that the teaching material should be according to the nature of the learner.

He said the university was also actively working establishing well-equipped laboratories, video conferencing system at its all campuses and study centers so that the students could acquire skilled-based knowledge at their nearest places of residence. “We are committed to ensure access of quality education to all segments of the society, especially in low-literacy regions” he added.

Lack of dispensary protested

R AWALPINDI —Lack of dispensary in union council No 82 Morgah have left the residents of the area at the mercy of quacks.

This is thickly populated area and its population runs into thousands. It is most important constituency of Rawalpindi city and stalwarts of politics win the elections from here but it is most neglected area in terms of civic amenities and even no health centre or dispensary has been provided by the government.

One can see quacks clinics operating in every nook and corner of the area with impunity due to non existence of dispensary in public sector. “We ISLAMABAD: International Expert for Vocational Training, Guidance and Employ- are forced to consult quacks ment Policy Roger Hessell with the senior faculty and staff of Preston University after who not only extort money a lecture on “Skill Development for Successful Entrepreneurship”.—PO photo by from us but also drive us to the mire of fatal diseases.—Online Sultan Bashir

RIS, RCCI sign MoU STAFF REPORTER RAWALPINDI—Roots International Schools and The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday October 22nd 2012 at the RCCI. The collaboration was aimed at promoting the Students Development Programme. The MOU is intended to create a linkage between industry and Academia thus resulting in economic growth and stability in the country. The President RCCI Mr. Manzar Khurshid Shaikh and CEO Roots International Schools Mr.Walid Mushtaq signed the MoU to mark the starting of a new intellectual business relationship. The signing ceremony included an address by the President

RCCI where he discussed the reasons pertaining to the lack of business opportunities and new avenues for the youth.

The need for students to participate in real world scenarios and to put their skills to use practically in the most effective manner was imminent.

Hence, the Roots Entrepreneurial Society was formed.

The goal of the college entrepreneurial society is designed to make students better informed about entrepreneurship as a career option. Hence, activities like panel discussions on relevant topics, experience sharing sessions by experienced entrepreneurs are important. The entrepreneurial society aims at organizing Business Plan competitions. These are done to help students get a firsthand view of the process of creating business plans.

Vendors occupy bus stand sheds I SLAMABAD —Most of the bus stands in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, which are roofless and are mostly occupied by vendors, neither provide shelter to the passengers in rain nor offer any shade under the scorching sun. Braving sunlight or rain, commuters have to wait for their buses while the authorities concerned seem ignorant towards their daily ordeal.

The situation is particularly problematic at the Karachi Company, Pir Wadhai and Faizabad bus terminals and bus stands along the IJ Principal Road and Murree Road. Commuters of the twin cities have expressed their serious concerns over the poor condition of general bus stands.—Online

Border residents abandoned

by Govt: Mehbooba SRINAGAR—Expressing deep concern at the plight of people living along the LOC People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has said it seems these people have been abandoned by the civilian administration.

Interacting with a large number of people who gathered at Charunda village where she met the families of the three victims who lost their lives in border shelling, she said the people living in these areas have been left to fend for themselves in highly inhospitable conditions, a statements issued by the party said.

Mehbooba interacted with the families Mohammad Shafi Khatana, Liyaqat Ali and Shamima who lost their lives earlier this week in one of the worst violations of the decade long cease fire between Indian and Pakistani forces along LOC. She expressed her deep condo-

APHC: Kashmir turned into a military garrison

lences and conveyed her sympathies to their families. She urged the government to provide adequate compensation to the families and take measures for their complete rehabilitation.

Mehbooba told the gathering that she had urged the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to intervene in the deteriorating condition along the LOC and the international border in J&K. She said the population in these areas was panic stricken and for the first time after many years’ peace there was an environment of complete insecurity in these areas.

“It is unfortunate and upsetting that the priorities in these areas have again shifted from peaceful existence to the demands for safe houses, bunkers and bomb shelters,” she said.

Referring to the total withdrawal of civilian administration from border areas Mehbooba

said the population there faced immense problems in absence of proper health care, education and civil supplies. She said the people in these areas were completely dependant on good will of army for facilities of ambulance and fuel. The male and female population was required to prove their identity at every point which compromised their privacy, especially the women folk.

Mehbooba said villages like Charunda which fell beyond the border fencing faced more acute problems of day to day life. She said failure of the government in upgrading the middle school in the village meant that the children had to travel miles to go to a high school through hilly tracks. Since forests were out of bounds for collection of fire wood the only source of fuel was Kerosene supplied by the army as there was no trace of the public distribution system in these

areas.

Mehbooba said the issues relating to the residents of border areas needed a special focus by the state and central government’s and she would urge the Prime Minister to make the border area development programme more purposeful in meeting the challenges of daily lives of the people. She said there is a large population of disabled persons in these areas and BADP should specially focus on this humanitarian issue. She said the problem of land mines in areas where civilians go for work too needed to be reviewed and the right balance struck between security requirements and civilian interests. She said many villagers had complained to her about the non-payment of rent by defense forces for the lands un- MUZAFFARABAD: AJK PP Secretary General Ch Latif Akbar was accorded warm welcome on Monday der their use and urged the union government to have these cases speeded up.—NNI

Portraying Kashmir as place of violence is unfair: Omar

‘Military operations can’t break Kashmiris’ resolve’

400 cyclists from 128 countries to participate in Kashmir int’l event

ISLAMABAD—The Chairman SRINAGAR—The state govern- here as our endeavor to make and soon represent the country

of Jammu and Kashmir ment has cleared all decks in an cycling, a national sport. Cy- on the international platform.

RINAGAR—Highlighting the craftsmen here and helps pro- of Tehzeeb Mahal and JKPCC People’s Freedom League international cycling event to be cling through the rigorous Professional cyclists foraying ISLAMABAD—The All Parties S uniqueness of cultural diversity mote culture and heritage in its has been asked to start the con- (JKPFL), Muhammad Farooq held in Kashmir in December mountain ranges of Kashmir is into Indian races will encourage

Hurriyet Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHCAJK) chapter has denounced the massacre of Kashmiris by Indian troops in Bijbehara on this day in 1993 during a peaceful protest demonstration against the military siege of Srinagar’s Hazratbal Shrine. The APHCAJK chapter, in its meeting presided over by its Convenor, Mehmood Ahmad Saghar, in Islamabad, described the killings by Indian army and police as the worst kind of state terrorism in occupied Kashmir.

The participants of the meeting said that the occupied territory had been turned into a military garrison. They prayed for all the Kashmiri martyrs including the martyrs of Bijbehara.

The meeting was attended among others by Syed Yousuf Naseem, Mir Tahir Masood, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Manzoor-ul-Haq Butt, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoob, Altaf Hussain Wani, Abdul Majeed Malik, Nisar Mirza, Abdul Hameed Lone, Muhammad Rafiq Dar, Muzaffar Hussain Shah, Khadim Hussain, Tufail Altaf Butt, Dawood Khan Yousufzai and Abdullah Gilani.—KMS

TeH activists’ harrassment by police denounced SRINAGAR—The General Secretary of Tehreek-e-Hurriyet Jammu and Kashmir, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai has condemned the police raid on the house of Hurriyet leader, Muhammad Ashraf Laya at Barzulla in Srinagar.

Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in a statement in Srinagar said, “The police searched his house for two hours and harassed the inmates including children and women.

As a result of harassment, Laya’s ailing mother had to be admitted to a hospital.” Police had registered an FIR against Laya for leading a rally along with the veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, in Baramulla on April 6, 2012.

Meanwhile, Tehreek-eHurriyet has demanded immediate release of a student of Kashmir University, Manzar Amin Dar, who was arrested by police on Wednesday.—KMS

Rehmani has strongly condemned the killing of two Kashmiri youth and burning of houses in a military operation in Sopore on Saturday.

Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in a statement issued in Islamabad prayed eternal peace for the martyred youth, Muzammil Ameen and Abdullah. He maintained that the army operations in Kashmir could not break the people’s resolve to fight for the liberation of their homeland from the Indian occupation. He said that the present world indifference to Kashmir had encouraged India to play its horrible games in Kashmir. He urged the United Nations to fulfil its responsibilities and force the occupation troops to stop their frequent bloody operations against the peaceful inhabitants of the territory. The JKPFL Chairman also paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of Bijebehara, who were ruthlessly killed by the occupation troops on October 22, 1993, during peaceful pro-freedom demonstrations.

He said, “Kashmir is full of tragedies and every home has a story of military terror and torture in the past 22 years.

Thousands have been martyred, forcibly disappeared, women molested and many families rendered homeless under the Indian army’s sweeping powers of search, catch and kill policy.”

He warned that no bilateral negotiations could succeed unless the draconian laws were MUZAFFARABAD: Raja Mohammad Younis, Chief organizer of AJK PP, Islamabad, meet- repealed and basic human ing AJK Deputy Speaker Shaheen Kausar Dar. rights and civil liberties of the Kashmiris were fully honoured.—KMS living in amity in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has said that the abode of grate heritage, Kashmir got unfortunately portrayed as a place of violence in last 20 to 25 years besmearing its image.

Addressing a function after he and Parliament Member Dr. Karan Singh inaugurated the office of Indian Centre for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at the bank of Dal Lake here, Omar Abdullah said that Kashmir symbolizes hospitality, brotherhood, natural beauty and vastness of rich heritage. He said despite inroads and attempts to disbalance this characteristic of Kashmir, it withstood all onslots and is living and emerging stronger with the passage of time.

Omar Abdullah expressed the hope that the office of ICCR in Srinagar will prove highly beneficial to the artists and

all forms. He said that the need for such a centre in Srinagar was felt for a long time and the artists were raising this demand time and again. He said that by opening of ICCR office the cherished demand has been realized. He said that the first Education Minister of India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad founded ICCR in 1950 to develop Indian cultural relations with other countries. He said that the artists of Jammu and Kashmir would get opportunity to showcase State’s art and culture through ICCR world-wide by becoming part of the Indian cultural troupes visiting various countries.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government is paying due attention to promote State’s culture and heritage and ensure holistic welfare of artists and artisans. He said that government has approved construction

struction work of the complex which would serve home for artists to nurture various forms of art and culture.

Speaking on the occasion, President ICCR, Dr. Karan Singh said that India is abode of different religions, cultures, languages, traditions and ethnic groups. He said that the amity between various cultures and people in India is the beauty of this country and ICCR showcases it all over the world. He said Jammu and Kashmir is itself a place of diverse heritage, culture and geographical diversity. He said ICCR would help to promote and further strengthen this identity of Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr. Karan Singh said that there are three types of relations between various countries.

“One is political which exists between government to government.—NNI

first week. Some 400 cyclists from around 128 countries are likely to participate in the event.

The road races will take place on December 5, with participation of international cyclists including teams like Rabobank, Lotto and Astana along with approximately 20,000 people attending the race. The race will cover a loop of around 26 kilometers, commencing from SKICC and culminating at the Kashmir University. “Godrej Eon Tour de India 2012, the biggest cycling race in the country organized by ID Sports, announces the first ever professional race to be held in Srinagar on December 5, 2012,” said Dr. Akil Khan, CMD, ID Sports. He added: “We are excited to be in Srinagar and conduct the 1st ever professional cycling race

flow of tourists in Jammu would decline, since the authorities have neglected the development of the city. Also, from next year, pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine will be able to ride trains all the way to Katra without stopping at Jammu. All Jammu Hotel Lodges Association (AJHLA) has said that the hospitality industry would take a drubbing, if city authorities did not act in time to develop Jammu and its surroundings.

President of AJHLA, Inderjeet

has been apathetic, and little has been done to encourage tourists and pilgrims.

We fear that the flow of tourists to Jammu, with the train reaching Katra (the base camp of famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine) next year, will thin even further. ”Khajuria cited the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General submitted to the state government and said that little had been done to develop heritage sites as destinations for tourists.

The hotels association president observed that even as things are at present, only 10 percent of the over one crore pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine annually stay put at Jammu.

Khajuria accussed the state government of being partial towards Kashmir Valley. “While a time has been set to link Kashmir Valley by rail with Katra, the development of Jammu city and its surroundings as an attractive tourist spot is being blatantly ignored,” he said.—NNI

SRINAGAR —P ro-liberation leaders have reaffirmed the Kashmiris’ resolve to continue the mission of their martyrs till its logical conclusion, against all odds.

The leaders including Nayeem Ahmed Khan, advocate Bashir Ahmad Butt, Javed Ahmad Mir and Mohammad Yousuf Naqash participated in a function held at Mazar-eShuhada Bijbehara on the occasion of the 19th martyrdom anniversary of Bijbehara martyrs.

Addressing on the occasion, the leaders paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of Bijbehara.

strike in Sopore

ISLAMABAD—Amid complete funerals of the martyred youth. shutdown anti-India demonstrations and clashes between Indian paramilitary personnel and protesters continued in Sopore town for the second consecutive day, today.

According to Kashmir Media Service,the protests erupted in Sopore on Sunday after Indian troops martyred two youth and destroyed three residential houses during a violent military operation at Shalapora in the town.

Thousands of people attended

The mourners on the occasion demanded pullout of Indian troops from the territory without any further delay.Hurriyet leaders Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Javed Ahmad Mir and JKLF leader Bashir Ahmad Butt visited Bijbehara to pay tributes to the martyrs who fell victim to Indian state terrorism during a peaceful demonstration

Kashmir’s Jalil Andrabi and China’s Chen Guangcheng DR GHULAM NABI FAI

O

ne of the darkest chapters of Indian judicial partiality was left hanging half closed and banging in the wind when Major Avtar Singh, the killer of internationally known human rights activist and Chairman of Kashmir Commission of Jurists, Advocate Jalil Andrabi, was found dead after he killed his wife and two children, and finally himself on June 9, 2012, in Selma, California. Avtar Singh, a fugitive from justice, who lived in the hot dry central California community, a suburb of Fresno, was clearly haunted by his past, a past that had seen the blood spilled of more than one man by his own hands. He had killed four others to hide the murder of Andrabi, and now he had killed his own family.

In killing Jalil Andrabi, Avtar Singh certainly did not act on his own volition. He was only a major. His act was no doubt a response to orders from above and occurred in a longstanding climate of impunity that the Indian army enjoys in Kashmir. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives any Indian soldier the right in Kashmir to take a Kashmiris’ life under any circumstance, has enabled such a climate for decades. And Jalil Andrabi had become a hated, despised man by the Army, a man dangerous to the status quo of continued murder and torture that had been taking place in Kashmir’s jails, interrogation centers and detention facilities for many years.

Arshad Andrabi, Jalil Andrabi’s brother, has said that the real killers are still at large, and he is right. The real killers are not just army officers but all

those from the highest office in India on down through Parliament who had arranged his escape from Kashmir to Canada before he moved illegally to the United States, or looked the other way and refused to extradite him when California authorities notified India that they had their man. They are guilty of maintaining murderous policies, defending hideous acts that take place, encouraging even more grotesque behavior by the mere act of covering up what does occur and failing to prosecute those who have used the law vindictively and without justifiable reason. One wonders whether the government of India is in control of its own policies or is intimidated by the grip of a military industry that has its own agenda. Had the government acted in a timely manner, more lives would have been saved, and perhaps a new horizon in the Indian judicial sys-

tem would have finally appeared. Some say that Avtar Singh’s death was “poetic justice,” and perhaps in some small way it was, but it’s extremely difficult to see the death of his wife and children as anything but just another sad tragedy, and another great stain on the history and reputation of the world’s largest “democracy.”

Arshad Andrabi touched the heights of magnanimity when he said that he was extremely pained by the death of not only his brother but the deaths of the murderer’s own family as well.

This also symbolizes the compassion of not only Arshad but also the heart and character of the Andrabi family.

Jalil Andrabi, his primary victim, had been a friend of mine. His trip to Geneva in August 1995, shortly before his murder, to attend a conference was at my invitation, as were other international engagements

he had attended in Washington and elsewhere. On one such occasion, we had traveled by car together, along with my wife, to attend a convention in Columbus, Ohio, in order to talk and exchange views intimately on various issues on which we shared an interest. It was on this trip that I gained a much deeper appreciation for Jalil Andrabi’s character. He was a man of deep compassion and vision, high intellect and deep judicial insight and had been personally responsible for bringing many human rights violations in Kashmir into the light of day.

During the 47th session of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights in August 1995, Jalil Andrabi made two interventions, one on August 7, 1995, under agenda item 18, which was on the issue of ‘Freedom of Movement.’

On that occasion he had said, “Mr. Chairman, the Kashmiris

tourism and also would be an initiative to showcase seriousness of the sport leading to its popularity,” Dr Khan remarked.

Briefing on the cycling loop, he informed that Godrej Eon Tour de India promises the most enchanting experience for the cyclists during the race in Srinagar with its twisted tracks which include the route including Dal Lake to Kashmir University and back.. Kapil Raina, the senior commander and training captain, nodal crew management system, Air India, who hails from downtown Srinagar has played a pivotal role in organising the cycling event in Kashmir. Capt. Raina who was present in the press briefing said his aim is to bring Kashmir on global cycling circuit.—NNI

Kashmiris resolve to continue mission of martyrs

Hoteliers fear trains to Katra can hit business in Jammu Anti-India protests,

JAMMU—Hoteliers fear that the Khajuria, said, “The government

going to be very adventurous.

We will get an opportunity to showcase the valley’s beauty, the scenic mountain ranges and the beautiful lakes of Srinagar to the international cyclists who will participate in Godrej Eon Tour de India. We are hoping to launch cyclists of the international standards from the city.”

Asked why they chose Kashmir as venue for this international cycling event, Dr Khan said Dr Khan said cycling as a sport is growing internationally in size and impact of it into making it an exercise tool will create a revolutionary culture in Kashmir.

“We are committed to drive participation and aiming to make cycling a national sport for the young. The cycling event will provide enthusiasts access to display their cycling skills

are waging a legitimate struggle for achieving the exercise of their right of self-determination, and the atrocities which constitute war crimes forbidden under the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are being inflicted upon them only because of this struggle. Therefore, besides, calling upon India to put an end to the crimes against humanity, it is necessary to compel India to allow the people of Kashmir an unfettered exercise of their right of self-determination under the UN auspices.” ”The atrocities,” he said, “which are perpetrated upon my people are not aberrations but rather integral components of a systematic policy.

These atrocities are being perpetrated as a weapon of war in order to break the will of the people.”—KMS

They said, “Our martyrs have laid down their precious lives only to get freedom from India, and our struggle will continue till the goal is achieved, come what may.”

They maintained that the sacrifices of martyrs would not be allowed to go waste. They also condemned the house arrest of senior APHC leader, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, who was preventing from participating in the function.

Meanwhile, addressing a similar function in Srinagar, the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front-R, Farooq

Ahmed Dar, and other leaders of the party eulogised the sacrifices of the Bijbehara martyrs.

They said that the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs had centrestaged the Kashmir dispute at the global level. They maintained that the day was not far away when the people of Jammu and Kashmir would get rid of Indian bondage.

The JKLF-R leaders demanded unconditional release of all illegally detained Kashmiris before Eid-ul-Azha. They also denounced the arrest of a student of Kashmir University by the Indian police.—KMS

Emirates special fares on Eid OBSERVER REPORT ISLAMABAD—Emirates, International Airline of United Arab Emirates and one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, is offering exceptional discounts in celebration of Eid, for Economy Class and Business Class passengers within Pakistan. Emirates always looks at ways of rewarding its loyal customers and bringing families together.

With commitment to provide convenience to its customers, Emirates has introduced special fares on return flights to ten destinations in UAE, Asia, Europe, Australia and North America, including some of the most popular destinations such as Dubai, London, New York, Melbourne, Dallas and Houston.

With only one week remaining to Eid, customers can look forward to competitive fares from Emirates, with return fares starting from PKR 31,980. “This campaign is specially designed for our loyal Pakistani customers who will be travelling to popular destinations right across our network to meet their loved ones, friends and family, for Eid celebrations and enjoy vacations during the Eid break,” said Khalid Bardan, Emirates Airline’s Vice President.

APPMA concerned over law, order situation STAFF REPORTER L AHORE —All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association (APPMA) while showing deep unrest over the worsening law and order situation, has demanded of the Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the day-byday rising graph of crimes.

In a press statement issued here Monday, leader of APPMA Businessmen Group Khamis Saeed Butt, APPMA President Muhammad Ajmal and Vice President Khawaja Nadeem Saeed Wayeen said that daylight bank dacoities, burglaries at jewelry markets, repeated incidents of car, mobile and purse snatching are enough to prove that law enforcement agencies have failed to play their due role.

They said that people are not saved even in their own streets where they are being looted on gun point.

They said that disappointed businessmen are trying to get arms license to cope with the dacoits, mobile & car snatchers and other criminals. They said that provision of security to the citizens is responsibility of the government but unfortunately it has miserably failed to fulfill its responsibility. He said that though Chief Minister Punjab gave facilities to the Police Department and initiated various reforms but all efforts remained futile.

India’s HMEL bought 2m barrels of Iranian oil NEW

D ELHI —India’s HMEL, part-owned by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, has emerged as a new oil client of sanctions-hit Iran, potentially complicating New Delhi’s bid for a renewal of its waiver from U.S. sanctions for buying crude from Tehran.

HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) has taken two shipments of Iranian oil since the start of September to maximize margins at its 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) Bathinda refinery in northern India, two sources with knowledge of the deals said. The purchases came to a total 2 million barrels. In June Washington granted India a waiver on sanctions that would have cut it off from the U.S. financial system because it had reduced its purchases of the OPEC nation’s oil.

India’s waiver from the sanctions, which are designed to dissuade Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program, will only be renewed in December if imports have been cut further. Mark Dubowitz, a U.S. lobbyist for tougher sanctions on Iran and head of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said HMEL was taking a significant risk in buying this oil.—Newswire

LCCI, UAE embassy to promote economic coop STAFF REPORTER L AHORE —The

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and UAE embassy Monday agreed to work on a road map to further promote economic cooperation between the two countries.

The consensus to this regard was developed at a meeting between LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar and UAE Ambassador in Pakistan Essa Abdulla Al Basha Al-Noaimi, who called on him here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI Vice President Mian Abuzar Shad, former President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, former vice presidents Shafqat Saeed

Piracha, Saeeda Nazar, Executive Committee Members Mian Zahid Javaid, Mudassor Masood, Nasir Saeed, Kashif Anwar and Tashraff Javaid also spoke on the occasion.

UAE Honorary Consul in Lahore Chaudhry Munir also accompanied the Ambassador. The Ambassador said that exchange of trade delegations, participation in each other’s fairs and exhibitions, protection to foreign investments and timely dissemination of trade related informed would be pursued with a new strategy. While underscoring the need for promotion of the people-topeople contacts, the Ambassador said that this would

help strengthen greater cooperation between the two sides.

He said that UAE greatly values its deep-rooted relations with Pakistan and committed to further consolidate the existing economic ties.

The Ambassador said that the bilateral trade and investments in Pakistan has reached $23 billion in various areas of banking and real estate, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, ports, housing and aviation, and the two sides are taking interest to hold international expos and joint investments in both countries for the development of this sector and the promotion of economy.

Speaking on the occasion,

Pakistan-Ukraine agree to boost economic ties STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—PakistanUkraine has agreed to boost bilateral ties in the areas of economic, investment, trade and defence sectors. The Fifth Round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Pakistan and Ukraine which was held in Kyiv two sides reviewed the whole gamut of bilateral relations.

Ayesha Riyaz, Additional Secretary (Europe), Ministry of Foreign Affairs led Pakistan delegation to the Consultations assisted by the Ambassador Ahmad Nawaz Saleem Mela.

The host delegation was headed by Yevgen Myktenko, Special Representative of Ukraine for Middle East (including Pakistan) and Africa.

Poliha Igor, Director General assisted him during the talks.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister Gryshchenko stated that Ukraine was keen to further strengthen its relations with Pakistan particularly in the economic, trade & investment and defence sectors and he was keenly looking forward to the visit of Foreign Minister Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar to Ukraine. The Additional Secretary by appreciating the Foreign Minister’s views and conveyed Pakistan’s desire to significantly enhance its engagement with Ukraine in diverse areas. She stated that visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister is high on her agenda and she will be visiting Ukraine at the earliest convenience.

During the consultations,

the two sides reviewed the whole gamut of bilateral relations. Both side noted that close and cooperative relationship between Pakistan and Ukraine has progressed steadily ever since independence of Ukraine in 1991. Last two years have particularly witnessed accelerated growth of bilateral relations with a number of important agreements signed/ratified between the two governments including Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation, Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Agreement on Establishment of Pakistan-Ukraine Joint InterMinisterial Commission and Agreement on Establishment of Pakistan Ukraine Business Council (PUBC) between FPCCI and UCCI.

Stakeholders to be consulted on pricing policy STAFF REPORTER K ARACHI —The CEO Drug Regulatory Authority has said that pricing policy will be finalized in consultation with all stakeholders. Arshad Farooq Faheem, CEO of the Drug Regulatory Authority, met with the Pharma Bureau, the organization of the research based pharmaceutical companies, in Karachi on Saturday to discuss industry issues and their resolution.

The Pharma Bureau gave a briefing on unprecedented increase in manufacturing costs including soaring prices of utilities, transport, packaging materials, wages as well as currency devaluation.

The CEO said that the

government was aware of these issues and was looking at developing a new pricing policy. However, no decision on the contours of this policy have as yet been formulated, he added. He said the policy would be finalized after consultation with all stakeholders.

The CEO said that the DRA would prioritize policy making and in this regard will include prominent doctors on the Policy Board. On the issue of fees the CEO said that the new DRAP is to be a self funded autonomous body and the previous fee structure was outdated and would not be able to support the new regime it would be expedient to increase the fees.

However, he said, the views

of the industry would be taken in to account before the fees are revised.

In response to a major concern of the Pharma Bureau with regard to the thousands of pending applications for registration of drugs the CEO said that there would be regular meetings of the Drug Registration Board and all efforts will be made to clear the backlog as quickly as possible.

To ensure the availability of the very latest medicines and therapies in the local market the DRA would make all efforts to register these new and innovative medicines so that they are available to Pakistani customers through the proper channels.

PTCL internship programme to benefit 500 graduates STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—To impart practical exposure and learning opportunities, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has opened its doors to the educated youth of the country through a special One-year Paid Internship Program.

As part of PTCL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, PTCL OneYear Paid Internship Program is a systematic and transparent effort. 50,000 plus candidates across Pakistan applied for the programme that offers an attractive stipend of Rs 12,000 per month.

“PTCL, being a socially responsible entity strongly believes in giving back to the community in which it operates”, commented President & CEO PTCL, Walid Irshaid.

“This paid internship program would play an important role in capacity building of our human resource in the larger interest of the country.

We plan to explore such innovative approaches to serve the society in the future as well”, he further added.

After a rigorous selection process of tests conducted

by National Testing Service (NTS) and subsequent interviews by board-based pan-

els, 500 interns were selected for multiple disciplines including Technical-Engineers and Associate Engineers; Sales and Marketing; Finance and HR. The program kicked off at the beginning of October starting with a detailed orientation sessions at PTCL’s training centers across Pakistan.

Under the guidance of seasoned professionals while working for the leading Information and Communications Technology company, the selected interns will be exposed to the best industry practices and undergo extensive training and counseling.

Oil extraction started in Amu Darya in northern Afghanistan K ABUL —China’s National the country.

Petroleum Corporation started oil extraction process in northern Afghanistan at Amu Darya basin, Afghan mines ministry officials said.

The oil extraction contract was signed between the Afghan government and National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) last December which will be valied for a period of 25 years that will cover drilling and a planned refinery in the northern provinces of Faryab and Sar-e-Pul. It is the first major oil production in

Wahidullah Shahrani Afghan Mines Minister quoted

by Reuters said, “The company will extract 1,950 barrels per day, which will crucially help Afghanistan towards self-sustainability and economic independence.”

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested

by China’s CNPC along with the other venture working on Amu River oil basin which will produce billions of dollars over the next two de-

cades – CNPC will pay a 15 percent royalty on oil, 20 percent corporate tax and give 50-70 percent of its profit from the project to the government.

From January 1, CNPC will extract 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, Shahrani said.

Up to 87 million barrels of crude are estimated to be in Amu Darya.

This comes as extraction of oil deposit in northern Sare-Pul province of Afghanistan was formally started, 24 of June this year.—NNI

the LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar expressed serious concern over fast declining UAE investment in Pakistan and sought the Ambassador’s help to overcome the phenomenon.

He elaborated that Pakistan was facing difficult situation in terms of attracting foreign investment.

In 2006-2007, FDI in Pakistan peaked by reaching USD 8.1 billion but since then it has been subjected to serious downfall. At that time, LAHORE: President LCCI Farooq Iftikhar presenting shield to UAE Ambassador in the share of FDI from UAE Pakistan Essa Abdulla Al Basha Al-Noaimi. was around USD 661 million.

As of now the total FDI level in Pakistan has shrunk to well under USD 1 billion. The point of concern is that UAE’s share in FDI has gone below USD 50 million.

Bank of Pakistan to conduct close collaboration beS TAFF REPORTER investment activity in the tween The People’s Bank K A R A C H I —A radical Chinese Interbank Bond of China and State Bank of change is quite visible on Market. The ceremony took Pakistan that has been built the financial management place at the PBoC Head Of- over time. The agreement is where by Pakistan under a fice in Beijing. The Chinese also part of follow-up cohistoric agreement will be Interbank Bond Market is operation to the bilateral STAFF REPORTER investing in interbank the largest RMB denomi- Currency Swap Agreement nated bond market with between the two Central bond market of China.

I SLAMABAD —The manageDr. Zhou Xiaochuan, RMB 21.4 trillion turnover Banks. Access to the Chiment of Oil & Gas Develop- Governor, the People’s during 2011. nese Bond Market will proment Company Limited Bank of China and Yaseen Governor Yaseen vide the necessary flexibil(OGDCL) has increased 25% Anwar, Governor - State Anwar & Governor Dr. ity to State Bank of Pakipension of its retired employ- Bank of Pakistan signed an Zhou Xiaochuan, during stan in diversifying & opees who were retired before Agency Agreement regard- the signing ceremony held timal management of ForJune, 2005 from July 2012. ing Bond Investment in the at PBoC in Beijing eign Exchange Reserves in The OGDCL board of direc- Interbank Bond Market of This agreement repre- order to meet the associtors approved the scheme to China, which permits State sents the manifestation of ated objectives. increase pension of all retired employees in a meeting held at Islamabad.

The employees who retired from July 2005 to June 2012 will get 15% increase in their pension and minimum pension for OGDCL retired employees would be Rs commercial and industrial economy. Now international AMANULLAH KHAN 10,000/- The OGDCL retired power consumers. studies by reputable compaemployees were demanding In this respect, President nies have confirmed that the K ARACHI—At least 1400mw increase in their pension for Karachi Chamber of com- quality of Thar Coal (lignite) the last several years but the of electricity currently gen- merce & Industries Con- is at par or even better than issue remain unresolved in erated through costly fuel oil gratulates Raja Pervaiz the lignite mined in other parts the past. Now the present or precious natural gas Ashraf Prime Minister of Pa- of the world including in Inmanagement reviewed the would be replaced with coal kistan on Historical Decision dia which has extension of case and took decision in the fired system at Jamshoro to restrict All Future and Ex- same coalfield. The impreslarger interest of the com- Thermal Power under the isting Power plants based on sion that Thar Coal is not vipany to increase pension of policy of the government Coal to Utilize Thar or Thar able for mining and power making mandatory the use of its retired employees.

Specification Coal Only generation is based on misDuring the current fiscal coal for power generation in During a Special Meeting conception and lack of knowlyear OGDCL has achieved the country.

Though it is late yet a of the Thar Coal and Energy edge. Renowned international 4.6% growth rate for producmuch sought after initiative Board early this month, the companies like RWE Gertion of oil & gas, significant Prime Minister took historic many, Oracle Coalfield UK, increase in exploration and taken by the present govern- decisions for Thar Coal devel- SRK United Kingdom, Sino ment to cut power generation will drill 37 new wells against opment which will give long Coal China, North East Coal 17 wells drilled during the cost drastically to provide a term benefits for Pakistan’s Bureau China. relief to hard hit domestic, last fiscal year.

Pakistan to invest in Chinese inter-bank bond market

OGDC increases pension of retired employees

Use of coal for power generation made mandatory

Bank holidays STAFF REPORTER K ARACHI—The State Bank of Pakistan and all offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation, including the Public Debt Offices, will remain closed from 26th to 29th October, 2012 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday) being Public Holidays declared by the Government of Pakistan on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Azha.

Karamat new MD BMA Capital STAFF REPORTER K ARACHI —BMA Capital has announced the appointment of Mr. Nadeem Karamat as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Nadeem Karamat joins BMA with broad management, banking and corporate finance experience from American Express Bank Ltd where he served as Country Manager in Pakistan and Lebanon. He also worked as Corporate Finance Head for Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Karamat also helped establish the ECO Trade and Development Bank, Istanbul, Turkey, covering the region’s ten countries. He has been President, American Business Council, Pakistan; Executive Management Committee Member, OICCI; Member of Executive Committee, Pakistan Banking Association; and Board Member of Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Welcoming the appointment, Mr. Moazzam M. Malik, Chairman & CEO, BMA Capital said: “This highlights BMA Capital’s ongoing commitment to excellence and will set the path for venturing into private equity and tapping into international financial markets. Mr. Karamat has remarkable credentials in the banking and corporate community. In addition to his management expertise, he has been involved in numerous landmark transactions across various sectors and in different countries.

CCP issues notice to Reckitt and Benckiser STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has issued a show cause notice to Reckitt & Benckiser Pakistan Limited for claiming in its advertisements of its product Veet that “9/10 women prefer Veet”, allegedly without having a reasonable basis.

Such a claim is prima facie violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010 that deals with deceptive marketing practices and prevents disseminating misleading and false information to the consumers.

CCP received a complaint from Wyeth Pakistan Limited against Reckitt & Benckiser Pakistan Limited, in which it was alleged that the claim made in the marketing campaign of Veet was false and

misleading as it tried to convince the consumers that Veet, a depilatory cream, was the preferred choice of 90% of women.

A CCP inquiry into the matter found that the undertaking relied on a survey by Oasis Insights Limited to form the basis of their claim.

The volume share of the Undertaking, however, in the depilatory segment of the market was 46.2% during the period April 2011- March 2012.

Initially, the Undertaking aired its first television advertisement of Veet with a qualifier “after using Veet”, “9/10 women prefer Veet for smooth glowing skin”, but the qualifier was omitted in print media advertisements, billboards, on shelve materials and later on in the second television commercial.

Alibaba.com, PSGI partner to support SMEs STAFF REPORTER K ARACHI —Pearl

Shine Group International (PSGI), a nationally & internationally recognized diversified group of companies, recently entered into a strategic partnership with one of the world’s largest B2B portals, Alibaba.com. The platform provides an online space that brings together buyers and sellers to communicate, collaborate and carry out global trade. More than 650,000 Pakistani SMEs are currently members of Alibaba.com, and the new local partnership will help grow and solidify new potential for local suppliers to enjoy more exposure in the global market.

“Pakistani exporters need a stronger online presence because the world has turned into a global village,” said PSGI CEO, Irfan Haider Awan. “Local business owners should explore and avail the opportunities beyond our national territory by making intelligent use of e-commerce mechanisms in this new tech-

nological era. Such steps will not only help Pakistani SMEs benefit from economies of scale but will also contribute to better balance of trade.”

He further added, “Many countries today are enjoying economic growth by effectively using the Internet for business. The global B2B ecommerce transactions have crossed US$12.4 trillion milestone in 2012 which stood was just $ 3.4 trillion in 2005.

Although Pakistan still lacks a substantial presence in terms of online business, it also highlights the high potential this medium represents for us, especially for our 3 million-strong SME community.”

“Alibaba.com is excited about this new partnership with PSGI for it gives us a chance to work closer with the Pakistan market,” said Head of Global Supplier Development and Sales, Timothy Leung, Alibaba Group.

“Online business and e-commerce can potentially take Pakistan’s trade opportunities to the next level.

WB may provide more funds for uplift projects STAFF REPORTER L AHORE —World

Bank Country Director Rashid bin Masood has expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the Punjab Government as a role model for other Provinces and also signalled to provide funds for development projects of the Punjab Government in future.

He disclosed this while addressing a meeting regarding six uplift schemes of US$ 991.25 million in Punjab at Planning and Development Department Punjab.

The representative of the World Bank Country mission for Pakistan Rashid bin Masood, Country Director, Hanad Mukhtar, World Bank Economist, experts of agriculture and livestock sectors Tahira Syed, Educationist Huma Ali, specialist in irrigation sector Masood Ahmad, Monitoring Specialist Saba Hamid, representative of Punjab Government Chairman P&D Board Javed Aslam, Secretary P&D Arif Anwar Baloch, Secretary Education (Schools) Aslam Kamboh, Secretary Livestock and Dairy Development Irfan Elahi, Secretary Agriculture Mushtaq Ahmad, Additional Secretary Irrigation Kahlid Qureshi, Project Director Punjab Education Reforms Programme Dr. Farah Masood and Special Secretary Local Government Saqib Aziz and other officials of P&D and Finance Departments attended the meeting.

In the meeting, work and its pace and quality of ongoing important development projects including Punjab Municipal Services Improvement along with SWCL at the cost of US $ 50 Million, Jinnah Biraj and uplifting of projects of Birajes at the cost of US $ 145.60 Million, Project of Land Record Management and Information System at the cost of US $ 45.65 million, Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity improvement Programme at the cost of US $ 250 million, Punjab Education Sector Reforms Project Phase-II at the cost of US $ 350 Million.

Pro anti-austerity Greek lawmaker expelled

Nejad denied visit to Evin prison DUBAI—Iran’s judiciary has blocked a request by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit Tehran’s Evin prison where a top presidential aide is being held, a further sign of his waning influence in a last year in office. Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad’s press advisor and head of the country’s state news agency IRNA, was sent to Evin in September to serve a six-month sentence for publishing an article deemed offensive to public decency. He was also convicted of insulting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on his personal website, though it is unclear how or when this happened.

Ahmadinejad’s request to visit Evin, made public this month, was seen by Iranian media and commentators as linked to Javanfekr’s detention although there has been no official confirmation this was the case. The judiciary turned down the request on Sunday, saying it was not in the best interests of the country as it faces an economic crisis which parliamentary rivals blame as much on mismanagement by Ahmadinejad’s administration as Western sanctions. “We must pay attention to major issues,” prosecutor general Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said on Sunday according to the Mehr news agency. “Visiting a prison in these circumstances is a minor issue.” He added: “If we have in mind the best interests of the nation, a (prison) visit in these circumstances is not appropriate.” Ahmadinejad has seen his influence wane within Iran’s factionalized political structure following a public spat with Khamenei in 2011.—Reuters

Japan minister faces defaming scandal T OKYO —Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is waiting for a doctor’s report before deciding the fate of his justice minister who has admitted contacts with members of the Yakuza crime syndicate, a senior official was quoted as saying on Monday. Keishu Tanaka, 74, checked into a Tokyo hospital on Friday with chest pains, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure after days of intensifying calls from the opposition for his resignation. Tanaka, merely three weeks into his job after the latest reshuffle of Noda’s cabinet aimed at shoring up his sagging ratings, was responding to a weekly magazine report accusing him of past ties to organised crime. Tanaka said he acted as a matchmaker at a mobster’s wedding and attended a party thrown by the head of a crime group about 30 years ago, explaining that he was not aware of the groom’s mob connections or the nature of the event at the time. The Asahi and Yomiuri dailies said over the weekend that Tanaka’s days were numbered and Noda would let him go to minimize the damage. “Since he is in hospital, I think (Noda) will handle the matter upon hearing from doctors,” Kyodo news agency quoted Democratic Party deputy secretary-general Jun Azumi as saying. The scandal is the latest in a string of setbacks for Noda and his cabinet since he took over in September 2011 as the Democrats’ third prime minister in as many years. A poll by Asahi showed on Monday that support for Noda’s government had fallen below the 20 percent mark for the first time.—Reuters

Castro nixes health rumours HAVANA —Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro dismissed reports that he was dead or near death in an article published on Monday in Cuba’s state-run press.

He accused news agencies and enemies of Cuba of spreading “stupidities” about him, particularly a report from a Spanish newspaper last week that said he had suffered a massive stroke and was in a vegetative state. “Birds of bad omen! I don’t even remember what a headache is,” he wrote. The article in Communist Party newspaper Granma was accompanied by photographs showing him walking outside on a sunny day on what appeared to be a farm.

He wore a straw hat and red plaid shirt, used a walking cane and, in one photo, held a copy of Granma from Friday. The photos, Castro said, were “proof of what liars they are.” Social media has been alight in recent weeks with rumours about Castro, who is 86 and has been in declining health for several years. He ruled Cuba for 49 years before resigning in 2008, citing age and infirmity. Younger brother Raul Castro succeeded him as president. On blogs and Twitter, he has been declared dead or near dead numerous times, spurred by a long, unexplained absence from the public eye. Elias Jaua, a former Venezuelan vice president, said on Sunday he had met with the Cuban revolutionary leader over the weekend, showing reporters pictures of the meeting and saying Castro was in good health and lucid. Castro had not written one of his “Reflections” opinion columns for state press since June 19 or been seen publicly since March.—Reuters

Egypt hopes $2 bln aid from Algeria CAIRO—Egypt’s government will discuss gaining assistance worth $2 billion from Algeria during a visit to the country

by Prime Minister Hisham Kandil on Monday, an Egyptian newspaper reported, citing an unnamed official. Egypt needs help from foreign donors to rein in its budget deficit and avert a balance of payments crisis until it can secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Egypt’s Prime Minister Hisham Kandil talks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo.

Two official sources confirmed to Reuters that Cairo was seeking aid from the fellow north African state although they said it was not clear what form the assistance would take.

One said the amount in question was around $2 billion. Newspaper al-Masry al-Youm did not give a direct quote from its source, but wrote that: “An official source said that Egypt will negotiate a deposit worth $2 billion to be put in the central bank and that negotiations that prime minister Hisham Kandil will do today with Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal will involve this subject.” It gave no indication if the money was to be a loan or some form of grant, or of any conditions attached. Transfers from Saudi Arabia and Qatar since June have helped shore up state finances weakened by more than a year of economic turmoil since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.—Reuters

Embattle US Rep to return to clinic CHICAGO—Embattled U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who is being treated for bipolar disorder, will return to the Mayo Clinic this week for a re-evaluation by his doctors, his father, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, said on Monday. The civil rights leader and former presidential candidate did not give a specific day when his son, a nine-term Illinois Democrat, would return to the clinic, or say whether he would be re-admitted to the facility.

“That has not yet been determined. It’s a re-evaluation of his status and that will then determine what should happen,” the elder Jackson told Reuters.The younger Jackson made his first public statement about his absence in an automated “robocall” to constituents on Saturday, saying he was anxious to return to work. “But at this time, it’s against medical advice. And while I will always give my all to my constituents, I ask you to continue with your patience as I work to get my health back,” he said.—Reuters

ATHENS—Greek Prime Min- line on deputies publicly un-

A Lebanese army convoy secures an area from clashes between the army and Muslim

ister Antonis Samaras has expelled one of his deputies for threatening to vote against the latest package of austerity measures demanded by international lenders, the government said on Monday. Greece is finalizing a package of spending cuts worth 11.5 billion euros for 2013 and 2014, which must be ratified by parliament before it can secure its next tranche of aid from the EU and IMF to avoid bankruptcy.

Nikos Stavrogiannis was dismissed from the New Democracy parliamentary group after saying he would vote against the measures, which include a new wave of cuts to wages and pensions, because they were “unfair, harsh and ineffective”. “My conscience does not allow me to vote for gunmen in Beirut. measures that devastate the weakest members of society,” Stavrog iannis told the Real News newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

The expulsion of mains isolated from the rest of Stavrogiannis, who remains in Libya and former rebels say parliament as an independent, there are still pockets of sup- underscores Samaras’s hard port for the old government there.

Rockets: In Bani Walid itself, 140 km (86 miles) south of Tripoli, militia leader Abdelkarim Ghomaid said fighting was in full swing.

“The shelling is coming from KUWAIT —Police in Kuwait all sides,” he said by phone. A used teargas, stun grenades Bani Walid resident said by and baton charges on Sunday phone: “Fighting is continu- to disperse tens of thousands ing today. There is smoke ris- of demonstrators protesting ing over certain parts of the against changes to the eleccity.” toral law which the opposition Outside Bani Walid, hun- has called a constitutional dreds of vehicles lined up in coup by the government. the village of Weshtata, 80 km Demonstrators gathered in (50 miles) from Tripoli, waiting various parts of the capital, to be checked by government Kuwait City, to march towards forces as families fled the the government’s headquarfighting. ters, but riot police swiftly sur“We are escaping the rounded some groups and danger of the rockets, the used teargas and stun greshrapnel, and the deaths in- nades to disperse them, side. There hasn’t been elec- Reuters witnesses said. tricity for days,” said one man A medical source said at who had his family in a pick- least 29 people had been adup truck.—Reuters mitted to hospital, most of them suffering from teargas inhalation or from baton bruises. At least 15 people, including two former MPs and a reporter, were detained. An opposition activist estimated that up to 50,000 people had gathered in different locations.

G AZA —Israeli forces killed two Palestinian militants during an incursion in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday that touched off clashes with gunmen from the governing Hamas movement, local officials said. They said militants BEIJING—The United States fired mortar bombs at Israeli believes that Myanmar is on troops spotted inside Gaza’s the right track towards giving boundary fence, drawing air up its remaining military ties strikes against a Hamas train- with North Korea but recoging camp and other targets. nizes it will take time, the U.S. Hamas claimed one of the dead envoy for the North Korean gunmen as its own, and the nuclear dispute said on Monother was not immediately day. U.S. Special Representaidentified. Two Hamas fight- tive for North Korea Policy ers were wounded.

Glyn Davies told reporters in Though Islamist Hamas is Beijing that Washington conhostile to Israel, it has often tinued to be worried about sought to stay out of recent that relationship and it was an cross-border confrontations issue raised with their counas it shores up its Gaza rule in terparts in the former Burma. the face of more radical chal“I think that Burma’s on lengers and reaches out to the right path, that they have potential Arab allies abroad. made a strategic decision to The emir of pro-Western fundamentally alter their relaQatar was on Tuesday to be- tionship with the DPRK and come the first head of state to to ultimately end these relaenter the blockaded Palestin- tionships with North Korea,” ian enclave, a high-profile visit Davies said, using the opening a crack in Hamas’s country’s official name, the diplomatic isolation.— Democratic People’s RepubReuters lic of Korea. “But it’s a work in process. It was a long relationship that the two countries had and so it does take some time to work through it.”

Myanmar began sweeping reforms last year as it emerges from decades of isoBEIRUT—The Lebanese army lation and military rule, freepromised decisive action to quell unrest linked to the Syria conflict as gunbattles flared in the capital Beirut and elsewhere on Monday after the assassination of a senior intelligence officer last week. The LONDON—A top BBC editor army command urged political stepped aside Monday while leaders to be cautious in their the BBC reviews its editorial public statements so as not to decision to pull the plug on inflame passions further. a segment about sexual It issued the warning after abuse allegations against a troops and gunmen ex- prominent U.K. children’s changed fire in Beirut’s south- television star, the late Jimmy ern suburbs on Monday Savile. The broadcaster said morning, wounding five Monday the editor of the people, while protesters “Newsnight” program that blocked roads with burning opted not to broadcast the tires. In the northern city of allegations, Peter Rippon, is Tripoli, four people were killed, “stepping aside with immeincluding a 9-year-old girl, and diate effect.”

12 wounded in clashes overThe BBC says Rippon’s night and in the morning, se- explanation of his decision curity and medical sources in a blog post earlier was “insaid. Many politicians have accurate or incomplete in accused Syria of being be- some respects.” He is the hind the killing and angry first BBC figure directly protesters tried to storm the blamed for the broadcaster’s government palace after failure to properly report on Hassan’s funeral on Sun- abuse claims against Savile, day.—Reuters who died last year at the age

Libyan protesters call for end to violence T RIPOLI —About 500 protesters broke into the grounds of Libya’s parliament building to demand an end to violence in Bani Walid, a former stronghold of the late Muammar Gaddafi that is being shelled by militiamen from a rival town. Militias, many from Misrata and aligned with the Defence Ministry, have been shelling the hilltop town of 70,000 people for several days. State news agency LANA said on Sunday that 22 people had been killed and 200 wounded in the fighting.

“We are here to demand the government find a peaceful solution for the tribal war that is happening in Bani Walid,” protester Nasser Ehdein said. Libya’s new rulers have held elections but have struggled to impose their authority on a country awash with weapons a year after Gaddafi was killed and the fighting in Bani Walid underscored how tenuous their control remains.

In a country where rumors abound, there were also conflicting reports over the weekend about the fate of Gaddafi’s son Khamis and that of the late autocrat’s former spokesman. In Tripoli, an unarmed group of male and female protesters forced their way past security guards at the gates of the grounds of the parliament buildings, chanting “There is no God but God, and President Moham med Magarief is God’s enemy.”

Security forces fired rounds into the air as they held their positions at the doors of the building, while elected members of the General National Congress met inside.

Ehdein said most of the protesters were residents of Tripoli who had family in or hailed from Bani Walid.

This is the second time protesters have broken into the grounds of the assembly since it took power in the summer. The first time was on Oc-

tober 4 when a group of protesters who believed their town was underrepresented in a proposed Libyan government stormed the assembly as it prepared to scrutinize the prime minister-elect’s nominations.

In the port city of Benghazi anger boiled over on Sunday night where about 400 unarmed but angry protesters stormed the grounds of private Libyan satellite channel Libya al-Ahrar. The protesters demanded that the channel air photographic evidence that Gaddafi’s son Khamis had been killed in battle. Libyan officials had announced he had been killed in fighting in Bani Walid but that has not been confirmed.

Demonstrators said they were furious over what they deemed a false rumor, saying it had helped fuel violence in Bani Walid and stir up tribal enmity. Bani Walid was one of the towns that remained loyal to Gaddafi the longest. It re-

Obama, Romney neck and neck DELRAY BEACH—US Presi- have also failed to give the And we think that’s a better dent Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were tied in a dead heat with 16 days to go until the election, increasing the stakes for their third and final debate.

A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll had both Romney and Obama at 47 percent among likely voters, marking a comeback for the Republican since a series of missteps including the release of a secretly recorded video in which he suggested almost half of the electorate lives off government handouts.

The squeaky tight nature of the race brings an air of unpredictability to the last, intense round of campaigning and raises the importance of the face-to-face encounter between the pair on Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida.

Romney has been on a roll since soundly thrashing Obama at their first debate in Denver on October 3. The Democrat rebounded with a solid performance two weeks later in Hempstead, New York, but it wasn’t enough to vault him back into a sizeable poll lead.

Improving economic conditions, like a drop in the jobless number and signs of recovery in the housing market,

incumbent a safe cushion in the polls ahead of the November 6 election. Trying to putting a positive spin on the poll

numbers, Obama aides said they felt good about their position in some of the battleground states where the election will be decided. Obama has been clinging to a small lead in all-important Ohio, for example, and early voting looks to be favouring the Democrats.

“We feel we’re even or ahead in these battleground states. If you look at the early voting that’s going on around the country, it’s very robust and it’s very favourable to us.

indicator than these public polls, which are frankly all over the map,” said Obama senior adviser David Axelrod on

NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The final debate would seem to play more to Obama’s strengths since it is focused on foreign policy. Obama gets credit for the US mission that led to the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and for pulling troops out of Iraq.

Romney’s campaign has made the weak US economy the central issue and he is not a foreign policy expert although he is now getting regular US intelligence briefings.—Reuters

Post-Gaddafi Libya still unstable BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI—Insecurity blights Libya, where militias still call the shots a year after they toppled Muammar Gaddafi, keeping foreign investors wary and clouding the oil-producing country’s future.

Last month’s attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, in which U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died, underlined the fragility of a state struggling to emerge from the legacy of Gaddafi’s 42-year rule.

Libyans rose up against their leader during a wave of Arab revolts against entrenched rulers in early 2011, but they had to fight to remove him, with the help of a NATO bombing campaign.

Most Libyans remain delighted that Gaddafi has gone and many voice cautious optimism about their country’s prospects.

But a year on, chaos still dogs the North African na-

tion, as Shehata Awami, Benghazi’s first elected governor can testify. He quit after three months, caught between daily pressure, often backed by armed threats, from people demanding jobs or housing and a weak, unresponsive central government in Tripoli.

“Once, several council members called me shaking with fear. A man demanding a house had told them: ‘If I don’t get what I want, I will walk into your building with two suitcases of explosives and blow all of you up’,” Awami said. “Every couple of weeks I would send delegations to Tripoli to meet the government and ask for aid,” he said. “And every time we were told: ‘Later, tomorrow, we can’t help now’.” Shehata resigned in August to go back to his banking job. Discontent is rife across Libya, not just in Benghazi, the cradle of the revolt. Gun culture has taken hold, residents say, cit-

ing carjackings, kidnappings, armed robberies and disputes leading to shootouts between rival groups. The latest fighting around the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid shows deep divisions persist.

Tripoli often accuses Gaddafi loyalists of trying to destabilize its democratic path.

Rampant militias: The government has failed to control the militias, most of them ex-rebels. Even worse, it relies on them for security, with the fledgling police and army unable to stamp out militia feuds, control Libya’s borders or rein in hardline Islamist militants. “Ultimately, the longer these groups continue to perform security tasks which should be the responsibility of Libyan state security forces, the more difficult it will become to demobilize them or integrate them into the army,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, senior analyst at risk consultancy Maplecroft.—Reuters

dermining his pledge to push through the cuts to restore Greece’s credibility among lenders. “Obviously we do not see eye to eye with Mr Stavrogiannis,” the government’s spokesman, Simos Kedikoglou, told Greek television on Monday, confirming the expulsion.

“The vast majority of us have realised that there is an imperative national duty that we must serve, that we must put the national interest above everything else.” Stavr ogiannis’s dismissal reduces the three-party coali tion’s backing to 177 seats in the 300member parliament, still comfortably above the 151-seat majority needed for the measures to pass. Stavrogiannis is the first New Democracy lawmaker to be kicked out for threatening to vote against the package. In July, Samaras expelled Deputy Labour Minister Nikos Nikolopoulos after he resigned his post complaining that the government was not being forceful enough in negotiations with its lenders. —Reuters

Police in Kuwait teargas opposition protesters

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians

The opposition decided to take to the streets after the government - which is dominated by the ruling Al-Sabah family - announced last week it was calling elections for December 1 and would change the electoral law “to preserve national unity”.

The announcement was the latest move in an intensifying power struggle between the ruling establishment and parliament that has seen eight governments come and go since the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, came to power in 2006. The 83-year-old dissolved parliament on October 7. It was the sixth time the oil-rich state and key U.S. ally had disbanded its legislature since early 2006. Its oil wealth and a generous welfare state have helped Kuwait avoid the kind of “Arab Spring” protests that toppled leaders elsewhere in the region.—Reuters

US endorses Myanmar’s arms ties with N Korea

Gunbattles flare in Beirut amid political crisis

ing political prisoners, holding elections and normalizing relations with the United States which has moved to lift sanctions. The Southeast Asian country’s defense minister said in June that Myanmar had abandoned research on a nuclear program that never progressed very far and had stepped back from close military and political ties with North Korea.

News reports two years ago indicated Myanmar had obtained technology for enriching uranium from North Korea along with parts for a nuclear weapons program. A U.N. panel that monitors compliance with sanctions on North Korea has also investigated reports of possible weapons-related deals between Pyongyang and Syria and Myanmar.

North Korea remains under heavy U.N. sanctions for its nuclear program that have cut off its previously lucrative arms trade and further isolated the state after its failed 2009 missile test drew sharp rebukes, even from its one major ally, China. —Reuters

Top BBC editor steps aside during Savile probe of 84 after a long career in children’s television.

The BBC is facing criticism for providing different explanations for pulling the December segment that would have lifted the veil on Savile’s abusive history, which had been rumored but not reported on at the time.

Savile hosted the music program “Top of the Pops” and “Jim’ll Fix It.” He was also active in numerous charities.

The BBC is set to air its own investigation of its failure to report on Savile’s sexual abuses Monday night on the “Panorama” show. On the show set for broadcast Monday, BBC correspondents claim the Savile segment was pulled because of pressure from senior management.—Reuters

Champions League Twenty20

Chennai victory leaves Yorkshire winless D URBAN —Chennai Super Kings were largely untroubled in their final match as they coasted to a fourwicket victory that left Yorkshire winless in the Champions League T20 proper. S Badrinath, often overlooked in a batting line-up of star names, showed once again how important he is to the Super Kings’ middle order, holding together the innings after three of his top-order colleagues holed out attempting to hammer the ball out of Kingsmead.

The Yorkshire top-order, too, came up short once again, as they have invariably in this tournament, before Gary Ballance smashed his second half-century of the CLT20 to lead them to a respectable 140.

None of the regular top three of Andrew Gale, Adam Lyth and Joe Root have reached 30 in this competition, which repeatedly left Yorkshire three down early.

It was no different today as Gale chipped a catch to cover after a brisk 23, before Lyth was dismissed in a carboncopy manner and Root gloved a leg-side ball to the keeper to leave Yorkshire at 43 for 3.

The Yorkshire middle-order had been boosted by the return of David Miller, back after domestic duties with the Dolphins, and he helped the team recover through a big stand with Ballance. They took their time to get going overs 6-10 only yielded 21 runs - but the introduction of Super Kings’ second-string bowlers helped boost the rate.

Suresh Raina, captaining in place of MS Dhoni, was swept for 12 in his first over, and Ravindra Jadeja was thumped for two sixes in his first.

Dhoni, playing his first Super Kings match as noncaptain, also didn’t keep wickets, bowling some seamup instead. He bowled a couple of wayward overs, experimenting with back-ofthe-hand slower balls, and was whipped by Ballance for two consecutive sixes as Yorkshire’s run-rate finally hit seven.

Doug Bollinger, who was the best of the Super Kings’ bowlers, returned to end the stand by dismissing Miller, but Ballance whacked a couple of sixes off Ben Hilfenhaus in the penultimate over to lift Yorkshire towards 140.

Super Kings lost both M

Yorkshire innings: Gale c Bollinger b Morkel23 Lyth c Vijay b Hilfenhaus11 JE Root c Saha b Morkel .. 6 Miller c Ashwin b Bollinger ...................... 28 GS Balance run out ....... 58 AU Rashid not out ......... 4 DM Hodgson c du Plessis b Bollinger ........................ 1 Extras: (b 1, lb 2, w 6) ...... 9 Total: (6 wickets) ......... 140 Fall of wickets 1-35, 2-36, 343, 4-121, 5-137, 6-140 Bowling: ........... O-M-R-W R Ashwin .............. 4-0-25-0 DE Bollinger ......... 4-0-16-2 BW Hilfenhaus .... 4-0-32-1 JA Morkel ............. 4-0-12-2 SK Raina ............... 1-0-12-0 RA Jadeja ............. 1-0-15-0 MS Dhoni ............. 2-0-25-0 Chennai Super Kings in-

nings: Plessis c Azeem Rafiq b Patterson ........................ 1 Vijay b Hannon-Dalby .. 13 SK Raina c Miller b Hannon-Dalby ........... 31 S Badrinath b Wardlaw 47 MS Dhoni b Wardlaw ... 31 RA Jadeja c Ballance b Patterson ....................... 5 JA Morkel not out ........... 4 WP Saha not out ............. 1 Extras: (lb 7, w 1) ............. 8 Total: (6 wickets) ......... 141 Fall of wickets 1-3, 2-26, 374, 4-117, 5-132, 6-140 Bowling: ........... O-M-R-W I Wardlaw ............. 4-0-23-2 SA Patterson ........ 3-0-22-2 OJ Hannon-Dalby 4-0-23-2 JE Root ................... 1-0-8-0 Azeem Rafiq ......... 3-0-26-0 AU Rashid ........... 4-0-32-0

DURBAN: Gary Ballance hit 58 off 38 balls during Chennai Super Kings vs Yorkshire, Champions League T20 match on Monday.

Vijay and Faf du Plessis in the for a second consolation then added 43 with Dhoni as Powerplay, but Badrinath was victory. First, he paired up Yorkshire struggled to build involved in two solid partner- with Raina, compiling 48 to pressure on the Super ships to put them on course stabilise the innings, and Kings.—AFP

is credited with boosting the body’s anti-doping programme, notably with the pioneering blood passport programme.

The Irishman was under pressure to answer how Armstrong and his teams managed to dope for so long without being detected. But he rejected calls to quit.

Armstrong’s sporting reputation as the cancer survivor w h o fought back to w i n c y c l i n g ’s most gruelling and celebrated race has been shatt e r e d since the revelat i o n s , leading to sponsors leaving him in droves.

There has also been fears of a wider withdrawal of financial backing for the sport after Dutch sponsor Rabobank said it was ending the sponsorship of its professional cycling team after a 17-year association.

The sponsor described professional cycling as “sick” to its core and unlikely to recover in the foreseeable

PERTH (Australia)—Bo Van Pelt won the Perth International on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 68 for a twostroke victory over American countryman Jason Dufner.

Van Pelt extended his one-shot overnight lead with the help of six birdies and two bogeys to secure his first victory in a European Toursanctioned event. He finished at 16-under 272 at Lake Karrinyup and earned $333,330. ‘’We had a good battle there,’’ Van Pelt said. ‘’We both played well.’’

Dufner, a two-time winner this year on the PGA Tour, shot a 69. Spain’s Alejandro Canizares was third at 11 under after a 68.

New Zealand’s Michael Hendry had a 69 to finish fourth at 9 under, and Englishmen Paul Casey (67) and David Howell (71) were another stroke back along with Scotland’s Scott Jamieson (68), Wales’ Rhys Davies (69) and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (74).

Van Pelt had five birdies in his first 11 holes to increase his lead to three shots, but then stumbled on the 14th when he threeputted for bogey while Dufner hit an approach to within inches of the flag and tapped in for birdie to pull within one.

However, Van Pelt responded with a birdie on the next hole while Dufner bogeyed the 16th to give his rival a comfortable cushion. ‘’I had a bit of a lead there and made bogey on

BIPIN DANI OBSERVER

Pakistan ready for international cricket

CORRESPONDENT

KARACHI—Players from the visiting International World XI Monday said overseas teams should return to tour

Pakistan soon, after two The exhibition games Twenty20s against an all-star were the first appearances by home side passed off suc- high-profile foreign players cessfully at the weekend. in Pakistan since deadly militant attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009 led to the suspension of international matches in the troubled country.

The visitors’ captain Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka said international cricket should return to Pakistan.

“After these two matches ished on the podium have I hope people will believe that also been implicated in dop- Pakistan is a safe country for ing. On the eve of the UCI cricket,” he told reporters on decision, Armstrong spoke his departure. for about 90 seconds to a “We had two great days record 4,300 bikers at the with good crowds coming Livestrong Challenge char- and I am sure that with more ity benefit, a 100-mile (160- efforts international cricket kilometre) race in his home- will return to Pakistan.” town of Austin, Texas.

Jayasuriya, the dashing “I’ve been better, but left-hander who was instruI’ve also been worse,” mental in Sri Lanka’s 1996 Armstrong told the riders. World Cup win, said he felt “Obviously it has been an sad for the deprived people interesting and difficult of Pakistan.—AFP couple of weeks.”

Since the USADA report, sponsors have fled Armstrong and he was forced to resign as chairman of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997 over concerns his tarnished reputaSPORTS REPORTER tion could hurt the cause.

Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer that I S L A M A B A D — M a r g a l l a had spread to his brain and Greens Golf Club won the lungs to achieve cycling Inaugural Ladies Wandering stardom, inspired more than Golf Cup played between $500 million in donations to Margalla Greens Golf Club Livestrong and pushed (MGGC) and Islamabad Golf other cancer survivors to Club (IGC).

The tournament was battle the condition. at picturesque No criminal charges played Margalla Greens Golf Club. were filed against Vice Admiral Syed Armstrong from an 18month US federal probe that Khawar Ali was the Chief ended earlier this year and Guest at the occasion and evidence from that case was welcomed initiative by lady golfers of both clubs and exnot given to USADA. But Armstrong could tended his support to future yet face court cases from such events.

Zeenath Ayesha lady former sponsors who accepted his assurances that captain IGC congratulated his legacy was not aided by the winning team and vowed banned substances.—AFP to challenge the cup in March 2013.

future.

The strongly-worded comments went to the heart of claims of failings at the UCI and in particular to McQuaid, who has been criticised for failing to see the extent of doping within the sport.

Verbruggen, who stepped down in 2006 but remains honorary president, ran the UCI during Armstrong’s golden era — a time when USADA’s report says Armstrong and team-mates evaded dope tests either by hiding or being tipped off in advance.

The Dutchman has also been accused of protecting Armstrong — even accepting a donation to cover up a positive dope test.

The cyclist’s cancer backstory and Tour triumphs from 1999 to 2005 were seen as key to restoring cycling’s tattered image after a string of highprofile doping scandals in the 1990s.

Armstrong’s Tour victories are unlikely to be reawarded, the race’s director Christian Prudhomme has said. The void avoids further headaches, given that the majority of riders who fin-

MGGC win Ladies Wandering Golf Cup

PERTH, AUSTRALIA: Bo Van Pelt of the USA poses with the trophy after winning the Perth International at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

14,’’ Van Pelt said. ‘’I thought Pacific Classic in Malaysia I hit a pretty good shot but it last year, a title he is due to definitely got tight there at defend next week. ‘’I felt I had a good year the end. A little tighter than I wanted but luckily for me I last without a win, though I came out on top.’’ won in Malaysia, and this It was Van Pelt’s first vic- year was kind of the same tory of the year, despite hav- thing,’’ he said. ‘’I had a lot ing 10 top-10 finishes. His of top-10s but let a couple of last victory came in the Asia- chances slip by.—AP

Pollock advises Greig to strictly follow doctor’s cancer prescriptions

World XI players leave home

UCI chiefs ban Armstrong, upholds USADA ban GENEVA —Disgraced Lance Armstrong’s fate was sealed on Monday, as cycling’s under-fire world governing body decided to back a life ban for doping and strip him of his record seven Tour de France titles.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) said it supported a decision by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to erase the Texan’s career and his place in the sport’s history.

“We will not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and we will recognise the sanction that USADA has imposed,” UCI president Pat McQuaid told a news conference in Geneva.

“The UCI will strip him of his seven Tour de France wins. Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling.”

Earlier this month the US body released a devastating dossier on Armstrong, detailing over 202 pages and with more than 1,000 pages of supporting testimony how he was at the heart of the biggest doping programme in the history of sport.

The revelations, including evidence from 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates, plunged a sport which has been working hard to rid itself of its murky doping past into crisis.

McQuaid succeeded Hein Verbruggen as president of world cycling after Armstrong’s seventh and final Tour victory in 2005 and

Golf: Bo Van Pelt wins Perth International

M UMBAI —At least one member of a world’s famous cricketing family will go to Australia next month and also seek meeting with 67-year-old Tony Greig, who has recently been diagnosed with lung-cancer.

“I shall ask him to take all prescribed medicines in time”, Greame Pollock, speaking exclusviely from South Africa said.

Pollock was his first captain (in 1971-72 season) at the Eastern Province team when the former South-Africa born England

captain had an attack of epileptic fit on the ground itself.

“We were playing a match against Transvaal team in Johannesburg and while attempting a catch, (Tony) Greig fell on the ground and suffered an epileptic fit.

Our teammates rushed to hold down his large frame”, Pollock recalled.

The sad incident was thereafter desribed as heat stroke. Thanks to sympathetic media and Eastern Province team management.

“Greig had been an epilepsy patient (he first suffered an epileptic fit at the age of 14, during a tennis game in South Africa) and

had to take his medicines regularly. He somehow forgot to take on that day and had suffered this storke.

We understand since then he was very punctual in taking medicines”. Pollock said.

However, on returning from the tour of Australia in 1975, Greig again suffered another fit at Heathrow Airport.

“South Africa team is leaving for Australia later this month and my speeches and talks in Australia are scheduled to be held during this period and I shall certainly meet Greig on this occasion”, Pollock, 69, signed off.

Venus claims 44th career title LUXEMBOURG—US veteran Venus Williams won her 44th career title on Sunday, and first in over two and a half years, when she brushed aside Romanian Monica Niculescu in straight sets in the Luxembourg Open final.

Playing in the 71st final of her career, the 32-year-old Williams won 6-2, 6-3 in her first meeting with the 25-yearold from Bucharest.

Williams’ career haul of 44 WTA titles is secondmost among active players, trailing only her sister Serena, who has won 45 and could make that 46 as she plays the WTA Championships in Istanbul this week. Williams’ last title came at Acapulco in February 2010, before her career went into freefall.

She missed most of the second half of 2010 with a knee injury, most of the first half of 2011 with hip and abdominal injuries and, most recently, a seven-month lay-off between September 2011 and March 2012 due to illness.

“My main goal coming here was to make the top 32 and be seeded going into the Australian Open. I hope I’m somewhere in the top 32 now. But wherever I end up, it’s just very rewarding to win LUXEMBOURG: Venus Williams of the U.S. smiles as here after facing a lot of chal- she holds the trophy after winning the singles final of the lenges,” she said.—AFP Luxembourg Open against Romania’s Monica Niculescu.

Extra weight tied to higher risk of hospitalization

R

egardless of lifestyle and other healthrelated factors, heavier people were more likely than lean ones to be hospitalized for a variety of conditions, according to an Australian study. What’s more, this was the case not just for obese people but also for those who were merely overweight as well, the researchers wrote in the International Journal of Obesity.

Among middle-aged adults, researchers found that every extra body mass index (BMI) point - equal to about 2.7 to 3.2 kilograms (six or seven lbs) - was tied to a four percent higher chance of being admitted to the hospital over a twoyear period. “There is considerable evidence that severe obesity is bad for your health, resulting in higher rates of disease and consequently higher use of health services and higher death rates,” said lead author Rosemary Korda, from the Australian National University in Canberra. “What this study shows is that there is a gradual increase in risk of hospitalization as BMI increases, starting with people in the overweight range. In other words, even being overweight (but not obese) increases your risk.”

Korda and her colleagues recruited close to 250,000 people aged 45 and above from New South Wales. After surveying them about their height, weight and other health and lifestyle issues, the researchers tracked participants through hospital data. Over the next two years, they had more than 61,000 total hospitalizations lasting at least one night. Korda’s team found that among people considered in the normal range for BMI,

there were 120 hospitalizations for every 1,000 men and 102 per 1,000 women each year. For those considered severely obese, on the other hand, there were 203 hospitalizations for every 1,000 men and 183 per 1,000 women, on average. Overweight and moderately obese people had hospitalization rates somewhere in between. A BMI of 25 to 30 is classified as overweight, while obese is from 30 on up.

That pattern held up even after taking into account whether participants smoked, how physically active they were and their general health at the start of the study.

Extra weight seemed especially to play a role in people’s chances of being hospitalized for diabetes, heart disease, chest pain, arthritis and asthma, the researchers reported. “Extending the research to overweight individuals... is a unique contribution,” said Robert Klesges, a preventive medicine researcher from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

“Basically it tells tens of millions of Americans that, ‘you are now at risk’,” added Klesges, who wasn’t involved in the study.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just under 36 percent of American adults are obese. Another 33 percent are overweight. “While increasing weight leads to increasing risk, this also me ans that a gradual decrease in weight is likely to gradually decrease your risk - ie, if you are overweight or obese, even small decreases in weight may make a positive difference to your health,” said Korda.

KARACHI: Cyclists carrying a large number of empty canisters of edible oil and ghee as they move on Super Highway.

Political activist among 5 victims of target killing KARACHI—At least five per- requirements. The enraged prosons including an activist of a political party were killed and several others injured in fresh spate of unabated target killing and road accidents in different localities of the city on Monday.

The police arrested more than a dozen culprits including 10 extortionists during search operations and raids and recovered arms from their possession.

According to details, in Yousaf Goth area of Sarjani Town unknown armed men opened fire at two persons killing one on the spot and injuring another. The deceased identified as Aadil Lashari, 32, and injured Munawar were activists of a political party and were shifted to Civil Hospital for medico legal

Breast Cancer awareness workshop KARACHI—In conjunction with KARACHI: Additional Chief Secretary Home Department Waseem Ahmad presiding over the Breast Cancer Awareness a meeting with stakeholders to ensure implementation of code of conduct for hides’ collec- Month, and in partnership with the Aga Khan Hospital, tion during Eid ul Azha.

Karachi, The Red Aster School, in association with WeldonMoms, organized a workshop on Breast Cancer, in Karachi, to understand the warning signs, symptoms and stages of breast cancer.

At this workshop, participants learned all that is needed KARACHI—Special Assistant nals to facilitate the people Age International Pakistan said to know about breast cancer, to Chief Minister on Media who are more than 60 years that it was a need of the hour that starting from possible signs, preold.

This she said in a seminar immediate and important meaSharmila Faruqui has said that vention, treatment, complete a bill regarding protection of ‘Ageing in 21st Century A cel- sures should be taken at National, management and other necesthe rights of aged people will ebration, a challenge’ here at Regional and International Level sary information. “We feel supto protect the rights of ageing be presented in Sindh Assem- local hotel. porting this work shop is imporShe said that right now in Pa- people. bly in collaboration with Chief tant because everyone knows kistan the number of more than Rabi Rayyon representative Minister Sindh departments someone who has been affected and agencies concerned and 60 years old people was approxi- of UNFPA said that new policies, by the disease...”, said Ms. mately one crore and it is hoped strategies and laws should be forstakeholders as well.

Naveen Khan, Manager CoordiSpecial desks should be es- that it would be nearly 33 crore mulated in all countries to pro- nation & Planning at Red Aster tablished in government hos- in 2050. On this occasion Ajeeba tect the rights of the ageing School.—NNI pitals, railways and bus termi- Aslam, Country Director Help people.—NNI

Bill for protection of rights of ageing people soon: Sharmila

testors of the political party protested and also ransacked in the hospital besides thrashing the staff. Sohaib, who was injured during firing of unknown miscreants in Kharadar area, succumbed to his wounds in Civil Hospital.

The police recovered bullet riddled dead body from Nazimabad No. 2. The body was shifted to hospital for postmortem where identity of the deceased was yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, firing incidents continued in different areas of the city during which eight persons were reported injured. The injured were rushed to different hospitals of concerned areas.

A head constable was apprehended along with his three accomplices on charges of looting and plundering in the city’s main cattle market. Plain cloth law enforcement agency personnel succeeded to arrest the group. The accused confessed that they had looted at least 50 people who came out from cattle Mandi. The police recovered weapons including 3 TT pistols, bullets, looted money and others valuable from possession of the robbers. Accused robber police head constable named Qamardin was a member of Madadgar 15 police force operating in Korangi.

Two persons died and four others injured in separate road accidents in different localities

of the city. The first accident took placed in Liaquatabad area where a reckless driven car hit a motorcycle killing one person on the spot while injuring other and sped away. The body and injured were shifted to hospital where according to hospital sources condition of the injured person was also serious.

In yet another incident in Sukkhan area of Karachi a reckless driven good laden truck rammed over four persons standing by roadside injuring them critically. The truck driver managed to flee from the scene after accident. The rescue personnel shifted the injured to hospital where one person succumbed to his wounds while condition of others was also serious.—INP

Seminar on emerging trends in Biochemistry STAFF REPORTER K ARACHI —Department of Chemical Sciences (Biochemistry) and Biotechnology, Jinnah University for Women organized a seminar entitled “Emerging Trends in Biochemistry and Biotechnology”.

The Program was started by recitation from Holy Quran by Huda Waseem, student of BS 4th year. The welcome address was given by Prof. Dr Iftikhar Imam Naqvi, Chairman Department of Chemical Sciences, Jinnah University for Women.

The program was chaired by Prof. Dr. Abid Azhar, Director General, A.Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology (KIBGE), University of Karachi.

Invited speaker Dr. Waheed Akhter, School of Biological

Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan presented the lecture on “Engineering Proteins for Application” focused on the Recombinant DNA Technology and its uses to produce proteins and its improvement in term of activity, affinity, selectivity, stability and to reduce proteolytic degradation and enhanced expression and solubility. Dr. Kausar Abdullah Malik, FC College University, Lahore, Pakistan presented the lecture on “Biotechnology and food security”.

He highlighted that the 21st Century is the century of Biotechnology & focused on the benefits of Agricultural Biotechnology like improvement of field crops, reduce vulnerability of crops and livestock’s to environmental

stresses, increases nutritional qualities and quantity of foods, improve taste, texture and appearance of foods and reduce the dependence of fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals.

Concluding lecture was delivered by Prof. Dr. Abid Azhar on “Biotechnology in health and disease-benefits versus risks”.

He discussed wide applications of Biotechnology in various fields of life like food medicine, agriculture, and diagnostics, forensics and crime detection.

Besides this; he also discussed drawbacks and ethical issues related with the application of Biotechnology. At the end the vote of thanks was given by Ms. Farah Tariq, Program Head, Department of Biochemistry, Jinnah University for Women.

Acting UK Deputy HC meets Commissioner Karachi K ARACHI — The

Acting Deputy High Commissioner of Britain in Karachi, John Derek, met with Commissioner Karachi, Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, in his office, says a statement on Monday. Zaidi apprised him of the details of the Commissionerate system and the steps undertaken by the District Administration for the provision of relief to the people.

He informed John Derek that soon after taking charge as Commissioner Karachi his priorities were resolving the traffic problems and eradication of encroachments in the city as well as the early completion of the Lyari Expressway project besides making the metropolis polio free.

The Acting UK Deputy High Commissioner appreciated the steps that are being taken by the Karachi administration for the betterment of the people of the city. Matters of mutual interest also came up for discussion on the occasion.—NNI

Sir Syed Day observed with traditional fervour at AMUOBA KARACHI—Speakers paid nology was a big step . torich homage to great reformer and educationist, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan on the occasion of his 195th birth anniversary’ observed under the auspices of Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA) with a call by President AMUOBA and Chancellor SSUET, Z.A. Nizami, for acquisition of latest knowledge in science and technology.

“Acquiring scientific and technological knowledge is the only solution for the problems being faced by the Muslims”, he said and declared that the mission which was undertaken by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan for emancipation of Muslims of South Asia.

Nizami said that establishment of Sir Syed University of Engineering and Tech-

wards the desired direction. He said today SSUET was regarded as the top engineering university of Pakistan having collaboration with top 11 universities of USA. He said Sir Syed’s aim was not just to establish a college at Aligarh, but pursue the Muslims to acquire modern education to lift them up from a down fall and devoted whole of his life for this purpose.

Speaking on the occasion, Azad Bin Haider, a renowned politicians of his days and a writer and researcher now, said that it was the great reformer Sir Syed who gave a new direction to the Muslims of South Asia and it was due to his movement that many more new movements for Muslim’s renaissance started in Suth Asia.

He said that observance of KARACHI: Speakers sitting on stage during a function to mark Sir Syed Day, observed Sir Syed Day by AMUOBA ev- under the auspices of Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association Pakistan

69

ery year is a highly fruitful act and Pakistan can be led to the path of progress if the motives behind Pakistan Movement are remembered.

He described Sir Syed a real motivator who launched a movement for Muslims to acquire modern education and created a wave of awakening in them.

He exhorted the youth to focus on their education which is the only solution to every problem. Prof. Dr. Waqar Rizvi, a religious scholar and writer presented a paper on Pakistan Movement and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and said that it was the national spirit behind the mission undertaken by him which can truly be regarded as the foundation for the creation of Pakistan.

Renowned scholar, columnist and Pakistan Move-

ment Gold Mideallist, Saeed Siddiqui said that the past of nation is the pride of nation. He said those nations who forget their history are bound to annihilate. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, he said, was a great visionary, statesman and Muslim reformer of the 19th century who worked tooth and nail to make the community progressive and lead them to the cherished objective.

He said Syed was the first Indian Muslim to contribute to the intellectual and institutional foundation of Muslim’s modernization in South Asia.

He said in 1862 he formed a scientific society, and 13 years later he assisted in establishing the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College, which prospered and became the key intellectual center for Indian Muslims - The Aligarh Muslim University. The success of the college was largely due to his

leadership and a curriculum embodying both Western and Oriental studies.

Ali Zafar Qadri, a senior Aligarhian presented a detail chronology of the lilfe and achievements of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan while Khumar Farooqi, a renowned poet and writer paid poetic homage to the great reformer and educationist and drew a big applause. A significant feature of the function was highly impressive speeches on the life and achievements of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan by SSUET students Umer Khan in Urdu and Umer Ali Kazmi in english. The audience highly appreciated their knowledge about the great reformer. Another feature of the function was singing of Tarana-e-Aligarh” sung by boys and girl students of Sir Syed University.—APP

Help kids keep the weight off

W

ITH summer in full swing, many working parents are worried about how their kids and teens will fill idle time. While day camp provides weekday structure and discipline, programs are often geared to younger children. Residential and specialty camps for older kids can be pricey and don’t generally run the entire summer.

Even a 16-year-old who wants a summer job may struggle with interminable days because of a teen unemployment rate of 24.6 percent. (That can add up to a lot of time on Facebook, playing video games, and watching television.)

It is a struggle for working parents to provide structure for unsupervised kids, says Dale Greifenstein, a physical education teacher at Riverdale Elementary School in Orlando, Fla. Studies show younger children gain weight in the summer, possibly because of too much unstructured time that leads to constant eating and zoning out in front of the screen.

“Parents say, ‘I don’t want them to sit, watch TV, and play video games all day,’” he says. “‘I want them to be active, be outside and doing something. But then you have the whole ‘it’s not the way it used to be when we grew up. We were outside riding bikes or doing whatever.’

Parents don’t feel safe doing that anymore.”

But kids don’t have to pack on the

pounds this summer. Here are ways to keep their bodies—and your mind— sound when they’re at home running loose: Limit screen time. “If you can help kids cut down on screen time, they tend to be more active overall,” says Melinda Johnson, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Research suggests that children who watch more than four hours of TV per day are more likely to be overweight.

“Mindless eating happens when kids munch in front of the TV or while playing video games.”

When parents aren’t home to unplug the router, they can impress upon kids that loafing around the house all day and playing video games is not a healthy lifestyle, Greifenstein says.

Johnson suggests challenging kids to limit screen time to a certain amount—say two to four hours—each day. Parents may want to reduce screen time gradually. Limiting screen time helps kids figure out how to set priorities—watching a television show over using Facebook—and come up with things to do when the screen is off, she says.

Clean out the fridge. If you don’t buy it, they won’t eat it, says Lance Breger, a personal trainer and president of Infinity Wellness Foundation, a non-profit that works to reduce childhood obesity.

LAHORE: Sacrificial animals being taken to home.

APPMA concerned over worsening law, order situation STAFF REPORTER L AHORE —All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association (APPMA) has expressed concern over the worsening law & order situation and asked the Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the day-by-day rising graph of crimes.

The leader of APPMA Businessmen Group Khamis Saeed Butt, APPMA President Muhammad Ajmal and Vice President Khawaja Nadeem Saeed Wayeen said that daylight bank dacoities, burglaries at jewelry markets, repeated incidents of car, mobile and purse snatching are enough to prove that law enforcement agencies have failed to play their due role.

They said that people are not saved even in their own streets where they are being looted on gun point.

They said that disap-

pointed businessmen are trying to get arms license to cope with the dacoits, mobile & car snatchers and other criminals. They said that provision of security to the citizens is responsibility of the government but unfortunately it has miserably failed to fulfil its responsibility. He said that though Chief Minister Punjab gave facilities to the Police Department and initiated various reforms but all efforts remained futile.

Khamis Saeed Butt, Muhammad Ajmal and Nadeem Saeed Wayeen said that bad law and order situation is not only hitting the local investments but also sending a very wrong signal to the foreign investors.

They said that it has also caused brain drain and industry drain as a large number of industrial units have shifted their operations to other countries.

APPMA leaders said that

business friendly atmosphere is a pre requisite to investment and industrialization but situation is going out of hands with every passing day.

They said that the business activities had already come to grinding halt due to acute shortage of electricity and inflation and now the surge in crime rate has multiplied the problems of the business community.

They demanded of the Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to form Businessmen-Police Liaison Committees and ensure representation from the all markets so that collective efforts could be made to make the law & order situation better. They said that lake of exemplary punishments is also one of the causes of rising crimes. All concerned should also divert attention towards this important issue.

Free medical facilities for Pukhtuns LAHORE—Member National Ameer Muqam, Member Pro- modern ambulance was being Assembly, MNA Muhammad Pervaiz Malik has said that Punjab government will help the Pakhtoon brethren in every hour of need and free medical facilities will be provided to Pakhtoons living in Punjab in the hospitals of Punjab government.

This was stated by him while giving a gift of ambulance for Pakhtoon brethren on behalf of Punjab government at Aiwan-e-Iqbal. Senior Vice President PML-N Engineer

vincial Assembly KPK Fazal Ullah, Member Punjab Assembly Khawaja Imran Nazir, Ch. Shahbaz, and Advisor on Tourism Imran Goraya were also present on the occasion.

President PML-N Lahore Muhammad Pervaiz Malik said that it was time to display unity and rise for national progress and prosperity. He said that Khadim-e-Punjab has great respect for Senior Vice President PML-N Engineer Ameer Muqam and the

gifted on his desire.

While addressing the function, Senior Vice President PML-N Engineer Ameer Muqam said that the people of KPK have full confidence in PML-N government as it is the party which is doing politics to service of the people. Later, President PML-N Lahore, MNA Muhammad Pervaiz Malik presented the key of ambulance to Engineer Ameer Muqam and Member KPK Assembly Fazal Ullah.—APP

Firdous pins high hope with Manzoor Wattoo STAFF REPORTER L AHORE —Federal Minister for Regulations and Services Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has expressed optimism that the PPP would regain its strength in Punjab with the appointment of Mian Manzoor Wattoo as President PPP Punjab.

Talking to media on her way to the Nasir Bagh from the Lahore airport, Dr Awan said that Mian Manzoor Wattoo is veteran politician and soon the province of Punjab would become stronghold of the PPP. She said President Asif Ali Zardari has fielded the right person for the right job and this move would activate the PPP voters and supporters at large in the province.

She also criticized the LAHORE: PML-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif with Muzaireen of Rana Estate PML-N leadership for receiving money from the ISI in 1990 and demanded a resignation from the Chief Minister Punjab forthwith.

She said the splendid welcome of the new PPP leadership by the workers would set a new era of success for the PPP in the Punjab. alongwith initiating strict ac- their due role in ensuring rule SALIM AHMED tion against them. of law and predominance of L AHORE —Punjab Chief The Chief Minister was justice. He warned that no Minister Muhammad talking to the complainants negligence or laxity would be Shahbaz Sharif has directed from various districts at tolerated in ensuring soluthe police to discharge its Model Town Monday. Mem- tion of problems and providduties with a sense of re- ber National Assembly ing assistance to the people. sponsibility in order to en- Pervaiz Malik, IG Punjab, Sec- Appreciating DSP Abid sure help, assistance and jus- retary Prosecution and se- Hussian and Inspector STAFF REPORTER tice to the common man. He nior officers of police were Shabbir Ahmed for arresting no country can progress also present. Taking notice of the accused involved in a L AHORE —Chief Justice of said nor a peaceful society can be the complaints, the Chief double murder case in Lahore High Court (LHC) created without provision of Minister issued on-the-spot Badami Bagh, Muhammad Umer Ata Bandial has di- prompt and affordable justice instructions for the redressal Shahbaz Sharif announced rected District Coordina- and ensuring protection of of the grievances of the com- for them a prize of rupees two tion Officer (DCO) to take right of the aggrieved, help- plainants. lakh and one lakh respecstern action all those less and down trodden segAddressing police offic- tively. shisha cafes using prohib- ment of the society. ers, Muhammad Shahbaz The Chief Minister also ited drugs.

Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that open courts ordered arrest of concerned The Chief justice heard Sharif vowed that elimination should regularly be held at police officers for dishonthe case pertaining to the of crimes from the province district level and police offic- esty and dereliction of duty implementation of law that and making it a bastion of ers should utilize all their ca- with regard to 92 kilograms banned smoking in public peace is his mission which pabilities to ensure provision drugs recovered from culplaces. will be achieved at all cost. of justice to the people. He prits and said that necesDuring the hearing, He announced prizes for the said in order to put the coun- sary legal action be taken DCO Lahore Noor-ul- police officers who arrested try on the road progress and against them, while a report Ameen Mengal said that the accused involved in prosperity, the culture of in- be submitted to him, after ban is imposed on smoking Badami Bagh murder case, justice, coercion and complete investigation, in public places that in- while ordered arrest of those highhandedness has to be within one week. He said cludes all areas expect police officers who displayed eliminated. police officers performing one’s home.

He said police officers their duties efficiently and dishonesty and negligence in He further told the court a drug recovery case, and institutions should play honestly would be encourthat several shisha cafes were using prohibited drugs on which the Chief justice ordered to take stern action against them.

Okara.

Shahbaz advises police to display robust responsibility

LHC orders implementation of anti-smoking law

LHC adjourns plea against PHA organizes killing of 9 persons in encounters gardening competition

LAHORE—The Lahore High Court on Monday adjourning hearing of plea against killing of nine persons of a family in three different encounters till November 12, sought an inquiry report from District and Sessions Judge lahore.

Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi passed the order on a petition by Saleema Bibi against killing of his five sons including Malik Shahid, Malik Zahid, Malik Majid, Malik Adnan and Malik Imran and four other relatives in three different police encounters on September 18, 2012.

Earlier, a provincial law officer submitting a reply on behalf of the Home Secretary Punjab told the court that D&SJ Lahore was conduct-

ing inquiry into the matter and statements of five persons had been recorded but further was required to complete it.

The court adjourning the matter till November 12 sought the inquiry report.

The petitioner, in his petition, submitted that a son of the petitioner namely Imran and two other relatives including Jamshaid and Awais were killed in a police encounter within limits of Police Station Chung, Lahore on September 18. He claimed that the encounter was fake as the FIR registered indicates that no policeman received a scratch in the encounter.

She pointed out that police killed two other sons of the petitioner including

Zahid and Majid and their relative Ramzan in an other encounter within limits of Buraywala, District Vehri.

Whereas petitioner ’s two other sons including Malik Shahid and Malik Adnan, were killed in an encounter within limits of Adaadpur, District Rahim Yar Khan, she added.

She further expressed serious apprehensions regarding life of his four remaining sons who were being threatened by the police.—APP

aged while negligent police officers would not be tolerated in the department.

A woman from Nankana Sahib accompanied by her family, met the Chief Minister and informed that her son has been detained by the police for the last three months while a fake case of one kilogram narcotics has been registered against him.

The Chief Minister directed IG Punjab to hold inquiry into the matter, and if the case is proven wrong, strict legal action should be taken against the responsible police officers, in addition to submitting a report to him.

On the application of the affected family, the Chief Minister directed to make arrangements for enabling the accused to celebrate Eid day with his family members. Ordering police to arrest the culprits involved in a double murder case within one week.

Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif assured provision of justice to the affected family.

Two robbers killed in fire exchange STAFF REPORTER LAHORE—Two robbers were

killed and their two cohorts managed to flee while a police cop was injured in exchange of fire here on Monday.

L AHORE —Parks and HorAccording to details, the ticultural Authority (PHA) police signalled to stop a susLahore organized a gardenpected car at Shahdara ing competition in order to Begumkot check post but the Punjab Youth Festival. culprits started firing at police According to a Parks and tried to flee. and Horticultural Authority The police chased the fleespokesperson, about 156 ing robbers and exchange of contestants were regisfire took place resultantly two tered in the competition. robbers were killed while two Three members committee managed to escape. examined the competition A policeman Tabbasum through door to door camsuffered minor wounds in fire paign. exchange who was rushed to Winner of the competihospital. The dead bodies tion would be announced were shifted to hospital where in a ceremony on October the killed robbers were identi25 at Expo Centre. fied as Talib and Ilyas.

STAFF REPORTER Police said that the robwere also wanted by variLAHORE—Provincial Minis- bers ous police stations in inciter for Education, Mian dents of robberies, attempted Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman murder and other crimes. has said that scouting creates confidence and discipline among the students.

Terming the visits of scouts and girl guides of SAARC countries as useful, he said that this will result in creating awareness about the culture of each other and strengthening the relations among the countries. He said that visits of such delegations enhance contacts among the people of member countries which further cement ties.

He expressed these views while addressing breakfast reception in the honor of scouts and girl guides from LAHORE: Railways Station Traffic police warden removing wrongly parked motor- Nepal and India, at his residence, here today. cycles with lifter for smooth flow of traffic.

STAFF REPORTER

Scouting creates confidence, discipline among youth