Isb 09 06 2013 layout 1 by Profit Epaper

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Rs 25.00 Vol III No 343 19 Pages Islamabad — Peshawar Edition Sunday, 9 June, 2013

Rajab 29 1434

story on page 02

story on page 03

germany pledges €93.5m for health, education, energy

Fazlur rehman decides to join federal govt

pakistan summons Us envoy over drone attack

Independent judiciary protects people’s rights: CJp

Major militant battle feared along pak-afghan border

Fazlur Rehman chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), on Saturday announced to join the federal government. In this regard, an agreement was reached during a meeting between Fazl and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the PM’s House. Though the official handout did not mention any agreement in this regard, but Fazl’s spokesman Jan Achakzai told reporters that the trick by Fazl had yielded desired results. page 02

Pakistan on Saturday summoned US Charge d’ Affaires, Ambassador Richard Hoagland, to the Foreign Office and protested against Friday’s US drone strike in North Waziristan. “On the prime minister’s instructions, the US Charge d’ Affaires, Ambassador Richard Hoagland, was summoned this afternoon to the Foreign Office by special assistant to the prime minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.” page 04

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Chaudhry on Saturday said an independent judiciary ensures protection of people’s rights and promotes rule of law. He expressed these views while inaugurating the meeting of National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) here in the Supreme Court on Saturday. “Good Governance is impossible without accountability as it determines the level of governance in a country. page 19

Several militant groups are expected to clash amongst themselves as fighters have started taking positions inside Afghan territory near Mohmand Agency bordering Afghanistan, sources said on Saturday. Groups of fighters comprising Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Ansarul Islam, Afghan Taliban and local militia have started taking positions inside Afghan territory which is already believed to be a safe haven for the TTP. page 04

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N NEWS Sunday, 9 June, 2013

Drone strikes must stop, says nawaz PM says issue raised MaNy a tiMe, strikes should eNd oNce aNd For all

ameen Fahim opposes CJp’s extension ISLAMABAD ONLINE

Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPPs) President Ameen Fahim on Saturday opposed extension to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Chaudhry. He said the government had entered in its initial phase yet and any criticism against it would be illogical, adding that time would tell how much the government backs up from tall claims it made before elections. Fahim added that they would try to recall the government all promises which the PML-N made before the general elections. Though the PPP had strong reservations regarding the transparency of the elections but they had accepted everything only for the sake of national interests, he maintained. The PPPP president said, “It will be unfair to put all responsibility of the past five years over the shoulders of the PPP government because situation of the region were grave and critical when the PPP government assumed the office.” He said that the PPP would not only criticise the government but would also praise the positive role of the government.

ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

N a clear policy statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said drone attacks were simply unacceptable, as they violated the country’s sovereignty as well as international laws. “Drone attacks, are violating our sovereignty as well as international laws. Drone attacks must stop. We have protested many a time. This is simply unacceptable,” Nawaz said in his meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle‚ who arrived in Islamabad on Saturday. Nawaz’s comments follow the latest drone attack in North Waziristan

Agency in which at least six people, including an alleged terrorist commander, were killed on Thursday. Nawaz said Pakistan was ready to facilitate the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan and hoped that Afghan army and security forces would be able to manage the situation after the withdrawal of coalition troops from the country. The prime minister said President Karazai had called him to congratulate him on assumption of the office and extended invitation to him to visit Afghanistan. He said he had had the opportunity of meeting Karzai as leader of the opposition during the last few years, adding that “we want to expand cooperation with Afghanistan and support the Afghan nation”. Nawaz added that there had to be a multi-pronged policy to tackle the situation in Afghanistan. Earlier during the meeting, the two exchanged views on a host of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. The German FM discussed with the prime minister bilateral relations as well as the

prevailing regional situation. The foreign minister conveyed his and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s best wishes to the prime minister. Nawaz said Pakistan regarded Germany as a close friend and as the prime minister, it would be his endeavor to strengthen the bilateral relations. He expressed the hope that Pakistan would benefit from the technological advancement and economic development of Germany. Dilating on the acute power shortage in the country, Nawaz said his government was working on a plan to overcome load shedding. The prime minister invited German investors to exploit this opportunity by investing in Pakistan’s power sector. The prime minister said Pakistan welcomed German investors to set up thermal power plants that could be run on coal and gas and offered to facilitate the setting up of their plants near coal mines in Pakistan. He hoped the German investors visit Pakistan to see for themselves the business climate and opportunities that Pakistan

Dr Baloch elected Balochistan CM unopposed QUETTA SHAHZADA ZULFIQAR

Dr Abdul Malik Baloch was elected the Balochistan chief minister unopposed on Saturday. Dr Baloch, the joint candidate of PML-N, PkMAP and PMLQ) was nominated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the top provincial slot. Although Abdul Rehman Khetran obtained the nomination papers, but did not submit them. Dr Baloch visited the residence of JUI-F's parliamentary leader Abdul Wasey and sought the support of his party over his election as leader of the house. In return, Wasey announced that his party would not field a candidate against Dr Baloch. The JUI-F leader told reporters, "It is the tradition of Balochistan that whenever one visits someone’s house and asks for something the latter is bound not to disappoint the former. Dr

Abdul Malik visited me and asked for support in his election as leader of the house and we keeping in view our tradition are bound to support him." Dr Baloch will be declared as the leader of the house in the assembly session summoned for the election of the leader of the house on Sunday (today). He would be sworn in by Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi in the evening at Governor’s House. Earlier, talking to media after submitting his nomination papers, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said that he would encourage new generation of Balochistan towards education, adding that the people of Balochistan had been subjected to numerous excesses and he would make all the efforts to stop the perpetuation of further excesses. Dr Baloch was of the view that a strategy had already been in place for negotiations with dissident Baloch leaders and

separatists, adding that the federal government and the prime minister had already assured him to implement that strategy. He also urged political parties to come together for resolving the issues of Balochistan and expressed his optimism that the media would assist them in this regard and would highlight their weaknesses. The NP leader said that he would make all efforts possible to end issues of missing persons, targeted and sectarian killings and kidnapping for ransom. He said that all three coalition partners would sit together to find out solution of the issues confronted by the people of the province. He said that the government would sit with the national and international experts to prepare the budget of the province, adding that neither they themselves would involve in any malpractices nor would they allow others to do so.

had to offer. The German foreign minister informed the prime minister that his government was keen to send a German business delegation to Pakistan and the German ambassador in Pakistan would be facilitating the visit of this delegation comprising 60 German businessmen. Dr Westerwelle proposed that joint investment conference be held in Pakistan in which Gernman and Pakistani investors should participate and share their knowledge and explore the prospects of investment in Pakistan. “Germany considers Pakistan a country with great economic potential,” he said. He assured Germany’s continued support for Pakistan’s efforts to get GSP Plus status in the European Union. The prime minister thanked Westerwelle for the initiatives taken by Germany for deepening of PakGerman relations. “There is a positive sentiment in the Pakistani business community which looks towards my government for good economic policies and encouraging the business sector,” the prime minister added.

imran appoints Qureshi as Deputy parliamentary leaDer LAHORE INP

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday appointed Shah Mahmood Qureshi as deputy parliamentary leader of the party. Talking to reporters, Qureshi said he was thankful to Imran Khan for appointing him as deputy parliamentary leader of the PTI in the National Assembly. “We should give the federal government a chance to show its performance, before taking it to task,” he added. To a question, Qureshi said that consultations were underway with Imran Khan regarding formation of cabinet in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that people with good reputation would be inducted in the provincial cabinet so that they could deliver to the people sincerely. To another question, he said Fauzia Kasuri was an asset for the party.

Fazl decides to join federal government PM Nawaz thaNks Fazl For joiNiNg govt, says both leaders will work For Peace aNd ecoNoMic revival ISLAMABAD TAYYAB HUSSAIN

did not mention any agreement in this regard, but Fazl’s spokesman Jan Achakzai told reporters that the trick by Fazl had yielded desired results. Fazl had "engaged" Nawaz Sharif around six months back by telling him that he had great "influence" over top leaders of the banned outfit Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) and he could use his "magic wand" to acquire peace with the hardened terrorists. However, neither the TTP could be persuaded for talks nor could peace brokered, but the JUI-F chief got his place back in the government – the way he had arm-twisted President Asif Zardari some four years back. Fazl is in habit of remaining in the government. Whether its dictatorship or autocracy, he enjoys the ride as smart Fazl has all skills to lure the ruling elites.

According to JUI-F sources, under the agreement the JUI-F would join the government in the centre. "Fazl submitted some priorities of his party under which he sought three federal ministries for his party and the chairmanship of National Assembly's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sought some time, stating that the standing committee slot could be given to him in the first phase while later in the second phase, ministries may be considered," sources added. Jan Achakzai confirmed that the decision to join treasury benches had been made during the meeting. "The JUI-F has in principle decided to sit on treasury benches after Fazlur Rehman and Nawaz Sharif principally agreed on JUI-F's priorities. Fazlur Rehman presented in writing all priorities of JUI-F in

the meeting. The PM agreed in principle to party's priorities," he added. Achakzai said that both parties will mutually decide other responsibilities, including ministries and committees' posts through consultation. The PM thanked Fazl for joining the government and said both leaders would work for peace, economic revival, and energy issues resolution. Official handout, however, stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated that the enormity of the challenges faced by the country demanded unity among the people and cooperation among the political parties. "He said that he would be open to any counsel that would be beneficial to the greater good of the people," it added.

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NEWS

Sunday, 9 June, 2013

Germany pledges €93.5m for health, education and energy in pakistan ISLAMABAD

ANWER ABBAS

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Saturday revealed that the German government had pledged €93.5m for development in education, health and energy sectors in Pakistan. Addressing a joint news briefing at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security Sartaj Aziz, Westerwelle said his government was serious in Pakistan’s economic stability and had pledged €93.5m for the development of education, health and economic sectors. He said negotiations with the Pakistani administration remained successful during which his government offered friendly constructive cooperation amid enhancing the bilateral ties. Westerwelle said a number of new ideas was also discussed during his engagement with top Pakistani officials and it was

decided that an investment conference be held in Pakistan to attract more investors here. He said the joint Pak-German forum would be transformed into the PakistanGermany Chamber of Commerce that would promote the economic activities between the two countries. Westerwelle stated that high turnout in the recent Pakistani elections was a big success of the Pakistani people and was an encouraging sign for democracy. He said his country wanted the South East Asian region to be stable, and welcomed good ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He added that a stable Afghanistan was directly connected to the stability of the Pakistan. The visiting foreign minister also welcomed good ties between Pakistan and India, saying that it was in the better interest of regional stability. To a question, he said nuclear disarmament had also been a part of the agenda dur-

ing the sittings with the Pakistani leadership, “as Germany supports the non-proliferation in the region as shared by US President Obama in his ‘Global zero approach’”. He said the German government considered the issue of drone strikes important and sensitive for the people of Pakistan. Neither condemning nor openly supporting drone attacks, the German foreign minister expressed deep sympathies with the families of UN soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security Sartaj Aziz was of the view that during the sittings with the visiting foreign minister, issues of bilateral ties, economic situation and economic betterment came under discussion. He said both countries agreed on sending a 60-member trade delegation to Germany by October that would attract the German investors towards various sectors of Pakistan’s economy, whereas another de-

Years required to deal with load shedding, says Khawaja Asif ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

Federal Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday said the government needs not weeks or months, but years to address power load shedding. Talking to reporters, Asif said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had five years to resolve this issue, but they wasted it. He said, “Our first priority was to reduce the duration of load shedding.” He said that he would be able to review the real situation within four days. Meanwhile, he said the duration of load shedding would be cut short in Ramazan. Asif said he would be making sincere efforts to resolve this issue. However, the minister refused to give any deadline for ending the menace of load shedding. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be announcing the energy policy in the next few days detailing plan to end the energy crisis. He said competent officers would be given responsibilities and all decisions would be based on merit. Earlier, on arrival at the ministry, he was briefed about the energy situation and steps taken to minimise the impact. Separately, talking to a private TV channel, Asif said the government had designed and finalised strategy to resolve the energy shortage issue. He said, "Our first priority is to reduce

the hours of load shedding to provide relief the common man especially in the holy month of Ramazan.” He said domestic consumers would be given preference followed by the industrial units. The minister said that equal load shedding will be carried out in all parts of the country. Khawaja Asif was born on August 9, 1949 in Sialkot. He previously served as the minister for petroleum and natural resources, with additional portfolio of sports ministry in prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s cabinet. Before getting into politics, he lived in the UAE for several years, and worked in several banks. Later, he quit and moved back to Pakistan in 1991, shortly before the death of his father, and took his place in politics, he was elected to Senate. In 1993, he resigned from senate and contested and won National Assembly seat from Sialkot. In 2013 elections, he was elected for the fifth term as a member of the National Assembly on a PML-N ticket and was appointed Federal Minister for Water and Power by the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif. He was previously elected as an MNA for in the years 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2008. In the Nawaz Sharif cabinet of 19971999, Khawaja Asif held the portfolio of Privatisation Commission chairman, with the status of a federal minister. He is married with three daughters and a son.

Fauzia refuses to rejoin PTI? LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Disgruntled former PTI leader Fauzia Kasuri has reportedly rejected party chief Imran Khan’s request of rejoining the party. Saturday saw the former senior PTI stalwart heading to Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore for a meeting with her former boss. Sources in the PTI said Khan asked Kasuri to reconsider her decision to leave the party. Khan while recognising her sacrifices and services for PTI said she was an asset for the party. “I hope that she would rejoin PTI for awareness and uplift of the common man,” Khan said. PTI insiders said participants of the meeting praised Kasuri for her numerous services and told her that she was the face of the party. They said the meeting was held in a pleasant atmosphere and Kasuri was urged to return to the party, adding that it was likely that Kasuri would rejoin the party. However, other party sources said Kasuri had rejected the offer. PTI leader Shah

Mehmood Qureshi was also in Lahore on Saturday and held a meeting with Kasuri. PTI sources said it was in this meeting that Kasuri categorically rejected to change her decision of quitting the party. Kasuri in a message on social networking website Twitter said: "I met IK tonight in Lhr. Mashallah, he is looking good and getting better." This followed an earlier tweet from Kasuri in which she dispelled speculations that she was joining another political party. Kasuri had resigned from PTI a couple of days ago, citing unjust distribution of party tickets on reserved seats for women. She was ignored by the party on the issue and tickets for the seats in question were awarded to Dr Shirin Mazari and Munazza Hassan, prompting Kasuri to leave the party. The PTI on its official website had subsequently accused her of violating party discipline. Meanwhile, terming drone attacks as against the sovereignty of Pakistan, PTI Chairman Imran Khan demanded that the government make special arrangements so victims of drone attacks can be identified.

cision was to introduce an investment conference here in Islamabad. He said the military was not the only solution to engage Pakistani Taliban, adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had indicated to use all possible options including negotiations to engage the Pakistani Taliban to bring peace in the country. “It is one of the issues that is necessary for the success of our economic agenda,” Aziz added. The German FM also said negotiations with Taliban were also centre of the discussion with Pakistani authorities, and his country also supports the fresh start. To drones strikes, Aziz was of the view that drones were a violation and were brining a lot of resentment and violence in the country, as the measure was proving the counter-productive for the country. Over Iran-Pakistan Gas pipeline, Aziz added that the petroleum minister had already announced to pursue the IP project in the future.

BJp welComes nawaz as pm PANAJI INP

Welcoming the election of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister (PM) of Pakistan, Bharatya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday said strengthening of democracy in the neighbouring country augurs well for India but it still viewed these developments with "cautious optimism" in view of past experiences and "disoriented and ineffective" foreign policy of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. "BJP welcomes the victory of Nawaz Sharif in the recently held general elections in Pakistan. Democracy gaining strength in Pakistan guarantees peace in South Asia," BJP President Rajnath Singh said in his inaugural address at the party's national executive meeting. He said despite Nawaz Sharif's election, BJP looked at Pakistan with "cautious optimism" as historically ties between India and Pakistan have been so entangled that concrete action, not mere words, are required to make the situation normal. BJP expressed dismay at the foreign policy adopted by the UPA government and said even a small country like Maldives had now started giving India a tough time. "Ever since the UPA government has come to power, India's foreign policy has become disoriented and ineffective," Singh said.

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NEWS Sunday, 9 June, 2013

pml-n to hold lG elections in punjab in october The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday decided to hold local government (LG) elections in Punjab before November, 2013, while reviewing amendments to the local government ordinance of 2002. Sources in PML-N said local bodies’ election is likely to be held in Punjab in October, while the date of election would be announced soon. Sources further said administrative and financial powers would be transferred to elected representatives in districts. The party was also pondering giving representation to technocrats, minorities, youth, women, farmers and labourers in the LG system. MONITORING DESK

From CnG to lnG, says abbasi ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Shahid Haqan Abbasi on Saturday said gas would be utilised for production of electricity to meet the growing demand across the country, adding that people would soon see a visible reduction in load shedding hours. He said compressed natural gas (CNG) was not sufficient, adding that talks would be held with CNG associations to get liquefied natural gas (LNG) for fulfilling the demand of the consumers. Talking to a private television channel, he said the gas product would be utilised for the generation of electricity. Moreover, he said discussions would be held with CNG associations to introduce or convert the facility to LNG to facilitate the consumers. He said that gas was not sufficient for CNG. To a question regarding reduction in the timing of electricity load shedding, he said there would be a visible difference soon. Furthermore, he stressed that closure of CNG on equality basis in the four provinces would be ensured. However, he said that people of the country would have a tough choice to make between electricity and CNG, as there were simply not enough funds for both. He said at present 11 percent gas was being stolen due to technical line losses and other reasons which was an “alarming” figure. Furthermore, the minister stated that the government would make sure that the gas theft was put to an end, adding that maximum gas would be provided to power plants in order to control the load shedding. He said that there was only one visible solution to the problem; conversion of CNG to LNG. STAFF REPORT

mna flees courtroom KHAIRPUR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Nawab Wassan Khan on Saturday fled from court after the rejection of his bail application by an anti-terrorism court (ATC). According to reports, Nawab Wassan was being tried for an attack on May 11 that left one person dead and 16 others injured. After the case was lodged against him, Nawab Wassan Khan got an interim bail from the Sindh High Court and approached the ATC for confirmation of bail on Saturday. After the judgment by ATC, Nawab Wassan fled from the courtroom. After his escape, relatives of the deceased staged a protest in front of the court. INP

pakistan summons us envoy over drone attack ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HUSSAIN

AKISTAN on Saturday summoned US Charge d’ Affaires, Ambassador Richard Hoagland, to the Foreign Office and protested against Friday’s US drone strike in North Waziristan. “On the prime minister’s instructions, the US Charge d’ Affaires, Ambassador Richard Hoagland, was summoned this afternoon to the Foreign Office by special assistant to the prime minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi to lodge a strong protest on the US drone strike carried out in North Waziristan on 07 June 2013,” said FO spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. He said, “The US official was handed

a demarche in this regard.” “It was conveyed to the US CdA that the Government of Pakistan strongly condemns the drone strikes which are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes was emphasised.” US drone strike in North Waziristan on Friday killed seven people and left three others wounded. It was the first drone attack after the prime minister assumed his office. After his election, in his address to parliament, Nawaz Sharif asked for an immediate end to the US drone strikes in Pakistani tribal areas, saying the US should respect Pakistan’s sovereignty. Nonetheless, the diplomatic sources see no end to the US drone strikes in coming days and they warned that continua-

tion of these attacks could cause strain in ties between Washington and Pakistan’s new government. A Pakistani diplomat said that Pakistan was all set to raise the drone strikes’ issue with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was expected to visit Islamabad soon to hold talks with the PML-Nled government on bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues. “Pakistani authorities would urge US Secretary of State to halt the drone strikes as these attacks are counterproductive and violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty,” the diplomat said while seeking anonymity. Giving further details of summoning of Hoagland, Aizaz said, “It was also pointed out that the Government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, en-

nisar assures ministry officials he will never use them to advance his political agenda ISLAMABAD INP

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Nisar Ali Khan getting a briefing from senior officers after taking charge as minister for interior. INP

govt wants more investment in Fata PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Planning and Development Secretary Shahzad Khan Bangash said the government wanted to focus on health, education and economic development in FATA, urging development partners to step forward and invest in these sectors. Addressing the third Donors Coordination Steering Committee (DCSC) meeting, held in Islamabad on Friday, Bangash lauded the role of international development partners, saying they had been supporting FATA in particular, very actively. “Mapping of the investment made in FATA during 2010-13, explicitly shows the gap between what Post Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA) recommends for FATA and the actual investment made during the last three years,” he said, adding that donors should come forward and invest in

sectors where there was need. He went on to say that investment mapping had given a clear picture of gaps and priorities and donors should look into this analysis and invest in the priority sectors. Partners of the Multi Donor Trust Fund, on the occasion, appreciated the mapping exercise carried out by PCNA-Implementation Support Unit and agreed that impact assessment of investments made since 2009 in FATA should be prepared. The meeting also agreed that sub working groups would be formed for the purpose and the steering committee will be informed of the discussions held accordingly. “We have put the real picture before donors and now they should come up with their own recommendations,” said Bangash. Earlier, FATA PCNA- Implementation Support Unit Coordinator Muhammad Zahoor while making a

meticulous presentation on the mapping of investments made in FATA during the last three years, informed the implementing partners of the investment made in various sectors including governance, health, education, infrastructure, agriculture and natural resource, off farm economic development and strategic communication. Zahoor said FATA’s share in the Multi Donor Trust Fund was $ 1.5 billion whereas investment made by both donors and government was $ 761.766 million, depicting a shortfall of $ 786.853 million. FATA Projects Director General Yusuf Rahim on the occasion also made a presentation on issuance of noobjection certificates (NOCs) to development partners intending to work in FATA and elaborated the process and mechanism in detail. All officials on the occasion also answered various questions raised by development partners.

INP

nent against the outlawed TTP militants, who have waged a war against the Pakistani state and launched several attacks against its army. Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the banned militant group, confirmed an attack was planned against the Pakistani Taliban positions inside Afghanistan’s Kunar province bordering Pakistan, but warned it may result in major bloodshed. “We have old enmity with Ansarul Islam and some other militant groups who want to avenge their own fights and losses now. They are planning a major attack on us in the bordering areas along Mohmand Agency,” he said, speaking via telephone

Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House and discussed the agenda and priorities of his ministry. The minister said that the ministry would continue to cooperate with all provincial governments and provide them all possible assistance in the maintenance of law and order situation. Nisar informed the prime minister that a detailed presentation would be given to him shortly to seek his guidance. The PM hoped that effective measures would be taken by the ministry so that the people could feel the change. Separately, Nisar assured officials of the ministry that he would never use them to advance his political agenda. “I will never do a wrong work and nobody from you should do the wrong, the officials must do their work honestly while keeping the country’s interest supreme.” He said that simplicity would be insured in the ministry and he would set an example. Nisar said, “I do not have any concern with your political affiliation and who inducted you in the ministry. My only concern is that each official should work hard with commitment.”

Five die in russian helicopter crash MOSCOW AGENCIES

Militants expected to clash along pak-afghan border PESHAWAR

tail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications.” He said, “It was also stressed that these drone strikes have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region.” A key Pakistani Taliban commander, Mutaqi alias Bahadar Khan, was killed along with six suspected militants in the drone, intelligence officials told a newspaper. According to intelligence intercepts, the militants led by Mutaqi alias Bahadar Khan were planning to cross over into Afghanistan via Pash Ziarat valley, a strategic corridor linking the South and North Waziristan Agency and considered a gateway to Afghanistan.

from an undisclosed location. A Taliban insider said the clash might be a continuation of the killing of militant commander Shah Sahib, who led another group engaged in fighting US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan and was based in Mohmand Agency since 2006. TTP militants led by Umar Khalid Khurrasani attacked the training centre of the Shah group on July 19, 2008, killing many, including Shah Sahib. Most of the Shah Sahib loyalists were either kidnapped or killed and the group was eliminated from the Mohmand agency. Most members of the group are

presently part of tribal lashkars (local militias), and the attack being planned was part of their strategy to fight the TTP, said the Taliban insider. Former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand said there were fears of a huge security vacuum following the planned withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan. The Afghan government has effectively no authority over the vast territory along the Pak-Afghan border, turning it into safe havens for militants. Shah called the recent tension “a fight for the territory and resources in the bordering area rather than a big clash”.

Five people died when a helicopter on a commercial flight crashed and burst into flames in a remote region of Far Eastern Russia, the emergency situations ministry said on Saturday. Rescuers found the bodies of four crew members and one passenger in the burnt-out wreckage of the Mi-8 helicopter in the Khabarovsk region after a two-day search. The helicopter was carrying three tons of cargo, the ministry said. The helicopter had taken off from the village of Tugur on the Sea of Okhotsk and was flying to the remote inland village of Briakan when it crashed on Thursday. The helicopter belonged to the flying club of an armed forces voluntary association. Military investigators have opened a probe into a breach of flight rules.

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ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD: A severe heat wave accompanied by over 12 hours of load shedding has gripped the federal capital, making lives of citizens miserable. The temperature went up to 44 degrees centigrade in the city on Saturday. Owing to humidity people were compelled to stay home, where they have to face torments due to scorching heat. Load shedding has paralyzed life in Islamabad and the major sufferer were those who had to roam within the city for livelihood. Business activities remained at a standstill during the day. Besides commoners, traders community also expressed deep concern over the longest power breakdown, but still there was no chance of any immediate relief by the government. Newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already announced that there is no quick fix to the energy crisis tormenting the country. He, however, said his government would try to overcome this crisis at

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CDa's 'Clean anD Green' CampaiGn aChievinG maximum Goals ISLAMABAD APP Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz has said that people from all walks of life were actively participating in ongoing CDA's campaign "Clean and green". He said that the sector wise clean and green campaign was achieving maximum goals and bringing natural green environment of Islamabad to its original shape. Talking to APP, CDA official said that in the short period of two months, this campaign had brought positive result and with the availability of limited funds common issues especially regarding to sanitation in the sectors of I & G series had been resolved. The chairman said: "Credit of success of this campaign goes to CDA officers, officials, traders, residents of the federal capital and especially the media, as media has contributed a lot in disseminating CDA's message to grass root level". Appreciating the participation of school children, he said, that students had vigorously participated in the campaign and helped CDA to convey message to those who stayed at home during campaign. Shahbaz said continuity of this campaign showed that the residents of Islamabad were taking keen interest in keeping Islamabad a clean and green city.

ihC, lower JuDiCiary to Get rs 653m BuDGet For next FisCal year ISLAMABAD APP

The Finance Ministry has approved a budget of Rs 653 million for the Islamabad High Court and for two session divisions of lower judiciary of the federal capital for the fiscal year 2013-14. According to a source of IHC, the court has received a letter about the said amount from the Finance Ministry and according to which the

ministry has approved budget of Rs 361.531 million for the Islamabad High Court and Rs 292.335 million for the district Judiciary. The approved budget will be used for pay and allowances of the judges and staff of the high court. The source said maintenance work of the court, purchase of equipment and all general expenditures would be also done from this budget. It is pertinent to mention

here that in the last fiscal year, the IHC had received a budget of Rs 355 million for running its affairs, but due to the appointment of new other staff of the court as mentioned in the IHC Act, the Finance Ministry raised the finances of the court up to Rs 361 million for the next fiscal year. The lower judiciary had got a budget of Rs 212 million for two session divisions of lower judiciary in the fiscal year of 2012-13.

FOOD SECURITY TOP PRIORITY, SAYS BOSAN ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (MinNFS&R), Sikandar Bosan on Saturday said self-sufficiency in food and development of agriculture sector was the top priority of the government. After assuming the charge of office of MinNFS&R, the minister said that the government would provide all kinds of assistance to the

farmers to achieve the goal of national food security. The minister said the MinNFS&R would be reorganized and reactivated to ensure sustainable agrisector development in the country. "I am here to represent the farming community of the country and I will try to convey the agriculture research results at the door steps of the farmers to promote and develop the sector and further enhance the agri-production in the country", he added. The minister said steps would be taken for the development and welfare of

the farmers adding that a proper mechanism would be evolved to enhance per acre crop output by introducing new varieties of seed and modern methods of cultivation. Earlier, the minister visited the ministry of National Food Security and Research where Federal Secretary MinNFA&R, Taimoor Azmat, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council Chairman Dr Iftikahar Ahmad and other senior officers of the ministry received the minister and briefed him about the working of the ministry.

early as possible. Power shortfall in the country has reached up to 5,000 megawatt, which may rise up to 7,000 megawatt during the current summer season. Sectors G-10, G-11 and some parts of rural areas of the federal capital that include Bharakau, Chatta Bakhtawar, Koral are worst affected, where un-announced electricity breakdown, that lasts 12 to 14 hours, has virtually paralyzed the life of the citizens. Due to power breakdown, people are also facing acute shortage of water, particularly, those residing in sectors I and G. On the other hand around 45 percent water available for the city is wasted due to leakage. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman the other day admitted the fact that effective efforts were required to overcome water shortage related complaints in the capital. He said due to steps taken by the Water Management Wing of Capital Development Authority (CDA), major reduction in water complaints had been observed, however, more efforts were required to address remaining complaints. He said that water management wing was working round-the-clock to resolve this issue. STAFF REPORT

Defence production minister takes charge RAWALPINDI: The newly elected Minister for Defence Production, Rana Tanvir Hussain, took charge in his office at the Ministry of Defence Production on Saturday. The minister was received by Defence Production Secretary Lt Gen (r) Shahid Iqbal, Additional Secretary Maj Gen Tariq Rashid Khan, AVM Mohammad Sohail DGDP, Rear Admiral Adnan Nazir DGMP, Joint Secretary Air Cdre Mumtaz Shahi and Narita Farhan. On the prestigious occasion MNA Rana Afzal Hussain was also present. Minister was briefed by Secretary Shahid Iqbal. During the briefing, all senior officers were also present. The minister after the briefing expressed gratitude for a warm welcome extended by all alike. He showed the determination to work with devotion, dedication and in close coordination with the Ministry. After the briefing by the secretary, the minister expressed his keen desire to fulfill the targets as given in the guidelines most effectively and in a transparent manner. The minister also met the staff members who were present in large numbers to greet him on his charge assumption. APP

reConCiliation poliCy aDopteD: sumera malik ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz MNA Sumera Malik on Saturday said the PML-N had adopted the policy of reconciliation to strengthen the democratic process in the country. Talking to APP, she said that energy crisis, peace and education were top priorities of PML-N government adding that her party would raise voice against drone attacks. She said people have given mandate to her party to bring change in the country which would be fulfilled. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has the capability to pull the country out of the persisting crises and tackle internal and external dangers facing the country. A P P

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ISLAMABAD Sunday, 9 June, 2013

marGalla Festival in Full swinG ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Celebrations of Margalla Festival 2013, organized by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at Arts and Crafts Village, are in full swing. Artist from four provinces, including Gilgit-Batistan and Kashmir presented performed and received great appreciation from the residents of twin city. Member Administration, CDA Munir Ahmed Chaudhry was the chief guest of the occasion. While addressing to audience of Margalla Festival, Member Administration CDA, appreciated that the participation of residents of twin city in Margalla Festival and said that on the directions of CDA Chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz this mega cultural event was being organized by CDA for the entertainment of the residents. He said the artists from all over Pakistan had provided complete entertainment to the visitors. He said, after the conclusion of Margalla Festival, CDA would organize different sports competitions and these competitions would help provide opportunity to youth to exhibit their talent. The member admin said Sports and Culture Directorate would arrange different sports and cultural activities round the year to provide healthy recreational facilities to residents of Islamabad. People from the twin cities and other surrounding areas enjoyed performance of renowned artist from Punjab Nadeem Abbas Looney Wala, who presented Punjabi and Seraiki songs. Whereas Kailash dance group of Hunza and Gholey Laal group also performed and received great appreciation from the audience. Concluding ceremony of Margalla Festival 2013 will be held on Sunday, June 9.

Violators of one way, no parking in Murree to be dealt with an iron hand: CTO RAWALPINDI APP

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Syed Ishtiaq Hussain Shah has urged the tourists to observe traffic rules and not to violate one way and no parking in Murree. He said, the violators particularly of one way and no parking will be dealt with an iron hand and no relaxation will be given to anyone. He told that a summer traffic plan for Murree was formulated and announced to facilitate the tourists and avoiding traffic jams. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strict action in accordance with the law will be taken against the violators of no parking and three fork lifters of CTP would lift the vehicles, found parked in no parking areas.â&#x20AC;? Syed Ishtiaq Hussain Shah has also directed the traffic wardens deployed in Murree to work hard for facilitating tourists. He asked tourists to observe

traffic rules properly for resolving traffic issues and avoid traffic jams on roads of Murree. Shah said 14 inspectors, 410 traffic wardens, seven junior traffic wardens, had been deployed in Murree and City Traffic Police (CTP) was implementing a special summer traffic plan devised for the tourist resort. He said Murree was the most attractive resort for tourists and all out efforts were being made to resolve the traffic problems. He said a comprehensive plan was devised to facilitate the tourists according to which entry of heavy vehicles, particularly on Mall Road, had been banned. Murree Mall Road , GPO Chowk, Kashmir Point, View Fouth, Bank Road , Hall Road and Imtiaz Shaheed Road will be closed from 8 am to 12 pm for Hi-Ace vans, Coasters, Water Tankers and other loading vehicles. One-way traffic would be allowed from Guldana Road to GPO, Bank

no toleranCe aGainst Corrupt elements: usman iBrahim ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Housing and Works Barrister Usman Ibrahim on Saturday said the government had come with objective to deliver on merit as there would be no tolerance against any corrupt elements. The minister, who assumed charge, was given an introductory briefing about working of the ministry and its attached departments by Secretary for Housing and Works, Nasar Hayat. The minister directed the secretary to provide a complete and updated survey report, submitted in Supreme Court regarding status of all government housing units in Islamabad. He also directed to prepare a complete list of all illegally occupied government houses which need to be vacated immediately. The attached departments of the ministry would give detailed and formal briefing to the minister in the coming week. APP

arChives Day on sunDay Road to Kashmir Point, Hall Road, Kashmir Point, Bagh Shahidan and View Fourth Road towards GPO roads. He said, only ambulances, vehicles of traffic police, military police, TMA and government vehicles would be allowed on Murree Road. RAWALPINDI: A man arranging Lychees on his roadside stall in blazing heat on Saturday. ONLINE

Shah informed that all possible facilities were being provided to tourists, adding that traffic wardens under the supervision of inspectors had been deployed at all important points of the city. The CTO said several points had also been reserved for car parking.

Ji to support every positive step of government ISLAMABAD APP

Jamat-e-Islamai (JI) Vice President Mian Muhammad Aslam has said that his party would support every positive step of the newly-elected government for interest of the country. He said the JI would continue its efforts for the prosperity of Pakistan, adding that its doors always be opened for the masses. Talking to APP here, he hoped that present government would solve the problems of people on permanent bases. He said that drone attacks were violating sovereignty and integrity of the country that should be stopped.

ISLAMABAD: Archives Day will be celebrated all over the World including Pakistan under auspices of the International Council on Archives (ICA), on Sunday June 9. The aim to introduce the Archives and its importance at the grass root level. National Archives of Pakistan (NAP) has chalked out a programme to celebrate the day from June 11-12,with variety of programmes including media briefing, photographic exhibition and quiz competition. The Director General NAP will give a detailed briefing to the press, while the photographic exhibition depicting struggle for Pakistan Movement will be inaugurated here on June 11, said a press release issued. A quiz competition will be held on June 12 among the students of various schools of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. "We sincerely hope that this effort of the National Archives of Pakistan will be beneficial for students and general public for awareness about archives and its importance". APP

13 outlaws arresteD RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Police have arrested 13 outlaws and seized 430 grams charas, 17 bottles of liquor, four pistols of 30 bore with 36 rounds, one rifle of 12 bore with seven rounds and a repeater gun of 12 bore from their possession. According to police spokesman, Airport police held a Danish national and recovered 305 grams of charas while Arif was arrested with 125 grams of charas. Rattaamral police netted Javed on recovery of 10 bottles of liquor. Gujar Khan police arrested Amir for having two liquor bottles while another accused namely Mumtaz was apprehended on recovery of five bottles of liquor. Other accused were arrested for having illegal weapons. APP

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Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of. — Markus Zusak

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oBama Calls For ‘new moDel’ at China summit

BUDAPEST: Soldiers cover themselves from a military helicopter’s downwash as it lowers sandbags to help reinforce a dike along the swollen Danube River near Gyor, 130km west of Budapest. Water levels on the river have reached or exceeded record highs, prompting a defence operation involving hundreds of soldiers, water workers and volunteers in the northwestern part of the country. AGENCIES

afghan insider kills three us soldiers KaBUL: A man in an Afghan uniform has shot dead three US soldiers in the eastern province of Paktika, officials have said. An argument between the Afghan soldier and his trainers appeared to have led to Saturday’s shooting on an Afghan National Army base in Paktika’s Kher Qot district, according to a statement from the provincial governor’s office. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but NATO officials have said that most insider attacks stem from personal grudges and cultural misunderstandings rather than Taliban plots. “Three ISAF members were killed when an individual wearing ANSF (Afghan National Security Force) uniform turned his weapon on them and opened fire,” a local official spokesman said. The foreigners returned fire and killed the Afghan soldier, who had no known connection to the insurgency, according to the local governor’s statement. The deaths of the International Security Assistance Force on Saturday in the district of Khair Kot came on the same day that one Italian soldier was killed and three others were wounded when a grenade was thrown into their armoured vehicle. The Italian soldier was killed and three were wounded in Farah city on Saturday morning when an 11-year old child threw a grenade at a NATO convoy in the western province of Farah, a Taliban spokesman said. AGENCIES

turkey protests continue as tourism woes grow ISTANBUL

AGENCIES

HOUSANDS of angry Turks have taken to the streets to join mass anti-government protests which have stretched to over one week, defying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call to end the worst civil unrest of his decade-long rule. Protesters began arriving in Istanbul’s Taksim Square From early Saturday morning with food and blankets to settle in for a weekend of demonstrations, adding to the growing tent city in nearby Gezi Park. The lingering rallies, heaviest in Turkey’s main tourist hubs such as Istanbul’s main Taksim Square, are starting to negatively impact business for many. Fresh demonstrations were also planned in the capital Ankara - where Erdogan is expected to be on Sunday - as the crisis entered its ninth day. “A week ago, I could never imagine myself sleeping out on the streets of Istanbul,” said 22-year-old Aleyna, wrapped up under a blanket with a stray kitten, pointing to her dirty

clothes. “Now I don’t know how I can ever go back.” Erdogan, on Saturday, was meeting in Istanbul with top officials of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to discuss the crisis, and a deputy prime minister was due to make a speech later on Saturday. He renewed a call for an immediate end to the protests a day earlier, saying his government was open to “democratic demands”, insisting that the protests were “bordering on vandalism.” ‘DemocratIc DemanDs’: The political turmoil erupted after police cracked down heavily on a small campaign to save Gezi Park from demolition, spiralling into nationwide protests against Erdogan and the AKP, seen as increasingly authoritarian. Police have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have injured thousands of people and left three dead, tarnishing Turkey’s image as a model of Islamic democracy. Faced with international criticism, Erdogan on Friday accused Western allies of double standards after EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule

urged a “swift and transparent” probe into police abuses in Turkey, a longtime EU hopeful. Erdogan issued a sharp retort, saying those involved in a similar protest would “face a harsher response” in any European country. The premier, who has dismissed the demonstrators as “looters” manipulated by extremists, added in a more conciliatory tone: “I’m open-hearted to anyone with democratic demands.” But demonstrators dug in their heels overnight, with thousands massing peacefully in a festive Taksim Square, while in other Turkish cities they took to the streets, banging pots and pans as they marched in protest. Taksim has been free of a police presence since officers relinquished the square to protesters last Saturday after the government acknowledged it was the police’s heavy-handed response that lit the flame of the unrest. In a quiet night nationwide, one only Istanbul suburb saw fresh clashes, with police using tear gas and water cannon on protesters who reportedly threw fireworks and homemade bombs at them.

Mandela in serious but stable condition CAPE TOWN AGENCIES

Former South African president and antiapartheid icon Nelson Mandela is in a “serious but stable” conditon in hospital with a lung infection, a statement from the presidency has said. Saturday’s statement said Mandela, 94, who was discharged from hospital in April after receiving treatment for a lung infection, had suffered the same illness in the past few days. “This morning at about 1.30am his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a Pretoria hospital. He remains in a serious but stable condition,” the statement said. It added that the Nobel laureate, who is said to be breathing on his own, was receiving expert medical care and doctors were doing “everything possible to make

him better and comfortable”. President Jacob Zuma, on behalf of the government and the nation, wished Madiba, Mandela’s clan name, a speedy recovery and requested the media and the public respect the privacy of the former president and his family. Mac Maharaj, Zuma’s spokesperson said Mandela has suffered a lung infection from as far back as he was in prison. “Because he has grown older ... it [infection] needs more careful attention. This time round he was receiving treatment at home but doctors decided the deterioration was serious [enough] to warrant immediate hospitalisation,” he said. “So when I describe his condition as serious, I am saying what the doctors have said to me. But they have also added this morning that he is in a stable condition. He is frail and nobody would be prepared to

predict how speedily or effectively he would recover.” Keith Khoza, the spokesperson of the governing African National Congress, said Mandela was “in capable hands as he has always been and will pull through”. meDIa Kept away: Al Jazeera’s Tania Page, reporting from Johannesburg, said the hospital where Mandela was receiving treatment had not been disclosed as happened with previous admissions because the authorities were trying to keep the media away. “They don’t want a large contingent of media outside the hospital,” she said. “But that in many ways is inevitable because this information does eventually leak out and because there is also such an extraordinary level of attention and care among members of the public as to how he is doing. “People are aware that he is frail; that he is an elderly man [and] many

people are desperate for any news really of his condition.” Mandela, revered at home and abroad for leading the struggle against white minority rule, has been in and out of hospital for lung infection and other health problems. Last year, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. In March and April, global figures such as US President Barack Obama sent him get-well messages and South Africans included Mandela in their Easter prayers. Mandela, who became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 and served only one term in office, was jailed on Robben Island for 27 years for resisiting white minority rule.

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping have agreed to work together to try to resolve disputes over cyber security, a major irritant between the world’s top two economic powers. Hosting Xi at a two-day summit in a luxurious desert estate in southern California, Obama said on Friday that the US welcomes China’s “peaceful rise” but made clear that Beijing must play by the same rules of economic world order as other major nations. The US had accused Chinese hackers of accessing American military secrets, an accusation China denies, and the White House itself faces questions at home over its own surveillance of emails and phone records. Obama did not shy away from the issue of cyber spying in the first day of closed-door meetings, but he took a cautious line at a news conference, stopping short of pointing the finger directly at China or threatening any consequences. With Xi making his first US visit since taking over the presidency in March, both sides appeared intent on giving the impression of a constructive tone at a summit billed as a get-to-knowyou encounter at the sprawling Sunnylands compound near Palm Springs. Xi expressed the hope for deeper co-operation, saying China and the United States could build a new model of “big country” relations. Speaking to reporters at the start of Friday’s talks, Obama said he wanted to achieve a “new model of cooperation” with China - a goal many feel eluded him in his first term when dealing with former Chinese president Hu Jintao. “Our decision to meet so early, I think, signifies the importance of the U.S.-China relationship. It’s important not only for the prosperity of our two countries and the security of our two countries, but it’s also important for the Asia Pacific region and important for the world,” Obama said. Obama said it was in the interest of the US that China continued on the path of success “because we believe that a peaceful and stable and prosperous China is not only good for Chinese but also good for the world and for the United States”. Obama said as two of the world’s largest economies, the US and China were aiming to have a healthy economic competition. But he added that the two nations had a “whole range of challenges on which we have to cooperate”. These, Obama said, include North Korea and its nuclear and missile programmes, nuclear proliferation and climate change. Obama urged Xi to stop reported Chinese hacking against the US, but his call could be overshadowed by new revelations that Obama’s own administration has been secretly collecting information about phone and internet use. AGENCIES

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Flood in kabul river drowns village, traps people CHARSADDA: Jamot village in the suburb of Charsadda was inundated due to flooding in Kabul river on Saturday. According to details, influential persons diverted the direction of the water in order to save their agricultural land due to which dozens of acres agricultural land of the poor was inundated. Irrigation and other related departments have warned people of affected areas to evacuate villages as a precautionary measure. The provincial government also warned people to migrate to safer locations. More than 60 families have migrated to secure areas for survival. INP

energy talks: indian delegation arrives today Pakistan Navy ships sailing in deep waters of the Arabian Sea on World Oceans’ Day on Saturday.

lahore, GuJranwala Get lion’s share in FeDeral CaBinet LAHORE

NADEEM SYED

HE federal cabinet sworn in the other day is conspicuous for being heavily drawn from two divisions of Punjab, ignoring most of the remaining divisions much to the discomfort of party leaders from these neglected areas. A look at the federal cabinet shows that most federal ministers have been inducted from Gujranwala and Lahore divisions. Gujranwala received the heaviest representation in the cabinet. Figures like Khwaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Zahid Hamid, Khurram Dastgir, Usman Ibrahim, Barjees Tahir, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Rana Tanvir, Ishaq Dar and Pervez Rasheed are all either from Gujranwala or Lahore divisions.

“A total of nine ministers are from Gujranwala while about six are from Lahore,” commented a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) source. The divisions completely ignored include Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Sarghoda and Faisalabad, as far as federal ministers are concerned. Obviously, there is a lot of cribbing among MNAs and heavyweights who were overlooked for the cabinet, insiders disclosed. They claim party leaders could not strike a demographic balance in formation of the federal cabinet. Some federal minister would be under the spotlight for the manner in which they handle their ministries. Saad Rafiq seems to be a part of that league and his performance would be watched from day one. “It will be interesting to see what

China bus fire kills 47, blamed on suicidal man BEIJING: A suicidal man started a fire on a bus in China that killed 47 people, state media said on Saturday, a disaster that came just days after 120 people died in a fire at a poultry plant. The bus caught fire during the rush hour on Friday as it was on elevated tracks in the coastal city of Xiamen, the Ministry of Public Security said, labeling it a "serious criminal case". State television said Xiamen resident Chen Shuizong started the fire. A suicide note was found at his home and he was among those killed, it said. "Chen Shuizong felt his life was not as he wished it and he was profoundly pessimistic, so he gave vent to his anger by setting the fire," the television added in a brief report. On Monday, a fire at a poultry slaughterhouse in northeastern China killed 120 people. Authorities said safety management at the plant was a "total mess" and have detained two executives. President Xi Jinping, visiting California for a summit with US President Barack Obama, demanded his government pay closer attention to preventing fires, the Xinhua news agency said. "Life is precious, and lives cannot be sacrificed in the pursuit of development," it cited him as saying. "Lessons must be learned from this spilling of blood and bitter experience." Buses have been targeted before in China. AGENCIES

expertise he has in running a department like railways and whether he has any plans to give life to this dead national entity,” said a senior PML-N leader. Some experts did not find Nisar Ali Khan completely fit for the ministry of interior. “His temperament is different. He is a reserved type of a person, and an aloof character who is hardly available to media and others,” said a senior politician. The new interior minister requires a lot of mobility and monitoring to do justice to his new assignment. Rehman Malik, being a test case, was seen everywhere in the discharge of his duties. Presence of the interior minister where required reflects the government’s concern and helps in mobilising and marshaling resources available.

It will be interesting to observe whether Nisar brings a fresh approach to the ministry in dealing with law and order. Some analysts find ministers like Barjees Tahir and Kamran Michael among the ordinary lot. “They have difficulty communicating with other people,” said a party insider. The choice of Sikandar Bosan from Multan, who finds his place in the cabinet as a result of some last-minute deliberations, is considered to be a good political move. Political circles believe it is a move to counter heavyweights like Yousaf Raza Gilani, Javed Hashmi and Shah Mahmnood Quereshi in the south Punjab’s urban center. This opportunity will give Bosan a chance to develop PMLN’s constituency in Multan.

ISAF CONFIRMS DEATH OF SEVEN GEORGIAN SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN KABUL NNI

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed deaths of seven soldiers from Georgia in Thursday's suicide attack that rocked the troubled Helmand province, 555 km south of Afghan capital Kabul, bringing the alliance casualties to 81 so far this year, 13 of them in June. "Seven Georgian International Security Assistance Force service members were killed yesterday when enemies of Afghanistan attacked their position in southern Afghanistan with a vehicle borne improvised explosive device," ISAF said in a short statement. Nine more Georgian service members sustained injuries in the attack. This is the bloodiest attack against Georgian troops serving in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO-led

forces stationed in the country so far this year for which the armed Taliban outfit has claimed responsibility. The militant group, in a statement posted on its website, termed the attack as part of its spring offensive dubbed “Khalid Bin Walid,” adding that a suicide bomber named Abdul Ghafar of Kandahar blew up his explosive-laden truck against the military base of foreign troops in Nawzad district of Helmand province Thursday afternoon. Since launching the spring offensive on April 28, Taliban-linked militancy has been on the rise in Afghanistan. Earlier, Nawzad Governor Seyad Murad had said, “A militant rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the entrance gate of the foreign forces' military base in Anzar Shali area of Nawzad district around 5 pm local time on Thursday, causing casualties." The NATO-led multinational peace-

keeping troops known as ISAF has lost 81 of its service members since January this year in conflict-ridden Afghanistan, 13 of them this month alone, according to icasualties, a website tracking the US-led coalition's casualties in the war on terror. The deadly bombing, according to media reports, has prompted Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania to take the tragic issue up with his Afghan counterpart General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. Three Georgian soldiers were killed in a similar attack, also in Helmand province's Musa Qala district, last month. More than 1,000 Georgian troops have been serving in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO-led ISAF to help stabilise the militancy-plagued nation. There are around 100,000 NATO-led ISAF forces in Afghanistan with more than 60,000 of them from the US.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India will on Monday kick off talks on import of gas and electricity from India to overcome the crippling energy crisis currently facing the country. In this regard, an Indian delegation would be arriving in Lahore via Wagah Border today (Sunday). The delegation would than proceed to Islamabad to hold talks with officials of Trade and Petroleum ministries. Sources said the government had contacted India to help overcome its energy crisis which had crippled the country's industry and had left millions suffering during the hot summers and chilly winters. India had offered to export petroleum products to Pakistan and expressed willingness to get diesel in Karachi and furnace oil through the Wagah Border. Pakistan's annual requirement for petroleum products is around 80 million tonnes. Last year India exported goods worth $2.33 billion to Pakistan, while its imports from its neighbour were worth $330 million. The visit of Indian delegation is part of trade talks at the secretary-level. ONLINE

pakistan wants resolution of disputes with india: Barjees ISLAMABAD: Minister for Kashmir Affairs Barjees Tahir on Saturday said that Pakistan wanted resolution of all disputes with India through a proper dialogue process. Talking to reporters‚ he said that Pakistan wanted resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations. He said resolution of this lingering dispute would help both countries spend their resources on the welfare of their people. Barjees Tahir further said that his party respected the mandate of all political parties and would take them along on all national issues. ONLINE

religious ministry to provide basic facilities to pilgrims: minister ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammad Yusuf on Saturday said that elimination of corruption and provision of basic facilities to pilgrims would be the basic principles of his ministry. Talking to media after taking over charge of the ministry, Mohammad Yusuf said the Ministry of Religious Affairs would be made a model and no laxity would be tolerated in the performance of its basic functions. He said setting aside whatever happened in the past, he would follow the instructions of the leadership and promote austerity and simplicity. He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would meet the expectations of the people. INP

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APP

HIEF Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Chaudhry on Saturday said an independent judiciary ensures protection of people's rights and promotes rule of law. He expressed these views while inaugurating the meeting of National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) here in the Supreme Court on Saturday. “Good Governance is impossible without accountability as it determines the level of governance in a country and independent judicial system ensures accountability and better public governance,” he maintained. He expressed satisfaction on transfer of power through democratic process in the country and said that though conducting election in a free, fair and transparent manner was the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yet the role of political parties, civil society and media was very important. Chaudhry said that on the request of the ECP for deputing judicial officers as district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) in relaxation of National Judicial Policy was by the apex court in supreme national interest. He said, “I also personally met with DROs and ROs to enlighten them about the importance of task and its far reaching impact on the future of our beloved country. They were clearly directed to discharge their responsibilities in accordance with the

independent judiciary protects people’s rights: CJp ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry chairs the meeting of National Judicial Policy Making Committee in Supreme Court on Saturday. INP

law to strengthen the perception of people on independence of Judiciary,” he added. The CJ remarked that after the completion of election process, it was time to review

india's new monitoring system threatens rights: hrw ISLAMABAD APP

The New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch on Saturday asked India to amend the existing information technology laws to protect freedom of speech and expression to share opinions and information. "The authorities should amend the existing Information Technology Act and rules to protect free speech and expression and be fully transparent about any surveillance system that might chill people's willingness to share opinions and information," said Cynthia Wong, a senior Internet researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch. "The Indian government's centralised monitoring is chilling, given its reckless and irresponsible use of the sedition and internet laws," she said. The HRW said in April 2013, the Indian government began rolling out the Central Monitoring System (CMS), which would enable the government to monitor all phone and internet communications in the country. The CMS will provide centralised access to the country's telecommunications network and facilitate direct monitoring of phone calls, text messages, and internet use by government agencies, bypassing service providers, it added. The HRW pointed out that India had released very little information about what agencies will have access to the system who may authorise surveillance and what legal standards must be met to intercept various kinds of data or communications. "India does not have a privacy law to protect against arbitrary intrusions on privacy, which might have addressed some of these issues," it said. Because the CMS was created without parliamentary approval, the government should convene a full public debate about the intended use of the system before proceeding, the HRW demanded. "Surveillance tools are often used by governments and bureaucrats for political reasons instead of security purposes, and often in a covert way that violates human rights," Wong said. "If India doesn't want to look like an authoritarian regime, it needs to be transparent about who will be authorised to collect data, what data will be collected, how it will be used, and how the right to privacy will be protected," she added.

the performance of judicial officers as DROs and ROs to devise strategies for future and necessary information has been requisitioned from DROs, ROs and Secre-

tary ECP which would be discussed in today's meeting. In line with the constitutional mandate and to meet the heighten expectations of public, the National Judicial

Khattak bent upon improving govt departments PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak said improving performance of government departments, especially those providing services to public, such that they meet expectations of people is his top priority. He added that necessary instructions have already been issued to heads of these departments to formulate effective strategies to eliminate corruption and other mal practices in their respective departments. Khattak stated people will notice a positive change in the province within a couple of weeks. Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from Chitral that called on him at his office the other day, the CM discussed issues relating to ongoing developmental schemes in Chitral and problems faced by the people there in their day-to-day lives. The

delegation was led by PTI senior leader Rehmat Ghazi while other members of the delegation included PTI Chitral President Abdul Latif, MPA Fouzia Bibi, Haji Sultan Shah, Abdur Razzaq, Khair Muhammad Sohail, Hashim Comrade and others. The delegation apprised the chief minister of problems faced by the masses of Chitral and demanded immediate remedies. The chief minister issued neces-

sary directives to the concerned quarters immediately. On a complaint of provision of old and substandard wheat grain to the people of Chitral by the food department, Khattak directed the CM inspection team to conduct an inquiry into the matter and furnish a report to him within a week. Similar action was also ordered by the chief minister on complaints regarding unnecessary and prolonged delays in completion of work on the black topping of Booni, Mastuj and Shandur road. On the delegation’s demand, the CM issued directives to high-ups of health department to post doctors against vacant spots at Chitral District Headquarter Hospital and Drosh Tehsil Headquarter Hospital. The delegation also made a complaint regarding alleged mal practices in developmental schemes in Chitral. The CM assured them that such matters would be looked into through an inquiry commission.

MQM candidate wins PS-128 re-polling MONITORING DESK According to unofficial results of re-polling in the provincial assembly constituency PS-128, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) candidate Waqar Hussain emerged victorious on Saturday. Hussain received 23,828 votes while his opponent Aurangzeb Farooqi of the Muttahida Deeni Mahaz received 23,617 votes.

The MQM's Rabita Committee had alleged that armed individuals had tried to keep voters away from polling booths. They also said they took away possessions and mobiles belonging to polling agents. The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had boycotted the re-polling. On May 11, a bomb attack in the constituency had resulted in voting to be stopped at these six polling stations.

kp government forms working group on aDr PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) constituted a working group on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in its Home and Tribal Affairs Department. According to a notification by the development wing of the KP Home and Tribal Affairs Department on Saturday, the terms of reference (ToRs) are that this working group shall be responsible for extending support in project design, local framework and action plans. Besides, the working group would also offer support in preparation of annual work plan and recommend revision where necessary. It would review draft policies formulated through project assistance and review capacity building and training programmes. The group would provide advice, assistance and support in effective project implementation. Likewise, it would provide necessary support to enhance project efficiency and effectiveness and support for coordination with stakeholders. The working group would also ensure cooperation of respective departments, organisations and training institutes besides ensuring sustainability of project components and assistance in mainstreaming interventions and activities. Furthermore, it would provide assistance in periodic monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of the project and support in policy dialogue. It would also review project communication strategy and promote learning links and exchanges with donors and CSOs. Members of this working group include KP Additional Inspector General of Police Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Peshawar High Court Legal Draftsperson/ Director II (HRD) Riffat Aamir, Home and Tribal Affairs Deputy Secretary Muntazir Khan and Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Deputy Secretary Ismail Qureshi. APP

India claims 2,500 militants training in Pakistani terror camps NEW DELHI INP

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a high-level meeting regarding internal security shared classified information with the chief ministers of states on terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Hizb-ul-Mu-

jahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad. During the meeting, the briefing claimed that around 2,500 militants were undergoing training at 42 terror camps spread in Pakistan. Although the number of infiltration bid has come down considerably in 2013, officials warned that terrorist groups were still active in the valley. There

Policy has been formulated and launched which provides strategies to ensure independence of judiciary, eradication of corruption and clearance of backlog, he stated.

were 249 infiltration attempts by terrorists in 2012. As per the intelligence input, 230 terrorists had already sneaked into the Indian side of the border and holed up in various hideouts in the hills waiting to carry out terror attacks, an Indian daily claimed. On May 22, an LeT commander Hilal

Maulvi, was shot dead by security forces at his hideout, it further said. Furthermore, states were asked to strengthen their intelligence apparatus to thwart terror attacks. During the meeting, it was agreed that security agencies would go after terrorists hiding in various states. The government sources said the states were also directed to ensure that democratic process is followed to instill confidence among people. Indian-held Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also mentioned that the rate of terrorist incidents decreased by 35 percent in 2012 compared to 2011 and a significant decline in all types of casualties was registered in 2012.

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When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always. –Mahatma Gandhi

COMMENT Sunday, 9 June, 2013

wishing cabinet godspeed

Behold the beauty of democracy and what a pretty picture it is

is it capable of delivering? only time will tell

HINGS are moving ahead fast. Within two days of the prime minister’s oath taking, the new cabinet has been sworn in. The peculiarities of the mandate received by the PMLN were bound to be reflected in the shape of the cabinet. With the bulk of PML-N parliamentarians winning from Punjab, the cabinet was bound to be dominated by members from the biggest province. This explains why in a cabinet of 25 there are only seven members from outside the province. The PML-N has appointed three ministers from Sindh, including the sole winner of the party from Karachi, a member of the NPP now merged in the ruling party and another one from the allied PML-F. From Balochistan it now has three ministers, two of them winning on the PML-N ticket and an independent who later joined the party. The cabinet also has a minister from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa who had won his seat on party ticket from Hazara. A better arrangement under the circumstances might not have been possible. The prime minister has kept two additional portfolios with himself. The crucial ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence have traditionally been the domain of the military establishment, causing anomalies and confrontations and making misadventures possible. It was widely understood that since 1977, decisions on major foreign policy issues, particularly those related to India, Afghanistan, and US were being taken by the military. In January last year, there was a sensational standoff between former Prime Minister Gilani and the Army Chief when Gilani claimed that the statements given by the army and ISI chiefs to the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged memo controversy did not have the approval of the PM. The statement led to a demand from the military that Gilani either clarify or retract his criticism of the army and the spy agency. Again, the Kargil misadventure could take place because matters related to defence were considered outside the purview of the civilian administration. Hopefully the move to bring foreign and defence ministries under the PM would strengthen the Foreign Office as the right place to prepare foreign policies while it would also help establish the supremacy of the civilian government over armed forces. The new cabinet is dominated by dependable PML-N loyalists who have been allotted the key ministries. It is overwhelmingly a cabinet of Mian Nawaz Sharif’s choice with only a handful of members nominated due to alliance or federal compulsions. This provides Nawaz Sharif a golden opportunity to retrieve the promises he has made to the nation. One hears that a number of brainstorming sessions have already been held where vital guidelines on important issues were formulated. While the PML-N chief is keen to hold consultations with parties in the opposition also, it is the PML-N which is to be held accountable in days to come. Only time will tell whether the new cabinet is capable of coming up to the people’s expectations.

tasks ahead Nawaz sharif won’t find it easy

UNNING a government is not an easy task as Nawaz Sharif might find out in the coming weeks. He has already piles of files stacking up on his table but that is too simple a twist on a task that has brought down many. As the devil is in details, the elder Sharif needs to get down to business before he is overrun by this meeting or that, a flaw of the system most of our governments have been a victim of. But everything aside, what requires the new premier’s immediate attention is the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, drone attacks and peace in Afghanistan. If the newly elected PM thought his time ahead was going to be easy, he would be in for a surprise. The German foreign minister’s visit to Islamabad to discuss the endgame in Afghanistan is the West testing the waters before jumping into it. They are interested in seeing if the new administration in Islamabad is going to make some changes to the country’s foreign policy. Nawaz Sharif has, however, stated that his government wants an “Afghan-led and Afghan owned” peace process, but how far he is willing to go to make this happen still remains to be seen. He had asked for Maulana Samiul Haq’s help in getting the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table but, as reports suggest, the PM has not yet contacted Maulana Sami again for an update on the issue. Maybe he has realised that before offering unconditional help in a mess created by others, he needs to see where everyone stands and what everyone stands to gain, which, if it is so, is a good decision. In a recent cross-border firing incident on LoC in Poonch sector an Indian JCO was killed. Though Pakistan military has denied that it fired, the Indians claim it was “unprovoked firing” from the Pakistani side that killed the officer. They say the incident was a cover to let terrorists cross border into Kashmir. With Pakistan military denying the incident, militants might really have taken advantage of both militaries. In the backdrop of recent accusations on the ISI being involved in inciting terror in India, and manhandling of a Pakistani diplomat in India, relations between the neighbours have become strained. Nawaz Sharif has a tough task ahead to sort out the mess, launch an inquiry into the incidents, and deal with those who are found involved in any such rogue activity. That would help bring India to the table for peace talks. The issue of drone attacks also needs his attention. The fact that they are viewed as an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty, and that they are causing more anti-US feelings and thus creating more terrorists, should help narrow down Pakistan’s and US’s choices. How soon Nawaz Sharif can come around to these issues and how well he handles them will define the way he intends to govern this country in his third stint.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

HUMAYUN GAUHAR

OME might react badly to this article for truth is often bitter and bald truth is very bitter indeed. No matter. Iqbal gave me my motto: “I have been ordained to speak the Truth: ‘There is no god but God’” – Mujhay hai hukm-e-azan La Illaha Il Allah. So let the truth be told, as I see it obviously. Behold the beauty of democracy. It bestowed on us a pretty picture of an alleged criminal president with many cases against him administering the prime ministerial oath to another pardoned and alleged criminal with many cases against him. This is polluted democracy, no less polluted than democracy under any military ruler. Both produce dictators in different garb. That is all. President Zardari is a product of a Presidential Ordinance under which many criminal cases were withdrawn against him, his late wife and over 8,000 others who benefitted by default. Some went on to hold powerful government offices in yet another example of the beauty of our democracy. The Sharifs were winkled out by a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia (kid brother Shahbaz protesting) after Nawaz had been convicted of hijacking and terrorism. The deal was between Saudi Arabia and the Sharifs that included President Musharraf giving Nawaz a pardon and a bargain in which many cases against him and his family were scuttled. But many remain pending and await adjudication. I don’t want to witness the sight of yet another prime minister being disqualified. Yet Nawaz and Shahbaz were qualified to contest elections while many others with similar ‘credentials’ were disqualified. One alleged financial deviant administering oath to another makes a perfect picture of our pathos, underlining the complete and utter degradation of democracy engineered in the name of ‘the people’. This is not the only picture. I have photographs of the current chief justice giving oath to and taking oath from President Musharraf whom he would now crucify. These are pretty pictures of hypocrisy personified. When will we develop fear of God? These pictures also underline the utter bankruptcy of our political and economic systems, the judiciary and some of the ‘independent’ media that are bending over backwards to try and put a gloss on our warts by telling half-truths. Accepting a pardon even under the camouflage of reconciliation is admission of guilt. No innocent person worth his salt would accept any kind of pardon. Period. A big deal is being made of Sharif’s hat-trick, becoming prime minister a third time. If Benazir hadn’t been killed she would have been the first three-time prime minister. Instead, power went to her husband. She would have done a less bad job than him and Sharif may not have

got another chance. But the script said she had to go to achieve two ends: give the PPP a rope long enough to hang itself by its own hand and get rid of Musharraf because he had drawn a red line that he was not permitting America to cross, like putting boots on our ground. As soon as Zardari gained power the US did put boots down in Bajaur, homes were destroyed and many innocents killed. Thousands of visas were issued in indecent haste to CIA-contracted assassins like Raymond Davis. They have become an epidemic in our country. Actually, many have been elected to our assemblies more than thrice, showing that nothing changes except the garb of the mannequins in the show window of the facade of our democracy in which democracy’s essence is missing. Shahbaz Sharif has become chief minister a third time to give Lahore (where he thinks Punjab begins and ends) more buses at Rs2.5 billion per kilometer and sell subsidized tickets to be paid for from an empty exchequer. As is that mummy-dummy from Cairo’s Pharaoh Museum third-time chief minister of Sindh whose strings are pulled by adopted brother ‘Tappi’ whose strings are pulled by Zardari – the PPP’s master puppeteer to give us more dozen-a-day killings in Karachi. This is the beauty of our democracy that people go on about to pull wool over our eyes while the hapless masses go further down the degradation gutter. With Sindh in his pocket Zardari may harbour the option of becoming the ‘Raja of Sindh’ in his sights for he knows that at the rate we are going there may be an economic collapse and rather Nawaz Sharif preside over it than he. Sharif can avoid the collapse if – and it’s a big if – he can take hold of the script and rewrite it for Pakistan’s good. It depends on how much he has learned from his past, especially that there are limits to power that he should never cross again. Instead, he can gradually extend those limits with good governance and without upsetting any applecart. That takes great wisdom and patience and ability to have the right advisers like Sartaj Aziz. He is a man of the world and knows what it is all about. Hopefully, Sharif got some wisdom and patience living in the Holy Land. He can get more from our Chinese friends. Otherwise what was the point of the last 14 years if he hasn’t learned and changed? It can be done but first we should accept what we have. Turmoil is not our friend. Let the dead past bury its dead and move on. Evolution will sort it out. Progressive people learn from the past and look to the future. We too must be patient and wise. Remember, one of God’s names is ‘Al Sabir’, The Patient. Another is ‘Al Hakeem’, The Wise. When I first went to China over 30 years ago it was a model of underdevelopment. The only thing highly developed was the minds and value system of the people and their leaders. Hotels were all Chinese functioning in their own way. The food was Chinese only except in Beijing’s Friendship Hotel where PIA crews historically stayed that had some Pakistani dishes, and well cooked they were too – or perhaps I was in withdrawal after eating rabbit, Chinese cabbage and boiled rice in the Beijing Hotel for a month, except in banquets. There were no taxis, only busses. No cars, except official. Bicycles crawled every-

where like ants. Shopping for foreigners was restricted to the wellstocked Friendship Store. There was no black tea, coffee, sugar, milk or bread. When I found some and asked them to boil the milk for my tea the girls giggled. “Why would a grown man want an infant’s food?” they wondered. Everyone from Deng Xiao Ping down wore Mao suits, you couldn’t tell the difference between a man and a woman except from up close, they smoked like chimneys, their teeth were yellow because they didn’t know toothbrush and toothpaste, and they had no contact with the outside world. In short, they lacked everything that most backward countries take for granted. In 1981 I also went to Dar as Salam under Julius Nyerere. The water from the taps of Hotel Kilimanjaro was brown because Lake Tanganyika’s filtration plant had broken down. They would sell things for one cigarette. We shaved with soda or beer whichever was available. There was no food to buy, just some sorry-looking dried fruit. Look at China now: advanced and advancing. Tanzania is still there more or less. We have regressed. If China could do it so can we. Sharif should study what they have that we don’t. The Chinese have a strong, coherent and dynamic ideology unlike the Soviet Union that became static. Mao’s two revolutions did a cleansing job for 30 years, albeit at great human cost. Deng Xiao Ping’s 1979 revolution tweaked the ideology to retain the best of socialism coupled with the best of efficient capitalism but under strict regulation, gradually, gradually, learning as they went along. The Chinese system produces highly educated leaders over years that start from the factory floor and field. They first enter local and provincial governments so when they reach national government they are imbued with experience at every level and knowledge about their country and people learned from that experience. Those that go astray are cast aside. Jiang Zemin worked in our Heavy Mechanical Complex in Taxila. In comparison, Sharif did not even work in his own factories. Zardari doesn’t know how to do business the proper way. God says that people get the leaders they deserve. We deserve our leaders so don’t perennially bellyache. They are our punishment. Even if rigging hadn’t taken place, the result would have been much the same. God says that sometimes He does something that we don’t like but will later realize that it was for our good. The flip side is that God will sometimes do something that we love but if we cannot digest it we will later realize that it was for our destruction. While celebrating his hat-trick, Mr Sharif should keep this in focus. The look on his face says that he does, but actions speak louder than looks and words. We will see. He would have rejoiced when he became prime minister two times before. But his impetuosity needlessly destroyed those terms. He would have lamented when he went to Saudi Arabia. But that stint in self-exile brought him back to power. Now he has another chance, perhaps the last. God has given him a five-year rope. He can either hang himself like Zardari or start swinging like Tarzan. It’s up to him. God be with him – and us. The writer is a political analyst. He can be contacted at humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com

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Government is not reason, it is not eloquence – it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and fearful master. –George Washington

COMMENT

Sunday, 9 June, 2013

‘reasoned’ out dNa testing and the council of islamic ideology

pia: a pale facsimile of its glory days a case study on how to make and unmake an airline

ALI AKBAR

AKISTAN’S civil aviation history would make a great case study on how to make and unmake a national airline. It all started when Orient Airways was formed by the Isfahani family of Calcutta in 1946, acting upon a suggestion by Mr Jinnah. The war had ended and aeroplanes were freely available at throwaway prices. The Orient started with the venerable work horse, the DC3 which had been built in the tens of thousands during the war. Orient merged with the proposed national airline in 1955 and PIA was born. The small, manageable entity that it was, PIA started on a very promising note. Lockheed Super Constellations were purchased as well as Vickers Viscounts. Both aircraft were operated successfully in a rapidly expanding international network. Air Marshal Nur Khan took over as MD in 1959 and in his inimitable style, brought PIA up to par with the world’s best airlines. PIA wet leased a Boeing 707 from Pan Am and started trans-Atlantic flights. Boeing 720s, a shortened version of the 707, were purchased as well as Fokker F27s which operated in the far flung Northern areas as well as short hop inter-city flights. The PIA of today is a pale facsimile of what were its glory days. Where did it go wrong? The major obvious reason is that in the early years, the airline was being run as a corporation with a strong and enlightened leadership. As the years wore on, the operations became increasingly bureaucratic. Political governments succumbed to pressure and used the airline as an employment exchange. At the moment there are 500 employees per aircraft. Compare this to Lufthansa (127), British Airways (178), Singapore Airlines (140), United Airlines (119) and Air France (245). In PIA’s defence, it has to operate many nonprofit routes on the fringes of the country, like Gilgit, Skardu, Gwadar. These operations and the staff that runs them are a drain on the airline’s resources and account for a significant number of the 500 employees. And the employee salaries are a fraction of what are being paid on the European airlines so this can also not be blamed for the non-profitability. The major reason for PIA’s ills is that it is not being run as a commercial entity but rather under

the Ministry of Defence. Inevitably, this has led to bureaucratic tendencies. Retired defence services officers have found the CAA and PIA convenient post retirement employers with excellent perks. Most of them do not have the expertise that could contribute in any positive way. The political employees, incompetent to a fault, would gang up together to protect themselves. The end result is what we have today, an overweight, arthritic behemoth that is essentially on life support. Another factor that, experts say, caused a severe downslide in the airlines fortunes was the Pakistan government’s decision to start an ‘Open Skies’ policy. Critics say that the decision by the Nawaz Sharif government at the time, was taken in haste and without proper thought. In essence, the ‘Open Skies’ policy gave foreign airlines a free access to Pakistan’s air traffic, not only to take passengers to their own home country, but also to connect them to their other international flights. This policy is rarely undertaken and even when it is, it is between airlines that are at a par with each other with regard to services, aircraft, connections etc. This decision is taken by aviation marketing experts after a careful study of the advantages and disadvantages to their own airline industry. The airline industry is governed by what are known as ‘Freedoms’. The fifth and sixth Freedoms are the most relevant and they delineate the rights of airlines to take passengers from another country to their own and the right to take them further to another country. The sixth freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from a second country to a third country by stopping in one’s own country. It can also be characterized as a form of the fifth freedom with an intermediate stop in the operating airline’s home market. Most countries jealously guard their sixth Freedom Rights and to give free rein to foreign airlines to pick up and transport passengers anywhere in the world was a grievous blow to a struggling airline. PIA’s main competitors in the region were the burgeoning Gulf airlines like Emirates, Qatar and Ittehad. These airlines had unlimited resources, new planes, European management and state of the art inflight entertainment and service. They also had excellent Duty Free areas in their hub airports. Try as it might, the creaking, struggling PIA was thrown in at the deep end. It was basically sink or swim and PIA has been just keeping its nose above water ever since. In 1997 when the policy was introduced PIA share of the market was 81.3 and others a mere 8.7 percent. By 2001, this had changed dramatically relegating PIA to only 41 percent share of the market. As a result, unable to compete with foreign airlines, PIA is demanding protectionist legislation to rescue the cash-strapped company. The PIA fleet is cause for serious concern. Apart from the Boeing 777s, all other aircraft are old and in such a state of disrepair that they were banned from using European airspace for quite some time. PIA’s maintenance and engineering wings, once considered their pride, were in serious danger of losing their edge. With the Extended Twin Engine Operating Standards (ETOPS) coming into effect in the late 1980s, twin engine airliners could

operate anywhere in the world as long as they were within 180 minutes from an alternate airport in case of one engine shutdown. This placed almost the entire planet in operating range of the twin engine airliners like the 777 or the A330s. This, along with rising fuel prices, put the Boeing 747s that PIA operates, unprofitable to operate. Most have been grounded and are only used for Hajj flights. The Boeing 777s are successful but were purchased through a financial deal that may not have been the best. Most airlines get discounts of 30 per cent or even more from the list price. It is not known whether PIA was in a position to get this discount through the finance company. All this can add to the all-important CASM (cost per air seat mile). An expensive plane will have a higher CASM and therefore less profitability. Moreover, at the time the 777s were purchased, there was a glut in the airliner market following the 9/11 tragedy. Plane prices had fallen steeply. Perhaps a boat was missed there. Recently a lease of six A320s was cancelled because the maintenance staff stated that they were more comfortable with the 737s and that the retooling for the maintenance of the A320s would be prohibitive. With the grounding of most of the Boeing 737s, only about 18 serviceable airliners are left. Compare this to some American privately run airlines that have almost a thousand aircraft. Like every other inefficient organization, there is always room for the unscrupulous to make a fast buck here and there. There is a thriving business of excess baggage, especially from the Gulf countries where baggage is loaded for a consideration. Then there is the carry-on baggage which is often much more than allowed. The problem is that pilots need exact figures so that they can do load and weight and balance calculations. Most of them automatically add one ton into their calculations. Even then, they are not amused when they see a fast disappearing runway with the engines red lined. There are stories of people storing vital engine parts in collusion with maintenance staff just so that when there is a requirement for it to keep the plane in the air, they can charge full market price and make a killing. This nickel and dime stuff would disappear with better management and a tight ship. In Jeddah, PIA lost its credit and had to pay cash. The management decided to add extra fuel from Pakistan even though hauling that extra fuel would cost a lot of money. It is these indicators that show a badly mismanaged organisation. Unfortunately, there is no magic potion that could solve all of the ills of PIA. They need to get back to fundamentals. Improve their staff, cabin crew training. Maintain their planes so that they are in the air longer. They are useless sitting at the ramp. New planes need to be added. But the key is the management at the top level. The airline must be run as a business with the management having hire and fire powers. And above all, get a professional, with a track record to run it. No matter how much he costs the airline. As the Chinese proverb says, ‘The fish rots from the head’. If the head is good, the rest will follow.

HE dominant force of the past century has been a sweep of science and technology, driven by a desire to seek certainty and answers to some of our most primordial questions. In this pursuit, over the past half century, humankind has split the atom and spliced the gene to look SAAD RASOOL inside the very fabric of our creation. We are no longer anchored to the force of gravity, have propelled towards the skies, explored other celestial bodies and roamed Tranquility Base on the moon. We have reached for the stars and never have we been closer to having them in our grasp. New science, new technology is making the difference between life and death. It is bridging the gap between dreams and reality. The effect of modern science is spilling over the bounds of laboratories and into the heart of the social, economic and political lives of our species. And thus, at this critical juncture in human history, even the moral theorems of social science and the law turn towards science for direction and evidentiary guidance. However, someone forgot to tell all this to the Council of Islamic Ideology. Recently, the Council for Islamic Ideology – the highest constitutional body on the issue of what is, or is not, in conformity with the ‘injunctions of Islam’ – has declared that DNA test is not admissible evidence in establishing the crime of rape. And with it, we have, at least in terms of rape cases, regressed to a model of evidence that is befitting a pre-Crusade time period, when the time of day could only be told by looking at the sun in the sky, and day of the month could only be told by looking at the size of the crescent. Bravo! In order to grasp the far-reaching effect of this ‘declaration’ of the Council of Islamic Ideology, it is important to understand what the Council is, and how it affects our legal and judicial paradigm. The Council of Islamic Ideology is a group of Ulema (at least individuals are, in theory, Ulema) charged with providing the declarative direction to Islamic provisions, under the law, which are then to be interpreted by the Federal Shariat Court accordingly. To understand this interplay, it is perhaps pertinent to start with noting how profuse the Constitution of Pakistan is with Islamic references and provisions. To begin with, the Preamble (text of which has been made a substantive part of the Constitution through Article 2-A) declares the supremacy of Quran and Sunnah over all other things. This combination of ‘Church-andState’ works well in a country where over 95 percent of the people claim to be Muslims, and where Article 2 of the Constitution clearly declares, “Islam shall be the State religion of Pakistan”. In light of these constitutional provisions, Articles 203-A through 203-J establishe the Federal Shariat Court, and give it the power to declare any law “repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam”. Furthermore, Part IX of the Constitution (Islamic Provisions) endeavours to bring all laws of our nation “in conformity with the Injunctions of Islam”, and for this purpose, Article 228 establishes a Council of Islamic Ideology, with up to twenty members. Benevolently, Article 228(3) of the Constitution stipulates that “so far as practicable various schools of thought [shall be] represented in the Council”, and that “at least one member [shall be] a woman”. And the interpretation given by this Council, along with the Federal Shariat Court, for all intents and purposes, is the declarative interpretation of the injunctions of Islam in our country. There are countless problems with the manner in which the Council has been structured. Perhaps one of the main reasons why decisions such as the one about sanctity of DNA testing keep emerging from the Council is that, for large periods of our history (including present day), no woman has served on this Council. For a country with 50 percent women population, and aspirations of becoming a progressive nation in world, this fact is extremely discouraging and increasingly leads to (binding) interpretations of Islamic law that are biased against the female gender. Additionally, a cursory look at the members of this Council reveals that just a minimal number of schools of Islamic thought have been represented on this Council, making their interpretation of the injunctions of Islam bend in favour of certain sects of Islam and against others. Now, while it is perfectly acceptable for any individual to pick one interpretation of the religion over the other, in regards to his or her personal life and practice, it hardly seems reasonable that the State should deem one interpretation of Islam preferable to the other. This Council, over the years, has resisted all moves of reforming the Blasphemy Law, not shied away from calling certain sects to be non-Muslims, and never taken an aggressive stand against the militancy being spread in the name of Islam. In fact, it was in line with the recommendations of this Council that the honourable Lahore High Court, in the case of Muhammad Azhar v The State (PLD 2005 LHR 589), declared that evidentiary value of the DNA test was not acceptable in cases falling under the penal provisions of Zina, punishable under Hudood Laws having its own standard of proof. While the honourable Supreme Court, in recent years, has made a push towards progress regarding accepting of DNA tests as sufficient evidence (specifically, suggesting that a mandatory DNA test be done in all rape cases, in the judgment of Salman Akram Raja v Government of Punjab (2013 SCMR 203), still we are far away from accepting the advances of science and technology into the fold of Islam and Hudood Laws. When will we stop resisting the voice of reason? When will our journey to progressive modernism start? The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore. He has a Masters in Constitutional Law from Harvard Law School. He can be reached at: saad@post.harvard.edu

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A arts Sunday, 9 June, 2013

Hair loss is God's way of telling me I'm human. –Bruce Willis

HALLE BERRY

DOESN’T FOLLOW

FASHION TRENDS aJay DevGn takes Family For a vaCation in lonDon 'Singham' star Ajay Devgn is on a month-long vacation in London with his actress wife Kajol and two kids. Devgn, 44, who was last seen in Sajid Khan's 'Himmatwala', recently completed shooting for Prakash Jha's political drama 'Satyagraha' along with Amitabh Bachchan. "Off today to london. The holiday is finally here. See you guys in a month or so!," Devgn posted on Twitter. NEWS DESK

Johnny Depp tattooeD himselF with kniFe?

NEWS DESK

SCAR winner Halle Berry says she doesn't follow fashion trends and wears only those clothes which she feels complement her skin tone and body shape. "I don't follow fashion or beauty trends, I just stick to products and colours that work for me and suit my skin tone," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Berry as saying. The "Cloud Atlas" star, who is also a diabetic, also makes sure she eats a healthy diet. "Because I'm diabetic, I don't just start eating healthily and working out before I start filming a movie or attend a red carpet event, I live like that. It's a way of life and it's really important that I stay fit and eat healthily all of the time."

Actor Johnny Depp, who has at least 15 tattoos, says even if a tattoo is a 'do-ityourself' kind, it doesn't lose its meaning. The 49-year-old believes each of his tattoos stand for something. "My skin is a journal, every tattoo means something. Whether you do it yourself with a knife or you get it done by a professional, that doesn't change its meaning," the sun quoted him as saying. NEWS DESK

Catherine Zeta-Jones doing great after rehab NEWS DESK

sarah JessiCa parker set to launCh own shoe line Sarah Jessica Parker is launching her own, real-life line of shoes in partnership with CEO of Manolo Blahnik, George Malkemus. Parker told Vogue.com that in a silly way, she thinks that it's what people have expected of her because of Carrie Bradshaw- the shoe-crazy character she played for six years on 'Sex and the City.' The 48-year-old actress', who is famous for Bradshaw's overthe-top, pricey pumps and stilettos, but real-life collection, named SJP, will be less extravagant, the New York Daily News reported. Simple pumps and flats from the collection will cost between 200 dollars and 300 dollars and they will be available exclusively at Nordstrom early next year. Parker said that because she got to play that role, she wore a lot of shoes and by default she learned an enormous amount. The fashion fan and Malkemus are also working on a line of bags and trench coats. NEWS DESK

Michael Douglas has revealed that spouse Catherine Zeta-Jones, who checked into rehab for maintenance for bipolar II disorder in April, is doing great now. The 'Basic Instinct' star opened up about the struggles that his wife went through and told the Daily express that she's much better now and well on the way to recovery. Douglas also explained the reason behind the actress' return to a healthcare facility after she first sought medical treatment in April 2011 for the mental health condition. The 68-year-old actor, who himself was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2010, said that sometimes one doesn't think that they need any meds at all and then completely forget about them. He asserted that once that happens, the real trouble begins, but his wife is fine now and has got it under control. He said that he couldn't wait to see her and said that bipolar was like a slippery slope.

Putin, wife announce their marriage is over on TV Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his 29year marriage to his his wife, Lyudmila, was over after removing his wedding band as they watched the ballet together. The 60-year-old and his 55-yearold wife broke the news of the end of the 29-year marriage in an obviously staged TV interview after a night at the ballet. Before the ballet at the Kremlin Palace, Putin was pictured wearing his wedding ring, but he must have removed it during the performance because he was not wearing it by the time he left and was interviewed. Asked on Rossiya-24 television about longstanding rumours that the Putins no longer lived together, the 60-yearold Putin said: 'That is true.' Lyudmila Putin said it had been “our common decision. And our marriage is over due to the fact that we barely see each other.” Asked whether they were divorced, Lyudmila said it was a “civilised divorce”. But neither clarified whether they were legally divorced and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he did not know. The obviously staged interview made no mention of Alina Kabayeva, a 30-year-old former gymnast who is rumoured to have been Putin's mistress for years. Miss Kabayeva, who is alleged to have given birth to Putin's lovechild, is now a politician after retiring from a glittering career in gymnastics in which she represented her country at the Olympics twice. NEWS DESK

JuDGe orDers investiGation into paris JaCkson’s welFare A probate court judge has ordered an investigation into the "health, education and welfare" of Paris Jackson following her suicide attempt. The report by a court investigator will be submitted privately to Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff and is to contain recommendations relating to the 15year-old daughter of the late Michael Jackson. Beckloff, who said his June 6dated order is in response to "recent media reports concerning her welfare," had approved Paris' grandmother Katherine Jackson and cousin TJ Jackson as the child's co-guardians. NEWS DESK

EMMA WATSON FEELS LIKE CINDERELLA Actress Emma Watson feels she lives her life like fairytale character Cinderella, because she always has to give away her glamorous outifts back after film premieres and parties. The 23-year-old feels that like Cinderella, who got transformed from a parlour girl into a princess for one night only, she also gets to wear "beautiful clothes", which are lent by designers, for major premieres and red carpet events, reports dailymirror.co.uk. ''I probably own about eight pairs of shoes, max. I get lent all of these beautiful clothes, but a bit like Cinderella. They all go back at midnight and I just go home and put my jeans on. I haven't got wardrobes full of gowns," said the "Harry Potter" star. NEWS DESK

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I'm just an ordinary person who has an extraordinary job. –Julia Roberts

ARTS Sunday, 9 June, 2013

13 A

12th annual luX Style awardS nominationS celebrate the beSt of PakiStan’S muSic, tV and faShion KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

HE awards office of the 12th Annual LUX Style Awards announced nominations in 22 categories in the field of television, music and fashion in Karachi on Friday. The three distinct juries that debated and voted for the TV, Music and Fashion nominations had an intensive and challenging task to narrow down to five nominations per category. The Film Jury refrained from suggesting any 2012 release for nomination this year. The eight TV nominations were divided into satellite and terrestrial for the Best Serial, Best Actor/Actresses categories. The final winner for each of these categories is decided by Viewer’s Choice votes while nominees for Best Director and Writer Awards will be decided via Jury Votes. Hum TV’s mega blockbuster hit ‘Humsafar’ has a

LUX STYLE AWARDS NOMINATIONS 2013 TELEVISION NOMINATIONS Best TV Play (Satellite) Humsafar on Hum TV (Producer Momina Duraid) Maat on Hum TV (Producer Amna Nawaz Khan) Manjali on Geo Entertainment (Producer Humayun Saeed & Shezad Naseeb) Mera Yaqeen on ARY Digital (Producer Asif Raza Mir & Babar Javed) Shehre Zaat on Hum TV (Producer Abdullah Kadwani, Asad Qureshi & Momina Duraid) Best TV Actress (Satellite) Hina Dilpazeer for Qudusi Sahab Ki Bewa on ARY Digital

Mahira Khan for Humsafar on Hum TV Mahvish Hayat for Mere Qatil Mere Dildar on Hum TV Saba Hameed for Manjali on Geo Entertainment Saba Qamar for Maat on Hum TV Best TV Actor (Satellite) Adnan Siddiqui for Mere Qatil Mere Dildar on Hum TV Faisal Qureshi for Jahez on Geo Entertainment Fawad Khan for Humsafar on Hum TV Imran Aslam for Sanjha on Hum TV Shahood Alvi for Mere Huzoor on Express Entertainment Best TV Play (Terrestrial) Mein on PTV (Producer Studio 63) Mein Muhabbat aur Tum on A Plus (Producer Shehzad Chaudry) Paayal on PTV (Producer Yamin Malik) Qeemat on A Plus (Producer Kamran Khan) Tilafi on PTV (Producer Humayun Saeed & Shahzad Naseeb) Best TV Actress (Terrestrial) Beenish Chohan for Chalo phir se Jee ke Dekhen on PTV Fiza Ali for Love, Life aur Lahore on A Plus Mahnoor Baloch for Tilafi on PTV Mahvish Hayat for Mein on PTV Resham for Ek Yaad Hai on A Plus Best TV Actor (Terrestrial) Babar Ali for Mein on PTV Kashif Mehmood for Love, Life aur Lahore on A Plus Nauman Ejaz for Qeemat on A Plus Saleem Shaikh for Anokha Ladla II on PTV

presence in all relevant categories as it is now eligible for inclusion this year as against 2011, per the rules of the LUX Style Awards. The competition in all TV categories is expected to be intense. Competition for the nine Fashion Categories was tough and challenging. The Jury, made up of fashion editors and journalists across Pakistan voted for top five in each category. Fashion’s new vibrancy is gauged most by the entry of so many new practitioners in the Emerging Talent category. The other categories reflected the state of the industry with its blend of entrenched old guard still exciting with new ideas and the push up by vibrant new talent to edge them out and gain a foothold in the big design, styling and photography categories. The LUX Style Awards for excellence in the field of Entertainment and Fashion in Pakistan are held annually and aired throughout the country on several national channels.

Sami Khan for Mein on PTV Best TV Director Amna Nawaz for Maat on Hum TV Hassam Hussain for Durr-e Shahwar on Hum TV Kashif Nisar for Mein on PTV Nadeem Baig for Manjali on Geo Sarmad Khoosat for Humsafar on Hum TV Best TV Writer Amna Mufti for Jahez on Geo Faiza Iftikhar for Bilquis Kaur on Hum TV Khalil-ur-Rehman for Manjali on Geo Seema Munaf for Tilafi on PTV Umera Ahmed for Maat on Hum TV

MUSIC NOMINATIONS

Best Album Chahar Balish by Sajjad Ali Circus in the Sky by Usman Riaz Khamoshi by Ayesha Omar Naubahar by Dynoman The Harvest by Sajid & Zeeshan Song of the Year Ankahi by Overload Jaag by Jarar Malik Kahani Purani by Mooroo Katna Nae by Sajjad Ali Pi Jaon by Farhan Saeed Best Emerging Talent Ahmed Siddiqui Faaris Shafi Mooroo Naseer and Shahab Sibti Best Music Video Director Farhad Humayun for Ankahi Hammad Khan for Ane de Sohaib Akhtar- for Khamoshi Taimoor Salahuddin for Awam

Taimoor Salahuddin for Kahani Purani Best Original Sound Track (OST) Hain Yeh Silsilay by Zoe Viccaji for Tanhayan Naye Silsilay on ARY Digital Matae Jaan by Bilal Khan for Matae Jaan on Hum TV Roshan Sitara by Qurat ul Ain Baloch for Roshan Sitara on Hum TV Yaar Ko Humne by Abida Parveen for Shehr-e-Zaat on Hum TV Zindagi Gulzar Hai by Ali Zafar for Zindagi Gulzar Hai

FASHION NOMINATIONS

Model of the Year (Female) Amna Ilyas Ayyan Cybil Chowdhry Mehreen Syed Rabia Butt Model of the Year (Male) Abbas Jafri Ather Amin Jahan-e-Khalid Shehzad Noor Waleed Khalid Best Fashion Photographer Azeem Sani Fayyaz Ahmed Guddu Shani Maha Burney & Nadir Feroz Khan at NFK Rizwanul Haq Best Hair and Make-up Artist Creative Team at Nabila Creative Team at Tariq Amin Juju Haider & Shammal Quraishi at Toni&Guy, Lahore Maram Azmat & Abroo Hashmi Raana Khan

Achievement in Fashion Design – Luxury Pret Shehla Chatoor Iman Ahmed at Body Focus Khadija Shah at Elan Maheen Karim Sania Maskatiya Achievement in Fashion Design - Pret Feeha Jamshed Iman Ahmed at Body Focus Sanam Chaudhry Sania Maskatiya Wardha Saleem Best Menswear Designer Ahmed Bham Amir Adnan Ammar Belal Ismail Farid Republic by Omar Farooq Achievement in Fashion Design – Lawn Khaadi by Khaadi Mahnoush by Arjumand Amin Orient by Deepak Perwani Sana Safinaz by Sana Hashwani & Safinaz Muneer Kamal Lawn by Elan Best Emerging Talent Misha Lakhani (Women’s wear designer) Abdullah Haris (Photography) Natasha’s Salon (Hair & Make Up Artist) Saima Azhar (Modeling) Sana Sarfaraz (Modeling) Best High Street Brand Adnan Pardesy for the Working Woman Daaman Gulabo Khaadi Rang Ja

ISB 09-06-2013_Layout 1 6/9/2013 3:14 AM Page 14

InFotaInMent Sunday, 9 June, 2013

'worlD's Best islanD' not so Great For some

It was named the "world's best island" byTravel+Leisure, but life on the island of Boracay in the Philippines is hardly living up to its reputation for the area's indigenous inhabitants, who say they're being pushed off their land to make way for the influx of resorts and new businesses. And now relations between the locals and the $536 million tourism industry are getting bitter—and dangerous. Earlier this year, a 26-year-old youth leader from the native Ati tribe was shot dead with a submachine gun, and a security guard from a local resort, Crown Regency, has been charged with his murder, reports theGuardian. Only a third of the properties on Boracay have actual land deeds, so businesses use private security forces to defend their boundaries, and police say shootouts between the guards are common. The Atis won an ancestral land title for 2.1 hectares in 2011. But shortly after they moved onto the land, armed security guards from Crown Regency came and tore down their fence, claiming the land was theirs. Crown Regency's CEO says it needs to defend its property from the Atis, who "encroached" on their land, but denies the resort's guard is guilty of the murder. NEWS DESK

kentuCky sees spate oF lawyer suiCiDes

Kentucky is experiencing a rash of suicides among a group that probably wouldn't come first to mind: middleaged lawyers. The Courier-Journal of Louisville reports that at least 12 lawyers have killed themselves since 2010, and half of those came in the last year. The head of the state Bar Association says he's never seen anything like it and chalks it up generally to stress. “You take on the burden of your clients’ problems, then pile them on your own, and it takes a toll,” he says. A legal blogger in the story calls it an "apparent epidemic" that needs investigation. Comparison figures with other states are hard to come by because suicide generally isn't tracked by profession, but "lawyer suicide is so common that I think a disproportionate rate of early, self-inflicted death is just considered part of the price of doing business," writes Elie Mystal at Above the Law. "Maybe hazard pay should be built into lawyer salaries like it is for race car drivers or test pilots." NEWS DESK

Feminist inquiry is about understanding how things work, who is in the action, what might be possible, and how worldly actors might somehow be accountable to and love each other less violently. –Donna Haraway

world's most dangerous oceans identified S NEWS DESK

OME of the world’s busiest oceans are hotspots for shipwrecks, often caused by adverse weather that will only increase with climate change, according to a new study. The South China Seas and East Indies, the East Mediterranean and Black Sea, and the North Sea and British Isles had the most accidents between 1999 and 2011. There were 293 accidents in the South China Seas and East Indies, where more than 70 percent of the world’s corals thrive. The area is known for its marine biodiversity. Scientists at Southampton Solent University carried out the study for the World Wildlife Fund. Most of these ships are smaller and generally more than 20 years old. Operations are frequently conducted on the cheap, with substandard crew and vessels. Almost half the accidents were caused when the ship foundered — leaked or sank – and were not due to collisions. “Climate change predictions are likely to exacerbate the causes of foundering: storm surge, changing wind/wave cli-

mates, extreme weather events,” the study reports. Still, not all the news is bad. The shipping industry has improved its safety record since 1980, with an 18 percent decrease in the number of accidents. The accidents triggered changes in shipping legislation that have improved the quality

of the vessels plying the oceans. The first of these laws was the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, which was put in place after the loss of the Titanic in 1912. Other prominent accidents include the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker that ran aground in Prince William Sound in 1989

Can people live on sunlight and water only?

‘i have a working knowledge of the universe and everything it contains’ HUMANS INVENT LEO KENT

As the submissions for the Sharp Laboratories of Europe internship begin to stack up we thought we would whet the appetites of those aspiring scientists with an interview with one of Sharp’s bright young graduates, Jacob Barrett. Barrett won a place on Sharp Laboratories of Europe’s graduate scheme which he completed in 2011. Since then he has gone onto become a researcher at the labs and is currently working on one of Sharp’s green energy projects. Humans Invent met up with Barrett to find out what he did on the graduate scheme, how his current research into renewable energy is progressing and what path he wants to take in the future. How did you end up at Sharp Laboratories of Europe? I studied physics at the University of Manchester from 2006-2010. I was then a bit unsure what I wanted to do with my life and I heard about Sharp Labs and thought, that is exactly what I want to do, seeing it as a way to continue my enthusiasm for scientific research as it sounded like they were doing some exciting things. Are you a specialist or generalist? I started on the graduate scheme which is where you do two month placements in each of the departments, this enables you to develop a broad understanding of the activities

of the Lab and where you can best apply your knowledge and become a specialist. So you work on a specific project for two months, normally a problem that somebody has come up with. For example, for one of them, I was designing a little box to monitor how people use their TV remotes by recording all the signals that were coming in from them and logging this data so we could see what buttons people were pressing on their remotes. From my degree, if anything, I’m a particle physicist, maybe an astrophysicist but I’ve always enjoyed the general aspect of being a physicist. In my interview with Sharp, I actually used a line from the sitcom The Big Bang Theory that Sheldon Cooper says after he is asked if he knows how something works: he says, “Of course I do, I’m a physicist, I have a working knowledge of the universe and everything it contains.” What are you working on at the moment? Currently I’m working on a project to improve the system efficiency of domestic PV installations. Is renewable energy the area of research you want to stay in? Yes, I find the energy field quite interesting because it is becoming more and more relevant both in terms of the public and political consciousness, what with the targets that have been set for 2020. It is definitely something I enjoy working on because it is something that needs people to look at and find

and spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude. The accident triggered the International Maritime Organization to require double hulls on oceangoing vessels. In 1996, the Sea Empress tanker spilled 72,000 tons of crude near Wales. The following year, theNakhodka sank off Japan and spilled 6,200 tons of crude. The MV Pallas floundered in the North Sea in 1998. It was a small spill in an environmentally sensitive region that coated beaches in oil and killed thousands of sea birds. In 2002, the Prestige oil tanker caused the biggest environmental disaster in both Spain and Portugal. The vessel sank following a storm, releasing 70,000 tons of crude into the Atlantic Ocean. The MV Rena cargo ship sank off New Zealand in 2011 while carrying 1,368 containers. Some 300 went overboard. Oil coated the beaches, and 2,000 sea birds died. It was the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history. In 2013, a Chinese fishing vessel ploughed into a 500-year-old coral reef off the Philippines and damaged 3,902 square meters. This was after a U.S. Navy vessel damaged a smaller area of the same reef earlier this year.

ways of actually meeting all these targets that the government said it will hit but is failing to do so at the moment. Were you keen on science from a young age? Yes I think I was, I used to have an electronics kit from which you could make various circuits. For example, you could make a water sensor which you could put on the edge of a cup or a bath and once the water reached it, the sensor would set off a little buzzer. You could also build a little radio with it. It was a kit that was designed for use in America so it was technically illegal to build the radio and transmit from this little electronics kit. I built it but I was too scared to turn it on because I had this incredible fear that I’d be breaking the law. Do you have any personal projects you do at home? I’m more a fixer of things at the moment, so for example, when my projector broke quite recently, I had to very carefully take it apart, avoiding all the optics and clean out the system from the inside. Being a scientist means I’m capable of taking things apart without breaking them and knowing my limits whereas most people would think, ‘oh I’m not going to take my phone apart because I will probably destroy it.’ But one of the things I look forward to later in life is when I can have my own workshop and build my own things.

A woman in Seattle who believes she can live without food is trying to prove it, and promoting her claims through social media. According to a story on Fox News, “Navenna Shine, the founder and subject of the Living on Light experiment, plans to spend the next four to six months abstaining from food of any kind and living on only light, water and tea. According to her website Livingonlight.com, Shine started the experiment in an attempt to follow a group of obscure Yogis, who for thousands of years have claimed the ability to live on light.” The claimed ability to survive without food (and sometimes without water as well) is called inedia, and those who attempt it are called “inediates” (among other things). One common version of inedia includes a belief called breatharianism, which teaches that humans can be trained to survive just on water and sunlight. Shine is only the latest among many alleged inediates over the years. Though the beliefs date back thousands of years, in modern times only a handful of people actually claim this amazing ability. In 2010 an 82-year-old Indian man named Prahlad Jani made news for claiming he had not had anything to eat or drink since World War II. PSYCHOLOGY OF INEDIA Inedia is very different from merely dieting for health, fasting as non-violent protest, or because of a psychological disorder such as anorexia nervosa. Robert Carroll, Chairman of the Philosophy Department at Sacramento City College and author of “The Skeptics Dictionary” notes that refusing to eat has strong spiritual connotations: “Fasting has long been considered a way to purify one’s body and mind. Fasting reminds us of our dependence and weakness, and links us to those who suffer hunger as part of their daily lives. Inediates strive to be spiritual beings and carry fasting to an inhuman level. If restraint, self-control, and reducing one’s intake of food and water are good, then eliminating all physical nourishment must be better.” Temporary fasting is part of many religions, including Islam and Christianity; in Roman Catholic traditions, some saints are said to have lived for months or even years without food. NEWS DESK

ISB 09-06-2013_Layout 1 6/9/2013 3:15 AM Page 16

SPORTS Sunday, 9 June, 2013

ramDin rappeD over the knuCkles

I’ve got butterflies the size of Quinton de Kock in my tummy. –Chris Morris

misbah picks positives from narrow loss, praises bowlers MIsbah, pakIstan’s MagnIFICent nearly Man COMMENT: Pakistan bowled like world champions and fielded competently; twothirds of their game is progressing grandly under the current regime of Dav Whatmore and his support coaches. But the batting remains ever Pakistani, unreliable in execution and unfathomable in selection. It should have been Misbah’s day. Ninety-six not out from a total of 170 all out tells its own story. As Misbah eked the final runs towards a thoroughly deserved century, including missing out on a juicy long-hop outside off stump, a familiar aura of heroic tragedy engulfed Pakistan’s captain. Misbah and Nasir Jamshed aside, Pakistan’s batsmen were pitiful in this match. As well as West Indies bowled, especially Kemar Roach, and took advantage of some low cloud at The Oval, Pakistan’s top order produced a display of static footwork and erratic swipes to gift their opponents a resounding advantage. In these conditions, swishers-in-chief Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez seldom prosper. Asad Shafiq caught the swishing bug. Shoaib Malik merely played to form. It was the Misbah-Nasir axis that promised to rescue Pakistan, and 200 would probably have sufficed against this West Indies batting line-up. The atmosphere at The Oval was electric, crammed with Pakistan fans and a worthy smattering of West Indians. But the crescendo that greeted Nasir’s half-century filled his head with visions of glory and he needlessly holed out at long-off without scoring another run. Meanwhile, Misbah continued his vigil. He blocked, he drove, he glided, he lofted. He even walked back to the pavilion before Denesh Ramdin’s shoddy claims of a grounded catch were rumbled by the umpires. While Irfan was in attendance for a fighting final-wicket partnership, Misbah played last man standing, recalling the many solitary vigils of Imran Khan, Misbah’s predecessor in captaincy by heroism. With Imran, there was only a sense of heroism, a relentless march onwards and upwards. When Imran stood tall, others raised their standard. The tragedy of Misbah is that his heroism, too often, covers for the collapse of his fellow batsmen, a collapse so complete that it is beyond the skills of one of the world’s best bowling attacks to rescue. It is that mood that Misbah needs to change with the support of his fellows. He nearly did it that day. KAMRAN ABBASI

LONDON AGENCIES West Indies wicketkeeper charged with breaching ICC code of conduct after wrongly claiming catch against Pakistan. The International Cricket Council on Saturday charged West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin for wrongly claiming a catch against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. The incident took place at the Oval, London, on Friday when Ramdin “caught” Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq off Kemar Roach before the batsman had opened his account. Australian umpire Steve Davis gave Misbah out, but the decision was referred to third umpire Tony Hill following the intervention of English official Nigel Llong at square leg. Replays showed that while Ramdin had, initially, caught the ball, he had subsequently allowed it to spill out of his grasp. It was eventually decided that Ramdin did not have full control over the ball. The ICC said in a statement that Ramdin had been charged with a Level two breach of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.” NOT GUILTY: Ramdin has pleaded not guilty to the offence, and a hearing will take place in London on Monday, the ICC said. If found guilty, Ramdin could be fined between 50 and 100 per cent of his match fees and/or be suspended for up to two one-day internationals. Misbah, who went on to make 96 not out in his side’s two-wicket defeat, slammed Ramdin’s action after the match. “I don’t think I would be happy if my wicketkeeper did that,” the Pakistan captain said. “If you don’t know if it is (a catch) then fine, but if you know it’s not a catch you should not claim it because it’s not in the spirit of the game.” West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo defended Ramdin against accusations of bad sportsmanship, insisting the ‘keeper genuinely believed he had held on for long enough to claim a fair catch. “Denesh thought he honestly had control of the ball,” Bravo said. “He is a very honest player and history shows that we as a team don’t have any stigma of negativity around us. We play the game in the right way. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

LONDON

AGENCIES

IS team is facing a do-ordie battle against South Africa after losing its Champions Trophy opener, but Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq remains unruffled, choosing to highlight the fine performance of his bowlers in the narrow loss. Pakistan lost their opening group B match against the West Indies on Friday. Misbah, who scored 96 not out after coming in at No. 5 against West Indies, who almost made a hash of a 171-target and won with just two wickets to spare. “I think the biggest positive from this game was our bowling. All the seamers bowled really well and bowled their heart out and took wickets. And at one time we were really in the hunt, so it’s really a big

positive, and it just creates pressure on the opposition, Misbah said. “They bowled really well against South Africa (in the practice game) and even today. So I think it gives confidence to the team and also to the batsmen that if they can go and just give them a good total, our bowling attack can win the matches for us,” he added. Monday’s match against South Africa will be a shootout of sorts. In Cardiff on Thursday, South Africa lost their tournamentopener against India by 26 runs and now face the challenge of playing Pakistan without two of their main strike bowlers. Dale Steyn is still doubtful and Morne Morkel is back in South Africa after suffering a groin injury in the India match. The close defeat against West Indies has upset Pakistani fans here. In Birmingham, Pakistan are expected to enjoy more ‘home’ support and Misbah

wants them to keep faith in his team. “I think it’s almost now a good state for us to just go there and try to win every game, and it is possible. Pakistan did it many times before. So just be positive as supporters of the Pakistan team. Go there and try to play positive cricket and try to win every game,” Misbah said. It is unlikely that Misbah will bat higher up in the order against South Africa. He urged his top order to bat with more responsibility and play out the entire 50 overs. Against the Caribbeans, Pakistan were all out in the 48th over for 170. “It’s too early after one game (to

change the batting slots). You can’t just change things here and there to create panic in your camp. I think what we need to do as a batting unit is to execute our plans. Go in there and try to play our 50 overs and that’s what normally in these sort of conditions you can do. “...even after losing three wickets (for 15 runs) at one stage, the game was under control, but then we made mistakes. So it’s just taking responsibility and taking the games to the end. The batsmen need to be more responsible and just carry on,” said Misbah.

misbah makes highest score in one-dayers S.PERVEz QAISER Misbah-ul-Haq recorded his highest score in one-day internationals by making 96 off 127 balls with five fours and three sixes against West Indies at Kennington Oval, London on Friday (June 7). Pakistani skipper’s previous highest score was an unbeaten 93 off 91 balls with seven fours and one six against New Zealand at Napier on February 1, 2011. ** Misbah-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 96 is the fourth highest score by a Pakistani batsman in Championas Trophy after Shoaib Malik’s 128 against India at Centurion on September 26,2009, Saeed Anwar’s an unbeaten 105 against Sri Lanka at Nairobi on October 10,2009 and 104 against New Zealand at the same

HigHest individual scores for Pakistan in cHamPions troPHy M

Runs

AVG

H.S

S/R

100

Shahid Afridi

Batsman

354

327

7201

23.45

124

114.53

656

308

Inzamam-ul-Haq

378

350

11739

39.52

137*

74.24

971

144

Abdul Razzaq

265

228

5080

29.70

112

81.25

382

124

Wasim Akram

356

280

3717

16.52

88.33

247

121

Saeed Anwar

247

244

8824

39.21

194

80.67

938

Mohammad Yousuf

288

273

9720

41.71

141*

75.10

785

Ijaz Ahmed

250

232

6564

32.33

139*

80.30

531

Moin Khan

219

183

3266

23.00

72*

81.30

218

Shoaib Malik

214

191

5465

32.92

143

78.50

458

Younis Khan

253

243

7014

31.88

144

75.36

560

Misbah-ul-Haq

118

107

3482

43.52

96*

74.30

241

ground in October 11,2000. ** Misbah-ul-Haq also became the 11th Pakistani and 75th batsman overall to smashed 50 or more sixes

in one day international. The second six off Ravi Rampaul during his unbeaten 96-run knock was Misbahul-Haq’s 50th in 107 innings of 118

matches. He also hit 241 fours. ** Nasir Jamshed (50) scored his maiden half century in the first match against West Indies. It was his seventh half century in 29 innings of as many matches in one dayers. ** Sunil Narine became the 30th West Indian and 246th bowler overall to take 50 or more wickets in one day internationals. The off-spinner from Trinidad, achieved this feat, in his 29th match by dismissing Kamran Akmal, caught by Denesh Ramdin. He is the joint fourth fastest to take 50 wickets in one day internationals after Patrick Patterson (26 matches), Curtly Ambrose (26 matches) and Ian Bishop (28 matches). Andy Roberts also completed his 50 wickets in 29 matches.

CONFIDENT KIWI’S READY FOR SRI LANKA TODAY’S MATCH NEW ZEALAND AND SRI LANKA GO HEAD TO HEAD AT CARDIFF CARDIff AGENCIES

New Zealand are preparing to face a spin barrage from Sri Lanka when the two sides meet in the Champions Trophy in Cardiff on Sunday. New Zealand go into the tournament after a morale-boosting 2-1 one-day series win over hosts England, but Brendon McCullum’s side know Sri Lanka will throw up new challenges. “We could conceivably be facing 30-

35 overs of spin,” Black Caps coach Mike Hesson said ahead of the group A game. “We need to be proactive against it.” Sri Lanka’s spin attack includes four capable tweakers in Sachitra Senanayake, Jeevan Mendis, Rangana Herath and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Unorthodox slow bowler Ajantha Mendis was not picked for the tournament. With sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga and steady seamer Nuwan Kulasekara also in the ranks, Sri Lanka have their options covered for what are expected to be good batting conditions in Cardiff. India and South Africa played a highscoring match at the same venue on Thursday, with the Proteas making 305 in

reply to a commanding 331-7 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s World Cup champions. With Australia and England the other two teams in their group, both New Zealand and Sri Lanka know a victory in the first match assumes greater significance. Two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, making it almost mandatory to win at least two of the three games to make the grade. “It’s as close to a knock-out competition as you can get,” Hesson said. “We are certainly not thinking two weeks ahead.” Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews, leading his country for the first time in a

major competition, agreed that winning the first fixture was important. “You would want to win every game you play, but in a format like this it is important to get a good start,” he said. Sri Lanka will be desperate to overcome the heartache of losing four title clashes in recent years - during the 50-over World Cups in 2007 and 2011 and the World Twenty20 in 2009 and 2012. They have not enjoyed a good run in the Champions Trophy, failing to make the finals of the last three editions, even though they were joint-winners with India at home in Colombo 2002. Sri Lanka will be encouraged by the fact they have won 10 of their last 11

completed 50-over games against New Zealand, including the last six in a row. Sri Lanka’s batting will once again revolve around three seasoned former captains, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Dilshan, who must all fire to protect the fragile lower order. Dilshan will have as his opening partner an exciting 22-year-old left-hander, Kusal Perera, who averages 55.33 in six one-day innings so far with a strike-rate of 84.26. Perera plundered the Indian attack for seven fours and three sixes during his innings of 82 off 94 balls in a warm-up match in Birmingham on June 1, lifting his side to 333-5 in 50 overs.

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It was my decision to do the testing, that is a fact, and let’s see what happens at tribunal and we go from there. –Ross Brawn

SPORTS

Sunday, 9 June, 2013

DisCiplineD enGlanD thrash australia e BIRMINGHAM AGENCIES

NGLAND beat Australia by 48 runs in their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy here at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday. Australia never got going courtesy of disciplined bowling performance by England bowlers. James Anderson (3 for 30) was the pick of the bowlers. For Australia, skipper George Bailey waged a lone battle top-scoring with 55. James Faulkner scored an unbeaten half century [54 off 42 deliveries]. Apart from that no Australian batsman scored a substantial score chasing 270. It was a slightly downbeat affair, with a disappointingly slow England innings followed by an even more disappointingly slower Australian one, but there was some splendid fielding and some excellent bowling, particularly from Anderson and Broad, and victory in the end was emphatic for England. So that’s the Ashes summer started in earnest, and our first proper look at these Australians. England rallied after a middle-order collapse to reach 269 for six off their 50 overs in the Group A match. After reaching 168 for the loss of only captain Alastair Cook (30), wickets tumbled on a slow surface. Ian Bell top-scored with 91 off 115 balls while Jonathan Trott scored 43, but none of the other specialist batsmen made any impact.Joe Root went for 12, Eoin Morgan was bowled for eight, and Jos Buttler, England’s most dangerous one-day batsman, made only one. However, Ravi Bopara (46 not out) and Tim Bresnan (19 not out) ensured England reached a competitive total with an unbroken eighth-wicket partnership of 56 from 41 balls. James Faulkner was the pick of the bowlers with two for 48 off his 10 overs. Cook tucked the first ball of the innings from Mitchell Starc comfortably to the square-leg boundary and the left-armer bowled only two overs before he was replaced by Clint McKay. Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s other left-arm fast bowler, generated more pace but Cook and Bell took the total to 54 without loss after 10 overs without any real problems.

‘amin is the Best Batsman’ LAHORE: Shoaib Akhtar, the former Pakistan fast bowler, believes that Umar Amin, the young left-hander, is the best Pakistani batsman at the moment and wants the team management to include him in the playing11 in place of Imran Farhat. Amin came through the ranks of junior cricket in the country, having represented Pakistan in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2008 in Malaysia. After some brilliant performances in domestic cricket, the cricketer from Rawalpindi made his Test debut during the controversial tour of England in 2010. However, he failed to come to terms with the English conditions and was subsequently dropped from the national side. The left-hander performed brilliantly in the 201213 domestic season and was called up to the Pakistan’s T20 squads for the tours of India and South Africa and is also a part of the national team for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. While expressing his views after Pakistan’s disastrous batting performance in their opening fixture of the event against West Indies, Akhtar backed the 23-year-old cricketer to replace Farhat in the team. Shoaib is not happy with the selection of Farhat, who is yet to establish himself at the international level, although he has been given numerous chances since 2001. STAFFB REPORT

SCOREBOARD

ENGLAND AN Cook* c †Wade b Watson 30 IR Bell b Faulkner 91 43 IJL Trott c †Wade b Starc 12 JE Root c Bailey b McKay 8 EJG Morgan b McKay RS Bopara not out 46 JC Buttler† b Faulkner 1 19 TT Bresnan not out EXTRAS (lb 12, w 6, nb 1) 19 269 TOTAL DID NOT BAT SCJ Broad, JC Tredwell, JM Anderson FALL OF WICKETS 1-57 (Cook, 11.4 ov), 2-168 (Trott, 33.4 ov), 3189 (Bell, 37.4 ov), 4-189 (Root, 38.3 ov), 5-212 (Morgan, 42.5 ov), 6-213 (Buttler, 43.1 ov) BOWLING MA Starc 10-0-75-1, MG Johnson 8-0-44-0, CJ McKay 10-0-382, SR Watson 7-0-26-1, JP Faulkner 10-0-48-2, AC Voges 3-0-13-0, MR Marsh 2-0-13-0 AUSTRALIA DA Warner c †Buttler b Broad 9 SR Watson c Cook b Bresnan 24 30 PJ Hughes lbw b Root 55 GJ Bailey* c Root b Tredwell 15 AC Voges b Bresnan MR Marsh c Morgan b Anderson 5 1 MS Wade† c †Buttler b Anderson JP Faulkner not out 54 8 MG Johnson c Morgan b Bopara 5 MA Starc b Anderson 7 CJ McKay not out 8 EXTRAS (lb 6, w 1, nb 1) TOTAL 221 FALL Of WICKETS 1-17 (Warner, 5.5 ov), 2-47 (Watson, 14.3 ov), 3-94 (Hughes, 25.4 ov), 4-127 (Voges, 32.4 ov), 5-134 (Marsh, 35.1 ov), 6-136 (Wade, 35.6 ov), 7-151 (Bailey, 39.1 ov), 8-175 (Johnson, 42.4 ov), 9-190 (Starc, 44.5 ov) BOWLING JM Anderson 10-0-30-3, SCJ Broad 10-2-35-1, TT Bresnan 10-145-2, JC Tredwell 10-1-51-1, JE Root 5-0-20-1, RS Bopara 5-0-34-1 Match details Toss England, who chose to bat Points England 2, Australia 0 Player of the match tba Umpires HDPK Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and M Erasmus (South Africa) TV umpire BF Bowden (New Zealand) Match referee J Srinath (India) Reserve umpire Aleem Dar (Pakistan)

POA’S GENERAL COUNCIL MEETS AGAIN LAHORE STAFF REPORT

With 85 members out of a house of 102 in attendance, which included the departmental representatives of the Police, Railways and WAPDA, the emergent meeting of the Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) General Council held here on Saturday morning (June 8) was a huge success. Addressing a crowded press conference afterwards, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Syed Arif Hasan expressed the hope that with the new federal government having been sworn in, the issue of the government’s intervention through its organ Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) shall be stopped forthwith and the so-called Interim Committee of POA – an ‘illegal’ parallel created by the PSB – shall also melt away. “The POA’s General Council – and as you could have seen for yourself, it was a full house – was unanimous in congratulating Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif on assuming the august office. The House anticipated that since the Prime Minister is such a great sports lover, he would intervene to stop this illegal intervention of the PSB into

the affairs of the POA. A POA delegation shall also want to meet the prime minister to apprise him of the gravity of the situation. The damage and disgrace that the PSB has caused Pakistan and its standing in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is such that the world body’s Executive Board is already considering suspending Pakistan’s membership”, said the POA president. The POA, said Gen. Arif, has for the last one year tried its utmost that Pakistan avoids the IOC sanctions – which would mean that no Pakistani athlete shall be able to participate in any meet anywhere in the world. “And we would continue to strive on the same path, but the PSB and its illegal creation the so-called Interim Committee of POA are through their actions trying their hardest to provoke the IOC to suspend Pakistan’s membership. The entire House condemned this, as well as the attempt to hold the so-called 32ndNational Games in Islamabad. The 32nd National Games have already been held at Lahore in December 2012 under the aegis of the Punjab Olympic Association, and the next Games have been allocated by the POA’s General Council to Quetta for 2014”, said Gen. Arif Hasan.

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“I’m talking to a lot of great managers, hopefully I can choose the right one and that’s not easy. –Dave Whelan

17 S

SPORTS Sunday, 9 June, 2013

williams CrowneD the new Champ oF FrenCh open s PARIS

AGENCIES

erena Williams won her 16th Grand Slam title and her first French Open championship since 2002 when she beat familiar foil Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. The victory completed the No. 1-ranked Williams’ rebound from a shocking loss to 111thranked Virginie Razzano in the first round at Roland Garros a year ago. Since that defeat she’s 74-3, including titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the London Olympics and the season-ending WTA Championships. Williams whacked 10 aces, including three in the final game, to extend her career-best winning streak to 31 matches. She improved to 14-2 against Sharapova, with victories in their past 13 meetings and four of the wins this year. At 31, Williams became the

naDal Favourite For his eiGhth FrenCh Crown SPORTS THIS WEEK ALI AKBAR

The International Tennis Federation has summarily turned down Pakistan’s plea following the Davis Cup forfeit against New Zealand. No less than five people, none of them PTF office bearers were present at the hearing and are reported to have made impassioned pleas against the Referee’s decision, including questioning his motives and accusing him of bias. The other PTF office bearers have also gone public with statements of bias and pressure from powerful federations. This is laughable. The matter is done and dusted. There is no need to try and atone for what was an astonishingly naive decision to hold a tie in a country that had no tennis courts of any standard. The PTF could be asking for trouble by accusing people of bias and dishonesty. The referee could be justified in seeking legal recompense after some of the statements that are flying around. The PTF should, instead, conduct an inquiry and punish those responsible for the fiasco rather than going on an offensive that they are certain to lose. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tennis Federation’s inherent contradictions have bubbled to the surface of the stagnant pond that Pakistan tennis has been in for decades. The PTF and Sindh tennis are embroiled in a controversy over the holding of three offices in three different affiliated bodies of the Federation by one Saeed Hai, a former national player of the 1950s. In a recent move to avoid the Sports Policy sanctions, Hai had appointed his daughter as secretary Sindh tennis while staying as president himself. Hai also holds offices in two other voting affiliates, the International Club and the Veterans’ Association. The Veterans is run by one Jamal Mirza who is a brother in law of Hai and International Club by Saeed Ahmed, both non tennis players. These two bodies were founded in the early 1980s by Col. Munir, then president PTF in a bid to gain a stranglehold on tennis in Pakistan. Since the sports policy expressly forbids the holding of more than one office, Hai finds himself in

violation and is keen to maintain his unprecedented powers, through whom Pakistan tennis has been held to ransom for the past thirty years. The irony of Pakistan tennis is that the entire province of Punjab has one vote in the PTF while Hai alone controls three votes. One wishes the PTF well because this imbalance is one of the main reasons for Pakistan’s lack of progress in tennis. This scribe has written about this ad nauseum, but the previous federations were in bed with Hai because of his votes and could not be bothered. But it seems that the PTF president Kaleem Imam has had enough and has decided to take on this self serving coterie. He wrote to Hai in this regard and was duly snubbed by Hai who said that his daughter was better qualified than the PTF president to hold office. He then made an astonishing statement that Sindh tennis was not under the Pakistan Tennis Federation. Could it be that Hai has decided to secede from the PTF? In his Wikipedia bio, Hai claims to be a legend of Pakistan tennis. The facts are slightly different. He has represented Pakistan in Davis Cup but never managed to win a set let alone a match. In his prime he was overshadowed by Munir Pirzada and Khwaja Iftekhar. He claims to have received a medal for his performances in the French Open. The facts are slightly different. Firstly there was no French Open at the time. The year he played, 1956, there were 20 byes in the first round. The Karachi Gymkhana club players had been accepted in the main draw. In other words, anyone could have walked in with a racquet and been accepted in the main draw. He claims to have reached the third round. That is also false. He lost in the second round after beating an unknown walk-on in the first round. Hai claims a world record for killing a bird while serving. There is no such world record. Everything about Hai has been about self promotion and aggrandizement. It is about time someone broke the chokehold that he has on Pakistan tennis and Kaleem Imam deserves praise. But on the other hand, Imam is

oldest woman to win a major title since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1990 at age 33. Her 11-year gap between Roland Garros titles is the longest for any woman. Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam by winning Roland Garros last year. In an all-Spanish final Sunday, Rafael Nadal will try to become the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam event when he plays firsttime major finalist David Ferrer. The women’s final, the first between No. 1 and No. 2 at a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, wasn’t as close as their rankings. It has been 12 years since the most recent three-set women’s title match at Roland Garros. Both players swung with their typical aggressiveness from the baseline, and Williams’ superior serve and defense proved the difference. She silently ran side to side whipping groundstrokes with little apparent strain, while

seeking to promote tennis enemy number one Arif Qureshi to vice-president. This has sent a wave of dismay amongst the tennis community. Qureshi is said to be only concerned about making money through his much hyped umpiring white badge among other things. He has been accused of match fixing and draw fixing. He was to be dismissed by the ITF from his white badge position because he gave false credentials and was saved by the PTF. To promote Qureshi would be a national disaster for tennis. One had expected a lot from Kaleem Imam. But till now there is nothing encouraging on the horizon. His son, the self proclaimed future hope of Pakistan tennis, has been traveling the globe without making any waves. Knowledgeable tennis people are skeptical as to whether the affable young man has any potential at all. But this is how Pakistan tennis works – Arif Qureshi style. He ingratiates himself with the highups. This leaves him free to do what he wants. The debacle in Myanmar was done on Qureshi’s watch. He had gone there on PTF’s expense to prepare the match site. This he miserably failed to do and Pakistan, for the first time in the history of Davis Cup, defaulted because of bad court conditions. Qureshi, meanwhile, had reportedly conveniently donned the ITF White Badge referee mantle and was making money in that capacity. Making money hand over fist, how shameful! The summer tennis season is well under way, with the European clay season at its apex at the French Open. Rafael Nadal had been tearing up the European season with wins and a finals loss to Novak Djokovic at Monte Carlo. Nadal continued his winning streak with a marathon win against Djokovic in the semifinals at Roland Garros. This was a match worthy of a final and reminiscent of Djokovic’s win over Nadal in Melbourne a year ago. Clearly, Nadal is the better player on red clay, with Novak having the upper hand on the faster surfaces. David Ferrer ended Jo Willfred Tsonga’s dream of becoming the first French winner since Yannick Noah in 1983. But it was not to be. Ferrer runs everything down and forces his opponents to hit the extra ball. This works with everybody but the top four and Tsonga is close but not yet up there. Nadal is heavily favoured in the final and should win his eighth French Open title. This would make him, arguably, the greatest clay court player in the history of the sport.

Sharapova often found herself lunging after the ball to stay in the point, with each shot accompanied by her familiar shriek. When Williams once summoned a grunt herself to match Sharapova’s volume and pound a winner, the crowd responded with a laugh. Playing in hazy, warm weather, the finalists took ferocious swings from the start. With fans perhaps fearful that Williams would win quickly, they began shouting encouragement toward Sharapova after she lost the first two points. She overcame four break points to hold in the opening game and led 2-0 before Williams began to assert herself. It took Williams 17 minutes to win a game, but then she swept four in a row. After Sharapova took the next two for 4-all, Williams surged at the end of the set, taking the lead for good by winning eight of the final 10 points.

Froome stays in yellow as Sanchez wins stage seven

SPORTS DESK Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Samuel Sanchez beat Jacob Fuglsang of Astana to the line in stage seven of the Criterium du Dauphiné at the top of Superdévoluy. The pair escaped at the summit of the preceding climb, Col du Noyer, and held off the chasing group that included GC leader Chris Froome (Sky), and climbing specialist Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) to battle it out for the stage win at Superdévoluy. Richie Porte, second in

the GC, escaped the chasing group in the final kilometre to make up the podium - 15 seconds down - just ahead of Daniel Moreno (Katusha). There was an early escape of 22 riders as the race ascended Alpe d’Huez. While the advantage peaked at 5:50, the break had been whittled down to just Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma) and Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) as the race reached the penultimate climb, Col du Noyer, as the escapes were reeled in by a Sky-led peloton. Contador attacked after

De Marchi had dropped Chavanel to bring team-mate Michael Rogers to the fore over the summit but Sanchez attacked with a kilometre to go before Fuglsang bridged the gap as the pair worked a 20-second advantage on the descent before the final climb. Fuglsang had looked the likeliest to secure the stage win but Sanchez streaked away in the final 200 metres to secure the win. Chris Froome retained the overall lead with a time of 25:00:13 from Sky teammate, Richie Porte, who is 51 seconds down.

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I hope Mike comes back with an anger and determination to prove himself. –Greg Abbott

yu-slim FaCe moDel town CluB in Final LAHORE: The final of 10th M Siddiq Memorial cricket event will be played between YU-slim club and Model Town club. The date of final is later on. YU-slim club has reached into the final for 1st time. Model Town club has won the event 5 times, Shining club has won 2 times, while Model Town greens and Anwer Sports have won the event one time each. STAFF REPORT

SPORTS Sunday, 9 June, 2013

Choi grabs one-stroke lead at lpGa C’ship

LAHORE: The 2nd semifinal of 28th M Yaseen Akhter Memorial cricket Event will be played between shining club and National Gym on June 12 at Model Town Greens ground. The 20-20 overs match will start at 1:00 PM. Model Town Greens has already marched into the final after 11 years. Model Town Club and P&T Gym have won the event 4 times each, while Model Town Greens, Imperial club, Servis club and Apallo club have won the event 2 times each. The cantonment Gym, Ludihana Gym, Raja club, Dharmpura Gym, Shalimar Gym ,Dharampura Sports, Mughalpura Whites, Cooperative bank, Shining club, Punjab club and Universal club have won the event 1 time each. STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: Apollo Sport and Ghulam Qadir Memorial Challenge Cricket Match was played at Railway Allama Iqbal Institute Ground. Apollo Sports batting first 365/4 after 40 overs. Salman Ali 157 runs not out, Raza Khan 68 and Irfan Butt 25 Runs. Waqar 2/40, Kamran 1/50 and Mustafa 1/25 wickets. In reply Ghulam Qadir Memorial 296 all out after 36.4 overs. Kamran Shaukat 116, Kamran Khalil 48 and M. Adil 21 Runs. Irfan But 3/43, Muhammad Arif 2/51 and Raza Khan 2/26 wickets. Later Cricket Promoter Haji Mian Muhammad Ilyas Mughal gave away cash award to Salman Ali. STAFF REPORT

wAtCh It LIve PTV SPORTS Sri Lanka vs New Zealand at Cardiff

02:30 PM

STAR SPORTS SBK Superbike World Championship 2013 - Race 1

04:00 PM

aliGarh, servis, muGhalpura whites in leaGue staGe

shining Club, national Gym semifinal on June 12

apollo sports Beat Ghulam Qadir memorial by 69 runs

NEW YORK

AGENCIES

OUTH Korean Chella Choi used a blistering front nine to shoot a five-under-par 67 for a one-stroke lead after the first round of the raindelayed LPGA Championship at Locust Hill outside Rochester, New York. Choi, seeking her maiden LPGA Tour win, had five birdies on her outward half and offset a birdie at the 10th with a bogey at 13 for a one-shot edge over compatriot Shin Ji-yai and American Morgan Pressel at the year’s second Major. “I hit a really good driver today,” said 22-year-old Choi, whose father caddies for her. “I hit 14 fairways. So I’m really happy. My goal is just keep in the fairway.” British Women’s Open champion Shin posted four birdies, three on the back nine, in a bogey-free round while

Pressel finished with four consecutive birdies to register her 68. “I just saw the line on the putts,” Pressel said about her rousing finish. “I just committed to my line and just saw the ball rolling where I wanted it to and made four really good putts on the last four holes. “Out here, putting is what wins Major championships.” One stroke back was long-hitting American Brittany Lincicome, with compatriot Jessica Korda and Hall of Famer Pak Se-ri of South Korea another shot back on 70. Pak, a three-time winner of the event, won her first LPGA Championship for her first tour title as a rookie in 1998. “The funny thing is, the first time to win and I didn’t really know that it was a Major,” said Pak, who has five Major titles to her credit. Thursday’s play was scrubbed following lightning and torrential rain that soaked the course, leading organizers to move three tees up and

allow the players to lift, clean and place balls in the fairway. Groundskeepers arrived at 4 a.m. to prepare the course. Pressel, an early starter on Friday, said she was surprised to tee off as scheduled. “The ground staff here did an incredible job getting the course ready. I don’t think the greens could be any more perfect. There’s some casual out there but that’s to be expected. We’re just happy to get out on the golf course.” Hitting fairways was critical with the water-logged rough even more penal than usual on a cool, overcast day that some more light rain toward the end of the afternoon. “The rough is nasty,” said Korda, who had five birdies and three bogeys. Two-time winner and former world number one Yani Tseng of Taiwan avoided any chance of finding the rough at the 15th hole when she made a holein-one on the 150-yard par-three.

LAHORE: The 4 prominent clubs i.e Aligarh club, Servis Club, Mughalpura Whites club and Yu-slim club have reached into the league stage of 16th Tauseef Trophy cricket championship. these clubs have defeated strong clubs in round matches. Every team will play 3 match. Top points holder clubs will be the champion. Model Town Club has won the championship 5 times, while Ludihana Gym has won the championship 4 times. The apallo club, Apallo sors and Model TOwn greens have won the event 1 time each. Servis club won the trophy with Aligarh Club and Model Town greens jointly. Wahdat Eaglets has also won the trophy with Akhter Abdul Rehman club jointly. STAFF REPORT

inter-DistriCt CriCket: east zone trials on 11th LAHORE: The trials of East Zone U-19 players for Inter District U-19 Cricket Tournament will be held on June 11 at 9:00 am at the LCCA ground. Sarfraz Ahmed, DR Jamil, M Khursheed will be the selectors while Mr M ISlam will be the coordinator. All U-19 players of East Zone has advised to submit their documents i.e 2 photographs of players, birth certificate/ B Form with father ID card till June 10 to Secretary East Zone Mr Habib ul Hassan Shah. STAFF REPORT

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Sunday, 9 June, 2013

Govt to present budget on June 12: Dar ISLAMABAD APP

EDERAL Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar on Saturday said the federal budget for the upcoming financial year 2013-14 will be presented before the National Assembly (NA) on Wednesday, June 12 following approval from the federal cabinet. The upcoming budget would focus largely on the revival of economy with special concentration on overcoming circular debt to resolve the prevailing energy crisis in the country, Dar said while talking to media personnel after assuming the office of federal minister for finance. Dar said the government had already

devised a strategy to overcome the prevailing challenges on the economic front, including the energy crisis. Before the presentation of the budget in NA, a meeting of National Economic Council (NEC) is scheduled to be held on Monday, June 10 to consider and approve funding for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2013-14. Dar said circular debt had expanded to Rs 500 billion and there was a dire need to get rid of this burden to resolve the energy crisis. He said the upcoming budget would be devised in a way to come out of this vicious circle. He further said inflation was also one of the pressing issues but it could not be brought down overnight, adding

that it would take some time to provide relief to the masses in this regard. The finance minister said the debt on government had surged from Rs 3,000 billion up to Rs14,000 billion and the government was not only bound to pay back the loans but also pay interests according to the schedule. The government would definitely opt for a better mechanism to pay back these loans, Dar said, adding that it was already engaged in devising a proper strategy in this regard since some payments were due till December, 2013. The federal minister said the country also had to spend on its defense, infrastructure and other social sector programmes. He said the International Monetary

Fund (IMF) post-monitoring programme missions are scheduled to visit Pakistan in the third week of June. On revenues, the federal minister said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had been directed to achieve its revised tax collection target well in time. Dar said the government would try to achieve revenue targets it sets for the upcoming fiscal year (2013-14). He further said there was a dire need to enhance income and resources to help improve the economy and lead the country towards progress and prosperity. He stressed the need for striking a balance between income and expenditures and said austerity measures would be adopted to cut down expenditures.

never said karachi belongs to urdu speakers only: altaf MONITORING DESK Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Husain has said that his party never claimed that Karachi was meant only for Urdu-speaking people. “People from every faction live in Karachi. Karachi is a ‘mini Pakistan’ and the ‘mini Pakistan’ has given its decision in favour of MQM,” Altaf said while addressing party workers over telephone from London. The MQM chief said the youth was with Altaf Hussain, but still a negative attitude “is adopted against us”. “The MQM is the party of the weak and deprived and would continue to struggle for their rights,” he added.

saad vows to improve pakistan railways

ISLAMABAD: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle meets Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif at PM House on Saturday. INP

ISLAMABAD

trilateral moot resolves to improve troop coordination along afghan border ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States on Saturday resolved to improve coordination between their troops on the Afghan border and strengthen cooperation in the fight against militancy and terrorism. A meeting between the military commanders of the three countries was held in Rawalpindi. It was attended by ISAF Commander General Joseph F Dunford, CGS ANA General Sher Mohammad Karimi and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani. “The three discussed matters of mutual interest with particular emphasis on coordination measures at the Pak-Afghan border and Standing Operating Procedures put in place to improve border control,” an ISPR statement read. A Pakistani official said the top military commanders from the three states expressed resolve to improve

coordination between their troops stationed on both sides of the Afghan border. He said the army leaders also resolved to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism so that militants and terrorists on both sides of the Afghan border could be eliminated. He said the recent border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul were also discussed during the meeting and both the states agreed to work for the end of row and also to chalk out plan to avert any such situation on the shared frontier in future. The official said General Kayani told the US and Afghan military commanders that Pakistan always supported efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and it would continue to do so in future. He said that the ISAF commander and General Karimi lauded Pakistan’s role and efforts for bringing peace and stability back to Afghanistan and they eulogized its sacrifices in antiterrorism global campaign.

APP

politics of tradition have won: sh rashid MONITORING DESK Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid has said that old and traditional politics have won once again and the nation has been defeated. Speaking in a talk show on a private TV channel on Saturday, he said every party – the ANP, PML-Q, PPP, JI – had complained of rigging in elections 2013. “Makhdoom Amin Fahim says agencies were responsible, but I think democracy has to step forward now,” he said. The AML chief said dialogue could be initiated with the Taliban for sake of peace. “To stop bomb blasts in the country, the government should take action and talk to the Taliban. They can talk with Mullah Omar. He favours Pakistan. If the US forces leave Afghanistan, we have to think on these lines. Directly or indirectly, we have to contact Mullah Omar,” Sheikh added. He said President Asif Ali Zardari would grant pardon to

former PMs Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf and would leave the President’s Office after some time. “The policies of Musharraf, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif are all the same. Everyone is taking his turn. Nawaz wants no opposition leaders from the PTI, he wants PPP as a dummy opposition,” Sheikh said. “Nawaz has got twothirds majority for the second time. The

situation is tough for him, but he is still heading towards Khunjrab instead of o Karachi. People are dying from Peshawar to Karachi,” the AML chief said. Sheikh said no investment was coming to the country, the currency was devaluing, reserves were only Rs 6 billion and unemployment was rampant, which together formed the major issues facing the country.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.

Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday said no stone would be left unturned to improve the performance of Pakistan Railways. After assuming charge of the ministry, he said all out efforts would be made to make Pakistan Railways a profit-earning organisation in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif. The federal minister said all possible measures would be taken to improve the performance of the institution with provision of maximum facilities to passengers. Saad said steps would also be taken to overcome losses of the national entity, adding that corruption and mismanagement would not be tolerated at any cost. He announced restoration of Vigilance Cell in railways for improving performance and said services of agencies and army personnel would be hired for the purpose.

Govt respects ppp mandate in sindh: pervaiz ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid on Saturday said the federal government respected the mandate given to the Pakistan People’s Party by the people of Sindh. In a statement issued here, the minister said meetings were part of the political process and nobody should worry about a particular meeting.