Continued on Page 7 GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: President Asif Ali Zardari laying flowers on the grave of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday. Transition to Quaid, Benazir’s vision J ust five days before Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s fifth anniversary of martyr- dom (Dec 27) yet an- other high profile secu- lar politi- cian— KPK’s Se- nior Minis- ter Bashir Balour— was assassinated by the terrorists. Today Pakistan stands at a critical juncture. It is confronted with a battle for survival and the nation shall have to get tough to face the tougher challenges. A frontline leader of ANP Balour Sahib had always been known for his commitment to democracy. In these crucial times he had emerged as a sym- bol of dauntless courage and determination for combating terrorism undeterred by three previous attacks on him. His death is an irreparable loss to Pakistan in general and KPK in particular when a brave leader like him is needed most. Bhutto had cast the dye against religious extremism when she challenged the terror- ists by spearheading the struggle for restoration of de- mocracy and to revert to the lib- eral vision of the Quaid. She preferred to die rather than sur- render to the terrorists. To sal- vage the country from falling in the hands of Taliban she had nurtured and nourished the path to fight back with her noble blood. Bilour has followed in her footsteps. The current challenges look insurmountable. However, with brave leaders our march towards making Pakistan a modern so- cial welfare state would succeed. The nation has shown uncom- promising resilience to defend its liberal and progressive ide- ology against obscurantist forces. However, as ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan has rightly said:” If extremists and terror- ists can unite from Kabul to Karachi then why not the Pa- kistani nation gets united against these evil forces.” Such a unity, indeed, is the need of the hour. All political leaders, institutions and the masses should join hands to fight this war as their own and eliminate forces of darkness. Some leaders are still liv- ing in a denial mode about Taliban. They should get out of their fixation. We are fight- ing against are outright barbar- ians. They have no commit- ment to Islam. They just kill the innocent with impunity. Malala Yusufzai was lucky, Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 Comments Wajid Shamsul Hasan President, PM, condole with Zahid Malik STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—Abdul Hayee Malik, younger brother of Zahid Malik, Editor-in-Chief, Pakistan Observer and Chairman Nazriya Pakistan Council died on Wednesday morning in Sialkot. Abdul Hayee was suffering from cancer. President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of Abdul Hayee Malik. In his condolence message, the President expressed sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and give courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude. Illegal appointments still going on in PQA: SC ISLAMABAD—The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Attorney General, Secretary Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and Secretary Ports and Ship- ping to submit within two weeks government’s stance over illegal appointments in Port Qasim Authority. A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Acting Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Justice Nasir ul Mulk heard a suo motu case about 686 illegal appointments from grade 2 to 21 in PQA by Ports and Shipping Ministery and other authorities and a petition of sacked secretary of PQA Abdul Jabbar Memon challenging his removal. No respondents were present in the SC except peti- tioner Abdul Jabbar Memon. Petitioner Abdul Jabbar Memon told SC that more than 250 new appointments have been made in the PQA from grade 2 to grade 19 recently, despite the clear orders of the apex court and this matter falls into the contempt of court. He added that further exten- sion has been granted to the Chairman PQA Rear Admiral (Retd) Muhammad Shafi, while his appointment was already a question mark. He said that he was trans- ferred to Malir Development Authority as a Director without his consent and the Sindh Gov- ernment is not providing him due perks and privileges. He requested the bench to form a larger bench as the mat- ter is of public importance. Air Bagan survivor tells of terrifying landing YANGON, Myanmar—Survi- vors of a Christmas Day crash- landing of an airliner in Myanmar told terrifying tales of escape Wednesday as carrier Air Bagan said it had found the plane’s black box and was investigating the accident that killed two people. Details of the crash remain unclear, though the airline and of- ficials have blamed heavy fog for the aircraft’s crash into a rice paddy field where it burst into flames. Two died and 11 were injured, in- cluding four foreigners. The aging Fokker 100 jet was carrying 71 people, includ- ing 48 foreigners, from the city of Yangon via Mandalay to Heho airport, which is the gateway to the popular tourist destination Inle Lake. Continued on Page 7 Syrian interior minister leaves Beirut hospital BEIRUT—Syria’s interior minister, wounded in a Damascus bombing, headed home on a private jet Wednes- day after treatment in Beirut, airport officials said, despite calls from some Lebanese to put him on trial for Syrian actions in their country. Mohammed al-Shaar’s departure coincided with the defection of the commander of Syria’s military police. Officials at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport said al-Shaar left Beirut and was flying to Damascus. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Al-Shaar was wounded on Dec. 12 when a Power tariff up by 91 paisa per unit ISLAMABAD—While exercising the monthly fuel adjustment, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved increase in power tariff by 91 paisa per unit. NEPRA has also imposed 18 paisa as electricity theft and line loss charges on domestic consumers. Hike in diesel price is the main reason of increasing the electricity rates, an official said. The decision would be in effect after final judgment of Islamabad High Court. Power consumers, it may added, are already badly suffering due to scheduled and unscheduled load-shedding and rise in power tariff would add to their miseries.—Online Continued on Page 7 ISLAMABAD—Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Retd) Fakharuddin G Ibrahim on Wednesday brushed aside any possibility of delay in general elections and said elections would be held on time. “The rumours about delay in elections carry no weight. Elections will be held on time and more and more eligible people should get registered as voters,” the CEC informed me- dia persons at the ECP after his visit to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). The CEC also met with Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani during his visit to the NADRA and discussed with him security arrangements dur- ing upcoming general elections. He also thanked the COAS for promising cooperation for hold- QUETTA: A woman MPA showing her vote to Director De- partment of Public Relations Kamran Asad and Principal Secretary of Chief Minister Hafiz Abdul Basit during vot- ing for no-confidence against Speaker Aslam Bhootani. BA passes no-trust move against Bhootani 47 votes cast in favour, one against GHULAM TAHIR QUETTA—Balochistan Assem- bly Speaker Aslam Bhootani was voted out as the no confidence motion against him carried out by majority votes in Wednesday’s session of the Assembly held here under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha. Forty-seven members in the house of 65 voted in favour of the motion against the Speaker and one voted in favour of Aslam Bhootani. Two members of the house walked out as they believed the motion was against the spirit of constitution. Aslam Bhootani abstained from participating in the Assembly session. The Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha of JUI will per- form the duties of the Speaker. The outgoing Speaker Aslam Bhootani addressing a Press con- ference soon after the voting Continued on Page 7 Elections to be held on time: CEC Continued on Page 7 NAZIR SIYAL LARKANA—All arrangements have been finalised to officially launch Bilawal Bhutto Zardari into the political sphere through a public address at Garhi Khuda Buksh today (Thursday). The 5th death anniversary of slain PPP Chairperson and former Premier of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto is being ob- served with reverence and pas- sion at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh today (Thursday). Hundreds of thousands of people’s convoys and rallies from four corners of the coun- try and several federal and pro- vincial ministers, advisors, par- liamentary members, party lead- ers and party workers reached here to attend the death anni- versary of their beloved leader Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. BB’s death anniversary today Bilawal Bhutto starts political career today The main event will be ad- dressed by the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and President Asif Zardari at Garhi Khuda Bux. This event will continue from 10 am to 5:20 pm. Strict security measures have been taken as thousands of police jawans will be deployed in the villages and the surround- ing areas, ensuring smooth flow of traffic. The scanners are be- ing installed at entry points, be- sides, sniffer dogs are being used for detection and aerial monitor- ing by the helicopter at Garhi Khuda Bux and Naudero. Accommodation, drinking water, cleanliness and lighting have been arranged for the visi- tors coming from different cor- ners of the country. DIGs and SSPs will monitor the security arrangements police personnel from various districts have been called to perform duties at Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto, Presi- dent Camp House, Naudero and Larkana.. Several reception camps have been established at Larkana and different routes to- wards Garhi Khuda Bux and Naudero to accommodate the leaders and workers from all the four provinces. All necessary arrangements have been put in place to facili- tate the workers and general public. The streets have been decorated with PPP flags and banners inscribed with slogans of “Jeay Bhutto and Zinda Hai BB Zinda Hai”. Early in the morning, programme will start with Quran Khawani at the mausoleum of the PPP founder Thursday. The day will dawn with special prayers 33 BPS-21 officers promoted to BPS-22 ISLAMABAD—The government on Wednesday promoted 33 of- ficers belonging to various occu- pational groups from BPS-21 to BPS-22. The decision was taken after a meeting of the high powered committee held under the Chair- manship of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday. The meeting approved the names of 33 officers belonging to various Occupational Groups for promotion to next higher scales (BPS-22). The officers of BPS-21 pro- moted to BPS-22 are: Malik Abdus Samad; Ansar Javed; Shahid Rahim Shaikh; Fayyaz Ahmad Leghari; Arif Ikram; Abdul Wadood Shah; Ahsan Raja; Abid Saeed; Naveed Akram Cheema; Nasir Hayat; Jamil Amjad; Muhammad Ali Gardezi; Shahidullah Baig; Agha Nadeem; Sajjad Saleem Hothiana; Muhammad Shehzad Arbab; Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad; Hasan Nawaz Tarar; Seerat Asghar Jora; Muhammad Arshad Bhatti; Munir Qureshi; Rasheed Ahmad; Manzoor Ali Khan; Naveed Salimi; Ms Rukhsana Shah; Ms JI leader Prof Ghafoor passes away STAFF REPORTER KARACHI—Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) senior leader Prof Ghafoor Ahmed passed away at the age of 85 here on Wednesday after months of ailment. He was born on June 26, 1927 in Barely, British India and earned Masters Degree in Com- merce from Lucknow University Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7
Transcript
Continued on Page 7
GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: President Asif Ali Zardari laying flowers on the grave of ShaheedBenazir Bhutto on Wednesday.
Transition to Quaid, Benazir’s vision
Just five days beforeMohtarma BenazirBhutto’s fifth anniversary
of martyr-dom (Dec27) yet an-other highprofile secu-lar politi-c i a n —KPK’s Se-nior Minis-ter BashirBalour— was assassinated bythe terrorists. Today Pakistanstands at a critical juncture. Itis confronted with a battle for
survival and the nation shallhave to get tough to face thetougher challenges.
A frontline leader of ANPBalour Sahib had always beenknown for his commitment todemocracy. In these crucialtimes he had emerged as a sym-bol of dauntless courage anddetermination for combatingterrorism undeterred by threeprevious attacks on him. Hisdeath is an irreparable loss toPakistan in general and KPK inparticular when a brave leaderlike him is needed most.
Bhutto had cast the dyeagainst religious extremismwhen she challenged the terror-ists by spearheading thestruggle for restoration of de-
mocracy and to revert to the lib-eral vision of the Quaid. Shepreferred to die rather than sur-render to the terrorists. To sal-vage the country from falling inthe hands of Taliban she hadnurtured and nourished the pathto fight back with her nobleblood. Bilour has followed in herfootsteps.
The current challenges lookinsurmountable. However, withbrave leaders our march towardsmaking Pakistan a modern so-cial welfare state would succeed.The nation has shown uncom-promising resilience to defendits liberal and progressive ide-ology against obscurantistforces. However, as ANP chiefAsfandyar Wali Khan has rightly
said:” If extremists and terror-ists can unite from Kabul toKarachi then why not the Pa-kistani nation gets unitedagainst these evil forces.”Such a unity, indeed, is theneed of the hour. All politicalleaders, institutions and themasses should join hands tofight this war as their own andeliminate forces of darkness.
Some leaders are still liv-ing in a denial mode aboutTaliban. They should get outof their fixation. We are fight-ing against are outright barbar-ians. They have no commit-ment to Islam. They just killthe innocent with impunity.Malala Yusufzai was lucky,Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
CommentsWajid Shamsul Hasan
President, PM,condole withZahid MalikSTAFF REPORTERISLAMABAD—Abdul HayeeMalik, younger brother ofZahid Malik, Editor-in-Chief,Pakistan Observer andChairman Nazriya PakistanCouncil died on Wednesdaymorning in Sialkot.
Abdul Hayee wassuffering from cancer.
President Asif Ali Zardarihas expressed grief and sorrowover the demise of AbdulHayee Malik.
In his condolencemessage, the Presidentexpressed sympathies with thebereaved family and prayed toAlmighty Allah to rest thedeparted soul in eternal peaceand give courage to thebereaved family to bear thisloss with fortitude.
Illegal appointments stillgoing on in PQA: SC
ISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt on Wednesday directedthe Attorney General, SecretaryPort Qasim Authority (PQA)and Secretary Ports and Ship-ping to submit within two weeksgovernment’s stance over illegalappointments in Port QasimAuthority.
A two-member bench of theapex court comprising ActingChief Justice Tassaduq HussainJillani and Justice Nasir ul Mulkheard a suo motu case about 686illegal appointments from grade2 to 21 in PQA by Ports andShipping Ministery and otherauthorities and a petition ofsacked secretary of PQA AbdulJabbar Memon challenging hisremoval.
No respondents werepresent in the SC except peti-tioner Abdul Jabbar Memon.
Petitioner Abdul JabbarMemon told SC that more than250 new appointments havebeen made in the PQA fromgrade 2 to grade 19 recently,despite the clear orders of theapex court and this matter fallsinto the contempt of court.
He added that further exten-sion has been granted to theChairman PQA Rear Admiral(Retd) Muhammad Shafi, whilehis appointment was already aquestion mark.
He said that he was trans-ferred to Malir DevelopmentAuthority as a Director withouthis consent and the Sindh Gov-ernment is not providing himdue perks and privileges.
He requested the bench toform a larger bench as the mat-ter is of public importance.
Air Bagansurvivor tells of
terrifyinglanding
YANGON, Myanmar—Survi-vors of a Christmas Day crash-landing of an airliner in Myanmartold terrifying tales of escapeWednesday as carrier Air Bagansaid it had found the plane’s blackbox and was investigating theaccident that killed two people.
Details of the crash remainunclear, though the airline and of-ficials have blamed heavy fog forthe aircraft’s crash into a rice paddyfield where it burst into flames.Two died and 11 were injured, in-cluding four foreigners.
The aging Fokker 100 jetwas carrying 71 people, includ-ing 48 foreigners, from the cityof Yangon via Mandalay to Hehoairport, which is the gateway tothe popular tourist destinationInle Lake.
Continued on Page 7
Syrian interiorminister leavesBeirut hospitalBEIRUT—Syria’s interiorminister, wounded in aDamascus bombing, headedhome on a private jet Wednes-day after treatment in Beirut,airport officials said, despitecalls from some Lebanese toput him on trial for Syrianactions in their country.
Mohammed al-Shaar’sdeparture coincided with thedefection of the commander ofSyria’s military police.
Officials at Beirut’s RafikHariri International Airportsaid al-Shaar left Beirut andwas flying to Damascus. Theyspoke on condition ofanonymity in line withregulations. Al-Shaar waswounded on Dec. 12 when a
Power tariffup by 91paisa per unitISLAMABAD—Whileexercising the monthly fueladjustment, the NationalElectric Power RegulatoryAuthority (NEPRA) hasapproved increase in powertariff by 91 paisa per unit.NEPRA has also imposed 18paisa as electricity theft andline loss charges on domesticconsumers.
Hike in diesel price is themain reason of increasing theelectricity rates, an officialsaid.
The decision would be ineffect after final judgment ofIslamabad High Court.
Power consumers, it mayadded, are already badlysuffering due to scheduled andunscheduled load-sheddingand rise in power tariff wouldadd to their miseries.—Online
Continued on Page 7
ISLAMABAD—Chief ElectionCommissioner Justice (Retd)Fakharuddin G Ibrahim onWednesday brushed aside anypossibility of delay in generalelections and said electionswould be held on time.
“The rumours about delayin elections carry no weight.Elections will be held on timeand more and more eligiblepeople should get registered asvoters,” the CEC informed me-
dia persons at the ECP after hisvisit to the National Database andRegistration Authority(NADRA).
The CEC also met withArmy Chief General AshfaqParvez Kayani during his visit tothe NADRA and discussed withhim security arrangements dur-ing upcoming general elections.He also thanked the COAS forpromising cooperation for hold-
QUETTA: A woman MPA showing her vote to Director De-partment of Public Relations Kamran Asad and PrincipalSecretary of Chief Minister Hafiz Abdul Basit during vot-ing for no-confidence against Speaker Aslam Bhootani.
BA passes no-trustmove against Bhootani
47 votes cast in favour, one againstGHULAM TAHIR
QUETTA—Balochistan Assem-bly Speaker Aslam Bhootani wasvoted out as the no confidencemotion against him carried out bymajority votes in Wednesday’ssession of the Assembly held hereunder the chairmanship ofDeputy Speaker Matiullah Agha.
Forty-seven members in thehouse of 65 voted in favour ofthe motion against the Speakerand one voted in favour of AslamBhootani.
Two members of the housewalked out as they believed themotion was against the spirit ofconstitution. Aslam Bhootaniabstained from participating inthe Assembly session.
The Deputy SpeakerMatiullah Agha of JUI will per-form the duties of the Speaker.
The outgoing Speaker AslamBhootani addressing a Press con-ference soon after the voting
Continued on Page 7
Elections to be held on time: CEC
Continued on Page 7
NAZIR SIYAL
LARKANA—All arrangementshave been finalised to officiallylaunch Bilawal Bhutto Zardariinto the political sphere througha public address at Garhi KhudaBuksh today (Thursday).
The 5th death anniversary ofslain PPP Chairperson andformer Premier of PakistanBenazir Bhutto is being ob-served with reverence and pas-sion at Garhi Khuda Bakhshtoday (Thursday).
Hundreds of thousands ofpeople’s convoys and ralliesfrom four corners of the coun-try and several federal and pro-vincial ministers, advisors, par-liamentary members, party lead-ers and party workers reachedhere to attend the death anni-versary of their beloved leaderShaheed Benazir Bhutto.
BB’s death anniversary today
Bilawal Bhutto startspolitical career today
The main event will be ad-dressed by the PPP ChairmanBilawal Bhutto and PresidentAsif Zardari at Garhi KhudaBux. This event will continuefrom 10 am to 5:20 pm.
Strict security measureshave been taken as thousands ofpolice jawans will be deployedin the villages and the surround-ing areas, ensuring smooth flowof traffic. The scanners are be-ing installed at entry points, be-sides, sniffer dogs are being usedfor detection and aerial monitor-ing by the helicopter at GarhiKhuda Bux and Naudero.
Accommodation, drinkingwater, cleanliness and lightinghave been arranged for the visi-tors coming from different cor-ners of the country. DIGs andSSPs will monitor the securityarrangements police personnelfrom various districts have
been called to perform duties atGarhi Khuda Bux Bhutto, Presi-dent Camp House, Naudero andLarkana..
Several reception campshave been established atLarkana and different routes to-wards Garhi Khuda Bux andNaudero to accommodate theleaders and workers from all thefour provinces.
All necessary arrangementshave been put in place to facili-tate the workers and generalpublic. The streets have beendecorated with PPP flags andbanners inscribed with slogansof “Jeay Bhutto and Zinda HaiBB Zinda Hai”.
Early in the morning,programme will start with QuranKhawani at the mausoleum of thePPP founder Thursday. The daywill dawn with special prayers
33 BPS-21 officerspromoted to BPS-22ISLAMABAD—The governmenton Wednesday promoted 33 of-ficers belonging to various occu-pational groups from BPS-21 toBPS-22.
The decision was taken aftera meeting of the high poweredcommittee held under the Chair-manship of Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf on Wednesday.
The meeting approved thenames of 33 officers belongingto various Occupational Groupsfor promotion to next higherscales (BPS-22).
The officers of BPS-21 pro-moted to BPS-22 are: MalikAbdus Samad; Ansar Javed;Shahid Rahim Shaikh; FayyazAhmad Leghari; Arif Ikram;Abdul Wadood Shah; AhsanRaja; Abid Saeed; NaveedAkram Cheema; Nasir Hayat;Jamil Amjad; Muhammad AliGardezi; Shahidullah Baig; AghaNadeem; Sajjad SaleemHothiana; Muhammad ShehzadArbab; Babar Yaqoob FatehMuhammad; Hasan NawazTarar; Seerat Asghar Jora;Muhammad Arshad Bhatti;Munir Qureshi; Rasheed Ahmad;Manzoor Ali Khan; NaveedSalimi; Ms Rukhsana Shah; Ms
JI leaderProf Ghafoorpasses away
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—Jamaat-e-Islami’s(JI) senior leader Prof GhafoorAhmed passed away at the ageof 85 here on Wednesday after
months of ailment.He was born on June 26,
1927 in Barely, British India andearned Masters Degree in Com-merce from Lucknow University
Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
ISLAMABAD—The 18th deathanniversary of noted poetessParveen Shakir was observedhere on Wednesday by the lit-erary circles. Parveen Shakirdied in an accident on Decem-ber 26, 1994 on her way to of-fice. Her death was a great lossto the Urdu poetry. ChairmanAcademy of Letters AbdulHameed, while talking to APP,said she set a new trend in theUrdu poetry. She used the firstperson feminine pronoun,which is rarely used even byfemale poets, he added
“Parveen portrayed thewomen’s issues in herpoestry in a beautiful man-ner and adopted purely aneastern style,” he said. Shewas a noted Urdu poetess,teacher and a civil servant. Itwas a unique honour for herthat there was a question onher poetry in the Urdu paperin the 1982 Central SuperiorServices Examination, inwhich she appeared. She didher masters in English Litera-ture and Linguistics fromKarachi University. Sheworked as a professor atKarachi University and Trin-ity College, Connecticut,USA, for nine years beforejoining the Civil Service,where she served in the Cus-toms Department.
She was appointed sec-ond secretary, CBR in 1986.She again joined Trinity Col-lege, Connecticut, USA, in
1990, and did her masters inPublic Administration fromHarvard University in 1991.Parveen started writing, bothprose and poetry, at a youngage. She also wrote columnsin Urdu newspapers, and a
few articles in English dailies.Initially, she wrote under thepen-name, “Beena”.
The feminine perspectiveof love and the associatedsocial problems were hertheme. Critics compared herpoetry to that of Iranian poetForough Farrokhzad. Herfirst book, Khushboo, wonthe Adamjee Award. Latershe was awarded the Pride ofPerformance. Upon herdeath, the Parveen ShakirTrust was established by herclose friend, Parveen QadirAgha. The Parveen ShakirTrust organizes a yearly func-tion and gives out the Aks-e-Khushbo award.—APP
OUR CORRESPONDENT
GARHI KHUDA BUX—Hun-dreds of thousands of peopleincluding Pakistan People’sParty leaders and workers onWednesday started reachinghere to attend 5th death anni-versary of former prime minis-ter Mohtarma Benazir BhuttoShaheed. Caravans of the PPPworkers and followers ofBhutto family from Sindh,Punjab, Balochistan andKhyber Pakhutunkhwa‘s dif-ferent districts are pouring into pay homage martyredleader. All necessary arrange-ments have been put in placeto facilitate the workers and
general public on the occasion.Every street has been
decorated with PPP flags andbanners inscribed with slo-gans “Jeay Bhutto and ZindaHai BB Zinda Hai”. Theprogramme will start withQuran Khawani at the mau-soleum of the PPP founderThursday morning. The daywill dawn with special prayersin Mosques for the departedsoul of the charismatic leaderand first woman prime minis-ter of the Muslim worldmartyred in Liaquat Bagh inRawalpindi on December 27,2007. Shaheed Benazir Bhuttoalways worked for the rightsof poor and the deprived and
even laid down her life for thecause of the poor.
A big public gatheringwill be held to be addressedby PPP chairman BilwalBhutto Zardari, PresidentAsif Ali Zardari as well asother senior party leaders topay homage to the martyredleader. Earlier, they will visitthe graves of martyrs ofBhutto family and lay floralwreaths and offer fateha.
Meanwhile, many civilsociety organizations on theirpart have chalked out memo-rial references to rememberthe great leader, who sacri-ficed her life for cause of de-mocracy and empowerment
OUR CORRESPONDENT
RAHIM YAR KHAN—Minis-ter for Information andBroadcasting Qamar ZamanKaira said Wednesday Paki-stan came into being afterpolitical struggle and its sur-vival was linked with politicsand democracy. He saidwhen past dictators bannedpolitics in the country, it wasnot only weakened but dis-membered at a later stage.Talking to mediapersons onWednesday, he said that af-ter 1971, Shaheed Zulfikar AliBhutto strengthened Paki-stan through politics but dic-tatorial rules weakened itagain. Being a democracy, he
said change in Pakistan canbe brought through the elec-toral process and advised DrTahirul Qadri to follow theconstitutional path.
He said Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) had welcomedreturn of Allama TahirulQadri and said he should goto masses and seek votes forchanging the system. Hesaid Armed Forces and judi-ciary have specified rolesunder the Constitution, sothey cannot be inducted inthe caretaker setup. Kairawas of the opinion that poli-tics of ultimatums shouldend now. He said consulta-tions with political forceswere underway and the coa-
lition partners do have theirown manifestos and differ-ence of opinion on variousissues. The Minister saidthat he could not understandas to how Allama TahirulQadri will change the systemwithout politics.
About the South Punjabprovince, he said this was notan election slogan by the PPPas it was taken up long be-fore election time.”A consti-tutional forum is working onthe recommendations whichwill be presented before theParliament as per the Consti-tution”, he added. He re-jected the notion that the newprovince could be createdthrough an executive order as
method of formation of newprovinces, given in the Con-stitution, was being followedat this stage. To a question,he said the PPP respects thejudiciary and has imple-mented its decisions despiteits reservations on some ver-dicts including disqualifica-tion of former prime ministerSyed Yusuf Raza Gilani.
About Asghar Khancase verdict, he made it clearthe court had not awardedpunishment to any one andhad formed a commission toinvestigate involvement ofpoliticians. Kaira said aftercoming in to power, the PPPgovernment empowered theprovinces by implementing
the 7th National FinanceCommission (NFC) Award,adding that federating unitshave been made more inde-pendent. He said that thePPP government restoredpeace in Swat, Malakand bylaunching a military opera-tion against the terrorists.
Minister for Informationand Broadcasting QamarZaman Kaira said when thePPP took over in 2008, terror-ism was prevailing in differ-ent part of the country. It wasthe time when funerals of of-ficials and law-enforcers wasnot possible in day light, headded.
He said in 2008, there wasscarcity of flour in the coun-
try, and with the prudent poli-cies of the PPP, self-suffi-ciency was achieved in wheatproduction and now thecountry is exporting wheat.
Kaira strongly refutedthe impression given bysome elements that industrialsector in the Punjab was be-ing destroyed and made itclear that due to shortage ofgas, cuts were being im-posed in all parts of thecountry. He said that PrimeMinister Raja Pervez Ashraf,Water and Power MinisterAhmed Mukhtar and he him-self were Punjabis and therewas no question of victimiz-ing industrial sector in thePunjab.
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan is fac-ing numerous challenges onvarious fronts and every Pa-kistani including minoritiesshould join hands to carry onthe agenda of national mobi-lization and make Pakistan astate according to the visionof its founder Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah.These were the unanimousview of participants in Christ-mas program organized inNew York by all All PakistanChristian League (APCL)USA Chapter, said a messagereceived here on Wednesday.Dr. Tanveer Zamani, a US
based surgeon and PhD in in-ternational politics was thechief guest on the occasion.She is known as an innova-tive muslim democrat in theUS and Pakistan People’sParty’s very endearing activ-ist.
While addressing theChristian community, Dr.Zamani said Islam gives re-spect to other religions andits followers. “ s a nation,we must join hands and per-form ‘Ijtehad’ to carry outnational mobilization anddesign the social structureof Quaid-e-Azam ‘s Paki-stan,” she maintained. Shealso stressed for special
measures to stop incidentslike Shanti Nagar , Gojra andMardan in future. She saidall Religious communitiesliving in Pakistan are equaland minorities have verycrucial role in the socio-economic development ofthe country.
Dr. Zamani also urged forunity among the Pakistanination as a whole to eliminatesectarianism, feudalism andother challenges form thecountry. She also demandedElection Commission of Pa-kistan should take furtherpractical steps for properrepresentation of minoritiesin present electoral system.
of people. They will also visitthe graves of the martyrs ofBhutto family to offer fateha.Strict security measures havebeen taken as thousands ofpolice jawans will be de-ployed in the village and thesurrounding areas qand alsoensure smooth flow of traf-fic, a provincial governmentofficial said, adding thatscanners were being in-stalled at the entry pointwhile strip search would alsobe conducted if required.Besides, sniffer dogs are be-ing used for detection. Onthe occasion, accommoda-tion has been arranged for thevisitors.
Country’s future linked with democracy: Kaira
Carvans reaching Garhi KhudaBux to attend Benazir anniversary
Unity crucial to steercountry out of crisis: APCL
18th death anniversary ofParveen Shakir observed
LARKANA: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari offeringFateha at grave of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
QUETTA: Activists of Baloch Human Rights Organization passing through Adalat Roadduring a protest rally against operation in various areas of Mashkay subdivision ofAwaran district.
IUB 5 studentskilled in accident
B.K TAHIR,BAHAWALPUR—Five stu-dents of the Islamia Univer-sity, Bahawalpur died in aroad side accident nearMianchannu while on way toLahore by a car. Accordingto reports, five students ofthe IUB, two real sisters ofIslami Colony, Bahawalpur,Rida Javed of Media Studiesand Sidra Javed of Statisticsdepartment, Maratab Ali ofthe Agriculture College ofIUB, Mian Ahmed of theDVM, IUB and Umair Akramof the Statistics departmentwere going to Lahore byroad. Their vehicle collidedwith a trawler nearMianchannu due to fog andreportedly killed as confirmedby the Bahawalpur police.
AEO visitsgovt schools
M.ZAFAR ANSARI
KAMALIA—The AssistantEducation OfficerChoudhary Zia Ullah in-spected different Govern-ment Schools to see himselfthe working and standrad ofteaching there on Wednes-day. First of all he inspectedKamalia Govt M.C SchoolinMohallah Bagai-wala, GovtM.C Elemantary School andGovt Islamiya School andjudged the performance ofteachers.
He also inspected themaintenance of the buildingand lauded the schooladministration’s efforts toimprove sanitation system.Choudhary Zia Ullah alsovisited a number of otherschools. Later, talking to Pa-kistan Observer, he said thatthose playing with the futureof students will be taken totask and Education Depart-ment will continue its coop-eration with the high qualityschools.
Top positionholder studentsreach Murree
STAFF REPORTER
MURREE—Top positionholder girl and boy studentsof Intermediate Examination2012 from all provinces of thecountry other than Punjab,including Gilgit Baltistan,Federal Board of Educationand AJK reached Murree onWednesday afternoon on athree-day study and recre-ational visit of the hill townon the invitation of Chief Min-ister, Punjab, MuhammadShahbaz Sharif. These posi-tion holder students were pre-sented Guard of Honour by asmart contingent of police ontheir arrival at GovernmentHouse Murree.
These toppers after vis-iting Danish SchoolsChishtian, Bahawalnagar,historical places in Lahoreand meeting with Chief Min-ister Muhammad ShahbazSharif, they reached Murreeon three-day trip of country’spopular picnic hill town.These students have beenoffered stay in Govt. HouseMurree and will be accordedprotocol of State Guest dur-ing their study and recre-ational visit. DCO RawalpindiCapt. (R) Saqib Zafar repre-sented Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharifin the Guard of Honour cer-emony, while ASP Murree,D.G. Protocol Punjab AsjadGhanni, Lady Protocol Of-ficer Miss Nadia Awan, rep-resentative officers of educa-tion departments of Sindh,Balochistan, KP, GilgitBaltistan, Federal EducationBoard and AJK were alsopresent on this occasion.
Addressing the positionholder students on this occa-sion, he said that Punjab Gov-ernment was giving top prior-ity to promotion of educationand for achieving this objec-tive, it has taken various revo-lutionary steps to increaseeducational facilities.
Consumersprotest shifting
of SNGPL officeM RAMZAN ABDULLAH
TAXILA—A large number ofconsumers of Sui NorthernGas Pipe lines limited (SNGPL)of Taxila, Wah Cantonment,Hassanabdal and adjourningareas protested against shift-ing of company office to vir-tual “no go area” and de-manded undoing the decision.The consumers who protestedin front of SNGPL sub divisionoffice told reporters that thecompany sub divisional officewas located adjacent to GTroad in New City in a rentedbuilding where consumers ofall these three cities as well asadjacent areas including overtwo hundred villages througheasy access filed applicationsfor new connection, rectifica-tion of gas bills and other mat-ters related to company butdue to unknown reasons thecompany office has beenshifted into a rented buildingwithin the garrison city of WahCantonment where masseshave no easy access.
Talking to newsmenformer MPA from Wah CanttProf Mohammad Waqas Khancondemned the SNGPL offi-cials decision of shifting thecompany office into the garri-son city where public entry isa Herculean task. He said thatconsumers have to travel ex-tra mile and spend more fareto reach the new office to getinformation about their newconnection or rectification oftheir gas bills. JI General Sec-retary Tanzeel Mudassarwhile speaking on this occa-sion said that vehicles with-out specific permit are not al-lowed in to Wah Canton-ment.
FARZANA RAJA
EVERY moment of incessant struggle ofShaheed Benazir
Bhutto, her speeches as asource of strength for thepeople, her expression ofsheer courage on the face ofevery threat and depiction ofthe inspiration of peoplehave always been remaineda source of strengthen for me.Her great struggle and ser-vices for her beloved coun-try could inspire any and in-dividual in the world and hersacrifice and laying down herlife is being termed a guaran-tee for the sustainability ofthe democracy in Pakistan.
This great leader of uswho had persuaded thegolden principles of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad AliJinnah and Quaid-e-AwamShaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhuttoought to be remembered asQuaid-e-Jamooriat (Leader ofDemocracy) as its merely aresult of her great strugglethat the democracy in Paki-stan is fully vibrant and func-tional and striving to improvethe lot of the nation with fullzest and vigor. All the spec-tacular moments I was privi-leged are a precious asset forme to spend with my Qauid-e-Jamooriat and it’s notenough whatever extent Imay talked and mentionabout it. While writing thisarticle, all these momentsstart flashing before my eyesand it’s truly provide the verybasis of my life as all thesemoments provided me greatto enhance my learning and
this could be ascribed as aremarkable asset.
The unprecedented lead-ership and epic struggle ofShaheed Mohtrama would al-ways remain imprinted in mykind. It is a matter of immensehonor to me to be able to ob-serve her endeavors. The levelof her commitment and perse-verance always provide me asource of continued guidance.The conversations withShaheed BB during thestruggle for democracy and herpersistent guidance have be-come part of my personality.The overall welfare of peopleof Pakistan, empowerment ofwomen folks of the society andcreation of new economic op-portunities for the youth of thecountry remained her majorconcerns. Her reason behindthe decision of coming backto Pakistan was out of deepaffection for the people.
She was aware of the factthat the rights of the peopleare not being provided in theabsence of genuine democ-racy and hence, the integrityof federation had becomeunder dire jeopardy. Thesheer courage and bravery ofmy Shaheed BB could be as-certained from the fact thatshe had spent many of pre-cious years of her life eitherunder house arrest, in thevarious prisons of the coun-try or in the exile but still keptvoicing her truthful stancefirmly. The last return ofShaheed Mahatma to home-land infused a great spirit inthe struggle for establishinga genuine democracy in thecountry. While working with
our great leader, we were en-thused with great deal of pas-sion and enthusiasm for thepeople by taking great dealof inspiration from her cour-age and commitment.
The cruelty and barbarianhad snatched this great gift tonation from us in the tragic in-cident of 27th December butshe would also remain a bea-con of the light of democracy.The enemies of the countrytargeted Shaheed BB to thwartthe rule of people of Pakistanwhile she laid her life to savethe Federation of Pakistan andto safeguard the rights of thepeople of the country. Thereis no denying of the fact thattoday the sun of truthfulnesshas pushed the darkness ofthe lies forever.
During her last and his-toric and heroic speech,Quaid-e-Jamooriat expressedher uncompromised stanceabout the democratic futureof Pakistan where there wasno room for the forces repre-senting obscurantist mind setand having anti-peopleagenda. This was indeed acommitment with the restora-tion of true democracy in thecountry and thus creation ofa social welfare state wherethe socio-economic rights ofevery citizen are provided andprotected through the highvalues of democracy.
Being leader of themasses, Shaheed BB wasmost effective and forcefuladvocate of the democraticand human rights of all thecitizens of Pakistan includingvulnerable and marginalizedsegments of society. Her
murderers in fact attemptedto exterminate the hopes andaspirations of the people butthey are bound to fail asQauid-e-Jamhooriat has be-come a symbol of hope andresistance and thus an in-vigorating factor for them topursue their dreams of get-ting rid poverty. ThanksGod, today, by virtue of thevisionary leadership ofPresident Asif Ali Zardari,we are on the road toachieve a preposterous andstronger Pakistan as per theaspirations of Shaheed BB.Benazir Income SupportProgramme (BISP) can betermed as the practical mani-festation of our greatleader’s vision highlightedin slogan of “Roti, Kapra aorMakan – Elm, Roshni, Sabko kaam”. We can rightlyclaim that BISP is playing avital role in improving thesocio-economic conditionsof underprivileged segmentof the country.
The trust of the peopleand unprecedented serviceis a reality has received theacknowledgment and en-dorsement from entire word.It would worth mention hereon the her You-e-Sadat ofShaheed BB that the democ-racy in Pakistan today istruly a gift of Qauid-e-Jamooriat to us and it’s asuccess of the people whohave secured democracy outof dictatorship through thevision of our great leader.
—The writer is a Fed-eral Minister and Chairper-son Benazir Income Sup-port Programme
Quaid-e-JamhooriatShaheed Benazir Bhutto
ISLAMABAD—The MetrologicDepartment Wednesday fore-cast mainly cold and dryweather for most parts ofKhyber Pakhutnkhwa prov-ince with chance of light rainsat isolated places. It said thatrain with light snowfall overthe hills is likely at isolatedplaces of Malakand, Hazaradivisions and Parachinar.
Weather remained coldand dry in most parts of theprovince during the last 24hours. Minimum temperaturewas recorded as: Parachinarand Skardu -10C, Kalam -07C,Chitral and Dir -03C. The MetOffice has forecast fair/partlycloudy with hazy morning inthe city over the next 24hours.
According to Metoffice’s weather report is-sued here on Wednesday theminimum temperature is ex-pected to remain in the rangeof 13 to 15 degrees centi-grade. The Met Office saidmainly cool/cold and dryweather is likely to prevailelsewhere in the region. Thelocal Met office has forecastcold and dry weather withchances of fog for the cityand its suburbs during thenext 24 hours.
The maximum and mini-mum temperature was re-corded as 21.2 and 6.0 degree
Cold, dry weather forecastcentigrade respectively. Hu-midity was recorded 100 percent at 8 am and 60 per centat 5 pm.
According to synopticsituation continental air isprevailing over most part ofthe country. Coldest places
during last 24 hrs: Parachinar-11øC, Skardu, Kalam -06øC,Gupis, Astore -05øC, Hunza,Dir -03øC, Chitral, Rawalkot -02øC, Gilgit, Drosh,Malamjabba and Quetta -01øC. The Karachi Met Officehas forecast dry weather withcool night in the city over thenext 24 hours. According toMet Office’s weather reportissued the minimum tempera-ture is expected to remain inthe range of 12 to 14 degreescentigrade.
However, isolated rainwith light snow over the hillsis likely in Malakand divi-sion. According to Met of-fice, foggy conditions arelikely to prevail in the plainareas of Punjab and Sindh(Lahore.—APP
Balochistan CM condoles death of BilourStaff Reporter
PESHAWAR—Chief MinisterBalochistan, Nawab Muhammad AslamKhan Raisani on Wednesday visitedBilour House to condole the death ofBashir Ahmad Bilour, former SeniorMinister KP and central leader of ANP,who embraced martyrdom in a suicideattack on Saturday last. Chief MinisterBalochistan was accompanied by Fi-nance Minister, Mir Asim Kurd and highranking officials. Earlier on his arrival at
Peshawar airport, Raisani was received by Chief MinisterKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Amir Haider Hoti. At Bilour House,Chief Minister Baluchistan met with Ghulam Ahmad Bilour,Minister for Railways. Senator Ilyas Bilour and sons ofBashir Bilour were also present on the occasion. CMBalochistan remained there for some time and offered Fatehafor Bashir Bilour. He also lauded the bravery and boldstance of late Bashir Bilour against militancy. PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednes-day expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demiseof Abdul Hayee, the younger brother of Zahid Malik, Edi-tor-in-Chief, Pakistan Observer and Chairman NazariyaPakistan Council. Meanwhile Abdul Hayee had breathedhis last on Wednesday morning. In his condolence mes-sage sent to Zahid Malik, Imran Khan prayed that mayAlmighty Allah rest the departed soul in eternal peace andgrant courage to the bereaved family to bear the irrepa-rable loss with equanimity. Rasool Bakhsh Raisani, ViceChancellor, University of Balochistan on Tuesday visitedthe residence of late senator Wali Muhammad Badini andcondoled with the family members, the death of Badini. Heprayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eter-nal peace and grant courage and fortitude to the bereavedfamily to bear this irreparable loss.
Remarkable steps for women empowermentSUKKUR—Chairperson National Com-mission for Human Development(NCHD) MNA Dr. Syeda Nafeesa Shahon Wednesday said the PPP governmenthad taken remarkable steps for empow-ering women in Pakistan according to thevision of Shaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto. Talking to APP here on Wednes-day, she paid rich tribute to MuhttarmaBenazir Bhutto on the occasion of herfifth death anniversary. She said, Benazir
Bhutto had dedicated her life to the service of the nationand never bowed before any anti-democratic power. Add-ing a quote of Late Benazir Bhutto from her last speech: “Iput my life in danger and came here because I feel this coun-try is in danger. I want to see a prosperous, progressive anddeveloped Pakistan.” “These words of Bhutto reflected hervision and dream of Pakistan, although she is no more amongus, her vision is alive”, Shah observed. She said that historywill always remember her for standing up against dictators.She was the voice of the downtrodden. Further she saidthat among her many achievements for Pakistan are the mis-sile technology for the country. Agosta submarine for theNavy, women banks and women police stations. Also, thewomen affairs ministry was formed during her first tenure in1988. She appointed women judges, as well as thousands ofLady Health Visitors to minimise infant mortality, startedcampaign to make the country polio free, she said. Shahsaid that Mohttarma Benazir Bhutto was a mother, a wife, aleader, a daughter, a sister who sacrificed her life for thecause of democracy so that her children and the children ofthe country and future generations and all of us can breathein fresh air of democratic life.—APP
Governor lauds GilaniMULTAN—Punjab GovernorMukhdoom Syed Ahmed Mehmood onWednesday paid a visit to the residenceof former prime minister Syed YusufRaza Gilani and heaped praise on theex-PM for record development carriedout in south Punjab. The governor metwith MNAs Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani andSyed Ali Musa Gilani at Gilani’s Houseand said the uplift projects would facili-tate people of south Punjab in a big way.
He said he himself believed that backward areas of theprovince must be developed because it was the right ofpeople of this area. He said launch of a robust develop-ment process with investment worth billions by the formerprime minister would surely help reduce problems of peopleof this area. He said the construction of different bridgesreduced inter-city distances facilitating commuters andtrade. He promised to keep development needs of peopleof south Punjab in focus and added that he would workwith the PPP to move forward to put backward areas ofPunjab on a sustainable path to development and pros-perity. Earlier, MNAs Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, Syed AliMusa Gilani and others welcomed the Punjab governor atthe local airport on his maiden arrival in Multan. PrimeMinister’s media coordinator Khawaja Rizwan Alam, andother PPP leaders, including Malik Ishaq Buchcha, DrJaved Siddiqui, Mohsin Bukhari, Hassan Bukhari, andNaseem Labar were also present.—APP
Punjab Govt committed to promote educationOur Correspondent
HAFIZABAD—MNA Saira Afzal Tarar hassaid that the Punjab government is com-mitted to promote education across theprovince and taking revolutionary stepsto ensure provision of maximum facilitiesto the students at their doorsteps. She wastalking to media and officers of educationdepartment while handing over key of abus to the principal of the GovernmentIslamia Collage, Hafizabad worth Rs.10 mil-lion for providing pick and drop facilities to
the female students. She said that difficulties of the girl stu-dents belonging to far flung area of the district could reach intime in the college and continue their study satisfactory. Shethanked the Chief Minister of the Punjab to provide a gift ofbeautiful bus to the students of Hafizabad. District Coordinat-ing Officer Farah Masood said on this occasion that provisionof a bus to girls college is the education friendly step of thechief Minster of the Punjab and expressed her expectation thatproblems of the girl students would be minimized. District Of-ficer Colleges Hafizabad informed on this occasion that thisbus has capacity of 54 seats and said that the Punjab govern-ment was providing buses to the girls colleges on priority basisand this facility would be provided to other colleges in secondphase. Principal Government Islamia College for WomenHafizabad, Zahida Nasreen Bhatti said that parents could getrid of communicational expenditures and problems by availingthis facility while College Welfare Council would determineroute and schedule of the bus. Meanwhile activists of PPP ledby Muhammad Arshad Mahind General Secretary PPPHafizabad District on Wednesday proceeded to Garhi KhudaBakhash to pay homage to Banazir Bhutto on her fifth deathanniversary. Meanwhile as many as 40 lawyers of DBAHafizabad have constituted an independent group (JinnahLawyers Forum) under the patronage of Malik MuhammadAnwar Awan and Malik Naveed Ahmad Awan. The followingwere elected office-bearers: President Malik Fazal Rasul Gul,General Secretary Muhammad Zaman, Finance Secretary IrfanIsmail and Information Secretary Usman Ghani.
SHER GONDAL
MANDI BAHAUDDIN—Dis-tr ict President PML (N)Devan Mushtaq informedthe media persons herethat Mian Nawaz Sharifwould visi t MandiBahauddin on Dec 31 andwould address a big publicgathering at Rose CinemaGround.
He further saidNawazSharif would inaugurateNawaz Sharif Park near Dis-tr ict Judicial Complex,Satsira Road, and NawazSharif Girls High SchoolSufipura. All these projectswere recently completed byPunjab Government, headded.
It may be mentioned thatseveral times visits of MianNawaz Sharif and MianShahbaz Sharif were sched-uled for Mandi Bahauddin in
the last five years but all ofthem were cancelled on onepretext or the other.
*****Like other parts of the
country, the Christian com-munity celebrated Christ-mas with religious fervourhere. In this connectionhundreds of Christiansgathered at Love GodChurch, Christians Colonyto celebrate Christmas.They were dressed in col-orful dresses particularlychildren.
Pastor Yaqoob Sardarwas present at the occasionand addressed the celebrat-ing ceremony. Under hisleadership the communityprayed for the progress anddevelopment of the coun-try.
The church was deco-rated with X-mass trees andcolorful l ights. The com-
munity members ex-changed gif ts with eachother. District administra-tion had arranged specialbazaars to faci l i tat ingChrist ian community tocelebrate Christmas. Localpolice had made special se-curity arrangements for thecelebrations.
*****One youth died while
the other injured seriouslyin collision between twomotorcycles. Reportedlytwo motorcyclists comingfrom opposite directions onSargodha Road collidedwith each other due to overspeeding.
Muhammad Balal, resi-dent of village Rerhrka Baladied on the spot whileUmair Ali was moved toLahore in injured condition.He is in a precarious condi-tion as reported by police.
BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI
HAFIZABAD—Pakistan Mus-lim League-Q is the heir of theideology and thoughts ofQuaid Azam Muhammad AliJinnah and was trying to Pa-kistan a welfare stste accord-ing to desires of the Quaid.
These views were ex-pressed by Federal Ministerfor Works ChaudhryLiaquat Abbas Bhatti whiletalking to workers of PML-Q and different delegationsat Sukheki. He said thatPML-Q was supporting thepresent government only forthe welfare of the countryand strengthening democ-racy.
He said that present fed-eral government was spend-ing more than 27 billion ofrupees for completing vari-
ous development schemesin the rural area udderPeople’s Works Programmefor ensuring provision ofdifferent amenities to themasses at their doorstepsduring current fiscal year. Hestressed the need of promot-ing religious harmony andbrotherhood among the so-ciety for curbing terrorismand extremism.
*****While congratulating
Aqeela Ghazanfar, whobagged first position in theM.A. (Political Science) ex-amination held by Universityof the Punjab, MNA SairaAfzal Tarar has declared thattalented and hardworkingstudents were asset of thenation and the present gov-ernment was determined toencourage them. The MNA
visited the house of Aqeelain Thatha Noor Shah Villageand assured her that shewould be suitably rewardedby the Chief Minister.
*****After frantic efforts of
more than 12 hours, the diversof Rescue-1122 recovered thedead body of TanveerAhmadm. Three officers ofKhushali Bank, Raheel, Sajidand Tanveer were on way toHafizabad on the Jeep No.HZ-6900. When they reachednear Punj Pulla on JhangBranch near Nanoana village,driver of the Jeep lost controlover the vehicle due to densefog the Jeep swerved off thecanal bank and fell into thecanal. Raheel, Sajid and theJeep were pulled out by thevillagers but Tanveer couldnot be traced.
STAFF REPORTER
PESHAWAR—Prime MinisterRaja Pervaiz Ashraf visitedBilour House here Wednes-day to express condolencewith Ghulam Ahmed Bilourand Senator Ilyas AhmedBilour over the tragic deathof their brother BashirAhmed Bilour in a suicidebomb blast. The Prime Min-ister remained there forsometimes and offeredfateha for the departed soul.He eulogized the social andpolitical services of BashirAhmed Bilour Shaheed forthe country in general andKhyber Pakthunkhwa in par-ticular, saying his sacrificewill not go waste.
The Prime Minister saidthat the slain leader laiddown his life for a cause andhis sacrifices would be writ-ten in golden words in thepolitical history of the coun-try. On this occasion, thePrime Minister also ex-pressed heartfelt condo-
lence with Haroon AhmedBilour and Usman AhmedBilour, sons of Bashir
Ahmed Bilour Shaheed andother members of the be-reaved family. Federal Min-ister for Law, Farooq HNaek was also present onthe occasion.
Earlier, the Prime Min-ister was received byKhyber Pakthunkhwa Gov-ernor Barrister MasoodKausar and Chief MinisterAmeer Haider Khan Hoti at
Bacha Khan InternationalAirport.
Meanwhile Prime Minis-ter Raja Pervez Ashraf onWednesday arrived here ona brief visit to offer condo-lence over the assassina-tion of Senior MinisterKhyber Pakhtunkhwa andANP leader Bashir AhmedBilour. The Prime Ministeraccompanied by FederalMinister for Law, Farooq HNaek was received byKhyber PakthunkhwaGovenor Barrister MasoodKausar and Chief MinisterAmeer Haider Khan Hoti atBacha Khan InternationalAirport.
Chief Secretary GhulamDastagir Akhtar and IGPKhyber Pakthunkhwa AkbarKhan Hoti were also presenton the occasion. The PrimeMinister soon after arrivalstraight drove to the resi-dence of Federal Minister forRailways and senior ANPleader Ghulam Ahmed Bilourto offer condolence.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
QUETTA—Eighth convoca-tion of the Balochistan Uni-versity of Information Tech-nology Engineering andManagement Sciences(BUITEMS) was held atBalaili campus here onWednesday. GovernorBalochistan Nawab ZulfiqarAli Magsi was the chiefguest while Chief SecretaryBalochistan Babar YaqoobFateh Mohammad and ViceChancellor BUITEMS Engi-neer Ahmed Farooq Bazaiwere also present.
Addressing the cer-emony, the Governor saidthough the law and order inthe province was not satisfac-tory yet the services of varsi-ties here were admirable inequipping the students withquality education. “Educationis a basic of development oftoday’s society,” he said add-ing owing to Balochistan’sunique geo-political location,this province, was a gatewayto the Central Asian states.
It is the only possibleland link from Gawadarthrough Afghanistan to allindependent states, he
Balochistan is gateway to Central Asian states: Magsi
QUETTA: Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi awarding degrees to a successful student during 8th Convo-cation of the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences.
added. “The time is not faraway when we will be oper-
ating our business routes,”he stressed. “Our available
human resources should beable to match with the ex-
pected growth of businessand industry when the time
comes,” he maintained. Com-ing to the future aspects forstudents in Balochistan,Nawab Magsi reiterated thatthe government was tryingto fulfill the infrastructuralneeds of industry. “It willhelp create jobs in all sectors.
It’s not possible for thegovernment to provide jobs toevery individual,” he added.Vice Chancellor BUITEMSAhmed Farooq Bazai on theoccasion said that this convo-cation was a memorable dayin the lives of the graduationstudents. Highlighting theachievements of the varsity, hesaid ISO 9000 internationalquality certification for the uni-versity, besides its 4th bestranking of the country in theInformation Technology andComputer Science categoryby the HEC were a landmark.Its services were recognizedinternationally and it achievedWorld Education CongressAward, International SocratesAward and Asian Confedera-tion of Businesses ‘VisionaryLeadership Award’ and manyothers.
All these recognitionsand certifications are testi-mony of the dedication.
PM visits Bilour House to offerfateha for slain ANP leader
Nawaz to visit MandiBahauddin on Dec 31
PML-Q working to makePakistan a welfare state
Jhelum: Actionagainst
encroachersdemanded
HASEEB UR REHMAN
JHELUM—The encroach-ments in all over the city havecreated problems for trans-porters and public. But Tehsiladministration is totally silenton this issue. This was statedby executive member CitizensForum Malik Wazir while talk-ing to media on Wednesday.He said that last month theyhad approached TMA JhelumEncroachment Inspector onbehalf of the Citizen Forumand urged him to remove allencroachments in the city.
He further said that En-croachment Inspector tooknotice of this issue and as-sured them to get rid of en-croachments as this mafiawas getting strong day byday whereas citizen are fac-ing problems during travel-ing because of encroach-ments on the roads andstreets. Mailk Wazir furthersaid they had appealed toDistrict Co-ordination OfficerJhelum to take action againstillegal encroachment mafia.
CHINIOT: Fire-fighters struggling to extinguish fire that erupted in a shop at KatcheryRoad.
SUKKUR: Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah talking to media personsat the Airport before departing for Garhi Khuda Bakhsh to attend 5th death anniversaryceremony of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
NAZIR SIYAL
LARKANA/GARHI KHUDABUX: Different Protest dem-onstrations were held here inRatodero and Garhi KhudaBux Bhutto and police dis-mantled the hunger strikecamp established in front ofBhutto martyrs mausoleum inGarhi Khuda Bux by the un-employed youth before thearrival of Sindh Chief Minis-ter Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
A large number of pro-testers in Ratodero burnttyres and chanted slogansagainst the WAPDA for itsfailures to provide transform-ers and electricity on the eveof 5th death anniversary ofShaheed Benazir Bhutto.They also blocked Ratodero-Naudero Gwadar Motorwayand chanted slogans.
While the police re-sorted to button charge onprotesting unemployedyouth before the Bhuttomausoleum during the ChiefMinister Sindh Syed Qaim
Unemployed youthprotest in front ofBhutto mausoleum
Ali Shah’s visit to GarhiKhuda Bux on Sunday. Thepolice later shifted the ar-rested young people toNaudero police station.Sources told that the Policearrested 22 protesting menincluding Sarfraz Bhutto,Munawar Leghari, QaimChandio, Ishaque Leghari,Younis Leghari, Nasrullahand others.
After hearing news aboutthe action by police manyyouth got infuriated and heldprotest demonstration onmain Naudero-Ratodero road,burnt tyres and blocked theroad holding large sticks intheir hands. The vehiculartraffic remained suspendedfor two hours. They alsoraised slogans against policeand elected leaders of thearea, while Sindh Chief Min-ister was brought thoughSaidu Dero road for the firsttime due to closure of the roadas the protesters refused toopen the road for the chiefexecutive of the province.
18th Balochistan varsity convocation
Military option isno option Mr Asfand!AFTER chairing party’s consultative committee meeting in the back
drop of assassination of Bashir Ahmad Bilour, ANP chiefAsfandyar Khan Wali shared his party’s strategy to deal with the
menace of terrorism. He spoke at length on different aspects of the issueand urged all political parties to forge consensus on how best to addressthe problem.
The concerns of the ANP leader are shared by the entire nation asextremism and terrorism is eating into the very fabric of the society withhuge consequences both in physical and economic terms. We do not agreewith Asfandyar Wali when he tries to convey an impression that onlyANP is the target and that some political parties have no clear position onthe issue as his contention is belied by bomb blasts and suicide attacks inevery nook and corner of the country including GHQ and ISI premisesand adoption of consensus resolutions both in the National Assemblyand the Senate on the need to tackle the menace effectively. As for imple-mentation of the strategy, it is for the Government to do so and Asfandyarshould better realize that his party is coalition partner at the Centre andfully incharge of everything in KPK. There were also contradiction in thestatement of the ANP leader who, on the one hand, rightly pointed outthat guns and talks can’t work together but, on the other hand, wanteddecisive action against extremists and terrorists and it is understood whathe meant by ‘decisive’ action. If there was any doubt, it has been clearedby the remarks of Federal Minister and ANP leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour,who reportedly said in a latest interview that the ANP would not havewaited for a second in securing parliament’s approval for launching of amilitary operation in North Waziristan if it had the necessary majority.Though ANP chief says military options should be the last option but webelieve that military option is no option at all as it has not led to anysolution anywhere. Why are we still talking about operations when eventhe United States and Karzai Government are approaching Taliban fortalks and seeking Pakistan’s cooperation for the purpose?
What a fall of grossofficial reserves!
THE country’s foreign exchange reserves have been declining at a rapidpace for the last many months but those responsible for taking cor-
rective measures seem to be unmoved. The State Bank of Pakistan re-serves stood at $14.8 billion in July 2011 but they have nose-dived to$8.5 billion and there are apprehensions that these would further fall inthe months to come.
Economic experts apprehend that a debt repayment crisis is in themaking and in the absence of heavy inflows, Pakistan’s foreign exchangereserves will decline to dangerously low levels with serious implicationsfor exchange rate stability. It is only because of the rise in home remit-tances by overseas Pakistanis that the economy has so far averted totalcollapse but the wholesale closure of textile industry, which is mainstayof foreign exchange earnings, due to suspension of power would deal afatal blow to foreign exchange reserves and the economy itself. It is re-grettable that the State Bank, which has the mandate to take remedialmeasures, is not playing its role as it should have been. It has also al-lowed free fall of the rupee and its parity with dollar is likely to go intothree digits anytime with grave impact for the economy. We have allalong been told by successive governments that devaluation was goodfor the health of the economy but for the first time economic expertshave started telling the truth with Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan acknowl-edging that a stable exchange rate helps to improve the balance of pay-ments by encouraging foreign investment and preventing capital outflows.Why economic managers and SBP are ignoring this?
These fleeingPalestinians from Syria
FLEEING the civil war in their adoptive country, thousands of Palestinian refugees have crossed the Syrian border into neighbouring coun-
tries including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey in recent days cramming intoalready over-crowded and decrepit camps. Many more are on the moveand it appears that as the fighting intensifies between the forces of Asadregime and the opposition, the refugees situation would get out of control.
There were an estimated 450,000 Palestinian refugees living in 10camps in Syria but following the bombing of Yarmuk refugee camp bythe Syrian war planes on Sunday, majority of them have once again beenforced to flee like their ancestors did in the past. The Palestinians canendure anything like migrating from one place to another but their youngchildren cannot live without food and shelter. Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas has asked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tohelp in bringing the refugees to the Palestinian territories, including theWest Bank where Abbas governs or the Hamas ruled Gaza Strip. Thoughhost governments and local communities are welcoming them but in ourview it is incumbent upon the international community and the UNHCRto launch a mega programme including setting up of comfortable tentcities and provision of necessities of life for them to pass the difficultdays. The food supplies are short and men, women and children queuefor hours every day — sometimes under heavy winter rains in front ofbakeries to obtain bread in besieged areas. We would also urge thedeveloped countries including members of the Gulf Council to orga-nize an international donors conference for Palestinian refugees as theNATO and US did in Tokyo and UAE to raise funds for Afghanistan, tomeet the requirements of the refugees from Syrian crisis until peace isrestored and they are able to go back to their homeland.
Will Pak elections be free & fair?
Absence is to lovewhat wind is to fire;it extinguishes thesmall, it inflamesthe great.
IT would be naive to think thatthe coming elections in Pakistanare going to be free and fair. It
is not possible when the buck stopsat the table of the Chief of ArmyStaff. He may decide which politi-cal party should get how many seatsand, accordingly, arrange to do sobefore nomination papers are filed.Democracy is a tedious way of gov-ernance, confusing and disorderly.Yet, it represents the will of peoplewho queue before the polling boothsand chose their representativeswithout any pressure. Such condi-tions do not obtain in Pakistan.
Therefore, I am not surprisedthat General Mirza Aslam Beg andLt. General Asad Durrani, formerChief of Inter Services Intelligence(ISI) have been accused of riggingthe 1990 elections to defeat the Pa-kistan People’s Party (PPP) and tostop the late popular leader BenazirBhutto from coming to power. Howcould have the two top army offic-ers behave differently when theywere under orders from the then
Free CIAtorture reportAmericans have known for
years both the broad outlinesand some of the disgusting
details of the George W. Bushadministration’s policy of subjectingsuspected terrorists to torture, hu-miliation and imprisonment at“black sites” in foreign countries.But they have been denied a com-prehensive accounting of how theUnited States decided after the 9/11attacks to travel to what then-VicePresident Dick Cheney called “thedark side.” That would change if theSenate Intelligence Committee re-leased to the public a 6,000-pagereport on the CIA’s detention and in-terrogation policies that it approvedlast week. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the committee chair, says thereport includes “details of each de-tainee in CIA custody, the conditionsunder which they were detained,how they were interrogated, the in-telligence they actually provided andthe accuracy — or inaccuracy — ofCIA descriptions about the programto the White House, Department ofJustice, Congress and others.” Thereport also includes 20 findings andconclusions.
Release of the document couldfill in blanks left by news reports,lawsuits and various official docu-ments. It also could shed light onwhether waterboarding and other“enhanced interrogation techniques”played a role in tracking downOsama bin Laden — a debate re-kindled by the movie “Zero DarkThirty.” Feinstein herself has re-jected a claim that the operation thatdiscovered Bin Laden’s where-abouts was carried out “based oninformation gained through theharsh treatment of CIA detainees.”Of course, even if torture did proveuseful, that doesn’t make it legal ormoral. Unfortunately, the report willremain classified while the commit-tee solicits comments — and pre-sumably suggested redactions —from the Obama administration.Feinstein and her colleagues mustpress the administration, includingthe CIA, to review the documentexpeditiously and exercise restraintin editing it.
Release of the intelligence com-mittee report won’t end the debateabout either the morality or the effi-cacy of the CIA’s interrogationpolicy — a debate that often followsparty lines. Only one Republican onthe committee, Maine Sen. Olym-pia J. Snowe, voted to approve thereport (though Arizona Sen. JohnMcCain, a nonvoting “ex officio”member, praised it and urged its re-lease). The ranking Republican, Sen.Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, saidit contained “significant errors,omissions, assumptions and ambi-guities — as well as a lot of cherry-picking.” But the report, which isbased on a study of more than 6 mil-lion pages of CIA and other records,represents the most ambitious at-tempt yet to explain why and howthis country lost its moral bearingsin the aftermath of a terrorist attack.The American people have a rightto see it. — Los Angeles Times
*****
Tagorepeace prize
There have always been closebonds between the UAE andIndia. Those ties stretch over
commercial and trading links, his-torical and cultural ties. Arab cultureand language share elements with In-dian traditions as old as time itself.In that light, the awarding of theprestigious Tagore Peace Prize toone of the UAE’s most distinguishedpoets comes as a rare honour indeed— considering that the award is onlygranted every two years.
Dr Shehab Ganem has labouredlovingly in solitude, translating andwriting poetry, exploring the com-mon values that transcend individualsocieties, focusing on the true hu-man values of humanity, peace andlove. Single handedly, he has forgedstronger ties between the two na-tions. And he is the first Arab to beso honoured, in recognition of hisyears in the field. His ten workstranslated into English and hisworks in foreign poetry have showncontemporary Arab culture in a newlight. At this time of reflection, asthe year draws to a close, it is worthremembering that for all that di-vides us, we are united by commonhuman values. Dr Ganem is a re-minder. — Gulf News
MEDIA WATCH
Bussy Rabutin—French writer
army chief not tohave fair electionsand let the PPP get amajority? True, Pa-kistan Prime Minis-ter Raja ParvezAshraf has said that“those men will beprosecuted as per lawafter transparent in-vestigations.” But
this is like closing the eyes to reality.The last word is with the army and itcannot afford its men to be roughedup when they were executing the de-vised plan. Indeed, the SupremeCourt of Pakistan has proposed to thegovernment, which is coincidentallythat of the PPP, to investigate thematter to take “action” against thetwo, if they were found funding theIslam Jambhori Ittehad led by NawazSharif. I wonder if the PPP which hascozy relations with the army wouldmove against the two senior most of-ficers, whatever the statement by thePakistan Prime Minister. Both of-ficers have gone to the SupremeCourt for a review of the judgmentagainst them. Yet all depends on thearmy or, for that matter, GeneralPervez Ashraf Kayani, the chief ofthe army staff. I have no reason tobelieve that the army will allow thecases of Aslam Beg and AsadDurrani to follow the due process oflaw and face prosecution.
No doubt, there are reports thatthe army is not opposed to action
against the two. One story says thatall civil, military medals and otherhonours conferred on the two wouldbe forfeited because of the SupremeCourt’s strictures. Yet this course ofaction does not tally with the way thePakistani affairs are run. The army issupreme and the writ of the “elected”government runs to the extent thearmy allows it. Both officers are toopowerful and too resourceful. Ifthreatened with action, they may spillthe beans which would be more em-barrassing than the option of no ac-tion against them.
The ISI is an integral part of thePakistan army and those working inthe intelligence wing are protected.Very soon, the ISI would put its footdown if it has not already done so.Nothing will come out of the effortsto bring Mirza Aslam and AsadDurrani to the book. Understandably,the civil society in Pakistan did notmake any noise, not that it is happyover the developments, but it is con-scious of its timid ness to speak out.The army knows it too well. The mostdamaging revelation that has come outduring the Supreme Court’s proceed-ings is the presence of political cell inthe ISI which is part of the army setup.In other words, politicians in Pakistanare followed by the ISI and their move-ments are recorded. That their tele-phones are tapped, their letters openedor their visitors’ car numbers are notedis not surprising because this happenseven in a democratic country like In-
The other day I saw on the television, Tahirul Qadri’s hysteric declaration of his agenda
to reform “the rotten lot of politi-cians” within three weeks, other-wise, he would lead a four millionmarch to Islamabad, to demolish‘Zardari’s citadel’, and likeMohammad Morsi of Egypt, willrise to capture reigns of the govern-ment and establish “his rule of law”.He hopes, that the Pakistan Armywould be too wiling to offer supportto his movement as it did, whenNawaz Sharif threatened to marchtowards Islamabad and the gamewas over before the ‘Long march-ers’ could cross the Ravi Bridge.Tahirul Qadri is mistaken as he haslived long enough outside Pakistanthan to correctly fathom the deepdesire of the people of Pakistan, forchange through the democratic pro-cess. The change is in the offing, asthe caretaker government takes itsplace, in two months time. Peoplehave no stomach for any kind ofundemocratic intervention as TahirulQadri, so vividly suggests – post-ponement of elections for the re-forms to be carried out and to holdelections at an appropriate time. Infact, he is suggesting a Bangladeshmodel, and no doubt some of ourpolitical parties are ready to buy intothe charade, he is conducting.
Having heard Tahirul Qadri’sagenda, I was reminded of AsgharKhan’s role in 1977, which pavedthe way for the military take-over.It is very interesting to read the con-tents of Asghar Khan’s letter to ZiaulHaq and the reasons put forward byhim, which sound so very similar,though not so scholarly as the‘Sheikhul Islam Tahirul Qadri hasput forward. Asghar Khan’s letterreads: Air Marshal (Retd) AsgharKhan’s (Message): To the officers
From Asghar Khan to Tahirul Qadriof the defenceservices ofPakistan. I amaddress ingthis messageto the Chiefsof Staff andthe Officersof the De-fence Ser-vices of Paki-
stan. It is your duty to defend the ter-ritorial integrity of Pakistan and toobey all lawful commands of supe-rior officers placed over you. To dif-ferentiate between ‘lawful’ and an‘unlawful’ command is the duty ofevery officer. Every one of you mustask yourself whether what the armyis doing today is ‘lawful’ activity andif your conscience tells you that it isnot and you still carry it out, youwould appear to lack moral fibre andwould be guilty of a grave crimeagainst your country and your people.
You should by now have realizedthat military action in East Pakistanwas a conspiracy in which the presentPrime Minister played a Machiavel-lian role. You know the circumstancesin which military action inBaluchistan was engineered and howcompletely unnecessary this actionhas been. You are also probably awareof the utterly unnecessary militaryaction taken last year in DIR in theNorth West Frontier Province. If youhave any interest in national affairs,you must also be aware that duringthe election campaign the nation ex-pressed its powerful disapproval ofthe present regime. Following thepeople’s rejection of the Government,you should have been surprised at theelection results in which the ‘Paki-stan National Alliance’ which couldmuster such overwhelming popularsupport, could only get 8 out of 116seats in the Punjab. You must surelyknow that many people were not evenallowed to file their nomination pa-pers. Was it not too much of a co-incidence that no papers could befiled against the Prime Minister andall the Chief Ministers of the fourprovinces? That those who dared totry, ended up in spending a few nightsin Police custody? One of them hasstill not been traced. Those of youwho were even remotely connected
with duties in connection with 7thMarch election would also know ofthe blatant manner in which riggingtook place; Of the hundreds of thou-sands of ballot papers of PNA candi-dates that had been taken out of bal-lot boxes and were found in the streetsand fields of Pakistan following theelection on 7th March. You wouldalso have seen the deserted pollingstations on 10th March, the day ofthe Provincial polls, following the callfor boycott of Provincial elections bythe PNA. Nevertheless Governmentmedia announced that an unprec-edented number of votes had alsobeen polled at the provincial electionand the percentage was said to bemore than sixty. Then surely you musthave followed the movement whichcalled for Bhutto’s resignation and re-elections in the country.
Why must mothers come out toface bullets with babies in their arms?Why do parents allow their childrento face police lathis and bullets?Surely it is only because they feel thatthey have been wronged – that theyhave been cheated. That their basicright to ‘HIRE and FIRE’ their rulershas been denied them. They under-stood, when we told them the truththat the Constitution which you asofficers of the Defence Services aresworn to defend had been violated.Article 218(3) of the Constitution ofthe ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’says: “It shall be the duty of the Elec-tion Commission constituted in rela-tion to an election to organize andconduct the election and to make sucharrangements as are necessary to en-sure that the election is conductedhonestly, justly, fairly and in accor-dance with law, and that corrupt prac-tices are guarded against”.
This, my friend, was not a justand fair election. Bhutto has violatedthe Constitution and is guilty of agrave crime against the people. It isnot your duty to support his illegalregime nor can you be called upon tokill your own people so that he cancontinue a little longer in office. Letit not be said that the Pakistan armedforces are a degenerate Police Forcefit only for killing unarmed civilians.How else can you explain the shoot-ing of a spirited lad whose only faultwas to show the ‘V’ sign to the army
dia. Chief Justice IftikharMohammad Choudhary, known forhis revolutionary judgments, hasasked the government to close thepolitical cells. No doubt, such a stepis desirable and would help preventinterference by the ISI in electoralprocess. Yet I cannot imagine thishappening without the army’s nod.How would the army maintain con-trol over political affairs without hav-ing their intimate knowledge andthose of the functionaries?
We, in India, are also lookinginto the working of the recently re-tired chief of Army staff, GeneralV.K. Singh. He is alleged to havesomething like a cell to study po-litical developments in the country.Defence Minister A.K. Anthony hassaid politically that his ministry islooking into the matter. Under thecircumstances, it is not surprisingwhen General V.K. Singh joins po-litical forces to surround the parlia-ment house in support of more pricefor sugarcane. This does speak vol-umes of his ambition. But whatabout propriety? Should he have notallowed a decent interval betweenhis retirement and political career?He has not set a good example. Theforce of one million people he com-manded till a few months ago mustbe confused over his actions. Onehopes his is only an aberration.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human right activist and author.
in Lahore the other day. The spirit ofadventure; of defiance rather thanservility needs to be encouraged inour youth and this unfortunate inci-dent is a blot on the name of the armywhich would be difficult to wipe out.Similarly, shooting by the army inKarachi on an unarmed crowd is un-pardonable. Didn’t you realize thatthe poor and hungry people of Paki-stan, throughout the 30 troubled yearsof our history, had shown only loveand affection for our armed forces?That they wept when you laid downarms in East Pakistan; that they havealways prayed for your glory andhave literally starved themselves andtheir children so that you all well fedand our Generals and Senior Offic-ers can live a life that even their Brit-ish and American counter-partswould not dream of. It pains me tosay that, that love is now gone. Praydo not let it turn to hate. For shouldthat happen, a tragedy would haveoccurred in the history of this nationwhich we in our life-time may not beable to undo.
As men of honour it is your re-sponsibility to do your duty and thecall of duty in these trying circum-stances is not the blind obedience ofunlawful commands. There comes atime in the lives of nations when eachman has to ask himself whether he isdoing the right thing. For you that timehas come. Answer his call honestly andsave Pakistan. God be with you. MAsghar Khan (Air-Marshal-Red).Asghar Khan rejoiced, when Bhuttowas hanged, and made a “horrible ex-ample for others.”
Whose head Tahirul Qadri is nowdemanding? Make a guess. TahirulQadri seems to be at the wrong end ofhistory, in his demand to “save thecountry and not politics”. Pakistancame into being as a result of the po-litical movement launched by Quaid-e-Azam. In 1971, Pakistan used themilitary power of the state to correctthe political split, but failed. Now thereis no other option, than to follow thepath, the nation has set for itself i.e.,fair and free elections, on schedule, sothat the new democratic order takesits corrective course to remove thescars of the present order.—The writer is former COASPakistan.
Gen Mirza Aslam BegEmail: friendsfoundation @live.co.uk
Voice of the People
Peace signs in Afghanistan
In this season of good will, thereis a rare bit of good cheer aboutthe prospects for peace with the
Taliban in Afghanistan. The reasonseems to be that some Taliban lead-ers are concluding that they couldn’twin the civil war that might followUS withdrawal of combat troops. TheTaliban appear to recognize that theirleverage, paradoxically, may declinewhen most US forces depart at theend of 2014. The situation haschanged since the 1990s, when theTaliban took power after a civil war:Pakistan is no longer a reliable po-litical patron or financial backer, andit may not provide a haven. “TheTaliban have realized that they can’tachieve military victory,” argues asenior Pentagon official. “They cantry to wait the US out, but the price isthat they won’t be able to play in thepolitical transition.”
The latest sign of rapprochementcame last week in Chantilly, outside
Paris, where the French governmentbrokered a gathering of Afghan po-litical leaders that included two rep-resentatives of the Taliban,Shahabuddin Delawar and NaeemWardak. The meeting, organized bya French think tank called the Foun-dation for Strategic Research, wasclosely followed by US officials. TheChantilly dialogue followed similartalks in Kyoto, Japan, on June 28between Qari Din Mohammad, amember of the Taliban’s senior shuraand former Afghan minister of plan-ning, and Mohammad MasoomStanekzai, head of the Afghan HighPeace Council.
The Taliban negotiators are partof what US officials view as a “prag-matist” faction headed by AkhtarMohammad Mansour, the chief of theTaliban senior shura and the deputyto the group’s leader, MohammadOmar. Opposing the pragmatists is ahard-line faction headed by AbdulQayyum Zakir, a former Guantanamodetainee who is head of the Talibanmilitary commission. The pragma-tists’ case for negotiation has been
I have been fortunate to be closeto the Bhutto family in various capacities; as PPP, Political Advisor
to Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Presidentof Cultural Wing. The first-ever Cul-tural Policy was introduced and ahuge international conference wasorganized in 1995 in which some 400delegates from 110 countries had par-ticipated. BB was the Prime Minis-ter at that time and she inauguratedthe conference. Her inaugural speechwas very impressive and hard-hitting.
Quite interestingly, in 1995, shehad said without mincing any wordthat fundamentalism and Mullahismwere the greatest dangers that facedthe country. She had also predictedthen about the threats of fundamen-talism, narrow-mindedness and re-ligious extremism. After she had fin-ished her speech, some foreign del-egates met her and asked her whyshe had made such an emotionalspeech whereas the conference topicwas “Peace, Literature and Democ-racy”. What I want to emphasizehere is that she had a great visionand farsightedness to sense the lurk-ing dangers. Though she was alsoreceiving life-threats, still she con-tinued to talk about reconciliation.She was gifted with the quality offlexibility. She was also very kind,affectionate , very humble and hada lot of compassion in her heart.
In June 21, 2008, we organized
Benazir Bhutto: Some reminiscesa big seminar in Delhi on the theme“Benazir Bhutto and Peace”. FormerIndian Prime Minister I.K. Gujralpresided over the seminar and saidamong other things that wheneverMohtarma visited India , she usedto call on him and whenever, he vis-ited Dubai , she used to invite himto lunch. He also said that it was anhonour for India to have a seminaron her as she was a great leader ofSouth Asia . She had sacrificed a lotin her fight against dictatorship andfundamentalism. She had carried outher mission against all odds and keptgoing into public in spite of threatsto her life. In recognition and appre-ciation of her great sacrifices, Hu-man Rights Award and UN Awardfor Democracy were conferred onher. Previously, she had also got aprestigious Austrian award known asKierseksy award.
After her passing away, herqualities had become even moreprominent. Her tragic demise hadcome as a great shock to everyone,irrespective of political and other af-filiations. BB had a profound fond-ness for Sufism. She was innatelyassociated with the mystics. BB usedto quote Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai ex-tensively. Her long poem “Marvi”is an example of her commitment toSufis and saints. I regard it as an epicpoem in which she had mentionedall her struggle and related it toBhitai’s character Marvi. It was acombination of local culture and lo-cal political currents and cross-cur-rents, her exile and martyrdom ofBhutto. She had used the technique
The Quaid’scountry bleeds
HASHIM ABRO
As usual this year too, the entirenation celebrates the birthday of theQuaid-i-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah on December 25 (today) butit is no an exaggeration to say thattoday our beloved country- Paki-stan- is weeping and bleeding andeach day a fresh cut is added to herwounds. As per my routine yester-day ( on December 24) when I wentto deliver a lecture to my studentsof political science in a local var-sity in the federal capital,Islamabad, all of a sudden one ofmy students asked me a question:Sir! Tomorrow is the birthday ofthe Quaid-e- Azam but my ques-tion is how did we come to this ter-rible state of affairs in the greatleader’s country?
We have the monumental fail-ures of the past and present mostincompetent governments in thecountry. We have the lack of pro-vision of services to the people ofthe country that have never knownpeace or development in their en-tire lives, at least in my provinceSindh. We have ill-prepared and ill-equipped army law enforcementagencies to war with the terroristsand avoid loss of innocent lives. Wehave heartless governments inSindh and Balochistan provinceswhich have left millions and mil-lions disaster victims starving orscrapping for a living when theythemselves live in air conditionedvillas; driving around in air-condi-tioned cutting-edge four wheeldrives and comfortably sitting in airconditioned over-furnished offices.
Too many things have gonewrong in today’s Pakistan. Consci-entious people can barely recognizethe Pakistan we once knew. Every-thing seems to be changing for theworst. As the nation celebrates the136th birthday anniversary of theFather of the Nation, may we usethis time to reflect on why and howthings have gone terribly wrong,where we have come from andwhere we are going.—Islamabad
Be good to leaveSUSMITA CHATTERJEE,KAJAL CHATTERJEE
This is in response to the news re-port “Sachin Tendulkar retires fromODIs “(December 24). It is indeeda matter of great relief that SachinTendulkar has at last decided to callit quits from at least the shorter ver-sion of the game. The person whoaggregated merely 315 runs fromlast 10 ODI matches held no rightto plague the team by performingpathetically. Since no individual isgreater than the team, nation andthe game; Tendulkar should havebeen dropped much earlier. A placein the Indian team is not meant foran overhyped individual’s personal“enjoyment”, but for assisting theunit to win by performing well andconsistently which Tendulkar wasfailing drastically to do.
That he has at last vacated a slotin the ODI format for more deserv-ing young talented cricketers is in-deed a matter to rejoice of, now theleast Tendulkar can do is to retirefrom Test cricket also. He mustrealise that his performance in Testcricket since a year and half is muchworse than ODIs. What a contrastto Sourav Ganguly who was forcedto call it a day despite reigning asthe most successful Indian batsmanin Test cricket during the period be-tween late 2006 to mid 2008 andimmediately after he scored a Test-winning innings of 85 in Nagpurand averaged a brilliant 54 in thehome Test series against Australia!
Thus it is sincerely hoped thatTendulkar will come to therealisation that his skills have ab-solutely deserted him and he is amisfit for Test cricket also. Heholds no right or authority to clingto his place in the Test squad, de-spite being the liability of the team,by banking on his glamour, auraand media-imposed title of “Godof cricket” or “Little Don”.—India
Informationpower
AMJED JAAVED
The age we live in is the‘psychotronic or information age’.The friend-and-foe concepts in ourcurrent age have changed. Attackson computer systems, negative me-dia publicity, Internet spamming,and the threat of infrastructure fail-ure are features of the modern age.New theories with new concepts ininternational relations of peace andwar have come into being.Psychotronics is a broad term whichcovers concepts like IW (informa-tion warfare), intellectual IW, logicwarfare, cyber terrorism (terrorism
BB’s killers still freeM HASSAN ABBASI
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on 27thDecember. Soon after this incident PPP came in power and made
its Government at all centers and now after 5 years the murderersof PPP’s leader are still behind the mirror and their face isn’t clear.Though PPP Govt. involved high level investigation units like UNcommission and FIA investigation but the reports were never givendue consideration by the PPP ruling Govt. However when the dayof assassination of BB comes and a question is asked from the PPPleadership about the investigation of BB’s murder they simply tryto ignore by saying that the matter is in the Court or by answeringthat Pervaiz Musharaf and Taliban’s hand were behind it. How-ever every person in Pakistan knows that beside these two therewere other faces too which were pointed out in the life of Benazirbut the PPP is following a policy of reconciliation and it has alsoreconciled the murderers of its brave leader in Islamabad’s PowerPolitics. Benazir ‘s murder will also remain mysterious as most ofthe high profile cases have remained in Pakistan but Justice wouldhave been given to her by God in heaven !!—Karachi
are requested to typetheir letters legibly withdouble spacing and only onone side of the paper.
—Editor
of juxtaposition in it and knitted itbeautifully to form a bouquet ofbeautiful thoughts. The symbols ,metaphors and sensibility in herpoem were such that it matches anygreat piece of poetry.
There was a mystic andDervaish (ascetic) in her which wasmanifested from time to time. When-ever, we used to hold World PunjabiConferences with reference to themystics, she always sent us mes-sages. When she was elected as thePrime Minister for second term, shecalled me over and asked to publishBhutto Sahib’s books like “If I amassassinated”, “The Great Tragedy”and “ Myth of Independence” as lotof foreigners and Ambassadors whocalled on her always asked about herfather’s books.
When I sat to compile list ofbooks written by Z.A. Bhutto fromthe time he had come back fromBerkley till his assassination, I foundthat he had written 21 books includ-ing his speeches in the United Na-tions. I got hold of all these books,invited the publisher and asked himto publish all those books within aweek. The publisher did accordingly.
I wrapped all 21 books in a giftpack and went to present to BB. TheMilitary Secretary to the Prime Min-ister told me that I could not meet thePrime Minister who had a heavyschedule and an Ambassador was al-ready in a meeting with her. On myinsistence, however, he agreed to takemy chit on which I had written that Iwanted to present Shaheed Bhutto’sbooks. After the Ambassador came
against information-processing sys-tems like net-ware and wetware ormind through virus attacks), electro-magnetic energy weapons, cyber-weapons, stealth unmanned combat– platforms and so on.
Today, information is the mostpowerful element of power Informa-tion power, as funneled by computerexplosion and telecommunications,is stronger than military, economic,social and political power. An infor-mation revolution is already under-way with just about 20 per cent ofthe world’s population having accessto Internet. The USA realised truepotency of psychotronic power dur-ing operations in Rwanda, Bosnia,Kosovo, and, above all in, Somalia.Leigh Armistead says, “GeneralAideed of Somalia manipulated themedia to keep the militarily-superiorU.S. forces off-balance throughoutmost of the operations during 1993.In fact, with the use of $ 600 videocamera, Aideed changed foreverU.S. foreign policy in theregion…Aideed effectively used themass media to his advantage, he infact controlled the flow of events’.Since that time, IO has evolved toserve as a model for future interna-tional relations”. Russia is so fear-ful of computer attacks on her net-works that it lobbied for UN legis-lation to ban computer-network at-tacks. The USA stalled the proposedlegislation to retain her supremacyin this field.—Via email
Has SC anexception?
SAIF ALI JAN
Supreme Court of Pakistan recentlyordered Establishment Division tosubmit the list of retired civil ser-vants who have been re-employedby the government after their super-annuation. Despite SC orders, vari-ous government departments havebeen violating rules in terms of re-employing the officials after retire-ment. In few organizations such of-ficials had attained the age of super-annuation but they have been hired.But question arises, apex court itselfviolating rules as Dr Faqir Hussain,the Registrar of the Supreme Court,who reached the age of superannua-tion in 2010 and has been grantedhis second extension by the Honor-able Chief Justice early this year.
At a point in time when the Su-preme Court has listed those havingbeen given “illegal extensions byvarious government departments;when the extension granted to theCOAS in 2010, it has been chal-lenged in the Islamabad High Courtbecause he turned sixty (the age ofsuperannuation) this year, what is sospecial about the Registrar of theSupreme Court that the final arbiterof justice should himself grant himan extension, even as he brings downthe wrath of the court on all othertransgressors. Is the ‘Registrar’ in-dispensable or has he been givenexemption by the Chief Justice ofPakistan from his own judgment?—Islamabad
Motorway PoliceSHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER
I had great respect and admirationfor the Pakistan Motorway Police.They were the perfect Governmentworker, honest, hardworking, de-pendable and most of all, upright.They always tried to work for thebenefit of Pakistan and the Pakistanipeople. But on 24th December 2012,my respect for the PakistanMotorway Police ended, when I sawhow this esteemed organization hasalso been inflicted by the same ail-ments seen in all the rest of the gov-ernment organizations. At around6.30 PM, while driving on thePeshawar-Islamabad motorway, Iwas following the motorcade of Ms.Asma Jehangir. While I was travel-ing with four other family membersin one car, Ms. Asma Jehangir wastraveling in three cars, that is withtwo police escorts. During this time,I saw how a Motorway police jeepwould come to escort this motor-
Of State and secularism
The term Secularism was firstformally used by GeorgeHolyoake in his famous work
“The Origin and Nature of Secular-ism”. It is not clear to what extentIbn Rushd (Averroes, considered asto be the first proponent of modernsecularism) influenced Holyoake’sthoughts. However, it is quite evidentto what extent the unruly rule of Pa-pacy had played a role in shaping upthe argument for philosophers infavour of secularism.
The march towards secularismstarted in the “Age of Reason” withKant’s critique and was refined byHegel’s dialectal reasoning of “the-sis, antithesis and synthesis”. Voltaire,despite being proponent of separationof religion from state did anticipatethe moral cost of this phenomenonand argued that even if there is no godwe need to create a one. But it wasfinally Friedrich Nietzsche who pro-claimed the death of god and that godhas no place in our social life, a prin-
ciple on which the foundation of themodern state rests in the westernworld today with a high moral cost.The concept of secularism whichoriginally inspired from the idea thatthe state legislation should not bebased on the divine source but rathercollective wisdom of society has nowbecome synonymous with the intol-erance for religion and religious prac-tices. According to an article pub-lished in “The National Interest”, thereligion and religious symbols inEurope has become a taboo and de-spite that the concept of “freedom ofthought and liberty” is still not com-pletely dead, the intolerance towardsreligion is becoming profound. Thisindeed is a natural consequence ofsecular thoughts which initially startsfrom the idea of throwing god out ofour social life and ends with abuseand hatred for religion and god.
This western ungodly model ofstate has also inspired some Muslimsto preach the concept without muchunderstanding about the moral andsocial costs like gay issues, un-mar-tial relations, drugs, liquor and obli-gations towards parents etc. A secularstate for Muslims would mean that the
status of Quran and hadith, whichforms the source of Islamic jurispru-dence, would be no better than histori-cal story books without any practicalsignificance at all. Another profoundmisconception about an Islamic state/society is that an Islamic state wouldbe extremely intolerant towards otherreligious communities, which is basedon extreme misconception. Histori-cally other religious communities haveflourished within Islamic states withfew exceptions as Islam provides com-plete protection to other religious com-munities except for indulging in im-moral acts and businesses like prosti-tution, liquor and usury. This tolerancetowards other religious communitiesis based on the concept of pluralismand not secularism, which was dis-played by Prophet in Medina once heestablished the first Islamic state, char-tered on divine injunctions.
The foremost purpose of an Is-lamic state is to lead a life accordingto divine commandments in state ofa perpetual peace for purifying one-self and creating opportunities forothers, so as to achieve a successfulstatus in the hereafter. An Islamicstate is primarily founded on four fun-
damental pillars, Equality, Justice,Community Welfare and legislativecode required to deal with any kindof infringements of these principles.Unfortunately, some of the malprac-tices witnessed in states under Mus-lims like violence against commu-nities of other religions or burning/beating to death on desecrationcharges etc are attributed to the re-ligious intolerance which is not trueas such acts display of religious ig-norance and are in violation to es-tablished Islamic principles.
These societies, rather as awhole are desecrating divine injunc-tions for acting in such a brutal man-ner thus paving the way for the reli-gious clergy to establish its hege-mony and also by not doing enoughto establish a society on the basis ofdivine order rather than theocracy.Therefore, in Islam there is neitherany place for secularism nor religioustheocracy. What Islam bolster is es-tablishment of divine order in whichevery community could harmoni-ously live side-by-side respectingeach other’s practices and rituals.—The writer is an M.Phil scholarat NDU.
strengthened by Pakistan’s recentcooperation with the United Statesand Afghanistan in planning for thefuture. Knowing that the US combatrole is ending, the Pakistanis haveconcluded that a civil war across theirborder (of the sort they helped spon-sor in the 1990s) isn’t in their inter-est. So they’ve reached out not justto the Afghan government but also tothe Northern Alliance, a bloc led byethnic Tajiks, which is the leadingadversary of the Taliban and itsPashtun followers.
In the talks in France last week,Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai re-ported in the Daily Beast, the Talibanhoped to reach out to prominentmembers of the Northern Alliancewho would be attending. As a nextstep toward reconciliation, the UnitedStates would like to see a resumptionof what’s known as the “Doha pro-cess,” which stalled last March. Thiswould involve an exchange of detain-ees and the opening of a Taliban of-fice in Doha, Qatar, which would bea locus for broader political discus-sions. It’s hoped this process might
out, the Military Secretary presentedthe chit to her and Mohtarma in-stantly called me in. She asked aboutthe box which a boy had carried inwith me. I replied that the box con-tained 21 books of Mr Bhutto in-stead of just three. On hearing this,tears started running down hercheeks. She said that she knew thatBhutto Sahib had written profuselybut she could not imagine that Iwould collect all of them and pub-lish them so quickly.
Then she wrote a letter to meand I don’t think that she wouldhave written such a letter to any-one. It is matter of record that in aCabinet meeting she had told theMinisters and then also the mem-bers of the PPP Central ExecutiveCommittee about my work andwhile appreciating, had remarkedthat this was the way of complet-ing an assigned task. BB also saidthat had there been any other Min-ister, he would have demanded ahuge sum of money for publishingbooks. We miss Benazir Bhuttoshaheed today, because had shebeen alive she would have madethis country a prosperous countryamong the comity of nations. Thegoverness would have been muchbetter, corruption much less, andfederation would not have beenthreatened by insurgencies becauseshe was the symbol of the federa-tion of Pakistan and that’s why shewas called, ‘Benazir - CharronSuubon ki Zanjeer’.—The writer is the Central leaderof PPP.
lead to an eventual cease-fire in Af-ghanistan, though Taliban leadersare said to resist any formula thatmight look to their followers likesurrender.
A hint of greater Taliban flex-ibility came in meetings last July be-tween representatives of the BritishRoyal United Services Institute andfour senior members of the Taliban.In these discussions, the British re-ported in a recent paper, the Talibanleaders said they “deeply regret theirpast association with al-Qaeda” andthat the group would be open to ne-gotiating a cease-fire as part of ageneral settlement. What’s more,“the Taliban are willing to accept along-term US military presence andbases” because they fear meddlingin the future by Afghanistan’sneighbours. It’s not peace for theholidays. But the recent moves to-ward serious negotiation with theTaliban suggest that the Afghansituation, bleak as it may look tomost Americans, offers some hopeof progress in the new year.Courtesy: The Washington Post
David Ignatius
And with every rape the moral po-lice wag their fingers at legs thatshould be hidden, bosoms thatshould match the flatness of tum-mies, and faces that should be asbare as the Sahara.
“What is more fascinating thanthe slim legs of a beautiful woman,her alluring curves and a smile thatmatches her dimpled chin andlovely eyes!” I cried. “You should
be careful!” said a member of themoral police hearing my words.“About what?” I asked. “For appre-ciating a woman?” “For rape!” “Ihave no intention of raping a womanif I admire her beauty,” I said. “Youare a fool!”
“Why?” I asked. “How can younot think of rape when you see herlegs, her neck, her bulging bustline?”“Do you think of rape when you seea mini skirt?” I asked. “I am a man!”said the moral police fellow. “Youare?” I asked. “Yes, a woman turnsme on! I am not some pansy who pre-tends not to notice a semi- nakedwoman!” “You notice her?”“Ofcourse I do!”
“Or do you lust for her?” “I am aman! And a man needs a woman!”“Even if she is not yours?”
“I am the moral police. I shouldbe asking the questions!” “Legs turnyou on?” I asked, “also a low neckline! What about an exposed waist?A nice flat shapely stomach?” “Ah!Do not provoke me! I am a man!”“And a member of the moral police!”“Yes!” “Aren’t your morals a littleloose?” “How dare you!” “Yourmother? Your sister? What do theywear?”
“They are decent women, theywear a sari!” “Ah a sari! Which showsthe whole world an exposed waist aninviting stomach! And oh so seduc-
Rape and the moral police..!tive belly buttons! Which also on ashapely woman is one of the mostalluring, seductive attires in theworld!”
“What are you saying?” “ThatMr Moral Policeman, rape is inyour mind and not in the mini skirtor hugging jeans, salwar kameez oreven the sari that your mother andsister wear!”
“I will have you arrested forbringing my mother and sister intoit!” “Maybe,” I said slowly, “If youalso thought of all women assomebody’s sister or someone’smother there would be less rape inthis country..!”—Email: [email protected]
cade, while passing stranded driv-ers on the motorway. Using theheavily powered petrol jeeps, themotorway police was escorting oneperson, who already had two carsescorting her, at a cost to us, thepeople of Pakistan.
Because I was following thismotorcade since Peshawar, as themotorway is a straight road, the es-cort of Ms. Jehangir did not like thisand soon enough the end car tried torun our car, going at 120 KM/hr, intothe side barricade. I was glad for the6 feet of side road, that helped saveus, but when I tried to ask the driverwhy he did this, I was stopped bythe Motorway police, who had theaudacity to tell me that they werestopping me on the orders of theMinister, as I was not to follow themon the motorway, which is a straightroad. They even went on to tell mehow they follow each and every or-der of the Minister, even if it meansto hurt a citizen of Pakistan or theirfamilies. After a 20 minute disgust-ing argument, I was allowed to leavewhen I gave them my name andphone number, as Ms. Jehangir hadstrictly asked them to do so.
It was disappointed to see theonce champion of justice, Ms. AsmaJehangir, riding in a motorcade ofthree cars, and whose motorcade washarassing the citizens of Pakistan.But it was truly heartbreaking to hearthe officer of the Motorway policesay those words to me. I am trulysad to see how the upright and hon-est people and organizations changeonce they become part of the Paki-stani Government.—Peshawar
A gift to futureSYED FAKHIR ALI
Green Energy is energy that can beextracted, generated, and/or con-sumed without any significant nega-tive impact to the environment. Theplanet has a natural capability to re-cover which means pollution thatdoes not go beyond that capabilitycan still be termed green. The sig-nificance of green energy is that it issustainable; hence its demand is in-creasing day by day. However, chal-lenges related to it are also rising.
Power shortages and energy se-curity are both critical issues forPakistan’s rapidly growing economy.Wind is already cost-competitive withheavily subsidized fossil fuel-basedenergy in several countries and itscompetitive position will only im-prove over time. In Pakistan there isa growing need for an effective na-tional energy policy, coordinationamongst key stakeholders across theprovinces, investments in the grid andpolicy stability for wind power tofulfill its potential in Pakistan. FaujiFertilizer Company Energy Limited(FFCEL) has developed Pakistan’sfirst 50-Megawatt wind energyproject at Jhampir, District Thatta,Sindh. In the past couple of yearsPakistan has emerged as a significantgreen energy player especially in thewind power market.
The Alternative Energy Devel-opment Board (AEDB) and Foun-dation Wind Energy have recentlyentered into implementation agree-ments for the establishment of twowind power projects having 50MWcapacity each in Gharo. The twoprojects are being financed by theAsian Development Bank, IslamicDevelopment Bank and a syndicateof local banks led by the NationalBank of Pakistan. Due to favorableconditions in terms of potential,technical, support facilities, favor-able policy and regulatory environ-ment, and investor’s confidence areavailable for an accelerated growthof the green energy wind sector.—Lahore
EGYPTIAN President Muhammad Mursi willhave little time to savor victory in pushingthrough a new constitution as it may have
cost the Islamist leader broader support for urgentausterity measures needed to fix the creakingeconomy.
By fast-tracking the constitution through to areferendum that the opposition said was divisive,he may have squandered any chance of building aconsensus on tax rises and spending cuts that areessential to rein in a crushing budget deficit.
Unofficial tallies from Mursi’s Muslim Broth-erhood showed the charter was approved by a 64percent majority.
But opponents said he lost the vote in muchof the capital, while across the nation he alien-ated liberals, Christians and others worried bythe text that was drafted by an Islamist-dominatedassembly.
Opponents say such divisions will fuel moreunrest in a nation whose economy has been pum-meled by turbulence since Hosni Mubarak wasoverthrown almost two years ago, scaring off in-vestors and tourists that are both vital sources ofcapital.
Without broad support, Mursi’s governmentwill find it harder to implement reforms needed tosecure a $ 4.8 billion loan from the InternationalMonetary Fund.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s party, which pro-pelled Mursi to office, may also face a tougherfight in a parliamentary election expected in abouttwo months.
“For austerity measures to be made at a timewhen the political system is being opened andmillions of people are being enfranchised, you needpolitical consensus within the political class,” saidAmr Adly, an expert on the economy.
Yet, even though there is broad acceptance ofthe urgency of fixing the battered economy, Adlysaid Mursi’s approach in pushing through a con-stitution that angered opponents would encouragehis rivals to capitalize on any public backlashagainst austerity rather than help sell reforms tothe nation.
“His political rivals are already dealing withthese problems on a very opportunistic basis,” saidAdly, head of the social and economic justice unitat the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.“There won’t be any prospect of ending... violence
Fragile economy overshadows Morsi’s vote winin the streets or very deep political divisions.”
Egypt’s fractured opposition, defeated at the
ballot box by Islamists in each poll since Mubarakwas overthrown in February 2011, unified theirranks after Mursi expanded his powers in a decreeon Nov. 22 to push through the constitution.
“What Mursi did has united us,” said Ahmed
Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party anda leading member of the National Salvation Frontcoalition, adding he expected a unified approachto the upcoming parliamentary election.
That would give the opposition a much betterchance in parliamentary polls against disciplined
Islamists, who have built a broad grass-roots net-work across the nation over decades that liberals
and other non-Islamists cannot yet match.Though Said agreed steps were needed to fix
Egypt’s economy, he said Mursi had made no ef-fort to discuss it with his rivals although they werea national concern.
The IMF has long said a broad political con-sensus to reforms was needed for a loan.
“Who wouldn’t agree with economic re-forms?” Said asked, but added: “We have not beenconsulted at all with regard to supporting suchpolicies or not, we are not sure what is going on in
the country.”Mursi now faces the prospect of having an
opposition seeking to score political points fromany tax rises and measures to reduce spending,particularly steps to rein in fuel subsidies in a na-tion where rich and poor have become used tocheap energy.
That could make it more of a challenge forIslamists to win votes in the parliamentary elec-tion.
Though the opposition have drawn tens ofthousands of Egyptians to the streets on occasion,Islamists have done so with greater regularity andalso have a strong record of getting out the vote inthe more local politics of a parliamentary poll.
But nation’s political divisions have alreadytaken their toll on the president’s initial economicreforms.
Shortly before the referendum, Mursi intro-duced increases on the sales tax on goods and ser-vices that ranged from alcoholic beverages, ciga-rettes and mobile phone calls to automobile li-censes and quarrying permits. He withdrew themwithin hours under criticism from his opponentsand the media.
An immediate result of Mursi’s policy U-turnwas a delay in approving the IMF loan. The IMFsaid it would postpone its meeting in mid-Decem-ber to approve the loan. Egypt’s government saidit might now be approved in January.
Farid Ismail, a senior official in theBrotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, saidEgypt could not be described as divided when two-thirds of those who voted backed the constitutionbut said all sides needed to discuss the economicissues ahead.
“We have an economic and social challengeand this is the time for people to present initia-tives and engage in a national dialogue,” he said,adding that passing the constitution meant onemajor hurdle to stabilizing the nation had beenovercome.
Yet expectations run high in a nation wheredemands for social justice and a better standard of
living helped drive the 2011 uprising as much ascalls for political freedoms.
“We had a revolution to make life easier andprices lower, not higher,” said 19-year-old stu-dent Sally Ahmed Kotb referring to Mursi’s taxplans as she went to the polls on Saturday to vote“no”. “This will lead to a hunger revolution.”
Once a darling of emerging market investors,Egypt’s economy has taken a hammering. Thebudget deficit surged to a crippling 11 percent ofgross domestic product in the financial year thatended in June 2012 and is forecast to exceed 10percent this year. Without swift action, it couldhit 13 percent, said Adly.
Among belt-tightening measures in the pipe-line are steps to reduce how much subsidized gaso-line drivers can buy, which is bound to be un-popular.
In the meantime, Egypt has been bleedingforeign reserves at a rate of about $ 600 milliona month, cutting them to about $ 15 billion, lessthan half their level before Mubarak’s fall.
Some Egyptians are still ready to give Mursia chance. Many of those who voted “yes” in thereferendum backed the charter as a vote for “sta-bility,” even if they had some reservations. But,even from supporters, Mursi may have limitedleeway.
“Just as people rose against Mubarak, theycan rise against Mursi,” said Mohamed Mohsen,a civil servant and Islamist backer who voted “yes”in the referendum. “Let’s give him two, three, fouror five months to solve our problems then we cansee.”
The government says it is already engaged ina “national dialogue” with political forces, unionsand others to win public support for an economicplan it insists will not hurt the poor.
“Passage of the new constitution is unlikelyto ease recent discord, but it nevertheless marks asignificant step forward in Egypt’s labored po-litical transition,” Simon Williams, HSBC econo-mist in Dubai, wrote in a note after the constitu-tion was approved in the first of the two-stagereferendum.
He said progress on the IMF program couldnow resume swiftly, but added: “The temptationto avoid pressing ahead with unpopular policymeasures may also prove ever harder to resist,particularly ahead of the parliamentary polls.”—Courtesy: Arab News
STEVEN SOTLOFF
Jamila Hijali initially shied away whenI approached her in one of the manylines outside Aleppo’s bread factories
and bakeries. But after a moment she mo-tioned me over to vent her frustrations. “Weare tired of the revolution because beforewomen never stood in line for bread likethis,” the 39-year-old widow with six chil-dren complained. “But now it is my pri-mary occupation in life. Bread line. Sleep.Bread line. Sleep.”
The 21-month long Syrian revolutionis taking its toll on residents of thecountry’s largest city. With everything from
medicine to firewood in scarce supply, andwith winter bringing temperatures downto near freezing, people here are strugglingto cope with a war they just hope will end.But with fighting on urban fronts dead-locked, they admit their wishes are unlikelyto be filled any time soon. Instead, the ci-vilians of Aleppo are trapped in a violentstalemate, left to endure a war whose suf-fering and hardships grow larger with ev-ery passing day. Though NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen recentlyboasted “it’s only a question of time” be-fore the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad
collapses, people in Aleppo fear they arestage players in a war with no end in sight.
At the Military Bread Factory, onceowned and run by the government, Muhial-Din Saka, 37, is busy overseeing theconveyor line as a dozen pita loaves trickleover the belt and fall into a large recep-tacle. Ever since fighting in Aleppo brokeout in July, the factory’s manager of op-erations spends almost all his time at theplant, mostly to troubleshoot problems.
Chief among them is the slowdown inbread production. The factory has twomachines that can produce about 20 tonsof bread a day. But a shortage in filtereddiesel has forced the plant to rely on poorerquality diesel to fuel the machines, whichresults in one machine shutting down ev-ery day as built-up sediment clogs thepipes. “It’s a hassle to start and stop all the
From bread lines to front-linestime,” says Saka.
Before the revolution, the factory solda kilogram of bread for nine Syrian pounds,roughly 20 cents. Today that same kilogramcosts 15 pounds. But while the cost of breadhas increased by 67 percent, it has laggedfar behind the cost of fuel — which hasskyrocketed from seven pounds a liter to180 pounds. To keep bread affordable, theFree Syrian Army (FSA) rebels have cov-ered the shortfall, essentially replacing thegovernment as the subsidizer of the basicstaple in Syrians’ diet.
Outside the factory, civilians are lessconcerned with the economics of breadproduction and more focused on why they
have to wait for up to seven hours for athree-kilogram bag of pita loaves. “Whydo we have to stand here for almost halfthe day?” asks Faras Sido, 33, as squirts ofrain pelt his beige jacket. “Haven’t theylearned how to make bread after all theseyears?”
Though they have tried to make thebest of a distribution system they are ill-equipped to deal with, the FSA is stillblamed for its failures. “I am here to pro-tect these people,” says Muhammad Nasr,a fighter from Mara, a small town some 20miles east of Aleppo. “But when the ma-
chines shut down, they accuse us of steal-ing the bread.”
At 10:45 p.m., FSA fighters beginhanding out numbers — much like at aBrooklyn deli — to the 700 or so peoplewaiting in line. An hour later, a small win-dow opens and the slow process of breaddistribution begins. Around dawn, the linesthin out as the people disappear to theirhouses with their bag of precious pita.
At the Military Bread Factory, the pro-cess functions fairly smoothly. But at thehundreds of bakeries throughout the citywhere bread is still made by hand, the linesare anything but calm. People shove andjockey for better position as FSA fightersargue with customers. A fighter occasion-ally fires a shot to call the crowd to order,but no one pays attention. “We are peoplenot cattle,” notes Firas Bibsi, 48, as he
watches the jostling from his makeshiftfruit stand in the neighborhood of Fardus.“But this war is slowly killing our human-ity without a shot ever being fired at us.”
Increasingly, however, shots are firedat customers. The regime has frequentlybombed crowded bread lines staffed byrebels because they are easy targets —even for the most inexperienced fighterpilots. On Sunday, Dec. 23, dozens of ci-vilians were killed when a fighter jet madeseveral bombing runs over a bread line inthe city of Halfaya, in the central prov-ince of Hama.
And war has brought more pedestri-ans concerns as well; it is not just the costof bread that has skyrocketed. The priceof everything from cooking gas to meathas doubled — and in some cases evenquadrupled — since the regime withdrewfrom Aleppo when fighting broke out inJuly, taking its robust state subsidy sys-tem along with it. Though regime forcesquickly ceded the eastern part of the city,they hunkered down in western sectors andclung to intelligence headquarters andmilitary bases in the northern areas. To-day, the balance of forces has changedlittle. Though some neighborhoods, suchas Karam al-Jabl, have been destroyed,most quarters bear the scars of war fromfierce fighting or random shelling.
Though patient residents eventuallyget their bag of bread, many are not aslucky when it comes to other necessities,including the medicine they need to treatcommon ailments. At a makeshift clinicin the neighborhood of Bustan al-Qasr, Dr.Faysal Habun is examining an infant di-agnosed with whooping cough. The dis-ease is usually curable with simple antibi-otics, but the fighting has disrupted theroutine delivery of basic medical supplies.And since the regime bombed the Dar al-Shifa hospital in November, physicianshave had a particularly hard time provid-ing care for their patients. “We just don’thave the communications and means wehad before,” Habun says. Syrian aidgroups have cropped up to provide theneeded supplies, but none of the majorinternational aid groups operating in thecountry has entered rebel-held areas. Theresult is that volunteers with no experi-ence are desperately scrambling to solve
a crisis they are in no way prepared tohandle.
Muhammad Jadu wishes time couldmove backward. The electrician does notunderstand what the rebels are fighting for,nor does he care. He merely knows thewar has dealt a death blow to his busi-ness; the city has not had electricity forseveral weeks. Today, Jadu spends his timeat a friend’s wheel and rim shop, drinkingtea and smoking an endless string of ciga-rettes. “This war has made everythingworse and nothing better,” Jadu laments.“Why do we need it? We have enoughproblems in Syria.” In the poor neighbor-hood of Sukari, where buildings stack upon one another, Bakari Kajaji is perform-ing his nightly prayers. The flickers of anoil lamp provide just enough light to illu-minate his red prayer rug. —Courtesy: FP
NANDITA BARUAH &SHAREEN TULADHAR
Nepalese citizens are increasingly mov-ing abroad — particularly to Gulf coun-tries — to find work. Will their rights beprotected?
Last week countries around the worldmarked International Migrants Dayin recognition of the 214 million in-
ternational migrants on the move acrossthe globe in search of better economic op-portunity. Nowhere is this recognitionmore important than in Nepal, where for-eign employment has become a viablelivelihood option for millions who areunable to find work within the country.In recent years, though, sobering cases oflabor exploitation and labor traffickinghave been reported by Nepali labor mi-grants, who are increasingly calling forstronger government policies to protectthe rights of migrant workers.
Qatar, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, theUAE, and Kuwait are the top five labordestination countries with the highestnumber of Nepali migrant workers.According to the Department of ForeignEmployment, from January to December2012, about half a million Nepali citizens(women and men) migrated abroad forwork. Along with demand for low-skilledlabor due to economic growth in thedestination countries, Nepalis also seekwork overseas as a result of poverty,unemployment, slow economic growth,and political instability at home. Mostmale Nepali migrant workers areemployed in low-skilled sectors, such asconstruction and manufacturing, whereasthe majority of female migrants work inthe informal sector, either as caregiversor housemaids. While this might lookpromising in terms of employmentopportunities, the plight of the migrantsis far from ideal in terms of securingacceptable labor standards andsafeguarding their basic labor rights suchas formal contracts that specify minimumwage, timely payments, acceptable laborconditions, and health benefits.
From March 2012 to December 2012,The Asia Foundation, in partnership withlocal research institutes in Nepal, India,and Bangladesh, initiated a researchproject to examine the challenges of la-bor migration by focusing on the aspectsof migration process of documented and
Without broad support, Morsi’s government will find it harder to implement reforms needed tosecure a $ 4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. The Muslim Brotherhood’s
party, which propelled Mursi to office, may also face a tougher fight in a parliamentary electionexpected in about two months.
Challenge for Nepal’s migrant workersundocumented migrant workers.
The study, which will be released inJanuary 2013, illustrates that much of thefraud and exploitation related to foreignemployment is rooted in the recruitment
phase itself. Findings indicate Nepali mi-grants increasingly rely on individual“agents” rather than formal recruitmentagencies to guide and facilitate their mi-
gration process. These individual agentsare people known to the migrants, suchas family members or friends. Theseagents function outside of the legal frame-work and are often associated with manydifferent licensed recruitment agencies si-multaneously. Further, the study showsthat these local “agents” have complex,murky systems of operating through achain of agents and organized sub-net-works of handlers, financiers, and docu-
ment fabricators, both within Nepal andin India. They are loosely linked to theformal recruitment agencies and are paidon a piecemeal basis. Potential migrantsnaturally place high trust with these indi-
viduals, making things even riskier.In fact, Nepal’s 2007 Foreign Employ-ment Act includes provisions for regulat-ing the operation of recruitment agencies
and registered agents to facilitate the mi-gration process. But most of these insti-tutions are in Kathmandu, the capital,which limits access to these services forthose in far-flung districts. In this situ-ation, a centralized system of migrationservices has actually perpetuated thedangerous use of informal agents as abridge between the migrants, registeredrecruitment agencies, and the govern-ment.—The CG News
The 21-month long Syrian revolution is taking its toll on residents of thecountry’s largest city. With everything from medicine to firewood in scarce sup-ply, and with winter bringing temperatures down to near freezing, people hereare struggling to cope with a war they just hope will end. But with fighting onurban fronts deadlocked, they admit their wishes are unlikely to be filled any
time soon. Instead, the civilians of Aleppo are trapped in a violent stalemate, leftto endure a war whose suffering and hardships grow larger with every passing
day. Though NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen recently boasted“it’s only a question of time” before the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad col-
lapses, people in Aleppo fear they are stage players in a war with no end in sight.
In fact, Nepal’s 2007 Foreign Employment Actincludes provisions for regulating the operation of
recruitment agencies and registered agents tofacilitate the migration process. But most of theseinstitutions are in Kathmandu, the capital, which
limits access to these services for those in far-flungdistricts.
GEORGE WILL
At the end of this year inwhich election resultsreinserted immigration
into the political conversation,remember that 2012 is the 150thanniversary of “the firstcomprehensive immigration law.”
This is how the HomesteadAct of 1862 is described byBlake Bell, historian at theHomestead National Monumentof America near Beatrice, Ne-braska, one of the National ParkService’s many educational jew-els that make the NPS one of justtwo government institutions (be-sides the U.S. Marine Band) thatshould be exempt from any bud-get cuts, for all eternity.
In 1862, the grim year ofShiloh and Fredericksburg,Congress would have been for-given for concentrating only onpreventing national dismember-
ment. Instead, while defiantlycontinuing construction of theCapitol dome, Congress contin-ued nation-building.
It passed the Pacific RailroadAct to provide for the movementof people and goods to and from
the new lands in the West, theMorrill Act to build land-grantcolleges emphasizing agriculture,and, most important, the Home-stead Act, whose provisions wereas simple as the problem it ad-dressed was stark.
What today is called theGreat Plains was at that time
identified on maps as the GreatAmerican Desert. Under the act,$18 in fees entitled homestead-ers to farm 160 acres to whichthey would acquire title for nofurther cost after five years. Orafter six months if they paid $1.25
an acre (0.4 hectares). (Unionsoldiers could deduct their timein uniform from the residencyrequirement.) The act was in-tended to attract immigrants fromabroad who would put downroots. For this purpose it providedall requirements for citizenship.
Until then, Bell writes, the
states had been “the primaryoverseers of immigration.” Andas an immigration commissionerof New York later testified toCongress, large numbers ofimmigrants would “comeregularly to this country everyspring” but would takethemselves and their earningsback to Europe in the autumn, notpaying taxes and depressingAmerican wages.
By 1850, the United Stateshad acquired, by hook or by crook(including Indian “removal” andthe morally dubious but indubita-bly beneficial war with Mexico),vast quantities of land. Most of itwas uninhabited, unless youcounted, as few did, Indians. In1862, with many citizens fighting,noncitizens were needed to (in anIllinois congressman’s words) “goupon these wild lands” to increasethe nation’s wealth.—Courtesy: Japan Times.
Homestead act: Door-opener to America
At the end of this year in whichelection results reinserted immigration
into the political conversation,remember that 2012 is the 150th
anniversary of “the firstcomprehensive immigration law.”
Chinese scholars pushfor mild political reform
but the anti-polio health volun-teers were not. They were killedfor helping save our childrenfrom the crippling disease.
While remembering Bhutto,I fondly recall that she was aunique personification of an-gelic innocence, remarkablematurity and was incomparablybrave. She made the journey toPakistan knowing that it wouldbe fatal. General Musharraf didnot want her back. So did thereligious extremists. She re-turned home to be welcomed bymillions of her people who hadbeen anxiously looking forwardto the return of their saviour.Likes of Musharrafs who feltthreatened by her were hell bentnot to let her come back. Theyused the extremists to eliminateher. Some day conspiracy wouldbe exposed as to who the bigotswere employed to kill the firstMuslim woman prime ministerever by the invisible entitiessince their vested interest rancontrary to her commitment forthe empowerment of the masses.
On 5th death anniversary thebest tribute to her and those hun-dreds and thousands who sacri-ficed all they had for salvagingMr Jinnah’s vision of democracyand an egalitarian society wouldbe to sincerely rededicate our-
Transition to Quaid, Benazir’s visionFrom Page 1
selves to the ideals of the Quaid,martyred Zulfikar Ali Bhuttoand Benazir Bhutto.
The current period of transi-tion from dictatorship to democ-racy has been one of majorachievements of PresidentZardari and his coalition partners.Not only the PPP government isabout to complete its 5-year ten-ure, it has established an electoraldemocracy and supremacy of theParliament. It has brought aboutlandmark constitutional amend-ments guaranteeing perpetuity tothe federation.
By surrendering the powersthat made President in Pakistanmore powerful than the US andFrench presidents Zardari re-stored the glory of 1973 Consti-tution. By standing aloft againstthe anger and violence of themasses following Bhutto’s mur-der, he saved the country fromdisintegration.
No doubt certain events inPakistan are reflective of omi-nous signs. We have livedthrough daily forecasts ofgovernment’s demise followedby election postponement man-tra by media anchors and com-mentators. Now the latest are theincreasing acts of terrorism,threats by bionic politicians who
have crash landed in nationalpolitics out of no where (thoughwith a dubious past), servingultimatums of long marches,wanting replacement of theelected government by an in-terim set up of their choice andeven putting off elections if needbe to— what they call— “imple-mentation of the Constitution inletter and spirit”. Such shadyelements are also trying to dragthe army and judiciary into theirsinister scheme of things.
The next elections would bea decisive battle for continuityof democracy and Pakistan.They have been ensured to befree, fair and transparent. Andthey would be held as scheduledunder no threat and no ultima-tum. PPP leadership has estab-lished its credentials by relent-lessly fighting successfully onvarious fronts.
As such the continuity of thePPP in government would en-sure strengthening of democ-racy, greatest good of the larg-est number, guarantee peace,progress and prosperity. It wouldfoster resilience of the peopleand prove that ballot is the bestweapon to defeat the bullets ofobscurantist forces. — The au-thor is the High Commissionerfor Pakistan to UK
“We felt the first bump, thena few big bumps and then(started) sliding very fast,” said31-year-old Australian advertis-ing executive Anna Bartsch. Herboyfriend, Stuart Benson, de-scribed the landing like “a rollercoaster” ride.
The plane came to a stop andthey felt relief — and then panic.
“In my window I saw theflames, and it was hot and weknew straight away we didn’thave much time to get out,”Bartsch said during an interviewat a Yangon hotel where the air-line lodged passengers afterevacuating them from the scene.
Passengers rushed up theaisle to the front door, which wasinitially stuck shut, she said.
“We didn’t know then thatthe wings had come off,”Bartsch said.
The door was quickly forcedopen and passengers raced fromthe plane, some in shock andsome suffering smoke inhalation,she said. Once on safe ground,Bartsch said she saw the pilot andco-pilot with bloodied faces andother people with serious burns.
“It’s amazing that the inju-ries were not more serious,” shesaid. “It could have been muchworse.”
Air Bagan said late Tuesdaythat the plane’s black box will besent to Singapore to study thecause of the accident.
Air Bagan has said “the planehit electrical cables about a mile(1.6 kilometers) from Heho air-port as it descended and landedin rice fields.”—AP
Air Bagansurvivor tellsof terrifying
landingFrom Page 1 Prime Minister Raja
Pervez Ashraf also expressedgrief and sorrow over the saddemise of Abdul Hayee Malik.In his message to Zahid Malik,the Prime Minister conveyed hisheartfelt condolences and sym-pathies on the death of hisyounger brother.
The Prime Minister prayedto Almighty Allah to shower Hisblessings upon the departed souland great courage to the mem-bers of the bereaved family tobear this immense loss withequanimity.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafChairman Imran Khan ex-
President, PM, CM condolewith Zahid Malik
From Page 1
suicide bomber exploded hisvehicle outside the Interior
Ministry, killing five and wound-ing many, including the minister.The Syrian government denied atfirst that al-Shaar was wounded.Then it emerged that he wasbrought to a Beirut hospital lastweek for treatment. The same min-ister was wounded when a bombwent off on July 18 during a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus,killing four top officials. It was notclear if al-Shaar’s treatment wascompleted or if he left because ofpolitical pressure. Lebanese aredeeply divided over the Syria cri-sis. The two neighbors have a longand bitter history.
Syrian forces moved intoLebanon in 1976 as peacekeepersafter the country was swept in acivil war between Christian andMuslim militias. For nearly 30years that followed, Lebanonlived under Syrian military andpolitical domination.
That grip began to slip in2005, when former Prime Minis-ter Rafik Hariri was assassinatedin Beirut. Widely accused of in-volvement — something it hasalways denied — Syria wasforced to withdraw its troops.Even so, Damascus has main-tained power and influence inLebanon. In the 1980s, al-Shaarwas a top intelligence official innorthern Lebanon when Syrian
Syrian interior ministerleaves Beirut hospital
From Page 1troops stormed the port city ofTripoli and crushed the IslamicUnification Movement. Hundredsof people were killed in the battlesin 1986, and since then, many innorthern Lebanon have referred toal-Shaar as “the butcher of Tri-poli.” Shortly after he arrived inBeirut for treatment last week,anti-Syrian politicians, includinglegislators Jamal Jarrah andMohammed Kabbara, called foral-Shaar’s arrest. Another callcame this week, when Lebaneselawyer Tarek Shandab filed acomplaint to the country’s pros-ecution accusing al-Shaar of“genocide and ethnic cleansing”in Tripoli. In another develop-ment, the general who headsSyria’s military police defectedand joined the uprising againstPresident Bashar Assad’s regime,one of the highest walkouts by aserving security chief during thecountry’s 21-month uprising.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-AzizJassem al-Shallal appeared in avideo aired on Al-Arabiya TV lateTuesday saying he is joining “thepeople’s revolution.”
Al-Shallal’s defection comesas military pressure builds on theregime, with government basesfalling to rebel assault near thecapital Damascus and elsewhereacross the country. On Wednes-day, the Britain-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said
government shelling in the north-eastern province of Raqqa killedat least 20 people, includingwomen and children.
Dozens of generals have de-fected since Syria’s crisis beganin March 2011. In July, Brig. Gen.Manaf Tlass was the first mem-ber of Assad’s inner circle to breakranks and join the opposition.
Al-Shallal is one of the mostsenior and held a top post at thetime that he left. He said in thevideo that the “army has derailedfrom its basic mission of protect-ing the people and it has becomea gang for killing and destruction.”He accused the military of “de-stroying cities and villages andcommitting massacres against ourinnocent people who came out todemand freedom.”—AP
ing of peaceful and transparentelections with special referenceto Karachi and overall law andorder situation.
“The Army Chief has as-sured all possible cooperation inmaintaining law and order dur-ing general elections to ensuretransparency and peaceful poll-ing,” the CEC informed.
He invited those crossing theage limit to get registered as vot-ers, to immediately approach therelevant offices to get their namesregistered in the electoral rolls.
The CEC also called uponthe registered voters to approachthe election offices and displaycentres to get addressed any dis-crepancies in voters’ lists and gettheir addresses and other detailscorrected.
The Chief Election Commis-sioner said that free, fair andtransparent elections were in theinterest of the political parties.Answering a question, the CECsaid the Commission had con-vened a meeting on January 2 tolook into possible security ar-rangements for the upcomingelections.
When asked about the inter-est of voters, the CEC said theECP was ready to hold electionsand expected that voters’ turnoutwould be around 60 per cent.
He said the ECP was alsoconsulting the political partiesabout preparations for the gen-eral elections.
Answering another questionregarding delimitation of con-stituencies in Karachi, SecretaryElection Commission IshtiakAhmed Khan said political par-ties had been asked to submit pro-posals to evolve mechanism fordelimitation.
“We had asked the politicalparties during our previous meet-ing to submit their proposals ondelimitation along with maps andworking papers within oneweek,” he said. “Once we receivethese proposals we shall proceedfurther on the matter.”Chief of the Army Staff GeneralAshfaq Parvez Kayani also vis-ited NADRA headquarter andreceived a briefing on electronicregistration.—APP
According to sources, thearmy chief visited the NADRAoffice to get firsthand knowledgeabout the procedures of elec-tronic registration in the light ofmodern technology. He was re-ceived by NADRA ChairmanTariq Malik.Kayani visited different sectionsof the building and got a specialbriefing about the data bank. Heremained there for over an hourand exchanged views with theNADRA staff.—INP
Elections to be heldFrom Page 1
against him said that he wouldmove the High Court against theproceedings of the Assembly,which he believed illegal.
He maintained that he wasnot interested for the restorationof his office but the law is on hisside and his action was strictlyin accordance with the constitu-tion in the light of the judgmentof Supreme Court regardingBalochistan.
BA passesFrom Page 1
Shama Ehsan Khan; AhmadRasool Bangash; Tanvir Ahmad;Tahir Saeed; Abdul MalikAbdullah; Syed Hasan Javed;Ikramullah Masood; and NoorMuhammad Jadmani.
Speaking on the occasionPrime Minister Raja PervezAshraf said that the officers havebeen promoted strictly on thebasis of merit‚ performance andseniority in line with rules andregulations..— NNI
33 BPS-21 officerspromoted to BPS-22
From Page 1
in 1948.Ghafoor Ahmed latercompleted a course in IndustrialAccounts and won the fellow-ship, of Institute of Cost andManagement Accountants of Pa-kistan.
He became the member ofJamat e Islami in 1950 and heldkey positions. Ahmed served asGeneral Secretary of two politi-cal alliances Pakistan NationalAlliance (PNA) and IslamiJamhuri Ittehad (IJI).
JI leaderProf Ghafoor
From Page 1
throughout country and here atGarhi Khuda Bux Bhutto for thedeparted soul of the charismaticleader and first woman primeminister of Pakistan ShaheedBenazir Bhutto.
PPP Co-Chairman and Presi-dent Asif Ali Zardari on the eveof fifth death anniversary ofShaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto visited the Bhuttto mau-soleum on Wednesday.
President laid floral wreathand showered flowers on thegrave of Shaheed BenazirBhutto. He offered Fateha on theoccasion.
President Zardari also visitedthe mazar of founder of PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP), ShaheedZulfikar Ali Bhutto, laid floralwreath and offered fateha.
He also visited the grave of‘Madar-i-Jamhoriat’, BegumNusrat Bhutto, laid floral wreathand offered fateha. The Presidentalso visited the graves of ShaheedMurtaza Bhutto and ShaheedShahnawaz Bhutto.
Later he inauguratedShaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto International CricketStadium at Garhi KhudaBakhsh.
Asif Ali Zardari is Patternin Chief of Pakistan CricketBoard. Chairman PCB ZakaAshraf and member of PCB Gov-erning Board were present dur-ing the opening ceremony at theground.
Bilawal Bhuttostarts politicalcareer today
From Page 1
The SC stated that the ChiefJustice has the jurisdiction re-garding formation of the largerbench and the SC will considerthe request after an applicationwas filed.
Petitioner Abdul JabbarMemon told SC that MehmoodZamir Faqooqi who is brother inlaw of Minister for CommerceMakhdoom Amin Faheem wasappointed in the PQA and thentransferred to Federal Investiga-tion Agency as a Deputy Direc-tor. Abdul Jabbar Memon wassuspended for opposingMehmood Zameer Farooqi’s se-lection in breach of rules. AbdulJabbar Memon said that this wasin violation of the Federal Em-ployment Rules and Regulations
In its orders, the SC had al-ready declared that majority ofthese appointments were madefrom specific constituencies andthese appointments should bedeclared illegal and a new ad-vertisement should be made inthis regard.—Online
IllegalFrom Page 1
Undemocraticforces
From Back Page
democratic elements had provedthat they did not have rootsamong the masses. “These ele-ments grow up in periods of dic-tatorship and democracy does notset well with them,” said the in-formation minister.
He said whoever would getindulged in conspiracies to harmunity of the country would notbe forgiven by the history.
The minister said the PPPwould announce its future strat-egy at a grand ceremony at GarhiKhuda Bukhsh where the partychairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardariwould also address the historicgathering. The provincial minis-ter said conspiracies were fabri-cated as well as vilification wasalso being done against his partyby launching a negative propa-ganda. But, the opponent of PPPwould be defeated in the nextgeneral election, he claimed.
India-Pak matchFrom Back Page
match) did not have anything todo with his heart attack and it wasa mere coincidence that the manfell ill while India were on theverge of defeat.
India lost to Pakistan by fivewickets. This was the first timethat Pakistan defeated India inany T20 match.—Online
pressed deep grief and sorrowover the sad demise of AbdulHayee Malik.
In his condolence messagesent to Zahid Malik, Imran Khanprayed that may Almighty Al-lah rest the departed soul in eter-nal peace and grant courage tothe bereaved family to bear theirreparable loss with equanim-ity.
Punjab Chief Minister,Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif hasexpressed deep sense of sorrowand grief over the sad demise ofAbdul Haye Malik. In his con-dolence message, the ChiefMinister prayed that may Allah
Almighty rest the departed soulin eternal peace and grant cour-age and strength to the membersof the bereaved family to bearthe irreparable loss with forti-tude. Ex-prime minister of AzadJammu and Kashmir, SardarAtiq Ahmed Khan has also con-doled the death of Abdul HayeeMalik.
Samad Ali, President andMasood Hamid, Secretary Gen-eral, All Pakistan NewspapersSociety (APNS) on behalf of theoffice bearers and members ofthe society expressed their pro-found grief over the sad demiseof Abdul Hayee Malik.
ISLAMABAD—The Senate Stand-ing Committee on Foreign Affairs,Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Wednesday, adoptedunanimous resolution to expressprofound deep grief over BashirAhmad Bilour’s assassination.
The Senate body met here atthe Parliament House under thechairmanship of Senator HajiMohammad Adeel which paidrich tribute to late Bashir AhmadBilour who was symbol of brav-ery and defiance in the face ofgrowing challenges and threats.
The committee observed thathis sacrifice for the cause of de-mocracy, liberty and freedomwould not go in vain. The draft ofthe resolution was moved bySenator Sehar Kamran in theCommittee.
Through this resolution, thecommittee condoled with the
Members of the bereaved familyand leaders of the Awami NationalParty including Chairman of theCommittee, Senator HajiMohammad Adeel, whose partyhas suffered great loss in the re-cent incident as well as continuedbrutal acts of the terrorists targetedat the liberal democratic partiesand forces.
The Committee reaffirmed itscommitment that such terroristattacks which are against theteaching of Islam will not shakeour resolve to stand firm againstbrutality and terrorism.
Senate body expresses griefover Bilour’s killing
BEIJING—More than 70 promi-nent Chinese scholars and law-yers have urged the country’snew Communist Party leaders toundertake moderate political re-forms including separating theparty from government, thoughthey avoid any mention of end-ing one-party rule.
The petition drafted by Pe-king University law professorZhang Qianfan calls on the partyto rule according to the consti-tution, protect freedom ofspeech, encourage private enter-prise and allow for an indepen-dent judicial system. It also callsfor the people to be able to electtheir own representatives with-out interference from the Com-munist Party.
Zhang said there is an urgentneed for change to better addressthe widespread problems thecountry faces, such as social in-equity, abuse of governmentpowers and corruption.
“China runs the risk of revo-lution and chaos if it does notchange,” Zhang said.
The document echoes someof the requests made in Charter08, a 2008 manifesto that madean unusually direct call for anend to single-party rule andother democratic reforms. Themanifesto landed its lead archi-tect, dissident writer LiuXiaobo, in prison for incitingsubversion — an 11-year termhe is still serving.
The petition, released onChristmas Day, adopts a mildertone, asking the party leadershipto rule within existing laws.
“It is indeed mild,” Zhangsaid Wednesday. “We hope itcan be accepted by the govern-ment and will kick off conver-sations between the governmentand the people and among the
public.”China’s communist leaders
have tolerated no political chal-lenges to their authority sincethe military crushed pro-democ-racy protests in TiananmenSquare in 1989. Many dissidentshave been harassed into inactiv-ity, imprisoned or exiled.
The petition, made public 40days after the party installed itsnew leadership for the next fiveyears, is the latest effort by Chi-nese intellectuals to push forpolitical reform in a country thatmany believe is in urgent needof change but also has becomemore divided. Zhang said hewants to build consensus amongpeople from various factionswith often conflicting views.
“Though the people are dis-gusted by many social injus-tices, they are yet to have con-sensus on how to reform the sys-tem that creates the injustices,and that has divided and weak-ened the drive for reform fromthe people,” reads the petition inits opening lines.
Chinese Foreign Ministryspokeswoman Hua Chunyingdid not comment on the petitionduring a routine briefing but saidChina does not suppress mediafreedom. But by mid-afternoonWednesday, the petition hadbeen scrubbed off ZhangQianfan’s profile on the popu-lar microblog site, Sina Weibo.
Beijing-based independentscholar Zhang Lifan is one of thesignees. Though he is less opti-mistic that China’s ruling partywill initiate political change, heis not giving up. “We are treat-ing a dead horse as if it were stillalive,” said Zhang, referring tothe prospect of political reform.
It is important for the pub-lic to let its will be known, said
Zhang, who is not related to thePeking University professor.“We’d rather have reform in-stead of revolution, because thatwould cost the least,” saidZhang, who had also signedCharter 08.
Another signatory is the 85-year-old eminent attorney andhuman rights advocate ZhangSizhi, known among Chineselawyers as “the conscience ofthe legal world.” Zhang said thepetition’s suggestions would notbe unfamiliar to the country’sleaders.
“The content of the letter isnot new to the country’s rulers.They are all clear about it. Thequestion is whether they willtake action or not,” Zhang Sizhisaid. “I can only hope so.”
The petition is too mild forsome in the dissident commu-nity who noted that it does notcall for the release of politicalprisoners such as Liu, who wonthe Nobel Peace Prize while inprison.
Hong Kong-based Chinesefree-speech activist WenYunchao said the requests madein the petition were sound butthe style in which it was writtenwas “too subservient.”
“It’s like they are slaves,kneeling there and writing it,”Wen said. He said the proposedchanges should have been statedmore directly.
Wen said the petitionwrongly interprets a report re-leased by Communist Party af-ter a recent conclave as indicat-ing the central leadership’s re-solve to push forward politicalreforms. “The problem is thatthese are utter lies,” Wen said.“I think that for them to raisetheir requests in this way is avery terrible thing.”—AP
The Committee urged the in-ternational community to ac-knowledge the sacrifices of thePakistani National and leaders inthe war against terrorism and ap-pealed to the nation to take a jointstand to confront the terrorist ele-ments and others who have de-signs against the solidarity of thecountry.The Committee wasgiven a detail briefing on thepolicy of government of Pakistanon Cyprus besides briefing on visitof Hurriyat Conference delegationto Pakistan and other importantissues.—INP
India establishesbody to probeinto gangrape
incidentNEW DELHI—Facing flak overits failure to prevent rapes, theIndian government Wednesdayannounced the setting up of ajudicial inquiry commission toprobe the recent gangrape of a23-year-old medical student ona moving bus in the nationalcapital.—NNI
18 militants, 3FC men killed
in QuettaQUETTA—At least 18 militantswere killed and three FC offi-cials martyred in security forcesaction against extremists here onWednesday. Five camps of ter-rorists were also destroyed in theoperation.—INP
ISLAMABAD—The All PartiesHurriyat Conference (APHC)Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooqhas warned India to take substan-tial measures to resolve the Kash-mir dispute. Talking to media andpolitical advisor to the Prime Min-ister, AJK, Murtaza Durrani, hereon airport before his departurefrom Islamabad on Wednesday, hemaintained that no bilateral talkswould be result-oriented unlessKashmiris being the actual stake-holders, were included and giventheir right to decide their future.
He categorically warned In-dia, that it was left with very shorttime, to resolve the long-standingissue, otherwise Kashmiris wouldbe left with no option but to start
Mirwaiz urges India toresolve Kashmir dispute
Warns Delhi of armed struggle againarmed struggle again saying thatIndia would be responsible for anysuch actions of Kashmiris.
The APHC Chairman de-manded that political leadershipfrom both sides of the state shouldbe given opportunity to interact,which could help resolving thedispute. “We demand that leader-ship from Indian Occupied Kash-mir and Azad Kashmir be giventhe major role to play and both thecountries must include Kashmirisin talks leaving aside their consti-tutional barriers which is the onlyway forward for early solution ofKashmir issue”, he held.
Mirwaiz observed that Indiahad no rights to construct dam onWullar Barrage since its propertyPTI tsunami to wipe
out corruption: ImranMIANWALI—Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman ImranKhan said that tsunami will wipeout crimes and corruption from thecountry, adding change will beginfrom Mianwali.Addressing a pub-lic rally here on Wednesday, Khansaid corruption is rampant in thecountry. PPP and PML-N, he said,transferred huge money abroad.Khan said that several wicketswould be taken in the next gen-eral elections.
Imran Khan said that if hecomes to power, developmentfunds to be transferred to grassroots level rather than MNAs.
He said that Nawaz Sharifand Asif Zardari are the ‘USagents’; the PTI would build upnew Pakistan after having release
from the cruel clutches of the US.The PIT chief said that his partywould end the politics of ‘thanakatchehri’ after coming intopower.
While lashing out on politi-cal personalities, Khan said thatdays of president Zardari, Nawazand Maulana Fazlur Rehman arenumbered. If PML and PPP getunited, his tsunami would over-throw both of them.
He said that the ISI promotedNawaz Sharif in past with heavyeconomic ‘aid’ which has beenproved and exposed in the court.He said that if he has had an op-portunity to come to power, hisgovernment would collect taxesfrom all and sundry without anydiscrimination. —Online
Punjab by-polls
MQM moves SCagainst alleged
rigging, misconductSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—The MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM)moved the Supreme Court onWednesday over alleged rig-ging and misconduct in recentby-polls in Punjab province.
The application, submittedby MQM leader ShaheenAnwar Gilani in the SC’sLahore registry, challenges by-elections held on Dec 4 claim-ing that they were rigged by thePunjab provincial governmentusing the state’s resources.Thepetition also alleges that theElection Commission code ofconduct was openly violatedwhen supporters of the PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) resorted to aerial firing dur-ing the election.
‘PML-N should endboycott of newprovinces body’
MULTAN—Stressing the im-portance of new provinces ofSeraiki, Bahawalpur, Gover-nor Punjab Makhdoom AhmadMahmood has asked PML-Nto end boycott of commissionformed for creation of newprovinces.
Talking to media at theresidence of Senator (late)Malik Salahuddin on Wednes-day, he also cautioned PML-Nto avoid any undue optimismregarding any increase in itsvote bank over the commis-sion formed about new prov-inces, proclaiming that “ Idon’t think, it would happennow”. —Online
KARACHI: Senior central leader of PML-Q and Deputy Prime Minister Pervaiz Elahi andPir Pagara addressing a Press conference. Ghulam Mustafa Khar is also present.
OBSERVER REPORT
KARACHI—The ongoing spateof violence in the country, particu-larly in Karachi, is part of the anti-democratic elements’ deep-rootedconspiracy to delay generalelections.This was stated bySindh Minister for InformationSharjeel Inam Memon while talk-ing to a briefing here at theKarachi airport on Wednesday.
“The non-democratic ele-ments want to postpone elec-tions,” said Sharjeel who wasleaving for Larkana to attend the5th death anniversary of late PPPchairperson Benazir Bhutto.
Sharjeel, who also is the cen-tral deputy secretary informationof the ruling Pakistan People’sParty, however said the people ofPakistan would spoil the ulterior
designs of all anti-democratic and“disgusting conspirators”. The
Undemocratic forces bent upon delaying polls: Sharjeelminister said the alliance of non-
rights are reserved with none butKashmiris, stressing that all agree-ments with India on water shouldbe cancelled immediately.
Expressing heartfelt gratitudeon red carpet reception of Hurriyatleadership by AJK government,he stated that it gave him immensepleasure and satisfaction that theAJK government led by PrimeMinister Chaudhry Abdul Majeedhas started mega projects in thestate.He especially cited establish-ing medical colleges and namingit after the name of great Hurriyatleader and his father MirwaizMolvi Muhammad Farooq whichcirculated the good-will messageto the people living on the otherside of Line of Control.—Online
Continued on Page 7
India-Pak matchspectator dies of
heart attackBANGALORE —An ardent In-dian cricket fan who waswatching the T20 match beingplayed between India and Pa-kistan at Bangalore’sChinnaswamy Stadium suf-fered a fatal heart attack to-wards the fag end of the matchwhile Pakistan were batting.
The 47-year-old man hadgone to watch the match livefrom the stadium with his fam-ily. He was feeling unwell andhad difficulty breathing andwas rushed to the nearbyMallya Hospital byambulance.He passed away af-ter being admitted there.
The doctors said that thematch results (India lost the
PIA employeesnot being sackedKARACHI—PIA employees arenot being terminated or sackedas reported in a certain sectionof the press, PIA Spokesmansaid here on Wednesday. Thenews story is totally baseless.There are no plans to removefrom services any employeefrom the airline as sacking ofemployees will not be a refor-mative step and and may addfurther to un-employment in thecountry. —NNI
Gas pipelineblown upDERA BUGTI,—Some un-known miscreants blew up a gaspipeline in the area of Bugti onWednesday. Some unknownmiscreants blew up a ten inchdiameter gas pipeline Well num-ber 8 in the area of Sui. As a re-sult of explosion the gas pipe-line was completely destroyedand gas was suspended to manyareas. However, no causalitywas recorded.—Online Continued on Page 7
WHEN children have food allergies,their parents have to constantlywatch out for allergens and be pre-
pared for a possible reaction.Another concern, and one that is often
overlooked, is bullying. A new study, pub-lished online in the journalPediatrics on Monday,found that more than 30percent of children havebeen harassed by their class-mates because of their aller-gies, and that parents areonly aware of it about halfof the time.
“It’s very easy to intimi-date a food-allergic child,”said study author Dr. EyalShemesh, chief of the divi-sion of behavioral and devel-opmental health in the De-partment of Pediatrics atMount Sinai Medical Cen-ter in New York. “It doesn’ttake more than waving apeanut in front of them.”
Shemesh and his col-leagues surveyed 251 fami-lies recruited at a food allergy clinic. Overall,45 percent of the children and teens — whowere between the ages of 8 and 17 — saidthey’d been bullied, and 31.5 percent said itwas because of their food allergy. The bully-ing was most likely to happen while theywere in school and included others teasingthem, waving food in their face, throwing foodat them, or forcing them to touch the foodthat triggers their allergies.
The more frequent the bullying, the worsethe child’s quality of life, the study found.But just one instance of bullying took a tollon kids’ happiness, according to self-reports.
The study also showed there is a signifi-cant gap in how much parents know about
bullying — they only knew about 50 per-cent of the cases of harassment. When momsand dads did know about the bullying, theirchildren reported a higher quality of life,which suggests that parents can help,Shemesh said.
“Parents should ask, notin an alarming way, somethinglike, ‘Do people bother youat school or anywhere? Dopeople bother you about theallergy?’” he said. Doctors,whether they are pediatri-cians or allergy specialists,should also be aware of pos-sible food-related bullying andspeak up.
“Clinicians should not beintimidated or think that chil-dren will not talk to themabout it,” Shemesh said. “Thisstudy shows they will.”
Nearly six million chil-dren, or 8 percent of kids inthe U.S., have food allergies.A 2008 Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention studyreported an 18 percent in-
crease in food allergies in the U.S. in thelast decade for reasons that continue bafflescientists. Allergic reactions can be veryserious: A 2011 study found that every threeminutes, a food allergy reaction lands some-one in the emergency room.
“Living with a food allergy is emotion-ally stressful, since the only way to pre-vent a potentially life-threatening reactionis to be vigilant about avoiding problemfoods,” said John Lehr, CEO of the FoodAllergy Research and Education organiza-tion. “When children with food allergies arebullied by being exposed or taunted with afood they are allergic to, it heightens anxi-ety and creates a sense of isolation.”
Food allergies, bullyingoften linked
RAWALPINDI: Members of PYO Qazi Sultan Mahmood, Imran Janjua, Yawar Shah and others are offering fateha at the site of BB’s martyrdom.
ISLAMABAD: Picnickers sitting beneath bamboo trees during their visit at Japanese park.
ISLAMABAD—The vice chan-cellors of universities fromCommonwealth countrieshave appreciated the QualityAssurance Reforms (QAR)and ranking model developedby Higher Education Commis-sion HEC Pakistan in a recentmeeting of the conference ofAll Commonwealth Universi-ties (ACU).
The meeting of ACU washeld at Jamaica where presenceof Higher Education Commis-sion Pakistan to represent thehigher education sector of thecountry was noticed signifi-cantly. The presentation onQA system implemented inPakistan and ranking modelwas made on the first day ofthe conference one in the ple-
Commonwealth countries appreciateHEC Quality Assurance Reforms
nary session after key notespeech along with Phil Baty andKris, leading higher education ex-perts.
The participants and speak-ers of the next sessions till endof the conference kept on appre-ciating the methodology, ap-proach and strategy of HEC tomake rankings an internal partof the entire QA system andtreating these as one of the Ex-ternal Quality Assurance strat-egies aiming at improved qual-ity of the higher education withindigenous model equally com-patible with international prac-tices and matching with thenational context.
Almost all of the delegatesof developing countries in gen-eral and from South Asia and
Caribbean region in particu-lar had shown great interestto adopt the QA and the rank-ing model developed by HECfor Pakistan.
Finally based on over-whelming interest of the partici-pants from all commonwealthcountries and referencing bymajority of the speakers, theACU secretariat requestedHEC to provide the copy ofPakistani QA system and Rank-ing model to be shared with allthe commonwealth countries asone the best practices. Thegroup of vice chancellors fromSri Lanka is already doing aconsistent follow up to workwith HEC further in January2013 to adopt the similar modelof ranking and QA in their coun-
try.It is worth mentioning
that HEC has shared and ledthe similar model develop-ment for Islamic World andwould now facilitate rest ofthe developing regions asthey intend to follow HECmodel. Finally, HEC has suc-ceeded in getting its ownQuality Assurance Model la-bel/ brand that is being recog-nized globally.
The education expertsterm this global recognition asoutcome of continuous re-forms introduced by HECduring last decade aiming atimproving quality of highereducation and hoped that thisjourney of success would con-tinue in future as well.—INP
RAWALPINDI: A vendor displaying pineapples to attract the customers at his road-side setup.
ISLAMABAD—The delegationof students of Saudi School alongwith their teachers visited theInternational Islamic University,Islamabad (IIUI) on Wednesday.
The 15 members delegationwas received by Prof. Dr.Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Dean,faculty of Shariah and other of-ficers of the university.
The delegation was given adetailed briefing about the aca-demic programmes,faculties and
Saudi school delegation visits IIUIdepartments of the university.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Dean, Faculty of Shariah& Law and Dr. MuhammadBashir, acting Dean, faculty ofarabic briefed the delegationabout the academic activities ofInternational Islamic University.
It was also informed to thedelegation that IIUI offered allprograms in almost all disciplinesof sciences and technology, engi-neering, social sciences and other
academic programmes. It was also informed to the
delegation that foreign studentsare provided residence facilityin the university.
They also visited social sci-ences faculty and faculty ofShariah & Law. They shownkeen interest in the in the librar-ies and laboratories of the uni-versity and many of them wishedto enroll in this university fortheir future studies.—APP
Carvan leaves for Garhi Khuda Bux
Arrangements for BB’smartyrdom anniversaryRAWALPINDI—The leadershipof Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)Rawalpindi has finalized all thearrangements to observe the 5thanniversary of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
PPP’s City President Amir FidaPiracha, Member PPP Central Ex-ecutive Committee Qazi SultanMehmood, Managing Director Pa-kistan Bait-ul-Mal Khan ZamurdKhan, Raja Khalid Mehmood,Shujaat Haider Naqvi, Wajid Rafiq,Raja Shahid Papu, Chaudhry IfthikarAhmed and Majeed Mir will ad-dress a public meeting in LiaquatBagh, the martyrdom place ofMohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
Quran Khawani will also beheld for Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto.
Meanwhile, the PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) carvan oftwin cities has left for Garhi KhudaBux to pay tribute to their leaderShaheed Benazir Bhutto on Tues-
day to her 5th death anniversary. Talking to APP, General Secretaryof PPP Human Rights Cell SheikhMansoor said that a carvan led byRaja Imran Ashraf the brother ofPrime Minister Raja pervaizAshraf has started his journey witha number of people towardsLarkana with a new political zeal.
On this occasion , MPANargis Faiz Malik informed thatRaja Inayat-ur-Rehman is alsoleading a rally of Peoples YouthOrganization (PYO) towardsLarkana for renewal of theirpledge. She has directed theWomen Wing PPP to participatein the organized at Liaquat Baghon anniversary day.
Secretary Information ofPeoples Labour Bureau, a sub-organization of Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) on Wednesday saidthat PPP led government alwaysprotected the legal rights of com-mon people keeping in view the
vision of Shaheed Zulfiqar AliBhutto and Philosophy ofShaheed Benazir Bhutto.
“PPP leadership believes inresolving the issues of generalpublic and keep on until the lastissue to be resolved. Due to thereason, Qaid-e-Awam andShaheed-e-Jamhuriyat and aboveall many a party workers dedi-cated their lives fighting for therights of the people”, he re-marked. He also criticized thepoliticians changing their partiesdue to their personal interestsand spreading false notionsagainst PPP. He said that the PPPled government is about to com-plete its tenure successfully andexpected to sweep coming gen-eral election with a huge mandatethroughout the country.
The Secretary declined thepropaganda of postponing theelection and ensured that it willbe held timely.—APP
ISLAMABAD—The allottees ofSector G-14 of the Federal Capi-tal have expressed concern overthe delay in the developmentwork.
The allottees also voicedconcern over the delay in thereport of a commission formedby the Islamabad High Court(IHC), comprising District andSessions Judge (retd) ChaudhryMazhar Hussain Minhas aboutthe houses of the affectedpeople, especially about thecomplaints of construction ofillegal houses and one roomstructures by the land mafia in
G-14 allottees concerned overdelay in development work
the sector. The IHC banned construc-
tion in the sector and gave No-vember 30 deadline to the com-mission finalize the report.However, the commission onDecember 5 sought more timeto finalize the report from thecourt of Justice Riaz Khan.
The allottees, while talkingto APP, said the delay in the re-port might strengthen the landmafia and delay the develop-ment work in the sector.
It is pertinent to mentionhere that some land mafia per-sons had constructed small
structures and huts in sectors G-14/1, 2 and 3 to get compensa-tion money from the civic au-thority.
The allottees appealed tothe commission to finalize thereport as soon as possible so asthe development work in thesector could get pace.
The allottees also demandedthe FGEHF to furtherstrengthen their site office andthe officials deployed thereshould submit daily progressreport of on-going developmentwork to Director General, Hous-ing Foundation.—APP
AIOU announcesATTC results
ISLAMABAD—Allama IqbalOpen University (AIOU)Wednesday announced the fi-nal result of Arabic TeacherTraining Course (ATTC)programme for the SemesterSpring, 2012 and placed the re-sults on its websitewww.aiou.edu.pk.
Controller of Exams,AIOU, Muhammad BashirChaudhry announced this.
He said results cards arebeing sent by post to the stu-dents. If any student does notreceive his/her result card tillJanuary 5, he/she should con-tact the Superintendent Exams(Teacher Education) person-ally or at his Phone Number051-9057323.—INP
Police to strictlyimplement ban on
aerial firingISLAMABAD—Islamabad policehave been directed to strictlyimplement ban on aerial firingand one wheeling on the eve ofNew Year.IG Islamabad BaniAmin Khan issued strict instruc-tions for stopping one-wheeling,aerial firing and fireworks on theeve of the New Year.
He also directed the policeofficials to take solid steps formaintaining overall security ofthe federal capital.—INP
ISLAMABAD—HUDA Devel-opment Organization organizeda Christmas evening with thecollaboration of All NationsMission Church.
Celebrating the King ofKings & all Nations in whichdifferent dignitaries graced theceremony with their presence,including Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Chair-
HUDA, celebratesChristmas evening
man Mass Comm DepartmentIIUI, Shahid Hussain, FacultyMember of Mass Communica-tion Department, AIOU, FatimaKazmi, Chairperson GlobalTrust, Rana Shafi, Kulsum In-ternational Hospital,Muhammad Afzal, ED Kenad,bankers, and many other partici-pants from renowned institu-
tions and companies.Tayo Fagbenro Team Leader
HUDA Development Organiza-tion shared a Christmas messageand said that Christmas brings,peace, joy, love, harmony andtolerance among all people onearth, therefore, let us share ourjoy and love with all the suffer-ing humanity.—Online
Districtgovernments
asked to ensurepolio coverage
ISLAMABAD—The local au-thorities of various high-riskdistricts have been asked toensure 100 percent coverageduring every polio immuniza-tion drive.
According to an official ofPolio Eradication Programme,these authorities have been di-rected to reach every child toprotect them from this cripplingdisease.
He said that the govern-ment and development partnersare putting all efforts to makePakistan a polio-free countryand sought support of the gen-eral public and local communi-ties.
He said that National Emer-gency Action Plan for polioeradication and its augmentationendorsed by the prime ministercalls for ensuring that all chil-dren are immunized even in thehigh-risk and security compro-mised areas of the country.
He said that under aug-mented plan, the government isgetting support of parliamentar-ians, media persons and Ulemato address the issues like refusalof administering polio vaccine tochildren and low coverage ofvaccination in some areas.
The official said that theplan ensures achieving full over-sight, ownership and account-ability for polio programme per-formance at each administrativelevel besides ensuring adequatepreparations for anti-polio cam-paigns.
He said that the governmentis committed to implement theemergency plan in true spiritespecially at union council levelof each district.
He said that collective ef-forts of the government, devel-opment partners, local commu-nities and media can help allevi-ate the sufferings of all the chil-dren.—APP
Nayyer flayspoor cleanlinessISLAMABAD—Chairman Sen-ate Syed Nayyer HussainBokhari has expressed dissat-isfaction over poor cleanlinessin the Parliament Lodges.
In a visit to ParliamentLodges the other day, Bokhariexpressed anguish over poorcleanliness condition and di-rected CDA to take stern ac-tion against the responsible fortheir negligence from their du-ties.
Moreover, the chairmanSenate issued suspension or-der of assistant director envi-ronment of the civic body.
He instructed authoritiesto replace tube-lights in lodgeswith energy savers so as to saveelectricity.—INP
Seminar on standardization of Kashmiri script held at KUS R I N A G A R — I n v o l v eyoungsters in research tothrive Kashmiri script: ProfTalat Srinagar: Vice Chan-cellor, University of KashmirProf Talat has impressedupon the academia, poets,scholars and writers of Kash-mir language to involveyoungsters in research andasked various departments,academies and institutionsworking for the promotion ofKashmiri language to workin close coordination so as toensure that the benefits oftheir work and research per-colate down to the grassrootlevel in the society.
According to GNS, ProfTalat while addressing agathering of academicians,writers, students and poets atCentre for Sheikh-ul-Alam
Studies at University of Kash-mir during a symposium“Standardization of KashmiriScript,” organized by theSahitya Akademi said “ I amfully conscious of the fact thatthis symposium organizedwith an aim to address dis-crepancies in standardizationof Kashmiri script is of greatimportance and I am sure thatthe recommendations whichwill come out from this sym-posium will help the scholarsand academicians to reach tosome consensus on the topicunder discussion.”
Prof. Talat while acknowl-edging the dearth of teachingfaculty at the center forSheikh-ul- Alam studies said,“This department should workin close association with othersister departments like
Kashmiri Department so thatthe scholars pursuing their re-search are fully benefittedfrom the expertise of the fac-ulty available at Kashmiri de-partment.”
Assuring full support tothe centre Prof Talat said thatthe UGC has approved Non-Net fellowships for the stu-dents and scholars of the cen-tre and now the onus lies onCentre to look for alternativeresources for appropriatefunding and fellowships.
During the seminar schol-ars and various academiciansvoiced that there is a need toinvolve youngsters in researchso as to end discrepancies forthe standardization of Kashmiriscrip and evolve a consensus inorder to flourish this languageupto the classical status.
During the symposium thespeakers highlighted the needfor a strong and reasonablerecommendation from the fo-rum of academicians, veteranpoets, writers, students and allstakeholders and said that theyshould put together their ex-pertise, knowhow during de-liberation and come up withrecommendation which willact as pivotal for standardiza-tion for this language.
Earlier while welcomingthe guests convener KashmiriAdvisory Board at SahityaAkademi New Delhi Dr AzizHajini said that during his fiveyears tenure in SahityaAkademi Kashmiri Languagehas succeeded to top viz-a-vizconduct of programs and pub-lication of books as comparedto other twenty three Indian
languages including Hindi,English, Urdu, Tamil andTelgu and it also fulfills all theprerequisites which areneeded to get the status ofclassical language.Former Di-rector Radio Kashmir, RafiqRaz in his address while ad-mitting the intervention of dia-lect factor and different formsof imla (vowels) as the hin-drances in the standardizationof this language said,” Needof the hour is to adopt tech-nology friendly Kashmiriscript in a similar way as Ara-bic and Persian did, which arewithout imla’s.”
Dr. Ratan lal Talashi onthe occassion said it is themulti dialect in Kashmiri lan-guage which leads to variationin script writing and pronun-ciation, hence need of the hour
is to have a proper dictionaryin order to end discrepanciesin Kashmiri language.
Others who spoke on theoccasion were Prof Rehmanrahi, Prof Margoob Banahali,Prof Shad Ramzaan, ProfNazir Malik.
Earlier Prof Bashir Basharwhile highlighting the role oflife, philosophy and works ofShaikh-ul-Aalam in variousspheres of life said “Estab-lished in 1998 the chair ofShaikh-ul-Aalam has nowbeen given the status of full-fledged research centre whichwill give more impetus to re-search and study in order totransmit the message of thegreat saint poet Shaikh-ulAalam(RA) to younger gen-eration and society of Kash-mir at large.—NNI
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq talking to Murtaza Durrani, Media and PoliticalAdvisor to AJK Prime Minister, before his departure for Srinagar on Wednesday.
RAWALAKOT: JKLF protest rally headed by Sardar Saghir Advocate passing through bazaar.
MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Assembly Deputy Speaker Shaheen Kausar, MLA Mehrunnisaand Chairperson Kashmir Cultural Academy, Prof. Taqdees Gilani in a civic function.
SRINAGAR—The All PartiesHurriyet Conference has de-plored the silence of Indiancivil society over the gross hu-man rights violations by Indiantroops in occupied Kashmir.
The APHC spokesman in astatement issued in Srinagar,today, said that the Indian civilsociety, politicians and intel-lectuals protesting against therecent condemnable Delhi rapeincident had been playing therole of a silent spectator oversuch crimes, perpetrated by In-dian troops in the occupied ter-ritory. The spokesman said thatJammu and Kashmir had beenthe worst victim of human
Indian civil society’s silenceover IHK abuses deploredShabbir, other Hurriyet leaders arrested in IHK
rights violations committed bythe Indian troops that includedviolence against women in-cluding rape, extra judicial kill-ings, custodial killings, tortureand custodial disappearances.
The occupation authoritiesarrested senior APHC leader,Shabbir Ahmad Shah andother Hurriyet leaders includ-ing Javed Ahmad Mir andMuhammad Yousuf Naqash toprevent them from visitingKulgam to express solidaritywith the family members oftwo youth, martyred by Indiantroops.
Senior APHC leader andChief Patron of Jammu and
Kashmir Peoples PoliticalFront, Fazl-e-Haq Qureshiaddressing his party meetingin Srinagar termed the APHCdelegation’s recent visit toPakistan as a significant de-velopment towards pavingthe way for settlement of theKashmir dispute on perma-nent basis.
Kashmiri human rightsactivist, Muhammad AhsanUntoo in a statement cau-tioned that the Pepper Gunsbeing used by Indian troopsand paramilitary personnel toquell protests had highly del-eterious effects on the humanlife.—KMS
DODA—MLA Langate Engi-neer Rashid has criticized civilsociety, media and politicians ofexhibiting double standardswhen it comes to issues likerape in Kashmir and the Indianmainland.
A statement issued herequoted Rashid while addressinga public meeting at LawoosaHandwara as saying thatKashmiris had a right to seekanswer from rest of the countryon why people pelting stones onpolice and damaging govern-ment and public property inNew Delhi were not beingtreated the way Kashmiris arewhen even more heinous andserious incidents take place inthe Valley.
Rashid was referring toDamini gang rape case and rapecases in Kashmir. He said doz-
Kashmir MLA questionsdouble standards
ens of minors seeking justice insimilar cases and other humanrights violations had beenbooked under draconian PublicSafety Act in Kashmir whilethose miscreants pelting stonesin the streets of New Delhi hadfull patronage of the civil soci-ety, media and politicians.
“A stone pelter is a stonespelter whether he hails fromKashmir or Delhi and the prin-ciple of natural justice demandsthat irrespective of the cause forwhich he is pelting stones, theyshould be given same treat-ment,” Rashid said.
“However, a Kashmiristone pelter, whether he is aminor or an adult, a man or awoman, to book him behind thebars under draconian PSA andto ruin his career is being madehis destiny.”
Rashid asked New Delhi toexplain that on a day when thou-sands were on the streets ofNew Delhi pelting stones claim-ing to do it to protect the honour,dignity and rights of women,why an innocent handicappedgirl Zahida Akhtar was detainedat police station in Anantnag forher alleged involvement in stonepelting in 2010.
He said while on one sidestrong voices were beingraised for removing Delhi Po-lice Commissioner for allegedcane charge on stone pelterson the other hand in Kashmirthe yard stick for providingpromotions to troopers andofficers is: ‘How many un-armed Kashmiri peaceful pro-testers they have sent behindthe bars in the name of na-tional interest’.—NNI
JKSSSCstages demo
againstcorruption
JAMMU—Jammu and KashmirState Samaj Sudhar Committee(JKSSSC) staged a protest dem-onstration against rampant cor-ruption in the state.
The activists of JKSSSC ledby its president, MohammadYosuf Wani held protest demon-stration amid sloganeering againstthe State government outside theExhibition Ground.
Speaking on the occasion,Mohammad Yosuf Wani allegedthat presently all political leaders,bureaucrats and government em-ployees are indulging in corruptspractices due to which the com-mon masses are suffering. He fur-ther added that the State govern-ment has failed to eradicate cor-ruption and poverty from theState. Pointing at the unemploy-ment in the State, Wani said thatthe government has made tallclaims of providing jobs to thedeserving educated youth butover six lakh youth are still with-out jobs while eighty thousandposts are vacant in different gov-ernment departments.
Criticizing the State govern-ment for not providing securityto elected Panchayat members,Wani said that due to a non-seri-ous attitude of the State govern-ment more than 300 Panchs andSarpanches have given their res-ignation in view of the militantthreats. He also demanded en-hancement of the relief to Kash-mir migrant. Among others whowere present on the occasion in-cluded Sanju Manmotra, MohanChoudhary, Raj Sharma andFayaz Ahmad Malik.—NNI
‘Tripartite dialoguebest solution of
Kashmir dispute’JAMMU—All Parties HurriyetConference (APHC) leader andthe Chairman of Jammu andKashmir Peoples Movement(JKPM), Ghulam Ahmad Mirhas said that tripartite dialogueis the best solution of the Kash-mir dispute.
Ghulam Ahmad Mir in astatement issued in Jammuurged India to take practicalsteps for holding meaningfuland result-oriented dialoguebetween Pakistan, India and thegenuine leadership of theKashmiri people.
Ghulam Ahmad Mir saidthat despite the dialogue processbetween Pakistan and India,New Delhi had continued itsbrutalities and atrocities in theoccupied territory. He said thatIndia was trying to hoodwinkthe international community byholing talks with Pakistan butactually it was not sincere insettlement of the dispute.
Ghulam Ahmad Mir saidthat permanent peace in the re-gion was impossible withoutpeaceful resolution of Kashmirdispute. He also stressedKashmiris’ inclusion in the dia-logue process between Pakistanand India.—KMS
Yasmeen Rajaurges Indians todenounce rape
incidents in IHKSRINAGAR—The Chairpersonof Muslim Khawateen Markaz,Raja Yasmeen has demandeddeath sentence for the culpritsinvolved in the gang rape of a23-year old student in NewDelhi. Yasmeen Raja in a state-ment in Srinagar appealed to theIndian people protesting againstthe gory incident to also con-demn such crimes, perpetratedby the Indian troops and policepersonnel in the occupied terri-tory with the same zeal andstrength..—KMS
SRINAGAR—The High Courthas issued notice to the J&K gov-ernment seeking its response onthe appeal filed by the MuslimLeague Chairman DrMuhammad Qasim Faktoo chal-lenging the single bench judg-ment terming that life imprison-ment means detention for entirelife.A division bench comprisingJustice Virender Singh and Jus-tice Muzaffar Hussain Attar is-sued the notice after Faktoo’sCounsel Mian Abdul Qayoomargued the case.
Qayoom pleaded that the writcourt has referred to sections 401and 402 of the Code of CriminalProcedure ‘erroneously’ in thejudgment. “Code of CriminalProcedure had no application tothe case of the appellant as he hadnot asked for any remission orcommutation of the sentence inhis petition,” he argued. He said
Faktoo challenges single benchjudgment on life imprisonment
Court seeks govt response on Dr Faktoo’s appealit was a “positive case” that hehas already served 20 years ofsentence and as such he was en-titled to be released.
“The Writ Court has referredto the provisions of sections 401and 402 of Code of Criminal Pro-cedure under a mistaken conceptthat the petitioner was seekingremission/ commutation of hissentence that it was the state gov-ernment which was competent todo so,” Qayoom argued.
A bench of High Court hadearlier dismissed Faktoo’s peti-tion seeking his release and hadruled that that life imprisonmentmeans imprisonment for entirelife. Referring to the argument ofcounsel for petitioner that in termsof Section 57 of RPC, life impris-onment means imprisonment for20 years, the court had held: “Theargument is devoid of any forceas the object of the said section is
how to calculate the fractions ofterms of punishment and providesthat imprisonment for life shall bereckoned as equivalent to impris-onment for 20 years.”
The court had said the con-tention that the provisions con-tained in the Jail Manual and Pris-ons Act mandate that imprison-ment for life means 20 years hasno substance. “The provisionscontained in the Jail Manual, Pris-ons Act and Prisoners Act are justhow to regulate and manage theprisoners in the prisons.”
“It is the domain of the Gov-ernment to consider the casealong with the recommendationmade and pass the order. Writ ofmandamus cannot command theGovernment for passing such or-der or to release the convict afterexpiry of 14 years or 20 yearswithout any specific order,” theSingle Bench had held..—NNI
SRINAGAR—Jammu and Kash-mir unit of CPI (M) has soughtPrime Minister ManmohanSingh’s intervention to ensurereservation and scholarship forthe Kashmiri students outside thestate.
“Prime Minister should per-sonally intervene to get the Min-istry of Human Resource Devel-opment (MHRD) decision re-viewed with regard to rejectionof a proposal for reservation andscholarship for the Kashmiri stu-dents,” state secretary of CPI(M)M Y Tarigami said in a statementhere.
Quoting media reports about
Tarigami backs reservationfor Kashmiri students
rejection of a proposal byMHRD for reservation andscholarship for the Kashmiri stu-dents, Tarigami said it is themoral responsibility of the entirecountry to come forward to helpKashmiri students as not only thestate’s economy was badly af-fected during the turmoil but theeducation sector was also hithard putting future of thousandsof students at stake.
“As the education system inJammu and Kashmir is still torecover from turmoil tremorsand far from its revamping, thePrime Minister should interveneand get the decision reviewed
taking the state as a special case,”he said. The reservation soughtin the backdrop of the 2010 un-rest is based on the ground real-ity that educational institutions,like many sectors, remainedclosed for most part of the year,Tarigami said.
“It is not only 2010 unrestbut the education in Kashmir wasthe worst hit sector since the in-ception of the turmoil in 1989.The NCMEI has rightly said thatthe students here not only feeldepressed, alienated but also ter-ribly frustrated due to continueddisturbance in the valley,” hesaid.—NNI
Hurriyat (M)condemns
Delhi, Jammurape incidents
SRINAGAR—Terming the rapeincidents at Jammu and Delhias “shameful, the Hurriyat Con-ference (M) said such “actswere against humanity andshould be condemned in stron-gest possible terms.”
In a statement a Hurriyat(M) spokesman said the wide-spread public reactions over the“shameful act were justified aswere the condemnations of theIndian civil society and Parlia-mentarians.”
The spokesman said Delhirape incident has reflected the“double standards of Indiancivil society and Parliament asboth of them have attained acriminal silence over the rapeincidents” that occurred in JKover the past two decades.
“The J&K has been theworst victim of human rightsviolations committed by theforces.
That includes violenceagainst women including rape,extra judicial killings, custo-dial killings, torture and otherforms of rights violations,” hesaid. “People of Indian re-mained silent over such bar-barous acts committed inJK.”—INP
Autonomy,self-rule can’t
resolveK-issue: Vakil
JAMMU—Former Minister andMember AICC Abdul Gani Va-kil has said that neither a selfrule proposal of the People’sDemocratic Party nor autonomyof National Conference can re-solve Kashmir issue.
“These parties have to un-derstand that Kashmir issue canonly be resolved when all theparties including separatistswould sit together and wouldtake into account the aspirationsof people of all the three re-gions,” Vakil said in a state-ment.
“Resolution of Kashmir is-sue is enshrined in collectivewisdom of the parties con-cerned, a criterion which theself-rule or autonomy proposalsdon’t fulfill,” he said.
Vakil said Congress wouldnot allow anybody to use Kash-mir issue to change the fortunesor misfortunes of political ex-ploiters. “Kashmir issue cannotbe treated as commodity onwhich dirty politics can beplayed,” he added.
Vakil said that Article 370is to be strengthened and thosecommunal forces bent upon di-viding the state are to be kept atbay.—NNI
SRINAGAR—Senior HurriyatConference (M) leader, ProfAbdul Gani Bhat has called forsincere and proactive approachfrom India and Pakistan to re-solve Kashmir issue as per theaspirations of people. “We haveto solve this longstanding dis-pute with consensus and mutualunderstanding while keeping itsglobal impact and wishes ofpeople of Jammu and Kashmirin consideration,” Bhat said.
About the week-long visitof Hurriyat delegation to Paki-stan, he said they are satisfiedwith the outcome of meetingsand interactions with officials,leaders and intelligentsia.
“Hurriyat Conference’s
Need for sincere, proactiveapproach to resolve Kashmir: Bhat
visit to Pakistan has once againbrought Jammu and Kashmirdispute in limelight which isnow being discussed with newdimensions. Hopefully, it wouldhelp to move forward for its fi-nal solution.”
He said it is now the dutyof New Delhi and Islamabad tocome forward and includeKashmiris to settle the issueonce for all. Bhat said NewDelhi should show a visiblechange on ground in Jammu andKashmir. “India and Pakistanare parties to the dispute whilethe people of Jammu and Kash-mir are arbitrators and we wantto see both the countries eco-nomically stable and sound.”
He said people of Kashmirwant to play a role to bring Pa-kistan and India close to eachother. “The region is full ofatomic weapons and we cannotafford mistrust and war.”
Bhat urged India and Paki-stan to enhance people-to-people contact and encouragefree trade between the dividedparts of Jammu and Kashmir toensure peace, security and tran-quility in the region “which isthe need of hour”.
“It is time for goodwill ges-tures from Indian side and theyshould release all political pris-oners, revoke draconian lawsand ensure withdrawal of troopsfrom all areas.”—NNI
SRINAGAR—The veteranKashmiri Hurriyet leader, SyedAli Geelani has reaffirmed theKashmiris’ commitment that theliberation struggle will continuetill the last Indian trooper leavesthe territory.Syed Ali Geelani ina telephonic message from NewDelhi said that the Kashmiriyouth would oppose the occu-pation of India and subsequentlya chain of reaction would con-tinue till India shuns its stubbornstance on the disputed territory
He said that the unprec-edented sacrifices rendered bythe Kashmiri martyrs had cen-tre-staged the Kashmir disputeat the international level anddemanded that Indian troopsinvolved in heinous crimes in-cluding killing of people and
Liberation struggle tocontinue till success: Geelani
rape of women should bebrought to justice. He made itclear that if he had been inSrinagar, the puppet administra-tion would not have allowedhim to offer and attend the lastrituals of the martyred youth.
Syed Ali Geelani said: “Notime period for the great causecould be fixed instead weshould safeguard our sacrificesand snap ties with all thoseforces which will pave way forour success and we will achieve,the goal we strive for.”
Lashing at the administration,the veteran Kashmiri Hurriyetleader said that Indian occupationhad proved disastrous becausethey had exploited the Kashmiris’resources and devoured their richheritage.—KMS
If you’re not a risktaker, you should getthe hell out of busi-
ness.—Ray Kroc
FAISALABAD: CEO of FESCO Dr. Rana Abdul Jabar talking to a delegation of industrialists led by Vice ChairmanPakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Syed Ziaul Alamdar, All Pakistan Textile ProcessingMills Association’s Ajmal Farooq and Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Muhammad Asghar.
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—The All Paki-stan CNG Association(APCNGA) on Wednesdaypresented a new pricing for-mula in the session of the fed-eral cabinet’s Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC)held to resolve the CNG pric-ing crisis. Presenting the op-erational cost, details of ex-panses and the new formula,Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha,Chairman Supreme CouncilAPCNGA demanded of thegovernment to include pro-duction cost in the retail priceas per the international ac-counting laws.
He said that urea sectoris getting gas Rs 44.04cheaper than the CNG sec-tor; Independent Power Pro-ducers are getting gas Rs23.42 cheaper while industryis getting the commodity Rs26.42 cheaper than the CNGfilling stations.
Paracha said that govern-ment is charging Rs 14 as GIDCon every kilogram of CNG soldin Potohar, Balochistan andKhyber Pukhtoonkhwa whilefilling stations in the rest of the
country are paying Rs 9 asGIDC which must match. Headded that Government is get-ting Rs 64.56 from CNG sta-tions in Region I which in-cludes Rs 57.02 as gas priceand Rs 7.54 as electricity billwhile Rs 54.52 are beingcharged for the same in RegionII.
Ghiyas Abdullah Parachafurther informed that averagethe cost of establishing aCNG filling station stands atRs 51.8 million while averagesale is at 54868 kg per monthwhich must be consideredwhile fixing the prices.
He demanded that CNGstations should be treated atpar with the gas companies sothat this business remains vi-able. He also demanded fixingresponsibility of delay in an-nouncing prices and lossesinflicted upon CNG operators.He said that Ogra should de-termine CNG prices while keep-ing all aspects in mind to reachan acceptable conclusion. Itwill be unjustified if price of gasand taxation imposed on CNGare not brought at par withother sectors consuming natu-ral gas, he said.
APCNGA presents newgas pricing formula
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Fertilizer Manu-facturers Pakistan AdvisoryCouncil (FMPAC) has saidthat domestic urea manufac-turing plants have providedRs. 365 billion benefit to thefarmers over the last 5 years,by keeping local urea pricessignificantly below interna-tional levels and that this ahuge benefit to the agricul-ture industry and theeconomy.
A spokesman fromFMPAC stated all the fourSNGPL based fertilizer plantshave incurred significantlosses in the last 2 years dueto non -supply of gas and fur-ther benefit to the agri-economy is being eroded. Headded that there is a miscon-ception that fertilizer manu-facturers enjoy raw materialsubsidy from the Government
in the form of reduced feedgas prices. This subsidy isnot for the manufacturers, butis in fact passed on to thefarmer via reduced prices andthis Government policy hashistorically protected farmersand the agriculture economyfrom price fluctuations of in-ternational urea market, rupeedepreciation and foreign ex-change requirements.
Based on current feed andfuel gas prices, gas subsidyper bag of urea works out tobe Rs.228 per bag. In essenceif Government subsidy on gasprice was taken away, ureaprices would only increase byRs. 228 per bag. On the otherhand difference between priceof domestic and internationalurea throughout 2012 hasbeen more than Rs. 1,000 perbag. Therefore, he said, thatnot only is the fertilizer indus-try passing on feed gas sub-
sidy to the farmer, it is alsopassing on a much larger ben-efit of local urea productionin addition to paying taxes toGovernment.
The official further addedthat out of the total urea priceincrease since 2010, about80% has resulted from impo-sition of GST on urea andCESS on gas, and general in-flation while balance 20% isdue to factors such as sig-nificant less production dueto Gas curtailment and othercosts which remain constantirrespective of less produc-tion etc. Government did nothonor its gas supply con-tracts with the fertilizer manu-facturers despite the fact thatindustry has recently in-vested $2.3 billion in thecountry based on the gov-ernment approved policy de-signed to encourage invest-ment in the sector.
Local urea productionyields Rs 365b profit
LAHORE: Chairman Railways Arif Azeem addressing a press conference at RailwaysHeadquarters.
ISMAIL DILAWAR
KARACHI—Byco hasachieved yet another his-toric milestone by bringingthe first ever oil tanker to itsnewly-established deep seaSingle Point Mooring (SPM)facility constructed by theByco Terminal Pakistan Ltd,a Byco group company.Byco’s crude oil tanker, M.TARIETIS, carrying 70,000tons of upper zakum crudeoil from Abu Dahbi wasberthed at first ever SPMTuesday.
This marks the commis-sioning of 3rd port which willbe used for import of crudeoil and petroleum relatedproducts. With a clear draftof 25 meters this facility canaccommodate larger sizevessels carrying Crude/ Pe-troleum products in cargosizes of over 100,000 tons.The full operation of SPMwill cause to create adequateavailability of other oil piersleading to reduced waitingtime and consequential de-murrage.
In the initial stages, the
SPM shall be used to importCrude Oil for Byco’s newlycompleted 120,000 bpd andthe existing fully operativesmaller refinery of 35,000bpd.
The SPM has been setup on the coast of ArabianSea at a distance of approxi-mately 14km from the Byco’sMouza Kund Site and is ap-proximately 10 kilometersfrom the sea shore at 25meters depth. It is connectedto the storage tanks through28 inch diameter offshoreand onshore pipeline.
Byco achieves anotherhistoric milestone
KARACHI—Mobile bank-ing accounts have jumpedto 1.8 million mark depict-ing a remarkable growth of25 percent during July-Sep-tember quarter of 2012, ac-cording to Branchless Bank-ing Newsletter released bythe State Bank of Pakistan(SBP) on Wednesday.Branchless Banking (BB)customers conducted al-most 31.5 million transac-tions worth Rs. 139 billionduring the quarter. The av-erage size of each transac-
tion was Rs 4,420, while theaverage number of transac-tion per day increased to0.349 million.
The accounts’ activitylevel has also improved con-siderably during the quarterat the back of significantgrowth of 84% in Level 0 ac-counts and 7% growth inLevel 1 accounts.
These accounts areopened at the agents loca-tion largely by those whohave traditionally been ex-cluded from the banking ser-
vices. The agents networkhas reached to 31,637 as of30th September, 2012 from29,525 as on 30th June, 2012registering an increase of 7percent. It may be pointedout that transaction limits forLevel 0 and Level 1 accountsare Rs 15,000 and Rs. 25,000per day respectively.
Bills payments and mobiletop-ups remained the domi-nating activity during July-September 2012 quarter with45 percent share in total num-bers, followed by person to
person (over the counter)fund transfers with a share of38 percent. Bulk paymentsmostly by agents topped,among others, by 41 percentshare in total value transactedduring the quarter followed byperson to person fund trans-fers with a share of 34 percent.It may be pointed out that theBranchless Banking serviceproviders are trying to in-crease their linkages withmicrofinance institutions asloan repayments of Rs.646million were collected through
Branchless Banking agentsduring the quarter. Accord-ing to the Newsletter, thegrowth expectation in com-ing quarters is fairly high asthe existing two BranchlessBanking players are increas-ing their scale of operationsand two banks namelyWaseela Microfinance Bankand Askari Bank Limitedhave launched their branch-less banking services underthe brand names ofMobicash and Timepey re-spectively.—APP
Mobile banking accounts touch 1.8m mark
Motiwala condemnsmurder of BilourIsmail DilawarKARACHI—MohammadZubair Motiwala, ChairmanSindh Board of Investmentand President PAJCCI hasexpressed heartfelt sorrowand grief on the tragicincident of Bashir AhmadBilour, a slain stalwart andfather of Usman BashirBilour, Vice PresidentPAJCCI. He stronglycondemned this atrociousand violent act committedby unscrupulous elementsand extended deep condo-lence to the bereaved familyover the irreparable loss.Motiwala paid tribute to theslain ANP leader for hisservices and said that hewas a courageous personand sacrificed his life for hisnation and stance againstterrorism. He stated thatBilour had surely attainedmartyrdom and the nationhad lost one of the bravestvoices against terrorism.“The nation would remem-ber him for his bravery,conviction and patriotism,”he added.
Conversion ratesKARACHI—The followingrates will be applicable forconversion into rupees ofForeign Currency Deposits,Dollar Bearer Certificates,Foreign Currency BearerCertificates, SpecialU.S.Dollar Bonds andprofits thereon by all banksand for providing ForwardCover on Foreign CurrencyDeposits (excluding F.E.25deposits) by the State Bankon December 27, 2012. Therates are U.S. Dollar Rs97.2994, Japanese Yen Rs1.1388 Pound Sterling Rs156.9342 and Euro Rs128.4352.—APP
PQ shipping activityKARACHI—Five shipsarrived at Port Qasim toload/offload containers atQICT, palm oil at LCT,phosphoric acid at EVTLwheat at FAP on December25. Berth occupancy wasmaintained at 85% at thePort on Monday where atotal of seven ships namelyM.V KPS-I Alican Bey-Powership, M.V Deira. M.VDoganbey. M.T ArgentFressia. M.V Meta. M.VBeautiful-Rena. M.V MaerskMontana, M.V MSCNamibia, M.T Mire, M.TSiva Mumbai M.V MaerskKingston. M.V NedlloyedDarke are currently occupy-ing berths to load/offloadwheat, rice, palm oil, furnaceoil, phos. acid. Cargohandling operations werecarried out smoothly at thePort where a cargo volume11592 tonnes comprising84823 tonnes import, 31098tonnes export and 5403(TUES) was handled at thePort during last 24 hours.M.V Maersk Montana, M.VMSC Namabia, M.T SivaMumbai sailed on Tuesdayafternoon. M.V CMA CGMRossini, QICT, M.T ALSoor-II at FOTCO, arrive onDecember 26 as per arrivalschedule.—APP
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—The Sindhgovernment aims to enhancethe seafood exports from thecurrent $300 million to $1 bil-lion by adopting new tech-nologies to promote aquac-ulture, developing infrastruc-ture and enhancing capacitybuilding of fishermen in theprovince. “At presentPakistan’s seafood exportsstand at just $300 million andmajor share in exports is con-tributed by Sindh province,”Director of Fisheries (Hatch-eries & Trainings) at Depart-ment of Fisheries, KhawarPervez Awan told reportersduring their visit to coastal
areas of the province.He said that the country’s
total fish production standsat 400,000 metric tons per an-num out of which 282,000metric tons is produced bySindh and remaining by otherprovinces. He was of the viewthat fish production in thecountry has remained stag-nant which needs attention topropel it and earn foreign ex-change.
He said that among the allseafood exports, the majorshare of 60% is contributedby shrimps. Mr.Awan saidthat value addition could alsohelp enhance the cost of theseafood adding that severalcountries were importing fish
from Pakistan and exportingto other countries by usingtheir own labels and trademark. He added that despitethe ban by European Unionon the exports of Pakistanifish, the exports did not de-crease as the fish exportswere diverted to other inter-ested countries.
Meanwhile, the exportsof fish and fish preparationsduring the first five monthsof the current fiscal year wit-nessed slight increase of0.57 percent. Seafood ex-ports during July-November(2012-13) stood at $ 126.294million against the exportsof $125.683 million duringthe same period of last year.
Pak eyes over $1b fish exportsIslamic microfinance
can bring peopleabove poverty line
LAHORE—Islamic micro-fi-nance not only brings thepeople above poverty line butalso makes them self reliantthrough a regular source ofincome. Muslim countries canget rid of poverty by adopt-ing it, however, non-Muslimcountries have taken lead inthis regard said MuhammadZubair Mughal, Chief Execu-tive Office of AlHuda Centreof Islamic Banking and Eco-nomics, talking to APP hereon Wednesday.
He said centre of Excel-lence on Islamic Microfinancehad been established in Paki-stan in order to provide ca-pacity building, Shariah guid-ance to the microfinance & Is-lamic microfinance institu-tions, considering its populartrend in poverty alleviationfrom the world.
The Centre of Excellencewill start operations simulta-neously through its partnersoffices in other countries withthe view to help in eliminat-ing poverty from the worldthrough the usage of IslamicMicrofinance. Poverty situa-tion is getting worst through-out the world and themicrofinance institution are onthe down and out, he saidadding, in India and LatinAmerica the IslamicMicrofinance was beingadopted as a reliable remedyfor the situation.—APP
Etihad Cargoposts record Nov
figuresOBSERVER REPORT
LAHORE—Etihad Cargo, a di-vision of United Arab Emir-ates (UAE) flag carrier EtihadAirways, has posted recordmonthly revenues for Novem-ber of US$ 65.8 million, up 21.2per cent on the same periodlast year (US$ 54.3 million).The carrier lifted 32,633tonnes of freight in the period,an 18.2 per cent increase onNovember 2011 (27,628tonnes). The figures reflectthe cargo operator’s contin-ued upward momentum inwhat has been a record 2012so far. Etihad Airways’ ChiefStrategy and Planning Officer,Kevin Knight, said: “2012 hasbeen a great year for us.
KP govt to presentcase againstKBD in CCI
PESHAWAR—Government ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa hasissued directives to Provin-cial Secretary of Inter-pro-vincial Coordination to pre-pare a case against con-struction of Kala Bagh Dam.Sources said that the casewould be presented in theupcoming meeting of Coun-cil of Common Interests(CCI). Advice from seniorparliamentarians and consti-tutional experts is also be-ing sought in this context.
The provincial govern-ments of Balochistan andSindh have also been con-tacted in this regard and thethree provincial govern-ments have decided to takeup a similar stand on theKala Bagh Dam issue in theCCI meeting, sourcesadded.
Sources further said that,no concrete decision wastaken on Kala Bagh Dam,however water reservoirscame under discussion in theprevious meetings of CCI,which can neither be chal-lenged nor any court giveverdict on it.—Online
LAHORE: VP LCCI Abuzar Shad giving away shield to Director General CustomsIntelligence and Investigation Sumera Nazir Khan during her visit to Chamber. SAARCVice Chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik, Aftab Vohra, M. Nasir and Hussnain Tariq are alsopresent.
RAWALPINDI: Chairman IPO Pakistan Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi along with DG IPO Sajjad Ahmad addressing aseminar on SME, IPR at RCCI.
STAFF REPORTER
PESHAWAR—Prices of dailyusage kitchen items tumbledin retail market, except forslight increase prices of poul-try products during last weekagainst the preceding week.It was noted a slight declinedin the prices of essentialkitchen basket during lastweek, registered in retail andwhole markets, except poul-try products due to increas-ing demand in the winter.
The most of veggies wereavailable at nominal rates ofRs.30 to 40 per kg except pricesof peas, lady finger, tinda andShimla Mirch. Tomato is beingsold at Rs.20 per kg againstRs.40 per kg, while onion is
available at Rs.30 per kg againstRs.50 per kg.
Potato is available at Rs.25per kg, cabbage Rs.30 per kg,turnip at Rs.15 per kg, cauli-flower at Rs.30 per kg againstRs.40 per kg, Arvi at Rs.40 perkg against Rs.60 per kg, kadoRs.40 per kg against Rs.60 perkg, carrot at Rs.20 per kgagainst Rs.30 per kg, greenchilli at Rs.120 per kg, ladyfin-ger at Rs.120 per kg fromRs.150 per kg, raddish at Rs.20per bundle, brinjal at Rs.25 perkg against Rs.30 per kg. Gin-ger commonly use for makingof meal, wasn’t plummet inmarket, as available at Rs.120-140 per kg, while garlic is be-ing sold at Rs.160 per kg,
A mix trend showed in
prices of fruits during thepreceding week. Apple is be-ing sold at 100 to 150 per kg,melon at Rs.30-35 per kgagainst Rs.40-50 and watermelon at Rs.25-35 per kgagainst Rs.40-45 per kg, ba-nana at Rs.60-80 per dozen,grapes at Rs.120-150 per kg,during the past week as com-pared to the preceding week.
The prices of poultry prod-ucts showed substantial in-crease during last week, as reg-istering an increase of 30 to 40percent. The chicken meat isbeing sold at Rs.166 per kgagainst the Rs.110 per kg, while,alive chicken is available atRs.250-270 in retail market.Prices of Egg are also increasedfrom Rs.110 to Rs130 per dozen.
Prices of dailyuse items plummet
Emirates offersattractive fares
OBSERVER REPORT
ISLAMABAD —Emirates iswelcoming 2013 aboard byoffering very attractive faresfor quick-acting customers.Whether your New Year’sresolution is to spend moretime with family and friendsor visit a dream destinationEmirates’ Economy Classdeals, currently available forearly bookers, offer some-thing for everyone.
The special fares applyto more than 120 destina-tions across the Emirates’network when booked be-tween December 26, 2012and January 10, 2013 - fortravel from January 18 toJune 10, 2013.*
“Emirates has alwaysbeen customer focused. Wel-coming 2013, Emirates hasintroduced special fares toprovide its passengers withbest options for their moneyin order to make their jour-ney more pleasant and con-venient,” said Mr. KhalidBardan, Emirates’ Vice Presi-dent, Pakistan.
“This offer will enableour Pakistani travelersto plantheir trip in advance for thecoming year while enjoyingbest discounts, showing ourcommitment to this vibranteconomy.”
LCCI endorsesAPTMA’s stanceon energy crisis
SALIM AHMED
L A H O R E — E n d o r s i n gAPTMA’s stance on energycrisis, the Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry hasappealed to the governmentto restore power and gas sup-plies to the Punjab industriesto save millions of jobs.
The LCCI PresidentFarooq Iftikhar said that thegovernment has indicatedclosure of power for over amonth, the industries are leftwith no other choice but tolay off millions of workers tillthe power and gas supply isfully restored.
The LCCI President saidthat APTMA has already an-nounced to relieve its work-ers because of total closureof their mills while other af-fected sectors would soonfollow the suit.
The LCCI President saidjustice demands that all prov-inces should be treatedequally in supply of theseimportant utilities. He saidthat gas closure had alreadyput the jobs of over 15 mil-lion people and exports ofaround $14 billion at stake.“Government would have toreset its priorities regardingprovision of gas otherwisesituation would go out ofhands”. He said that the newgas load management plan isa well-calculated and wellthought-out conspiracyagainst the present regime.“The rise in number of un-employed would definitelygive air to anti-governmentsentiments.” “It is not theindustry only that would besuffering massively but thegovernment would also be anultimate loser on manycounts.”
“How can the industryafford to pay the mark upwhen there in no gas for theindustry.” He said that thereis a global phenomenon thatindustry is given top prioritywhereas in Pakistan it comesto the least and other sectorsare given priority. He alsourged the government to getreplaced obsolete gas gey-sers and heaters with latestsolar geysers and heaters toensure gas to the industry.
The LCCI President saidthat around 40 per cent of theindustrial units in Punjab runon gas and gas suspensionmeans no production by al-most half of the industry anda loss of millions of rupeesto the exchequer.
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Tele-communications CompanyLimited (PTCL) has an-nounced that its customerscan now enjoy live cricketcommentary of Pakistan IndiaCricket Series 2012-13, beingplayed in India from Decem-ber 26, 2012 to January 6, 2013.
The spectacle betweenPakistan and Indian Cricketteams is marked as one of themost exciting sports extrava-ganzas among the global au-diences. The service allowsPTCL customers to enjoy andfollow these cricket matchesbetween the two leadingcricket power houses live ontheir PTCL landline connec-tions and Vfone wireless bysimply dialing 1216. Each callwill be charged at Rupee 1 perminute exclusive of tax and
without any additional sub-scription charges.
Part of PTCL’s diversifiedValue Added Services (VAS)portfolio, the service hasbeen specially designed tobring uninterrupted livecricket action considering thepassion and enthusiasm ofcricket fans in the country.
PTCL efforts are “AtPTCL, we believe in going anextra mile to keep our custom-ers happy and satisfied andour teams are continuouslydevising new value added ser-vices keeping in mind theirneeds and demands”, saidPTCL Executive Vice President(EVP) Wire-line, Aasif Inam.“Leading from the front, PTCLis the only operator in Pakistanthat brings the entire spectrumof telecommunication prod-ucts and services for its cus-tomers”, he added further.
PTCL live commentary onPak-India Cricket Series
STAFF REPORTER
RAWALPINDI—The role ofSmall and Medium Enter-prises SME’s is imperative forpromotion of economic ac-tivities which would help tocreate job opportunities, in-vestment attractions and hu-man resource development atgrass root level. A collabo-rated development network isrequired to provide platformto all the stakeholders forcontribution of their inputsfor economic wellbeing ofthe country.
This was stated by theChairman IPO-Pakistan Mr.Hameed Ullah Jan AfridiMNA while addressing theconcluding session of SMEsConference and Seminar onIPR held at Rawalpindi Cham-ber of Commerce & Indus-tries which was jointly orga-nized by Industries, Com-merce & Investment Depart-ment Punjab in collaborationwith Intellectual PropertyOrganization (IPO-Pakistan),Agriculture Department,PSIC and RCCI on Wednes-day.
The Chairman IPO saidthat IPO has got legal entity
after passage of IP Act 2012and the organization has ini-tiated a number of projectsfocusing on developing in-stitutional framework, capac-ity building, enhancing mu-tual cooperation and rectify-ing memorandum of under-standing with different orga-nizations. He said SME sec-tor has great potential to pro-mote indigenous creative ca-pabilities. He further said thatIPO-Pakistan has set up IPfacilitation Desks at LCCI,KCCI and SMEDA offices atLahore and Karachi to facili-tate IP right holders for in-formation dissemination andguidance about their IPrights registration. He alsoannounced for opening simi-lar Facilitation Desk at RCCIwith the cooperation ofSMEDA. The Chairman em-phasized on cooperationamong IP stakeholders forpromotion and protection ofIPRs in the country.
The Director GeneralIPO-Pakistan Mr. SajjadAhmad Bhutta underlinedthe need of developing mar-ket oriented innovative capa-bilities among the IP rightcreators in SME sector. He
further said that database ofSMEs is being developed toaddress their sectoral issues.IPR enforcement is beingstrengthened for effective IPrights protection.
Acting President RCCI,Ch. Pervaiz Ahmad Warraichassured that RCCI will con-tinue its cooperation withIPO-Pakistan, Punjab Govt.and other stakeholders forprotection of IP rights in theregion. He appreciated thedecision of opening IP Facili-tation Desk at RCCI by IPO-Pakistan which will help thelocal manufacturers and trad-ers to register their IP rightsfor business promotion.
Earlier Mr. Nasir Rafique,Chief WTO/Project DirectorGeographical Indications,IC&I Dept. Govt. of Punjabgave brief introduction of GIproject which is successfullybeing conducted in Punjabfor registration and protec-tion of local unique productsof the province.
Later on Mr. MuhammadAsghar Nasar from SMEDAand Mr. Muhammad Ismailfrom IPO-Pakistan made pre-sentations on SME and IPsubjects.
Role of SME’s imperativefor economic activities
ISMAIL DILAWAR
KARACHI—Russia says ithas a plan to take the volumeof bilateral trade with Paki-stan once again to the 2008level of $ 600 million. “Stillwe plan to reach the level ofUS $ 600 million by the endof 2012,” Consul General ofRussia Andrey V. Demidovwhile talking on bilateral re-lations between Russia andPakistan here at an event or-ganized by the Asian UnionForum (AUF).
Present there among oth-ers were Patron-in-Chief Jus-tice Said-uz-Zaman Siddiqui,Chairman Waseem Yasin,Secretary General TariqShadab and members of theAUF’s executive committee.“We were and are preparedto cooperate with Pakistan indifferent spheres and prima-rily in commerce and in
economy,” he said.In the last two decades
of the 20th century the co-operation between the twocountries remained on a verylow level, he recalled. “Thebilateral trade volume in 1980was US $ 95 million only andin 1990 – 138 mln. These fig-ures were negligible,” saidthe consul general.
He said the record highvolume of bilateral trade,about $ 600 million, wasreached in 2008. “But laterwe experienced the effects ofthe World financial crisesand the volume of tradedropped to the level of US $300 mln in 2009,” he said.
Demidov said he had al-ready mentioned a very goodexample of mutually beneficialcooperation that was the Pa-kistani Steel Mills. The projectwas inaugurated more than 30years ago. And it was still
operational. The machinerybuilt in the Soviet Union, al-though old, was still workingwithout any serious technicalproblem. Nevertheless, thePakistani Steel Mills neededto be upgraded, he said. Thenew machinery was to besupplied and fit in. The pro-duction level was to bebrought up. “And we are pre-pared to come and to modern-ize the project. About fouryears ago we presented themanagement of the Steel Millswith a detailed plan of upgrad-ing the production to the levelof 3 million tons. This plan isstill under consideration byour partners,” the consulgeneral said. In this respect,Demidov stressed his convic-tion that the follow-up of bi-lateral cooperation around thePakistani Steel Mills couldmove forward the whole com-plex of our bilateral ties.
Russia eyes over $600mtrade target with Pakistan
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—The Corpo-rate Social Responsibility(CSR) is fast becoming anintegral part of businessesall over the world and in Pa-kistan a large number ofbusinesses are doing com-mendable work in this area.The SECP believes thattransparency and corporateaccountability are essentialin carrying out the CSR ac-tivities. Mr. TahirMahmood, the SECP Com-missioner, Company LawDivision, expressed theseviews while speaking at aroundtable discussion onCSR Voluntary Guidelines,2012, on Wednesday inIslamabad. He reaffirmed theSECP’s commitment to fa-
cilitate stakeholders’ en-gagement for strengtheningaccountability and trans-parency in reporting frame-work. The discussion wasattended by distinguishedrepresentatives of publiccompanies, professional in-stitutions, research institu-tions and NGOs involved inthe CSR projects.
The SECP representa-tives informed the partici-pants that in May 2012, theSECP has in principle grantedapproval for introducing cor-porate social responsibility(CSR) guidelines for publiccompanies which is a signifi-cant step towards streamlin-ing reporting requirementsand corporate accountabilityof the CSR activities.
I t was stressed that
ownership of strategicpolicy for planning, execu-tion and reporting CSR ac-tivities shall rest with Boardof Directors so that theCSR policy permeatesthrough the businessstructure for effect iveimplementation.
The guidelines providesfor forming a CSR consulta-tive committee, ideally led bya CSR expert, for purpose ofensuring transparent, spe-cialized supervision and re-porting progress. The guide-lines call for obtaining inde-pendent assurance of CSRprojects and the report ofassurer thereof forming partof the CSR report of company.The participants appreciatedthe SECP’s efforts and intentfor introducing guidelines.
Transparency must forCSR activities: SECP
ISLAMABAD—The exports ofGems and Jewellery in thecountry has witnessed sharpincrease of 50% and 331.67%respectively during first fivemonths of current financialyear against the same periodof last year. The Jewellery ex-ports during the period underreview were recorded at US$1.027 billion while during lastyear, the exports stood at US$237.985 million.
The Gems exports stood at$1.776 million during July-No-vember 2012-13 against the ex-ports of $ 1.184 million duringJuly-November (2011-12).
Similarly molasses, cementand furniture exports also wit-nessed increase of 462.89%,27.65% and 21.09% respec-tively. The molasses and fur-niture exports during first fivemonths of current financialyear remained $1.441 millionand $3.273 million respectivelyagainst exports of $0.256 mil-lion and $2.7 million respec-tively during same period oflast year. The exports of cementduring July-November (2012-13) stood at $245.488 millionwhereas during last year thecement exports stood at$192.312 million.
According to data of Paki-
stan Bureau of Statistics (PBS),the jewellary exports of thecountry on month basis alsoincreased by 144.71% duringNovember 2012 when com-pared with same month of lastyear. The jewellery exports, de-creased from $165.424 millionin October 2012 to $127.385 mil-lion in November 2012 wit-nessing a decrease of 22.99% .The Gems exports during themonth increased by 48.98%against November 2011 and itdecreased by 5.93% againstthe exports of October 2012.
The Gems exports in-creased from $0.245 million inNovember 2011 to $0.365 mil-lion in November 2012. The ex-ports of Gems in October 2012stood at $0.388 million. The ce-ment exports during Novem-ber 2012 were recorded at$54.869 million which were in-creased by 80.88% and 25.61%when compared with samemonth of last year’s exports of$30.335 million and October2012 exports of $43.682 millionrespectively food exports ofthe country on month basisalso increased by 34.23 and17.5 percent during November2012 against November 2011and October 2012 respec-tively. —APP
Jewellery exportssurge 331.67pc
ISLAMABAD—Despite avail-ing annual enormous subsidyof Rs 50 billion on electricity,the commercial and industrialsectors seem to be discontentwith the government as ex-perts opine that such a facil-ity is irrational suggesting itswithdrawal. Out of Rs 250 bil-lion annual subsidy in powersector, Rs 50 billion lands inthe commercial and industrialsectors that could insteadhave been spent on people’suplift or revenue generation.
The official data revealsthat the government provides
Rs 1.48 subsidy per unit to thecommercial sector and Rs 1.89per unit to the industrial sector.
“Providing subsidy to thedomestic and agriculture sec-tors is logical but extendingsuch facility to the commercialand industrial sectors is of nouse,” said an expert, terming itmerely a burden on the nationalkitty as well as the people ofPakistan. Currently, as thehydel power production hasbeen reduced owing to ongo-ing canal dredging, the gov-ernment is striving to cope withthe electricity demand of do-
mestic sector as top priority.According to an expert, the
industrial sector is bound togenerate electricity from itsown resources for about twomonths when the domesticconsumption of gas catapultsin winter season. Instead ofproducing electricity from theirown resources, the industrial-ists are demanding of the gov-ernment to provide electricityto fulfill their needs or else theywill carry out rightsizing , ren-dering thousands of workersunemployed.
“What if they reduce their
profit ratio slightly by produc-ing electricity from their owngenerators only in Decemberand January to ensure powersupply to people at least for14 hours a days? But theynever do so rather pressurethe government to fulfill theirirrational demands,” the expertregretted. The industrialistsreap three-fold subsidy; ifthey produce power from gasat their own, they supply sur-plus electric production to thepeople against higher ratesand earn money, he com-mented.
Even they are not adher-ing to the government’s as-surance of providing themthe electricity by January 25rather they have initiated amalicious campaign againstthe government claiming ofbeing victimized, he added.The energy expert opinedthat the government canhelp bridge energy deficit bywithdrawing subsidy fromthe commercial and indus-trial sectors and spendingthe heavy amount some-where else for productivepurpose.—APP
Commercial, industrial sectors eating up Rs 50b subsidy
Pakistan, Koreanofficials review
implementation ofjoint projects
ISLAMABAD—A project port-folio meeting was held in Eco-nomic Affairs Division onDecember 24, 2012 to reviewthe implementation ofprojects under Korean assis-tance worth around US$ 300million.
Government of Pakistanwas represented by Mr.Javed Iqbal, Secretary, EAD.Mr. Choong joo CHOI, Am-bassador of the Embassy ofRepublic represented theKorean side along with histeam. Secretary EAD appre-ciated the Korean assistanceand noted with satisfactionthat not only the quantum ofbilateral cooperation has in-creased over a short periodof time but its scope has alsoenhanced.
Total Korean assistanceProgramme to Pakistan hasexpanded to over US$ 200million of which US $ 30 mil-lion is grant component andrest is soft loan mainly forinfrastructure and social sec-tor development.
Progress of all develop-ment projects being imple-mented in Pakistan throughKorean Assistance were re-viewed in the meeting. Simi-larly the projects, for whichKorean Assistance is ex-pected shortly, were also re-viewed minutely. Both sideexpressed satisfaction withregards to Korean Develop-ment Assistance for Frame-work Agreement for Grant Aidand constructionofMalakand Tunnel project ata cost of $78 million.
Apart from infrastructureDevelopment projects, Ko-rean Assistance for CapacityBuilding of public sector wasalso reviewed. The KoreanAmbassador also observedthat Korean developmentmodel being more recentphenomenon is more relevantfor achieving developmentgoals in Pakistan. Two newinitiatives including Knowl-edge Sharing Programme(KSP) and World Adviser’sProgramme were discussedwhereby Korean experts willshare their experience in differ-ent fields with different depart-ments of Federal and Provin-cial Governments.—Agencies
Apple injunctionbid vs Samsung
rejectedNEW YORK—A U.S. judgedenied Apple Inc’s requestfor a permanent injunctionagainst Samsung Electron-ics’ smartphones, deprivingthe iPhone maker of key le-verage in the mobile patentwars. Apple had beenawarded $1.05 billion in dam-ages in August after a U.S.jury found Samsung had cop-ied critical features of theiPhone and iPad. TheSamsung products run onthe Android operating sys-tem, developed by Google.
Apple and Samsung aregoing toe-to-toe in a patentsdispute that mirrors thestruggle for industry su-premacy between the twocompanies, which controlmore than half of worldwidesmartphone sales.—Newswire
Scholars approveUnified Halal Code
AMANULLAH KHAN
KARACHI—Pakistan whichhas emerged as leading halalfood supplier to a 470 millionHalal consumers in MiddleEast, Afghanistan and Cen-tral Asian states is well poisedto share huge global halalmarket, said Amin Fahim, Fed-eral Minister for Commerce atGlobal Halal Congress heldin Sharjah. Speaking as theguest of honor from Pakistan,the Federal Minister for Com-merce, highlighted thatstrength of Pakistan being aMuslimcountry is 100%Halal production base withover 180 million consumersand a direct access to a mar-ket of 470 million Halal con-sumers in
Afghanistan, CentralAsia and Middle East. AminFaheem said that Pakistanhas emerged as an importantplayer of food suppliers tothe UAE and the Gulf regionparticularly in rice, meat,poultry, sea food, fruits andvegetables, and spices. Hesaid that all products in Paki-stan are Halal and we are in aposition to claim a hugechunk of the global Halalmarket with a little bit of ef-fort which require certifica-tion as Halal and subsequentlabeling and packaging.
The Commerce Ministerpointed out that Pakistan’sexports of food products tothe UAE have increased toover US$500 million and morethan US$1 billion to the GCCregion. However, he under-lined a dire need of value ad-dition which can only beachieved by establishingBrands in the region andspending on the marketingefforts. Leading industry ex-perts and scholars from allover the world have agreedto declare Unified Halal Codefor Halal products at HalalCongress Middle East atSharjah. The two-day eventwhich concluded recentlydiscussed.
Message to lawmakersFLORIDA—Starbucks Corp will use its ubiq-uitous coffee cups to tell U.S. lawmakers tocome up with a deal to avoid going over the“fiscal cliff” and triggering automatic tax hikesand spending cuts. Chief Executive HowardSchultz is urging workers in Starbucks’roughly 120 Washington-area shops to write“come together” on customers’ cups on Thurs-day and Friday, as U.S. President BarackObama and lawmakers return to work andattempt to revive fiscal cliff negotiations that
collapsed before the Christmas holiday. Starbucks’ cup campaignaims to send a message to sharply divided politicians and serve asa rallying cry for the public in the days leading up to lawmakers’January 1 deadline to deliver a plan to avert harsh across-the-boardgovernment spending reductions and tax increases that could sendthe United States back into recession. “We’re paying attention, we’regreatly disappointed in what’s going on and we deserve better,”Schultz told Reuters in a telephone interview. The CEO said hehas joined a growing list of high-powered business leaders, politi-cians and financial experts in endorsing the Campaign to Fix theDebt, (www.fixthedebt.org) a well-funded nonpartisan group thatis leaning on lawmakers to put the United States’ financial housein order. Starbucks plans to amplify its “come together” messagevia new and old media, including Twitter and Facebook posts, cov-erage on AOL’s local news websites and advertisements in TheWashington Post and The New York Times. “If (talks) do notprogress, we will make this much bigger,” Schultz said of the mes-saging campaign. Schultz is no stranger to using the world’s big-gest coffee chain as a platform to advocate for more political coop-eration in Washington. During the debt ceiling debate in August2011, he made a splash by calling for a boycott of political contri-butions to U.S. lawmakers until they struck a fair and bipartisandeal on the country’s debt, revenue and spending. —Reuters
Priorities after charterCAIRO—Egypt’s government asked parlia-ment Wednesday to prioritize legislation toorganize parliamentary elections, regulate themedia and fight corruption as the upper cham-ber held its first session with temporary newpowers granted by the constitution. The Is-lamist-dominated Shura Council, the tradition-ally toothless upper house, was granted tem-porary legislative powers under the new con-stitution and began its work a day after theofficial results of the referendum were re-
leased, showing the charter passed with a nearly 64 percent “yes”vote. It will legislate until elections for a new lower house are heldwithin two months. The disputed, Islamist-drafted constitutiondeeply divided the nation, though its supporters insisted it wouldpave the way for more stability in Egypt and the building up ofstate institutions. President Mohammed Morsi has had legislativepowers for months since a court dissolved the law-making lowerhouse of parliament. In its first act after the constitution passed,the Shura Council convened to swear in 90 new members appointedby Morsi. Two-thirds of the council’s 270 members are elected,and one-third are appointed by the president. Speaking to the coun-cil, the Cabinet minister in charge of parliamentary affairs,Mohammed Mahsoub, said the government will prepare new leg-islation for parliament to discuss, including a law to regulate theupcoming parliamentary elections, anti-corruption laws, and lawsto organize Egypt’s efforts to recover money from corrupt officialsfrom the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Mahsoub saidsuch bills can be ready as early as next week, when the councilconvenes again for its regular working session. He said the gov-ernment also wants to draft laws to revise maximum and mini-mum wages, expand social insurance coverage and regulate themedia, as well as institute Egypt’s first freedom of information act.Such bills, he said, are in line with the new constitution. —AP
Peace proposals with RussiaBEIRUT—Syrian President Bashar al-Assadsent a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednes-day to discuss proposals to end the conflictconvulsing his country made by internationalenvoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanesesources said. Brahimi, who saw Assad and isplanning to hold a series of meetings withSyrian officials and dissidents in Damascusthis week, is trying to broker a peaceful trans-fer of power, but has disclosed little about howthis might be done. More than 44,000 Syr-ians have been killed in a revolt against four
decades of Assad family rule, a conflict that began with peacefulprotests but which has descended into civil war. Past peace effortshave floundered, with world powers divided over what has be-come an increasingly sectarian struggle between mostly SunniMuslim rebels and Assad’s security forces, drawn primarily fromhis Shi’ite-rooted Alawite minority. Deputy Foreign Minister FaisalMakdad flew to Moscow to discuss the details of the talks withBrahimi, said a Syrian security source, who would not say if a dealwas in the works. However, a Lebanese official close to Damascussaid Makdad had been sent to seek Russian advice on a possibleagreement. He said Syrian officials were upbeat after talks withBrahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, who met Foreign MinisterWalid Moualem on Tuesday a day after his session with Assad, butwho has not outlined his ideas in public. “There is a new moodnow and something good is happening,” the official said, askingnot to be named. He gave no details. Russia, which has given Assaddiplomatic and military aid to help him weather the 21-month-olduprising, has said it is not protecting him, but has fiercely criti-cized any foreign backing for rebels and, with China, has blockedU.N. Security Council action on Syria. —AP
Deeply painfulLONDON—The leader of the Church of En-gland said a vote last month that struck downproposals to allow women to become bish-ops had been “deeply painful”, but that Chris-tianity was still relevant in Britain despitefalling numbers of believers. Archbishop ofCanterbury Rowan Williams, who leads theglobal 80-million-strong Anglican Commun-ion, said in his Christmas day sermon thatthe answer to the question of whether Chris-tianity had “had its day” was a “resoundingno”. The Church of England narrowly voted
against allowing women bishops last month - to the dismay ofWilliams and Prime Minister David Cameron - in a move itsleaders said risked undermining its role as the established churchin society with clerics in parliament’s upper chamber. The me-dia, many politicians and some members of the public havecriticised the Church of England for failing to allow women bish-ops and for failing to back government plans for gay marriage ata time when it is under pressure to modernise. In separate com-ments aired on Tuesday but recorded earlier, the Roman CatholicChurch’s leader in England and Wales, Archbishop of WestminsterVincent Nichols, said the government’s plans to allow gay mar-riage were a “shambles” and had no mandate. No religiousorganisation or cleric will be forced to conduct gay weddingsunder the plans, but critics fear that clause could be challengedunder European human rights laws. A census showed earlierthis month that the number of people in England and Walesdescribing themselves as Christian has declined by 13 percentover the last decade, but Williams warned secularists not tobecome “too excited”. “There are a lot more questions to askbefore we could possibly assume that the census figures told usthat faith was losing its hold on society,” Williams said. “In thedeeply painful aftermath of the synod’s vote last month, whatwas startling was how many people who certainly wouldn’t havesaid yes to the census question turned out to have a sort ofinvestment in the church,” he said. Williams, 62, is steppingdown after 10 years in his post, and will be replaced next yearby former oil executive Justin Welby.—AP
MOSCOW—The upper cham-ber of Russia’s parliament onWednesday unanimously votedin favor of a measure banningAmericans from adopting Rus-sian children. It now goes toPresident Vladimir Putin to signor turn down.
All 143 members of the Fed-eration Council present voted tosupport the bill, which hassparked criticism from both theUnited States and from Russianactivists who say it victimizeschildren by depriving them ofthe chance to escape often-dis-
Russian Parliament endorses anti-US adoption billmal orphanages. The bill is onepart of a larger measure by angrylawmakers retaliating against arecently signed U.S. law that callsfor sanctions against Russiansdeemed to be human rights vio-lators. Putin hasn’t committed tosigning the bill, but has referredto it as a legitimate response tothe new U.S. law.
Some top government offi-cials, including the foreign min-ister, have spoken flatly againstit, arguing the measure would bein violation of Russia’s constitu-tion and international obligations.
But Senator MikhailMargelov, chairman of theCouncil’s foreign affairs commit-tee, referred to the bill as “a natu-ral and a long overdue response”to the U.S. legislation.
“Children must be placed inRussian families, and this is acornerstone issue for us,” he said.
Several people with postersprotesting the bill were detainedoutside the Council before thevote. “Children get frozen in theCold War,” one poster read.
There are about 740,000 chil-dren without parental custody in
Russia, according to UNICEF.More than 60,000 Russian chil-dren have been adopted in theUnited States in the past 20 years.
The bill is named in honorof Dima Yakovlev, a Russian tod-dler who was adopted by Ameri-cans and then died in 2008 afterhis father left him in a car in broil-ing heat for hours. The father wasfound not guilty of involuntarymanslaughter. Russian lawmak-ers argue that by banning adop-tions to the U.S. they would beprotecting children and encour-aging adoptions inside Russia.
TOKYO—Old-guard veteranShinzo Abe was voted back intooffice as prime minister Wednes-day and immediately named anew Cabinet, ending three yearsof liberal administrations and re-storing power to his conservative,pro-big-business party that hasrun Japan for most of the post-World War II era.
Abe, whose nationalist po-sitions have in the past angeredJapan’s neighbors, is thecountry’s seventh prime minis-ter in just over six years. He wasalso prime minister in 2006-2007 before resigning for healthreasons that he says are nolonger an issue.
The outspoken and oftenhawkish leader has promised torestore growth to an economythat has been struggling for 20years. His new administrationalso faces souring relations withChina and a complex debate overwhether resource-poor Japanshould wean itself off nuclearenergy after last year’s earth-quake and tsunami caused a melt-down at an atomic power plant.
On top of that, he will haveto win over a public that gave hisparty a lukewarm mandate inelections on Dec. 16, along withkeeping at bay a still-powerfulopposition in parliament. Thoughhis party and its Buddhist-backed
Shinzo Abe returnsas Japan’s Premier
coalition partner is the biggestbloc in the more influential lowerhouse, Abe actually came upshort in the first round of votingin the upper house, then won in arunoff.
Capitalizing on voter discon-tent with the left-leaning Demo-cratic Party of Japan, Abe hasvowed to shore up the economy,deal with a swelling national debtand come up with a fresh recov-ery plan following last year’s tsu-nami disaster, which set off theworst nuclear crisis sinceChernobyl.
In foreign policy, Abe hasstressed his desire to make Japana bigger player on the worldstage, a stance that has resonatedwith many voters who are con-cerned that their nation is takinga back seat economically and dip-lomatically to China.
His new Cabinet will featureanother former prime minister,Taro Aso, as finance minister.Heading the foreign ministry isFumio Kishida, an expert on thesouthern island of Okinawa,where many residents angry overcrime and overcrowding want abig reduction in the number ofU.S. troops they host — now atabout 20,000. The new defenseminister is Itsunori Onodera, whowas in Abe’s previous adminis-tration.—AP
RAMADI—Thousands of Iraqidemonstrators massed in aSunni-dominated province westof Baghdad Wednesday, deter-mined to keep up the pressureon a Shiite-led government thatmany accuse of trying tomarginalize them.
It was the third major pro-test in less than a week in Anbar,Iraq’s largest province, once theheart of the deadly Sunni insur-gency that erupted after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
The unrest is part of a largerpicture of sectarian conflicts thatthreaten the stability of the coun-try, a year after the last U.S.troops left.
The demonstrations followthe arrest last week of 10 body-guards assigned to Finance Min-ister Rafia al-Issawi, who comesfrom Anbar and is one of thecentral government’s most se-
Iraq: New protests breakout in Sunni heartland
nior Sunni officials. The case isexacerbating tensions with Iraq’sSunnis, who see the detentions aspolitically motivated.
Protesters turned outWednesday near the provincialcapital Ramadi, 115 kilometers(70 miles) west of Baghdad. Thecity and nearby Fallujah were thescenes of some of the deadliestfighting between U.S. troops andIraqi insurgents.
Demonstrators gatheredalong a highway linking Baghdadwith neighboring Jordan andSyria.
They held banners demand-ing that Sunni rights be respectedand calling for the release ofSunni prisoners in Iraqi jails. “Wewarn the government not to drawthe country into sectarian con-flict,” read one. Another declared:“We are not a minority.”Al-Issawi made an appearance at the
rally, arriving in a long convoyof black SUVs protected byheavily armed bodyguards. Hecondemned last week’s raid onhis office and rattled off a list ofgrievances aimed at Prime Min-ister Nouri al-Maliki’s govern-ment.
“Injustice, marginalization,discrimination and double stan-dards, as well as the politicizationof the judiciary system and a lackof respect for partnership, lawand constitution ... have all turnedour neighborhoods in Baghdadinto huge prisons surrounded byconcrete blocks,” he declared.
Iraq’s majority Shiites rose topower following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted SaddamHussein’s Sunni-dominated re-gime, though the country’s mi-nority Sunni Arabs and Kurds dohold some posts in the govern-ment.—AP
CAIRO—Egyptian PresidentMohamed Mursi signed into lawa new constitution shaped by hisIslamist allies, a bitterly con-tested document which he insistswill help to end political turmoiland allow him to focus on fixingthe economy.
Anxiety about a deepeningpolitical and economic crisis hasgripped Egypt in past weeks,with many people rushing to buydollars and withdraw their sav-ings from banks. The govern-ment has imposed new restric-tions to reduce capital flight.
The new constitution, whichthe liberal opposition says be-trays Egypt’s 2011 revolution bydangerously mixing religion andpolitics, has polarized the Arabworld’s most populous nationand prompted occasionally vio-lent protest on the streets.
The presidency said onWednesday that Mursi had for-mally approved the constitutionthe previous evening, shortly af-ter results showed that Egyptianshad backed it in a referendum.
Morsi signs new constitutionThe text won about 64 per-
cent of the vote, paving the wayfor a new parliamentary electionin about two months.
The charter states that theprinciples of sharia, Islamic law,are the main source of legislationand that Islamic authorities willbe consulted on sharia - a sourceof concern to the Christian mi-nority and others.
The referendum resultmarked yet another electoral vic-tory for the Islamists since vet-eran autocrat Hosni Mubarak wastoppled in 2011, following par-liamentary elections last year andthe presidential vote that broughtMursi to power this year.
Mursi’s government, whichhas accused opponents of dam-aging the economy by prolong-ing political upheaval, now facesthe tough task of building a broadconsensus as it prepares to im-pose austerity measures.
The Egyptian pound cameunder renewed pressure onWednesday as market players,worried about the economy,
switched their funds into U.S.dollars and other currencies, trad-ers said.
Keen to be seen as decisive,the government is now in talkswith business figures, tradeunions and other groups to high-light the need for tax increases toresolve the crisis.
Mursi has committed to suchausterity measures to receive a$4.8 billion loan from the Inter-national Monetary Fund.
However, Al-Mal newspaperquoted Planning Minister Ashrafal-Araby as saying the govern-ment would not implement thetax increases until it had com-pleted the dialogue with differ-ent parts of society.
In Cairo’s bustling centre,people openly expressed theirfrustration with economic insta-bility as they went about theirdaily business.
“The country’s going to thepits. Everything is a mess,”Hamdy Hussein, a 61-year-oldbuilding janitor, said angrily. “It’sworse than ever. —Reuters
HONOLULU—President BarackObama is cutting short his Ha-waiian holiday to leave for Wash-ington on Wednesday to addressthe unfinished “fiscal cliff” ne-gotiations with Congress, theWhite House said on Tuesday.
As the clock ticks toward aJanuary 1 deadline, efforts toavert a sharp rise in taxes anddeep spending cuts have stalled,worrying world financial mar-kets. Obama and congressionallawmakers left Washington onFriday for the Christmas holidayswith talks to avert the fiscal di-saster in limbo.
When Obama arrives back inWashington early on Thursday,the focus will shift to the U.S.
Obama to cut vacation short to deal with fiscal crisisSenate after Republicans in theHouse of Representatives failedto pass their own budget mea-sures last week.
Obama is expected to turn toa trusted Democratic ally, Sen-ate Majority Leader Harry Reid,to help craft a quick deal.
White House aides begandiscussing details of the year-endbudget measure with SenateDemocratic counterparts earlythis week, a senior administrationofficial said on Monday
The president will also needat least tacit approval from Sen-ate Minority Leader MitchMcConnell to insure Republicanswill permit passage of what islikely to be a stripped down bill
that prevents taxes from rising onall Americans.
The measure may not, how-ever, contain difficult spendingcuts both parties had sought tospeed deficit reduction. It is un-clear how the president will seekto address the draconian across-the-board government spendingreductions set to go into effectearly in the year without a deal.
McConnell, who is up for re-election in 2014, has been a cau-tious participant in the process.His spokesman has said it wasnow up to Democrats in the Sen-ate to make the next move.
Once clear of the Senate, thefiscal cliff legislation must alsowin enough bipartisan support to
KABUL—A vehicle driven by asuicide bomber exploded at thegate of a major U.S. military basein eastern Afghanistan onWednesday, killing the attackerand three Afghans, Afghan policesaid. The Taliban claimed respon-sibility for the attack.
Police Gen. Abdul QayumBaqizai said a local guard whoquestioned the vehicle driver atthe gate of Camp Chapman waskilled along with two civiliansand the assailant.
The camp is located adjacentto the airport of the capital ofKhost province, which bordersPakistan. Chapman and nearbyCamp Salerno had been fre-quently targeted by militants inthe past, but violent incidentshave decreased considerably inrecent months.
Taliban spokesmanZabihullah Mujahid said in anemail that the bomber targetedAfghan police manning the gateand Afghans working for theAmericans entering the base. Heclaimed high casualties were in-flicted.
NATO operates with morethan 100,000 troops in the coun-try, including some 66,000American forces. It is handing
Afghan bomber attacksnear major US base
most combat operations over tothe Afghans in preparation for apullout from Afghanistan in2014. Militant groups, includingthe Taliban, rarely face NATOtroops head-on and rely mainlyon roadside bombs and suicideattacks.
NATO forces and foreign ci-vilians have also been increas-ingly attacked by rogue Afghanmilitary and police, eroding trustbetween the allies.
On Tuesday, the InteriorMinistry said a policewomanwho killed an American con-tractor in Kabul a day earlierwas a native Iranian who cameto Afghanistan and displayed“unstable behavior” but had noknown links to militants.
The policewoman, identifiedas Sgt. Nargas, shot 49-year-oldJoseph Griffin, of Mansfield,Georgia, on Monday, in the firstsuch shooting by a woman in thespate of insider attacks. Nargaswalked into a heavily-guardedcompound in the heart of Kabul,confronted Griffin and shot himonce with her pistol.
There have been 60 insiderattacks this year against foreignmilitary and civilian personnel,compared to 21 in 2011.—AP
Iran ex-president’s family
sues hardlinerTEHRAN—An Iranian newsagency says four children ofAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani aresuing a radical lawmaker for de-scribing the influential ex-president’s family as a corrupt“octopus.”
Mahmoud AlizadehTabatabaei, who is a lawyer forRafsanjani’s family, was quotedby the semiofficial ISNA newsagency Wednesday as saying thata complaint has been filed againstHamid Rasai.
Rafsanjani is considered apolitical centrist. Since PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad’s dis-puted reelection in 2009, inwhich Rafsanjani supportedAhmadinejad’s reformist chal-lenger, his family has come un-der pressure from hardliners.
In a speech broadcast on stateradio last week, Rasai, who is oneof Ahmadinejad’s allies, calledone of the ex-president’s sons a“corrupt monster who has alwaysenjoyed iron immunity.”—AP
Affleck won’t berunning for Senate
ABC OTUS—Those hoping theUnited States Senate may get alittle less gray and a bit more ce-lebrity-studded won’t be gettingtheir Christmas miracle today.
Despite speculation, BenAffleck announced late Mondayhe would not go after JohnKerry’s Senate seat in his nativeMassachusetts if the senator isconfirmed as secretary of state.
The actor, who has been anincreasingly popular presence inthe political world recently, wroteon his Facebook page: “I loveMassachusetts and our politicalprocess, but I am not running foroffice.” Chatter around a possiblerun went into overdrive Sundaywhen during an appearance onCBS’ “Face the Nation” theCambridge native decidedly didnot rule it out saying, “One neverknows. I’m not one to get intoconjecture.”—AP
Russian children rights om-budsman Pavel Astakhov told theInterfax news agency that 46 chil-dren who were about to beadopted by U.S. citizens wouldstay in Russia if the bill is adopted— despite court rulings in someof these cases authorizing theadoptions.
The ombudsman supportedthe bill, saying that foreign adop-tions discourage Russians fromadopting children.
“A foreigner who has paidfor an adoption always gets a pri-ority compared to potential Rus-
sian adoptive parents,” Astakhovsaid. “A great country like Rus-sia cannot sell its children.”
The Russian law allows for-eign adoptions only if a Russianfamily has not expressed interesta child in question.
Margelov said that a bilateralRussian-U.S. agreement bindsRussia to notify of a halt in adop-tions 12 months in advance.
Putin’s spokesman DmitryPeskov told Russian news agen-cies that the president would con-sider the bill within the next twoweeks.—Reuters
BAGHDAD: An Iraqi woman carries her child wading through flood water, after heavy rain on Wednesday.
BEIRUT—The general whoheads Syria’s military police hasdefected and joined the uprisingagainst President Bashar Assad’sregime, one of the highest walk-outs by a serving security chiefduring the country’s 21-monthuprising, a pan Arab TV stationhas reported.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-AzizJassem al-Shallal appeared in avideo aired on Al Arabiya TV lateTuesday saying he is joining “thepeople’s revolution.”
Al-Shallal’s defection comesas military pressure builds on theregime, with government basesfalling to rebel assault near thecapital Damascus and elsewhereacross the country. On Wednes-day, the Britain-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights saidgovernment shelling in the north-eastern province of Raqqa killedat least 20 people, includingwomen and children.
Dozens of generals have de-fected since Syria’s crisis beganin March 2011. In July, Brig.Gen. Manaf Tlass was the firstmember of Assad’s inner circleto break ranks and join the oppo-sition. Al-Shallal is one of themost senior and held a top post
at the time that he left. He said inthe video that the “army has de-railed from its basic mission ofprotecting the people and it hasbecome a gang for killing and de-struction.” He accused the mili-tary of “destroying cities and vil-lages and committing massacresagainst our innocent people whocame out to demand freedom.”
Thousands of Syrian soldiershave defected over the past 21months and many of them arenow fighting against governmentforces. Many have cited attackson civilians as the reason theyswitched sides.
The Observatory said theshelling in an agricultural area ofRaqqa province near the villageof Qahtaniyeh killed 20, includ-ing eight children, three womenand nine others.
An amateur video showedthe bodies of a dozen people in-cluding children lying in a rowinside a room. Some of them hadblood on their clothes, whileweeping could be heard in thebackground.
The videos appeared genuineand corresponded to other APreporting on the events de-picted.—AP
Top Syrian generaljoins opposition
pass the House of Representa-tives, which failed last week toapprove Speaker John Boehner’sproposal to extend tax breaks forall Americans earning less than$1 million a year.
Conservative Republicansbalked at any tax increases at alland withdrew support for themeasure, which never came to avote. Some Republican votes willbe needed to pass any Senate bill.
BIG DAY THURSDAYThe next session of the Sen-
ate is set for Thursday, but theissues presented by the fiscal cliff- across-the-board tax increasesand indiscriminate reductions ingovernment spending - were noton the calendar.—Reuters
BIPIN DANIOBSERVER
CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI—India’s othercricketing son-in-law,Muthiah Muralidharan (mar-ried to Chennai-basedMadhi Mallar) had not beenas instrumental as ShoaibMalik in the crucial bialateralmatch against India.
Sadly, Sania was not atthe Bangalore’sChinnaswamy Stadium tocheer for her husband onTuesday night. “She is inHyderabad and watchedthe match on TV”, her fa-ther, Imran Mirza said ex-clusively over telephonefrom Bangalore, where hekeenly witnessed the pro-ceedings yesterday. “Shedidn’t want to come hereand keep Shoaib tensed forthis important match”, headded. Sania’s mother,Naseema too remained athome in Hyderabad.
Shoaib Malik is my Player of theMatch, says his father-in-law
“The family is happy forShoaib’s knock but disap-pointed over India’s loss inthe match”.
“Even my daughter sup-ports Team India, but notwhen Shoaib Malik is a mem-ber of the Pakistan team”.
Pakistan’s five-wicket winover India was possible onlywhen Shoaib Malik in the lastover hit sixer off RavinderJadeja. “My Man-of theMatch is Shoaib Malik. His57 runs came at the crucialmoments and he remained atthe crease even after anotherhalf-centurion and captainMohammad Hafeez was out(on 61 runs), If I were the ad-judicator, would have an-nounced Malik as the Playerof the Match”, the father-in-law explained.
Indian tennis star SaniaMirza married to former Paki-stani captain, Shaob Malik inApril 2010.
The wedding was held inIndia (Hyderabad), and it was
followed by a Walima andreception ceremonies inSialkot, and Lahore in Paki-stan.
The publicity and theonline attention the wed-ding received made Saniathe most searched womantennis player and mostsearched Indiansportsperson in the year2010 according to GoogleTrends.
Shoaib Malik’s familyhas been staying in Paki-stan, but the couple hasbeen staying in Dubai.“Sania had also been to Pa-kistan once after that”, thefather added. “There was notennis tournament in Paki-stan but once Iaccompoanied her whenShoaib was playing in Paki-stan”, the father added.
Shoaib malik has beenregularly attending thecamps in Pakistan wheneverarranged by the PakistanCricket Board (PCB).
Bacha Khan GoldCup Cricket
tournament beginsPESHAWAR—The 19th edi-tion of the Bacha Khan GoldCup Cricket Tournament gotunder way at Cricket Sta-dium Charsadda under theaegis of District Cricket As-sociation Charsadda onWednesday.
Former PCB umpire andcoach Mehfooz Ullah Jan,who is also Organizing Sec-retary of the Tournament,was the chief guest on thisoccasion who formally inau-gurated the tournament 19thBacha Khan Gold Cup cricketCharsadda.
Before the start of thematch the players of MillatDiamond club and SardheriChamps were introduced tothe chief guest.—APP
LARKANA: President Asif Ali Zardari unveiling the plaque to inaugurate the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir BhuttoInternational Cricket Stadium at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH—President Asif Ali Zardari onWednesday inauguratedShaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto International CricketStadium here at Garhi KhudaBakhsh, Naudero.
Addressing the gather-ing after the inaugurationceremony, the President saidthat one of the missions ofthe Government was to pro-vide healthy activities for theyouth so that their energiesare diverted towards positiveactivities and away from ex-tremism.
“We will continue to pro-vide facilities for healthysports activities,” he said onthe occasion.
The Presidentcomplimented PakistanCricket Board, its ChairmanZaka Ashraf and all thosewho helped build the cricketstadium.
President inauguratesnew cricket stadium
The President said thatsometime back as the Patronof Pakistan Cricket Board hehad asked the Board to buildan international standardcricket stadium at GarhiKhuda Bakhsh to provide anopportunity to the local chil-dren to test their skills, trainand become the best in theworld.
This vision, he said, hasbeen translated into realitytoday as the first phase of thecricket stadium has been in-augurated.
The President on the oc-casion also congratulatedthe youth of Larkana, andthe whole province, on thesetting up of this facility.
According to preparedtext of his remarks, the Presi-dent said that for years therewas a sense of deprivationamongst the rural populationof Sindh.
Lack of sport facilities inSindh had prevented tal-ented youth to produceworld class athletes, headded.
He said that in the nextphase, a cricket academywith state- of-the-art facilitiesand best coaches to train thelocal players would also beset up in the area.
He said, “I can see thatquite a few players represent-ing Pakistan internationallywill come from this area.”
Noting the addition ofLarkana, Dera Murad Jamali,FATA and Bahawalpur in thecricket setup recently, thePresident remarked that thiswould promote cricketacross the country and up-grade skills of the local crick-eters.
He said that cricket was apassion for Shaheed ZulfiqarAli Bhutto and Shaheed
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.Cricket, he said, is a pas-
sion for him and for millionsof people all over Pakistan. Itis a unifying force and it canbe used to project the mes-sage of peace, he added.
Complimenting ZakaAshraf, Chairman PCB, andhis team for putting thisshow together in a short spanof time, the President wishedhim and the PCB well withtheir plans of bringing inter-national cricket to the coun-try.
Chairman PCB ZakaAshraf also spoke on theoccasion and thanked thePresident for his personal in-terest in promotion of thecricket in the country. Earlier,the President also visited themazars of Shuhuda in GarhiKhuda Bakhsh and offeredFateha for the departedsouls.—APP
K A R A C H I — P a k i s t a n ’ sw i c k e t k e e p e r - b a t s m a nKamran Akmal and Indianbowler Ishant Sharma havebeen fined after being foundguilty of breaching the ICCCode of Code following analtercation between the twoplayers in the openingTwenty20 International onTuesday.
Akmal was fined five percent by Roshan Mahanama,of the Emirates Elite Panel ofICC Match Referees, after hepleaded guilty to breaches of
Akmal, Sharma fined byICC over T20 face-off
BANGALORE: Ishant Sharma gets into an argument with Kamran Akmal during Indiavs Pakistan, 1st T20 match.
Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Codeof Conduct for behaviourcontrary to the spirit of thegame in the 18th over of thePakistan innings.
Sharma also pleadedguilty to the offence and ac-cepted the same charge.
However, Sharma ap-pealed the penalty and a hear-ing was held. After review-ing the evidence and thevideo footage, Mahamanare-confirmed his view thatSharma initiated the incidentwhich was reported by all
four umpires in the match.Therefore a penalty of 15
per cent of the match fee wasimposed.
“This is clearly a high pro-file and high intensity seriesand the players on both sideshave been reminded of theirresponsibility. Both playersrecognised their duty to set theright type of example throughtheir on-field behaviour andthey have accepted that theyfell short of the level of con-duct required,” saidMahanama.—APP
LAHORE: Players of Asifa and Bakhtawar Eleven struggling for ball possession during Banazir Shaheed Hockey match.
M E L B O U R N E —Austra l iaskittled out Sri Lanka for 156and trailed by just six runs af-ter an eventful opening daysaw 13 wickets fall in the sec-ond Melbourne Test onWednesday.
Before a Boxing Daycrowd of 67,138 at the sun-bathed Melbourne CricketGround, the home side werein command after winning theopening Test in Hobart by 137runs.
Kumar Sangakkara joinedthe 10,000 runs club andMitchell Johnson claimed his200th Test wicket before theAustralian batsmen made SriLanka pay for their paltry firstinnings total made off just 43.4overs, with David Warnerclobbering 62 off 46 balls.
Despite a late flurry ofwickets Australia finished theday well on top. At the closethey were 150 for three withMichael Clarke, who passeda fitness test on a strained
2nd Test: Australia take gripas Sri Lanka crash out
hamstring, not out 20 andvice-captain Shane Watsonon 13.
The Sri Lankans wererueing dropped catches offboth batsmen late in the day.
Their only bright spot wasSangakkara’s 58, which wasended by a stunning runningcatch by wicketkeeper Mat-thew Wade to give Johnsonhis 200th wicket in his 49thTest.
Sangakkara was the equal-fastest to the 10,000 milestone,reaching it in his 195th Testinnings as did SachinTendulkar and Brian Lara.
Johnson, recalled afterbeing left out in Hobart,claimed four for 63 off 14overs to finish off the sorrySri Lankans.
The Australians made alively start with Warner andEd Cowan putting on 95 off106 balls, Warner blazing hisfourth Test half-century off 34balls before falling to a trap
laid by medium-pacer AngeloMathews.
Mathews tempted himwith a short ball and theopener duly obliged by find-ing Dhammika Prasad at deepmid-wicket.
Phil Hughes was run outfor 10 in a dreadful mixup withCowan in the 23rd over, wellbeaten home by TillakaratneDilshan’s throw to thestriker’s end.
Cowan was out for 36 inthe following over, flashing atPrasad. Mahela Jayawardenetook a hot catch in the slips.
The Sri Lankan batsmenself-destructed with poorshot-making, although theAustralian pace attack main-tained a good line and length.
Debutant Jackson Birdcaptured his first Test wicketwith his 10th delivery whenhe moved the ball away fromleft-hander DimuthKarunaratne who was takenby Wade for five. Hobart cen-turion Dilshan fell three overslater when Johnson got onethrough his defences whichcannoned into the off-stumpfor 11.—AFP
Sri Lanka 1st Innings:Karunaratne b Bird ......... 5Dilshan b Johnson ........ 11Sangakkara b Johnson . 58M Jayawardene c Wadeb Siddle ............................. 3Samaraweera b Bird ...... 10Mathews b Siddle ......... 15Jayawardene b Johnson 24Prasad c Wade b Johnson 0Herath c Hussey b Lyon14Eranga not out ................. 4Welegedara b Lyon ......... 0Extras: (lb5, nb7) ............ 12Total: (all out) ................ 156Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-19, 3-37, 4-79, 5-99, 6-134, 7-134,8-147, 9-156 10-156Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WJohnson .............. 14-2-63-4
Bird ...................... 13-5-32-2Siddle .................... 8-1-30-2Watson ................... 3-2-3-0Lyon ................... 5.4-0-23-2Australia 1st Innings:Cowan b Prasad ............ 36Warner b Mathews ....... 62Hughes run out (Dilshan)10S. Watson not out ......... 13M. Clarke not out .......... 20Extras: (b2, w5, nb2) ........ 9Total: (3 wkts) .............. 150Fall of wickets: 1-95, 2- 117,3-117Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WWelegedara ........ 11-4-36-0Eranga ................. 10-2-53-0Prasad ................... 8-1-39-1Mathews ................ 4-2-9-1Herath ................... 6-1-11-0
MELBOURNE: Tillakaratne Dilshan is bowled duringAustralia vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test on Wednesday.
Sangakkarascores 10,000th
run in Test cricketMELBOURNE—Sri Lankanbatsman Kumar Sangakkarascored his 10,000th Test runand Australia paceman Jack-son Bird secured his firstwicket in his maiden Test asAustralia took three first-ses-sion wickets on Wednesdayat the Melbourne CricketGround.
After winning the toss, SriLanka was 79-3 at lunch on thefirst day of the second test,with Sangakkara not out 43 andThilan Samaraweera unbeatenon 10.
Sangakkara’s cover-driveboundary just before lunchmade him only the 11th bats-man and the second SriLankan to score 10,000 testruns. He averages more than55 runs in a career spanning115 tests. He reached the10,000 mark in 195 innings,equaling the record previouslyshared by Brian Lara andSachin Tendulkar. Tendulkartops the test run scorers’ listwith 15,645.
The only other Sri Lankanto have made more than 10,000test runs, current skipperMahela Jayawardene, was dis-missed for three on Wednes-day.—AP
Pakistan, Indiaset to resume
bilateralhockey ties
KARACHI—After resumingcricket ties after five years,hockey teams from Pakistanand India are set to do thesame.
The Greenshirts arescheduled to tour India inMarch while the Indianhockey team is expected tocome to Pakistan in May. Thedetails of the series will besorted out during a meetingbetween the two parties laterthis week. Sport ties betweenthe two countries turned sourafter the 2008 Mumbai at-tacks. However, relationshave improved recently withthe Pakistan cricket team cur-rently playing in India andnine players from Pakistan setto participate in the HockeyIndia League (HIL) in Indianext year.
Hockey India (HI) secre-tary-general Narinder Batraand Pakistan Hockey Federa-tion (PHF) chief Asif Bajwa areset to meet in Lahore, Paki-stan on December 29.—APP
WHEN children have food allergies,their parents have to constantlywatch out for allergens and be pre-
pared for a possible reaction.Another concern, and one that is often
overlooked, is bullying. A new study, pub-lished online in the journalPediatr ics on Monday,found that more than 30percent of children havebeen harassed by their class-mates because of their aller-gies, and that parents areonly aware of it about halfof the time. It’s very easy tointimidate a food-allergicchild,” said study author Dr.Eyal Shemesh, chief of thedivision of behavioral anddevelopmental health in theDepartment of Pediatrics atMount Sinai Medical Cen-ter in New York. “It doesn’ttake more than waving apeanut in front of them.”
Shemesh and his col-leagues surveyed 251 fami-lies recruited at a food allergy clinic. Over-all, 45 percent of the children and teens —who were between the ages of 8 and 17 —said they’d been bullied, and 31.5 percentsaid it was because of their food allergy. Thebullying was most likely to happen whilethey were in school and included others teas-ing them, waving food in their face, throw-ing food at them, or forcing them to touchthe food that triggers their allergies. Themore frequent the bullying, the worse thechild’s quality of life, the study found. Butjust one instance of bullying took a toll onkids’ happiness, according to self-reports.The study also showed there is a sig-
nificant gap in how much parents knowabout bullying — they only knew about50 percent of the cases of harassment.When moms and dads did know about thebullying, their children reported a higherquality of life, which suggests that parents
can help, Shemesh said.“Parents should ask, not
in an alarming way, some-thing like, ‘Do peoplebother you at school or any-where? Do people botheryou about the allergy?’” hesaid. Doctors, whether theyare pediatricians or allergyspecialists, should also beaware of possible food-re-lated bullying and speak up.
“Clinicians should notbe intimidated or think thatchildren will not talk tothem about it,” Shemeshsaid. “This study shows theywill.”Nearly six millionchildren, or 8 percent of kidsin the U.S., have food aller-gies.
A 2008 Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention study reported an 18percent increase in food allergies in theU.S. in the last decade for reasons thatcontinue baffle scientists. Allergic reac-tions can be very serious: A 2011 studyfound that every three minutes, a food al-lergy reaction lands someone in the emer-gency room.“Living with a food allergyis emotionally stressful, since the onlyway to prevent a potentially life-threat-ening reaction is to be vigilant aboutavoiding problem foods,” said John Lehr,CEO of the Food Allergy Research andEducation organization.
Food allergies, bullyingoften linked
KARACHI: Huge billboards are displayed on the roadsides to mark the death anniversary of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
KARACHI: Hussain Sabz Ali, SM Fire Safety, receiving award for the year 2012 for bestfire safety practices in high rise buildings on behalf of HBL.
KARACHI—The king offamily entertainment centerSindbad’s, launched their newfamily entertainment center atDolmen Mall Clifton.
The park cater kids offall ages as the makers thinkthere are not many placeswhere kids can enjoy to theirfullest. The launch wasspectacular in itself as it wasbased on under the seatheme and kids performedsongs specially made for thenew Sindbad.Sindbad’s launched theirnew family entertainmentcenter at Dolmen MallClifton. This entertainmentcenter has the largest softplay ever made in Pakistanand a play area for toddlers.
The rides and the games in-stalled all follow the under thesea theme. Sindbad’s has alsoevolved from the traditionalcoin system to card swipe sys-tem to operate rides and videogame.
The unique system is firstof its kind in Karachi. The cardsystem enables kids to collectpoints on the number of timesthey use it and kids can usethese points to attain VIPmembership over time. Thenew Sindbad’s also has a ticketeater that is another one ofkind in Pakistan. The machinesucks in the tickets that are fedin by the kids and they receivedifferent gifts.
“I felt there was a need fora place where kids could en-
joy themselves in a clean,secure and climatically con-trolled environment”, saidthe Head of MarketingMs.Sidra Nadeem. “Theidea was to create a placewhere the entire familywould enjoy to the fullestand would want to comeback over and over again”,said the soft spoken lady.
The interior of the fam-ily entertainment gives anunder the sea look. There arefishes hanging from the ceil-ing and all of them are foundin the Arabian Sea. Therewill also be posters on thewalls of the entertainmentcenter that will display in-formation about the fishes.Thus children will learn
City of Lights welcomes the largestindoor family entertainment centre
about the Arabian Sea whileplaying.
“I have never experi-enced something like this”,said Rashid Malik, 35, a par-ent visiting Dolmen mallwith his family. The reviewsfrom other parents were thesame, they agreed that therenot many places where theycould go with their familyand enjoy.
The event was a successto say the least, parents andkids were very happy to at-tend a very extravagantlaunch event that had some-thing to offer to everyone onthe floor. The event was at-tended by Govt. officials, ce-lebrities, media personneland socialites.—NNI KARACHI: Activists of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat carrying the coffin of a worker who was
killed in firing incident in GodharaColony.
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI— Award for theyear 2012 for Best Fire SafetyPractices in High Rise Build-ings has been awarded to HBL.
Hussain Sabz Ali, SM- FireSafety received the award onbehalf of the Bank. This is thesecond time consecutively thatHBL has won this award
Fire Safety Convention -2012 was held in Marriott Ho-tel, Karachi recently. The eventwas jointly organized by Fire
HBL wins fire safety awardProtection Association of Paki-stan (FPAP) and National Fo-rum For Environment & Health
Chairman Karachi Cham-ber of Commerce and Indus-tries Mr. Haroon Agar was theChief Guest for the InauguralSession while AdministratorKarachi Metropolitan Corpora-tion Mr. Muhammad HussainSyed distributed the Awards.Representative bodies of busi-nessmen community i.e. Chair-man SITE, Chairman KorangiAssociation, Chairman F.B.
Area Association also partici-pated. Top professionals of FireSafety and Media personnel at-tended the event.
Awards were given to 22companies in various categorieslike Oil Companies, Airlines,Chemical Industry, Laboratories,Fire Safety Vendors, Power Gen-eration Companies etc. Award forthe year 2012 for Best Fire SafetyPractices in High Rise Buildingswas given to HBL. This is thesecond time consecutively thatHBL has won this award .
KARACHI—Law enforcementagencies on Wednesday arrestedfive suspects from Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of the city for their al-leged involvement in attack onAhle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ)leader Maulana AurangzebFarooqui.
According to police sources,the agencies had conducted raid inBlock 6 of the area and arrestedfive suspects. “They have also re-covered arms from their posses-sion.”
All the suspects were shiftedto an undisclosed place for inves-tigation, police sources added. Thesources said that the suspects whowere taken into custody includeZulfiqar Taqvi, Altaf Taqvi,Azadar Taqvi, Iftikhar Taqvi andZeshan Haider.
ASWJ leader MaulanaFarooqui came under attack andinjured when armed men openedfire on his vehicle near Moti Mehalarea in Gulshan-e-Iqbal town onTuesday, killing six people includ-ing four policemen, his personalguard and a driver. ASWJ centralleader Allama MuhammadLudhianvi called on party work-ers to remain peaceful and coop-erate with local authorities in es-tablishing peace.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s eco-nomic hub was partially closed anddaily civic life affected on Wednes-day due to a strike call given byAhl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ)against attack on its central leader,Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqui inKarachi. Aerial firing and ransack-
5 arrested for attack on MaulanaFarooqui as city observes strike
ing of public and private proper-ties was reported in many areasas supporters of ASWJ burnedtyres on roads and forcibly closedmarkets and business activities invarious parts. Old city areasSadar, Juriya Bazar, Lea Marketand Empress Market — remainedcompletely closed while centralcity areas were partially shut.
Public transport remained offthe road, leaving commuters insuffering, with CNG and petrolfilling stations closed across thecity. Enraged mobs burned tyres
on roads and suspended traffic inShershah, Banaras, Lasbela,Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Sultanabad.
Police said four people wereinjured in firing incidents atKorangi, Ghas Mandi and Malir.Extra contingents of police andRangers were deployed in sensi-tive areas. Tension gripped NaginChowrangi, Nazimabad, NewKarachi, Akhtar Colony, NewTown, Orangi Town and other ar-eas following the attack. Protest-ers staged a sit-in on Shar-e-Faisaland set tyres on fire.—INP
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—All Pakistan MuslimLeague (APML) has asked thecurrent rulers for resignations anddemanded early caretaker setupwith consensus of all political par-ties. In a statement issued herefrom central information secre-tariat, Aasia Ishaque, spokesper-son of APML said that Govern-ment has been proved fail to imple-ment good governance and thebad-governance has push thecountry 50 years back. She saidthat current rulers have pushed thecountry towards the civil war dueto their anti-country policies.Around 20 people are murdering
APML for caretaker set-upwith consensus of all parties
in a day and government is notseemed anywhere. She said thatbusiness community people arefacing uncertainty, they are leav-ing country on daily basis butgovernment doesn’t have time tolook this issue seriously.
She said that this govern-ment proved as mark of threatfor country itself and if any sys-tem (government) could not se-cure its citizens, it should bechanged as soon possible for thelarger interests of nation and thecountry. APML leader said thatKarachi is under the blaze oflaw and order fire, but govern-ment is not serous to tackle thisbig problem of the country, add-
ing that all parties should comeforward and organize a GoalMez conference to sort out so-lutions of Karachi.
“This is not the time of chant-ing slogans but it’s a time to savethe Pakistan from internal andexternal threats. Pervez Mushrrafonly believes in existence ofcountry not in the holding of reinsof government” Aasia said. Shesaid that Pervez Musharraf iscoming back just to serve thepeople of country as he had giventhe slogan of “Sab Se Pehle Pa-kistan” and he would again servethe country for the bright futureof millions of people, she con-cluded.
Ghaus: PML-Nwants to form
anti-PPPalliance in SindhKARACHI—Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderGhaus Ali Shah on Wednesdaysaid that his party wanted toform an anti-PPP alliance inSindh in the next general elec-tions. This he said while speak-ing to a delegation of JamiatUlema Islam, which was led byDr. Khalid Mahmud here.
Shah said contacts are beingmade with JUI, FunctionalLeague and other political par-ties and hoped that a new alli-ance would be formed soon.Speaking on this occasion, DrKhalid Mahmud said that thecurrent government had brokenall previous records of corrup-tion. PPP always uses differentcards to seek votes in Sindh, hesaid, adding the ruling party hasno more card this time.—NNI
Namaz-i-Janazaof Shaheed
policemen heldKARACHI—The ‘Namaz-i-Janaza’ of three shaheed policemenwas held at the Gardens Policeheadquarters here on Wednesday.A police spokesman said that con-stables Imran, Waheed Khan andSaleem had embraced martyrdomin a firing incident in Karachi’sGulshan Chowrangi last evening.The Namaz-i-Janaza was also at-tended by the senior police officialswho paid rich tributes to theshaheed policemen for their brav-ery and commitment and devotionto duty. They also offered condo-lences to the members of the be-reaved families. A special contin-gent of the police presented a sa-lute on the occasion.—APP
MQM RabitaCommitteeflays LEAsOBSERVER REPORT
KARACHI—The CoordinationCommittee of the MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM)Wednesday expressing graveconcern over the fresh spate ofsectarian killings in the cityblasted the law enforcementagencies (LEAs) for their failureto control the situation.
In a statement issued here,the Rabita Committee con-demned the assassination of in-nocent people in the ongoingsectarian violence saying the lawenforcers were looking at theviolence like spectators.
Holding the enemies ofpeace responsible for the sectar-ian killings, the Committee saidthe LEAs instead of arresting theculprits were keeping a silencethat was a matter of grave con-cern for the peace-loving coun-trymen. The terrorists were tar-geting innocent people in thename of sectarianism. Extedingcondolences to the affected fami-lies, the MQM’s Rabita Commit-tee demanded of the president,the prime minister, the interiorminister and Sindh governor andchief minister to take a seriousnotice of the ongoing sectarianviolence in the city.—INP
Photographicshow on
Shaheed BBKARACHI—Special Photo-graphic Exhibition was inau-gurated at the National Mu-seum of Pakistan here, on theoccasion of 5th death anniver-sary of Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto on Wednes-day.
Sindh Minister for Cul-ture, Ms. Sassui Palijo inau-gurated the event whichwould remain open for thepublic from December 26 to31.
The exhibition containsdifferent photographs depict-ing the l i fe of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto’schildhood, educational activi-ties, political and family lifeactivities. —APP
Hazrat ShahBhittai Urs
KARACHI—Mega celebra-tions will be organised on theeve of 269th Urs of prominentpoet and saint Hazrat ShahAbdul Latif Bhittai at BhittShah from December 28 to 30.On this auspicious occasion,Sindh Culture Department isorganizing many attractive andfascinating cultural events topay homage to the mystic andthe legendary poet.
The Urs celebrations willcommence on December 28 atBhit Shah, situated 50 kilome-ters north of Hyderabad. —APP
KARACHI—A residential camptitled ‘Sowjhoro’ is being con-ducted for the youth of Jamshoroand Matiari and will continue tillDecember 30. The project is be-ing implemented by the HabibUniversity Foundation (HUF) un-der the Youth Empowering Spaces(YES) which is a project of De-partment of Youth Affairs, Gov-ernment of Sindh.
A statement here on Wednes-day said that YES seeks to facili-tate youth with key knowledge,skills and attitudes which couldenable them to aspire for a healthyand productive Life. YES is being
Residential camp to empower youthimplemented in Karachi,Jamshoro and Matiari. It has beeninitiated under the leadership ofSyed Faisal Ali Subzwari, Min-ister for Youth Affairs. As manyas 35 shortlisted youth workingin Community Based Organiza-tions (CBOs), NGOs and VillageOrganizations are participating inthe camp. The camp is being heldat Rashidabad, TandoAllahyar.The youth have been shortlistedthrough a thorough interview pro-cess. The camp includes a diverseset of activities in form of inter-active sessions on personal devel-opment, emotional management,
understanding community and itsresources, learning, project plan-ning, community engagement,team building and negotiationskills, sports and games etc.
The camp will engage youthin thinking and planning smallprojects for the betterment of theyouth of their own communitiesas their own initiatives. The ses-sions are being conducted by YESteam as well as guest speakersfrom NGOs working inHyderabad have also been invitedto conduct sessions. After acquir-ing training every youth willimplement .—APP
ANYONE with a brother or sister canattest to the inevitability of conflictsduring childhood, but frequent
clashes may take a toll.Squabbling over two topics in particu-
lar, researchers say, may put adolescentsat risk for depressive symptoms and anxi-ety.
Psychologists at theUniversity of Missourireached that conclusionafter surveying 145 adoles-cent sibling pairs over thecourse of a year. The re-searchers quizzed the kidson their sibling relation-ships, and also asked themto answer questionnairesto measure their self-es-teem and symptoms of de-pression and anxiety. Theyfound that kids with highself-esteem at the begin-ning of the study typicallyhad fewer conflicts withtheir siblings one year later.But those who reportedsibling conflict at the be-ginning of the study were much more likelyto develop new mood problems over thefollowing year.
“There are definitely aspects that aregoing both ways,” says researcher NicoleCampione-Barr, an assistant professor ofpsychological sciences at the Universityof Missouri, about the possibility that sib-ling conflict may contribute to future emo-tional changes, as well as the potential thatexisting emotional changes may also fuelmore squabbles . “But we believe that thereare particular types of conflict that are set-ting kids up for problems,” she says.
In particular, Campione-Barr and her
Squabbling may lead to depressivesymptoms anxiety, among teens
colleagues have identified two commonthemes among the sibling arguments thatthey studied. Kids who clash with theirbrothers and sisters about “equality andfairness issues” (things like who’s hog-ging the bathroom and whose turn it isto do the dishes) appear to be at unusu-
ally high risk of depressedmood one year later.
Conversely, arguingover “personal domain con-flicts” (like borrowing itemswithout asking, or hangingaround when the othersibling’s friends are over) isassociated with anxietysymptoms and lower self-esteem one year later. Thefindings are published thisweek in the journal Child De-velopment.
Campione-Barr saysthe results are somewhatsurprising since in previousresearch, experts had lookedat sibling trust and commu-nication, but only found anassociation between the
personal domain conflicts and reducedtrust; there was no relationship with be-tween trust and the fairness and equalityconflicts. It’s not surprising that conflictsover personal space may be particularlyimpactful for adolescents becausethey’re “going through the process ofestablishing an individual identity, andestablishing autonomy,” Campione-Barrsays. She believes that arguments andfighting over fairness, in contrast, mayoften hit one child in the sibling pairharder than the other, and that may bewhat is bridging a link to depressivesymptoms.
Published by: Zahid Malik from 33-Queens Road, Lahore and printed by Gauhar Zahid Malik at Barex Printers.
LAHORE: Federal Minister Samina Khalid Gurki being seen off by party workersheading towards Ghari Khuda Bakhsh to attend the death anniversary of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
LAHORE: People laying flowers in connection with 5th death anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in front of herportrait at Hockey Stadium.
LAHORE: Commuters ride during a foggy day in a street. The ongoing spell of densefog and freezing weather conditions continue on Wednesday.
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Provincial Minis-ter for Law, Rana Sanaullahhas said that during PervaizElahi era, instead of budget,Punjab was surplus in cor-ruption and misappropriationof funds at every level. Hesaid that the tails of corrup-tion and malpractices ofChaurdary Brothers andSons are written on the high-ways and buildings of theprovince which they left inthe form of ruins after receiv-ing their commission.
Commenting on the state-ment, of Pervaiz Elahi, Rana
Coming polls unnerveCh brothers: Sanaullah
Sanaullah said thatChaurdary Brothers’ ner-vousness is increasing as theelections are drawing closerand in this state of bewilder-ment, they are leveling base-less allegations againstPunjab government.
He said that that the alle-gations against Punjab gov-ernment for making the prov-ince bankrupt reflect PervaizElahi’s own moral bank-ruptcy. He said that PervaizElahi set records of corrup-tion under the umbrella ofdictatorship and in order toprotect his looted wealth, hejoined hands with the master
of corruption Zardari.He said that people still
remember the dacoity atPunjab Bank, NICL and theillegal occupation of lands.He said that the victory ofPML-N in bye-elections hasmade Chaurdary Brotherssleepless and after their de-feat in general elections theywill be hiding their face.
Rana Sanaullah furthersaid that opportunism, cor-ruption, loot and nepotismare the essential elements ofChaurdary Brothers politicsand that is why they are work-ing as B-Team of Zardari andbetraying their well-wishers.
MUZAFFAR ALI
LAHORE—“Quaid-i-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah’s Paki-stan was neither secular notMullah based, as the founderof Pakistan always emphasizedthe need of social equality, jus-tice and fair play,” the speak-ers were unanimous in opin-ion regarding the nature ofPakistan’s state in the mind ofQuaid-i-Azam at the time of itscreation.
These thoughts wereshared by Justice (retd) SharifHussain Bokhari, Prof. Dr.Khwaja Amjad Saeed, SajjadMir, Engr. Abdul MajeedKhan, Zubair Sheikh, Dr.Muhammad Sadiq and JameelGishkori in their speeches in aseminar at TECH Society Clubin regard of Quaid-i-Azam Day
here on the other day.They said Quaid-i-Azam
wanted Pakistan as an Islamicdemocratic welfare state inwhich rule of law is observed.Another Pakistan will emergefrom within India for which In-dian Muslims are eagerly look-ing towards the successes ofPakistan.
They said Pakistan is indire need of a leadership whoconceive as achieved likeJinnah to cope with the ob-stacles in the path of their des-tiny. “Unfortunately, presentleadership of Pakistan pro-ceeds to USA or England evenif a minor stomach ache is feltand that too on official expensewhile downtrodden people arenot able to get basic needs oflife like food and shelter,” add-ing they said focus of Quaid’s
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Punjab ChiefMinister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif has said thatholding of immediate generalelections is the need of thehour. He said that his partywants stability of democraticsystem and postponement ofgeneral elections is not ac-ceptable at all. He said thatthe change should bethrough ballot and not bulletand the need for fresh man-date is more than ever nowto steer the country out ofcrises.
He was talking to theleader of Markazi Jamiat AhleHadees Pakistan, SenatorProf. Sajid Mir at ModelTown, Wednesday. Mattersof mutual interest and over-all political situation of thecountry was discussed onthe occasion. There was aconsensus of opinion be-tween both the leaders thatgeneral elections should beheld on time and in a trans-parent manner.
Secretary GeneralMarkazi Jamiat Ahle HadeesPakistan, Hafiz Abdul Karimwas also present on the oc-casion.
The Chief Minister saidthat the inefficient rulers havenot taken any practical stepfor elimination of terrorism,corruption, loadshedding,unemployment and poverty.He said that Pakistan is pass-ing through the most criticalphase of its history andPeoples Party governmenthas badly failed on everyfront.
He said that the politicalleadership will have to adopta national policy for steeringthe country out of crisis. Hesaid that incompetent rulershave defamed democracy inthe name of conciliation andthe whole nation is anx-iously waiting for new elec-tions.
He said that it is hopedthat through the power ofvote, the masses will bringforward an honest, commit-ted and public-spirited lead-
ership which would solve theproblems of the country.
He said that if the griev-ances of the people are notredressed the country willplunge into anarchy andchaos. He said that the dayof accountability of such el-ements which use power tosafeguard their personal in-terests is very near.
He said that Punjab gov-ernment of Pakistan MuslimLeague-N has taken revolu-tionary measures during thelast four and a half years forthe uplift and betterment ofthe masses.
He said that metro busproject is in the final stagesof completion and will resultin availability of modern,speedy, comfortable andeconomical transport facili-ties to the people.
He said the fare rate ofmetro bus will be kept withinthe reach of the commonman and this state-of-the-artproject will bring about revo-lutionary changes in thetransport sector.
Quaid wants Pakistan as anIslamic democratic state
ideology of Pakistan was thewelfare of common people forwhich they stressed on theeconomic development andeducation as the basis of pub-lic policies.
Speakers also expressedthat Patel the Hindu politicianwho claimed that Pakistancould not survive for morethan 6 months, but it sus-tained due to migration of bestbrain from India to Pakistanand then Pakistan wouldstand forever.
“They said Quaid also toldthat no country could developwithout satisfying the needsof public at large. Pakistan isrich in natural resources butspeed of development in thissector is very slow as com-pared to other countries of theworld,” they pointed out.
Fog continuesto blanket
parts of PunjabLAHORE—Dense fog inparts of Punjab for the thirdconsecutive day promptedthe Motorway police to sus-pend traffic from Lahore toPindi Bhatian Interchange tillnoon Wednesday.
National and interna-tional flights remained af-fected at Lahore’s AllamaIqbal International Airport.Two flights for Karachi andIslamabad were cancelledwhile the Pakistan Interna-tional Airline asked people toconfirm their flights beforeleaving their homes for theairport.
The Lahore-FaisalabadMotorway was closed for alltraffic as whole plane area ofPunjab was engulfed by thickfog.
According to MotorwayPolice Spokesman,Motorway-II was closed fortraffic from Lahore to PindiBhatian while Motorway-IIIwas closed from PindiBhatian to Faisalabad.—INP
48 roads to getcommercial
statusLAHORE—Lahore Develop-ment Authority (LDA) willstop annual/temporarycommercialisation on 48 roadsand grant only permanentcommercial activity on theseroads after December 31.
Owners and occupants ofproperties already workingon annual basis can, how-ever, get their properties per-manently commercialised af-ter payment of requisite feefor this purpose. Notices inthis regard have been servedto the owners/ occupants ofthese properties for gettingtheir properties permanentlycommercialised.
It is to be mentioned thatcommercial activity had beenallowed on 48 roads, situatedin LDA schemes, under LandUse Rules 2009. LDA has alsodecided not to extend permis-sion for annual/temporarycommercialisation on roadsother than the 48 declaredroads after December 2013. Allsorts of commercial activitywill be banned on such roadsafter this date.—APP
‘Awam DostPolice’ awardto encourage
cops: MinisterSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Provincial LawMinister Rana Sanaullah onWednesday said “AwamDost Police” award would en-courage and motivate police-men.
Addressing the award dis-tribution ceremony “AwamDost Police” at Alhamrah Hallhere, he said it was greathonour for us to give awardsto the martyred and injuredpolicemen, adding that thenation could not makeprogress without law and or-der.
“I always support the opin-ion of the inspector general ofpolice because policemen sac-rifice their lives to ensure peaceand provide safety to peoplebut people should not criticisethe department due to anindividual’s actions”, headded.
He said peace was a prior-ity of the Punjab governmentand Punjab police had beenworking effectively and effi-ciently with available re-sources.
Inspector General PoliceHaji Habeeb ur Rehman said“We have adopted an aggres-sive approach and smashed somany gangs which has de-creased a crime rate.
“Only brave persons cansurvive in the police depart-ment and I have posted andtransferred officers withoutany political pressure”, headded.
SSP operations Ray Tahir,Lahore Press Club presidentArshad Ansari and others alsospoke.
Later, cheques of Rs 50,000and Rs 20,000 each were dis-tributed among families of themartyred and the injured po-licemen, respectively.
3rd Convocationof Virtual
University heldSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—The third Convo-cation of Virtual University ofPakistan was held for thegraduating students ofSouthern Punjab at VirtualUniversity Multan campus.
Degrees were conferredupon 610 graduates who suc-cessfully completed theirBachelors and Masters pro-grams from the University.Gold medal and merit certifi-cates were also awarded tooutstanding graduates.
In his welcome address,the Rector of the University,Tajdar Alam, highlighted theachievements of the VirtualUniversity, its leading role indelivering technology basededucation and contributionin the provision of qualityeducation even to the remot-est areas of the country.
Tyno Syrup case
Akram also spoke on the oc-casion.
The Secretary Health as-sured the participants thatneither any Pharma manufac-turer would be harassed norany action would be taken inviolation of Drug Act. Hemade it clear that Punjab gov-ernment believes in businesspromotion and all future in-spections of the Pharmaceu-tical units would be con-ducted as per Drug Regula-tory Authority rules and regu-lations.
Speaking on the occa-sion, the LCCI PresidentFarooq Iftikhar demanded of
the government to immedi-ately stop harassment of thepharmaceutical manufactur-ers as it always sends awrong signal to the outerworld while affects badly theworking of local business-men.
He said that certain pow-ers and scope of drug in-spectors representing federaland provincial governmentsoverlap and confuse thebusiness community.
He said that health de-partment has recently optedto purchase medical equip-ment by stapling packagesentailing different products.
LAHORE—While the inci-dence of cancer and thedeaths due to this complexdisease still remain high, novelcancer molecular diagnosticsare allowing physicians tomore accurately diagnosecancers, identify predisposi-tion, and select targeted treat-ments and personalized medi-cine for their patients.
This was said by Dr. AsimAmjad, radiation oncologistfrom Alan Blair Cancer Cen-tre, University ofSaskatchewan, Canada, dur-ing a seminar on “Genetics ofCancers”, here at the Univer-sity of Health Sciences (UHS)on Wednesday.
Dr. Asim further said thatat the molecular level, theproblem of how to reduce can-cer mortality is approachedprincipally by identification ofpatients who have a geneticpredisposition to develop can-cer and detection of geneticchanges in body cells thatfavour degeneration to formcancer cells.
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Provincial Secre-tary Health Arif Nadeem hassaid that Laboratory reportsinto Shahdra incident wouldbe made public soon whilethe cases registered in con-nection with syrup would bereviewed anew.
The Provincial Secretarywas speaking at the LahoreChamber of Commerce andIndustry on Wednesday.LCCI President FarooqIftikhar, Senior Vice Presi-dent Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Con-vener LCCI Standing Com-mittee Khawaja Shahzeb
