KARACHI: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and Pir Sahib Pagaro talking to media after a meeting at Kingri House on Monday. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Mumtaz Bhutto, Murtaza Jatoi and Ghous Ali Shah are also present on Tuesday. PML-N, PML-F, NPP agree on polls alliance No question of elections deferment: Nawaz IRFAN ALIGI KARACHI—Pakistan Muslim League-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that the party had made the Pakistan Muslim League-F and National People’s Party (NPP) as the allies to the PML-N and the alliance was both for the electoral politics and ev- erlasting brotherhood. The alli- ance had been formed after long and detailed discussions with Pir Sahab Pagara and NPP leaders. The alliance would fight away the corrupt alliance in the government and tactful maneuvours of the Pakistan People’s Party and its allies es- pecially the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for rigging the elec- tions before the elections would never be allowed to be success- ful, he said. Sharif warned that there is no power in the country that could delay the coming gen- eral elections. The decision by the MQM to sit on the opposition benches was part of tactful political maneuvours of the PPP and the MQM so that they both could dupe the people of the province and gain sympathy from their voters but the trick would not work.He said that the PML-N had a couple of days prior to death of Pir Pagara held talks with him and it was agreed that both the parties would work to- gether for the betterment of the country. The relations between the two parties were 20-year old and would never fade in future. “We had decided that the PML-N, PML-F and NPP would contest coming elections together against the PPP and its partners”, said Nawaz. “The making of the opposition in the province and in the center was nothing but a plan to conduct the pre-poll rigging.” The PML-N chief said that the rulers had, in four years and 11 months, ruined the country and having realized that they would fall head down in the coming elec- tions had created a friendly oppo- sition by placing the MQM in op- position but the people of the prov- ince would never trust them fur- Cops killed in attack on polio team CJ: Balochistan situation can spread nationwide ISLAMABAD—The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday heard the suo moto notice regard- ing Quetta carnage and termed government’s report on the inci- dent dissatisfactory. The Supreme Court has di- rected the concerned authorities to apprehend elements involved in sabotage activities in Balochistan. A three-member of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry observed that none of the court orders on Balochistan situation were implemented by the provin- cial government. MQM protests in NA I SLAMABAD —Muttahida Qaumi Movement protested in National Assembly on Tuesday against the statement of Pir Mazharul Haq. According to details, MQM leader Sajid Ahmed said that Sindh Education Minister, Pir Mazhar went against Hyderabad University and his party con- demns his statement. Bill of con- struction of this varsity had been pending in the provincial assem- bly over the past one year, he New US energy aid package on the cards PM: Govt wants to see Balochistan prosper STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—The present gov- ernment has an intense desire to see Baluchistan prosper which is only possible if the children of province especially girls are motivated and educated. This was stated by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf while addressing the third ses- sion of Prime Minister’s Schol- arship programme for talented students of Baluchistan here on Tuesday. Dilating on the importance of education the prime minister said that not only Islam lays great stress on education but it is essential for leading a success- ful life. Praising the confidence of the students, the prime min- ister said that he was pleased with the performance of girls Kashmir solution will make Pak normal: US expert NEW DELHI—A resolution of the outstanding Kashmir issue would make Pakistan a “more normal state” and reduce its preoccupation with India, according to a former CIA officer who was one of the architects of President Barack Obama’s Af-Pak policy in his first term. In his latest book Avoiding Armageddon: America, India, and Pakistan to the Brink and Back, Bruce Riedel said that by eliminating Pakistan’s desire to wage asymmetric warfare against India, it would also discourage Pakistan from making alliances with the Taliban [, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Al Qaeda. Riedel and late Richard Holbrooke were the Mandviwalla: Budget preparations started SHARAFAT KAZMI ISLAMABAD—Finance Minister Saleem Mandviwalla has said that a medium target of five percent GDP growth rate and 20 billion dollar remit- tances has been fixed. Addressing a news conference here Tuesday‚ he said current year’s target for remittances was proposed at 14.5 billion dollar but he thinks it is on the lower side and a revised target would be submitted next week. The AFZAL BAJWA ISLAMABAD—With Pakistan fast heading to sign transnational pipeline project with Iran, US is most likely to offer a comprehen- sive but conditional energy assis- tance package as alternate to the Iranian gas. According to diplomatic sources, the Obama Administra- tion was contemplating to use a luring carrot this time to make Pakistan deliver in the so-called endgame in Afghanistan, besides refraining from translational gas pipeline from Iran. Since the American strate- gists were working on a long- term plan to keep an influence centre in Afghanistan even after announced withdrawal of US/ Nato troops from the war-torn country, they need Pakistan as a strategic partner even beyond war on terror. “That is why you hear a lot of talk back in Wash- ington about focussing on Paki- stan as a long-term partner rather than just a war ally or a facilita- tor of the endgame,” the sources pointed out. The sources were of the view juxtaposition of anti-Iran and anti-drones sentiments in the American society may benefit this time in terms of a compre- hensive American energy assis- tance package. “But this time the governments in Pakistan would have to deliver, if they really need their energy woes to be done away with,” the sources added. Consistent voices against the drones from within and outside Pakistan have perhaps made US Administration to understand that drones were practically ap- pearing to be counter produc- tive to the war on terror enter- ing the decisive phase now, they underlined. Other than strategic and po- litical conditionality attached to prospective energy assistance package, the government in Pa- kistan would have to expand tax net, end blindfold government borrowing, and culture of vague PESHAWAR—A policeman was shot dead Tuesday while protect- ing a polio vaccination team, po- lice said, bringing the death toll in such attacks to 20 since De- cember. No one has claimed respon- sibility for the killings. Tuesday’s killing happened at Ghalla Dher on the outskirts of the northwestern town of Mardan, on the second day of a three-day local anti-polio cam- paign. “The female vaccinators went inside a house to adminis- ter the polio drops. A police guard accompanying the team was waiting outside,” Mardan district police chief Danishwar Khan told media. “Two people came on a mo- torbike. They opened fire and shot the policeman dead,” he added. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries where polio is endemic. Polio cases in Pakistan hit 198 in 2011, the highest figure for more than a decade and the most of any country in the world, according to the UN. In January two polio vacci- nation workers, a policeman and seven members of a charity in- volved in polio vaccinations were shot dead in three separate inci- dents across the northwest. In December gunmen killed nine health workers carrying out polio vaccinations in Karachi and the northwest. Continued on Page 7 who had come from far flung and remote areas of Baluchistan and were being educated in the finest schools in Islamabad. The prime minister urged the girls to seek more education so that they could move forward in life. Acknowledging the efforts of Special Assistant to Prime Minister Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali, he said that he wanted to Continued on Page 7 ISLAMABAD—President Asif Ali Zardari, Tuesday, signed the Instrument of Ratification for Pakistan to become a member of the International Renewable En- ergy Agency (IRENA). Spokesperson to the Presi- dent Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the International Renew- able Energy Agency that was founded on 26th Jan 2009 in Bonn, Germany, aims to promote widespread and increased adop- tion and the sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy. To-date 149 countries have signed the statute of IRENA while 76 have ratified it. The Spokesperson said that recogniz- ing the advantages of this inter- national forum, Pakistan took active part in the formative phase of IRENA and participated ac- tively in the preparatory meetings that were held before this forum was formally established. He said that Pakistan signed the Statute of IRENA in June 2009 and became the 87th coun- try to sign the statute. The IRENA facilitates its member’s access to all relevant renewable energy information, including technical data, eco- nomic data and resource poten- tial data. It shares lessons learnt on international best practices, policy frameworks, capacity building, financial mechanism, technology transfer and related energy efficiency measures. In view of the current energy shortage, the growing demands of an increasing population, the financial constraints and envi- ronmental concerns, the Presi- dent has continuously been urg- ing for adoption of alternative means of energy generation at the earliest possible, the Spokes- person said. By becoming a member of IRENA, Pakistan stands to gain significantly, he said. —Online President signs IRENA membership for Pakistan Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7
Transcript
KARACHI: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and Pir Sahib Pagaro talking to media after a meeting at Kingri House onMonday. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Mumtaz Bhutto, Murtaza Jatoi and Ghous Ali Shah are also presenton Tuesday.
PML-N, PML-F, NPPagree on polls allianceNo question of elections deferment: Nawaz
IRFAN ALIGI
KARACHI—Pakistan MuslimLeague-N President MianMuhammad Nawaz Sharif saidon Tuesday that the party hadmade the Pakistan MuslimLeague-F and National People’sParty (NPP) as the allies to thePML-N and the alliance was bothfor the electoral politics and ev-erlasting brotherhood. The alli-ance had been formed after longand detailed discussions with PirSahab Pagara and NPP leaders.
The alliance would fightaway the corrupt alliance in thegovernment and tactfulmaneuvours of the PakistanPeople’s Party and its allies es-pecially the Muttahida Qaumi
Movement for rigging the elec-tions before the elections wouldnever be allowed to be success-ful, he said. Sharif warned thatthere is no power in the countrythat could delay the coming gen-eral elections.
The decision by the MQM tosit on the opposition benches waspart of tactful politicalmaneuvours of the PPP and theMQM so that they both coulddupe the people of the provinceand gain sympathy from theirvoters but the trick would notwork.He said that the PML-Nhad a couple of days prior todeath of Pir Pagara held talkswith him and it was agreed thatboth the parties would work to-gether for the betterment of the
country. The relations betweenthe two parties were 20-year oldand would never fade in future.
“We had decided that thePML-N, PML-F and NPP wouldcontest coming elections togetheragainst the PPP and its partners”,said Nawaz. “The making of theopposition in the province and inthe center was nothing but a planto conduct the pre-poll rigging.”
The PML-N chief said thatthe rulers had, in four years and11 months, ruined the country andhaving realized that they wouldfall head down in the coming elec-tions had created a friendly oppo-sition by placing the MQM in op-position but the people of the prov-ince would never trust them fur-
Cops killed in attack on polio team
CJ: Balochistansituation can
spread nationwideISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt of Pakistan on Tuesdayheard the suo moto notice regard-ing Quetta carnage and termedgovernment’s report on the inci-dent dissatisfactory.
The Supreme Court has di-rected the concerned authoritiesto apprehend elements involvedin sabotage activities inBalochistan.
A three-member of the apexcourt headed by Chief JusticeIftikhar Mohammad Chaudhryobserved that none of the courtorders on Balochistan situationwere implemented by the provin-cial government.
MQM protestsin NA
I S L A M A B A D —Muttah idaQaumi Movement protested inNational Assembly on Tuesdayagainst the statement of PirMazharul Haq.
According to details, MQMleader Sajid Ahmed said thatSindh Education Minister, PirMazhar went against HyderabadUniversity and his party con-demns his statement. Bill of con-struction of this varsity had beenpending in the provincial assem-bly over the past one year, he
New US energy aidpackage on the cards
PM: Govt wants to seeBalochistan prosper
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—The present gov-ernment has an intense desire tosee Baluchistan prosper whichis only possible if the childrenof province especially girls aremotivated and educated. This was stated by PrimeMinister Raja Pervez Ashrafwhile addressing the third ses-sion of Prime Minister’s Schol-
arship programme for talentedstudents of Baluchistan here onTuesday. Dilating on the importance ofeducation the prime ministersaid that not only Islam laysgreat stress on education but itis essential for leading a success-ful life. Praising the confidenceof the students, the prime min-ister said that he was pleasedwith the performance of girls
Kashmir solutionwill make Paknormal: US expertNEW DELHI—A resolution ofthe outstanding Kashmir issuewould make Pakistan a “morenormal state” and reduce itspreoccupation with India,according to a former CIAofficer who was one of thearchitects of President BarackObama’s Af-Pak policy in hisfirst term.
In his latest book AvoidingArmageddon: America, India,and Pakistan to the Brink andBack, Bruce Riedel said that byeliminating Pakistan’s desire towage asymmetric warfareagainst India, it would alsodiscourage Pakistan frommaking alliances with theTaliban [, Lashkar-e-Tayibaand Al Qaeda. Riedel and lateRichard Holbrooke were the
ISLAMABAD—FinanceMinister Saleem Mandviwallahas said that a medium target offive percent GDP growth rateand 20 billion dollar remit-tances has been fixed.
Addressing a newsconference here Tuesday‚ hesaid current year’s target forremittances was proposed at14.5 billion dollar but he thinksit is on the lower side and arevised target would besubmitted next week. The
AFZAL BAJWA
ISLAMABAD—With Pakistanfast heading to sign transnationalpipeline project with Iran, US ismost likely to offer a comprehen-sive but conditional energy assis-tance package as alternate to theIranian gas.
According to diplomaticsources, the Obama Administra-tion was contemplating to use aluring carrot this time to makePakistan deliver in the so-calledendgame in Afghanistan, besidesrefraining from translational gaspipeline from Iran.
Since the American strate-gists were working on a long-term plan to keep an influence
centre in Afghanistan even afterannounced withdrawal of US/Nato troops from the war-torncountry, they need Pakistan as astrategic partner even beyondwar on terror. “That is why youhear a lot of talk back in Wash-ington about focussing on Paki-stan as a long-term partner ratherthan just a war ally or a facilita-tor of the endgame,” the sourcespointed out.
The sources were of the viewjuxtaposition of anti-Iran andanti-drones sentiments in theAmerican society may benefitthis time in terms of a compre-hensive American energy assis-tance package. “But this time thegovernments in Pakistan would
have to deliver, if they really needtheir energy woes to be doneaway with,” the sources added.Consistent voices against thedrones from within and outsidePakistan have perhaps made USAdministration to understandthat drones were practically ap-pearing to be counter produc-tive to the war on terror enter-ing the decisive phase now, theyunderlined.
Other than strategic and po-litical conditionality attached toprospective energy assistancepackage, the government in Pa-kistan would have to expand taxnet, end blindfold governmentborrowing, and culture of vague
PESHAWAR—A policeman wasshot dead Tuesday while protect-ing a polio vaccination team, po-lice said, bringing the death tollin such attacks to 20 since De-cember.
No one has claimed respon-sibility for the killings.
Tuesday’s killing happenedat Ghalla Dher on the outskirtsof the northwestern town ofMardan, on the second day of athree-day local anti-polio cam-paign. “The female vaccinators
went inside a house to adminis-ter the polio drops. A police guardaccompanying the team waswaiting outside,” Mardan districtpolice chief Danishwar Khan toldmedia.
“Two people came on a mo-torbike. They opened fire andshot the policeman dead,” headded.
Pakistan, Afghanistan andNigeria are the only countrieswhere polio is endemic. Poliocases in Pakistan hit 198 in 2011,
the highest figure for more thana decade and the most of anycountry in the world, accordingto the UN.
In January two polio vacci-nation workers, a policeman andseven members of a charity in-volved in polio vaccinations wereshot dead in three separate inci-dents across the northwest.
In December gunmen killednine health workers carrying outpolio vaccinations in Karachi andthe northwest.
Continued on Page 7
who had come from far flungand remote areas of Baluchistanand were being educated in thefinest schools in Islamabad. Theprime minister urged the girls toseek more education so that theycould move forward in life. Acknowledging the effortsof Special Assistant to PrimeMinister Begum Shahnaz WazirAli, he said that he wanted to
Continued on Page 7
ISLAMABAD—President AsifAli Zardari, Tuesday, signed theInstrument of Ratification forPakistan to become a member ofthe International Renewable En-ergy Agency (IRENA).
Spokesperson to the Presi-dent Senator Farhatullah Babarsaid that the International Renew-able Energy Agency that wasfounded on 26th Jan 2009 inBonn, Germany, aims to promotewidespread and increased adop-tion and the sustainable use of allforms of renewable energy.
To-date 149 countries havesigned the statute of IRENAwhile 76 have ratified it. The
Spokesperson said that recogniz-ing the advantages of this inter-national forum, Pakistan tookactive part in the formative phaseof IRENA and participated ac-tively in the preparatory meetingsthat were held before this forumwas formally established.
He said that Pakistan signedthe Statute of IRENA in June2009 and became the 87th coun-try to sign the statute.
The IRENA facilitates itsmember’s access to all relevantrenewable energy information,including technical data, eco-nomic data and resource poten-tial data. It shares lessons learnt
on international best practices,policy frameworks, capacitybuilding, financial mechanism,technology transfer and relatedenergy efficiency measures.
In view of the current energyshortage, the growing demandsof an increasing population, thefinancial constraints and envi-ronmental concerns, the Presi-dent has continuously been urg-ing for adoption of alternativemeans of energy generation atthe earliest possible, the Spokes-person said.
By becoming a member ofIRENA, Pakistan stands to gainsignificantly, he said. —Online
President signs IRENAmembership for Pakistan
Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
FAISALABAD: BISP beneficiaries sit outside a local bank to en-cash their cheques.
ATTOCK: DPO Attock Ali Nasir Rizvi carrying a 4-year old boy after his recovery fromthe kidnappers during a Press Conference.
ISLAMABAD: Chairman DTCE, BOD Danyal Aziz addressing a seminar at a localhotel.
Govt to resolveproblems of
masses: ShaziaISLAMABAD—Member Na-tional Assembly of Pakistan
Peoples Party, Shazia Mari saidthat the present governmentis making efforts to resolve theproblems of the masses. Shesaid that democratically electedgovernment after coming intopower initiated severalprojects of public interest. Shesaid that Pakistan PeoplesParty government had facedthe challenges like terrorismand other similar issues.
She said that the govern-ment is completing its consti-tutional tenure with the sup-port of coalition partners. ShaziMari said “Taking forward rec-onciliation policy was not aneasy task.” She said that thegovernment is taking mea-sures to provide health andwater facilities to the peopleliving in remote and far flungareas. She said that federalgovernment had given pow-ers to the provinces through18th Amendment, adding thatthey the governments shouldtake the responsibilities to re-solve the problems of their re-spective areas. Replying to aquestion, she said that due tothe efforts of the present gov-ernment.—APP
Protest againstmurder of six
labourersRAFIULLAH MANDOKHAIL
ZH O B—A complete shut-ter-down strike was ob-served against the brutalmurder of six labourers inPasni, here in Zhob. Thestrike was called by JUIBashardost Caravan whichwas supported by Tradeunion.
The protesters alsoblocked Zhob-Quetta-D.IKhan highways, connectingBalochistan to the KhyberPashtoonkhwa by burningtyres and putting hurdlesfor several hours.
During the strike all busi-ness centers and markets onMasjid road, Kandahari ba-zaar, Sharbat Khan roadand Market road remainedcompletely closed.
Meanwhile, PashtoonkhwaMAP activists also took out aprotest rally from party officeand culminated at the Shams-ud-Din Shaheed chowk aftermarching through differentroads of the city.
They were carrying blackflags and placards, chantingslogans against the killing oflabourers and the govern-ment.
Addressing on the oc-casion Pk-MAP leaders HajiNaseeb Khan, UbaidullahKhan, Mirwais Khan, JumaSarai, Amanullah, BasardostCaravan leaders MaulaviNek Muhammad MaulaviAbdul Manan, NawazKhan, Haji Juma Rahim andHafiz Hazrat Gul con-demned the killing of inno-cent labourers and termedit an act of cowardice andterrorism.
They said that the gov-ernment has badly failed inprotecting life of people, add-ing that despite thegovernor’s rule in the prov-ince innocent people werebeing killed by terrorists inbroad day light.
ISLAMABAD—Minister forStates and Frontier and Fron-tier Regions Abbas KhanAfridi on Monday informedthe National Assembly thatcurrently sophisticated com-puterized system was inplaced for the registration ofAfghan refugees and periodfor voluntary repatriation ofthe refugees was extendedtill June 30. Replying to a vari-ous supplementary ques-tions during Question Hour,he said the repatriation pack-age for the refugees was alsoenhanced from $ 100 to $150per returnee in order to en-courage and motivate theAfghan refugees. Earlier, theamount was paid to them inPakistan, now it was being
Govt launches 23 new Rs 32,186m development projects in AJK
Afghans’ voluntary returnperiod enhanced to June 30
paid to them in Afghanistanto discourage their re-en-trance practice, he added.
The minister said thatover 55,000 Afghan refugeefamilies comprising 296,192individuals (registered refu-gees) were repatriated duringthe last four years, bringingthe total repatriation to over3.8 million since 2002. He saidthat presently around 1.6 mil-lion registered Afghan refu-gees were in Pakistan and thePrime Minister has recentlyconstituted a Cabinet Com-mittee under the Chairman-ship of the SAFRON minis-ter to deal with repatriationof the remaining refugees.
To another question, theminister said that seafood
worth Rs.104,753.6 million wereexported during the last fiveyears. In response to yet an-other query, he told the housethat there were 49 items of phar-maceutical sector in negativelist of Pakistan for trade withIndia. He said that India hadgiven Most Favour Nation(MFN) to Pakistan in 1996 andPak-India trade volume wasbeing gradually increased.Meanwhile, Minister for Kash-mir Affairs and Gilgit BaltistanMian Manzoor Ahmed Wattooon Monday apprised the Na-tional Assembly that the fed-eral government had initiated23 development projectsworth Rs.32,186.95 million inAzad Jammu and Kashmir(AJK) since March 2008 till
date.In response to a question
during Question Hour, he saidthat the federal governmentis committed for the welfareof people of AJK and had al-located funds for the projects.To another question, the min-ister said that by virtue of Ar-ticle 1(2) (d) of the constitu-tion of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of Pakistanwhich enjoys special statusin accordance with interna-tional commitments. He saidthat maximum internal au-tonomy including legislative,executive, judicial reforms andself governance for the peopleof Gilgit Baltistan has beenensured by promulgation ofGilgit-Baltistan.—APP
M HALEEM ASAD
TIMERGARA—The Lower Dirchapter of the Jamaat-i-Islamion Tuesday warned to sur-round offices of the officersinvolved in appointments onpolitical grounds in healthand technical education.Speaking at a news confer-ence the JI nominated candi-date for NA-34 SahibzadaYaqub Khan, for PK-94Muzafar Syed, district gen-eral secretary Syed JehanBadshah, secretary informa-tion Malik Sher Bahadar, HajiDaud Syed and Shafiullahalleged that illegal appoint-ments in health and techni-
cal education departmentshad been made while usingprevious dates without anyprior advertisements.
They said that electioncommission’s rules and codeof conduct had been violatedby sitting lawmakers of theDir Lower which had pro-voked the JI workers. The JIleaders said that present law-makers were busy in pre-pollrigging but no one was tak-ing notice of it. They said thelaw and order situation couldbe worsened if grievances ofthe JI workers were not re-solved.
“We are not against em-ployment but we will strictly
resist the process at this time,”Sahibzada Yaqub Khan said,adding the voters were beinginfluenced by it.
The JI leaders demandedof the government and con-cerned authorities to immedi-ately withdraw the appoint-ment orders and fill the vacantposts on merit. They warnedto surround offices of theconcerned authorities in thedistrict if their demand wasnot met before the election.
****Also in the day several
workers of the PPP an-nounced to quit the PPP andjoined the JI at Mera Khall inDir Lower. They included
Bazir Khan, Ghulam Syed,Hamidullah, Habibullah,Asghar Khan, Samiullah,Jafar Hussain, Sher Bachaand Yasir Khan.
They made the an-nouncement during a func-tion which was addressed bythe JI nominated candidatefor NA-33 and former districtnazim Sahibzada Tariqullah,for PK 93 Malik BehramKhan, Khall amir HafizNoorul Haq and others. Theysaid that people were fed upwith present rulers due totheir corruption and badrecord. The JI, they saidwould solve problems of thepeople if came in powers.
Illegal appointments: JI cautionsagainst violation of ECP Code ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Me-
teorological Department(PMD) has predicted wide-spread rain/thunderstormwith snowfall over the hills inthe upper and central parts ofthe country on Wednesday.Spokesman of PMD informedthat another westerly wavehas entered in Balochistanthat would grip upper andcentral parts of the countryfrom Tuesday. Under the in-fluence of this weather sys-tem widespread rain/thunder-storm with snowfall over thehills is expected in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa with scatteredheavy falls in Peshawar,Kohat and Bannu divisionson Wednesday.
Scattered rain/thunder-storm is expected in Punjabwith isolated heavy falls inRawalpindi and Gujranwaladivisions, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the period.Scattered rain/thunderstormis also expected in NortheastBalochistan includingQuetta, Zhob, Kalat andSibbi divisions. The possibil-ity of hailstorm at isolatedplaces in the plains of Punjaband Khyber-Pakhtunkhawacannot be ruled out duringthe period. The barani areasof KP and Punjab are ex-pected to receive good rainsduring the period.
The lowest minimum tem-peratures recorded duringthe last 24 hours wereParachinar and Astore -06C,Kalam -04 C,Hunza andMalamjabba -03 C,Gupis andKalat -02C. Lahore, Feb 26(APP): Scattered rain andthunderstorm are expected inPunjab with isolated heavyfalls in Rawalpindi andGujranwala divisions, Kash-
Rain, snowfalllikely in up-country
mir and Gilgit-Baltistan dur-ing the next 24 hours. Ac-cording to a report issued bythe Pakistan MeteorologicalDepartment (PMD), a freshwesterly wave is affectingupper and central parts of thecountry and likely to persistduring next 36 to 48 hours.
Weather remained coldand dry in most parts of thecountry, however, isolatedrain occurred in Malakand,Quetta and Khuzdar divi-sions in the last 24 hours.QUETTA, Feb 26 (APP): Themountains surroundingQuetta valley received moresnowfall on Monday night.The snowfall started lashingon mountains including Koh
Chiltan, Koh Takatao, KohMurdar and Koh Zarghoon.Reports reaching here sug-gested that the areas ofnorthern Balochistan includ-ing Ziarat, Khanozai, RoodMullazai, Toba Kakarzai,Toba Achakzai and othershave also received snowfallon Monday night.
The Met Office sourcessaid on Tuesday that due towesterly rain system, thecloudy and rainy weatherwould continue in the provin-cial capital and the city mightreceive rain for next one day.They said that about 9mmrain was recorded in Quettaon Tuesday. On Tuesday,the maximum temperature of10 Celsius.—APP
ISLAMABAD—The MuttahidaQaumji Movement on Tues-day demanded of the Sindh
MQM wants legislation on Hyderabad VarsityAssembly to immediately ap-prove the bill for establish-ment of Jinnah University in
Hyderabad. Speaking on apoint of university inHyderabad in a meeting tookplace in February 2012; how-ever the provincial educationministry kept on delaying theexecution of the bill.
He said during course ofthe time, the provincial as-sembly had passed six privatemembers bill for establish-ment of universities includ-ing Liyari University andSindh Madrassah Universitybut the MQM never opposedthe legislation. However, hesaid the government opinedthat Karachi Universitywould cope with the needsof Hyderabad so there wasno need to establish JinnahUniversity in the city.
He demanded that theSindh Assembly should imme-diately pass Jinnah UniversityBill or else the people of Sindhwould continue their protest.Earlier, Muttahida QaumiMovement criticized SindhProvincial Minister PirMazharul Haq’s alleged state-ment against the setting up ofa public sector university inHyderabad and sought anapology from him. MQM mem-ber National Assembly AbdulQadir Khanzada claimed inNational Assembly that PirMazharul Haq had issued astatement to oppose settingup of a university in the sec-ond biggest city of the prov-ince. A statement which theProvincial Minister had deniedin print and electronic mediaand vowed to set up morethan one university there.
But, Khanzada claimedthat Pir Mazharul Haq had hurtthe sentiments of educationlovers and people in Sindhwere protesting against thisstatement. “Such a statementis regrettable.”—APP
SALAHUDDIN HAIDER
IT was a colourful reception at theKuwaiti Consul General’s
r e s i d e n c eM o n d a ynight. Theo c c a s i o nwas the cel-ebrations forthe 52nd na-tional dayand 22nd an-niversary of
the Liberation of Kuwait fromIraqi invasion. The swimming
Kuwait’s was a colourful reception
pool area was beautifullydecorated, with Arabic andPakistani dishes served allaround for the large numberof guests, crowding the area.
Acting Governor NisarkKhuhro was chief guest, andcut the cake with consul gen-eral Naser Reden Al-Motairiin a separate room. Severlacounsel generals includingof US, Michael Dodman,Francis Campbell of Britain,of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar,Bahrein etc joining hands.National anthems of the twocountries were played.
Prominent among the per-sonalities were journalists,diplomats, including of SriLanka Jindasa, the Turkishconsul general Mural MOnart, the Malaysianconsiul general Abu BakarMamat, the Russian consulgeneral Andrey Demidovand many others.Leadingbusinessmen includingthose from the Federation ofPakistan Chambers of Com-merce and Industry, and theKarachi Chamber of Com-merce and Industry alsowere present.
Killing ofHazaras
condemnedOUR CORRESPONDENT
TIMERGARA—A local NGO,the Deehi Ijtemai TaraqiatiSocial Workers’ Council or-ganized a rally to show sym-pathy with victim families ofHazaras in Quetta. Peoplefrom all walks of life includ-ing youth and sportsmentook part in the rally. Theywere carrying banners andplacards and chanted slo-gans against the killers andterrorists. Later addressingthe rally Akbar Khan, chiefof the NGO said that peopleof a particular community hadbeen targeted in parts of thecountry. He said the statehad lost its moral groundsand the rulers had no moreright to rule this country.
“It is the state responsi-bility to provide adequatesecurity to all citizens andtheir properties,” Akbar Khansaid, adding there had beenno one to stop killings of in-nocent people in Pakistan.The NGO had also organizeda hockey match during whichplayers and spectators wereasked to observe one minutesilence to remember martyrsof Quetta. The organizersasked youth to come forwardand play active role for peaceand tolerance.
Phalia lawyersdemand library
buildingSHER GONDL
MANDI BAHAUDDIN—Phalialawyers have demanded con-struction of library buildingat newly constructed sub-di-visional judicial complex. Se-nior advocate Ch NaveedIqbal Tarar said that in ab-sence of library, lawyers werefacing a lot of difficulties inpreparing their cases.
He further said thatproject for construction ofbar room was approved byPunjab Government on therecommendation of LahoreHigh court but the project didnot include construction oflibrary. The lawyers in a meet-ing presided by the presidentbar association Phalia haveunanimously resolved urgedconcerned authorities in-cluding Chief Justice LahoreHigh Court to consider theirproblems and take necessarymeasures for building libraryto facilitate them in perfor-mance of their duties effi-ciently.
Half of worldfood goes wasteISLAMABAD—Up to half of allthe food produced worldwideends up going to waste due topoor harvesting, storage andtransport methods as well asirresponsible retailer and con-sumer behavior, a report said.The world produces aboutfour billion metric tons of fooda year but 1.2 to 2 billion tonsis not eaten, the study by theUK-based Institution of Me-chanical Engineers said, ArabTimes Reported. In devel-oped countries, like Britain,efficient farming methods,transport and storage meanthat most of the wastage oc-curs through retail.—APP
KARACHI: Sindh Acting Governor Nisar Ahmed Khuhro with Consul General of theState of Kuwait, Naser Reden Al Motairi and other Kuwaiti diplomats at a receptionhosted by the Consul General.
Women democratic role hailedSIALKOT—Federal Minister for Na-tional Regulation and Services Dr.Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that wom-enfolk had played an instrumental rolein strengthening democracy and forpromotion of democratic norms acrossthe country. Addressing the womenconvention in Bujwat she said womenhad capability and courage to bringingrevolutionary changes in the societyand fight global challenges more effec-
tively. It was Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who struggled forwomen’s right and their respectable status in the societyand PPP led government had played a pivotal in bringingwomenfolk in mainstream, she said. Dr. Firdous furtherstated that government was making adequate efforts forresolving the problems and difficulties being confrontedby the womenfolk adding that PPP government had takenpractical steps for women empowerment whereas in thepast nothing had been done for women empowerment inthe country. The dream of national development could bematerialized without involvement of womenfolk in the de-velopment process of the country she said. Meanwhile,State Minister for Information and Broadcasting SyedSumsam Ali Bukhari brushed aside the rumours regardingdelay in the election and termed some of the statements inthis respect as baseless. Talking to a private news chan-nel, he assured that election would be held on time in atransparent manner. He urged all political parties to pro-mote democracy in the country. Replying to a question, hesaid government is ready for negotiation with those whowould surrender the weapons and obey the writ of gov-ernment according to Constitution of Pakistan.—APP
Tenure completion big successISLAMABAD—Senior Leader of PakistanPeoples Party, Robina Qaimkhani saidthat democratically elected governmentis completing its constitutional tenurewith the help of coalition partners. “It’sa big success for the present govern-ment for completing five years periodwith the support of coalition partners, “she stated this while talking to PakistanTelevision. She congratulated the gov-ernment for providing jobs to the un-
employed youth, controlling terrorism and restoring 1973Constitution in its true spirit. She said that Pakistan PeoplesParty government after coming into power initiated theAghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package, restored peacein Swat and provided basic rights to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. She said that several projects to meet the grow-ing demand of energy were also launched to bring speedyprogress and prosperity for the people of this country.Robina Qaimkhani said that provincial governments weregiven powers through NFC award for resolving the prob-lems of their areas. She said that a large number of poorand needy families were being supported through BenazirIncome Support Programme to improve their life style. Re-plying to a question, she said that democracy was strength-ened due to the full cooperation of coalition partners.Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Political Affairs MoulaBaksh Chandio said that democracy is the solution of allthe issues being faced by the country. Talking to a privatetelevision channel, he said that first democratic govern-ment was going to complete its five year term despite ofnumber of challenges. He said that only people of the coun-try has right to elect their real representatives. The gov-ernment is sincere to ensure free, fair and transparent elec-tion in the country, he added.—APP
‘Masses’ weal my mission’Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR—Deputy Speaker, KhyberPakhtunkhwa Assembly, Khushdil Khanadvocate has said that the progress andprosperity of the people is his missionadding with completion of maximum de-velopment schemes he had establisheda new tradition. He expressed theseviews while inaugurating various devel-opment schemes in his constituency onTuesday. He said the practical comple-tion of people welfare oriented develop-
ment schemes is the ample proof of the performance of thegovernment. He said that practical implementation ofschemes mitigate the problems of the people. He said thatpast rulers have done nothing except hallow slogans. TheDeputy Speaker said the inauguration of four developmentschemes on one day reflects the sincerity of the presentgovernment towards with the resolution of the problems ofpeople. He said the completion of irrigation schemes willprove milestone in the bright future of the people. AmirMuqam likely to contest from NA-30 Swat: Senior vice presi-dent, PML-N and former federal minister, Engineer AmirMuqam is likely to contest election from NA-30, Swat-II.The PML-N leader has taken decision on wishes and de-mands of the local leaders and workers of his party. Simi-larly, he will also contest election from NA-4, Peshawar anda provincial assembly constituency from Swat. However,no constituency is selected so far. Youth Wing vows toplay role in PML-N win in polls: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Youth wing, Azakhel Bala has said it wouldplay active role for the success of their party’s nominees inthe upcoming elections.
Baghbanan girls’ college opensStaff Reporter
PESHAWA R—Khyber PakhtunkhwaMinister for Sports, Syed Aqil Shah in-augurated the newly constructedBacha Khan Goverment Girls DegreeCollege, Dheri Baghbanan here. Whileaddressing, Syed Aqil Shah said Baba-e-Amn Bacha Khan considered edu-cation necessary for the developmentof Pakhtuns. Secretary Higher Educa-tion Farah Hamid, College PrincipalSafia Gul, ANP PK-4 President Zahid
Hussain, President Dheri Baghbanan Ward Aamir Sabirand Wards Presidents and Secretaries of PK-4 were alsopresent on the occasion. Syed Aqil Shah said for thepurpose, Bacha Khan had establishment 100 AzadSchools. He said the ANP led provincial government givesfull concentration to promotion of education in KhyberPakhtunkhwa. He said, 8 universities were established inour five years tenure in the province. He said Bacha KhanGovernment Girls Degree College Dheri Baghbanan wouldprove a milestone in promotion of girls education in PK-4 and the whole Peshawar. He said best female staff hasbeen selected on merit for the college and hopefully theywould contribute a lot in the best education of their stu-dents. Syed Aqil Shah went on to say that educationcould not be completed without sports; therefore, theeducation institute should give equal focus to curricularand co-curricular activities. He assured Safia Gul Princi-pal of the college that all the required sports equipmentwould be provided to the students of the college. TheMinister specially thanked Chief Minister KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Provincial Minis-ter Higher Education, Qazi Muhammad Asad and Secre-tary Higher Education for their efforts and cooperation inmaking the establishment of Bacha Khan Girls DegreeCollege materialized.
IRFAN ALIGI
KARACHI—Pervez Musharrafwould contest coming generalelections from at least oneconstituency in Karachi whilecandidates of All PakistanMuslim League would benominated for all seats on thenational and provincial assem-blies in the country. The APMLworkers and office-bearers hadbeen directed to kick off nec-essary preparations for con-testing the general elections.
APML Central Informa-tion Secretary Aasia Ishaqsaid this while talking tonewsmen on the occasion ofa high level party meetingheld to judge the criteria forthe eligibility of the contes-tants Monday evening inDHA.
The preparations for awarm welcome of the partychief Pervez Musharraf hadalready been commenced.People of the country haddeep love for the former Presi-dent and they would receivehim with warmth and wouldstand beside him so as totake the country out of thecrises, said Ishaq.
She said that the govern-ment had ruined the state in-stitutions and the longestever blackout in the countrywas a scar on the perfor-mance of the governmentthat had utterly disappointed
the masses. She disclosedthat Musharraf has finalizedthe schedule of his return toPakistan in secod week ofMarch and there was astrong likelihood that theparty chief would choseKarachi for his landing.
She said that Musharraf
was the only leader ion thecountry that had defendedthe country’s interests withcourage and helped theeconomy of the country toreach its apex. The value ofPak currency was maintainedagainst the US dollar and theGDP ranged between higherrates in the history of thecountry. She said that theparty chief had a clear visionof enlightened democracyand zero tolerance to corrup-tion and would make thecountry stronger, prosperousand self-reliant.
STAFF REPORTER
PESHAWAR—To gear thesupport for Right to Free andCompulsory Education forKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Prov-ince, United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) andPeshawar University Teach-ers Association (PUTA) or-ganized provincial forumRight to Education today inPeshawar. Education Minis-ter and key officials fromprovincial education depart-ments along with education-ists, Parliamentarians andSenators attended the meet-ing.
Dr. Kozue Kay Nagata,UNESCO Representative inher statement expressed herconfidence on Provincialgovernments to implement
Article 25-A in KhyberPakhtunkhwa province. Shesaid, “Today’s meeting willprovide us an opportunity tolearn about vision, andplans of Provinces. We willdiscuss and debate variousstrategies and approachestowards bringing everychild into school, startingfrom legislation to increas-ing education budget, ex-panding and diversifyingeducational opportunities tomeet learning needs of chil-dren belonging to differentgroups and areas”.
Minister of Educationin KP, Sardar HussainBabuk stressed to integrateskill-based training for stu-dents at school level. Hesaid that education is theneed of the time, and theeducation system should
mainstream technology-based skills, which can beonly solution to changethe fate of millions of illit-erate boys and girls in thisprovince.
Mr. Arshad Saeed Khan,Senior Education SpecialistUNESCO said, “I appreciatethe Provincial Governmentswhich have taken concretesteps like preparing draft Billsbut this is the time to legis-late the Free Education Act –this is in benefit of all, thenwhy loose more time”.UNESCO, Islamabad is facili-tating Government of KhyberPakhtunkhwa in preparationof the draft Bill on the “Rightto Free and Compulsory Edu-cation. The similar Bill hasbeen approved already forSindh and Islamabad CapitalTerritory (ICT).
LANDIKOTAL—Hundreds ofJamaat-i-Islami workers,shopkeepers and civil soci-ety members Tuesdaystaged a protest demonstra-tion against the prolongedpower outage, water short-age and observed completeshutter down strike inLandikotal bazzar. The pro-test demo organized byJamat-I-Islami Fata also tooka rally from Landikotal pressclub to Bacha Khan Chowkin Landikotal baazar.
The protestors wereholding banners inscribedwith slogans to end the un-lawful and immoral loadshedding in Landikotal.They chanted full-throatedslogans against MNA,
TESCO and political admin-istration officials for not pay-ing any attention to theirgrievances. Speaking on theoccasion, Zarnoor Afridi,Naib Fata Ameer and JI can-didate for NA-45, condemnedthe negative role played byMNA Noorul Haq Qadri dur-ing the last ten years of histenures.
He accused MNA that hewas setting in Islamabadsince he was elected twicebut never returned to hispeople suffering from loadshedding, lack of clean drink-ing water and terrorism. Hesaid that TESCO officials di-verted the tribal electricitysupply to Peshawar whileLandikotal residents have
only few minutes light in 24hours. Zarnoor Afridi saidthat dozens of tubewells havebecome useless, shops andbusiness centres wereclosed or shifted to Peshawardue to unavailability of elec-tricity in the Landikotal ba-zaar.
Zarnoor alleged that offi-cials of Landikotal adminis-tration are busy in makingblack money while residentshave started migration toPeshawar and other citiesdue to lack of life facilities inLandikotal. Urging the resi-dents, Zarnoor Afridi saidthat the game played with thelocal people would no morebe tolerated. He threatenedthat if power supply was not
restored with in 24-hoursthey will come on the roadsand would block the Pak-Af-ghan highway as protest forall kinds of traffic. JILandikotal chapter leaders,Abdur Rauf Shinwari,Muqtadar Afridi and BanarisShinwari also addressed theprotesters.—INP
Musharraf arrivingin Karachi early
next month: APML
Shutter down strike against loadshedding observed in Landikotal
LANDIKOTAL: Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami FATA Noor Afridi addressing a JI protest rally against load shedding.
UNESCO pleads free edu in KP
HYDERABAD: Activists of PPP staging a sit-in against DG HAD at Gul Centre.
QUETTA: Activists of Lawyerers Action Committee protesting in favour of their demands.
LAKKI MARWAT—ProvincialPresident of Pakistan People’sParty, Anwar Saifullah KhanTuesday said that puttingKhyber Pakhtunkhwa andtribal areas on the path ofprogress and removing senseof deprivation among peoplewas the main objective of PPP.The nation, he said must uniteand vote for PPP to achievethese objectives adding thatin coming days some of the im-portant political figures wouldannounce to join PPP fromsouthern parts of the country.
He was talking to a del-egation led by president PPPLakki Marwat, Iqbal HussainAdvocate. MNA, HumayunSaifullah Khan was alsopresent on the occasion.During the meeting AnwarSaifullah expressed satisfac-tion over the functioning ofdistrict leadership of PPP andasked the participants to fur-ther gear up campaign of in-teraction with masses andspread the party’s messagefrom door to door. He saidwe have no personal interestbut only wanted to work for
Important politicalfigures soon to join
PPP: Anwar Saifullahthe prosperity and progressof the province, especiallysouthern and tribal areas.
He said PPP would notmake promises of provisionof free of cost electricity tothe people, however wepromise that if given chancewe would strongly focus onestablishment of new damsand power houses and getthe nation rid of low voltageand power outages. Promi-nent political figure join PPP
Lower Dir: A prominentpolitical figure from Bajaurand policital figure ofAwami National Party,Malik Shah Naseem Khanalong with his relatives onTuesday announced to joinPakistan People’s Party in ameeting at his hujra inTalaash area of the district.Senator Ahmed HassanKhan, Provincial FinanceMinister, Humayun Khan,Provincial Minister for Tech-nical Education, MehmudZeb Khan, local GeneralSecretary PPP, KhadimulIsalm and large number ofPPP workers.—APP
Highways blockingaffecting economy
QUETTA—Daily about30,000 trucks loaded withgoods used to ply on high-ways linking Balochistanwith other parts of the coun-try and their frequent block-ing in the pretext of strikeshave been badly affectingthe economy. Noor KhanKakar, President ofBalochistan Goods TruckTransport Association saidTuesday about 30,000 trucksloaded with goods cross theBalochistan border on dailybasis and the blocking ofthese roads on the pretext ofstrikes badly damage theeconomy of the province, hesaid.
He said trucks carryingfruits and other goods fromIran and other neighbouringcountries also use thesehighways, but the blockingof these roads by the activ-ists of religious and politicalparties cause huge loss tothe business activities of theprovince.
He appealed the politicalparties and other groups toavoid the blocking of high-ways linking Balochistan toother parts of the country asthousands of people de-pend for their livelihood onthe goods transport busi-ness.—APP
SUKKUR—Chief MinisterSindh Syed Qaim Ali Shahhas said Hyderabad,Shikarpur blasts are not out-come of inefficiency on partof any one. “Hyderabad,Shikarpur bomb explosionshave occurred not due to in-efficiency on any one. Weare fighting war against ter-rorism. So many blasts havebeen witnessed in Peshawarbut no one has said thesehave occurred due to someone’s weakness. Explosionshave taken place inBalochistan and Punjab as
well. Some one’s hand is be-hind these blasts”, he saidthis while talking to mediamen here Tuesday after in-quiring about the health ofthose injured during bombblast at shrine of Hajin ShahMari Sharif.
He went on to say thaton one hand efforts are be-ing made to enrage peopledue to the terror related ac-tivities and on the otherhand these are sectarian kill-ings to some extent. Theshrines are being targeted.Steps are being taken to
stamp out terrorism, headded. He went on to saythat bomb is planted but wehave not as much expertiseas is needed to counter thismenace. Police cannot re-main present everywhere, hesaid adding terrorism hassurged following 9/11 epi-sode.
“We are suffering due toill conceived policies of theprevious government. Someterrorists have been nabbedin the recent time who haveconfessed their crime”, heheld.
Meanwhile several citiesof Sindh including Shikarpur,Hyderabad and Larkana aremourning the blast at a shrinein interior Sindh that resultedin four fatalities and left atleast 12 people injured. Ac-cording to Media Reports,Angry demonstrators pro-tested against the incidentand resorted to aerial firingin several areas ofHyderabad includingQasimabad andHussainabad. Situationturned tense in Larkana aswell where Rangers and po-
lice were deployed to controlthe situation. Hussaini Partyand other religious organiza-tions have also called for astrike today.
On Monday, a blast torethrough Dargah Pir HajanShah Huzoori in Marri vil-lage near Shikarpur when alarge number of devoteeswere visiting the shrine. Eye-witnesses said an unknownman was spotted shootingoff after leaving a suspi-cious looking bag at thescene, but no one could doanything as the bomb in the
bag went off the next mo-ment. “The explosion cameon the heels of his throwinga bag full of explosivesamong a throng of visitors.He was nowhere to be foundafter the blast”, said an in-jured devotee.
Sources said Syed HajanShah, the Gaddi Nasheen —a living descendant of thesaint buried as well as thecustodian of the shrine—was also among the criticallyinjured. He was shifted toLarkana for medical treat-ment.—Online
Sindh mourns Dargah Hajan Shah bombing
Blasts not outcome of inefficiency of any one: Qaim
Power generation andnot review is answer
ALMOST entire country plunged into darkness due to sudden breakdown in power supply between the night of Sunday and Mondayand it could not be restored fully till Tuesday but shamefully no
one knows for sure what actually happened and why. As usual, PrimeMinister Raja Pervez Ashraf convened a meeting of the officials con-cerned, gave directions for action against those responsible for the cha-otic situation and constituted a Committee to probe the incident.
The oft-repeated exercise of holding high level meetings, issuing in-structions for inconsequential action against negligent officials and pur-poseless probes are laughable and amount to rubbing salt to the injuriesof the masses, who have been waiting for the last long five years forimprovement in power supply situation but at the end of the day theyface more problems and agonies just because of care free attitude of theGovernment and incompetent WAPDA officials whose only business isto fleece the general public at the time of electricity connections and laterthrough inflated and bogus bills. We have been hearing about high levelmeetings at Presidency and PM House to discuss causes of energy short-ages and strategies to address the challenge but ironically the situation isdeteriorating day-by-day and now the entire system has been renderedunreliable despite tall claims that some of the major power plants anddistribution system have been upgraded and modernized courtesy Ameri-can assistance. Then what is point in convening hackneyed meetings whenthe issues are known even to the layman. Who knows better than thePrime Minister himself, who remained as Minister for Water and Power,about factors that have led to this sorry state of affairs but people saw noimprovement then and are unlikely to witness now. The real issues arepower generation, massive line losses including staggering level of theftin connivance with WAPDA and KESC officials, worn out distributionsystem and an army of incompetent officials that are mere burden on thenational exchequer. Perhaps people around the top leadership do not al-low them to get a real feel of the pulse as they lose precious time inplaying meeting meeting. Though not much time is left for the incum-bent Government but given the will, determination and vision, it can stillset a direction to give a ray of hope to the otherwise disappointed people.
These tax evadingwealthy businessmen
DATA compiled by NADRA and shared with Federal Board of Revenue reveals shocking details about tax evasion in the country as
about 3.5 million wealthy people to do bother to pay any tax. Majorityof them live in Karachi (726,375), Lahore (439,901) and Rawalpindi(208,274) while separate figure in respect of the Federal Capital werenot available.
Though large-scale tax evasion is no secret but for the first time closeto reality figures have been made public and the data could serve as abasis for increasing the tax net. Low taxation base is one of the majorfactors behind Pakistan’s economic problems as just two per cent of thecountry’s population is registered with the tax authorities, but only abouta quarter of those take the next step and pay what they owe. According toFBR, only 260,000 out of the country’s nearly 200 million citizens havepaid taxes consistently for the past three years. Chairman NAB hadrecently revealed that Rs12 billion are siphoned off on daily basis be-cause of corrupt practices while tax revenues worth Rs7 billion areevaded per day. A recent report also indicated that many of our law-makers were paying no taxes and therefore, one can easily understandthe magnitude of the problem, raising serious questions whether theruling elite would ever take concrete and genuine steps to increase rev-enue collection on just and transparent basis, making wealthy to payand avoiding burdening those who are already groaning under heavyindirect taxes. The problem would remain there until and unless alllandlords and businessmen are made to pay their due share of taxes.
Indian media’shardened mindset
WHILE many Indian politicians, particularly those in the BJP andother extremist groups are always in the forefront to indulge in anti
Pakistan propaganda, the Indian media too is not far behind them. Itoften carries self-imaginary reports in an attempt to defame Pakistan atthe international level for the happenings in their country.
The latest example is a report carried by an Indian TV news chan-nel that deceased Ex MQM MPA Manzar Imam was the mastermind ofHyderabad blasts last week. The fact is Manzar Imam was killed byterrorists on January 17, almost a month before the Hyderabad blasts.The report reflected the hardened mindset of the Indian media, whichlike the political leaders, never bothers to unearth the facts and startsaccusing Pakistan for whatever wrong or unfortunate incident that takesplace in their country. This is a clear proof that the Indians and theirmedia don’t want peace in the region and they are bent upon creatingtension at the behest of intelligence agencies and other institutionsthat are against peaceful relations between the two neighbours. Inte-rior Minister Rehman Malik did well by condemning the allegationsin the strongest possible words but we think that is not enough. Therecently held South Asia Media Summit in Islamabad emphasised theneed that the media should play its role to promote peace but theIndian media is following the opposite direction. We would suggestthat in addition to lodging a protest with the Indian government, Pa-kistani media should also raise it with their counterparts across theborder in order to bring an end to blame game that is serving the inter-ests of those who want to escalate tension in the region.
Pranab distanced from people
I went to the bankand proposed thatthey lend money tothe poor people.The bankers almostfell over.
Kerry’sfirst steps
The new US secretary of state,John Kerry, started his firstoverseas tour in London with
tough problems on his agenda,including the Syrian civil war. Buthe has some problems closer tohome as well. The most importantis to work out a proper relationshipwith his boss for, in spite of theamiable noises President Obamaand Hillary Clinton project at eachother, the record is not a particularlygood one.
One of the things an Americanpresident can do when he is stymiedon the domestic front is to turn hisattention to foreign affairs. He hasa freer hand there, and a greaterpossibility of gaining bipartisansupport. The services and resourcesof powerful departments andagencies, from trade and aid to thestate department and the US armedforces, are his to command. BillClinton, blocked at home, turnedwith some success to foreign policyin the 1990s. Further back, evenwhen President Nixon was flailingas a domestic leader, he and HenryKissinger were still making strate-gic foreign policy decisions, somegood, some bad. That is why it ispuzzling that President Obama hasmade such a poor fist of foreignpolicy. He had a prestigious andhard-working secretary of state inClinton, and the talents ofexperienced negotiators such asRichard Holbrooke at his disposal.Yet the evidence, both of the wayObama conducted foreign policy inhis first term, and of the actualresults, suggests he did not makefull use of the skills of the peoplewho worked for him. It alsosuggests he cared too much aboutpublic approval, and was overlyconcerned to make it clear tosoldiers that he approved of them.
Obama came into office withthe mistaken idea that Afghanistanwas an easily winnable war. Heincreased troop levels there in theexpectation they would producequick returns, then began lookingfor a quick way out when they didnot do so. He was inconsistent, firstcoming on strong, then going outweak. He gave his diplomats in theregion too little support, notablycutting out Holbrooke, making thedifficult job he had assigned to himimpossible. Then along came thedrone, the answer, or so it seemed,to the problem of how to use forcewithout losing men, and soon theprincipal instrument of Americanforeign policy in Pakistan. Theequivalent in Iran was sanctionsand covert cyberwar, but the carrotsthat should have gone with thesesticks were lacking. Offering Irananything substantive would nothave gone down well at home, solittle was offered. Similarly, withIsrael and Palestine Obama shiedaway from anything that wouldupset the lobbies. We had notexpected him to be so lacking inboldness. In his second term he hasa second chance and should seizeit. — The Guardian
*****
Remarkableresilience
Four bomb blasts in just overa decade, coupled with risingtension over violence on
separatist issues, politicallyorchestrated communal friction anda woeful lack of governance is arecipe for any city to descend intochaos. But Hyderabad is buckingthe trend with admirable fortitude.Despite the deeply unsettlingatmosphere that pervades the cityfollowing the bomb attacks lastweek, Hyderabadis remain unitedagainst the brazen attempt made torip them apart.
It is a remarkable rite ofpassage for this city which haswitnessed decades of divisivegovernance and repeated attemptsby political parties to use itsdemographics as dry kindling. Asan IT hub of India, Hyderabad isalso beset with a history that is asglorious as it is contentious, a factwily politicians and communalvillains secretly glory in.
But with this show ofsolidarity, the city has shown thatwhen the system fails, it is thepeople, rather than the polity, wholead the way in maintainingharmony and order. A lesson bothCongress and the BJP need to learnfaster than they can point fingersat each other. — Gulf News
MEDIA WATCH
—M Younus
I am surprised over the ease withwhich a public figure like PranabMukherjee has slipped into regal
environment of President’s office. Insix months’ time he is a differentperson in the midst of an array ofkamarbandh (a belt-like rope aroundthe waist) who bow whenever hepasses their way. I thought he wouldchange the office to bring it nearerto the people. But he has changedhimself, to enjoy the ostentatiousness that the British viceroys haddisplayed when they ruled the coun-try. A function took me this week toPresident’s house (RashtrapatiBhavan). I was particular to find outthe difference between his style andthat of his predecessors. But therewas none. A gilded chair looked oddagainst three ordinary chairs placedon the dais. A buttoned-up officer,probably on deputation from one ofthe three services, placed the speechpad on the podium from where thePresident addressed. I must admitthat what he spoke was relevant tothe present situation in the country.
Yet, this is where he should havechanged. He must realize that he isonly a figure head, like the Queenin England. No doubt, he is the cus-todian of the constitution and allpower resides in his office. But it isexercised by the elected governmentwhich is answerable to the people.Most of President Mukherjee’sspeeches delivered so far are politi-
Pioneers sacrifices gone in vain
cal and reflect his bent ofmind as if he is still a mem-ber of parliament. His roleshould be that of a guide andphilosopher, but heendeavours to be an activepolitician. If President
Mukherjee had ears on the ground hewould have returned the Ordinanceon sexual harassment to women. Rec-ommendations by former Chief Jus-tice J.C.Verma should have been in-corporated in toto. Women are op-posed to the Ordinance because it isinadequate and does not cover thepoints they had raised.
Strange, after the functionMukherjee retreated to his presiden-tial quarters. His predecessors wouldmix with the invitees and even havetea with them.. He is listening toomuch to bureaucrats who are creat-ing a hiatus between him and thepeople. I have seen PresidentMukherjee’s entourage followinghim when he visits any place in Delhi.The traffic is stopped as before andthere is a fleet of cars in the proces-sion. I once asked vice-presidentHamid Ansari why he had such anelaborate security arrangement. Hesaid it was not in his hands becausethe government wanted that way. Iam sure, if he were to make it an is-sue he would succeed.
Like the vice-president, thePresident’s security is also in thehands of the government and guidedby the Blue Book which lays downthe quantum of security in the caseof President, vice-president, thePrime Minister etc. First Prime Min-ister Jawaharlal Nehru did not wantthe traffic to be stopped for him. ButI recall that Home Minister Govind
Ballabh Pant, with whom I workedas Information Officer, rejectedNehru’s request in view of security.Perhaps the President should have hisown protocol division which atpresent is looked after by the Minis-try of External Affairs. The ministryis given to the old practices and em-phasizes on the ceremonial aspect toomuch. When he has eliminated bu-glers to herald his arrival and whenhe has deleted the prefix “manniya,”he can make some drastic changes,especially in stoppage of traffic.Mukherjee should be a person easilyaccessible and the office of Presidentshould not come in the way.
When I was India’s High Com-missioner at London, I found that theQueen had only one pilot motorbikeguiding the car. There was no vehiclefollowing her and the traffic was notstopped. Agreed, the conditions inGreat Britain are more settled thanours, although the terrorists have beenlocated there as well. Still security isan obsession in our country. PresidentMuherjee is a popular person who hadpractically no security till the other day.He should at least reduce it as well asthe pomp and show which has becomepart of the office. Intelligence agen-cies always exaggerate threats becausethey do not have to do any home workto assess whether a particular personrequires the paraphernalia of gun-tot-ting guards around him or not.
I recall another example of a coolattitude of the British in the securityfield. When President R.Venkataraman came to London on anofficial visit it began on an ominousnote. An overzealous policeman mis-took a shopping bag on a railway plat-form for a bomb. The Royal train was
waiting at a station near Gatwick air-port to carry the President and hisparty to Victoria station where theQueen was to receive him. The po-liceman sent back the train. No onequestioned his judgment till thebomb experts had ‘defused’ theharmless shopping bag. By then thePresident’s cavalcade had been di-verted to a crowded highway. Thefour motor cycle outriders did a tre-mendous job, enabling a fleet of carsto weave through a maze of crowdedroads to Buckingham Palace wherethe Queen welcomed him. Even Iwas informed about the change inthe arrangement before we enteredthe Palace.
Security apart, PresidentMukherjee has to change the func-tioning of Rashtrapati Bhavan andwhat the office entails. Dr RajendraPrasad, India’s first President, didbring a whiff of fresh air when hestepped into Rashtrapati Bhavanwhich was until then the Viceroy’sresidence. It was so different fromthe earlier functioning that the wordwent around that an Indian hadstepped in. The ceremonial humbugshould be changed so that it is in tunewith the people’s thinking. My com-plaint is that the office is already tooregal and it is turning into somethingimperial. President Mukherjee maynot have taken part in the strugglefor independence because he was tooyoung. But he can at least behave ina way that the style of living andcontact with the public does not havethe distance which the viceroys hadwith the people.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human rights activist and author.
Pakistan emerged on the globeas the largest Muslim countryof the world and was seen as
a miracle in the annals of Muslimworld. Never before the world hadwitnessed assembly of such a largeforce under the banner of Islamstruggling to create a separatehomeland. The unity of the Mus-lims on a single platform gainedadded significance in the backdropof known forces that feverishlyworked to keep the Muslims di-vided. It was equally novel thatPakistan’s vast and heterogeneouspopulation comprising differentraces, supporting different customsand speaking different languages,emerged as one people.
The Muslims of India were for-tunate to have Mr. Jinnah as theirguide. Creating a new nation hadtaken all the character, foresight,faith and energy of Quaid-e-Azam.His Herculean efforts saved theMuslims from permanent bondageof the Hindu majority after the de-parture of the British. He kept hisailment hidden for he well knewthat he was the symbol of hope forthe teeming millions. Well know-ing that he had very little time athis disposal, he worked feverishlyday and night and removed all theimpediments put in the way of cre-ation of Pakistan by the British-Hindu combine and to make Paki-stan stand on its feet. LordMountbatten revealed his intentionsafter the demise of the Quaid that ifhe had been aware of Jinnah’s ill-ness and his short life expectancy,he would have deferred the parti-tion of India for some years andawaited his death. If the Quaid haddied, there was no one else whocould compel him to allow the par-
tition of India. Even the Hin-dus to this day censure Pun-dit Jawaharlal Nehru for re-jecting Lord PethickLawrence Cabinet Missionplan in 1946 which ruled out
partition and envisaged Hindu ma-jority and Muslim majority group-ings of provinces for next ten years.
In their bid to bludgeon Pakistanout of existence, or to bring back theerring newborn into the deathly em-brace of Mahabharata, the Indianhawkish leaders within Congressand Hindu Mahasabha helped byMountbatten burdened Pakistan withplethora of difficulties. Some ofthose were unjust and haphazard di-vision of Punjab and Bengal whichsevered the entire communicationsystem in terms of road network,railway lines, telephone and tele-graph and postal services. Thesewere centered on focal points ofDelhi and Calcutta with regard toWest Pakistan and Bengal respec-tively. The two wings of Pakistanwere separated by 1600 kms of In-dian Territory with no land corridorto link the two. Partition of Punjabcut across the rivers and canals, mak-ing India upper and Pakistan lowerbeneficiaries of waters. Other knottyproblems were rehabilitation of 6.5million refugees in West Pakistanand 0.7 million in East Pakistan,non-receipt of rightful share of re-sources, assets and expertise fromIndia to run the state machinery,Indo-British efforts to block acces-sion of princely states willing to joinPakistan, suspension of water flowin canals and un-demarcated geo-graphical frontiers. Pakistan waswithout a constitution and a seat ofgovernment or an administrativestructure to enable it to exercise itssovereignty. All ordnance and am-munition depots were in India,Pakistan’s armed forces were scat-tered throughout India and were con-trolled by British officers, civil ser-vants and administrative/technical
hands were in the midst of migrat-ing from India, Pakistan’s politicaland economic system was com-pletely disrupted and communica-tion system had broken down.
Fuming Hindu leaders regardedPakistan as a transient euphoria ofMuslims. Its viability was doubtedand its collapse considered imminent.The Hindu economic wizards hadgiven Pakistan a mere six months tosuccumb to their diabolical schemeby depriving it every morsel of sus-tenance, which was due to Pakistanas a matter of right, under the inter-nationally accepted share of the com-bined assets of the subcontinent. Instruggling to create a state structurein the chaotic environments of parti-tion and an early war with India overKashmir, our managers remained tieddown fighting the battle of survivaland identity. Besides the irasciblehostility of India, Pakistan had to con-tend with unfriendly Afghanistan andoverbearing Soviet Union. There wasno certainty that Pakistan would sur-vive its traumatic birth.
Regardless of the daunting prob-lems, the newfound liberty had cata-pulted the morale and motivation ofthe people of Pakistan to dizzyingheights. They endured those priva-tions with exceptional courage andworked their fingers to the bone fromdawn to dusk to turn Pakistan into anideal state as envisaged by their be-loved leader Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah. Spontaneousand generous donations rendered tothe refugees housed in refugee campsby the public at the call of Jinnah wereunprecedented. The pioneers of Pa-kistan, burdened with domestic con-straints, uprooted unsettled refugeesstill haunted by cruel tragedies of theirloved ones, spurned their personalcompassion and took up the gauntletto defeat the nefarious designs of theenemies of Pakistan.
people felt orphaned and vulnerable.Pakistan got another jolt whenLiaquat Ali Khan was assassinatedin October 1951. Thereon, the coun-try lurched from one crisis to an-other because of self serving lead-ers. Apart from Indian factor whichcontributed towards keeping Paki-stan destabilized, defective electoralsystem is one of the major reasonswhich have let the same lot ofcrooked legislators belonging to feu-dal class to remain in corridors ofpower and prevented emergence oftrue leadership that could fulfill thedream of Quaid to make Pakistanan Islamic welfare state. Pakistan in-stead of turning into an ideal state isnow being called a failing state andthe most dangerous country in theworld. Love, affection and spirit ofbrotherhood have been replacedwith antagonism, greed and selfish-ness. Sectarianism, ethnicity andcorruption are eating into the vitalsof the country. Muslims are killingMuslims with lunatic ferocity as isseen in Karachi and Quetta.
Military intervened because oftotal failure of politicians and utterdesolation of people. It is unfortu-nate that Pakistan created with somuch of trials and tribulations fellin the hands of unworthy politiciansand bureaucrats who instead ofbuilding it left no stone unturnedto ruin it. Notwithstanding theshortcoming of military ruleswhich were far from ideal, the factcannot be denied that but for theten-year golden period of FieldMarshal Ayub Khan, eleven-yearrule of Gen Ziaul Haq and overeight-year rule of Gen Musharrafduring which all economic indica-tors remained in positive with GDPat 7%, the country might have frag-mented under the sheer weight ofpoor governance, ineptness, nepo-tism and corruption of politicians,or dismembered by India.—The writer is a retired Brig anda defence analyst.
If a new age of disharmony isdawning on the changing world,surely, the antagonist six West-
ern nations and Iran will still meetnext Tuesday in Almaty, Kazakhstanto discuss conflicting perceptions,hypothesis and realities of a nuclearIran posing threats to the industrial-ized West. Many well-placed West-ern strategists have worked hard totransform some of the illusionaryperceptions into workable acts ofstage performance as was the casewith the Israeli PM Netanyahu re-cently speaking at the UN GeneralAssembly. Facts are denied accessin the mainstream Western newsmedia and fictions become front-page headlines for public consump-tion and fear mongering. It is thesame strategy used by George Bushand his accompanying psychopathsshortly after the September 2001 at-tacks on America.
Bush- a single minded authori-tarian absolute president wanted todemonstrate sense of power andsecurity to the frightened Americamasses and to exploit the occasionto dominate the poor and destitutepeople with American militarymight and so he did bombed manynations and disturbed Muslimgraveyards across the globe. Whatdid America achieve out of thisstigma of War? Nothing exceptmassive and continued deaths anddestructions of the mankind. Whatare they up to again in warmon-
Why war not peace?
Unfair todual nationalsSYED ATIQ UL HASSAN
Stopping patriotic dual nationalsfrom political process in Pakistan isnot fair. This unjust law mustchange, IFDNP will protest interna-tionally Sydney (Press Release,IFDNP): This is absolutely unfairand unjust that the patriotic Paki-stanis are not only barred from con-testing election in Pakistan but theyeven cannot hold any party positionsays Syed Atiq ul Hassan, theConvenor & Organiser of IFDNP(International Forum of Dual Na-tional Pakistanis).
‘Political Parties are not thegovernment or arm services of Pa-kistan... how biased and discrimi-native this Political Order is...which should be changed’ says MrHassan. ‘Dual national Pakistanisare far more loyal to Pakistan thenthose who made this unjust law’.In reaction to the recent announce-ment by the ECP, Mr Hassan an-nounced that the members ofIFDNP are working and planningon a worldwide protest against thisunjust law, which is discriminatingloyal Pakistanis not to take in theelectoral system of Pakistan.—Via email
Waxy spineof CEC
DR GHAYUR AYUB
The spine of ageing FakhruddinIbrahim bent like wax when a heatedresponse came from the oppositionleader as a result of a letter sent tohim by the Election Commission ofPakistan.
I hope it doesn’t melt downcompletely when the burning heatof elections starts scorching him.The reason for his waxy spine couldbe, as Ansar Abbasi put it, his weak-ness to stay in good books of every-body-good and bad—Via email
Unruly bikersJAWED AHMED KHURSHEED
In Karachi, the sea of motorcyclesin the rush hours will make one re-alize that there is no traffic lawagainst them. The government func-tionaries implementing its trafficrules have almost failed to assert.Their two and three days drives dis-seminating awareness among bikershave a little to change their behav-iors towards for themselves andother road users. They ride on pave-ments. They don’t follow the lightsof traffic signals. They don’t knowhow to overtake. They even over-take on flyovers. They do a wheelieon the thoroughfares of Karachi.They have even made some alter-ation in their two-wheeler to ride itat their wishes. Their madness seemsto increase day by day as many ofthe motorcycles dealers providethem a motorcycle on easy install-ments as low as Rs500 per monthto create problems for other vehicleowners. They don’t even bother touse silencer in their motorcycles.The motorcycles mechanics havemuch time to ‘alter’ their motor-cycles. In short, they use the thor-oughfares as their motorbike terracewhere everyone seems to strive hardto win and the vehicles owners aretheir audience. They also expectfrom them to act as their first aidworkers in case of accidents.
When traffic rules fail to keepthe violators on track, awarenessdrives don’t even serve the purpose.The option to impose fine on themhas also proved useless as takingbribe among the traffic constablesis rampant. The fear of being hit byother vehicle has also had a littleconcern for the bikers.
Increasing madness of bikersmay have also affected many of theschool goers who see them how theyare riding their two wheelers day andnight. They will ultimately be fol-lowing them if serious measures arenot taken. The behavior of the fu-ture bikers could be tamed througheducation and they can be taughtbasic traffic rules and ethics little bylittle in their syllabus. They should
Invalid National Identity CardsWHISTLEBLOWER EMPLOYEES OF NADRA
The National Identity Cards of all Pakistani citizens issued since July 2012 are illegal and invalid.They bear the signature of Chairman NADRA who is not a Pakistani citizen. At present he is holding
the nationalities of Canada and USA at the same time. The Supreme Court in its decision on Petition byDr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Challenging the constitution of Election Commission of Pakistan saidthat a person cannot be citizen of Pakistan by merely carrying its passport alone. How can the Chair-man of NADRA be allowed to head the organization and sign the document that bears the identity of allPakistanis local and overseas. People are raising concerns about the composition of election commissionbut they fail to realize that NADRA the organization assigned the task of preparing voter lists andidentifying tax defaulters in conjunction with FBR cannot be unbiased in its operation when its Chair-man has dual nationalities of USA and Canada. Will the honourable judges and Chief Election Commis-sioner be willing to get National ID Cards from NADRA signed by Chairman who is not a citizen ofPakistan? What about those filing their nomination papers in upcoming elections and the voters castingtheir vote. The Supreme Court threw out the petition of a Canadian citizen. It should also declare theNational ID Cards invalid signed by a USA/Canadian Citizen.—Via email
are requested to typetheir letters legibly withdouble spacing and only onone side of the paper.
—Editor
be exposed to various threats of nonobservance of traffic rules and theirimportance in our life from primaryto tertiary level. At the educationlevel, students are found most respon-sive to what they are taught.—Karachi
Womenpolice networkMUHAMMAD UZAIR NIAZI
An institution is any structure ormechanism of social order and coop-eration governing the behaviour of aset of individuals within a given com-munity. Institutions are recognizedwith a social rationale, individualswho excel and intentions by mediat-ing the rules that govern cooperativeliving behavior. A network and anassociation plays a very importantrole in main streaming certain goalsand objectives in way, so that theycan be appropriately accomplished.A network with in an institution hasthe aptitude to integrate the peopletogether, and make them able toachieve certain goals and objec-tives. The trend of networking andassociations in state institutionsholds a great importance in themodern and developed world. Suchassociations are playing a vital rolein uplifting the society’s world wide,and are making institutions stronger.Every institution has the tendencyto uplift its society, by navigating ina proper course.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo said that“An institution is the lengthenedshadow of one man.” Strong institu-tions play an important role instrengthening the over all fragmentof the society, by stream lining itspeople in a proper direction. In orderto achieve a healthy social order it isimportant to equip the institutionswith the notions of network and as-sociations. Such positive develop-ments will help in cultivating an at-mosphere, where people will worktogether, and their focus will be onsuch goals and results, that are col-lectively important for the whole so-ciety. The phenomenon of network-ing and associations is gaining groundin the developed world, and it is im-portant that we must also equip ourinstitutions with such positive devel-opments, so that our institutions canbecome stronger and result oriented.
At present the situation of ourinstitutions is not up to the mark, andthey are not able to deliver healthyresults. Few years back a healthy de-velopment took place done in thepolice department, of Pakistan as anetwork that was focusing thewomen police in Pakistan was in-troduced. The Women Police Net-work (WPN) was basically estab-lished in July 2012.
The motivation for networkingand collaborative learning for womenpolice was presented in the GenderAudit of Police Organizations (April2010). The objectives of Women Po-lice Network are to inspire womenofficials to collectively think and actfor enhancing their role and recogni-tion within their organizations. Raiseawareness and understanding of theissues affecting women within thepolice service.
The Women Police Networkrepresents the women police of ninepolice organizations namely Sindh,Balochistan, Punjab, KPK, AJK,Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad CapitalPolice, Motorways and NationalHighways, FIA and Railways Po-lice. This induction of Women Po-lice Network in police departmentof Pakistan will help in main stream-ing the women, and will also givethem a chance to uplift their statuswithin this department.—Mianwali
Why democracy?MUHAMMAD SHADMAN
I do not know about people, but I amsure that “Democracy” must be en-joying watching a film with popcornand why not? “Does this democracy”has even been able to work for Paki-stan a single day? Its a million dollarquestion, which needs to be answerednow or else the “feudal” will answerit for us. We waited and fought somuch for it but what in return has itgiven to us except more negative bal-ance of payments due to fall in value
Gwadar control could constrain India
The Pakistani government earlythis month gave its nod to a proposal for Chinese government-
owned China Overseas Port Hold-ings Ltd. to purchase control ofGwadar port from Singapore’s PSAInternational, which had won thecontract in 2007 to operate the portfor 40 years. With this, operationalcontrol of the strategic deep-waterGwadar port will go to China. NewDelhi’s reaction was as confused asever with the Indian defence minis-ter describing it as a matter of “seri-ous concern” for India, but the ex-ternal affairs minister suggested thatIndia should not “overreact to every-thing that Pakistan does or every-thing that China is involved in.”
China has always been keen ongaining a strategic toehold in theArabian Sea and Gwadar has beenan attractive option. Despite somesuggesting that China’s role inGwadar would remain limited be-cause of mounting troubles inBalochistan and its keenness toavoid raising hackles in New Delhiand Washington, China has now
taken the plunge into the murkywaters of Gwadar. The Gwadar port,opened in 2007 with $200 millionin funding from China, has been acommercial failure so far because ofthe inability of Pakistan to use it ef-fectively.
China wants to overcome its“Malacca Dilemma,” as more than80 percent of its oil imports travelsthrough the Strait of Hormuz. Givenits reluctance to rely on US navalpower for unhindered access to en-ergy, it has moved to build up itsnaval power at choke points alongsea routes from the Persian Gulf tothe South China Sea. The Gwadarport is central to this aim. Situatedabout 400 kilometres away from theStrait of Hormuz at the apex of theArabian Sea, it could be a key as-set for China. No doubt, theGwadar port will need significantinfrastructure investment before itcan be viable but this is not an in-surmountable problem. There areplans to build a 900-km road fortransport from Gwadar to China aswell as rail and road links to Af-ghanistan and Central Asia.
India’s interest in Iran’s ChahBahar port is often viewed as a re-
sponse to China’s presence inGwadar. But where China’s abilityto execute its projects in foreignlands in a time-bound and financiallyviable manner is becoming impres-sive by the day, India’s lacklustre ap-proach to infrastructure develop-ment remains a major problem. Thenotion that China aspires to navaldomination of the Indian Ocean re-mains a bit far-fetched. China wouldcertainly like to play a greater rolein the region, protect and advanceits interests (especially Chinesecommercial interests) as well ascounter India. But given the im-mense geographical advantages thatIndian enjoys in the Indian Ocean,China will have great difficulty inrivalling India in the Indian Ocean.Even the task of protecting sea linesof communication remains a chal-lenging one for the PLA Navy as ofnow. It will be a long while beforeChina can convert these facilitiesinto military ports.
But those who argue that Chinawill not be able to develop the portinto a military base are missing thepoint. If China is able to developGwadar and other such facilities inthe Indian Ocean peripheral to In-
dia into viable strategic outposts,India’s options will be constrainedvery significantly. And given theclose defence ties between Chinaand Pakistan, New Delhi would befooling itself if it believes thatBeijing needs an actual militarybase in Gwadar to project powervis-à-vis India.
It is possible to explain the con-struction of ports and facilities byChina in the Indian Ocean, includ-ing Gwadar, on purely economicand commercial grounds, but re-gional and global powers like theUnited States, Japan and India in-evitably view the sum total ofChina’s diplomatic and military ef-forts in the Indian Ocean as project-ing power vis-à-vis competing ri-vals. Moreover, most Chinese na-val facilities in the Indian Ocean aredual use in nature; therefore, no se-rious strategy can discount their fu-ture military use. There may be nopearls in China’s string as of yet, butNew Delhi would do well to remem-ber that even a pearl-less string iscapable of doing great damage. Thewriter teaches political science atKing’s College, London.— Courtesy: The Japan Times
Harsh V Pant
gering against Iran? America is thelead nation and its political lead-ership and Israel under Netanyahuthe instigator to imagine the per-ception of Iranian nuclear threat ina distant and perhaps unknownfuture. Throughout the 2012, thewar hysteria was envisaged and ac-celerated by human psyche andnews media perpetuated the com-ing age of darkness and siege bythe industrial-military complexflourishing out of Washington. DrLasha Darkmoon, an academic inclassic studies, author of manypolitical viewpoints on Americaand Europe and a poet (“Armaged-don Approaches” Occidental Ob-server 2/21/2012) provides thecautious insight:
“Right now, Iran appears to bethe object of universal detestation,at least among those who control themainstream media and who are anx-ious to persuade the easily dupedmasses that Iran is a major threat tocivilization…..Unlike Iraq, whichthe warmonger neoconservativestold us would be a “cakewalk”—easily conquered in six weeks —Iran is unlikely to offer its Ameri-can and Israeli antagonists easy op-portunities to indulge in their fish-in-a-barrel fantasies.”
What is increasingly becomingcautious and militarily rethinkingapproach in the West is the Iranianmilitary sophistication and readinesscapacity to defend itself against aWestern onslaught. Whether Israeltries to hit for its own military su-premacy or the US helps them to dothe proxy war. Iran is not a“cakewalk” or President Obama
cannot dare to issue a 48 hrs noticeto Iran as did Bush to his long timeCIA ally Saddam Hussein. Iran hasits own credibility and it appears thatall the Non-Aligned Nations willstand by Iran if such an attack is evermaterialized. It is probable thatChina and Russia would react andsome of the Muslim countries couldwell move to oppose the AmericanIsraeli combined. attack.
Iran is a member of the Organi-zation of Islamic Conferences (OIC)based in Saudi Arabia. Kazakhstancurrently chairs the OIC too. If theIslamic world had any physical ex-istence: moral and intellectual val-ued presence or any political- mili-tary capacity, would it not rise tounderstand the emerging conflictsand play a decisive role in findingworkable solutions for all? Whywould the Islamic countries notstand up and show solidarity withIran? Take the issue in a compara-tive context, no matter what issuesare at discussion table, the West isalways ready to launch attack on anyMuslim countries even on hourlynotice. If there was an organized andunited Islamic world of people andnations, would they not stand up fora just cause to support Iran?
The world should know thatwhat is described as “Islamicworld” is really a paper-based en-tity, not a political power to deter-mine any change in global affairs.Dead conscience agents of foreignpowers rule the Muslim world andfor almost half of a century, thispractice is well managed by theWestern leaders. It is worldwideacknowledged and understood by
Views From Abroad
T’is said that the best way tojudge a good holiday iswhether you are ready to go
home at the end of it. I am. Havehad a wonderful ten days holiday,been wined, dined, by friends andrelatives, loved and showered withgifts and now am ready to go home.
Oh yes it was fun. It’s not ev-eryday you are surrounded by child-hood friends, classmates who pull
your leg reminding you of times whenyou looked different, “You remem-ber Bob when you and the lamppostwere look alikes?” It was fun at thewedding. I raised the toast and justbefore going up on stage was told thatcake and wine for the toast had notbeen distributed as yet.
“So what do I raise the toastwith?” I ask. “Crack some jokes onstage till the wine comes,” he says,“You know how good you are withyour jokes!” How was I to tell himthat I had come prepared for a seri-ous raising of the toast and jokes werethe last thing on my mind.
But I go up racking my brains fora joke and finding none and there on
stage seeing the audience, all friendsand feeling good seeing them andjokes flow till I forget my speech!Then the house warming of anotherfriend. The overnight trip and earlymorning pooja, watching the priestchanting his Sanskrit chants andnearly yawning with the left overs ofsleep and then suddenly engrossed insomething so ancient and mystical.
Like I said there was love andfriendship, and dollops of spicy in-cidents. Yesterday at the club sittingwith dear friend and editor, a briga-dier making overtures to pretty ladyat the next table, getting rebuffed andquite shamefaced sits at ours. I watchhim, he watches me, wondering
Ready to go home..!whether I’ve heard, and seeing myblank expression warms up andgives scintillating conversation ofvictories won and battles foughtand suddenly I see same lady look-ing over at the brigadier with newinterest.
But today I return, with joy inmy heart. My children are not thereat home, both now in the US, butmy wife and dogs I know countthe hours for my return. I’m notsure about the dogs, but my wife Iknow does. T’is said the best wayto judge a good holiday is whetheryou are ready to go home at theend of it. I am..!—Email:[email protected]
An unconvincing secularism
Some of the proposed topics ofdiscussion at the Karachi Literature Festival which took
place earlier this month caught myattention as I read about it in thepress. In particular the panel discus-sion on ‘Secularism in Pakistan’moderated by Irfan Hussain and fea-turing Hamid Khan, Javed Jabbar,Asma Jahangir, and Nasira Ibqal.
I made an effort to attend to seewhat the latest arguments of lead-ing advocates for secularism in Pa-kistan were, only to be met, I mustconfess, with profound disappoint-ment. The arguments lacked depth,failed to deal with the substantiveissues and were little more than oldWestern arguments renovated for thePakistani context. The whole affair
was rather lacklustre. Firstly, it wasrather odd that the panel was stackedwith people all arguing for the samething. Having both sides of the ar-gument present on the panel wouldhave been much more intellectuallyhonest and rigorous. With such asetup – and things like an office-bearer of the Forum for Secular Pa-kistan being randomly given timebefore the end of the session to sim-ply read out the objectives resolu-tions of the group – the forum cameacross as a political exercise ratherthan an intellectual one.
Secondly, one must ask whatrelevance the topic of secularism inPakistan has in a literature festival.What does a group of predominantlylegal professionals arguing for secu-larism have to do with literature?The conclusion that this was simplyan exercise in propagating ideologi-cal positions beyond the cover offine arts - a classical colonialist ap-
proach – is difficult to avoid. What-ever the reality, the panellists did notdo a very good job of arguing fortheir position. Their basic argument,kicked off by Nasira Iqbal, was thatthe founders of Pakistan were secu-lar and intended a secular state. Thepeople of Pakistan were also largelysecular but had been fed the wrongdefinition of ‘secularism’ as ‘ladinniyat’. This explained the surveyafter survey, cited by moderatorIrfan Hussain, showing that thepeople of Pakistan were not infavour of secularism.
Asma Jahangir emphasised thatthere were different models of secu-larism: the Turkish model, the Frenchmodel, the American model, and thatPakistan needed to choose what wasmost appropriate for itself. Whichone was that? She didn’t know, but,“I do know that I am against havinga theocracy.” Javed Jabbar spent timeexplaining the “ambivalent and am-
biguous” approach used byMuhammad Ali Jinnah on the ques-tion of Islam and secularism infounding Pakistan, arguing that dueto this ambiguity remains on thetopic in Pakistan till now. The am-bivalence he spoke of was the vari-ous positions on the nature of thestate expressed by Jinnah, some-times speaking of secularism whilstothers times saying that the Islamicsharia would be the basis of the state.
In sum, the panel sung from thesame hymn sheet, arguing that Pa-kistan must be secular, such thatthere is a clear separation of reli-gion from state but people are al-lowed to practice whatever beliefsthey chose. They all argued againstwhat they characterised as the al-ternative, a ‘theocratic’ state. Indoing so they failed to address thesubstantive issues. This is typicalof the approach adopted by advo-cates of secularism in Pakistan.
all scholars and experts that as ofnow, Iran does not have the capa-bility to produce nuclear weaponsand does not pose any threat ofviolence or military attack to anyWestern nation in the near future.So what is this non-sense of Ira-nian threat to the West? It is noth-ing else except continuing insti-tutionalized warmongering by thefew against the many- the livingmankind. Recall that Russia sup-plied the nuclear processing plantto Iran. If the nuclear reactor andknow-how were purchased fromthe USA-Western European, itwould have been a business asusual. War involves feeling andemotions. Today, the Westernpoliticians used news media asweapon to misinform and coercethe public for wars against Mus-lims. One of conveniently manu-factured label is “Islamic extrem-ism” or “terrorist.” The truth re-mains unchallenged that all Araband Muslim nations are subservi-ent to the Western political andeconomic hegemony.
Paul Craig Roberts (“The NextWar on Washington’s Agenda helpsus to understand the agony and an-guish of millions and millions ofthe Americans people who believeand long for global peace and har-mony. Perhaps, the negotiators onall sides of the conflicting timezones be mindful what the globalhumanity expects from them -surely, peace, and no more sadisticwars.—The writer specialises in globalsecurity, peace and conflictresolution.
of rupee against dollar.People are tired of listening that
democracy will work out best forthem because they have been suffer-ing already too much from target kill-ings and this psycho feeling of get-ting shot the moment they step out oftheir home. Now, I want to draw at-tention of readers please cast theirvote to such a public figure who isfree from any charges or any corrup-tion scandal.—Karachi
Karachi bleedsM FAZAL ELAHI
Karachi, Pakistan’s Jugular Vein andBusiness Hub, has been profuselybleeding since the past over half adecade. Citizens of Karachi are be-ing ruthlessly killed everyday, no oneknows by whom. While the killingspree goes on unabated the blamegame continues to be audaciouslypursued by different groups againsteach other, the killings of innocentpeople in Karachi seem to never stop.Not a day passes without people get-ting killed in double digits. EverydayPakistan’s print and electronic mediaare replete with heart-rending newsabout the shameless murder of thepeople of Karachi by some cruel,unknown, killers. A brief pause in thekillings does bring some respite to thescared and grief-stricken people butthis is only for a very short span oftime. Much to the shock and dismayof the people, the trigger-happy andmerciless killers come back with ven-geance of greater magnitude thanbefore and brazenly perform theirdastardly act.
The killings in Karachi have nowacquired a new dimension. Earlier,the killings were considered moreof sectarian in nature and partly linkedto the extortion mafias in the em-battled city. Later, the security per-sonnel and strategic installations alsobecame their target. Now, bombblasts and suicide bombing by targetkillers have started taking a heavy tollon the people of Karachi. The terriblemess that the business hub of thecountry is in has become a cause forserious concern of every segment ofthe Pakistani society, except those atthe helm of affairs both in the city ofKarachi and the country. They seemto be totally immune to the rapidlydeteriorating law and order and eco-nomic situation that is unfortunatelymaking the city fall apart in all re-spect. Killing of people by the targetkillers, sectarian killings, killings bythe extortion mafia and suicide bomb-ings and bomb blasts have created asense of utter desperation not onlyamong the ordinary citizens but alsothe business community of the city.
It is being said that the businesscommunity of Karachi, because of theprevailing extremely vulnerable lawand order situation in the city, havechosen to move their businesses tocountries like Bangladesh, India andsome countries of Central Asia. Thatalready a large number of industrieshave moved and several are on theverge of moving to these countries,and elsewhere, should be a matter ofgrave concern for Pakistan. Thosewho should be perturbed and shouldbe passing sleepless nights seem tobe the least concerned about what-ever is happening in Karachi. Atleast their callousness vis-à-vis thehapless Karachi situation amplyproves that. Day-in and day-out theyare intensely preoccupied in politi-cal wheeling and dealing and serv-ing their personal interests.
While every segment of the Pa-kistani society, including the judiciaryof Pakistan, is highly concerned aboutthe volatile situation in Karachi, andare demanding of the government totake immediate cognizance of thematter, none in the corridors of powerseem to be moved or ready to retrievePakistan’s business hub-Karachi fromits current predicaments.—Islamabad
THE U.S. faces tremendouschallenges at home andabroad. Without a grandstrategy, America’s perilous
drift is likely to continue, and worsen.In light of today’s enormous domes-tic and international challenges, theUnited States today needs, more thanever, an effective grand strategy. With-out one, the nation is in a dangerousstate of drift. In the aftermath of therecent U.S. presidential elections andin the midst of grueling battles overspending and deficit crises, Americanpolitics is highly polarized with theelectorate and their policymakersdeeply divided on domestic issues.Turning to foreign policy, the pictureis equally troubling. The United Statesstruggles without a coherent grandstrategy, while the American people,its friends and allies, and competitorswonder what principles guideWashington’s foreign policy. What,they must ask, does the United Stateswant to achieve in its foreign policy,and what leadership role does it seekto play in this rapidly evolving worldorder.
Worse, many fail to grasp thatgrand strategy involves far more thanforeign and national security matters.Grand strategy is precisely about thebroader, if often ignored, context ofbuilding and reinforcing the domes-tic political and economic founda-tions of American national power.Knowing full well the serious chal-lenges facing the United States, thereis no more pressing problem for thenation than to develop a grand strat-egy that gives policymakers and thepublic a clear, positive, and biparti-san vision of the principles and ideasthat guide U.S. foreign policy. Thisstrategy must articulate a vision forthe U.S. that is more than the sum ofthe challenges the nation faces.
To be effective, America’s newstrategy must reinforce the domesticfoundations of American power, re-assure friends and allies that Ameri-can foreign policy embraces a pru-dent balance between our principlesand ideals, and avoid the twin perilsof strategic overreach or neglect.While the challenges are daunting,failure is not an option. In a series ofessays over the next several weeks, Iwill discuss the current void in Ameri-
can grand strategy at precisely themoment when the world faces increas-ingly dangerous sources of disorder.These essays will define the purposesAmerican grand strategy should
strive to achieve, as the nation dealswith a new set of international chal-lenges. Next, the series will outline themain principles that define a newgrand strategy for the United States,and then discuss how to put thoseprinciples into practice. Lastly, thisseries proposes that despite greatchallenges, America nevertheless hasthe will and determination to movetoward greater clarity of purpose inits foreign policy. Why AmericaNeeds a Grand Strategy: Simply put,grand strategy is a broad set of prin-ciples, beliefs, or ideas that govern
the decisions and actions of a nation’spolicymakers with public support onforeign policy. The need for grandstrategy is particularly acute in thecase of the United States today. Itsextraordinary power and influencemake it more necessary than ever forAmerican actions to be guided by a
coherent grand strategy. The logicis inescapable: no nation can oper-ate without a grand strategy. With-out one, the nation faces a singulardanger: when its policymakers are
tempted to take actions without theguidance that a clear, purposeful stra-tegic framework provides, we will seeconfusion, shifting policies, and“drift.”
The failure to define a grandstrategy and the problems it causesare not new, but the challenge is moreurgent than ever. With the end of theCold War, scholars and policymakersfailed to formulate a successor to thegrand strategy of containment.Policymakers instead adopted poli-cies that relied on the residue of con-tainment or, more commonly, on
piecemeal, ad-hoc solutions to prob-lems. The danger is that adhering tothe obsolete strategy of containmentwill contribute to foreign policy fail-ures. After the Cold War,policymakers believed the world wasless dangerous.
—Courtesy: Diplomat
HARRIET MARTIN
HOSTILITY prevails between the twoSudans, despite the peace dealsigned last September. While thedeal originally pulled the two states
back from the brink of war, it is now causingtroops to be amassed on either side of theborder. The peace agreement is disputed byparties in both north and south, notably theoil industry, the military, Islamist groups, andcivil society. To add to the discontent, SouthSudan’s independence has severely weakenedboth economies, which has impacted the gov-ernments’ ability to implement the peace deal.Although the situation is being monitored inthe Security Council, there is much competi-tion for attention, given the Council’s heavyinvolvement with Mali, the DRC, Syria andupcoming elections in Kenya. In September2012, Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir andhis South Sudanese counterpart, PresidentSalva Kiir, clasped hands grinningly in theinternational spotlight at the end of a suc-cessful summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Theyhad just signed a comprehensive peace map-ping out the relationship between the newneighbors, a little more than a year after SouthSudan became independent in July 2011. Itwas also a deal that pulled the states backfrom the brink of war.
In subsequent months, a polite game ofdiplomatic ping pong between the two Sudansrepeatedly state a sincere commitment topeace. But these commitments look increas-ingly hollow as one deadline after another setby African Union mediators slip by. The prom-ised peace has not left the piece of paper itwas written on. This hiatus in the peace pro-cess may be coming to an end, but not in theway the mediators had hoped. In recent weeks,reports have emerged of a build-up of troopsalong the countries’ shared border, includingin hotspots like the disputed Abyei area andthe oil fields of Heglig. Incidents along the
border are already taking place, with reportsthat 24 people have been killed in recent weeks.
The white gloves of diplomacy, it seems,are being peeled off for another fight. On Feb-ruary 11 in Khartoum, Bashir accused SouthSudan of having become “devoted to creat-ing conflicts”, adding: “We are advocates ofpeace, but peace will not be at any cost. We
Fragile unity, seams draw apart
Peace Unravels in the Two Sudanshave given everything and we do not haveanything new to offer.” The South Sudanesegovernment went a step further the next day,announcing their forces were ready for a pos-sible attack. “We are concerned again aboutthis hawkish mindset, about the ruling elites in
Khartoum who would want to escalate the situ-ation along the border and possibly provoke awar between the two countries,” Sudan’sdeputy defence minister Majak D’Agoot said.
Too weak for peace: South Sudan’s inde-
pendence has left both countries’ economiesin a perilous state, weakening their govern-ments’ ability to implement the peace deal. Thesecession of South Sudan, home to 75 percentof the country’s oil reserves, shocked Sudan’seconomy by depriving its government of morethan half its revenues. Although many ex-
pected Sudan would recoup some of its lostoil income by levying transit fees on SouthSudanese crude, the two countries could notagree - until the September deal was signed –on the level these fees should be. The nego-tiations to resolve this issue broke down a year
ago when South Sudan discovered that Sudanhad been selling some oil in lieu of paymentfor transit fees. In a self-destructive fit of an-ger, the South closed down its entire oil pro-duction - causing the government to lose 98
percent of its revenue. Both countries’ gov-ernments also face rampant inflation and ris-ing food prices, creating the potential for popu-lar discontentment. Politically weakened bytheir failing economies, both presidents re-turned from the signing in Addis Ababa lastSeptember to face criticism over the deal from
hardline elements in their own parties. InKhartoum it came from Islamist hardliners, whoobjected to the “four freedoms” agreement thatwould give southerners the right to remain andwork in Sudan.
The head of the far-right Justice and PeaceForum, Al Tayeb Mustafa (who is also Presi-dent Bashir’s uncle), declared that his factionwould fight the “four freedoms” by “all avail-able political means”, adding: “If the govern-ment has failed to bear its responsibility, thenit should concede power to the people so thatthey can choose who is capable of defendingtheir rights and holy [lands].” In Juba, SouthSudan’s capital, opposition to the Addis agree-ment came from within the military. Some gen-erals were opposed to making peace with Presi-dent Bashir’s government - a regime they hadfought for more than 20 years - particularlywhen their former comrades in the SudanPeople’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) across the border had gained nothing fromindependence.
Faced with these internal threats, maintain-ing power - not delivering peace - became thepriority for both sides. In November 2012,Sudan’s government announced it had lockedup alleged Islamist coup plotters. A month ear-lier in South Sudan, President Salva Kiir warnedhis military against staging a coup and lastmonth sacked more than 20 senior command-ers.
On February 18, Kiir removed 118 moresenior military officers from active service.Barnaba Marial Benjamin, South Sudan’s min-ister for information and broadcasting, ex-plained the move as security sector reform,dismissing suggestions this had anything to
do with their potential disloyalty. “The presi-dent still trusts them [the generals]. He hashope in them and they should show good ex-amples in accepting the changes,” Benjaminsaid. Back on track?: Despite domestic politi-cal pressure, last month the African Unionmade every effort to get the stalled process
back on track, holding two presidential sum-mits within three weeks.
The first meeting on January 5 was a suc-cess, seeming to resolve the sticking pointspreventing implementation of September’sdeal. President Kiir agreed once more to thecomplete withdrawal from a border zoneknown as the “14 mile area”, a point of deepcontention with the South’s military. For itspart, Sudan agreed to ease its condition thata demilitarised border zone be establishedbefore South Sudanese oil could be exportedthrough Sudan again. Sudan had insisted onprioritising border security because it believesthe SPLM North rebels on its side of the bor-der, part of the South’s army before indepen-dence, continue to be supported by Juba - acharge Juba denies. Things looked like theywere heading in the right direction. On Janu-ary 17, South Sudan wrote to the UN SecurityCouncil that it had “completed the withdrawalof all its troops” from the border area in com-pliance with the agreement.
But it had not. Instead, Kiir had appar-ently returned to Juba after the January 5 sum-mit to find some of his generals unhappy atwithdrawing from the “14 mile area”. “Presi-dent Kiir’s biggest threat is not Sudan but hisown army,” quipped one diplomat. With noprogress on implementing the January 5 agree-ment, the two presidents met again in Addison January 25. Khartoum had reverted to itsprevious stance of requiring a border zone beset up before oil were to flow again. Far fromhaving withdrawn, South Sudan’s army waspresent in several places over the temporarilyagreed-upon border.
The second summit was a failure. Mostnegotiations are now on hold and meetingsat the technical level are no longer takingplace. Meanwhile, the one issue holding upthe others - the 14 mile area - is being ad-dressed at presidential level.
Abibo Eric Ngandu, the AU’s spokesmanfor the High Level Panel running the media-tion, said: “The Panel is facilitating discus-sions between the presidents on the unre-solved matter of the ’14-mile area’, which canbe resolved only by the presidents.” Headded that the committee dealing with the is-sue of border security “will not be able totake its work any further” until this issue isresolved. Diplomatic oxygen: Until then, thepeace process is lying limply in the emer-gency room, waiting to be killed off by moreconflict or possibly revived at the last minuteby some diplomatic oxygen.
—Courtesy: Think Africa Policy
Africa in midst of storms,.....................
President Bashir recently reiterated his government’s position that talks should only focus on the issue of South Kordofan andBlue Nile state, as outlined in the 2005 peace agreement. This is in line with the mainstream international approach in dealing withconflict in Sudan, which is to treat each matter separately, whether South Sudan, Darfur, or South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
MEI XINYU
IN the diplomatic field, Kim metmore foreign guests, includingambassadors, more often than hisfather during the past year. And
he frequently appeared in public ac-companied by his wife Ri Sol Ju—arare occasion among past leaders of
the country. Generally speaking, theDPRK is indeed trying to switch itspolicy focus from an emphasis on themilitary to boosting its economythrough the introduction of a marketsystem and conducting reform, inno-vation and opening-up. The recent
nuclear test and last December’s mis-sile launch made DPRK leaders feelmuch safer. They hope Western coun-tries like the United States and Japanwill realize they cannot control theDPRK, and instead turn to normaliz-ing their relationship with Pyongyang.Speaking of innovation in his New Yearaddress, Kim might realize a normal-ization of relations with the West by
DPRK’s pursuit of nuclear capability ismore than a military strategy
possessing nuclear capability, and fol-low up with economic expansion.
In fact, DPRK officials consider amilitary-first policy, space technologyand nuclear development as essentialin riding itself of a U.S. military threat,and also as the precondition for con-centrating on economic growth. Evenat its worst times, the DPRK has never
forgotten its economic constructionand livelihood goals. In recent years,the DPRK has adopted a series of re-form measures, showing an eager de-sire to further reform and development,especially after 2009.
Nuclear for peace strategy: The keyto the DPRK’s “nuclear for peace” strat-egy is limitation and timing. The DPRKshould not forget that a smaller coun-try doesn’t have equal endurance re-garding the same strategy of a biggercountry. The rationality of the originalintention of possessing nuclear weap-ons cannot cover the side effects andhigh cost. The worst side effect is that
nuclear testing will damage the relation-ship between the DPRK and its mostimportant neighbor, China. Uncertain-ties and turmoil during the process ofacquiring nuclear capability will inevi-tably disturb China’s obtained and cher-ished peaceful development environ-ment. And Chinese decisionmakers andthe public worry about possible nuclearleaks. Besides, China fears the DPRK’snuclear and space technology might bea hidden threat to China under unex-pected circumstances. After the recentnuclear test, the DPRK is faced withtwo options: one is to put exceedingresources into development of weap-ons of mass destruction; and the otheris to stop at the right time to cementtraditional relationships with China andRussia. It can use existing political andmilitary strength and realize normaliza-tion of relationships with Washingtonand Tokyo through political measures,and turn to a focus of economic con-struction sooner. The second way isobviously a more practicable path forthe original intention of going “nuclearfor peace.”
The DPRK is in a favorable envi-ronment for concentrating on eco-nomic development. China has basi-cally completed its power shift. In Rus-sia, Vladimir Putin, who consistentlyprojects a hard exterior to the West,was reelected as president. And theDPRK’s strategic partnership withRussia has been solid. Washingtonand Tokyo have begun to adjust theirKorean policy after realizing that theDPRK is too stable to overthrow. TheDPRK has cultivated many personnelto manage the economy after 10 yearsof sending talented people to studyabroad. This provides good conditionsfor Kim to carry out economic devel-opment, reform and opening up.
Moreover, the country’s economyhas generally recovered from the dev-astating blow brought on by the dis-solution of the Soviet Union. Its en-ergy and power industry is the firstsector to recover. Plus, China is trans-ferring power to the DPRK to fulfill itsdemands. The promoted power sup-ply has created preconditions for re-viving the country’s transportationand processing industries.
—Courtesy: Beijing Review
A look at far future, ......................
The United States, Japan and the ROK must notcarry out actions that could intensify or complicate
matters. They must accept that regardless of the do-mestic situation in the DPRK, the result of the KoreanWar is as unchangeable as the result of World War II.
RICHARD COHEN
IN the movie “Lawrence of Arabia,” theattempt to unite the Arabs comes apart inDamascus. Lawrence bangs on his deskwith the butt of his gun to bring the as-
sembly to order, but to no avail. Chaos erupts.Now something similar is happening in Syria.A mountain of dead (70,000 or so), not to men-tion an approaching regional bloodbath, sug-gests that once again things are coming apart.Still, life does not exactly imitate art. Lawrenceof Arabia at least tried to do something. Barackof D.C. just sat on his hands. Actually, he saton his polling numbers. The president’s re-fusal to do anything material to end the Syriancivil war is a policy long suspected of havingtwo elements fear of blowback and fear of thenightly news. Now comes a book from a one-time administration insider who bluntly andaltogether convincingly outlines the role do-mestic political considerations played in theWhite House’s approach to Afghanistan andPakistan. The goal of policymakers was “not
When doing nothing is a policyto make strategic decisions but to satisfy pub-lic opinion.” Syria, it seems, has been no ex-ception.
The former insider is the resplendently cre-dentialed Vali Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins
School of Advanced International Studies,senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, lifemember of the Council on Foreign Relationsand, most pertinently, former senior adviser tothe late Richard Holbrooke, President Obama’sspecial representative to Afghanistan and Pa-kistan. In that capacity, Nasr says he saw thealmost daily humbling of Holbrooke, a volcano
of a diplomat who was forever erupting ideas,plans and strategies almost always to no avail.In his telling, the White House was some sortof high school cafeteria where Holbrooke wasalways being shunned and given the silent
treatment. He blames “a small cabal of rela-tively inexperienced White House adviserswhose turf was strictly politics” for this. MeanGirls, not the Wise Men, made American policy.
Nasr set down his views in a book called“The Dispensable Nation.” It will be publishedin April, but samizdat copies of it are alreadybeing circulated. In a sense, the book only
confirms the general impression that Obama isa man without a foreign policy. He had naiveaspirations a world to be changed by the trans-formative power of a good speech but no clearpath to achieve anything. Nasr describes his
dismay when the surge in Afghanistan wasannounced in tandem with a pullout date. Inhis head, Secretary of State John Kerry, thenew implementer of Obama’s contradictorypolicy, must now hear a reprise of the questionhe once asked about his own war: “How doyou ask a man to be the last man to die inVietnam?” Nasr’s regional specialty was Af-
ghanistan and Pakistan. But the thrust of whathe says supports the view that Obama shiedfrom intervening in Syria out of domestic po-litical considerations. A president who wascampaigning as the peace candidate out ofIraq and, soon, Afghanistan, too could not riskanything bold in Syria. The country fell intothe margin of error. “It is not going too far tosay that American foreign policy has becomecompletely subservient to tactical domesticpolitical considerations,” Nasr writes.
Boldness is what the situation in Syria de-manded. A civil war that could have been con-tained has instead become a sprawling,regionwide bar fight. Arms could have beenshipped to the insurgents; a no-fly zone couldhave been imposed. Much could have beendone. Instead, Obama merely called for Basharal-Assad to go and, for some reason he, likeRep. Eric Cantor or somebody, remains immov-able. The stakes here are enormous. Lebanonteeters, swamped with refugees. Jordan, too,is overwhelmed.
—Courtesy: Washington Post
America’s Dangerous Drift
U.S. foreign policy under stress.................................
Sources of Disorder: Conditions in 2013 directlyput at risk the peaceful and secure world Americanpolicymakers and the public historically hoped tobuild. These sources of disorder, often defined byunique circumstances, fall into several categories.
The Kurds in Syria’s north may, as they have in nearby Iraq, establish an autonomous zone andTurkey will not be pleased. The jihadists are on the move, hungry for Syria’s vast store of chemicalweapons. Israel watches, nervously. What if Hezbollah gets its hands on chemical weapons? AnObama administration, afraid of blowback, may well have allowed the Middle East to blow apart.
Judge warns of delay inagent poisoning inquest
LONDON—British police saidthey would review accusationsof sexual misconduct madeagainst a former official of thecoalition’s Lib Dems, intensify-ing a scandal that threatens tooverwhelm the party ahead of aby-election.
Detectives from London’spolice force will considerwhether “criminal activity” tookplace relating to the allegationsof sexual impropriety madeagainst the party’s former chiefexecutive Chris Rennard, theMetropolitan Police Servicesaid.
Rennard, a member ofparliament’s upper house, deniesthe allegations, but has stooddown from party duties whilethey are investigated.
The furore comes at a diffi-cult moment for the party fol-lowing the resignation of aformer cabinet minister ChrisHuhne this month after he ad-mitted asking his then wife toaccept a penalty for a speeding
LONDON—A long-delayed in-quest into the poisoning deathof former Russian intelligenceagent Alexander Litvinenko willlikely not start on schedule, theBritish judge overseeing thecase said Tuesday.
Litvinenko, a Russian agentturned Kremlin critic, died inLondon in November 2006 af-ter drinking tea laced with theradioactive isotope polonium-210.Lawyers for his family say thatat the time of his death he wasworking for the British intelli-gence services, and Britain ac-cuses two Russians of the kill-ing. Moscow authorities refuseto extradite them for trial.
The inquest was due to startMay 1. But coroner Robert
Owen said he was “becomingincreasingly concerned that dueto the complexity of the investi-gation which necessarily pre-cedes the hearings, that may bea timetable to which it may notbe possible to adhere.”
At a court hearing Tuesday,British media organizationschallenged a government bid tohold parts of the inquest in se-cret for security reasons.Government lawyer NeilSheldon said that “the disclosureof the material in question wouldpose a real risk to the public in-terest.”But Ben Emmerson, lawyer forLitvinenko’s widow Marina,said the government’s quest forsecrecy was delaying proceed-ings.
“We know nothing aboutwhy these applications are be-ing made and we are dancing inthe dark,” he said.In Britain, inquests are held todetermine the facts wheneversomeone dies violently, unex-pectedly or in disputed circum-stances.The Litvinenko process has beendelayed until now because, fora long time, officials thoughtthere was a chance the Russiansuspects could be prosecuted.But last year, it became clear thatthe U.K. would not be able toput the two suspects on trial.
Emmerson said MarinaLitvinenko was “extremely dis-appointed” by the prospect offurther delays. “Not as disap-pointed as me,” Owen said.—AP
British police to review sexscandal claims at Lib Dems
offence he had committed.A local election to replace
Huhne takes place this Thurs-day, with the Lib Dems, below10 percent in national opinionpolls, fighting a close battle withtheir Conservative coalitionpartners for the seat.
The Lib Dems’ stumblingresponse to the reports thatRennard inappropriatelytouched female party membersand activists several years agohas put it on the back foot sincethey emerged in a televisionnews report last week.
Lib Dem President TimFarron, in an apparent criticismof party leader Nick Clegg, saidthe party had “screwed this up”.
Conservative-supportingnewspapers have leapt on thecrisis, putting Clegg, whoserves as deputy prime minis-ter, on the spot after he ap-peared to change his position onwhen and how much he knewabout the allegations. The DailyMail accused Clegg of a cover-
up after he disclosed he hadbeen aware of “indirect andnon-specific concerns” aboutRennard in 2008.
Clegg denied hushing up thematter, saying his chief of staffhad gone to Rennard at the timeto put the concerns to him alongwith the warning that suchbehaviour was “wholly unac-ceptable”.
“It is wrong ... to suggestthat we could have acted furthergiven that we didn’t have spe-cific allegations five years ago.We have them now. That’s whywe will act,” Clegg told SkyNews.
The party has now an-nounced two internal inquiries,one into how the party handledthe allegations, and another intothe allegations themselves.
“We don’t want there to beany no-go areas. If there arethings which are criminal theyneed to pursued,” party deputyleader Simon Hughes told SkyNews.—Reuters
Horse meat sold in beef productsin Hungary: Watchdog
BUDAPEST—Horse meat la-belled as beef has been sold inHungary, the National FoodChain Safety Office (Nebih)said on Tuesday.
Gyorgy Pleva, director ofNebih told television channelTV2 that the authorities werelooking into three separatecases of suspected horse meatfound at the retail and whole-sale level.
“Horse meat certainly gotinto (shops),” he said, addingthat all the shipments investi-gated by the authority took placelast year.
Horse meat has been foundin beef products across Europe
in recent weeks, damagingconfidence in the continent’svast and complex food indus-try.
A small amount of ham-burger meat containing horsemeat was sold last summer in aHungarian restaurant, Plevasaid, without disclosing the ori-gin of the product.
The Hungarian distributorof food brand Nowaco will with-draw a lasagne product in a fewdays, which is suspected of con-taining horse meat, he added.
“What we can say is thateven if there is such a product,that will be taken off from theshelves within days,” he said.
DNA tests in the Czech Re-public have shown that twobatches of frozen Nowaco La-sagne Bolognese in a branch ofthe Tesco supermarket chaincontained horse meat, and au-thorities said the products listedLuxembourg as the country oforigin.
Pleva said another lasagneproduct, which was made inHungary, was also being probedbased on a report from Den-mark, the intended destination ofthe product. He did not clarifywhether this product got intoDanish shops and could not im-mediately be reached for furthercomment.—Reuters
Afghanistan could be ‘second Kashmir’ after US pulloutLONDON–British historian andwriter William Dalrymplewarned that Afghanistan could be‘second Kashmir’ once the USforces pull out of the landlockedcountry.
While speaking to audienceduring a presentation at thelaunch of his latest book ‘Returnof a King - The Battle for Af-ghanistan’, William Dalrymplesaid, there might be anotherproxy war between India andPakistan as India would armHamid Karzai and Pakistanwould arm the Taliban.Dalrymple’s latest book “Return
of a King” uses sources never be-fore translated into English todraw startling parallels betweenthe First Anglo-Afghan War andtoday’s conflict.
Dalrymple gave a chillingaccount of British forces’ humili-ating defeat in the early 1840sduring the presentation whiledrawing paralells between theBritish invasion of Afghanistanin the first half of the 19th cen-tury and the US occupation ofAfghanistan in the beginning ofthe 21st century.
He said, that the British in-vasion of Afghanistan (1839-1842) was the ‘biggest catastro-
phe’ that the Raj ever suffered asout of the 18,000 British and EastIndia Company troops only onesurvived.
“There was a sensation in2006 that history was in a gen-eral sense repeating itself butwhat usually happens is thecloser you get to the detail, theparallels dissolve in the face ofdetailed evidence. What was soweird this time is the details leadto greater parallels,” he says.
This is the third timeDalrymple has turned his eye tothe complex relationship be-tween Britain and South Asia inthe 1800s. In The Last Mughal
and White Mughals he mined theMuslim history of India and theRaj. The British historian andwriter gathered epic poems, let-ters, memoirs and even ShahShuja’s autobiography guided toa bookseller in Kabul while on aresearch trip but Dalrymple saysEnglish historians have long de-nied the existence of indigenoussources from the period.
Shuja had been the Shah orking of Afghanistan between1803 and 1809 until he was over-thrown by his brother Mahmud.His father and grandfather hadbeen the first rulers of the Durraniempire. —Online
COURT NOTICE
In the Court of Syed ImamAli Shah, Judge BankingCourt No-II Gujranwala
Suit No.64/2013Faysal Bank Ltd Zia Plaza,Gujranwala —PlaintiffVersusMr. Abbas Ali Sahi —DefendantSummons U/S 9 (5) of the Fi-nancial Institutions (Recoveryof Finances) Ordinance; 2001(Ordinance No.XLVI of 2001)Summons to: Mr. Abbas Ali S/O Ch, Abbas Ali R/O VillageP.O. Jaiser wala, Tehsil DaskaDistt, Sialkot.WHEREAS the aforesaid plain-tiff has instituted a suit againstyou and other for the recoveryof Rs=40,74087/95- along withmark up/interest and cost etc,claimed to be payable by you ASummons u/s 9(5) OrdinanceXIVI of 2001 referred to aboveis hereby issued requiring youto make within 30 days of theservice of the Summon, an ap-plication for leave to defend thesuit in the form of written state-ment U/S 10 of the said ordi-nance.Take notice that on your failureto file such application withintime specified above, the Bank-ing Court shall pass a decree asprayed for in the plaint, in thefavour of the plaintiff BankingCompany. Next date for furtherproceedings, in the case has beenfixed on 08.04.2013. Given un-der my hand and the seal of thecourt, this 18.02.2013Seal of the Court
Banking Court IIGujranwala
subsidies.When asked to comment on
possibilities of a new US energyassistance package, US Embassyspokesperson Rian Harris saidsuch proposals and details are notknown at the embassy level inadvance.
Asked what US law barsPakistan or any other nation toindulge in business with Iran asIndia was also buying oil fromthe same country, she said, “USpolicy on Iran has notchanged.”
“U.S. policy on Iran is wellknown. We have made it clearto all our interlocutors around theworld that it is in their intereststo avoid activities that may beprohibited by UN sanctions orsanctionable under U.S. law,” shewent on.
“We recognise that Pakistanhas significant energy require-ments and US are committed tohelping alleviate shortfalls,” Rainadds
She reminded, that is why wehave invested in major energyinfrastructure projects, such asrenovating the Tarbela andMangla dams, modernising thethermal power plants in Guddu,Jamshoro and Muzaffargarh, andbuilding the Satpara and GomalZam dams.
These efforts have alreadyadded more than 400 megawattsof power to the national grid, andwill add a total of 950MW —enough power for 2 millionhouseholds — by the end of thisyear,” she said.
Asked how India was ex-empted from sanctions and buy-ing oil from Iran, she said, “theNational Defence AuthorisationAct provides the ability to grantexceptions of 180 days to thosecountries that demonstrate theyare significantly reducing theirvolumes of crude oil importsfrom Iran.
In December the Secretary ofState granted exemptions to nineeconomies that demonstrated sig-nificant reductions of crude oilimports, including India.
Economies must take con-tinuous steps to earn a renewalof the exemption for another 180days through continued reduc-tions in their purchases,” she con-cluded.
New US energyFrom Page 1
Medical students advised tolearn modern study approaches
MUZAFFAR ALI
LAHORE—People still trust thedoctors most and the politiciansleast. Medical education should,therefore, be oriented towardshealth and community as op-posed to disease and hospital.
This was stated by notedBritish physician and medicaleducationist Prof. ParveenKumar while delivering a lectureon ‘The Changing Face of Medi-cine’, here at the University ofHealth Sciences (UHS) on Tues-day.
Prof. Kumar is a well-known figure in medical profes-sion as she is the author ofKumar and Clark’s Textbook ofClinical Medicine, taught inmedical schools the world over.She currently teaches at Bartsand the London, Queen MarySchool of Medicine, University
of London, UK. Prof. Kumarsaid that it was needed to pre-pare doctors to fulfil the expec-tations of society, to cope withthe exponential growth of medi-cal and scientific knowledge, toinculcate physicians’ ability forlifelong learning, and to adjustmedical education to changingconditions in healthcare deliv-ery system.
She was of the view that overthe years, a major paradigm shiftin medical education had beenthe move to learner-centred ap-proaches, one major change be-ing the development of problem-based learning (PBL) and themove towards competency-basedand outcome-based learning.
“These new approaches havesought to place students as thefocus of learning, with theirteachers in supporting roles”, shemaintained. Prof. Kumar further
said that in medical andhealthcare education, this para-digm shift was prompted bymany factors, not least the needto produce doctors capable ofadapting to and meeting thechanging healthcare needs of thecommunities they served.
Prof. Kumar said that medi-cine is still the most trusted pro-fession in the world. She quoteda research on various professionsaccording to which 84 per centpeople considered medicine themost trustworthy professionwhereas only 22 per cent peopleconsidered the politicians mostreliable.
He said that effective perfor-mance as a healthcare profes-sional was no longer predicted onmemorizing a body of facts butdepended on being able to as-similate, evaluate and use new in-formation.
ther and would reject them forwhat they had done to them andthe country.
He claimed that the rulershad realized the people had risenagainst them for their anti-Sindhpolicies and they were the peopleof the province that had com-pelled the PPP to repeal the anti-Sindh local government system.He demanded of the ElectionCommission of Pakistan to en-sure strict compliance to the codeof ethics and for the pre-poll rig-ging by the PPP and its allies.Commenting on Karachi, Nawazsaid the city had been taken hos-tage and no action had been takenregarding the Supreme Court’sorder on militant wings of politi-cal parties. “If action had beentaken Shahzeb would not havebeen murdered.”
Earlier, PML-F chief PirPagara Sabghat Ullah ShahRashidi, in his address, said thathe had discussed with Sharif indetail the ongoing political situ-
ation and strategy to contest thecoming general elections so as tofinish the PPP from the provinceof Sindh.
He said that the PPP had al-ready vanished from Punjab,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa andBalochistan and it was onlySindh where the PPP was mak-ing use of its capabilities to winthe coming elections but it wouldnot prove fruitful.
He said that the country-wideblackout was a message that thePPP had given that they could doanything. Therefore, the PML-Nchief Sharif, the Chief Justice ofPakistan and Chief of the ArmyStaff should take notice of theblackout.
Pir Pagara addressing themedia said he had formed an al-liance with Nawaz Sharif in theinterest of the country. He statedthat if the PML-F was a greedyparty they would have not endedthe alliance with the PPP. Ac-cording to Pagara the govern-
ment was making plans for elec-tion rigging.
He said that he wanted to tellthe rulers that their time was overand they would no more be al-lowed to loot the country. PunjabChief Minister Mian ShahbazSharif, Leader of opposition inthe National AssemblyChaudhary Nisar Ahmed Khan,Muhammad Ali Durrani, SyedGhaus Ali Shah, Liaquat AliJatoi, Saleem Zia Awan Advo-cate, Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto,and Marvi Memon from PML-N were present.
From NPP leaders MurtazaJatoi and Masroor Jatoi werepresent. From PML-F PirSadruddin Shah Rashidi, ImtiazShaikh, Syed Muzaffar HussainShah, Jam Madad Ali, JamMashooq Ali, Faqeer JadamMangrio, Ghulam Mustafa Khar,Fareedullah Jamali, MirZafarullah Jamali, KamranTessori and Dr Rafiq Bhanbharwere present.
PML-N, PML-F, NPPFrom Page 1
KABUL—According to Af-ghan telecommunication andinformation technology minis-try officials around 14 millionAfghan citizens will receiveelectronic identity cards duringthe upcoming Afghan fiscalyear.
The issue of electronicidentity cards was under dis-cussion between the Afghangovernment and internationalcommunity during the past twoyears, with the Afghan inde-pendent election commissionbeing the main focus of the
Ethnicity issues resolved in newAfghan electronic ID cards
discussions as election offi-cials believe that fraudulentacts will be prevented throughelectronic identity cards.
However Afghan interiorministry officials said only50% of the Afghan populationelgibible for the voting will re-ceive electronic identity cardsuntil the upcoming presidentialelection due to the lack of time,Khaama Press reported.
One of the major concernregarding the ethnicity of theidentity card holders was alsoresolved after Afghan presi-
dent Hamid Karzai ordered tomention the native languageand ethnicity of the citizens inthe electronic identity card.
This comes as the issue ofthe electronic ID card lan-guage to be written only inPashtu language was raisedseveral times during the politi-cal events and Afghan law-makers also raised concernsregarding the ID languagewhich on other could createproblem to clearly specify thestatistics of the Afghan popu-lation. —NNI
architects of Obama’s Af-Pakpolicy. He is currently a researchscholar at the prestigiousBrookings Institute.
“The resolution of the Kash-mir issue would go a long waytoward making Pakistan a morenormal state and reducing its pre-occupation with India,” he wrote.
He said it would also re-move a major rationale for thearmy’s disproportionate role inPakistani national security af-fairs; that in turn would help toensure the survival of genuinecivilian democratic rule in thecountry.
“Former ambassador Will-iam Milam, a seasoned SouthAsia hand, has rightly stressedthat the ‘India-Centricity of thePakistani mindset is the mostimportant factor and variable’ inthe future of the country.
Such an agreement wouldnot resolve all the tensions be-
tween the two neighbours; how-ever, their disputes on issuesother than Kashmir are compara-tively trivial,” he wrote.
“A Kashmir deal would setthe stage for a different era in thesubcontinent and for more pro-ductive interaction between theinternational community and Pa-kistan.
It could set the stage for agenuine rapprochement betweenIndia and Pakistan and nurturetrade and economic interaction,which could transform the sub-continent for the better,” Riedelsaid.
He said that “it is also inIndia’s interest” to find a solu-tion to the conflict, which hasgone on far too long.
“Since the Kargil war in1999, the Indians have been moreopen to an American role inKashmir because they sense thatWashington is fundamentally in
favour of a resolution to main-tain the status quo, which Indiacan accept,” he claimed.
“The key to Indian coopera-tion will be whether the UnitedStates can make clear to Pakistanthat some red lines regarding ter-rorism are real, especially a redline on Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
If (Congress President)Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minis-ter (Manmohan) Singh can pointto real evidence that LeT is be-ing broken up and dismantled inPakistan, then they will have thepolitical clout to advance theback-channel talks to secure apeace breakthrough,” Riedelwrote.
“It is clearly in the Americaninterest to try to defuse a linger-ing conflict that has generatedglobal terrorism and repeatedlythreatened to create a full-scalemilitary confrontation on the sub-continent,” he wrote.—Online
Kashmir solution will makeFrom Page 1
Finance Minister said dollar-rupee parity should not be as it isnow.
The Finance Minister saidbudget preparations have beeninitiated and they are makinggood progress on this end. Hesaid a dollar bond scheme is un-der preparation and efforts arebeing made to streamline work-ing and performance of FederalBoard of Revenue.
He said draft bill for PublicFinancing to strengthen publicfinance managed has been sentto the Law Ministry for vetting.Saleem Mandviwalla said thatthe ECC has approved a bailoutpackage for PIA to meet its li-quidity requirements as the Cor-poration has to procure aircraft.
The meeting also approveda package for Pakistan Steel andas a consequence it wouldachieve production capacity of 40to 50% very soon. The FinanceMinister said instructions havebeen issued to officers and offi-cials of the Ministry to ensure thatevery file is disposed of withinthree days. The Minister said hehimself clears the file the sameday and hopes similar speed byother officials.
He said now the FinanceMinistry is approaching otherministries to help resolve theirproblems vis-a-vis the Ministry.He said focus is being given tothe Ministries of Water andPower and Petroleum and Natu-ral Resources. It has also resolvedissues of delay in transfer offunds for provinces‚ Azad Kash-mir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Mandviwalla:Budget
From Page 1
A report was submitted in thecourt about the Quetta tragedystating that checking and secu-rity has been tightened inBalochistan. It also stated that thesecurity personnel number hasbeen increased.
At which the CJP, the benchsaid reasons behind killings inQuetta as well as Balochistanwere not mentioned by govern-ment officers in their report. Itordered that arrested personsshould be put under trial.
The court directed Chief Sec-retary Balochistan, SecretaryDefense and IG Frontier Con-stabulary (FC) to submit a com-prehensive report on steps takenby the officials to improve lawand order and round up the cul-prits involved in the Quetta car-nage. The court later adjournedthe hearing of the case till the 6thof next month.— NNI
CJ: BalochistanFrom Page 1
added. Sajid demanded of thegovernment to approve this billimmediately, or else, people ofSindh would stage protest againstit. On this, PPP MNA NawabMuhammad Yusuf said PirMazhar had withdrawn his state-ment with in an hour, addingMQM also hurts their sentimentsby issuing statements on somematters.
MQM protestsFrom Page 1
place on record her role andthose who have played their rolein the education of girls fromBaluchistan. The Prime Minister ac-cepted the demand of the chil-dren to increase their stipendfrom 750 rupees to 1500 rupeesper month. Earlier Principal of theschool Shaistha Pirzada ap-prised the Prime Minister that anumber of young girls from re-mote areas of Baluchistan werepresently benefiting from thePrime Minister’s Programme. Sara Khalid a student speak-ing on the occasion said that shebelonged to Pashin and hadnever traveled before. Shepledged to work hard and payback the country by passing on
the knowledge. President of thePakistan Hockey FederationQasim Zia, called on PrimeMinister Raja Pervez Ashraf inIslamabad on Tuesday. The Prime Minister directedthe president PHF to focus onpromoting the national gameand work for welfare of thegame and the players. He said sports are a most ef-fective tool to positively utilizethe energies of youth. He addedthat his government has done alot for promotion of healthy ac-tivities like sports in the last fiveyears. Qasim Zia briefed the PrimeMinister on the affairs of PHFand discussed future planschalked out to promote hockeyin Pakistan.
PM: Govt wants to seeBalochistan prosper
From Page 1
Litvinenko lawyeraccuses UK of
cover up to helpRussia ties
LONDON—The lawyer for thefamily of former KGB agentAlexander Litvinenko, who wasmurdered in London in 2006,accused Britain and Russia onTuesday of colluding to try andshut down an inquiry into hisdeath for the sake of trade links.
Litvinenko, who had beengranted British citizenship andbecome a vocal critic of theKremlin, died after someoneslipped polonium-210, a rareradioactive isotope, into his cupof tea at a London hotel. —Reuters
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN —World powers, fearful of scut-tling negotiations beginningthis week with Iran, are offer-ing the Islamic republic somesmall new sanctions relief inreturn for curbing its nuclearprogram. But officials warnedMonday that it’s unlikely thatany compromise will bereached soon. Negotiators setlow expectations for the latestround of high-level diplomatictalks to begin Tuesday inKazakhstan’s largest city — thefirst since last June’s meetingin Moscow that threatened toderail delicate efforts to con-vince Iran to stop enriching ura-nium to a level close to thatused for nuclear warheads.
The stakes couldn’t behigher: the Obama administra-tion is pushing for diplomacyto solve the impasse but has not
ruled out the possibility of mili-tary intervention in Iran to pre-vent it from acquiring a nuclearweapon. And Israel has threat-ened it will use all means to stopIran from being able to build abomb, potentially as soon as thissummer, raising the specter of apossible Mideast war.
Tehran maintains it is enrich-ing uranium only to make reac-tor fuel and medical isotopes, andinsists it has a right to do so un-der international law. It has sig-naled it does not intend to stop,despite harsh international sanc-tions on its oil and financial sec-tors, and U.N. nuclear inspectorslast week confirmed Iran has be-gun a major upgrade of its pro-gram at the country’s main ura-nium enrichment site.
The clerical regime’s refusalfrustrates the international com-munity, which has responded by
slapping Iran with a host of eco-nomic sanctions that U.S. offi-cials said have, among otherthings, cut the nation’s daily oiloutput by 1 million barrels andslashed its employment rate.But, in a twist, negotiators nowhope that easing some of thesanctions will make Tehranmore agreeable to halting pro-duction of 20 percent enricheduranium — the highest gradeof enrichment that Iran has ac-knowledged and one that ex-perts say could be turned intowarhead grade in a matter ofmonths. Negotiators from thesix world powers — UnitedStates, Russia, China, Britain,France and Germany — alsowant Iran to suspend enrich-ment in its underground Fordonuclear facility, and to ship itsstockpile of high-grade ura-nium out of the country.—AP
ISLAMABAD—Interior MinisterRehman Malik on Tuesday toldSenate that all out efforts are be-ing made for early repatriation ofAafia Siddiqui from UnitedStates. On a point of order movedby Mushahid Hussain Syed, In-terior Minister Rehman Maliksaid that all out efforts are beingmade for early repatriation ofAafia Siddiqui from UnitedStates. He said that the ForeignOffice is looking into the matter.He said that in this regard a meet-ing would be held with FauziaSiddiqui and we will proceed inthe manner she and her counseldesire.
He told the house that Indiahas apologized for taking thename of deceased Pakistan MPAfor his involvement in theHyderabad blasts.
Senator Kamil Agha said thatdespite passage of 10 years thePakistani governments failed tobring about the release of AaafiaSiddique from the hands of US.He said that why hasn’t the gov-ernment responded to Ramzi
Clark letter, which was written 8months back. He said that if thisletter had reached presidentZardari he could have signed theagreement for Dr Aaafia releaseand she could have spent her re-maining sentence in PakistanReplying to a call attention no-tice regarding partial award of theinternational court of arbitrationon Kishanganga hydro electric-ity project in response toPakistan’s appeal for interimmeasure against the dam, Minis-ter of State for Water and PowerTasneem Ahmad Qureshi in-formed the House that in theshort order Pakistan’s reserva-tions have been considered andfinal judgement will be an-nounced in December this year.
He said the judgement is notagainst Pakistan rather it is in ourfavour. He said under a conven-tion if the US President comesto the power second time then theforeign prisoners in America canappeal for mercy or can undergoimprisonment in their respectivecountries. He said letter has been
written in this regard and the casewill be pleaded according to thedemands of Fauzia Siddiqui thesister of Aafia Siddiqui.
Leader of the House,Jahangir Badar presented annualreport of the National EconomicCouncil for the financial year2011-12 in the house.
The Senate also unanimouslypassed “The Islamabad CapitalTerritory Private Educational In-stitutions (Registration andRegulation) Bill, 2013” The Sen-ate today unanimously passed“The Islamabad Capital TerritoryPrivate Educational Institutions(Registration and Regulation)Bill, 2013”. “The ShaheedZulfikar Ali Bhutto ShaheedMedical University (PIMS),Islamabad Bill, 2013” was intro-duced in the House on Tuesday.
The chair referred the bill tothe concerned committee of theHouse and sought report tillThursday.
The House has now beenadjourned to meet Wednesdaymorning at 10:30.—Online
All out efforts for earlyrepatriation of Aafia, Senate told
Sanctions relief offered in Iranian nuclear talks
Zardari to visitQuetta todayQUETTA—President of Paki-stan Asif Ali Zardari is going topay a visit to Quetta today(Wednesday). According to me-dia reports during his visit he willhave meetings with the leaders ofPPP and those of the allied par-ties and discuss the issue relatedto the restoration of BalochistanGovernment.—Online
Climate ChangePolicy announcedISLAMABAD—The first everNational Climate ChangePolicy has been announced. An-nouncing the policy inIslamabad on Tuesday‚ Minis-ter for Climate Change‚ RanaMuhammad Farooq SaeedKhan said the policy will focuson tackling the climate issueson scientific lines. He said thatthe policy has been chalkedwith the financial and techni-cal assistance of the UNDP.Rana Farooq said the countryhas suffered heavily due tonatural calamities during thelast decade. He said that effortsare underway to rehabilitate allthose people who were affectedby floods in 2010.— NNI
FC repulsesmilitants attackBANNU—The security forcesand frontier Corps (FC) on Tues-day repulsed militants’ attack attheir joint camp in Janikhail areaof Bannu. According to securityforces, a group of unidentifiedarmed militants attacked at acamp jointly set up by securityforces and FC personnel in thearea. Immediately the securityforces and FC personnel retali-ated the attack and the miscre-ants managed to flee from thescene.—INP
6 dead in Sahiwalroad mishapSAHIWAL—Atleast six personsdied while 44 sustained severeinjuries in a collision betweenbus and truck on Tuesday. Ac-cording to reports, a bus of AlMadina Company bearing reg-istration Number T-1179 washeading to Sialkot from Hasilpurroute. When it was overtakinganother bus across the road itcollided with non-functionalTrailer bearing number Plate SA-3485 resultantly six persons diedon the spot while 44 sustained se-vere injuries. —Online
Loadsheddingirks peopleLAHORE —Three to four hoursof unannounced electricityloadshedding in various areas ofprovincial capital perturbedpeople. Faisal town, Johar town,Dharampura, Gari Shaho,Wasanpur, Shahdra,Gawalmandi, Gulberg, Modeltown, Nishtar Colony and othersareas are facing 8 to 9 hours ofloadshedding. People in the areascomplained that they are facingshortage of water due to the pro-longed loadshedding.—Online
Quetta securityplanQUETTA —Balochistan Gov-ernment has evolved a compre-hensive security plan for the pro-vincial capital after thorough re-view and consultation on vari-ous levels in the wake ofAlamdar Road and Kirani trag-edies. Talking to news men inQuetta, the provincial Home andTribal Affairs Secretary saidSouthern Command of PakistanArmy, Balochistan FrontierCorps and the police have jointlyworked to finalize the planaimed at ensuring sustainablepeace in the city. —Online
GHULAM TAHIR
Q U E T T A — G o v e r n o rBalochistan Nawab Zulfiqar AliMagsi declared here on Tuesdaythat the decision to hand overGwadar Seaport to China andlaying gas pipeline from Iran isa bold step and a landmark inrevolutionizing the economy ofPakistan, particularly of im-mense benefit to people ofBalochistan in the wake of op-position by certain external ele-ments.
In an interview with thisscribe Nawab Magsi appre-hended that inhospital externalelements, inimical to these im-portant developments, wouldnot hesitate to create internalproblems in Balochistan but weare prepared to meet such chal-lenges for the development,rapid economic uplift of Paki-stan and prosperity of the
Gwadar handing over to China,IP pipeline bold steps: MagsiReady to foil external forces’ ill-designs
Balochistan people.Nawab Magsi declared,
“We are prepared to meet anychallenge from any quarteraimed at destabilizing the politi-cal situation in the province andwould be dealt with an ironhand.”
He said that the historic de-
cision would not only change thelife style of people ofBalochistan but give boost to theeconomic activities of entirePakistan. Nawab Magsi said thatthe people of Balochistan havewidely acclaimed this decisionas they would accrue the im-mense benefit from theseprojects in removing traces ofpoverty.
The Governor maintainedthat with the start of activitiesof Gwadar Seaport the commu-nication system in Balochistanwould be improved to providetrade transport facilities to thecentral Asian countries besidesroad and rail link with China.Nawab Magsi pointed out thatpeople of Balochistan have ap-preciated the historic decision ofthe Government to activate com-mercial activities and provid-ing job opportunities.
‘Adiala jail missingpersons’ release
impossible until endof military operation’ISLAMABAD—A three-memberbench of the Supreme Courtheaded by Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry on Tues-day heard the Adiala Jail missingprisoners’ case.
Attorney General Irfan Qadirinformed the court that the AdialaJail missing persons’ release wasimpossible in the absence of CivilAuthority’s regulations. Qadir toldthe court that the suspects werearrested in the semi-autonomousnorthwestern tribal belt, where thearmy has been fighting militantsfor around a decade. He said noneof the suspects could be freed un-til the end of operations in thetribal belt, and declined to say howlong they had been incustody.“The detained men can behanded over to authorities onlyafter the operation is halted in thetribal regions.” Chief JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhrysaid the suspects must be put ontrial and holding them indefinitelyviolated their human rights.“These people cannot be kept inillegal custody for an indefiniteperiod because it is against theconstitution and basic fundamen-
MNA Riaz Fatyanaquits PML-Q
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Mus-lim League-Q (PML-Q) leaderMNA Riaz Fatyana on Tues-day announced to quit PML-Qover some differences withleadership of his party.
Speaking to reporters out-side the Parliament House,Fatyana said: “I have informedthe party leadership about mydecision to part ways with thePML-Q.” “Party leadershipdoesn’t have time to addressmy reservations,” he com-plained.—Online
MUZAFFAR ALI
LAHORE—Pakistan Awami Tehrikand Minhaj-ul-Quran Interna-tional chief Dr Tahirul Qadri onTuesday said that Pakistan AwamiTehreek will announce by March17 its decision whether or not itwill take part in upcoming elec-tions.
He also confirmed that he willvisit Canada for a week for “rou-tine checkups”. “The dates of allmy medical checkups were spreadover several weeks, but I had themconsolidated in one week toshorten my trip,” he said whilespeaking to the media at his sec-retariat here.
Tahir-ul-Qadri further saidthat he will depart on Wednesdayor Thursday and will return byMarch 10. It means that Qadri willnot be in the country at a criticaljuncture as announcement of thecaretaker government is expectedin the next two weeks. Qadri, inhis agreement with the govern-ment, had sought ruling PPPs’ as-surance for consultation with him
over the nomination of caretakerprime minister ahead of generalelections. He said he will supportevery step of the Election Com-mission of Pakistan to hold freeand fair elections.
Answering a query he said hesaid his party Pakistan AwamiTehreek has formed a parliamen-tary board for candidates inter-ested in participating in election.He asked the interested candidatesto submit their applications to theboard ahead of the party rally onMarch 17 in Rawalpindi wherethe final decisions will be an-nounced. The party chief had ear-lier said that he will tell the nationin his Rawalpindi rally whether tovote in an election or pursue arevolution. “My final contest willbe on March 17 in Rawalpindi’sLiaqat Bagh,” he added.
He said he wants to throw the“criminals” out of Pakistani poli-tics. He also said his reservationsabout the constitution of the com-mission have not entirely beenremoved. Talking about terrorism‚Qadri termed government’s ac-
PAT decision to contestpolls by March 17: QadriRefuses to drop Canadian citizenship
ISLAMABAD—PresidentialSpokesman and Pakistan PeoplesParty Senator Farhatullah Babarhas said the arbitration award onKishanganga hydro electricityproject has protected Pakistan’sright to receive uninterrupted wa-ter supplies on the Western riv-ers
Farhatullah Babar said thatIndia has planned 150 run-of-river power plants on the west-ern rivers of which 47 are above50 MWs which made this par-
Arbitration award onKishanganga protects Pak right
ticular decision very significantfor Pakistan. Without such cleardirection by the Court‚ the con-struction of these storage-ori-ented power plants by India‚ inthe manner it has been seekingto build in the past‚ could haveseriously undermined Pakistan’sright of uninterrupted waterflows from the western rivers.
He said the court also or-dered that in a run of the riverplant like the Kishanganga Hy-dro Electric Plant. —NNI
ISLAMABAD: Dr. Fauzia Siddiqui called on Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Talks can beheld with
Taliban: MalikSHARAFAT KAZMI
ISLAMABAD—Interior MinisterRehman Malik has said thatthere should be no election alli-ance with any defunct organiza-tion and talks could be held withTaliban if they nominate a rea-sonable person for the purpose. Talking to media outside theparliament building here Tues-day, he asked the defunct orga-nizations to lay down their armsand enter into the nationalstream. The Interior Minister urgedPunjab government to take ac-tion against the defunct organi-zations in the province.
A VIRUS that infects humans withoutcausing disease kills breast cancercells in the laboratory. Researchers
from Pennsylvania State University (PennState) College of Medicine in the US, testedan unaltered form of adeno-associated vi-rus type 2 (AAV2) on threedifferent human breastcancer types representingdifferent stages of cancerand found it targeted all ofthem. They hope by un-covering the pathways thevirus uses to trigger can-cer cell death, their workwill lead to new targets foranti-cancer drugs. A paperon this work appeared re-cently in the journal Mo-lecular Cancer.
In earlier studies, theteam also showed thatAAV2 promotes cell deathin cervical cancer cells in-fected with humanpapillomavirus (HPV).
Cells have differentways of dying. When a healthy cell getsdamaged, or starts behaving in an abnor-mal way, this normally triggers productionof proteins that cause apoptosis or cellsuicide: part of this process also involvesswitching off proteins that trigger cell di-vision.
The problem with cancer cells is thatapoptosis fails, and the proteins that regu-late cell division and proliferation stayswitched on, so abnormal cells continueto multiply and create new abnormal cellsand that is how tumors develop.Breastcancer is the most common cancer in theworld and the main cause of cancer-related
death in women.First author Dr SaminaAlam, research associate in microbiologyand immunology at Penn State, told thepress in a statement released on Thurs-day that breast cancer is also “complexto treat”.
Senior investigator DrCraig Meyers, professor ofmicrobiology and immunol-ogy at Penn State, explainedwhy:
“Because it has multiplestages, you can’t treat all thewomen the same. Currently,treatment of breast cancer isdependent on multiple fac-tors such as hormone-de-pendency, invasivenessand metastases, drug resis-tance and potential toxici-ties.”
However, he went on tosay that in their study, theyshowed that “AAV2, as asingle entity, targets all dif-ferent grades of breast can-cer”.
He and his team believe that AAV2 isswitching back on the apoptosis path-ways that were switched off in the can-cer cells.
For their study they used lab tissuecultures of cancer cells and found AAV2killed 100% of them within seven days,with most of the cell death proteins acti-vated on day five.In another experiment,working with cancer cells from an aggres-sive form of breast cancer, they foundthe virus took three weeks to kill the cells.
Alam said they can see the virus iskilling the cells, but exactly how it is do-ing it remains somewhat of a mystery.
Non-disease virus killsbreast cancer cells in lab
ISLAMABAD: Women are busy in their work at a farm in the suburbs of the capital where colourful flowers are blooming marking arrival ofSpring season.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir
ISLAMABAD: Students presenting a Kashmiri song depicting Kashmiri Culture at aseminar on Pakistani Regional Languages at NUML.
LIAQAT TOOR
KUWAIT, a small buthighly potential oil-rich state was always
close to Pakistan historicallyas linkages with this land ex-isted even in pre-indepen-dence period. Situated onnorth-east of the ArabianPeninsula, Kuwait, a home ofover 1.6 million Pakistanisnever lacked behind in as-sisting Pakistan in hours oftrial and in the same way Pa-kistan was always in the fore-front in supporting and help-ing Kuwait against illegaloccupation by Iraq underSaddam Hussain in 1990.
A large number of Paki-stanis belonging to differentsegments of society wereclustered in a glitteringevening thrown out byNawaf Abdulaziz Alenezi, am-bassador of Kuwait to Paki-stan to celebrate 52nd anni-versary of the IndependenceDay and 22nd anniversary ofthe Liberation Day on Mon-day in a local hotel.
The energetic ambassa-dor was the moving spirit onthe occasion as he was mov-
ing in the hall from one cor-ner to the other extending hiswarm hospitality to hisguests including politicians,
parliamentarians, members ofdiplomatic corps, ex-diplo-mats, businessmen, scholarsand friends of Kuwait.
Prime Minister RajaParvez Ashraf was the ChiefGuest on the occasion whichreflected the ever-present
feeling of closeness betweenthe two states. Advisor Dr.Asim Hussain, Sheikh RashidAhmed, Wasim Shahzad andHafiz Hussain Ahmed wereamong eminent personalitieswho attended the celebra-tions.
On arrival of the PrimeMinister Na-tional Anthemsof both thecountries wereplayed. RajaParvez Ashraf joined the am-bassador in cake cutting cer-emony amidst applause by theparticipants. The Prime Min-ister stayed in the colourfulceremony for sometimes talk-ing with the Kuwaiti ambas-sador and other guests.
Nawaf Abdulaziz Aleneziis a pleasant personality andever keen to promote rela-tionship between the two Is-lamic, brotherly countries. Inhis message to the Pakistanibrethren on this happiestoccasion of his country, hewelcomed and appreciatedPakistan’s support to hiscountry during illegal occu-pation by Iraq in 1990. Ku-wait and Pakistan enjoy cor-
Kuwait National Day
Oil-rich Kuwait and Pakistan always stayed close together in ordealsOver 1.6 million Pakistanis transforming Kuwait into modern state; Pakistan’s support to Ku-wait during occupation was taken as highest gesture: Nawaf Abdulaziz Alenezi; PM’s partici-
pation in celebrations reflected ever-present feeling of closeness
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Ambassador of Kuwait NawafAbdulaziz Alenezi, Advisor to PM on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain, Ambassador of IraqDr Rushdi Al-Ani, Ambassador of Palestine Walid A M Abu Ali, Ambassador of YemenAbdo Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Shawafi, Ambassador of Algeria Dr Ahmad Benflis, Ambas-sador of Egypt Said Hindam and others cutting the cake on the occasion of the 52ndAnniversary of the Independence Day and the 22nd Anniversary of the Liberation Day ofKuwait at a local hotel.—PO photo
dial, honorable relationshipbased on mutual interestsand trust, he said.
Kuwait is hosting over1.6 million Pakistanis whoare contributing to its de-velopment. Recently a largenumber of Pakistani doc-tors were recruited in the
health sectorof Kuwait.
K u w a i tnever lackedbehind in as-
sisting Pakistan duringmassive earthquake in 2005and floods in 2010.The In-ternational Islamic Chari-table Organisation (IICO )of Kuwait has spent $ 770million on humanitariancharitable projects in morethan 139 countries.
The IICO allocated $24680000 for Pakistan onlyto carry out relief and reha-bilitation projects in differ-ent corners of Pakistan.
Pakistan and Kuwait aretwo brotherly countrieswith Islamic flavour whichstood by each other in hoursof trial and they would con-tinue such cooperative rela-tionship in future also.
CITY REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—The presentgovernment has an intensedesire to see Baluchistanprosper which is only pos-sible if the children of prov-ince especially girls are moti-vated and educated.
This was stated by PrimeMinister Raja Pervez Ashrafwhile addressing the 3rd ses-sion of Prime Minister’s Schol-arship programme for talentedstudents of Baluchistan inIslamabad on Tuesday. Dilatingon the importance of educationthe prime minister said that not
Education essentialfor successful life: PM
only Islam lays great stress oneducation but it is essential forleading a successful life.
Praising the confidenceof the students‚ the PrimeMinister said that he waspleased with the performanceof girls who had come fromfar flung and remote areas ofBalochistan and were beingeducated in the finest schoolsin Islamabad.The Prime Min-ister urged the girls to seekmore education so that theycould move forward in life.
Acknowledging the ef-forts of Special Assistant toPrime Minister Begum
Shahnaz Wazir Ali‚ he saidthat he wanted to place onrecord her role and those whohave played their role in theeducation of girls fromBalochistan.The Prime Min-ister accepted the demand ofthe children to increase theirstipend from 750 rupees to1500 rupees per month.
Earlier Principal of theschool Shaista Pirzada ap-prised the Prime Minister thata number of young girls fromremote areas of Balochistanwere presently benefitingfrom the Prime Minister ’sProgramme.
Raja to inauguratebird aviary
ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf would in-augurate the bird aviary inCapital Development Au-thority (CDA) administeredLake View Park in the firstweek of March as construc-tion of the country’s largestaviary has been completed.
CDA Director Parks,Khalid Malik said that birdsof different genus have beenprocured for the bird aviary,adding that this is a pleasantaddition in recreational facili-ties for visitors.
The Lake View Park’s birdaviary — gigantic cage forconfining birds with larger liv-ing space where they can fly— has been constructed at acost of Rs80 million and wouldfeature large variety of birds.The visitors would be able toroam freely in the area to en-joy the presence of beautifulbirds.It may be noted that theproject was to be started inMarch 2008, but owing toshortage of funds it was de-layed for many years.
The bird aviary is likelyto attract large number ofvisitors.—INP
ISLAMABAD—Mahfl-e-Naatwas held in Islamabad in con-nection with Holy Prophet’sbirth anniversary celebra-tions. Begum Nusrat Pervez,the First Lady, was the guestof honor in the ceremonywhich was organized at theresidence of Begum Haji
First Lady attends Mehfil-e-NaatMushtaq.
The ceremony was at-tended by a large numberof women belonging tovarious walks of life. Re-nowned women Naatkhawans recited Naat andoffered salutations andgreetings on the Holy
prophet (PBUH).Speaking on the occa-
sion, Begum Nusrat Pervezsaid that we could becomesuccessful by acting uponthe teachings of the HolyProphet (PBUH) not only inthis world but also in thehereafter.—NNI
ISLAMABAD—Supreme Courthas disposed of the RawalDam Pollution Case after theSpecial Secretary Cabinet Di-
SC disposes of Rawal Dam pollution casevision Mushahidullah Baiggave written guarantee that norefuse is being dumped inRawal Lake. A three-member
bench headed by Chief JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudharyheard the suo motu case onTuesday.—Online
CapitalUniversity Bill
ISLAMABAD—The NationalAssembly has passed “TheCapital University IslamabadBill 2013”. The bill was movedby Yasmeen Rehman pro-vides for the establishmentof the Capital UniversityIslamabad.
Shireen Arshad Khan in-troduced “The Pakistan Citi-zenship (Amendment) Bill‚2013”. It further amends thePakistan Citizenship Act‚1951.—NNI
ISLAMABAD: VC Allama Iqbal Open University Prof Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi offering duaafter planting a sapling of orange in the premises of Academic Complex of the University tolaunch Spring Tree Planting campaign.
ISLAMABAD: Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan Chairman Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan speaks dur-ing the reception in honour of Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan at a local hotel.
ISLAMABAD: A lady taking interest in the floral arrangements displayed during the General Body meeting of Floral ArtSociety Pakistan, at a local hotel.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir
ISLAMABAD: Members of National Assembly Business Advisory Committee with SpeakerNational Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza.
No compromise on wagesof journalists: CJP
CITY REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—Chief Justice ofPakistan (CJP) IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry has re-marked it should be kept in mindby the government that no com-promise would be made on thewages of media employees andjournalists.
CJP gave these remarkswhile presiding over a 3-mem-ber bench of SC during thecourse of hearing of implemen-tation of 7th Wage Board Award(WBA) case Tuesday.
He remarked “governmentshould keep in mind that nocompromise will be made on thewages of media employees andjournalists. Implementation of7th WBA be ensured at everycost”. Supreme Court (SC)sought detailed report from thegovernment on practical imple-mentation of 7th Wage BoardAward (WBA) on March, 26.
Afzal Siddiqui advocate ap-peared in the court and he toldthat court’s orders on wageboard award has been imple-mented.
CJP inquired if he was surethat 7th WBA had been ap-proved finally.
Afzal Siddiqui advocatesaid certain important points
need arguments on this count.We are making it clear with ref-erence to implementation of 7thWBA that it will be imple-mented in its true letter and spiritand salaries will be paid accord-ingly”, he added.
It is correct that certainnewspapers are paying far lesssalaries still, he said.
CJP observed “it is best forthe industry that you enforcewage board award for the sakeof better working relationshipbetween owners of the news pa-pers and the workers. As manyas 12 years have been elapsedbut award could not be imple-mented, he further observed.
He remarked “ we have notissued notices so far. If the sala-ries have been revised or other-wise. It is correct that we arehearing review of this case to-day.
Afzal Siddiqui said salarieswill be enhanced under wageboard award.
Justice Azmat remarkedthey are making no payment.
Afzal Siddiqui said there arecertain legal points involvedtherein. “I don’t say that previ-ous decision be set aside.
CJP remarked nothing willbe accepted from your side withreference to salaries of employ-
ees of the media.Afzal Siddiqui said there are
two kinds of journalists, work-ing and non working.
CJP remarked “ if you willnot give arguments then we willcall Abdul Hafiz Pirzada.
Fakhar, a reporter from aprivate TV channel told the courtthat owners of private TV chan-nels were not paying the salariesand the news papers are facingworse situation than electronicmedia in this connection. Sev-eral employees have committedsuicide, he said.
Afzal Siddiqui said the state-ment that salaries have not beendisbursed is not correct.
Khalid Azim told the courtthat protest rallies by the jour-nalists are continuing outside theoffices of news papers and pressclub. Who are journalists, thelaw is very clear on it. Date ofhearing of the case may pleasebe fixed now, he prayed.
Afzal Siddiqui said hewould have to contact the con-cerned quarters in connectionwith the fixation of date.
The court adjourned thehearing till March, 26 besidesseeking the detailed report fromthe federal government with re-spect to practical implementa-tion of 7th wage board award.
ISLAMABAD—The senate hashanded over the bill about giv-ing university status to PakistanInstitute of Medical Sciences(PIMS) to the standing commit-tee due to the protest of opposi-tion in the house.
On Tuesday the bill of mak-ing Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali BhuttoMedical University inIslamabad 2013 came under dis-cussion in the upper house of theparliament . Opposition leaderin Senate Ishaq Dar said thatPML(N) respects national per-sonalities but it will not be ap-propriated that the name ofQuaid-e-Azam Medical College, which is already used in PIMS,
Senate hands over bill onSZABMU to Standing Committee
will be changed to ShaheedZulfiqar Ali Bhutto MedicalUniversity. MQM also opposedthe bill.
He said that opposition hasalso apprehensions on the con-tent of the bills . Government ismaking a regulator instead ofuniversity as according to thebill all the public and privatesector medical colleges func-tioning in federal capitalIslamabad as well as medicalfaculty of Quaid-e-Azam Uni-versity will automatically bedeactivated and become the partof the new university , with theformation of Shaheed ZulfiqarAli Bhutto Medical University.
He said that the bill shouldnot be passed in haste as there istwo week times left in the ten-ure of National Assembly so itshould be given to standingcommittee. He said that Sena-tor Raza Rabbani may be invitedto the committee to elucidate thelegal aspect of the bill.
Federal Minister NazarGondal assured the house that gov-ernment is making separate univer-sity without changing the name ofQuaid-e-Azam Medical College.Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medi-cal University will be largest medi-cal university in the country evenbigger from Agha Khan Universityof Health Sciences.—Online
ISLAMABAD—Huge discrepan-cies, tampering of record andfiscal misappropriations of bil-lion of rupees including foreigntrips of former top brass of Pa-kistan Medical and DentalCouncil (PM&DC) has raisedmany eyes brows.
According to availabledocuments it is learnt that dur-ing the tenure of Ex-registrar DrAhmed Nadeem Akbar and ProfDr Syed Sibtul Hasnain, Presi-dent PM&DC initial contract ofthirty two million three hundredtwenty five thousand (Rs32,325,678) was given for con-struction and renovation of Pa-kistan Medical and DentalBuilding however this amounthas been increased upto Rs onehundred twenty four millionseven hundred fifty six thousandfiver seventy two (Rs124,756,572).
This contract was violationof Public Procurement Regula-tory Authority (PPRA) rules andwithout fulfilling codal formali-ties and National Accountabil-ity Bureau (NAB) rules section
Misappropriations of formerPM&DC registrar under scanner
33b of NAB ordinance XVIII of1999 says that holders of publicoffices shall furnish copy of anycontract of the minimum mon-etary value of fifty million ru-pees or more to NAB withinsuch time as is reasonably prac-ticable from the date of signingsuch contract.
Documents further revealedthat that Ex-registrar of PakistanMedical and Dental Council DrAhmed Nadeem Akbar ap-proved his own air tickets worthof millions for foreign tours andsurpassed from his sanctioningfinancial powers.
Dr Nadeem Akbar visitedUSA to participate FAIMERmeeting held on 22nd Oct 2009and in the invitation it was statedthat organization will pay allkind of travelling and accommo-dation charges but Dr NadeemAkbar claimed Rs 146,863 forair ticket and Rs 66,568 of TA/DA from PM&DC.
It is also learnt that DrNadeem Akbar took advance of$ 500 as rent a car chargesagainst 8th International
IAMARA conference held inCape Town with the approval ofpresident PM&DC but did notsettled the advance against therent a car charges bills to date.
Dr Ahmed Nadeem Akbarspent $ 1523 on TA/DA over hisforeign trips and Rs 460,212 onair tickets of these foreign trips.
Ex-registrar also approved13 forged registrations duringhis tenure and ex-president andex-registrar both were respon-sible for fake registration andother financial embezzlements.
Talking to Online RegistrarPM&DC Dr Raja Amjad toldthat auditor General of Pakistanwould address the financial ir-regularities and operational is-sues that done during last fewyears.
He said that an enquiry hasbeen launched for fact findingabout Dr ahmed Nadeem declar-ing himself unopposed memberof the Council without takingNOC from the Executive Com-mittee and with out the announce-ment of any voter list for doctorsof the federal capital.—Online
IS L A M A B A D—The Vice-Chancellor , Allama IqbalOpen University (AIOU),Prof. Dr. Nazir Ahmed Sangihas launched Spring TreePlantation Campaign withplanting a sapling of Orangein the premises of AcademicComplex of the University.
Those present on the oc-casion were included, Dean,Faculty of Science, Prof. Dr.Nowshad Khan, Controller ofExams, Hamid KhanNiazi,Incharge, Department ofHorticulture, Dr. ZaibaHameed, Senior academicians, officers and employees.
The Vice-Chancellorcalled upon the employees ofUniversity to participate in thenational cause of making theUniversity green by plantingsaplings aimed at providing
AIOU launches springtree-planting campaign
healthy and students friendlyenvironment. He also urgedthe AIOU students to playtheir due role in making thecountry green as maximumplantation is national obliga-tion.
The Vice-Chancellor saidtrees are beauty of the land,which provide pleasant im-pacts on both environmentand human life, so strict moni-toring, he said should be car-ried out to ensure maximumsurvival of the planted sap-lings. Dr. Sangi said thatAIOU actively participatesTree Plantation drives duringeach planting season and thedepartment of horticulture ofthe University and its garden-ers deserve to be congratu-lated on making the Univer-sity green.—Online
ISLAMABAD—House BusinessAdvisory Committee of the Na-tional Assembly met in ParliamentHouse, Tuesday evening with Dr.Fehmida Mirza, Speaker NationalAssembly in the chair to discussthe business for the 50th Sessionof the National Assembly.
After thorough discussion, itwas decided that the current ses-sion of the National Assembly willcontinue till 12th March, 2013. Itwas decided that National Assem-bly besides taking up legislative
NA Business Advisory Committee meetsbusiness for passage would alsotake up other matters of publicimportance for discussion.
The Members of the Commit-tee individually paid tribute toMadam Speaker for her role as thecustodian of the House and con-ducting proceedings of the Na-tional Assembly, impartially. Theyalso thanked the Speaker and theSecretariat for cooperation ex-tended to them in discharge oftheir responsibilities as Membersof the National Assembly.
The meeting was attended byFaisal Karim Kundi, DeputySpeaker, Syed Naveed Qamar,Minister for Defence, SardarBahadur Ahmed Khan Sihar,Minister for Defence Produc-tion, MNAs, NawabMuhammad Yousaf Talpur,Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, RanaTanveer Hussain, Sardar AyazSadiq, Ch. Muhammad BarjeesTahir and Dr. Abdul KadirKhanzada attended the meet-ing.—NNI
ISLAMABAD—The eviction ofthe squatters from sector I-11lingers on as Islamabad Capi-tal Territory (ICT), police andCapital Development Author-ity (CDA) are raising accusingfingers at each for non coop-eration in removal of slumsfrom the sector awaiting devel-opment work for last two de-cades.
The Standing Committee of
Non-removal of slums in Sector I-11the Cabinet Secretariat of theNational Assembly (NA) has itsexpressed annoyance and tooknotice of non-removal of thesquatters from Sector I-11.
The CDA representativestold the committee that the civicauthority had planned to conductan operation but police partyreached the site five hours latedue to which operation was sus-pended.
However, the spokesperson forpolice told the committee thata search operation to clear theareas of criminal elements wasto be launched prior to con-ducting grand operation for re-moval of the occupants to en-sure that there was no unto-ward incident. The NA bodydirected police to initiate thesteps immediately and reportto it.—INP
530 vehicleschallaned
RAWALPINDI—Commuterscontinue to suffer despite CityTraffic Police (CTP) claims tohave challaned 530 public ser-vice vehicles for not completingtheir routes in the twin citiesduring the current month.
Chief traffic Officer(CTO) Ishtiaq Shah said thatspecial squad had been estab-lished at Faizabad after numer-ous complaints were receivedfrom commuters against pri-vate transporters, particularlywagon drivers, not completingroutes.
He said that CTP has accel-erated action against vehiclesand 530 vehicles were challanedduring this month. In addition,several vehicles were im-pounded in police stations forincomplete documents.
On the other hand, commut-ers talking to INP complainedthat the problem still persistsdespite traffic police attemptsagainst transporters for violatingdesignated routes.—INP
Presidentcondoles deathof Khushnood
ISLAMABAD—President AsifAli Zardari has expressed pro-found grief and sorrow over thedeath of Chief Reporter Associ-ated Press of PakistanKhushnood Ali Shaikh.
Khushnood Ali Shaikh diedin a road accident in Karachi lateMonday night.
In his condolence message‚the President lauded the servicesof Khushnood Ali Shaikh forjournalism and prayed to Al-mighty to rest the departed soulin eternal peace.
He also prayed for the cour-age to the bereaved family tobear this loss with fortitude.—NNI
PTI condemnsstoppage ofparty polls
I S L A M A B A D — P a k i s t a nTehreek e Insaf (PTI) has con-demned in the strongest possibleterms the interference ofRawalpindi Police and PML (N)led Punjab Government in itsintra party election on Tuesday.
By an order issued last nightthe Central Police OfficerRawalpindi issued an order stop-ping the PTI party election. Itmade a lame attempt to takecover of an order of Civil Courtin the matter of a union councilelection.
Taking note of this illegalorder by the CPO, PTI Informa-tion Secretary ShafqatMahmood said that this policeofficer has no legal authority toany such order. Even if there isa stay order by a court, which inthis case is not, the police do notgo enforcing stay orders.
If any one has any grievancethe correct procedure is to movea contempt application in court.CPO, said Shafqat, has no au-thority under law too stop theparty election.
Shafqat Mahmood went onto further say that actually thisis an attempt by the PML (N) tointerfere in internal party elec-tions of PTI. N League like otherdynastic parties conducts shamelections to fulfill a legal re-quirement. They are now terri-fied of a real internal party de-mocracy that PTI has started headded.—Online
Private schoolswith no fire
extinguishersRAWALPINDI—Directives havebeen issued to install state of theart fire- extinguishing equip-ment in all the private schoolsand multi-storey buildings in allthe districts of Rawalpindi divi-sion.
This action has been takenin pursuance of CommissionerRawalpindi directives, whichwere issued in the aftermath offire, incident in a building ofprivate school at Lahore, whichhad claimed several lives of chil-dren.
District administration of allthe four districts includingRawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelumand Attock have issued neces-sary directives to the owners ofall the schools and sky scrappersto ensure installation of modernfire extinguishing equipment byMarch, 16.—Online
Miserablecondition ofgovt owned
flatsISLAMABAD—Governmentowned flats under the use ofgovernment-servants pose athreat to the life of its residents,as their miserable condition canlead to a serious accident.
It has been reported thatgovernment-flats situated inSector F-6, G-6, G-7 and G-9can turn into rubble any time andneed immediate repair.
The residents are of the viewthat CDA should allocate bud-get for this purpose. When con-tacted, CDA officials said thatthe organisation is unable to re-solve the matter as it is suffer-ing from paucity of funds.—Online
Road constructionwork in Park
EnclaveISLAMABAD—The Capital De-velopment Authority (CDA) hasstarted construction work of twonew roads in Park Enclave.
The CDA official told thatthe construction for new roadslocated at park enclave startedone week before and this projectwould be completed with an es-timated amount of Rs 700 mil-lion.
Meanwhile, the CDA En-gineering Member Sana UllahAman has given special direc-tion to contractors that theyshould start swift work of roadsso that it would be completed tillDecember respectively.—Online
156 personshanded overownership
right in JinnahAbadi Scheme
RAWALPINDI—As many as 156persons have been awarded withownership right certificates offive marla plots in Malukal,union council Kolain Hameed inJinnah Abadi Housing Scheme.
Over 11,000 applicationshad been submitted with assis-tant commissioner office forseeking five-marla plots inJinnah Abadi Housing Schemein union council Kolian Hameedout of that 205 applicants weredeclared eligible.
After a balloting ceremony,156 applicants were handedover ownership right certificatesof five marla plots in said hous-ing scheme.—INP
February 27
LITERARY Conference inconnection with 31st deathanniversary JoshMalihabadi, organized bythe Josh Literary Founda-tion, at the Pakistan Acad-emy of Letters, PitrasBokhari Road, Sector H-8/1, Islamabad, 2:30 pm.
*****RAWALPINDI Arts Coun-cil in collaboration withEmbassy of Republic ofCuba is organizing CubanJazz and Pakistan Folk Mu-sic Concert on Wednesdayat 3 pm. Many renownedSingers from Republic ofCuba and Pakistan FolkSingers will perform at theoccasion and RawalpindiArts Council would also ar-range a display of fashiondesigning at 2 pm.
*****DR. FEHMIDA Mirza,Speaker, National Assem-bly will administer the oathto the newly elected officebearers of ParliamentaryReporters Association at4:00 pm in Speaker’sLounge, 2nd Floor, Parlia-ment House, Islamabad.
05:17 01:3004:45
07:45
MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Education Minister (Colleges) Ch Muhammad Inquilabi talkingto Dy Speaker Kausar Dar.
JAMMU—Contrary to thejudgement of Supreme Court(SC) in 2011 and ignoring per-sistent demands to disarm anddisband them, the draft of‘Jammu and Kashmir PoliceBill, 2013’ proposes not onlylegalization rather extension ofmuch controversial armedgroups and personnel patron-ized by the State in the form ofVillage Defence Committees(VDCs) and Special Police Of-ficers (SPOs) across J&K.
Para 62 and para 63 of thedraft bill, made public sinceFebruary 15 for suggestions,propose the constitution ofarmed Village Defence Com-mittees (VDCs) and engage-ment of Special Police Officers
J&K Police Bill ensures more powers for cops akin to AFSPA(SPOs), though ‘subject to theapproval of the government.’
Para 62 reads: (1) Subject tothe approval of the government,the Director General of Policemay constitute as many VillageDefence Committees as he maydeem necessary and District Su-perintendent of Police engagemembers thereof on voluntarybasis for the protection of life andproperty of the inhabitants of thatparticular Village.
(2) The members of suchVillage Defence Committeesmay also be issued suitable armsand ammunition of prescribedspecifications.”
Para 63 of the draft bill readsas: (1) Subject to the approval ofthe government, the Director
General of Police or any otherofficer authorised in this behalfby the government, in consulta-tion with the Director General ofPolice, may engage temporarily,any able-bodied and willing per-son to be a Special Police Of-ficer to assist the police on suchterms and conditions as may beprescribed by the governmentfrom time to time.
Provided a Special PoliceOfficer shall be liable for disen-gagement on the grounds of in-discipline, misconduct or failureto discharge the duties lawfullyassigned to him.
Ironically, in July 2011, theSupreme Court of India in ajudgement had struck down as‘unconstitutional’ the practice of
arming local tribal youth ofChhattisgarh as Special PoliceOfficers (SPOs) in order to fightthe Maoists.
It had asked the Chhattisgarhstate government to immediatelystop using SPOs, recall all fire-arms distributed to them, desistfrom funding the recruitment ofany other vigilante groups, en-sure the filing of FIRs into crimi-nal activities committed by them,and offer protection to those whoneed.
Noted legal luminaries, civilsociety groups and human rightsactivists had interpreted the Su-preme Court judgment as a clearguidance, binding on all thestates in India for not using theunconstitutional methods for
dealing with political or armeddissent.
However, the Chief Minis-ter Omar Abdullah, while re-sponding to the Supreme Courtjudgment on Special Police Of-ficers (SPOs) in Naxal-hit areashad said that the judgment wasnot applicable to Jammu andKashmir as the SPOs in the statewere part of the regular policeforce. While the civil societygroups’ argument was that thejudgment was more relevant toJammu and Kashmir state wherethe idea of privatization of hu-man rights violations was con-ceptualized and crystallized inearly 1990s by the governmentusing the services of known hu-man rights violators or people
with the history of violence.Notably in the nineties, the con-stitution of VDCs in militancyinfested districts of Jammu re-gion had evoked great resent-ment on the ground that they hadbred a feel of enmity and hatredbetween the two major commu-nities besides letting loose areign of terror with their uncon-stitutional unbridled powers.
Similarly, armed groups pa-tronized by the State in the formof counter insurgent groups werecreated in Kashmir region.These groups too were blamedfor heinous crimes and humanrights violations. Many of their(VDCs and counter insurgentgroups’) members were laterintegrated or accommodated in
regular forces like TerritorialArmy and the Special PoliceOfficers (SPOs).
Almost ditto were the com-plaints against SPOs, whichwere later made part of regularpolice force in the state.
As far as the draft Bill is con-cerned, it also proposes powersfor the sate police quite similarto the controversial Armed forcesSpecial Power Act (AFSPA).
Under para 122, the DistrictSuperintendent of Police or anyPolice Officer not below the rankof Sub-Inspector, authorized inthis behalf by the District Super-intendent of Police, may stop anyassembly or procession whichviolates the condition set undersection 121 (1) (h) (vi) and or-
der such assembly or pro-cession to disperse. Anyassembly or processionwhich defies or refuses toobey any order given undersub-section (1) above will bedeemed to be an “unlawfulassembly” under ChapterVIII of the Ranbir Penal Code.
Under para 123, the DistrictSuperintendent of Police or anyPolice Officer authorized byhim in this behalf, through ageneral or special order, maygive reasonable directions inrespect of the whole District orany part thereof to the public tokeep order on public roads andstreets, thoroughfares, or anypublic place, in order to preventobstruction, injury, annoyance
MUZAFFARABAD: Executive Director Paish Group welcoming a US delegation at Chehla.
SRINAGAR—Member ofParliament and National Con-ference leader, Ghulam NabiRatanpuri has termed the re-strictions imposed on SyedAli Geelani as “unconstitu-tional” and “unacceptable”and said that he would beraising the issue in the Par-liament.
Ratanpuri was denied ameeting with the Hurriyat (G)chief in private by Delhi po-lice officials who have putGeelani under house arrest.Ratanpuri said he was madeto wait for 55 minutes beforebeing kept five steps apartfrom Geelani.
“It is discriminatory anddifferential treatment of
Ratanpuri aghast over Geelani’s illegal detentionCondemns GoI for discriminatory treatment towards Kashmiris
Kashmiris in the country. Weare not given the rights that arebeing enjoyed by others in thecountry,” the MP said.
“It is unacceptable that anelderly person is kept awayfrom his family members. Itis too much and completehighhandedness of the authori-ties. It is shameful for a civi-lized society that claims to bethe largest democracy that anaging person is kept under il-legal detention. I felt very sadthat Geelani Sahib’s wife isalso under house arrest and arenot allowed to venture out oftheir house.”
After the meeting from adistance, Ratanpuri said theHurriyat Conference (G) chair-
man has been “illegally con-fined to his residence and hisstand on right to self-determi-nation is same for which theNational Conference founderSheikh Muhammad Abdullahwas imprisoned for 22 years.”
Days after writing a letterto the Prime MinisterManmohan Singh saying‘given a chance, Kashmiriswill opt for Azadi’, Ratanpurivisited the Malvia Nagar resi-dence of Geelani in New Delhi,where the veteran leader hasbeen put under house arrestsince the hanging of AfzalGuru on February 9. Geelani’smobile phones have allegedlybeen seized by the Delhi policefrom February 18, rendering
him incommunicado—some-thing that has raised concernsamong his kin and people.
“My conscience promptedto me to pay a visit to a personwho is aged and ailing,”Ratanpuri Greater Kashmirover phone from New Delhi.
While he was not allowedto shake hands with the pro-freedom leader, Ratanpuri saidhe somehow managed to talkto Geelani from a distance “forat least five minutes.” “I talkedto him from a distance as po-licemen deployed outside hisresidence did not allow me toenter inside his room,”Ratanpuri said.
He said his party founderSheikh Muhammad Abdullah
was arrested “for the samecause which Geelani is fight-ing for at this juncture.”“Sheikh sahib was put behindbars for 22 years for demand-ing the right to self-determina-tion for people of Jammu andKashmir. Geelani sahib is say-ing the same thing today. Theonly difference is that peoplewere allowed to meet Sheikhsahib in prison while nobodyis allowed to meet Geelanisahib at his residence,” he said.
Ratanpuri referred to hisvisit to Geelani’s residence onthe social networking siteFacebook. “Just returned fromGeelani Sahib’s residence.Reached the entrance of his flatat 10:50 am. He along with his
Begum Sahiba came out to re-ceive me but we were kept fivesteps away by police,” he wroteon the Wall.
He added: “Geelani repliedto my Salam (greeting) with asmile and said his health wasokay.”Ratanpuri claimed thatGeelani told him that he hasbeen detained without any for-mal orders, illegally. “I spoketo concerned Assistant Com-missioner of Police (NewDelhi). He told me there is nopermission [to meet Geelani].”Rattanpuri said he also calledon the Commissioner of DelhiPolice. “He did not respond tomy repeated calls and mes-sages. Before leaving the place,I went again to the entrance of
Geelani Sahib’s flat. He withhis Begum Sahiba and daugh-ter smiled at me,” the NC MPwrote on Facebook Wall. “I feltsorry for the duplicity ofworld’s largest democracy.This differential treatment anddiscrimination has contributedimmensely to complexity ofKashmir problem and thewedge between Kashmir andDelhi. But we have to continuepeaceful fight for our rights.”
Ratanpuri said many yearsago “our tallest leader SheikhMuhammad Abdullah was de-tained at Kotla Lane for thesame reasons.” “We may gothrough the related pages ofAtish-e-Chinar (Autobiogra-phy of Sheikh). The man and
for which he spent almost twodecades in captivity remainunresolved and burning eventoday [Sic],” Rattanpuri’spost read. His post has evokedhuge response, both positiveand negative. “Is it rhetoric orheart feeling?” asked a fol-lower on FB. “Why don’t youresign and join pro-freedomranks?” Many others termedhis move as a “vote-bankpolitics.” This is for the sec-ond time that Ratanpuri hasattempted to play a separat-ist. Recently, he wrote a let-ter to the Prime MinisterManmohan Singh stating that“Given a chance, Kashmiriswill opt for Azadi (free-dom).”—NNI
Police Bill, anotherweapon to terrorize
people: MirwaizSRINAGAR—The proposedPolice Bill continues to drawflak with Peoples Conferenceand Hurriyat Conference (M)opposing it and describing it yetanother weapon to terrorisepeople.
Peoples Conferencecriticised the government overproposed J&K Police Bill 2013,calling it a covert attempt toimpose martial law in the Stateby putting civil liberties andrights into permanent abeyance.
PC Chairman Sajad GaniLone, while expressing bewil-derment at proposing such a‘draconian and dictatorial leg-islation, said that Chief Minis-ter has the audacity to makesuch a ridiculous proposal whilehe pretends.
What is the difference be-tween AFSPA and the J&K Po-lice Bill 2013 The J&K PoliceBill is in fact a potential valida-tion and incorporation ofAFSPA into the State’s law andorder machinery and raises se-rious concerns about NC ledgovernments stand on draconianlaws.
Meanwhile Hurriyat Con-ference (M) Monday expressedconcern over the proposed Po-lice Reforms Bill saying suchlegislation would put Jammuand Kashmir into lawlessness.
Mirwaiz said that on onehand the government is singingtunes of revocation of AFSPA,but on the other it is turningJammu and Kashmir into a po-lice state.
Rather than making thepeople who are involved in kill-ing Kashmiris accountable thegovernment wants to give ex-traordinary powers to them healleged. He said Hurriyat andthe people of Kashmir wouldoppose any such bill and if needarises would launch an agitationagainst it.—INP
SRINAGAR–Lambasting Na-tional Conference for repeatedlyignoring the plea of MuhammadAfzal Guru to shift him toSrinagar Central Jail, PeoplesDemocratic Party senior leader,Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansarisaid, “NC is befoolingKashmiris by shedding croco-dile tears on Afzal issue.
He (Afzal) had requestedtwo time that he should beshifted to Srinagar Central Jailso that his family could meethim easily but the National Con-ference ignored his requests andtold Centre to keep him lodgedin Tihar Jail till his death,”Ansari told local news gather-ing agency CNS and claimedthat Chief Minister OmarAbdullah was taken on board onthis issue before two monthsand he was knowing everythingbut acted as a mute spectator
State govt rejected Afzal’s plea toshift him to Srinagar: Ansari
just to appease New Delhi.Ansari accused Chief Min-
ister Omar Abdullah of mislead-ing people of Kashmir and saidthat he wonders that they (NC)are now claiming that the partywould support the resolutionaimed at the returning of themortal remains of MuhammadAfzal Guru.
“State is passing througha crucial stage. Supreme Courthad not fixed the date for theexecution of Afzal Guru thenwhy was he hanged in a haste.Being the Chief Minister ofthe State, Omar Abdullahcould have easily persuadedthe Central Government butthe fact is that in order to ap-pease Central Government andto prove that he was moreloyal than a King, OmarAbdullah assured the CentralGovernment that state would
take care of the law and ordersituation which resulted in theearly hanging of Afzal,”Ansari said and added thatthere is no question of bailingout CM in this issue.
Accusing National Confer-ence of playing dirty politics onAfzal Guru issue, PDP leadersaid that to appease both Cen-tral Government and people ofKashmir, the leaders of the partyissue different statements. OneNC leader lashes at Centre forhanging Afzal while the otherleader of the same party claimsthat it is not an issue for thepeople of Kashmir.
“National Conference istrying to kill two birds with asingle arrow but the people arewell aware about the designs ofthis party and it can no longerbefool people of Kashmir,”Ansari said.—NNI
SRINAGAR—ParamilitaryCRPF continues to occupy thebuildings at premier health in-stitutions of the Valley despiteGovernment claiming thatforces have vacated all the im-portant buildings across Kash-mir.
The erstwhile AnimalHouse of the SK Institute ofMedical Sciences (SKIMS)Soura, with multistory buildingand over 20 Kanal of land, stillcontinues to be under the occu-pation of CRPF, with multistorybuilding is being occupied byCRPF along with over 20Kanals of land.
“Forces had occupied thebuilding in early nineties andthey still continue to be there.Expansion of the EmergencyDepartment was also affecteddue to their unwillingness toleave the vital space despite sev-eral requests,” a senior officialin SKIMS told Greater Kash-mir.
CRPF occupies valley hospitalsHe said the CRPF has also
erected dozens of prefabricatedbarracks illegally on a largepiece of land around the build-ing. “Though we had alreadyshifted the Animal House toother place but the expansionprojects of the Institution werebadly affected by their pres-ence,” he added.
A few years ago CRPFhigher-ups had assured theSKIMS administration thatCRPF would be relocated. “Theissue reached the Home Minis-try officials also. But instead ofleaving they occupied more landin the institute,” the officialadded.
Similarly, the CRPF is oc-cupying an old building nearSuperspeciality Hospital ofGovernment Medical College(GMC), Srinagar at ShireenBagh that hampers the expan-sion of the hospital project.
“We have already taken upthe issue with the Divisional
Commissioner as we need theland for the construction ofSewerage Treatment Plant(STP) for the new hospital. Buthe is yet to respond,” PrincipalGMC Srinagar Prof RafiqPampori said. He said the re-quests were also sent to theCRPF higher ups regarding thespace occupied by the forces inthe SMHS Hospital premises,they too did not respond.
Pertinently, the paramilitaryforces have erected two bunkersinside the SMHS Hospital andthe Medical College premisessince many years. “This placegives look of a garrison as youcan see CRPF personnel mov-ing everywhere. It is nuisancefor the visiting doctors and pa-tients coming to the hospital,”said a group of doctors.
At Valley’s lone MaternitySpecialty, LD Hospital the CRPFpersonnel are occupying the StaffQuarters leaving the employeesshort of space.—NNIDoctors rename
heritage park afterAfzal Guru
SRINAGAR—Doctors andmedical students at GovernmentMedical College held a protestdemonstration against the hang-ing of Muhammad Afzal Guruin Tihar Jail.
Holding placards “I amAfzal, hang me”; “Why murderKashmiris to satisfy your col-lective conscience”, the protest-ers raised slogans against thedecision of execution.
“It is the worst form of hu-man rights violation that Delhihas committed againstKashmiris. We have alwaysbeen pushed to the wall,” theyprotestors said. “As doctors wecannot remain immune to thehappenings in our society.”
Pertinently, students ofGMC Srinagar have renamed aheritage park in the college af-ter Afzal Guru.—NNI
SRINAGAR—Describing theproposed Police Bill as an at-tempt to “institutionalize thedreaded Ikhwan culture” in theState, Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has said it would stronglyoppose passage of the Bill in itspresent form.
In a statement issued here,the party president MehboobaMufti said police in the Statedefinitely is in need of drasticreforms but many provisions inthe Bill are “undemocratic andanti-people and will take theState back to medieval timeswhen khaki uniform struck ter-ror in the hearts of people.”
Mehbooba said J&K has the“dubious distinction of havingbeen reduced to a police stateoutside the democratic systemof the country but the proposedbill would actually convert it toa lawless state.” “If this Bill isallowed to pass in its presentform we will have an Ikhwan-State in which a thanedar andnot the democratic institutions
NC creating Ikhwan-State: PDPor the elected representativeswill set the rules of the society,”she said. “On the one hand thegovernment is making noises onscrapping the AFSPA and on theother it is proposing to providesimilar immunity and unbridledpowers to its own police andtaking them out of all civiliancontrol and guidance.”
Mehbooba said the proposalto create special security zones(SSZs) and legalisation of Vil-lage Defence Committees isdangerous for any society. “Butfor a conflict ridden area it couldbe a sure prescription for con-tinuing the disturbed conditionsand denial of basic rights,” shesaid.
Mehbooba said police infact needs to be “brought out ofthe colonial mindset and prac-tices that were followed by feu-dal forces to stay in power andthe objective of any new lawshould be to make it more ac-countable to democratic institu-tions, people-friendly and so-
cially-oriented.” The proposedlaw unfortunately negates anysuch purpose, she said.
Mehbooba said this draftlegislation has all the criteria ofa systematic undermining ofdemocracy: namely, “the abdi-cation of authority to securityforces by an elected govern-ment, military-style ‘civilizing’of civilian society by insultinglypresuming to teach them how tostand in line, urinate and def-ecate.” “It also has ring of aneffort to appease the muscularnationalists in Delhi with an ar-gument against AFSPA bymorphing it into a non-militaryAFSPA that is supposedlywilled by the people of ourstate,” she alleged.
Mehbooba said manybackdoor offences have beenincluded to increase the “crimi-nal liability” of the public. “Itnot just means taking people tojail for petty offences but is alsoa negation of social policing andlarger public morality.— NNI
JKPFLdenounces arrestof youth in IHK
SRINAGAR—The Jammu andKashmir Peoples FreedomLeague (JKPFL) has stronglydenounced the arrest of Kashmiriyouth by Indian police and troopsacross the territory. The JKPFLGeneral Secretary, GhulamAhmed Parray, in a statementissued in Srinagar said that ar-rests and use of force could notsuppress the Kashmiris’ resole tocontinue their liberation struggle.He maintained that Indian sup-pressive tactics had failed to in-timidate the Kashmiri peopleinto submission. Parray main-tained that the Kashmiris wouldcontinue their struggle at every levelto secure the mortal remains ofMuhammad Maqbool Butt andMuhammad Afzal Guru, who werehanged in New Delhi’s infamousTihar Jail and buried in the premisesof the prison.—KMS
SRINAGAR—The MuttahidaMajlis-e-Mashawrat (UnitedAdvisory Council) constitutedby pro-liberation organisationshas issued a five-day protestcalendar to seek the mortal re-mains of Kashmiri leaders,Muhammad Maqbool Butt andMuhammad Afzal Guru, fromNew Delhi’s Tihar Jail to Kash-mir.
The MMM announced theprotest calendar after a meet-ing in Srinagar attended by therepresentatives of All PartiesHurriyet Conference, the fo-rum led by the veteranKashmiri Hurriyet leader, SyedAli Gilani, the Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front,Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Jamaat-e-Islami of the occupied territory,
Protest calendar issued to getmortal remains of Butt, Guru
Kashmir High Court Bar As-sociation and otherorganisations.
A statement issued by theMMM after the meeting saidthat there would be a sustainedcampaign to seek the mortal re-mains of Maqbool Butt andAfzal Guru from Governmentof India. It urged the people toobserve a complete strike onFriday and stage protests aftercongregational prayers. “TheImams of masjids should makepeople aware of the presentsituation like the life sentencesawarded to people of Kash-mir,” it added.
As per calendar, lawyerswill stage protests on Wednes-day and raise slogans like ‘wewant freedom’ and ‘return the
remains of martyrs.’ On Thurs-day, people of South Kashmirwill hold protests at districtheadquarters of Islamabad,Shopian, Pulwama andKulgam, demanding the mor-tal remains of Butt and Guruduring the protests.
On Saturday (March 2),people have been asked to hoistred-ribbons on houses, vehiclesand shops. “The red ribbonswould be a reminder of theblood of thousands of martyrs,”the statement said. It urged thepeople to compensate the Fri-day strike by normal businesson Sunday (March 3).
“We request the people ofKashmir to follow the protestcalendar religiously,” the state-ment added.—KMS
JKLF (R )flays move to
carve outsecurity zones
SRINAGAR—Opposing thegovernment proposal to carveout different security zones inJammu Kashmir, the JammuKashmir Liberation Front (R)has termed it a deep conspiracyto snatch away fundamentalhuman rights and delegate morepowers to police and otherarmed forces under AFSPA.
In a statement, a spokesmanof the Front said, “There is vir-tually police rule in JammuKashmir. The state governmentis enacting and implementinganti-people laws to please itslords New Delhi. It wants togive extra-ordinary powers topolice only to make more mis-erable the life of people in thestate.”—NNI
Coordinationcommittee calls for
strike on FridaySRINAGAR—In an effort tochalk out a joint strategy for re-turn of Muhammad Afzal Guru’sbody, various pro-freedom andreligious organizations met inSrinagar at an undisclosed placeand gave a four day calender ofProtests.The committee hascalled a valley wide strike on theFriday this week and asked theBar association to protest onTuesday and Wednesday. Thecommittee has also asked thepeople of Kashmir to attach redflags on their vehicles on Satur-day as a mark of Protest.
The meeting which wasapart from the two factions of theHurriyat Conference, was at-tended by representatives ofHurriyat (M), Jammu and Kash-mir Liberation Front, Jamaat eIslami and Dukhtaran e Millat,sources said.—NNI
“Business is a game,played for fantastic
stakes, and you’re incompetition with
experts. If you want towin, you have to learnto be a master of the
game.”
Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Saleem H Mandviwalla chairing Economic Coordination Committeemeeting.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar presiding over a boardmeeting of AEDB to review its progress.
Proposed changes in cigarette tax to hit industry, growersAMANULLAH KHAN
KARACHI—If the proposedchanges in cigarette excise areactually executed by FBR,thousands of tobacco farmerswill go out of job in alreadysuffering KPK regions. Ciga-rette Industry buys nearly 70/80 million kg of green cropsfrom tobacco farmers everyyear, generating income of Rs12/13 billion for those farm-ers. Those farmers have al-ready sowed their crops for2013 season. Pakistan To-
bacco Board has already an-nounced the minimum price tobe paid to farmers.
If the FBR proposal goesthrough the tax-paying cigarettemanufactures would not be ableto or need to buy the crop al-ready sowed by the farmers inthe field. The farmers whosowed crop will be left high anddry as demand for their crop willdecline drastically.
The reason is simple. As aresult of drastic tax increase, theprice of duty paid cigarettes isexpected to increase. The mini-
mum price of a duty paid ciga-rette will go upto Rs. 50. Thiswill obviously negatively im-pact cigarette demand. With re-duced demand, the manufac-tures will be needing muchsmaller quantities of crop. As aresult the tobacco farmers willnot be able to sell their crops.
Hence, a more in depth andserious analysis of these pro-posed changes is required. Ifdone hurriedly, this may notonly cost national exchequerbillions of rupees in lost rev-enue, but will also create un-
employment and unrest amongfarmers.
Revenue from cigarette sec-tor is going to decline and notincrease due to the proposedchanges. The detailed analysisrequired to understand theelasticises of demand in differ-ent segments, the different ex-cise regimes and tiers in differ-ent countries and implications ofdifferent options has not beenthoroughly worked out.
The current FBR proposal,presenting a two-tier excisestructure, with staggering tax
hike within the lower tier cater-ing to bulk of the existing indus-try volume, is likely to create aserious dent in the demand ofsuch brands, while promotingpurchase of cheaper alternativeslike Pine and other smuggledand non-duty paid brands.
Rather than plugging theleakages in existing taxation re-gime and further broadening thetax base, FBR authorities areinstead going for the easiestcourse of burdening the existingtax payers with enhanced FEDwithout considering the adverse
impact on the economy and therevenue projections.
Moreover there are aplethora of laws governing theindustry ranging from FederalExcise Act and Customs Actto regulations on retail andprinting of packs, which areblatantly violated by the illicitplayers. Any improvement inenforcement of these laws arelikely to yield great returns, asthe illicit cigarette sector is es-timated to cost more than 20billion rupees to the govern-ment every year.
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—United Bank Lim-ited achieved a profit after taxof Rs.18.0 billion for 2012; 16%higher than last year translatinginto earnings per share of Rs.14.71 (2011: Rs. 12.66). TheBoard of Directors also ap-proved a final cash dividend of35% (Rs. 3.50 per share) bring-ing the total cash dividend forthe year 2012 to 85 %, i.e. Rs.8.5 per share. UBL has achieveda pre-tax profit of Rs 27.0 bil-lion, 12% higher than last year.This was achieved despite se-vere spread compression,through a growth in the balancesheet, improved non fund in-come and lower provisions.
The continually declining
UBL achieves 16pchigher profit in 2012
rate environment resulted inlower yield on earning assets,while cost of funds reducedmarginally as the increase in theminimum PLS saving rate lim-ited rate reduction on deposits.Consequently, the net interestmargin for 2012 was lower than2011. The Bank was able to off-set most of this spread compres-sion through balance sheetgrowth, with net interest in-come declining by 2% to Rs38.6 billion in 2012. Total pro-visions declined by 40% fromRs 7.5 billion in 2011 to Rs 4.5billion for 2012, while net creditloss ratio improved from 2.1%to 1.1%.
Non-interest income in-creased from Rs 12.7 billion toRs 17.1 billion, 35% over last
year. Fees and commissionsgrew by 17% to Rs 8.2 billion,mainly attributable to increasein remittances, FI commissions,improved general banking feesand cross-sell of bancassurance.Higher investments in mutualfunds resulted in dividend in-come rising to Rs 2.7 billion,while derivatives income in-creased to Rs 3.0 billion, prima-rily on account of one-off gains.
UBL grew its balance sheetby 15% over Dec 2011. This wasprimarily funded by a growth indeposits which increased by14.2% to Rs 700 Billion in Dec2012. The domestic low costdeposit ratio also improved, asdid the CASA ratio, which im-proved from 80% in Dec 2011to 83% in Dec 2012.
Drug productionthreatened
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—As part of its ef-forts to protect consumers fromanti-competitive behaviour andpromote voluntary complianceof the law, the CompetitionCommission of Pakistan hasprepared Deceptive MarketingGuidelines to provide guidancein respect of the Section 10 ofthe Competition Act, 2010 to un-dertakings providing telecom-munication products and ser-vices (telecom companies) inPakistan.
The Draft Guidelines, pre-pared pursuant to Regulation41 of the Competition Com-mission (General Enforce-ment) Regulations, 2007, havebeen shared with the PakistanTelecommunication Authority,all telecom companies, andplaced on the Commission’swebsite for soliciting feedbackand suggestions from stake-holders.
The Draft Guidelines aremeant for telecommunication
Guidelines to prevent deceptivemarketing in telecom sector
companies to comply in theirsales, marketing, advertising,and communication in all formsacross all mediums, online andPoint of Sale (POS).
Effort has been made inthe Guidelines to provideguidance on what may consti-tute as deceptive marketingpractices and avoid actionsthat may amount to violatingsection 10 and other provi-sions of the Competition Act.Companies have been advisedto bear in mind the legal im-plications that may arise outof certain practices dealingwith, i.e. distribution of falseinformation, deception, fineprint, disclaimer and qualifi-cations, importance of sub-stantiation of claims, essentialterms and conditions, omis-sions, puffery, price disclo-sure, comparative advertising,promotional contents and,telemarketing.
The Draft Guidelinespresent the approach taken bythe Commission in its decisions
regarding deceptive marketingpractices and the approach thatit may take towards certain mar-keting practices by telecommu-nication service providers.However, the Guidelines are notexhaustive and the approach ofthe Commission shall dependupon the particular facts and cir-cumstances of each case.
As it is not possible to pre-dict future behavior of the un-dertakings involved in the tele-communication sector, the Com-mission will not, in any way, berestricted to look into mattersthat have not been mentioned inthese Guidelines.
The Draft Guidelines havebeen prepared in light of best in-ternational practices after re-viewing several documents andguidelines published by jurisdic-tions namely, the USA, UK,Australia, Canada and HongKong, and draw knowledge andexperience from jurisdictionsthat have similar provisions asthose of Section 10 of the Com-petition Act.
IRFAN ALIGI
KARACHI—Eminent busi-nessmen of the country thathad played their vibrant rolefor the economic developmentand industrial growth hadstressed upon the leaders of thetwo major political parties, thePakistan People’s Party (PPP)and the Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) to concedethe need of the businessmencommunity by allowing DrIshrat Ul Ebad Khan to resumehis office as Sindh Governor.
In this regard, Korangi As-sociation of Trade and Indus-tries (KATI) patron-in-chief SM Muneer and KATI Chair-man Muhammad Zubair
S M Muneer appeals to Zardari,Altaf for return of Ebad
Chayya, All Karachi IndustrialAlliance President Mian ZahidHussain and vice chairmanNajmul Afreen and Niaz Ahmedappealed to the President AsifAli Zardari and MQM ChiefAltaf Hussain to bring Dr Ebadback to his office as the Gover-nor of the province because thebusinessmen community hadbelieved that Dr Ebad was in-evitable for the growth and pros-perity of Sindh. They were talk-ing to Pakistan Observer at theKATI office Tuesday.
They said that Dr Ebad hadserved the people of Sindh withutmost devotion and sincerityand his tenure as the Governorhad witnessed remarkableachievements in the province. S
M Muneer said that Dr Ebadhad always acted as bridge be-tween political parties havingmandate in Sindh and alwaysfound best solutions for thedisputes, wherever emergedbetween various political par-ties, which were acceptable toall.
Muhammad ZubairChayya said that the business-men had no hesitation to saythat he was the most popularGovernor of Sindh they everhad. Mian Zahid Hussain saidthat the political acumen of DrEbad was second to none,which was in fact imperativeat the point of time as the elec-tions were close and tenure ofassemblies was at fag end.
Continued on Page 14
ISE sheds2 points
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—Islamabad StockExchange (ISE-10) here on Mon-day witnessed bearish trend asthe index was down by 12 pointsto close at 3531.11 as comparedto the previous day’s trading.
The local stock market re-mained under the pressure dueto the profit taking by the inves-tors, a stock analyst Ibrahimsaid, while talking to media.
“The punters has taken thepositions since last many days andoff-loaded on Monday to book theprofits leading the market todownward”, he stated. During thetrading session of market, the mostpositions were taken by the inves-tor in PTCL which helped to in-crease the turnover of the market,Ibrahim added.
Total volume of sharestraded was 467,000, which wasup by 392,000 as compared to aday earlier’s closing. Out of 151companies’ shares traded, theprice of 64 was increased whilethe price of 87 decreased.
The price of top gainerUnilever Pakistan was increasedby Rs.31.82 while the price oftop loser Mitchell Fruit Farmadecreased by Rs.8.00. PTCL,Maple Leaf Cement and KESCremained volume leaders, withvolume of 400,000, 35,000 and20,000 shares respectively.
Frequent blockingof highways
in Balochistanaffecting economy
STAFF REPORTER
QUETTA—Daily about 30,000trucks loaded with goods usedto ply on highways linkingBalochistan with other parts ofthe country and their frequentblocking in the pretext of strikeshave been badly affecting theeconomy. Noor Khan Kakar,President of Balochistan GoodsTruck Transport Associationsaid Tuesday about 30,000trucks loaded with goods crossthe Balochistan border on dailybasis and the blocking of theseroads on the pretext of strikesbadly damage the economy ofthe province, he said.
He said trucks carrying fruitsand other goods from Iran andother neighbouring countries alsouse these highways, but the block-ing of these roads by the activistsof religious and political partiescause huge loss to the businessactivities of the province.
He appealed the politicalparties and other groups to avoidthe blocking of highways link-ing Balochistan to other parts ofthe country as thousands ofpeople depend for their liveli-hood on the goods transportbusiness.
KARACHI—Board of Directors(BoD) of Pakistan Steel Mills(PSM) has decided that the millwill not be allowed to be priva-tized.
The decision was taken inthe meeting of the BoD heldhere under its chairman FazalQureshi Tuesday. Meeting wasattended by federal secretaryGul Muhammad Rind, chairmanCBA Shamshad Qureshi, CEOPSM, Muhammad Javed andothers.
It was unanimously decidedin the meeting that national in-
PSM not to beprivatized: BoD
dustry PSM would not be al-lowed to be privatized and nosuch proposal was under con-sideration at present. This en-tity will soon be able to standon its feet with the cooperationof the government, they de-clared.
It was told in the meetingthat supply of raw material hasbeen started in PSM. It was alsodecided in the meeting that perksand privileges in respect of of-ficers and subordinate staff willcontinue.
Earlier ahead of the meeting
a delegation led by chairmanCBA Shamshad Qureshi metfederal secretary for productionGul Muhammad Rind in PIDHouse and apprised him of theirreservations and unrest prevail-ing among the employees.
Federal secretary assuredthe delegation that PSMwould further progress andbring improvement in the na-tional economy. Full protec-tion is being provided to theemployees and this entity isout of the list of privatization,he said.—Online
Pakistan exportsdecline
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan’s ex-ports to European countries andthe US witnessed decline dur-ing the past five-year owing toprevailing law and order situa-tion and prolonged and unsched-uled gas and electricity outages.
Minister for Commerce,Makhdoom Muhammad AminFahim, in a written reply to aquestion, informed the Housethat deteriorating law and ordersituation and energy crisis in thecountry had adversely affectedthe performance of the industrialand manufacturing sector,resultantly Pakistan’s exports to22 European countries and theUS had decreased drastically.
He said that Pakistan’s ex
Continued on Page 14
Shahbaz urged topromote agri sector
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Agri Forum Paki-stan (AFP) ChairmanMuhammad Ibrahim Mughalhas urged the Chief MinisterPunjab to work with same spiritand dedication for agriculture,livestock and irrigation sectors,with which he worked forcompletion of metro busproject.
He said our agriculturalsector needs to improve its pro-duction by using latest knowl-edge and contemporary tech-nology.
Power breakdownhits textile industryStaff CorrespondentLAHORE—Textile industrysuffered heavily due to asudden power breakdown,leading to a complete blackoutin the country as the powersupply remained suspendeduntil late in the Mondayevening. Majority of the textileunits were denied powersupply by the concernedDISCOs with no idea as whenthe supply would be restored.The power authorities were ofthe view that a synchronisationof both Tarbela and Mangladam supplies takes timetherefore supply was disturbedfor long. It may be noted thatpower supply was suddendropped in the Monday night,which remained suspended forlong hours.
HBL announces secondinterim dividendStaff ReporterKARACHI—The Board ofDirectors of HBL AssetManagement Limited and theManagement Company ofHBL Income Fund, in itsmeeting held on Mondayannounced second interimdividend in the form of bonusUnits for ‘A’ and ‘B’ Classesof Units and Cash dividendfor ‘C’ Class Units for theyear ending June 30. TheBoard has approved secondinterim dividend at Rs1.5 perunit in the form of BonusUnits for ‘A’ & ‘B’ Classes ofUnits and cash dividend ofRs1.5 per unit for Class ‘C’Units for the year ending June30. The bonus units will beissued based on the Ex-Dividend NAV as on February24. Unit holders, who haveopted to en-cash the bonusUnits at the Ex-Dividend NetAsset Value (NAV), willreceive cash payout based onEx-Dividend NAV as onFebruary 24.
Isuzu tops salesin JapanStaff ReporterKARACHI—Isuzu Motorsstrengthened its reputation asJapan’s top-selling commercialvehicle brand last year byleading the country in no lessthan three sales categories fora company first. According toIsuzu-compiled figures, NSeries light-duty truckscommanded a 39.6 percentshare among trucks betweentwo and three-ton payloads. FSeries medium-duty and C&Eheavy-duty trucks captured acombined 34.9 percent shareamong trucks from four-tonpayloads. And finally, Isuzubuses placed first with a 35.8percent share among modelsseating 30 or more passengers.The N Series has led itscategory for 1 2 straight years,and all but one year since1970. A total of 30,269 unitswere sold in 2012. F and C&Esales amounted to 24,157units, enabling Isuzu toreclaim the number-oneposition after last holding it in2010. N, F and C&E salescombined led all brands of alltrucks from two-ton payloads.
ADB approves$150m loanKATHMANDU—The AsianDevelopment Bank said Tuesdayit had approved a $150-millionloan for a giant hydropower plantto ease Nepal’s chronic electricityshortages which lead to powercuts of up to 14 hours a day.Electricity demand is growing at10 percent a year but a lack ofinvestment has resulted in shortsupply, with loadsheddingforcing homes and businessesacross the impoverished nation touse costly and polluting dieselgenerators. “Nepal has an energycrisis and this is affecting badlyeconomic prospects.—APP
TARIQ KHATTAK
ISLAMABAD—Pharma sector ex-perts have said that a new crisis isdeveloping for the interim ornewly elected Govt as some of thelow priced drugs production hasbeen stopped by the industry dueto denial of price adjustments bythe DRA despite repeated requestsfrom the companies.
Executives of pharma indus-try in last few meetings hintedtowards the crisis in making asthe companies had continuedproduction of these drugs with-out any price adjustments forlast few years.
However, these executiveshave now stated that the situa-tion has become financially un-tenable for the continued supply
of many of these medicines andthey will soon start to notify theDrug Regulatory Authority ofthe suspension of supply.
Shortage of medicines is onthe cards, unfortunately the lowpriced medicines used by com-mon man will vanish first, re-marked a pharma industry direc-tor requesting anonymity. Thisalarming situation has alreadyresulted in many pharmaceuti-cal companies having suspendedsome important daily use drugswhich they were previously pro-ducing either at loss or at verylow margins, he said.
The drugs feared going outof production are Augmentintablets, Amoxil, Penbritin,Penbritin syrup and complete
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—Soneri Bank Lim-ited has announced its results forthe year ended 31 December2012 posting highest profit af-ter tax in last six years. TheChairman of the Bank, AlauddinJ Feerasta, presided over theBoard that met in Lahore on 23February 2013.
The Board noted with satis-faction that bank has outper-formed the market in both ad-vances and deposit growth andachieved strong growth in all ar-eas of the Bank’s operations. De-posits grew by 21.15% over 2011and advances (gross) recorded agrowth of 17.14% over 2011. Thebank’s after tax profit increased to
Soneri Bank announcesresults for 2012
Rs 1,104 million, up from Rs 784million, primarily due to a solidgrowth in Net Interest Income of23.82%, (up from Rs 3,912 mil-lion to Rs 4,844 million) and ef-fective monitoring of non-per-forming loan portfolio.
The Bank’s EPS went up toRs 1.10 from Re 0.78 as a re-sult. As of 31 December 2012,the Bank is in compliance withMinimum Capital Requirementof the State Bank of Pakistan.
Analyzing the reasons forsuccessful performance in 2012,Bank sources explain that theincrease in core revenue wasregistered mainly on account ofgrowth and restructuring in itsmain areas of activity; advances,deposits and trade, which al-
lowed the bank to enhance itsearnings from both investmentsand foreign exchange. Further-more, the Bank continued to fol-low a prudent policy for mak-ing provisions for the infectedloan portfolio in line with regu-latory requirements and is con-fident that actions taken in 2012would further help in controllingfuture infections and securingupcoming recoveries.
Soneri Bank at year end hasa branch network of 233 and in-tends to continue with its growthstrategy. The Bank will maintainits focus on technology, branchupgrades and human resourcesto meet customer expectationsin an increasingly competitiveenvironment.
LAHORE—The Universityof Management and Tech-nology (UMT), Lahore, isorganizing the 3rd Interna-tional Conference on Busi-ness Management (ICoBM)at its campus on February27-28, 2013.
The theme of the confer-ence is “Entrepreneurship,Competitiveness, andAcademia”. The conferencewill be attended by a largenumber of dignitaries, edu-cationists, intellectuals, gov-ernment representatives,public policy makers, repre-sentatives of the corporateworld and students of busi-ness schools.
It presents an ideal op-portunity to network withtop corporate leaders. Re-search scholars and corpo-rate speakers will maketheir presentations their pa-pers on the conferencetheme. Three parallel tracksfor academic researchers,MS/MPhil/PhD Studentsand corporate speakers, willtake place during the two-day event. National and in-ternational speakers fromMalaysia, Latvia, India,Australia, China and UKwill speak at the confer-ence.
Buffett, Brazil’s 3Gteam up for $23b
Heinz buyoutNEW YORK—WarrenBuffett and Brazilian finan-cier Jorge Paulo Lemann areteaming up to buy ketchupmaker H.J. Heinz Co for$23.2 billion, in what couldbe the first step of a wave ofmergers for the food and bev-erage industry.
Analysts and peopleclose to the deal said Heinzcould be a good starting pointto consolidate similar staplefood companies, particularlygiven the larger ambitions ofLemann’s private equity firm3G Capital.
Including debt assump-tion, Heinz valued the trans-action, which it called thelargest in its industry’s his-tory, at $28 billion.—Newswire
AMANULLAH KHAN
KARACHI—The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) ofthe Cabinet has accorded in prin-cipal the approval for the acqui-sition of newer narrow body air-craft on dry lease which will im-prove PIA’s schedule reliabilityas well as save on fuel costs. PIAspokesman said here on Tues-day.
The ECC also approved theextension in all GoP guaranteesas requested by PIA and has alsoapproved the airline’s manage-ment request to provide support
PIA gets a nod forfleet expansion
for additional funding to providefiscal space to the Corporation.
The ECC meeting waschaired by Federal Minister forFinance and Economic AffairsMr. Saleem Mandviwalawhereas Minister of Defence,Syed Naveed Qamar, SecretaryDefence and Chairman PIA, Lt.Gen (Retd) Asif Yasin Malik,Managing Director PIA,Muhammad Junaid Yunus andChief Financial Officer PIA, Mr.Aftab Ahmed were also present.
The ECC took up PIA’s re-quest to extend expired and ex-piring GoP guarantees and fresh
funding for the acquisition ofnew aircraft on dry lease.
PIA presented an interim Busi-ness Plan for the period 2014-18which was highly appreciated byECC and the strategic directionenvisaged by the new managementin turning around the airline in duecourse of time. The ECC also pro-vided valuable comments and de-sired that a monitoring mechanismshould also be put in place. TheFinance Minister Mr. SaleemMandviwala advised that the Min-istry of Finance will carry out themonitoring on behalf of GoP. Thespokesperson said.
FBR counselrequests for
adjournment ofContainers’ case
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—The counsel forFederal Board of Revenue (FBR)Monday excused to give his ar-guments in the International Se-curity Assistance Force (ISAF)containers’ case and requestedthe Supreme Court for the ad-journment as he was going for acardiac operation. A three-judgebench headed by Chief JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhryresumed hearing in the ISAFcontainers scandal.
Meanwhile, Rana Shamimthe counsel for FBR also sub-mitted the report in the apexcourt regarding the lootedmoney and its recovery.
Giving more time, the benchaccepted the plea of the counseland adjourned the case tillMarch 4.
KARACHI: CEO Dawood Capital Azra Dawood addressing a press conference.—PO Photoby Sultan Chaki
MAJID SHABBIR
PAKISTAN is situated ata strategic location inSouth Asia and is en-
dowed with plenty of poten-tial and resources. It has hugehuman wealth as about 60 per-cent of the total population isbelow the age of 25 years thatcan be converted into a usefuland productive resource byimparting quality educationand providing them the oppor-tunities to come forward toplay their role in the economicdevelopment of the country.
It has been a big dilemmathat despite having enormouspotential, Pakistan after its ex-istence of more than 60 years,
Economy in doldrumsis facing serious economic chal-lenges. The dictatorship anddemocratic governments couldnot evolve acompressivestrategy for the eco-nomic development of the coun-try and to give relief to the com-mon man. The energy shortagehas put very serious impact onthe industrial productivity and inincreasing unemployment in thecountry.
The foreign investment isdrying up with every passingyear and also local investors arelooking toother destinations forsurvival. The textile exportshave declined by 52 percent,which was around 65 percent oftotal exports a few years back.
The GDP has been hovering
around 2 to 3 percent in the last
few years that presents a dismalpicture of the economic outlookof Pakistan.The high inflationand constantly increasing pricesof electricity, gas, petrol and
daily used consumable itemshave badly impacted the lives ofcommon people and it has be-come extremely difficult forthem to survive in this toughsituation.
Street crime rate is goinghigh and especially youth feelsgreat frustration because ofshrinking job opportunities inthe market. The education andhealth sectors are unable to de-liver reasonablygood services tothe people, due to low allocationof funds in the budget.
The corruption has alsoeaten the economy and increas-ing foreign and circular debtsprovide opportunities to thelenders to dictate their terms toour governments while formu-
lating national policies. The ter-rorism has sent a very wrongmessageto the external worldabout Pakistan’s soft image andon top of it media is unable toplay its role in portraying goodimage of the country.
The problems are many andare compounding day by day butapparently no serious attempthas been made by any Govern-ment to find the solution and togive relief to masses. There havebeen serious governance andmismanagement issues. Everyyear a large amount of watergoes into the sea, without anypurposeful use.
Small and medium sizedams could be built to generatehydroelectricity but due to po-
litical issues and poor planning,not a single unit of electricitycould be generated from avail-able source of water in the last8-10 years. Other options toproduce electricity from the al-ternate sources could have beenexplored and put in place in atimely manner to bridge the gapbetween the supply and de-mand.
The democratic govern-ment is completing 5 yearsterm and gave the message tothe external world that de-mocracy is flourishing in Pa-kistan. The question arisesthat what is the benefit of thedemocracy to the people ofPakistan, because they aresuffering the most. In the next
general election, same partiesare expected to rule the coun-try, and what can we expectfrom them.
There is a great need of goodgovernance, honesty and sup-port of a National Think Tankindeveloping a National Eco-nomic Strategy and to ensuretimely implementation on theaction plan to bring Pakistan outof the economic turmoil.
The Government should fo-cus to rely and utilize the avail-able resources to generate rev-enue and do efforts to turn theloss making public organiza-tions into profitable one, insteadof borrowing more money fromthe World Bank and IMF to runthe country.
The private sector, whichis bravely performing in chal-lenging circumstances, shouldbe given confidence andweightage to their recommen-dations while formulating vari-ous policies. Public privatepartnership should be encour-aged to bring efficiency in thesystem.
Pakistan is already laggingmuch behind in the comity ofnations and there is an urgentneed to take corrective mea-sures, otherwise, despite beingwell placed strategically, Pa-kistan even would have to fightfor its survival.— The writer is Secretary Gen-eral Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce & Industry
Majid Shabbir
PakistanFrom Page 13
PC hotel, GlobalSwim Marathon
event ‘End Polio’ends today
STAFF REPORTER
RAWALPINDI—The RotaryGlobal Swim marathon eventwas held at Pearl ContinentalHotel, Rawalpindi. The GlobalSwimarathon was organized tocreate Polio eradication aware-ness from the World.
The event was participatedby a team of Rotarians andswimmers of Pearl ContinentalHotel, Rawalpindi. All theswimmers swam 100metres indifferent styles. At the end of thecompetition, Mr. SheharyarMirza distributed certificates,and polio books among all theparticipants.
RAWALPINDI: Sheharyar Mirza, GM, Pearl Continental Hotel Rawalpindi, along with theparticipants of the Global Swim-marathon, 2013 to Support the Global campaign ‘EndPolio Now’ at the Hotel.
ISLAMABAD—A 48 year oldresident of Shah Baharo Colony,Larkana, Mukhtiar Khatoon hasbeen a perfect example of resil-ience for women around thecountry, as she has managed tosupport her husband and herfamily despite her background,lack of funds and resources.
Instead of losing hope, thisbrave woman put her entrepre-neurial wisdom and skills towork and started her own tailor-ing business. Upon hearing ofKhushhalibank’s microloan fa-cility, Mukhtiar Khatoon ap-proached the bank and obtaineda loan of Rs. 10,000, which sheinvested in a sewing machineand clothes for quilts. With time
From poverty to a tailor-made lifeshe managed to establish a suc-cessful tailoring business along-side making quilts, whichhelped her sustain herself andher family of eight.
Mukhtiar has helped herdaughters by training them in thebusiness, enabling them to standon their own two feet and makea livelihood for themselves andbe a source of strength and sup-port to their respective futurefamilies. She has also managedto successfully marry them off,thanks to the profit she has beenmaking through her businessventure.
Mukhtiar has also been apillar of support for her husband,helping him through the toughtimes and building their ownhome. She has also been very
instrumental in helping out otherunderprivileged women in hercommunity as well, by employ-ing two workers from herneighbourhood.
Mukhtiar Khatoon is now fi-nancially stable, with monthlysales of around Rs. 20,000 sell-ing quilts around the city. Shehas already paid off her first loanand has bought a second sew-ing machine with her second andthird loan cycle fromKhushhalibank to furtherbroaden her business. She iscurrently living a happy andprosperous life with her husbandand family, and thanksKhushhalibank for being therefor her when she needed finan-cial support to stand on her ownfeet with her head held high.
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—Taking cookingconvenience to the next level,Dawlance, Pakistan’s No.1home appliances brand extendsits range of Cook-King Micro-wave Ovens that comes withTeflon-coated microwave tawaand can be used to cook home-made Naan, Taftan, Parhata,QeemaNaan, TikkaNaan, GarlicNaan, Sheermal as well as Pizza.This innovative tawa is availablein Dawlance 125 CHZ, 115CHZ and 112C microwave ovenmodels.
Dawlance fully equippedMicrowave Oven with big cav-ity and features such as BBQRotisserie Rod, 7 Built-in Paki-stani Recipes with attractiveLED Display, Rust resistantsteel body, Calorie Indicator andDeodorizer. This aestheticallypleasing oven can be a cookingdelight bringing the power of
New range of Dawlance microwaveovens comes with free tawa
cooking right in the hands oftoday’s housewife with featuresthat make cooking as simple asa piece of cake.
Dawlance microwave ovenprovides the luxury of micro-wave baking; from appetizersto delicious cakes and tradi-tional dishes, making cookingeasy yet fun for the modernhousehold female. this particu-lar model a must have for themodern woman of today; be ita housewife or a workingwoman.
Speaking at the launchevent, Ms. Naushin Shahid,Category Manager for the mi-crowave ovens, said, “With thespecially designed Teflon-coated microwave tawa avail-able in our selected microwaveovens, cooking delicious naansand sheermals of all kinds isnow possible. Breaking thenorms of cooking in a micro-wave oven, Dawlance contin-
STAFF REPORTER
BHURBAN—Business commu-nity of the country has rejectedthe trade organization act 2013and has urged the governmentto take the decision back toframe a national trade policyotherwise they wouldn’t submittheir tax returns.
Rawalpindi Chamber ofCommerce and Industries Presi-dent Manzar Khurshid said thiswhile briefing the media atBhurban after the closing ses-sion of a two-day conference ofAll Pakistan Presidents ofChambers of Commerce andIndustries.
He was accompanied bypresidents of different cham-bers. RCCI President said thatPresidents and delegations fromall the chambers have come tothe point that in upcoming na-tional elections, nationwidebusiness community will sup-port the political party whichwill portray a national economicagenda to eliminate unemploy-ment and poverty.
While talking about eco-
Chambers conference rejectsTrade Organization Act
nomic reforms, RCCI presidentsaid that government shouldadopt a long term policy whichshould be followed by every suc-cessive government. Presidentsand delegations of differentchambers of Commerce & Indus-tries expressed their grave con-cerns over the mounting corrup-tion in different national institu-tions and federations includingPIA, Railways, WAPDA, Steel
mills, Utility Stores and NHA.Manzar Khurshid has said
that government should cut thesize of its cabinet to achieve thetargets of good governance.While expressing his concernsover mounting corruption,RCCI President said that ca-pable and eligible people shouldbe given fair chances to run dif-ferent national institution forbetter production and services.
MUZAFFAR ALI
LAHORE—Arif Masud Mirza,Head of the Association of Char-tered Certified Accountants(ACCA) Pakistan said that theenvironment in which financeprofessionals now work – onewhich is increasingly volatile,complex and competitive - re-quires them to have a broaderrange of finance skills and thisis certainly the case in Pakistan.
In a statement issued here onTuesday, Arif Masud Mirza said
CFOs want new recruits to removefinance professionals deficiency
finance functions have to excel ina wide range of capabilities, includ-ing supporting businesses, manag-ing risk, developing effective strat-egies for growth, driving financialinsight and ensuring statutory andregulatory responsibilities are met.
He further said the fact thatfinance staff should have a broadrange of skills and expertise isimportant to CFOs, should alsoensure it is of equal importanceto individuals looking to plantheir careers and maximize theiremployability.
Adamjee Yakoob, FCCA andCFO of Citibank Pakistan, said thata strong grounding in accountancy,finance and management as wellas the regulatory and legal contextis what gives him confidence innew hires. “This is also where theACCA qualification differentiatesitself from generalist degrees,” add-ing he said that finance profession-als are nowadays not only expectedto provide a reality check but bebusiness partners by managingfunding sources and analyzing in-vestment proposals.
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—The electricity dis-tribution companies includingLesco, Fesco and Gepco havestarted recovery of fuel adjust-ment charges from the industrialand domestic consumers whouse more than 350 units permonth retrospectively followingjudgment of the Lahore HighCourt last month.
The court allowed the recov-ery conditionally that domesticconsumers who are consuming
Power cos start recovery offuel adjustment charges
350 units or less per month arenot liable to pay the fuel adjust-ment price and the governmentis bound to refund the alreadyrecovered fuel adjustmentcharges to them or may adjustthe refundable amount in futuremonthly bills.
Disposing of several peti-tions, the court observed thatthough Federal government isproviding subsidy on electricity,yet it is collecting sales tax, TVlicense fee, Nelum Jhelum sur-charges from all consumers in-
cluding mosques, church andother religious institutions.
With regard to fuel adjust-ment surcharge, the court ob-served that after examining thedeterminations placed on recordit is prima facie established thatNepra has not properly attendedto the alleged illegalities pointedout by one of member of Nepraand has permitted the govern-ment to recover the cost of sto-len energy, which is stolen ei-ther with the active connivanceof the employees of the Wapda.
ports to European Union (EU)had been declining since 2005due to withdrawal of Drug-re-lated special concession by theEU. De-listing of Pakistan’sfisheries establishments in 2007by the EU further decreased thevolume of exports to the region.
Meanwhile, Minister forRailways Haji Ghulam AhmadBilour, while replying a ques-tion, told the lower House thatPakistan Railways (PR) was infinancial troubles when the cur-rent government took over, butits woes compounded further asit registered a steep increase ofRs20 billion in its debts over thenext five years. The company’slosses also went up by Rs6 bil-lion from 2008 to 2013.
He said that the internationaland local debts of PR wereRs58.7 billion in January 2013,while they were Rs38 billion inMarch 2008.
The PR losses stood atRs28.9 billion in March 2008,which surged to Rs34.1 billionin January 2013 with an increaseof Rs 6 billion, the ministeradded. He said the national car-riage company was running onmerely 180 locomotives func-tional at present, while the PRpurchased no new locomotiveduring the last five-year.
In March 2008, the totalnumber of functional locomo-tives was 406.
ues to exceed consumer expec-tations and help them enhancetheir culinary skills with com-fort and ease.”“With our extended range ofCook-King microwave ovens,we are literally redefining thecooking experience in micro-wave ovens and changing themisconception that microwavecannot cook everything. Intro-ducing cutting-edge technologyin our microwave ovens, youcan cook almost everythingfrom BBQ and traditionaldishes to international cuisinesas well as naan variants andpizza. It is these impressive fea-tures that have made our micro-wave ovens win the hearts ofthe millions of Pakistani home-makers who now rely onDawlance microwave ovens tocook delicious food in just afew minutes,” said Mr. HasanJamil, Head of Sales,Dawlance.
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Intel Corporation hasannounced a range of new prod-ucts, ecosystem and enabling ef-forts that will further accelerate thecompany’s presence in mobile andhelp usher in a range of new de-vices and richer experiences withIntel Inside®. The announce-ments include a new dual-coreAtom™ SoC (“Clover Trail+”)platform for smartphones andAndroid* tablets, and thecompany’s first global, multi-mode-multiband LTE solution.Other disclosures included “BayTrail” momentum, a new multi-
Intel announcesnew products
platform enabling program, andcontinued smartphone momen-tum in emerging markets with theIntel® Atom™ Z2420 processor-based platform.
“Today’s announcementsbuild on Intel’s growing deviceportfolio across a range of mo-bile market segments,” saidNaveed Siraj, Country Managerfor Intel Pakistan. “In less than ayear’s time we have workedclosely with customers to bring10 Intel-based smartphones tomarket in more than 20 countries,and have also delivered an indus-try-leading low-power tablet so-lution running Windows 8.”
series of Septran tablets.The absence of legitimate
profits due to rejection of industry’splea to allow a reasonable priceincrease against inflation and heavyincrease in input costs is scaringfurther investments from the phar-maceutical sector, an official ofpharma firm said.
“No doubt, the pharmaceu-tical sector is the most regulatedsector of the country as theycannot even improve packagingof their products without priorapproval from the concernedauthority,” he added.
Asian marketsmostly slip
HONG KONG—Asian marketsmostly fell on Tuesday, withdealers spooked by an electionin Italy that left no clear winner,leading to political uncertaintyand fresh fears about eurozonestability.
The dollar and euro clawedback some of the losses sufferedin US trade as investors ab-sorbed the Italian results, whilethere was also concern about thelack of progress in Washingtonto avoid spending cuts due totake effect Friday. Tokyotumbled 2.26 percent, or 263.71points, to 11,398.81, with profit-takers also moving in after theindex enjoyed a big surge onMonday.—AFP
Russia wants US help in Syria talksMOSCOW—Russia will urge the UnitedStates on Tuesday to press the Syrian oppo-sition to hold direct talks with Damascus, butfears “extremists” now have the upper handamong President Bashar al-Assad’s oppo-nents. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saidbefore leaving for Berlin to meet Secretaryof State John Kerry that the new U.S. top dip-lomat seemed to grasp the gravity of the cri-sis in Syria. He said Washington should leanon the Syrian opposition to drop demands that
Assad must leave power before talks can start. “In our contactswith other countries that can influence the parties in Syria, wehave noticed a growing understanding of the need to influenceboth the government and, first of all, the opposition so that they donot come up with unrealistic requests as preconditions for the startof dialogue,” Lavrov said after talks with Dutch Foreign MinisterFrans Timmermans. “This is what we will discuss with John Kerrytoday. During our latest phone conversation I had the impressionthat he has an understanding of the acuteness of the situation inSyria.” Moscow and Washington have been at loggerheads overSyria, where 70,000 people have been killed in a nearly two-year-old conflict that began with a crackdown on street protests againstAssad’s rule. Russia has been Assad’s staunchest ally and, withChina, blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed atmounting pressure on him to end the violence. Washington hassided with the Syrian opposition in seeking Assad’s removal frompower. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in Mos-cow on Monday that the government was ready for talks, but op-position leaders and rebel commanders insist Assad must go first.Kerry responded dismissively to Moualem’s offer, saying it washard to understand how people having Scud missiles fired at themwould take an offer of dialogue seriously. Syria denies using bal-listic missiles in the fighting.—Reuters
Castro successor lacks charismaHAVANA—When Cuban President RaulCastro named former engineering professorand long-time Communist Party insiderMiguel Diaz-Canel as his first vice presi-dent and potential successor on Sunday, hechose managerial skills over flair. Diaz-Canel, 52, is the youngest non-military manto come so close to the pinnacle of power inCuba since the Castro brothers took powerin 1959. He was appointed first vice presi-dent on Tuesday at a meeting of the National
Assembly where Castro also announced he would step down in2018 at the end of his second five-year term as president. Diaz-Canel would step into the presidency if Raul Castro could notcomplete his term. He rose through the ruling Communist Party’sranks including key posts outside the capital and enjoys somename recognition at home, though is far less well known abroad.While he has only two years of routine military service under hisbelt, Diaz-Canel’s ascent through the provincial ranks has earnedhim strong ties with the military, connections that other up-and-coming figures who fell by the wayside in past reshuffles havelacked. “This is a major change in Cuba, not just generational,”said Arturo Lopez-Levy, an analyst at the University of Denverwho used to work for the Cuban interior ministry on intelligenceissues and U.S. relations. “The promotion of Diaz-Canel shouldbe seen as part of an institutional change in the way the Cubanelite is promoted.” Before joining the government in Havana,Diaz-Canel held top Communist Party posts in two importantprovinces, Villa Clara and Holguin, centres of the booming tour-ism industry as well as new private-sector activity, both key ele-ments of an economic reform process being pushed by RaulCastro. That experience makes Diaz-Canel well-equipped to helpCastro advance those reforms, designed to make the economymore efficient and bring in more foreign currency, without loos-ening the Communist Party’s political control.—Reuters
Najib’s public support dips ahead of pollsKUALA LUMPUR—Voter approval of Ma-laysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and hisruling coalition is falling ahead of an elec-tion he must call within weeks, according toan opinion poll released on Tuesday, high-lighting the tough task he faces despite arobust economy. Support for Najib slippedto 61 percent in February from 63 percent inDecember and 65 percent in October, accord-ing to the poll by the respected MerdekaCenter, one of the last surveys before the
election that must be called by the end of April. Support for theruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which Najib leads, fellto 45 percent from 47 percent in the two previous polls. In an-other potentially worrying finding for Najib, the survey showeda slide in support for the coalition among majority ethnic Malaysto 73 percent from 77 percent in the previous survey. EthnicMalays are a bedrock of support for the coalition, which has beenlargely abandoned by ethnic Chinese voters who make up morethan a quarter of Malaysians. The survey found that approvalamong ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian voters remained un-changed at 34 percent and 75 percent respectively. The coalitionsuffered its worst electoral showing in 2008, losing its two-thirdsparliamentary majority for the first time against a resurgent op-position led by a former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim.The BN is expected to win this election, but a failure to improveon 2008’s result could cost Najib his job and raise uncertaintyover policy. Despite robust economic growth of 5.6 percent lastyear, those polled said they were most concerned about economicconditions, ahead of crime and political issues. Malaysia’s growthaccelerated to an annual pace of 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter,the statistics department said last week, beating expectations withthe fastest pace since 2010.—Reuters
Italian election inconclusiveROME—Italy emerged from elections Tues-day with no clear winner, driving marketsaround the world markedly lower as inves-tors worried that one of Europe’s biggesteconomies would be unable to build a gov-erning coalition that can stay the course onunpopular austerity measures. A day afterpolling ended, a few seats in Parliamentbased on Italians’ voting abroad still re-mained to be decided, but their numberswon’t ease the gridlock. European leaders
pleaded with politicians in Italy to quickly form a government tocontinue to enact reforms to lower Italy’s critically high debt andspare Europe another spike in its four-year financial crisis. IfItalian parties fail to form a governing coalition, new electionswould be required, causing more uncertainty and a leadershipvacuum. “What is now decisive for Italy — but, because Italy issuch an important country for Europe, also for the whole of Eu-rope — is that a stable government that is capable of acting canbe formed as quickly as possible,” German Foreign MinisterGuido Westerwelle told reporters in Berlin. The results of theelection are a rejection of the tough austerity approach of theprevious technocratic government led by Mario Monti. A center-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani appears to have won anarrow victory in the lower house of parliament, while the Sen-ate looks split with no party in control. Italy’s FTSE MIB indexwas trading 4.7 percent lower at 15,586, having earlier been nearly5 percent down at one point Tuesday. Some of its banking stockswere briefly suspended after precipitous falls at the bell.Berlusconi is a key player as his coalition is now the second-biggest bloc in the upper chamber. “Markets go their own way.They are independent and also a little crazy,” he said, addingthat a government can be cobbled together if rival politiciansare willing to “make some sacrifices.” There were some indi-cations that he could be right: An Italian treasury bond saletotaling •8.75 billion ($11.75 billion) sold out Tuesday morn-ing despite higher rates.—Reuters
France rejectstalks with
hostage-takersPARIS—France will not nego-tiate with gunmen claiming to befrom Nigerian Islamist groupBoko Haram who have taken aFrench family of seven hostage,Defence Minister Jean-Yves LeDrian said on Tuesday. The threeadults and four children wereseized in Cameroon’s far northnear the Nigerian border lastweek. In a video posted onlineon Monday, the gunmen threat-ened to kill them unless authori-ties in Nigeria and Cameroonreleased Muslim militants heldthere.
“We do not negotiate on thatkind of basis, with these kind ofgroups,” Le Drian told RTL ra-dio. “We will use all (other) pos-sible means to ensure that theseand other (French) hostages arefreed.” “We do not play this bid-ding game because that’s terror-ism,” he said, deploring the factthat children were involved.
The kidnapping has broughtto 15 the number of French citi-zens being held in the region,with the risk heightened sinceParis sent thousands of troopsinto Mali last month to help thecountry oust Islamists operatingin the north. Boko Haram haskilled hundreds of people in anattempt to establish an Islamiststate in Nigeria.—Reuters
Kurdish rebelleader warns ofdisaster if noTurkey peace
ISTANBUL—Emerging brieflyfrom solitary confinement in hisisland prison near Istanbul,Kurdish militant leader AbdullahOcalan said Turkey could be-come as troubled as Syria or Iraqif it does not take steps to end hisgroup’s decades-old insurgency.A paunchy and greying Ocalan,cut off from the world since hiscapture in 1999, told a delegationof pro-Kurdish MPs visiting himat the weekend of his plans to enda 28-year conflict that has killed40,000 people.
Ocalan has been negotiatingthe outlines of a peace deal withTurkey’s government from hiscell since he intervened to end ahunger strike by jailed Kurdishmilitants last year. With a Turk-ish intelligence official listeningin the background, he spoke fortwo hours on Saturday about Tur-key, the changing Middle Eastand his political beliefs, relish-ing attention he has long beendenied.
“We must establish a newdemocratic republic in line withthe new world and the newMiddle East. The Kurdish prob-lem can only be solved withTurkey’s democratisation,” the63-year-old Ocalan said, hiswords relayed to Reuters by par-liamentarian Altan Tan.—AP
BEIRUT—At least 141 people,half of them children, werekilled when the Syrian militaryfired at least four missiles intothe northern city of Aleppo lastweek, Human Rights Watchconfirmed Tuesday after a re-searcher visited the area. Theinternational rights group saidthe strikes hit residential areasand called them an “escalationof unlawful attacks againstSyria’s civilian population.”
Aleppo, Syria’s largest city,has been the scene of some ofthe heaviest fighting of the civilwar pitting President BasharAssad’s regime against rebelsfighting to oust him. Rebelsquickly seized several neighbor-
Syrian govt missiles kill 140 in Aleppohoods in an offensive on the cityin July, but the government stillcontrols some districts and thebattle has developed into abloody stalemate, with heavystreet fighting that has ruinedneighborhoods and forced thou-sands to flee.
A Human Rights Watch re-searcher who visited Aleppo lastweek to inspect the targetedsites, said up to 20 buildingswere destroyed in each area hitby a missile. There were nosigns of any military targets inthe residential districts, locatedin rebel-held parts of Aleppo,said Ole Solvang, the HRW’sresearcher “Just when you thinkthings can’t get any worse, the
Syrian government finds waysto escalate its killing tactics,”Solvang said.
Human rights watch said 71children were among the 141people killed in the four missilestrikes on three opposition-con-trolled neighborhoods in easternAleppo. It listed the names of thetargeted neighborhoods as JabalBadro, Tariq al-Bab and Ard al-Hamra. The fourth strike docu-mented by the group was in TelRifat, north of Aleppo.
“The extent of the damagefrom a single strike, the lack of(military) aircraft in the area atthe time, and reports of ballisticmissiles being launched from amilitary base near Damascus
Syrian anti-regime activistsfirst reported the attacks lastweek, saying they involvedground-to-ground missiles, andkilled dozens of people. The re-ports could not be independentlyconfirmed because Syrian au-thorities severely restrict accessto media. Human Rights Watchsaid it compiled a list of thosekilled in the missile strikes fromcemetery burial records, inter-views with relatives and neigh-bors, and information from theAleppo Media Center and theViolations Documentation Cen-
ter, a network of local activists.The rebels control large
swaths of land in northeasternSyria. In recent weeks, Assad’sregime has lost control of severalsites with key infrastructure inthat part of the country, includ-ing a hydroelectric dam, a majoroil field and two army basesalong the road linking Aleppowith the airport to its east. A keyfocus for the rebels in the Aleppoarea is to capture the city’s inter-national airport, which the oppo-sition fighters have been attack-ing for weeks.
Opposition forces have alsobeen hitting the heart of Dam-ascus with occasional mortarsshells or bombings, posing a stiff
challenge to the regime in its seatof power. U.S. and NATO offi-cials have previously said thatSyria has a significant ballisticmissile capability and is believedto have a few hundred missileswith a range of some 700 kilo-meters (440 miles) that could hittargets deep inside Turkey, aNATO member and one of theharshest critics of the Assad re-gime. NATO has in recent weeksdeployed Patriot missile systemsalong Turkey’s border with Syria.The missile attacks have outragedthe leaders of the exiled opposi-tion who have accused theirWestern backers of indifferenceto the suffering of the Syrianpeople.—AP
BOGOTA—Colombia’s govern-ment on Tuesday authorized acommittee of civilians and RedCross officials to travel to ajungle zone where it hopes twoGerman hostages will be freedby the nation’s second-largestguerrilla group. The NationalLiberation Army (ELN) said inearly February they had capturedtwo German men in Catatumbo,near the border with Venezuela,the second time in a month itseized foreigners.
“They sent us a message say-ing that if we authorized the RedCross and a committee that al-ready exists to interact with theELN ... they would immediatelyrelease the two German hos-tages,” President Juan ManuelSantos said “I’m going to givethe authorization so those Germancitizens are free as soon as pos-sible. I expect the ELN to honor
Colombia committee torescue German hostages
GOMA—Despite the signing ofa Congo peace accord on Sun-day, this Central African countryremains unsettled by signs of areturn to war. The peace agree-ment, signed in Ethiopia by 11neighboring countries andbacked by the United Nations,elicited much praise from Afri-can and other world leaders whosaid it points the way to stabilityin Congo.
But on the ground here in east-ern Congo, there are signals thatfighting may soon erupt betweenthe Congolese government andthe M23 rebels. The regionalpeace accord is helpful but it doesnot have specifics to immediatelyimprove the tense security situa-tion, said an expert on easternCongo. “I think it is a step in the
Eastern Congo’s peacedeal tattering
right direction. But the ageement is more a statement ofprinciples than a concrete actionplan. It is lacking in details, suchas what an oversight mechanismfor its implementation would looklike,” Jason Stearns, a Congo spe-cialist for the Rift Valley Institute,said to The Associated Press.
The agreement did not men-tion the much-awaited interven-tion forces that would come toreinforce the UN peacekeepingtroops in eastern Congo, nor didit state how a drone force couldpatrol the border. Another prob-lem is that no conclusion has beenreached in the negotiations be-tween the M23 rebels and theKinshasa government of Presi-dent Joseph Kabila. Instead theM23 rebels appear to be position-
ing themselves for a new attack.And the Congolese governmentis making alliances with otherrebel militias. The result is thateastern Congo remains tense andunsettled.
Just over three months ago,on Nov. 20, the M23, who areallegedly backed by neighboringRwanda, seized this strategiccity of 1 million and threatenedto take the rest of mineral-richeastern Congo. Two weeks later,as a result of international pres-sure and the Congolese army’spledge to negotiate, the rebelswithdrew from Goma. But nowit appears the rebels are poisedto strike again. The rebels havereinforced their positions and arejust 3 kilometers (2 miles) fromGoma airport.—Reuters
their word.”The ELN identified the two
captives as Uwe Breuer andGunther Otto Breuer. The rebelsinitially said they considered themto be intelligence agents becausethey could not explain why theywere in the area. The German gov-ernment, however, said they werepensioners traveling in a four-wheel drive through SouthAmerica.
The ELN is not engaged intalks currently underway in Cubato bring an end to five decadesof war between the governmentand the Revolutionary ArmedForces of Colombia, thecountry’s largest rebel groupknown as FARC. Attempts byprevious governments to halt thewar ended in shambles andhelped energize the FARC andintensify fighting. Santos’ popu-larity has been falling for about a
year, in part because many per-ceive the rebels are gainingground.
A poll by Invamer Gallup re-leased on Monday showed Santoswith 44 percent of support, thelowest since he took office in Au-gust 2010, and down from 53 per-cent two months ago. The poll wasconducted February 13-20 with1,200 people and has a margin oferror of 3 percentage points. The61-year-old president has not saidif he plans to run for re-electionin May 2014, and analysts say thatmay depend on the success of thepeace talks.
In January, the ELN kid-napped six mine workers includ-ing a Canadian and two Peruvi-ans in northern Colombia, as thegroup stepped up pressure on thegovernment in an apparent bid tobe included in peace talks with theFARC.—Reuters
Members of the media photograph the remains of a rocket, displayed by Israeli explosives experts, at Kibbutz Zikimnear Ashkelon.
SOFIA—Bulgaria’s leftist oppo-sition called on Tuesday for thequick formation of a caretakergovernment to raise pensionsand cut power bills to help theBalkan country’s poorest people.The centre-right government ofPrime Minister Boiko Borisovresigned last week amid nation-wide protests against high powerbills in the European Union’spoorest member.
But the resignation failed toquell public discontent with lowwages and pensions and a dis-credited political elite, and tensof thousands marched thoughBulgarian cities on Sunday, with
Bulgarian leftists call forhelp on power bills
smaller protests continuing thisweek. “We need a governmentthat solves people’s problems,”Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)leader Sergei Stanishev told anews conference. “It should takeurgent measures to stabilise thefinancial situation in the country.”
Borisov’s departure hasfailed to calm voters fed up withlow living standards and rampantgraft, and his GERB party is nowrunning neck-and-neck with theBSP. With both at around 22 to23 percent support, neither is ex-pected to win a majority in aprobable early election. Thepresident - a political ally of
Borisov, though he has to main-tain a neutral position - is ex-pected to name an interim tech-nocrat administration next weekwith the aim of maintaining fis-cal stability and a currency pegto the euro.
The BSP, which was votedout of office in 2009 as theeconomy crashed and budgetgap ballooned, wants powerprice cuts and three months’ lee-way for unpaid bills, Stanishevsaid. The party also called forfunds to help poorer people paytheir energy bills, due to be paidlater this year, to be disbursedimmediately.—Reuters
JERUSALEM—A rocket firedfrom Gaza exploded in Israel onTuesday, the first such attack sincea November truce and an appar-ent show of solidarity with WestBank protests after the death of aPalestinian in an Israeli jail.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, amilitant group in Palestinian Presi-dent Mahmoud Abbas’s WestBank-based Fatah movement,claimed responsibility for therocket strike, the PalestinianMa’an news agency said. No ca-sualties were reported. Hamas, theIslamist group that controls theGaza Strip, said it was investigat-ing. There was no military re-sponse from Israel, hours after therocket slammed into a road nearits southern city of Ashkelon.
The rocket was the first to hitIsrael since a November 21 trucebrokered by Egypt that endedeight days of cross-border airstrikes and missile attacks inwhich 175 Palestinians and sixIsraelis were killed. Tuesday’sstrike came after a surge of unrestin the occupied West Bank, thathas raised fears in Israel of a newPalestinian Intifada (uprising).
On Monday, thousands ofPalestinians in the West Bankturned out for the funeral of Arafat
Palestinian jail death
Gaza fired rocket explodesin Ashkelon town
Jaradat, 30, who died in disputedcircumstances in an Israeli prisonon Saturday. Israeli police shot andwounded five Palestinian youthsduring confrontations inBethlehem and outside a WestBank prison later the same day,leaving a 15-year-old boy in criti-cal condition, Israeli and Palestin-ian medical sources said.
An Israeli military spokes-woman, commenting on the inci-dent, said troops had opened fireat Palestinians who threw home-made hand grenades at a Jewishholy site called Rachel’s Tomb, inthe Bethlehem area. Before therocket attack from Gaza, mediareports said Israeli officials hadhoped the Palestinian protestswere winding down a week afterthey were launched in sympathywith four prisoners on intermittenthunger strikes.
The U.S. State Departmentsaid American diplomats havecontacted Israeli and Palestinianleaders to appeal for calm. TheUnited Nations coordinator for theMiddle East peace process, Rob-ert Serry, called for an investiga-tion of Jaradat’s death. Jaradat hadbeen arrested a week ago forthrowing stones at Israeli cars inthe West Bank.—Reuters
ROME—The Italian state bor-rowing costs rose, maket crashed,on Tuesday as investors tookfright at political deadlock aftera stunning election that saw aprotest party lead the poll and nogroup had a clear majority in par-liament. “The winner is:Ingovernability” ran the headlinein Rome newspaper IlMessaggero, reflecting the stale-mate the country would have toconfront in the next few weeksas sworn enemies would beforced to work together to forma government.
In a sign of where that mightlead, former prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi indicated hiscenter-right might be open to agrand coalition with the center-left bloc of Pier Luigi Bersani,which will have a majority in thelower house thanks to a premiumof seats given to the largest blocin the chamber.
Results in the upper house,the Senate, where seats areawarded on a region-by-region
Elections land Italy inecono-political confusion
basis, indicated the center-leftwould end up with about 119seats, compared with 117 for thecenter-right. But 158 are neededfor a majority to govern.
Any coalition governmentthat may be formed must have aworking majority in both housesin order to pass legislation. Worldfinancial markets reacted ner-vously to the prospect of a stale-mate in the euro zone’s third-larg-est economy with memories stillfresh of the crisis that took the17-member currency bloc to thebrink of collapse in 2011.
The Milan bourse was downmore than four percent at itsopening and the spread betweenyields on 10-year Italian andGerman government bonds wid-ened to 338.7 basis points, thehighest since December 10. Anally of conservative GermanChancellor Angela Merkel urgedItaly to stick with reforms pur-sued by the outgoing techno-cratic emergency government ofMario Monti.—Reuters
TUNIS—Tunisian police haveidentified the killer of oppositionleader Chokri Belaid as a mem-ber of a radical Islamist Salafigroup who is on the run, PrimeMinister-designate Ali Larayedhsaid on Tuesday. Larayedh, whoremains Interior Minister untilhis government is formed, tolda news conference police hadarrested three accomplices whoare also ultra-orthodox Salafis.
The assassination of secularpolitician Belaid on February 6ignited the biggest street protestsin Tunisia since the overthrowof strongman Zine al-AbidineBen Ali two years ago. A secu-rity source said on Monday aSalafi had been arrested in con-nection with the killing, whileTunisia’s Express FM radiocited a senior security official assaying police had arrested threeSalafis, including a police of-ficer, over the murder.
“Now we have identified thekiller of Belaid and he is on therun. The police are looking forhim,” Larayedh said. One of thearrested suspects had accompa-nied the gunman who shotBelaid outside his home beforeescaping on a motorcycle, hesaid, adding that the group hadmounted surveillance ofBelaid’s home and a nearby
Tunisia police launchmanhunt for politician’s killer
square for several days beforethe attack. The Interior Ministerdid not confirm the Express FMreport that one of those detainedwas a police officer.
“Identifying the killers ofBelaid reinforces confidence inthe judiciary and in the neutral-ity of security (forces),” saidLarayedh, who belongs to themoderate Islamist Ennahdaparty. After his announcement,Belaid’s widow Basma said itwas still not clear who had or-chestrated her husband’s assas-sination, which was the first inTunisia for decades.
“It’s good to know whokilled Chokri, but it is very im-portant to know who gave theorder because it was a very or-ganized crime,” she told Europe1 radio in Paris. No one hasclaimed responsibility for thekilling. Ennahda and the InteriorMinistry have denied accusa-tions by some in the oppositionthat they were behind it.
Last year, Salafi groups pre-vented several concerts andplays from taking place in Tu-nisian cities, saying they vio-lated Islamic principles. Salafisalso ransacked the U.S. Em-bassy in September, during in-ternational protests over anInternet video.—Reuters
CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar smashes his first ball for a six, India v Australia, 1st Test, 5th day.
CHENNAI—An Indian vic-tory that seemed imminentminutes after tea on day fourwas eventually completed bySachin Tendulkar, 40 minutesbefore lunch on day five.Australia’s resistance overthat period arrived too late tochange the result, but in itmay be found the clues to atighter contest when the sec-ond match begins inHyderabad on Saturday.
MS Dhoni, R Ashwin,Virat Kohli and Tendulkarwere the pivotal contribu-tors to India’s 1-0 serieslead, showing greater dis-cipline and awareness of the
India vs Australia, 1st Test 5th day
India take 1-0 lead witheight-wicket win
sort of cricket best playedon the MA ChidambaramStadium’s clay court. Savefor Michael Clarke’s first-day century and JamesPattinson’s fiery pace, itwas not until MoisesHenriques stood up withthe bat in the second in-nings that the touristsshowed evidence of catch-ing up.
A target of only 50 to winwas reached with the help ofsome Tendulkar fireworks -towering sixes from his firsttwo deliveries againstNathan Lyon - but Pattinsonagain bowled well to the
openers and Lyon showedfar greater consistency ofline and control of lengththan he had managed whilebeing taken for 3 for 215 inthe first innings.
India’s eight-wicket win istheir 13th in Chennai. It istheir most successful venuefollowed by Delhi, wherethey have 11 wins.
India have now won threeof their last four Tests againstAustralia in Chennai (draw in2004). The last defeat for In-dia against Australia inChennai came in 1969.
This is only the third timethat Indian spinners havepicked up all 20 wickets to fallin the match. The previousinstance was against NewZealand in Auckland in 1976.Pakistan have done so twiceand England once (OldTrafford 1956 when Jim Lakerpicked up 19 for 90).
The win is India’s best-ever against Australia interms of wickets. Overall,they have won eight timeschasing (seven at home).
With the win, MS Dhoninow moves level withSourav Ganguly on the listof Indian captains with themost Test wins. His win-loss ratio (1.75) is alsoslightly superior toGanguly’s 1.61.
The 66-run stand be-
tween Moises Henriques andNathan Lyon is the second-highest last-wicket stand forAustralia against India. Thehighest is 77 between AllanBorder and Dave Gilbert inMelbourne in 1985.
India were left with somequestions about their open-ing pair, M Vijay and VirenderSehwag doing little in eitherinnings, and they may alsowonder about subtractinganother seam bowler fromtheir XI should theHyderabad surface be any-thing like this one. Australiahave found a steady battinghand in Henriques, but muchof their display in this matchwill be the cause of seriousintrospection.
Henriques and Lyon hadput on 66 for Australia’s lastwicket, a defiant gesture af-ter the earlier batsmen hadfailed to stand their ground.Henriques’ unbeaten inningscompleted a fine double forthe debutant, who has surelymade his place safe for thesecond Test.
Ultimately it was RavindraJadeja who ended the standafter 25 minutes on the finalmorning, switching fromover to around the wicketagainst Lyon and coaxing aninside edge onto pad thatwas snapped up by shortleg.—AFP
KYLE ABBOTT—Testcricket’s latest pace-bowlingsensation, is one of manySouth Africans ruing the in-ternational schedule’s plansfor his country. South Africado not play Test cricket forthe next seven months, withtheir next assignment a returnseries against Pakistan in theUnited Arab Emirates. Withthe team ranked No.1 in theworld there is a disappoint-ment from many quarters, in-cluding the players, that theydo not feature sooner.
Abbott played his firstTest at Centurion againstPakistan and, after becomingthe country’s second-mostsuccessful bowlingdebutant, he wants more.“I’ve had a taste and it tastesreally good. It’s going to bea little frustrating not play-ing for a while. I feel like I’dlove to have another seriesto showcase my skills again,”he admitted.
Graeme Smith, the Testcaptain, agreed, calling it“disappointing,” to be awayfrom Test cricket for such a
Pakistan in South Africa 2012-13
Abbott hungry for more Test cricketlength of time. South Africa’sbreak would have beenshorter but their tour to SriLanka was truncated and theTests postponed to 2015 onrequest from the SLC. Theyalso have the ChampionsTrophy to occupy them inthe winter.
Smith’s major concern isthat the sizeable gap betweenTests is followed by a chal-lenging tour so “preparationis going to key,” he said. “Youcan’t focus on keeping guyson top of their game for sixmonths so the time just be-fore is when we will have toput in a lot of work.”
He may be reassured bythe strength of SouthAfrica’s domestic competi-tion, which will resume be-fore the visit to the UAE andprovide a base to restart Testtraining. According to Ab-bot, the franchise system isat its healthiest and, given theamount of time he has spentthere, he may know.
Until last Friday, Abbotthad only played first-classcricket at domestic level, with
the exception of one matchfor the South African Invita-tion side against the touringPakistanis. He believes histime in the franchise preparedhim adequately to make thestep up to the internationalstage.
“The domestic circuit isat its strongest,” Abbott said.“There are a number ofbowlers knocking on thedoor. It’s a real credit to thesystem that we’ve got, theHigh PerformanceProgramme and the even theSouth Africa A which is runreally well now. There aregood coaches and goodstructures to prepare guys tothe next level so the guysstepping up are ready. I’d saythe core of South Africancricket is really strong.”
Abbott is the fourth pacebowler to be called up to theTest team under GaryKirsten. All of Vernon Philan-der, Marchant de Lange andRory Kleinveldt enjoyedvarying degrees of successat international level as proofthat the domestic circuit is
Australia 1stinnings:380India 1st innings: ...... 572Australia 2nd innings:Cowan lbw b Ashwin ... 32Watson b Ashwin ........ 17Warner lbw b HarbhajanSingh ............................... 23Hughes b Jadeja .............. 0Clarke lbw b Ashwin ..... 31Wade b Harbhajan Singh 8Henriques not out ......... 81PM Siddle b Jadeja ......... 2Pattinson b Ashwin ...... 11Starc b Ashwin ................ 8Lyon c Vijay b Jadeja .... 11Extras: (b 15, lb 2) .......... 17Total : (all out) ............. 241Fall of wickets 1-34, 2-64, 3-
65, 4-101, 5-121, 6-131, 7-137,8-161, 9-175, 10-241Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WR Ashwin ............ 32-6-95-5Harbhajan Singh 27-6-55-2RA Jadeja ........... 31-8-72-3I Sharma .................. 3-1-2-0India 2nd innings:Vijay b Pattinson ............. 6V Sehwag b Lyon ......... 19Pujara not out .................. 8Tendulkar not out ......... 13Extras: (b 4) ...................... 4Total: (2 wickets) ........... 50Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WJL Pattinson ......... 3-1-13-1NM Lyon ........... 5.3-0-29-1PM Siddle ............... 3-2-4-0
FAISALABAD: A large number of students sitting on a car during the Annual Sports Day of Punjab Group of Colleges.
functioning as it should andproducing players regularly.
Only de Lange was se-lected on potential in the ab-sence of experience. Theyoung quick was part of theSouth African A side thatplayed against Australia A inOctober 2011 and his fivewickets got him noticed. Dueto his express pace, he wasinvited to national trainingand picked for the BoxingDay Test against Sri Lankalater that year. Injuries havesince hampered his progress.
The other three playerspicked were included on theweight of their performancesat the tier lower-down. Phi-lander was the leadingwicket-taker in the first-classcompetition for two seasonsbefore he got a look in,Kleinveldt succeeded himand was rewarded in thesame way and Abbott fol-lowed suit. He topped the2012-13 bowling charts with49 wickets at an average of15.36 and considered himselfready for the next level.—Agencies
DUBAI—Roger Federer sur-prisingly dropped the firstset against little-knownMalek Jaziri before puttingthe Tunisian upstart in hisplace with a 5-7 6-0 6-2 winto reach the second roundof the Dubai Champion-ships.
Jaziri, ranked 128th in theworld, had not played amatch on the ATP Tour forsix months but that did notstop him snatching the firstset from the 17-times grandslam champion.
After watching SwissFederer squander threebreak points in the openingset, Jaziri could barely be-lieve his eyes when his morecelebrated opponentslapped the ball into the netto go a break down at 5-6.
Jaziri, 29, made sure hisbragging rights did not endthere as he took the first setwith a rip-roaring backhanddown the line passing shotwinner that left Federer flat-footed and the fans sens-ing a night-time upset.
However, if Jaziri startedto wonder what it would feellike to beat a champion likeFederer, those dreams werebrutally snuffed out as thesecond seed exacted re-venge by racing through thenext two sets.
In the first set, however,
Federer puts journeymanJaziri in his place after blip
it was Federer whostruggled. Serving at 5-5 and15-30, Federer double-faulted and then put a back-hand in the net.
Federer looked muchbetter in the second set,which he won in just 23 min-utes, and from 2-2 in the de-cider he lost only three morepoints.
On a relatively low-keyopening day, seventh seedAndreas Seppi beat French-man Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-37-5 and Russian eighth seed
Top seed NovakDjokovic was in action onday one with his brotherMarko but their doubles ad-venture ended in round one.They were beaten 4-6 6-3 10-4 by Nikolay Davydenko andDick Norman.
Britain’s HeatherWatson has climbed to 39 inthe world rankings, whileLaura Robson remains at43.—Agencies
DUBAI: Roger Federer of Switzerland serves to MalekJaziri of Tunisia during their men’s singles match at theATP Dubai Tennis Championships.
PM asks PHFpresident to promote
national gameISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesdaydirected the president PakistanHockey Federation (PHF) tofocus on promoting the na-tional game and work for thewelfare of players. The PrimeMinister was talking to QasimZia, President PHF who calledon him at the PM House here.
The Prime Minister saidsports is the most effectivetool to positively utilize theenergies of youth.
He said his governmenthad done a lot for promotionof healthy activities like sportsin last five years. Qasim Ziabriefed the Prime Minister onthe affairs of PHF and dis-cussed future plans chalkedout to promote hockey in thecountry.—APP
Pak batsmenwere lacking in
technique: HanifMuhammad
KARACHI—Expressing hisdisappointment overPakistan’s humiliating 3-0defeat at the hands of SouthAfrica, batting legend HanifMuhammad said on Mondaythat the team was lacking intechnique, application anddetermination.
“Though South Afri-cans possessed the qualityfast bowlers our batsmenwere clearly lacking in ap-plication, determination andtechnique to defy thebowlers,” he said while re-cording his reaction onteam’s massive loss.
He said better shot selec-tion could had made the dif-ference.
But our batsmen failed tolearn from their mistakes andlacked in technique to handledeliveries on the off-stumps,”he said.
Former Pakistan captainsaid had Pakistan shown a bitof courage and planning theycould have won the secondTest in Cape Town.
“With a better shot selec-tion Pakistan batsmen couldhave done better in the se-ries,” he asserted.—APP
K A T M A N D U — N e p a l e s emountaineer Chhurim en-tered the record book byscaling Mount Everesttwice in the same climbingseason. In fact, she did so aweek apart.
Guinness WorldRecords said she is the firstwoman to climb the world’shighest mountain twice inthe same season —the briefwindow of good weathereach year that allows climb-ers to reach the summit.
Nepal’s Tourism Minis-ter Posta Bahadur Bogatihanded over the GuinnessWorld Records certificateissued to 29-year-oldChhurim on Monday. Shescaled the 8,850-meter(29,035-foot) summit onMay 12, 2012, descended tothe base camp for a coupleof days’ rest and thenscaled the peak again aweek later on May 19.
Chhurim, who uses onlyone name like mostSherpas, said she is notready to quit. “Everest isthe first of the highestmountains that I haveclimbed, but I will continuemountaineering and hope
Everest climb twice putNepalese woman in record book
to scale more peaks,” shesaid.
Chhurim said there arenot many women mountain-eers and only a few of themhave records. “The malemountaineers have setmany records but womenhave fallen behind. It can bedifficult for women becausethey are considered not asstrong as men and facemany problems like findingtoilets,” she said.
The Nepal Mountain-eering Association saidEverest has been climbedby nearly 4,000 peoplesince New ZealanderEdmund Hillary andTenzing Norgay of Nepaldid so in 1953. Women are asmall number of them.
The extremely harshweather conditions that bat-ter the highest Himalayanpeaks limit the climbing sea-son to just a few weeks ev-ery year. Spring is the mostpopular season on Everestwhen hundreds of moun-taineers attempt every year.The climbers generallyreach the mountain in Marchor April, acclimatize to thehigher elevation and low
oxygen and train for climb-ing the snowy trail to thepeak. The weather usuallyimproves for a few days inMay when they line up tothe summit.—Online
England get backinto Test mode
DUNEDIN—The bike ridesaround Queenstown’s stun-ning shoreline and the heli-copter flights to snow-cappedmountains now get put to oneside. England’s Test squad -virtually at full strength withonly the injured Tim Bresnannot part of the 15 - are now allin the same place, on NewZealand’s South Island, toprepare for the Test serieswhich starts in Dunedin onMarch 6.
The Test-only players -Nick Compton, KevinPietersen, Matt Prior, GrahamOnions and Monty Panesar- along with team directorAndy Flower arrived inQueenstown last week for atraining camp that has not allbeen about cricket. The play-ers have been posting regu-lar updates on Twitter, mar-veling at the beauty of thelocation and the chance toundertake some of the moretouristy aspects of the townrather than nets and fitnessdrills all the time.
However, now joined bythe Test names from the one-day squad, who are not goingto have the same opportunityfor too much downtime - al-though some of the playerswere hurling themselves off asuspension bridge on Tues-day in one of Queenstown’sadrenalin-filled options - thereare four important days aheadto get back into red-ballcricket.—Online
A VIRUS that infects humans withoutcausing disease kills breast cancercells in the laboratory. Researchers from
Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)College of Medicine in the US, tested an un-altered form of adeno-asso-ciated virus type 2 (AAV2)on three different humanbreast cancer types repre-senting different stages ofcancer and found it targetedall of them. They hope byuncovering the pathwaysthe virus uses to trigger can-cer cell death, their workwill lead to new targets foranti-cancer drugs. A paperon this work appeared re-cently in the journal Mo-lecular Cancer.
In earlier studies, theteam also showed thatAAV2 promotes cell deathin cervical cancer cells in-fected with humanpapillomavirus (HPV).
Cells have different ways of dying.When a healthy cell gets damaged, or startsbehaving in an abnormal way, this normallytriggers production of proteins that causeapoptosis or cell suicide: part of this pro-cess also involves switching off proteins thattrigger cell division.
The problem with cancer cells is thatapoptosis fails, and the proteins that regu-late cell division and proliferation stayswitched on, so abnormal cells continue tomultiply and create new abnormal cells andthat is how tumors develop.Breast cancer isthe most common cancer in the world and
the main cause of cancer-related death inwomen.First author Dr Samina Alam, re-search associate in microbiology and im-munology at Penn State, told the press ina statement released on Thursday that
breast cancer is also “com-plex to treat”.
Senior investigator DrCraig Meyers, professor ofmicrobiology and immunol-ogy at Penn State, explainedwhy: Because it has mul-tiple stages, you can’t treatall the women the same.Currently, treatment ofbreast cancer is dependenton multiple factors such ashormone-dependency, inva-siveness and metastases,drug resistance and poten-tial toxicities.”
However, he went on tosay that in their study, theyshowed that “AAV2, as asingle entity, targets all dif-ferent grades of breast can-
cer”. He and his team believe that AAV2 isswitching back on the apoptosis pathwaysthat were switched off in the cancer cells.
For their study they used lab tissuecultures of cancer cells and found AAV2killed 100% of them within seven days,with most of the cell death proteins acti-vated on day five.In another experiment,working with cancer cells from an aggres-sive form of breast cancer, they found thevirus took three weeks to kill the cells.
Alam said they can see the virus is kill-ing the cells, but exactly how it is doing itremains somewhat of a mystery.
Non-disease virus killsbreast cancer cells in lab
KARACHI: Women protesting in front of Supreme Court Registry office during a demonstration against murder of a worker of Ahl-e-Sunnat Waljamaatwho was killed in a firing incident at Sadr area.
KARACHI: Relatives demanding release of fishermen arrested by India at a demon-stration at Ibrahim Haideri on Sunday.
KARACHI: Children holding a placard during a rally organized by Ilm Dost Forum—PO photo by Sultan Chaki.
AMANULLAH KHAN
KARACHI—Inspector Generalof Police Khyber Pakhtunkhawa(KPK), Muhammad Akbar KhanHoti said on Tuesday that thedialogue with the Taliban wasbetter option than waging waragainst them in the country.
This he said while talking tomedia men after inaugurating10th International Safety andSecurity Exhibition titled “Safeand Secure Pakistan” which wasorganized by Pegasus in collabo-ration with Capital DevelopmentAuthority (CDA) here on Tues-day. “If we fight against them,there would be big loss in thecountry”, he said adding that ifthey were brought in the main-stream, it would be beneficial forthe province.
Dialogue with Taliban abetter option: KP IGP
Besides, Taliban are also theMuslims and they should bebrought in the mainstreamwhich can help us to changetheir ideology also, he stated.
However, the process of thecapacity building of theprovince’s police has been ini-tiated to overcome the issue ofsecurity, the IG told media. Thetotal strength of the police in theprovince is 74000.
Hoti said that if any policeman faced martyrdom, the gov-ernment of KP would provideRs.3 million and one plot forbuilding house to the martyr’sheirs and in addition, one of hischildren of over 18 years wouldbe appointed in the police de-partment. Appreciating the ex-hibition, he said that such exhi-bition would create awareness
among the public about the so-lution for security-torn country.
“The imported products ofsecurity do not fit in our envi-ronment like the laptop that donot work in high temperature”,IG KP said adding that the localcompanies should come forwardin the sector for manufacturingthe products of security.
Later, IG police KP visitedeach the stall and was briefedabout the products and its func-tions. 165 exhibitors from 30countries have participated inthe exhibition by displacingtheir products and even some ofthem have held the practicaldemonstration about the func-tion of the products. The prod-ucts displaced in the exhibitioninclude the solution for fire,alarm security and cameras.
IRFAN ALIGI
KARACHI—Sindh InformationMinister and Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) Central Deputy Infor-mation Secretary Sharjeel EnamMemon said that the PPP-led gov-ernment had laid a network ofroads in the country. The govern-ment had launched developmentprojects worth Rs 58.90 billion inSindh province, which also in-cluded construction of buildings.The works and services depart-ment had so far constructed 5726-
PPP laid tremendous networkof roads in 5 years: Sharjeel
km long roads and repaired, car-peted 2968-km long roads. Theconstruction of roads had helpedthe trade and economic activitiesto improve in the country.
The Minister said this on theoccasion of distribution ofgovernment’s 5-year progress re-port to the newsmen on Monday.He said that the elected democraticgovernment had in past five yearsconstructed 58.7-km long dualtrack on Hyderabad-Mirpurkhaswhile the Jhark-Mulla KatiarBridge was also being constructed
with hefty funds worthRs1093.75 along with construc-tion of 51-km long dual track ofroads on Hyderabad-TandoMuhammad Khan-Thatta.
He said that the governmenthad also reconstructed 1900-kmlong roads with Rs 554 millionthat had been inundated in heavyfloods and were ruined and 950-km long roads were being con-structed under the annual devel-opment programme with Rs 131million. Under the MPA develop-ment programme, the govern-
ment had constructed 665-kmlong roads with Rs 2653 million.
The government had alsoconstructed a 90-km long roadon Coastal Highway GakharPhatak (Keti Bundar) and theworks and services departmenthad also constructed a 30-kmlong for Thatta-Sajawal. Fur-ther, 134-km long road was be-ing constructed in Nawab Shah,Pud Eden, Ranipur and with theassistance of JICA, 500-km longroads were being constructedwith Rs 8875.19 million.
KARACHI—Central DeputySecretary of PPP and SindhMinister for InformationSharjeel Inam Memon hassaid that during last five yearof PPP Government has car-ried out 511 developmentschemes including 301 ongo-ing projects by the IrrigationDepartment with the Cost ofRs. 8422 Million. This hesaid while talking to a groupof media here at his officehere today.
301 schemes worth Rs 8,422m carried out in Sindh He said to boost upthe national economy, to alle-viate poverty in rural areas ofSindh and ensured delivery ofdrinking water to urban areas,the elected government started3420 miles canal banksstrengthening, 1895 miles re-sectioning of canals, 247 milesstone pitching, 5277 numbersof modules and 33 bridges arein progress, 73 % percentwork has been completed. Minister further men-
tioned in his statement that un-fortunately the devastation ofSuper Flood 2010 and heavyrain fall in 2001 damaged theirrigation infrastructure ofboth sides of River Indus. Thedepartment prepared 76 differ-ent development schemes forremodeling of flood protectivebundhs at the estimated cost ofRs. 18.00 Billion. The projecthas been executed with the as-sistance of Asian DevelopmentBank, 70% work of this project
has been completed. The Minister furthermentioned that the project ofright bank outfall drain(BROD) is under construc-tion from Sehwan to Sea. Theproject is being supportedand monitored by 5-Corpsengineer. He said that thecompletion of project willprovide the facility to carryout the drainage effluent ofSindh and Balochistan prov-inces from Karam Poor to
Sea at Gharo Creek andManchar Lake and will be pol-lution free. Information Ministerfurther told that the presentgovernment assigned top pri-orities to Rehabilitation ofSukkur Barrage to improve itsstructures and allied workswith the assistance of WorldBank. Government focuses toestablish small dams for agri-culture and drinking purposein Sindh ,he concluded.
IRFAN ALIGI
KARACHI—Qari Ubaid UlHaq, a student of religiousseminary (Jamia Binnoria) suc-cumbed to his injuries on Tues-day. He was shot in Tariq Roadarea and was shifted to hospi-tal for resuscitation. Unidenti-fied armed men had interceptedthe deceased near Tariq Road.His driver Nazar Bakht sus-tained bullet injuries and wasbeing treated.
Unidentified outlaws hadattacked a petrol pump withgrenade located on NishtarRoad near Patel Para. Fourwere injured in the incident.Police said that the incident hadoccurred after the owner of thepetrol pump had refused to payextortion money.
lice and Rangers had held 19suspects. The targeted opera-tion was conducted in RizviaSociety, Orangi Town,Usmanabad and Garden Eastareas. Large caches of armswere also recovered from thepossession of the arrested sus-pects. In Gulbahar area, Policeand Rangers had in a Com-mando Operation nabbed 8 sus-pects. The arrested had beenshifted to undisclosed site forfurther investigations.
A body was found inKharadar Kaghzi Bazaar area.He was murdered after uniden-tified had kidnapped him. Awoman was gunned down inMachhar Colony area. Uniden-tified armed men had gunneddown one in Muslimabad area
in Orangi Town while 2 wereinjured in an incident of firingin Asso Goth in Malir and 1 waskilled in North Nazimabad.
A 35-year old Punjabispeaking Ikhlaque son ofGhulam Hassan, owner of amarble factory was gunneddown in Kanwari Colony inOrangi Town. A local traderwas kidnapped from TariqRoad.
Naseer Ahmed son ofMunshi Khan, aged 65 was in-jured during resistance in a bidof robbery in Korangi No 2 nearMillat School. In Korangi No6, angry mob had caught andtortured one robber while se-verely injured his accomplice.
Meanwhile, 5 died and 20injured in a road mishap on Su-per Highway near Nooriabad.
No differencesbetween MQM
leadership, Dr EbadSTAFF REPORTER
KARACHI–The Co-ordinationCommittee of Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) has termedthe analysis on a private TVchannel about serious differ-ences between the MQM lead-ership and Governor Sindh DrIshrat Ul Ebad Khan over thelatter’s resignation.
The Committee termed theanalysis as baseless, highlyspeculative and misleading. Itsaid that certain elements weretrying to create misconceptionsin the minds of the MQM work-ers over its political differenceswith the PPP.
These elements were tryingto propagate that MQM leaderAltaf Hussain no longer wantedDr Ishrat Ul Ebad to hold theoffice of Governor Sindh underany condition.
Bid to smuggleliquor from UAEto Pakistan foiled
KARACHI—Custom intelli-gence and maritime securityjointly foiled a bid to smuggle60,000 bottles of liquor fromUAE to Pakistan, arresting nineaccused in Arabian Sea.
The custom intelligenceand maritime security jointlycarried out a raid at a launch,pronounced as Al-Khair, inArabian Sea. The bottles of li-quor have been seized whilenine accused were also ar-rested in the raid.—Online
KARACHI—The SupremeCourt (SC) has issued a show-cause notice to the InspectorGeneral (IG) of Sindh police andordered the suspension of 423personnel of Sindh police in-volved in illegal activities.
A larger bench of the Su-preme Court headed by JusticeAnwer Zaheer Jamali on Tues-day resumed the hearing of thecase pertaining to the implemen-
SC serves show-cause notice to IG,suspends 423 policemen
tation of the court’s earlier or-der over the Karachi law andorder situation at the SupremeCourt’s Karachi registry.
During the hearing the courtexpressing its dissatisfaction is-sued a show-cause notice toSindh Police IG Fayyaz Leghari.In its remarks the court inquiredas to why were 430 policemen,who were involved in illegal ac-tivities, not suspended and still
posted for duties.The court further remarked
that not only were the corrupt po-licemen performing duties butwere posted at sensitive locationsas well. The court ordered the sus-pension of 423 police personnelsuspected of involvement in ille-gal activities, instructed Sindh’sIGP to submit a reply within a dayand adjourned the hearing of thecase until Wednesday.—INP
Five more killedin violence
KARACHI—At least five per-sons including a woman and amember of a religiousorganisation were killed in sepa-rate incidents if violence inKarachi on Tuesday.
An activist of a religiousorganisation was killed whenunknown gunmen opened fire inKarachi’s Lines area. Enragedprotestors set out to the streetsburning tyres and blocking roadsin Saddar area.
The demonstrators marchedtowards the Supreme Court’sKarachi registry near Shaheencomplex demanding actionsagainst the killers, from wherethey dispersed off after authori-ties held negotiations withthem.—APP
APP ChiefReporter
Khushnoodlaid to rest
KARACHI—The Namaz-e-Janaza of Khushnood AliShaikh, Chief Reporter of APPKarachi Bureau was held atMasjid Imam-ul-Ambia, block -3, Gulistan-e-Jauhar here afterZuhr prayer on Tuesday.
Khushnood Shaikh died ina traffic accident Monday nightas he was trying to return to hiscar after visiting a shop.
His funeral prayers were at-tended by a large number ofpeople, relatives, colleaguesand friends.—APP
DESPITE past clinical trials demonstrating that expo-sure to pure oxygen can help stubborn wounds heal,
a large new study of diabetes patients withsevere foot ulcers finds no benefit fromoxygen treatments and possibly someharm.
Researchers followingmore than 6,000 diabetespatients receiving treat-ment for deep foot woundsfound that patients whogot oxygen-chamber treat-ments along with standardwound care were no morelikely to heal and morethan twice as likely to un-dergo amputations asthose getting standardcare alone.
The results, publishedin the journal DiabetesCare, surprised the studyteam from the University ofPennsylvania, not least be-cause they defy so muchprevious research. “We re-ally thought we would see a replication ofwhat occurred in the randomized trials. Thedata demonstrates that didn’t come topass,” said Dr. Stephen Thom, a professorat the Perelman School of Medicine in Phila-delphia who worked on the study.
For more than 20 years, people withserious open wounds or burns have beenput into pressurized chambers or roomsthat expose them to pure oxy-gen, in thebelief that it helps to promote tissue growthand speed healing.
Because of nerve and blood vesseldamage, people with diabetes are at risk ofpersistent ulcers forming on their toes and
Oxygen treatment maynot help foot ulcers
heels - wounds that can become infectedand even lead to gangrene and amputa-tion. Oxygen treatments are sometimesadded to standard care of diabetic footwounds to enhance healing.
For the new study, researcherswanted to see whether theoxygen therapy was makinga differ-ence in real-worldsettings. They analyzeddata on 6,259 diabetes pa-tients treated for foot ulcersat wound care centersaround the U.S. betweenNovember 2005 and May2011.
Of those patients,only 793 ended up havingthe oxygen therapy on topof standard care. Their ses-sions lasted from 45 minutesto two hours in the pressur-ized chambers, and weredone once or twice per dayover four to five times perweek.
Thom told ReutersHealth that such treatments typi-callycost between $300 and $600 per session.
After 16 weeks, about 43 percent ofoxygen therapy patients had fully healedwounds, compared to about 50 percent ofpatients who did not use oxygen therapy.And about 7 percent of oxygen therapypatients had an amputation, compared tojust 2 per-cent of those who did not getoxygen treatments. “It does not only sayit’s not equal, it says it may be worse.You’re seeing a higher amputation rate anda longer healing of a foot wound,” saidDr. Nicholas Morrissey, a vascular sur-geon at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
LAHORE: PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif addressing the launching of Senator Zarina Alam Khan’s new books‘Suno Meri Piyari Baiti’ at Punjab University.
LAHORE: Students performing during Sports Day at Queen Marry College.
MUZAFFAR ALI
LA H O R E—People st i l ltrust the doctors most andthe politicians least. Medi-cal education should,therefore, be oriented to-wards health and commu-nity as opposed to diseaseand hospital.
This was stated bynoted Brit ish physicianand medical educationistProf. Parveen Kumar whiledelivering a lecture on ‘TheChanging Face of Medi-cine’, here at the Universityof Health Sciences (UHS)on Tuesday.
Prof. Kumar is a well-known figure in medicalprofession as she is the au-thor of Kumar and Clark’sTextbook of Clinical Medi-cine, taught in medicalschools the world over. Shecurrently teaches at Barts
Medical students advised tolearn modern study approaches
and the London, QueenMary School of Medicine,University of London, UK.
Prof. Kumar said that itwas needed to preparedoctors to fulfil the expec-tations of society, to copewith the exponentialgrowth of medical and sci-entific knowledge, to incul-cate physicians’ ability forl ifelong learning, and toadjust medical education tochanging condit ions inhealthcare delivery system.
She was of the view thatover the years, a major para-digm shift in medical edu-cation had been the moveto learner-centred ap-proaches, one majorchange being the develop-ment of problem-basedlearning (PBL) and themove towards competency-based and outcome-basedlearning.
“These new approacheshave sought to place stu-dents as the focus of learn-ing, with their teachers insupport ing roles”, shemaintained.
Prof. Kumar further saidthat in medical andhealthcare education, thisparadigm shif t wasprompted by many factors,not least the need to pro-duce doctors capable ofadapting to and meetingthe changing healthcareneeds of the communitiesthey served.
Prof. Kumar said thatmedicine is still the mosttrusted profession in theworld. She quoted a re-search on various profes-sions according to which84 per cent people consid-ered medicine the mosttrustworthy professionwhereas only 22 per cent
people considered the poli-ticians most reliable.
“It is the job of medicalteachers to make sure fu-ture doctors are preparedto deliver nothing but ab-solute excellence in patientcare”, she emphasized.
Earlier, in his welcomeaddress, UHS Vice Chan-cellor Maj Gen (R) Prof.Muhammad Aslam empha-sized the need of adoptingnew pedagogical ap-proaches for the educationof healthcare profession-als.
He said that effectiveperformance as ahealthcare professionalwas no longer predicted onmemorizing a body of factsbut depended on beingable to assimilate, evaluateand use new information.
On the occasion, UHSVC conferred the status ofAdjunct Professor on Prof.Parveen Kumar.
Prof. Abdul MajeedChaudhry, Prof. HumayunMaqsood, Lt .Gen (R) DrSyed Afzal Ahmad, ProfGhias un Nabi Tayyab,Prof. Zahid Bashir, seniorfaculty and a number ofmedical students attendedthe lecture.
Man gunneddown over
property disputeLAHORE—A man was killedand another injured in firingof rival faction over propertydispute here on Tuesday.
According to details,unidentified armed motorcy-clists sprayed bullets at tworeal brothers in Gawalmandiarea of city injuring them criti-cally and fled the scene.
The injured were rushedto hospital where AbdulBasit succumbed to hiswounds while Ahmed wasunder treatment in seriouscondition.
Relatives of the de-ceased told police the twobrothers were in dispute witha person named Bilaj overproperty dispute.
The police registered acase against unknown mur-derers and started search forthem.—INP
LAHORE—Punjab ElectionCommission has completedthe purchase of polling mate-rials and printing of electoralrolls. According to Media Re-ports, Over 3.7 million newvoters including 515 eunuchshave been registered in theelectoral rolls, while 2,797 newpolling stations have beenadded.
Punjab EC completes purchase ofpolling material, printing work
Election Commissionsources said that the totalnumber of voters in 2008 elec-tions stood at 4, 45, 45, 385,which now with the increaseof 37, 63, 259 tallied at 4, 83, 8,644.
In the previous elections,the number of polling stationsstood at 38, 021, which hasbeen increased to 40, 818.
The list of district and ses-sion judges to be posted asdistrict returning officer, whilecivil judges as returning of-ficers has also been prepared.
Punjab Election Commis-sioner, Tariq Qadri told thatbesides preparing the scheme,purchases for the polling ma-terials have also been com-pleted.—Online
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Spokesman forPakistan Muslim League-N,Senator Pervaiz Rashid hassaid that Sharjeel Memonshould inform as to why theSindh government had issuedarm licenses to terrorists, andwhen will Sharjeel Memoncome to collect those culpritswho have been arrested bythe Punjab government.
Commenting upon thestatement of Sharjeel Memon,Senator Pervaiz Rashid saidthat Sharjeel Memon shouldprovide the list containingnames of the accused and hewill personally hand them overto Sharjeel Memon. He saidPunjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharifhas never forgiven any cul-prit, but Sharjeel Memon mustinform as to when he will en-sure accountability of thosewho helped law-breakers fleethe country.
PML-N spokesmanrejoinder to
Sharjeel MemonSenator Pervaiz Rashid
said that the record bears wit-ness that Punjab governmenthas always taken vigorousaction against terrorist orga-nizations and arrested a num-ber of accused, whereasPeoples Party has not onlyprovided patronage to thesectarian organizations, butalso awarded ministership topersons belonging to suchoutfits.
He said it is a matter ofrecord that Peoples Partystruck an agreement withMaulana Azam Tariq, whichalso bears the signatures ofAsif Ali Zardari.
Senator Pervaiz Rashidsaid that, instead of levelingbaseless allegations againstthe Punjab government,Sharjeel Memon should con-centrate on improving the per-formance of government ofSindh, where target-killings areorder of the day and in whichdozens of lives are being lost.
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Member NationalAssembly Pervaiz Malik hassaid that Rehman Malik can-not mislead the nation byleveling allegations againstPakistan Muslim League-N ofhaving relations with sectar-ian organizations, neither canhe evade blame for failure inprotecting life and propertyof the people. He said thatPakistan Muslim League-Nhas no contacts with terror-ists but Rehman Malik hascontacts with them and hekeeps giving prior informa-tion regarding explosions butdoes not arrest the saboteurs.
Commenting upon thestatement of Rehman Malik,Pervaiz Malik said thatRehman Malik’s disappear-ance from the scene at thetime of attack on BenazirBhutto Shaheed is highlymeaningful and the nationasks him as to why did he goto Bilawal House instead ofprotecting and ensuring se-curity of Benazir Bhutto.
BB’s murder a secretto open soon: PML-N
He said disappearance ofRehman Malik at the time ofmartyrdom of Benazir Bhuttois a secret which will ulti-mately be revealed by thetime. He further said thatwhen leaders of PeoplesParty were escaping from thescene, Quaid Pakistan Mus-lim League-N MuhammadNawaz Sharif reachedRawalpindi hospital to in-quire about Benazir Bhutto,by risking his own life.
Pervaiz Malik said thatrecord of interior ministrybears witness that federal In-terior Ministry which is un-der the control of RehmanMalik issued licenses of le-thal weapons to the leadersof the banned organizations.
He said, instead of wast-ing his time on giving provesof contacts of Pakistan Mus-lim League-N with banned or-ganizations, Rehman Malikshould give details to the me-dia regarding issuance of armlicenses by federal and thegovernments of Sindh andBalochistan.
Mahmud, Aleem viefor Lahore presidentin PTI intra-party
pollsLAHORE—The PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is hold-ing intra-party electionsacross Punjab Tuesday.
Mian Mahmud-ur-Rashidand Abdul Aleem Khan aretop contenders for PTI’sLahore presidency.
Polling is underway inLahore, where 10 polling sta-tions have been set up forvoters.
As many as 2160 voters,who were elected in 150union councils, will cast theirvotes. In each union council,there are 13 seats, out of themnine are general seats and fourspecial seats are for women.
In today’s elections, pan-els of Nazriati and Unitygroups are contesting in ninetowns.
Abdul Aleem Khan ofUnity Group and MianMahmud ur Rashid of NazriatiGroup are in the run for theposition of President ofLahore. While Farooq AmjadMir is an independent candi-date.—NNI
PPP leader fordismantling terror
organizationsSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Special Assistantto the Prime Minister and VicePresident PPP Punjab, Mr.Aslam Gill, has advised theleadership of PML (N) and itsPunjab government to con-centrate on eliminating ter-rorists organizations in thePunjab who had unleashedwave of terror in other prov-inces as well. Their allegedcollusion with terrorist orga-nizations for the promotionof political interests at theexpense of the peace and se-curity of the people was in-excusable, he added.
He said that it was nomore secret after Punjab LawMinister ’s presence in themeetings of proscribed ter-rorist organizations in thepast.
He said that the PPP wascommitted to defeat extrem-ism and terrorism in its allmanifestations Pakistan andwould not allow these evilforces to make the nation oftheir hostage in their bid toimpose their obscurantistideology.
He said that the PPP hadsuffered badly in the handsof terrorism and extremismadding Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto was assassi-nated by the same mindset,he added.
He reiterated that the PPPwould continue its relentlessstruggle for the continuity ofdemocratic process in thecountry aimed at empower-ing the people of Pakistan inthe real sense.
He further said that thecredit for the completion ofthe 5 years tenure of thepresent democratic govern-ment was due to the policyof reconciliation given byShaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto and faithfully pur-sued by the President Asif AliZardari.
Foolproof securityfor AIOU exams
LAHORE—Allama Iqbal OpenUniversity (AIOU) RegionalDirector Rasool BukhshBehram has said elaborate ar-rangements have been madeto ensure foolproof security toconduct exams of the univer-sity in a peaceful and trans-parent manner.
The AIOU regional direc-tor, talking to APP, said hereMonday that zero tolerancepolicy would be adoptedagainst miscreants and per-sons using unfair means dur-ing exams. He directed the ex-amination staff to perform dutyhonestly and maintain disci-pline at centres failing whichstern action would be initiatedagainst them.
He said the AIOU vicechancellor had declared theyear 2013 as a year of qualityeducation and staff of the uni-versity would render servicesto achieve the task.
Behram said “The last datefor new admissions for springsemester with single fee isMarch 4 and forms would alsobe received with double fee tillMarch 25.”—APP
Inauguration ofShahdara Hospital
on March 2L A H O R E — G o v e r n m e n tShahdara Hospital, a 300 bedhealth centre along GT Road,will be inaugurated on March2.
This was stated by DCONoorul Amin Mengal whilevisiting the hospital alongwith the EDO Health andother officers of the districtgovernment on Monday.
The DCO said the hospi-tal would facilitate not onlylocals but also to nearby ar-eas besides emergencies ofGT Road etc.
He added that medicineand vaccines would be avail-able for patients at the hos-pital.—APP
Punjab govt letloose terrorists:
Imran KhanL A H O R E — P a k i s t a nTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chair-man Imran Khan on Tuesdaysaid Punjab government haslet loose terrorists in theprovince and an election alli-ance is being forged withthem.
Addressing party work-ers‚ he said the Punjab gov-ernment with the help of Po-lice sabotaged their partyelections in the province. Hesaid Police sealed their of-fices‚ which is deplorable.
Imran Khan said thePML-N government in thePunjab is using Police forpolitical vendetta instead ofdisposition of justice andmaintenance of law and or-der in the province.
Imran Khan said thosewho used Police officials areresponsible for the disrup-tion the party elections.
He said that after twodays party elections will takeplace in Islamabad instead ofPunjab to avoid any actionby Punjab police.
He also alleged that re-cruitments were made inPunjab Police without follow-ing merit.—NNI
