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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf chairing cabinet meeting at PM House.

Continued on Page 7

ALI SYED

ISLAMABAD—Islamic Devel-opment Bank (IDB) has ex-pressed its dismay over mas-sive rise in the cost of Neelum-Jhelum hydropower projectfrom Rs 84 billion to Rs 274billion and refused to extendloan of Rs 90 billion more, asenior official at Ministry ofwater and Power told PakistanObserver.

“The bank said that itwould provide Rs 45 billiononly if the government gener-ates the Rs 45 billion from its

IDB dismayed over huge risein Neelum-Jhelum project cost

own resources. The bank saidthat Finance Ministry will haveto come up with the guaranteethat it would provide Rs 45 bil-lion extra from its resources.”

“The bank said that if theproject is provided by the gov-ernment Rs 2 billion in everymonth then it would release theloan accordingly every month.”

Lt General (Retd)Mohammad Zubair, chief Ex-ecutive of Neelum-Jhelum Hy-dropower project, however,clarified saying that in 2002, thecost of the project was Rs 84billion, but in 2005, the country

experienced the catastrophicearthquake owing to which de-sign of the project is re-modi-fied keeping in view the faultlines passing through the site ofthe project and its scope has alsoincreased. So much so, the dol-lar picked its weight a lot owingto which the cost of project hasincreased to Rs 274 billion.

To a question Gen Zubairsaid that he needs Rs 2 billionevery month to continue the ex-isting pace of construction at theproject site. Meanwhile WapdaChairman Syed Raghib Hussainalso met with Prime Minister and

sensitized about the increasingconstraint of liquidity with theproject. He said that CentralPower purchase Agency(CPPA) owes to pay Rs 87 bil-lion against the electricity be-ing provided to CPPA fromWapda Hydel Company.Wapda provides electricity atthe Rs 1.54 per unit, but CPPAis not paying the dues of Wapda.“If CPPA ensures Rs 2 billionper annum for the project, thenthe ongoing construction wouldcontinue with existing pace.”

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STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Election Com-mission of Pakistan (ECP) de-cided on Wednesday that can-didates who would violate theelection rules and regulationswill be disqualified.

The commission also de-

EC: Violation of rulesto disqualify candidates

cided to double the remunera-tion of the polling staff.

An important meeting,headed by Chief ElectionCommissioner Fakhruddin GEbrahim, was held in electioncommission’s office inIslamabad. The meeting wasattended by the four provin-

cial election commissionersand other officials of theEC.

The meeting also dis-cussed the petition filed byPakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chair-man Imran Khan pertaining tothe election in SouthWaziristan.

Balochistan law, order case hearing

Provincial govt haslost its power: SC‘Everyone violating constitution’

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt (SC) resumed hearing ofthe Balochistan law and ordercase Wednesday where theChief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry re-marked that the Balochistangovernment has lost its powerand everyone is busy in violat-ing the Constitution.

The chief justice was presid-ing over a three-member bench,including Justice Jawwad SKhawaja and Justice Khilji ArifHussain, hearing a petition onthe Balochistan law and ordersituation filed by theBalochistan Bar Association.During Wednesday’s hearing,the Chief Justice instructed theadditional advocate generalBalochistan to get in writing

from the Chief Minister ofBalochistan and Chief Secretarythat under what authority andlaw is the Balochistan govern-ment operating when the Con-stitution is not in effect.

During the hearing, thebench summoned the InteriorSecretary K M Siddiq Akbar toappear before it in 30 minutestime. The bench moreover ex-

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General polls to be heldin May 2013: Kaira

Inflation at 8.86%; economicindicators improving; cabinet approves

liberalised visa regime with IndiaSHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—Information Min-ister Qamar Zaman Karia saidWednesday that the general elec-tions would be held after the as-semblies complete their term.

During a news conferenceheld after the Federal Cabinetmeeting, the information minis-ter added that the term of the as-semblies was expiring in Marchand elections would be held lat-est by May.

Earlier during the cabinetmeeting, Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf said electionswould be held on time hinting toall political parties to start prepa-rations. Prime Minister Ashrafadded that the assemblies will becompleting their term for the first

time in the history of Pakistanand the government will ensurethat free and transparent electionsare held.

Raja Pervez Ashraf renewedthe government’s pledge to holdfree, fair and transparent elec-tions in the country.

“There is election activityprevailing in the country and itwould be a mile stone for thePPP government what it hasbeen achieved during its 5 yearin office, added that the holdingof transparent elections is theright of the people and it is PPPcoalition government’s onepoint agenda to arrange transpar-ent elections in any manner”,Raja said.

He said the world has beenappreciating our elections ar-

rangements and in future too theywould hopefully appreciate it.He said the holding of fair andtransparent elections is impera-tive for the flourishment of de-mocracy in the country and thedemocratic system would bemore consolidated.

Raja Pervez Ashraf saidthat the decision by the Su-preme Court on Asghar Casehas raised an important ques-tion for the nation but assuredthe nation that the forthcomingelections would be transparentand the occurrences of AsgharKhan case like illegal activitieswould be endeavour to not berepeated in future.

Raja Pervez Ashraf referredto his successful election rally at

NAB summons three formergenerals over railways land fraud

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The National Ac-countability Bureau (NAB) onWednesday issued summons tothree retired generals of the Pa-kistan army for their alleged in-volvement in the fraudulent landdeal which inflicted losses ofbillions of rupees on PakistanRailways.

The summons were issued toLieutenant General (Retd) JavedAshraf Qazi, Lieutenant General(Retd) Saeeduz Zafar and Ma-jor General (Retd) Hassan Butt,sources said. The generals,who were accused of illegallysanctioning railway property tothe ‘Royal palm golf club’ on

discounted rate, were asked toappear before the bureau onThursday. A federal audit carriedout in 2007 found that the gov-ernment had lost Rs10 billion byleasing out 103 acres of land tothe club built in early 2000 onPakistan Railways’ land in theheart of Lahore.

A special National Assemblycommittee headed by Mr Gondalwas set up in 2008 to investigatethe matter. In a report submittedto the house in October 2010, thecommittee said the governmenthad lost four times the amountearlier estimated — i.e. Rs40 bil-lion. The committee had recom-mended that the contract be can-celled and disciplinary action

taken against the then federalminister for railways Lt-Gen(retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi, secre-tary Lt-Gen (retd) Saeeduz Zafarand general manager Maj-Gen(retd) Hamid Hassan Butt.

The National Assembly hadunanimously approved the rec-ommendations. The SupremeCourt later took a suo motu no-tice of the deal and completed itshearing on the case in March lastyear. But it has yet to issue ajudgment. In May 2012, YasminRehman of the Pakistan People’sParty had suggested that the at-torney general should convey thecommittee’s concern to the Su-preme Court and facilitate anearly release of the judgment.

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Assemblies’dissolution notlikely beforeend of Feb

NADEEM SYED

LAHORE—The PPP top leader-ship is keeping its cards close toits chest, but the federal capitalis once again imploding with theconflicting reports on early dis-solution of assemblies (thoughnot that early) and election dates.According to the latest report inthis regard which took politicalcircles by surprise, assemblieswill be dissolved by mid-Janu-ary to allow the caretakers to takecharge and oversee electionswithin the stipulated period.

According to this report, theNational Assembly is likely tobe dissolved on January 16 or17, setting stage for the nextgeneral elections not later thanApril 26. If the National Assem-

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Pak opposed toaggression onSyria: Khar

CAIRO—Foreign Minister HinaRabbani Khar has said that Pa-kistan was opposed to any ag-gression against Syria and wantsa peaceful solution of the crisis.

She said this during meet-ing with Arab League SecretaryGeneral Nabil Elaraby here onWednesday. The Ministerreached Cairo on a visit to Egyptafter attending UN Conferenceon Human Rights in Geneva.

Hina Rabbani Khar duringthe meeting discussed situationin the region with particular ref-erence to Syria and matters ofbilateral interest. She said Paki-stan fully support Palestiniansfor the solution of the lingeringdispute of Palestine. —INP

Taliban canrun for AfghanPresidency:Election ChiefKABUL—The Taliban andother insurgent leaders couldstand as candidates inAfghanistan’s next presidentialelection, to be held in April2014, the country’s top pollofficial said Wednesday.President Hamid Karzai, who isserving his second term asleader of the war-torn nation,is constitutionally barred fromrunning in the election and noclear candidate to succeed himhas yet emerged.

The vote, scheduled forApril 5, 2014, is seen ascrucial to Afghan stability afterthe withdrawal of Nato troopsand Fazil Ahmad Manawi, thehead of the IndependentElection Commission (IEC)

23 womendead in Saudiwedding fire

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA—Saudi media reports say a blazethat erupted inside a tent at awedding in the country’s easthas killed at least 23 women andchildren.

The media cite civil de-fense officials as saying thatcelebratory gunfire, commonat weddings, brought down apower line that touched off thefire late Tuesday in the East-ern Province. The officialSaudi Press Agency saidWednesday that a special gov-

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Karzai to visitIndia on Nov 11AKTHAR JAMALISLAMABAD—AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai willvisit India on November 11-12and discuss his future strategywith his Indian counterparts ata time when most NATOforces are preparing to leaveAfghanistan.

According to reportsreaching here President HamidKarzai will meet PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh andhis security chiefs to discussfuture strategy and seek Indiansupport to strengthen hisposition.

President Karzai who is anIndia-educated Afghanpolitician is expected to seekIndia’s extended role inAfghanistan before thewithdrawal of U.S. and NATO

Spain dismantlesPakistani humantrafficking ringBARCELONA—Spanishpolice said on Wednesdaythey had smashed a humantrafficking ring in Barcelona,arresting 18 people suspectedof smuggling around 1,000Pakistanis every year into theEuropean Union.

Officers have “dismantled acriminal organisation dedicatedto the trafficking of illegalimmigrants of Pakistaninationality,” local police said ina statement. —AP

Today’s issue of PakistanObserver carries a 2-PageSpecial Report on ‘58th Anni-versary of the Independenceof the Democratic People’sRepublic of Algeria’ on Pages14 and 15.

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PML-N starts broaderconsultations for polls

Nawaz forming district bodiesSALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) hasstarted consultation within andoutside the party as a part ofpreparations for general elec-tions in the country.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Mian NawazSharif Wednesday held a consul-tative meeting with the PML-Nleaders at his Raiwind residenceto discuss party affairs besidesstrategy for the general electionsin the country. The PML-NPresident also held a meetingwith the leaders of PML (LikeMinded) including Hamid NasirChattha, Salim Saifullah andHumayun Akhter Khan duringwhich views were exchangedover current political and eco-

nomic situation in the countrybesides matters pertaining toPML-N-PML-LM seat adjust-ment in the general elections.Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif,Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal,Khawaja Asif, Pervez Rashidand other PML-N leaders werepresent during the meeting.

Sources claimed that HamidNasir Chattha floated sugges-tions for alliance among differ-ent factions of Muslim Leagueahead of general elections.

The sources claimed thatboth sides agreed to make jointpolitical strategy for givingtough time to Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and Pakistan People’sParty in the general elections. Itwas also agreed that the leader-

Israrul Haqwins SCBA

electionsISLAMABAD—Asma Jahangirbacked candidate has beenelected president Supreme CourtBar Association. At least 20 can-didates across the country com-

peted for nine seats of SupremeCourt Bar Association.

Three candidates took part inthe elections for the seat of barpresident but PPP and AsimaJahangir-supported candidateMian Israrul Haq was declaredvictorious. The other candidateswere Awais Ahmad and indepen-

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NEW YORK—New Yorkersstruggled to restore power andclear debris Wednesday aftersuperstorm Sandy carved a pathof destruction from the Carib-bean to Canada that left at least110 people dead.

The massive cyclone thatdrove hurricane-force winds anddeadly ocean surges against alarge swathe of the US East Coast

was still generating blizzards inthe Appalachians, as millions re-mained without power and trans-port was snarled.

Less than a week beforeAmericans go to the polls, Presi-dent Barack Obama planned totour flooded areas alongside NewJersey Governor Chris Christie,a backer of his Republican rivalMitt Romney.

Romney was meanwhile setto return to the campaign trail inFlorida after cancelling eventsMonday and Tuesday to focus onrescue and recovery work, withthe race still too close to call as astorm-imposed truce graduallyunraveled.

The death toll from accidentsrelated to the storm rose to 43 in

Storm-battered US siftsthrough Sandy’s wreckage

ISLAMABAD—Oil and Gas Regu-latory Authority (ORGA)Wednesday approved new for-mula for CNG prices underwhich the production cost andprofit of filling station ownershave been reduced.

The new CNG formulawould be presented before theSupreme Court today and as perthe new formula the CNG pricesin Region-I would be increasedby Rs 4.81 per kg and in Region-II Rs 3.85 per kg.

The new formula has beendesigned after the decision of theSupreme Court to reduce the

CNG prices. The new CNGprices is expected to be as Rs66.45 per kg in Region-I and Rs58.01 per kg in Region-II.Meanwhile, Oil and Gas Regu-latory Authority (OGRA) Chair-man Saeed Ahmed has said thatthe prices of CNG would be re-tained until the court decision.

Talking to the media personsafter a meeting between OGRAofficials and All Pakistan CNGAssociation, the OGRA Chair-man said that he would presenta new formula of fixing theprices of Compressed Natural

OGRA approves newCNG prices formula

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister forOverseas Pakistani Dr. FarooqSattar on Wednesday said thatMuttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) would table a privatemember bill in the parliament

for giving right of vote to over-seas Pakistanis. “The over-seas Pakistani are 4 to 5 percent of the total population.They contribute $12 to $13 bil-lion precious foreign exchangeto the national kitty every year.They should have the right to

vote,” he told a news confer-ence here. He said that Na-tional Data Base RegistrationAuthority (NADRA) had is-sued around 370,000 National

MQM to table overseas Pakistanis vote right bill: FarooqIdentity Cards for OverseasPakistani (NICOP) and theywere registered with the author-ity. The names of these over-seas Pakistanis, he said should

be registered in the voter listsof their respectiveconstituencies.He said that itwas the responsibility of Elec-tion Commission of Pakistan

(ECP) to register their namesbesides devising a mechanismto give them the right to votein general elections. FarooqSattar also appealed to the

Chief Justice of PakistanIftikhar MuhammadChaudhary to give directionfor registration of votes ofoverseas Pakistanis in the gen-

eral electoral lists. He saidthat MQM had sent the bill tolaw ministry and the cabinet forvetting. There was no obstaclein smooth passage of the billsas all political parties have al-ready given their mandate to theECP in this regard, he added.

Kaka Sahib mausoleum renovationStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Khyber PakhtunkhwaMinister for Information and Public Re-lations, Mian Iftikhar Hussein has di-rected the DCO Nowshera to preparethe estimate for repair and renovationof mausoleum of Kaka Sahib (RA) so asto start practical work on it at the earli-est. He issued these directives whileinspecting the site of bomb blast at themazar of Kaka Sahib Nowshera onWednesday. DCO and DPO Nowshera

were also present on this occasion. Strongly condemningthe terrorist act in the mazar, the minister said that thosetargeting mosques, spiritual places, funerals and bazaarswere not deserved to be called Muslims and even humanbeings. He added that the terrorists have not for the firsttime targeted the mausoleum of Kaka Sahib but they alsotargeted the tombs of spiritual personalities like AbdurRahman Baba (RA), Pir Baba (RA), Akhoon Panjo Baba(RA), Hamza Baba (RA), Mian Umar Baba (RA) and AjmalKhattak Baba. Mian Iftikhar Hussein continued that realfaces of the terrorists were unveiled by such brutal actsthat were and why the whole nation has been stood upagainst the terrorists. He added, the terrorists are terror-ists and they have nothing to do with religion, belief, casteor language, but, they were the anti-state elements whowant to destabilize the country. He said that Such brutalacts in the spiritual and religious places and bazaars havedeeply shocked the feelings of the whole nation, and to-day the terrorists were isolated in the society and everyone hate them, he concluded.

No occupation of Ameer Begum landNazir Siyal

LARKANA—Sindh Law MinisterMohammad Ayaz Soomro has criticizedthe feudal minded politicians for an-nouncement for fighting/lodging murdercase of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and base-less allegations regarding occupation ofthe property of Ameer Begum. He ex-pressed these views while talking to anumber of delegations here on Wednes-day. The Law Minister said that theBhotar (A feudal-minded landlord) who

changes ideas and parties for his personal grudge, deceivedShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, and nowhow he claims to be their heir. Ayaz Soomro said that thekillers of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had died natural death orhad been killed, he confirmed and added that Shaheed Raniis not the asset of any single caste or community but shewas the great leader of the enlightened, progressive anddemocracy loving sections of the society. Ayaz Soomrocriticised the feudal approach, and said they should makeany feudal political class for his personal gains, that’s whyhe changes his locality again as it was not surprisingly anew thing in politics. He further said that Ratodero andNaudero are not property or state of any landlord, but theland of democratic loving and followers of Shaheed BenazirBhutto, so Sayed Qaim Ali Shah being a Chief Minister ofSindh visit Naudero and Ratodero or any part of province.He said they don’t need any permission or certificate fromany feudal in this regard. Soomro told newsmen that in 1990,the property of Ameer Begum, the widow of Shaheed ZulfikarAli Bhutto, was donated to baby Bakhtawar. Bakhtawar wasyounger at that time and the property was supervised byBenazir Bhutto.

Over-billing problem to be solvedStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—With the special interestof Federal Minister for Communications,Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan Khalil the prob-lems of low pressure of natural gas inPalosai Magzarzai and over-billing hadbeen resolved. The federal minister hasissued directives for laying 2.5 kilome-ter gas pipeline from Warsak Road toPalosai Magzarzai. The federal ministerstayed in his constituency for fourconsecutives of Eidul Azha and remain

busy in the mitigation of the hardships of the people allareas of his constituency. On Wednesday he led a delega-tion and held meeting with General Manager, SNGPL,Mohammad Haroon Khan and bring the problem of lowpressure of gas and over-billing in his notice. The delega-tion was comprised of notables included Almas Kaka, HajiFazal Subhan, Haji Tahir Khan, Jameel Khan, ZafarullahKhan and others. The General Manager, SNGPL assuredthe federal minister for the resolution of problems. Thefederal minister directed the SNGPL for laying a 2.5 kilome-ter long 6-inch pipeline from Palosai Magzarzai from WarsakRoad. The scheme will cost Rs.3 million. The representa-tive delegation of the area has expressed gratitude to fed-eral minister in taking keen interest in the resolution oftheir problems. The federal minister also visited other gov-ernment organizations including WAPDA and issued strictdirective to the authorities concerned for the resolution ofthe problems of Peshawarits on priority basis. Speakingon this occasion, the Federal Minister Dr. Arbab AlamgirKhan Khalil said that he enjoys soul and body like rela-tions with the masses and feels happiness on the resolu-tion of their problems. He said that the aims and objectivesof his politics is indiscriminate service of the people.

PPP never compromised nation’s interestStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Provincial Minister forLabour Sher Azam Wednesday said con-spiracies were hatched against PakistanPeople Party in each and every politicalera, despite that the leadership neverbowed to dictators rather fought for na-tion and country’s interest. Talking tomedia here, he said the PPP leadershipswere assassinated, faced hardships, de-tained in jails, but never compromisedwith a dictator to flee from the country

for personnel interest. He said that PPP, the representativeof poor people of Pakistan has struggled hard for strength-ening the democracy and political stability in the country,adding that despite facing challenging circumstances, theparty leadership delivered to the masses. He maintainedthat from day one, the party considers poor as the real powerand they have the right to hold the PPP government ac-countable. The Provincial Minister asserted that PPP wouldparticipate in upcoming general elections on the basis of itsperformance and hoped that the people would give it man-date again to run the affairs of the state. Meanwhile theSharif brothers may have to either go to jail or Jeddah afterfair investigation in this case, he added. Talking to APP onTuesday, Raja Riaz said that Supreme Court’s decision hadalso vindicated the stand of Shaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto that the IJI (Islami Jamhoori Ittehad) was createdwith public money and was used against the Pakistan PeoplesParty. He said that the decision had exposed the anti-demo-cratic attitude of the Sharif brothers, who were involved inconspiracies against democracy in the garb of so-called andthe self-styled democracy. He said that Nawaz Sharif hadinflicted more damage to democracy than the dictators. Hisreal face is exposed now and the people will vote him out inthe next general elections, he added.

Advocacy seminar:pneumococcal

vaccination startsMU LTA N—Health depart-ment in collaboration withChip, a non governmentalorganisat ion, arranged aseminar to create aware-ness regarding the impor-tance of pneumococcalvaccine for infants here onWednesday.

District Health OfficerMunawwar Abbas while ad-dressing the participants ofthe seminar informed that27000 deaths of infants arereported annually in Paki-stan due to pneumococcaldisease. Responding to thissituation the governmenthad included pneumococcalvaccine in ExtendedProgramme of Immunisationfirst time the country’s his-tory, said DHO.

The DHO added that1,27,000 infants would bevaccinated against thepneumonia in Multan andhealth department has con-stituted 338 teams forlaunching the vaccinationcampaign effectively. DrManawwar Abbas informedthat this disease attacksbrain and causes meningi-tis and other complexitiesamongst patients.

The DHO also added thathealth department teamswould pay door to door vis-its to vaccinate infants fromfirst of November. EDOHealth Dr Iftikhar Qureshi,Incharge Epidemic ControlProgramme Dr Ata UrRehman, health officials anda number of civil societyworkers joined the semi-nar.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The provincialgovernment of KhyberPakhtunkhwa has handedover the traffic managementresponsibility of Hasanabdal,Abbottabad-Mansehra Sec-tion of National Highway’s(N-35) to National Highway& Motorway Police(NH&MP) for better manage-ment and to regularize thetraffic over it, said a pressrelease issued here by theDepartment of Home andTribal Affairs on Wednesday.The step has been taken onthe proposal of NationalHighway Authority (NHA).

The National Highway(N-35), properly known asKarakorum Highway (KKH),begins from Hasanabal andends at Khunjerab Top onPak-China border traversingAbbottabad, Mansehra,Gilgit and Hunza (806 Kilo-meter). It is the only and theshortest road trade route be-tween Pakistan and China.From KKH (N-35) atMansehra, another NationalHighway (N-15) takes off andregions KKH at Chillas aftertraversing Balakot, Kaghan,Naran and Babusar Pass(230-Kilometer). It providesan all-weather alternate linkfor Gilgit-Baltistan, while alsoreducing Mansehra-Gilgitdistance by 83 kilometers, ascompared to KKH. A provin-cial road also emanates fromN-15 short of Balakot for Azad

Jammu & Kashmir.I t said that the entire

brunt of traffic dispersingin different directions fromMansehra is taken by theHasanabda l -Abbo t t abad-Mansehra Section of KKH,which is currently a 2-lanefacility. Traffic includes asizeable number of trucks/trailers carrying goods fornear and far-flung areas ofGilgit-Baltistan (GB), AzadJammu & Kashmir and dif-ferent sect ions fal l ing inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa. Lim-ited carriageway widthcoupled with sharp bends/curves is not conducive totake current and future traf-fic flow.

Initially, dualizatin ofHasanabda l -Abbo t t abad-Mansehra Section wasplanned, but preliminary sur-vey and environmental im-pact assessment studies car-ried out by the National High-way Authority revealed thatdualization will have adverseimpact due to dislocation oflarge number of houses,shops and buildings. NHAhas therefore, planned con-struction of Hasanabdal-Mansehra 4-lane Expressway(E-35) on an independent cor-ridor bypassing Hasanabdal,Haripur, Havilian andAbbottabad. According toNHA the project is currentlyin land acquisition phase andis a long term venture. Due tohuge traffic volume, re-stricted road width.

QUETTA: Relatives of allegedly missing persons sitting in a hunger strike camp.

HYDERABAD: Members of Hindu community hold a demonstration in support of theirdemands.

QUETTA: Relatives shifting their patient to a private hospital.Patients across Balochistan are suffering severely as doctors ofall government hospitals of the province continued strike on 15th

consecutive day against non-recovery of their abducted colleague.

KA R A C H I—Ambassadors(designate) of Hungry, Jor-dan, Belgium, Uzbekistan,Oman, USA and the HighCommissioner (designate) ofCanada presented their cre-dential to President Asif AliZardari at a special ceremonyheld at Governor HouseKarachi on Wednesday. TheAmbassadors and HighCommissioner after present-ing their credentials sepa-rately called on the Presidentand discussed bilateral rela-tions and matters of mutualinterest.

The President while fe-licitating the newly ap-pointed ambassadors ex-pressed the hope that theywill work for further cement-ing the existing ties of theirrespective countries withPakistan.

Earlier, upon arrival ofMr. Istvan SZABO, Ambas-sador designate of Hungry,Maj Gen (Retd) NawafKhalifeh Ibrahim Saraireh,Ambassador designate ofJordan, Mr. Peter L.J.F.CLAES, Ambassador desig-nate of Belgium, Mr. ParvezAliev, Ambassador desig-nate of Uzbekistan, Mr. GregGiokas, High Commissionerdesignate of Canada, Mr.Riyadh Ahmad Yousif Al-Raisi, Ambassador designateof Oman and Mr. RichardOlson, Ambassador desig-nate of USA, at the Gover-nor House, national anthemsof Pakistan and their respec-tive countries were playedand the envoys were pre-sented Guard of Honour bya smartly turned out contin-gent of Pakistan Army.—INP

Court awardsRI to ex-Xen

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—AccountabilityCourt No. IV Peshawarawarded five years rigorousimprisonment and a fine ofRs.39.042 Million to Ex-XENWorks & Services DepartmentMardan Abdul QayyumMarwat in misuse of author-ity cases. The two cases werefiled by NAB (KP), said thespokesman of NAB (KP) here,adding that in one case, theaccused as XEN C&W Depart-ment at Mardan utilized millionof rupees out of public moneyplaced at his disposal underthe programme titled “Expan-sion and DevelopmentProgramme for Primary Educa-tion in KP” for supply and fix-ing steel grill / railing to theprimary schools in Mardancosting Rs.3200 million.

KP hands over KarakorumHighway to Motorway Police

Envoys presentcredentials to President

Mother sellsher baby forRs 1,20,000

GUJRANWALA—A sickwoman has sold out herseven months old baby to‘continue her medical treat-ment.’

The woman from QilaMian Singh area ofGujranwala, says she is sopoor that she cannot affordmedical treatment.

“That is why I am sellingmy baby for Rs. 1,20,000 toget heart and liver treat-ment,” the lady said who isirked by financial instabilityand poor health.

“Even we have not paidour house rent for last eightmonths,” she said and addedthat she was compelled totake this extreme step.—INP

OUR CORRESPONDENT

WANA/BAHAWALPUR—Atleast eight persons were in-jured when an over speed-ing passenger bus plungedinto deep ravine here onWednesday. According todetails, a reckless drivenpassenger bus fell in gorgein Sour Qamar area of SouthWaziristan Agency (SWA)bordering Balochistan.

As a result of the accidenteight persons sustained inju-ries. The locals on self helpbasis pulled out the injuredfrom the ravine and shiftedthem to local Basic Health Unit(BHU) where three personswith serious wounds were re-ferred to Dera Ismail Khan fortreatment.

Meanwhile the funeralprayers of most of the de-ceased, who lost their lives in aworst road accident inBahawalpur were offered intheir respective areas Wednes-day. The victims, including fivemembers of the same family,belonged to Mubarakpur andthe adjoining areas where griefhas filled the air.

Twenty-six people, in-cluding women and children,were killed when a packedpassenger van collided witha truck in Bahawalpur dis-trict on Tuesday. SohailTajik, District Police Officerof Bahawalpur, told the me-dia that the accident tookplace at about noon when a14-seat Hiace passenger vanhad a head-on collision with

a truck on a highway inBahawalpur.

Twenty-six people, includ-ing 11 women and two chil-dren, were confirmed dead inthe accident, said the DPO,adding that the accident wascaused by overspeeding. Asenior doctor at the Bahawal-Victoria Hospital, MuhammadIrshad Chaudhry, confirmedthe casualties.

President Asif Ali Zardariand Prime Minister RajaPervaiz Ashraf expressed griefand sorrow over the loss oflives in the traffic accident.They directed the authoritiesto ensure best treatment forthe injured. A notorious crimi-nal was killed in an encounternear Tharimirwah on Wednes-day morning.

8 injured in SWA road accident

First post-Hajjflight arrives

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The first post-Hajj flight arrived at BachaKhan International AirportPeshawar early on Wednes-day morning. During thepost-Hajj operation, airliftingof thirty three thousand ninehundred and seventy eightpilgrims from Saudi Arabia toPeshawar will be completedby 30th of November.

The Hajj Directorate hasrequested the relatives of thepilgrims not to come to the air-port for receiving their rela-tives but meet them at HajiCamp Hayatabad. “A specialsquad comprising inspectorsand a Helpline 1915 at TrafficHeadquarters has been estab-lished besides deployment ofadditional traffic wardens.

LAHORE—Inspector Generalof Police Punjab MuhammadHabibur Rehman on Wednes-day transfered and postedeight SPs and 13 DSPs. Ac-cording to an official notifi-cation issued here onWednesday, Suleman SultanRana, SSP/Principal PoliceTraining College, Lahore hasbeen transferred and postedas SSP CTD, Punjab, NasirMehmood Afzal Kalyar, SPLegal, Bahawalpur Regionhas been transferred andposted as SP InvestigationBranch, Punjab, Lahore,Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, await-ing posting has been trans-ferred and posted as DeputyDirector Monitoring, ElitePolice Force Punjab, Lahore,Umer Riaz, awaiting Postinghas been transferred andposted as SP InvestigationSheikhupura, Flt. Lt (R),Qaiser Bashir Makhdoom, SPInvestigation, Sheikhupura

was transferred and postedas SP Special Branch, Punjab,Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi,SP Investigation, D.G. Khanhas been transferred andposted as Addl: SP Opera-tions, Sadar Lahore, Mrs.Rehana Kausar, awaitingposting transferred andposted as Deputy Director,Elite Police Force, PunjabLahore whereas, Qamar-ul-Zaman, AIG Legal, HumanRights Cell, CPO PunjabLahore will continue hispresent posting.

Similarly, Khawar Zaman,SDPO Chishtian Circle,Bahawalnagar has beentransferred and posted asSDPO Khanpur Circle, RYKhan, Abid Akhter, SDPOKhanpur Circle, has beentransferred and posted asSDPO Chishtian Circle,Bahawalnagar, Arif Rasheed,awaiting posting is trans-ferred and posted as SDPO

Talagang Circle, Chakwal,Abdul Latif, awaiting postinghas been transferred andposted as DSP Headquar-ters, Chakwal, Khizar Hayat,DSP Legal PTS Farooqabad,has been transferred andposted as DSP Legal, Kasur,Muhammad Iqbal, DSP LegalKasur is transferred andposted DSP Legal Faisalabad,Quddoos Baig, SDPO CityCircle, Sheikhupura is trans-ferred and posted as DSPHeadquarters, Sheikhupura,Muhammad Shaleem Shah,DSP Punjab Constabulary,has been transferred andposted as DSP Headquarters,Muzaffargarh, Mrs. HameedaBaigum, DSP Civil LinesCircle, CTP, Gujranwala hasbeen transferred and postedas Punjab Constabulary,Lahore, Aman Ullah Khan,awaiting posting has beentransferred and posted asPHP, Punjab.—APP

Eight SPs, 13 DSPs transferred

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The PunjabForum on Wednesday saidPakistan’s survival is tied toearly construction ofKalabagh dam (KBD), whichis being delayed in the nameof provincial harmony. Thereshould be some limits for socalled inter-provincial har-mony, which is yet to be de-fined in clear terms, it said.

Mega power projects havebeen delayed due to reserva-tions of international lenderswhile country continues toface worst load shedding andwater crisis which is putting

future of Pakistan at stake,said Baig Raj, PresidentPunjab Forum. We urgentlyneed KBD, the most feasiblepower generation and waterstorage facility which is be-ing ignored by the successivegovernments to keep somepoliticians happy, he added.

He said that energy andwater crisis can only be re-solved by constructing KBD;the most important and mostpoliticalised and ill-fatedproject. All the national andinternational experts havetermed KBD one of the mostfeasible project but those onthe top don’t want to listen

about it, which amounts tosacrificing national interestsfor power, he added. Baig Rajsaid that ruling coalition isfocused on taking all coalitionpartners and some oppositionleaders on-board, which maybe strengthening the demo-cratic process, but the policyis weakening Pakistan.

Reasons behind increas-ing poverty, hunger, crimes,reduced agricultural output,brain drain, flight of capitaland shifting of industrialunits to other countries in-clude insufficient electricityand deficiency of irrigationwater, he informed. Those

Pakistan’s progress linked toearly construction of KBD

who are resisting the projectare doing great disservice tocountry on the whims of for-eign powers that want to seePakistan as a failed state.

President of the PunjabForum said that he damwould not benefit Punjabalone; it would also eradicatepoverty from KhyberPakhtunkhwa and help boostoutput of Sindh. A referen-dum in Khyber Pakhtunkhwaon the issue of dam will ex-pose the claims of so callednationalists who are playingwith an issue which is matterof life and death for 180 mil-lion people, he demanded.

Interrogation ofPak leaders abroad

PAKISTANIS have reasons to believe that they are deliberatelyhumiliated every now and then by the US-led West and theirallies on different pretexts, which smacks of sheer discrimination

and bias. On top of the list of tools being employed to injure sensitivitiesof Pakistanis is drone attacks that are rightly considered as tramplingof the country’s sovereignty.

Two recent incidents clearly show that the West and their allies areadopting every conceivable tactic to harass and disgrace Pakistan. Leaderof Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Imran Khan was pulled off a New York-boundplane by US immigration officials at Canada’s Toronto airport andinterrogated him about his views on dastardly drone attacks. These types ofhurdles and restrictions on entry into the US are highly condemnable, asthe West has all along been advocating for freedom of speech. But theUnited States and the United Kingdom have been resorting to double-standards as on several occasions in the past as well they either declined togrant visas to Pakistani leaders or threatened to do so and among themincluded Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Minister for Railways Haji GhulamAhmad Bilour. In another recent incident, leading Pakistani politicianand head of the PML-Q Ch Shujaat Hussain was virtually detained forinterrogation for one hour by Indian agencies during his visit to AjmerSharif and now attempts are being made to belittle the episode by termingit as a result of some misunderstanding. Ch Shujaat, a former PrimeMinister, is highly respected politician and is rightly viewed as one of theharbinger of peace between the two countries and one wonders how thiscould happen to him except by design. This sort of treatment to mainstreamnational political leadership is sheer insult to the country as they representthe national honour and pride. Harassment and insult of green passportholders in the name of security has become a routine but now the nationalleadership is targeted on other flimsy grounds. While these incidents provideus an opportunity to deeply ponder as to why all this is happening toPakistanis, the Foreign Office should take up these incidents with the US,Canadian and Indian governments in right earnest.

Punjab leadsin solar projects also

PUNJAB has been leading the way in different spheres of life andlately it is the energy sector where it is doing the same. As the

Federal Government is yet to take up any concrete measure for tappingthe solar power potential, the province has entered into an understandingwith a reputable German firm AEG for setting up of 50 to 100MWsolar power projects in 2013 and 300MW in 2014.

This is indeed a step in the right direction and speaks volumes aboutconcerns of the provincial government especially the dynamic Chief MinisterMian Shahbaz Sharif about woes of the masses and steps to address them.It seems that in the backdrop of crippling energy crisis that has pushed theindustrial sector as well as ordinary consumers to the verge of disaster,necessary homework has been done by the provincial government to copewith the challenge through a combination of measures. The decision toinstall 100MW solar power projects in the first phase in Cholistan, a regiongenerously gifted with sunlight, and installation of 20MW solar powerprojects in industrial areas to help meet needs of industries would go a longway in easing out the situation. As the Chief Minister announced, talks arealso being held with other German companies besides those from Turkeyand China for cooperation in the energy sector, time is not far off when theprovince would have its own dependable sources of power supply. This isimportant in the background of persistent complaints that Punjab is beingdiscriminated in load management. Anyhow, we hope that Sindh andBalochistan Governments too would pursue similar approach of exploitingthe solar power potential while KPK authorities should move swiftly toutilize immense hydropower potential of the province. Energy requirementsare increasing at phenomenal pace and we can meet them only throughcollective efforts where Federal Government should undertake mega hydeland nuclear power projects and provinces initiate programmes forexploitation of alternative sources of energy.

IDEAS 2012 toshowcase Pak potential

THE 7th International Defence Exhibition beginning at Expo CentreKarachi on 7th November will showcase Pakistan’s rich potential in the

defence industry and its real strength in advanced technology. The exhibi-tion held biennially has become a regular feature to display hundreds ofdefence products and machines by Pakistan in which several other coun-tries from Asia, Europe and America also display their products.

The event’s prime mission has always been to showcase Pakistan’sability to export arms particularly to the third world countries at competi-tive rates. Over the years Pakistan has been successful in developing itsdefence industry and manufacturing different types of sophisticated andhigh quality arms matching international standards. POF Wah and otherestablishments have vast potential and can meet not only the domestic re-quirements of the armed forces but export to the third world countries. Inaddition to State owned Defence organisations, many private companiesare producing sophisticated communication and other equipment for thearmed forces and they should be encouraged to display their products. Theequipment to be displayed by foreign countries would provide an opportu-nity to learn advances in technology and match their products with Paki-stan made equipment. It is encouraging that defence delegations from overthree dozen countries would be attending IDEAS 2012 that reflects interestin Pakistani defence equipment. Their interaction with Pakistani counter-parts would help greater understanding of requirements of different coun-tries and enable the country to enter into contracts for the export of armsand ammunition. Pakistan is exporting equipment to 50 Asian and Europe-ans countries which are not limited to small arms and ammunition but alsoinclude big-ticket items, such as the Super Mushak training aircraft, gun-boats and man portable air defence missiles. We would suggest that Paki-stan should take similar initiatives in other fields that could attract invest-ment and joint ventures to promote our industrial base.

Bangladesh and India haveseldom been on the samepage. Yet this is what was

expected. New Delhi had helpedthe nation to liberate itself fromPakistan’s rule and had promisedto integrate Dhaka in the five-yearplans that India was adumbratingfor its development. It did not hap-pen that way. Before the last In-dian soldier left the Bangladeshisoil, the anti-Delhi sentiment hadbegun to simmer. Too many hopeshad been pinned on India whichwas lost in red tape and was tardyin implementing what was on thepaper. The bureaucracy on bothsides was too slow and too suspi-cious. When New Delhi took upsome of its plans, Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman, father of the nation,was assassinated and the army tookover. Relations between the twocountries got crushed betweenBangladesh military junta and theshocked Indian leadership whichcould not reconcile to the situationwithout the Sheikh.

New Delhi wanted democracyto return to Dhaka before follow-ing the blue print for development.It could not accept the presence ofarmy even when Sheikh Hasinacame to power or Khalida Zia

Hurdles in BD-India relations

Death & destruction stalk Karachi

Americans havebeen conditionedto respect newness,whatever it coststhem.

In Karachi, during the past fewmonths, the factories are beingtargeted by arsonists and crimi-

nal gangs. Who are these arsonists?The government does not know.The law enforcement agencies arenot aware. The people cannot findout where they come from. Evenif the people know them, they can-not disclose their identities for fearof terrible revenge. This largest andport city of Pakistan is being eco-nomically choked by mafias thatare enemy agents, racketeers, reli-gious dissidents and robbers abet-ted and sheltered by power politi-cians, the feudal lords, the bureau-crats or the self proclaimed barons.This trend of attacking and burn-ing the industrial units is fraughtwith dreadful economic backlashboth for Karachi and Pakistan. Ifthe factories and mills are closeddown or gutted by the avengers,then the people would lose jobsand there would be more poverty.The exports would suffer too.

The fleecing and blackmailingof the industrialists and mill own-ers is easy and more lucrative thanrobbing the shopkeepers and thecommon traders. What one couldget from several retailers could beobtained several times more fromone factory owner. If the factoryowners refuse to oblige or delayin responding to the dictate of thepitiless ruffians, their factories aretorched resulting in deaths ofworkers. We have seen many fac-tories in the recent past gutted by

Sandy vsclimate changePut the perfect storm atop the

nation’s most populous region,and the result is the human

misery and havoc that Sandywrought in the Northeast: Nearly 40people dead so far, and more than 7million without power. An estimated$20 billion in property damage.Record flooding in New York Citythat shut down the stock exchangeand the subway. Devastation alongthe New Jersey coast. And, to boot,a blizzard along the spine of the Ap-palachian Mountains. All of thisovershadowed the presidential cam-paign, one week before ElectionDay. But that’s not to say thesuperstorm doesn’t have a policydimension.

Climate change activists pointedto Sandy as exactly the sort of ex-traordinary event forecast to occuras the atmosphere and the oceansgrow hotter. Sceptics shot back thatmajor hurricanes hit New York in1821 and 1938, long before fossil-fuel emissions were a factor. The an-swer is unknowable. No individualweather event can be conclusivelylinked to man-made climate change.Scientists also say global warmingis more likely to intensify disastersthan to cause them. So a logical con-clusion is that Sandy would havehappened with or without climatechange, but that extra heat and hu-midity fed its strength. This muchseems beyond dispute: Because ofman-made warming or naturalcycles, or both, the US is in an eraof extreme-weather events.

For the short term, then, theUnited States can’t treat each stormas a fluke. The nation needs to main-tain its ability to predict and respondto disasters. In particular, that meansnot allowing the nation’s aging fleetof weather satellites to fall into de-cline. The National Research Coun-cil warned in May that the Earthobserving system is entering a rapiddecrease in capability, as long-run-ning missions end and key new mis-sions are cancelled or delayed.Longer term, the United States,along with other major emitters suchas China and India, will need tolimit greenhouse gas emissions.The presidential candidates don’tlike to talk about climate change,which they ignored during the de-bates, because the solutions inevi-tably involve higher energy prices.But as Sandy’s mounting toll sug-gests, the costs of inaction, in trag-edy and property, might be evengreater. — USA Today

*****Painful

economicreforms

The Indian finance minister hasannounced that the country istargeting a budget deficit of 3

per cent by 2017, from an optimis-tic prediction of 5.3 per cent for thecurrent year. This cannot be anempty promise as investors are al-ready skittish about the state of thecountry’s finances and will bewatching closely to see what practi-cal steps are implemented to cut statespending. Finance MinisterPalaniappan Chidambaram saidpoverty relief programmes wouldnecessarily be fully protected, butrefused to offer details on how thegovernment would reduce spending.

This will not reassure financialmarkets or foreign investors. Indianeeds to achieve the high rate of eco-nomic growth necessary to reducepoverty and build social stability.India’s current account deficit forthis year, estimated to be about $70billion is expected to be financed byforeign direct investment, foreignportfolio investment and externalcommercial borrowing, according tothe minister. Chidambaram repeatedearlier plans to privatise industrialcompanies and improve tax collec-tion, but these are likely to run intosignificant political opposition andpractical difficulties. However, theyare necessary if the country is tosucceed in reducing its deficit byboosting income and attracting in-vestment, rather than by cuttingsocial security spending and subsi-dies. India is one of the big-fouremerging nations, with justifiedambitions to become a global eco-nomic super power. However, toachieve this, it will first have tosucceed in making some painfuleconomic reforms. — Gulf News

whom New Delhidid not like. Unfor-tunately, the armedforces in the thirdworld never go outof the reckoningeven when they re-turn to the barracksafter enjoying a stintof power.Bangladesh was no

different. But New Delhi preferredto indulge in wishful thinking in-stead of facing the facts that the dis-tant influence of the military couldnever go. However, now after some35 years of liberation, India’s think-ing has changed. It has begun to ac-cept Bangladesh as it is, more so itsrulers, than to enforce its judgmentor interests. Belatedly, New Delhihas woken up to the task—and itsresponsibility—to help Bangladeshto stand on its legs. Coincidently,Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of thecountry’s founder, is the Prime Min-ister. The cajoling by the governmentleaders on both sides has movedbureaucrats to remove dust from theold files and go over the steps to pavethe way for rapid economic progress.

The cynics may not believe it butthings have begun to move on thedevelopment front. SomeBangladeshi academicians and jour-nalists who were invited to a tradeand commerce meeting at New Delhia few days ago have gone back happyto see the sign of progress. One ofthem, who had turned a critic becauseof exasperation over the lack of ac-tion, remarked: “Yes, I can see some-thing happening.” The most impor-tant point is whether the belated stepswould fructify before Prime Minis-

ter Hasina faces the polls in early2014. Since the idea is to let some-thing be seen on the ground so thatthe wavering voters put their faith inHasina once again, it depends on whatprogress is visible during the next fewmonths. Some concessions on theRiver Teesta like the one on theFarakka barrage can tilt the balancein Hasina’s favour. But West Bengalchief minister Mamata Banerjee isrelentless so far.

However, New Delhi has learntthe lesson and it is not putting all itseggs in Hasina’s basket. It is culti-vating her rival, Khalida Zia, whoheads the Bangladesh National Party,an alternative to Hasina’s AwamiLeague. Khalida has readily acceptedNew Delhi’s invitation to visit Indiasince she too has realized that the anti-Delhi posture, which she has beendeliberately pursuing all these years,does not pay in the long run. India istoo big to be ignored or rubbed onthe wrong side. Still the current sce-nario is such that it favours Hasina.She is applauded for the way she hadtaken head on the terrorists and theradicals. Some cases against thosewho collaborated with the other sideduring the liberation are due for con-viction and they may be sentencedbefore the elections. This would besee as a vindication of her stand topunish the collaborators.

New Delhi is grateful to her forthe transit facilities Hasina has ex-tended for the Indian goods to reachits north eastern states. Even other-wise, the transit has changed the at-mosphere in West Bengal and otherparts of India. She is considered afriend. With all these favourable hap-penings, Hasina does not have to act

MEDIA WATCH

John Updike—US writer

the ruthless black-mailers. The burningof these factorieswas due to the delib-erate foul play andnot because of theother causes. In Sep-tember this yearmore than 300people perished intwo devastating fac-tory fires in Pakistan.

At least 280 people died at a gar-ment factory in Karachi; in a hor-rendous blaze. Close on the heelsanother fire broke out at a shoe fac-tory in Lahore resulting in the deathof 21 workers. This Friday (Octo-ber 26) a tissue paper manufactur-ing chemical factory in Karachi’sShershah area was burnt.

The lives of residents inKarachi have remained unsafe formany years now. Even today 7 citi-zens of this country lost their lives.These killing sprees carried out bypower gangs, extortionists, outlawsand crime cartels have become apart of the daily life in Karachi.Those who wake up in the morningand set out for their work placeswould not be sure if they wouldreturn alive to join their families.Death and destruction stalk thestreets of Karachi. The brazen andunrelenting extortion by multiplegroups through telephone calls andpaper slips is now a familiar pat-tern to rob people. If the demandsof the thugs are not met, they killor kidnap their targets. The ordinarypeople as well as the small and bigbusinessmen in Karachi are at themercy of the human blood houndsand savage predators to play withtheir lives, honour and peaceful liv-ing of the citizens. Traveling hasbecome hazardous in that city.

The city of Karachi remains un-der a pal of fear, harassment, intimi-dation and threats round the clockfrom rampaging and trigger-freemurderous gangs. At the end of the

day, the rescue and relief teams startpicking up the dead bodies or theinjured in full media glare. It is aghastly recurring spectacle wit-nessed by army top brass, the min-isters both provincial and federal,the president, the prime minister,the parliamentarians, the membersof bureaucracy, and the intelligenceservices. Yet no one moves orseems to be serious to curb and con-tain this mayhem.

The bazaars, the shopping cen-ters and the business markets areassailed and controlled by the mer-ciless thugs whose brutality cannotbe described in words. The decapi-tated, bullet ridden and torturedbodies of people are frequentlyfound in the city. The people arekidnapped, the women raped andhouses broken in. The propertiesare forcibly occupied and no poweron earth can get those vacated with-out payment of the demanded price.The children and adults alike arekidnapped for hefty ransoms.

Police force being insufficientand ill-trained has utterly failed tocope with the Himalayan challengeof restoring order and normal lifein Karachi. The members of policeforce also join the criminals in lootand robberies. They provide shel-ter to the criminals and do not ar-rest them even if they know them.In many crimes the policemenwere discovered to be the accom-plices of dacoits.

The political parties are mumand silent, including the powerfulMQM and the ruling PPP. The reli-gious doyen of Karachi Jamaat-i-Islami, the stray social factions, thepeace makers all are either helplessor deliberately ignore this frighten-ing state of affairs. The leaders whoprofess to redeem the people of Pa-kistan and turn this country intoabode of peace and unit forget theirclaims and pledges when they stepinto power. Power grabbing has be-come rigmarole between the politi-

cal parties. The authorities arefeigning to be deaf, dumb and un-concerned on these hair-raisinghappenings that carry ominousforeboding for the economic devel-opment of Pakistan already reelingunder a continuous crisis of stabil-ity and social peace. The wholecountry presents the doomsday sce-nario with life getting degraded bymyriad socio-economic problemsand by dearth and obsolete civicamenities. There is endemic andacute shortage of potable water, thepersistent curse of load shedding,and the archaic and insufficientroad network. The education,health, public transport and otheressential services are miserable andhorrifically flawed.

The politicians both out and inpower are crooks, urchins and asleazy lot with shameless counte-nances. They are protected by bul-let proof SUVs, hordes of securitystaff. They travel with a retina ofparasites and stooges. They travelon the roads like pharaohs of Egyptor emperors of Rome, and the rich-est rulers of a poor and directionlessnation. They have no shame, nohonor, and no self-dignity. In factthey are caricatures as if to ridiculethe poor and helpless countrymenwith their display of galore, ex-travaganza and sparking style oflife. Their glamorous life stylestands in sharp and woeful contrastto the unsafe, listless and harassedlives of their countrymen whosepredominant majority is impover-ished. The people find it hard tofeed them and their children, seekjustice or relief from police sta-tions, the courts or from the gov-ernment departments ridden bybribe and inefficiency. I am at mywit’s end. May God almighty in-tervene and save this otherwise amagnificent, awesome and amaz-ingly beautiful country. Ameen!—The writer is a senior journalistand a former diplomat.

in a manner which emits ven-geance. Her dictum continues tobe that those who are not with herare against her. And she treats asenemies persons like MohammadYunus of Gramin Bank, who is aNobel prize winner, and topmostliberal lawyer Kamal Hasain, whois a must in every internationalconference where peace isbrokered. Hasina is too powerfuland her acceptability is wide.Therefore, it is surprising to seewhen she appoints scores ofjudges, some of whom do not evenfulfill the minimum qualification.The judiciary is already underpressure like the media. She isbeing closely watched in Indiawhere the increasing impression isthat her streak of authoritarianismmay be her undoing.

The main battle ahead is howHasina conducts elections. She hasdone away with the appointmentof a caretaker government duringthe polls, as laid down in the con-stitution. The top judiciary has notgiven her a clear support on thisissue. She appears determined tostick on to her decision not to havea caretaker government. Yet it ispossible that she may give in andconstitute an independent body toconduct elections. The amount ofmaturity she shows in this mattermay find favour with the voters.She should realize that the elec-torate is awakened enough to feelthat it is the master, not she or herfamily which appears to mix up ingovernance at times.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human right activist and author.

Hurmat GroupZahid Malik

President & Editor-in-Chief

Faisal Zahid MalikEditor

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Column from DallasColumn from DallasColumn from DallasColumn from DallasColumn from Dallas

Voice of the People

The ‘fog’ in Benghazi

The attack on the US Consulatein Benghazi has become a political football in the presiden-

tial campaign, with all the grand-standing and misinformation that en-tails. But Fox News has raised somequestions about the attack that de-serve a clearer answer from theObama administration. Fox’s Jenni-fer Griffin reported Friday that CIAofficers in Benghazi had been told to“stand down” when they wanted todeploy from their base at the annexto repel the attack on the consulate,about a mile away.

Fox also reported that the CIA of-ficers requested military supportwhen the annex came under fire laterthat night but that their request hadbeen denied.The Benghazi tragedy

was amplified byCharles Woods, the fa-ther of slain CIA con-tractor Tyrone Woods.He told Fox’s SeanHannity that WhiteHouse officials whodidn’t authorize mili-tary strikes to save theembattled CIA annexwere “cowards” and

“are guilty of murdering my son.”The Fox “stand down” storyprompted a strong rebuttal from theCIA: “We can say with confidencethat the agency reacted quickly to aidour colleagues during that terribleevening in Benghazi. Moreover, noone at any level in the CIA told any-body not to help those in need; claimsto the contrary are simply inaccurate.”

First, on the question of whetherWoods and others were made to waitwhen they asked permission to moveout immediately to try to rescue thoseat the consulate. The answer seemsto be yes, but not for very long. Therewas a brief, initial delay — twopeople said it was about 20 minutes— before Woods was allowed toleave. One official said Woods and

at least one other CIA colleague were“in the car revving the engine,” wait-ing for permission to go. Woods diedabout six hours later, after he returnedto the annex. The main reason for thedelay, several sources said, was thatCIA officials were making urgentcontact with a Libyan militia, knownas the February 17 Brigade, whichwas the closest thing to an organizedsecurity force in Benghazi.

Here’s my question: Was it wiseto depend on a Libyan militia thatclearly wasn’t up to the job? Could ithave made a difference for those un-der attack at the consulate if Woodshad moved out as soon as he was, inone official’s words, “saddled andready”? Second, why didn’t theUnited States send armed drones orother air assistance to Benghaziimmediately?The CIA did dispatch aquick-reaction force that night fromTripoli, with about eight people, butit had trouble at first reaching thecompound. One of its members, GlenDoherty, died along with Woodswhen a mortar hit the roof of the an-nex about 4 a.m. What more couldhave been done? A Joint Special Op-erations Command team was moved

After the 9/11, the Americanand British political lobbyistszeroed-in on Pakistan as the

epicenter of a fake phenomenon -“Islamic terrorism.” The Americanleadership and the neocons neededthis escape from reality to reinforce“fear” as strategy in the hearts andminds of the America masses and toimplement the PNAC ( Project forthe New American Century), Planfor political domination of the oil-gas rich resources of the Middle Eastand Central Asia. Ignorant Pakistanimilitary rulers like GeneralMusharaf and cheap politicians werebought and bribed by foreign pow-ers to make Pakistanis look-like ter-rorist enabling them to remake theglobal crusade against Islam.

Pakistan faces multiple prob-lems. But there are no real worldpublic institutions or leadership toThink of the viable alternatives, con-flict management and conflict reso-lution. For its survival, Pakistanmust be re-connected to its ideologi-cal foundation of Islam as a systemof life. Otherwise, its people haveno other credible identity. Viewingthe bigger picture from NorthAmerica, we see an emerging col-laborative understanding at work

Pakistan in search of futurebetween the current corrupt andcriminal political elite (PPP andMQM), and the US to encourage andinstigate internal political disrup-tions and bloodbaths and to dis-mantle the physical body of the na-tion over certain period of time.

Pakistan is politically chaotic,weak and torn apart between foreigndictated conflicts. It is not opera-tional from a position of strength butextreme weakness and vulnerabilityto foreign dictates and ultimate self-destruction. Pakistan needs a navi-gational change in policies, practicesand national priorities to regain po-litical institutions, different militaryrole and intelligent and accountablepolitical governance. But wherewould this change come from? Whowould think and plan for the change?Legal judgments do not change thehuman behaviors or rebuild nations.The US and Britain are fightingagainst Islam and Muslims.

Their strategic plans include an-nihilation of Muslim Pakistan andMuslim Afghanistan to restore su-premacy of India and secularism. Adifferent course of policy and actionis needed to stop the emerging in-ternal militancy, daily bloodbaths ofthe civilians, destruction of the so-cial and economic lifelines of thenation. After decades of martial laws(rule of the jungle) and established

Three cheersfor SC!

DR ALFRED CHARLES

People cheerfully are thankful to theSupreme Court on slashing of theCNG prices. This is only institutionwith whom people have high expec-tations. After this decision it is clearnow that the SC is only institutionwhich delivers to masses.

This is an eye opening forthose who criticize the SC for fix-ing of price. This has been proventhat there is no relief for peopleuntil unless the SC intervenes. Allare grateful to judiciary and honor-able judges for making them happywith this great gift on Eid. Our hatsoff for them!—Karachi

Federal InspectionCommission

ASGHAR MAHMOOD PSP (R)

Prime Minister’s Inspection Com-mission (PMIC) has existed formany years as a dormant organiza-tion. It was established during thetime of General Zia Ul Haq to con-duct enquiries into malpractices andmismanagement in Federal govern-ment departments/ organizations.Initially, it was headed by officersfrom Army, Police and Civil service.For the last four and half years,Chairmanship has gone to membersof the National Assembly. ThePMIC consists of a Chairman andMembers appointed by the PrimeMinister in his discretion. The num-ber of Members is not fixed; thePrime minister can appoint any re-tired bureaucrat as a Member of theCommission. A serving officer, whodoes not like to be posted as OSD,also manages posting in the PMIC.

The executive order which cre-ated PMIC, gives immense powersto the Commission for conductinginquiries and criminal proceedingsagainst defaulting government offi-cials. However, the Commission hasnot prosecuted any government of-ficial since its establishment. Ruleshave not been formulated to giveteeth to the Commission.

Now when NAB and FIA havelost credibility in the eyes of the ju-diciary and the general public, it ishigh time to give investigation roleto PMIC by depoliticizing it. Itshould be renamed as Federal In-spection Commission (FIC) and aretired Judge of the Supreme Courtmay be appointed as ChairmanPMIC, assisted by retired police of-ficers of integrity and competence.It may be linked with the Law Min-istry for budget only. All the caseswhich are being (mis)handled byNAB and FIA may be transferredto reconstituted PMIC/ FIC for im-partial investigation/ inquiries.—Islamabad

Bad governanceand poverty

SYED SADAQAT HUSSAIN

UN Research study shows that badgovernment is the root cause of pov-erty. If we honestly analyze the is-sue why so many countries stay pooror become poorer, you may reachthe conclusion blaming bad govern-ment obviously. You may see thisissue in the context of our own coun-try Pakistan as well. This studyshould be a vital message to manyleaders seeking more aid and debtrelief but they will not want to hear.

The question arises why povertypersists even in regions of substan-tial economic growth and politicalfreedom. The answer is obviously,corruption, flaws in the policies,hostility attitude, deliberately not togive the rights of the people, humanrights abuses and ultimately badgovernance, which is a critical build-ing block for poverty reduction.

In this context, humiliating fig-ures can be seen in our region bythe government where the people aredeprived by their rights and the gov-ernment is singing the song of De-mocracy. So-called champions of

Deafness before the storm?ALI ASHRAF KHAN

The believers in Islam are looking with awe towards the US where for the last two days the center ofAmerican imperialism with its capitals New York and Washington is inundated with a huge storm

drawing closer and threatening the very existence of large parts of those cities. Schools are off, since1880 for the first time the New York Stock Exchange for believers in power of money has been closedand people are leaving the place in search for higher ground. The monster storm brought the ongoingelection campaign to a complete halt. The country that has brought unspeakable pain and destruc-tion to millions of Muslims is under attack of the forces of nature and –as we believe-under the wrathof God. The horror scenario that is evolving in front of our eyes reminds us of the predictions in theHoly Book where such events are predicted for those who have abused the law of God, who fight Islamand Muslims and humanity at large. President Obama who is seeking re-election knows that he is adeserter of Islam - a Murtid. Hence should repent on his mistake and ask for forgiveness from GodAlmighty individually and collectively the whole nation should do the same for bringing untold mis-eries in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere playing their big game for colonization of re-sources. This disaster should be a wake-up call for those in our country who are in coalition with theUS and remind them that the wrath of God will not miss them and our country if they don’t turn theirback on the forces of evil. How right Allama Iqbal was in saying: “ Assar karey na karey, Suun to leymeri faryaad. Nahi hey D’aad ka talib, Yeh Banda-e-Azaad.”—Karachi

Views From Abroad

READERS

Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

are requested to typetheir letters legibly withdouble spacing and only onone side of the paper.

—Editor

political institutions of corruptionacross the board, how do you imag-ine to plan and devise strategies forchange and a sustainable future?Zardari is not a leader or thinker butan indicted criminal and has no ca-pability to think of change. The Gen-erals can only march left and right,cannot think of the nation-building.

The common citizen couldmake the difference as did the Ital-ian masses two decades earlieragainst the institutionalized cor-rupted politics run by mafia gangs.The Supreme Court or its verdictswould not create a new politicalculture of positive thinking and ac-tion but people’s movement can andwill, if they are ONE and organizedfor change against the militancy.Recently, the People’s OccupyMovement across the globe hasdone it against many powerful po-litical odds and obstacles. A newstrategy of open public marches/demonstration for unity and Islamicsolidarity will be helpful in shortterms to challenge the nuisance ofthe militancy.

It could discourage the bloodbaths engineered by extremistgroups and send-out a strong mes-sage of national unity organized bythe people. Non-violent peacefulmovement as was the original Pa-kistan Movement and continued

democracy have given many gifts tothe nation in the tenure of their gov-ernance, which would not be dis-cussed here, as everybody knows.

Are democratic forms the vacci-nation against poverty? It is clearlymisleading. It is an open truth thatlocal governments are neglected ornon-existent in the developing world,even thought they can play a crucialrole in poverty reduction. Histori-cally, foreign aid has gone to centralgovernment where there are greatchances of corruption or misuse offunds. This money is not given tonongovernmental agencies and localgovernments, which they can use itfor the welfare of their local peopleappropriately. Even Governmentsare vulnerable to estimate the inci-dence of poverty within their bor-ders, to set targets for reducing oreliminating poverty and to introduceanti-poverty plans.—Karachi

FacilitatingHajj pilgrims

TAHIR MAHMOOD NADEEM

Wish to appreciate the meticulousarrangements made by the govern-ment of Saudi Arabia for the Hajj1433. This was really a great occa-sion with participation of around 4million Muslims from around theworld that required thorough ar-rangements. However, there werecertain occasions (e.g. Exit fromArafat, Tawaf-e Ziara and Tawaf-e-Wida) where the rush was unprec-edented and unmanageable, causinggreat inconvenience for the Guestsof Allah. I would make the follow-ing suggestions for improvements inthe next Hajj season so that incon-venience to Pilgrims could be con-trolled/ mitigated. Number of pil-grims need to be reduced to a rea-sonable level that is compatible withavailable infrastructure.

People performing Hajj without“Tasreeh” should be strictly banned.I believe number of these people alsoranges around 0.5 Mln and a strictban on such pilgrims can alone re-duce the pressure on infrastructuresubstantially. The period of secondHajj should be increased from 5 to10 years from the last Hajj. The rushat the occasion of riding train fromMuzdalfa to Arafat and back re-minded of the scenes created duringRami of Jamarat in the past. Manypeople fell un-conscious. Here some-thing needs to be done urgently, e.g.increasing number of trains, allow-ing private/ public transport, regulat-ing people of different camps to goat different times.

More stringent monitoring of thefacilities being provided by the HajjTour Operators through surpriseraids. There have been instance ofmany reputed Tour Operators sellingtheir Customers to other Operatorswith least facilities. One major andpermanent problem has been lack ofany public transport between Minaand Makkah during the Hajj season.This has caused great problem for thewomen and old or sick pilgrims asanybody coming from Haram to H-Block Mina has to cover the distanceof about 9 -12 kilometers on foot.Government should seriously looktowards this issue and introduce somepublic transport system from the lastcorner of Mina to Haram Makkah.Currently, taxi drivers are simplylooting the Guests of Allah by over-charging exorbitantly and droppingthem far behind what is agreed at thetime of hiring taxis. Number ofwash-rooms need to be increased inMina and Arafat with adequate avail-ability of water.—Jubail, KSA

A wise moveDR SAIFUR REHMAN

Mian Maanzoor Wattoo is one of themost outstanding personalities in Pa-kistani politics; he was a no nonsensepolitical leader for well over 35 years.President Asif Ali Zardari has beenreiterating that the PPP will make aclean sweep of the next general elec-tions in Punjab with the PPP intro-ducing a jiyala (loyalist) as the nextchief minister of Punjab after 40

years. The PPP has appointed veteranstatesman Wattoo as the president ofPPP in Punjab.

I believe that Mian Wattoo,through his experience and wisdom,will make a remarkable contributionin strengthening the party in Punjab.This is a very calculated decision byPresident Zardari. He knows thatMian Wattoo can carry out and ex-tend his policies of reconciliation ina much better way in Punjab.—Islamabad

Some meritsof PTI

SYED HASSAM AHMED

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was nevera mainstream political party, it wasnever regarded even as a politicalgroup before 30th October 2011 whenit staged a mammoth public gather-ing (Jalsa) at Minar-e-Pakistan andfinally managed to become a keyparty in Pakistan’s political arena.Despite severe differences with theparty policies and duo-faced stanceson certain occasions, we must not ruleout many positive aspects as well.The PTI Chief Imran Khan remainedsteadfast all through the hurdles andobstacles that came in his way. Heacknowledged his faults on a num-ber of occasions which surely needssome guts.

He took about 15 years to makehis party a masses party facing manyup and downs during the long jour-ney and finally made a historic at-tempt at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahorelast year. Since then the youth ofcountry have started believing him asthe sole Messiah, giving him an up-per hand over others as he has neverbeen tried and tested. However, ImranKhan must ensure that he does notlose more veterans of his party byallowing the turncoats controlling itspolicies. He must publicize the mani-festo and future policies of the partyif they come into power and must pickout his foes and friends for the up-coming general elections.—Karachi

Lawlessnessin SindhHASHIM ABRO

Unfortunately, my hometownLarkao and other cities in the up-per Sindh districts are experiencingincreased levels of violence. Every-day dozens of men and women areviciously murdered in those areas.In the past people used to believe“If you have money, then, do visitLarkano” but now due to lawless-ness they have started believing, “If you have money, then, better toLeave Larkano”. This much law-lessness has increased in this, onceproverbially, peaceful districts ofIndus valley.

The Sindh police have long ar-gued that they are severely challengedin several inner-city communities,including Larkano, because of poorroad conditions. It is a known fact thatmore or less or all cities and towns inthe upper and lower Sindh districtsdo not have “ patrollable” infrastruc-ture for the police and other law en-forcement agencies.

The provincial government mustresume its upgrading of infrastruc-ture programmes in the troubled dis-tricts of the upper Sindh includingLarkano, if the law enforcementagencies are to effectively police thearea. It is necessary for that wher-ever work is in progress must becompleted, because it is going tocontinue to represent a nightmare tothe police, until we can provide‘patrollable’ infrastructure,” to theSindh police in various cities.—Islamabad

that night to Sigonella air base inSicily, for quick deployment toBenghazi or any of the other USfacilities in danger that night acrossNorth Africa. Armed drones couldalso have been sent. Defence Sec-retary Leon Panetta summarizedlast Thursday the administration’sdecision to opt for caution: “Youdon’t deploy forces into harm’s waywithout knowing what’s going on.”

Looking back, it may indeedhave been wise not to bomb targetsin Libya that night. Given the up-roar in the Arab world, this mighthave been the equivalent of pour-ing gasoline on a burning fire. Butthe anguish of Woods’s father is un-derstandable: His son’s life mighthave been saved by a more aggres-sive response. The Obama admin-istration needs to level with thecountry about why it made its deci-sions. A final, obvious point: The“fog of battle” that night was densenot just in Benghazi but in Cairo,Tunis and elsewhere. US officialsneeded better intelligence. That’sthe toughest problem to address, butthe most important.— Courtesy: The Washington Post

So often I have seen scenes ofa major catastrophe, a bombblast, or a flood and seen a big

difference between the figures givenby the government and that esti-mated by the people there.

I decided to find out more aboutthe same. “Ah you want to visit theOFD,” said the peon who stood atthe door and stretched out his handfor the ten rupees that I offered.“What is the OFD?” I asked.“The

official figures department,” said thepeon, frowning at me. “Actually I amin charge.” “You?” I asked, “but isn’tthis a very important department?”“That is why I am the head,” said thepeon. “Come with me, we will go tomy office.” I entered a very untidyroom and looked at walls lined withcharts. “What are they?”

I asked. “Addition, subtraction,multiplication and division tables,”said the peon. “Whatever for?” Iasked as the phone rang and the peonbeckoned me to listen. “How manypeople dead?” asked the peon,“twenty three, okay one moment” hethen walked to the charts and lookedfor ‘two plus three.’ “The official fig-ure is five,” he said and put down the

phone. “What was that?” I asked.“There’s been a bus accident on thehighway,” said the peon, “the figurereported was twenty three dead. Ourofficial one is five.” “How did youarrive at five?” I asked incredulously.“The accident involved a state trans-port bus, so I take twenty three andsplit it into two and three,” said thepeon. “I add the two and three andget five.”

“What happens if it was a privatebus?” I asked. “If it is a private bustraveling on a government road, thenI add two and three and minus it fromthe twenty three,” said the peon,showing me the whole calculationalready done for him on one of thecharts on the wall. “If it is a private

Official figures..!us on a private road, then I add uptwenty three and twenty three.”

“That makes forty six,” I said.“You are very clever,” said thepeon. “Do you use the same for-mula for floods and earthquakes?”“Everything,” said the peon. “Wecannot show the government in apoor light!”

“Why have they put a peon if itis so important?” I asked. “I am ac-tually the chief minister’s nephew,”said the man dressed like a peon,“and if I do a good job here, I willsurely get a seat for the next elec-tions. Basically I am getting mytraining to be a good politicianworking here, in the OFD..!”—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

Upholding rule of law

According to the First Information Report lodged under sections 148, 149 and 506 (pun-

ishment for criminal intimidation) ofthe Pakistan Penal Code, complain-ant Umer Hussain stated that on Oc-tober 7, a woman came to the shopand asked for a cake; however, theshop was closed for cleaning. Whenthe incident of alleged manhandlingof an employee at bakery in DHAwas brought to the notice of ChiefMinister Shahbaz Sharif, he orderedinquiry into it, and a Lahore courtsent his son-in-law Ali Imran on a14-day judicial remand. Though AliImran was not spotted in the TVfootage, yet police had prayed to thecourt to send the chief minister’sson-in-law on remand.

Anyhow, Shahbaz Sharif de-serves accolades for upholding therule of law, as in case of Moonis Ilahison of former CM Punjab ChaudhryPervaiz Ilahi and Ali Musa Gilani,son of former Prime Minister YousufRaza Gilani, they had resorted to eva-sive tactics to avoid prosecution.

Having that said, the way ShahbazSharif has conducted himself in thiscase, he has established paradigmto be emulated by other provinces.It has to be mentioned that MianShahbaz Sharif is acknowledgedeven by his detractors as adminis-trator par excellence, as he hasmade Punjab as symbol of goodgovernance.

Shahbaz Sharif is the only ChiefMinister who enjoys respect interna-tionally. Be it China, Germany or anyother country, their government func-tionaries are impressed by his perfor-mance in running the Punjab prov-ince with population more than thethree provinces combined together. InJanuary, Shahbaz Sharif had visitedGermany to attend the InternationalGreen Week Exhibition in Berlinwhere he met the visiting Europeaninvestors individually as well as ingroups. The investors and audiencehad evinced keen interest in the ex-hibition of various Pakistani itemsand agri-produce. He had all praisefor education system in Germany.German philosopher Max Weber hadmade tremendous contribution to laya solid foundation for education.Later, the formation of the GermanEmpire by Bismark in 1871 helped

centralize education. When WorldWar I ended, the Weimar Republicdeveloped a free elementary school,called the Grundschule and since thenevery government focused on degreelevel and higher education. It was inthis backdrop that Germany achievedtremendous success in the field ofscience and technology.

Keeping this mind, ShahbazSharif focused attention on educa-tion, which is indeed commendable.It is an established fact that educa-tion is the prime factor in economicand social well being of any nation.It is a strategic tool in nation build-ing through skill development andvision enhancement; and it also di-rectly contributes towards economicgrowth. Punjab government underthe leadership and guidance of MianShahbaz Sharif has established Dan-ish schools for the talented poor,which will be a stepping stone to-wards producing scientists, engi-neers and scholars.

Problem is that Pakistan spendsaround 1.5 per cent of the GDP oneducation because of lack of re-sources. But question is how to in-crease resources to enhance alloca-tion for education? Of course, in-dustry has to be revived which is not

working according to full capacitydue to shortage of power. After18th amendment, Shahbaz Sharifis all set to work on energyprojects, which will revive the in-dustry in Punjab.

In his quest for giving boost toproduction, Shahbaz Sharif is striv-ing for enhancing power generationin the province. In January 2012,during his four-day visit to Turkey,he had met with Istanbul’s mayor,the governor and the energy minis-ter and discussed issues of mutualinterest with them. Turkish EnergyMinister Taner Yaldez offered hiscountry’s support to Sharif in over-coming the ongoing energy crisis inPakistan. During his meeting withYaldez, the Punjab CM discussedcooperation in various projects be-tween the Punjab government andTurkey. Yaldez had offered help andto extend cooperation in installingenergy projects. If these offers aretranslated into action, Mian ShahbazSharif would be able to improve thelives of teeming millions that areliving below the poverty line. De-spite the onslaught from some po-litical parties, the PML-N stands togain because of sterling perfor-mance of Mian Shahbaz Sharif.

peaceful public demonstrationscould reverse the thoughts andstrategies of the enemy of Islamand Pakistan. The nation needsanew thinking hub, New Institu-tions and New Educated and Vi-sionary Leaders to plan and imple-ment anew political system. Weare of the opinion that Pakistanneeds urgently a non-partisan gov-ernment of national unity to dealwith the current emergencies andto evolve institutional capacity-building for change and reforma-tion of the neo-colonialism and apromising future based on theoriginality of the Pakistan free-dom movement.

Nobody would cry nor wouldthe sky fall if the corrupt Zardariregime is ousted by the voices ofreason and a much desired non-par-tisan government is put in place tore-arrange the affairs of the nation.The recent Wikileaks documentsreveal how some of the Generalsand the PPP politicians are accom-plice to conspire against the inter-est of the people of Pakistan. Theirmindset and behaviors belong todraconian age full of poisonousbackdoor conspiracies for contin-ued power sharing governance.—The writer specializes in globalsecurity, peace and conflictresolution.

David Ignatius

Nazia NazarEmail:nazianazar@hotmail.com

Mahboob A Khwaja Email: kmaboob@yahoo.com

FRANCES Z BROWN

FOR the U.S. to accurately gauge andsupport this process, we need an honest, robust grasp of Afghanistan’scommitment to governance reform. But

instead, since the U.S. surge began in late 2009,a few recurrent anecdotes have disproportion-ately driven the picture of Afghan governancethat we see, thereby enabling the Afghangovernment’s continuing reluctance to reform.A combination of bureaucratic pressures, jour-nalistic factors, and data scarcity has led U.S.public discourse on Afghanistan to over-relyon “ground truthed” subjective narratives andpersonal testimonials. Proportionate, objectiveassessments of metrics relevant to governancereform have lost out in the noise.“Anecdotalization” doesn’t yet appear in theOxford English Dictionary, but if it does, it willlikely be because of the U.S. efforts in Afghani-stan. To truly ensure much-needed Afghan gov-ernment reform, we must finally suppress it.

How have a few recurrent anecdotes cometo distort our understanding of Afghanistan’sgovernance reform process? First, predominantanecdotes have allowed us to mistake localized,distinct successes for replicable progress andreforms. Consider Nawa, which after years asone of Helmand’s most dangerous districtsdemonstrated dramatically improved securityand governance during the surge. Facilitatedby American military leadership, helicopter-loads of high-ranking government officials, jour-nalists, and think tankers visited the district fora few hours each, and produced personal testi-monials like this one in a New York Times op-ed: “Nawa is flourishing. Seventy stores areopen...and the streets are full of trucks and pe-destrians. Security is so good we were able towalk around without body armor.”

The author’s bottom line echoed a Marineofficer he quoted in his piece: “I hope peoplewho say this war is unwinnable see stories likethis.” In contrast, observers with lengthier staysin Nawa noted its turnaround stemmed from aparticular combination of tribal politics, localofficials’ calculations, and vast American inputs

Inside the war for Central Asia

Afghanistan’s need for reform: We have seen the enemyrelative to the population-not any systematicaction on the part of the Afghan government.

Afghanistan comprises roughly 400 districts,but a vastly disproportionate number of eye-witness reports flowed in from Nawa and a hand-ful of other districts like Arghandab and BarakiBarak. Colorful anecdotal successes drownedout more objective, broader assessments ofgovernance reform. Second, the pervasivenessof certain anecdotes has allowed us to confusespecific Afghan individuals’ achievements forbroader Afghan progress in institution build-ing. American assistance to local Afghan gov-ernment typically is focused on few key localofficials. Many of these individuals demon-strated great strides or deep potential: beholdthe numerous accounts of Kandahar City’s in-defatigable mayor Ghulam Haider Hamidi,Helmand’s reliable governor Ghulab Mangal, orMarja’s promising district “governor in a box”Haji Zahir. Naturally, with transport facilitatedby U.S. military leadership, the most impressivelocal officials were the ones who received fre-quent visits from high-level officials and influ-ential correspondents, who could report theyhad seen local governance firsthand, and it wasblooming. But judging overall governanceprogress on the basis of a few individuals isespecially deceptive in Afghanistan, where of-ficials are frequently reshuffled by the authori-ties in Kabul (as with Mangal), prove locallyunpopular (Zahir), or are assassinated (Hamidi).Vivid testimonials don’t equal a commitment to

institutional reform.Third, from a Kabul-based angle, a few per-

sistent anecdotes have repeatedly allowed usto believe Afghan-led government reform isoccurring where little actually is. For years, theinternational community pressured Kabul toclarify the scattered, confusing local governancepicture. In 2010, the government responded withfinalizing a 415-page Subnational GovernancePolicy: internally inconsistent yet enormouslyredundant, vast in ambit yet not enforceable inspecifics. Before it could actually affect gover-nance on the ground, the document needed sig-nificant legislative and administrative follow-up-which two and a half years later largely has nothappened. But still, Afghan (and some Ameri-can) officials alike frequently noted that theywere pleased to see the policy had been drafted.A colorful testimonial counted as progress. Ifthis prevalence of anecdotes has allowed theAfghan government to substitute paper out-puts for genuine reform, this pattern seems likelyto repeat. After the Tokyo Conference describedabove, where the international community pres-sured the Karzai administration to launch seri-ous reform and anti-corruption measures, Karzairesponded with the lengthy decree: 167 articlesalong, divided among 33 government entities.As William Byrd and Attaullah Nasib havepointed out, the document lacked prioritization,action items, and benchmarks that can be evalu-ated. But it achieved its anecdotal point: as theKarzai administration has repeated frequently,

it had “launched” a reform package.How do we suppress the anecdotalization

that has colored our understanding ofAfghanistan’s reform process? First, we mustrecognize that one cause is our own organiza-

tional incentives. In an era of budget constraints,military and civilian organizations in Afghani-stan are pressured to demonstrate resultsquickly-and so they direct the unremittingstream of high-level visitors and influentialthinkers to Afghanistan’s most impressivecases. As a second explanation, our sound-bite culture places a premium on personal testi-monials, and so peppering public communica-tion with colorful narratives rather than tediousdata is often viewed as more authentic or en-gaging. A third explanation lies in our unwittingmirror-imaging of the way the US governmentoperates onto the way we believe the Afghangovernment does. In Washington, releasing anexecutive order has real consequences: it auto-matically triggers follow up and monitoring

mechanisms from government agencies, Con-gress, and the media. Not so in Afghanistan,where glossy documents such as Karzai’s presi-dential decree are often intended more to pla-cate donors than to galvanize actions. But the

biggest reason of all for the rise of anecdotalnoise is that alternatives are scarce. Measuringgovernance and reform-a nebulous, challeng-ing task anywhere seems almost impossiblein a data-poor, opaque context like Afghani-stan. Data-driven evaluations do exist at theclassified level, and unclassified informationlike The Asia Foundation’s annual survey,the World Bank’s indicators, InternationalCrisis Group reports, and the DefenseDepartment’s bi-annual Section 1230 Reportsadd important insights or overviews.—Courtesy - AfPak Channel. [Frances Z.Brown, at time of writing, was an Interna-

tional Affairs Fellow at the Council onForeign Relations and an AfghanistanFellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace].

As the United States’ 2014 transition in Afghanistan approaches,American policymakers have underscored that President Hamid Karzai’s

government must undertake urgently needed institutional reforms.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted after this summer’s Tokyo

Conference that President Karzai had presented a “clear vision” forthese reforms, which “must include fighting corruption, improving gover-

nance, strengthening the rule of law.” Under the principle of mutualaccountability, the United States will continue to support Afghanistan

through and beyond transition.

BARRISTER HARUN UR RASHID

THE bottom line for India is tofind a friendly governmentemerging in Bangladesh afterthe next parliamentary election.

India has also invited the heads of twomajor parties of Bangladesh to NewDelhi to have a sense of the ways thepolitical situation has been developingwithin Bangladesh. Some Indian news-papers have described the visit of BNP(Bangladesh Nationalist Party) chair-person as “mending fences”, since dur-ing the BNP rule in 2001-06 India hadcomplained to the Bangladesh govern-ment about its security concerns; asBangladesh territory was allegedly al-lowed to be used for training and sanc-tuary by insurgents from northeasterntroubled-states.

Some analysts say that the periodwas one of the lowest points in the bi-lateral relations between theseneighbours. It is assumed that the BNPchairperson must have a few importantmessages for India. The first one wouldbe that a credible, inclusive and fairparliamentary election is held in 2014 inBangladesh under the neutral caretakergovernment and not under AL govern-ment. If that cannot be maintained, theBNP would not participate in the elec-tion and it is possibly argued non-par-ticipation of BNP would result in seri-ous political upheaval in the country;which may impact on India as well.

Second, whatever Bangladeshagrees to provide to India, a reciprocitymust follow to satisfy Bangladeshipeople letting them know that a fair dealhas been signed with India. Finally, thekilling of Bangladeshis on the Indo-Bangla border must be stopped be-cause it continues to increase the anti-India sentiment among the people liv-ing in Bangladesh.

On the other hand, it is assumedthat India wanted assurance from BNPthat Bangladesh territory should not beused for activities inimical to India andmight indirectly hint to de-linking itselffrom the religion-based party, Jammat-e-Islami. Furthermore, India mightsought affirmation that whatever agree-ments were signed with the AwamiLeague (AL) government would con-tinue to effectively harness their respec-tive resources for the good of the

Eastern perspective

India reaching out to other partiespeoples’ of the two countries. Observ-ers say that BNP may have realised thatno country is a permanent ally or en-emy in the world and what is paramountis its national interests. The national

interests of Bangladesh, we shouldnote, appear to stand on two pillars:security and development.

Security does not mean only terri-torial security; it includes security inwater, food, energy, health, environmentand the people. Development includesnot only economic growth but allevia-tion of poverty among people. They canbe achieved through sub-regional andregional cooperation. And here India’scooperation plays a major role.

While AL government has movedquickly to address Delhi’s concerns oncross-border terrorism and connectiv-ity to the North-East, India could notsign the most important pledge — theTeesta Water Sharing Agreement —during India’s prime minister’s visit toDhaka last year on September 6, be-cause the West Bengal’s chief ministertorpedoed it. All other agreementssigned with Bangladesh could not re-move the public perception that the visitended in failure.

This was perceived a serious set-back for both the ruling governmentsof Bangladesh and India. Some suggestthat the Indian prime minister shouldnot have visited Dhaka until this im-portant issue had been sorted out withWest Bengal earlier; at the time a part-ner of New Delhi coalition government.Often the agreements are not fulfilledby India and the main reason, accord-ing to Indian journalist Sunanda K.Datta-Ray was that “Bangladesh maysizzle but it sizzles on a back-burner ofIndian priorities” (July 2009 in Kolkata’sThe Telegraph). Krishnan Srinivasan,India’s former Foreign Secretary, in hisbook “Jamdani Revolution”, cites an-other reason: “Indian government hastended to allow the hardliners andHindu chauvinists to set the agendafor its policy towards Bangladesh.”

The other factor is that India is a

federal country and states have theirown political goals different from thoseof the Centre. Bangladesh’s pendingissues in some way or other affect oneof the five states which surround

Bangladesh (West Bengal, Assam,Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram).Unless the involved state and NewDelhi agree, India’s central government,irrespective of its political affiliations,will find itself in difficulty in fulfillingthe promises made with Bangladesh.For example, the 1996 Ganges WaterTreaty was signed with the active sup-port of former chief minister of WestBengal, late Jyoti Basu. This is a harshreality which Bangladesh government,media and people may not ignore.

At the next election in India in 2014,the Congress-led government may notbe in power and either BJP-led coali-tion or a Third party coalition may holdpower in New Delhi. In that case, theNew Delhi government will again findit tough to meet its obligations withBangladesh unless the affected statesconcur with the centre. The questionis why does the central government inNew Delhi sign an agreement withBangladesh without first resolving thedomestic issues? India may only signagreements with Bangladesh which itcan implement, otherwise in futureBangladesh will hesitate to concludeineffective “paper” agreements withIndia.

Meanwhile, the political dynamicsin the region is changing. Bangladeshshares borders with Myanmar whichis not only going through internal re-forms toward democracy but also ischanging its foreign policy towardWestern countries, India and Japan,balancing with China. Bangladesh’saccess to the open sea is another as-set for commercial and strategic rea-sons. Bangladesh is a near neighbourto China and if the road betweenKatmandu and Lhasa is connected,Dhaka will be able to interact withBeijing through Nepal.

—Courtesy - Daily Star.

Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia left for Indiaon October 28 for a week’s, visit which is important for bothsides. It has provided each others’ perspectives on bilateral

relations at the highest political level.

MICAH ZENKO

NOV 3 marks the tenth anniversary of America’s ThirdWar the campaign of targeted killings in non-battle-

field settings that has been a definingfeature of post-9/11 American militarypolicy as much as the conflicts in Iraqor Afghanistan. Unlike other wars,there won’t be any ceremonies at theWhite House or Pentagon, paradesdown Main Streets, or town squarerallies to acknowledge the sacrificesmade by the countless civilian and mili-tary personnel involved. There won’teven be a presidential statement sincetargeted killings cannot and will not berecognized by the U.S. government.The war is conducted by both the CIAcovert and totally unacknowledgedand by the Joint Special OperationsCommand (JSOC) described withoutany specificity as “direct action” bythe White House. Whether the CIA orJSOC is the lead executive agency, theThird War is marked by the limitedtransparency and accountability ofU.S. officials.

The Third War, which began witha drone strike in Yemen, had two simplegoals: preventing another attack on theU.S. homeland and capturing or killingthose al Qaeda operatives responsible.Bush administration officials warnedominously that its forward-leaningcounterte rrorism approach mandatedpreventive attacks against terrorist safehavens. Five days after 9/11, Vice Presi-dent Dick Cheney stated that theUnited States would have to work “thedark side,” and an anonymous seniorofficial declared: “The gloves are off.The president has given the [CIA] thegreen light to do whatever is neces-sary. Lethal operations that were un-thinkable pre-September 11 are nowunderway.” On September 17, 2001,President Bush signed a memorandumof notification that authorized the CIAto kill, without further presidential ap-proval, “two or three dozen” high-valuetargets. A former CIA official estimated:“There are five hundred guys out thereyou have to kill. There’s no way to sug-arcoat it you just have to kill them.” (Ina quaint historical footnote, on Octo-ber 15, 2001, the Bush administrationrebuked Israel for killing the suspectedplotter of a Tel Aviv terror attack: “It’sthe same position that we’ve said over

The Long Third Warand over again, and that is that we op-pose the policy of targeted killings.”)

The United States certainly killed manysuspected members of al Qaeda dur-ing the operation in Afghanistan to

overthrow the Taliban. However, sur-viving al Qaeda operatives simplywent elsewhere, including just acrossthe Durand Line into the tribal areas ofPakistan. In May 2002, Gen. JohnKeane, commander of the 101st Air-borne Division, vowed: “We have bro-ken their will and they are trying to

establish another safe haven now inPakistan...when the time is right, we

will deal with that one as well.” In-deed, two years later, his predictioncame to pass on June 17, 2004, when a

Hellfire missile killed Taliban com-mander Nek Mohammed, beginningthe CIA campaign of drone strikes inPakistan that continue to this day. Anofficial later claimed Hijazi’s death wasjustifiable “collateral damage” since“he was just in the wrong place at thewrong time.”—Courtesy - FP.

No matter who wins in November, America should getready for 10 more years of drones.

IN the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis prac-tically all European Union countries opted forthe same strategy to put their finances back ontrack: cut spending; increase taxes; reduce defi-cits. Research published by economic thinktankNIESR this week makes the first attempt (to ourknowledge) to estimate the impact of this co-ordinated fiscal consolidation across the EU.What we have found won’t make for pleasantreading in the treasuries of European govern-ments. In “normal times” fiscal consolidationwould lead to a fall in debt-to-GDP ratios, but inthe current circumstances it is likely to be self-defeating for the EU collectively. As a result ofthe deficit cutting plans now in train, debt ra-tios will be higher in 2013 in the EU as a whole,rather than lower. This will also be true in al-most all the individual states (with the excep-tion of Ireland). Coordinated austerity in a de-pression is self-defeating. The implication isthat the strategy being pursued by individualmembers, as well as the EU as a whole, is mak-ing matters worse.

Why so? There are several reasons onemight expect the negative impact of fiscal con-solidation on growth to be greater now. Nor-mally, monetary policy offsets some of the im-pact of fiscal policy. But interest rates are al-

This is a European suicide pactready at exceptionally low levels – and it is farfrom clear that extraordinary measures, such as

quantitative easing and the ECB’s outright mon-etary transactions, are having much impact on

the economy. Second, during a downturn, whenunemployment is high and job security low, agreater percentage of households and firms arelikely to find themselves without access tocredit. And finally, with all countries consoli-dating simultaneously, output in each is reduced

not just by fiscal consolidation, but by that inother countries (through trade links). In the EU,such spillover effects are likely to be large. Fis-cal policy started to achieve the opposite ofwhat was intended in 2011, when deep consoli-dation measures were introduced in Portugal,Ireland and Greece – the three countries on bail-out programmes. Cumulative measures over thethree-year period amount to close to 10% ofGDP in Greece and Portugal and 8% in Ireland.Consolidation measures amounting to between5% and 6% of GDP are planned in France, Italy,Spain and the UK, while only a modest adjust-ment is likely in Germany and Austria. Our esti-

mates are that in those normal times, fiscal con-solidation would have reduced growth, but notby very much except in the bailout countries:the cumulative impact ranging from almost noth-ing in Germany to 8% in Greece and Portugal.The desired objective of reducing deficits anddebt would have been achieved. But taking ac-count of the current environment changes thepicture dramatically: the hit to output in Ger-many is now 2%. In the UK it is 5%; and in

Greece 13%. Still more shocking is the impacton debt-to-GDP ratios – the fiscal consolida-tion was supposed to improve fiscalsustainability; instead, it makes matters worse.And this isn’t true just in extreme cases likeGreece – fiscal consolidation across the EU hasraised debt-to-GDP ratios in Germany and theUK as well. In both the UK and the euro area asa whole, the result of coordinated fiscal con-solidation is a rise in the debt-GDP ratio of ap-proximately five percentage points. For the UK,that means a debt-GDP ratio of close to 75% in2013 instead of about 70%.

—Courtesy - The Guardian.

In normal times in the EU, co-ordinated austerity would lower memberstates’ debt. But instead it’s making things worse.

Al Qaeda operatives also relocated to Yemen. It was onNovember 3, 2002, after a year-long manhunt and several

missed opportunities, that a fusion of human intelligence assetsand signals intercepts pinpointed Abu Ali al-Harithi — an

operational planner in the al Qaeda cell that bombed the USSCole in 2002 and his bodyguards near the Saudi Arabian

border. After determining that Harithi and a group of unknown

men were traveling in an SUV, a CIA Predator drone fired asingle Hellfire missile, killing al-Harithi, four unknownYemenis, and Ahmed Hijazi (otherwise known as Kemal

Derwish) a naturalized U.S. citizen who recruited six men fromLackawanna, New York, to briefly attend an al Qaeda camp in

Afghanistan.

pressed its displeasure of thefailure of the interior secretaryto submit a report on theprovince’s law and order situa-tion. Chief Justice Iftikhar re-marked that the issue was seri-ous and warned against its care-less handling. The bench di-rected the deputy attorney gen-eral to call the interior secretaryalong with the report.

The deputy attorney generalsaid that Attorney General IrfanQadir wanted to present his ar-guments on the matter. Respond-ing to which, the chief justice saidthat the bench had summoned thereport, adding that, the argu-ments would be heard later. Thechief justice moreover remarkedthat everyone with authority wasinvolved in the violation the

Balochistan govtFrom Page 1

insisted his body would actimpartially. “We are even pre-pared to pave the ground for thearmed opposition, be it theTaliban or Hezb-i-Islami, to par-ticipate in the election, either asvoters or candidates,” Manawitold a news conference.

“There will be no discrimi-nation,” the IEC chief added,defending the body in responseto a question about its impartial-ity. Under the IEC timetable, ini-tial results of the election willbe announced on April 24 andfinal results on May 14, with May28 set aside for any potential run-off vote. The 2009 poll, in whichKarzai was reelected over formerforeign minister AbdullahAbdullah, was marred by wide-spread allegations of fraud, andthe credibility of the 2014 voteis seen as key to avoiding an es-calation in violence after the Natowithdrawal. —AFP

Taliban canrun for Afghan

PresidencyFrom Page 1

Meanwhile, the Chinese com-pany which is responsible forcompleting the project has re-fused to operate the high tech tun-nel boring machines (TBM) un-less the insurance cover of $ 15million is arranged. “Now we aretrying from pillar to post to getthe insurance cover of $ 15 mil-lion so that the two TBMs couldbe operated soon. He said thatboth the high tech machines havebeen imported at the cost of $93million and if the said machinesget operational, then Pakistanwould be able to complete theproject by 2016.

Gen Zubair said that projectbadly needs $ 1 billion to getcompleted by 2016 and if thesaid amount is not arranged intime then the project would de-lay and India would easily getthe water priority rights overNeelum river. The Chief Execu-tive told the participants of themeeting that 30 percent work hasgot completed. He said thatChina had committed $ 448 mil-lion which is not yet delivered.

bly is dissolved in January, theconstitutional limit for holdingpolls will be 90 days. As suchthe general elections may beheld by April 26.

Sources in the government,however, without denying thesereports contend that the assem-blies would be dissolved towardsthe end of February and not inJanuary as quoted in the report.“The political setup would bewrapped towards the end of Feb-ruary and the Election Commis-sion would be asked to hold elec-tions within 45 days,” a seniorgovernment figure disclosed. Heexpected polls towards the endof April.

Most rumours about earlyelections started swirling after theElection Commission announcedthe other day that it would com-plete all arrangements for thecoming polls by December 31,2012. After this statement all eyesare fixed on the PPP leadershipand their allies as to when theyopt for elections: before time orafter the assemblies completetheir term. There are also reportsthat the main political stakehold-ers, PPP and PML-N are quietlyengaged in working out the mo-dalities for the future caretakersetup though both are not in anygreater hurry to call electionsbefore time. Both these partieswant to use their stay in powerto consolidate their positions be-fore going into elections.

Though there is no shortageof speculation, the decision toannounce the polls is to be takenby President Asif Ali Zardari andPrime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf, most likely in consulta-tion with their partners in the rul-ing coalition. But nobody is surewhat they have in their minds, noteven their partners. Meanwhile,the PPP leaders do not see anyreason for the party leadership toannounce polls before the presentassemblies complete their tenureby March 16.

“We want the assemblies tomeet natural death. We want tocreate a history by completingour term,” claimed a senior PPPleader while emphasizing,“Elections will be held in May”.PPP’s newly appointed Secre-tary General in Punjab TanvirAshraf Kaira, too maintainedthat elections would not takeplace before time. “A week ortwo earlier before the deadlineof March 16 makes hardly anydifference,” he added.

Assemblies’dissolution

From Page 1Constitution in Balochistan. Hefurther said that if the Constitu-tion was not being implementedin the province then under whatauthority was the Balochistangovernment operating.

The chief justice then held ashort dialogue withBalochistan’s Additional Advo-cate General Azam Khattak. Sub-sequently, Chief Justice Iftikhardirected the Balochistan govern-ment to file a response by 11:30explaining what legal authorityit had to govern the province. Thecourt took a short recess afterwhich the hearing resumedaround 11:30. Upon resumption,the attorney general told thebench that all, including the court,should operate within their con-stitutional limitations. Qadir

moreover stated that the govern-ment would file a review peti-tion against the court’s interimorder which had stated the pro-vincial government had failed toestablish the writ of law and hadlost the authority to govern theprovince in accordance with theConstitution.

Responding to which, Jus-tice Khawaja said that filing areview plea was a right. Further-more, the interior secretaryfailed to appear before thebench with the additional inte-rior secretary seemingly appear-ing as a substitute. The benchexpressed its displeasure on theinterior secretary’s absence andthe chief justice said that thecourt’s directives should betaken seriously.

North America since Sandy madelandfall on Monday, with 67killed earlier as the then-hurri-cane tore through the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, authorities andcitizens in America’s biggest citystruggled to restore vital servicesand clear debris after a wall ofstorm-driven seawater swampedroad and rail tunnels and trig-gered massive fires. “Restoringpower and mass transit remainthe two biggest challenges in thedays ahead,” New York CityMayor Michael Bloomberg toldreporters, as rescue crews andutility workers surveyed anapocalyptic scene.

“This is the end of the down-side, and hopefully from here itis going up,” Bloomberg said.

In the ocean-front Queensneighborhood of Breezy Point,more than 80 houses burned af-ter flooding caused a fire, whilelower Manhattan – New York’siconic high-rise financial center– was blacked out by a massivepower cut.

The New York subway sys-tem, much of which was floodedby seawater, was still gripped bywhat management dubbed itsworst disaster in its 108-yearhistory.

Obama, who faces a toughre-election battle on November6, sent his support.

“America is with you. Weare standing behind you and weare going to do everything wecan to help you get back on yourfeet,” he said.

The president said hewould tour New Jersey onWednesday after Christie, thestate’s Republican governor,reported “unthinkable” devas-tation in submerged coastalcommunities.—AP

Storm-batteredFrom Page 1

IDB dismayedover huge rise

From Page 1 Gujar Khan and said such morerallies would be arranged in nearfuture.

The Prime Minister said thatduring his visit to Saudi Arabiafor the performance of Haj, hemet the leadership of that coun-try and gave them the messageof good wishes from the peopleof Pakistan .

He said Crown PrinceSalman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sahood during the meeting ex-pressed best wishes for Pakistanipeople and accepted an invitationto Pakistan .

About the havoc created bySandy storms in the United Statesthe Prime Minister prayed to theAlmighty Allah to safe each hu-man being from such disasters.He expressed sympathies andsorrows with the victims of the

storms. He said he has askedthe Pakistan embassy to help ourcitizens if they are in any diffi-culty. The Federal Cabinet wasinformed that the economic in-dicators have improved signifi-cantly during tenure of thepresent Government despite dif-ferent challenges and constraints.

Later, briefing newsmenabout proceedings of the cabinet,Minister for Information andBroadcasting Qamar ZamanKaira said as a result of bitterdecisions and prudent economicpolicies the inflation, which stoodat 25% when the Governmenttook over, has come down to8.86%.

The present Government in-creased salaries of the Govern-ment employees by 115% and thecumulative effect of the increase

was 150%. The Information Min-ister said despite record increasein development budget, the Gov-ernment was able to cap its yearlyexpenditure at six percent.

The revenue collection in-creased from one trillion to twotrillion rupees and last year therewas record hike of 21.5% in taxcollection. The Minister pointedout that as against this, perfor-mance of the provincial govern-ment in respect of tax collectionwas dismal. He said provincesgot additional more than 800 bil-lion rupees during the last twoyears under the NFC Award.

The Cabinet appreciated thehard work done by SecretaryWater and Power Nargis Sethi toboost output of power sector as aresult of which load-shedding hasreduced.

General polls to be heldFrom Page 1

ship of the two parties wouldmeet other Leaguers for makingalliance for upcoming polls, thesources claimed. It was also de-cided that the PML-N and PML-LM would give strong resis-tance inside and outside parlia-ment to the government, if ittried to delay the general elec-tions in the country.

Talking to the PML-LikeMinded leaders, Nawaz hopedthat people of the country wouldreject PPP and its allies in up-coming general elections andthey would repose their confi-dence in the Muslim League. Hesaid bad governance, wrongpolicies and inaptness of thepresent government had causedmanifold problems for the coun-

try as well as countrymen.Nawaz said the PML-N is

waging a just struggle to savethe country instead of securingpower. “We believe in politicsof decency and principles andare ready to render any type ofsacrifice in this regard,” he said.

Nawaz said that PML-Ncould take back all those Mus-lim leaguers who would agreeon ideology of the party. He saidthat they would contact other po-litical parties including opposi-tion for making joint politicalstrategy for general elections.

Meanwhile, the PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz has be-gun consultations for the up-coming general elections in thecountry, which is expected next

year. PML-N President NawazSharif chaired a meeting of theparty leaders inRaiwind, attended by PunjabChief Minister Shahbaz Sharif,Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif,Pervaiz Rashid, Ihsan Iqbal,Rana Sanaullah and SardarZulfiqar Khosa and others.

Nawaz Sharif directed theparty leaders to form districtlevel committees as part ofPML-N’s election campaign tomobilise the party on grass rootlevel. Ghaus Ali Shah andArbab Ghulam Rahim wouldform committees in Sindh whileSardar Mehtab Abbasi, IqbalZafar Jhagra, Saleem Saifullahand Pir Sabir Shah in KhyberPakhtunkhwa.

PML-N starts broader consultationsFrom Page 1

ernment committee will con-duct an investigation into theincident. The probe will be bythe provincial governor. SaudiArabia’s ultraconservative codesrequire genders to be separatedat most public events, includingweddings.—AP

23 womenFrom Page 1

dent candidate BarristerZafrullah. Raja Javed Iqbal waselected for the seat of GeneralSecretary.

For the offices of deputypresidents, Tahir Chaudhry fromPunjab, Jamal Khatak fromKhyberpakhtunkhwa, AbdullahKakar from Balochistan andAinuddin from Sindh won thepolls. Supporters of the winningcandidates celebrated their vic-tory with great enthusiasm.

Showing his commitmentand determination, Mian IsrarulHaq said that he would strugglefor the welfare of lawyers with-out any discrimination and bias.

Meanwhile, ex-presidentSCBA Asima Jahangir said thatthe government and judiciaryshould not interfere in the law-yers elections.

About 2592 voters across thecountry used their right of vote.Polling started from 9 am andcontinued till 5 pm.—INP

Israrul Haqwins SCBA

electionsFrom Page 1

Gas (CNG) in Supreme Courton Thursday.

He said that OGRA not onlycomplied with the order of apexcourt as soon as it was receivedbut also obeyed the SupremeCourt’s instructions. He stated

that the current prices would beretained until the court decisionon the new suggestions ofOGRA.

Meanwhile, the LPG pricerises to Rs 3/kg the price of LPGhas been increased by Rs 3 per

kg which was implementedfrom Wednesday four days ear-lier from the schedule time ille-gally.

After the rise of LPG pricethe cost of domestic cylinderwas enhanced to Rs 35 whereasRs 140 has increased on com-mercial cylinder.

Overall price of LPG wasincreased to Rs 2755 per ton .Inthe international market theprice of LPG was swelled to1014 $ from the previous priceof 989 USD per matric ton.—Agencies

OGRA approves new CNGFrom Page 1

forces. Meanwhile Indianofficials have denied reports thatthere was a rush at Indian Em-bassy and Consulates in Afghanfor political asylum by Afghanleaders fearing for their own fu-ture after bulk departure of West-ern forces from Afghanistan.

“We had requested our mis-sion in Kabul to provide us in-puts. They have assured us thatthere is no truth in this,” an offi-cial spokesperson of Ministry ofForeign Affairs of India wasquoted as saying.

Karzai to visitFrom Page 1

KABUL—Eight civilians, includ-ing seven women, were killedin an insurgent roadside bomb-ing in the Musa Qala district ofthe southern Afghan province ofHelmand on Wednesday, theAfghan interior ministry said.Two people were wounded in theattack, the Afghan interior min-istry said in a statement, holdingthe Taliban responsible for theattack. “Eight ofour civilian compatriots, sevenwomen and a man, were killedtoday when their vehicle hit aroadside bomb planted by theTaliban terrorists,” the statementsaid. Roadside bombs, alsoknown as improvised explosivedevices (IEDs), are the deadliestinsurgent weapon used in Af-ghanistan for both the militaryfighting the Taliban and civil-ians.

The crude devices, oftenbuilt on old ammunition, areplanted by the side of roads totarget Nato and Afghan troops

battling the Taliban insurgencyaimed at bringing down Kabul’sWestern-backed government,but they also kill civilians trav-elling on the same roads. TheUnited Nations (UN) said that1,145 civilians were killed in theAfghan war in the first sixmonths of this year, blaming 80per cent of the deaths on insur-gents, with more than halfcaused by roadside bombs.

Last year, a record 3,021 ci-vilians died in the war, the UNhas said, and this year around30 percent of casualties havebeen women and children. Mostof them were victims of road-side bombs. The UN blames in-surgents for 80 percent of thecivilian casualties in 2012, say-ing pro-government forces,which include US-led Nato,were responsible for 10 percent.On Oct 19, a bomb rippedthrough a minibus carryingguests to a wedding in the north-ern province of Balkh, killing 19

people. A day after the Balkhblast, the UN urged the Talibanleadership to enforce their ban onIEDs, announced by the mili-tants’ leader Mullah Omar in1998. IEDs are responsible for alarge percentage of deathsamong the Nato forces helpingfight the Taliban.

Foreign combat troops aredue to withdraw by the end of2014 and there are fears that theTaliban will extend their activi-ties across wider swathes of thecountry against ill-prepared Af-ghan forces. On Friday, a suicidebomber wearing a police uni-form killed 42 people, includingfive children, and wounded 50more at a mosque in northernFaryab province after Eidprayers on the festival of EidulAzha.

It was the worst death toll ina single attack in Afghanistansince 80 died on Dec 6 last yearin a suicide blast at a shrine inKabul on the Ashura. —AP

Afghan roadside bombingkills eight civilians

LONDON—Standard of living inPakistan has further deterioratedas the country stands at number132 among 142 nations of theworld. According to LegatumInstitute London think-tank in2012 Pakistan stands at number132 among 142 countries of theworld. In the prosperity IndexPakistan has declined by 25 pointsin 2012 as compared to 107th po-sition in 2011. India is on number101 and Bangladesh is on num-ber 103. Norway and Denmarkare occupying first and secondpositions respectively for the lastfour years. Sweden climbed tothird place in 2012, up from fifthplace in 2011. The LegatumInstsitute has been issuing theprosperity index for the last sixyears. The index is based oneconomy, trade governance,health, personal freedom, securityand safety factors. Published an-nually for the last six years, theProsperity Index ranks 142 coun-tries based on criteria in eight cat-

Pak position onprosperity index

drops by 25 pointsegories including economicstrength, health, education andgovernance. In the 2012 ranking,Sweden received highest marks inthe “Entrepreneurship and Oppor-tunity” sub-index, ranking secondoverall on the strength of low busi-ness start-up costs, high mobilephone penetration, and a high per-centage of people who believethey will get ahead with hardwork.According to Legatum In-stitute CEO Jeffrey Gedmin, theindex creates a “comprehensivepicture of what makes a countrytruly successful, encompassingtraditional measures of materialwealth, as well as capturing citi-zens’ sense of well-being”.

“GDP alone can never offera complete view of prosperity,”he said in a statement.Accordingto Gedmin, successful countriescombine “social responsibilitywith personal freedom”. Despitecontinuing economic concerns inEurope, European countries domi-nated the top ten. —INP

12 MPAsmembershiprestoredPESHAWAR—ElectionCommission of Pakistan hasrestored provincial assembly’smembership of 12 MPAs ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa after theyrevealed details of assets ownedby them. Sources in ECP toldOnline that of the 12 MPAs,four are provincial ministerswhereas the membership offour other members of KhyberPakhtunkhwa Assembly stillremains cancelled. Themembership of the 12 MPAshas been reinstated after theysubmitted details of their assetswith ECP, they added.—Online

Three brotherselectrocutedPESHAWAR—Three peoplewere electrocuted when a high-voltage electricity line fell ontheir house in Khyber tribalregion. According to sources, ahigh-voltage power line felldown and struck a house inJamrud town of KhyberAgency, killing three brothersand injuring another. Theywere shifted to a localhospital, where they werepronounced dead.—NNI

PIA planedamaged bybird hitSKARDU—A bird on Wednes-day hit Pakistan InternationalAirlines (PIA) plane duringits landing at Skardu airportdue to which it was partiallydamaged. According todetails, PIA Boeing flightwas carrying passengers fromIslamabad to Skardu when abird hit it during landing atSkardu airport; resultantlythe plane received partialdamage. The pilot using hisskills landed the planesafely after the incident atSkardu airport. However,according to sources, theplane was grounded afterthe bird hit and now it wasunfit for the flight.—INP

Gas supply toindustries restoredLAHORE—Sui Northern GasCompany Ltd has announcedthat since supplies fromQadirpur gas field have beenresumed, therefore, gassupply to industrial sectorhas been restored immedi-ately. However, weeklyschedule announced earliershall be followed. Accordingto a press release, gas supplyshall be restored to industriesfor five days from Thursday,Ist October at 6 AM to 6thOctober (6 A.M) to industriesin Faisalabad, Sargodha,Bahawalpur, Multan,Gujranwala, Gujrat, Islamabadand Rawalpindi. —INP

ANKARA—Twenty twogroups have called on the Eu-ropean Union to ban productsmade by Israeli settlers in theoccupied territories, saying aboycott would undercut theireconomic reason for stayingthere.

The EU is Israel’s biggesttrading partner but imports 15times more from occupiedWest Bank-based Israeli set-tlers than from Palestinians, agroup of 22 non-governmen-tal organisations (NGOs) saidon late Tuesday.

“European consumers areunwittingly supporting thesettlements and the attendantviolations of human rights,”the groups said in a report thatcalled for a ban or, at the veryleast, strict labelling rules.

The Palestinians want to es-tablish a state in the occupiedWest Bank, East Jerusalem andbesieged Gaza and say settle-ments steal their own territory.About 311,000 Israeli settlersand 2.5 million Palestinians livein the occupied West Bank.

The EU says settlements areillegal under international law.But the NGOs say EU con-sumption of Israeli cosmetics,dates, herbs and other productsmade in settler areas under-mines the integrity of the EUposition.

The 22 NGOs includedChristian Aid, Ireland’sTrocaire, the Methodist Churchin Britain, the Church of Swe-den, France’s Terre Solidaireand Germany’s medico interna-tional. Other religious NGOs in

Finland, Norway, the Nether-lands, Denmark, Belgium andSwitzerland also took part.

The report urged clearer la-belling rules to help consumersidentify the origin of produce.Such rules already exist in Den-mark and Britain. But theNGOs said a more effectivesolution would be to impose aban on all settler products, amove that only one EU mem-ber state, Ireland, has so farasked for. Israeli settler pro-duce has already divided theUnited States and the UnitedNations. On Oct. 25, the U.N.’sspecial rapporteur Richard Falkcalled for a boycott of compa-nies linked to Israeli settlements,but a U.S. representative at theUnited Nations called the state-ment “irresponsible”.

Palestinian produce fromthe West Bank destined for Is-rael or for export must passthrough Israeli checkpointsand is subject to lengthychecks and procedures. TheNGOs say they increase costsand decrease profitability.

The EU has accused Israelof deliberately curbing eco-nomic development in the oc-cupied West Bank.

In May, EU foreign min-isters said such a policy madeit impossible to create a Pal-estinian state alongside Israel.“Israeli restrictions remain amajor impediment to sus-tainable economic growth,”a spokesman for EU foreignaffairs chief CatherineAshton said on Monday byemail.—Turkish News

22 groups urge EU to boycottIsraeli settlers products

Zardari dual office

LHC adjournshearing till Nov 7

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt (LHC) on Wednesday ad-journed hearing of the contemptof court petition against PresidentAsif Ali Zardari not relinquishingthe political office of PPP co-chairman.

A larger bench of the LHCheaded by Chief Justice Umar AtaBandial heard the case. Counselfor the president in the case,Wasim Sajjad, submitted a requestin the court asking for an adjourn-ment of the hearing, after whichthe court postponed the hearinguntil November 7.

Earlier on October 10, Sajjadhad requested the court for moretime, adding that, he was not em-ploying delaying tactics. Duringthe hearing, the federal govern-ment had informed the court thatthe president did not hold any po-litical office and no prohibitoryorder had been issued by the courtin the past against the president’sdual office. On September 5, thebench had issued a fresh notice toPresident Zardari through his prin-cipal secretary and had sought areply to the petition pleading con-tempt proceedings against him fornot abiding a court order to relin-quish his political office.

Karachi violenceclaims ninemore lives

KARACHI —At least 9 peopleincluding a police constable werekilled in Karachi in different fir-ing incidents.

According to details, a youthwas shot dead during open firingat Baloch Para in Manghopir areawhile a police constable ShujaHussain’s tortured body was re-covered near Civil Hospital. Hewas kidnapped and shot dead af-ter kidnap, said police.

Another youth Rizwan’s tor-tured body was found nearCrown Cinema on MauripurRoad and a woman, Mahnoor’sdead body was recovered froma flat of Falak Naz Plaza onShahra-e-Faisal.

Another person turned vic-tim of firing near Abul HassanIsphani Road in Block-IV ofGulashan-e-Iqbal while a localleader of the ANP, Mian Jan,was shot dead at Merryville inSITE area.—Online

MOSCOW—Gunmen shot deada Muslim religious leader inRussia’s Dagestan region in anattack likely to worsen a spiralof militant violence that threat-ens Moscow’s hold on the res-tive North Caucasus. KarimullaIbragimov was at least the fifthMuslim leader killed this yearin Dagestan following a rise intension between moderate andmore radical Muslims in thesouthern Russian republic.

Unidentified gunmenopened fire on Ibragimov in thetown of Derbent at around 6:30a.m (0230 GMT), Russia’s Inves-tigative Committee said. Localofficials said he had served as animam at an unregistered mosquefrequented by radical Muslims.

“All three died on the spotfrom the gunshot wounds,” thecommittee, a government agencythat handles criminal investiga-tions, said in a statement.

Russian news agencies saidthe gunmen escaped in a car.Dagestan is at the centre of aninsurgency for an Islamic state inthe North Caucasus, more than a

decade after Russian troopsousted a rebel government inneighboring Chechnya and re-stored Moscow’s direct control.Security analysts said the vio-lence could be aimed at spoilingefforts to reconcile moderate andmore extremist Muslims, andprovoke a more forceful ap-proach by Moscow which couldfurther radicalize the population.President Vladimir Putin, who asprime minister in 1999 senttroops to Chechnya, has madeclear he favors a tough approachand will not let religious intoler-ance tear Russia apart.

Russia’s most senior Islamiccleric warned in August that therewas a danger of civil war inDagestan, which is only a fewhundred kilometers (miles)from the city of Sochi whereRussia will host the 2014 Win-ter Olympics. Putin has calledfor unity and has told securityforces to outsmart andoutmuscle Islamist militants toensure the safety of the WinterGames and other events Rus-sia is hosting.—Reuters

Muslim cleric amongfour killed in Dagestan

GENEVA—Kuwait has recom-mended to the Government ofPakistan in front of the UnitedNation Human Rights Councilthat it should further strengthendemocratic institutions withsupport of civil society and me-dia.

The Gulf State also called inits speech to the council on Pa-kistan to continue efforts in thefight against social inequalityand poverty. M a l e kHussein Al-Wazzan, advisor tothe permanent Kuwaiti missionat the UN in Geneva, stressedin his speech on the importanceof Pakistan’s continued efforts

to accelerate the achievement ofthe Millennium DevelopmentGoals, especially those related tohealth and fighting terrorism, re-ported KUNA.

The Kuwaiti diplomat ex-pressed interest in Pakistan’s na-tional report as it shows the greatefforts made to ensure the pro-motion of human rights Kuwaithas also welcomed measurestaken by Pakistan, in this respect,and reaffirms its commitment topolitical openness and to coop-erate closely with the HumanRights Council and its mecha-nisms, despite the challenges ad-dressed by the report.—Online

Kuwait calls on Pak to furtherstrengthen democratic institutions

Religious scholar,writer Maryam

passes awayLAHORE—The Eminent reli-gious scholar and writer BegumMaryam Jameela, who em-braced Islam after being im-pressed by the writings ofMaulana Syed Maudoodi, diedof heart failure here on Wednes-day. Maryam Jameela was bornin a Jewish family of New York.After embracing Islam, shecame to Lahore in 1961 and wasmarried to a JI member Yousufkhan.

She devoted all her life tothe propagation of Islam. Shewas a prolific writer and wrote34 books on Islam, of which “Is-lam in Theory and Practice”, and“Islam and Orientalism”, arewidely known. All of her writ-ings are in English.

She was laid to rest at theSunnat Nagar graveyard in theafternoon. Her Namaz e Janazawas led by Hafiz MuhammadIdrees.

JI leaders who joined theprayer included JI deputy chief,Ch. Muhammad Aslam Saleemi,Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha, MianMaqsod Ahmed, besides hun-dreds of JI workers.

Ameer JI Pakistan SyedMunawar Hasan, JI deputychiefs, Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed,Ch. Muhammad AslamSaleemi, Prof. KhurshidAhmed, Sirajul Haq, JI Secre-tary General, Liaquat Balochand other central leaders of theparty have expressed deep griefover the sad demise of the de-ceased writer. —SANA

Rabbani: Tailorcounter-terrorism

law as perfundamental rights

ISLAMABAD—Mian RazaRabbani on Wednesday said thatPakistan needed a counter-ter-rorism law that would not givethe state powers to undermine thefundamental rights of the people.He was speaking to media repre-sentatives after a session of theParliamentary Committee onNational Security.

A British lawyer and an ex-pert on anti-terrorism laws, LordAlexander Charles Carlyle,also attended Wednesday’ssession of the PCNS held inIslamabad. During the sessionchaired by Senator Rabbani,Lord Carlyle briefed the com-mittee on Britain’s counter-terrorism laws.—Online

Karachi suo motuSC orders land

survey completionin 3 months

KARACHI—The Supreme Courtof Pakistan (SC) during hearingof the Karachi law and order suomotu judgment implementationcase Wednesday ordered to com-plete the survey of governmentlands in three months by employ-ing latest technology. A five-judgelarger bench headed by AnwarZaher Jamali was hearing the caseat SC’s Karachi Registry Wednes-day.

Many high-ranking officialsincluding Chief Secretary SindhRaja Ghulam Abbas, AdvocateGeneral Sindh Abdul Fatah Malik,Additional Chief Secretary Inte-rior Waseem Ahmed and Inspec-tor General (IG) Sindh PoliceMushtaq Shah were present in thehearing.

During the proceedings, Jus-tice Anwar Jamali remarked thatthe government does not need anycourt order to conduct the landsurvey, in fact, it is the duty of thegovernment to safeguard its lands.He said land survey was the Sindhgovernment’s responsibility, add-ing that, a court order should nothave been necessary for it.— INP

Woman heldFAISALABAD—Local police ina raid at Civil HospitalFaisalabad arrested a suspectedwoman allegedly involved innasty and inhuman business ofbuying and selling of new bornbabies. According to details awoman was spotted daringlydistributing pamphlets in thecivil hospital convincing theunder privileged class parentsof the newly born babies tosell their children. Thehospital administration takingnotice of the illegal activitiesof the woman in the premisesof the hospital, informed thepolice, who after reaching thespot arrested her along withthe pamphlets and sent her tolock up. —INP

LAHORE: PML-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chairs a high level meeting with the leaders of PML-Likeminded.Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, AhsanIqbal, Hamid Nasir Chatha, Humayun Akhtar and Saleem Saifullah are present in the meeting.

SKARDU—Dead bodies of twomore soldiers who were buriedlive under an avalanche in theGyari Sector Siachen were recov-ered here on Wednesday after hec-tic search of six months, the totaltally of recovered bodies mountedto 100. According to militarysources, rescuers recovered deadbodies of two more soldiers bur-

Gyari sector: Bodies of twomore soldiers recovered

ied under the big snow mass.It may be mentioned here that

139 soldiers including some civil-ians of 6 Northern Light InfantryBattalion came under a huge snowslide on April 07, 2012 in Gayarisector of Siachen.Dead bodies of100 martyrs have been recoveredso far while search for rest of themwas in progress.—INP

USING a magnetic coil to stimulatethe parts of the brain involved inmemory and learning could help

delay the progression of Alzheimer ’sdisease, according to researchers.The researchers believethat used early in thecourse of the disease, itwould give patients pre-cious extra months of in-dependent living, as wellas time with their lovedones before their physi-cal and mental health de-teriorates.

The technology,known as trans-cranialmagnetic s t imulat ionand developed by Is-raeli firm Neuronix Medi-cal , had already beentried on Alzheimer’s pa-tients, with promising re-sul ts .

In a new test beingconducted in Manches-ter, six patients in the early stages ofthe disease will be having a magneticcoil held over their scalp while they an-swer quest ions, identify shapes andsolve puzzles.

It is hoped that as the magnetic fieldpasses into key brain areas i t wil lstrengthen vital connections betweencells.

In tests on mice, the technique alsoboosted the growth of cells in the hip-pocampus, the brain’s memory hub andone of the first areas to be destroyedby Alzheimer’s.

Brain scans at Manchester Univer-

sity will aim to find out more abouthow it works.

In a small-scale trial in Israel, itproved to be both safe and effective,with signif icant improvements in

some, but not all, tests ofmemory.

“The results showedmarked reversal of dis-ease progression withpatients improving to astate comparable to twoyears before treatmentini t iat ion,” the paperquoted Neuronix Medicalas saying.

“Trials also indi-cated that improvement ismaintained for at least sixmonths post-treatment,”it added.

Professor KarlHerholz, who is test ingthe device in Manchester,said: “We have just fin-ished treat ing the f irst

patient. It’s a promising approach.“We are not offering a cure but a

way to help patients stay independentand have a better quality of life forlonger,” Neuronix Medical’s chief ex-ecutive, Eyal Baror, told the SundayTelegraph.

Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer’sResearch UK, which is helpingfund the Manchester trial, describedthe technique as promising andsaid that any treatment thatcould improve thinking skil ls forpeople with Alzheimer’s would be ‘astep forward’.

Magnets could be usedto ease Alzheimer’s pain

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Morocco Mohammed Rida El Fassi, Ambassador ofAlgeria Dr Ahmad Benflis, Ambassador of Argentine Rodolfo Martin Saravia, Ambas-sador of Switzerland Christoph Bubb, Ambassador of Turkey Babur Hizlan, HighCommissioner of Sri Lanka Air Chief Marshal (r) Jayalath Weerakkody, High Com-missioner of India Sharat Sabharwal, Ambassador of Tunisia Mourad Bourehla, HighCommissioner of Bangladesh Suhrab Hussain, Ambassador of Nepal Bharat RajPaudyal and others at a dinner hosted by the Ambassador of Egypt Said Hindam.—POphoto by Sultan Bashir

RAWALPINDI: A butterfly sitting on a flower in a local park.

Hope for deprived children, elderly and widowsPak-Turk teachers, students reach disadvantaged

CITY REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D —Teache r sand students of Pak-TurkIslamabad Girls Campusvisited several social ser-vice organisations to offerhope to deprived, let themknow that they are notalone and to bring smilesback to them.

The teachers and stu-dents distributed gifts, cashand articles of daily useamong underprivileged chil-dren, elderly, disabled, wid-ows, homeless women, andorphans at Edhi Home, NijatTrust Old Home and Dar-e-Ali Bin Abi Talib.

Parentless and vulner-able children were served in

form of books, fees, and uni-forms to make a positive im-pact in their lives.

At the occasion, manyold, abandoned and widowsshared stories of their lives.They said that no one fromtheir families visited themsince long despite the factthat they had sacrificed ev-erything for their childrenonly to know that they wouldbe thrown in an old-agehome.

Every person, who putsa parent in a home for theaged, should ask himself howhe would feel if his childrendid the same to him when hebecame old, said a widow.

A senior citizen said thatrelations that cannot contrib-ute to family income should

not become a burden andmoney should not be theonly factor to define relation-ships. Elderly people need tobe looked after like a child,throwing them out is againsthumanity and teachings ofIslam.

The disadvantaged ex-pressed their happiness andappreciated the efforts toserve them and bring hopein their dismal lives.

They blessed teachersand students of Pak-TurkIslamabad Girls CampusWelfare Club after they wereassured that they would notbe forgotten.

We are engaged in thishumanitarian work for Al-mighty Allah; we look for-ward to meeting the needs

of many more poor peopleand we are extremely gladfor the increase in the num-ber of people receivinghelp, the teachers said.

They said that out of 50million children under ofage 17 years in Pakistanabout 4.2 million are or-phans, this is our responsi-bility to take good care ofthem and make them suc-cessful in life, they added.

Blessed are those whohave the old with them, it isironical that old people areconsidered a burden. Wehave learnt a lesson to treatthe aged with love and af-fection, the students said.Everyone must realise theimportance of old people inour life.

ISLAMABAD: Students of Pak-Turk School Islamabad Girls Campus distributing giftsamong orphans of Edhi Home.

ISLAMABAD: Ladies taking interest in paintings of Humera during exhibition entitled‘Reminiscence of a Journey’ at Nomad Gallery.

ISLAMABAD—First modernartist after the creation ofPakistan Zubeida Agha re-membered on his death anni-versary today (Wednesday).

Zubeida Agha was bornin 1922 in Faisalabad. In 1944- 46 she started working withB C Sanyal.

Her introverted disposi-tion and concentrated studyof philosophy formed thebackground against which

Zubeida Agha rememberedher abstract ‘idea’ paintingsemerged.

At the Lahore School ofFine Art (1945), Agha begana study of Western art. Inaddition to copying OldMasters, she came into con-tact with contemporary In-dian painting and folk art.

The Society of Fine Artsawarded her first prize formodern painting in 1946. Shewas the first artist in Pakistan

to have an exhibition of mod-ern paintings.

Trained in both Pakistanand Europe, she developedan approach to painting thatreflected her education andexperience.

Her images of landscapesand people are simplifiedforms made with a variety ofvibrant colors reminiscent ofboth Fauvism and Rajputminiatures.—APP

Sukhanwarremembers famous

poetess Samina RajaISLAMABAD—Sukhanwar,a literary organization haspaid rich tribute to the fa-mous poetess Samina Rajain a condolence referenceorganized here on Wednes-day.

Renowned literary fig-ures of twin ci t ies ofRawalpindi and Islamabadlauded the poetic work ofSamina and her untir ingservices for the promotionof literature in the country.

Participants of the ref-erence offered ‘Fatiha’ forthe departed soul of thelate poetess and prayed toAlmighty Allah to rest thedeparted soul in eternalpeace and grant forti tudeto the bereaved family tobear this irreparable losswith fortitude.—APP

Specialprayers forPakistan

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—The specialprayers services will be heldfor prosperity of the countryunder the auspices of Glori-ous Church Prince of PeaceMinistries in collaborationwith local churches ofRawalpindi on Nov 3.

The prayers would startat 5:00 pm at the auditoriumof Rawalpindi Arts Council,Shamsabad.

SHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—The CapitalDevelopment Authority(CDA) has decided to up-grade its website to make itmore people friendly.

All the relevant informa-tion including the decisionsof the CDA Board, relevantrules, procedures and bylawswould be posted on thewebsite to facilitate the pub-lic and boost the efforts forenhancing the level of trans-parency.

Chairman CDA, SyedTahir Shahbaz while presid-ing over a meeting and pre-sentation on new version ofCDA Website said that our

CDA upgrades websitemaking it people friendly

foremost priority is to facili-tate the public, residents ofIslamabad and people inter-acting the authority. All outmeasures would be taken tothis respect including im-provement in public informa-tion delivery system.

Chairman CDA was ap-prised that the upgradedwebsite of the authoritywould provide the facility tothe residents and consumersto see their bills of the watercharges and property tax onthe website and get the printof these bills without anyhassle of going to the rel-evant CDA offices.

Chairman directed the Di-rector Information Technol-

ogy of CDA to get the inputof all the Board Members ina week time for further im-proving the website andpublic information deliverysystem.

He said that all the pub-lic notices, news, releasesand the announcement re-lating to the public shouldbe posted on the CDAwebsite.

He said that the detailprocedures about plot trans-fer, building plans, layoutplans, fire safety and preven-tion regulations, buildingcodes and other informationrelating to the public be pro-vided for information and ref-erence.

NUMLstudents getmedia lab

ISLAMABAD—Students geta media lab to give firstflight to their directorial,editorial, production anddesigning skills beforehovering successfully overthe wide stretch of mediamarket which is the mostcompetitive and least com-promising.

This state of the artMedia Laboratory has beenestablished with the col-laboration of HUDA Devel-opment Organisation andEntrepreneur Global Trust(EGT) for the students ofMass Communication atNational University ofModern Languages(NUML), Islamabad onWednesday.

The both organizationshave been working sincelong for the provision ofmedia laboratories, studios,and infrastructure and im-part education in the filedof Mass Communication tothe academic institu-tions.—APP

Twin-citytransporters

cut faresSTAFF REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—The twin-ci ty transporters ofRawalpindi and IslamabadWednesday cut down theirfares, following a massiveslash in CNG prices on theorders of the SupremeCourt.

According to MediaReports, Muttahida Trans-port Federation chairman,Sultan Awan said that thestop-to-stop fare has beenslashed from Rs16 to Rs13besides within the city op-erating vehicles’ fares for4 to 8 kilometers slashedfrom Rs20 to Rs18, for 8 to14 kilometers from Rs25 toRs21 and for 22 to 30 kilo-meters cut from Rs30 toRs26.

Long route fare has alsobeen reduced by paisa 6 i.e.from Rs1.05 to paisa 99 perkilometer.

ISLAMABAD: Acting US Ambassador Richard E Hoagland called on Interior MinisterRehman Malik.

ISLAMABAD: Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oe with the Pakistani universities stu-dents who will be visiting Japan from 4th to 17th November, under Japan SAARC KizunaYouth Exchange Programme.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

RAWALPINDI: Sajjada Nasheen Eidgah Sharif Pir Muhammad Naqib-ur-Rehman ad-dressing a gathering on occasion of Barhveen Sharif.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Allama IqbalOpen University (AIOU)signed an agreement withCommonwealth of Learn-ing (COL) here on Wednes-day for development ofCurriculum for OpenSchooling System thataims at providing educationat primary and elementarylevel to the drop-out stu-dents throughout thecountry”

Curriculum for open school system

Education to be provided to drop-out students at primary levelThe agreement was for-

mally signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. NazirAhmed Sangi on behalf ofAIOU. Under the agreementthe COL will provide neces-sary financial assistance forthe development of curricu-lum / contents of the readingmaterial to be provided to thestudents.

Director, Bureau of Uni-versity Extension and SpecialProgrammes (BUESP), MirMukhtiar Hussain Talpur

gave a presentation at thesigning ceremony, statingthat COL has agreed to pro-vide necessary funding toAIOU for the establishmentof Open Schooling systemunder which a network ofopen schools will be estab-lished throughout the coun-try. This will provide a sec-ond chance/educational op-portunities to the millions ofdropout school boys andgirls near their homes andwork places.

Under the agreementAIOU will develop the nec-essary course materials forfourteen subjects to be intro-duced at primary and elemen-tary school level.

Addressing on the occa-sion, the Vice-Chancellorsaid that the curriculum de-velopment is a part of over-all arrangement being madefor establishment of OpenSchooling System in Paki-stan in collaboration withCOL. Through this arrange-

ment, the AIOU will help forpromotion of mass educationas well as capacity buildingfor socio-economic educa-tion. The agreement, he saidis a mile-stone towards theestablishment of OpenSchools, through distancelearning system.

The development of skillsbased curriculum is an impor-tant step towards the prepa-ration of open schooling sys-tem. It will broaden access ofbasic education to boys and

specifically girls, who aredropped out due to varioussocio-economic reasons.

Professor Dr. Nazir A.Sangi thanked COL PresidentProfessor Asha Kanwer forapproving the project who ina recent meeting with theProfessor Sangi also assuredfor their all possible supportto the project activities. TheCOL’s education specialistMs. Frances Ferreira who re-cently visited Pakistan hasalready assured to find out

international donors to sup-port the project which willserve as a model for the oth-ers countries to educate thepeople, through distance-learning system.

The COL will also be ex-tending necessary technicalsupport, such as capacitybuilding training, develop-ment of contents/ curricu-lum for open schools thatare to be set up in coopera-tion with the provincial gov-ernments.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira receiving the pilgrims of first Hajj flight atBenazir International Airport. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Syed Sumsam Ali Bokhari is also present.

First Hajj flightarrives at

Islamabad AirportISLAMABAD—PIA’s firstpost-Hajj flight PK-3806 with452 pilgrims on board landedat Benazir International Air-port, Islamabad after twohours delay, on Wednesday.

Federal Minister for In-formation and Broadcasting,Qamar Zaman Kaira, was atthe airport to welcome thepilgrims. A large number ofrelatives were at the airportto greet their loved one andloaded the pilgrims with gar-lands and rose petals.

Some pilgrims taking ad-vantage of the presence offederal minister registeredtheir complaints about thePIA’s Hajj operation.

Talking to media personson the occasion QamarZaman Kaira said that the re-turning Hujjaj did not faceany serious inconveniencesbut their concerns would beremoved.

PIA spokesperson saidthat arrival time of post-Hajjflights may vary due to fac-tors such as rush at JeddahHajj Terminal, late arrival ofpassengers and the luggage,besides the security and im-migrations procedures atJeddah Airport.—INP

ISLAMABAD—The Ministryof Science & Technology isnot involved at any stage inregistration or licensing formanufacturing of Interferoninjection.

According to a statementissued here on Wednesdayby the ministry of scienceand technology, ministry hasclarified that the Registrationand License to manufacturea vital drug like Interferon lieswith Drug RegulatoryAgency of Pakistan and pre-viously this subject was be-ing dealt with by Ministry of

ISLAMABAD—Fifteen Paki-stani universi ty studentsare going to visit Japan un-der the Japan-SAARCKizuna (bond) ExchangeProgram from 4th to 17thNovember, 2012. The stu-dents have been nominatedby their respective univer-sities in Pakistan to partici-pate in this programme.

A total of 120 students(15 from each country) fromthe SAARC countries willbe participating in this in-vitation program to be heldin Japan, an observer coun-try of SAARC.

SAARC KizunaProgramme is a youth ex-change project between Ja-pan and SAARC countriesto reaffirm and strengthenthe bond between Japanand SAARC countries, allof which have provided nu-merous assistance and en-couragement following the

Pak students to visit Japanunder exchange programme

Great East Japan Earth-quake in March 2011.

During the visit, partici-pants are expected todeepen their understand-ing on Japan’s reconstruc-tion efforts through visitsand volunteer activities inthe disaster affected areas.

Through various visitsand activi t ies, includingthose in disaster-affectedareas, Kizuna Project aimsto promote people topeople exchange betweenJapan and SAARC coun-tries as well as contrib-ute to reconstruction ef-forts in disaster-affectedareas.

Mr. Hiroshi Oe, Ambas-sador of Japan, handedover travel documents tothe selected students fromPakistan in an orientationceremony held Wednesdayhere at the Embassy of Ja-pan.—INP

Health. According to theCommittee of Experts of thedevolved Ministry of Health,the Scientists involved inpreparation of Interferon didnot establish safety, efficacyor quality of the said drugthrough standard scientificmethods or criteria or proto-cols for clinical trials and re-quired bio-safety studies be-fore clinical trials on humanbeing.

It is stated that this is-sue remained under discus-sion and review of the Com-mittee of Experts headed by

former Director GeneralHealth, Ministry of Healthwhich sought scientific evi-dence from the relevant sci-entists of CEMB.

Since the purported prod-uct Injection Interferon Al-pha 2A was at the initial trialstage, hence determinationof any cost effectivenesswas premature.

The Ministry of Healthhad allowed Center of Excel-lence in Molecular Biology ofMinistry of Education to pro-duce Interferon for clinicaltrial during 2008.—Online

MoST not involved inregistration of Interferon

Three includingtwo womenkidnapped

RAWALPINDI—At leastthree persons including twowomen were abducted in dif-ferent areas here the otherday.

In first incident, AliAsghar told to Westridgepolice that some unknownperson abducted his cousinMuhammad Riaz from DhokeHameeda In other incident,Muhammad Ishtiaq told theWestridge police that Amir,Tayyab, Nauman, Rukhsana,Shamus, Sultan Mehmoodand Muhammad Taj kid-napped his daughter Nadia.

Meanwhile, MuhammadAli told the Civil Line policestation that his daughterRozina Bibi and wife ofMuhammad Riaz was work-ing in CDA Islamabad. Shewent to office but did not re-turn. It is suspected thatTariq electrician had ab-ducted him.—Online

CITY REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—Commutershave termed the U-turns onFaisal Avenue, near ZeroPoint Interchange, JinnahSuper and surroundingsimproper and prone to fa-tal accidents.

Zero tolerance for traf-fic rules violation fall flatas traffic police have failedin their implementation.

The public transportvehicles plying variousroads of the twin ci t ieshave been noticed violat-ing traffic rules, which con-tr ibute to accidents, butthe traffic police personnelwere playing the role of si-lent spectators.

Over speeding, over-loading, misbehaving withcommuters and violat ionof traff ic rules have be-come a routine for publictransporters operat ing in

U-turns near Zero Pointprone to fatal accidents

the twin cities, which cre-ates problems and inconve-nience for both onboardcommuters and other mo-torists .

Public t ransportersusually hold ‘drag races’on busy roads in order toget maximum number ofpassengers, and wheneverasked to slow down anddrive carefully, they startmisbehaving with commut-ers.

Meanwhile, commutershave termed the U-turns onFaisal Avenue, near ZeroPoint Interchange, JinnahSuper and surroundingsimproper and prone to fatalaccidents .

It is a common sight thatpassenger vans while tak-ing U-turns do not careabout the traff ic comingfrom the opposite side, es-pecially the motorcyclists,which causes accidents.

Anti car robberyunits to be set up

RAWALPINDI—Rawalpindipolice will set up anti car lift-ing cell and anti house rob-bery units to counter grow-ing car lifting and dacoitiescrimes. These cells will be es-tablished in the police circleswherein car lifting and houserobbery incidents are on rise.

In the first phase these cellswill be set up in New Towncircle, Civil Lines circle, CanttCircle, Waris Khan Circle,Sadar Circle and Taxila Circle.

Plan has been evolved inthis regard and every unit willbe manned by 20 police per-sonnel and these units willfunction directly under thesupervision of DSP of the re-spective circle. The staff to bedeployed in these units will beassigned no other duty excepteliminating car lifting andhouse robberies crimes. Thestaff members of these cellswill be responsible for preven-tion of car lifting, arrest of carlifters and robbers and recov-ery of stolen vehicles in theirrespective areas.—Online

Collapsedbridges pose lifethreat to citizensISLAMABAD—Two collapsedbridges on the highway in-tervening between Taramarichowk and Khanna Pull haveposed life threat to the citi-zens. These two bridges hadoutlived their appointed lifeterm and collapsed sincemore than three years. TheCDA has closed down thesebridges and diverted the traf-fic flow on one way basis.

Vehicular traffic has in-creased manifold on this high-way and non reconstructionof these bridges have notonly slowed down the trafficflow to zero rated level but alsoled to multiply road accidents.

Several vehicles and mo-tor cyclists and pedestrianshave sustained serious injuriesafter falling from these bridgesduring their bid to cross them.Some fatal incidents have alsotaken place but no one respon-sible is ready to pay heed to-wards reconstruction of thesebridges.—Online

Govt to ensuresecurity of foreigndiplomats: Malik

ISLAMABAD—Federal inte-rior minister Senator RehmanMalik has said that the gov-ernment will provide fool-proof security to the envoysworking in Diplomatic En-clave, Islamabad.

In a meeting with actingUS ambassador RichardHogland held here onWednesday, he said the for-eign diplomats are guests ofPakistan, and the Pakistanigovernment will try its levelbest to provide security tothem. Malik also expressedgrief over the destruction andloss of lives caused by Sandystorm in the US.—Online

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—The life ofHazrat Ibrahim (AS) teachesMuslims the lesson of trulyabiding by the command-ments of Almighty Allah andteachings of the HolyProphet (peace be upon him).

“Islam is a universal reli-gion, which teaches its follow-ers the lesson of unity, peaceand security,” said PirMuhammad Naqib-ur-Rehman,custodian of Eidgah shrine,while addressing monthly con-gregation of Barhveen Sharif atEidgah Sharif here. On the oc-casion, recitation of the HolyQuran was also arranged inconnection with the death an-niversary of the mother of PirMuhammad Naqib-ur-Rehman.

A large number of devo-tees of Eidgah shrine, reli-gious scholars and spiritualfigures participated in therecitation of the Holy Quran.Pir Naqib-ur-Rehman saidthat the appeal for forgingunity and creating harmonyamong the Muslims made byKhadim-e-Harmain SharifainKing Abdullah bin AbdulAziz on the occasion of Hajis the key to ridding the Mus-lims of the world of the prob-

Islam teaches Muslims lessonof peace, unity: Pir Naqib

lems and overcoming thechallenges facing them.

He said that the offer ofSaudi cooperation in everyfield made by the Saudi kingin his meeting with Pakistanprime minister is evident ofhistorical religious and spiri-tual relations between thetwo countries.

The custodian of Eidgahshrine said that the Muslimscould overcome their prob-lems by making the life of theHoly Prophet (peace be uponhim) guiding principle of theirlives and by making MedinaMunawwara centre of theirgravity. He said that all saintsand spiritual figures alsospread the message of broth-erhood, affection and promo-tion of Islam.

Those who attended thecongregation included MuftiMuhammad Sulaiman Rizvi,Allama Pir Masood AhmedHassan (Faisalabad), AllamaShafi-ul-Qadri, Allama GhulamAli Qamar, Allama ProfessorGA Haq, Allama Abu BakarChishti, Allama Syed Arif ShahGilani, Qari Salim Shahzad, Pa-kistan Muslim League-Nawazleader and prominent socialfigure Dr Jamal Nasir and MPASyed Ziaullah Shah.

Boys High Schoolmade dysfunctional

RAWALPINDI—Departmentof Education, Rawalpindi,has ordered closure of Gov-ernment Boys High School,Saddar due to financial crisisin the province andrationalisation policy.

Sources said that the de-cision has affected the futureof 350 students previouslystudying in the school. Theparents of the students haveprotested against the steptaken by the Education De-partment.

EDO Education holds thestance that Government PakIslamia Girls ElementarySchool will be shifted in thebuilding of the Boys HighSchool, Saddar, however, theparents of the respective stu-dents have objected to this.

Education DepartmentRawalpindi has merged 67schools into one another butcontrarily the Boys HighSchool, Saddar has madedysfunctional once for all.—Online

Streetlights out oforder in Rawal

TownR A W A L P I N D I — T h estreetlights installed in Rawaltown area have become dys-functional plunging severalunion councils into darknessand creating inconveniencefor the residents.

The residents of unioncouncil 35, 34, 33, 37 and 16complained that the out oforder streetlights poses prob-lem for them while the inci-dents of street crimes havealso increased in their areas.

Resident of Karimpura,UC 35 Sheikh MahmoodAkber while talking to APPsaid that they have com-plained to the TownMuncipal administration andto the Town officer (I&S )several times but to noavail.—APP

HSSC suppleexams from Nov 6

ISLAMABAD—The HigherSecondary School certificate(HSSC) Supplementary Ex-aminations of the FederalBoard of Intermediate andSecondary Education wouldbe held from November 06.

The Roll Number slips ofall the regular candidates ofHSSC Part-I appearing in thesaid examination have beendispatched to their institu-tions and those of Ex/privatecandidates on their addresses.

In case, the Roll Numberslips is not received by anycandidate h e/she should im-mediately contact controller ofexaminations (conduct) at tele-phone 051-9250606; Fax 051-9250607; Deputy Controller ofExaminations (HSSC Conduct)051-9250619; Assistant Con-troller of Examinations (HSSCConduct) 051-9250641; Assis-tant Secretary,One Windowcell 051-9250651—APP

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November 1

PUBLIC talk on ‘A Secu-rity Architect for SouthAsia’, speaker: Dr FarooqSobhan, organised by theinstitute of StrategicStudies, at the institute ofStrategic Studies, SectorF-5/2, Islamabad, 11:30 amto 1 p.m.

November 2

THE Iqbal InternationalInstitute for Research &Dialogue (IRD) of the In-ternational Islamic Uni-versity, Islamabad (IIUI)is organizing a lecture on“Tablighi Jammat as a“Global Religious Serviceprovider” in differentCultures and Continents”on Friday, November 02,at 11:00 AM, in the Semi-nar Room of Islamic Re-search Institute (IRI),Faisal Masjid Campus,Islamabad.

*****PAKISTAN NationalCouncil of the Arts hasscheduled ‘Sham-e-Mausiqui’ at 7 pm atPNCA Auditorium, F-5/1,Islamabad. Renownedsingers Nida Faiz,Shaukat Manzoor,Gulshan Jahan & AltafMehdi will perform.

November 8

ALUMNI AssociationNational Institute of Psy-chology (AA-NIP) in-vites you to come andjoin on Annual AlumniDinner at 4:30 to 10:00 pm.Venue: Geo Physics Au-ditorium, QAU,Islamabad Programme.

November 10

GENERAL Body Meetingof the Human ResourceDevelopment Network atthe HRDN Secretariat,House No. 41, Street 56,F-6/4, Islamabad.

MUZAFFARABAD: President People’s Party, Muzaffarabad district, Akhtar Pervez Awanhanding party notification to PYO head Shujaat Abbas.

MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Tourism Minister Salaam Butt presiding over departmental officers meeting.

OIC reiterates support to Kashmiris’ right to self-determinationMembers of the

Organisation ofI s l a m i cCooperation’s

Contact Group on Kashmir in ameeting in New York, on Sep-tember 26, 2012, renewed theirsupport for the Kashmiris’struggle for securing their in-alienable right to self-determi-nation. They stressed the needfor a peaceful settlement of theKashmir dispute in accordancewith the aspirations of the peopleof Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting, held under thechairmanship of the OIC Secre-tary General, ProfessorEkmeleddin Ihsanoglu, on thesidelines of the 65th session ofthe UN General Assembly, wasattended by foreign ministers ofPakistan, Turkey and SaudiArabia besides a senior delegateof Niger.

Opening the meeting, theOIC Secretary General reaf-firmed the principled position of

the OIC in fully supporting thepeople of Jammu and Kashmir intheir just struggle.

Speaking at the meeting, Pa-kistan Foreign Minister, HinaRabbani Khar, said that the indig-enous movement of the Kashmiripeople had gained momentumover the past few years. At thesame time, she deplored the factthat even after the passage of oversix decades the Kashmiri peoplehad been denied their right to self-determination.

Hina Rabbani Khar told theContact Group that the interna-tional community must come for-ward to fulfill its promises madewith the people of Jammu andKashmir. She said that despitetheir long and strenuous struggle,the Kashmiri people had not givenup hope. She said that the use ofbrute force and oppressive lawshad not been able to crush theKashmiris’ spirit to get rid of ille-gal occupation of their homelandby India.

The Pakistan foreign minis-ter urged India to exercise re-straint, accept Jammu and Kash-mir as an international dispute,and ensure that there were no fur-ther killings. She also demandedprobe into the unnamed massgraves discovered in occupied

Kashmir, early release of politi-cal prisoners and bringing to jus-tice the Indian troops and policepersonnel involved in torture,murders and other human rights

violations in the territory.Khar emphasized that the

Pakistani leadership was commit-ted to peace, prosperity and de-velopment of the region and find-ing a just and peaceful resolutionof the lingering dispute throughdialogue in accordance with the

wishes of the Kashmiri people, asenvisaged in the relevant UNresolutions.

Talking about the sufferingsof the Kashmiris, she said that the

Indian forces had shown little re-gard for the concern of the inter-national community over the hu-man rights abuses. She told thedelegates, which also included theAll Parties Hurriyet ConferenceChairman, Mirwaiz UmarFarooq, and President of AzadJammu and Kashmir, SardarMuhammad Yaqoob Khan, thatPakistan was convinced that thekey to enduring peace and secu-rity in South Asia lied in resolv-ing the Kashmir problem.

She said that during IndianForeign Minister, SM Krishna’srecent visit to Islamabad, she un-derscored Pakistan’s desire for apurposeful and result-orienteddiscussion on the Kashmir dis-pute, and that the true representa-tives of the Kashmiri people beassociated with the dialogue pro-cess. She pointed out that therewas some progress in the fieldsof trade and cross-LoC confi-dence building measures betweenPakistan and India. However, she

MUZAFFARABAD: Director Education (Retd) Rakhshinda Nadeem receiving a gift onbehalf of Girls Guides Association, AJK.

stated that these CBMs wouldprove short-lived if the core is-sue of Kashmir was not settled.

Deputy Foreign Minister ofSaudi Arabia, Prince Abdulazizbin Abdullah, and the senior del-egate of Niger also called for apeaceful settlement of the de-cades-old Kashmir problemthrough the ongoing dialoguebetween Pakistan and India withthe involvement of Kashmiripeople in the process. They citedthe UN resolutions as the basisfor resolving the dispute.

Pakistan’s efforts for a ne-gotiated resolution of the disputewere also supported.

The APHC Chairman,Mirwaiz Umar Farooq briefingthe meeting on the situation inoccupied Kashmir called uponthe OIC to play more effectiverole for bringing an end to theatmosphere of repression anddenial of fundamental freedomsin occupied Kashmir. He saidthat he had come to attend this

meeting with the message ofKashmiri people who had re-mained victims of internationalneglect and double standards ofthe powerful nations. He said thatthe Kashmiris were part of theglobal family and as such theydeserved support of the world inachieving their fundamentalrights.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq saidthat the Kashmiris welcomed thetalks between Pakistan and India.However, he deplored that despitethe continuation the dialogue pro-cess between the two countries,the human rights scenario in theoccupied territory had notchanged. He suggested that thedialogue should be time-framed,based on ground realities, and theauthentic Kashmiri leadershipshould be made an inseparablecomponent of this engagement tomake it meaningful and result-oriented.

He also appreciated the posi-tive role of the OIC to keep the

Kashmir dispute on the inter-national radar screen and pass-ing a number of resolutionsduring the different foreignministers’ conferences andsummit meetings.

The people of Kashmirhave been facing the worstkind of Indian state terrorismfor the past sixty-five yearsfor challenging its rule anddemanding their right to self-determination. It is a fact thatIndia has miserably failed tosuppress the Kashmiris’ juststruggle through its militarymight. This is high time forthe OIC to understand thatmere rhetoric would notwork. The august body mustcome forward in a big wayand take some solid steps tomitigate the sufferings ofKashmiri people by forcingNew Delhi to resolve theKashmir dispute in accor-dance with the people ofJammu and Kashmir.—KMS

SRINAGAR—The All PartiesHurriyet Conference has de-manded demilitarisation ofJammu and Kashmir, revoca-tion of all draconian laws, re-lease of political prisoners, anend to human rights violationsand restriction on free move-ment of Hurriyet leaders in theterritory.

The APHC leaders madethe demand during a meetingwith a delegation of an Indiancivil society group, Centre forPolicy Analysis at APHC head-quarters in Srinagar. The del-egation was headed by promi-nent Indian writer, SeemaMustafa. The APHC leaderswere led by Mirwaiz UmarFarooq and other Hurriyet lead-ers who were present in the

APHC presses for demilitarisation,black laws repeal

‘World failed to fulfil its Kashmir promises’meeting included NayeemAhmad Khan, Mukhtar AhmadWaza, Zafar Akbar Butt,Yasmeen Raja, Hakeem AbdurRasheed and Musaddiq Aadil.

The Hurriyet leaders saidthat the worst human rights vio-lations including massacre ofinnocent people, arbitrary ar-rests and custodial deaths werebeing perpetrated by Indiantroops and police personnel tointimidate the Kashmiri peopleinto submission. The veteranKashmiri Hurriyet leader, SyedAli Gilani addressing an EidMilan party in Srinagar said thatthe world community had failedto fulfil its commitment to theKashmiris. He appealed to theIslamic world to prevail uponNew Delhi to stop application

of nefarious tactics against thepeople of Kashmir.

Speakers at a daylong semi-nar, which was held at the Kash-mir University in Srinagarthrough a unanimously passedresolution called for repeal ofblack laws including ArmedForces Special Powers Act andPublic Safety Act and indepen-dent investigation into the inci-dents of violence againstwomen during the past 23 yearsin the occupied territory.

Besides noted Indian jour-nalist Seema Mustafa, promi-nent among others who spokeon the occasion were vice-chan-cellor of Kashmir University,Professor Talat Ahmed, DrHameeda Nayeem, SabehaFarooqi, Parveena Ahangar,

Syed Shakeel Qalandar andMubeen Shah.

Liberation leaders,Muhammad Yasin Malik,Shabbir Ahmad Shah, AasiyaAndrabi and High Court BarAssociation of occupied Kash-mir in their separate statementscondemned the uploading ofblasphemous images on the so-cial networking website,Facebook by some anti-Islamelements at Chattru inKishtiwar.

The Amnesty Internationalin a statement issued in Srinagarurged the authorities in occu-pied Kashmir to immediatelyrelease an 18-year-old youth,Muhammad Mubarakh Butt,detained under black law, Pub-lic Safety Act.—KMS

Shah: India can’tweaken liberation

movementSRINAGAR—Senior leader ofthe All Parties Hurriyet Con-ference (APHC), ShabbirAhmad Shah has said that In-dia cannot weaken the ongo-ing Kashmir liberation move-ment through use of bruteforce.

Shabbir Ahmad Shah in astatement issued in Srinagarexpressed serious concernover the plight of illegally-de-tained Kashmiri Hurriyet lead-ers and activists languishing indifferent jails of India and theoccupied territory and de-manded their immediate re-lease.

He also denounced the oc-cupation authorities for slap-ping draconian law, PublicSafety Act (PSA) on Hurriyetleader, Masarrat Aalam Butt.He added that the court hadtime and again quashedMasatrat Aalam Butt, but thepuppet administration was notreleasing him and prolonginghis illegal detention throughdifferent tactics.

Shabbir Ahmad Shah saidthat some elements werespreading sectarianism in theterritory to suppress Kashmirliberation movement but theywould never succeed in theirnefarious designs. He said thatthe people of Kashmir wouldcontinue their struggle tillcomplete success.—KMS

JKNPP getsnew chief

JAMMU—Jammu and KashmirNational Panthers Party(JKNPP), which was launchedin JK as a regional party in1982, got a new chairman as itschairman Bhim Singh, who ledthe party for 30 years opted outof the presidential race.

In a statement, Bhim Singhsaid: “I have opted out for therace of chairman of PanthersParty and have nominatedHarsh Dev Singh as leader ofthe legislature party and chair-man of the JKNPP.”

Harsh Dev Singh is BhimSingh’s nephew. The PanthersParty is supported mainly in ar-eas of the Jammu region. Theparty has three legislators out of87 members in the JK assem-bly.

Two members are fromUdhampur district and one isfrom Samba. According to theparty spokesperson, a 17-mem-ber core group would assist thenew chairman.—NNI

Geelani aninstitution:

Hakim YasinSR I N A G A R —Descr ib ingHurriyat (G) Chairman Syed AliShah Geelani as an institutionin himself, MLA Khansahib andformer minister HakeemMuhammad Yaseen has saidthat the Government must con-sider the Amaranth route issueraised by him and sort it outthrough dialogue.

Talking to KNS, Yaseen saidthat Geelani has his own imagein the public and cannot be ig-nored at any cost. “Geelani is aninstitution within himself and noone can ignore this fact,” saidYaseen.

Talking about the issue ofmacadamization of Amarnathroute, Yaseen said that the agita-tion in year 2008 was also starteddue to same issue. He said thatthe issue needs to be resolved onthe table.—NNI

JKAACL to holdconference on

Kashmiri languageSRINAGAR—Jammu andKashmir Academy of Art, Cul-ture and Languages (JKAACL)is organizing a two-day confer-ence ‘Kashmiri language – chal-lenges and opportunities’ fromWednesday (October 31).

In a statement a spokes-man of the Academy said theConference will be inaugu-rated by Minister for Finance,Abdul Rahim Rather at theInstitute of Hotel Manage-ment, Raj Bagh.

Prominent writer and critic,Ghulam Nabi Aatish will de-liver the keynote address whileJnanpith awardee poet, Prof.Rehman Rahi would read outthe theme paper of the Confer-ence.

Others who will presenttheir papers during the Confer-ence include Ghulam NabiKhayal, Prof. Shafi Shouq,Prof. Margoob Banihali, Dr.Ratan Lal Talashi, Dr. AzizHajni and Dr. Nazir Azad.

Prominent writers ofKashmiri language from withinand outside state are scheduledto attend the Conference as ob-servers.

The Conference will delib-erate on issues related to theKashmiri language rangingfrom journalism, curriculum,computerisation, academics andtranslation.

Each paper reading will befollowed by an open-house dis-cussion and question-answersession.

The conference will have aKashmiri mushaira as the con-cluding event in which notedpoets will participate.—NNI

S R I N A G A R — C h a i r m a nHuriyat Confrence Syed AliShah Geelani has expressed hisdeep anguish and concern overthe continues preplanned vio-lence against Minority Muslimcommunity in Zanaskar Kargil,and desecration of Islam andthe Holy personals by somemiscreants in Doda.

In press statement spokes-man Huriyat Confrence AyazAkbar quoting Syed Geelanithat due to the negligence andcriminal silence and offering adeliberate cover to miscreantsin Jammu & Kashmir, the situ-ation is very tense and alarm-ing. Syed Ali Geelani stressed,the men in power to punish theculprits and take stern actionthat are bent upon to create asectarian conflict in the valley.The administration should take

Geelani expresses anguishover violence against Muslims

measures to protect the prop-erty and precious lives inZanaskar.

Ayaz Akbar spokesman ofconglomerate quoted Syed AliGeelani that Indian authoritiesand its various agencies arebent upon to create wedgeamong the freedom lovinggroups and has planned toSabotage the on-going move-ment and also deviate the in-terest and attention of massesfrom the freedom struggle.They want to dilute the coreissue with that of sectarian vio-lence, added spokesman.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani hasexpressed his anxiety that sec-tarian powers have made theJammu as their basement.

They want to create confu-sion so that the opinion of theworld community is divided and

influenced. Geelani added, it isa common sight to see the out-siders in the garb of religiouspreachers in temples of Jammu.The information pouring is thatthey have assembled and madestores of ammunition and armsin the religious places. Hailingthe people of Doda for theircourage against these fascistforces. Geelani said ‘’we salutethem for their true faith. We as-sure them Geelani added, ’thatthey are not alone, ’we standwith them. Do not let loose yourspirits added Geelani while ad-dressing to people of Doda.

Reiterating his demand totake right steps and assure andmake secure the lives and prop-erty of Zanaskar Muslims. Heappealed the both communitiesto maintain peace and harmonyin the region. —NNI

SRINAGAR—Both the factions ofHurriyat Conference have lashedout at the occupied authorities fornot allowing chairmen of the bothfactions Mirwaiz Umer Farooqand Syed Ali Shah Geelani to of-fer Eid congregational prayers atEidgah and arresting them.

“Mirwaiz was placed underhouse arrest on Eid eve and wasnot allowed to move out to offerEid prayers. Its direct interferencein the religious affairs, It is deplor-able,” a spokesman of Hurriyat(M) said in a statement.

“Placing Mirwaiz underhouse arrest on Eid Day has hurtthe sentiments of Kashmiris. Wecondemn this act of the authori-ties. Government should change itsanti-Islam, anti–social and un-

Hurriyat factions deplorecurbs on Mirwaiz, Geelani

democratic policies. If it fails to doso it can have far reaching conse-quences,” he added.

The spokesman said asMirwaiz was detained on October27, he could not pass a resolutionin connection with the day. “Theresolution was presented by an-other senior Hurriyat leader HakimAbdul Rashid before the largegathering of people and it waspassed,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Hurriyat Con-ference (G) also condemned thearrest of Syed Ali Shah Geelani onEid-ul-Zuha and the writing ofprophet Muhammad (SAW)’sname on the fire crackers.

“Geelani Sahab was arrestedand not allowed to offer Eidnamaz. It has now become a rou-

tine and direct interference in thereligious activities…Martial lawhas been imposed in Kashmir, andpolitical and religious activities ofGeelani Sahab are disallowed,” theconglomerate said in a press state-ment issued here.

The Hurriyat (G) had askedpeople to protest peacefully onOctober 27—the day on which Eidwas celebrated in Kashmir—against the landing of military inKashmir on the same day in 1947.It has hailed the people for pass-ing resolution against the presenceof military in Kashmir.

The conglomerate said that thewriting of Prophet Muhammad(SAW)’s name on the fire crackerwas a clear attempt to enrage theMuslims in Kashmir..—NNI

SRINAGAR—Women fromdifferent walks of life includingprominent civil society activistsfrom outside the territory de-manded demilitarisation andrepeal of draconian laws, ArmedForces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) and Public Safety Act(PSA) in Kashmir.

The women activists in aseminar also sought indepen-dent investigation into the inci-dents of violence in the territoryagainst women during the past23 years. The seminar “Peaceand Justice for KashmiriWomen” was organised by thecivil society group—Centre for

Women activists forend to savage laws

Policy Analysis at KashmirUniversity.

Academician and Chairper-son of Kashmir Centre for So-cial and Development Studies(KCSDS), Dr HameedaNayeem said that Kashmir hadbeen subjected to a range of leg-islative provisions like AFSPA,NSA, PSA, TADA etc in effectsuspending all human rights.

“This has resulted in grossviolations of human and demo-cratic rights of citizens and pro-duced a huge army of victimsof physical and sexual abuseparticularly women besides kill-ing thousands of people and

destroying homes and hearth ofmillions of people in the state,”she said. Women activist fromNew Delhi, Sabeha Farooqi saidthat the trauma and sufferingsof womenfolk in the occupiedterritory was a slur on the faceof New Delhi.

The Chairperson of Asso-ciation of Parents of Disap-peared Persons (APDP),Parveena Ahangar on the oc-casion drew the attention ofthe participants towards theplight of Kashmiri womenwhose kith and kin have beensubjected to enforced disap-pearance since 1990.—KMS

SRINAGAR—Underscoring theneed for unity among pro-freedomKashmiri leaders, DemocraticFreedom Party (DFP) Chairman,Shabir Ahmad Shah has appealedthe United Jihad Council Chair-man Syed Salahuddin to interveneand play a role in the unificationof separatists.

Talking to KNS, Shah said theUJC Chief can play a vital role insorting out of differences betweenfreedom-loving Kashmiri leaders.“I appeal UJC Chairman SyedSalahuddin to intervene for theunification of the Hurriyat leader-ship. We are fighting for the samecause and unification of the pro-freedom leadership across theboard is in the interest of thecause”, Shah said.

He said the Hurriyat (G)Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani

Shabir wants Salahuddin tounite pro-freedom leaders

should have consulted other resis-tance leaders before threatening thegovernment with launching anagitation after Eid-ul-Azha againstthe proposed construction of mac-adamized road to the Amarnathcave.

He said the agitation threat byGeelani was not issued after con-sultation with other leaders of theseparatist camp or the HurriyatConference. “Geelani Sahab hasneither contacted us nor consultedus. In my opinion, he should havecontacted Mirwaiz Sahab, MalikSahab and other Hurriyat leadersas we are all fighting for the samecause”, said Shah. On the proposedmacadamization of the Amarnathroute, he said that media has re-ported the news in detail and thatmore investigations were going onfrom Hurriyat side into the reports.

Shah said Kashmiris haveproved best hosts to the Yatris andwould continue to do so. “We’reready to carry them (Yatris) on ourshoulders to the cave,” Shahadded. He said that the control ofthe Amarnath Shrine Board shouldbe given to Kashmiri Pandits. “Ithink there is hardly any Kashmirimember in the Shrine Board”.

On the apology tendered byMirwaiz Umar Farooq to thefamilies of martyrs for not be-ing able to do enough for them,he said that it was the responsi-bility of resistance leadership toreach them. “I appreciate thestatement of Mirwaiz Sahab, hehas shown sincerity towards thenation”, said Shah. He wasquick to add that for reachingout to them, Hurriyat has to beinstitutionalized.—NNI

You are your greatestasset. Put your time,effort and money intotraining, grooming,

and encouraging yourgreatest asset.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan con-tinues to show stability onthe Financial DevelopmentIndex of the World Eco-nomic Forum (WEF) on theindicators; cost of closing abusiness, where the rank of5 was maintained, alsoshowing stability in fre-quency of banking crisesand output loss duringbanking crises, FinancialDevelopment Report 2012,of the Forum unveiled onWednesday. According toWEF report 2012, Pakistan

again secured the top rank of1 among 62 economies; simi-larly on the public ownershipof banks, which is a percent-age of assets held by the 10largest banks that is locatedin banks that are more than25 percent governmentowned, Pakistan again se-cured the top rank of 1.

The report, however ob-served that Pakistan facestough challenges on devel-oping its financial markets. Itadded that Pakistan ranks at58 out of 62 economies in theFinancial Development Indexof 2012, losing 3 points from

its position of 55 in 2011.The Financial Develop-

ment Report 2012 depictscommercial and retail accessto finance shrinking in Paki-stan. Financial systemsacross the world are stagnat-ing, leading to challenges fora global economic recovery,according to the fifth editionof the World EconomicForum’s Financial Develop-ment Report 2012 released onWednesday.

“The Financial Develop-ment Report shows that fi-nancial systems in ad-vanced and emerging

economies are stalling”,said Giancarlo Bruno, Se-nior Director at the WorldEconomic Forum. “Macro-economic uncertainty, aswell as concerns related toregulation, contributes toinhibiting the financial in-dustry from funding much-needed growth.” AmirJahangir, Chief ExecutiveOfficer - Mishal Pakistan, acountry partner institute ofthe Center for Global Com-petitiveness and Perfor-mance, World EconomicForum said that “the Finan-cial Development Report

2012 ranks 62 of the world’sleading financial systemsand capital markets,analysing the drivers of fi-nancial system develop-ment in advanced andemerging economies toserve as a tool for countriesto benchmark themselvesand establish priorities forreform”.

The rankings are basedon more than 120 variablesspanning institutional andbusiness environments, fi-nancial stability, and size anddepth of capital markets,among other factors, he

added. The Report alsoshows an improvement in thetotal number of active bor-rowers from micro-financeinstitutions per 1,000 adults,where Pakistan has improvedits position of 12 in 2011 to9th in 2012.

Pakistan has shownslight improvements on thestrength of auditing and re-porting standards, where it isranked 48 in 2012 as com-pared to 52 in 2011. On thepillar of legal and regulatoryissues Pakistan has shownsignificant gains, by improv-ing the burden of govern-

ment regulations, securing21 rank as compared to 32last year. The regulation ofsecurities exchanges hasalso improved 5 points witha rank of 37 out of 62 econo-mies globally.

The current account bal-ance to GDP, a variable, whichis the three-year average ofcurrent account balance toGDP, indicates the difficultyPakistan had in mobilizing theforeign exchange necessaryfor debt service (from 2009 to2011) has also improved from53 last year to 40 in the cur-rent year.

Pakistan stability steady on Financial Development Index of WEF

Europe to have singlebanking supervisorBRUSSELS—EuropeanUnion leaders took a bigstride towards establishinga single banking supervisorfor the euro zone, agreeingit would enter into forcenext year, opening the wayfor the bloc’s rescue fundto inject capital directly intoailing banks. EuropeanCouncil President HermanVan Rompuy said the 27leaders agreed at a Brusselssummit to adopt a legalframework by the end ofthis year giving theEuropean Central Bankoverall responsibility forbanking supervision. “Oncethis is agreed, the singlesupervisory mechanismcould probably be effec-tively operational in thecourse of 2013,” he told anews conference afternearly 10 hours of talks.French and EU officials saidall 6,000 banks in the singlecurrency area wouldgradually come under ECBsupervision by 2014,starting with banksreceiving state aid, thenlarge cross-border institu-tions. Most day-to-dayoversight would bedelegated to nationalbodies. —Agencies

Business teamleaves for ChinaLAHORE—A 6-memberdelegation of All PakistanPaper Merchants Association(APPMA) has left for a 6-dayvisit to China. During the visitof delegation, matters ofbargaining on paper prices,quality and transportationmechanism will come underdiscussion with the business-men of China, a spokesman ofAPPMA told APP here onWednesday. The mainobjective of the visit is toexplore new avenues ofbusiness in China to earnprofit and facilitate thecustomers in Pakistan byproviding them paper andother related items onreduced rates, he said. —APP

Conversion ratesKARACHI—The followingrates will be applicable forconversion into rupees ofForeign Currency Deposits,Dollar Bearer Certificates,Foreign Currency BearerCertificates, Special U.S.Dollar Bonds and profitsthereon by all banks and forproviding Forward Coveron Foreign CurrencyDeposits (excluding F.E.25deposits) by the State Bankon November 01, 2012. Therates are U.S. Dollar Rs95.8965, Japanese Yen Rs1.2020, Pound Sterling Rs154.6715 and Euro Rs124.6846—APP

PQ shipping activityKARACHI—Shippingactivity remained active atthe port during last 24hours where four shipscarrying containers,G.Cargo and diesel oil wereallotted berth at QasimInternational ContainerTerminals, Multi PurposeTerminal and FOTCOTerminal during last 24hours. Meanwhile six moreships scheduled to load/offload containers, chemi-cals, LPG and G cargo alsoarrived at outer anchorageof Port Qasim during last 24hours. Berth occupancywas 65% at the Port Qasimon Wednesday where totalnumber of seven shipsnamely AL Mutanabbi,Hanjin Venezia, M.S Fiesta,ILC Friendship, Changan,Argent Hibicus,and ALSoor II are currentlyoccupying berths to load/offload containers, cement,rice, G .cargo, chemical anddiesel oil respectivelyduring last 24 hours.—APP

Etihad Airwayspartners

with LRBTAMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Etihad Airways,the national airline of theUnited Arab Emirates, haspartnered with the LaytonRahmatulla BenevolentTrust (LRBT), one ofPakistan’s largest non-gov-ernmental organizations, forthe transport of human eyecorneal tissue from Canadaand the UK.

As part of its efforts tofight blindness in the coun-try, LRBT aims to provide freeand comprehensive eye-careto poor and underprivilegedcitizens.

This is done through itsnetwork of 17 purpose-builthospitals which provide arange of services includingadvanced retinal surgery andcorneal transplants.

Etihad Airways will alsobe organising a charity driveto raise funds from its travelagents to provide food andother essential goods toLRBT patients.

Amer Khan, Etihad Air-ways’ Area General Managerfor Pakistan, Bangladeshand Nepal, said: “We are in-credibly proud to supportan organisat ion that hassuch a direct and noticeableinfluence on the l ives ofthe vulnerable people inour society.

LSE sheds1.31 points

LAHORE—Bearish trendprevailed in Lahore StockExchange on Wednesday asit shed 1.31 points, followingthe LSE-25 index openedwith 3920.49 and closed at3919.18 points.

The market’s overall situ-ation, however, corre-sponded to an upward trendas it remained at 2.927 millionshares to close against pre-vious turnover of 2.149 mil-lion shares, showing an up-ward move of 777,300 shares.While, out of the total 92 ac-tive scrips 27 moved up, 25shed values and 40 reminedequal.

EFU General InsuranceLimited, Pakistan RefineryLimited and Lucky CementLimited were Major Gainer ofthe day by recording in-crease in their per share valueby Rs 4.42, Rs 3.60 and Rs2.93 respectively.

Attock Refinery Limited,Sui Northern Gas PipelineLimited and Hira Textile MillsLimited lost their per sharevalue by Rs 8.60, Rs 1.16 andRe 1.00 respectively.

The Volume Leader of theday included Byco PetroleumPakistan with 761,500 shares,Askari Bank Limited with336,500 shares, and TheBank of Punjab Limitedwith336,000 shares.—APP

Federal Minister for Communications Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan receiving a briefing onthe Lowari Tunnel.

Chairman LTC Khawaja Ahmed Hasaan presiding over Lahore Transport Company BoD meeting.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The Board of Di-rectors of Punjab IndustrialEstates has decided to speedup the construction work ofVehari Industrial Estate andto complete it during currentfinancial year at Vehari Dis-trict.

In a row, it is the third In-dustrial Estate, which wouldbe completed during finan-cial year 2012-13, followingsRahim Yar Khan and BhalwalIndustrial Estates in the prov-ince of Punjab, said ChairmanPunjab Industrial EstatesDevelopment and Manage-ment Company while talkingto media after the Board meet-ing.

He said that Board hadgiven go ahead signal to cer-tain measures which wouldexpedite establishment ofVehari Industrial Estate very

soon. This came in the backdrop of Punjab Chief Minis-ter Mian MuhammadShahbaz Sharif making a spe-cial allocation of Rs. 300 mil-lion for said project the Chair-man PIEDMC remarked.

Chairman PIEDMC SMTanveer told that the VehariIndustrial Estate would bespread over 375 Acres andGovt. of Punjab had alreadyprovided a state land for thispurpose.

It may be recalled thatPIEDMC, which is premierinfrastructure developmentorganization of the prov-ince, is paying special atten-tion to less developed areasand aims to establish 36 In-dustrial Estates in the prov-ince.

PIE will develop Infra-structure facilities like roads,electricity, water supply,waste disposal system.

Vehari Industrial Estateconstruction to be boosted

SMEDA-GIZ helpedtextile industry

to save Rs.400mSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Small and Me-dium Enterprises Develop-ment Authority (SMEDA), incollaboration with Germanorganization GIZ enabled theTextile industry of Pakistanto save about Rs.400 millionper annum by implementingRenewable Energy & EnergyEfficiency Program (REEE).

It was acknowledged byMr. Bernhard Mayhofer, Prin-cipal Advisor, REEE program –GIZ, Germany at a meeting withMr. Yousaf Naseem Khokhar,Chief Executive Officer ofSMEDA today. Mr. AlamgirChaudhry, GM- Outreach, Mr.Ashfaq Ahmad, Head Indus-try Support Cell and Mr. ImranChaudhry, Manager Donor Co-ordination Cell of SMEDA werealso present on this occasion.

Mr. Meyhofer expressedprofound gratitude forSMEDA’s cooperation in suc-cessful implementation of En-ergy Efficiency activities ofREE Program. As a result of ourjoint efforts in the textile sec-tor, APTMA members have re-ported energy saving up to83.5 Million kwh per year, hesaid adding that basing uponthe success such efforts in tex-tile the ambit of REEE activi-ties had been expanded toother industrial sectors includ-ing Food & Beverages, Steeland Glass sectors.

FBR directed toinvoke revisionary

powersSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Dr.MuhammadShoaib Suddle, Federal Tax Om-budsman (FTO) has recom-mended Federal Board of Rev-enue (FBR) to direct the Com-missioner to invoke revisionaryjurisdiction under Section 122Aof the Ordinance and revisit thetax charged under Sections 235,231A, 234 and 236 of the Ordi-nance, as per law; and reportcompliance within 30 days.Decision to this effect wasmade by the FTO on a com-plaint filed by Muhammad IqbalSindhu Proprietor Sindhu In-dustry Street Heera WashingMachine Near SamanabadiChungi Gujranwala verses theSecretary Revenue DivisionIslamabad against deduction oftax at source in utility bills andat the time of motor vehicle reg-istration and cash withdrawalsfrom bank and the resultant re-duction in the refund claimed.

According to the find-ings and recommendationsof FTO, this complaint wasagainst deduction of tax atsource in utility bills and atthe time of motor vehicle reg-istration and cash withdraw-als from bank and the result-ant reduction in the refundclaimed.

Sustainable energyinitiatives

ISLAMABAD—The United Na-tions Industrial DevelopmentOrganization (UNIDO) Paki-stan has been preparing theproject “Sustainable EnergyInitiative for Industries in Pa-kistan” under GEF funding incollaboration with Govern-ment of Pakistan. In this re-gard, Johannes Van denAkker, UNIDO InternationalConsultant is carrying outstakeholder’s consultationsworkshops with NationalProductivity Organization(NPO) officials and other pri-vate sector individuals,says astatement issued by the NPOhere today.

Under this projectUNIDO will focus on the in-dustrial sectors to facilitatethe sustainable energyprojects through developingthe policy and regulatoryframework on use of EE/REin Industry, create an invest-ment platform for promotinginvestments in RE/EE.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterRaja Pervez Ashraf has di-rected the Ministry of Waterand Power to chalk out acomprehensive plan for com-ing winters clearly identify-ing targets including powergeneration along with fuelrequirements in the country.

He expressed these viewswhile chairing at a high levelmeeting in Islamabad onWednesday to review the cur-rent power situation in the coun-try. The meeting discussed atlength various aspects re-lated to the power situationincluding recoveries, linelosses, electricity and oiltheft.

The Secretary Water and

Power briefed the Prime Minis-ter about various steps takenby the Ministry to improve ef-ficiency, management and gov-ernance in the power sector.

The Prime Minister di-rected the Ministry of Waterand Power to chalk out acomprehensive plan for com-ing winters clearly identify-ing targets including powergeneration along with fuel re-quirements in the country. Heemphasized on the need tomake foolproof arrangementsto ensure that the targets setout in the plan by the Minis-try are achieved.

He directed the Petro-leum Ministry to coordinatewith Ministries of Finance

and Water and Power andwork out a fuel supply planfor the next five months.

The meeting also de-cided that Minister for Fi-nance Dr. Abdul HafeezSheikh would head the exist-ing Energy Committee andhold its meeting at least onceevery fortnight to ensureoptimal power generationduring the coming winters.

The meeting was also in-formed that hydel and solarenergy plants having genera-tion capacity of 500 to 600Mega Watt would be addedto the National Grid byMarch next year which wouldfurther improve the currentpower situation.—Online

PM directes to ensureoptimal power generation

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal Min-ister for CommunicationsDr. Arbab Alamgir KhanKhalil has said that LuwariTunnel is a great project,not only of KhyberPakhtunkhwa but of thewhole country, and itscompletion will not onlyease and minimize road linkswith Central Asian Statesand neighboring countriesbut the area will also ben-efit economically withprogress in trade, tourism,

industry and agriculture.He expressed these

views while presiding overa high level meeting in NHAHeadquarter Islamabad inwhich Provincial Ministerfor Population WelfareSaleem Khan, Federal Sec-retary CommunicationsAnwar Ahmad Khan, Chair-man NHA MuhammadJaved Iqbal Awan, MemberConstruction NHA YousafAli Khan, representativeKorean Company SAMBUand other concerned offi-cials also participated. Dur-

ing the briefing, the partici-pants of the meeting weretold that this project will becompleted with a cost of18.13 billion rupeeswhereas, rupees 7.28 billionhave been spent on it sofar.

The meeting also ap-proved widening thetunnel’s road to 7.3meters.

The participants of themeeting were also told thatthe expansion work to widenthe tunnel was formallystarted on October 9, 2012.

‘Lowari Tunnel strategicproject for Pakistan’

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI —The trade andindustry has expressed itssheer concern over the ever-increasing fire incidents inKarachi particularly in the in-dustrial areas. The Chief Pa-tron Korangi Association ofTrade and Industry (KATI)S M Muneer, ChairmanMohammad Zubair Chhaya,President All Karachi Indus-trial Alliance Mian ZahidHussain and Vice ChairmenNiaz Ahmed and NajmulArfeen have showed theirdismay over the five inci-dents of fire in just one dayin Karachi including one inKorangi Industrial Area’sfactory wherein the factorywas gutted due to the delayin fire fighting by the fire bri-gade.

KATI chief said that thefire fighting system in Karachihas got outdated and used up

due to which fire brigade de-partment is unable to extin-guish fire effectively andtimely. He said that even thewater is not available to thefore tenders easily and con-veniently.

The industry leadershave demanded of thegovernment to revamp firebrigade department inKarachi and import newand modern fire tenders forthe city and to be allocatedto the industr ial zonesseparately.

They further demanded tobring in more snorkels for res-cue work as the largest cityof the country has not haveenough snorkels to cope upthe situation. They also de-manded a judicial probe in thefire incidents in the city in or-der investigate that whetherthe fire incidents are not theconsequence of any act ofsabotage.

Fire incidents in industrialunits irk business leaders

TARIQ KHATTAK

ISLAMABAD—The Board ofDirectors of Engro Corpora-tion Limited today announcedthe financial results for thenine months ended, Septem-ber 30, 2012. Gas curtailmentcaused by the flagrant viola-tion of the contractual obliga-tions by SNGPL has severelyimpacted the operations ofthe fertilizer business. Conse-quently, the business made anet loss of Rs. 2,978 millionduring the nine months un-der review vs. a net profit ofRs. 3,510 million during thesame period last year. The lossis directly attributable to de-creased sales volume, lowermargins, declining farm eco-nomics, and absence of

speculative buying due to ex-pectation of a reduction in theprice. The Company pro-duced 709,000 tons of Ureaduring the nine months of2012 compared to 983,000 tonsproduced in the same periodof previous year. This de-crease was attributable to thegas curtailment on the newEnVen plant which receivedgas for only 45 days allowingfor only 33 days of produc-tion in the period under review.

On the contrary, thefoods business continued itsrapid growth trajectory reg-istering a turnover increaseof 38% to Rs. 29 billion dur-ing the nine months of 2012as compared to Rs. 21 billionfor the corresponding periodlast year.

Engro Corp slips to loss

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The interna-tional price (Saudi AramcoContract Price) of liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG) hassurged by $ 25 to $ 1003 perton for November 2012, rais-ing local prices by Rs 3,000to Rs 128,000 per ton. Thiswas stated by the chairman,All Pakistan LPG Distribu-tors Association (APLDA)Abdul Hadi Khan hereWednesday. He said pricesof Propane and Butain havebeen increased by $ 25 and $15 respectively.

He clarified that local pro-ducers and marketing compa-nies have not so far en-hanced prices of either lo-cally produced or importedLPG in the country in accor-dance with Saudi Aramcoprice.

“This was wrong impres-

sion that LPG prices were in-creased on October 31, 2012(Wednesday) in local market.Consumers should avoid topurchase LPG at artificiallyinflated prices”, he said andadded that local producersare likely to raise their priceson November 3, 2012. Hadisaid local LPG prices were 20percent lower in Pakistancompared to internationalprice and therefore its importhas been slowed down. Butsince winter has started, LPGdemand is likely to surge by50 to 60 percent in the coun-try to reach between 1900 to2100 tons per day, he noted.

He lamented that localproducers have neither in-creased their production norenhanced their productioncapacity, therefore, it will bedifficult to meet domesic de-mand through locally pro-duced LPG.

LPG’s Aramco pricesurges to $ 1003 per ton

PELLEKELE: BJ Watling of New Zealand dives to take a catch during practice on Wednesday.

India Women innings:S Naik b Qanita Jalil ........ 2Patil c Sana Mir b Sadia . 0PG Raut c Marina Iqbalb Bismah Maroof .......... 25H Kaur b Sana Mir20Sharma lbw b Mariam . 2Malhotra lbw b Sana .... 18N Niranjana c Nain Abidib Bismah Maroof ............ 3Sharma lbw b Mariam ..... 1MR Meshram c BismahMaroof b Sana Mir ......... 3Das c Nida Dar b Sana ... 1E Bisht not out ................ 0Extras: (b 2, w 1, nb 3) ..... 6Total: (all out) ................ 81Fall of wickets 1-1, 2-4, 3-36,4-44, 5-62, 6-67, 7-70, 8-77,9-79, 10-81Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WSadia Yousuf ........ 4-0-15-1Qanita Jalil .............. 2-0-8-1Asmavia Iqbal ..... 1-0-10-0Sana Mir ............... 4-0-13-4Bismah Maroof .... 4-0-14-2Nida Dar ............... 2-0-11-0Mariam Hasan ....... 3-0-8-2

Pakistan Women innings:Qanita Jalil c A Sharmab S Sharma ....................... 2Bismah c Malhotra b Patil18Sana c Patil b Niranjana 11Nida Dar run out (Raut) . 1Javeria Khan c Naikb Niranjana ....................... 4Nain Abidi st Naikb Das ............................... 13Marina Iqbal st Naikb Malhotra ....................... 2Asmavia c Raut b Das .... 1Mariam Hasan not out ... 8Batool c Naik b Bisht ...... 1Sadia Yousuf run out ...... 0Extras: (w 2) ...................... 2Total: (all out) ................ 63Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-31, 3-32), 4-33, 5-40, 6-44, 7-48, 8-60, 9-63, 10-63Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WS Sharma ............... 4-0-12-1A Das .................... 4-0-12-2E Bisht .................... 4-0-9-1AA Patil .................. 2-0-5-1N Niranjana ....... 3.1-0-15-2R Malhotra ........... 2-0-10-1

MUMBAI—India are un-likely to embrace the con-cept of day-night Testmatches, a top official saidon Wednesday, because aprevious experiment in first-class cricket fell flat.

The InternationalCricket Council announcedthis week that Tests can nowbe played under lights, withrival teams deciding on thehours of play and the colourof the ball to be used.

Cricket Australia ap-plauded the move, but thepowerful Board of Controlfor Cricket in India (BCCI)was lukewarm towards theidea despite having tried theconcept in a domestic finalin 1997.

“We were the first to ex-

India not enthused byday-night Tests

periment with this and ourexperience was not so great,”said the BCCI’s chief admin-istrative officer RatnakarShetty. “At this stage wehave no such proposal.”

The BCCI held the five-day Ranji Trophy final be-tween Mumbai and Delhiunder lights in Gwalior inApril 1997. Bowlersstruggled due to the heavyevening dew and frequentchanges of the white ball.Just two innings were com-pleted in five days. Mumbai,who made 630 after battingfirst, were declared winnersafter Delhi were dismissed for559 on the last day.

Four bowlers from eachsides conceded more than100 runs apiece, their plight

worsened by fielders un-able to spot the ball bothin the air and on theground, especially in theoutfield. Crowds are dwin-dling at Test matches inIndia even as one-day andTwenty20 cricket enjoyswide interest.

Cricket Australia con-ceded on Tuesday thatday-night Tests were notimminent, since an idealball had yet to be found.Red balls used in Testswere not easily visible atnight, while white ballsused in limited-oversmatches were found notdurable enough for Tests.Experiments have includedplaying with pink, orangeand yellow balls.—AFP

KARACHI—Captain SanaMir produced a splendid all-round display but her effortswent in vain as India defeatedPakistan by 18 runs in the fi-nal to win the Women’sTwenty-20 Asia Cup CricketTournament in Guangzhou(China) on Wednesday.

Sana’s heroics in vainas India win Women’s

T-20 Asia CupExperienced Sana cap-

tured four wickets for 13 runswith four overs of her leg-breaks and scored a fine 11runs to emerge as the star ofthe day for Pakistan.

Poonam Rout hit a prom-ising 25 in 28 balls with threeboundaries and Harmanpreet

Kaur contributed a steady 20in 33 balls without hitting aboundary as Indian womenwere bowled out for 81 on thelast ball of 20 overs afterelecting to bat first.

Sana Mir got supportfrom Mariam Hasan andBismah Maroof grabbed twowickets apiece.

Pakistan team in replycrashed 61 all out on the firstdelivery of the 20th over.Opener Bismah Maroof top-scored with 18 in 32 balls withtwo fours. Nain Abidi (13)and Sana Mir (11) were otherwomen to reach double fig-ures.

Pakistan got the conso-lation when Bismah Maroofwas named the player of thetournament.

The event was held un-der the auspices of AsianCricket Council.

Earlier, India has set a tar-get of 82 runs for Pakistan towin in the final of Women’sAsia Cup being played onWednesday here, Geo newsreported.

Indian team winning thetoss opted to bat. They wereall out for 81 runs in 20 overs.Indian batswomen werenervy at the start and earlywickets compounded thepressure and Pakistan tookfull advantage of the situa-tion.

B.G. Poonum Raut scor-ing 25, Reema Malhotra 22and Harmanpreet Kaur 20 re-mained prominent from In-dian side.

A good show by the Pa-kistan women bowlers andthey were backed-up well bythe fielders. They were at thetop of their game today, heldon to all the catches thatcame their way and its advan-tage Pakistan here. Sana Mirexcelling took 4 wickets,while Bisma Maroof andMaryam Hassan plucked 2wickets each.—APP

KABUL—A joyous Kabulcrowd invaded the ring to cel-ebrate a local victory inAfghanistan’s first profes-sional men’s boxing match,after Hamid Rahimi beat Tan-zanian Said Mbelwa in sevenrounds.

Afghan fighter Rahimiovercame Mbelwa on Tues-day evening to take theWorld Boxing OrganizationIntercontinental middle-weight belt in the “Fight 4Peace” in a city better knownfor gunfire and insurgent at-tacks than uppercuts and jabs.

Organisers hope to usethe event, which drew around1,500 people paying at least$100 for a ticket - more than amonth’s salary for most Af-ghans - to promote sport as aunifying force in Afghanistanafter decades of conflict.

“This bout will give a les-son to the Taliban and otheropposition of the governmentto stop fighting with weaponsand that they can start fight-ing for power without vio-lence,” said 28-year-oldMohammad Asif Sahibi as hewatched. During their fiveyears of rule in Afghanistanthe Taliban, bitterly opposedto sport and entertainment,outlawed boxing as un-Is-lamic, but later allowed limited-contact fighting which pro-

Afghan pugilist triumphs incountry’s first pro boxing bout

hibited strikes to the face.Tuesday’s contest, dur-

ing which Rahimi’s everyswing was roared by a parti-san, flag-waving crowd, be-gan after a mullah recited

verses from the Holy Quran,a solo footballer showed offball trickery, and martial art-ists staged a display of Thaiboxing.

“Its aim is to changepeople’s minds in order tokeep them away from war andenmity,” said Rahimi’s sup-porter Attah Mohammad

Yousufzai, a finance managerfor a logistics company inKabul.

“It aims to show themhow to fight and still loveeach other.”

Rahimi took the belt on atechnical knockout whichended a contest of few cleanly-landed punches, staged in ahuge tent normally used fornational gatherings of tribalelders but rigged with Las Ve-gas-style lights and a techno-pumping sound system for thebout.—APP

PARIS—Fourth-seeded DavidFerrer beat Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-3 in an all-Spanish match inthe second round of the ParisMasters on Wednesday.

Ferrer, who is tied withRoger Federer for the most tourtitles this year with six, con-verted five of six break pointswhile dropping serve onlyonce.

He faces 16th-seededStanislas Wawrinka of Switzer-

land in the third round.Eighth-seeded Janko

Tipsarevic also advanced to thethird round, beating IgorSijsling 6-4, 7-6 (0), and main-taining his slim chance of quali-fying for the season-endingATP World Tour Finals in Lon-don. Later, second-seededNovak Djokovic will play Ameri-can Sam Querrey, and No. 3Andy Murray was up againstPaul-Henri Mathieu.

Jo-Wilfried Tsongareached the third round of theParis Masters with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-

Ferrer beats Granollers inParis Masters 2nd round

6 (2) win over Julien Benneteauon Tuesday.

The 2008 champion wasforced into a final-set tiebreakerafter failing to serve out thematch.

Benneteau only convertedthree of his 11 break-pointchances against the hard-serv-ing Tsonga, who hit a total of15 aces - five in each set.

Novak Djokovic is amongthe favorites for the tourna-

ment, which is missing RogerFederer and Rafael Nadal.Djokovic, who has clinched theyear-end No. 1 ranking, will faceSam Querrey of the UnitedStates on Wednesday.

‘’It’s obviously really sat-isfying and I’m delighted,’’Djokovic said of finishing No.1 for a second year in a row.‘’This shows how good myseason has been. I’m proud ofwhat I’ve done because itwasn’t easy to repeat after theincredible season I had in 2011.But it’s not over, Paris and Lon-

don next week are two very im-portant tournaments and I wantto try and focus on them.’’

Djokovic said he came intothe 2012 season conscious ofhis schedule and trying toavoid the same kind of injurieswhich forced him out of tour-naments late last year.

‘’Aside from the OlympicGames, the scheduling hasbeen terrific for me,’’ he said. ‘’Ihaven’t played that many tour-

naments and I’ve tried to focusto always perform my best atthe major events.’’

In other second-roundmatches, fifth-seeded TomasBerdych of the Czech Repub-lic beat Andreas Seppi 7-6 (8),6-2, No. 13 Marin Cilic lost toqualifier Jerzy Janowicz of Po-land 7-6 (6), 6-2, No. 15 KeiNishikori of Japan had a 7-6(2), 6-2 win over FrenchmanBenoit Paire and No. 16Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzer-land defeated Carlos Berlocqof Argentina 6-3, 6-2.—AP

PARIS: David Ferrer of Spain returns the ball to Spain’s Marcel Granollers duringtheir match at the Tennis Masters tournament.

L A H O R E — M u h a m m a dJaved will lead 15-memberPakistan kabaddi team whichwill take part in the 2nd AsiaCup being played here fromtomorrow,Thursday atPunjab stadium. “Our teamis balanced in all aspects andit is a combination of experi-ence and youth, and we hopeto fetch encouraging resultsin the event “,said Javedwhile talking to APP on theeve of the event on Wednes-day.

He termed Asia Cup atough event as Asia’s topnotch kabaddi teams are tak-ing part in it. “It is going tobe a challenging event as wewill be facing a strongchllenge from our arch rivalsIndia and other teams whichinclude Iran and Afghanistan“,he asserted.

To a question he said Pakteam has been dubbed asfavourites in the event andurged the team members notto undermine the strength ofany opponent as anyweaker opponent can upset

Pak Kabaddi teamnamed for Asia Cup

a much fancied rival . “Wewill be doing our best in thefield and we are looking for-ward to an exciting eventwhich will produce highquality kabaddi “,said thehome captain.

Following are the othermembers of the team, AfzalButt, Obaidullah, BabarWaseem, Mohammad Irfan,Akmal Dogar, MohammadShafique, Kashif Riaz,Shafique Butt, Sajjad Gujjar,Rashid Ismail, MohammadMansha, MohammadMaltloob, Asif Ali,Mohammad Aslam Dogarand Khalil Ahmed.

The team officials areTahir Whaeed Jutt (Coach),Chaudhary MohammadAsghar (Manager).

Meanwhile Indiankabaddi team also arrivedLahore via Wagha border totake part in the event .

Teams from India, Iran,Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, In-donesia, Nepal and hostsPakistan are featuring thepremier Asian activity.—APP

Kaneria appealagainst life ban tobe heard in Dec

KARACHI—Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria willhave his appeal against a lifeban for corruption in Englishcounty cricket heard in Brit-ain in early December, asource close to the formertest player told Reuters.

Kaneria, 31, was bannedfor life from playing in Britainafter an England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) disciplin-ary panel ruled last June thathe had been involved in spot-fixing. Tafazzul Rizvi, a legaladvisor to the Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB), said the boardhad been informed of the hear-ing.

“Basically under ECBrules it will be a fresh trial andhearing in which there will bea reappraisal of witnessesand Danish can producefresh witnesses as well,” hesaid. The PCB has sus-pended Kaneria from domes-tic cricket pending his appealhearing.—Agencies

Basketball TourneyKARACHI—The sixth editionof National Bank of Pakistan(NBP) All Sindh BasketballTournament will be playedhere at the Arambgh Courtfrom November 2 to 8,Orga-nizers announced onWednesday.

12 teams from five divi-sions of Sindh will be takingpart in the event. SecretaryArts Council Prof. EjazAhmed Faruqi will inauguratethe event.—APP

Hockey stadiumto open at Johar

Town todaySPORTS REPORTER

LAHORE—Chief MinisterPunjab Mian Shahbaz Sharifwill inaugurate the newly-constructed Hockey Stadiumat Johar Town on Thursdayand an exhibition hockeymatch between PakistanWhites and Greens will markthe formal opening of the1500-capacity most modernhockey arena.

Addressing a press con-ference here on Wednesdayat the National Hockey Sta-dium, Chief organiserr PunjabYouth festival and deputyspeaker Punjab assembly,Rana Mashhood AhmedKhan said the new hockeyfacility will supplement theongoing efforts to lift hockeyout of gloom. Also present onthe occasion were DirectorGeneral Sports and Youth Af-fairs Usman Anwar and Chair-man of the managing commit-tee of the new hockey stadiumformer Olympian ChaudharyAkhtar Rasool.

He said last year whenseveral venues and groundswere cleaned to prevent thedengue attack, the Punjabgovernment and SportsBoard Punjab identifiedaround 4500 grounds in theprovince and similarly sev-eral places were also spottedin Lahore.

USING a magnetic coil to stimulatethe parts of the brain involved inmemory and learning could help

delay the progression of Alzheimer’s dis-ease, according to researchers.

The researchers believe that used earlyin the course of the disease,it would give patients pre-cious extra months of in-dependent living, as wellas time with their lovedones before their physicaland mental health deterio-rates.

The technology, knownas trans-cranial magneticstimulation and developedby Israeli firm NeuronixMedical, had already beentried on Alzheimer’s pa-tients, with promising re-sults. In a new test beingconducted in Manchester,six patients in the earlystages of the disease willbe having a magnetic coilheld over their scalp while they answerquestions, identify shapes and solvepuzzles.

It is hoped that as the magnetic fieldpasses into key brain areas it willstrengthen vital connections betweencells.

In tests on mice, the technique alsoboosted the growth of cells in the hippoc-ampus, the brain’s memory hub and oneof the first areas to be destroyed byAlzheimer’s. Brain scans at ManchesterUniversity will aim to find out more about

how it works.In a small-scale trial in Israel, it

proved to be both safe and effective, withsignificant improvements in some, butnot all, tests of memory.

“The results showed marked rever-sal of disease progressionwith patients improving toa state comparable to twoyears before treatment ini-tiation,” the paper quotedNeuronix Medical as say-ing. “Trials also indicatedthat improvement is main-tained for at least sixmonths post-treatment,” itadded.

Professor KarlHerholz, who is testing thedevice in Manchester, said:“We have just finishedtreating the first patient. It’sa promising approach.

“We are not offering acure but a way to help pa-tients stay independent and

have a better quality of life for longer,”Neuronix Medical’s chief executive, EyalBaror, told the Sunday Telegraph. It ishoped that as the magnetic field passesinto key brain areas it will strengthen vi-tal connections between cells.

Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer’s Re-search UK, which is helping fund theManchester trial, described the tech-nique as promising and said that anytreatment that could improve thinkingskills for people with Alzheimer’s wouldbe ‘a step forward’.

Magnets could be used toease Alzheimer’s pain

KARACHI: Consul General of Iran Abbas Ali Abdulllahi called on Sindh Chief MinisterSyed Qaim Ali Shah at CM House.

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari chairing a meeting to review progress on the Zulfikarabad city project at Bilawal House.

Zardari reviewsZulfikarabadcity project

KARACHI—President Asif AliZardari has said that the proposedZulfikar Abad city should be amodel both in respect of accom-modation and employment gen-eration. He made these observa-tions during a briefing on theproject in Karachi on Wednesday.The briefing was attended,among others, by CM SindhSyed Qaim Ali Shah.—Online

Wassan likely toreplace Qaim as

Sindh PPP presidentKARACHI —Manzoor Wassan islikely to replace Qaim Ali Shahas the President, PPP Sindh, me-dia reports said on Wednesday.According to sources, the newreplacement is likely to occur onthe directives of President AsifAli Zardari.—Online

President expressessympathies with

US affected peopleKARACHI —President Asif AliZardari has expressed concern overthe destruction caused by Hurri-cane Sandy. This he said duringmeeting with Sherry Rehman,Pakistan’s Ambassador to US, whocalled on him at Bilawal House onWednesday. Expressing grief overthe loss of lives and huge destruc-tion caused to the property, thePresident expressed his sympathieswith the affected people and haswished early rehabilitation of theaffectees.

The President especially in-quired about the well being of thePakistani community present in theaffected areas and advised the am-bassador to provide all possible helpto the affected people.—Online

Police arrest 25 accused,recover 16 pistols

KARACHI—Karachi Police inraids in different areas of the cityhave arrested 25 accused includ-ing five absconders during last 24hours. According to a release hereon Wednesday, during the policetargeted actions and raids the po-lice encounters occurred which ledto eliminate one gang of criminals.The police recovered 16 pistolsfrom the arrested accused.—APP

Experts seekmandatory screening

for prevention ofthalassemia

KARACHI—Medical expertshave strongly advised manda-tory screening of couples toidentify thalassemia carriers fol-lowed by genetic counselingand prenatal diagnosis so as toreduce number of children bornwith the ailment.

Speaking at a session ar-ranged to launch thalassemiascreening of medical studentsand doctors,under the aegis ofInstitute of Hematology,DowUniversity of Health(DUHS),they sought massivepublic awareness to control dis-ease.

Prof. Tahir Shamsi, Prof.Saquib Ansari, Prof. MasoodHameed Khan and Prof. AkbarAgha said sensitization at amass level is required to controlthe considerably high incidenceof thalassemia in the country.

“Thalassemia is a diseasewhich kills unless treated prop-erly and in time,” said Prof.Masood Hameed Khan, a seniorphysician and DUHS ViceChancellor.

He said it was also neededto be diagnosed in time as oth-erwise children suffering fromthe ailment lead a terrible lifeand need blood after every 15to 20 days for their survival.

“The only cure is bone mar-row transplantation which is tooexpensive and most patientscannot afford it,” said the seniorphysician.—APP

Karachi PPPwings reorganized

KARACHI—General SecretaryPPP Karachi, Syed Najmi Alamhas announced to reorganize theKarachi City Area 113 and CityArea 114. According to Secre-tary Information PPP Karachi,Lateef Mughal, Imran RaheemSheikh has been nominated asPresident and Muhammad RiazBaloch as GS City Area 113.Muhammad Iqbal and SajjadSippi have been nominated asPresident and General Secre-tary, respectively, of City Area114.

All the new office bearersare directed to take charge oftheir newly assigned responsi-bilities immediately.—APP

InternationalConference on

EducationKARACHI—The Aga KhanUniversity Institute for Educa-tional Development (AKU-IED) is organising an interna-tional conference on the stateof education and its relevancein present times from Novem-ber 1 to 3 in Karachi.

An official of Aga KhanUniversity (AKU) said hereon Wednesday that this year’stheme is ‘In Search of Rel-evance and Sustainability ofEducational Change’.

The sub-themes will coverinnovations in teaching, con-ventional and alternative as-sessment methods, the rel-evance of curriculum inchanging times, responsivegovernance and management,and educational policies andpractices that can contribute tosocietal well-being.There will also be concurrentpaper presentations on a va-riety of topics, including:

Issues and problems re-lated to teacher education inPakistan Teaching practicesof English in early childhoodclassrooms in Pakistan: op-portunities and challenges

Impact of corporal pun-ishment on school children:a research study from SindhAssessing causes of examstress among university stu-dents in Pakistan

Are we preparing globalcompetent teachers? Evalu-ation of the integration ofglobal education perspec-tives in teacher educationcurriculum in Pakistan; Pre-school chi ldren’s genderperceptions of toys; SindhEduca t ion ReformProgramme: implicat ionsfor policy and practice Stu-dents’ views of impact oftextbooks on their achieve-ment.—APP

KARACHI—All Pakistan Mus-lim League (APML) has stressedfor the formation of “caretakersetup” with the consensus of allpolitical parties saying that gen-eral election would be held inMarch on the basis of transpar-ent voter lists.

Aasia Ishaque, central infor-mation secretary of APML saidthis while delivering a lectureduring the party’s study circleheld here at central office onWednesday.

She said that millions ofworkers of APML should startelection preparations in their ar-

APML stresses formation ofcaretaker setup with consensus

eas as APML would participatein next general election andwould win the seats.

She welcomed the remarksof Supreme Court of Pakistanover the issue of vote-cast-rights of overseas Pakistanis innext general election addingthat APML is also saying thissince the issue was raised.

Aasia said that all of themistakes occurred in voter listswould be corrected by the ECPbefore the next election as allvoters could use their right ofvoting as per their wishes.

The APML leader said that

everybody knows that APML’spopularity graph is increasing dayby day among the masses, sopeople would caste votes to ourcandidates.On the occasion, she an-nounced that APML’s chief PervezMusharraf would come back to thecountry before the general electionand the membership of party wouldalso be started very soon.

“APML’s workers from ev-ery nook and corner of the coun-try are striving hard for the partyand the nation and they wouldlisten “good news” very soon inthis regard” Aasia Ishaque con-cluded.—Online

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Governor Sindh, Dr.Ishrat ul Ebad Khan, who is on avisit to UK, met with the Britishofficials. A statement issued hereon Wednesday said that Dr. Ishratul Ebad Khan thanked the Britishsupport towards the acquisition ofGSP plus status for Pakistan.

He also approached the Brit-ish officials for investment in vari-ous sectors. The statement said thatDr. Ishrat ul Ebad Khan met withthe British Minister Ms. Saeeda

Governor Ishrat meetsBritish officials

Warsi in London on Wednesday.Sindh ministers Pir Mazhar ulHaq, Raza Haroon and Dr.Sagheer Ahmed and Pakistan’sHigh Commissioner in Britain,Wajid Shamsul Hassan were withhim on the occasion.

Dr. Ishrat thanked the Brit-ish government for its support foraccess of 75 Pakistani productsin the European Union. He alsodrew the attention of the Britishinvestors for the investment in theenergy sector especially Tharcoal, wind energy, Coastal Devel-

opment and other sectors in Paki-stan and expressed the hope thatuseful results would come to thefore in this regard.

Dr. Ishrat requested Ms.Saeeda for cooperation in Fireand rescue Services so that thetragic incidents like Baldia firecould not recur. He also apprisedher about Rescue 999 and saidthat better results can be obtainedwith the British expertise andtechnical assistance. The BritishMinister, Ms. Saeeda Warsi, as-sured her every assistance.

KARACHI—Memon Industrialand Technical Institute com-pletes a 3-month youth trainingprogram in various trades underthe Youth Affairs Department ofSindh Government.

This is a part of ShaheedBenazir Bhutto Youth Develop-ment Program. A good numberof youth from entire provinceparticipated in this program. Itcovers various disciplines that iselectrical, plumbering, mobilephone repairing, sewing, em-broidery said a release here onWednesday. Speaking at a cer-

3-month youth trainingprogramme completed

tificate distribution ceremony,Sindh Minister for Youth AffairsSyed Faisal Ali Sabzwari saidthis professional training pro-gram will help promote self-em-ployment among youth and toreduce un-employment in theprovince and the country.

He underlined the need formore such training programs inpublic and private sectors forempowerment of youth who arethe future of the country.

He said that during the train-ing ,the youth were given sti-pend of Rs 5,500 each along

with free boarding facility andfood. Sindh Secretary for YouthAffairs Shoaib Siddiqui said thatcapacity building of the youthwas a mission of this depart-ment.

Secretary of WorldMemon Organization,H.M.Shahzad said that thebest platform has been pro-vided to the youth for theirskill development. Later,theMinister distributed certifi-cates among the youth com-pleting the three month train-ing program.—APP

KARACHI: Lawyers are busy in election activity during the elections of Supreme CourtBar Association.

KARACHI: Relatives of Hajis waiting at the Hajj Terminal of Karachi Airport due to delayin arrival of the PIA flight from Jeddah.

MUTTAHIR AHMED KHAN

Keeping its tradition of provid-ing people with a series of ex-clusively created and accom-plished programs on Eid alive,Pakistan Television, this yeartoo, enhanced the joys and fes-tivities of the all and sundry bypresenting various live shows,plays, music galas andchildren’s programs.

In this regard a very vibrantand thrilling music concert“Eid Unplugged” was pre-sented that comprised truly ap-preciable performances offeredby different singers, musiciansand dancers like MarviMemon, Sajjad Ali, NoamanJaved, Farieha Parvez, Ahmed

Exceptional delight on Eid carousingJahanzeb, Shabana Kausar,Mathira and Farhan RaeesKhan, son of classical musicianUstaad Raees Khan. Mathirareceived a great applause fromthe audience when she demon-strated her skills in the realm ofdance with “hot” steps and mmoves on her own song thatwas, however, not very impres-sive. The real spelling phase ofthe whole show was MarviMemon’s soul refining Sufisongs and poetry. Bedsides,Eagle Star Group and NatinalAcademy of performing Arts’Nadir and Muneera performedtheir talent and enthralled theaudience.

The show was hosted bySamra and Sarmad Sultan

Khusat who, despite showingfine compering skills and inter-active manner, could not get ridof his chronic over-acting-chapimage. The melodious gala wasproduced by Amjad Hussainwith the cooperation of KarimBaloch and Ajmal Meer. A special play of fiftyminutes duration, titled “IkRishta Hay Piyar Ka” was airedto promote the virtuous themesof love, unity, respect for human-ity and sacrifice. The play, pro-duced by Mohammad AminMemon and Aman Baig, com-prised Shaharyar Zaidi, SAsmatZaidi, Kunwar Arsalaan, RidaAsfahani, Mariya Khan, AftabAlam, Naushaba Javed, SaleemIqbal and Huda Hashmi as actors.

THE pain running down the back of myarm—like a jolt of current travelling afrayed electric cord—caught me off

guard. I had never felt a sensation quite likeit. On the other hand: Why not? I had justfinished a gruelling week of hospital con-sults. My middle-aged frame was simplycomplaining in a new way, right? I probablyjust needed rest. “Move over, Ollie,” Imumbled. My dozing span-iel made space on the livingroom couch and I soondrifted off, pain forgotten.

Two days later, my fin-gers found a roughenedpatch of skin in the samearea as that high-voltagetwinge. I craned my neckbut couldn’t see it. Finally,angling a mirror, I found thetelltale lesion: a singlenickel-size spot studdedwith small, fluid-filledbubbles. Aha, I thought tomyself. So that explains theburning nerve. That wasthe moment I realized mybody had won a secretbattle that I had barely no-ticed.

But this isn’t mystory—it’s Penny’s. Dr. Penny Nelson isn’tjust a patient; she’s a longtime friend whohas spent decades tackling malnutrition indeveloping countries.

It’s hard to believe the lively pediatri-cian is now in her 80s. She still travels to aresearch site in western Kenya where, I haveno doubt, the sight of her warm smile, salt-and-pepper hair, and sturdy leather sandalsis as beloved to her African coworkers as itis to her colleagues here in the UnitedStates. Most recently she has been study-ing the effects of high-protein foods on childgrowth and maturation.

Vital signs a rip van winkle virusKnock on wood, Penny’s health is as

strong as her will to teach, trek overseas,and live a full, exciting life—and she doeseverything she can to keep it that way.Last year, however, something strange anddisturbing happened to her. Out of theblue, a few days before leaving Kenya,she developed a low-grade fever, knifelikehead pains, and one-sided hearing loss.

At first Penny thoughtan ear infection might bebrewing. She started takinga penicillin-type antibioticher dentist had prescribedher for an aching tooth. None-theless, over the next 48hours the head and ear painworsened, and strangebumps resembling fleabitesbegan to erupt on a cheek aswell as her chin and tongue.Although she couldn’t seethem, she also felt bumps inher ear on the side where herhearing had been affected.

By the time Pennylanded in Los Angeles, sev-eral bumps had ulcerated,others had coalesced intosmall, scabby lakes, and anew theory had formed in

her mind. Maybe chicken pox virus,which had been lying dormant in herbody since she was infected in childhood,had escaped from her cells, multiplied,and started migrating down her localnerve tracts.

In other words, she might haveshingles—a skin eruption, commonlyfound on the chest and abdomen, stem-ming from a reawakened, often decades-old chicken pox infection. It was a logicaldiagnosis except for two facts. One:Shingles sufferers rarely develop lesionsin their ears.

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa in a meeting with PML-Q Presi-dent Shujaat Hussain, PML-Q Senior leader and Deputy Prime Minister Ch Parvez Elahi.

LAHORE: Site of Farooqi Girls High School Ravi Road Kareem Park burning after ransacking by it students onalleged blasphemy issue.

LAHORE: A view of the hustle and bustle during the elections of Supreme Court BarAssociation.

Ghazi IlamuddinShaheed Day

observedLAHORE—Pakistan SunniTehrik on Wednesday ob-served annual ‘Shahadatday’ of Ghazi IlamuddinShaheed throughout the

country.Ghazi Islam Conferences,

Azmat-e-Rasool Seminar andTahafaz Namous-e-Risalatrallies were staged to payglowing tribute to Shuhada-i-Islam and Ghazian-e-Millatwhile Quran Khawani andMehfil-e-Naat were also heldin the offices througout thecountry, PST Spokesmansaid on Wednesday.

Tahafuz Namous-e-Risalat Conference was heldat a local hotel in which schol-ars of various school ofthoughts paid rich tribute toGhazi Ilamuddin Shaheed.

On the occasion, thespeakers strongly con-demned the US blasphemousmovie and urged the Millet-e-Islami to play their vital roleagainst the movie makers.

They demanded the gov-ernment to arrest the culpritsinvolved in terrorist attack onmazars of Abdullah ShahGhazi, Data Gunj Bakhushand other mazars.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Punjab gov-ernment on Wednesday de-cided to reduce inter-city busfares by 30% and urbantransport fares by 25 to 28%as a result of recent reduc-tion in CNG prices by theFederal government.

Addressing a press con-ference at the TransportHouse here, Special Assis-tant to Chief Minister Punjabon Transport Syed ZaeemHussain Qadri and SecretaryTransport MuhammadYousaf said that the fare ratesof transport operating onCNG and petrol were differ-ent earlier but those had beencombined to save the pas-sengers from inconvenience,

Inter-city bus faresdown by 30%

besides ensuring implemen-tation of the new fare rates.

The Transport Secretarysaid revised fare rate of Hiace /mini-buses plying on metalledplain roads would be Rs.0.89 perkm while the fare on katcha planroads would be Rs.0.91 per kmand Rs.0.99 on hilly roads. Thefare rates of non- AC busesoperating on diesel will beRs.1.10 per km on metalled plainroads, Rs.1.15 on katcha plainroads and Rs.1.20 on hillyroads, he added.

The Secretary furthersaid that the fare structure ofCNG / AC-intercity buseshad been reduced from Rs.20to 16 for the first stage from 0to 4 km, Rs.25 to Rs.20 for thesecond stage from 4.1 to 8 km,Rs.30 to Rs.24 from 8.1 to 14

km, from Rs.35 to Rs.30 from14.1 to 22 km, from Rs.40 toRs.32 from 22.1 to 30 km,Rs.47 to Rs.38 from 30.1 to 36km, Rs.54 to Rs.44 from 36.1to 42 km, from Rs.60 to Rs.48from 42.1 to 48 and Rs.65 toRs.52 from 48.1 and above.

He said the fare rate ofnon-AC wagons and mini-buses plying on urban routeshad been reduced from Rs.16to Rs.13 for the first stage,Rs.20 to Rs.18 for the secondstage, from Rs.24 to Rs.21 forthe third stage, from Rs.30 toRs.26 for the fourth stage,Rs.35 to Rs.31 for the fifthstage and Rs.41 to Rs.35 forthe sixth stage.

Representatives of trans-porters were also presentduring the press conference.

Lawyers to foilconspiracy againstdemocracy: Azad

LAHORE—Supreme CourtBar Association (SCBA),outgoing president YasinAzad has said that lawyerswill foil any conspiracyagainst the democracy.

Addressing a press con-ference at the Supreme CourtLahore Registry, he said in-stitutions should be madestronger. He said that thelawyers were against the dic-tatorship and the democraticgovernment should be al-lowed to complete its tenure.

Referring to Pak-India re-lations, Azad said that rela-tions between the two coun-tries could not be improveduntill the Kashmir and waterissues were resolved.

Azad said that he madeall possible efforts to resolvelawyers’ problems and suc-ceeded in it to a large extent.

However, the next cabi-net will complete the remain-ing works, he added.—APP

Painting ExpoLAHORE—A paintings exhi-bition ‘Daughters of Walledcity’ by Afshan Ijaz andNoshi Ijaz is being organizedhere on Thursday at Nairangarts gallery. Art works includ-ing oil paintings by two sis-ters would go up on display.

Syed Babar Ali would in-augurate this exhibitionwhich will continue till No-vember 8.—APP

LAHORE—The polling ofSupreme Court Bar Associa-tion (SCBA) annual elec-tions for 2012-13 concluded

peacefully here on Wednes-day.

A total of 988, out of1,168 registered voters in

Lahore, polled their votes toelect new 22-member cabi-net.

The polling started at8.30 am which continued till5:00 pm with an hour breakfrom 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm.

Outgoing SCBA presi-dent Yasin Azad, formerSCBA president AsmaJehangir, former SCBApresident Aitzaz Ahsan,Senator Kazim Khan andothers exercised their rightof vote in Lahore.

The SCBA body con-sists of president, four vice-presidents (one from eachprovince), secretary, addi-tional secretary, finance sec-retary and 14 memberselected from throughout Pa-kistan (at least two from eachprovince).

At least 57 candidateswere contesting for 21 re-maining slots except vicepresident KPK slot who hadbeen elected unopposed.

The slot of president isreserved for Punjab this yearand three candidates werein the run, including AhmedAwais, Mian Israrul Haq andZafarullah Khan for the pur-pose.—APP

SCBA peaceful polling concludes

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Despite all thevociferous claims of theLahore police to curb crimeratio in the capital city, thenumber of car-snatchingand car-theft incidents haveincreased alarmingly whileModel Town Police Divisionis on the top getting about22 percent increase in inci-dents of car-snatching ascompared to the previousyear.

The data reveals thatabout 330 car-theft caseshave been registered intwelve police stations of thefour circles of Model TownDivision during the last ninemonths of the current yearwhile 271 car theft caseswere registered during the

Car-theft crimes escalating in Model Town Divisionsame period in 2011.

The carjackers and liftershave targeted saloon carsand the officials of the Anti-Vehicles Lift Staff (AVLS)strongly believed that thecriminal rackets involved incar stealing and snatchingmostly lifted the cars of spe-cific model and company thatindicated that they werestealing them on demand.Therefore, the ratio of thecases of stealing car is esca-lating in posh area like ModelTown, Garden Town, FaisalTown, Shadman and Gulberg.AVLS Inspector Rana Ziasaid the reason of the esca-lation in crime was the orga-nized nexus between auto-lifters.

Middlemen and junkdealers while on the other

hand, the citizens put blameon police by saying that nocriminal gang could operateso frequently in a certain areawithout the reticent supportof the police. These gang-sters target only saloon carslike Corolla GLI, XLI, HondaCity and Honda Civic be-cause these cars have goodresale value and their autoparts are always in demand.

Muhammad Junaid, aresident of Model Town, saidthat his Corolla GLI was sto-len from inside his house afew weeks ago. He said thethieves broke the lock of themain gate and silently madeoff with his car. He said heregistered an FIR against theunknown thieves but he wastold that after stealing of car,there was least chance that

the stolen car could be recov-ered as it was dismantledwithin hours. He said he wasa businessman and had notime to run after the police todo something for the recov-ery of his car. He admittedthat his car was locked buthe never imagined that his carcould be stolen from his ownhouse in his presence. Heseverely criticized the policefor their lethargic and care-less attitude.

Another citizen, ZeshanAhmed Baig, said his CorollaXLI 2010 Model was stolenin front of the playing groundin Model Town three daysago and still the police couldnot trace the thieves. He saidhe had a double security lockin the car but car-lifters madeoff with my car easily. He said

the police had failed to curbcar-theft crimes.

Inspector Hayat Khan,currently working with theCriminal InvestigationAgency (CIA) said the car-lifting gangsters knew theweakness of the law enforce-ment agencies as they com-prised of well-to-do lookingyoung boys and girls whoeasily drove away with thestolen cars as policemen de-ploying at the picketsavoided to stop prosperousowners of the cars. This trickhelps the criminals to take thevehicles outside Lahore andtheir favourable spot of ex-isting is via Thokar Niaz BegInterchange by theMotorway. He said smallgroups steal vehicle and sellthem in the tribal areas while

HABIB KHAN

LAHORE—Punjab GovernorSardar Latif Khan Khosacalled on Pakistan MuslimLeague President Senator ChShujat Hussain and seniorcentral leader and DeputyPrime Minister Ch ParvezElahi at their residence heretoday.

During the meeting, inwhich Moonis Elahi was alsopresent, views were ex-changed at some length re-garding overall Punjab situ-ation and other importantmatters. They also discussed

Khosa, Shujaat exchangeviews on by-elections

the forthcoming bye-elec-tions being held to fill thevacant seats of the Nationaland Provincial Assemblies.

On this occasion Gover-nor Sardar Latif Khan Khosasaid that Pakistan Peoples’Party alliance with PakistanMuslim League is not forsome time, we attach greatimportance to this alliance,both the parties will not onlycontest the bye-electionshand in hand with each otherto defeat the opponents butalso in the general electionsand get the air out of bal-loons of those raising empty

slogans.Ch Shujat Hussain and

Ch Parvez Elahi maintainedthat they entered into alliancewith the Peoples Party wasnot for personal interests butin the larger interests of thenation and the country andit would remain intact. Theysaid that like bye-elections,both the parties would put upbest candidates through seatadjustment in the generalelections as well adding thatthe results of the electionswould be quite humiliatingfor the opponents contraryto all their tall claims.

another type operating inthe city are those gangshaving strong network withdealer from the tribal areasand local dealers hailing thenotorious auto market BilalGunj.

He said if the dealerspicked the stolen car withinthe limits of the city, the dealwould be at minimum priceand if car-thieves take theresponsibility of providingthe stolen cars to dealers’desired location, the pricewould be at maximum, how-ever, the stolen vehicles’prices do not exceed fromRs 3 lakh.” In many cases,the tribal dealers try toscratch a deal with their lo-cal partners and mechanicsdismantled a stolen carwithin an hour.”

Oppositionparties to

resist generalelections delay

LAHORE—The oppositionpolitical parities have decidedto offer strong resistance if sit-ting Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) led federal governmentused any tactic to delay gen-eral elections.

Senior leaders of opposi-tion parties including PakistanMuslim League (PML-N),Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Paki-stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) inseparate interviews with INPwere of the view that delay ingeneral polls would not onlyhurt ongoing democratic pro-cess in the country but wouldalso give rise to political anar-chy and tug of war betweendifferent stakeholders.

These leaders claimed thatthey were in consensus overtimely holding of general elec-tions and were in constantcontact over the issue. AmeerJI Syed Munawar Hassan saidthat PPP government fearspossible masses response forits deeds which it did during itrule therefore it was looking forany way to flee from elections.

He warned that if any de-laying tactic was used by PPPgovernment to halt elections,JI along with other politicalparties would gather masseson single platform whichwould ultimately force gov-ernment to quit. MunawarHassan also warned for strictresponse if PPP tried to re-elect Asif Ali Zardari throughsitting parliament. PML-Nleader, Senator PervezRasheed said that his partywould not let PPP to delayelections. He said that to getrid of the prevailing crisistimely elections and throwingout of sitting government wasnecessary.

Vice president PTI,Makhdoom Javed Hashmi saidthat for overcoming threatsfaced by country’s sover-eignty, stability and economicrevival, getting rid of sittinggovernment and holding gen-eral elections in time was needof the hour.—INP