thursday, 6 December, 2012 muharram 21, 1434 rs 15.00 vol iii no 159 19 Pages Karachi edition PAGE |19 PAGE |19 Captain among three killed in Wana suicide attack indian prime minister cancels visit to Pakistan ‘Parties with militant wings responsible for Karachi violence’ PAGE |03 ISLAMABAD sTaFF REPORT The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought details from OGRA regarding the action taken each year against CNG stations for not complying with terms and conditions mentioned in licences, as it rejected a proposal to increase the CNG prices and stayed the prices at the current level. A two-member bench of Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain resumed hearing in the case regarding CNG prices. In his remarks, Justice Khawaja said there was a cartel in the country and it appeared as if prices were fixed on its demands. He said business was done on basis of profit. “If it suits the businessmen, they must carry on, or else they should shut down the business.” He added that the court wanted to scrutinise the issue per law and did not care whether CNG stations were closed or phased out. The bench directed OGRA to furnish the details of total number of applications received for setting up CNG Stations each year since 2002. The court also directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to submit the details the owners of CNG stations who filed their tax returns and the amount of taxes, if any, paid by them during the last three years. Rejecting CNG owners’ association plea to increase the CNG prices, the court observed that current prices would be maintained until the case was decided. The court demanded from OGRA a list of the total number of applications rejected each year since 2002, total number of applicants allowed provisional licences each year, total number of marketing licences allowed each year, total number of stations actually set up each year that became operational and the total number of stations that provided audited accounts and income tax returns each year since 2002. During the hearing, counsel for OGRA informed the bench that a very limited number of people had submitted their audited accounts to OGRA, while a vast majority had failed to do so despite demands. “The demand for audited accounts is supported prima facie, by the statute i.e. the OGRA Ordinance and the rules framed there under and under other statutes,” the court observed. The bench also said that reference was made to a report which had been prepared by a firm of accountants. The report, however, was incomplete as it did not taken into account the audited accounts of 3,395 CNG stations that were permitted to sell CNG. The proceedings were adjourned until today (Thursday) with directions to OGRA to submit the demanded details. Talking to reporters outside the SC, CNG Association Chairman Ghayyas Paracha said the court’s decision on the pricing formula would be accepted by the CNG dealers. The OGRA chief said the body had failed to reach a consensus with CNG dealers over the new pricing formula. ISLAMABAD agEnciEs C HIEF Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday said the provincial government in Balochistan had no constitutional au- thority and was “ruling at its own risk”. The Supreme Court on Wednes- day announced its interim order in the Balochistan law and order case that stated that the government was responsible for providing security to the people and the federal and Balochistan governments had failed to do so. The order said the distress of families of missing persons was in- creasing by the day. The chief justice said the Balochistan chief minister should take the responsibility for the continued killings and disappear- ances across the province instead of blaming the police force. In response, the Balochistan ad- vocate general said if the court or- dered, the provincial government could resign the very day. However, the CJ said the judges did not know what the government wanted to do. “The lawyers should read the consti- tution and the order,” he added. The lawyer for the provincial govern- ment, Shahid Hamid, requested the court to ask the doctors to end their strike in Balochistan. But Justice Chaudhry said why should the court pass such an order, adding that the government should first provide security to the doctors. Hamid said a high-level commit- tee had been set up to probe into the deteriorating security situation and the chief minister was also part of the committee. The president of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Balochis- tan said how could the doctors be on duty when their lives were in danger. Chief Justice Chaudhry said the situ- ation in the province would not return to normal unless the government took the issue seriously. Referring to the continued killing, he questioned what had the Shia com- munity, police and FC done wrong. The CJ said over 75 hearings had been conducted in the Balochistan law and order case, but the situation on the ground remained critical. ISLAMABAD sTaFF REPORT The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct proper and complete door-to-door verification of electoral rolls in Karachi for conducting free, fair and transparent election. The court also directed ECP, if required, to take assistance of the army and Frontier Constabulary (FC) for carrying out the process. A three-member SC bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Gulzar Ahmed announced judgment in identical petitions, filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan, the PML-N and Jamaat-e-Islami seeking verification of the voter’s lists in Karachi. The 24-page judgment said in view of the peculiar security situation in Karachi , such verification must be carried out by the ECP with the help and assistance of Pakistan Army and the FC. The judgment also ruled that voters should not be transferred from one area to another without their (voters) consent, as it is right of every citizen to cast vote at his/her desired place. The court ruled that it was clear that electoral rolls of the city of Karachi were required to be revised by the ECP. Earlier, the court on November 28, 2012, had reserved the judgment in the instant case after hearing to both parties. The court had accepted the concerns expressed by Pakistan People’s Party, Jamaat-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Insaaf about the shifting of voters name from Karachi to other provinces, directing the Election Commission of Pakistan to examine the matter per the consent of the people in Karachi. ISLAMABAD Tayyab Hussain With the general elections approaching, the credibility of all ruling parties in the country suffered a major blow on Wednesday with the release of the Transparency International’s (TI) annual report. The report listed Pakistan as the 33rd most corrupt country in the world, as it slipped down nine ranks from its last year’s place as the 42nd most corrupt country. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand emerged as the cleanest nations as far as corruption was concerned, and tied at first place with scores of 90 each, thanks to the strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public po- sitions. Meanwhile, Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia once again were seen clinging to the bottom rung of the index and were declared the most corrupt states. In these countries, the lack of accountability of leadership and effec- tive public institutions underscored the need to take a much stronger stance against corrup- tion, according to the report. The TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2012 had ranked 176 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index assigned scores of between one and 100, where one was perceived to be highly corrupt and 100 being very clean. Rampant corruption in Pakistan has inten- sified as the country entered into the election year. During this time all the federal and provincial governments were more or less in- volved in dolling out tens of billions of rupees to their members of parliament (MPs) in the name of development projects to attract a large number of voters in the next elections. “Governments need to integrate anti-cor- ruption actions into all public decision-mak- ing forums. Priorities include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making pub- lic spending and contracting more transpar- ent and making public bodies more accountable to people,” said TI Chair of the Board of Directors Huguette Labelle. The report added that a growing outcry over corrupt governments forced out several leaders from office last year, but as the dust gradually cleared, it had become apparent that the levels of bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings were still very high in many countries. The TICPI 2012 showed that corruption continued to ravage societies around the world. Two thirds of the 176 countries ranked in this year’s index scored below 50, showing that pub- lic institutions needed to be more transparent, and powerful officials more accountable. TI Pakistan Chairman Sohail Muzaffar said Pakistan’s CPI rank had fallen by nine positions which was not a good sign. Even the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman had declared that daily cor- ruption in the country was estimated at Rs 7 bil- lion, which meant that in five years the figure would reach a staggering Rs 12,600 billion. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) mem- ber Asrar Rauf said by collecting Rs 150 bil- lion in January and February, the FBR would whiten Rs 15,000 billion under the new Tax Amnesty Scheme, adding that in the last five years the total FBR collection was approxi- mately Rs 7,500 billion. BAloChiStAN GoVt hAS No leGAlitY: CJ g Justice Chaudhry says government has no constitutional authority, ruling at its own risk g Provincial government failed to provide security to citizens SC StAYS CNG tAriff uNtil fiNAl deCiSioN Pakistan climbs 9 places to become world’s 33rd most corrupt country SC directs ECP to conduct door-to-door verification of voters in Karachi g Allows ECP to take assistance from Pakistan Army, FC if need be continueD on Page 04 Dismissing govts not court’s job: shah | Page 03 KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:36 AM Page 1
Transcript
thursday, 6 December, 2012 muharram 21, 1434rs 15.00 vol iii no 159 19 Pages Karachi edition
PAGE |19PAGE |19
Captain amongthree killed in Wanasuicide attack
indian primeminister cancelsvisit to Pakistan
‘Parties with militantwings responsible forKarachi violence’
PAGE |03
ISLAMABADsTaFF REPORT
The Supreme Court on Wednesdaysought details from OGRA regarding theaction taken each year against CNGstations for not complying with termsand conditions mentioned in licences, asit rejected a proposal to increase the CNGprices and stayed the prices at the currentlevel. A two-member bench of JusticeJawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji ArifHussain resumed hearing in the caseregarding CNG prices. In his remarks, Justice Khawaja saidthere was a cartel in the country and itappeared as if prices were fixed on itsdemands. He said business was done onbasis of profit. “If it suits thebusinessmen, they must carry on, or elsethey should shut down the business.”He added that the court wanted toscrutinise the issue per law and did notcare whether CNG stations were closed or
phased out. The bench directed OGRA tofurnish the details of total number ofapplications received for setting up CNGStations each year since 2002. The courtalso directed the Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) to submit the details theowners of CNG stations who filed theirtax returns and the amount of taxes, ifany, paid by them during the last threeyears. Rejecting CNG owners’ associationplea to increase the CNG prices, the courtobserved that current prices would bemaintained until the case was decided.The court demanded from OGRA a list ofthe total number of applications rejectedeach year since 2002, total number ofapplicants allowed provisional licenceseach year, total number of marketinglicences allowed each year, total numberof stations actually set up each year thatbecame operational and the totalnumber of stations that providedaudited accounts and income taxreturns each year since 2002.During the hearing, counsel for OGRA
informed the bench that a very limitednumber of people had submitted theiraudited accounts to OGRA, while a vastmajority had failed to do so despitedemands. “The demand for auditedaccounts is supported prima facie, by thestatute i.e. the OGRA Ordinance and therules framed there under and underother statutes,” the court observed. Thebench also said that reference was madeto a report which had been prepared by afirm of accountants. The report, however,was incomplete as it did not taken intoaccount the audited accounts of 3,395CNG stations that were permitted to sellCNG. The proceedings were adjourneduntil today (Thursday) with directions toOGRA to submit the demanded details.Talking to reporters outside the SC, CNGAssociation Chairman Ghayyas Parachasaid the court’s decision on the pricingformula would be accepted by the CNGdealers. The OGRA chief said the bodyhad failed to reach a consensus with CNGdealers over the new pricing formula.
ISLAMABADagEnciEs
CHIEF Justice of PakistanIftikhar MuhammadChaudhry on Wednesday saidthe provincial government in
Balochistan had no constitutional au-thority and was “ruling at its own risk”.
The Supreme Court on Wednes-day announced its interim order inthe Balochistan law and order casethat stated that the government wasresponsible for providing security tothe people and the federal and
Balochistan governments had failedto do so. The order said the distress offamilies of missing persons was in-creasing by the day. The chief justicesaid the Balochistan chief ministershould take the responsibility for thecontinued killings and disappear-ances across the province instead ofblaming the police force.
In response, the Balochistan ad-vocate general said if the court or-dered, the provincial governmentcould resign the very day. However,the CJ said the judges did not knowwhat the government wanted to do.
“The lawyers should read the consti-tution and the order,” he added.
The lawyer for the provincial govern-ment, Shahid Hamid, requested the courtto ask the doctors to end their strike inBalochistan. But Justice Chaudhry saidwhy should the court pass such an order,adding that the government should firstprovide security to the doctors.
Hamid said a high-level commit-tee had been set up to probe into thedeteriorating security situation andthe chief minister was also part of thecommittee. The president of PakistanMedical Association (PMA) Balochis-
tan said how could the doctors be onduty when their lives were in danger.Chief Justice Chaudhry said the situ-ation in the province would not returnto normal unless the government tookthe issue seriously.
Referring to the continued killing,he questioned what had the Shia com-munity, police and FC done wrong.
The CJ said over 75 hearings hadbeen conducted in the Balochistanlaw and order case, but the situationon the ground remained critical.
ISLAMABADsTaFF REPORT
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct proper andcomplete door-to-door verification of electoral rolls in Karachifor conducting free, fair and transparent election. The courtalso directed ECP, if required, to take assistance of the armyand Frontier Constabulary (FC) for carrying out the process. Athree-member SC bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice GulzarAhmed announced judgment in identical petitions, filed byPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan, the PML-Nand Jamaat-e-Islami seeking verification of the voter’s lists inKarachi. The 24-page judgment said in view of the peculiarsecurity situation in Karachi , such verification must be carriedout by the ECP with the help and assistance of Pakistan Armyand the FC. The judgment also ruled that voters should not betransferred from one area to another without their (voters)consent, as it is right of every citizen to cast vote at his/herdesired place. The court ruled that it was clear that electoralrolls of the city of Karachi were required to be revised by theECP. Earlier, the court on November 28, 2012, had reservedthe judgment in the instant case after hearing to both parties.The court had accepted the concerns expressed by PakistanPeople’s Party, Jamaat-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Insaaf aboutthe shifting of voters name from Karachi to other provinces,directing the Election Commission of Pakistan to examine thematter per the consent of the people in Karachi.
ISLAMABADTayyab Hussain
With the general elections approaching, thecredibility of all ruling parties in the countrysuffered a major blow on Wednesday with therelease of the Transparency International’s (TI)annual report.
The report listed Pakistan as the 33rd mostcorrupt country in the world, as it slipped downnine ranks from its last year’s place as the 42ndmost corrupt country. Denmark, Finland andNew Zealand emerged as the cleanest nationsas far as corruption was concerned, and tied atfirst place with scores of 90 each, thanks to thestrong access to information systems and rulesgoverning the behaviour of those in public po-sitions. Meanwhile, Afghanistan, North Koreaand Somalia once again were seen clinging tothe bottom rung of the index and were declaredthe most corrupt states. In these countries, thelack of accountability of leadership and effec-tive public institutions underscored the needto take a much stronger stance against corrup-tion, according to the report.
The TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index(CPI) 2012 had ranked 176 countries by theirperceived levels of public sector corruption. Theindex assigned scores of between one and 100,where one was perceived to be highly corruptand 100 being very clean.
Rampant corruption in Pakistan has inten-sified as the country entered into the electionyear. During this time all the federal andprovincial governments were more or less in-volved in dolling out tens of billions of rupeesto their members of parliament (MPs) in the
name of development projects to attract a largenumber of voters in the next elections.
“Governments need to integrate anti-cor-ruption actions into all public decision-mak-ing forums. Priorities include better rules onlobbying and political financing, making pub-lic spending and contracting more transpar-ent and making public bodies moreaccountable to people,” said TI Chair of theBoard of Directors Huguette Labelle.
The report added that a growing outcryover corrupt governments forced out severalleaders from office last year, but as the dustgradually cleared, it had become apparent thatthe levels of bribery, abuse of power and secretdealings were still very high in many countries.
The TICPI 2012 showed that corruptioncontinued to ravage societies around the world.Two thirds of the 176 countries ranked in thisyear’s index scored below 50, showing that pub-lic institutions needed to be more transparent,and powerful officials more accountable.
TI Pakistan Chairman Sohail Muzaffar saidPakistan’s CPI rank had fallen by nine positionswhich was not a good sign.
Even the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) chairman had declared that daily cor-ruption in the country was estimated at Rs 7 bil-lion, which meant that in five years the figurewould reach a staggering Rs 12,600 billion.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) mem-ber Asrar Rauf said by collecting Rs 150 bil-lion in January and February, the FBR wouldwhiten Rs 15,000 billion under the new TaxAmnesty Scheme, adding that in the last fiveyears the total FBR collection was approxi-mately Rs 7,500 billion.
BaloChiStaNGovt haS NoleGality: CJ
g Justice Chaudhry says government has no constitutional authority, ruling at its ownrisk g Provincial government failed to provide security to citizens
SC StayS CNG tariffuNtil fiNal deCiSioN
Pakistan climbs 9 placesto become world’s 33rdmost corrupt country
SC directs ECP toconduct door-to-doorverification of votersin Karachig Allows ECP to take assistance
from Pakistan Army, FC if need be
continueD on Page 04Dismissing govts not court’s job: shah | Page 03
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
‘over 200 CNG stationsinvolved in gas theft’ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on PetroleumDr Asim Hussain on Wednesday said more than 200 CNGfiling stations across Pakistan were stealing gas. Talking toreporters, Hussain said he had already informed the Oiland Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) about the theft, butit had failed to take any action against the stations. He saidthough he could not name each and every station, he hadprovided a list of over 200 stations to OGRA, but it was nottaking any action against them. A rift emerged between thegovernment and All Pakistan CNG Stations Association(APCNGSA) over the issue of gas prices, as the governmentwas keen to implement the Supreme Court’s decision andlower the prices, while the association was demanding anincrease in gas prices. OnlinE
eCP takes notice of aerialfiring in by-elections ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP) has taken serious notice of incessant firing withlethal weapons at the houses of winning candidates afterthe results of Tuesday’s by-elections were announced. Afirst information report (FIR) has been registered againstthose responsible for firing in Sialkot, while three of theaccused have been arrested and their weapons have beenseized. The Punjab election commissioner has also beendirected to contact the Punjab chief secretary in order tolodge an FIR against the miscreants involved in aerial firingwhich caused harassment, fear and injuries in theconstituencies. Miscreants of the other constituencies havealso been arrested for the violation of Section 144 of theCriminal Penal Code and for causing harassment and fearamong the people. A letter has been sent to various TVchannels to send the footage of the firing, caught on theircameras, to the ECP. Also, a meeting of the ElectionCommission of Pakistan is going to be held in Karachi onFriday to discuss the recent by-elections in Punjab andSindh, the issue of dual nationalities, the electoral rolls andsome other important administrative matters. OnlinE
Police arrest Karachicleric’s murderer West Karachi DIG Javed Odho has said that the policehave arrested the accused involved in the murder of QariHassan Naseer, a 40-year-old prayer leader who was shotdead in a mosque in New Karachi on Wednesday,according to a report by a private TV channel. Addressinga press conference, Odho said that the alleged culprit wastrying to flee from the crime scene but his motorcyclefailed to start and he was arrested, adding that theaccused was accompanied by two other men whomanaged to escape. Odho said that the accused hadadmitted to his crime and had also disclosed that he wasassigned the task of killing Qari Hassan Naseer by theTaliban, adding that he had trained in Mansehra for 21days before embarking on the mission and he received Rs15,000 per month for the job. “The imam had to be killedbecause he had started leaking classified information,” theDIG quoted the accused. MOniTORing dEsK
KP government all set tobring lB lawPEShAwAr: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government hasgiven approval to implement the Local Government Act inthe province from January 2013. Sources said with theimplementation of the new law, the local bodies systemintroduced in 2001 as well as all the LB institutions wouldbe dissolved and municipal committees in urban areas andunion councils in rural areas would be revivedsimultaneously. According to the proposed act, thenumber of members in each UC would be 11 of which therewould be seven Muslims members and two seats would bereserved for women. One minority member and onelabourer would be included in each UC. The chairman ofthe UC would be a general member. The general membersfor district council would be elected directly. OnlinE
ISLAMABADKasHiF abbasi
WHILE former Islamabad additionaldeputy commissioner MaryamKhan’s ‘illegal’ removal from herpost is still making headlines, an-other case of victimisation of a fe-
male bureaucrat has come to the surface. According to reports, Islamabad Assistant Com-
missioner (AC) Rabia Aurangzaib sealed 72 kanals ofdisputed land valued over Rs 1 billion on August 16,2012 against the “directions” of her bosses.
The very next day, Islamabad Chief Commis-sioner Tariq Mehmood Pirzada removed her fromthe post and made her an officer on special duty(OSD). Although Rabia’s removal occurred prior tothat of Maryam Khan, the former filed a case aftershe saw that Khan’s case was being taken seriously.The parties to the dispute are Pir of Golra Sharif SyedAbdul Haq Gilani and Service Co-operative HousingSociety. Sources said Rabia was verbally instructedby the chief commissioner not to seal the land, butshe passed the order nevertheless.
As a result, she was removed the very next dayand was made an OSD, merely after a month of herposting. She was replaced by an under training offi-cer, Waqas Rashid. In 2009, a committee headed bythen deputy commissioner Asadullah Faiz also heardthis case in length and decided that the piece of landshould remain sealed. “Section 145 of the Code ofCriminal Procedures (CCP) must remain intact untilany collective decision regarding the dispute of thepossession and ownership is taken by any court ofcompetent jurisdiction,” the meeting decided.
On August 16, 2012, Rabia conducted a detailedhearing and decided that the disputed land shouldremain sealed. Before making her judgment, she alsosought the police report from Golra police stationhouse officer. “I am of the opinion that when the Is-lamabad DC headed the committee he gave a veryclear verdict that as both the parties claim possessionof the same land and that the matter is still sub-judicebefore the Islamabad High Court, the vacation of sec-tion 145 of the CCP amounts to a glare violation ofthe verdict given by Islamabad DC and will cause alaw and order situation at the site. Therefore, the pro-ceedings under Section 145 shall remain intact tillfurther orders of a competent court,” she said in herdecision.
However, her replacement, Waqas Rashid re-
versed her orders, but the same was stayed by thesession’s court. On October 22, the AC wrote a letterto the interior secretary and narrated her tale, but noaction was taken. In her letter, she said: “On August13 (just after three weeks as AC Saddar), I was ver-bally asked by the chief commissioner to open thecase of a property located in Golra, Islamabad whichhad been sealed by my predecessors. When I wentover the latest police report on August 13, I realisedthat the opening of the case would lead to a law andorder situation. I, therefore, ordered the land remainsealed. As a result, I was transferred by the chief com-missioner the very next day. When I went to see him,he reprimanded me and said I was not a good officerand not even a person worth talking to. It is the startof my career and I’m being punished for an act whichI did judiciously and as per law. I was transferred onlybecause I did not obey the illegal orders of the chiefcommissioner and did the right thing.”
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Tariq MehmoodPirzada said, “Yes, I had directed Rabia Aurangzaibto open the case because we cannot keep the propertyof citizens sealed.” Asked why Rabia was removed aday after she gave her verdict over the disputed land,the commissioner said there were a number of com-plaints against her.
Islamabad AC made OSDfor ‘not obeying orders’g Female bureaucrat transferred from her post for refusingalleged illegal directions of Islamabad chief commissioner
ISLAMABAD: Taking suo motu notice overthe harassment of government officers, theSupreme Court on Wednesday issuedsummons to the Attorney General, FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA) AdditionalDirector General Hussain Asghar, IslamabadAdditional Deputy Commissioner (DC)Maryam Khan and former SP (IndustrialArea) Dr Khurram Rashid and fixed thehearing date for Thursday (today). The FIAadditional DG, who had been heading a probeinto the Hajj scandal, was summoned by theNational Assembly Privilege Committee onDecember 3. Last week, Islamabad additionalDC was made officer on special duty (OSD) fornot following the wishes and whims of seniors.She was followed by SP (Industrial Area) DrKhurram Rashid who surrendered his post onDecember 2. OnlinE
SC takes suo motu notice overharassment of govt officers
ISLAMABADnni
The United Nations (UN) refugee agency onWednesday said nearly 83,000 Afghan refugeeshad returned home this year through its assistedvoluntary repatriation programme, which is a 24percent increase from 2011.
In November this year, more than 8,200Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan as com-pared with 3,000 a year earlier. However, Pakistanwas still hosting some 1.65 million Afghan refugeesand another one million undocumented Afghans,the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) said.
Voluntary repatriation had remained theUNHCR’s preferred solution globally for mostrefugees. Since 2002, around 5.7 million Afghanrefugees have returned to their home country,constituting nearly a quarter of the country’spopulation. Nevertheless, Pakistan and Iranwere still generously hosting some 2.7 millionAfghan refugees after three decades, a UNHCRstatement said.
The Pakistani government had been holding
informal consultations to formulate a policy be-yond December 31, 2012, a date set for the Afghanrefugees to return homes.
Earlier, Pakistan had issued Proof of Registra-tion Cards (PoRs) to Afghan refugees that wouldexpire on December 31 this year and the govern-ment had not yet decided to extend its period. Pak-istan said that it would treat all Afghan refugees asillegal immigrants after the expiry of the PoRs.
The Pakistani Minister for States and Fron-tier Regions Engineer Shaukatullah Khan, whoseministry had also been dealing with the refugeesaffairs, concluded a three-day visit toAfghanistan on Tuesday and had assured theAfghan leaders that Pakistan would not forciblyexpel the Afghans from its soil.
The minister also called on Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai and expressed his commitment tothe voluntary return of Afghan refugees to theirhomeland, while also hoping that the Pakistanigovernment would soon agree to a mechanism inthis respect to ensure a voluntary and dignified re-turn of the refugees. During this meeting, emphasiswas made on the voluntary nature of return by theAfghan president, the UNHCR said.
The minister also saw first-hand the imple-mentation of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Re-turnees (SSAR) in Afghanistan, and the conditionsin which refugee return was taking place.
Together with the Minister for Refugees andRepatriation Dr. Jamaher Anwary, he visited twohigh-return areas where they met groups of re-turnees from Pakistan. They were also accompa-nied by representatives of the UNHCR inAfghanistan and Pakistan, including the UNHCRrepresentative in Pakistan Neill Wright.
The delegations while meeting with the re-cently returned refugees from Pakistan, witnessedthe many needs still faced by the returnees as win-ter season approached. Later they visited severalalready completed projects including a new school.
It is pertinent to mention here that voluntaryrepatriation and sustainable reintegration were atthe center of the SSAR that was endorsed at an in-ternational conference in Geneva in May this year.“However, we need development funding and de-velopment actors to urgently become more en-gaged in supporting sustainable reintegration forrefugees, through the implementation of this strat-egy, “said Dr. Anwary.
4 injured in Quetta,Kohlu violence QUETTA: Four people, including apoliceman were injured in a landmineblast and firing incident in Kohlu andQuetta districts, respectively, onWednesday. Levies officials said a vehiclecarrying two people, identified asMohammad Iqbal and Abdul Khaliq, hit alandmine in Kohlu. As a result bothreceived serious injuries. They wereshifted to District Headquarter Hospitalfor treatment. Officials said theircondition was serious. Separately, twopeople, including a policeman, receivedinjuries in a firing incident in Quetta.Policeman Naseer Ahmad and MohammadZareef were on their way on Sariab Roadwhen unidentified armed men opened fireon them. As a result, both sustainedinjuries and were shifted to hospital.Police have registered a case and startedinvestigation. sHaHzada zulFiqaR
Nearly 83,000 Afghan refugees return home from Pakistan this year
FAISALABAD: World Snooker
Champion Muhammad Asif is
being warmly welcomed by the
people of his residential area on
his arrival. Asif clinched the
world title after defeating
England’s Gary Wilson. ONLINE
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:36 AM Page 2
03NewseDITorIaLa defective strategy
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
nz’s Vettori likely to miss south africa tour
RAIWINDagEnciEs
PA K I S T A N MuslimLeague–Nawaz (PML-N) President NawazSharif on Wednesdayexpressed concern
over the situation in Karachi, say-ing the government’s coalitionpartners in the Sindh Assemblywere worsening the law and orderin the city through their militantwings.
Speaking in a meeting withPML-N Sindh leaders Ghous AliShah, Mamnoon Hussain, LiaqatJatoi, Marvi Memon, Salim Zia,Ameer Hussain Bhutto and others,the PML-N chief said the partiesresponsible for Karachi violencewere in cahoots with the govern-ment and they all were concealingeach others’ crimes.
The PML-N chief said the gov-ernment was doing great injusticeto Pakistan by neglecting Karachi.
He vowed that if elected to
power, the PML-N would trans-form Sindh’s conditions and re-store peace in Karachi.
Nawaz added that the govern-ment was doing injustice with thecountry and there was illegal occu-pation of land in Karachi.
He said the PML-N opposedthe Sindh local government ordi-nance and his party stood with thenationalist parties on the issue ofdual local government system. Hecalled the ordinance akin to a divi-sion of Sindh.
Supporting Supreme Court or-ders to recheck electoral lists inKarachi, the PML-N president saidthe government should act uponorders of the apex court to con-duct free and fair election.
Nawaz said building the con-troversial Kalabagh Dam withoutnational consensus was not in thecountry’s interest.
The controversial projectcould only be initiated if consen-sus was created among the fourprovinces, he added.
Nawaz was also critical of thePML-Q, saying the party’s poli-tics were beyond comprehen-sion. He said his party hadplayed its role to enable the par-liament complete its term.Nawaz said if his party had notbeen in the way, President Asif AliZardari would have takenseveral steps toweaken democracyin the country.“But the presidentalways tried toweaken the Pun-jab govern-ment,” he said.Nawaz addedthat the PML-N was a na-tional partyand its pres-ence in allprovinces was asymbol of unity.He announced to runa full-fledged electioncampaign across Sindh.
Parties with militant wings responsiblefor Karachi violence, says Nawazg PmL-n chief says building Kalabagh Dam without consensus not in country’s interestg PmL-n helped parliament complete its term
PmL-n used govt’sresources to rigby-polls in Punjab,alleges Khosa
MULTANaPP
Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa on Wednesday al-leged that the ruling party in Punjab – the Pakistan Mus-lim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – had used the government’smachinery to rig the by-polls held on Tuesday. Talking toreporters after chairing a Senate meeting of the Bahaud-din Zakariya University (BZU) at the Institute of Manage-ment Sciences (IMS), he alleged that the PML-N had onceagain robbed the people’s mandate by rigging the by-polls. He said the PML-N had not learnt a lesson from theSupreme Court’s (SC) verdict in the Asghar Khan case.Khosa urged the SC to take suo motu action on drastic vi-olation of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP)code of conduct in the by-elections at Cheecha Watni andother places. Talking about a caretaker setup, he sug-gested that all political parties should be consulted whileselecting the name of caretaker prime minister and chiefministers.To a question, the governor said that after theintroduction of the 20th Amendment in the constitution,the leader of the House and opposition leader in the Na-tional Assembly would consult each other to agree on aname for the position of caretaker prime minister, and ifthey fail to reach consensus, an eight-member committeeof parliamentarians from both the treasury and opposi-tion benches would recommend a name, and even then ifthe committee did not reach a consensus, the ECP wouldsuggest a name to fill the position.
NAB to probe AsgharKhan case ‘on merit’National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab Director GeneralKhurshid Anwar Bhinder has said his department will notsuccumb to any pressure if it is assigned probe into the AsgharKhan case, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.Speaking to reporters, he said NAB was not dealing with anypolitical case, adding that the investigation would be carried outon merit if his department was assigned with any such case. TheNAB DG said there was no corruption in the bureau and ifanybody had any evidence against NAB, he should come forwardand present it. MOniTORing dEsK
By-poll wins can’t bring tsunamiof change, says ImranLAhOrE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf(PTI) Chief Imran Khan on Wednesdaysaid a tsunami of change could not bebrought through wins in by-elections.Khan was apparently taking a jibe at thePML-N, which swept seven seats in by-elections held in nine constituenciesacross the country on Tuesday. Talking toreporters at Lahore airport, Khan saidPPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto himselfbrought the change after sweeping thegeneral election. The PTI chairman saidChief Justice of Pakistan IftikharMohammad Chaudhry was the only ray ofhope for the deprived people of Pakistan,as he had given historic verdicts.“Hopefully the independent election commission will conduct free and fairpolls,” he added. Khan added that distributing laptops would not earn thePML-N any fame, adding that the next general election would prove whowas more popular among the people. To a question on Kalabagh Dam, hesaid the dam should be constructed after removing grievances of allstakeholders. inP
Dismissing governments notcourt’s job, says ShahISLAMABAD: Federal Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khurshid Ali Shahon Wednesday said it was not the job of the judiciary to declare a governmentconstitutional or unconstitutional. Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decisionin Balochistan law and order case, he said courts did not have the authority todissolve governments or usher in new administrations. “Courts should notgive verdicts that create problems for everyone in the future.” Shah said thatthe constitution provided clear methods for changing elected governments.He said the Supreme Court should order delimitation of constituencies acrossthe country, not only in Karachi. Shah said the Asghar Khan Case had beenburied and government would not hand over Nawaz Sharif to FIA. “Someelements are trying their utmost to create bad blood between political forces,”he said. Shah said although past presidents had harmed democracy, theincumbent was the “greatest defender of democracy”. Shah said PresidentAsif Ali Zardari would not participate in the campaign for the upcominggeneral election. Moreover, he said none of the governors would be changedin the caretaker setup for the upcoming election. agEnciEs
LONDONMajid KHaTTaK
Pakistan International Airlines’(PIA) United Kingdom ManagerMansoor Mela, who was sus-pended by the PIA managementfor delaying President Asif AliZardari’s flight from London toPakistan last month, has refusedto accept his suspension orders,sources told Pakistan Today onWednesday.
According to reports,Zardari’s flight got delayed whenthe president, on his arrival at theairport, was informed that PIA’scountry manager was not presentat the airport and had not issuedany directions to facilitate the de-parture of the president’s planeon time. Complaining about the“lack of care and protocol”, thepresident’s military secretary
protested to the Ministry of De-fence and sought immediate sus-pension of Mela. The ministrycomplied.
However, sources in Londonhave claimed that Mela has ig-nored his suspension orders andis still holding on to the office andtakes all policy decisions as PIA’scountry manager in UK.
PIA sources in Karachi saidMela’s brother was a federal min-ister and was trying his best to getMela reinstated.
“But the new PIA managingdirector is an upright and honestofficer, who does not give in topolitical pressure. Therefore, thecancellation of his suspensionorders in unlikely,” the sourceadded. PIA Media RelationsManager Sultan Hasan said hewas not bound to comment onthe development.
PIA’s UK managerrefuses to acceptsuspension orders
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
04
The court had directed the ECPto examine the possibility ofreversing the names of votersback to Karachi where theirnames were previouslyrecorded, leaving an optionwith such voters to transfertheir votes, if they desired, toany other town/city ofPakistan, by making a requestto the respective representativeof Election Commission ofPakistan before theannouncement of the scheduleof elections. “There can be noescape from the fact that a free,fair, just and transparentelection is the very heart of ourdemocratic system, asenvisaged by the Constitution,”the judgment added.The court held that suchelections must not only be heldin a fair, just and honestmanner but also appear to beso in order to inspire theconfidence of the electorate.The judgment further ruledthat the provisions of Article219 of the constitution and theElectoral Rolls Act, 1974 andrules framed there under mustnecessarily be interpreted inmanner so as to achieve thesaid object. Consequently, TheElection Commission mustfulfil its obligation cast upon itby Article 218 to ensure holdingfree, fair and transparentelections and to achieve suchpurpose seek assistance, ifnecessary from the executiveauthorities in the federation in
this behalf that are obliged torender such assistance byvirtue of Article 220.“There is no denial of the factthat free, fair, honest,transparent and just election isdemand of the day as theparliamentary system of thecountry is strengthening dayby day,” the court ruled, addingthat all eligible citizens had afundamental right of franchise,which must be protected byissuing appropriate directions.The verdict observed thatKarachi had a peculiarbackground that included aserious law and order situation,detailed stock of the same hasbeen taken by this court in thecase of Watan Party vsFederation of Pakistan (PLD2011 SC 997).The court recalled that in thesaid judgment categoricaldirections were made fordelimitation of theconstituencies of Karachi withthe observation to avoidpolitical polarisation and tobreak the cycle of ethnic strifeand turf war, boundaries ofadministrative units like policestation, revenue estates, etc,ought to be altered so that themembers of differentcommunities may live togetherin peace and harmony, insteadof allowing various groups toclaim that particular areasbelonged to them and declarecertain areas as “no go” areasunder their fearful influence. The judgment further ruledthat the discrepancies in the
electoral roll of Karachiidentified by the learnedcounsel for the petitioners byway of example, “examined inconjunction with theadmitted position of theElection Commission that adoor-to-door verification ofthe entire residents ofKarachi had not been carriedout leads to the conclusionthat the electoral rolls ofKarachi do not inspireconfidence and the possibilitythat a significant number ofresidents of Karachi mayhave been disenfranchisedcannot be ignored”.“An accurate Electoral Roll is asine quo non for the holding ofa free, fair and transparentelection, which is not only thecommand of the constitutionbut also a fundamental right ofthe citizens, which appears tohave been compromised quathe residents of Karachi,” theverdict added. The judgmentrecalled that the court whiledeciding the case of Workers’Party Pakistan (supra) hadalready highlighted theimportance of preparation of theelectoral list to ensure free andfair elections and had held thatfair, free, honest and justelections were since qua non forstrengthening of democracy. Toachieve this goal, accuratepreparation/revision of electoralroll was immediately required tobe undertaken by the ElectionCommission through credibleand independent agencies, theruling added.
CAIROagEnciEs
Protests erupted between thesupporters of Egypt PresidentMohamed Mursi and thoseprotesting against his new‘sweeping powers’ on Wednes-day, while inside the buildinghis deputy proposed a way toend a crisis over a draft consti-tution that has split the mostpopulous Arab nation. Mursi’sopponents also set fire to theheadquarters of the MuslimBrotherhood’s political partyin Ismailia.
Stones and petrol bombsflew outside the palace. Twowere hit in the legs by what theirfriends said were bullets firedduring the clashes in streetsaround the compound in north-
ern Cairo. One of them wasbleeding heavily. A leftist groupsaid Mursi’s supporters had cutthe ear off one of its members,inflicting serious head woundson him. Riot police began to de-ploy between the two sides to tryto end the violence which flaredafter dark despite an attempt byVice President Mahmoud Mekkyto calm the political crisis.
He said amendments todisputed articles in the draftconstitution could be agreedwith the opposition. A writtenagreement could then be sub-mitted to the next parliament,to be elected after a referen-dum on the constitution onDecember 15. “There must beconsensus,” he told a newsconference, saying oppositiondemands must be respected to
overcome the crisis.Opposition leader Amr
Moussa, a former foreign min-ister and secretary-general ofthe Arab League, said Mursishould make a formal offer fordialogue if his opponents wereto consider seriously Mekky’sideas for a way out of the politi-cal impasse. “We are readywhen there is something formal,something expressed in definiteterms, we will not ignore it,”Moussa said during talks withother opposition figures.
Opposition leaders havepreviously urged Mursi to retracta decree widening his powers,defer the plebiscite and agree torevise the constitution, but havenot echoed calls from street pro-testers for his overthrow and the“downfall of the regime”.
SC directs ECP to conduct continueD from Page 01
WASHINGTONOnlinE
Welcoming the recent “positive” talksbetween the foreign ministers ofAfghanistan and Pakistan, the UnitedStates has highlighted the need for“greater dialogue” between the twocountries. “We’ve welcomed that kind ofcooperation. We want to see greaterdialogue between them,” StateDepartment spokesman Mark Tonertold reporters. “Obviously our role, aswell as Pakistan’s role, is the same. Wewant to see an Afghan-led reconciliationprocess. I think that we would view anykind of dialogue between Afghanistan
and Pakistan that furthers that ultimategoal to be very positive,” he said. TheUS wants to play a facilitative role inthis process, Toner said in response to aquestion. His remarks came days afterPakistan Foreign Minister HinaRabbani Khar and her Afghancounterpart Zalmai Rassoul held talksin Islamabad. During their meeting,Khar presented a draft of the StrategicPartnership Agreement (SPA) toRassoul. Both ministers told a newsconference after their talks that theywould like the pact to be signed as soonas possible, though Rassoul made itclear that such an agreement required“full trust” between the two sides.
US wants greater Pak-Afghan dialogue
BISHKEKnni
INDIA and Pakistan confirmed in-terest in becoming full-fledgedmembers of the Shanghai Cooper-ation Organisation (SCO) as the
heads of governments meeting of the SCOcountries concluded on Wednesday withthe signing of a series of joint documents.
Addressing the SCO Conference inKyrgyzstan‚ Information MinisterQamar Zaman Kaira welcomed theSCO’s decision to grant the status of ob-server state to Afghanistan and dialoguepartner status to Turkey. He also de-manded the status of a member countryfor Pakistan at the forum.
Praising the performance of theSCO, Kaira hoped the organisation
would play an effective role in establish-ing peace and stability in the region.
The minister said Pakistan gavemuch importance to the SCO with regardto tackling terrorism as the regionalcountries were facing a constant threatof terrorism. “We are looking forward tobeginning work with you as a full-fledged member,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indian Deputy ForeignMinister Sanjey Singh said, “We would bevery happy to continue working in SCO asa full-fledged member as soon as the or-ganisation makes a decision to expand.”
Earlier, the 11th heads of govern-ment meeting of the SCO opened onWednesday morning with a focus onstrengthening cooperation in economyand cultural exchanges within the frame-work of the SCO.
The heads of government of China,Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajik-istan and Uzbekistan approved the or-ganisation’s budget for 2013.
The participants also signed a state-ment on the SCO Development Fund, ajoint communiqué and some SCO reports.
Meanwhile, the customs serviceheads of the SCO countries signed amemorandum of cooperation on pro-tecting intellectual property rights and aprotocol to the agreement on interactionin the provision of assistance in dealingwith the consequences of emergencies.
Leaders from the six SCO members’states – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyr-gyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan –and SCO observer countries Mongolia,Pakistan, Iran, India and Afghanistan at-tended the meeting.
Japan womanarrested over160 dogs livingin own waste
TOKYOagEnciEs
A woman, who kept 160 starv-ing dogs in her house amongtonnes of their own waste, hasbeen arrested by Japanese po-lice, an official said onWednesday. Ten tonnes of an-imal waste and other rubbishwere removed from NorikoIshii’s house after the dogswere taken away, he said. OneBernese Mountain Dog kept byIshii, 43, weighed just sevenkilogrammes – a sixth of whatit should have, said the officialin Osaka, adding all the ani-mals were “very scrawny”. Job-less Ishii could face a fine of upto 500,000 yen ($6,000) ifconvicted under Japan’s ani-mal protection laws.
BRUSSELSagEnciEs
Hillary Clinton on Wednesdaybade farewell to her NATO al-lies after making her last ap-pearance as US secretary ofstate here, praising the mili-tary alliance for having made“great strides”.
“I’ve spent a bit of my timein this building over the pastfour years, and I think it wastime well spent,” Clintonmused, speaking after two daysof talks among the 28-memberalliance in Brussels.
“The alliance has madegreat strides,” the top USdiplomat said, praising the 60-year old organisation, foundedin the early days of the ColdWar, as one of the world’s“greatest forces for stabilityand security”. Clinton has beena regular visitor to the ram-bling NATO headquarters overthe four years of her tenure, at-tending its six-monthly foreignministerial meetings. But sheis due to step down early in2013, saying she wants to re-turn to private life after twodecades in the public eye.
Rumours are rife in Wash-ington about her potential suc-cessor, with US ambassador tothe United Nations Susan Rice
and veteran Democratic sena-tor John Kerry the odds-onfavourites to head up America’sdiplomacy. But Rice’s long-heldhopes of getting the top job arenow hostage to Washingtonpower games as Republicansgun for the UN envoy, claimingshe misled the American peo-ple over the attack on the USmission in Benghazi, Libya onSeptember 11.
Clinton ran through a list ofthe alliance’s achievements, in-cluding planning the draw-down of the NATO-ledoperation in Afghanistan, “amajor successful operation inLibya”, resuming deep-frozentalks with Russia and the en-largement of the alliance.
The United States is “grate-ful” to NATO, Clinton said, in-sisting that the alliance is now“needed more than ever and sowe must all continue to investin it. “After more than 60 yearsit keeps us safe, it projects secu-rity and stability globally. Andthrough our partnerships weare able to do more in moreplaces,” Clinton said.
“For the United States wefind it extremely valuable to beable to consult closely with ourEuropean allies on challengesfrom Syria to the Middle Eastand North Korea.”
China mineblast kills 17
BEIJINGagEnciEs
A gas blast in a southwest Chinacoal mine left 17 people dead onWednesday, state press said ofthe latest accident in the dan-gerous industry.
The explosion occurred atthe Shangchang Coal Mine inYunnan province on Wednesdayafternoon when 66 miners werein the shaft, Xinhua news agencysaid. Forty-nine miners were ableto safely escape the mine withtheir lives, while the other 17 werepronounced dead, the reportsaid. An investigation into the in-cident is ongoing. China is theworld’s biggest consumer of coal,relying on the fossil fuel for about70 per cent of its growing energyneeds. But its mines are amongthe deadliest in the world due tolax regulation, corruption and in-efficiency. Accidents are commonbecause safety is often neglectedby bosses seeking quick profits.According to the latest officialfigures, 1,973 people died incoal mining accidents in Chinain 2011, a 19 percent fall on theprevious year. But labour rightsgroups say the actual death tollis likely to be much higher,partly due to under-reportingof accidents as mine bossesseek to limit their financiallosses and avoid punishment.
Pakistan, India eye full-fledgedSCO membershipg Information Minister Kaira says SCO to play effective role for peace in region
Clinton praises Nato’sprogress as she bids farewell
Clashes erupt in Egypt despite proposal to end crisis
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
KARACHIsTaFF REPORT
UNABATED target killingsand violence continuedto claim innocent lives inthe city as six more peo-ple including two rob-
bers were killed and several othersinjured in fresh spate of target killing inthe city on Wednesday. The police ar-rested 26 accused including two mem-bers of religious outfit from differentlocalities of the city and recoveredarms from their possession.
According to details, two rob-bers were killed in separate po-lice encounters when they cameacross the law enforcement per-sonnel in Al-Hilal Society ofNew Town and in MaymarBridge at Super Highway ofKarachi. A man was stabbed todeath in rival groups clash in Gul-shan-e-Maymar locality of city.
In Qayyumabad area, armed robbersgunned down a man upon resistanceduring robbery attempt and fled with thelooted valuables. The body was shiftedto hospital where identity of the de-ceased was ascertained as Arshad.
The police recovered dead body of awoman later identified as Zahra fromPipri area.
Bullet riddled and tortured deadbody of another unknown person en-
closed in gunny bag was recovered fromSite locality. Police said that the de-ceased was shot dead after kidnappinghim. In site Metrowell locality five peo-ple were injured when unknown persons
attacked a housewith crackers. Theinjured were rushed to hospital for treat-ment.
Firing incidents continued in the cityduring which seven persons were re-ported injured. The injured were rushedto hospital where seven persons were re-ported injured. The injured were shiftedto different hospitals of concerned areas
where according to hospital sources con-dition of several injured people was se-rious.
Two accused wanted invarious cases of rob-beries, street
c r i m e s ,pickets loot-
ing and othercrimes were arrested during FerozabadPolice action in Mehmoodabad area. Thepolice recovered two TT pistols from thepossession of detainees identified asTahir alias Guddu and Albert alias Babi.
The police during snap checking sig-naled to stop a suspected vehicle withfive persons on board, in Azizabad local-ity of the city but the accused the insteadstopping started firing at police and fledthe scene. The police chased the vehicleand arrested two members of defunct re-
ligious organization Lashkar-e-Jhangvi,identified as Maulana Chiragh Din andAllah Wasaya while their companionsmanaged to escape from the scene. Thepolice also recovered a 7MM and 222 ri-
fles from the vehicle. Special Investigation Police,
East, arrested two alleged targetkillers during a raid in Muslimabad
and recovered weapons from theirpossession.
According to police, the ac-cused were involved in the
killing of ten people in-cluding two police of-
ficials and fivep o l i t i c a l
workers.The
p o l i c edurings e p a -
rate raidsand search
operations in fivedistricts of the city
arrested 21 criminalsand recovered 17 pistols,
two rifles and seven snatched mobilephone from their possession.
Meanwhile, the citizens have ex-pressed grave concerns over the per-formance of law enforcement agencieswho have failed to give protection topublic lives and property and to restorepeace in the city.
Another six succumbto city violence26 accused arrested, arms recovered
Sindh is a land of Sufis, says Sharmila
KARACHIaPP
Special Assistant to the Sindh ChiefMinister, Sharmila Faruqui said thatSindh is a land of Sufis and sages whofostered the message of love, amityand friendship in Asia and beyond. She was speaking as the chief guest ata ceremony held at Muhammad AliJinnah University to mark the occa-sion of Sindhi Cap and Ajrak Cul-tural Day. Sharmila said that Sindhiculture has roots in the ancient civi-lization of the region and added thatintroducing the ethical and morallevers of Sindhi culture internation-ally would help weaving a peacefulculture globally. She said that Pak-istan People’s Party (PPP) believes indemocracy and is a staunch advocateof global cultural assimilations. Muhammad Ali Jinnah UniversityVice-Chancellor of, Prof. Dr. AbdulWahab said there was a need to fosterthe spirit of love, amity and brother-hood amongst citizens of the world.
in FlaMEs: a vehicle seen in smoke and flames on Ma jinnah Road near Mazar-e-quaid. ONLINE
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:37 AM Page 5
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
06 Karachi
KARACHIaFTab cHanna
ALTHOUGH the appoint-ments of close relatives in-cluding the familymembers of senior officialsin almost all the govern-
ment department have become an orderof the day, but here the Sindh Small In-dustries Corporation has broken all therecords in the country, Pakistan Todayhas reliably learnt.
The majority of the relatives of theserving officers have been inducted onsenior grades causing extra financial bur-den on the already cash-strapped corpo-ration’s finances. Besides, the dirtypolitics has also played a great role in theappointments of candidates on influence,insiders disclosed.
According to official documents madeavailable with the Pakistan Today, everyofficer of the corporation used his influ-ence for induction of his blue-eyed thatincluded blood relatives and close familyassociates.
The deputy managing director, who ispresently the SSIC Managing Director(MD), Abid Ali Kaimkhani, inducted hisbrother-in-law Hasnain as shopkeeper,nephews Zaheer Ahmed, Haseeb andMazhar as clerks and two brothers Fareedand Shareef were also appointed on re-quest of the managing-director.
Moreover, Asif Jah, Modler, brotherof Aftab Bhatti, Joint Director, Noorud-din (reporter), brother-in-law of Jum-man, shop manager, Khurram Akhtar(clerk), son of Aijaz Akhtar Memon, Di-rector Admn, Asim (clerk), son of AijazAkhtar Memon Director (Admn), SyedKhalid Shah (peon) relative of Imdad AliShah Regional Director Hyderabad, AmirKhan brother of Abid clerk, Kamran elec-trician (clerk) son of contractor Akhtar,Ali Hyder Brohi (clerk) son of DirectorImam Bux Brohi, Khalid Mallah (peon)Imdad Ali Shah RD.
And Sami Zafar (accounts clerk) sonof Illahi Bux Shaikh ex-joint director,Khuram Aijaz (clerk) son of Aijaz Akhtar,Muhammad Khalid clerk Imam Bux di-rector, Irshad Ali Bugti (clerk) Imam BuxDirector, Muhammad Ismail (peon)Imam Bux Director, Ali (clerk) Imam BuxDirector, Khalid Ahmed Shaikh (clerk)Imam Bux Director, Rafiq Ahmed (clerk)Imam Bux Director, Shabir Ahmed Brohi(clerk) Imam Bux Director, MuhammadAkbar son of Mohammad Aslam ex-assis-tant director, Muhammad Asif (electri-cian) nephew of Mohammad NaeemDeputy Director, Muhammad FahadSaeed (clerk) nephew of MohammadNaeem Deputy Director, Shazia (clerk)sister of Seema Kafeel Assistant Director,Nadeem (sale assistant) sister’s husbandof Seema Kafeel Assistant Director, AmirAli (clerk) son of Mushtaq Leghari
Deputy Managing Director, Mutlib Shah(clerk) sister-in-law of Sajjad AssistantAsim Mir (clerk) son of Mir Muhammadrecord keeper, Aftab (clerk) brother-in-law of Mushtaq Mallah General Secretaryof the Union, Azam (peon) brother ofMushta Mallah General Secretary Union,Noor ul Din (clerk) brother in law ofMuhammad Juman accounts assistant,Shah Nawaz (clerk) brother of Muham-mad Jumman accounts assistant, AsifJaw (modler) brother of Aftab BhattiJoint Director, Kamran (clerk) brother-in-law of Tanweer computer operator.
The political appointments included:Syed Azizuddin as assistant director(BPS-16), Haseen Ali (BPS-16), Qamar ulHuda accounts assistant (BPS-11), SMRehan Shafi accounts assistant, ImranFaisal as electrician, Junaid Iqbal, SyedRiazuddin Asim as clerk, Amir Hussainas clerk, Muneer Khan as clerk, Muham-mad Zubair as clerk, Kashif Basit Mirzaas clerk, Muhammad Kashif Changezi asclerk, Muhammad Sohail as accountsclerk, Asad Jafri as accounts clerk,Muhammad Ishtiaq Hussain as accountsclerk, Nyara Tabsum as clerk, AwaisulHaq Siddiqui as clerk, Muhammad Hanifas clerk, Muhammad Javed Shamim ascomputer assistant, Mumtaz Khan aspeon, Muhammad Asif as peon, FarhanRasheed as clerk, Muhammad RamzanBohio as clerk, Danish Naeem as com-puter operator, Tarachand as peon,
Rizwan Ahmed Memon as clerk, Muham-mad Adnan Nisar as peon, MohammadAmir Khan as peon, Amanullah as peon,Muhammad Ishaq as chowkidar, AbdulAziz as chowkidar, Syed Faisal Hussain asclerk, Ms Uzma Ansari as clerk, ShahbazAli as peon, Muhammad Yaqoob as peon,Muhammad Faraz Faizzil as computerassistant, Muhammad Adnan as peon,Muhammad Akram as peon, Asif AhmedQureshi as peon, Muhammad Danish aschowkidar, Muhammad Amir Ahsan aschowkidar, Imran Nagori as chowkidar,Muhammad Sultan as peon, Sujauddin aspeon, Farhan Khan as chowkidar,Muhammad Mohsin Khan as chowkidar,
Atar Iqbal as peon, Iftkhar Khan Sher-wani as chowkidar, Ghulam Mustafa aschowkidar, Zakir Hussain as peon,Rizwan Majeed as chowkidar, AmberUsman as clerk, Zeeshan Hassan Hashmias clerk, Shah Nawaz as peon, Muham-mad Khalid as clerk, Abdul Awais Azeemas peon, Nusrat Khatoon as clerk, Kam-ran Noor Khan as clerk, Muhammad Alias driver and Rehan Khan (assistant di-rector accounts).
Pakistan Today repeatedly tried toapproach SSIC Managing Director AbidAli Kaimkhani to seek his version, how-ever, his cell phone remained unat-tended.
CORPORATION: A ‘family theatre’ for officersMost of the inductions made in Small Industries Corporation to please sitting officers
KARACHIsTaFF REPORT
Pepsi and Lays sponsors one of the mostcontemporary and critically acclaimedplays of modern times, ‘God of Carnage’.This play, originally written in French byYasmina Reza and adapted in English byChristopher Hampton, is being staged inKarachi after its successful Pakistanipremier in Islamabad.
Directed by Nida Butt, a Karachibased theater director, the play starslocal stage actors including Nida Butt,Sanam Saeed, Faraz Lodhi and MominZafar. This satirical comedy is about twopairs of parents, who are meeting to dis-cuss in a civilized manner, a fight thattook place between their kids. However,as the play goes on, the parents becomeincreasingly childish, resulting in theevening devolving into chaos.
‘God of Carnage’ definitely deliversthe cathartic release of watching otherpeople, falling victim to their own stu-pidity. A study in the tension betweencivilized surface and savage instinct, thisplay is itself a satisfyingly primitive en-tertainment with an intellectual veneer.
The play was a success in its originallanguage, and has been equally ac-
claimed in its other English- translatedproductions around the world. Thiswonderful play has also been adaptedinto a film, featuring Jodie Foster andKate Winslet as the female leads.
Pepsi and Lays has taken this oppor-
tunity to be a part of this popular play. Asthe major sponsor of the production,Pepsi brands have been, in a fun manner,integrated into the content of the com-edy, which starts out slowly until it beginsstreaking down the road, hollering at the
top of its lungs. Pepsi and Lays sponsoredfree passes have also helped in spreadingthe joy of this wholesome entertainment,which has taken Karachi by surprise -through its brilliance of wit and funnyportrayal of human characters.
‘God of Carnage’ a play by Nida ButtPepsi, Lays unfold the joy of dramatic entertainment
cJ appoints romana
as banking
court judgeKARACHI
aPP
Sindh High Court Chief Justice MoulviRauf appointed District and SessionsJudge, Romana Siddiqui as a judge ofthe banking court on Wednesday.As per the orders passed by CJ Rauf, Ro-mana Siddiqui was designated on thepost of Judge Banking Court No. V,Karachi with immediate effect.
Dry weather with3mph ne wind
KARACHIaPP
The Met Office forecasted dry weatherconditions to prevail in Karachi today.The provincial capital would experiencea hazy morning, a minimum tempera-ture of 14 degrees and a maximum tem-perature of 31 degree centigrade. Windspeed would be 3 mph and its directionwould be north easterly.
SITD introduces Videoconferencing, Fm radio
KARACHIaPP
Sindh Information Technology Depart-ment (SITD) would a FM Radio Stationamounting to Rs 10 million and a videoconferencing system amounting to Rs25.850 million to upgrade its E-PolicingSystem.This was stated by Sindh IT Depart-ment DG Muhammad Yousuf whilechairing a meeting on Wednesday.SITD would also develop a softwarecosting Rs 45.250 million. SITDwould also procure server machines,Prisoner Registration Record andMovement System (PPRMS), Procure-ment of hardware for prison depart-ment amounting to Rs 41.470 million,procurement of hardware for policedepartment amounting to Rs 306.185million and SITD would link all theabove respective systems by develop-ing a network with a cost of 88.744million.
KARACHIsTaFF REPORT
The tenth Education for All Global Mon-itoring Report, Putting Education toWork of United Nations Educational,Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) recognizes dire need for in-vestment in the future of young boys andgirls in terms of spending, quality edu-cation and skill building initiatives.
UNESCO in collaboration withIdara-e Taleem-o-Aagahi, Oxfam Noviband the Education and Literacy Depart-ment, Government of Sindh, arrangedthe provincial launching of Global Mon-itoring Report at Karachi today to sharePakistan specific statistics and analysiswith major educationists and policymakers.
He event was presided by the Senior
Minister, Education and Literacy, PirMazhar-ul-Haq, who, on the occasionhighlighted the importance of Educationin the Nation’s overall economic, socialand human development. He said thathis government is committed towardseducation and is investing in youth andskills through various interventions. BB-SYDP- Benazir Bhutto Shaheed YouthDevelopment Program was particularlyhighlighted as contributing towards theskill enhancement of the youth in theprovince. He also said that they will beusing ASER 2011 results by Idara-e-taleem-o-Aagahi while making new poli-cies and reforms for education as theywill serve as benchmarks for the im-provement of the sector.
The report reveals that the youth(between age 15- 24) female literacy ratein Pakistan is 61% against 79% for
males. However, youth female literacyrate is projected to be 72% (against 82%for males) by year 2015, whereas adultfemale literacy rate of older age group(15+) is projected to be 65%. This indi-cates that young Pakistani females aremore educated than their mothers.
Mr. Kazi Ayaz Mahessar (ProvincialCoordinator, UNESCO), highlighted themain features and indicators of the re-port and told the participants, that;“Pakistan needs to tackle unemploymentof the youth, and make them to be pro-ductive labor force, through training andeducation”.
In Pakistan, skills development (in-cluding teacher training) expenditure inyear 2008/2009 was only 1% out of totaleducation budget. “Education is the bestinvestment in the societies we want.Every 1$ spent on child’s education
yields $10-$15 in economic growth overperson’s working life, this calls for globalpush and commitment for education inthis country,” said UNESCO representa-tive; quoted from Director — GeneralUNESCO’s comments for Global Moni-toring Report.
Ms. Bella Raza Jamil (Director Pro-gram – ITA), highlighted the importanceof developing the youth with skills andurged the Government of Sindh for fur-ther investment in this sector. She urgedon the need of incorporating technicaleducation into formal education in orderto produce skilled and empowered youththat is essential for the overall economicgrowth of Pakistan. She said that ITAwill be providing its services in order topromote technical education with themeans of public/private partnership thatwill play an essential role in this regards.
UNESCO REITERATES COMMITMENT TO INVEST IN YOUTH
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
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DESPITE observing UniversalChildren’s Day for over half acentury, this year’s celebrationwas especially memorable for meas Pakistan recently held its Uni-
versal Periodic Review at the Human RightsCouncil in Geneva. During the UPR, the state ofchild rights in Pakistan was highlighted and rec-ommendations were made by several neighbour-ing countries. The event was well attended by thePakistani government as the foreign minister,Hina Rabbani Khar, led a high-level delegationto this event.
It seemed like a step in the right direction.Should the Pakistani government accept and ef-fectively implement all of those recommenda-tions, the state of child rights in the country willimprove significantly.
The meeting began with a moment to cele-brate the many victories over the past four years.The recommendations accepted by Pakistan in2008 were reported to be widely circulated andwell received by Pakistan’s robust civil society,independent judiciary, free and active media inPakistan which is playing a key role in the pro-tection of human rights. This has played a strongrole in creating positive changes in legislation,policy and practice, including the ratification ofthe International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights (ICCPR), Convention against Torture
(CAT), Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities and the Optional Protocol to theConvention of the Rights of the Child on the Saleof Children, Child Prostitution and ChildPornography.
But there is a long way to go before Pakistancan proudly say that it is a society that respectsthe rights of all people and does not discriminatebased on race, gender and religion. In their rec-ommendations, states present at the meeting fo-cused on a few key topics, including minorityrights, ratification of the UN Human Rights in-struments, women and children’s rights, educa-tion for girls and support for the establishmentof the National Commission on Human Rights.
Specifically for children, they suggested uni-versal free primary education to all children,prevention programmes and policy on sexual ex-ploitation and abuse of children, rehabilitationof children recovered from militants or extrem-ists, legislation to prohibit and prevent the em-ployment of children as domestic workers andadequate resources in implementing pro-grammes to achieve the Millennium Develop-ment Goals with priority focus on vulnerablegroups such as women and children.
Some old and traditional practices in Pak-istan were also challenged. There were recom-mendation to implement laws and policies toeliminated early and forced marriage, in order topropel an end to rape, sexual exploitation andforced conversions of scheduled caste girls.
These recommendations were thoughtfuland achievable. It is time that the Pakistani gov-ernment respond to the recommendations, in-vest and take action. All the pending billsincluding the Charter of Child Rights Bill, theCriminal Laws Amendment (Child Protection)Bill, National Commission on the Rights of Chil-dren Bill, the Child Marriages Restraint Amend-ment Bill and the Prohibition of CorporalPunishment Bill should be passed with urgency.
Some argue that the problem lies with a de-centralised system in the Pakistani government,where child rights are a provincial responsibility.The result could be devastating. Balochistan isthe only province which has not introduced anychild rights specific legislation since independ-ence, which means children are not affordedprotection by law and are not guaranteed essen-tial services such as education.
Instead of being passive about such situa-tions, it is my opinion that the federal govern-ment should lead in the country’s vision, puttingpressure on provincial governments to invest inchildren. For instance, provinces such as KhyberPakhtunkhwa and Sindh have passed child rightsrelated laws but the implementation of theselaws and budgetary allocation still hangs in thebalance.
Our children have a right to be protected, ed-ucated, fed and heard. It is about time we givethem just that.
cOuRTEsy alERTnET
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
Newsthousands celebrate thaiking’s birthday BAnGkOk: In a rare publicappearance, Thailand’s king has calledfor unity and stability in the dividednation during a speech to mark his85th birthday. Vast crowds of devotedThais turned out on Wednesday inBangkok for a brief glimpse of KingBhumibol Adulyadej. Bhumibol sat ona throne on a balcony overlooking aplaza with a crowd that policeestimated at 200,000 as he delivered abrief homily on national harmony.Most in the crowd were dressed in theroyal colour of yellow, many wavingThai flags and flags adorned with theking’s insignia. The turnout was avivid demonstration of the affection inwhich many hold for Bhumibol,despite political turmoil in recentyears that has raised doubts about thefuture of the monarchy. Bhumibol’sfamily flanked him for part of hisappearance, including Crown PrinceVajiralongkorn, his son and heir-apparent. The king, who is seen asalmost a demi-god by many in thepolitically turbulent nation, told thecrowd that the “goodwill” Thais hadshown by attending the ceremonytogether “gives me the confidence thatyour kindness is key to bringing unityto the people and the nation”. Chantsof “Long live the king!” followed theroyal motorcade as it made its way toand from the hospital whereBhumibol’ has lived for three yearssince suffering a respiratory illness in2009. agEnciEs
Nato approvesPatriot missilesfor turkeyISTAnBUL: The NATO militaryalliance has agreed to the deploymentof Patriot missiles as requested bymember Turkey to help defend itsborder against possible threats fromSyria. “NATO has agreed to augmentTurkey’s air defence capabilities inorder to defend the population andterritory of Turkey and to contribute tothe de-escalation of the crisis along thealliance’s border,” a statementreleased on Tuesday said. Thestatement, attributed to the foreignministers of the alliance, cited“repeated violations of Turkey’sterritory” as the reason the deploymenthad been approved. “We stand withTurkey in the spirit of strongsolidarity,’’ Anders Fogh Rasmussen,the NATO secretary-general, said inBrussels. “To anyone who would wantto attack Turkey, we say, ‘Don’t eventhink about it!’” The ministers said:“We express our appreciation to theTurkish people and authorities forassisting Syrian citizens who foundrefuge in Turkey. We call for an end toviolence in Syria, which represents aserious threat to stability and securityin the region. “We fully support theefforts of the international communityto find a peaceful solution.” agEnciEs
TRIPOLIagEnciEs
GUNMEN loyal to oppositesides in neighbouringSyria’s civil war battled onWednesday in the streets ofa northern Lebanese city
where two days of fighting killed at least fivepeople and wounded 45, officials said.
The Lebanese army fanned out in thecity of Tripoli to calm the fighting, with sol-diers patrolling the streets in armoured per-sonnel carriers and manning checkpoints.Authorities closed major roads because ofsniper fire. The fighting comes at a time ofdeep uncertainty in Syria, with rebels clos-ing in on President Bashar Assad’s seat ofpower in Damascus.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon onWednesday urged Syria’s regime againstusing its stockpile of chemical weapons,warning of “huge consequences” if Mr.Assad resorts to such weapons of mass de-struction. “I again urge in the strongestpossible terms that they must not considerusing this kind of deadly weapons of massdestruction,” Mr. Ban told The AssociatedPress, speaking on the sidelines of a climateconference in Qatar. Syria has been carefulnot to confirm that it has chemicalweapons, but the regime insists it wouldnever use them against the Syrian people.
Mr. Ban also suggested that he wouldnot favour an asylum deal for the Syrianleader as a way to end the country’s civil warand cautioned that the United Nationsdoesn’t allow anyone “impunity.” Mr. Assad
has vowed to “live and die” in Syria, but asthe violence grinds on there is speculationthat he might seek asylum.
The Syria conflict has spilled over intoTurkey, Israel and Jordan over the past 20months, but Lebanon is particularly vulner-able to getting sucked in. The countriesshare a complex web of political and sectar-ian ties and rivalries that are easily en-flamed. Lebanon, a country plagued bydecades of strife, has been on edge since theuprising in Syria began, and deadly clashesbetween pro- and anti-Assad Lebanesegroups have erupted on several occasions.
Tensions in Tripoli have been mount-ing since last week, when reports emergedthat some 17 Lebanese Sunni fighters werekilled inside Syria, apparently after theyjoined the rebellion against Assad. The bod-
ies of some of the men were later shown inSyrian state TV.
On Wednesday, Lebanese Foreign Min-ister Adnan Mansour was informed by Syr-ian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali thatSyria had agreed to repatriate the men’sbodies. Lebanon’s National News Agencysaid the countries would soon discuss howto hand over the bodies. Anti-Syrian politi-cians in Lebanon have criticized theHezbollah-led government for what theycall a lack of effort to get the bodies back.Lebanon’s Hezbollah supports Mr. Assad.
Lebanese security officials said at leastfive people have been killed and 45wounded in the Tripoli fighting since Tues-day. The officials spoke on condition ofanonymity because they are not authorizedto talk to the media.
BAMAKOagEnciEs
The Malian government and two rebelgroups have agreed to respect the coun-try’s “national unity”, after holding theirfirst talks to try and end a criss that hasseen the west African country effectivelysplit in two.
Delegations from the government,the Islamist Ansar Dine and the TuaregAzawad National Liberation Movement(known by its French acronym, MNLA)agreed “on the respect for Mali’s nationalunity and territorial integrity”, and “onthe rejection of any form of extremismand terrorism” they said in a statementafter the talks in Burkina Faso.
Tuesday’s talks in Ouagadougouwere organised by Blaise Compaore, thepresident of Burkina Faso and westAfrica’s top mediator for the crisis.
The rebel groups control much of thenorth of the country, which they havetermed Azawad and earlier declared to beindependent of the national government.
The talks came as the African Unionand Chad issued renewed calls for theUnited Nations to authorise military in-tervention to retake northern Mali.
The Economic Community of WestAfrican States (ECOWAS) has said it isready to deploy 3,300 troops once it hasapproval from the United Nations, whichis expected to decide sometime nextmonth. Alassane Outtara, the president
of the Ivory Coast, said on Tuesday thatarmed intervention in Mali was “indis-pensable” and “[should be done] in theshortest timeframe”.
“Political dialogue is certainlyneeded but a military intervention seemsto me indispensable and [should bedone] in the shortest timeframe,” Ouat-tara said in Paris following talks withFrench President Francois Hollande.
In Ouagadougou, Compaore sepa-rately met Ansar Dine and MNLA repre-sentatives on Tuesday, a day after sittingdown with the Bamako envoys.
Moussa Ag Assarid, a spokespersonfor the MNLA, told the AFP news agencythat the meeting “went very well”.
“No commitments were made, other
than to get together around the same ne-gotiating table,” he said.
Tiebile Drame, a spokesperson forthe Malian government, said on Tues-day that authorities require the MNLA“to solemnly and formally renouncetheir aims of independence and self-de-termination”.
Two other rebel groups are also ac-tive in Mali’s north: al-Qaeda in the Is-lamic Maghreb (AQIM) and theMovement for Oneness and Jihad inWest Africa (MUJAO). A coup in Marchplunged the once stable west Africandemocracy into turmoil, allowing a long-running separatist movement in thenorth to take advantage and secure hugeswathes of territory.
Syrian civil war spills into Lebanonas rebels close in on Damascus
Mali rebels agree to respect ‘national unity’
Serbian naTo envoy
‘jumps to death in
brussels car park’BRUSSELSagEnciEs
The Serbian ambassador to NATO hasdied after jumping from a platform in anairport car park in the Belgian capitalBrussels, media reports say. The Serbianforeign ministry confirmed that BranislavMilinkovic, 52, had died, but did not givedetails. It paid tribute to his work. Mediareports said he jumped on Tuesday nightin the presence of Serbian officials whohad arrived in Brussels for diplomatictalks. Serbia is not a member of thealliance. The incident happened at around18:00 (17:00 GMT). Emergency serviceswere called to the scene, but were not ableto revive Mr Milinkovic, sources atBrussels airport said. Earlier on Tuesday,Mr Milinkovic had seemed “completelynormal, talking to journalists in thecorridors of NATO,” a Serbian journalist inBrussels told the AFP news agency. NatoSecretary General Anders FoghRasmussen said in a statement that he was“deeply saddened” by the news.
Typhoon bopha
death toll risesMANILA
agEnciEs
The death toll from a powerful stormbattering the southern Philippines hasrisen to about 200, as rescue teams arrivein affected areas. At least 156 people areknown to have died in Compostela Valleyprovince alone when Typhoon Bophastruck eastern Mindanao, local officialssaid. Rescuers have reached most areas,but have had difficulty getting to someisolated communities. Many wereevacuated ahead of the storm, now overthe western island of Palawan. Thetyphoon is expected to move out into theSouth China Sea on Thursday.
arab Spring nations
slip in corruption indexCAIRO
agEnciEs
Egypt has fallen in a global league tableof perceived official corruption in thepast year, and the Arab Springrevolutions have yet to produce seriousanti-corruption action across the region,Transparency International (TI) says. Inits annual Corruption Perceptions Index,released on Wednesday, the Berlin-based group said Egypt had fallen sixplaces to 118th out of 176 countries aslevels of bribery, abuse of power andsecret dealings remain high in the Arabworld’s most populous nation. Thepublic-sector league table - on which thehigher the ranking, the cleaner a countryis - produced a mixed picture for nationsswept up in last year’s unrest.
gaza sTRiP: Palestinian security guards pray at a football stadium, which witnesses said was destroyed in an israeli air strike. AGENCIES
BAGHDADagEnciEs
A plane carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildizto an energy conference in Iraqi Kurdistan has beendenied permission to land by the central governmentin Baghdad.
A Turkish energy ministry official said the plane,which was en route from Istanbul to the northern Iraqicity of Arbil on Tuesday, was forced to land in Turkey’sKayseri, southeast of the capital Ankara. The plane wouldnot seek permission to land again and the minister wouldnow not attend the conference, the official said.
It was not immediately clear why the minister’s pri-vate aircraft had been denied permission and officials inBaghdad were not immediately available for comment.Ties between Ankara and Baghdad have been strainedfor the past year since Shia Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki ordered the arrest of Sunni VicePresident Tareq al-Hashemi, based on al-legations that he ran death squads.
Turkey is now giving sanctuary toHashemi. Turkey accuses Maliki ofsowing sectarian discord by trying tosideline his Sunni rivals while Malikisays it is Ankara that is stirring sec-tarian tension. Both leaders have ex-changed public insults and bothcountries have summoned eachother’s top diplomats over the pastyear in tit-for-tat manoeuvres.Ankara has increasingly courted IraqiKurds as its relations withthe Shia-led centralgovernment in Bagh-dad have soured.
Iraq denies entry toTurkish minister
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
NewsCNG associationspay no heed topeople’s miserykArAChI/LAhOrE/PEShAwAr:CNG associations across the countrycontinued their unannounced strikeon Wednesday, adding to the miseriesof the motorists. CNG supply hasbeen closed in Lahore untilWednesday as part of thegovernment’s load management plan.For more than a week, compressednatural gas was also unavailable inthe Potohar region and KhyberPakhtunkhwa, despite CNG dealers’assurance about ending their strike.On Monday, All Pakistan CNGAssociation Chairman GhayasParacha had assured the NationalAssembly’s Standing Committee onPetroleum and Gas that sales wouldbe resumed across the country. InSindh, all CNG stations were closedfor the next 48 hours from Mondaynight after an announcement by theSui Southern Gas Company. Motoristsall over the country continued tosuffer due to the deadlock betweenthe CNG associations and thegovernment. agEnciEs
No such thingas marital rape:indian courtnEw DELhI: A man charged withraping his wife has been acquitted bya Delhi court on the grounds thathaving sexual relation with one’sspouse, even forcibly, does notamount to marital rape. DistrictJudge JR Aryan discharged AhmedSaeed, agreeing with the latter’scounsel that the Indian Penal Code(IPC) does not recognise any conceptof marital rape. “The defence counselrightly argued that the IPC does notrecognise any such concept. If thecomplainant is a legally-wedded wife,sexual intercourse with her husbandwould not constitute to rape, even ifit is done against her wish,” the courtsaid. The woman had filed the case in2007, alleging that after her firsthusband’s death the accused becamevery sympathetic and started visitingher frequently, and ultimately askedher to marry him. “Only after I hadmarried Saeed in February 2006, Icame to know that he just wanted tograb my property, which he and hisfour his sons later sold,” she said inthe court. The police said in itscharge sheet that Saeed hadmaintained physical relations withthe complainant after their marriageand it could be a possibility thatthese relations were against herwish. inP
NEW DELHIinP
AFTER two days of busy andheated discussions, a meet-ing of former diplomats,army and navy officers, andpeace activists concluded
with a framework to resolve the SirCreek dispute which, along withSiachen and Kashmir, is one of thethree main territorial thorns hurtingIndia-Pakistan relations.
The “Aman Ki Asha” strategic semi-nar concluded with experts underliningthat despite the existing impasse evenafter several bilateral meetings, the SirCreek issue was not intractable.
“The solution is complex because ofhistorical hostilities and linkages toother more weighty issues,”‘ a statementsaid, while pointing out that a successfulsurvey was carried out in 2007.
The proposals on which both sidesagreed included de-linking the maritimeboundary from that of land and delin-eation from seaward to a point whereboth sides concur.
It was also proposed and agreed
upon that the non-delineated area be de-clared a free zone, or a maritime sensi-tive zone, or even wetland ofsignificance, or be turned into a jointlyadministered maritime park.
“The non-delineated area (Sir Creekand approaches) may also be designateda ‘zone of disengagement’ straddling themaritime boundary in which fishermenfrom the two countries would be permit-ted (under licence) to fish without fear ofarrest and subsequent incarceration,”some experts suggested.
The experts highlighted that aslong as shore points were mutually ac-ceptable to both sides, the boundaryline delineated using the angular bisec-tion method would undergo only mini-mal changes when the final baselineswere established.
The seminar also saw several pro-posals being offered to resolve theSiachen issue. It was proposed that acomprehensive resolution be workedout and that the two sides should con-sider redeployment from the area de-spite territorial claims while retainingthe option of punitive action should theother side renege on the commitments
agreed upon. One of the proposals suggested a
seven-point sequential formula forSiachen. The formula called for the set-ting up of a joint civilian commission todelineate the line beyond the pointwhere it remains unmarked, besides ajoint military commission to demarcateand authenticate the actual ground posi-tion line (AGPL) on the ground andmaps. The determination of the places towhich redeployment will be effectedwould be jointly agreed on, it said, whileadding that disengagement and demili-tarisation would occur in accordancewith a mutually acceptable time frame.
The formula called on each side toremove munitions and other militaryequipment and waste from areas undertheir control before withdrawal. It saidthe ongoing cooperative monitoring ofall these activities and of the resultingdemilitarised zone would be agreed toensure/assure transparency.
The experts proposed a joint scien-tific centre in the area for environmen-tal studies while stressing on the needto resolve the issue bilaterally in linewith the Simla Agreement and the La-
hore Declaration without any change inthe area’s status.
Besides this, the experts called forthe establishment of a joint workinggroup to recommend detailed redeploy-ment and oversee implementation of theprocess with variability in process likelydue to changing weather conditions.
They also called for force disen-gagement during summer besides de-termination of place(s) to whichredeployment would be effected alongwith the timeframe and mechanism forjoint management of the demilitarisedzone as recommended by the jointworking group.
The formula proposed the primarymonitoring and verification mechanismsto be both bilateral and cooperative.“The two essentials will be monitoringand verification during disengagementand thereafter for the demilitarisedzone to ensure no re-occupation of theglacier.” The participants agreed thatan in-depth Kashmir conference beheld to discuss all socio-political,economic aspects on the issue to ar-rive at major conclusions and practi-cal recommendations.
Pakistani, Indian experts suggestsolutions to outstanding bilateral issues
NEWS DESK
Despite actually being a car-sized robotic rover with anarray of scientific instru-ments instead of internal or-gans and a radioisotopethermoelectric generatorrather than a heart, Nasa’screation has been deemed tohave met the “influenced thenews this year for better orworse” criterion and visitorsto the site will now be able tocast a vote in favour of theMartian tourist.
Followers of the rover onTwitter will be well awarethat, in addition to its capac-ity for scientific discoveryover the two years of themission, Curiosity’s team atNasa has also worked hardto create a personality for
the vehicle.Tweets include anec-
dotes from the mission, anabundance of imagery — ac-tion shots, gifs and self-por-traits — an attempt to checkin on FourSquare, and an ex-change with Britney Spearsabout the Oops!...I Did ItAgain video: “@brit-neyspears Hey Brit Brit.Mars is still looking good.Maybe someday an astro-naut will bring me a gift, too.Drill bits crossed ;)” Curios-ity joins other news-influ-encers on the shortlistincluding Barack Obama,Hillary Clinton, Psy, TimCook, Marissa Mayer, MoFarah, Ai Wei Wei and FelixBaumgartner. Its sole non-human companion is theHiggs Boson particle.
Curiosity shortlisted for Time’s Person of the Year 2012KABULOnlinE
Islamabad will not free senior Taliban leaders, includingMullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, unless all parties involved inthe Afghan war, including Washington, did not participatein the Afghan reconciliation process, a senior Pakistanofficial has said. Afghan media reports quoted a seniorPakistani official as saying that Islamabad would not be ableto free senior Taliban leaders unless Washington’s stance inAfghan peace talks did not become clear. The unnamedPakistani official said Islamabad would be held responsibleif Afghan peace talks failed despite the freedom of seniorTaliban leaders from Pakistani jails. However, the AfghanHigh Peace Council emphasised that Washington and otherallied nations of the Afghan government supported theAfghan peace process. That led to Pakistan freeing nineTaliban members during a visit by Afghan High PeaceCouncil delegation last month. However, insiders sayPakistan has set specific conditions, including Washington’sstance on Afghan peace talks, in order to free Mullah AbdulGhani Baradar and other senior Taliban militants.
landiKOTal: a security official stands next to the bottles of cheap liquor seized on Wednesday. INP
FilE PHOTO
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:38 AM Page 9
The constitution of 1973 is thebasic law governing the subse-quent legislations, rules and reg-
ulations of the state of Pakistan. Theconstitution of Pakistan not only dealswith the fundamental rights but alsoprovides protection to the rights of theminorities. It is quite understandablethat the basic object in having a consti-tution would be to ensure the prosper-ity of the people to enable them toattain their rightful and honoured placeamong the other nations around theglobe. However, it would not be wrongto remind our legislators that no lawshould be in contradiction with the pro-vision of the Constitution of Islamic Re-public of Pakistan, 1973, which furtherrequires the principles of democracy,freedom, equality, tolerance and socialjustice as specifically articulated by ourreligion (Islam).
There are certain legislations whichare in violation of certain provisions ofthe constitution. As the general elec-tions are expected in the near future,the Election Commission of Pakistan is
working efficiently to ensure free andfair elections. However, the question iswhether the elections would be fair ifthey do not comply with the constitu-tional requirements, or by not provid-ing the citizens of Pakistan an equalopportunity to contest elections, andwhere the elimination of all forms of ex-ploitation and gradual fulfilment offundamental principles are not en-sured. The answer is a big NO.
Every citizen should be at liberty tocontest elections, but regrettably due tovarious inconsistencies between the ex-isting laws and the constitution, thiscannot happen. For the purposes ofelections, the Representation of thePeoples Act 1976 provides the proce-dure and requirements of elections tothe National Assembly and the provin-cial assemblies, it also guards againstcorrupt and illegal practices and otheroffences at or in connection with suchelections and other matters arising outof or connected therewith. However,section 49 of the Act of 1976 imposescertain restrictions on the election ex-penses by debarring anyone other thanthe candidate to incur any election ex-penses on behalf of the candidate and itfurther imposes restriction on the max-
imum amount of expenses during or be-fore the elections.
Apparently, it seems that the lawwas to ensure the contest of elections
without any show of wealth and domi-nance of wealthy candidates. But in re-ality, the maximum limit has beengrossly bypassed by many candidateswho spend huge amount of money be-yond the limit. Furthermore, the lawhas also discriminated against the pa-triot individuals with leadership skillsbut with insufficient funds to contestthe elections. As most of the contestingcandidates have no leadership skills buthave funds in hand, they are in a bettershape to spend the funds and securetheir seats. The law has also discrimi-nated in their favour, even if the spend-ing is kept within limit, as it offers thecandidates with more financial backinga better position over an individual hav-ing appropriate skills but insufficientfunds.
Contrary to the limitation imposedunder the Act of 1976, article 25 and 33of the constitution deals with the fun-damental rights of equality amongst thecitizens and non-discrimination, whichin any way should be ensured by thestate. Furthermore, article 62 of theconstitution provides qualification forthe membership of parliaments but itdoes not address the limits on expendi-tures during or before the elections. It
is a common understanding that thevoter has to vote in appreciation of themanifesto of the candidates and theirproposed contribution towards the wel-fare of the society. Therefore, it is myopinion that the limit on the electionexpenses should be reduced to a mini-mum level affordable by an ordinary in-dividual.
The limitation imposed in section49 of the Act of 1976 is contrary to thefundamental rights assured to the citi-zen of Pakistan under the constitution,and under article 8 of the constitutionsuch provisions which are contrary tothe fundamental rights are void. There-fore, it is suggested that the law impos-ing maximum limit to the electionexpenditures should be reduced to min-imum to bring it in line with the provi-sions of the constitution.
If the elections are conducted underthe current law, then the entire exercisewould be inconsistent with the provi-sions of the constitution. If the elec-tions are held under the existing law,the elections would be in violation ofarticle 270-B of the Constitution of Pak-istan.
The writer is a practising lawyer.
The maximum limit
has been grossly
bypassed by many
candidates who
spend huge amount
of money beyond the
limit. Furthermore,
the law has also
discriminated against
the patriot individuals
with leadership
skills but with
insufficient funds to
contest the elections.
Comment10
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
The limit on election expenses
By Ch Hasham Hayat Wathra
In the wake of recent reports aboutdemolition of a Hindu temple inKarachi and desecration of a grave-yard in Lahore belonging to a minor-ity community, Chairman PPP
Bilawal Zardari Bhutto in a statement hasurged the political parties, religious outfitsand organisations of the civil society to riseup to save what he called Jinnah’s Pakistan.Taking strong exception to these incidents,he said if such occurrences continued un-abated and unchecked it could threaten thevery existence of Pakistan. One can hardlytake issues with his observations which ex-press a genuine concern over the state of af-fairs in regards to the treatment being metedout to the minorities and the pummeling oftheir rights as a consequence of the emer-gence of religious extremism and culture ofintolerance in the society, an off-shoot of thesnowballing fanaticism in contravention ofthe vision of the Quaid, the commitment ofthe architects of the Pakistan resolution andthe 1973 constitution.
The Pakistan Resolution adopted on 23March, 1940, while indicating the areas thatwould form the new state of Pakistan, alsoemphasised equality in regards to the rightsof its citizens including the minorities inthese words: “Adequate, effective andmandatory safeguards shall be specificallyprovided in the constitution for minorities inthe units and in the regions for the protectionof their religious, cultural, economic, politi-cal, administrative and other rights of mi-norities with their consultation.”
The Quaid-i-Azam epitomised his visionin a broadcast talk on Pakistan to the peopleof United States in February 1948 in thesewords: “The constitution of Pakistan has yetto be framed. I do not know what the ultimateshape of this constitution is going to be, but Iam sure that it will be of a democratic typeembodying the essential principles of Islam.Islam and its idealism have taught us democ-racy. It has taught equality of men, justiceand fair play to everybody. In any case, Pak-istan is not going to be a theocratic state, tobe ruled by priests with divine mission. We
have many non-Muslims, Hindus, Christiansand Parsis but they are all Pakistanis. Theywill enjoy the same rights and privileges asany other citizen and will play their rightfulpart in the affairs of Pakistan.”
His slogan of “unity, faith and discipline”is the pillar on which he wanted to erect theedifice that he envisioned. He was intenselyaware of the fact that in a country with dis-tinct cultural entities and regions, the onlyway Pakistan could move on the path towardsits destiny successfully was an impregnableunity among its people. He was conscious ofthe fact that building a nation into a vibrantand sustainable entity was much more ardu-ous and thorny than the struggle to win free-dom. As is evident from the foregoing, hewanted to construct Pakistan as a progressivedemocratic country, deriving strength and in-spiration from the lofty Islamic principles ofbrotherhood, equality and fraternity of manthat form basic points of our religion, cultureand civilisation.
Regrettably, Pakistan has become ahostage to the self-proclaimed righteousguardians of the religious tenets as inter-preted by them against the spirit of Islamwhich believes in building social harmony,peace and protection of the minorities livingin an Islamic country. The culture of intol-erance and persecution of the minoritiesstarted with the anti-Ahmedi agitation in1953 that triggered a wave of mass harass-ment and persecution of that communitywhich continues till today. Hindus also havereceived a rough treatment. Temples havebeen razed and reportedly forced conver-sions of Hindus to Islam in Sindh have beena constant phenomenon. Recent reportsabout migration of Hindus from Sindh toIndia, creating quite a stir in the countrywith the issue also resonating in the Na-tional Assembly, testifies to the maltreat-ment of that community at the hands of thereligious extremists and the people undertheir influence.
The Christian community in the countryhas also been a target of this culture of reli-
gious intolerance. Churches have been burntand the community as a whole treated as asecond rate citizens. The venom of the reli-gious fanatics against Christians intensifiedafter the promulgation of a blasphemy lawduring Zia regime which provided them witha legal cover to advance their agendas andwreak vengeance on minorities in the nameof religion.
From Shanti Nagar to Gojra the historyof Pakistan is full of the murders of minori-ties at the hands religious zealots. The case ofAsia Bibi, a mother of four which ignited acontroversy over the blasphemy law itself,eventually culminated in the murder ofSalmaan Taseer. Similarly, the murder ofShahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority af-fairs, and incidents like the Rimsha case(thanks heavens she has finally been acquit-ted of the charge) are a stigma on the face ofthat land of the pure that we call Pakistan.The Rimsha case fully exposed the ill-inten-tions of the perpetrators of these excesses onthe minorities.
The religious bigotry and intolerance hasdone an incalculable harm to the nationalunity, brought bad name to Islam and createda diabolical image of Pakistan in the comityof nations. It has nullified the article 20 of theconstitution and the spirit of tolerance that itdesired to generate. This curse cannot beeliminated only through laws. There is an im-perative need to inculcate culture of tolerancein the society, tackling the burgeoning rise ofreligious extremism and mobilising intellec-tual community to help in changing the per-ceptions about minorities.
The political and religious parties, asrightly pointed out by Bilawal, need to sharebulk of the responsibility in changing themindset that promotes anti-minority senti-ments within the society vitiating the visionof the Quaid. It is a national cause and all thestakeholders in the unity and survival of Pak-istan as a sovereign state in conformity withthe vision of its founding father, must rise tosave its slide into a state of anarchy, and Godforbid, any harm to its integrity.
One has to be cautious while making generalisations.Any conclusion drawn from the bye-polls held onTuesday about the elections to come would at best be amatter of conjecture. The results nevertheless lead one
to an inescapable conclusion: the strategy devised by the PPPand PML-Q was based on wishful thinking. It was simplistic toassume that by combining their respective vote banks the twoallies would easily trump the PML-N.
The formula was based on two assumptions which the resultshave made questionable. It was assumed that the popularity ofthe PPP and the PML-Q in Punjab has either increased orremains at the level of 2008. The results have shown that it hasin fact gone down, at least in the constituencies where theelections were held. Another assumption was that most, if notall, voters of both the parties would support their jointcandidates. This too has failed to happen. The polling results aretherefore likely to increase distrust between the PPP and PML-Q.
An outstanding example of the failure of the policy is NA-107Gujrat-IV where their joint nominee lost the elections. In 2008,he had polled 69,101 votes and the candidate belonging to PPP14,948 votes. Their combined strength of over 84,000 votes wasconsidered enough to defeat the PML-N whose candidate hadthen polled 75,202 votes. One constituency after another bearswitness to the miscalculation. While the PML-Q managed to wina provincial assembly seat from Narowal, its defeat in Gujratwould lead many to question the party’s claim that the districtremains its stronghold.
That the PPP failed to get even a single seat in bye-electionsin eight constituencies of Punjab would raise questions about itsstanding in the province. A party candidate in Gujranwala whopolled 23,892 votes in 2008, could get only 16,492 this time. Andthis was not the only case of the type. In Sahiwal, the PPP couldput up no candidate of its own and relied instead on a pro-PTIindependent who failed to win the seat.
The PML-N’s performance was also below that of 2008. Theparty ruling Punjab lost two provincial seats that it had won lasttime. A winner running as an independent, however, announcedjoining the party soon after.
One had hoped that those losing the elections wouldgracefully concede the defeat and draw the right conclusions forthe future. The elections were conducted by the first independentEC. Barring minor incidents of violence and celebratory firinghere and there, the polling was by and large peaceful. To call it“worst kind of rigging”, as PML-Q’s information secretary hasdone, amounts to putting a gloss over the alliance’s own failures.
Minorities in Pakistan
Persecuted
Inconsistent with the constitution
By Malik Muhammad Ashraf
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:39 AM Page 10
effect of social rolesA true character of a person can be known when he or
she is given power. The way a person makes use of thepowers becomes a detrimental factor in getting to knowthe personality. However as mostly is the case in ourcountry the person gets lost in the aura of the power thathe or she has been given and acts in ways which areagainst the social norms. We see examples of this allthrough the day, be it at home, school, office or on roads.At home people are seen abusing the servants, drainingthem of every inch of blood in their body by making themdo unnecessarily (hard) work. At office the boss makes hissubordinates do the house chores, making him or her topick the children from school. On roads we see the police-men stopping the motorcycles, rickshaws, trucks andbuses for no reasons at times and letting them go aftershaking the hand full of money. Much to my surprise theabuse of power has also crept in to schools, colleges anduniversity and teachers have become the abusers of it. Wesee on daily routines teachers favouring people belongingto specific religious sects, race or ethnic backgrounds andawarding them more marks at their free will. A psycho-logical study conducted by Zibardo points out the effectsof social roles on a person’s behaviour. The experimentreported a difference in the behaviour of normal menwhen given different roles. The people chosen as guardsresorted to verbal and physical aggression on the peopleplaying the role of prisoners, even though they were notallowed to that. A similar event took place at a universitywhich happens to be the best institute for Business Ad-ministration in Pakistan. A teaching assistant is an indi-vidual who assists a teacher or professor withinstructional responsibilities. The concept of havingTeacher’s Assistants is to provide ease to the teacher, helpthe students as much as they can, prepare quizzes andcheck them according to the answer sheet provided by theteacher. For this the TAs are paid so it becomes sort of anon campus job for the students. A couple of Teacher’s As-sistants forced the class students to wear specific coloursand participate in the activity they were having. Each yeara company conducts a talent hunt whereby the studentshave to form a group of four and suggest and to certainextent implement a marketing strategy for the company’sproduct. The TAs as they are called allotted extra marks tothe participants of their activity which is a perfect exam-ple of abuse of power. I would urge the educationalist towitness such abuse of power being carried by the stu-dents. It is this age that defines the personality of a personand if they are let free of abusing the powers they may be-come the leaders that we have. For universities who pre-pare leaders of tomorrow such activities must ring a bellin the administration section and the abuse of power bestopped. The roles of TAs must be restricted and teachersand TAs made to follow the rules.
AFFAN H KHANKarachi
Comment 11
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
Demands for a change in Pak-istan’s internal and externalpolicies, particularly its
handling of extremism, terrorismand Afghanistan issues, have longbeen made. But these were appar-ently ignored and no shift was seenat any level for a long time. How-ever, positive signals have been feltduring the recent days and weeks.The optimism started with the Au-gust 13 speech of Chief of ArmyStaff at PMA, Kakul. But many did-n’t believe that he was speakingfrom his heart when he said thatwar against the terrorists was ‘ourown’ and therefore ‘just’. Hencethere were not many takers.
Then the issue of an operationin North Waziristan Agency startedtaking twists. First, indicationsstarted coming in that a full fledgedmilitary onslaught against groupsentrenched in NWA was on thecards. The cowardly attack onMalala gave rise to expectationsthat the time had come for the Tal-iban to be on the run. But there wasconspiracy theories’ galore in thecountry and many quarters allegedthat the Malala’s incident was beingused to prepare ground for an ac-tion in tribal areas.
Gen Kayani came hard on ter-rorists once again when he visitedher at CMH Peshawar on October 9,2012. Strongly condemning the act,Kayani said, “The cowards who at-tacked Malala and her fellow stu-dents have time and again shownhow little regard they have forhuman life and how low they canstoop to impose their twisted ideol-ogy.” Kayani said that Malala hadbecome a symbol for the values thatthe army, with the nation behind it,was fighting for [in order] to pre-serve future generations. “We wishto bring home a simple message:We refuse to bow before terror. Wewill fight, regardless of the cost. Wewill prevail,” he said.
It was now considered to betime for the politicalleadership/civilian government tocome forward and take ownershipof any action that the militarymight initiate against terrorists.President Asif Ali Zardari waitedfor an appropriate occasion to do it.
And he did it at the Economic Co-operation Organisation’s summit inAzerbaijan’s capital Baku on Octo-ber 15, 2012. Terming attempt onMalala’s life as an attack on all Pak-istani girls and the civilisation it-self, he reaffirmed his country’scommitment that the fight againstterrorists would continue till thelast man standing.
Then Marc Grossman, the for-mer US Special Representative,came to Pakistan on 20 October.But contrary to expectations that hewould discuss the nitty-gritty ofNorth Waziristan operation, a state-ment was issued on his behalf say-ing that US, Afghanistan andPakistan were working on newstrategies to bring peace in the re-gion. A deafening silence ensuedand North Waziristan went on theback burner. As observers were yetguessing as to what the new strate-gies could be that Grossman hintedat, Salahuddin Rabbani, Presidentof the Afghan High Peace Councilvisited Islamabad in mid-Novem-ber. The visit resulted in yet anotherunexpected development; Pakistandecided to release some of theAfghan Taliban held for a long timeby the authorities concerned. Thiswas a clear shift in the country’s un-declared stance regarding those fig-ures whose release Kabul wasdemanding since long. It gave thesignal that Pakistan was now gen-uinely interested to see the peaceprocess in Afghanistan succeed, orat least give it a chance to take off.
In the meanwhile, another mir-acle happened. On November 5, theInter Services Public Relations(ISPR) issued a statement of theChief of Army Staff. Though it hadbeen issued in a purely different do-mestic perspective, the statementcontained some words which wereall-encompassing. Gen Kayani said,“We are critically looking at themistakes made in the past and [are]trying to set the course for a betterfuture.” Though the statement waslargely criticised in the media for itsconceived infringement into otherinstitutions’ jurisdiction, optimistslooked at the positive aspects of itand related it to the overall internaland external situation, includingarmy’s domineering role in decid-ing national security paradigm.
Latest developments in the se-
ries are 1) the statement of ForeignMinister Hina Rabbani Khar aboutPak-US relations and 2) the federalcabinet’s approval of NationalCounter Terrorism Authority(NACTA) Bill, 2012.
Reports from Brussels about theengagements of foreign ministerand COAS with the US, NATO andEuropean Union are also encourag-ing. The first message from thecomposition of Pakistani delegationis that both the civilian and militaryleaderships are on the same pagenow as far as resolving the Afghanissue or relationship with the USand allied countries are concerned.The renewal of strategic partner-ship offer to Pakistan by the EU andthe statement of American officialthat both the countries were now onthe ‘same page’ regarding reconcil-iation process in Afghanistan, areimportant developments. Side byside, the announcement of the re-lease of $600 million from theCoalition Support Fund (CFS) bythe visiting US delegation in Islam-abad on Dec 4 is also a signal of im-provement of tie between the twocountries and a change in Pak-istan’s foreign policy objectives.
The approval of the NACTA Bill2012 by the cabinet coincided withthe statement of foreign minister.The bill is aimed at creating a morepowerful anti-terror body with anexpanded, sweeping mandate todeal with all things terrorism re-lated which will act as a coordina-tion and information sharingplatform between different intelli-gence agencies, military and civil-ian, as well as law enforcementagencies.
To many of the optimists, thesedevelopments indicate that somereal changes are in the offing andwe may see shifts in the country’sexternal and internal policies. Tobegin with, some positive changesare needed in the face of failuresbrought in by policies pursued sofar. They have resulted in erosion ofPakistan’s clout in Afghanistanwhile failing in achieving its longterm objectives there. They havealso isolated the country interna-tionally, rather made it an interna-tional pariah thereby bringing iteconomically on the verge of bank-ruptcy. And last, but not the least,our previous policies with regard to
Afghanistan and terrorism havebrought more internal social, polit-ical and religious chaos thanachieving external security.
A responsible transition andlong term peace in Afghanistan ismore in the interest of Pakistanthan any other country. And signsof change in its policy with regardto that is a good omen for our fu-ture. Improvement in relationshipwith USA and ending its interna-tional isolation will also bode wellfor rebuilding its internationalimage. This will definitely bringeconomic pitfalls in its wake whichwill be helpful in improving livingconditions in the country. TheNACTA is the best developmentamong all. First and foremost, itwill bring the civilian and militarysetups at the same page, with inputfrom both the sides. This can helplaying out a national security andcounter-terrorism policy which willnot only be transparent but alsoenjoy consensus of the nation. Sec-ondly, it envisages introducingchanges into domains that are in-ternally promoting extremist mind-set which, in turn, fuel terrorism.
There is every possibility thatthe people will support any mean-ingful change that will bring peaceand prosperity to them. This willalso steer the country away fromthe existentionalist threat it hasbeen faced with in the form of reli-gious, sectarian and terrorist quar-ters. After all, what good theexisting pro-right and religiouspolicies have brought to the stateand its armed forces? MunawarHasan has already said that ‘theissue of jihad’ against PakistanArmy can be considered if it contin-ued with its ‘pro-US’ policies re-garding Afghanistan. So, do wewant to continue those policieswhich have so far satisfied noneand which have only brought mis-eries and destruction to the nation?Their further continuation willmean that the mullah of every huewill be declaring jihad against thestate and its army, with the flag ofreligion in their hands and thewhole nation following them to an-nihilate those who they considerfriends of anti-Islam forces.
Letters should be addressed to PakistanToday exclusively.
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:39 AM Page 11
12
lindsay lohan in troubleagain, refuses to join rehab
TRouBleD hollywood actress, lindsay
lohan has refused to check into rehab and
stabilize her alcoholic addiction. lohan rose
to fame as a child starring in the hugely popular
“The Parent Trap” and had been on a smooth ride to
hollywood achieving viewers and critics’ positive
votes. Though like many teenage celebrities who
have succumbed to the pressures of the hollywood
lifestyle, lohan, too became a victim. She is now
battling charges against an altercation with a
female at a New York club. lohan was released on
bail though she is expected to head back to courts
on January 7 where she will have to face formal
charges. Sources cite the “liz and Dick” star where
lohan played elizebeth Taylor is stressed by her
court trails and not happy on receiving any decent
reviews on her latest portrayal. Moreover, lohan
claims that she has shot three movies which is
proof of not being involved in any addictions, and
does not need to go into rehab. nEWs dEsK
talaash based on ‘reallife incident’ or a ‘book’?
The co-writer of the Bollywood suspense
thriller “Talaash”, Zoya Akhtar, has surprised
everyone by reportedly admitting that the film
was based on a real life incident. According to Indian
media, Talaash was based on an incident that
happened with Akhtar years ago returning from a
Mumbai party spot, near the “haji Ali” Dargah along
with six companions. Zoya discussed what she
experienced with the director of “Talaash”, Reema
Kagti, and the story became the first point of the
script that they both wrote together, reported the
however, another source stated that Talaash was
heavily inspired by a book called “The Fallen” by T.
Jefferson Parker. The film has opened with rave
reviews and public response earning Rs.471m in the
first three days. nEWs dEsK
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
Phyllida Lloyd’s production at London’s DonmarWarehouse sees Shakespeare’s politicalconspiracy drama performed by the femaleinmates. Performed on an austere metallic set,the play-within-a-play features CCTV and heavymetal guitars. The cast includes Frances Barberas Caesar, Harriet Walter as Brutus and JennyJules as Cassius. The production marks Lloyd’sreturn to the stage after directing the film TheIron Lady, which starred Meryl Streep asMargaret Thatcher. The all-female production
follows closely after and all-male version of bothTwelfth Night and Richard III, recentlytransferred to the West End from Shakespeare’sGlobe. Michael Billington in The Guardiandescribed Lloyd’s Julius Caesar as “witty,liberating and inventive” and said it tapped intothe anti-authoritarian instinct that runs through
the play. “It is one thing to have an ingeniousconcept, another to carry it out. And Lloyd’sproduction proves that female actors can bring afresh perspective to traditionally male roles,” hesaid. “It’s not just the casting that makes it feeldaring,” said Henry Hitchings in the EveningStandard. “There’s also a crazed, percussiveintensity, and the production abounds withweirdness, thuggery and horror.” He added:“Frances Barber is a viciously bullying Caesar,an arbitrary tyrant who in her beret and leathertrenchcoat looks like someone you might find ina spy film loitering seedily in a railway arch.Harriet Walter’s austere Brutus is aperformance of riveting intricacy.” AlexandraCoghlan, writing for The Arts Desk, said thatLloyd’s cast “certainly give the lie to anyweakly girlish image of the female”. nEWs dEsK
anistonNEWS DESK
JENNIFER Aniston’s annual Christmas tree-trimming party on Sunday night was a veritable who’swho in Hollywood. A-list friends Demi Moore, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Ben Stiller, andTobey Maguire all dressed up in their finest holiday attire for the bash at the rented Beverly Hillshome the actress lives in with her fiancé Justin Theroux — but the fun wasn’t just for theadults. “The party was for both adults and children,” a source tells People. “Jen loves having
children around and she always has fun activities planned for them. While the adultsmingled, the younger guests were able to color and play games … Jen always puts a lot ofeffort into planning her holiday party.” And it wasn’t just famous people at the soiree.Many of Aniston’s employees also were in attendance because it’s also “a thank youparty,” adds the source. “And she always gives them thoughtful gifts. Jen always asksher celebrity friends for charity donations instead of personal gifts.” The biggest starof the party though was the 10-foot noble fir the 43-year-old painstakingly selectedat Mr. Greentrees in Beverly Hills — with a little help from her man. “She seemedvery excited and happy about the tree,” the source revealed about Aniston, who isspending her second Christmas with Theroux. “[Justin] was very sweet to herand let her take her time to find the perfect tree. She found a beautiful one thatshe had delivered.”It was originally reported that Aniston’s bash was tocelebrate her August engagement to Theroux, 41. Although that wasn’t thecase, she’s certainly counting him as one of her many blessings in 2012!The twosome, who have yet to set a wedding date, “are doing reallywell together,” reveals the source. “Jen always seems sohappy. Justin takes great care of her.”
hosts Christmastree-trimming party
NEWS DESK
Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah sayshe first came to know about legendary poet FaizAhmed Faiz when he was in class nine. “I wasintroduced to Faiz through film Janwar in whichmy most favourite actor ShamiKapoor sang Faiz’s verses:Raat Yun Dil Mein TeriKhoie Huwi Yaad Ai (Lastnight, your long-lostmemory came back tome),” he said at the DurabPatel Auditorium of theHuman RightsCommission of Pakistan(HRCP) on Tuesday. AdeelHashmi, actor and grandsonof Faiz, moderated thedialogue where Mr Shahspoke on a variety ofissues raised by theaudience. To aquestion thatwould he everact Faiz in someplay, Mr Shahsaid he woulddo it thoughthe role wouldhave somelimitations.He said thatGhalib’s rolewas easy todo as hisphotograph,physicaldescription
and how he talked were not available. In the caseof Faiz, there were limitations because enoughphotographs and video record of Faiz was there.To another question how he imitated Ghalib inthe play Mirza Ghalib, he said that he had doneenough research on Ghalib’s personality and hadseen a few of his portraits. He visited theneighbourhood Bilimaran where Ghalib lived foryears and found Ghalib’s house in a bad shape.He added Ghalib’s personality could not beunderstood as “it will take me seven lifetimes tounderstand the poet”. He said he started offfrom serious cinema and then moved to popularcinema as he wanted to be a popular actor. Ifsomeone says he doesn’t want to be a popularactor is lying, he said. He said directing a filmwas a very hard task. “And making a bad film is
even harder,” he said in a light vein. But tohim theatre direction was where he felt at
home. Mr Shah, who is in Lahoreto act in plays based on
stories by Ismat Chugtai,said the masterpieces ofclassic writers such as
Chugtai could not beput in films as a great
literature had itsdescriptive beauty.When asked whatinspired him topresent IsmatChugtai’s workon theatre, hesaid that hemet her in1979 duringthe shooting offilm Janoon.
Naseeruddin Shahspeaks on Faiz
Julius Caesar: Critics hail all-female production
Felt amazing aftervisiting Siddhivinayak,says Paris HiltonExperiencing spirituality at the famedSiddhivinayak temple here was “amazing” forinternational socialite Paris Hilton, who washere on a brief trip. After spending time withchildren at an orphanage, Paris visited thetemple. “Went to the Siddhivinayak temple for ablessing. Amazing to be in such a spiritual andspecial place. Blessed,” she tweeted. The 31-year-old was here to spin the disc at the recentlyconcluded India Resort Fashion Week held inGoa and also walked the ramp for designer duoShane and Falguni Peacock. She had a stopoverin Mumbai. Hilton, who was on her second visitto India, went to an orphanage named Ashray insuburban Bandra and spent some quality timewith the children there. She even grooved topopular song “Chammak challo” with them, and
distributed presents. Herfirst visit to the
country was in2011, when she
came to launchher range ofhandbags andaccessoriesfor theIndianmarket.nEWs dEsK
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:42 AM Page 12
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
13
NEWS DESK
POOR Eddie Murphy desperately needs acomeback. Remember back in the day whenhe was so funny on “Saturday Night Live”and in movies like “TradingPlaces” and “Beverly Hills
Cop”? His voice work has helpedmake movies like “Shrek” and“Mulan” tolerable for adults, andeven his family-friendly movies,like “Norbit” and “Dr. Dolittle,”were good for some chuckles. Butlately, Murphy’s career has justcollapsed. “Imagine That,” “AThousand Words” and “Meet Dave”were colossal flops. Last year’s “TowerHeist,” which was supposed to besomething of a return to form forthe comedian, failed to wow atthe box office, earning$153 million on anestimated budget of$75 million. (In orderto even come close toturning a profit, amovie has to earntwice its productionbudget in ticket sales,plus the millions spenton marketing.) Murphythen backed out ofhosting the Oscars,which didn’t help hisreputation.His string of flopslands Murphy at thetop of our MostOverpaid Actors listfor 2012. We estimatethat for every $1Murphy was paid forhis last three films, theyreturned an average of$2.30 at the box office.To compile our list, weused data on actors’earnings gathered forour Celebrity 100 list.Box office grosses andbudget estimates arefrom Box Office Mojo. Welooked at the last three films
each actor starred in over the last three years thatopened in more than 2,000 theaters, calculating thereturn on investment for the studios who pay his (orher) salary.Ranking second behind Murphy is a newcomer to ourlist: Katherine Heigl. For every dollar she was paid onher last three movies, they earned an average of $3.40.After hits like “Knocked-Up,” “27 Dresses” and “TheUgly Truth,” Heigl’s quote shot up to the $12 millionrange. Unfortunately, the films she’s made at that pricepoint have failed to deliver. Her most recent film, “OneFor The Money,” earned only $37 million on anestimated $40 million budget. Heigl needs to stepaway from the expensive star vehicles and rebuild hercareer. Her next release is the ensemble pic “The BigWedding,” which hits theaters in April. Featuring
Robert DeNiro, Susan Sarandon and AmandaSeyfried, the movie could give Heigl a chance
to show how funny she can be when thepressure is off. In past versions of
our overpaid actors roundup, welooked at each actor’s films
over the last five years. Thisyear, we cut back to thelast three years to give
only 40 cents foreach $1 she waspaid. Howevershe hasn’t starredin three big
releases over thelast three years. We
don’t count ensemblefilms where there is no
clear star likeBarrymore’s 2009 film “He’sJust Not That Into You,”which was actually a hit.
eddie Murphythe most overpaid actor in Hollywood
NEWS DESK
John Travolta has revealed that hecollaborated with Olivia Newton-John torecord a new festive album to try to easesome of the devastation he feltabout the loss of his son Jett -who died in January 2009,aged only 16 - at Christmas.The 58-year-old actor saidthat Christmas wasnever an easy time ofyear for his familysince then. “Doingsomething for himmakes it easier,because you’redoing something,you’re proactive,you’re raising moneyfor the foundation thatrepresents him,” theSydney morning Heraldquoted him as saying. The‘Grease’ star said guestartists including BarbraStreisand, Tony Bennettand James Taylor werehappy to get involved,knowing proceeds of thealbum were going to the
Jett Travolta Foundation and the OliviaNewton-John Cancer and Wellness Centrein Melbourne. “It felt effortless. Andeverybody hopped on board effortlessly,we called Barbra and Tony and James andthey all knew my son, so they just wantedto do this from their heart,” he said. Healso said that he was inspired by PaulNewman in relation to raising moneyunder Jett’s name. “Paul Newman did itthrough food, the Scott Newmanfoundation was to raise money for hisson’s foundation,” he said. “People finddifferent ways . . . I’m most comfortable
doing it this way becauseI love to sing and I
don’t get a chance todo it a lot. “To join
Olivia again,where we’ve
succeeded atthis level, to dothat is a beautifulopportunity. I
can’t believe it,” headded.
NEWS DESK
Naomi Watts, who plays tragic Princess Diana in her new flick, has ad-mitted the difficulties of re-creating one of last century’s most iconic fig-ures. “Playing Princess Diana was the hardest thing I’ve done,” the DailyMail quoted her as telling Manhattan magazine. “Because of the pres-sure of everyone’s beliefs about who she was and the fact that it was justreally hard to claim her as my own, since everybody feels they knowher,” she said. The 44-year-old British-born actress said that she wantedto channel the late royal, rather than mimic her. “I don’t want to getcaught up in mimicry - that’s the worst thing,” she said. “I was to try toembody her and get the essence of her. Those things are really impor-tant to me,” she added. The film, out next year, follows Diana’s love af-fair with Pakistheart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan, played by Lost starNaveen Andrews.
NEWS DESK
After spelling its magic on screen the“The Amazing Spider-Man” directorMarc Webb has started shooting its se-quel “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”. Ac-cording to reports, this time the loveinterest of Peter Parker, Mary Jane, willbe played by Shailene Woodley who was-n’t included in the first film of the series.The director recently announced via atweet that Harry Osborne’s role (bestfriend of Parker) is being played by DaneDeHaan (Chronicles), which is also thenew entrant in the upcoming sequel. An-drew Garfield and Emma Stone, the reallife couple, will again reprise their rolesas Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, respec-tively. However, Jamie Foxx will be seen
as Electro, an enemy whose reach knowsno boundaries. According to MarvelComics, Gwen was originally the firsttrue love of Peter Parker before he devel-oped deep feelings for Mary Jane Wat-son. The Green Goblin causesSpiderman to accidentally kill Gwen in
the comic. Both the decision to kill Gwenand the method in which Marvel imple-mented it, remain controversial amongfans and after the death of Gwen, appar-ently, Peter falls in love with Mary Jane.The Amazing Spider Man 2 is scheduledto be released on May 2, 2014.
travolta’sdesire tohonour lateson sparkedalbum
Playing Diana was the hardestthing I’ve done: Naomi Watts
‘the amaziNG SPider-maN 2’includes another love interest, best friend in sequel
PeShawar: a student walks on the ramp during the second annual fashion show ‘Fashion First’ at Iqra university. inp
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14Infotainment
Scientists discover oldest dinosaur yet
AN arm bone and a handful of vertebrae haveyielded a surprising truth: The age of thedinosaur began earlier than anyone ever
suspected. A new bone analysis of fossils collected inTanzania in the 1930s reveal that Nyasasaurusparringtoni -- a creature the size of a Labradorretriever with a five-foot-long tail -- may be the earliestdinosaur on Earth, plodding across the planet some243 million years ago. The findings mean that thedinosaur lineage appeared 10 million to 15 millionyears earlier than fossils previously showed,originating in the Middle Triassic rather than in theLate Triassic period, according to Sterling Nesbitt, aUniversity of Washington postdoctoral researcher inbiology and lead author of a paper published onlineDec. 5 in Biology Letters. "If the newly namedNyasasaurus parringtoni is not the earliest dinosaur,then it is the closest relative found so far," Nesbittsaid. Working with one humerus or upper arm boneand six vertebrae, Nesbitt and colleagues determinedthat Nyasasaurus likely stood upright, measured 7 to10 feet in length, was as tall as 3 feet at the hip andweighed as much as 135 pounds. Unusual looks aside,the analysis of the bones, which were kept partly inLondon’s Natural History Museum and partly in theSouth African Museum in Cape Town, prove thatdinosaurs have been around for an awfully long time."For 150 years, people have been suggesting that thereshould be Middle Triassic dinosaurs, but all theevidence is ambiguous," Nesbitt said. "Some scientistsused fossilized footprints, but we now know that otheranimals from that time have a very similar foot. Otherscientists pointed to a single dinosaur-likecharacteristic in a single bone, but that can bemisleading because some characteristics evolved in anumber of reptile groups and are not a result of ashared ancestry." The fossilized bones were collectedin Tanzania, but it may not be correct to say dinosaursoriginated in that country. When Nyasasaurusparringtoni lived, the world's continents were joined inthe landmass called Pangaea. Tanzania would havebeen part of Southern Pangaea that included Africa,South America, Antarctica and Australia. nEWs dEsK
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
naSa plans new
mars rover for 2020NASA officials plan to build a new rover that wouldfollow Curiosity on the surface of Mars. The an-nouncement electrified many of the roughly 18,000researchers attending the American GeophysicalUnion's fall meeting this week in San Francisco.The objectives are not yet set, nor are the tools therover would wield, said John Grunsfeld, head ofNASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.But Grunsfeld's remarks Tuesday raised the hopesof planetary scientists that NASA would be focusingits efforts on the complex and costly task of retriev-ing a piece of Mars."Collecting a cache of samples is difficult -- it re-quires a very capable vehicle," said Steve Squyres,lead scientist for the Mars exploration rover mis-sion, which put Opportunity on the planet in 2004."The vehicle that John Grunsfeld just described forlaunch in 2020 is fully capable of doing that job."Before Curiosity landed on Mars this summer,NASA was unsure of its future direction in explor-ing the solar system. Big-budget missions to Marsseemed politically unpalatable after Curiosity's$2.5-billion price tag, and no other major missionshad been scheduled, even as the next launch win-dow in 2018 approached. But the rover's dramaticlanding and early scientific exploits have rejuve-nated enthusiasm for Martian exploration.That has given a boost to NASA's Jet PropulsionLaboratory, home of the Mars exploration programand the expected lead on the new rover program.The new rover, estimated to cost $1.5 billion, prom-ises to provide a "shot in the arm" for the local econ-omy, said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), whosedistrict includes JPL in La Cañada Flintridge. Marsmissions make up a significant share of JPL's proj-ects. Over the last decade, Curiosity alone employedabout 3,000 staffers and brought in 4,000 othersfrom outside the lab. nEWs dEsK
THE savannah habitatthat ¬sustainsAfrican lions hasshrunk by 75 percentover the past ¬half-century, according
to a study published Tuesday in thejournal Biodiversity and Conserva-tion, a dramatic loss that couldthreaten the species’ survival.
The new analysis by American,African and British researchers —which suggests the continent’s lionpopulation has declined from100,000 to roughly 32,000 over 50years — provides a clear picture ofwhere the animals now live and howmajor land-use changes and popula-tion growth have put them in jeop-ardy.
“It’s a shock,” said Duke Univer-sity professor for conservation ecol-
ogy Stuart Pimm, one of the paper’sco-authors. “Savannah ¬Africa hasbeen massively reduced. . . . As [peo-ple] moved in, lions have beenhunted out.”
The findings come just one weekafter theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv-ice announced it will study whetherAfrican lions should be listed underthe Endangered Species Act, a movethat would end the importation oftrophies into the United States. Sev-eral groups petitioned the agencylast year to list the species, thoughsome conservationists ¬argue tro-phy hunting provides a source ofrevenue to local communities, whichhelps keep savannah habitat intact.
Thomas E. Lovejoy, UniversityProfessor in Science and Public Pol-icy at George Mason University, saidthe paper’s authors “have made a
historical contribution” by showinghow dramatically Africa’s viable ter-rain for lions has declined in recentdecades. Lions used to roam much ofAfrica and Eurasia but are now lim-ited to sub-Saharan Africa. A smallpopulation of a separate species in-habits the Gir Forest National Parkof India.
Lovejoy said the fact that savan-nah habitat loss is outpacing the de-cline of the world’s tropical rainforests “is terrifying when combinedwith the prospects of populationgrowth and land-use change inAfrica.”
To reach their assessment, thepaper’s lead author, Jason Riggio,who received his master’s degreefrom Duke, assembled a team ofgraduate students to examine high-resolution satellite imagery of Africa
from Google Earth to determinewhat could qualify as suitable lionhabitat. They then compared that in-formation with existing lion popula-tion data, concluding that there areonly 67 isolated areas in Africawhere lions might survive.
Part of the challenge lions face isthat when they venture outside na-tional parks, they may kill livestockand come into conflict with humans,Pimm said. Lovejoy said he was op-timistic that sufficient public pres-sure will build for U.S. officials totake action. The officials will decidewithin a year whether to list Africanlions as endangered.
“This is something the public caneasily get,” he said, adding that lionsare the kind of “animal cracker ani-mals” everyone has revered sincechildhood. The study does not, how-ever, answer one of the central ques-tions federal officials must answer:whether trophy hunting helps or un-dermines the species’ ultimate sur-vival.
Jeff Flocken, Washington officedirector of the International Fundfor Animal Welfare, said Americansare responsible for importing 64percent of the lions hunted for sportin Africa, and that the practice desta-bilizes prides.
But hunting groups such as Sa-fari Club International, and someenvironmental organizations, say atrophy ban could have unintendedconsequences.
Luke Hunter, president of thewild cat conservation group Pan-thera, said even though he finds lionhunting “ridiculous and abhorrent,as a scientist I have to ask myselfwhether it can be a tool for conser-vation.”
While current studies suggestAfrican lion hunting “is unsustain-able,” Hunter added, ending it couldaccelerate the large-scale land con-servation that poses the greatestthreat to lions. “The danger is youstop that revenue stream, all thoseareas are up for grabs.” nEWs dEsK
Students sickened by Bob marley drink
OFFICIALS have removed a drink namedafter reggae icon Bob Marley after severalNew Jersey students fell ill. Marley's
Mellow Mood contains valerian root andchamomile and is promoted to reduce stress. Thedrink's nutrition facts say it may cause drowsinessand isn't intended for children. However, studentsat Satz Middle School and Holmdel High Schoolcould buy it on campus. Several middle schoolstudents fell ill. The Asbury Park Press reports theschool's food service provider has removed amanager pending an investigation. ChartwellsSchool Dining Services also removed the Marleyproduct from other schools. The company said it istaking the situation seriously. Students whoconsumed the drink complained of lethargy,headaches, nausea and elevated heart rates.Officials are trying to determine how manystudents were sickened. nEWs dEsK
The first jumping spider to travel to space aspart of a YouTube competition has died fourdays after going on display in a museum. Thespider, named Nefertiti, spent 100 days in spaceat the International Space Station and travelled42m miles but died of natural causes soon afterreturning to the Smithsonian National Museumof Natural History in Washington, DC, where itwas to be exhibited. The Johnson Jumper(Phidippus johnsoni) spider was launched tothe ISS in July after 18-year-old Amr Mohamedfrom Alexandria, Egypt, won the YouTubeSpace Lab video contest.
Nefertiti, named after an Egyptian queen,demonstrated that its species was able to adaptto the effects of weightlessness and still catch itsprey. It then successfully readjusted to gravityafter its return to Earth in October. Amr believed
that the spider would have difficulty catchingfruit flies in space but Nefertiti learned to sidleup to its prey rather than jump on it. It took a fewdays to adapt to gravity on its return. KellyCarnes of the Smithsonian told the LA Times:"The unexpected loss of this special animal whoinspired so many imaginations will be feltthroughout the museum community … The bodyof Nefertiti will be added to the museum's collec-tion of specimens where she will continue to con-tribute to our understanding of spiders." Nefertitiwas accompanied by Cleopatra, a zebra spiderwhich died shortly after touchdown. Female spi-ders were chosen because male spiders normallystop eating when they are fully grown. The aver-age lifespan of jumping spiders is about a year.Nefertiti at the age of 10 months probably did nothave much longer to live anyway. nEWs dEsK
Jumping spider that pioneeredspace travel dies in museum
African lion populationshrinks to 32,000
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Thursday, 6 december, 2012
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hamilton happy forrosberg reunion
Pcb inspectionteam findseverything inorder in chepauk
ChEnnAI: Security arrange-ments for the first ODI betweenIndia and Pakistan to be played atthe Chepauk here on December 30were discussed at a high-levelmeeting on Tuesday. Officials fromthe Indian Cricket Board (BCCI),Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) andTamil Nadu Cricket Association(TNCA) met Commissioner of Po-lice S George and discussed the se-curity and other logistics for thekeenly-awaited encounter. Theydiscussed the itinerary of theteams and place of stay and otherprogrammes with the Commis-sioner. The meeting was attendedby BCCI general manager (gamedevelopment) Ratnakar Shetty,BCCI (Anti-Corruption and Secu-rity Unit) Ravi Sawani and cricketoperations (Manager) Suru Naik.PCB representative Nadeem Sar-war, Pakistan Security (Director)Ehsan Sadiq, Cricket Operations(Manager) Usman Wahla, TamilNadu Cricket Association memberGanesan and secretary K SViswanathan also participated inthe meeting, the release added.The India-Pakistan series will havethree ODIs and two Twenty20 In-ternationals between December 25and January 6 next year. The ODImatches will be played in Chennai,Kolkata and New Delhi while theTwenty20 games will be held inBangalore and Ahmedabad. agEnciEs
KALKOTAagEnciEs
EVEN India's back-to-form great-est batsman Sachin Tendulkarwas unable to stop Englandgrinding out an advantageous
position on day one of the third Test at EdenGardens. Veteran Tendulkar (76) remainswithout a Test century in his last 29 inningsdating back to early 2011 - but he and openerGautam Gambhir (60) did manage to sal-vage a stumps total of 273 for seven.
On a pitch already offering some un-even bounce to the spinners, and somecarry and swing for the seamers with thenew and old ball, England could easily havebeen more significantly-rewarded for theirdisciplined and determined efforts.
James Anderson (three for 68) thoughthe had Yuvraj Singh lbw for nought, butcould not convince umpire Rod Tucker ballhad hit pad in line, and Mahendra SinghDhoni was within inches of holing out atmidwicket off Graeme Swann first ball.
Instead, numbers six and seven eachwent on to frustrate England - the former ina stand of 79 with Tendulkar - in this pivotalmatch of a four-Test series level at 1-1.
The signs were ominous for Englandafter Alastair Cook lost his third successivetoss of the series at a ground where Indiahave declared with more than 600 on theboard in the first innings of their last threeTests. Cook's opposite number Dhoni had
predicted a modicum of help for the pacebowlers in the first hour, and so it proved forAnderson and Steven Finn. It came to noth-ing, though, as Gambhir and Virender Se-hwag approached a 50 stand - until theirrunning between the wickets failed them.
Sehwag clipped the first ball of the11th over to midwicket. But Samit Patelsaved the boundary with a diving stop,and Finn's race from mid-on in supportpaid off handsomely when he threw inover the stumps to comfortably run out
Sehwag after he was sent back for a third.It was hardly the way England might haveenvisaged taking the first wicket, butproved the value of all their attention todetail and painstaking training.
Monty Panesar's first success came inmore conventional, indeed classical, fash-ion. He had worked hard to draw Chetesh-war Pujara forward several times, and thensurprised him on the back foot with an armball which snaked through the defence tohit middle-stump. Gambhir, joined by
Tendulkar to the obligatory raucous crowdreception at this cavernous stadium, ap-peared unperturbed by a failure fromIndia's prolific new number three. The left-handed opener had hit 10 fours and dulycompleted his 81-ball half-century with ascampered single before lunch. But he wasfirst to go in the afternoon, laying back tocut after losing the strike against Panesarand edging a sharp chance to slip whichJonathan Trott just about clung on to.
Tendulkar scratched his way to his first20, regularly playing and missing at Finnand then Anderson as Cook operated thetwo seamers in tandem with Panesar. Finn'sfine spell was in vain, but Anderson got a de-served breakthrough when Virat Kohliedged low to Swann at second slip. Swannhad bowled only three overs at that stage,but was called into the attack to give Panesara rest after 21 unchanged.
Yuvraj began tentatively, but two drivenfours off Swann gave him confidence - andafter tea, he immediately went up the wicketto Panesar and struck him for a straight six.
England were toiling by the time Yu-vraj lost concentration and poked a catchto cover off Swann, and it might havebeen two in two next ball when Dhoni'sattempt to dominate from the outsetbrought only a thick inside-edge just shortof Patel at midwicket. Tendulkar began tolive up to his billing, increasingly fluent ina 155-ball innings which contained 13fours but ended in anti-climax - and no
101st international hundred - when he fol-lowed some Anderson outswing and waswell-caught behind by Matt Prior, divinglow to his right. England then had an ob-vious chance to run out RavichandranAshwin for just a single, he and Dhonicontriving another India mix-up only forFinn to fumble at mid-on when anotheraccurate return to the striker's end wouldhave done the trick.
Bowlers put England in control
WELLINGTON agEnciEs
Former captain Daniel Vettori is almostcertain to miss New Zealand's tour ofSouth Africa later this month because hehas not recovered sufficiently from a trou-bling Achilles injury. Vettori has not yetbeen officially ruled out of the tour byNew Zealand Cricket, but his AustralianTwenty20 franchise, the Brisbane Heat,said they had been advised that the all-rounder would be unable to play for atleast six weeks.
"Dan had a setback over the weekendand despite his best efforts, he is highlyunlikely to be ready in time for our ...matches, which is very unfortunate forhim, as we know how hard he has workedto be ready," Heat General Manager An-drew Blucher said in a statement. "We
wish him a speedy recovery and trust heis back playing soon."
The Australian Twenty20 "Big Bash"tournament begins on Friday, while NewZealand's tour of South Africa starts onDec. 18 and runs until Jan. 25. NewZealand's squad for the two test, threeone-day, three Twenty20 match tour,had been expected to be named earlier onWednesday but has been delayed untilFriday as speculation swirls around thecaptaincy of Ross Taylor. Local mediahave reported that Taylor's captaincy hasbeen questioned by a group of playersand that Brendon McCullum, who was acandidate for the job when Taylor suc-ceeded Vettori after the 2011 World Cup,was likely to be named in his place.
Fairfax newspapers had reportedthat McCullum was expected to be giventhe captaincy of the limited overs side,
while Taylor retained the test captaincy.Television New Zealand, however, re-ported on Wednesday that Taylor maynot even go to South Africa and NZCChief Executive David White, whose de-layed return from an ICC meeting inDubai was one of the reasons why theteam announcement was pushed back toFriday, refused to answer questionsabout the captaincy. Media reported thatWhite's recommendation to the NZCboard was required before a changecould be made to the captaincy.
Taylor took to the social networkingsite Twitter to try to dampen down spec-ulation. "A lot of speculation out there,"he wrote on his Twitter account. "I haveheard from the CEO once. I haven't madeany decisions. At no time have I givenNZC any ... ultimatums about (coachMike) Hesson or Me or South Africa."
NZ’s Vettori likely to miss South Africa tour
COLOMBOagEnciEs
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has warned his team tobe wary of a backlash from Australia in their three-test series afterthe hosts were stung by their series defeat to South Africa earlierthis week. Australia's hopes of snatching the Proteas' top testranking ended in a crushing 309-run defeat in the third and finaltest in Perth on Monday, but Jayawardene took little comfortfrom the home side's disappointment. "I see them as woundedsoldiers - they could come back stronger against us," Jayawar-dene told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday, on the eve of athree-day tour match against a Chairman's XI side. "So we justneed to make sure we are ready for that and start well. "We can'tbe complacent - we need to make sure we know from ball one wegive them a good go at it." Sri Lanka have their own problemscoming into the first test at Hobart next week, losing their last testat home to New Zealand by 167 runs to level a two-match series 1-1, with key batsmen out of form. Kumar Sangakkara scored five,nought and 16 in his three innings against New Zealand, butJayawardene backed the veteran to bounce back in Sri Lanka'sbid to win their first test Down Under. "I am happy that he wentthrough a lean phase because he'll be really hungry for runs -that's Kumar for you," Jayawardene said of the 35-year-old stal-wart. Jayawardene also said he would weigh up his future as cap-tain after the series, which includes tests in Melbourne andSydney, after taking on the role for a second time in the wake ofTillakaratne Dilshan's sudden resignation in January.
arthur ponderswatson switch
PERTHagEnciEs
Australia coach Mickey Arthur has sug-gested Shane Watson could move to num-ber four in the batting order, with captainMichael Clarke to stay at five. The retire-ment of Ricky Ponting leaves a gap in theAustralian top order ahead of the upcomingthree-Test series against Sri Lanka. UsmanKhawaja and Phil Hughes are favourites toearn recalls, while Rob Quiney remains incontention despite the slow start to his Testcareer. While Arthur and the selection panelremain undecided as to who will come in,the South African said former opener Wat-son could drop further down the order. "Wehaven't even discussed it yet, so I'm obvi-ously putting a personal opinion," he said."Without wanting to name names, it willprobably be a guy who will come in and batthree and possibly a move for Watto to four."It just looks right and gives us a bit of sta-bility. "Michael and I, once we see who thatguy is - and we've got in our minds who wethink the guy is, but we still need to discussthat as a selection panel - and then sit downin Hobart next Monday when we arrivethere, we'll make a decision on what ourpreferred batting order is going to be."
Sri Lanka see backlash fromAussie ‘wounded soldiers’
india 1sT innings
g gambhir c Trott b Panesar 60
V sehwag run out (Finn/†Prior) 23
ca Pujara b Panesar 16
sR Tendulkar c Prior b anderson 76
V Kohli c swann b anderson 6
yuvraj singh c cook b swann 32
Ms dhoni not out 22
R ashwin b anderson 21
z Khan not out 0
Extras (b 5, lb 11, nb 1) 17
Total (7 wickets; 90 overs) 273
To bat PP Ojha, i sharma
Fall of wickets 1-47 (sehwag, 10.1 ov), 2-88 (Pujara, 25.4 ov), 3-
bowling: jM anderson 21-5-68-3, sT Finn 20-2-69-0, Ms
Panesar 35-12-74-2, gP swann 14-1-46-1.
England team: an cook*, nRd compton, ijl Trott, KP
Pietersen, iR bell, sR Patel, Mj Prior†, gP swann, Ms Panesar,
jM anderson, sT Finn
Toss india, who chose to bat
Player of the match tba
umpires HdPK dharmasena (sri lanka) and Rj Tucker
(australia)
TV umpire Va Kulkarni
Match referee jj crowe (new zealand)
Reserve umpire s das
scOREbOaRd
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:44 AM Page 16
FAySAl BAnK t-20 Cup
Sports 16
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
LAHOREsTaFF REPORT
AN attacking knock of 48 off 28 deliveriesfrom captain Younis Khan took Abbot-tabad Falcons to a last-ball five-wicket winagainst Karachi Zebras at the Lahore City
Cricket Association Ground. Chasing 136, they had lostfour wickets for 71 runs in the 13th over, needing 68off 43 balls, before Younis dominated his stands withBaber Khan, and later Khalid Usman, and kept themin the hunt. Karachi seamer Tabish Khan bowled eco-nomically, giving away 18 runs in his four overs.
After being put in to bat, Karachi kept losing wick-ets regularly. By the seventh over, four of their top-order batsmen had been dismissed. However, afighting 73-run stand in quick time between DaniyalAhsan and Sheharyar Ghani helped them build a solidplatform for acceleration towards the end. But thatdidn't happen, as they lost their last six wickets for 19runs, due to wickets by Amjad Waqas, Junaid Khanand spinner Khalid Usman, who took three wickets inthe innings, and two run outs.
Abbottabad were in control of the chase at 67 for2, with opener Hammad Ali having scored 35. Twoquick wickets and slow scoring pegged them back, be-fore Younis played his match-winning hand.
Scores: Abbottabad Falcons 139 for 5 (Younis 48*,Hammad 35) beat Karachi Zebras 135 (Ghani 46,Ahsan 30, Usman 3-23) by five wickets TIGErS PrEvAIL OvEr STALLIOnS: A solidcombined batting effort and a four-wicket haul by left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar ensured Multan Tigers'convincing 42-run victory against Sialkot Stallions.Sialkot's chances of chasing down 156 were blown away
early when Zulfiqar, and seamers Mohammad Irfanand Kashif Naved left them struggling at 29 for 5 in theeighth over. Although captain Shoaib Malik and No. 7Nayyar Abbas stuck together till the 12th over to repairthe damage, and Nayyar tried to steer the innings to-wards some respectability in the company of the lower-order batsmen, the target proved too far off.
Multan's innings revolved around two productivepartnerships, and three knocks worth over 30 runseach by opener Sohaib Maqsood, wicketkeeper GulraizSadaf and Naved Yasin, who remained unbeaten. Theyalso suffered a setback early in their innings, whenopener Zain Abbas was dismissed for four in the thirdover. But a 44-run stand between Maqsood and Sadaf,and a 54-run stand in 5.1 overs between Yasin andKashif Naved took them to 155 for 7 after 20 overs.
Scores: Multan Tigers 155 for 6 (Maqsood 38,Yasin 34*, Sadaf 32, Malik 3-17) beat Sialkot Stallions113 for 7 (Nayyar 43*, Zulfiqar 4-15) by 42 runs MISBAh, IMrAn LEAD wOLvES TO EASywIn: After a slow start, captain Misbah-ul-Haq andImran Khalid helped Faisalabad Wolves chase 136 in18.2 overs and defeat Peshawar Panthers by sevenwickets at the Gaddafi Stadium. The duo, having beentogether at the crease since the 11th over, did not hita single boundary till the 13th over, when the re-quired run rate had gone beyond eight per over. Anexpensive 14th over, in which four boundaries werehit, and the 16th over, of which 11 runs were taken,made the chase easier. Needing 18 runs off 18 deliv-eries, two fours, a six, and five singles took themhome with ten balls to spare.
Peshawar, it seemed, paid the price for the want ofbetter acceleration in their innings. Their innings runrate could have been higher than the eventual 6.75 per
over, as they had lost only four wickets after 20 overs.Opener Israrullah scored a half-century, Shoaib Khansnr scored an unbeaten 24 off 30 deliveries. At 107 for4 at the end of the 18th over, middle-order batsmanZohaib Khan smashed three sixes and eight fours totake his team to 135 for 4.
Scores: Faisalabad Wolves 137 for 3 (Misbah 43*,Khalid 36*) beat Peshawar Panthers 135 for 4 (Israrul-lah 56) by seven wickets BAhAwALPUr OvErhAUL EAGLES: Imran-ullah Aslam was the star of the chase as Bahawalpuroverhauled Lahore Eagles' total with eight wickets inhand and continued their unbeaten run in the tour-nament. Imranullah shared a quick half-centurystand for the first wicket with Hamid Ali and thenadded 38 runs for the second wicket with Kashif Sid-diq. By the time he was out, for 60 off 46 balls, theStags needed 33 off 43 balls. Kashif ensured thatthere was no further damage as the chase was com-pleted with 17 balls to spare.
Eagles, after choosing to bat, were in early troubleas they lost three wickets with 30 runs on the board inthe sixth over. But skipper Taufeeq Umar scored ahalf-century and shared a 74-run stand with Raza AliDar to revive the innings. The lower order, however,crumbled again and Eagles were limited to 136.
Scores: Bahawalpur Stags 140 for 2 (Imranullah60, Kashif 39*) beat Lahore Eagles 136 for 7 (Taufeeq53, Talha 2-19) by eight wicketsLIOnS ShOw COLLECTIvE BOwLInGPErfOrMAnCE: A collective bowling perform-ance by Lahore Lions helped them defeat QuettaBears by 44 runs. Although Quetta's left-arm spin-ners Jalat Khan and Mohibullah took three wicketseach to restrict Lahore to 130 for 9, their batsmen
let them down.Lahore's innings was built on productive knocks
by the top five batsmen, all scoring between 19 and26 runs, which helped them to 109 for 4. But they toocollapsed, as the last five batsmen scored 16 run be-tween them. Opener Nasir Jamshed was the highestscorer in the match with 26.
Quetta went about their chase slowly, but twoquick wickets in the 10th and 11th overs pegged themback. Three more batsmen were dismissed quickly,but after having lost seven wickets for 69 in the 15thover, they scored a further 17 runs off the remainingdeliveries. Their run rate at the end of the game was4.30 runs per over.
Scores: Lahore Lions 130 for 9 (Jamshed 26, Mo-hibullah 3-15, Jalat 3-23) beat Quetta Bears 86 for 7(Altaf 2-1) by 44 runs ShOAIB GUIDES rAMS TO wIn OvErhAwkS: An unbeaten half-century by ShoaibAhmed was the highlight of Rawalpindi Rams 19-runwin against Hyderabad Hawks at the Gaddafi Sta-dium. Shoaib shared a 75-run stand with captain So-hail Tanvir that lifted the team from a tricky 63 for 4.After Tanvir's dismissal, Shoaib carried on the accel-eration as 61 came off the last five overs.
In their chase, Aqeel Ahmed and Rizwan Anjumput up 56 runs for the third wicket, but the lack ofboundaries in the partnership pushed the scoring rateup. One Rizwan fell, the incoming batsmen were notable to keep up with the required rate and lost theirwickets. Aqeel, who scored an unbeaten 75 off 48 balls,remained unbeaten as the team fell short by 19 runs.
Scores: Rawalpindi Rams 177 for 6 (Shoaib 50*,Tanvir 43) beat Hyderabad Hawks 158 for 6 (Aqeel75*, Zia 2-24) by 19 runs
Younis fires Abbottabad to a tight win
LAHORE sTaFF REPORT
The Flying Dutch Hockey team onWednesday defeated the young guns of theDar Academy in a tightly-contested secondmatch of the three-match series here at theJohar Hockey Stadium. The Dar Academywhich was leading the game at half time 2-1 lost the match 4-5 after the completion ofthe regulation time. The Flying DutchHockey team is visiting Lahore on the invi-tation of the Dar Hockey Academy andwith the support of the Sports Board Pun-jab, which is following the vision of thePunjab government in holding nationaland international sports events.
Mian Hamza Shahbaz, MNA and for-mer chairman SBP was the chief guest ofthe hockey match and presented souvenirsto the visiting teams lased with fiveOlympians and international Dutch hockeyplayers. Usman Anwar, Director GeneralSports and Youth Affairs was also presenton the occasion along with former interna-tional Pakistan hockey players andOlympians like Khawaja Zakauddin, Dan-ish Kaleem, Tauqir Dar, who is also presi-
dent of the Dar Academy were also presenton the occasion. Speaking on the occasion,Hamza said that the Punjab governmentnot only held international sports activityin the province but also displayed to theworld that the country is safe for holdingany international tournament. “By holdingthe Punjab International Sports Festival wehave given the soft image of the countryand the world has now realised that Pak-istan is safe to host any international team,”he said. “We have not only established 11world records but also showed to the world
more than 2.5 million people took part inthe Punjab Youth Festival,” he maintained.
He further said that even though he isnot the chairman of the SBP but the Punjabgovernment has shown to the world thatthe Pakistan people have immense talentand are not less than anybody in the world.
Although Dutch took lead in the earlyminutes of the match through Wanter VanPelt but Umair leveled the score in a bril-liant field move. Later Dar Academy’sManssor provided lead to his team in alsoa field attack and that 2-1 score remained
intact till the breather. Later in the secondhalf Dutch veterans added four more goalsthrough Van Pelt, hit in his second and theteams third goal, Gys Wetering, added twogoals and Mark Kleysen scored one to en-sure win for the Flying Dutch team.
The visiting Holland Veterans willplayed their third match of the seriesagainst Pakistan veterans here at the JoharHockey Stadium on Friday (December 7)and SBP is holding this matfch as part of itsInternational Sports Festival activity.
Expressing his surprise on the progressof the Dar Academy team players, Dutchteam manager Bob said that he has seenthese youngsters playing in Holland a yearago and they have improved their game alot. He also expressed his surprise over thewrong impression being spread about Pak-istan regarding insecurity and praised thetreatment they were given thus far duringtheir stay in Pakistan. The Dutch veteransapart from playing hockey are also visitinghistoric and places of interest like WaghaBorder, Lahore Fort, Badshahi Masjid etc.and as a good will guesture they have alsobrought 200 hockey playing kits for thePakistan youngsters.
CAPE TOWNagEnciEs
South Africa want to use their recent se-ries win in Australia as a stepping stoneto cement their position as the world'sdominant test team and to build some-thing "really special", captain GraemeSmith said on Wednesday. The Proteas,who have not lost an away test seriessince 2006, won their second consecu-tive series in Australia after their victoryin the third test in Perth. They have arating of 123 in the test rankings, withEngland in second place on 117.
South Africa take on New Zealand ina two-test home series in January andSmith said the tests would provide theProteas the opportunity to build on themomentum from Australia.
"We are enjoying the opportunity tobe here. We have worked hard to be hereand we knew that Australia would be thebig stepping stone for us holding ontonumber one (ranking)," Smith told a
news conference. "We have given our-selves the opportunity for our homesummer to create a bit of a gap betweenus and the other teams. It is an opportu-nity to build something really special.The motivation for us will be to beatNew Zealand first up," he added. South
Africa's success in the test arena has ledto some calling the current Proteas teamthe best ever, but coach Gary Kirstenwas quick to play down such sugges-tions. "It is a very special achievementfor the Proteas and South Africancricket. I don't think that what this teamhas achieved, over a long period, shouldbe taken lightly," said Kirsten.
"It has been nothing short of re-markable. We have played 10 testmatches this year, nine away fromhome, and won series in England andAustralia.
"But it is always difficult to com-pare (different eras). In terms of thisteam's achievements there is no doubtthat they are up there but I think thatthe players would be reluctant to com-pare with different eras."
South Africa, who became the firstteam to win consecutive series in Aus-tralia since West Indies in 1992/93, hadfound success due to a growing matu-rity in the squad, Smith said.
warne open toashes return
MELBOURNEagEnciEs
Former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warnebelieves he still has the ability to play at thehighest level and will consider coming out ofretirement to play in next year's Ashes seriesif asked by captain Clarke. "If your best friendsays, 'Mate, I want you to seriously considermaking a commitment to Australian cricketand coming back out of retirement', (to)make myself available for selection, that's adifferent scenario,'' Warne, 43, told the Her-ald-Sun newspaper in Melbourne. "Especiallywith back-to-back Ashes coming up nextyear, it could be a 12-month thing where youtake three spinners with you and say, 'Righto,work with these spinners and see how you gofor 12 months.' That's a different kettle of fish."I'm definitely not asking for Clarke to comeout and say that - that's a different scenario."You asked me if I think I could still play in-ternational cricket if I wanted to just turn up,do my bowling and if the first Test match wasin three weeks, do you think I could play,(then) I'd have no hesitation in saying yes -and I think I'd do pretty well."
Samuels, narinekeep series alive
MIRPURcRicinFO
With the series at stake, West Indies savedface with a four-wicket win in Mirpur, setup by the spinners and a calm century byMarlon Samuels. West Indies were set228, not a daunting target on paper, butwith their recent batting collapses andstruggles and spin, a comeback win for thevisitors couldn't be taken for granted. Thespinners created chances and closed thegap between the two sides towards theend, but Samuels was the wicketBangladesh wanted. They dismissed him,but a little too late, as West Indies wereonly six away from victory with four oversto spare. Earlier, the pitch had plenty tokeep the spinners interested under lights,but West Indies ensured no repeat of thetop-order collapse in the second ODI inMirpur, and progressed steadily towardsthe target of 228. Marlon Samuels lookedominous with a half-century, with a steadyKieran Powell for company.
Dutch veterans taste first win on Lahore tour
South Africa look tobuild on Australia win
Int’l Festival presented soft image of country: Hamza
bangladEsH innings:
Tamim iqbal c Thomas b narine 22
anamul Haque lbw b narine 33
naeem islam c Pollard b narine 4
Mushfiqur Rahim c sammy b Permaul 38
nasir Hossain c Pollard b Permaul 6
Mominul Haque c Pollard b gayle 12
Mahmudullah c sammy b smith 52
Mashrafe Mortaza st Thomas b narine 0
sohag gazi c gayle b sammy 30
abdur Razzak c bravo b sammy 3
Rubel Hossain not out 1
Extras: (b 4, lb 3, w 18, nb 1) 26
Total (all out; 49.1 overs) 227
Fall of wickets 1-57 (Tamim iqbal, 12.2 ov), 2-61 (naeem islam,
9-0-43-1, naeem islam 5-1-21-1, Mominul Haque 3-0-9-0
Toss West indies, who chose to field
series bangladesh led the 5-match series 2-1
Odi debut V Permaul (West indies)
Result: West indies win by four wickets
Player of the match Mn samuels (West indies)
umpires Enamul Haque and REj Martinesz (sri lanka)
TV umpire anisur Rahman
Match referee aj Pycroft (zimbabwe)
Reserve umpire gazi sohel
scOREbOaRd
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
SPm Veteran cricketleague continues
LAHOREsTaFF REPORT
SPM Bucks and Amar Cables notched upvictories in the SPM Lahore VeteranCricket league here on Wednesday at twodifferent venues. In the first match SMPBucks beat Lahore Tigers by 5 wickets atStags Cricket Ground. Brief scores, La-hore Tigers batted first 202/7 in 30 overs.Rana Irfan 46, Zaheer Iqbal 33, ShahidBashir 15 & Muhammad Munir 64 runsnot out. SPM Bucks bowling Imtiaz Shah2/29, Javeed Butt 1/20, Ashfaq Aslam1/40, & Nadeem Baig 1/43 wickets. SPMBucks answered with 203/5 in 26.3 overs.Nadeem Aslam 27, Sajjad Mehmood 13,Tariq Mehmood 44, Khalid Habib 47 andman of the match Ashfaq Aslam 51 runs.Lahore Tigers bowling Film Star ShanShahid 2/40 & Muhammad Yaqoob 1/40wickets. Muhammad Kaleem and IrfanDilshad were the umpires and Khalid Wa-heed was the scorer. End of the matchChief Guest Faheem Malik give away manof the match award to Ashfaq Aslam. Inthe second match Amar Cables outplayedTextile Tigers by 33 runs at Shah FaisalGround. Amar Cables batted first 225/8in 30 overs. Dastgeer Butt 82,man of thematch, Aziz ur rehman 70 & Ameer Akbar24 runs. Textile Tigers bowling AsifQureshi 4/43, Zulfqar Ali 2/44 & ZulfqarAhmad 1/38 wickets. Textile Tigers allout at 192 all out in 28.5 overs. Muham-mad Zahid 70, Karamat Ali 45 & Maq-sood Ali 32 runs. Amar Cables bowlingTariq Hussain Raju 3/44, Shaukat Ali2/21 & Tariq Rasheed 3/27 wickets.Ansar Mehmood and Sagheer Ahmad su-pervised the match as umpires whilewaqar ahmad was the scorer.
gcu win all
Pakistan Table Tennis LAHORE
sTaFF REPORT
The Government College University La-hore has won the All Pakistan Tenniscompetition, organised by Higher Educa-tion Commission. The team GCU beat theUniversity of Lahore in the finals held inKarachi. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muham-mad Khaliq-ur-Rahman congratulate theteam on winning the competition.
‘city’s european exitcan be a title boost’
LONDON agEnciEs
Manchester City's dismal exit from Euro-pean competition is not an embarrass-ment and could boost the big-spendingclub's defence of the Premier Leaguetitle, according to manager RobertoMancini. City's haul of just three pointsfrom six games was the worst perform-ance by an English club in the Champi-ons League group stage with Mancini'smen finishing bottom of Group D andfailing to qualify for the Europa Leagueas well. Newspaper headlines onWednesday spoke of City as "The WorstEver" and dubbed them "320 millionpound flops". Mancini sawa silver lining in Tues-day's 1-0 defeat toBorussia Dort-mund, however."Clearly this canhelp us win thePremier Leaguebecause we don'tplay in the EuropaLeague," he toldreporters.
MILANagEnciEs
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger did hisbest to remain upbeat despite a 2-1 defeatto Olympiacos wrecking their chances offinishing top of Champions League GroupB. With qualification already securedahead of the fixture, Wenger had electedto leave several first-team regulars behindas 20-year-old defender Jernade Meademade his European debut. AlthoughCzech midfielder Tomas Rosicky fired theEnglish side ahead after 38 minutes, theGreeks fought back through a somewhatcontroversial effort by Giannis Maniatisand a well-taken strike from substituteKostas Mitroglou. The defeat, coupledwith Schalke's draw in Montpellier, sawthe Gunners finish as runners-up behindthe Bundesliga side. And althoughWenger was unhappy with Olympiacos'opening goal, he had few other com-plaints about his team's performance.
"It was an interesting game," he toldITV1. "We had a good first half and wehad two or three chances to score a sec-ond goal, but we needed a second goaltonight. "The younger players did well foran hour, that is very positive. Now wehave to wait for the draw, but ideally youwant to finish first (in the group). "The
first goal was a goal kick, though, simpleas that. What the referee behind thegoalline is doing nobody knows, but Idon't think it was the right decision.
"We had a positive game. It was notthe result we wanted but overall it was avery encouraging game." Defeat in theGeorgios Karaiskakis Stadium for a sec-ond successive season coupled with
Schalke's draw in Montpellier means Ar-senal will head into the knockout stageswithout the security of a top seeding.
Wenger, though, is not overly con-cerned. He said: "We need a good Christ-mas present now (in the draw), but wewill see. "We can get a bad draw or lessstrong team, but you normally get strongteams through anyway now.
"The disadvantage is we have is weplay the second game away, but that isnot statistically proven to be a such a dis-advantage. "Let's see, but for now it isimportant for us to focus on the [domes-tic] championship, forget about theChampions League a little bit and getourselves back in decent form in thechampionship." Wenger tried to remainupbeat despite the disappointing finaloutcome in Athens. "We left eight or nineplayers at home and we had a positivegame," he said. "We had a good first half,but we dropped physically in the secondhalf because many players lack competi-tion at that level and therefore we could-n't take the chances for the second goal."We also got a very bad decision againstus on the goal. I am not against the fifthreferee, but you would like at least forthem to be concentrated on their job, butthat was not the case tonight, WojciechSzczesny was far away from the ball.
we must beatShakhtar: marchisio
MILANagEnciEs
Juventus are currently second in GroupE with nine points and will face groupleaders Shakhtar evening needing onlya point to guarantee a spot in the nextstage.Howevr, Marchisio, who will miss thetie after reaching the yellow card limitin the Champions League, has urgedhis team mates to go for a win."A draw is not what we're after. It's arisk for both teams to play for a draw.We have to go there to play our owngame and try to win the match,"Marchisio was quoted as saying by Tut-tosport."We are aware of their quality. They sitatop of the group and are the strongestteam we have faced so far. It's true thatwe put in a great performance againstChelsea, but we aren't there yet."It will not be an easy game and we willhave to put in a performance similar tothe one against Chelsea. We have to re-main cautious and cannot let them sur-prise us."Juventus will top the group should theywin, finish second with a draw and pos-sibly go out if they lose the match.
Wenger takes positives from defeat
LonDon: rory
mcIlroy with Dubai
world championship
as he was named the
player of the year.
LAHOREsTaFF REPORT
Pakistan Customs surprised star studdedPIA 2-1 and Wapda outplayed SuiSoutheran Gas Company 4-2 in the NBPGold Cup Hockey Tournament at theouter ground of the National Hockey Sta-dium here on Wednesday. It was an ex-pected win on part of Customs againstAirlines and the winners struck a brilliantshow of skillful hockey and technique.Customs led the first half 1-0 at breakafter receiving 28th minute field goal
from their captain Rizwan Khan. PIAcame in patches but failed to make a pro-ductive impression on their opponentswho were far ahead in attacks launchedby their mid field with the aid of theirboth right and left flanks. Customs ap-peared in total control when Amir Aliscored the 52nd minute field goal for themuch disappointment of Airlines.
Airlines gained some relief whenKashif Ali translated the 58th minuteshort corner with a calculated shot.Wapda and SSGC played a 1-1 draw athalf time. Wapda jolted SSGC with the
addition of a goal in the very first minutethrough Shahbaz Ali as SSGC leveledone minutes before the end of the firstafter receiving a goal from Zeeshan.Wapda played the second half withsplerndid display of artistic hockey ham-mering three more goals to leave theiropponents in deep gloom. Salman Hus-sain scored the 40th minute goal as So-hail Abbas contributed a penalty cornergoal in the 62nd minute and Moham-mad Suleman added 69th minutefieldgoal before Sohail Manzoor supportedSSGC with a penalty corner goal.
Two matches decided in NBP Gold Cup Hockey
THAILANDagEnciEs
WORLD number six Lee Westwood isready to reprise his record-breakingform when he defends his title at the
US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship. TheEnglishman romped to a stylish seven-stroke vic-tory at the Amata Spring Country Clublast year, highlighted by an openinground of 12-under-par 60 for a newcourse record where he cameclose to firing the Asian Tour'sfirst ever 59. With the Asian Tour'sshowpiece being his final event of 2012,Westwoodis keen toend his yearon a high noteby capturing athird victory of theseason against a stellarfield which includes reign-ing Masters Tournamentchampion Bubba Watson, lastyear's runner-up Charl Schwartzel,Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, Ryder Cupstars Nicolas Colsaerts and SergioGarcia, 2011 British Open cham-pion Darren Clarke and the AsianTour's top stars led by current numberone Thaworn Wiratchant. "Yeah, lots of greatmemories. I supposed shooting 60 in the firstround was fairly memorable and then following upwith a 64 to lead by 11 after two rounds, I can'tthink when that has ever happened," said the 39-year-old Westwood. Westwood believes another60 could be on the cards although the picturesquepar-72 course is playing longer and tougher due tothe rain in recent weeks and the thicker roughwhich lines the fairways. "I was thinking of a 57since it's soft out there and the greens are hold-ing," Westwood cheekily replied when asked if hewas eyeing another 60. "I've only shot 60 once inmy life. That was special. You need everything togo right most of the time. It's been done once andit can be done again." He rated his year as "steadybut not spectacular" despite two wins in In-
donesia and Sweden and playing a role in Europe'samazing Ryder Cup victory over the United Statesin September. "My game is pretty good. I finishedsixth in the WGC (HSBC Champions in China) andfifth last week (Nedbank Challenge in SouthAfrica). It's ticking over. My game is not as good asI like it but I'm making some changes. The secondhalf of the year has been volatile. There's not beena lot of continuity. It's been steady but not spec-tacular this year. "It was a strong field last yearand a strong field again this year. (But) I want tofinish the year strongly with a win but it's that
time of the year when I'm getting a bittired," he said. Westwood took time to
pay tribute to the Asian Tour andAsian golfers for the rapid growthof the game in the Far East. "TheTour over here has made massivestrides and it's shown around theworld on different channels nowand it's helped Asian golfers be-come more worldly kind of play-ers and they can competeoverseas," he said. South
Africa's Schwartzel, the Mas-ters champion in 2011, hasbounced back to form in re-cent weeks following boutswith injuries and he hopesto go one better in thisweek's Thailand Golf Cham-pionship after playing secondfiddle to Westwood 12months ago. "I've been play-ing injury free the past monthand a half and am able toswing the club better. I'veplayed nicely the past fewweeks. It's been fifth, third,second and hopefully first thisweek!" he smiled. "I had agreat year last year and had agood time here. But Lee was sofar ahead after two rounds, wewere playing for second spot. Iwas happy to get the invite tocome back and see if I can getone better than last year."
Westwood set todefend title
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Thursday, 6 December, 2012
watch it LivePTV SPORTSGermany vs Pakistan06:30AMNZealand vs Holland 09:00AMIndia vs Belgium 11:30AMAustralia vs England02:00PM
we don’t need amiracle: benitez
MILANagEnciEs
Rafael Benitez insisted he did not needanother "miracle" to rescue Chelsea fromChampions League humiliation. Benitezfamously masterminded what wasdubbed 'The Miracle of Istanbul' sevenand a half years ago when Liverpool pro-duced one of the greatest comeback inEuropean Cup final history to beat ACMilan. But he declared on Tuesday after-noon that Chelsea did not require divineintervention to avoid becoming the firstChampions League holders to crash outof the competition before Christmas.That is despite the Blues going intoWednesday's final Group E game needingto beat Nordsjaelland while hopingShakhtar Donetsk produce the same re-sult against Juventus. Anything else andthe team which ended their agonisingwait for Champions League glory just sixmonths ago will suffer the indignity ofcontinuing their European campaign inthe Europa League. Interim managerBenitez acknowledged Chelsea mightneed "a bit of luck" on Wednesday nightbut said: "I don't think it's a miracle. "Wehave to do our job and wait for the otherteams." Benitez reiterated he had nofears of a Shakhtar stitch-up, despite a
draw suiting both the Ukrainianchampions and Juve. The
Spaniard arguably shouldbe less concerned aboutthe mentality of the groupleaders and more worriedabout that of his own side,
who are on their worstrun in the Bar-
clays PremierLeague for 15years after fail-
ing to win anyof their three
matchessince hetookcharge.
Pakistan to host 2nd asia deaf Cricket Cup from 11thLAHORE
sTaFF REPORT
The second edition of the Asia Deafcricket Cup will be played here from De-cember 11 at different venues with fourforeign teams participating.
This was stated by Zaheer ud DinBabar , Chief Executive Officer, Asiandeaf Cricket Federation , at a news con-ference here on Wednesday. Also pres-ent were Raza Rafique, PresidentPakistan Deaf Cricket Association andIrfan Miraj, Secretary PDCA.
Zaheer who is also the manager ofPDCA said foreign teams taking part inthe event include India, Sri Lanka, Nepaland Afghanistan. “Pakistan will defend
the title in the event which aims at pro-moting cricket among special peoplewho have impaired hearing,” he added.
He praised the worthy contributionof Pakistan Cricket Board for sponsoringthis event after their requests to a num-ber of private business houses for ex-tending financial assistance ended infailure. “We are thankful to the Chair-man, PCB, Mohammad Zaka Ashraf forserving the cause of deaf cricket and ex-tending all out support for holding thisevent and we believe that PCB's contri-bution will go a long way in bringinggood name for Pakistan deaf cricketabroad,” said Zaheer.
He said the matches will be played atLCCA, Bagh-e-Jinnah grounds with he
final December 17 final to be played atGadaffi stadium. “If Gadaffi stadium willnot be available then we will be holdingthe final at Bagh-e-Jinnah ground,” hesaid.
PDCA official said all arrangementshave been finalized with the cooperationfo different government quarters forproviding top security to the participat-ing teams . “The matches will be 50-overs-a-side and we anticipate goodcrowds at all the venues.”
He said efforts have been to groom astrong Pak team to successfully defendthe title. “We arranged country wide tri-als and the best available talent waspicked to gel it with experience and weare fully confident that our team is going
to produce a outstanding show to liveupto the expectations,” he said.
Two matches will be played everyday. He said the holding of the Asia cupwill send a positive message to outerworld regarding Pakistan which is fullycapable of organizing elite sport events .He said it was quite unfortunate thatdeaf cricketers despite being the Asianchampions were without jobs and ap-pealed to the Government to providejobs to talented deaf cricketers who areplaying their due role in the building ofa healthy society despite having hearingdeficiencies. He also appealed to thebusiness houses to lend support to deafcricket by sponsoring their national andjunior level tournaments.
hamiltonhappy forrosberg reunion
SINGAPOREagEnciEs
Lewis Hamilton is already looking for-ward to the new Formula One seasonwhere he will race alongside "best-friend" Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.Hamilton placed fourth in the stand-ings following the recent conclusion ofthe 2012 F1 season for his formerteam McLaren. It was a frustratingcampaign for the Brit, who actuallywon more races than second-placedFernando Alonso, as his MP4-27struggled to make the most out of thechampionship points on offer. In Sin-gapore, for example, a gearbox failureon lap 23 during this year's grand prixprevented him from completing apole-to-flag victory. And just five dayslater, Hamilton made the shock an-nouncement that he would switch tothe Mercedes team next year. On hisreturn to Singapore on Tuesday, the27-year-old donned McLaren coloursfor one of the last few times as hespoke at an event organised by thePeter Lim Scholarship foundation inITE College West. Hamilton cut an en-thusiastic figure as he looked aheadtowards the 2013 season and a re-union with his 2000 Formula A kart-ing championship team-mate Rosberg."I haven't seen the Mercedes team, Iwon't link up with them till Januarybut Nico lives in the same building asme. We were team-mates back in2000 while racing go-karts," Hamil-ton told ESPNSTAR.com.
SYDNEY agEnciEs
ADAM Scott will probably goback to using a broomstickputter at this week's Aus-tralian Open after "messing
around" with a shorter club in practice, theworld number seven said on Wednesday.The 32-year-old, who has used the broom-stick variety for the past two seasons, prac-ticed for this week's tournament at TheLakes Golf Club with a specially-designed40-inch putter and also used it for nineholes of the pro-am on Wednesday.Broomhandle or belly putters, pioneeredby 2002 European Ryder Cup captainSam Torrance among others in the late1980s, are often tucked under the chin,against the chest or stomach.
Golf's rulemakers have proposed aban on players anchoring long putters totheir body, saying they wanted to outlawthe practice by 2016 in order to preservethe "skill and challenge" of putting.
"I ordered that putter a while back,"Scott told reporters in Sydney. "I was ex-perimenting for my own use. "I'll proba-bly putt with the long putter. The otherone I was messing around with was myfirst go and it is not quite what I want it todo. It is not quite set up right for me.
"I'll have another go at another timeif I feel I need to." Scott, who won theAustralian Masters at Kingston Heath inMelbourne last month, has been a vocalsupporter of the longer putters and theQueenslander doubted he would changehis club next year. "I think I putt finewith any putter. I have spent the last twoyears learning a skill with the broomstickputter and that is what I am going to usethis week, most likely.
"Until I invent a better way to putt formyself, I'll stick to the broomstick. I cer-tainly like a lot of the philosophies of put-ting with a broomstick." Even if the banon anchoring came into use, Scott said hemight still use a long putter. "Whateverway I putt in the future, if I just move thehand off my chest an inch or a centimetreor whatever it is, I'll be making an honeststroke. It will look exactly the same.
"It is simple. I can move it slightly offmy chest and use the same putter but Ithink there are better ways than that. "Weare all searching for the best possible way
and I think there are still better ways forme to go about it." Scott suffered a spec-tacular meltdown at the British Open inJuly, losing a four-shot lead with fourholes to play to finish second behindErnie Els. While he said he had shaken offthat disappointment, losing a major inthat fashion made him more determinedto win one. "Everyone's path to winning afirst tournament or a major is different.Tiger came along and won them all rightout of the gate and other guys have wonthe first time they've had a chance too.
"Then a guy like Phil Mickelsonknocked on the door a lot of times and fi-nally won one. "For me, I'm just lookingforward to getting back in that position assoon as I possibly can, hopefully in April,and certainly this weekend as well.fInALLy frEE Of 'SCAr TISSUE',rOSE EyES wIn DOwn UnDEr:Globe-trotting Briton Justin Rose willbattle jetlag and local favourite AdamScott at the Australian Open in Sydneythis week as he seeks to cap his outstand-ing year with a win Down Under. Rosehas little left to prove after finishing sec-ond on the European Tour money's listbehind Rory McIlroy but victory wouldhelp the 32-year-old forget his dreadful
showing at the invitational Nedbank GolfChallenge last week. Rose finished sec-ond to Northern Irishman McIlroy at theDP World Tour Championship twoweeks ago, with a course record 62 in hisfinal round in Dubai, but promptly fellfrom the sublime to the ridiculous at SunCity, where he crashed out to finish sec-ond-last in the field of 12.
"I think it was just a hiccup," theSouth Africa-born Rose told reporters onWednesday. "Sometimes when you arearound family, subconsciously you wantto play really, really well for them. "Ithink there was an element of frustration.I think it was the first week when the sea-son caught up with me. That is natural.
"I think you are allowed to play poorlyonce in a while and let it be water off aduck's back." Rose has every reason togive himself a break, having boosted hisworld ranking to a career-high fourthafter a season boasting wins at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March and theWorld Golf Final in Turkey in October.
Rose, who finished seventh on theUSPGA Tour money list, returns to theAustralian Open a far different playerfrom the newly-minted professional whocompeted for the 1998 title.
Scott tries regular putter butgoing back to broomstick
Mcilroy wins pGA playerof the year awardLOnDOn: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was named as the PGA Tour Playerof the Year on Tuesday, capping an outstanding season for the world number one.As expected, the 23-year-old was the popular choice for the annual Jack NicklausAward, decided by a vote from eligible tour players, becoming the youngest recipi-ent since Tiger Woods in 1998. McIlroy won four PGA Tour titles this year, includ-ing the PGA Championship by a record eight strokes. Nicklaus held the previousrecord margin for the last major on the golfing calendar, winning the 1980 PGAChampionship by seven shots. "It's always nice to get recognition from your peers,the guys that you're trying to beat week in, week out," McIlroy said on a confer-ence call. "I guess it's just a great way to end what has been a great year and mybest season so far." McIlroy also won the Honda Classic, Deutsche Bank Champi-onship and BMW Championship and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring av-erage. He also won the money lists for the PGA and European Tours, making hisselection a virtual formality on a final ballot that included Jason Dufner, BrandtSnedeker, Bubba Watson and Woods. "It's no surprise that Rory McIlroy wasvoted by the players and his peers as the best Player of the Year," PGA TOURCommissioner Tim Finchem said. John Huh won the rookie of the year awardafter becoming the youngest player in more than a decade to qualify for the TourChampionship. Huh, 22, broke through for his first win at the Mayakoba GolfClassic in February, enduring an eight-hole playoff with Robert Allenby. agEnciEs
PeShawar: Japanese wrestlers in action during exhibition match at qayyum Sports complex. INP
KHI 06-12-2012_Layout 1 12/6/2012 2:44 AM Page 19
Thursday, 6 December, 2012
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi. Editor: Arif Nizami
caiRO: Protesters chant anti-Morsi slogans in front of the presidential palace
after Egypt’s opposition called for mass protests against the government.
NEW DELHIinP
INDIAN Prime Minister ManmohanSingh has cancelled his visit to Pak-istan, saying it is not the right time toembark on it.
In a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, hesaid while he still wanted to visit Pakistan, thiswas not the right time to do so.
However, sources said otherwise.“The PM found it difficult to visit Pakistan
just two days after the anniversary of Mumbaiattacks, while the main accused have still notbeen brought to book,’’ a source said.
The sources also confirmed that Singhwrote to Zardari before Ajmal Kasab washanged. The letter, which was delivered toZardari’s office by the Indian High Commis-sion in Islamabad, Singh recalled how he hadalways told Pakistani leaders that he wantedto visit the country but regretted that it wasnot conducive for him to visit Pakistan at thetime mentioned by the president in his invita-tion. Keeping hopes alive for the much awaitedtrip, Singh said he still wanted to visit Pakistanand strengthen ties between the two nations.
“The two sides will continue to look for theright opportunity for my visit to Pakistan,” hewrote in his letter. Considering the ‘narrowwindow’, as an official had put it, ahead ofelections in Pakistan, it is now clear that thevisit would not take place even early next year.
There had been wild speculation in themedia for months about whether or not Singhwill visit Pakistan anytime soon. The IndianForeign Ministry sought to put an end to these
speculations when its officials suggested onNovember 16 that it may not be possible forSingh to visit Pakistan anytime soon, but didnot mention Singh’s letter to Zardari.
PESHAWARsTaFF REPORT
At least three personnel of securityforces, including a captain, werekilled and around 20 others injuredin a suicide attack at Ziari Noor mili-tary camp in Wana, South WaziristanAgency, on Wednesday.The deceased captain of the armedforces was identified as Captain Iqrar. Per details the security personnel wereon duty at the main gate of the campwhen they saw a pickup truck speed-ing towards the facility. After thedriver ignored signals to slow down,
the security officials opened fire on thevehicle, triggering a massive blast ap-parently caused by explosives packedin the vehicle. Officials said that the explosion razedthe boundary wall of the camp andcaused the compound of a hospitalnext to the camp to collapse, injuring anumber of people.The condition of several of the injuredwas stated to be in danger.The officials said the vehicle of attackwas manned by two people, who theybelieved had also been killed. Following the explosion, security forcesrushed the injured and the dead to
Agency Headquarter Hospital and cor-doned off the area for rescue activities.No group has claimed responsibilityfor the suicide attack.A few days ago, pro-government mili-tant commander Mullah Nazir wasalso injured in a suicide attack inWana that had claimed eight lives.After that attack, Nazir and the local ad-ministration had directed all militantsfrom the Mehsud tribe to leave Wana,however, the Mehsuds, loyal to TTPchief Hakeemullah Mehsud, have so farbeen reluctant to leave the area. Mean-while, President Asif Ali Zardari stronglycondemned the suicide attack.
MONITORING DESK
An-Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) onWednesday ruled that the federalgovernment did not need anyone’spermission to make public the investigationreport and judicial proceedings into theassassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto.The court was hearing an application by theFederal Investigation Agency (FIA) movedon directives of the federal government thatsought court’s permission to make public
the investigation report and judicialproceedings into Benazir’s murder.The plea stated that the people wereconcerned over the delay in verdict into thecase despite the passage of five years. Itadded that the federal government wantedto release the joint interrogation report andproceedings of trial court for the public.ATC Judge Habibur Rehman disposed ofthe application, ruling that the governmentdid not need any permission to make thereport public.
ISLAMABADagEnciEs
The Shoib SuddleCommission probinginto the Arsalan-MalikRiaz scandal hasprepared its interimreport, according towhich Dr ArsalanIftikhar has returnedRs 4.5 million to
Ahmed Khalil’smanager.
The report said Arslan nowowed less than Rs 500,000
and the copies of paidcheuqes had been
submitted withthe
commission.The report noted that theamount spent on Arsalan’sforeign trips was less than Rs5 million.The report said the woman,who was travelling withArsalan, was Khalil’s wife andhe was travelling with them.The sources said thecommission also pointed outthe lack of cooperation on partof the Interior Ministry.The report further added thatit found no proof to back theallegations against ArsalanIftikhar. It said Riaz hadalleged that Arsalan hadusurped Rs340 million, butprovided no proof to back upthis claim. The commissionadded that despite issuing fivenotices to the business tycoon,he failed to make anappearance.
dr arsalan returned rs 4.5m to Khalil’s manager MONITORING DESK
Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilanihas refused to appear before the NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB) in a casepertaining to the implementation of thecontroversial National ReconciliationOrdinance, a private TV channelreported on Wednesday.NAB had summoned the former primeminister on the directives of the SupremeCourt for appointing his friend Adnan AKhwaja as managing director of the Oiland Gas Development Company Limited inSeptember 2010 in violation of rules. Thechannel said Khwaja was not eligibleto be appointed for any governmentoffice as he had been convictedin a case. However, hewas given reliefunder the NROand was given thekey post in theOGDCL. TheSupreme Court
had declared Khwaja’s appointment as null and void.In this respect, Gilani’s counsel said
the constitution awardedimmunity to him, who hadbeen summoned by the NABto record his statement in thecase on December 11. Earlieron Tuesday, Prime Minister’sAdviser on Political AffairsFawwad Chaudhry, who alsoheld the post when Gilaniwas in office, had statedthat under Article 248 ofthe constitution no courtproceedings could be held
against the president, primeminister, governors and
ministers.
Gilani refuses to appear before NaB
ATC says no permission needed torelease BB murder probe report
Indian PM cancelsvisit to Pakistan
nEw DELhI: Senate Chairman NayyerHussain Bokhari reached New Delhi onWednesday on a joint invitation of theRajya Sabha chairman and the Lok Sabhaspeaker. The delegation received a warmwelcome at the Indira GandhiInternational Airport by members of theRajya Sabha Taroon Vijay and Dr PrabhaThakor, who presented bouquets to themembers of the delegation. Pakistan’sHigh Commissioner Salman Bashir wasalso present. Talking to reporters, Bokharisaid they had come to India with a messageof peace and love. “Parliamentarians of theboth the sides can play an active role todevelop understanding between the twocountries,” he remarked. Bokhariunderscored the need for more bilateralvisits at parliamentary level. Bokhari isaccompanied by senators Rubina Khalid,Hari Ram, Abdul Haseeb Khan, HemanDas, Malik Najmul Hassan and Kamran.Pakistan National Assembly Speaker DrFehmida Mirza has already visited Indiatwice. Similarly, Indian Lok Sabha SpeakerMeira Kumar also visited Pakistan inFebruary and November this year. inP
Senate ChairmanBokhari in new delhi
Captain among three killedin Wana suicide attackg Security personnel avoid major catastrophe by causingbomber’s vehicle to detonate some distance away from armycamp g At least 20 people left injured
