Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 Acts of sabotage to deepen energy crisis ................................................ China’s irreplaceable friendship with Pakistan ................................................ Deforesting Pakistan See Page 04 AMANULLAH KHAN KARACHI—The KSE-100 which kept its up- ward movement Tuesday added 71.92 points to close in green at 34538 levels indicat- ing more room for upside in key stocks in the coming ses- sions during the week. The index opened on a positive note, broke its double top formation and closed above that formation which is a bullish sign. The index could now continue the bullish mode as key stocks in the major weighted sectors like Oil & Gas, Ce- ment, and fertilizer sectors looking attractive KSE-100 gains 72 points amid bullish trend STAFF REPORTER PESHAWAR—Teachers are being given firearms training and will be allowed to take guns into the classroom in a bid to strengthen security following a Taliban massacre at a school last month. “Carrying firearms for every teacher is not obligatory, but all those who want to carry fire- arms to schools willingly will be provided with permits,” Atif Khan, provincial education min- ister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told media on Tuesday. Provincial Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani confirmed the decision, adding that the province was unable to provide police guards for all of its government-run education institu- tions. “The number of police in the province is not enough to guard 35,000 schools, colleges and universities — that’s why we have allowed Teachers get gun training after Peshawar massacre Continued on Page 7 RIYADH: President Barack Obama meets with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz here on Tuesday. RIYADH—President Barack Obama defended the U.S. government’s willingness to cooperate closely with Saudi Arabia on national security despite deep concerns over human rights abuses, as he led an array of current and former Ameri- can statesmen in paying respects Tuesday fol- lowing the death of King Abdullah. “Sometimes we need to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns we have in terms of counterterrorism or dealing with regional sta- bility,” Obama said in a CNN interview that aired in advance of Obama’s arrival. New King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud formally greeted Obama and the U.S. delega- tion at the Erga Palace on the outskirts of Riyadh, where dozens of Saudi officials filed through a marble-walled room to greet the Americans un- der massive crystal chandeliers. After a short dinner, Obama and Salman sat down for their first formal meeting without making any com- ments to reporters covering the visit. “On this visit, obviously a lot of this is just paying respects to King Abdullah, who in his own fashion presented some modest reform ef- forts within the kingdom,” Obama said. Stepping off the plane earlier in Riyadh, the president and first lady Michelle Obama were greeted by Salman and a military band playing both countries’ national anthems. Some of the all-male Saudi delegation shook hands with Mrs. Obama while others gave her a nod as they passed by. Mrs. Obama wore full-length cloth- ing but no headscarf, as is typical for many Western women in Saudi Arabia, despite the strict dress code for Saudi women appearing in public. Secretary of State John Kerry was joining Obama in Riyadh, along with former Secretar- ies of State Condoleezza Rice and James Baker III, both of whom served Republican presidents. Former White House national security advisers Brent Scowcroft, Sandy Berger and Stephen Hadley also made the trip, as did Sen. John McCain, the Arizona republican who is a fre- quent critic of Obama’s foreign policy in the Obama defends US ties with Saudi Arabia Pays respects to late King Abdullah Continued on Page 7 KARACHI—Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Tuesday staged walkout from the Sindh Assem- bly session after Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah defended performance of law enforcement agen- cies (LEAs) in Karachi operation against the criminal elements. Addressing the provincial assembly ses- sion, Qaim Ali Shah said a decision to launch Karachi operation was taken in all parties’ con- ference headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Lauding the efforts of (LEAs) in ongo- ing targeted operation in Karachi, the chief minister claimed that targeted killings in the metropolitan city have been reduced by 45 per- cent in the last two years. Shah said that he presented the facts before the prime minister, who he said, hailed him and his administration for ‘performing well’. “Chief of Army Staff also appreciated me and my administration in the apex committee,” he added. Responding to MQM criticism, the chief minister said: “Who was in the government when 40 people were killed in Karachi on May 11?” Shah said that the opposition party workers “encircled” the chief minister house to protest killings of their party workers. He said that Karachi is not a city of any single political party and each party should put its share for security of the country’s largest city. Earlier, MQM MPA Syed Sardar Ahmed in his speech demanded of the Sindh government to take notice of Additional IG statement, which he described as a ‘political statement’. “No gov- ernment officer has a right to issue political state- ments,” he said. MQM said that its 35 activists have been extra-judicially killed, while dozens of workers are currently missing. “Heirs of our martyred workers are not being given justice,” MQM’s coordination committee said in a state- ment issued here Tuesday. MQM worker Syed Faraz Alam was killed in police custody after he refused to give bribe, the statement claimed, adding that hundreds of the party workers were released after paying bribes worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. However, Sindh Additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebo, while talking to a private TV channel denied the accusations level by MQM, saying that Faraz Alam had died of heart attack in po- lice custody. Thebo claimed that MQM has di- vided into groups which might have led to dis- appearance of the party workers. MQM con- demned in strongest terms Sindh Additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebo statement, terming it a failed attempt to conceal the facts. Later, clari- fying his statement, the additional IG said that he had not named any political party in the in- terview.—INP MQM stages walkout as CM defends LEAs performance Continued on Page 7 STAFF REPORTER RAWALPINDI—Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif visited the Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ Mohmand Agency on Tuesday and vowed not to abandon the area without fully restoring it to normalcy. The army chief was given a detailed brief- ing on the progress of stabilisation operations, includ- ing the ongoing development projects by army engineers in the troubled re- gion, an Inter-Services Public Relations state- ment said. The development projects have come after Operation Zarb-i-Azb, launched by the Pakistan Army in June 2014, left large parts of North Waziristan’s infrastructure was damaged. The military have eliminated a large number of ter- rorists in North Waziristan, as well as Kurram Agency in continuing operations. The Chief of Army Staff appreciated the professionalism, dedication and sacrifices ren- dered by the soldiers in fighting terrorism and bringing stability in Mohmand Agency. Gen Raheel emphasised on the need to fol- low a comprehensive and uniform rehabilitation policy across Fata after clearing it of terrorists. He expressed hope that projects of providing education and economic opportunities to youth would help root out ter- rorism on long-term basis. The Chief of Army Staff also appreciated the tribal people for play- ing a significant role in expelling terrorists from their areas. Referring to the recently launched Raheel says not to abandon Fata without restoring peace Continued on Page 7 Official security of clerics withdrawn STAFF REPORTER LAHORE—Police officials has been ordered to withdraw the security provided to the re- ligious clerics whereas the se- curity officers have also been notified to recall the protection while the relevant officers were advised to submit a re- port. According to the police, ulema were asked to manage their own security from now onwards as the protection, the police have been providing them, would be pulled. Ulema have expressed grave reservations and have asked the Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to take notice on this new predicament saying it the responsibility of the state to provide protection to them. The state should in- stead ensure their safety, they added. Continued on Page 7 Petrol prices to reduce by Rs14 per litre ISLAMABAD—Prices of petro- leum products are expected to trim down across country from February 1. According to the sources of Petroleum Ministry, petrol price is to be reduced by Rs 14 per litre whereas the price of high-speed diesel and light die- sel is to be reduced by Rs 8.50 and Rs 11 per litre, respec- tively. Price of high-octane and kerosene oil is to be slashed by Rs 14 and Rs 12 per litre, re- spectively as well.—Online TARIQ SAEED PESHAWAR—As the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Khyber 1 advanced side by side on Tuesday the PAF war birds mowed down at least 92 alleged terrorists including fugitives in pre- cise strikes in North Waziristan and Khyber agencies in the afternoon and late in the evening. Besides six terrorist’s hideouts, an ammunition dump and seven explosive laden vehicles were also destroyed. The PAF air machines, the reports reaching from North Waziristan agency said, went for incessant bombardment on miscreant’s hideouts in Dawatoe area of Datta Khel Tehsil and its outskirts in the North Waziristan agency. Con- sequently around 53 alleged terrorists were killed in the fresh blitz. The PAF jets as the of- ficial sources say again pounded militants hide- outs late in the evening killing another two dozen people taking the number of dead in NWA strikes to 76. Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) says: Fresh blitz kill 92 terrorists including fugitives in NWA, KA Seven weapon laden vehicles, ammunition dump destroyed Continued on Page 7 IS urges new attacks after Charlie Hebdo killings BEIRUT—The Islamic State jihadist group Monday urged Muslims to carry out new attacks after the targeting of France’s Charlie Hebdo magazine, in a recording by its spokesman posted online. Abu Mohamed al- Adnani, referring to attacks in France, Australia, Canada and Belgium, urged “Muslims in Europe and the infidel West to attack the Crusaders where they are.” “We promise that in the Christian bastions they will continue to live in a state of alert, of terror, of fear and insecurity... You have seen nothing yet,” the recording said. He added that the group would consider as “enemies” those Muslims who were able to carry out such attacks but failed to do so. The threat is just the latest instance in which the jihadist group has urged Muslims to carry out attacks in the West. It comes after 17 people were killed in deadly assaults on January 7-9 in Paris against Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket. Electricity suspended in parts of country as Guddu trips KANDHKOT—Immense fog and leakage from the gas pipeline caused 11 units of the Guddu Thermal Power Plant to shut down due to tripping, officials said Tuesday. The tripping of these 11 units caused suspension of electricity for 12 hours in various areas of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab. Authorities said the units will be restored as soon as the gas leakage is repaired. The Guddu Thermal Power Plant has 17 power units, out of which only six are currently working. The tripping of Guddu power plant’s transmission lines affected the 500KV Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 ASHRAF ANSARI ISLAMABAD—Pakistan has warned that operationalization of Indo-US nuclear deal for political and economic expedi- encies would have a detrimen- tal impact on deterrence stabil- ity in South Asia. Reacting to the statements made and agreements signed during President Obama’s visit to India, Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said Paki- stan reserves the right to safe- guard its national security in- terests. In a statement, he said Pa- kistan is examining the longer term implications of these agreements for its security. Sartaj Aziz pointed out that Indo-US nuclear deal to disturb regional power balance: Sartaj Pakistan opposes policies of selectivity a country, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions on matters of international peace and security, such as the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, by no means qualifies for a spe- cial status in the Security Council. Sartaj Aziz said, proposals continued in agreements add new centers of privilege in the Security Council and run counter to the collective objec- tives of Security Council re- form; and have no rationale in this age of democracy, inclu- siveness and accountability. Pakistan supports a reformed Security Council that corre- sponds to the positions and col- lective interests of all member states, not just a few. The Advisor said Pakistan is also opposed to yet another country-specific exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) rules to grant member- ship to India. This would fur- ther compound the already fragile strategic stability envi- ronment in South Asia, further undermine the credibility of NSG and weaken the nonpro- liferation regime. Pakistan remains opposed to policies of selectivity and discrimination. Pakistan is not averse to civil nuclear coopera- tion and NSG membership for Non-NPT states provided it is based on the principles of non- discrimination and objective nonproliferation criteria. Paki- PESHAWAR: A lady teacher handles an AK-47 assault rifle during a weapons training on Tuesday. In parting shot, Obama prods India on religious freedom NEW DELHI—US President Barack Obama weighed in on one of India’s most sensitive topics as he wound up a visit on Tuesday, making a plea for freedom of religion to be up- held in a country with a history of strife between Hindus and minorities. Hours before boarding a flight to Saudi Arabia, Obama warned India not to stray from its constitutional commitment to allow people to freely “pro- fess, practise and propagate” religion. “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith, as long as it is not splintered along any lines, and it is unified as one nation,” he said in a townhall address to mostly young Indi- ans. Obama’s speech, after three days in New Delhi aimed at ce- menting a strategic partnership, was widely interpreted as a mes- sage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, whose rise to power emboldened activ- ists to declare India a nation of Hindus. One more Pakistani beheaded in Saudi Arabia RIYADH—Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded two more of its citizens and a Pakistani. Latif Khan Nurzada, a Pakistani, was executed for trafficking heroin into the kingdom. He was executed in the holy city of Makkah, the ministry said in a statement. A second convict, Omar bin Yahya bin Ibrahim al Barkati was tried and convicted of incest, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. “He was executed as punishment for his crime and as a lesson to others,” the ministry said, adding that authorities carried out the sentence in southwestern Asir region. In a separate case, Yassir bin Hussein al Hamza was executed in northwestern Jawf region after his trial and confession for smuggling amphetamine pills, the ministry said. With their executions bring to 16 the number of Saudis and foreigners put to Picture on Back Page
Transcript
Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
Acts of sabotage to deepenenergy crisis................................................China’s irreplaceablefriendship with Pakistan................................................Deforesting Pakistan
See Page 04
AMANULLAH KHAN
KARACHI—The KSE-100 which kept its up-ward movement Tuesdayadded 71.92 points to close ingreen at 34538 levels indicat-ing more room for upside inkey stocks in the coming ses-sions during the week.
The index opened on apositive note, broke its doubletop formation and closedabove that formation which isa bullish sign. The index couldnow continue the bullishmode as key stocks in the
major weighted sectors like Oil & Gas, Ce-ment, and fertilizer sectors looking attractive
KSE-100 gains 72 pointsamid bullish trend
STAFF REPORTER
PESHAWAR—Teachers are being given firearmstraining and will be allowed to take guns intothe classroom in a bid to strengthen securityfollowing a Taliban massacre at a school lastmonth.
“Carrying firearms for every teacher is notobligatory, but all those who want to carry fire-arms to schools willingly will be provided withpermits,” Atif Khan, provincial education min-
ister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told media onTuesday.
Provincial Information Minister MushtaqGhani confirmed the decision, adding that theprovince was unable to provide police guardsfor all of its government-run education institu-tions.
“The number of police in the province isnot enough to guard 35,000 schools, collegesand universities — that’s why we have allowed
Teachers get gun trainingafter Peshawar massacre
Continued on Page 7
RIYADH: President Barack Obama meets with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz here on Tuesday.
RIYADH—President Barack Obama defendedthe U.S. government’s willingness to cooperateclosely with Saudi Arabia on national securitydespite deep concerns over human rights abuses,as he led an array of current and former Ameri-can statesmen in paying respects Tuesday fol-lowing the death of King Abdullah.
“Sometimes we need to balance our need tospeak to them about human rights issues withimmediate concerns we have in terms ofcounterterrorism or dealing with regional sta-bility,” Obama said in a CNN interview thataired in advance of Obama’s arrival.
New King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saudformally greeted Obama and the U.S. delega-tion at the Erga Palace on the outskirts of Riyadh,where dozens of Saudi officials filed through amarble-walled room to greet the Americans un-der massive crystal chandeliers. After a shortdinner, Obama and Salman sat down for theirfirst formal meeting without making any com-ments to reporters covering the visit.
“On this visit, obviously a lot of this is justpaying respects to King Abdullah, who in his
own fashion presented some modest reform ef-forts within the kingdom,” Obama said.
Stepping off the plane earlier in Riyadh, thepresident and first lady Michelle Obama weregreeted by Salman and a military band playingboth countries’ national anthems. Some of theall-male Saudi delegation shook hands with Mrs.Obama while others gave her a nod as theypassed by. Mrs. Obama wore full-length cloth-ing but no headscarf, as is typical for manyWestern women in Saudi Arabia, despite thestrict dress code for Saudi women appearing inpublic.
Secretary of State John Kerry was joiningObama in Riyadh, along with former Secretar-ies of State Condoleezza Rice and James BakerIII, both of whom served Republican presidents.Former White House national security advisersBrent Scowcroft, Sandy Berger and StephenHadley also made the trip, as did Sen. JohnMcCain, the Arizona republican who is a fre-quent critic of Obama’s foreign policy in the
Obama defends USties with Saudi Arabia
Pays respects to late King Abdullah
Continued on Page 7
KARACHI—Muttahida Qaumi Movement onTuesday staged walkout from the Sindh Assem-bly session after Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shahdefended performance of law enforcement agen-cies (LEAs) in Karachi operation against thecriminal elements.
Addressing the provincial assembly ses-sion, Qaim Ali Shah said a decision to launchKarachi operation was taken in all parties’ con-ference headed by Prime Minister NawazSharif. Lauding the efforts of (LEAs) in ongo-ing targeted operation in Karachi, the chiefminister claimed that targeted killings in themetropolitan city have been reduced by 45 per-cent in the last two years. Shah said that hepresented the facts before the prime minister,who he said, hailed him and his administrationfor ‘performing well’. “Chief of Army Staffalso appreciated me and my administration inthe apex committee,” he added. Responding toMQM criticism, the chief minister said: “Whowas in the government when 40 people werekilled in Karachi on May 11?” Shah said thatthe opposition party workers “encircled” thechief minister house to protest killings of theirparty workers. He said that Karachi is not acity of any single political party and each partyshould put its share for security of the country’slargest city.
Earlier, MQM MPA Syed Sardar Ahmed inhis speech demanded of the Sindh governmentto take notice of Additional IG statement, whichhe described as a ‘political statement’. “No gov-ernment officer has a right to issue political state-ments,” he said. MQM said that its 35 activistshave been extra-judicially killed, while dozensof workers are currently missing. “Heirs of ourmartyred workers are not being given justice,”MQM’s coordination committee said in a state-ment issued here Tuesday.
MQM worker Syed Faraz Alam was killedin police custody after he refused to give bribe,the statement claimed, adding that hundreds ofthe party workers were released after payingbribes worth hundreds of thousands of rupees.However, Sindh Additional IG Ghulam QadirThebo, while talking to a private TV channeldenied the accusations level by MQM, sayingthat Faraz Alam had died of heart attack in po-lice custody. Thebo claimed that MQM has di-vided into groups which might have led to dis-appearance of the party workers. MQM con-demned in strongest terms Sindh Additional IGGhulam Qadir Thebo statement, terming it afailed attempt to conceal the facts. Later, clari-fying his statement, the additional IG said thathe had not named any political party in the in-terview.—INP
MQM stages walkout as CMdefends LEAs performance
Continued on Page 7
STAFF REPORTER
RAWALPINDI—Chief of Army Staff GeneralRaheel Sharif visited the Federally AdministeredTribal Areas’ Mohmand Agency on Tuesday andvowed not to abandon the area without fullyrestoring it to normalcy.
The army chief was given a detailed brief-ing on the progress ofstabilisation operations, includ-ing the ongoing developmentprojects by army engineers in the troubled re-gion, an Inter-Services Public Relations state-ment said.
The development projects have come afterOperation Zarb-i-Azb, launched by the PakistanArmy in June 2014, left large parts of NorthWaziristan’s infrastructure was damaged. Themilitary have eliminated a large number of ter-
rorists in North Waziristan, as well as KurramAgency in continuing operations.
The Chief of Army Staff appreciated theprofessionalism, dedication and sacrifices ren-dered by the soldiers in fighting terrorism andbringing stability in Mohmand Agency.
Gen Raheel emphasised on the need to fol-low a comprehensive and uniform rehabilitation
policy across Fata after clearingit of terrorists.
He expressed hope thatprojects of providing education and economicopportunities to youth would help root out ter-rorism on long-term basis. The Chief of ArmyStaff also appreciated the tribal people for play-ing a significant role in expelling terrorists fromtheir areas.
Referring to the recently launched
Raheel says not to abandonFata without restoring peace
Continued on Page 7
Official securityof clerics
withdrawnSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Police officialshas been ordered to withdrawthe security provided to the re-ligious clerics whereas the se-curity officers have also beennotified to recall the protectionwhile the relevant officerswere advised to submit a re-port.
According to the police,ulema were asked to managetheir own security from nowonwards as the protection, thepolice have been providingthem, would be pulled.
Ulema have expressedgrave reservations and haveasked the Chief MinisterPunjab Shahbaz Sharif to takenotice on this new predicamentsaying it the responsibility ofthe state to provide protectionto them. The state should in-stead ensure their safety, theyadded.
Continued on Page 7
Petrol pricesto reduce by
Rs14 per litreISLAMABAD—Prices of petro-leum products are expected totrim down across country fromFebruary 1.
According to the sources ofPetroleum Ministry, petrolprice is to be reduced by Rs 14per litre whereas the price ofhigh-speed diesel and light die-sel is to be reduced by Rs 8.50and Rs 11 per litre, respec-tively. Price of high-octane andkerosene oil is to be slashed byRs 14 and Rs 12 per litre, re-spectively as well.—Online
TARIQ SAEED
PESHAWAR—As the Operation Zarb-e-Azb andOperation Khyber 1 advanced side by side onTuesday the PAF war birds mowed down at least92 alleged terrorists including fugitives in pre-cise strikes in North Waziristan and Khyberagencies in the afternoon and late in the evening.Besides six terrorist’s hideouts, an ammunitiondump and seven explosive laden vehicles werealso destroyed.
The PAF air machines, the reports reaching
from North Waziristan agency said, went forincessant bombardment on miscreant’s hideoutsin Dawatoe area of Datta Khel Tehsil and itsoutskirts in the North Waziristan agency. Con-sequently around 53 alleged terrorists werekilled in the fresh blitz. The PAF jets as the of-ficial sources say again pounded militants hide-outs late in the evening killing another two dozenpeople taking the number of dead in NWA strikesto 76.
IS urges newattacks afterCharlie HebdokillingsBEIRUT—The Islamic Statejihadist group Monday urgedMuslims to carry out newattacks after the targeting ofFrance’s Charlie Hebdomagazine, in a recording byits spokesman posted online.
Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, referring to attacks inFrance, Australia, Canada andBelgium, urged “Muslims inEurope and the infidel Westto attack the Crusaders wherethey are.”
“We promise that in theChristian bastions they willcontinue to live in a state ofalert, of terror, of fear andinsecurity... You have seennothing yet,” the recordingsaid.
He added that the groupwould consider as “enemies”those Muslims who were ableto carry out such attacks butfailed to do so.
The threat is just thelatest instance in which thejihadist group has urgedMuslims to carry out attacksin the West.
It comes after 17 peoplewere killed in deadly assaultson January 7-9 in Parisagainst Charlie Hebdomagazine and a koshersupermarket.
Electricitysuspended inparts of countryas Guddu tripsKANDHKOT—Immense fogand leakage from the gaspipeline caused 11 units ofthe Guddu Thermal PowerPlant to shut down due totripping, officials saidTuesday.
The tripping of these 11units caused suspension ofelectricity for 12 hours invarious areas of Sindh,Balochistan and Punjab.Authorities said the units willbe restored as soon as the gasleakage is repaired. TheGuddu Thermal Power Planthas 17 power units, out ofwhich only six are currentlyworking.
The tripping of Guddupower plant’s transmissionlines affected the 500KV
Continued on Page 7
Continued on Page 7
ASHRAF ANSARI
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan haswarned that operationalizationof Indo-US nuclear deal forpolitical and economic expedi-encies would have a detrimen-tal impact on deterrence stabil-ity in South Asia.
Reacting to the statementsmade and agreements signedduring President Obama’s visitto India, Advisor on ForeignAffairs Sartaj Aziz said Paki-stan reserves the right to safe-guard its national security in-terests.
In a statement, he said Pa-kistan is examining the longerterm implications of theseagreements for its security.
Sartaj Aziz pointed out that
Indo-US nuclear dealto disturb regional
power balance: SartajPakistan opposes policies of selectivity
a country, in violation of UNSecurity Council resolutions onmatters of international peaceand security, such as theJammu and Kashmir dispute,by no means qualifies for a spe-cial status in the SecurityCouncil.
Sartaj Aziz said, proposalscontinued in agreements addnew centers of privilege in theSecurity Council and runcounter to the collective objec-tives of Security Council re-form; and have no rationale inthis age of democracy, inclu-siveness and accountability.Pakistan supports a reformedSecurity Council that corre-sponds to the positions and col-lective interests of all memberstates, not just a few.
The Advisor said Pakistanis also opposed to yet anothercountry-specific exemptionfrom Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) rules to grant member-ship to India. This would fur-ther compound the alreadyfragile strategic stability envi-ronment in South Asia, furtherundermine the credibility ofNSG and weaken the nonpro-liferation regime.
Pakistan remains opposedto policies of selectivity anddiscrimination. Pakistan is notaverse to civil nuclear coopera-tion and NSG membership forNon-NPT states provided it isbased on the principles of non-discrimination and objectivenonproliferation criteria. Paki-
PESHAWAR: A lady teacher handles an AK-47 assault rifle during a weapons trainingon Tuesday.
In parting shot,Obama prods
India on religiousfreedom
NEW DELHI—US PresidentBarack Obama weighed in onone of India’s most sensitivetopics as he wound up a visiton Tuesday, making a plea forfreedom of religion to be up-held in a country with a historyof strife between Hindus andminorities.
Hours before boarding aflight to Saudi Arabia, Obamawarned India not to stray fromits constitutional commitmentto allow people to freely “pro-fess, practise and propagate”religion.
“India will succeed so longas it is not splintered along thelines of religious faith, as longas it is not splintered along anylines, and it is unified as onenation,” he said in a townhalladdress to mostly young Indi-ans.
Obama’s speech, after threedays in New Delhi aimed at ce-menting a strategic partnership,was widely interpreted as a mes-sage to Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Hindu nationalistBharatiya Janata Party, whoserise to power emboldened activ-ists to declare India a nation ofHindus.
One morePakistani beheadedin Saudi ArabiaRIYADH—Saudi Arabia onTuesday beheaded two moreof its citizens and a Pakistani.
Latif Khan Nurzada, aPakistani, was executed fortrafficking heroin into thekingdom. He was executed inthe holy city of Makkah, theministry said in a statement.
A second convict, Omarbin Yahya bin Ibrahim alBarkati was tried andconvicted of incest, theinterior ministry said in astatement carried by theofficial Saudi Press Agency.
“He was executed aspunishment for his crime andas a lesson to others,” theministry said, adding thatauthorities carried out thesentence in southwestern Asirregion.
In a separate case, Yassirbin Hussein al Hamza wasexecuted in northwesternJawf region after his trial andconfession for smugglingamphetamine pills, theministry said.
With their executionsbring to 16 the number ofSaudis and foreigners put to
Picture on Back Page
HYDERABAD: Activists of different political, nationalist parties such as ex-Chief Minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Raheem, PML-N leader RaheelaGul Magsi, sugarcane growers and other party leaders taking part in a protest against the price of a sugarcane.
QUETTA: Police officials checking a vehicle as security was beefed up in the city.
SHANGLA: A jeep slipped off the road due to heavy snow fall causing injuries tofive persons.
PESHAWAR—Civil Society Organiza-tions (CSOs) Tuesday demanded theParliament to pass the constitutionalamendment bill as introduced bySenator Farhatullah Baber on August11, 2014 and amend article 247 of theconstitution for extending SupremeCourt and High Courts jurisdiction toFederally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA).
The Senate has already adopteda resolution unanimously for amend-ing Article 247 on October 26. Imme-diately after the resolution the bill wasreferred to Senate Standing Commit-tee on Law and Justice. However, thebill is yet to be presented in Senatefor voting. The civil society has de-manded the Senate of Pakistan toapprove the amendment of this billbefore Senate elections, to be held inMarch 2015.
Research and Advocacy Coordi-nator from Centre for Governance andPublic Accountability (CGPA) ImranKhan said that governance reformsare prerequisite for peace and stabil-ity in FATA. He said FATA does nothave any representation at provincial
level, and laws passed by NationalAssembly and Senates are not di-rectly applicable to FATA, addingsince there are no elected local gov-ernment bodies in FATA therefore, theright to democratic representation ofFATA is violated on multiple ac-counts.
He said the situation demandsthat parliamentarians take FATA genu-ine demands into consideration andtake practical steps for democraticrepresentation and justice reforms inFATA. Coordinator FATA Civil Soci-ety Network consortium ManzoorAfridi demanded amending FrontierCrimes Regulations (FCR) and saidthat under FCR the people deprivedfrom the fundamental human rights.
Meanwhile, The KhyberPakhtunkhwa Governor, SardarMahtab Ahmad Khan has directed theconcerned officials to suggest newinnovative ideas to expedite variousdevelopmental schemes in FATA,planned to be completed till 30th June2015. He also directed the officials toensure full utilization of funds andspeedy completion of projects. The
Governor directed the administrationof FATA to start moving in directionby materializing the concept of re-gional development package and es-tablishing a model for deprived peopleof FATA.
This he said in a meeting of MidYear Review of FATA ADP 2014-15here at Governor’s House on Tues-day. Additional Chief Secretary FATA,Azam Khan, Secretary Finance FATA,Secretary P&D FATA, Chief Econo-mist P&D FATA, Additional DGProject FATA, Addl. Secretary A.I&CFATA, All Political Agents and otherconcerned officials were also presenton the occasion. Principle Secretaryto Governor Mr. Fakhr e Alam alsoattended the meeting. During a pre-sentation given by Secretary Plan-ning and Development MuhammadTariq, it was revealed that of the 941schemes, 595 are ongoing and 346 arethe new ones. Moreover, it was re-vealed that out of the total outlay15372.000 million rupees 5289.83 mil-lion rupees had been released toschemes with 47% utilization so fartill 31st December 2014.
Governor was also briefed aboututilization of funds on the basis ofvarious sectors and agencies. TheGovernor directed the departmentsconcerned to ensure 100% utilizationtill 30th June, and urged to hold inter-nal review meetings regularly; coor-dinate with the works and servicesdepartment both at the headquarters& Agency level to oversee theprogress. The Governor said FATAneeds realistic development and di-rected the officials to expedite ongo-ing developmental schemes in FATA.
He said that gaps and delay indevelopmental schemes should befilled up as soon as possible, aspeople of FATA are in dire need ofaccelerated pace of developmen-tal activities. While referring tovarious points, the Governorstressed that concrete stepsshould be taken to overcome defi-ciencies. The Governor instructedthe political agents that they mustensure the tribes to utilize closedareas and should build up trust ofthe people of FATA by accomplish-ing developmental schemes.—INP
Mehtab directs officials to expedite FATA development schemes
Extending superior courtsjurisdiction to FATA urged
ABBOTTABAD—Atleast four persons in-cluding a child (5) lost their lives while awoman critically injured in an accident atBandi Meera area here on Tuesday.
According to Police sources, anabbottabad bound Suzuki van fell into aravine due to slippery road. The policereached the site and shifted the injured toAyoub Teaching Hospital (ATH) and thebodies were sent to their native town.
Quetta: Unknown armed men gunneddown a man and his son over an old enmity
4 killed in road mishap
Sale of openpetrol in Lower
Kohistan bannedPESHAWAR—The DeputyCommissioner, KohistanLower under section 144Cr.P.C. has prohibited thesale of petrol by the publicin bottles, plastic bags, drumetc.
This order shall comeinto force with immediate ef-fect and shall remain en-forced for a period of 30days. The violation of thisorder will be punishable un-der section 188 PPC, says anofficial statement here onTuesday.—APP
DIKHAN—The district health departmenthas made elaborate arrangements to kick offa four-day anti-measles campaign for theInternally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through-out the district from Thursday.
All set to vaccinate around 40465 IDPschildren aged between six months to 10 yearsof South and North Waziristan during thefour-day anti-measles drive starting fromJanuary 29 to February 1 in all areas of thedistrict, Dr Qamar told media persons.
He said the district had been divided in39 union councils to be visited by trained122 teams, comprising four members each tovaccinate children of the specific age.
He said as many as 187 technicians and244 social moblizers were also taking part
PESHAWAR—The Spokesmanof Peshawar Electric SupplyCompany (PESCO) here Tues-day claimed that the Com-pany was facing more than 90percent line Losses on 11 KVfeeders of Tank district due towhich power supply systemwas severely overloaded andoften trips because of illegaluse of electricity.
“Millions of rupees areoutstanding against consum-ers of these feeders due towhich PESCO faces losses ofrevenue on one hand andnew power projects cannotbe started on the other re-sulted interruption in powersupply in Tank,” the Spokes-man said in a statement hereon Tuesday.
Referring to protest in
Tank against power outages,the Spokesman clarified thatas per details due to abun-dance of direct hooks and il-legal use of electricity Pescofaces about 90% losses onmost of 11 KV feeders of 132KV Tank Grid Stations ex-plained below.
He said 11 KV Dabarafeeder has faced 90% lineLosses, 11KV Kot Azamfeeder (95% Line Losses), 11KV Ran Wal feeder (90% LineLosses), 11 KV Gul Imamfeeder ( 90% Line Losses), 11KV Mulazai feeder (90% LineLosses), 11 KV Sabir Babafeeder ( 95% Line Losses), 11KV Tank City feeder( 85% Linelosses) and 11 KV Umer Addafeeder has faced (96% LineLosses) respectively.—APP
90pc line lossesresulting power
disruption: Pesco
TANK —The district administration of Tankdistrict here Tuesday imposed section 144by banning display and carrying of armsand weapons, pillion-ridding and gather-ing of people for maintaining law and ordersituation in wake of ransacking of PESCOoffice by the enraged mob the other day.
Kifatullah Waizr, District Police Officertold APP that carrying and display of arms,weapons and gathering of people havebeen banned in Tank district after imposi-tion of section 144 for maintaining law andorder situa-tion. “The law and order situ-ation in Tank district is in our completecontrol and no one would be allowed totake law in their hands,” he remarked.
He said several accused have been ar-rested in connection with damaging ofPESCO office on Tank-Dera Road during
Section 144 imposed in Tankprotest demonstration against load shed-ding the other day and investigation ofthe incident was underway and legal ac-tion against culprits would be startedshortly.
A peace Jirga comprising elders of thedistrict including former Nazim MajeedKhan, Yousaf Barkai and Salim Marwatand Deputy Commissioner Ahmed KhanWazir was held here and deliberatedupon the situation in ques-tion. He saidthe negotiations remained successfulthat resulted peaceful dispersal of theprotestors.
It may be recalled that people took tostreet again on second day against thearrest of protesters by police in connec-tion with yesterday violence and torch-ing of PESCO office.—APP
in Bala Nari area of Kachhi district on Tues-day. According to Levies force, the victimsnamely Atta Muhammad and his sonAsadullah were on way home when threearmed assailants riding a motorbike openedfire on them and fled from the scene at GothMisri area.
As a result, both died on the spot. Thebodies were handed over to the heirs afterlegal formalities. The reason of killing isstated to be an old feud. Levies force regis-tered a case and started investigation.—APP
All set to start anti-measlesdrive for 40,000 IDPs kids
in the drive being started in collaborationwith World Health Organization (WHO)and the UNICEF to protect IDPs childrenfrom the disease. As part of efforts to reachout to maximum children, the official said,survey was conducted as spade work toindentify the targeted children in the unioncouncils, adding the campaign was widelypublicized to create awareness among theparents regarding the vaccination againstmeasles.
However, he was of the view it was not ajob of a single individual but all of us shouldshoulder responsibility to make the cam-paign successful by ensuring that no singlechild missed the vaccination, the officialobserved.—APP
I S L A M A B A D — H a s m a hAbas, Acting High Commis-sioner of Brunei Darussalamto Pakistan in a meeting withDirector General (AF&P) In-ternational Islamic Univer-sity Islamabad (IIU) GulzarAhmed Khwaja discussedissues of mutual interest.
During the meeting, bothsides agreed that mutual co-operation in the field of edu-cation among IIU and uni-versities of Brunei would belaunched.
Acting High Commis-sioner thanked DG IIU for thewarm hospitality and said thatin wake of extending mutualcooperation; soon a delega-tion of the students from Is-lam Sultan Sharif Ali Univer-sity Brunei, would visit IIUI.She also lauded the servicesof IIU while saying that uni-
versity is playing vital role innurturing the young minds ofMuslim Ummah.
Gulzar Ahmed Khwaja,said on the occasion that IIUis always open for coopera-tion with all the universities ofworld and exchange of delega-tions between IIU and Bruneiwould be encouraged. He alsoinformed Hasmah Abas re-garding IIU and informedabout its faculties,academiesand institutes.
Both the officials alsoagreed that Shariah Acad-emy would be utilized in ex-tending mutual cooperationas it keeps offering advancedand rich courses for the le-gal fraternity. At the end,university crest and publica-tions were presented by DGIIU to the Acting High Com-missioner of Brunei.—APP
Pak, Brunei varsities tohave mutual cooperation
SHOsreshuffled at
23 policestations
FAISALABAD—City PoliceOf-ficer (CPO) Dr. SohailHabib Tajik has reshuffledthe Station House Officers(SHOs) at 23 police stationsof Faisalabad district. Aspokesman of the police de-partment told here on Tues-day that InspectorMuhammad Yar has beentransferred from Police Linesand appointed as SHO CivilLine police station while In-spector Muhammad Sarfrazhas been transferred fromPolice Lines to Jhang Bazaarpolice station as SHO.
Similarly, InspectorAbdus Saboor was trans-ferred from Police Lines toGulberg as SHO, InspectorSaif Ullah from Police Linesto Ghulam MuhammadAbad, Sub InspectorMasood Hashmat from Po-lice Lines to Raza Abad, In-spector Jamshaid Iqbal Nasirfrom Police Lines to MadinaTown, Inspector AhmadSajjad from Police Lines toSargodha Road, InspectorMuhammad Tariq from PoliceLines to Chak Jhumra, In-spector Ghulam Abbas fromPolice Lines to Sahianwala,Inspector MuhammadYounus from Police Lines toBatala Colony, Sub Inspec-tor Irshad Ahmad from Po-lice Lines to D-Type, Inspec-tor Ghulam Shabir from Po-lice Lines to Factory Area, In-spector Mehr Ali from PoliceLines to Samanabad—APP
37 gastropatients
hospitalisedMULTAN—A total of thirty-seven patients of gastroenteri-tis commonly known asgastro were hospitalized in thecity on Tuesday. Only twogastro cases were brought toNishtar Medical Institutewhile 25 patients were re-ported at Children Complex,said an official source.
Four patients of gastrowere admitted at Civil Hos-pital while six landed atFatima Jinnah Hospital forWomen, he added.
Meanwhile, 14 patientswere discharged and NoAcute Watery Diarrhoea(AWD) case was reportedtoday, the source informed.Meanwhile, it is also reportedthat a suspected diphtheriacase has been admitted atNishtar Medical Institute(NMI) here. An officialsource of Health Departmentsaid on Tuesday that Khadijawho belongs to Dera IsmailKhan has been admitted atward no 19 of NMI with diph-theria sus-picion. The sourceinformed that according topatient’s history, she hadbeen suffering from fever andhad swelling on her neck forthe last three days.
Tracheostomy of the pa-tient has also been con-ducted, he said. Tracheo-stomy is an opening surgi-cally created through the neckinto the windpipe to allow di-rect access to the breathingtube and is com-monly donein an operating room undergeneral anesthesia—APP
Top forestofficials
suspendedSTAFF REPORTER
PESHAWAR—The ProvincialGovernment have placed theservices of 15 Forests Offic-ers/Official including ChiefConservator of Forests,Sardar Sultan, Conservator ofForests Raja Imtiaz, DFO Mr.Amjad Samad under suspen-sion and 12 others for theirinability to protect cutting ofhundreds of poine trees inMassar Forests of Siran Di-vision District Mansehra andtheir active conniv-ance withtimber mafia.
Director Anti-Corruptionhas been asked to initiate ac-tion against the accused of-ficers/officials under the rele-vant section of law in orderto discourage and curb ille-gal cutting of forest.
To implement policy ofProvincial Gov-ernment forgreen and clean KhyberPakhtunkhwa various initia-tives have been taken whichalso include plantation ofone billion trees. Besides,conservation, protectionand preservation of existingforest cover is one of theprime priority of ProvincialGovernment.
LAHORE: President PPP central Punjab Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo called on Presidentof PML-Q Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain at his residence.
KARACHI: Activists of oil tankers owners association hold a demonstration againstthe publication of blasphemous material on Tuesday.
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Pakistan Peoples’ Party Punjab President MianManzoor Ahmad Wattoo called on Pakistan Muslim League(PML) President and former Prime Minister Senator Ch ShujatHussain at his residence here today.
Talking to media people afterwards, Ch Shujat Hussainsaid that Army Chief General Raheel Sharif was undertakingsuccessful tours of various countries including USA, Chinaand Britain which is quite appreciable, Pak Army is lookingafter the IDPs in a better way, the army has started solvingpeoples’ problems on priority basis.
Ch Shujat Hussain further said that the govt was doingpersonalized politics, Ch Parvez Elahi’s public welfareprojects in Punjab were stopped only because his name’splaques were displayed on these, his established hospitals,colleges and schools were closed.
The PML chief said that Mian Manzoor Wattoo hadnarrated well on law and order, dearness of essential andother daily use items, worst crisis of electricity, gas and petrolin the country. Responding to questions from the me-dia, Ch Shujat Hussain said that negotiations were in progressfor adopting common strategy for the Senate election be-cause our party has got five Senators from Balochistan also,if the party asked then he would contest the election.
In reply to a question Ch Shujat Hussain said that what-ever works had been accomplished by the Army Chief thesewere quite appreciable.
On another question about US President’s visit of Indiaas failure of Pakistan Government, he said this was not thefailure of Pakistan but of the govt, if President Obama hadcome to Pakistan then we would have welcomed him in agrand manner. In reply to a question, he said that nei-ther the assembly nor the country or the society could runwithout effective and active opposition, the oppositionshould be playing active role, PML would continue con-tacts with other parties for cooperation.
Wattoo meets Shujaat, favours Senate pollscontest by opposition from a united front
To a question regarding visit to NorthWaziristan, he said that the Senate’s DefenceCommittee had reviewed the situation pre-vailing there, they had also gone to MeeranShah and Bakka Khel, Pak Army hadachieved great successes there, propagandaabout the IDPs was wrong, they were beingprovided all facilities under the managementof the army, the govt should take the jour-
nalists there so that real circumstances couldcome before everyone.
When asked about elections in 2015 hesaid smilingly that elections now will be heldnow in 2020 or then in 2030.
Mian Manzoor Wattoo said that the govthad failed in every sector; contacts will becontinued with PML in other matters alsobesides the Senate election.
PESHAWAR—The IGP KPNasir Khan Durrani dis-missed DSP Qazi Asmat ofMardan Police after the alle-gations of his contacts withcriminal elements were es-tablished by a high leveldepartmental committee.
According to Policehandout here on Tuesday,taking cognizance of acitizen’s complaint regard-ing alleged contact of theofficers with criminal ele-ments involved in kidnap-ping for ransom, the IGP KPtasked RPO Kohat for prob-ing into the allegations afterconducting a proper depart-mental enquiry.
The enquiry officer
probed into the allegationsand submitted its findingbefore the IGP KP whereinthe allegations were foundto be correct.
Moreover, during thecourse of enquiry the en-quiry officer also found thepersonal staff of the DSP tobe involved in his nefariousactivities upon which thepolice chief has directedRPO Mardan to conductenquiry against the personalstaff of the DSP as well. TheIGP KP further added thatthe KP Police is determinedto cleanse itself from thecorrupt elements and thatthere is no space for corruptofficers in the force.—APP
IGP dismisses DSP overlinks with criminals
Rs 111b allocatedfor education
promotionP E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Minister forInformation and HigherEducation, Mushtaq AhmadGhani Tuesday said thatpromotion of education isthe top priority of provincialgovernment and a recordamount of 111 billion rupeeshave been allocated for thepurpose.
Addressing the thirdconvocation of Abdul WaliKhan University Mardan asa chief guest, he said thatgovernment has prioritizedthe promotion of educationsector keeping in view itssignificance for achievingthe goal of progress andprosperity.
Congratulating studentson the occasion, he urgedthem to utilize their abilitiesfor meeting challenges ofthe contemporary world andinitiating progress by estab-lishing peace and harmonyin the society. He said thatdream of better Pakistancould not be achieved with-out making advancement inthe field of modern educa-tion and technology.
The minister also appre-ciated the performance ofuniversity saying that itmade remarkable achieve-ments in short span of timeowing to professionalismand dedication of staff andfaculty members.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor ofthe university, Dr. Ehsan Aliwhile presenting annual re-port of the institution in-formed 703 papers of facultymembers were published invarious national and inter-national journals of famousrepute during last fouryears. He said that atpresent university have 354faculty members and 133Ph.D scholars.
The convocation amongothers was attended by ViceChancellor Swabi University,Dr. Noor Jehan, Vice Chancel-lor Malakand University, Dr.johar Ali, Registrar CharsaddaUniversity, Iftikhar Hussain,faculty members and stu-dents.—APP
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—About 15 percent ofPunjab’s children aged 6-16 still remainout of school, according to the AnnualStatus of Education Report–ASER 2014National survey. The remaining 85% areenrolled in the 6-16 age bracket and thepercentage has improved since last year(84%). Punjab as compared to otherprovinces is doing significantly betterin terms of enrolment and learning lev-els.
These findings were made public inthe report of Pakistan’s largest-annualcitizen-led household based ASER Sur-vey 2014 – the fifth ASER Survey reportin a row – launched in Lahore on Tues-day. The ASER 2014 survey has beenconducted by 10,000 volunteers man-aged by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA)along with many key civil society /semiautonomous that include the NationalCommission for Human Development(NCHD), Democratic Commission forHuman Development (DCHD), NRSPand several civil society organizations
15pc kids in Punjab out of schools: ASER surveyacross Punjab.
The ASER survey rural findingshave been based on the information of54,365 children of age 3 to 16 years (in-cluding 44 per cent girls) by 10,000 vol-unteer citizens, who personally visited19,888 households in 997 villages. Forthe year 2014, the ASER rural surveyhas been conducted in 35 rural districtsand 7 urban administrative areas in thePunjab, wherein 5-16 year age cohort39,107 children were tested for English,Language (Urdu), and Arithmetic com-petencies.
The report aims to inform theprogress or lack thereof with respect toArticle 25/A of the constitution makingeducation a fundamental right for 5-16year old children since 2010. To date theimplementation has yet to take place asboth laws and rules remain in abeyance!In spite of public demand the state re-sponse at best continues to remain neu-tral to education as a basic need. Parlia-mentarians and Ministers made commit-ments to be held accountable as dutybearers – but they must walk the talk.
Released by the Chief Guest Mr.RanaMashood and Parliamentarians acrosspolitical parties they must decide be-tween a future based on an educatedPakistan and a dead end thatmarginalizes learning and undervaluessocial capital. The narrative on educa-tion must change dramatically under thecurrent democratic dispensation.
The report states that the privatesector is performing better than the gov-ernment sector as far as the learning lev-els of children are concerned. The sur-vey reveals a clear- urban-rural divide,whereby urban areas perform better interms of access (92% children in schoolsvs. 85% in rural areas) and infrastruc-ture facilities. This year ASER surveyed,7 urban districts across Punjab i.e.Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim YarKhan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala,Rawalpindi. An interesting trend hasbeen observed this year as reflected byASER Findings. ASER Punjab 2014 re-sults illustrate a considerable number ofchildren going to non-state schools thisyear compared to public schools. 37%
children of age 6-16 are enrolled in non-state schools in 2014 while last year thepercentage was 36%.
According to the report, studentcompetencies in learning English, Arith-metic, and Language are deplorable i.e.37% of the children from Class V cannotread Class II level text in Urdu. In En-glish, only 57% of the surveyed Class Vstudents could read sentences whichshould ideally be read by students fromthe second grade. A similar trend hasbeen observed in Arithmetic capabilitiesof children where only 51% of class Vchildren were able do a two-digit divi-sion respectively, something that is ex-pected in second grade curriculum.However, if compared with Sindh,Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,the learning levels are far better.
The ASER Survey also has identi-fied that children enrolled in privateschools are performing better comparedto those studying in governmentschools; 68% children enrolled in Class-V in private schools were able to read astory in Urdu compared to 60% Class V
students studying at governmentschools. The difference in learning lev-els is starker for English, where 63%Grade V could read English Class II levelsentences compared to only 54% pub-lic sector students! For arithmetic, 55%children enrolled in class V and goingto private school can do 2-digit divisionas compared to 48% government schoolchildren enrolled in class V.
Further, the survey explains thatboys are outperforming girls in literacyand numeracy skills in rural Punjab. Asmany as 55% of boys were found ableto read at least sentences in Urdu ascompared to 52% girls. For Arithmetic,54% of Class V boys were able to doClass II level subtraction as comparedto only 50% Class V girls.
In addition to the assessment ofchildren, the report also highlightsschool functioning across every dis-trict in Punjab. The ASER rural surveyinforms that over all teachers’ atten-dance in government schools and pri-vate schools both stood at 93% on theday of the survey.
PEF payingspecial heed toSouth Punjab’s
schoolsMULTAN—Punjab EducationFoundation (PEF) is payingspecial heed to schools ofSouth Punjab for providingquality educational facilities toschool children of remote ar-eas of the province. This wasstated by Regional Director,PEF, Shafiq Ahmad while talk-ing to APP here Tuesday. Hetold, over 50 students be-longed to Hindu community,out of sixty of a primary levelschool were studying at aCholistan community schoolChak 81-DND, tahsil Yazman,Bahawalpur district.
He, however, informedthat the school has noproper building so far andwas functioning under ashed temporarily, adding thatthe school building is underconstruction. One of the twoteachers also hailed from theHindu community, he said.
The village had over-whelming majority of Hinducommunity,he said andadded that the school wasfunctioning under newschool package of PEF.
Regional Director saidthat scores of students be-long to different communi-ties are studying under PEFand are bring laurels to notonly their schools underBISE examinations but alsofor their parents alike.—APP
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—Sindh Employees’ Social Secu-rity Institution (SESSI) is currently spend-ing 3% of its total budget in meeting themedical needs of around four million work-ers with its social security scheme, said itscommissioner, Muhammad Farooq Legharihere on Tuesday. Presenting a report dur-ing the 141st meeting of the SESSI’s gov-erning body he said a total number of29,470 industrial and commercial centreswere registered with SESSI and 395,000workers associated with these facilities areprovided with all medical facilities andother relevant financial support.
Advisor to the Sindh Chief Minister and
Chairman, SESSI’s governing body, AsgharAli Junejo on the occasion said there wasneed to expand the social security net withoptimum numbers of bonafide workers cov-ered under SESSI.
He said the government was fully con-scious of the problems faced by the work-ers and realizing its responsibilities towardsis attempting to approach all industrial,commercial, trade and business entities,with strength of more than 10 workers, toget themselves registered with SESSI. Theidea is to ensure that these units make theircontribution towards the cause of social needsof workers that would be supplemented bythe government under its obligation towardsworking class, said Asghar Ali Junejo.—APP
SESSI spending 73pc of its budgetunder healthcare for registered workers
QUETTA—The NationalAccountability Bureau(NAB), Balochistan region,on Tuesday arrestedBismillah Kakar, ex-GeneralManager TenderingBalochistan DevelopmentAuthority (BDA), for his al-leged involvement in em-bezzlement of massive fundsand misuse of authority.
NAB officials told APPthat the inquiry against MrBismillah Kakar, MD Ten-dering BDA had proved thataccused illegally awardedseveral contracts of devel-opment works to his blue-eyed contractors grabbingmillion of rupee commissionand kickbacks from themduring last couple of years.
During investigation intothe case, it was revealed that
NAB arrests ex-BDA headon massive corruption
Mr Kakar who was appointedas Sub-Engineer (PB-11) inBDA in 2003 had several pla-zas, houses, shops and plotsin his name and his friendsand relatives names.
Moreover he possessedgold, prize bonds and vehiclesworth millions of rupee. Theaccused belonged to a poorfamily of Ziarat’s Gharbi townwho did not have many as-sets from his family.
The probe further re-vealed that on account ofhis fraudulent means, theaccused not only earnedmillions of rupee but alsoclinched the seat of GeneralManager Tendering.
The NAB team is inter-rogating from the accusedand more arrests in this con-nection are expected.—APP
KUST studentsget laptops under
PM’s schemePESHAWAR—Laptops havebeen distributed among 219academically outstanding stu-dents of Kohat University ofSciences and Technology(KUST) under the PrimeMinister’s Laptop Scheme.
The laptops were distrib-uted during a special functionheld at KUST in Kohat thatwas attended by the studentsand parents besides academi-cians and faculty members inlarge number.
Focal Person PM LaptopScheme Azad Khan Khattakand representative of HigherEducation Commission (HEC)Ishtaiq Ahmed distributedlaptops among 219 talentedstudents of different disci-plines on merit and congratu-lated them.
Azad Khan said awardinglaptops to students was amidat to encourage them towardshigher studies and educa-tional research works. He saidthe PM laptop scheme is anattempt to enhance researchand quality education in thecountry and increase the ac-cess to Information Technol-ogy.
The objective behind freelaoptops to the talented stu-dents on merit is to help themrise above problems andhurdles they face in their pathto gain knowledge and excelprofessionally.
The students while appre-ciating the Prime MinisterLaptop scheme termed it a giftof the PML-N Governmentthat would prove extremelybeneficial in their educationand research works in higherstudies.
Majority of students saidthey were facing great diffi-culties in doing research workdue to non-availability oflaptops but the PM Laptopscheme has greatly helpedresolve their problems.—APP
PESHAWAR—The Khyber PakhtunkhwaPolice in the ongoing search and strike op-eration thoughout the province against crimi-nals and anti-social elements rounded 278suspects and recovered huge quantity ofarms and ammunition. According to policestatement here Tuesday, during the opera-tion, police conducted raids in different partsof the province recovered 63 arms and am-munition of different kinds and 706 rounds.
During the operation 1090 houses and
479 hotels were checked and 6 cases wereregistered against the violators. During snapchecking on 271 check points, 391 suspectswere held and recovered 22 arms of differentkinds and 319 cartridges of different bore.
During action against illegal afghans atotal of 116 persons were detained on vio-lation and 64 cases were registered againstthem. Similarly 142 persons were arrestedon violation of illegal use of loudspeakerand 160 loudspeaker were hold.—APP
278 suspects rounded up
People favourstrict monitoringof loudspeakers
MULTAN—A number ofcitizens have lauded theimplementation of amplifierand loudspeaker act andurged its strict monitoringtill the desired results.
Citizens Saad Qureshi,Talha Alaezai, ChaudharyRasheed, residents ofShadab colony while talk-ing to APP said loud-speakers were frequentlyused for propagating myo-pic views, that go againstsocial cohesion and har-mony.
A retired teacher, ChAbdul Ghani said that loud-speaker act should havebeen implemented earlier.Unnecessary use of loud-speakers cause disturbancefor all citizens. Civil soci-ety activist, IshnaaqWattoo also hailed the strictmonitoring of use of loud-speakers.
He observed that it wasvital to prevent its misuse inthe interest of unity and har-mony amongst the peoplebelonging to variousschools of thought. —APP
MULTAN: A worker administering anti-polio drops to a child at the shrine of HazratBahauddin Zakariya (RA).
ISLAMABAD—The Met officeTuesday forecast mainly coldand dry weather in most partsof the country during next 24hours. However, light rain withlight snow over the hills is ex-pected at isolated places inMalakand, Hazara, Rawalpindidivisions, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Moreover, foggyconditions are expected tocontinue in plain areas ofPunjab and upper Sindh.
According to synopticsituation, continental air isprevailing over most parts ofthe country. A shallow west-
Dry weather to continueerly trough is passing overnorthern areas. During next48 hours, mainly cold anddry weather is expected in
most parts of the country.However, light rain with lightsnow over the hills is ex-pected at isolated places inMalakand division.—APP
Funds forconstruction
of small hydelpower stationsPESHAWAR—Chief MinisterPervez Khattak has an-nounced provision of suffi-cient funds for a number ofsmall hydel power stationsat various locations ofChitral district and other de-velopmental schemes forthe area.
He said that KP govern-ment believed in uniform de-velopment of the provincewith judicious use of the de-velopmental funds whereas nodiscrimination would be madewith any part of the province.However, he said that remoteand backward areas would begiven preference on need ba-sis wherein transparent use offunds.—APP
Acts of sabotage todeepen energy crisis
MINISTER for Water and Power Khwaja Muhammad Asif hascategorically told the nation to be ready for power outages atleast till 2017 when the supply is expected to reach at a level to meet
the demand. Irrespective of the fact whether or not the statement of the Min-ister is a type of lollipop that former Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had beengiving to the people for consecutive five years, there are also other factors thatcould compound the situation. These include undependability of the existingtransmission and distribution system as well as acts of sabotage especially inBalochistan.
The recent countrywide power breakdown has been blamed on blowingup of two pylons by saboteurs in Naseerabad district of Balochistan, showinghow vulnerable the entire system is and the need to take measures to preventsuch forced blackouts in future. No doubt, the Prime Minister has given di-rections for enhancing security of the power infrastructure especially criticalinstallations but given the scale of the network no security arrangement couldwork satisfactorily. However, the situation can be handled by strengtheningintelligence gathering and taking decisive action against militants and terror-ists outfits in Balochistan that have repeatedly been targeting power and gasinstallations for the last several years. Leaders of these groups are living insome foreign countries and India is known to be harbouring them for subver-sive activities inside Pakistan. It is time the friendly countries and influentialcapitals are sensitized about the gravity of the problem and the need to takeaction against those who have been given refuge and also the need to impressupon India not to interfere into internal affairs of Pakistan. The Army Chief,General Raheel Sharif has already visited Afghanistan and the United King-dom where he has reportedly taken up relevant issues and we hope our diplo-mats too would become proactive in this regard. We also believe that thecountry would not have experienced the worst type of break down if advice ofexperts like legendary nuclear scientist Dr A Q Khan was given serious con-sideration regarding stand alone power supply arrangement for each district/city. The Government has already started process of consultations for im-proving the system and how to prevent such disasters in future and hopefullythis aspect would be taken care of. There is definitely need to upgrade thenational transmission system as, according to the Government itself, it wasunable to sustain power load beyond a certain point.
China’s irreplaceablefriendship with Pakistan
CHINESE Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with Army ChiefGeneral Raheel Sharif in Beijing on Monday described Pakistan as China’s
irreplaceable, all weather friend and that both the countries are part of a com-munity of shared heritage. During his two-day official visit, the COAS heldwide ranging and fruitful talks with military and political leadership of Chinacovering bilateral relations and regional security situation keeping in view theemerging world scenario.
Frequent exchange of high level visits between the two countries arehelping to further widen and deepen the all weather friendship in all respectsand we are confident that the visit of General Raheel Sharif would prove as amilestone in expanding cooperation between the two countries in all sectorsparticularly in defence matters. Meng Jianzhu, member Politburo, the secondhighest council within the Communist Party assured the army chief that Chinahas consistent policy on Pakistan that is beyond individuals, adding thatPakistan’s concern is China’s concern while Chairman People’s ConferenceYu Zhengsheng lauded Pakistan for always standing by China, terming it themost reliable partner. It was also very satisfying that he once again reiteratedthat the government and the people of China will help Pakistan in all respects.Pakistan-China friendship is considered as a role model not only in the regionbut also in the world as leadership in both the countries have placed consider-able importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportiverelationship. China has become Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, whichis a proof that bilateral relationship in every field is expanding. Recently, bothnations have decided to cooperate in improving Pakistan’s civil nuclear powersector to help it get out of the power crisis. In fact Chinese cooperation withPakistan has reached economic high points, with substantial Chinese invest-ment in Pakistani infrastructure expansion. Pak-China Economic Corridor toconnect Gwadar Port to China’s north western region of Xinjiang via high-ways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas has the potential to turnPakistan into a hub of regional cooperation. If this project is implemented ona fast track basis, both countries can reap rich economic benefits, this corridorhas to offer and enhance Pakistan’s position as a regional economic power.
Deforesting PakistanA MEDIA report has highlighted the issue of fast illegal cutting of
trees in Islamabad causing huge environmental damages to the FederalCapital besides robbing it of its natural beauty. It says that slum dwellers andpeople living in suburban areas of the capital are ruthlessly cutting trees foruse as fuel besides a mafia that is actively engaged in illegal cutting of treesfor commercial purposes.
No doubt, Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been striving hardto plant more saplings but the damage done to the landscape of the capitalthrough illegal felling of trees and forest fires is much more that new planta-tions. But we may point out that the problem is not confined to Islamabadalone as timber and woodcutting mafia is active all over the country as aresult of which forest cover is fast reducing. According to experts, the prob-lem has accentuated due to crippling gas shortages and black-marketing ofLPG. Forest cover in Pakistan is just 4.8% against the optimal cover of25%. This compares poorly with other South Asian countries as Bhutan hasa remarkable forest cover of 72 per cent, Nepal has 39.6 per cent of its totalland under forests and India has successfully increased its forest cover to 23per cent. This is despite observance of two tree plantation campaigns everyyear since long during which we boast to plant millions of saplings. In thefirst place, experience tells us that these drives are mere eye-wash; andsecond, even if some trees are planted there is no system to ensure that thesaplings become trees. Imran Khan deserves credit for announcing anambitious programme of planting one billion saplings in KPK where aban is already in place for cutting of forest trees and we hope similarprogrammes would also be launched by other Provinces to ensure environ-mentally safe Pakistan for our coming generations.
US-India duo & impact on Pakistan
The ethnicdiscord
PRESIDENT PetroPoroshenko, weeks aftertaking a more rigid stance
against Moscow, has vowed tocalm fighting with ethic Russiansin its eastern territories and enterinto a quid pro quo with Moscow.Earlier, Petro had said that hisforces would fight till the end, andnot give in to ‘dictation’ fromKremlin. This change of heartwas well received in Moscow asForeign Minister Sergei Lavrovalso urged for a comprehensivepolitical dialogue to end the stand-off. Russia has for long advocateda negotiated solution to what itcalls ethnic fissures in Ukraine,and wherein Russian-speakingpeople are in need of a self-de-fined identity as they become partof Ukrainian statehood. The goodpoint is that Kremlin had desistedfrom calling for a separate state-hood for its ethnic subjects, andthis is where Moscow differenti-ates itself from its annexationpolicy in Crimea.
What is required as far as theupheaval is concerned is a uni-form policy approach from bothKiev and Moscow to implementthe Minsk declaration that calledfor creating political space for thepeople of eastern Ukraine, andgrant them enough privileges tobecome part of the solution. At thesame time efforts are needed toput an end to blame game under-way between the warring parties,and to ensure that the presence ofextra-territorial forces from east-ern Ukraine are shunted out. Asan immediate effort, more than amillion people who are trapped infighting in eastern Ukraine shouldbe rescued and conducive envi-ronment created for their rehabili-tation. Petro, incidentally, has toreassure Moscow that hiscountry’s foreign policy is bal-anced and Kiev will desist fromacting as a springboard for theWest. There in lies the solution tothe pestering discord in easternUkraine. — Khaleej Times
*****
Yemen indanger ofcompletecollapse
THE situation in Yemen isfast descending into further chaos. The resignation
of its president Abd RabboMansour Hadi last week has leftthe field clear for the Al Houthisto wreak more havoc in a countryalready beset by poverty, dwin-dling water resources, a dividedmilitary and the presence of AlQaida of Arabian Peninsula. Inabdicating his responsibility sohastily, Hadi has pushed Yemeninto its worst crisis yet and onlyimmediate help from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) has thepower to halt Yemen’s deteriorat-ing political and social disorder.
The GCC, with its long-stand-ing strategic partnership withYemen, can be an influential andcatalytic power to prevent Sana’afrom becoming a regional flashpoint. Helping Yemen restart itsstalled journey towards a re-formed system of government isthe first step in rebuilding a coun-try that lies grievously frag-mented. Another early priority forthe GCC is to urgently considerthe issue of Yemen’s inclusion asa member state in the GCC, acommitment made to the latter in2006 and which has yet to be ful-filled.
With its strategic locationand the shipping and oil routespassing through the Gulf ofAden, Yemen’s political vulner-ability has severe implicationsfor the region. The powervacuum left behind by Hadi, ifnot swiftly attended to, couldwell be filled by the Al Houthis,with the unambiguous backing ofIran. This must be prevented, atall costs, from becoming an in-evitability.—Gulf News
MEDIA WATCH
TRADITIONALLY, US-Indiarelationship is characterised byhigh rhetoric and poor imple-
mentation. While there were no ma-jor policy announcements duringObama’s visit, the two sides inked asymbolic ‘Declaration of Friendship’which included trivialities like: plansto establish a hotline and to hold moreregular summits, while an existingdefence cooperation agreement wasextended for another 10 years.
Important announcement wasabout the nuclear pact (Agreement123) which had been facing delayssince 2008. Officials on both sides saidthe agreement would involve settingup a multi-million dollar insurancepool which would effectively indem-nify companies that built reactors. “Iam pleased that six years after wesigned our bilateral agreement, we aremoving towards commercial coopera-tion, consistent with our laws (and) in-ternational legal obligations,” Modisaid at the press conference. In a state-ment issued by the White House, bothleaders agreed to enhance bilateral co-operation on climate change “toachieve a successful and ambitiousagreement in Paris”. Modi told report-ers he did not feel under any ‘pres-sure’ from Obama over climate changebut did feel “pressure when we thinkabout the future generations and whatkind of world we will give them”.
In run up to President Obama’svisit, India had worked over time totarnish Pakistan’s image. On Decem-ber 31, 2014, Indian media createdfrenzy that a Lashkar-e-Tiaba boat wasintercepted by Indian Coast Guards.The story tellers portrayed that whenboat was ordered to stop, it sped away.However, having failed to evade In-dian Coast Guard, the crew set the boaton fire and it exploded. Hype was cre-
Indian inroads in Sri Lanka
NEW Delhi has lots to explainwhen Mohinder Rajpaksawas re-elected as Sri Lanka’s
President for the second time. Indiahad supplied him small arms, whichhe liberally used to kill the Tamils,the largest minority in that country.He should have been tried for warcrimes because he killed 40,000Tamils in cold blood even after thesurrender by what was then calledthe LTTE, the militant face of Tamilsin the Northern Sri Lanka.
That he tried to woo both mili-tary and police chiefs to stay backeven after the defeat show. Thisshows how adroitly he led a demo-cratic India up to a garden path. YetNew Delhi should have knownwhat was all over that he ruled thecountry by force. His one brotherwas the Defence Secretary. I cannever forget his role because thepolice harassed me at night; myonly crime was to observe that thenow defunct LTTE should befought politically, not military. Thatnight there was a knock at my door.The police did nothing except to seemy passport. The message wasclear. I left the country the follow-ing day and have never returned toColombo.
Now that the country hasousted the dictatorship, it shouldimplement the old US-sponsoredresolution, adopted by the UN Hu-man Rights Council in Geneva. The
Some are borngreat, someachievegreatness, andsome havegratness thrustupon ‘em.
resolution said that SriLankan government shouldconduct an “independent andcredible” investigation intoallegations of violations of in-ternational human rights lawand the untold atrocities com-
mitted in the last phase of the war.Unfortunately, one message thatcame loud and clear was that NewDelhi tried its best to defend theRajpaksa government. But the 47-nation strong body, led by the US,not only brushed aside the Indianobjections but also refused to waterdown the resolution. In protest toDelhi’s attitude, the DMK had with-drawn the support at that time.
It is still not too late to constitutethe Lessons Learnt and Reconcilia-tion Commission (LLRC) suggestedby India at that time, to probe thewhole happening which would bringout the skeletons out of the SriLankan cupboard. A similar attemptearlier proved to be futile because theSri Lankan government, the accused,held the probe itself. Naturally, noth-ing worthwhile emerged from the in-vestigation, which was a sham. In-deed, it is heartening to see Sri Lankareturning to the fold of democracy.But it is unfortunate that in contrast,the Pakistani people are not assert-ing themselves to have the real de-mocracy back.
The incapacity of politicians tohandle the state affairs and their sur-render on the constitution of militarycourts is the recent example. What itmeant is an amendment in the con-stitution to provide for trial of terrorsuspects by military courts for a pe-riod of two years. Unfortunately, theonly comment came from Gen.
Raheel Sharif, Pakistan militarychief, who said ‘special courts are notthe desire of the army but need of ex-traordinary times’. The timid politi-cians gave concurrence by their si-lence. Both Sri Lanka and Pakistanare our neighbours. What happensthere can have repercussions in In-dia. That the roots of democracy inour country are deep enough to with-stand such developments is hearten-ing to see. Yet a dictatorship next dooris disconcerting. New Delhi cannotexport democracy to other countries.But it should do all it can to see thewill of people prevailing in theneighbourhood, without interfering inthe internal affairs of the countries.
Dictatorships get a fillip whendemocracies falter. India committedthis cardinal sin when it abstainedfrom voting at the UN HumanRights Council a few years ago. Aresolution was sought to be passedto seek an international, transparentinquiry to find out whether Sri Lankahad killed in cold blood 40,000 sol-diers and others in the wake of hos-tilities against the Liberation ofTamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE). Evenafter their surrendered uncondition-ally. India’s abstention at that timereminded me of the words of PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru: Whenaggression takes place or humanrights are violated, we will not andcannot remain neutral. Yet theManmohan Singh government wasfound placating the dictatorial gov-ernment headed by Rajapaksa. NewDelhi did not bother the harm itwould be doing to the cause ofTamils’ rights and their own say ingovernance. My hunch is that bu-reaucrats in the Ministry of Exter-
ated that a Mumbai attack like attempthas been foiled. Later it was revealedthat boat was carrying liquor. The inci-dent was strongly rejected by PakistaniForeign Office terming it as mere pro-paganda aimed at tarnishing Pakistani’simage. Even India’s main oppositionparty Congress refused to go along withgovernment’s narrative.
Another narrative by Indian mediawas quite comical that the US has toldPakistan that it should not launch anyattack like Chittisinghpura on the oc-casion of President Obama’s visit. It isinteresting to recall that it was claimedon occasion of US President Clinton’svisit that Pakistani terrorists had infil-trated and killed Sikhs inChittisinghpura in the Indian occupiedKashmir. Later, an independent com-mission formed at the insistence of Sikhcommunity investigated the incidentand it revealed that the so called terror-ists from Pakistan were actually fivenative IHK youth, who were picked upby Indian security from their homes,they were shot and their bodies wereburnt and then buried. Commission hadconcluded that the high drama was afalse flag operation launched by theIndian security forces just to create aspectre of terrorism on the eve ofClinton’s visit.
Another actor who reinforced thisIndian effort was Pakistan’s former am-bassador to Washington—HusainHaqqani. In his recent article “State ofDelusion”, he has tried to focus onPakistan’s traditional fault lines. Hequestions the ideological foundation ofPakistan’s nation-hood and, as a corol-lary, statehood. Article makes referenceto previous attacks on schools, placesof worship and military and civilianinstallations; and is sceptical about afundamental change of heart. He con-siders Pakistan’s identity constructeddue to its emphasis on religion and ide-ology at the expense of ethnic, linguis-tic and sectarian diversity of a complexsociety. While talking about strains ofideological nationalism, he acknowl-
edges that the narrative is appealing toPakistanis but falters by saying “evenif it drags the country down the road oftragedies like the one in Peshawar”. Headmits that Pakistan has survived be-cause of resilience of its people but isover simplistic in attributing country’ssurvival to its adept Cold War alliances;he loses sight that Pakistan was mem-ber of SEATO and CENTO in 1971,yet we lost East Pakistan. He chose tomix up the circumstances leading toPakistan’s close contacts withMujahedeen and Taliban, and talkedabout safe havens for militants in ur-ban and rural areas and anti-minority,anti-India and anti-Afghanistan activi-ties of these militants. However, he didnot talk about Indian and Afghan inter-ventions to ferment trouble in Pakistan;especially in FATA and Balochistan.Broadly, Husain towed Western andIndian line by stating that: “For years,Pakistan has been living in denial. Heexpressed the view that Pakistan’sjihadis were already exercising virtualveto over Pakistan’s relations with In-dia and were now limiting Pakistan’sforeign policy choices. In this article,Husain Haqqani has tried to sell the nar-rative about Pakistan which outsideworld, more specifically the US ledWestern block and India are trying topopularize.
In contrast, during the US Secre-tary of State John Kerry’s visit to India,American team showed some hard evi-dences of Mulla Fazalullah and RAWnexus in Afghanistan for supporting ter-rorists in Pakistan. The American sidepointed out highly objectionable roleof Indian National Security Advisor AjitKumar Doval in this dirty game.Former US Secretary of Defence,Chuck Hegel had also accused India ofexporting terrorism to Pakistan via Af-ghanistan and his remarks in this re-gard are still on official record. Duringhis visit, President Obama has also cau-tioned India on these aspects and ten-sions along the Line of Control—though in private. Since coming to
nal Affairs, with their mindset, de-cided to stay absent what theythought was “in the interest of thecountry.” The then hapless ForeignMinister Salman Khurshid wentalong. He probably wanted the re-lease of 100 fishermen who had“strayed” into the waters claimedby Sri Lanka.
I was not surprised to read theRajapaksa government’s reaction:Thank you. No doubt, New Delhiwas under pressure from the demo-cratic world, led by America, thatChina and Pakistan, where democ-racy has been reduced to a relativeterm, supported Colombo. I do notregret the obliteration of the LTTEwhich was largely a terrorists’ or-ganization. But as a humanist, I feelsad over the killing of soldiers andtheir supporters after the surrender.The Sri Lankan army, obviouslywith blessings of PresidentRajapaksa and his brother, DefenceMinister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, hadno remorse over their indulging ina blood bath.
The world would not haveknown about the killings if the en-terprising BBC Channel 4 had notshown the documentary on the kill-ings and atrocities committed notonly against the LTTE troops butalso against the innocent Tamils.Colombo’s own inquiry was eye-wash, exonerating the army andheaping the blame on the Tamilswho wanted an equal say in the af-fairs of Sri Lanka. Will they get itunder the new regime is a test forits democratic governance.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human rights activist and author.
William Shakespeare—English dramatist
power Modi government is trying tochange the status of Indian held Kash-mir. Despite applying all tactics BJPfailed to achieve the status of singlelargest party in the state elections.IHK stands starkly polarized on com-munal lines. To gain more time forpolitical wheeling dealing,governor’s rule has been imposed inIHK. Advisor on Foreign Affairs andNational Security Sartaj Aziza hasdone well in warning India againstunilaterally altering the status ofKashmir. India is a defaulter of nearly20 UNSC resolutions.
At numerous occasions, the UShas encouraged India and Pakistanto resolve their bilateral issues, in-cluding Kashmir, by pursuing a peacedialogue, and has been very support-ive of that process. However, the twocountries have a poor track record ofachieving anything concrete throughbilateral effort—let alone Kashmir.Whenever bilateral negotiations en-ter a critical phase, India disrupts thenegotiations on one pretext or theother. Recent calling off of ForeignSecretary level talks is the latest ex-ample. Deputy National Security Ad-viser at the White House Ben Rhodeshas said that the United States doesnot view its relationships with Indiaand Pakistan at the expense of eachother. It is encouraging that duringhis State of the Union address, theUS President Barak Obama has saidthat the US will stand and help coun-tries from Pakistan to France facingthe threats of terrorism. Contrary tooptimistic claims, Indo-US relationsare witnessing fluctuations. How-ever, as long as America remainsobsessed with containing China, In-dia shall continue to have relevancefor the US. Pakistan needs to system-atically reduce its critical dependen-cies on the US and engage othermajor powers like Russia to achievea sort of balanced foreign policy.—The writer is Consultant to IPRIon Policy and Strategic Affairs.
Pakistan is facing energy crisis, butnow these crises have increased tosuch an extent that even CNG hasfallen short and we are also facingpetrol crisis now. Although the pe-troleum and gas reserves inBaluchistan and FATA are enough,the clashes with Baloch activists, in-surgencies and lack of proper exploi-tation of gas and petroleum reserveshas made life miserable.
We have experienced worst cri-sis of shortage of petrol in the coun-try, when public transport disap-peared from the roads. Pakistanis arealready under the burden of loadshedding even big cities are facingload shedding of 12 Hours a day andnow this fuel problem! We are de-prived of the basic facilities, whichpeople take for granted in developedcountries. Hearing of large reservesof petrol and natural gas being dis-covered, gives us some hope, andour government should make effortsto use these resources for develop-ment of the economy, generation ofmore jobs for the public and to meetthe fuel crisis rather that selling themto foreign companies—Wah Cantt
Whyprivatisation?
JAVAID BASHIR
This is the age of Privatization. Na-tionalization policy has been dis-carded for last three decades. At theadvent of the “Industrial Revolu-tion” the concept of free enterpriseand free market economy waspropagated and made popular. Ex-ploitation of the masses started fromthe initiation of revolution.
Privatization or downsizing ofthe government is taking away thepowers from the government andtransferring it to the private sector.The buzz word is governmentshould stay away from meddling inthe affairs of the Private sector. Theyclaim that private sector providesemployment. Today the businesseswant lesser government regulations.
I think a better solution is tohave a right mix of both the Publicand Private sectors. We need a nixedeconomy to prosper and progress.Governments on every continenthave sold off state owned assets toprivate investors in recent decades.Airports, railroads, energy utilities,and many other assets have beenprivatized. The Privatization Revo-lution has overthrown the beliefwidely held in the 20th century. Thegovernments should own the mostimportant industries in the economy.
Privatization has generally ledto reduced costs, higher quality ser-vices and increased innovation informerly moribund government in-dustries. The presumption that thegovernment should own the indus-try was challenged in the 1980s byBritish Prime Minister MargaretThatcher and President RonaldReagan. But while Thatcher madeenormous reforms in Britain, only afew major federal assets were priva-tized in this country.
The office of management andbudget has calculated that about halfof all the federal employees prefertasks that are not “inherently gov-ernmental.” The privatization makessense when it is done to improve theworking and profitability of the stateowned industrial units, and the gov-ernment has shown its complete fail-ure to provide effective efficiencyand high quality in services. The vastforeign privatization experience thatcould be drawn on in favouring re-forms. Privatization would spur theeconomic growth by opening newmarkets to enterprise.
The concept of privatizationhas spread like a jungle fire inemerging economies like Japan,
Cost of terrorismWAHEED ALI CHANDIO
After the attacks of 9/11, the phenomenon of terrorism changed the socioeconomic and geopoliticalsituation of the world. The terrorists groups have linkages with each other and utilizing each other’s
areas for recruitment and training, exchanging illegal weapons and providing administrative and logis-tic support. Pakistan is also facing the menace of terrorism which is disturbing the country’s socialstructure, economic development and political system. The acts of terrorism are threatening Pakistan’slaw and order situation, violating human rights and destroying basic infrastructure and economic op-portunities. Pakistan has not only lost precious lives and infrastructure but according to official esti-mates, it has suffered loss of around 35 to 40 billion dollars since war on terror. The major areas ofimpacts are; maintenance of law and order on which we have spent more than enough and IDPsrehabilitation problem has also been a very difficult task. In economic terms we have suffered, reduc-tion in investments and lower growth rate. The agriculture is main source of revenue in most ofterrorism-affected areas, including FATA and NWFP. Swat has been major contributor in agriculturerevenue but due to insurgency in these areas production has suffered a lot. Our manufacturing sectorhas been hard hit by the frequent incidents of terrorism and has created uncertain environmentresulting lower economic growth. Pakistan has also failed to persuade foreign investors due to per-sisting risks of terrorism. Pakistan is a country which had been dependant on tourism sector but sincethe terrorists have occupied the areas Pakistan has earned zero revenue from tourism. Resultantly,Pakistan has suffered much in all aspects of socio-economic and geopolitics. But still the menace ofterrorism continues to hover on our horizons. We have taken many effective steps to overcome themenace of terrorism and the terrorists genuinely seem to be on run, but still world holds Pakistanresponsible of emanating terrorism which is unbearable attitude toward Pakistan. Hence, there is astrong need to concentrate fully on this issue, make it as priority agenda item number one and extermi-nate the menace of terrorism from Pakistan, once for all.—Islamabad
THE articles, columns andletters are published on thesepages in good faith. However,the contents of these writingsmay not necessarily match theviews of the newspaper.
—Editor
View From Abroad
Obama leads world to India
RELATIONS between Indiaand the United States havebeen flawed with a genetic de-
fect ever since prime ministerJawaharlal Nehru called on presidentHarry Truman in Washington in 1949:a sharply divergent view of the na-ture of conflict in the post-war, post-colonial era. India was coming toterms with freedom and partition;America was sifting through the re-sponsibilities of rebuilding the scrapheap of Western Europe, whilesearching for allies in another epochalconflict looming ahead, the Cold War.
Nehru’s foreign policy wasshaped by his experience of imperi-alism and its in-house partner, capi-talism. America, equally understand-ably, viewed Communism as an ex-istential challenge to the values of in-dividual liberty, collective democ-racy, private sector and free trade.Nehru was apprehensive about theemergence of America, not as the newcolonial power, for that would be toomuch of a contradiction withAmerica’s professed values as wellas its history, but as a neo-colonialforce. Nehru preferred neutrality,clumsily described as non-alignment,but equally felt that in a crisis thepeople’s republics would be a betterguarantor of independence for newnations on the rapidly changing map.
Nehru’s prescription was a rel-evant antidote for the malaise of its
time. But medicine becomes counter-productive when it crosses its sell-bydate, or when the illness has passed.With the collapse of the Soviet Unionand its sprawling empire, the strategicimplications of non-alignment losttheir raison d’etre. There was a sec-ond, and more lasting, consequence.A collateral preference for quasi-so-cialist formulations for the economy,and particularly the conversion of thestate into the intellectual and adminis-trative engine of the economy througha Planning Commission, inhibited thecreative capabilities of India’s privatesector and strangled growth with redtape and startling corruption. Worse,India’s business community, trappedin insularity and the lazy convenienceof a Licence Raj, lost touch with bestpractices in world manufacturing andmarket expansion, sabotaging India’sability to lift the people from the curseof poverty.
Personality, of course, has playeda significant part in the dramatic leapforward that India-US relations havetaken after the first meetings betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modi andPresident Barack Obama in autumnlast year. Obama publicly recognisedthe sustainable combination of visionand administrative delivery that Modioffered. Perhaps there was a hint ofregret as well over past misjudgment,but that is not Obama’s fault; he couldonly assess on the basis of what hewas fed by his institutions. But the pastwas brushed aside with discretion andmaturity as the two leaders discoveredthe excitement of opportunity. This op-
portunity is grounded in objective re-ality. India and America are, at longlast, at a crossroads from where theycan travel together for two formativereasons.First, they are singing fromthe same hymn sheet over the twobookends of the relationship: secu-rity and prosperity. The nature of con-flict has changed. The Cold War,which divided the two nations, hasgiven way to the fourth great war ofthe last hundred years, the war on ter-rorism. Geopolitics made Pakistan apreferred American ally in the ColdWar. But, as the West is finally be-ginning to admit, the war on terror-ism is also being fought beyond con-ventional space. It is the world’s firstgreat-unstructured conflict, outsidethe theories of set battles, uniforms,national objectives or even the famil-iar impulses that drive armies, likethe occupation of ground. What ter-rorists seek as much as territory, ispsychological dominance throughfear. If New York, London, Brussels,Paris and Berlin can be pushed to-wards uncertainty and its dangerousoffshoot hysteria, then a significantpurpose is achieved. When a main-stream, if right-wing, news channellike America’s Fox TV, reports thatnon-Muslims cannot enter a Britishcity like Birmingham, then some ofthe job is done by such nonsense.
India is the natural partner ofAmerica in this conflict, because In-dia has the experience achievedthrough resilience. The more impor-tant reason, however, is ideological.This is also a conflict between regres-
Your good name..!
WE’D bought a small flata few years ago, and decided to give it out on
rent, so I put an ad in the local pa-per and gave my telephone num-ber; I wish I’d given my name also.The phone rang. “Hello!” said thelady, “we are interested in yourflat! What’s your good name?”
I have never thought of myname as anything other than aname given to me by my parentsmost probably under pressure fromtheir parents to name their first son
after both the grandfathers.Had never thought of it as good
or bad for me, but had meekly ac-cepted the rather high sounding titleand according to stories from unclesand aunts had slept through the cer-emony when priest had poured coldwater on my head while giving memy life long label.
“Thank you,” I said. “What?”asked the caller on the other side.“Thank you for calling my namegood!” I said. “Sir you have not givenyour good name yet!” I told her whatit was. “Rabbit? It is a very goodname, like Deer and Lion. We alsocall our children Lion and Tiger!”“Not Rabbit!” I shouted. “You areshouting like Lion, you cannot be
Rabbit?” “I am not Rabbit!” I said,“please don’t call me Rabbit!” “I amsorry sir, what is your second goodname?”
“What do you mean?” I asked,“you want to make fun of that also?”“No, no sir, you are taking offensevery fast, so I can call you by yoursecond good name!” “Do you meanmy surname?” I asked. “You are alord?” “I am not a lord!” I said an-grily. “Then why you insist on sirname?”
I was about to put down thephone when I realized my job was toget a tenant for the flat and not argueabout how I was being called.“Okay,” I said and told her my sur-name. “What?” “Idiot!” I shouted as
the wife walked in. “Who you yell-ing at?” she asked surprised. “You’llscare away people if you talk likethat!” The phone rang again and mywife picked it up.
“Of course,” she said, “you maysee the flat, I’ll show it to you andthen come over and have a cup oftea with us. You’ll find my husbandquite an interesting man!”
“Who’s it?” I asked. “Somelady who wants to see the flat. Saidshe rang up a wrong number and arabbit yelled at her!” I ran out ofthe room before the lady arrived.“What’s the problem?” yelled mywife “My good name’s given me abad name..!” I whispered and left.—Email:[email protected]
US war now our war
9/11 changed the geopolitics ofthe world. The whole focusshifted towards terrorism and
Pakistan was sucked into the GWOT.After occupying Afghanistan, the USand its strategic allies cleverly shiftedthe direction of terrorism towards Pa-kistan under a calculated programme.The war on terror was started by theUS and its allies in Afghanistan inOctober 2001 but was treacherouslyshifted into Pakistan. To start withFATA which was peaceful, was maderestive by forcing Pakistan to breakthe 1948 Agreement with the tribes-men by sending regular troops intoSouth Waziristan. Insurgency wasthen ignited in Balochistan which wasalso peaceful. Nawabs of Bugti,Marri and Mengal tribes readilyagreed to play the foreign game. KPand other parts of Pakistan were sub-sequently made turbulent.
Whereas Pakistan was made anally to fight GWOT in return for mon-etary benefits, in actuality it was atarget. Pakistan was on the hit-list ofIndia, Israel and USA after it had con-ducted nuclear tests in May 1988 toneutralize Indian nuclear belliger-ence. In fact, India considers Paki-stan a thorn in its flesh. Reason of itsundiminished animus is Pakistan’sprincipled stand to maintain goodneighbourly relations based on equal-ity and refusal to accept Indian hege-mony. India also resents Pakistan’sstance on disputed Kashmir, whichit foolishly claims to be its integralpart. Armed freedom movement inoccupied Kashmir since 1989 keepsIndian leaders scared. They keep de-vising Chankyan strategies to main-tain illegal control over occupiedKashmir. They also resort to lies andengineer false flag operations to keepPakistan on the defensive.
Pakistan is burning in the flamesof war on terror since 2003. Fratri-cidal war has claimed 55, 973 humanlives and the numbers of injured runsinto hundreds of thousands. This ap-palling figure of casualties owing toover 5000 bomb blasts, hundreds ofsuicide and terrorist attacks surpassesthe total fatalities suffered in the
1948, 1965 and 1971 wars andlocal conflicts with India.While wars/conflicts with In-dia were of very short duration,this war is being continuouslyfought for over a decade andstill there are no signs of its ter-
mination. It has given birth to morethan 60 terrorist groups and all havemarried up to fight the security forcesand cause harm to Pakistan. The warhas caused Pakistan an economic lossof over $100 billion while the socialtrauma suffered by the people is in-calculable.
On one hand trained and wellequipped terrorists were launched tocreate chaos and fear in Pakistan andalso hit specified targets like GHQ,ISI set ups, PC-3 Orion, AWACs, air-ports, while on the other hand PakArmy was belittled and accused ofbeing either complicit or not doingenough. Pakistan was repeatedly toldby the US to do more and India andAfghanistan joined the chorus. Tomake their coercive tactics more bit-ing, an orchestrated defamation cam-paign was launched by Indo-US-western-Israeli media. Pakistan wasdubbed as nursery of terrorism, mostdangerous place in the world and afailing state. Its nuclear programmewas censured on the plea that it wasvulnerable to fall into wrong handsbecause of lack of security. Idea be-hind multi-pronged bashing was toexhaust Pakistan socially, politically,economically and militarily, make itvulnerable to Indian aggression andforce Islamabad to abandon itsnuclear programme in return for sur-vival. India’s war on terrorism is alsopart of the overall scheme to makePakistan subservient.
Once the stark reality dawnedupon the US leadership in December2010 that ISAF was in no position towin the war and defeat was inevitable,it not only declared its drawdownplan starting July 2011 and ending inDecember 2014, but also establishedsecret contacts with Taliban to arriveat a political settlement and ensuresafe exit. This effort failed becauseof Karzai’s fickleness and US’ lackof sincerity. Pentagon didn’t likeObama’s decision and started sellinga fake story that Taliban had beenpushed on the back foot and soonerthan later the pendulum would swingin ISAF’s favour. To hide its failings,Pakistan was chosen as the scapegoat
and all its failings put in Pakistan’sbasket. It was in this context that in-tense pressure was put on Pakistanto launch a major operation in NorthWaziristan. When Pakistan didn’tcomply, it was punished by undertak-ing false flag operation in Abbottabadin May 2011 and then a revengefulattack on Salala border posts in No-vember that year.
The ISAF comprising militarycontingents from over 40 countrieshanded over the security to 350,000strong Afghan Army and Police,trained and equipped by the US andBritish military trainers, on Decem-ber 28, 2014. Although ‘OperationEndurance’ has come to a humiliat-ing end since it failed to achieve anyof the stated objectives, the US hasannounced launching a fresh opera-tion codenamed ‘Resolute’ from 01January 2015 onwards with the helpof Afghan security forces backed by15000 residual force stationed in 5military bases. This force is likely tostay on till end 2016 in accordancewith Bilateral Security Agreementand in return the US and its allieswould provide $8 billion economic/military assistance annually to bol-ster Ashraf Ghani’s not so stable re-gime and to keep Taliban out ofpower if they refuse to share power.
This step has been taken grudg-ingly in the backdrop of the widescale criticism the US had to face onaccount of abandoning Afghanistanin 1989 in haste after all its objec-tives were achieved by the AfghanMujahideen assisted by Pakistan.Leaving them in a lurch withoutforming a broad based interim gov-ernment and helping in reconstruc-tion of devastated country resulted inbloody internecine war between vari-ous Mujahideen groups in Afghani-stan. It is generally opined that butfor the US blunder, Afghanistan mayhave become a peaceful and prosper-ous country. This great betrayal bredfrustration, resentment, anger andhatred against USA.
Unlike Soviet forces which with-drew under Geneva Accord, ISAFtroops have withdrawn without anagreement and leaving everything ina state of flux. Unlike Pak military’sbrilliant successes against foreignsupported militants in FATA and inBalochistan, the ISAF together withANSF couldn’t achieve single battlevictory against Afghan Taliban de-
M J Akbar
spite two troop surges and huge re-sources. Pakistan, and not ISAF,broke the back of Al-Qaeda by nab-bing 600 of its leaders/operatives.All the societal vices that were doc-tored by Taliban during their fiveyear rule under insalubrious circum-stances have reappeared in a bigway and Afghanistan has becomethe biggest narcotic state in theworld. Despite investing $1.4 tril-lion, Afghanistan continues to grindin poverty and suffer from womendisempowerment, illiteracy, corrup-tion and insecurity. 65% Americansfeel the war was needless.
While the US-NATO has lostthe war, Pak Army under the val-iant leadership of Gen Raheel Sharifhas taken up the gauntlet to root outall manifestations of extremism andterrorism from Pakistan no matterwhat the cost. This resolve has beenexpressed after Peshawar tragedy.He has stated that losing war on ter-ror is not an option. The Army hadremained handicapped because oflack of political will, failure of ci-vilian administration to take oversecured areas, too many flaws ininvestigative and criminal justicesystem to prosecute and convict ter-rorists, ban on hanging, heavilypoliticized police, unproductivedharnas and above all foreign in-terference.
Peshawar tragedy in which 134children were martyred by fiendshas galvanized the whole nation.Moratorium on hanging has beenlifted and few terrorists hanged.Political/religious leaders and thenation stand behind the Army andhave resolved to collectively fightthe menace. Unanimously agreedupon 20-point Action Plan has beendevised and committees formed tomonitor progress. Despite initialreservations, all agreed to amendthe Constitution and set up specialmilitary courts for 2 years to ensurespeedy justice. These are need ofthe nation and not that of Army.Happily, Kabul has come on boardand is willing to fully cooperate infighting terrorism. China has agreedto take active part in bringing peacein Afghanistan and the US has fi-nally acknowledged the importanceof Pakistan and is cooperating.— The writer is retired Brig,defence analyst/columnist,Director Measac Research Centre.
sion and modernity, between thosewho champion in faith supremacyand ethnic cleansing of minoritiesand sectarian enemies; and nationswho believe in faith-equality, inmulti-cultural and multi-ethnic com-munities loyal to a national flag thatbelongs to every citizen. India’sConstitution, based on democracy,secularism, gender equality and eco-nomic equity, is the model for na-tions lost in swamp of dynasty ordictatorship or theocracy.
India has, under Narendra Modi,achieved remarkable clarity aboutwhere it stands today and where itwants to reach tomorrow. Its greatchallenge, articulated with passionby the prime minister, is the elimi-nation of extreme poverty within aforeseeable future, through eco-nomic growth that reaches the poor,not by the pernicious limitations ofthe trickle-down theory, advocatedby the previous Congress govern-ment, but by a trickle-up theory inwhich swift financial empowermentof the poor is matched by the avail-ability of goods manufactured in In-dia. Economic growth must be aboutthe quality of life for the poor. Thatis the rising tide that will propel In-dia to the foremost ranks of the 21stcentury; the rest is hot air. PresidentObama has recognised this renewalof India’s promise and, through thepower of his personal conviction andthe huge influence of his office, isleading the world towards this In-dia. In Delhi he has the perfecthost.—Khaleej Times
Mexico and France followed by oth-ers. The collapse of communist eco-nomic structure in Eastern Europeand even in former Soviet Uniontempered the momentum over theperiod of ten years between 1984 and1994; and there has been a world-wide shift of $468 billion in assetsfrom the public sector to the privatesector. In the Sub-continent, the con-cept arrived in the late 1980s. Thedisinvestment of national assets wasvigorously pursued by military andcivil governments alike in Pakistan.The governments decided to sellthese industries to private sector.While in the 1970s the governmentnationalized the key industries toavoid concentration of wealth in fewhands and transferred it to generalpublic. It was successful to some ex-tent. But later with the change in re-gime in country, turned table of eco-nomic policies, upside down. Thelaws effecting nationalization wererepealed. In 1991 the government ofNawaz Sharif took aggressive poli-cies and approved privatization of118 industrial units that included 45nationalized units too.—Via email
Holistic approachto fight terror
JAVAID BASHIR
The government needs to make in-digenous policies to tackle pressingissues. NECTA must be supported byall the political parties. The actionplan has been approved by all thepolitical parties in the greater nationalinterest. Same way we must build theconsensus on other issues too. Wecan solve all our crises with unity andco-operation among all interestgroups. Human Rights activistsshould also act responsibly too. Theexecution of death penalty of terror-ists is essential to curb terrorism. Howcan we allow these militants and ex-tremists to kill our innocent children.
Military Courts should be formedwithout fail to decide the cases ofthese terrorists involved in heinouscrimes. No one should be allowed tomess up with the action plan. Ban ondeath penalty is no longer valid; theexecutions must remain in force, de-spite the protestation of external andinternal forces. The contradiction isapparent in their different stances re-garding enforcement of execution ofdeath penalty in case of honour kill-ings and other murders.
We can not accommodate thedesires of these watch dogs and in-terest groups. National consensusmust be built to make decisions onvital issues. Media and religiousscholars should play their role in aresponsible manner. We can not dis-credit our Armed forces and war onterrorism. PEMRA the regulatoryauthority must act fairly and effec-tively; co-operation must be soughtfrom the media. The rogue elementsand media houses violating the laws,rules and regulation be banned.—Via email
Banning JuDin Pakistan
JAVAID BASHIR
The American spokeswoman hasstated that American Administrationhas no confirmation about the ban onJamaat ud Daawa or its leader HafizSaeed. India has been demanding theban on JuD after the Mumbai attacks.President Obama is presently visit-ing India on official tour, and Indiahas raised the pitch of its rhetoricagainst Pakistan. American Admin-istration has been more sympatheticto Indian stance. NATO Forces havepulled out of Afghanistan, and Indiahas stepped up its efforts to take con-trol there. It is creating trouble for usby Indian interfering there to estab-lish its hegemony in this region.
Its nefarious designs are knownto our government. It must remainvigilant and alert about the new de-
velopments in the South Asian Re-gion. We can not afford to take heatfrom India. India has stalled the bi-lateral talks on vague excuses. It mustresolve all the outstanding disputeswith Pakistan in the interest of re-gional peace and prosperity.
Banning any outfit or declaringit terrorist group is Pakistan’s inter-nal policy matter. Jamaat ud Daawais a religious and social welfare or-ganization that is actively helping andassisting people in distress. There isnothing against it to ban it. India orany other State should stop pokingtheir noses into our affairs. We wantto live peacefully with all ourneighbours, and others should recip-rocate in the same spirit.—Via email
Obama’sIndia visit
ASIM IQBAL
US President Barack Obama and In-dian Premier Modi, addressing a jointpress conference at Delhi, announceda deal for the implementation of civilnuclear agreement between the twocountries. This breakthrough cameafter the withdrawal of US conditionsand now American watchdogs willnot keep an eye on the use of ura-nium which will be provided to In-dia under the agreement. It meansIndia will have full liberty. In the ab-sence of any checks, the possibilitiesof misuse of the nuclear material can-not be ruled out because now it de-pends only on India whether the ura-nium, which will be provided for civilpurposes, is used as fuel in power re-actors to generate electricity or not.There is a fear that in the absence ofmonitoring system, India may use thismaterial for making missiles. If thishappen a missile race will start in theregion that will badly affect the eco-nomic growth in the region. Besidesthis deal, both countries decided tojointly produce military hardwareincluding advanced drones and USwould supply modern and sophisti-cated weapons to Indian army.
During the press conferenceBarack Obama backed India for per-manent membership of the UN Se-curity Council. By announcing thisAmerica put all its weight on Indianside ignoring the Pakistan’s concernsin this regard. It is a matter of factthat if India becomes a permanentmember of UN Security Council thesolution of Kashmir issue will be outof question and millions of Kashmiriwill be deprived of their basic rightof self-determination.
Some analysts have the opinionthat US-India cooperation is againstChinese influence in the region andUS is backing India to counter theChina’s assertiveness in Asia. Yes,according to the economic point ofview this analysis is absolutely cor-rect because China has replaced USin many Asian markets and US wantsto stop its economic advancement. Toachieve this goal an unannounced al-liance of US, Australia, Japan andIndia has been formed and relation-ship between these countries arestronger than ever. But the militarycooperation between our neighbourand America is totally harmful forPakistan’s security. It is an open se-cret that the weapons of mass destruc-tion those will be supplied to Indianarmy will be used against Pakistan,not China.—Rawalpindi
Nine Ukrainian soldiers killed in ‘tense’ eastern conflict.
RUDRA CHAUDHURI
PRESIDENT Obama’s attendance on thisJanuary 26 is as important from the perspective of furthering bilateral ties, as it
is to show the world that India is ready to playa central role well beyond its borders
“There is a peculiar appropriateness aboutthis January 26 for this day links up the pastwith the present and this present is seen to growout of that past.” This was the central argu-ment in Jawaharlal Nehru’s message to thenation prior to the inauguration of the Repub-lic in 1950. That the day itself was of “greatsignificance” is hardly contestable. It demon-strated the “fulfilment to a dream,” as Nehruput it. It was to communicate an achievementaccomplished by no other nation in the mod-ern world. History, as Nehru argued, was fullof examples of the “chaos giving birth to thedancing star of freedom.” India was an excep-tion. On the whole, the great change that ush-ered Independence had “taken place by agree-ment.” This is perhaps the single most impor-tant fact that connects India and the UnitedStates. This was as true in 1947 as it is today.It was not just that India won her independencefrom colonialism, but that she did so minusviolent rebellion. Similarly, it’s not just thatIndia is the largest democracy in the world thatattracts American entrepreneurs and politicalleaders today, but that it is a democracy ableto absorb huge amounts of variance and re-main largely steady.
Opportunities created by history: The in-vitation to President Barack Obama to be thechief guest at the 66th Republic Day is both areflection of something bold and at the same
Beyond the immediate presenttime unsurprising, when understood in histori-cal context. Bold because concerns about per-ception and the bogeyman of empire matterlittle to a Prime Minister more interested inthe future than in history. Unsurprising becausemuch like Nehru’s message in 1950, the rela-tionship between India and the U.S. too is anexample of how the present has in fact grownout of the past. Most commentators have pre-ferred to look at the opportunity of today.Nuclear agreements, defence contracts andexport control laws absorb the headlines andfor good reason.
At the same time, there is a historicity thathas been lost in debating the immediate. Moreobvious explanations such as the change inleadership in India and a general transforma-tion in the mood of the country appear to ex-plain Mr. Obama’s special visit. In fact, theclose relations in the present are but the pal-pable outcome of almost 70 years of crises,understanding, and dialogue. That Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi has been able to capital-ise on opportunities created by history is a feat.But this history is worth remembering as welook to celebrate our Republic and better un-derstand why the U.S. President’s attendanceon this January 26 is less shocking than other-wise suggested.
“The close relations between India and theU.S. are the outcome of almost decades of cri-ses, understanding and dialogue.”
Funny People: This is how President DwightEisenhower once described Indians. The chief ofArmy Staff turned President could not bring him-self to “trust” India. They were, after all, led, ac-cording to him, by a “personality of unusual con-tradictions.” Nehru’s India remained paradoxi-
cal to an entire generation of American Presi-dents, businessmen, and even journalists. Indiawas a democracy but believed in giving thePeople’s Republic of China a place in the UnitedNations Security Council. It accepted militaryassistance from the U.S. during the war withChina without once saying thank you. When agroup of American and British military officialsand diplomats arrived in New Delhi to meet thePrime Minister in the third week of November1962, Nehru, as one American in the group rec-ollected, was “withdrawn.” The snub aside, Presi-dent Kennedy was found more understanding.Curiously, he accepted that America was wrongto expect a gracious nation: India was simply tooself aware as a new born democracy to cede anyspace — even if only by way of rhetoric — thatrisked jeopardising the freedom it fought so hardto win. Whether it is Kennedy, his successorLyndon Johnson, or Richard Nixon after, Ameri-can leaders well understood that India could notbe pushed around.
The change: This was a period of learning.Indians were no longer funny in the senseEisenhower once quipped. The paradoxes slowlycame to be accepted as fact: India would bemoved by her own interests. Of the 12 U.S. Presi-dents who have dealt with India since 1947, Nixongratingly internalised this the quickest. DuringIndira Gandhi’s visit to the U.S. in 1971, Nixoninvested in silly ploys to put both her and India inits place. He kept her waiting for 45 minutes todemonstrate “a kind of one-upmanship”, as anaide later wrote. That he intently disliked Mrs.Gandhi was clear. After all, whilst Nixon workedwith Pakistan to break the ice with China, Indiawould not let him ignore the atrocities commit-ted in and around Dacca. Interestingly, follow-
ing the 1971 war, Henry Kissinger was quick toadmit that the White House backed the “wronghorse on the subcontinent.”
Mrs. Gandhi too realised that it was impera-tive to “seek new ties” and cut “across old rigidi-ties.” Whether it was her or Rajiv Gandhi, therelationship was found changing well before thecollapse of the Soviet Union. The end of the ColdWar merely provided the space for somethingstructural to allow a period of engagement to whatwas already acceptable to Indian leaders andpopulations alike. Such change was premised onan understanding that the dancing stars of democ-racy that survived the Cold War left nothing tochance. Unlike the U.S’s relationship with Franceor Britain, there was a rough edge to an advancewith India where disagreement and come-backincrementally invested in strategic resilience.Such resilience is what has allowed Mr. Modi toenvisage a future with America, despite disagree-ments over a whole range of issues whether atthe World Trade Organization or to do with in-surance liabilities.
Unlocking the potential: ‘Chalein SaathSaath’. This is of course the professed joint vi-sion shared by both Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama.Such agreed rhetoric was unthinkable at the timeof Nixon and Gandhi or Nehru and Kennedy.After all, the first four decades following Inde-pendence was about investing in what might beconsidered a mutual fund, the dividends of whichfacilitated the transformational changes witnessedbetween the late 1990s till 2014.
—Courtesy: World Affairs[Dr. Rudra Chaudhuri is Senior Lecturer,King’s College London and author of Forgedin Crisis: India and the United States Since1947]
ALEXANDER GOLTS
AGAINST the backdrop of renewed hostilities in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, the Russian publicpaid little attention to the recent visit that Defense Minis-
ter Sergei Shoigu made to Iran.In practical terms, there was nothing sensational about it.
Moscow only hinted at the possibility of renewing a contract forthe sale of S-300 air defense systems to Tehran, although thatquestion was never officially discussed. Officials also signedmundane agreements for military cooperation that probably in-volve such symbolic gestures as mutual visits by delegations,naval vessels to each other’s ports and the like.
However, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan madean announcement following talks with Shoigu that carried muchgreater importance. “Emphasis was placed on the need for coop-eration between Russia and Iran in the joint struggle against in-terference by non-regional forces in regional affairs,” he said.
Dehghan made no effort to hide the identity of that “non-regional” force. According to Dehghan, all problems are the re-sult of the “destructive U.S. policy of interfering in the internalaffairs of other countries.” Whether or not Shoigu had wantedthat outcome, his visit allowed the Iranians to actually declareRussia an ally in opposing the United States. In my memory, thisis the first time when a rogue state openly referred to Russia asan ally, and Moscow did not disavow it. Thus, the events inUkraine have brought to its logical conclusion a process thatfirst began 15 years ago.
That was when Russia insisted that its role in the internationalarena was to represent the “civilized world” in its dealings with the so-called “rogue states” of Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan — stateswhose actions threatened to destroy the existing world order. Moscowhad inherited extensive contacts with such countries from the SovietUnion, itself having proved willing to support any state — from com-munists to cannibals — that was willing to follow the socialist path.That approach failed right from the start. Former North Korean leaderKim Jong Il seemingly promised President Vladimir Putin that hewould stop conducting missile tests, and no sooner had Putin announcedhis great diplomatic victory than the North Korean dictator announcedhe had simply been joking. The leaders of rogue states might be manythings, but they are not fools.
They know that if the time comes to surrender their position, theyshould do so to a country that can immediately reward them for theiractions. In other words, they should make concessions to Washingtonor Brussels, but not to Moscow. Over time, Russia has come less torepresent the civilized states to the rogue states, and more to defendthe rogue states and their interests before the civilized states. The finalstep in that metamorphosis occurred during Shoigu’s recent visit toTehran. Now Russia has finally moved firmly into the rogue camp.
I would even hazard to say that, having annexed Crimea and un-leashed war in southern and eastern Ukraine, Russia now meets all thecriteria of a rogue state. This is foremost due the presence of a nationaldogma, for the sake of which leaders will deliberately sacrifice theircitizens’ interests. In Iran, that dogma is radical and fundamentalistIslam. In North Korea, it is the “Juche” cult of Oriental despotism. Intoday’s Russia, it is the connection between imperialism and RussianOrthodoxy, the idea that Moscow can justify using its military to an-nex part of a neighboring state because Prince Vladimir allegedlyreceived baptism at the Crimean Chersonesos when he brought Or-thodoxy to that part of the world.
The main thing is that the Russian leader — like the Iranian Aya-tollah and the North Korean dictator — is prepared to easily sacrificehis citizens’ well-being for the sake of some vaguely defined “na-tional interests” that are nothing but a mixture of national pride andthe leader’s own inferiority complex. Today, people are getting killedin the Donbass for the sake of that combustible mixture. Talks be-tween Russia, Germany and France took place in Normandy last Juneduring the commemoration of the opening of the “second front” inWorld War II. During that meeting, the European leaders had to prac-tically force Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.It seems to me that the very format of those talks was a concession toPutin’s understanding of how world politics are structured.
—Courtesy: Moscow Times[Alexander Golts is deputy editor of the online newspaperYezhednevny Zhurnal].
Russia Is TurningInto a Rogue State ?
LUIS ALBERTO MORENO
DAVOS At a time of lackluster global economic growth,developing countries are dusting off some old strategies– particularly the use of industrial policy to drive the de-
velopment of particular sectors and turn them into engines ofgrowth and employment. But the history of such policies, par-ticularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, is filled with fail-ure and cautionary tales.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many Latin American and Caribbeancountries embraced industrial policy enthusiastically. By substitutingimports with domestic production, relying on government planning totarget priority sectors, and implementing selective trade protection(for example, by imposing tariffs, quotas, and import licensing), theyattempted to accelerate their transitions from raw-materials suppliersto manufacturing-based economies.
While East Asian countries like South Korea used such policiesto enable selected industries to compete on a global scale, Latin Ameri-can and Caribbean countries rarely got it right. Despite some notablesuccesses, such as the aircraft manufacturer Embraer in Brazil andsalmon farming in Chile, governments largely picked losers – notleast because political pressure, not firms’ competitive potential, drovethe selection process. In the 1980s and 1990s, Latin America aban-doned such policies in favor of a more cautious approach. Rather thanbacking individual sectors, some countries promoted innovation withacross-the-board subsidies and tax breaks, while opening their econo-mies to foreign competition and embracing market-oriented reforms.But these changes, though necessary, were insufficient to deliver growthin productivity and output.
Almost two decades later, with Latin American governmentsagain exploring the potential of activist industrial policy, avoidingthe mistakes of the past will require a thorough understanding ofwhy previous attempts failed – and a concrete strategy to guidefuture efforts. A recent report by the Inter-American DevelopmentBank (of which I am President) does precisely that. Beyond as-sessing what went wrong previously, the report identifies threefundamental questions that policymakers in any emerging economyshould answer before pursuing industrial policy: Is there a clearmarket failure that justifies government intervention? Will the pro-posed policy be effective in remedying the market failure? Doesthe country have the institutions necessary to execute the policy?
Consider sectoral policies in Costa Rica and Argentina. In CostaRica, the rice industry took the traditional route of lobbying forprotection. Though there was no market failure to remedy, thegovernment obliged, introducing high import tariffs and subsidiesfor powerful local growers; as a result, productivity declined. Bycontrast, farmers in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos requestedthat the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) rampup research into new rice varieties, even agreeing to pay a tax toaugment INTA’s research budget (thereby overcoming what econo-mists call private-sector coordination problems). When a new ricevariety was introduced, productivity soared.
Unsurprisingly, the intervention in Argentina passed all threetests: the market suffered a coordination failure that was addressedeffectively through public policy carried out by appropriate insti-tutions.
—Courtesy: The New Times, Rawanda[The author is President of the Inter-American DevelopmentBank]
Getting industrialpolicy right
ATHENS—Economics professor YanisVaroufakis confirmed he would becomeGreece’s next finance minister on Tuesday,promising to defy advice to “put up or shut up”and find solutions that favour all Europeansrather than just Greeks. After two years of wait-ing in the wings, Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprasand his Syriza party stormed to power inSunday’s snap election on a wave of angeragainst German-backed austerity that has drivenup poverty and pushed unemployment over 25percent.
Appointing Varoufakis to the key financeportolio signals Tsipras’s intent to adopt ahardline against EU/IMF negotiators financingthe country and roll back four years of tougheconomic policies.
Varoufakis is expected to be formally ap-pointed when Tsipras unveils his cabinet lateron Tuesday. His administration is expected tobe smaller and more centralized than in the past,with several ministries merged. “The time to put
Anti-austerity economist becomingGreece finance minister
up or shut up has, I have been told, arrived. Myplan is to defy such advice,” Varoufakis wroteon his blog. “To continue blogging here eventhough it is normally considered irresponsiblefor a Finance Minister to indulge in such crassforms of communication.”
A longtime critic of Europe’s handling ofthe euro zone crisis, Varoufakis has railed againstthe bailouts of struggling euro zone states as“fiscal waterboarding” that risked convertingEurope into a “Victorian workhouse”.[ID:nL6N0V53P1] In interviews last week,Varoufakis said the new cabinet would quicklyget to work implementing campaign pledges toend what Syriza calls a “humanitarian crisis”unfolding in Greece, fight corruption and bu-reaucracy.
A Syriza-led government would immedi-ately submit a series of bills to fight a “triangleof corruption” between media, banks, builders,state suppliers, he told the Ta Nea newspaper.But speaking to Irish radio on Tuesday,
Varoufakis also said he planned to negotiate asolution with lenders, saying he had already hadan “encouraging and inspiring” chat with thehead of the euro zone finance ministers, JeroenDijsselbloem.
“Make no mistake: what is beginning todayis a process of deliberation with our Europeanpartners,” he said. “As the next finance minis-ter, I can assure you that I shall not go into theEurogroup seeking a solution that is good forthe Greek taxpayer and bad for the Irish, Slo-vak, German, French and Italian taxpayer.”
In a sign of the challenges ahead forTsipras’s fledgling government, Moody’s ratingsagency warned that the uncertainty created bySyriza’s victory was negative for the country’scredit rating. [ID:nL9N0NY01Y] Critics say itwill be difficult for Tsipras to satisfy campaignpledges without depleting the state’s cash cof-fers. Greece is due to receive over 7 billion eu-ros in aid but that looks uncertain after Tsipras’svictory.
The new prime minister is also under pres-sure to quickly raise the minimum wage backto 751 euros as promised during the campaign,as well as give free electricity and food stampsto the poor and restore a Christmas bonus forpoor pensioners.
Tsipras, a former student Communist, hasalso pledged to freeze public sector layoffs asdemanded under the country’s 240-billion-eurobailout, and stop an unpopular evaluation pro-cess for civil servants.
The cabinet is also expected to include theleader of his junior coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks party. PanosKammenos is expected to take the defence port-folio.
Longtime Syriza veteran and economistYannis Dragasakis - who in the run-up to thevote demanded an investigation into how thecountry was forced into a bailout - is expectedto become deputy prime minister overseeingministries related to the economy.—Reuters
TOKYO—Japan has vowed towork with Jordan to secure therelease of a Japanese journal-ist held by Islamic State mili-tants after the killing last weekof another Japanese captive,but it reiterated that it wouldnot give in to terrorism.
The hostage crisis has be-come a test for Prime MinisterShinzo Abe, who took powerin 2012 pledging to bolsterJapan’s global security role.
Abe on Sunday condemnedthe killing of Japanese citizenHaruna Yukawa by the militantsas “outrageous” and called for therelease of veteran correspondentKenji Goto, captured by IslamicState militants in Syria.
“We would like to work to-gether with the Jordanian govern-ment to secure the release ofGoto,” Yasuhide Nakayama, stateminister for foreign affairs, toldreporters in Jordan late on Mon-day. Nakayama was sent to Jor-dan last week to deal with the cri-sis. The militants have dropped aransom demand. They now saythey will free Goto in exchangefor the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, a convicted Iraqi sui-cide-bomber, from prison in Jor-
Japan working withJordan for hostage release
dan. The hardline militants cap-tured a Jordanian pilot after hisplane crashed during U.S.-ledcoalition bombing in eastern Syriain December and Nakayama saidhe hoped Japan and Jordan couldwork together for his release too.
“The release of this pilot assoon a possible is also an issuefor us Japanese,” Nakayama said.“Both our nations have to worktogether to ensure that both thepilot and the Japanese hostagereturn to their respective homeswith smiles on their faces.”
Media has reported that themilitants were demanding therelease of another death-rowconvict, raising speculationabout multiple swaps involvingGoto and the Jordanian pilot.Jordan’s King Abdullah wasquoted as telling a Jordaniannewspaper that the case of thepilot, First Lieutenant Muath alKasaesbeh, “tops the country’spriority”.
In Tokyo, Abe told parlia-ment on Tuesday that Japanwould do its utmost to save Goto.“The horrible act of terrorism byISIL is outrageous and we reso-lutely condemn it,” Abe said, re-ferring to the militants.—Reuters
KIEV—Nine Ukrainian servicemen havebeen killed in fighting Russian-backedseparatists in the past 24 hours, the Kievmilitary said on Tuesday, as rebels foughtto encircle a key town straddling transportroutes between their two strongholds. Vio-lence in eastern Ukraine is at by far itsworst since a ceasefire was agreed lastSeptember and Ukraine and the West ac-cuse Russia of openly supporting the lat-est rebel advance with money, arms andtroops on the ground.
Military spokesman VladislavSeleznyov said 29 servicemen had beenwounded in addition to those killed, add-ing that fighting was the most intense nearthe strategic town of Debaltseve, north-east of rebel-held Donetsk. “The situationremains tense. In the past 24 hours illegalarmed groups carried out 120 attacks ongovernment positions,” he said in a tele-vised briefing.
In Kiev, parliament was due to meet
Kiev claims killing9 Ukrainian soldiers
for an emergency session to vote on a state-ment that would call Russia an aggressor-state, lawmakers said. It was not immedi-ately clear what implications such a dec-laration would have beyond its symbol-ism. U.S. Ambassador to the United Na-tions Samantha Power said on Mondaydeadly attacks on the port city of Mariupolon the weekend show that Moscow’s ob-jective is to increase the Ukrainian terri-tory it controls.
Separatist Donetsk and Luhansk re-gions, known as the Donbass, togetheraccount for around 9 percent of Ukrainianterritory, excluding the peninsula ofCrimea, seized by Russia from Kiev lastMarch. Rebels control less than half of thisarea, but have made its two largest citiesthe capitals of their self-styled ‘People’sRepublics.’
After months during which the trucewas punctured by small-scale skir-mishes on the front line, rebels said last
week they were left with no choice butto launch an advance. Their main aim,they say, is to push back governmentforces that had been shelling rebel-heldcities. The Kiev government sees therebel advance as a repudiation of theceasefire, restarting a war in which5,000 people have died. Kiev andNATO believe thousands of Russiantroops are in eastern Ukraine fightingfor the rebels with advanced weapons,despite Moscow’s denials.
The rebels have vowed to encircleDebaltseve, a town with a pre-conflictpopulation of around 46,000 thatstraddles key transport routes betweenthe two separatist strongholds. So longas it is under the control of Kiev troops,it weakens the separatists’ frontline asit forms a “tongue”, extending intorebel-controlled territory, separatistdeputy commander Eduard Basurin toldReuters.—Reuters
BEIRUT—At least two rocketsfrom Syria hit the Israeli-occupiedGolan Heights on Tuesday andIsrael returned fire, the militarysaid, nine days after an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed an Iraniangeneral and several LebaneseHezbollah guerrillas.
An Israeli military spokes-man said the army “respondedwith artillery towards the positionsthat launched the attack” and thatit ordered the evacuation ofIsrael’s Mt. Hermon ski resort onthe Golan Heights after the rock-ets struck. There was no immedi-ate claim of responsibility or anyreport of casualties. “It does notseem that it was errant fire,” Lieu-tenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, anIsraeli army spokesman, toldReuters. In the Israeli air strike ona Hezbollah convoy near theGolan Heights on Jan 18, an Ira-nian Revolutionary Guard gen-eral, Mohammed Allahdadi, was
Two Syrian rocketsstrike Israeli-held Golan
killed along with a Hezbollahcommander and the son of thegroup’s late military leader, ImadMoughniyeh. Both Hezbollah,which is backed by Iran andfought a 34-day war with Israelin 2006, and the RevolutionaryGuards vowed to avenge thedeaths. Since the air strike, troopsand civilians in northern Israel andthe Golan Heights have been onheightened alert and Israel hasdeployed an Iron Dome rocketinterceptor unit near the Syrianborder. Israel captured the Golanfrom Syria in the 1967 MiddleEast war. Mortar shells and rock-ets have struck the heights numer-ous times during Syria’s nearlyfour-year-old civil war. Israel hassaid some of those incidents de-liberately targeted its soldierswhile others were spillover fromfighting between rebels and forcesloyal to Syrian President Basharal-Assad.—Reuters
Of the three attackers, onlyone appeared to have pledgedallegiance to the Islamic State,but the group endorsed the kill-ings in the message.
It also made reference toattacks last year in Australia,Canada and Belgium.
Western intelligence agen-cies have regularly raised thealarm about the possibility thatWestern sympathisers of IS andother jihadist groups couldcarry out attacks in the West.
Their concerns have beenheightened by the thousands ofWestern recruits who haveflocked to Syria and Iraq tofight alongside jihadistgroups.—AFP
IS urges newattacksFrom Page 1
power line from the nationalgrid, forcing Jamshoro and BinQasim power stations to shutdown. The country was plungedinto darkness after a key powertransmission line broke downearly on Sunday in an incidentbeing initially blamed on a rebelattack, the latest reminder of thecountry’s crippling energy cri-sis.—Online
ElectricityFrom Page 1
One more PakistanFrom Page 1
Middle East.CIA Director John Brennan and Gen. Lloyd
Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command,which overseas military activity in the MiddleEast, were also taking part in Tuesday’s meet-ings with the Saudis.
“It meets the threshold of being bipartisan,high-level and people who worked very closelywith Saudi Arabia over many years,” said BenRhodes, Obama’s deputy national security ad-viser.
Despite vast differences of opinions on manyissues, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have workedin close coordination to address evolving secu-rity concerns in the tumultuous region. Most re-cently, Saudi Arabia became one of a handful ofArab nations that have joined the U.S. in launch-ing airstrikes against the Islamic State group inIraq and Syria.
Obama acknowledged that the U.S. willing-ness to pursue close ties with Saudi Arabia de-spite human rights abuses often makes
Obama defendsFrom Page 1
“In precise strikes this afternoon, 53 terroristsincluding foreigners killed ahead of Datta KhelTehsil of North Waziristan Agency. Six terror-ists hide outs, an ammunition dump and sevenexplosive laden vehicles were also destroyed inthe strikes.
Another precise strike in Datta Khel areaNWA in the evening killed another 23 terroriststhus taking the tally of those killed in NorthWaziristan strikes on Tuesday to 76”. Sixteen ter-rorists were killed in bombings in remote Tiraahvalley of Khyber agency as the PAF jets resumedstrikes in the region on Tuesday. Besides numberof militant’s hideouts were also destroyed in themorning action. The Pakistan Air force jets hadkilled 8 militants when they pounded miscreant’spositions Monday night in the same area in vola-tile Khyber agency where Operation Khyber 1,the second leg of Zarb-e-Azb is in progress.
It may be recalled that the security forcesthat have been conducting operations titled Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan agency for the last
Fresh blitz kill 92 terroristsFrom Page 1
at the current levels.The market volume re-
mained impressive as 340.27million shares traded in today’ssession while Maple Leaf Ce-ment was the volume leaderwith over 38 million sharestraded in this scrip. The othertwo stocks including K Elec-tric and the Bank of Punjabwere the second and third vol-ume leaders 28 million and21million shares respectively.
KSE-100From Page 1
sanitisation operations by Af-ghan National Army in areasbordering Mohmand andBajaur, Gen Raheel expressedthe hope that such measureswould check cross-border ter-rorism related incidents.
Appreciating the tribal breth-ren for playing a significant rolein expelling terrorists from theirarea, General Raheel reiterated“We will never abandon theseareas without fully restoringthem to functional normalcy”.
Raheel saysFrom Page 1
America’s allies uncomfortable. “The trend-lineis one that I will sustain throughout the rest ofmy presidency,” Obama said, “and that is tomake the case to our friends and allies that ifthey want a society that is able to sustain itselfin this day and age, then they’re going to haveto change how they do business.”
Salman is a veteran of the country’s topleadership and well-versed in diplomacy fromnearly 50 years as the governor of the capitalRiyadh.
He is known as a mediator of disputeswithin the sprawling royal family who increas-ingly took on the duties of the king as the ail-ing Abdullah became more incapacitated. Sev-eral regional leaders travelled to Saudi Arabiato attend Abdullah’s Muslim-only funeral Fri-day.
Since then, a string of Western leaders andtop dignitaries have announced plans to travelto the kingdom to pay their respects and meetthe newly enthroned king.—AP
more than seven months and Operation Khyberin the restive Khyber agency since October 2014,had paced up their action against the troublemakers after the deadly terrorists attack on ArmyPublic School on December 16 that resulted inmartyrdom of over 150 people including 135innocent school kids.
The security forces in ground and aerialoffensives have by now mowed down more than250 alleged terrorists in Khyber agency and over1300 North Waziristan agencies.
The Pak Army lead security forces have seizedscores of bomb and other explosives manufacturingfactories of the terrorists in various parts of theagencies during this period as they successfullycontinued their advancements against the troublemakers. The military sources said a majority ofthe troubled areas have been purged of the militants.
Besides the security forces apprehendedscores of suspects and large number of otherssurrendered before the forces pledging to honourthe state writ.
death this year in thekingdom.
Four have been executedsince King Salman took officelast Friday after the death of hispredecessor Abdullah.UnderAbdullah, the number ofexecutions jumped from 27 in2010 to around 80 annually,with 87 last year.—INP
Teachers get gun trainingFrom Page 1
teachers to carry firearms,”Ghani said. Authorities begantraining teachers in how to useguns last week and the latestbatch of lady trainees startedlearning the ropes on Tuesday.
“It’s a two-day course. Weare training them on gun han-dling and also on (the) proce-dure of using it,” saidMohammad Latif, a trainer atpolice headquarters in
Peshawar. Security has al-ready been strengthened forschools across the country, in-cluding by building elevatedboundary walls with steel wirefencing and increasing thenumber of police. Privateschools have been ordered todeploy extra security guards.
Malik Khalid Khan, thepresident of the Private SchoolsTeachers Association, opposed
the move to arm teachers. “Howis it possible to teach studentsin a class… holding a gun in onehand and a pen in another?”Khan said. “It’s not our job,our job is to teach them books.A teacher holding a gun in theclass will have very negativeaffect on his students,” Khansaid, adding that the governmentshould hire more police if theyare short of numbers.
In parting shotFrom Page 1
He made no direct referenceto Modi, who was banned fromUS travel for nearly a decadeuntil last year after deadlyHindu-Muslim violence in astate he ruled in 2002.
Lately, religious conversionhas again become a divisive po-litical issue, after hardliners withlinks to the BJP claimed Hindu-ism was under threat and starteda campaign to convince Chris-tians and Muslims to change theirfaith.About a fifth of India’s 1.27billion people identify them-selves as belonging to faiths otherthan Hinduism.“The message isthat India is a democratic coun-try, it is not a Hindu country or aChristian country, it is all together,India has respect for all religions,”said Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, aMuslim priest who heads the AllIndia Imam Organisation, afterthe speech. He was standing witha Hindu holy man from one ofIndia’s pilgrimage towns,Rishikesh.“Here’s the truth: evenif countries like the United Statescurb our emissions, if growingcountries like India — with soar-ing energy needs — don’t alsoembrace cleaner fuels, then wedon’t stand a chance against cli-mate change,” Obama said.—Reuters
Indo-US nuclear dealFrom Page 1
stan would continue to main-tain its constructive engage-ment with NSG and other ex-port control regimes to build itscase for membership.
Sartaj Aziz said coopera-tive and collective actions byall member states are requiredto effectively tackle the globalthreat of terrorism. Pakistan isa leading partner of the inter-national community in counter-terrorism. It also expects the
same commitment from others.He said Pakistan is also the
biggest victim of terrorism, in-cluding that sponsored and sup-ported from abroad. Pakistan’scontribution and sacrifices inthe fight against terrorism havebeen widely acknowledged.
Pakistan rejects any insinu-ation or aspersion over its com-mitment to fight terrorism.Condemnation of terrorism inall its forms and manifestations
should not be based on selec-tivity or double standards. Pa-kistan reiterates its call on In-dia to bring the planners andperpetrators of the February2007 Samjhota Express terror-ist attack to justice.
The Advisor said Pakistanvalues its relations with theUnited States and expects it toplay a constructive role for stra-tegic stability and balance inSouth Asia.
LAHORE: Activists of All Pakistan Clerks Association protesting against printing of satirical sketches by a Frenchmagazine, at Mall Road.
Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar is sitting on the stage at Lahore Museum during a ceremony to award Quaid-i-Azam Gold Medal.
National action plan tobe strictly implemented
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Provincial Minis-ter for Home Col. (R) ShujaKhanzada has said that Na-tional Action Plan for the elimi-nation of terrorism should bestrictly implemented and indis-criminate action should betaken against terrorists irre-spective of any consideration ofsect and social status for restor-ing peace in the country. Hesaid that zero tolerance policyshould be adopted for this pur-pose.
He was presiding over ameeting of senior police offic-ers at Civil Secretariat, hereTuesday. The Minister said thatApex committees headed byChief Ministers of the prov-
inces and comprising corpscommanders, heads of Rang-ers, sensitive institutions andsenior officers of police areplanning and monitoring theoperation against terrorists.
He said that the country isfacing extraordinary situationand all security agencies havebeen put on high alert whileoperation against terrorists iscontinuing.
Col. (R) Shuja Khanzadastressed the need for checkingsecurity arrangements made byeducational institutions ondaily basis. He said it has beendecided that police force willplay the role of frontline forceagainst terrorists and realizingthe importance of raising themorale of police, Chief Minis-
ter Punjab has increased theamount of compensation forthe martyred police officials.He said that an amount of onecrore rupees will be given toheirs of police officials whowill sacrifice their lives in theline of duty.
He said that police officialsof grade-1 to 7 will be given 7-marla house, Grade-8 to 15 10-marla house, Grade 16 to 17one kanal house while Grade18 and above two kanal house.Similarly, he said that childrenof the martyrs will be given freeeducation upto university level.Meanwhile, widow and chil-dren of martyrs will be re-cruited in police in accordancewith their educational qualifi-cation, he added.
All resources beingused to provide better
health facilitiesSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Provincial Ministerfor Excise & Taxation, Law andFinance, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said that govern-ment is using all available re-sources for providing betterhealthcare facilities to the peopleespecially mother & child in theprovince and the priority areasof the targets are rural folk.
He said that women represen-tation has been made compulsoryin all government institutions, au-tonomous boards, developmentand research centres and 25 thou-sand women have got right of rep-resentation under the law. He toldthat 20 percent birth deliveries areattended by skilled birth attendantand this ratio would be increasedmore than 90 percent by 2015whereas, contraceptive preva-lence rate is 36 percent that wouldbe increased upto 55 percent by2015(MDGs Target).
Talking to a delegation offamily physicians, LHWs andWomen, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-
Rehman said that skilled birth at-tendants, LHVs and LHWs arebeing appointed at health centersbecause the MMR in LHWs cov-ered area is 147/100,000 livebirths, compared 300 to 350/100,000 to uncovered areas,therefore, the LHWs, LHVs. Hesaid that at present under fivemortality rate present is 94/1000and it will be reduced 45 till2015(MDGs Target), new bornmortality rate is 54/1000 and itwould be reduced upto 25 byyear 2015, whereas, infant mor-tality rate is 77/1000 whichwould be reduced 40 uptill 2015.
He told that maternal mortal-ity ratio 350-500/100000 whichwould be reduced 140 uptill 2015.He said that on the instructions ofChief Minister Punjab, additionalgrant will be provided for mak-ing high-tech Punjab Institute ofNureau Sciences operational,whereas, 50 acres land at burkeyroad & required funds were be-ing provided for construction ofstate of the art kidney and livertransplant institute.
MUZAFFAR ALI
LAHORE—Speakers at a con-ference on education atPunjab University has calledupon the need to promotenon-formal education to in-crease literacy rate in thecountry. The conference wasorganized by Education forAll Federation, Literacy andNon-Formal Basic EducationDepartment here at Al RaaziHall of Undergraduate StudyCentre.
Advisor to Chief Minis-ter Punjab Rana IkramRabbani, President EFA Fed-eration Col (r) Ikram ullahKhan, Secretary Literacy DrPervaiz Ahmed Khan, forChairman TEVTA KhalidMahmood, PU Dean Prof DrMassarrat Abid, Acting Di-rector PU Institute of Educa-tion and Research Prof Dr
Call for promotingnon-formal education
Abid Hussain, former care-taker CM Mian Afzal Hayyat,former SC justice FaqirMuhammad Khokhar, Lt Gen(r) General Naseer Akhter, LtGen (r) Afzal Mujeeb, MajGen (r) Khawaja Rahat Latif,Saeed uddin Qazi, officialsfrom literacy department, rep-resentatives from various
NGOs and people from vari-ous walks of life were presenton the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony,Rana Ikram Rabbani said thatHoly Prophet HazratMuhammad SAW hasstressed to seek knowledgeand the importance of educa-tion could not be denied.
SALIM AHMED
L A H O R E — S p o k e s m a nPunjab government SyedZaeem Hussain Qadri hassaid that Chaudhry Broth-ers who supported a dictatorare hatching conspiraciesagainst democracy andmaking futile efforts forkeeping themselves alivepoli t ically through falsestatements.
He said that corruptionwas rampant during PervaizElahi era and Punjab govern-ment of PML-N completedthe incomplete projects ofPervaiz Elahi.
Commenting upon thestatement of Ch. ShujatHussain, Zaeem Qadri saidthat it does not behove tothose talking about publicservice who made Bank ofPunjab bankrupt.
He said that everyone isaware of the corruption com-
Government hascompleted variouswelfare projects
mitted during Pervaiz Elahitenure. He said that Ch.Brothers should give accountof loot and plunder of bil-lions of rupees committed inPunjab Bank, NICL andother development projects.
Zaeem Qadri said thatthe people still not forgot theloot and corruption ofPervaiz Elahi era. He saidthat Lahore-Kasur Road,Thokar Niaz Baig OverheadBridge and other develop-ment projects were thegraveyards of corruption ofPervaiz Elahi era.
Zaeem Qadri said thatPunjab government under theleadership of Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharifhas completed a number ofpublic welfare projects. Hesaid that the era of ShahbazSharif is proof of transpar-ency and merit and foreigninstitutions have openly ac-knowledged it.
Strict monitoringof anti-measlescampaign to be
carried outSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Advisor to ChiefMinister Punjab on HealthKhawaja Salman Rafiq has di-rected the officers of the depart-ment for strict monitoring of two-week long anti-measles drive inPunjab, which is being success-fully carried out by the coopera-tion of people.
He said that officers shouldensure reaching of vaccinatingteams to every village, town,mohallah and street to inoculateanti-measles vaccine to the chil-dren of the age of six months toten years.
I
Russiacreditgraded to‘junk’MOSCOW—After a top ratings agencycut Russia’s credit gradeto“junk” status, thegovernment in Moscow onTuesday announced a planthat will see the economyreturn to a budget surplus in2017. Standard & Poor’sdowngraded Russia’s ratingto BB-plus late on Monday,a non-investment grade, forthe first time since 2004,citing a slide in the ruble andweakening revenue from oilexports. The agency saidRussia’s financial system isweakening, limiting room formaneuver for Russia’sCentral Bank. Russia’seconomy has been hit hardby the double impact ofweaker energy prices andWestern sanctions over itsrole in Ukraine.—AP
Europe’sJewishleaderfears‘exodus’PRAGUE—Europe is facinga new Jewish exodus in theface of rising anti-Semitismand extremism, the head ofthe European JewishCongress (EJC) said.“Jihadism is very close toNazism. One could even aythat they are two faces ofthe same evil,” EJC chiefMoshe Kantor said at aHolocaust forum in theCzech capital Prague. TheJewish community is“close to” a new exodusfrom Europe, he toldreporters, without provid-ing any specific figures.European CommissionFirst Vice President FransTimmermans said last weekthat the EU faces a “hugechallenge” to reassureJews about their future inEurope. —AFP
MOHMAND AGENCY: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif meeting troops during his visit on Tuesday.
HAIFA, Israel—Israel’s Arab po-litical parties are banding togetherunder one ticket for the first timeever ahead of national electionsin March, hoping to boost turn-out and help unseat Prime Minis-ter Benjamin Netanyahu. The re-sult is an awkward political mar-riage of communists, Palestiniannationalists, religious Muslims,feminists and even one Jew. ButArab politicians say it will improvechronically low Arab voter turn-out and help block Netanyahufrom forming the next government.“We will be a central player in poli-tics like never before,” said AymanOdeh, a first-time parliamentarycandidate and the leader of thecombined Arab list.
Arab lawmakers shake up Israeli politics with historic unionThe four parties agreed to
unify last week because of a newlaw passed last year that raisedthe percentage of votes that aparty must win to land a seat inparliament from 2 to 3.25 percent— a law advanced by Israel’s ul-tranationalist foreign minister thatArab lawmakers believe was in-tended to reduce Arab represen-tation in parliament. Arab politi-cians say they have come undermounting pressure from theirconstituents to cooperate in or-der to tackle the challenges fac-ing the Arab community, includ-ing what many see as increasedhostility from the Israeli publicand Israeli leaders — particularlysince the summer war in Gaza.
“People said to us, ‘Your an-swer should be unity,’” saidMasoud Ganaim, the number twoon the list and a representativeof an Islamic movement. The uni-fied list is campaigning on prom-ises to prevent Netanyahu fromwinning again by serving as anopposition bloc that would com-plicate his coalition-building ef-forts and help give rise to a cen-ter-left government headed byLabor Party leader Isaac Herzogand former peace negotiator TzipiLivni. Arab citizens of Israel makeup about a fifth of the populationof some 8 million, but their par-ticipation in Israel’s democracyhas long been a complicated mat-ter. Though they enjoy full citi-
zenship in the Jewish state,Israel’s Arabs say they have suf-fered from decades of discrimina-tion, with unemployment andpoverty often higher than thenational average in their commu-nities. Israel’s Arabs also largelyidentify with the Palestinian Ar-abs of the West Bank and Gaza,leading many of Israel’s Jewishcitizens to view them with mis-trust. Israel’s Arab populationmainly consists of Palestinianfamilies who remained in Israelfollowing the 1948 war that at-tended its creation.
Arab politicians seem to mani-fest a split identity. They cham-pion Palestinian rights and havelong had ties with politicians in
the Palestinian territories, butthey often speak eloquent He-brew and are firm believers in par-ticipating in Israel’s democraticgovernment. At Odeh’s home inthe mixed Jewish-Arab city ofHaifa, he displayed both a trophyof appreciation from the Palestin-ian Fatah faction as well as lead-ing Hebrew novelist Amos Oz’sautobiographical novel. Ganaim,the Islamist representative, has abook penned by Netanyahu onhis office bookshelf. Still, manyIsraeli Arabs have felt disenfran-chised, and previous electionshave seen low Arab turnout, withmany boycotting the process. Butthe union could change that. Arecent poll conducted on behalf
of the Abraham Fund, which pro-motes Arab-Jewish equality in Is-rael, suggests that the unified listwould boost Arab turnout to 56percent — 10 percentage pointshigher than the last election in2013. The poll questioned 514Arab citizens and had a margin oferror of 4.5 percent. By compari-son, Jewish voter turnout in 2013was nearly 68 percent.
With that anticipated surge invotes, Arab politicians estimatethat their joint list could garner upto 15 seats in the 120-seat Knesset,large enough to help block a hard-line coalition headed byNetanyahu and paving the way forhis dovish challengers to form agovernment.—AP
Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, called on King Hamad Bin Isa AlKhalifa in Manama.
TEHRAN—Iran said Tuesday it has sent awarning to Israel through the United Statesover the recent killing of an Iranian generalin an alleged Israeli airstrike, the officialIRNA news agency reported.
The report quoted Deputy Foreign Min-ister Hossein Amirabdollahian as saying,“We told the Americans that the leaders ofthe Zionist regime should await the conse-quences of their act.”
He added, “The Zionist regime hascrossed our red lines.”
Iranian Gen. Mohammad Ali Allahdadi,a senior commander in the RevolutionaryGuard, was killed along with six LebaneseHezbollah fighters in a Jan. 18 airstrike inthe Syrian-controlled part of the disputedGolan Heights. Both Iran and Hezbollahblamed Israel for the strike; the Israeli gov-ernment refused to comment.
Amirabdollahian says Iran delivered themessage to U.S. officials via diplomaticchannels. He did not elaborate.
Iran and the U.S cut diplomatic ties af-ter militant Iranian students stormed theU.S. embassy in Tehran during the 1979revolution and held a group of Americandiplomats for 444 days.
The two nations normally exchange dip-
lomatic messages through the Swiss em-bassy, which looks after U.S. interests inIran. But diplomats from both countries alsomeet directly on other occasions — suchas the current negotiations to limit thescope of the Iranian nuclear program in ex-change for easing harsh international sanc-tions against Tehran.
Amirabdollahian’s remarks came duringa commemoration ceremony in Tehran forthe slain general and the Hezbollah fight-ers. In the same ceremony, Gen. HosseinSalami, acting commander of the Guard, saidIran will retaliate soon.“We tell (Israel) to await retaliation, but wewill decide about its timing, place and thestrength,” he said, according to the IRNAreport.
Allahdadi is one of the highest rankingIranian officers known to have been killedabroad in decades. Another senior Guardcommander, Brig. Gen. Hamid Taqavi, waskilled during a battle against the IslamicState group in Samarra, Iraq last month.Majority Shiite Iran acknowledges it hassent military advisers to both Iraq and toSyria, where they are aiding embattled Presi-dent Bashar Assad. But Tehran denies thepresence of Iranian combat forces.—AP
Iran sends warning toIsrael via US officials
Zionist regime has crossed our red lines
MIAN ARSHAD
ISLAMABAD—The Asian Development Bank(ADB), Tuesday, inked an agreement withgovernment to invest $20 million to improvecorporate governance, technical capacityand regulatory framework of Pakistan’sprivatization program.
Dr. Werner E. Liepach, ADB’s CountryDirector for Pakistan and Mohammad SaleemSethi, Secretary Economic Affairs Division(EAD), Government of Pakistan signed theloan agreement.
”The project will finance management,and financial consulting services to developthe capacity of Ministry of Finance to moni-tor the Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) port-folio, assess fiscal liabilities, identify andtrack potential issues, and oversee corpo-rate restructuring of selected PSE. It will alsostrengthen the process by improving thecorporate governance and management ca-pacity of selected PSE, and strengtheninggovernance and regulations in selected sec-tors dominated by PSE.” said Dr. Liepach.
PSE accounts for about 10 percent ofPakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP)and thus comprise a major share of Pakistan’seconomy. Weak corporate governance and
ADB provides $20m to improvePak privatization initiatives
management issues have been resulting intheir poor service delivery and bleeding ofcountry’s scarce financial resources with taxpayers ultimately bearing the brunt of theseinefficiencies.
The project seeks improvement of thegovernance and regulatory regime to ensurethat efficiency gains in PSE are in line withinterest of the general public and consum-ers. The assistance will help improve finan-cial control and reporting through improvedinter-agency coordination and online moni-toring system at the Security and ExchangeCommission of Pakistan (SECP).
It will also assist the Privatization Com-mission in preparing a privatization strategyand monitor the transaction.
“The expected impact would be reducedfiscal and economic costs through improvedmanagement and governance of Pakistan’sPublic Sector Enterprises.” Dr. Liepachadded.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated toreducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific re-gion through inclusive economic growth,environmentally sustainable growth, andregional integration. Established in 1966,it is currently owned by 67 members—48from the region.
Air Chief calls onKing of BahrainOBSERVER REPORT
ISLAMABAD—Air ChiefMarshal Tahir Rafique Butt,Chief of the Air Staff, Paki-stan Air Force called on KingHamad bin Isa Al Khalifa inManama (Bahrain) Tues-day.
The King welcomed theAir Chief and conveyed hisgreetings to the PakistaniPresident and Prime Minis-ter as well as his best wishesfor the progress and pros-perity of Pakistani people.HM the King expressed hissatisfaction on the level ofbrotherly relations and bi-lateral cooperation in vari-ous fields. He also ex-pressed Bahrain’s keennessto further boost cooperationwith Pakistan in the field ofdefence in general and Airforce in particular.
Both the dignitaries un-derlined the importance ofexchanging such visits andmaintaining consultationand coordination to furtherpromote cordial betweenthe two brotherly countries.
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Lahore High Court RawalpindiBench and Anti-Terrorist CourtGujranwala have awarded two times deathsentence, 14 times life imprisonment andfine of Rs. 20 lakh to eight terrorists Tues-day.
According to the spokesman of Pros-ecution Department, Lahore High CourtRawalpindi Bench while dismissing theappeal of six terrorists arrested with threevehicles loaded with explosive materialat a CNG station of Sadiqabad Rawalpindion June 6, 2008 has upheld the sentenceof two times life imprisonment and fine ofRs. Two lakh to each terrorist awarded by
Anti-Terrorist Court-II, Rawalpindi.The accused had filed an appeal
in Lahore High Court against the deci-sion of Anti-Terrorist Court-II which wasdismissed today.
The Bench comprising Justice SyedIftikhar Hussain Shah and JusticeZulqarnain Saleem while announcing thedecision has upheld two times life impris-onment and fine of Rs.2 lakh each to ac-cused Intikhab Ahmed Abbasi, AbidKhan, Muhammad Ishaq, MuhammadKabir, Qamar Zaman and Zafar Ali u/s 302and 7ATA. Deputy Prosecutor GeneralMuhammad Usman and Standing Coun-sel Raja Faisal represented the state inthe case.
8 terrorists get 14 times lifesentence, two times death
BEIRUT—Kurdish fightersexpanded their offensiveTuesday after driving IslamicState militants from the Syr-ian border town of Kobanithe previous day, to retakedozens of surrounding vil-lages still held by the mili-tants, activists and officialssaid.
Pushing IS out of Kobaniafter a bloody, four-monthcampaign was a significantboost for both the Kurds andthe U.S.-led coalition,though the U.S. Central Cen-tral Command temperedMonday’s victory by sayingit estimated that 90 percentof Kobani was now con-trolled by Kurdish forces.
From Kobani, Kurdishtroops took the fight Tues-day to the village of Shiran,southeast of the town, saidMustafa Bali, a Kobani-
Kurds expand offensive afterdriving IS out of Syrian town
Chinoypleadsinnocence,deniesallegationsKARACHI—Pleadingcomplete innocence, Chiefof Citizens-Police LiaisonCommittee (CPLC), AhmedChinoy, who madeheadlines after Rangers’personnel busted hishouse in the wee hours,Tuesday rejected reportsthat’abductee’ as well asransom money worth Rs1.5million was recovered fromhis residence. Earlier it wasreported that paramilitarytroops, after laying a siegeto his house, woke him upat 05:00 AM in the morning,and questioned him over a‘kidnapping for ransom’case. Talking to media,Chinoy confirmed thearrival of a Rangers party athis home but refused to callit a raid. —Online
based activist. Earlier in theday, they captured thenearby village of QarahHlanj. The Britain-based Syr-ian Observatory for HumanRights confirmed the captureof Qarah Hlanj and said thefighting near Shiran has in-tensified. The victory inKobani came at a high cost.
“The city has been fullyliberated,” said seniorKurdish official IdrissNassan, speaking by tele-phone from inside the town.He said Kobani is “nearlydestroyed.”
In September, IslamicState fighters capturedabout 300 Kurdish villagesand hamlets near Kobaniand thrust into the town it-self, occupying nearly half ofit and sending tens of thou-sands of residents fleeinginto Turkey.—AP
KARACHI—Rabita Commit-tee of Muttahida QuamiMovement (MQM) on Tues-day claimed 35 MQM work-ers were killed extra-judi-cially while dozens of theworkers were still missing.
Denying the statementof Additional InspectorGeneral Ghulam QadirThebo, MQM accused himof distorting the facts anddemanded instant action onthis issue.
MQM Committeedenounced performance ofpolice by revealing that thepolice had brutally beaten upMQM young activist SyedFaraz Alam to death for notgiving bribe whereas no justicewas provided by higherofficials to his widow andchild.—SABAH
RESEARCHERS from the University atBuffalo in New York say two bacteriathat cause many common infections in
children and the elderly, such as strep throat andear infections, can live outside the human bodyfor long periods of time onvarious objects, includingbooks, cribs and toys. The in-vestigators found that Strep-tococcus pneumoniae andStreptococcus pyogenes lin-ger on many surfaces signifi-cantly longer than previouslythought, opposing previousstudies that suggest the bac-teria quickly die once theyhave left the human body.
The researchers say theirfindings suggest that betterstrategies are needed to pre-vent infections, particularlyin hospitals, schools anddaycares centres. S.pyogenes is a common causeof strep throat and skin con-ditions in school children, butthe bacteria can also cause severe infections inadults. S. pneumoniae is a leading cause ofmorbidity and mortality from respiratory tractinfections in children and the elderly, and it isalso a leading cause of ear infections.
Previous research from the team showed thatcertain bacteria develop biofilms when theycolonize human tissues. A biofilm is a group ofmicroorganisms that bind together on a surface.The researchers found that this bacteria is stron-ger than other bacteria that do not form biofilms,leading them to believe that the bacteria maylinger on surfaces.
To test if this was the case, the investigatorsanalysed a number of objects including books,
stuffed toys and cribs in a child daycare cen-tre. Even after cleaning, the researchers foundthat biofilms were able to survive for manyhours on cribs, toys and books. Many surfaces- including cribs - tested positive for S.
pyogenes, while four out of fivestuffed toys tested positive forS. pneumoniae.
The researchers note thatthis testing was done after thesurfaces had been cleaned, andprior to the centre opening in themorning, meaning it had been along time since the surfaces andobjects had human contact. Theinvestigators then tested 1-month-old biofilm of S.pyogenes and S. pneumoniae tosee whether the bacteria wasable to colonize. Results re-vealed that the biofilms couldeffectively colonize a mousemodel.
Other experiments foundthat the biofilms were able tosurvive for many hours on hu-
man hands, books, hard and soft toys and sur-faces, even after cleaning. Commenting onthe findings, Anders Hakansson, assistant pro-fessor of microbiology and immunology atthe University at Buffalo School of Medicineand Biomedical Sciences, and senior authorof the study, says:
“In all of these cases, we found that thesepathogens can survive for long periods out-side a human host. Commonly handled ob-jects that are contaminated with these biofilmbacteria could act as reservoirs of bacteria forhours, weeks or months, spreading potentialinfections to individuals who come in con-tact with them.”
Some bacteria ‘live for longperiods’ on toys, books and cribs
High Commissioner of India TCA Raghavan, Chief Guest Federal Minister for SAFRON Lt Gen (Retd) Abdul QadirBaloch, Ambassador of Nepal Bharat Raj Paudyal, Ambassador of Afghanistan Janan Musazai, High Commissioner of SriLanka Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Jayalath Weerakkody, MQM leader Senator Nasreen Jalil, High Commissioner ofBangladesh Sohrab Hussain, Dean of Diplomatic Corps Rodolfo Martin Saravia, ANP leader Haji Adeel and Akram SheikhAdvocate standing in respect of the national anthem on the occasion of 66th Republic Day reception of India at a localhotel.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir
RAZA UR REHMAN
ISLAMABAD—Information Minister PervaizRasheed has said that terrorists are trying to im-pose their views on the masses and Media cannotperform freely if journalists who are creatingawareness are not protected.
He was addressing an international conferenceon security of journalists in Islamabad on Tuesday[January 27].
Pervaiz Rashid said that Government is com-mitted to provide security to working journalists andMedia Houses in the country. Information Minister
Terrorists trying to impose their ideology
Govt committed to provide securityto journalists: Pervaiz Rashid
Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, Senator Pervaiz Rashid addressing the 2nd International Conference on safety ofmedia workers and journalists in Pakistan.
said media has a huge responsibility of conveyingfacts to the people and creating awareness. He saidthe task has become more difficult for media per-sons in the prevailing circumstances in Pakistan.
He said conducive environment is pre-requi-site for media persons to perform their duty with-out fear and intimidation. He said the Governmenthas taken several steps for wellbeing of journal-ists’ community to provide enabling environmentto them to perform their professional duties.
He said unfortunately in recent years Pakistanhas become a dangerous place for journalists to per-form their duties. He said a committee has been
formed for this purpose and its first meeting is be-ing held today.
Pervaiz Rashid said the Government has an-nounced a financial assistance of one million ru-pees for martyred and 0.3 million rupees for in-jured and disabled journalists. He said a journalistendowment fund has also been established for wel-fare of the journalists.
He said the Government has arranged a numberof training courses for journalists to enhance theircapacity for performing their professional duties. Heurged the media to play its role in ending the atmo-sphere of fear and despair from the society.
LIAQAT TOOR
IS L A M A B A D—Filled-to-capacityshow organised by Indian High Com-mission in a local hotel on Monday tocelebrate Republic Day attracted theelite belonging to all walks of life fromacross the country.
Dr. T.C.A Raghavan, High Com-missioner of India and his teamgreeted their guests including politi-cians, parliamentarians, members ofdiplomatic corps, businessmen, artists,retired diplomats and mediapersons.
Besides Lt.Gen (retd) Abdul QadirBaloch, Minister for States and Fron-tier Regions as Chief Guest, SenatorHaji Adeel, Senator Begum NajmaHameed, Begum Tahira Auranzeb,
Indian Republic Day
Trust deficit affectingPak-India relations
former Minister Naveed Qamar, re-tired civil servant Roedad Khan, Sena-tor Nasreen Jalil, Supreme Court Ad-vocate Akram Sheikh, singers HamidAli Khan and Sheraz Oppal wereamong the eminent personalities whograced the occasion.
The issue of stalled talks betweenPakistan and India, violations on LoC,visit of US President Barack Obamato India and regional politics were thehot topics for discussion among theguests in a cozy environment of thehall making it a lively show. Theguests were treated with traditionaldishes of both the countries andscreens installed on both corners wereemitting images of India progressing.
The gala of two-hour duration re-
flected some sort of optimism in im-proving Pak-India relations for thebetterment of South Asia and its 1.5billion people.
On the conclusion of the celebra-tions, T.C.A Raghavan during his in-formal chat with mediapersons didmention about trust deficit betweenboth the countries adding the environ-ment is not conductive for dialoguedue to issue of terrorism.
On a question, he said since im-position of ban on Jamaat-ud Dawa in2008, Pakistan has not acted enoughon the issue.
When asked on Indo-US nucleardeal, he said India is in need of en-ergy and it will acquire it from nucleartechnology.
MIAN ARSHAD
ISLAMABAD—An Investiture Ceremony washeld at Air Headquarters, Islamabad, in whichNon Operational Military awards were conferredupon Officers, Airmen and Civilians of PakistanAir Force for their distinguished services. AirMarshal Sohail Gul Khan, Vice Chief of the AirStaff, Pakistan Air Force was the Chief Gueston the occasion.
In the Ceremony, Chief of the Air Staff Com-mendation Certificates were conferred upon 86PAF personnel including Officers, Airmen and
Civilians. 07 Proficiency Excellence Badges toPAF Officers, 11 Tamgha-i-Khidmat (Military)Class-II and 04 Tamgha-i-Khidmat (Military)Class-III were conferred upon airmen.
These awards are given in recognition of theacts of extreme devotion to duty rendered by theOfficers, Airmen and Civilians of Pakistan AirForce, for positively contributing towards theoverall efficiency of the service. A large numberof PAF high ranking officers and personnel at-tended the ceremony. Similar ceremonies werealso held at Northern, Southern and Central AirCommands of Pakistan Air Force.
Vice Chief of Air Staff confersnon-operational militaryawards on PAF personnel
Air Marshal Sohail Gul Khan, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force awarding non-operational (Military) awards to PAF personnel at an investiture ceremony at Air Head-quarters on Tuesday.
ISLAMABAD—Mr. Ciarán Devane, thenew Chief Executive Officer of the Brit-ish Council visited Higher EducationCommission (HEC), Pakistan on Tues-day to participate in the orientation event“The UK and Pakistan: Increasing In-vestment in Research for Higher Educa-tion.” The programme aimed to providean opportunity to beneficiaries of theHEC-British Council collaborative edu-cation and research initiatives to meet thenew CEO and benefit from his interna-tional experience and proficiency.
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, ChairmanHEC, Mr. Peter Upton, Country Direc-
HEC, British Council to increase investmentin research for higher education
tor, British Council Pakistan and Dr.Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Acting Execu-tive Director were also present, besidessenior and junior level researchers fromPakistan’s higher education sector.
British Council has been workingwith HEC Pakistan since 2004 with thelaunch of joint Higher Education Linksprogramme and later on with Phase II ofthe same programme in 2006. Theprogramme has been funded by the HECand managed by the British Council inPakistan. To date, the British Council hasbuilt 50 research and capacity-buildinglinks between higher education
instituions of Pakistani and UK.So far, over 160 partnerships under
various schemes have been funded inPakistani universities. Some of theprogrammes on which HEC and Brit-ish Council have cooperated includeResearch Partnerships, Leadership,Knowledge Exchange, Capacity Build-ing of Senior Management of HigherEducation Sector in Strategic Manage-ment, Transnational Education, Qual-ity Assurance for Pakistani HEIs, Schol-arships, Policy Dialogues, TalentedResearch Exchange, Split-site PhDs,and Transforming English Language
Skills for Higher Education.Speaking at the occasion, Mr.
Devane said, “I am delighted to meetthe academic and researcher communityof Pakistan. I am grateful to HEC forinviting me to speak and to meet somany partners doing such good worktogether to strengthen research andhigher education in Pakistan. Its reallyimpressive to see the great work pre-sented by senior researchers whichshows how you are bringing togethersome most important sectors of the so-ciety, including academics, industry,students, media, and civil society.”
ZUBAIR QURESHI
ISLAMABAD—The Islamabad High Court(IHC) on Tuesday granted one-week time tostanding counsel and advocate general ofIslamabad as they were seeking two weeksto get instruction from the government in theappeal matter of Mumtaz Qadri, the assas-sin of ex-Governor Punjab Salman Taseer.Mumtaz Qadri had filed appeal against deathsentence awarded to him by an Anti-Terror-ism Court (ATC) in October 2011 for mur-dering Salman Taseer Governor of Punjabover his alleged blasphemous remarks.
However, soon after the ATC judg-
Qadri case adjourned for one weekment, a two member bench of the IHCthe same year granted stay order onMumtaz Qadri’s conviction and soughtfederation’s reply. On Tuesday, the IHCtook up the case after a gap of some three-and-a-half years. Justice Shaukat AzizSiddiqui and Justice Noor ul Haq Qureshiare hearing Elite Police commando fromPunjab Mumtaz Qadri’s appeal.
Khwaja Muhammad Sharif formerChief Justice Lahore High Court and MianNazir Akhtar appeared on behalf of Qadri.Upon the court’s inquiry as who was repre-senting the state, Standing Counsel JahangirJadoon said he had not received any direc-
tions from the federal government. He sug-gested the court might issue a fresh noticefor appointing a prosecutor in this case.Upon this Justice Qureshi said the court hadissued notices to the federation some threeyears back and there was no need for a freshnotice. Advocate General Islamabad MianAbdul Rauf said he had joined recently andwas given neither the office nor staff. More-over, I have not seen the record of thecase yet, he said. Justice Shaukat AzizSiddiqui taking exception to his reply saidthe government lawyers keep seeking ad-journment while courts are generally heldresponsible for delay in disposal of cases.
06:25 01:3004:00
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Zohr
Asr
Isha
Fajar
Meghrab at Sunset
Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity
January 28Condolence Reference
CONDOLENCE Referencefor Prof. Zahida Qaziorganised by Fellowship ofFederal Government Femalefaculty (R) to be held atIslamabad Club on Jan. 28 at4 p.m. Professor Qaiserah MAlvi to preside.
*****
National conference
DEMOCRATIC Commissionfor Human Developmentand National Commissionon Status of Women(NCSW) jointly organizing anational conference “ChildMarriage in Pakistan:Challenges and Strategies”.
*****
Safety of JournalistsMINISTER of state for Fed-eral Education & InteriorEng Muhammad Baligh urRehman will be chief guestat closing ceremony of “2nd
International Safety ofJournalist’s Conference” at03:00 pm on 28-01-2015 atHotel Ramada Islamabad.
January 29Report launch
REPORT launch androundtable discussion “Po-lice, Politics and the peopleof Pakistan” to be held onThursday, January 26 at01:00 pm at Shamadan-3 Hall,Hotel Serena Hotel.
*****Seminar
PAK Institute for Conflictand Security Studies in col-laboration with The Federa-tion of Pakistan Chamber ofCommerce and Industry or-ganize a seminar on‘Gwadar: Potential and Pros-pects” on Thursday 29th
January 2015, ShamadanHall, Serena Hotel. ChiefMinister, Balochistan Dr.Abdul Malik Baloch will beChief Guest.
RAZA UR REHMAN
ISLAMABAD—Minister ofState for National HealthServices, Regulations &Coordination, Mrs. SairaAfzal Tarar said in Paki-stan, the extent of addic-tion can well be imaginedby ‘Drug Use Survey-2013’, which reveals thatthere are 6.7m drug ad-dicts in our society. Shewhile quoting UNODCReport – 2013,said thatthere are 137 Addict ionTreatment Services inboth government and pri-vate sector. So I will writelet ters to al l provincialhealthcare commissions toregulate these servicesand centres would appre-ciate Anti Narcotics Force,as well as al l organiza-t ions, in their efforts inharm reduction againstthis menace. Saira AfzalTarar was addressing Re-gional Counter NarcoticsSeminar & Workshop“Drug Free Society” to-day in Islamabad.
The Minister said thatthe organization of “Re-gional Counter Narcotics
6.7 million drug addicts in society
Drug abuse has adverselyaffected health, upsurge in crimes
Seminar” clearly demon-strates Pakistan’s commit-ment to keep the drug is-sue high on the nationalagenda as well as at theinternational level. We allknow that an ever-in-creasing proliferation ofdrug abuse in the world isa matter of serious con-cern. Drug abuse has ad-verse effects on health,causes upsurge in crimesand destroys individualsand families social ly aswell as financially.
She said an effectivenational health systemdelivers an integratedrange of interventionsand policies based on sci-entific evidence,
A support ive healthpolicy with legal frame-work; A system to recordscientif ic evidence andconduct research; Coordi-nation of multiple sectorsand levels . Training ofpolicy makers and practi-t ioners; and Topleadership’s commitmentto provide adequate re-sources and to sustain thesystem in the long term.
She said It is for us to
help our people forge thefoundation of democracy,stabil i ty and prosperi tyon which they will buildtheir lives. She also urgedcivil society , family andrelatives of Addicted per-sons should play theirrole for treatment and re-habilitation of them in thesociety.
While addressing to theseminar, Minister of Statefor Interior and NarcoticsControl Baleeg ‘ur Rahmanhighlighted the counterNarcotics efforts andachievements made by Pa-kistan. He also emphasizedthe commitment of Pakistanto stand along the Interna-tional community in fightagainst drugs.
Cesar Guedes reaffirmedUNODC’s support in capac-ity building of drug relatedLEAs and provided key rolefor improving internationalcooperation across theglobe. He also emphasizedthe drug problem as ashared responsibility, forwhich UNODC being leadinternational organizationwould continue to play apivotal role.
Major General KhawarHanif, Director General AntiNarcotics Force apprised
commitment and resolve ofPakistan in the field ofcounter narcotics, including
drug supply and drug de-mand activities. He also ap-preciated international part-
Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Saira Afzal Tarar addressing theRegional Counter Narcotics Seminar & Workshop on “Drug Free Society”.
ners in combating illicit drugtrafficking at global and re-gional level.
ISLAMABAD—On directives of Chair-man National Accountability Bureau(NAB) Mr. Qamar Zaman Chaudhry,DG (A&P) NAB conducted case studyof working of One Window Operation(OWO) in service delivery in CapitalDevelopment Authority (CDA) andChief Commissioner, ICT Offices.
The purpose was to review/evalu-ate their performance in service deliv-ery to reduce opportunities of bribe/fraud and streamline working in ser-vice delivery for the benefit of publicat large. The NAB team evaluated theworking of the OWO in both the ma-jor public service delivery organiza-tions. The OWO in CDA is an old setupwhich was put into operation in thelast nineties.
The service has benefited publicin a major way. It has streamlined
NAB team reviews One WindowOperation of CDA, ICT
hassle/ cumbersome procedures andmake available services of major Di-rectorates of CDA at a single point.Thus obviating public contact at largenumber of counters at the respectiveDirectorates, which are used to be acause of illegal hindrance/illegal prac-tices.
It has been observed by NAB teamthat OWO, CDA has resulted in sig-nificant decrease in fraudulent prac-tices. During visit of NAB (A&P) teamto Chief Commissioner’s Office, ICT-OWO, it was observed that OWO inChief Commissioner’s Office, ICT wasinaugurated on January 7, 2015 forprovision of different services to gen-eral public through a single window.It was noticed that since OWO in ChiefCommissioner’s office, ICT was inau-gurated very recently which would
take some time to gauge, it this hashelped in lessening corruption.
The Chairman, NAB, Mr. QamarZaman Chaudhry said the concept ofOWO was to receive public requests/grievances/complaints in all such gov-ernment departments to give promptand efficient response/services to thepublic at large at one single place withthe purpose to reduce the culture ofgiving bribes to corrupt officials/of-ficers and to avoid lengthy queues indeficient facilities.
He said that corrupt officials areable to mislead public about laws andrules. Therefore DG (A&P) NAB wasdirected to study the introductionof OWO in other public service/con-tact organizations. A proposal in thisrespect will be prepared accord-ingly.—INP
STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD—ameel Ahmed Bhutto’sbook titled “Memoirs of ApoliticalBhutto” was launched at a simple butimpressive ceremony held at PrestonUniversity. The event was jointly or-ganized by Preston University,Islamabad and the Archaeological andHistorical Association of Pakistan. Mr.Ejaz Rahim, former federal secretarygraced the launching ceremony aschief guest. Senior faculty and stu-dents of Preston University and somedistinguished guests participated inthe event in large numbers.
In his keynote address on the oc-casion, Mr. Ejaz Rahim said that everynation writes about their leaders sothat their youth could know aboutthem and become aware of the memo-rable contributions they made towardsthe progress of their countries. Talk-ing about Jameel Ahmed Bhutto’sbook “Memoirs of Apolitical Bhutto,”he said in his book Mr. Jameel Ahmedhas expressed his thoughts about
Launching ceremony of‘Memoirs of Apolitical Bhutto’
Registrar Preston University Dr Allah Wadhayo Baloch presenting a shield to author of book “Memoirs of ApoliticalBhutto” Jameel Ahmad Bhutto at the launching ceremony of his book.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir
former prime minister of Pakistan,Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in a unique style.He has not only shed light on the lifeof the former premier of the countrybut also touched upon other vital is-sues such as the East Pakistan debacleand Bhutto’s hanging. The book, hesaid, would prove to be an interestingreading for all.
Eminent among the other speak-ers who spoke on the occasion wereformer Ambassador of Pakistan toChina Mr. Khalid Mehmood, formerAmbassador, Dr. B. A. Malik, Dr.Ghazanfar Mehdi, Chairman Archaeo-logical and Historical Association ofPakistan. In his brief address on theoccasion, Mr. Ghazanfar Mehdi saidthat Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was aleader par-excellence. His charismaticpersonality and outstanding knowl-edge of national and international af-fairs was admired by all and sundrynot only in the country but world over.In his book Mr. Jameel Ahmed Bhuttohas adopted the middle path while ex-pressing his views about late premier
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.He praised and criticized him for
his right and wrong in a balanced man-ner. That is what amply proves Mr.Jameel Ahmed Bhutto’s objectivity inwriting about a big leader like ZulfiqarAli Bhutto. While expressing histhoughts on the book, former Ambas-sador Mr. Khalid Mehmood alsopraised Mr. Jameel Ahmed Bhutto fortaking a very balanced stance in writ-ing about a great leader like ZulfiqarAli Bhutto.
He profoundly congratulated Mr.Jameel Ahmed Bhutto for his endeav-ors to be objective in his writingsabout the former premier. Former Am-bassador, Dr. B. A. Malik, in hisbrief remarks on the occasion, pro-foundly eulogized the efforts of Mr.Jameel Ahmed Bhutto to write a bookon a great leader like former prime min-ister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.He said Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was aleader who made Pakistan stand outconspicuously in the comity of re-spected world nations.
ISLAMABAD—Three-day Regional Direc-tors’ conference of Allama Iqbal Open Uni-versity (AIOU) concluded here Tuesdayadopted a comprehensive strategy to pro-mote quality education, while increasing itsadmissions in various programs andstrengthening the University’s role as a re-search-based organization. It was decidedto pursue a pro-active policy at all levels toprovide best possible services to the stu-dents in term of admissions, issuances ofcertificates and degrees and timely mailingof books and allied material.
The conference was attended by 44-Regional Directors (RDs) from various partsof the country. Vice chancellor Prof. Dr.Shahid Siddiqui who presided over the con-ference announced that an action plan willbe prepared to implement the conference’srecommendations. It was further decidedthat regional campuses will be furtherstrengthened for bringing affordable qual-ity education at the door-steps of thepeople through an effective students’ sup-port system and It-based working networkat administrative level. Directors were ad-vised to come out with at least ten percentincrease in the new admissions which aregoing to start from February one.
The vice chancellor announced thatproper reward, both in cash and commen-dation certificate will be given to the re-gional director who achieved this target inhis respective district. It was also decidedthat the new academic programs will be ini-tiated soon to meet the contemporaryneeds a nd the students’ demands. M.Aand M.Phil English degree course will beintroduced next year. While responding tothe demand of the Regional Directors, theVC announced that the Selection Board willmeet next month to consider promotion
cases of officers and staff. The employees’strength will be increased at the regionallevel to handle the growing workload. Inthis connection, existing vacant vacancieswill be filed soon.
Dr. Sididqui said that the officers andstaff should work with an innovative andpro-active approach to maintain theUniversity’s leading position in the dis-tance learning system. While referring tocompetitors in the field of distance educa-tion, he said the AIOU enjoys rich capac-ity, both in term of infrastructure and aca-demic excellence to uphold its leading po-sition.
The conference also discussed ways andmeans to bring qualitative improvement inthe University’s overall system, particularlyenhancing its role as research-based organi-zation. Addressing the concluding session,Dr. Shahid Siddiqui shared four areas of pri-orities set by him that includes: promotionof research culture, professional develop-ment, revision of text-books and strength-ening students’ support system. Profes-sional development should be given highpriority for the capacity-building of the em-ployees, enabling them to deliver the best.Underlying the importance of students’ sup-port system, he said it is the backbone indistance education system. Keeping in viewthe priority areas, the University has alreadyundertaken series of activities including Skill-Based Lecture Series, Distinguished LectureSeries, Book and author series, Research col-loquium, Awareness and advocacy seriesand Media Dialogue.
Dr. Shahid Siddiqui hoped that the re-gional campuses could lay special focuson maximum utilization of the available tech-nology for meeting the requirements of dis-tance education.—Online
ISLAMABAD—National Assembly StandingCommittee on Overseas Pakistanis and Hu-man Resource Development has directedOPF to gear up the development work atOPF Valley Zone –V, Islamabad to handover physical possession of plots to theallotees with in shortest possible time. TheCommittee also constituted a sub-commit-tee of the National Assembly StandingCommittee to resolve matters betweenOverseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) andFrontier Works Organization (FWO) ami-cably. The 11th meeting of the NationalAssembly Standing Committee on OverseasPakistanis and Human Resource Develop-ment was held today here at the site of OPFValley Zone-V, Islamabad.
The meeting was chaired by Mir AmirAli Khan Magsi and was attended by allmembers of the committee, Managing Di-rector OPF, Habib Ur Rehman Khan, Direc-tor General, FWO, Major GeneralMuhammad Afzal and senior officers of
NA Committee directs OPF togear up development at Zone-V
Acting HCBrunei discusses
educationrelated issueswith DG IIUI
ISLAMABAD—Acting HighCommissioner of BruneiDarussalam to Pakistan,Hasmah Abbas called onDirector General (AF&P) In-ternational Islamic Univer-sity Islamabad (IIUI) GulzarAhmed Khwaja and dis-cussed issues of mutual in-terest especially educationrelated matters.
During the meeting, bothsides agreed that mutual co-operation in the field of edu-cation among IIUI and uni-versities of Brunei would belaunched. Acting HC ofBrunei thanked DG IIUI forthe warm hospitality andsaid that in wake of extend-ing mutual cooperation;soon a delegation of the stu-dents from Islam SultanSharif Ali University Brunei,would visit IIUI. She alsolauded the services of IIUIwhile saying that universityis playing vital role in nur-turing the young minds ofMuslim Ummah. Speakingon the occasion Dr GulzarAhmed Khwaja said that IIUIis always open for coopera-tion with all the universitiesof world and exchange ofdelegations between IIUIand Brunei would be en-couraged.
He also informed H.EHasmah Abas regarding IIUIand informed about its fac-ulties, academies and insti-tutes. Both the officials alsoagreed that Shariah Acad-emy would be utilized in ex-tending mutual cooperationas it keeps offering ad-vanced and rich courses forthe legal fraternity.—INP
National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis discussing implemen-tation of OPF Valley Zone-V Scheme.
Frontier Works Organization (FWO) andOPF. The meeting reviewed the progressreport pertaining to OPF Valley Zone-V,Islamabad and directed the authorities con-cerned to speed up development work atOPF Valley Zone –V, Islamabad.
Managing Director OPF and DirectorGeneral FWO briefed the committee aboutdevelopment works at the scheme and in-formed the participants of the meeting thatmajor portion of development work hasbeen completed. The meeting was apprisedthat effective measures have been taken toexpedite development work and timelycompletion of the project.
The participants of the meeting ex-pressed their reservations over delay incompletion of development work at OPFValley Zone-V and directed the authoritiesconcerned to take all measures for earlycompletion of the project for handing overthe possession of plots to overseas Paki-stanis.—INP
MUZAFFARABAD: Officials briefing Forestry Minister Sardar Javed Ayub about removal of Sathra encroachments hereon Tuesday.
TANVEER-UL-AHAD
ON a cold morning of January 27, 1994Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, then 32,opened his tea stall on an intersection
in the Kupwara town after a day’s break. Bythe time Sheikh cleaned his shop, everythingwas normal. However, after an hour, a singleshot rattled the peaceful ambiance of this fron-tier town turning it into an open-air mortuary.
On this day, 27 innocent civilians weremassacred by the soldiers of 15 Punjab Regi-ment for observing a shutdown, a day earlieragainst India’s Republic day celebrations in thestate. 20 years down the line, the survivors areyet to come in terms with life.
“Being alive after witnessing the tyrannyof army on that day is a miracle. I spent 3hours in freezing cold in a drain to escape thewrath of the blood thirsty soldiers,” Sheikh,who runs a small restaurant at the main mar-
January 27: Survivor recalls Kupwaramassacre in Kashmir
ket, said on Monday.Sheikh says that the army opened indis-
criminate fire on civilians killing 27 and in-juring dozens of others to teach the people a“lesson” for observing a strike on January 26.
“A police man was arguing with some sol-diers, as a convoy was passing by. By the timeconvoy left, a soldier fired a shot. Secondlater, his colleagues emptied their magazineson innocent civilians. Had I not taken shelterbeneath a drain, I too would have been amongthe dead,” says Sheikh, as he struggles to holdhis tears.
He says that after the bloodbath, the sol-diers went on rampage breaking into residen-tial houses, shops and offices like “hungrywolves”. He said many civilians, who miracu-lously escaped the massacre, were beaten bythe soldiers.
“For over five hours, the soldiers let loosea reign of terror. They beat people irrespec-
tive of age and gender. Those who lifted deadand injured were not spared as well. It was ahorrible scene,” says Sheikh.
The army, he said, also conducted a crack-down and subjected people to identificationto harass them further. He said over two de-cades have passed but the guilty soldiers havenot been punished despite a case registeredagainst them.
“India will never punish its soldiers. Theyhave been sent here to kill innocents. How-ever, killings won’t deter us from seeking ourbirth right,” says Sheikh.
The police registered a case (First Infor-mation Report 19/94) under Sections 302, 307and 149 of the Ranbir Penal Code, and re-corded the statements of a number of eyewit-nesses during investigation. The witnessesheld this particular army unit responsible forthe killings.
The police sought details of the officers
and personnel deputed for road opening onthat day. But the army furnished no such in-formation. In a reply, the army unit said thata court of inquiry had been constituted in thecase. But again, the army disclosed no de-tails of the inquiry subsequently. The case wasfinally closed as “untraced” in April 1997when repeated communications for informa-tion However, International Forum for Jus-tice (IFJ), led by Mohammad Ahsan Untootook the case with State Human Rights Com-mission (SHRC).On January 28, 2003 the SHRC listed the casefor final arguments on March 11. The orderwas made after a Deputy Secretary in theHome Department of the Government of In-dia submitted a report from the InspectorGeneral of Police of the Criminal Investiga-tions Department in Jammu and Kashmiralong with the covering letter from the state’sDirector General of Police.—KD
SRINAGAR—As US president BarrackObama participated as Chief guest in theevent at New Delhi people in Kashmir val-ley remained indoors on India’s 66th Re-public day on Monday owing to a black daystrike called by pro freedom parties and re-strictions by government in some parts ofthe summer capital Srinagar. For the firsttime since 2005 mobile phone and Internetservices were not snapped as part of thesecurity drill. On January 26 and August15, as part of security drill in the past, allwireless telecommunication networks in-cluding mobile connectivity used to be sus-pended in the morning across the valleywithout any notice by service providers.However, today no such step was taken andmobile service and mobile internet servicefunctioned without any disruption.
A police official told CNS that owingto the normalcy and peace, it was decidednot to disrupt these services. “In past this
Obama enjoyed day whichKashmiris marked as Black Day
ALI RAZA NAQVI
MUZAFFARABAD—Kashmiris on both sides ofthe Line of Control and across the world ob-served India’s 66th Republic Day as Black Dayto convey to the global community that Indiawas not a true democratic country as it had de-nied the people of Kashmir their inalienable rightto self-determination.
The day was marked with a complete strikein occupied Kashmir. All markets and streetsgave a deserted look as people preferred to re-main indoors. Armed Indian troops and policepersonnel manned every nook and corner of allmajor cities and towns to prevent anti-India dem-onstrations. Stringent security measures hadbeen put in place around Bakhshi Stadium, themain venue of the official function in Srinagar,while sharp shooters had been positioned at high-rise buildings around the venue. Movement ofpeople was monitored through closed circuittelevision cameras.
Hurriyet leaders, Shabbir Ahmad Shah,Muhammad Yasin Malik and Democratic Po-litical Movement in their statements andMasarrat Aalam Butt in a message from jailthanked people for observing the India’s Repub-lic Day as black day. The APHC-AJK chapterorganised a sit-in protest outside the UN Officein Islamabad. It was led by the Convenor, SyedYousuf Naseem. Leaders from various politicalparties of Azad Kashmir also attended the pro-
Kashmir dispute unsettlementbetrays Indian democracy: Bazil
test. Speakers on the occasion said that Indiacould not suppress the Kashmiris’ genuinestruggle for freedom through arrest, harassmentand other brutal tactics. A memorandum ad-dressed to the UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-moon was also submitted to the UN office.
In Muzaffarabad black day function presidedover by Information Minister Syed Bazil AliNaqvi was held at central press club. A pictorialpicture was held under Kashmir cultural acad-emy depicting atrocities by Indian forces againstKashmiri people in IOK.
Addressing on the occasion Syed Bazil AliNaqvi asked the international community to ful-fill its promise made with the people of Kashmir.He said peace in the region was only a dreamuntil Kashmir issue was resolved as per aspira-tions of the people of J&K. India that claims big-gest democracy of the world has usurped the rightsof the people of Kashmir, he added. He said po-litical restlessness and uncertainty prevails untilresult oriented dialogue between India and Paki-stan are held to settle Kashmir issue. Bazil saidthat India had unleashed a reign of unprovokedshelling from across the LoC targeting the civil-ian population living close to the border. He calledfor investigating massacring of Kashmiri youthby Indian forces and added that Modi doctrinewas posing potential threats to the peace in theregion. He also urged United Nations to imple-ment its resolutions on Kashmir giving Kashmiripeople their right to self-determination.
step used to be taken as a precautionarymeasure as militants have triggered blastsin the past using mobile phones,” he said.
The main function of India’s Republic dayparade attended by Divisional CommissionerKashmir Atul Kansal was held in the summercapital Srinagar. It was for the first time since1996 that a civilian administrator, and not aminister of the state government, presided overthe Republic Day function at Bakshi Stadium.
Elsewhere in the Valley, Deputy Com-missioners of respective districts presided overthe India’s Republic Day functions. TopHurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani andother separatist organizations had called for astrike urging people to observe it as “blackday”. The call was supported by all separatistleaders with United Jehad Council chief SyedSalahuddin also condoning the strike.
A total strike was observed in valley withpeople staying indoors and youth opting tospend the day by playing cricket in every nook
and corner of valley. Shops and business es-tablishments in the civil lines and other majordistricts remained closed and traffic was offthe road.. The day passed off peacefully amidunprecedented security. Streets wore a de-serted look as people remained indoor. Re-ports of complete shutdown were also receivedfrom Baramulla, Kupwara, Budgam,Ganderbal, Bandipore, Pulwama, Shopian,Anantnag and Budgam districts in the valley.
Sharp shooters, wielding automatic weap-ons, were deployed in and around the stadium.All roads leading to the stadium were closedfor traffic. Police and paramilitary troops weredeployed on both sides of the roads after ev-ery five feet to thwart any militant attack.
Officials were being frisked and their in-vitation and identity cards checked before al-lowing them to proceed towards the stadium.Road blocks were erected to prevent any ve-hicle, except those having car pass, to enterthe stadium area.—KW
TRAL, IHK—Two militants including theDistrict Commander of Hizbul Mujadheenwere killed in a brief gun fight at Handorahamlet of Tral town in South Kahsmir’sPulwama district on Tuesday. The HM Dis-trict Commander accompanied by his asso-ciate had arrived at his home when IndianArmy and SOG personnel cordoned off thehouse and neutralized both the militants af-ter two minutes gun fight. An Army Colonelidentified as M.N.Rai, Head ConstableSanjeev Singh and two more soldiers ofRashtriya Rifles were injured during the en-counter while officials said that the Colonelwas airlifted to Badamibagh based 92 BaseHospital in critical condition where he alongwith the Constable Singh succumbed to hisinjuries.
Police sources told CNS that, HM Dis-trict Commander Abid Ahmed Khan son ofJalaluddin had arrived at his Handora vil-lage to meet his family members. He wasaccompanied by his associate Shiraz AhmedDar son of Ghulam Hasan Dar resident ofWarigund Tral. “We received inputs about
Indian Army Colonel, soldierkilled in gun fight
their presence and without any delay jointArmy parties from 42,180, 185 RashtriyaRifles along with SOG Tral cordoned off thevillage. As the army zeroed in and came closeto the house, the militants fired upon Gov-ernment Forces resulting in the injury of fourGovernment Forces personnel,” a police of-ficial said.
Sources said that as the Colonel Roy of42 RR tried to enter into the house duringthe gunfight, the militants targeted him andinjured him critically. “The injured Coloneland Head Constable were airlifted to 92 baseArmy hospital in Srinagar, where theybreathed their last ,” police official said add-ing that both the militants were neutralizedafter 20 minutes gun fight.
“Abid was the District Commander ofHizb and he was active from September 2012in the area, while Shiraz had recently joinedthe outfit and was involved in stealing therifle of an SOG man from Awantipora camp,”SP Awantipora Tahir Saleem said adding thatthe killing of the duo is a major setback tothe militant organization.—KW
‘Citizenshiprights provided tonon-Kashmiris’
SRINAGAR—In occupied Kash-mir, senior Hurriyet leader andChairman of Democratic Free-dom Party, Shabbir Ahmad Shahhas said that thousands of non-Kashmiris under a well-plannedconspiracy have been providedwith citizenship rights and otherbenefits in the territory, particu-larly in Jammu region.
Shabbir Ahmad Shah ad-dressing a meeting at his partyoffice in Srinagar, today, said thatthe provision of voter identitycards, state subjects and otherdocuments to non-locals wasmeant to erode the Muslim ma-jority status of Jammu and Kash-mir. He said that the RashtriyaSwayam Sevak Sangh-backedBJP government was pursuing theanti-Kashmiri agenda in the terri-tory. The Hurriyet leader ex-pressed sorrow over the silencebeing maintained by pro-Indiaparties of Kashmir over the issue.
The forum led by the veteranHurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilaniat its Executive Council meetingin Srinagar and Democratic Po-litical Movement in a statementreiterated the Kashmiris’ resolveto oppose tooth and nail the BJP’splan of changing the demographyof occupied Kashmir.
On the other hand, proteststrike was observed in Kupwara,today, to mark the martyrdom an-niversary of 27 innocentKashmiris, who were killed byIndian troops on this day in 1994in the town.—KMS
LONDON: Kashmiris protesting unsettlement of Kashmir dispute in front of Indian High Commission here on occasion of India’s republic day.
DR JAVED IQBAL
WHILE Sixth Amendment was operationalized on April10, 1965, GOI Ministry of Law proclamation carryingthe Presidential Order vis-à-vis application of Article
356 to JK State carries the date—December 21, 1964. It waspublished in the Gazette of India on May 17, 1965/Vaisakha 27,1887. The timings of Sixth Amendment, of application of Ar-ticle 356, of its publication in Gazette of India underlines a pat-tern, wherein the constitutional authority of JK State was madesubservient to federal constitutional provisions. This was doneby undermining the letter and spirit of temporary accession, whichdid not amount to merger. The fact of temporary accession notamounting to merger continues to be the take of regional main-stream as well as resistance political formations. In 2010, formerChief Minister Omar Abdullah emphasized it on the floor of JKLegislative Assembly. Former federal Home Minister—Chidambaram labeled the relationship ‘unique’. Implicit in theuse of word was a different constitutional arrangement comparedto States that merged with Indian Union. Presidential Order ofDecember 21, 1964 was proclaimed, as per empowerment of the‘Office of President’ by Article 370 Clause (1) wherein Presi-dent may issue an order applicable to JK State, albeit with theconcurrence of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The‘Order’ relates: 1. (1) This Order may be called the Constitution(Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Third Amendment Order,1964.
(2) It shall come into force at once.In paragraph 2 of the Constitution (Application to Jammu andKashmir) Order 1954, in sub-paragraph (13) (relating to PartXVIII), for clause (b), following clauses should be substituted,namely :———(b) in clause (1) of Article 356, references toprovisions or provision of this constitution shall, in relation tothe State of Jammu and Kashmir, be constructed as includingreferences to provisions or provision of the Constitution of Jammuand Kashmir. (c) Article 360 shall be omitted’.
This brings into focus (a) Order 1954. (b) Sub-paragraph(13) (relating to Part XVIII) (c) Clause (1) of Article 356. (d)Article 360. Order 1954 is, ‘PRESIDENT’s MAJOR ORDERUNDER ARTICLE 370, DATED 14 MAY 1954, CO No. 48,ENTITLED THE CONSTITUTION (APPLICATION to Jammu& Kashmir) Order 1954. It is the Basic Order. The Order carriedby Ministry of Law in New Delhi stands noted as S.R.O 1610for general information. Sub-paragraph (13) (relating to PartXVIII) implies that Article 352 may not apply to State of Jammu
Kashmir: Sixth Amendment & Article 356and Kashmir unless on request and concurrence of the govern-ment. The said Article relates to imposition of emergency in In-dia or a territory thereof, were the state be threatened by externalaggression or armed rebellion. It was proclaimed in 1975 in In-dia. In its non-application to State of Jammu and Kashmir, therewas a rider (except as respects Article 354). Article 354 relatesto according Presidential assent to appropriation of funds guidedby (Articles 268 to 279) during the period of emergency.
Sub-paragraph (13) (relating to Part XVIII) (b) relates: Ar-ticle 356, 357 and 360 shall be omitted. Article 360 relates todeclaration of financial emergency in India or a territory thereof.What stood omitted in Presidential Order of May 14, 1954 be-came applicable in President’s order dated December 21, 1964,vis-à-vis Article 356, and by implication Article 357, meant tooperationalize 356, hence a legal appendage.
Article 356 is one among the articles ranging from 352 to360 that relate to imposition of emergency in its various politi-cal/financial aspects and applications. We may get to study Clause(1) of Article 356 relevant to the subject under discussion.
Article 356 relates to provisions in case of failure of consti-tutional machinery in State, wherein the President, on receipt ofreport from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfiedthat a situation has arisen in which the government of the Statecannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of thisConstitution, the President may by Proclamation act as per sub-clauses: (a) assume to himself all or any of the functions of theGovernment of the State and all or any of the powers vested inor exercisable by the Governor or anybody or authority in theState other than the Legislature of the State (b) declare that thepowers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by orunder the authority of Parliament. As per sub-clause (c) Presi-dent is authorized to suspend in whole or in part the operation ofany provisions of this constitution relating to anybody or author-ity in the State except powers vested in or exercisable by HighCourts.
New Delhi did not trust JK’s existent provisions for consti-tutional exigencies empowering Sadar-i-Riyasat, as ‘Head ofState’ was state centered, electable by JK Legislature. Exercis-ing powers in exigencies did not entail reference to New Delhi.Hence, JK’s distinct constitutional provisions were made sub-servient to federal constitutional provisions by applying Article356 and the pliant JK political executive and legislature collabo-rated by working out the Sixth Amendment. Reference to NewDelhi became the ‘Mantra’. In the aftermath the ‘Mantra’ led toalienation, New Delhi is finding hard to address.—GK
SRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, Engineer AbdulRasheed, leader of the AwamiIttehad Party (AIP), has calledupon India to facilitate resolu-tion of Kashmir rather than de-ceiving itself and misleading theworld community. EngineerRasheed in a media interview inSrinagar stressed that the reso-lution of Kashmir had to be inaccordance with the aspirationsof the people. He said, “NewDelhi should initiate a meaning-ful and result-oriented dialoguewith Hurriyet and United JihadCouncil. For providing peoplean everlasting relief, we need tosolve Kashmir.”
He said that granting citizen-
Engr Rasheed asks Indianot to deceive itself,world on Kashmir
SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, hatredagainst India in Kashmiris’ hearts is so deep andintense that children, who are not known torefuse sweets, however, did so when Indiantroops from a nearby camp in a Badgam villageoffered them sweets on India’s Republic Day,
ship rights to non-Kashmiris wasout of question and could neverbe acceptable to people of Kash-mir. “The Bharatiya Janata Partywants power to fulfill its ill de-signs against the people of Kash-mir, who gave sacrifices for acause.”
“I called upon NC and PDPto come forward to form thecoalition government to keepthe BJP at bay. I wanted thatthe BJP shouldn’t come topower. I am a single man talk-ing about justice and humanrights abuses in assembly. Thismakes them mad,” he added. “Iwas forced to sell my land justto fill the pockets of (Indian)forces.—KMS
Kashmiri children refuseIndian troops’ offer for sweets
on Monday. “They tried hard to persuade thechildren but no child took the sweets…manychildren are afraid of them and they ran away,”said Arif Ahmed, a local youth. Soon after thetroops departed dejected, the children returnedto streets to play.—KMS
Economic depres-sion cannot be
cured by legisla-tive action or
executive pro-nouncement.
Economic woundsmust be healed bythe action of thecells of the eco-nomic body - theproducers and
consumers them-selves.
—Herbert Hoover
ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for IT Ms. Anusha Rahman chairing 33rd Board ofDirectors meeting of National ICT R&D fund company.
MIAN ARSHAD
ISLAMABAD—Decision of the Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif to convert government schools to solarenergy under the off-grid solar solution programme willgo a long way in resolving energy crisis, a business leadersaid on Tuesday. The decision of the chief minister toconvert more than 4,000 primary schools of rural areas inPunjab to solar energy in the first phase and a programmereflects his thinking about alternative sources of energywhich is heartening, said Mian Shahid, CEO of UnitedInternational Group (UIG).
In a statement issued here today, he said that solarpanels would ensure uninterrupted supply of electricityto primary schools, which will have a very positive impacton the students. He said that all of the educational institu-tions must be converted to solar power and it should memade cheaper for the middle and low-income families torelieve masses reeling under acute energy crisis.
Shahbaz lauded for focusingon alternative energy
Mian Shahid said that majority of the rooftops inPakistan are suitable for generating solar power, ablessing many countries can hope for. Many areasreceive on average a very high amount bright sun-light, which gives solar power the potential to bringenergy to virtually any location without the need forexpensive large-scale grid level infrastructural devel-opments .
Around one hundred and fifty thousand homes andbuilding were converted on solar energy in the US in2014, China has 33.4 giga-watts of solar capacity in-stalled, India has India has 3.3 gigawatts of capacityand it plans to invest 160 billion dollars in the sectorwith the help of US while situation in Pakistan is verydifferent. Asking Government to move solar energy upthe national agenda, he said that we should race to findways to feed our spiralling energy needs without add-ing to greenhouse gas emissions. Increased focus onsolar power will also reduce fossil-fuel pollution, he said.
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—Lack of a functioning regulatory en-vironment conforming to international standards,which leads to a failure to articulate a policywhereby prices are adjusted in a predictable andtransparent manner, has been the main impedimentto the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. Thiswas stated by Arshad Hussain, Co-Chairman ofPharma Bureau, the association of the researchbased multinational pharmaceutical companiesoperating in Pakistan, in a press briefing held hereat a local hotel on Tuesday.
He added that the draft policy Drug PricingPolicy does not reflect the numerous discussionsheld between the industry and the governmentover the past eight years. ‘We have expressed ourserious reservations on this draft to the govern-ment,’ he added. Arshad said the the present formof the policy if approved would result in: severeshortages of essential and life-saving medicines
Pharma Bureau demands tailoring drugpolicy to international standards
(insulins, anti-cancer drugs, TB, anti-epileptic,vaccines, polio, antibiotics, cardiovasculars,paracetamol, etc.); no further introduction of newtherapies depriving the patients of Pakistan thebenefits of the latest research; quality productswill be replaced by sub-standard/fake medicinesMoreover, he added, drugs will be cheaper for therich and more expensive for the poor and threat tothe continuation of patient access programs un-der which thousands of poor critically ill patientsare provided with the latest life-saving therapiesfor free.
‘We believe that if the government intro-duces a transparent market oriented pricingpolicy for the pharmaceutical industry, it wouldcreate the stability and predictability necessaryto stimulate investment and growth in this im-portant sector,’ reasoned Co-Chairman PB. Simi-larly, he added, a transparent and predictableregulatory environment would inevitably leadto the improvement in quality of medicines, ac-
cess to new therapies at affordable prices andalleviation of shortages of essential drugs. Thecorrect stimulus would also enable the PharmaIndustry to tap into the huge export potentialfor this sector, as witnessed by other countriesin the region, and in order to achieve this theindustry needs a new policy with a transparentmechanism to adjust prices, benchmarked withother regional countries with similar incomes/standards of living, he added.
‘Such policy would safeguard the interestof both investors and consumers because in thecontext of 600 plus local companies, an indi-vidual cost-plus based approach is not practi-cal and could give rise to transparency and pub-lic/media concerns. A comparativebenchmarking based pricing mechanism mayalso be more defensible in the public eye,’ headded. Arshad was of the view that Pakistan’sability to evolve a predictable and transparentinvestment environment for the pharmaceutical
sector will be in the long-term interest of thepublic and the country. ‘By implementing apolicy competitively aligned with other coun-tries in the region and also aligned with WorldHealth Organization guidelines, the country canbenefit significantly in terms of Foreign DirectInvestment, exports, job creation, provision ofaffordable quality medicines and other vital eco-nomic benefits,’ reasoned Co-Chairman PB.
He thanked the government, Finance MinisterSenator Ishaq Dar, and State Minister Saira AfzalTarar for averting a potential drug crisis by formu-lating a committee to review the draft Drug PricingPolicy. ‘We would like the committee to ensurethat the policy incorporates the predictability,transparency, quality, and product availability toencourage investments into quality manufactur-ing and incentivize exports, while also preventunscrupulous/unregistered sector from floodingmarket with fake and substandard products,’ sug-gested Co-Chairman PB.
KARACHI—State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)has issued guiding principles on fairnessof service charges levied by banks. Theinstructions set forth nine principleswhich will apply on service charges ef-fective from 1st July, 2015, said SBP state-ment here on Tuesday. It is imperativethat fairness and transparency in deter-mining charges for various products andservices provided by the banks will en-hance confidence of customers in thebanking industry.
State Bank, in guiding principles, clari-fies that the banks must act fairly while re-covering the charges from customerswhereas all such charges should be dis-closed in a manner which is simple and easy
SBP issues guiding principleson fairness of service charges
to understand. SBP further emphasizes thatthese service charges should be reason-able, commensurate with the service andcustomers should not be charged for theservices not rendered or rendered withoutconsent.
The Central Bank also encouragesawareness campaigns by banks to increasecustomers’ understanding of servicecharges. All banks are required to followthese principles in letter and spirit while fix-ing their schedule of charges for consumerrelated products and services. All banksare required to follow these principles inletter and spirit while fixing their scheduleof charges for consumer related productsand services.—APP
Port Qasimshipping activityKARACHI—Three shipcarrying containers,coal and furnace oilberthed at QasimInternational ContainersTerminal, IOCB Terminaland FOTCO Terminalrespectively. Meanwhiletwo more ships carryingcontainers also arrivedat outer anchorage ofPort Qasim during last24 hours. Berth occu-pancy was only 35% atthe port on Tuesdaywhere four ships namelyMSC Safmarine Ngami,Arkas, Icarus and MT.Lahore are currentlyoccupying berths toload/offload containers,cement, coal andfurnace oil respectivelyduring last 24 hours. Acargo volume of 76195tonnes comprising45086 tonnes importsand 31109 tonnesexports inclusive ofcontainerized cargocarried in 1346 contain-ers (TEUs) werehandled at the portduring last 24 hours.—APP
Japan to extend 2bYen for aid projectsISLAMABAD—Govern-ment of Japan hasdecided to extend Yen 2billion to Pakistan forthe implementation oftwo grant aid projects.In this regard, HiroshiInomata, Ambassadorof Japan to Pakistanand Saleem Sethi,Secretary, EconomicAffairs Division, wouldsign an exchange ofnotes on Wednesday,Jan 28 here at EconomicAffairs Division(EAD).—APP
AMISPcommodities ratesLAHORE—AgricultureMarketing InformationService Punjab (AMISP)issued rates of differentagriculture products asper 100 kg in local marketon Tuesday. Rice (SuperKarnal Basmati New)minimum Rs 8500 andmaximum Rs 9500, whitesugar minimum 5120 andmaximum Rs 5120, whitegram minimum Rs 5800and maximum Rs 6000,Red Chili Whole (Dry)minimum Rs 22000maximum Rs 24000.Potato Fresh minimum Rs1800 and maximum Rs2000, Onion minimum Rs1400 and maximum Rs1600, Tomato minimumRs 3400 and maximum Rs3600, Cucumber minimumRs 5300 and maximum Rs5500, Garlic (China)minimum Rs 13500 andmaximum Rs 14000,Garlic (Local) minimumRs 14000 and maximumRs 14600, Peas minimumRs 4600 and maximumRs 4800, Cauliflowerminimum Rs 1000 andmaximum Rs 1100,Brinjal minimum Rs 5300and maximum Rs 5500.Apple Kala Kulu(Mandi) minimum Rs7000 and maximum Rs7300, Dates (Aseel)minimum Rs 15300 andmaximum Rs 15900,Guava minimum Rs 4000and maximum Rs 6200,Banana (Dozen) mini-mum Rs 40 and maximumRs 65.—APP
ISLAMABAD—The third annual UK PakistanTrade and Investment Conference tookplace in London on Monday with focus onfinancial and professional services. Theevent has been organized by UK Trade &Investment (UKTI) in collaboration withPakistan High Commission London and ispart of a series of events throughout theyear designed to highlight to UK businessthe opportunities in Pakistan’s growingeconomy – and to put key Pakistani busi-ness leaders in contact with UK investors.Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minsterfor Pakistan, Mr. Tobias Ellwood MP repre-sented the British Government whereas Dr.Miftah Ismail, Chairman of the PakistanBoard of Investment led the delegates andbusiness representatives from Pakistan.More than fifty CEOs and representativesof the British as well as Pakistani compa-nies attended the Conference.
The conference followed November’sUK-Pakistan Energy Conference, whichlooked at how Pakistan could address itsenergy challenges, sharing UK expertiseand experience in the energy sector. Ad-dressing the Conference, Mr. TobiasEllwood said they firmly believe that theycan play a part in building Pakistan’seconomy and opening doors for UK busi-ness. “I am delighted that there are so manyexperts and companies from the UK andPakistan here today. I hope the real progressmade on our bilateral trade relationship con-tinues and bring us closer towards our im-portant and challenging trade target. “I en-courage all UK companies considering ex-porting to Pakistan to contact UKTI and
Pakistan is destination ofinvestment, says BOI Chairman
39 profiteersfined
KARACHI—The divisionaland district administrationKarachi has challaned 39shopkeepers and a fine of Rs81,000 was imposed for vio-lating the officially approvedprice list. According to apress release issued here onTuesday, during crackdown,the administration fined 12milk sellers, one vegetableseller, 2 grocer, 8 fruit sellersand 16 chicken sellers.
The action against profi-teers were taken in the areasincluding Liaquat Abad,Gulberg, Nazimabad, NorthNazimabad, New Karachi,Murad Memon Goth, ModelColony, Shah Faisal, Saddar,Aram Bagh, Civil Line, Gar-den, Jamshed Quarters,Gulzar Hijri, Orangi Town,Baldia Town, Landhi, Malirand other areas.—APP
ChenOne opensnew store
STAFF REPORTER
RAWA L P I N D I—ChenOneunveiled its new store inCommercial Market,Rawalpind in a grand cer-emony, thronged with social-ites, dignitaries from diplo-matic turf of the city, celebri-ties and other bigwigs. TheChief Executive Officer ofChenOne- Mian KashifAshfaq inaugurated the newstore. Mian Umair Javed,COO ChenOne was alsopresent at the ceremony.
The store is a display ofthe lush product assortmentof the brand ranging from ex-quisite fashion apparel to opu-lent choices of furniture, fin-est bedding and home acces-sories. Recently, the brand hasopened up its lifestyle storesin Johar Town, Lahore, PWDIslamabad and DHARawalpindi. During the impe-rious celebrations, MianKashif Ashfaq, CEO ChenOneStores said: “ChenOne ispleased to open up yet an-other store in Rawalpindi city.We are expanding our retailpresence to ease the brandreach for our enthusiasts. Weare setting up our stores as ut-ter luxury shopping experienceall around the country andacross the borders.
find out about the exciting opportunitieson offer.” Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Miftah Ismail said Pakistan is an investmentdestination of choice because of its largemiddle class and trained workforce, posi-tive economic outlook with stable indica-tors, huge resource base, growing finan-cial markets and very attractive investmentpolicies.
He said Pakistan offers tremendousopportunities of foreign investment in awide variety of sectors, particularly in powersector, oil & gas exploration, and food &agriculture. Particularly the financial sec-tor of Pakistan shows good prospects withincrease in Islamic banking practices andvery strong capital markets. 26 banks oper-ating in Pakistan have foreign shareholdingwhile 22 banks are listed on the stock ex-changes with a market capitalization of PKR1.5 trillion. “Due to economic reformsagenda of the government, the economyhas gained stability and the economic indi-cators are on upward trajectory.
Over 100 Multinational companies aresuccessfully doing business in Pakistanand we invite more businesses to invest inthe profitable market of Pakistan.” I am hope-ful that through this Conference, the busi-nesses of both the countries will benefitfrom the professional and financial servicesthat UK offers. Pakistan High CommissionerSyed Ibne Abbas also attended the Con-ference talking to media stated that this wasa 3rd such conference this year whichshows the commitment of the UK and Paki-stan to strengthening trade and economicties.—INP
RAWALPINDI: Chief Executive Officer ChenOne, Mian Kashif Ashfaq inaugurating newstore in Commercial Market. Mian Umair Javed, COO ChenOne also seen in the picture.
ISLAMABAD: President PTCL Walid Irshaid writing his comments on the Book ofCondolence opened by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the demise ofKing Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan’s halal meat exportsrose to $230.2 million during Financil Year (FY)2014, showing a 9pc increase, compared to$211.1 million in FY13, following promotionalsteps taken by the government, including aban on commercial export of live animals. Thepaper further added that about 80pc ofPakistan’s meat exports go to the Middle Eastand Gulf countries, major destinations beingSaudi Arabia and the UAE. The other poten-tial markets for Pakistani meat are the Asia-Pacific region, North-Africa and the Far East,Technology times reported.
It said that although Pakistan’s halal sec-tor is still under-performing, the country is set
Pak meat exports finding good nicheto become one of the active players in the glo-bal meat trade, at least in the Middle East andSoutheast Asia. “The sector is slowly strivingto create a niche for itself in the highly com-petitive global market which could be worthup to $1.6 trillion by 2018”. the paper said. Pa-kistan ranks 22nd in the world in the export ofhalal meat, however, more than half of its meatexports consist of beef. Today, Pakistan is the9th largest producer and consumer of beef,itadded.
The paper said that as far as the MiddleEast is concerned, a major advantage thatPakistan has is proximity to the region thanany of its rivals, Australia, Brazil.—APP
Warid makeseasy to get
LTE handsetsISLAMABAD—Followingthe successful launch ofits LTE services, Waridhas become Pakistan’sfirst operator toprogress direct ly from2G to LTE technology.Along with this news,the company has an-other excit ing an-nouncement. WaridTelecom has taken aninitiative in collaborat-ing with Bank AlfalahLimited that will allowWarid customers (withBank Alfalah creditcards) to purchase LTE-supported handsets ,with 0% markup and ona simple instal lmentplan.This offer comeswith LTE Mobile InternetBundle absolutely freeand applies to all the lat-est Samsung, Sony,Nokia and Huawei LTE-supported devices.Warid subscribers canavail this offer with 8GBhigh-speed monthly mo-bile internet bucket forup to 12 months, de-pending on their install-ment plan.
The latestsmartphones can bebought from selectedWarid Business Centersincluding iPhonesthat areexclusively available here.Customers can avail 5GBof free mobile internet permonth for 3 to 6 monthsdepending on the hand-set purchased. In additionto these innovative offers,Warid has recently an-nounced its partnershipwith ‘Daraz.pk’, an onlineshopping portal that de-livers the latestsmartphones. This initia-tive is aimed at makingLTE-supported mobile de-vices conveniently acces-sible to Warid Telecom’scustomers from the com-fort of their home.—PR
Oil priceshold near six-
year lowsLONDON—Oil pricessteadied Tuesday near six-year lows, with gainscapped by lingering con-cern about a global supplyglut, weak demand andGreece’s political future,analysts said. US bench-mark West Texas Interme-diate (WTI) for March de-livery added just one centto $45.16 a barrel. BrentNorth Sea crude for Marchrose ten cents to stand at$48.30 a barrel in middayLondon deals comparedwith Monday’s close.
Crude futures sankMonday to their lowestclosing levels since early2009, as markets largelyignored a warning fromthe OPEC oil cartel thatprices could surge to $200owing to shrinking invest-ment in exploration. Oil haslost more than half itsvalue since June last yearwhen the commodity wassitting at more than $100 abarrel due to a supply glutthat had been boostedlargely by robust US shaleoil production, and weakglobal demand. ShailajaNair, associate editorialdirector at energy informa-tion provider Platts, saidthe comments by OPECSecretary GeneralAbdullah El-Badri did notalter “market fundamen-tals”.—AFP
Currency Selling Buying
USA 100.80 100.60
UK 152.17 151.87
Euro 113.27 113.05
Canada 80.71 80.55
Switzerland 111.71 111.49
Australia 79.97 79.82
Sweden 12.14 12.12
Japan 0.8526 0.8509
Norway 12.96 12.93
Singapore 74.99 74.84
Denmark 15.21 15.18
Saudi Arabia 26.82 26.77
Hong Kong 13.00 12.98
Kuwait 341.50 340.83
Malaysia 27.92 27.86
Newzealand 74.81 74.67
Qatar 27.68 27.62
UAE 27.44 27.39
Kr Won 0.0932 0.0930
Thailand 3.095 3.089
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—The Lahore chamber of Com-merce & Industry (LCCI) will take-up theissue of Anakarli fire incident affectees withthe Punjab government for early paymentof compensation. This was stated by theLCCI Ijaz A. Mumtaz while talking to a del-egation of Anarkali fire incident affecteeshere at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce& Industry. Mian Shabbir Ahmed, Mateen-ur-Rehman, Farrukh Akhlaq, President ofAnjuman-e-Tajran Auto parts Badami Bagh& LCCI Executive Committee MemberWaqar Ahmed Mian and PresidentAnjuman-e-Tajran Ashraf Bhatti also spokeon the occasion.
Ijaz A. Mumtaz said that tragic Anarkaliincident not only claimed over a dozen pre-cious lives but also incurred loss of over Rs.63 million to the traders. “The Lahore Cham-ber of Commerce & Industry is well aware ofthe difficulties being faced by the affecteesof Anarkali and would make all out effortsfor early payment of compensation. Punjabgovernment should early payments to thetraders so that they could restart their busi-nesses,” said LCCI President. He said thatrepeated fire incidents in different parts of
Compensation sought forAnakarli fire incident affectees
the cities have also exposed weak control ofthe government departments, which havefailed to ensure proper implementation ofrules & regulations. He said that had theauthorities concerned ensured proper fireexit in the Anarkali Plaza, the volume of thedamage would have been much smaller.
Ijaz A. Mumtaz said that Lahore hadbecome a hub of commercial activities butnever every due attention was given to-wards upgradation of fire fighting facilitiesto control the situation in case of such inci-dents. He said that the government shouldinstall fire Hydrants at the market placeswhich are inaccessible for fire tenders toavoid future mishaps. He said that despitevarious fire incidents took place in the coun-try during last one decade, no concretemeasures had been taken. He said that al-though it is the government’s task to putHydrants in inaccessible market places butin case of financial constraints at govern-ment level, the private sector should alsocontribute. He said that the massive dev-astation caused by the huge fire could havebeen averted if the concerned governmentdepartments had performed their dutiesproperly and ensured implementation ofrules and regulations.
Ambassador of Pakistan Asif Durrani visiting stalls of Pakistani exhibitors at ArabHealth Exhibition 2014 at Dubai World Trade Centre.
PESHAWAR: President FPCCI Mian Muhammad Adrees addressing the members ofKPCCI during his visit. S. M. Muneer, Patron-in-Chief, United Business Group andCEO TADP, Iftikhar Ali Malik, Chairman, UBG, Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour, LeaderBusinessman Forum, Fuad Ishaq, President KPCCI are also seen in picture.
LAHORE: A large number of people getting their SIMs verified biometrically at amobile phone company office.
PESHAWAR—President Federation of Paki-stan Chamber of Commerce and Industry(FPCCI), Mian Muhammad Adrees has as-sured the business community of KhyberPakhtunkwa for taking all out measures forrevival of commercial activity in the prov-ince badly affected due to war against ter-rorism. He expressed these views whilespeaking at a luncheon hosted by KhyberPhanktunkwa Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (KPCCI) on Tuesday to celebratevictory of United Businessmen Group(UBG) in FPCCI annual elections. Prominentbusinessmen of Pakistan including patronin chief of UBG, SM Munir, Chairman UBGIftikhar Malik, Senator Ilyas Bilour, Presi-dent KPCCI, Fawad Ishaq and others werepresent on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, MianMuhammad Idress said KP has sufferedhuge losses both economically and materi-ally due to countryâ•™s ongoing waragainst terrorism. The people of the prov-ince and especially business communitydeserve a solace and compensation fromthe government, he added. He assured theparticipants that the incumbent office bear-ers of FPCCI will take all possible measuresfor providing relief to the affected businesscommunity of the province. In response toa point raised on the occasion, PresidentFPCCI said he will take up the issue ofchange of route of Kashghar-Gawadarproject with the Prime Minister. He said he
FPCCI assures support to KP bizcommunity for economic revival
is seeking suggestions from all the cham-bers of Pakistan for preparing an agenda ofmeeting with the Prime Minister.
Speaking on the occasion, Patron inchief of UBG, SM Munir said his bank (Mus-lim Commercial Bank) will provide lendingto the businessmen of KP. He said if othercommercial banks have declared KP as ‘RedZoneâ•™ but the MCB will not follow thesuit and fully facilitate businessmen of thisregion. Chairman UBG, Iftikhar Malikstressed upon the newly elected office bear-ers of FPCCI to concentrate on return ofthose Pakistanis who have left the country.He said we should do for recovering theloss faced because of brain drain.
Similarly, he added, measures shouldalso be adopted for proper settlement ofAfghan businessmen who are also contrib-uting in strengthening economy of Paki-stan. Earlier, President KPCCI, Fawad Ishaqcongratulated the leaders of UBG for mak-ing a clean sweep in FPCCI elections. Hesaid after a passage of several years theleadership of UBG has won FPCCI elections.
President KPCCI asked the FPCCI presi-dent to work for getting a monetary relief pack-age for business community of KP. He saidPPP led government announced a packagebut due to some bureaucratic hurdles thebusinessmen could not avail it. LeadershipBusinessmen Forum, Senator Ilyas Bilou alsospoke on the occasion and congratulated thenew office bearers of FPCCI.—APP
KARACHI: Homage- trademark of R&I Electrical Appliances (Pvt) Ltd added a new product‘Induction Cooker’ to its products range. The product was promoted through Live CookingShows across Malls in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, hosted by the reputable Chef Zakir.
COMMERCE REPORTER
RAWALPINDI—Federal Minister for Commerce EngineerKhurram Dastgir Khan has said that energy and extrem-ism are the biggest problems of Pakistan and creatinghurdle in national development. He said that electricitycrisis will be resolved in 2017 and to overcome gascrunch first LNG terminal will be completed in February2015 and second one will be installed in May of thisyear. He said that Pakistan will soon get 1000MW elec-tricity under KASA-1000 project with Tajikistan andgovernment working to enhancing energy generationthrough furnace oil which will have positive impact onthe recent crisis.
“Political instability (Dharna Politics) badly affect thenational development and destroy the foreign investmentopportunities in the country but government is still com-mitted to facilitate the masses”, he said. He was exchang-ing these views with the President Rawalpindi Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (RCCI) Syed Asad Mashadi dur-ing his visit to Chamber on Tuesday. Senior vice PresidentMian Humayun Parvez, Former Presidents Sheikh Shabbir,S.M Naseem, S.M Azeem, Najam Rehan, Manzar Khurshid,
Energy deficit, extremism hurdlesin national development: Khurram
members’ executive committee and other members of theChamber were also present on the occasion.
Federal Minister said that in current situation we can-not talk on trade enhancement with India once the situa-tion gets normal we will see. He said that government keento enhance trade relations with every nation specially Af-ghanistan and Central Asian States are in focus of thegovernment, New Afghan govt is coopewrative and a posi-tive policy shift can be found.
He said that RCCI is one of the best Chambers of thecountry organizing international expos with its own re-sources; government will facilitate Rawalpindi Chamber inExpos. He ensured his full support to the President RCCI.Earlier speaking on the occasion President RCCI SyedAsad Mashadi said that government should make busi-ness friendly policies as prevailing policies are the mainhurdle in national economic uplift. He said that businesscommunity always support govt’s positive stance and criti-cized poor performance as well. He further said that RCCIorganized 12 single country Expos last year and this yearalso planning the same in different countries. He was ofthe view that to achieve maximum results commercial coun-selors should be appointed on merit basis.
MIAN ARSHAD
ISLAMABAD—The Finance Minister IshaqDar, Tuesday, appreciated Japanesegovernment’s intent to invest Yenequivalent of $ 850 million in the Lakhracoal power project. Talking to JapaneseAmbassador Hiroshi Inomata here the Fi-nance Minister said that marked recov-ery in Pakistani economy had enlivenedthe interest of Japanese companies to in-vest in Pakistan. The Minister shared withthe Japanese Envoy, outcome of his meet-ings with Japanese leadership, CEOs ofprominent companies and other impor-tant personalities during his just con-cluded visit to Japan.
He mentioned about Toyota Motorsplans for enhanced investment andYamaha’s future venture for launching amodern motorcycle plant in Pakistan on27th April. Dar at the same time also ap-preciated Japanese government’s intentto invest Yen equivalent of USD 850 mil-lion in the Lakhra coal power project. TheMinister said, he had briefed the Japa-nese leaders and CEOs of various com-panies about the turnaround in Pakistan’s
economy, which had been possiblethrough a sustained reforms agenda. Hesaid marked recovery in its economy hadenlivened the interest of Japanese com-panies to invest in Pakistan. He addedthat during meetings with their senior of-ficials JICA and JBIC expressed renewedinterest to invest in Pakistan. He thankedthe Japanese Ambassador for facilitatingthe visit, which helped in apprising Japa-nese leadership about the opportunitiesfor prospective investors.
Inomata conveyed to the Ministergratitude of the Japanese leadership forundertaking this visit, which he said wouldserve as a new beginning in bilateral eco-nomic cooperation. He said that invitationto the Japanese Prime Minister to visitPakistan was being accorded active con-sideration. He affirmed strong interest ofthe Japanese side to invest in the Lakhracoal project. He said that he would signgrant agreements on two projects withEconomic Affairs Division (EAD). Theseprojects include Energy Saving in WaterSupply System in Lahore and Improve-ment in security systems at Port Karachiand Port Qasim.
Dar lauds Japan’s intent to invest$850m in Lakhra Coal Project
Chinesedelegation meets
PCJCCI ChiefSTAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Mr. Shah FaisalAfridi, President Pak-ChinaJoint Chamber of Commerceand Industry (PCJCCI) re-ceived a business and Tradedelegation from JiangsuChamber of Commerce, Chinahere at PCJCCI office on Tues-day. The delegation to beheaded by Mr. Wang Guogui,Supervising Chairman ofJiangsu Chamber, was com-prising senior members of theJiangsu Chamber. The del-egation, during its week-longstay in Pakistan, will holdmeetings with significant or-ganizations of the private andpublic sector which includeHaier Ruba SEZ, PBIT, FPCCI,HBL, UMT, APTMA, CSD,Habib Construction Com-pany SMEDA and PCJCCI.Faisal Afridi informed that thePrimary objective of the visit-ing Chinese delegation is toexplore business opportuni-ties in Pakistan.
RAWALPINDI: President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Syed Asad Mashhadiand other RCCI officials with Federal Minister for Commerce Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan.
OICCI hailsPM for
appointingIPOP members
STAFF REPORTER
KARACHI—Overseas Inves-tors Chamber of Commerce(OICCI) has congratulated thePrime Minister for appointingthe members of the Intellec-tual Property Organization ofPakistan (IPOP) Policy Boardwhich had been pending sincethe enactment of the IPOP Actin 2012. The newly formedPolicy Board has representa-tion from the trade and indus-try including the OICCI as amember of the Board.
OICCI President, Asad S.Jafar, commenting on this de-velopment said that “consti-tution of the IPOP PolicyBoard with effective represen-tation from private sector es-pecially organizations likeOICCI, is a positive step bythe government and will go along way in improving the In-tellectual Property Rights en-vironment in Pakistan andsending a strong signal to for-eign investors who have beenpleading for strengtheninglaws relating to protection oftrade marks, patents and copyrights.” According to OICCI,IPR violations in Pakistan arecausing significant financialand social loss to the govern-ment and people of Pakistan.Estimates of sales losses in-curred due to IPR infringe-ments by affected companiesruns in hundreds of billionswith the consequential lossto the national exchequer inlost taxes annually. Leadingpharmaceutical andhealthcare multinationals, forinstance, spend between 15to 20 percent of their revenueon research and developmentto introduce new products.Such companies may not bewilling to introduce propri-etary products in markets thatlack adequate IPR protection.
OICCI recognizes thatprotection of Intellectual Prop-erty Rights (IPR) is vital for acompetitive economy in Paki-stan, and believes that the ex-istence of a legal framework toprotect all forms of intellectualproperty including TradeMarks, Copyrights and Pat-ents, is an essential prerequi-site to attract foreign invest-ment and to ensure that thecountry does not fall into anyinternational “Watch List” orembargos.
KARACHI: Players of Govt Degree College for Women Block M North Nazimabad and Khatoon-e-Pakistan Govt College for Women hockey teamclash in semi-final of Inter-Collegiate Sports Gala.
MULTAN: A view of cricket match played between Rocks Club and Al-Qadir Club during District Multan T-20Tournament.
LAHORE: A student playing Hand Ball Game during a festival organised at Govern-ment College of Science, Wahdat Road.
PESHAWAR: Chief guest meeting with players during Division Talent Hunt HockeyTrials.
Guptill signs onfor fresh
Derbyshire stintLONDON—New Zealandbatsman Martin Guptill is tore-join Derbyshire as theiroverseas player for the earlypart of the 2015 season, theMidlands county an-nounced.
The 28-year-old Guptillplayed for the club in the2011 and 2012 seasons andwill return for the openingsix Championship matchesand first three Twenty20 fix-tures of the new season.
“I always wanted to goback to Derbyshire whenthe time was right,” Guptillsaid in a club statement. “Iget on great with the peopleand have lots of really goodmemories.”
Guptill, a member of co-hosts New Zealand’s WorldCup squad for the WorldCup, scored 1,131 first-classruns at an average of 43.50,including three centuries,during his time withDerbyshire.
He also played for theside that won the DivisionTwo County Championshiptitle in 2012.
“Hopefully I can help mycounty make a quick start tothe season to get them in thepromotion mix again, andget the lads off to a flier inthe T20 Blast,” Guptilladded.
New Zealand begin atour of England in May, withthe opening internationalleg of their visit a two-Testseries.—AFP
GymkhanaStars beat
Richard Clubin Iqra GoldCup Cricket
PE S H AWA R —GymkhanaStars stunned Richard clubin the opening match of thefirst Iqra Gold Cup CricketTournament which got un-der way here at Arbab NiazCricket Stadium on Tues-day.
Former first class crick-eter and coach Haji AkbarShah was the chief guest onthis occasion who formallyinaugurated the tournamentin which top 30 teams aretaking part.
Richard clubs won thetoss and invited GymkhanaStars to bat first. GymkhanaStars while batting firstscored 241 runs withMuhammad Rustum scoredan elegant knock of 78 runsincluding seven bound-aries, Asad Ullah made 68runs with nine boundaries,Saqib Rehman scored 20runs. For Richard Club Sajidgot two wickets, and Farhanand Irfan Khan got onewicket each.
In replay, Richard clubbowled out after playing19.3 overs with Karam andFarhan scored 23 and 22runs respectively, none ofthe other batsmen couldcross the double figures.For Gymkhana StarsAhmad, Fazal, Akbar Shahtook two wickets each,Muhammad Sabir andDawood got one wicketeach. Thus Gymkhana Starswon the match by 169runs.—APP
KARACHI—All-rounder Shoaib Malik andtop-order batsman Azhar Ali, and pace
bowler Sohail Tanvir have all been put onstandby as Pakistan struggles with injuryproblems ahead of the World Cup.
“Malik, Azhar and Tanvir have been toldto be on standby so that if some playershave fitness issues in World Cup, the teammanagement wants to be sure they can getquick replacements if required,” a source inthe Pakistan Cricket Board told Press Trustof India.
According to the media reports, thedecision was made after consultations withchief selector Moin Khan and the team man-agement in New Zealand,
“The tour selection committee hasgiven its consent for these players but willlet the board know about the final two
Malik, Tanvir on standbyfor World Cup
names when required.”Sohaib Maqsood, Ehsan Adil and
Wahab Riaz were the play-ers facing some fitness is-sues and were being moni-tored closely, the officialsaid.
“Malik and Azhar areboth on the standby list asthey can also bowl.”
Last week, the PCBtermed reports about the fit-ness of captain Misbah-ul-Haq and paceman JunaidKhan as ‘nonsense’, reiter-ating that both players werevital to Pakistan’s prospectsat the World Cup. WhileMisbah well and trulyproved the reports wrong,smacking 107 and 88 inPakistan’s two tour matches
against New Zealand Board President’s XI,Junaid has been replaced by Bilawal Bhatti.
But according to PCB’s senior mediamanager Raza Kitchlew “will be flying out”for the World Cup as soon as the doctoradvises.
Left-arm pacer Junaid, who was selectedin the World Cup squad, was left behind ashe had suffered a hamstring injury whilebowling in the training camp in Lahore.
The source said the tour selection com-mittee had made it clear that Junaid shouldonly be sent when he was 100 per cent fitand cleared by the medical panel of theboard.
“He is presently in a rehabilitation pro-cess and resting,” he said.—APP
KARACHI—Saad Ali smashed a matchwinning unbeaten 93 as Karachi Dolphinsshocked National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)by five wickets but both teams enteredthe last four rounds of President’s GoldCup One-Day Cricket Tournament onTuesday.
Saad’s fighting 115 ball knock witheight boundaries gave Karachi Dolphinstop place in group with eight pointswhile NBP finished second on a betternet run-rate with six points here at theNational Stadium.
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd whichalso got six points was eliminated fromthe semifinal race on inferior run-rate.
Karachi Dolphins fought back afterthey slumped to 113- 4.
But a match winning 131-run fifthwicket stand between Saad andMuhammad Waqas put them on road tovictory. Waqas blasted eight fours in his67 off 69 balls.
Mir Hamza in the end hoisted twosixes and one four in his 14- ball cameo of
Karachi Dolphins shockNBP, both enter President’s
Gold Cup semis24 runs as Karachi Dolphins raced to vic-tory with four balls to spares.
Earlier NBP sent to bat first, recov-ered to score 285 for the loss of eight wick-ets in their 50 overs.
Sami Aslam hit run a ball 69 with eightfours and one six. But Qasier Abbas top-scored an attacking 72 in 63 balls witheight fours and one six.
Slow left arm spinner Faraz AhmedKhan captured three wickets for 63 runsin ten overs and left arm pacer Mir Hamzasnapped two wickets for 51 runs in tenovers.
NBP will take on Khan reach Labora-tories (KRL) in the semifinals at NationalStadium on january 30.
Summarized scores: NBP 285-8 in 50overs (Qasier Abbas 72, Sami Aslam 69,Muhammad Nawaz 33, Kamran Akmal 29,Faraz Ahmed Khan 3-63, Mir Hamza 2-31)Karachi Dolphins 286-5 in 49.2 overs(Saad Ali 93 not out, Fazal Subhan 62,Rameez Raja 25, Muhammad Waqas 67,Mir Hamza 24 not out).—APP
PESHAWAR—With the joint collaboration ofHigher Education Department and Director-ate of Sports and Youth Affairs the firstKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Regional Gamesgot under way here at Qayyum Sports Com-plex on Tuesday amidst fun and fair.
Adviser to the Chief Minister on SportsKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Amjad Afridi was thechief guest on this occasion who formallyinaugurated the colourful opening ceremony.Director Higher Education DepartmentKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Professor Noor UllahWazir, Organizing Secretaries Arshad Hussainand Abdur Rashid Anwar, Director TrainingTariq Mehmood, famous poet Dr. Israr Atal,singer Karan Khan, officials, players and largenumber of spectators were also present.
The colourful opening ceremony wasstarted with the recitation from the HolyQuran by Qari Rehman Ahmad of Hazara, fol-lowed by the smart March Past of 300 playersfrom seven different regions comprising DeraIsmail Khan, Bannu, Kohat, Mardan, Swat,Hazara and Peshawar took part.
The contingent participated in the na-tional anthem. To pay tribute to the martyredof Peshawar incident known writer and poetpresented a poem while Karan Khan en-thralled the sitting spectators and players withhis melodious voice by singing a Pashtu(Tappa) which turned the whole complexion
KP Inter-Regional Gamesbegin amid fun fair
into melodious atmosphere.In his welcome address Director HED Pro-
fessor Noor Ullah Wazir appreciated the Di-rectorate of Sports and Youth Affairs for ex-tending all financial support. He said for thefirst time in the history such an initiatives havebeen taken by the Directorate of SportsKhyber Pakhtunkhwa for providing all outsupport in the provision of sports facilities tothe players hailing from various colleges. Hedisclosed that Minister for EducationMushtaq Ghani and Sports Adviser have al-ready signed an MoU to have these Gameson annual basis.
In his speech, Amjad Khan Afridi assuredthe players that the activities of sports mustgo own. He said they would fight the terror-ism with the activities in sports fields. “Wewant to involve our youth in healthy sportsactivities and for this purpose such initiativewas taken to facilitate the students of all theaffiliated colleges with HED,” Amjad Afridiadded.
Soon after the inauguration ceremony, theathletic even including 800m race was held inwhich Sohail of Hazara clocked 2:11:16sec bywinning first gold medal, followed byMuhammad Saleh Khan of Bannu with hisclock time 2:13.11sec got silver medal andSaddam Hussain of Swat with his clock time2:13.38sec got bronze medal.—APP
PESHAWAR—Peshawar District HockeyAssociation announced Under-16 and Un-der-25 after conducting two-day trials hereat Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
This was stated by Secretary KhyberPakhtunkhwa Hockey Association SyedZahir Shah while talking to APP here. Hesaid they have conducted trials under atrials committee headed by MuhammadSaeed Khan w ith other members com-prising Hidayat Ullah, Malik Zahir NawarKhan, Yasir Islam, Musaddiq Hussain,Zir Ur Rehman Binor i , Haji HidayatUllah.
He said in the first phase they haveshort-listed 33 players each for the Under-16 Hockey Championship to be organizedby District Sports Officer in February thisyear while the other team would representPeshawar Region in the forthcoming YouthGames to be commencing from February 16,2015.
In the Under-16 the names of the short-listed probables comprising goal-keeper
Peshawar Region U-16, U-25hockey teams announced
Nabil and Waqas (Peshawar) and Irshad(Nowshera), full-back Adnan, Daniyal(Peshawar) left-full-back Siraj, Saleem andKasham (Peshawar), Abdul Samad(Charsadda), right-half Gohar, Aamir,Arshad, Danish and Waseem (Peshawar),center half Yasir Ali, Arslan, left half UmarFarooq, Taimur (Peshawar), Dawood Khan(Charsadda), Usman (Nowshera), right-outIhtisham, Karamat Ulah, Asif, Wahib(Peshawar), Mohib Khan (Charsadda),Right-in Mudasir (Nowshera), Usama(Peshawar), center forward Zarain, IsmailKhan, Afras, Amjad (Peshawar), left-inFahad, Fawad, Afzal, Shahid (Peshawar),left-in Jibran Khan, Tehsin Ullah(Peshawar), Shahzeb (Nowshera).
In the Under-25 the players comprisingWaqas, Arif, Zahid, Ijaz Ahmad, Abdul HadiMehmood, Waseem Ahmad, Subhan, YasirAli, Arsalan, Farman Ali, Junaid Khan,Hussain, Muazam, Aziz, Saeed, WalidHamid, Usama, Sami Ullah, Waqas, AbsarAli and Hamid Ullah.—APP
COAS HockeyCup: NBP, PAF
register winsKARACHI—NBP defeatedSSGC and PAF beat Punjabto register victories on thesixth day of the first Chief ofArmy Staff Challenge HockeyCup at the Army Hockey Sta-dium, Rawalpindi on Tues-day.
SSGC, in the absence ofShakeel Abbasi, their onlyinternational player, failed topierce through the bankers’defence, giving way to NBP’sexperienced forwards to capi-talise on their weakness andend the game at 4-1.
NBP’s Dilber Hussainscored a field goal in the 13thminute, while Ali Shandodged two defenders todouble the lead in the 33rd andAtiq Arshad scored the thirdthrough his 38th-minute fieldgoal.
SSGC replied through asolitary goal in the 51stminute when Rizwan Ali hit across to Abbas Haider, whichwas successfully converted.However, NBP put one morein through Shan in the 59thminute to make it 4-1.—APP
Ski racespostponed
ISLAMABAD—The ski racesscheduled to take place inNaltar Gilgit-Baltistan andKala Bagh from February 4to March 5 have been post-poned due to a lack of snow.
Spokesman of Ski Fed-eration of Pakistan told APPon Tuesday that childrenfrom Gilgit-Baltistan and uni-versity skiers, including fe-male were to feature in theski competitions. He said thatsome of the ski competitionsmight be cancelled if the situ-ation did not change at thetwo slopes. “According tothe reports from Naltar, themain slope still did not haveenough snow for the games.
He said the entire sched-uled was being reviewedadding that 4th inter- uni-versity women and men skicompetitions as well as thechildren cup and SadiaKhan trophy would now beheld after the National SkiChampionship.—APP
Bipin DaniOBSERVER CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI—The Pakistani off-spinnerSaeed Ajmal is out of from playing the2015 World Cup because of his bowlingaction, but the 38-year-old bowler willkeep eye on every ball bowled at theWorld Cup.
He has been hired by the Urdu TVchannel in Pakistan for the matches.
Speaking exclusively over his mobilefrom Lahore, Saeed Ajmal says, “I havesigned with Dunya TV for the World Cupcommentary”.
“I shall be sitting in a Studio in Lahoreand offer my comments on matches notinvolving only Pakistani team but othercountries as well. My views will be airedafter every match played in Australia andNew Zealand”, he added.
Saeed Ajmal to share mike withSarfaraz Nawaz and Imran Nazir forUrdu commentary during World Cup
Along with Saeed Ajmal, the TV chan-nel has signed two more cricketers for themega-event. “Imran Nazir and SarfarazNawaz too have been signed for the mega-even”, Ahmed Raza, the TV channel offi-cial confirms.
Saeed Ajmal has remained optimis-tic about his testing results in Chennai.“I am hopeful of being cleared. How-ever, (am) not changing my decision ofpulling out of the World Cup squad. Thedecision was taken in the last week ofDecember and even if I am cleared ofmy action, I will not make myself avail-able for the World Cup. Playing of thisWorld Cup is not in my destiny and Iaccept it”.The 50-over World Cup is played everyfour year and the next World Cup in 2019scheduled to be played in England maynot see Ajmal, then would be 42, playing.
ISLAMABAD—Former Test cricketer SarfrazNawaz Tuesday said Pakistan’s consecu-tive defeats against New Zealand’s BoardPresident XI team was a bad signal for thegreen-shirts to win the World Cup.
T h eteam’s me-diocre per-f o r m a n c ee v e nagainst lo-c a l ss h o w e dthat thep l a y e r slacked thep a s s i o nand ag-g r e s s i o n ,he saidwhile talk-ing to APP.
T h eteam lost the first one day international(ODI) against Board President by six wick-ets and the second by one wicket.
It may be mentioned that Pakistan willplay two ODIs against the New Zealandteam on January 31 and February 3.
Sarfraz advised the team managementto boost players’ confidence to avoid to-tal collapse in the mega event, where theywould have to fight their nerves againstworld’s best competitors.
He said both Moin Khan and Waqar
Green-shirts show againstlocal team bad signal: Sarfraz
Younis should play their due role beingseniors, who had faced such situations inthe past.
The team’s morale, he said, had alreadyshaken due to the absence of main bowlersSaeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan. MuhammadHafeez would also not be able to bowl.
He said the selected bowlers wouldhave to deliver, otherwise it would costthe team. Sohail Tanvir should have beenincluded in the squad as being an all-rounder he could help the team with hisbowling and batting.
Praising Misbah-ul-Haq and UmarAkmal, Sarfraz said the Pakistan captainhad proved his class that he was still amainstay for the team as a bastman.“Rumours were spread before team’s an-nouncement for the World Cup thatMisbah would be dropped from the WCsquad because of his hamstring injury.Misbah proved his critics wrong throughhis performance.”
Misbah had scored 107 and 88 not-out while Umar made 68 and 77, respec-tively in the first and second ODIs againstBoard President XI.
Sarfraz said same was the case forUmar, who also proved his selection right.
He urged the Pakistan Cricket (PCB)to solve the central contracts issue so thatplayers could play the World Cup withpeace of mind. “The PCB should give im-portance to the players’ performance be-fore taking any decision,” he said.—APP
Michael Pollard made nearly 60% of the target of New Zealand Board President’s XI.
WELLINGTON—Pakistani cricketer Haris Sohail ontour in New Zealand was hit for six when he saw whathe believed was a ghost haunting him in his hotelroom, the team managersaid Tuesday.
Haris Sohail wasconvinced a “super-natural” presence washaunting him when heawoke Saturday nightto find his bed moving,team manager NaveedAkram Cheema said.
Cheema told Fairfaxmedia that Sohail calleda member of the coach-ing staff who arrived tofind the 26-year-old all-rounder “visiblyshaken”.
Sohail, a left-armspinner and middle-or-der batsman, spent therest of the night in the coach’s room at the RydgesLatimer hotel in Christchurch before being moved toanother room.
The cricketer tweeted on Sunday, “Allah alwaysanswers your duas”. A dua is a form of Muslim prayer.
One of his followers tweeted back: “It’s nice tohear that you recovered from that incident in NewZealand. May Allah protect you.”
Another replied: “You’ve faced down Shaitaan(the devil), the Kiwis should be easy. Best wishes.”
The hotel’s management declined to comment onthe incident, referring enquiries to Pakistan team offi-cials who explained that the cricketer was sufferingfrom a fever at the time.
“We think it was the fever that caused it (but) theplayer still believes his bed was shaken by some-thing and it was a supernatural something,” Cheemasaid, adding that Sohail had been examined by theteam doctor and was found to be in good health.
Sohail was reportedly unable to train for two daysafter the incident and scored six when batting at num-ber four Tuesday against a New Zealand President’sXI.
The 4.5-star Rydges Latimer has been rebuilt sincethe 2011 earthquake that devastated Christchurch andclaimed 185 lives.
There have been no overnight earthquakes re-corded in Christchurch since the Pakistan team ar-rived.
It is not the first time an international cricketerhas complained of ghostly goings-on in the night.
In 2005 several of the Australian party complainedof paranormal activity at Lumley Castle hotel, whichlooms over Durham county’s Riverside ground.
The 600-year-old castle is rumoured to be hauntedby Lily, an aristocratic lady murdered in the 14th cen-tury.—AFP
Pakistan player hit forsix by ghost sighting
ISLAMABAD—It is another feather inDubai’s cap which celebrated the start ofICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with a GuinnessWorld Record attempt.
The 32-metre long and four-metre widecricket bat was displayed on Monday atthe ICC Academy in Dubai, Khaleej Timesreported on Tuesday.
It has been created by the leading payTVnetwork OSN for in a bid to clinch theGuinness World Record for the largestcricket bat.
As tall as an eight to 10-storey build-ing, the ‘largest cricket bat’ weighs a mam-moth 950kg and is nearly 32 times longerthan a standard cricket bat.
Placed horizontally, the bat’s length isequivalent to the distance of seven carsparked bumper to bumper. In sheer propor-tion, it would take a player about 52.8 metrestall to wield the bat.
OSN are also backing the World Cup-bound UAE team thus the bat unveilingwas also marked as a tribute to the UAE
World’s largest cricket batclaim staked by UAE
team for their second foray to the WorldCup.
All the UAE players, officials and somefans put signed on the bat as symbol ofgood luck to the Australia-bound UAEteam. The cricket bat will be on display atthe ICC Academy in Dubai until the end ofMarch.
Cricket fans will be able to write a mes-sage on the bat, expressing their supportfor the UAE team before they leave theUAE to travel to Australia on January 29.
“I am happy with our preparations andI have met the targets I set at the start of mystint with Emirates Cricket Board as acoach,” Aqib Javed told Khaleej Times onthe sidelines of the function.
“We have qualified for three WorldCups (One-day, Twenty20 and U-19) and itis an achievement. We are targeting at leasttwo victories in this World Cup,” he added.
“I am confident that efforts of Aqib andother coaching staff will bear fruits,” saidMohammad Tauqir, the UAE captain.—APP
Nadal crushed as Sharapovaslaps down Bouchard
MELBOURNE—Rafael Nadal’s AustralianOpen dream lay in tatters on Tuesday (Jan 27)with the third seed crushed by Tomas Berdychin the quarter-finals, but Maria Sharapovashowed who’s boss by slapping down EugenieBouchard. The out-of-sortsSpaniard, a 14-time Grand Slamchampion, was never in con-tention against a player he hadbeaten the last 17 times theymet stretching back to 2006.The Czech seventh seed in-sisted ahead of the match thatthe imposing statistic meantlittle and he came out of theblocks firing, winning 6-2, 6-0,7-6 (7/5) despite a mini Nadalrevival in the third set.
“I was definitely ready forit and set up my plan pretty welland I stuck with that throughthose three sets,” said Berdych, who also madethe semis last year, losing to eventual cham-
pion Stan Wawrinka.The upset pits him against Andy Murray
for a place in the final, with the experiencedBritish sixth seed a step too far for brash Aus-tralian teenager Nick Kyrgios, who lost 6-3, 7-
KARACHI—An awesome MichaelPollard hammered a spectacular 153as New Zealand Board President’sXI registered their second win overthe touring Pakistan in a practicegame in Lincoln on Tuesday.
Misbah-ul-Haq hit an unbeaten88 off 89 balls with 11 fours and onesix and Umar Akmal banged 77 off82 balls with clubbing eight bound-aries and three sixes as Pakistanscored 267 for the loss of eight wick-ets in 50 overs at Burt Sutcliff Sta-dium.
Pollard’s 132 balls knock wasstudded with 16 boundaries andthree sixes as New Zealand Board
KARACHI—If there is one team among thetop eight at the World Cup which couldeither crash out embarrassingly in the firstround or romp to the title, it is Pakistan.
The talented yet unpre-dictable side are haunted byinjuries to their fast bowlers,the suspension of match-winning spinner SaeedAjmal and a tussle for thecaptaincy between Misbah-ul Haq and Shahid Afridi.
All seems to havesettled down as Misbah´smen embark on a mission tomatch Imran Khan´s WorldCup triumph — Pakistan´sonly win — in Australiasome 23 years ago.
“This team has the spiritof cornered tigers,” saidchief selector and formercaptain Moin Khan, a keymember of 1992 winning team. “If they playto their potential this team can surprise theworld.”
Captain Misbah, who has recoveredfrom a hamstring injury, is also confidentof the best results.
“The format of this World Cup is suchthat teams have a lot of opportunities,” saidMisbah, who will retire from one-daycricket after the World Cup.
“It would be the icing on the cake if Iend my one-day career with the trophy.”
Pollard’s 153 sink Pakistan as NZBoard XI inflict 2nd defeat
President’s XI’s reached the targetwith their last pair in and one ball tospare.
Pollard was the only one of thetop-five who could make it todouble-figures and NZ BoardPresident’s XI and finally receivedsupport from No. 6 Shawn Hicks.He contributed 29 off 58 balls to afifth-wicket partnership of 85 thatcharted a revival.
Captain Todd Astle, clubbedfive fours in a 24-ball 29 that helpedthe score past 200 and Pollard, whohad progressed to a run-a-ball hun-dred, shepherded the tail until hewas dismissed in the 47th over. He
had reduced the equation to 24needed off 22 balls.
Mohammad Irfan and BilawalBhatti were the major threats. Bothseamers finished with three wick-ets each and Irfan removed Loganvan Beek in the 49th over to leavefive to get off the last over with thefinal batting pair in.
Kyle Jamieson, the 20-year oldright-arm seamer, struck the winningfour had made a similarly telling im-pact in the morning when he dis-missed Younis Khan andMohammad Hafeez and reducedPakistanis to 38 for 3 in the ninthover.
The wobble continued untilMisbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmalbailed the team out with a 116-runstand for the sixth wicket.
Umar Akmal was bowled byEhsan Adil, who was playing for theNZ Board President’s XI.
Summarized scores: Pakistanis267 for 7 in 50 overs (Misbah 88 notout, Umar Akmal 77, SohaibMaqsood 25, Bilaala Bhatti 23,Muhammad Hafeez 18, KyleJameison 2-49) Zealand BoardPresident’s XI 269-9 in 49.5 overs(M. Pollard 153, Todd Astle 29,Shawn Hicks 29, M.Irfan 3-39,Bilalwal Bhatti 3-42).—APP
Australia’s Watson indoubt for tri-series finalSYDNEY—All-rounder Shane Watson said Tuesday he wasunsure if he would be fit for Australia’s one-day interna-tional final against England or India but has no intention
of missing the upcomingWorld Cup.
Watson, 33, was side-lined for Friday’s win overEngland and the washed outgame against India inSydney on Monday with atight hamstring but said hisrecovery was “travelling re-ally well”.
“(It’s) nothing tooserious, but more so a pre-caution just to make sure itsettles down over this weekand be ready to go again bySunday in Perth,” he said.
“If not then, the prac-tice matches leading into theWorld Cup.”
Australia and NewZealand are hosting theWorld Cup which beginsFebruary 14 and the former
are scheduled to play warm-up games against India andthe United Arab Emirates.
It is still not known whether Michael Clarke will returnto the team for the World Cup with his fitness under acloud as he recovers from hamstring surgery undergonelast month after he injured himself in the first Test againstIndia.
Clarke has been given until Australia’s second game ofthe World Cup against Bangladesh on February 21 to provehis fitness, and has been named in the squad for the tour-nament.—AFP
Will Pakistan team crash outor go all the way?
But Misbah knows his bowling will missAjmal, who has single-handedly wonmatches for Pakistan before being sus-pended for an illegal bowling action last
September.Spinning all-rounder
Mohammad Hafeez — sus-pended in November lastyear also over an illegal bowl-ing action — needs to cleara reassessment test to allowthe right combination toMisbah.
“It will be important thatHafeez clears the test be-cause he is two-in-one andhis bowling gives us theright combination,” said thecaptain.
Lanky pacemanMohammad Irfan — the tall-est man to ever play interna-tional cricket at 7 feet, one
inch — is expected to be the X-factor in anotherwise inexperienced pace attack whichwill miss Umar Gul, not fit enough for theevent after knee and ankle problems.
“To me the X-factor in our team is Irfan.With his height I think he can be danger-ous,” said coach Waqar Younis, whomissed Pakistan´s World Cup win in 1992with a back problem.
In Ajmal´s absence, leg-spinner YasirShah, along with all-rounder Afridi, willhandle the spin department.—APP
6 (7/5), 6-3.Nadal had no excuses, admitting he played
“a very bad” match. “I am not very happy be-cause I didn’t compete the way I wanted tocompete in the first two sets and that’s some-
thing that I don’t like,” he said.In contrast to Nadal’s
lacklustre performance, the ex-perienced Sharapova domi-nated young Canadian pre-tender Bouchard to set up anall-Russian semi-final withdark horse EkaterinaMakarova.
The world number two,who could claim the top rank-ing from arch-rival Serena Wil-liams if she wins the title,showed her intent by break-ing the seventh seed in thefirst game of the match andnever looked back.
Sharapova, who also dumped Bouchardout of the French Open semi-finals last year,gave no quarter on Rod Laver Arena, hitting18 winners and forcing 30 unforced errors fromthe 20-year-old.—AFP
RESEARCHERS from the University atBuffalo in New York say two bacteriathat cause many common infections in
children and the elderly, such as strep throatand ear infections, can live outside the humanbody for long periods of timeon various objects, includingbooks, cribs and toys. The in-vestigators found that Strepto-coccus pneumoniae and Strep-tococcus pyogenes linger onmany surfaces significantlylonger than previouslythought, opposing previousstudies that suggest the bacte-ria quickly die once they haveleft the human body.
The researchers say theirfindings suggest that betterstrategies are needed to pre-vent infections, particularly inhospitals, schools anddaycares centres. S. pyogenesis a common cause of strepthroat and skin conditions inschool children, but the bac-teria can also cause severe infections in adults.S. pneumoniae is a leading cause of morbidityand mortality from respiratory tract infectionsin children and the elderly, and it is also a lead-ing cause of ear infections.
Previous research from the team showedthat certain bacteria develop biofilms whenthey colonize human tissues. A biofilm is agroup of microorganisms that bind together ona surface. The researchers found that this bac-teria is stronger than other bacteria that do notform biofilms, leading them to believe that thebacteria may linger on surfaces.
To test if this was the case, the investiga-tors analysed a number of objects including
Some bacteria ‘live for longperiods’ on toys, books and cribs
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah presiding over meeting with the Chinese delegation at Tughlaq House.
books, stuffed toys and cribs in a child daycarecentre. Even after cleaning, the researchersfound that biofilms were able to survive formany hours on cribs, toys and books. Manysurfaces - including cribs - tested positive for
S. pyogenes, while four out offive stuffed toys tested posi-tive for S. pneumoniae.
The researchers note thatthis testing was done after thesurfaces had been cleaned,and prior to the centre open-ing in the morning, meaningit had been a long time sincethe surfaces and objects hadhuman contact. The investiga-tors then tested 1-month-oldbiofilm of S. pyogenes and S.pneumoniae to see whetherthe bacteria was able to colo-nize. Results revealed that thebiofilms could effectivelycolonize a mouse model.
Other experiments foundthat the biofilms were able tosurvive for many hours on
human hands, books, hard and soft toys andsurfaces, even after cleaning. Commenting onthe findings, Anders Hakansson, assistant pro-fessor of microbiology and immunology at theUniversity at Buffalo School of Medicine andBiomedical Sciences, and senior author of thestudy, says:
“In all of these cases, we found that thesepathogens can survive for long periods out-side a human host. Commonly handled objectsthat are contaminated with these biofilm bac-teria could act as reservoirs of bacteria forhours, weeks or months, spreading potentialinfections to individuals who come in contactwith them.”
Ahmed Shah Secretary Arts Council addressing a press conference on ‘I Am Karachi YouthFestival’. Professor Ijaz Ahmed Farooqi President Arts Council, Dr. Fouzia Khan and ZainAhmed are also seen in the picture.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki
Polio workers seen busy in their work while police personnel stand alert to avert any untoward incident in sensitive area ofOrangi Town during anti-polio campaign.
CITY REPORTER
KARACHI—Additional Inspector GeneralPolice, Karachi, Ghulam Qadir Thebo has de-nied that the ongoing targeted operation wasagainst one or political parties in the me-tropolis. Talking to media, following the con-cluding session of the two-day capacitybuilding cum training workshop for Investi-gation Officers and Muharrars, here Tues-day he said the ongoing crackdown against
AIGP denies operationagainst any political party
criminals holds no political connotation.“Karachi police is after criminals and is
for security of peace loving and law abidingcitizens,” Thebo said. The AIGP in reply toa question about killings of no less than 17cops and around four doctors, said these havemainly taken place in district central. “Wehave arrested some of the killers and are fastbehind the others,” he said. With referenceto death of a youth Sarfaraz in police cus-tody.
KARACHI—An engineering institutionhas been established in the private sectorin the metropolis on the pattern of the Pa-kistan Academy of Sciences. This wasstated by a former vice-chancellor of theNED University of Engineering and Tech-nology, Prof. Dr. Jamil Ahmed Khan, onTuesday. He said that the institution hasbeen named as Pakistan Academy of En-gineering (PAE) which is a learned soci-ety registered under the Societies Act.
Pakistan Academy ofEngineering launched
Eng. Jamil who is the president of thePAE said that this will play its role as a ‘think-ing laboratory of the engineering commu-nity. He further stated that the PAE also plansto issue ‘position papers’ on the critical sub-jects concerning the nation. Dr.Jamil who hadalso remained for two terms the chairman ofthe Pakistan Engineering Council said thatthe PAE will promote the creation of engi-neering culture in the country.
He said that the PAE has already started
functioning and its objectives include pro-viding a national forum for discussion ofengineering and technological issues. Itwill promote the application of emergingtechnologies for the benefit of the Paki-stani nation and will bring togethercountry’s eminent engineers from all dis-ciplines and identify strategic priorities toenhance Pakistan’s capabilities and to leaddebate by giving informed thinking andinfluence public policy.—APP
KARACHI—Inspector General of Police (IGP)Sindh, Ghulam Haider Jamali paid visit to dif-ferent areas of the metropolis to review the se-curity measures taken for anti-polio campaign.According to a press release issued here on Tues-day, the IGP visited Nazimabad, Paposh Nagar,
Sindh police chief visitsdifferent areas of city
Manghopir and other areas.Jamali on the occasion directed the con-
cerned officials to ensure implementation ofSection-144 of CrPC in the city and to strengthenthe snap checking, patrolling and intelligencesharing and collection.—APP
KARACHI—Begum Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that HolyProphet Hazart Muhammad (PBUH) has directed to spread mes-sage of Almighty Allah for observing peace, brotherhood, tran-quillity and tolerance amongst mankind, said a statement is-sued here on Tuesday. This she said while attending Eid Miladun Nabi (PBUH) programme organized by Sindh MadressatulIsalm University for its female faculty and students on Tuesday.
SMIU Eid-e-Miladfunction at SMIU
KARACHI—The OmbudsmanSindh Asad Ashraf Malik hasconstituted “Human RightsComplaint Register Cell” at theOmbudsman Secretariat. Thecell has been set-up in pursu-ance of deliberations and deci-sions taken by the Ministry ofLaw, Justice and Human Rights,Government of Pakistan.
The cell will monitor hu-man rights situation in theprovince and implementationof international conventions onhuman rights to which Pakistanis a signatory. Pakistan is un-
der obligation to ensure com-pliance of the conventions sothat it could avail facilities un-der Generalized System ofPreference (GSP) Plus.
The proposed cell at theOmbudsman Secretariat wouldbe headed by a Director Gen-
eral of Ombudsman Secretariatand Director, Directorate ofHuman Rights, an advocate, ofthe Supreme Court and Direc-tor Minorities Affairs will actas its members. The cell willhold periodical meetings tomonitor human rights situation
and other related issues in theprovince and develop systemsand mechanisms for the pre-vention and redressal of humanrights violations.
The cell will submit its re-port regularly to the Ombuds-man suggesting measures for
checking violations of humanrights and the OmbudsmanSindh will advice the Provin-cial Government on the issuesaffecting human rights andtheir redressal in compliancewith the human rights conven-tions.—APP
CITY REPORTER
KARACHI—Sincere intentions of thelegislators to introduce women friendlylaws and promote a culture of genderequity, over the years, is urgentlyneeded to be complimented with capac-ity building of the police investigatorsand prosecutors.
Senior police officials, lawyers andactivists addressing the cops participat-ing in a capacity building workshop viz-a-viz domestic violence, child marriagerestraint act and anti women practicesact organized by Aurat Foundation hereTuesday unanimously sought empower-ment of cops, in context of understand-
Investigators educated onimplementation of women friendly laws
ing of law and capacity to decipher andimplement them in the right spirit.
This was cited to be prerequisite tobring about the much needed change inthe system in particular context of gen-der based equity. Suggestion was alsoforwarded for establishment of specialinvestigation cells in each of the policestations with women IOs assigned theresponsibility to investigate cases in-volving women.
Additional Inspector General of Po-lice, Karachi, Ghulam Qadir Thebo, SSP- Investigation, Faizullah Korejo, SSPShela Qureishi and senior activistMehnaz Rehman felicitating the inves-tigation officers (IOs) and muharrars for
completing the essential training urgedthem to ensure implementation of theabove mentioned laws in the truest spirit.
Shireen Khan, Coordinator of theWorkshop at the onset referred to lacu-nae in the capacities of the concernedprofessionals leading to instances whereculprits involved in crimes againstwomen and girls were witnessed goingscot-free due to weak prosecution.“Concerted efforts are now being madeto empower the IOs which is expectedto be equally beneficial for the policedepartment, judiciary and the victims,”she said.
Karachi Police chief said there wasurgency to improve the interrogation
skills of the IOs/muharrars to ensurethat the culprits are brought to task andthe writ of law is established in the tru-est sense. He urged the police officersto realize the relevance of being fullysensitised about series of issues thathave emerged to perpetuate crime andalso tools available to counter these.
“Being law enforcers you have tobe perfect in deciphering these toolscoupled with their proper use and imple-mentation,” he said. Faizullah Korejourged the workshop participants not toignore sensitivities involved in caseswhere women are the victims and no-ticed to be frequently changing theirstatements.
She stressed the need to follow the teaching of HolyProphet (PBUH). Girls student of SMIU and female facultymembers presented Naat on the occasion. Besides BegumSyed Qaim Ali Shah, Begum Dr.Muhammad Ali Shaikh, VCof SMIU, deans, chairpersons and faculty members of vari-ous department and girl student of SMIU attended the EidMilad un Nabi (PBUH) programme in large number.—APP
RESEARCHERS from the University atBuffalo in New York say two bacteriathat cause many common infections in
children and the elderly, such as strep throatand ear infections, can live outside the humanbody for long periods of timeon various objects, includingbooks, cribs and toys. The in-vestigators found that Strepto-coccus pneumoniae and Strep-tococcus pyogenes linger onmany surfaces significantlylonger than previouslythought, opposing previousstudies that suggest the bacte-ria quickly die once they haveleft the human body.
The researchers say theirfindings suggest that betterstrategies are needed to pre-vent infections, particularly inhospitals, schools anddaycares centres. S. pyogenesis a common cause of strepthroat and skin conditions inschool children, but the bac-teria can also cause severe infections in adults.S. pneumoniae is a leading cause of morbidityand mortality from respiratory tract infectionsin children and the elderly, and it is also a lead-ing cause of ear infections.
Previous research from the team showedthat certain bacteria develop biofilms whenthey colonize human tissues. A biofilm is agroup of microorganisms that bind together ona surface. The researchers found that this bac-teria is stronger than other bacteria that do notform biofilms, leading them to believe that thebacteria may linger on surfaces.
To test if this was the case, the investiga-tors analysed a number of objects including
Some bacteria ‘live for longperiods’ on toys, books and cribs
Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar is sitting on the stage at Lahore Museum during a ceremony to award Quaid-i-Azam Gold Medal.
books, stuffed toys and cribs in a child daycarecentre. Even after cleaning, the researchersfound that biofilms were able to survive formany hours on cribs, toys and books. Manysurfaces - including cribs - tested positive for
S. pyogenes, while four out offive stuffed toys tested posi-tive for S. pneumoniae.
The researchers note thatthis testing was done after thesurfaces had been cleaned,and prior to the centre open-ing in the morning, meaningit had been a long time sincethe surfaces and objects hadhuman contact. The investiga-tors then tested 1-month-oldbiofilm of S. pyogenes and S.pneumoniae to see whetherthe bacteria was able to colo-nize. Results revealed that thebiofilms could effectivelycolonize a mouse model.
Other experiments foundthat the biofilms were able tosurvive for many hours on
human hands, books, hard and soft toys andsurfaces, even after cleaning. Commenting onthe findings, Anders Hakansson, assistant pro-fessor of microbiology and immunology at theUniversity at Buffalo School of Medicine andBiomedical Sciences, and senior author of thestudy, says:
“In all of these cases, we found that thesepathogens can survive for long periods out-side a human host. Commonly handled objectsthat are contaminated with these biofilm bac-teria could act as reservoirs of bacteria forhours, weeks or months, spreading potentialinfections to individuals who come in contactwith them.”
Activists of All Pakistan Clerks Association protesting against printing of satirical sketchesby a French magazine, at Mall Road.
Children carrying wood for domestic use due to shortage of natural gas at Township.
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Advisor to Chief MinisterPunjab on Health Khawaja SalmanRafiq has directed the officers of thedepartment for strict monitoring oftwo-week long anti-measles drive inPunjab, which is being successfullycarried out by the cooperation ofpeople.
He said that officers should en-sure reaching of vaccinating teams toevery village, town, mohallah andstreet to inoculate anti-measles vac-cine to the children of the age of sixmonths to ten years.
He stated this while chairing thefollow-up meeting over the ongoinganti-measles campaign at Civil Sec-retariat, here Tuesday. Secretary
Strict monitoring of anti-measlescampaign to be carried out
Health Jawad Rafiq Malik, DirectorGeneral Health Dr. Zahid Pervaiz, Ad-ditional Secretary (Tech) Dr. SalmanShahid, Director Health EPI Dr. MunirAhmad and EDO Health Lahore Dr.Zulfiqar Ali attended the meeting.
Kh. Salman Rafiq said that, besideslaunching special campaigns againstpolio and measles, government is alsofocusing on strengthening the routineimmunization coverage to prevent chil-dren from nine different diseases.
He said that the deficiencies in theimmunization system have been re-moved and android phones have beengiven to the vaccinators, through whichstrict monitoring is being carried out oftheir performance. He further disclosedthat the vacant posts of vaccinatorshave also been filled.
Kh. Salman Rafiq said that ChiefMinister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharifand Chief Secretary Khizar HayatGondal have already issued clear in-structions to all the DCOs to super-vise and monitor the two-week antimeasles drive in Punjab.
Kh. Salman Rafiq directed theofficers to ensure all success in anti-measles campaign. He said that no le-niency or slackness is affordable inthis vital campaign.
Earlier, Director Health EPI Dr.Munir Ahmad informed that anti-measles campaign is successfully run-ning all over the province, and peopleare bringing their children in the hos-pitals, health centres as well as healthteams at mohallah level for inocula-tion of their children.
SALIM AHMED
LAHORE—Spokesman Punjab governmentSyed Zaeem Hussain Qadri has said thatChaudhry Brothers who supported a dictatorare hatching conspiracies against democracyand making futile efforts for keeping them-selves alive politically through false statements.He said that corruption was rampant duringPervaiz Elahi era and Punjab government ofPML-N completed the incomplete projects ofPervaiz Elahi.
Commenting upon the statement of Ch.Shujat Hussain, Zaeem Qadri said that it doesnot behove to those talking about public ser-vice who made Bank of Punjab bankrupt. Hesaid that everyone is aware of the corruption
Government has completedvarious welfare projects
committed during Pervaiz Elahi tenure. He saidthat Ch. Brothers should give account of lootand plunder of billions of rupees committed inPunjab Bank, NICL and other developmentprojects. Zaeem Qadri said that the people stillnot forgot the loot and corruption of PervaizElahi era. He said that Lahore-Kasur Road,Thokar Niaz Baig Overhead Bridge and otherdevelopment projects were the graveyards ofcorruption of Pervaiz Elahi era.
Zaeem Qadri said that Punjab governmentunder the leadership of Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif has completed anumber of public welfare projects. He said thatthe era of Shahbaz Sharif is proof of transpar-ency and merit and foreign institutions haveopenly acknowledged it.
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Provincial Minister forHome Col. (R) Shuja Khanzada has saidthat National Action Plan for the elimi-nation of terrorism should be strictlyimplemented and indiscriminate actionshould be taken against terrorists irre-spective of any consideration of sect andsocial status for restoring peace in thecountry. He said that zero tolerancepolicy should be adopted for this pur-pose.
National action plan tobe strictly implemented
He was presiding over a meeting ofsenior police officers at Civil Secre-tariat, here Tuesday. The Minister saidthat Apex committees headed by ChiefMinisters of the provinces and compris-ing corps commanders, heads of Rang-ers, sensitive institutions and senior of-ficers of police are planning and moni-toring the operation against terrorists.He said that the country is facing ex-traordinary situation and all securityagencies have been put on high alertwhile operation against terrorists is con-
tinuing.Col. (R) Shuja Khanzada stressed
the need for checking security arrange-ments made by educational institutionson daily basis. He said it has been de-cided that police force will play the roleof frontline force against terrorists andrealizing the importance of raising themorale of police, Chief Minister Punjabhas increased the amount of compen-sation for the martyred police officials.He said that an amount of one crorerupees will be given to heirs of police
officials who will sacrifice their livesin the line of duty. He said that policeofficials of grade-1 to 7 will be given7-marla house, Grade-8 to 15 10-marlahouse, Grade 16 to 17 one kanal housewhile Grade 18 and above two kanalhouse. Similarly, he said that childrenof the martyrs will be given free educa-tion upto university level. Meanwhile,widow and children of martyrs will berecruited in police in accordance withtheir educational qualification, headded.
STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE—Provincial Minister for Excise & Taxa-tion, Law and Finance, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehmanhas said that government is using all available re-sources for providing better healthcare facilities tothe people especially mother & child in the prov-ince and the priority areas of the targets are ruralfolk.
He said that women representation has beenmade compulsory in all government institutions,autonomous boards, development and research cen-tres and 25 thousand women have got right of rep-
All resources being used toprovide better health facilities
resentation under the law. He told that 20 percent birthdeliveries are attended by skilled birth attendant andthis ratio would be increased more than 90 percent by2015 whereas, contraceptive prevalence rate is 36percent that would be increased upto 55 percent by2015(MDGs Target).
Talking to a delegation of family physicians,LHWs and Women, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman saidthat skilled birth attendants, LHVs and LHWs arebeing appointed at health centers because the MMRin LHWs covered area is 147/100,000 live births,compared 300 to 350/100,000 to uncovered areas,therefore, the LHWs, LHVs. He said that at present
under five mortality rate present is 94/1000 and itwill be reduced 45 till 2015(MDGs Target), newborn mortality rate is 54/1000 and it would be re-duced upto 25 by year 2015, whereas, infant mor-tality rate is 77/1000 which would be reduced 40uptill 2015.
He told that maternal mortality ratio 350-500/100000 which would be reduced 140 uptill 2015.He said that on the instructions of Chief MinisterPunjab, additional grant will be provided for mak-ing high-tech Punjab Institute of Nureau Sciencesoperational, whereas, 50 acres land at burkey road& required funds were being provided for construc-
MUZAFFAR ALI
LAHORE—Speakers at a conference on education at PunjabUniversity has called upon the need to promote non-formal edu-cation to increase literacy rate in the country. The conferencewas organized by Education for All Federation, Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department here at Al Raazi Hall ofUndergraduate Study Centre.
Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab Rana Ikram Rabbani, Presi-dent EFA Federation Col (r) Ikram ullah Khan, Secretary Lit-eracy Dr Pervaiz Ahmed Khan, for Chairman TEVTA Khalid
Call for promotingnon-formal education
Mahmood, PU Dean Prof Dr Massarrat Abid, Acting DirectorPU Institute of Education and Research Prof Dr Abid Hussain,former caretaker CM Mian Afzal Hayyat, former SC justice FaqirMuhammad Khokhar, Lt Gen (r) General Naseer Akhter, Lt Gen(r) Afzal Mujeeb, Maj Gen (r) Khawaja Rahat Latif, Saeed uddinQazi, officials from literacy department, representatives fromvarious NGOs and people from various walks of life were presenton the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, Rana Ikram Rabbani said that HolyProphet Hazrat Muhammad SAW has stressed to seek knowl-edge and the importance of education could not be denied.
