e-paper dec 28, 2012

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Continued on Page 7 GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari responding to slogans of crowd on the occasion of 5th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. TTP spokesperson outlines conditions for ceasefire ISLAMABAD—The Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have outlined conditions for a ceasefire, including the adop- tion of Islamic law and a break with the United States, a spokesperson said Thursday, an offer a senior government official described as “prepos- terous”. The Taliban, in a letter sent to a Pakistan daily, also demanded that Pakistan stop its involvement in the war pit- ting Afghan insurgents against the Kabul government and re- focus on a war of “revenge” against India. The letter from Taliban spokesperson Amir Muawiya comes as the focus in Afghani- stan shifts from a military push by Nato troops to potential peace talks, and amid specula- tion of a rift between top Paki- stan Taliban leaders. Military officials told Reuters last month that Paki- stan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud had lost operational command to his deputy, Waliur Rehman, who is considered to be more open to reconciliation with the Pakistani government. The Taliban deny Mehsud has lost command. Continued on Page 7 SUKKAR—Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that Taliban’s offer of conditional truce unacceptable adding that Taliban groups can not dictate the state. Continued on Page 7 30 dead in India of cold wave LUCKNOW—The cold wave sweeping through Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has claimed more than 30 lives in a 24- hour span, officials here said on Thursday. The maximum number of deaths, between Wednesday and Thursday morning, were reported from Bhadohi district where five people succumbed to the cold. As many as four people died in Balia and three each in Allahabad, Mirzapur, Sonebhadra, Ghazipur, Barabanki, Chandauli and Azamgarh districts. Shrawasti and Mau districts have reported one deaths each, a state government official said. The mercury dropped below four degrees Celsius in TTP activist escapes from police station STAFF REPORTER KARACHI —An activist of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) allegedly involved in tar- get killing escaped from Pirabad police station. According to details, the activist Abid Mehsud, used po- lice uniform to deceive the ad- ministration and managed to break out from Police Station Pirabad. The accused was nabbed for his alleged involvement in terrorist activities besides tar- geted killing of more than 25 persons, including police offi- cials from Manghopir Police Station. Station House Officer (SHO) Pirabad Police Station was suspended for negligence and investigations have been started. Gohar Ayub, son rejoin PML-N ‘Afghanistan remains dangerous for journalists’ KABUL—Afghanistan is a dangerous country for the press and journalists encounter serious challenges, said Afghan media watchdog Nai. Two journalists were killed and 69 violent cases have been reported this year, according to statistics just unveiled by Nai. Although a vibrant media and freedom of speech is one of the major achievements of the current government, Nai said these achievements remain fragile, Tolonews reported Thursday. “Journalism and media work face serious threats and challenges in Afghanistan, both in security and restricting influence [from officials]. Balochistan MPAs were ‘asked to show votes’ STAFF REPORTER QUETTA—To prove their loyalty, members of Balochistan Assembly were asked to openly violate the parliamentary code of ethics by showing their votes during secret balloting on a no- confidence motion against Speaker Muhammad Aslam Bhootani, an MPA said on Thursday. The provincial assembly had adopted a no-trust motion against the Speaker on Wednesday. Except JUI (F) members, the members from PPP and PML (Q) showed their marked ballots to two senior officers of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 The TTP are a separate entity allied to the Afghan Taliban. They have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civil- ians. “They are a bunch of criminals. This is not the Af- ghan Taliban. They are not open to talks,” said one senior government official who called the Pakistan Taliban offer “preposterous”. “No one can take such an offer or terms seriously. The “Taliban leader Ismatullah Muavia through his offer of conditional truce, has tried to dictate the government which is totally unacceptable”, he said Taliban’s offer unacceptable: Malik Bilawal enters political arena Pledges to uphold democracy, fight terrorism Thousands gather to mark BB’s death anniversary STAFF REPORTER GARHI KHUDA BAKHSHThousands of people gathered on Thursday to observe the fifth an- niversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and to witness her son launch his political career. “To- day, I am with the martyrs at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. I am with my mother and my grandfather. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto are alive in our hearts even today,” said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir and of President Asif Ali Zardari, addressing the crowd which included thousands of Pa- kistan People’s Party’s (PPP) workers, supporters and the party’s top leadership. More than 200,000 people had gathered at the family mau- soleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Sindh to pay their respects and to hear Bilawal make his first major public speech. Security was tight around a huge stage, adorned with the red, black and green tricolour of the ruling Pa- kistan People’s Party (PPP). “There are two kinds of pow- ers in this country: that which prefers the path of dictatorship, and then there is the power of the people. On one side we stand up as a wall against the terrorists, and then there are those who are even afraid to take their names,” said Bilawal in a passionate speech. “We have chosen a very dif- ficult path. Our path is the path of democracy, which Benazir taught us to walk on. We will go to the place where a bright and progressive Pakistan awaits us.” Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that we want justice from the courts adding that the workers are wait- ing for the decision of Zulifkar Ali Bhutto reference. He said that judiciary is in- dependent now and all the insti- tutions have powers instead of powers with one person in the past Bilawal said BISP is also fulfilling needs of the poor about education, training and health. He pointed out that the PPP Government faced enormous challenges due to global reces- sion and terrorism but despite that our economy is standing firmly on its feet. Exports crossed 25 billion dollar mark this year, for- eign exchange reserves stand at 14 billion dollar, KSE index has gone beyond 16,000 points and inflation has come down from 25 to just 9 percent. He said Paki- stan was wheat importing coun- try but now is wheat exporting country. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the so called flag bearers of de- mocracy tried to hinder the way of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Our opponents have still not learnt any lesson from the past and they are still working to derail democ- racy in the country. However, they will not be allowed to suc- ceed in their designs. He said the caravan of Pakistan People’s Party will continue its march for the welfare and well being of the people and strengthening of de- mocracy. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that blood of Benazir Bhutto is running in his veins and pledged that Pakistan People’s Party will neither allow any dictator to snatch rights of the people nor the terrorists to terrorize the people. He assured that his party will con- tinue to follow the mission of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He said the PPP is not only the name of a political party but also it is a life for the people. He said Shaheed Benazir Bhutto lives in our hearts and we will work for the accomplishment of her vision for Pakistan. He also paid tribute to Slain KP minister Bashir Bilour and Malala Yousafzai saying ‘if one Malala is attacked, then thousands of Malalas will be born’. He said that the PPP govt restored the con- stitution given by Shaheed Zulifkar Ali Bhutto and ‘Roti, kapra aur makan’ was the PPP’s slogan in the past, and it is still our slogan. ‘We want to move Continued on Page 7 Elections will be free, fair: Zardari Caretaker setup in the offing NAZIR SIYAL GARHI KHUDA BUX—Presi- dent Asif Ali Zardari on Thurs- day said that Pakistan Peoples Party had has taken revenge by reconciliation with the oppo- nents; they wanted to fight in parliament by masses support democracticlly. Addressing a huge gather- ing here marking fifth martyr- dom anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto President said the government has done necessary legislation for putting in place a caretaker setup. “The setup will be put in place in consultation with the opposition and other political parties so that general elections are held in a free, fair and im- partial manner”, he added. He said the sole objective of setting up an independent election commissioner was to ensure that no hidden agenda could be achieved. Attired in a black shalwar- kameez and a Sindhi cap, the President said his government was all set to complete its five year term and will be holding the polls. “We have taken all measures to ensure holding of Continued on Page 7 Qadri factor stirs political landscape Govt taking his long march move seriously LIAQAT TOOR ISLAMABAD—Though the gov- ernment was busy in staging big show on fifth death anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh including launching of Bilawal Bhutto in the political arena on Thursday it was seriously feeling heat of Allama Tahir ul Qadri’s factor, who landed in Pakistan from Canada after four and a half years like a ‘bomb shell.’ After staging a mammoth show at Lahore on Dec. 23, Chief of Minhaj ul Quran Movement, Dr Tahir ul Qadri confidently challenged both major parties PPP and PML (N) and announced to launch a long march on Jan. 14, if electoral reforms are not carried by Jan. 10. After wagging fingers on Qadri’s entry into politics, just a few months before the general elections, the ruling party has started taking his long march se- riously as according to political observers Qadri has all potential to rally thousands of people, if not four million as he had SALIM AHMED LAHORE —Former Federal Minister and leading politician from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gohar Ayub Khan Thursday re- joined Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) along with his companions. Gohar Ayub accompanied by his son Omar Ayub, former provincial assembly speaker Habibullah Tareen, former pro- vincial minister Akhtar Shah and Raja Faisal, an MPA met PML- N President at his Raiwind resi- dence and announced to join the PML-N reposing complete con- fidence in the leadership of the PML-N. Nawaz Sharif welcomed Continued on Page 7 Afghanistan disengagement to cost $ 5.7b to US WASHINGTON—The United States has spent nearly $600 bil- lion over the past 10 years put- ting combat forces into Afghani- stan. Now it’s going to cost an additional $5.7 billion over the next year or two just to transfer or return most of the troops and equipment the shipped into that country, according to a new re- port by the Government Ac- countability Office. The size of the withdrawal is mind-boggling. But with the “fiscal cliff” approaching fast, it’s worth taking a moment to realize that the costly Afghan operation is going on a credit card, along with the $1 trillion or more spent in Iraq, a report in Washington post said. Congress and President Obama are negotiating over in- creasing revenue and cutting spending, but the billions in Af- Continued on Page 7 ISMAIL DILAWAR KARACHI—Over 40 politico- religious parties gathered here on Thursday under the umbrella of Defa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) called for the removal of the governor and chief minister of Sind province. The DPC in the declaration demanded of the government to take effective and immediate measures to arrest target killers who, the Council said, had de- stroyed the peace of this me- tropolis. Parties that attended the conference were PML-N, PML-F, Awami Muslim League, National People’s Party, Demo- cratic Party, Muhajir Qaumi Movement– H, Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam-Nazriati, Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam –Sami-ul-Haq, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal, Ghurba Ahle-Hadith, Jamat-Ud-Dawa, Ahle Sunnat-wal-Jamat, Punjabi Pakhtun Ittehad and Ansaar-ul-Islam. Former Chief of ISI, General (R) Hamid Gul and his son Abdullah Gul and Father of Catholic Church, Salik Diggo were also present in the conference. “All parties should get united for the peace of Karachi,” said Chairman DPC, Maulana Sami- ul-Haq. Haq said the DPC would hold a peace march from Karachi to Islamabad on Jan 11, for which DPC demands removal of Sindh Governor, CM TARIQ SAEED PESHAWAR—Terrorist’s attack on three security posts in FR area in the out skirts of Peshawar Thursday wee hours resulted in martyrdom of at least two men in uniform and injuries to couple of others. Over 20 security per- 2 Levis jawans martyred in attack Over 20 abducted sons, were reported missing, they are believed to have been kidnappedby the attackers. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has owned the responsi- bility of Thursday’s attack on the security forces. The militants fired of rock- ets on three security check posts in Jani Khawra, Zarka and Zakhai areas on Thursday wee hours that injured many security personals on the posts. These check posts are manned by the Levis force. “The unknown militants fired many rockets at the Levis Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 7 Pak win Asian Champions Trophy beating India MONITORING REPORT PAKISTAN became the Asian cham- pions defeat- ing their arch rivals India 5- 4 in a tough contested final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey in Doha, (Qatar) on Thursday. Pakistan made the first breakthrough against the defend- ing champions when Waqas Continued on Page 7

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Continued on Page 7

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari responding to slogansof crowd on the occasion of 5th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

TTP spokespersonoutlines conditions for ceasefire

ISLAMABAD—The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) haveoutlined conditions for aceasefire, including the adop-tion of Islamic law and a breakwith the United States, aspokesperson said Thursday,an offer a senior governmentofficial described as “prepos-terous”.

The Taliban, in a lettersent to a Pakistan daily, alsodemanded that Pakistan stopits involvement in the war pit-ting Afghan insurgents againstthe Kabul government and re-

focus on a war of “revenge”against India.

The letter from Talibanspokesperson Amir Muawiya

comes as the focus in Afghani-stan shifts from a military pushby Nato troops to potentialpeace talks, and amid specula-tion of a rift between top Paki-stan Taliban leaders.

Military officials toldReuters last month that Paki-stan Taliban leader HakimullahMehsud had lost operationalcommand to his deputy, WaliurRehman, who is considered tobe more open to reconciliationwith the Pakistani government.The Taliban deny Mehsud haslost command.Continued on Page 7

SUKKAR—Interior MinisterRehman Malik has said thatTaliban’s offer of conditionaltruce unacceptable addingthat Taliban groups can notdictate the state. Continued on Page 7

30 dead inIndia ofcold waveLUCKNOW—The cold wavesweeping through Indian stateof Uttar Pradesh has claimedmore than 30 lives in a 24-hour span, officials here saidon Thursday. The maximumnumber of deaths, betweenWednesday and Thursdaymorning, were reported fromBhadohi district where fivepeople succumbed to the cold.As many as four people died inBalia and three each inAllahabad, Mirzapur,Sonebhadra, Ghazipur,Barabanki, Chandauli andAzamgarh districts. Shrawastiand Mau districts havereported one deaths each, astate government official said.

The mercury droppedbelow four degrees Celsius in

TTP activistescapes frompolice station

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—An activist ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) allegedly involved in tar-get killing escaped fromPirabad police station.

According to details, theactivist Abid Mehsud, used po-lice uniform to deceive the ad-ministration and managed tobreak out from Police StationPirabad.

The accused was nabbedfor his alleged involvement interrorist activities besides tar-geted killing of more than 25persons, including police offi-cials from Manghopir PoliceStation.

Station House Officer(SHO) Pirabad Police Stationwas suspended for negligenceand investigations have beenstarted.

Gohar Ayub, sonrejoin PML-N

‘Afghanistanremainsdangerous forjournalists’KABUL—Afghanistan is adangerous country for thepress and journalists encounterserious challenges, saidAfghan media watchdog Nai.

Two journalists werekilled and 69 violent caseshave been reported this year,according to statistics justunveiled by Nai.

Although a vibrant mediaand freedom of speech is oneof the major achievements ofthe current government, Naisaid these achievementsremain fragile, Tolonewsreported Thursday.

“Journalism and mediawork face serious threats andchallenges in Afghanistan,both in security and restrictinginfluence [from officials].

BalochistanMPAs were‘asked toshow votes’STAFF REPORTERQUETTA—To prove theirloyalty, members ofBalochistan Assembly wereasked to openly violate theparliamentary code of ethicsby showing their votes duringsecret balloting on a no-confidence motion againstSpeaker Muhammad AslamBhootani, an MPA said onThursday.

The provincial assemblyhad adopted a no-trust motionagainst the Speaker onWednesday. Except JUI (F)members, the members fromPPP and PML (Q) showedtheir marked ballots to twosenior officers of the ChiefMinister’s Secretariat.

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

The TTP are a separateentity allied to the AfghanTaliban. They have launcheddevastating attacks against thePakistani military and civil-ians.

“They are a bunch ofcriminals. This is not the Af-ghan Taliban. They are notopen to talks,” said one seniorgovernment official whocalled the Pakistan Talibanoffer “preposterous”.

“No one can take such anoffer or terms seriously. The

“Taliban leader IsmatullahMuavia through his offer ofconditional truce, has tried todictate the government whichis totally unacceptable”, he said

Taliban’s offerunacceptable: Malik

Bilawal enters political arenaPledges to uphold democracy, fight terrorism Thousands gather to mark BB’s death anniversarySTAFF REPORTER

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH—Thousands of people gathered onThursday to observe the fifth an-niversary of the assassination offormer Prime Minister BenazirBhutto, and to witness her sonlaunch his political career. “To-day, I am with the martyrs atGarhi Khuda Bakhsh. I am withmy mother and my grandfather.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto andBenazir Bhutto are alive in ourhearts even today,” said BilawalBhutto Zardari, the son ofBenazir and of President Asif AliZardari, addressing the crowdwhich included thousands of Pa-kistan People’s Party’s (PPP)workers, supporters and theparty’s top leadership.

More than 200,000 peoplehad gathered at the family mau-soleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhshin Sindh to pay their respects andto hear Bilawal make his firstmajor public speech. Securitywas tight around a huge stage,adorned with the red, black andgreen tricolour of the ruling Pa-kistan People’s Party (PPP).

“There are two kinds of pow-ers in this country: that whichprefers the path of dictatorship,and then there is the power of thepeople. On one side we stand upas a wall against the terrorists,and then there are those who areeven afraid to take their names,”said Bilawal in a passionatespeech.

“We have chosen a very dif-ficult path. Our path is the pathof democracy, which Benazirtaught us to walk on. We will goto the place where a bright andprogressive Pakistan awaits us.”Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said thatwe want justice from the courtsadding that the workers are wait-

ing for the decision of ZulifkarAli Bhutto reference.

He said that judiciary is in-dependent now and all the insti-tutions have powers instead ofpowers with one person in the

past Bilawal said BISP is alsofulfilling needs of the poor abouteducation, training and health.

He pointed out that the PPPGovernment faced enormouschallenges due to global reces-

sion and terrorism but despite thatour economy is standing firmlyon its feet. Exports crossed 25billion dollar mark this year, for-eign exchange reserves stand at14 billion dollar, KSE index has

gone beyond 16,000 points andinflation has come down from 25to just 9 percent. He said Paki-stan was wheat importing coun-try but now is wheat exportingcountry.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari saidthe so called flag bearers of de-mocracy tried to hinder the wayof Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Ouropponents have still not learntany lesson from the past and theyare still working to derail democ-racy in the country. However,they will not be allowed to suc-ceed in their designs. He said thecaravan of Pakistan People’sParty will continue its march forthe welfare and well being of thepeople and strengthening of de-mocracy.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari saidthat blood of Benazir Bhutto isrunning in his veins and pledgedthat Pakistan People’s Party willneither allow any dictator tosnatch rights of the people nor theterrorists to terrorize the people.

He assured that his party will con-tinue to follow the mission ofShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Hesaid the PPP is not only the nameof a political party but also it is alife for the people. He saidShaheed Benazir Bhutto lives inour hearts and we will work forthe accomplishment of her visionfor Pakistan.

He also paid tribute to SlainKP minister Bashir Bilour andMalala Yousafzai saying ‘if oneMalala is attacked, then thousandsof Malalas will be born’. He saidthat the PPP govt restored the con-stitution given by ShaheedZulifkar Ali Bhutto and ‘Roti,kapra aur makan’ was the PPP’sslogan in the past, and it is stillour slogan. ‘We want to move

Continued on Page 7

Elections will befree, fair: ZardariCaretaker setup in the offing

NAZIR SIYAL

GARHI KHUDA BUX—Presi-dent Asif Ali Zardari on Thurs-day said that Pakistan PeoplesParty had has taken revenge byreconciliation with the oppo-nents; they wanted to fight inparliament by masses supportdemocracticlly.

Addressing a huge gather-ing here marking fifth martyr-dom anniversary of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir BhuttoPresident said the governmenthas done necessary legislationfor putting in place a caretakersetup. “The setup will be put in

place in consultation with theopposition and other politicalparties so that general electionsare held in a free, fair and im-partial manner”, he added.

He said the sole objectiveof setting up an independentelection commissioner was toensure that no hidden agendacould be achieved.

Attired in a black shalwar-kameez and a Sindhi cap, thePresident said his governmentwas all set to complete its fiveyear term and will be holdingthe polls. “We have taken allmeasures to ensure holding of

Continued on Page 7

Qadri factor stirs political landscapeGovt taking his long march move seriously

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—Though the gov-ernment was busy in staging bigshow on fifth death anniversaryof Shaheed Benazir Bhutto atGarhi Khuda Bakhsh includinglaunching of Bilawal Bhutto inthe political arena on Thursdayit was seriously feeling heat ofAllama Tahir ul Qadri’s factor,

who landed in Pakistan fromCanada after four and a half yearslike a ‘bomb shell.’

After staging a mammothshow at Lahore on Dec. 23,Chief of Minhaj ul QuranMovement, Dr Tahir ul Qadriconfidently challenged bothmajor parties PPP and PML (N)and announced to launch a longmarch on Jan. 14, if electoral

reforms are not carried by Jan.10. After wagging fingers onQadri’s entry into politics, just afew months before the generalelections, the ruling party hasstarted taking his long march se-riously as according to politicalobservers Qadri has all potentialto rally thousands of people, ifnot four million as he had

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Former FederalMinister and leading politicianfrom Khyber PakhtunkhwaGohar Ayub Khan Thursday re-joined Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) along with hiscompanions.

Gohar Ayub accompaniedby his son Omar Ayub, former

provincial assembly speakerHabibullah Tareen, former pro-vincial minister Akhtar Shah andRaja Faisal, an MPA met PML-N President at his Raiwind resi-dence and announced to join thePML-N reposing complete con-fidence in the leadership of thePML-N.

Nawaz Sharif welcomedContinued on Page 7

Afghanistandisengagement tocost $ 5.7b to US

WASHINGTON—The UnitedStates has spent nearly $600 bil-lion over the past 10 years put-ting combat forces into Afghani-stan. Now it’s going to cost anadditional $5.7 billion over thenext year or two just to transferor return most of the troops andequipment the shipped into thatcountry, according to a new re-port by the Government Ac-countability Office.

The size of the withdrawalis mind-boggling. But with the“fiscal cliff” approaching fast,it’s worth taking a moment torealize that the costly Afghanoperation is going on a creditcard, along with the $1 trillionor more spent in Iraq, a reportin Washington post said.

Congress and PresidentObama are negotiating over in-creasing revenue and cuttingspending, but the billions in Af-

Continued on Page 7

ISMAIL DILAWAR

KARACHI—Over 40 politico-religious parties gathered here onThursday under the umbrella ofDefa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC)called for the removal of thegovernor and chief minister ofSind province.

The DPC in the declarationdemanded of the government totake effective and immediatemeasures to arrest target killerswho, the Council said, had de-stroyed the peace of this me-tropolis. Parties that attendedthe conference were PML-N,PML-F, Awami Muslim League,National People’s Party, Demo-cratic Party, Muhajir Qaumi

Movement– H, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Nazriati, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam –Sami-ul-Haq, JamiatUlema-e-Islam-Fazal, GhurbaAhle-Hadith, Jamat-Ud-Dawa,Ahle Sunnat-wal-Jamat,Punjabi Pakhtun Ittehad andAnsaar-ul-Islam. Former Chiefof ISI, General (R) Hamid Guland his son Abdullah Gul andFather of Catholic Church, SalikDiggo were also present in theconference.

“All parties should get unitedfor the peace of Karachi,” saidChairman DPC, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq. Haq said the DPC wouldhold a peace march from Karachito Islamabad on Jan 11, for which

DPC demands removalof Sindh Governor, CM

TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—Terrorist’s attackon three security posts in FR areain the out skirts of PeshawarThursday wee hours resulted inmartyrdom of at least two menin uniform and injuries to coupleof others. Over 20 security per-

2 Levis jawans martyred in attackOver 20 abducted

sons, were reported missing, theyare believed to have beenkidnappedby the attackers. TheTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) has owned the responsi-bility of Thursday’s attack on thesecurity forces.

The militants fired of rock-ets on three security check posts

in Jani Khawra, Zarka andZakhai areas on Thursday weehours that injured many securitypersonals on the posts. Thesecheck posts are manned by theLevis force.

“The unknown militantsfired many rockets at the Levis

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

Pak win Asian ChampionsTrophy beating India

MONITORING REPORT

PAKISTANbecame theAsian cham-pions defeat-ing their archrivals India 5-

4 in a tough contested final of theAsian Champions Trophyhockey in Doha, (Qatar) onThursday.

Pakistan made the firstbreakthrough against the defend-ing champions when Waqas

Continued on Page 7

FAISALABAD: A view of thick fog that engulfs the whole city in morning hours.

SIALKOT: PML-N Member of National Assembly Khawaja Muhammad Asif offeringdua after inaugurating Khawaja Asharaf Park on Aimanabad Road.

QUETTA: Member of Balochistan Assembly Jan Ali Changezi and other party workers praying for the soul of formerprime minister Benazir Bhutto.

ASWJ condemnsmurder attempt onMaulana Farooqi

SHER GONDAL

MANDI BAHAUDDIN—Onthe call of Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ) a largenumber of ASWJ activistsled by Maulana MumtazAhmed held a rally outsidepress club here the other dayagainst the murder attempton the party’s Central Sec-retary Information MaulanaAurangzeb Farooqi and tar-get killing in Karachi.

Addressing the rally, thespeakers condemned themurder attempt on MaulanaFarooqi and demanded of thegovernment to arrest the as-sailants involved in the tragicincident immediately, theysaid the terrorists were con-tinuing killing of innocentcitizens of the country sincelong but the government wasacting like a silent spectator.They asked the governmentto unveil the hands behindmurder attempt on their lead-ers and killing of else.

****Centenary celebrations of

Government College of Tech-nology Rasul will start on 29Dec instant. Chairman Toyotawill be chief guest at this oc-casion. Principal CollegeMazhar Abbas Naqvi saidthis during a press briefingheld here at press club regard-ing preparation of the cente-nary function. More than onethousand guests comprisingex-teachers and ex-studentsfrom all over the world willparticipate in the celebrations;he further added and said theguests’ arrival had started.

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Postis holding 42nd InternationalLetter Writing Competition2013 for students under 15years of age to join move ofthe Universal Postal Union(UPU). The theme for the com-petition is “Write a letterabout why water is precious”,said a press note. Last datefor receipt of the compositionis March 20, 2013.

In addition to PakistanPostage Album and certificateof merit; following three cash

prizes will be awarded to thosewinning first three positions inthis competition, first prize Rs.20,000, second Rs. 10,000 andthird Rs. 5000. The best letter(English Version only) will besent to the UPU, where a juryset up by United Nations Edu-cational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) willselect winners to be awardedgold, silver and bronze medalsbearing relevant inscriptionand their names as well as al-bums of the UPU official post-

age stamps.In addition, the next four

or five winners will beawarded certificates and con-solation prizes by the UPU.The envelopes must beclearly marked as “42nd In-ternational Letter WritingCompetition (2013). The par-ticipate sending a letter eitherin English or Urdu to the As-sistant Director (Interna-tional Post) Pakistan PostDirectorate General G-8/4,Islamabad-44080.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Light rain invarious parts of the countryincluding Northern Punjab,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa andGilgit Baltistan will subsideprevailing foggy weatherconditions during the nexttwo days. This was stated byDr. Ghulam Rasool, ChiefMeteorologist said onThursday. He said the west-erly weather system will pre-vail for the next two days andcause scattered and light rainin various parts.

He said the prevailingfog has gripped various ar-eas of Punjab and the rainwill reduce its intensity dur-ing the next two days andafter that the dense fog willprevail for the whole week.The prevailing foggyweather conditions whichdisrupted the flights sched-ule and caused low visibil-ity at the motorway will notprevail for the next two days.About the twin citiesweather, Dr Ghulam Rasoolsaid the cities will also re-ceive light rain during thenext two days.

Dr. Ghulam Rasool saidthe light rain on Friday andSaturday will be a blessingfor the farmers of Barani ar-eas to cultivate wheat crop.“It is the ideal time of culti-vation as it will be difficultfor the farmers to cultivatethe crop when mercury willfurther decrease”, he added.The severe cold wave condi-tions are likely from Fridayand snowfall will occur atKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kash-

mir and Gilgit Baltistan dur-ing the next 24 hours, he said.

According to the met of-fice, the lowest minimumtemperatures recorded dur-ing the last 24 hours wereSkardu -10C, Parachinar -09C, Astore -08C, Hunza andGupis -05C, Kalam -04C, Dir-03C, Chitral, Drosh andGilgit -02C. The Karachi Metoffice has forecast fair/partlycloudy weather with coolnight in the city over the next

24 hours. According to Metoffice’s weather report is-sued on Thursday the mini-mum temperature is ex-pected to remain in therange of 10 to 12 degree cen-tigrade.

The Met office saidmainly cold and dry weatheris likely to prevail elsewherein the region. The MultanMet office has forecastpartly cloudy weather withchances of mist in the morn-ing for the city and its sub-urbs during the next 24hours. On Thursday, themaximum and minimum tem-peratures were recorded as20.8 and 5.5 degrees centi-grade, respectively. Humid-ity was recorded 100 percent at 8am and 89 per centat 5pm.—APP

ANF foilsdrugs

smuggling bidSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Anti NarcoticsForce (ANF) Thursday foileda bid to smuggle drug fromKhyber Pakhtunkhwa toPunjab province, recovered528 kilograms Chars and ar-rested one drug peddler. ANFreceived a tip off that drugsmuggler would smuggle finequality of Chars from TribalAreas Khyber Agency toPunjab. The force set up se-cret pickets on all exit pointsto Punjab province, said aspokesman of ANF.

Late Wednesday night,ANF staff intercepted a ve-hicle bearing number plat GS-3696 at Peshawar, Rawalpinditoll plaza. During the searchof the vehicle the ANF staffrecovered 528 Kgs of Charsfrom it. The driver of the ve-hicle Khushal Khan son ofSaid Ahmed, resident of LandiKotal was in the disguise of alaw enforcement agency wasarrested on the spot.

Two die ofconsumingtoxic syrup

GUJRANWALA—Two per-sons died after consumingtoxic syrup in Gujranwala onThursday. According to po-lice, Bilal, a resident ofShaheenabad locality ofGujranwala drank toxic syrupdue to which his conditionworsened. He was rushed tohospital for treatment butcould not survive.

In Muslim Town area, anaddict Munir drank toxicsyrup due to which his con-dition deteriorated. He wasrush to a nearby hospitalwhere he expired. The policeregistered separate cases inboth incidents and startedthe investigations.

Meanwhile Unknownarmed men gunned downtwo persons, father and son,here late Wednesday night.According to police, thearmed men barged into ahouse located in suburbanarea Veeram, in Khudiyanpolice station jurisdiction inKasur and opened indiscrimi-nate fire at the residentssleeping in the house. As aresult of firing two personsincluding the house ownerMuhammad Sadiq alias Bilaand his son Mazhar, 25, werekilled on the spot.—INP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Associate’sDegree in Education Program(ADE), an initiative of the U.S.Agency for International De-velopment (USAID) is notonly providing training to newand experienced teachers buthas also changed the life ofmany people.

More than 2,600 studentsare currently enrolled in thetwo- year ADE program andthe four-year Bachelor of Edu-cation (B.Ed.) created throughUSAID assistance and ac-credited by the Government ofPakistan, a U.S Embassy state-ment said Thursday.

The USAID has awardednearly 1,000 scholarships forB.Ed. and ADE degrees. TheU.S.-funded project works

with the federal and provin-cial governments, the HigherEducation Commission, pro-vincial departments of educa-tion, 15 universities, and 75teacher colleges. Imran AliMallah, a fisherman at theIndus River has changed hislife by becoming a teacherthrough the ADE programme.Inspired by an advertisementhe saw in the newspaper,Imran committed himself tothis new endeavor. He trav-eled four hours each day fromhis home in Jamshoro to theProvincial Institute of TeacherEducation in Nawabshah topursue his ambition of becom-ing a teacher. He received ex-cellent grades, and completedthe ADE program.

Today, Imran’s futurelooks secure. Instead of toil-

ing each day on his boat, heteaches young people, andhopes that they too will havethe opportunity for a betterfuture. “Changing themindset of the youth towardlearning and success is veryimportant for the citizens ofour country,” said Imran. “Itenables personal growth. Ihope to pass on this beaconof knowledge.”

Imran credits the U.S.-funded education programwith his success. “The ADEprogram has been a sourceof inspiration,” he said, add-ing that it enabled him toswitch his profession fromfishing to teaching. “With itsadvanced teaching methods,it has brought classrooms tolife, which has made bothteachers.

ISLAMABAD—Resumption ofpolio vaccination drive in Pa-kistan is believed to lay all therumours to rest, internationalhealth experts said urging thecitizens to go ahead for poliovaccine to protect thecountry’s generation fromchronic ailment. The govern-ment as well as people, arerequired to put up fierce fightagainst the disease which cancripple the generation, addedthe health experts.

Referring to the recent in-cidents of attacks against po-lio workers, the internationalhealth and science expertsstated that the governmentshould persuade the killers tostop shooting the polio work-ers and guarantee safe pas-sage for them before the po-lio eradication officials re-group to resume drive, said amedia report carried by New

York Times. Donald G. McNeilJr, in his report observed thatreviving the campaign willmean quelling many rumours.It may also require addingother medical “inducements,”like deworming medicine,mosquito nets or vitamin A,whose immediate benefits areusually more obvious.

The report said, as manyas nine vaccine workers werekilled in Pakistan last week ina terrorist campaign thatbrought the work of 225,000vaccinators to a standstill.Suspicion fell immediately onfactions of the PakistaniTaliban that have threatenedvaccinators in the past, ac-cusing them of being Ameri-can spies. The report clarifiedthat polio vaccine is nowbought only from Muslimcountries like Indonesia, andMuslim scholars have ruled

it halal - the Islamic equiva-lent of kosher.

Resistance to polio vac-cine springs from a combina-tion of fear, often inmarginalized ethnic groups,and brutal historical facts thatmake that fear seem justified.Unless it is countered, andquickly, the backlash threatensthe effort to eradicate polio inthe three countries where itremains endemic: Pakistan, Af-ghanistan and Nigeria, the re-port pointed out. That has beendone before, notably in Af-ghanistan in 2007, whenMullah Muhammad Omar,spiritual head of the AfghanTaliban, signed a letter of pro-tection for vaccination teams.But in Pakistan, the killers maybe breakaway groups follow-ing no one’s rules.

According to the report,in Pakistan, resistance to

vaccination, low over all, isconcentrated in Pashtun ter-ritory along the Afghan bor-der and in Pashtun slums inlarge cities. But changingmind-sets will be a crucialstep, said Dr. Bruce Aylward,a Canadian who is chief ofpolio eradication for theWorld Health Organization,who likened the shootings ofthe girls to those of theschoolchildren in Newtown,Connecticut.

More police involvement- what he called a “bunkerizedapproach” - would not solveeither America’s problem orPakistan’s, he argued. In-stead, average citizens in bothcountries needed to rise up,reject the twisted thinking ofthe killers and “generate anunderstanding in the commu-nity that this kind of behavioris not acceptable.—APP

Devotees startreaching Bhitshah

OUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD—The devoteeshave started reaching atBhitshah Town to pay hom-age to great Sufi Saint andPoet Hazrat Shah Abdul LatifBhitai during his three daysannual Urs celebrations be-ing started from Dec 28. Therestaurants and tea shopshave been renovated by theirowners while a makeshiftshopping centre has beenestablished in an open placenear the shrine of Hazrat ShahAbdul Latif Bhitai to offermeal and other necessarygoods to devotees who setup their camps and plannedto stay next three days.

The departments whichassigned different task to pro-vide maximum facilities to devo-tees have also established theircamps in different parts of thetown while health departmenthas also set up medical campsto provide medical treatment, ifrequired by the visitors. TheDeputy Commissioner MatiariShahid Leghari Thursday pre-sided over the meeting of theofficers of the concerned de-partments to give final touchesto arrangements.

The District Health OfficerDr. Hassan Murad Shah in-formed the meeting that be-sides medical camps, mobileteams have also been deputedin the areas to provide neces-sary medical treatment to thedevotees. The Deputy Com-missioner directed him to setup another medical camp near“Emergency-15” for provi-sion of first aid.

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH—PPP Central Punjab PresidentManzoor Ahmad Wattoo hassaid PPP will soon form thegovernment at federal leveland in all the provinces in-cluding Punjab. He said thiswhile addressing a gatheringhere Thursday on the eve of5th death anniversary offormer Prime Minister BenazirBhutto. He said BenazirBhutto laid down her life forthe sake of democracy. Whatshe said she delivered it, headded.

PPP will again come topower at federal level and inall the provinces and will giveownership rights to the poormasses, he held. Asif AliZardari is moving forwardwith the vision of BenazirBhutto and he has now be-come the third great leader of

the country. He faced all themajor challenges valiantly, headded. “We are not amongstthose who move to Saudi

Arabia under a deal with thedictators to live a luxuriouslife for 8 years”, he added.

Certain elements are poli-ticking in the name of youths,

he said adding “they shouldfirst of all have a glance ontheir age. Bilawal Bhutto isreal leader of youths, he re-marked. He appealed to PPPworkers to bury their differ-ences and unite under theparty flag to win the upcom-ing general elections. PPP issymbol of federation andthere are no differences atany level in its ranks andcadres, he observed.

Pakistan Peoples PartyPresident of South PunjabMakhdoom Shahabuddin inhis speech said ShaheedBenazir Bhutto in her strugglealways gave preference todemocracy over personalgains. He said that is why Pa-kistan Peoples Party is alivein all the provinces. He saidPPP has its roots across thecountry because it has the

blood of Shaheeds. Address-ing a big public meeting inconnection with the fifth mar-tyrdom anniversary ofShaheed Benazir Bhutto atGhari Khuda Bukhsh this af-ternoon, Minister for PoliticalAffairs Moula BakhshChandio said that mission ofthe founder of the PPPShaheed Zulikar Ali Bhuttoand Shaheed Benazir Bhuttowould be fulfilled.

He stressed the need forunity among all sections ofthe society to strengthen thenation. Speaking on the oc-casion, Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shahsaid that we renew ourpledge to resist conspiraciesagainst democracy. He saidin past, the presidency wasused for toppling an electedgovernment.—Online

Polio vaccination drive resumptionquells all rumours: Health experts

PPP govts soon in federation, provinces

Teachers training improves teaching

Pak Post holding letterwriting competition

Light rain to siphonfog during next 2 days

BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI

HAFIZABAD—Promotion ofmodern and scientific educa-tion is inevitable for elimina-tion of poverty, ignorance,unemployment and extrem-ism, declared Noman Hafeez,District Officer. While ad-dressing annual prize distri-bution ceremony at Al-Abbasi School SystemKalianwala (Hafizabad) heappreciated private sector forplaying its pivotal role to pro-mote education in the remotearea. Promotion of educationin the rural area by the privatesector is encouraging, which,he said, would materialize thedream to bring about socialand economic revolution. Ear-lier, Syed Najm-ul-MustafaPrincipal enumerated variousachievements of the students

Medics thank CM for health allowance

Modern tech edu helps reduce povertyin academic and co-curricularactivities.

*****The employees of Health

Department from grade oneto four have thanked theChief Minister for meetingtheir long-standing demandfor the approval of health al-lowance of Rs. 1500/- permonth.

*****Some un-identified bandits inpolice uniform deprived overa half dozen people of theircash and cell phones aboutone km from Bhaka Bhattianmotorway interchange at weehours last night. According tosources they also intercepteda car No. AMM-918 but thedriver accelerated the speed.Thereupon the banditsopened indiscriminate firingon the vehicle. However, no

one was hurt. The Kassokipolice chased the gangstersbut they managed their goodescaped. Meanwhile, burglarsbroken into a bakery shop onGujranwala road last night andmade away with cash and ar-ticles worth Rs. 60000/.

*****Foggy weather continued toprevail in Hafizabad and sub-urbs for the fourth consecutiveday today, rendering visibilityto few yards. Due to severe coldand dense fog business activi-ties reduce to zero. Meanwhile,low gas pressure caused innu-merable problems to the house-wives particularly in the old cityarea; resultantly there is heavyrush at the restaurants, as thehousewives could not cookmeals for their families at theirresidences. Most of the chil-dren and old-aged confined at

their homes due to chilly windsand heavy mist.

*****The demise of professor

Ghafoor Ahmad, a veteranpolitician was widely con-doled by the local politicalworkers. Dr. Habib UllahCheema Chairman Ex-M.CHafizabad, Dr. MuhammadYasin Ansari District AmeerJI, Mian Muhammad YousafTihami Ex-Ameer HafizabadDistrict, Aman Ullah ChatthaDivisional President KisanBoard, Arshad Ansari LocalLabour Leader, Ch. MehdiHassan Bhatti Ex-MNA andPresident District PML (Q)paid glowing tributes to theLate Professor GhafoorAhmad for his meritoriousservices for the glory of Is-lam and promotion of democ-racy.

Governor condolesStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—The Khyber PakhtunkhwaGovernor, Barrister Masood Kausar hasexpressed his heartfelt condolence onthe sad demise of the veteran politicianand the renowned scholar, Prof.Ghafoor Ahmad who has breathed hislast in Karachi. In his condolence mes-sage, the Governor has said that Prof.Ghafoor was indeed a seasoned andvocal politician and his services in thearena of politics are a well acknowl-

edged part of the history of the country which will beremembered for a long time to come. With his passingaway, the Governor said, the nation has been deprivedfrom a sincere, selfless and devoted publication. The Gov-ernor while expressing his deep sympathies with the mem-bers of the bereaved family has also prayed for eternalpeace of the departed soul and courage to the bereavedfamily to bear the irreparable loss with patience. Earlier,Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan has expresseddeep sorrow and grief over the death of Jammat-e-Islamileader, Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed. In a condolence messageissued on Wednesday, Dr. Ebad said the country is de-prived of a veteran political due to the demise of Prof.Ghafoor. The Sindh Governor prayed to Allah Almighty torest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courageto bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude. The JIleader passed away at the age of 85 after a protracted ill-ness in Karachi. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)leaders have expressed their sorrow over the demise of JINaib Ameer Prof Ghafoor Ahmed. In a condolence mes-sage here on Thursday, Ahsan Rasheed, Abdul AleemKhan, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Sardar Kamil Umar and oth-ers prayed to the Almighty to rest the departed soul ineternal peace and grant courage and patience to the be-reaved family to bear this loss.

Benazir role model leaderStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Member Provincial Assem-bly (MPA), Nighat Yasmin Aurakzai onThursday said the supreme sacrifices ofBenazir Bhutto Shaheed had weakeneddictatorship and restored democracy inPakistan. Paying rich tributes to ShaheedBenazir Bhutto for her meritorious ser-vices for the cause of democracy andempowerment of women folk on her 5thmartyrdom anniversary, Nighat Aurkazaitold APP on phone that Benazir’s Bhutto

martyrdom has led to dawn of a new era of democracy in thecountry. She that Benazir was a leader of par excellence anda role model for the women who had improved the country’simage at the international forums through her lectures, ser-vices and as a statesman. “She was a leader of internationalcaliber and the imperialist and anti democratic forces killedher from the political horizon in a bid to destabilize Paki-stan.” She said martyrs never died and always alive.NighatYasmin Aurakzai, who recently joined PPP after resigningfrom PML-Q said, “Benazir Bhutto Shaheed was a harbin-ger of peace, a statesman and a true diplomat who provedher mettle at critical times against the forces inimical to thecountry. The PPP leader said all the political parties with adiversified culture agreed on a single point to take forwardthe ship of democracy for which BB shaheed had sacrificedher life. She said hundreds of thousands of people fromKhyber Pakthunkhwa and FATA have come to Garhi KhudaBux to offer Fateha for eternal peace of Shaheed Quaid. Shesaid Beanzir Bhutto had given respect to workers and con-sidered them as front line force of Shaheed Zulfikar Bhutto.

Symbol of democracyStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Khyber PakthunkhwaMinister for Finance and General Secre-tary Pakistan People’s Party Engr.Muhammad Hamyun Khan on Thurs-day said the martyrdom of BenazirBhutto Shaheed was a symbol of de-mocracy and a beacon of light for politi-cians and people believed on hard workand principles. Talking to reporters af-ter inspection construction work of Ba-sic Health Unit and pavement of streets

at Pirkhel in Malakand Agency, the Minister said democ-racy had returned to the country after supreme sacrifice ofBenazir Bhutto Shaheed and the best tributes to her wasto strengthen democratic institutions in Pakistan. He saidBenazir Bhutto Shaheed believed on national politics andservice of masses, adding the mission of the Shaheed leaderwould be carried forward. Humayun Khan said there wouldbe no compromise on quality of materials and develop-mental works as huge spending were being made on itfrom public exchequer which is hard earned money of pub-lic accumulated from their taxes as well as a sacred trust.The minister also called upon people to keep a vigilant eyeon the quality of developmental schemes. He also clarifiedto the concerned contractors and members of construc-tion committees that they would be dealt-with an iron handin case of low-quality construction work and negligence.Later on, the Finance Minister visited the residence ofFazle Wadan an official of DCO Office Malakand atMakhband and offered Fateha for the departed soul of hismother. He also expressed condolence on the death ofSalim Khan, ex-Naib Nazim, Thana Bandajat at Null Thanaand prayed that Allah Almighty may rest the departed soulsin eternal peace and grant courage to the members of thebereaved families to bear the losses with fortitude.

Tributes to BBOur Correspondent

CHAGAI—The 5th death anniversary ofShaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto wasobserved in the district on Thursday. Aceremony was held in district secretariat,which was attended by a large numberof people. The participants offeredFatiha and food was also distributedamong the masses. Talking to report-ers, Provincial Minister for Postal Ser-vices Sardar Muhammad Umer Gorgujpaid glowing tribute to Mohtarma for

her services for democracy and the country. Dera MuradJamali: Provincial Minister for Excise & Taxation MirMuhammad Ameen Umrani said on Thursday that ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto rendered unprecedent sacrificesfor the restoration of democracy in the country. Talking tomediamen, on the 5th death anniversary, Mir paid glowingtributes to Mohtarma while remembering her services forthe country and its masses. He said the country is achiev-ing milestone under the leadership of President Asif AliZardari. Timergara: The 5th death anniversary of ShaheedBenazir Bhutto was observed here with due solemnity andreverence as the workers vowed to carry forward the mis-sion of their slain leader in every nook and corner of theprovince. The function was organized by PPP DistrictDir Lower Chapter at Balambat which was largely at-tended by the party workers. President of PPP Dir LowerKhurshid Ali Khan Advocate, General Secretary KhadimIslam and other local leaders paid tributes to the formerPrime Minister and Shaheed-e-Jamhuriat adding thepolitics of the country revolved around the philosophyof Benazir Bhutto.

MULTAN—A man, whoseeyes were allegedly gougedout by eight accused overold enmity in Sheher Sultanarea of districtMuzaffargarh. He was ad-mitted to Nishtar HospitalMultan early Thursday. Ac-cording to Sheher Sultanpolice, eight accused hadkidnapped a farmer Bilal, fa-ther of eight kids, at gunpoint while he was plough-ing fields on Wednesdayand allegedly gouged outhis both eyes with a sharpedged weapon.

Sheher Sultan policereached the spot soon afterreceiving information andtook the injured Bilal in cus-tody. They also collected hisboth gouged eyes in a shop-ping bag and immediatelytransported him to Nishtarhospital Multan. Dr Shahbaz

Aslam, senior registrar ofeye ward told APP the manwas under treatment, how-ever, initial examination sug-gested that he would not beable to have his eye sightrestored.

Sheher Sultan policehave registered FIR againsteight accused under sec-tions 365, 334, 324, 148 and149 PPC and arrested threeaccused identified asGhulam Fareed, Riaz andFayyaz. SHO Sheher SultanAslam Malghani said thatthe man was punished forthe alleged crime of hisnephew. He said that Bilal’snephew had allegedly rapeda minor girl from the familyof an accused some time agoand an FIR (243/2012) wasregistered against him. Hisnephew was arrested andwas in jail these days.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The KhyberPakthunkhwa Senior Minis-ter, Rahimdad Khan said onThursday that BenazirBhutto Shaheed wasmartyred by the anti demo-cratic forces to keep the landof Pakhtoons backward, il-literate and deprived them oftheir rights. “The Pakhtoonsstrongly believes thatBeanzir Bhutto Shaheed wasmartyred under a wellthoughout plan to keep theland of Pukhtoons backward,illiterate and deprived themof their rights,” he told APPhere on Thursday.

“If BB was alive today,the destiny of the Pakhtoonnation would have definitelybeen changed as she was

earnestly working for fulfill-ment of the wishes anddreams of her illustrious fa-ther Zulfikar Ali Bhutto whohad special attachment withPakhtoons” he added. TheMohtarma loved Pasthunsas she knew that they hadsuffered immensely duringthe war on terror.

On December 1, 2007,when she came to Peshawarduring her election campaignamid full throated slogans of“Jiay Bhutto” and “Long LiveBenazir” by hundreds of thou-sands of PPP supporters inthe walled city, she said, “Iseek your help and coopera-tion to turn your land into apeaceful zone. “I appeal to younot to fall into the trap ofthose who believe in violenceand extremism. Reject those

who want to form their gov-ernment at gunpoint. I ask myPashtun brothers to come for-ward for peace and supportthe Pakistan People’s Party,”she said.

Benazir Bhutto was of theview that the PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) had theability to provide the massessecurity, peace, developmentand employment and developtheir under-developed areas.The Minister said BenazirBhutto Shaheed had alwaysadvocated political andsocio-economic empower-ment of the people of KhyberPakthunkhwa and FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas(FATA) and always laid greatemphasis on their education,poverty alleviation and re-forms in FATA.

MULTAN—More than 450special persons here needwheelchairs and tri-cycles fortheir basic mobility associ-ated with earning livelihoodor getting education. Chair-person Zahida Hameed saidthis while talking to APP onThursday. She said her soci-ety was playing role of facili-tator for provision of wheel-chairs and tricycles for spe-cial persons. “We distributed315 wheelchairs amongst de-serving persons, includingwomen.

These were distributed inRajanpur, Muzaffargarh,Multan and some other citiesof south Punjab”. She statedthat National Bank of PakistanBait-ul-Mal, Special TalentExchange Programme (STEP),Rotary Club and others

organisation had offeredwheelchairs to the Society.She informed that they hadreceived 100 applications fortricycles as the personswished mobility in order toearn livelihood or acquire edu-cation. Zahida Hameed hasappealed to philanthropistsand donor organisations todonate tricycles and wheel-chairs for special persons asthe new year sets in.

Over 1200 acres lying va-cant at Pirowal forest: Over1200 acres of land are lyingvacant at Pirowal forest asplantation could not be car-ried out due to lack of funds.According to forest depart-ment sources, Pirowalforest,one of the biggestnatural habitat for birds andanimals in South Punjab, was

notified in 1915, over 19,289acres of land. However, size-able portions of this land wasgiven to some governmentdepartments for different rea-sons, including setting up ofa wild life park and promo-tion of fisheries etc and thusforest shrank to 8400 acresonly, the sources told.

It is worth mentioninghere that South Punjab hasplants over one to 1.5 percentareas which was very low andefforts were needed to pro-mote plantation. When con-tacted divisional forest offic-ers Faisal Haroon Qureshi,said steps were being takento ensure maximum planta-tion. He however added thatthere was shortage of fundswhile dearth of water wasalso create problem.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The businesscommunity of KhyberPakhtunkhwa, while eulogizingthe bravery and bold stanceof Bashir Bilour against mili-tancy, has called for awardingany highest civil award.“Bashir stood like a concretewall against the forces of ob-scurantists and fought thecountry’s war against terror-ism like a brave solider,” ob-served majority of speakers ata reference arranged byKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry(KPCCI) here on Thursday inhonor of Shaheed Bashir

Bilour.Elder brother of Bashir

Bilour, Senator Ilyas Bilourwas chief guest on the occa-sion while Usman Bilour wasalso present at the reference.President KPCCI, Dr. YousafSarwar and leading business-men of the province werepresent on the occasion.“Bashir had fully owned waragainst militancy and took avery bold and gallant stanceagainst forces who are bentupon taking our country andnation back towards darkages by imposing ban on girleducation, recreation etc,”speakers observed.

Speaking on the occa-

sion, Trader’s president,Sharafat Ali Mubarik saidBashir Bilour made a new his-tory and his martyrdom is abig loss not only forPeshawar, KhyberPakhtunkhwa but for thewhole country. Malik Niaz,former president of KPCCI,said Bashir showed extrabravery and looked face toface into the eyes of militants.His martyrdom has left al-most all the homes ofPeshawar in grief and sorrow.

Amanullah Khan said thebravery exhibited by BashirBilour was exemplary. Helived a life of brave man anddied with full honor of em-

bracing martyrdom, headded. Bilour in recognitionof his bravery. Adeel Rauf,former president KPCCI, saidBashir Bilour was not onlythe pride of ANP, Peshawarbut of whole country. He saidBashir Bilour was not only agood politician, but a humblegentleman who alwaysstrived for the betterment ofpoor and deserving people.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Senator Ilyas Bilourthanked all the speakers foreulogizing the services of hisslain brother. Ilyas Bilour alsothanked governments ofSindh, Balochistan, Punjab,AJK, Gilgit Baltistan.

PESHAWAR: Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, KPCCI President Dr M Yousaf Sarwar, Ghulam Sarwar Khan Mohamandand Usman Bashir Bilour offering fateha for the soul of shaheed KP Senor Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour during acondolence refence at Chamber House.

Business community seekshighest civil award for Bilour

Benazir martyred to keepPakhtoons backward, illiterate

Fact findingcommission onjournalists setupQUETTA—Press Council ofPakistan (PCP) has an-nounced to set up Fact Find-ing and Inquiry Commissionon conditions of journalistsin Balochistan including tar-get killing, harassment andcompensation related issues.Talking to media persons atQuetta Press Club premiseshere, Raja M. Shafqat KhanAbbasi, the Chairman PressCouncil of Pakistan said: “We have set up a Fact Find-ing Inquiry Commission tofind facts into conditions andproblems faced by journalistscommunity of Balochistanthat will function under thechairmanship of senior jour-nalist and Chief EditorBalochistan Times, SyedFaseeh Iqbal while BachalLaghari, the member of PCPand Saleem Shahid, PresidentQuetta Press Club will be themembers of the commis-sion,”. He said that the Com-mission would compile andfurnish its report within twomonths to the PCP.

The PCP Chairman saidthat the Commission wouldlook into the matters includ-ing that whether FIRs on kill-ing of journalists werelodged, what progress on in-vestigation into these killingsand whether the killers ofslain media persons were ar-rested. He said that PCP in itsrecent meeting reviewed se-curity challenges faced byjournalists of Balochistan, tar-get killing of some journalistsand other threats to them dueto which they were forced toflee their districts.—APP

HYDERABAD: An activist light candles in front of por-trait of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto during a candle lightsvigil in connection with her fifth death anniversary.

CHAMAN: Members of Anjuman Tajeran burn tyres blocking road during protest againstthe robbery in five shops at Kandahar Bazaar.

Special persons appealfor wheelchairs, tricycles

Eyes gouged over enmity

GUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

CHITRAL—5th Death anni-versary of Shaheed BenazirBhuto was observed at TownHall Chitral simultaneously inBooni. President of PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP) and pro-vincial Minister of populationwelfare Saleem Khan waschief guest on the occasion.Veteran politician and seniorworker of PPP Gul NawazKhaki and other paid rich trib-ute to Shaheed Benazir Bhutoand her father ShaheedZulfiqar Ali Bhutto. PPP work-ers from the entire districtwere present in Town hall onthis occasion. The speakershailed contribution and meri-torious services of Bhuttofamily for Pakistan and forpoor segment of the country.

They said that Z.A.Bhutto called and united lead-ers of Islamic countries whoestablished Organization ofIslamic countries (OIC) andinitiated nuclear power in Pa-kistan to protect the country.They said that Bhutto wasvery sympathetic to Chitralpeople. As well as his daugh-ter Benazir Bhutto also cameto Chitral so many times andannounced different develop-

BB remembered at ChitralRs18 billion for LawariTunnel not to be shifted

mental schemes. They saidthat Benazir Bhutto returnedPakistan in 1986 and 3 millionpeople welcome her.

She launched differentschemes to uplift the countryand to raise life standard ofpoor segment of society. Theysaid that the present PPP andANP coalition governmentspent 4 billion rupees in differ-ent developmental projects atChitral. They said that some 18billion rupees have been allo-cated for Lawari tunnel, whichwill never be role back. Theypaid rich tribute to BenazirBhutto and termed her death aconspiracy against the coun-try, democracy and promotingof poor people of Pakistan.They also lamented formerPresident Parvez Musharafwho allowed American Droneattacks and given Air base toAmerica in Pakistan.

As well as Benaizr Bhuttowas also assassinated in hisgovernment. They said thatmost Islamic sections wereincluded constitution of Pa-kistan in PPP led government.Addressing on the occasionProvincial Minister SaleemKhan said that BenazirBhutto was not only a leaderof Pakistan.

QUETTA—A report pre-sented by UNICEF officialsrevealed that over 24,000children die of Pneumonia inthe country every year thatcaused by bacterium calledStreptococcus Pneumonia.This was disclosed byUNICEF officials Dr. TariqIqbal and Dr. AurangzaibKamal at a workshop held inconnection with introduc-tion of newly launchedPneumococcal Vaccine(PCV10) here onThursday.The workshopwas jointly organized byUNICEF, Government ofBalochistan and Society ofSocial Development.

“According to a surveyreport compiled from the dataof government and privatehospitals,about 663,000Pneumonia cases are re-ported every year in Pakistanand over 24,000 children suf-fering from Pneumonia out oftotal number of these casesdie of the disease,” they said.They said that material mor-tality rate at national level is272 out of every 100,000 andchild mortality rate 94 out ofevery 100,000. They addedthat annual maternal mortal-ity rate in Balochistan is 785out of every 100,000 and childmortality rate is 89 out of ev-ery 100,000.—APP

Over 24,000 children dieof pneumonia annually

RTO fails to achieverecovery target

MULTAN—Regional Tax Of-fice (RTO) failed to achieve setrecovery targets in the first 5months of the current fiscalyear, disclosed reliablesources on Thursday. Talkingto APP, the sources in the RTOoffice said that a target of Rs31 billion has been fixed fortax recovery during the first 5months of the current fiscalyear but Rs 22 billion have sofar been made as tax recoveryby November 30, showing 70percent achieved target.

In the last fiscal yearthe tax of Rs 24 billion wascollected for the same pe-riod. Less import of the pe-troleum products by the oilrefinery in the last fivemonths.—APP

CEC’s welcomeassurance

CHIEF Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G.Ebrahim has come out with a categorical assurance that thenext general elections would be held on time and talks about any

delay are mere fuss. After his meeting with Army Chief General AshfaqParvez Kayani on Wednesday CEC also said he was now more confidentabout holding free, fair and transparent elections and that the Army hasthrown its weight behind the Commission in realizing that objective.

The plain talk of the CEC on the burning issue of elections assumesgreater significance in the backdrop of all sorts of rumours circulatingin the country about possibilities of delay in polls following ultimatumof Prof. Dr. Tahirul Qadri to the Govt to reform the electoral systemwithin three weeks or be ready for a long march on Islamabad. Onemight have differences with the PPP Govt and its lacklusterperformance that has added to the woes of the masses during the lastfive years but the fact remains that people of Pakistan witnessedunprecedented sense of accommodation, tolerance, mutualunderstanding and reconciliation that allowed the system to completefive years. Credit goes both to the Govt and the opposition PML(N)for smooth sailing of the democratic process and therefore, every careshould be taken to ensure that the system is not derailed on any pretext.The new situation presents a daunting challenge to the two majorpolitical parties and it is to be seen as to what strategy they adopt tofoil any bid to delay the polls or ultimately derail the system. But onemust also appreciate that what Dr. Qadri has pointed out is notunconstitutional as the reforms proposed by him are, in fact, alreadythere in the Constitution but the relevant provisions remainunimplemented because of vested interests of the stakeholders. Wewould propose that the EC while ensuring timely holding of theelections should make every endeavour to get these provisionsimplemented at all stages of the electoral process. This should not bea difficult task when all state machinery is supposed to be at its disposalto ensure holding of smooth and transparent elections.

Mirwaiz warnsof armed struggle

CHAIRMAN APHC Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has urged India totake substantial measures to resolve the Kashmir dispute, warning

New Delhi that there was not much time for the purpose and that Kashmiriswould be left with no option but to start armed struggle again.

His statement is reflection of the extreme frustration of Kashmirileadership over lack of any progress towards resolution of thelongstanding Kashmir dispute. It was several years back that theleadership of Kashmiri people reluctantly agreed to discard arms togive dialogue process a chance to succeed but India, as usual, hasexploited this development to strengthen its atrocious occupation ofKashmir. Not a single initiative was taken by New Delhi during theseyears to show to the Kashmiri people that it was sincere about findinga just and durable settlement of the problem. India has not even agreedto a symbolic withdrawal of 850,000 troops, which is considered to behighest concentration of troops in the world, and the reign of terroragainst Kashmiri people continues unabated. Entire India rightly stoodup against barbaric incident of gang rape in Delhi but the same feelingis not visible as far as rights of Kashmiri people are concerned that aretrampled daily by occupation forces. Neither Pakistanis nor Kashmirisare against dialogue but what is the use of indulging in a futile exercisewhen India is not serious in discussing Kashmir in a meaningful manner.It is because of this that we have been demanding timeframe andMirwaiz’ statement substantiates our argument that there is no point intalking for the sake of talks for an indefinite period.

Daunting challengesahead of Morsi

PRESIDENT Mohammed Morsi signed the new constitution, aday after it was announced that a large majority approved it inthe referendum. Egypt’s new constitution has been approved by

some 64 per cent of voters in a two-day referendum, a major victory forPresident Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers that has left theopposition scrambling.

It is hoped the adoption of the constitution will provide a historicopportunity to reunite the national forces on the basis of mutual respectand genuine dialogue aimed at the stability of the homeland. Despitecrossing one of the major hurdles, President Morsi faces daunting chal-lenges ahead and keeping those in view in his first address to the na-tion of 84m, Morsi emphasised that it was time for all political forcesto put aside their differences and start working together to bring stabil-ity. The maturity and consciousness of voters heralds Egypt betting ofdemocracy with no return to the era of Hosni Mubarak who miserablyfailed to build the Egyptian economy and provide some sort of prosper-ity to the people despite his almost thirty years of iron handed rule.Backers of the President also fully realize that Mr Morsi needed sup-port of the vast majority of Egyptians to carry on his task and they toohave urged the people to work together hoping that the new constitu-tion will secure democracy and lead to stability. People expect thatwith popular support, the President would be in a position to steer thecountry out of the crises of all sorts. With parliamentary elections duewithin two months, it is necessary that Mr Morsi initiates a number ofeconomic reforms and take the opposition parties into confidence toreturn the country to the semblance of economic and political stability.

India’s brown colonials

There’s only onepretty child in theworld, and everymother has it.

Although hosannas are dailysung in his name by boosters of the Nehru family,led

by Nobel Prizeman Amartya Senand including numerous historiansand commentators who have ben-efitted from state largesse in oneform or the other, the reality is thatIndia’s first Prime Minister,Jawaharlal Nehru, was insistent thatthe British colonial state shouldcontinue seamlessly into the future.He retained the entire system of co-lonial law and procedure, as wellas the administrative service.

Indeed, rather than subtractingfrom the powers assumed by theBritish colonial masters of India,this authority was added on to dur-ing the time of Nehru and his daugh-ter Indira Gandhi,who took overhuge tracts of private property in thename of the state controlled bythem,besides - in the case of the lat-ter - breaking a solemn covenantthat the Government of India hadentered into with the Princes in1947-48,that of respecting theirtitles and other privileges in ex-change for the royal families sur-rendering sovereignity over theirkingdoms. Indira Gandhi had con-tempt for the people of India, andthis extended to the Princes,manyof whom she sent to jail. The Ma-

Ready fordiplomacyIN nominating Senator John F

Kerry for secretary of state,President Obama observed “in

a sense, John’s entire life has pre-pared him for this role.” Mr. Kerry,a decorated Vietnam veteran, hasbeen an activist in foreign affairssince his arrival in the Senate in1985. A consistent advocate of USleadership, he has forged personalties with top politicians in scores ofcountries. Even his failed 2004 presi-dential campaign left him with ex-perience managing a large organi-zation and its daily challenges.

Most significantly, Mr. Kerryhas already worked as a discreet andable representative for Mr. Obamaduring his first term. While servingas chairman of the Senate’s ForeignRelations Committee, the 69-year-old Massachusetts Democrat trav-elled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egyptand Sudan, among other places, toadvance US aims. He deliveredback-channel messages and helpedto broker agreements; at a time whenAfghan President Hamid Karzai wasat odds with several of theadministration’s senior officials, Mr.Kerry coaxed him into accepting arunoff election for president. A be-liever in Bill Clinton’s vision of theUnited States as “the indispensablenation,” Mr. Kerry pushed the morecautious Mr. Obama toward two ofhis most important foreign policydecisions, the intervention in Libyaand the endorsement of HosniMubarak’s departure from the Egyp-tian presidency. He also played acritical role in one of the president’smost notable successes, the Senate’sratification of a new nuclear armstreaty with Russia. Tackling one ofthe most difficult U.S. relationships,with Pakistan, Mr. Kerry has advo-cated a long-range strategy of pro-moting economic development tobalance short-term military coopera-tion. As secretary of state, Mr. Kerrywould find himself most often car-rying out policies forged at the WhiteHouse rather than implementing hisown vision. A better focus for thenext secretary would be trying toshape the direction of the turbulentArab Middle East — starting withSyria, where US leadership has beenwoefully lacking. Mr. Kerry sharesone of Mr. Obama’s greatest weak-nesses: an excessive faith in the po-tential benefits of “engagement”with rogue regimes and dictators. Inparticular, Mr. Kerry’s repeated at-tempts to foster a dialogue with Syr-ian ruler Bashar al-Assad offer a casestudy of how such diplomacy can gowrong. The cynical Mr. Assad con-vinced Mr. Kerry that he was a “re-former” who sought peace with Is-rael — conclusions that, as the past18 months have shown, could nothave been more wrong. Mr. Kerry’sdedication to dialogue even with USenemies makes some sense for a sec-retary of state. But Mr. Obama’s newCabinet could also benefit from thebalance provided in the first term byfigures such as Hillary RodhamClinton and Robert M. Gates, whotook a more sceptical view of “en-gagement” and favoured steps suchas the surge of troops in Afghani-stan. Mr. Kerry’s confirmation assecretary of state would be a rareachievement for a losing presiden-tial candidate. It’s one he has earned,and we expect he would serve thecountry well.— The Washington Post

*****Adhere toroad rulesANYONE who has ever

driven in traffic in built-upenvironments knows all too

well the dangers posed by motor-bikes. Whether racing at high speedson the overtaking lane, cruising nois-ily and carelessly in leathers, or foodand parcel delivery men in a rushfor their next tip, motorcycles are adanger on our roads. Few riding themachines bother to adhere to therules of the road – but they are cer-tainly not alone in that regard. It’sjust that the consequences of anyaccidents are exacerbated given thescant protection afforded to those ontwo wheels. The dangers are under-scored by statistics from Abu Dhabithat show that six motorcyclists therehave been killed in the first elevenmonths of 2012. Sadly, the demo-graphics show that those involvedin accidents are young and male.There is no quick fix to motorbikesafety — or for road safety as awhole for that matter. Riders shouldremember the machines are not toys.The tip isn’t worth the fall.— Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

— Proverb

harani of Jaipur,Gayatri Devi, wasfor instance tossedinto a cell togetherwith prostitutes,“to teach her a les-son”, as was theMaharani ofGwalior. Ofcourse,the malesin the Gwaliorfamily at least un-derstood the new

reality, with the son of the Maharanibecoming an enthusiastic supporterof the Nehru dynasty,as is hisson,who is now a member of theManmohan Singh Council of Minis-ters. The ladies of the Gwalior royalfamily,however, remained true to thetraditions of the Maharani,remainingwithin the opposition to this date.

In essence,although advertisedglobally as a democracy,the reality isthat India is still a colonial state,where the government enjoys vastpowers over the lives of eachcitizen.So dense is the system of Brit-ish-era law (and their post-1947 ad-ditions) that it is a simple matter tosend any citizen to jail. Just as theBritish colonials used to ensure thatthere was always a distance betweenthemselves and the nativepopulation,today’s Native Colonialsdo the same.

Take the example of the de factoruler of India,Sonia Gandhi. When-ever she or her family travels out ofthe country or into it,special treat-ment is given that is very differentfrom the discomfort endured by or-dinary citizens. When Sonia Gandhitravels by car within Delhi,there aremore than a dozen vehicles in theconvoy,while traffic gets blocked formiles as a consequence.Naturally,the example of the UPA

Chairperson is followed by her min-ions as well.They each ensure thattheir lifestyles and their activities getconducted in a manner which indi-cates their exalted status,completewith flashing red lights and policesirens. The complete separation be-tween Rulers and Ruled in India isof course never mentioned by theCourt Historians and Court Boost-ers of the Nehru family

Although Prime Minister P VNarasimha Rao (who was so dislikedby Sonia Gandhi that in 2004 shemade his coffin wait outside on thepavement rather than allow it to en-ter the Congress HQ) sought to re-duce some of the colonial-era blan-ket of laws, since 2004,theManmohan Singh government hasbrought back the excesses of theNehru period.Laws and procedureshave been tightened so as to ensurethat any official can find some ex-cuse to harass any citizen. In severalsuch activities,the police are theaccomplices.India’s police still func-tion in accordance with the 1862 Po-lice Act passed by the British. No“democratic” government since 1947has ever bothered to change this co-lonial-era system,by which those inuniform are given life and deathpower over innocent citizens.

The insensitivity of Official In-dia can be gauged from Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh’s reaction tothe assault on a 23-year old girl bysix goons in Delhi two weeks ago.For five days he refused to say any-thing about the incident.Then, finally,he appeared on national televisionreading from a prepared text with awooden expression.Among his gemswas the boast that he understood thegirl’s pain “because I have threedaughters”. Those who ran the deathcamps at Auschwitz and Bergen-

On December 20, 2012, thePakistani Parliament’s lowerhouse approved a legislative

bill, which if signed into law, willempower the state to conduct the in-terception of private communica-tions in order to curb terrorism.There are mixed reactions to thislegislation, termed as the “Fair TrialBill”, which will sanction the state’ssecurity agencies to tap phone callsas well as private communication.

The legislation allows securityagencies to tap people’s phone callsand intercept other private commu-nications in order to catch terrorists.The government claims that exist-ing laws neither comprehensivelyprovide for, nor specifically regulateuse of advanced and modern inves-tigative techniques such as covertsurveillance and human intelligence,property interference, wire tappingand communication interception thatare used extensively in other coun-tries, including the US, the UK andIndia. The rationale is that demo-cratic nations, who endeavour tojealously guard the rights of freedomof privacy, have also been forced tosuccumb to the need of the hour andauthorize monitoring of calls andkeep a check over terrorism.

The obverse view is that it is abreach of privacy. Some critics la-bel this law as un-Islamic as welland contrary to the teachings of theQurànic verses; e.g. Surah Ahzâb,which teaches us personal privacyand its respect. Legal minded peoplequestion whether this method willbe used ethically and fairly in Paki-stan, where a little latitude can be

How fair is ‘Fair trial bill’?misused to the hiltto intimidate com-mon folk. They alsoargue whether thenew legislation willactually ease theprocess of capturingterrorists, stressing

that it may prompt them to devisemeans of evading the means of prob-ing into their exchange of communi-cation, forcing them to hide under theradar.

The fact is that under ordinarycircumstances, definitely such intru-sive legislation would be consideredblatant breach of privacy and obtru-sive. Unfortunately, we are beingfaced with extraordinary circum-stances, where we are forced to sur-vive in the face of constant threats toour security. Having lost 44,888 livesincluding 4771 security personnelbetween 2003 and 2012 {accordingto South Asia Terrorism Portal(SATP)}; Pakistan is facing an up-hill task in combating terrorism.SATP data for 2011 alone indicatesthat Pakistan’s continuing engage-ment in the War on Terror continuedto produce a bloody blowback athome, with a total of at least 6,142persons, including of 2,797 militants,2,580 civilians and 765 SecurityForces (SFs) personnel killed. Thecountry recorded at least 476 majorincidents (involving three or morekillings) of terrorism in 2011, inwhich 4,447 persons were killed.

The treacherous face of terrorismis not only inflicting casualties of in-nocent citizens and damaging theproperty but is also distorting theimage of Pakistan as a sovereignstate. This tribulation of mammothproportions demands a Herculeaneffort to curb the menace of terror-ism to save precious lives and prop-erty. Over a period of time, the face-less and furtive enemy has also grownbolder, more determined and sophis-

ticated in intelligence gathering andtargeting high value assets of theArmed Forces, which are perceivedas the major stumbling block to theirheinous agenda and nefarious aims.Attacks on Pakistan Army’s GeneralHeadquarters (GHQ), PakistanNavy’s airbase Mehran, whichhoused the maritime surveillance air-craft P3C Orion and assault on PAFBase Kamra to target the extremelyexpensive SAAB 2000 AirborneEarly Warning & Control (AEW&C)System aircraft and at Peshawar, en-deavor to destroy Pakistan Army’sCobra Gunship helicopters and PAF’sfighter aircraft are ample evidence ofthe state of intelligence, the enemy iscapable of acquiring, strategicallyplan sophisticated and daring attacksand execute them intrepidly. In orderto defeat such a treacherous and dan-gerous enemy, which has taken sucha huge toll of lives and property, weneed to use all the weapons in ourarsenal, including intelligence gath-ering. So far the strategy has been:“reacting to the terror attacks”. It ishigh time we adopted a proactivestrategy and took the fight to the en-emy. This would necessitate even re-sorting to eavesdropping and employ-ing electronic means as well as uti-lizing human intelligence to nip theevil in the bud. Keeping our witsabout and thwarting the enemy’s ne-farious plans before they arelaunched, is the order of the day.

This envisages using all our fac-ulties; the entire nation has to com-bat the menace collectively with firmresolve and unflinching determina-tion. Law Enforcing Agencies(LEAs) and intelligence outfits re-main vigilant and well prepared todeal with any eventuality created byheinous activities of terrorists. Theirprofessional skills and acumen arebeing harshly tested by terrorists wholeave no opportunity unexploited toachieve surprise as they target the

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Belsen also had daughters,many ofthem. Many of those who assaultwomen and girls have daughtersthemselves. To say,as the PrimeMinister and his Home Ministerdid,that because they have daugh-ters they are better sensitized tocrimes against women,is to talknonsense.

Yet so ingrained is the belief inOfficial India that the ordinary citi-zen is an idiot,that such vapid out-pourings are common. Ominously,the Ministrt of Information &Broadcasting has begun a policy ofseeking to intimidate broadcastersby drawing attention to the manylaws and regulations affecting me-dia content in India. Certain indi-viduals are being encouraged to filecriminal charges againstmediapersons who refuse to singhosannas to those in power. Thewhiff of dictatorship is becomingmore apparent.

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and his team,guided by Con-gress Party supremo SoniaGandhi,would like to shoot themessenger.That is,the media.Rather, they need to introspect onthe colonial system which theyadminister.The answer to thepresent crisis of governance in In-dia is not more laws but less. Lesslaws better implemented. Thepeople of India need a system oflaws and governance that is demo-cratic rather than colonia. Unfortu-nately for them,the listless leadersof India are not listening,busy asthey are in making money for them-selves and their families.—The writer is Vice-Chair,Manipal Advanced ResearchGroup, UNESCO Peace Chair &Professor of Geopolitics, ManipalUniversity, Haryana State, India.

most sensitive areas and assets of vi-tal importance. On the other handLEAs and intelligence agencies wereat times getting discouraged and de-moralized as their actions were be-ing challenged through courts of lawand they were questioned for the va-lidity and legality of their decisions/actions. It seemed the initiative wasbeing transferred from LEAs/intelli-gence outfits to the terrorists whooften were set free by the courts forlack of evidence and other proceduralpenal flaws. Hence, LEAs and intel-ligence support units felt the grum-bling pinch when they found that theirsacred but hazardous mission werenot being acknowledged by the law,thus rendering them helpless and in-capacitated in the face of criminal ter-rorists.

In order to provide adequate le-gal cover to LEAs and intelligenceagencies there was a dire need to un-dertake legislation which could allowthe LEAs to perform their dutieswithout any fear. The NationalAssembly’s unanimous decision topass ‘Investigation for Fair Trial Bill-2012’ has been a milestone in the his-tory of legislation, providing legalcover to the agencies concerned totape the phone calls and watch the e-mails as part of collection of evidencethrough electronic means. The billenvisages that electronic material andthe relevant data on the phone callswould now be permissible in the courtof law. The bill sends a message tothe terrorists that the entire nation wasunited in their efforts to bring the ter-rorists to books. It also asserts openlyfor the international community toobserve and evaluate how seriousPakistan was, in fighting the menaceof terrorism.—The author, a retired PAF GroupCaptain, served as Air & Navalattaché at Riyadh and is currentlya columnist, analyst and TV talkshow host.

Sultan M HaliEmail: [email protected]

M D NalapatEmail: [email protected]

GeopoliticalGeopoliticalGeopoliticalGeopoliticalGeopoliticalnotes from Indianotes from Indianotes from Indianotes from Indianotes from India

Voice of the People

Israel kills two-state solution

The two-state solution is dying.The Palestinian effort late lastmonth at the United Nations to

attain non-member observer state sta-tus was overwhelmingly approved –138 to 9 – by the international com-munity. Israel, however, warned thatthe vote would be purely symbolicand change nothing on the ground.This was a calculated and mislead-ing statement.

In fact, Israel immediately tookrevenge for the Palestinians’ temer-ity in seeking to improve our lot byannouncing “zoning and planningpreparations” for illegal settlementsin the sensitive E1 corridor in theoccupied West Bank. This week Is-rael put out tenders for thousands ofnew settlement units – the most ag-gressive activity in the area in years.

Israel’s planned settlement con-struction makes a contiguous Pales-tinian state virtually impossible.Bethlehem and Ramallah will be cutoff from East Jerusalem if the E1project goes forward, though Israelargues that we can make do with con-necting tunnels and elevated road-ways, as if that is tolerable. The Is-

raeli plan also closes the settlementsemi-circle around East Jerusalemand builds settlements in it – ourwould-be capital. The north and southof the West Bank would be effectivelybisected and Israel would control thekey.

But the Obama administrationappears to be unwilling to do anythingmeaningful. With Israel’s newestsettlement plans announced, all mem-bers of the United Nations SecurityCouncil issued statements condemn-ing the construction – all except theUnited States. Though a State Depart-ment spokesperson said after Israel’snewest announcement that the US is“deeply disappointed” in Israel’s“pattern of provocation,” the Obamaadministration, after a positive start,has proven every bit as craven instanding up to Israel as its predeces-sors.

A morally compromised UnitedStates will provide no succour. Eu-rope, however, is showing signs ofunderstanding just how seriousIsrael’s actions are. Several Europeannations voted in favour of upgradingPalestine’s status at the UN. US al-lies Germany, France, and Britain allspoke out against Israel’s latest settle-ment plans. But Europe must go be-yond issuing statements, dressing

The meltdown of the global financial system has raised profound questions of its funda-

mental structural reform. The down-ward spiral in the US and WesternEurope is described by financial ex-perts as deleveraging: the forced re-duction of accumulated debt byhouseholds and financial institutions.As more assets get dumped into themarket, prices are driven down fur-ther, which in turn necessitates moredeleveraging.

This vicious cycle has gainedsuch momentum that even the mas-sive bailout packages may not be suf-ficient to stop it. The bursting of thedebt-fuelled property bubble in theUS, together with the crippling lossessuffered by banks, has set in motiona chain-reaction that, in a worst-casescenario, (according to Prof NiallFerguson of Harvard) could lead to a21st century version of the GreatDepression.

The immediate cause of the cur-rent financial crisis appears to be theexcessive and imprudent lending bybanks. This in turn is attributed to theunbridled power of private bankersto create money out of nothing, andthen to loan this bank-created moneyon interest (described as fractional

Can Islamic finance help?reserve banking). In this presentmonetary framework, money istraded as a commodity, instead of per-forming its true func-tion of operating as amedium of exchange.This system favoursthe rich against the in-dustrious poor. De-spite the fact that de-posits are sourcedfrom a broad cross-section of the society,their benefit goesmainly to the rich.

James Robertsonin “TransformingEconomic Life”states that: “Today’smoney and financesystem is unfair, ecologically destruc-tive and economically inefficient.The money – must – grow impera-tive … skews economic effort to-wards money out of money, andagainst providing real services andgoods”.

A substantial proportion of thisprivately created bank-money is in-vested in speculative wagering instru-ments, such as derivatives based onfutures, swaps, and options. Suchbetting instruments are not connected

Overcomingenergy crisis

MALIK SHAHAN ASLAM

The limited resources of this planetearth are experiencing the over ex-ploitation due to increasing popula-tion day by day. It has given rise toa serious energy crisis throughoutthe world. Today man is constantlyin confrontation with his gratifica-tion of the fulfillment of his physi-ological needs. Same is the essenceof Pakistan but the main issues re-lated to energy crisis in Pakistan re-fers to the lack of effective policiesby the Government, Corruption,Lack of resources and AmbiguousLaw and order situation.

Due to the difference in Demandand supply ratio of crude oil it main-tains the rising trend in the Interna-tional market. Pakistan is a devel-oping country experiencing a veryarduous situation of Terrorism, Pro-vincial disharmony on Energy issues(Kalabagh Dam), Foreign pressuresand incompetency of Government ,it paves the way for energy crisis.In South Asia India, China, Afghani-stan and Iran attaining the importantGeo-strategic locations of the world.China has become world’s secondlargest economy, India world’semerging economy and Iran the ex-ample of Self-reliance country andAfghanistan the gateway to theworld of natural resources the cen-tral Asia where lies the world’s sec-ond largest reservoirs of oil .In thiswhole scenario the question ariseswhy Pakistan is lacking behind???As we know the economic growthis contingent on energy so utilizingevery source of energy can be help-ful in bringing Pakistan out of thehovering clouds of Energy crisis.

Recent inauguration of firstwind power unit in Jhimpur nearThatta was an appreciable step togenerate energy from renewablesources. Today there is more needof such possible wind and solar en-ergy projects instead of expensivemeans of energy to wipe out energycrisis from Pakistan.—Via email

Fake certificatesKHURRAM SHAHZAD AWAN

Education is the main cause of areputation to be considered as a well,established and a successful coun-try in the world. Different countriesof the world have their own criteriato check the literacy standard in theirhomeland. In Pakistan we have ameasuring instrument for checkingthe literacy rate is that a person whocan write his or her name is consid-ered to be the literate person. De-grees are selling in the market with-out any restriction and check andbalance. There is no criteria avail-able in Pakistan to check the reli-ability of a qualification certificate.

A large number of governmentand semi government employees areworking on the basis of their fakequalification certificates. People caneasily take the degree by paying re-quired money demanded by a per-son for the sake of getting fake quali-fication certificate. They are not onlymaking the fake qualification cer-tificates but also providing the fakeattestation stamps on the back sideof the qualification certificate. Thisis a catastrophic phenomenon in Pa-kistan and increasing with the pas-sage of time. Government shouldtake necessary steps to stop this il-legal act and a strong checking au-thority should be appointed on anurgent basis to monitor this un ethi-cal and illegal activity.—Islamabad

LiberaleducationM BAQA QAZI

The most important institution inSocialization is Education whereman can learn basic features of life.Since it has been disseminated tocommon people, there has beenrapid growth in every sphere of de-velopment: science, technology, so-ciology, politics, anthropology, etc.Now it is activated towards quint-essential human right of every indi-vidual man. Though, it encompassesa wide sphere of knowledge, it hasbeen metamorphosed by man ac-cording to his needs. It can bemainly applied as a tool of economicdevelopment. The developing coun-tries, which are still far behind, needto forge efforts to transform theireducation system in order to catchup with the rest of the world. Notonly because it helps in achievingeconomic development but also be-cause it fulfils the need of society inevery sphere of life.

Liberal education is required tobe based on information and knowl-edge. It improves the skills and com-petitiveness of students. As theworld has become a global village,the importance of communicationskills has escalated manifold. These

1st wind power projectIQBAL HADI ZAIDI

As an honest and true patriotic Pakistani it will be highly immoral on my part not to heartily and profusely congratulate

PPP headed by President Asif Ali Zardari on establishing 1st windpower project in Pakistan which to me, if not annoying, is the very1st achievement for PPP to be honest. 24th December, 2012 can bevery rightly called as the golden day for the country as for the 1sttime in the history of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari inaugu-rated 1st wind power project in Jhimpir, Thatta district, Sindh whichwill be operational next month producing 50 MW which is just thebeginning. So far so good because at least something concrete hasbeen done by PPP government to ease power shortage though 50MW is very much insignificant so far as our total power require-ment is concerned but nevertheless it is a right step in the rightdirection. However why did we take so many long years to embarkupon the activity which is not our new invention in any case? Whatstopped PPP which boasts of being the most popular political partyof the country to embark upon such project earlier when it ruledthe country many long years back when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was onthe driving seat or for that matter when Benazir Bhutto had beenon the throne? Even Zardari is on the seat for almost 5 years timeand this was not given any importance and priority.—Kuwait

Views From Abroad

READERS

Email:[email protected]

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

—Editor

with transactions in the real economy.According to Prof John Gray of Ox-ford University, derivatives have cre-

ated a “virtual finan-cial economy” which“has a terrible poten-tial for disrupting theunderlying realeconomy as seen inthe collapse in 1995of Barings, Britain’soldest bank”. It istherefore no surprisethat George Soros hasdescribed derivativesas “hydrogenbombs”. WarrenBuffet describedthem as “financialweapons of mass de-

struction”.The Bank for International Settle-

ments (BIS) currently estimates thenotional amount of all outstandingderivatives (including credit defaultswaps) to be a staggering 600 trilliondollars, more than 10 times the sizeof the world economy. Althoughdebt-financing cannot be ruled out,the solution lies in a shift to equity-based financing, posited on profit andloss sharing, which is the primarycharacteristic of Islamic Finance. In

few objectives of liberal education arevery important for developing coun-tries including Pakistan. Another ben-efit would be the eradication of pov-erty. Liberal education will also helpin raising the living standard of ev-ery common man as it is directly pro-portional to the income of a family.—Karachi

A social stigmaHUMNA ALI

Corruption although can be classifiedinto a thousands of categories de-pends on how good people manipu-late things. However the basic andmost common type is “bribe” whichhas far reaching implications towardsthe destruction of complete system.Any system would be declared as acomplete failure once the corruptionstarts appearing even on the grass rootlevel. It really hurts when I see a thou-sand white elephants in every singledepartment with a big mouth openedbefore the poor and needy and themost concerning and funnier part ofthe story is that one has to bribe toget into a position where he can askfor the same and the chain reactiongoes on and on. If we peep into thegolden pages of history of our owncountry every single day out of these62 years is like a page full of thou-sand cases of corruption right fromdemarcation to 5 martial laws, frompeon to board of governors and evenfrom sports field to getting your childadmitted to a good school. For pro-motion, business, politics etc. Evenfor basic necessities like electricityand now even sugar, this is what wesee in any corner we look at.

Crux of the matter is that this is asocial stigma we are living with andthis is the time to bring about achange, a revolution. So the need ofthe hour is to develop ourselves asound sense of what corruption actu-ally is and take all those measures soas to eradicate it right from the grass-root level. Merely including a chap-ter on corruption in curriculum atschools won’t be as effective as aparent inculcating the same sense ina child by making it a part of child’sbasic moral values list for it is theforemost solution to the social stigmawe are living. It is the time that werealize and do something in real ratherthan joining the social services com-munities on facebook and makes ourcountry Pakistan a better place to livein.—Lahore

Women’ssufferings

M ASHRAF

There are so many organizations ac-tive for cause of suffering women,throughout the world. Are these re-dressing the root cause of the prob-lem? Are these really concerned forsuffering women? Are these reallyneeded at all? Working of all theseorganizations gives every indicationof lacking proper analysis and plan-ning for helping the suffering womenfor all times to come. Unplanned ap-proach to any problem must result inmockery of the issue, whereas thisparticular issue concerns the honourand dignity of mother of human be-ings. Undisciplined approach in thematter may appear to be merely forpopularity and reputation.

Every religion with a bookof instructions strictly instructs forrespect and regards for women. Inmore than 90% cases of abuse towomen, the males involved are be-lievers by inheritance and they havenever studied the books of their be-lief, in whole life. Majority of themare illiterate due to which they can-not even think of going through theinstructions of the Holly books thatteach them to be polite and kind towomen.

All low literacy states suffer frommultiple complex crimes includingsurvival of corrupt politicians, whopollute every nook of every socialsetup. In such states women and chil-dren suffer most. Misbehaviour and

Murder she wrote herself

Five years ago, Benazir Bhutto,a legendary scion and trusteeof Bhutto legacy and univer-

sally known as the daughter of Eastembraced martyrdom at Liaqat BaghRawalpindi; a martyrdom she wroteherself as is evident from the mes-sage that she sent to Mark Siegelbefore her return to Pakistan. Thefact that she knew the risks to herlife and yet decided to take them,amply confirms her credentials as acourageous leader of the masses,who valued democracy and serviceto the people, more than her own life.

Her status as an undisputedleader of the masses was confirmedon her return from exile on April 101986, when more than one millionpeople thronged Lahore airport togreet and celebrate her homecoming.The dictator was shaken by this tu-multuous welcome and support forthe young lady, who by now was notknown only as Bhutto’s daughter butas a leader in her own right. Thatpopularity was translated into politi-cal triumph for her two years laterwhen PPP emerged as the singlelargest party in the elections, held

after the death of General Zia.Benazir created history by be-

coming the youngest and the firstwoman Prime Minister of a Muslimcountry. Her election as Prime Min-ister of Pakistan symbolized greatsnub for the vested interests and thereactionary elements. It also sent aloud and clear message to the worldthat Pakistan was the most progres-sive Islamic country. But unfortu-nately Benazir’s ordeal did not endby becoming the Prime Minister.The establishment and the forcesinimical to democratic norms, whohad made a tactical retreat in the faceof the prevailing circumstances, re-activated themselves and manoeu-vred the dismissal of her governmentby the military-backed PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan. She continuedto fight the forces of tyranny withexemplary commitment to her causeand made a comeback as Prime Min-ister in 1993, only to be dismissedby one of PPP’s own stalwarts at thebehest of the establishment.

The circumstances created byher rival Mian Nawaz Sharif whosucceeded her as Prime Minister inthe ensuing elections, forced her intoself-imposed exile in 1998. The suc-cessive set-backs in her political ca-reer hardly affected her stature as anunrivalled leader of the masses. In-

stead her popularity among themasses sky-rocketed and furtherstrengthened her image as a torchbearer of democracy. Internationallyalso she was recognized as the mostprogressive leader of the Islamicworld. She was termed as the mostpopular politician of the world in theNew Guinees Book of Records in1996 and also included in the list ofthe hundred most powerful womenof the world by the“ AustralianMagazine”.

The toppling of Nawaz Sharifgovt by General Musharraf added anew dimension to her woes. The dic-tator through a constitutional amend-ment put a bar on becoming PrimeMinister for the third time, ostensi-bly to keep both Benazir and NawazSharif out of the political arena. Healso started vigorously pursuing thepolitically motivated false cases ofcorruption instituted by NawazSharif against her and her husbandin the Swiss Courts.

However, undeterred by thesedevelopments she kept lobbying theworld governments, specially US toexert pressure on Musharraf to re-store democracy in the country. Fi-nally she returned to Pakistan onOctober 18, 2007 as a result of USbacked rapprochement withMusharraf in the backdrop of the

lawyers movement which had con-siderably weakened Musharraf’shold on power. Her second home-coming was a much bigger eventthan her return during Zia regime.Millions turned up to greet her. Aspredicted by her an attempt wasmade to kill her through a bombblast at her rally. She was lucky toescape the attack but about 140people lost their lives. Even thisclose shave with death could notkeep her away from the masses andshe made a conscious decision tocontinue her election campaign,showing unmatched bravery anddedication to her ideals. But unfor-tunately her epic struggle for de-mocracy and the cause of poorended with her martyrdom thatnonetheless put the country backon the path of democracy and arepresentative rule.

As is evident, her political ca-reer was beset with severe trialsand tribulations but she never fal-tered in her resolve to fight the anti-people entities. It was a story ofunparalleled valour and sacrifice.She may have been eliminatedphysically but she has left an in-delible mark on the political can-vass of Pakistan which will forevercontinue to haunt the forces op-posed to democracy.

down Israeli ambassadors, or threat-ening to recall European ambassadorsto Israel. Resolute action from theEuropeans is long overdue. Now isthe time for Europe to review anddiscard economic relations that dis-regard Israel’s export of productsfrom illegal settlements.

We Palestinians, with our new-found international standing, are alsonot as helpless as we once were. Wecan now go to the International Crimi-nal Court and the International Courtof Justice. Those Israeli leaders pur-suing illegal colonizing activity in E1and elsewhere would be on notice thatwe will actively pursue legal actionagainst them. Those European na-tions that prior to the vote did notwant us to pursue legal action maywell be convinced that we are rightto push back in a limited fashionagainst Israel’s land-grabbing re-sponse.

My response, and that of thou-sands of Palestinians, has been activenon-violent resistance to highlight forthe world the injustices we face. TheUN bid was nothing but the mildestpossible form of peaceful diplomaticresistance. During the last few weeksin both Gaza and the West Bank, theIsraeli government, with whatamounts to the implicit support of the

this equitable manner, economiceffort would be directed at provid-ing useful goods and services, in-stead of simply making money outof money.

At the same time, the wide gapbetween the supply of money andthe supply of real goods and serviceswould be decisively narrowed. Thedistinguishing features and benefitsof Islamic Banking were aptly sum-marized by the Islamic Develop-ment Bank, based in Jeddah, (estab-lished 1975) in the following words:“Islamic banking is distinctive intwo respects: concentrating on thereal sector of the economy, it im-parts tremendous stability to the eco-nomic system by achieving an iden-tity between monetary flows andgoods and services, and by operat-ing on a system of profit and losssharing in its evolved state, it insu-lates the society from the debt-mountain on the analogy that if theeconomies enter into recessionaryor deflationary phases, the principlesof profit and loss sharing protectsthe states and economic operatorsfrom the evils of accumulation ofinterest and minimizes defaults andbankruptcies.”. The writer is cor-porate & Islamic finance attorney.

United States, has sent one mes-sage: It understands and respectsonly the language of force and vio-lence.

I have repeatedly warned of thewindow closing on the two-state so-lution. With its latest settlement ac-tions Israel has effectively an-nounced that its government has nointerest in the two-state solution.Palestinians of my generation – andmany younger Palestinians – willbe re-evaluating our options. Wesimply will not accept being perma-nently relegated to isolated territo-ries and subjected to a system thatArchbishop Desmond Tutu andmany other moral and legal authori-ties acknowledge to be apartheid.

Effective punitive actions areneeded if Israel is to reverse itspresent course. If the US does nottake this action soon, the Westshould not be surprised to find anincreasing number of Palestiniansconcluding that the two-state solu-tion has died on President Obamaand Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu’s watch. The writer,member of the Palestinian Parlia-ment, is secretary general of thePalestinian National Initiative, apolitical party. — Courtesy: TheChristian Science Monitor

Mustafa Barghouthi

A kind salesman has offeredto visit our house, said thewife to me just before the

festive season. “Whatever for?” Iasked. “He’s going to tell us whatwe need to buy!” “A salesman isgoing to come to my house and tellme what I need to buy?” I askedincredulously, “You think I don’tknow what we need?”

The doorbell rang and my wifehurried to open the door, “New

doorbell needed,” said the salesmanopening an order book and writing,“This one sound like it’s been herefrom the last century!” “It’s been herefrom the last century,” said the wifequietly, as I scowled at her.

“And what’s that?” asked thesalesman. “My music system,” I said,“And lovelier music I have not heardfrom any other set!” “Maybe,” saidthe salesman, “But such a gigantic,monstrosity in your living room?Haven’t people laughed when theysee this?” “If they do, I’ll…”“Where’s your TV?” “In the bed-room, isn’t that where most TV’sare?”

“Yes, when you don’t want toshow off your latest LED, one hun-

dred and fifty inch screen!” “Onehundred and fifty inches?” I askedaghast, “This is not a theatre!” “Hometheatre,” said the salesman simply,“Haven’t you heard of that phrase?”“I go to the theatre when I want toget out of my home,” I said angrily,“I don’t need to bring the theatrehome!”

The salesman looked at my wifewith a sympathetic glance, as shelooked at her toes. “We have a fewpackage deals sir!” said the salesman,“You can decided depending on yourbudget, “We will either change ev-erything completely or a few thingshere and there. Here have a look!” “Idon’t want any of your packages!” Isaid, “You may leave!” “Then we’ll

Exchange offer..!have no option but to offer madamthe last package, which we reservefor such situations!” “What pack-age?” I asked hoarsely as I scannedthe sheet. “Exchange offer of a newhusband, along with all the othergoodies!”

I could swear I saw the wifesmile as I hustled the man out ofthe house. The wife came back af-ter half an hour, “I took the seconddeal,” she said, “TV in the frontroom, new door bell, and latestmusic system. I could never thinkof giving you away!” I watchedthem changing the doorbell the nextday, thankful I hadn’t been ex-changed..!—Email: [email protected]

cruelty against one woman affectmore than three children on the aver-age, in one home. What to talk ofmillions of homes throughout theworld? Newspapers’ articles give listsof kinds of violence (maximumseven: honour killing, rape, sexualharassment, handing over of womenin compensation, acid attack, forcedmarriage and marriage to the Quran)against women, but nobody mentionsabout a serious violence of usingwomen to display their bodies forearning millions in favour of groupsof males completely clad from toe toneck.

Use of tele / print media devicesagainst the norm of cultural values ofthe society creates unsolvable prob-lems for conservative class of house-wives and children. A few dozenpeople maintaining kingly livesthrough business of modeling andfashion shows in conservative sectionsof various societies are causes of com-plex troubles for so many house wives.Illiterate rich husbands expect model-ing gestures from their wives and en-gineer out cause of friction in the fam-ily. The ruling authorities have an im-portant responsibility to maintain proculture atmosphere. They need tostrongly obstruct anti culture activitiesat all costs for maintaining tranquil-lity in social setup. All social setupscan never submerge in a single way ofliving. Permitting free hand to tele /print media will result in more andmore crimes and corruptions and morecases of torturing women and children.—Via email

Values inchanging times

RABIA SALEEM

With the passage of time it has beenfelt that there is a need to educate ouryouth regarding their moral valuesand norms. Pakistan is a countrywhere people uphold values learnt attheir feet of their grandparents, par-ents and teachers. We would ratherdie than part with our values. But to-day we are shedding off the valueslearnt in childhood for materialisticgains. We hardly remember them de-spite of following them. However, westill find many people who are de-veloping and maintaining divine val-ues. The whole world today is inmuch turmoil and confusion. We havelost all faith in God and fight overpetty matters, giving the ‘I’ utmostimportance instead of ‘We’ for whosewelfare we were taught to work for.

We had been believing in a jointfamily system for sticking togetherin joy and sorrow for ages. But to-day, we find nuclear families, mem-bers of which do not know who toturn to in adverse circumstances aswell as with whom to celebrate goodtimes. Parents are the most re-spected and priceless gift from Godto us but still we don’t realize theirimportance and neglect them by giv-ing our preferences more priorities.We disrespect them and don’t obeythem. However, since childhood wehave been taught to obey our parentsand have great respect for them. Ourold values of thrift and shunning ofmaterial comforts are giving way toluxury and overspending. We have toeducate our youth about values be-fore they get lost in their quest forwealth and power. The onus is nowon Educationists and Spiritualists toeducate today’s generation about the‘real’ wealth of our country. We musthave great concern on educating theyouth about their detoriated valuesbecause in changing time we will findpeople who are totally unfamiliar totheir basic norms.—Lahore

Malik M AshrafEmail: [email protected]

The Spirit Of Islam

M Shoaib Omar

LARRY DERFNER

MA’ALEH Adumim symbolizes whyMiddle East peace may no longer bepossible. When you drive out on thehighway to the West Bank settlement

of Ma’aleh Adumim from Jerusalem, you’re driv-ing through big sky country. After passingJerusalem’s new Jewish neighborhoods and oldArab villages, all you’ve got on either side of youare the soft hills of the Judean desert. Emptiness,except for the unseen Bedouins. But very soon,you see a long, long line of beige houses and apart-ment buildings on the ridge of a steep hill, stretch-ing nearly from one end of your field of vision tothe other. Welcome to Ma’aleh Adumim. Thepopulation is 40,000 but if someone told me itwas 400,000, I’d believe it. It is huge, monumen-tal: Long, sweeping roads lead up the hill to itsentrances, and wide avenues course up and downbeautifully landscaped neighborhoods built fromJerusalem stone. Ma’aleh Adumim, founded in1975, does not look like anybody’s idea of a settle-ment. It is truly an Israeli city, and it looks invul-nerable to U.N. resolutions.

Ma’aleh Adumim is a stick in the eye of Pal-estinian attempts to build a state in the West Bank.And its very presence is spurring further Israeliconstruction: Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu’s recent threat to build a sprawling,3,500-unit housing project linking the settlementwith Jerusalem has provoked expressions of out-rage and distrust from Brussels and, in much morerestrained tones, from Washington. The latest dip-lomatic skirmish was set off after European for-eign ministers, in no uncertain terms, warned ofthe disastrous effects of the so-called “E-1 plan”on the prospects for a two-state solution. Westerndiplomats fret that E-1 construction will drive astone wedge through the heart of the would-bePalestinian state cutting off Palestinians’ accessto East Jerusalem, their hoped-for capital.

But this misses the point: The presence ofMa’aleh Adumim makes E-1, or something likeit, inevitable. Israel has no intention of letting thiscity go in any sort of peace agreement, and it’snot going to let it remain as an isolated Jewishenclave linked to the capital by a thin, three-milestretch of highway with nothing but Palestine oneither side. The world has remained on the side-lines these last 37 years during the constructionof Ma’aleh Adumim. It’s a little late in the game

The Settlement That Broke the Two-State Solutionto go complaining about E-1. Besides, who saysthis settlement, the third most populous in the WestBank, isn’t already a stake in the heart of a pro-

spective Palestinian state, even without E-1?“Ma’aleh Adumim was established to break Pal-estinian contiguity,” Benny Kashriel, the town’smayor since 1992, told the Jerusalem Report in2004. “It is Jerusalem’s connection to the DeadSea and the Jordan Valley [on the other side of the

West Bank from Jerusalem]; if we weren’t here,Palestinians could connect their villages and closeoff the roads.” (Kashriel declined to be interviewedfor this article; the City Hall spokesman said localofficials had talked enough to the media about E-1.) This West Bank settlement functions as a sub-urb, or satellite city of the capital, and that’s howthe residents as well as Israelis at large see it.“It’s too big to be a settlement,” says YaelBenayoun, a native-born 16-year old girl shopping

in the gleaming mall in the heart of town. She andher friend, Etti Lazar, also 16, say they can’t imag-ine Ma’aleh Adumim ever ceasing to exist, like

the settlements of Gaza that were destroyed in2005, or those of Sinai that were bulldozed in 1982.“There’s no place to put everyone,” Lazar says.Indeed, there are roughly five times more Israelisettlers in Ma’aleh Adumim than there were in allof Gaza, and eight times more than there were in

Sinai.Nor is there a constituency in Israel for relin-

quishing Ma’aleh Adumim in any peace deal. Thecity is considered by all Israeli Jews, except thoseon the marginal non-Zionist left, to be a “settlementbloc” one close to the pre-1967 border that must beretained in a final agreement through land swapswith the Palestinians. With its large population andproximity to Jerusalem, the settlement sits snuglywithin the revered national “consensus” as perma-

nently protected Israeli territory. The birth ofMa’aleh Adumim also speaks to the support it en-joys across the Israeli political spectrum. Follow-ing the conquest of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six DayWar, Israel built an inner ring of Jewish neighbor-hoods on the eastern part of the city to “strengthen”and “protect,” in nationalistic terminology, the holycity from ever being “divided” again. The outer ringwas made up of Givat Ze’ev lay to the north, Efratto the south, and Ma’aleh Adumim to the east.

“This was the plan of the doves of the LaborParty of that time,” explains historian MeronBenvenisti, who was a deputy mayor of Jerusalemin the 1970s. “To keep the land around Jerusalemand give the rest back to Jordan. Nobody was talk-ing about the Palestinians back then.” Indeed, noneof this started with Netanyahu, or even with Likudit started with the Labor Party, the party of peaceprocess devotees Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres,the party that later midwifed the Oslo peace accordswith Yasir Arafat. E-1 didn’t start with Netanyahu,either it started with Rabin in 1994, who, accord-ing to the Jerusalem Post, “provided then-mayorBenny Kashriel with annexation documents for theE1 area.”

In the marble-trimmed lobby of Ma’alehAdumim’s City Hall, the walls are lined with pho-tos of Kashriel hosting prime ministers going backto Yitzhak Shamir. In one photo, Kashriel holds apen over a map of the region, showing Rabin thelay of the land. The message is clear: This is con-sensus Israeli territory you’re standing on left-to-right, decade after decade. The only problem peoplein Ma’aleh Adumim seem to have with E-1 is thatit’s only in the planning stages. “Bibi’s bluffing. He’s

never going to build E-1 because of the internationalpressure,” a real estate agent in the mall told me.“We only wish he would build it do you know whatthe construction of 3,500 more homes would do forour economy?”

Netanyahu’s unfreezing of plans for E-1 washis immediate punishment of the Palestinians andthe “international community” for the Nov. 29 U.N.vote to grant Palestine non-member observer statestatus. He has followed that with high-profile plans

to build about 5,000 housing units in Jewishneighborhoods of East Jerusalem and West Banksettlements (though not in Ma’aleh Adumim, tothe locals’ great disappointment). A typical reac-tion came from the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, Catherine Ashton, who said the ex-pansion plans “seriously undermine the prospectsof a negotiated resolution ... by jeopardizing thepossibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinianstate and of Jerusalem as the future capital of twostates.” “It’s nonsense,” Benvenisti retorts.“People want to believe there’s hope for the two-state solution, they believe it’s the only game intown. Forget it.”

Benvenisti has traveled a long ideologicalroad since his time as Jerusalem deputy mayor,moving from a proponent of the two-state solu-tion to an advocate of a binational state encom-passing Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, with fullpolitical equality for Jews and Arabs. In the early1980s, he founded an organization that trackedthe growth of West Bank settlements. “I startedwhen there were 20,000 settlers and said that whenthey reached 100,000, the settlements will be ir-reversible,” he says.

The number passed 100,000 before Oslo, andtoday there are upwards of 350,000 not countingthe Jewish residents of East Jerusalem, who num-ber another 200,000. Benvenisti, once dismissedas a congenital pessimist, is now seen as a realistwho was ahead of his time a prophet of doomwhom history seems to have proven right. “Youcan’t build a Palestinian state in the West Bankthe settlements [and road infrastructure built forthem] have permanently cantonized the territory,”he avers. “Yes, E-1 will certainly cut Jerusalemoff from Ramallah in the north and Hebron in thesouth but they’re already cut off.”

He keeps going, ticking off the other fractureson the land where Palestinians hope to build theirstate: Jenin and Nablus are similarly cut off, hesays. Netanyahu’s plans to build a settlement insouthern Jerusalem will sever the city’s links toBethlehem. “All this talk about a two-state solu-tion, about a viable, contiguous Palestinian statewith a capital in Jerusalem who’s kidding whom?”I ask Benvenisti where he would rank Ma’alehAdumim among settlements on a scale of strategicobstructionism. “There all the same,” he replies.And despite half a century of international wail-ing, none of them looks vulnerable.

—Courtesy: FP

“To keep the land around Jerusalem and give the rest back to Jordan. Nobody was talking about thePalestinians back then.” Indeed, none of this started with Netanyahu, or even with Likud it started with theLabor Party, the party of peace process devotees Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, the party that later mid-

wifed the Oslo peace accords with Yasir Arafat.

DAUD KHATTAK

PAKISTAN’S new engagement inefforts to find a peaceful end tothe conflict in Afghanistan hasbeen received with optimism in

the West. In just the past month, mem-bers of Afghanistan’s High Peace Coun-cil visited Islamabad for discussions withPakistani officials, Pakistan Army chiefGen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Kabul

to sign an agreement on border security,Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoolvisited Islamabad for talks, and PakistaniForeign Minister Hina Rabbani Khan met

with U.S. Secretary of State HillaryClinton in Brussels to discuss their co-operation on counterterrorism in the re-gion. However, a deeper look atPakistan’s recent behavior reveals thatthese events may represent more of achange of tactics than a change of mind.Admittedly, the ethnic divisions, wide-spread corruption, and weak central gov-ernment that plague Afghanistan alsohave Pakistan worried about a failinggovernment in its backyard. It is possiblethat a focus strategic depth really has beenoverpowered by this looming threat. But

For Pakistan, a change of heart in Afghanistan?it is more likely that the government ofPakistan still clings to the long-held stra-tegic depth objectives, while choosingnow to take a more indirect approach toreaching it.

With the 2014 withdrawal of NATOcombat troops from Afghanistan looming,Pakistani officials now say they just wantto be recognized and given a seat at thenegotiation table with the Taliban andother Afghan factions. But at the sametime, of course, Pakistan also still wants

to minimize India’s presence and restrictits increasing influence in Afghanistan inthe future. Since the 1960s, when the doc-trine of “strategic depth” was first devel-

oped, Pakistan both right and wronglyhas been obsessed with addressing itsparanoia of Indian-Afghan encirclement.The Pakistani government now seems tobe downplaying the security-centric goalof strategic depth, though this should notbe taken to mean that Pakistan has aban-doned this ultimate aim.

“The post-withdrawal Afghanistanshould not be an enemy, if it is not goingto be a friend,” says a diplomatic sourcereferring to the strategic depth doctrineof Pakistan’s security establishment.There are reasons behind this apparent

change in tactics. Pakistani policy mak-ers have now come to believe, with aheavy heart, that a Taliban-led regime likethe one before 2001 in Afghanistan is anunrealistic dream.

Persistent U.S. drone strikes, with orwithout the consent of the Pakistani gov-ernment, have forced Pakistan to cometo terms with the reality that modern tech-nology has now replaced the conventionalmeans of hot pursuit, and it is far easierfor the United States or other powers totarget their enemies without sendingground troops. And, the United States hasadopted silence over the sticky issue ofasking Pakistan to conduct military op-erations against the dreaded Haqqanis inNorth Waziristan, while the hardliners inthe Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) inPakistan have gone into hibernation andadopted silence over drone attacks.

To give credence to the impressionof shedding the strategic depth policy,Pakistan recently freed several Talibanprisoners, while another batch, includingMullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who hasreportedly established contacts with theAfghan government, may also be freedshortly if the United States agrees. Now,the Pakistani side seems to be confrontedwith two key questions regarding stabil-ity in Afghanistan after 2014, and the fu-ture of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP).

Although Pakistan has been per-suaded through the ‘carrot and stick’ ap-proach not to be a spoiler if it is not go-ing to buttress the peace process, policymakers in Islamabad are weighing theiroptions in a divided Afghanistan, not geo-graphically but on ethnic and factionalbasis. In the post-withdrawal Afghani-stan, Pakistan sees a Taliban-controlledsouth, Haqqanis leading in the south-east,and the rest of Afghanistan under the non-Pashtuns led by ethnic Tajiks. In thisscenario, Pakistan will get a secured bor-der even though the government in Kabulremains hostile (in other words pro-In-dia). In this way, Pakistan will not onlyensure its influence in the strategicallyimportant southeastern part of Afghani-stan, but could also push the TTP andother Pakistan-based militant groups, in-cluding the Kashmir-focused jihadis, intothe Haqqani- and Taliban- controlled partsof Afghanistan.

—Courtesy AFPAK Channel

NORMAN ORNSTEIN

WILL lawmakers trade political paralysis for compromise and bipartisanship in2013? Don’t bet on it. prepar-

ing for this year’s holiday season got a nastypre-Christmas present from the U.S. Houseof Representatives. Inches from the goal linefor a balanced deal to avert the fiscal cliffand give a jumpstart to the economy,Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), based onsignals from his House Republican confer-ence, pulled back from negotiations with thepresident and offered a “Plan B,” an effortpresumably intended to gain more tractionwith the White House by agreeing to a com-promise that at least raised the tax rates ofmillionaires. But then, to his immense em-barrassment, he was rebuffed by his ownmembers, who feared primary attacks ledby Grover Norquist’s Club for Growth. TheBoehner flameout on Plan B (previouslyknown as “the morning after pill,” nowknown as “the hangover”) does not precludea last-minute deal at the end of Decemberor even a later-than-last-minute deal afterJan. 1, ostensibly following an adverse re-action by stock and bond markets and rat-ings agencies. But it underscores how seri-ously dysfunctional the House continues tobe. Boehner reverted to a backup plan be-cause he would not craft a compromise that,if brought to the House floor, would requireat least as many votes from Democrats asRepublicans — instead, acting as if he rep-resented a parliamentary party, Boehnerwanted to find a package that would be sup-ported by his own side alone.

Boehner’s failure to rally his troopsshowed another side of the mismatch be-tween our parties and our political system:the driving force in today’s Republican Partyis its radical rightist fringe, inside and out-side Congress. At least 50 and probablymore GOPers in the House are largely im-mune to wider political trends, broaderAmerican public opinion, or for that matterthe overall results of an election. Their dis-tricts, partly through redistricting, partlythrough the broader “Big Sort,” are homo-geneous echo chambers where the only realchallenge can come in a primary. And theprimary challenge would be driven by themoney coming from the Club for Growthand other right-wing groups, and amplifiedby the right-wing wind machine led by Rush

New Year, Same Awful CongressLimbaugh. Governing in a system where asizable number of lawmakers are immune

from larger electoral and societal forces is aformidable challenge a challenge that willbefore long arise with issues well beyond

the fiscal cliff, including guns and immi-gration. So much for the House. The monthof attacks in the Senate on U.N. Ambassa-dor Susan Rice’s presumed State Depart-ment nomination raise the question, “Whatis up with the Senate?” Six years of almost-nonstop filibusters were followed by presi-dential and Senate elections in which Re-publicans were pounded, and the first ma-jor prospective Cabinet nomination by thenewly elected president was itself poundedinto the ground.

The attacks on Rice were both extraor-dinary and ordinary. They were extraordi-nary in their intensity, hastiness (she had noteven been nominated to be secretary ofstate), and focus — on Benghazi, where, byany reasonable standard, she played nopolicy role whatsoever. What made themordinary? It is not unusual for a president to

have at least one high-profile nomineepicked off by the Senate, sometimes sim-

ply as a way to take the president down apeg, sometimes because of the combative-ness of the nominee, sometimes for ulte-

rior motives. Think of Tony Lake, thehighly qualified and cerebral national se-curity advisor to President Bill Clinton whowas shot down when he was nominated tobe director of the CIA, or John Bolton, in-serted by George W. Bush on a recess ap-pointment as U.N. ambassador when theSenate refused to confirm him over his al-leged extreme views and undiplomatic per-sona. Now we are having déjà vu all overagain, this time regarding the future secre-tary of defense. Once again, the name of acandidate preferred by the president hasbeen floated but not officially nominated.And once again, the name former Repub-lican Senator Chuck Hagel has been chal-lenged. To be sure, the first intense opposi-tion to Hagel came from outside groups,especially pro-Israel ones.

—Courtesy Foreign Policy

The rise of the attention economyESTHER DYSON

I was recently posed the followingquestion: “The most important wayin which the Internet and online social media are changing our world is [fill in

the blank].” My standard answer is that it changesthe balance of power between individuals and in-stitutions. But this was a sophisticated audience ofeconomists and students, gathered for the 20th an-niversary of Moscow’s New Economic School. Ineeded new material. So I challenged the audienceto consider the following: For much of human his-tory, there was no economy based on trade andfungible goods. People operated in small groupsand fended for themselves. Scarcity was self-lim-iting: If you could not grow or catch your ownfood, you died (or moved). Specialization, tradeand pricing not to mention religions and (economi-cally) unproductive religious institutions, mass pro-duction, mass media and big government are allrecent developments.

Our current world is a mix of people still sub-sisting with almost no external income, people gen-erating (and consuming) surpluses and other peopleconsuming surpluses generated by others. Com-modity prices spread worldwide, though influencedby local conditions and constraints (including tar-iffs and other protectionist measures in China,Russia, America and elsewhere). Many activities

that were previously performed “for free” (oftenwithin a household), such as sex, home maintenance,and care for the sick and elderly, are now frequentlyoutsourced and counted as economic output. In gen-eral, it is fair to say that these activities are per-formed more efficiently as a result: People whoseskills are worth, say, $50 per hour spend more oftheir time earning $50, rather than performing chores“worth” $10 or $20 per hour.

But the Internet is changing that as well, in a

way that may befuddle the many companies whoview it primarily as an economic platform, wherethey can market or sell things, or even charge forcontent. Those companies go online to earn money.Google is perhaps the purest example of a com-pany that transforms purchase intentions into in-come; most other “Internet” companies offer some-thing of independent value on the other side of those

searches. But many individuals, most of the time,go online without any interest in buying something.They are there to find out about the world, catch upwith friends, play games, listen to music, chat, orjust hang out and, increasingly, to get the attentionof other people.

Thanks to highly productive surplus economies,they can spend a lot more time being economicallyinactive. This is not the familiar question of whetherour machines will put us all out of work. In fact, the

question is whether we will start doing more andmore intellectual work for free or for barter, be-coming more like our ancestors. Instead of produc-ing food or housing for ourselves or for barter, wewill be producing content and amusement for oneanother, without engaging in explicit (taxable) fi-nancial exchange. Yes, there is a so-called gifteconomy, but there is also an attention market that

may not be fungible or priced a distributed, many-to-many economy that harks back to the old days.The economic and psychological implications of thisare profound. It seems pretty clear that most peoplegain self-esteem and mental health from doingsomething useful, whether raising children or earn-ing a salary. I am not predicting a utopian world inwhich everyone is equally valued. But it may be aworld in which people use their Klout Score (a mea-sure of one’s online influence), their Twitter fol-lowing, or a similar measure to justify their exist-ence, assign value to their activities and measuretheir self-worth.

The trouble (for economists and traditional busi-nesses, at least) is that this future disturbs traditionalnotions of economic growth. Companies that pro-vide content will increasingly find themselves com-peting with individuals who offer entertainment forfree. This phenomenon is not visible yet, becauseanalysts focus on popular bloggers and online me-dia sites competing with traditional media. But thereal change is the rise of the “long tail” millions ofadditional units of content email, Facebook posts,test messages being read by only a few people each.That is possible only on the Internet, with its van-

ishingly small distribution costs. This will not bethe unmeasured economy of yesteryear, but ratherone where we quantify our efforts in other ways.

How do we tell if this is happening, economi-cally? If we generate our own economic surpluswithout accounting for it what the American writerClay Shirky calls “cognitive surplus” how doesthat influence reported economic statistics and, ul-timately, shape incentives and activities? Do wespend more on “communications,” meaning thehardware and infrastructure, even as the real valueis unaccounted for? Can we apply that surplus tosomething “useful”? Right now, fashion (let aloneclothing) is becoming cheaper and cheaper. But youcan “do” fashion for free by designing an avatar foryourself. Will the world of cognitive surplus makeit easier for us to be environmentally responsible,guided also by the inclusion of externalities in theprices of physical goods, so that we end up “con-suming” fewer physical things and spend more onvirtual value? This attention economy is not the in-tention economy beloved of vendors, who grab con-sumers’ attention in order to sell them something.Rather, attention here has its own intrinsic,nonmonetizable value. The attention economy is onein which people spend their personal time attract-ing others’ attention, whether by designing creativeavatars, posting pithy comments, or accumulating“likes” for their cat photos.

—Courtesy Japan Time

Informed sources told this writer that during recentnegotiations, both the U.S. and Afghan sides assured theirPakistani counterparts that due consideration would be

given to their concerns about the future Afghan governmentand the Indian role.

It is extraordinary for a newly reelected president toface preliminary promises of major and bitter fights overhis floated nominations to two top-tier Cabinet posts. But

these challenges should not obscure the larger problem theSenate is no longer a place that allows presidents to have

their own personnel confirmed.

The economic and psychological implications of this are profound. Itseems pretty clear that most people gain self-esteem and mental health fromdoing something useful, whether raising children or earning a salary. I am

not predicting a utopian world in which everyone is equally valued.

forward in cooperation with all thepolitical parties of this country’,he said. Bilawal said that Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf’s uni-forms were ignored, but the PPPco-chairman’s dual office is con-stantly used against us.

Chairman Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Thursday asked all thepolitical parties to join hand toensure peace, progress and pros-perity in the country and fightagainst the extremist elements. Hesaid the PPP government took anumber of steps in the last fourand half years, through adoptingreconciliation policy.

He said reconciliation provedbest weapon to take revenge. Heregretted that some elementswere doing negative politics thatcould harm the country. Bilawalsaid, “We invite them (all politi-cal forces) to come and work to-gether unitedly and we willchange the winds.” He saidtoday’s democracy was brought

by the PPP and added that everyone has to protect it.

The Chairman PPP said to-day the parliament is independentin making its decisions, the prov-inces are free and more indepen-dent, and the people are the realsource of power. He said 1973constitution has been restored inits original form.

“We will move to a prosper-ous future of Pakistan as it wasthe dream of Shaheed BenazirBhutto that every women hasthose rights which the women atinternational level are enjoying”,he noted. He said under BenazirIncome Support Programme(BISP), the demands of thepeople are being fulfilled andWaseela-e-Haq started to providefinancial assistance to the poor,and Waseela-e-Rozgar to trainpeople and Waseela-e-Sehat toensure health and Waseela-e-Taleem to impart education to thepeople were started by thepresent government. He said it

was just the beginning, “we haveto do many more things. Bilawalsaid, “We have not ignored theBalochistan situation whileMusharaf had adopted enemylike attitude against the prov-ince”. He said, “We tenderedapologies to the Baloch people,took many decisions for theirwelfare and gave them au-tonomy”.

He said the government hadtaken practical steps to create apeaceful atmosphere in the prov-ince. Bilawal said his grandfatherwas hanged, his mother wasmartyred, but the PPP leadershipdid not leave Pakistan. “We haveto save the country from the cruelelements,” he added The PPPChairman, while referring to thepending case of murder of hermother Shaheed Benazir Bhutto,said the PPP workers were stillwaiting for the final decision. ThePPP workers are also waiting theverdict on the Bhutto Reference,he added.

Bilawal enters politicalFrom Page 1

free, fair and transparent elec-tion,” the President said andadded that no one should haveany doubt in this regard.

He said “we have servedlong 12 year jail-terms and arenot afraid of any thing.” “Ifneeded, we will fight back, as wehave fought for this freedom andwill not let anyone to usurp it atany cost,” the President vowed.

He said the Egyptian modelof governance cannot be pursuedin Pakistan.“If someone thinksthat it can be followed, than he iswrong, as it will not work here”,he noted.

He, however, urged all theproponents of the idea to comeforward and be a part of the elec-toral process. He said politics wasnot a day-long affair and it tookdecades to make a strong coun-try and nation. He said the partywas here to stay for a long time

to come and continue to serve themasses. He said certain internaland external forces did not wishdemocracy to succeed, but ex-pressed his firm resolve that justlike the government has com-pleted five years of democracy,it will continue to flourish andgain more strength in the daysahead.

“With the support of thepeople we will fight all forcesthat are against democracy,” thePresident said.

He expressed the hope thatthe media that was given inde-pendence will also play its duerole and ensure that the freedomacquired was not taken back atany cost.

The President termed HamidRaza Kazmi the only politicalprisoner in the country, andpointed that it was despite the factthat he was part of the ruling

party. He also lauded formerPrime Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani for sacrificing his post anddid not abandon the party like the“uncles”, who had left ShaheedBenazir Bhutto, in the past. “Webelieve in doing politics, but haveneither done any injustice to any-one nor will let anyone do injus-tice to us,” the President said.

He said the Pakistan PeoplesParty averted the Arab Springsort of thing after the assassina-tion of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto,only by pursuing the slogan of“Pakistan Khapaey”.

“We have never compro-mised politics for any gains andnever pleaded anyone to let us goabroad on a plane”, he remarked.The President said it was a dayof sorrow and joy for him as hisson, worker of the PakistanPeoples Party was amongst hisextended party.

Elections will be free, fairFrom Page 1Check post in Koee Hassan Khel

area in Frontier Region (FR) asemi tribal belt, on the night be-tween Wednesday and Thursdaythat resulted in Shahadat of twoLevis Jawaans and injuries toothers”, the security officialssaid. Dozens of terrorists am-bushed the three posts with thesophisticated weapons and ranaway with around two dozen menin uniform.

“The fleeing miscreants heldhostage 11 Levis men each fromtwo check posts”. Sources said.Some reports said, the militantsmanaged to abduct 33 Levis menfrom the two check posts whichremained untraced.

The security forces kickedoff extensive search operation inthe area to net the culprits butthey remained at large nor couldthe abducted Levis personalscould be released till the filing ofthis report.

2 Levis jawansFrom Page 1

claimed, to disturb the govern-ment seat in Islamabad.

In Islamabad, differentorganisations have started re-scheduling their programmesbetween Jan. 10 and 14 whilecivil servants are also working onthe same lines.

The PPP in its informal meet-ings and interactions has given aserious thought to Qadri’s threatand decided to prepare a strategyto maintain law and order in thecapital on Jan 14. The Punjabgovernment is yet double mindedto tackle this satiation which hasalso caught it unawares.

The PPP sources said theparty will hold a meeting in a fewdays on the issue as they thinksome “hidden hands” are behindQadri’s move. The situation isgrave and it should be handledwith all seriousness, the sourcessaid. The PPP will also consultPML (N) on the issue.

Qadri factorstirs political

From Page 1

the council would invite all po-litical and religious parties. Ap-pointment of officers in Karachipolice and other government de-partments should end, he said,adding that “a long imposedSindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebadshould be removed” to restorepeace in the city. He said officialpatronage to crimes and violenceshould also end now.

He said the Supreme Courtand Election Commission’s or-ders on the verification of vot-ers’ lists and delimitations of con-stituencies in Karachi should beimplemented. The DPC“strongly” denounced the coer-cive tactics which were being ex-ercised to pressure the judiciary.

The DCP declaration termed In-dia “responsible” for Karachiunrest, saying the local agents areexecuting its designs. It said thegovernment’s move to give MNFstatus to India is against the ide-ology of Pakistan.

It demanded that the dronestrikes in Pakistan tribal regionshould be stopped and Pakistanbe brought out of US “slavery”.It said the government shoulddetach Pakistan from the US andrenounce its alliance to the su-perpower. It accused the rulingPPP of supporting and providingshelter to the killers, extortion-ists and terrorists under the garbof political reconciliation policy.

It said “Karachi” was the un-

fortunate city where governmentdepartments were also hostage.At the end the DPC demandedof the government to arrest thoseresponsible for the killing ofAllama Hassan Turabi, AslamMujahid, Dr Pervez Mehmood,Azeem Ahmed Tariq,Muhammad Salahuddin, HakimSaeed, Mufti NizamuddinShamzai, Maulana YousufLudhyani and others. Besides, itsaid the government should ar-rest culprits of Tahir Plaza blazewhich burnt several lawyers, kill-ers of over 52 people on May 12,2007, besieging of Karachi andits roads with containers on May12 and Baldia factory arson thatkilled over 250 people.

DPC demands removal of SindhFrom Page 1

these leaders into the party foldand expressed optimism thatthey would utilize their energiesfor public welfare.

PML-N leaders includingSardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi,Zafar Iqbal Jhaggra, Pir SabirShah, Khawaja MohammadHoti, Salahuddin Tirmizi, AmirMuqam, Farid Tofan were alsopresent on the occasion.

After meeting with NawazSharif, Gohar Ayub told report-ers that they expressed their fullconfidence in the PML-N lead-ership and would play their duerole for the success of the PML-N in the coming elections. To aquery about the demand of

Hazara province, Gohar said,“Mian Sahib has assured that hewould raise the issue of Hazaraprovince.”

Gohar Ayub said the PML-N is popular in Hazara area andthey would make efforts for itsvictory.

It may be noted that from1993-1997, Gohar Ayub servedas Deputy Opposition Leaderduring the second tenure of thelate Benazir Bhutto-led PPPgovernment. He was then ap-pointed the foreign minister inNawaz Sharif’s cabinet after the1997 elections.

Despite being one of the fewclose aides of Nawaz Sharif,

Gohar parted ways when he wasjailed and exiled.

Gohar Ayub later joined thePakistan Muslim League–Quaid(PML-Q) and fielded his sonOmar on a PML-Q ticket in NA-19 Haripur as he did not have abachelor’s degree at the time.

Omar, although a politicalnovice, defeated Pir Sabir Shah,the sitting president of PML-NKP with a heavy margin and waschosen as minister of state forfinance in the cabinet of then-prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

In 2008 elections, Omar lostto PML-N candidate SardarMushtaq Khan with a margin ofover 40,000 votes.

Gohar Ayub,son rejoin PML-N

From Page 1

TTP is not a proper entity, cer-tainly not one any governmentcan negotiate with.”

The ceasefire conditions,confirmed by spokespersonIhsanullah Ihsan in a phone callto Reuters, said Pakistan shouldrewrite its laws and constitutionaccording to Islamic law.—AFP

TTPspokesperson

From Page 1

this while talking to media menat Sukkar Air port Thursday.

“Muavia is by product ofLashkar-e- Jhangvi and LalMasjid. I had challenged in cat-egorical terms to Hakim UllahMehsud that if he acknowledgesEhsan Ullah Ehsan as his spokes-man then as to why he himselfdoes not come to open”, he held.“ I dismiss every claim of EhsanUllah Ehsan unless Hakim UllahMehsud authenticates his claimof being his representative “, hedeclared.—Online

Taliban’s offerFrom Page 1

ghan withdrawal costs cannot bereduced and must be paid. Theirpayment will be considered nextmonth when Congress faces anincrease to the debt limit.

Meanwhile, the DefenseDepartment estimates that themilitary services have more than750,000 major items worth morethan $36 billion in Afghanistan,including about 50,000 vehiclesand more than 90,000 shippingcontainers of materiel, accord-ing to the GAO report.

In fiscal 2011, the U.S. Trans-portation Command shipped268,000 tons of supplies, morethan 42,000 containers into Af-ghanistan via its northern surfaceroutes, which involve truck andrail routing through European andCentral Asian countries. Thosesupply routes were developed af-ter truck convoys from Pakistanwere halted in November 2011 inresponse to the U.S. raid that killed24 Pakistani troops.—AP

Afghanistandisengagement

From Page 1

most parts of the state even asthe day temperatures plummetedbelow 10 degrees Celsius. Al-though the thick fog cover hasreceded in some regions, coldwinds continued to add to thetroubles of the people.

The Met Office in the statecapital Lucknow does not seeany respite from the coldweather conditions in comingdays. A weather official said thedense fog in the state wouldmake things “far more difficult”in the next few days.

Although the state govern-ment has made arrangements ofshelter homes and bonfires forthe poor and the homeless, 37people perished after the coldwave conditions set in across thestate last week.

The thick fog cover has alsohit the rail and air traffic in thestate. Many trains were runningbehind schedule, especiallythose coming from Punjab,Bihar and Delhi, a railways of-ficial said.—INP

30 dead in Indiaof cold wave

From Page 1

“I was assured release offrozen funds after voting againstSpeaker (Bhootani),” one of thefemale members told this scribeon condition of anonymity.

The MPA claimed she wasasked to show the ballot aftercasting her vote.

“I did what they had de-manded,” she said.

Balochistan Chief MinisterNawab Aslam Raisani had spenta week in Quetta to get the sup-port of coalition partners and in-dependent candidates to oustBhootani.

Newly appointed oppositionleader Nawabzada Tariq Magsiobjected over the assembly pro-ceedings thus walking out of thehouse. PPP Balochistan Presi-dent Mir Sadiq Umrani and JanAli Changezi also walked out ofthe house to record their protest.

BalochistanMPAs were

‘asked toshow votes’

From Page 1

Sharif, scored goal but Indiacame back just two minutes toequal the score and succeeded intaking a 2-1 lead by the end ofthe first half. However, the sec-ond half proved much eventfulas both teams made goals one byone and overall six goals werescored during second half.

For Pakistan, Waqas Shraifscored two goals whileMohammad Rashid, ShafqatRasool and Mohammad Imrannetted one goal each in the sen-sational final.

Pak win AsianChampions

From Page 1

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Min-ister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has said that the forth-coming general elections are ofextra ordinary importance as thesurvival and solidarity of thecountry depend upon these elec-tions. He said he is confidentthat people will bring PakistanMuslim League-N into powerthrough their votes. He said thatPML-N under the dynamic lead-ership of Muhammad NawazSharif, will transform Pakistanin accordance with the ideals ofQuaid-e-Azam and AllamaIqbal. He said that Mr. Zardariand his cronies have set recordsof corruption and after cominginto power, PML-N will recoverevery penny of looted moneyfrom plunderers, dacoits andthieves. He said it is unfortunatethat Pakistan has nuclear missilein one hand and a bagging bowlin the other.

He said that inefficient rul-ers have made Pakistan a bag-ger country and destroyed na-tional institutions. He said thatthere is neither electricity nor

Country’s survivaldepends on honestelections: Shahbaz

gas and lakhs of labourers arebecoming jobless daily. He saidthat Zar Baba and Forty Thievesare responsible for energy crisisand meting out an unjust treat-ment to Punjab which will notbe tolerated. He said that adeadly blow is being given toPunjab economy by suspendingsupply of electricity and gas toits industries. He said that dueto corruption of federal govern-ment, the country has been stuckinto a quagmire and in order tomake Pakistan a self-reliantcountry and achieve the goal ofprogress and prosperity, PML-N will have to be brought intopower in forthcoming generalelections.

He was talking to AssemblyMembers of various districts,here on Thursday. The ChiefMinister said that Mr. Zardarihas given nothing but problemsto the people of Pakistan. Hesaid that in order to providemodern transport facilities to thepeople and build schools, col-leges and residential colonies,the daily corruption of billons ofrupees will have to be broughtto an end.

LARKANA: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf showering rose petals on the grave of founder of Chairman PPPShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

Dies ofmeaslesSUKKUR—Measles onThursday claimed onemore life of a child in KotMaronand Wani village ofdistrict Kashmore as deathtoll of children was up to atleast 80 due to measles indifferent districts of Sindh.According to details, so farat least 80 children havedied in various districts ofSindh including Sukkur,Kashmore, Shikarpur andJacobabad as one moremeasles victim kid has diedin a village of tehsilTangwani. According tohealth department, as manyas 25 children have stilldied within two weeks dueto suffering of measles.Health department furthersaid that at least 15children have died indistrict of Shikarpur, 12 inJacobabad and about 28children have died indistrict Sukkur but thegovernment formally didnot confirm total number ofdeaths yet.—INP

Foreigners’ carstoppedPESHAWAR—The securityagencies Thursdaystopped a car with twoforeigners in Saddar areaof Peshawar. According todetails, the securitypersonnel impeded avehicle with two foreign-ers’ onboard bearingregistration number PS-561in Saddar due to incom-plete documents. However,the foreigners did not comeout of the car and onlyshowed their documentsfrom behind the screen.The foreigners wereallowed to go after thesecurity clearance.—INP

Three bodiesfoundKURRAM AGENCY—Threedead bodies were foundfrom Bagan area of theagency on Thursday.According to politicaladministration, the bodieswere identified as ofJameel, Aarif and Nabeel.They were missing fromseveral days. They werekidnapped and thenmurdered, sources said.This is the fifth incident ofthe kind in a week’s time.The political administrationhas started investiga-tion.—Online

Terror bidfoiledHANGU—Police foiledterrorism a bid in thedistrict of Hangu bydefusing a bomb onThursday. Police claimedthat in the district ofHangu at Thall inMursaleen some terroristplanted 13 kg explosivematerial near a wall. Ongetting secret information,the bomb disposal squadwas reached on the spotand defused the bomb andsaved the area from hugedestruction.—Online

Hina’s Saudi visitnext monthISLAMABAD—ForeignMinister Hina RabbaniKhar will visit SaudiArabia on the 1st of nextmonth on the invitation ofSaudi Foreign Minister.During her stay, she willhold talks with the Saudileadership on furtherstrengthening of bilateralrelations.—INP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) leaderFarooq Sattar on Thursdaylevelled allegations of biasagainst Secretary ElectionCommission of PakistanIshtiaq Ahmed Khan and de-manded that he be removedfrom his position. Speakingto media representatives atthe Allama Iqbal Interna-tional Airport in Lahore, thefederal minister said that thecommission’s secretarywanted to alter the MQM’s

mandate in Karachi.Sattar demanded of the

ECP to conduct an inquiryinto what he called the biason part of Khan and removehim from the position of thecommission’s secretary.

The minister moreoversaid that the ideologies of theMQM and of Dr Tahirul Qadriwere similar, adding that,both wanted to abolish the“outdated feudal system”.

He said Qadri and theMQM may form an alliancein the future due to theirshared opposition to the feu-

dal system, however, it wasstill to be discussed as to howand on what points wouldthe two sides come together.

Sattar added that theMQM had filed a review pe-tition over the issue of de-limitation in Karachi, addingthat, the party had requestedthe ECP to not go throughwith the delimitation until thecourt decided on the reviewplea. The leader further saidthat all stakeholders would betaken into confidence overthe formation of a caretakerset-up.

Farooq Sattar demandsremoval of Secy ECP

TEHRAN—Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad hassacked Health MinisterMarizeh Vahid Dastjerdi, thesole woman in his cabinet,state television reported onThursday. The minister hadproposed price hikes for anumber of medicines due tothe plunge of the Iranian rialagainst the US dollar andWestern sanctions imposedon the country over its dis-puted nuclear programme.

But Ahmadinejad wasopposed to the price risesand dismissed the minister.Although the sanctions donot directly target medicines,they limit their importationbecause of restrictions on fi-nancial transactions. Iranproduces 97 per cent of thedrugs on its market, but theiringredients are imported.

In October, an Iranian of-ficial acknowledged the priceof locally produced medicineshad increased by 15-20 percent in the past three months,and 20-80 per cent for im-ported products. FatemehHashemi, head of the Foun-dation for Special Diseases,sent a letter to UN chief BanKi-moon in August asking himto make a case to the West foreasing sanctions that are det-rimental to patients. Tehran isunder different rounds ofsanctions designed by theUnited States, EuropeanUnion and the UN SecurityCouncil to pressure it to curbits nuclear programme.

Western powers suspectIran is using the programme todevelop atomic weapons ca-pability. The Islamic republicdenies that and says its. —AP

Iranian president sackswoman minister

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan hasonce again reiterated that itwas totally against an armsrace in the region. Comment-ing on the recently signedRussia-India arms deal, theforeign office spokespersonMoazzam Ahmad Khan toldnewsmen during weeklybriefing here Thursday thatanything which may initiatenuclear or conventional armsrace will not augur well forthe future of the region.

When asked about thegranting of Most FavoredNation status to India,Moazzam Ahmad Khan saidthe government has decidedin principle to grant the MFNstatus to India. He said weare currently undergoing in-ternal processes which areexpected to be completed assoon as possible.

To a question, thespokesperson said Pakistanconsiders Kashmir as a dis-puted territory and it remainscommitted to the just andpeaceful resolution of this

festering issue in accordancewith the UN resolutions andthe aspirations of Kashmiripeople.

About Pakistan-US rela-tions, Moazzam Ahmad Khansaid we saw ups and downsin our relations in the year2012 but now these are wit-nessing an upward trajectoryafter the resolution of issues.Both the countries have re-peatedly stated to furtherstrengthen their multifacetedrelations. He said leadershipof both the countries hasmade it clear that long termpeace and stability in Af-ghanistan is in our commoninterest. In this regard, we aretrying to evolve a commonapproach.

He said Pakistan has re-peatedly said that we sup-port any initiative that mayresult in an all inclusive po-litical reconciliation, whichis led and owned by Afghansthemselves.

When questioned aboutinvolvement of foreign na-

tionals in Peshawar airportattack, the spokesman saidterrorism and extremism re-main a paramount concern toPakistan. We are putting inall possible efforts to ad-dress this menace. Terrorismis a global phenomenon andwe are interacting with differ-ent friendly countries to col-lectively wipe out the threatposed by terrorism.

He, however, said Paki-stan considers the dronestrikes in the war against ter-rorism as counter productive,illegal, violation of our sov-ereignty and against the in-ternational laws.

To a question about Pa-kistan-Iran gas pipelineproject, the spokesman saidPakistan is an energy defi-cient country and it is in ourown interest to explorecheap means of energy. Hesaid we attach importance tothe gas pipeline project andthe decision in this regardwill be taken in the best na-tional interest.—INP

Pakistan against armsrace in South Asia: FO

Zardari visit to Iran on cards

Karzai meetswith Mujahideen

leadersKABUL—Afghan presidentHamid Karzai met with a num-ber of the Mujahideen leadersin presidential palace, ahead ofhis official visit to UnitedStates of America. Accordingto a statement released bypresidential palace media of-fice Thursday, the Mujahideenleaders urged president HamidKarzai to discuss the issueswith the US president BarackObama considering the na-tional benefits of Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai isdue to visit Washington inthe month of January to meetpresident Barack Obama.

He is expected to holdtalks on Afghan peace talkswith the militant groups andlong strategic pact includingsecurity pact between thetwo nations. —INP

India, Pak reviewimplementation

of CBMsNEW DELHI—India and Pa-kistan Thursday reviewedthe implementation of exist-ing bilateral confidencebuilding measures, includingthe ceasefire along the LoCduring their expert-level meet-ing on conventional CBMshere. The two sides also ex-changed ideas to further ad-vance the CBM process andreaffirmed their commitmentto continue discussions withthe aim of strengthening con-ventional CBMs, a jointstatement issued after themeeting said.

“The talks were held in acordial and constructive atmosphere,” it said.—Online

SUKKUR—Federal Ministerfor Information and Broad-casting Qamar Zaman Kairasaid on Thursday that one ofBenazir Bhutto’s suspectedkiller was killed in a dronestrike where as the remainingaccused languish in jail. Talk-ing to media in Sukkur, hesaid only parliament and po-litical forces have the pow-ers to take political and ad-ministrative decisions.

Moreover, he said thatthey want to solve country’sproblem by dialogues. Kairasaid we always welcomed theparties that want to do poli-tics according to the consti-

tution. We will not supportthose, who want to imposetheir agenda through force.

He said during the last fourand a half years, the PPP-ledgovernment faced many inter-nal and external challenges,including terrorism, law andorder and energy crisis but itmade best efforts to overcomethe situation. About thegovernment’s achievements,the Information Minister saidPakistan Peoples Party hasbrought all political forces atone platform and freed Swatand Malakand from theclutches of terrorists with thehelp of armed forces.—Online

Benazir’s killer diedin drone attack: Kaira

Parliament, political forceshave powers to take decisions

‘One Pound Fish’singer arrives

LAHORE —Shahid Nazir,the Pakistani who shot tofame for his song ‘One

P o u n dFish’ ar-rived inLahore onThursday.

U p o nhis arrivalNazir saidhe wouldbe vis i t -i n gFrance in

two weeks and had re-turned to Pakistan to ob-tain his visa. Nazir deniedreports in the media that hehad been depor ted f romBritain.—Online

KANDAHAR—Four Afghanpolicemen were killed andtwo wounded on Thursdayin an insurgent attack as-sisted by an insider loyal tothe Taliban, officials said.Attackers stormed the po-lice post at Trin Kot, a re-mote district in the southernprovince of Uruzgan, beforedawn and killed the officersas they slept, police spokes-man Farid Ahmad Aiel toldAFP.

One policeman who fledwith the insurgents was be-lieved to be a Taliban infiltra-tor who aided the attack, Aielsaid. “He had links with theTaliban and he helped theTaliban to attack the post. Hehad called them to attackwhile the other policemenwere sleeping,” the spokes-man said.

Abdullah Hemat, aspokesman for the Uruzgan

provincial administration,confirmed the incident andalso blamed a Taliban infiltra-tor. One gunman waswounded during fightingand later arrested, he added.“Insider” attacks by mem-bers of the police and armyhave become a major concernfor the US-led Nato forcesdeployed in Afghanistan.The attacks have seen a dra-matic surge this year, caus-ing scores of casualtiesamong international troopsand among local securityforces.

The Taliban claim that in-sider attacks are carried outby its supporters. Afghan au-thorities and their Nato alliessay most are personally mo-tivated. On Monday a femalepolice officer killed an Ameri-can adviser in Kabul’s policeheadquarters. Police said shewas mentally ill.—AFP

4 Afghan cops killedwith ‘insider’ help

Qadri invites allparties to join his‘peaceful’ protest

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Allama TahirulQadri, head of MinhajulQur’an International (MQI),invited all religious and po-litical parties of the coun-tryon Thursday to join his pro-test, planned to be held onJanuary 14, 2013, inIslamabad.

Holding a press confer-ence along with MuttahidaQaumi Movement’s (MQM)deputy convener FarooqSattar, Qadri said that allthose parties striving for re-forming the electoral systemand are fighting for peopleand democracy should jointhe protest. “January 10 is thedeadline, and January 14 isthe day when our people’sparliament will announce adecision. We will re-solve toprovide rights to the peopleand to restore the real de-mocracy,” Qadri said.

He assured that the pro-test will be peaceful and notin violation with the Con-stitution. “There will be norioting.

A TWO-year study of nearly 190,000 girlsand women, finds that Gardasil, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine made

by Merck & Co, does not trigger autoimmunedisorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis,type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The re-sults are published in the Jour-nal of Internal Medicine.

Study lead author DrChun Chao, a research scien-tist at the Kaiser PermanenteDepartment of Research &Evaluation in Pasadena, Cali-fornia, said in a statement re-leased on Friday, that:

“This kind of safety in-formation may help parentswith vaccination decisions.”

“”These findings offersome assurance that among alarge and generalizable femalepopulation, no safety signalfor autoimmune conditionswas found following HPV4vaccination in routine clinicaluse,” said Chao.Gardasil is a “quadrivalent”vaccine because it helps pro-tect against 4 types of HPV. In girls and youngwomen age 9 to 26, it targets 2 types that causeabout 75% of cervical cancers, and 2 other typesthat cause 90% of cases of genital warts.

The vaccine, which is given as three injec-tions over six months, also helps protect boysand men age 9 to 26 against 90% of cases ofgenital warts.

Genital warts is the most common sexu-ally transmitted infection in the US, where itinfects about 6.2 million people every year. Itcan also lead to cervical cancer in women.

Gardasil received US Food and Drug Ad-ministration (FDA) approval in 2006. But alongstanding concern about links with autoim-mune disorders has surrounded the vaccine, and

many parents won’t let their children be vac-cinated because of this.

However, Chao and fellow co-investiga-tors from Kaiser Permanente told the press“most speculated associations have stemmedfrom case reports that have not been con-

firmed by large, controlled epi-demiologic studies”, and theirinvestigation “presents find-ings from a well-designed, post-licensure safety study of thevaccine on a large, ethnicallydiverse population”.

For the study, Chao andcolleagues used electronichealth records of 189,629 girlsand women age 9 to 26 years inCalifornia. The participantshad been followed for sixmonths after receiving eachdose of the quadrivalent HPVvaccine in 2006-2008.

They found no increase inany of 16 autoimmune disor-ders in the vaccinated popula-tion compared to a matchedpopulation of non-vaccinatedgirls and women. The 16 au-

toimmune disorders they looked for were:“... immune thrombocytopenia, autoim-

mune hemolytic anemia, systemic lupuserythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenilerheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes,Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, mul-tiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encepha-lomyelitis, other demyelinating diseases ofthe central nervous system, vaccine-associ-ated demyelination, Guillain-Barré syndrome,neuromyelitis optica, optic neuritis anduveitis.”The researchers explained that theclinical trial data on the vaccine, and the sub-sequent adverse event reports, have impor-tant limitations when it comes to assessingits safety profile.

HPV vaccine not linked toautoimmune disorders

RAWALPINDI: PPP workers offering Fateha on the assassination site of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to mark her 5th death anniversary outside LiaquatBagh on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD: DIG (Headquarters) Islamabad Sultan Azam Temuri, Director NationalPolice Bureau Heleena Saeed Iqbal, AIG (Establishment) National Highways andMotorway Police Ashfaq Ahmed Khan and SP (Saddar Zone) Islamabad Sajid Kiani afterwinnig the elections of Int’l Police Association (KPK and Islamabad Regions) at PoliceLine Headquarters.

ception.

STAFF REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D — S t u d e n t spaid glowing tributes to as-sassinated former PrimeMinister Benazir Bhutto la-menting that Pakistan lostthe great leaders when shewas needed the most.Sharingtheir views at an event orga-nized by Shaheed ZulfikarAli Bhutto Institute of Sci-ence & Technology(SZABIST) Islamabad tomark the 5th death anniver-sary of BB Shaheed, stu-dents said only Benazir hadthe vision, competence andleadership qualities to steerPakistan out of the present

5th death anniversary of BBShaheed marked at SZABIST

grave crisis.The young speakers said

Ms Bhutto was obsessed witha dream to make Pakistan a de-veloped and prosperous na-tion where democracy reignedsupreme adding that the braveand courageous lady even sac-rificed her life for this cause.

The students were of theopinion that shaheedMohtarma was an iron-willedlady who never gave up de-spite facing great hardshipsand tragedies including thehanging of her father LateZulfiqar Ali Bhutto, mysteri-ous death of her brother ShahNawaz Bhutto and brutalmurder of her second brother

Murtaza Bhutto.Female students of the in-

stitute said despite studyingand living abroad for a longtime, assassinated formerPrime Minister never forgother culture and social normsand emerged as a true rolemodel for muslim women.

Benazir Bhutto was com-mitted to the developmentand emancipation of Paki-stani woman and to the pro-tection of their rights, theysaid.Earlier a Quran Khawaniwas help to pray for eternalpeace of the departed soul.Candles were l i t in thememory of the shaheedleader.

Director SZABIST SyedAsad Hussain while address-ing on the occasion paid richtributes to BB Shaheed & saidthat the brave leader wantedto usher in an era of educa-tional revolution in Pakistan.

To achieve this objective,he added, BB establishedSZABIST which is now ful-filling her dream and carry-ing forward her mission of aneducated nation. So greatwas the attachment of MsBhutto with SZABISTIslamabad campus, as sheherself along with expertsand relevant officials hadmade the design and sketchof this Institute in Dubai.

ISLAMABAD: Foundation University students performing in the play titled ‘Peasay Ki Kahani’.

ISLAMABAD—Earning distinc-tion for Islamabad Police,Deputy Inspector General ofPolice (Headquarters) IslamabadDr. Sultan Azam Temuri hasbeen elected as Chairman of In-ternational Police Association(IPA) KPK and Islamabad Re-gion.

The General Body Elec-tions for membership and Ex-ecutive Council of InternationalPolice Association (KPK Chap-ter Islamabad Region) presided

DIG Islamabad Sultan Azam Temuri electedChairman Int’l Police Association

over by Former IG, PresidentInternational Police AssociationPakistan Section Dr. ShoaibSuddle were held at Police LineHeadquarters Islamabad.

The Body elected officerbearers for KPK ChapterIslamabad Region and DIG(Headquarters) Islamabad Dr.Sultan Azam Temuri was electedas Chairman of InternationalPolice Association, KPK andIslamabad Region.

Similarly, Director National

Police Bureau Heleena Saeed Iqbalhas been elected as Vice Chairper-son, AIG (Establishment) NationalHighways and Motorway PoliceAshfaq Ahmed Khan as its Secre-tary and SP (Saddar Zone)Islamabad Sajid Kiani has beenelected as Treasurer.

IGP Islamabad Bani AminKhan, senior police officialsfrom KPK as well Islamabad,member IPA under-training ASPsalso participated in the GeneralBody elections.—INP

FUI studentsstage playSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Students ofFoundation UniversityIslamabad (FUI) arranged a stageplay titled Paper Cut: Pesay kiKahani at the University audi-torium. Mr. Tauqeer AhmedNasir, Director General, Paki-stan National Council of the Artswas the chief guest. Eminent art-ists, faculty members and a largenumber of students werepresent on the occasion.

The theme of theatre was“how Pakistani currency is onthe verge of losing its value inthe international market.” Stu-dents raised their voice againstthe issue in a humorous yetthoughtful way.

Talented and versatile stu-dents of Computer Arts per-formed the theatre as their courseproject of character building andcharacterization. The event wasmanaged and marketed by effi-cient and professionally skilledstudents of economics, bankingand finance as a final project oftheir course Project Management.

While appreciating the stu-dents, Mr. Tauqeer Nasir said,“Theatre plays an important rolein highlighting and resolving theissues of the society throughartistic expressions.”

Fun-e-Tajweedpromotion among

youth stressedISLAMABAD—Religious schol-ars Thursday stressed the needto promote Fun-e-Tajweed-ul-Qur’an among the youth.

Speakers including religiousscholar Khalid Rasheed Shahbazof ‘Motamim’ Shah Faisal JamiaIslamia, said while addressingMehfil-e-Husn-e-Qirrat that byfollowing the teachings of HolyQur’an, Muslims can get rid oftheir problems.

Reciting the Holy Bookwith Tajweed is the Sunnah ofHazrat Muhammad (Peace BeUpon Him), they added.

The Mehfil-e-Husn-e-Qirrat was attended by Suadi andPakistani ‘Qaris’.Later, KhalidRasheed distributed gifts amongthe participants.—APP

PPP holdsrally at

Liaquat BaghRAWALPINDI—The PakistanPeople Party (PPP) leaders andworkers took out a rally here atLiaquat Bagh to pay homage ofthe brave leader ShaheedMohtrama Benazir Bhutto.

The rally was led by theAdviser to Prime MinisterShahzada Jamal Nazir and at-tended by a large number of PPPactivists and local leaders.

Addressing the rally, JamalNazir said that Benazir Bhutto wasa politician of international statureand her services for democracy cannot be ignored.—APP

RAWALPINDI—Top positionholder girl and boy students ofIntermediate Examination 2012from all provinces of the coun-try other than Punjab, includ-ing Gilgit-Baltistan, FederalBoard of Education and AJKhave reached Murree on a three-day study and recreational visitof the hill town.

These position holder stu-dents were presented guard ofhonour by a smart contingentof police on their arrival atGovernment House Murree,says a press release issued here.

These toppers are cur-rently visiting Punjab on theinvitation of Chief MinisterPunjab Muhammad ShahbazSharif and after visiting DanishSchools Chistian,Bahawalnagar, historical placesin Lahore and meeting withChief Minister PunjabMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif,they reached Murree on a tripof the country’s popular pic-nic hill town.

These students have been

Position holderstudents visit Murree

offered stay in Govt. HouseMurree and will be accordedprotocol of State Guest duringtheir study and recreationalvisit.

District Coordination Of-ficer (DCO) RawalpindiCapt.Saqib Zafar representedChief Minister PunjabMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif inthe Guard of Honour cer-emony, while ASP Murree,D.G. Protocol Punjab AsjadGhanni, Lady Protocol OfficerMiss Nadia Awan, representa-tive officers of education de-partments of Sindh,Baluchistan, KPK, GilgitBaltistan, Federal EducationBoard and AJK were alsopresent on this occasion.

Addressing the positionholder students, he said thatPunjab Government is givingtop priority to promotion ofeducation and for achieving thisobjective, it has taken varioussteps to increase educational fa-cilities and encourage studentsfor acquiring education.—APP

RAWALPINDI—As many as281,000 children under fiveyears of age would be vaccinatedin five-day special anti-poliocampaign started here on Thurs-day which would continue tillDec 31 said Executive DistrictOfficer (EDO) Health Dr ZafarIqbal Gondal. He said that 534mobile teams have been consti-tuted to visit house to house tovaccinate the children. There arespecial vaccination centres while13 teams have also been consti-tuted to perform the duties inthis connection on transit pointsespecially at bus stands.

Area Incharges have beendeputed to supervise the cam-paign at union council level andZonal Supervisors will monitorthe areas of 63 union councils

Quran Khwani forShaheed BB

ISLAMABAD—Quran Khawaniand prayers ceremonies in con-nection with the 5th death anni-versary of Shaheed BenazirBhutto were held here at theCentral Secretariat of PakistanPeoples Party and People’sTrade Centre on Thursday.

Deputy Incharge People’sSecretariat Syed Ansar HussainGilani, Incharge Media Cell AbidRasheed, Incharge ComputerSection Kamran Qureshi, VicePresident People’s Youth Orga-nization Ch. Kamran, GeneralSecretary People’s Trade CentreImran Shabeer Abbasi, PresidentIslamabad Small Traders Cham-ber and Cottage Industry KamranAbbasi, Finance SecretaryRawalpindi Division Zaka Qadri,Coordinator NA-49 Sibtal HaidarBokhari and a large number ofPPP leaders, office-bearers ofPeople’s Youth Organization,PPP Women Wing and workersparticipated in the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasionSyed Sibtal Haidar Bokhari saidthe PPP was united under theleadership of President Asif AliZardari and would continue itsstruggle for democracy.—APP

Five-day specialpolio campaign

launchedand cantt wards to make thiscampaign a success.

He said no negligence onpart of officials concerned wouldbe tolerated during the anti-po-lio campaign.

He said special arrange-ments have been made for thisround.

He said that no one wouldbe allowed to create trouble forthe teams of anti-polio cam-paign. Police department hadbeen directed by DCO to lodgeFIRs against the elements try-ing to stop and attack the mo-bile teams to discontinue thecampaign.

This is a national cause andthe desired targets would beachieved at all costs, headded.—APP

Tributeto MadamNoor Jehan

ISLAMABAD—The PakistanNational Council of the Arts(PNCA) has planned to organizea musical evening titled, “GaiGee Dunya Geet Maire” in thememory of melodius queenMadame Noor Jehan here onFriday. Renowned singers SairaNaseem and Gulshan Jahan willpresent famous songs of MadamNoorjahan and SaimaKhushnood and NPAG willperform dance over those songs.

PNCA Director GeneralTauqir Nasir, in a statement,said the iconic life of Madam andher songs rendered in films aswell as during the 1965 warwould live forever in the memoryof citizens. “Madam earnedtribute from the greatest vocal-ists of the world, including mu-sic director late Ghulam Ahmad,Khurshid Anwar and LataMangeshkar”, he added.—APP

PNCA’s freeshow forchildren

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Na-tional Council of the Arts(PNCA), has scheduled a freepuppet show on Dec 31 Mon-day at PNCA Auditorium.

The show aimed is to en-tertain beside providing educa-tion to children through the col-orful performance of NationalPuppet Theater (NPT) whichwill present folk tales and skits.

According to an official atPNCA, puppet show a regularfeature of the council presentedby NPT as it will educate andaware about social problems likeHealth, Education and Environ-ment .

Many common social prob-lems have been the themes ofthe shows, which aim at creat-ing awareness, better civic senseand patriotism among the audi-ence.

The children and adults gainknowledge and inspiration fromthe moral and historical storiesacted out by puppets, furtherhe added.—APP

ISLAMABAD: Zaheer Khan speaks during FATA Research Centre Seminar organizedby FRC at a local hotel.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Executive Director PIMS Prof Riaz Warraich addressing Christians employee of thehospital in connection with the celebration of Christmas. Sitting on the stge are DED,Dr Hashmi Raza and Dr Maqsood.

ISLAMABAD: President Rotary Club of Islamabad Cosmopolitan Dr Shamim MehmoodZaidi presenting a shield to guest speaker Executive Director CCEP Zafarullah Khanduring a meeting of RCIC.—PO photo

CITY REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — A l l a m aIqbal Open Universi ty(AIOU) held a ten-daylong capacity-buildingworkshop for the teach-ers to educate thousandsof drop-out female stu-dents and those whowere deprived of educa-tion facilities due to somesocio-economic reasons.

A concluding cer-emony of the workshopwas held here Thursday

AIOU holds capacity building workshop ondrop-out female students

in which around thirty mas-ter t rainers part icipated.The workshop was ar-ranged under the GirlPower Programme for thestudents of Middle andSecondary level. The AIOUhad arranged theprogramme in collaborationwith Plan International (Pa-kistan), National Rural Sup-port Programme (NRSP) andMountain Inst i tute forEducational Development(MIED).

The concluding cer-

emony was arranged by theBureau for University Ex-tension and SpecialP r o g r a m m e s / P r o j e c t s(BUESP).

Country Manager, PlanInternational (Pakistan),Imram Yusuf Shami was theChief Guest on the occa-s ion.

The training workshopwas specially arranged forthe Master Trainers fromDistrict Vehari and Chakwalwho on completion of theirtraining process will impart

education to other teach-ers of the two Districts toeducation drop-out stu-dents. It was the 2nd work-shop of i ts nature. Alto-gether seven sessions of‘fast- track learning’programme were to be ar-ranged.

The main objectives ofthese workshops are to fa-miliarize the master trainersof the professional teachingskill, equipping them withnew technology who willtransform their knowledge

to other teachers from theregion. During the work-shop the master-trainerswere given lectures by theeminent resource personsof AIOU on the educationalskills. They were alsotaught as how to do effi-cient lesson-planning andactivity-based learning.

Speaking at the con-cluding ceremony, MirMukhtiar Hussain Talpursaid that the master train-ers training programme hasbeen arranged for provid-

ing basic education tohundreds of drop-out stu-dents and those l iving inthe far-f lung areas whocould not get educationdue to lack of necessarysources and educationalfacilities. He said master-trainer programme has beenthe main vehicle for serv-ing the end users. T

The vice chancellor ofAIOU Prof. Dr. Nazir AhmedSangi has attached specialimportance to the teachingof deprived section of the

ISLAMABAD: An open WAPDA electricity box at F-8 Kutcheri, may cause anysevere accident.

society. Variousprogrammes have beenlaunched to make educa-tional facilities availablefor the students of thefar-flung regions at theirdoor-step, he added.

The Girl PowerProgramme has been initi-ated by the AIOU under aMemorandum of Under-standing (MoU) signed withPlan International(Pakistan)for educating the drop-outfemale students during a pe-riod of five years.

CITY REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D —Shopkeep-ers, small vendors and res-taurant owners havegrabbed footpaths atAabpara Market, one of themajor shopping areas ofthe federal capital, but theCapital Development Au-thori ty (CDA) is playingthe role of silent spectator.

Shopkeepers placeditems of their shops on thefootpaths for display, leav-ing l i t t le space for shop-pers and pedestr ians.Moreover, small vendorsset up stalls of burger, friedpotato chips, frui t saladand other eatables on thespaces spared by the shop-keepers on the footpath.Similarly, restaurant ownersplace Bar B Q gri l l andother objects on road, en-croaching upon the foot-paths completely.

The residents visi t ingAabpara market said that

Grabbers of footpathsin Aabpara Market

they face trouble in walk-ing in the markets as all thefootpaths were occupiedby the shopkeepers andsmall vendors, while half ofwidth of the roads wasused as parking by the visi-tors and business commu-nity due to lack of properparking facilities in the mar-ket.

A group of women inthe market, talking to INP,said that the situation wasworst for them, as somepeople take advantage ofthe narrow waking spaceand harass women.

They said that theyhold ci ty authori t ies re-sponsible for the encroach-ments and the eventualeve-teasing.

The residents de-manded of the CDA chair-man to take str ict act ionagainst the shopkeepersand restaurant owners in-volved in the encroach-ment.

ISLAMABAD—Students ofthe affiliated institutions ofQuaid-e-Azam University(QAU) are between the deviland deep sea as the univer-sity administration andinstitution’s managementhave failed to solve their ba-sic problems.

When contacted a groupof student representatives ofQuaidian Students Federa-tion (QSF), they informedthis news agency that thestudents of National Insti-tute of Pakistan Studies(NIPS), National Institute ofPsychology (NIP) and Cen-tre of Excellence in GenderStudies had brought the situ-ation to the notice of admin-istration and directors ofthese institution’s time andtime again but of no avail.

Expressing their graveconcerns that the varsity ad-ministration has minimumcontrol (mostly on academiclevel) over the autonomous

QAU students in quandaryaffiliated centres of excellencerunning under the QAU theysaid the varsity administra-tion claims that the primaryresponsibility to accommo-date the students of thesecentres in terms of residenceand transportation falls un-der the jurisdiction of thecentres’ management.

It is pertinent to men-t ion that such problemswere not recently emergedbut few months ago stu-dents had staged variousprotest demonstrations insearch of basic faci l i t iespertaining to hostels, trans-portat ion, and water andelectricity issues.

To a query a well placedofficial source said that interms of development bud-get the government neverprovided a penny to thesecentres but they have beenreceiving only recurringgrants to run their unavoid-able maters.

“We never providedseparate budget for the de-velopment projects to ensurefeasible buildings and trans-portation to our students,“the source added.

More importantly whenasked the students thatwhether they were planningcoordinated efforts in favorof their necessary demands,they were of the view thatobviously if both of the of-fices i.e varsity administra-tion and centre’s managementwould fail to have room forstudents they would stage amassive gathering along withboycott of the classes.

We think that studentswould converge any time asthe resentment against de-laying tactics of the admin-istrative forces is gettingstronger and stronger be-hind the scene. “The stu-dents would break the iceany time, “the group of stu-dents added. —Online

Lack of basicamenitiesprotested

ISLAMABAD—Lack of basiccivic amenities has forced theresidents of sector H-13 tolive pariahs’ life.

This area consists of 6towns with population cross-ing one million but no basicfacility of life exists in thesector.

There is no high schooloperating in the public sec-tor and only one primarylevel school is functioningwhich always remains shortof teachers and the residentsof the area are constrained tosend their children to privateschools, which are highlycostly in terms of fee. There-fore, a majority of childrenstands deprived of the edu-cation facility even at primarylevel due to the soaring feesof private educational insti-tutions, which are beyondthe reach of their parents.

Zakat committee is non-existent entity in this areaand the poor people of thesector cannot avail the Zakatbenefit.

No dispensary or hospi-tal has been set up by thegovernment leaving the poorpeople at the mercy of pri-vate clinics.

No development workhas been initiated in this sec-tor by the CDA nor has itbeen given the status ofmodel village.

The residents have de-manded of the government toensure provision of basic fa-cilities instead of treatingthem as second rated citi-zens.—Online

RAWALPINDI—Non-shiftingof dumping point to Chakriroad has provoked furyamong the residents ofBhatta chowk.

This is thickly populatedarea and cantonment boardhas turned it into garbagehouse by setting up dump-ing point, said a group of resi-dents.

The sanitary staff of can-tonment board brings trucksloaded with garbage anddump them in this locality.The heaps of heaps garbagecontinue to emit toxic airwhich envelops the wholearea making it hard for theinmates to breath.

“Our area is at the brinkof being hit by outbreak offatal epidemic due to worstsanitary conditions in thepresence of the dumpingpoint.

The carcass of dogs andother animals are seen litteredin the dumping point emitting

toxic odor and polluting theenvironment, said GulzarAhmad, a shop keeper. “I ama small trader and the busi-ness of all small traders andshop keepers who are run-ning shops at small scalehave forced to shut theirshops and business as nocustomer dares to come toour shops due to contami-nated environment caused bythis dumping point, headded.

The stray dogs continueto hover over the filthamassed in the dumpingpoint and no one can crossthe passage in front of thishome of garbage for fear ofbecoming victim of thesedogs.

The residents have de-manded for shifting of thedumping point to Chakkriroad immediately otherwisethey will be forced to holdprotest demonstrations.—Online

Non-shifting of dumpingpoint irks residents

New schemeof studies for

MatricR A W A L P I N D I — P u n j a bBoards Committee of Chair-men (PBCC) has approvednew scheme of studies forMatric.

According to sources,Chairman of Board of Inter-mediate and Secondary Edu-cation (BISE), Gujranwala,Mir Bashir held meeting withall eight chairmen of educa-tion boards of Punjab includ-ing Rawalpindi board.

The secretary educationof Punjab was also present.They checked previous per-formance of the boards anddiscussed rules and practicalissues regarding the educa-tion boards.

They also discussed theproblems related to onlineadmissions of the boards inthe meeting and decided thatdate of Matriculation exami-nation could be extended ifneeded.

The PBCC also approvednew scheme of studies forMetric that describes thesubjects Matric exam candi-dates can opt. In the mean-time, Chairman, BISE Lahore,Nasrullah Virk has beenmade the chairman ofPBCC.—INP

Death of ZahidMalik’s brother

condoledCITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Dr. FehmidaMirza, Speaker and Faisal KarimKundi, Deputy Speaker Na-tional Assembly, Chairman ofthe Senate Syed NayyarHussain Bokhari and DeputyChairman Sabir Ali Baloch haveexpressed their deep sense ofgrief over the demise of thebrother of Mr. Zahid Malik.

In their separate mes-sages they have condoledthe death of brother ofZahid Malik Editor-in-Chiefdaily Pakistan Observer. Intheir condolence messagesto Zahid Malik they ex-pressed their heartfelt griefand sorrow over the sad de-mise.

They prayed to AlmightyAllah to rest the departedsouls in eternal peace andgrant courage to the mem-bers of the bereaved familyto bear the irreparable losswith patience and fortitude.

Seven factorieslacking safety

measures sealedRAWALPINDI—District ad-ministration during driveagainst hazardous factoriessealed seven in different ar-eas of the city.

On the directives of Dis-trict Coordination Officer(DCO) Rawalpindi SaqibZafar, under the supervisionof administrator Rawal Town,Saif Anwar Jappa with the col-laboration of Rescue 1122, civildefence, labour departmentand heavy contingent of po-lice conducted operationagainst the factories lackingthe safety measures and poorcondition of cleanliness.

They found seven facto-ries in different area of thecity including Hazara colony,Dhoke Dalal and Mohanpuralacking security safeguardsand poor hygienic condi-tions.—INP

Matric admissionform deadline

extended till Jan 2RAWALPINDI—The deadlinefor the submission of admis-sion form of Matriculationhas been extended till 02 Jan,2013.

All Pakistan PrivateSchools Management Asso-ciation (APPSMA) chair-man Adeeb Javedani and di-visional president IbrarAhmad Khan called onNasrullah Virk, Chairman ofPunjab Boards Committee ofChairmen in Lahore theother day.

APPSMA office bearersdemanded extension in lastdate of the form submissionin the meeting.

Upon the demand ofAPPSMA office bearers,Nasrullah extended deadlinetill Jan 02 with single fee.—INP

Rising inflation:Beggars

increase ratesISLAMABAD—A new class ofbeggars, better to say themelite class, has emerged atJinnah Super Market who areannoying visitors by beg-ging for not less than twentyto fifty rupees and returnyour money if you give themfive or ten rupees.

The visitors of this mar-ket are facing these beggarsat evening hours, which arethe most rushy hours of themarket and surprisingly thereis no one who could haltthem from disturbing the visi-tors.

These new class of beg-gars are aged from five totwenty five who hang hereand there freely at JinnahSuper Market.

Among these beggarsmost of the minor ages areboys whereas young onesare female and some ofthese female beggars arealso holding children withthem.—Online

ANF recovers528 kg narcotics

RAWALPINDI—Anti Narcot-ics Force has foiled a bid tosmuggle Drugs from prov-ince of KhyberPakhtoonkhawa to provinceof Punjab while recovered528 KGs of Chars and ar-rested one drug smuggler.

Anti Narcotics Force re-ceived secret informationthat drug smugglers wouldsmuggle large quantity ofChars from Tribal areaKhyber Agency to Punjab.

On getting information,The ANF made a plan to tar-get the smugglers and car-ried out secret monitoring onall exit points to Punjab onthe midnight of 26 and 27December 2012.

The ANF staff inter-cepted a Land Crusor bear-ing number of GS-3696 atPeshawar Rawalpindi tollplaza. During search of ve-hicle they recovered 528 KGsof narcotic.—Online

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A meeting ofexamination (Autumn 2013)review committee was heldThursday in the InternationalIslamic University, Islamabad(IIUI) to review the arrange-ments for examination .

Prof Dr. Ahmad YousafAl-Draiweesh, President IIUIpresided over the meeting.Prof Dr. Sahibzada Sajid urRehman Vice President(AF&P), IIUI includingDeans of various facultiesand head of departmentswere also present on the oc-casion.

Deans of different facul-ties presented the detail re-garding preparation of exami-nation on which Dr. Al-Draiweesh expressed his sat-isfaction.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Dr. Al-Draiweesh saidthat every possible facilitiesshould be provided to thestudents so that they maytake examination comfort-ably.

He also directed the uni-versity teacher to participatein the exams because thewelfare of the students is ourbasic goal.

He said that in order todeclare the results well in timeteachers should not delaythe submission of the resultto examination branch.

While talking about hisvisits of Saudi Arabia lastweek, Dr. Al-Draiweesh saidthat an MoU was signed be-tween the Imam MuhammadIbn Saud University, SaudiArabia and International Is-lamic University, Islamabad.

IIUI meeting reviewsexamination arrangements

Disarray of trafficCITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—The SixthRoad flyover would be com-pleted till December 31, butdue to disarray of traffic thetransporters were droppingpassengers on Shamsabadand Faizabad bus stops andcitizens are forced to walk onfoot to reach their destina-tions.

It should be mentionedthat transporters taking theadvantage of developmentwork on 6th Road flyoverproject use alternate routesincluding Stadium Road anddrop passengers on nearbystops.

According to sources,the Sixth Road was to becompleted by December 25,but the deadline was ex-tended after which it wouldbe completed on December31, and handed over to thecity administration.

On the other hand, thecommuters are facing severeproblems due to inconve-nience caused by the SixthRoad flyover project.

06:2001:3003:45

07:00

Juma

December 29

THE seventh Convoca-tion of Riphah Interna-tional University wouldbe held at 10 am in JinnahConvention Centre. Thechief guest of the convo-cation would be Profes-sor Doctor Atta-ur-Rehman while the Rectorof University of Manage-ment and TechnologyLahore Doctor HassanSahib Murad would bethe honorary guest ofthis convocation. Morethan 532 graduate andpostgraduate studentswould be awarded de-grees in various disci-plines.

January 01

HAMDARD Thinker’sForum will hold a seminaron destructive political,social and effects of cor-ruption 4pm at HamdardCentre Rawalpindi.

Continuing

EXHIBITION of paint-ings by Mashkoor Raza,Mughees Riaz, UfaqEhsan and ArjumandHusain, at the Nomad ArtGallery, 22, Justice AbdurRashid Road, Sector F-6/1, Islamabad, continuingup to December 30.

*****GROUP exhibition titled‘Bend in the Scapes,’ atthe Satrang Art Gallery,Serena Hotel,Khayaban-e-Suhrwardy,Islamabad, continuingup to January 8.

Will Taliban trickle over to Kashmir?INAM UL REHMAN

IN 1998 the head of theTaliban, Mullah Omar,stated that although hisorganisation supports

Jihad in Kashmir but the Af-ghan men fighting in Kashmirhave gone on their own.(Ahmad Rashid, ‘Taliban: Thestory of the afghan Warlords’).

The most important worrythat concerns India is that postthe withdrawal of NATOforces from Afghanistan thehardened multinational fight-ers may trickle over to the In-dian part of Kashmir.

But the important questionthat one needs to ask: Whywould Afghans try to meddle

in Indian affairs when the latteris ostensibly doing developmen-tal works? Very recently Indiarefused to get militarily in-volved in Afghanistan for whichthey received appreciation fromTaliban (Policy ResearchGroup: “Taliban praises Indiafor rejecting US request to sendarmy to Afghanistan” 19 June,2012).

For sure Afghanistan willnot see the resurgence of civilwar as happened after the endof Soviet occupation. Havingruled Afghanistan and broughtit under its order, Taliban is notgoing to repeat the mistakes thatthe warlords committed in theearly 90s. It is certain that withthe end of occupation Taliban is

going to sweep the remainingoccupational remnants within acouple of years. They haveshown it in the past and they arecapable of it because of theirstrength.

India thinks that Talibanascension in Afghanistan isagainst its interest. It is one ofthe reasons that while hundredsof Indian children are dying,thousands unable to study, pen-niless farmers taking loans thenending their life while theirfamilies remain in debt forever,the India State has put up anassistance of 2 billion dollars toKarzai led government. It seemsIndia is consistently gettingtrapped in risky illusions. India,ignoring its humongous poor

people, is consistently givingfunds to collaborators.

The reason for it is thatIndia’s fatal obsession to stran-gulate Pakistan’s ‘mirage mis-named strategic depth’. (EqbalAhmed: ‘A mirage mis-namedstrategic depth’ Al-AhramWeekly On-line 27 Aug. - 2 Sep.1998) “Unfortunately,” wroteEqbal Ahmed, “in any meaning-ful way, it does not.

In military thought it is anon-concept unless one is refer-ring to a hard-to-reach placewhere a defeated army mightsafely cocoon.” Even if Pakistanis left to live in its illusion ofstrategic depth, India has leastharm from it.

For sure the Taliban govern-

ment in Afghanistan is not go-ing to be a proxy of Pakistan.Afghans are proud race who likemost of the people in worlddon’t want to be ruled by for-eigners.

Unlike others Afghans areready to fight and muscle theforeigners out from their land.In power Taliban will have toconsolidate first. It will not tryto get muddled into the affairsof other States. Once the State-craft bitches Taliban it will be-have like rest of the States in theworld-its interest paramount-rest subject to benefit.

The immediate task ofTaliban will be to TalibanisePakistan’s tribal community.For Pakistan containing Taliban

is a huge worry. There is everychance, as is quite visible inPakistan, that former will havea cascading effect on the inter-nal politics of the latter. Indiacan utilise that time to leapfrogahead and emerge not only asan economic power but militaryone as well. But for that Indiahas to solve the Kashmir quag-mire.

India has successfully co-opted the emerging elite of theKashmir in her stride. India hasalso been effective in buildingup an intellectual section that isfurthering its case in Kashmir.However, India needs to showits seriousness not only to thosetwo sections but to its pro In-dian parties in Kashmir as well.

MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Finnace Minister, General Secretary of AJK-PPP offering Dua for the soul of Shaheed Banzir Bhutto.

MUZAFFARABAD: Chief Executive of Neeluam-Jhelam Hydro poject giving high perfor-mance award to coordinator Raja Naeem.

MUZAFFARABAD: PML-N’s Youth wing celebrating party’s founding day.

The State has to give in to theircertain demands. Otherwise,there are enough people whowill create the myth of Talibanas the rescuer. Up to 2014 In-dia has enough time not to de-cide but to take a firm decision.

May be on some occasionTaliban might come under theinfluence of Pakistani support-ers. But for that Pakistan has topay a price toward the Taliban.And the latter will weigh theoptions before it agrees tosmuggle its men into Kashmir.Even if Talibs started pouringin Kashmir it is difficult to fore-see them getting any help fromthe local population as thehardliner Hurriyat Chairman,Syed Ali Geelani and Jihad

Council Chief, SyedSalahuddin have repeatedlycondemned their actions.

Moreover, Kashmiris aremade of a different mettle.Unlike Afghans, Kashmirisare not going to bear the hard-ships like the former. UnlikeAfghans, Kashmiris don’t be-lieve that for creating a neworder you need to destroy theolder one. Kashmiris havedemonstrated it repeatedlythat although they would liketo change the system butwithout endorsing the hard-ships.

The Indian worries thatTaliban would trickle over toKashmir are based on insomniacillusions.—Kashmir Watch.

SR I N A G A R— In occupiedKashmir, the Chairman of AllParties Hurriyet Conference,Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has re-iterated that the Kashmir dis-pute can best be resolvedthrough negotiations betweenPakistan, India and the peopleof Kashmir.

The Mirwaiz, talking to aSrinagar-based daily, ex-pressed satisfaction overAPHC delegation’s visit to Pa-kistan and said that there is a

Tripartite dialogue stressedfor Kashmir settlement

India urged to repeal black laws, adhere to international normsstrong realisation in Pakistanthat the Kashmiris are primaryparty to the dispute. He saidAPHC feels that the cross LoCCBMs should be strengthened,trade should be opened, peoplemust come and go.

The Mirwaiz added thatthe APHC believed thatSrinagar, Muzaffarabad,Islamabad and New Delhiwere four important centresaround which the solution tothe dispute would emerge.

The Jammu and KashmirLiberation Front in a state-ment deplored that notoriousrenegades, backed by Indianagencies were threatening therelatives of their victims forpursuing cases against themin courts. The JKLF said thatpro-India parties were di-rectly involved in perpetrat-ing brutalities against theKashmiris by patronisingthese brutes.

Peoples Union for Demo-

cratic Rights, an India-basedhuman rights organisation ina statement issued in Srinagardemanded of New Delhi toadhere to all domestic and in-ternational obligations, with-draw draconian laws and pun-ish all perpetrators of humanrights violations in Jammuand Kashmir.

An Indian trooper waskilled after he was injuredduring an attack in Manjkotarea of Poonch.—KMS

Founder of HizbulMujahideen,

Master M AhsanDar, released

SRINAGAR—The founder ofmilitant outfit HizbulMujahideen, MasterMuhammad Ahsan Dar hasbeen released by a city court.

Dar, 50, who hails fromPattan area of Baramulla districtis the oldest living militant com-manders of Kashmir valley andhe is likely to join pro-freedompolitics. Dar has spent morethan 11 years in different jailsof the state and outside. He waslast arrested on January 4, 2009at Sumbal in north Kashmir’sBandipora district after policeclaimed he had returned fromAzad Kashmir and was coordi-nating the activities of differentmilitant outfits in north Kash-mir. Dar was accused of sneak-ing into Sumbal area from hishome town Pattan allegedly asthe the chief commander ofMuslim Mujahideen, policesources said. Police recordsmaintain Dar had parted wayswith Hizbul Mujahideen fol-lowing differences with the topbrass of the outfit and foundedMuslim Mujahideen in 1992.He, however, remained close toHizb Supremo SyedSalahuddin, who also heads theUnited Jihad Council – an amal-gam of militant outfits active inthe state.

Talking about the formationof militant outfit HizbulMujahideen, Dar said, “Iformed Hizb on September 15,1989, at Hajibugh Beerwa, indistrict Budgam”.—NNI

IHK HRC ordersinquiry into 1990

Gawkadal massacreSRINAGAR—The HumanRights Commission (HRC) ofoccupied Kashmir has orderedthe Superintendent of Police(SP) to hold inquiry into pend-ing Gawkadal massacre andsubmit a report within twomonths.The inquiry has beenordered on a complaint filed byhuman rights activist,Muhammad Ahsan Untoo onMay 1, 2012 Muhammad AhsanUntoo through his complainthad prayed that the Commissionshould take cognisance of thematter and an enquiry in the kill-ing should be conducted and theinnocent persons killed in thesame manner be compensated.

According to Untoo, onJanuary 21, 1990 a peacefuldemonstration against ChotaBazar molestation atGawkadal was fired upon re-sulting into the death of 50persons. Many protesters wereinjured in the incident.

He said, “For 22 years theauthorities have neither pros-ecuted any official involved inthis gruesome massacre norhave it allowed credible inves-tigation, instead the police hasfiled an FIR in the Kral Khudpolice station against the pro-testers.—KMS

SRINAGAR—Facing severecriticism against the arrest of agirl in Islamabad (Anantnag)district of south Kashmir oncharges of stone throwing, po-lice said that they will not pro-ceed further in the case.

Zahida, 24, of Botengo vil-lage was called to the local po-lice station and detained fornight for her alleged involve-ment in a stone throwing andarson incident during 2010 sum-mer unrest that left more than120 people dead in police andCRPF firing.

Police has alleged that sheled a group of people whotorched a petrol filling station

Police not to act againsthandicapped Zahida

near Delhi Darbar restaurant atKhanabal Chowk and attemptedto kill uniformed men. Theyalso alleged that an ambulancehad been set on fire at the samespot overnight. While dispers-ing the protesters, two youthwere killed in police firingwhile Zahida sustained gunshotwounds in her thigh. Thewounds have left Zahida handi-capped.

Police have released a state-ment quoting Inspector Generalof Police (IGP) Kashmir Zone,S M Sahai, saying that policewill not proceed further againstZahida.

Sahai said that during 2010,

cases were lodged againstpeople involved in various actsof disturbances. “The Govern-ment later announced that thepolice will not proceed furtheragainst the accused, againstwhom there are no seriouscharges of violence. So keepingall this in view, we have decidednot to proceed further in thiscase also,” the IGP said in thestatement.

The arrest of the handi-capped girl evoked strong re-sentment from the separatistcamp with Hurriyat Conference(G) Chairman Syed Ali ShahGeelani terming it “madness” ofpolice.

SRINAGAR—In what appears tobe one of the first major ecologi-cal fallout of Kishen Ganga hy-droelectric power project, thou-sands of trout fish were founddead in a stream in NorthKashmir’s Bandipora district.

J&K Fisheries Departmenthas put the blame on HindustanConstruction Company (HCC)which is undertaking the con-struction of the tunnel of KishenGanga project. Residents ofSonarwani village said the chil-dren of village found hundredsof dead trout fish floating on thesurface of Madhumati stream.“The villagers rushed to thestream and collected trout fish,”said Zahoor Ahmad Shah a lo-cal resident.

Kishenganga Project baresfangs: Trout fish found dead

Madhumati Stream inBandipora is one the largeststreams in the valley with largetrout fish reserves. Though thefisheries department looked todownplay the development ini-tially but a fact-finding team wasrushed to the area to review thesituation. The team was headedby Joint Director Fisheries. “Wehave sent a team to assess theloss,” said Minister of State forFisheries, Aijaz Ahmad Khan.“We are accessing the facts andmatter. The water is coming fromthe tunnel of the project,” saidJoint Director Fisheries,Muhammad Muzaffer.

He said though HCC hasconstructed a sedimentation tankto maintain the turbidity of the

tank, it is not functioning. “Thereare rapid changes taken place inthe water. It has increased themortality rate of the fish.”

An official of the visitingteam said they were told that themortality rate has increased threetimes from the last three yearsdue to the discharge of turbidwater being discharged by HCC.

Meanwhile, environmen-tal experts have expressedconcern over the “ecologicaldisaster”. “The flow of pol-luted water is destroying thenatural habitat of the trout andhas serious implications on theenvironment,” said SareerMubashir, who runs an NGOfor environment protection inBandipora. —NNI

SRINAGAR—Alarmed by therapid increase of the deadly dis-ease Ranikhet that killed aroundone lakh birds in last one weekin Kashmir, the Valley PoultryFarmers Association (VPFA)has criticized government for itsinability to deal with the viraldisease. Talking to Rising Kash-mir, President VPFA G.M Bhatsaid that farmers have sufferedloses worth crores of rupees.

“The disease in the birdswas diagnosed some twomonths back but no action hasbeen taken by the Animal Hus-bandry Department. The negli-gence on the part of the con-cerned authorities made the vi-rus fatal. The disease is spread-ing in all the districts,” saidBhat. Accusing the governmentof not doing enough for thepoultry business, Bhat said thatthe farmers have suffered busi-ness due to the negligent atti-tude of the authorities. “Depart-ment should provide high qual-ity vaccines to the farmers.Moreover the breed importedfrom other states should also gothrough proper inspection and

Kashmir poultry farmersflay govt for ‘inaction’

medical examination at LowerMunda before entering the val-ley,” he said. Maintaining thatthe association has many youngpeople associated with it, Bhatsaid that they had invested theirmoney in the business but arefacing loses. “This poultrybusiness is contributing to em-ployment generation. If govern-ment remained apathetic, itwould discourage youth forsuch business. Governmentshould at its earliest do some-thing and provide compensationto the people associated with thebusiness,” Bhat said.

He said that the poultrybusiness in the valley is runningon its own. “We have no gov-ernmental support and are noteven registered as an industry.We are not taking the benefitsof schemes, insuranceprogrammes for the bettermentof the trade.” Urging govern-ment to take the issue seriouslyand come up with the positiveremedies Bhat said that AnimalHusbandry has assured the as-sociation of all possible help andcompensation.—NNI

Geelani, Malik,Salahuddin Shah

real leadersSRINAGAR–Jammu KashmirLiberation Front ( H) chairmanJavid Ahmad Mir, Muslim Con-ference chairman Shabir AhmedDar and Islamic Political Partychairman Muhammad YousufNaqash have said real leadersand representatives such asSyed Ali Geelani, Yasin Malik,Shabir Ahmed Shah and SyedSalahuddin have been given themandate by Kashmiri people torepresent them in trilateral dia-logue to resolve the dispute ofKashmir permanently accordingto the wishes and aspirationsof people.

“The real leaders and rep-resentatives must understandtheir responsibilities in this re-gard and act accordingly so thatno tired leader takes the advan-tage and misrepresent us,” thetrio said in a statement.

Rejecting the four pointformula mooted by the formerPresident of Pakistan GeneralParvez Musharraf they said,“No four- point and shortcutsolution will be allowed tobypass the United Nationsresolutions. Even the Paki-stan leaders have endorsedour stand.”

Without naming anyone thetrio said, “Those who advocateshort cut solutions and four-point formulas must join Na-tional Conference and PDP asthis movement belongs to sin-cere leaders and activists whoare leading from the front andalso believe in solution as sug-gested by UN resolutions,” theyadded.—NNI

Pro-freedomgroups condemn

Hurriyat (M)SRINAGAR—Reacting to thestatement of HurriyatConfernce (M) leadership thatis presently in Pakistan, a num-ber of pro-freedom groups ofthe Valley has sstrongly op-posed the statements sayingthere can be no compromise onthe Kashmir issue.

JKLF (H) Chairman JavedAhmad Mir, Muslim Confer-ence (M) Chairman ShabirAhmad Dar, Islamic PoliticalParty Chairman MuhammadYusuf Naqash held a joint meet-ing to discuss the developmentsat the international front regard-ing Kashmir issue. JKLF (H)Chairman Javed Ahmad Mirsaid that statements of Hurriyat(M) leadership in Pakistan werenot good in any way for theKashmir cause.

“There can be no compro-mise on the Kashmir cause. Be-fore issuing any statement, theseleaders must understand theirresponsibilities and duties,” Mirsaid. “The leaders should nottake undue advantage and mis-represent us.”—NNI

SRINAGAR—Terming the rapeincidents at Jammu and Delhi asshameful, Hurriyat Conference(M) spokesman has said suchbarbarous acts were against hu-manity and should be con-demned in strongest possibleterms. Spokesman said that thewidespread public reactions overthe shameful act were justifiedas were the condemnations of theIndian civil society and Parlia-mentarians.

However, the spokesmansaid it also reflected the dualstandards of Indian civil societyand Parliament as both of themhave attained a criminal silenceover the rape incidents whichoccurred in Jammu and Kashmirover the past two decades.

The spokesman said thatJammu and Kashmir has beenthe worst victim of human rightsviolations committed by the In-

Hurriyat (M) flays Indian civilsociety for ‘double standards’

dian troops. It includes violenceagainst women including rape,extra judicial killings, custodialkillings, torture and other formsof rights violations.

“But, the religious anddemocratic Indian public hadremain silent over such barba-rous acts committed by thetroops of their country in Jammuand Kashmir,” spokesman said.

“It is highly upsetting forKashmiris. It is a cause of con-cern for Kashmiris as to why theIndian public, intelligentsia andcivil society have attained acriminal silence,” he added.Spokesman asserted that the rapeaccused in Delhi and Jammushould be brought to justice, add-ing, the people who were in-volved in the savagely acts ofrape in Kunan Poshpura,Shopian and other hundreds ofsuch cases over the past two de-

cades should also be punished bycalling an impartial probe intothe rape incidents in Jammu andKashmir.

Reacting to the recent state-ment of NC leader MustafaKamal regarding the APHC visitto Pakistan, spokesman said thatKamal has continued with hisrhetorical hollow statements.The spokesman made it clear tothe NC leader that it would bebetter that if he give statementsregarding the NC politics of loy-alty to India and its constitutionand repeating of statements like‘Kashmir as integral part of In-dia’ by the NC to remain in thepolitics.Spokesman made itclear that it was due to the ama-teur politics and anti-Kashmirpolicy of the founding father ofNC which became the maincause of sufferings for theKashmiris.—NNI

Struggle to continuetill movement’s

logical end: GeelaniSRINAGAR—Chairman ofHurriyat Conference (G) SyedAli Geelani has said the Kash-mir struggle would continue tillthe movement is taken to its logi-cal end. “The struggle wouldcontinue till the last soliderleaves the Kashmir,” saidGeelani in a tele-address to hun-dreds of mourners at Yamrachvillage in south Kashmir’sKulgam district from New Delhi.

Thousands of people fromdifferent areas of Kulgam dis-trict attended the funeral proces-sion of two militants, who wereslain in an encounter with thearmed forces on Monday, atYamrach village, hometown ofthe one of the two slain LeTmilitants: Mudasir AhmadSheikh. The other slain militantwas a foreign national.

In his address, Geelani urgedthe people to safeguard the sac-rifices offered the by the martyrs.“We need to take care of thesesacrifices and refrain from do-ing the activities that are detri-mental for the interest of ongo-ing movement,” he said—NNI

Exports volume to SaudiArabia touches $418m mark

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan is wit-nessing a gradual increase inexport to Saudi Arabia whichreached US $ 418 million fromUS $ 393 million in fiscal year2009-10.

“Although we have seen agradual increase in our exportsto Saudi Arabia during the lastfew years yet it is not enoughand with help of the private sec-tor we can enhance over trade,”a senior official said on Thurs-day while listing the measuresadopted during last four years toachieve better results.

He said there is no singlefactor or action which deter-mines the size and direction oftrade, adding that it is a combi-

nation of factors and depends ona continuous and sustained strat-egy which determines trade vol-umes.

The official said participa-tion in exhibitions is an impor-tant promotional tool for boost-ing trade as Trade DevelopmentAuthority of Pakistan (TDAP)organized and participated indifferent fairs/exhibitions toshowcase Pakistani products.

The Commercial Section inSaudi Arabia of Pakistan alsoorganized some events whichincluded catalogue shows in lo-cal chamber premises at Jeddah,Makkah, Taif and Madinah tointroduce our products in thisregion.

The Section also organizedan investment conference in

Jeddah in cooperation withBoard of Investment to attractSaudi investment in Pakistan,which was highly successful.

Moreover, several Saudibusiness delegations were sentto attend Expo-Pakistan atKarachi on regular basis since2009 while a lot of informationwas disseminated to private sec-tor trade bodies, governmentagencies and individuals to availbusiness opportunities.

He said hundred of localbusinessmen and Pakistani en-trepreneurs were also receivedby this section to help them haveinteraction leading to greaterbusiness opportunities there.

The official said during theperiod Commercial Section inSaudi Arabia, FPCCI and

TDAP motivated and organizedvisits of various trade delega-tions from Pakistan includingRice Exporters Association ofPakistan, Lahore Chamber ofCommerce & Industry, PunjabIndustrial Board, Auto PartsAssociation (PAPAM) andMarble and Granite ExportersAssociation.

A 19-member REAP del-egation visited Saudi Arabiawhile a six-member delegationvisited Pakistan to inspectslaughter houses in Karachi andLahore.

The other initiatives in-cluded FTA with Gulf Coopera-tion Council (GCC) countries.Two rounds of negotiations havebeen held while the third roundis expected to be held shortly.

Shippingactivity at PQ

KARACHI—Shipping activityremained active at the Port dur-ing last 24 hours, where fourships carrying containers, LPGMix, Diesel Oil and Edible Oilwere allotted berth at Qasim In-ternational Containers Terminal,SSCG Terminal, FOTCO Ter-minal and Liquid Cargo Termi-nal during last 24 hours.

Meanwhile four more Shipsscheduled to load/ offload Con-tainers, Chemical and furnace Oilalso arrived at Outer anchorage ofPort Qasim during last 24 hours.

Berth occupancy was 75%at the Port on thursday wheretotal number of eight shipsnamely MSC Nedlloyed Drake,CGM Rossini, Beautiful Rena,Dogan Bey, Argent Freesia, GasHisky, Al Soor II and GlobalChallenge are currently occupy-ing berths to load / offload Con-tainers, Rice, Wheat, Chemical,Diesel Oil and Edible Oil re-spectively during last 24 hours.

A cargo volume of 61323tonnes comprising 41287 tonnesimports and 20036 tonnes ex-ports inclusive of containerizedcargo carried in 1322 contain-ers (Boxes) were handle at thePort during last 24 hours.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Rehabilitationand upgradation work of 43-KMTaxila-Khanpur-Haripur High-way has started and its comple-tion would not only boost trade,tourism and industry in the areabut also facilitate the people intheir travel.

This 43-KM highway startsat Taxila on PeshawarRawalpindi National Highwayand reaches Khanpur andHaripur and this is an important

Upgradation of Taxila-Haripurhighway to boost trade, industry

link between Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa, an official ofNational Highway Authoritysaid on Thursday.

Seven-KM part this high-way falls in the Punjab while 36kilometers is in the KhyberPakhtunkhwa and this projectwill cost Rs 2854 million. Thisroad was federalized in 2010and declared a national highway,he added.

With the completion of thishighway, links between Punjaband Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be

strengthened that will improvetrade and business activities inboth the provinces. He said thatthe NHA was building the Na-tional Trade CorridorProgramme to boost economicdevelopment of the whole region.

He said that under the Na-tional Trade CorridorProgramme, progress is beingmade to set up an efficient,swift, and world standard high-way network so that a qualitycommunication facility is pro-vided to the future trade traffic.

ISMAIL DILAWAR

KARACHI—According toanalysts at the Arif Habib Re-search the Consumer PriceIndex (CPI) inflation for themonth of December is likelyto clock in at 7.48 percentyear-on-year.

The economic observersat the brokerage researchhouse Wednesday said thePakistan Bureau of Statistics(PBS) was expected to releaseprice indices for December inthe upcoming week.

“We estimate ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) based infla-tion for the month of Dec’12to clock in at 7.48% YoY,”they said.

Though higher than

CPI inflation to clock in 7.5pcNov’12 figure of 6.93%, thistranslates into a sequential MoMdecline of 0.19% against 0.4%MoM previous month. With theDec’12 inflation remaining insingle digit, the average inflationof 1HFY13 should further belower at 8.25%.

The oil prices remainedstable (crude down 0.4% MoM)while domestic petroleum prices(Petrol and Diesel) were downduring Dec’12 by 0.4% MoM sofar. Even other energy prices,those of gas and electricity, didnot show any major increase ordecrease during the aforemen-tioned period.

Similarly, the SPI indicatorsuggests food prices were alsounder control. And, despite allthe concerns of the weakness

within the economy, the infla-tion is expected to keep safelybelow 9%.

And while the CPI headlineinflation has been so far favor-able in 1HFY13, we think theprice pass-through of a weakerexchange rate may finally takefull sweep in coming monthsahead. We have already seenPKR depreciating against USDand this sentiment is here to stayfor a while.

This coupled with decliningliquid reserves due to higherdebt repayments, should keepPKR resilient above 97. Wehave valued PKR at 101 versusUSD by fiscal year-end.

Since the onset of FY13, thecontinual lowering of inflationhas kept it in single digits so far.

Given 1HFY13 performance,we expect CPI inflation for theFY13 to stay under 9% YoY.

With the recent stability inint’l oil prices and lower foodprices, we may see headline in-flation to below the gov’t tar-get of 9.5%. This coupled withhigh base-effect carried for-ward, we expect the CPI to av-erage out around 9.0%YoY inFY13.

Considering that theeconomy is still away from thegrowth target of 4.3%, with elec-tions around the corner, the gov’twill clearly try to re-stimulateconsumption next year and alsotry to cut down on its borrow-ing cost, in order to achieve thegov’t target of containing fiscaldeficit within 5% of the GDP

bracket.Having said that, the ana-

lysts said, the central bank maycontinue with its easing stanceby cutting policy rate by an-other 50bps, which would bemore probable with the soonerthan later realization of theCSF money from the US, byUSD 700mn, along with othersmaller foreign flows expectedin the 2HFY13 alongside anypossible deferment of the IMFrepayment (barring USD 1.0bnfrom the notoriously pending3G license auction).

These flows should pro-vide the much-needed supportto the current account and therupee, with lower inflation andoil prices supporting the ratecut decision.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Speakers at aseminar on Thursday calledupon the political forces andparliamentarians to review andimprove the Plant BreedersRights Bill 2010 by removingthe flaws identified in the billtaking on board all relevantstakeholders and civil societyorganizations.

The participants of the mootrepresenting the civil societyorganizations and small farmers,demanded that the incumbentNational Assembly had a verylimited time to consider the pro-posed PBR Bill 2010 and ifpassed in haste it would havedrastic implications for the smallfarmers and the agriculture sec-tor.

The speakers asked the gov-ernment to postpone the bill andlet it be considered by the next

Improvement of PlantBreeders Rights Bill demanded

National Assembly after the up-coming elections. The policyseminar was aimed at address-ing the conflict emerging be-tween farmers community, civilsociety and seed producing com-panies after introduction of thePBR bill in the parliament.

The moot titled ‘PlantBreeders Rights (PBR) Bill2010’ was held under the aegisof Center for Culture and De-velopment (C2D), SustainableAgriculture Action Group(SAAG), Pothohar Organisationfor Development Advocacy(PODA) and Lok Saanjh Foun-dation in collaboration with theActionaid Pakistan.

The Plant Breeders Rights(PBR) Bill 2010 has been pend-ing for contemplation in theNational Assembly for the lastfew years and it has receivedrenewed attention from the gov-ernment after formation of In-

tellectual Property Organization(IPO) as the regulator of Intel-lectual Property Rights (IPRs)in Pakistan.

Dr. Shahid Zia, ExecutiveDirector, Lok Saanjh Founda-tion, gave a brief overview of thePBR legislation in Pakistan. Hesaid that seed monopolies wereexpected under the original andexisting version of the PBR Bill.He added that the present pro-posed bill was a replication orthe reorganization of the previ-ous draft of 1998 with some cos-metic changes.

“Under the proposed legis-lation, farmers centuries oldpractice of exchange, sharingand reusing seeds may becrippled. There is a need to fur-ther look into the clauses of thePBR Bill to make it more farm-ers friendlier than to safeguardthe concerns of the seed com-panies,” he added.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—In a major move toensure monetary relief to all theLCCI members, the LahoreChamber of Commerce and In-dustry has made downward re-vision of its services charges.According to details, the LCCIExecutive Committee in itsmeeting decided to bring downthe charges for Visa Recommen-dation Letter, Visa InvitationLetter, Visa Processing Fee.

Visa Recommendation Let-ter fee for Asian Countries forProprietor/Director has been cur-tailed from Rs 1500 to Rs 1000and for Europe, Africa, USA,Canada, UK and Australia it isnow Rs 2000 instead of Rs 3000.Visa Recommendation Letter fee

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The All PakistanCNG Association (APCNGA)on Thursday said that Govern-ment has not refused to reducegas prices and taxes imposed onthe CNG sector during the meet-ing of Economic CoordinationCommittee (ECC) sub-commit-tee held to resolve the CNG pric-ing issue.

The APCNGA had de-manded reduction in gas priceand taxes while the representa-tives of Ministries of Petroleumand Ministry of Finance haven’trefused it, it said.

Rather, the officials repre-senting two ministries had as-

CNG body reposes confidence inNaek, hopes amicable solution

sured to look in the matter sym-pathetically and do best thesettle the issue, said GhiyasAbdullah Paracha, ChairmanSupreme Council APCNGA.

In a statement issued heretoday, he said that during themeeting Ogra had silently pre-sented three CNG pricing for-mulas to the head of the com-mittee which wasn’t part of theagenda.

Paracha said that CNG-petrol price link wasn’t dis-cussed in the session as it wasnot on the agenda, adding thatlinking CNG price with petroland three pricing formulas byOgra was violation of the rightsof the consumers and the land-

mark decision of the SupremeCourt.

Reposing full confidence inLaw Minister Farooq H Naek,Ghiyas Paracha demanded re-jection of all recommendationwhich were against the law, in-terests of masses and CNG sec-tor. He said that APCNGA haspresented its final formula to thegovernment while no meetingtook place with Government of-ficials behind closed doors.

The news regarding secretmeeting are baseless aimed athampering a just and acceptableCNG policy acceptable to allstakeholders to resolve the dis-pute and provide relief to themasses, he added.

Byco’s Crude Oil Tanker M.T ARIETIS carrying 70,000 Tonsupper zakum crude oil from Abu Dahbi, berthed at first everSPM. The SPM has been set up on the coast of Arabian Seaat a distance of approximately 14km from the Byco’s MouzaKund Site and is approximately 10 kilometers from the seashore at 25 meters depth.

ISLAMABAD: Zafar Bakhtawari, President of IslamabadChamber of Commerce and Industry, presenting ICCI’s in-signia to Syed Ghulam Panjtan Rizvi, Chairman and Direc-tor General of Pakistan Post Office. Dense fog

affects PIAflight schedule

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Dense fog, zerovisibility at Lahore, Faisalabad,Multan and adjoining areas, theschedule of PIA flights depar-tures and arrivals remain af-fected.

Due to heavy fog at Lahoreand adjoining areas, the sched-ule of PIA domestic and Inter-national flights is affected nowbeing subject to weather assafety is the foremost priority ofPIA and flights cannot be oper-ated under such weather condi-tions when the visibility is zero.

Flight timings of the follow-ing flights were changed due toFog: PK 307 of 25th Decembercould not operate at night time dueto heavy fog. The flight was sentnext day. Similarly PK 302Karachi-Lahore, PK 300 Karachi-Islamabad, PK 709 & PK 710Lahore-Manchester-Lahore, PK751 & PK 752 Lahore-Oslo-Copenhagen-Lahore, PK 323 &PK 322 Lahore-Quetta-Lahore,PK 270-271 Lahore-Delhi-Lahore,PK 898 & PK 899 Lahore-KualaLumpur-Lahore, PK 203 & PK204 Lahore-Dubai-Lahore and PK893 Islamabad-Lahore were re-scheduled, while PK 652 Lahore-Islamabad was cancelled.

Lahore weather remains un-predictable from evening till latemorning therefore flights opera-tions keep monitoring and assoon as there is visibility flightsare operated.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Pakistan which hasemerged as leading halal foodsupplier to a 470 million Halalconsumers in Middle East, Af-ghanistan and Central Asianstates is well poised to sharehuge global halal market, saidAmin Fahim, Federal Ministerfor Commerce at Global HalalCongress held in Sharjah.

Speaking as the guest ofhonour from Pakistan, the Fed-eral Minister for Commerce,highlighted that strength of Pa-kistan being a Muslim countryis 100% Halal production basewith over 180 million consum-ers and a direct access to a mar-ket of 470 million Halal con-sumers in Afghanistan, CentralAsia and Middle East.

Amin Faheem said that Paki-stan has emerged as an importantplayer of food suppliers to theUAE and the Gulf region particu-larly in rice, meat, poultry, seafood, fruits and vegetables, andspices. He said that all productsin Pakistan are Halal and we arein a position to claim a huge chunkof the global Halal market with alittle bit of effort which require

Pakistan to grab major share inglobal Halal market: Amin Fahim

certification as Halal and subse-quent labeling and packaging.

The Commerce Ministerpointed out that Pakistan’s ex-ports of food products to theUAE have increased to overUS$500 million and more thanUS$1 billion to the GCC region.However, he underlined a direneed of value addition which canonly be achieved by establish-ing Brands in the region andspending on the marketing ef-forts. Leading industry expertsand scholars from all over theworld have agreed to declareUnified Halal Code for Halalproducts at Halal CongressMiddle East at Sharjah.

The two-day event whichconcluded recently discussedand reviewed Halal practicesand procedures as well as newopportunities that will arise withthe growing global demand forHalal products. Delegates from37 countries and 08 internationalinstitutions attended the con-gress. The chief guest, UAEMinister of Education, H.E.Humaid Al Qutami, highlightedthe importance of Halal certifi-cation and stressed the need tocreate awareness in this regard

to promote Halal products. Pro-fessor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu,Secretary General of theOrganisation of Islamic Coop-eration, said that intra-OIC tradehas increased progressivelyfrom 14 per cent in 2004 to17.71 per cent in 2011 while inmonetary terms it increasedfrom $205 billion in 2004 to$687.74 billion in 2011.

Asad Sajjad, CEO of HalalDevelopment Council (HDC Pa-kistan) pointed out that the Halaltrade is controlled by non-Mus-lim companies/countries, whoare reaping the economic benefitby certifying their products as‘Halal” and marketing it to theMuslim consumers with the‘Halal Brand’. The inaugural cer-emony was also attended by Dr.Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti ofBosnia and Herzegovina and thePresident of the Senate ofBosniak Academy of Science andArts; Haji Abdul Malik Kassim,Minister for Penang State Gov-ernment, Malaysia, and Chair-man, Penang International HalalHub, Malaysia; Dr El HassaneHzaine, director-general ICDT(Islamic Centre for Developmentof Trade of OIC End.

LCCI felicitatesits members

for employees of LCCI Memberfirms for Europe, Africa, USA,Canada, UK and Australia hasbeen decreased by Rs 1500 andnow onward it would be to Rs2500 instead of Rs 4000.

Visa Recommendation Let-ter fee for employees of LCCIMember firms for Asia has beendecreased by Rs 500 and now itis Rs 2000 instead of Rs 2500.The charges for Visa Invitationletter to foreigners have alsobeen halved. Earlier for Asiancountries the fee was Rs 1500and now it is Rs 750 while Eu-rope, Africa, USA, Canada, UKand Australia it is now Rs 1500instead of Rs 3000.

Same way Visa processingfee for China has also beenhalved.

Recalls havenot hurted

auto sales: FordDETROIT—Ford Motor Co isnot experiencing a hit to its autosales as a result of a recent spateof safety recalls, Chief Operat-ing Officer Mark Fields said.

“I think overall our sales aredoing well,” Fields told report-ers, adding that consumers havea good perception of the qualityof Ford products.

“But we also understandthat’s a very precious thing andwe’re working very hard everyday to deliver that quality com-mitment to our costumers,” saidFields.

Last week, Ford issued thefourth recall on its 2013 Escapecrossover since July. The mostrecent recall was for increasedrisk of an engine fire due to asoftware glitch in the coolingsystem of the Escape as well asthe midsize Fusion sedan.—Newswire

Int’l Plastic Printing& PackagingExhibition

from March 8STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—3P Plastic PrintPack Pakistan 2013, is distin-guished for business opportu-nity, satisfaction and success inthe industrial sectors. Servingas a premium platform for com-panies to make contacts andkeep abreast of the latest indus-try trends and new technologiesin plastic, printing, packagingmachinery industries and auto-mation.

This year the exhibition isexpected to host over 300 ex-hibitors from 30 countries andattended by over 30,000 qualityvisitors. The show has alreadyconfirmed major participationfrom Chinese, Indian, Turkishand European companies.

From 8th to 10th March2013 in Lahore expo Center 3P-Plas, Print Pack Pakistan 2013is the only event in Pakistan stra-tegically supported by PakistanPlastic Manufacturers Associa-tion (PPMA) and Turkish Plas-tics Manufacturers ResearchDevelopment and EducationalFoundation (PAGEV) and en-dorsed by the leading relevantinternational and local authori-ties in the country.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—In November theSECP’s Corporatization andCompliance Department took 82enforcement actions againstvarious corporate entities andpenalties amounting to thou-sands of rupees were imposedon five of them.

The department issued 45show cause notices and con-ducted 31 hearings for variousviolations of the provisions ofthe 1984 Companies Ordinance,

SECP imposes penalties onnon-compliant companies

ranging from late filing of an-nual accounts, non-filing of ac-counts to non-holding of AGMsand faulty audit of cost accounts.

Six orders were issuedagainst five companies: PakistanElectrical & Electronics Mer-chant Association (Sections 184,242 read with 476), Fahim Nanji& De Souza (Sections 92, 93,172 read with 476), ChemiMultfabrics Limited (Sections142, 184 read with 476), UnitedBrands Limited (Section 184read with 476).

Govt subsidy topush kinnow

exportISLAMABAD—Ministry ofCommerce may give subsidy toexporters on Reefer Containersshipments for the continuity ofkinnow export target, as GRI(General Rate Increase) of1500USD/40ft Reefer contain-ers will be added on the currenttariff effective from 1st of Janu-ary 2013 said Chief ExecutiveOfficer Harvest Tradings &Member Export ICCI, AhmadJawad.

In a statement he saidkinnow export already facedmany issues from the start ofseason and with the addition ofGRI from the shipping lines, itcould create a negative impacton the cost. Till date only pri-vate sector is taking at their ownto improve the export every yearof this potent source. Jawad saidcurrent year’s production is 20percent less at 1.8 million tonescompared to previous year’syield of 2 million tones.

However, unexpected strikeby the goods transport carriersacross the country few days backbadly disturbed all plans and ex-port process. As a result the ex-port target for the citrus fruit fellby 10 percent to 175,000 tonesor 180,000 tones from the set tar-get of 200,000 tones, which mayspell bad fortune for all stake-holders involved with thistrade.—Online

60pc bizdamaged byloadshedding

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Chairman of QuomiTajar Ittehad Supreme CouncilKhawaja Azhar Gulshan hasdemanded of the government torestore electricity and gas sup-ply to the Punjab as prolongedload shedding has damaged 60percent of businesses.

He was speaking at theoath taking ceremony of theoffice-bearers of Quomi TajarIttehad here on Thursday.President Quomi Tajar IttehadPakistan Malik KhalidMahmood, Chairman QTI Pa-kistan Youth Wing MuhammadAkbar Butt, Waseem YawarButt, Hafiz Abud Ali, SheikhUmer Hayat, Rao AkramChaudhry Azmat and a largenumber of traders were presenton the occasion.

Khawaja Azhar Gulshansaid that large industrial cartelsare encouraging the uneven loadshedding that is a sheer injus-tice and a conspiracy to destroythe traders.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The ChairmanPIA, Lt. General (Rtd) AsifYaseen Malik, has said that thenew management has taken overthe airline at a very critical pointand the agenda is to turn itaround.

He was addressing the PIAofficers and staff here on Thurs-day at the PIA Training CentreAuditorium to motivate themand share the management’scommitment to change the faceof the airline by April 2013.

He categorically informedthe employees that none of them

No employee of PIA wouldbe sacked: Yaseen Malik

would be sacked from the airlineas a policy. However, strict ac-tion may be in place on disciplin-ary grounds, dereliction of dutywill not be allowed and an aver-age employee will have to showat least 80 percent efficiencywithin his sphere of work.

Chairman PIA emphasizedthat the present managementwas undertaking various studiesat jet speed to ensure efficientsavings, career planning for thegrowth of the employees onmerit, ways for improving ben-efits for the employees, pensionpolicy and staff uniform so thatthe right man should be placed

at the right job to improve theperformance of the airline.

He expressed confidence inthe employees of PIA and saidthat they were the biggeststrength of the managementeven in difficult situations,it isthe employees of the corporationwhich have kept the airline run-ning and was able to conductone of the best Hajj operationsin 2012 which has been ac-knowledge by not only peoplein Pakistan but also by the SaudiCivil Aviation Authority andPIA was determined best among72 international airlines operat-ing from Jeddah.

Pakistani sand likelyto be imported by

E Punjab companiesAMRITSAR—Despite allowingthe state government to auctionsand and gravel mines in fewdistricts by Punjab and Haryanahigh court, the importers hereare likely to continue to importPakistani sand, especially afterclearance of import of sand bythe customs department.

Due to acute shortage of oneof major construction materials,the businessmen here had al-ready imported 5 truck load ofsand from Pakistan in Novem-ber, but the consignment washeld at border by the customsdepartment in wake of require-ment of certain certificates.

“The commissionerate ofcustoms has now cleared the im-port of sand and has declared itas a freely importable item,” saiddeputy commissioner, customsAmanjit Singh, while talking tomedia here. Earlier, the sand washeld at Attari for want of quaran-tine and ministry of environmentclearance certifications. The cus-toms department had even sentsamples of sand to the ministry.

According to reports, thestate government has been al-lowed to auction sand mines inJalandhar, Mohali, Kapurthala,Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur dis-tricts. “Even if the auction is al-lowed in Amritsar, we will con-tinue to import sand from Paki-stan, as it still comes to be costeffective,” said Ajay Gupta, im-porter and custom house agent.

The HC had imposed ban onmining in the state without envi-ronmental clearance in the opera-tional quarries of up to five hect-ares in the state. Sources here in-formed that after allowing freeimport of sand, the businessmenhere have already placed orders ofhuge quantities of sand with Pakexporters. “It is a natural productso there is no question of its qual-ity, all we need is a regular importor local availability of sand,” saidAmanjit Singh, a builder.—INP

Sudan’s Bashir ready to meet KiirKHARTOUM—Sudan’s President OmarHassan al-Bashir said on Wednesdayhe was ready to meet his SouthSudanese counterpart Salva Kiir to tryto move forward with setting up ademilitarised border zone and restart oilflows. His comments raise the prospectthat the two could set aside their differ-ences after signing agreements in Sep-tember meant to secure their disputedborder and to allow the South to resume

oil exports after the two came close to war in April in theworst violence since Juba seceded last year. SudanesePresident Omar Hassan al-Bashir gives a speech as he toursthe White Nile Sugar Co sugar plant during its opening inAl-Diwaim. However, neither country has yet withdrawnits army from either side of their shared border, a precondi-tion to resume oil flows from the landlocked south throughthe north, a lifeline for both economies. South Sudan hadinitially planned to resume exports by year-end after shut-ting down its output of 350,000 barrels a day in Januaryafter failing to agree an export fee with Sudan. Two weeksago, the African Union, backed by Western powers, urgedBashir and Kiir to meet as soon as possible to resolve alltheir disputes. Delegations from both countries are sched-uled to resume talks in Ethiopia in mid-January. “I am readyto meet Salva Kiir to speed up implementing all agreementsat the same time,” Bashir said, after meeting Ethiopian PrimeMinister Hailemariam Desalegn who is trying to mediate inthe row. “I am ready to meet Kiir at any place,” Bashir

said.—Reuters

Putin to sign US adoption banMOSCOW—Russian President VladimirPutin said on Thursday he saw no rea-son not to sign a bill into law that wouldban Americans adopting Russian chil-dren and promised measures to improvecare of his country’s orphaned young-sters. Although Putin said he wouldneed to study the final text of the bill,

the comments were the strongest indication yet that hewill approve the adoption ban legislation, which hasstrained U.S.-Russia relations. Russia’s President VladimirPutin holds a news conference at the end of an EU-RussiaSummit meeting in Brussels. Parliament gave its final ap-proval on Wednesday to the bill that would also bring inother measures in retaliation for new U.S. legislation de-signed to punish Russians accused of human rights viola-tions. “So far I see no reason not to sign it, although I haveto review the final text and weigh everything,” Putin saidin televised remarks at a meeting of senior federal and re-gional officials. “I am ready to sign not only the law ... butalso a presidential decree that will modify the supportmechanisms for orphaned children ... especially those whoare in a difficult situation, by that I mean in poor health,”Putin said. Critics of the bill say Russia is playing politicswith the lives of children. Child rights advocates say chil-

dren in Russia’s crowded and troubledorphanage system will have less of achance of finding homes if the bill be-comes law.—Reuters

Obama’s 2nd openingsubduedWASHINGTON—It is one of those occa-sions that is quintessential Washing-ton: the inauguration of a president, amulti-day festival of patriotism, politics,

optimism and self-congratulation. All of that will be ondisplay on January 21, when President Barack Obama ispublicly sworn in for his second four-year term. But thisinauguration will be far less grand than Obama’s first in2009, when a record 1.8 million visitors flooded the city tosee the nation’s first black president take office. This timethe celebration is likely to attract no more than 800,000 orso guests, city officials estimate. As a result, some luxuryhotel rooms and coveted tables at high-end restaurantsare still available, less than a month before the inaugura-tion. The swanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel, with its sweep-ing views of the National Mall, initially required inaugura-tion guests to make reservations for four nights. Now ithas relaxed that requirement to three nights to try to fill itsrooms. But the “inauguration markup” still applies: TheMandarin’s least expensive room, normally available for$295 a night, starts at $1,195 a night during the long inau-guration weekend. Even so, the demand for hotel and res-

taurant reservations for this inaugura-tion pales compared with the rush thatfollowed Obama’s first election. Backthen, the scramble for accommodationwas so desperate that homeowners andrenters in Washington and its Marylandand Virginia suburbs leased their homesfor the inauguration, creating a vast sec-ondary market in housing that week.—Reuters

Mandela rests at homeJOHANNESBURG—The doctors treating former South Africanleader Nelson Mandela believe he should remain inJohannesburg for now to be close to medical facilities thatcan provide care to the 94-year-old, the government saidThursday. Mandela left a hospital Wednesday evening afternearly three weeks of treatment there, and was brought to hishome in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton. Theanti-apartheid icon, also known by his clan name, Madiba,has lived over the past year and more in the rural village ofQunu in Eastern Cape province, where he grew up. “WhereMadiba goes, in which period, in which times, is a matter thatis entirely dependent on his own wishes. Whatever he wishes,we will do,” presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in aninterview with eNCA, a South African television news chan-nel. “But right now, the doctors have considered it necessaryand good that he should be in Houghton so that he’s close toall the facilities where we can give him high care,” Maharajsaid. Mandela was admitted Dec. 8 to a hospital in the South

African capital of Pretoria, 50 kilometers(30 miles) north of Johannesburg. The ex-president was treated for a lung infectionand also had a procedure to remove gall-stones. “He is not yet fully recovered buthe sufficiently moved forward so that hecan be discharged,” Maharaj said. Henoted that Mandela had been in good spir-its while receiving President Jacob Zumaand other visitors while he was hospital-ized. “Madiba was doing well, but as youknow, when you’re recovering there are

ups and downs, slight ups and downs.—Reuters

France denies CAR’s defenceBANGUI—France’s military will not defend Central AfricanRepublic’s government against advancing rebels, FrenchPresident Francois Hollande said on Thursday, and re-gional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal. In-surgents on motorbikes and pickups have driven to within75 km (45 miles) of the capital Bangui in recent weeks,threatening to end President Francois Bozize’s nearly 10years as leader of the turbulent, resource-rich country. “Ifwe have a presence, it’s not to protect a regime, it’s toprotect our nationals and our interests and in no way tointervene in the internal business of a country, in this casethe Central African Republic,” Hollande said, speaking onthe sidelines of a visit to a wholesale food market outsideParis. The comments came after a plea from Bozize’s gov-ernment for French military support to stop the SELEKArebel coalition, which says it will topple the president un-

DAMASCUS—UN Middle Eastenvoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, whoafter meeting is now planning tohold a series of meetings withSyrian officials and dissidents inDamascus this week, is trying tobroker a peaceful transfer ofpower, but has disclosed littleabout how this might be done.More than 44,000 Syrians havebeen killed in a revolt againstfour decades of Assad familyrule, a conflict that began withpeaceful protests but which hasdescended into civil war.

Past peace efforts havefloundered, with world powersdivided over what has becomean increasingly sectarianstruggle between mostly SunniMuslim rebels and Assad’s se-curity forces, drawn primarilyfrom his Shi’ite-rooted Alawiteminority. Deputy Foreign Min-ister Faisal Makdad flew toMoscow to discuss the details ofthe talks with Brahimi, said aSyrian security source, who

Syria to mull Brahimi peace plan with Russiawould not say if a deal was in theworks.

However, a Lebanese officialclose to Damascus said Makdadhad been sent to seek Russianadvice on a possible agreement.He said Syrian officials wereupbeat after talks with Brahimi,the UN-Arab League envoy, whomet Foreign Minister WalidMoualem on Tuesday a day afterhis session with Assad, but whohas not outlined his ideas in pub-lic.

“There is a new mood nowand something good is happen-ing,” the official said, asking notto be named. He gave no details.Russia, which has given Assaddiplomatic and military aid tohelp him weather the 21-month-old uprising, has said it is not pro-tecting him, but has fiercely criti-cized any foreign backing forrebels and, with China, hasblocked U.N. Security Councilaction on Syria.

A Russian Foreign Ministry

source said Makdad and an aidewould meet Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov and MikhailBogdanov, the Kremlin’s specialenvoy for Middle East affairs, onThursday, but did not disclose thenature of the talks. On Saturday,Lavrov said Syria’s civil war hadreached a stalemate, saying inter-national efforts to get Assad toquit would fail. Bogdanov hadearlier acknowledged that Syrianrebels were gaining ground andmight win.

Given the scale of the blood-shed and destruction, Assad’sopponents insist the Syrian presi-dent must go. Moaz Alkhatib,head of the internationally-recog-nized Syrian National Coalitionopposition, has criticized anynotion of a transitional govern-ment in which Assad would stayon as a figurehead presidentstripped of real powers. Com-ments on Alkhatib’s Facebookpage on Monday suggested thatthe opposition believed this was

one of Brahimi’s ideas.“The government and its

president cannot stay in power,with or without their powers,”Alkhatib wrote, saying his Coa-lition had told Brahimi it rejectedany such solution. While Brahimiwas working to bridge the vastgaps between Assad and his foes,fighting raged across the coun-try and a senior Syrian militaryofficer defected to the rebels.

Syrian army shelling killedabout 20 people, at least eight ofthem children, in the northernprovince of Raqqa, a videoposted by opposition campaign-ers showed. The video, publishedby the Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights, showed rows ofblood-stained bodies laid out onblankets. The sound of cryingrelatives could be heard in thebackground.

The shelling hit theprovince’s al-Qahtania village,but it was unclear when the at-tack had occurred. Rebels re-

launched their assault on theWadi Deif military base in thenorthwestern province of Idlib, ina battle for a major army com-pound and fuel storage and dis-tribution point. Activist AhmedKaddour said rebels were firingmortars and had attacked the basewith a vehicle rigged with explo-sives.

The British-based Observa-tory, which uses a network ofcontacts in Syria to monitor theconflict, said a rebel commanderwas among several people killedin Wednesday’s fighting, whichit said was among the heaviestfor months. The military usedartillery and air strikes to try tohold back rebels assaulting WadiDeif and the town of Morek inHama province further south. Inone air raid, several rockets fellnear a field hospital in the townof Saraqeb, in Idlib province,wounding several people, theObservatory said.

As violence has intensified in

recent weeks, daily death tollshave climbed. The Observatoryreported at least 190 had beenkilled across the country on Tues-day alone.

The head of Syria’s militarypolice changed sides and de-clared allegiance to the anti-Assad revolt. “I am GeneralAbdelaziz Jassim al-Shalal, headof the military police. I have de-fected because of the deviationof the army from its primary dutyof protecting the country and itstransformation into gangs of kill-ing and destruction,” the officersaid in a video published onYouTube.

A Syrian security source con-firmed the defection, but saidShalal was near retirement andhad only defected to “play hero”.Syrian Interior MinisterMohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar leftLebanon for Damascus after be-ing treated in Beirut for woundssustained in a rebel bomb attackthis month.—Reuters

NEW DELHI—Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singhpledged Thursday to take actionto protect the nation’s womenwhile the young victim of a gangrape on a New Delhi bus wasflown to Singapore for treatmentof severe internal injuries.

The Dec. 16 rape and brutalbeating of the 23-year-old stu-dent triggered widespread pro-tests, including a march onThursday, demanding a govern-ment crackdown on the dailyharassment Indian women face,ranging from groping to severeviolence. Some protesters havecalled for the death penalty orcastration for rapists, who undercurrent laws face a maximumpunishment of life imprison-ment.

Rape victims rarely presscharges because of social stigmaand fear they will be accused ofinviting the attack. Many womensay they structure their livesaround protecting themselvesand their daughters from attack.Singh’s government set up twocommittees in response to theprotests. One, looking intospeeding up sexual assault trials,has already received 6,100 emailsuggestions. The second will

Indian rape victim inSingapore: Singh pledges action

examine what lapses might havecontributed to the rape whichtook place on a moving bus thatpassed through police check-points and suggest measures toimprove women’s safety.

“Let me state categoricallythat the issue of safety and secu-rity of women is of the highestconcern to our government,”Singh said at a developmentmeeting. He urged officials inIndia’s states to pay special at-tention to the problem. “Therecan be no meaningful develop-ment without the active partici-pation of half the population, andthis participation simply cannottake place if their security andsafety is not assured,” he said.

The victim of the gang rapearrived in Singapore on an airambulance Thursday and wasadmitted in “extremely criticalcondition,” to the intensive careunit of the Mount Elizabeth hos-pital, renowned for multi-organtransplant facilities, the hospitalsaid in a statement. India’s HomeMinister Sushilkumar Shindesaid in a statement that the gov-ernment, which is funding andoverseeing the victim’s treat-ment, had decided to send herabroad on the recommendation of

her doctors.“Despite the best efforts of

our doctors, the victim continuesto be critical and her fluctuatinghealth remains a big cause of con-cern to all of us,” he said. Herfamily was also being sent toSingapore to be with her duringher treatment, which could lastweeks, he said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-testers demanding safer publictransportation for women and theresignation of Delhi’s policecommissioner tried to march tothe major India Gate traffic circlein central Delhi before beingstopped by police in riot gearmanning barricades. Protesterscarried signs reading, “Immedi-ately end rape culture in India”and “Zero tolerance of violenceagainst women.” Protests haveshut down the center of the capi-tal for days since the rape. Policequashed some of the demonstra-tions with tear gas, water cannonsand baton charges.

One police officer died Tues-day after collapsing during aweekend protest. Police said anautopsy showed the officer had aheart attack that could have beencaused by injuries suffered dur-ing violence at the protest.—AP

TOKYO—Shinzo Abe took officeas Japan’s seventh prime minis-ter in six years and vowed to over-come the deep-rooted economicand diplomatic crises facing hiscountry. Abe was elected asJapan’s leader hours earlierWednesday, bringing back topower the conservative, pro-busi-ness Liberal Democratic Partythat governed for most of the post-World War II era. It replaces theliberal-leaning government of theDemocratic Party of Japan thatlasted three years.

“A strong economy is thesource of energy for Japan. With-out regaining a strong economy,there is no future for Japan,” Abetold his first news conference af-ter becoming prime minister forthe second time. Calling his ad-ministration a “crisis break-through Cabinet,” Abe promisedto launch bold economic mea-sures to pull Japan out of defla-tion. He also vowed to step up analliance with the United States tostabilize Japan’s diplomacyshaken by increasing territorial

Tackling economic crisistop mission: Abe

threats from its neighbors.Abe, whose nationalist posi-

tions have in the past angeredJapan’s neighbors, was also primeminister in 2006-2007 before re-signing for health reasons that hesays are no longer an issue. Theoutspoken and often hawkishleader has promised to restoregrowth to an economy that hasbeen struggling for 20 years. Hisadministration also faces souringrelations with China and a com-plex debate over whether re-source-poor Japan should weanitself off nuclear energy after lastyear’s earthquake and tsunamicaused a meltdown at an atomicpower plant.

On top of that, he will have towin over a public that gave hisparty a lukewarm mandate in elec-tions on Dec. 16, along with keep-ing at bay a still-powerful oppo-sition in parliament. Though hisparty and its Buddhist-backed coa-lition partner is the biggest blocin the more influential lowerhouse, Abe actually came up shortin the first round of voting in the

upper house, then won in a run-off. Capitalizing on voter discon-tent with the Democratic Party ofJapan, Abe has vowed to shore upthe economy, deal with a swell-ing national debt and come upwith a fresh recovery plan follow-ing last year’s tsunami disaster,which set off the worst nuclearcrisis since Chernobyl.

Abe promised to launch boldeconomic measures, and mobilefinancial steps and strategies toencourage investment. “We mustrecover a Japan wherehardworking people can feel thatthere is a better tomorrow,” hesaid.

He has said he will support areinterpretation of Japan’s pacifistpostwar constitution to loosen thereins on the military, stand up toBeijing over an ongoing territo-rial dispute and strengthenTokyo’s security alliance withWashington. Beijing has alreadywarned him to tread carefully, andwill be watching closely to see ifhe tones down his positions nowthat he is in office. —AP

BEIJING—China’s new commu-nist leaders are increasing alreadytight controls on Internet use andelectronic publishing following aspate of embarrassing online re-ports about official abuses. Themeasures suggest China’s newleader, Xi Jinping, and others whotook power in November sharetheir predecessors’ anxiety aboutthe Internet’s potential to spreadopposition to one-party rule andtheir insistence on controlling in-formation despite promises ofmore economic reforms.

“They are still very paranoidabout the potentially destabilizingeffect of the Internet,” said WillyLam, a politics specialist at theChinese University of HongKong. “They are on the point oflosing a monopoly on informa-tion, but they still are very eager

China tighteningcontrols on Internet

to control the dissemination ofviews.” This week, China’s legis-lature took up a measure toInternet users to register their realnames, a move that would curtailthe Web’s status as a freewheel-ing forum to complain, oftenanonymously, about corruptionand official abuses. The legisla-ture scheduled a news conferenceFriday to discuss the measure,suggesting it was expected to beapproved. That comes amid re-ports Beijing might be disruptinguse of software that allows Websurfers to see sites abroad that areblocked by its extensive Internetfilters. At the same time, regula-tors have proposed rules thatwould bar foreign companies fromdistributing books, news, musicand other material online inChina.—AP

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM—Is-raeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu has secretly metJordan’s King Abdullah inAmman to discuss the risk ofSyria’s chemical weapons fall-ing into the hands of Islamistmilitants, Israeli media reportssaid late Wednesday. Two TVstations and Israeli news sitesquoted unnamed Israeli officialsconfirming a report in the Lon-don-based Arabic languagedaily, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, thatsuch a summit had been held.Netanyahu’s spokesmen havedeclined to comment on the re-ports.

As Syria’s southern neigh-bor, Israel has been concernedabout the risk of President

Netanyahu, Jordan’s Kingdiscuss Syria chemical arms

Bashar al-Assad’s chemicalweapons falling into the handsof Islamist militants or LebaneseHezbollah fighters as an upris-ing against him convulses acountry thought to possess a for-midable chemical arsenal. Israelhas warned it could intervene ifit felt there was a real risk ofsuch a scenario unfolding.

Israel and Jordan signed apeace treaty in 1994 and meet-ings between their leaders arenot unusual and are often an-nounced by both sides. Israel’sChannel 2 said the latest talksincluded a “very long discus-sion” about “cooperation withJordan with regard to the fate ofSyria’s chemical weapons”. Itdid not elaborate.—Reuters

George bushfighting fever

in ICUTEXAS—Former PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush continues tofight a stubborn fever in the in-tensive care unit at HoustonMethodist Hospital. “Followinga series of setbacks including apersistent fever, President Bushwas admitted to the intensive careunit at Methodist Hospital onSunday where he remains inguarded condition,” Bush familyspokesman Jim McGrath re-vealed in a prepared statement.“Doctors at Methodist continueto be cautiously optimistic aboutthe current course of treatment.The president is alert and con-versing with medical staff, andis surrounded by family.”

McGrath earlier told ABCaffiliate KTRK that the formerpresident was awake and jokingwith doctors, but had yet to re-spond to medication designed toreduce the fever. Bush, 88, hasbeen in the intensive care unit inHouston’s Methodist Hospitalsince Sunday, and hospitalizedsince Nov. 23, when he wasbrought to the hospital with abronchitis-like cough. A hospitalstatement released on Dec. 13predicted the former presidentwould be discharged beforeChristmas.—ABC New

Libyanprotesters shutdown oil port

TRIPOLI—Protests have forceda major oil port in eastern Libyato shut down its operations for afourth day, the deputy oil minis-ter said on Wednesday. Al-Zuweitina Oil port, 790 km eastof Tripoli, receives oil pumpedfrom at least three oil fields in theLibyan desert and is responsiblefor exporting 60 to 70 barrels ofoil a day.

Omar Shakmak said protest-ers forced their way into theport’s management offices onSaturday and ordered the portdirector to quit working and shutdown operations. “They want thegovernment to provide them withjobs and believe they can putpressure on the government bystalling oil-related companies,”he said..

Western Libya’s main oilrefinery has seen at least fourshut downs since October caus-ing petrol shortages in the capi-tal Tripoli after war veteransdemonstrating for more govern-ment compensation forced therefinery to shut down opera-tions.—Reuters

RAANANA, ISRAEL—Thecharismatic new leader ofIsrael’s Jewish religious right issiphoning a large chunk of votesfrom the prime minister’s party,according to polls ahead of Jan.22 elections, and if the trendcontinues, the high-tech million-aire and former commandocould emerge as a powerfulvoice opposing Palestinian state-hood. Though Naftali Bennett,the 40-year-old son of Americanimmigrants, is a classic religioushard-liner, comfortable in thesettlements he champions, he

New Israeli right-wingleader worries Netanyahu

UAE bustsplotters call

DUBAI—Security forces in theUnited Arab Emirates have ar-rested a cell of UAE and SaudiArabian citizens which wasplanning to carry out militantattacks in both countries andother states, the official newsagency WAM said.

The U.S.-allied UAE, a fed-eration of seven emirates and amajor oil exporter that has sup-ported Western counter-terror-ism efforts in the region, hasbeen spared any attack by alQaeda and other insurgencygroups.

But some of its emirates haveseen a rise in Islamist sentimentin recent years, and Dubai, a busi-ness and tourism hub and cosmo-politan city that attracts manyWesterners, could make an attrac-tive target for Islamist militants,analysts say.

Those arrested had acquiredmaterials and equipment for usein what WAM called terroristoperations. “The security authori-ties in the UAE, in coordinationwith the related security partiesin Saudi Arabia.—ReutersDemonstrators shout slogans as they are surrounded by the police during a protest rally in New Delhi.

Iraqis blocktrade routes as protest

against MalikiANBAR—Tens of thousands ofSunni Muslims blocked Iraq’smain trade route to neighbouringSyria and Jordan in a fourth dayof demonstrations on Wednesdayagainst Shi’ite Prime MinisterNuri al-Maliki.

The massive show of forcemarks an escalation in proteststhat erupted last week after troopsdetained the bodyguards of SunniFinance Minister Rafaie Esawi,threatening to plunge Iraq deeperinto political turmoil.

Another smaller protest washeld in the city of Samarra inthe predominantly Sunni prov-ince of Salahuddin, next toAnbar.The move againstEsawi’s guards came hours af-ter President Jalal Talabani, aKurd who has mediated amongSunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish fac-tions, left for Germany for treat-ment for a stroke that could endhis steadying influence overIraqi politics.—Reuters

has been able to draw on hismilitary and entrepreneurialbackground to widen his appealto secular circles as well. Hissprawling, modern home inRaanana, an upscale suburb ofTel Aviv, is far from the barrenhilltops of the West Bank settlerswho form the backbone of hissupport.

Polls show his Jewish Homeparty becoming the third-largestin the upcoming parliament, be-hind Netanyahu’s Likud-YisraelBeitenu bloc and the centristLabor.—Reuters

BIPIN DANIOBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Pakistan’s newtowering fast bowler,Mohammad Irfan has beenadvised to work hard andconcentrate on his skill byformer West Indian fastbowler, Joel Garner, alsoknown as “Big Joel” or “BigBird” because of his 6'-8"height.

Speaking exclusivelyover telephone from Barba-dos, Garner, who turned 61earlier this month, said,“though I have not seenhim (Irfan) bowling, mymessage to him would beto work hard and utilise hisskill in the matches. He hasto do a lot of practice in thenets and become utilitybowler for his country”.

Irfan made hisTwenty20 debut againstIndia on Tuesday.

If Mohammad Irfan’scontroversial height issueis kept aside, Will Jefferson

Towering cricketers advise Mohammad Irfanto look after his body for long term

at 6'-9 1/2" is the tallest re-corded cricketer to haveplayed (for Essex andNottinghamshire counties)the game at the First Classlevel.

Speaking, exclusivelyagain, from London, wherehe was celebrating the X’masholidays with his family, hesaid, “it is more advanta-geous to be a tall bowler Ithink. The extra bounce youcan extract from the wicketfrom being tall is a big advan-tage-just look at StephenFinn. But there are many ad-vantages to being tall whenyou bat as well. Having longlevers is only good if you canmake the most of them. Tallbatsmen need to still be ableto keep their head and eyeslevel and flex their knees tohelp them move quickly intogood batting positions”.

Jefferson played withsome great Pakistani cricket-ers over the years, AbdurRazzak recently and DanishKaneria at Essex. He alsofaced Wasim Akram and

Waqar Younis on a tour ofEngland in 2000.

“I enjoyed fielding in theslips in my career and beingtall was a huge help in thisposition. But you need topractise keeping low a lot ofthe time and not coming uptoo early. Being tall you canreach balls having long armsthat other. shorter playerscannot reach”, he added.

“Also, when you are tall,it is important to get you inthe right positions on thepitch during one day and 20/20 games. Long off and Longon are good to try and catchballs that might be going forsix into the crowd! And coverand mid wicket when the spinbowlers are on in one daycricket as you are in thebatsmen’s eye line and theymight be concerned about try-ing to get the ball over you”.

“My message to Mr Irfanwould be to work hard on hisfootwork and his coremuscles, and also his divingand sliding technique ascricket now expects every-

MELBOURNE: Another century for Michael Clarke in 2012 break the record of Ricky Ponting during Australia vsSri Lanka, 2nd Test.

one to be an athletic fielder,no matter what size or shapeyou are”.

“My height might haveheld me back from playinginternational cricket as mychance came and went in2004/05 when I was at mypeak. I worked incrediblyhard at my fitness and havefinished my career with noregrets-only a bad back andhip! Being tall does put morestresses and strains onyour body so one word ofadvice would be to look af-ter your body for the longterm-not just the short termof playing the game”, headded further.

Stating about his familyhistory, he added, “My fa-ther, Richard Jeffersonplayed for Surrey in the early1960’s and was a very tallfast medium bowler whocould bat. He was 6"7 inchestall. I have a tall brother andtwo tall sisters as well, andalready my nieces and neph-ews are looking like they aregoing to be tall as well”.

M E L B O U R N E — M i c h a e lClarke struck a sublime cen-tury to become his country’shighest Test run-scorer in acalendar year as Australiamarched to an imperious 278-run lead at the close of daytwo of the second Testagainst Sri Lanka on Thurs-day.

The Australia skipper,enjoying an inspirational2012, surpassed the 1,544runs Ricky Ponting amassedin 2005 during his innings of106, before tail-ender MitchellJohnson rubbed salt into SriLanka’s wounds with an un-beaten 73.

Nathan Lyon, yet toscore, strode off withJohnson, with Australia hav-ing added 108 runs in thesession after tea to drive their

total to an imposing 440-8 atthe Melbourne CricketGround.

Sri Lanka, skittled for 156on day one, had only a six-run lead to protect at the startof the day’s play and theirhopes of restricting the hostsdiminished with a hamstringinjury to seamer ChanakaWelegedera in the morningsession.

The remaining bowlershad little assistance from aflattening pitch on a gustyday and were put to thesword by Clarke and ShaneWatson, who composed arecord-breaking fourth-wicket stand of 194 againstSri Lanka at the MCG.

Clarke’s fifth test ton ofthe year, his first at the MCGand 22nd of his career, pro-

pelled him to 1,595 runs forthe year and fourth on the all-time list behind MohammadYousuf (1,788 runs), VivRichards (1,710) and GraemeSmith (1,656).

The 31-year-old’s dis-missal, slashing a ShamindaEranga delivery to his coun-terpart Mahela Jayawardenein the slips, broke his perfectrecord of scoring at least adouble-century once he sur-passed 100 in 2012.

It also sparked a mini-col-lapse as Watson (83) andMatthew Wade (1) fell inquick succession to ill-con-ceived hook-shots, bothcaught in the deep before tea.

Watson’s half-centurywas his first in eight inningsand a welcome return toform, but the barrel-chestedall-rounder will rue anotherlost chance to score his thirdTest century.

The quick wickets gaveSri Lanka faint hope of sav-ing the match but they wereplunged back into the mirewith a defiant seventh wicketstand of 61 from middle or-der batsman Mike Husseyand Johnson.

Hussey was caught for 34shortly before the drinksbreak, with a mis-timed slogto long on off the bowling ofpart-time spinner TillakaratneDilshan.

Pint-sized spinner

Rangana Herath put in a bidfor catch-of-the-year as hescampered to his left andplucked an extraordinary,lunging catch with the thumband forefinger on his lefthand to draw kowtows fromthe crowd.

Johnson, who ledAustralia’s first innings bowl-ing with a four-wicket haul,marched on with seamer Pe-ter Siddle and raised his sev-enth half-century with a pushto mid-on for two.

Siddle was removed for 13with a blinding catch toJayawardene in the slips togive Eranga a second wicket.

It was again a day of lostopportunities for Sri Lanka,however, who dropped bothClarke and Watson late onday two.

Clarke survived anotherlife three overs before lunchwhen on 58, whenJayawardene spilled a sharpchance in the slips from spin-ner Rangana Herath.

Mike Hussey also had alife on seven when he wasdropped by replacementwicketkeeper KumarSangakkara.

Sri Lanka were already aman down beforeWelegedara’s injury, withwicketkeeper PrasannaJayawardene suffering abroken thumb on dayone.—AFP

Clarke breaks Ponting record,heaps misery on Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 1st Innings:156Australia 1st Innings (150for 3 overnight)Cowan c M Jayawardeneb Prasad .......................... 36Warner c Prasadb Mathews ..................... 62P. Hughes run out ......... 10Watson b Prasad ........... 83Clarke b Eranga ........... 106M. Hussey c Herathb Dilshan ........................ 34Wade c Eranga b Prasad 1Johnson not out ............ 73

Siddle b Eranga ............. 13N. Lyon not out ............... 0Extras: (b9, lb5, w6, nb2)22Total: (8 wkts) .............. 440Fall of wickets: 1-95, 2-117,3-117, 4-311, 5-313, 6-315, 7-376, 8-434Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WWelegedara ..... 14.4-6-38-0Eranga ............ 26.2-2-106-2Prasad ............... 24-2-102-3Mathews ............ 13-3-47-1Herath ................. 39-7-95-0Dilshan ............... 12-1-38-1

KARACHI—With an inten-tion of hosting India in Au-gust next year, the PakistanCricket Board has convincedits West Indies counterpartto not split the nationalteam’s scheduled tour to theCaribbean and instead playa full series in July.

The sources in the PCBconfirmed that Pakistan willnow be travelling to the WestIndies in July 2013 to play afull series of two Tests, fiveODIs and a Twenty20 Inter-national, reported PTI.

“The problem is nowsorted out and our team willbe touring (WIndies) in Julyas planned earlier,” a sourcesaid.

The tour had ran intotrouble when the WestIndies cricket board sug-gested to the PCB to eitherpostpone the series by a fewweeks or to split the tour asthey wanted to host Indiaand Sri Lanka for a short ODIseries, also in July.

But the PCB insisted onthe tour in July as it is plan-ning to convince the Board ofControl for Cricket in India(BCCI) to play a series in Au-gust when both teams havewindows open in the period inthe ICC future tours program.

“Pakistan is very hopefuland keen that India can beconvinced to come to Paki-

Pak to play full seriesin West Indies in July

stan because India has madeit clear it does not have apolicy of playing any bilat-eral series in a third country,”the source said.

He said due to good con-nections and relations thatthe PCB Chairman ZakaAshraf has with the Govern-ment and authorities and be-cause of the confidence re-posed in him by the Board’sChief Patron, President AsifZardari, the board was hope-ful it could get the Govern-ment to give an assurance offoolproof security for the In-dian team.

“Since bilateral ties have

resumed after five years (asIndia and Pakistan are play-ing each other currently inIndia) and presently there islot of positivity in relationsbetween the two boards,there is a good chance thatIndia might listen to the sug-gestion of playing in Au-gust,” another source said.

Ashraf is due to leave forIndia later this week where heis expected to have discussionswith officials of the BCCI.

Pakistan has not hostedany Test side at home sinceMarch, 2009 when militantsattacked the Sri Lanka cricketteam in Lahore.—Online

LAHORE: KPK karate players demonstrating Kata during National Games.

AHMEDABAD—A fabled ri-valry was renewed after afive-year hiatus with acracking match in Banga-lore. The track wasn’t theusual Twenty20 bowler-kill-ing slab, having enoughspice to interest the quicks.There were collapses,fightbacks and some heatedmoments, before ShoaibMalik enhanced his reputa-tion for raising his gameagainst India with a half-century that was topped offby a match-winning six inthe final over. Ahmedabadfans will hope for similarthrills, but a different result,on Friday.

The IPL is regularly putforth as one of the reasonsfor India’s Test decline.While that argument has di-vided opinion, the IPLdoesn’t seem to have donemuch to improve India’sTwenty20 performances ei-

India vs Pakistan, 2nd T20

Sound bowling optionsgive Pakistan edge

ther. Their previous threeWorld Twenty20 campaignshave been lacklustre, andwhile the batting is more orless settled, no bowler hasyet nailed yet his place in theXI.

The one spinner who haddone that , R Ashwin, wassurprisingly left out of thefirst T20, a move thatMohammad Hafeez sug-gested helped Pakistan.

In contrast, Pakistanhave a plethora of bowlingoptions, with Hafeez playingas a genuine allrounder, andMalik and Shahid Afridi ableto contribute with both batand ball. They also have twoof the most successful T20bowlers in Saeed Ajmal andUmar Gul, who combined totrigger India’s astonishinglate-innings slide in Banga-lore. The home side’s battingneeds to find a way to nego-tiate them, if they are to stand

a serious chance of levellingthe series.

A noisy ChinnaswamyStadium become even moredeafeningly loud whendebutant seam bowlerBhuvneshwar Kumar got theball to snake both ways, cas-tling two Pakistan batsmanand having another caughtbehind. It was not just theswerving deliveries that ex-cited the fans but the man-ner in which he set up thedismissals. It was a dreamstart for Bhuvneshwar, butcan he repeat the magic orwas it a one-off? Ahmedabadwill give us a clue.

Another new-ball bowlerwho didn’t just catch the eye,but demanded attention withhis towering frame wasMohammad Irfan. He wasregularly around the 90mphmark, troubling the Indiabatsmen with his pace andbounce.

Lehmann rapped,fined for Samuels

remarksSYDNEY—Brisbane Heatcoach Darren Lehmann wasThursday officially repri-manded and slapped with asuspended fine by cricketofficials after questioning thebowling action of West In-dian Marlon Samuels.

Cricket Australia saidLehmann was convicted ofbreaching the Code ofBehaviour with remarks in amedia interview after theHeat’s loss to the MelbourneRenegades in Australia’sTwenty20 Big Bash Leagueon Saturday night.

“At a hearing today, Com-missioner John Price foundLehmann guilty of breachingRule nine: Detrimental PublicComment,” the governingbody said. “Lehmann receivedan official reprimand and aAus$3,000 fine suspended fortwo years.”

The Heat coach ques-tioned why Samuels, whosebowling has often come un-der scrutiny in a turbulentcareer, was allowed to playin the Big Bash League whenhe was banned from bowlingin the Indian Premier Leaguedue to suspect action.

“If he is deemed legal,I’m totally understanding ofthat. But from my point ofview, from 20 years’ cricket, Ihave got a problem with120kmh off no steps,”Lehmann said.—AFP

IIUI win T-20Inter-varsitiesChampionship

SPORTS REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—InternationalIslamic University (IIU)cricket team won the T-20Preston Inter universitiescricket cup 2012.

The final match playedbetween International Is-lamic University and PrestonUniversity Islamabad atShalimar cricket ground onWednesday.

The Captain of Interna-tional Islamic UniversityShayan Ejaz won the toss andelected to bat first and set thetotal of 98 runs within 12overs.

Awais Ali was highestscorer and remained not outwith 20 runs. It was not a bigtotal but IIUI spinners againplayed a key role to defendlow total.

The batsmen of PrestonUniversity could not facespin-bowling attack of IIUIand lost match by 25 runs.Mohammad Saad, KhalilDogar and Faisal Saleemtook 2 wickets each.

A TWO-year study of nearly 190,000 girlsand women, finds that Gardasil, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

made by Merck & Co, does not trigger autoim-mune disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid ar-thritis, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.The results are published inthe Journal of Internal Medi-cine. Study lead author DrChun Chao, a research scien-tist at the Kaiser PermanenteDepartment of Research &Evaluation in Pasadena, Cali-fornia, said in a statement re-leased on Friday, that:

“This kind of safety infor-mation may help parents withvaccination decisions.”

“”These findings offersome assurance that among alarge and generalizable femalepopulation, no safety signal forautoimmune conditions wasfound following HPV4 vacci-nation in routine clinical use,”said Chao. Gardasil is a“quadrivalent” vaccine be-cause it helps protect against 4 types of HPV. Ingirls and young women age 9 to 26, it targets 2types that cause about 75% of cervical cancers,and 2 other types that cause 90% of cases of geni-tal warts. The vaccine, which is given as threeinjections over six months, also helps protect boysand men age 9 to 26 against 90% of cases of geni-tal warts. Genital warts is the most common sexu-ally transmitted infection in the US, where it in-fects about 6.2 million people every year. It canalso lead to cervical cancer in women.

Gardasil received US Food and Drug Ad-ministration (FDA) approval in 2006. But alongstanding concern about links with autoim-mune disorders has surrounded the vaccine, and

many parents won’t let their children be vacci-nated because of this.

However, Chao and fellow co-investiga-tors from Kaiser Permanente told the press“most speculated associations have stemmedfrom case reports that have not been confirmed

by large, controlled epidemio-logic studies”, and their inves-tigation “presents findingsfrom a well-designed, post-li-censure safety study of the vac-cine on a large, ethnically di-verse population”.For thestudy, Chao and colleaguesused electronic health recordsof 189,629 girls and womenage 9 to 26 years in California.The participants had been fol-lowed for six months after re-ceiving each dose of thequadrivalent HPV vaccine in2006-2008.

They found no increase inany of 16 autoimmune disor-ders in the vaccinated popula-tion compared to a matchedpopulation of non-vaccinated

girls and women. The 16 autoimmune disor-ders they looked for were: immune thromb-ocytopenia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia,systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid ar-thritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 dia-betes, Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease,multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encepha-lomyelitis, other demyelinating diseases of thecentral nervous system, vaccine-associated de-myelination, Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuro-myelitis optica, optic neuritis and uveitis.”Theresearchers explained that the clinical trial dataon the vaccine, and the subsequent adverseevent reports, have important limitations whenit comes to assessing its safety profile.

HPV vaccine not linked toautoimmune disorders

KARACHI: People attend the funeral prayers for assistant Amir Jamat-e-Islami Pakistan Professor Ghafoor Ahmed at new M.A Jinnah roadon Thursday: PO photo by Imran Gilani.

KARACHI: Dr. Abdul Qadeer awarding fellowship diploma to Ayaz Mirza at Institute ofEngineers Convocation on Thursday.

KARACHI: Maulana Sami-ul-Haq speaks during All Parties Conference organized by Difa-e-Pakistan Council at Idara Noor-e-Haq.

KARACHI: Advisor to Chief Minister Sindh Sharmila Farooqi, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig,Kristin Hawerth of US Consulate posing for a group photo with participants of ceremonyorganized by Make-A-Wish in collaboration with Sheraton Hotel to grant the wishes offour children with life threatening illnesses.

KARACHI—Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan has completed 10years as the Governor ofSindh,on December 27 in theyear 2002 Ebad was appointedas the 31st Governor of theProvince. President Asif AliZardari on Tuesday had con-ferred ‘Nishan-i-Imtiaz’ onSindh Governor, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, in recognition ofhis meritorious services in thefield of public service at a spe-cial ceremony held at the Gov-ernor House here.

He has the distinction ofbeing the youngest and long-est serving Governor of theProvince of Sindh.

People from every walk oflife appreciate and acknowl-

Ebad completes 10 years as Governoredge the administrative abili-ties, acumen, sagacity, toler-ance, humbleness as well asthe commitment and hardwork of Dr. Ishrat. In recogni-tion of his services in therealms of public service, Presi-dent Asif Ali Zaradri conferredon him the ‘Nishan-i-Imtiaz’.As the Governor of Sindh, Dr.Ishrat fostered unity and cohe-siveness among various com-munities and people in theprovince.

He also worked for foster-ing the inter-faith harmony andfaced the challenges confront-ing the society. Ebad also un-dertook efforts for the develop-ment of the city of karachi aswell as other areas in the prov-

ince and initiated quite a num-ber of development projects forthe infrastructure development.He also served the people of theprovince without any distinc-tion, convened high-level meet-ings for the resolution of theproblems of people.

Dr. Ishrat established Leg-ends Trust , Bagh-i-IbneQasim, besides promotion ofeducation,health facilities andnumerous public serviceprojects.

The credit for all hisachievements goes to the Chiefof the Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment (MQM), Altaf Hussain,who constantly guided and en-courage him in his public ser-vice endeavours.—APP

MQM tosupport change

for progressKARACHI—MQM leader andfederal minister Farooq Sattarhas said that all political forcesshould have a united stance overnational agenda. Talking to me-dia in Karachi on Thursday hesaid MQM will support everyvice of change for progress of thecountry. Farooq Sattar said ac-cording to legal experts new de-limitation is illegal. He said theattitude secretary election is bi-ased against his party.—Online

Inoculation startsfor protection

against measlesKARACHI—The vaccinationcampaign has started in sevendistricts of Sindh for the protec-tion against measles. This wasstated by the Sindh health Min-ister, Dr. Sagheer Ahmed, hereon Thursday. He pointed out thatduring the campaign three mil-lion children in the age group ofnine months to 10 years wouldbe inoculated in Sukkur,Khairpur, Shikarpur, Larkana,Kambar, Jacobabad andKashmore. Dr. Sagheer said thatthe Provincial Health Depart-ment is making efforts for theprotection against measles. Healso warned that no derelictionwould be tolerated in the cam-paign against measles.—APP

Governor’smessage onUrs of ShahLatif Bhittai

KARACHI–Sindh Governor,Dr.Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan onThursday called for followingthe teachings and message offamous sufi and poet of Sindh,Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittaito establish ever lasting peaceand promote unity, brotherhoodand affection in the country.

The Sindh Governor saidthis in his message on the eveof 269th Urs of Hazrat ShahAbdul Latif Bhittai (R.A). Hesaid that Hazrat Shah AbdulLatif Bhittai (R.A) spread themessage of peace, love and bet-terment and welfare ofmasses.—APP

PPP leadersorganize Fatehafor Shaheed BB

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Quran khawani andFateha were arranged for the soulof former prime minister, ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto on herfifth death anniversary by Paki-stan People’s Party (PPP), atGulistan-e-Johar and PehelwanGoth here on Thursday. TheQuran khawani and Fateha werearranged at the residences of PPPleaders Noor Muhammad andSaleemuddin Ansari. Later, ad-dressing the gathering, the PPPleader paid a glowing tribute toShaheed Mohtarma BenazirBhutto. The PPP leaders andworkers also reposed full confi-dence in the party leadership.

‘Sacrifices ofShaheed BB

would beremembered’

KARACHI—Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) chief AltafHussain has paid rich tributes toformer prime minister and chair-person of the Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) Benazir Bhutto onher fifth death anniversary.

In a statement issued by theMQM here on Thursday, Altafsaid that Shaheed BenazirBhutto waged long struggle forthe revival of democracy in thecountry and for its continuation.Ultimately, she laid her life forthe sake of democracy. Hehailed her as the martyr of de-mocracy and said that her ser-vices and sacrifices for democ-racy would always be remem-bered. He sympathized withPresident Asif Ali Zardari, herchildren,leaders and workers ofthe PPP.—NNI

CNG closureKARACHI–Sui Southern GasCompany (SSGC) has announcedthe schedule for closure of CNGstations for the current week. Ac-cording to the media release ofSSGC, all the CNG stations inSindh will remain closed for 48hours from 08:00 am on Friday till08:00 am on Sunday. This step isbeing taken by the gas utility to im-prove the line pack position all overSindh province, which has beenbadly disturbed due to short sup-ply of gas from different gas fieldscausing depletion of line pack andlow pressure in the system, thespokes person of SSGC dis-closed.—APP

Dr Siddiquihospitalized

KARACHI—Prof. Dr.Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, presi-dent of Anjuman Tarraqi PasandMusanafeen, and a prominentcolumnist, is ill and admitted ata local hospital. This was statedby the family members onThursday. They appealed to thepeople to pray for his early re-covery.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—A new clinic pro-viding essential primary medi-cal care as well as emergencyand obstetric services has beenopened in Machar Colony bythe international medical hu-manitarian associat ionMedecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders(MSF) together with SinaHealth, Education and WelfareTrust (SINA).

An announcement here on

Clinic for emergencyprimary healthcare opens

Thursday said that the denselypopulated Machar Colony is situ-ated on the periphery of theKarachi Fish Harbour and haswitnessed a rapid increase in itspopulation over the past 30 years.

I t said that pollution,population density, a lack ofproper sanitation and a short-age of affordable healthcareall increase the vulnerabilityof Machar Colony residentsto preventable diseases likediarrhoea and respiratorytract infections.

The clinic first opened itsdoors in mid-October 2012, andin its first month more than 100consultations took place daily.All medicine and medical ser-vices are free, including pri-mary healthcare, 24-hour emer-gency services and a deliveryunit. ‘There are many commu-nities and diverse ethnicitiespresent in Machar Colony, andthe clinic is open to anyoneneeding medical attention’, saidDr Declan Barry, MSF medicalrepresentative in Karachi.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The 45th Convoca-tion of the Institute of EngineersPakistan was held here at Insti-tute of Engineers Pakistan Build-ing. A statement here on Thurs-day said that eminent nuclearscientist Dr. A.Q. Khan, presidedover.

Speaking on the occasion he

Institute of Engineers convocationsaid that he was proud to be anengineer because engineeringpractice clearly demarcated thelaws of betterment of the man-kind and real foundation of thenew world. He said today engi-neers are universally regardedas a symbol of Science, Experi-ment and Invention.

He added that the founda-tion of Federation of Engineer-

ing Institute South Central Asiais worthy as the exchange ofnew ideas and information toprotect the earth quakes in theworld.

Dr. A.Q. Khan awarded theFellow Diploma to Engr.SyedJamshed Rizvi, Engr M. ZafarZubairi, Engr Sultan Mehmood,Engr Ayaz Mirza, Engr SohailBashir and Engr Farhat Adil.

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Hundreds of activ-ists and supporters of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) and notables from vari-ous politico-religious parties at-tended the funeral prayers of JIleader Professor Abdul Ghafoorwho had died Wednesday. Thefuneral prayer was offered at theNew M.A Jinnah Road where JIAmir Syed Munawar Hasan ledthe prayer after which the coffinwas taken to Sakhi Hassan grave-yard for burial.

Speaking on the occasion,Hasan recalled and lauded thepolitical struggle of Prof. Ahmadfor uniting the politico-religiousparties in the deeply-dividedcountry, “No doubt ProfessorGhafoor Ahmad is the name of a

Professor GhafoorAhmad laid to rest

single person but he was an acad-emy and an organization in itself.He had the unique skills of su-ing reconciliation policy to unitpeople for mutual-politics,” hesaid. Hasan said Prof. Ahmadunited people by the time whenthey were about to kill each oth-ers. “This soil had no constitu-tion and Ghafoor Sahab playeda vital role in formulating con-stitution for the country.”

Senator MushahidullahKhan of PML-N expressed hisgrief on the demise of Prof.Ahmad and said he was an im-pressive politician. “There arevery few people in Pakistan whoworked for the unity of all thepolitical parties in the country. Heused to say that he came to thisworld alone and will go away

alone and now he went alone.” Maulana Nasir Abbas Jafferi

and Maulana Mirza YousufHussain of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, MaulanaMohammad Ahmed Ludhianviof Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, AmirKhan of MQM, Arif Alvi of Pa-kistan Tehreek-e-Insaf,Noorullah Achakzai of ANP,Senator Mushahidullah Khanand Saleem Zia of PML-N, PirAbdul Shakoor Naqshbandi ofJamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI),Imtiaz Sheikh of Pakistan Mus-lim League Functional, SheikhRasheed Ahmed and leaders ofJI including, Qazi HussainAhmed, Asadullah Bhutto,Naimatullah Khan, MuhammadHussian Mehnati and others at-tended the funeral.

WHEN children have food allergies, their parents have to constantly watch out for allergens

and be prepared for a possible reaction.Another concern, and one that is

often overlooked, is bullying. A newstudy, published onlinein the journal Pediatricson Monday, found thatmore than 30 percent ofchildren have been ha-rassed by their class-mates because of their al-lergies, and that parentsare only aware of it abouthalf of the time. It’s veryeasy to intimidate a food-allergic child,” said studyauthor Dr. Eyal Shemesh,chief of the division ofbehavioral and develop-mental health in the De-partment of Pediatrics atMount Sinai MedicalCenter in New York. “Itdoesn’t take more thanwaving a peanut in frontof them.”

Shemesh and his colleagues sur-veyed 251 families recruited at a food al-lergy clinic. Overall, 45 percent of thechildren and teens — who were betweenthe ages of 8 and 17 — said they’d beenbullied, and 31.5 percent said it was be-cause of their food allergy.

The bullying was most likely to hap-pen while they were in school and in-cluded others teasing them, waving foodin their face, throwing food at them, orforcing them to touch the food that trig-gers their allergies. The more frequentthe bullying, the worse the child’s qual-

Food allergies, bullyingoften linked

ity of life, the study found. But just oneinstance of bullying took a toll on kids’happiness, according to self-reports.The study also showed thereis a significant gap in how much par-ents know about bullying — they only

knew about 50 percent ofthe cases of harassment.When moms and dads didknow about the bullying,their children reported ahigher quality of life, whichsuggests that parents canhelp, Shemesh said.

“Parents should ask,not in an alarming way,something like, ‘Do peoplebother you at school oranywhere? Do peoplebother you about the al-lergy?’” he said. Doctors,whether they are pediatri-cians or allergy specialists,should also be aware ofpossible food-related bul-lying and speak up.

“Clinicians should notbe intimidated or think that children willnot talk to them about it,” Shemeshsaid. “This study shows theywill.”Nearly six million children, or 8 per-cent of kids in the U.S., have food al-lergies.

A 2008 Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention study reportedan 18 percent increase in food aller-gies in the U.S. in the last decade forreasons that continue baffle scientists.Allergic reactions can be very serious:A 2011 study found that every threeminutes, a food allergy reaction landssomeone in the emergency room.

LAHORE: PPP workers offering Fateha to mark the 5th death anniversary of ShaheedMohtarma Benazir Bhutto at Faisal Town.

LAHORE: PML-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif meeting with Gohar Ayub, Zaffar Iqbal Jhagra and otherleaders.

LAHORE: Activists of World Pasban Khatm-e-Nabowat burning the Indian flag duringdemonstration outside Press Club.

Efforts on toarrest Touqeer

Sadiq: IGPLAHORE—Inspector Generalof Police (IGP), Punjab, HajiHabib-ur-Rehman has saidthat former OGRA chairman,Tauqeer Sadiq is abroad,however, all out efforts arebeing made to arrest him tillDecember 31.

Speaking to media in‘Meet the Press’ at LahorePress Club on Thursday, hesaid the Supreme Court hadgiven a target to police forthe arrest of Tauqeer Sadiq.

He said that stringent mea-sures had been adopted tomake Punjab crime free prov-ince, adding 60 police officialshad been martyred in 350 en-counters in the province. Heassured that he would soongive good news about thebreakthrough in ShahbazTaseer’s kidnap and an Ameri-can citizen who was kidnappedfrom Model Town Lahore.

He said that he was wish-ing to changing uniform ofpolice but other police offic-ers did not support.—APP

Quran Khawanifor Benazir heldL A H O R E — P a k i s t a nPeople’s Party Punjab onThursday held a QuranKhawani and Dua forShaheed Benazir Bhutto onher 5th death anniversaryhere at PPP Punjab office.

Allama MuhammadYousaf Awan offered dua andFateha for the departed soul.

PPP workers reiteratedtheir commitment to con-tinue the mission ofShaheed Benazir Bhuttowho laid down her life for thesake of democracy and fed-eration.

A large number of PPPworkers and leaders includingHasnat Shah, Altaf Quershi,Iqbal Sialvi, Manzoor andothers were present on the oc-casion.—APP

‘One Pound Fish’singer arrives

LAHORE —Shahid Nazir, thePakistani who shot to famefor his song ‘One PoundFish’ arrived in Lahore onThursday.

Upon his arrival Nazirsaid he would be visitingFrance in two weeks andhad returned to Pakistan toobtain his visa. Nazir deniedreports in the media that hehad been deported fromBritain.—Online

STAFF REPORTER

LA H O R E —Delay in ac-cess to heal th fac i l i t iesdue to non-avai labi l i tyand high cost of transportare the main reasons ofcasulties during and afterdelivery cases particularlyin rural areas of the coun-try.

This was identified byResearch and AdvocacyFirm (RAF) in i ts recentstudy, said a spokesman ofRAF here Thursday.

The RAF is working toidentify research and advo-cacy gaps maternal andnewborn child health(MNCH) si tuat ion in thecountry.

He said, more than 320women out of 100,000 died

during delivery and postdelivery cases. Similarlynearly 78 children out of1000 died within 24 hoursof their birth.

The experts are con-ducting further in-depthstudy and research ofthese problems to deviselocally relevant solutionsto overcome it, he said.

The recommendationsbased on the further studyand research would be pre-sented to thepolicymakers, provincial/distr ict government gov-ernments, local health pro-viders and communitystakeholders and decision-makers for taking necessarysteps to control casualtiesduring delivery and soonafter delivery.

Delay in access to health centrescauses mother, child mortalities

STAFF REPORTER

LA H O R E —Lahore Cham-ber of Commerce and In-dustry on Thursday de-manded the Punjab govern-ment to launch operationagainst encroachmentswhich are not only creatinghurdles in the smooth flowof traffic but also adding tocost of doing business.

The demand was raisedby the Convener StandingCommittee on Local Gov-ernment Affairs Ilyas MajidSheikh at a meeting held atthe Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry onThursday.

He said that LCCI mem-bers appreciated Punjabgovernment’s act ion

LCCI demandsanti-encroachment drive

against encroachments afew months back but sincethey are propping up againand hence, there was aneed to re-launch the op-erat ion. “A hurdle freemovement of vehicles is amust for timely delivery ofgoods .”

He also stressed theneed for construction ofparking plazas in andaround the city markets sothat shoppers and the busi-nessmen could conducttheir respective activitieswith a peace of mind.

“Parking Plazas is direlyneeded in the ci ty ofLahore to avoid haphazardparking of vehicles that of-ten causes accidents,” headded.

On Commercialisationfee issue, there was a con-sensus among the partici-pants that this fee must notbe charged from those mar-kets that were establishedbefore partition.

The district administra-tion during ongoing driveconducted raids on 574shops and challaned 126for profiteering and hoard-ing. Official sources statedthat seven cases were reg-istered besides imposing afine of worth Rs. 89,450against profiteers.

DCO Noorul AminMengal instructed themagistrates to continuecrackdown to ensure saleof commodities on controlrates.

STAFF REPORTER

LA H O R E—Hundreds ofmotorists staged a protestdemonstration against theclosure of CNG station forthe fourth consecutive dayat Jail road on Thursday.

The protesters mainlyrickshaw drivers blockedbusiest road of the city andchanted slogans against of-ficials of SNGPL.

They were of the viewthat three days gas holidayhad already dwindled theirincome and now closure ofCNG stations for yet an-other day would bring noth-ing but starvation to theirfamilies.

Later, a contingent of

Demo against CNG closurepolice dispersed the pro-testers and cleared the ve-hicular traffic.

The motorists and com-muters had to face severehardships due to closure ofCNG stations in differentareas of Punjab on Thurs-day, fourth consecutiveday.

According to ManagingDirector (MD), Sui NorthernGas Pipelines Limited,(SNGPL) Arif Hameed, CNGstations in Lahore, Multan,Sahiwal, Sheikhupura,Multan and Sahiwal citieswere shut for another daydue to low gas pressure toensure supply for the do-mestic consumers.

The supply to the CNG

stations was to be resumedon Thursday after a three-day closure but low pres-sure has compelled the util-ity to cut the supply for an-other day and now it wouldbe opened on Friday (to-day).

People had been facingsevere difficulties due tothe extended closure ofCNG stations. Commutershad to suffer as they weredenied the relativelycheaper fuel by gas sta-tions.

The prevailing situationhad not only been disturb-ing daily life of the citizens,but was also proving prob-lematic for office goingpeople.

Prof Ghafoor’sdeath condoledLAHORE—Jamaat-e-IslamiPunjab has expressed pro-found grief and sorrowover the demise of JI NaibAmeer Prof GhafoorAhmed.

JI Punjab Ameer DrSayed Waseem Akhtar, Sec-retary General Nazir Janjua,Naib Ameer Amirul Azim andothers in a condolencemessage to the bereavedfamily of Prof GhafoorAhmed, said that his deathhad deprived the country ofa seasoned politician.

They prayed that mayAllah Almighty rest the de-parted soul in eternal peaceand grant courage to thebereaved family to bear theloss with equanimity.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have ex-pressed their sorrow overthe demise of JI Naib AmeerProf Ghafoor Ahmed.

In a condolence mes-sage here on Thursday,Ahsan Rasheed, AbdulAleem Khan, Jamshed IqbalCheema, Sardar Kamil Umarand others prayed to the Al-mighty to rest the departedsoul in eternal peace andgrant courage and patienceto the bereaved family tobear this loss.—APP

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—District Coordi-nation Officer (DCO) LahoreNoor ul Amin Mengal hassaid that City District Gov-ernment Lahore would pro-vide all outstanding arrange-ments on the occasion ofChehlum Hazrat ImamHussain (RA) and Urs HazratData Gunj Bukhsh Hajvari(RA).

He said that Islamteaches us to remain in a so-ciety with peaceful co-exist-ence and to promote broth-erhood among Muslims.

He expressed these viewswhile chairing a meeting inconnection with the arrange-ments of Chehlum of HazratImam Hussain (RA) and Ursof Hazrat Data Gunj BukhshHajvari (RA) at Town Hall onThursday.

SP (City) Multan Khan,DO (C) Sahibzadi WaseemaUmar, AC (City) Saira Umar,EDO (Health), Syed AjmalHussain Naqvi, TouqeerBaba, Allama MushtaqHussain Jaffri, Arif HussainShah, Amir Ali Zaidi, DSP

Befitting arrangements onImam Hussain (RA) Chehlum

Special Branch, Syed JafferAli, Syed Arif Ali Zaidi, SyedKhurram Naqvi, Syed AhmadAbbas, TMOs and TORs ofall Towns were present onthe occasion.

Mengal revealed thatpeople, who are involved inpromoting sectarianism inCity and destroying thepeaceful environment ofCity, had no place in Lahore.

He also directed the offi-cials concerned to remove allbanners having sectarianismstatements. While discussingthe security arrangements ofUrs of Data Gunj Buksh (RA)and Chehlum of Hazrat ImamHussain (RA), Noor-ul-AminMengal told that as many as100 CCTV Cameras would beinstalled at different sensi-tive points on way ofChehlum route and at DataDarbar. He also directed theofficials of WASA, LWMC,Rescue 1122, Health, Police,Traffic, Sui Gas, TEPA,LESCO and TMA to preparetheir arrangement plans andto sumbit them at DCO Of-fice. He also directed policeto installed walk through

gates on the entrance pointsof Chehlum Procession andUrs.

Mengal also announcedthat he would himself payvisit of the spot to check thearraignments. Shia leadersappreciated DCO Lahore fortaking excellent securitysteps on the occasion of 10thof Muharram and hoped forthe same arrangements onthe Chehlum Procession ofHazrat Imam Hussain (RA).

Fake spiritualleaders nabbed

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—District Coordi-nation Officer (DCO) LahoreNoor-ul-Amin Mengal hassaid that eight fake spiritualleaders had been arrested sofar in an ongoing crackdowncampaign against them in allthe nine towns of the capitalmetropolis.

While talking to mediapersons at Town Hall in apress briefing here on Thurs-day, Mengal said that fakespiritual healers were lootingthe innocent people who vis-ited them for seeking the so-lution of different problems.

He said that fake Peershad no place in Lahore andas many as 8 fake spiritualhealers had been arrested sofar under the section of 420of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Wooden plankwriting habit

goes offLAHORE—A traditional wayof using wooden plank(Takhti) for improving hand-writing and creativity of stu-dents in schools is beinglost.

‘Sound of first stroke ofQalam (pen) on plank creat-ing strange scratches alwayshits very deep to my mindand inspired me to bring myexpression on the canvas,said Manzoor Solangi, an art-ist from Hyderabad, here onWednesday.

Solangi’s paintings, in-cluding ‘Takhti’ are exhibitedin an exhibition of paintingsto be inaugurated at Art Gal-lery 70 Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam Regal Chowk here onFriday.

The exhibition will con-tinue from 10.30am to 6:00pmtill January 8.

Amjad Naeem, HussainChandio, Iqbal AhmedKhokhar, Jam DeparMunawar Mohiuddin areother artists whose work isbeing displayed in the exhibi-tion. Manzoor Ali Solangi said“the tradition was very use-ful but is being lost.”—APP

Railways to runShalimar Night

Coach with privatepartnership

LAHORE—An agreementhas been signed betweenPakistan Railway andShalimar Group to start an-other train through publicprivate partnership.

A simple and impressiveceremony was held here atRailway Headquarters onWednesday. Chairman Rail-way Tariq Azeem and Headof Shalimar Group RanaRafaqat signed the agree-ment. General Manager Op-erations Junaid Qureshi wasalso present on the occasion.

According to the agree-ment, an overnight “NightCoach” train consisting of 14coaches, including one ACsleeper coach, two AC stan-dard, seven economy classcoaches, one power van, oneluggage van, one AC diningcar and one brake van, areplaned to run on a daily ba-sis between Lahore andKarachi Cantt via Faisalabadand Multan in the evening.

The running time of thetrain between Karachi andLahore is 18:00 hours.

The commercial manage-ment of the train wasoutsourced in a Public Pri-vate Partnership through theprocess of advertisement, byinviting bids to M/s ShalimarGroup. The private party willbe responsible to bring sub-stantive changes to valueadding in the service to beprovided to passengers, Pa-kistan Railways would pro-vide locomotives andcoaches with the standardfitting and amenities.

M/s. Shalimar Group of-fered a bid of Rs. 631.95 mil-lion including 70.2% earningcapacity of the train. Theyalso offered to invest Rs.81.838 million in value addi-tion services. M/s ShalimarGroup plan to deposit Rs. 100million for repair of locomo-tives.—APP