Tuesday, 7 May, 2013 Jamadul Sani 26, 1434Rs 17.00 Vol III No 310 19 Pages Lahore Edition

nothing justifiesarmy takeover,says sCSupreme Court Justice Ejaz Afzalon Monday remarked there was nolegal and constitutional justification

in the military overstepping itslimits to take hold of power. Athree-member SC bench presidedover by Justice Jawwad S Khawajatook up the Musharraf treason casefor hearing on Monday. JusticeEjaz Afzal said “the modusoperandi on army’s interference instate affairs is enshrined in theconstitution, which cannot be

breached”. pa g e 0 4

states progress ifrulers are held accountable: CJp Chief Justice of Pakistan IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry said onMonday that only those countriesprogress whose public functionariesperform their duties transparentlyand make themselves available foraccountability without obstructing thedue process of law through abuse of

power and authority. pa g e 1 9

no clear proof ofsyria chemicalarms use: Un DAMASCUS: A UN team ofinvestigators into rights abuses inSyria has stressed there is noconclusive proof of either side in the

conflict using chemical weapons,despite a team member's claims tothe contrary. "The IndependentInternational Commission of Inquiryon the Syrian Arab Republic wishesto clarify that it has not reachedconclusive findings as to the use ofchemical weapons in Syria by anyparties to the conflict," thecommission said in a statement on

Monday. pa g e 0 7

Tensions between Pakistan andAfghanistan flared up on Monday as

fresh border clashes erupted betweenthe neighbouring states, followed byKabul’s warning to Islamabad that itwould bear the consequences in case

of more skirmishes on the sharedfrontier. Pakistani Foreign Ministryalso reacted strongly to a statement

given a day earlier by AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai in which he

said his country would neverrecognise the Durand Line as an

international border.story on page 04

story on page 03

story on page 02

story on page 02

rehman knowshow sharifs’ laundered money

Hashmi slams Nawaz’s ‘irresponsible’ interview to Indian TV

sarabjit was not acase of mistakenidentity, he was a spy!

story on page 04

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LAHORESTAFF REPORT

FoRMER interior minis-ter and Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) leaderRehman Malik on Mon-day launched a scathingattack on the Pakistan

Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), accus-ing Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif ofmoney laundering and illegally transfer-ring money to Saudi Arabia and London.

Addressing a press conference, Malikclaimed to have documentary evidenceabout Sharif brothers’ involvement inmoney laundering. He said that the prop-erty of PML-N leaders in London wassealed over a fake account.

“I will not refrain from speaking trutheven if I am put behind bars,” he said,urging Sharif brothers to share the detailsof money laundering issue with the na-tion. “I invite Nawaz Sharif and ShahbazSharif to prove me wrong,” he chal-lenged.

Malik waved documents before apacked news conference claiming that hepossessed documentary evidence toprove that the Sharif brothers were en-gaged in money laundering.

He also possessed a decade old con-fession letter of PML-N stalwart IshaqDar in which the senior party leader, who

is related to Nawaz Sharif, had admittedthe charges of money laundering.

Ishaq Dar is currently a senator andleader of PML-N in Senate.

ECP investigatingfake ballot scandal ISLAMABAD: CEC Fakhruddin G Ibrahim

on Monday said that investigations had

been initiated into the seizure of 90,000

fake ballot papers recovered by police in

Lower Dir. “We are investigating the

culprits behind the 90,000 fake ballot

papers apprehended in Lower Dir by the

local police. Rest assured I will take

action,” the chief election commissioner

said. The police on Sunday claimed

recovering 90,000 ballot papers from a

vehicle in Lower Dir’s Chakdara area.DIG

Malakand range Obaidullah Khan had said

that the police team had recovered and

confiscated the ballot papers for National

Assembly elections during the search of a

vehicle and that the papers were not

carrying the seal of the Election

Commission of Pakistan and therefore

appeared fake. Two persons were also

taken into custody and were booked

under sections 419, 420, 468 and 471 of

the Pakistan Penal Code. The fake ballot

papers were meant for NA-34

constituency of Lower Dir. Meanwhile,

Election Commission Secretary Ishtiaq

Ahmed hailed the action taken by the

police team saying the preparation and

transportation of ballot papers was being

carried out under military supervision to

minimise risk of ballots leakage and bogus

voting. WEB DESK

12 percent Pakistanissay they won’t vote on election day

ISLAMABAD: Around 12 percent

Pakistanis says that they would not vote

on 11 May, the election day in Pakistan.

With more than 80 million male and female

voters, Pakistan is all set to vote for the

10th general election on next Saturday.

According to a Gilani Research Foundation

Survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan, 59

percent Pakistanis say there is a ‘very high

chance’ that they will vote on election day.

A nationally representative sample of adult

men and women (18 years and above)

from across the four provinces was asked,

“What are the chances that you will go to

vote on Election Day?” Responding to this,

59 percent said ‘very high chance’, 28

percent said ‘somewhat chance’ and 12

percent said ‘no chance at all’. However, 1

percent did not give a response. Among

urban and rural respondents, more rural

respondents said there was a very high

chance that they would vote on Election

Day (64 percent) than urban respondents

(49 percent). This is consistent with the

turnout rate in Pakistan’s previous 9

elections where turnout in rural areas was

higher than the turnout in urban areas.

The study was released by Gilani

foundation and was carried out by Gallup

Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup

International. The recent survey was

carried out among a sample of 2,641

men and women in rural and urban

areas of all four provinces of the country,

during April 15, 2013 to April 21, 2013.

The error margin is estimated to be

approximately ± 2-3 percent at a 95

percent confidence level. NNI

NTuesday, 7 May, 2013

02

NEws

Rehman knows howSharifs’ laundered money

ISLAMABADNNI

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Presi-dent Javed Hashmi on Monday ex-pressed shock at the “irresponsible”interview given by Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderNawaz Sharif to Indian anchor KaranThapar.

Hashmi said that discussing sen-sitive internal military matters on anIndian television channel showedhow “totally ignorant” Nawaz Sharifwas about statecraft and rules of gov-ernance. “Clearly he has gained noth-ing from his repeated experience in

power,” he said. “What business is it of an Indian

channel to know about the internalpromotion issue of a chief of armystaff? Do the Indians ever give accessto such information to any other coun-try especially Pakistan?” Hashmiasked. He said that what was evenmore shocking was Nawaz’s dis-course on Kargil and his plan to pun-ish all the generals involved.

“No one is denying that investiga-tions should be done on these issuesbut these are Pakistan’s internal mat-ters not to be broadcast across an In-dian TV Channel,” Hashmi said.

Furthermore, Hashim said that

Nawaz had implied that he wouldshare the findings of such a report onthe Kargil debacle with India. This,Hashmi said, was truly a “grave vio-lation” of the principle of keeping ex-ternal powers out of Pakistan’sinternal.

Earlier former premier NawazSharif had said he would be the armychief’s “boss” if voted back to powerin the May 11 general elections.

A combative Sharif, whose party iswidely expected to form the next gov-ernment, hinted that the current armychief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayaniwould be replaced by the “senior most”when he retired in November.

Pervez Musharraf’splea referred to asingle bench

LAHOREAPP

A full bench of theLahore High

Court on Mon-day adjournedthe hearingof a petitionfiled byGeneral (r)Pervez

Musharraf forseeking per-

mission to con-test elections from

NA-139 (Kasur) andreferred it before any single bench of the LHC.The full bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan washearing the petition.During the hearing, the bench asked PervezMusharraf’s counsel that the APML had boycottedelections then why had a petition been movedagainst Musharraf’s disqualification.The counsel replied that he wanted to clear hisclient’s position.Adjourning the matter, the bench referred the caseto any single bench of the LHC.Pervez Musharraf, through his petition, assailedthe orders of the returning officer and of the elec-tion tribunal which declared him ineligible to con-test elections from NA-139 (Kasur). He submittedthat although cases were pending against him buthe was not yet convicted in any case.He contended that it was his fundamental right tocontest elections but the returning officer and theelection tribunal declared him ineligible to contestelection from NA-139.He pleaded the court to set aside orders of the re-turning officer and the tribunal and allow him tocontest elections from NA-139.

ISLAMABADINP

The 2013 general elections is thelargest exercise in peace time as 86.1million people will exercise their rightof franchise on May 11, said the Elec-tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP)Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan.

Talking to a Commonwealth del-egation, the secretary said that the ECPwas working in collaboration with allstakeholders to achieve the objectiveof conducting honest, just and credibleelections in the country. “The ECP at-taches great importance to havefriendly relations with international

observers and warmly welcomes elec-tion observers to observe the electionsin Pakistan,” said the secretary.

“For this purpose, the ECP is fa-cilitating these observers during thepre and post election process and isalso providing basic information to allthese observers. Furthermore, the ECPalways welcomes positive observersand their suggestions are given highimportance as this assists us in stream-lining our future plan. Therefore, incase of any violation, observers are re-quested to bring it immediately to thenotice of the ECP,” he said.

Ishtiak Ahmad Khan told the par-ticipants that all decisions of the ECP

had been materialised in the best in-terest of the nation and after due con-sultation with all stakeholders.Furthermore, he said that the ECP hadachieved more than 80 percent of itsgoals as laid down in the StrategicPlan 2010-14. Regarding the law andorder situation in the country, the sec-retary said that the ECP, in consulta-tion with all the law enforcementagencies, has taken all necessarysteps and the federal and provincialgovernments have been directed toensure a conducive environment forthe elections by providing maximumsecurity to both the contesting candi-dates and to the voters.

General elections largestexercise in peace time: ECP secy

Hashmi slams Nawaz’s ‘irresponsible’interview to Indian TV

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NEws N

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Tuesday, 7 May, 2013

PESHAWARSTAFF REPORT

WITH less thana week left be-fore generalelections onMay 11, thee l e c t o r a l

process remained under attack with can-didates and offices of several politicalparties attacked and schools to be usedas polling stations blown up in violencereported from across the country onMonday. JUI-F MEETING BOMBED: At least15 persons were killed and more than 70others were injured in a deadly bombingat an election rally of a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) candidate at Saiwaak

village in Kurram Agency.The JUI-F candidate and former

leader of tribal parliamentarians group,Muneer orakzai remained safe. orakzaiis contesting from NA-38 constituencyof Kurram Agency.

A few minutes after the conclusionof the rally, a huge explosion occurred asorakzai and other JUI-F leaders were ex-iting the stage.

Soon after the explosion, tribesmenstarted rescue activities and shifted theinjured to a hospital in Parachanar. Theysaid that the explosion was so severe thateight people were killed on the spot andover 50 others were critically injured. Anofficial later confirmed death of at least15 people and said 45 injured had beenadmitted to local hospitals.

About the nature of the explosion,the official said that terrorists had plantedthe explosives near the stage. He said itwas an improvised explosive device(IED).

No one has claimed responsibilityfor the attack. However, officials believe

that Taliban terrorists were involved inthe attack.NP CANDIDATE ESCAPES

GRENADE ATTACK : Unidentifiedmen hurled hand grenades at the convoyof National Party (NP) candidate DrAbdul Malik Baloch who is contestingfor provincial assembly seat PB-48.

Sources said a passerby was injuredwhen Dr Malik’s security guard firedshots at the fleeing attackers who man-aged to escape from the scene. The can-didate, however, remained unhurt in theblast. PPP CANDIDATE ATTACKED: Abomb blast targeting an election office ofthe Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) inCharsadda’s Shabqadar Mirzai area in-jured a man. The party’s office was com-pletely destroyed in the attack.POLLING STATIONS BLOWN UP

ACROSS BALOCHISTAN: Fourbuildings, including three polling sta-tions and a health unit, were blown upby unidentified militants across theprovince .According to details, two

girls’ primary schools, which weremade polling stations and a dispensarywere attacked with bombs and rocketsat Nehr Goth in district Barkhan ofBalochistan late Sunday night. How-ever, no loss of life was reported. Thebuilding was partially damaged, Leviessources said.

In another incident, a school wasblown up by a bomb in Mastung area ofBalochistan.TERROR BID FOILED : Securityforces foiled a terror bid when two sus-pected terrorists were arrested and alarge quantity of explosives was seizedfrom their custody in Quetta.

According to details, after receivingan anonymous tip-off, the security forcesraided the Kuchlak area of the city.

Two suspects were arrested duringthe raid and over 100 kilogrammes of ex-plosives, detonators, and remote controlswere seized from their custody. The ar-rested suspects were moved to an un-known location by security forces forinterrogation.

PRE-Poll ViolEnCEClAiMS 16 MoRE liVES

16 killed, over 70 injuredin bombing at jui-F rallyin kurram agency

BAHAWALPUR: Army troops patrol the city ahead of their deployment in sensitive areas for the May 11 general election. INP

PESHAWARShAmIm ShAhID

Whatever the outcome of the generalelections, a number of aspirants are stak-ing their claim for the KhyberPakhtoonkhwa chief minister’s slot,though none has expressed prime minis-terial ambitions.

Compared to the other threeprovinces, KP is quite fertile in producingnational level leaders. In the recent past,Maulana Mufti Mehmood, Khan AbdulWali Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmad andAjmal Khattak not only lead their ownparties but also cobbled together nation-wide alliances. From the contemporarylot, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, AsfandyarWali Khan, Maulana Samiul Haq andAftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao are leadingmajor parties. Except Maulana Sami, theremaining three are in the run for Na-tional Assembly seats but none of themis considered as potential prime minister.

on the other hand, not only leader-

ship of some political parties but evensome of the independents have alsothrown their hats in the ring for provin-cial chief executive. Amongstthem, the PTI’s Asad Qaisarand the PPP’s provincialpresident have de-clared their ambitioneven before theirelection to theprovincial assem-bly. Both are con-testing polls forPA seats fromSwabi and LakkiMarwat respec-tively. The PTI’sAsad Qiasar, a firsttime contestant, in hisstudent days was associ-ated with Jamaat e Islami’sstudent wing, Islami Jamiat Tulba. Hehas never run even for local bodies orunion council level bodies.

Former chief ministers Sardar

Mehtab Ahmad Khan, Sahibzada PirSabir Shah, Akram Khan Durrani andAmir Haider Khan Hoti are the top con-

tenders for the position. SabirShah and Sardar Mehtab be-

long to the PML-Nwhereas former federal

minister EngineerAmir Muqam isalso eyeing thesame slot. So farSardar Mehtaband Pir Sabir Shahare united in keep-ing Amir Muqam

out. Former federalminister Khawaja

Hoti along withcousin Arsala Khan

Hoti could be interested ingetting the coveted position for

young omar Farooq Hoti.Besides Akram Durrani, sitting Sen-

ator Haji Ghulam Ali and Maulana Lut-fur Rahman (younger sibling of

Maulana Fazlur are also vying the posi-tion. Haji Ghulam Ali though wasn’teven given JUI-F ticket; now he contest-ing for an NA seat from Peshawar and isout of the run for CM’s office. MaulanaLutfur is contesting from two PA con-stituencies from native Dera IsmailKhan. Durrani is said to be in goodbooks of Maulana Fazlur and is likely toget the nod without much resistancewithin the party in case of JUI-F victoryin the general elections.

Former CM Amir Haider Hoti iscontesting for both NA and PA seats andis the lone ANP aspirant for the CM’s of-fice, though Barrister Haroon Bilouralong with Saqib Ullah Khan Chamkaniare considered his alternates. Havingbeen KP chief minister twice, but head-ing a relatively new political entity, AftabSherpao for the moment cannot possiblyexpect to launch a bid for a third stint butin the near future, he would definitelystrive to place son Sikandar Sherpao toemulate him.

PEMRA asked to stop TV channels fromairing targeted ads

ISLAMABADAPP

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) hasdirected the Pakistan Electronic Media Regula-tory Authority (PEMRA) to stop TV channelsfrom airing personally-targeted and defamatoryadvertisement campaigns.“False, fabricated, personally-targeted anddefamatory campaign advertisements are viola-tion of relevant laws and aforesaid code of con-duct and it is likely to create law and ordersituation in the constituencies,” the ECP said ina letter to the PEMRA.The letter added that the ECP had taken a seri-ous notice of repetition of such advertisementsand directed PEMRA to make sure any such ad-vertisements were immediately stopped frombeing aired. The ECP also directed PEMRA to strictly ensurethat there was no airing or broadcasting of suchdefamatory political advertisements against anypolitical party or a contesting candidates untilthe culmination of election process.

Parties linktransparent polls toarmy deploymentKARACHI: The PML-F led 10-party allianceon Monday reiterated its demand for deploy-ment of Pakistan Army at all polling stations ofthe city on May 11.All members of the alliance said that holdingof free and fair elections would be a dream ifthe army was not deployed in Karachi. The de-mand was made in a meeting held at Jamat-i-Islami’s head office in Idara Noor-e-Haq. Besides others, the meeting was attended bySaleem Zia of PML-N, Muhammad HussainMehnti of JI, Shah owais Noorani of JUP,Matloob Awan of Sunni Tehreek, Yasir Sayeenof PML-F, Muhammad Ghayyas of JUI-F andRaheem Baloch of STPP.In a post-meeting briefing, JI Karachi Amir Ma-henti said that the law and order situation andother issues related to elections were discussedin the meeting. He demanded the Election Com-mission of Pakistan (ECP), Chief of Army Staff(CoAS), and the caretaker government to en-sure safety of the life and property of all citizenson the polling day. He claimed that terroristswere being given a free hand as JI workers werebeing targeted and their election offices beingset on fire. Mehanti claimed that no security wasbeing provided to the workers and leaders of the10-party alliance. The JI leader feared that therewould be a low turn-out on election day if thearmy is not deployed. Later, he regretted thatChief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakhrud-din G Ebrahim was not playing his due role inholding transparent elections.Endorsing the demand made by JI leaderSaleem Zia, he said transparent elections couldnot he held without the presence of army per-sonnel at all polling stations of the city.“Around 90 percent of the police officials areaffiliated with the PPP, MQM and ANP,” heclaimed. Zia warned that the CEC would be re-sponsible if any untoward incident took placeon election day. STAFF REPORT

Taliban warn teachersnot to participate in elections KOHAT: Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)onMonday warned teachers of Dara Adam Khelto boycott the polling process in order to avoid“punishment.”\ The warning was issuedthrough pamphlets distributed in variousschools in different areas of the city, includingSarband, Salman Khel, Masho Khel and someareas located in Badbher. Locals found thepamphlets and informed the police. Securityofficials gathered the letters for investigations.According to the letters, TTP Dara Adam Khelsaid that the outfit was against people whowere working for democracy, adding thatdemocracy was the enemy of the Islam andwould destabilise the country and Islam. Through their pamphlet, TTP also demandedthat people support the TTP in different ways;through donations or participation in Jihad andrejection of the upcoming elections.TTP also warned teachers and citizens thatthey should not participate in election workduring polling and stopped them of participa-tion in political gatherings. ONLINE

Aspirants for KP chief minister’s position

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NEwsN

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Tuesday, 07 May, 2013

ISLAMABADShAIQ hUSSAIN

TENSIoNS between Pak-istan and Afghanistanflared up on Monday asfresh border clashes

erupted between the neighbouringstates, followed by Kabul’s warn-ing to Islamabad that it would bearthe consequences in case of moreskirmishes on the shared frontier.

Pakistani Foreign Ministryalso reacted strongly to a state-ment given a day earlier byAfghan President Hamid Karzaiin which he said his countrywould never recognise the DurandLine as an international border.

In his reaction, Foreign officeSpokesperson Aizaz AhmedChaudhry said, “Durand-line is asettled issue. opening discussionson this issue is a distraction from

the more pressing issues requiringthe priority attention and coopera-tion of Pakistan and Afghanistan.”When drawn attention to parts ofthe statement wherein the Afghanpresident urged the Taliban to “turnand target” and “aim their weaponsat” Afghanistan’s enemies, thespokesman said the continuingfight against terrorism and extrem-ism warranted Pakistan,Afghanistan, and all other stake-holders to work together in a spiritof cooperation and harmony.

According to diplomaticsources, the US and its western al-lies are deeply perturbed over therising tensions between Islamabadand Kabul, as they believe thatany prolonging of the row be-tween the two important states inanti-terrorism global campaignwould cast a deep negative impacton their plan to withdraw the US-

led foreign troops from the coun-try by 2014. The fresh borderclashes erupted between the bor-der forces of Pakistan andAfghanistan on Monday whenPakistani troops reportedly triedto repair a gate on the border.

Pakistani officials said that thegate was inside the territory of Pak-istan, but the Afghan officials claimthat it was in the Afghan district ofGoshta in Nangarhar province.

Following the eruption of bor-der clashes, the Afghan ForeignMinistry warned that Pakistanwould bear the consequences ofmore clashes. “In the case of anyfurther unprovoked attacks by Pak-istani forces, Pakistan will bear re-sponsibility for any consequences,”the Afghan Foreign Ministry said.An official said Pakistan was con-cerned over the way the Afghantroops were reacting to the renova-

tion of a border gate that was insidePakistani territory.

“Pakistan wants improvementof ties with Afghanistan but theyshould refrain from any aggressionon the border as that would harm ef-forts aimed at normalisation of re-lations between Islamabad andKabul,” he said, seeking anonymity.The border row between Islamabadand Kabul has also slowed down ef-forts aimed at accelerating theAfghanistan reconciliation processand according to a diplomaticsource, the US and its allies like UKbelieve that with this sort of tensiongoing on between the two sides, itwould be very difficult to persuadePakistan to use its “good offices”for bringing the Afghan Taliban tothe table of negotiations.

The Foreign officespokesman, however, said Islam-abad would continue with its sup-

port to the Afghan reconciliationprocess. He said President Karzaihad in the past asked Pakistan touse its influence on the Taliban toenter into dialogue for reconcilia-tion process. “Pakistan had re-sponded positively to that call,” hesaid. He said Pakistan would con-tinue its support for the Afghanreconciliation process, rather thanfocusing on the negatives.

Referring to Karzai’s remarkthat he visited Pakistan 19 times,the spokesman said Pakistan’sleadership had also travelled toAfghanistan several times to helpbuild trust and strengthen bilateralrelations. “Pakistan remains fullycommitted to assist in all sincerityto peace and sustainable eco-nomic development inAfghanistan, which we believe isin the vital interest of Pakistan andour region,” he said.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT/AGENCIES

Supreme Court Justice Ejaz Afzal on Mondayremarked there was no legal and constitutionaljustification in the military overstepping itslimits to take hold of power. A three-memberSC bench presided over by Justice Jawwad SKhawaja took up the Musharraf treason casefor hearing on Monday.

Justice Ejaz Afzal said “the modusoperandi on army’s interference in state af-fairs is enshrined in the constitution, whichcannot be breached”. Qamar Afzal, coun-sel for former president Pervez Musharraf,argued “Article 25 of the constitution pro-vides for ensuring equal treatment. Initia-tion of proceedings against an individualincluded in this case will run contrary toSection 25 of the constitution. Keeping inview Article 25 in perspective of maintain-ability of petitions is essential. SC does nottake review of criminal case directly.”

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked,“Constitution is not legacy of anyone andthe court gives decision per law and consti-tution.” Justice Jawwad S Khawaja ob-served that the three-member SC bench hadto see if Article 6 applied there or otherwise.

Qamar Afzal contended that the electedgovernment of the people had completed its

five years tenure and no step towards initia-tion of proceedings against former presidentPervez Musharraf was taken. “Therefore,this matter stands no more. Registering thecase under high treason act is the domain ofthe federal government only.”

Advocate Ahmad Raza Kasuri argued,“This case has assumed paramount signif-icance at national and international level.”

Justice Jawwad said the apex courtwould keep in view all norms of justice inthe case. Kasuri further argued that Novem-ber 3, 2007 steps had not come from oneman but they were a product of collectivewisdom. “If these steps are seen in perspec-tive of the situation and circumstances pre-vailing at that time then there are causesbehind them. PCo was proclaimed and allthese reasons are laid down therein. No-vember 3, 2007 steps were taken in thebackground of deteriorating law and order,bomb blasts, terrorism and suicide attacks.”

He further said all three serviceschiefs, corps commanders, prime ministerand members of cabinet were also includedin the decision for taking these steps andthe responsibility could not be fixed onlyon former president Pervez Musharraf inthis respect. Justice Ejaz Afzal remarked,“How can the armed forces declare No-vember, 3 steps just. Constitution has set

the role of the armed forces.” He furtherremarked that the way judges could not in-terfere in state affairs, the armed forcescould also not interfere therein.

Kasuri said if the court issued directivesto the federal government for initiation ofproceedings, it would be interference in thepowers delegated to the institutions and thecourt this way would go beyond its ambit.“You have prescribed powers of all the in-stitutions. Legislative, executive and judici-ary have to work within their parametersand if any institution oversteps its powers,the situation will worsen. No order wasgiven for taking any action against PervezMusharraf in the court’s decision which wasissued on July, 31.”

“The ruling reveals that the court wasalso clear that only federation was entitled toinitiate proceedings with reference to thematter related to conviction in abrogation ofconstitution case. The state has to initiate pro-ceedings taking in view the situation and cir-cumstances. The federation did not see thesituation proper, therefore, it did not take ac-tion. If the proceedings are initiated, thecountry may fall to instability,” Kasuri added.“Can military interference come to a halt dueto court’s decision? Bhutto had said in 1974that he had buried dictatorship and Bona-partism. It revived after three years. Army is

a force in developing countries and it cannotbe prevented under Article 6. When a certainsituation is created, the army will comeagain,” the counsel went on to say.

Justice Jawwad remarked that uphold-ing law and constitution and ensuring ruleof democracy was intent of the constitu-tion. “We will protect it,” he added. Thecourt adjourned the hearing until today.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court(IHC) on Monday directed the interior sec-retary to appear in person today (Tuesday)for apprising the court about the actiontaken against Islamabad IGP Bani Amin inthe Musharraf escape case.MUSHARRAF ESCAPE CASE: A sin-gle bench of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiquiissued the directive while hearing the casepertaining to Musharraf’s escape fromcourt premises.

During the course of hearing, DeputyAttorney General Tariq Mahmood Jahang-eri apprised the bench that Interior Addi-tional Secretary Tariq Hayat Khan couldnot appear before the court due to illness.

Upon this, the court summoned the in-terior secretary along with progress reportof enquiry against the IGP and adjournedthe matter until Tuesday.

on the other hand, the hearing of bailplea in the judges’ detention case againstMusharraf was adjourned until May 8.

It was postponed due to the absenceof anti-terrorist court special judgeKausar Abbas Zaidi.

Sarabjit was not acase of mistakenidentity, he was a spy!

NEW DELHIAGENCIES

A former senior official of India’s main in-telligence agency, the Research andAnalysis Wing (RAW), has admitted thatSarabjit Singh was sent to Pakistan for es-pionage, India media reported on Monday.

“Sarabjit was an Indian spy in Pak-istan,” said the intelligence official wholater became head of the agency said. “Hemanaged to accomplish the task given tohim but was caught while trying to flee.”

The former intelligence official, whohandled Singh’s case, said the operationconducted by him didn’t involve a specifictactical purpose but was just one amongmany such operations that were conductedin Pakistan by Indian intelligence in theearly and mid 90s. “Some of the opera-tions executed by RAW during the periodwere totally mindless,” the official said.“Spies like Sarabjit and their family havepaid huge cost for it. Sometimes, theagency officials executed operations outof personal bravado that they can get‘something’ done in Pakistan.” Sourcessaid that the process through which spieslike Singh are dealt with was one that wasevolving, which included issues such ashow they were paid, as well as instancesof if they were caught in enemy territory.“Payments vary case to case depending onthe nature of operation,” the official said.“There is no uniformity in discreet pay-ments to families when such agents arecaught or eliminated by the enemy.”“Sarabjit had been awarded a state funeralbecause his case was mainly highlighteddue to efforts of his politically astute sisterDalbir Kaur,” the official said. “His fam-ily is also being compensated, but thereare many cases in which the spies cameback from Pakistan knocked the doors ofcourts to get their dues.”

PM returns privateplane to PiA

ISLAMABAD ONLINE

Caretaker Prime Minister Mir HazarKhan Khoso has returned a private planeto the Pakistan International Airlines. Ac-cording to the Prime Minister’s House,Khoso returned a special plane, A-310,for the use of the prime minister to PIA,as part of an austerity measure.

Kayani calls forpeaceful pollsin Balochistan

QUETTAAPP

Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Ash-faq Pervaiz Kayani on Monday called forholding peaceful elections in Balochistan.

He underlined the need for implementa-tion on the security plan chalked out for May11 polls in Balochistan during a high-levelmeeting to discuss provincial security planfor the general elections here. The CoAS,who is on an official visit here, reviewed thesecurity measures and deployment of armytroops for polls duty in various parts ofBalochistan. Commandant Southern Com-mand Lieutenant General Mohammad AalamKhatak, Balochistan Chief Secretary BabarYaqoob Fateh, Home Secretary Akbar Hus-sain Durrani, the FC IG, the IG and heads ofintelligence agencies attended the meeting.

“Strategy plan devised for the conductof peaceful polls in Balochistan is apparentlywell coordinated and integrated,” the CoASsaid and stressed the need for its implemen-tation accordingly. He urged the participantsto ensure that all-out efforts were in place forholding peaceful elections in Balochistan.

Briefing reporters, Inter Service PublicRelations (ISPR) Director General MajorGeneral Asim Bajwa said deployment of armytroops in Balochistan has been completed. “Asmany as 60,000 security personnel including7,000 army troops were deployed on pollingduty across the province,” he said, adding thatthe army had been called in aid of the civilpower under Article 245 of the constitutionand would provide full assistance to theprovincial government in this connection.Bajwa noted that there was a complete liaisonbetween the security forces and intelligenceagencies as quick response force had been pre-pared to repulse any attack, adding that jointpatrolling of personnel of security forces involatile districts was already in progress.

Railway trackblown up in Quetta

QUETTA APP

Unidentified men on Monday blew up a por-tion of railway track in Sariab area of theprovincial capital, disconnecting the rail linkof Quetta with other parts of the country. Policesaid unidentified men planted an improvisedexplosive device with the track in MusaColony Sariab area and detonated it. “As a re-sult of explosion, a portion of railway trackwas damaged,” police said, adding that theblast caused suspension of railway traffic fromand to Quetta. No loss of life was reported. ThePakistan Railways’ officials said that technicalteams had reached the scene and were repair-ing the track. The law enforcers cordoned offthe area and launched a search operation.

islamabad, Kabul trade barbs again

MUsHarraF treason Case(

(

nothing justifies army takeover, says sC

SAHIWAL: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif addressingan election rally on Monday. ONLINE

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lAHorETuesday, 7 May, 2013

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05 The government solution to a problem is usually

as bad as the problem. –Milton Friedman

LAHOREUmAIR AZ IZ

THE negligence of thePunjab HealthDepartment in copingwith the deadly measlesepidemic has led the

federal government to come intoaction and “consolidate” healthfunctions at the federal level,Pakistan Today has learnt.

The move has become a comment

on the ability of the provinces tocope with such disasters on theirown after the devolution of theprovinces under the 18thAmendment. The rising numberof measles’ deaths in theprovincial metropolitan despite aprovince-wide immunisationcampaign undertaken by theHealth Department has shownhow the department has lackedon various fronts in fulfilling anobligation: to save lives.

There are also allegationsthat the majority of workforcehired for the immunisationcampaign is untrained,something the health authoritieshave been denying constantly.

The prime minister has takenserious note of the measlesoutbreak in the country. As partof the measures to takeemergency remedial action, adecision has been taken to

consolidate health functions atfederal level since existingfragmentation was causing problemswith federal-provincial coordination.

The prime minister has alsoapproved renaming of the Division ofNational Services and Regulations asthe “Health Services, Coordinationand Regulation Division” and hasauthorised reallocation ofadministrative responsibilities ofseveral health-related institutionsunder it. These responsibilities werepreviously fragmented among nineinstitutional entities and had resultedin lack of coordination at the federallevel, undermining of constitutionalfederal (national) roles, interagencyturf tensions over mandate and noclear responsibility in internationalhealth.

Even the international agencieshave widely hailed this decision.World Health organisation (WHo)Eastern Mediterranean Region

Regional Director Ala Alwan hassaid, “We applaud the decision of thegovernment of Pakistan toconsolidate federal responsibilities inthe health sector by reducing thefragmentations of the healthfunctions at the federal level. This isin line with the recommendations ofthe multi-partners mission led by theWHo in September 2013. Thisdecision is much needed to provide acoherent, health-focused authoritythat can effectively exercise thefunctions that remain at the FederalLegislative List as well as to provideone coordinating center to respond toneeds of the provinces anddevelopment partners.”

Sania Nishtar, the federalgovernment’s focal point on health, said,“The health architecture at the federallevel was fragmented across eightdivisions. There was completedisruption of health information anddisconnect between evidence and policy.After the measles outbreak it becameclear that something needed to be done;which is why a caretaker governmenthad to intervene in this area.”

The Law Ministry has stated thatthe decision is strictly under theconstitutional stipulations.

The Punjab Health Departmenthowever seemed unaware of thedevelopment.

Additional Secretary (Technical)Dr Anwer Janjua said he was notaware of the development. He furthersaid, “There are certain things whichhave to be coordinated with thefederal government, such as thesubject of aid collection, PMDC andmedical education, drugs and crossborder epidemics.”

To a question, he said measlesdeaths were occurring in the hospitalsbecause parents brought theirchildren very late to the healthfacility otherwise the healthdepartment was already on its heelsto cope with it.

deVolUtIon doIng no good(

(

PunjAB goVT noT STRongEnough AgAinST MEASlES

Federal government to savetHe day as punjab governmentFails to Handle virus

punjab HealtHdepartment unaware oFtHe development

international agencies laudcentre’s decision toconsolidate responsibilities

no end to Measles, FoUr More deadLAHORE: Measles has claimed four lives in three hospitals of the

city during the last 24 hours, raising its death toll to 68. According

to Health Department officials, one death each was reported from

Children’s Hospital and Ganga Ram Hospital while two minor’s

breathed their last at Mayo Hospital. As many as 62 new cases of

measles were reported from Punjab during the last 24 hours. The

total number of measles cases has moved up to 10,981 during the

last five months. Majority of the victims have been reported to be

from Lahore, Gujranwala, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Kasur.

Punjab Health Services Director General Dr Tanveer Ahmed said

that during the investigations it has been found that a majority of

deaths in the city were caused by severe pneumonia and delays in

shifting the victims to the hospitals. STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: Renowned journalist and columnist Syed

Abbas Athar passed away after protracted illness in the

wee hours of Monday. Athar was suffering from cancer

for a long time and had been hospitalised in Combined

Military Hospital (CMH) Lahore for the treatment. He was

a well known columnist and used to write his columns

under title of ‘Kankarian’ in leading newspapers of the

country. The journalist was awarded pride of

performance for his services for journalism. He has left

behind two wives, three daughters and two sons.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Mir

Hazar Jan Khoso, leaders of various political parties,

journalist organizations all over the country expressed

heartfelt grief over the death of Athar Abbas. They

termed his death an irreparable loss for media and

prayed for the departed soul. INP

VETERAn jouRnAliST ABBASAThAR PASSES AwAy

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06

Tuesday, 7 May, 2013lAHorE

decisions in the hands of people who pay no

price for being wrong. –Thomas Sowell

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Adistrict returning officer(DRo) withdrew thearrest warrants of 997government employeeswho had refused to

perform election duties on May 11.Last week returning officers (Ros)

had issued arrest warrants of one thousandgovernment employees who had refusedto perform election duties in Lahore.

Ros had summoned employees ofdifferent government departments inconnection with election duties in 13constituencies of the National Assemblyand 25 constituencies of the Punjab

Assembly in the city. Some employeesassured their presence during electionswhile about one thousand employeeskept on pursuing evasive tactics andsending applications showing refusal todo these duties.

However, on Monday, 997government employees agreed toperform their duties and thus their arrestwarrants were withdrawn. Theconsented employees have beendirected to contact with the concernedtraining centres.

According to the Civil Servants Act1964 Article 179 Paragraph A Clause 2and Article 178 Clause 1, the services ofgovernment employee can be hired inaid to administrative affairs under the

activity of the federation. The lawswhich are applicable to all theinstitutions running under the federationare deemed to have been applied in theprovinces in the same vein. It is bindingon government employees to do dutiesduring polls and they are compensatedfor such duties. Those who refuse toperform election duty are liable to beproceeded against under articles 178 and179 of the Constitution. Suchpunishment may entail termination fromservice.

Article 220 of the Constitutionmakes it binding on federal andprovincial governments to assist theElection Commission in dealing withadministrative matters.

yES, wE will do iT!arrest warrants oF 997 govtemployees witHdrawn as tHeyagree to perForm election duties

It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those

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no ClEARPRoof of SyRiAChEMiCAlARMS uSE: un

DAMASCUS: A UN team of

investigators into rights abuses in

Syria has stressed there is no

conclusive proof of either side in the

conflict using chemical weapons,

despite a team member's claims to the

contrary. "The Independent

International Commission of Inquiry

on the Syrian Arab Republic wishes to

clarify that it has not reached

conclusive findings as to the use of

chemical weapons in Syria by any

parties to the conflict," the commission

said in a statement on Monday. Earlier,

Carla del Ponte, a former war crimes

prosecutor and a member of the

commission, had told Swiss public

broadcaster RSI that "according to the

testimonies we have gathered, the

rebels have used chemical weapons,

making use of sarin gas". The Free

Syrian Army (FSA) swiftly denied the

claim that rebel forces had used

chemical arms. Speaking to Al

Jazeera, Saleem Edris, FSA chief of

staff, said he considered the remarks a

"huge injustice" and "provocation" to

the Syrian people. The Syrian regime

and rebels have both accused each

other of using chemical weapons,

which are banned under international

law. Del Ponte said that the inquiry

had not yet seen evidence of

government forces having used such

arms. Del Ponte, a former Swiss

attorney-general who also served as

prosecutor of the International

Criminal Tribunal for the former

Yugoslavia, gave no details as to when

or where sarin may have been used.

Set up two years ago at the behest of

the UN Human Rights Council, the

commission has so far been unable to

gain access to Syria as Damascus has

ignored repeated requests for entry.

Instead, it has interviewed more than

1,500 refugees and exiles as a basis

for its reports and its charges that

both the government forces and their

allies and opposition forces have

carried out war crimes in Syria, where

more than 70,000 people have been

killed since the uprising began in

March 2011. AGENCIES

07

NEwsTuesday, 7 May, 2013

If you're going through hell, keep

going. — Winston Churchill N

KUALA LAMPURAGENCIES

MALAYSIA'S ruling coalition has re-tained its 56-year hold on power inhard-fought elections but oppositionleader Anwar Ibrahim says the victory istainted and has refused to concede.

The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalitionled by Prime Minister Najib Razak got well past the

threshold of 112 seats for asimple majority in parlia-

ment, standing on 133as final returns contin-ued to trickle in earlyon Monday.

Najib, 59,called for aspirit of

"reconciliation" after Sunday's elections, which saw recordvoter turnout and were preceded by a fierce campaign thatlaid bare deep polarisation in the country.

"For the sake of national interest, I ask all parties, es-pecially the opposition, to accept this result with an openheart," Najib said. "overall, the results show a trend of po-larisation which worries the government. If it is not ad-

dressed, it can create tension or division in the country."But Anwar, whose three-party Pakatan Rakyat (People's

Pact) alliance had hoped to pull off a stunning win againstthe only government Malaysia has known, was in no moodto concede. "It is an election that we consider fraudulentand the EC (Election Commission) has failed," an ex-hausted-looking Anwar said after the announced returns

dashed early hopesamong his supporters

that victory was athand. Among irreg-ularities alleged bythe opposition,Anwar has saidtens of thousandsof "dubious" andpossibly foreignvoters were flownto key constituen-cies to sway

results.

Saudis arrestedover blast atTanzania church

RIYADHAGENCIES

Tanzanian authorities have arrested sixpeople, including four from Saudi Arabia,in connection with an attack that killedtwo people and injured 30 others during amass at a church, officials say. JakayaKikwete, the Tanzanian president, calledSunday's blast, which happened in thenorthern town of Arusha, an "act ofterrorism". "This is an act of terrorismperpetrated by a cruel person or groupwho are enemies of the country," Kikwetesaid in a statement on Monday. The attackon the church is one of the first suchincidents to hit Tanzania. officials gave noindication as to who might have carriedout the attack, but tensions have been highbetween Tanzania's Christian and Muslimcommunities in recent months. FIRST EvER MASS: The newly builtchurch, in the olasti district on theoutskirts of Arusha, was celebrating its firstever mass when the blast occurred. Peoplewere squeezed into the church building aswell as sitting on benches outside.Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla,the Vatican's ambassador to Tanzania, wasattending mass at the church but was notharmed, officials said. Kikwete, who saidhe was "shocked and deeply saddened" bythe reports of the explosion, called onpeople to remain calm while policeinvestigated the attacks. "We are ready todeal with all criminals including terroristsand their agents who are based in thecountry or externally," he said.

netanyahu andAbbas in separateChina visits

BEIJINGAGENCIES

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of thePalestinian Authority, and BinyaminNetanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, areboth visiting China and will separately holdtalks with senior government officials.Abbas, who arrived on Sunday, met his hostPresident Xi Jinping on Monday during awelcome ceremony in Beijing. The twopresidents inspected the guard of honour onthe Tiananmen Square before a meeting inthe Great Hall of the People. Abbas, whosetrip will last three days, later met with LiKeqiang, the Chinese prime minister.Netanyahu arrived on Monday in thecommercial capital of Shanghai, where hewill meet business leaders, and fly toBeijing later for talks with Chinese leaders.It is not clear whether Netanyahu will meetAbbas. Xi praised Abbas for his role inleading the Palestinian people to importantachievements and vowed to have a thoroughexchange of views with his counterpart.Abbas told Xi that bilateral relations havecontinued to develop since China becamethe first country to set up an office on thePalestinian territory in the 1960s.

Malaysia's governingcoalition wins majority

EDIRnE: Turkey Gypsies gather round a bonfire as

they celebrate the spring festival of Hidirellez. AGENCIES

germany gripped by neo-nazi murder trialMUNICHAGENCIES

A high-profile neo-Nazi trial that focuses on ten mostlyracially motivated murders by an underground far-rightgang has started in Munich.

Beate Zschaepe, believed to be the last survivingmember of the National Socialist Underground (NSU)group, and four others accused of assisting the gang, arebeing tried. Zschaepe, 38, is charged with complicity inthe murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewomanbetween 2000-2007, as well as two bombings in immi-grant areas of Cologne, and 15 bank robberies.

The case has been controversial as for several yearsthe police wrongly blamed the murders on the Turkishmafia. "With its historical, social and political dimen-sions the NSU trial is one of the most significant of post-war German history," lawyers for the family of the firstvictim, flower seller Enver Simsek, said in a statement.

The case has shaken a country that believed it had

learned the lessons of its past, and has reopened a debateabout whether Germany must do more to tackle the far-right and lingering racist attitudes.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from outside thecourt in Munich, said that the case raised bigger questionswithin German society. “Beyond the court, the public de-bate is likely to continue and rage over this issue, rangingfrom official incompetence to institutional racism and whythis neo-Nazi cell was allowed to exist for so long. “Whythe police persisted in the view that the killings were relatedto gang warfare within immigrant community and why thefocus was not on the risk from the far right, these are ques-tions that have thrown such a spotlight on this case."'NAzI BRIDE': The existence of the gang only cameto light in November 2011 when the two men believedto have founded the NSU with Zschaepe, Uwe Mundlosand Uwe Boehnhardt, committed suicide after a botchedbank robbery and set their caravan ablaze in the easterntown of Eisenach. In the charred vehicle, police foundthe gun used to murder all 10 victims. our correspondent

said that Zschaepe, dubbed the "Nazi bride", allegedlyset fire to the flat she shared with the two men beforegoing on the run for four days and then eventually hand-ing herself in. Despite the fire, police were still able tounearth evidence of the murders, our correspondent said.

A DVD with a film in the style of a "Pink Panther"cartoon, which the group had produced earlier claimingresponsibility for the attacks, is among the evidence.

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NEwsNTuesday 7 May, 2013

08

MONITORING DESK

Stranded in a dingy hotel in the heart ofKarachi, waiting for the smuggler’s call,Hussain felt at once trapped and poised forfreedom, according to the New York Times.

Behind lay his hometown Quetta that hasbecome a killing ground for Wahhabi deathsquads that hunt Shias. So far this year theyhave killed almost 200 people, and Hussainwas nearly one of them. Lifting a pants leg,he displayed an eight-inch scar from a bombblast in January.

But great danger also lay ahead. Hussainwas headed for Australia, where thousandsof his fellow ethnic Hazara Shias who haveborne the brunt of the recent violence, havesought refuge. The illegal journey — acrossSoutheast Asia by air, ground and sea at themercy of unscrupulous human traffickers —would be long and perilous. Several hundredHazaras had died on that route in recentyears, most when their rickety boatsfoundered at sea.

For Hussain, it was worth the risk.“I’d rather die in the boat than in a bomb

blast,” he said, twisting a cup of coffee nerv-ously in a restaurant near the hotel. “At leastthis way, I get to choose.”

Hussain, 25, is part of a growing exodusof young Hazara men who are fleeing Pak-istan as it has become apparent that their gov-ernment and military cannot, or will not,protect them from violent extremists.

In Quetta, where most Pakistani Hazaraslive, the attacks are led by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a terrorist group that views Shias asheretics. With their distinctive Central Asianfeatures and historical links to anti-Talibanforces, the Hazaras make an appealing target.After a decade of intermittent attacks, blood-shed is suddenly surging: two Lashkar sui-cide bombings this year killed almost 200people, up from 125 in 2012.

Thattoll set off a long-overdue security crack-down, but the attacks resumed last Tuesdaywith a suicide attack on a Hazara politicianthat killed six people. To young men likeHussain, whose family runs a clothes shop,the next bomb is only a matter of time.

“We can live without the basics of life —gas, electricity and so on,” said Hussain, whoasked to be identified by just part of his namein the hope of avoiding arrest on his journey.“But we can’t live with the fear.”

Hussain’s older brother was shot andkilled by terrorists in 2008. His own brushwith death came on January 10, after a pow-erful blast ripped through a snooker hall nearhis house. As Hussain rushed to help, he wascaught in a second explosion that killed res-cue workers, police officers and journalists.He blacked out.

“I don’t remember the sound of theblast,” he said. “Just the feeling, like a sort ofsonic pulse.” He awoke in the hospital with36 stitches in one leg and learned that threeof his closest friends were among the 84dead.

It was becoming clear that the Lashkarkillers could operate with impunity. “Theytake their time. They select. Then theyshoot,” he said.

The final straw came on March 7, whenthe military summoned Hussain and otherHazara traders to a meeting in Haideri bazaar,a popular market. As soldiers stood guardoutside, an army colonel offered the mer-chants some sobering advice: they needed tobuy handguns, he said.

Some people reacted angrily, and beganberating the military officers, demanding bet-ter protection, Hussain recalled. But he wenthome to make a phone call. Two years earlier,his younger brother had left for Australia,where he had gotten a job in a fast food restau-rant. Now Hussain needed to hear his voice.

“Just come,” the brother said.Three days later, Hussain had agreed to

pay $6,000 to a traf-ficker and was on aflight to Karachi, onthe first leg of a

journey across Asia that would be as emo-tionally wrenching as it was sudden.

In the plane, he found himself comfort-ing a weeping 16-year-old boy, also Hazara,who said he had been forced to leave by hisparents. In the shabby Karachi hotel, heshared a room with “Master”, a 41-year-oldshoe trader from Quetta, also bound for Aus-tralia.

With thinning hair and a quick grin, Mas-ter, who would give only his nickname, hadan avuncular manner. But when conversationturned to the three bewildered daughters,aged 7, 9 and 13, he had left behind in Quettaa day earlier, the smile faded and his eyeswelled up.

“I will bring them to Australia,” he saidin a cracking voice. “This country is nolonger for us Hazaras.”

As with many other Hazaras aiming forAustralia — from Afghanistan as well asPakistan — their starting point was Karachi.From there, the journey is arduous and un-certain. Refugees first fly to Thailand orMalaysia, often via Sri Lanka, after theiragents bribe immigration officers and Pak-istani border officials. The trek continues byland and sea across Malaysia and Indonesia,in cars and trains, dodging police patrols,overnighting at flophouses.

Some migrants are arrested by police of-ficers and border guards along the way anddeported back to Pakistan; others are extortedor abandoned by the traffickers, or robbed onthe roadside. In many cases, they end up pay-ing thousands of dollars more — in bribes tocrooked border officers or supplemental feesto smugglers — so they can keep pressing to-ward Australia.

The last leg is the most treacherous. InIndonesia, migrants buy tickets aboard small,overcrowded boats bound for Christmas Is-land, a small Australian territory about 240miles off the Indonesian coast, where theyapply for political asylum. There, they joinother boat people — Sri Lankans, Iranians,

Afghans, Iraqis.Safe arrival is by no means guaranteed.

Between late 2001 and last June, 964 asylumseekers and boat crew members from variouscountries are known to have lost their liveson this passage, said Sandi Logan, aspokesman for the Australian government’sDepartment of Immigration and Citizenship.

Habibullah, a 22-year-old student fromQuetta, was nearly one of them. Last octo-ber, he joined 34 Hazara men on a boatbound for Christmas Island. Within 24 hours,the boat had sunk in a storm. Habibullah,who has only one name, says he was the solesurvivor, picked up by an Indonesian fishingboat after three days clinging to floating de-bris.

In a harrowing written account of thoseevents sent by e-mail, and in a phone inter-view from Indonesia, Habibullah describeda traumatic ordeal.

He spoke of long hours in the water,whipped by waves and fearing sharks, des-perately calling out to distant passing ships.But most anguishing, he said, was the sightof fellow passengers slipping under thewaves, some calling out to their wives or par-ents.

Habibullah, suffering extreme thirst andsharp kidney pain, sustained himself bythinking of his home in Quetta. “I remem-bered my past, surrounded by my parents,”he wrote. “And I realized they were withme.”

It is impossible to confirm Habibullah’saccount independently. But Hazara commu-nity leaders in Quetta confirmed that severalmen accompanying Habibullah had died, andsome of their photographs have been pub-lished on blogs.

Habibullah sounded despondent. Condi-tions at the government detention centre inIndonesia were grim, he said, and he wasstruggling to gain an asylum hearing from theUnited Nations refugee agency. Nine monthsafter leaving home, and having spent $15,000on bribes, transportation and smuggler’s fees,he had not reached Australia.

Still, he understood why other Hazaraswanted to make the journey. “It’s worth it,”

he said.The Australian government has tried to

deter the boat people. Last year, it begantransferring asylum seekers to detention cen-tres on two remote Pacific islands while theircases are heard. Human rights groups andUnited Nations officials have condemnedconditions at the camps, and Australian newsmedia have reported several suicide attemptsthere in recent months.

Responding to the criticism, Australianofficials say they have increased their hu-manitarian refugee quota to 20,000 this year,a 40 percent increase. At the same time, incountries like Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan,the Australian government has started an ad-vertising campaign seeking to persuade po-tential refugees to stay at home.

Before leaving Karachi, Hussain andMaster took a stroll along the beach, dippingtheir toes in the Arabian Sea and meanderingamong the young families on the sand.

Hussain stressed that if not for the ex-tremist threat, he would not be leaving Pak-istan. Ten months earlier he had married hissweetheart, a local teacher, whom he had leftbehind. His family made a good living fromits clothes business. And patriotism ran in thefamily — his grandfather had served in Pak-istan Army.

“This could be the last time I see Pak-istan,” he said, staring out at the waves.

His younger brother had warned him ofa daunting journey ahead — “Expect it to behell,” were his words.

over the following weeks, he sent sev-eral messages: from Bangkok, where he wasstaying in a cramped room with 16 otherrefugees (“Waiting, waiting, and so on,” hewrote), then, in late March, from Indonesia.

Master had been arrested in a car headedfor a port in Malaysia, Hussain said. But hehad managed to escape, and had arrived inJakarta, Indonesia’s capital, where he wouldseek a boat to Australia.

This month, a boat carrying about 90people, most of them Hazaras, sunk en routeto Australia. Hussain was depressed, but un-deterred. “I’m looking forward,” he wrote.Then he added: “May God help me.”

ISLAMABADAPP

THE Islamabad HighCourt (IHC) on Mondaywas approached for regis-tration of a criminal caseagainst former presidentGen (r) Pervez Mushar-

raf in Lal Masjid operation case. The pe-tition was filed by Haroon Rasheed, sonof Gazi Abbdul Rashid, through hiscounsel Tariq Asad against the “murder”of his father and grandmother in theLal Masjid operation.

The petitioner, while mak-ing Musharraf and the Aab-para station house officerrespondents, alleged thathis father and grand-mother had been

killed during a military operation orderedby then president Pervaiz Musharraf.

“Several applications had been filedbefore the Aabpara SHo to register anFIR, but it was refused. Now from thereport of the commission set up on theorders of the Supreme Court, it is dis-closed that the military operation hadbeen carried out on the orders ofMusharraf,” the petitioner said. He saida large number of people had been killedagainst the law of the land and a large

number of studentsw e n t

missing during the operation. He said thepetition had been filed under Section 22-A of CrPC before the learned additionalsessions judge, who dismissed the peti-tion without assigning any reasons. Theimpugned order had been passed withoutlawful authority and it was liable to beset aside by accepting this petition.

The evidence deposed by a large num-ber of witnesses recorded in the report ofthe commission appointed by the SupremeCourt to probe into the matter also revealedthat Musharraf was responsible for killinginnocent people. The petitioner said thelaw required that the responsible should bedealt in accordance with the law of theland. He prayed to set aside the impugned

order passed on April 23 by the addi-tional sessions judge and to register a

case of murder against Musharrafin accordance with the law.

lal Masjid raid: ihC movedfor fiR against Musharraf

first polio case inwaziristan sinceTaliban banISLAMABAD: A child has contracted poliofor the first time in Pakistan’s militant-infestedtribal belt since the Taliban banned vaccina-tions a year ago, a UN official said Monday.“The new case has been detected in NorthWaziristan where we had been denied accessin June last year,” the World Health organi-zation’s (WHo) senior coordinator for polioeradication in Pakistan, Elias Durry said. Tribesmen in North Waziristan, Pakistan’smost notorious stronghold of Taliban and alQaeda linked militants, endorsed the Talibanban and stopped authorities from vaccinatingchildren under a nationwide campaign.“This has been the first case since we werestopped from vaccinating children in the re-gion last year,” Durry said.The Taliban alleged that the campaign was acover for espionage. Efforts to tackle thehighly infectious disease have been ham-pered over the years by local suspicion aboutvaccines being a plot to sterilise Muslims,particularly in Pakistan’s conservative andpoorly educated northwest. AGENCIES

lhC allows farooq Saeed tocontest elections

LAHOREAPP

A full bench of the Lahore High Court onMonday allowed former minister Rana Fa-rooq Saeed to contest elections from NA-79 Faisalabad after setting aside orders ofthe returning officer and election tribunalwhich declared him ineligible. The fullbench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsanpassed the order. Earlier, Khan’s brother through his counselclaimed that he had usurped his property. Avoter, Muhammad Iqbal, also alleged thatRana had concealed assets and was also in-volved in electricity theft.However, petitioner’s counsel Farooq HNaek contended that all charges were base-less. He pleaded the court to allow the peti-tioner to contest elections. The bench afterhearing arguments allowed the petitioner tocontest elections from NA-79.

flEEing ViolEnCE,

hAzARAS BRAVE

unCERTAin jouRnEy

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NEws N

09

Tuesday 7 May, 2013

LAHOREONLINE

CHIEF Justice ofPakistan IftikharM u h a m m a dChaudhry said onMonday that onlythose countries

progress whose public functionariesperform their duties transparently andmake themselves available for account-ability without obstructing the dueprocess of law through abuse of powerand authority.

He expressed these views while ad-dressing a delegation of National Schoolof Public Policy in Lahore.

The chief justice said that the publicfunctionaries were custodians of the pub-lic exchequer and they have to ensure atall levels that their respective depart-ments are delivering services in a trans-parent and fair manner.

They must rely on the availability oflaws and rules to guard against corruptionand to ensure the proper utilisation of

public funds for the development of thecountry and the welfare of its people.

“The judiciary is conscious to its con-stitutional duty of protecting the rights ofcitizens, including the utilisation of pub-l i cm o n e ya n dfunds fort h e i rwelfareand bet-t e r -m e n t , ”he said.

T h eCJ said that the Supreme Courtof Pakistan acted as a guardianof the constitution at all timesand as an upholder of constitu-tional supremacy for the pur-poses of achieving the ends ofjustice and the rule of law.

The court exercises original, appellateand advisory jurisdiction and also certaininherent powers to do complete justice. Itis the constitutional duty of the executive

and legislative authorities to act in aid ofthe Supreme Court and its judicial ver-dicts are binding on all other courts ofPakistan.

“Public functionaries can give theirbest to this service by addressingthe common problems of health,safety, education, civic amenitiesand necessities of life effi-ciently,” the CJP said.

He said that in any demo-cratic polity, the holders of public

o f f i c e swere thet r u s t e e sand theirrole wascrucial forgood gov-e r n a n c eand forsocio-eco-nomic de-

velopment. “They have to be activeparticipants in the process of governanceafter assuming responsibilities and dis-charging their duties with utmost in-

tegrity and honesty,” he added. They are expected to share and up-

hold the rule of law, neutrality, enforce-ment of decisions and policy andaccountability for actions. These are thecore values which are enshrined in thestatutes and regulations of almost everycivil service.

“In the democratic setup of Pakistan,the supreme law is the constitution itself,from which all the institutions derivetheir respective powers. The key organsof the state, the executive, legislatureand the judiciary have their respectivepowers and functions which are to beperformed within the constitutional cir-cumference. The doctrine of trichotomyof powers interwoven in the constitu-tional scheme aims at building a harmo-nious interaction and cooperation amongthese three key organs for establishingthe rule of law in the country. The judi-cial organ carries with it an additionalresponsibility of checking constitutionalexcesses by the other two organsthrough its power of judicial review,”the CJP said.

States progress if rulers are held accountable, says CjP

the judiciary is conscious toits constitutional duty ofprotecting the rights ofcitizens, including theutilisation of public money and funds for theirwelfare and betterment

CHAMAN: Supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Nazriyati (JUI-N) hold a rally to celebrate the restoration of the party’s candidate for

PB-11, Maulana Muhammad Hanif on Monday. INP

PPP sHAll rETurN To PowEr, sAys GIlANIMULTAN

ShEIKh hAQ NAWAZ

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilanihas said that the PPP is currently facingone of the worst challenges in its politicalhistory as the party is being pushed to thewall by anti-democratic forces. Termingthe terrorist activities against the party asunfair and unwarranted, he said that thenext government would also be formed bythe PPP as it is close to the hearts of thepeople who would never let it fall.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Gilani saidthat his party has served both the peopleand the country with utmost dedicationand sincerity. “The PPP manifesto is in theblood of common Pakistanis and the party

shall prevail in the general elections.”Gilani said, though his party has not

been allowed to launch its electioneeringcampaign freely and has been wobblingunder the weight of various terrorist at-tacks, but it is not de-motivated by suchhappenings. “The PPP hierarchy andworkers would courageously face everycrisis as its leaders had done in the past,”said he, adding, ”the party had always nur-tured men who responded well in crisissituations and the party’s political struggleshall continue on the same lines.”

Reiterating his stance, Gilani recalledthat the PPP is the sole political party ofthe country and its history is laced to-gether by narrative of sacrifices of thecountry and its constitution and democ-

racy.Further, he said the PPP’s com-

mitted, loyal and brave workersand voters have always casttheir ballot in favour ofparty candidates andhave thus made the PPPsuccessful despitebeing faced with hur-dles and obstacles fromvarious quarters.

Replying to a query,Gilani declared that thePPP was the victim of po-tent discrimination directedtowards it by certain forces whohave always indulged in hatching conspir-acies against the party, but so far they have

failed in their nefarious designs. “Suchforces have always been defeated

after their power was neu-tralised by the people,” he

added.Moreover, he said

that the PPP voters werewell-aware of theparty’s present positionand are thus resolvedto fully support it.

Brimming with confi-dence, he claimed May

11 shall prove his wordsright when the PPP would

achieve a sweeping victory.Talking about the prevailing security

situation, Gilani said, the PPP has been

compelled to limit its corner meetings inplaces where the party had traditionallyheld the biggest public meetings in thepast. He said that in reality the party didnot want to lose its remaining party lead-ership as it has already lost one too manyin the recent past. “Despite these hard-ships, the PPP has still managed to play itspolitical role.”

Gilani said: the PPP in its recent stintin power had taken unprecedented steps touplift the economic condition of the poor.“No one can deny that we brought a majorchange in their lives and for that reason weare sure to win the forthcoming electoralbattle with the help of poor Pakistanis.May 11 shall add another feather to thePPP’s cap when it is returned to power.”

Bashir visits Sanaullah,says prisoner’scondition still critical

CHANDIGARHONLINE

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India SalmanBashir on Monday visited Chandigarh’s Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Re-search (PGI) to enquire after the health ofcritically injured prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay.Sanaullah continued to be “critically sick” and in“deep coma”, a medical bulletin of the PGIMERtold the top Pakistani envoy during his visit.“He continues to be critically sick and in deepcoma almost in the same status as yesterdaywith no neurological improvement. Patient’smetabolic parameters are now settling. The ar-terial blood gases are satisfactorily maintainedon moderate oxygen flow. He continues to beon a ventilator. His blood pressure continues tobe maintained with three inotropic drugs,” SNMathuriya, professor and head of the depart-ment of neuro-surgery told Bashir. Talking toreporters, Bashir said the condition of the Pak-istani prisoner was not satisfactory as therewas no improvement in his condition. He saidSanaullah was still on a ventilator and couldnot be shifted to any place because of his seri-ous condition. He said the Pakistani HighCommission in Delhi was in contact with theIndian government and had put their demandto provide an inquiry report of this incident toIslamabad. Pakistani diplomats also visited thecomatose Pakistani prisoner on Sunday, who isbeing treated here after being attacked by aprisoner in a Jammu jail on Friday.

lhC takes notice ofman’s death owing topolice torture

LAHOREINP

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday,taking notice of the news published in a sec-tion of press regarding killing of a labourerdue to physical torture by Raiwind City Po-lice, has directed a district and sessions judgeto probe into the matter and submit a detailedreport regarding steps taken by the local policealong with his own comments.According to news reports, 42-year-oldNadeem Ahmad, resident of Baghbanpura,along with 20 other men had been detained bythe police during a festival at Raiwind ongambling charges. The police registered gam-bling and drug cases against some of the de-tainees while the remaining men were releasedafter taking money, the reports claimed.It has been reported that in the police custodyNadeem tried to prove his innocence but thepolice officials tortured him and registered agambling case against him. During the cus-tody, Nadeem’s condition deteriorated and in-stead of shifting him to hospital the police hadhim checked by a local doctor and later lockedhim up again. Later, Nadeem’s health deterio-rated to the extent that the police had to shifthim to Jinnah Hospital where he expired aftera few hours. The police declared him a drugaddict and said that he died of a natural death.However, Nadeem’s family alleged that he haddied of police torture. LHC Complaint Celltook notice of the news and directed the con-cerned D&SJ to look into the matter and sub-mit report within a week positively.

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CoMMENT

Aziz-ud-Din AhmadEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2850505Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

C

and only the politicians can put an end to itAnother source of violence

The case of fake ballot papers

WHETHER the upcoming elections turn out to be successful still remainsto be seen, yet one thing is for sure: seeing them through without anyproblem is most likely not going to be a walk in the park. A number of

factors, ranging from those who are adept at rigging the polls to those who areafraid of losing a particular constituency, will surely impede the smooth sailing.The incident where fake ballot papers were seized by the police in Lower Dir areais something that needs urgent and fair investigation so as to ascertain what reallyhappened and fix responsibility on those involved in the act.

As per reports, Jamat-e-Islami (JI) members were caught red handed with90,000 fake ballot papers that they said were going to be used to educate thewomen of NA-34. Whether the JI did so with bona fide or mala fide intent, keepingthe whole operation a secret surely reflects that something was definitely amiss.Firstly, how did JI come to the conclusion that the women of the area needed thiseducation, and as many as 90,000 of them? Secondly, if that were the case, why didit have to do it in such a surreptitious manner? Had it done it publicly, in full viewof the Election Commission of Pakistan officials, it may have been considered alegitimate initiative. Thirdly, how come the women in the rest of the country don’tneed this kind of an education, particularly in the areas where JI has a stronghold?Fourthly, how was JI going to accomplish its goal of educating women about theprocess of balloting in an area where women traditionally have little participation inoutside activities, and what little they do have they cannot do that without theirmale guardians say-so? From whatever perspective we look at it, the JI did nothandle it well, and that’s something the ECP needs to investigate.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has assured an impartial inquiry into theissue and appropriate action against those found guilty. It sounds good but it needs tobe done quickly and efficiently so that aspersions are not cast on the whole process ofelections. Now that the issue is public knowledge, no effort on the part of the CECshould be spared to dispel the image that rigging was possible on a limited or largerscale, for the credibility of these elections is of pivotal import. The whole electoralexercise is already not balanced with three centre-left and left parties, the PPP, MQMand ANP, at a disadvantage because of repeated militant attacks on their leaders andpolitical workers though recent attacks on the JUI-F and the PTI rallies indicate atilting of scales. Under the circumstances, the ECP would do well to expedite theinquiry process, ascertain what really happened and then make its findings public.

So far election the related violence had emanated from two quarters only. Thefirst was the TTP which has conducted attacks on the PPP, the ANP and theMQM campaigns, offices and candidates as it did not want the secular parties

to take part in polls. The militant network has already succeeded in forcing the threeparties to abandon public rallies and speeches. The second source of violencehappened to be the Baloch separatist organizations which are targeting candidatesbelonging to mainstream and Baloch nationalist parties. The attacks from the twosides continued on Monday as well. The political parties which are trained toconduct peaceful canvassing only are unable to ward off attacks of the sort. What ismore they lack the means and the capacity to bring an end to violence on their own.only intelligence agencies and law enforcement bodies can counter the terrorists.

While the campaigners reel under the blows of the militants, violence hasbeen initiated from a third quarter also. Three PTI workers were killed reportedlyin an election related dispute by their PML-N rivals. This is highly disturbing asit could lead to reprisals in case the leadership of the two parties fails to realizethe gravity of the situation. If prompt action is not taken by the quartersconcerned, attacks on political opponents could spread to other parties and areasas well. There is already a perception that some of the constituencies in all thefour provinces are highly sensitive.

Politicians are in a position to bring down the level of confrontations if notaltogether put an end to it. one can understand that tempers run high whencontest between parties or individual candidates becomes tense. What is howeveralarming is the persistence of intolerance in our political culture. This expressesitself in different ways. During the last spell of by-elections there was display ofarms and at places recourse to aerial firing. A prompt action by the EC howeverhad a salutary effect which shows that if laws are firmly applied, people begin torespect them. The Election Commission has also formulated a code of conduct inconsultation with political parties which one expects it to implement firmly.There is however a lot that the political leaders alone can do or, conversely,refrain from doing. Political parties will not be able to persuade their workers toremain peaceful if their top leaders continue to indulge in aggressive rhetoric.Anyone watching the TV coverage of the campaign is bound to be struck by thehighly offensive tone and gesturing of the speakers. Unless those at the top areable to project a soft image of their parties, there is little likelihood of theirsupporters abiding by the code of conduct.

Tuesday, 7 May, 2013

10 When I got into politics, it was a shock.

People promise all sorts of things and

then never deliver. –Matt Gonzalez

who will do it?According to a press report, a farmer’s sit-in for water haddisrupted main line rail traffic between Karachi andLahore. The farmers are protesting against shortage ofwater in Badin district which is creating drought likeconditions forcing many farmer families to migrate fromthe area.

Tarbela dam was commissioned in 1975, 38 years agowhich increased canal supplies by 25 percent. Totalwithdrawal in canals went up from 83 million acre feet to103 maf.

River flows do not increase by themselves, butpopulation does. While there has been no increase insupplies over the last 38 years, the population has increasedfrom 8 crore to 19 crore over the same period, with no endin sight.

over time, the demand has exceeded the supply forirrigation water. There is a dire need to educate publicopinion on this issue on which depends the survival of thecountry.

KHURSHID ANWERLahore

Counter terrorism andpolitical willWhen Boston Marathon was subjected to an act of terrorism,the city, state and federal government of USA acted inunison, in order to track two terrorists identified by CCTVsurveillance cameras. Compare this with half heartedmeasures, mostly confined to condemnation by politicalparties and constitutional public office holders, wheneveran act of terrorism takes place in different parts of Pakistan.

In Karachi for more than two decades, street crime,extortion and kidnapping for ransom, coupled with threatsof target killing has created an environment where crimeflourishes with huge financial benefits.

If terrorism is to be controlled and finally eliminatedfrom Pakistan, it can only be done by an across the boardruthless action against all criminals, irrespective of theirpolitical affiliation, otherwise this nemesis threatens ourcountry from within and destroy state infrastructure andcollective national security interests of Pakistan.

MALIK TARIQ ALILahore

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusivelyEditor’s mail

what was ji really thinking?

BEING abroad at this im-portant juncture is aneye-opener, being privyto the general thoughtsprevailing concerning

developments in Pakistan. And ofcourse the genuine concern of foreignand Pakistani friends overseas whocare. And they all have multiple, sig-nificant queries – some with no realanswers. As I prepare to return, thehour draws nearer to D-Day. But thereal answers still remain elusive.

In less than two weeks the ballotbox will be the focus of the Nation. Iam seriously worried about the focuson that day, the days preceding and thedays after, of our crazy and lost com-patriots who believe the best way tocontrol Pakistan’s population is tobomb and terrorize it out of existence.And they do it with aplomb, withoutlet or hindrance, without the slightestfear of being challenged. Because thatis what it is. No authority is preparedto confront them, at least in our cities.

The change I seek, and I believethe majority of the 180 million doestoo, is that the first step of any newgovernment should be to restore sanityto the civil environment. If that is notthe priority everything else will be in-significant. Water, power or whatevercomes second to security and safety oflife and of the children of the Mother-land. So good as roads, trains and elec-tronic entertainment maybe, they donot deliver today’s basic need. WillMay 11 change that? I am searchingmy soul in vain.

A friend sent a message saying,“Thank God you are away. There is abomb every hour here”. Sad to say thevery least. Every time when I metsomeone they came in saying, “I justsaw on the news there were a fewblasts in your country!” The very firstquestion is, “Who is doing this?” Thenext one, “Will the elections lead to astoppage?” Honestly, I don’t have ananswer. This is my greatest worry.

It is not the opposition doing it, atleast not a significant opposition thatwill benefit by elections in the near fu-ture. If this were so, in most cases itwould answer the second question too.So let us answer the second question

first. It is unlikely that a change ingovernment as a result of the May 11election will lead to a stop in thebombings and terror attacks in vogue.

Going back to question one revealsthat sufficient knowledge as to the per-petrators and inspirational evil behindthose brainwashed into committingthese attacks is available to the rele-vant authorities. For some godfor-saken reason action is stalled. Theintentions are a mystery, if one is to ig-nore the continued ‘action’ on theEastern border. I do so because no onebut Pakistan is being battered. Is civilwar feared? Are we to believe thatthere are a significant number of guer-rillas undetected that could wreakhavoc? Are there sufficient arms andweapons freely roaming the country tocreate this fear? Do we go by an ear-lier statement of the army chief thatthis army is not equipped for guerillawarfare? If so, how and why has thissituation been allowed to develop intoa monster? These questions will everelude us. So deep is the plot.

A ‘wise’ man I spoke with is drawnto feel this is a planned and organizedmovement of the extreme right that isslowly engulfing the country with atreacherous strategy. That this band ismoving in waves concentrating on theweaker centers, “hearts” he calledthem. For the present the stronger,more prosperous majority province,Punjab, is excluded from the radar. Heobserves the extremists are unable, forthe moment, to muster the support orfind cause. And perhaps also becausethe majority of the armed forces be-long to this area and resistance couldbe exhausting. Therefore, the concen-tration on Karachi, Balochistan andKP. Those with allegedly weak‘hearts’.

This ‘wise’ man also believes theinstigators of this movement are the ji-hadists trained by our forces to playthe guerilla role in our scheme ofthings but who have now trained theirguns on their masters. And play onlyto the tune of former captains turnedrebel. This makes them more danger-ous and perhaps even invincible.Hence the reluctance to engage. Thisis scary indeed.

Within this context the eagernessof some political parties to tag the ex-treme right to run with them or coop-erate with them in the upcomingelection is alarming. Dining with thedevil means giving him a seat at thetable. What happens after is anyone’sguess. Just know one thing for sure ifthe devil lets loose a militant revolu-tion with the ranks of a political partyno leadership is equipped to fightagainst it. This is not about just win-ning an election or power – this isabout the country winning.

Playing populist footsie with thedevil is not an option. When there is

talk of an “Islamic Welfare State”, de-claring the Taliban a welcome part ofsociety and forging electoral alliancesit makes the world look aghast. Peoplelook at us as having gone bananas.This requires tacit clarity from theparty making such statements, in termsof meaning and confirmation of Pak-istan engaging itself as a responsiblemember of the comity of nations.

The crux of my search is circularunfortunately, a never ending merry goround. No party is offering any solu-tions; they are hell bent on castigatingeach other and winning the vote. Thisdeals with absolutely nothing. Theirmanifestos are simply pieces of paperand modalities of achieving goals areleft to ‘dekhlangay’ (we’ll see when itcomes).

Predicted is an unprecedentedturnout and I, for one, hope that istrue. The major parties will get voterturnout regardless of the environment.Nawaz, PPP, MQM and Jamaat aboutthe others one can conjecture. I’ll tellyou why. The bombs scare the livingdaylights out of the upper crust andyoung that must turn out in large num-bers to impact victory in the big cities.A number of these will be votes forPTI thereby putting the party’s candi-dates in jeopardy. This is why it isbeing whispered that it’s the majorparties themselves driving the fear el-ement and at the same time earningsympathy by being ‘targets’.

We can safely assume that evenwhile, perhaps, the mantle will changehands that there will be jiggery-pokerythat will allow the major players an-other round of playing with Pakistan’sfuture. With the Punjab going toNawaz, Sindh to the PPP, Baluchistanand KP to a mixture, the MQM will besafely ensconced in governments inSindh and the Federation. As is likely,if an N government is formed at theCenter there is a strong likelihoodSindh gets an MQM chief minister.That is unless, as a mole suggests, Nand Z play the ultimate card and joinhands. Zardari holds the cards of themajority in the Senate and the mostprobably the largest party in Sindh plusa significant number in the Punjab. Itmay therefore be the ideal coalitionadding the smaller parties and keep ahurtling Imran out in the wilderness.

It is also safe to assume that littlewill change. Maybe the would-be lead-ers will seriously consider addressingcritical issues before they embark ontheir journey. A trainload of costlyministers and massively corrupt com-panions will only add to the nationalmisery. A strong, good doze of coloncleansing is highly recommended. It’sthe only way to the desperately neededcleaner national soul.

The writer can be contacted at:imranmhusain@gmail.com

Soul searching

ImRAN hUSAIN

real answers remain elusive

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CoMMENT CTuesday, 7 May, 2013

11

Leadership that exploits and sacrifices young people on thealtar of its goals is nothing more than raw, demonic power.Genuine leadership is found in ceaseless efforts to foster youngpeople, to pave the way forward for them. –Daisaku Ikeda

MY father, a former Inspector Gen-eral of Police, often gets invited totelevision shows for his expertopinion and analysis on the preva-

lent law and order situation in the country andhow best to tackle the threat that terrorism posesagainst us. on more than one occasion, on tele-vision and in his opinion pieces, he has expressedhis dissatisfaction and frustration at a lack of po-litical will on the part of all concerned to take thisissue head on. It won’t resolve the issueovernight, he says, but it would be the first stepin the right direction. I have often wondered whyour political and military leadership has failed todevelop a unified stance against terrorism. Surelyany sane and responsible individual must beagainst violence and killing of innocent civilians.Why then have we failed to find consensus on anissue which should be as clear as the light of day?Why do some of us still appear to be sympathetictowards those who not only disregard the writ ofstate but also actively seek to target our troopsand take great solace in mutilating their corpses?Why do we not have a unified stance?

Never has this division or lack of fortitude onthe part of our political forces been more appar-ent than in the past couple of months at the heightof the election season. on one hand, we have hadtargeted bombings and gun attacks carried out ona daily basis by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) andits affiliates, mostly against the more liberal par-ties on our political horizon. This has forced thePPP-P, the ANP and the MQM to limit their cam-paigns in order to avoid unnecessary exposure totheir candidates and supporters. But even that hasnot been enough. This past Friday an ANP can-didate for the seat in the National Assembly wasgunned down along with his five-year-old son ashe was leaving the mosque after attending theFriday prayers. The same day, a worker for MQMalso lost his life in a separate attack.

Naturally, such circumstances do not set a

level playing field for these parties and if theysought postponement of polls to better preparethemselves they would be justified. or a muchdirer scenario could have seen them boycott theelections altogether which would have thrownthe legitimacy of the entire process into doubtsince these parties will still be major playerscome election day. Yet the leadership of theseparties continues to stand defiant in the face ofsuch threats and appears more resolute than everto reach the May 11th finish line.

on the other hand, we have parties that notonly seem too busy throwing rhetorical punchesat each other as their campaigns go on unabated,but also have never had a clear enough stanceon terrorism and violence. Even when they havecondemned attacks carried out by TTP and Co,the condemnation has been muffled at best. Insome instances, they even appear to appeal tothe good sense of the Taliban not to carry out at-tacks in the province they govern since they tooshare TTP’s ideology such as opposing theUSA; or completely deny their existence in theirprovince to begin with; or just request them tohalt their bombing expedi-tions to give them time tobuild a new country; or bet-ter yet, completely absolvethem from the assassinationof a former prime ministerof our country, in theprocess discrediting two in-dependent investigationscarried out by two credibleinternational bodies.

This by no means im-plies that the likes of PPP-Pand MQM have not cateredto such elements. Where thePML-N arranges a seat ad-justment policy with the af-filiates of TTP or awardstickets to them, we also hearthat candidates from thePPP-P enjoyed the supportfrom the same outfits whenthey sought to contest elec-tions last time around;where we see stipends being allotted to leadersof banned sectarian outfits by the Punjab gov-ernment, we also see the government of Karachiallowing the same leaders to address gatheringsin the metropolitan while the entire countrymourns the killings of Hazaras. The same leadersare also seen sharing the stage with the Punjabpresident of the third political force as he tourswith the caravan that was the Difa-e-PakistanCouncil. In this sort of an environment, whereall parties seek to please all and sundry for the

sake of a couple of extra ballots, is it any surprisethat we lack the will to have a unified stance?

And what about the other players on thescene. The fact that we have not had a single sig-nificant conviction of any known terrorist in therecent past reflects poorly not only on the judici-ary but also our law enforcement and investigativeagencies. At least we see the Chief of our ArmyStaff making all the right noises. Gen Kayani’sspeech on the day of commemoration for martyrsnot only signaled out his intent by owning the waron terror, but it also sounded out a message to allthose who seek peaceful talks with such elementsthat negotiations are not the way forward. Couplethis with TTP’s own belief that every time theyare asked to come to a negotiating table is a polit-ical win for them should remove all doubts as towhat the unified stance needs to be.

The great Mao Tse-tung in his essay ‘On Con-tradiction’ writes that ‘at every stage in the devel-opment of a process, there is only one principalcontradiction which plays the leading role. Hence,if in any process there are a number of contradic-tions, one of them must be the principal contra-

diction playing the leadingand decisive role, while therest occupy a secondary andsubordinate position. There-fore, in studying any com-plex process in which thereare two or more contradic-tions, we must devote everyeffort to finding its princi-pal contradiction. once thisprincipal contradiction isgrasped, all problems canbe readily solved.’ Whilediscussing Mao’s philoso-phy, a renowned intellectualonce expressed his opinionto me that he believed thatthe principal contradictionthat Pakistan faced todaywas the stance that neededto be taken on the issue ofthe Taliban. once we are onthe right side of this princi-pal contradiction, all else

will begin to fall in to place. The fact that therewas a coaster lying on his desk which read that‘I stand for everything that the Taliban hate’, Iassumed what side of the principal contradictionhe stood on. And I tend to agree.

The writer is an advocate of the highcourts, a guidance and career counselor and apublic-speaking coach. The views expressedhere are his own. He can be contacted atazhar@alumni.law.upenn.edu

where there isn’t a will

Tacklingmould

SoME friendswere awayfor a month.opening their

fridge to give it aquick clean beforethey returned, I wasstunned to find it cov-ered in mould becauseit had been switchedoff and its door shutwhile still damp.Mould had penetratedeven the rubber liningon the door, and theempty ice trays con-tained green fungus cubes.

Cleaning that fridge took a very long time.Whoever takes over the governance following elections

faces a similar prospect. Genuine efforts to clean up and re-build the country will take generations. To imagine that thisjob can be tackled within days, weeks or even months is to de-lude oneself and others, because corruption, like that mould,has infiltrated every level of society; and education, healthcare, law and order and justice, are all in grave need of atten-tion.

Article 25 A of Part II of the Constitution of Pakistan out-lines the fundamental right of its citizens to education. It holdsthe State responsible for providing free and compulsory edu-cation for all citizens between the ages of five and sixteen. Yetmost children of this age across the country work for an incomeand do not attend school. They have few options, with the costof living what it is.

Every single political party with much thumping of fistsand elaborate sloganeering has promised a greater allocationof funds for education if elected, and, the Jamaat-e-Islami, notto be outdone, has promised one hundred percent literacy bythe end of its tenure should anyone (be so rash as to) electthem.

It remains a mystery how any of this is to be achieved, andon which prior performance records these parties base theirclaims. The PPP ended its tenure not only without fulfilling itspromises, but the GDP during its current tenure declined. Alsoquite unexplained is where they plan to obtain the necessaryfunds. In a statement last November, the IMF is quoted as say-ing that ‘Pakistan’s growth remains too weak, the underlyinginflation high and the trade balance heading in the wrong di-rection,’ which is another way of saying that the economy iscompletely stuffed.

The problem has to be tackled on multiple fronts: the qual-ity of the (exceedingly) substandard education currently avail-able must be improved, and politically motivated interferencein syllabi prohibited; education must be made affordable forchildren belonging to underprivileged families, and provisionmade to replace their loss of earnings if these working childrenwho contribute to the family income, attend school instead.

I teach English as a second language (ESL). My new stu-dents are unable to put together a single sentence in correctEnglish despite having studied English throughout school andcollege, where they also study history, microbiology, biologyetc. You wonder how well these other subjects are taught. Nottoo well, judging by the fact that these young women are underthe impression that the year 2013 belongs to the 20th century.They are shocked to discover that they are a century behindtimes.

This is an intelligent nation; its intelligence has simplybeen warped. Education can and must be provided, but theprocess will require solutions outside the box, involving entirecommunities in the process.

With a population almost at 200 million, Pakistan spendsjust over 0.25 per cent on healthcare, and has an extremely highrate of infant and maternal mortality, malaria, tuberculosis, andcertain cancers, such as breast cancer, the latter in fact the high-est in Asia. At the same time the ratio of doctors and nurses perperson is extremely low. Less than half the children in thecountry are immunised, and currently, the process of immuni-sation is proving as dangerous as its absence, with immunisa-tion workers being targeted by militants.

It is as important to remove unqualified and dangerous‘medical’ practitioners as it is to provide good qualified ones.In the meantime general health can be improved by providingefficient waste disposal and better access to safe drinkingwater, removing sources of malaria and launching a relentlesscampaign of public awareness against the breeding habits ofmosquitoes and militants alike, keeping in mind that more thanhalf the population is unable to read.

With criminals targeting not just civilians but also prose-cutors involved in public judicial cases, law, order and justiceobviously do not exist. It is in fact no longer newsworthy thatlawyers themselves increasingly indulge in some of the worstforms of hooliganism, unchecked by their mentors. These men-tors, the highest judicial officials in the country are too busyinterfering in matters beyond their remit, and fail to attend tothose that fall within.

Will militants and other vested interests allow these elec-tions to take place? Let’s hope so, and look forward to a hap-pier future than the present has been.

why we need a unified stance

RABIA AhmED

SyED hAIDER AZhAR

rebuilding the country will take generations

The fact that we havenot had a single

significant conviction ofany known terrorist inthe recent past reflectspoorly not only on thejudiciary but also ourlaw enforcement and

investigative agencies.

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:17 AM Page 11

arts

ATuesday, 7 May, 2013

12

India has voted and chosen the Times 50 Most

Desirable Men of 2012. The 7.01 lakh votes received

online on www.itimes.com/polls along with our vote

decided the winners. The list also featured Pakistani

musician and actor Ali Zafar, at number 23. TOI talks

to Arjun Rampal who tops the list.

FLATTERED, ECSTATIC, kICkED —WHAT DOES IT

FEEL TO BE vOTED THE MOST DESIRABLE MAn

OF 2012?

I would be lying if I said I’m not flattered being voted

as the Times Most Desirable Man of 2012. Frankly, I

have no idea how the desirability quotient is arrived

at. If it is just drop dead good looks, then I have to

thank God and my parents for it.

In yOUR OPInIOn, BESIDES LOOkS, WHAT ELSE

GOES InTO MAkInG A MAn DESIRABLE?

I think it is a combination of looks, aura, success, the

energies that one gives out, the person you are and

the person you feel like that makes you ‘desirable’.

When the outside world sees you as a man who is

responsible for himself and his family, as a man who

is fit and sensitive, it kind of ups your desirability.

ARE yOU nARCISSISTIC? HOW MAny TIMES A

DAy DO yOU LOOk In THE MIRROR?

I have not taken my good looks seriously from the

beginning. When I would be teased by my friends

about my looks, I would just make a self-deprecating

remark and let it pass. As I said earlier, my looks

came from my parents. As for the vanity bit, the

reason I’m not vain is because I have never attached

too much importance to being handsome. I’m a

normal actor who looks in the mirror when

he is shaving, having a haircut or

perhaps getting ready for a shoot.

yOU’RE 40 AnD yOU HAvE

STILL MAnAGED TO

BEAT THE

yOUnGSTERS In THE

LOOkS

DEPARTMEnT. IS

THERE A SECRET

THERE?

Yes, the secret is to

keep fit, no matter how

tough the

circumstances are. I

hate missing a workout.

As you grow old, the

challenges to keep

yourself fitter are more. I

know I have to eat right,

sleep right and exercise in

moderation. Physical attributes

can make you appealing, but to

keep the appeal going, one has to

draw from within. You have to be a real

person. Your fans and the people you associate

with have to be able to see beyond your looks. You have

to be a good friend, dutiful son and a good family man.

WHO ACCORDInG TO yOU IS MORE HAnDSOME

THAn yOU?

For me handsome is what handsome does. And my

friend Abhishek Kapoor (Gattu), the maker ofRock

On and Kai Po Che, is the most handsome

guy in the world. He is a true friend,

gives out positive energy and has

a fantastic sense of humour. A

sense of humour and the ability

to laugh at yourself is also

what contributes largely to

a person’s appeal. I know

Gattu will tease me

mercilessly about this

most desirable tag. And

I know I will take it

sportingly.

LOOkS APART, WHAT

MILESTOnES HAvE

yOU SET FOR

yOURSELF?

Professionally, I’m in a

happy place. My career

has been looking up. Post

the National Award forRock

On (2008), it has been a win-

win on many counts. Films

like Chakravyuh, Inkaar, D-Day,

Raajneeti and Satyagraha have given me

immense potential. I’m indebted to

filmmakers like Prakash Jha, Sudhir Mishra, Nikhil

Advani and others for writing special roles for me. The

way I see things, my career is on the upswing because

even the audience has learnt to look beyond my looks

and accept me as a performer. The feedback from

social networking sites and from my close associates

has been heartening. COURTESy TImES OF INDIA

Arjun Rampal: 2012’smost desirable man

NEWS DESK

Lindsay Lohan has said that she is notan alcoholic, has only done cocainefour times and doesn’t need in-patientrehab.

The 26-year-old actress, who en-tered her 90 days of court-ordered in-patient rehab at the Betty Ford

Center, told Piers Morgan in an inter-view that was conducted a few weeksback that everyone thinks that she hasdone cocaine so many times, which isincorrect as she has only done it fouror five times in her life.

The troubled star said that shehas never been a huge drinker, asshe never had a drink after wak-

ing up in the morning.She asserted that she could write

a book on rehab and constantly send-ing her to rehab is pointless, Radaronline reported. Lindsay said that shehas never been a junkie and neverwill be, she just likes going out lateto clubs. She also said that she hadnever stolen a necklace. She addedthat she was a straight person, but had

made out with girls before and hada relationship with a girl.

NEWS DESK

That’s one way to make astatement. Reese Witherspoonlanded at LAX on Saturdaywearing jeans, a black jacket, and abaseball cap with a “City of AtlantaPolice” patch on it. The bold lookcomes two weeks afterWitherspoon, 37, and her husbandJim Toth were arrested in Georgiaon April 19. Toth was later chargedwith driving under the influencewhile Witherspoon was chargedwith disorderly conduct. The oscarwinning actress gave a sly smile forthe cameras as she walked out ofthe airport with her husband andtheir 8-month-old son Tennessee intow. Witherspoon apologized on“Good Morning America” lastweek for her bizarre behaviorduring her arrest. “I saw [the policeofficer] arresting my husband and Iliterally panicked,” Witherspoon

said in her first post-arrestinterview. “I told him I waspregnant. I’m not pregnant. I saidall kinds of crazy things. ... I wasso disrespectful to him. I havepolice officers in my family. I work

with police officers every day. Iknow better. It’s just unacceptable.”Just days later, dashboard video ofthe arrest surfaced that showed aclearly intoxicated Witherspoonsaying those crazy things.

wong KAR-wAiAwARdEd fRAnCE’ShighEST CulTuRAlhonouR

NEWS DESK

France’s enduring love affair with Wong Kar-wai continued over the weekend, as the countrynamed the Hong Kong filmmaker a Commanderof the order of Arts and Letters. The order ofArts and Letters is one of France’s majorcultural designations and has three classes:Commander, officer and Knight. Past Chineserecipients include director Zhang Yimou(Commander); actress Gong Li (officer); andHong Kong action star Jackie Chan (Knight).France has long celebrated Wong’s art-housecareer. He was awarded the best director prizeat the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for “HappyTogether,” and he served as jury president atthe festival in 2006. Wong’s latest film, “TheGrandmaster,” starring Messrs. Leung andChang, was released in Chinaearlier this year and is anart-house look at theworld of martial-artsexperts. It is scheduled toopen in Europe andNorth America later thisyear. Wong has displayeda long-time interest inmartial-arts films andnovels. His 1994 movie“Ashes of Time” is basedon the novel “TheLegend of theCondor Heroes”by writer LouisCha. At amaster class inMarch,Wong toldanaudiencein HongKong thathe wasdriven“to makea filmabout thebeauty and eleganceof Chinese men andwomen.”

KEiRA KEPT wEdding

SECRET fRoM

BRidEgRooM’S

PAREnTS

Keira Knightley kept her super private

and fuss-free wedding a secret even

from James Righton’s parents. The ‘Love

Actually’ star and her fiance wanted to

keep the ceremony in southern France

low-key, so they told guests that they

were just coming to a party to celebrate

the couple’s plans to get hitched, the Sun

reported. The ‘Klaxons’ keyboard player’s

father Nicholas said that they were only

told to turn up the night before. A total

of 11 people saw the actress, 28, and the

musician, 29, wed in the small Provence

town of Mazan. The guest list included

fellow actress Sienna Miller and members

of Righton’s Indie band. The nuptials

were followed by a party, which went on

until dawn to a string of 1980s and 90s

hits, at Knightley’s 1.9 million-pound

farmhouse. NEWS DESK

oliViA wildE, EMMA

STonE Run foR

CAnCER ChARiTyActresses Olivia Wilde and Emma Stone

participated in the 16th Annual EIF

Revlon RunWalk for Women to raise

money for charity. Both the actresses

were spotted wearing matching T-shirts

and jackets as they participated in the

five kilometre fundraiser. According to

Revlon Runwalk website, Wilde’s Team

Badass had raised $20,000 for cancer

research and Stone’s team collected

$13,800 for the cause, reports

femalefirst.co.uk. Stone’s mother

Krista Stone is a breast cancer

survivor. Stone and Wilde have both

represented Revlon as brand

ambassadors since 2011. NEWS DESK

Constantlysending me torehab ispointless: lilo

Reese Witherspoon photographed wearing

‘City of Atlanta Police’ baseball cap

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13ArTsTuesday, 7 May, 2013

A

NEWS DESK

The fact that real life ex-lovers RanbirKapoor and Deepika Padukone have notonly come together on screen for “ YehJawaani Hai Deewani”, but they have alsobecome friends inspires director AyanMukerji and he hopes to follow in theirfootsteps.

“I respect Deepika and Ranbir. In someway, they represent a slightly new genera-tion. They were ex-lovers and had somedrama, and now they are able to be friends,this shows that they are part of the youngergeneration,” Mukerji told IANS.

“I hope that I could be friends with an

ex. You bring so much to each other’s life.Then it’s sad if you can’t be friends,” headded.

He admits that their past rletaionship isadding to the buzz around the movie, butfeels people will come to watch the filmonly if it is good.

“I guess it is adding to the vibes aroundthe film... I don’t know why. The only rea-son I would go to watch a film is if the filmis good. But people keep telling me thatpeople are excited to see them on screen,”he said.

“But if people come and spend moneyto watch your film, they will come becausethey like your film. If Ranbir and Deepika

were in a really bad film with bad promosand songs, I don’t know people wouldcome to watch it,” added the director whohad teamed up with Ranbir for his directo-rial debut “Wake Up Sid”, one of thebiggest hits of 2009. While dating eachother, Ranbir and Deepika did 2008 roman-tic movie “Bachna Ae Haseeno”. Mukerjisays that the two sorted their differencesmuch before teaming up for “Yeh JawaaniHai Deewani”, their second film together.

“The ice had broken before the shoot-ing. A year-and-half before we startedshooting, we had sat down and things hadbeen normal. Today, Ranbir and Deepikaare good friends,” he said.

Ranbir, Deepika sortedtheir differences before‘Yeh Jawaani’: Ayan

NEWS DESK

JUSTIN Bieber was dramaticallyattacked on stage as he performedin Dubai.

A fan broke through securityand launched himself at the star ashe performed his song Believe.

Bieber managed to leap awayto the other side of the stage whilesecurity guards manhandled theexcited fan.

The Canadian singer wasplaying the latest leg of his tour ofthe Middle East when the male fanstruck.

He was left unscathed, butperhaps embarrassingly, the audiobacking track with vocals contin-ued playing while the fracas en-sued. The grand piano he wassitting at also span off the stage,meaning it was unplayable for therest of the concert.

He returned after a threeminute break and performed hishits Boyfriend and Baby.

After the show he took toTwitter to say: ‘Dubai. Nothingstops the show. 2 more to go.#BELIEVEtour’.

He also performed in Dubaion Saturday night but didn’t per-form his track one Less LonelyGirl out of respect for the coun-

try’s Muslim faith.And the troubled singer

caused anger again as he arrivedmore than two hours late for hisDubai show. He angered parentsin the UK when he had a similardelay before performing at Lon-don’s o2 Arena in March.

A troupe of street drummers got ashock when Helen Mirren, dressed asQueen Elizabeth II, emerged from aLondon theater to berate them fordisrupting her show. Mirren is star-ring in “The Audience,” a dramaabout the weekly meetings betweenthe queen and Britain’s prime minis-ters. Mirren told the Daily Telegraphnewspaper that she used less-than-royal language in the rant during Sat-urday’s intermission. She said, “I feltrotten but on the other hand theywere destroying our performance sosomething had to be done.” Thedrummers were promoting a gaymusic festival. Spokesman MarkWilliams said organizers “are terriblyupset if we caused her any distress. Ifshe’d like to let her hair down and at-tend the festival she’d be more thanwelcome.” NEWS DESK

juSTin BiEBERattacked on stageby fan at Dubai gig

Helen Mirren gives noisydrummers a royal rebuke

Getting her international on, the lovely Jessica Alba attends the Seoul press conference for the

film Secretly and Greatly. AGENCIES

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:18 AM Page 13

NEWS DESK

IF you think theories about theuniverse are mind-bending, restassured that many scientists feelthe same way. But the questionisn't a philosophi-

cal one: it has potentiallyreal, testable aspects.

In many ways, it'sstrange to us humans thatthe Universe should be theage it is. The Universe – by definition,everything that physically exists – shouldeither be infinite in age, or somehow tiedto the lifespan of the human species, as itdoes in many mythologies. However,thanks to studies on the rate the Universeis expanding, and applying this knowledgein reverse, we know its age. Roughly 13.8billion years ago, all we can observe onEarth, in our solar system, other galaxiesand everything in between expanded outrapidly from an initial point much smallerthan an atom, which we call the Big Bang.

The Big Bang model is our best ex-planation for why the cosmos appears asit does. Nevertheless, it's not able to an-swer some of the more challenging ques-tions, including what – if anything – camebefore it? Despite how it might sound,this question isn't a philosophical one: ithas potentially real, testable aspects.

For many reasons, cosmologists thinkthe early Universe underwent inflation:an incredibly rapid expansion right afterthe Big Bang. As the Universe expanded,it also cooled, so in the distant past, it washotter, more dense, and opaque to allforms of light. When the cosmos becametransparent, about 380,000 years after the

Big Bang, it left behind a bath of photons,detectable today as the Cosmic Mi-crowave Background (CMB). As spaceobservatories like CoBE, WMAP andmore recently Planck have shown, theCMB is remarkably smooth, but not quiteuniform. Within this were tiny ripples thatwere stretched to enormous sizes duringinflation, and in turn these became theseeds for large-scale objects like galaxiesand galactic clusters we see today.

POCKET UNIvERSES

However, none of this really tells uswhat, if anything, came before the BigBang. In many models for inflation, as insome of the older Big Bang theories, this isthe only Universe that exists – or at the veryleast, the only Universe we can observe.

A partial exception to this is a modelknown as eternal inflation. In thisscheme, the observable Universe is partof a “pocket universe”, a bubble in alarger froth of inflation that is ongoing.

In our particular bubble, inflation beganand ended, but in other pocket universes– unconnected (“parallel”) and therebyunobservable to our pocket universe –inflation might have had different prop-erties. Eternal inflation effectively emp-tied the regions outside of bubbles of allmatter; these would have no stars,galaxies, or other familiar hallmarks. Ifeternal inflation is correct, then the BigBang is the origin of our pocket uni-verse, but not the beginning of thewhole Universe, which may have begunmuch earlier.

TRILLION-yEAR CyCLE

Many cosmologists regard inflation asbeing the worst model we have, except forall the alternatives. Inflation's genericproperties are pretty nice, thanks to its use-fulness in solving difficult problems incosmology, but the specifics are slippery.

There is one possible alternative to in-flation, which bypasses these questions

and, along the way, resolves what camebefore the Big Bang. In Paul Steinhardtand Neil Turok’s cyclic universe model,the observable Universe resides in ahigher-dimensional void. Coupled to ouruniverse is a parallel shadow universe thatwe can’t directly observe, but is connectedvia gravity. The Big Bang was not the be-ginning, but a moment when the two“branes” (short for “membrane”) collided.The Universe in the cyclic model goes be-tween periods when the branes are movingapart, accelerated expansion, and new BigBangs when the branes re-collide. Whileeach cycle would take about a trillionyears to complete, the whole cosmos couldbe infinitely old, bypassing the philosoph-ical problems with inflationary models.

The cyclic universe is not a popularmodel among working cosmologists, butat least it could be ruled out by experi-mental observations: if the gravitational-wave signature of inflation is found, thenthe cyclic model is dead. The cyclicmodel isn't complete: it doesn't explainhow much dark energy there is in the Uni-verse any more than standard cosmologydoes, for example. In other words, thecyclic model is not complete, so at pres-ent there's no physical evidence to distin-guish it from inflationary models.

If you think all these options are fairlymind-bending, rest assured that professionalscientists feel the same way. Since the ob-servable Universe is currently acceleratingwith no sign of re-collapse even in the farfuture, why should there be a cosmos witha beginning but no similar ending? In an-other decade or century, the questions andthe methods we use to answer these ques-tions will most likely have evolved.

InFotaInMent

ITuesday, 7 May, 2013

14

MAn ClAiMS hEownS ThE Moon

Calling it the biggest loophole in the

world doesn't quite capture its reach:

Dennis Hope claims that he owns the

moon—and our solar system's

planets—due to what the Outer Space

Treaty doesn't say. Mashablereports the

treaty has been the guiding document

on space law since 1967, and while it

bars any country on Earth from laying

claim to a heavenly body, it makes no

mention of private companies or

individuals doing just that. So Hope

formed Lunar Embassy Corp, snatched

up the property rights to the moon and

more, and has been selling off one-acre

lots since. Though Yahoo shines a light

on Hope's offerings (your own piece of

the moon will cost just $19.99 an acre;

Mars will run you slightly more at

$22.49), it's far from the first time he's

been in the news. He was featured in

the documentary Lunarcy!, out last

month on Epix, notes the Hollywood

Reporter, and he's talked to media

before. As National Geographic

previously reported, Hope thinks he

has solid ground to stand on: He

registered his moon claim with the UN

in 1980, and got no answer, which he

thinks means it's a go. And while

there's still plenty of real estate to be

had, Hope has sold more than a

nominal amount of each: 600 million

moon acres (about 7.5% of it) and 325

million Mars acres. He says two former

US presidents are landowners as well

as 250 "very well known celebrities," as

are two US hotel chains. But Hope does

draw the line somewhere: The Apollo

landing sites are off-limits. NEWS DESK

EARly huMAnSloVEd To EATBRAinS: STudy

Mcdonald's ismost visitedbusiness inAmerica

will we ever… know whathappened before the Big Bang?

When it comes to eccentric crafts-men who think outside the box, cy-cling legend, Graeme obree, fallswell outside any orthodox frame-work. His whole career has been de-fined by questioning conventionalwisdom and finding out for himselfthe best way to go about things. Forobree, this doesn’t end with hand-crafting his own bike; it goes rightdown to the way he breathes.

THE OBREE WAy

obree has distilled all that he haslearnt and discovered throughout hiscareer into a training manual like noother. The obree Way, a comprehen-sive and holistic guide to cycling is aguide for both novices and pros alike.First, he explains what led him towrite the guide. He says, “I wrote thetraining manual fundamentally be-cause there’s so much information, al-most an overload about how to train,how to eat, what training to do, so Ithought, what I want to do is have amanual that nails it, that says exactlywhat I would do and what I would rec-ommend to somebody else, whethera long term sportsman or new to thesport, to tell them exactly what youneed to do and don’t need to do.”

BREATHING OUT

When it comes to breathing,obree has developed a techniquewhich he believes is far more effi-cient than the standard rhythmicbreathing employed by most sports-men. He says, “I have developed myown, three-phase technique to tryand increase the oxygen uptake forthe least amount of effort. That en-tails shifting the emphasis frombreathing in to breathing out.”

obree continues, “If you weredrowning your natural reactionwould be to breathe in but the mostimportant thing about breathing isactually breathing out, the reasonbeing that, as an athlete, if you arebreathing heavily in and out rhyth-mically, even a trained athlete, theoxygen content of the air will beabout 14-16%, whereas the atmos-pheric content is 21%.” If you don’texhale properly you aren’t expellingall the air, which remains in yourlungs with an increased percentageof carbon dioxide.

DEEP BREATHING

obree continues, “Bear in mind,even a trained athlete breathingrhythmically as best he can, he is

only breathing 1/3 of his lung capac-ity out, to breath in 1/3 third whichmixes with the bad air again. So theemphasis on my breathing techniqueis to try and breath 2/3 of that air outwhich is realistically possible. It’sbasically breathing out a lot morethan you normally would and breath-ing a lot deeper than you would.”

The reason why obree calls it athree-phase technique is because herealised it would not be possible toexhale fully after every intake ofbreath. He says, “You can’t do thatfor every breath so you do a wee halfbreath out and then back in and an-other a wee half breath out and backin, then a big breath out and back in.”

As soon as obree had formu-lated this technique he went out andtested it, including a few variations.

He says, “I tested a two phasetechnique and a four phase techniquebut the three phase technique was theone that turned out to be the best one;the one I thought was the best in termsof performance.” The obree Way isbeing reissued by BloomsburyBooks with an additional two chap-ters – the plan is to publish this com-ing autumn. COURTESy hUmANS INvENT

The capacity of the female mind for studies of the highest order

cannot be doubted, having been sufficiently illustrated by its

works of genius, of erudition, and of science. –James Madison

Breathing: The Graeme obree way

Just how popular are the golden arches? So popular

that nearly half of US consumers visited them last

month, according to a new study spotted by

theConsumerist. The study, from the new Placed

Insights service, sought to determine which

businesses Americans visit most. Fast food

dominates the list, but McDonald's is in a class of its

own, with 49% visiting in March. Here's the top 10:

1. McDonald's (49%)

2. Walmart (38.8%)

3. Subway (37.8%)

4. Burger King (24.3%)

5. Starbucks (23.9%)

6. Wendy's (22.8%)

7. Walgreens (22.7%)

8. CVS (18.9%)

9. Taco Bell (18.2%)

10. Target (14.2%)

There were some other surprises further down the

list as well, like GameStop coming in at No. 12 with

12.8%, or RadioShack (No. 14, 12.1%) trouncing

Best Buy (No. 35). And check out Dollar Tree; the

unassuming discount store is No. 18, with just

more than one in 10 Americans visiting last month.

The data comes from Placed's mobile users on an

opt-in basis, explains the Kelsey Group, which

describes it as "comScore for the offline world." The

data came from 70,000 volunteers. NEWS DESK

Our

evolutionary

ancestors

were hungry

for braaaiiins—

antelope

brains, that is.

Sets of animal

bones recently

unearthed in Kenya, believed to be the

earliest evidence of hominid hunting,

show previous members of the human

family enjoyed digging into the heads

of antelope and wildebeests, as well

as snacking on gazelle meat, Science

News reports. They knew a thing or

two about butchery, too, cutting the

animals into parts before selecting

the meatiest bones. Scientists have

also found a disproportionate number

of animal skulls in the area,

suggesting our ancestors scavenged

the untouched heads from carcasses

left behind by big cats after their own

meals. Dents inside the skulls indicate

they dug in with stones to get at the

delicious, juicy brains inside.

According to a study of the findings,

this nutrient-rich brain tissue may

have helpedHomo erectus support

larger bodies, bigger brains, and

travel longer distances. NEWS DESK

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:18 AM Page 14

sPorTs

STuesday, 7 May, 2013

15I want to thank my opponent. There are a lot ofchallengers who talk a lot, but he got in the ringand fought bravely — Wladimir Klitschko

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN’S former captainsJaved Miandad and WasimAkram are hopeful that thenational team can win theupcoming ICC Champions

Trophy in England.

The PCB has asked Miandad to assistthe batsmen in the national training campunderway in Abbottabad whileAkram is also there to workwith the pace bowlers.

Both the greatshave spent hoursworking with theplayers sincereachingAbbottabad twodays back.

According todetails, Miandad, inparticular, has spenthours helping thebatsmen Misbah-ul-Haq,Asad Shafiq, Umar Aminwhile Akram has been training thelikes of Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan,Ehsan Adil, Asad Ali and Wahab Riaz.

Even as the two greats worked withthe players, head coach, Dav Whatmoreand bowling coach, Mohammad Akrampreferred to take a back seat and let themwork independently.

“I always say before a majortournament that given the talent we havePakistan is always among the favourites

to win the title,” Akram told reporters.“Like Brazil in football we areblessed with a lot of natural

talent. I believe thatPakistan has

always hadthisabilityof

beatingany team

on its day. Iam also

confident about ourteam’s chances in this Champions

Trophy,” he said.Akram said that if the batsmen were

able to post enough runs on the board, thebowling attack was capable of bundlingout any side in the tournament.

“It will be a tough tournament but Iam backing Pakistan because at this timeof the year and over the years the pitchesat most venues in England have flattenedand our batsmen can score a lot of runs. If

they do that our bowlers have the abilityto win matches,” he said.

He pointed out that despite theabsence of experienced pacer,

Umar Gul the team wasblessed with enough pace

and spin talent andcould upset any battingline-up. Miandadadvised the batsmen togo to England withoutany pressure. “I havetold them go and play

in the ChampionsTrophy like they would

in any other event. If youtake the pressure of a big

tournament and keep thinking, itdoes affect your performances,”

Miandad said. He said the ChampionsTrophy would be a close event because allthe participating teams were playing well.

“Pakistan, India, England, SouthAfrica and the West Indies are allbalanced outfits and it will boil down tohow a team plays on a particular day.There is little to separate the teams whichhave their own set of strengths andweaknesses,” he said.

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The successful overseas tours in the last fewyears after Pakistan cricket team was forcedto play away from home has made it astrong contender for the upcoming ICCChampions Trophy in England and Wales,feels its vice-captain, Mohammad Hafeez.

Hafeez told reporters during thenational training camp in Abbottabad thatdespite being forced to play the homematches at neutral venues, Pakistan still hada 60 to 65 percent success rate in the lastthree years.

“The good thing about our team is thatwe have been playing in different countriesand still producing good results with asuccess rate of 60-65 per cent,” he said.

He pointed out that even in ICC eventsPakistan had done well in recent times.

“This makes Pakistan a strongcontender in the tournament and the goodthing is that we have a squad that is a blendof youth and experience. When you haveyouth in the side they are always eager toperform well and cement their places in theside and that is a big plus point for us,” hesaid.

Hafeez who had a horrible time in theTest series in South Africa this year whileopening the innings, said the players hadlearnt a lot from that tour.

“It is time to move on and the goodthing is that the board decided to set upcamp in Abbottabad. obviously we can`thave exactly the same conditions that wewill encounter in England but they aresimilar.

“The weather is cooler and the pitcheshave grass and moisture and that is goodpreparation for the Champions Trophy,” hesaid.

Hafeez, 32, said he was not undulyconcerned over his recent batting form.

“I have been sticking to my basics andtrying to keep my game as uncomplicatedas possible. Having greats like JavedMiandad and Wasim Akram has also helpeda lot and even a few minutes with themgives you a different insight into the game,”he said.

Hafeez who managed just 43 runs in sixTest innings and 118 in five one-DayInternationals in South Africa, said therewas no need to press the panic button as faras the batting was concerned.

He pointed out that overall he was

satisfied with his technique and was lookingto improve it.

“You have to understand why lookingat our batting performances that not gettingto play at home for such a long time doeshave its problems. The younger players arenot getting the chance to develop in familiarconditions and we are playing in different

conditions all the time.”But he insisted that the disadvantage of

not playing at home will not affect theoverall performance of the team in the megaevent. Hafeez also suggested to the cricketboard to give former legends a longer timeto work with the team as it would help theplayers in their overall improvement.

CRiCKETERS wAnTRAiSE in SAlARyin CoMingConTRACT

LAHORE: Pakistan’s top cricketers are

expecting the PCB to give them another

pay hike when the new central contracts

for the year 2013 are given before the

team leaves for the ICC Champions

Trophy. Reports attributing sources

close to some of the players said that

they were expecting a pay raise as their

options for revenue earning were limited

in comparison to players from other

countries. “Two senior players are

leading the move to convince the board

to give the players a pay raise but so

far, the PCB has yet to decide on this,” a

source said. The PCB had last year, after

a five months delay in handing out the

central contracts, given the players a 25

percent increase in their monthly

salaries and also a 10 percent raise in

their match fees for all three formats of

the game. The raise increased the

salaries of the cricketers in the A

category of the contracts to 313,000

rupees and those in category B to

218,000. The Test match fees of the A

category players also increased to

around 320,000 rupees. “The players

are arguing that not only do they get a

opportunity to play in the lucrative

Indian Premier League but the board

also stopped them from taking part in

the Bangladesh Premier League this

year. Plus the international and

domestic commitments of the national

team also means they can’t accept full

contracts to play in other foreign

leagues in England, Sri Lanka, South

Africa or Australia resulting in loss of

earnings,” the source said. The PCB this

year stopped its players from taking

part in the BPL after a tiff with the

Bangladesh Cricket Board over sending

its team to Pakistan. The source the two

senior players who were close to the

establishment, had conveyed their

request to the chairman of the board,

Zaka Ashraf, but were still waiting for a

positive response. “The board is also

financially not in a strong position

because no international teams are

coming to Pakistan since 2009 and

secondly there have been increased

expenses on franchising domestic

cricket and on launching the PCB annual

awards and also giving bonuses and

cash awards to players. The board itself

is in a tight position,” a source in the

board said. The PCB is yet to announce

the new central contracts list for this

year. But the official source said that the

PCB this year would also have to sell

afresh its broadcasting rights as its

existing contract with the Dubai-based

Ten sports would end in July. “Already

the board has suffered a loss in

earnings from its broadcasting deal

because India haven’t come to play in

Pakistan since 2008 when they last

came for the Asia Cup,” the source said.

He said because of India’s refusal to

send its team to Pakistan or play a

bilateral series at a neutral venue, the

PCB’s earnings from its broadcasting deal

would suffer a drop in revenues of

around 35 to 40 percent which translated

into millions of dollars. STAFF REPORT

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The appointment of Trent Woodhill asbatting coach of the Pakistan team for theICC Champions Trophy has not gone downwell with the majority of former players,including Javed Miandad and WasimAkram.

Woodhill, who has not played first-classcricket and till last year was the associate

coach of the New Zealand team, is set to jointhe team in England for the upcomingtournament. Miandad, who is also Director-General cricket in the PCB, made hisdispleasure over the appointment well-known while talking to reporters at thenational camp in Abbotabad.

“I am the DG cricket in the board and Ihave no role in the appointment of coaches.But this much I can say if I had been askedto recommend someone it would have been

someone who I knew would not spoil myreputation or let me down for recommendinghim,” Miandad said.

Miandad, placing his hand on his heartwhen asked whether he backed Woodhill’sappointment, said there were lot of thingsburied in his heart but being a employee ofthe board, he couldn’t spell them out.

“But whoever recommended Woodhill’sname to the chairman has not done a greatservice to Pakistan cricket,” he said.

Akram, who is also working with theplayers in the training camp, said he hadalways believed that while modern daytechnology was essential in cricket andqualified coaches helped a lot, it wasnecessary for a coach to have played at leastfirst-class cricket. “That is my personal pointof view but let us hope Woodhill can do goodwith our players,” he added.

Ajmal recoversfrom hernia scare

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal hasrecovered from a suspected herniascare and lost five kilograms inweight to prepare for next month’sChampions Trophy in England. The35-year-old Ajmal felt pain in hislower abdomen after Pakistan’s seriesagainst South Africa in March. Ajmal,who has 125 oDI wickets at anaverage of 22.69 runs, says doctorsgave him the go-ahead to play butalso recommended getting furthertests in England. on the pitch, Ajmalpredicts batting-friendly wicketsduring the June 6-23 ChampionsTrophy, but says he has enoughbowling variety to surprise batsmen.Pakistan is in Group B along withWest Indies, South Africa andarchrival India.

MiAndAd, wASiMconfident of Pakistan’s good show

miandad Has spentHours Helping tHebatsmen misbaH-ul-Haq, asad sHaFiq,umar amin wHileakram Has beentraining tHe likes oFmoHammad irFan,junaid kHan, eHsanadil, asad ali andwaHab riaZ

Pakistan strong contenders for Champions Trophy: Hafeez

Former players not happy withwoodhill’s appointment

woodHill, wHo Has not played First-class cricketand till last year was tHe associate coacH oF tHenew Zealand team, is set to join tHe team inengland For tHe upcoming tournament

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:18 AM Page 16

VettorI, Jayawardena, sangakkara to appear In sIxtH CHaMpIons tropHy(

(

sPorTs S

Tuesday, 7 May, 2013

16I doubled his advantage with a birdie

at the 16th and it was low round of

the day — Bernd Wiesberger

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

DANIEL Vettori, MahelaJayawardena and KumarSangakkara are set to join anexclusive club of cricketers toplay in six ICC Champions

Trophy tournaments after they were named intheir respective squads for the elite event tobe staged in England and Wales from 6-23June.

In addition to New Zealand and SriLanka, the six other countries have alsoconfirmed their best cricketers in their finalline-ups for one of the most prestigious nationversus nation cricket tournaments in which 15matches will be played over 18 days with noteam in a position to lose more than onematch.

Vettori played in the 1998, 2002, 2004,2006 and 2009 editions while the Sri Lankapair has featured in five consecutive eventsfrom 2000.

When the three cricketers will take thefield for their first matches in the tournament,they will join the group of Sanath Jayasuriya(Sri Lanka), Rahul Dravid (India), RickyPonting (Australia), Mark Boucher andJacques Kallis (both South Africa) who haveplayed in all the six tournaments from 1998to 2009.

Vettori, in 14 matches to date, hascaptured 16 wickets at an average of 28.5,

Jayawardena has scored 574 runs at just over38 and Sangakkara has aggregated 461 runsat 30.73.

If all goes well and according to the planfor Jayawardena and Sangakkara, then on 17June at The oval against Australia, the twowill achieve another milestone of becomingthe most capped players in the history of theICC Champions Trophy – 21. The two arecurrently sitting on 18 matches apiece andhave Jayasuriya (20) and Dravid (19) firmlywithin their sights.

Sri Lanka will be led by world’s fourth-ranked all-rounder Angelo Mathews. Apartfrom Jayawardena and Sangakkara, the 2002joint-champion have also retainedTillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga andNuwan Kulasekara from the side that playedin the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in SouthAfrica.

New Zealand, which won the tournament

in Nairobi in 2000, has kept faith in a numberof players from the side that reached the finalin 2009, including captain BrendonMcCullum, Grant Elliott, James Franklin,Martin Guptill, Kyle Mills, Ross Taylor andVettori. Australia will aim to complete a hat-trick of titles after it won the event in Mumbaiin 2006 and then defended the crown threeyears later at Centurion.

The four-time world champion will beled by Michael Clarke, who returns to theevent after missing out four years ago. Thesquad also includes Mitchell Johnson, AdamVoges and Shane Watson who played inSouth Africa in 2009. Clarke, Johnson andWatson were also part of the squad thatdefeated the West Indies by eight wickets inthe final at Brabourne Stadium in 2006.

World champion India will defend itsstatus as the number-one ranked oDI side inthe world at the ICC Champions Trophy.

While it will be captained by Mahendra SinghDhoni, it includes Ravichandran Ashwin,Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina who weremembers of the side that won the ICC CricketWorld Cup final at Wankhede Stadium inMumbai just over two years ago.

Host England has named a very balancedside for the event it last hosted in 2004.

James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, TimBresnan, Stuart Broad, Eoin Morgan andGraeme Swann have been retained from thesquad that reached the semi-final in 2009,while in Alastair Cook, England has a captainwho has not only inspired his side to secondposition on the Reliance ICC oDIChampionship table, but he also occupieseighth position on the Reliance ICC PlayerRankings for oDI batsmen through hisconsistent performances with the willow.

other than England, Pakistan is the onlyside in this strong field of eight sides not tohave won the ICC Champions Trophy.

The Pakistan side includes AbdurRehman, Mohamamd Hafeez, KamranAkmal, Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik whoplayed in the 2006 tournament in India. ofthese players only Kamran and Shoaibmanaged to retain their places in the side forthe 2009 tournament in South Africa. Apartfrom Kamran and Shoaib, other survivorsfrom the 2009 tournament are captainMisbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal.

Spin duo of Saeed and Hafeez featureinside the top four in the bowlers’ rankingswhile in the batting table, Misbah sits in 18thposition, Hafeez occupies 36th spot and NasirJamshed, who hit back-to-back centuriesagainst India in 2012, holds 40th spot.

South Africa has named seven playersfrom the side that played in its backyard fouryears ago. They are captain AB de Villiers,Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Robin Peterson,Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn and LonwaboTsotsobe.

De Villiers shares the top batting slot withteammate Amla, while Steyn and Morkelshare ninth spot in the bowlers’ rankings.

The West Indies will be skippered byDwayne Bravo and includes of a number ofplayers who featured in the side’s successesat the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 and theICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012.

Bravo, as well as Chris Gayle,Ramnaresh Sarwan and Darren Sammy weremembers of the 2004 squad. Darren Bravo,Johnson Charles, Gayle, Sunil Narine, KieronPollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul,Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith, besidesBravo, were instrumental in helping the WestIndies win its first ICC title since 2004 whenit defeated host Sri Lanka in Colombo in thefinal of the ICC World Twenty20 2012.

Gayle is the leading run-getter in the ICCChampions Trophy, having scored 695 runs

in 14 matches at an average of 57.91. TheJamaican has also taken 17 wickets at justunder 22.

Australia target hat-trickof titles, Pakistanlook to break the jinx

world’s bestcricketers ready to goHead to Head in eventoF tHe elite From 6-23june in tHe uk

AUSTRALIA - Michael Clarke (captain),

George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile,

Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Phillip

Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay,

Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell

Starc, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade,

David Warner and Shane Watson

EnGLAnD – Alastair Cook (captain),

James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian

Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart

Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Eoin

Morgan, Joe Root, Graeme Swann,

James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott and

Chris Woakes

InDIA – Mahendra Singh Dhoni

(captain), Ravichandran Ashwin,

Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja,

Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli,

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar,

Amit Mishra, Irfan Pathan, Suresh

Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma,

Umesh Yadav and Murali Vijay

nEW ZEALAnD - Brendon McCullum

(captain), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott,

Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin

Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan

McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Luke

Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor,

Daniel Vettori and Kane Williamson

PAkISTAn – Misbah-ul-Haq (captain),

Abdur Rehman, Asad Ali, Asad Shafiq,

Ehsan Adil, Imran Farhat, Junaid Khan,

Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez,

Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed,

Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin

and Wahab Riaz

SOUTH AFRICA - AB de Villiers

(captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan

Behardien, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis,

Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan

McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel,

Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso,

Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn and

Lonwabo Tsotsobe

SRI LAnkA – Angelo Mathews

(captain), Dinesh Chandimal,

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga,

Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardena,

Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga,

Jeevan Mendis, Kushal Perera, Thisara

Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra

Senanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne and

Chanaka Welagedara

WEST InDIES – Dwayne Bravo

(captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo,

Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason

Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard,

Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar

Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon

Samuels, Ramneresh Sarwan and

Devon Smith

finAl SQuAdS

Michael holdingjoins the CPl

JAMACIA: West Indies fast bowling legendMichael Holding has thrown his weight behindthe forthcoming Caribbean Premier League(CPL) on the basis that it can help develop thenext generation of cricketing talent in the region,and has agreed to be the Ambassador for the CPLDevelopment Programme. Holding has long beenknown for his preference for the longer forms ofthe game, having been brought up and enjoyedsuccess in both tests and one-Day Internationals.The Jamaican was part of Clive Lloyd’s all-conquering West Indies side of the 1970s and1980s and took 249 test wickets in 60 matches aswell as a further 142 from 102 oDIs, and hesecured an ICC Cricket World Cup-winner’smedal in 1979. Looking forward to the inauguralCPL, which will be staged across the Caribbeanin July and August, Holding – now a renownedbroadcaster on the game – said he was happy toback the new project because of its commitmentto help identify and develop locally producedyoung players. AGENCIES

PCB lethargic tospot fixing: Akhtar

LAHORE: Former Pakistan fast bowler ShoaibAkhtar has alleged that the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) is neglecting spot-fixing problems. Havingretired from international cricket two years ago,Akhtar insists that spot-fixing is still practiced bymembers of the national squad. Akhtar further saidthat the competent and visionary cricketers in theteam have not come forward to play, resulting in asituation where spot-fixing has become a commonsight in the team. Commenting on the situation hisformer team mates such as Mohammad Asif andSalman Butt have faced, Akhtar said that high-level cricket includes temptations and he too hasbeen lured by such temptations but have alwaysshunned them down, maintaining that thecricketers were not well paid in those days. Akhtarsaid that he lacked proper guidance which drovehim to wrong doings but despite severalcontroversies during his career, he has maintaineda healthy relationship with his team-mates. Akhtarhad been earlier banned for five years for publiclycriticizing PCB. STAFF REPORT

MUMBAIAGENCIES

David Miller has proved to be one of the stand-out SouthAfrican performers at this year’s Indian Premier League(IPL) with the KwaZulu-Natal batsman establishinghimself as a crucial cog in the Kings XI Punjab line-up.

Miller currently tops the list of Punjab’s run-scorerswith 251 runs at an average of 83.66 and at a strike-rate of152.12. He also had the best batting average in this year’sIPL as at May 6.

The left-handed Miller has scored three fifties in his sixknocks with a top score of 80 not out and his results are allthe more impressive if one considers that he was not partof Punjab’s line-up at the start of the tournament.

Miller celebrated his inclusion, last week, in SouthAfrica’s 15-man Champions Trophy squad by plundering56 off 34 balls with one four and five sixes against Mumbaibefore hammering his way to 51 not out off just 26deliveries with five fours and two sixes against the powerfulChennai Super Kings outfit.

Unfortunately for Miller his team lost both of thematches, but the 23-year-old KwaZulu-Natalian hasestablished himself as one of the most devastating hittersin this year’s IPL.

Miller has also added an extra string to his bow as hehas usually been used as a finisher in limited-overs cricket,by his South African franchise the Sunfoil Dolphins and theProteas, but he has showed during this year’s IPL that hecan be just as effective during the middle overs of aTwenty20 innings.

AB de Villiers was another South African batsman tocompile a devastating knock during the past week in theIPL when the Proteas’ one-day international (oDI) captainhammered his way to 50 not out off 23 balls with six foursand two sixes as he helped the Royal ChallengersBangalore to a 17 run win over the Pune Warriors.

Indian seamer Ashok Dinda felt the full might of the

South African during the last over of Bangalore’s inningswith De Villiers slamming 26 runs off the unfortunatebowler in a sequence that read 6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 2.

The first six of the over came courtesy of a stunningshot which saw De Villiers walk completely across hisstumps before fetching the ball from well outside his offstump to sweep the delivery over deep square leg.

Left-arm paceman Wayne Parnell made an immediateimpression in his first game in this year’s IPL as he claimed3-27 for the Pune Warriors against the Rajasthan Royals onSunday however, Parnell’s efforts were not enough toprevent Pune from slipping to their seventh consecutiveloss.

Chennai ended the week atop the points table despitestumbling to a heavy 60-run defeat at the hands of Mumbaion Sunday.

Miller shines in week 4 of IPlBInny, raHane seal tHe wIn For rrJAIPUR: Stuart Binny became the unlikely

hero for Rajasthan Royals with an aggressive

innings of 32 off 13 balls to help defeat the

Pune Warriors by five wickets in Jaipur on

Sunday night. Set a target of 179 after a

fine display by Pune, the Royals were given

a solid foundation by Rahul Dravid (58) and

Ajinkya Rahane (67), but just when they

looked as if they were faltering, losing three

wickets in three overs, including the

dangerous big-hitters Shane Watson and

Brad Hodge, up stepped Binny. He launched

into googly spinner Rahul Sharma and

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to wrest back the

initiative, hammering two sixes and two

fours and running hard to edge his team

closer to the finish line. AGENCIES

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:18 AM Page 17

sPorTsS

Tuesday, 7 May, 2013

17I’ve written it off the top of my head. Often times, I

surpass my targets after writing them without thinking

much — Yoshihide Kiryu as he targets sprint record

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The Corps Commander Cup GolfTournament, concluded at the Garrison GolfCourse yesterday bringing cheers and glory toGhazala Yasmeen of the host club, whoemerged as the outstanding lady competitorof the tournament.

Her scores were champion like too, as shecarded a round of gross 80 in the first roundand a superb gross 76 in the second, beatingher rivals by a huge margin. After a long timethe Pakistani golf scene has witnessed somereally decent scores from a lady golfer.

“I am very pleased with my score of gross76 on the final day which was the outcome ofregular training sessions, some devoted

coaching by Mohammd Asif, a golfprofessional and sound mentoring by MrsAsma Shami who takes immense interest inmy golf game”.

Incidentally Ghazala, unlike many othermale champions, spends eight hours everydayon the golf course, practising the short game,honing up her driving skills and findingenough stamina to play a round of 18 holesdaily.

Ghazala is partly supported by theGarrison Golf Club and Punjab GolfAssociation in her endeavours and hopes thatshe will get a chance to compete overseasregularly.

In the same event the champion in men’scategory was Mohammad Rehman of RoyalPalm who picked up the men’s trophy.

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Moin Khan Seniors won the SouthernRegional Final of 15th National SeniorsCup against Karachi omar by 8 wicketsplayed at the National Stadium Karachi.The Tournament is organized by PakistanVeterans Cricket Association.

Karachi omar Associates won the tossand elected to bat. Batting first omarAssociates scored 155 runs for the loss of10 wickets in 30 overs. Former olympianQamar Ibrahim scored 32 runs in 25 balls

with a Six and 5 Fours. S. M. Baber scored24 runs with a six and four in 31 ball.Skipper Jaffer Qureshi scored 21 in 25balls with 3 fours and Saifullah Magsi 17runs in 22 balls with a four. For MoinKhan Seniors Umar Rasheed took 4wickets for 24 runs, Test CricketerNadeem Khan took 3 wickets for 26 runsand Tanvir Ali took 3 for 26.

Batting Second Moin Khan Seniorsreached the winning target of 158 runs forloss of 2 wickets in the 19.1 over of theMatch. All-rounder omer Masood scoreda brilliant 89 runs in only 55 balls with 4

sixes and 11 fours and Aziz Ur Rehmanscored 36 runs in only 19 balls by hittinga six and 6 fours. Mazhar Hussain scored23 runs. For omar Associates JafferQureshi and Saifullah Magsi took 1 wicketeach for 24 and 40 runs.

omar Rasheed and omar Masood fortheir all-rounder performance were jointlydeclared Man of the Match. Asif Siddiquiwas declared Best Batsman, HamidMahmood Best Bowler, Moin Khan BestWicket keeper and Jaffer Qureshi playerof the Tournament.

Chief Guest Mr. Nadeem omarDirector of omar Associates distributedthe prizes at the conclusion of theMatch. Also present in the prizedistribution ceremony were Mr. FawadIjaz Khan Chairman PVCA, Brig ®Salahuddin, Alamgir Ahmed and AmjadIslam.

The National Final of the Tournamentwill be played between Moin KhanSeniors and the winner of Northern ZoneFinal in Karachi under Floodlights atDHA Sports Club on 25th May 2013.

aMar CaBles In senIors regIonal seMIsLAHORE: Amar Cables beat Rawalpindi Royals by six wickets and qualified

for the regional semi-final of the National Senior Cricket Cup. Playing at

the Shah Faisal cricket Ground, Rawalpindi Royals batting first 178 all out

after 29.2 overs. Shahid Mehmood 40, Naseer Hussain 23, Asif Sultan 21,

Adeel Shaheen 21 and Rizwan Majeed 20 runs. Tariq Rasheed bowling well

4/24, Rauf Wain 4/47, Munir Shah 1/14, Zahid Khan 1/22 & Tariq Hussain

Raju 1/35 wickets. In reply Amar Cables 179/4 after 24 overs. Ahmad

Shohab 52, Amer Ilyas Butt 14, Aziz ur rehman 27, Dastgir Butt 13,

Ameer Akbar 50 runs not out & Shahid Mansoor 15 runs not out.

Rawalpindi Royals bowling Naseer Hussain 2/27, Asif Sultan 1/16 &

Sanobar Ali 1/20 wickets. Masood Khan, Qaisar Waheed Umpire, Khalid

Niazi match referee & Zahoor Alam was the scorer. End of the match Chief

Guest CEO Amar Cables Amer Ilyas Butt gave away cash award to Tariq

Rasheed. Ahsan Amer Butt is also present. STAFF REPORT

Moin seniors win southernregional seniors Cup final

Ghazala emerges aschampion in CorpsCommander Golf

Pakistan togroomrugby talentin uAE

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Pakistan Team has vowed support toUAE Rugby for introduction of the gamein the Pakistani schools operating in theUAE. According to reports madeavailable here, the Pakistan team incoordination with HSBC AsianGrassroots Rugby project will bereaching out the Pakistani CommunityCommittee in UAE. The Pakistan teammet with the Principal of the PakistanIslamia Higher Secondary Schoolin Shajah, who have agreed to send about100 boys aged 14-16 from the school totake part in a Rugby Coaching Clinicwhich will be takenup by the Pakistan national teammembers Head coach Roger Coombsand IRB Development officer MRIismail Kadir from Singapore will beattending to oversee the Training .Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary

School, Sharjaha is a school for childrenof Pakistani expartiates in Sharjah.Waqar Younas, the famous Pakistanibowler is an alumni of the School. TheTraining will take place at 11:30 atthe Sharjah Wanderers Rugby Club.

LAS VEGASAGENCIES

FLoYD Mayweather beatRobert Guerrero on pointsin Las Vegas to retain hisWBC welterweight titleand improve his career

record to 44-0.Mayweather, returning after a year’s

absence, won a unanimous decision117-111 after taking control of the fightearly and punishing Guerrero in the laterrounds.

Guerrero at least started strong as helanded a series of blows with his left,pushing the 36-year-old Mayweatherback on to the ropes in the second round.

But by the third round Mayweatherhad taken control as he started to landsome more damaging blows.

The reigning champion was settingthe tempo while Guerrero battled hardwith little reward.

By the eighth inning, Guerrero wasshowing clear damage about the eye andit soon opened into a cut.

That prompted another burst ofenergy from the 30-year-old as he triedto find a way back into the fight, butMayweather had an answer foreverything.

It was Guerrero’s second defeat as aprofessional, dropping his record to 31-2.

“We did it again,” said Mayweather.“I take my hat off to Robert Guerrero.He’s a true warrior.

“I feel bad I didn’t get the knockoutthat the fans wanted. I was still trying togo for the knockout but it didn’thappen.” Mayweather also paid tributeto his father and trainer, FloydMayweather Snr, adding: “I needed myfather tonight. My defense was on pointand he told me to stick with my defenceand that the less you get hit the longeryou last.”

Guerrero said: “I landed some goodshots on him, but he’s a great fighter.He’s slick and quick.”

MAywEAThERstays unbeaten

iT wAS ‘Blood, SwEAT And TEARS’LAS vEGAS: Floyd Mayweather says he needs time to relax before he thinks

about his next opponent. Mayweather outclassed Robert Guerrero in Las Vegas

on Saturday night to retain his WBC welterweight title but refused to say

afterwards whom he would fight next. He is committed to fighting on September

14 when he may face Mexico’s Saul Alvarez. But when he was asked after

retaining his unbeaten record he said: “We don’t know whom we are going to

fight right now. Let me go home and rest up first and talk it over. “I had a good

tough battle with Robert Guerrero,” Mayweather said. “It was blood, sweat and

tears tonight.” “He is a tough competitor. I take my hat off to him.” Mayweather,

who spent close to three months in jail last year after being convicted of

domestic violence involving the mother of his three children, added: “I wouldn’t

wish being locked up on anyone. “That’s a rough position, being locked up 23

hours a day with one hour out.” Mayweather had plenty of critics heading into

Saturday’s fight. Some said there were factors working against him, included

increasing age, the change in trainers and the conviction and jail term.

“Everybody was saying because I am 36 I don’t have it anymore, that my

defence wasn’t sharp, but I proved myself,” Mayweather said.

Mayweather said: “I really was looking for a knockout, but I hurt my right hand.

After that, I just had to box smart. “Robert was a tough warrior. He was trying to

press the attack. But I got really good work in the gym and I felt comfortable in

the ring. My defence was on point.” Guerrero said: “Floyd was tricky with his

punches. He’s a great fighter. He’s slick and he’s quick. He’s better than I

thought. He was definitely on his game tonight.” The challenger’s game plan

seemed to be to back Mayweather to the ropes with his jab and then land

punches to the body, but the champion repeatedly slipped under Guerrero’s left,

landed one or more right hands and moved out of danger. After being hit with

several rights in the third, Guerrero appeared more hesitant, giving Mayweather

more time to slip in and out of range and land punches. “I thought Floyd did an

excellent job tonight,” said the 36-year-old’s father and trainer, Floyd

Mayweather Sr. AGENCIES

ABBOTTABAD: The members of the Pakistan national cricket team practice

during training session in preparation for the Champions Trophy.

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:18 AM Page 18

GEO SUPERRoyals v Daredevils 03:30 PM

Mum Indians v KKR 07:30 PM

sPorTs STuesday, 7 May, 2013

18I was looking forward to playing, but

unfortunately my back is hurting and I am not

able to compete in Madrid — Venus Williams

wAtCh It LIve

loCAl NEws

KinnAiRd CluBTAKE woMEninTER-CluB TiTlELAHORE: Kinnaird Club won the All

Pakistan Women Inter-Club Cricket

Tournament beating Shah Faisal Club

by 69 runs in the final here at the KC

ground on Monday.

Scores: 175 in 20 overs. Qanta Jali 67,

Sidra Amin 63, Bismah Maroof 30.

Sabahat Rasheed and Zainab Khan

took one wicket each.

In reply Shah faisal Club could manage

102 runs in 16.2 overs. Zainab Khan

27, Sania Khan 26 and Asmavia Iqbal

19. Elizbeth Barkat snared three

wickets, Sana Mir two, Anum Amin,

Bismah Maroof amd Irum shared one

wicket each. Qanta Jalil and Sidra

Amin were declared the player of the

final.

ALIGARH CLUB MOvE TO 2nD

ROUnD: Aligarh has marched into the

2nd round of 16th Tauseef Trophy

cricket championship when they beat

strong Shining club by 7 wickets

played at Model Town aligarh ground

the other day.

Scores: Shining club 155/8. Asif Khan

39, M NAeem 10, Humayon farhat 44,

Moazam sikandar 25. Bilal 2/30, Sami

Aslam 1/19, Rehan Rauf 1/27,

Mubashar 1/33, M Mateen 2/25.

Ali Garh club 156/3 in 17.4 overs.

Sami Aslam 66(no), Zahoor Ilahi 23,

Mubeen Hameed 13, Bilawal Iqbal

30(no). Moazam Sikandar 1/46,

Humayon farhat 2/21.

TAUSEEF CLUB, CITy GyM

CHALLEnGE MATCH DRAWn: The

challenge match between Tauseef Club

and City gym has drawn due to bad

light played at PCSIR ground on

Sunday.

Scores: Tauseef Club 237/5. Waqas

Khan 126(no), MohsinAgha 13, Sher

Baz Khan 30, M ALi Rana 36. Zulfiqar

1/27, Nawaz 1/25, Zohaib 1/13,

Zeeshan 2/22. City Gym 171/5.

Jahangir Mirza 55, Husnain 12. Israr

Baig 3/26, Sher BAz 1/24, Rana M Ali

1/nil.

QADIR MEMORIAL QyALIFy FOR

QUARTERS: Ghulam Qadir Memorial

Club has qualified for quarterfinal of

28th M Yaseen Akhter Memorial cricket

event when thay defeated Baghbanpura

Eaglets by 9 wickets played at

Township ground.

Scores: Baghbanpura Eaglets 53 all out in

12 overs. Yaseen Hameed 17, M NAdeem

12, JAwad 11. Rehan Shah 6/12, Kamran

1/16, Zeeshan 1/28. Ghulam Qadir

Memorial Club 58/1. Ahsan Butt 24(no),

Adeel 19. STAFF REPORT

wAPdA win 22nd

national Karate

title, junior C’ship LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The 22nd National Karate Championship andNational Junior Karate Championship ended atCrescent Sports Complex, Faisalabad withWAPDA winning the Championship takingseven gold and one bronze medal and securing170 points. Army stood at second position by winning 2gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze medals and got 135points. KPK got third position by winning 1gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze medal and received60 points. Muhammad Ramzan from WAPDA won 2 goldmedals in below 84 kg and team kumite, BazMuhammad also won 2 Gold Medals in below75 kg and team kumite. Imtiaz Ali from Armywon Gold Medal in below 67 kg and SilverMedal in team kumite, Abuzar Nazir form Armyalso won Gold Medal in below 55 kg and SilverMedal in team Kumite. WAPDA also won the National Junior KarateChampionship by winning 3 Gold and 2 Bronzemedals and scored 55 points while Balochistanstood second by winning 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 3Bronze Medals and scored 40 points. Sindhstood at third position by winning 2 Silver and 1Bronze Medal and scored 25 points. Muhammad Noman in below 48 kg, SaweelFayyaz in below 57 kg and Umeed Ali in below63 kg won Gold Medals for WAPDA whileRehmat Ullah from Balochistan won GoldMedal in below 52 kg. Lt. Gen. Syed Arif Hasan HI (M) President,Pakistan olympic Association was the ChiefGuest at Closing Ceremony. He praised the hardworking and untiring efforts of Pakistan KarateFederation for the promotion of Karate inPakistan and admired the achievements ofKarate players at International level. He gaveaway the medals to the wining players andchampionship trophy.

TEAM POSITIOn

S.n UnIT G S B Pts

1 WAPDA 7 - 1 170

2 Army 2 6 1 135

3 KPK 1 1 5 60

4 Railways - 1 7 55

5 Sindh - 1 2 40

6 Balochistan - - 3 15

7 Punjab - 1 - 10

8 Islamabad - - 1 5

9 FATA - - - -

JUnIOR kARATE

TEAM POSITIOn

S.n UnIT G S B Pts

1 WAPDA 3 - 2 55

2 Balochistan 1 1 3 40

3 Sindh - 2 1 25

4 Railways - 1 2 20

5 Punjab 1 - - 15

6 FATA - 1 1 15

7 KPK - - 1 5

8 Islamabad - - - -

OEIRASAGENCIES

Stanislas Wawrinka won his firstATP title of the year after a straight-sets victory over David Ferrer at thePortugal open in oeiras.

Wawrinka dominated against theworld number four, completing a 6-1 6-4 triumph as his out-of-sortsopponent made 31 unforced errors.

Ferrer failed to break the worldnumber 16, while Wawrinkaunlocked the Spaniard’s servicegame on three occasions on his wasto victory in a little over an hour.

The win was doubly sweet forWawrinka as it provided a measureof revenge for the loss he suffered at

the hands of Ferrer in his only otherfinal appearance so far in 2013, inBuenos Aires.

“I am definitely playing betterthan last year and I am improving,”said Wawrinka on the ATP Tour’sofficial website.

“Today [Sunday] I got theconfidence that I can beat a top-fourplayer in a final, on a clay court.”

Ferrer had no complaints aboutthe result, saying: “Stan played agreat match.

“I was never close to winning,but I felt better the longer it went onwith my shots. “Stan played prettywell from the baseline and he had agood percentage of first services. Hesurpassed me in everything.”

MANCHESTERAGENCIES

Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez hailed a‘massive’ victory after his side tightenedtheir grip on a Champions League placewith a narrow win at Manchester United.

Juan Mata’s deflected strike threeminutes from time gave the Blues a 1-0win over a below-par United at oldTrafford and restored their advantage overTottenham and Arsenal in the BarclaysPremier League. Benitez’s men, who havea healthy advantage on goal difference, cannow effectively secure a top-four spot withvictory over Spurs at Stamford Bridge inmidweek.

The Blues’ interim manager said: “It ismassive for us. “We knew that we have toget six or seven points to guarantee the topfour and we have got three points here.

“Now we play against Tottenham and

we are in the driving seat.” Goalkeeper PetrCech echoed his boss’ sentiments,especially after seeing both north Londonsides record victories on Saturday overSouthampton and QPR. “It was a massivemoment,” Cech told Sky Sports 1.

“After the results yesterday [bothArsenal and Tottenham won on Saturday],we knew we had to win. “We have amassive game and we go into the game threeahead - if we win we leave them behind, itchanged the preparation for Wednesday.” Itwas Mata’s 19th goal of the season and theSpaniard is hopeful the strike will be acatalyst for his side to secure a ChampionsLeague place for next season. “It was animportant victory, it was like a final. “Wehave another great game next week we haveto win and aim to get third. “I’m scoringmore goals than ever. I’m really happy, Iwant to keep scoring, keep assisting andkeep helping the team. “We have three more

games to play, we want to win as many aswe can. “We deserve to play in theChampions League next season. “If we playtogether like today [Sunday] we can do it.”

Chelsea had the upper hand throughoutagainst a United side who appeared to havelet their intensity levels drop after securingtheir 20th domestic title.

wawrinka beats Ferrerto oeiras crown

hAAS RollS BACKThE yEARS To winBMw oPEnMUNICH: Tommy Haas continues

to defy the odds as he lifted the

BMW Open title with a straight-sets

win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in an

all-German final in Munich. The 35-

year-old lifted his first ATP Tour

crown of the season and his fourth

on home soil after a comfortable 6-

3 7-6 (7/3) win over his compatriot.

“It’s a sensational feeling to be

quite honest,” said Haas, who will

rise to the 13th in the world

rankings, on the ATP official website.

“It was another one of those

milestones that I hoped for, to

maybe win this title one year. To

have done that, this late in my

career, is a big highlight for me.

“Every time you win a title, it’s a

reflection of putting everything

together the whole week. It doesn’t

happen that often. You’re really

proud of those moments.” Haas, who

was ranked as high as number two

in the world in 2002, has already

beaten Novak Djokovic this year and

this week’s success proves he is still

capable of causing an upset during

the clay court season. AGENCIES

Benitez, Cech hail ‘massive’ win for Chelsea

LHR 07-05-2013_Layout 1 5/7/2013 2:18 AM Page 19

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

Tuesday, 07 May, 2013

DHAKAONLINE

At least 22 protesters were killed anddozens others were wounded as police inBangladesh used stun grenades and rub-ber bullets to disperse a huge demonstra-tion by Muslim protesters in the capital.

Thousands fled as police tookcontrol of the central business dis-trict. Up to half a million supporters ofthe group Hefazat-e Islam had gatheredin the city to call for stronger Islamicpolicies. Rioters went on to set fire toshops and vehicles. At least 22 peoplewere killed and over hundred injuredin clashes with police. Some casual-ties suffered bullet wounds in thehead, hospital sources said. Thou-sands of Muslim activists were seen

fleeing the Motijheel area as policemoved in to take control of the area.Early on Monday, a police spokesmansaid officers had secured the businessdistrict and were searching for protest-ers hiding in nearby buildings.

The area around the city centre’slargest mosque had turned into a bat-tleground as police reacted to stone-throwing rioters with tear gas, rubberbullets and truncheons.

on Sunday, crowds of protestersblocked main roads, isolating Dhakafrom other parts of the country.

Dhaka’s Daily Star newspaper re-ports that the group hired at least3,000 vehicles, including buses, lor-ries and minibuses to bring demon-strators into the capital, while otherstravelled there by train.

NEW DELHIONLINE

Nursing the “hurt” caused bythe death of Sarabjit Singh,India on Monday said the in-cident would cause a “set-back” to the efforts to buildrelations with Pakistan andthat there would be a “pause”in the engagement with it.

External Affairs MinisterSalman Khurshid said Indiawould have to have a “cali-brated” approach towards Pak-istan and “work to ensure thatits mindset vis-à-vis this coun-try changed for the better”.

In an interview, he saidthe incident involving 49-year-old Sarabjit, who wasbrutally assaulted in a Pak-istani jail, had agitated com-mon people of India and it

would take time to overcome. Regrettably, Sarabjit’s

death came just few monthsafter another distressful inci-dent in which Pakistanitroops allegedly killed twoIndian soldiers, includingbeheading one, in a cross-LoC attack in Jammu andKashmir, he noted.

“It is unfortunate that it(Sarabjit’s death) has hap-pened. We can’t tone downour feelings that have been ex-pressed publicly by ordinarypeople. And obviously whenyou feel a sense of hurt anddistress, it takes a little time toovercome,” Khurshid said.

“What something likethis does is that it causes asetback to the momentum ofwork you have done to bringabout greater and more

meaningful relationship. Ithink, obviously, the recentevents will do the same,” hesaid when asked whether theIndian prisoner’s deathwould have an impact onIndia-Pakistan relations.

Referring to the January 8killing of Indian soldiers,Khurshid said, “Another inci-dent happened at LoC. Thathad also caused a lot of dis-tress to people in the country.And it took a long time tocalm tempers down and calmemotions down.” “Whensomething like this happens, Ithink you have to pause awhile and let things settledown,” he said while referringto the major public outbursttriggered after Sarabjit was as-saulted in Kot Lakhpat Jail inLahore leading to his death.

ISLAMABADTAyyAB hUSSAIN

Minister for Information and BroadcastingArif Nizami on Monday said the caretakergovernment would leave no stone unturnedin resolving the issues being faced by themedia industry.

Addressing the attendees of a receptionheld here in his honour hosted by the AllPakistan Akhbar Farosh Federation(APAFF), the information minister said themedia industry was facing a crisis situationdue to the circular debt. However, he urgedAll Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS)President Sarmad Ali to play his role forthe implementation of the seventh wageboard award and make payment of the ar-rears to working journalists.

He also asked Ali to make nomina-tions on behalf of the APNS for the final-isation of the eighth wage award so that itcould be formed. Referring to the care-taker government’s resolve to hold on-time elections, Nizami said the upcomingpolls were very important as for the firsttime a democratic government had com-pleted its stipulated five-year term.“Though I had been offered the portfolioof the Ministry of Information in the past,I decided to accept the offer this time as Ifelt that for the first time a neutral setupwas going to take the responsibility offree, fair and transparent elections,”Nizami said, adding that the caretakergovernments of the past were not neutral.

He said prior to taking oath of theMinistry of Information, he had resignedfrom his office of editor of Pakistan

Today so that there would be no doubtabout his neutrality.

“This government has not indulgeditself in any sort of victimisation and italso provided a level-playing field to allpolitical parties. We will complete ourjob and will go home,” said the minister,adding that the holding of electionsamidst terrorist attacks was a gigantictask which was taken up bravely by thecaretakers.

“Despite (bomb) blasts, we havestrong resolve to hold polls on time,” hesaid, adding that he was happy that thecaretakers had proved themselves to beneutral. Referring to the services of lateHameed Nizami, his father and foundingeditor of daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Nizami saidlate Hameed Nizami had launched theMuslim Students Federation (MSF), andthat the legendary journalist had launchedNawa-i-Waqt with limited resources.

“Despite the fact that my position isdifferent today, let us acknowledge thateven today, Nawa-i-Waqt is doing ideo-logical journalism,” he said. Earlier, theAPNS president showered praises forNizami, saying that the ministerial slot forhim was a privilege shared by the entiremedia industry. He said the media indus-try was facing numerous challenges as thefederal and provincial governments owedaround Rs 2.75 billion to the mediahouses which had brought the media in-dustry to the brink of a bankruptcy. “Thefederal and provincial governments havenot paid money to the media owners. TheAPNS is committed to implementing theseventh wage award,” he added.

KASURONLINE

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief ImranKhan on Monday reiterated that if elected topower, his party would transform Pakistan intoa self-sufficient country by salvaging it fromcorrupt rulers and foreign debts, adding that therevolution had already begun in households.

Addressing an election rally at Kasur‚Khan said the nation is intelligent and cannotbe duped again and again. The PTI chief saidit is becoming hard to fool anyone in this ageof internet and social media. He said theyouth had decided for a change and will notback down now. Khan said people should notwaste the golden opportunity to create a“new Pakistan” on May 11.

He said the massive foreign debts were usedfor lavish lives by corrupt politicians while thepeople did not even get access to clean drinking

water. Khan stated that only justice could unitea nation. He said his party would make Pakistana strong and stable state by eradicating corrup-tion and injustice from the society.

Later, addressing a mammoth politicalgathering in Illahbad and Ghailan, Khanpledged his government will spend money onthe people, their education, healthcare and im-proving the overall infrastructure of the coun-try. Khan promised he would increasespending on education by five times and willfocus on helping small farmers and traders.Khan also promised he would give equal rightsto all minorities in Pakistan. Earlier, KhurhsidMahmud Kasuri said there had been only fivedrone attacks during his tenure as the foreignminister, whereas during the stint of the previ-ous Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government,which had silent support from Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N), more than 400 droneattacks were carried out in Pakistan.

May 11 willbe my day,says nawaz

KABIRWALANNI

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif onMonday said May 11will be the dayof victory for his party, and a day ofchange for the nation.

Addressing a huge public gath-ering in Kabirwala ‚ he said peoplewould have to choose a path thatled to peace, prosperity and theirwell-being.

He said the Pakistan People’sParty (PPP) was hardly visible inelections, saying that Zardari’s B-team is contesting the field. He saidcertain forces had grouped togetherto shatter PML-N’s image.

Sharif said he would lay a net-work of motorways from Faisal-abad to Kabirwala and Multan. Headded that a bullet train worth $10billion will be introduced fromKarachi to Peshawar, if he wasvoted to power. He went on to saythat a motorway from Lahore toKarachi will also be constructed.While addressing a rally in Faisal-abad, Nawaz said the PML-Nwould bring a revolution ratherthan simple change in the country.Addressing another public meetingin Sahiwal‚ the PML-N chiefvowed that if voted to power hisparty will eliminate load sheddingand unemployment from the coun-try. He pledged to setup a new bankto give loans to the youth to helpthem launch their own businesses.

Sarabjit’s death willset back indo-Pakties: Khurshid

‘the revolution has started inside homes’

Caretakers have provedtheir neutrality: nizami

police break up Bangladesh protests, 22 killed

ISLAMABAD: An army soldier stands guard

on Monday as Election Commission staff

arrange ballot papers for transportation to

different polling stations. mURTAZA ALI

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