Saturday, 29 december, 2012 Safar 15, 1434Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 182 19 pages islamabad — peshawar edition

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Five killed in North Waziristan drone strike

PAGE 04

Yuvraj sets up Indian win in 2nd

Pak-India T20

ISLAMABADSHAIQ HUSSAIN

PAkISTAN on Friday turned down anIndian request for signing the FissileMaterial Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) dur-ing talks with its arch rival on nu-clear confidence-building measures.

The proposed global pact, FMCT, seeks tostop production of nuclear bomb-making ma-terial and the demand from India that Pak-istan support this treaty came during the“Seventh Round of Expert-Level Talks on Nu-clear CBMs” between Islamabad and NewDelhi held in the Indian capital on Friday.

The US and other western nations havebeen blaming Pakistan for blocking the startof negotiations on a global halt to the produc-tion of fissile material for nuclear weapons.However, Pakistani authorities believe thatthe FMCT could not begin because it did notcover the existing stockpiles of bomb-makingmaterial. Moreover, Pakistani officials are ofthe view that the civil nuclear deal betweenIndia and the US will allow New Delhi to havemany new sources of fissile material to makebombs. Indian officials at the expert-leveltalks were of the view that Pakistan’s willing-ness to join negotiations on FMCT would helpefforts aimed at global nuclear disarmament,diplomatic sources said. “However, Pakistaniofficials told their Indian counterparts thatPakistan would continue to adhere to itsstance on the FMCT that this pact shall cover

the existing stockpiles of bomb-making mate-rial as well,” a source said, seeking anonymity.

He said the two sides also discussed thepossibility of expanding the scope of nuclearCBMs to include a pre-notification of cruisemissile tests, but there was no progress in thatsphere too and it was decided to continue withtalks on the vital issue. A joint statement, mean-while, issued by the Foreign Office said the ex-pert-level talks were held in Pursuance to theAgreement between the foreign ministers ofIndia and Pakistan during their meeting on Sep-tember 8, 2012 in Islamabad. The Pakistani del-egation at the talks was led by Ministry ofForeign Affairs Additional Secretary (UN & EC)Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, while the Indian dele-gation was led by Ministry of External AffairsJoint Secretary (Disarmament and Interna-tional Security Affairs) DB Venkatesh Varma.

“The talks, which were held in a cordial andconstructive atmosphere, focused on review ofimplementation and strengthening of existingCBMs in the framework of the Lahore MoU, aswell as possibilities for mutually-acceptable ad-ditional CBMs,” it said. “Both sides reviewedworking of existing agreements on pre-notifi-cation of flight tests of ballistic missiles and re-ducing the risk from accidents relating tonuclear weapons and expressed satisfactionthat the latter was extended for another five-year period from February 2012,” the statementsaid. According to the statement, the two sideswill report progress made in the talks to theirrespective foreign secretaries.

PAKISTAN TALIBAN READY TO NEGOTIATE,

not disarm

TTP chief releases video message, says demands of

laying down weapons ‘a joke’Denies rifts with deputy

Waliur RehmanTTP spokesman Ihsanullah

Ihsan introduced to the world

DERA ISMAIL KHANAGENCIES

Hakeemullah Mehsud, chief ofthe Tehreek-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP) has said he waswilling to sit down with thegovernment for negotiations,but would never disarm.The TTP chief released a 40-minute video to a British newsagency on Friday, wherein hesaid calls for disarmament werea joke. “We believe in dialoguebut it should not be frivolous,”Mehsud said. “Asking us to laydown arms is a joke.” Mehsudsaid by serious talks, he meanttalks without any condition. The release of the video followsthree high-profile Talibanattacks in the northern city ofPeshawar this month: an attackby multiple suicide bombers onthe airport, the killing of a

senior politician and eightothers in a bombing and theabduction of 22 paramilitaryforces on Thursday. The attacksiterated Taliban’s ability tostrike high-profile, well-protected targets, even as theamount of territory it controlshas shrunk and its leaders arepicked off by US drones. In thevideo, Mehsud sits cradling arifle next to his deputy, WaliurRehman. Military officials saythere has been a split betweenthe two men but Mehsud saidthat was propaganda.“Waliur Rehman is sitting withme here and we will be togetheruntil death,” said Mehsud,pointing at his companion.Pakistani officials did notimmediately respond to callsseeking comment. The Talibansaid in a letter released onThursday that they wanted

Pakistan to rewrite its laws andconstitution to conform withIslamic law, break its alliancewith the US and stop interferingin the war in Afghanistan andfocus on India instead. Mehsud referred to the killingof the senior politician in hisspeech and said the politicalparty, Awami National Party,would continue to be a targetalong with other politicians.“We are against thedemocratic system because itis un-Islamic,” Mehsud said.“Our war isn’t against anyparty. It is against the non-Islamic system and anyonewho supports it.” Mehsud saidthough he was open todialogue, the Pakistanigovernment was to blame forthe violence because it brokeprevious deals.

Pakistan turns downIndian request forsupporting FMCTg Seventh round of Indo-Pak expert-level talks on nuclear CBMs conclude

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YouTube to beunblocked within 24 hours, says Malik

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02News

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

Today’s

LookQuick

NewS

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cArTooN

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INFoTAINMeNT

Story on Page 14

Bilawal earning love and respect of the people: Bakhtawar 3,000-year-old temple and sacred vessels unearthed near Jerusalem

Bilawal to contest general

election from NA-207LARKANA: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bi-lawal Bhutto Zardari will contest general election for theNational Assembly (NA) from constituency NA-207. Bhuttofamily has always kept a stronghold on the said con-stituency as earlier Sardar Wahid Baksh Bhutto, Zulfiqar AliBhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Faryal Talpur contested pollsfrom the constituency and grabbed successes. NA-207,Larkana 04 comprises Naudero and Ratodero which havealways remained under the influence of the Bhutto family.The voters of the said constituency have expressed pleasureand satisfaction over the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto andvowed to make him successful with majority. BilawalBhutto is not qualified to contest in general elections fromany constituency till he attains the age of 25 on September21, next year. INP

Abdul Qadir Gilani cheated

his BA exams: FIAISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Fri-day claimed that it had found forgery in the graduationexam of Abdul Qadir Gillani, son of former prime minister,Yousaf Raza Gilani. According to FIA sources, investiga-tions disclosed that the candidate, Abdul Qadir Gillani, didnot appear in his graduation exams because three types ofhandwritings were found on his answer sheets. The investi-gations further revealed that the examination centre of thecandidate was also changed in order to make it easier forhim to cheat. Abdul Qadir Gilani was elected a member ofnational assembly (MNA) from NA-151 (Multan-IV), va-cated by his father, Yousaf Raza Gilani, after the latter wasdisqualified by the Supreme Court. According to sources,the FIA investigation officer, Hussain Asghar, has sent thereport to the registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, DrFaqir Hussain. Earlier, the Supreme Court took suo motonotice of corruption in the hajj arrangements, in whichAbdul Qadir Gilani was allegedly involved. AGENCIES

PML-N welcomes Bilawal

into political arenaISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal on Friday wel-comed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ChairmanBilawal Zardari into politics and expressed good wishesfor him. Responding to a question during a press confer-ence, he said it was the democratic right of the PPP to ap-point anybody as its chairman. However, Bilawal shouldbecome a member of the Parliament as soon as hereaches the minimum required age to gain more experi-ence in the field of politics. APP

13 killed, 19 injured as bus

plunges into river in NepalKATMANDU: At least 13 people were killed and 19others severely injured when a bus veered off a moun-tain road and plunged into a river in western Nepal onearly Friday morning. A police official, Binod Ghimire,said the bus veered off a road near Dhasrathpur villageand rolled 50 meters (160 feet) before plunging into theGam River. The area is about 400 kilometers (250 miles)northwest of the capital, katmandu. The police and thearmy pulled out the injured and the dead and took themto a nearby hospital. Traffic accidents are common inNepal, and are generally blamed on poorly maintainedroads and vehicles. INP

KARACHI: Prime Minister Raja Pervez

Ashraf meeting Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul

Ebad Khan at the Governor’s House. INP

ISLAMABADNNI

FEDERAL Minister for Informationand Broadcasting Qamar Zamankaira has said that Bilawal Zardari,in his speech showed commitmentfor further strengthening relations

with the masses.Talking to a private television channel, he

said that Bilawal had formally begun the jour-ney of politics and showed devotion towards in-tensifying relations with the nation.

He said that Bilawal clarified many things inhis speech at Ghari khuda Bakhsh on the 5thdeath anniversary of late Benazir Bhutto.

He added that Bilawal would present anumber of proposals in his manifesto.

Replying to a question, he said that Bilawalwas already a member of the Pakistan People’sParty (PPP), adding that Bilawal was made thePPP chairman after the martyrdom of Benazir.

Furthermore, the minister said that Bilawalwas the supporter of strong and independent ju-dicial system in the country.

“Bilawal in his speech stated that no societycan go forward without an independent judici-ary,” kaira added.

Replying to another question, he said thatthe PPP had given a lot of sacrifices for the ju-

diciary.Moreover, he said that Bilawal, while stand-

ing in front of the graveyards of his forefathers,was asking for early justice from the authoritiesconcerned. He added that the victims had theright to ask for early justice.

kaira also said that the PPP was used tofighting their cases in the courts, and the partynever quarreled with the judiciary.

Bilawal showed commitmenttowards masses: Kaira

Five flood-affected

children burnt to death QUETTA: At least five children were killed whenfire broke out in a village of Nasirabad late onThursday night injuring several others. Policesources said fire erupted at about 2 am in one of thetents of flood affected people in tent city set up invillage Muhammad Omar Umrani near DeraMurad Jamali, the district headquarters of Nasir-abad that engulfed dozens of other tents. “The firewas caused by sparks from a stove in a tent duringstrong winds. Young people escaped from the burn-ing tents, however, five sleeping children could notbe rescued and they were burnt to death,” a localpolice officer said. The district administration con-tended that flash floods triggered by heavy mon-soon rains had displaced and made tens ofthousands of people homeless in Nasirabad, Jaf-farabad and Jhal Magsi forcing them to live in tentsin freezing temperatures. APP

Temperature in Quettadrops to minus 10 QUETTA: An extreme cold wave has grippedQuetta and northern areas of Balochistan as thetemperature in the city dropped to -10 on Friday.With the drop in the temperature, water in pipesand on the roads froze causing difficulties for resi-dents and commuters. Gas pressure had also de-creased in several areas. According to the METOffice, the cold wave is expected to last for thenext 24 hours. AGENCIES

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

eDITorIALGetting off to a decent start:

coMMeNT

Articles on Page 10-11

But challenges remain for the heir-apparent.

Arif Nizami says;Enter the prodigal: And the spoiler too.

Raoof Hasan says;Shrinking political space: The emergence of a potential game-changer.

Sharmila Farooqi says;A symbol of federation: “My father told me in our last meeting atRawalpindi Jail that I must sacrifice everything for my country”—Benazir Bhutto.

ArTS & eNTerTAINMeNT

Story on Page 18

BUSINeSS

Story on Page 14

SPorTS

Story on Page 15

Shah Rukh makes me feel special: Deepika Padukone OGDCl vies to excavate hope from Nashpa Pakistan lift trophy after high-scoring battle

Sanaullah demands

inclusion of President

Asif Ali Zardari in BB

murder investigation

LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister RanaSanaullah has said that President Asif AliZardari should be included in the investigationrelated to late Benazir Bhutto’s assasination fordisallowing a post mortem of the late formerprime minister’s body as it would have helpedthe ruling coalition to find those involved in hermurder. Talking to media persons outside thePunjab Assembly here on Friday, Sanaullah saidthose responsible for Benazir’s security and forwashing off the evidence from the crime scenelater on should also be included in the investiga-tion. The outspoken critic of President Asif saidthat if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) came into power, Benazir’s killerswould be arrested and punished severely.Sanaullah also alleged that President Asif wasusing his son, Bilawal Zardari to hide his owncorruption. When asked about Tehreek Minhaj-ul-Quran leader Tahirul Qadri, Sanaullahreplied that the establishment which was back-ing him had already been exposed, adding thathe believed that Qadri would not hold a longmarch announced for January 14 next year.Moreover, Sanaullah said that Deputy PrimeMinister Pervez Elahi was no longer a part of thePakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), but was now a member of the Pakistan Peo-ple’s Party (PPP), therefore, the PML-Q shouldnot be spoken of in regard to Pervez. INP

PML-N demands early polls to counter conspiraciesISLAMABAD

APP

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) Secretary Information AhsanIqbal on Friday urged the governmentto announce a date for the next gen-eral elections at the earliest, as accord-ing to him, it is imperative to countervarious conspiracies being hatched inthe country.

Addressing a press conference,Ahsan criticized the Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri for try-ing to sabotage the election process bydemanding reforms in the constitu-tional system of the country.

Flanked by former PakistanTehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Rabia Ziaand former ambassador BA Malik, hesaid Dr Qadri had spent over a billionrupees on the advertisement campaignfor the Lahore rally on December 23.

Apparently referring to the Mut-tahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)Chief Altaf Hussain, Iqbal said, “Two

leaders of foreign nationality havejoined hands for so called reforms….but both cannot even become mem-bers of the Parliament.”

The PML-N leader said Dr Qadrishould participate in elections. “Peo-ple of the country clearly understandthe purpose of reform demands at a

time when the elections are justaround the corner.”

He further said the countryneeded a clear mandate and a “hungparliament” would not serve any-body’s purpose.

Iqbal also said the PML-N chiefNawaz Sharif would unveil the party’s

manifesto in a convention due to heldon January 5, in which a clearroadmap for ending load-sheddingand revival of economy would be pre-sented before the masses.

He welcomed the statement ofChief Election Commissioner for en-suring free, fair and transparent elec-tions in the country.

Meanwhile, former ambassadorBA Malik, on the occasion, announcedto join the PML-N by ending his 40years association with the PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP).

He criticised the speeches of Pres-ident Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chair-man Bilawal Zardari delivered onDecember 27 in Larkana. The nationshould have been informed about thegovernment’s performance during thelast five years, he said.

Both the leaders should have pre-sented a roadmap for ending the gi-gantic problem of load-shedding andimproving law and order situation inthe country, Malik added.

US reimburses $688million to PakistanWASHINGTON: The United States (US) has re-leased $688 million for Pakistan under the Coali-tion Support Fund (CSF). The US had reimbursed$688 million to Pakistan for the cost of supportingsome 140‚000 coalition troops on Pak-Afghan bor-der from June through November 2011. State Min-ister for Finance Saleem Mandiwala confirming therelease of funds said that the released money wouldhelp improve the foreign exchange, which hadfallen from $16 billion to $13 billion. Meanwhile,the State Bank of Pakistan had also confirmed thesaid amount. Earlier, the Pentagon notified theCongress about its decision to reimburse $688 mil-lion to Pakistan under the CSF. US Deputy DefenseSecretary Ashton Carter had notified the Congressthat the US would make the payment to Islamabadfor expenses incurred from June through Novem-ber 2011. “In making this determination, I find thatthe reimbursement is consistent with the nationalsecurity interest of the United States and will notadversely affect the balance of power in the region,”Carter wrote in the December 6 letter. The reim-bursement was previously held up for months. Sen-ator Rand Paul had been one of the fiercest foes ofPakistan regarding the issue of aid provision. ONlINE

Lal Masjid commission

to start recording

evidence from MondayISLAMABAD: Judicial Commission on Lal Masjidwill start recording evidence from persons who gotvoluntarily registered with the commission fromMonday, December 31. The commission had givenan advertisement through public notices in variousnational dailies on December 17 and the process ofregistration of persons interested to appear beforethe commission to depose facts with regards to theissue or produce any evidence relevant to the termsof reference has been completed, according to a pressrelease on Friday. A total of 294 persons including146 males and 148 females registered as witnesses toappear before the commission and the process oftheir summoning has begun. Arrangements to regu-larise and ensure safe arrival and departure of wit-nesses, smooth conduct of proceedings, custody ofthe record in the secretariat and security of premisesof the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan round theclock, have been finalised. Private and state televi-sion news channels have also been issued notices toprovide access to their archives through provision ofLogin IDs or through making available completeunedited telecasts of the news and other pro-grammes relating to the incident concerning LalMasjid, Islamabad within seven days. APP

‘US, UK againstPakistan’s nuclearprogramme’

ISLAMABADANwER ABBAS

THE Ministry of Defense Secretary AsifYasin Malik on Friday disclosed thatthere is no agreement present betweenthe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for

conducting operations inside Pakistan. However,the United States (US) often utilizes intelligenceagencies of other countries for conducting opera-tions inside Pakistan, and the US have provided thedetails of the number of CIA officials in Pakistan tothe government.

Holding informal discussions with reportershere at the Ministry of Defense, Asif disclosed thatPakistan had established a new phase of relationswith the US on the basis of mutual interests, addingthat US and the Uk were against the nuclear pro-gramme of the country. He said that now there wasa visible change in the tone of US towards Pakistan.

Responding a question, the defence secretarymaintained that there was no agreement of any sortbetween the CIA and the ISI for conducting opera-tions inside Pakistan.

Elaborating further, Asif said that the US had of-ficially informed Pakistan about the number of CIAofficials station in Pakistan. But the American intel-ligence agency had also been utilising the servicesof intelligence agencies from other countries tocomplete its operations in Pakistan.

Replying to a query in relation with the Asgharkhan case, the defence secretary said that no direc-tive from the Ministry for Law, Justice and the Par-liamentary Affairs had been received by the defenceministry regarding former Chief of Army StaffAslam Baig and ex-ISI chief Asad Durrani.

However, Yasin further added that if they re-ceived any directions from the ministry concerned,the necessary measures would be adopted in linewith the particular directives.

The secretary stated that there were no objec-tions if any action was introduced against the men-tioned former army generals under the civilianlegislations and rules. ISI had never owned any po-litical cell, he said while responding another query.

Asif said that Pakistan Army was capable of con-ducting any sort of military operation in NorthWaziristan Agency (NWA) irrespective of the time

and geography of the area, but it would not provefruitful unless the borders between Pakistan andAfghanistan were not completely sealed.

Moreover, the defence secretary was of the viewthat in case of any such military expedition, the mil-itants would escape to Afghanistan via the Pak-Afghan border and returned back at a later time.

Asif informed the journalists that the defensebudget was not presented before the Parliamentanywhere in the world as it was presented in the in-camera sessions of the standing committee, how-ever, in Pakistan it was presented before theParliament for approval.

To another query, he said that the issue of Pak-istan Air Force (PAF) planes that were damagedduring terrorists’ strikes in kamra and Mehran Basewas being discussed regarding repair and replace-ment issues. “No foreign influence is greeted whilepreparing the defense policy of the country, as 95percent of defense policy is prepared in consultationwith all three services chiefs and joint staff offices,”Asif added.

Meanwhile, while talking about the Pakistan In-ternational Airlines (PIA), he said that the govern-ment had released a heavy amount to improve thesituation of PIA which was in a deficit of more thanRs 192 billion. The official airline had raked in prof-its since September this year, he added. Howeverduring Hajj operations, the national carrier hadfaced losses worth Rs 410 million.

Discussing the liabilities being faced by PIA, thedefence secretary said that the total financial liabil-ities of the PIA in 2008 were Rs 42 billion which hadincreased to Rs 152 billion.

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

04Bilawal Zardari’sspeech historicISLAMABAD: Federal Minister forPostal Services Sardar MohammadUmar Gorgaij on Friday appreciatedthe speech of Bilawal Zardari at Garhikhuda Buksh, saying it was a historicday for the young politician. Talking toAPP, he said that Bilawal was speakingat Garhi khuda Buksh like his motherlate Benazir Bhutto who was alwaysconfidant during her speeches. He saidthat people were listening to thespeech of the the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairmanwith full attention, showing the level of people’s confidence inhis personality. He hoped that being a young leader, Bilawalwould change the politics of Pakistan, steering the countrytowards heights of development and prosperity. He said thespeech highlighted his leadership qualities and vision forachieving political stability. He further said that the partyleadership and workers saw a new ray of hope for Pakistanafter the speech of Bilawal. He said the PPP chairman laiddown his vision in front of the people for strengthening theeconomy of Pakistan. He also said that Bilawal had restoredthe dignity of the common man after making a publicappearance. AgENcIES

Bilawal challenged extremist forces like motherISLAMABAD: Federal Minister forCommunication Dr Arbab Alamgir saidon Friday that Pakistan People’s PartyChairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardaricourageously challenged extremistforces during his historic speech, like hismother Benazir. On the occasion of thefifth death anniversary of BenazirBhutto, Bilwal expressed his policticalvision during his address said theminister. He said Pakistan neededyoung leadership with a political visionand Bilawal would change politics of Pakistan and steer thecountry out of the present challenges it faced. He said the partyleadership and workers saw a new hope after the speech ofBilawal. He Bilawal’s speech highlighted his leadership qualitiesand vision for political stability and for a prosperous Pakistan.The carvan, he added, was historic and the attendance wasoverwhelming as the workers came to pay tributes to the party’smartyrs and listen to the historic speech of their youth icon. APP

PESHAWARINP

Security officials on Fri-day sealed Torkham bor-der after the AfghanNational Army (ANA)tortured two Pakistanilabourers for the secondtime in a week.

According to details,truck drivers blocked theroad and took out aprotest against the al-leged torture of two Pak-

istani truck drivers at thehands of the Afghan offi-cials.Earlier, two truckdrivers were headinginto Afghanistan seekingwork when they were in-tercepted by Afghan se-curity personnel at acheck post, who al-legedly subjected thejob-seekers to torturewhile also tearing uptheir passports and othertravelling documents.

The tortured Pakista-

nis returned back to thePak-Afghan border wherethey were joined by othertruck drivers who heldprotests against the treat-ment meted out by theAfghan security person-nel. Drivers had com-plained that Afghansecurity personnel rou-tinely harassed and tor-tured the job-seekers atvarious check posts situ-ated inside Afghanistan.“It seems that the Afghan

security forces are usingthese tactics to force Pak-istani labourers out oftheir country,” they added.

It was not the firsttime that the Afghanforces had tortured Pak-istani labourers. A simi-lar incident had occurredearlier this week on De-cember 22, and the bor-der was closed after 29Pakistani laborers weretortured by members ofthe ANA.

Interior Minister Rehman Maliksaid that a decision had been madeto unblock YouTube within 24hours following ‘a great demand’from the public. In a messagetweeted on Friday, Rehman Maliksaid he took the decision afterchairing a high-level meeting withall stakeholders on the Youtubeissue. “Those who had been

pressing me to unblock the siteshould be happy now,” he said. Theminister hailed PakistanTelecommunication Authority(PTA) for blocking anti-Islamicmaterial. “PTA is finalizingnegotiations in order to acquire apowerful software to totally blockpornographic and blasphemousmaterial,” he said. MoniToring Desk

ISLAMABADAPP

The kashmir dispute is themain impediment in thecordial relations betweenPakistan and India and thetwo countries cannotprogress in economic fieldswithout settling it, AllParties Hurriyat ConferenceChairman Mirwaiz Umar

Farooq said on Friday.Addressing a gathering inSrinagar, Mirwaiz said therecent APHC leaders’ visitto Pakistan was of greatsignificance in theprevailing circumstancesand would pave the way forsettlement of the kashmirdispute.He said the Pakistanileadership and people

were aware of thesufferings of the kashmirisand had always extendedmoral, political anddiplomatic support to thestruggle of the kashmiripeople. The APHC leaderurged New Delhi to acceptthe ground realities andrealise the fact that a nationcould not be subjugated fortoo long.

Measles claims 8more lives in Sindh,toll reaches 58KANDHKOT/LAKKI MARWAT: Eightchildren died on Friday due to measles ininterior Sindh, bringing the death toll to 58in just 27 days. Four children died inkandkot, three in Lakki Marwat and one inDaharki. The Health Ministry, which isproviding vaccine to the affected children,has claimed that the outbreak has still notbeen brought under control. Emergency,however, has been declared in all publichospitals in interior Sindh. Blaming thehealth department for negligence, affectedfamilies said no team from the healthdepartment came to vaccinate theirchildren. Although the government claimsthat over five million children under the ageof nine, in 29 districts of Sindh andBalochistan, will be vaccinated during theon-going campaign, measles virus is stillspreading across Lakki Marwat. “No healthteam came to Lakki Marwat to vaccinateour suffering children,” a local said. INP

renowned trauma

surgeon joins Bahria Hospital

Specialist Orthopedic and TraumaSurgeon Dr Amer khan, MBBS(Pakistan), FRCS (England), has joinedBahria Town Hospital Lahore fromDecember 24. He has 22 years ofexperience in Orthopedic Surgery mainlyin the Uk and New Zealand. Dr Amer haspreviously worked for a short time inIreland and Pakistan as well as threeyears in the UAE. He possesses vastexperience in a wide range of orthopedicsin both trauma and elective surgeryincluding joint replacements, shoulderand hand surgery, foot and ankle, kneeligament reconstructions, spinal surgery,arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulderand ankle and is also well experienced inmanaging all fractures and treating multipletrauma patients. The hospital already pridesitself on one of the best Cardiac Centers inthe country which is headed by Prof. Dr.Jawad Sajid khan. Dr. Amer is a great andworthy addition to the already world classfaculty of the Hospital and is most definitelygoing to raise the standards being set byBahria Town Hospital for the past manyyears. PrESS rELEASE

Torkham border sealed after Afghanarmy tortures two Pakistani labourers

PESHAWAR: khyberPakhtunkhawa (kP) NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB)initiated on Friday an inquiry toprobe the alleged embezzlement byPostal Services Department (PSD)officials in the disbursement ofmoney under Benazir IncomeSupport Programme (BISP). A kPNAB spokesman said severalcomplaints were received againstthe PSD officials who were allegedlycharging every person Rs 100 to Rs200, who came to their office to gettheir BISP card.“Moreover, it was alleged that the PSDofficials were giving cards to

whomever they wanted to and not tothe needy and the poor,” he added.“NAB initiated an inquiry into thematter to ascertain the factual positionand to punish all those involved in thescam,” he said. Under the programme,money is released to the PostalServices Department, which is thendistributed among the people throughthe local post office. It is the duty ofthe post office staff to give the moneyto the deserving people. Theprogramme is meant to be a helpinghand for all deserving people who arein dire need of financial support, sothat their suffering may be alleviatedon a priority basis.

YouTube to be unblockedwithin 24 hours, tweets Malik

Unsettled Kashmir dispute main hurdle to Indo-Pak ties: Mirwaiz

NAB KP initiates inquiry againstpostal officials in BISP scam

not disarmHe did not clarify which. “In thepast, it was the Pakistanigovernment that broke peaceagreements,” he said. “A slave ofthe US can’t make independentagreements, it breaksagreements according to USdictat.” The TTP chief said thePakistani Taliban would followthe lead of the Afghan Talibanwhen it came to forming policyafter most NATO troopswithdrew from Afghanistan in2014. “We are Afghan Talibanand Afghan Taliban are us,” hesaid. “We are with them and alQaeda. We are even willing to getour heads cut off for al Qaeda.”Mehsud’s deputy WaliurRehman dismissed any rift withthe TTP chief, saying ifpoliticians in Pakistan couldunite on a one-point agenda oflooting the country, the Talibancould also unite for the cause ofjihad. The video was also apublic debut for IhsanullahIhsan, the Taliban spokesmanmaking the all-important phonecalls to media houses after terrorattacks to claim responsibility. Many doubted any such personactually existed.

Continued fRom page 01

BEERSHEVA: An Israeli F-15 fighter jet flies during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli

pilots at Hatzerim air force base in the Negev desert, near this southern Israeli city on Friday. ONLINE

PESHAwAR: People throng a Chapal kebab shop as rain in the provincial metropolis dropped the temperature on Friday, hiking

demand for traditional food items. INP

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

Bad governance, deficient legal framework,lack of financial discipline and absence ofpolitical will to reform are some pressing is-sues confronting the state today, these fac-tors stem from short-sighted andself-serving policies that aid the simmeringinsurgency raging in various parts of thecountry.

This was the consensus of differentexperts, academicians and participantsat a seminar titled ‘Audit 2012: Per-spectives on Economy, Energy, Rule ofLaw and Democratisation’, organised bythe Centre for Research and SecurityStudies.

“Unless we address fundamentalslike people’s empowerment through de-volution it will be difficult to fight insur-gencies,” said National ReconstructionBureau’s former chairman Daniyal Aziz.He said almost 80 percent of the waragainst insurgency could be foughtthrough political means and only 20percent through military means. Azizsaid although the current governmenthad passed the 18th Amendment con-sensus and implementation had fallenprey to political expediency.

Supreme Court advocate AhmerBilal Soofi said that during 2012, Pak-istanis witnessed a number of failuresand shortcomings as far as the rule oflaw was concerned. The government-ju-diciary stand-off and insufficient re-sponse to various forms of violence had

severely undermined rule of law in thecountry.

Citing the example of the Anti-ter-rorism Act 1997, Soofi said this law wasa product of specific circumstances likesectarian violence and hardly coveredthe challenges Pakistan faced today.Soofi welcomed the passage of the FairTrial Bill but said it should have beenpassed five years earlier. He added thatsuch laws would succeed only if backedby a comprehensive political strategy.

Former finance adviser Dr IshfaqHassan khan said the economy hadnever been in such a bad shape as it wastoday. He challenged the present gov-ernment’s claim that it had inherited ashattered economy through facts andfigures compiled by the government andinternational financial institutions. Drkhan said although there were chal-lenges during the current government’stenure, it could have addressed themthrough financial discipline and politi-cal will. Unfortunately it had miserablyfailed to address these challenges andthe result was 2.9 percent GDP growth.

Energy expert Arshad Abbasi said oilproduction had decreased by five per-cent this year and Pakistan is currentlyimporting oil with impurities. He ob-served that the energy crisis had oc-curred due to mismanagement andcorruption. He said we have an electric-ity capacity of 2,35,000 MW but gener-ate 14,000 MW for a demand of 18,000MW, due to mismanagement and lack ofresources.

ISLAMABADAPP

RESUMPTION of poliovaccination drive inPakistan is all set tothwart all rumours re-garding polio vaccines,

international health experts said,while urging the citizens to registerpolio vaccine to their children toprotect the country’s young genera-tion from the chronic ailment.

The government and the peopleshould come together to put up afierce fight against the disease whichcould cripple an entire generation,added the health experts.

Referring to the recent incidentsof attacks against polio workers, theinternational health and science ex-perts stated that the governmentshould persuade the killers to stopshooting the polio workers andshould also guarantee safe passagefor them before the polio eradicationofficials regrouped again to resumethe drive, said a media report car-ried by the New York Times.

Donald G. McNeil Jr, in his re-port observed that reviving the cam-paign would mean quelling manyrumours, traditional or otherwise. It

would also require adding othermedical “inducements,” like de-worming medicine and mosquitonets or vitamin A, the immediatebenefits of which were usually moreobvious.

The report said, as many as ninevaccine workers were killed in Pak-istan last week in a terrorist cam-paign that brought the work of225,000 vaccinators to a standstill.Suspicion fell immediately on fac-tions of the Pakistani Taliban thathave threatened vaccinators in thepast by accusing them of beingAmerican spies.

The report clarified that poliovaccine is now bought only fromMuslim countries like Indonesia,and Muslim scholars have ruled it ashalal (meaning lawful in Islamic ter-minology).

Resistance to polio vaccinesprang from a combination of fear,often in marginalised ethnic groups,and brutal historical facts that makethat fear seem justified. Unless thismindset was countered quickly, thebacklash was threatening the effortto eradicate polio in the three coun-tries where it remained endemicnamely Pakistan, Afghanistan andNigeria, the report pointed out.

This approach had been used be-fore, notably in Afghanistan in 2007,when Mullah Muhammad Omar,spiritual head of the Afghan Taliban,signed a letter of protection for vac-cination teams. But in Pakistan, thekillers could be breakaway groupsthat follow no one’s rules.

According to the report, strongresistance to vaccination in Pakistanwas concentrated in Pashtun terri-tory along the Afghan border and inPashtun slums in large cities.

But changing mind-sets would bea crucial step, said Dr Bruce Ayl-ward, a Canadian who was chief ofpolio eradication for the WorldHealth Organization (WHO). DrBruce likened the shootings of thegirls registering polio drops to thoseof the schoolchildren in Newtown,Connecticut.

In addition, he argued that morepolice involvement, that he termed a“bunkerized approach”, would notsolve either America’s problem orPakistan’s. Instead, average citizensin both countries needed to rise up,reject the twisted thinking of thekillers and generate an understand-ing in the community that this kindof behavior was not acceptableunder any conditions.

Resuming polio vaccinationdrive to quell all rumours: International health experts

Perspectives on economy,energy, rule of law and democratisation

ISLAMABADONl INE

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petro-leum and Natural Resources Dr AsimHussain has said the government willkeep facilitating religious institutions asthey are an important and essential partof the society.

He stated this while meeting a dele-gation of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris led byMaulana Hanif Jalandhri on Friday.

The delegation told the adviser thattheir body represented 2.5 million Mus-lim students studying in Islamic institu-tions across the country and were beingprovided with free education and lodg-

ing facilities. The delegation informed him that

the OGRA, through a notification, hadenhanced the gas tariff, and requestedthe government to provide utilities toreligious institutions.

Dr Asim informed the delegationthere was substantial shortfall of gas inthe country, for which measures werebeing taken to import gas.

He said the Ministry of Petroleumand Natural Resources had already di-rected the SNGPL and SSGCL to workout consumption units of gas provided toreligious institutions so a special cate-gory could be formulated. He said the oldtariff would be applicable from Jan 1.

govt will keep on facilitating

religious institutions: Dr Asim

ISlAMABAD: Minister for Interior Rehman Malik chairs a high-level meeting to review law and

order and security in the country at the Ministry of Interior. INP

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

06 Islamabad

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD will be transformed into a model capi-tal city by planting several varieties of flowers toenhance its beauty. Flowers reflect the aesthetics ofresidents and Islamabad’s green appearance, beau-tiful landscape and horticultural pride will make it

one of the most unique capital cities in the world. CapitalDevelopment Authority (CDA) Chairman Tahir Shahbazsaid this while addressing the prize distribution ceremonyof the Autumn Flowers Show organised by the CDA in col-laboration with the Islamabad Horticultural Society (IHS)on Friday. He said flowers add beauty and fragrance to gar-dens and homes and apart from beautification, flowers pro-vide recreation and entertainment to residents and flowerexhibitions encourage people to plant more flowers in theirhomes. Shahbaz directed the CDA environment wing to in-crease the number of saplings during spring and monsoontree plantation campaigns. He highlighted the importanceof planting indigenous species of trees, as they will furtherbeautify the city. He said the CDA aimed to plant environ-ment friendly varieties of flowers and trees on highways,roads, bridges and green belts. Shahbaz said increased par-ticipation by the private sector reflected efforts of peoplefrom different walks of life who cared about the environ-ment. He distributed prizes and trophies amongst winnersof the flower show.

‘Islamabadto be madegreen andbeautiful’

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

HEC Chairman Dr Javaid Leghari promised toresolve all issues faced by HEC employees andfollow the prescribed procedure in managingthe commission’s affairs. He said this while ad-dressing a meeting with HEC Employees’ Asso-ciation representatives and members of thereconciliation committee. The employees wel-comed Dr Leghari’s assurance.

Earlier the reconciliation committee called

on Dr Leghari and HEC Executive Director Im-tiaz Hussain Gilani and told them that HEC em-ployees were upset due to administrativeproblems in the commission. The committeecomprised Quaid-e-Azam University VC Dr Ma-soom Yasinzai, NUML Rector Masood-ul-Has-san and Air University VC Ejaz Malik

HEC employees have demanded proper fi-nancial and service rules for the commission.They also insisted that contractual employeesshould not be regularised as their employmentwas a violation of HEC’s recruitment laws.

Police arrests nine, recoversstolen items

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

The Islamabad Police arrested 9 outlawsfrom various areas of the city and recoveredthree cars, one motorbike, a laptop, narcoticsand weapons from their possession. A policespokesman on Friday said the CIA Police ar-rested Sajid Zaman and Aqib Azad and re-covered a stolen laptop from them, while amotorbike thief Muneeb Shah was appre-hended and a new motorbike was recoveredfrom him. The CIA arrested Aziz for sellingdiesel without legal permission and khanZaman and Ghulam Ismail for possessingtwo 30-bore pistols. The Sabzi Mandi PoliceStation apprehended Dost Muhammad forpossessing a 30-bore pistol while ASI NurElahi from Ramana Police arrested twothieves Mukhtar Ahmed and Rubina Bibi.Sub-Inspector Rab Nawaz from the TarnolPolice Station arrested Sharif for possessinga bogus corolla car (IDF-9388) and two tem-pered cars (IDC-6222, LEB-5311) were recov-ered from Shah Nawaz and Liaqat Zaman.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

Abuzar Mahmood, a student of Roots Mil-lennium School, scored exceptionally wellin his SAT-I and SAT-II entry tests.

He had maintained an exceptional ac-ademic record throughout his IGCSE andA- levels and has now scored 2330 inSAT-I and 2380 in SAT-II exams. He hasa promising future and can be acceptedinto some of the best universities in theworld, said a press release.

Raafeh Shahid (2290), Sannan Tariq(2260), Shahrukhn-e-Alam (2230), ZohaAbdullah (2230), Ramsha Hisham (2180),

Usman Sharif (2160), Salman Omer Ma-sood (2120) and Noor Shaukat (2120) areamong other top scoring students of theMillennium Campus this year.

Arooj Naveed, another student,ranked among the top twelve Wizkids ofSouth Asia at the Horlicks Wizkid Com-petition held in Bangalore, India. The‘Horlicks Wizkids’ is South Asia’s largestinter-school competition that gives stu-dents an opportunity to express their tal-ents. Arooj is an exceptional student andhas secured a full scholarship for partici-pation in the German Summer Camp andhas shown keen interest in debates andModel United Nation Conferences.

ISLAMABADSAJJAD MEHSUD

Heavy rainfall and intensecold weather has grippedseveral parts of the countryand more rainfall is expectedover the next 24 hours.Heavy rain on Friday also in-creased the intensity of coldweather in the twin cities.

The Met office has fore-cast more rain for the next

24 hours. Low attendancewas reported in educationalinstitutions and offices in thefederal capital, as heavydownpour forced many peo-ple to stay home.

Those who did go towork faced commuting prob-lems and were over chargedby taxi drivers. The taxi driv-ers said they had to chargeextra due to the unavailabil-ity of CNG.

ISLAMABADAPP

Political Affairs Minister Senator Mola BuxChandio on Friday said the general electionswould be held on time.

He rebuffed rumours circulating in vari-ous circles regarding the postponement ofelections and extension of the interim gov-ernment. He said the coming general elec-

tions would be free, fair, and transparent.“People accusing the Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) led government for adopting delayingtactics in this matter are misguiding the na-tion for point scoring,” he said.

Chandio said this was the first time a po-litical party would complete its tenure. “ThePPP is a democratic party that has sacrificedprecious lives for the cause of democracy,”he added.

ISLAMABAD: The Marriott Hotel hasadded an authentic Italian specialtyrestaurant “Zigolini’s” to its existing foodoutlets. Its reception was hosted by theHashoo Group Hotels CEO Clive Websterand was attended by many diplomats, so-cialites and celebrities. The Italian Ambas-sador to Pakistan Adriano ChiodiCianfarani was the guest of honour. Three

top Pakistani models welcomed guests tothe grand launch ceremony. The restau-rants interior was decorated in red andwhite tones with balloons and flowers,which hints of green represented colours ofthe Italian national flag. “The pastas andpizzas are delicious and the restaurant hasmanaged to create an Italian experience”said the Italian ambassador. STAFF REPORT

More rain forecast for

the next 24 hours

HEc chairman vows to addressemployees’ grievances

Elections to be held on time: Chandio

Students ace their SATs

Marriott’s own little italy

ISlAMABAD: CDA Chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz gives away a prize to a lady participant of the a flower show during prize distribution ceremony of the Autumn

Flowers Show 2012 organized by the CDA in collaboration with Islamabad Horticultural Society (IHS). INP

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High

FrIDAy SATUrDAy MoNDAy14°c I 05°c 12°c I 04°c 15°c I 04°c

PrAyer TIMINGSFajr Sunrise Zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha

5:40 7:09 12:07 2:47 5:05 6:34

cITy DIrecTory

PoLIce eMerGeNcy 15

AMBULANce 115

reScUe 1122

HILAL-e-AHMer 9250488

eDHI FoUNDATIoN 2827844

BoMB DISPoSAL 9270698

FIre BrIGADe ceNTre 16

cIVIL DeFeNce 9262830

eMerGeNcy HeLP

HoSPITALS

BLooD BANK

PIMS BLooD BANK 9261272

PoLy cLINIc BLooD BANK 9209123

coMPLAINT

wAPDA 111-000-118

SUI GAS 1199

rAILwAyS

cITy STATIoN (eNQUIry) 117

reSerVATIoN 9273614

rAILwAy PoLIce 1333

AIrPorT

FLIGHT eNQUIry 114

PIA reSerVATIoN 111-786-786

coLLeGeS / UNIVerSITIeS

INTerNATIoNAL ISLAMIc UNIVerSITy 9260765

BAHrIA UNIVerSITy 9260002

NUML 9257677

QUAID-e-AZAM UNIVerSITy 90642098

ArID AGrIcULTUre UNIVerSITy 9290151

FJwU 9273235

rIPHA INTerNATIoNAL UNIVerSITy 111510510

NcA rAwALPINDI 5770423

PUNJAB LAw coLLeGe 4421347

MAHrooF INT 2222920

PIMS 9261170

PoLy cLINIc 9218300

cDA 9221334

SHIFA INTerNATIoNAL 4603666

ALI 4444435

DISTrIcT HQS 5556311-14

ULTrASoNIc cLINIc 2824862

HoLy FAMILy 9290319

Partly cloudy

weATHer UPDATeS

13°c04°c

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

PoTTerY & HoBBY CerAMiCs

Instructor: Shahid waheed

Timings : 4pm - 6:00pm

Days : Monday, Tuesday &

wednesday.

DATe AND TIMe: 05:00 PM, weeKLy eVeNTVENUE: THe ceNTre For ArTS & cULTUre

our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoing

event and is held every Friday from 5pm

to 6pm. we are having a great time, and

want to share the good time with you!

our drumming circle has children ...

DATe: ocT 22 - Dec 31

VeNUe: KUcH KHAAS: ArTS &

cULTUre

YogA WiTH AMAnDA

This yoga course will creatively and mindfully

incorporate physical poses with the rhythm

of the breath. The course will teach you the

fundamentals of yoga, such as good

alignment, body mechanics, and breathwork.

DATe: ocT 22 - Dec 31

VeNUe: KUcH KHAAS: ArTS &

cULTUre

DruMMing CirCle

Islamabad 07

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:54 AM Page 7

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

News

cAr seeks foreignhelp against rebels

PARISAGENCIES

The president of Central African Republic (CAR) has ur-gently called on France and other foreign powers to help hisgovernment fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territoryand approaching the capital. Speaking to crowds in Bangui, acity of some 600,000, Francois Bozize on Thursday pleadedwith foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed inparticular to France, Central African Republic’s former colo-nial ruler. “France has the means to stop (the rebels) but un-fortunately they have done nothing for us until now,’’ Bozizesaid. But Paris declined to offer any military assistance.Francois Hollande, the French president, said on Thursdayhis country wants to protect its interests in Central AfricanRepublic and not Bozize’s government. The comments camea day after dozens of protesters, angry about a lack of helpagainst rebel forces, threw rocks at the French Embassy inBangui and stole a French flag. About 200 French soldiersare already in the country, providing technical support andhelping to train the local army, according to the French de-fence ministry. France is encouraging peace talks betweenthe government and the rebels, with the French foreign min-istry noting in a statement that negotiations are due to“begin shortly in Libreville (Gabon)”.

ex-president George

Bush Sr in intensive careWASHINgtoN

AGENCIES

After more than a month in hospital battling bronchitis,former US president George HW Bush has taken a turn forthe worse and is in intensive care with a “stubborn fever”, aspokesman has said. “He’s had a series of setbacks nowthat have landed him in guarded condition in the intensivecare unit,” spokesman Jim McGrath told the AFP newsagency. “Early last week it was really looking good, but thenit seemed a couple of dominoes started falling and it wastaking us in the wrong direction.” The 88-year-old was firstadmitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston on November 7for bronchitis treatment and released on November 19. Buthe was readmitted on November 23 after his cough flaredup once more. Doctors had initially hoped to have the elderstatesman home for Christmas, but he was instead forcedto spend the holiday in the hospital, where he was joined byhis wife Barbara, son Neil and grandson Pierce. “I wouldn’tsay he was able to celebrate it in the traditional sense,” Mc-Grath said. “His family was with him, and he’s consciousand he’s able to engage in humorous banter with his doc-tor.” Bush, a Republican, served just a single term in theWhite House from 1989 to 1993, despite sending US forcesto victory in Iraq in the first Gulf War, expelling SaddamHussein’s forces from kuwait.

BAgHDADAGENCIES

TENS of thousands of Iraqishave taken part in protestsalong a major westernhighway and in other partsof the country in fresh ral-

lies against the government of PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki.

Massive demonstrations took placealong a major highway near the city ofFallujah on Friday, declaring the day a“Friday of honor.”

The rallies appear to be the largestyet in a week of demonstrations, inten-sifying pressure on the Shia-led govern-ment.

In the northern city of Mosul,around 3,000 demonstrators took to thestreets to denounce what they called thesidelining of Sunnis in Iraq and to de-mand the release of Sunni prisoners.

As in protests earlier in the week,demonstrators there chanted the ArabSpring slogan: “The people want thedownfall of the regime.”

Thousands likewise took to thestreets in the northern Sunni towns ofTikrit and Samarra, where they werejoined by legislators and provincial offi-cials, said Salahuddin provincialspokesman Mohammed al-Asi.

Protests erupted last week afterIraqi authorities detained 10 body-guards of the finance minister, who is

from Anbar and is one of the govern-ment’s most senior Sunni officials.

Many Sunnis accuse al-Maliki ofmarginalising the country’s religiousminority group by refusing to sharepower and depriving them of equalrights.

The main highway at Ramadi,100km west of Baghdad, was barricadedfor a fifth day, disrupting transit ofgovernment supplies along a key traderoute to and from Jordan and Syria.

Protesters were, however, lettingmost trucks, carrying private goods,pass along another road through Ra-madi.

Anti-terrorism lawsAt a conference in Baghdad, al-Ma-

liki warned against a return to sectarianconflict and cautioned that the countryis close to returning to the “dark dayswhen people were killed because of theirnames or identities.”

He also used the occasion to take ajab at the protesters in Anbar.

“Nations that look for peace, loveand reconstruction must choose civi-lized ways to express themselves. It isnot acceptable to express opinions byblocking the roads, encouraging sectar-ianism, threating to launch wars and di-viding Iraq,” he said.

“Instead we need to talk, to listen toeach other and to agree ... to end ourdifferences.”

Activists want changes to laws on

terrorism that they say penalise Sunnis.While demands so far focus on the

anti-terrorism laws which Sunnis sayare being used against them, one lec-turer in law at Baghdad University saidSunnis might be emboldened to callfor regional autonomy in Anbar andother provinces in the northwest wherethey are in a majority - a status similarto that of the kurds, who won Western-backed autonomy from Saddam in 1991.

“I’m seeing greater determination todefy Maliki and if their demands are notmet, the call to have their ownregion will be an inevitable conse-quence,” said Ahmed Younis.

“The kurdish region could become amodel for Sunnis in Anbar.”

lA CONNER: A father throws his daughter in the air as snow geese take flight in Skagit valley. AgENcIES

cAIRoAGENCIES

Egypt’s chief prosecutor has ordered an in-vestigation into allegations that oppositionleaders committed treason by inciting sup-porters to overthrow President MohammedMorsi.

The probe, launched on Thursday, tar-gets opposition leaders Mohammed El-Ba-radei, a Nobel Peace laureate and formerhead of the UN nuclear agency, former For-eign Minister Amr Moussa, and HamdeenSabahi. Both Moussa and Sabahi werepresidential candidates who competedagainst Morsi in the last election.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s website al-leged that the opposition leaders were “dup-

ing simple Egyptians to rise against legiti-macy and were inciting against the presi-dent,” which constitutes treason.

The allegation came a day after the pres-ident called for a dialogue with the opposi-tion to help solve disputes over a MuslimBrotherhood-backed constitution that wasjust approved in a referendum.

The accusations were filed by twolawyers during a political crisis earlier thismonth over a series of presidential decreesthat granted Morsi and the committee draft-ing the disputed constitution immunityfrom judicial oversight.

The opposition decried the investiga-tion as a throwback to Hosni Mubarak’sregime, when the law was used to smearand silence opponents.

Emad Abu Ghazi, secretary-general ofthe opposition party that El-Baradei heads,said the investigation was “an indication ofa tendency toward a police state and the at-tempt to eliminate political opponents”.

He said that Morsi is dealing with theopposition similarly to Mubarak, the oustedleader who had allegedly jailed his oppo-nents without allowing fair trials.

Heba Yassin, a spokesperson for thePopular Current coalition led by Sabahi, saidthat Sabahi faced similar charges underMubarak and his predecessor.

“Morsi is confirming that he is follow-ing the same policies of Mubarak in re-pressing his opponents and trying to smeartheir reputation through false accusa-tions,” Yassin said.

“Also this is evidence of what we hadwarned about - the judiciary and the prose-cutor-general must be independent and notappointed by the president,” she said.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democraticallyelected president, asked the opposition onWednesday to join a national dialogue toheal rifts after a month of huge streetprotests against him and the controversialconstitution.

Some of the protests erupted into deadlyviolence. On December 5, anti-Morsidemonstrators staging a sit-in outside thepresidential palace in Cairo were attacked byMorsi supporters. Fierce clashes ensued thatleft 10 people dead.

Even though the constitution passed ina referendum, the opposition has vowed to

keep fighting it. They say it prioritises Is-lamic law in the country, undermines rightsof minorities and women, and restricts free-doms. Although he reached out to the oppo-sition for reconciliation, Morsi did not offerany concessions in his speech on Wednes-day calling for a dialogue.

On Wednesday Morsi asked his primeminister to carry out a limited reshuffle ofhis government, without offering any seatsto the opposition. In an apparent protestagainst the decision to keep the same primeminister, the country’s minister of parlia-mentary affairs resigned.

It is the second resignation of a cabinetminister this week and follows a spate of res-ignations of senior aides and advisers duringthe constitutional crisis.

Anti-Maliki protests continue in Iraq

MoScoWAGENCIES

Russia, one of the few powers tomaintain links with the Syrianregime of President Bashar al-Assad, has proposed talks with themain Syrian opposition coalition.Sergey Lavrov, Russian foreignminister, told a news conference onFriday that Russia has contacted theSyrian National Coalition for Oppo-sition and Revolutionary Forcesthrough the Russian Embassy inEgypt and “we expressed readinessto conduct a meeting” with coalitionleader Ahmad Mouaz al-khatib.Lavrov, speaking after a meetingwith his Egyptian counterpart Mo-hamed kamel Amr, said Russia wasalso urging Assad’s regime to makeefforts toward a political settlement.

Russia’s talks with National

Coalition head could take place inMoscow or a foreign location likeGeneva or Cairo, Mikhail Bogdanov,the Russian deputy foreign minis-ter, told the RIA Novosti newsagency. Russia has so far stronglycriticised moves by Western andanti-Assad Arab states to recognisethe National Coalition as a legiti-mate representative of the Syrianpeople since the group was formedlast month. Yet Russia is also in-volved in a frantic round of year-enddiplomacy seeking to end the crisis.

Syria has been a longtime ally ofRussia, hosting Russia’s only navalbase outside the former SovietUnion and remaining a significantcustomer for Russia’s arms indus-try. But Russia appears to be slowlydistancing itself from Assad. Putinlast week said that Russia is “notpreoccupied that much with the fate

of the Assad regime” and “undoubt-edly there is a call for changes”.

Bogdanov said he expectedthere to be a new three-way meet-ing between UN-Arab LeagueEnvoy Lakhdar Brahimi and USand Russian representatives on theSyrian crisis in January. Brahimi onThursday called for a “real change”in Syria and the installation of atransitional government with fullpowers until elections can be held.“We need to form a governmentwith all powers ... which assumespower during a period of transition.That transition period will end withelections,” Brahimi told reporters.He did not specify a date for the en-visaged elections, either presiden-tial or parliamentary depending onwhat could be agreed. He also madeno mention on the fate of Assad,whose current term expires in 2014.

russia invites syrian opposition for talks

Egypt probEs allEgEd incitEmEnt to oust morsi

china unveils new internet lawsBEIjING: China has unveiled tighter In-ternet controls, including legalising thedeletion of posts or pages which aredeemed to contain “illegal” informationand requiring service providers to handover such information to the authoritiesfor punishment. The rules suggest thatthe new leadership, headed by Commu-nist Party chief Xi Jinping, will continuemuzzling the often scathing, raucous on-line chatter in a country where theInternet offers a rare opportunity for de-bate. The new regulations, announced bythe official Xinhua news agency on Friday,also require Internet users to register withtheir real names when signing up with net-work providers, though, in reality, this al-ready happens. Chinese authorities andInternet companies such as Sina Corp havelong since closely monitored and censoredwhat people say online, but the govern-ment has now put measures such as delet-ing posts into law. “Service providers arerequired to instantly stop the transmissionof illegal information once it is spottedand take relevant measures, including re-moving the information andsaving records.” the rules state. AGENCIES

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

News

MoNItoRINg DESK

So common and unpredictable are powercuts in Pakistan that few Pakistanis pausefor even a fraction of a second in mid-in-terview when the lights go off. Whetherthey are tycoons, politicians or religiousleaders, they continue talking and gestic-ulating in the semi-darkness as if nothinghad happened.

“We have around 10 or 12 hours dailyof no electricity,” says Azam Saigol, man-aging director of Saigols in Lahore, an in-dustrial conglomerate that itself produceselectrical power for which the govern-ment often fails to pay. “It’s a really, re-ally appalling state of affairs, but we arecalm about it because it’s a way of life.”

Yet the worsening shortages of natu-ral gas and electricity that have crippledPakistan’s manufacturing and provokedriots in big cities are only the most visibleof a plethora of financial, social and po-litical crises that threaten the viability of

the country’s already feeble economy.“It’s very frustrating,” says Sakib

Sherani, an economist who heads MacroEconomic Insights in Islamabad. “Youknow you’re heading for a wall at 120mphand no one’s doing anything.”

The problems facing the country in-clude bomb attacks and assassinations byIslamic extremists, high inflation, slug-gish growth, extreme corruption, lack ofjobs for young Pakistanis and an unsus-tainable budget deficit, which the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF) saysreached 8.5 per cent of gross domesticproduct in the previous fiscal year, morethan double the official target.

It does not help that a quarter of allgovernment spending goes on defense, orthat only 0.9 percent of Pakistanis pay tax, compared with 4.7 percent in neigh-bouring India and 80 per cent in Canada,according to data compiled by EhtishamAhmad and Michael Best of the LondonSchool of Economics.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharifwho is an opponent of the central admin-istration of President Asif Ali Zardari, ac-cuses the government of “looting andplunder” and tells of $700m spent in vainon two hydroelectric power projects thatwere supposed to have been built by Chi-nese and other contractors and a capacityto produce 950 megawatts.

“Not a kilowatt of power was gener-ated. They should have been functionaltwo years ago. The plant has been lying inkarachi for two years and there’s no elec-tricity. The Chinese have gone back toChinam,” said Sharif. For a country of180m people – the world’s sixth biggest –the most worrying financial portent is thedecline of the domestic and foreign in-vestment that should ensure growth andjobs in the future. According to the centralbank, total investment as a share of GDPfell to 12.5 percent in 2011-12, just morethan half the level of five years earlier.

“Investment has just fallen off a cliff,”

says Sherani. “Private domestic invest-ment is at the lowest level on record.”

Pakistan’s economy is kept alive inpart by about $1billion a month of remit-tances from citizens and former citizensworking in the Gulf, the Uk and NorthAmerica. A thriving black economy, un-taxed and unmeasured, and good pricesfor cotton and other farm crops have alsobolstered the otherwise fragile domesticeconomy.

“We have food security. We are awheat exporting country,” Prime MinisterRaja Pervaiz Ashraf said. He boasted in aninterview that foreign exchange reservesof $16-17billion are higher than when thegovernment was elected four years ago,but his aides quickly correct him with anupdated figure of $14billion. The IMFsays reserves actually fell to an estimated$10.8billion in the previous fiscal yearand are projected to drop to $7.4billion inthe current year ending in June.

“Right now reserves are relatively

comfortable, but the burn rate is increas-ing,” says Sherani. “In Pakistan, the defi-nition of a crisis is a balance of paymentscrisis. It’s on the cards.”

Among both Pakistani and foreignobservers, there is broad agreement onwhat has gone wrong – the Zardari gov-ernment has failed to restore fiscal disci-pline, curb corruption or take essentialdecisions on infrastructure investment –but scant hope that remedial action willbe taken before a general election due inthe first half of next year.

“What the government is hoping foris that the IMF will bail them out,” saysSherani, predicting that the IMF will waitto act until a new government is installedamid a deepening crisis. In betweenpower cuts in Lahore, Saigol also thinksthat a dysfunctional Pakistan will againbe granted a reprieve by international fi-nancial institutions. “Really we’vereached a position where we’re unable tomeet our commitments,” he says.

DArK PrOSPEcTS HAUNT PAKISTAN

HYDERABAD: Traditional performers present ‘Dhamal’ at the shrine of Hazrat Shah Abdul latif Bhittai on the eve of his 269th Urs celebrations. ONLINE

QUEttAAPP

EDUCATION sec-tor has becomeweak inBalochistan dueto nepotism,

favouritism, violation of meritsand a typical business-orien-tated approach.

These views were ex-pressed by speakers at a con-sultative session of a seminarjointly organised by Action-Aid andYouth Educational Society (YES) at alocal hotel on Friday.

Balochistan Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Syed RuqayyaSaeed Hashmi, Additional Chief Secre-tary Aslam Shakir Baloch, Senior MBRSarwar Javed, Action-Aid DirectorShahjahan, YES Director Ashraf Hasni,Government Teachers AssociationPresident Nawaz Jattak and PrivateTeachers Association President NazarBaraich were prominent among thosewho spoke on the occasion.

The speakers said that the respon-sibility rested with all stockholders in-

cluding the government,teachers, students andparents to play theirconstructive role inbringing reforms andbetterment in society.

They were of the view that theprevailing multiple systems of educa-tion was not serving its purpose effec-tively and stressed the need for makingone curriculum for the students inschools across the entire country.

They said efforts of the lawmakersand the community would help createamicable environment for knowledgeseekers in the province.

Furthermore, they under-lined the need for evolving con-certed strategy to enhance theenrollment of children in pri-mary level. “We have to go along way to achieve the Millen-nium Development Goal set forthe education sector till 2015 asdue to the scattered populationin Balochistan, a large chunk ofthe province’s area is still de-prived of basic education facili-ties”, the speakers said.

The speakers also hailedthe public-private partner-ship schemes for the upliftof the sector.

Commending some of the re-forms put in place by the govern-

ment for the promotion ofeducation and enabling maximum

enrollment at primary level, thespeakers urged for the continuity and

persistency of such policies.“Drastic steps should be taken on

war-footing to improve the rate of girls’enrollment in schools as a large num-ber of girls are still cut off from schools,thus aggravating the already grim situ-ation in the province,” they added.

British girl missing for

3 years in Pakistan

on way homeLONDON: A six-year-old girl is on herway home to Britain more than threeyears after she was abducted by her fa-ther and taken to Pakistan, police saidon Friday.Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson disappeared inNovember 2009 after going to stay withher father, Razwan Ali Anjum.The former insurance salesman told thegirl’s mother, Gemma Wilkinson, that hewas taking Atiya to Southport in northwestEngland but instead took her to Lahore.He told his former partner that she was“never going to see Atiya again”.Anjum is currently serving a prison sen-tence in Britain for refusing to reveal hisdaughter’s whereabouts despite a courtorder. Just last month her 32-year-oldmother launched a fresh appeal for infor-mation about her daughter.But sources told Britain’s Press Associationagency that Atiya had been found in Pak-istan after new information had come tolight. Police said Atiya was due to arrive atManchester Airport later Friday.Anjum, who is in his late 20s, was given afourth consecutive jail term by a high courtjudge in April after he refused to revealwhere his daughter was.He indicated that Atiya was in Pakistan orIran but said he did not know her exactwhereabouts, a claim which the judge inthe case said was “absurd”. AGENCIES

Bilawal earning love and respect of the people: Bakhtawar

ISLAMABAD: Twitter, a social network-ing website, is abuzz with various com-ments regarding the entry of the PPPChairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari into poli-tics. Bakhtawar Bhutto, Bilawal’s sister,tweeted that the PPP was not launching Bi-lawal, instead the party chairman justwanted to earn respect and love of hiscountrymen. “Not a question of launchingBilawal. He is shifting from learning toearning the respect, love + support of everyPakistani,” she said in her tweet. “Aaphamaray lab see do gay, magar ‘Jee’ayBhutto’ kay naaray kabhi khatam nahi hongay. Aap hamaray haath kaat do gay,magar hamara parcham buland rahay gay,”she quoted Bilawal in another tweet. For-mer Pakistan ambassador to US, HusainHaqqani, said Bilawal is just continuingthe family tradition. “No assertion of dy-nasty, just continuation of family tradition.Inspiring speech for party faithful and thepeople. Vitriol from Bhutto haters to be ex-pected (and ignored). With his speech onhis mother’s anniversary, Bilawal BhuttoZardari earned peoples respect after 5years of learning politics,” he said. INP

Iftikhar reiterates

resolve to continue

fighting terrorismPESHAWAR: khyber Pakhtunkhwa (kP)Minister for Information and Public Rela-tions Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Friday saidhis party wand the provincial governmentwould contine their fight against terrorism.“The followers of Bacha khan will fight themenace of terrorism till the end even at thecost of their lives but will never retreat,” hesaid. Addressing a gathering on the occa-sion of khatm-e-Quran for Bashir AhmadBilour, jointly arranged by Awami NationalParty District Peshawar and Pakhtun Stu-dent Federation at Bacha khan Markaz,the minister said it was need of the hourthat all political parties, state organs andthe nation should stand united to develop aconsensus and take final decision to curbterrorism The ceremony was attended bysenior leaders of ANP including SenatorMuhammad Adeel, Afrasiyab khattak, Ha-roon Bilour, Arbab Tahir, othe provincialministers, MPAs and party workers. Hesaid the war against terrorism was anissue not just related to ANP and kP butthe whole nation. Regarding talks withTaliban for durable peace in the whole re-gion, Hussain said ANP always welcomedtalks and tried to resolve issues throughpeaceful means but the talks must bemeaningful and positive. APP

Balochistan’s educationsector on the decline

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:54 AM Page 9

Comment10

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

But challenges remain for the heir-apparent

Getting off to a decent start

Bilawar Bhutto Zardari’s first major public speech enthused hisaudience while PPP opponents also had good words for his choiceof words and delivery. As Zardari put it, Bilawal’s trainingperiod has now begun. One hopes that as he moves out of the

close and secure circle of unquestioning PPP loyalists who simply admirehim, he will develop a more comprehensive understanding of the politicalreality of the country. The PPP Central Executive Committee has assignedhim the task of leading the party’s election campaign, thus providingZardari with an opportunity to resign from the party post as required bythe LHC. The activity will provide Bilawal an opportunity to meet a crosssection of the society, not only in Sindh but in other provinces also wherea whole generation taking part in the elections may not be similarly underthe spell of the PPP icons like ZAB and Benazir Bhutto.

Bilawal has had a good beginning but has yet to pass through thebaptism of fire in order to be confirmed as the chief of what is still thelargest party in the country. Like Benazir who did not simply inherit themantle, Bilawal too will have to earn it. He is determined to carry out themission of ZAB and BB marked by sacrifices without being deterred. AndBilawal would need much more than sheer fortitude to succeed. He will berequired to display an understanding of the complex political, economicand social issues facing the country. It is fine to rattle off statistics likeexports increasing to $25 billion, inflation decreasing from 25 to ninepercent, remittances reaching $13 billion and the karachi Stock Exchange100-Index crossing 16,000. But he has to realise that millions living belowpoverty line and suffering food deprivation cannot eat figures nor use themfor clothing. Again he might be surprised to find that few in Balochistanare willing to be satisfied by “apologies tendered to Baloch people” or“many decisions for their welfare and autonomy”. Populist slogans of abygone era, particularly when they remind people of unfulfilled promiseslike ‘roti, kapra aur makan’ may actually strengthen cynicism instead ofproducing the desired effect. Bilawal must not forget that the PPP wouldbe judged by the masses for its performance for an unprecedented period:a full term spanning five long years. He would be challenged to cope withthe disadvantage of the negative fallout of the incumbency.

Bilawal displayed the right attitude when he said that he wanted totake along all political parties. As the PPP Central Committee hasindicated there is a need to develop a consensus among the parties for acaretaker setup. Bilawal would hopefully take part in the negotiations asthese would help him explore and develop the possibilities of furtherunderstanding. As a young Bhutto just entering politics he enjoys enoughgoodwill which he should use to win new friends and allies.

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

The emergence of a potential game-changer

Shrinking political spaceCandid CornerBy Raoof Hasan

Last week was full of politicalfireworks which saw the emer-gence of a potential game-

changer in Lahore. The mammothpublic meeting held at the grounds ofMinar-e-Pakistan was symptomaticof the frustration that runs deepamong people and their eagerness tothrong around anyone who promises‘change’ in their depleted lives.

At the same time, Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri’s speech was structuredaround considerable logic. His de-mand for electoral reforms precedingthe next general elections was thecentre-piece of an articulate presen-tation. He mixed his rhetoric with adefinitive game plan: do it by January10 or face a million-march on Islam-abad. The prospect has created awave of visible unrest among the tra-ditional political mafias who are eagerto use the artificial and fragmentedelectoral structure and mechanism tofurther perpetuate their hold on thecountry’s destiny. Interestingly, whilehe was delivering a message of‘change’ from the pulpit, a large con-tingent representing one of the mostcorrupt political outfits of the countryshared space with him on the stage.

PML-N appears to be excessivelyun-nerved in the wake of the impres-sive gathering as their bastion ofpower has come under direct assault.It is on the basis of their mostly ‘per-

ceived’ performance in Punjab thatthe Sharif Brothers would have likedto launch their election campaign.PTI’s 30 October gathering in La-hore had jolted their confidence thefirst time forcing them into double-shift to erase its impact. This is thesecond time in about a year that theircitadel has come under attack andfor good measure. But there is also abig difference: while PTI reiteratedits faith in the electoral process sub-ject to addressing some criticallycontentious issues, Qadri’s approachis based around the prospect of forc-ing the change by using the streetpower of numbers.

The basic question that is beingdebated in the aftermath of the al-legedly ‘sponsored’ Tahir-ul-Qadrishow is whether the interim govern-ment has the requisite constitutionalauthority to undertake a cleansingoperation prior to holding the elec-tions, or whether their only job is tohold the elections, hand over powerand quit? Quoting of article 254 ofthe constitution has initiated a livelydebate with odds even: there arepeople who believe that for anymeaningful change to accrue, it is ab-solutely vital to implement electoraland societal reforms prior to holdingthe next elections, but there are alsopeople led by the traditional politicalmafias including the PML-N and

PPP who believe that any suchchange, if at all, should be left to theelected government to implement.

The likelihood is that the debateis going to intensify in the days andweeks leading up to the elections withall prospects remaining open to thelast day. No one can question the le-gitimacy of the demands contained inTahir-ul-Qadri’s address. These havebeen voiced by some other politicalparties also. It is only in the ascertain-ment of the mechanism to implementthe changes and its timing that thereis bound to be division along the mid-dle putting the traditionalists apartfrom the non-traditionalists: the for-mer will go with the elections first andleave it to the next government to im-plement changes if deemed necessarywhile the latter would opt for incor-porating the changes first to make theelection process more meaningfuland representative.

There is another interesting de-velopment that should not go unno-ticed. After a ‘chance’ meeting withthe COAS on 26 December at theNADRA headquarters in Islamabad,the Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Justice (retd) Fakhuruddin GEbrahim went back on his earlierpronouncement regarding fresh de-limitation in karachi which had fol-lowed the SC directive in the matter.Instead, he has now stated that it

was not possible to carry out delim-itation of constituencies in karachiand these will remain unchanged.He also added that he was awaitingsuggestions from political parties inthis regard. It is in the same meet-ing that the COAS assured the CECof his full cooperation in holding theelections. Was the about-turn a re-sult of the CEC’s parleys with theCOAS, or are there other pressuresthat have come into force since theCEC’s last declaration that he wouldabide by all SC judgements?

Both the issues, the one raisedby Tahir-ul-Qadri and the one re-garding the delimitation in karachi,are critical to the holding of the nextelections along with so many otherswhen looked upon in the backdropof the political governments havingfailed miserably in delivering thefruits of ‘democracy’ to the people.Any perception that these issues willevaporate with the passage of time israther erroneous, even pretentious.The first issue relates to ensuringthat only a clean and competentleadership is elected transparentlythrough the process of elections andthe second issue relates to the rightof others having been usurpedthrough forced delimitations thatsuit only one political party.

Any election held on the basis ofthe electoral laws as these stand today

is not likely to provide a solution to theproblems that the people are afflictedwith. For ensuring any relief to them,the process will have to be radically al-tered so that the marauding bands ofdual-nationality and fake-degree-sus-pect tax-evading legislators areblocked effectively and replaced by aservice-oriented educated and credi-ble leadership that focuses principallyon an economic-salvation agenda overthe next few years and also works to-wards rehabilitating the confidenceand resolve of the people so that theycould become powerful instrumentsin the vanguard of the movement for‘change’. This ‘change’ has not comeand will not come by replacing asmaller thief with a bigger bandit byfollowing the incumbent electionprocess and allowing space for dry-cleaned political mafias to come backadorning deceptive garbs. The systemshould block the path for all such ban-dits from being elected and shouldprovide avenues for a new generationof people to come forth laden with thetools of education, expertise, compe-tence, dynamism and selflessness. Butit is the fast shrinking political spacethat may prove to be the ultimate ar-biter in the game plan.

The writer is a politicalanalyst. He can be reached at:raoofhasan@hotmail.com

Two mammoth rallies were heldin the last few days. One atMinar-e-Pakistan in Lahorewhere Tehrik-e-Minhaj-ul-Quran chief Allama Dr Tahir-

ul-Qadri stirred a hornet’s nest bydemanding that the military and the judi-ciary be made stakeholders in the forma-tion of a caretaker setup, a la Bangladesh.

The other massive rally in Naudero –held to observe Benazir Bhutto’s fifth deathanniversary – too was a special occasion. Itwas the launching of 24-year-old scion ofthe Bhutto family, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Bilawal’s maiden speech in chaste Urdupunctuated by couplets from Faiz was remi-niscent of his late mother and grandfather,Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Both used to mix up theirgenders. So did he. Bilawal’s debut broughttears in the eyes of his proud father as well ashis aunt Sanam present on the stage.

Obviously the speech was well re-hearsed and well choreographed. Butcredit goes to the young Bilawal to pass hisfirst test in flying colours. In substance, itwas an attempt to resurrect the saggingspirit of the normally indomitable jiyalas.

His late mother felled by the Taliban andhis grandfather and maternal uncles a victimof state terrorism, it was no surprise Bilawalcame down hard against terrorism and ter-rorists. He made the right noises to stir thecrowd while narrating the recent assassina-tion of the ANP stalwart Bashir Bilour andthe cowardly attack on Malala Yousafzai.

The standout factor: His lament againstterrorism was far more forthright and stridentthan most of his uncles in the Peoples Partydare. And that is why he sounded credible.

Like his father last year at the samevenue, Bilawal singled out the higher ju-diciary for having double standards andon being partial against the PPP. Albeitwithout naming them, he came downhard on the Sharifs as well.

The criticism of the Sharifs soundeda trifle ill-timed in the sense that both

parties are locked in serious back channelnegotiations for formation of a caretakersetup composed of political persons.

Unsurprisingly, the PPP’s Central Exec-utive Committee has decided that Bilawalas party chairman would lead the party’selection campaign. Defending the un-savoury governance record of the coalitiongovernment led by his party will be a tallorder for the still inexperienced Bilawal.

Despite his father’s tutelage and innateBhutto political and combative instincts,Bilawal’s task is still cut out for him for hewill have to raise the sagging morale of theparty in the main battleground: the Punjab.

The PPP in the largest province of thecountry is leaderless and in disarray.Manzoor Wattoo inducted recently as theprovincial president has failed to inspirethe party cadre. He is simply not accept-able to the party’s rank and file. The man-ner in which Benazir Bhutto sacked himin 1995 is still etched in their memory.

Hoping that the PML-N and the PTIwould cancel each other out at the polls inCentral and Northern Punjab, helping it topick up some seats, the PPP has retreatedto the South where it is being assumed thatthe slogan of the Seraiki province will res-urrect its flagging fortunes in the province.

Till recently demoralised and sidelined,former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilanihas been rehabilitated. On his insistence,his cousin Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmud hasbeen plucked from the PML-Functional andinducted as the governor of the province.

By his own admission the Makhdoomclaims to be a quintessential Muslim Lea-guer. Having neither the propensity northe inclination, he can do pretty little toprovide the PPP the kind of boost it re-quires to make a fist of it at this late stage.

Wattoo and the Chaudharys of Gujrat areno longer the sole handlers and fixers in Pun-jab. Hence the mantle will fall on Bilawal andhis father to repair things in the province.With less than three months to go before thegeneral elections, it will be a tough ask.

Ironically at this crucial juncture, Qadrihas emerged as the spoiler. He has deniedthat the establishment has launched him.However, his timing stinks. After four yearsin Canada to escape the wrath of the Taliban,and by his own admission having a Canadianpassport, he emerges from the deadwood tolecture the nation on how to do its politics!

With the exception of the PTI and theMQM, virtually all political parties andrump of the media have opposed hisagenda to make the military and the ju-diciary stakeholders in the formation of acaretaker government.

The MQM participated in his rally buthas not entirely endorsed his agenda. ThePTI chief Imran khan is an exception. Hehas welcomed the Sufi cleric’s proposalsclaiming that Qadri has endorsed PTI’sstance on various issues. Reportedly, thekhan gave a dressing down to his Infor-mation Secretary Shafquat Mehmood forcriticising Qadri in the media.

Nonetheless even Imran cannot affordto endorse Qadri’s plan to postpone electionsin the name of cleaning the Augean stables.It will be tantamount to endorsing the repeatof Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s stratagem for self-per-petuation, “accountability before elections”.

In reality it was a successful attempt byZia and his cohorts to bolster the rightistforces by first getting rid of the ousted Zul-fikar Ali Bhutto and subsequently holdingelections. Despite being discredited by Zia’spropaganda machine, Bhutto was poised towin the elections to be held in 1977. Thoseelections were not held for eleven years.

Ironically, in the present context, the os-tensible purpose of Qadri’s lament is to getcertain politicians from the PML-N and thePPP disqualified before elections are held.Reportedly, Nawaz Sharif – a major benefi-ciary of Zia’s benevolence but now a red ragfor the establishment – is on top of the list.

Some elements considered close tothe establishment have likened Qadri’splanned long march on 14 January to theArab Spring. This would mean that Qadriby his dharna, a la Egypt’s al TahrirSquare, would force his favourite stake-holders – the judiciary and the military –to intervene and oust the government,setting up a caretaker setup to replace it.

Obviously it is a blatant attempt to black-ball certain players both from the PPP andthe PML-N, and have a ‘cooling off’ period fora few years under a military backed “care-taker government”. It will be clear from thekind of backing Qadri gets for his plannedlong march whether he has any takers.

Imran khan may see it as a window ofopportunity to enter the arena from thebackdoor despite the promise of his‘”tsunami”. But judging by the groundswellof support he claims in his rallies, he neednot back mavericks like Qadri. Politicalforces in the country, including the MQMand the PTI, should be closing ranks tostrengthen the system so that the electionsare held at the appointed time.

This is the immediate challenge for mas-ter Bilawal, his father and the Sharifs. Thereis plenty of time for both parties to run downeach other once basic issues have been settled.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

Enter the prodigalAnd the spoiler too

By Arif Nizami

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 10

Bilawal’s chaste Urdu

Under the aegis of our high

commissioner, Zardari said his

accent was like that of BB’s.

The boy who would be king, BilawalBhutto Zardari, caught his share ofattention at the fifth death anniversary

of his mother. He should have, of course,since this was his political presentation ball.But it was his chaste Urdu that got peopletalking.

Almost entirely foreign educated, thepolitical heir’s grasp of Urdu had beennotoriously inadequate. But under the aegis ofour man in Britain, Wajid Shams-ul-Hassan,he managed to do alright.

An emotional Zardari was heard saying toclose ones how he thought his son’s accentresembled that ofhis late wife’s.

As far asbeinganglicisedwasconcerned,hey, theFather ofthe Nationwasn’texactly amaster ofLucknavitalaffuzeither.

Comment 11

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now that the US is to have a newSecretary of State, we shall seewhether the large number of women

working in the American diplomatic corps inPakistan was related to her equal opportunityplanning. A number of key offices at theLahore consulate since some time now havebeen occupied by women.

whitelIES

For feedback, comments, suggestions and,most importantly, tips, contact us at

whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

A befitting giftThe Pakistani nation salutes its cricket

team, for giving a very befitting victory gift tothe nation, on the eve of the 136th birthdayanniversary of the father and the founder ofthe nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah.

This is not an ordinary T20 win, ratherit’s the first T20 victory ever against India.And the icing on the cake is that it wasachieved on the Indian soil.

The gist of the victory can be found in theexcellent leadership of captain MuhammadHafeez, who led the team by example.Bowling was up to the mark with bareminimum extras. However, the fielding wasexceptionally improved, with three direct runouts.

However, the batting failures of NasirJamshed, Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Akmal andkamran Akmal need immediate attention ofthe team management and the PCB.

Victory has many fathers (which hides allthe weaknesses) and defeat is an orphan(which turns even positives into negatives).As such, our team must not sit on its laurelsof this win. It should concentrate toovercome the shortcomings of this match andfocus on a clean sweep during the Indiantour.

Last but not the least, the teammanagement and the PCB must ensure toimmediately work on improving the lowfitness levels of Nasir Jamshed, ShoaibMalik, Suhail Tanvir and kamran Akmal.

Best of luck to the Pakistani cricket team,its management and the PCB.

SYED NAYYAR UDDIN AHMADLahore

Suggestion for FBrIn the past year, the FBR has unearthed a

number of scams related to the refund oftaxes for importers. Although this showsexcellent progress by FBR to detect thesescams, these incidents also show theweaknesses in this system of refunds.Therefore, I think the FBR should stop thisprocess of giving refunds and start acompletely new process from this year on.This will stop these scams for the futurewhile the FBR investigates the scams alreadycompleted.

SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEERPeshawar

Editor’s mailSend your letters to:

Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah,

Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk.Letters should be addressed to

Pakistan Today exclusively.

By Apollo

“My father told me in our last meeting at Rawalpindi Jail that Imust sacrifice everything for my country”— Benazir Bhutto.

A symbol of federation

On 27 December, we pay trib-ute to the inimitable combi-nation of courage, charisma

and defiance. It is a tragic day notonly for Pakistan and its people butfor all those across the world whotruly believe in the ideals of democ-racy. Five years after her brutal as-sassination, we are still unable toreconcile with the fact that BenazirBhutto is no more but the reality,however nightmarish, cannot beblotted out of one’s mind. For longwe will remain mired in her memo-ries and her struggle for the revivalof democracy in Pakistan. She livedfor the poor and died for the poor.Benazir Bhutto epitomised courageand courted death because she chal-lenged dictators and tyrants andstood up against terrorists and ji-hadists. She was a woman swim-ming against the tide ofobscurantism. She died because sherepresented the aspirations of mil-lions of her countrymen. In herdeath, Pakistan was robbed of thejewel in its crown.

Daughter of the indominatableShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and achild of privilege her personal andpolitical struggle remains legendry.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had champi-oned the cause of the poor anddowntrodden and had given a senseof dignity to the common man inPakistan. Shaheed Benazir Bhuttowho rose to become her father’s po-litical successor did the same. Themost inspirational woman I haveever met, her belief in democracyand freedom as a way of life in-spired devotion among her people.

Pakistan Peoples Party is a partyof the diehards. It has always stoodagainst the dictators who robbed thepeople of their basic right to rulethemselves. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was

martyred because he championedthe cause of the common man. Sha-heed Benazir Bhutto followed in hisfootsteps. She challenged thedemons of darkness in Pakistan andwas the most potent rallying point tocombine the forces of Islam andmodernism. On her return, she wasmobilising a new politically credibleresistance to primitivism.

Benazir Bhutto returned toPakistan in October 2007 afternine years of exile, hopeful that shecould be a catalyst for change.Upon a tumultuous reception, shesurvived a suicide bomb attack thatkilled nearly two hundred PPP’sstalwarts. But she continued toforge ahead, with more courageand conviction than ever, since sheknew that time was running out forthe future of her nation. Whilebriefing the media after the attack,she said that it was not an attack onher, but an attack on democracy,unity and integrity of Pakistan.

Benazir Bhutto challenged theforces of dictatorship and extrem-ism. The restoration of democracyand ridding the country from theclutches of dictatorship were her ar-ticles of faith. She was the hope ofmasses, the downtrodden and themarginalised. Benazir was martyredon December 27, 2007, while shewas leading a political rally inRawalpindi. All hopes of the extrem-ists to bury her ideals with her phys-ical obliteration have been smashedby her followers, who have vowed tocontinue the struggle spearheadedby her for democracy and rule of lawin Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari, Be-nazir’s husband and now the presi-dent of Pakistan, has followed in herfootsteps to accomplish her ideals.

When audiences around theglobe hear Benazir Bhutto’s dra-matic story of democracy and de-posal, they are awed by the tirelessstrength with which she struggledto bring freedom to the people ofher country. Benazir Bhutto is a liv-ing icon of the battle for democracy,and stands with only a handful offemale executive leaders who haveshaped the global events of the lastcentury. During her terms of office,she was faced with an enormouschallenge: how to effectively governa poor, politically factitious andethnically diverse nation. BenazirBhutto moved swiftly to restorecivil liberties and political freedom,suspended under military rule.

Benazir Bhutto did great thingsfor her country. She had very strongdetermination as it can be seen inher life and her decisions. BenazirBhutto was demonised by the civil-military oligarchy that has virtuallyrun Pakistan since 1958. But she re-tained a hardcore of popular sup-port, and her social-democraticPakistan Peoples party is widely re-garded as Pakistan’s largest politi-cal party. Benazir Bhutto had thecombination of political brilliance,charisma, popular support and in-ternational recognition. In the de-mocratisation process of Pakistan,Benazir Bhutto has played a hugerole. She saved her people from themilitary and brought much ad-vancement in their lives. She was acourageous lady. In 2007, despitethe threat of Islamic extremists andthe hostile government, Benazir de-cided to return to her homeland.

While commenting on her re-turn, Benazir Bhutto said, “Somepeople may not understand why Ileft a comfortable life and facedthese threats. So many people havesacrificed much for so many things,so many died and so many see meas the hope of liberty. Now I cannotrun away from the battle. Dr Mar-tin Luther king’s phrase comes tomy mind: ‘Our lives end when wekeep our silence on important is-sues.’ And I confide myself to myown people by my belief in God.”

President of Pakistan Asif AliZardari has followed in her footstepsto accomplish her ideals. AlthoughBenazir Bhutto did not live to seethese developments, the party sheled and the causes she championedare in the ascendant, and her spiritpervades the political life of contem-porary Pakistan. Zardari remainsthe most potent Pakistani voice forliberalism, tolerance and change.

Benazir Bhutto is no more buther ideals are the guiding principlesof the people’s government. Hun-dreds of thousands of PPP workersare ready to sacrifice their lives forthe accomplishment of Benazir’sideals. Pakistan can avenge Benazir’skilling by sticking to the democraticpath that has always been the hall-mark of the PPP’s political culture.

The writer is Special Assistantto Chief Minister Sindh, Ministerfor Media Affairs and Auqaf,Sindh, and Secretary Information,PPP, Women Wing.

By Sharmila Farooqi

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 11

orlando and Mirandaquash breakup rumours

Orlando Bloom and Miranda kerr putrumours of their split to rest, as they were seenheading out to a friend's house with their sonFlynn the day after Christmas. The trio made theirway to a friend's house in the Los Feliz area of LosAngeles to 0continue their festive celebrations,and when they left, the trio looked happier thanever, the Daily Mail reported. In fact, the coupleformed a tag team as they spilled out into thechilly LA night with kerr holding Flynn, as Bloomtenderly touched his head. Earlier this month, therumour mill went into overdrive with somesources claiming that the golden couple had split.US celebrity magazine In Touch had claimed thatthe couple had separated and were figuring outwhat they wanted to do next. But Bloom's motherSonia insisted that everything was fine betweenthe couple and they were very happy. NEwS DESK

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

12

NETS IN 5 CRORE IN PAKISTAN Unleashing a full packed action sequel, Dabangg-2had cinema goers in a frenzy from the very day itwas released, which had the cash register ringing.No wonder the movie entered the 100 crore clubwithin the first week of its release, with collectionsamounting to Rs.100.78 crore globally and 5 crorein Pakistan alone. Dabangg 2 is a sequel to the2010 blockbuster Dabangg, which was set in avillage and had a rustic, rural flavour of small townUttar Pradesh in it. The story of the sequel hasshifted to the posh metropolitan city of Kanpur,while it sees an upgrade of the film’s hero ChulbulPandey, into a happily married family man. Madeunder the banner of Arbaaz Khan Productions,Dabangg 2 is Arbaaz’s directorial debut and hasbeen written by Dilip Shukla. NEwS DESK

ACTRESS ParineetiChopra, who madeher Bollywood debut

last year with Ladies VS RickyBahl, says she did not get her first break because of sisteractress Priyanka Chopra. Parineeti cleared the air during anepisode of a television show. Parineeti said there is thispopular belief that she got her first movie because of hersister, Priyanka, but the fact is that she knew ManeeshSharma, who directed Ladies VS Ricky Bahl, since a long timeand that's how she was approached. Tuhin, a fashiondesigner from kolkata, met Parineeti on the show. Parineetitold Tuhin how she is called a tomboy by her father and healways tells her to act feminine and classy. She says he wantsher to behave a little more reserved instead of being the frankperson that she is. Tuhin, a fashion designer from kolkata,met Parineeti on the show. Parineeti told Tuhin how she iscalled a tomboy by her father and he always tells her to actfeminine and classy. Tuhin gifted Parineeti a gown, that hecreated in one night, after being informed that he wasselected for the show. NEwS DESK

DIDN'T GETACTING BREAKBECAUSE OFPRIYANKA,SAYS PARINEETI

WHILE news is thatJohn Abraham andBipasha Basu would

be coming together for a marathonin Mumbai, the real picture seems far from it. John has beenassociated with the event for a couple of years now and Bipashawill also be present this year as she is participating for a specialcause. As a result the two will be sharing the podium at this event.While there has been talk of the two of them burying the hatchetand moving on, John seems to be in no mood to let bygones bebygones. He does not seem to be in any mood to be ready to teamup with her professionally after their break-up. At a recent event,when he was asked if he would be open to working with Bipasha,he curtly replied, "I haven't thought about working with her andit's not even on my mind." While Bips seems to be more welcometo the idea of them teaming up, John wants to stay as away aspossible from working together. After their bitter break-up, thetwo make sure that they don't land up at the same parties at thesame time to avoid awkward situations. But since they have a lotof common friends, they have more often than not, landed up atthe same parties on a couple of occasions. NEwS DESK

JOHN ABRAHAMSAYS NO TO BIPASHABASU?

ROBERT Pattinson’sChristmas family get-together was filled with

tension as the star’s relationshipwith kristen Stewart became a sore point talking point, according toreports. The 'Twilight' hunk was said to have resolved his families’issues with the 'Snow White And Huntsman' star - who were deeplyhurt by her fling with married director Rupert Sanders - with hisparents and siblings even welcoming kristen into their home tospend Thanksgiving in November. However, it seems the season ofgoodwill wasn’t enough to stop Rob clashing with his sister Lizzy,who apparently still hasn't forgiven kristen for cheating on the star."The rows kicked off on Christmas Eve when protective Lizzy hadsome words with Robert about getting back with a cheat," a sourcetold The Sun newspaper. "They were out drinking in Barnes, whereRob grew up. Lizzy was giving him grief about taking kristen backand said she's always hated the way he's been treated by her," thesource added. The apparent family confrontation comes amid newsRob will make a final decision on his relationship with his 'Twilight'squeeze. According to Now magazine sources, the 26-year-old willspend January mulling over their future. NEwS DESK

PATTINSON'SFAMILY FIGHTOVER KRISTENSTEWART DURINGCHRISTMAS?

kate Winslet was said to be “over the moon” after Sir RichardBranson bought her a trip to space as a wedding present. TheTitanic star, 37 – who wed Sir Richard’s nephew NedRocknRoll in a secret ceremony in New York – has been givena £124,000 ticket to leave the atmosphere on a VirginGalactic flight. She got the free offer after she rescued SirRichard’s mother Eve from a fire on his £60 million NeckerIsland retreat last year, the Sun reported. In September SirRichard said: "I'm not sure she wants to go on a one-way tripto Mars, but she wants to go into space." RocknRoll, 34,works part time for Virgin Galactic which hopes to startflights next year. More than 530 people havealready bought a £124,000 ticket includingcomedian Russell Brand, actor Ashtonkutcher and science genius StephenHawking who also received a free ridecourtesy of Branson. The trip is a two-hour flight to 60 miles above earth.Passengers will experienceweightlessness and see the Earth'scurve. The couple married third hubbyNed in a secret ceremony in New Yorkwith Leonardo Di Caprio allegedly atthe ceremony. They confirmed theirmarriage to excited friends andfamily using internet video calls onSkype. A source close to Ned'sstepbrothers Otto and Ludo in theSouth of France said the groom gotin contact on Boxing Day. He said:"Ned rang them on Skype late thatnight and said, 'Would you like tospeak to my wife?' and pulled abeaming, giggling kate intothe shot. It was very sweetand they're happy."

NEwS DESK

JENNIFER IS CELEBMOTHER OF THE YEAR

Jennifer Garner hasbeen named celebrity

Mother of the Year2012 by a magazine.

According to Today'sParent Magazine, the

40-year-old actress,who is a hands-on

mother to three kidswith Ben Affleck, won

by "a landslide". Themagazine had a list of

reasons to chooseGarner as a winnerfor this title, one of

them being herappearance, which is

relatable yet still"gorgeous and put-together," and her

honesty about beingoverwhelmed and

tired as a mother ofthree was also

noticed, CBS Newsreported. Apart from

this, her candidconfession in August

that she's done havingkids, was also seen asa strong reason to get

this title. NEwS DESK

Kate Winslet to beblasted into space bySir Richard BransonDeepika Padukone, who made a dream

debut opposite Shah Rukh khan in the2007 movie "Om Shanti Om", reuniteswith the superstar on screen for "Chennai Express" and says the two arecloser now. "I feel Shah Rukh is still thesame. He is as talented as he was (then).Now I have got even closer to him thanbefore. You never get bored with him!He always makes me feel special,"Deepika told IANS. The actress is busyjuggling commitments for her two films,"Chennai Express" and " Ram Leela"."For 'Chennai Express', we are shootingin the outskirts of Mumbai, and 'RamLeela' will be shot in Mumbai, Gujaratand Rajasthan," she said. "Ram Leela" isa project by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, andDeepika features opposite Ranveer Singhin it. NEwS DESK

shah rukh makes me feelspecial: Deepika Padukone

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 12

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

13

ACTRESS ChitrangdaSingh says she isthankful to filmmaker

Sudhir Mishra for giving her life asan actor. She was first cast in Mishra's 2003 film Hazaaronkhwaishein Aisi, and is often called as his muse. "Sudhir gave me alife as an actor. I owe him so much. Sudhir is a qualified man. Heis a psychologist and he has a degree in that. So he understandsdifferent persons, and the way he directs his actors is outstanding,"Chitrangada told IANS. She will be seen in Mishra's next filmInkaar too, and says she has experimented with three differentlooks in the movie. "I am quite open to experimenting withdifferent looks. In this film, I have explored three different looks.This film is a story spanning over seven years, so I have to look likea college kid initially who works as an intern, then a corporate lookand then wear a much more mature look," she said. Inkaar isbased on the theme of sexual harassment at the workplace andfalls under the category of an A certificate movie. However,Chitrangda says she is open to such movies as long as there isstrong content.Chitrangda Singh: "I think the censor board isdoing a great job. NEwS DESK

I AM OPEN TODO AN ADULTFILM AS LONG ASIT HAS STRONGCONTENT

NEWLY releasedrecordings ofinterviews with some of

music's biggest names haverevealed yet another wrinkle in the decades-long mystery ofprecisely why the Beatles called it quits. In a recorded interview,John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono got to the nitty gritty of what shedescribed as a divorce, the Huffington Post reported. While Onomaintained that Lennon was feeling very good about the breakup,she admitted that some tensions were forming within the band.The 79-year-old peace activist said in the 1987 interview that theband was getting very independent, each one of the band memberswas getting independent. In fact Lennon was not the first whowanted to leave the Beatles. Ringo Starr came to John and Yokoone night and said that he wanted to leave. George Harrison wasnext, and then John. She revealed that Paul McCartney was theonly one trying to hold the Beatles together, but the other threethought that Paul would hold the Beatles together as his band. Onoalso said that the breakup put some strains on her relationshipwith Lennon, noting that she felt the late icon missed hisbandmates and expected all that to be replaced by her. NEwS DESK

YOKO ONO REVEALS BEATLES' DIVORCE SECRET

AMERICAN soulsinger, Fontella Bass,best remembered for

the hit single Rescue Me, hasdied of complications following a heart attack. She was 72. Shehad been in poor health for much of the past seven years.Rescue Me reached the top of the US R&B chart in 1965 and isone of the best known soul songs. It has been covered by manyartists. Fontella Bass had a powerful voice and a backgroundsteeped in music. Her mother was gospel singer Martha Bass,one of the Clara Ward Singers and Fontella Bass beganperforming at a young age, singing in her church's choir at theage of six. Like many of her generation, she graduated to souland R&B in the 60s, signing to Chess Records. She first foundsuccess in a duet with Bobby McClure on Don't Mess Up aGood Thing and You'll Miss Me (When I'm Gone). She co-wrote Rescue Me, a song her daughter Neuka Mitchell said"held a special place in her heart". But it took years of legalbattles for her to receive full royalty rights to the song. A finalsettlement was reached more than 20 years after the song wasfirst released. NEwS DESK

AMERICANSOUL SINGERFONTELLA BASS DIES AT 72

AN investigator has claimed that he has the video evidenceto prove that Whitney Houston did not die of a drugoverdose but was killed by drug dealers. Paul Huebl sayshe has turned over the video evidence to the FBI thatshows the 48-year-old singer was killed over a drug debt

in February. According to The National Enquirer, Huebl believes thatthe troubled singer was targeted by several high powered drug dealerswho sent goons to collect a huge debt that she owed for the drugs.Houston owed 1.5 million dollars to dealers, according to some reports.However, Huebl said that he doesn't know for certain that Houston waskilled - only that evidence he collected could point in that direction. Hesaid that Houston received a delivery of cocaine to her room the day beforeher death and could be heard saying that she was tired of it. He said thatHouston had earlier been subjected to harassment by dealers trying to

collect on her debt. Huebl said that he obtained surveillance video thatshows two unknown men, who repeatedly went to the

Beverly Hilton and integrated themselves into thesinger's entourage, the Daily Mail reported. He

has claimed that they are the men, whoslipped into Houston's hotel room and

killed her and also disagreed with theLos Angeles County Coroner's rulingthat Houstppon's death was"accidental." Huebl said thatHouston's body showed defensewounds that would have occurred

while she was fighting for her life.However, Huebl also said that the

marks could have beenobtained in some otherways and that they wereonly "suspected"defensive wounds. Healso said that he hadevidence of her hotelroom being ransacked,showing further hintsof a violent struggle.Huebl said that hegave his evidence tothe Chicago fieldoffice of the FBI inthe hopes that theagency will open acriminalinvestigation. He

conducted theenquiry after

being hired by aclient, who didnot believe theofficial reports

on Houston'sdeath. Huebl believes

that Beverley Hills policedid not fully investigate

Houston's death, as they didnot want to bring the negative

attention to Beverly Hills or tothe Beverly Hilton. NEwS DESK

WHITNEY HOUSTONWAS MURDERED,CLAIMS INVESTIGATOR

DeLHI GANGrAPe cASe

ethics be damned formedia: Amitabh As the Delhi gangrape victim was moved outof India for better treatment on Wednesdaynight, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchanslammed media for neglecting humaninterest in the race of BREAkING NEWS.Commenting on the media covergae of theDelhi gangrape victim, Amitabh Bachchanwrote on Facebook, "Lot of debate anddiscussion and comment on the mediacoverage of patient DelhiGangRape, beingshifted in ambulance to another location ...patient privacy is an important element inthe Constitutional Journals of MedicalEthics ..Couple of years ago when I was inan emergency and taken to Hospital, mediahad blocked the ambulance door to such anextent that it took my family and the doctors20 minutes to open the door to get me out,while I suffered in pain inside, impatient toget immediate medical attention ..Onanother occasion, after a surgery, ajournalist dressed herself in doctor's gearand walked into the ICU where I was andthen immediately went out and started livereporting on my condition, saying she hadjust met me ... Ethics be damned !!" A 23year old student was brutally gangrapedby six men on the night of December

16, in the national capital in a bus.The incident evoked wide-spreadoutrage and protests. All theaccused have been arrested inthe case. The victim iscurrently undergoingtreatment for her injuriesin Singapore.Meanwhile, protestsagainst the incidentturned violent onIndia Gate and a Delhi

Polcie constablesuccumbed to the

inuries received whiletrying to pacify theprotesters. NEwS DESK Katie Holmes on her way to the Music Box Theatre on Friday.

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 13

As expected, Russian Presi-dent Vladimir Putin hassigned a controversial newbill banning US citizens fromadopting Russian children,reports Reuters. In additionto the adoption ban, theRussian law, set to take effectJan. 1, could close someRussian NGOs that receiveUS funding and bans Ameri-cans accused of violatingRussians' rights abroad fromobtaining visas. The meas-ure is widely considered re-taliation for the MagnitskyAct, an American bill signedinto law earlier this monththat puts restrictions onRussians deemed to behuman-rights violators. Butwith 740,000 children inRussia lacking parental careand only 7,416 kids adoptedby Russians themselves lastyear, critics say the childrenwill be the ones to suffer.

Americans have adoptedsome 60,000 Russian chil-dren over the last 20 years,leading one Russian journal-ist to call Moscow's response"cannibalistic," reports theWashington Post. Rightnow there are 46 pendingadoptions that will be im-mediately blocked by thelegislation. "It's really un-

bearable," said one parentwho was on the verge ofadopting a four-year-old boywith special needs, accordingto the USA Today. The Ohiocouple visited him severaltimes and left photo albums.Now, "we feel like we'refailing the child. ... It's hardto imagine how crushedhe's going to be." NEwS DESK

14Infotainment

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

Second man pushed todeath in NYC subway

FOR the second time this month, a man hasbeen killed after being shoved onto New YorkCity subway tracks. Last night's victim hasn't

been identified, but several witnesses saw theincident, the New York Daily News reports: A youngwoman was mumbling as she wandered along asubway platform in Queens. After sitting on a bench,she "waited until the train came into the station andapproached this individual from behind and pushedhim in front of the train," a police spokesman says."We haven’t determined whether it was random orif there was some connection" between the womanand man, the spokesman adds, but witnesses sawno evidence that they knew each other. The manseemed not to have noticed the woman, witnessessay. Police have released surveillance footage ofthe woman fleeing the scene, the AP reports. Theydescribe her as a heavyset, 5-foot-5 Hispanicwoman in her 20s. The New York Times adds thatpolice were able to obtain images of her from alocal restaurant's cameras, which were directedtoward the subway stairs. "She jumps from thestairs and she just runs," the owner says. NEwS DESK

Stranded whale succumbs to death

THE finback whale that beached itself inQueens was found dead on Thursdaymorning, according to the team of marine

biologists who rushed to help the strandedanimal about 24 hours earlier.The 60-foot whale had floated away from theBreezy Point neighborhood during high tideovernight to nearby National Park Service land,and biologists were only able to check itscondition around 11 a.m. Thursday. The naturaldeath means chemical euthanasia won't benecessary; officials had been preparing for such ameasure because of the whale's poor health.Members of the Riverhead Foundation for MarineResearch and Preservation, which led the rescueeffort, had been preparing to procure enoughdrugs to kill the approximately 40-ton animal.Finding a landfill that would accept the whale hadalso been an issue, since chemical euthanasiacreates environmental concerns that wouldprevent a normal burial.The whale will be buried on the beach after heavyequipment that can move it to the dune line issecured, said Allison McHale of the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Association. A necropsywill be performed after the whale is moved onFriday or Saturday, she said.Officials from the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration also helped in theresponse to the ailing whale.The whale was reported beached on Wednesdaymorning, and the NYPD's emergency-service andharbor units cordoned off the area and sprayed theanimal with water to keep it hydrated until thetide came in. But biologists who arrived at thescene quickly assessed that the whale, in its teens,was emaciated and appeared to have been sick forsome time. Finback whales are found in all theworld's oceans and are known to frequent watersoff the U.S. Atlantic coast, according to the NewYork state Department of EnvironmentalConservation. NEwS DESK

Americans now banned from adopting Russian kids

'Dinosaur smuggler'pleads guilty

Aman from Florida has admitted to smugglingsome prehistoric cargo. Eric Prokopiyesterday told a Manhattan federal court

that he'd "forwarded a few shipments of fossils ofMongolian origin from Great Britain to the US thatwere mislabeled." Among the shipments in question:a Tyrannosaurus bataar that sold for more than $1million at auction. Prokopi will be sentenced inApril, the New York Times reports; he faces 17 yearsin prison and $750,000 in fines, CNN notes. He'llalso have to give up his fossils, which include twoother Tyrannosaurs and a pair of Oviraptors. "It’sone of the longer dinosaur shopping lists," said aprosecutor. It's illegal to take dinosaur fossils out ofMongolia. A website that prosecutors say belongs toProkopi announces, "That's right, we sell dinosaurs!"the Times notes. "To whom, you might ask, and wesay to anyone that wants one!" NEwS DESK

3,000-year-old temple and sacredvessels unearthed near Jerusalem

Sabre tooth cats didn’tstarve into extinction

THE fearsome felines of the Ice Age inCalifornia don’t show signs of starvingimmediately before their extinction. Teeth

of sabre-toothed cats and the American lions didn’thave wear marks that would have suggested thecats were gnawing on bones in hunger near thetime of the cats’ extinctions. "Tooth wear patternssuggest that these cats were not desperatelyconsuming entire carcasses, as was expected, andinstead seemed to be living the 'good life' duringthe late Pleistocene, at least up until the very end,"said lead author Larisa DeSantis of VanderbiltUniversity in a press release. Tooth wear patternsdid reveal previously unknown differences in thetwo cat species behavior. Sabre-toothed cats, alsoknown as Smilodon, appeared to have regularlycrunched bones, and showed no increase in thisdietary distinction toward the end of their reign,which spanned from 30,000 to 10,000 years ago.American lions however, were more finicky andseem to have avoided bones, much as moderncheetahs do. The extinction of the predatorsremains a mystery. Some have suggested that thechanging climate at the end of the last Ice Agealong with an influx of animals from Asia,including the ferocious Homo sapiens, may haveleft Smilodon with nothing to grin about. NEwS DESK

Atemple and sacred vessels from theFirst Temple period were discoverednear Jerusalem. The nearly 3,000-year-old temple was unearthed bythe Israel Antiquities Authority

during excavations at the Tel Motzaarchaeological site west of Jerusalem, prior towork being carried out on a plannedexpansion of Highway 1. "The ritual buildingat Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find,

in light of the fact that there are hardly anyremains of ritual buildings of the period inJudea at the time of the First Temple. Theuniqueness of the structure is even moreremarkable because of the vicinity of the site'sproximity to the capital city of Jerusalem,which acted as the kingdom's main sacredcenter at the time," Anna Eirikh, Dr. Hamoudikhalaily and Shua kisilevitz, directors of theexcavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities

Authority, said in a statement. Many findshave previously been uncovered at the TelMotza site, from a variety of periods. Amongthe vessels unearthed in this recent find areritual pottery vessels, with fragments ofchalices (bowls on a high base that were usedin sacred rituals), decorated ritual pedestals,and a number of pottery figurines of humanswith a flat headdress and curling hair; andfigurines of harnessed animals. NEwS DESK

Scientists are designing a new ambi-tious robotic humanoid helper withartificial muscles to help peoplewith everyday tasks. Engineers atthe University of Zurich's ArtificialIntelligence Lab hope that 1.2 metretall Roboy, designed to look like achild, will help the sick andelderly by acting as a mechan-ical helper. The researchteam is developing radicalartificial 'tendons' to helpthe robot move, the 'DailyMail' reported. They havealready signed up 15 proj-ect partners and over 40engineers, and hope tofund the project using a

combination of commercial part-ners and crowd-funding. Re-

searchers hopeRoboy will

become ab l u e p r i n t

for 'servicerobots' thatwork alongside

humans. "Ser-vice robots are ma-

chines that are, to a certainextent, able to execute services in-dependently for the convenience of

human beings. Since they share their'living space' with people, user-friend-liness and safety are of great impor-tance," researchers said. NEwS DESK

Roboy, a robot 'boy' to help humans with everyday tasks

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 14

AsiAn CHAMPions HoCkeY 2012

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

watson to missthird test againstSL in Sydney

MELBoURNE AGENCIES

Australia vice captain Shane Watson willmiss the third test in Sydney after sustaininga calf strain during his team's series-winningrout of Sri Lanka in the second test in Mel-bourne. Watson pulled up sore after bowlingon day one at the Melbourne CricketGround and although he went on to score 83with the bat, the all-rounder was sparedfrom bowling duties during Sri Lanka's briefsecond innings on Friday. Australiawrapped up an innings and 201-run victoryagainst the injury-ravaged Sri Lankans totake an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Glenn Maxwell comes into a13-man squad named by Australia captainMichael Clarke following the match at theMelbourne Cricket Ground, with the skipperhimself still under a cloud with a hamstringstrain. "Shane's out of the Sydney test matchand Glenn Maxwell comes in the squad as areplacement for Watto as the all-rounder,"Clarke told reporters. "The other player isUsman khawaja on standby for me again.Obviously, I have a bit more extra time nowwinning this game in three days to give my-self every chance of being right for Sydneyand I'm really confident I'll be fit for Sydney,but Usman's on standby just in case." Clarkesustained his injury in Australia's victory inthe first test in Hobart, but was cleared toplay on the morning of the Boxing Day testand scored a sparkling 106 to cap his bril-liant year. Clarke said seamer Mitchell John-son, who was named man-of-the-matchafter taking six wickets and making an un-beaten 92 with the bat, would also be con-sidered as an all-rounder for the deadrubber test, depending on the Sydneywicket. "I think the other all-rounder sits be-sides me right here as he showed with thebat in this game," Clarke said, gesturing at31-year-old left-armer Johnson sitting nextto him at the media conference. "So we'vegot options if we think the wicket's goingto spin we have the option of Maxwell, ifyou think there will be enough in there toplay four fast bowlers and a spinner, youhave Johnson." Clarke also said seamerMitchell Starc, who was controversiallydropped for the Melbourne test despitebeing fit and taking a five-wicket haul tohelp Australia win in Hobart, would be acertain starter for the New Year's test.

MELBoURNEAGENCIES

Australia's bowlers battered Sri Lanka'sbatsmen to win the second test by a hu-miliating innings and 201 runs beforetea on day three and claim an unassail-able 2-0 lead in their three-match se-ries. Needing 305 runs to makeAustralia bat again, Sri Lanka surren-dered at the Melbourne Cricket Groundafter adding only 103 in their secondinnings, with a top order collapse anda raft of injuries leaving the touristssmarting ahead of Sydney's dead rub-ber test next week. Sealing the series amatch early was some consolation forMichael Clarke's team after they con-ceded a hard-fought series 1-0 againstthe top-ranked test nation South Africawith a stinging defeat in the third andfinal test in Perth.

"I said that at the start of the seriesthat our goal was to win these three testmatches and really show that we learntfrom the South African series," Clarke,who scored a sparkling 106 at the MCG

to cap a brilliant year with the bat, toldreporters. "So far we've done that... Mygoal doesn't change." Seamer MitchellJohnson was justly named man-of-the-match after taking six wickets and mak-ing an unbeaten 92 with the bat in anoutstanding return to the team afterbeing dumped from the first test victory

in Hobart. Johnson took 4-63 in thefirst innings to lead the bowling as SriLanka were skittled for 156, but hisbone-crunching menace may have Aus-tralia's selectors pondering a more per-manent role for the mercurial paceman.Johnson broke Prasanna Jayawar-dene's thumb in the first innings to

force the wicketkeeper to surrender thegloves to kumar Sangakkara, thenbroke the replacement's left forefingerin the second innings in a fiery bout ofshort-pitched bowling. Sangakkaracame off the ground immediately afterbeing struck on the glove by Johnsonand the Sri Lanka team later confirmedtheir master batsman would be side-lined for six-to-eight weeks.

"I think that intimidation factordefinitely worked out there today," the31-year-old Johnson said. Johnsonmissed out on his second test centuryas Australia were bowled out for 460in the morning session, but was im-mediately consoled by playing a directhand in the first two wickets of thesecond innings, as Sri Lanka's toporder disintegrated. The tourists lostthree wickets in the first 12 balls to beflailing at 3-3, and another within thenext four overs. A horrible misunder-standing between openers Dimuthkarunaratne and Tillakaratne Dilshanled to the former run out for one onthe third ball of the innings.

Australia rout Sri Lanka to clinch series

SRI lANKA FIRST INNINGS 156

Australia first innings (overnight 440-8)

D. warner c Prasad b Mathews 62

E. Cowan c M. Jayawardene b Prasad 36

P. Hughes run out 10

S. watson c Samaraweera b Prasad 83

M. Clarke c M. Jayawardene b Eranga 106

M. Hussey c Herath b Dilshan 34

M. wade c Eranga b Prasad 1

M. Johnson not out 92

P. Siddle c M. Jayawardene b Eranga 13

N. lyon c sub b Mathews 1

J. Bird b Eranga 0

Extras (b-9, lb-5 w-6 nb-2) 22

Total (all out, 134.4 overs) 460

Fall of wickets: 1-95 2-117 3-117 4-311 5-313 6-315 7-376 8-

434 9-451 10-460

Bowling: C. welegedara 14.4-6-38-0, S. Eranga 27-2-109-

3 (nb-2, w-5), D. Prasad 26-2-106-3 (w-1), A. Mathews

16-3-60-2, R. Herath 39-7-95-0, T. Dilshan 12-1-38-1

SRI lANKA SECOND INNINGS

T. Dilshan c Cowan b Johnson 0

D. Karunaratne run out 1

K. Sangakkara retired hurt 27

M. Jayawardene b Bird 0

T. Samaraweera lbw b Bird 1

A. Mathews b Johnson 35

D. Prasad c Hughes b lyon 17

R. Herath not out 11

S. Eranga c Cowan b Siddle 0

P. Jayawardene absent hurt 0

C. welegedara absent hurt 0

Extras (lb-10, nb-1) 11

Total (for nine wickets; 24.2 overs) 103

Fall of wickets 1-1 2-1 3-3 4-13 5-74 6-102 7-103

Bowling: M. Johnson 8-0-16-2, J. Bird 9-1-29-2 (nb-1), P.

Siddle 5.2-0-32-1, lyon 2-0-16-1

Series: Australia won the first test in Hobart

Third test Jan. 3-7 Sydney Cricket Ground

SCOREBOARD

DoHAAGENCIES

PAkISTAN upstaged defendingchampions India to win theAsian Champions trophy inDoha. While India had the bet-

ter of a tense encounter in the semi finals,Pakistan proved the marginally betterteam in the finals, enough to give them thefirst Asian Champions Trophy. Bothteams had also contested the final last yearwhen India finished on top in Ordos,China. Not unlike any encounter on field -it was a battle of nerves, frayed tempersand controversies but had moments ofheart-stopping skill and excellent rapportbetween the squads as the hooter went offfor the final time.

The match itself was a fantastic, high-scoring contest where stick-wielders fromboth sides went flat out. Unlike the semifi-nal where both teams were content to pre-serve the lead, here both teams went at itwith the mantra "you score, I score more"which made of fine, attacking hockey notunlike the recent Netherlands vs Australiaencounter in Champions Trophy final, onlywith more goal count. Pakistan drew first

blood via Muhammad Waqas penalty cor-ner goal at 7th minute after MohammadRizwan was blocked in circle. But India hitback as S V Sunil scored at the ninthminute. Sunil had not recovered fully fromhis ankle injury and it was brave of him tokeep playing, let alone score what was hisfourth goal of the tournament. At 21st vicecaptain V R Raghunath drag-flicked apenalty corner to give India a slender leadand India held on to it at the lemon break.The change of ends however saw Pakistan

double the ferocity of their attack. Shafqat Rasool scurried through the

left flank at the 42nd minute to restoreparity before Mohammad Irfan soundedthe board with a high drag-flick five min-utes later to put Pakistan ahead. For oncethe Indian defenders looked flustered, butsurprisingly, their forwards and midfielddidn't hang back and focused on creatingmore opportunities upfront. GurwinderChandi used a superb set piece throughpass to make it three-all at the 55th

minute. In a period of intense attacks andcounterattacks from both teams saw themexchange another set of goals within twominutes of each other as Waqas scored hissecond goal two minutes later with asmart, opportunistic move. Rupinder palSingh made if even at four another twominutes later.

It was riveting stuff from both teamsas they missed a few chances but someoneinevitably rose to occasion and you couldalmost sense that with every attackingmove there was a goal to be had. By nowboth the defenses were edgy, as were thereferees. In 64th minute Irfan scored hissecond goal, converting a short corner.India pushed hard again - there was a linecall from one of their penalty corner ef-forts which the korean umpire ruled out.A heated argument followed, almostthreatening a walk out by the Indians butgood sense prevailed.

Pakistan defense held firm until thefinal whistle to seal the winning moment.Thankfully, like all good contests it endedon a good note -despite the frayed tempersboth teams left the field shaking hands,smiling and completely drained like wor-thy warriors after a great contest.

Pakistan lift trophyafter high-scoring battle

MELBoURNE AGENCIES

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawar-dene will take an injury-ravaged anddemoralised outfit into the deadrubber test in Sydney but has de-manded his team show more char-acter after their trouncing byAustralia in the second test in Mel-bourne on Friday.

Sri Lanka were bundled out for103 in the second innings aftermanaging only 156 in the first, tolose the test by an innings and 201runs in two-and-half days, and con-cede the three-match series 2-0.The insipid batting display wascompounded by a woeful fieldingeffort littered with dropped catchesand injuries to master batsmankumar Sangakkara, seamerChanaka Welegedara and wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene.

Sangakkara, the only batsman toshow defiance in both Sri Lanka's in-

nings, has been ruled out of Sydneywith a broken finger courtesy of aMitchell Johnson delivery, andWelegedara will also miss due to astrained hamstring. WicketkeeperJayawardene is also a doubt afterbreaking a thumb after beingwhacked by another ball fromseamer Johnson. "Today I thoughtwe needed to buckle down and batwell," said Jayawardene, who willstep down as skipper of the test sideafter Sydney with all-rounder AngeloMathews likely to take the reins.

"We lost two wickets in no timein the first over which gave them alot of momentum and then we justkept losing wickets. "You can't pin-point one thing and say that's wherewe went wrong... There were looseshots and a loss of concentration.

"At the same time, the Aus-tralians played some really goodcricket as well. You can't take thataway from them. "We need to stepup to the plate, we need to show

character and really dig deep."Jayawardene would do well to takehis own advice, after failing twice atthe Melbourne Cricket Ground tocontinue a poor series.

The 35-year-old captain hasnot surpassed 19 runs in his pastsix innings and the way he threwaway his wickets in Melbourne sig-nalled a player struggling for form.After being caught behind for threewafting at a delivery he shouldhave left alone in the first innings,Jayawardene was out for a duck inthe second innings after playingonto his stumps when shaping toleave the ball.

"It's something that I need to sitdown and see where I can go right. Ihaven't spent enough time in this se-ries at all," Jayawardene said.

"But three-four overs is notenough for me to assess where Ineed to be in this series. It's not justindividuals as a team, we all need totake responsibility for this."

Jayawardene demands more from team

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 16

Sports 16

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

AHMEDABADAGENCIES

INDIA overcame a MohammadHafeez masterclass to win by 11runs and level the two-match se-ries. His wristwork and effortless

clearing of the ropes would have inspiredadmiration from those he tormentedtoday. But Ashok Dinda bowled an excel-lent second spell at a time when Pakistan,led by Hafeez, were on track to chasedown 193, a target set up by a dominatinginnings by Yuvraj Singh, who treated apacked house in Ahmedabad to an air-show that included seven sixes.

Dinda was at the receiving end of a last-ball six that sealed victory for England intheir T20 against India less than a week ago,but he came back well despite being putunder pressure early in each of his twospells. He conceded 13 in his first over, dur-ing a promising opening stand of 74 betweenNasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad, andwas struck for two consecutive fours by Mo-hammad Hafeez in the 15th over that beganwith Pakistan needing 68 to win off 36 balls.

The conditions in Ahmedabad werepitted against the seamers, with no move-ment on offer and thereby forcing them torely on variations to contain the batsmen.Dinda not only did that, he was largely ac-curate and picked up three wickets, in-cluding Hafeez, in a three over spell thatyielded 23 when Pakistan still had wicketsin hand and the target appeared withinreach. A slower ball that bowled UmarAkmal ended a 62-run stand with Hafeezthat had given Pakistan the edge in thechase, and Dinda got Hafeez and kamranAkmal to hole out in the penultimate overat the start of which Pakistan required 26.

India's spinners, R Ashwin, part-timerSuresh Raina and Yuvraj, slowed downPakistan's openers between overs six to11, resulting in their wickets at the cost ofjust two boundaries. The required ratehad climbed to more than 12 in the 12thover, when Hafeez began his charge witha scoop for four that highlighted the fea-ture of his innings, swift but skilful andinterspersed with some wonderful touch-play, but little brute force.

India's score of 192 is their third-highest total in T20 internationals, andtheir highest against Pakistan. Pakistan's181 is also their highest against India.

Yuvraj Singh's 72 is his fifth half-cen-tury, and his highest score, in T20 inter-nationals. It's also his first againstPakistan. Among Indians, only GautamGambhir has more fifty-plus scores.

Yuvraj's seven sixes is the joint sixth-highest in a T20I innings, and the highestby an Indian. It's the second time he hasstruck seven sixes in an innings. His tallyof 54 sixes is the fourth-highest in T20Is.

Mohammad Hafeez's 26-ball 55(strike rate 211.53) is the fastest 50-plusscore by a Pakistan batsman. He reachedhis half-century in 23 balls, the second-fastest for Pakistan. Umar Gul picked up

his fifth haul of four or more wickets inT20Is, which equals Ajantha Mendis'record. Saeed Ajmal has four.

Hafeez deftly guided Yuvraj past point,then proceeded to dispatch Ashwin for twostraight sixes over midwicket before drivingand paddling Dinda for two consecutiveboundaries, all in successive overs. A flatsix over extra cover off Ishant Sharmashowed the confidence he was playing with,but Dinda's comeback was vital in prevent-ing Pakistan from pushing on. Two wicketsin the penultimate over brought the equa-tion to 20 required off the last, too much forUmar Gul and Shoaib Malik against Ishant.

India's middle order played a prominentrole in the win, after having squandered anexcellent foundation laid by openers Gau-tam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane in theopening encounter in Bangalore. The open-ers did their job again, and Yuvraj and MSDhoni, in a stand of 97 off 44 balls, ensuredtheir work wasn't laid to waste. Yuvraj , whowas struck a painful blow to the toe off a Mo-hammad Irfan yorker early in his innings,recovered well and seemed to be in his ele-ment, striking the ball cleanly, with a lovelyflourish. Afridi and Saeed Ajmal were de-posited towards cow corner, and two succes-sive short balls were pulled over thesquare-leg boundary. Ajmal was targeted inthe penultimate over, as Yuvraj took him forthree consecutive sixes, the last of themsmacked over long-on.

The last five overs yielded 74 andthough Dhoni played the supporting role,he wasn't left far behind. He ran well be-tween wickets, and pulled and droveUmar Gul for two straight fours. ThoughGul picked up four wickets, accountingfor India's openers and the pair that tookthem towards 192, he was short of sup-

port from the rest of his attack andbowled a no-ball in the final over thatyielded a boundary off the free-hit. Tan-vir, Ajmal and Afridi each went for over10 an over, leaving their batsmen toomuch to compensate for.

Pakistan fall to Indian-laid script

Destroyer Johnson

has heart of gold,

says clarkeMELBoURNE

AGENCIES

Sri Lanka's bruised batsmen might care todisagree, but Mitchell Johnson cares aboutthe well-being of his victims off the pitch,according to Australia captain MichaelClarke. The mercurial paceman was justlynamed man-of-the-match on Friday for hiswrecking ball performance in Australia's in-nings and 201-run victory at the MelbourneCricket Ground that gave the hosts an unas-sailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Johnson scored an unbeaten 92 and tooksix wickets, but his venomous short-pitchedbowling left its mark on Sri Lanka, breakingthe thumb of wicketkeeper PrasannaJayawardene and the forefinger of kumarSangakkara, who will play no further part inthe series. "I think the other side that a lotof people don't get to see of Mitch is that onthe field, he is as aggressive as anybody, buthe's the first guy today to walk into thechange-room and make sure everything'sokay with Sangakkara," Clarke told re-porters. "I think a lot of people don't get tosee that side. "He will fight hard, there's nodoubt about it, and wants to have successfor Australia and help us win, but off thefield he's the first guy to go and make surein this instance kumar's Ok."Johnson's outstanding return, having beendumped for the first test victory in Hobart,leaves Clarke and his fellow selectors with adilemma ahead of the dead rubber test inSydney starting on Jan. 3. Clarke said pace-man Mitchell Starc, who was controversiallyrested for the MCG test despite being fit andin-form, would bowl in Sydney, meaning abattle for the remaining pace bowling placeson a wicket traditionally conducive to spin."If Mitchell Johnson performed the way hedid in this test match, it's going to be veryhard to leave him out," Clarke said.Johnson missed a year of cricket throughinjury and watched as Australia's pace at-tack of Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle andJames Pattinson routed India during theirtour the previous summer.The tattooed left-armer said he had neverlost faith while out in the internationalwilderness and put his hand up to becomean all-rounder, with Shane Watson set tomiss the Sydney test with a calf strain."I think I can become an all-rounder, I'vealways enjoyed my batting, it's just beingconsistent with it," the 31-year-old said.

INDIA

G Gambhir lbw b Gul 21

AM Rahane c & b Gul 28

V Kohli run out (Ajmal) 27

Yuvraj Singh c Malik b Gul 72

MS Dhoni b Gul 33

SK Raina not out 1

RG Sharma not out 4

Extras (lb 5, nb 1) 6

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs; 96 mins) 192

Did not bat B Kumar, R Ashwin, I Sharma, AB Dinda

Fall of wickets 1-44 (Gambhir, 4.5 ov), 2-53 (Rahane, 6.6 ov),

3-88 (Kohli, 11.6 ov), 4-185 (Yuvraj Singh, 19.2 ov), 5-187 (Dhoni,

19.5 ov)

Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 4-0-20-0, Sohail Tanvir 4-0-44-0,

Umar Gul 4-0-37-4, Saeed Ajmal 4-0-42-0, Shahid Afridi 3-0-

33-0, Mohammad Hafeez 1-0-11-0

PAKISTAN

Nasir Jamshed c Kohli b Ashwin 41

Ahmed Shehzad st Dhoni b Yuvraj 31

Umar Akmal b Dinda 24

Mohammad Hafeez c Raina b Dinda 55

Shahid Afridi c Sharma b Kumar 11

Kamran Akmal c Kohli b Dinda 5

Shoaib Malik not out 3

Umar Gul c Rahane b I Sharma 5

Extras (lb 2, w 4) 6

Total (7 wickets; 20 overs; 96 mins) 181

Did not bat Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan

Fall of wickets 1-74 (Nasir Jamshed, 9.5 ov), 2-84 (Ahmed

Shehzad, 10.5 ov), 3-146 (Umar Akmal, 16.2 ov), 4-163 (Shahid

Afridi, 17.5 ov), 5-168 (Mohammad Hafeez, 18.2 ov), 6-172

(Kamran Akmal, 18.4 ov), 7-181 (Umar Gul, 19.6 ov)

Bowling: B Kumar 4-0-46-1, I Sharma 4-0-34-1, AB Dinda 4-0-

36-3, R Ashwin 4-0-28-1, SK Raina 2-0-12, Yuvraj Singh 2-0-23-1

Toss Pakistan, who chose to field

Series 2-match series drawn 1-1

Player of the match Yuvraj Singh (India)

Player of the series Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)

Umpires S Asnani and VA Kulkarni

TV umpire C Shamsuddin

Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri lanka)

Reserve umpire PG Pathak

SCOREBOARD

AGAIN it went down the wire, this time roundthough the Pakistanis batsmen somehow losttheir way after threatening a mammoth Indian

total of 192 – posted courtesy the combo of a slowwicket, fast outfield, a Yuvraj Singh breathing fire withthe Pakistani bowlers feeding him meat and drink timeand again and the fielding not at its sharpest.

With no help from a placid track the entire Pakistanbowling attack with the exception of towering Moham-mad Irfan went for plenty, none finding neither the rightchannel nor the right length as Yuvraj and the much-ma-ligned captain Dhoni socked it to them in a stand of 97off 44 deliveries.

Though Umar Gul picked up two wickets apiece in histwo spells, he too was expensive. The fielding though gen-erally better than what is considered par for Pakistan –read: pretty low compared to standard-setting outfits –but was not the same class act as the previous game. Whatis worse, the misfields came at critical points, providingmomentum to the Indian assault.

In the end the difference was not that big, just 11 runsseparating the winner from the loser. The Pakistani bats-men did make a fist of it. They may have gone over the line,but for a critical, nervy mistake by Umar Akmal early inover No 17 – denying his surprise of an inventive, big-hit-ting-on-the-day skipper Mohammad Hafeez the batting

crease by not going for a single first ball when there clearlywas one for the taking and then getting scalped middlestump essaying an airy fairy heave next ball.

That gave India the hint of an opportunity, and theyseized upon it as the target became stiffer amid fallingwickets – main among them of Hafeez. The Pakistanskipper’s batting was a revelation in the two T20 games,and earned him the Man of the Series Award that nonewould grudge him.

Written off by the commentariat back home prior tothe series, Hafeez played out of his skin, his three sixesand six fours nearly turning the game Pakistan’s way. Itwas as if he wanted to prove a point. And he did, only theeffect would have been far more telling if he had carriedthe day and the rubber with it.

The sheer weight and value of his runs aside, themanner in which Hafeez hammered them caught the eye.It was a phenomenal knock peppered with sheer intelli-gence and raw daring that deserved the winner’s tagalong with it. He was the mortal threat, providing the in-nings with the verve and thrust once Pakistan had lostthe impetus between overs six and 10.

On a flat, slow track the Indian middle order was notsnared as easily by the potent and varied Pakistani at-tack. Not just that they lost the plot completely by bowl-ing either short or length deliveries. And Yuvraj took fulladvantage of it.

In the one-dayers that follow, India would want torepeat the winning recipe of going for slow tracks to takethe sting out of the Pakistani bowling machine. The po-tent and varied Pakistani attack needs to be on guardagainst dishing it out to their opponent’s strengths – likethey did at Ahmedabad. After having been bullied on aflat, slow track with a fast outfield, one hopes that ourmain bowlers would be wiser in the forthcoming games.

Hafeez’s innings of alife time in vain

MELBoURNE AGENCIES

South Africa celebrated their long-heraldedarrival at the summit of test cricket in 2012while West Indies enjoyed their first worldtitle since the team's 1970s heyday with amaiden Twenty20 trophy. The giddyheights proved too much for Englandwhose year-long reign as the number onetest nation ended at Lord's with a 2-0 seriesthumping by Graeme Smith's South Africain August. The Proteas appear determinedto build a dynasty as they backed up theircoronation with a 1-0 series win in Aus-tralia to finish an exhausting year unbeatenin 10 tests, with nine of them coming on

tour. Smith, who became the most-cappedcaptain of all time during 2012, could relyon world-class performers throughout hisside. The fearsome fast bowling trio of DaleSteyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philan-der were supplemented by the evergreenall-round talents of Jacques kallis whileHashim Amla can lay claim to being themost consistent batsman in world cricket.

West Indies have had little to celebratesince their all-conquering days ended inthe early 1990s, but victory over hosts SriLanka in the World Twenty20 final gavethe Caribbean side their biggest prize sincethe one-day championship in 1979. MarlonSamuels blasted a 56-ball 78 after flamboy-ant Chris Gayle failed with the bat in the

36-run win. But Gayle made amends withhis rendition of the horse-riding dancemade famous by South korean pop sensa-tion Psy in his hit "Gangnam Style". SriLanka's master batsman kumar San-gakkara was named ICC cricketer of theyear in September after scoring 1,444 runsin 14 tests and Australia captain MichaelClarke became the first to score four dou-ble-centuries in a calendar year.

Clarke started the year with an un-beaten 329 against India in Sydney, added210 against the same team in Adelaide andtorched South Africa with double tons inconsecutive home tests. The captain's hero-ics were not enough to defeat the Proteaswhose 309-run win in the third and final

test in Perth spoiled Ricky Ponting's last in-ternational match. The hard-bitten 38-year-old signed off his career with only eight runsin his final innings to finish with 13,378 runsin tests, the second-highest tally after SachinTendulkar. While Ponting strode off into thesunset after naming his final test, the 39-year-old Tendulkar hung on, his decliningoutput of runs flattered briefly by his 100thinternational century in a one-day matchagainst Bangladesh in March. With the re-tirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Lax-man, the untouchable Tendulkar remainedthe last of a golden generation of Indianbatsmen and, for growing numbers of frus-trated fans, an impediment to the team's re-generation despite quitting one-dayers.

New Zealandrest Bracewell forSouth Africa oDIs

JoHANNESBERgAGENCIES

New Zealand have left Doug Bracewellout of their 15-man squad for a one-dayinternational series in South Africa tomanage the seamer's workload, thecountry's cricket board said on Friday.The selectors had retained 11 membersfrom the Twenty20 squad that lost thethree-match series against South Africa2-1, New Zealand Cricket said in astatement.The Brendon McCullum-led side willplay a three-match ODI series after thecompletion of the two tests againstSouth Africa in Cape Town and PortElizabeth."The decision to leave Doug Bracewellout of the ODI squad is in line with ourpolicy to sensibly manage player work-loads," Black Caps coach Mike Hessonsaid."He has a big role to play in the test se-ries against South Africa and will bene-fit from the opportunity to freshen upahead of the home series against Eng-land."Squad: Brendon McCullum (captain),Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, JamesFranklin, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira,Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCul-lum, kyle Mills, Adam Milne, ColinMunro, Jimmy Neesham, Rob Nicol, BJWatling, kane Williamson.

West Indies enjoy its first world title since 1970s

AgHA AKBAR

Ringside View

ISB 29-12-2012_Layout 1 12/29/2012 1:55 AM Page 17

Froch readyfor Kessler

LAS VEgASAGENCIES

Carl Froch feels confident of facingand beating Mikkel kessler in thespring of 2013. Britain's IBF super-middleweight world champion lost apoints decision to the Dane in 2010 -just one of two defeats on his record.kessler won the WBA title fromBrian Magee earlier this month and arematch unification fight betweenthe pair would be a major draw.Froch said: "My promoter EddieHearn is working very hard, he istalking to Team Sauerland who areMikkel kessler's promoters and itsounded very, very promising. "Theyare very close to doing a deal. Itlooks like the fight may be done bylate spring this year. That is a big,big fight that everybody wants to seeso I am looking forward to getting iton." The 35-year-old from Notting-ham expects to reverse the points de-cision that went against him inkessler's home town of Henning inDenmark two years ago. "It was aclose fight that I believe could havegone either way," he said. "Anyoneyou asked would probably agree thatthe fight could have been scored oneround within kessler winning andmyself winning. "But that is by theby, Mikkel kessler won fair andsquare. He was at home, it was inDenmark. So the fight was close andhe got the nod and that's what hap-pens in boxing. If it is close... some-times the judges give the fight to thehome fighter." Froch believes that itwill be a very different story if thefight takes place in Britain. "We aregoing to get him over to Uk soil. Idon't think we'll get him to Notting-ham but we'll get him certainly overhere at home, so that rematch I very,very strongly believe I can win. "Iwasn't at my best when I foughtkessler and I am firing on all cylin-ders now, you have seen that when Iripped the world title from LucienBute and I defended it against YusafMack with a body shot, folded him inhalf like a deckchair. "And I am look-ing forward to getting kessler andbeing at my best. It is going to be atough fight, a hard fight between twowarriors, because the first one was aproper brawl. "People are lookingforward to the rematch and theywant to see much of the same. I don'tknow if I'm looking forward to therematch but I can get up for it, getexcited and I know I can go to thewell if I need to. If me and kessler goat it for 12 rounds there will only beone winner. "I strongly believe I willdefend my title. He has just won theWBA title by beating Brian Magee soI will add another belt to the collec-tion which will be fantastic." As for arematch against Bute, whom he beatin May to claim the IBF title, Frochadded: "It's a fight that may happenbut it's not going to happen immedi-ately. The next one is the kesslerfight, that's for sure."

Sports17

Saturday, 29 December, 2012

ABU DHABIAGENCIES

WORLD number one NovakDjokovic made an impres-sive return to action by

brushing David Ferrer aside 6-0 6-3 toreach the World Tennis Championshipfinal in Abu Dhabi.

The Serbian made his first appear-ance on court since winning the ATPWorld Tour Finals in November andneeded little over an hour to dismissworld number five Ferrer, who wascompletely outclassed.

Ferrer was at sixes and sevens todeal with Djokovic's trademark rangeof returns and powerful aces in a dev-astating first set but gradually im-proved to break his opponent in theninth game, forcing a more competitivefinale.

The exhibition tournament at theAbu Dhabi International Tennis Com-plex, where Djokovic triumphed lastyear, was the ideal way for the Serbianto warm up for the upcoming defenceof his Australian Open title.

Djokovic made light work of theSpaniard in the early exchanges,quickly taking advantage of a clutch ofuncharacteristic errors to find himself5-0 up within 20 minutes.

Ferrer, though, discovered some ofthe dynamism that took him beyondTomas Berdych in yesterday's openerto race up to 40-0 in the final game.

The advantage exchanged handsthree times but Djokovic was celebrat-ing when his opponent lost concentra-tion to power a forehand return wellbeyond the baseline.

Ferrer held out for deuce on the

Serbian's serve when play resumed butDjokovic powered through, only for theSpaniard to tighten up his strokes andhold his serve for the first time.

Ferrer soon broke to love but hisopponent survived an intense 10thgame to break back.

The Serbian held comfortably be-fore forcing the score to 5-2 despiteFerrer's renewed determination toforce a third set.

The world number five delayed theinevitable with a comfortable hold butDjokovic promptly served out thematch to book a final meeting withNicolas Almagro or Janko Tipsarevic.

After the match, Djokovic toldESPN: "I love this court and the condi-tions here. I wish all the tournamentsin the world were played here.

"It's definitely a great surface. It'snot too warm here, not too cold, it'sideal to prepare on.

"I am surprised with my game con-sidering it's the first match of the offi-cial season. Hopefully I can playanother good one tomorrow."

An out-of-sorts Ferrer added: "He'sthe best. I tried but I couldn't do it.Next time I will try again.

"I won three games but to beat'Nole' I need to play my best tennis andtoday wasn't a good day."

LAHore: The officials

of the wapda Sports

Board receive the

National Games Trophy

while the wapda

athletes celebrate their

win and Humaira

Arshad performed

during the closing

ceremony. MUrTAzA ALI

Djokovic reachesAbu Dhabi final in return

ABU DHABIAGENCIES

Andy Murray was defeated on Thursday instraight sets by Janko Tipsarevic in thisweek's exhibition tournament in AbuDhabi. Murray, the world number three,looked off his game as he fell to a 6-3 6-4loss against Tipsarevic on the opening dayof the Mubadala World Tennis Champi-onship. The Serbian progressed to the semi-finals with the victory, where he will faceSpain's world number 11 Nicolas Almagro,who came in as a late replacement followingthe withdrawal of Rafael Nadal due to astomach virus. The match started off fairlyevenly and continued on serve until Murraywas broken in the fourth game by Tipsare-vic, who went on to take the first set.

Murray opened the second with anace, but Tipsarevic, who is ranked ninth inthe current ATP standings, hit back to pileon the pressure by claiming an immediatebreak of serve. The set progressed with the

reigning US Open champion trailing the28-year-old at 5-3 after some loose play.Serving to stay in the match, the Scothanded the advantage to his opponentwith a double-fault, before a cross-courtwinner and shot down the line helped himon the way to making it 5-4 in the secondset. Tipsarevic was therefore given thechance to serve for victory and earnedhimself two match points as Murray wasunable to clear a smash to the baseline.The Serbian duly served out the game andbooked his place in the semi-finals and amatch against Almagro. After the match,Tipsarevic told ESPN: "I am happy withmy game. I know it's an exhibition matchbut it's not every day you get to play agrand slam champion and an Olympicgold medal winner. "I'm just happy I man-aged to play good tennis tonight [Thurs-day]. "Everyone is pumped up and it's thebeginning of the season, so If I can get afew more victories heading to the Aus-tralian Open that would be brilliant."

Murray makes early exit in Abu Dhabi

Sharapova

withdraws

with neck

injurySEoUL

AGENCIES

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn fromwhat had been due to be her openingmatch of the new season.The French Open champion has hurt herneck and subsquently has withdrawnfrom a scheduled exhibition matchagainst Caroline Wozniacki in Seoul,South korea.The pair had been due to meet on Friday(December 28) as part of their warm-upplans for next month's Australian Open.The event has been cancelled with bothplayers now heading for Australia.Sharapova wrote on her Facebook page:"For everyone in korea, I'm sorry I hadto withdraw from my exhibition match."I woke up the other day with a neckpain and after doing a few tests, the doc-tor wants me to take the next few dayswithout any playing."So that leaves me to say I'm sorry not tobe there in Seoul and play in front of myfans. I will make it up to you soon!"Sharapova is now scheduled to start herseason at the Bris-bane Interna-tional, a WTAtournamentwhich beginson Sun-day.

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32nD nATionAl gAMes

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012

watch it LiveESPNSports Center07:30PM

LoNDoNAGENCIES

Arsene Wenger on Friday hit out at Sir Alex Ferguson for his on-field ha-ranguing of referee Mike Dean. United boss Ferguson was furious afterDean overruled assistant Jake Collin and awarded Newcastle's secondgoal in the Red Devils' 4-3 win on Boxing Day. Ferguson approached Dean

as he made his way out for the second half and also rounded on the fourthofficial Neil Swarbrick and Collin, but the Football Association announced onThursday that it will not take any action against the 70-year-old. Gunners boss

Wenger, who has had his fair share of run-ins with Ferguson during his 16 years inEngland, thinks the Manchester United manager behaved improperly and should

have been punished. "Should you behave like that? No," said Wenger, whowas sent to the stands by Dean for kicking a water bottle in 2009. "I didnot always behave like I should and you can call that a bad ex-ample, yes. "The message it sends out when you look at thepictures is just not to behave like that. "We go sometimesoverboard on the touchline and when we do it we have tobe punished, it is as simple as that. "(If) it is me or Fer-guson or anybody else in the world, the rules are therules. It is not rules for one person and the rules

for another person, it is the same for everybody."

Golf braced for

Asian onslaughtBANgKoKAGENCIES

When the Masters tees off in April 2013,China's Guan Tianlang will become theyoungest competitor in the history of thisprestigious tournament. The Chineseprodigy earned his Masters invitation bywinning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Cham-pionship in November 2012 at AmataSpring Country Club, Thailand. Showingcalmness well beyond his years, the teenholed a five-foot par putt on 18 to win theregional competition by one stroke with ascore of 15-under. In addition to the prizeof playing at the Masters, Guan was alsorewarded with a place in the InternationalFinal Qualifying for The Open Champi-onship. It's a heart-warming story. But itis more than just that. It's a sign of wherethe game of golf is going. The average ageof winners is going to get younger andyounger - but here's the bigger thing,they'll be a whole lot more Asian facesholding the trophies than ever before. Atthe moment, the world's focus - not justgolf's - is shifting towards the world'sbiggest continent. This trend has comeabout for many reasons which ultimatelyboil down to two closely linked areas:Money and Consumer Power. We haveseen the region become the centre of theuniverse for the women's tour where mul-tiple major champions have hailed fromAsia. I certainly don't expect Asian playersto dominate the men's game quite in thesame fashion as players like Taiwan's YaniTseng has on the women's tour - not tomention the hugely successful koreancontingent in the LPGA. What is clear,though, is men's golf will see a huge up-swing of top golfers from Asia in the nextdecade with China and India the two mainproduction lines. In Asia, golf has alwaysbeen seen as a game for the rich. Nomajor stumbling block here. China's econ-omy may have slowed to its slowest pacethis year since 1999, but the World Banksaid in its latest regional forecast, that thecountry is still expected to help drivenearly 40 per cent of the world's growthnext year. There is a huge middle class inAsia and these consumers are looking forways to spend their money and luckily forthe sport, there is a real enthusiasm forgolf here. A recent report revealed that thenumber of golf courses in China havetripled in less than a decade. The report -"Golf's 2020 Vision" - was commissionedby HSBC and aimed to provide a detailedlook at the future of golf over the nexteight years. It wholly supports the argu-ment that the continued love for golf inAsia coupled by the region's expandingmiddle class (Asia is expected to doubleits share of global middle class consump-tion to 42%) will shift the balance ofpower in the sport. About 98 million Chi-nese households are expected to be mid-dle-class by 2015 compared with 52million in 2010; India's middle class is es-timated to grow to 50 million householdsby 2015 from 32 million in 2010.

Fergie should have been punished: Wenger

LAHoRESTAFF REPORT

WAPDA became the newchampion of the 32ndNational Games andclinched the Quaid-e-

Azam Trophy after snatching 190 goldmedals in the Games. Without the par-ticipation of the armed forces – army,navy and PAF, the games were open forWAPDA to cherish on the weak forma-tion of the provincial and other depart-mental teams.

The simple but impressive conclud-ing ceremony of the National Gameswas held here at the Railway Stadiumon Friday in which a great number ofathletes participated despite continuousrain in the city. The chief guest of theconcluding ceremony was PakistanOlympic Association (POA) president LtGen (retd) Syed Arif Hassan who gaveaway winning trophy to Wapda DirectorGeneral Water M Zafar and MemberWater Husnain Afzal.

After Wapda, it was HEC whichgrabbed the second spot with 29 goldmedals and Punjab maintained the thirdposition with 22 gold medals. Sindhbagged fourth, Police fifth while kPksixth position in the National Games.The fair play trophy was won by kPk.

According to final medal tally,Wapda stood first with 190 gold, 83 sil-ver, 46 bronze and total 319 medalsand 6230 points, HEC was secondwith 29 gold, 62 silver 74 bronzewith total 165 medals and 2935points, Punjab was on third with 22gold, 33 silver 56 bronze withtotal 111 medals and 2732 points,Sindh won fourth position with24 gold, 29 silver, 32 bronzewith total 85 medals and 1638points, Police earned fifth posi-tion with 4 gold, 13 silver, 26bronze with total 43 medalsand 13335 points while kPkscored sixth position with 2gold, 15 silver, 26 bronzewith total 43 medals and1211 points. The meganational event contin-ued for the consecu-tive seven days in thevarious venues of thecity and Wapda play-ers took full advan-tage of Wapda’sabsence and remainedon top throughout theevent. It was anotherrecord that Wapda remainedtop on medal table consecutive sevendays. HEC and Punjab’s players also

played comparatively much better andhelped their departments to gain posi-tions in the mega national event.

Member international OlympicCommittee (IOC) in Pakistan Syed

Shahid Ali, Syed Aqil Shah, khalidMehmood, Wapda’s Member

Water Husnain Afzal, WapdaSports Board president Mian Rif-

fat Ali Mehmood, M Zafar,Ahmad Ali Rajput, Zulfiqar Butt,

Afzal Awan, Waqar Ali, khurramHaroon and other sports con-cerned persons and organiserswere also present at the con-cluding ceremony. OrganisingSecretary Games Idrees Haider

khawaja has handed overthe National Games flagto POA president ArifHassan and secretarykhalid Mehmood.Speaking on the occa-sion, Member IOCSyed Shahid said: “The32nd National Gameswere held well in timein the country and al-

lotted province whichwas widely participated by

the athletes from across thecountry. I congratulate all the partici-pating athletes for holding the National

Games in befitting manner and extendspecial felicitations to Games championWapda who did superb in the Gamesand won it by outclassing all the partic-ipating teams.”

The POA chief also congratulatedWapda, HEC and Punjab on winningfirst, second and third positions andalso lauded all performances of all theparticipating teams who came fromacross the country to take part in theNational Games.

“I am very thankful to PunjabOlympic Association who organised the32nd National Games successfully andin a well-organised manner. Their ded-ication and all-out efforts for holdingthe Games are really commendable.”

Organising secretary Idress khsaid: “I am really thankful to AllahAlmighty for helping us in holding the32ndNational Games successfully inthe time when it seemed that theGames could not be held but by thegrace of Allah, we have done it. It wasalso due to hectic efforts and full coop-eration of Punjab Olympic presidentSyed Shahid Ali due to which he heldthe Games successfully and proved thatwe can hold every kind of national andinternational sports. We have alsosaved the honour of Punjab by holdingthe event in well-organised manner.”

Champion WAPDA rule minnows Curtains come down on games

NORWICH: Midfielder Samir Nasri and defender Gael Clichy should be availableafter injury for Manchester City's Premier League trip to Norwich City on Saturday(1500). The duo missed the champions' 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in midweek thatmeant second-placed City dropped seven points behind leaders Manchester United."Samir and Gael are back on the training pitch so they'llbe available for selection I think," Manchester City's as-sistant manager David Platt told a news conference onFriday. City's top scorer Carlos Tevez, with sevenleague goals this season, is expected to play after beinggiven Thursday off because of illness but fellow strikerMario Balotelli remains a doubt for the match. "Mariois still feeling the effects of the virusthat he had," Platt said. Norwich,11th in the table, have lost their lasttwo league outings against WestBromwich Albion and Chelsea. Theyare likely to be without defender StevenWhittaker (hip injury) and midfielder An-drew Surman (knee). AGENCIES

Man City hope to have nasri, Clichy back for norwich

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Saturday, 29 December, 2012Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Editor: Arif Nizami

ISLAMABADTAYYAB HUSSAIN

FEELING the heat ofthe intra-party polls bythe Pakistan Tehreek-

e-Insaf (PTI), the ElectionCommission of Pakistan(ECP) on Friday made a land-mark decision towardsachievement of true demo-cratic order in the country byannouncing to refuse allot-ment of election symbols topolitical parties who failed tosubmit their annual state-ment of accounts or did nothold intra-party polls.

“The political parties thatfail to submit their annualstatement of accounts interms of Article 13 of the saidorder or fail to submit the cer-tificate with regard to intra-party election in terms ofArticle 12 of the said ordershall not be entitled to ob-taining election symbols,”said a statement issued by theECP. The ECP decision islikely to trouble major gov-

ernment and opposition po-litical parties who carry notradition of intra-party elec-tions and submit false certifi-cates with the ECP each yearof intra-party elections hav-ing been held and the party’soffice-bearers having beenelected “unopposed”. Inter-estingly, the ECP never coun-terchecked any claim by theparty chiefs and the certifi-cates of intra-party polls werealways accepted without anyprobe. The intra-party elec-tions have never been a prior-ity for major political parties,as no such polls are con-ducted and only a statementis submitted with the ECP bymost of the parties.

However, experts and an-alysts doubt the ECP’s com-mitment to enforce the lawsproperly. Eminent social sci-entist Dr Rasool BakhshRaees told Pakistan Todaythat though it was a welcomestep by the ECP to attain thedesired level of democracy inPakistan, it was difficult to

implement. “The democraticorder in Pakistan needs to bereformed through enforce-ment of relevant laws becausepeople don’t follow the dem-ocratic norms. Effective ac-countability, transparencyand enforcement of laws are amust to attain the desiredlevel of democratic order inthe country,” he added.

Raees said if the ECP wasable to implement the rule ofits laws, it would go a longway to transform the demo-cratic order into true democ-racy. “But I am doubtful thatthe ECP would be able to en-force the laws in Pakistan be-cause the leadership ofpolitical parties is so muchpowerful, they follow no rulesor norms. There is a stronghold of families on demo-cratic parties and they don’tallow anyone to even think ofcontesting polls against them.If anyone appears to chal-lenge their autocracy, theysideline such a politician,” headded.

ISLAMABADTAYYAB HUSSAIN

The executive board meeting of the Na-tional Accountability Bureau (NAB) onFriday approved voluntary return (VR)of Rs 1.6 billion from Abdul HafeezSheikh, CEO of BNP Limited.

NAB Chairman Admiral (r) FasihBokhari presided over the board meet-ing. Sheikh was accused of having ob-tained loan and financial facilities fromthe Bank of Punjab against fraudulentdocuments for construction of a five-star hotel. Some CDA officials were alsoallegedly involved in irregularities inthe hotel project, planned on 13.5 acresof land. The alleged involvement ofCDA officials in the irregularity is underinvestigation by NAB.

In a case of wilful loan default, pleabargain (PB) of Rs 45.690 million wasapproved from Mian Muhammad Ejaz,CEO of Rehman Woolen Industries(Pvt) Ltd and five directors and a formermanager of ABL Gadoon AmazaiBranch, including Mian MuhammadNawaz, Mian Muhammad Mushtaq,

Haji Abdul Razzaq, Haji MuhammadInshaque, Fayyaz Muhammad andMuhammad Ilyas. Another Plea Bargainof Rs 8.404 Billion from Sheikh Afzal inthe Haris Steel Mills Case of Bank ofPunjab was also approved. Afzal was ac-cused of embezzling Rs 8.404 billionthrough credit facilities in the name of

fake persons against fake collaterals/fic-titious guarantees and mortgage deeds.The board also decided to close a casedue to lack of incrementing evidencesagainst the accused, Younus khan Mar-wat, ex-CEO of the Development Bankof Afghanistan (DBA). The accused al-legedly misappropriated DBA funds.

PESHAWARSHAMIM SHAHID

Amidst Taliban’s willingness for dialoguewith the government, the administrationhas accelerated efforts for early recovery of22 personnel of security forces who wereabducted from Peshawar on midnight be-tween Wednesday and Thursday.

At least two personnel were killed inthe attack at Hassan khel and 22 were ab-ducted. khyber Pakhtunkhwa (kP) Infor-mation Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussaintalking to Pakistan Today welcomed theTaliban decision and said per the AwamiNational Party (ANP) stance, “we are readyto play a role in such dialogues”. He saidthe TTP existed in Tribal Areas, therefore,responsibility rested with the federal gov-ernment to make preparations in this re-spect. He also said the government neededto take on board leaders from all politicalforces before entering into the dialogue.

Referring to efforts for recovery of the ab-ducted personnel, Hussain confirmed hold-ing of a meeting between local elders and theadministration. He said traditional jirga ofelders met with assistant political agent at Pe-shawar on Friday during which the elders hadbeen directed for recovery of the abducted

personnel within three days. The administra-tion urged the tribal elders to fulfill their ter-ritorial responsibilities otherwise actionmight be pursued by authorities. Govern-ment administrator Naveed Akbar khan saidFriday that authorities had planned meetingswith the local tribal elders.

Tribal law stipulates that the elders couldbe punished for attacks that occurred in theirareas. Security forces have also launched anoperation to try to recover the kidnapped per-sonnel. According to officials, dozens ofarmed militants had attacked two check postsof security forces at Peshawar. The militantshad attacked with grenades and rockets. ThePakistani Taliban had claimed responsibilityfor the attack, however, they had yet to dis-close their demands. Hussain responding to aquestion said, “Assembling or sheltering ofmilitants in Peshawar has become a seriousthreat to security. He said the provincial gov-ernment through Peshawar commissionerwas in contact with the tribal administration.Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Ha-keemullah Mehsud on Friday said he wasready to enter into conditional dialogue withthe government. He said, “Without layingarms, we are ready for dialogue with govern-ment. Taliban militants are demanding re-placement of existing laws by Islamic norms.”

FIVE KILLED IN NWA DRONE STRIKE

PESHAWARINP

At least five people were killedin a US drone strike in NorthWaziristan on Friday,intelligence officials said.According to the sources, theUS predator targeted amilitant compound in Gurbazvillage of the agency’s Shawaldistrict, close to the border ofSouth Waziristan agency,firing two missiles and killingfive suspected militants inside.

NEW DELHIAGENCIES

The condition of the Indianrape victim who was flown toSingapore for treatment is“extremely critical”, doctorsat the Singapore’s MountElizabeth Hospital said onFriday.

Dr kelvin Loh, chief exec-utive officer at the hospitalsaid in a statement, “The pa-tient remains in an extremelycritical condition. Prior to herarrival, she has already un-dergone three abdominal sur-geries and experienced acardiac arrest in India.”

“A multi-disciplinaryteam of specialists is takingcare of her and doing every-thing possible to stabilise hercondition,” he said The In-dian government, which ispaying for the woman’s treat-ment, approved the decisionto transfer her from Delhi’s

Safdarjung Hospital whereshe had been treated sincethe December 16 assault on abus in the centre of the capi-tal. The victim’s relatives ac-companied her to Singapore.

“Since the day of the inci-dent, it has been our endeav-our to provide her the best ofmedical care,” Indian HomeMinister Sushilkumar Shindesaid. According to police, sixmen took turns to rape thewoman and assault her withan iron bar, leaving her withsevere intestinal injuries, be-fore they threw her out of abus that they had taken for ajoyride.

While doctors in Singa-pore gave no details about thetreatment she has receivedsince her early morning ar-rival, their counterparts atSafdarjung said Mount Eliza-beth was chosen as it has amulti-organ transplant facil-ity. “With fortitude and

courage she has survived theafter-effects of the injuries sofar, but her condition contin-ues to be critical,” BD Athani,medical superintendent atSafdarjung Hospital, told re-porters. India has beenrocked by a wave of protestssince the attack, includingone in Delhi on Thursdaywhich brought several hun-dred people onto the streets.Riot police prevented themfrom marching on govern-ment buildings.

The protests have re-flected not only the revul-sion at the savage nature ofthe attack but also simmer-ing anger over the level of vi-olence against women.Official figures show that228,650 of the total 256,329violent crimes recorded lastyear were against women,with the number of rapes inthe capital rising 17 percentto 661 this year.

ECP GETS TOUGH

No election symbols forparties sans internal polls,submission of accountsg Analyst terms announcement landmark butdoubts EcP’s ability to end family hold on parties

Bhootani moves BHC against sacking

India gang-rape victim

‘extremely critical’

QUETTA: Voted-outspeaker of the BalochistanAssembly, Muhammad AslamBhootani, on Friday filed awrit petition in theBalochistan High Courtchallenging the passage of thevote of no-confidence againsthim. The single BHC bench ofJustice Tahir Safdar issued anotice to BalochistanAssembly Deputy SpeakerSyed Matiullah Agha and theassembly secretary to appear

before the bench onDecember 31. The writpetition was filed by BazMuhammad kakar on behalfof the sacked BA speaker. Thepetitioner contends that hewas removed throughunconstitutional and illegalmeans. “Moving the court isnot meant to seek personalgains, but I am against theway adopted to remove me, sothat no body should beremoved in an

unconstitutional and illegalmode in the future,” he added.The former BA speaker tookthe plea that members of theassembly committed blatantbreach of the law and theconstitution in connectionwith the resolution tabled inthe assembly. “They cast theirballots by showing them toother members of theassembly, therefore, the courtshould take action on thiscount,” he prayed. AgENcIES

nAB approves plea bargainof billions of rupees

ISLAMABAD: NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB)Chairman Admiral (r) Fasih Bukharihas taken notice of blatant violationsof parliamentary norms during votingon the no-trust motion againstBalochistan Assembly former speakerAslam Bhootani. While the votingtook place in the BA a few days ago,several MPAs were seen on camerashowing their votes to governmentofficials in grave violation of secretballot. The no-confidence move was

been successfully passed andBhootani was duly de-notified.However, Bhootani on Friday movedthe Balochistan High Court againsthis alleged illegal removal.“Thisindicates misuse of authority andmakes a farce of the process of thesecret ballot. The NAB chairman has,therefore, instructed the NABBalochistan DG to submit a reportwithin seven days on the entireepisode,” a statement issued by NABsaid on Friday. STAff rEPOrT

nAB chief seeks report on violation of secret ballot in BA

Efforts accelerated to recover abducted troops

MUMBAI: Indian members of NGO ‘Aastha’ hold

placards during a protest on Friday for better

safety for women following the rape of a

student in the Indian capital. ONLINE

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