vol. 13 no. 182 june 15- july 2, 2010 bi-weekly from toronto

Vol. 13 No. 182 June 15- July 2, 2010 Bi-weekly from Toronto & Montreal (Toronto 647-883-7575 Montreal 514-952-2742)

In this issue

Service with security- That’s Habib Banking

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www.canadianasiannews.com

Women only Punjabi Mela ofdances and music, first of itskind in Montreal, was excitingand entertaining. – Page 20

MuslimFest is back this sum-mer marking its 8th anniver-sary and celebrating the best inMuslim Arts & entertainmentat Mississauga’s Living ArtsCentre. – Details on Page 5

‘A home away from home’ isthe title of Satyapal Anand’snew 3- article series. See his2nd article on ..... Page 24

P r i y a n k a ’ sdirector wantsher to put onsome weightfor film SaatKhoon Maafbut the actressdoes not like itat all. – P. 32

H a r b h a j a nSingh hit asoaring six ona penultimateball to takeIndia intoAsia Cupfinal. -Page 30

Afridi: It’s too late to strike!

Resuming secretary-level Indo-Pak talks

History suggests that

‘Musharraf is history’Crombie, aLiberal MP fromM i s s i s s a u g a ,calls for ensur-ing religiousfreedom for allpeople. – Page 3

Ex-general neverregained power!

Bipasha acceptschallenging role

R a h u lDholakia’s filmhas been facingtrouble since thebeginning. FirstK a r i s h m aKapoor backedout from theproject and then Bipasha Basuwas unhappy. Finally Bipashaagreed to play the role of aKashmiri girl. – Details on P. 17

By Nasreen Ilyas

ISLAMABAD – If the rumoursare taken seriously, formerPresident of Pakistan and retiredgeneral Pervez Musharraf willsoon return home and rule thecountry again. Musharraf himselfhas sent feelers from England thathe is planning to return toPakistan to lead a new political

party andu l t i m a t e l yr e g a i npower. Butthe politicalanalysts hereare firm intheir opiniont h a tMusharraf ishistory. Thiswhat the his-

tory suggests. However, mostpeople living in and outsidePakistan are confused withMusharraf’s repeated statementsabout his political plans.Knowledgeable Pakistanis did notbelieve Musharraf when he cate-gorically said that he would neverleave Pakistan to live in exile.

(Continued on Page 9)

Gen. Musharraf

NEW DELHI – India andPakistan are resuming secretarylevel talks this week. ForeignSecretary Nirupama Rao will visitPakistan at the invitation of herPakistani counterpart SalmanBashir to hold talks in Islamabadon June 24. A statement from theMinistry of External Affairs saidthat during her stay in Islamabad,Ms Rao would also call onPakistan Foreign Minister ShahMahmood Qureshi.

The meeting will take place less

than a month ahead of the pro-posed talks between ExternalAffairs Minister S M Krishna andM rQureshi inIslamabadon July 15.H o m eMinister PChidambaram is due to visit Islamabad forthe SAARC Interior Ministers'meeting on June 26, when he isalso likely to meet his Pakistani

counterpart Rehman Malik forbilateral discussions.

Ms Rao and Mr Bashir had metin Delhi for Foreign Secretary-level talks on February 25 aimedat restoring trust and confidencebetween the two countries. MsRao had described that meeting asthe first step towards rebuildingtrust. The greater part of the dis-cussions at that meeting had dealtwith India's concerns on terrorismemanating from Pakistan.


Nirupama & Salman

C a p t a i nS h a h i dAfridi hit aO n e - D a yInternationalbest 124 off

KK is all set to anchor a new innings. – Details on 7

60 balls as Pakistan earned a 139-run victory over Bangladesh inthe Asia Cup in Dambulla. But hissparkling innings was useless asthe team was already out of thecontest. Pakistan piled on a mas-sive total of 385-7 from their 50overs. But Bangladesh made only246-5 in reply as Junaid Siddiquetop-scored with 97. Afridi plundering 17 boundariesand four sixes to post his highestlimited-overs score. He alsopassed Sanath Jayasuriya's recordof 270 ODI sixes.

– Details on Page 17

Canadian Asian News Canada June 15-July 2, 2010

MONTREAL – The HonourableJames Moore, Minister ofCanadian Heritage and OfficialLanguages announced fundingfor the 9th Festival internationalde percussions de Longueuil.

Thanks to this funding, 200local artists will take part in thiscolourful festival, taking placefrom July 15 to 18, 2010.Activities for the whole familywill include music, dance, andcircus shows; workshops intro-ducing percussion instruments;street performances; and a visualarts exhibition. The event willinvolve the participation of about

100 volunteers. "Our Governmentknows how important artists andcreators are to our identity, ourculture, and our economy," saidMinister Moore. "The Festivalinternational de percussions deLongueuil improves the quality oflife of our citizens and contributesto the vitality of our culturalscene and the development of ourcommunities." The mission of theFestival international de percus-sions is to showcase and promotea variety of percussion instru-ments from around the world andthe cultures associated with them.Each year, it provides exposure

for both local and foreign artistsand supports innovative projectsand emerging artists by encourag-ing the development of younglocal talent.

The Government of Canadahas provided funding of$43,800 through the BuildingCommunities Through Arts andHeritage program of theDepartment of CanadianHeritage. This program pro-vides Canadians with moreopportunities to take part inactivities that present local artsand culture and celebrate localhistory and heritage.

"When I come home from school,there is no food at home," says lit-tle Mohammad Ibrahim, wholives in a camp for displaced peo-ple in Mogadishu, Somalia.Ibrahim and others like him haveto walk a long distance for anyavailable food. "My father tellsme to work before I can eat any-thing," Mohammad tells the aidworker at his camp in Beledwyn.

There are many others where helives who share the same plight.These are the young innocentswho have been displaced becauseof years of conflict and civil warsin Somalia. The only hope thesechildren have is the help that out-side aid can give them.

The humanitarian situation inSomalia has been one of the worstin the world since the start of thecivil war in 1991. For 19 years,there has not been an effectivegovernment to provide securityand basic services, such as healthcare and education, to the peopleof Somalia. As a result, thousandsof families have been displacedfrom their homes, many of whomare from the nation's capital,Mogadishu.

The International Developmentand Relief Foundation (IDRF) aCanadian non-profit organizationis leading a project to create edu-cation opportunities for marginal-ized internally displaced childrenin Somalia. To achieve its goal ofbuilding 2 classrooms to provideeducation to 160 children and 160parents, IDRF is holding a BBQand Walkathon on June 19, theproceeds of which will go towardsfunding education of the IDPs ofSomalia.

The aim of the IDRF led projectis to create education opportuni-ties for marginalized internally

displaced children in Somalia.The project will ensure equalaccess to girls and boys and willreduce the illiteracy level amongtheir parents by providing themwith literacy classes (reading,writing and numeracy skills).

By involving parents and otheradult relatives in the project thereluctance to allow children (espe-cially girls) access to school isovercome. Parents will be able toexperience the value of educationfor themselves and will in effectcreate a supportive network athome for their children.

IDRF's partner, HIRDA, haschosen the schools to be built inBeledwyne where the most vul-nerable internally displaced peo-ple are currently living. The exist-ing schools in Somalia are run bylocal NGOs and charge childrenschool fees to cover the runningexpenses and teachers' salaries.85% of the families in main citiescannot afford school fees andaccessing the schools is difficult.

IDRF hopes to overcome thesebarriers and provide the means toa better standard of living to thepeoples of Beledwyne. The lackof government institutions in theregion has meant that most fund-ing is through voluntary dona-tions, this is why events like theWalk in the Park are crucial forraising the much needed funds forthe marginalized people of theworld. The walkathon is sched-uled to run from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.on June 19, in High Park Area 1.To celebrate a better life forSomalis, the event will also fea-ture great food, entertainment,children's activities and henna art.

For more information about theevent or to register please visit:www.idrf.com

IDRF: Ray of hope for internally displaced children in Somalia

Ottawa to provide funds for festival of arts & culture

LONDON – The number of UKservice personnel killed as a resultof the Afghanistan conflict since2001 has hit 300, after a woundedmarine died in hospital, BBCreports. The marine from 40Commando Royal Marines, died inBirmingham's New QueenElizabeth Hospital. His family hasbeen informed. He had been injuredin a blast in the Sangin district ofHelmand on 12 June.

The prime minister said it was amoment for the whole country toreflect on the sacrifices the armedforces make. David Cameron saidthe marine's death was "desperatelysad news" and another family wassuffering "grief, pain and loss".

"The 300th death is no more orless tragic than the 299 that camebefore," he said. "But it's a momentfor the whole country to reflect onthe incredible service and sacrificeand dedication that the armedforces give on our behalf." About10,000 British military personnelare in Afghanistan as part of a 45-nation Nato-led force. MrCameron, who recently warned theUK to expect more casualties dur-

ing the summer of this "vital year",acknowledged that many peoplequestioned the country's role.

"We are there because theAfghans are not yet ready to keeptheir own country safe and to keepterrorists and terrorist trainingcamps out of their country." UKforces would withdraw as soon asAfghanistan could ensure its ownsecurity, he added.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's

spokesman said he recognised theforces' sacrifices "to bring peaceand stability to Afghanistan, to theregion and to the rest of the world".

It was nearly seven years beforethe UK's dead in Afghanistan num-bered 100 but the past two yearshave seen an increasing casualtyrate. Last year was particularlybloody, largely because of the pro-liferation of insurgents' increasinglysophisticated roadside bombs.

UK death toll in Afghanistan conflict reaches 300


Read Canadian Asian News onlineFor news, views and analysis, go to: www.canadianasiannews.com

OTTAWA – Mississauga –Streetsville Member ofParliament, Bonnie Crombie, hascalled for ensuring religious free-dom for all people. Crombie saidthis in a statement she made in theHouse of Commons here on June10, 2010. She said: “Mr. Speaker,we are constantly reminded of

events against human rights andreligious tolerance around theworld. We remember, the inva-sion of the Golden Temple inAmritsar against the Sikh faith,then quickly following, the

Bonnie Crombie calls forreligious freedom for all

bombing of Air India flight 182over the shores of Ireland. We stilldeeply mourn these losses. We allknow it can be a rough passagefrom darkness into light whenideals of nationhood collide.

“Last year, thousands of inno-cent Sri Lankans lost their lives indefenceless attacks againsthumanity. This past ChristmasEve, six members of the Copticcommunity were shot down forpracticing their faith.

“Not even two weeks ago,Ahmadiyya Muslim worship-pers attending Friday prayersin Lahore, Pakistan, were undersiege resulting from violentand brutal attacks.We have aduty to defend against religiousintolerance and the violation ofhuman rights that thesedeplorable acts of violence,fear and intimidation represent.

“I urge all Members to jointogether today in condemningthese violent acts, and in callingon governments around the worldto bring justice to perpetrators,and to ensure religious freedomfor all people.”

Bonnie Crombie

Canadian Multiculturalism Daywill be celebrated on Sunday,June 27, 2010 from 5:00 p.m. to10:00 p.m. at Square One OlderAdult Centre, 100 City CentreDrive, Mississauga (905-615-3207).It will be a day of freeevents, icnluding music, dance,fun & games. There will also bea Canadian citizenship affirma-

tion ceremony, multiculturalismrecognition awards etc.

For more information call:Eric Wen: 905-896-1788,Zubair Choudhry 416-722-1746, Chris Benedicto 416-795-4560, Patricia Gomez [email protected] visit their website:

www.multiculturalday.ca

Canadian Multiculturalism Day

June 15-July 2, 2010 Canadian Asian News Montreal

Guests at the Monument Unveiling Ceremony in Montreal

Recognizing Lebanese community achievements

A Round Table Discussion with Rick Dykstra, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship andImmigration Jason Kenney, was held in Montreal. Different ethnic newspapers representatives attended this dis-cussion. Picture shows (from L to R) : Lina Gavilong, Hon. Rick Dykstra, Ana Maria Surgugiu, President Conseilde femmes des communautes culturelles du Quebec.

MONTREAL – A graceful monu-ment unveiling ceremony was heldhere to commemorate the 125thanniversary of the arrival of thefirst Lebanese to Montreal.Over130,000 Lebanese are livingin Montreal which is largest

Lebanese community in Canada.This Monument is designed byGilles Mihalcean and is placed atParc Marcelin-Wilson of theAhuntsic-Cartierville borough.The main objective of theMonument is to appreciate and rec-

ognize the contributions andachievements of Lebanese livingacross the Island of Montreal. Totalcost of this monument is $83810out of which 30,000$ paid by(WLCU-Montreal) and remainingcost paid by City of Montreal.

A large number of Lebaneseattended this ceremony. Local,Provincial and Federal dignitariesalso attended this ceremony,among them were:

Hon. Jason Kenny, Minister ofCitizenship & Immigration, GeraldTremblay, Mayor of Montreal,Stephane Dion, Densi Coderre, MPfrom Bourassa, Senator LeoHousakos, Christine St-Pierre,Minister of Culture,

Communications and the Status ofWomen, Yolande James, Ministerof Immigration and CulturalCommunities, Gerry Sklavounos,MNA Laurier-Dorion, MadamMary Deros, Councilor Parc-Extension and Incharge CulturalCommunities City of Montreal,DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent,Hon. Khalil, Lebanon CouncilGeneral in Montreal, Hon. SalimSayed, Lebanese Minister.


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MISSISSAUGA – MuslimFest isback this summer marking its 8thanniversary and celebrating thebest in Muslim Arts andEntertainment - at Mississauga’sLiving Arts Centre. The two-dayevent, which is expected to attractmore than 10,000 people of allages, will begin on July 31, 2010.Organizers said arrangements arebeing finalized to hold this annualevent in a most dignified way.MuslimFest is a joint project ofDawaNet and Sound Vision.MuslimFest brought togethertalented professionals, entrepre-neurs, leaders, activists, andvolunteers to showcase the besttalents in the Muslim commu-nity. MuslimFest features over 70local and international artistsincluding singers, comedians,spoken word artists, martial artperformers, actors, movie makers,writers, and those with special tal-ents in photography, drawing,painting, calligraphy work,graphics etc.Performance Arts Call forEntries: MuslimFest aims toinspire Muslims to participate inthe various forms of performancearts. MuslimFest 2010 expands on

this and gives new artists the

opportunity to showcase their tal-ent as part of our outdoor commu-nity stage. Last year’s

Rising Talent Show was a greatsuccess with over 50 submissions.This year, the organizers want toshowcase more talented Muslimsand get the audience to vote on

their top performers for a prize of$1,000!About MuslimFestFounded in 2004, MuslimFest isthe only event of its kind in Canada,providing opportunity to learnmore about Islamic history and cul-ture.MuslimFest celebrates the bestin Muslim arts and entertainment.The event features over 50 localand international artists who show-case their talent in variousareas.Concerts featuring popularMuslim artists, comedy shows, amulticultural bazaar and a kids car-nival constitute some of the funthings one can expect at

MuslimFest. In recent years wehave introduced new programssuch as a family variety show, awomen’s program and a film festi-val. Launched in 2004 as a projectof DawNet Canada and SoundVision. The two organizationsbrought together a pool of talentedprofessionals,entrepreneurs, lead-ers,activists, and volunteers to crafta festival that is first of it kind inCanadian history.

Organizers included experts invarious fields such as media rela-tions,marketing, television andradio production,writing, and webdevelopment,event planning,proj-ect management,sales, fine arts,technical arts drama, academicresearch, law, medicine and engi-neering. In a post 9/11 world that isfilled with violent images, we at theMuslimFest believe it is imperativeto hold bridge-building events thatpositively engage young canadians.

MuslimFest provides youthwith opportunities to share theirculture with the broader commu-nity. We believe in educationthrough the language of art,humour, and meaningful enter-tainment, something that we feelcan break through even the tough-est cultural barriers.

MuslimFest is back loaded with freshideas and dazzling performances!


OTTAWA – The government’smove to change the rules for citi-zenship is unfair, and misses anopportunity to implement much-need fixes to the Citizenship Act,say New Democrats.

“Rather than pursue meaningfulreform to an extraordinarilyimportant component of ourdemocracy – citizenship – theHarper Conservatives have againintroduced ill-conceived andunfair legislation,” said NewDemocrat Critic for Citizenshipand Immigration Olivia Chow(Trinity-Spadina).

Bill C-37, announced, wouldallow public servants workingabroad to pass Canadian citizen-ship on to their children and

OTTAWA – Jason Kenney, Ministerof Citizenship, Immigration andMulticulturalism called onCanadians to nominate candidatesfor Canada’s Citizenship Award.

This prestigious award pays trib-ute to Canadians who have made animportant contribution in promot-ing the rights and responsibilities ofCanadian citizenship. It also hon-ours Canadians who have madeoutstanding contributions to assist-ing newcomers in integrating intoCanadian society.

“Canadian citizenship isn’t just alegal status that gives us a passportor a right to vote,” said Minister

Kenney. “Citizenship is a qualitythat can be measured by the contri-bution that each of us makes toensure Canada continues to be afree and prosperous country.Canada’s Citizenship Award hon-ours Canadians who dedicate them-selves tirelessly to making citizen-ship active in communities throughhelping newcomers find their wayin a new land or encouraging youngpeople to experience Canadian his-tory and dream to be our nextCanadian hero. This award recog-nizes their invaluable contributionsto Canada .” Canada’s CitizenshipAward is presented to as many as

20 living Canadians for workdone on a voluntary basis. Thewinners are selected by a panelthat includes citizenship judgesfrom across Canada and will beannounced during Canada ’sCitizenship Week, October18–24, 2010. Each person hon-oured will receive a gold mapleleaf pin and a certificate signedby the Minister.

For a nomination form and moreinformation on Canada’sCitizenship Award, please visitCitizenship and ImmigrationCanada’s website atwww.cic.gc.ca/citizenshipaward.

Canada's citizenship award: Open for nominationsNDP criticizes citizenship bill

grandchildren, but does not pro-vide the same right to otherCanadians working abroad.

“The Conservative’s have sim-ply ignored the reality that we livein a globalized world,” saidChow. “We should be encourag-ing Canadian citizenship, and cre-ating citizenship policies that arefair and balanced. Why shouldindividuals who work for the gov-ernment have a right that otherCanadians working abroad donot?” Chow also pointed out thatchildren adopted from other coun-tries by Canadians should havethe same citizenship rights asthose born in Canada.

Chow intends to work with allparties at committee to fix C-37so no children born of Canadianparents would be left stateless.

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June 15-July 2, 2010 Canadian Asian News Canada

Former Pakistan PresidentGeneral Pervez Musharraf’s aimof returning to country’s politicalstage may have received a boostrecently with the launch of hisnewly floated party – the AllPakistan Muslim League(APML) in Karachi, but the ques-tion is would the people ofPakistan will give him anotherchance to rule after nearly adecade long autocratic regime.

According to an editorial in oneof Pakistan’s leading Englishdailies, Musharraf, who claims

that he has a large fan followingon famous social networking site-Facebook, is unlikely to be givenanother chance by the public.“Pervez Musharraf claims he hasa large number of fans onFacebook. But does this self-pro-claimed conquest of cyberspacematch the reality? Are the peopleof Pakistan willing to give theretired army chief another chanceafter nearly a decade of militaryrule that saw stage-managed

democracy? the Dawn editorialasked. It also pointed out thatwithout the help of the ‘all-pow-erful’ Pakistan Army, Musharrafwas unlikely to taste success inhis political motives.

The editorial, while referring toMusharraf’s regular statementsthat he is ready to return toPakistan to pull the country out oftrouble, said that those statementscertainly didn’t depict his trueintentions.

“It is easy to dabble in politicsfrom the comfort of a foreign

country. However, enlisting thesupport of the man on the street inPakistani cities is a different mat-ter. General Musharraf’s decisionraises a pertinent question: Willnational politics allow the returnof a former military strongman ata time when the democratic proj-ect is still young? It does notappear likely,” it concluded.

(Tags: former PakistanPresident General, PervezMusharra)

Pakistan unlikely to give Pervez second chance to rule: Editorial

Gen Musharraf ..... I have a large number of fans on Facebook

‘History tells us Musharraf is history’(Continued from Page 1)These people are also not payingany attention to Musharraf’srecent statements claiming that hestill has a role to play inPakistan’s politics. On the otherhand, Musharraf supporters aremaintaining that the general is allset to play his secondpolitical innings thoughhe is no more wearingmilitary uniform.Musharraf supportersalso believe that theirleader will come topower with the supportof two As (Army andAmerica). They alsosay that urban Sindhwill be Musharraf’smain political base in the country.Political analysts on the otherhand reject both theories. Theyask: What would be MQM’spolitical future if Musharraf partygains grounds in Karachi andHyderabad. Will one exile leader(Altaf Hussain) hand over keys ofhis house to another exile leader(Musharraf)?”

Regarding the support of thetwo As, the analysts say thatAmerica and Army did not sup-port Musharraf when he was

struggling to stay in power fol-lowing serious judicial crisis.

According to these analysts, thejudicial crisis in fact was createdto oust Musharraf who was thentwo in one – Chief of Army Staffand President of Pakistan. It isgenerally believed in Pakistan’s

political circles that Chief JusticeIftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry,who had the ‘honor’ of takingoath under PCO, turned his gunsagainst the military chief on thebriefings of the forces which mat-ter in Pakistan.

According to a reliable sourcehere, Musharraf wanted to imposemartial law at one point to sus-pend fundamental rights of thepeople to overcome the crisis hefaced but both Washington andPak military headquarter rejected

the idea instantly. Musharraf alsowanted to keep Benazir andNawaz Sharif out of last electionbut his move was nibbed in thebud by Washington.

Meanwhile, a professor of polit-ical science Hamiduddin Khansaid in Karachi that Pakistan’spolitical history suggests that nomilitary officer big or small hasever succeeded in politics. Forexample, Air Marshall AsgharKhan led a huge politically rally inKarachi in 1977 and was consid-ered to be the future ruler ofPakistan. Like Tehrik-e-Insaaf,Asghar’s party failed to take offthe ground. Air Marshall NurKhan began his political careerfrom Bahawalpur but withinmonths he realized his mistakeand opted to become PIAChairman. Lt Gen K.M Azhar asPHF chief guided Pakistan hockeyteam to 1971 World Cup victory inBarcelona and after retirementfrom army he joined a right-wingreligious party of Mualana ShahAhmed Noorani. His fate was nodifferent than that of Asghar Khan.Hamiduddin opined that thesegenerals and the air marshalls didnot succeed because of the charis-matic personalty of Zulfikar AliBhutto but he added quickly:Musharraf will be getting toughchallenge from his sworn-enemyNawaz Sharif who enjoy’s strongsupport of the masses in Pakistan’smost populous province ofPunjab. “But let me make it veryclear first, Musharraf will notcome back to Pakistan. Suppose,if he returns home, he will be fac-ing a murder trial in Akbar Bugticase. And by then Sharif brotherswill be ready to file a seditioncase against him for toppling anelected government in Pakistan.Can Musharraf hope of anyfavorable decision from the apexcourt?,” Hamid said.

Nawaz Sharif ... Musharraf’s ‘swon enemy’

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Pervez Musharraf, left, with his successor Gen Parvez Kayani


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TORONTO – Children born inpoverty are vulnerable to earlydeaths, which is particularlyheartrending as the causes couldbe totally preventable.

For example, one of the lead-ing causes of infant deaths inBangladesh is Indoor AirPollution (IAP). Poor ruralhouseholds in Bangladesh relyheavily on wood, dung and otherbiomass fuels for cooking. Thispractice exposes inhabitants tosmoke which when inhaled canseverely damage their health.Women and children are themost exposed groups to IAP.

Maternal health and infantmortality have been longstandingissues in Bangladesh, especiallyin the Southeastern sub-districtsof Chittagong. Due to past andcurrent civil conflicts, neglectand severe poverty, the regionfaces a vast array of problemsstemming from a lack of waterand sanitation, poor nutritionand inadequate health services.

In addition, due to the differ-ences in coverage and qualityof services, women inChittagong today receive onaverage fewer maternal healthservices compared to the rest ofthe country.

An estimated 13% of womenin the region are attended byskilled attendants during child-birth. Women in the region alsobattle poverty, malnutrition andcontinued sickness on a dailybasis, according to an IDRFpress release issued in Toronto.

Building on past successeswith the community-basedMaternal and Child HealthProject in the district, IDRF hasteamed up once again with ourpartner VERC (VillageEducation Resource Center) tocontinue to support women inChittagong as well as to supportthe Millennium DevelopmentGoal of improving maternalhealth in Bangladesh. TheMaternal and Reproductive

IDRF seeking urgent help for women’s healthcare in Bangladesh‘Triple your donation with CIDA supported project’

Health Project aims to provideeffective healthcare (offered byHealth Centres & HealthOutreach Services) and toreduce risk among women dur-ing pregnancy and childbirth.

The project will use a com-

munity-led approach to addressthe problems associated withconventional cooking practicesand their direct health risks; itwill attend to the issues of lackof water and sanitation; andalso will encompass improvedawareness of sexual and repro-ductive health issues throughshared and responsible deci-sion-making.

In addition, this project plansto put in operation two commu-nity based health centers that

will attend to the heath needs ofwomen and their children.Among other things, it will alsoprovide medical training of tra-ditional birth attendants, train-ing in health promotion andeducation techniques in mater-nal child health issues, as wellas leadership developmentamong community women toensure women have a voice indecision-making. The IDRFhas launched an appeal fordonation to this CIDA support-ed project today to helpimprove maternal/newbornhealth and provide holistic sus-tainable social development invulnerable poor rural communi-ties of Bangladesh. Your contri-bution will also benefit not onlyexpectant/new mothers andinfants but will also provideresources for adolescents,health workers, and people withor at risk of STDs.

In addition, thanks to CIDA’s3-to-1 match, your donationwill provide triple the support toour beneficiaries in this project.

To make an online donationtoday, click here. For moreinformation on IDRF’s“Maternal and ReproductiveHealth” project, please visit ourwebsite. For this project, IDRFacknowledges the financial sup-port of the Government ofCanada provided through theCanadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA).www.IDRF.ca Tel 416.497.0818Ext 221 or Toll free: 1-866-497-IDRF (4373) Ext 221

IDRF (InternationalDevelopment and ReliefFoundation) is a Canadian non-profit organization, dedicated toempowering the disadvantagedpeople of the world through emer-gency relief and participatorydevelopment programs based onthe Islamic principles of humandignity, self-reliance and socialjustice.

For further information on IDRFspecial events, new and past proj-ects, annual reports, videos andvolunteer opportunities please visitwww.idrf.ca.


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New legislation to crack down on crooked immigration consultants

Jason Kenney

OTTAWA – A legislation to crackdown on crooked immigration con-sultants who exploit prospectiveimmigrants was introduced in theHouse of Commons by Citizenship,Immigration and MulticulturalismMinister Jason Kenney.

The Cracking Down onCrooked Consultants Act would

strengthen the rules governingthose who charge a fee for immi-gration advice, close immigrationsystem loopholes currentlyexploited by crooked consultants,and improve the way in whichimmigration consultants are regu-lated. "While most immigrationconsultants working in Canadaare legitimate and ethical, it isclear that immigration fraudremains a widespread threat to theintegrity of Canada's immigrationsystem," said Minister Kenney."The Cracking Down on Crooked

Consultants Act will better protectprospective immigrants fromcrooked consultants and help safe-guard our immigration systemagainst fraud and abuse."

The Act would make it a crimefor unauthorized individuals to pro-vide immigration advice for a fee. Itwould also amend the Immigrationand Refugee Protection Act so thatfees for immigration services couldonly be charged by authorized con-sultants, lawyers and notaries whoare members in good standing of agoverning body authorized by theMinister. This includes services per-formed before an application is sub-mitted or a proceeding begins, thusclosing a loophole in the currentframework regulating consultants.

"Crooked immigration consult-ants victimize people who dreamof immigrating to Canada," saidMinister Kenney. "Worse still,there is evidence that these indi-viduals encourage prospectiveimmigrants to lie on their immi-gration applications, to concoctbogus stories about persecutionwhen making refugee claims, or toenter into sham marriages withCanadian citizens and permanentresidents. This undermines theintegrity and fairness of Canada'simmigration system."

Accompanying the Ministertoday was a family featured in aCitizenship and ImmigrationCanada (CIC) video warningwould-be immigrants to be waryof immigration fraud.

The Cracking Down onCrooked Consultants Act wouldalso give the Minister the author-ity to designate a body to governimmigration consultants andestablish measures to enhance thegovernment's oversight of thisbody.

In addition, the legislationwould close another loophole inthe current framework which pre-vents information sharing. Itwould allow CIC to discloseinformation relating to the ethi-cal or professional conduct of amember of a provincial bar orthe Chambre des notaires duQuébec or a member of theCanadian Society ofImmigration Consultants, thebody currently governing immi-gration consultants, to thoseresponsible for governing orinvestigating that conduct.

The Minister is also takingimmediate steps to address a lackof public confidence in the regu-lation of immigration consult-ants. In addition to tabling thisbill, a Notice of Intent will bepublished on June 12, 2010, inthe Canada Gazette.

It will announce CIC's intentionto launch a transparent publicselection process to identify agoverning body for recognition asthe regulator of immigration con-sultants, under current authority.The Notice of Intent will requestcomments from the public on theproposed selection process.

MONTREAL – The officialposter announcing the 100thanniversary of the district ofPark-Extension was officiallyunveiled at the Borough Councilmeeting on June 1, 2010.

The borough plans to displaythe poster on lamppost framesthroughout the district for theduration of the year of celebra-

tions which will be launched onJuly 3. At the instigation of Mrs.Deros, the project receivedapproval and funding from theborough of Villeray-St-Michel-Park-Extension as well as thetechnical and logistical supportfrom the borough's services.

The official launch of the cele-brations will be held on Saturday,July 3 at 2 PM at Park Athena onJean-Talon Street in the heart ofPark Ex. The official launch willbe followed by the opening of aphotographic exposition, created

and produced by the ParkExtension Historical Society,depicting 100 years of Park Ex'shistory. The exposition will runon Saturday July 3 from 3 PM to10 PM and on Sunday, July 4from 10 AM to 5 PM.

“This launch is only the begin-ning of the celebrations,”explained Mrs. Deros, “in fact all

the activities in the borough willhave a 100th anniversary dimen-sion and the borough will ensurethat the anniversary feeling con-tinues until the culmination ofthe festivities one year from now.I invite all the citizens of ParkEx to join in the celebrationswhich will be announcedthroughout the year and Iencourage them to participate inthe spirit of the 100th anniver-sary by helping keep Park Exclean. Let's all be proud of ParkExtension”, concluded Deros.

Montreal: Celebrating 100thanniversary of helping people

Mary Deros unveiles the poster of Park Ex's 100th anniversary celebrations

Airwings Travel opens it new branch in HamiltonIt is locatd at 204-45 Godrich Road, Hamilton Tel 905-578-2300


TORONTO – Harinder S. Takhar,Minister of Government Services,who hosted a community BBQ inhis mississauga riding recently, hadanother honor to celebrate with hisconstituents and people of Ontario.

Takhar was recognized for hisoutstanding contribution to thecommunity, and was honouredwith this year's Indo CanadaChamber of Commerce ICCCPresident's award at the ICCCannual awards and gala night onJune 12 at the Metro ConventionCentre, Toronto.

More than 1,000 people attendedthe event to celebrate the extraordi-nary accomplishment of 11 com-munity members. This year'stheme was 'Exploring Possibilities,Achieving Heights'. Entrepreneurs,professionals, corporate execu-tives, humanitarians and achieversamong Indo-Canadian youthshared the spotlight.

The glamorous evening startedwith a VIP reception and cocktailparty, moving on to the keynoteaddress by Indira Samarasekera,president and vice-chancellor ofthe University of Alberta, fol-lowed by the awards presenta-tions. Entrepreneur and philan-thropist Baljit 'Nut King' Chadhawon the Lifetime/outstandingAchievement Award, while popu-lar dentist and Patanjali Yogpeethdirector Gagan Bhalla won theHumanitarian Award, Anita Guptawas honoured as the FemaleEntrepreneur of the Year, PyaraliNanji for Male Entrepreneur,Shirish Chotalia for FemaleProfessional of the Year, PrabhatJha for Male Professional, Guru

OTTAWA – You've made Canadayour new home and are probably inthe process of searching for a placeof your own. Looking for a homecan be a very exciting experiencethat can be both rewarding andchallenging.

As Canada's national housingagency, Canada Mortgage andHousing Corporation (CMHC) hasbeen providing Canadians - includ-ing new Canadians like you - withinformation and tools to help youmake informed homeownershipdecisions.

Canada's population growth isbecoming increasingly reliant uponimmigration. In the 2006 Census,close to six million Canadiansidentified themselves as immi-grants, representing about 20 percent of the entire Canadian popula-tion.

To help new Canadians makeinformed housing-related decisionsand find safe, affordable homes fortheir families, Canada Mortgageand Housing Corporation (CMHC)has developed a multi-languageone-stop online source for housing-related information. Visit CMHCat www.cmhc.ca/newcomers.

CMHC wants to provide new-comers to Canada with relevantand culturally appropriate housing-related information. A wealth ofinformation is available for new-comers in both official languages -English and French - as well as inMandarin/Simplified Chinese,Arabic, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalogand Urdu.

This housing-related informationis divided into three areas to makethings simpler: Renting an apart-ment - for most newcomers, yourfirst home will likely be a rented

Welcome to Canada!house or apartment. Renting ahome should provide you with asafe place where you can begin toadjust to your new life in Canada.It can also give you the time tolook for a home to buy withoutfeeling pressured into making aquick decision; Buying a home -CMHC has created a series ofguides and tools that take youthrough the home buying process;and Looking after your home -

which will help guide you on howto take care of your home and pre-vent problems before they happen.Don't forget to also check out thenew videos on buying and renovat-ing a home. Later this summerthere will also be a video on rent-ing a home.

For more information or forFREE information on other aspectsof renting, buying and renovating ahome in Canada, visitwww.cmhc.ca/newcomers. Formore than 60 years, CanadaMortgage and HousingCorporation (CMHC) has beenCanada's national housing agencyand a source of objective, reliablehousing expertise.

Gobind Singh Children'sFoundation for Young Achievers,Harinder Pal Singh Ahluwalia forTechnology Achievement andZabeen Hirji for CorporateExecutive of the Year.

Harinder S. Takhar, an entrepre-neur turned successful business-man, a community leader,Minister of the Crown of theProvince of Ontario, Canada, anda family man, was first elected tothe Ontario Legislature in October2003. He was immediatelyappointed to the Ontario Cabinetas Minister of Transportation byOntario Premier DaltonMcGuinty. He became the firstever of Indian heritage to becomemember of the Executive Councilof Ontario and Cabinet Minister.

In May of 2006, Takhar wassworn in as the first Minister ofthe newly-created Ministry ofSmall Business andEntrepreneurship. Takhar was re-elected to the Ontario Legislaturein October 2007 for a secondterm. In July 2008, Takhar wasappointed as Minister of SmallBusiness and Consumer Services.

In June 2009, Takhar's mandatewas again changed and he wassworn in as the Minister ofGovernment Services. In this

position, he is responsible for theOntario government's enormousInformation and Communicationssystems, Human Resources, pro-curement and delivery of govern-ment services throughServiceOntario. This Ministryemploys 6,422 staff and is sup-ported by two deputy Ministers,four associate deputy ministers,and 24 assistant deputy ministerswith a total ministry operatingbudget of 1.47 Billion.

Takhar, amongst his manyaccomplishments since 2003, hashad the opportunity to:

– Enhance children safety, pro-mote and provide funding forenhanced public transit facilities,and introduce the first HighOccupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes;

– Introduce legislation toimprove propane safety standardsand Scattering of Ashes in desig-nated areas;

– Introduce new motor vehiclelicence plates to recognize andhighlight the contributions madeby our world war veterans anddefence personnel; and

– Embark on the modernizationand the delivery of governmentservices under one roof to providecost-effective services to allOntarians.

Harinder Takhar with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, Omar AlGhabra and other guests at his community BBQ.

Minister Takhar honored by IndoCanada Chamber


Bipasha Basu finally plays Kashmiri girlMUMBAI – Rahul Dholakia’sfilm has been facing troublesince the beginning. To startwith, Karishma Kapoor backedout from the project after show-ing a lot of interest in it. Then,Bipasha Basu was taken in toplay the role of a Kashmiri girl.Later, Basu also walked out ofthe set in Kashmir, saying thatshe was feeling very uncomfort-able mobbed by the fans. Then,the rumors of Vidya Balanreplacing Basu started to do therounds. All these issues were

resolved later and Bips contin-ued to be the leading lady in thefilm. Now, after crossing allthese barriers, the film’s promo-tional clips were finally readyfor the viewers. But, the roadahead is not so easy for theLamhaa team. The censor boardhas many objections to thepromo of the film.

Initially, the censor boardtotally rejected the promo. Later,the filmmakers approached therevising committee, which hasasked for several changes.

COLOMBO – Captain ShahidAfridi hit a One-Day Internationalbest 124 off 60 balls as Pakistanearned a 139-run victory overBangladesh in the Asia Cup inDambulla.

With neither side able to reachthe final after both lost to Indiaand Sri Lanka, Pakistan piled on amassive total of 385-7 from their50 overs. But Bangladesh madeonly 246-5 in reply as JunaidSiddique top-scored with 97.

Pakistan were always in controlwith Afridi plundering 17 bound-aries and four sixes to post hishighest limited-overs score - andhis second century of the tourna-ment - while also passing SanathJayasuriya's record of 270 ODIsixes. Farhat (66), ShahzaibHasan (50) and Umar Akmal (50)hit half centuries as they set ahuge target after hammering 120runs in the last nine overs.

And despite Siddique's inningsand a decent 66 from openerImrul Kayes, Bangladesh fell wellshort of their target, falling totheir third loss of the four-nationtournament. Both teams now headto the UK - with Bangladeshreturning to play One-DayInternationals against England,Ireland, Scotland and theNetherlands after losing theirtwo-Test series in England, whilePakistan's tour - which includesTests and One-dayers againstEngland and Australia - beginswith a Twenty20 match againstMCC at Lord's on Sunday.

MUMBAI – After the stupendoussuccess of Raajneeti, Katrina Kaifis all set to anchor a new innings asBollywood’s leading female star.For starters, she is playing the leadrole in the remake of Seeta aurGeeta, the iconic double role thatmade Hema Malini a force to reck-on with. A good test of Katrina’sgrowing clout in tinsel town is howshe is calling the shots today, whenit comes to navigate her career. Forinstance, it is she who has decidedthat Anees Bazmee should behelming this project.

Similarly, with Zoya Akhtar’sZindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Kaif isre-negotiating a meatier role in themulti-starrer. This has ruffled somefeathers in the crew of this filmbecause in the recent past Katrinahas backed out of several movies,because the role was not substan-tial. These rejects include AnuragBasu’s Silence, Shristi Arya’sremake of Bride Wars and AneesBazmee’s Thank You. A sourcefrom the unit reveals, “In Zoya’sfilm Katrina plays a seductress; therole is more about her looks thanactual acting. After Raajneeti, shehas received recognition for heracting skills rather than merely herBarbie Doll looks.”

The source continues, “Themovie features Kalki. Katrinawon’t want a lesser role comparedto her. Zoya has heard her and ismaking changes wherever possi-ble.” Katrina said, “Zoya’s film isa bound script with dialogues.There can be no changes.”

Director Dholakia stated, “Ihave a great respect for thechairperson of the censor board,Sharmilaji. So, I have happilyaccepted the changes recom-mended by it. Changes are alsomade in some of the dialogues.”

Some important deletions aremade, like the word ‘sabse’ isremoved from ‘Duniya ki sabsekhatarnak jagah Kashmir’ andthe word ‘farji’ has been deletedfrom the ‘farji elections’.

The promo of Lamhaa hasalready faced many controver-sies, so it will be interesting seewhat certification the movieearns finally!

Katrina setto anchor anew innings

Shahid Afridi: It was too late to strike


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MONTREAL – Many parents teachtheir children the ABCs at a veryyoung age, but do they teach themthe ABCs of good credit earlyenough in life? In some cases, prob-ably not. At certain points in life,everyone will have to deal withbanks, loans, credit and finances.You may have learned your lessonsthrough the "school of hard knocks,"and with your insight and experi-ence, you may be able to help yourchildren steer clear of some of theheadaches you have encountered.

The three C's of good credit: It isessential to teach your children theimportance of capacity, collateraland character. When issuing a loan,a bank may consider how the appli-cant measures in each category.

C a p a c i t yposes theq u e s t i o n :"What finan-cial resourcesdo you have topay back theloan?" As thecreditor, thebank mostlikely will ask,

"How long have you held your job?How much do you earn? Howmany dependents do you have, anddo you pay child support?"

Collateral concerns what theapplicant will use to secure theloan. For example, a creditor maywant to know if your child owns acar or has any personal savings thatcan be used as a pledge against theloan. When your child pledges anasset as collateral, he or she ispromising to use the asset for repay-ment if, for any reason, he or she isunable to pay the balance of theloan. Personal loans generally do notrequire collateral, but come at ahigher interest rate. Character iswhat a creditor will use to determinethe reliability of a loan applicant.The creditor may consider suchpoints as how long an applicant hasowned a car or home, or whether theapplicant pays his or her rent andother loans or bills on time.

Establishing a good credit record:It is often difficult for a young per-son to establish good credit,because they have no previous track

record of paying bills or makingloan payments. Lacking a credit his-tory makes securing a first loan dif-ficult, and yet, without that first loanyour child can't establish a goodcredit record. As a parent, you canhelp your child take the first steptoward attaining credit by helpingthem open a checking and/or sav-ings account. A creditor will look atsuch accounts as an ability to man-age money.

Another step on the road to good

credit would be for you to co-sign aloan application for your youngadult child. As a co-signer, you areagreeing to pay back the loan in theevent that your child fails to do so.Therefore, communication and trustbetween you and your child is para-mount to ensure payment will bemade by your child.

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MONTREAL – Kabir CulturalCentre in association withMusique Montréal Baroque pres-ents a rare and unique DhrupadConcert in the lovely ambiance ofOld Montreal on a beautiful sum-mer morning.

Umakant Gundecha - Vocal,Ramakant Gundecha - Vocal,Akilesh Gundecha - Pakhawaj

Nirant Gundecha - Tanpura,Shawn Mativetsky - Tanpura

An ancient genre of NorthIndian classical vocal music thatis believed to have originated sev-

eral thousand years ago, Dhrupadis a purely spiritual art form thattransports and uplifts listeners andsingers alike to a higher level ofconsciousness.

The artists, who learnt their artfrom the legendary DagarBrothers, Ustad Zia Fariduddinand Ustad Mohiuddin, are preem-inent performers and teachers ofthis ancient temple music.

Program: Saturday 26 June2010 at 11 AM at Salle de la com-mune, Marché Bonsecours 350rue St-Paul E., Old Montreal.

‘Dhurpad Concert’ in Montreal

SLAMABAD – Nawabzada TalalAkbar Bugti, Chief of JamhooriWatan Party (JWP) and son ofNawab Akbar Bugti filed a petitionin the Supreme Court seekingarrest of the culprits involved in themurder of his father.

Talal Bugti in his plea stated thatdespite the order of BalochistanHigh Court (BHC) and the regis-tration of an FIR, no culprits havebeen arrested so far.

Former President PervezMusharraf, former Prime MinisterShaukat Aziz, Aftab Sherpao,Owais Ghani and Jam Yousuf werenamed in the FIR. Addressing apress conference in Islamabad,Talal demanded that the govern-

ment extradite Musharraf back toPakistan. He alleged that Musharrafwas involved in the murder ofAkbar Bugti, Benazir Bhutto, andthe Red Mosque operation inIslamabad. The former presidentshould be arrested and tried incourt, said the JWP chief.Healleged that secret agencies wereinvolved in target killings in theprovince and that the Baloch werebeing maligned for this.

Talal said the condition of theprovince has not improved evenwith the present PPP governmentand that the kidnapping of locals ison the rise. If the situation contin-ues we will contact Nato and theUN, he added. – DawnNews

Bugti son goes to Supreme Court


OTTAWA – Robert Oliphant,Liberal Member of Parliament forDon Valley West, introduced aPrivate Members’ Bill this morn-ing in the House of Commons.The Bill calls for the establish-ment of a SrebrenicaRemembrance Day to be held onJuly 11 of every year. “This billrecognizes the devastating affectsof the July 1995 SrebrenicaGenocide. It provides an opportu-nity for all Canadians to standwith those in the BosniakCanadian community, to share intheir pain, and honour the memo-ry of those men and boys massa-cred.” Oliphant said.

Mr. Oliphant had previouslyjoined Bloc Quebecois Memberof Parliament Francine Lalonde(La Pointe-de-l'Île) in support of amotion tabled by New DemocratMember of Parliament BrianMasse (Windsor West). Mr.Masse’s motion also calls on thegovernment to support a July 11thRemembrance Day to recognizethe Srebrenica genocide. TheConservative government refusedto give unanimous consent to thismotion, making this Bill evenmore significant.

At a press conference announc-ing the introduction of his Private

Members’ Bill, Rob was joined bymembers of the Canadian Bosniakcommunity led by Dr. Zijad Delic,Executive Director of theCanadian Islamic Congress.

The Srebrenica Massacre is thelargest mass murder in Europesince World War II and the largestmassacre carried out by Serbforces during the Bosnian War.Both the Appeals Chamber of theInternational Criminal Tribunalfor the former Yugoslavia and theInternational Court of Justiceruled that the Srebrenica Massacrewas genocide. Resolutions con-demning the massacre werepassed by the EuropeanParliament, and the House ofRepresentatives and Senate of theUnited States of America. Thispast March, the President ofSerbia issued a full state apologyand endorsed the ruling of the

International Court of Justice.“Canada has been silent on this

issue for too long”, Oliphant said.“Stephen Harper must stop play-ing political games and demon-strate to the InternationalCommunity that we will not standfor genocide, that we supportthose most affected and share intheir collective loss.”

The Prime Minister balked atsupporting a motion calling forthe creation of the RemembranceDay abandoning decades ofCanadian solidarity with victimsof genocide. “As we approach the15th anniversary of this massacre,I hope that this bill serves as a stepin the right direction which willultimately provide some sem-blance of comfort to the survivorsof this genocide, many of whomnow live here in Canada.”Oliphant concluded.

TORONTO – Ontario's tax planwill create more jobs for Ontariofamilies and make the provinceone of the most tax-competitivejurisdictions in the industrializedworld for new business invest-ment. This message of DaltonMcGuinty government was deliv-ered today at the OntarioInvestment and Trade Centre(OITC). Twenty five hundred

Ontario tax plan creates job

people work inthis building.Ontario's taxplan will helpcreate almost600,000 newjobs in the nextdecade, accord-ing to tax

expert and economist Jack Mintz.That's enough jobs to fill over200 more office towers like theOITC. As a result of the HST andbusiness tax cuts, the tax rate onbusiness investments in Ontariowill be cut in half, makingOntario one of the most competi-tive jurisdictions in the world.This tax package is a key compo-nent of the five-year OpenOntario plan to strengthen theeconomy and create more jobs forOntario families.

"This is all about giving ourbusinesses more incentives to

invest and more opportunities togrow - because at the end of theday that means more new jobsbeing created in communitiesacross Ontario," said the Ministerof Revenue John Wilkinson.

Minister of Finance DwightDuncan remarked: “We are mak-ing Ontario's businesses morecompetitive in the global econo-my. Our tax reform will help fam-ilies and businesses prosper anddrive economic growth.”

Quick facts – TELUS and other companieshave said that Ontario's taxchanges could allow for greaterinvestments in research, anddevelopment, and more skillstraining for workers. – As a result of Ontario's tax plan93 per cent of income tax payersgot an income tax cut on January1, 2010– The Ontario Sales TaxTransition Benefit payments willprovide up to $1,000 to most fam-ilies (including single parents), orup to $300 for most single people.– The new permanent OntarioSales Tax Credit will providelow- to middle-income people upto $260 per person a year.

Learn more about the HST andOntario's Tax Plan for Jobs andGrowth at:

www.ontario.ca/taxchange

Dalton McGuinty

Oliphant’s billfor Srebrenica Remembrance Day


By Shabbir H. Lone

MONTREAL – Police Station 33moved to a more convenient andaccessible location for Park-Extension residence and a ribboncutting ceremony held at 570,Avenue Beaumont Montréal(Québec), H3N 1T7. “We willcontinue to build our relationships

with our citizens and communitygroups, and we will reinforce ourfoot patrol to increase our citizen'ssense of safety in the coming daysand weeks. We have zero tolerancefor any criminal activities in ourneighbourhood,” "saidCommander André-Guy Lamothe.The SPVM always relies and rec-ognizes the contributions from the

citizens of Montréal and encour-ages anyone with informationrelated to these events or any othercriminal activity to come forwardin complete anonymity by callinginfo-crime at 514 393-1133.Dominique Lauzon and NancySirois were acknowledged as thesocio-community agents in theParc-Extension area.

Police Station 33 moved to a new location

From L to R: Marisa Celli, Gerry Sklavounos, MNA Laurier-Dorion, Commander Andre-Guy Lamothe , Marc Parent,Assistant Director for Montreal North SPVM, police station police officers and other guests during the ceremony

OTTAWA - After extensive dis-cussions with all the other partiesand stakeholders to make theHarper government's proposedrefugee reform legislation moreefficient, balanced and fair,Liberals welcomed key changesat the Citizenship andImmigration committee.

"Over a number of months,Liberals have worked with allparties to reach a balanced com-promise on refugee reform andimprove the Conservativerefugee bill," said Liberal LeaderMichael Ignatieff. "By negotiat-ing in good faith with all partiesto improve this bill, MaurizioBevilacqua did an excellent jobleading our effort to improve thisflawed legislation."

"The vast majority ofCanadians have expressed adesire for reform to the refugeesystem, which would allow allclaims to be dealt with faster sogenuine refugees can be settledmore quickly and the onesjudged to be false can be senthome sooner," said LiberalCitizenship and ImmigrationCritic Maurizio Bevilacqua."However, Canadians have alsobeen clear that they want areformed system to err on theside of fairness when dealingwith people's lives."

The key changes include:With the support of both other

opposition parties, a Liberalamendment restoring the abilityof refugee claimants to accesshumanitarian and compassionateapplications, so nobody fallsthrough the cracks.

With the negotiated agreementof all parties, strict limits to theMinister's discretion to designatecountries with good humanrights records for an expeditedprocess. These changes willensure such a designation willonly be considered in very limit-ed circumstances and made only

MONTREAL – Saint-LaurentBorough Council handed outinsignias for the 2010 Ordre desGrands Laurentiens at a ceremonyheld at Borough Hall recently.

The honor, created to markSaint-Laurent's centennial in 1993,has since been awarded annually tocitizens, municipal employees,community organizations and fam-ilies who have made an outstand-ing contribution to the well-beingof their fellow citizens and to thedevelopment of the Saint-Laurentcommunity. This year's recipientsare : Mr. Anthony Calvillo, quarterback with the Montreal Alouettes,and his wife Alexia Calvillo, whoare residents of Saint-Laurent, forraising funds to renovate the fami-ly room at the Cedars CancerInstitute (Centre universitaire de

Liberals’ efforts forchanges in refugee bill

if recommended by an advisorypanel including independenthuman rights experts.

With the negotiated agreementof all parties, access to the newRefugee Appeal Division for allclaimants, confirming that everycase will be treated as unique.This would not have beenachieved if the Liberals had not

taken a firm stand during negoti-ations.

With the negotiated agreementof all parties, new reasonabletimelines for interviews andhearings, to ensure this bill doesnot actually worsen the backlogand jeopardize procedural fair-ness with an unrealistic process.

"We are pleased that afterextensive negotiations, theConservatives were willing tocompromise on some key issuesand that the other opposition par-ties were willing to work togeth-er on aspects of the bill that theConservatives were not willingto change, like humanitarian andcompassionate applications. Theend result is a drasticallyimproved bill," said Mr.Bevilacqua.

"We've come a long way forCanadians and we're proud ofwhat we have achieved forthem," concluded Mr.Bevilacqua.

Michael Ignatieff

santé McGill). Edvige Persechino,president of Club d'athlétismeSaint-Laurent Sélect, for 20 yearsof volunteer work with this organi-zation. Association des Aînés duVillage Montpellier, a non profitorganization for retirees which cel-

ebrates its 25th anniversary thisyear. The team responsible for theProgramme d'intégration desenfants handicapés aux camps dejour, a group of employee incharge of this program that aimsuniversal access.

Mayor of Saint-Laurent Alan DeSousa presenting awards to AlexiaCalvillo and Anthony Calvillo.

Residentshonored

By Shabbir H Lone

MONTREAL – A colorfulwomen only Punjabi Mela washeld in Park-Extension Montrealat 419 Saint-Roch. The Mela,first of its kind, was organized byLaval Punjabi WomenAssociation. Hundreds of Womengathered to watch traditionalPunjabi dance called Gidha,

music, Jago etc. Tanya Gill cameall the way from India to per-form; local artist Mena Vermaalso entertained the women withher powerful and melodiousvoice. Young Punjabi girls pre-sented an item "Desi Girls,which was well appreciated bythe audience.

“This successful event is all duethe joint efforts of 22 Laval

women, and I must say that cred-it all goes to them,” said UshaShedev, president Laval PunjabiWomen Association.

In the end Tasha Verma andRachna Mehra thanked all thesponsors, ATN, who telecast thisevent, and the entire media fortheir support. The organizers alsothanked them women audiencewho attended the event.

A ‘women only’ Punjabi Mela in Montreal

A view of Punjabi Mela held in Montreal recently

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A Care Giver Required

By Hassan Sangrami

TORONTO – Friends ofNajmul Hassan, a veteran jour-nalist and former news producerof Pakistan Television, gatheredin Mississauga on a rainy day tocelebrate his 70th birthday withsongs and dances.

Journalists, poets, writers,newscaster, lawyers, politiciansand community leaders spoke onthe occasion to highlightNajam’s qualities both as a pro-fessional journalist and a gentle-men. Among the speakers weresome old friends who workedwith Najam in Karachi. All fam-

ily friends, especially Yasmeen(Minno), worked hard to make ita memorable party.

Najam, a son of a college pro-fessor, acquired his mastersdegree in journalism fromKarachi University in late 1960sand joined PPI (News Agency).Najam got numerous awards forbreaking news. He was richlyrewarded when he broke thenews of the marriage of SarwatIkramullah, a Pakistani girl, withthen Jordan’s Crown PrinceHassan bin Talal. Later Najamjoined PTV. Recently he sufferedhead injuries in a road accidentin Etobicoke.

Najam’s friends speaking at his birthday party. – (Photos by Hassan Sangrami)

Celebarting Najam’s birthday in style

Abid Latif singing at Najam’s birthday party in Mississauga


The House of CommonsThe Canadian Experience....4

By Norman Hillmer

On December 11, 1979, JohnCrosbie entered the House ofCommons in grey and black seal-skin boots from his nativeNewfoundland, following the tra-dition that Ministers of Financewear new shoes when they presentthe government's economic fore-cast. It was Crosbie's first budgetspeech, and it was to be his last.

Crosbie's budget promised high-er energy prices and increasedtaxes. These were tough measures,and likely to be unpopular in manyquarters, but Crosbie and PrimeMinister Joe Clark were confident.Their Conservative party had wonthe federal election only monthsbefore, unseating the Liberals ofPierre Trudeau, and Trudeau whohad announced that he would soonleave the party leadership wasclearly uninterested in leading theparliamentary opposition. TheNew Democrats and the QuebecCréditistes were also badlybruised. Both had lost a substantialnumber of their House ofCommons seats on election night.

The media and business reviewsof the Crosbie budget were gener-ally positive. It was Christmastime on Parliament Hill, with theholidays coming. Surely afavourable Commons vote on thebudget was only a formality.

Yet Clark had fewer than half ofthe 282 seats in the Commons. Topass the budget, he needed helpfrom one of the other parties. TheNew Democrats, angered by anincrease of four cents a litre in the

excise tax on gasoline, moved amotion of no confidence in thegovernment. The Liberals sup-ported the New Democrats, whilethe Créditistes abstained.

And that was it - enough to bringdown the government. Clark lost themotion by six votes. Defeated in theHouse of Commons on an essentialpart of his political program, Clarkimmediately requested that theGovernor General dissolveParliament and call an election. Thiswas done, and in February 1980 thevoters threw Clark out of office. Aresurrected Pierre Trudeau returnedas Prime Minister of Canada.

The Conservatives had ignoredthe most fundamental principle ofCanadian parliamentary democracy.A prime minister cannot continue inoffice without the support of amajority of the members of theHouse of Commons. Clark's partydid not have sufficient backing togovern on its own. The House ofCommons is made up of Membersof Parliament, or MPs, electedacross the provinces and territoriesof Canada roughly on the basis ofrepresentation by population. Theprime minister and almost all thecabinet come from the Commons;the executive that administers thenation's business is not a separatebranch of government, as is the casein the United States.

The Commons operates as anational forum for the clash ofpolitical ideas and priorities.Government members sit on oneside of the Commons chamber, atthe right hand of the Speaker, theCommons umpire. The opposi-

tion sits opposite, only a fewmetres away. The competition isintense, giving rise to the worst inpartisan misbehaviour, but alsoencouraging legitimate debateand scrutiny of the government.

Question Period, held everyweekday when the House is insession and widely broadcast ontelevision, allows the oppositionto demand that the governmentrespond to difficult questions. It ismessy, chaotic, often nasty, andanswers frequently do not come,

but Question Period demands thatthe prime minister and his partyjustify their actions and policies.In the British House ofCommons, the model forCanada's Commons, prime minis-ters are given the questions inadvance, and they attendQuestion Period only once aweek. Not so in Canada, wherethe prime minister and cabinetmembers appear regularly andhave no knowledge of the ques-tions beforehand.

No law can be made and notax imposed without theapproval of the House ofCommons, Canada's chief leg-islative body. However, mem-bers of parliament are expectedto vote with their leaders in theHouse of Commons, and MPswho do not are subject to strictparty discipline.

Individual MPs can make theirvoices heard through committeework and in political party set-tings, but it is difficult to standapart from the crowd or becomeknown to the public. When theystepped a short distance fromParliament, the sharp-tonguedPierre Trudeau said early on inhis first term as prime minister,members of the House were of noconsequence.

Long-serving prime ministersfrom Trudeau on have dominatedthe levers of power, so much sothat political commentators fre-quently compare them toAmerican presidents. Yet, unlikepresidents, prime ministers con-trol their legislatures and canname senators and SupremeCourt judges. The tight grip ofprime ministers on government issometimes described as an elect-ed dictatorship.

The House of Commons,though, is at its best the people'slegislature, reflecting, represent-ing, and expressing popularneeds and opinions. And some-times it can be more than that,particularly when no single partyis fully in command. Just ask JoeClark and John Crosbie.

(Norman Hillmer is Professorof History and InternationalAffairs at Carleton University).Next Instalment: The Senate.

Canadian Asian News Opinion June 15-July 2, 2010

EditorLatafat Ali Siddiqui

Associate EditorZubair Masood

Sr. PhotographerHassan Bozai

Photo journalist (Karachi)Syed Muhammad Naqi Rizvi

Art DirectorSaeed K. Ahmed

Marketing managerSohail Siddiqui

Contributors: Dr Satyapal Anand (Washington),Nasreen Ilyas, Islamabad, Babra Feroz, Toronto.

Toronto office

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Reflections from Montreal ..........

With a tongue in my cheekBY PROF SATYAPAL ANAND

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Toronto & MontrealFrom Two Cities

I wrote in the first installment of thisliterary travelogue that Hamburg wasmy first stop in Germany and mysecond home after London. Well,before I write about my journey byroad to Frankfurt and then toHeidelberg, I must say somethingmundane about Hamburg itself.Well, here it goes.

Hamburg is a major transportationhub in Northern Germany. It hasbecome a media and industrial cen-ter, with factories dotting its earthand sky lines. There are more than120,000 enterprises. The city is amajor tourist destination both fordomestic and overseas visitors.Pakistani immigrants outnumbertheir Indian counterpart mainlybecause many of them came over aspolitical refugees over the past threedecades. These include ShiaMuslims and members of theAhmdia community.

The next morning we drove a dis-tance of 200 plus-miles to Frankfurtfor an overnight stay and then, in themorning, resumed our journey toHeidelberg. The view from the roadwas stupendous. Clean, pure oxy-genated air regaled our lungs. Thesky-line was dotted with wind millsgenerating electricity, something Ihad never seen in India, Pakistan,U.K., or in my present adoptivecountries, Canada and USA.

Outside the car was this soulenriching scenery but inside the lux-ury vehicle was no less rich tidbitsof small talk that gave the muchneeded mental exercise to the threeinmates of this moving mechanicalcontraption. Urdu literature, Urdupoetry, to be more precise, was thebe-all and end-all of our conversa-tion. For the intellectual curiosity ofmy two lady listeners, I talked aboutUrdu poets, my friends and those notso friendly with me, the dear-depart-ed ones and those who still lived. Forthem, it was a novel experiencebecause they had probably never meta ‘man like me, ‘a man with a past’as rich and varied as mine andrubbed their shoulders with him liter-

A home away from home....2ally and metaphorically. Heidelbergis a picturesque town. Studded like aphotograph in an album, it has keptits age-old charm that has enamoredvisitors and tourists to this fabledtown for more than three centuries.The university keeps its wrinkled oldage face in tact – and that indeed is itsreal beauty – but also has some new-fangled courts of learning.. Thedepartment of South Asian Studies istucked away in a new building andone has to wind one’s way up to thethird storey to reach it.

But before I talk about the functionin which I was billed as the guest ofhonor, I must say something aboutthe river Neckar. Allama Iqbal hasused a few laudatory words about thisidyllic river. I had thought of sittingby its bank on one of the rough hewnrocks in the fond hope that Iqbalmight have sat there also, but it wasrather cold and windy and my arthri-tis-stricken knees were stiff with sit-ting in plane after plane and car aftercar for days on end.

The function was not much of asuccess as for the simple reason thatthe local Urdu politics spoiled anygains that my visit would have pro-vided to the audience. There was mylecture, of course, and there were asmany as four other ‘special guests’including the gentleman who holdsthe coveted position of the Professorof Iqbal Chair funded by the govern-ment of Pakistan. Lukewarm andlackluster was the atmosphere as thebickering local Urdu politics showedits ugly signs. I was indeed sadly dis-appointed because where ever UrduDiaspora is settled in a large number,

there is the inevitable presence ofbickering among its members – somuch so that some of them try to uti-lize the visit of a luminary to furthertheir own name and cause – whatev-er the cause might be. Well, I refusedto be drawn into it, in spite of provo-cations provided to me – and that wasthat! I was stuck by the presence ofMiss Iram Batool and her brotherShahzad Arman who proved to be theonly saving grace of the function.They saved the day for me as also forthe duo of visiting ladies, SadafMirza and Tahira Rubbab. Iram,pretty as a fabled fairy, is a chargeddynamo of energy, ever ready to fillin any space with her grace, charmand vocal intelligence. So is herbrother Shahzad.

Another saving grace was thepresence of two visiting youngmedia persons from Pakistan. BaqarRazvi and Ja’afar. Nicknamed bySadaf as Guddu and Babbu, they arefrom the TV Channel AAJ and hadcome to Germany to cover not onlymy speech but also to interview mefor their channel. I was stuck bytheir love for Urdu. Both said thatthey had read my short stories whilethey were still in school. I enjoyedtalking to them.

We returned by road to Hamburgthe same night as there seemed to beno fun in staying at the horse stable ofa house we had found refuge the pre-vious night. The night journey has itsrewards, but let me talk about theserewards in the next installment of thiscolumn. – (To be continued)(Satyapal Anand can be reached [email protected])

Montreal office

Shabbir H. Lone25 Glengarry Ave # 416Mont-Royal QC H3R 3L2Phone-:[email protected]


MEN on the street in Pakistan laugh when the Supreme Court judgestalk about democracy while making remarks during the day-to-daycourt proceedings in Islamabad. It is very much fresh in the memoryof politically conscious people of Pakistan that the superior courtsalways declared ‘legal and legitimate’ all military takeovers in thecountry and decisions of the de facto army rulers – from Field MarshalAyub Khan to Gen Pervez Musharraf.

The much talked about Chief Justice of the Supreme Court IftikharMohammad Chaudhry, who once took oath himself under a militaryruler’s illegal PCO (Provisional Constitutional Order), opposes pres-ence of any other PCO judge in the judiciary. He did very little ornothing for the missing persons or those who are in ISI custody, for heknows that he was re-instated as Chief Justice by Chief of Army StaffGen. Ashfaq Kayani and not by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Anddespite public demand, the Chief Justice has also not taken up retiredAir Marshal Asghar Khan’s petition concerning ISI’s distribution ofhuge money among political leaders to establish a right-wing politicalalliance called IJI. On the other hand, he was quick enough to pro-nounce favorable verdicts in cases of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. Healso ensured that his friend justice Ramday is not retired. More over,all SC judges look like leaders of opposition in the National Assembly(parliament). In recent months, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry hasissued more political statements than Imran Khan of Tehrik-e-Insaafparty. Under judicial norms, judges hear arguments patiently, but thecurrent SC judges speak more loudly than taking notes quietly.Political observers in the country feel that almost all Supreme Courtjudges are involved in ‘activism’ fearing that democracy might bedetailed as Chief Justice looks set to settle his score with high ups inthe government. However, lately Chief Justice has perhaps realizedabout the logical outcome of the judges’ activism. And for this reasonhe warned that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the 18th Amendmentshould be flawless and it should bar adventurers from fiddling withthe Constitution. “In view of the history of our country, we shouldgive such a judgment that no-one could raise a finger to, or find it pos-sible to overrule to validate extra-constitutional steps or suspend fun-damental rights,” he observed. The CJ reminded the 17-judge fullcourt hearing challenges to the 18th Amendment that it was “thelargest possible” bench of the Supreme Court.

One has to wait and see the SC verdict which is generallyannounced in the darkness of the night. This verdict apart, judgesof the higher court will have to show their neutrality in the largerinterest of the country.

Pro-military judiciary vs democarcy

By Jalaluddin S. Hussain

MONTREAL – Citizenship andImmigration Canada, celebratedthe Asian Heritage Month, byorganizing a cultural evening onMay 20, 2010 at Le Conseil desarts de Montreal, Edifice Gaston-Miron, L'Atrium, in downtownMontreal. The objective of theevent was to bring people from allethnic backgrounds together andenjoy cultural exchange and musi-cal evening. It is significant to notethat more than 140 ethnic and cul-tural organizations were invited.Many of the organizations whowere invited, sent their representa-tives, to participate in the event.

Some of the prominent organi-zations represented, were:– Bharat Bhavan Foundation;–International Society ofBangladesh;– Sikh Community Centre–South Asian Women CommunityCentre;–Intercultural Institute ofMontreal– Russian Centre of Communities.

Geeta Nadkarni and NancyCaron conducted this two-hourprogram in a smooth and profes-sional manner.

*On June 14, 2010, South AsianWomen's Community Centre(SAWCC) launched its ambitiousproject by the name of, "ProjectEco-sante tous ensemble". ThisProject has been explained, on-line, in following words: " Our

health is linked to the quality ofour environment, for examplehow clean the air, water and sur-roundings, are. Our environmentincludes our homes, workplacesand communities, as much as theclimate, forests and oceans...."

In order to fully benefit fromthis Project, readers of the"Canadian Asian News" can go tothe South Asian Women'sCommunity Centre's websiteitself and click on "Projects".Some of the booklets distributedduring the launching session ofEco-sante' were: BreathingHealth, Heart Health and MentalHealth. The videos screened dur-ing the launching, covered theseaforementioned subjects. Thevideos have been separately pre-pared in 10 different languages,including, Urdu, Hindi, Bengaliand Tamil. I must mention that Igot a lot of information about theEco-sante' and other similar com-munity-oriented projects, on thisoccasion, conducted by SAWCC,specifically for the benefit of theneedy and new immigrant womencommunities of Montreal. TheSAWCC website can be visited bygoing to: www.sawcc.-ccfsa.ca/EN.

* While we Canadians are right-ly proud of the fact that we aretruly a multicultural nation. Whilewe come from diverse culturalbackgrounds and nations wesometimes do not seem to makeadjustments in our cultural norms

and values, in spite of living milesapart from our respective coun-tries of origin. The case in point isthe family in Montreal, whichrecently took exception to theabnormal social behaviour of onetheir teenage members of the fam-ily. The mother is alleged to havetried to kill her own teenageddaughter because she returnedhome late in the night.

The local media, and some sen-sation-mongers, ever ready to findfault with the member of any visi-ble minority whatsoever, termedthe whole incident as a clear caseof "honour killing". It is, howev-er, crucial that in such cases we donot jump to conclusions. Instead,we should treat such incidents asisolated and unfortunate ones andnot worthy of racial profiling andstereotyping.

*Gilles Duceppe is a respectableQuebec politician, who is not onlyhead of the Bloc Quebecois but isalso one of the importantOpposition leaders, in theCanadian House of Commons.According to news reports he haswritten letters to 1,600 decision-makers and elected officials, inthe United States, Central andSouth America, Europe and Asia,warning them to prepare them-selves for another referendum onQuebec sovereignty, that willfinally allow the province ofQuebec to become a sovereigncountry.



By Latafat Ali Siddiqui

TORONTO – The two-day G8Summit beginning in Canadaon June 25 will considerOttawa’s plan to bring aboutprosperity in border areas ofPakistan and Afghanistan toend terrorism in the region,official sources told CanadianAsian News. During the delib-erations, the G8 membercountries are likely to ask theWorld Bank and the IMF toprovide loans to Pakistan toimplement the plan which isknown as ‘Canadian prosperi-ty initiative’.

Pakistan welcomes Canadianfresh initiatives for peace butsays that the proposed develop-ment projects, including settingup of industries, should befunded by G8 member coun-tries. “Beyond doubt, Ottawa’sdevelopment plan would bevery useful. But it should befunded by the G8 member

G8 to discussprosperity plan for Pak-Afghan

border areas

(Continued from Page 24)While, as an elected politicalleader, Gilles Duceppe has everyright to express his opinion like anyCanadian, he need not involve out-side individuals and leaders, in thisimportant internal political discus-sion. The next general elections areapproaching fast and so he is mostwelcome to fight this election on aseparatist platform, if he wants to.He can prepare grounds for an inde-pendent and sovereign Quebec,only after he has won election onthe basis of his favourite separatistideology.

*In the month of July we will beremembering an important event inthe Quebec and Canadian histories- The Oka Crisis. During the sum-mer of 1990, a 77-day armed stand-off occurred in the MohawkTerritories of Kahnawake and

Kanehsatake/Oka, near Montreal,Quebec. Hard to believe, but a rel-atively small number of Mohawkwarriors confronted over 2,000Quebec police and 4, 500Canadian soldiers (much highernumbers than the Canadiantroops fighting in Kandahar,Afghanistan, as part of the NATOCoalition!). Unfortunate armedstruggle ensued between the Okawarriors and the Quebec/Canadaestablishment.

While on September 26, 1990,the last hold-outs at Kanesatakeburned their weapons and walkedout, the expansion of the GolfCourse in the Mohawk territorieswas halted, for good. Long liveMohawk FirstNation/Quebec/Canada solidarity.(Jalal Hussain can be reached [email protected])

Reflections from Montreal ..........

By Ali Younes

WASHINGTON – Truth must betold: Helen Thomas, the 89-year-olddean of White House correspon-dents is more courageous than thepresident of the United States, andmost members of Congress, when itcomes to speaking the truth aboutIsraeli treatment of the Palestiniansand about the extremist Israeli poli-cies in the Middle East.

Thomas, who has been coveringthe White House since the time ofPresident Dwight Eisenhower and inoffice for over 50 years, was forcedto resign from her job as a columnistof Hearst Corporation when she was

accused of “anti-Semitism” forallegedly making “anti-Israel com-ments”.

During a “Jewish Heritage cele-bration” at the White House on May27, Helen Thomas, was approachedby an anti-Palestinian rabbi andblogger who asked her what shethought of Israel, a question sheresponded to by saying: “Theyshould get the hell out of Palestine.”

The blogger-rabbi then usedclever verbal gymnastics to extract“incriminating evidence” and hadher say: “Remember, these peopleare occupied. And it’s their land.Not Germany. Not Poland.” Hethen asked her where should those

Helen Thomas: A victim of media bias?

Helen Thomas ... quits in a huff

(Continued from Page 1) On April 29, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh met hisPakistani counterpart Yousuf RazaGilani in Thimphu, Bhutan on themargins of the SAARC Summitfor bilateral talks for the first timein nine months.Dr Singh made it clear to MrGilani at that meeting that Indiawas willing to discuss all mattersof mutual concern but said theissue of terrorism was holdingback progress in the relationshipbetween the two countries.

Agreeing that there was a "trustdeficit" between the two sides, thetwo Prime Ministers had decidedthat their Foreign Ministers andForeign Secretaries would meetsoon to work out the modalities ofcreating trust and confidence in therelationship to pave the way for asubstantive dialogue in which allmatters of concern to both sideswould be discussed.

Ms Rao's meeting with MrBashir and Mr Krishna's talks withMr Qureshi next month are a fol-low-up of that decision by the twoPrime Ministers.

A PTI report said Rao is expect-ed to voice India's continuing con-cerns over terrorism directed byelements across the border andpress Islamabad for concreteaction against anti-India groups.

With Afghanistan emerging as apotential theatre of rivalry, Indiahas signalled that it was ready todiscuss the larger Afghan situationwith Islamabad during the foreign-secretary level talks. “If they want

to raise it, we will not shy awayfrom discussing it,” said thesources. In the 1980s, the two sidesdiscussed Afghanistan regularly.However, with the changinggeopolitical situation in the region,specially after the ouster of theTaliban regime in 2001, Pakistanhas repeatedly questioned India'sgrowing profile in Afghanistan andlaunched a diplomatic campaignaimed at reducing New Delhi'sinfluence in that country.

“It's for Pakistan to understandIndia's role in reconstruction ofAfghanistan," said the sources.

Outlining India's position, Raostressed at a recent seminar thatIndia neither saw Afghanistan as abattleground for competing nation-al interests nor assistance toAfghan reconstruction and devel-opment as a zero sum game.

With Pakistan in mind, Raoalluded to $1.3 billion India's assis-tance for building infrastructure

and capacity building and made itclear that "these are by no defini-tion, activities that are inimical tothe interest of the people ofAfghanistan or its neighbours".

Pakistan on the other hand saysthat it has been a victim of terror-ism itself and suffered heavy loss-es. Pakistan has lost more troopsthan any other country while fight-ing terrorism in and on Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Another report from New Delhisaid India has raised with Chinathe issue of its supply of two morenuclear reactors to Pakistan as partof its pre-2004 deal for civilnuclear cooperation withIslamabad.

Besides China, India was also"in touch" with a number of itspartner countries from NSGthrough dialogues and discussionsto seek more information on thecooperation between China andPakistan, official sources said in

New Delhi on Sunday. However,the sources maintained that anofficial "demarche" has not beendone with China.

"The Chinese side is aware of ourinterests and concerns...If you askwhether an official demarche hasbeen issued, no. There are otheropportunities and occasions toraise such issues and we have donethat," a top source said.

"They (Chinese) have told us thatit is for peaceful purposes," thesource said.

The sources also maintained thatthe issue, which was of "interestand concern" of India was very"much on radar" of governmentand it was in touch with othercountries on the matter.

However, they said, India couldonly articulate its concerns andultimately it was only up to NSG totake a call whether they were newadditions or were "grandfathered"by the earlier deal.

Israelis go, Thomas answered:“Go home.” “Where’s home?” therabbi asked. “Poland. Germany.”She responded. HelenThomasanswered the questionsright, but the so-called mainstreammedia and Israel supporters in theUnited States shamelesslypounced on this 89-year-old ladywho will be 90 in August andaccused her of indulging in “anti-Semitism” when in fact she wasnot. Helen Thomas did not say ormean that Jews should leave WestJerusalem, Haifa, Yafa, Tel Avivand Nazareth and go back toGermany or Poland, as the mediamade it out to be. The context ofher words was, in fact, a referenceto the occupation of the West Bankand East Jerusalem by Israel since1967.Helen Thomas' statementdoes not differ much from the offi-cial US policy that considers the

Israeli occupation of the WestBank and East Jerusalem illegal.

A year ago, President Obamawent to Cairo and delivered a his-toric speech promising “a newbeginning” between America andthe Arab and Islamic world.

The Thomas affair proves thatthe new beginning that Obamapromised the Arab world is almostimpossible to start when the USforeign policy in the Middle Eastplaces Israel over and above everyother consideration.

Any criticism of Israel, as thisunfortunate event shows, is metwith a vicious pro-Israeli “lynchmob” which is armed withprepackaged and ready-to-useindictments of “anti-Semitism".

For most people in the Arabworld, the perception of the US isthat it is a country that subsidizesthe Israeli occupation of Palestinianlands and supports Israel no matterwhat Israel does. This perceptiongained credence recently whenPresident Obama and his adminis-tration refrained from condemningIsrael over its killing of anAmerican citizen and nine otherTurkish citizens on “FreedomFlotilla" that aimed to break theIsraeli blockade of Gaza.

Helen Thomas' forced resignationwill further cow the mainstreammedia into not criticizing or ques-tioning Israeli policies in theMiddle East. It will also serve as achilling reminder that the US mediais not really free. – Arab News.

(Ali Younes is a writer andMiddle East analyst based inWashington D.C. He can bereached [email protected])

c o u n t r i e sthemselvesas Islamabadcannot affordto acquiremore loansfrom WorldBank or theIMF,” saidT o r o n t o -b a s e dPakistani Consul GeneralSahebzada A Khan. In an inter-view with Voice of AmericaKhan said Pakistan is alreadysuffering heavy losses onaccount of the on-going waragainst terror.

The consul general saidPakistan is hoping that G8countries would provide fundswhile approving the Canadianplan during this week’s summit.

The Group of Eight (G-8)comprises Canada, France,Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia,the United Kingdom and theUnited States. Canada is alsohosting the 2010 G20 Summithere at the Metro TorontoConvention Centre June 26-27.

Meanwhile, an officialannouncement in Ottawa saidthat the Chinese President HuJintao and Indian PrimeMinister Dr Manmohan Singhwill also be on an official visitbefore and after the G8 and G20summits. Both leaders will holdmeetings with Canadian PrimeMinister Stephen Harper anddiscuss matters of mutual inter-est. Jintao’s three-day state visitwill begin on June 23 whileManmohan Singh will be on anofficial visit on June 27, imme-diately after the G-20 Summit.

Harper said in a press state-ment that he would discuss withSingh regional and globalissues of shared interest.“Canada and India are develop-ing the tremendous potential ofour relationship by rapidlyexpanding commercial, culturaland educational ties,” he said “Ilook forward to working withPrime Minister Singh to furthercapitalize on our sharedstrengths.”

Resuming talks in Islamabad

File photo of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in New Delhi

Sahebzada Khan


Renowned Urdu Scholar

Urdu International Canada

On Friday the 25th June at 8.00 p.m. at Days Hotel & Conference Centre,

1677 Wilson Avenue, Toronto, M3L 1A5

Allama Iqbal, his Poetry & Visionto speak on

PROF GOPI CHAND NARANG

ProgramDinner 8.00 pmLecture 9.00pm

Allama Iqbal

Gopi Chand Narang

invites

Registeration : $30 per personFor reservation:

Please call Ashfaq Hussain 647 588 3499 or 905 915 3499

[email protected]


Visit our websiteFor news, views and analysis

Read Canadian Asian News\visit our website:www.canadianasiannews.com

Urgently required Food BakerVillage Bakers in Mississauga needs a full time speciality food baker.Candidate should be able to make Indo/Pak style sweets (mithai) andconfectionary items. Position: Permanent. Salary: $15 p/h for 40 hoursper week. Please contact: 647 299 6127

By Hassan Sangrami

TORONTO – Dr Gopi ChandNarang, the most renowned Urduwriter and orator, who is current-ly on a visit to Canada, presidedover a literary event whereShakila Rafiq’s eighth book wasformally launched. The book

entitled – Way Soortain Elahi, isa collection of 17 short stories.Of these five are unpublished sto-ries. The book launching ceremo-ny was arranged by Family ofHeart at Tandoori Culture restau-rant in Pickering. Mrs AbidaKaramat, Dr Khalid Sohail,Nuzhat Siddiqui and Shahid

Akhtar were among the speakers.They all were full of praise forthe author.

Shakila Rafiq, a prominentCanada-based Urdu fictionwriter, is known for writing shortstories. Dr Narang in his conclud-ing remarks greatly appreciatedShakila’s writing work.

Dr Narang praises Shakila Rafiq’s workDr Khalid Sohail, Dr Gopi Chand Narang and Shakila Rafiq speaking at the book launching ceremony. – Photo by Hassan Sangrami

TORONTO – A literary eveningwith famous Urdu poet andscholar Iqbal Haider is beingarranged on June 26 at 6.30 p.m.at Mississauga’s Living ArtsCentre. The event is being heldunder the auspices of Bazm-e-Ahbab and weekly Akhbaar-e-Pakistan.

In the first session, writers,poets and intellectuals will high-light Iqbal Haider’s life, achieve-ments and his literary work.

Urdu language’s promotion andits problems in North Americawill be discussed in the second

Literary eveningwith Iqbal Haiderin Mississauga

session followed by poem recita-tion session, For more info, plcontact Nazimuddin Nazim Tel416-704-72-92, 905-502-7292.

Iqbal Haider

TORONTO – Glowing tributeswere paid to Shabnam Romani byprominent literay presonalties at awell-organized and well-attendedevent. The literay event wasorganized here to remember thefamous Urdu poet Romani andlaunching of re-edition of hisbook “Masnavi Sair-e-Karachi.”It was held at Days Hotel andconference Centre in Toronto.

Presided by the senior novelistIkram Barelvi, the function wasattended, among others, by DrSatyapal Anand from Virginiaand Urdu poet Iqbal Haider fromDallas. Local writers and poetsincluding Ashfaq Hussain alsoattended the event.

Toronto's famous Ghazalsinger Zaheeruddin will singGhazals of Shabnam Romaniand other poets.

By a Staff Writer

TORONTO – Renowned UrduScholar and orator Prof GopiChand Narang will speak onAllama Iqbal, his poetry andvision here on Friday, June

Gopi Chand’slecture onAllama Iqbalon June 25

25,2010 at 8.00p.m. at Days Hotel& ConferenceCentre, Toronto,Ashfaq Hussain ofUrdu InternationalCanada annoucedhere on Sunday.Professor Narang is currently on avisit to Canada.Program: Dinner 8.00pmLecture 9.00pmRegisteration : 30 Dollar ppFor reservation, please callAshfaq Hussain Tel 647 5883499 or 905 915 3499.

Prof Narang

Glowing tributesfor Romani

Syed Saghier Jaffery, 1st right and his wife Sabiha Sabah, recentlyorganized an All Emirates Urdu Manzil Mushaiara which waspresided over by renowned Urdu poet Sarshar Siddiqui.


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Humsafar Shaadi Bureau

Zindagi ke suffer main har insanko ek humsafr kee zaroout hotihai. Keya aap bhee kisi shareke sufferkee talash main hai?

Call todayTabassum Mallick Tel. 905 793 6711Cell: 416 985 8248 email: [email protected]

Humsafar Sha’adi Bureau

We will soon arrange a match-making meeting. Date and venuewill be announced shortly.

Urgently required sweets makerVillage Bakers in Mississauga needs a full time speciality food

baker. Candidate should be able to make Indo/Pak style sweets(mithai) and confectionary items. Position: Permanent. Salary: $15 p/hfor 40 hours per week. Please contact: 647 299 6127.

By a Staff Writer

TORONTO – The IslamicFoundation of Toronto is hostinga three-day 10th annual YouthTarbiyah Conference beginninghere on June 25. This year’sTheme is: Islamic Spirituality,The Key to Genuine Faith.

Explaining the theme, theorganizers said: We live in a soci-ety generally surrounded bymaterialism, individualism andarrogance. We are tied up in therat race of school, university,work, careers and tight schedulesleaving little or no time for therememberance of our Lord andHis deen. This sense of preoccu-pation eventually waters downour spiritual connection with ourCreator. The essence of true faithlies lost within us, making uspeople of negative traits andhabits within our homes, com-

munities, schools and work. Thisyear's conference will help reju-venate one's faith and Insha Allahwill facilitate one and all tobecome aware of traits and valuesthat lie within us but too oftenfail to exhibit such as sincerity,spirituality, intentions, honesty,piety, morals and integrity. Thisevent will reinforce our faith andmake us better people, excellentstudents, honest professionals,caring family members, exempla-ry citizens of our country, andcommitted Muslims striving forexellence.

Elevate your Iman and quenchyour spiritual thirst by attendingthe 10th Annual YOUTH TAR-BIYAH CONFERENCE, theorganizers said. “Becomeinspired by reminders fromworld-renowned speakers andunlock the doors to your truefaith; "Islamic Spirituality, The

Youth Tarbiyah Conference set to begin on June 25Key to Genuine Faith."

World renowned Islamic schol-ar and religious leaders willdeliver lectures during the con-ference. They are: ShaykhSulaiman Moola, Imam Tahir

Anwar, Shaykh Zahir Mahmood,Shaykh Yusuf Badat,MuftiMuhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, Shaykh Bilal AliAnsari, Shaykh MahmoodChandia and Dr. Munir El-Kassem .

Meet the Muslim scholars:Shaykh Sulaiman Moola

began studying the sacred sci-ences at an early age. After hav-ing completed the memorizationof the Quran at the age of 14, forthe next seven years he would goon to study Arabic [and all itsrelated sciences becoming espe-cially fluent in Arabic poetry],Tafsir, Hadith, Aqidah and Fiqh[specializing in the HanafiSchool]. Having studied undersenior ulama from South Africaand the Indian Subcontinent andreceiving ijazah from them, hewent on to teach at variousMadaris in South Africa includ-ing Dar al-Uloom Zakariyya.

Imam Tahir Anwar is anAmerican Muslim Imam (reli-gious leader) who has beenaround Imams since the day hewas born. Namely his father andgrandfather (his first teachers),and his two brothers, who arealso both Imams in California.Born in London, Imam Tahirmoved to the San Francisco BayArea in 1983 and made San Josehis home. Upon completing hisreligious studies in India, he hasbeen serving as the Imam of oneof the oldest masjids in the coun-try, the Islamic Center of SanJose, since 2001. He is also thehead of the Islamic StudiesDepartment, and a teacher atGranada Islamic School in near-by Santa Clara, an institution inits 26th year.

Shaykh Zahir Mahmood wasborn in England and has gainedlicences to teach (Ijaazas) inmany Islamic Sciences includingQuran, Jurisprudence (Fiqh) andTraditions (Hadith) of TheProphet (Peace be upon him)from various Shuyukh.Followingthe completion of his formalstate education at the age of 16,he enrolled at Dar al-Uloom al-Arabiyya al-Islamiyya, Bury,where he initiated his studies ofthe Alimiya course. Thereafter,he studied 3 years in the presti-gious seat of learning al-Jamiaal-Islamiyya, Karachi, Pakistan.

Shaykh Yusuf Badat was bornand raised in Toronto, Canada.He has studied under some greatscholars, receiving several for-mal authorizations in the sacredsciences with top honors. Hiscommitment to the sacred sci-ences began early in his lifewhen Allah blessed him with theability, by age 14, to completethe memorization of the HolyQuran. He completed a rigorous6-year Alim course at DarulUloom Zakariya, South Africawhere he achieved his masters in

the Islamic sciences, whichincluded but was not limited to,language, exegesis (tafseer) andjurisprudence (fiqh). He earnedauthorizations in Hadith underthe Grand Mufti of South Africa-Shaykh Radha-ul-Haq. ShaykhYusuf Badat is an Ontario regis-tered minister of religion &licensed marriage officer. Healso holds a diploma in NetworkAdministration from the TorontoSchool of Business.

Mufti Muhammad ibn Adamal-Kawthari is a young tradi-tionally trained scholar who stud-ied in different parts of the world.Born in Leicester, UK and raisedunder the guidance of his illustri-ous father, Shaykh MawlanaAdam, he started learning aboutIslam from a very young age andmemorized the Qur’an at a verytender age of nine. He initiallystudied the Arabic Language andvarious other traditional IslamicSciences at Darul Uloom, Bury,UK. Shaykh Bilal Ali Ansariwas born and raised in Chicago,IL. After studying two years ofcomputer engineering at the

University of Illinois in Urbana,IL, his desire for Islamic knowl-edge drove him to the Indiansubcontinent, where he decidedto pursue an education in Islamicstudies.Shaykh Bilal started hisIslamic studies at Jami‘a al-Hasanayn in Faisalabad,Pakistan under the auspices ofthe famous orator and da‘i ofIslam, Mawlana Tariq Jameel.

Dr. Munir El-Kassem wasborn in Beirut, Lebanon in 1955.He was educated at Al-MaqasidIslamic Institute where theFoundation of his Islamic knowl-edge was established. He was thetop student to be admitted in thePremedicine program at theAmerican University of Beirut.Following his migration toCanada, he continued his studiesat the University of WesternOntario earning a MastersDegree in Medical Geneticsthereafter joining the Universityof Toronto to graduate as a dentalsurgeon in 1986. After spending15 years in general practice, hejoined the University of WesternOntario as an assistant professorat the Faculty of Medicine andDentistry. For more info pl visit:http://www.youthtarbiyah.com/

Canadian Asian News Sports June 15-July 2, 2010

Gautam Gambhir continued his great form with 83 as India beat Pakistanto set up clash with Sri Lana in the Asia Cup.

Pakistan-India matches are oftencalled war minus the shooting, andthough the rhetoric has been toneddown recently, there was no short-age of aggression as India pulledof a stunning win with one ball tospare in Dambulla.

Chasing 268, India start well,with Gautam Gambhir (83),anchoring the innings. But if thefirst half of the chase was aboutreliability, the grandstand finishwas provided by Harbhajan Singh.Seven runs were needed fromMohammad Aamer's last over.With Suresh Raina (34) run out offthe second ball, a couple and a sin-

gle pinched, three runs wererequired off the last two balls whenHarbhajan drilled a length ball intothe stands over midwicket. At atime when the future of ODI crick-et itself is under threat, India andPakistan had once again produceda thriller. But it did not seem thatway when Shahid Afridi wonchose to bat first on a sluggishpitch. Adopting a safety-firstapproach openers Salman Butt andImran Farhat rode out a probinginitial spell of bowling fromAshish Nehra and Praveen Kumar.Both bowlers beat the bat regular-ly, but Pakistan's batsmen did wellto hang in there.

A 71-run opening stand set thetone, and Butt pressed on, holdingthe Pakistan innings together evenas India's bowlers chipped away.Eventually run out for 74, Butt,backed up by late cameos fromShahid Afridi (32) and KamranAkmal (51) pushed Pakistan to267. India's chase got off to a most

inauspicious start when VirenderSehwag suffered a hip injury andsummoned a runner. He wasn't tolast long and only Gambhir'sintense vigil (83) kept India in thehunt. Dhoni strung together a use-ful 54, but when India slumped to219 for 6, Pakistan were back inthe game. It was then thatHarbhajan did his thing.

After the defeat, former Pakistancricket greats said the team’s fail-ure to reach the final of the AsiaCup was “a warning bell” forproblems that needed urgent atten-tion before next year’s World Cup.“Pakistan did play well in both the

matches but the fact is that we arestill number three, behind SriLanka and India, which is a warn-ing bell for next year’s WorldCup,” former Pakistan captainZaheer Abbas told AFP. The four-nation Asia Cup in Dambulla, wasseen as a build-up for next year’sWorld Cup, which will be jointlyhosted by India, Sri Lanka andBangladesh.

Abbas said the results showedthat Pakistan was performingpoorly. “Against India our battingdid well, but bowling and fieldingwere not up to the mark,” saidAbbas. Pakistan also failed toreach the final of the 2008 AsiaCup, when the tournament washeld in their own country.Abbassaid there were “too many coach-es” in the Pakistan camp, which hefound “hard to understand,” refer-ring to head coach Waqar Younis,assistant coach Aqib Javed andbatting-fielding coach Ijaz Ahmed.“Too many coaches are spoiling the

broth,” Abbas said. Former chiefselector Iqbal Qasim, who resignedin February after Pakistan’s winlesstour of Australia, said Pakistan hadto confront its problems before nextyear’s World Cup.

“Fielding is our main problem,which again failed us,” said Qasim,a former left-arm spinner. “We alsoneed to know when to utilise ourbatting powerplay, which is beingspoiled every time.” Qasim saidfast-rising batsman Umar Akmaland paceman Mohammad Amirneeded guidance to turn their hugetalent into better performances.“Umar is creating panic when hecomes on to bat, which led to run-outs for his batting partners whichhe survived,” Qasim said.“It’s a bigproblem which needs to sortedout.” Pakistan captain Shahid Afridiwill lead the team on the tour ofEngland starting next week.

Pakistan will play twoTwenty20 and two Tests againstAustralia and four Tests, twoTwenty20 and five One-Daymatches against England.Pakistan have left former captainYounus Khan out of their squadfor Test series against Englandand Australia.

Younus recently won an appealagainst an indefinite ban frominternational cricket imposedafter an inquiry into the wintertour to Australia. But the selectorshave instead recalled YasirHameed, also 32, who last playedTest cricket in December 2007.There are also places foruncapped Azhar Ali, Umar Amin,Wahab Riaz and Tanvir Ahmed.

Opening batsman Azhar andseam bowler Tanvir are new tointernational cricket, but Amin

Pakistan Test squad: ShahidAfridi (capt), Salman Butt (vicecapt), Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed,Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, UmarAkmal, Shoaib Malik, KamranAkmal, Zulqarnain Haider, UmarGul, Mohammad Asif, WahabRiaz, Mohammad Amir, TanvirAhmed, Saeed Ajmal, Danish

Kaneria. Pakistan Twenty20squad: Afridi (capt), Salman Butt(vice capt), Shahzaib Hasan,Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik,Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal,Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Amir,Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, ShoaibAkhtar, Abdul Rehman, WahabRiaz, Fawad Alam.

Pak defeat in Asia Cup a ‘warning bell’

Canadian Asian News Newsmakers June 15-July 2, 2010

MUMBAI – Aamir Khan, one ofthe most successful actor-pro-ducers in Bollywood, is inundat-ed with scripts and is planning tohire more people in his office toread them. He has produced

blockbusterhits likeL a g a a n ,T a a r eZameen Parand JaaneTu Ya JaaneNa and nowmore peopleare keen toget the 45-

year-old actor to turn theirscripts into films. "Personally hehas no time to go through all thescripts. On an average AamirKhan Productions gets around 8to 10 scripts a day. But he likesto give respect to all that come inand would like someone to short-list at least send a response letterto all writers," said a sourceclose to the actor.

Most of the scripts that havelanded in his office are forproduction and not necessarilyfor him as actor. The '3 Idiots'star doesn't want any one to beignored and so he has plannedto set up a separate depart-ment for them.

By Josh Stewart

TORONTO – Playwright AnkitaKumar-Ratta, 18, showcased herplay Chocolate Dipped at theTarragon theatre as part of itsthird annual One Act PlayFestival. The event featured fiveone act plays penned by theTarragon's Young PlaywrightsUnit, a group of talented andambitious writers under twentyyears of age.

The impact of Kumar-Ratta'sexposure to a culturally diverseneighbourhood were on displayearly and often in the playful andprofound Chocolate Dipped,which featured three pairs of"chocolates and chocolattas", onerepresenting white chocolate, onerepresenting milk chocolate, andanother representing dark choco-

late. As a result of a lull in thechocolate market, a proposal tomix the different "races" ofchocolate is put forth, and overthe course of the play, theunthinkable becomes not so far-fetched -- and even a little excit-ing. While the premiseof Chocolate Dippedis simple, its execu-tion is sophisticatedand nuanced, comical-ly manipulating avariety of racialstereotypes -- such asthe white chocolate'sattempt to mimic thedark chocolate's dancemoves, the admissionthat he had been "dou-ble dipping", or thedark chocolate'soffense at the sugges-

tion that he was involved in a caseof sabotage simply becauseanother dark chocolate had been.

Having already made a splash inthe world of theatre, Kumar-Rattabegins her studies at theUniversity of Toronto this fall,

where she will continue to chal-lenge her audience to "think ofthe danger -- and the possibili-ties."(Ankita Kumar-Ratta has writtena number of pieces for 'YouthForum' for this paper. )

Playwright Ankita brings cultural satire to the big city

Scripts key toAamir Khan’s great success

TORONTO – RogersMulticultural On Demand isbringing mega Bollywood enter-tainment from the renownedsuperstar Amitabh Bachchan.His movies are loved by theyoung and the old alike, makinghim a legend among fans acrossthe world.

As part of the AmitabhBachchan special, RogersDigital TV customers will get toenjoy the star in a variety of

exciting roles. Theline-up of moviesincludes a mix ofclassic titles andrecent productions,like Baabul,Bhoothnath, andSholay. These andhis free musicvideos are nowavailable onR o g e r sMulticultural On

Demand Channel 800. RogersDigital TV customers can alsovisit rogers.com/amitabh, to beone of the first 50 to receive anAmitabh t-shirt, provided byDesiWear & Entripy.

Now, fans can complete theirAmitabh Bachchan experiencewith the hottest Bollywoodringtones, by simply textingHOME to 4836 on their RogersWireless cell phones. Ringtonescharges apply.

Aamir Khan

Amitabh Bachchan - superstar entertainment, only from Rogers

Bollywood superstar Big Bachchan

Toronto & Montreal Edition June 15-July2, 2010.

Meet ‘plump’ Priyanka in Saat Khoon MaafMUMBAI – Priyanka Choprahas always had a figure to diefor, but her fans will see herlooking plump in Saat KhoonMaaf because director VishalBharadwaj wanted her to put onsome weight for the thriller.

The actress is disliking everybit of it, says an Indo-AsianNews Service report. "I've beenon a put-on-some-serious-weight

kind of diet for Saat KhoonMaaf... yuck! I feel sounhealthy!" the actress posted onher Twitter page. The 27-year-old is now waiting to hit thegym. "Now that the film isalmost over ... I plan on hittingthe gym with a vengeance ... And

coming from me that's a feat initself ... because I hate gyms!Aaaarrrggghh!!" she wrote.Based on Ruskin Bond's storySusanna's Seven, Saat KhoonMaaf is about a femme fatalewho bumps off her seven spous-es and Priyanka plays that rolewith seven male actors includ-ing Naseeruddin Shah, IrrfanKhan and Neil Nitin Mukesh.

According to anotherreport, even beforethe hangover of theIIFA Weekend 2010subsides, it seemslike the host country,Sri Lanka, hasalready begun reap-ing the benefits ofplaying host to IIFA'smagnificent 11th edi-tion. Recognizing thegorgeousness of theisland nation and thewelcoming warmthreceived by theIndian FilmFraternity duringanother magical IIFA

weekend, Anees Bazmee's newfilm Ready, produced by T-Series and starring SalmanKhan and Asin in lead roles,will now be filmed in Sri Lankafrom June 20.

The movie's location for shoot-ing was originally scheduled to

be Mauritius, but after enjoyinga beautiful locale like Colomboduring the IIFA Weekend, therewas much enthusiasm to changethe location to Sri Lanka.

It may be recalled that in theabsence of the Bachchan parivarand Shah Rukh Khan at therecently held IIFA weekend inColombo, it was none other thanSalman Khan who was the mainattraction at this extravaganza.The actor, who played a key rolein the IIFA Hands for HumanityProject, as the BrandAmbassador for Charity, thor-oughly appreciated the kindnessand generosity of the SriLankans and claims to be thrilledabout returning to the neighbour-ing island.

Priyanka Chopra ... I feel so unhealthy

Salman Khan

vol. 13 no. 182 june 15- july 2, 2010 bi-weekly from toronto

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