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Continued on Page 7LAKKI MARWAT: Policemen stand guard as they cordon the road leading to an isolated army checkpoint after it wasattacked by militants in the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday.

TARIQ SAEED,SAMAR GUL MARWAT

P E S H A W A R / L A K K I

MARWAT—Terrorists’ am-bush on a military unit atcamp makeshift cantonmentin Serai Naurang LakkiMarwat Saturday wee hoursresulted in Shahadat of atleast 25 people including 13soldiers. Nine men in uniformsustained injuries in thehours long exchange of firethat also left 15 militantsdead. Female and childrenwere among the ten civiliansmartyred in the brutal attack.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Paki-stan (TTP) has owned the re-

13 soldiers among 25slain in terrorist ambush15 militants left dead Taliban claim responsibility

sponsibility of the deadly at-tack on the security forcessaying it was meant to

avenge the killing of two TTPcommanders in a drone attackin North Waziristan agency.

Reports reaching heresaid a group of militants;some reports say aroundthree dozens, armed with so-phisticated weaponslaunched assault on a mili-tary camp set up in a residen-tial Colony of Irrigation de-partment in Serai Naurang inLakki Marwat District at 3.30in the morning that led to theShahadat of as many as thir-teen troops present in theUnit. Those killed includenine Army men and fourJawaans of the FC.

The miscreants at-

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2 soldiers embracemartyrdom inOrakzai blast

KALAYA—Two soldiers,including an officer, em-braced martyrdom, whiletwo others sustained inju-ries in an improvised explo-sive device (IED) blast inOrakzai Agency on Satur-day, an ISPR spokesmansaid.

MIAN CHANNU—ON theorders of Magistrate ofMian Channu, the body ofKamran Faisal was ex-humed, samples were col-lected and the body waslater reburied.

On the request of In-vestigative officer inKamran Faisal case, Mag-istrate Chaudhry ShafiqAhmed Shafi ordered theexhumation of KamranFaisal’s body after his fa-ther expressed his consent.

Investigating officerand Inspector of

Kamran’s body exhumedby forensic experts

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Islamabad Secretariat policestation, Mubaral Mand hadfiled a request in Magistrate’scourt to exhume the body ofdeceased National Account-ability Bureau (NAB) officer

Kamran Faisal.During the hearing of the

plea, Kamran’s fatherChaudhry Abdul Hameedagreed to recover his son’sbody with some reserva-tions.

He demanded that sanc-

tity of the grave and deadbody should be maintainedduring the entire process, andthe body should be buriedwith a new shroud (burialsheet) after the investiga-tions conclude.

On this, the area Magis-trate allowed the body to be

exhumed and said thatKamran’s father wishesshould be addressed.

After the exhuming ofbody the forensic expertscollected the samples for ex-amination to determine

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LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—Admiral (Retd)Fasih Bukhari, Chairman, Na-tional Accountability Bureauhas decided to quit as he isunder great stress due to hisletter written to President AsifAli Zardari on January 27,levelling allegations againstSupreme Court of ‘interferingin NAB affairs.’

Sources close to himconfided this scribe thatFasih Bukhari may resigneven before February 4, thedate of hearing of contemptnotice issued to him by apex

Fasih Bukhari mentallyprepares to quit

court on the issue of letter.

His letter contains some

points which can make himliable to serious charges. Theletter draws parallel to the let-ter written by veteran politi-cian Asghar Khan to thenArmy Chief in late seventies,sources said.

In recent days, NAB hasbeen subjected to seriouscriticism due to it’s allegedlypartiality in dealing with toppoliticians in the ruling party.It came under ruthless criti-cism by media and civil soci-ety on the death of KamranFaisal, an officer of NAB whowas investigating high pro-

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Saturday saw asignificant development onthe country’s political frontwhen the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) andPakistan Sunni Tehreek(PST) announced to form acountrywide electoral alli-ance for the fast-nearing gen-eral election.

Also, the PML-N and thePST constituted a committeehaving joint representationto decide future course ofaction relating to the holdingof bilateral meetings beforethe polls.

PML-N Mamnoon

PML-N, Sunni Tehreekto contest polls together

Hussain and PST centralleader Muhammad ShahidGhauri declared this in a jointpress conference held here atAhle-Sunnat Center on Sat-urday.

Hussain, who led a del-egation comprising Salim Zia,Ameenul Hasnat, MPA ImranShah, Nehal Hashmi andAzhar Hamdani, visited thePST headquarter to meetPST leaders includingMuhammad Shakeel Qadri,Muhammad Shadab Raza,Matloob Awan, MehboobSehto and others.

In a post-meeting mediatalk the two leaders said they

Gilani files reviewpetition againstdisqualification

ISLAMABAD—Former PrimeMinister Syed Yousuf RazaGilani has filed review peti-

tion in theS u p r e m eC o u r tagainst hisineligibility.

Gilani per-sonally wentto the Su-preme Court

of Pakistan on Saturday tofile the review petition againsthis disqualification in theNRO implementation case

Information MinisterQamar Zaman Kaira and a

Altaf boycottsPPP meeting tillissues resolutionKARACHI—MQM CoreCommittee has announcedthat party chief AltafHussain will neither contactany leader nor attend anymeeting of PPP unlessboth the parties reach anyconclusion to addressunresolved matters.

Meeting of CoreCommittee of CoordinationCommittee of MQMPakistan continued till latehours of Friday night. Itwas told in the meeting thatPresident Asif Ali Zardariand MQM chief AltafHussain deliberated over allthe controversial issueswith seriousness andcontinued their efforts toresolve them.

It was further said that

South Africaon top afterPakistan crashJOHANNESBURG—DaleSteyn sent Pakistan

crashing to a new lowas South Africa tookcontrol on the secondday of the first Test atthe WanderersStadium on Saturday.

Steyn took six foreight in 8.1 overs asPakistan were shot out for49, four fewer than theirprevious lowest total of 53against Australia in Sharjahin 2002/03.

South Africa led by 204runs on the first innings butdecided not to enforce the

Continued on Page 7

FormerBalochistan CMJam Yousaf diesSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—FormerBalochistan Chief MinisterJam Yousaf died of cardiac

rest here on Saturday night.He was 59.

Jam Yousaf remainedChief Minister of the

Picture on Back Page

ISLAMABAD—MeteorologistChief Arif Mehmood has fore-casted isolated light rain withsnowfall over the hills inMalakand, Hazara,Rawalpindi, Quetta, Zhob,Kalat, Makran divisions,Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmirduring next 24 hours . “Tem-perature of some major citiesrecorded on Saturday morn-ing was: Islamabad andLahore twelve degree centi-grade, Karachi seventeen,Peshawar thirteen, Quettafive, Gilgit three, Murree fourand Muzaffarabad nine de-gree centigrade” he added.

Weather remained coldand dry in most parts of thecountry during the lasttwenty-four hours. However,isolated rain occurred inQuetta and Kalat divisions.Isolated rain with light snow-fall over the hills is likely inQuetta, Zhob, Kalat, Makram,Malakand, Hazara, Rawalpindidivisions, Kashmir and GilgitBaltistan during the nexttwenty four hours.

The lowest minimum tem-perature of minus ten degreecentigrade was recorded inParachinar today. Other cit-

ies where mercury droppedbelow freezing point are:Astore and Skardu minusseven, Gupis minus five andKalam minus four degreescentigrade. A spokesman ofPakistan Meteorological De-partment has said an activeweather system is likely to

approach western parts ofthe country tomorrow and itwould grip many parts of thecountry on Sunday.

The expected weathersystem is very likely to gen-erate winter rainfall at a num-ber of places for three to fourdays. The spokesman saidthat barani and irrigated ar-eas of Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa would receivegood rains from Sunday toTuesday. The local Met of-fice has forecast partly cloudyweather with chances ofdrizzle for the city.—APP

BANNU—General SecretaryPPP Tehsil Domail chapter,Shafiq Veer has said that allmajor political parties of thecountry have shown unanim-ity which reflects that themasses wanted to continuedemocracy and political sys-tem in the country. Address-ing a gathering of labourers,peasants and scholars hereSaturday at Tehsil Domail,Shafiq Veer said that “if wewant to protect the countryand to put in the list of de-veloped countries we mustcontinue with the democraticform of government”.

He said that ShaheedZulfikar Ali Bhutto andBenazir Bhutto sacrificedtheir lives for the sake of de-mocracy adding that Chair-

man PPP Bilawal BhuttoZardari has said that de-mocracy was establishedby PPP and would be pro-tected by it.

Shafiq Veer urged uponlabourers, pheasants andscholars to stop anti-demo-cratic forces and support PPPbecause if democracy wasderailed this time it wouldpush the country 100 yearsback and would cause un-precedented damage to thedemocratic form of govern-ment. General Secretary PPPTehsil Domail chapter as-sured full support to AnwarSaifullah Khan, provincialpresident and expressed thehope that the party wouldwin in the upcoming generalelections.—APP

Masses asked to support PPP todefeat anti-democratic forces

PESHAWAR: Jamat-e-Islami workers chanting slogan in favour of their demands in protest rally.

Rain with lightsnowfall expected

STAFF REPORTER

P E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa InformationMinister and Parliamentaryleader of ANP has stronglycondemned militants attackin Lakki Marwat and suicidebomb attack in Hangu. Heexpressed profound griefover the deaths of securitymen and innocent people.He was talking to media-menafter enquiring about thehealth of Hangu blast victimsat LRH and a delegation offrom his constituency hereSaturday.

He said that faces of theterrorists have been exposedto the people and havestarted targeting the inno-cent people in sheer frustra-tion in the wake of success-

Iftikhar condemnsLakki Marwat,Hangu attacks

ful activities of the securityforces against insurgents.

The soldiers who em-braced Shahadat, have laiddown their lives for the de-fence of their motherland.The ANP leader paid trib-utes to the security officialsand prayed for their eternalpeace in heaven. He furthersaid that still conspiracieswere being made to delay theelectoral process in thecountry. However, he saidthat democratic forces wereagainst any delay in the gen-eral elections and it wouldbe held on time. InformationMinister said that thecompletion of constitutionalperiod of the present gov-ernment was the success ofdemocracy and democraticforces.

ISLAMABAD—Lahore hasbecome the 2nd largestjewellery production hub ofPakistan after Karachi, asmore than 25000 businessenterprises related to gemsand jewellery are operating inPunjab, providing employ-ment to more than 20,0000individuals. TraditionallyLahore has always been aland of finesse artisans andthis tradition has tran-scended in the jewellery in-dustry as well.

Continuing its progresson the mandate of develop-ment of gems and jewelleryindustry,Pakistan Gems andJewellery DevelopmentCompany (PGJDC) has es-tablished a Gems andJewellery Training andManufacturing Center(GJTMC) at Lahore. The cen-ter is successfully providingtraining and common facilityservices to the gems and

jewellery industry of Punjab.Talking to APP, an officialsaid the training center is notonly for the jewellers but foreverybody who wants tolearn to design jewellery.

“With its new approachin jewellery making, GJTMCwill help refine artistic abili-ties to making jewellery whileworking in a creative and re-warding jewellery profes-sion”. Classes are taughtthrough live demonstrations,as well as though lecturessupported by multimediapresentations and compre-hensive exercises which pro-vides students with rich andrewarding learning experi-ence in the best suited envi-ronment. Official said GJTMCLahore possesses a highlyqualified, immensely experi-enced and very dedicatedfaculty who helps the stu-dents to bring forth their cre-ativity.—APP

Lahore 2nd largestjewellery production hub

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Mus-lim League senior centralleader and Deputy PrimeMinister Ch Parvez Elahi hassaid that if Shahbaz Sharifhad not terminated ourprojects there would havebeen no darkness in Punjabtoday. He stated this whileaddressing a big gathering offormer Nazims and Council-ors and notables of NA-105in Gujrat on Saturday, said apress release.

He said “we do politicsof progress and developmentof the country and welfare ofthe people, anti-people willnot be able to compete withus anywhere with the bless-ings of Almighty Allah, N-League has not completedany project other than JaatiUmrah”. On this occasion,Federal Minister Ch. Wajahat

Hussain and other leaderswere also seated on thestage. Ch Parvez Elahi saidthat the measures he hadtaken for welfare of the poorincluding free provisions ofhealth and education facili-ties and creation of maximumemployment opportunities asthe Chairman District Coun-cil then as the Chief MinisterPunjab and now as theDeputy Prime Minister havenot only been appreciated atthe national level but alsohailed internationally.

He said we have workedday and night for enhancingthe prestige of the Punjaband Gujrat and because ofthis people of other prov-inces tell me today that “Punjab of my tenure wasvery much better, “we startedfree education in 64 thousand

schools of the province forthe first time in the history ofPakistan, provided stipendsto the girl students andpresent provincial govtended our system and thusshut the doors of educationon the poor girl students andcaused the rest of the dam-age by establishing DaanishSchools.

Continuing Ch ParvezElahi said that Sharif Broth-ers have only developedJaati Umrah, we exemptedfive marla houses of the poorand twelve and half acres ofland from tax, provided freeeducation, transport andother facilities to the specialchildren, Punjab Govt. willgive subsidy of one billionrupees every month on“Jangla” Bus Service whichwill be received from the poor

people.Speaking on the occa-

sion, former Provincial Min-ister Mian Imran Masoodsaid that selection of candi-dates by N-League can bejudged by the bitter fact thatit had given ticket to a fakedegree holder in Gujrat, N-League has a history of sup-porting and promoting fakedegree holders, this time withthe help of the people wewould get their securitiesconfiscated because theyhave eaten the money of thepoor people for five years.

Gathering was also ad-dressed by Ch MohammadAsghar Telwala, Haji FaizulHassan Nasir, Iftikhar Bhatti,Mehr Mehboob, HumayunIqbal, Mirza Mudassar Baig,Malik Iftikhar Ahmad advo-cate, Nadeem Qadir.—APP

Termination of PML-Q projectsbrought darkness: Parvez Elahi

HYDERABAD: Students taking interest in decorationpieces during Spring Festival organized by the IMSA atWAPDA Ground.

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Commenting onECP ban on new appoint-ments of lower grade employ-ees in public institutions,General Secretary of PakistanPeople’s Party Sindh TajHaider said the “anti-poor”move of the Election Commis-sion of Pakistan (ECP) hadgarnered more support forthe ruling PPP and its poli-cies. He said the orders ofECP curtailing the legal au-thority of the elected consti-tutional government had de-prived thousands belongingto the marginalized sectionsof the society from theirgenuine right to find work.

Providing employmentto the unemployed has al-ways remained the corner-stone of PPP manifesto and

policy. While after every il-legal dismissal of our con-stitutional governmentsthose appointed during ourtenure have been thrownout of jobs. On the otherhand we have followed apolicy of regularizing con-tract and daily job workersappointed by other govern-ments.

We have taken pride inthe fact that our leadershipand senior leaders have goneto jail for committing the“crime” of giving employmentto the unemployed. It wasour genuine intention andprogram to accommodate onlower grade jobs as manyunemployed as possible be-fore our terms ended. Hav-ing a record of regularizingthousands of contract anddaily wage employees ap-

pointed by our political op-ponents, the apprehensionof the Honourable ElectionCommission that these fewappointments made in the last50 days will have any effecton the millions of votes castfor the PPP is completely mis-placed.

The right to work is abasic right. It is sad that avery humble effort to fulfillthis genuine need and abasic right is being termedas a political bribe. How-ever, the disappointmentand the despondencyspread by the ElectionCommission orders in thepoorer sections of our so-ciety who were hoping thatthey will get employment, iscertainly counter produc-tive. Pakistan Peoples Partyhas always upheld fairness

ECP ban on pre-poll hiring: Ablessing in disguise for PPP

and transparency. The con-trast between the conductof recent bye-elections inNaushero Feroze where PPPwon and in the Punjabwhere the PML (N) won is aglaring reality.

Even after the SupremeCourt decision that electionswere rigged and money wasdistributed in 1990 electionsno action is taken against theRight Wing beneficiaries. Itis only the poorest of thepoor who have been tar-geted. Taj Haider said that theHonourable Election Com-mission should review its or-ders of banning appoint-ments on lower grade posts,so that these poor aspirantsdo not have to wait manymonths till the installation ofthe next PPP government forgetting employment.

BAHWALPUR—The All Paki-stan CNG Association(APCNGA) on Saturdaystarted its nation-widepeaceful protest movementagainst government overplanned victimization of theCNG sector. In this regard, aprotest meeting was held atBhawalpur Chamber of Com-merce and Industry whichwas attended by the CNGoperators arriving fromRahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad,Lodhran, Bhawalnagar andadjoining areas.

The meeting observedwith concern that Adviser toPrime Minister on Petroleumand Natural Resources Dr.Asim Hussain had promisedAPCNGA leaders to end gasload shedding and restoringsupply to CNG filling sta-tions from February 1stwhich proved wrong. Speak-ing at the occasion, GhiyasAbdullah Paracha, ChairmanSupreme Council APCNGAsaid that all the recent devel-opments point towards a

plan of influential to destroyCNG sector and natural gasinfrastructure to ntroducecostly liquid gases in thecountry to earn billions inshortest possible time.

Current artificial gas cri-sis and unjust distributionof gas penalizing Punjab ispart of the plan hatched bythose who matter the mostin the current coalition. Allthe sectors using naturalgas have alternatives notincluding the CNG sectortherefore it merits to top po-sition in the priority list.Chairman APCNGABhawalpur Region MianShahid also spoke on theoccasion. Reposing full con-fidence in the leadership ofParacha has assured all outcooperation. Lauding thecourts, Shahid said thatmasses and CNG sector willget relief after March 16 whennew setup will be installed.

During the meeting, theCNG stakeholders decidedto reopen CNG stations by

force and resist attempts byany government departmentto shut outlets in violation ofthe court orders. The meet-ing passed a resolution forimmediate dismissal of DrAsim, responsible for worst-ever energy crisis in the his-tory of country. Theystrongly condemned the un-precedented power and gasload shedding in the coun-try that has affected busi-nesses and every citizen. Thedisaster is the result onrecord corruption on the partof a ruling cabal making upthe most notorious peopleever to occupy highest of-fices, they observed.

CNG station owners alsoasked Punjab Governmentand police to refrain from tak-ing any action that amountto contempt of court. Masseswere also asked to supportthe demands of APCNGA asit will give them much awaitedrelief..Sec ond protest meet-ing will be held in Multan onSunday.—Online

APCNGA launches nation-wide protest Former MNAalleged DSP foroccupying land

GUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

CHITRAL—Former MemberNational Assembly AbdulAkbar, Ameeruddin, AbdulLatif president PTI condemnedChitral police for occupyingland of a poor person. Address-ing a press conference theysaid that a piece of land nearSabzi Mandi Chitral was soldin 2004 to a local person butthe same was again sold to DSPShamsur Rehman by Ataullahin 2013 which is totally illegaland injustices. They said thatAtaullah and DSP want to oc-cupy this land illegal.

While on the other handAtaullah and his colleaguesin his rejoinder denied theseallegations during a pressconference while clarifyinghis position. They said thatDSP not occupied this landillegally but Ataullah hadsold him his own land whichwas purchased by Ataullah.

3-Day Teacher Development Conference focuses on innovations, changesOBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Roots NationalInstitute of Teacher Trainingand Education” (RNITTE)marks another history bysynergizing the teaching com-munity through Pakistans’ larg-est 03 Day Teacher Develop-ment Conference 2013. The 2ndDay of Seventh AnnualTeacher Development Confer-ence was full of intellect andlearning on Saturday, February2nd, 2013 on the theme: TheMillennials Confident, Con-nected, Open to Change. Theconference focused on con-necting ourselves to the worldof collaboration, innovation,communication and change.

The 2nd day’s conferencebrought together leading na-tional and international speak-ers like Mr. Abbas HussainDirector Teachers Develop-ment Centre, Senior Associ-ate Training Solution, Ms.Asma Mustafa Learning &Globalization Specialist, Mo-tivational Speaker / OD Con-sultant & Life Coach, Mr. AmirAnzur Webprenuer, aninternet entrepreneur, Ms.Khadija Bashir Project Man-ager Intel Education InitiativePakistan, Sania Khan Man-ager Corporate RelationsWWF and Dr. Maria SultanDirector General South AsianStrategic Stability Institute –

SASSI Academic & Intellec-tual who enlightened the criti-cal thinking and injected newideas into the conference au-dience of delegates compris-ing RMS CEO ChaudhryFaisal Mushtaq, RMS Direc-tor Mrs. Anna Faisal, HeadMistress’, Branch Heads,Academic Coordinators andthe Teaching faculty.

Mr. Abbas Hussain leftall the audience mesmerizedand hypnotized with hiswords. The audience wasawe struck and touched atthe same time. He enlight-ened the conference del-egates about “The Educa-tion, School, Curriculum,Teacher & Learner: 5 pillarsof a successful school devel-opment plan”. Arieb Azhar –Pakistani Pop Singer bestknown for his resonant voiceand Sufi inspired melodiesmesmerized the delegates ofTeacher Development Con-ference 2013 with his mysti-cal Sufi performance that leftthe delegates with a new levelof energy experiencing.

The Conference TrainerMs. Asma Mustafa – Learn-ing & Globalization Special-ist, Motivational Speaker /OD Consultant & Life Coachelaborated the importance“The Paradigm Shift: Strate-gies for developing studentsas Global Entrepreneurs and

Schools as Global Enter-prises”. Mr. Amir Anzur,Webprenuer an Internet En-trepreneur enlightened theconference delegates about“Technology as a common

denominator to bridgeteaching and learning divideMillennials as Webprenuer”.

Ms. Khadija Bashir,Project Manager Intel Educa-tion Initiative, flared the en-tire perspective of “I Con-nect. Do you? Leverage thepower of technology and

communication”. Dr. MariaSultana – Director GeneralSouth Asian Strategic Stabil-ity Institute – SASSI, Aca-demic & Intellectual investi-gated a new Challenge for

Millennial that is “Teacher of21st Century: Quality Educa-tion for Quality Teachinghence raising educationalstandards in Pakistan”.

CEO RMS & FounderRNITTE Chaudhry FaisalMushtaq-TI said: “RootsMillennium Schools under-

stand that the future is notsomeplace we are going tobut on that we consciouslyshape with our thoughts andactions. As School Leadersand Educators we also un-

derstand that there is nosingle magic formula thatworks and no step-by-stepdirections or recipes to for-going pathways that take usinto the future.

What we are doing is in-novating to explore possibili-ties, finding out what works

and what is helping us to getourselves there.”

Chief Guest of the cer-emony His Excellency PeterHeyward, High Commis-sioner of Australia graced theoccasion with his presence.This Teacher’s DevelopmentConference 2013 is all aboutproviding teachers the op-portunity to learn the art ofshaping the future ofMillennial in their teachingpractices and also equip theteachers with the tools toprepare students to be lead-ers and agents of change ina climate in which the voiceof students is sought andhonoured. The aim of thisconference is to bring teach-ers into direct contact withleading scholars, academiaand educational thinkers intoa stimulating environmentsurrounded by learning andacademic resources.

The aim is to support andinvigorate classroom teachingwith new ideas and energy,new texts and techniques,new content and connection.Teacher’s Development Con-ference promised to providethe teachers with a platform toexpress themselves not onlyas individuals but more impor-tantly as the Pakistani nationand allow them to prove theirmettle and it has once againfulfilled its promise.

ISLAMABAD: CEO RMS, Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq along with faculty and other guests.

Atmosphere cordial for general pollsStaff Reporter

PESHAWAR—Chief of Qaumi WatanParty (QWP) Aftab Ahmad KhanSherpao has said that timely and trans-parent elections were the only panaceato get rid the country’s problems. Ad-dressing a lawyers convention of hisparty and a meeting in connection withthe death anniversary of HayatMuhammad Khan Sherpao here Satur-day, Aftab Sherpao impressed upon allthe political forces to unite for pulling

out the Pakhtun nation from difficult crises and for theestablishment of peace in this region. All the problemscould be resolved through meaningful dialogue, Sheparosaid adding peace in Afghanistan had a direct bearing onstability in Pakistan therefore both the neighbours shouldinitiate solid efforts for peace in the region. The formerInterior Minister said that Pakhtuns were passing throughdifficult phase of their history and were faced with numer-ous challenges adding if these problems and difficultieswere not addressed today then it would have serious re-percussions. He said that atmosphere was cordial for hold-ing new general elections in the country and added thatnew mandate from the people should be obtained for re-solving the present crises.

VC asks strikers to call it offHYDERABAD—The Vice ChancellorUniversity of Sindh Jamshoro Dr. NazirA. Mughal has again offered the lead-ers of Sindh University Employees Wel-fare Association to call off their protestand hold dialogues with universitymanagement for consideration of theirgenuine demands. The universityspokesman informed here on Fridaythat the Vice Chancellor made it clearthat Registrar Muhammad Nawaz

Narejo is an officer of Grade-20 and he can not be removedfrom the post without any reason and any action could betaken through proper procedure. If any one has evident ofthe corruption of the Registrar, he should provide it to theuniversity management and the same will be reviewed in acommittee and action against him will be initiated on therecommendation of the said committee, the Vice Chancel-lor said. Engineer Ahsan Ali Memon and Engineer ArshadAli Memon have been elected as the President and Gen-eral Secretary of Mehran University of Engineering andTechnology Teachers Association for the year 2013. A uni-versity spokesman informed here on Friday that the elec-tions were held under supervision of Election Commis-sioner Prof. Dr. Hassan Ali Durrani. —APP

QUETTA—Chief SecretaryBalochistan Babar Yaqoob onSaturday handed over acheque of Rs one million tothe widow of slain Khuzdarjournalist Abdul Haq Balochhere at Civil Secretariat. Thegeneral secretary of KhuzdarPress Club Abdul Haq wasgunned down near KhuzdarPost Office in main Khuzdarcity some 300 kilometresaway from the provincial capi-tal when he was way homeon Sep 29, last. The PrimeMinister while taking noticeof the incident and an-nounced Rs 1 million com-pensation for the bereavedfamily.

Talking to media, CSBalochistan vowed to con-

tinue supporting media fra-ternity in view of the threatsthey were facing while per-forming their professionalduties in Balochistan. “All-out efforts were being madeto ensure peace in the regionand provide protection tojournalists”, he stressed.

Underlining the need forpublic cooperation againstoutlaws, he said that the re-sponsible in the killing ofjournalist would be broughtto justice. CS said that thewidow of the slain journalistwill be given job so that shecould manage her livings in-dependently. “The childrenof the slain journalist wouldalso be supported in theireducation”, he added.

Saint Mary’s Schoolholds Primary Day

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Saint Mary’sHigh School here on Saturdayheld Primary Day in schoolauditorium with an objectiveto explore the hidden capabili-ties of children and utilizethem to establish a healthysocial edifice in future. Thefunction was attended bylarge number of students andparents while Secretary Infor-mation and Culture, AzmatHanif was the Chief Guest.Under the guidance of teach-ers and Section Heads, stu-dents exhibited their talents incolorful programs presentedwith zeal and enthusiasm.Students of the Junior Sectionwho were dressed in colorfulpresented welcome song.

SARGODHA—Anti-Corrup-tion Establishment on Satur-day arrested an accountsclerk of Punjab Housing Au-thority (PHA) on corruptioncharges. Deputy DirectorHousing Bhakkar, SaeedSandhu, in his complaint toACE Director Baber AmmanBaber said that Punjab Hous-ing Authority clerk AliAsghar in collusion withFata sub-region BhakkarPatwari Jamil Ahmad had il-legally allotted five plots tohis favorites in Block No 5Mandi Town, Bhakkar.Circle officer MianwaliIkraam Ullah Niazi andDeputy Director Investiga-tion Ziaul Haq Ranjha heldan inquiry. The ACE Direc-tor also ordered the Rev-

enue Department to start aninquiry under the Paeda Actagainst Bhakkar sub-regis-trar Muhammad Khan Kundi.

Faisalabad: Anti TerrorismCourt (ATC-I) awarded deathsentence on two counts to alady involved in kidnap cumransom case of Chak Jhumrahpolice station here. Accordingto the prosecution, RashidaBegum of 146-D Gulshan RaviLahore along with her accom-plices planned to kidnap thethen Tehsil Municipal Officer(TMO) Chak Jhumrah NusratAman for ransom.

To execute the planRashida made a phone call toTMO and introduced her asanchor of a private TV chan-nel and asked the TMO tocome to Sial Mor as she had

some information of his cor-ruption which she wanted toshare with him. As NusratAman reached there, shealong with her accompliceskidnapped him and later re-leased after receiving Rs 4million as ransom.

Anti Terrorism CourtJudge Masood Arshadawarded death sentence toaccused Rashida each undersection 365-A of Pakistan Pe-nal Code (PPC) and 7-A ofAnti Terrorism Act (ATA).The court also directed toconfiscate her property. ChakJhumrah police arrested an-other accused Ata Ullah Jan afew days ago and got hisphysical remand. Howeverother accused involved in thecase are still at large.—APP

PESHAWAR: Police officials stand high alert as Sher Shah Suri Road was blocked for all kinds of vehicular traffic.

MOHMAND AGENCY: Doctor examining patients during four days free medical campin Mobile Hospital organized by Director Health Service FATA.

PESHAWAR: Ameer Jamat-e-Islami Pakistan Syed Munawar Hassan addressing dur-ing Islami Jamiat Tulba Pakistan Convention at Markaz-Islami.

STAFF REPORTER

PE S H AWA R —Addi t ionalSecretary, Election Commis-sion of Pakistan (ECP),Mohammad Afzal Khan hassaid that the commission willstrictly follow the code ofconduct for the upcominggeneral elections to ensurefree, fair and transparentpolls in the country. Speak-ing in the meeting with jour-nalists in the PeshawarPress Club (PPC) here Sat-urday, he said that during30-day strict scrutiny of thenominations of candidateswill be carried and both bankloans and utility bills de-faulters will face outright re-

jection.He said that the Election

Commission has hired infor-mation technology expertsand latest electronic equip-ments for bringing moretransparency in the upcomingelections. He said that in pastelection objections were usedto go to Election Tribunal ofhigh courts, but for the com-ing elections, they are hiringretired sessions judges whichwill hear cases related to elec-toral disputes on daily basis.He said that 11 retired ses-sions judges have alreadybeen hired and more will behired before the elections.

Additional Secretary,Election Commission said

that votes’ registration, trans-fer of vote and name changewill continue till the an-nouncement of ElectionSchedule. Mohammad AfzalKhan said that Pakistan is asenior democratic state,which despite difficult situa-tion is moving forward to-wards democracy. He saidthat for first time in the his-tory of Pakistan, the ElectionCommission is headed by apersonality like FakhruddinG. Ibrahim, whose standardof decision is only merit.

The official of the Elec-tion Commission said thatpreparation for guaranteeingfree, fair and transparent pollswas started from 2009.

ECP to strictly implement2013 polls conduct code

PHA clerk held on graft charges

CS delivers Rs 1m chequeto slain journalist widow

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—President, PPP,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Anwar Saifullah Khan hasruled out any pre-poll elec-toral alliance with any politi-cal party in the province. Heexpressed these views whilespeaking in the Guest Hour,Programme of PeshawarPress Club (PPC) here Satur-day. The PPP provincial chiefwas flanked by senior PPPleaders, Saeed Ahmad Khan,Khawaja Yawar Naseer,Akbar Khan advocate andNighat Orakzai. He said thatthey have no issue with theircoalition partner ANP.

He said that PPP andANP has vote bank in thesame area. In the elections of2008, he said that PPP had

won polls in eight while ANPin nine districts of the prov-ince. He said that they willfield candidates on all na-tional and provincial assem-bly constituencies of theprovince. He said that forfirst time, a democraticallyelected government is com-pleting its constitutional pe-riod. He said that no one hasconsulted them on the up-coming interim setup for theprovince. However, he saidthat consultation in this re-gard is necessary and theywill ultimately have importantrole and will also hold con-sultations with other politi-cal parties in this regard.

In response to a question,he said both major politicalparties of the country wantelections and no one could not

create hurdles in this regard.He said that the governmentis near completion of five-yearterm and is set to face thepeople, which will either voteor reject them. He said thatwhenever, free, fair and trans-parent polls were held, PPP re-mained triumphant. He saidthat after winning the electionsPPP will will establish a soci-ety based on the principles ofIslam and will remove depriva-tions of the people of the prov-ince. The PPP leader said thatKhyber Pakhtunkhwa is therichest province having natu-ral resources while its south-ern districts have huge oil andgas reserves. He said that af-ter restoration of peace fur-ther efforts will be made fordiscoveries of more reser-voirs of national resources.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

FAISALABAD—Utilization ofcollaborative efforts of publicand private sector, organiza-tions and other stakeholdersis imperative to materialise adream of agricultural yield andfood security in the country.This was stated by Azmat AliRanjha, Secretary AgriculturePunjab, while addressing ameeting of Deans CommitteeUniversity of AgricultureFaisalabad (UAF) at NewSyndicate Hall here on Satur-day.

Ranjha said new inno-vations and agronomic ap-proaches should beadopted to exploit our maxi-mum yield potential in agri-cultural and livestock sec-tors. He urged scientists todevelop genetically modi-fied seeds by keeping inview changing weather con-

‘Energetic effortsimperative for agri yield’

ditions and global warmingchallenges being faced byfarmers of the region.

ProfDr. Iqrar AhmadKhan, Vice Chancellor ofUAF, while giving presenta-tion highlighted the role ofuniversity to cope futurechallenges. He said the var-sity was striving to generatemore research grants on com-petitive grounds.

Prof Dr. Rai Niaz Ahmad,the Vice Chancellor Arid Ag-riculture UniversityRawalpindi, also gave brief-ing regarding integratedmodel of Renewable Energyand said under one umbrellaUniversity had establishedBio-Gas Plant, Solar EnergyPower Generation System,Bio-Fuel, Fish Farm andother Units which arecomplementing each other tomake it more efficient andsustainable.

PPP KP rules out electoralalliance with any party

NAZIR SIYAL

LARKANA—There 832people killed in tribal clashesincluding women and chil-dren in various parts of Sindhprovince during couple ofmonths. Highest number ofchildren is out of schools(OS) due to tribal clashes,crops destroyed and busi-ness was affected. Accord-ing to reports, 22 districts ofSindh province the villages,towns and rural areas werebadly affected due to tribaldisputes and clashes.

Similarly, in MirpurKhas02, and 04in Umer Kit dis-tricts of Mirpur KhasDividion were sacrificed un-der tribal enmity. In the sameway in Sukkur Division 05 inNaushahro Feroz 77 inKhairpur, 14 in Ghotki and 16

832 persons die in Sindh tribal feudsin Sukkur districts were mur-dered during tribal disputes.A highest number of deathsand disputes recorded inLarkana division, where 41,killed in Kashmor, Kandhkot,06 in Jacobabad, 16 inShikarpur, 09 in Kamber-Shahded kot and 28 only inLarkana districts during tribalclashes.

During last year the 278tribal disputes were reported,in a heavy firing between thetribes and indiscriminate fir-ing on each other, in which590 men, 126 women and 116innocent children were killedin tribal clashes and other dis-putes reports told. While 681people were injured seriouslyin different disputes and 131women and 298 men also ab-ducted during attacks and indifferent disputes. The

people robbed the cattle’s andoccupied on their Lands,resultantly the education ofchildren highly affected.

Mean while hundred andthousands of agriculturalland destroyed, business andtrade centers vacated due toenmities, resulted several nogo areas developed in tribalclashes. The people sufferedall over in hunger and otherhealth and education issues,peoples were limited to theirhomes, while villages, townsand rural areas were also af-fected in the tribal conflicts.

On the other side, differ-

ent cases were registered on769 accused amongst the vil-lagers in tribal clashes, about200 accused were arrested,among innocent people werealso sent to jails, the reportssaid that 668 people were onlyinnocent only the falsecharges were arrested by thepolice. The local leaders andcivil society told that there isno law and order situation inthe conflict areas, law forceagencies failed to protect thecommon men, but followingthe instructions of feudal andpowerful persons in the areas,they were trying to hold on

tribal disputes only for theirown benefits they said.

They said the women andchildren are not safe and theeducation of girls is a dreamin the tribal areas. The com-munity chiefs playing a rightplayer role with police andpoliticians, but the innocentkilled on account of Karo Kari/honor killings, white-colorpeople were involved in theland grabbing, heavy corrup-tion and tribal clashes, theimperialists, landlords andpoliticians supporting themfor white-color crime in themetropolitan and major cities.

Assurance tomaintain

Balochistan peaceRAFIULLAH MANDOKHAIL

ZHOB—Inspector GeneralFrontier Corps Major GeneralUbaidullah Khattak has saidthat in spite of sufferingheavy losses, FC was deter-mined to protect thecountry’s borders and readyto lay down their preciouslives. He expressed theseviews while addressing atribal Jirga held at Militia messhere on Saturday. Comman-dant Talat Masoood, DCZhob Wali MuhammadBarech, DC SheraniMuhammad Tariq, DPO ZhobAwais Ahmed, DPO SheraniShakir, Ex-Nazim MulaviHabib-ur-Rehman, MulaviSarwer, Abdul Sattar Kakar,Haji Gul Khan Kharoty.

Calls for Army’sdeployment in KarachiIN the backdrop of renewed violence and terrorism in Karachi

and insistence of Interior Minister Rehman Malik that Februarywould see more bloodshed in the city, there are now intensified

calls for deployment of Army in Karachi to control the situation.Apart from other circles and parties, one of the stakeholders ANP isforcefully demanding Swat-type operation in Karachi ensuring searchof every house and recovery of illegal weapons. It is understood that the calls for deployment of Army and anacross the board operation are motivated by the desire to restore peaceand tranquility in the port city, which is burning and the authoritiesconcerned seemed to be directionless on what to do to check thelawlessness. The situation is so murky that Babar Khan Ghauri,MQM’s Minister for Port and Shipping has alleged that Rangers havebecome part of the problem. May be this is politically motivatedstatement to discredit Rangers but what option you have except armyoperation to weed out terrorists and criminals when Police andRangers have failed and you have no confidence in them. There arealso legitimate complaints by Police and Rangers that they are notgetting free hand in dealing criminals and they have to release themdue to political interference. In our view, deployment of Army orarmy operation should be avoided as far as possible because ofrepercussions of such recourse. Army already has too much on itsplate as it is fully involved in operations in FATA besides stabilizingsituation in some areas of KPK. Army also has other duties oninternational borders and its personnel have been deployed in Karachito help complete the process of verification of voters. In fact, thereare apprehensions that the fresh wave of violence is aimed atcomplicating the situation to force the ECP to abandon the verificationprocess. Any how, it would not be advisable to deploy Army buttargeted operations can surely be undertaken with the help of theArmy to cleanse the city of trouble-makers of different sorts.

Attack on Hangumosque

THE country seems to be under attack from all sides as part of abigger conspiracy to destabilize and weaken the first Muslim

nuclear power. As Karachi is burning, terrorists hit in Hangu on Fridaykilling 28 people outside a mosque. As the victims belonged to aparticular sect, it is widely being seen as an attempt to sow seeds ofsectarian hatred in the country. Suicide or terrorist attacks are condemnable in whatever formthey occur but the kind of attack carried out in Hangu was all themore dastardly as it was targeted against worshippers who werecoming out of the mosque after Friday prayers. No Muslim worth thename would indulge in such a gruesome act of harming other faithfulirrespective of the sect or petty differences. This is not the first incidentas similar attacks were carried out by local and foreign agents ofanti-Pakistani forces in Gilgit-Baltistan, KKH and other areas of thecountry. Memories are still afresh of the massacre of Hazara peoplein Quetta that resulted into imposition of the Governor’s rule inBalochistan. We firmly believe that conspiracies are being hatchedby our enemies to create both horizontal and vertical divide in oursociety and unfortunately our rulers, political parties, religious leadersand leaders of public opinions have turned their eyes to the multiplechallenges. It is all the more responsibility of the religious scholarsand Ulema to foil such attempts as they have the necessary influenceon the masses. But unfortunately some narrow-minded Ulema havelost sight of the logic and have become tool in the hands of the enemyto fan sectarian prejudices. Our intelligence agencies too have toshun the tendency of meddling into political affairs and instead focusattention on real issues facing the nation.

Issue of newprovinces be deferredWHILE political parties are at odds over the number of new prov

inces to be created, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has observedthat the present Assemblies had no mandate on the issue because not asingle political party had made it part of its manifesto during the elec-tions in 2008. Justice Khalid Mehmood Khan of the LHC while hearinga petition remarked Friday that parliament had completed its tenure andwhy the government suddenly thought to make new provinces?

There is a logic in the observation and it holds merit as the assem-blies are completing their five year tenure and it would be a bad prece-dence that when the government completes its term, it takes decision offar reaching consequences which is like stepping in the jurisdiction ofthe coming government that would certainly have its own policies andpriorities. It would be better for political parties to get a fresh mandatefrom the people on the new provinces issue and the matter be left to thenew Assemblies. There is also difference of opinion between the twomajor political parties - PPP and PML-N - on the number of provinces tobe created in Punjab while the people of Hazara are also vociferouslydemanding their separate province whereas the Parliamentary Commis-sion has recommended just one province to be called Bahawalpur-JanoobiPunjab. In this situation, as the court rightly observed, the issue of creat-ing new provinces by the outgoing assemblies would cast doubts on theintentions of the political parties sitting in parliament. As we have beenpleading, every institution and party should now focus on elections andelections only, contentious issues should be deferred, they could be madepart of the election manifestoes and let the people decide how many prov-inces they want.

Goondas in political economy

The Presidentspends most of histime kissing peopleon the cheek inorder to get them todo what they oughtto do withoutgetting kissed.

The truth has to be faced byevery one sooner or later. Inpolicy making that is only

possible to some extent as peoplesooner or later speak out and takeson the power block. These days thecontroversy on Kargill is out. Vari-ous comments on the exact truth [ifthat is the right adjective] had beena basis for conjecture for a longtime. Truth substantively speakingis difficult through self introspec-tion. There are very people in theworld that can detach themselvesand say we erred. The CJ has triedto create some kind of sense in anotherwise chaotic situation. The at-tacks on manifestations of a crimeare not good enough for what is re-quired is a diagnosis of the prob-lem; a prescription to cure the so-cial disease. How can one bring or-der out of chaos? Do we have a bodyof men in an organization that cango forward and deliver for the sakeof the country? Our collective trustis more or less non-existent. No onewithin Pakistan or without is will-ing to take our word for it.

If one were to analyze the do-ings and the undoing of a govern-ment and their critics then the fail-ure of the government has to be ac-cepted. Where are those captains ofindustry that used to take the bur-den of the society on their shoul-ders? Where are those public spir-ited civil servants that stood up forideology and principles? Where arethose public representatives thatwere willing to die for their convic-tions? Is the age of chivalry fin-

Momentof peril

ISRAEL had extremely goodreasons to launch air strikesagainst a convoy of lorries on

the Syrian-Lebanese border, pre-sumed to be carrying advancedweapons to the Iranian-backedHizbollah militia. It believed thetrucks were transporting Russian-made SA-17 surface-to-air mis-siles, able to shoot down aircraftup to a range of 30 miles. Thisbreached its “red line” warning toDamascus that it would not toler-ate the presence of such weaponsin the hands of people dedicated tothe Jewish state’s destruction.That said, the strikes could hardlyhave come at a more dangerousmoment. Earlier this week, Natodeployed Patriot anti-missile bat-teries on Turkey’s border withSyria, while Israel established itsown Iron Dome equivalent on itsnorthern border. This prompted asenior Iranian official to warn thatit would regard an attack on Syriaas an attack on Iran, while an em-barrassed Russia accused Israel, inthe wake of the air strikes, of a vio-lation of the UN charter. In themidst of this deepening crisis,David Cameron made a surprisevisit to Libya (following his trip toAlgeria), where he was greetedwith plaudits and chants of “Allahuakhbar” – “God is great“ – afteraddressing police recruits. Hiswarm reception was a reward forBritain’s key role in overthrowingCol Gaddafi, when our ArmedForces spearheaded Nato’s militarycampaign alongside the French.Whether British troops will be ableto replicate this feat of arms willdepend largely on how much theGovernment is prepared to spendon our military. Yet this remainsunclear. On Wednesday, the PMsaid that there would be no moredefence cuts; yesterday, DowningStreet was forced to backtrack onhis apparent pledge. With threatsto our national security growinggreater by the day, this is not apolicy area that should be mired inconfusion.— The Telegraph

*****

Let Malidecide onits future

THE manner in which thesituation in Mali is handledwill determine not only the

next steps for the country, but alsohow similar crises will be ad-dressed in the future. Any escala-tion in the internationalcommunity’s response to the cur-rent situation will be detrimental inthe long term as the problems inthe country involve a number ofparties. France has announced thesuccess of its military operations inMali as it took control of key posts,including the airport in Kidal whereIslamists had total control. TheFrench troops had joined forceswith Malian troops in the recaptur-ing of Timbuktu and Gao. “Now itis up to African countries to takeover. We decided to put the means— in terms of men and supplies —to make the mission succeed andhit hard. But the French aspect wasnever expected to be maintained.We will leave quickly”, said FrenchForeign Minister Laurent Fabius.The situation in Mali should not beallowed to be repeated, whereby agroup of extremists take over thereins of an entire nation. This canonly be assured through a long-term plan that builds the institutionsof the country so that it maintainsits integrity and unity. Withoutproper infrastructure and meansthat allow all the Malian people tobe part of nation-building, the situ-ation will always be challengedwith the possibility of a civil warlooming large. As the UNSC be-gins its discussions on the possi-bility of deploying UN troops inMali, it is critical that the long-termaspect is addressed and examined.The presence of foreign troops inthe country is only a temporary so-lution. There is an urgent need forthe country to decide its future it-self. The African Union and othermembers of the international com-munity should provide assistanceto Mali, given that extremist groupswill always take advantage of weakcountries, something that should beavoided at any cost. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

—Harry S Truman US statesman

ished? What are the new un-derpinnings of elites? MoneyI suppose for it can open anydoor for you. When doesmoney start to stink? Prettysoon. The means to an end can-not be considered as the end in

itself. Regulatory authorities haveconsistently played foul with thecountry for some petty consider-ations. All the public sector organi-zations are under stress. Pakistan’scommitment to governance is practi-cally non existent. The jobs arehanded over to favorites from theparty. All the political parties are atfault. Not one is an exception.

Internationally we have lost outas no one is wiling to accept us onour word. Railways, PIA, PakistanSteel Mills, and name any public sec-tor organization that is doing well.Now a new sandal has broken out andthat is to do with the revenue genera-tion organization as they seem to havewritten off nearly 800 billion rupeesin the last five years. If this kind ofsiphoning continues Pakistan’s verysurvival is at stake.

A central command and controlsystem will not do. Neither will thismodern concept given to us by theWB-deregulation and privatization.The impact of these twin polices hasbeen the weaning away of competentpersonal from joining the civil ser-vices. With the politicians continu-ally calling them thieves they havegiven up on work. Go through theminutes of the standing committeesand of the other committees [PACetc] and compare the tone and lan-guage of these committees with othercountries parliamentary work. Thecommittees are uniformed and isseems as if a vendetta is being car-ried out. So what can be done or is tobe done? Some of the managementconcepts that are successfully utilized

in other countries have been given bypeople with an excellent track recordin managing difficult assignments.Here is the concept of distributiveleadership. This means the every sub-ordinate who is doing some work isreally the leader of that select bandand once the parameters are laiddown and the wherewithal given thenthe outcome is judged by what hasbeen achieved in a certain time pe-riod. Rewards are provided on thesame basis. Pay is provided on thebasis of performance and there is nocompromise and no exception whenfraud or inefficiency is detected.

The responsibility of the elitesis much higher and their s no for-giveness for them for any misde-meanor that may have been caused.The distributive leader is pickedform amongst the professionalcadre. Pakistan has suffered im-mensely in this and unfortunately theopportunity cost is not properly un-derstood by our Media and thereforecannot access the real cost to theeconomy. Neither is they willing toinvest some time on bringing fur-ther knowledge to the work thatthey have undertaken. The Karachikillings are an indication what canhappen when the urbanization is un-controlled.

Has nay one thought about it?The WB chamchas past and presentwant more urbanization without re-alizing that Urbanization has eaten into agriculture productive land to theextent of 3 m hectares or ten millionacres. So now there are two problemsthat will accost any planner worthyof the salt that he has taken. How toincrease productivity of land so thatthe loss in land assets to agricultureis made up? If productivity of wheatis 2.8 tons per ha what is the basis fortaking it to 3.8 tons per hectare. Whatagronomic practices will be required?

There is tension building upagain on India-Pakistan borders, which is very unfortu-

nate indeed. Ideally, India and Paki-stan, both poor countries, should becooperating with each other, and liv-ing together in peace, not seeing theother as adversary, and devote thescarce resources for improving liv-ing conditions for the people insteadof wasting these in making wars andpreparing for yet others. But that isnot to be, which reflects on the qual-ity of their leadership. nd whatevercordiality exists between the twopeoples, credit for that rests solelywith them, civil society and the me-dia. They have consistently ex-pressed a desire to live together inpeace and Aman-ki-Asha and simi-lar initiatives are a proof of that. Iremember during migration ofpeople on both sides of the borderaround partition time, there weremassacres for which blame lay withpeople both in India and Pakistan.

However, early on in Pakistan’slife, when Wagah border was tem-porarily opened, and restrictions ontravel eased to allow Indians to visitLahore to see the cricket matches,people in Lahore welcomed Hindusand Sikhs with open arms, even es-tablishing camps to offer them thehospitality. Also, Karachi peoplewho visited Delhi, Bombay andother cities of India, say they didn’tsee much difference and felt as ifthey were just in Karachi except thatauto-rickshaws in India were de-cided far more comfortable thanthose in Pakistan. Obviously, Indiaand Pakistan were part of one bigcountry, and customs and traditionsare pretty similar.

Pakistan-India relationsIf we analyse the present round

of hostilities, the inevitable conclu-sion is that India is to blame, whichis why it is refusing investigation byUnited Nations Military ObserversGroup. We also note that while high-est Pakistani authorities have re-frained from making hostile state-ments, in India, from the foot-soldier,right up to their commanders-in-chief, the ministers and even theirPresident are busy enflaming pas-sions. Even their Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has come up withthe statement that it will no longer bebusiness as usual with Pakistan andhe has already put these threats intopractice. The on-arrival visa servicefor senior citizens, part of the visa lib-eralizing regime, which was inaugu-rated only recently, has been sus-pended, and so have the talk onWullar Barrage, which had reachedan awkward point for India. And allthat happening at a time when thingshad just started looking good. Itsounds far more illogical when weconsider that Indian trade with Paki-stan and beyond was increasing, tothe benefit of both.

And this odd Indian behaviourcan’t simply be put down to vote-catching exercise just before the elec-tions. And it won’t be too far-fetchedto assume that perhaps it is a deliber-ate attempt by India to avoid discus-sions on serious issues on which noprogress has been made so far. Un-willing to soften up and adopt a rec-onciliatory approach, India has de-vised this on-off strategy: on:to gainsome benefits and then off: to avoidhaving to negotiate on issues like SirCreek, Siachin, water dispute, etc,creating a smoke-screen, behindwhich it could proceed and completeits illegal building of dams.

So, if we analyse the situation ina cool and calculated manner, we arebound to arrive at conclusions which

would be very uncomfortable anddisturbing. We see that civilian andmilitary leadership in Pakistan hasaccepted as a fact that it can not solveIndian-held Kashmir problem byforce, and even if it made a dash andsnatched some territory in Indian-held Kashmir, it can not retain its holdthere and in counter-attack by Indi-ans, it could even lose some of itsprime territory. Not being in a posi-tion to match India due to its superi-ority in conventional arms, as wellas in the number of soldiers in army,navy and air force, the best that ithopes for is to build up deterrent forcein order to discourage India fromstarting some sort of misadventureand it is here that our nuclear assetscome handy: So, having realizedthat at best, it has a capacity onlyto defend the territory, Pakistanileaders no longer think of any mis-adventure with India, like thoseundertaken by Ayub Khan or PervezMusharraf. Pakistan has evendropped the idea of acquiring stra-tegic depth in Afghanistan andwould be more than satisfied if itdoes not have to face active hostil-ity from Afghanistan side.

Unfortunately, the position ofIndia is much different. Having sepa-rated our eastern wing, for which ourown leaders unfortunately bear theprime responsibility, and throughwhich event Indira Gandhi claimedto have avenged one thousand yearsof Muslim domination in the region,India is now looking forward to be-coming an undisputed champion inthe region, and has ambitions evento eclipse China, for which it is co-operating closely with the UnitedStates. America’s poodle, Britain, isalso on the Indian circuit and it didconduct high-altitude military exer-cises with India. We also know thatIsrael, a darling of American andEurope, has declared Pakistan to be

What kind of inputs will be re-quired? The water shortage is arti-ficial as the elites are wasting toomany water resources. Sugar canedoes not need that mush water nordoes rice. But since we will not doanything on our own we are salvesto what ever is handed down to usfrom the west. They are interestedin selling their product and can doconsiderable amount of arm twist-ing. I can take out many examplesof agriculture and from the socialsectors of health and education.Cronyism and that is the end of dis-tributive leadership. This changewill require a man giant to imple-ment. We are only producingmummy daddy boys.

Subsidiary is when theimplementer is provided with thewherewithal to implement whattask has been provided to the per-son concerned. The interventionsare costless but require an abilitynot to interfere with the workingof the devolved subjects. Thespam of control of theimplementer will only improve ifthe effort is such as will encour-age them to take risks.

In management these troikapolicies can take the country for-ward. The law and order is seriousand that is the makings and doingsof the last government. But the re-cruitment by the present lot can-not be seen as saintly. The recruit-ment has been biased and cronyismhas played a big part in it. So youreap what you sow? If the powersthat be take the short route to jobproviding to friend and relativesthen the end result is what youhave. By removing the office of theDistrict Magistrate the Musharaffgovernment did a great disserviceto the country. Naqvi was incom-petent to lead the reforms.

an even greater threat than Iran andthere is a great degree of collabora-tion between Indian and Israeli de-fence forces. After Iraq and Syria,the whole crusaders’ brigade, plusIsrael, are now after Iran andnuclear-armed Pakistan and hereIndia sees a great opportunity, tosolve ‘Pakistani problem’ once forall, with the help of the internationalgang. We know India is makingheavy defence purchases, and isbuilding up its forces in a big way,which obviously is not merely fordefence against Pakistan. Also, inits brief war with China, India suf-fered badly and China could haveoccupied Indian territory, but didnot which proves that China posesno threat to Indian territorial in-tegrity. So, the Indian build up isobviously against Pakistan andlater, against China.

We also know that saboteursfrom India and other countries arebusy creating problems in our tribalareas as well as in Balochistan, andtheir involvement in Karachi killingsalso can not be entirely ruled out.So, if India sees a possibility ofbreaking up Pakistan further, turn-ing it into small, insignificant states,which would pose no threat and nochallenge to it, and in which mis-sion it will also have active help fromthe crusaders’ brigade plus their il-legitimate child, Israel, just whywould India be interested in seeinga stable, flourishing Pakistan? I thinkit is time for our leaders to finallyaccept that while we can have aceasefire, and some improvement intrade and other relations with it, nor-mal, good-neighbourly relationswith India are out of question, atleast while the present crop of small-minded Indian leaders, guided bysentiments like revenge, domination,etc, remain on the Indian politicallandscape.

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Voice of the People

UK plans to tackle Pak ‘corruption’

Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID)on Friday published for the

first time plans to tackle the threat of“endemic corruption” in 29 prioritycountries, including Pakistan, Soma-lia and Nepal. DfID also announcedfunding for anti-corruption units ofthe Metropolitan police (£3.4m) andthe City of London police (£3.8m).The Met’s corruption unit was in-volved in the investigation and pros-ecution of James Ibori, the formergovernor of Delta state in Nigeria,who was sentenced to 13 years in jailafter admitting fraud of nearly £50m.

Without DfID funding, the Metunit would have closed down byApril, a DfID official said. The unitswere set up because there were noteams in the UK dedicated to tack-ling corruption in other countries.DfID’s moves came as DavidCameron, who is in Liberia for talkson the development agenda for whenthe millennium development goalsexpire in 2015, cited corruption as oneof the factors that kept countries poor.

Judiciary protects the law not corruption. Dirty tactics are beingused to pressurize judiciary from

implementing law and judgments inhigh profile cases such as OGRA, ref-erences against PM, Memogate andholding of two offices by the presi-dent. The timing of NAB Chairman’sletter and finger-pointing is part ofthe collusion in corridors of power toprotect corruption, abuse of powerand complete disregard for the Con-stitution. By talking about total col-lapse of system and likely interfer-ence of third force, the spin-doctorsare trying to deter judiciary from up-holding rule of law and bringing tobook all those who were involved incrimes against state, corruption, pub-lic and looting national exchequer.

Elections and criminal account-ability are two separate things. Crimi-nal accountability is an ongoing pro-cess in a democracy. It is unfortunatethat NAB chairman tried to use theletter to criticize and pressurize judi-ciary, which has been rejected. Theaccountability of few dozen culpritscannot derail democracy, historictransition and process of free and fairelections. Chief Justice has alreadysaid that there is no danger to democ-racy. In fact, election is a democratic

Protect law not corruptionprocess to elect public represen-tatives who have fulfilled the pre-election screening criteria givenin the relevant articles of the Con-stitution and People’s Represen-tative Act 1976. No election anddemocracy in the world absolve

criminals, crimes and accountability.As superior pillar of democracy, cus-todian of the Constitution and publicinterest, judiciary has to punish crimi-nals. Therefore, the process of ac-countability will continue in accor-dance with the law.

NAB Chairman said that people,political forces and military are onsame page. These are hollow wordsbecause he is not a public represen-tative, a spokesman for the militaryand political forces. The military doesnot support corruption, lack of ac-countability and perpetual disdain forthe orders of the judiciary. Militarysupports rule of law, the Constitution,and the state institutions, it does notsupport corrupt individuals even ifthey are presidents and/or chief ex-ecutives. NAB chairman used thisstatement to show that military is sup-porting corruption of this govern-ment, corrupt individuals and failedgovernance. It is pure crime, whichmerits to be addressed in accordanceto law. Military should give the state-ment to show that NAB chairmandoes not speak for it and it only sup-ports rule of law.

NAB chairman should use lawto judge the cases instead of exercis-ing his mind. In his letter, he said that

Check Facebookaddiction

JAWED AHMED KHURSHEED

Who can deny that the youngstersare our prospects, our future andabove all they have undying poten-tial to do something really better fortheir loving nation: Pakistan. Whathas saddened me to spell out theseobservations is to share somethingthat is really hazardous for ouryouth. Visiting Facebook for theyouth of Pakistan has become anaddiction. I think they don’t livewithout it during even their studytime. I have noticed plenty of stu-dents either visiting the website ontheir mobile phones or find an op-portunity to visit it at any cost.

I had a furtive look on those stu-dents during visits on the site toknow whether they do anything pro-ductive or formative in terms of theireducation. They do either to respondtheir friends or see pictures or stu-pid jokes, animation or ephemeralreading material they receive ondaily basis from their Facebookfriends.

In return, they get nothing whilebeing hours and hours before thewebsite. The website of Facebookor social media is an outright de-structor for the students who don’tknow the dangerous effect of it.They have hundreds of opinion onan issue which lead them in a stateof confusion. They remain indeci-sive to arrive at a conclusion of anissue of daily routine let alone aca-demic and scholarly topics of theirown studies. They have become thespecies mere to follow what theyhave been shown or informed. Theyare not able to use scholarly inquiryto act according to their own obser-vations.

There would be plenty of peoplein our society who can tell you someof its benefits. But, these little ben-efits are taking away our best withregard to our youth. I think that thegovernment should ban the websiteof Facebook as it bans some timeuseless websites such youtube. Ourparents have little knowledge whattheir children are doing on the pre-text of socializing and pursuits ofknowledge. Parents should also keeptheir watchful eye to monitor theirchildren what they do while visit-ing such websites. If they cannotmonitor being illiterate in terms ofcomputer education, they must evenlearn to track what their children aredoing on Facebook. I talked to myfriend who tells me some of theyoung boys and girls are so addic-tive of using Facebook none canimagine.—Karachi

Cross mediaownership

M AFZAL KOLACHI

The democratic norms are strength-ened when public at large partici-pate in decisions making throughpopular will. It can be achievedwhen common people are well in-formed about their rights. Media isa basic medium which create aware-ness among the masses and leadthem to form a genuine and authen-tic opinion in their best interest. Ifmedia is free, not only, from limita-tions of undemocratic forces in thesociety but also, from predeterminedobjectives within organizations itselfthen it can lead to general aware-ness in the society and will benefitevery one. But, if it is concentratedin a few hands and they have choiceto define, decide and select what in-formation to share, then it hampersthe progressive way of democracyin any country.

Cross Media ownership has re-mained subject of great debate inwestern countries where only fewcontrol different media organiza-tions and their vested interest hashampered the free flow of informa-tion. Public at large is being infusedwith a typical mind set and they re-main at mercy of media outlet forinformation. It is the choice of me-dia organizations what they show,write or telecast. There is not anyproper check and balance on it,whether it is internal or external inmedia organizations. Simply, thesemedia outlets are accountable to

Look into mirror firstMASOOD KHAN

I have found it quite disgusting that Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik and leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) Hafiz Saeed found it appropriate to comment on what Bollywood superstar Shah

Rukh Khan (SRK) said in a magazine interview highlighting his frustration with religious tension amongcommunities. SRK is an Indian and has every right to complain about his country’s system as that is theonly way to improve it. However, one wonders why these two Pakistani gentlemen decided to enter thedebate. First of all, SRK did not call for help from these two gentlemen. If someone hides behind theshield of a humanitarian issue, then one wonders at the hypocrisy and asks: where does Pakistan itselfstand on the conditions of its own citizens, including religious and sectarian minorities? Leaders from acountry that is marred with religious, sectarian, tribal and ethnic conflicts have to put their own house inorder before nosing around. I find these unwarranted comments from Malik and Saeed to be an affrontagainst Indian Muslims. Such cheap attempts to score points may force Indian Muslims to keep quiet ontheir issues. In worse circumstances, these issues may be hijacked by the LeT and other jihadists forpropaganda purposes, providing a tool to Indian extremists to lash out at Muslims.—Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Views From Abroad

READERS

Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

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

—Editor

NAB Ordinance mandates that noreference can be filed unless the chair-man has been allowed to exercise hismind on the matter and decidewhether a clear case of criminalityhad been made out. It is a strange in-terpretation of the ordinance that in-dividual discretion takes precedenceover law. No law in the world allowsthe cases and judgments to be leftopen to individual’s discretion that ifhe or she so pleases only then the casewill make any headway. The expertswill show that as legal nonprofes-sional, NAB chairman is undermin-ing the very statutory obligationswhich he claims to be upholding inhis letter.

The failures of NAB forced ju-diciary to act. It is about time NABis brought under judiciary as prom-ised by Gilani at the start of this gov-ernment. NAB has failed to deliveras independent institution and remainapolitical since 90s. Like his prede-cessors, the current NAB chairmanis protecting corruption and cryingwolf. A long list of outstanding cor-ruption cases of anti-corruption or-ganization speak for itself. Some ofthe cases are Hajj scandal, RentalPower Projects, FBR, OGDC, PS,PIA, Pak Railways, IB, energy andtransport mafias, cartels in commod-ity, industrial and commercial sectors,stock exchange crashes, dollar smug-gling to Afghanistan, embezzlementin FATA secretariat, individual assetsand alleged corruption of Rs. three-trillion during this government’s ten-

none and their prejudiced reportinghampers the free flow of information.No civilized society could be againstthe freedom of expression but itshould not only be free from limita-tions of society itself but also fromstructural lapses within organizationitself so that true reflections of eventscan be imparted to general publicwithout any pre-settled agenda in aresponsible manner. Freedom of ex-pression should not be taken asgranted by media organizations; theyshould adhere to basic norms of jour-nalism and responsibility.

In Pakistan, cross media owner-ship has risen to an extent that fewpeople are managing and controllingthe content of information. There arefew media groups which own almostall the media viz electronic, print andadvertising agencies in Pakistan. Thishas earned them huge profit as wellas monopoly in the market withoutany competition. They are in conniv-ance with different influential stakeholders such as politicians, techno-crats, bureaucrats and civil societyand try to exploit the masses throughcirculation over different channels toform or mould public opinion.

The four major Pakistani mediagroups control the commercial aswell as operational aspects of main-stream media in Pakistan. They havebeen able to sustain their oligopolyover communication resourcesthrough huge investments, synergis-tic mechanisms, and horizontal, ver-tical, and diagonal expansion.PEMRA has failed to effectivelycheck cross-media ownership and hasnot been able to exercise its author-ity to implement an efficient regula-tory regime as enshrined in its man-date. One of the main reasons for thefailure of PEMRA is the control bybureaucracy, which has rendered theorganization ineffectual. Corporatemanipulation, profit-mongering, irre-sponsible journalism, concentrationof ownership, and cartelization are thelogical outcomes of regulatory iner-tia resulting in form of deterioratingof democratic institutions and of plu-ralism in the country.—Via email

British societyis decaying

SAEED QURESHI

I have made several visits to the GreatBritain in the recent and distant past.I could not convince myself all theseyears that this country could havebeen the ruler of more than half ofthe world. But irrespective of mybelief, she was the dominant powerof the world for over a hundred yearsor so or roughly until the SecondWorld War. In 90s, it was polluted anddirty and during my visit in Decem-ber2011, I found it much more envi-ronmentally squalid and unkempt.The degradation of the environmentin UK is escalating without any tan-gible remedies to contain it. The at-mospheric hygiene is poor. Thestreets remain littered for days andweeks together without beingcleaned. It is a common scene to seewater drains outside the houseschoked by stray papers, odd trashitems, causally thrown away plasticbags, bottles and wrappers. It mightbecome a third world country in duecourse.

If one compares the civic upkeepelsewhere in Europe like in Germanyand Austria, one would come acrossa bewildering contrast. The phenom-enal difference in the overall pictureof the United States and the Unitedkingdom is that USA looks all newwith big shopping plazas and hous-ing constellations fast coming up. InUnited States, the businesses, theshopping centers and factory areas areseparate from the residential areas.Barring the apartment complexes,every built house or living unit isseparate from other houses. It wouldbe impossible under the Americanlaws to open a gift shop or small re-tail outlet in the parlor or garage ofthe house. In England the housesshare wall with each other as part ofblock.

The plight of most of the immi-grants or expatriates is miserable. Bigfamilies live in small units with lim-ited space. In some houses or theapartments, I have seen the bath tubfixed in the kitchen. The toilet is inthe courtyard and one has to walkmany steps to reach that isolated

Can Rahul live up to expectations?

Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to thepost of party vice president hasunderstandably evoked enthu-

siastic response from Congresscircles. He is being touted as a gamechanger in the run up to the LokSabha polls in 2014. That the Nehru-Gandhi family rules the Congress isa widely acknowledged fact. Thoughthere are many who wish to believeagainst all available evidence that theCongress is the most democratic or-ganization that exists in the country.But the recent instance will serve torid such optimists of their delusionand demonstrate the hold of dynastyover the party.

That Mr. Rahul Gandhi dependsheavily on his family legacy for hiscareer in politics is also clear. In fact,his elevation in the Congress has onlyre established the politics of dynasty.It won’t be long before he succeedsSonia Gandhi as President. What hap-pened in Jaipur is just the continua-

tion of the Nehru- Gandhi dynasticstyle of politics. At Jaipur session,Congress leaders were said to havepleaded for organizational electionsand had also decreed the practice ofnominations that according to themhad weakened the party.

Given that, how do Congressleaders justify the super impositionon the organization of Rahul Gandhiat Number two? Why was not he al-lowed to come through the processof elections from grass root level.What is more bewildering is that hissuperimposition through nominationis being hailed as the “will” of theCongress workers. A few weeks agoin Tamil Nadu DMK Chief M.Karunanidhi coyly named a son ashis successor amidst a similar drama.These are examples of dynastic divi-dends for political families provingonce again that even after more than60 years of Republic, democracy isonly a façade in India.

Rahul Gandhi has said that theCongress and the people of India arehis life and has thanked the CongressParty and promised effectivechanges. The opposition party the

BJP has called his anointment as amere eye wash and rightly so. Histalks sound especially hollow whenhe lambasted the same “system” hismother and Congress PresidentSonia Gandhi presided over the last15 years. Though the Gandhi Scion’sspeech was very inspiring with hisopen attacks on the corrupt and in-efficient, pray, what has he doneabout all this, in all these years whenhe had been very close to the topleadership of the nation ? Nothing.He has not lifted his little finger toclear up even smallest things aboutwhich he was at his oratorical bestat this conference.

The AIIC session was indeed anopportunity for the Congress heirapparent to convey his views on theissues agitating the nation and ad-vise his party about how to deal withthem. But instead he chose to invokethe sacrifices of his family besidesresorting to stupid theatrics when hespoke of power being poison. Butone may rightly ask- who is forcinghim to sip that poison ? In fact, heshould spare public this kind ofdrama. One strongly believes that

ure. Public knows that the letter is aploy to gain time, block justice andprotect stakes, but the judiciary, ascustodian of public and state inter-est, is oath bound to act before it istoo late. The chairman has failed touphold law and is obstructing jus-tice. He merits to be removed andface law.

The letter could be a public pos-turing to block judiciary. The gov-ernment should stay away from thisconfrontational approach. It is ille-gal approach because competentauthority is not upholding law in thefirst place. The authority’s powersare already nullified due to directinvolvement in the court cases, in-cluding holding of dual offices andfailure to submit a written reply tocourt order. The initiation of refer-ence or other legal proceedingsagainst a bench, a judge, court orjudiciary based on NAB letter at thisstage will be self-defeating becauseit will be taken as obstruction of jus-tice due to the conflict of interest.The court proceeding against manyparty members including PM, inte-rior minister further underminesneutrality of any reference. On thecontrary, judiciary would be wellwithin its right to use its powers ofjudicial review to scrap illegal con-stitutional amendments that could beused to undermine its independencein trichotomy of power in a democ-racy, and make it subservient to of-fice holders, politicians and law-makers.

Mark Tran

place. The influx of foreign studentshas been quite heavy during the pasttwo decades. It was pretty easy forthe students to get an admission let-ter from genuine or private andmostly fake educational institutionsin UK. The embassy or the high com-mission would readily grant visa.These young persons would payheavy amounts to the schools andcolleges run by crafty professionalbusinessmen.

There seems to be a drastic haltin granting student visas to educa-tional applicants from Pakistan andother south “Asian countries whosecitizens invariably aspire to move tothe green pasture like Great Britain.Instead of punishing the crook bossesof these phony schools, the onus hasfallen on the hoodwinked young as-pirants who came to UK legally foreducation with underlying motive ofa legal stay.

Even in politics the immigrantsare now demographically in suchnumbers that they can elect their wonmember to the House of Commons.In local elections the naturalized citi-zens have been elected. That showsthe grass-root and a genuine demo-cratic culture embedded in the En-glish society. The ceremonies of anew PM taking over and the formerleaving the 10 Downing Street is verysimple and is total contrast to the ex-travagant ceremonies witnessed in thethird world countries.—Via email

Powder kegof KashmirZAHEERUL HASSAN

On 16 January 2012, Director Gen-eral of Military Operations (DGMOs)of Pakistan and India established con-tact with each other on hotline anddecided to tone down the tension be-tween the deployed troops on Lineof Communication (LoC).

On 17 January U.S. foreign of-fice and its ambassador at Islamabadalso emphasised that India and Paki-stan should avoid border confronta-tion and resolve the issues bilaterally.Now question arises that whether theestablishment of peace between In-dia and Pakistan will be possiblewithout resolving the real bone ofcontention i.e. “Kashmir”.

Past history reveals that NewDelhi has been stressing to strengthenthe Confidence Building Measures(CBMs) with Islamabad to normalisethe relations between two capitals, butshe always shown reluctance in dis-cussing the Kashmir and water prob-lems as major issues between twocapitals. She has never given anypositive signal of taking a step for-ward for settling the Kashmir con-flict rather preferred to put it asideon the name of continuation of peaceprocess. .

The recent Indian unprovokedfiring on LoC should also be seen inthe light of her covert design againstPakistan. It would not be wrong insaying that India has accelerated co-vert war because adverse securityenvironment in the region. She isexploiting and fueling the foreignsponsored militancy in Balochistan,Karachi and other parts of Pakistan.

India has adopted an inflexibleand dubious approach in resolving theissues with the regional andneighbouting countries. Now it is thetime that Pakistan should ask Indiato resolve the issue of Kashmir onpriority. In this context, world com-munity and the global powers shouldrealise that Kashmir is a flash pointand real bone of contentions betweentwo countries.

Not resolving of Kashmir issuecan explode anytime and lead us toanother global nuclear war. Thus theissue of Kashmir be settled throughnegotiation and mediation immedi-ately so that tension between twoSouth Asian countries be diminishedpermanently.—Via email

Cameron has made transparency, par-ticularly in the extractive sectors indeveloping countries, a priority dur-ing Britain’s presidency of the G8group of industrialised countries, apoint he underlined at the World Eco-nomic Forum in Davos last week.

DfID’s anti-corruption plans for29 priority countries follow recom-mendations from the IndependentCommission of Aid Impact, a watch-dog, for DfID to produce an explicitanti-corruption strategy for its mainpartner countries. The anti-corruptionplan for Pakistan, which is due to re-ceive £971m between 2012-15, willinvolve support for Pakistan’s publicaccounts committee and its electioncommission. “This will include call-ing more frequently for corruption tobe tackled in regular direct dialoguewith government, including discus-sions at federal, provincial and indi-vidual programme level,” said DfID.

Four-fifths of Pakistanis viewgovernment corruption as wide-spread. Transparency Internationalranked Pakistan 139 out of 176 coun-tries in its corruption perception in-dex. This month, Pakistan’s supremecourt ordered the arrest of the primeminister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, on cor-

ruption charges. In an example of aDfID-backed initiative in Pakistan,every citizen who contacts Punjabprovince’s local government, tax,police, health or education serviceswill receive free automated calls ortext messages where they can reportif they were forced to pay a bribe orexperienced bad customer service.During a three-year pilot, several cor-rupt officials were suspended orsacked. DfID also plans to improvepublic financial management andsupport citizen initiatives in all part-ner countries, including Nepal, whichwill receive £4m from DfID for anti-corruption measures, channelledthrough the Asian Development Bankand the World Bank. Justine Green-ing, the international developmentsecretary, said: “Corruption is a dead-weight which is holding countries andtheir people back. The UK govt willnot only work in countries to preventpublic funds from being siphoned offor stolen – we will step up our effortsto combat corruption that uses ourshores as a host.”

Detective chief superintendentOliver Shaw, head of economic crimeat the City of London police, said thefunding enabled the overseas anti-

corruption unit (OACU) to prosecute“some of the most complex and sig-nificant cases of overseas bribery andcorruption”. The OACU has charged27 people and one company, and suc-cessfully prosecuted 13 individuals,with 20 further cases under investi-gation. DfID is giving money to theSerious Organised Crime Agency in-ternational intelligence cell(£854,000) and the Crown Prosecu-tion Service asset recovery(£399,000).

Campaigners praised DfID’s fi-nancial commitment to anti-corrup-tion, but emphasised the importanceof preventive measures. “It would beeven better to ensure that the moneydid not end up in our banks in thefirst place,” said Robert Palmer withGlobal Witness. “We need tightersupervision and personal criminalresponsibility on the part of CEOswhen dirty money ends up in bankslike HSBC.” Britain’s biggest bankwas fined $1.9bn for acceptingmoney from Mexican drug traffick-ers but the US authorities decided notto prosecute HSBC amid fears thatthe entire banking system would havebeen destabilised. — Courtesy: TheGuardian

these pronouncements are aimed atmaking people gain the impressionthat he is not clamouring for power.

Democracy in India in the tru-est sense is nothing more than ajoke very evident from the corona-tion and its hailing in media. It isnot just sycophants but irrespon-sible journalism also amounting topolitical parties operating like afiefdom. They are expectedly si-lent on this act and just feel happyto term this as a royalty and mon-archy.

The “ responsible media” whichtalks about democracy at length hastaken this development lying down.This speaks a lot about the state offourth estate in this country whichis dangerous for any country. Me-dia has become a week lamb and iseasily fooled by buffoonery goingaround.

But all said and done, it is im-perative upon the Congress to dareto think of something radical by re-inventing itself on the basis of poli-cies, ideas and vision for how Indiashould develop, and not on a par-ticular dynasty.

There are many who leave thewarmth of home and hearth,the luxury of a city and em-

brace the cruel hardships of villagelife that they may serve the poorbetter. But we, who have not suchresolve, such courage, needn’t looktoo far to see the poor, literally atour doorsteps, waiting to be helped.Just open your eyes.

Most of us are blind to them. Iremember some incidents that made

me realize how blind we are: Some-time back, I was invited onto theboard of a religious trust that ran amonthly magazine. In my first meet-ing with the staff, I heard them voicegrievances of being harshly under-paid, even after putting decades ofservice. I decided at first I would givemyself time before handling the is-sue, till I found the chairman of thetrust, a man who’d decorated himselfwith an aura of respectability, hadactually cut the Christmas bonuses ofthese same poor people, even thoughhe had the same year published hisown book with money from the or-ganization.

“Why did you cut their bonuses?”I asked mildly at the next board meet.

“Because they don’t deserve thatmuch!” ranted the same worthwhilegentleman. He had deducted a thou-sand rupees from each of their salaryslips, and given them a measly twothousand rupees. “I think that youshould have been more considerate!”I said and found the board agreeingwith me, angering the same man. Thestaff, never got that money, andwithin a month or two, salaries werereduced even farther, and a proposalpassed at the board, that they wouldget an incentive for every book sold,was cleverly not implemented by thesame man. Costly, ‘trust’ paid flightsto far corners of the country are madeby him, to teach people in rural ar-eas, biblical truths, when the greatest

Open your eyes..!truth of compassion, is invisible tohim.

Oh no, you don’t need to leavethe warmth of home and hearth, theluxury of a city to hear the cries ofthe poverty stricken, we don’t needto embrace the cruel hardships ofvillage life to serve the poor andneedy. The poor are literally at ourdoorsteps; our maids, drivers, gar-deners, watchmen, all waiting to behelped. When your maid asks for araise, do you see her need to feedher family, or do you see imperti-nency? Whatever you do, don’t cutexisting bonuses, open your eyes..!

Lord open my eyes that I maysee The poor right here, in this City.—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

Rizwan Ghani Email:sadcat44@hotmail.com

Sushil VakilEmail: sushilvakil@yahoo.co.in

RICHARD WEITZ

AS recent debates swirl around nuclearweapons, chemical weapons have thepotential to cause great harm especiallyin Asia. Thus far Asia has largely evaded

the chemical weapons challenge now confrontingMiddle Eastern and NATO countries as they con-template how to respond to the civil war in Syriaand consolidate peace and security in Libya andIraq. For good reason, most attention has focusedon the emerging nuclear weapons powers of Iranand North Korea as well as the tense relationsamong the existing nuclear weapons states in Asia.The recent angst surrounding the possible use ofchemical weapons stockpiles by regime diehardsin Syria, or their seizure by extremist elementsamong the insurgents, underscore the continueddanger of chemical weapons proliferation and theneed to take stronger measures to oppose it.

Allied leaders have adopted strong declarationsagainst Assad using chemical weapons even whilethey contemplate unpleasant contingency plans tosecure or eliminate the material on their own. Lastmonth President Obama said that his administra-tion had “increased concern” that Syria would en-gage in the “totally unacceptable” use of chemicalweapons. “If you make the tragic mistake of usingthese weapons,” he warned, “there will be conse-quences and you will be held accountable.” Syriais widely suspected of having one of the world’slargest chemical weapons arsenals, including arange of chemical agents (from unsophisticatedchoking agents to advanced nerve agents), severaldelivery systems (such as missiles, bombs, andshells), and multiple stockpiles in which the chemi-cal precursors can be rapidly combined to arm theweapons. These could prove very effective if usedagainst the rebel forces, which lack any protectionagainst chemical weapons. Additionally, the Assadregime could use them against foreign nations suchas Turkey which has strongly backed the rebelforces. Perhaps the most serious danger is that,when the Assad regime falls, malicious non-stateactors will seize Syria’s chemical weapons stock-piles. Despite its desire to stay out of the Syrianconflict, the Obama administration may need tosend U.S. troops to Syria to secure the chemicalagents and related infrastructure to prevent terror-ists from gaining control of them.

Even if these stocks are secure, the agents re-quired to produce chemical weapons are widelyavailable. Many countries possess industries ca-pable of producing large quantities of such chemi-cals. Additionally, poorly secured caches ofweaponized chemical compounds in the formerSoviet Union offer potential weapons to for ter-rorist organizations, criminal groups, or rogue re-

gimes. Improvised chemical explosive devices canbe produced with widely available chemicals and

without much chemical expertise. Under certainconditions, even a minor CW attack could causewidespread panic and immense economic losses,transforming limited attacks into major incidents.

Asia received a warning two decades ago about howa significant quantity of a chemical agent in a con-centrated area could be extremely deadly. The AumShinrikyo cult, which was based in Japan but oper-ated in many Asian countries, undertook a large-scale program to develop weapons of mass destruc-

tion in the 1990s. Notwithstanding its vast resources,the cult proved unable to develop biological ornuclear weapons, but it did manage to make sarin.Although its 1995 operation in the Tokyo Subwayresulted in only a dozen deaths, more than 5,000people were hospitalized. Many more people might

have died had AumShinrikyo used the gas moreeffectively, had conducted the operation in more

favorable weather conditions, or used an even moredeadly chemical agent. Guerrillas have also usedchemical weapons in insurgencies. In 2007, groupsof Iraqi guerrillas detonated vehicular-borne impro-

vised explosive devices that combined conventionalexplosives with chlorine gas in canisters. These at-tacks were not very effective against their targets–Iraqi security forces and civilians as well as coali-tion troops. They would have been much moredeadly against unprotected civilians.

Terrorist targeting of chemical facilities is alsoa grave concern. Various U.S. government and non-government experts had identified the United Statesas potentially vulnerable to terrorist attacks againstchemical plants or rail tankers transporting toxicchemicals such as chlorine. In its “National Plan-

ning Scenarios,” the Department of Homeland Se-curity used one scenario involving the detonation

of a chlorine storage tank that resulted in 17,500deaths and more than 100,000 injuries. The poten-tial magnitude of such disasters are well-known toAsians, who can readily recall the December 1984toxic gas release at the Union Carbide India pesti-cide plant at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, which ex-posed more than half a million people to methylisocyanate gas and other chemicals. Perhaps as manyas 10,000 people died and many more have sincesuffered from their debilitating injuries. The UnionCarbide Corporation claims a disgruntled workersabotaged the plant. A terrorist could do likewise atmany other chemical storage or production plants,which typically are not as heavily guarded as mili-tary, nuclear, or government facilities.

Although not as well-known as the gas attacksin Europe during World War I, Asian countries haveused chemical weapons in their own conflicts. Dur-ing the 1930 and 1940s, the Imperial Japanese Armythat tried to conquer China abandoned hundreds ofthousands of chemical munitions used for artilleryshells on Chinese territory after Japan’s surrender.Following years of frustrating delays, China andJapan have only recently begun eliminating theseweapons. Japan has committed to paying all theelimination costs, including excavating the weap-ons, transporting them to a disposal point, and de-stroying them in an environmentally acceptablemanner. But Japanese contractors have sometimesfound working inside China on such a controver-sial issue challenging. The Chinese authorities ar-rested several of them on espionage charges in Sep-tember 2010 to coerce the Japanese government intoreleasing the fishing boat captain who rammed sev-eral Japanese Coast Guard ships in the disputed wa-ters of the East China Sea.

Although recent news coverage has focused onthreats in the Middle East, North Korea is thoughtto have one of the world’s largest operational chemi-cal weapons arsenals. General Leon LaPorte, formercommander of U.S. forces in South Korea, said thatNorth Korean military doctrine “is to use chemical

weapons as a standard munition.” The announce-ment a few years ago that South Korea had elimi-nated its own chemical weapons, like the earlierremoval of U.S. nuclear weapons from ROK terri-tory, had little impact on North Korea’s chemicalweapons policy, partly because Seoul had alwaysdeclined to publicize its chemical weapons hold-ings or elimination efforts.

It is fairly easy for well-disciplined andequipped troops, like those of the ROK and theUnited States, to defend against chemical weap-ons, but civilians are more difficult to defend un-less they are warned in advance of an impendingattack and can therefore put on their gas masks andother personal protective equipment. Although theinternational community has correctly made end-ing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program a pri-ority, leaving the DPRK with chemical weapons isshort-sited given how easily North Korean artil-lery could lob artillery shells filled with poisonousgases against Seoul and other South Korean cities.

A more pressing concern is that might offerchemical weapons or their components and tech-nologies to non-state actors or rogue regimes sinceNorth Koreans seem willing to sell anything to any-one for the right price. The U.S. Army recently an-nounced that it was increasing its chemical weap-ons defense capabilities in South Korea, includingby returning a special WMD decontamination unitto the Peninsula. In addition to defending SouthKoreans and U.S. soldiers and civilians from aDPRK chemical weapons attack, they might needto intervene in the North should the DPRK regimecollapse and, as in Syria and Libya, the specter ofnon-state actors seizing or selling the chemicalweapons to other buyers. An even more gruesomescenario would occur if DPRK leaders, fearingpopular unrest, emulated Saddam Hussein in usingchemical weapons against its own people.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)bans countries from using, or threatening to use,chemical agents as weapons. The Convention’s pro-visions apply universally in terms of time and place.The treaty is of indefinite duration and seeks com-prehensive coverage of all activities by both gov-ernment and private sector actors. The CWC hasachieved wide membership, facilitated the destruc-tion of almost all the massive stocks of chemicalweapons stockpiled in the 20th century, and con-tributed to the lack of interstate wars with chemicalweapons since the treaty’s entry into force in 1997.In 2009, India became the third country after Alba-nia and South Korea to completely eliminate itschemical weapon stockpiles since the conventionentered into force in April 1997. Yet, Syria, NorthKorea, and other states of proliferation concern haveyet to join the convention.

—Courtesy Diplomat

DAVID IGNATIUS

JOHN Kerry’s first task as secretaryof state should be to develop a coherent policy for Syria, where U.S.sanctions are proving counterproduc-

tive, the fighting around Damascus is dead-locked, the economy is in ruins and the coun-try is headed toward a sectarian breakup.This grim prognosis for Syria is based onthe latest reports provided to the State De-

partment by opposition forces working withthe Free Syrian Army. The military situa-tion in Damascus is described as a stale-mate. The regime controls the city centerand the northern suburbs, while Free Syr-

ian Army rebels are strong in the eastern,western and southern suburbs. Corruptionis spreading in the liberated southern sub-

The hard work ahead of John Kerry in Syriaurbs. As Syrians pass through regime andFree Syrian Army checkpoints, “sometimesyou hardly know which is which, and youlose track of what FSA are trying toachieve,” notes a summary of the report.

With these fluid battle lines, it’s pos-sible to move stealthily throughout the capi-tal. Main streets are guarded by checkpointsmanned by troops loyal to President Basharal-Assad, the report states, “but there is al-ways [an] alternative that opposition [forces]

can use to reach almost any point in Dam-ascus.” I found a similar ease of movementin northern Syria when I traveled there withthe Free Syrian Army in October. As rivalFree Syrian Army battalions recruit fight-

ers, they “buy them with money,” notes thesummary, explaining: “This is what [the ex-tremist Jabhat al-Nusra] is doing to increase

their supporters; now people become an openmarket, you pay, and you can sell your ideol-ogy. .?.?. People are easily signing up to some-thing they did not dare to do before.” Doc-tors who work in military hospitals report thatmost casualties are from the regular army,“which indicates that the regime is still keep-ing the 8k to 12k Republican Guards as lastresort,” the report says.

U.S.-led economic sanctions appear tohave backfired, much as they did in Iraq inthe 1990s, hurting poor and middle-classpeople while allowing regime loyalists toget even richer. The report calls this effort“the epitome of failure,” explaining: “Theregime is capable of bypassing most sanc-tions by using non-U.S. and non-Westernproductions. .?.?. High-ranking regime fig-ures have sophisticated networks to chan-nel and move their large accounts.” “It’s theSyrian people who do not have the meansand the connections to bypass these sanc-tions,” the report continues. “These condi-tions have produced the largest transfer ofwealth from the people to the governmentsupporters. Under the current shortages andrising prices, the only businessmen who cansustain a profitable business are the ones whohave military might at their disposal to pro-tect their convoys. .?.?. The middle class andmost of the wealthy have lost their cashflow.”

The Assad regime is rationing access tofuel and electricity to reward friends and pun-ish enemies. “The number of hours [of elec-tricity] each neighborhood receives is directlyproportional to their level of support for thegovernment. .?.?. Lucky ones get 18 hours ofpower every day. Not-so-lucky ones get 3hours of power every day, defiant ones getno power or cellphone coverage at all.” TheU.S.-led embargo on imports of diesel fuel isalso “very ineffective,” the report explains.“Of course the military gets first dibs on it,and the civilians bid up the price of what isleft.” Desperate for heating fuel, poor peopleare burning plastic and tree leaves.U.S. policy to deal with the Syria disaster hasbeen idling for months, as the administrationwaited out the presidential election and thenthe appointment of new secretaries of stateand defense and a new CIA director.

—Courtesy Washington Post

The OPCW has focused on eliminating existing military stockpiles and facilities while devotinginsufficient resources to monitoring civilian chemical facilities. These so-called other chemicalproduction facilities (OCPFs) can produce chemical agents, but many developing countries in Asia,where many OCPFs can be found, resist the burden of more inspections or regulations.

.....Chemical weapons security.

The Long Shadow of Chemical WeaponsFurthermore, the Convention must be modernized to keep pace with the many scientific and tech-

nological developments that are sweeping through the global chemical sector, including the use ofmulti-purpose chemical facilities that can quickly alter the products they manufacture, allowing rapid“break out” capacities, as well as the spread of chemical production plants to many more countries.

Clinton set to pass diplomatic torch to Kerry.

FIONA CHAN

AS suitors go, Southeast Asiacould do worse than Japan. Theworld’s third-largest economycame knocking on the door of

the region last week, seeking a dynamicgrowth alternative to China and offering ahigher level of investment in return. WithTokyo still locking horns with Beijing overislands in the East China Sea, the emergingeconomies of Southeast Asia are lookingmore appealing to Japan’s newly re-installedPrime Minister Shinzo Abe.

He made Vietnam, Thailand and In-donesia the destinations of his first officialtrip abroad, while other Japanese ministerscalled on Singapore, Brunei, the Philippinesand Myanmar. It is a partnership that couldbenefit Southeast Asia as much as Japan.The region may well be both a helping handand the biggest beneficiary of Japan’s lat-est push to resuscitate its economy, althougheconomists say the benefits may not bespread equally across all the Southeast Asiancountries. Some will gain almost immedi-ately from Japan’s stimulus package itself.Since the start of the year, Mr Abe has un-veiled 10.3 trillion yen (US$115 billion)worth of fiscal first aid, and convinced

Japan’s central bank to raise its inflationtarget and extend its money printingprogramme indefinitely.

With a third of the fiscal boost ear-marked for construction works, certain sec-tors - such as cement makers in Malaysia- may enjoy a rise in orders, said Barclayseconomist Leong Wai Ho. But he addedthat the impact will be limited elsewhere

SE Asia set to gain from Japan’s courtshipin the region as the increase in demandwould be mainly for building materials,steel and fuel - industries that are domi-nated by North Asian producers such asChina and South Korea. M e a n -

while, with more liquidity being pumpedinto the economy as a result of the contin-ued monetary easing by the Bank of Japan(BOJ), Japanese banks and firms may di-

rect the excess funds to Southeast Asia’seconomies, which are the world’s fastest-growing next to China. Indonesia and Thai-land are estimated to have grown 6.3 percent and 5.8 per cent respectively last year,against China’s 7.8 per cent. Although themoney printing also results in a weaker yen,making it more expensive for Japanesecompanies to expand abroad, costs of pro-

duction in Southeast Asia are still lowenough for these countries to be attractiveinvestment destinations, said Credit Suisseeconomist Santitarn Sathirathai. This is es-pecially true for countries with well-estab-

lished industrial clusters, such as Thailand,he added. Instant perks aside, SoutheastAsia would reap significant rewards if thestimulus succeeds in reviving Japan’seconomy, which is currently mired in itsthird recession in five years. Japan’s fiscalspending package will add 2 percentagepoints to gross domestic product this yearand create about 600,000 jobs, accordingto government estimates. The moves byBOJ to induce inflation may spark excessliquidity that flows out of the country intoSoutheast Asia, accelerating inflationarypressures in a region that has recently seenrapid wage growth, said HSBC’s Japaneconomist Izumi Devalier. Greater capitalinflows into Southeast Asia could also ex-ert appreciation pressure on the region’s cur-rencies, hurting exporters, addedSathirathai.

The biggest risk, however, may be sim-ply that the stimulus fails to jolt Japan out ofits deflationary langour in the long term. Asstructural problems such as bottlenecks in thelabour market remain unsolved, the effect ofthe fiscal injection may peter out quickly.

—Courtesy Straits Times

LI LI

SOCIAL safety net must be strengthenedto protect marginalized groups. When LiaoDan, a 41-year-old Beijing resident, appeared in the Dongcheng District People’s

Court on July 11, 2012, facing charges of defraud-ing Beijing Hospital of medical fees, sympathy wasso overwhelming that some netizens called for hisacquittal. Liao had forged an official stamp to evademedical fees for his wife, Du Jinling, who sufferedfrom acute kidney disease. The couple, married 15years with a 12-year-old son, earned little morethan the government living allowance of 1,700 yuan($270) per month. Laid off during a spate of state-owned bankruptcies a decade earlier, the meagerand unstable income Liao earned as a manual la-borer was nowhere near enough to cover the costsof Du’s biweekly dialysis treatments, nearly 5,000yuan ($794) per month. Since Du is from YixianCounty, Hebei Province, and does not have a stablejob in Beijing, she would have had to return to herhometown to receive treatment eligible for medi-cal insurance reimbursements. Liao doubted hiswife could stand frequent travel between Yixianand Beijing. Sobbing several times during court,Liao testified, “I could not find any other way andjust wanted to keep her alive.”

Social Justice SecurityAccording to Liao’s lawyer, money donated by

the owner of a software company in southernGuangdong Province to cover the medical expensesowed was among the reasons the court showed le-nience in sentencing Liao on December 7, 2012.Instead of sentencing him to up to a decade in jail,as proposed by prosecutors, the court fined Liao3,000 yuan ($476) and gave him three years in jail

with four years’ reprieve for defrauding the hospi-tal of 172,000 yuan ($27,300) from September 2007to November 2011. Netizens donated over 500,000yuan ($79,400) to pay for Du’s future treatment.Although China’s basic medical insurance programhad covered more than 95 percent of its populationby the end of 2011, Liao’s case once again shedslight on the urgency for the country to institute auniversal social safety net to protect the most vul-

nerable and disadvantaged groups. Equity the key:Sun Shuhan, a professor at the Beijing-basedRenmin University of China, said people like Du,who are married to Beijingers and work and live inBeijing, should be able to have their medical billsrefunded locally rather than be forced to return totheir hometowns for treatment.

However, Lu Xuejing, a professor at Capital

University of Economics and Business who stud-ies social security policies, stands in opposition. Shesaid that if government-sponsored medical insur-ance is available to all immigrants living in Beijing,it would place an enormous burden on medical fa-cilities in the capital, where the most advancedmedical resources in the country are located. “Thelocal budget will not stand the pressure either,” shesaid. China’s medical insurance system is segmented

as each province has its own medical insurance fund,which only pays for the expenses of its registeredresidents.

Gu Xin, a professor at the School of Govern-ment of Peking University, said that in the long run,difficulties faced by families like Liao’s could onlybe solved if medical insurance accounts were bet-ter consolidated fro smooth transfer between locali-

ties around the country. Gu said that he had designeda universal health insurance system, where eachcitizen pays an annual premium of 200 yuan ($32)him or herself and receives 500 yuan ($79) in sub-sidy from a state-financed national health fund. The700-yuan ($111) annual premium is calculated basedon China’s current medical consumption level.Under Gu’s proposal, premiums for low-incomeearners would be entirely paid for by the govern-

ment.Gu said that the government subsidy of around

700 billion yuan ($111 billion) a year would be to-tally affordable and would only account for 7.2 per-cent of total annual government expenses if imple-mented. Wider coverage: According to official fig-ures, urban residents constituted 51.27 percent ofChina’s total population at the end of 2011. Witheven more people leaving the countryside to findwork in cities, accelerated urbanization poses newchallenges to the country’s social security adminis-tration. The major components of social security inChina are the basic pension, medical insurance andliving allowance systems. Under all three systems,each province, municipality and autonomous regionis funded separately and designs different schemesfor rural and urban residents. According to a reportsubmitted to the 18th National Congress of theCommunist Party of China last November, whichoutlines the country’s development roadmap for thenext five years, China should institute a complete,multi-tiered and sustainable system for providingbasic social security for both the urban and ruralpopulation, with emphasis on making the systemmore equitable and sustainable and ensuring thesmooth transfer of social security accounts betweenlocalities.

—Courtesy Beijing Review

He Wenjiong, a professor at Zhejiang University researching social security policies, said that theunfair access to social security services in China has historical reasons since the social safety net

was specifically designed to cover civil servants and urban employees in the beginning. “But under auniversal social security system, every citizen should have equal access to basic services, he said.

...to gain from Japan’s....

The central bank also failed to set a deadline toachieve its higher inflation target of 2 per cent, up

from an earlier goal of 1 per cent. Still, the concertedeffort by the government and the central bank should

cause some of the stimulus to filter through theeconomy beginning in the second quarter, bringing

about “a significant boost to short-term growth”,Devalier said.

These disciplined paramilitary forces, like groupsthe CIA has trained in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan,could shift the balance on the ground away from theAssad forces but also away from the extremistJabhat al-Nusra. “Many people now have lost hopewith everything,” writes one of my Syrian sources.

LAHORE: Dr Aftab Iqbal presenting a shield to famous nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan during 23rd Inter-national Family Medicine Conference.

LAHORE: A group photo of Governor Punjab Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmud with 7-member Indonesian mediadelegation.

KABUL—The Asian Devel-opment Bank (ADB) is toprovide $ 1.2 billion to Af-ghanistan between the years2013 and 2014 forinfrastructural projects.

The head of the ADB inKabul said that this sum willbe spent in energy, transportand natural resources areas.He emphasized that this in-dicates the commitment ofthe ADB towards Afghani-stan and shall continue its

ADB to Assist Afghanistan’sinfrastructure projects

long-term presence in Af-ghanistan.

The ADB cooperates inthe projects of purchase ofpower from the Central Asiangovernments, building of thenetworks for this project it isthe greatest provider of aidfor the project of gas trans-mission of Turkmenistan toIndia through Afghanistanand Pakistan.

It should be stated thatthe assistance of the ADB is

expected to be spent throughthe government channels ofAfghanistan as per the insis-tence of the government thatin order to ensure transpar-ency the assistance shouldbe provided through the Af-ghan government channels.

Transmission of importedpower from Turkmenistan ismade through Jawzjan and isextended to the Khost prov-ince and will be supported bythe ADB.—INP

KABUL— young girl andher 5-year-old brother diedon Saturday after the roof oftheir house caved in due toheavy rains inAfghanistan’s centralParwan province, a relativesaid on Saturday.

Another three from thesame family were injured inthe incident that took placein Charikar, the provincialcapital.

The house of Fazal

Afghan family loses 2 kidsin roof-collapse

Ahmad collapsed after twodays of raining, Ahmad’sbrother, Khan Aqa, said.

He said the dead in-cluded an 18-year-olddaughter and a 5-year oldson of Ahmad, who’s wife,another two sons — threeand six-year old — were in-jured in the incident. The in-jured were taken to the pro-vincial civil hospital.

In northern Takhar prov-ince, two guards at the

Takhar university were shotdead by an armed individualon Friday afternoon, policespokesman Maj. AbdulKhalil Asir said.

The incident occurredwhen police guards at theuniversity entrance at-tempted to search the manbefore allowing him to enterthe campus. The attacker wasshot injured and detained af-ter he shot dead a police of-ficer and a cop.—INP

Altaf boycottsPPP meeting tillissues resolution

From Page 1

interior minister RehmanMalik played his positiverole in the talks which tookplace during the five yearsand the entire coordinationwas thankful to him.

Certain elements adoptednegative and provocativeposture to undermine MQM-PPP alliance.

It was decided in themeeting that Altaf Hussainwould not forge any formalcontact with any leader ofPPP or committee till bothsides reach any conclusionto sort out unresolved mat-ters of public interest. —Online

PML-N, Sunni Tehreek tocontest polls together

From Page 1would contest the next elec-tion jointly and would alsotake other political stakehold-ers aboard. In the meeting theallies discussed issues rang-ing from current political situ-ation in the country to pos-sible seat adjustments in thenext election.Holding thegovernment responsible forthe country’s ever-worseningsecurity situation, particularlyincidents of targeted killings,they said recent statements ofInterior Minister Abdul

Rehman Malik had revealedthat the government hadfailed to protect the life andproperty of the masses in thecenter and provinces.

Vowing to keep the nego-tiation process on, the twosides formed a body. ThePML-N in the committeewould be represented byKhwaja Saad Rafique,Hussain, Zia, Hasnat, Shahand Mufti Intikhab Ahmedwhile the PST side nomi-nated Ghauri, Shakeel Qadri,

Shadab Raza, Awan andSehto.

The body has beentasked to decide the venueand schedule for the seriesof pre-poll meetings to beheld across the country todiscuss electoral issues.

Hussain said the two al-lies in today’s meeting agreedthat the corrupt rulers hadhad rendered the masseswith nothing but targeted kill-ings, extortion, corruption,inflation and unemployment.

2 soldiers embracemartyrdomFrom Page 1

According to details, thesecurity forces were conduct-ing search operation in GhundaMela area of Orakzai Agency,when an old IED exploded at4:00pm.

Two soldiers, including anofficer, embraced martyrdom inthe blast while two others sus-tained injuries.

It merits mentioning herethat an operation is underwayin Orakzai Agency and theneighbouring Khyber Agencyby the security forces. —INP

W A S H I N G T O N — H i l l a r yClinton formally resigned onFriday as America’s secretaryof state, capping a four-yeartenure that saw her shatterrecords for the number ofcountries visited. John Kerrywas sworn in to replace her.

In a letter sent to PresidentBarack Obama shortly beforeshe left the State Departmentfor the last time in her officialcapacity, Clinton thanked herformer rival for the 2008 Demo-cratic presidential nominationfor the opportunity to servein his administration. Clintonsaid it had been an honour tobe part of his cabinet.

“I am more convincedthan ever in the strength andstaying power of America’sglobal leadership and our ca-pacity to be a force for goodin the world,” she said in theletter. Her resignation be-came effective at 4pm Friday,

John Kerry sworn in asUS secretary of state

when Supreme Court JusticeElena Kagan swore in JohnKerry as the top US diplomat.The former Senator and 2004Democratic presidential can-didate is the 68th secretary ofstate.

“I’m just very, veryhonoured to be sworn in andI’m very anxious to get towork,” Kerry told reportersafter the private ceremony atthe Capitol.

“I’ll be reporting Mondaymorning at nine o’clock to domy part,” he said, but refusedto reveal which globalhotspot he would visit first.

In the State Department’smain lobby, Clinton had tomake her way through athrong of American foreignservice workers whoclamoured for handshakesand smartphone photos withher and gave an emotionalgoodbye speech.

She told them to continueto “serve the nation we alllove, to understand the chal-lenges, the threats and theopportunities that the UnitedStates faces, and to work withall our heart and all of ourmight to make sure thatAmerica is secure, that ourinterests are promoted andour values are respected.”

Clinton, however, also leftoffice with a dig at critics ofthe Obama administration’shandling of the September at-tack on a US diplomatic mis-sion in Libya.

She told the AssociatedPress in an interview onThursday that critics of theadministration’s handling ofthe attack don’t live in an “evi-dence-based world”, and thattheir refusal to “accept thefacts” is unfortunate and re-grettable for the political sys-tem.—INP

Cameron to hostdinner for

President Zardari,Karzai today

LONDON—Prime MinisterDavid Cameron will meetthe presidents of Afghani-stan and Pakistan thisweekend as part of effortsto prevent a Taliban resur-gence when British troopsleave.

The Prime Minister willdine with Hamid Karzai andAsif Ali Zardari at hisChequers residence onSunday, before hosting thefirst in-depth discussionwith them and their top of-ficials on Monday, accord-ing to London StandardNews paper.

It is the third trilateraltalks session they haveheld since the summer. UKofficials believe the 2014deadline for ending combatoperations by British andUS troops has concen-trated minds in Pakistan.

Foreign ministers ,Chiefs of Army Staff ,Chiefs of Intelligence andthe chairman of the AfghanHigh Peace Council are ex-pected to attend, with dis-cussions focusing on thepeace process in the war-torn country.

A government spokes-woman said: “This trilateralprocess sends a very clearmessage to the Taliban:now is the time for every-one to part icipate in apeaceful political processin Afghanistan.—Online

McDonald’s topay Rs15,000 fordelivering wrongburger in Delhi

NEW DELHI—Fast food gi-ant McDonald’s has been di-rected by a consumer forumhere to pay Rs. 15,000 as com-pensation to one of its cus-tomers for delivering a non-veg burger instead of thevegetarian one she had or-dered, Indian media reportedon Saturday.

The South West Dis-trict Consumer DisputesRedressal Forum of NewDelhi said, “By deliveringher a non-vegetarian burgerinstead of the vegetarianburger ordered by her is agross negligence on thepart of the delivery-crew-member, whose conduct istantamount to deficiency-in-service..—Online

British PM hosts Pakistani,Afghan leaders summit

South Africaon top after

Pakistan crashFrom Page 1

follow on.The hosts were 207 for

three in their secondinnings at the close, anoverall lead of 411, withGraeme Smith (52), HashimAmla (50 not out) and ABde Villiers (63 not out)hitting half-centuries.

It was another triumph forSouth Africa’s barrage of fastbowlers and the third time inless than two seasons thatthe world’s number one Testteam had bowled out oppo-nents for less than 50.Aus-tralia were routed out for 47in 2011/12 and New Zealandwere dismissed for 45 earlierthis season. Both matcheswere in Cape Town.— AP

Gilani files review petitionFrom Page 1

team of lawyers accompaniedhim.

On 26 April 2012, 56-year-old Gilani, who is Vice Chair-man of the ruling PakistanPeoples Party, was symboli-cally sentenced to a 30-sec-ond detention after he wasfound guilty in the NationalReconciliation Ordinanceimplementation case for notwriting a letter to the Swissauthorities for reopening ofcorruption cases againstPresident Asif Ali Zardari.

The apex court later dis-qualified the then presidenton 19 June for holding anypublic office for five years.

On Saturday, the formerPM arrived in the apex courtand filed a review petitionagainst his disqualification.

However, Gilani was notaccompanied by his counselfor filing of the petition.

“It was an act of a PrimeMinister and not an indi-vidual. I took the step afterconsultation with my cabi-net; however, I have beendisqualified in personal ca-pacity,” Gilani spoke to re-porters while answering aquestion why he didn’t abideby the SC orders of theSwiss letter.

Reply to a query, Gilanirebuffed the impression ofhis differences with partyleadership, saying the he hascome to file the petition aftertaking PPP Chairman BilawalBhutto and Co-chairman AsifAli Zardari into confidence.

The former premier saidhe had filed the petition aftertaking party’s chairpersonand co-chairperson into con-fidence. He said it was hisstance that the president en-joyed complete immunity

both inside and outside thecountry under the country’sconstitution and ViennaConvention. He said thisvery stance had also beenvindicated in the letter writ-ten to the Swiss authorities.

Gilani urgent that he hadtaken the decision of not writ-ing the letter after gettingviewpoint of the federal cabi-net and the legal experts. Hesaid his action was in the ca-pacity of the prime ministerbut he was convicted as anindividual‚ and now as anindividual he has come tosubmit the review petition.

He said since the court’sorder has been implementedafter demonstration of ac-commodation by the courtand the government‚ there-fore‚ his disqualificationshould also be ended. —NNI

Fasih Bukharimentally

prepares to quitFrom Page 1

file Rental Power case. Faisalwas found hanging from fanof his room on Jan. 18 in Fed-eral Lodges here.

At this stage, hisdeparture will virtually closethe working of NAB as hisreplacement will take a longand cumbersome exercise,not possible in the presentpolitical scenario, sourcessaid.

13 soldiers among 25 slain interrorist ambush

From Page 1tack then led to the exchangeof fire between the securityforces and the trouble mak-ers lasting for several hoursleading to the killing of 12miscreants.

Nine soldiers also sus-tained serious injuries in theshootout and were shifted tohospitals in Bannu andPeshawar. The armed mili-tants, as the sources said,later entered into a house ofa local Patwaari killing 10members of the family thatinclude women and kids.

“Ten civilians were alsoreportedly killed during theclashes which involved oneof the suicide bombers blow-ing himself up in a housenearby with people”. A se-curity official said. Accord-ing to security sources, anexplosion occurred in ahouse of a local resident ofSarai Naurang near the Armycamp leaving at least tenpeople dead. Security forcesalso claimed to have takeninto custody the bodies offour of the militants.

“A bloody gun-battle erupted after scores ofmilitants attacked a securityforces camp at an isolatedposition in Tehsil Sarai

Naurang of Lakki MarwatDistrict Saturday that left 35people dead including 13 se-curity men, 10 civilians and12 militants dead”. Securityofficials said. The civiliansmartyred by the militants in-clude 4 males, three ladiesand equal number of chil-dren.

Serai Naurang was ear-lier a residential area but af-ter the security situation de-teriorated in the area, secu-rity troops comprising 200personnel set up a campthere in 2011.

The security official saidthat the reinforcement wassent from Bannu to SaraiNaurang to combat theheavily armed miscreants andthe ambush was repulsedsuccessfully though 13 sol-diers embraced Shahadat inthe process. Sounds of ex-plosions and firing were con-stantly heard in the area, thelocals said adding theshootout between the sol-diers and the attackers con-tinued for several hours.Security sources also saidthat two of the 12 terroristskilled in the retaliatory fire,were wearing suicide jackets

that could not be detonated.The security forces that

cordoned off the area afterreinforcement reached andsuccessfully combatted themiscreants, sources said,also kicked off search opera-tion in the region to hauntthe assaulters who remainedat large till the filing of thisreport.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Paki-stan (TTP) spokesmanEhsanullah Ehsan whileclaiming the responsibilityfor the attack on a militarycamp, said four suicidebombers were engaged in theassault adding it was in re-sponse to the killing of theirtwo commanders during adrone attack in NorthWaziristan agency some timeback.The KhyberPukhtunkhwa Governor, Bar-rister Masood Kausar ex-pressed his deep shock andsorrow over the loss of pre-cious lives. He also stronglycondemned the mortar bom-bardment at Angoor Adda inSouth Waziristan Agencyfrom across the border onFriday.In a statement, theGovernor has described boththe incidents as extremelyshocking.

Kamran’sbody exhumed

by forensicexpertsFrom Page 1

whether Kamran Faisal com-mitted suicide or was mur-dered.

NAB investigatorKamran Faisal, who was in-vestigating a multi millionscam case of rental powerplants, was found hangingfrom the ceiling fan of hisroom on January 18 in myste-rious circumstances—Online

LONDON—President AsifAli Zardari reached Londonon Saturday to attend thethird trilateral summit be-tween Pakistan, Afghanistanand Britain, to discuss re-gional peace and security is-sues.

The trilateral session –the third since summer lastyear, after meetings in Kabulin July and in New York inSeptember – is scheduled tocommence today(Sunday),and expected to continue onthe following day.

Being hosted by BritishPrime Minister DavidCameron, the summit on Af-ghanistan and regionalpeace will also be attendedby Afghan President HamidKarzai.

During the talks, the lead-ers of Pakistan, Afghanistanand the United Kingdom willdiscuss the regional situa-tion, exchange views on thestrategic partnership, andevolve a joint strategy forreconciliation in Afghanistanto ensure peace and stabilityin the region.

The summit will also dis-cuss the post-2014 situationfollowing withdrawal of for-

eign troops from Afghani-stan.

British PM Cameron willdine with President Zardariand Afghan President Karzaiat his country retreatChequers inBuckinghamshire, southeastEngland today.

The British premier willthen hold the first in-depthtop-level talks with both lead-ers and their key officials onMonday.

“The Prime Minister willhost the leaders of Afghani-stan and Pakistan atChequers as part of his on-going efforts to help tostrengthen Afghanistan-Pa-kistan relations, support anAfghan peace and recon-ciliation process and pro-mote regional peace andstability,” a Downing Streetspokesperson said.

“For the first time, wewill bring together the po-litical and security estab-lishments from both Af-ghanistan and Pakistan,with foreign ministers,chiefs of army staff, chiefsof intelligence and the chairof the Afghan High PeaceCouncil attending the meet-

ing. “Discussions are ex-

pected to focus on the Af-ghan-led peace process andhow the Pakistanis and in-ternational community cansupport it. We also expectthe Afghans and Pakistanisto make further progress onthe Strategic PartnershipAgreement they committedto in September.”

The first of this series oftrilateral meetings betweenPakistan, Afghanistan andUnited Kingdom were heldin August last, and fol-lowed by another summit inSeptember when PresidentAsif Ali Zardari, AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai andBritish Prime MinisterDavid Cameron met in theUnited Nations headquar-ters in New York on the side-lines of the UN annual meet-ing in September last year.

Back in December,Cameron had announcedBritain would withdraw3,800 of the country’s 9,000troops from Afghanistan in2013, as Nato prepares for afull security handover toAfghan forces at the end ofnext year.—AP

Former BalochistanCM Jam Yousaf dies

From Page 1Balochistan province from2002 to 2007.

He was a noble person-ality and widely respectedamong the political circles.

Meanwhile, PresidentAsif Ali Zardari, PrimeMinister Raja PervaizAshraf and PML-Q ChiefCh Shujaat Hussain havecondoled the death of JamYousaf. They prayed thatAllah Almighty may granteternal peace to departedsoul and fortitude to thebereaved family to bear thisirreparable loss.

End to military operations demanded

Tribal eldersthreaten to besiegeParliament House

RAHMATULLAH KHAN

PESHAWAR—The tribal eldershave threatened to besiege theParliament House if the govern-ment failed to immediately haltmilitary operations in the tribalarea ensure end to the US-droneattacks and affectively rehabilitatethousands of IDPs who have beenrendered homeless in the wake ofongoing infightings and securityforces in the region and provisionof standard food to the IDPs atcamps.

“We are being considered aslow category people while the his-tory is witness to sacrifices of thetribal people for integrity of Paki-stan. “We don’t know why thetribesmen including children andwomen being detested, maybe itis because of their sacrifices forthis country,” lamented HabibNoor Orakzai, a vice Chairman,Mutihada Qabail Party (MQP)while speaking at press confer-

ence here at Press Club on Satur-day.

He said that they were facingwith numerous difficulties in wakeof the ongoing military operationsand dramatic fallouts after foreigntroops’ invasion in this region,especially Federally AdministeredTribal Areas (FATA) apparentlyworst affected.

Flanked by Hamid NoorOrakzai, Ghazi Khan Masoodalong with elders from differenttribal agencies, Habib Orakzaiexpressed grave concern over sup-ply of insufficient and sub-stan-dard food and absence of otherbasic facilities to the IDPs at theirtemporary shelter facility.Owing to the excessive militaryoperations in FATA, he said a largenumber of people had been killedwhile education and health infra-structure badly damaged. “FATAwas deliberately kept backward inall fields, whereas developmentfunds were not efficiently utilizedin the tribal region”.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf talking to Agha Nadeem, Secretary Ministry of Information at PMHouse.

Parliament sessionpostponesISLAMABAD— National Assem-bly session called to begin on 6February has beenpostponed.According to a pri-vate channel, federal Ministerfor religious affairs, Khurshidshah said that the session aboutthe governor rule in BalochistanProvince was postponed andnew date would be announcedlater.Farhat Ullah BabarPresident’s spokesperson whiletalking to media said that theacting president had summoneda joint session of parliament on6 February.—Online

Militants blastCDs shopNOWSHERA—Unknown mis-creants blew up a CD shop withexplosive material here in the weehours of Saturday. According topolice, unidentified militants hadplanted explosives device outsidea CD shop located in ShireenKothay area of Risalpur , districtNowshera which exploded with abig bang. As a result of blast theshop was destroyed completelywhile several nearby shops werepartly damaged. It should be men-tioned that people engaged in CDsbusiness were repeatedly gettingthreats from militants who havewarned them of looking for alter-nate source of livelihood. —INP

Tehrik-e-SubaHazara threatensprotestLAHORE—As debate of newprovinces in Punjab gains mo-mentum, the Tehrik Suba Hazara(TSH) has threatened to stage aprotest sit-in outside the Parlia-ment on March 01. Sardar Fida,the general secretary of TSH,warned that ‘thousands of work-ers’ would block the GT Roadand march to Islamabad on theday when resolution on a newprovince would be presented inthe National Assembly. HazaraQaumi Mahaz a party formulatedto run movement for the Hazaraprovince, has also reportedly‘chalked out its plan of action’ forthe March 01 protest. —INP

LAHORE—Senior Advisor toChief Minister Punjab, SardarZulifqar Ali Khan Khosa has an-nounced to contest electionsagainst his own son Sardar Saif-ud-Din Khosa , who joined PPPrecently after quiting PML-N.

He said while addressing apress conference here on Saturday.Former Chief Minister PunjabSardar Dost Muhammad Khosaand MPA Sardar MuhammadHassam-ud-Din Khosa were alsopresent on the occasion.

He rejected gossips of hisleaving PML(N) being out of

question by saying his sonSaifuddin Khosa had hurt the feel-ings of Balochs by joining PPP.“We are the custodian of such ritu-als of the traditional society of Pa-kistan where even it cannot bethought that political loyalty of thefather and a son is different”, headded . Zulfiqar Khosa said thatjoining of Saif-ud-Din Khosa toPPP is unfortunate. He said thatleadership of PPP looted the coun-try and the entire world says cor-rupt to Asif Zardari. He said thatformer Prime Minister YousufRaza Gillani despite belonging to

Khosa to contest electionsagainst his defying son

LAHORE—Chief Justice of Pa-kistan Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry said on Saturday thatthe judiciary was the defenderof the constitution and that it wasdetermined to fulfill its consti-tutional responsibilities.

Speaking at a session of theNational Judicial PolicymakingCommittee (NJPC) held at theSupreme Court’s Lahore Regis-try, the chief justice said the ju-diciary wanted to ensure the su-premacy of constitution.

Chairing the session, ChiefJustice Iftikhar Chaudhry saidproviding speedy justice was theresponsibility of the state and thejudiciary, adding that the courtshad progressed significantlyduring the last five years interms of taking effective mea-sures for the dispensation of jus-tice.

Furthermore, he said thatmerit-based decisions of thecourts had increased the level ofpublic confidence in the

judiciary.He added that judgesmust be provided with foolproofsecurity as the country’s law andorder situation in Pakistan, es-pecially in areas such as Karachiand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, re-mained unstable.

Justice Iftikhar also said thatthe country faced a shortage ofjudges, adding that despite hav-ing sent an application in thisregard, the issue had remainedunresolved.Saturday’s sessionof the NJPC reviewed the imple-mentation of the national judi-cial policy and other issues re-lated to speedy settlement ofcases.

The committee meeting wasattended by the chief justices ofall high courts, as well as thoseof the Gilgit-Baltistan, the AzadJammu & Kashmir SupremeCourt and the Federal ShariatCourt.The chief justice said thejudges had persistently decidedmajor cases in accordance with theconstitution and the law.—INP

Judiciary to fulfilresponsibilities:CJ

HRW reportpack of lies,biased: ISPR

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—A spokesmanof Inter Services Public Rela-tions(ISPR) Saturday termed theHuman Rights Watch (HRW)recent report a pack of lies,propaganda driven and totallybiased. In a statement issuedhere, he said it is yet anotherattempt to malignPakistan and its institutionsthrough fabricated and unveri-fied reports.

Completely favouring ananti Pakistan agenda, the HRWhas based itsopinion on imprecise facts andbiased views.

He said the HRW reportseems to be a clear attempt tofurther fuel already ongoingsectarian violence and to cre-ate chaos and disorder in Pa-kistan, he added. The HRW has no cred-ibility and has been criticizedworldwide for raising contro-versies through its biased re-ports and funding from certainquarters and its reports havebeen rejected by many coun-tries of the world, he con-cluded.

Egypt protestersstone PM’smotorcade

CA I R O—Protesters threwstones and bottles at the Egyp-tian prime minister’s motor-cade on Saturday as he tried toenter Cairo’s Tahrir Square af-ter overnight clashes nearbyand at the presidentialpalace,media reported.

Dream Live, a private tele-vision station, reported thatPrime Minister

Hisham Qandil left thescene after the attack. His of-fice said in a statement, with-out elaborating, that he hadbeen “confronted by youthsand troublemakers.”

“I preferred to avoid a con-frontation between them andsecurity personnel,” Qandilsaid later on his Facebookpage.

Dozens of protesters re-mained in the square on Sat-urday after several thousanddemonstrators rallied there onFriday against Islamist Presi-dent Mohamed Morsi.

Hundreds of people hadclashed with police in a nearbystreet. —AP

ISLAMABAD—Agha Nadeem,Federal Secretary Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingcalled on Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf at the PM’sHouse on Saturday.

Congratulating the Secre-tary Information and Broadcast-ing on his promotion as well asappointment, the Prime Minis-ter said that this was a challeng-ing assignment and expressedthe confidence that he would beable to project the achievementsof the government.

The Prime Minister reiter-ated the government’s commit-ment to the freedom of press and

PM asks new Secy Infoto project govt gains

directed gha Nadeem to facili-tate the private media and en-gage with them.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said themedia in Pakistan is passingthrough an evolutionary stageafter having undergone suppres-sion during the dictatorial re-gimes. “Fast changing eventsdemand a quick and professionalresponse” said the Prime Min-ister.

The Prime Minister directedthe Secretary Information to en-gage with the media so thatgovernment’s achievements andpoint of view wereperly re-flected.—INP

JUI-F not to bepart of PML-N’s

sit-in: FazlISLAMABAD—Jamiat Ulema- e-Islam-Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F)Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehmanhas said that his party will nottake part in Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz’s (PML-N) sit-inoutside Parliament House on 4thFebruary.

In a statement issued fromparty’s secretariat here on Satur-day, Maulana Fazlur Rehmansaid that though they agree withthe PML-N’s stance but will notparticipate in the sit-in for a stron-ger and more independent Elec-tion Commission of Pakistan.

He said that his party hadcontacted PML-N on the issue ofimposition of Governor Rule inBalochistan but they did not joinus in walk outs from Senate onBalochistan issue. —INP

Pak to pay off$520m as IMF

dues in Feb OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan willpay 520 million dollars againstthe International MonetaryFund (IMF) loan programme intwo installments in the currentmonth.

Sources of the FinanceMinistry said that a payment of140 million dollars will bemade to the IMF on February11 while another instalment of380 million dollars will bemade on February 26 in a bidto, what they said, ‘ease theburden of debt’.

Pakistan had entered into aloan deal amounting to 7.80 bil-lion dollars with the IMF in2008 following pressures ofpiling up international dues andso far it has managed to return2.38 billion dollars to the Fund.

ISLAMABAD—Federal Ministerfor Information Qamar ZamanKaira said on Saturday that noinstitution could make legisla-tion except Parliament.

He added that the laws onwhich judiciary was bound toimplement was also made by theParliament.

Kaira said that they respectjudiciary, but, other sould alsorespect the people representa-tives. He said that politiciansrepresent masses and place pub-lic opinion.

Meanwhile, PML-Q chief

‘No institution can makelegislation, but Parliament’

Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain saidthat general elections would beheld before summer season.

He added that PPP andPML-Q have agreed that boththe parties would not take eachothers’ candidates.

Chaudhary Shujaat said thatPML-Q does not beleive onsurveys, and his party hasstrong contesters.

He added that upcomingelections’ result would be realsurvey. He also said thatPML-Q would contest elec-tions with PPP. —NNI

Zardari approvesappointment ofNCHD membersISLAMABAD—President Asif AliZardari has approved appoint-ment of members for NationalCommission of Human Devel-opment (NCHD). According toSpokesman of the Presidency,the NCHD members for Punjab,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindhhave been appointed and thePreident has approved appoint-ments of members on PrimeMinister’s proposal. Dr. SonuKhanjrani as member for Sindh,Sabah Gul Khattak for KhyberPakhtunkhwa and Shenaz WazirAli for Punjab, have been ap-pointed. —NNI

Musharraf’sdecision endorsedISLAMABAD—The central andprovincial leaders of APMLhave endorsed the decision ofPervez Musharraf of returningback to country with passage ofa resolution during a meetingof Central Working Committee(CWC) held here on Friday.The joint meeting at CentralSecretariat of APML Chairedby in the chair of Chief Orga-nizer Chaudhry Ashraf whichwas attended by Barrister SaifSecretary General, AhmedRaza Kasuri, Aasia Ishaque,Rashid Qureshi, Dr. Amjad,Naeem Tahir and office bear-ers of all provincial bodies.The participants of the meet-ing expressed the full confi-dence in the leadership ofPervez Musharraf.

Siraj Memonpasses away

KARACHI—Renowned Sindhiintellectual‚ writer‚ journalistand former editor of Sindhi daily

Hilal-e-Paki-stan SirajulHaq Memonhas passedaway inKarachi. Hewas 79.

He wasborn in Tando

Jam in 1933. Siraj Memon wasthe author of many scholarlyworks on history and literatureand also the author of Parado SoEe Saddu. He wrote about adozen books and is considereda pillar of modern Sindhi. Hepublished two collections ofshort stories and 6 novels inSindhi.

He also worked on Sindhi lin-guistics and contributed researchreports on history of Sindhi lan-guage.

He had been the editor of es-tablished Sindhi daily Hilal-e-Pa-kistan for six years. When ZulfiqarAli Bhutto‚ the first elected PrimeMinister of Pakistan‚ formed Pa-kistan Peoples Party in late six-ties‚ he bought the Hilal-e-Paki-stan newspaper‚ which used topublish from Hyderabad at thattime. In 1972‚ Bhutto decided toshift the paper to Karachi andswitch over to modern methodsof printing. —NNI

ISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt was asked Saturday to rulewhether allegiance to any “par-ticular person” could overtake“allegiance to Pakistan”?

The question was raised in apetition against Peshawar HighCourt which refused to inquireinto a sensitive document signedby Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry.

The apex Court is to hold thetrial of two journalists Wednesdaywho were charged of contempt forprinting some incriminating infor-mation about Dr. Arsalan Iftikhar,son of Justice Chaudhry. The con-tempt case was instituted by Jus-tice Chaudhry in July last a monthafter he had legally dissociatedhimself from proceedings involv-ing his son, an ex-civil servant.

The petition asserted that Jus-tice Mian Fasihul Mulk and Jus-tice Waqar Ahmed Seth of PHCwere duty bound to inform the

Federal Government about adocument wherein the Chief Jus-tice used his administrative pow-ers to bail out his son. The HighCourt instead ruled that the saiddocument was lying outside itsterritorial jurisdiction. PetitionerShahid Orakzai countered thestance stating that the Registry ofthe Supreme Court in Peshawaris adjacent to the High Court.

Orakzai said both the judgeswere oath bound to communicateto the Federal Government theinformation relating to the mis-conduct of a judge “but they keptthe Federation in dark about adocument that concerns the Fed-eration.” The question arises as towhat is more important for the twosignatories of the Order, alle-giance to Islamic Republic of Pa-kistan or to any particular person,be he the President or the ChiefJustice of Pakistan, petitionerasked..—Online

SC moved to fixpriority of allegiance

ISLAMABAD—Nuclear scientistDr. AQ Khan said that if he wasoffered an opportunity to be-come prime minister in the care-taker setup, he would accept itwithout any hesitation.

In an interview to a privateTV channel on Saturday, he saidthat incompetency and corrup-tion are the stumbling blocks inthe way of progress and pros-perity. He said that solution tonational issues is not more dif-ficult than producing a nuclearbomb.“Regardless of their inter-nal contradictions, he is ready towork with all political partieswithout any discrimination”,said Khan. About the

A Q Khan ready tobecome caretaker PM

Balochistan situation he saidthat Baloch people’s sense ofdeprivation should be removedfor consolidation of democraticsystem.

Commenting on trend ofnew provinces, he said newprovinces should be formed withconsensus. Terming Dr. TahirulQadri’s long march just a provo-cation, he said that Qadri had noright to hold demonstrations inPakistan as he is a foreigner.

He said the construction ofKalabagh Dam was imperativefor overcoming the energy cri-sis; however, national consensusmust be reached in this connec-tion, he said.—Online

CJ impeachment

Sri Lanka blocksinternational probeCOLOMBO—Sri Lanka hasblocked entry of a London-based group of lawyers whoplanned to probe the controver-sial impeachment of theisland’s chief justice, the Inter-national Bar Association saidon Saturday.

The group expressed “seri-ous concern” over the with-drawal of visas for the HumanRights Institute lawyers, whowere due to visit Colombo for10 days starting Friday. The in-stitute is a branch of the bar as-sociation.

The delegation was goingto “consult a wide diversity ofstakeholders” about “the rule oflaw and the independence of thejudiciary in Sri Lanka”, the as-sociation said.

It did not say how manylawyers who were to travel toColombo.

The panel was going tostudy Sri Lanka’s sacking ofchief justice ShiraniBandaranayake, the firstwoman to hold the nation’shighest judicial office.

The government dismissedBandaranayake despite two SriLankan court rulings that theimpeachment was illegal andunconstitutional.

There was no immediatecomment from Colombo on theassociation’s statements.

Sri Lanka insists it fol-lowed proper legal proceduresin firing Bandaranayake, 54, oncharges of professional and per-sonal misconduct.

Bandaranayake was dis-missed by President MahindaRajapakse on Jan 13 – two daysafter Sri Lanka’s parliamentvoted to impeach her, despite achorus of international criti-cism.

The United States has ledinternational calls objecting tothe impeachment as an assaulton judicial independence andrule of law in the island.

Bandaranayake has beenreplaced by former attorneygeneral Mohan Peiris who hadbeen serving as thegovernment’s chief legal ad-viser.— AP

south Punjab did nothing for thedevelopment of DG Khan whilethe excellent performance ofPunjab government of PML-N hasbeen acknowledged at the interna-tional level. He said that Saif-ud-Din Khosa had been praising MianShahbaz Sharif with regard to re-lief activities for flood affectees.Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosasaid that Punjab government hascompleted development projectscosting Rs.11.65 billion in DGKhan which included educationalinstitutions, hospitals and other in-frastructure.—Online

MIAN CHANNU: Body of Kamran Faisal being exhumed. Area magistrate, investigation officials and relatives are also present.

CASES of insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes rose sharply in children under the ageof five in Philadelphia over a two-decade

span - similar to increases seen across the U.S.and Europe, according to new research. “Whyare we seeing this large increase in type 1 dia-betes in very young children? Unfortunately, theanswer is we don’t know,” said lead study au-thor Terri Lipman, a professor at the Universityof Pennsylvania School ofNursing.

In research published inDiabetes Care, Lipman andher colleagues updated a reg-istry started in 1985 of Phila-delphia children diagnosedwith type 1 diabetes. By 2004,cases in children under the ageof five increased by 70 percentas the number of diagnosedcases among all kids up to age14 rose by 29 percent.

In 1985, 13.4 out of every100,000 children in Philadel-phia was newly diagnosedwith type 1 diabetes, and in2004, the rate was 17.2 casesper 100,000.

Hispanic children had thehighest diabetes rates acrossall ages whereas cases in black children aged 4and under, which had historically been verylow, rose by 200 percent over the past two de-cades. Cases among white kids under 4 roseby 48 percent in 2000-2004, however, makingtheirs the fastest recent increase.

Of the two most common forms of diabe-tes, type 2 typically affects adults who can stillproduce insulin, but whose bodies cannot usethe hormone to regulate blood sugar.

Type 1, previously known as juvenile dia-betes, typically strikes children whose immunesystems have killed off insulin-producing cellsin the pancreas. The disease is usually fatal ifleft untreated.

Type 1 diabetics must take insulin but manytype 2 diabetics can control the disease withmedications, diet and exercise. Type 1 diabe-tes tends to start in adolescence, but especiallyin light of the rising number of cases in veryyoung children, experts said parents need tobe aware that toddlers and preschoolers are alsosusceptible.

Children from Chicago to Colorado to Fin-land have similarly increasedrates of type 1 diabetes, thoughthe cause eludes researchers.“This younger group is a mys-tery,” said Dr. Carol Levy, a type1 diabetes specialist at MountSinai Hospital in New York whowas not involved in the newstudy. “Make sure your child hasa healthy lifestyle and maintainsnormal body weight; whetherthat’s a guarantee we’re goingto reduce risk, we don’t know atthis point.”

Several theories vie toexplain the recent rise in diabe-tes among youth, including vi-tamin D deficiencies, lack ofbreastfeeding and overly-hy-gienic environments that mightcause the immune system to

backfire. “The data is controversial so that’swhy I’m certainly very reluctant to propose atheory when nothing has been proven,” Lipmantold Reuters Health.

“The take home message is not to be alarm-ist. These data confirm what has been reportedworldwide and in other parts of the UnitedStates,” said Dr. Lori Laffel, of the Joslin Dia-betes Center in Boston, who was not involvedin the study.

“It is important to be aware of the symp-toms of diabetes,” Laffel told Reuters Health.Symptoms can include extreme thirst, bedwetting or accidents in toilet-trained childrenor excessively wet diapers in babies, she said.

Type 1 diabetes rising in kids: Study

ISLAMABAD: MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar speaks during International Education Symposium 2013 organized by Roots International Schools System atJinnah Convention Centre. CEO RIS Walid Mushtaq, Australian High Commissioner Peter Heyward, Ambassador of Argentine Rodolfo Martin Saravia,Ambassador of Cuba Zenen Buerego, Ambassador of Mauritius Mohammad Rashad Daureeawo and others are also seen sitting on the stage.—PO photo

ISLAMABAD: Plant leaves changing their colours to mark the spring season in Federal Capital.

ISLAMABAD: Visitors taking interest in gems and jewellery displayed during 3rd GemExhibition organized by Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company at a localhotel.—PO photo Sultan Bashir

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister for Sci-ence and Technology MirJhangaiz Jamali on Saturdaysaid future of nation dependedon the development of educa-tion system.

He expressed these viewswhile addressing at the conclud-ing ceremony of two days Inter-national Education Symposium2013 conference organized byRoots International Schools (RIS)here in convention centre.

He said the Ministry of Sci-ence and Technology is taking allpossible steps in this regard.

Speaking on the occasion,the chief guest of the conference,Deputy Convener of MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) andMinister for Overseas Pakistanis,Dr Farooq Sattar applauded the

efforts of Walid, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of RIS and appreciatedthe unique and purposeful notionbehind ENX 2013.

He said stressed for con-tinuing such academic endeav-ors in the future for educationalenhancement and nationalprogress.

He said there should be acomprehensive national policyfor education, which would behelpful for national develop-ment.

He said the policy could en-able the nation to make the coun-try as par thoughts of Qauid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

He said the nation couldovercome the present problemsincluding terrorism by educatingchildren and following thethoughts of Qauid-i-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah, Allama

Muhammad Iqbal and Sir SyedAhmed Khan.

He said the Parliamentariansshould provide opportunities ofeducation to the people as edu-cation is key for the real democ-racy in the country.

The participants held a paneldiscussion on the topic “HorizonNext: Past, Present and Future ofEducation”.

Among others educationspecialist from Australia, PeterHeyward, Ambassador of Argen-tina to Pakistan, Rodolfo Martin,Cuban Ambassador to Pakistan,the British High Commissioner,Jesus Zenen, the Ambassador ofMauritius to Pakistan RashadDaureeawo, the head of ACCAin Pakistan Arif Masud Mirza,and renowned anchor personMoeed Pirzada were present onthe occasion.

Concluding ceremony of Symposium

Future of nation dependedon uplift of education system

ISLAMABAD—Ambassadorsdesignate to Jordan, Sri Lankaand Mauritius, Lt Gen (Retd)Ahsan Azhar Hayat, Maj. Gen.(Retd) Qasim Qureshi and Maj.Gen. (Retd) Ulfat Hussain Shahcalled on Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf here at PrimeMinister House on Saturday.

During the meeting, thePrime Minister urged the envoysthat they should increase rapportand interaction with the localPakistani community in theircounties of assignment to keep

Pakistan’s ambassadorsdesignate call on PM

themselves abreast with theirproblems and assist them in re-solving them wherever possible.

Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf said that Pakistan hasrendered great sacrifices in fightagainst the terrorism, yet thesehave not been properly pro-jected.

He directed the envoys tointeract with local media andapprise them about thePakistan’s role in the global waragainst terror. Wishing themwell in their assignments, the

Prime Minister expressed thehope that they would utilize theirexpertise, knowledge and expe-rience for improving the exist-ing ties between Pakistan andthe countries of their respectiveaccreditation.

Earlier Ambassadors desig-nate to Thailand, New Zealand,Qatar and Cambodia, Dr. SohailKhan, Ms. Zehra H. Akbari,Syed Hasan Raza and Amjad AliSher also called on Prime Min-ister Raja Pervez Ashraf atPrime Minister House.—APP

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Equipped withstate of the art machinery,Rawalpindi Institute of Cardi-ology (RIC) has started func-tioning with successful angiog-raphy of three patients on Sat-urday. The RIC will providefree treatment facility in emer-gency and to the poor patients.

Situated at Rawal Road andcompleted at a cost of Rs 2.8billion in a record period of twoyears, the RIC is spread over80 kanal of land and will havethe facility to provide treatmentfacilities to 400 patients at atime. The RIC has the largestand modern emergency with 48

beds. Briefing media persons onSaturday, Executive DirectorMajor General Retd. Dr AzharMahmood Kayani said fifty spe-cialist doctors will provide treat-ment to the patients round-the-clock. He said the RIC has facil-ity to check one thousand patientsdaily but at present 200 patientsare being checked. He said ma-chinery for the hospital has beenimported from Germany and Ja-pan and beds from Italy.

Dr Azhar Mahmood Kayaniwho was accompanied by MNAHanif Abbasi and Medical Super-intendent Dr Muhammad Shoaibsaid the hospital has all the labo-ratory test facilities like Eco,blood test and X-ray. He said a

most modern X-ray system hasbeen installed in the hospitalwhere instead of X-ray film, theX-ray would be taken through CRsystem and the report would goto the laptop or computer of thedoctors simultaneously for furthertreatment.

Major General Kayani saidthat prominent heart surgeon DrHasnat would soon come to Pa-kistan from London to serve inthe hospital along with his team.

He said it is the only hospitalin the twin cities where the emer-gency would have 48 beds, 26ventilators and five CT Angiog-raphy machines. In addition toRawalpindi division, people ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad

Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistanwould also benefit from thetreatment facilities in the hos-pital.

In reply to a question, Ma-jor General Kayani said theyoung children having heartproblem would no more be re-quired to go to India as the hos-pital has hired the services ofspecialist doctors.

He said data of all the pa-tients would be kept in the com-puter so that whenever theycome again, the whole data isavailable. He said the hospitalwould have facility to placestent in blocked artilleries aswell that would cost betweenRs 80,000 to Rs 150,000.

State-of-the-art Rawalpindi Instituteof Cardiology starts functioning

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Owing to faultyonline registration system ofPunjab Examination Commission(PEC), around 2,000 students ofRawalpindi district have beendeprived of taking part in primaryand middle standard examination.

Around 2,000 students couldnot be issued roll number slipsdespite hectic efforts from con-cerned education officers in thisconnection and the situation leadto waste of precious academicyear of the candidates.

On the other hand, primaryand middle standard examina-tions under PEC have started onFriday.

Hundreds of students visitedRawalpindi Education Depart-ment offices to get their roll num-ber slips but to no avail. In addi-tion, roll number slips were fullof errors as boys were dispatchedslips of home economics andgirls with slips of agriculturesubjects.

It should be mentioned herethat PEC has made it compul-sory for students to pass middle

standard examination under itsaegis, for getting admission inclass 9th. Middle standard exami-nations have been made obliga-tory for class 8th students, irre-spective of private and govern-ment schools.

Worried students and theirparents demanded high ups ofprovincial education depart-ment to immediately abolishcentralised system of takingmiddle and primary standardexamination and handover thecontrol to district education de-partments.

PEC faulty online registration systems

2,000 students deprived of primary,middle standard examinations

Capital Policeapprehends

130 suspectsCRIME REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Capital policeconducted search operation indifferent areas of the city includ-ing slum areas, Afghan habitats,under construction buildings,houses; hotels and arrested 130suspected persons.

According to an official handoutissued here on Saturaday, po-lice stations Ramna, Shalimarand Golra lodged campaignagainst suspicious person in theirjurisdiction on the direction ofpolice high officials.

Handout stated that searchoperation was conducted by po-lice stations in various localitiesincluding slum areas, Afghanhabitats, under constructionbuildings, houses; hotel and ar-rested the suspects failed to pro-duce any document for their iden-tification while police have alsotaken around 60 motorcycles into custody as their owners failedto produce the documents.

In this regard official spokes-man of the Capital police told“Online,, that IGP IslamabadBani Amin Khan and

SC’s two Benchesfor next weekSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Chief Justice ofPakistan Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry has constituted twobenches at the principal seat tohear a number of important casesin the next week starting fromMonday (February 4).

The first bench is comprisedof Chief Justice,Justice GulzarAhmed and Justice Sh AzmatSaeed while the second benchmembers included Justice AnwarZaheer Jamali,Justice TariqPervez and Justice Ejaz AfzalKhan. According to cause lists,no application for adjournmentthrough fax will be placed beforethe Court. If the counsel is un-able to appear for any reason, theAdvocate-on-Record will be re-quired to argue the case.

DBAR sets up taskforce to expose fakelegal practitioners

RAWALPINDI—District Bar As-sociation Rawalpindi (DBAR)has set up task force to identifyand expose fake legal practitio-ners engaged in practice at dis-trict courts.

The DBAR will registercases against all the fake legalpractitioners who will be identi-fied in the report of task force.

DBAR secretary generalMalik Zahir Arshid advocate saidit had come to the notice of barthat certain elements were in-volved in legal practice in thedistrict courts who had no rel-evance with this profession andthey were not holding practitio-ner licenses. They appear in thecourt in black coats and this wayare deceiving the courts and liti-gants.

A task force has been set upto identify and expose these ele-ments, he said As soon they arepointed out by the task forces,FIR will be lodged against themby the Bar, he added. —Online

Stray animalsroaming at

Capital’s roadsISLAMABAD—Despite a ban,domestic animals such as cows,sheep’s and donkeys are roam-ing freely on the busy streets ofthe capital city while the Capi-tal Development Authority isacting like a silent spectator.

CDA has banned keepingcows, sheeps, donkeys andhorses as domestic animals butstill several residents of G-6, G-7, G-8, G-9, I-9, I-10, F-11andSaidpur Road are keeping suchanimals.—Online

ZAHEERUL HASSAN

ALL over the world Pakistanicommunity will display unityand solidarity with Kashmirison 5 February 2013. Kashmir

Solidarity Day is being observed on 5Feb each year since 1990 in Pakistan as aday of protest against Indian OccupiedKashmir (IHK). The disputed state is lo-cated north of India. 139,000 Sq Km(53,700 Sq Mi) with population of over10 million (2001) Kashmir state is boundedto the west by Pakistan. 740 Km Line-of-Control separates it from Azad Kashmirand in the East by Ladakh, Tibet andAksian China. The state is drained bynumerous rivers which include Indus,Zanskar, Suru, Nubra Shyok, Jhelum, andChinab. The valley is known as heavenon earth because of its scenic beauty,Chinar, Deodar and Alpine trees, grassyslopes full of flowers, fresh water lakes,waterfalls, crystal blue sky and snowcovered high peaks and brave inhabit-ants of the valley.

Kashmiris are raising slogans of an-nexation with Pakistan since the day,when Hari Singh, Maharaja of Jammu &Kashmir against the wishes of localsannounced its accession with India inOctober 1947. However, ‘Kashmir Move-

ment” basically started on the day whenBritish have sold Kashmiris’ territory toSikh ruler under a contract deed. How-ever the moment which was started in1931 against Dogra rule is still going onsince Kashmiri still deprived of basichuman rights.

Anyhow, on coming 05 February allPakistani with their Kashmiris brotherswill pay homage to martyrs and expresssolidarity with Kashmiri people who arestill languishing under the yoke of In-dian repression. On 26 January of thisyear Kashmiris all over the globe havealso observed Indian Republic Day as“Black Day”.

Pakistani masses are determined todisplay unity and solidarity withKashmiris and condemn Indian viola-tion of Human rights in Kashmir too. Itis evident that since 1989 to 15 October2012, total killing of innocent individu-als were 93,801, custodial killings in vari-ous camps and jails were 6,996. Overall1, 20,392 individuals have been arrested,structural damaged have been done tothe property was 1, 05,955. Moreover22,764 women have been injured and

suffered with severe injuries, 10,042women have been gang raped ormolested and over 1, 07,441 kids havebecome orphaned. Notably, hun-dreds of serving Indian soldiers in-cluding senior officers are involvedin widespread human rights abusesin Indian Held Kashmir, as reportedby Daily Guardian reports. The ar-ticle published in the UnitedKingdom’s leading daily gives ref-erence to report by a team of vet-eran legal activists in the Himalayanstate that names 500 alleged perpe-trators ranging from low-ranking po-licemen to Indian army generals. Thewriter Jason Burke based in Delhisays the charges relate to incidentsoccurring throughout more than 20years of violence pitting armed reli-gious and freedom fighters groupsagainst New Delhi’s rule in HeldKashmir and include shootings, ab-ductions, torture and rapes.

Indeed, the issue of Jammu andKashmir is the oldest unresolved is-sue on the agenda of the UNO. FromJanuary 1948 to May 1971, the orga-

nization has passed twenty seven reso-lutions and carried out many debates/discussions concerning Jammu andKashmir. In this connection UN Secu-rity Council Resolutions number 91, 96of 1951 and Resolution Number 98 of1952 have very clearly stated plebiscite.In all of its resolutions, including reso-lutions of United Nations Commissionfor India and Pakistan (UNCIP), UNasked India for a fair and impartial plebi-scite to decide the future status ofJammu and Kashmir as per the wishesof the its subjects.

Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehruthough initially agreed in 1948 and dur-ing Sino- India war of 1962 but declinedto implement the UN resolutions andabiding by the promise of settling downthe Kashmir issue with Pakistan afterthe war. Both the countries have foughtfour wars over the issue. In this regard,number of bilateral talks including Con-fidential Building Measures (CBMs)have been held on the issue but Indiaalways tried to sideline it whereas , con-trary to it Pakistan have made seriousefforts to crystallize the issue with a view

to resolve the conflict under UN reso-lutions.

In this connection, at timesIslamabad preferred to discuss othersissues of CBMs, but New Delhi neverever shown encouraging reaction inrelation to Kashmir problem. New Delhihas been stressing to strengthen theConfidence Building Measures(CBMs) with Islamabad to normalisethe relations between two capitals, butshe always shown reluctance in dis-cussing the Kashmir and water prob-lems as major issues between two capi-tals. She has never given any positivesignal of taking a step forward for set-tling the Kashmir conflict rather pre-ferred to put it aside on the name ofcontinuation of peace process. .

Resultantly, the tension escalatedwhen Indian soldiers crossed over theLine of Control (LoC) in Kashmir onJanuary 6, this year and attacked a Pa-kistani check post in Haji Pir setor, kill-ing one Pakistani soldier and injuringmany troops.

Besides, Indian troops shot deadanother Pakistani soldier at Hotspring

on the LoC on January 10 and 16 Janu-ary of this year. Indian political andmilitary elite is trying to create warphobia while; Postponing Indian PMvisit to Islamabad, stopping sched-uled visit of their negotiation teamon Wuller barrage, returning back ofplayers of Pakistani hockey team,protest against Pakistani cultural am-bassadors, stopping Pakistani em-bassy staff from visit Jaipur, threat-ening to Pakistan by Indian Army andAir Forces Chiefs on LoC clash andwarning residents of Kashmir to buildunderground bunkers to prepare fora possible nuclear, biological andchemical war. Purpose of the saidIndian campaign is to malign Paki-stan and create hype before electionstoo. In fact, Kashmir issue always re-mained very tricky and touchy as-pect in internal and external Indo-Pakistan politics.

We should admit from the out-set that none of the government isin a position to delink Kashmir is-sue independently from their localtraditional politics; therefore win-win solution would be the answerof resolving the issue, i.e. ‘divisionof Kashmir while taking Kashmirisinto confidence”.—Kashmir Watch

5th February: hallmark day in Kashmir struggleMUZAFFRABAD: Employees of Utility Stores protesting in favour of their demands.

RAO ATIQ UL AMIN KHAN

MIRPUR—Federal Secre-tary Water and Power Mrs.Nargis Sethi has said that thepower sector is directlylinked to economy of thecountry, therefore, this is allthe more important to add tothe National Grid a goodquantum of electricity, gen-erated at affordable cost.

She said while presidingover a meeting held to reviewprogress on water and powerprojects, during visit to theWAPDA House on Friday,according to an official state-ment released to media byWAPDA on Friday.WAPDA Chairman SyedRaghib Shah, AdditionalSecretary Water & Power,Secretary WAPDA, JointSecretary Water & Power,NTDC MD and Members ofWAPDA attended the meet-ing.

Terming WAPDA as an

Generation of affordable electricity priorityimportant organization ofthe country, the SecretaryWater & Power said that Pa-kistan is fortunate to haveprojects like Tarbela andMangla dams. The SecretaryPower said that the FederalGovernment accords priorityto harnessing indigenous re-sources of hydropower, coaland other alternatives suchas wind and solar etc.

More attention should bepaid to develop these re-sources, hydel in particular,by constructing the projectsin the shortest possible time.

This will help reducedependence on high-costimported oil for electricitygeneration and stabilize theelectricity tariff, she furthersaid. The Secretary said thatelectricity situation in thecountry is gradually improv-ing with concerted efforts ofthe Government. She ex-pressed the hope that thesituation will further improve

in the days to come.The Government is

working on Diamaer BashaDam and we will have sig-nificant development on theproject in the coming days,she added. The Secretary di-rected that the under-con-struction projects be com-pleted in accordance withthe timeline. She appreciatedthe efforts made by WAPDAto complete Kachhi andRainee Canal projects, add-ing that the two projects willhelp irrigate hundreds ofthousands of acre land in thefar flung areas ofBalochistan and Sindh forsocio-economic uplift of thepeople.

Speaking on the occa-sion, WAPDA Chairman as-sured the Secretary to followthe timeline for completingthe projects.

The Chairman saidthat WAPDA has devised aleast-cost energy generation

and water storage plan,through which more than 25projects are being imple-mented to generate about27000 MW of electricity andstore 13 MAF of water. Di-lating upon the short, me-dium and long term strategy,he informed the meeting that370 MW of hydel electricitywill be added to the systemby June 2013, while another2600 MW in the next fouryears followed by 6500 MWby 2020, provided funds aremade available for the pur-pose. He thanked the Secre-tary Water & Power for en-hancing the payment toWAPDA to the tune of Rs.3billion per month againsthydel invoices to help over-come financial problems inimplementing the projects.The financial as well as otherissues relating to the waterand power projects werealso discussed in details dur-ing the meeting.

AH RAO

MIRPUR—The three-daycapacity-building workshopon Strategic EnvironmentalAssessment concluded inMuzaffarabad late Fridaywith special emphasizes onadoption of all necessary lat-est environment-friendlymeans harmonious to theneed of the modern age be-fore launching of the devel-opment projects includingthose related to Hydro-Power generation in AzadJammu & Kashmir.

The AJK Hydropower Pi-lot Strategic environmentalAssessment Combined Train-ing and Scoping workshopwas arranged at the PearlContinental Hotel under theNational Impact AssessmentProgramme jointly by the In-ternational Union for Conser-vation of Nature Pakistan(IUCN), Netherlands Com-mission for EnvironmentalAssessment, EnvironmentProtection Agency of AJKwith the coordination of otherrelevant line authorities ofthe governments of Pakistan

Capacity building workshop onstrategic environmental assessment

and AJK to successfullycombat the challenges of en-vironment conservation andmanagement and enrichment.It was also aimed at to ensuresustainable development inthe country including AJK.

Besides the chief guestsat the inaugural and con-cluding sessions includingFarhat Mir, Secretary Plan-ning and Development AJKgovt. and Engr. MushtaqGorsi, Managing DirectorAJK Hydro Electric Boardrespectively, key speakersincluding the Director Gen-eral Environment ProtectionAgency (EPA) AJK govern-ment Ch. Abdul Qayyum,Lead Trainer Dr. DavidAnnanadale, Director EPAAJK Dr. Raja AurangzebKhan, Coordinator IUCNAhmed Saeed, ManagingDirector Private PowerProjects Cell AJK Engr.Muhammad Farooq and oth-ers underlined that the AJKenvironment based re-sources offer tremendousopportunities to encounterthe prevailing challenges.

They referred to the ex-

isting over 8200 megawattHydro Power GenerationPotential including Mangladam as the mega environ-ment based natural resourcesendowment of AJK. It wasalso told on this occasionthat the lack of solid wastemanagement has become themajor environmental con-cern in AJK since it was de-grading the natural environ-ment of the state besidesposing a great harm to GreenHouse Gases to theircompletion emission.

Speaking at the conclud-ing session, Director GeneralEPA AJK Ch. Abdul Qayyumhoped that the newly-intro-duced Strategic Environmen-tal Assessment (SEA) for theHydro Development Plan ofAJK was one of its own kindin Pakistan. He hoped thatthe implementation of theSEA before and during thecourse of execution of anyhydropower developmentproject in AJK would, in-deed, help in preserving thenatural resources besidesaverting any threat to theenvironment as a whole.

SRINAGAR—While Justice JS Verma committee’s pro-posal for reviewing ArmedForces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) has renewed thedebate on revoking the con-troversial law, several panelsconstituted by Governmentof India in past have alsocalled for scrapping or re-viewing the Act.

The recommendations ofthese panels strengthen thecase of votaries of AFSPArevocation even as Ministryof Defence and Army is op-posing repeal or review ofthe law.

Working group: One ofthe Working Groups set upby Prime Minister DrManmohan Singh in 2006had favored review of theAct. The Working Group onconfidence building mea-sures headed by the thenNational Minorities Commis-sion chief and incumbentVice-President MuhammadHamid Ansari had favoureddiscontinuation of the law.

“Certain laws made op-erational during the periodof militancy (e.g. Armed

Verma panel not first to seek AFSPA reviewPast recommendations of official committees gather dust

Forces Special Powers Act,Disturbed Areas Act) im-pinge on fundamental rightsof citizens and adversely af-fect the public. They shouldbe reviewed and revoked.Law and order mattersshould be dealt with, to themaximum extent possible,through normal laws,” theWorking Group recom-mended.

Kashmir Interlocutors:The group of three inter-locutors assigned with thetask of finding politicalsettlement of Kashmir issuealso recommended review ofthe law along with amend-ments in Public Safety Act.

While discussing the is-sue of AFSPA imposed inJammu and Kashmir since’90s, the interlocutors saidtheir impression is thatAFSPA is more the symbolof a problem than its cause.“But symbols are importantfor peace processes, andthus the Ministry of Defenceneeds to consider how torespond positively to thisissue rather than negatively,”the group said while refer-

ring to the insistence of theMinistry on continuation ofthe Act.

Administrative ReformsCommission: The 2nd Ad-ministrative Reforms Com-mission which was set up in2005 had also suggested re-pealing of the Act while sug-gesting that the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Actbe bolstered with a provisionto enable the armed forcesto operate in conflict zones.

Justice Jeevan ReddyCommittee: The five-membercommittee under the chair-manship of Justice B PJeevan Reddy, former judgeof the Supreme Court, hadalso recommended repealingof the Act.

“The Act is too sketchy,too bald and quite inad-equate in several particu-lars,” the Committee had saidin its report, adding, “It istrue that the Hon’ble Su-preme Court has upheld itsconstitutional validity butthat circumstance is not anendorsement of the desir-ability or advisability of theAct.”—NNI

KATHUA—Recalling thehistoric announcement madeby then Prime Minister AtalBehari Vajpayee fromSrinagar in which he had ex-tended hand of friendshiptowards Pakistan, patron ofPeoples Democratic Party(PDP) Mufti MohammadSayeed has said that PDPthrough its conviction hasforced successive govern-ments at Delhi to initiateConfidence Building Mea-sure (CBMs) to improve re-lations with Pakistan.

This was stated by himduring a public meeting atNagri Parol in Kathua. Hesaid that PDP had scripted anew chapter of peace anddevelopment in Jammu and

PDP forced central govts toimprove ties with Pakistan: Mufti

Kashmir and changed politi-cal discourse of the Statethrough its visionary andpro-peace policies.

He said that PDP duringits tenure had proved to howto deliver good govern andhow to establish transpar-ency and accountability inthe governance. “I don’twant to praise myself butpeople of the State now com-paring our achievements withthe decades-long mis-gover-nance of successive NationalConference regimes,” he saidand added that PDP-Con-gress regime in the State hadestablished a system of gov-ernance which earned cred-ibility and acceptability of thecommon masses.

Reiterating resolve of hisparty to establish a new sys-tem of justice and equalityin the State, patron ofPeoples Democratic Party(PDP) Mufti MohammadSayeed has said that hisparty has scripted a newchapter of peace and devel-opment in Jammu and Kash-mir and has changed politi-cal discourage of Jammu andKashmir through its convic-tion and commitment

“PDP during its tenurehad not only created a senseof security among the peoplebut also restored dignity ofthe common masses by pio-neering and implementingpeace and reconciliation poli-cies,” he said.—NNI

JAMMU—The nomadicGujjars and Bakerwals in thestate of Jammu and Kashmirhave lost around 12 rare tra-ditional and indigenous spe-cies of sheep, goats, horsesand dogs during the pastfour decades.

This was revealed in a re-cent study conducted byTribal Research and CulturalFoundation-a frontal organi-zation of Gujjars in Jammu andKashmir. The study furthersays that almost six of therare native species consid-ered the most threatened inthe world are also at the vergeof extinction in the Himalayanbelt of Jammu and Kashmir,Himachal Pradesh and ad-joining states of India. Javaid

Gujjars losing rare animal species: StudyRahi Secretary Tribal Foun-dation while releasing the gistof the study to media statedthat, the nomadic Gujjars andBakerwals of the state regretthe dying of several indig-enous spices of goat andsheep after the introductionof high-yielding foreignbreeds. He said the Gujjarsand the Bakerwals in the Hi-malayan belt have lost almostall the native species of sheepand at present, they haveonly foreign Australian Me-rino species of sheep.

“We urge the state gov-ernment to take immediatemeasures by constituting aspecial team to save the ex-isting rarest of rare speciesof livestock of nomadic

Gujjars and Bakerwals in thestate,” He said while takingto Rising Kashmir.

Quoting the study, Rahisaid that the distinctive spe-cies reared by the nomadicGujjars and Bakerwals fromtimes immemorial havegradually been lost since1968 when the Indian Coun-cil for Agricultural Research(ICAR), New Delhi, intro-duced certain foreign-originbreeds in the state.

“This has been done toget the maximum yield interms of wool, mutton andother viable benefits and itcontinues till date and withthe passage of time our in-digenous species have dis-appeared,” he added.—INP

India politicisingyatra issue in IHK:

Azam InqilabiSRINAGAR—APHC leaderand the Chief Patron ofMahaz-e-Azadi Jammu andKashmir, Muhammad AzamInqilabi, has said that, on oneside, India is talking aboutcontinuation of serious dia-logue process with Pakistan,but on the other, it is usingcultural aggression in theoccupied territory.

Muhammad AzamInqilabi in a statement issuedin Srinagar expressed seri-ous concern over the in-crease in duration ofAmarnath Yatra by AmarnathShrine Board and said thatIndia was politicsing thesimple religious activity. Hepointed out that in the past20 to 25 thousand Yatris usedto come to the territory butduring the past few yearstheir number had been in-creased manifold, which wasaffectingb the ecology of thearea around the AmarnathShrine.—KMS

Shah arrested onway to Hazratbal

SR I N A G A R—Democrat icFreedom Party ChairmanShabir Ahmad and otherparty leaders were arrestedwhen they were on their wayto Hazratbal.

In a press statement is-sued here, the DFP hasstrongly condemned the ar-rest of their chairman andsaid that during the last twoyears the party chairman wasput under house arrest orunder police detention for 9months and 20 days. “Bydoing this he is not allowedto offer Friday prayers ormeet people”.

Terming the detention oftheir chairman and other lead-ers unconstitutional DFPsaid that by not allowingthem to offer Friday prayersor meeting people, the free-dom will not become weak inany way.

“He is the voice of thepeople and it is not pos-sible to muzzle the voicesof people. Whatever tacticsthe authorities use to stopthe party chairman frommeeting with people, thefreedom struggle ofKashmiris will not bestopped. People are verymuch passionate about thefreedom and the strugglewill continue till an ami-cable solution acceptableto the people will bereached,” DFP said.—NNI

Kashmiriscientist to get

national award one-governance

SRINAGAR—Senior Scientistin Department of Environment& Remote Sensing, HumayunRashid has been chosen fornational award on e-Gover-nance project by the Depart-ment of Administrative Re-forms and Public GrievancesGovernment of India.

The National e-Gover-nance Award will be given toRashid during the proceedingsof the National Conference one-Governance 2013 at Jaipuron February 11.

Rashid has received an in-vitation to receive the awardby Kavita Garg Deputy Sec-retary e-Governance Depart-ment of Administrative Re-forms & Public GrievancesMinistry of Personnel, PublicGrievances & Pensions.

Nearly 650 projects wereevaluated by the Depart-ment of Administrative Re-forms and Public Griev-ances through Centre forGood Governance,Hyderabad and subse-quently the Department ofAdministrative Reforms.J&K State bagged theAward for its Project,“Measuring Physical Ac-cessibility to HealthcareNetwork and PopulationCoverage Modeling in J&KState using Geo-informatics”.—NNI

OIC invitesMirwaiz for

Cairo summitSRINAGAR—The HurriyatConference (M) chairmanMirwaiz Umar Farooq hasbeen invited by Organisationof Islamic Cooperation (OIC)to attend the fourth summit ofIslamic leaders to be held inEgyptian capital of Cairo onFebruary 6. “Mirwaiz has beeninvited to attend the summitmeeting on February 6,” anHurriyat (M) spokesman said.He said the OIC leader’s sum-mit, which is held after a gapof every four years, would dis-cuss the political and regionalchallenges faced by the Mus-lims, besides the means andways to address those issuesin an effective manner. “Dur-ing the summit, apart from dis-cussing the burning issues ofSyria and Afghanistan, thedispute of Jammu and Kash-mir would also be debated anddiscussed from all angles,” thespokesman said.—KMS

SRINAGAR—The veteranKashmiri Hurriyet leader,Syed Ali Geelani, castigatingthe Amarnath Shrine Boardfor extending the duration ofAmarnath pilgrimage in oc-cupied Kashmir has said thatIndia is not serious in resolv-ing the Kashmir dispute.

Addressing a Seerat con-ference in Kupwara over tele-phone from New Delhi, theveteran leader deplored thatNew Delhi wanted tochange the demography ofthe occupied territory in thegarb of yatra. He said thatthe Kashmiris were notagainst the pilgrimage butthey wanted that the yatrashould be managed by theKashmiri Pandits.

Syed Ali Geelani in astatement paying glowingtributes to advocate Ghulam

India not serious in resolutionof Kashmir dispute: Geelani

Mohi-ud-Din Regoo on hismartyrdom anniversary de-manded that the troops in-volved in his custodial kill-ing should be brought to jus-tice.

All Parties Hurriyet Con-ference leader, MuhammadAzam Inqilabi, in his state-ment reacting to the increasein the duration of Amarnathyatra said that India waspoliticising a simple religiousactivity.

APHC leader, ZafarAkbar Butt, addressing ameeting of his party leadersand activists belonging toJammu, Rajori, Poonch,Doda and Bhaderwah areasin Jammu appealed to the in-ternational community toimpress upon India to revokethe draconian laws from theterritory and resolve the

Kashmir dispute withoutany further delay.

Another APHC leader,Nayeem Ahmed Khan, ad-dressing a gathering atArigam in Badgam said thatIndian troops besides com-mitting human rights viola-tions were resorting to cul-tural aggression in the occu-pied territory to deflect theattention of Kashmiri youthfrom the ongoing liberationmovement.

The Chairperson ofMuslim KhawateenMarkaz Jammu and Kash-mir, Yasmeen Raja, in herstatement in Srinagar saidthat observance of Kash-mir Solidarity Day by thepeople and the govern-ment of Pakistan was asource of inspirat ion forthe Kashmiris.—KMS

‘Culturalaggression

ploy to deflectattention’

SRINAGAR—In occupiedKashmir, the All PartiesHurriyet Conference leader,Nayeem Ahmed Khan, hassaid that New Delhi is usingcultural aggression to deflectthe attention of Kashmiriyouth from the ongoing lib-eration struggle. ayeemAhmed Khan addressing agathering at Arigam inBadgam deplored that besidescommitting human rights vio-lations, the Indian troops wereresorting to cultural aggres-sion in the occupied territory.The APHC leader urged thepeople to foil all these tacticsemployed by the occupationauthorities. “This is only pos-sible when all the Muslims ofthe territory follow the teach-ings of Islam in letter andspirit.—KMS

I have found no greatersatisfaction than

achieving successthrough honest dealingand strict adherence tothe view that, for you to

gain, those you dealwith should gain as

well.

— Alan Greenspan

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Bank ofKhyber (BoK) assets reached toRs. 82 Billion by 31st Decem-ber 2012 showing growth of20% over Rs. 68 Billion of crosspending period of last year.

This was stated by Mr. BilalMustafa Managing DirectorBOK in his key note address atBOK Operational PerformanceReview Manager’s Conference-2013 held this morning inLahore. The Conference wasattended by Mir Javed HashmatExecutive Director BoK, ImranSamad Group Head CreditsManagement, Mr. KamranMasood Khan Group Head Is-lamic Banking, MuhammadTariq Naseem Group Head HRDapart from Divisional Headsfrom Head Office, Chief Man-agers and Managers from acrossthe country.

BoK assets reach Rs 82bBilal Mustafa lauded the

growth in all operational areas ofthe BoK during 2012 and ex-pressed his confidence over thefield staff and Head office sup-porting team, adding that we haveto work with more devotion anddiligently to achieve the targets ofMCR set by the State Bank ofPakistan out of which by Decem-ber 2012 we achieve Rs. 9 plusPaid-up Capital target success-fully and remaining we willachieved as and when time comes.

Bilal Mustafa ManagingDirector BOK declared 2013 as“Year of Excellence” to ensureefficient services to the custom-ers, with a touch of profession-alism and to facilitate trade &business community with ex-tending loans focused on small& medium enterprises.

He said that due to increasein branches network, we couldattract more clientage which

would alternatively help us togrow our deposit and advancebase. He also welcomed theChief Managers, Managers andfield staff newly openedbranches of BOK start opera-tions in 2012. Bilal Mustafamentioned that in-spite of unfa-vorable economic conditionsacross the country specially inour Province, BOK total depos-its shows 32% growth whileadvances shows 20%. Mir JavedHashmat Executive Director inhis address said that profession-alism is a key to success andpresently in financial sector thecompetition required that weshould be services oriented fi-nancial institution in order toachieve the desired goals.

He also advised the BranchManagers that they should pass onHead Office instruction to theirrespective staff as it is always ateam effort to achieve the targets.

Bilal Mustafa, Managing Director and CEO, Bank of Khyber addressing the inaugural ses-sion of BoK Annual Managers Conference 2013 at Lahore. Mir Javed Hashmat ExecutiveDirector BoK also present on the occasion.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Cargo handlingoperations at Karachi Port &Port Qasim comes to a standstilldue to complete strike called byGoods Transporters Associationagainst what they called BhattaMafia (extortions) causing ex-port losses running in billions ofdollars.

The goods transporters as-sociation has announced boycottagainst ‘bhatta’ at Karachi Inter-national Container Terminal(KICT), Pakistan InternationalContrainer Terminal (PICT),TPX one by one, at all ports andcargo handling terminals.

Due to strike by the trans-porters exporters suffered loss of$600 million to export while $6billion loss of the value-addedsector and delay in shipments oftheir export cargo.

The Trade and industry hasexpressed its extreme concernover ongoing strike by the goodstransporters at various yards of

Work halted at Karachi, Qasim ports

Goods transport strikeagainst ‘bhatta mafia’

Karachi Port and Port Qasim.In an urgent SOS to the fed-

eral and provincial governmentsand all departments concerned,the Chairman (SZ) PakistanReadymade Garments Manufac-turers and Exporters Association(PRGMEA) ShaikhMuhammad Shafiq said that de-spite that fact that country hasto suffer huge losses runninginto billions of rupees due totransporters’ strike just a fewweeks ago, the exporters haveface same situation once againas goods carriers have boycottedthe lifting of in and outboundcargo from KICT, PICT andTPX.

Shafiq called upon thepower corridors in Islamabadto take this matter seriouslyand not to fully destroy theeconomy which is alreadysinking. He also sent SOS tothe KPT and Port Qasim’sChairmen and Chief ExecutiveTrade Development Authorityof Pakistan (TDAP) Abid

Javed Akbar to intervene intothe matter and resolve the is-sue without any further loss ofexports and government rev-enue.

“As you know the trans-porters’ association has al-ready recorded their protestand informed all facts and is-sues to the competent authori-ties for security but the matteris still pending. You may re-call that an urgent meeting washeld under your chairmanshipwith stakeholders to discussthe crucial issue but scenarioremained the same”, Shafiqsaid in his SOS.

In the prevailing situationwhere the exporters are alreadyfacing several problems, wecannot bear this additional bur-den, he added. Being concerneddivision, TDAP should take upthis matter to the authorities con-cerned for resolving the issuesof transporters immediately sothat exporters may resume theiroperations.

MUHAMMAD USMAN

KHAN

ECO-Political developments have been volatilein the past year, punctu-

ated by depleting FX reserves,rupee depreciation, deteriorat-ing country’s Balance of Pay-ments position, substantialdebt payments, weak privatesector credit intake, paltryGDP growth, poor fiscal man-agement, large growth inmoney supply and jittery for-eign investor sentiments.

The only positive that wasplaying in the favour ofPakistan’s economic managerswas the low inflation figure in

Pakistan economic reality graphthe second half of 2012. LatelySBP has shifted it’s emphasis toeconomic growth and privatesector credit expansion in itsMPS. In light of its policy di-rection it has reduced policy ratefrom 12% to 9.5% (250 basispoints) in the last 6 months toachieve these twin goals; The 5year low of 6.93% (YoY) infla-tion has helped significantly inthis regard.

The above variables have anegative impact on the externalsector. However the issue withthe external sector is not the sizeof the current account balancebut the ability of the governmentin financing it through externalinflows. Current account is in

surplus for the 1H of FY13 by$250 Million compared to adeficit of $2.4 Billion in thesame period last year, thanks tothe cushion provided by thehealthy inflow of worker remit-tances and Coalition SupportFund (CSF).

However, another source ofexternal inflow i.e. FDI hasshown downward trend in lastfew years and remained mutedin the 1H FY13. Net FDI for 1HFY13 is paltry $510 Millioncompared to $489 Million in 1HFY12. Pakistan’s net outflowfrom capital and financial ac-count is at $539 Million at theend of December 2012.

The country has paid $1.3

Billion to IMF till December2012 and another $1.56 Billionis due for the remaining FY13.These substantial debt repay-ments to IMF have causedSBP’s Foreign exchange re-serves to drop from $10.5 Bil-lion at the start of FY13 to $8.7Billion as of 4 January 2013.Despite the current account be-ing in surplus the upcoming pay-ments to IMF ($1.5 Billion) inthe remaining FY13 wouldcause SBP FX reserves to fur-ther decline to disturbing levels.

This will put additionalpressure on the rupee and SBP’sability to defend USD-PKR par-ity. The rupee has currently de-preciated 3.5% in 1H FY13

compared to 4.4% in the sameperiod last year. In the light ofabove numbers current accountis in much better shape than ithas been for last couple of years.

However, the cause of con-cern is the anticipated debt pay-ment to IMF in the remainingFY13. Further payments in theform of CSF are out of questionfor the remaining FY13, pro-ceeds from auction of 3G licenseto the telecom companies don’tseem to be materializing anytime soon while over-due pay-ment from Etisilat remains a dis-tant possibility.

That leaves worker remit-tances and FDI as the onlysources of sizeable external in-

flows. Worker remittances areshowing robust growth but FDIis not showing any encouragingsigns of improvement. Yes weare to be blamed for the poorFDI but headwinds from Euroand US have also caused a de-celeration in portfolio capitaland FDI.

Pakistan’s current politicaland security situation is onlymaking matters worse. Pakistanalso needs sizeable external in-flows to preserve foreign ex-change reserves as declining re-serves is a cause of tighteningin rupee liquidity. Recently wesaw a noisy pressure on USD-PKR parity but this noiseseemed over- blown once we see

that the rupee had only depreci-ated 3.5% in the 1H FY13 com-pared to 4.4% in the same pe-riod last year.

Also in the past CY 12 ru-pee depreciated 8% which isconsistent with 5 year averageof 7% depreciation. The issuewas the speculation that SBP islosing its ability to defend par-ity due to IMF debt re- pay-ments. While managing debtpayments remain more of animmediate concern, the realchallenge remains in revivingFDI through improved gover-nance, security and energy in-frastructure. Improved foreigninflows will also help improveBoP position.

We also need to have a bitmore belief in Pakistan’s abil-ity to fulfill its debt obligationrather than jumping to unnec-essary conclusions and creat-ing economic instability andpanic. Another critical vari-able is domestic borrowing forbudgetary support from thebanking system which standsat Rs 640 Billion during 1stJuly – 4th Jan, FY13, com-pared to RS 779 Billion in thesame period last year.

Fiscal authority has re-tired Rs 130 Billion to theSBP while borrowed Rs 770Billion from the scheduledbanks. SBP liquidity injecContinued on Page 14

Export target not possiblesans supply of energy

Muhammad Nasrullah, PTCL SEVP Business Zones (Left) and Brig Sadullah Fatimi, Ad-ministrator Defence Housing Authority Islamabad (Right) exchanging the documents aftersigning MoU for development of ICT infrastructure in DHA Islamabad, in the presence ofWalid Irshaid, President and CEO PTCL (Centre). (Story on Page 14)

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

LAHORE—Pakistan TannersAssociation (PTA) CentralChairman Agha Saiddain hasappreciated the Trade Develop-ment Authority of Pakistan(TDAP) for facilitating leatherindustry by bearing all expansesof Pakistan Mega Leather Showbeing held next year at ExpoCenter in the provincial me-tropolis.

The PTA Central Chairmansaid that the leather sector has apotential to increase its exportsby 100 percent in next threeyears if it is provided level-play-ing field with India, China, andBangladesh i.e. our competingcountries.

He said that coordination

TDAP lauded forfacilitating leather show

with Pakistan Leather GarmentsManufacturers & Exporters As-sociation (PLGMEA), FootwearAssociation, Gloves Manufac-turers Association and LeatherGoods Association to finalizethe data for Pakistan MegaLeather Show has been started.

“We will submit you de-tailed working paper as soon asit is finalized by Pakistan MegaLeather Show Sub-Committee,”he added.

He said that he has alreadywritten a letter to the TDAPChief Executive Abid JavidAkbar and expressed his thanksfor the support to leather sectorand proactive approach ofTDAP to overcome chronicstagnation of this important sec-tor, which is 3rd largest foreign

exchange earning industry ofPakistan with annual exports of$1.05 billion.

“We highly appreciate theTDAP Chief ExecutiveOfficer’s decision who ac-cepted the Association’s re-quest during the visit to theLahore Chamber of Commerceand Industry. He had an-nounced during this meetingthat for Pakistan Mega LeatherShow no rental of Expo CenterLahore and other facilitiestherein would be charged fromexhibitors of Leather Sectorand all expenses of rental wouldbe taken up by TDAP.

We highly appreciate thispositive step and hope thiswould prove a turning point forthis important sector,” he added.

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR— The EuropeanUnion is introducing an 80million euro gigantic technicalassistant programme for ensur-ing budgetary support for dis-trict governance and commu-nity development in MalakandDivision and in this connectiona one-day dissemination work-shop was arranged inPeshawar to discuss salientfeatures of the programmewith the Khyber Pakhtunkhwagovernment and the KP fi-

PQ shipping activityKARACHI—Three shipsarrived at Port to load/offloadContainers at QICT, Palm Oilat LCT & Furnace Oil atFOTCO on 1st February,2013. Berth occupancy wasmaintained at 64% at the Porton Friday where a total of nineships namely M.V KPS-IAlican Bey- Powership, M.TStolt Spray, M.V Dong HaiJun 7001 Dredger, M.VThelisis, M.V MSC Jade, M.VMaritime Suzana, M.T Mire,M.T Global Peace, M.T GASChem Pacific, are currentlyoccupying berths to load/offload containers, palm oil,cement, furnace oil, LPG.Cargo handling operationswere carried out smoothly atthe Port where a cargo volumeof 67538 tonnes comprising52484 tonnes import, 15054tonnes export and (1500)TUEs was handled at the Portduring last 24 hours. M.VMaritime Suzana, sailed onFriday afternon, M.T StoltSpray sailed on Saturdaymorning.—APP

80m euro assistance committed for KPnance department.

The KP Minister for FinanceEngineer Muhammad HumayunKhan was chief guest on the oc-casion while the Provincial Min-isters Qazi Wajid, NawabzadaMahmood Zeb Khan, MPABacha Saleh, EU Ambassador toPakistan Lars Gunner, SecretaryFinance Sahibzad Saeed Ahmad,members of the EU delegationJos Jonkers, Berrend de Grootand high ranking officers of theKP government attended theworkshop.

The finance minister said

Malakand Division was the worstaffected region by acts of terror andthe European Union selection ofsuch a division was highly laud-able. He said it was their strongbelief and part of their PCNA strat-egy that to mitigate the causes ofconflict they had to devise a Pub-lic Financial Management systemthat could respond to the needs ofthe citizens in transparent way.

He said they knew that theparticipation of citizens in thenation building activities wasvery crucial to bring the statecloser to them.

CNG industrypolicy framework

reviewedSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—An inquiry com-mittee of the Competition Com-mission of Pakistan (CCP) onCNG sector has been tasked toreview the policy framework inthe CNG industry to identifypolicy distortions preventing,restricting or reducing competi-tion in the market.

The Chairperson Competi-tion Commission of Pakistan(CCP), Rahat Kaunain Hassanhas said that enforcement ofcompetition law has been the toppriority of the Commission topromote healthy business activi-ties in the country.

The CCP Chairperson waschairing the 17th quarterly meet-ing of the Competition Consul-tative Group (CCG) in Karachi,according to CCP statement is-sued here.

The CCG is an informalthink-tank set up by the Com-mission to solicit feedback andsuggestions on competition re-lated matters from the businesscommunity, legal community,academia, media, regulatorybodies and the government.

Kaunain briefed the partici-pants about the crucial enforce-ment actions taken by the com-mission recently.

She said that the order hadbeen issued by the Commissionrelating to the Institute of Char-tered Accountants of Pakistan(ICAP) in January 2013, inwhich the Commission imposedPKR 25 million fine on ICAPfor putting a ban on the trainingof non-ICAP accountancy stu-dents by its approved trainingorganizations.

Loans tomanufacturing

sector fallsSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—A sharp decelera-tion was witnessed in loans tomanufacturing sector duringthe last fiscal year (2011-2012).

According to SBP’s annualreport, loans to the manufactur-ing sector grew by just 0.3 per-cent in FY12, against 9.6 per-cent last year. The decelerationwas broad-based, as a largenumber of industries, either paidoff existing loans or cut backtheir fresh credit demand, thereport said.

The textile sector, one ofthe biggest users of bank creditwith a 20 percent share inloans to private sector busi-nesses, saw a net contractionof Rs23.7 billion in FY12,against an expansion of Rs44.5billion last year, the reportsaid. “This sharp turnaroundcan be traced to a significantdecline in cotton prices duringthe year. Specifically, domes-tic cotton prices in FY12 av-eraged Rs4,067 for 40 kg,against Rs7,867 last year, de-picting a decline of 48.3 per-cent. This decline not only re-duced credit demand fromspinning and weaving sectors,but also eased credit require-ments of upstream industriessuch as garments and knit-wears,” the report added.

In addition, loans to the ce-ment sector also witnessed a netcontraction for the second yearin a row, but at an acceleratedpace. A steady rise in domesticcement prices and healthy ex-ports contributed to strong cor-porate earnings.

Debt servicing upby 22pcStaff ReporterKARACHI—The country’sexternal debt servicingrecorded a significant increaseof 22 percent during FY12mainly due to repayment to theIMF. According to SBP’sannual report, with an increaseof $784.5 million overallforeign debt servicing stood at$4.29 billion in FY12compared to $3.506 billion inFY11. During the last fiscalyear, the interest payments onexternal loans witnessed somedecline, repayments ofprincipal surged due to therepayment to the IMF. “Thisincrease in debt servicing, inthe presence of negligiblegrowth in foreign exchangeearnings, reduced the country’sdebt servicing capacity duringthe year,” the report said.

Invest in livestocksectorStaff ReporterLAHORE—Punjab ChiefMinister Shahbaz Sharif hassaid that large opportunities ofinvestment exist in Punjablivestock sector and there is aneed to further develop thissector. He said Punjabgovernment has provided aconducive atmosphere forinvestment, and foreigninvestors are being extendedmaximum facilities andincentives. He called uponTurkish investors to partake ofinvestment opportunitiesexisting in livestock and othersectors of Punjab province.The Chief Minister wastalking to a Turkish delegationof livestock sector whichcalled on him under theleadership of Turkishbusinessman, Dursun.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Export target of $95 billion would be difficult toachieve, envisaged by the Stra-tegic Trade Policy Framework(STPF) 2012-15, without unin-terrupted supply of electricity andgas and improving the law andorder situation, said Mian ZahidAslam, President FaisalabadChamber of Commerce & Indus-try (FCCI) here Saturday.

He said that statistics revealunhealthy trend in the growth ofLarge Scale Manufacturing (LSM)and relocation of industries to othercountries notably Bangladesh isgetting hot due to load-shedding,high input costs and low credit

availability to the private sector, anengine of growth, due to heavy bor-rowings by the Government frombanking sector.

It is evident that natural gasplays a dominant role in thecountry’s energy mix and textilesector largely depends for fullscale production process on theuninterrupted supply of gas also,he added . Depending on the fore-casts for gas demand -supply gapin the following years, he appre-hended that production capac-ity utilization of industries willremain hostage to the lowest ebbif load-shedding of gas and elec-tricity is not overcome by theGovernment now and in future.

He appreciated the positive

steps as to establish Exim Bank,Pakistan Land Port Authority andother export-oriented measures inSTPF 2012-15 . He, however, saidthat $ 95 billion export target wouldbe difficult to achieve without un-interrupted supply of electricity andgas and improving the law and or-der situation in the country.

Chamber chief said owing tothis severe shortage of electricityand gas, it will be difficult evento meet the export target of US$16 billion for the year 2012-13which is evident from 60 percentless orders received by Pakistaniexporters in the recent ‘Heimtex’Germany as foreign buyers lacktrust for on time shipment of theirorders.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister forWater and Power, Ch AhmedMukhtar has said that3000MW cheaper electricitywould be generated throughsugarcane bagasse on fasttrack basis and investorswould be facilitated and en-couraged.

He said that necessaryamendments would also bemade in the existing co-gen-eration and renewable energypolicies to make it simplifiedand investors friendly.

Presiding over a meetingon fast track development ofbagasse based power genera-

Govt decides to generate 3,000MWpower from sugarcane bagasse

tion projects the minister saidthat the government was utiliz-ing all resources to end the en-ergy crisis and the power gen-eration from bagasse would beanother step to produce electric-ity from indigenous resources.He appreciated the PSMA fortaking interest in the bagassebased power projects and as-sured to provide full coopera-tion.

Mukhtar said that upfront tar-iff would be given for theseprojects. It is also the desire of thePresident Asif Zardari that sugar-cane bagasse should be utilized forcheaper power generation. Initially1500mw would be completed onfast track basis, he added.

The meeting reviewed indetail the existing co-generationand Renewable Energy policiesand discussed various propos-als to simplify it in order to getbenefit at the earliest.

The meeting observed thatthe necessary amendments inthe existing policies would helpalleviating the power crisis inthe country. It was decided thatthe bagasse based projectswould be processed by AEDBunder RE policy. A committeewas also set up to finalize therecommendations within oneweek in consultation with all thestakeholders so that the ap-proval taken from the compe-tent forum to start the projects.

Gold Tezab 53742.00Silver Tezabi 977.14

Gold Tezabi (24-Ct) 53600.00Gold 22 Ct 5300.00SilverTezabi 830.00Silver Thobi 800.00

USA 97.60 97.40

UK 153.22 152.91

EURO 131.30 131.03

Canada 97.08 96.88

Switzerland 105.31 105.09

Australia 101.82 101.61

Sweden 15.21 15.17

Japan 1.0730 1.0708

Norway 17.63 17.59

Singapore 78.87 78.71

Denmark 17.60 17.56

Omani Riyal 255.00 254.50

Saudi Arabia 26.02 25.97

Hong Kong 12.58 12.56

Kuwait 346.78 346.07

Malaysia 31.71 31.64

Newzeland 81.57 81.40

Qatar 26.81 26.76

UAE 26.57 26.52

KR WON 0.0896 0.0894

Thailand 3.269 3.262

Manual selectionof cases for audit

flayed: FPCCISTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sheikh ShakeelAhmed Dhingra, Vice Presi-dent, Federation of PakistanChambers of Commerce andIndustry (FPCCI) in a pressrelease issue today has urgedAli Arshad Hakim ChairmanFederal Board of Revenue(FBR) to withdraw the letterdated January 17, 2013 is-sued to all the Chief Com-missioners of Inland Rev-enue informing them thatthey posses inherent powersto conduct audit as per sec-tions 177, 25 and 46 of theIncome Tax Ordinance 2001,Sales Tax Act 1990 and Fed-eral Excise Act 2005 respec-tively for manual selection ofaudit.

He argued that the in-structions contained in theabove referred circular arenot only contrary to the spiritand the law but have createdunnecessary confusionsamongst the taxpayers andthe tax collectors particularlywhen the issue of “selection”and “conduction” of audithad already been threshedout by the Honorable Court.He added that it is wronglyinterpreted that Commission-ers are now authorized to se-lect cases for audit as it hasto be read with section 214C of ITO, 2001, where thelaw and procedure of “selec-tion” has also been stipulatedand as such powers to selectthe cases for audit only lieswith the Board according towhich the taxpayer will firstbe selected for audit undersection 214C by the FederalBoard of Revenue and onlythen would the Commis-sioner conduct its audit inaccordance with proceduregiven in section 177.

The FPCCI’s, Vice Presi-dent disclosed that HonorableHigh Court Lahore in its Judg-ment Case dated 28.12.2012has already decided that thecomposite audit under theabove said three tax laws is nottenable and as such FBR let-ter dated 17.1.2013 is in clearviolence of assurance givenbefore the Honorable HighCourt by the FBR.

MD terms campaign against NESPAK a personal vendettaOBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—In its meeting heldon 24th Jan 2013, the PAC for-warded a report of its Sub-Committee on NESPAK’s in-ternal matters and alleged ir-regularities purported to havebeen made in promotions andappointments. All this, was onthe behest of one MNA AyazSadiq, whose demand for pro-motion of two NESPAK em-ployees was not favoured bythe Managing Director. Thusbegan the relentless assault onNESPAK by the PAC Sub-Committee, particularly justtwo members out of seven,casting aspersions onNESPAK’s purely administra-tive matters and questioningactions and decisions taken bythe MD. A blatant case of per-

sonal vendetta against the MD,was pursued with relish, byMNA Ayaz Sadiq, singlehandedly, spearheading the en-tire smear campaign againstNESPAK and its Management -for the only purpose to see theMD removed from office for hisfully exposed ulterior motivesand paving the way for a VicePresident, who unbecomingly isalready in cahoots with him.

That NESPAK, which is aPrivate Limited Company estab-lished under the Companies Or-dinance 1984, is entirely lost tomost members of the PAC, whowere repeatedly informed thatNESPAK employees are notgovernment servants and there-fore not subject to scrutiny un-der government rules. It maykindly be noted that NESPAKgenerates its own revenues and

according to SECP Regulationsworks under a fully empoweredBoard of Directors. Let it alsobe known, NESPAK draws nofunds from the National Exche-quer. It is legally an independentPrivate Limited Company, albeitowned by the State. It has itsown service rules and is runwithout any interference of theGovernment, strictly on profes-sional lines as an Organizationof repute employing highlyqualified professionals. It is to-day, the largest and most soughtafter institution in the Country– only because it is managedprofessionally and operateswithout interference of outsideforces.

We state categorically, thatnone of the trumped up chargescan stand the slightest scrutiny,as they are based on ill con-

ceived, ill gotten information, ina desperate attempt, to malignthe MD and all his actions. Hav-ing failed to find anything ofsubstance, the thrust of the re-port now lays stress on the le-gality of the MD’s appointmentviz-a-viz his qualifications –being an Architect and not anEngineer. It must be pointed outhere, for those who are unawareof NESPAK’s working andthink of it as a purely Engineer-ing firm – that NESPAK is aMulti-Disciplinary ConsultancyOrganization with Architectureat the very core of its businessOperations. Therefore any sug-gestion that only an Engineercan head NESPAK is totallyunfounded and defies logic.

MNA Ayaz Sadiq, the manbehind this campaign against theMD in particular, has leveled

several other charges as well.That the MD was using his con-nections to influence the

Sub-Committee to softentheir stand, is farthest from thetruth – and they know it, that itwas their own friends and fam-ily who were getting averse toNESPAK bashing. Moreover, isit any of their business to mi-cro-scope NESPAK, a Companywhich is by far one of the mostsuccessful and profitable orga-nization of the State in the Pri-vate Sector? NESPAK’s reputa-tion, integrity and track recordspeaks volumes of its credibil-ity and standing, both at Na-tional and International level.

As for the legal opiniontaken by the Sub-Committeefrom an eminent lawyer, it mustbe said, that several such opin-ions from equally eminent law-

yers can be obtained byNESPAK, negating the mislead-ing impression that is beingpropagated. An Architect is justas qualified as any other Engi-neer – hence it is absurd to harpon an illogical notion, attempt-ing to give it a legal twist, as thePEC bye-laws in such particu-lar cases do not apply toNESPAK, where the Govern-ment is the only shareholder andappoints the Board of Directorsand the Managing Director.

Let it also be said that theManaging Director exercises alladministrative powers delegatedto the office by its Board of Di-rectors – hence, every actiontaken by the MD (which are be-ing questioned and probed into)has been made lawfully and le-gally, always keeping the largerinterest of the Company in view.

The report which essentiallyhas been prepared by a junioraudit officer camped inNESPAK House, directly underthe influence of the MNA, withthe sole purpose of ‘witch hunt’,are merely audit observations,mostly frivolous, and downrightludicrous. The audit has fromday one, lost its objectivity andindependence, supported by ne-farious activities of certain dis-gruntled elements, that arefound in every organization.

NESPAK has furnished adetailed reply to the Ministrygiving the entire background ofthis unpleasant saga, and its illintended motives. All these pro-ceedings of the PAC Sub-Com-mittee unfortunately have onlyled to casting a long shadow onhow NESPAK is functioningand operating in the minds of the

public at large – AND - if atall, MNA Ayaz Sadiq as wellas others from within andwithout, profess to be wellwishers of NESPAK, thensadly, their ‘good intentions’were fully exposed – Howvery unfortunate that a ‘Suc-cess Story’ like NESPAK, thelargest premier ConsultancyOrganization in Pakistan, thelikes of which do not exist inthe entire region, should havebeen so callously and so bra-zenly accused. The accuserwas also the Juror and Judge– the outcome of the reportwas a foregone conclusion andcame as no surprise – It wasonly the reporting in the Presswhich was one sided – Hence,it is imperative that NESPAKshould put the facts across tothe readers.

Shafqat Sultana President First Women Bank Ltd presidingover a meeting of Board of Directors of the Bank.

Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Finance, presenting the Brand ofthe Year Award trophy to Amer Khan, Etihad Airway’s Area General Manager for PakistanBangladesh and Nepal. Also present in the photos are Zahid Malik, President of the BrandFoundation and Tariq Saeed, Chairman of the Brand Award Council.

KARACHI: Muhammad Haroon Agar, President, KCCI presenting Chamber’s Crest toArif Masud Mirza, Head of Association of Chartered Ceretified Accountants (ACCA) at theMoU signing ceremony, at Aiwan-e-Tijarat. Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Senior Vice President,Nasir Mehmood, Vice President, Shamez Mukhi, Head of Public Affairs, ACCA, MuhammadSaqib, Asif Javed Shaikh, Asif Bega, Zahid Iqbal, Jahangir Shahid and Zafar Saeed, Mem-bers of Managing Committee are also seen in the picture.

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Arif Habib, one ofthe country’s leading businesstycoons, announced Saturday tocreate a welfare fund worth Rs1.5 million to provide journal-ists with health and educationfacilities.

The leading stocks brokerannounced this while address-ing, as a chief guest, the KPCSuper Six Cricket TournamentAward Ceremony held here atthe Karachi Press Club (KPC).

He lauded the mediapersonsfor the undue pressure that, hesaid, the journalists would befacing in the daily commitmentof their sacred job.

“The journalist community,

Arif Habib creates Rs1.5mjournalists welfare fund

I believe, should be so empow-ered that they could accomplishtheir duty without such pres-sures,” the leading stocks bro-ker said.

Arif announced the creationof a Rs 1 million annual fund atthe Memon Medical Institute(MMI) to cater medical relatedneeds of the KPC members rec-ommended by the Club. MMI,he said, was a donor-funded hos-pital located near Safoora Goth.

Also, the businessman de-clared the award of Rs 0.5 mil-lion scholarship program for thejournalists at an education insti-tute at Nazimabad to provide thelater with educational facilities.

“The objective is to promotetruth through the empowerment

of journalists,” the foundingchairman of Arif Habib Corpo-ration told the cheering journal-ists.

Sharing some light mo-ments with the journalists, Arifsaid how crazy he was about thecricket. He said he had recentlyplayed as a youngest played ofthe Super 60s Tournament orga-nized by the KarachiJeemkhana.

“If not a businessman, Iwould be a cricketer,” he said.Hosted by Secretary KPC AmirLatif, the ceremony was at-tended by President KPC ImtiazKhan Faran, Joint SecretaryShams Keerio and members ofthe governing body and generalcouncil of the Club.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Appreciating thecabinet decision of Pak-Iran gaspipe line approval and handingover of Gawadar Port to China,traders have insisted the federalgovernment to continue thisamended foreign policy, as theforeign policy is fundamental toimprove export of any country.

In a statement issued here onSaturday, APAT general secre-tary Naeem Mir said that Paki-stan can raise the current exportvolume of $5.36 billion to theEU by at least $2 billion throughattaining GSP Plus status afterimplementing 27 conventions ofthe United Nations, includingcomplete fulfillment of humanrights and labour laws.

He said that the trade policyframework for 2009-12 wasfailed because of multiple rea-sons which was designed to pro-vide assistance only to textilesector.

Traders welcome Pak-Irangas project approval

He asked the government tosolve the energy crisis if it wantsto achieve the targets, besidesbringing down the policy rate asper the regional countries of 7%to support industry. He pointedout that worsening law and or-der situation is also discourag-ing both the local and foreigninvestors to put their money innew ventures abroad.

He said that the much-de-layed Strategic Trade PolicyFramework (STPF) 2012-15with exports target of $95 bil-lion is an ambitious one, as it hasprojected 280% increase fromthe prevailing export figure ofabout $25 billion whileeconomy growth will remain inthe range of 4 per cent next yearmainly due to prolonged severeenergy crunch.

With financial growth of just3.7 per cent how a country canachieve 280% jump in its exportvolume within three years amidsta large number of closed industrial

units, as power and gasloadshedding has pushed the indus-try to the wall, asked Naeem Mir.

He said that the PPP-ledcoalition government has un-veiled a three-year trade policyframework, at a time when fewweeks have left of its ongoingtenure, though it was supposedto be announced in July or Au-gust last year. He suggested thegovernment to immediatelygrant MFN status to India withall stakeholders onboard, ascommitted by the cabinet toachieve higher export targetwhich cannot realized withoutenhanced regional trade.

He said that Pakistan isreaping a clear peace dividendby opening up trade with India,as Pakistan’s exports to Indiagrew by 66% between April andDecember 2012 over the sameperiod in 2011. With a new lib-eralized visa regime in place,both countries can expect thisfigure to go up further, he said.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Pakistan Associationof Automotive Parts and Acces-sories Manufacturers(PAAPAM) has demanded of thegovernment to declare the autoindustry as a “Key Industry” thatprovides livelihood to over 5 per-cent of the country’s population,saves valuable foreign exchange

PAAPAM seeks ‘Key’status for auto industry

and contributes almost 3 percentof GDP.

The PAAPAM ChairmanMunir Bana in a statement on Sat-urday said the auto industry is com-prised of assemblers of variousvehicles including cars, motor-cycles, tractors, buses and truckswhile auto parts manufacturers(APMs), produce the entire spec-trum of engineering technologies

Imran ul Haq, President ICMAP Toastmaster club Islamabadreceiving shield from Mian Ramzan, former president ICMAPToastmaster club.

necessary for assembling an auto-mobile. He said that a majority ofthe auto parts manufacturers aresmall and medium enterprises, andthis category unfortunately has noaccess to traditional bank credit.

He said the auto industry isconsidered the mother of all in-dustries and governmentsaround the world bend back-wards to ensure that the autoindustry survive all major set-backs, whether these are local orinternational slowdowns.

In Pakistan, this is the only in-dustry which has continued to in-vest in new technologies and raiseproduction capacities, in spite ofadverse policies like import ofused vehicles, non-implementa-tion of past Auto Industry Devel-opment Plan, lack of export incen-tives, non-availability of creditand absence of utility services.

He said the government maycreate the right environment forencouraging new entrants to setup assembly plants in the coun-try, thereby fostering healthycompetition, further localizationand industrial growth.

tions stand at Rs 605 Bil-lion as on 18th Jan. Thoughthese injections are inflation-ary, history tells us that theireffects on inflation in Pakistanhave been low and are not asource of concern just yet butneeds to be watched carefully.

One reason for these injec-tions being less inflationary isthat it puts money in the handsof few in the financial indus-try which in turn passes it onto government rather than to

private sector. Plus there is atime delay between newly cre-ated money and the increase inprice levels. This channel anddelay slows down the speed ofpass through of liquidity injec-tions to inflation. On the otherhand the utter volume of bor-rowing from the banking sys-tem and expectation that thistrend will continue is a causeof concern.

The issue lies in the struc-tural gap between revenues

and expenditures created byour fiscal authority. This can-not be resolved without the in-troduction of fiscal reforms.Without generating additionalrevenues it would be ex-tremely difficult to reduce thesheer volume of borrowing ei-ther from scheduled banks orSBP. Improved external in-flows can also assist fiscal au-thority in reducing pressure ondomestic borrowing in the fu-ture.

PakistanFrom Page 13

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Tariq Sayeed,Chairman Pak-Iran BusinessCouncil and former President ofthe Federation of PakistanChambers of Commerce & In-dustry (FPCCI) has hailed theGovernment of Pakistan for itsdecision to materialize Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline projectstating it as a land mark achieve-ment.

Sayeed who is also VicePresident of the Confederationof Asia Pacific Chambers ofCommerce & Industry said thatapproval of $1.5 billion by Cabi-net for construction of 785 Kmgas pipeline is a bold decision,

Govt hailed for IPgas pipeline project

which will transform the projectinto reality, which was dreamedin 1950s.

He felicitated the Parliamen-tarians of the ruling and the coali-tion parties for exhibiting theirgreater will, which will add re-spect to the country as a sovereignstate. “No individual or any for-eign country is above the sover-eignty of Pakistan” said Mr.Sayeed and added that the busi-ness community stands by thecurrent Governments on all issues,which are in the best interest ofthe country and the common men.

Sayeed added that everycountry has the right to take de-cision in the larger interest of itseconomic growth.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Tele-communication Company Lim-ited (PTCL) has today inked anagreement with Defence Hous-ing Authority Islamabad(DHAI) to extend InformationCommunication Technology(ICT) services and infrastructuredeployment in DHA Islamabad.

This strategic partnershipshall enable residents of DHAIslamabad to experience supe-rior telecom services of PTCLincluding voice telephony,

PTCL extends partnership with DHAbroadband internet andSmartTV as well as Pakistan’sfastest and most reliable Evo

wireless broadband internet ser-vices. In addition, PTCL has al-ready established a dedicatedfacility to further facilitate itscustomers by offering all theproducts and services of thecompany under one roof. Ear-lier, PTCL was providingtelecom services in Phase I & IIof DHA and now PTCL network

and services are being extendedto remaining sectors of DHA II,Islamabad.

The MoU agreement wassigned by Muhammad Nasrullah,PTCL Senior Executive VicePresident (SEVP) BusinessZones and Brig. Sadullah Fatimi,Administrator Defence HousingAuthority Islamabad in the pres-ence of Walid Irshaid, Presidentand CEO PTCL. Tariq Salman,Chief Technical Officer (CTO)PTCL and other senior officialsfrom PTCL and DHA were alsopresent on the occasion.

Picture on Page 13

Dry fruit salesslow

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Dry fruit sales re-mained sluggish during the cur-rent winter on the back of highprices, which propelled it be-yond the reach of the commonmen.

The prices of dry fruits hadseen a continuous rise, said acustomer. Prices of all dry fruitsremained high in the wholesalemarkets, dealers said.

The decline in the value oflocal currency against variousforeign currencies was cited asthe main reason behind the priceincrease. A hike in transportationcharges was also a factor in theprice hike.

Dry fruits are mainly im-ported from Afghanistan, Iranand India while a substantialquantity is also grown locally.Traders also attributed the risein prices to slow growth in im-ports and a decline in domes-tic production and costlier im-ports.

The number of customers,already overburdened by anunprecedented price hike, de-clined by more than 30 to 40percent against figure for lastyear.

They said prices of cashewnuts, raisins and almonds haveincreased by significantly overthe period of a month. Similarly,prices of pistachio, figs and co-conut and others surged by Rs90to Rs130 per kg.

Unilever tode-list shares

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The managementof Unilever Pakistan Limitedhas decided to de-list all sharesof the company from all stockexchanges.

Application in this regardwas submitted at Karachi StockExchange (KSE) which waslater officially announced byKSE to all its members.

Unilever Pakistan Limitedis a company limited by sharesincorporated in Pakistan andregistered at Karachi as a pub-lic company. Unilever Pakistanhas an authorized share capitalof Rs. 800,000,000 divided into15,904,330 ordinary shares ofRs. 50 each and 47,835 prefer-ence shares of Rs. 100 each. Asat the date hereof Unilever Pa-kistan has an issued, subscribedand fully paid share capital ofRs. 669,476,950 divided into13293869 ordinary shares of Rs.50 each and 47,835 preferenceshares of Rs. 100 each.

Out of this issued sharecapital the majority shareholderand Unilever Pakistan’s parentcompany, Unilever OverseasHoldings Limited, of UnitedKingdom, presently holds 9,981T41 7 ordinary shares of Rs. 50each and 33,735 preferenceshares of Rs. 100 each, repre-senting 75.07 percent of the to-tal issued share capital ofUnilever Pakistan. The remain-ing 3,312,452 ordinary shares ofRs. 50 each and 14100 prefer-ence shares of Rs. 100 each inthe issued share capital ofUnilever Pakistan are held byother shareholders (other thanUnilever Overseas HoldingsLimited).

In line with Unilever’s strat-egy for Unilever Pakistan,which is to maximize Unilever’sshareholding to as close to 100percent and to de-list UnileverPakistan, Unilever OverseasHoldings Limited has decided toacquire all the remaining out-standing ordinary shares inUnilever Pakistan, and to seekthe de-listing of the shares ofUnilever Pakistan from theKarachi, Lahore and IslamabadStock Exchanges and the revo-cation of the CDS Eligibility ofthe shares of Unilever Pakistan.

IFC, BankIslamiink accord

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—IFC, member ofthe World Bank Group, andBankIslami Pakistan Limitedhave signed an agreement thatwill help Pakistani companiesaccess global import and exportmarkets, spurring trade, produc-tion, economic growth, and jobcreation.

The agreement seesBankIslami become the 12thbank in Pakistan and second Is-lamic Bank to join IFC’s Glo-bal Trade Finance Program,which promotes trade in emerg-ing markets by supporting theflow of goods and services. Un-der this agreement, IFC will sup-port BankIslami’s trade financebusiness by providing partial orfull guarantees for individualtrade transactions.

“IFC guarantees will helpPakistan’s private sector access glo-bal markets and in turn contributeto economic growth and job cre-ation,” said Hasan Bilgrami, ChiefExecutive Officer of BankIslami.“It is a testament to the strong busi-ness franchising and expandingmarket share of BankIslami in gen-eral and in the Islamic banking sec-tor in particular.”

“Trade finance is the engine ofan estimated $14 trillion in annualglobal commerce,” said K AftabAhmed, IFC Director for FinancialMarkets and PE Funds for Europe,Central Asia, Middle East andNorth Africa. “With easy and af-fordable access to trade finance,local entrepreneurs can reach newmarkets, grow their businesses, andhire more employees.”

Hackers hit Maliki's websiteBAGHDAD—Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is facing protests from Sunni Mus-lims, an oil dispute with the Kurdistan re-gion and turmoil in his own government.Now hackers have attacked his website tobrand him a tyrant. A group called “TeaMKuWaiT HaCkErS” posted on Maliki’swebsite a picture of two women in blackweeping and expressing support for Iraqiswho it said were fighting oppression. It com-pared the Shi’ite premier to neighbouring

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Shi’ite Iran, who isbattling mainly Sunni rebels in an armed uprising that has killed60,000 people. “You want to be like Bashar al-Assad. You are adestroyer. Bashar is finished and victory is very close. God helpyou sons of Iraq against the tyranny,” the statement said. Theprime minister’s office said it was working to avoid future hack-ing. Hackers said it was the second time they had hit the premier’swebsite. Thousands of Sunni protesters have rallied daily sincelate December to demonstrate against what they see asmarginalisation and abuses of their sect by Maliki’s Shi’ite-ledgovernment and security forces. More than a year after the lastAmerican troops left Iraq, Sunni protest and insurgent violenceare heightening fears war in neighbouring Syria will upset Iraq’sfragile sectarian and ethnic balance. Many Iraqi Sunnis feel theyhave been sidelined since the fall of Sunni strongman SaddamHussein and the rise of the country’s Shi’ite majority though theballot box after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.—Reuters

Clinton warns Russia, Iran over SyriaWASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clinton urged Iran and Russia on Thurs-day to rethink their support for Syria, sayingthe most dire scenarios of the conflict spillingbeyond its borders could come to pass. Clintontold reporters there are signs Iran is sendingmore people and increasingly sophisticatedweaponry to support Syrian President Basharal-Assad in his 22-month battle against rebelsseeking to end his family’s four-decades ofauthoritarian rule. Speaking on the eve of her

State Department departure, Clinton also said Russia continues aidto the Syrian government, including financially, and she appearedsceptical that Moscow was easing in its opposition to Assad’s depar-ture. Clinton declined comment on reports Israel had bombed Syriaon Wednesday but she voiced fears that the conflict, in which morethan 60,000 people are believed to have died, may worsen internallyand spread. “I personally have been warning for quite some time ofthe dangers associated with an increasingly lethal civil war and apotential proxy war,” Clinton told a small group of reporters a daybefore she is to be replaced by Senator John Kerry. “Therefore, Ithink it’s incumbent on those nations that have refused to be con-structive players to reconsider their positions because the worst kindof predictions of what could happen internally and spilling over theborders of Syria are certainly within the realm of the possible now,”she added. Syria warned of a possible “surprise” response to Israelover the reported attack while Hezbollah, an Iranian ally that alsosupports Assad, said Israel was trying to thwart Arab military powerand vowed to stand by its ally.—Reuters

Ministers resignations shocked JuliaPERTH—Australian Prime Minister JuliaGillard’s government was rocked by the sur-prise resignation of two of her most seniorcabinet ministers on Saturday, just four daysafter she stunned voters by calling a nationalelection in eight months’ time. Close allyNicola Roxon quit as Attorney-General alongwith Chris Evans, who as Senate leader is thethird in line to the prime ministership, citingdemands of the job and family reasons fortheir decisions. Australian media described

the resignations as a severe blow for the ruling Labour Party, say-ing they undermined Gillard’s message of stability and a lack ofconfidence in ability to win a third term on September 14. Gillardput on a brave face at a news conference in Canberra, saying shehad known of the impending resignations for some time. “We willbe able to present the Australian people with a rejuvenated team aswe move into the parliamentary year of 2013,” a teary Gillard said.Earlier this week Gillard broke with convention and surprised vot-ers by announcing a far-off election date, an unusual move that shesaid was designed to end political instability. While the resigna-tions will not impact the minority hold that Gillard’s Labour gov-ernment has on power, they will add to the uncertainty surround-ing her government which relies on a handful of independents andGreens to command a one-seat majority. The Sydney MorningHerald wrote on its website that the surprise departure of two ofthe government’s most senior figures was “a very bad look”. Opin-ion polls show Tony Abbott’s opposition Liberal-National partywell ahead of the government.—Reuters

Putin favours church’s more controlMOSCOW—President Vladimir Putin saidon Saturday the Orthodox Church should begiven more say over family life, educationand the armed forces in Russia, as he cel-ebrated the leadership of its head PatriarchKirill. Faith runs deep in Russia after thefall of the officially atheist Soviet Union andPutin has looked to the largest religion inRussia for support since he began his thirdterm as president after a wave of protestsagainst his rule. He has also tried to mix

spirituality with his own brand of patriotism in order to unify theofficially secular country where ethnic and political fault linesare beginning to show. “At the heart of all Russia’s victories andachievements are patriotism, faith and strength of spirit,” Putinsaid in the Kremlin’s gold encrusted Alexeyevsky hall, celebrat-ing the fourth anniversary of Kirill’s accession as patriarch. Putin’srelationship with the church has strengthened since band mem-bers of protest punk band Pussy Riot entered Russia’s Christ theSaviour Church last year and sang a vulgarity-laced song, urgingthe Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out”. Without giving specifics,Putin said a “vulgar” understanding of secularism must be sweptaway to give the Church, and other religions, control over moreaspects of Russian life. “While preserving the secular nature ofour state, and not allowing the over-involvement of the govern-ment in Church life, we need to get away from the vulgar, primi-tive understanding of secularism,” he said.—Reuters

Berlusconi’s bid to halt tax fraud trial failsMILAN—A Milan court on Saturday rejecteda new request from Silvio Berlusconi’s law-yers to suspend a tax fraud trial involving thepurchase of broadcasting rights by hisMediaset media group until after the Febru-ary 24-25 election. The decision prompted adefiant response from the former prime min-ister and his centre-right party, who describedas “scandalous” what they see as an interfer-ence with the parliamentary race. “It hurtsmy heart to see how much money is spent on

laughable issues,” Berlusconi said at a news conference in Romereferring to the court’s work, brandishing a timetable of court hear-ings he said were designed to stop him campaigning. The 76-year-old media tycoon, who has served four times as prime minister, isappealing against a previous court ruling in the case which in Oc-tober sentenced him to four years in jail. Berlusconi, who has surgedin opinion polls but lags the centre-left Democratic Party, is alsofacing a trial on charges of paying for sex with an underage prosti-tute and a third for alleged leaking of a confidential phone call tothe media. No verdicts are expected soon, but prosecutors mayseek a sentence in these trials days before the vote. Berlusconi hasmade an astonishing comeback over the last month through a blitzof radio and television appearances.—Reuters

MUNICH—Syria’s top opposi-tion leader said Friday that hewas willing to sit down for talkswith President Bashar Assad’sgovernment to “ease the pain ofthe Syrian people,” but empha-sized that his goal is to “over-throw the regime by peacefulmeans.” Addressing a gatheringof the world’s top diplomatsand defense officials at theMunich Security Conference,Moaz al-Khatib reiterated anoffer first made on Wednesday,which had provoked an outcryfrom opposition groups that in-sist Assad must step down first.

“We do believe in thepower of the world and wewould like to overthrow the re-gime by peaceful means,” al-Khatib said. But “as a gestureof goodwill we say, just to easethe pain of the Syrian people...we are ready to sit at the nego-tiating table with the regime.”Speaking through an inter-preter, he said that in return, the

regime should give a gesture ofgoodwill by releasing detainees.

Al-Khatib was chosen inNovember to head the SyrianNational Coalition, a new um-brella group designed to repre-sent most of the rebels andsoothe Western concerns aboutthe ability of the opposition topull together and present a vi-able alternative to Assad’s rule.The comments echoed those ear-lier this week, marking a cleardeparture from the oppositionline, which has been categoricalrefusal to talk to the government.He asked then for the govern-ment to first release tens of thou-sands of political prisoners.

That offer provoked an out-cry, and al-Khatib backpedaled,saying he was just expressing hisown opinion. The U.S., its West-ern allies and most oppositiongroups insist Assad must stepdown first, a position thatSyria’s longtime ally Russia hasstrongly opposed. Despite the

controversy raised by the com-ments, they marked the firstopening for the possibility ofdialogue to end a nearly two-yearlong conflict that the U.N.says has killed more than 60,000people.

Al-Khatib was to meet onthe sidelines of the conferencewith U.S. Vice President JoeBiden, who was also going tomeet with the internationalpeace envoy for Syria, LakhdarBrahimi, and Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov whosecountry has been under pressureto end its support for the Assadregime. Brahimi said he wasalso going to meet with Lavrov,but that he seemed skepticalabout achieving a breakthrough.One has to have some kind ofhope, but hope doesn’t meanbeing starry-eyed,” he said. Ofal-Khatib’s willingness to holdtalks with the regime, he said:“We may have a new tool in thetoolbox to work with.”

The Munich conference, inits 49th year, is renowned as asetting where senior officials areable to address policy issues inan informal setting. In additionto Syria, the conflict in Mali tookcenter stage at the three-day con-ference, which included a dozenheads of state and governmentand 70 foreign and defense min-isters.

German Defense MinisterThomas de Maiziere said that theinternational cooperation in Malicould help make the country an“anchor of stability” in the re-gion, as he urged nations to lookat the mission as an example ofhow improved coordination canhave long term benefits. DeMaiziere said in times of grow-ing cutbacks to military spend-ing, NATO, the European Union,the U.S. and others need to adopta “strategy of resolute pragma-tism” pooling resources and con-tributing what they can, whenthey can.

In Mali, for example, manynations are cooperating, includ-ing Germany, which has providedmilitary transport aircraft to takeforces from the 15-nation WestAfrican regional group known asECOWAS to Mali’s capital,Bamako; France, which has com-bat troops on the ground helpingthe local forces in their fightagainst Islamic extremists; andthe U.S., which is helping moveFrench troops and equipment intothe country and flying refuelingmissions. Going forward, deMaiziere said, the mixture of theU.N., NATO and the EU alongwith cooperation with local andregional forces as the situationdictates “seems to be an approachwe might put to more frequentuse.”

“In Mali, too, the cooperationbetween ECOWAS, France andthe EU has started to that effect,”he said. “If such a cooperation issuccessful it might serve as ananchor of stability with far-reach-

ing effects on the region.” Head-ing to the conference, the U.S.vice president stopped Fridaymorning in the German capital ofBerlin for talks with ChancellorAngela Merkel. Biden told re-porters his message was thatwithout a strong Europe, “it is notconceivable how America’s inter-ests can be achieved around theworld.”

President Barack Obamawants to make Asia the focus ofU.S. foreign policy in his secondadministration, reflecting theregion’s growing economic powerand the rise of China. De Maizieresuggested that the EU is also fo-cusing more on the Pacific, andsaid “the USA should not considertheir relations to Asia to be in con-trast with our trans-Atlanticroots.” “Quite the contrary,” hesaid. “What prevents us frombuilding bridges together? Weshould consider joint trans-Atlan-tic options for cooperation in thePacific.” —AP

Syria opposition ready for talks with Assad

French soldiers patrol outside Djinguereber mosque after Saturday prayers in the centre of Timbuktu.

BAMAKO—A French-led offen-sive against Islamists in Mali hasled to civilian deaths from airstrikes and ethnic reprisals byMalian troops, human rightsgroups said on Saturday, a daybefore President FrancoisHollande was due to visit thecountry. Amnesty Internationaland Human Rights Watch citedwitness reports of extrajudicialkillings by Malian governmentsoldiers of dozens of civilians inthe towns of Sevare and Konna.At least five civilians were killedin a helicopter attack on the firstday of France’s military inter-vention, Amnesty also said.

France has deployed morethan 3,500 soldiers in a three-week campaign that has wrestedcontrol of northern Mali townsfrom the al Qaeda-linked rebelsand aims to prevent Islamistfighters from using Mali’s desertnorth to launch attacks on Afri-can countries and the West. “Nei-ther the Malians nor the Frenchtook the required precautions toavoid hitting civilian targets,”Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty’s leadresearcher for West Africa, tolda news conference in Bamako.“We’ve asked France and au-

Rights allegations in Malicloud Hollande’s visit

thorities in Bamako to open anindependent investigation.”

The human rights groupssaid troops targeted light-skinnedArab and Tuareg ethnic groupsassociated with the rebels. TheMalian army has denied any sum-mary executions by its soldiersand the government in Bamakohas publicly warned against suchrevenge killings.

In its report, Amnesty said amother and her three childrenwere among the five civilianskilled in a helicopter rocket at-tack on the morning of January11 in Konna, seized by the Islam-ists in an offensive two days ear-lier.

In response, France said itdid not begin its military inter-vention in Mali until the after-noon of January 11 and its heli-copters did not target any areainside the town of Konna. “Ev-erything is done in the planningto avoid collateral damage on thecivilian population,” said ForeignMinistry spokesman PhilippeLalliot. He said French air attackswere precisely targeted to avoidcivilian deaths.

A Malian military source inBamako, asking not to be named,

said its forces carried out strikesin Konna before the French in-tervened. Mali’s army has twoHind Mi24 attack helicopters.The allegations came as Hollandeannounced he would visit Malion Saturday to meet interimPresident Dioncounda Traore inthe southern riverside capitalBamako and greet French troopsin Timbuktu.

“I am going to Mali tomor-row to express to our soldiers oursupport, our encouragement andour pride,” Hollande said duringa visit to the Val d’Oise. “I amgoing to Mali tomorrow so thatAfrican troops come as quicklyas possible join us.” France is dueto gradually transfer the militarymission in Mali to a U.N.-backedAfrican force of some 8,000 sol-diers, tasked with securing north-ern towns and pursuing militantsinto their mountain redoubts nearAlgeria’s border.

Hollande, who repeated callsfor talks in Mali to heal the deeppolitical rift between north andsouth, said he would comment onspeculation France might quicklyreduce its troop deployment inMali after liberating the maintowns.—Reuters

Stalingrad battle:70 th anniversary

markedVOLGOGRAD—The Russiancity once known as Stalingradis marking the end of one ofmodern warfare’s bloodiestbattles with a military parade, aconcert and a visit from Presi-dent Vladimir Putin.

The city 900 kilometers(560 miles) south of Moscowsuffered six months of intensivefighting, beginning with mas-sive air strikes, as Nazi forcestried to push deep into the So-viet Union and reach itsCaucasus oil fields.

At least 1.2 million peopleare estimated to have died be-fore the fighting ended on Feb.2, 1943. The Red Army’s defeatof the Nazis after house-to-house fighting was a decisiveturn in World War II.—AP

N Korea threatensUS over rocket

launchesSEOUL—North Korea is threat-ening to retaliate for what it callsU.S. double standards over re-cent rocket launches byPyongyang and U.S. ally Seoul.

A North Korean ForeignMinistry spokesman did notelaborate on what that mightentail in his comments Saturdayto the official Korean CentralNews Agency. But Pyongyanghas recently threatened to con-duct its third nuclear test in re-sponse to what it calls U.S. hos-tility. Washington says Seoul’srocket launch Wednesday had nomilitary intent whilePyongyang’s in December wasa test of banned ballistic missiletechnology.—AP

5 accused pleadnot guilty to

Delhi gang rapeNEW DELHI—Five menpleaded not guilty on Saturdayto charges they gang raped andmurdered an Indian traineephysiotherapist, in a case that ledto a shake-up of laws againstsexual crimes after protestsabout a rising number of attackson women.

A Reuters witness saw themen file into the court room withtheir faces covered, where law-yers in the case said they wereread thirteen charges includingmurder, which carries a maxi-mum penalty of death. They leftafter 15 minutes.—Reuters

Iran launches ownbuilt fighter jet

TEHRAN—Iran unveiled onSaturday its newest combat jet,a domestically manufacturedfighter-bomber that military of-ficials claim can evade radar.President MahmoudAhmadinejad said in a ceremonybroadcast on state TV that build-ing the Qaher-313, or Dominant-313, shows Iran’s will to “con-quer scientific peaks.”

The Qaher is one of severalaircraft designs rolled out bythe Iranian military since 2007.Tehran has repeatedly claimedto have developed advancedmilitary technologies in recentyears but its claims cannot beindependently verified becausethe country does not releasetechnical details of its arsenals.

The Islamic republiclaunched a self-sufficiencymilitary program in the 1980sto compensate for a Westernweapons embargo that bannedexport of military technologyand equipment to Iran. Since1992, Iran has produced its owntanks, armored personnel car-riers, missiles, torpedoes,drones and fighter planes.

“Qaher-313 is a fully indig-enous aircraft designed andbuilt by our aerospace experts.This is a radar-evading planethat can fly at low altitude,

carry weapons, engage enemyaircrafts and land at short air-strips,” Defense MinisterAhmad Vahidi said. Some re-ports however suggest Iran’sprogram relies on equipmentsupplied by major internationaldefense contractors incorporat-ing parts made abroad or re-verse-engineered technologiesinto its domestic designs.

Still photos of the Qaher re-leased by the official IRNAnews agency and pictures onstate TV show a single-seat jet.They described it as a fighter-bomber that can combat bothother aircraft and ground tar-gets. Iran’s English-languagestate Press TV said Qaher wassimilar to the American-madeF/A-18, an advanced fightercapable of dogfighting as wellas penetrating enemy air de-fenses to strike ground targets.

Physically, Press TV said,the aircraft resembles the F-5E/F Tiger II, a much older Ameri-can design that Iran has had inits arsenal since it was suppliedto the U.S.-allied regime of theShah before Iran’s 1979 revolu-tion. “Development depends onour will. If we don’t have a will,no one can take us there,”Ahmadinejad told the inaugura-tion ceremony in Tehran. —AP

ADEN—Yemen’s military killed10 suspected militants in air andartillery strikes on Saturday, apro-government militia sourcesaid, as authorities battle insur-gents linked to al Qaeda whoseized several southern townslast year.

The assault took place nearthe town of Shuqra in Abyanprovince, an impoverished,mountainous region of southernYemen where tribal law holdssway and Islamist militants havea strong presence.

Tackling lawlessness inYemen, which lies near impor-tant oil shipment routes andflanks the world’s biggest oilexporter Saudi Arabia, is an in-ternational priority. Washingtonand other Western governmentsregard Yemen-based al Qaeda inthe Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)as one of the most dangerousoffshoots of the militant net-work. It has planned attacks oninternational targets includingairliners and pledges to topple

10 militants killed in Yemen army raid

Saudi Arabia’s ruling family.Yemen’s military and tribal

militias ousted an Islamist groupcalled Ansar al-Sharia, which isaffiliated with AQAP, from thetowns of Jaar and Zinjibar inAbyan province last year. Themilitants had imposed sharia lawin the towns and raised al Qaedaflags. On Thursday the army andmilitias launched an attack onremnants of the Ansar al-Shariaholed up in caves in the area,killing two militants. Five sol-diers were also killed.

Yemen, the poorest Arabstate, was thrown into politicaldisarray in early 2011 whenmass protests against long-timeruler Ali Abdullah Salehprompted fighting in the capitalSanaa and splits in the military.Saleh was forced from power ayear ago but the transitional gov-ernment still faces an insurgencyby Shi’ite Muslims in the north,the battle with Sunni Islamistsin southern areas and a southernsecession movement.—Reuters

SHANGHAI—Japan’s coastguard detained a Chinese fish-ing boat near the southern Japa-nese island of Okinawa on Sat-urday and arrested the captainfor collecting coral illegally, acoast guard official said.

The vessel was detained offMiyako Island, some 150 km(95 miles) from islands in theEast China Sea at the centre of aterritorial dispute between thetwo countries, and about 400 km(250 miles) east of Taipei. Along-simmering row over theEast China Sea islands, knownas the Senkaku in Japan and theDiaoyu in China, has in recentmonths escalated to the pointwhere both sides havescrambled fighter jets while pa-trol ships shadow each other innearby seas.

In September 2010, the ar-rest of a Chinese trawler captainby the Japanese coast guard nearthe disputed islands triggered abarrage of strong words from

Japan detainsChinese fishing boat

Beijing and protests in front ofJapanese diplomatic missions.The Japanese coast guard offi-cial said on Saturday the captainof the boat was arrested for al-leged violation of Japanese lawto protect the country’s Exclu-sive Economic Zone (EEZ)from unauthorized fishing.

The vessel was found col-lecting coral inside the EEZ, 46km east-northeast of Miyako is-land, east of Ishigaki, the offi-cial said. The boat and crew of12 people were being taken toMiyako island.

China’s official Xinhuanews agency, quoting the Chi-nese Consulate General in thecity of Fukuoka, said the vesselhad been detained for “allegedunauthorized coral fishing”.“The consulate has urged theJapanese side to ensure thesafety of the Chinese sailors andwill visit the captain when hearrives at Miyako,” Xinhua re-ported.—Reuters

BORJOMI—If there’s a way todilute the bitterness in relationsbetween Russia and Georgiaafter a 2008 war, it may lie in alush valley south of theCaucasus Mountain border be-tween the feuding former So-viet republics. Here flowsBorjomi, a naturally carbonatedmineral water of volcanic ori-gin that had been popular inRussia since the 19th centuryuntil it was swept off theshelves when Moscow bannedGeorgian beverages and otherproducts in 2006 as tensionsbuilt toward the five-day war.

Borjomi, a resort town witha mix of grand Soviet-era sana-toriums and drab apartmentblocks, sent 60 percent of itsproduction to Russia before theban, and output plunged 43 per-cent to 63 million litres in 2006.Though the town has sincefound other markets that morethan make up for that loss, it andother producers of Georgianwaters and wines would dearlylove to get back into the Rus-sian market, with its 142 mil-

Water, wine to lubricate Russiantalks with war foe Georgia

lion people.A Georgian delegation is

due in Moscow on Monday todiscuss reviving trade links withRussia, and perhaps a glimmerof the warmth missing from re-lations since the war stoked byrising tension over Kremlin in-fluence on two rebel regions andGeorgian President MikheilSaakashvili’s drive to joinNATO.

The talks follow other ten-tative steps to thaw the chillsince Bidzina Ivanishvili, a ty-coon who made billions in 1990sRussia, became Georgia’s primeminister after leading an oppo-sition coalition to victory overSaakashvili’s party in an Octo-ber parliamentary vote. The na-tions held their first direct talksabout bilateral relations inGeneva in December, and lastmonth the Georgian OrthodoxChurch leader Ilia II, one of themost respected figures in Geor-gia, met with his Russian Ortho-dox counterpart and PresidentVladimir Putin.

Borjomi water is not just

central to the town, but also toGeorgia. Murad Sultanov, themanager of a Georgian restau-rant in central Moscow, says hewouldn’t hesitate to stock it ifthe officials find agreement. “It’sa symbol of Georgia - Georgiaand Borjomi are one and thesame,” he said.

Russians have also beencentral to Borjomi in their nearly200-year domination of Georgiabefore the Soviet Union fell in1991. In Europe it was called the“Russian Vichy” after the fa-mous French spa town. RozaCholadze, a 78-year-old whosells pinecone jam from a streetstall in Borjomi to supplementher monthly pension of 120 lari(46.5 pounds), said the valleyused to draw visitors from acrossthe former Soviet Union.

“But after our relations de-teriorated a few years ago, wedon’t see tourists from Russiaanymore,” she said. “I hope thatwill change soon.” Ivanishvili’sascent swiftly unlocked the doorto improvements in ties, whichhad nowhere to go but up.—AP

JOHANNESBURG: Umar Gul walks off after becoming the seventh wicket to fall during South Africa vs Pakistan, 1st Test on Saturday.

JOHANNESBURG—South Af-rica extended their lead overPakistan to 277 with all sec-ond innings wickets in handat tea on the second day ofthe first test on Saturday af-ter dismissing the visitors fortheir lowest test score. DaleSteyn took six for eight asPakistan collapsed to 49 allout in reply to South’sAfrica’s 253. At the interval,South Africa were 73 withoutloss with captain GraemeSmith on 41.

Dale Steyn sent Pakistancrashing to a new low asSouth Africa took control onthe second day of the firstTest at the Wanderers Sta-dium on Saturday. First dayreport South Africa –Pakistan’s real nemesis Paki-stani batsmen need to standtall at the Bullring Jamshedhas ‘all the shots’: MisbahAn American’s attempt tounderstand cricket. Steyntook six for eight in 8.1 oversas Pakistan were shot out for49, four fewer than their pre-vious lowest total of 53against Australia in Sharjahin 2002/03.

South Africa led by 204runs on the first innings butdecided not to enforce thefollow on.

The hosts were 73 for nowicket in their second in-nings at tea, an overall leadof 277. It was another triumphfor South Africa’s barrage offast bowlers and the thirdtime in less than two seasonsthat the world’s number oneTest team had bowled outopponents for less than 50.

Australia were routedout for 47 in 2011/12 andNew Zealand were dis-missed for 45 earlier this sea-son. Both of those matcheswere in Cape Town. AB deVilliers equalled the SouthAfrican wicketkeepingrecord by holding sixcatches and there were threecatches in the slips as thePakistan batsmen failed tocope with top quality bowl-ing on a pitch with steep andsometimes variable bounceas well as some sidewaysmovement.

Vernon Philander tooktwo for 16 and Jacques Kallistwo for 11. Azhar Ali (13) and

captain Misbah-ul-Haq (12)were the only Pakistan bats-men to reach double figures.

Steyn was outstanding,bowling at high pace andmaking the ball move awaydisconcertingly from theright-handed batsmen. Hestarted Pakistan’s collapseby taking three wickets in 14balls at the start of the dayand followed up with threemore in 12 deliveries to wrapup the innings soon afterlunch.

Steyn struck with his fifthball of the day after Pakistanresumed at six for no wicket,having Mohammad Hafeezcaught behind for six, edg-ing an out-swinger. In hisnext over Steyn trapped newcap Nasir Jamshed leg beforewicket when the left-handerwent back on his stumpsagainst a full delivery.

Jamshed, who had sur-vived in the previous overwhen Philander unsuccess-fully sought a review of um-pire Bruce Oxenford’s notout decision, was himselfthe victim of a failed reviewafter being given out byumpire Billy Bowden. Fiveballs later Steyn claimed thekey wicket of Younis Khan,caught at first slip when heedged a perfect out-swinger.

Azhar Ali and Misbah-ul-Haq survived for more thanan hour before Kallis claimedtwo wickets in three balls,having both batsmen caughtbehind. Misbah was given outon review after Bowdenturned down an appeal, al-though hot spot evidenceshowed only the faintest,momentary touch. Philander,after bowling four maidenovers at the start of play, cameback to dismiss Asad Shafiqand Umar Gul within threeballs as Pakistan lurched tolunch at 40 for seven. —AFP

Pakistan crashto all-time low

South Africa continue to punish hapless Pakistan

SAfrica 1st innings: .. 253Pakistan 1st innings:Hafeez c Villiers b Steyn .. 6Nasir lbw b Steyn ............. 2Azhar c Villiers b Kallis . 13Younis c Smith b Steyn ... 0Misbah c Villiers b Kallis12Asad b Philander ............. 1Sarfraz Villiers b Steyn ..... 2Umar c Smith b Philander 0Saeed b Steyn ................... 1Junaid Khan not out ........ 8Rahat c Plessis b Steyn ... 0Extras: (lb 3, w 1) ............. 4Total: (all out) ................ 4 9Fall of wickets 1-9, 2-12, 3-12, 4-36, 5-37, 6-39, 7-39, 8-40, 9-41, 10-49Bowling .............O-M-R-W

SCOREBOARDVD Philander ......... 9-5-16-2DW Steyn ............ 8.1-6-8-6M Morkel .............. 6-3-11-0JH Kallis ................ 6-2-11-2South Africa 2nd innings:Petersen b Umar Gul ...... 27Smith c Sarfraz b Gul ...... 52HM Amla not out ........... 40JH Kallis c Asad b Ajmal . 7AB de Villiers not out .... 47Extras: (lb 4, w 1, nb 3) ... 8Total: (3 wickets) ........ 181Fall of wickets 1-82, 2-87, 3-99Bowling .............O-M-R-WUmar Gul ................ 9-2-25-2Junaid Khan ........ 11-1-41-0Rahat Ali ................ 7-1-29-0Hafeez .................... 5-0-32-0Saeed Ajmal ........ 11-1-50-1

PYONGYANG: Mentally handicapped Golf Medal winner Pakistani athlete in the WorldWinter Games Rahimullah Baig in a group photo with silver medal winner MuhammadRaees, Abdullah Jadoon, Arsalan Ali and officials.

CUTTACK—Handed a mo-rale-shattering defeat by theformer champions Australiain their tournament opener,Pakistan will have to regroupthemselves quickly to put upan inspired show against lastyear’s runners-up NewZealand in the ICC Women’sWorld Cup, here today (Sun-day). The Sana Mir-led Paki-stani side was skittled out fora paltry 84 in 33.2 overs byAustralia while chasing agettable target of 176 in 50overs at the Barabati Sta-dium.

Pakistan’s pace and spinduo of Asmavia Iqbal andSadia Yousuf did well to re-strict a formidable outfit likeAustralia well under 200 runsbut their batting ordercrumbled as only two bats-men had scores in double fig-ures. Pakistan failed to buildon partnerships which hurtthe team chase badly againstthe mighty Aussies and thisis one area where they needto improve quickly if theyfancy their chances of ad-vancing to the Super Six stageof the eight-nation tourna-ment.

Mir, who has the experi-ence of playing in 53 ODIs,will have to lead from thefront to inspire confidence inothers while Nain FatimaAbidi, Bismah Maroof andJaveria Khan will have toshoulder the middle-orderresponsibility. Their top andmiddle-order need to fire inunison against a formidableoutfit like New Zealand who,on the other day, ended upscoring a massive 320 for fiveagainst minnows South Af-rica.

Pakistan have an experi-enced bowling unit in Qanita

Jalil, Asmavia, Yousuf and Mirand it would be interesting tosee whether they can produce

another good show againstthe Black Caps. On the otherhand, New Zealand rode onSophie Devine‘s quickfire 131-ball 145 to thrash South Africaby 150 in their opening Group‘B‘ match Friday. New Zealandproduced an all-round show tofirst post a total in excess of300 runs and then bundled outthe Proteas for 170 runs withnine overs to spare at theDRIEMS Ground, Tangi.

Left-arm pacer Siam Ruck(4/31), spinner Morna Nielsen(3/34) and Lea Tahuhu (2/27)starred with the ball to helpBlack Caps start their cam-paign on a winning note.—INP

Women’s World Cup

Pakistan eye inspiredshow against NZ

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

M U M B A I — B a n g l a d e s hCricket Board (BCB) and SriLanka Cricket (SLC) haveoffered to shift the Interna-tional Cricket Council (ICC)to shift its head quarter intheir country, it is reliablylearnt here. According tothe Dubai-based sources,the offer was made in therecent ICC Board meetingby the BCB chief NazmulHassan (backed by theformer BCB boss, MustafaKamal) and the SLC presi-dent Upali Dharmadasa.

Though these offers (to

BCCI, ECB chiefs ‘ambitious’ tobecome ICC’s first chairman

shift the offices to Dhaka orColombo) may not have beentaken “seriously” by theother board members andMustafa Kamal may havemade this “unlikely” offer injoy after being decided bythe ICC to receieve an annualremuneration of USD 50thousand as ICC vice-presi-dent, the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) andthe England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) do havereservation over the ICC HQbeing in Dubai.

“They don’t want the HQin the sand-stormed countryUAE, where the game is notbeing “seriously” played andshift it to a more beautiful

country”, the source added.In August 2005 the ICCmoved its offices to Dubai,from Lord’s London, whereit was originally founded.

The ECB president GilesClarke was even believed tohave argued that EhsanMani, the ICC presidentthen, “mis-guided” theUAE government andbrought the HQ to Dubai.

Apparently, the BCCIboss, N. Sreenivasan andthe ECB chairman, GilesClarke are “ambitious” tobecome the ICC’s first chair-man in 2014, when it hasbeen decided (by the Boardmembers to implment theWoolf report.

SALAHUDDIN HAIDER

SHOCKING but leastsurprising. The debacle on the second

day of theFirst cricketTest againstSouth Africawas not dif-ficult to pre-dict. Thetourists, ontheir first ma-jor assign-

ment abroad after a lapse ofconsiderable length of time,crashed like a house ofcards for their lowest Testscore of 49. But this wasclearly foreseen for morethan one reason. First, lackof practice on overseaspitches. Playing in Dubai orSri Lanka or even in India isvastly different than tryingyour luck on bouncy tracksof South Africa, Australia or

England.Secondly, the Protest are

indisputably the best side inthe world, having beaten En-gland and Australia on theirown backyards. Thirdly, andperhaps the most forcefulfactor is the long time pres-ence of players like Smith,and the veteran JacquesKallis. They together werenot only the role model forothers, specially the newblood, injected from time totime, but also a tutor in tech-nique for them because oftheir tremendous experience.Pakistan had so far been play-ing in Dubai, and althoughthey won accolades at homefor whitewashing England 3-0 in the Test series last yearin March, but also praisedsky high for winning the one-day series in India only re-cently.

Their loss of Test seriesto Sri Lanka 0-1 in June, July

in 2012. What was completelyignored by Pakistan cricketboard, including by its chair-man Zaka Ashraf, and hisself-styled experts, that theirboasting around about build-ing a winning side, was de-void of sincerity. They tooknew well that over the years,successive Board officialsand selectors have failed todiscover new talent. The onlyaddition is Junaid. EvenImran lacks that quality thatJunaid has to swing andseam the ball to his and side’sadvantage. He proved thatduring the just ending Odisin India, and again in the firstinnings of South Africa.Imran is good, but liable toinjury because of over ex-traordinary height. Sevenfeet one ich is something rarein this country or the region.His height may pose a prob-lem later if he is asked to bowllong spells.

The drama which un-folded when Pakistan, afterrestricting hosts admirably tojust 253 in their first inningsat the Wanderers inJohannesburg, had beenforeseen much before it re-ally came about. Pakistanbating had miserably failed inthe tour opener against alowly rated Invitation Elevenin the 4-day practice match.Yunus Khan, Azhar Ali, andAsad Shafiq were completelyoff colour. They failed in thefirst innings until Umar Guland wicket keeper Sarfarazmanaged the much neededrescue to give the side’s to-tal some semblance of re-spectability. A reliable battingside collapses once, not twiceor repeatedly. Yunus andAzhar failed in the secondinnings too.

Asad Shafiq did get a halfcentury, but against a bowl-ing which should have been

thrashed all over. The brutalfact emerging from that fix-ture was that the Pakistanbatting had been spineless.Hafeez then had performed inthe second innings, NasirJamshed too did slightly wellin the first, could not bringsolace to the fans at home.For them the performance inthe practice match was ahuge disappointment, theculmination of which waswitnessed in the rout in thePakistan first innings in theopening of the three Testmatches.

Sentiments of nationalismis respected world over, butrealism simultaneouslyneeded to be kept in mind al-ways. Fears had started gain-ing ground among most ex-perts as to whether the Paki-stanis will be able to faceVillander and Dayle Staynewhen the time for real testagainst a side, playing on

sub-standard pitched for thelast few years. Their appre-hensions proved correct farmore correctly than it wasactually assessed. Pakistan’searlier lowest score in Testmatches was against Austra-lia in Dubai when the team“improved’ on its Test lowerof 62 at Perth Against Aus-tralia, to bundled out for 59in first innings, and then for52 in the second. Nothingshort of a joke. And nowcrumbling for 49 was even a“better” performance and afurther “ improvement” onthe negative side.

Without cheating Stayneof the credit due to him, it couldeasily be said that his careerbest record of 6 for 8 in 8.1overs, was a despicable reflec-tion on veterans like Hafeez,Yunus Khan, Azhar Ali, andAsad Shafiq. Let us keep ourcriticism against NasirJamshed for the moment be-

cause he has been a constantperformer, and if got outcheaply too, it was just one ofthose things, that is known asfate in common parlance.Stayne was lethal and got sup-port from his bowling col-leagues as well as the fielders.The fine performance fromUmar Gul, Junaid and the he-roics from Hafeez, getting fourfor 16, and some fine fieldingperformances both on theground and in the air by AsadShafiq, Hafeez, and Azhar Ali,were destroyed by a battingside, that can hardly be reliedupon now.

Let us hope that in thesecond innings, Pakistanis riseto the occasion, although ontheir present performances, itlooks difficult to chase a totalwhich was already over 250 bytea interval on the second day.Just in conclusion, may we askthe PCB as to from where hadthey found Rahat Ali, and why

Tanveer Ahmad or Imran,were ordered to be on thebench. Rahat does not looklike Test material, is faulty inline and length and shouldhave waited for some time forthe debut. Similarly doubtshave begun to rise against the“injury” to Taufeeq Omar.Imran Farhat had been testedfor over a decade, and yet toprove himself justified for se-lection in the side. He wasflown again for a tour to makemoney. How long would thecricket officials continue toplay with the sentiments oftheir countrymen?

The Pakistani battingwas a nightmare or perhapsa horror movie for playersmore limited over gamesthan Test matches, andshowed lack of tempera-ment and training formatches of longer duration.

E m a i l :salluhaider@gmail.com

SA Test: Nightmare or a horror movie

Tennis: Australiabeat Taiwan 3-0

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan—Aus-tralia took an irreversible 3-0 lead over Taiwan by win-ning the doubles on Satur-day in the Asia-Oceaniazone Group I Davis Cup tiein the southern Taiwanesecity of Kaohsiung. LleytonHewitt and Chris Guccionedefeated Lee Hsin-han andPeng Hsien-yin 7-6(8), 6-4, 6-2 to maintain their unbeatenrecord as a Davis Cup team,while boosting Australia’shopes of being promoted tothe World Group this year.

On Friday, Hewitt deliv-ered an efficient 6-4, 6-4, 6-4win over Yang Tsung-hua toscore his 39th singles win inDavis Cup play, and Mat-thew Ebden picked up histeam’s second point of theday with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 winover Chen Ti.—AFP

Di Venuto appointednew Australiabatting coach

SYDNEY—Former one-dayinternational opener MichaelDi Venuto was appointed

Australia’s new battingcoach ahead of their tour toIndia, replacing Stuart Law.The 39-year-old will quit asassistant coach for the Tas-manian Tigers and HobartHurricanes to take up his newrole, Cricket Australia said.

Australian coach MickeyArthur said Di Venutobrought a wealth of knowl-edge with him, along withsound coaching credentials.

“We wanted a battingcoach who was workingwithin Australian cricket andwho had also representedAustralia as a player andMichael certainly bringsthose two aspects to thetable,” he said.

He replaces Law, whoheld the interim position forthe past five Tests after fel-low former Test batsman Jus-tin Langer stepped down tocoach Western Australia.Dean Jones also held theposition briefly during therecent one-day series againstSri Lanka.

Australia play two warm-up matches before the firstTest in Chennai on February22, followed by Tests inHyderabad, Mohali andDelhi.—AFP

CASES of insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes rose sharply in children under the ageof five in Philadelphia over a two-decade

span - similar to increases seen across the U.S.and Europe, according to new research. “Whyare we seeing this large increase in type 1 dia-betes in very young children? Unfortunately, theanswer is we don’t know,” said lead study au-thor Terri Lipman, a professor at the Universityof Pennsylvania School ofNursing.

In research published inDiabetes Care, Lipman andher colleagues updated a reg-istry started in 1985 of Phila-delphia children diagnosedwith type 1 diabetes. By 2004,cases in children under the ageof five increased by 70 percentas the number of diagnosedcases among all kids up to age14 rose by 29 percent.

In 1985, 13.4 out of every100,000 children in Philadel-phia was newly diagnosedwith type 1 diabetes, and in2004, the rate was 17.2 casesper 100,000.

Hispanic children had thehighest diabetes rates acrossall ages whereas cases inblack children aged 4 and under, which hadhistorically been very low, rose by 200 per-cent over the past two decades. Cases amongwhite kids under 4 rose by 48 percent in 2000-2004, however, making theirs the fastest re-cent increase. Of the two most common formsof diabetes, type 2 typically affects adults whocan still produce insulin, but whose bodies can-not use the hormone to regulate blood sugar.

Type 1, previously known as juvenile dia-betes, typically strikes children whose immunesystems have killed off insulin-producing cellsin the pancreas. The disease is usually fatal ifleft untreated.

Type 1 diabetics must take insulin butmany type 2 diabetics can control the diseasewith medications, diet and exercise. Type 1diabetes tends to start in adolescence, but es-pecially in light of the rising number of casesin very young children, experts said parentsneed to be aware that toddlers and preschoolersare also susceptible.

Children from Chicago to Colorado toFinland have similarly in-creased rates of type 1 diabe-tes, though the cause eludesresearchers. “This youngergroup is a mystery,” said Dr.Carol Levy, a type 1 diabetesspecialist at Mount Sinai Hos-pital in New York who was notinvolved in the new study.“Make sure your child has ahealthy lifestyle and maintainsnormal body weight; whetherthat’s a guarantee we’re goingto reduce risk, we don’t knowat this point.”

Several theories vie toexplain the recent rise in dia-betes among youth, includingvitamin D deficiencies, lack ofbreastfeeding and overly-hy-gienic environments that

might cause the immune system to backfire.“The data is controversial so that’s why I’mcertainly very reluctant to propose a theorywhen nothing has been proven,” Lipman toldReuters Health. “The take home message isnot to be alarmist. These data confirm whathas been reported worldwide and in other partsof the United States,” said Dr. Lori Laffel, ofthe Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who wasnot involved in the study.

“It is important to be aware of the symp-toms of diabetes,” Laffel told Reuters Health.Symptoms can include extreme thirst, bedwetting or accidents in toilet-trained childrenor excessively wet diapers in babies, she said.

Type 1 diabetes rising in kids: Study

KARACHI: A view of traffic jams at 11 Chundrigar road after firing on Saturday.

KARACHI: Ranger’s soldiers standing alert during the funeral prayers of Abbas who waskilled in a target-killing incident in Liaqatabad.

KARACHI: Containers are parked on West Wharf road during the strike by Goods Trans-porters Association.

KARACHI: A delegation of PML-N led by Pir Ameen-ul-Hasnat called on Sunni Tahreekleaders Muhammad Shahid Ghauri and Shakil Qadri at Markaz Ahl-e-Sunnat,on Saturday.

Shahzeb casepolice surgeon

transferredKARACHI—Dr Jalil Qadir, thepolice surgeon who declaredShahrukh Jatoi as minor, hasbeen transferred, replaced by DrAslam Pechoho as new policesurgeon. The transfer of Dr JalilQadir Pechoho was notified Fri-day night. He was posted asmedico-legal officer for last 15years. In his report about the ageof Shahrukh Jatoi, the main ac-cused in Shahzeb Khan murdercase, Dr. Jalil Qadir had de-clared him as minor between 17to 18 years of age.—INP

Violenceleaves threepeople dead

KARACHI—At least threemore persons were gunneddown in different areas of thecity on Saturday. According topolice sources, the firing inci-dents occurred at SITE area,Burns Road and Aagra TajColony where the people wereshot dead by some unidentifiedarmed men.Meanwhile, an al-leged target killer, who was ar-rested on Friday along with an-other killer, managed to escapefrom the police custody fromSharfi Goth police station Sat-urday, a private news channelreported. According to police,an alleged target killer namedZar Nawaz eluded the investi-gation officers of Sharfi policestation and escaped. He wasalso allegedly involved in anattack carried out on the presi-dent of Malir Bar on Friday.Police had handed him over tothe investigation department ofSharfi Goth police station fromwhere he managed to flee afterdodging the officers.—INP

ECP gives 10 dayextension for

verification of votersSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The ElectionCommission of Pakistan(ECP) keeping in view thehurdles in verification of vot-ers’ lists in the city has ex-tended the date by 10 days.

The EC Saturday issuedofficial notification regardingextension in timeframe forverification of voters’ lists inKarachi.

The verification of voterlists will continue till Febru-ary 11 in the metropolis. Ac-cording to the schedule, theverification process was tocomplete by February 1, in themetropolis; however, the pro-cess was badly impacted bythe city’s deteriorating lawand order situation.

OBSERVER REPORT

KA R A C H I—Federal LawMinister Farooq H. Naek Sat-urday said an independentElection Commission of Paki-stan (ECP) was need of thehour to hold free and fair elec-tion in the country.

Addressing lawyers here atKarachi Bar Association(KBA), the law ministerbrushed aside the impressionthat the Commission was un-der influence of the ruling par-ties led by his own PakistanPeople’s Party (PPP).

He said timely and trans-parent elections were only pos-sible to be held when the ECPworked independently. He saidone must not forget that parlia-ment and not a certain politi-cal party had nominated theincumbent Chief Election

Independent ECP mustfor honest election: Naek

Commissioner (CEC) andother commissioners in thefour federating units.

Warning against transgres-sion, the law minister reiter-ated his oft-quoted statementthat all three pillars of the statemust work within their consti-tutional jurisdictions definedby Article 175 of the Consti-tution. Any transgression, hewarned, would be a sheer vio-lation of the Constitution.

Naek recalled that the PPPhad restored democracy in thecountry at a cost of great sac-rifices with party chairpersonBenazir Bhutto losing her lifeand co-chairman Asif Zardarispending almost a decade be-hind the bars. He stressedupon all stakeholders to foilconspiracies against the cur-rent democratic setup that, hesaid, was being derailed

through delaying election.The law minister gave a

cheque of Rs 10 million to theKBA and pledged that anotherRs 5 million grant and twocoasters would soon be giftedto the Bar.

Hailing the lawyers fortheir struggle to restore de-mocracy in the country, Naeksaid he always had taken pridein being identified as a lawyerand not a senator or a minis-ter. Stressing the need forstrengthening institutions andnot personalities, the law min-ister said the ECP would makepublic the election schedule af-ter President Zardari’s formalannouncement.

Also, he assured the law-yers of consulting the ChiefJustice of Sindh High Court forgetting all special courts shiftedto the city court domain.

Khuhrocondoles deathof Siraj ul Haq

MemonKARACHI—Acting GovernorSindh Nisar Ahmed Khuhro hasexpressed his deep grief and sor-row over the sad demise of re-nowned writer and novelist Sirajul Haq Memon. In a statementissued here on Saturday actinggovernor Sindh Nisar Ahmedkuhro has paid tribute to Sirajul Haq Memon for his servicesin Sindhi Adab and he said thathis services for sindhi adab willbe long remembered.He alsoexpressed his condolence withbereaved family.—NNI

Sindh Assemblysession summoned

on Feb 4KARACHI—Acting SindhGovernor Nisar Ahmed Khuhrohas summoned the ProvincialAssembly of Sindh to meet onFebruary 4, at 10:00 a.m in theSindh Assembly buildinghere.—APP

KARACHI—A polio vaccina-tion campaign which was sched-uled to start in Karachi fromMonday (February 4) has beenpostponed due to security rea-sons. According to EDO Health,Dr. Imdad Ullah Siddiqui, thedecision was taken at a meetingpresided over by Azra Pechoho,the chairperson of PrimeMinister’s Polio Monitoring andCoordination Cell.

The meeting reviewed secu-rity measures for polio vaccina-tion teams and finally decidedto postpone the drive for an in-definite period, he said.

Some 58 polio cases wererecorded in Pakistan last year,with a deadly polio virus, P1,detected in three major cities ofPakistan – Hyderabad, Karachiand Peshawar.

After a string of attacks

Anti-polio campaignpostponed in ciy

across the country, a similarWHO-sponsored campaign inDecember was thwarted by ex-tremists who killed at least ninemedics. Siddiqui said that se-curity personnel were busy as-sisting Election Commissionworkers in the voter verificationprocess in Karachi, and weretherefore currently unavailableto provide security to the healthworkers.

He added that polio work-ers constantly received deaththreats and could not initiate thecampaign without adequate se-curity. On Jan 22, a roadsidebomb killed two polio workersnear Parachinar in the Kurramdistrict, two days after sus-pected militants shot dead apolice officer who had been es-corting female polio workers inthe Swabi district.—NNI

OBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Turkey is keen tosend an energy delegation tovisit Sindh to further exploreinvestment opportunities in TharCoal and Energy sector ofSindh.

This was stated byMuhammad Zubair Motiwala,chairman Sindh Board of Invest-ment (SBI), while briefing onopportunities and investmentpotential of energy sector inSindh during a meeting withMinistry of Energy, Turkey atthe ministry’s office in Ankara.

Motiwala said the SBI wel-comed the kind cooperation andfacilitation from the Turkishauthorities. He invited the Turk-ish investors to come and investin Sindh which could becomefuture power house of the world

Turkey interested in Thar Coalto cater domestic power need

due to huge coal reserves, windcorridor and availability of ever-present sunlight to produce so-lar energy. He said Sindh wasblessed with the world’s bestwind corridor which had aver-age wind speed of 7-8 m/sec.Two companies M/s Zorlu andM/s Fina of Turkey had alreadyinvested in wind energy powerproject in Thatta district ofSindh. During the meeting theTurkish government showedkeen interest in the Thar coalregion.

The meeting was attendedby the representative of Minis-try of Energy (Turkey), Direc-torate General of Energy, In-vestment Planning and PowerGeneration Corporation (Tur-key), General Directorate ofCoordination of EuropeanUnion (EU), Turkish Oil Enter-

prises, Modern Research and In-vestment Institution (Turkey)and Geological Research De-partment of General Directorateof Energy.

Dr. Nevzat Kavakli, Turkishunder secretary at the Ministryof Energy, said Turkey had anintention to increase bilateralcooperation with Pakistan.

He said his country requiredhuge volumes of coal for elec-tricity and power generation. Hesaid Turkey’s annual coal im-ports were more than 0 milliontons to cater domestic needs.

Turkey was producing morethan 8000MW of power fromlignite coal. The Ministry ofEnergy proposed to enhancecooperation with Sindh throughcontinuous efforts and showedkeen interest to explore Tharcoal in more detail.

Fazl, Altaf discusspolitical situation

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Muttahida QaumiMovement Chief Altaf Hussainand Jamiat Ulema-i- Islam-Fazl(JUI-F) leader Maulana FazlurRehman talked on telephone, onSaturday. Issues relating to lawand order in the country, demo-cratic process and situation pre-vailing in Ba-lochistan cameunder discussion.

Sindh to havemore anti

terror courtsKARACHI—Chief MinisterSindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah hasapproved the summary sent bythe home department for the for-mation of three more anti-terror-ist courts in Sindh.

Now the Ministry of Lawwould approach Chief JusticeSindh for the permission andapproval of the formation ofthree more anti-terror courts inSindh after which these courtswould start working.

According to the sourcesin Law Department two of thethree new anti-terror courtswould be formed in Karachiwhile the third would be inKandhkot. The judges of thesecourt would be appointed af-ter the approval of Chief Jus-tice Sindh after which thenumber of anti-terror courts inKarachi would increase tofive.—NNI

KU announcesresults

KARACHI—University ofKarachi Controller ExaminationsProf Dr Arshad Azmi on Fridayannounced the results of MA Eco-nomics private (Final) annual ex-amination 2011.

First position was secured byHafiza Mariam d/o MuhammadYousaf with 616 marks out of 1000having roll number 71273. SyedHasan Faraz Rizvi s/o MuhammadSaqlain, bearing roll number70806, stood second with 605marks.—INP

FOR years, damaged discs in the lowerback or spinal nerve problems have takenthe blame as the most common cause of

sciatica, a painful condition in which the sci-atic nerve in the back of the leg is pinched andpain radiates down the leg.

But a new study suggeststhe cause of sciatica pain mayactually be piriformis syn-drome, a condition in which amuscle in the buttocks calledthe piriformis compresses orirritates the sciatic nerve.

The study appears in theFebruary issue of the Journalof Neurosurgery: Spine.

The findings may helpmany patients finally get re-lief from their pain, said studyauthor Dr. Aaron Filler, a neu-rosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai In-stitute of Spinal Disorders inLos Angeles. “Doctors oftenrecommend spinal fusion sur-gery for spinal problems [as-sociated with sciatica],” hesaid, “when the real problem is piriformis syn-drome.”

In the study, Filler and his colleagues evalu-ated 239 patients whose symptoms of sciaticahad not improved after diagnosis or treatmentfor a damaged disc. They performed the usualX-rays and MRI scans, and found seven of thepatients had torn disc-related conditions thatcould be treated successfully with spine sur-gery.

The other 232 patients underwent MR neu-rography, a new technique that generates de-tailed images of nerves. The researchers reportthat 69 percent had piriformis syndrome, whilethe other 31 percent had some other nerve, joint

New clues for sciaticapain relief

or muscle condition.To treat piriformis syndrome, Filler’s

team injected a long-acting anesthetic into thespine, muscle or nerve areas. About 85 per-cent of the patients got some relief from the

injections, which helps relaxmuscle spasm. However, reliefwas not long-lasting and 62patients needed surgery to cor-rect the syndrome. Of those, 82percent had a good or excellentresult during the six-year fol-low-up.

The findings may help le-gions of Americans sufferingfrom sciatica, Filler said.“More than 1.5 million Ameri-cans have experienced sciaticasevere enough to be sent forlumbar MRI scanning eachyear,” Filler said. “About300,000 lumbar disc surgeriesare done each year for sciatica.Of those, about one-third fail.”

In some cases, those sur-geries may fail because disc

damage is not the underlying problem, Fillersaid. Instead, the real culprit could be otherconditions, such as piriformis syndrome.

The nerve scan used in the study is rela-tively new, Filler said, being first used inhumans in 1993. His group reported on thefirst groups of patients who underwent thetechnique in 1996. “Since 1996, we haveimaged several thousand patients,” he said.The technique is available now at majoruniversities and hospitals, Filler said, andis expected to become more widespread inthe next year or so.While the study providesnew clues to sciatica, experts say its resultsneed to be duplicated.

LAHORE: Dr Aftab Iqbal presenting a shield to famous nuclear scientist Dr Abdul QadeerKhan during 23rd International Family Medicine Conference.

LAHORE: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila offering Fatiha for the departed soul of late AbbasSharif, brother of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif during meeting at CM House.

PTI condemnsLakki Marwatsuicide attack

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Chairman ImranKhan, Vice Chairman ShahMehmood Qureshi, PresidentJaved Hashmi, Secretary Gen-eral Dr. Arif Alvi, and Informa-tion secretary Shafqat Mahmoodstrongly condemned the suicideattack on a military check postin Lakki Marwat on Saturday,killing six soldiers and manycivilians.

The civilian casualties in-clude women and children. Pa-kistan Tehreek-e-Insaf con-demns all acts of violence tar-geting innocent people and es-pecially those targeting securityforces.

Frequent acts of terrorismconfirm that militants are activeand have become a threat to thelife of innocent people. It alsoshows lack of concern of law en-forcement agencies in resortinglaw and order in the country. Both,the provincial and federal govern-ment have failed miserably to pro-tect and safeguard a commonman’s life. We expect a thoroughinvestigation of this heinouscrime, to unmask and prosecutethe perpetrators of the blast.

Three civil judgestransferred

LAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt on Saturday issued trans-fer and posting orders of threecivil judges cum judicial mag-istrate after modifying its earliernotification dated January 30 forthe purpose.

According to a LHC notifi-cation, civil judges who weretransferred include RashidNawaz from Chishtian toLahore, Muhammad Usmanfrom Chunian to Pattoki andFaheem ul Hassan Shah fromPattoki to Chunnian.—APP

Music conferenceLAHORE—An All PakistanMusic Conference will be heldat Punjab Institute of LanguageArt and Culture (PILAC) hall,Qaddafi Stadium, on February 6.

Classical singers UstadNaseerud Din Sami, Abu NasrSami and Asif Riaz will per-form. The music concert will beheld in connection with the 8thanniversary of Hayat AhmadKhan, founder of the confer-ence.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Director Gen-eral Punjab Emergency Service(Rescue 1122) Dr. RizwanNaseer has appealed the mediapractitioners to play a vital rolein changing minds of the massespertaining to the occurrence ofroad traffic crashes, which usu-ally resulted to the loss of 518billion dollar globally each year.He ascertained that traffic acci-dents can be prevented by adopt-ing safety measures, creatingcommunity awareness and tak-ing practical steps, as a safecommunity leads to a safe na-tion.

He expressed these viewswhile carrying out a monthlyperformance review of rescueoperations, which took place indifferent parts of the Punjab,

here on Saturday at Rescue 1122Headquarters. Dr. RizwanNaseer directed each districtemergency officer (DEO) to en-sure arranging practical trainingprograms in schools, colleges,universities and other public in-stitutions of his district besidescreating awareness about roadtraffic crashes. “We are work-ing to develop a Safer Pakistan,”he added. He has also appealedto the masses to dial 1122 onlyin case of genuine emergency sothat misuse of emergency re-sources could be prevented andemergency help could be pro-vided to the genuine victims.

According to the data, Res-cue 1122 has responded to37149 emergencies of differentnatures and rescued 37555 vic-tims during the month of Janu-ary, 2013. Rescue’s in-charge

Provincial Monitoring Cellbriefed the Director General thatthe Service has effectively re-sponded to different natures ofemergencies including 12108traffic crashes, 22931 medicalemergencies, 728 fire cases and36 buildings collapses, 1231crime, 23 drowning Incidents,80 special rescue operations and12 explosions, while maintain-ing its average response time ofseven minutes.

Overall, the Service dealtwith 37149 rescue operationsduring the month of January,2013, which include 7735 res-cue operations in Lahore, 3730in Faisalabad, 2949 in Multan,2416 in Gujranwala, 1139 inBahawalpur, 1128 inRawalpindi, 1283 in Dera GhaziKhan,1246 in Sargodha, 760 inRahim Yar Khan.

Media urged to sensitize publicabout road crashes prevention

LAHORE: A group photo of Governor Punjab Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmud with 7-member Indonesian media delegation.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The Punjab Plan-ning & Development Depart-ment has announced that thename of P&D Department willnot be linked up with the nameof “P&D Fort” housing schemeof the P&D Department Em-ployees Cooperative HousingSociety Phase-II Lahore. Whilethis P&D Fort must be consid-ered as a private housingscheme.

The spokesman of the P&DDepartment Punjab has clarifiedthat the housing scheme namedas P&D Fort, Planning & De-velopment Department Employ-ees Cooperative Housing Soci-ety Phase-II Lahore is a PrivateHousing Scheme which is being

run and controlled by the Privatepersons/members and not beingrun by the Government of thePunjab Planning & Develop-ment Department, Lahore.Moreover, the Punjab P&D De-partment is doing nothing forestablishment of the P&D Fortof this private society. Thespokesman also clarified andtold that the said society is nowa Private Housing Society.

The P&D Department hasstated that due to using the nameof “P&D Fort” by the P&D De-partment Employees Coopera-tive Housing Society, the gen-eral public is assuming that maybe the said housing scheme hasbeen launched by the Govern-ment of the Punjab P&D De-partment.

P&D Fort is a privatehousing scheme

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Mr. Justice SardarTariq Masood of Lahore HighCourt has said that people of Paki-stan have pinned high hopes withthe courts and we all should strivehard for dispensation of justice andLaw Officers should be commit-ted to this sacred duty honesty withfear of Almighty Allah in mind.

He was addressing a conclud-ing ceremony of Twelve-WeekPre-Service Training Course de-signed for Assistant District At-torneys at Punjab Judicial Acad-emy. Mr. Justice (R) Khalil urRehman Khan, Honorary Con-sultant PJA, Mr. Justice (R)Kazim Ali Malik, Senior Mem-ber Inspection Team, LHC, Dr.Syed Abu ul Hassan Najmi, Pro-vincial Secretary Law & Parlia-mentary Affairs and District &Sessions Judge Lahore, Mr. NazirAhmad Gajana also attended theceremony.

Justice Sardar Tariq said thatit was a perception in the past thatLaw Officers were not serious inthe discharge of their obligationsand used to appear before courtswithout preparing the cases and

sans proper uniform. It is hopedthat after going through the exhaus-tive training at the PJA, young At-torneys will bring some change inthis perception. To strengthen theinstitution of justice, it must be yourduty to assist the courts as per con-stitution and law. He said that thesecases are meant to reverberate inthe higher courts in case of appealand a minor slackness will lead towastage of precious time andmoney. You should value time andalways be punctual while appear-ing in courts and that too in properuniform. Almighty Allah has hon-ored the black coats throughout theworld and this black coat is youridentity. Justice Tariq said that in-tellectual dishonesty and corrup-tion are accountable before Al-mighty Allah and provision of jus-tice to the aggrieved people is im-possible without true assistance byprosecution side. Therefore youshould bring facts of the case be-fore course of law diligently, hon-estly and painstakingly, so that pro-vision of justice could be ensured.

Director General Punjab Judi-cial Academy, Mr. Justice (R)Tanvir Ahmad Khan said that noone can deny the importance of

Law Officers in district judiciaryand they should argue the govern-ment cases taking them personal.He further said that objective ofLaw Officers is to provide properassistance for provision of justiceon merit. Representative of traineeAssistant District Attorneys, Mr.Babar Iqbal also spoke on the oc-casion.

The participants of the courseinclude Humera Nawaz Khan,Farzana Batool, Iram Shahzadi,Samina Shakoor, RukhsanaKausar, Shabana Shaheen Rana,Tahira Zafar, Muhammad HasanRaza, Syed Tehzeeb ul HassanNaqvi, Shahbaz Hussain AtifNazir, Muhammad WaseemAkram, Qadeer Ashraf, NasirMuneer, Syed Muhammad Imran,Muhammad Zahid Mubarik, SajidAli, Waseem Hassan, MohammadImran Latif, Habib Ullah, FaheemMaqbool, Khaliq ur Rehman,Muhammad Imran, Babar Iqbal,Zahid Munawar Khan Sherwani,Raj Maqsood, Samir Mahmood,Mohammad Sajid, Abdul Jabbar,Nadir Hussain, Qamar Abbas,Syed Javed Hanif, Aamir IqbalBhatti and Muhammad RizwanUllah Akhtar.

People cherish high hopesfrom court: Justice Tariq

Tributes paid tolate Arfa Karim

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Min-ister Muhammad ShahbazSharif has said that late ArfaKarim Randhawa, who wasworld’s youngest Microsoft Cer-tified IT Professional, is a greatsymbol of courage and determi-nation. He said Arfa Karimbrightened the name of Pakistanat the international level, andproved that Pakistan is not be-hind in the field of science andtechnology.

On the occasion of 18thbirthday of Arfa Karim, the ChiefMinister said that, although ArfaKarim did not get enough time,yet she will always be remem-bered for her brilliant role in thefield of information technology.He said that Punjab governmenthas attributed information tech-nology, Software Park after hername, as a tribute to the servicesof late Arfa Karim.

He said laptop distributionprogramme by the provincial gov-ernment among brilliant students,in view of importance of informa-tion technology, is being acknowl-edged at national and internationallevel. He said that although ArfaKraim was not amongst them yether God-given capabilities wouldalways remain in their hearts.

LTC role pivotal inplanning, facilitating

transport CosSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Chairman LahoreTransport Company (LTC)Khawaja Ahmed Hassan said theLahore Transport Company isplaying effective role in planning,regulating and facilitating the trans-port companies privately operatingin Lahore and paying special em-phasis on maintenance and aftersales service of buses being pliedon various urban routes of city.

“As a result of the strenuousefforts of LTC, Ankai Companyhas sent two containers havingrelevant inventory of spare partsfor the purpose of maintenanceof buses,” he expressed theseviews while presiding the highlevel meeting held in connectionwith reviewing the various ini-tiatives, here on Saturday. ChiefExecutive Officer KhawajaHaider Latif, and other officialswere also present in the meeting.

Add IG HajiMuhammad Aslam

Tareen retiresLAHORE—Capital City PoliceOfficer, Additional InspectorGeneral of Police HajiMuhammad Aslam Tareen re-tired on Saturday after attainingthe superannuation age.

Tareen, a domicile ofBalochistan started his careerfrom Balochistan Police as DSPand later was inducted into Po-lice Services of Pakistan afterhis promotion as SP.

During his service, he heldkey posts in Punjab Police asAdditional IG Investigation andDistrict Police OfficerFaisalabad, Okra, Sheikhupuraand proved his worth as one ofthe most successful police of-ficer.—APP

Minister stressescontinuity of

democratic systemLAHORE—Continuity of thedemocratic process is importantfor the progress of the country.These views were expressed byFederal Minister for NationalHeritage and Integration SaminaKhalid Ghurki and PPP Secre-tary Information Lahore AbidHussain Siddiqui in a joint pressstatement on Saturday.

“Our elders laid down theirlives for the creation of a sepa-rate homeland while Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnahalways favoured the democraticand constitutional system,” theyadded.

They said whenever martiallaw was imposed in the coun-try, it was against the vision ofQuaid-i-Azam. “Zia-ul-Haq’smartial law was not good forsociety as it created many prob-lems for the country,” headded.—APP

4 more teensdie of measles

LAHORE—Four more childrendied of measles in Lahore onSaturday as the number ofdeaths caused by the diseasereached 18. Contrary to tallclaims of the Punjab govern-ment, there is no let-up indeaths of children due tomeasles.

Four more children, whowere under treatment atGangaram and Children hos-pitals in Lahore, succumbedto the disease. The victimswere identified as two-year-old Habib, Two and a halfyear Anam, 6-year-oldZunaira and 10-month-oldZainab.

The number of childrenkilled by the disease acrossPunjab reached 18, out ofthose, 10 belonged to Lahorealone.—NNI

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—With an estimatedcost of Rs. 3578.000 million, thePunjab government has ap-proved the scheme of energysector for the construction ofMarala Hydel Power Station dis-trict Sialkot under “RenewableEnergy Development Sector In-vestment Programme.” The ap-proval was accorded in the 30thmeeting of Provincial Develop-ment Working Party (PDWP) ofcurrent financial year 2012-13presided over by the PunjabPlanning and DevelopmentBoard Chairman, Javaid Aslam.

As many as 10 other devel-opment schemes of various sec-

Rs 9,324m energy developmentschemes approved

tors of the economy worth Rs.9324.387 million were also ap-proved in the meeting. Secre-tary Planning & DevelopmentPunjab Arif Anwar Baloch,members of the Planning & De-velopment Board and other rep-resentatives of the relevant Pro-vincial Departments attendedthe meeting.

The approved developmentschemes included: Improvement/ Rehabilitation of Wildlife ParkLoi Bher, Rawalpindi (Phase-II)(Revised) at the cost of Rs.373.497 million, strengthening /Upgradation of DHQ HospitalKasur from 197 to 300-Beds atthe cost of Rs. 200.000 million,construction of Judicial Complex

at Lahore (Phase-II) (Revised) atthe cost of Rs. 800.640 million,strengthening of BMP / BalochLevy in District D.G. Khan. (Re-vised) at the cost of Rs. 201.036million, Design of RemedialMeasures for Dewal Landslideand Reconstruction of RMKRoad at Dewal Landslide (2ndRevised) (PC-II) at the cost of Rs.26.522 million, Widening / Im-provement of road from BungaHayat-Pakpattan-Arifwala fromkm No. 460.23 to 514.50=54.27km in District Pakpattan (Re-vised) at the cost of Rs. 1287.454million, Widening and Improve-ment of Sargodha Gujrat Road(Section Jhal Chakkian toBhalwal) length 38.50 km.