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Get sons of former PM,Governor back................................................PPP’s stand on MQM’sMartial Law call................................................We wish UN wereeven handed

See Page 04

ALI SYED

ISLAMABAD—The three international financialinstitutions (IFIs)—World Bank (WB), AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) and Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agency (JICA) have ex-tended $ 950 million as soft loan to Pakistanunder the head of energy sector reforms anddevelopment policy.

The loan has been given to Pakistan at theinterest rate of just 2 percent for 25 years which

WB, ADB, JICA extend $950m loanto Pakistan for reforms in energy sector

Under loan’s terms, feeders showing over 50% losses will be outsourcedto private sector; Monitoring units to be set up in MoWP, MoPNR

is also extendable for five more years.The WB has given to Pakistan $500 million,

ADB $400 million and JICA $50 million. “Wehave signed the documents with the said threedonor agencies along with the terms and con-ditions under which the whole power and oiland gas sector will be made efficient by intro-ducing reforms,” a senior official at Ministry ofWater and Power told Pakistan Observer.

Pakistan has already cleared the huge cir-cular debt of Rs480 billion and will have to take

measures to slow down or erase the emergenceof new circular debt and for this the govern-ment will initiate some concrete measures un-der the loan agreement.

Under the loan terms, the authorities con-cerned will be bound to outsource the loss mak-ing feeders of five electric power distribution com-panies (PSECO, MEPCO, HESCO and SEPCO).The feeders which are showing over 50 percentlosses will be outsourced to private sector.

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KP govt okaysreshufflein cabinet

PESHAWA R—The leader-ship of the PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hasapproved major changes inthe Khyber Pakhtunkhwagovernment.

The decision was takenafter the approval of partychief Imran Khan during ameeting of the PTI’s corecommittee two days earlier.Announcing the decisionon Friday, KPK Informa-tion Minister Shah Farmansaid that Mushtaq Ghani,Qalandar Khan Lodhi,Ikramullah Khan Gandapurand Ziaullah Afridi havebeen inducted into the pro-vincial cabinet and wouldbe assigned the portfolioslater. Provincial AgricultureMinister Shehram Khan

ISLAMABAD—The Account-ability Court of Islamabad onFriday accepted the exemp-

tion pleasfor formerprime minis-ters YusufRaza Gilaniand RajaP e r v a i zAshraf inOil and Gas

Regulatory Authority(OGRA) corruption case.

A judge of accountabil-ity court Muhammad Bashirheard the case pertaining tothe OGRA multi-billion

OGRA scam case

Court grants exemptionsto Gilani, Raja Ashraf

scam. Accepting the pleas,the court granted exemp-tions from appearance in thecourt toY u u s u fRaza Gilaniand RajaP e r v a i zA s h r a f .During thecourse ofp r o c e e d -ings, main accused TauqirSadiq along with JawadJamil, Mansoor Muzaffarand Kamal Mari were pro-duced before the court. Ex-

ISLAMABAD—The Execu-tive Committee of NationalEconomic Council (ECNEC)Friday approved Dasu Hy-dro Power Project (Stage-I)at rationalized cost ofRs.486,093.3 million withFEC of Rs.218,547.5 millionto be located at District Up-per Kohistan, KhyberPuktunkhwa. Dasu HydroPower Project is designedfor 4320MW comprising oftwo stages i.e. Stage I andStage II (2160MW each) onIndus River.

The Stage I of the pro-posed project envisages theconstruction of 2160MWDasu Hydro Power projectand acquisition of land in-

ECNEC approves Rs 495.5bDasu, Harpo power projectsEnergy essential for socio-economic uplift: Dar

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NATO namesStoltenberg asnext leaderBRUSSELS—NATO choseformer Norwegian PrimeMinister Jens Stoltenbergas its next leader on Fridayat a time when the Westernmilitary alliance must dealwith a resurgent Russia fol-lowing its annexation ofUkraine’s Crimea.

Stoltenberg will takeover as secretary-general ofthe 28-nation grouping onOctober 1, succeeding formerDanish prime ministerAnders Fogh Rasmussen,who has led NATO since2009. Stoltenberg, the firstNorwegian to occupyNATO’s top post, will takeover at a time when NATO,seen by some as a Cold Warrelic, has gained new rel-evance because of concernsabout what the Ukraine cri-sis says about a newly as-sertive Russia.—Reuters

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Prince MuqrinappointedSaudi deputycrown princeMANAMA—Prince Muqrinbin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, 68,will be Saudi Arabia’s nextcrownprince orking, aroyal orderhas said.

Underthe orderissued byKingAbdullah Bin Abdul AzizAl Saud on Thursdayevening, Prince Muqrin,who kept his current postas second deputy premier,was appointed as deputycrown prince.

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Relief inPOL pricesfrom April 1ALI SYED

ISLAMABAD—PakistanObserver has learnt thatpeople of Pakistan are likelyto get substantial relief inpetroleum prices by up toRs 5.61 per liter from April1, 2014 because of twomain factors that includethe downwards trend ofprices of POL in interna-tional market and fastdepreciation of US dollar.

Keeping in view thesaid two factors, Ogra hasrecommended to Miistry ofPetoleum and NaturalResources the reduction inprice of petrol by Rs 1.72

Key economicindicators

showing modestimprovement:

IMFKARACHI—The Interna-tional Monetary Fund saidFriday that Pakistan’s keyeconomic indicators wereshowing modest improve-ment but warned militancyand crime could threatengrowth and investment.

The IMF warning camein its country report review-ing Pakistan’s performanceunder a $6.7 billion bailoutloan package.

The Pakistani govern-ment is in talks with thecountry’s Taliban faction totry to end the militants’bloody seven-year insur-gency, which has claimedthousands of lives.

“For the fiscal year2014-15, growth is forecastto accelerate to about 3.7 percent, and will continue toaccelerate in the mediumterm,” the report said.

“Security conditions inPakistan remain difficultwith significant terrorist ac-tivity, as well as sectarian

US President Barack Obama meeting with Saudi King Abdullah at Rawdat Khuraim,Saudi Arabia, Friday.

cluding resettlement, con-struction of offices, colo-nies, project access roadsand pre-construction activi-ties. The stage I will be com-pleted in a period of fiveyears. Once complete, DasuPower Project will generateelectricity at a unit cost ofRs.2.14/kwh. The ECNECmeeting was chaired by theFederal Minister for Fi-nance, Senator MohammadIshaq Dar at PrimeMinister’s Office on Friday.

The ECNEC also consti-tuted a Committee compris-ing representatives fromMinistries of Planning, De-

velopment & Reform, Water& Power, Finance, WAPDAand Government of KP tomonitor the issues relatingto land acquisition for en-suring propriety of the landcost. It was further decidedthat the Ministry of Waterand Power will confirm thatNOC from the concernedEPA has been obtained.

The ECNEC also ap-proved 34.5MW Harpo Hy-dro Power Project at a modi-fied cost of Rs.9.5 billionwith FEC of Rs.6.1 billion.The location of the projectis at Harpo Lungma, District

RIYADH—US PresidentBarack Obama, making hisfirst visit to Saudi Arabiasince 2009, met KingAbdullah on Friday for twohours of talks that aides saidwould focus on Middle Eastpeace, Iran and ways tostrengthen moderate Syrianrebels.

The King, accompaniedby a number of seniorprinces, had the meeting athis desert farm at RawdatKhuraim northeast of thecapital Riyadh, witnessessaid.

The King and Obama,there with US Secretary ofState John Kerry and Na-tional Security Adviser Su-san Rice, made no publicstatements, reports GulfNews.

But in the run up to thevisit, officials had saidObama would aim to per-suade the monarch thatSaudi concerns that Wash-ington was slowly disengag-ing from the Middle Eastand no longer listening toits old ally were unfounded.

Last year senior Saudi

Gulf security, Iran figurein Obama, Abdullah talksUS mulling to supply surface to air missile to Syrian Opp

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TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—While the meeting betweenthe Government committee and the Talibannegotiators scheduled to be held on Fri-day, could not take place, the member ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negoti-ating committee Prof Ibrahim has said therewas no deadlock in the negotiation processbetween the government and Taliban andthe fresh round of parleys could take placeanytime.

The two sides, it may be recalled hadmet in Spin Thall Orakzai agency onWednesday and discussed host of issuesthough they could not develop consensuson a number of thorny issues with majorbeing the release of prisoners from both

No deadlock in Govt-Talibannegotiations: Ibrahim

Rustam hopeful of Haider Gilani, Shahbaz Taseer releasethe sides. However, they had agreed to ex-tend the ceasefire at least during the courseof talks.

The government side is being repre-sented by the seasoned bureaucrats andexperts on tribal and Afghan affairs namelyFederal Secretary Ports and Shipping HabibUllah Khan, Additional Chief SecretaryFATA Arbab Arif, Rustam Shah Mohmandand Fawad Hassan Fawad, an AdditionalSecretary in PM secretariat. The Talibannegotiators include known militant com-manders Qari Shakeel, former TTP spokes-man Maulana Azam Tariq, Maulvi Bashirand Maulvi Zakir.

Talking to media persons inPeshawar Friday Prof Ibrahim said that the

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officials warned of a “majorshift” away from Washing-ton after bitter disagree-ments about its response tothe “Arab spring” upris-ings, and policy towardsIran and Syria, where Riyadh

wants more American sup-port for rebels.

US Deputy National Se-curity Adviser Ben Rhodessaid coordination with thekingdom on Syria policy,particularly regarding pro-

viding assistance to the Syr-ian rebels, had improved.

“That’s part of the rea-son why I think our relation-ship with the Saudis is in astronger place today than it

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—A landmark Pakistan spon-sored resolution was adopted with over-whelming majority on Friday in the UnitedNation’s Human Rights Council against useof armed drones.

The resolution urges the member statesto ensure that the use of armed drones com-ply with their obligations under interna-tional law, including the UN Charter, hu-man rights law and international humani-tarian law, in particular the principles of dis-tinction and proportionality.

The resolution also called for conven-ing an interactive panel discussion of ex-perts on legal questions pertaining to thisissue as recommended in the report of Mr.Ben Emerson, UN Special Rapporteur onthe promotion and protection of humanrights while countering terrorism. The paneldiscussion will take place at the 27th Ses-sion of the Human Rights Council in Geneva

UN Council passes resolutionagainst armed drones

Pakistan-sponsored resolution adoptedwith overwhelming majority

to be held in September 2014.The resolution was adopted as a result

of Pakistan Mission’s close coordinationwith like-minded States to sensitize the in-ternational community on this importantlegal matter at the United Nations, a pressrelease issued by Foreign Office said.

Pakistan has consistently raised the is-sue at all relevant international fora includ-ing the United Nations. In November, 2013Pakistan had successfully included refer-ences on the use of drones in a UN GeneralAssembly resolution that urged memberstates to comply with their obligations un-der international law. Other UN bodieswhere Pakistan has raised this concern in-clude the UN Security Council, Committeesof UN General Assembly dealing with dis-armament and international security issuesand Convention on Prohibitions or Restric-tions on the Use of Certain ConventionalWeapons.

NEW DELHI—The IndianAir Force has dropped abomb with its alarming ad-mission that it will be diffi-cult for it to tackle a com-bined threat from China andPakistan, raising questionsabout the country’s abilityto fight a two-front war, saida report published inHindustan Times.

The IAF has told an In-dian Parliamentary panel thatPakistan would certainly fishin troubled waters if Chinawere to launch offensive op-erations against India. It,however, stressed that China

India incapable of tacklingtwo-front war with Pak, China

may not pose “a collusivethreat” if hostilities were tobreak out between India andPakistan. Setting off alarmbells, a senior IAF officer in-formed the Parliamentarystanding committee on de-fence that a “collusivethreat” from China and Paki-stan would be difficult totackle but the air force wasprepared for it. “We havemade plans in case of con-tingency-III (two-frontwar),” he said, adding thatIndia had upgraded itspolicy against China fromdissuasion to deterrence.

The IAF currently oper-ates 34 fighter squadrons,against a desirable 42. In areport tabled in Parliamenton Tuesday, the panel askedthe IAF to scale up its capa-bilities by speeding up theacquisition of 126 FrenchRafale fighters, a deal worthRs 120,000 crore. The panelflagged concerns aboutpoor border infrastructureon the Indian side, at a timewhen China has rampedroad, rail and air connectiv-ity across the line of actualcontrol (LAC).

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KA R A C H I—The negotia-tion process between theMuttahida Qaumi Move-ment (MQM) and the Paki-stan People’s Party (PPP)has hit snags followingconfronting statements ofPPP leaders. According tosources, MQM is nowmulling to determine pub-lic opinion whether itshould join the Sindh gov-ernment or not.

Former president and

MQM, PPP talks hit snagsPPP leader Asif Ali Zardari,Governor Sindh Dr. IshratulIbad, Rehman Malik andSyed Owais Muzaffar playedvital role during the nego-tiation process. MQMsources said that the PPPinvited MQM thrice in last10 days to join the Sindhgovernment, but confront-ing statements from somePPP leaders have stalled the

Continued on Page 7Balochistan

govt suspends260 teachersOBSERVER REPORT

QUETTA—The BalochistanEducation Department hassuspended 260 teachers fornot performing their dutieswell in different districts ofthe province.

Secretary EducationBalochistan, Ghulam AliBaloch told edia on Fridaythat the suspended teach-ers belonged to Dera Bugti,Loralai and Pishin districtsof the province. “160 teach-ers from Loralai district havebeen suspended,” Balochsaid.

He said the teachers re-mained absent from their

PA secretarysuspended after

sons thrashtraffic warden

LAHORE—Punjab Assem-bly secretary Rai Nawazwas sent on a one-monthleave after his sonsthrashed a traffic wardenfor issuing them a ticketfor road violation.

Rai Nawaz was initiallyremoved from his post andmade an officer on specialduty by Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif but laterPunjab Assembly SpeakerRana Mohammad Iqbalsent the official on one-month leave following aninquiry conducted on thespeaker’s behalf.

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QUETTA: Chief Minister of Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik awarding shield to a next of kin of a martyred journalist duringMedia Day function at a local hotel.

FAISALABAD: Director Lyallpur Museum, Mian Attiq briefing MPA Khalid Saeed, MPANajma Afzal and DCO Noor ul Ameen Mengal about the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Museumafter inaugurating it at Art Council.

HYDERABAD: Relatives of Zohaib Qureshi addressing a press conference against nonarrest of his murderers.

ISLAMABAD—Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) re-covered over 3 kilogram of heroin, 291 kg cha-ras, 1.5 kg methamphetamine and 10800 psy-chotropic tablets with arresting 13 drug peddlers.

ANF conducted seven operations in theprovinces of Punjab, KPK and Sindh, said apress release.

ANF Peshawar road check team seizedtruck registration No. TKA-723 and recovered280 kg charas, tactfully concealed in secret cavi-ties of the vehicle and arrested two persons,namely Lal Haider r/o Jamrud, Khyber Agencyand Haji Haider r/o Jamrud, Khyber Agencyhave been arrested at the spot.

ANF Karachi airport team arrestedMuhammad Shaban r/o Orangi Town, Karachiand recovered 3 kg heroin, 10800 psychotropictablets and 1.50 kg methamphetamine from hishand baggage.

The drugs were tactfully concealed in a trol-ley bag. The accused was to travel from Karachito Bangladesh by PIA flight No. PK-266. Onfurther investigation, his accomplice namelyNaseer-Ud-Din r/o Kamari, Karachi was alsoarrested near Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi.

ANF Karachi intercepted a parcel at Fed-Ex office Shahrah-i-Faisal Karachi and recov-

ANF recovers Rs338m heroin,charas, arrests 13 persons

ered 440 gram of fine quality heroin tactfullyconcealed in cloth. The parcel was sent byBegum Noor r/o Sultanabad, Karachi and wasdestined for cyprus.

ANF Rawalpindi arrested MuhammadMumtaz r/o Tramari Chowk, Islamabad and re-covered 1.05 kg charas from his personal pos-session, while he was traveling on a motorcycleregistration No. BM-ICT-665. The accused wasarrested near main gate of Benazir Bhutto Hos-pital, Murree Road, Rawalpindi.

ANF Lahore arrested Sultan Muhammad r/o Peshawar and Muhammad Siddique r/o Qasurand recovered 2.40 kg charas from their personalpossession. The accused were arrested near NiaziBus Stand, Band Road, Lahore.

ANF Lahore arrested Jan Sher r/o KhyberAgency, Anwar Ali r/o Lahore and ShahzadAnjum r/o Lahore and recovered 6 kg charasfrom their personal possession.

ANF Lahore arrested three persons nearNiazi Adda, Band Road, Lahore and recovered1.2 kg of charas from their personal posses-sion.

Cases against all the accused persons havebeen registered in ANF Police Stations and fur-ther investigations are under process.—APP

BAJAUR—Tribesmen and health expertson Friday showed concern over increas-ing rates of child and maternal deaths inthe tribal areas and called upon the gov-ernment and non-governmental organiza-tion to accelerate efforts for providing ba-sic health facilities to the women and chil-dren of the agency.

They were speaking at a day-long sen-sitization seminar on mother and childhealth, the first ever event of its kind or-ganized by FATA, KP health programmein collaboration with USAID, here atAgency head quarter hospital.

Large number of tribesmen, elders,political worker, religious scholars, femaleactivists, senior officials of the adminis-tration, health department and representa-tives of world health organization andUnicef attend the seminar.

They said that condition of existinghealth facilities in the agency was verypoor and insufficient and it did not meetthe need of population. They said thatmaternal mortality ratio in the agency hadbeen increased for the last several yearsand currently Bajaur was on the top for itshighest ratio of maternal mortality.

Agency Surgeon Dr Zakir Hussainwhile speaking at the seminar pointed outthat large number of women in the entireagency particularly in the remote and far-flung areas died during and following preg-nancy and child birth due to lack of properhealth care facilities.

Experts concerned over increasingrate of child, maternal deaths

Lack of access to skilled medical careduring child birth, societal infrastructure,social barriers and lack of awareness arethe major causes of increasing maternalmortality ratio in the Agency,” said DrHussain.

He stressed the need of creating aware-ness among the people about family plan-ning as it plays a key role in provision ofreproductive health services in the agency.

“As solid step to control increasingpopulation is the need of the hour and thisis the responsibility of every citizen par-ticularly the elders, religious and politicalleaders to come forward and highlight theimportance of family planning in their areaas proper interval in children is vital forthe durable development of agency,” headded.

Notable religious scholars MaulanaMohammad Hanif and Maulana AhmedNoor have highlighted the importance offamily planning in Islam.

In the seminar Dr Misal Khan AfridiCoordinator of Fata, KP health programmein Bajaur briefed the audience about theactivities of this programme.

He said that this USAID fundedprogramme which recently launched inBajaur was working in seven districts ofMalakand Division and four tribal agen-cies of FATA. He said that the programmeonly focusing on mother and childrenhealth care facilities.

He informed the participants that

through the programme 20 women fromvarious remote and far-flung areas havebeen selected for an 18 months long basictraining of maternity services and aftercompletion of the training they would becapable to run maternity clinics in theirareas.

He added that reasonable stipend willbe given to the trainees that would con-tinue after six months of completion oftheir training and they would also providefree of cast equipment and medicines.

Speaking on the occasion AdditionalPolitical Agent Tariq Khan said the gov-ernment making its efforts to improvemother and children health care facilitiesin the agency.

He admitted that population growthrate in agency remained very high duringlast few years and resultantly people in theregion particularly women and childrenhad been facing shortage of basic healthfacilities.

He claimed that most of health careunits and hospitals that had been destroyedduring militancy had been reconstructedwhile several new health units in the re-mote and far flung areas would be estab-lished soon.

He asked the nongovernmental orga-nization to cooperate with the governmentfor provision of basic and modern healthfacilities to the tribesmen as only govern-ment can’t provide basic health facilitiesto the people.—APP

Rs150mreleased for

potable waterFAISALABAD—The govern-ment has released Rs 150 mil-lion for the provision of potablewater in FDA City.

A spokesman forFaisalabad Development Au-thority (FDA) said on Fridaythat work on the project hadstarted and drinking waterwould be provided to the citywithin three months.—APP

Seven involved inpower stealing

sent to jailPESHAWAR—Seven accusedallegedly involved in powerstealing by using direct hookswere sent to Central JailPeshawar on judicial remand.

The Pesco checking teamswith collaboration of PoliceStation Peshawar, arrestedseven more accused involved inpower stealing by using directhooks. They were producedbefore the PESCO’s SpecialMagistrate who sent them toCentral Jail Peshawar on judi-cial remand.

The accused include HazratShah resident of Faqir Kali,Niaz Ali of Pajjagi Road,Shafa-Ud-din of Sharbat Qila,Zahoor of Tehkal Payan, AbdulManan of Daman Afghani,Sajad of Ghari Hamza and Azir-ur-Rehman resident of GhudiKali.

Similarly, the disconnec-tion teams of Hangu divisiondisconnected power supply to21 villages due to non-paymentof Rs 260million and removed2710 direct hooks.

Power supply from ninedifferent categories distributiontransformers were disconnectedto village Doaba Hangu due tonon payment of Rs.10million.PESCO management warnedelectricity stealers to stoppower pilferage otherwise strictaction would be taken againstthem.—APP

Lawyers’ role in restorationof judiciary hailed

Afridi fordevelopment in

FATA regionSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister forTextile and Industries Sena-tor Abbass Khan Afridi onFriday underlined the needfor development and stream-lining system in the FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas(FATA).

He said that no attentionwas paid in the past for theprogress and development ofthe Federally AdministeredTribal Areas region.

Talking to Pakistan Televi-sion channel, he said that thereis need to focus on the devel-opmental projects in the area sothat the people could take thecountry forward in a propermanner.

He claimed that populationof the Federally AdministeredTribal Areas is more than theprovince of Balochistan.

Minister said that peace andprogress in Federally Admin-istered Tribal Areas wouldbenefit the people living acrossthe country.

Abbass Khan Afridivowed that all out effortswould be made to provide thebasic amenities of life to themasses living in this part of theregion.

Dacoits lootgold ornaments

MUZAFFARGARH—Unknowndacoits allegedly looted goldornaments, cash, mobile phonesand other valuables from ahouse at Mehmood Kot, some25 km away from here onThursday midnight.

According to police, threeunknown armed dacoit bargedinto house of Akhtar Farooq inthe limits of Mehmood Kot po-lice station on Thursday mid-night and held the family hos-tage at gun point. They alleg-edly looted 4-tola gold orna-ments, Rs 20,000 in cash, twomobile phones and other valu-ables from them and fled.

On receiving information,police reached the spot andstarted investigation.—APP

ABDUL KHALIQ QURESHI

ABBOTTABAD—Justice MianFasih-ul-Mulk, Chief JusticePeshawar High Court hasasked the young lawyers tofollow the footsteps of theirelders who were an icon of thethis noble profession as

Hazara Bar has produced num-ber of stalwarts who are knownfor their integrity and profes-sional skill.

This he said while address-ing a reception arranged byPeshawar High Court Bar As-sociation Abbottabad Circuitbench in the honour of outgo-ing Chief Justice of PeshawarHigh court Mr. Justice MianFasih-ul-Mulk who is going toretire on April 7, 2014 here atBar Club the otherday.Meanwhile, the new nomi-nated chief justice of PeshawarHigh Court Mr. Justice MazharAlam Khan Miankhel also at-tended the reception alongjudges of Abbottabad CircuitBench Mr. Justice WaqarAhmed Seth and JusticeMrs.Irshad Qaiser.

Officials of lower judiciaryfrom Abbottabad, Haripur,

Mansehra, Battagram,Kohistan, and other areas alsoattended with officials of divi-sional administration.

Chief Justice paid richtributes to the lawyer’s com-munity for their role in therestoration of judiciary andsaid that nobody can suppressthe voice of the masses whosacrifices their lives for thedelivery of justice to thecrushed peoples.

Mr. Justice Fasih-ul-Mulktold that recruitment of civiljudges in the province will beshortly started to fill the vacantseats in lower judiciary. He in-formed that 53 Kanal land hasbeen acquired for the judicialcomplex at Havelian and aftercompletion of the initial re-quirements of funds will bemade available for the con-struction of the complex.

Car mela onApril 6

FAISALABAD—A car mela willbe held at D-Ground under dis-trict government on April 6, saidDCO Noorul Amin Mengalwhile addressing a press confer-ence here Thursday.He said thatExecutive, performer, sports,rare, luxury cars will be placedin the Mela being organized firsttime in the history of city.MPAsMuhammad Nazaw Malik,Faqeer Hussain Dogar, HajiKhalid Saeed, Director LyallpurMuseum Mian Attiq and otherswere also present on the occasion.

Muhammad Nawaz Malikwill be chairman of the event.

DCO said that all arrange-ments have been finalized tohold the event.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Air pollution contributed toan estimated seven million deaths worldwidein 2012, the World Health Organization(WHO) said.

The United Nations health agency saidthat polluted air is the cause of about one ineight deaths and has now become the singlebiggest environmental health risk, Press TVreported. Air pollution-related deaths aremost commonly from heart disease, strokesor chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Itis also linked to deaths from lung cancer andacute respiratory infections, it added.

Maria Neira, head of the WHO’s envi-ronmental and social public health depart-ment, warned against the risks from air pol-lution, saying they are now far greater thanpreviously thought.

“The evidence signals the need for con-certed action to clean up the air we all

breathe,” she added. The body says developing and emerg-

ing countries in Southern Asia, South EastAsia and East Asia are mostly affected, with3.3 million deaths linked to indoor air pol-lution and 2.6 million deaths to outdoor airpollution in 2012.

The WHO puts the blame on unsustain-able policies in transport, energy and wastemanagement sectors, as well as in industry.

The UN health body has urged govern-ments and health agencies to devise appro-priate policies to reduce risks caused by airpollution, especially for vulnerable childrenand the elderly. Indoor pollution is mostlycaused by cooking over coal, wood andbiomass stoves, while outdoor pollution ismainly due to transport, power generation,industrial and agricultural emissions andresidential heating and cooking.—APP

Air pollution kills 7m in 2012

Rain likely at isolatedplaces of country

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)on Friday forecast rain-thunderstorm at isolated places ofMalakand, Hazara, Islamabad, Rawalpindi Kashmir andGilgit Baltistan. According to the synoptic situation, awesterly wave is affecting upper parts of the country andlikely to move over Kashmirduring next 18 hour.

The weather would re-main dry in most parts of thecountry during the next 24hours. The lowest minimumtemperatures recorded duringthe last 24 hours were Kalam00 C.

The highest maximum temperatures recorded wereMirpurkhas 37 C and Mithi 36 C.

The minimum temperatures recorded in the other cit-ies were Islamabad 12 C, Lahore 16 C, Karachi 24 C,Peshawar 13 C, Quetta 04 C, Skardu 06 C, Murree 03 C,Muzaffarabad 07 C, Gilgit 09 C, Faisalabad 17 C, Multan 16C and Hyderabad 20 C. The chief amount of rainfallrecorded during last 24 hours was Zhob 35 mm, Multan16, Rawalpindi (Chaklala 08), Islamabad (Zeropoint, Saidpur07, Golra, Bokra 06), Abbotabad, Quetta, Khuzdar 11,Shorkot 08, Risalpur, Chirat, SaiduSharif, Malamjabba 07,Kalam 06 and Parachinar 05 mm.—APP

PESHAWAR—Chief Conservator ofForests, Hasham Ali Khan said Fridaythat plan was afoot to convert 30,000hectares land in Khyber Pakhtunkhwaunder forestry and vegetative coverevery year under Green Growth Initia-tive (GGI) Programme to offset thegrowing effects of global warming andclimatic change.

As per the KP Government 5-year“Billion Trees Tsunami” GGIprogramme, the KP’s forest areawould be enhanced from 20 percentto 22 percent by 2018 that would en-tail converting 30000 hectares addi-tional land into forest every yearthrough massive afforestation drive,he told APP.

Likewise, enrichment plantation on9000 hectares in deplete forests wouldbe carried out every year.

As many as 15.597 million saplingsof different species would be sown in2700 hectares land with an assistanceof national building departments, gen-eral public and farmers in Spring Plan-

Plan afoot to convert 30,000hectares land into forests

tation Campaign 2014 in KP, the For-ests Chief maintained. He said springplantation campaign was in progressacross the province and a stock of15.597 million fit plants were availableto meet the set target.

Forests on 18,000 hectares wouldbe protected from grazing of live-stock with an objective to supple-ment natural regeneration throughactive participation of the local com-munity, farmer sand general public,Hasham Khan remarked. Two billionplants would be sown in next fiveyears under the Billion Tree TsunamiPlantation programme, he said, add-ing these measures would help in-crease forest areas from existing 20percent to 22 percent in next fiveyears.

He said 3.308 million saplings inSouthern Circle, 7.401 million in North-ern Forest Region-II Abbottabad and4.888 million would be sown inMalakand Forest Region-III Swat. Inaddition to plantation over 5200 hect-

ares outside existing forests, 2700 hect-ares (6671.6 acres) land would bebrought under plantation cover dur-ing ongoing Spring Season whereaswalnut plants would be raised on 370hectares.

Focus is being made on plantationon canal and roads sides while plantswould also been sown in graveyardsin Cities to control environmental pol-lution.

Industrial and business commu-nity, wood based and environmen-tally related industries, chambers ofcommerce and industries, private edu-cational institutes, religious institu-tions, community based organiza-tions, civil society organizations for-est owners/right holders, farmers,NGOs and general public are beingencouraged in afforstration campaignto combat the challenges of environ-mental pollution and global warming.He asked public and farmers to sowmaximum plants as they can for theirbetter future.—APP

ATHAR ALI KHAN

AN efficient transport system,which facilitates timely movement of thousands of people

to their work places in a hassle fee,smooth and honourable manner canrightly be considered as the backboneof the economy of a nation. No megacity of the world can expand, flourish,prosper and sustain without a suit-able transport system. We are all wit-ness to the well-organized transportsystem of the developed cities likeLondon and New York and other cos-mopolitan cities, which are used bymillions of people daily for their day-to-day work. Governments in thesecountries know the significance ofmass transit system and therefore in-vest heavily in this sector for easingtransportation of the people.

Realizing the importance of masstransit system, Government of thePunjab, under the stewardship ofChief Minister Muhammad ShahbazSharif, kicked off work on the first everbus rapid transit system of Pakistanin Lahore , the heart of Pakistan, inFebruary 2012. At a cost of Rs. 29.8billion, the project was executed in arecord time of 11 months, the short-est possible duration for executingsuch projects. The system, laternamed as Metrobus System, is ben-efitting 150 thousand people daily inLahore.

Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus Service

Towards an efficient societyEncouraged by the success of the

system in the provincial metropolis,the Punjab Government has decidedto spread the fruits of progress toother cities if the province as well.Ground breaking ceremony ofMetrobus system in Rawalpindi-Islamabad was performed by thePrime Minister of PakistanMuhammad Nawaz Sharif on the eveof Pakistan Day on March 23, 2014.Total length of the track will be 22.5Kilometers and completion time of theproject is 10 months.

Rawalpindi and Islamabad arecommonly called twin cities becauseof the location, geographical proxim-ity, climate and other socio-economicand historical reasons. Heavy influxof people is witnessed every morningin these two cities as thousands ofpeople daily travel between the twocities for jobs, education, businessand for various other reasons.

Since its very foundation,Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, hasattracted people from all over Paki-stan, making it one of the most cos-mopolitan and urbanized cities of Pa-kistan and centre of economic andservice activities which attract peoplefrom all over the country.

The population of the city hasgrown from 100,000 in 1961 to 1.30million in 2012, making it the ninth larg-est city in the country. Adjacent tothe Southern edge of Islamabad lies

the city of Rawalpindi. Being Head-quarter of Rawalpindi Division and aclose neighbour of the Federal Capi-tal, Islamabad, the population ofRawalpindi City has rapidly increased

over the years.Murree Road is one of the busiest

and most preferred link between thetwin cities due to its shorter lengthand direct approach. During the lastfew years there has been an unprec-edented increase in vehicular trafficin the city, especially along MurreeRoad, resulting in severe traffic con-gestion on this route. This conges-tion causes excessive delays, environ-mental pollution and associatedsocio-economic problems for the daily

commuters. Public transport is one ofthe major contributors in the trafficmix and the quality of service beingprovided is of poor standard.

The greater Islamabad–Rawalpindi Metro-politan Area is thethird largestconurbation in Pa-kistan with a popu-lation of over 4.5million inhabit-ants. The Twin cit-ies of Islamabadand Rawalpindiare growing at arate of more than 4percent per an-num, indicating ahigher than na-tional growth dueto significant mi-gration. Withpresent growth

trends it is expected that the popula-tion would increase to 7.0 million intwenty years’ time.Since both citieshave grown into each other, signifi-cant amount of commuting takes placebetween the two cities. Currently pri-vate transport is the major means ofmobility between two cities compris-ing of Mazda, Toyota Hiace, andSuzuki vans plying on various routeswithin and between the two cities.There is no organized urban bus trans-port service operating in the city and

between cities of Rawalpindi andIslamabad. Level of service offered bythe minibuses is far below any accept-able standard.Traffic volumes of over210,000 vehicles ply on three majorcorridors connecting both the citiescarrying around 525,000 passengers.It is estimated that public transportdemand of around 153,000 passengersis available on daily basis between thetwo cities. Interestingly this passen-ger demand is concentrated around acorridor which is of high density andstrategically located to provide forreasonable patronage for a rapid tran-sit system.

Based on studies conducted byGovernment of Punjab and CapitalDevelopment Authority, the two gov-ernments (Federal & Provincial) joinedhands to launch a Metro Bus projectto connect the twin cities and allevi-ate the traffic congestion on this cor-ridor. In a meeting held in Lahore on19th January 2014, co-chaired by thePrime Minister of Pakistan and theChief Minister of Punjab, it was de-cided that the project shall be fundedon 50:50 sharing basis by the FederalGovernment & Government of thePunjab. As the Punjab Governmenthas already completed successfully asimilar Metro Bus project in Lahore,Prime Minister of Pakistan decidedthat the Provincial Government willexecute this project throughRawalpindi Development Authority

(RDA) as the single executing agencyfor both parts of the project.

It will work in close coordinationwith the Capital Development Au-thority for the Islamabad Part of theproject. Punjab Metrobus Authoritywill control the operation & mainte-nance of the project after its comple-tion. PMA will also coordinate withCDA at O&M stage of the project.

The project will start from nearFlashman Hotel on Mall RoadRawalpindi and follow the existingMurree Road upto Faizabad. It willthen turn left into the federal territoryand follow I.J.P. road upto 9th Avenue.Thereafter, it will turn right and fol-low the 9th Avenue in Islamabad thenturn right on Jinnah Avenue upto theend of Blue Area. From Blue Area aconnection to Secretariat stop will beprovided through the open space be-hind parade ground. It will cross theConstitution Avenue and anothercouple of main roads through under-passes. However, the remaininglength of this section is also designedon a lower level in an open Trenchsection keeping in view various se-curity constraints.

Total length of the track will be 22.5Kilometers which will be constructedat a cost of Rs.44 billions. The lengthof 8.6 km of Metro Bus corridor inRawalpindi area shall be elevated struc-ture whereas about 14 km in Islamabad

Protestorsbaton charged

MANSOOR PIRZADA

GHOTKI—Police batoncharged villagers, who wereprotesting against a petro-leum company in the latehours of Thursday, inDaharki.

The villagers, includingwomen and children of vil-lages near to Qalu Burirotold to the media personsthat the said Company hasclosed the road which wasstraight to their villages.

They had been usingthe old road since last tendecades, they are nowcompelled to go via a newroad which is totally unsafeand lengthy, said the pro-testors.

Heavy contingent ofpolice arrived on the sceneand baton charged on theprotesting villagers.

Villagers protested andchanted slogans against theMari Petroleum administra-tion and demanded of open-ing of old road, if their de-mands will not meet they willaccelerate the protest move-ment, threatened the villag-ers.

UoS holds Urduconference

SHER GONDAL

MANDI BAHAUDDIN—Uni-versity of Sargodha, MandiBahauddin Campusorganised Urdu Conferenceon Friday at a local hotel.The purpose of the confer-ence was to give awarenessabout the language andhighlight its importance inlinking people of the IndoPak subcontinent with eachother.

Dr. Sahadit Saeed pre-sided first session of theconference. Hussain AhmedParacha and Dr. RahidAhmed Khan were the chiefguests on the occasion. Dr.Sahadat Saeed presided firstsession of the conference.Professor Rashid Misbah,Dr. Zia ul Hasan, Dr. AmjadHussain, Waris Warriachand other prominent educa-tionists were the speakers.They in their respective ad-dress raised awarenessabout Urdu language andsaid that it was heritage forus and it is our responsibil-ity to protect and promoteUrdu language.

They said Urdu passedseveral historical stages andat every stage it adopted anew shape. They said it wasa language that linkedpeople of the subcontinent.It is product of local and in-vaders languages mix-upand as such it has a specialcharacteristic to absorbother languages quickly.

They said when peoplefrom different origins andareas live together under aflag of one state they form anation and the languagethey commonly speakadopts status of a nationallanguage as well as theiridentification.

It was strange all pro-ceedings are conducted inEnglish in our superiorcourts; they urged govern-ment to abandon this prac-tice and direct superiorcourts to use Urdu lan-guage.

Girl, motherof six

abductedBASHIR AHMAD

REHMANI

HAFIZABAD—A young un-married girl and a mother ofsix children were abductedfrom two different villageson Friday.

According to police ex-member district councilHafizabad Rai MuhammadZaman alongwith eight ac-cused armed with sophisti-cated firearms raided thehouse of Muhammad Imrans/o Abdul Razzaq in villageUddoki, tortured him(Imran) and other familymembers and forcibly ab-ducted his sister SabaBatool and whisked away intwo cars.

A case was registeredagainst Rai Zaman and eightothers. However, neither theabductee has been recov-ered nor any accused hasbeen arrested so far. Ac-cording to another reportSheikh Muhammad Razzaqfather of six children hasabducted 45-year-oldKhursheed Begum w/oMuhammad Yousaf, alsomother of six children andlured her away.

The police have regis-tered a case. According tovillagers accused had devel-oped illicit relations withKhursheed Begum sincelong.

Meanwhile, unidentifiedburglars have decampedwith grocery items and cashand snatched away an Ap-plied For bike from a minorboy at two different places.According to police source,unidentified burglars bro-ken into the grocery storeof Ghazanfar Abbas onMadhrianwala road andhave made away with mer-chandise worth Rs. 82000/-and cash amount of Rs.15000/-.

RAFIULLAH MANDOKHAIL

ZHOB—“Eradication of hunger and pov-erty is a big challenge for our country, whilelivestock has contributed its due share inalleviating poverty in the under developedareas of Pakistan ”.

This was stated by Provincial SecretaryLivestock and Dairy Development Dr. UmerBabar, while chairing a meeting here in Zhob.Deputy Director Livestock Dr. Baha ul HaqMandokhail, Deputy Director Sherani Dr.Juma Khan Babar, Dr. Masam, Dr. Musa Jan,Dr. Muhammad Mir and Dr. Abdul Razzaqwere also present on the occasion.

Deputy Director Dr. Baha ul HaqMandokhail briefed the provincial secre-tary. Secretary said that purpose of his visitwas to resolve the difficulties of livestockin the area and steps taken by the depart-ment could also be reviewed. He said.

Provincial Secretary said that Livestockwas an important sector of the ruraleconomy that contributed about 60 per centto the economy. Livestock and Dairy De-

Eradication of hunger,poverty a big challenge

velopment department was mobilizing allavailable resources to raise standard of liv-ing of local livestock owners and useful-ness of the department. He said.

Secretary Babar further said that live-stock was the backbone of the economy ofmillions of people in Balochistan - was be-ing set on modern lines and the provincialgovernment mobilizing all resources to in-crease the productivity of livestockthrough interventions of modern technolo-gies. In current fiscal year Rs. 0.5 billionallocated for different projects in variousparts of the province. He added.

Highlighting the importance of live-stock he said, “Livestock is an importantsub-sector of agriculture in the country. InBalochistan the sector has important sta-tus and 60% of population is associatedwith it, contributing more than 40% to theprovincial economy”. Mr. Babar said. Headded.

The provincial secretary also visiteddairy farm. He was flanked by Deputy Di-rectors and veterinary staff. Parents, teachers urged

to focus on students’character building

ABDULLAH MADNI

TIMERGARA—Registrar, University of Malakand Sherbahadar Khan urged parents and teachers of school tofocus on character building of their children. Addressinga prize distribution ceremony as chief guest at the Univer-sity Public School (UPS) Chakdara on Friday he said thenation needed educated citizen.

He said education was the only means to progress,development and prosperity. He distributed certifi-cates and trophies among position holder students ofthe school. Controller of examination, University ofMalakand Muhammad Shahid Khan, Dean of sciencesProf Dr Rahmat Ali, Dean of Biological sciences ProfDr Mir Azam, Dr Izzat Khan, parents, teachers andnotables of the area were also present on the occa-s ion.

Meanwhile, central secretary information Awami Na-tional Party and ANP spokesperson, senator Zahid Khanon Friday inaugurated the Banda Talash water supplyscheme to be built with the assistance of RAHA projectwith a total cost of Rs.12.7 million.

One killed,two injured inroof collapse

MULTAN—A roof of an oldhouse caved in atLiaqatabad on old ShujabadRoad which killed a youthand injured his father and abrother here on Friday.

According to Rescue1122 sources, 18-year-oldAdeel was killed while his60-year-old fatherMuhammad Aslam and 20-year-old brother Tauqirwere injured when the roofof their house collapsed inrain.

The injured were shiftedto Nishtar Medical Instituteand later discharged.—APP

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa offering Dua after inaugurating Provincial Headquarters ofRescue 1122 at Cantt.

HYDERABAD: Rangers personnel stand alert during protest by the members of Hinducommunity against attack on Kali Mata Mandir (Temple) by unknown persons at Site Area.

Continued on Page 7

shall be at-grade but made signal-freing grade separations at various int

Get sons of formerPM, Governor back

DESPITE optimism expressed by the two sides after their direct parleys about prospects of the peace process, inside reports suggestmisgivings and presence of a wide gulf that may ultimate under-

mine the spirit with which the dialogue was initiated. There are reports ofa kind of deadlock due to rigid stand adopted by the TTP over the ques-tion of release of non-combatants and accusations that the Governmentside was violating the ceasefire.

The situation would become clear during the next few days as theceasefire is expiring and it would be seen if the TTP extends it or not. TTPis reportedly making extension of the ceasefire conditional and is not will-ing to release even non-combatants while demanding of the Government todo so. As per reports, the issue of abduction and detention of three impor-tant personalities – Ali Haider Gilani, son of former Prime Minister YousafRaza Gilani; Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Governor Salman Taseer andAjmal Khan, elderly Vice Chancellor of Peshawar University was also takenup with Taliban but they took strange plea on the matter. They are report-edly demanding release of three of their fighters in exchange for non-com-batant VC and are not agreeable to release the sons of the former PM andGovernor on the ground that they belong to parties with which Taliban areat war with and therefore, cannot be categorized as non-combatants. Giventhis kind of approach, it would be really difficult to move forward towardssuccessful culmination of dialogue. We believe that release of these highprofile people should be one of the top agenda items of the talks from theGovernment side. No doubt, abduction and captivity of any individual istragic and condemnable because of the humanitarian considerations, suf-fering of the individuals concerned and their families; however, the case ofsons of the former PM and Governor deserves special attention as theseoffices are considered to be state symbols and their sanctity and respect hasto be restored. One may differ with their policies and personal traits andactivities but after all it is question of agonies of the families and those whohave been abducted for no fault of theirs. They were not involved in anti-Taliban activity and therefore, should be released without wastage of fur-ther time to create congenial atmosphere for talks to proceed ahead.

PPP’s stand on MQM’sMartial Law call

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on Thursday, apparently set conditions for MQM’s joining of the Provincial government of Sindh, which

has become a hot media topic these days. He told MQM that it will have toaddress PPP’s reservations regarding controversial statements of its chiefin support of Martial Law and the breakup of Sindh.

It is now for the MQM leadership to respond to the demands of thebudding PPP leader, who is assuming prominence with the passage oftime, making mature statements over national issues, barring, of course,some outbursts against leaders of other political parties. But the pointsraised by Bilawal indicate that the parties have now started to take prin-cipled stands on making and unmaking of alliances and coalitions, whichshould be the case in a genuine democracy. In the past, we saw cobblingtogether of coalitions for the sake of personal or party interests and as aconsequence the system suffered immensely. It is because of this thatdespite remaining part of the coalition for five long years, PPP and MQMcould not make a sincere embrace and parted ways. Now again, backdoordiscussions are underway to pave way for a fresh alliance and the situa-tion would become clear during the next few days despite public state-ments on the contrary made by some of the PPP and MQM leaders. We,however, firmly believe that the approach adopted by Bilawal is a step inthe right direction as no coalition can survive for long if there are funda-mental differences. The MQM is, of course, entitled to its own views onpolitical and national issues but it is also true of other political parties andthere should be no compromise over fundamental questions and issues.The controversial statement of MQM leader asking the Army to imposeMartial Law has evoked strong reaction from overwhelming majority ofpeople of Pakistan, who firmly believes that democracy is the only an-swer to the problems facing the country. If there are shortcomings in thesystem, it is duty of the political parties including MQM to help over-come them, rather than to plead for wrapping up of the system.

We wish UN wereeven handed

THE UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a Western backed resolution declaring Crimea’s breakaway referendum illegitimate and re-

fusing to recognize Russia’s annexation of the peninsula. The resolutiongarnered 100 votes in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation Assembly, despite Moscow’s aggressive lobbying.

The passage of the resolution is a welcome development as it sends astrong message to Russia that the international community would not sanc-tion its illegal step of annexing a part of a sovereign state. Though thereferendum is being quoted as a justification for annexation of Crimea butthe UN resolution highlights the hollowness of the annexation process. Theresolution is non-binding and it would not yield any worthwhile impact onthe posture of Moscow but it is surely expression of disapproval from theinternational community. However, its comfortable passage also raises otherquestions about conduct and policies of the Western world that has beenpursuing double standards in international relations. Instant resolutions arepassed and quick responses given whenever Western core interests are threat-ened but a one-eyed policy is followed when it comes to other issues andinterests of weaker nations. What Americans did in Iraq and now doing inAfghanistan is no less a crime than Moscow has committed in Ukraine. Useof drone attacks in Pakistan or any other part of the world also constitutesgrave violation of sovereignty of states but Washington is unmoved andcontinues with its unilateral approach. The policy of regime change is alsonothing but naked interference and intervention in the internal affairs ofother countries. We wish a fair evenhandedness on part of the world bodywhile dealing with issues of similar nature happening anywhere in the globe.

Closing eyes to realities

Responseto airlinetragedy

FROM the moment theMalaysian plane went missing, the government has been

ham-handed in its dealings withgrieving families and the globalglare of attention. It delayed forhours saying anything after theplane first vanished, and over thenext few weeks much of the infor-mation it disseminated was conflict-ing, wrong or misleading. Such abizarre disaster would be difficultfor any government to deal with,and a fair amount of uncertainty andconfusion is expected. But the Ma-laysian government has shownsigns of a deeper malaise that comesfrom a half century of rule withoutchallenge or transparency. When theprime minister was about to makea statement recently, his spokesper-son told reporters there would beno questions. According to JoshuaKurlantzick of the Council onForeign Relations, writing inBloomberg Businessweek, whenreporters pressed for more access,the reply came back: “Go watcha movie.”

Malaysia, ruled by the samegoverning coalition since indepen-dence, has enjoyed strong economicgrowth, and we had hopes beforelast year’s election that, if the votewas free and fair, the country wouldbe on a path toward a more com-petitive democracy. Mr. Najib hastaken steps toward modernizationand reform, but the election fellshort. Mr. Najib’s coalition wona majority of seats in Parliamentlargely through gerrymandereddistricts, while the oppositioncoalition led by Anwar Ibrahimwon a popular majority and dis-puted the outcome. Clearly thereis rising popular discontent withcorruption, authoritarianism andethnic favouritism of the rulingpowers. It is especially disturbingthat the government has renewedits politically motivated prosecu-tion of Mr. Anwar on dubiouscharges of sodomy in order tosideline him from politics. OnMarch 7, he was sentenced to fiveyears in prison by a court, over-turning a 2012 acquittal. Themove had the effect of removinghim from eligibility to run in animportant by-election. The use ofthe sodomy charge is shamefuland archaic, but as Graeme Reidof Human Rights Watch pointedout this month in Foreign Policy,if upheld, it could effectively re-move Mr. Anwar from politics for10?years. Malaysia should not tol-erate this brazen manipulation. Itis entirely premature to say whathappened to the airplane. But it isnot too early for Malaysia’s rul-ers to draw lessons from their un-steady performance of recentweeks and commit themselves totransparency and openness. Theiralternative is not working.— The Washington Post

*****

Myanmar’spopulation

census

THE journey from decades ofmilitary rule to a status wherethe benefits of democracy are

available to all can be one of self-discovery, especially forMyanmar’s military junta. The in-tention to conduct a population cen-sus is one step forward towards afair society. The authorities must ap-ply caution coupled with consider-ation. The population count mustnot serve to misrepresent the state’sRohingya Muslim community whoare being served as underprivilegedand oppressed citizens in a countryburning with civil strife.

An insincere questionnairewill not present an exact picture toofficials on who should benefitfrom education, health care, hous-ing and transport, based on raceand ethnicity, in what is a pur-ported move towards a fair soci-ety. Myanmar must realise that theinternational community and hu-man rights groups are watchingtheir actions. It will affect theirreputation among investors andtheir international standing.Yesterday’s violence in whichBuddhist monks attacked thehomes of aid workers who pro-vided assistance to Muslim victimsof sectarian violence in theRakhine state is a case in point. Theplight of the Rohingyas cannot beignored. Their status must belegalised under the constitution. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

THE 74th Pakistan Day afterpassing of the historic resolution in Lahore in 1940 has

been another occasion for ourpeople to muse about fate of thecountry, about what we haveachieved since 1947 and where wehave failed. Almost 67 years afterPakistan’s foundation and 13 yearsafter the fateful jumping of Gen-eral Musharraf into the US war inAfghanistan many dreams havebeen shattered. A country where allMuslims – not only deobandis-would be able to order their livesaccording to the tenets of Islamand where non-Muslims would en-joy the protection of the state andfreedom of religious practice. Thefounder of the state Quaid-e AzamMohammad Ali Jinnah in his fa-mous speech of 11th August 1947had said that among others this:“You are free; you are free to goto your temples, you are free to goto your mosques or to any otherplace or worship in this State ofPakistan. You may belong to anyreligion or caste or creed — thathas nothing to do with the busi-ness of the State.”

Regardless if we interpret thisas a promotion for a so-called‘secular state’ as some insist or ofan Islamic state as others want it tobe understood – in both types ofstates this could have been the caseif implemented in proper letter andin spirit. But instead the state hasbeen made a hostage to vested in-

terests of a few –mainly rep-resenting the feudal lords andnot the masses - and to peoplehaving narrow minded inter-pretations of both Islam andsecularism. This has broughtus to a stage where a grow-

ing number of people are forcedthrough unscrupulous media talks tofeel that we might have reached apoint of no return.

Spending my Pakistan day in thecity of my birth and the home townof our Prime Minister Lahore I sawa huge billboard sponsored by acompany expressing with amazingopenness what many of us feel andfear. It said: “Pakistan Day –expectthe best and fear for the worst”. Howhave we ended up like this? Mis-management and bad governancestarted showing its colours imme-diately after the debacle of EastPakistan. It was at that time that wein the Rotaract Club of Lahore hadcoined for the first time the phrase“Who lives, if Pakistan dies andwho dies if Pakistan lives”. Butnow such an outspoken commenton the current situation when na-tion is on a serious crossroad dueto failure of leaders and aspersionsby Pakistanis who usually avoidstraightforward opinions showshow desperate the people feel.

The current government is stilltrying to turn the car around that isrunning towards the precipice. Thetalks with the Taliban are a last-ditcheffort to save the country from over-all civil war in the face of what willhappen in Afghanistan later this yearor from the next round onwards ifthey don’t leave Afghanistan com-pletely. The move of the West to re-tain power in this region after therecent summersaults they faced in

Ukraine and Crimea. A split in Eu-ropean Union and US is bound tocome as a result of this power playUS started on EU crutches, whichhas rather given confidence to Chinaand Russia in East and Germany inEurope to think first in their ownnational interest but we have not re-alized and prioritized ours. Speak-ing at the ground-breaking ceremonyof the Rawalpindi-Islamabad MetroBus Project here on Sunday, PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif was optimis-tic about talks with the outlawedTehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan that havebeen initiated by his government.He expressed this hope that if suc-cessful the peace achieved with TTPwill restore peace in the country. Butthis seems to be a day dream only.

The Prime Minister and his gov-ernment fail to understand that evenif peace talks with the Taliban aresuccessful and some kind of arrange-ment with the Pashtun’s is reachedthis would not solve the problem ofmilitancy that we are having in Pa-kistan. What we usually call‘Punjabi Taliban’ is not Taliban atall. Actually they are Punjabi jihadistand their militancy is closely relatedto partition, Indo-Pak relations, tothe resolution of Sir Creek, Siachin,to jihad in Kashmir and Afghanistanand to an external fight that couldnot be fought officially by the Paki-stan army but had to be fought byproxies that were created by the statefor that purpose.

This includes the army and thesecurity institutions and the createdproxies do have until today the sup-port of those. The backlash of thejihadis coming back from jihad totheir homes in Punjab, but also inSindh and Baluchistan is whatmakes our cities, small towns and

A dangerous liaison

AFGHANISTAN and the USseek Pakistan’s cooperationin bringing peace in the

war-ravaged country, and Pakistanhas been doing all it could to fa-cilitate the peace process in Af-ghanistan. But Afghan NationalDirectorate of Security (NDS), CIAand RAW have unleashed propa-ganda campaign against Pakistan,and they are working in tandem.NDS feeds foreign missions andmedia in Kabul, and continues toinsinuate that ISI is involved in pro-viding material support to AfghanTaliban. Indian media also contin-ues with the onslaught. Recently,two news of terror attack havemade headlines in Indian media.The first one: ‘Afghanistan allegesPakistan link into attack on KabulHotel’. On Sunday, Times of Indiacarried the news of attack on Kabulhotel that left nine civilians deadincluding an AFP journalist. TheNational Security Council, whichis chaired by President HamidKarzai, in a veiled reference to Pa-kistan said the attack on the hotelwas carried out was in fact the workof foreign intelligence services. Af-ghan leadership has often been lev-eling charges against Pakistan andits intelligence agencies.

The same day, Indian daily‘The Asian Age’ carried a story,what it said, about top IndianMujahideen’s (IM) terrorist Zia-ur-Rehman alias Waqas, a Pakistaninational wanted for several bomb-ings across India. It claimed thathe along with his associates was

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villages all over the countries inse-cure. This also means that thosejihadi elements will not be boundby any peace agreement that maycome into power, that is point one.Point two is that the state is actu-ally unable to negotiate peace withthe jihadis because their support-ers are sitting within the state, theyare part of it.

In such a case the governmentturns out to be in no position tosolve the problem because it is partof the problem itself in the form ofsympathizers everywhere in the ad-ministration, the political parties,the army, the Intelligence agencies,the police, the Frontier Constabu-lary... Best proof was the huge rallytaking place in Lahore on Sundayand carrying proudly the posters ofKhadim-e-Aala Punjab with noprotest from the official side.

This is a very bad news but itdoesn’t help to close the eyes onit. To deal with this situation wewill need much more time than thepeace talks will take. No army op-eration can be of any help here.And it is not clear if we have thatmuch time to sort things out. Onlythe other day Afghanistan govern-ment has alleged Pakistani intelli-gence agencies hand in KabulHotel attack, this has some hiddenagenda behind it particularly com-ing at a time when PML (N) gov-ernment is doing all that it can towin the hearts and minds of reli-gious activists involved in presentcrises that has destroyedPakistan’s total image abroad andwe are facing threat of financialand economic collapse. God savePakistan if we can’t.—The writer is Karachi-basedsenior columnist.

arrested from Rajasthanby the Delhi police,which claimed it hadaverted a terror attack inthe ongoing Lok Sabhapoll campaign period. OnSunday, Indian daily the‘Hindustan Times’ car-ried yet another story

based on the story published in theNew York Times, which was in factexcerpts of the book written CarlottaGall stating that the terror attack onthe Indian Embassy in Kabul in2008 that left 58 people - includingtwo top Indian officials killed andover 140 injured, was sanctionedand monitored by senior officials ofPakistan’s ISI. “It was sanctionedand monitored by the most seniorofficials in Pakistani intelligence.The bombing of the Indian embassyin Kabul revealed the clearest evi-dence of ISI complicity in its plan-ning and execution”, were the exactwords of the author.

What could be the idea behinddigging the 2008 terror attack at thispoint in time? It could be an effortto cover up their pernicious designsagainst Pakistan. There is incontro-vertible evidence that India and Af-ghanistan are providing financialand material support to Baloch Sub-Nationalists (BSN) for pursuingseparatist agenda against Pakistan.Presence of BSN’s leaders in Af-ghanistan and their frequent visitsto India are a case in point. Indo-Afghan sinister designs are detri-mental to the interest of Pakistanwhere many forces are involved todestabilize the state. Last month,Balochistan home minister SarfarazBugti in a local TV channel’s pro-gram said: “Many missing personsare in Afghanistan’s training campsset up by Afghan intelligence agencyto impart training Baloch insur-gents”. He added that Pakistan is notepicenter of terrorism but the West,

where dissident Sardars’ scionshave found safe havens to operatethrough their proxies to destabilizeBalochistan. In another interviewwith the AFP, he had blamed IndianRAW for supporting Baloch mili-tant groups.

CIA is involved in stirring cri-sis in Pakistan, but when Congress-men are involved in activities to thedetriment of Pakistan, it is a matterof very serious concern. On 8th Feb-ruary 2012, the United States Com-mittee on Foreign Affairs had con-vened a congressional meeting foran exclusive discussion on the grav-ity of situation in Balochistan. TheOversight and Investigations Sub-committee of the House Committeeon Foreign Affairs, chaired by Re-publican Dana Rohrabacher, held asession to discuss target killings andhuman rights situation inBalochistan, and termed it a matterrequiring urgent attention. This pro-vocative meddling of some half adozen US congressmen in a matterstrictly an internal affair of Paki-stan is despicable and condem-nable. There are three main groupssupported by the aliens i.e.Brahmdagh Bugti, Dr. Allah Nazarand Javed Mengal. Some Balochrebels have been provided safe ha-vens in India, England while oth-ers in America to organize theirmovement for greater Balochistan.

After Pakistan came into beingon 14th August 1947, Afghanistanwas the last country to recognize Pa-kistan because of its leadership’sperception that Pushtoons on bothsides were inseparable. However,one of the fundamental reasons forstrained relations between Pakistanand Afghanistan has been non-ac-ceptance of Durand Line by the lat-ter as an international border be-tween the two countries. In thisbackdrop, attitude of present Afghangovernment is understandable. It is

Fine feathers makefine birds.

worth mentioning that in NWFP(now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) a ref-erendum was held in July 1947 inwhich 289244 votes were cast infavour of the NWFP’s union withPakistan and only 2,874 votes forunion with India. Secondly, theworld courts have universally up-held the binding bilateral agree-ments with or between colonialpowers and are passed down to suc-cessor independent states, as wasthe case with most of Africa. A uni-lateral declaration by one party hasno consequence and has no effect.

President Hamid Karzai shouldstop accusing Pakistan of support-ing the Taliban or blaming it for ev-ery act of terrorism in Afghanistan.He seems to be overwhelmed byconcerns about his security after thenew government would be installedafter forthcoming elections. Sec-ondly, the peace process is movingforward as desired by PresidentKarzai. In fact, the situation willunfold after the NATO forces arewithdrawn, as the opposition of theNorthern Alliance conglomerate toany Taliban presence in an Afghangovernment is an open secret. TheNorthern Alliance conglomeratecould accept some compromisedPakhtuns who have made fortunesout of the occupation to give awider national character to a post-withdrawal regime, but they wouldnot accept the Taliban in any event.Anyhow, Pakistan and Afghanistanshould remember that despite dif-ferences and contradictions, theyare bound with each other throughreligious, cultural, historical andeconomic ties over centuries. Inview of the geopolitical situationand current world political sce-nario, it is imperative for the Mus-lim countries to develop strongeconomies through cooperation.—The writer is Lahore-basedsenior journalist.

Mohammad JamilEmail: mjamil1938@hotmail.com

News & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & Views

Ali Ashraf KhanEmail:balti1551@gmail.com

Voice of the PeopleArabic paper

in CSSZAIN UL ABIDEEN

Arabic paper of CSS, since 2011,has been a matter of concern for theaspirants who choose Arabic amongthe optional subjects. Sometime, itis designed partially out of coursewhile other time it carries questions,which do not make clear sense. Inthe exam held in 2014, leaving outtwo questions, Arabic paper ‘B’ wastotally out of course. According tothe format of the paper, four ques-tions are picked from the ‘prescribedpoetry’ of pre-Islamic period andfour Odes of Hassan bin Thabit butit was a deadly blow of visualizingfailure to students when they sawthat the poetry portion in paper wasunseen and that they could solveonly two questions of the whole pa-per. Omitting option of attemptingpaper in Urdu without prior noticewas another problem for those stu-dents who, along the year, studiedArabic Literature in Urdu. To leavethe examination hall within half timeof the paper was the only option withthe three thousand unfortunate as-pirants who went for the subject.

It is learnt from some sourcesthat changes have been brought inthe course of Arabic and that thepaper of the last exam was from thenewly designed course. The ques-tion is, why the new course is intro-duced in paper without prior an-nouncement? Why students arecrushed and daunted to appear incompetitive exams? Who is respon-sible for playing havoc with the des-tiny of those students? The inces-sant violation of rules of FPSC en-visions the institution as of no con-cern with her duties and the students’future. Papers must be preparedfrom the course prescribed by FPSCand the institution must follow andimplement its formulated rulesstrictly; otherwise Supreme Courthas the authority to bring her on theright track.—Islamabad

Democracy isthe only option

FATIMA ISLAM

Democracy in Pakistan has been atopic of debate for several years andyet there is little consensus onwhether democracy or dictatorshipis in the best interest of Pakistan. Thequestion is how is democracy de-fined and whether Pakistan was evera democratic State?

This needs to be determined be-fore arguing on which type of po-litical system would be better for thecountry. First and foremost the pre-requisite of democracy is free andfair elections but little evidence isfound to support the argument thatthe electoral process in Pakistan isfair. Votes could be bought by po-litical parties for as cheap as Rs 10.Another practice which is commonin the elections is of rigging and itdoes not allow the votes to be castin a proper manner.

In Pakistan a major crux of thepopulation and the political partiesand leaders support a democraticsystem of government. Any attemptsto harm democracy in the countryare treated with strong resentmentfrom both the ruling party and theOpposition. Despite all these factsit is believed that in Pakistan a de-mocracy could never survive forlong due to the incompetent peopleat the helm of affairs in the so calleddemocratic system. There are vari-ous problems associated with Paki-stani brand of democracy, whichdoes not allow it to be a successfulform of government like it has beenin the neighbouring country, India.A major reason for the failure of de-mocracy is the amount of institu-tional imbalance in the country.Since independence the military andintelligence agencies were orga-nized and developed while thedemocratic and political institutionswere weak and vulnerable.

This imbalance has always for-tified bureaucracy and dictatorialgovernance. Secondly there has al-ways been problem with Pakistanipoliticians in reaching a consensuson various policy issues. Whenpolicy matters are continuously de-bated in the Parliament, it does notallow a democratic government tosettle down and acts as a barrier forit to flourish. Moreover, the type ofleaders and political parties also de-termines how successful a democ-racy would be. For years the samepolitical parties have stayed inpower with the same bunch of sup-porters. They follow their old poli-cies and do not realize the fact thattheir policies should evolve andchange with time. The reason forthis is that the supporters continuesupporting the party because of theiraffection for the founder of the partyand they do not care about the factwhether the current leader is com-petent or not. There is no doubt thatdemocracy is a generally acceptable

Commendable legislationARSALAN ALI BUGTI

I would like to draw your attention to the recent initiative takenby the Sindh Assembly in passing bills on healthcare and envi-

ronment protection, respectively. This is a very positive step, whichI hope will pave the way to more stringent environmental control,the need for which grows more urgent with the passage of time. Atpresent, the damage being caused to the environment in Sindh, par-ticularly in the urban areas has reached a horrific state of affairs.In addition, it needs to be ensured that these bills do not suffer thesame fate, which other previous bills from the Sindh Assembly suf-fered, and were relegated to the dustbin of history. At present,Karachi releases 87% of its raw sewage into the sea, without anytreatment. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, with thepromulgation of this bill, things will change. Therefore, the imple-mentation of the clauses in this bill, which include the formation ofSindh Environment Protection Agency, should be undertaken on apriority basis.—Via email

DISCLAIMER

Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

THE articles, columns andletters are published on thesepages in good faith. However,the contents of these writingsmay not necessarily match theviews of the newspaper.

—Editor

Pak Resolution in the dock

THE Pakistan rResolution,which was to latter becomethe basis of Pakistan; our

founding father delineated some car-dinal principles, to be followed afterthe establishment of a new countryas is evident from the text of the reso-lution. These cardinal principleswere: (a) Democracy as highlightedby the majority principle; (b) pro-vincial or state autonomy;(c) Safe-guard of the rights of minorities; and(d) the establishment of a modern andautonomous Muslim polity, wherethe state or states would be sovereign.

Seventy-four years after the pas-sage of the Pakistan resolution, andsixty-seven years after the establish-ment of our separate country; the ques-tion, which begs an answer, is, howfar have we followed the basic prin-ciples, that our founding fathers hadlaid down for us? It would be instruc-tive to briefly examine, as to howclosely, we as an independent nation,have adhered to those cardinal prin-ciple. Our founding fathers clearly had

Speaking room..!

Obama mulling more aid to Syria

THE Obama administration,stung by reversals in Ukraineand Syria, appears to have de-

cided to expand its covert programof training and assistance for the Syr-ian opposition, deepening US in-volvement in that brutal and stale-mated civil war.

This stepped-up assistance pro-gram is likely to be discussed duringtalks Friday between PresidentObama and Saudi King Abdullah. USendorsement of the program wouldtighten America’s links with SaudiArabia after a period of noisy dis-agreement about Syria policy. But italso would complicate already tenserelations with Russia and Iran, thetwo key backers of Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad.

Obama appears more comfort-able with a covert approach than withdirect military intervention, as in Iraqand Afghanistan. Another sellingpoint is that the enhanced aid programwould have a counter-terrorism fo-cus. The United States would helptrain Free Syrian Army fighters tocombat al-Qaeda extremists, even asthe rebels launch guerrilla attacksagainst Assad’s army. Critics arguethat an expanded training and assis-

tance program, first recommended byObama’s top advisers in mid-2012,is long overdue — and that delayshave allowed extremists and Assad’sforces to brutalize Syria. But Obamahas been cautious about descendingwhat he sees as a slippery slope. Sofar, despite pledges of support for theopposition, he has authorized only alimited program of covert trainingand mostly nonlethal assistance. Healso recognizes the chequered historyof such covert efforts, from the Bayof Pigs in Cuba to Nicaragua.

Details of the plan were still be-ing debated, but its likely outlineswere described by knowledgeableofficials: (a) Syrian oppositionforces would be trained in camps inJordan, northern Saudi Arabia andQatar. The number of Syrian oppo-sition fighters who would receivetraining would roughly double, toabout 600 per month.

(b) The CIA would oversee train-ing, expanding the program that itcurrently manages. The administra-tion is still discussing whether USSpecial Operations forces and othermilitary personnel should play a role.Syrian rebels have argued that Spe-cial Operations trainers would pro-vide better help, without the CIA’spolitical baggage. (c) The rebels havebeen pleading for two years for anti-aircraft missiles to stop Assad’s air

Views From Abroad

force, but Saudi Arabia wants USpermission before delivering them.To reassure the United States, theopposition has proposed tight con-trols on these weapons, known as“MANPADS.” Only five missilelaunchers would initially be fur-nished. Each use of them is to bevideoed, and each would be fittedwith a tracking device and a remoteshutdown mechanism. As of late, theadministration still appeared to beweighing the issue.

(d) Vetting of opposition forceswould continue during and after thetraining. Recruits with extremist linkssupposedly would be weeded out astrainers learned their backgrounds.Saudi Arabia has agreed to excludeany fighters who have worked withthree jihadist groups: Ahrar al-Sham,Jabhat al-Nusra, and the Islamic Stateof Iraq and Syria.

(e) The sometimes fractious“friends” of the Syrian oppositionwould, in theory, be united behind thisprogram. Qatar, which in the pastfunneled aid to organizations knownas the Islamic Front, support that latermade its way to al-Qaeda extremists,has agreed to halt this assistance.

Qatar has also offered to financethe combined program in its firstyear, which could run to hundredsof millions of dollars. Saudi Arabia,a sharp critic of Qatar, may resist this

donation. It is unclear what rolewould be played by Turkey, whichhas been accused of allowing Mus-lim extremists to operate across itsborder with Syria.

(f) To stabilize what is today abadly fragmented Syria, the programwould provide assistance for localcouncils and police in areas that havebeen cleared of Assad’s forces. Theopposition has also requested spe-cialized training to maintain bordersecurity. Finally, the program mayseek to establish corridors for de-livery of humanitarian assistance,though it is unclear how aggres-sively the United States and its al-lies would be prepared to protectthese humanitarian zones.

The expanded program would“send a clear message to the Assadregime that there is no military so-lution to the struggle,” according toa March memo to the White Housefrom the opposition. Assad “has noincentive to talk” now, the memoargued, because he thinks he is win-ning. The rationale, bluntly stated,is that to reach an eventual diplo-matic settlement in Syria, it is nec-essary now to escalate the conflictmilitarily. This has been a hard pillfor Obama to swallow, but proddedby the Saudis, he seems to havereached that point.— Courtesy: The Washington Post

David Ignatius

a democratic government as themodel in mind, to be followedby the newly established state.Unfortunately, as an indepen-dent state, military dictators, formore than half of our life, haveruled us directly. In interreg-

num, when there where civilian gov-ernments, those civilian governmenthave been very weak and pliable;and have generally been controlledby the military from behind thescenes. It has to be pointed out thatall military dictatorships in Pakistanwere unmitigated disasters; prevent-ing democracy from taking root.

Thanks to the ingenuity of ourruling classes, Pakistan succeeded, tocompel a majority to secede from aminority, after the 1971 war with In-dia. The record of our federal gov-ernments against other federatingunits also left much to be desired. Re-peated Military operations were car-ried out in Balochistan; and the duerights of the Baloch masses were de-nied. Today, because of these over-bearing policies of our various cen-tral governments, secessionist move-ments are going on in Balochistan. Ahigh degree of discontent, against thefederal government; is present in theother two small provinces of Sindhand KPK as well. In spite of miss

governance and venality, thePakistan’s peoples party, for the firsttime in Pakistan’s history, introduceda legislation in favour of provincialautonomy through the fifteenth con-stitutional amendment. The credit ofchanging the colonial era name ofNWFP, to Khyber Paktoon Khawa,also goes to PPP, and another leftwing party, the ANP, which ruled theprovince at that time.

Our founding father, especiallyMr. Jinnah, was very cognizant of therights of minorities. Being Genuinelyconcerned about the plight of theMuslim, who were to be inevitablyleft behind in India; Jinnah Sahib,wanted to ensure, that religious mi-norities in Pakistan, had all social,religious and economic rights avail-able to them, as equal citizens of thenew state. The situation, regardingtreatment of our religious minoritiestoday, is unfortunately, a far cry, fromwhat Jinnah Sahib had envisioned. Intoday’s Pakistan policies of religiousextremism and intolerance hold sway.Jinnah’s policies of tolerance andequality towards religious minorities,seems to have taken the back seat.After Punjab, the religious extrem-ists have now turned their attentionto the religiously liberal province ofSindh. Forced marriage with edu-

ONE day I lay in my bed,tears flowing down mycheeks, “Speak to me

God!” I whispered. “Look aroundBob!” said a voice in my head,“Your room speaks in words loudand clear! Look up at your ceil-ing!” I cleared my eyes looked atmy ceiling and from its loftinessheard a message, “Stop feelinglow! Aim high! Walk tall!”“Wow!” I said, “and to think I’ve

never listened.” “And didn’t you hearthe door when you walked in?” whis-pered same still voice. “No,” I saidthen stared hard at the door, till I hearda deep rumble, “Push hard enoughand you’ll get through Bob!”

“The clock is also speaking!” Isaid excitedly. “Every second, everysecond, every second, every second!”

“What’s it trying to say?” I asked“Every second counts!” “This iscool!” I said. “You’ve taken the wordsfrom my mouth!” said voice abovemy head and as I looked up I heardthe gentle whisper of the fan bladessaying, “Be cool! Be cool!”

“Do all rooms speak like this?” Iasked “You just have to listen hard myson! Most of us don’t, we just throw

ourselves into bed in despair and closeour ears to gentle advice all around,turn and look at the mirror Bob!” “Youwant me to look at myself?” “No lis-ten to it!” I did and from looking glassheard mercurial voice whisper, “Al-ways reflect before you act!”

“That, has been my problem,” Iwhispered back, looking at the mir-ror, “hey I’m talking back to it!” “Ofcourse you will!” chuckled the voicein my head, “You can argue withthem, even throw a tantrum, but whatthey have to say doesn’t change abit!” “Maybe I’m old fashioned!” Isaid, “and this room talking stuff is alittle hard to believe!” “There’s some-one on the wall who has to say some-thing about that, look at your calen-

dar!” “Be up to date!” whisperedthe calendar to me. “Yes I will!” Isaid, “Yes I will!” I moved to thewindow and looked out, “Now lookat the vastness outside and see howsmall your problems are Bob!” saidsame still voice as the windowopened itself wider. “When youhave a God perspective, your wor-ries grow smaller!” “I smiled as Iwent back to my bed, listened hardand heard gentle voices speakingto me; words of wisdom! Therewere no tears in my eyes anymore,just gladness in my heart. Listento your room dear reader; often theOne above speaks through what wetake most for granted..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

cated Hindu girls and then their con-version to Islam under duress seemsto be on the rise.

Finally, Jinnah’s concept of amodern and progressive Muslimstate; has also it seems fallen bythe way side. Rigid and reaction-ary interpretation of Islam, by ourrightist religious political parties,seems to be in the ascendant. Theincumbent right wing PML-N,government, in a display of cow-ardly abdications of state author-ity, is bent upon holding negotia-tions with a proscribed militant or-ganization the TTP which as per itsown claims, has killed or maimedmore than fifty thousand civiliansand Army men.

In today’s reactionary society inPakistan, religious political leadershave the audacity to call Taliban ourbrothers, and their war dead asShaheeds. These bigots are not will-ing to give the same honour to oursoldiers, who have achieved martyr-dom in fighting against religiousmilitants. Under these conditions, weas have to honestly decide, whetheras a nation we have followed the pathshown to us by our founding fathers;or have we gone astray.—The writer is author, citizenjournalist and entrepreneur.

Crimea crisis: War of politics?

TO know the motives behindRussia’s antagonisticbehaviour against Crimea, it is

important to look at the Crimea-Rus-sia history, which dates back to the1850s. Russia faced defeat in Crimeaduring the Crimea War (October 1853– February 1856) by the hands of thealliance that included France, Britain,the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia.

Where their political history isjust one facet of the conflict, the ge-ography of Ukraine is perhaps onereason it is receiving Russia’s on-slaught. The warm water naval baseof Sevastopol, situated at Crimea’ssouthwest, owned by Russia under alease agreement from Ukraine until2047, is what may have fuelled theCrimean Crisis.

The port also came under thelimelight when Russia was accusedof sending weapons, throughSevastopol, to Bashar al-Assad dur-

ing the Syrian crisis. Sevastopol isnow part of Russia as a federal state,and hence, Ukraine has lost its stra-tegic location to Russia. AlthoughRussia shall own the port until2047, NATO allies are in fact con-trolling the Black Sea coastline,which may also be a cause forRussia’s military showdown.

Moreover, US and the EuropeanUnion are viewing President Putin’sadvancement into Crimea in light ofthe Budapest Agreement of 1994 orthe Budapest Memorandum on Se-curity Assurances. One of the pointsmentioned in the Agreement statesthat, “Russia will respect Ukrainianindependence and sovereignty withinits existing borders.” US and the EU,who haven’t accepted the referendumnor Russia’s occupation of Crimea,have imposed sanctions on Russia.However, these sanctions are not fu-elled by Crimea’s referendum, but arein fact directed at Russia’s bold moveto send its forces into Crimea follow-ing the protests that compelled theUkrainian President ViktorYanukovych to flee the country. It is

also important to understand the fac-tors behind Russia’s involvement inthe Crimean Crisis. Although this is-sue seems to be of political in nature,in reality, it has its roots settled inCrimea’s geographical location.

Russia – and almost every otherdeveloping or developed country –has its focus on capturing a key natu-ral resource – gas. Tracing the gaspipelines moving from Russia intoEurope, we see that they pass throughCrimea and Ukraine. Following thereferendum, Crimea seceded fromUkraine, joined Russia, and now hasthe liberty to privatize all assets thatfall in its geographical borders – thesame assets that, prior to the referen-dum, were controlled by Ukraine.Furthermore, Russia also had its fo-cus on the Skifska gas field and it isinteresting to observe Russia’s per-sonal feud in crisis. ExxonMobil, aUS based oil and gas corporation,recently won a bid, beating Russia’sLUKOIL, to control the region thathouses the Skifska gas field. This in-dicates that the Cold War is still go-ing on and will affect US-Russia ties

in the future. US, UK and the EUwill have their concerns overRussia’s plans now that it has takenover Crimea. If The Kremlin’s ag-gressive strategies do fall into place,President Vladimir Putin just mightmake his way into Ukraine. The east-ern part of Ukraine, home to pro-Russian population, will acceptRussia’s hegemony.

However, if Russia does takeover Ukraine then two events willtake place: first, Europe will loseits largest country to an arch nem-esis and second, Russia will obvi-ously tap into Ukraine’s energy re-sources. In the latter case, US willimpose intense sanctions on Rus-sia because of President Putin’sundue influence over Crimea andUkraine. How will the Crimea-Rus-sia-Ukraine situation affect the US-Russia relation is yet to be seen.However, it is certain that the ColdWar will continue, until there is adecisive winner. In this case, bothcountries cannot accept defeat.—The writer is a freelancecolumnist.

way of going about the affairs of acountry, however it is essential thatthe democracy fulfils the require-ments of a true democracy whichensures complete freedom for peopleand fair elections bringing in honestand upright leadership.—Islamabad

No relief foremployees in sight

SRH HASHMI

According to Sharafat Kazmi’s reportof March 27, Finance Minister IshaqDar has advised the government em-ployees not to have high expectationsfrom the upcoming fiscal budget2014-15, which would mean that per-haps it was all right for them to havelow expectations. However, in hiswritten statement submitted to theNational Assembly, the Finance Min-ister has stated categorically that therewill be no increase in the salaries andpensions of state employees and pen-sions of the elderly retired govern-ment servants who dedicated theprime years of their lives to the state.I must say it would cause great hard-ship to those government employeeswho, through sheer honesty or lackof fair opportunities, are unable toraise substantial additional funds anddo not resort to misusing of their of-ficial positions despite all odds. Withthe galloping inflation, just how arethey expected to survive?

I remember, even last year, thegovernment initially ruled out anyincrease in salaries or pensions ofgovernment employees but wasforced through protests to reverse thedecision. Perhaps the Minister is us-ing the same approach again think-ing that with the announcement of acertain percentage increase, peoplemay demand more but threatenedwith no increase at all.

However, nothing is certain: thisbusiness-friendly government is nofriend of the masses. If it was not so,how could it have the heart to giveRs. 320 billion worth of exemptionfrom duties and taxes to businessmenin a short span of seven months, asreported in the press. And by the way,despite government servants’ mini-mum pension having been raised toRs. 5,000, that of the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI)which was supposed to be linked togovernment pensions, has remainedat Rs. 3,600 since January 2012. Weknow governments have to cut downexpenses wherever possible but in oursituation of rampant corruption andrevenue leakages, a better approachwould be to prevent this revenue leak-age and increase revenue generationinstead of singling out vulnerablepeople for discriminatory treatment.—Karachi

Earth HourZULQARNAIN SEWAG

In her collection of essays, ‘More inAnger’ published in 1958, MaryaManes said ‘the earth we abuse andthe living things we kill will, in theend, take their revenge; for in exploit-ing their presence we are diminish-ing our future’. The movement forEarth Hour was started in 2007 fromAustralia with primary aim to savethe planet earth. Lights are switchedoff for an hour to harmonize with thisevent under the flag of World WideFund for Nature (WWF). Due togreed of human beings countless spe-cies have been wiped out and un-countable are on the verge of extinc-tion. Global warming has not onlychanged the biodiversity but theschedule and intensity of weathersand seasons as well. Pollution hasstung the beauties of nature and hasmade the cosmos filthier.

Progress on the cost of nature hasresulted in floods, famines, cyclones,diseases, glaciers melting and tsuna-mis. What man calls progress is ba-sically retrogress. Man has left noplace in the name of invention anddiscovery. Result is obvious and im-mense. Earth Hour is not mereswitching off lights once in a year foran hour and then using lights lavishlybut it demands preservingbiodiversity, protecting vulnerablespecies, safeguarding precious habi-tats, making the environment pollu-

Akbar Jan MarwatEmail:marwat.akbarjan@gmail.com

M Omar IftikharEmail:omariftikhar@hotmail.com

tion free, cleaning the universe andmaintaining natural ecosystem. Themovement for Earth Hour can onlysucceed if the pollutant countrieswork impartially and sincerely forcommon interests disbanding theirnotional haughty grudges. Media canplay an integral role in creating aware-ness and educating masses for lovingand protecting nature. Human survivalis directly linked with the preservationof nature. If we will abuse it, it willreciprocate in same way definitely,rather more rigorously.—Jhang

Poverty killingMADAD ALI KHOSO

Poverty is one of the most giganticproblems across the globe. But un-fortunately killing due to poverty isnorm of the day in Pakistan. Accord-ing to a survey report, the poverty ratein Pakistan has jumped from 23.5percent to 37.5 percent in three years.Thousands of people in our countrylack adequate access to clean drink-ing water, food, and clothes. It is anepitome of poverty in Pakistan thatthousands of people have been dyingof hunger, thirst and different ail-ments in Tharparkar. In wake of the rising inflationand unemployment, thousands of Pa-kistani are victim of poverty. Peopleare committing suicides and murder-ing their own children due to dismalcircumstances created by poverty. Itis reported that seventy percentpeople in Pakistan live below thepoverty line. An irony of fate is thaton one hand MNAs, MPAs and Min-isters in our country are leading fastliving while poor people are dying ofhunger and thirst. The need of thehour is that government should takesuo motu notice of this to eliminatepoverty from country.—Islamabad

Sui Gas hazardsin Rawat

SHAHZAD HUSSAIN BHATTI

Provisioning of consistent Sui Gas tothe resident of Pakistan Atomic En-ergy Commission (PAEC) society,G.T. Road Rawat has become harddue to the negligence of the SuiNorthern Gas Pipeline Limited(SNGPL), engaged in the business oftransmission and distribution of natu-ral gas. Unfortunately, installationand functioning of 22 CNG stationsin Rawat was approved, without fol-lowing the relevant rules and regula-tions, as only one CNG station canbe setup in an area of 02 kilometerradius.The residents of AtomicColony and Police Colony are af-fected directly due to this dirty cor-ruption. The SNGPL staff inter-linked the domestic and commercialdistribution lines due to which com-pressor of CNG stations suck gasavailable in domestic gas pipes. Theresidents of the said colony are com-pelled to use alternate source of en-ergy like LPG cylinder etc which ismuch costly. Despite the closure ofCNG stations on different days, thestoves of the households still remaindormant, while they regularly paytheir SNGPL bills.

The small children and toddlersare forced to go to school withoutbreakfast due to unavailability ofnatural gas. The residents have de-manded high ups to ensure timelysupply of natural gas and separatedomestic line of the PAEC and Po-lice colonies. They are being agitatedby the conduct of the SNGPL to comeout for demonstrations and block theG. T. Road – the lifeline of the na-tional economy.—Rawalpindi

p

ANKARA—Embattled Turkish Prime Minis-ter Tayyip Erdogan withdrew from electionrallies on Friday to rest his voice, his officesaid, after weeks of campaigning marred byleaks and corruption allegations which hehas cast as a plot to unseat him.

Erdogan had difficulty speaking at ral-lies in southeastern Turkey on Thursdayahead of Sunday’s local elections, his hoarsevoice drawing ridicule from his detractorsand pledges of solidarity from his die-hardsupporters.

An official at Erdogan’s office said hewould rest in Istanbul while Friday’s ralliesin Konya and Kayseri go ahead, attendedby ministers, MPs and municipality officials.

The elections will be the first test at theballot box for Erdogan’s AK Party since anti-government demonstrations last summerand a graft scandal that erupted in Decem-ber and has seen a steady stream of leakedrecordings emerge on social media.

Erdogan, who has delivered speechesat some 60 events around the country inrecent weeks, denounced as “villainous” onThursday the leaking on YouTube of a re-

SEOUL—South Korean President ParkGeun-hye proposed a broad range of eco-nomic aid for impoverished North Koreaon Friday if it agrees to give up its nuclearprogram.

It was not immediately clear how theNorth would respond to the proposal, madein a speech in Dresden, Germany, but it hasrepeatedly rejected the idea of abandoningits nuclear program, which it says is a nec-essary deterrent against U.S. hostility.

North and South Korea have been tech-nically at war since the end of their 1950-53civil conflict, as the fighting ended with amere truce, not a treaty. North Korea threat-ened nuclear strikes against the South andthe United States last year after the UnitedNations tightened sanctions against it for

conducting its third nuclear test.Park said the two Koreas must put con-

frontation behind them and start the workof preparing for unification, and offered tohelp develop the North’s economy, agri-culture and social infrastructure.

“In order for these efforts for us to be-come one again to bear results at an earlytime, North Korea must go on the road todenuclearization,” Park said.

She also offered to help the North jointhe international financial system and pro-posed the establishment of liaison officeson both sides to promote exchanges.

Park’s proposal continues a series ofpolicy initiatives by Park and her predeces-sor offering huge economic incentives inreturn for the North giving up its nuclear

ambitions.Five countries including the South and

the United States in 2005 also struck a dealwith the North to provide economic aid inreturn for an agreement to end its nucleararms program, which Pyongyang has sincetorn up.

On Thursday, the North ridiculed Parkin scathing commentary for her commentsat a nuclear security summit earlier in theweek in The Hague where she spoke aboutthe risk of nuclear weapons proliferationposed by North Korea.

“Explicitly speaking about the nuclearissue, there may be the denuclearization ofthe whole Korean peninsula but no unilat-eral denuclearization by the north under anycircumstances,” it said. “She had better not

even dream about it.”North Korea has accused the United

States of maintaining nuclear weapons inSouth Korea and planning to invade theNorth, which Washington denies.

North Korea’s economy is about a thir-tieth of the size of industrial powerhouseSouth Korea and often has trouble feedingits people.

Its missile launches and nuclear testssince 2006 have led to U.N. Security Coun-cil resolutions that ban arms trade and cutit off international financial system.

In the latest rebuke of the North’s armsprovocation, the U.N. Security Council con-demned its ballistic missile launch this weekas a violation of resolutions and said it wouldhold discussions on a response.—AP

South Korea proposes aid for North if ithalts nuclear arms programme

Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre left, and France’s Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault, leave after a meeting in Paris.

cording of top security officials discussingpossible military action in Syria.

The posting took what Erdogan has castas a campaign against him by his politicalenemies to a higher level, impinging on ahighly sensitive top-level meeting.

Turkey’s telecoms authority (TIB)blocked access to YouTube after the leak, aweek after barring Twitter over what it saidwere violations of privacy. Tech-savvyTurks quickly found ways around the Twit-ter ban, which stirred public outrage andinternational condemnation.

“Now I know what he did with the Twit-ter bird. Erdogan swallowed it,” wrote oneuser as Erdogan addressed a rally in theeastern city of Van on Thursday, mockingthe falsetto tones emanating from a man bet-ter known for his thunderous voice.Erdogan’s supporters had a different viewof his affliction.

“You sacrificed your voice for us, wesacrifice our life for you,” read the bannerat a second rally in the city of Diyarbakir,where tens of thousands had gathered onThursday.—AP

Erdogan cancels electionrallies to rest voice

MISSOULA—The defendant’s tears not-withstanding, a federal judge cited a lackof remorse as he sentenced a Montanawoman to more than three decades in prisonfor pushing her newlywed husband to hisdeath in Glacier National Park.

Twenty-two-year-old Jordan Linn Gra-ham took the stand Thursday during hersentencing hearing to offer a tearful apol-ogy to the family of Cody Johnson, 25, whodied just eight days after their marriage lastsummer. But U.S. District Judge DonaldMolloy appeared unmoved.

Prosecutors had recommended a prisonterm of 50 years to life. They said Grahamlured Johnson to the top of a 300-foot cliffin Glacier park on July 7 and pushed himover, then lied repeatedly to investigatorsin an attempt to cover up the crime. Out-side the courthouse, Johnson’s mother,

Sherry Johnson, said she felt she could nowgo on with her life.

“I do feel that I can move forward withthis, yes,” she said. Sherry Johnson’s sis-ter-in-law, Celeste Watson, said after thesentencing that the family still doesn’t knowthe truth about what happened. “But wehave to accept what went on here todayand move forward,” Watson said, accord-ing to the Missoulian.

In December, as the case was beingheard by a jury, Graham dropped her claimsof innocence and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder just before closing argu-ments in the trial. Prosecutors in returndropped a first-degree murder charge anda count of making a false statement.

Before sentencing, Graham addressedthe judge and assembled friends and fam-ily members.—AP

Judge cites lack of remorse, givesnewlywed bride more than 30 years

Rajapaksa releases Indianfishermen after UN vote

COLOMBO—Sri Lanka’s president ordered the release onFriday of 98 Indian fishermen detained for poaching as a“goodwill gesture” after New Delhi abstained in a vote ona U.N. resolution that approved an international inquiryinto alleged war crimes on the island.

India, Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner, backed two priorresolutions, but on Thursday unexpectedly took a neutralstand on the demand for a probe into actions by both SriLankan state forces and Tamil rebels during the 26-yearconflict that ended in 2009.

“The president ordered the release of all Indian fisher-men as a goodwill gesture,” Mohan Samaranayaka, aspokesman for President Mahinda Rajapaksa, told Reuters.

A total of 23 states voted in favour of the U.S.-ledresolution, 12 against and 12 abstained. Among those whovoted against were China and Pakistan, while India with-held its vote over concerns that the investigation wouldbe “intrusive”.

Sri Lanka says poaching and illegal fishing by Indianfishermen depletes the catches of its own fishermen. Thearrests have caused friction with India’s southern state ofTamil Nadu and become a regional issue in campaigningfor an Indian general election that starts on April 7.—AP

EU reform must be fairto non-euro members

LONDON—Germany joined Britain on Thursday in callingfor European Union reforms that are fair to (EU) countriesoutside the euro zone, bolstering British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron’s attempts to placate eurosceptics at home.

In a joint editorial in the Financial Times, British andGerman finance ministers George Osborne and WolfgangSchaeuble said it was important that EU countries outsidethe euro zone - like Britain - are not disadvantaged bydeeper integration of the currency union.

German support came as Cameron has been trying tosatisfy powerful eurosceptic factions in his ConservativeParty as well as voters defecting to the anti-EU UK Inde-pendence Party (UKIP).

“Future EU reform and treaty change must include re-form of the governance framework to put euro area inte-gration on a sound legal basis, and guarantee fairness forthose EU countries inside the single market but outsidethe single currency,” Osborne and Schaeuble wrote.

Cameron has promised to negotiate sweeping changesto the terms of Britain’s membership of the EU and, if re-elected next year, to hold a referendum by 2017 on whetherBritain should stay in the 28-country bloc.

“Making sure that the UK and other countries outsidethe euro remain on a level playing field is vitally impor-tant,” a spokeswoman for Cameron said. —Reuters

Brazil grows waryof Venezuela

under Maduro,reduces support

SAO PAULO—Brazil, LatinAmerica’s biggest economyand diplomatic power, hastoned down its support forVenezuelan PresidentNicolas Maduro because ofdisappointment over howhe is handling mountingeconomic problems and op-position-led street protests.The shift, while subtle, hasdeprived Maduro of someof the regional backing hewants at a time of foodshortages, high inflationand political uncertainty inthe OPEC nation.

Broadly speaking, Brazil-ian President DilmaRousseff remains an ally ofMaduro. While Rousseff ismore moderate, both are partof a generation of leftistLatin American presidentswho grew up opposing pro-Washington governmentsand believe they are unitedby a mission to help the poor.However, Rousseff hasbeen increasingly disap-pointed by some ofMaduro’s actions and hasreined in the more enthusi-astic support that character-ized Brazil-Venezuela rela-tions under his predecessor,the late Hugo Chavez, ac-cording to two officials closeto Rousseff ’s government.

Rousseff is worried theVenezuelan government’srepression of recent streetprotests, and Maduro’s re-fusal to hold genuine dia-logue with opposition lead-ers, may make the politicalcrisis worse over time, theofficials said.

Worsening turmoilcould, in turn, endanger thesizeable interests of Braziliancompanies in Venezuela.—Reuters

ABDULATEEF AL-MULHIM

DURING the beginning of the 20th century, the United States emerged as arguably the most powerful nation. It

speeded up the end of WWI, and was in thedriving seat during WWII. Ironically, US didn’twant to be involved in these two wars. DuringWWI, many Americans were thanking theAtlantic for its separation from Europe duringthe administration of President WoodrowWilson, who was busy with internal affairs ofhis country. It wasn’t until 1917 when Americawent to the war after the sinking of the MotorVessel, the Lusitania.

But, after the end of WWI, US returned itsfocus on the home front with limited attentionto the outside world. At the near end ofWilson’s presidency, the world wanted US tobe part of the League of Nations, which US

didn’t want to join, even though America’s sig-nature was in the Versailles Treaty (WWI PeaceTreaty).

When WWII broke out in 1938, US stoodidle and as a matter of fact, it was so neutralthat America was the main supplier of raw ma-terials to Japan during the first years of the war.

It was however Japan that dragged US intothe war by attacking Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,1941. At the end of WWII, the United NationsOrganization (UN) was formed and New YorkCity was chosen to be home of this newlyformed organization which was formed to endall conflicts and prevent wars. US by now hadbecome undisputedly the super power. In anyconflict or a dispute in the world after that itwas required to mediate or intervene.

The world clearly saw the capability of US.The only country in the world that has a pres-ence on the Seven Seas, US became the most

powerful country with a strong economy, thusadding burden on its governing administrationtoo. In addition, the American home front isvery demanding. One third of the world’s wealthis in US.

But, is the world changing or is it the press-ing need back home that US wants to do: Gov-erning the inside and forgetting the outside?Simply put, US and the whole world can’t af-ford seeing the Red, White and Blue out of anypolitical formula.

In March 2012, I wrote an article in ArabNews, “Syria — Where are the Americans?”And later on I had to write an article, “America:Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” whichwas published on Jan. 26, 2013.

I ask this question again: On Syria, whereare the Americans after President Barack Obamadrew a red line for Syria if it used chemical weap-ons against its own people? The answer is that

the Americans didn’t interfere in Syria to endthe biggest atrocities in modern time. Instead,they went to Iran, the country which backedBashar Assad and even provided him and hisregime with all the financial and military aid.And this is how all the political rift started be-tween Saudi Arabia and US. And this rift wasnot too secret. The whole world noticed. Thisis one reason why people around the world arewatching the outcome of Barack Obama’s visitto the Kingdom when he holds talks with Cus-todian of The Two Holy Mosques KingAbdullah.

President Obama’s visit is very importantbecause the two countries have the capabili-ties to solve several issues. The visit willstrengthen the bond between the two nations.The relation is based on strategic need withmutual understanding of each other’s interests.The visit comes amid regional and world turbu-

lent times. The situation in Syria is becomingunbearable, Iran intentions are not clear, Egyptis approaching a milestone in its way out ofthe Arab Spring and Libya is in chaos and mostimportant is the issue of Palestinian-Israeli con-flict.

Riyadh and Washington had in the pastcooperated on many issues of global interest.The meeting between the two top leaders isexpected to be candid and the visit is expectedto find solutions to regional and internationalissues. The Saudis and Americans have differ-ences on many issues, but, like every time bothcountries will be able to navigate around theseissues and solve them. Saudis and Americansare known for their ability to adjust the sails ifthey can’t control the wind.

And finally, in the past year, the world wasfollowing the Obama drive to modify or changethe health care system. —Courtesy Arab News

KSA, US need each other

Forget the drama: Asolution for Crimea

ANATOLE KALETSKY

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has miscalculated and Russia now faces deeper isolation, toughersanctions and greater economic hardship than at any

time since the Cold War. So declared President Obama afterthe NATO summit in Brussels.

European leaders have sounded even tougher thanObama, though less specific. Some whose countries lie farfrom Russia — for example, British Prime Minister DavidCameron — have whipped themselves into a fury reminis-cent of King Lear: “I will do such things — what they are,yet I know not, but they shall be the terrors of the earth.”

For more specificity we must turn to pundits. Geopo-litical experts have predicted global anarchy because ofthe violation of postwar borders; economists have warnedof crippling trade wars as European financial sanctionscollide with Russian energy counter-measures, and emi-nent financial analysts have argued that investors andbusinesses are dangerously under-pricing enormous geo-political risks.

Yet Putin seems unperturbed by these threats — andfinancial markets seem to agree with him. Since the Crimeanreferendum in mid-March, stock markets around the worldhave rebounded to almost their record highs, and the rubleand the Moscow stock exchange have been among theworld’s strongest markets. Investors seem to have acceptedthe Russian annexation of Crimea as a fairly harmless faitaccompli, with no major consequences for global prosper-ity or even for Europe.

Markets do not always get politics right. But in thiscase there are persuasive reasons for putting more faith inthe calm financial judgment than in dramatic headlines andbelligerent political rhetoric.

Putin and the markets are probably right because theRussian leader has already achieved all the main objec-tives he set himself after the overthrow of President ViktorYanukovich in Kiev. His initial objective was to punishUkrainian nationalists and their Western allies for oustingYanukovich by inflicting on Ukraine a serious geopoliticalloss and military humiliation. This he has done spectacu-larly. More important, Putin has delivered to the Russianpeople their first territorial conquest since the 1940s. Andnot just any old territorial conquest — but one with his-torical and strategic importance, as well as sentimental andcultural resonance for every Russian who had dreamt ofretiring in the Crimea, a region whose status in the oldSoviet Union could be roughly equated to Florida or theCote d’Azur. By annexing Crimea, with its spectacular scen-ery, beautiful resorts and balmy climate (at least by Rus-sian standards), Putin has won enormous popularity withthe Russian public.

Perhaps most important, Putin’s rapid reaction put astop to any potential political contagion — where the popu-list overthrow of a corrupt and authoritarian oligarch inKiev might have metastasized into a revolutionary move-ment that could sweep across Eastern Europe all the wayto Moscow. Just as the Arab Spring had swept acrossNorth Africa to Cairo.

Not bad for a week’s work. Now, as he plans for thecoming months and years, will Putin prefer to enjoy thefruits of his victory in Crimea? Or will he seek further con-frontation with the West by trying to expand Russian ter-ritory even more or trying to reconstitute the old SovietUnion?

Though nobody can be sure of the answer, the pastbehavior, not only of Putin but of most Russian leaders,has been primarily defensive. This makes the first optionmore likely — as long as the West and Ukraine do notseriously challenge the annexation of Crimea, which Putinmust now regard as his greatest historic achievement andhis guarantee of popularity and power.

Since all Western leaders recognize that Crimea will notbe recovered — and is not worth fighting for — there willsoon be no point in seriously challenging Russia’s annex-ation, any more than the West challenges Israel’s annex-ation of Jerusalem. Once Western pressures subside onCrimea, Russian threats to intervene in the rest of Ukrainewill likely disappear.

That, in turn, will mean no tightening of Western sanc-tions against Russia. For despite the belligerent tone ofthis week’s remarks from Obama and other Western lead-ers, their content was quite conciliatory. They all agreedthat sanctions would be tightened only if Russia takesfurther action against Ukraine or other countries. If thatdoesn’t happen — and there is no reason to think it will —the current cosmetic sanctions could remain in place for-ever without causing any major inconvenience to eitherside.

Once this stalemate is acknowledged, as it presumablywill be after a few months of posturing, all sides in theconflict will have strong incentives to agree on a mutuallysatisfactory resolution. Putin will want to restore relationswith the West. Ukraine will desperately want to restoreRussian trade and avoid resentment among the Russian-speaking population. And the West will want Russian co-operation in stabilizing Ukraine — since Russian hostilitywould permanently cripple the Ukrainian economy, mak-ing it far too expensive for the European Union to support.

Luckily, the main conditions of a mutually satisfactorydeal are clear and have in fact been suggested by all sidesat different times. It includes a new Ukrainian constitutionwith decentralized powers for the Russian-speaking re-gions, de facto, if not de jure; acquiescence in Russiancontrol of Crimea, and agreement that Ukraine will not beeconomic ready or militarily eligible to join either the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union for atleast a decade or two.

Why, then, is almost nobody predicting such a concil-iatory, negotiated resolution to the Ukraine crisis? The mainreason is one I have often noted in this column, whendiscussing far more mundane battles over monetary andfiscal policy in Washington. Politicians, the media and evenfinancial analysts often have vested interests in dramatiz-ing confrontation — the media because battles are moreinteresting than negotiations; politicians because confron-tations makes them seem tough; analysts because highdrama justifies high pay.

—Courtesy Reuters

Xi Jinping gets secret,sumptuous French menuPARIS—The menu will remain secret, but there’s no doubtthat famed chef Alain Ducasse has concocted a sumptu-ous meal for the Chinese president as he wraps up hisstate visit to France in the Palace of Versailles.

Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were invited to aprivate dinner with just President Francois Hollande onThursday, after attending a concert at the Royal Opera atVersailles — chosen as a symbol of French culture.

France launched a charm offensive for Xi’s visit, hop-ing for bigger business opportunities with China. About50 commercial accords were signed worth an estimatedtotal of 18 billion euros ($24.8 billion).

The three-day visit, which prompted small protestsand tangled Paris transport, celebrates the 50th anniver-sary of diplomatic relations between France and China.

“Welcome to France, Mr. president. You are here in afriendly country,” Hollande told his Chinese counterpartduring a ceremony Thursday. He didn’t mention humanrights or media freedom issues that activists hoped hewould raise with the Chinese president.

France’s Socialist leader praised the “spirit of adven-ture” of President Charles de Gaulle in 1964, when Francebroke with many Western allies and recognized Commu-nist China’s government.—AP

Towards anefficientsocietyFrom Page 3

shall be at-grade but madesignal-free by constructinggrade separations at vari-ous intersections. Tenstations in the RawalpindiPart and fourteen in theIslamabad Part are pro-vided along the corridor.Functional elements at thestations include ticketingbooths, concourse levelpassenger transfer, esca-lators, platform screendoors turnstiles for auto-matic fare collection andall other amenit ies forpassenger convenience. Acentral ITS control room isalso included in theproject to control thewhole operat ion of theMetro Bus system.

Initially the provision ofa 10 lane Underpass (2 Lanesfor Metro Bus and 8 Lanesfor mix traffic) along the 9thAvenue was proposed atPeshawar Morr intersection.Later on, in view of the trafficissues at Peshawar Morr in-tersection, ongoing Widen-ing/Rehabilitation of KashmirHighway and its link with newIslamabad Airport, it was de-cided to dovetail the MetroBus corridor in the inter-change already designed byCDA which will cost Rs. 6.75Billion. The same will be si-multaneously executed withMetro Bus Project.

No deadlockFrom Page 1

Taliban and governmenthad not refused demandsput forward by each sideduring direct talks held ear-lier this week. He, however,said that confidence wouldincrease from both sides ifexchange of prisoners takesplace. Prof Ibrahim said thata meeting between the gov-ernment and Taliban com-mittee was scheduled forFriday but no contact hadbeen made so far. Ibrahimsaid all out efforts would bemade to make the ceasefireinto permanent peace.

In the meanwhile,Rustam Shah Mohmand,who has also served asPakistan’s envoy to Af-ghanistan, hoped the gov-ernment steps could lead tothe release of the sons offormer Prime Minister YusufRaza Gilani and late PunjabGovernor Salman Taseerwho are reportedly in thecustody of Taliban. RustamShah disclosed that soonthe officials would be in-formed of these steps whichhe sounded confidentwould yield positive results.

The Taliban leader-ship, it may be recalled, hadduring talks with the gov-ernment dialogues commit-tee on Wednesday ex-pressed its inability to setfree the scions of formerPrime Minister Yusuf RazaGilani and slain GovernorSalman Taseer though it hashinted at release of theformer Vice Chancellor ofIslamia UniversityPeshawar, prof Ajmal Khanwho has been in theTaliban’s custody for thelast many years.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The Provincial ElectionCommission, Sindh had launched aprogramme for imparting education andawareness among the adult populationfor getting them enrolled in electoralsystem through enlistment in voters’list. The Commission had in this regard,constituted a 20-member as ‘DistrictVoters Education Committee (DVEC)’for district central, which would func-tion under the aegis of Regional Elec-tion Commissioner Karachi, SyedNadeem Haider. Peoples from differentwalks of lives had been given due sharefor representing their particular seg-ment of society that belonged to, andhad named that forum, and

A meeting of DVEC was held at theoffice of Regional Election Commis-sioner within the premise of office ofthe Deputy Commissioner, districtCentral Thursday. Stakeholders fromdifferent political parties includingMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),Awami National Party, Pakistan Mus-lim League-Nawaz and Pakistanpeople’s Party attended. District Cen-tral Deputy Commissioner Dr SyedSaifur Rehman presided over the meet-ing while Sub-Division Gulberg Assis-tant Commissioner Syed ShujaatHussain was also present.

In his inaugural address, RegionalElection Commissioner Karachi, SyedNadeem Haider said that though thevoters’ turnout in this past electionsheld in 2013 was improved as com-pared to elections held in 2008 from 42percent to 60 percent but still this wasnot a limit to be declared as satisfac-

EC forms DVEC for drasticincrease in voters’ turnout

PO selected to represent mediatory. The Election Commission hadbeen striving enthusiastically for up-grading the voters’ inclination by edu-cating them to realize the worth andpotential of their participation in theelectoral system.

He said that the neighbouringcountries such as Sri Lanka and Indiahad successfully managed to motivatethe people of these respective coun-tries and the voters’ turnout had esca-lated up to 90 percent. Election Com-mission had an intention to raise thevoters’ turnout from that 60 percent of2013 up to 90 percent for which vari-ous programmes had been launchedand the formation of DVEC was one ofits salient programmes wherein therepresentatives of civil society had forthe first time been taken on board.These representatives from differentwalks of life had volunteered them forplaying their pivotal role in educatingthe masses about the worth and po-tential of the power of their ballot.

The Regional Election Commis-sioner Karachi said that the Interna-tional Forum for Electoral System (IFES)had since past 5 years been assistingthe Election Commission in its strenu-ous efforts for promoting the electoralculture with heightened turnout of thevoters in elections. The IFES wouldalso be assisting the Election Commis-sion in future while providing techni-cal know-how to the people involvedin the promotion of voters’ turnout.

He also said that as the SupremeCourt of Pakistan had given a date forconduction of local body polls, theElection Commission would presentwell-established election booths,

which would facilitate the voters totake part in the electoral system withease and comfort.

While speaking on the occasion,District Central Deputy CommissionerDr Syed Saifur Rehman said that hewould personally monitor the progressof the DVEC and would be availablefor any assistance in this regard.

He said that it was a tradition inpast to commence activities pertain-ing to conduction of elections but thistime the Election Commission hadstarted its working years before nextconduction of elections. The forma-tion and onward working of the DVECwould help raise the voters’ turnoutand it would be witnessed in forthcom-ing local body elections in November2014.

He said that it was the collectiveresponsibility of entire civil society toplay their role with respect to raisingthe voters’ turnout and should in par-ticular focus on spatial settlementswith respect to imparting educationabout democratic system of ballotingas women in slums were half restrictedto have their say in elections.

Speaking on the occasion, MQMmember provincial assembly RehanZafar appreciated the Election Com-mission for forming the DVEC. He saidthat MQM had vigorously been moti-vating the youth for their enlistmentin voters’ lists and had diligently raisedthe largest number of youth as Parlia-mentarians.

It is pertinent to mention that Paki-stan Observer had been selected asmember of the DVEC with regard tomedia representation.

was in the fall (autumn) when we had sometactical differences about our Syria policy,”he told reporters on Air Force One.

Rhodes added that one of the main top-ics Obama and Abdullah would discusswould be how to empower the moderateopposition to counter Assad and isolateextremist groups.

One area where Riyadh has long dif-fered from Washington is in Obama’s re-luctance to supply rebels with surface-to-air missiles, sometimes known asMANPADS.

The Washington Post reported on Fri-day that the US was ready to increase co-vert aid to Syrian rebels under a new planwhich included training efforts by the CIA,and was considering supplyingMANPADS.

The White House has not closed thedoor to the possibility of such a move inthe future, but an official said its positionhad not changed.

Obama has shown himself wary of be-ing drawn into another conflict in the Mus-lim world after working hard to end or re-duce American military involvement in Iraqand Afghanistan.

Gulf security, Iran figure inObama, Abdullah talks

From Page 1

While Saudi Arabia, the world’s largestoil exporter, supplies less petroleum to theUnited States than in the past, safeguard-ing its energy output remains important toWashington, as does its cooperation incombating Al Qaida.

Rhodes said Washington would notignore Saudi concerns about Iranian actionin the Middle East while it pursued a dealon Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“We’ll be making clear that even as weare pursuing the nuclear agreement with theIranians, our concern about other Iranianbehaviour in the region, its support for AlAssad, its support for Hezbollah, itsdestabilising actions in Yemen and the Gulf,that those concerns remain constant,” hesaid.

The Saudi king was accompanied in thetalks by Crown Prince Salman, PrinceMuqrin, who was named second-in-line torule on Thursday, and Foreign MinisterPrince Saud Al Faisal.

Powerful Interior Minister PrinceMohammad Bin Nayef, who recently mettop US officials in Washington to discussSyria, was not present according to a list ofparticipants supplied by US officials.

The adoption of thisresolution underscores thesuccess of Pakistan’s diplo-macy in garnering interna-tional support for its prin-cipled position on the useof armed drones in violationof international law. This willfurther strengthen thecountry’s efforts to addressthe issue of drones, the re-lease added.

UN CouncilFrom Page 1

The panel warned thatthe pace of China’s militarymodernisation and infra-structure development hadaffected the “strategic bal-ance” between the twocountries.—INP

India incapableFrom Page 1

pressing displeasure overthe non-appearance of an-other accused ZiaurRehman, the court orderedto produce him during nexthearing or else arrest war-rants will be issued.

The counsel for Zia ap-prised the court that his cli-ent was undergoing treat-ment abroad, adding that hewill return as soon as he re-covers. The court ordered topresent the medical certifi-cate of the accused andadjourned the hearing tillApril 09.—INP

violence and urban criminalactivity, which could de-press investment andgrowth.”

The peace talks were akey campaign pledge forPrime Minister Nawaz Sharifbefore he was elected to of-fice for a third time last year,but have so far made littleprogress.

As well as the Talibanthreat, Pakistan is also facinga rising tide of sectarianbloodshed mainly targetingminority Shia Muslims, andrampant criminal violence inthe economic capital Karachi.

The report was prepared

Key economic indicators showingFrom Page 1

after the IMF team met Paki-stani finance minister IshaqDar and other officials inDubai last month to discussthe economic performance,approval and release of the$550 million third instalmentof the loan.

The meeting was heldoutside Pakistan because ofsecurity worries, the fundsaid.

The central State Bankof Pakistan spokesman Fri-day confirmed that $550 mil-lion had been transferredfrom the IMF to bring for-eign exchange reserves $9.1

billion.The Washington-based

lender also pointed to risinginflation in the current fis-cal year.

“Inflation is projected tohover around 10 per cent inthe remainder of this fiscalyear before easing to around5-7 per cent in future years,”it said.

Delays in implementingkey reforms to address en-ergy challenges, improve thebusiness climate, broadenthe tax base and improve taxadministration, could alsodamage economic pros-pects, the report said.—AFP

talk process.Sources said that MQM

had refrained from counterbashing on the directives ofparty head Altaf Hussain.They said statements fromthe PPP side showed theywere under-pressure fromwithin the party. PPP leaderRehman Malik has againreached Karachi to clear theair between both the par-ties. —INP

MQM, PPPtalks hit snags

From Page 1

duties for last few monthsand despite repeated warn-ings they were not comingto their schools to teach thestudents. “We have de-cided to ensure presence ofteachers in government-runschools,” Baloch said.

Balochistan is leggingbehind other provinces interms of key social indica-tors and education is one ofthem.

According to theBalochistan Education De-partment, there are morethan 5000 ghost teachersand more than 3000 ghostschools across the prov-ince. “Our main effort is toremove concept of ghostteachers, once and for all,”Ghulam Ali Baloch stated.

He said most of thegovernment-run schoolswere closed in the after-math of unrest inBalochistan’s troubledDera Bugti district.

The education depart-ment has put the femaleeducation ratio in DeraBugti at only two per centtwo years back.

BalochistanFrom Page 1

Taraqai has been elevatedto the position of a seniorminister.

Taraqi’s portfolio is yetto be announced butsources say he is likely toget the charge of the Com-munication and Works De-partment.

The much expectedchange in portfolios ofHealth Minister ShaukatYousafzai has also beenapproved and he has nowbeen assigned the Minis-try for Industries.—INP

KP govt okaysreshufflein cabinet

From Page 1

Court grantsexemptions

From Page 1

Under the loan Central Power Pur-chase Agency (CPPA) will be detachedfrom the National Transmission DispatchCompany (NTDC). All the discos will bebound to show on their websites the op-erational information showing how muchelectricity the said Disco is getting fromGencos (electric generation companies).They will also be bound to show on thewebsites the daily payments to Gencos.

The distribution companies will also beshowing in their respective websites thedetails about the subsidy the governmentis extending, with data sowing the recov-ery against the electricity bills in their re-spective jurisdiction. This whole exercisewill expose how much the discos are effi-cient or inefficient and the consumers willalso be able to know about the efficiency

WB, ADB, JICA extend$950m loan

From Page 1level of their discos.

Apart from it, the monitoring units willbe established both in Ministry of Waterand Power (MoWP) and Ministry of Pe-troleum and Natural Resources (MoPNR)and the said units will be assigned toprovide the quarterly report to the eco-nomic coordination committee (ECC)where in the progress on energy sectorreforms will be examined.

Under the loan covenants, the Min-istry of Petroleum and Natural Re-sources will be bound to display themodel petroleum concession agree-ments and Ogra will come up with noti-fication of three prices to enable pro-ducers to start developing new incre-mental gas production under the petro-leum policy.

According to police,the two brothers, bothsons of PA secretary RaiNawaz, allegedly torturedthe warden when he finedthem a day earlier inLahore.

Both the accused, RaiMumtaz and Rai Najam,were arrested following thescuffle and were presentedbefore a local court on Fri-day which released themon bail against sureties ofRs 50,000 each.

Meanwhile, Leader ofthe Opposition in the

PA secretary suspendedafter sons thrash

From Page 1

Punjab Assembly, MianMehmoodur Rasheed ofthe Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf filed an adjourn-ment motion in the provin-cial assembly against thechief minister’s move.

The PTI leader was ofthe view that the chief min-ister was not authorised toremove the Punjab Assem-bly secretary and ques-tioned about what kind ofjustice was being dis-pensed where a father hadto bear the punishment forthe deeds of his sons.

its own constructionneeds,” a Rangers officialnamely Ahsan Ali, who isdeployed as a supervisor atthis centre, told PakistanObserver.

“This is a land of KUand we (Rangers) are usingit for running our construc-tion material centre,” he said,adding that “We sell cementblocks, crush stones andsand.” “Not only this, wealso provide our services indigging and demolishing ofhouses,” the supervisorsaid, adding that “We usesweet water of Karachi Wa-ter and Sewerage Board(KW&SB) in manufacturingof cement blocks.” “Theblocks which are manufac-tured in the centre are usedin construction of paramili-tary force pickets and officesin the metropolis,” he said,adding that “We also sell all

Rangers mix businesswith law and order

From Back Page

types of construction mate-rial to general public for con-struction.”

“Our material usuallyused in construction of bun-galows and apartments be-cause of high quality,” thesupervisor said, adding that“We have hired privatetransporters to drop block,crush stones and sand atany place in the city.”

“If Rangers need con-struction material, then theybring their mobile along andjawan worked as a mason foruploading and offloadingthe construction material,”he added.

“I have no idea aboutany construction materialcentre of Rangers,” PakistanRangers Sindh SpokesmanMajor Sibtain said. “I don’tknow any commercial busi-ness of the paramilitary forcein the city,” he reiterated.

Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan andthe executing agency will beWater and Power Develop-ment Authority. It will becompleted in four years. TheAFD of France and Kfw ofGermany will finance theproject through a loan of 70million Euros. The additionalcost will be met fromWAPDA’s own resources.The project cost includesconstruction of 132KVdouble circuit transmissionlines from project site toSkardu. The Finance Minis-ter, on the occasion, saidthat energy is an essentialingredients for socio-eco-

ECNEC approves Rs 495.5bFrom Page 1

nomic development andeconomic growth. He saidthat hydro power is lowcost, environment friendlysource of electricity. Headded that the government,in line with the vision ofPML-N leadership, will makeuse of the potential of thenatural resources of thecountry for the benefit ofthe people.

The meeting was at-tended by Kh. MohammadAsif, Minister for Waterand Power, Mr. PervaizRashid, Minister for Infor-mation, Broadcasting andNational Heritage, Mr.

Ahsan Iqbal, Minister forPlanning and Develop-ment, Mr. Ghulam MurtazaJatoi, Minister for Indus-tries & Production, Ms.Anusha Rehman, Ministerof State for InformationTechnology, Mr. JamKamal Khan, MOS Petro-leum, Mr. MohammadZubair, ChairmanPrivatization Commission,Syed Murad Ali Shah, Ad-visor to CM Sindh on Fi-nance, Federal Secretariesand senior officials of thefederal and provincial gov-ernments.—INP

per liter, HOBC (high octaneblending component) by Rs4.66 per liter, LDO (light die-sel oil) Rs5.16 per liter, andhigh speed diesel (HSD) byRs 2.16 per liter. The Ograhas recommended the de-cline in price of keroseneoil by Rs 5.61 per liter.

The Ogra has worked outthe decline in the price of highspeed diesel (HSD) by Rs 2.16per liter by include Re0.18 perliter which the ECC has ap-proved as the crude transpor-tation cost on HSD to the Pak-Arab Refinery Company(Parco). In case the financeministry accpets the recom-mendations worked out byOgra, the new price of petrolwill stand at Rs 108.31 per li-ter from April 1, HOBCRs136.57 per liter, kerosene oilRs101.15 per liter, high speeddiesel (HSD) Rs113.85, lightdiesel oil (LDO) Rs 95.06 perliter.

The government is underpressure to ensure the reliefto masses because of the re-duction in oil prices in glo-

bal market and depreciationof dollar against PakistanRupee and to this effect Fi-nance Minister SenatorIshaq Dar has time and againpromised that the relief willbe passed to the masses.

Relief in POL pricesfrom April 1

From Page 1

He will become the nextcrown prince in case of va-cancy or the next king ifboth the posts of crownprince and king are vacantat the same time, KingAbdullah said in a royal or-der carried by the SaudiPress Agency.

King Abdullah saidthat Prince Muqrin’s latestappointment could not bealtered or replaced in anymanner, reports Gulf News.

The order said thatmore than three quarters ofthe members of the com-mission tasked with choos-

Prince Muqrin appointedFrom Page 1

ing the rulers in SaudiArabia have endorsed thenomination of PrinceMuqrin as deputy crownprince.

The youngest surviv-ing son of King Abdul Azizwas last year appointed asthe kingdom’s seconddeputy prime minister, apost that has historicallymade the incumbent sec-ond in line to become king.It was formerly held by lateKing Fahad, KingAbdullah, late CrownPrince Sultan and lateCrown Prince Nayef.

Jilani meetsRep Viclosky

WASHINGTON DC—Paki-stan Ambassador JalilAbbas Jilani called on Rep.Peter Visclosky (D- Indiana),Ranking Member DefenceSubcommittee of HouseAppropriations CommitteeFriday at the Capitol Hill.

A range of issues in bi-lateral relations came up fordiscussion. AmbassadorJilani also briefed Rep.Visclosky on domestic andregional developments.

The meeting was char-acterized with cordialitywith a mutual desire to fur-ther strengthen bilateralpartnership.

Congressman Viscloskyvisited Pakistan in Februaryand had meetings with theleadership. —PR

Published by: Zahid Malik from Ali Akbar House Markaz G-8, Islamabad and printed by Gauhar Zahid Malik at Al Umar Printers

Continued on Page 7

10-year-old girlrapedLAHORE—A ten year old girlwas allegedly raped inMustafa Town here on Fri-day triggering protest dem-onstration by her relatives.According to police sources,two persons took the girl toa nearby factory and rapedher. Local people recoveredthe affected girl from a roomof the factory. Police reachedthe spot and arrested twoaccused workers of the fac-tory from the spot.

COLOMBO—Sri Lanka on Friday blamed“unbelievable” US pressure on mem-ber states that led to the UN adopting aresolution censuring Colombo on itshuman rights record after a vote at theUNHRC session.

“The intensity of the pressure wasunbelievable. Countries were told thatheads of state of countries which spon-sored the resolution would be makingofficial visits. Those visits will be indanger unless they supported the US,”Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister, GL Peiris said.

Peiris said the US was using the de-fence agreements the member countrieshad signed with them for protectionagainst attacks from other countries.

‘Unbelievable’ US pressure ledto UN resolution, Lanka says

“There were financial arrangements (be-tween US and them).

They were even asked, are you afriend or not?” he said.

The US-moved resolution, whichcalled for an international probe into al-leged war crimes during the civil warthat ended in 2009, was adopted with a23-12 vote with 12 abstentions, includ-ing India, in the 47-member UN HumanRights Council at Geneva yesterday.“India for example, they had voted infavour of the US both in 2012 and 2013.They departed from that course of ac-tion this time.

This is a very significant develop-ment,” Peiris said, adding that he saw aclear division that favoured Sri

Lanka.India said the resolution imposedan “intrusive approach” of internationalprobe mechanism which was counter-productive apart from being “inconsis-tent and impractical”.

Some of the leading nations too hadabstained such as Japan. Saudi Arabiaand UAE voted against the resolutionwhile Australia and New Zealand bothrefused to co-sponsor the resolution,Peiris stressed.

He said the government’s positionwas there should not have been a de-bate at all.

“This has shown that countrieshave to conform to the will of the pow-erful countries. Sri Lanka had the cour-age to stand up,” he said.—Online

AAMIR MAJEED

KARACHI—The PakistanRangers were deployed inthe strife-torn metropolis tomaintain law and order, butthe paramilitary force hasengaged in running its ownconstruction business, itwas learnt on Thursday.

However, Rangers offi-cials clearly disown in-volvement of paramilitary

force in any private business.Investigation into affairs ofPakistan Rangers have dis-closed that the paramilitaryforce is running business ofconstruction material inGulshan-e-Iqbal and SohrabGoth. In Gulshan-e-Iqbal, theRangers construction mate-rial centre is located at backside of Sheikh Zaid IslamicResearch Centre (SZIRC)while at Sohrab Goth; the

paramilitary force centre ofconstruction material is situ-ated at Tool Plaza.

It was revealed that theRangers had establishedthese two centres to cater itsown construction needs butlater they have started sell-ing it in the open market.

It was also disclosed thatRangers personnel are de-ployed at these centres andthey worked as a mason in

manufacturing of cementblocks which are used in con-struction of houses.

To establish this fact, thisscribe visited Rangers con-struction material centre inGulshan-e-Iqbal in guise of abuyer. It was situated at back-side of SZIRC and on the landof University of Karachi (KU).

A large number of cementblocks and huge quantity ofsand and crush stones were

Rangers mix business with law and orderseen in open plot of area ap-proximately 5000 squareyard. It was also disclosedthat the paramilitary force isusing water connection ofKU in manufacturing of ce-ment blocks.

“Rangers has establishedthis centre namely KarachiBlock Works (KBW) in 1994to cater

Continued on Page 7

Bilawal urgesarrest of culprits

STAFF REPORTER

K A R A C H I — P a k i s t a nPeople’s Party ChairmanBilawal Bhutto Zardariwhile taking serious noticeof attack on a Hindu templein Hyderabad directedSindh Government to im-mediately initiate investi-gation into the sad inci-dent.

PPP would ensure fullsecurity of places of wor-ship of minority and anydiscriminatory treatmentwould not be tolerated.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardariasked Sindh Chief Minis-ter to take measures for thearrest of the perpetrators.

OBSERVER REPORT

LONDON—The MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM)has suspended basic mem-bership of its leader SaleemShahzad for violation of dis-cipline on Friday.

His membership hasbeen suspended for indefi-nite period. The MQM saidin a statement it has noth-

MQM suspends SaleemShahzad party membership

ing to do with the businessdealings of SaleemShahzad.

Meanwhile, talking tomedia Shahzad said he willsoon make revelations toexpose ‘corrupt mafia’within the MQM.

He said he would ex-pose corrupt elements whohave hijacked the party tomake money.

Raza Rumi fired at inLahore, driver killed

OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Unknown gunmen on Friday opened fire onfamous political commentator and journalist Raza Rumi’scar, killing his driver.

“Was fired at near Raja Market. My driver is wounded.I was dreading this day,” Raza Rumi posted this messageon Twitter. According to reports, the driver was injured inthe armed attack and succumbed to his injuries at a localhospital.

Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcast-ing Pervaiz Rashid on Friday strongly condemned the fir-ing on the vehicle of senior journalist/anchor Raza Roomi.The minister expressed his heartfelt condolence over thesad demise of the driver, who was killed in the incident.

He prayed to Allah Almighty to rest his soul in eter-nal peace and grant courage to his family to bear the losswith fortitude. He also prayed for early recovery of in-jured Raza Roomi.

BANNING smoking in public placeshas helped to cut premature birthsby 10 per cent, according to new

research from the United States and Eu-rope. A study in The Lancet medical jour-nal found that while theimpact of anti-smokinglaws varies betweencountries, the overall ef-fect on child healtharound the world is posi-tive.

“Our researchshows that smokingbans are an effectiveway to protect thehealth of our children,”said Jasper Been of theUniversity ofEdinburgh’s Centre forPopulation Health Sci-ences, who led thestudy. He said the find-ings should help to ac-celerate the introduc-tion of anti-smokinglegislation in cities, countries and dis-tricts which have yet to do so.

Laws banning smoking in publicplaces such as bars, restaurants, officesand other workplaces have already beenproven in previous studies to protectadults from the health threats associatedwith passive smoking.

According to the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), tobacco alreadykills around 6 million people a year world-wide, including more than 600,000 non-smokers who die from exposure to sec-ond-hand smoke. By 2030, if currenttrends continue, it predicts tobacco’s

death toll could be 8 million people ayear.

Only 16 percent of the world’s popu-lation is covered by comprehensivesmoke-free laws, and 40 percent children

worldwide are regularly ex-posed to second-handsmoke, the WHO says. Pub-lic health experts hope thatas more and more countriesin Europe and around theworld adopt stricter legisla-tion on smoking in publicplaces, the health benefitswill swiftly start to becomeevident.

Friday’s research inThe Lancet, which analyzeddata on more than 2.5 millionbirths and almost 250,000hospital attendances forasthma attacks, was the firstcomprehensive study to lookat how anti-smoking laws af-fect children’s health. Withresults from five North Ameri-

can studies of local bans and six Euro-pean studies on national bans, it foundrates of both pre-term births and hospi-tal attendance for asthma fell by 10 per-cent within a year of smoke-free lawscoming into effect.

“Together with the known healthbenefits in adults, our study providesclear evidence that smoking bans haveconsiderable public health benefits forperinatal and child health,” said Been.He said it also provided “strong sup-port for WHO recommendations to cre-ate smoke-free public environments ona national level.”

Smoking bans cut prematurebirths and child asthma attacks

Ambassador of Iraq Dr Rushdi Al-Ani with Pakistan’s Ambassador designate to Iraq Muhammad Iftikhar Anjum,Ambassador of Bosnia Nedim Makarevic, Ambassador of Bahrain Mohamed Ebrahim Mohamed, Ambassador of NepalBharat Raj Paudyal,Ambassador of Tajikistan Sherali Jononov, High Commissioner of India TCA Raghawan, Ambas-sador of Qatar Sayar Abdul Rehman Al Mawadah, PML (N) Leader Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Ambassador of Yemen Abdo AliAbdul Rahman Al-Shawafi, Ambassador of the State of Palestine Walid A M Abu Ali, Ambassador of Algeria Dr AhmadBenflis and Ambassador of Lebanon Mona Eltannnir during a dinner hosted by the Ambassador of Iraq in honor ofPakistan’s Ambassador designate to Iraq.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Umbrellas are in great demand in twin cities these days due to constant rains.

ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—In spite of the removal of the toppolice officers of the city, which was a persis-tent demand of the lawyer community in the wakeof March 3 deadly at-tack on District courts, law-yers of the District and High Courts have re-fused to call off hunger strike as well as weeklyboycott of the courts. On Friday, which is theboycott day, no court work was done and a largenumber of lawyers joined the hunger strike campin the parking of the District Courts in F-8/4.

Talking to Pakistan Observer a number oflawyers expressed their dismay at thegovernment’s lackluster response to their de-mands. “Removal of IG and SSP was one of ourfive demands,” said Naseer Kiani President ofthe District Bar.

It may be mentioned here that some threeweeks after the terrorist bomb and gun attack onthe district courts, two top officers of theIslamabad police were shown the door onWednesday. Inspector General of Police (IGP)

Sikandar Hayat and Senior Superintendent ofPolice (Operation) Dr Mohammad Rizwan weredirected by the Ministry of Interior to report tothe Establishment Division. They have not yetbeen given any post. According to sources inEstablishment Division, the government is send-ing Dr Rizwan back to Punjab while SikandarHayat’ fate is hanging in balance. Deputy In-spector General of Police (DIG) Khalid Khattakand Assistant Inspector General of Police DrSultan Azam Temuri were given the additionalcharges of the IGP and the SSP (operation), re-spectively.

According to Naseer Kiani four points stillremain unaddressed. Elaborating fur-ther, he saidone of their main demands was construction ofDistrict Courts complex and shifting of the dis-trict courts there.

At present the courts are working in rentedbuilding. Another point was action and lodgingof FIR against the officials of the District Ad-ministration and Police who could not come tothe rescue of the lawyers and general public, he

said.Mohsin Akhtar Kiani President of the IHC

Bar said payment of compensation for the deadand the injured lawyers at par with the judges orthe government officials is another importantpoint in our list of demands. Lawyers stronglyreject the Rs500,000 payment for the dead andRs70,000 for the injured. We condemn ChaudhryNisar Ali Khan’s statement regarding paymentto the lawyers and demand of the governmentto pay lawyers equally with the government of-ficers.

Deployment of Rangers in the District Courtsis another demand of the lawyers which is yet tobe fulfilled. Advocate Khalid Iqbal Chaudhry,Media Advisor of the District Bar while talking toPakistan Observer Friday said daily cabinet ofthe Dis-trict and IHC Bars assemble in the ShohdaHall (former Gilani Hall) where they ex-press soli-darity with the participant lawyer of the hungercamp. Daily we offer Fateha for the departed col-leagues and reiterate our pledge to continuestruggle until our de-mands are fulfilled he said.

Change of Capital’s top police officers

Lawyers refuse to call offstrike, demand ‘do more’

Acting SSP Traffic, Ilyas Hashmi giving certificate to a participant of 2 days RoadSafety Workshop at Women Welfare Development Centre.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—IslamabadTraffic Police (ITP) arrangeda workshop at Women Wel-fare Development Divisionin G-7 to give road safetytips to female and inculcatebetter awareness amongthem about traffic rules.More than 100 women at-tended the workshop whereSP (Traffic) Ilyas Hashmispoke about communitypolicing techniques of ITPand efforts of the force inensuring safe road environ-ment in the city.

In concluding cer-emony, he also informedthem as how special mea-sures are being taken tocurb various traffic viola-tions in the city and also in-formed about traffic rulesand regulations.

He said women can playan important role in educat-ing the future generationabout traffic rules andhoped this workshop wouldbe greatly beneficial forthem.

He said that educationalteams of ITP visit various or-ganizations as this exercise ishelpful in providing a disci-plined traffic system to themasses. About the perfor-

mance of ITP, he said thatITP’s personnel have notonly helped to establish a dis-ciplined traffic system in theCapital but also reduced ratioof accidents. The education

team of ITP briefed the par-ticipants on the history ofITP, the targets given to theforce and its achievements,safety measures for pedestri-ans, road crossing code,

causes of accidents andhow to protect one-self, de-fensive driving and its re-quirements, practice to pre-vent risky situations on road,planning for a long journey,positioning car or lane dis-cipline, right of way on junc-tions and road markings,safe overtaking, traffic signboards and traffic light sig-nals and perils of using mo-bile phone while driving.Director Women WelfareDevelopment Division, ArifSahmeem appreciated theefforts of ITP for arrangingsuch an informativeprogramme and hoped forfurther improved perfor-mance of ITP in future. Theparticipants said it was acomprehensive presenta-tion by education team of ITPad they have learnt lot ofthings but also got correctedon many aspects on whichthey were not so clear in theirminds about the rules whiledriving on the road. Later,Director Women WelfareDevelopment Division pre-sented shield to SP (Traffic).

Road safety workshop for women

Efforts to stop availability of sub-standard foodSHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—Acting in accordancewith directions of Member Adminis-tration CDA Mr. Amir Ali Ahmed, Di-rectorate of Health Services (DHS) isvigorously active to eliminate the avail-ability of sub-standard, adulteratedand un-hygienic food stuff from theCapital City. Directorate of Health Ser-vices has been carrying on its suc-cessful campaign against sub-stan-dard and un-hygienic eatables in thecity for quite some time.

In line with the directions of Mem-ber Administration strong and on thespot action as per law is taken against

the violators of the principles of publichealth and the relevant laws.

Moreover, zero tolerance is beingshown towards the food handlers whodon’t follow the law and commit a sec-ond offence. The DHS is further try-ing that all food handlers must wearproper dress i.e caps, aprons andgloves etc.

The DHS teams during last weekconducted several operations in thisregard in different areas of Islamabad.During this activity 70 notices and 24challans were issued while First Inves-tigation Reports (FIRs) / Isteghasaswere also lodged against restaurantsat F-11.

Two restaurants in Sector F-11were partially sealed. Similarly, 12 li-ters of sub standard Ketchup, 16 lit-ters of non-branded cooking oil, 5packets of expired mayonnaise and40 utensils including kettles, cupsand plates were also confiscatedconfiscated. The confiscated foodstuff and utensils were done awaywith afterwards. Directorate ofHealth Services is conducting thiscampaign by two specially consti-tuted teams; each led by food in-spector and supervise by a healthofficer while Director Health Ser-vices personally looks after the per-formance of the field teams.

Plastic bags,disposable cups

banned in collegesRAWALPINDI—Ban hasbeen imposed on use ofplastic shopping bags anddisposable glasses andcups in all the governmentcolleges of Rawalpindi divi-sion.

The ban has beenslapped under the directivesof government of Punjabwhereby it has been warnedthat the principal of the re-spective college will be heldresponsible if shoppingbags and disposableglasses and cups are used.

Sources said that Punjabgovernment was informedby the health departmentthat use of disposable glassin the colleges have led toaccelerate inflow of mosqui-toes and other sects in thecolleges.

Government of Punjabon the basis of this reporthas banned use of shoppingbags and disposableglasses in the colleges par-ticularly in girls’ colleges inthe province. —Online

05:30 01:3005:00

08:15

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

Students performing on stage during a ceremony to celebrate Women’s Day organized by Hashoo group.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Preston University or-ganized ‘Spring Splash 2014’ here onFriday with the competitions of ‘Qirat’,

‘Bilingual Debate’ and ‘Sports com-

petitions marked the opening of theweek-long festivity.

Public and private universitiesof eminence from Islamabad,Rawalpindi , Kohat , Peshawar,

Lahore and other cities of Punjab

are taking part in all the competi-t ions.

Public and private universities ofeminence from Islamabad, Rawalpindi,Kohat, Peshawar, Lahore and othercities of Punjab took part in all thecompetitions including Qirat, BilingualDebate, Drama, Singing, T-20 cricket,Table Tennis, Badminton and Footballcompetitions.

The universities which partici-pated in this competition were Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, AridAgriculture University, Rawalpindi,Punjab University, Lahore, FatimaJinnah Women University, Rawalpindi,WISH University, Islamabad andPreston University, Islamabad, Kohatand Peshawar.

In Qirat Competition, first posi-tion was won by Hafiz MuhammadTayyab of Punjab University,Lahore. Second prize in the compe-tition was awarded to Madiha Ansariof Fatima Jinnah Women University,Rawalpindi.

Hafiz Hanzala of Arid AgricultureUniversity Rawalpindi got the thirdposition in the competition.

Preston University SpringSplash starts

Chancellor Preston University Dr Abdul Basit with the winners of Inter Uni-versity Qirat competition.—PO Photo by sultan Bashir

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The participants of con-sultation on the topic of “Research andTeaching of Conflict Studies and Con-flicts in Pakistan” resolved to undertakecollaborative efforts for promotion ofresearch and teaching of peace and con-flict studies at higher education institu-tions of Pakistan. The consultation wasorganized by Institute of Social andPolicy Sciences (ISAPS) in collaborationwith Open Society Foundations (OSF)and was attended by senior academi-cians, university faculty members, re-searchers from various think tanks andrepresentatives of civil society. The mainobjective of the consultation was tobring academics of various disciplinesof social science together towards im-proving teaching and research contenton the issues pertaining to peace and

conflicts with focus on generating Paki-stan specific knowledge.

The participants deliberated uponvarious aspects, challenges and oppor-tunities related to the topic and identi-fied existing gaps in academic discourseon peace and conflict resolution. Theparticipants unanimously agreed thatPakistan is facing with multiple political,ethnic, religious, sectarian and environ-mental conflicts which require immedi-ate attention in research and teaching atPakistani universities. They termedPeace and conflict resolution as vitalpreconditions for sustainable economicgrowth, democracy and development.The delegates also suggested for offer-ing of special courses, research grants,scholarships, promotion of culture ofseminars, dialogues, conferences andclose interaction among universities &research institutes for improving teach-

ing of peace and conflict studies athigher education institutions of thecountry.

Ahmed Ali of Institute of Social andPolicy Sciences underlined the impor-tance of assessment of the state of so-cial science disciplines in close collabo-ration with academics, universities, HECin order to strengthen research andteaching of conflicts studies. In this re-gard, he also suggested development ofcase studies, production of relevant read-ing material which could be included inthe course content.

Dr. Abdur Rehman of Quaid-i-AzamUniversity in his detailed presentationstated that in Pakistani universities areoffering very few courses on under-standing violence, extremism, terrorismand conflict resolution while conflictresolution mechanisms do not exist atschools and colleges. He underlined the

need for inclusion of topics related to ofrights and duties of citizens and consti-tutional provisions on human rights andpeaceful techniques of resolution ofconflicts in curriculum.

While citing 2013 Global Think tanksIndex report, Muhammad Feyyaz formNational Management College Lahoreinformed that 4 out of top 100 think tanksof the world , 4 out of Top 65 defenceand national security think tanks arefrom South Asia. Among these thinktanks, no one is from Pakistan expectone among 70 environment think tanks.He further stated that performance pro-file of all research organizations reflect acomplete vacuity of tradition of peaceresearch, theory building, scientificstudy of conflict and conflict analysisand absence of rigour and applicationof theoretical constructs in South Asia.He stressed upon need for

indigenization of conflict resolution pro-cesses and methodologies.

Dr. Anwaar Ahmed Member NationalCommittee on Development of SocialSciences HEC highlighted the impor-tance of strengthening of social sciencesfor inculcating the values of peace, tol-erance, critical thinking and conflictresolution among Pakistani youth.

In concluding remarks, Dr. Nasser AliKhan Vice Chancellor University ofHaripur emphasized over close interac-tion among academic, research organiza-tions and policy makers in order to re-solve various socio economic problemsbeing confronted by Pakistani society.He was of the view that social scientistsshould undertake efforts to highlight thesoft image of the country at national andinternational level. “Pakistan has very richcenturies old cultural heritage, we needto highlight it”, he added.

Collaborative efforts for promotion of research,teaching of conflict studies stressed

No negative environmentalimpact of Metro Bus Project

RAWALPINDI—Experts on Friday said theRawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project(MBS) has no negative environmental im-pact rather it would help reduce air, noiseand dust pollution at Saddar-Faizabadsection of the Murree road.

They said existing physical, biologi-cal, economic and environmental condi-tions were thoroughly assessed prior toinitiating the mega transport project andfound increased rate of environmentalpollution caused by bumper-to-bumpertraffic during peak hours, traffic signalsand frequent traffic jams throughout theday at the main artery.

During a public hearing held here atthe Liaquat Memorial Hall, representativeof National Engineering Services Paki-stan (NESPAK) Adeel Pervez said no treewould be cut at the project site as 8.6 ki-lometer elevated track from Flashman’sChowk Saddar upto Faizabad would beconstructed in middle of the existing road.

With launching of the mass transitscheme, he said, environmental condi-tions would improve as there would beno traffic mess and smoke emitting fromstranded vehicles causing air and noisepollution.

Besides, commuters traveling be-tween twin cities of Rawalpindi andIslamabad would have cheap, fast anddecent public transport service, he said.

He apprised that approximately 22kanal of land would be acquired for set-ting up 10 bus terminals at Rawalpindisection of the bus project.

He said efforts are being made to ac-quire maximum land from government andavoid private buying. However, theproject affected people would be com-pensated judiciously.

Director Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) Naseem-ur-Rehman saidthe MBS is socially, economically and en-vironmentally beneficial for the commonman.

He said quarterly environmental as-sessment of the 10-month project wouldbe carried out at the construction site toprotect citizens from any negative affectduring the period.

Among others, representatives ofRawalpindi Development Authority(RDA) including Project Director, SP Traf-fic participated in the public hearing andexpressed their views on different envi-ronmental aspects of the project.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Sardar AyazSadiq, Speaker National As-sembly has said that futureof the country rests in handsof the youth and our youngpeople has all the capabilitiesand potential to steer thecountry out of present chal-lenges. He expressed theseviews while meeting with agroup of students of LahoreUniversity of ManagementSciences (LUMS) in Parlia-ment House on Friday.

Talking to the group, theSpeaker said that educationis essential for the growthand development of anycountry and only those na-tions have made progresswho accorded top priority totheir education sector. Hesaid that nation has lot of ex-pectations from its youth andthey should equip them-selves of modern time tech-nology and work hard tocoup with challenges con-fronted to the country andto come up the expectationsof the nation. The Speakersaid that Pakistan is facingmenace of terrorism and ex-tremism which has disrupted civic life of citizensand economic activity in the country. “We arecommitted to peace and stability and elimination

of extremism and terrorism in the country as wellas in the region” he added. He called upon theyouth of the country to come forward and joinhand for the prosperity and development of the

country. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq shared with the stu-dents about the composition, working and func-tioning of the National Assembly and its Stand-ing Committees.

NA Speaker urges students toequip themselves with modern technology

Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq with the students of Lahore University of Management Science atParliament House.

March 29

MR. Gordon Brown, UN Sec-retary General’s Special Envoyon Global Education will beaddressing the Youth Forumon 29th March, 2014 at 1700-1800 hours, at the ConventionCentre. Islamabad. GovernorPunjab and the Minister forEducation will also address onthe occasion. The Youth Fo-rum will be followed by PressConference at 1800-1850 hrs.

April 3

INAUGURATION Ceremonyof Jamia Masjid AbubakarSiddique will be held on Thurs-day, 3rd April at Multi Gardens,Sector B-17, Block B Markazby Multi Professionals Coop-erative Housing Society.

****

FASHION Click PK & QuickServices has planned to holdYouth-e-Pakistan Fun Galatoday (Saturday) at BahriaMini Gold Club Islamabad.

March 30

NATIONAL Youth Parlia-ment and Knowledge CityIslamabad will start kite-fly-ing competition from (Sun-day) tomorrow at F-9 PArk.The residents of the Capitalcity will participate in kiteflying competitions to her-ald the sprin.

ISLAMABAD—Lights of the Parliament willbe switched off during Earth Hour today(Saturday at 08:30pm to 09:30 pm) to showPakistan’s commitment of joining handswith the world for energy conservation.Speaker National Assembly Sardar AyazSadiq has said that the Parliament of Paki-stan is the first ever legislature in the worldto opt for solar energy completely.

He has also confirmed that the lights ofthe Parliament will be switched off duringEarth Hour to show Parliament’s commit-ment of joining hands with the world forenergy conservation, combating impacts of

climate change and global warming.Earth Hour candle lighting ceremony will

be held in the Parliament House from 8:30pm to 9:30 pm today (Saturday). It is cel-ebrated on the last Saturday of March ev-ery year.

Millions of people around the worldswitch off their lights for Earth Hour at8.30pm (20:30) in their local times on thelast Saturday of March each year.

The day is observed in order to con-serve energy and draw the world’s atten-tion to the cause of environmental degra-dation.—Online

Parliament to join ‘Earth Hour2014’ celebrations today

SHARAAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—Islamic Medical Association(PIMA) will hold 23rd biennial internationalconvention from April 4 to April 6 inIslamabad.

Convention Convenor Prof. MuhammadIqbal Khan and other members of Conven-tion Organizing Committee including Prof.Muhammad Iqbal, Doctor Saeed ullah Shah,Dr. Hameed Mumtaz Durrani ad Dr NadeemIkram, addressing a press conference hereat National Press Club on Friday said thatmore than 150 renowned Doctors willdeliever lectures to the particitipants dur-ing the two days event.

He said over 3,000 delegates, acrossfrom the country were expected to attendthis convention.

He said that PIMA not only work forresolving doctors problems but also mak-ing efforts to bring reforms on national

level in medical field. “It will be open toall medical, dental and allied profession-als for participation” he added. He saidthat leading medical professionals fromabroad will also participate in the con-vention.

“PIMA holds its central conventionevery two years in different cities wherelarge number of doctors from all over thecountry meets,” he said.

He said that the pre-conventionworkshops are planed on professional-ism, contemporary medical issues, qual-ity assurance and accreditation in healthcare system. “Special programmes arealso planned for female doctors, medicalstudents and sessions on career plan-ning. A social evening and a scientificexhibition are also part of this event” heinformed. He said that 18 organizing com-mittees in connection with convention havebeen established.

Biennial int’lconvention of IslamicMedical Association

Govt workingto improve

energy sectorISLAMABAD—Federal Min-ister for Water and Power,Khawaja Muhammad Asifhas said that PakistanMuslim League Nawaz(PML-N), government isworking on differentprojects to improve energysector.

He said that ForeignBank had given approval forexecution of the powerproject which will passthrough the Central AsianStates (CAS), to benefit Pa-kistan.

Talking an interview, hesaid that 1000 mega wattenergy would be availablein Pakistan in the next fewyears.

Minister said that thepower project would helpresolve the energy problembesides strengthen rela-tions with CAS.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Islamabad Police have ar-rested 14 outlaws including eight pro-claimed offenders from various areas andrecovered weapons and looted items fromtheir possession, a police spokesman saidon Friday.

In special crackdown against theabsconders, various police stations ofIslamabad nabbed eight proclaimed of-fenders wanted to police in crime casesof heinous nature. Meanwhile, Secre-tariat police arrested an accused Fiaz forhaving 30 bore pistol while Margallahpolice nabbed an accused thief QamarAli.

CIA police arrested accused Waris forpossessing 30 bore pistol while accusedZafar Iqbal was arrested by Tarnol po-lice for selling petroleum products ille-gally. Shehzad town police arrested twothieves accuseed Qaisar Masoh andBabar Masih. Cases have been regis-tered against these nabbed persons andfurther investigation is underway fromthem.

During general hold up, Islamabad po-lice impounded 77 bikes and three vehiclesfor being driven without authentic docu-ments while black papers were removed from14 tinted glass vehicles.—APP

8 POs and sixoutlaws nabbed

Kashmiri studentsharassed by policein Indian Punjab

ISLAMABAD—Kashmiri stu-dents who had gone to In-dian city Bhopal to appear inan entrance examinationhave said that the police ofIndian Punjab harassed anddemanded bribe from themwhile they were travelling ina train in Ludhiana city ofPunjab.

A number of studentstold media on phone inSrinagar that the Punjab po-lice arrested a Kashmiri stu-dent namely Syed IrfanHussain of Dooru area ofSopore on the pretext that hewas carrying a cigarettepacket, KMS reported.

“They took him alongand when other Kashmiristudents staged a protest,they demanded Rs 5,000 asbribe in exchange for his re-lease,” a Kashmiri studentsaid.

He said that all theKashmiri students contrib-uted from their pocket moneyto collect Rs 5,000 but onlymanaged to raise Rs 3,000.

Hurriyet leadersput under housearrest, detention

ISLAMABAD—The authoritieshave placed the All PartiesHurriyet Conference leadersincluding Shabbir AhmadShah under house arrest inIndian occupied Kashmir.

The authorities putShabbir Ahmed Shah,Nayeem Ahmad Khan andZafar Akbar Butt, underhouse arrest while Indian po-lice arrested MuhammadYousuf Naqash from hishouse in Srinagar and lodgedhim in a police station, KMSreported.

The actions were taken tostop the leaders from visitingdifferent areas of Baramulladistrict and address publicmeetings.—APP

Indian police arrested senior leader of APHC, Shabbir Ahmad Shah in Srinagar.

ISLAMABAD—A two-day internationalconference on “Kashmir: Challenges andProspects”, for drawing the attention ofthe international community to its grav-ity for reaching a practical and lastingsettlement of the seven-decade old dis-pute.

The conference, organized by thethink tank MUSLIM Institute, com-menced, was addressed by numerous Pa-kistani and international luminaries andexperts on issues of global politics andinternational relations, said a news re-lease issued here on Friday.

Addressing the concluding sessionas chief guest, leader of the house in Sen-ate, Raja Zafar ul Haq ensured to person-ally take the recommendations reachedby the conference and the issues delib-erated by the experts to the Prime Minis-

Two-day international conferenceon Kashmir concludes

SRINAGAR—Indian troops in their freshact of state terrorism martyred twoKashmiri youth in Kathua district, today.

The troops killed the youth at Jammu-Kathua Highway during a clash withmujahideen. One trooper was killed whilesix persons including three troops wereinjured in the clash.

After the incident, the troopslaunched a massive military operation inthe area using helicopters.

The authorities closed the Jammu-Pathankote Highway for vehicular traf-fic. Earlier, one civilian identified as JeetRam was killed and three others were in-jured in a shootout near an army camp inJanglote area of the district.

The leaders of Jammu and KashmirLiberation Front addressing gatheringsin different areas of Islamabad, Pulwama,Shopian and Kulgam districts appealedto the Kashmiri people to keep away fromthe forthcoming sham elections in the oc-cupied territory as they were held by In-dia to strengthen its illegal hold on Jammuand Kashmir.

Senior leader of the All PartiesHurriyet Conference, Professor AbdulGhani Butt, addressing a meeting of hisparty activists in Behama area of

Pakistan and India urged to settle Kashmir dispute

Two youth martyred, oneIndian trooper killed

Ganderbal urged Pakistan and India todemonstrate realism and resolve theKashmir dispute as per the recognized in-ternational principles for ensuring perma-nent peace and stability in South Asia.

APHC leaders, Mukhtar Ahmed Wazaand Syed Bashir Andrabi, addressingpublic meetings in Islamabad andPulwama areas while Javed Ahmed Mir ina statement in Srinagar said that Kashmirwas an internationally recognized dispute,which should be resolved by implement-ing the relevant UN resolutions.

Indian police arrested Hurriyet lead-ers, Shabbir Ahmed Shah and MuhammadYousuf Naqash and placed Zafar AkbarButt and Nayeem Ahmad Khan, underhouse arrest in Srinagar, today, to preventthem from addressing public gatherings.

The police also raided the residencesof Hurriyet leaders, Mushtaq-ul-Islam andFarooq Ahmad Dar, harassing the inmates.

An Indian trooper committed suicideby shooting himself with his serviceweapon in Krishna Ghati area of Rajouridistrict.

This incident raised such deathsamong the Indian troops and police per-sonnel in the occupied territory to 308since January 2007.—KMS

Geelani callsprotest against

death sentence of529 persons byEgyptian court

SRINAGAR—While appeal-ing for peaceful protestdemonstration after the Fri-day prayers on 28 marchagainst the mass death sen-tence of 529 persons includ-ing the spiritual guide ofMuslim BrotherhoodMuhammad Badie by anEgyptian court, chairman AllParties Hurriyat Conference,Syed Ali Geelani addressedall Islamic Scholars andMuslim Ummah that this in-cident is not of a particularcountry, sect or party, but itis the matter of all MuslimUmmah and it is a religiousduty of every Muslim toraise his voice against theseincidents.

Geelani also said that theGeneral Al-Sisi is a Jewishagent and he is helping theinternational agenda of Zi-onist movement. Geelanisahib appealed the secre-tary general and officials ofOrganization of IslamicCountries (OIC) that theyshould come forward tostop the state terrorism ofEgyptian army generals andsave the lives of Islamistsin Egypt.—NNI

SRINAGAR—Reacting to BJP prime min-isterial candidate Narindera Modi’s re-marks that his party will pursueVajpayee’s policy vis-à-vis Kashmir, pro-freedom camp has stated that they willadopt wait and watch policy as far asModi’s claims are concerned.

“We will adopt a wait and watchpolicy and will closely monitor what theirmeasures will be for the Kashmir resolu-tion,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, ChairmanHuriyat Conference (M) said. He addedthat it has been observed in the pastthat during elections tall claims are be-ing made and at the end of the day theseclaims turn out to be a ‘hoax’.

However, Mirwaiz observed that atthe time when the people of India arechoosing their government at NewDelhi-it must be understood that it isthe Kashmir issue that needs to be re-solved for a sustainable peace not onlyin India but in the entire sub-continent.He added that the defense expenditurehas reached to 48 billion dollars anddue to Kashmir issue more than 40% ofIndia’s population is living under be-low poverty line. Mirwaiz maintainedthat the people in India must under-stand the importance of Kashmir reso-lution so that new horizons could bescanned with hope and zest.

Meanwhile, the Hurriyat (M) hasexpressed hope that whichever politicalparty comes to power in New Delhi, itwould initiate a result-oriented andmeaningful dialogue to resolve Kash-mir issue. Stating that Kashmir disputehas a historical context, the conglomer-ate said instead of approaching itthrough the prism of economic conces-sions and packages time has come toaddress it seriously and find a solutionthrough political means so that lastingpeace is established in the region.

A statement was issued in this re-gard after a meeting of the executivecouncil of Hurriyat (M), chaired by itschairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Themeeting was attended by all the mem-bers of executive council including ProfAbdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone,Moulana Abbas Ansari, Agha SyedHassan Al Moosvi Al Safvi, MusadiqAdil and Mukhtar Ahmad Waza.

Terming the intractable issue as themain cause of instability in South Asiaand main source of tension betweenIndia and Pakistan, Hurriyat (M) urgedpeople of India to prevail on the politi-cal leadership of the country to resolvethe issue at the earliest.

“At a time when people of India arepassing through an important phase of

electing a new dispensation in New Delhiand Indian mainstream parties are pre-senting their election manifestos beforethe electorate, need of the hour is thatpeople of India recognize the perils ofthe pending Kashmir issue and stressupon their leadership to take measuresto resolve the issue which has heldpeace, progress and stability of this re-gion at ransom,” reads the party state-ment. “Kashmir dispute is a political andhumanitarian issue. It is the main causeof instability in South Asia and also themain source of continuous tension be-tween India and Pakistan.”

The participants said Hurriyat (M)has always supported serious and mean-ingful dialogue to resolve Kashmir.“Hurriyat considers the participation ofIndia, Pakistan and Kashmiri resistanceleadership important to make such a pro-cess successful.” Asserting that Kash-mir was an international issue recognizedby United Nations, the participantsstated that Kashmir issue should be re-solved either by implementing the rel-evant UN resolutions or through tripar-tite dialogue. Hurriyat (M) leaders said40 percent of Indians are living undermiserable poverty even as the defenseexpenditure has already crossed 48 bil-lion dollar mark.—NNI

Will wait and watch Modi’sclaims: Mirwaiz

Pins hope on new government in New Delhi

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Azad Jammuand Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Majid Fri-day stressed for expedited completion of1700 boys and girls schools under con-struction in various districts of AJK so thatstudents should take benefit of quality edu-cation at their doorsteps.

Talking to Deputy Chairman EarthquakeReconstruction and Rehabilitation Author-ity (ERRA) Maj. Gen. Muhammad AsifAzeem , the AJK Prime Minister expressedsatisfaction over the pace of work and ap-preciated the completion of various devel-opment projects in Muzaffarabad, Bagh,Dhirkot and Rawalakot.

Deputy Chairman apprised the AJKPrime Minister about the under construc-tion and new planned projects in AJK cit-ies and rural areas. At the occasion he saidthat due to budget constraints and Chinesecounterpart funds allocation is causing slowpace of work.

At the occasion AJK Prime Ministerassured that he will call on Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif and Planning

AJK Prime Minister stressesearly completion of 1700 schools

Afzal Guru’sfamily should

have beeninformed before

execution: ShindeNEW DELHI—Home Min-ister Sushil Kumar Shindehas said that the family mem-bers of hanged Parliamentattack convict Afzal Gurushould have been notifiedbefore carrying out the ex-ecution. He said the respon-sibility of informing familymembers of the death rowconvict lies with the secre-taries and something wentwrong in Guru’s case.

“As far as Afzal Guru’scase is concerned, I had al-ready instructed and given thefile four days before. And thatwas the job of the Secretaries(to inform his family). Butsomething went wrong some-where and they didn’t informa day before but informed inthe night that the followingday was his execution. In suchcases I am of the view that thefamily must be informed prop-erly as per jail rules,” Shindetold NDTV.—NNI

SRINAGAR—Terming the elections as anadministrative issue Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)chief Mohammad Abdullah Wani has said itwas neither a referendum nor a plebiscite.

“Elections are for the administrative af-fairs and in no way can affect any dimensionof Kashmir dispute. Polls are for electricity,roads and water since 1947 polls never af-fected reality of Kashmir dispute,” JeI chiefMohammad Abdullah Wani said.

“Elections are for the administrative af-fairs and in no way can affect any dimensionof Kashmir dispute. Polls are for electricity,roads and water-since 1947 polls never af-fected reality of Kashmir dispute,”Mohammad Abdullah Wani-JeI chief said.

He added polls can never be a substi-tute of Kashmir resolution as the same is nota referendum nor a plebiscite but clearly anexercise for administrative issues. “Even if3% people vote- we have seen in the pastthat governments form. If only 1% peoplewill vote still the formation of the govern-ment is inevitable.”

Reacting to the recent statement ofHuriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz UmarFarooq wherein he described the role of NDAvis-à-vis Kashmir more than UPA, JeI chiefstated that everyone has right to expressthe opinion about any mater but it has beenthe policy of every Indian government tomaintain rigid attitude towards Kashmir. “Ifthe governments in India would have beenserious for Kashmir resolution- the samewould have been resolved long ago.”

Stating that election boycott is not theone point agenda of Jamat-e-Islami (JeI)Ameer Jamaat stated that his organization istoo busy in other party works that it couldnot launch a door to door campaign againstpolls here.

Wani stated that his organization hasright from day one believes that Kashmir is adispute and needs to be resolved throughthe implementation of UN resolutions. How-ever, if UN resolutions are not implemented,the dispute could be resolved through tri-partite dialogue, Wani added.—NNI

Poll not a referendum on Kashmir: JI chief

We won’t launch door-to-doorpoll boycott campaign

SRINAGAR—On the eve of 18th death anni-versary of noted human rights activist andlawyer, Jaleel Andrabi, who was killed alleg-edly by a unit of Army led by Major AvtarSingh, his family hit out at the Government ofIndia and Jammu and Kashmir for “shieldingthe armed forces involved in human rightsviolations in the State.”Jaleel’s family said hewas abducted on March 8, 1996 by Govern-ment gunmen while travelling with his wifefrom the High Court. Later his decomposedbody was recovered from Jhelum on March27, 1996. A murder case was registered againstMajor Avtar Singh and others after the Jaleel’sfamily pursued the matter in the High Court.

Jaleel’s brother, Arshad Andrabi, said

Jaleel internationally highlighted human rightsviolations by armed forces in JK. “His ad-dress at a session of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights in August 1995did not go well with the Indian authorities.After that, Jaleel was under constant threatof forces and government gunmen to stophim from pursuing cases of human rights vio-lations. Braving all threats, he stood unde-terred continuing with his mission. He wasfinally killed in cold-blood by Major AvtarSingh,” Arshad. “Despite evidence againstMajor Avtar Singh and other accused in thecase, the Government of India and state gov-ernment left no stone unturned to protect andhelp him to settle in the United States. —NNI

Jaleel Andrabi sacrifices his lifefor dignity of every Kashmiri

Missing boytraced in

Maharashtra:Delhi Police

SRINAGAR—Delhi Policesaid it has solved the mys-tery of a Kashmiri boy whowas missing from the pastfour months.

A Delhi police official toldSrinagar-based news gather-ing agency CNS that 15-year-old Roman Amin Ganai ofJandwaal in south Kashmir’sPulwama, who had gonemissing from Mahindra Parkarea in Azadpora New Delhion November 20 last, was lo-cated by Delhi police fromManjhgawoun area ofMaharashtra. “After receiv-ing inputs, we raided a de-serted dilapidated hut inManjhgawoun area ofMaharashtra. The boy isstable and his father andrelatives are with him,” theofficial said, adding, inves-tigation is on in this regardand so far no one has beenarrested.—NNI

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Kashmir Affair’s and Gilgit-Baltistan Barjees Tahir giving shield to former PrimeMinister of AJK Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan during the confernce “Kashmir: Challenges and Prospects” held atMuslim Institute.

MUZAFFARABAD: Managing Director of Kashmir Bank Fazlur Rehman and Secre-tary Food and Agriculture Idrees Tabassam shaking hands after signing an agreement.

Commission high ups to plead early releaseof required funds for the projects.

AJK PM agreed that due to paucity offunds projects construction is slow whichalso resulted in cost escalation.

Deputy Chairman said that ERRA needsextra Rs. 15 billion for speedy completionof schools projects in AJK. He urged that iffederal government increases fiscal alloca-tion by Rs. 20 billion then it will helpful forthe other projects completion.

During the meeting Deputy Chairmantold the AJK Prime Minister that more thansix thousands projects including infrastruc-ture, roads, schools, colleges, water sup-ply schemes, livelihoods etc have beencompleted.

ERRA has planned to construct 85 newprojects which will cost Rs.27 billion, headded. Deputy Chairman said that devel-opment of various facilities including sportsstadiums, community centers and elaboratewater and sewerage system will further im-prove the quality of life in the urban ar-eas.—APP

ter as well as before the Standing Com-mittee for Foreign Affairs for proposingfurther action and debate.

Leader of the Kashmiri liberationmovement, Syed Ali Gillani also made atelephonic address saying that the Kash-mir issue goes to the heart of Pakistaniidentity as an Islamic state and the home-land of Muslims in South Asia. Hestressed that Pakistan must not settle fornegotiations until it is in a position ofstrength to back its principled stance inthe face of Indian aggression.

Prominent Kashmiri leader, MirwaizUmer Farooq also addressed the confer-ence by video link stating that the fate ofsixteen million people depends on the out-come of the Kashmir dispute. The dis-pute cannot be bilateral by definition asthe Kashmiri people themselves are the

most important stakeholders in the issue.“We are committed to a peaceful strugglefor our rights”, he remarked.

Turkish Member of Parliament,Mugisuddin stated that India is a statusquo power and is not bothered to changethe current situation. It has tried to takeadvantage of the global war on terrorismfor labelling the Kashmir dispute as ter-rorism.

She stressed that the Muslim worldmust stand together and shoulder toshoulder to ensure that the fate of theirdisputes is no dictated by others.

Former head of the ISI, GeneralHameed Gul stressed the need for Paki-stan to stick to its principled stance at allinternational forums and actively lobbyfor placing pressure on India for the reso-lution of the Kashmir dispute.—APP

The evolvingsocial and digitalmedia platforms

and highly innova-tive and relevantpayment capabili-ties are causing

seismic changes inconsumer behav-ior and creating

equally disruptiveopportunities for

business.

—Howard Schultz

PTA authoritymeeting reviews thebudgetsISLAMABAD—An Author-ity Meeting of PakistanTelecommunicationAuthority (PTA) held hereon Friday. Chairman PTA,Dr. Syed Ismail Shah,Member (Compliance &Enforcement)Mr.Zafarullah Khan,Member (Finance) Mr.Tariq Sultan chaired themeeting. In the meetingrevised budget estimatesof year 2013-14 and budgetof year 2014-15 werereviewed. Besides otherdevelopmental activities, itwas decided in the meetingthat special steps wouldbe taken for the bettermentof staff of PTA. A newscheme would be launchedwherein on the basis ofbest performance, throughcompetition, cash rewardswould be given to thelower staff of eachdepartment as per rules.This would improve theperformance of the Staff.The Authority passed thebudget with necessaryamendments.—PR

Hashoo Groupappoints Josef KuferISLAMABAD—HashooGroup has welcomedJosef Kufer as the newlyappointed President of theHospitality Division. Withan extensive and accom-plished career as leader inthe hospitality industrywithin luxury and upscalehotel brands in over 14countries across fivecontinents, Kufer bringshis innovative leadershipto oversee HashooGroup’s local and interna-tional Hospitality Divi-sion. Kufer says, “I amvery excited to havejoined the Hashoo Group.We will focus our energieson strengthening ourguest service experience,our brand’s positioning,and expansion opportuni-ties in key global destina-tions. Furthermore we willfocus on streamlining andenhancing operationalefficiencies to ensuremaximization of both shortand long term perfor-mance goals of the PearlContinental and MarriottHotels in Pakistan.”Hashoo Group owns ninefive-star hotels (two underthe Marriott and sevenunder Pearl Continental)and three five-star hotelsunder construction, alongwith it’s diversifiedbusiness interests,spanning from oil and gasexploration and produc-tion, information technol-ogy, investments, miner-als, ceramics, pharmaceu-ticals, travel and tourismto real estate and com-modity trading.—PR

Pakistan Post offersExpress ServicesISLAMABAD—PakistanPost is offering a full rangeof Express Services tocater the varied needs ofthe customers, speciallytrade and commerce.Urgent Mail Service(UMS) is a fast, reliable,efficient and secure homedelivery service withwidest network fordispatch of documentsand parcels, said an officialof Pakistan Post. He saidthat computerized trackand trace system alsoavailable.—APP

ISLAMABAD—President Mamnoon Hussain Friday stress-ing importance of business community in nationaleconomy urged them to complement government’s effortsby helping attract foreign and domestic investment in thecountry. Talking to a delegation of Pakistan - Saudi JointChamber of Commerce and Industry (PSJCCI) here at theAiwan-e-Sadr, the President underscored important roleof the entrepreneurs in the ongoing economic turnaroundof the country.

He called upon them to step up efforts and comple-ment government’s initiatives to fully exploit the geo-stra-tegic location of the country and benefit from the tradeconcessions offered to the country. He also mentionedthe liberal incentive packages being offered by the gov-ernment to attract foreign and domestic investment in di-verse fields. The delegation of PSJCCI led by its PresidentMian Mehmood included Mian Muhammad Hanif SeniorVice President, Nauman K.Dar Vice President, SardarTanveer Iyas Khan, Vice President, Khalid Firoz Vice Presi-dent, Muhammad Ajaz Malik Founder Director and Dir.Finance, Mian Muhammad Ahmad Founder Director, MianWaqqar Aziz Founder Director and Adnan Ahmad Assis-tant Secretary General.

The President congratulated the first cabinet meetingof the Pakistan - Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce and

President asks businessmen tohelp attract foreign investment

ISLAMABAD: CEO Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Shafqaat Ahmad shaking hand aftersigning an MoU with Chairman Zaver Petroleum Hashoo Group Saddruddin Hashwani,on First Petroleum Upstream Sector Long Term Musharka Facility valuing Rs 32billion, at a local hotel.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Pressure on foreign exchangereserves held with the State Bank of Paki-stan has eased significantly in March 2014;not only has Pakistan met lumpy IMF re-payments and expects substantial inflowsfrom the IFIs before end-June 2014, themarket has responded very positively tothe unanticipated inflow of US$ 1.5 billionfrom a GCC country. As a result, after re-maining stable throughout January andFebruary 2014, the PKR appreciated sig-nificantly in March, following a shift in sen-timents in the FX market said the SecondQuarterly Report for FY14 on the State ofEconomy, released by SBP today.

According to the report, by the end offirst half of FY14, there was a perceptibleimprovement in the country’s macroeco-nomic indicators. Inflationary pressureshave softened (post November); pressureon FX reserves and the PKR parity has

External Inflows from GCC provided cushion to exchange rateeased in December 2013; LSM is showingimprovement, which is supported by anincrease in credit to the private sector;and as reported by the Ministry of Fi-nance, the fiscal deficit as a percent ofGDP declined in first half of FY14.

Improvement in the fiscal and externalaccounts in the second half of FY14 de-pends on the expected proceeds from theauction of 3G licenses and Coalition Sup-port Fund inflows. However, if expectedofficial external inflows are realized in sec-ond half of FY14, SBP’s FX reserves arelikely to exceed our initial projection forthe full year. The report traced the recentcomfort on the external side to an unan-ticipated US$ 1.5 billion inflow into SBP’sreserves, which may have triggered mar-ket expectations that Pakistan may receivea facility to defer oil payments in Q4-FY14.“Along with dampening inflationary ex-pectations for the remaining part of FY14,this has changed the market’s interest rate

outlook. SBP projects average inflationin FY14 to be in the range of 8.5 to 9.5percent.”

Due to a decline in cotton production,the prospects of achieving the GDPgrowth target in FY14 could be under-mined. However, LSM continues to poststrong growth, which bodes well for thecountry’s overall economic growth. Therebound in LSM is supported by invest-ments in alternate energy sources; im-proved power supply (after the resolutionof the circular debt); capacity enhance-ment (in steel, paper, fertilizer, beverages,and rubber) in past few years; and in-creased lending to private sector busi-nesses, especially in fixed investmentloans. The government borrowing fromcommercial banks also increased in thesecond quarter. It mobilized Rs 188.1 bil-lion from commercial banks during thequarter, against a net retirement of Rs179.1 billion in the first quarter of the year.

Government was not able to contain itsborrowing from SBP within the limitagreed with the IMF. “However, with thebilateral inflows in February and March2014, and other external inflows expectedin second half of FY14, these targetsshould be easier going forward.” Be-cause of a slowdown in spending and anincrease in revenues, the fiscal deficit dur-ing first half of FY14 narrowed to 2.1 per-cent of GDP, compared to 2.7 percent inthe same period last year, as reported bythe Ministry of Finance.

The incidence of fiscal austerity fellon development spending both at thefederal and the provincial level. Thismay be attributed to lack of external fund-ing. “In our view, there is a need to re-think this avenue of fiscal consolida-tion within context of the long-termgrowth prospects of the economy.” Thereduction in the budget deficit eased thepace of domestic debt accumulation

during second quarter. This, along withthe lumpy US$ 1.2 billion repayment tothe IMF and favourable exchange ratemovement during Q2-FY14, allowed fora marginal decline in the public debtstock during this period.

The report expressed concern aboutPakistan’s debt profile, as its composi-tion has witnessed a sharp shift towardsthe shortest tenor. This exposes the gov-ernment to increasing rollover and inter-est-rate risks. While SBP retains its viewto rebalance Pakistan’s domestic debttowards long-term paper, there was animproving trend in Q2-FY14, which hasbeen maintained in Q3. The governmentmobilized Rs 105.6 billion through PIBsduring the quarter, which was the high-est amount raised after four quarters.This change in market sentiments can betraced to falling projected inflation, whichmeans that the market does not expectfurther interest rate hikes.

ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—Bank al-Baraka and Zaver Pe-troleum Corporation (ZPC) Friday entered intoIslamic transaction facility ‘Musharka’ to thetune of Rs3 billion. CEO of the bank ShafqaatAhmed and Chairman/CEO of the petroleum

corporation SadruddinHashwani formally signed the‘first-of-a-kind’ deal here at theMarriott. Representatives of thepartner banks, UBL, AskariCommercial Bank, Bank ofPunjab, Dubai Islamic Bank andBurj Bank also attended the

signing ceremony. Addressing the signingceremony, CEO of al-Baraka, Shafqaat Ahmedsaid the transaction was indeed a stepping-stone towards a long-term mutually beneficialbusiness relationship. He expressed gratitudeto Zaver Petroleum that has come forward toopt for the Musharaka facility, which is basedon 5-year Shariah compliant financing.

Through this facility, the transaction dy-namics will remain within the sanctity of Shariahguidelines. “This is the first Islamic transac-tion by the Zaver Petroleum that shows theirconfidence in the Islamic banking which isbecoming increasingly popular banking choicefor Pakistani customers,” he said.

Shafqaat Ahmed said time had come forIslamic banking and “with my decades of long

First-ever transaction of Rs 3b in Islamic banking

ZPC, Al-Baraka signMusharka-based transaction

experience in banking sector, I can foresee innear future it (Islamic banking) will lead thebanking sector as major banking and financeindicator.” About al-Baraka’s investment andnetwork, he said al-Baraka as a Global IslamicBank; with presences in 15 countries and threecontinents very much believes in Pakistan. Webelieve in theopportunitiesthe country of-fers and poten-tials it has forthe investors.With al-Baraka’s asset base of over US$ 21billion equity of US$ 2 billion and profit of US$ 258 million, al-Baraka is the largest Islamicbanking group in the world. It is Pakistan’ssecond largest Islamic Bank in terms of totalassets.

CEO of Zaver Petroleum and Chairmanof Hashoo Group Sadruddin Hashwani saidhe was also looking forwarding to more suchsyndicated financial transactions. Zaver isthe name of my mother and I have an emo-tional link to its growth and expanding. Wel-coming the offer by the partner banks, hesaid, the transaction will go a long way inboosting our oil and gas projects. “We havedrilled a number of wells and are going toexpand our network by the end of 2014,” heinformed. Director of the ZPC SarahHashwani was also present on the occasion.

CCBPLestablishescompetencydevelopment

centresISLAMABAD—In line with itspolicy of empowering itspeople, Coca-Cola Bever-ages Pakistan Limited(CCBPL) has recently con-structed and brought intooperation two state-of-the-arts Competency Develop-ment Centres , in Karachi andLahore respectively.

These facilities will serveto enhance skills and capa-bilities of CCBPL employeesthrough vocational educa-tion to be imparted by world-renowned organization, City& Guilds of the U.K.

The CDCs in Karachiand Lahore became opera-tional on March 5 and March7, respectively. These facili-ties will help CCPBLemployee’s gain valuablelearning of international stan-dards, which reflect thecompany’s commitment toits people. CCBPL’s Directorof Human Resources, AmaraBashir, said, “This is an ini-tiative that is the first of itskind, as it is a great milestonefor CCBPL. We strongly be-lieve that investing in peopleis essential for achieving or-ganizational growth.”

CCBPL’s top strategicpriority is to equip its em-ployees with comprehensivetrainings on core businessrequirements. The Companyutilizes the latest technolo-gies within the Coca-Colasystem for its operations.The CDC curriculum is de-signed to complement thesetechnological changes bydeveloping a training cur-riculum for its employees.

City & Guilds is a leadingorganization that providestraining services to providers,employers, and traineesacross a variety of sectors tomeet the needs of today’sbusiness environment. Itsqualifications are valued byemployers and delivered toover 10,000 training centresacross the world to help indi-viduals develop their talentsand abilities for future careerprogression.—PR

PESHAWAR: Syed Said Badshah Bukhari, Secretary Finance, Government of KhyberPakhtunkhwa, presiding over 23rd annual meeting of Bank of Khyber at BoK Headoffice on Friday. Imran Samad, Managing Director (Acting) and BoK Member Board DrEhsan-ul-Haq are also present on the occasion.

ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador, Richard G Olson called on Federal Minister for Fi-nance, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

SHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—US Ambassador to PakistanMr. Richard G. Olson called on Finance Min-ister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar at theFinance Ministry on Friday to discuss mat-ters of mutual interest between the two coun-tries. The Finance Minister discussed withthe Ambassador his forthcoming visit forEconomic Working Group in WashingtonDC, where he will hold meetings with theimportant US officials and attend the WorldBank’s Spring Meetings.

The Minister hoped that his meetings andinteraction in Washington DC will lead to fur-ther strengthening of economic relations be-

Industry since its establishment in November last year. Heexpressed the hope that PSJCCI would play an importantrole to further augment Pakistan - Saudi trade and invest-ment ties and exploring new avenues of trade between thetwo countries. The Chamber would help bring the cham-bers of commerce and industry of the two countries fur-ther closer, the President said and urged its office bearersto focus on increasing Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabiaas the Kingdom was amongst the top 10 major export des-tinations of Pakistan.

Commenting on various challenges confronting thebusiness community, the President said the governmentwas fully alive to the problems and concerns of the busi-nessmen and all possible steps were being taken to pro-vide an enabling and conducive environment for tradeand investment in the country. Referring to the recent turn-around of the economy, the President said that due tocorrective measures and policies of the government, eco-nomic indicators were showing positive signs and theconfidence of both domestic and foreign investors to in-vest in Pakistan is also being restored. The President saidthe government was receptive to the invaluable sugges-tions of the business community and urged them to comeforward and share their ideas and suggestions with thegovernment for economic growth and stability.—APP

ISLAMABAD—A delegation of GuangzhouGlobal Chamber of Commerce of China vis-ited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce &Industry led by its Vice Chairman Mr. ZhongShi and said that Pak-China Economic Cor-ridor will usher in a new era of economicdevelopment between the two countries, asit will bring revolutionary progress, espe-cially in Balochistan and Kashgar. He saidthe businessmen of both countries shouldtake maximum benefit of the Free TradeAgreement signed between Pakistan andChina to improve bilateral trade. He said thebilateral trade has reached US$ 12 billionand there is great potential to improve it.

He said many Chinese companies arealready working in Pakistan while manymore are looking at it as a promising coun-try for investment and joint ventures. Hesaid ICCI and Guangzhou Global Chamber

Pak-China economic corridorset to impart economic boom

should strengthen bilateral collaborationto bring the private sectors of both coun-tries even closer. In his welcome address,Khalid Chaudhry, Acting President,Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Indus-try said China is the largest trading partnerof Pakistan and many Chinese companiesby working in Pakistan are rendering greatcontribution to the economic developmentof our country.

He said the grant of GSP Plus to Paki-stan by the EU has created many new op-portunities for investment and Chinese in-vestors should take full benefit of suchopportunities by investing in Pakistan’stextile sector. Energy sector of Pakistan alsooffers tremendous prospects to foreign in-vestors and Chinese companies shouldalso enhance investment in this sector toearn lucrative returns.—INP

Olson, Dar discuss issuesof mutual interests

tween the two countries. The Minister em-phasized that an expeditious reimbursementof Coalition Support Fund will be helpful. TheAmbassador assured the Finance Ministerthat the US would continue to work with Pa-kistan for regional peace and stability.

He briefed the Finance Minister onscheduling of his meetings with the US of-ficials to discuss possibilities of exploringnew avenues in energy and economic co-operation. He informed the Minister thatall meetings have already been set andagenda has been firmed up. Dr. WaqarMasood, Finance Secretary and RanaAssad Amin, Advisor to Finance Ministrywere also present in the meeting.

TDAP boss warnsto sack corrupt

employeesKARACHI—Chief Execu-tive, Trade DevelopmentAuthority of Pakistan(TDAP), S M Muneer saidthat to improve the work-ing of TDAP, the employ-ees involved in corruptionand unethical activities,out of total 450 employeeswould be sacked. Confi-dence of people and busi-ness community is in-creasing due to businessfriendly policies of PrimeMinister, Nawaz Sharif,Federal Minister for Fi-nance, Ishaq Dar, FederalMinister for Commerce,Khurram Dastagir andChairman Federal Boardof Revenue (FBR), TariqBajwa and export target ofUS $ 50 Billion would beachieved. S.M.Muneerstated this at a dinnerhosted by Chairman BaigGroup of Companies,Dr.Mirza Ikhtiar Baig in hishonour. At this occasion,Governor Punjab,Chaudhry MohammadSarwar and Dr.Mirza IkhtiarBaig also expressed theirviews while President AllKarachi Industrial Alliance,Mian Zahid Hussain, Presi-dent KATI, Syed FarukhMazhar, Senator AbdulHaseeb Khan, KhalidTawab, Ishtiaq Baig, MalikKhuda Bux, ChairmanSaphire Group MianMohammad Abdullah andothers were present.—PR

Weekly inflationup by 0.19%

ISLAMABAD—The Sensi-tive Price Indicator (SPI) forthe week, ending on March27 for the lowest incomegroup up to Rs.8,000 regis-tered an increase of 0.19 percent as compared to theprevious week. The SPI forthe week under review inthe above mentionedgroup was recorded at204.72 points against 203.34points registered in the pre-vious week, according todata of Pakistan Bureau ofStatistics (PBS).

The weekly SPI hasbeen computed with base2007-2008=100, covering 17urban centers and 53 essen-tial items for all incomegroups and combined. TheSPI for the combined groupalso increased by 0.08 percent as it went up from211.62 points in the previ-ous week to 212.78 pointsin the week under review.As compared to the corre-sponding week of last year,the SPI for the combinedgroup in the week underreview witnessed increaseof 10.30 percent.

As compared to the lastweek, the SPI for the incomegroups from Rs.8001-12,000,Rs.12,001-18,000, Rs.18001-35,000 and above Rs.35,000increased by 0.14 percent,0.11 percent, 0.07 percentand 0.02 percent respec-tively. During the week un-der review average prices of12 items registered decrease,while that of 08 items in-crease with the remaining 33items’ prices unchanged.

The items which reg-istered decrease in theirprices during the weekunder review includedegg hen, onion, chickenlive (farm), wheat flour,wheat,sugar, L.P.G. (11kgcylinder), mash plus(washed), gram pluseswashed, masoor plus(washed) , tomatoes andvegetable ghee(loose).—PR

Currency Selling Buying

USA 97.90 97.70

UK 162.71 162.38

Euro 134.58 134.31

Canada 88.88 88.70

Switzerland 110.39 110.17

Australia 90.82 90.63

Sweden 15.12 15.09

Japan 0.9585 0.9567

Norway 16.32 16.28

Singapore 77.61 77.45

Denmark 18.03 18.05

Saudi Arabia 26.62 26.59

Hong Kong 12.62 12.59

Kuwait 347.66 347.95

Malaysia 29.88 29.82

Newzealand 84.99 84.82

Qatar 26.65 26.60

UAE 26.65 26.65

KR. WON 0.0916 0.0914

Thailand 3.010 3.004

ISLAMABAD—The National Assemblywas assured Friday that LNG will beimported from Qatar at the lowest pos-sible price. Minister for Petroleum andNatural Resources Shahid KhaqanAbbasi told the House during ques-tion hour that the government is cur-rently negotiating the procurement ofLNG and the import is likely to com-mence towards the end of current year.The Minister said the price of the LNGhas not yet been negotiated. This willbe negotiated in a transparent mannerafter the firming up of all the modali-ties of LNG procurement. He said thatthe price of LNG in the country will bekept 30 percent below than the Petro-leum. About the construction of LNGterminal, the Minister said work on itis continuing and it is expected to becompleted by November this year.

On Pakistan-Iran gas pipelineproject, the Minister said the gascouldn’t be imported from Iran till thelifting of sanctions on the country. Hesaid the present government hasamended 2012 Petroleum Policy to en-hance exploration of oil and gas in the

Qatar LNG import priceyet to be decided: Shahid

Price will be kept 30 pc below than petroleumcountry. The Minister said the gov-ernment is continuously exploring allavenues to remove the gas supply sideconstraints. He said that schedule forCNG stations will be reviewed upon im-provement in weather conditions andreduction in consumption by domesticsector. He said Balochistan is beinggiven priority in supply of gas.

Though it is difficult to extend net-work for the supply of gas to the entireprovince due to scattered populationand hilly terrain, yet 13 district head-quarters and 25 tehsil headquartershave been connected with gas in theprovince. Parliamentary Secretary forCabinet Secretariat Raja Javed Ikhlastold the House that the government hasnot signed any deal with Saudi Arabiafor the provision of arms and weapons.He said reports about sending of per-sonnel of armed forces to a specificcountry are also baseless. Minister ofState for Parliamentary Affairs ShaikhAftab Ahmad said that the governmentwants to give right of vote to the Over-seas Pakistanis.

He said currently a bill is being con-

sidered in this regard by Senate Stand-ing Committee on Law and Justice andthe committee will forward the processafter the submission of report. He as-sured that the Overseas Pakistanis willget the right of vote before the nextgeneral elections. On behalf of Minis-ter for Communications, the Ministerof State for Parliamentary Affairs ShaikhAftab Ahmad said planning is beingmade to enhance connectivity throughnetwork of roads and motorways. Be-sides, Karachi-Lahore Motorway, thegovernment plans to constructMuzaffarabad-Mirpur Motorway. Allo-cations for these projects will be madein the next financial budget. Work onHassanabdal-Havelian motorway willsoon be started as the land has beenacquired for the project.

He said new technologies and non-conventional materials have been in-troduced for the maintenance andconstruction of roads. He said thePrime Minister has issued directionsfor early completion of Islamabad Air-port and work on the project has beenexpedited.—INP

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid KhaqanAbbassi offering dua after inaugurating Northern Gas Pipelines Limited CustomerService Centre Regional Office at I-9.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd has takenanother step in its efforts to promote solarenergy solutions in Pakistan by ensuringprovision of turnkey solutions for SolarATMs, which can become a premier solu-tion for facilitating uninterrupted onlinebanking services and overcome electricityshortages in the country. Buksh Energy hastaken this step as part of its energy solu-tions for sustainability and growth of thecountry. This will help to provide 24/7online banking services to its customer’sdeemed mission critical by the State Bankof Pakistan.

The company first introduced its SolarATM’s in Pakistan in 2012 to cater the needsof commercial setups of Banks in the coun-try with other leading financial institutionsin the pipeline. It has partnered with BankAlfalah, United Bank Limited and SoneriBank to install solar ATM’s and to ensure

Buksh Energy to providetechnical services for solar ATMs

provision of continuous banking servicesresolving their downtime issues while pro-viding financial benefits and brand equityto banks. Mr. Asim Buksh, Chairman, BukshEnergy said. “Frequent downtime of ATM’shas always created hindrances for the in-stitutions as well as their customers; how-ever, through solar ATMs, this downtimewill be minimized.”

“By adapting Solar ATM’s, banks canreduce their diesel consumption every monthup to 56.4% from 1100liters to 480litres. Ms.Fiza Farhan, Director, Buksh Energy sharedher views as, “Solar ATM’s will not only pro-vide the consumer index for banks but it canbecome a great source for increasing theirbrand value in fostering efficient and con-sistent services. It will also enable the banksto reduce the carbon footprint by 5760kgthus paving the way for environment friendlybanking and setting an example in the in-dustry for other financial institutions to-wards green banking.”

Samsung toshowcase latest

InnovationsKARACHI—Samsung Elec-tronics Co. Ltd. announcedit will be showcasing a lineupof monitors at its MENA Fo-rum in Malaga, Spain. Theline-up includes the UD590,SD590, SD390 and SD391monitors, all of which pro-vide consumers and busi-nesses with the latest inno-vations in monitor technol-ogy, packaged into a func-tional and aesthetic design.The UD590 is an Ultra HighDefinition (UHD) monitorthat delivers detailed, high-pixel imaging and stunninglyrealistic colors.

It is capable of produc-ing lifelike images with themost accurate color repre-sentation. The SD590 fea-tures a modern, minimalisticdesign with a super slim nar-row bezel that is nearly in-visible, while the elegantdesign of the SD390 andSD391 introduces a newTouch of Color (ToC) ele-ment with pure blue infusedthroughout the entire bezel.

“We are excited to show-case our newest monitorswith our partners and dis-tributors here at theSamsung Forum,” saidChoong Ro Lee, Presidentof Samsung Middle East andNorth Africa. “Our newlineup of monitors meets theincreasing demand fromconsumers and businessesthat are seeking the highestresolution, improved picturequality, unique designs andthe best multimedia for en-tertainment.”—PR

NUML, AskariBank sign MoUISLAMABAD—National Uni-versity of Modern Languages(NUML), Islamabad inked aMemorandum of Understand-ing (MoU) with Askarai BankLtd to extend some particle fi-nancial protections and wel-fare to faculty members andstaff of the University. In thesigning ceremony of MoU, Di-rector General (DG) Brig AzamJamal and Qaisar H. Abbasi,Country Head ConsumerBanking Group Askari Bank,signed an MoU in the pres-ence of Sher AfghanKhanzada, Regional GeneralManager (North), MalikSuleman Hassan, Area Man-ager, Islamabad, Salman Fazal,Chief Manager of AskariBank, Director Finance NUMLTufail Khalil, Deans and Direc-tors of the University.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Qaisar H. Abbasi,Country Head ConsumerBanking Group AskariBank, said that under thispartnership with NUML,Askari Bank would providefinancial support and facili-ties to employees at the bestever rates at one place. Be-sides, it would also be sup-porting the University in itsintellectual and academicpursuits for the benefits ofstudents and faculty, as itwould be a contributionfrom Askari Bank towardsa higher cause of education,he added.

DG Brig Azam Jamal saidit was great honour andpleasure for the Universitythat all the top brass ofAskari Bank had gatheredunder one roof.—PR

Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig and Ishtiq Baig hosted a dinner reception in honour of Mr SMMuneer, CEO TADP attended by Governor Punjab. Photo shows: US Consul GeneralMichael Dodman, SM Muneer, Nisar Khuhru, President National Bank Syed IqbalAshraf, Governor Punjab Ch Muhammad Sarwar, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Chief Secre-tary Sindh Sajjad Saleem Hotiana, Ishtiaq Baig and Mian Zahid Hussain.

SHARAFAT KAZMI

ISLAMABAD—“Development is not pos-sible without public sector reforms and weare working with academia and research in-stitutions like SDPI to move forward in re-form of Civil Service, Taxation System, Po-licing, Criminal Justice System and Educa-tion”, said the Federal Minister for Plan-ning, Development and Reform, Prof. AhsanIqbal, while meeting with Dr. Peter Taylor,from International Development ResearchCentre (IDRC), Canada, which works in col-laboration with Sustainable DevelopmentPolicy Institution (SDPI) to support re-search in developing countries to promotegrowth and development through network-ing and knowledge sharing between scien-tific, academic, and development commu-nities in the field of Agriculture, Health,Science and Innovation, and, Social andEconomic Policies.

Federal Minister further said, “we appre-

Ahsan stresses reforms forsocio-economic development

ciate the valuable input SDPI provided inthe formation of our Vision 2025 through itsengagement on inclusiveness, issues of en-ergy, development, economy and social sec-tor reforms. We are working to align nationalresearch agenda with our development pri-orities and goals so that there is develop-ment dividend for every rupee invested inresearch. Pakistan is lagging behind in so-cial sector indicators and we plan to givesocial sectors to priority in our developmentstrategy to develop our human resourcepotential according to world class standards.

Planning Commission is working oncollaborative model to promote greater en-gagements between academia, research andgovernment.” As a way forward for theseinstitutions to enhance their cooperationand assistance in research and develop-ment, Federal Minister advised that SDPIshould create linkages with the educationinstitutions and launch a debate to bridgeknowing-doing gape.

KARACHI: Sharmila Farooqi, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh for Cultureand Tourism and Susan K Slomback, Chief of Party, USAID’s Entrepreneurs Projectpose at Pakistan Hand Embellished Fabrics Industry Conference and Exhibition.

ISLAMABAD: DG Brig Azam Jamal and Qasier H Abbasi, Country Head of ConsumerBanking Group Askari Bank, exchanging documents after signing an MoU at NUML.

ISLAMABAD: Khalid Ch, acting President ICCI and Zong Shi, Vice Chairman,Ghaungzo Global Chamber of Commerce of China pose for a group photo.

KARACHI—National Bank of Pakistan heldits 65th Annual General Meeting at a localhotel in Karachi on Friday 28th, 2014. Themeeting was well attended by the share-holders. The Chairman NBP, Mr. MuneerKamal and President NBP Mr. Syed AhmedIqbal Ashraf also attended the meeting. Thebank’s performance during the year washighlighted in a presentation to the share-holders. The shareholders were informedthat Central bank reduced its policy rate byaverage 200 bps from 2012 besides linkingminimum profit rate on deposit with SBPrepo rate thereby increasing the minimumdeposit rate to 7% from 6 % last year. Cal-culation mechanism for profit payment was

NBP holds 65th annual general meeting

also changed. Due to these factors thebank’s interest margin like other banks re-mained under pressure.

The impact on net interest margin waspartially offset through volume increase es-pecially in high yielding advance salary, agri-culture financing and gold loans The bankposted operational profit (pre-provision profit)of Rs. 27.5 billion compared to Rs. 32.4 billion(restated) last year registering a decline ofRs. 4.9 billion mainly due to the above-men-tioned factors. The bank’s pre-tax profitabil-ity decreased to Rs. 7.1 billion compared toRs. 21.4 billion (restated) due to higher provi-sion charge in overseas branches and lowernet interest margins.—PR

KARACHI: Players of Sindh and HEC Women hockey teams in action during National Women Hockey Champion-ship 2014 at Hockey Club.

MULTAN: Regional Manager Bank Alfalah, Farooq Qamar Khan inaugurating Gen Shahid Hamid Khan MemorialAll Pakistan Golf Championship 2014.

LAHORE: A view of polo match played between teams of Pakistan and Chile at LahoreRacecourse Polo Ground

PESHAWAR—University of CentralPunjab Lahore upset University ofPeshawar in the thrilling final of theAll-Pakistan Inter-University MenVolleyball Championship played atAgriculture Sports Complex on Fri-day.

Parliamentary Secretary Planningand Development Mian Khaliq-ur-Rehman was the chief guest on thisoccasion. Director Admission UoPProfessor Dr. Hizbullah, DirectorSports Agriculture University SwatKhan, Organizing Secretary and Di-rector Sports University of PeshawarBahre Karam, players, officials andlarge number of spectators were alsopresent on this occasion.

In the thrilling final, it was ex-pected that University of Peshawarwould give tough fight to Univer-sity of Central Punjab but all provedotherwise when University of Cen-tral Punjab marched into the victoryat 25-20, 25-22 and 25-23.

The players of Universi ty ofCentral Punjab players comprisingAli Sher, Majid, Kashif, Abdul Rauf,Fazal, Bilal and Sajid played well bykeeping Universi ty of Peshawarteam under tremendous pressureand won the final in straight sets.

University of Central Punjabclinch Men Volleyball title

For Universi ty of PeshawarMudassir, Saeed Ullah, Aamir andSamar, the main smashes were failedto click in front of solid blocks ofUniversity of Central Punjab andthus they were failed to click.

On the other hand University ofCentral Punjab team fully dominatedthe proceedings and did not allowhost Universi ty of Peshawar tostrike back. In the first set Univer-sity of Peshawar got the lead of 0-5, 3-9 and 5-12, 6-17, but Universityof Central Punjab all the time tiedthe tally 5-5, 9-9, 12-12, 17-17, andlater on the set was also tied at 19-19, 20-20 and thus University ofCentral Punjab won the set by 25-20. The same was the situation inthe other two sets wherein both theteams struggle their hard for singlepoint. The second set was tied at 7-7, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, 15-16,20-20 and 22-22 while the third setwas tied at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 14-14, 15-15, 18-18, 19-19,20-20 , 21-21, 23-23 and thus at thelast University of Central Punjabwon the battle by 25-23.

Earlier, in the first semi-final Uni-versity of Central Punjab defeatedAgriculture University Peshawar by

3-1 in a thrilling match. For Agricul-ture University Peshawar Naseem,Waqas, Riaz, Sadam, MuhammadIshfaq played well, specially in thefirst set they won by 16-25.

Universi ty of Central Punjabplayers staged a strong comebackwhen they won three consecutivesets by 25-20, 25-23 and 25-20. ForUniversi ty of Central Punjab AliSher, Majid, Kashif, Abdul Rauf,Fazal Gul and Sajid played well.

In the second semi-final Univer-sity of Peshawar defeated Univer-si ty of Science and TechnologyBannu by 3-0, the score was 25-23,25-20 and 25-21.

For Universi ty of PeshawarMudassir, Saeed Ullah, Aamir,Samar, Khalid and Adnan playedwell while for Bannu Waseem,Asmat Ullah, Waqas, Idress andMohib played well.

At the end, the chief guest gaveaway trophies and cash prizes to thewinners and runners-up. Universityof Central of Punjab won the win-ner trophy, University of Peshawarwon runners-up trophy while Agri-culture University defeated UST,Bannu by 3-0 by taking third posi-tion.—APP Alex, Williams

excel inEngland win indisability seriesKARACHI—Alex Hammondhit a superb half century andJorden Williams and JimmyWilliams shared seven wicketbetween as England defeatedPakistan by nine wickets inthe second one day interna-tional to level the 3-matchdisablity series 1-1 at the ICCGlobal Cricket AcademyDubai, according to detailsreceived here on Friday.

The series deciding thirdand final one-dayer will beplayed on Saturday.

Jordem Williams cap-tured four wickets for 37 runsand Jummy Williams tookthree wickets for 28 runs andAlex Hammond 2-26 as Paki-stan team batting first,crashed 105 all out in 22.4overs. Jahanzaib Tiwanasmashed 56-ball 58 withseven boundaries andAbdullah hit three fours in his21.

England impaired cricket-ers in reply raced to victoryfor the loss of one wickets in22.4 overs. Alex Hammondblasted seven fours in his 56off 62-ball. Summarized score.

Pakistan 105 all out in 22.4overs (Jahanzaib Tiwana 58,Abdullah 21, JordemWalliams 4/37, Jimmywalliams 3/28, Alex Hammond2/26) England 106-1 in 22.4overs (Alex Hammond 56,Gordon Laid 35, Calum Flynn10 not out 10).—APP

LAHORE—A heavy programme was gonethrough in various events on the openingday of the 3rd Chromatex Table TennisMasters Cup here on Friday at ChromatexTable Tennis Hall.

Ahmer Malik, Secretary, Pakistan TableTennis Federation was the chief guest ofopening ceremony of the event whose par-ticipating teams are Chromatex Chemicals,OGDC, KPK, NHA, Azad Jammu & Kash-mir, Pakistan Railways, FATA,HEC, MLC,Islamabad and Punjab.

Following were the results of matches,(Mens team event, pre-Quarterfinals) KPKbt AJK by 3-0, Sajid (KPK) bt Umair 3-0(AJK), Syed Atif (KPK) Ali bt Seemab(AJK) 3-0, Fahad Khan (KPK) bt Jehangir(AJK) 3-1 Islamabad bt MLC 3-1, NazimAshraf (MLC) bt Bilal (ISD) 3-0, Rehan (ISD)bt Allemuddin (MLC) 3-0. Qmar (ISD) btJaffar (MLC) 3-0. Rehan (ISD) bt Nazim

Chromatex Table TennisMasters Cup begins

Ashraf (MLC) 3-2 Pakistan Railways btFATA 3-1, Massod Ali (RLY) bt Bilal (FATA)3-0, Hamid Siddiqui (RLY) bt Roohullah(FATA) 3-0, Abdul Rehman (FATA) btFaizan (RLY) 3-0. Masood Ali (RLY)Roohullah (FATA) 3-1.

(Women’s Event Resuls, Group League)HEC beat MLC by 3-1, Iqra Saeed (MLC) btFarah (HEC) 3-1, Saba (HEC) bt humaira(MLC) 3-0, Anam Saeed (HEC) bt MLC beatKPK by 3-0.

Nairus Fareed (MLC) 3-0, Saba (HEC)bt Iqra Saeed 3-0,Iqra saeed (MLC) btMadiha (KPK) 3-0, Nairus Fareed (MLC) btSana (KPK) 3-1, Humaira (MLC) bt Noureen(KPK) 3-0, HEC beat KPK by3-1.

Sahrish (HEC) bt Sana 3-1, Anam Saeed(HEC) bt Madiha (KPK) 3-0, Atiqa, (HEC)bt Noureen (KPK) 3-0.

Men’s and Women’s singles event willstart tomorrow.—APP

IS L A M A B A D—Crickets teams ofIslamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa weredeclared joint champions of the PoliceMartyrs’ Memorial Cricket tournament2014 as the final match between bothteams could not be held due to rain.

This tournament called ‘All PakistanJan Nisar T-20 Cricket Tournament’ washeld from March 24 to March 28 and eightcricket teams including Islamabad Police,Frontier Constabulary, Balochistan Po-lice, Punjab Police, Sindh Police, KPKPolice, FIA and National Highways andMotorways Police participated in thetournament.

DIG (Headquarters) Khalid Khattaksaid that this tournament was held to re-member those gallant cops who sacrificedtheir lives to protect the lives of others.He said the whole nation is proud of thesebrave sons of the soil and they wouldremain always alive in our heart.

DIG (Headquarters) said that

Islamabad, KP Policecricket teams share trophy

after final washed outIslamabad Police had organized suchtournament in the past which was greatlysupported. This event dedicated to themartyred cops would be made held in fu-ture too, he said.

He congratulated AIG (Establishment)Ashraf Zubair Siddiqui and his team in-cluding SP Headquarters Gulfam Nasir, SPCID Zubair Ahmed Sheikh, DSP Head-quarters Ashraf Shah over making ar-rangements for this tournament and or-ganizing this event successfully.

He said that such activities will alsoremain continue in upcoming days so thatpolicemen can also participate in thesports activities besides performing theirprofessional duties.

In the end, DIG (Headquarters) dis-tributed trophies and prizes among thoseplayers who showed good performancein the tournament. The Captains of bothteam also shared the trophy of the tour-nament.—APP

MULTAN—The fifth Bank Alfalah MajorGeneral Shahid Hamid Khan Memorial AllPakistan Multan Open Golf Champion-ship 2014 was teed off by Bank Alfalahregional manager Farooq Qamar Khan atthe picturesque Multan Golf Club (MGC)on Friday.

Professional and amateurs from acrossPakistan and other countries are partici-pating in the three-day event.

MGC president Brig. Mukhtar Ahmadtold media persons that prize money forprofessional category top performer hasbeen raised up to Rs 1 million while SuzukiMultan Motors have announced to give800 CC Suzuki Mehran car to the winneras Hole in One.

Three motorcycles including onesponsored by Zong Telecom would begiven as prizes to the good performers in

Major-Gen. Shahid HamidMemorial Golf C’ship tees off

the amateur category matches.Variety of other prizes would also be

awarded to golfers for longest drive, clos-est to pin, maximum par, maximum bird-ies, and maximum eagles.

The tournament has been dedicatedto and named after Late Major GeneralShahid Hamid Khan who was the patronof MGC and very keen and ardent golfer.His untimely death on March 25 2010 leftall the members and staff of MGC grievedand sorrowful, says a release.

MGC is one of the best golf coursesin the country having a full fledged18xHoles lush green category A golf play-ing facility equipped with lighting sys-tem at Fairways 9 and 18, sprinkling sys-tem, a state of the art sports complex withnew exercise machines while renovationof swimming pool was in progress.—APP

Men NetballChampionshipfrom April 15

I S L A M A B A D — P a k i s t a nNetball Federation (PNF),in collaboration with Paki-stan Sports Board, will beholding the 13th NationalMen Netball Champion-ship 2014 here at HamidiHall of Pakistan SportsComplex from April 15 to18.

A total of 16 teams willbe participating in thismega event including ,Islamabad, defendingchampions Army, Police,Navy, Air Force, Wapda,Railways, High EducationCommission, Sindh,Punjab, Baluchistan, KPK,Fata, AJK, GB and LUMS.

The President, PNFZafar Iqbal Awan hasformed an eight-memberRules & Technical Commit-tee for the championshipwhich will be responsibleto all rules matter in andout of ground.

The committee com-prises Abdul Razak Arainas Chairman while mem-bers include Syed ToqeerAhmed, MuhammadRizwan, Ajza ul Haq, NadiaChamkani, Major (R)Saleem, Mudassar Arainand Anwar Ahmed Ansari.

The technical officialsnominated for the saidchampionship includeMaqbool Ahmed, ShaziaYousaf, Uzma Waqar,Anwar Ahmed, KhalidParvez, Jamaluddin, YasirJaved, MohammadArshad, Shoaib Ahmed,Shahid Amin, Said Nawaz,Muhammad Riaz, SufyanQuershi and Sohail Ahmed.

The PNF will providethe TA/DAs to all partici-pating teams excluded de-partments as per PNFRules and also award thetrophies, medals, certifi-cates, shields & cashPrizes to successfulteams.—APP

PESHAWAR—Muqadas Ashraf of PakistanWapda clinched the trophy after defeatingsixth seeded Riffat Khan of ZTBL in the finalof the 5th ICMS National Women SquashChampionship played here at PAF HashimKhan Squash Complex on Friday.

Muqadas Ashraf, a very senior playerentered into the Championship as secondseed, recorded victory against strong RiffatKhan who also upset top seed and PakistanNo. 1 Zoya Khalid, four ranking player SamarAnjum and Aroma in the first round, quar-ter-final and semi-final before reaching thegrand final.

Both Muqadas Ashraf and Riffat Khanwere stretched to four sets battle, the scorewas 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8. Muqadas Ashrafalso made two upsets in the Championshipby defeating Rushna Mehboob in semi-fi-nal and Saima Shoukat in the first round.

Muqadas Ashraf of Pakistan Wapda tookthe first set by 11-6 and did the same withfine knock of winning the second set 11-6.Muqadas has better length shorts and force-ful smashes, putting Riffat Khan under tre-mendous pressure that is why Riffat Khandid some key errors despite leading the sec-ond set with 1-5 and 2-6 but Muqadasstaged a comeback and tied the tally 6-6 be-fore winning the set by 11-6.

It was in the third set in which Riffat Khanmade a strong struggle by taking the set 9-11. Riffat Khan played a slower game whileMuqadas speeded up with some strongsmashes were also witnessed. After takingthe set 9-11 by Riffat Khan, Muqadas Ashraf

Muqadas bags NationalWomen Squash Championship

gave more speed to the play by putting RiffatKhan in the back of the court. The set wasalso tied at 6-6, 7-7, 8-8 and 9-all before RiffatKhan took it by 9-11.

It was the last and decisive set whenMuqadas Ashraf faced tough resistance atthe hands of Riffat Khan. Right from the startof the fourth sets, there were strong strugglebetween the two players for a single pointsthat is why it tied at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8 andthus Muqadas got it by 11-8. It was RiffatKhan four consecutive final she is playing.“I will try more hard to break the ice of win-ning the title,” Riffat Khan added. Muqadaswhile talking to APP, said that she is tryingher level best to give the best. “Riffat playedwell,” .

A total of top 16 players including fourplayers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took partin the Championship carried Rs. 0.1 millionas cash prize. At the end of the Champion-ship MNA Aysha Gulalay, who was the chiefguest on this occasion, gave away trophiesand cash prizes to the players.

Speaking on this occasion, PTI MNAAysha Gulaly said that problems confront-ing to the players of squash and other gameswould be solved on priorities basis and thegovt of KP has taken some key steps of pro-vision better playing facilities to the play-ers. Qamar Zaman thanked Malik TajamalHayat for his support in holding the 5thICMS National Women Squash Champion-ship, which also carried 0.1 million as cashprizes besides awarding gifts to the play-ers.—APP

Sports Galaof IMDCconcludes

SPORTS REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The AnnualSports Gala of Islamabad Medi-cal and Dental College (IMDC)concluded on Friday here atMain College CampusBarakahu, as the chief guestchairman IMDC Ghulam AkbarKhan Niazi distributed theprizes among the winners andrunner-ups MBBS and BDSstudents of different classes.

The boys and girls com-peted in various sportsevents including cricket,athletics, football, basket-ball, table tennis and bad-minton. Also, traditional dis-ciplines three leg race, sackrace, pilo fight, girl skipping,ludo were the part of sportsgala that wasted five days.

Chairman IMDC GhulamAkbar Khan Niazi said onthis occasion that IMDCwas doing well in the pro-fessional education andalso providing opportuni-ties to the students to takepart in the healthy activitiesand to excel at national levelif they have sports talent.

“We will support ourstudents to move ahead inthe field of sports too, “heviewed. Fazal Karim Faisalwas declared the best maleplayers of the year whileNikhar Khan won the femaleaward of the same category.

Awais Niazi BDS (foot-ball boys), Mohammad AsadCh Final Year MBBS (basket-ball), Ashan Khalid 2nd yearMBBS (cricket), Mamoonashah 2nd year MBBS (foot-ball girls event) were awardedbest players in their respec-tive department and receivedspecial shields.

CARLSBAD, United States: Paula Creamer of the USA hits an approach shot duringLPGA Tour’s Kia Classic Golf Championship.

MI R P U R—West Indian battingpower ejected Australia from theprevious World T20 in Sri Lankaand has all but done so again af-ter Darren Sammy pulled off a re-

markable heist in Mirpur. ChrisGayle gave West Indies a blazingstart to their chase of 179 but theyspluttered in the middle and Aus-tralia were firm favourites whenGeorge Bailey handed the ball toMitchell Starc with 31 still neededfrom the final two overs.

Sammy had other ideas. A half-volley was smashed over long-onfor six, a flick was finessed to thefine-leg boundary and anotherfour was slashed behind point,and Starc’s inability to land theball in the right spots meant 19runs had leaked from his over, leav-ing 12 required off the final sixballs. Importantly, Sammy was onstrike, though his partner DwayneBravo had contributed plenty tothe chase with 27 off 12 deliver-ies.

Two yorkers from JamesFaulkner gave Bailey reason tobreathe easier, but Sammy fol-lowed those with a six crunchedover long-off from a full toss andanother six down the ground tosecure the six-wicket win with twoballs to spare. Sammy threw hisarms up in the air to celebrate and

Sammy blasts West Indies tothrilling win over Australia

Australia innings:Finch b Samuels ............ 16Warner b Badree ........... 20Watson st Ramdin b Narine2Maxwell b Badree .......... 45Bailey b Samuels ........... 12Hodge b Narine ............. 35Faulkner c Bravob Santokie ...................... 13Haddin not out .............. 15Starc c Russell b Bravo .. 4Muirhead not out ............ 1Extras: (b 2, w 7, nb 6) ... 15Total: (8 wickets) ......... 178Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-41, 3-41, 4-77, 5-100, 6-152, 7-154,8-171Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WK Santokie ............ 4-0-30-1S Badree ............... 4-0-37-2Samuels ................ 2-0-20-2SP Narine .............. 4-1-19-2

Sammy .................. 1-0-16-0Bravo .................... 4-0-39-1Russell .................. 1-0-15-0West Indies innings:Smith c Haddin b Starc . 17Gayle b Muirhead ......... 53Simmons c Maxwell bBollinger ......................... 26Samuels b Starc ............. 12Bravo not out ................ 27Sammy not out .............. 34Extras: (b 2, lb 6, w 2) .... 10Total: (4 wickets) ......... 179Fall of wickets: 1-50, 2-101,3-107, 4-130Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WWatson ................. 2-1-11-0Starc ...................... 4-0-50-2Bollinger ............... 4-0-34-1Maxwell ................ 3-0-28-0JP Faulkner ........ 3.4-0-27-0Muirhead .............. 3-0-21-1

MIRPUR: Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy break into a dance afterWest Indies beat Australia in World T20, Group-2 match on Friday.

well he might have, for his 34 off13 balls was the reason WestIndies managed the highest suc-cessful chase in their T20 interna-tional history.

Australia were shattered bythe loss, which left them winlessfrom their first two games. Evenvictories in their remainingmatches against India andBangladesh may well be inad-equate to progress to the semi-fi-nals. It has been a harsh lessonfor a side who entered the tourna-ment as favourites with five winsfrom their past five games - nota-bly, all in faster, more familiar con-ditions. Here their batsmen againstruggled against spin.

Not that their total of 178 for 8was unable to be defended; on thecontrary, they must have felt con-fident at the change of innings,even more so after Shane Watsonsent down a maiden for the firstover of the chase to DwayneSmith. After that, though, it wasthe Gayle show. His first ball wasa pearler from Starc, angling inand straightening past the outsideedge, but that was about the onlytime Gayle looked troubled.

Four fours followed later in thatsame over and the old Gayle magicwas back. He clipped DougBollinger over square leg for six

and continued to strike the ballcleanly in all directions, taking 40from his first 14 deliveries. Smithedged behind off Starc for 17 butGayle was the worry for Austra-

lia, and after hisbrisk start he settleddown into a morerun-a-ball mode,moving to his half-century from 31balls.

At times he waswalking singles,such was the easewith he appeared tobe taking things,but on 53 he sent acatch to deepmidwicket off JamesMuirhead and thefate of the matchlooked as if it mayhave changed onthat one stroke. Theruns began to dryup, Lendl Simmonswas caught in thedeep for 26 andMarlon Samuelsused up 15 balls forhis 12 before he wasbrilliantly taken byBrad Haddin divingto his right offStarc.

It was the lastgood thing Starc didfor the match -Bravo clubbed himfor six later in thatover, and then itwas the Sammyshow.

Those two finalovers were fatal toAustralia in thismatch, but their lackof big runs fromtheir top three bats-men has also hurt

them in both games.As they had in the loss to Pa-

kistan, Australia again relied onMaxwell to rebuild the innings af-ter the top three struggled againstquality spin.This time,D a v i dWarner andAaron Finchat leastmade startsbut they fellin consecu-tive overswhile tryingto force thepace - Finchwas bowledfor 16 at-tempting aslog sweepoff Samuelsand SamuelB a d r e e ’ sskidder tookm i d d l estump toe n dWarner’s in-nings on 20.

Watson failed to get going forthe second consecutive game, thistime stumped for 2 from eight ballswhen Sunil Narine turned one pastthe bat.

Denesh Ramdin was hardlycrisp behind the stumps but suchwas Watson’s apparent lack ofawareness that his back foot wason the line that Ramdin was ableto miss the bails on his first at-tempt at breaking them, thenknock them off at the second tryand still find Watson short.

When Bailey sent a catch tomidwicket off Samuels for 12,Australia were in a spot of botherat 77 for 4, and it looked like spincould be their undoing in a tour-nament played in turning condi-tions. But Maxwell showedagainst Pakistan that such bowl-ing does not worry him, and herehe followed 16 off a Sammy overwith a couple more sixes, slogswept off Samuels and crunchedover extra cover off Badree.

There was no crazily fast half-century for Maxwell as there hadbeen against Pakistan, but his 45from 22 - he pulled a catch to deepmidwicket off Badree - at least putAustralia on the path to a com-petitive total.

Brad Hodge, who entered thematch as Twenty20’s leading runscorer of all time, had enough ex-perience to steer the innings uptowards the 150 mark, his 35 end-ing only when he tried to reversesweep Narine and was bowled.

The lower order added a fewboundaries to get the total up to178 for 8 but it was not enough.West Indies now have everychance of advancing to the semi-finals and maybe defending theirtitle, won in Sri Lanka in 2012 afterGayle monstered Australia in thesemi-final with 75 off 41 balls. Aus-tralia will almost certainly fly homenext week wondering how onearth they can win this elusive tro-phy. Perhaps if Gayle retires be-fore the next tournament theymight have some chance—AFP

MIAMI—China´s Li Na advanced to the fi-nal of the WTA Tour´s Miami hardcourttournament by beating Dominika Cibulkovaof Slovakia 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 on Friday.

Li will next face top seed Serena Will-iams who beat Russian Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi-final on Thursday.

World number two Li hit two aces andhad six double faults but she won 46 of 79first serve points in the twohour, 20 minute match.

Meanwhile, World No. 1Rafael Nadal advanced tothe semi-finals of the ATPTour´s Miami Masters tour-nament Thursday by rally-ing to beat Canadian 12thseed Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-2,6-4.

Spain´s Nadal, who haslost three times in the Miamifinal, clinched the victory onthe first match point in thethird set when Raonic failedto reach a spinning serve outwide on hardcourts at theCrandon Park Tennis Center.“Today was a special oppo-nent with an unbelievableserve and with a stronggame from the baseline. Nor-mally I have to be better thanhim, so I tried to use thatstrategy,” Nadal said.

Top seed Nadal ad-vances to the semis, wherehe will face seventh seededTomas Berdych, who cooledoff the red-hot UkrainianAlexandr Dolgopolov instraight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3),earlier in the day.

Raonic kept Nadal on his heels with hisstrong serving in the first set. But Nadalrecovered quickly in the second to get aservice break.

Nadal was on his toes and movingquicker side to side as he took advantageof Raonic´s slower second serve to win thefinal two sets to close out the two and ahalf hour match.

He tallied just two aces but won 47 of63 points on his first serve. “I was lucky atthe beginning of the second set because I

Li to meet Serena inMiami final

started with a break and that was very im-portant for me,” Nadal said. “I felt that Ifinished the match playing better. “I think Istarted the match playing okay, but not play-ing well on the break points.”

Raonic hammered eight aces but alsomade five double faults. Raonic won just18 points on his second serve, or 39 per-cent, compared to a 57 percent second serve

ratio for Nadal. “He just had the right ap-proach after that first set,” Roanic said. “Wewere both struggling quite a bit. He let go alittle bit more. He´s been in that situationmuch more than I have. He dealt with it froma mental and strategical side better than Idid.”

Nadal has reached the quarter-finals orbetter in his last six appearances in Miamibut he has failed to win the title. He lostthree times in the final in 2011, 2008 and2005.—AFP

MIAMI: Li Na of China returns the ball to DominikaCibulkova of Slovakia during the semi-final of WTATour´s Miami hardcourt tournament.

CARLSBAD (United States)—Paula Creamerand Mariajo Uribe, of Colombia, fired five-under 67s to share the lead after the firstround of the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic onFriday.

American Creamer won for the 10th timeon the Tour earlier this year at the HSBCWomen’s Champions, while Uribe claimedthe title at the 2011 LPGA Brazil Cup.

“I played pretty solid.I had one bogey,but I gave myself a bunch of opportunities,and you know, putted really well, madesome good two-putts,” said Creamer.

Cristie Kerr began her tournament witha four-under 68 at the Park Hyatt AviaraGolf Club.She was joined in third place byChina’s Feng Shanshan, England’s JodiEwart Shadoff and Lee Mi-Hyang, of SouthKorea.

World number one Park In-bee was onestroke back at three under and shares sev-enth place with Lexi Thompson, Tiffany Joh,

Creamer, Uribe leadKia Classic

Azahara Munoz and Lizette Salas.Stacy Lewis fired a two-under 70.She is

one of 18 players tied for 12th.Japan’s AiMiyazato and 2011 US Women’s Openchampion Ruy So-Yeon are also in thegroup at two under.

The 27-year-old Creamer had consecu-tive birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 after begin-ning her round on the back nine.She addedtwo more birdies on 17 and 18 to make theturn at three under.

Creamer birdied No. 2 to reach four-un-der and she tied for the lead with a birdie atthe eighth hole.

“And I think it’s an advantage playingearly in the morning, and I wanted to takethat advantage and try and get as manybirdies, but eliminate the bogeys,” Creamersaid.

Park said she is hoping to improve hershort game on Friday.—AFP

Chandimal suspendedfor one match

CHITTAGONG—Dinesh Chandimal will miss Sri Lanka’sfinal group match against New Zealand after he was sus-pended for one game due to Sri Lanka being found guiltyof maintaining a slow over rate for the second time inside12 months under his leadership.

ICC match referee David Boon ruled Sri Lanka were oneover short, as they strove todefend 189 against England inChittagong on Thursday.Chandimal will also be docked20% of his match fee, whilehis team incurs a 10% fine.Chandimal had pleaded notguilty to the offence, setting afull hearing in motion on Fri-day, but the charge and pen-alty were upheld by Boon.

Sri Lanka had deliberatedon bowling strategy at lengthin the final overs of the game,and had also routinely soughtto dry the ball, which was be-coming covered in dew. TheICC rule allows for reasonable

time expenditures beyond the players’ control - presumablyincluding the drying of a wet ball - but despite this, and alsohaving bowled spinners for eight of their 19.2 overs, Sri Lankawere ruled to have taken too long in the field.

Chandimal’s previous offence had come on November21 against New Zealand, in Pallekele. The team had beenone over short on that occasion as well, and he had alsoincurred a 20% fine that served as a warning for suspen-sion. Sri Lanka team manager Michael de Zoysa said LasithMalinga would captain the side in Chandimal’s absence.

In better news for Sri Lanka, Mahela Jayawardene hasbeen cleared of serious damage after his left ring fingerwas dislocated when he dropped Alex Hales at deep square-leg. He had the finger put back into position and an x-rayconfirmed no fracture.—AFP

LONDON—Manchester United’s seniorhierarchy is “evaluating all possibilities”as it attempts to arrest the club’s steepdescent under David Moyes. Contrary topublic statements that Sir Alex Ferguson’ssuccessor will definitely be granted atleast a second season as manager,Moyes’ dismissal is prominent amongthose possibilities.

Though Tuesday’s humiliating 3-0home loss to Manchester City ensuredthat United’s first post-Ferguson seasonis statistically the club’s worst in the Pre-mier League era, the review of potentialcandidates to replace Moyes should notbe regarded as a knee-jerk reaction.

Key decision-makers within the OldTrafford board have been assessing po-tential replacements as manager for sev-eral weeks and further talks areplanned.

Having already sanctioned a spend ofover 70 million euros on two headlinetransfers, handed Wayne Rooney a club-record contract renewal, and approved anunprecedented recruitment spend for thissummer, the Glazer family is said to beconcerned that the Scot will continue todamage the value of their asset.

Recruited on the recommendation ofFerguson, Moyes was not the majorityshareholders’ preferred choice for theirfirst managerial appointment as ownersof the club.

The award of a six-year contract wasessentially a PR play, with Moyes’ con-tractual terms including a break clause

Manchester Unitedconsidering Moyes sacking

that enables the Americans to sack him atfar less than the full salary costs of thatterm.

Promoted to chief executive officer inthe same summer that Moyes was ap-pointed, Ed Woodward is also consciousthat his effectiveness in the new post hasbeen assessed in the context of resultsdelivered by another man’s choice asmanager.

In addition to overseeing a series ofperformances that saw the Premier Leaguechampions’ title defense effectively endin January, Moyes’ managerial decisionshave fomented grave internal dissentwithin United’s coaching, scouting andrecruitment staff. A strategy of attribut-ing under performance to the allegedlyseverely sub-standard squad he inheritedfrom Ferguson has proved particularly di-visive.

Key players are said to “have hadenough of the way Moyes is destroyingtheir reputation” with his repeated asser-tions that a squad that won the PremierLeague by 11 points last season requireda radical rebuild to have any chance ofretaining the title.

On the contrary, they believe theScot’s errant tactics and man managementhave caused the team’s decline.

Senior players talk of Moyes’ failureto understand the essence of Manches-ter United, and the confusions producedby his management following years ofcrystal-clear leadership underFerguson.—AFP

BANNING smoking in public placeshas helped to cut premature birthsby 10 per cent, according to new re-

search from the United States and Europe.A study in The Lancet medical journalfound that while the im-pact of anti-smoking lawsvaries between countries,the overall effect on childhealth around the world ispositive.

“Our research showsthat smoking bans are aneffective way to protectthe health of our chil-dren,” said Jasper Been ofthe University ofEdinburgh’s Centre forPopulation Health Sci-ences, who led the study.He said the findingsshould help to acceleratethe introduction of anti-smoking legislation in cit-ies, countries and districtswhich have yet to do so.

Laws banning smoking in public placessuch as bars, restaurants, offices and otherworkplaces have already been proven inprevious studies to protect adults from thehealth threats associated with passivesmoking.

According to the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), tobacco already killsaround 6 million people a year worldwide,including more than 600,000 non-smokerswho die from exposure to second-handsmoke. By 2030, if current trends continue,it predicts tobacco’s death toll could be 8

million people a year. Only 16 percent ofthe world’s population is covered by com-prehensive smoke-free laws, and 40 per-cent children worldwide are regularly ex-posed to second-hand smoke, the WHO

says.Public health experts

hope that as more and morecountries in Europe andaround the world adoptstricter legislation on smok-ing in public places, the healthbenefits will swiftly start tobecome evident.

Friday’s research inThe Lancet, which analyzeddata on more than 2.5 millionbirths and almost 250,000hospital attendances forasthma attacks, was the firstcomprehensive study to lookat how anti-smoking laws af-fect children’s health. Withresults from five NorthAmerican studies of local

bans and six European studies on nationalbans, it found rates of both pre-term birthsand hospital attendance for asthma fell by10 percent within a year of smoke-freelaws coming into effect.

“Together with the known health ben-efits in adults, our study provides clear evi-dence that smoking bans have consider-able public health benefits for perinataland child health,” said Been.

He said it also provided “strong sup-port for WHO recommendations to createsmoke-free public environments on a na-tional level.”

Smoking bans cut prematurebirths, child asthma attacks

Motorists waiting in a long queue to get CNG from a station at MA Jinnah Road.

Senior Provincial Minister for Education Nisar Ahmed Khuhru addressing a conference organised by Sindh Textbook Board at Arts Council.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—To commemorate WorldConsumer Rights Day, Helpline Trust hadorganized a Panel Discussion on “PuttingThe Consumer First” at a local hotel.

In his opening remark, Hamid Maker,Founder Trustee, Helpline Trust statedthat the biggest enemy of the consumeris the consumer himself, as he does notdemand quality nor is he prepared tolodge a complaint and highlighted the 8principal guidelines of Consumer Protec-tion laws, right to safety, right to be in-formed, right to choose, right to be heard,right to satisfaction of basic needs, right

to redress, right to education and right toa healthy environment.

He also thanked Sharmilla Faruqui,Member Sindh Assembly and Advisor toCM Sindh, for introducing the ConsumerProtection Laws (CPL), Sindh in theSindh Assembly.

He stated that presently, Sindh is theonly province in Pakistan without a CPLand hoped that it would soon become alaw, so that the consumers of Sindh areprotected from substandard, adulterated,contaminated and spurious products.

Sharmila Faruqui, who was theChief Guest, stated that the ConsumerProtection Laws (CPL) was prepared af-

ter careful consideration and promisedthat she would ensure that it is taken upin the next session of the Sindh Assem-bly and becomes a law.

Ambreen Waheed, the KeynoteSpeaker, spoke about Good Manufactur-ing Practice (GMP) and the obligationmanufacturers have towards consumersand about truth in marketing and advert-izing.

Zahid Saeed, MD, Indus Pharmastated that consumers do not demand awarranty when purchasing medicines,which is mandatory and also do not checkthe date of manufacture and expiry, sealsand batch number.

Biggest enemy of consumeris consumer himself

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh Minister for infor-mation, archives and local governmentSharjeel Innam Memon in his advice toHamza Shahbaz Sharif said that the lat-ter should instead of tendering hisadvices to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party,should advise Prime Minister of Paki-stan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharifand federal government not to bow downbefore Taliban terrorist. It had better forHamza Shahbaz Sharif to keep hisadvices to him for not speaking on is-sues of terrorism.

A severe scale of unrest has alreadypenetrated across the country because ofthe reconciliatory policy of federal gov-ernment with Taliban terrorists. Federalgovernment had affronted the constitu-tion of Pakistan by holding negotiations

with Taliban. Government of Punjabshould now stop patronising the terror-ists, said the Minister.

Memon while taking notice ofHamza Shahbaz Sharif’s statement saidthat he should instead advise federalgovernment and Prime Minister MianMuhammad Nawaz Sharif to strictly actin accordance with the provisions of theconstitution to rid the terrorist and ter-rorism. Federal government should stopbeseeching Taliban and deal with themwith an iron hand. Likewise, PunjabChief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharifshould also be advised to stop protect-ing and patronising terrorists.

The Minister for information saidthat federal government had dissolvedthe difference between a simple and lawabiding citizens of Pakistan and Talibanand Lashkar-e Jhangvi and raised paral-lel laws to see them separately. Despite

the fact that Taliban terrorists were an-nihilating the innocent citizens of Paki-stan, Government of Punjab was pro-viding them with secure and safe heav-ens in Punjab, deplored Memon.

Hamza Shahbaz Sharif had betterrealize the real situation and should stopplaying a child’s game by making suchinsane statements that meant to encour-aging Taliban terrorists and shouldrather look at the other side of thosefamilies that suffered irreparable lossto the hands of terrorist Taliban, he saidadding that federal government hadcaused a severe scale unrest to penetrateacross the country by adopting a policyof mutual understanding with terroristTaliban and by that policy of reconcili-ation, 180 million Pakistanis had en-tered a blind alley of intimidation andpremonition, which federal governmentshould review honestly.

Govt should deal Talibanwith an iron hand: Sharjeel

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh Chief Minister Syed QaimAli Shah while talking to a delegation of Mar-riage Hall Association (MHA) Karachi hasassured them that realistic approach wouldbe applied for recovering services taxes fromtheir business units.

He said that the proposal which they haveplaced today would be got examined from theconcerned authorities.

He said that Sindh Govt was already fol-lowing the friendly policy with its all stake-holders to promote business and investmentin each sector.

Asmattullah Khan Chairman MarriageHall Association Karachi Syed Anis-ur-Rehman President, Khawaja Tariq GeneralSecretary Syed Imtiaz Shah and other mem-bers were included in the delegation.

Talking on the occasion the ChairmanMHA Karachi, Asmatullah Khan said thatthey feel this tariff of tax on their businessunits as extra ordinary burdens over people.

They suggested that government mayimpose tax on the marriage halls accordingto their category instead of imposing on par-ties. They were of the view that this mecha-nism would be beneficial for all and to pre-vent all leakages in the recovery.

Qaim for realisticapproach for tax on

marriage halls

PPP won’t allowany damage toClifton templeSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Advisor to Paki-stan People’s Party Patron-in-Chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardarifor Minority Affairs SurendarValasai has said his Party is fullycommitted to the protection ofthe worship places of minoritiesacross the country and is fullycognizant of the issue ofRatneshwar Mahadev Temple inKarachi Clifton.

Valasai said PPP has alwaysled the struggle for minorityrights and is the only politicalparty where people from minor-ity community enjoy equalrights in its ranks and file. Hesaid PPP won’t allow any dam-age or harm to the Cliftontemple and its structure underany circumstances and stressedthat those who are bent uponpoliticizing the issue shouldwait for the technical aspect ofthe development work and itsimpact on the temple structures.

Surendar Valasai said Hin-dus, Christians, Dalits, Sikhsand other minorities living inPakistan are not orphans as PPPleadership has always stood fortheir rights and protection. Hesaid a elected representativesbelonging to Hindu communityhave visited the said templetwice and will furnish their re-port to Party leadership today.

Health projectsunder USAID

discussedSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The United StatesConsul General MichaelDodman called on Sindh Sec-retary Health Iqbal HussainDurrani. USAID SindhBalochistan Chief Leon Waskin,Sindh and Balochistan HealthProject Management SpecialistDr Zulfikar Gorar were present.

The US Consul General dis-cussed with Secretary Healthabout general health issuesprevalent in Sindh and ways tofurther promote the collaborationbetween USAID and SindhHealth Department. The meetinghad in particular discussed indetail about health-related issuesin Mithi district Tharparkar.

KU to holdworkshop ontechnology

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Department of In-ternational Relations, Univer-sity of Karachi (KU) is organiz-ing a two-day training workshopon research methodology at ArtsAuditorium on Monday.

The inaugural session of thetraining workshop will be heldon March 31 and KU Vice Chan-cellor Prof Dr MohammadQaiser would the be the chiefguest. Dean Faculty of Arts DeanProf Dr Moonis Ahmar wouldpreside over the inaugural ses-sion. Prof Dr S Mutahir Ahmed,Chairman, International Rela-tions Department and Dr. AnilaAmber, Chairperson, Depart-ment of Psychology would alsospeak in the inaugural session.

BANNING smoking in public placeshas helped to cut premature birthsby 10 per cent, according to new re-

search from the United States and Europe.A study in The Lancet medical journalfound that while the im-pact of anti-smoking lawsvaries between countries,the overall effect on childhealth around the world ispositive.

“Our research showsthat smoking bans are aneffective way to protectthe health of our chil-dren,” said Jasper Been ofthe University ofEdinburgh’s Centre forPopulation Health Sci-ences, who led the study.He said the findingsshould help to acceleratethe introduction of anti-smoking legislation in cit-ies, countries and districtswhich have yet to do so.

Laws banning smoking in public placessuch as bars, restaurants, offices and otherworkplaces have already been proven inprevious studies to protect adults from thehealth threats associated with passivesmoking.

According to the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), tobacco already killsaround 6 million people a year worldwide,including more than 600,000 non-smokerswho die from exposure to second-handsmoke. By 2030, if current trends continue,it predicts tobacco’s death toll could be 8

million people a year. Only 16 percent ofthe world’s population is covered by com-prehensive smoke-free laws, and 40 per-cent children worldwide are regularly ex-posed to second-hand smoke, the WHO

says.Public health experts

hope that as more and morecountries in Europe andaround the world adoptstricter legislation on smok-ing in public places, the healthbenefits will swiftly start tobecome evident.

Friday’s research inThe Lancet, which analyzeddata on more than 2.5 millionbirths and almost 250,000hospital attendances forasthma attacks, was the firstcomprehensive study to lookat how anti-smoking laws af-fect children’s health. Withresults from five NorthAmerican studies of local

bans and six European studies on nationalbans, it found rates of both pre-term birthsand hospital attendance for asthma fell by10 percent within a year of smoke-freelaws coming into effect.

“Together with the known health ben-efits in adults, our study provides clear evi-dence that smoking bans have consider-able public health benefits for perinataland child health,” said Been.

He said it also provided “strong sup-port for WHO recommendations to createsmoke-free public environments on a na-tional level.”

Smoking bans cut prematurebirths, child asthma attacks

A Malang performing Dhamal during Mela Chiraghan, on the occasion of annual Urs ofSufi Saint Hazrat Shah Hussain.

OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—A memorandum of under-standing was signed between Punjab gov-ernment and WWF of UNO to pledge forobserving Earth Hour on March 29 at8.30pm with 154 countries of the worldat Punjab Assembly, Lahore.

Provincial Minister for EducationRana Mashhood Ahmed Khan on behalfof Punjab government and Senior Direc-tor Operations Anwar Naseem on behalfof WWF signed the MoU. SpeakerPunjab Assembly Rana Muhammad IqbalKhan was also present on the occasion.

Speaker Punjab Assembly, RanaMuhammad Iqbal Khan said that Paki-

stan is facing energy crisis for a longtime and stressed the need to workjointly with the world for checking wast-age of energy.

He said that load-shedding will beeliminated from the country in a short pe-riod as power plants for generation of22000 megawatt electricity will be in-stalled within next two years in the coun-try with the practical cooperation of worldcommunity especially China. He ex-pressed the hope to make the future ofPakistan bright and achieve a dignifiedstatus in the comity of nations.

Provincial Education Minister, RanaMashhood Ahmed Khan said that the tra-dition of observing Earth Hour at global

level has been started for creating aware-ness among the people and governmentinstitutions to minimize unnecessary useof electricity. He said that every Pakistanishould conserve electricity for himselfand the nation.

He said that with this spirit, we havepledged to play our due role in riddingthe earth of energy crisis and environmen-tal degradation side by side developed na-tions. Director WWF, Sonia Khan in-formed that observance of Earth Hourwas started in Sidney, Australia when 25lakh people of Australia gathered thereand gave a message of conservation ofnational resources of the earth and refrainfrom unnecessary use of energy.

MoU signed for observanceof Earth Hour

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Minis-ter Muhammad Shahbaz Sharifhas said that direct subsidy willbe given to the poorest familiesof the province through PunjabKhidmat Card programme. Hesaid that the aim of thisprogramme is to reduce eco-nomic burden on the resource-less families. Name and comput-erized identity card number ofthe person obtaining financialassistance will be written on thecard, he added.

He expressed these viewswhile presiding over a high levelmeeting, here Friday.

The meeting reviewed thepace of progress on PunjabKhidmat Card Programme. Pro-vincial Minister for EducationRana Mashhood Ahmad Khan,Food Minister Bilal Yasin, Ad-visor Dr Ijaz Nabi, MPA DrAyesha Ghaus Pasha, Chief Sec-retary, Secretaries of Food, Plan-ning & Development and Infor-mation Departments, DirectorFood and other concerned offi-cials attended the meeting.

Shahbaz Sharif said thatPunjab Khidmat Card is another

public welfare and revolutionaryprogramme of the governmentunder which Khidmat Cardswould issued to the poorest fami-lies for their financial assistance

while education and health facili-ties would also be providedthrough these cards under aphased programme. The ChiefMinister directed concerned au-

thorities that planning should bemade for running PunjabKhidmat Card Programme on thepattern of Educational Endow-ment Fund and final recommen-

dations in this regard be submit-ted at the earliest. Various pro-posals regarding PunjabKhidmat Card Programme werealso reviewed in the meeting.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is presiding over a high-level meeting to discuss Punjab Khidmat Card Programme.

Poorest families to get subsidythrough Khidmat Card: Shahbaz

OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif has stressed theneed for capacity-building of the concerneddepartments for achieving the targets of eco-nomic development and said that Punjab gov-ernment has taken solid measures for this pur-pose.

He said that information technology hasbeen promoted for capacity-building of insti-tutions and special attention has been paid todeveloping a skilled workforce in accordancewith market needs for economic development.He said that the scope of skills developmentprogramme started in four districts of southPunjab has been expanded to 18 districts of theprovince.

He was presiding over a high level meet-ing, here Friday. Provincial Minister for Indus-

try Ch. Muhammad Shafique, Member PunjabAssembly Dr. Ayesha Ghous Pasha, AdvisorDr. Ijaz Nabi, Chairman Planning & Develop-ment, Managing Director Punjab Metro BusAuthority, Secretary Industry and concernedofficials were present.

The meeting considered the proposal forsetting up Punjab Business Council for achiev-ing the targets of economic development whileaccelerating the pace economic and industrialdevelopment in the province was also dis-cussed.

Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minis-ter said that skilled workforce plays an impor-tant role in economic development, therefore,Punjab government is implementing a compre-hensive programme in this regard and skillsdevelopment fund has been set up under whichtraining in various skills has been imparted tothousands of youth.

Solid measures underwayfor economic development

Chinesedelegationvisits PBIT

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—A 24-member del-egation from Yantai Federationof Commerce and Industry,China visited Punjab Board ofInvestment & Trade (PBIT) to-day. Salahuddin Hanif, Secre-tary General Pakistan – ChinaJoint Chamber of Commerceand Industry also accompaniedthe delegation.

Dr Ali Naveed Pirzada, Di-rector General Projects PBITwelcomed the members of thedelegation and apprised them ofthe working of Punjab Board ofInvestment and Trade as well asinvestment opportunities inPunjab.

The delegation was in-trigued by the investment poten-tial in Punjab and showed keeninterest in the Garment Cityproject of Punjab government.

Judges servenation through

judgmentsOBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Chief Justice ofLahore High Court, JusticeUmar Ata Bandial has said thatduty of Judges is to serve thenation through judgments. Bal-anced judgments check crueltyand barbarism as a good deci-sion can create peace and har-mony in region and blocksbloodshed.

The Chief Justice was ad-dressing to a certificate awardceremony of a four-weeks Pre-Service Training Course fornewly appointed Civil Judges-cum-Magistrates at PunjabJudicial Academy. The great-est virtue of an adjudicatorwas contentment and upright-ness that led him to a just andquick decision.

Hon’ble Chief Justiceasked the participant judgesto hold court with peace ofmind and without any fearbecause not only LahoreHigh Court but Supreme ofCourt of Pakistan was alsoon their back. Hon’ble ChiefJustice said that it was hisobligation to provide an en-vironment of tranquillity andpeace for safeguarding thelitigant public, advocatescommunity as well as judi-cial officers.

Hon’ble Chief Justice alsoadvised the judges to give a pa-tient hearing to all the partiesirrespective of their status andlisten the counsel attentively sothat no body could complainagainst their attitude.

He also expressed the re-solve to make the Academy aseat of learning by launchingmore robust, innovative anddynamic programmes aimed atimproving practical and theo-retical legal knowledge.

Ten more truckswith relief goods

sent to TharOBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Chief Relief Com-missioner Punjab NadeemAshraf has said that on the di-rection of Chief MinisterPunjab Muhammad ShahbazSharif, process of provision offood and water to Tharaffectees is continuing and tenmore trucks containing 5557food hampers and 5716 mineralwater bottles have been distrib-uted among the affectees of dif-ferent villages of Thar.

He stated this while ad-dressing a meeting of PDMAin connection with provision ofrelief items to the Tharaffectees, today. Chief ReliefCommissioner said that pro-cess of provision of food andwater by Punjab government toaffectees of different villages ofSindh affected by drought andfamine is continuing.

He said that food bags of21.5 kg each are being givento every family which isenough for a family for fifteendays. These bags containingpulses, sugar, water, ghee, tea,match boxes, salt, chili powderand biscuits while 1.5 littermineral water bottles are alsobeing supplied.

OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Provincial Minister for Foodand Chairman Cabinet Price Control Com-mittee Punjab, Bilal Yasin has said that gov-ernment is working on a mechanism forproviding necessary items to the people inabundance and saving them from price-hike.

He said that strict instructions have beenissued to the district administrationthroughout the province to keep a vigilanteye on price-hike and award deterrent pun-ishment to the shopkeepers involved inprofiteering.

He expressed these views while talk-ing to the journalists, here Friday. The Min-ister said that government is implementinga comprehensive strategy for maintainingthe prices of the edible items at reasonable

level. He said that the prices of vegetableslike potatoes, onion and tomatoes are de-termined daily on the basis of their supplyand demand as well as production.

He said that the crops of tomatoes andpotatoes of Sindh have ended and now thedemand of these items is being met throughtheir import from India. He said that be-sides supply and demand, the administra-tion is keeping a watchful eye on the op-portunist profiteers and working in a bettermanner and the commodities are availableat affordable rate in abundance in Punjabas compared to other provinces.

Bilal Yasin said that government is pay-ing special attention to progressive farm-ing along with provision of edible items tothe masses. He said that the aim of pricecontrol committee is to ensure availabilityof quality food to the people.

Govt keeping a vigilanteye on price hike