The spokesman

tuESDAyApril 09, 2013 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 27, 1434 I Rawalpindi/Islamabad I Vol, V, No. 355 I www.thespokesman.pk Pages 12 I Price 10/-

TTOODDAAYY’’SS WWEEAATTHHEERR

A�shower�orthunderstorm

HIGH:�31�LOW:�16

PG I 07

MAKING ELECTIONSEGALITARIAN AND LAWFUL– AKBAR NASIR KHAN

PG I 06

ARTICLE 62 & 63:LEGISLATION FAILURE– EHSAN KAZI

CMyK

SCRUTINY OR FARCE?

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SNEAK PEEKSC�seeks�details�of�secret�fundsfrom�Information�Ministry

The Supreme Court hassought detail ofInformation Ministry’sbillions rupees secretfund on Wednesday,April 10, whereas fixed

April 30 for the investigation of theimportant matters regarding mediacommission.On Monday a two-memberbench headed by Justice Jawad S.Khawaja resumed the hearing of mediacommission case.

Page 02

I�leave�fair�pollsto�IG,�CS,�says�Sethi

Caretaker Chief Ministerof the Punjab, NajamSethi has said that holdingfree, fair and peacefulgeneral election is toppriority of the

government. The chief secretary and IG, hesaid, have been given free-hand with regardto postings and transfers in the province forthe purpose of achieving the objective offair and transparent elections.

Page 04

No�progress�withoutpeace:�Haji�Adeel

Awami National Party(ANP) Senior Vice-President Senator HajiMuhammad Adeel onMonday said his party’selection manifesto

‘Peaceful Pakistan’ promised a prosperousPakistan. Addressing a seminar, HajiAdeel presented the ANP’s manifesto andsaid progress was only possible in apeaceful and stable environment whichwas why ‘Peaceful Pakistan’ was ANP’sslogan for 2013 elections.

Page 05

50-MW�FFECL�will�minimisepower�shortfall:�AEDB

Developed countriesswitched the powergeneration system overalternative energyresources includingwind energy, however

despite the facts about corruption inpower sector organs, 50MW Windpower project (FWEL-II) achievedfinancial closing and is poised toproceed towards execution.

Page 09

Chashme�Baddoor�collectsRs�190m�in�opening�weekend

Director DavidDhawan's comebackmovie ChashmeBaddoor has kicked offto a good start at thebox office. The movie

has youngsters Ali Zafar, Siddharth,Divyendu Sharma Siddharth and marksthe Bollywood debut of southernactress Taapsee.

Page 10

Park�wins�second�majorwith�Kraft�Nabisco�triumph

South Korea's Inbee Parkwon the Kraft NabiscoChampionship by fourstrokes on Sunday aftershooting a final round 69to secure her second major

title. Overnight leader Park birdied her firsttwo holes and was never threatened atCalifornia's Mission Hills Country Clubwhere she finished the tournament with a15-under total of 273, well clear of second-placed compatriot Ryu So-Yeon.

Page 11

SAEED MINHAS

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The economicmanagers of the governmentMonday gave ‘the real picture’ ofeconomy to the caretaker PrimeMinister Hazar Khan Khoso whohad a third briefing since taking over.Since the finance minister is yet

to be appointed, the PM met topofficials of the State Bank andFinance Ministry at PM’sSecretariat. The meetingdiscussed that the PPPgovernment received an economygrowth rate of over 7 per cent perannum while left behind less than

three per cent. The economic wizards informed

Mr Khoso that in the last fiveyears four finance ministers, sixfinance secretaries, four governorsof the central bank, sixchairpersons of the FBR and fourdeputy chairpersons of thePlanning Commission werereplaced. Khoso learned that the last five

years saw economic growthslowing to an average of threepercent per annum, industrialgrowth stagnating at near zeropercent, investment rate decliningto a 50-year low at 12.5 percent of

GDP, budget deficit averagingseven percent of GDP and publicdebt doubling.Important institutions like the

Railways, PIA, Pakistan Steel,Wapda, and OGDCL weresystematically destroyed. Mostsignificantly, the central bank wasreduced to a mere monetary wingof the Ministry of Finance.Economic masters informed Mr

Khoso that Pakistan’s economicdownturn is likely to gain furthermomentum for the followingreasons. First, 2013 will see three

governments – the incumbent, the

caretaker, and a post election newgovernment. At least the first halfof the year will see policy inaction.Accordingly, the hemorrhaging ofthe economy will continue at anaccelerated pace.Second, in the absence of

massive capital inflows, foreignexchange reserves will dwindleand huge debt repayment is likelyto take the country closer todefault. Third, the key question making

the country nervous is whetherthe election will bring a fiscallyirresponsible government topower.

Despite this insider information,the PM’s House issued acompletely opposite pressstatement. A pack of lies was sentto the media saying the PM wasinformed that foreign remittanceswere projected at $14.5 billionwhich was $4.6 billion in 2005-2006. Similarly inflation whichwas hovering around 20 % hasbeen brought down to 9% whereasin March 2013, the inflation ratewas 6.6 %. The Karachi StockExchange, the PM was told, wasbooming stimulated by reports ofnew portfolio investment byforeign investors.

PM gets ‘the real picture’ of economy

TAHIR NIAZ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: With the file work inprogress, the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) leadershipwill soon be getting a ‘gift’ of 20bullet-proof vehicles from theKingdom of Saudi Arabia to run itscampaign for the upcoming elections.Sources in the Interior Ministry

told ‘The Spokesman’ Monday thatthe Ministry has cautiously granted‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) to

the PML-N for the ‘import’ of 20bullet-proof vehicles gifted by theSaudi Kingdom to the partyleadership. Five vehicles would beused by the Sharif family and 15others would be in the use of theparty leadership as it is finalizingcountry-wide election campaign.The sources said that initially the

Interior Ministry took the case of 20-vehicles as a ‘contribution/donation’by a foreign government to thepolitical party; PML-N, which is

prohibited under the election laws.But as the party insisted to treat thematter as a ‘gift’ by the Saudiauthorities, the Ministry granted theNOC in this regard but left it to theElection Commission of Pakistan todecide whether it could beconsidered as a ‘gift’, the sourcesadded.The Pakistan Election Laws and

‘The Political Parties Order, 2002’state in this context: “Thecontribution made by members or

supporters of any party shall be dulyrecorded by the political parties. Anycontribution made, directly orindirectly, by any foreigngovernment, multi-national ordomestically incorporated public orprivate company, firm, trade orprofessional association shall beprohibited and the parties mayaccept contributions and donationsonly from individuals. Anycontribution or donation which isprohibited under this Order shall be

confiscated in favour of the State inthe manner as may be prescribed.” It is further explained in the

relevant laws that a “contribution ordonation” includes a contribution ordonation made in cash, kind, stocks,hospitality, accommodation,transport, fuel and provision of othersuch facilities.As the election campaign is about

to start formally, security has been amajor concern for both the securitydepartments and the political

leadership of the country. The PPP isone of three parties recently namedby a spokesman of the PakistaniTaliban as “legitimate” targets formilitant attacks during the elections,due next month. The other twoparties on the hit list are the MQMand the ANP which has its main basein the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Theauthorities are also concerned aboutthe security of the leadership ofPML-N and PTI as the elections arearound the corner.

STAFF REPORT

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan(ECP) has opposed adoptionof a mechanism in a hurriedmanner so as to enable theoverseas Pakistanis to votefrom abroad in theupcoming general elections.In a report, the ECP said

without a proper mechanismin place, enabling non-resident Pakistanis to vote inthe upcoming general electionwould compromise thetransparency of the electionprocess. It said legislation wasrequired on the matter, alongwith the setting-up of a propermechanism. It believed that ahurried decision over thematter may compromise thetransparency of the polls andmay in fact prove to be“disastrous”.Senior ECP and NADRA

oPcials had previously said adecision in haste on theevolution of a mechanismwould open room formanipulation of results. Thereport comes in the wake ofa directive from the SC forthe secretaries of diQerentministries, ECP andNADRA chief to devise amechanism to enableoversees Pakistanis to casttheir votes in the election.

Saudi ‘gift’ of 20 bullet-proof vehicles for Sharifs

KARACHI: Cars and public transport drive through the rainwater accumulated near Neepa Chowrangi during the rain in the metropolis. –ONLINE

ECP opposesonline votingfor overseas

Commando�barred�from�travel

Musharrafto face SCover treason

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Islamabad HighCourt (IHC) on Monday dismissed theintra-court appeal filed by the formerPrime Minister Raja Pervez Ashrafagainst the decision of IHC JusticeShaukat Aziz Siddique in which hedeclared the development works in Raja’sconstituency NA-51 as illegal and alsodirected the National AccountabilityBureau (NAB) for conductingproceedings against the former PM.A divisional bench comprising Chief

Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi andJustice Noor-ul-Haq Qureshi maintainedthe earlier decision of Justice Shaukat AzizSiddique. The court ruled that the award ofthe contract was against the rules laiddown by the Public ProcurementRegulatory Authority (PEPRA).Earlier, Justice Sidduque had declared the

award of Rs 9.576 billion contract byPakistan Public Works Department (PWD)to National Logistics Cell (NLC) fordualization of three segments of roads inGujar Khan and Chakwal districts on theorders of the then PM Ashraf as illegal anda act of naked corruption. The court sent thecopies of judgment to Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP), District ReturningOPcer of constituency NA-51, Gujjar Khanand also to Chairman of National

Accountability Bureau (NAB) while directedthe bureau to initiate proceedings against allthose persons involved in the scam,including the then Prime Minister.Citing PWD, NLC, Gondal Construction

Company, federation and others asrespondents, the counsel for former PMcontended that his client has submitted thenomination papers from NA-51 to contestthe upcoming elections and the decision ofIHC could aQect his election campaign. Hesaid the court had given its decisionwithout hearing the stance of Raja whichdid not fulfill the values of justice system.He added that tender notices have not beenissued and work on the project has notbeen initiated yet. The counsel assured thecourt that the construction work would beenacted according to the rules set by thelaw. Sajjad also pleaded that the mattershould not be referred to NAB and theElection Commission of Pakistan.Justice Anwar Kasi asked whether NLC

is a government organization or acommercial entity. Wasim Sajjad repliedthat the NLC is a government agencyoperating under the Ministry of Finance.After hearing arguments, the division

bench observed that the award of thecontract was against the rules laid down bythe Public Procurement RegulatoryAuthority (PEPRA) and maintained theearlier decision of Justice Siddique.

Raja�Rental’s�fate�in�limbo

IHC rejectsex-PM’s appeal

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Directing thegovernment to ensure that the ex-president does not leave Pakistan,the Supreme Court Monday orderedPervez Musharraf to appear inperson on today (Tuesday) to facetreason charges.A two-judge bench led by Justice

Jawad S Khwaja issued thedirectives after hearing preliminaryarguments on five petitions seekingformer dictator’s trial for treason forsubverting the constitution anddeclaring an emergency in 2007.The bench said Musharraf or his

lawyer should appear in court onTuesday to respond to theallegations. It ordered the interiorsecretary to take steps to preventMusharraf from travelling abroadand to put his name on the 'ExitControl List'. The bench also issuednotices to the government,Musharraf and other respondents torespond to the petitions andadjourned the case till Tuesday.The petitioners asked the court to

direct the government to prosecuteMusharraf under the High Treason(Punishment) Act of 1973. "It isnecessary to issue notice to therespondents. Most of the petitions against

Musharraf have been filed bylawyers who want the formermilitary strongman tried for treasonfor imposing emergency anddeposing dozens of judges in 2007."Musharraf should be prosecuted forhigh treason because he is guilty ofsubverting the Constitution," lawyerHamid Khan told the court. "Heshould be punished with death or bejailed for life," Khan said.The lawyers pointed out that the

Senate had passed a resolution inJanuary 2012 that said Musharrafshould be arrested on his return butthe government had not acted on it.The lawyers argued that thegovernment had failed to act on anearlier Supreme Court orderdirecting authorities to take action

against Musharraf for violating theConstitution.Justice Khwaja remarked that the

apex court had already declared theemergency imposed by Musharraf in2007 as unconstitutional and askedwhat action authorities had takenagainst him. Justice Khilji Arif, theother member of the bench, said theConstitution states that those whoviolate it must be tried under Article6, which relates to high treason.Talking to reporters after the

hearing, the lawyers for thepetitioners said Musharraf shouldnot be accorded "VIP protocol" as heis an accused in several cases. Theysaid the case against the formerPresident in the Supreme Courtwould ensure that no one subvertsthe Constitution in future.Hours before the hearing began

this morning, Chief JusticeIftikhar Chaudhary withdrewhimself from the three-judgebench that was formed last weekto take up the petitions againstMusharraf after questions wereraised about his impartiality as hewas one of the dozens of judgesdeposed by Musharraf.

� Interior ministry cautiously grants NOC; matter in ECP’s court now

� Court orders personal appearance

Musharrafsmells�a�ratSSAAHHIIWWAALL:: Former presidentPervez Musharraf saysconspiracy is underway to keephim away from politics. In atelephonic address here, he saidhe came into politics to steer thecountry out of the problems.“The third political power isneed of the hour as rulers havedrowned the country’s economy.”The former president reaPrmedhis resolve to face all the casesfiled against him and would notflee from the country. Claimedthat he gave right of vote toChristian community, he askedminorities to vote for hiscandidates in forthcomingelections. –AGENCIES

� Economic growth slowed to an average of 3per cent per annum in last 5 years, industrial growth stagnating at near zero per cent

TUESDAY, APRIL 09, 2013

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Federal Law MinisterAhmer Bilal Soofi on Monday issueddirectives for upgrading of Federal Courtsand Tribunals to make them moreeMcient. He chaired a meeting at theMinistry of Law and Justice in this regard.The meeting was held as a follow-up to hissurprise visit of the Federal Courts andTribunals Complex in Lahore where hefound the conditions very unsatisfactory.Furthermore, he directed measures tomake immediate arrangements forupgrading the infrastructure in theFederal Courts and Tribunals in Lahore.Likewise, he also passed strict orders fortheir prompt maintenance andcleanliness. He also held a meeting withJudge In-Charge at Lahore and discusseddiNerent issues and problems being facedby the Federal Courts and Tribunals. Heassured to solve these problems onpriority basis. He ordered the resumptionof held up construction work at thecomplex site. The minister soughtsuggestions for the improvement in theworking of tribunals including thecomputerization project. –ONLINE

PTCL restores internetservices at full capacityIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The PakistanTelecommunication Company Limitedhas fully restored its internet capacity thatwas aNected by damage in aninternational submarine cable nearAlexandria last week. The loss inbandwidth was unfortunately enhancedby a historic global cyber attack in thesame time period. The PTCL hasmanaged this restoration with help of itsinvestments in diversified InternationalSubmarine Cable systems. The companymade sure that customers face minimumdiscomfort in this adverse situation facedby internet users in the region. –ONLINE

Equal coverage being givento all parties, says NizamiLLAAHHOORREE:: Information Minister ArifNizami has said that equal coverage isbeing given to all the political parties onoMcial media. Talking to media in Lahoreon Monday, he said there will be norestrictions on media during thecaretaker period. He urged the media toplay its due role in ensuring free‚ fair andtransparent elections in the country. TheInformation Minister said that electionsnot be delayed even for a day under theconstitution. –ONLINE

NPC sets up welfaretrust for journalistsIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: National Press Club(Rawalpindi-Islamabad) has announcedto set up Journalist Welfare Trust. TheJWT is being started with the initialfunds of Rs 1 million. The decision in thisregard was taken in the meeting of NPCgoverning body held in Rawalpindi. NPCpresident Farooq Faisal Khan presidedover the meeting. Secretary Shehr YarKhan, vice president Syed Ejaz Shah,joint secretary Nasir Mehmood andothers attended the meeting. –ONLINE

Students facing severetransport problemsIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The students inRawalpindi and Islamabad are facingsevere transport problems, as hundredsof educational institutions have noproper transport facilities. A largenumber of students come from thediNerent localities of twin cities to theirinstitutions and have to faceinconvenience in packed publictransport vehicles, besidesmaltreatment by drivers andconductors. “The school and collegebuses ply only on specific routes and Ialways use local transport to reach mycollege,” said Salman Khan, a student.He said this is one of the majorproblems for all those who come fromfar-oN areas. Students complained thatmajority of the local transporters didnot apply brakes when they sawstudents waiting at the stops. SanamAli, another student, said due tofinancial problems, she couldn’t pay fullfare of the van, while the transporters didnot allow student concession. She saidgirl students particularly had to wait for along time to find a seat due to which theyoften reach their college late. Shedemanded of the authorities concernedto arrange suMcient buses for colleges,especially women institutions. –ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Federal Ministerfor Communications, Ports andShipping Asadullah KhanMandokhel has said that morerevolutionary steps will be takento turn the Motorway Police andNational Highway Authority intoexemplary institutions.He expressed these views whiletalking to NHA ChairmanHamid Ali Khan, IG MotorwayPolice Zafar Abbas Luk, MemberConstruction NHA Yousaf AliKhan, Member Admn NaseerAhmad Rana and others.Asadullah Khan Mandokhel

said that the NHA is a worldrenowned institution and it isour responsibility to eradicatecorruption from it. “We will neither compromiseon quality and pace of the worknor will let corruption gounabated in this institution,and we want timelycompletion of all ongoingNHA projects,” he added.The minister forcommunications said that we areproud of the Motorways Policewhich has set new standards ofhonesty, discipline and principles

but we also need to furtherimprove its performance.Asadullah Khan Mandokhel alsosaid that the revenue generatedby NHA’s toll plazas is much lessand we need to take solid steps toincrease its revenue.The minister urged the oMcialsof the concerned departments toupdate him on daily basis abouttheir progress, especially thedevelopment process so that allmatters could be dealt with in asmooth, fair and transparentmanner and no undue hindranceis created. –ONLINE

Motorway Police, NHA tobe exemplary institutions

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A 10-year-old boyhas been sodomised in Alipur, whilethe accused have been arrested andshifted to a jail on the orders of amagistrate.The Shahzad Town Police arrestedthe accused and shifted him to thejail on the orders of a magistrateafter the accused, 23-year-old TalhaNoor, allegedly raped the child.Investigating OMcer ASIMuhammad Nawaz told TheSpokesman that the victim and theaccused were neighbours.On Sunday, the accused taken thevictim to nearby wheat farm andallegedly sodomised him. “The

people around the farm heard Abbasscreaming and reached the locationwhere they caught the accused redhanded,” ASI Nawaz said. He furthersaid that the neighbours of the victimfamily immediately informed thepolice about the incident and thepolice then arrested the accusedfrom his house.“Police registered the FIR (No188) against the accused andpresented him in front of themagistrate where he was ordered tobe shifted to jail,” said ASI Nawaz.However, he said the victim familyhas refused a medical checkup of thevictim. When contacted, MashoorKhan, father of the victim, refused tostate anything about the issue.

Three top lawyers of the country, Hamid Khan, Ahmad Raza Kasuri and Aitzaz Ahsan speak to media after hearing of important cases, including the case of Musharraf. In the last picture, a Musharraf loyal raise fist and makes a victory sign outside the bench hearing Mush’s case. –ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Supreme Court hassought detail of Information Ministry’sbillions rupees secret fund on Wednesday,April 10, whereas fixed April 30 for theinvestigation of the important mattersregarding media commission.On Monday a two-member bench headed byJustice Jawad S. Khawaja resumed thehearing of media commission case. During theproceedings applicants, two senior journalistsHamid Mir and Absar Alam, Secretary

Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmed Khanand high-ups of Information Ministry andPEMRA appeared before the court.Absar Alam on the occasion said thatInformation Ministry has secret funds worthof billions of rupees. He told the court thaton one side the ministry gave Rs 850 millionand on the other hand it distributed Rs 870million to different media houses.The court asked officials of the ministry theusage of these funds, on which it was

apprised that these funds are used to helpthe journalists in severe need. The courtshowed its apprehensions and asked that itis public money and the nation should knowabout its use.The court ordered Ministry of Informationand Broadcasting and Pakistan ElectronicMedia Regulatory Authority to put thedetails of the advertisement from politicalparties on their websites on daily basis andinform the court about the revenue collected

by these ads.The Secretary of the Election Commissiontold the court that on the orders of the court,ECP has prepared the code of conduct for thegeneral election in collaboration with themedia, which has also been circulated to themedia for strict compliance.The court had already declared thepayments null and void made by formerPrime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf afterMarch 10. –ONLINE

A tra/c jam on a federal capital road. —STAFF PHOTO

IJ Principal Road at Faizabad is blocked as hawkers press for their demands at a rally. —STAFF PHOTO

Supreme Court seeks details ofInformation Ministry’s secret funds

Boy aged 10 sodomised,rapist sent to jail

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Former president PervezMusharraf has decided not to appearbefore the Supreme Court in person dueto security concerns. Sources close to himon Monday said that former presidenthas taken this decision under the adviceof his counsels in the wake of freshthreats of life hurled by Talibans.The sources stated that close aides andlawyers of former president fear that ifPervez Musharraf appears in the court,the lawyers can voice protest and anyuntoward incident can occur if situationgoes deteriorated. Therefore, hiscounsels have advised him not to appearin the court.Lawyers of the former president are ofthe opinion that the SC has not issuedany directive to him to appear before it inperson during the hearing of the petitionson Monday and it has only issued notice

to him. Therefore, his lawyers can givereply in the court on his behalf.It may be recalled that reports havecome through international media thatMullah Omar, chief of Tehrik-e-TalibanAfghanistan has said Taliban can takeany step against Musharraf wheneverthey will. No power in the word exceptAlmighty Allah can save Musharraf fromTaliban, Mullah Omar added.Adnan Rashid, accused in attack onMusharraf had fled from Bannu prisonalong with other prisoners following theannouncement made by Musharrafabout his return to home. In the wake ofthese threats, senior military officershad sent a letter to ministry of defencefor providing security to him beingformer army chief and ministry ofdefence had forwarded this letter tointerior ministry. –ONLINE

Musharraf mayskip SC appearancefor death threats

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The RootsHigh Achievers’ Awardceremony will be held onWednesday in the capital.The Roots School System isproviding education ofinternational standard for thelast 24 years. It has beenrecognised by the Edexceland has close links with theUS Education Foundation,British Council, GoetheInstitute, London School ofEconomics, Cambridge,Edexcel and a number ofother educational bodiesaround the world.So far, a large number ofstudents have received HighAchievers Awards from theseexamination bodies. In 1988,the institution wasestablished and now it hasmore than 50,000 studentsenrolled nationwide. Thestudents of the Roots haveachieved several distinctionseach year. For honouringthese young minds, the schoolis holding a ceremony as perits tradition to encouragehealthy competition. –PR

SHANEL KHALIQ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Dream Chaser, thefirst iOS runner game from Pakistan,hit the market last week. Developedby we.R.play, a start-up gamedevelopment studio, based inIslamabad, the game is beingpublished by Chillingo, a leadinggame publisher on iOS.The release of the Dream Chaserwill mark a milestone for thegaming industry. This is the firsttime that Chillingo is publishingwith a studio-based in Pakistan.The we.R.play has previouslypublished three titles – ReliefCopter, Pencil Pop and Space Leap– however the Dream Chaser istheir biggest project to date.The partnership with theChillingo is expected to bring in agreater advantage in promoting thegame. Chillingo has worked withaward winning titles around theworld such as Angry Birds, Cut theRope and Contre Jour. “DreamChaser is a fast paced 3D runnergame with totally diNerent controlsand boosting mechanisms we have

not seen in any other mobile runnergame,” says Fawad Asghar, leaddeveloper for the game.“I believe that our game’s coremechanics are quite diNerent andenjoyable than most of the runnergames out there who are mostlysimply copying 2 or 3 popularrunner games mechanics,” he said.“DreamChaser has a great sense ofspeed compared to the other endlessrunners. There is also the storyaspect, which is unique to endlessrunners,” commented Mehran Khan.In response to a question on whatmakes Dream Chaser diNerent, “Wethink that these battle missions andthe whole speed mechanism is whatmakes DreamChaser stand outfrom the crowd.”Khadija, one of the testers for thegame, said it was not just any plainrunner game but takes player'simagination to another level. Anindependent reviewer Zohaib Zaidiadds that the fight scenes with theboss were the best. The DreamChaser will be available fordownload on iPhone and iPad onthe App Store.

First iOS game developed inIslamabad being published

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ViceChairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said thatafter coming into power‚ his party will pursue anindependent foreign policy and never compromisenational interests.According to media reports, he said the PTI willconcentrate on economic diplomacy in order tocreate business and job opportunities for the people.

He said promoting good relationship with theregional countries‚ including China‚ Iran‚Afghanistan‚ the United Arab Emirates and India‚will be the cornerstone of PTI's policies. It would enhance cooperation with Central Asianstates to fulfill energy needs of the country.Qureshi said PTI strongly opposes drone strikes intribal areas. –ONLINE

PTI will have independent foreign policyIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A four-member delegationof European Union (EU) led byAmbassador Lars- Gunnar Wigemark,Monday visited the National ElectionSecurity Centre/Ministry of Interior.The delegation was given briefingabout security for the foreign observerswho are likely to visit Pakistan duringupcoming election. Additional Secretary

Wing Commander ® Tariq Lodhi gavethe briefing and explained the facilitiesthat are being provided under theumbrella of NESC. The EU delegation was assured thatNESC / Ministry of Interior will take allpossible measures to provide safe andsecure environment to the ForeignObservers. –ONLINE

EU delegation visits NationalElection Security Centre

Minister orders upgrade offederal courts, tribunals

Roots Awardon Wednesday


Venom Inc. This should not be heldagainst me in a court of law aˇ Isolemnly declare that these a˘e

absolute lies, dirty whispers and wildspeculation that I have heard whilecrawling in the dark power corridors ofthe creepy Capital. You will believe themat your own risk Shh...If you have venomto spill please don’̂ hesitate to share withus on our blog at www.thespokesman.pk

POWER ALLEYS|CMYK

ali.xaidi �@ali_raa12mInvestment to GDP ratio to b raised4m 12% to at least 20% in the next 5years previously achieved in the 1sttenure of #PMLN #PMLNManifestoNida Khan Yousufzai

�@NidaYousufzai30mBorn in 1972 and did his metric in 1974. Aijaz Achilanaof #PMLN https: //pbs.twimg.comAmericansForPakistan �@USAforPAK50mSharif brothers cleared of tax evasionhttp://tribune.com.pk/story/532747/sharif-brothers-cleared-of-tax-evasion/ … #Pakistan #PMLNImranInc NA125 PP155 �@ImranInc50mHaroon Rashid confirmed tht #pmln hv planned tolaunch a character assassination campagin agnstKaptaan but pmln will pay heavy price for itSana �@Sana1h#PMLN left with khazana khaali! #JosephColony:Cheques handed out by Punjab govt bouncehttp://tribune.com.pk/story/524265/joseph-colony-cheques-handed-out-by-punjab-govt-bounce/ …Hafiz Amanullah �@HafizAmanullah3m#PMLN leader Zafar Ali Shah admits that his son willvote for Imran Khanhttp://insafpk.tv/watch_video.php?v=W9NRW41R5SSB… @AdnanrandhawaMuhammad A\an �@RkrMkdA\an2hEven I can't imagine or dream "#PMLN Government"Please #Vote SensiblyUmber Nawaz �@Pt_umber2h#PMLN Manifesto- A uniform system of education will beintroduced step by step to mini the problems arising fromthe multiplicity of systemsAshar Siddiqui �@ashar_851mRight now my aim to see #PMLN win the upcoming#Election2013 & see #WazirEAamNawazSharif for aprosperous Pakistan InshaAllahNaeem NA-128 �@nrehman2mZaeem Qadri says Nawaz Sharif ka level Nahin hey to talkabout Gen Musharaf! I really feel pitty for #PMLNfollowers to follow these morons!Aasif Inam �@aasifinam2m@AmirBashir3 @ashakir_ @MaryamNSharif #PMLNlet the people's verdict come. PMLN + Allies will showbetter performanceShams Paras Qureshi �@Shamspqureshi4mPMLN Alert : @CMShehbaz Minister for Water andPower and Ch Nisar CM Punjab if #PMLN succeed in#Election2013

MOHAMMED RIZWAN

LAHORE: The election for no lessthan 148 national seats in Punjab,which was supposed to be a hard-fought three-way battle, is turningout to be a straight fight betweenPML-N and PTI, leaving the be-wildered PPP supporters wonder-ing where is the poll campaign andwhere on earth is chairman Bi-lawal?The decay and the rot, set in with

the death of its charismatic leaderBenazir Bhutto, are now complete.The party looks tentative, leader-less and extremely aloof becausenone of its central or provincialleaders is seen leading the party’scampaign just a month out onelections date. After a Lahore HighCourt restraining order againstPresident Zardari, it was an-nounced that now Bilawal and for-mer Prime Minister Yousaf RazaGilani would lead the electioncampaign. But soon after Bilawalwent to London amidst reports ofa rift while the time to make deci-sions on party tickets in Punjab

was wasted. Gillani has also de-cided not to contest the electionsand the Supreme Court verdictthat got him out of the PM seatwould probably have meant he wasdisqualified anyway.The parliamentary board half-

heartedly announced tickets forthe Lahore constituencies and itwas pretty clear from the list of thecandidates that the party has for-gone the city of Lahore in favour ofPML-N. It was such a shame that aparty candidate for NA 126 whowas awarded the ticket did not filehis nomination papers and justthree hours before the expiry ofdeadline the party had to find an-other candidate for the con-stituency.The signs of indi\erence among

the party ticket-holders are appar-ent as no candidate from Lahorehas started his election campaignand no one from the provincial ornational leadership visited the citywhich is considered a bastion ofPML-N. During the parliamentaryboard process to award the ticketsthere were reports that the ticketswere forcibly thrust upon theprospective candidate as no onewas interested in getting ‘sacri-ficed’ at the altar of PML-N andperhaps PTI. Only two candidatesfrom Lahore looked a bit seriousabout elections in Lahore – BushraAitzaz, wife of Aitzaz Ahsan fromNA 124, and Samina KhalidGhurki from NA 130. Ghurki, whois Lahore president and incum-bent MNA, has also got her nameincluded in the reserved seats forwomen giving the impression thatshe is not sure of her victory. Therest of the field from 13 nationalconstituencies of Lahore lookslackluster as none of them has any

hope of ‘recovering’ the electionexpenses.Party’s Punjab President Man-

zoor Wattoo, who was given the jobkeeping in view his political sagac-ity, is still not out of the blocks yet.Caged in his home constituency ofHaveli Lakha where PML-N issupporting a powerful candidateagainst him, he is unable to showthe tricks he was supposed to haveup his sleeves.Wattoo is also facing uncertainty

over his future as his name was in-cluded in the unverified/fake de-grees list issued by HigherEducation Commission (HEC)and that is hardly an ideal situa-tion for a party that already seemsto be su\ering from a lack of for-ward motion. The former PM Raja Pervez

Ashraf ’s nomination papers havebeen rejected from Na-51, hishome constituency of Gujar Khan,further denting the party’s mo-mentum. While he has the chanceto appeal the decision, it is still ablow to his electioneering cam-paign as his fate hangs in the bal-

ance due to the court cases againsthimIn the south of Punjab, where the

party is traditionally strong, theparty’s supremo Makhdoom Sha-habuddin looks as irrelevant as hisnorthern Punjab counterpart.Though PPP is expected to farebetter here compared to centraland north Punjab, where it faces acomplete rout, it is because of theindividual seats rather than anyparty nominations. The sons ofGovernor Ahmed Mehmood andYousaf Raza Gilani might win eas-ily along with a few more candi-dates from Lodhran, Khanpur,Muzzafargarh, Layyah and Ba-hawalpur but that will be it.However, the plight of the party

is not because of sudden politicaldevelopments. Every Tom, Dickand Harry worth his salt saw itcoming and the seasoned workerslike Sajida Mir and others have

been complaining in the partymeetings of its unpopularity.“Due to energy crisis and infla-tion, we can’t even face theelectorates let alone running

from a constituency,” said SajidaMir, the veteran worker. “It looksas if the party is being evaporatedinto thin air and we can’t do any-thing about it,” said Jajji Butt fromNisbat Road. “I wonder where Bi-lawal is. He is chairman and he isnowhere to be seen when the partybadly needs him. Also look at whathappened in Ghari KhudaBakhsh…for the first time we didnot commemorate the death an-niversary of ZAB,” said Butt.Just five years back PPP was a

force to be reckoned with in allfour provinces. But it is today ab-sent from Balochistan, KPK andperhaps Punjab too. That leaves toit rural Sindh from where it be-longs. The fierce battle betweenPML-N and PTI is on to replacePPP as a truly national party thathas roots in all four provinces andwhich could unify the federationpolitically. The results will makethis clear in a month’s time.

PPP plummeting in Punjab?

The signs ofindi\erenceamong theparty ticket-

holders are apparent asno candidate from Lahore has started hiselection campaign and noone from the provincial ornational leadership visited the city which isconsidered abastion ofPML-N.

“

”

As one in-eligiblec a n d i -

date getscleared afteranother, theh u l l a b a l o oabout the strin-gent electoralscrutiny comesto nought. Inthe end, every-body gets freeand the elec-tions remain

the same old manipulated as exercisefor the rich and the corrupt as ever.Whether this was about the fake

degrees, tax and loan defaults, mostof the barred candidates standcleared. And as things stand, the fewleft will join the club in a week’s time.Why this fuss about a genuine ac-countability and scrutiny of the can-didates, one may ask. Moreimportantly, who is responsible forthis? Is it the fault of the toothlessElection Commission of Pakistan thatstirred lots of thunder but had no firein the end? Is it the compromisedlegal system-- a slow judiciary, in-competent prosecution and the cor-rupt police? Is it the media that gaveunnecessary hype to a non-issue, thepartner-in-crime political class or thenaïve public that expected too muchchange this time? The answer is per-haps a mix of everything.Whatever the case, the systemic

loopholes once again stand ex-

posed. Those who lied about theirdegree keep bailing out as it willtake a while—perhaps never—be-fore they are challaned, prosecutedand the convicted. Of course, thereexist di\erent laws for di\erentclasses. The feudal Hamayun Kurdwas not just bailed out but actuallyset free—case closed--by theBalochistan High Court. This wasdespite the fact that his degree wasdeclared as fake by the HEC. AqilShah was garlanded when he cameout of jail as if he had accomplisheda glorious feat by faking his de-gree—what shame? This goes with-out saying that the law will take itssweet time before the lowlyJamshed Dastis will be bailed out.

What happened to all that hypeabout lists being compiled in NAB forstalling the corrupt, the lists of taxand loans defaults received from theFederal Bureau of Revenue and StateBank of Pakistan?Not a single high profile loan de-

faulter has been barred from contest-ing. This is despite the fact thePakistani elite owes the public overRs 250 billion loans that it got writ-ten o\.Article 63 of the Constitution is

clear that a defaulter who has got aloan in his or her name or the family’sname and not repaid after a year orgot a write-o\ through whatevermeans is not eligible to contest elec-tions. The EC took a bold decision by

including a declaration in the nomi-nation forms for candidates to professthat they do not fall into this category.It turns out that nobody does. And

yet the loan defaulters include thefamilies of Chaudhary Shujaat,Yousaf Raza Gilani, Zulfiqar Mirza,Hamayun Akhtar, Gohar Ayub, theKhattaks, Saifullahs, Hotis, Mehrs,you name it. How do you explain thisanomaly?Here is what may have happened:

In most cases it is di[cult to provethem as loan defaulters as the landshave been commissioned in the nameof companies where these families,very cleverly, do not hold majorityshare-holding. In some cases it is dif-ficult to sift through those piles andfind the default. Still, there may bemany, as I suspect the Chaudharies ofGujrat, who will sign it any wayknowing that nothing happens in thisgovernment. Things will change oncethe politicians return to power as theyhave an unwritten code of mutualback-scratching.The case of the Nawaz Sharif fam-

ily’s loan of Rs 3.6 billion remainspending before the Lahore HighCourt for over a decade now. It willremain so as it suits the family. Theykeep the assets and yet do not have topay the loan. It was interesting tohear from Senator Pervaiz Rashidthat the worth of the assets has in-creased manifold and the family willget net profits if the case is decided.How smart—as if only the assets’value increases and not the interest

on the loan.Almost all evaders who did not

have a national tax number, let alonetax receipts, have got their papers inorder. Not a single notable case existswhere an evader was barred fromcontesting elections. Nor were anymembers investigated for “living be-yond his or her means” despite an ob-vious di\erence between theirlifestyle and their asset declaration.Most candidates declared a vehicle ortwo worth less than a million and yetcame on Land Cruiser SUVs worthover Rs 25 million each. The ElectionCommission seems absolutely pow-erless in controlling election financ-ing as candidates spend millions ofrupees freely. This leaves very littlechance for a poor person to make it tothe parliament.The focus on the moral side of the

Article 62 and 63 turned out to be adiversion for the public to ignorethe financial and criminal scrutiny.Of course, the Mcarthyism in thename of piety exhibited by the Re-turning O[cers all over the countrywas despicable. But it was onlyabout the ROs, the media and thepublic having some fun. Nobody islikely to get debarred because ofthat. But the excessive media focuson the piety tale got the elephant offinancial and criminal indulgenceescape unscathed. Was it by design,the systemic flaws or incompetenceof our media to judge the situationright? Again, something of every-thing.

AZEEM KHAN

It seems the powers that be in Pakistan havelet loose a Trojan Horse in the form of Elec-tion Commission of Pakistan. The inde-

pendence of ECP has been widely lauded as ahistoric landmark in the nation’s democraticjourney. The ridiculous questioning of the Re-turning O[cers has given the impression thatthe scrutiny process is extremely tough to wrig-gle through. The scenes of celebrations wit-nessed yesterday from PML-N supporters, onNawaz Sharif ’s nomination papers being ac-cepted, paint an apt picture about the senti-ments felt by those having a stake in thescrutiny process. Just getting through wascause for celebration rather than a mere for-mality.The reality, though, is di\erent. Despite the

significant amount of tough (pointless) ques-tions, failure to adequately answer the querieshas not resulted in a single disqualification.The decoy has been immensely successful asanalysts and the public in general have repeat-edly beaten their chest over this issue andheated debates have occupied the thoughts andenergies of the populace. The real issue of fi-nancial inconsistencies such as corruption andtax fraud has gone unnoticed amidst the furoreover the sensitive topic of religion.With the major players of Pakistani politics

having largely escaped disqualification – andthose who have been unable to do likely to gettheir decisions overturned on appeal – the ex-ercise seems to be moving towards futility. Themassive corruption of the past, which has con-

tributed towards crippling the economy, willprobably go unpunished and we seem to becoming back to square one.Tahirul Qadri’s e\orts toward the imple-

mentation of Articles 62 and 63 are nowbeing seen by some analysts as having beensuccessful. Whereas the aftermath of hismovement was being derided as the ultimatecase of all for nothing, it is now beginning toseem like the start of an ingenious decoy plan.Given the extreme vagueness of the clauses, itwas always going to be unlikely that their im-plementation could be carried out properlywithout disqualifying every politician, sinceangels are ethereal beings incapable of exist-ing in this world, the incumbents of the statusquo have apparently pulled o\ a master-stroke. By diverting the attention of the masses -

most particularly the political analysts - in thewrong direction the politicians have skillfullymanaged to slip through the radar without toomany batting an eyelid. Indeed, such was thevitriol and ridicule directed towards the Re-turning O[cers that it was eventually a reliefthat politicians largely escaped unscathed, at-taining a sympathy that was unheard of in thepast.The type of scrutiny being conducted also led

to many propagating the postponement of pollsin order to make such a process truly accurate,thus giving ECP more time. The danger ofmajor political parties boycotting elections iftheir leaders were disqualified was also mulledover. Uncertainty and chaos spread throughoutand few were sure what the future would hold.

The moral of the story is that one shouldnever underestimate the human capability tosurvive. Power is not something that man letsgo without a fight and ingenuity often arisesout of the need to stay alive and in this case, inpower. The words of a poet faultlessly describethe state of mayhem that was witnessedthrough the ROs, Qadri and the doomsayerspredicting postponement of elections. They fitperfectly with the current situation:

Crazy preachers of our doom/Telling us thereis no room/Not enough for all mankind/Andthe seas of time are running dry/Don't theyknow it's a lie/Man is born with the will to sur-vive/He'll not take no for an answer/He will getby, somehow he'll try/He won't take no, neverlet go, no/I hear them talk about KingdomCome/I hear them discuss Armageddon/Theysay the hour is getting late/But I can still hearsomeone say/This is not the way.

Scrutiny or farce?Politically

Incorrect

Amir Mateen

Much ado about nothing as ECP just a decoy

Treason nightmaresdisturb Mush family

Pervaiz Musharraf is trying to putup the face of a commando evenwhen the situation gets critical

here. It is obvious that if he is chargedwith the treason case under Article 6,this might set the ball rolling in anirreversible case.He might be worried but more

worried is his family. Sheshnag has learn that his family

was opposed to this whole idea. Hiswife, Sehba, had asked a real estatebroker to sell the property hereincluding the farm house which wasgiven to him more as a bribe for a cushyjob by the Nishtars.In the end Sehba was willing to give

away the property. His brother andchildren were also not happy about hisreturn. They could see what even achild could see as the writing on thewall. But the commando, defyingcommon sense, landed straight into thetrouble.The family wants him out even now.

Friends in Riyadh, Dubai, Washingtonand Ankara have been activated for hiswithdrawal.But the hands of the establishment

are tied now that the legal course takesits course. Rawalpindi was not happyabout his return anyway. They had togive him security. Now, all of this putsthem in a tight corner and you neverknow where it might go from here. Thefirst dictator to be hanged in thiscountry. Sheshnag is told that thespectre makes Sehba wake up withnightmares.

JUSTICE DENIED


IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan has received8,072 nomination forms against 272National Assembly general seats and19,132 against 577 provincialassemblies’ general seats, making it27,204 in total. The papers filed againstthe 10 seats reserved for non-Muslimsin the National Assembly stood at 182while for 23 non-Muslim seats in thefour provincial assemblies, the ECPreceived 453 nomination papers. Thenomination papers filed against the 60seats reserved for women in theNational Assembly stood at 488 and forthe 128 reserved seats for women in thefour provincial assemblies are 1,230,making it 2,354 in total against thereserved seats in national and theprovincial assemblies. –STAFF REPORT

PML-N plans for seatadjustment hits snagsLLAAHHOORREE:: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is facing diJculties for makingelectoral alliance and its plans for seatadjustment with others parties has alsobeen put on hold as the party is nowbusy in chalking out formula for dealswith others parties. The PML-Nwanted to form governments inBalochistan and Punjab with numericalmajority while coalition governments inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. Theysaid that the Jamaat-e-Islami andJamait-e-Ulma-e-Islam Fazal demandmore share of seats in Punjab thatcaused deadlock in talks. However, theparty wanted seat adjustment with theJI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thesources said that the PML-N was busyin evolving formulas for seatadjustments with others parties. –ONLINE

Shujaat says no anti-Shariaclause in manifestoLLAAHHOORREE:: Chief of Pakistan MuslimLeague-Q, Chaudhry Shujaat HussainMonday said that there is nothingcontradictory to the Holy Quran in themanifesto of the party. In a statement,chief of PML-Q said that the Quranhas clearly stated that males aredominant over female and there isnothing injected in the unveiledmanifesto, which is contradictedagainst Sharia. “By saying this thatfemale should be given equal rights asthat to male in education meant toenable women for protecting theirrights,” Shujaat added. –ONLINE

SHC reserves judgmenton delimitationsKKAARRAACCHHII:: The Sindh High Court onMonday reserved its judgmentregarding new delimitations of Karachias Muttahida Qaumi Movement filedan application against newdelimitations. The two-member benchheaded by Justice Maqbool Baqir heldthe hearing over the applications.MQM’s legal counsel Farogh Nasimwhile arguing said that delimitations inKarachi started at the time whenelectoral process was launched in thecountry, as prescribed in theconstitution, delimitations are notallowed after the declaration ofelectoral process. –ONLINE

LHC seeks reply onrise in Haj expensesLLAAHHOORREE:: Lahore High Court hassought reply from ministry of religiousaKairs on April 11 on increase in Hajexpenses. As per media reports, LHCchief justice took up the case forhearing on Monday. Counsel forpetitioner told the court private touroperators have deliberately enhancedthe Haj expenses and this step by themhas increased the diJculties of thepeople manifold. –ONLINE

Two drown at Karachibeach, bodies foundKKAARRAACCHHII:: Dead bodies of two personswere found near Russian Beach, PortQasim area of the city, media reportssaid on Monday. According to rescuesources, both persons were drowned inthe beach while swimming. They wereidentified as Naveed and Ali. –ONLINE

SHANEL KHALIQ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: European Union hasofficially deployed an Election ObservationMission in Pakistan to observe theforthcoming elections 2013.After an invitation of the Ministry of

Foreign AKairs, the mission has reached toobserve the elections from an unbiasedperspective. Michael Gahler, the chiefobserver and a German member of theEuropean Parliament, addressing a mediabriefing said that the EU mission was here to

support genuine elections in the country byoKering a neutral and public assessment ofthe diKerent aspects of the process and tomake recommendations for the future.“We will have observers in diKerent parts

looking at what is happening on ground, weare proud to be part of these historic elections,”he said. The purpose of the mission asexplained by the representatives of the missionis to assess the extent to which Pakistancomplies with the laws and internationalcommitments that it has itself signed toparticularly those under the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Themission is neutral and independent from anyEU institution.The mission, which has cost 5.2 million euros

will deploy 52 long-term observers to diKerentparts, with respect to the prevailing securityconditions. It will cover pre-electionpreparations, the election day including polling,counting and tabulation of results and post-election day activities. This is the third time thatthe EU mission is monitoring the generalelections in Pakistan. This year, 86 millionvoters have been registered across Pakistan.

Comparing the previous elections of 2002and 2008, MEP Gahler said that this year theElection Commission of Pakistan was far moreresponsive to the parliament, media and otherorgans. “The spirit of openness from the ECPhas developed in a positive sense,” he said. To aquestion regarding the mission’s take on thefiling of nomination papers by former militaryruler Pervez Musharraf, Gahler said that as faras the EU’s mission is concerned they feel thatthe right to stand in an election wasfundamental however the criteria should beobjective and it should follow the due

processes and at the end of the day it was thecountry’s own legislator that can decide onsuch a matter.Tahira Abdullah, a renowned gender activist,

asked the representatives of the mission as towhat steps they will take to respond to womenbeing disallowed from casting their vote in theareas of Torgarh, Bannu, Laki Marwat,Mianwali and Mardan. To this, Gahler saidthat they were taking note of this fact andunderstand that women were as muchhumans and hence the right to vote was theirfundamental right as well.

EU Observation Mission deployed to monitor polls

RRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: Gypsy people living in their makeshift home on the railway track near Mareer Pul. –ONLINE

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The National Institute ofHealth lacks permanent staK for itsexecutive posts, and is relying on ad-hocbasis by giving extra charges to its blue-eyed oJcials, instead of hiring proper andeligible staK, The Spokesman has learnt.The NIH, the only institute throughout

the country which generates anti-venomand several vaccines against allergies, isgoing through a dilemma as the keyexecutive posts of the institute are stillvacant for the last five years while theinstitute is being run on ad-hoc basis.The vacant posts are executive director,administration director, purchasedirector, transportation director, stateofficer, accounts officer and in-charge ofthe Drug Testing Laboratory, accordingto sources.An oJcial in the NIH requesting

anonymity told The Spokesman that totalseven key posts of the institute werevacant since 2008 and the oJcialskeeping the posts currently were havingtheir charge on ad-hoc basis. “The oJcialsare given additional charges of theircurrent posts while they do not qualifythese posts. The situation is aKecting theperformance and the developments of theinstitute,” the oJcial said.

“A chemistry pass oJcial is alsoappointed on the post of Drug TestingLaboratory in-charge, while the postactually required a pharmacist or amedicine expert,” said another oJcial,working in the laboratory, requestinganonymity. The illogical appointment ofthe oJcial was also aKecting the drugtesting process as he doesn’t have enoughknowledge about it, he said. The oJcialalso revealed that the appointments onthese posts were truly made on politicalbasis and favoritism during the pastgovernment, as one of the directors whois a close relative of former primeminister, has allegedly used his politicalinfluence regarding his appointment.In this regard when contacted, Dr

Saqlain Ahmed Gilani, the directoradministration, while clarifying hisposition stated that there was nothingirregular about the posts and their statusof vacancy as the oJcials on the said postswere appointed by the orders of theCabinet Division. However, theallegations were due to a conspiracy bythose who were not willing to see thedevelopment in the institute, he said. Onthe other hand, the cell number of DrBarjees Mazhar Qazi, the executivedirector of the NIH, was found switchedoK when contacted to get his version.

LLAAHHOORREE:: Caretaker Chief Minister ofthe Punjab, Najam Sethi has said thatholding free, fair and peaceful generalelection is top priority of thegovernment. The chief secretary andIG, he said, have been given free-handwith regard to postings and transfersin the province for the purpose ofachieving the objective of fair andtransparent elections. He said that he himself also

directed the newly-posted oJcers toperform their duties in an impartialand professional manner, advisingthem to eschew, discourage theculture of favoritism and nepotism.Sethi was presiding over a high-levelmeeting at the Chief Minister’sSecretariat on Monday. It wasattended by Provincial HomeMinister, Chief Secretary, SecretaryHome, Inspector General of Police,all divisional commissioners andregional police oJcers.Sethi said, “Impartial oJcers have

been appointed for this purpose and

competent and professional oJcershave been posted throughout theprovince in accordance with theinstructions of the ElectionCommission.” On the occasion, while issuing

instructions for evolving acomprehensive security plan forgeneral elections, the chief ministerdirected administration and policeoJcers to perform their duties withoutcaring for any political pressure. Healso directed that all necessarymeasures should be taken for ensuringlaw, order, security, and said that theconcerned authorities should takeimmediate safety measures in case ofany untoward incident.Stressing eKective coordination

between the concerned institutions, healso issued directives for ensuringspecial attention to be paid to sensitivepolling stations. Addressing themeeting, Chief Minister Najam Sethisaid that a completely non-politicaland impartial administrative

machinery had been posted at thelower level on the pattern of theneutral caretaker set-up at theprovincial level so that there was nodoubt about the transparency ofgeneral elections which is a nationalresponsibility of caretakergovernment.He further directed that all oJcers

should discharge their responsibilitiesin accordance with rules andregulations and pay no attention topolitical or administrative pressure. Heexpressed the firm resolve thatcaretaker government should not takeany step in contravention of law norallow anyone to do so, while ensuringall out cooperation to be extended toElection Commission for the conductof transparent elections.He said that general elections are of

utmost importance for the nationand a test case for the newadministration and police oJcers ofPunjab who will have to come up tothe expectations at any cost. –ONLINE

I leave fair polls toIG, CS, says Sethi�Achieving objective of fair and transparent elections is my objective

MANZOOR QADIR

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Ministry of Interior seemsreluctant in giving charge to Tariq Hayat, arecently promoted DMG oJcer, of the post ofAdditional Secretary-I in the Interior Ministryin place of Shahid Hameed who got retiredafter reaching the age of superannuation inlast week of March this year.The Establishment Division had appointed

Tariq Hayat as Additional Secretary-I in theInterior Ministry but, according to thesources, Wing Commander (r) Tariq AhmadLodhi, who is currently occupying the seatwithout any notification, is not willing to handover the charge to Tariq Hayat owing to theinfluence of a powerful oJcer.Tariq Lodhi is a former director general of

the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from March2008 to August 2008 and was allegedly partof the scam for misusing Rs500 million fromIB’s secret funds to topple the Punjabgovernment. Later, he was posted as theGeneral Manager of the National Databaseand Registration (NADRA) in the UK againsta hefty amount. Recently, Mr Lodhi, allegedlya favourite oJcer on contract of formerinterior minister Rehman Malik, has beenappointed as head of special security cell forelections that has created panic in theopposition camps. Reportedly, theestablishment division has advised TariqLodhi to hand over charge of additionalsecretary-I to Tariq Hayat failing which itwould not issue his order as DG NationalDisaster Management Authority. The interiorsecretary Khawaja Saddiq Akbar could not becontacted despite repeated attempts on hiscell phone. The ministry spokesman alsoshowed ignorance about the issue, however,he confirmed that Mr Lodhi is holding thecharge of the seat without any notification.

NIH relying on ad-hocism, nepotism

Ex-PAF oJceroccupies topoJce withoutnotification

LLAAHHOORR:: Marriam Nawaz,daughter of PML-N chiefNawaz Sharif, on Monday,while calling upon the partyworkers to remain united,said the anti-state elementsare conspiring to keepPML-N out from electionsbut their conspiracieswould be foiled.She expressed these views

while meeting with KashifNazir, candidate of PML-Nfrom MuzaKargarh. Duringthe meeting mattersrelating to the upcominggeneral elections werediscussed. She said that allworkers should go door todoor and give Nawaz Sharifmessage of peace,prosperity and justice.“Opponent are violently

trying to keep the PML-Nout from the race ofupcoming general electionsbut we will make thecountry prosper by cominginto power through the voteof the public,” Mariamadded. Talking on theoccasion, she advised Nazirto go by all lengths tostrengthen vote bank and togive the masses a bettertomorrow. –ONLINE

LLAAHHOORREE:: All Pakistan Muslim League onMonday decided to challenge the rejection ofnomination papers of former president PervezMusharraf from NA-139 Kasur in the apexcourt. Central secretary information, AasiaIshaq said that the application of Articles 62and 63 of the Constitution could not beimplemented on any citizens of the countrytill the court awarded sentence on the charges.Rejection of the papers on the pretext of

application of the Articles 62 and 63 againstthe APML chief would also held all the leadersineligible. She said that Nawaz Sharif, ImranKhan and Asif Zardari should be brought tobook and Articles 62 and 63 should beimplemented upon them as well. –ONLINE

APML to challengepapers’ rejection

�Blue-eyed o�cials given extra charge for executiveposts �Seven top posts vacant since 2008

Gahler says mission to support genuine elections by o ering a neutral and public assessment of di erent aspects

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADD:: Students showing stickers for the importance of vote during an awareness drive. –ONLINE

Marriam’scall for unity

LLAAHHOORREE:: PML-N Trade Wing Lahore Senior VicePresident Gohar Publications Abuzar GhaKari hassaid that people are rightly pinning hopes on PML-N to bring Pakistan out of social, agricultural andfinancial crunches since PPP-led government’spolicies have ruined the country and they could notdeliver to masses but multiple crises.He expressed these views while addressing a

meeting in the presence of PML-N central leaderMian Hamza Shahbaz Sharif here at his oJce. While

pointing out critical issues being faced by localtraders, Abuzar GhaKari said that PPP-ledgovernment could not deliver to masses exceptmultiple crises while, conversely, the PML-Ngovernment in past took bold steps like historicdetonating atomic explosion and construction ofMotorway. He claimed that the services of MianShahbaz Sharif in education sector by implementingrevolutionary Education Policy 2006 in Punjab areunforgettable. –ONLINE

ECP receives 29,558papers for NA, PAs seats

‘PML-N will rescue agriculture’


IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Many thousands offamilies from the Tirah Valley inKhyber Agency have been forced toleave their homes following heavyfighting between rival militantgroups. The displacement hasresulted in significant unmethumanitarian needs. The Federally Administered TribalArea (FATA) Disaster ManagementAuthority has recorded that 5,479families have fled the fighting in theTirah Valley to date while first personaccounts from the conflict areaindicate a large area of the valley isnow deserted and approximately

10,000 to 15,000 families have lefttheir homes and are on the move dueto the insecurity. Displaced familiesare moving towards Kohat, Hanguand Peshawar districts of KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP). Up to 75 per centare women and children, and it isexpected that most will prefer to livewith relatives and host communitiesrather than in displacement camps.The nature of the conflict betweentwo militant groups has led to rapiddisplacement and widespreaddestruction.Rehman, fleeing with his familyfrom the Tirah Valley said: "We fled

without carrying any basicnecessities such as food andclothes. We saw many dead bodiesin the area; we were not even ableto bury the bodies of our relativeswho were killed in the conflict. Atthis time we have no support andwe are living with relatives andhave no food, clothes, valuables orhealth facilities.”His situation was mirrored byQazi, who fled with his family: “Wehave left our houses, livestock, cropsand belongings in Tirah to protectour families. It was a very difficultsituation at night. I saw pregnant

women dying on the way while wewere fleeing. Many of the childrensustained physical injuries and fellsick because of the hardships theyfaced while travelling across themountains on foot.”This suffering of families escapingfrom the Tirah Valley iscompounded by the severe violenceand destruction they witnessed asthey fled and the ongoing securitythreats they still face in the areas ofdisplacement. There is an urgentneed for humanitarian assistance interms of food, water, sanitation,shelter, health care as well as access

to education and psychosocialsupport. Due to the ongoing conflictin the region it is unlikely that thesefamilies will be able to return to theTirah Valley in the near future andtherefore they will also needlivelihood support. Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) and humanitarian partnersare currently responding to needswith relief items and planning toincrease assistance in the comingdays and weeks as funds are secured.National Humanitarian Network(NHN) call for the immediatedelivery of aid based on vulnerability

and calls upon the Government ofPakistan and humanitarian actors toaddress the needs of this highlyvulnerable population.Fayyaz Ahmad, chair of the PHF,said: "We should not forget the needsand suNering of innocent civiliansfrom the tribal areas who have beencaught up in the fighting and havewitnessed the destruction of theirhomes and property and the death oftheir family members. Given thesituation and needs of these people,immediate assistance is needed at thelocations where the aNectedpopulation has moved to." –PR

Humanitarian crisis — thousands displaced in Tirah

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADD//KKAARRAACCHHII:: Students solving their papers of ninth grade annual exams. Many believe that the examination system does not help develop reasoning in youngsters. –ONLINE

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Awami National Party (ANP)Senior Vice-President Senator HajiMuhammad Adeel on Monday said hisparty’s election manifesto ‘Peaceful Pakistan’promised a prosperous Pakistan.Addressing a seminar, Haji Adeelpresented the ANP’s manifesto and saidprogress was only possible in a peacefuland stable environment which was why‘Peaceful Pakistan’ was ANP’s slogan for2013 elections.The event was organised on the ANP’selection programme under the title“Relevance of Manifesto in PoliticalDynamics of Pakistan”. The gatheringorganised by Sustainable DevelopmentPolicy Institute (SDPI) was third in theseries of seminars, planned to bringmanifestos of political parties intodiscussion and their impact on electoratesin the run up to the general elections.Haji Adeel said his party was committedto evolve a national consensus onextremism with peace and non-violence asguiding principles. “ANP believes indialogue with militants who recognise theConstitution and the writ of the state andrenounces violence,” he added.He said ANP’s manifesto promised tosecure social and economic rights for allfederating units of Pakistan as equal partnersin the federation. Regarding the status ofFATA, he said that the annexation of FATAwith Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was possible butonly in accordance with the wishes andexpectations of people living in tribal areas.

Talking aboutANP’scommitment toeducation, heexpressed that theANP governmentwould increasethe educationbudget to sixpercent of GDP.

“In last five years of ANP government, ninenew universities were established alongwith campuses in every district of province.Also other measures such as free educationto all in public schools and free uniform,textbooks and stipend of 200 rupees foreach girl are some of the milestones ofANP’s resolve for promoting education inthe provinces,” he added.He said ANP’s manifesto not onlyretained its secular spirit but also stoodagainst extremism in every form. He wasof the view that ANP’s manifestossymbolizes not only the vision of leadershipbut reflects ownership even at grass rootlevel of worker.Speaking on social and educational aspectsof manifesto, he applauded ANP forallocating 6 percent of GDP for educationand placing greater emphasis on socialdevelopment. He particularly praised thepromise of textbook reforms by removinghate material, which he said, is acommendable initiative which is absent inother political parties manifestos. He alsoliked the suggestion of appointment ofjudges, ambassadors and people on higherposts through parliamentary route.

No progresswithout peace:Haji Adeel

Election manifesto

�Says ANP’s programme retained its secular nature�Promises socio-economic rights for federating units

OUR STAFF REPORTER

MMIIRRPPUURR ((AAJJKK)):: The AJKsecretary information andtechnology said in a pressbriefing at Kashmir Press ClubMirpur on Monday that theinformation ministry wasworking for the development andbetterment of journalists.“We have made the PressFoundation active on the specialinstruction of the AJK premier.Group insurance of the membersof Press Foundation has beendone. Journalists shouldimmediately take the membershipof Press Foundation so that lectionfor its Board of Governors couldbe held,” Majeed Malik added.He said the Government ofPakistan was paying all the debtsof newspapers very soon and theirproblems would be solved on anurgent basis. For the newspapers, which werenot ABC certified, the rates werealso increased by 40 per cent. Aminimum sevens thousand salarywould given to the people whowere related to journalism. Tomake the information ministry

stronger, they had planned to buildnew information oMce in everycity of Azad Kashmir, he added.President Kashmir Press ClubSyed Abid Hussain Shah,Secretary General Sajjad HaiderJarral and other senior journalistswere also present on the occasion.Majeed Malik further added thatjournalism was the fourth pillar ofa country and it was an eye of thesociety. Journalist should dischargetheir duties with full devotion andhard work. “The Government ofAJK is taking every possible stepfor media persons.”He said every person related toany field of journalism whether itwas print, electronic, cameramanradio or cable operators, would begiven membership of PressFoundation. He said journalism wasthe name of service and journalistwere the victims of terrorism inPakistan. Group insurance of 0.3 to0.5 million rupees would beavailable for the members of PressFoundation. “We have written to thefederal government to materialisethe 10 million rupeesannouncement by Syed Yousaf RazaGilani,” he concluded.

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: PTI Secretary Information ShafqatMehmood on Monday, announced that PTIChairman Imran Khan would unveil the party’selection manifesto on Tuesday (today).The manifesto will give an overview of the party’sfuture plan of action and the party’s future vision ontackling the country’s issues in a prudent, pragmaticand eNective manner. “Moreover, the PTI would alsoannounce the party’s ticket-holders for National andProvincial Assemblies on Wednesday, April 10,” saidMehmood in a statement.The PTI leader said that the main focus of theparty’s manifesto will be to introduce plansthrough which the country could be brought outof the multiple crises. He said that the scrutinyprocess of the candidates’ nomination papers hadbeen completed and the final announcementregarding party’s candidates would be made inview of the same.Referring to the party’s manifesto, Mehmoodsaid that the PTI was the only party which had

already introduced its policies on key issues likeenvironment, economy, local government system,anti-corruption, energy, industry, youth, women,skill development, education, disabled personsand other issues. Mehmood said that the mainfocus of the party’s manifesto would be onterrorism and corruption, adding that the PTI wasthe only party which has a key plan to bring thecountry out of American war on terror and also tobring the plundered money of common massesback in the country.He said that the so-called democratic leaders ofthe country had kept their assets abroad in oN-shore and hidden bank accounts due to which theyhave no concern with the misery faced by thepeople of Pakistan. Mehmood pointed out that PTIwas the only party which had unveiled itsenvironment policy under which the five millionjobs would be generated in the country. He saidthat PTI will also give the 25 per cent of tickets toyouth under its youth policy. –ONLINE

OUR STAFF REPORTER

AATTTTOOCCKK:: In a bid toensure free and fairelections in the district, theDCO, DPO and otherpolice officers have beentransferred to differentlocations. All these officialshave relinquished theirresponsibilities and left fornew postings.As per details, AttockDCO Usman Chaudhry hasbeen transferred toBahawalnagar whileMuhammad Iqbal willreplace him in Attock.DPO Syed Ali Nasir Rizvihas been transferred asAIG Career Planning,while DPO Bhakkar AbdulQadir Qayyum is now thenew district police chief inAttock. DSP HafeezAulakh (Attock), DSPTahir Bashir (Fatehjang),DSP Shahid Sarwar(Hassanabdal), DSP RajaSadaqat, DSP Akbar Abbas(Hazro) and DSPChaudhry Aslam(Pindigheb) have also beentransferred to Lahore,Sahiwal, Kasur, SeraiAlamgir, Sambrial andMultan respectively.

‘AJK govt workingfor journalists’well-being’

BBAAHHAAWWAALLPPUURR:: Veterinary doctors treating a sick camel at a free medical camp in Cholistan organized by 25 WingDesert Rangers.–ONLINETTHHAATTTTAA:: Former PPP oMce bearer Pir

Ghulam Rehmani after quitting party’sbasic membership on Monday joinedPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).According to sources, former partyticket holder Pir Ghulam Rehmaniannounced joining the PML-N in ameeting held at the Jilani House withGhaus Ali Shah, the president of PML-N’sSindh chapter.Talking to media persons, Shah claimedthat the PPP plundered the nationalexchequer by misappropriating fundsduring its five years long tenure, addingthat PPP was losing its old faces.He added that the credit of completionof democratic period not only goes to PPPgovernment but Chief Justice, IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry and Nawaz Sharifas well, as they went by all lights to keepthe democratic ball ruling.Speaking on the occasion, MarviMemon central leader of PML-N claimedthat Thatta would soon turn a strongholdof PML-N bank, as she warmly welcomedJilani family in her party. –ONLINE

QQUUEETTTTAA:: Balochistan ElectionCommissioner Syed Sultan Bayezid hassaid that Army shall be deployed atsensitive polling stations, in order toensure peaceful and fair elections.Replying to aquestion whileaddressing a pressconference in his oMceon Monday, he saidthat Army contingentswould also be kept onstandby to cope withany unwontedeventuality, while civiladministration wasalso fully cooperating,with chief secretary Balochistan, IG policeand FC increasing their respective securityzones.He also disclosed that Election CommissionoMces in various parts of the Province hadbeen shifted to deputy commissioners’ oMces,in order to ensure peaceful and harmoniouselectoral environment. He cited such areas as

Quetta, Khuzdar, Mastung, Kharan, Turbatand Panjgur among others as troubled ones,while also expressing his hopes that securityissues would be resolved.He said that the issue of law and order was

common to almost allprovinces, and shouldnot be sensationalizedin Balochistan alone.He also announcedthat 439 candidateshad applied for 14general seats, out ofwhich 414 wereapproved and 25rejected.He also deliberated

that appeals would be filed from 10th April,which would be reviewed by a three-member bench of Balochistan High Courtfrom April 11 to 17, while the final list wouldbe released after 18th April. Replying to aquestion, he said that special and eNectivesteps would be taken to ensure the safety ofelection staN. –ONLINE

Quetta, Turbat, Panjguramong troubled spots: ECP

PTI to announce manifesto today

PPP’s PirGhulam Jilanijoins PML-N

FFAAIISSAALLAABBAADD:: At least three personswere killed when a cylinder explodedin a passenger van in the Tandlianwalaarea, oMcials said on Monday. Theincident occurred after the cylindersuddenly caught fire and exploded.Three people were died on spot whilesix others received burn injuries in theincident, oMcials added. Rescue 1122and police rushed to the scene soonafter the incident took place. Bodiesand injured were shifted to AlliedHospital in the city. –ONLINE

People protest againstoutages in Rahim Yar KhanRRAAHHIIMM YYAARR KKHHAANN:: The residentsof the city on Monday staged a protestagainst prolonged power breakdowns.The angry protesters also damagedoMce of the Multan Electric PowerSupply Company. They also burnttyres, blocked roads and chantedslogans against the government. Theysaid rolonged loadshedding hasdisturbed their lives. –ONLINE

Fire damages paperboardfactory in MultanMMUULLTTAANN:: Fire erupted at apaperboard-making factory nearBahawalpur Bypass in Multan onMonday, as a result of which oneworker received burn wounds.According to media reports, firetenders were called in to extinguishthe inferno. Rescue sources say firestarted because of a short circuit,which engulfed the whole factorywithin no time. Rescue teams and firefighters reached the scene to put outthe blaze. –AGENCIES

Female kidnapper handedover to police in FaisalabadFFAAIISSAALLAABBAADD:: A female kidnapperwas handed over to police after shewas caught re-handed trying tokidnap a newborn fro hospital, mediareports said. According to police,Sumera, the kidnapper, tried to abducta newborn baby but the people in thehospital made her plan fail. Thewoman was being interrogated bypolice for further disclosures. –ONLINE

Two bodiesfound in AttockAATTTTOOCCKK:: Two bodies were recoveredfrom separate locations of district onMonday. In first incident, the body ofMuhammad Saqlain was recoverednear Musa village. One of his relativestold police that he had been killed byFirdous and Iftikhar. In anotherincident, the body of Gul Khan, aresident of Abbottabad, was recoveredwithin the precincts of Faqeerabadpolice post. Police sources said thedeceased had been kidnapped forransom a month ago. –STAFF REPORT

Three dead in gascylinder explosion

Attock policeshuLedfor free polls

Holding peaceful polls


THE SPOKESMANChief Editor: Huma Ali

Executive Editor: Atif MateenResident Editor: Saeed Minhas

Consulting Editors: Jalees Hazir Samina Choonara

Article 62 & 63: legislation failure

With so many cases of rejection ofpapers of nominees for the comingelections that were reported in thepast few days, there have beenquestions in the minds of thepublic on the procedure ofscrutiny and particularly on thestrict application of the twoclauses of the Constitution,Articles 62 and 63. Some peopleargue that what is happening isquite justified since these clausesare a part of the Constitution,while there are many seriouspeople who question the twoclauses which were added tothe Articles by General Zia, amilitary dictator.The fact of the matter is that

during the 25 preceding yearssince the insertion of theseclauses, no one seriously debatedtheir legitimacy or challengedthem for repeal. It was assumed,quite innocently, that these clauseswould remain idle forever.Unfortunately, it has been thehabit of dictators – military orcivilian – to meddle with theConstitution quite carelessly andwithout paying heed to its futurerepercussions. Sadly, mostmembers of the assemblies haveremained silent about suchcontroversial clauses till they camehome to bite. This casual attitudeof the political parties andparliamentarians towardthe important business oflegislation has caused themconsiderable harm.It is true that during the

previous elections, these clauseswere not invoked with any vigourbut it should have been in theminds of these electedrepresentatives that they could beinvoked any time. Now there is alooming risk of disqualification ofmany important political leaderson the basis of these clauses. Thisreveals how serious most of thepolitical lot is about thisimportant aspect of governance.The way legislation is done in

the country should be a matter ofdeep concern. And it is not onlylegislation, which is hardlyanybody’s priority, but even

attending a single session of theassembly would make it clear howirreverent our representatives areabout this august house. Theirmisconduct has made headlinesand broken all previous records ofuncivilised behaviour where anonlooker often cannot distinguishwhether you are in a classroom ofa government primary school orattending the proceeding of thelower house of the country. Therole of the speaker is often nodifferent from that of aheadmaster of a school who callsrolls, grants leave and sometimesreprimands the students formaking noise. Although there arealways exceptions to this rule and

there are many serious mindedpeople in the house but,unfortunately, the generalenvironment of the house is waybelow any standard.And when the general decorum

cannot be maintained how can oneexpect serious debate onconstitutional and legislativematters to take place there? Butnow it should be clear to past andfuture legislators that a singleclause of the Constitution cancreate mayhem that may lead totheir own fall from grace. Thereare precedents in which just oneword in a constitutional clause cancreate a constitutional crisis; see

the famous case of Sajjad Ali Shahin Judges Appointment case inwhich just one word“Consultation” created suchcontroversy that it was decidedafter lengthy hearings to establishthe meaning of the term.But then, we learn badly from

history or even from controversy,since we tend to behave like apeople in haste. After thisexperience of large scaledisqualification of candidates,political parties should be carefulwhen voted into government tolegislate carefully, which is, afterall, one of the prime businesses ofgovernance. There is a tendency ofpassing ordinances or bills in

haste without serious debate andmostly for personal or party basedmotives. You may recall, forinstance, the bill on Contempt ofCourt 2012 passed by the previousassembly in much haste. Whensuch things are done by the upperhouse of the country, who will takethem seriously? And when mattersare discussed in higher courts orother such forums, these lawsreveal the lacunas that are capableof being misinterpreted andcreating a constitutional crisis.But meanwhile, as the scrutiny

comes to a close and some casesare referred to the courts, the roleof returning officers needs to be

questioned. It is true that, for thefirst time, they had the authorityto carry out their duties withoutpolitical influence, but theauthority was used a bit casuallyand in a cavalier manner. Thiscannot be condoned.Perhaps, returning officers are

not entirely to blame in thismatter since the criteria beforethem for deciding on the conductof the candidates was vague, butthey did make full use of thisambiguity. While some peoplethink this shows the law of theland is being upheld, the lawneeds to be less vague. If theactions of the returning officersare seen as being arbitrary this candampen the enthusiasm of thecontestants and the voters. Peoplewho had the spirit of becomingpublic representatives may nowbecome apprehensive ofparticipating in any part of theelections since their personal lifeis likely to be on the line and opento the public.Another irony that came to the

fore was that the papers of aformer actress of the Pushto andPunjabi cinema, Musarat Shaheen,once a source of wild fantasiesduring her cinematic career, wereaccepted on the basis of her abilityto recite from the sacred text.Meanwhile, a renowned andrespected columnist, Ayaz Amir,was disqualified for his criticalcolumns in a daily newspaper andhis work was termed “against theideology of Pakistan”.But there could be a blessing in

disguise in the entire episode. Thisnomination process has given riseto a creative debate on the issue ofqualification and the selectioncriteria of elected representatives.It has also raised concern over theprocess of legislation and the hastein which some of it is passed whileemphasising the need to dismantleobfuscatory passages that have thepotential to be turned againstsomeone if need be . We can hopethat coming assemblies will takeheed and legislate more slowly andwith greater care to avoid thefuture repercussions of legislation.

Block 11, G-6/1, Aabpara, IslamabadTelephone: 051 260 7153-4

Fax: 051 260 [email protected]

Perhaps, returning officers are notentirely to blame in this matter sincethe criteria before them for decidingon the conduct of the candidates wasvague, but they did make full use ofthis ambiguity. While some peoplethink this shows the law of the land isbeing upheld, the law needs to be lessvague. If the actions of the returningofficers are seen as being arbitrarythis can dampen the enthusiasm ofthe contestants and the voters

Unfair scrutinyThe media flashed the news thatcolumnist Ayaz Amir’s candidacyhas been rejected by the ElectionCommission of Pakistan withreference to his writings that hehas been publishing over the years,among them critical evaluations ofthe state of Pakistan, asking “If wehad to come to this why did we go

through the trouble of Partition?”This and other remarks might

have irked the honourablemembers of the ECP given thecondition for qualification that,“he has not, after theestablishment of Pakistan, workedagainst the integrity of the countryor opposed the ideology ofPakistan”.Now, one has to ask: is it treason

to question the state in which ourPakistani society is today withrising corruption and poverty, thestate that Mr Jinnah envisaged.Jinnah also declared black-

marketing, nepotism and jobberyevils that have to be fought.Further, he said, “You will nodoubt agree with me that the firstduty of a government is tomaintain law and order, so that thelife, property and religious beliefsof its subjects are fully protectedby the State.”These are some of the things that

are absent in our modern Pakistan.Now looking at Pakistan and theperformance of successivegovernments and parliaments, doyou think that this state of affairs

was what Jinnah had in mind? Andif this state of affairs is against whatJinnah had wanted, there is noharm in questioning it! What is theideology of Pakistan? Who definesthis? The Election Commission?Who are the members of ECP andwhat qualification do they have inthis regard?One thing comes to our mind

and that is the case of GeneralMusharraf ’s candidature. If AyazAmir is disqualified for violating oracting against the ideology ofPakistan, then General Musharrafshould be automaticallydisqualified on the same grounds.He violated the oath that he had

taken to defend the constitution ofPakistan when commissioned inthe Army.He later with the help of foreign

powers devised the NRO, whichhas been declared unconstitutionaland void ad initio by the SupremeCourt of Pakistan, and he has ahandful of cases pending againsthim, which are all undecided so far.

ALI ASHRAFLAHORE

PML-N and Co: providinginnovative ‘solutions’ topublic grievances

Thank you for cropping out a visionto read

MUSA GHAZNAVI

The crime of inequality

This is right. We are busy inpolitical affairs and are neglectingthe basic problems arising in oursociety.The death of Moeed Pirzaada's

mother is egregious. So to fend offsimilar incidents there should be abalance in our society. In fact atpresent we should strive forbalance, with pragmaticapproaches. Most importantlyattitude matters a lot.

MITRO

Benazir and Zardarikilled Bhutto

The bad news for you Mr TahirMalik is, that Bhutto is not killed.

MARVI SIRMED

Government announcesCholistan land auctionThe Punjabi establishment will nodoubt give the land to settlers ratherthan the natives of the area. Shameon them for exploiting the poor andthe weak!

AVATAR

Kramer versus Malik Riaz

I guess the same old cliché applies:the rich will get richer and the restwill pay the price.The media has sold its soul to

their benevolent investor MalikRiaz.

GUEST

Lions and lambsExcellent analysis of Imran Khan'spolitics! The author evaluatedKhan's politics in a very goodmanner. Khan should neitherconfuse himself nor his voters andsupporters. The writer's suggestionsto PTI carry weight.

IHSAN QADIR

The resurgent khawjasara community

A lot has been said about thesubject, but the way Zeeba hascomprehensively explained it, is great.

QASIM

Security is the key toBalochistan elections

This is a great effort.

SALMA BAZ

Please email your letters [email protected] or postthem to our address in Islamabad.

Addressing a public meeting at Quetta, Amir Jamaat-i-Islami (JI)Syed Munawwar Hassan said that his party saw elections as ameans of bringing about a revolution in the country and asked thepeople to reject feudal lords and tribal chieftains in the comingpolls. He said a few families representing feudal and tribalaristocracy had been ruling the country for the last 64 years andthat they were responsible for pushing the country into the slaveryof the United States. According to another news report,Munawwar Hassan had met Sardar Akhtar Mengal and welcomedhis decision to participate in the elections. Yet, in the publicmeeting he lambasted the feudals and chieftains. Hypocrisy anddeception are not unusual in politics, but the way the leaders ofreligious parties in Pakistan change their stances to suit theirinterests is incredible.Religious parties do not believe in western democracy and anelected parliament but stand for selection of a shura. Politicalparties are formed with a view to achieving power throughelections so that they can implement their program as delineatedin their manifestos. Conversely, groups or parties that do notsubscribe to democracy are imbued with fascist tendencies andalways try to achieve power through shortcuts. Those who believein adventurism are always on the lookout for an opportunityaXorded by a general. But it should be remembered that thetenure of those who achieve power through shortcuts are cutshort and they are shown the door by their “mentors” when theydeem it fit. The JI had aided and abetted General Zia and, alongwith other religious parties, the party was a part of his shura andhis cabinet. But its members had to resign when General Zia-ul-Haq reprimanded the JI for not having done the homework forimplementation of sharia.Jamaat-i-Islami had tried to act as a spoiler by boycotting the 2008elections along with two-dozen small parties cobbled together underthe All Parties DemocraticMovement. But despite an organisedcadre, it did not have the popular support to disrupt the elections.The JI and other religious parties comprising theMuttehidaMajlis-e-Amal (MMA) had stood by GeneralMusharraf right up to 2008and the party had participated in the 2002 elections under theMMA, which unarguably had the dictator’s blessings. During thetenure of elected governments, the JI has often been in the forefrontto cobble together alliances to topple them. But it is quick to alignitself withmilitary regimes to push forward its agenda of enforcingits brand of sharia. It is a matter of record that the JI had declared in1970 that Yahya Khan’s alternative ‘constitution’, which was to beimplemented if the electedmembers failed to draft and approve theconstitution within 30 days, was ideal.The Jamaat-i-Islami was one of the religious parties that hadopposed the Pakistan movement because it believed that theMuslim League leaders were not practicingMuslims, hence notqualified to rule an Islamic state, and secondly, because it did notsubscribe to the concept of a nation state. So, basically, the partywants to contest elections and bring about an Islamic revolution inthe nation-state of Pakistan, two things it does not believe in.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s bigotry

A visit to a grave is often part of the politicalrituals that presidents and other politicalrepresentatives include in their schedulesduring their State visits. In spite of theapparent mechanicity and automatism behindthese gestures, they still constitute valid spacesfromwhich we can expose the crucial politicalintentions they embody.What is the meaning of Obama paying

tribute to the founder of modern politicalZionism in his last visit to Israel/Palestine?Which questions does this gesture raise on thelatest US “broker of deceit”, to borrow the titleof Rashid Khalidi’s recent book on the historyof the relationship between the USadministrations and the Palestinian question?Well, a visit to Thedor Herzl’s tomb in one of

the most unbalanced trips of a US president toIsrael/Palestine can hardly be interpreted as anact of routine diplomacy. While expressing hisunilateral support for Israel’s “dispossession insecurity”, perhaps Obama showed his will tosupport the foundational constitution of Israelin its most problematic guise.As we know, Herzl is author of “The Jewish

State” (1896), in which the author develops theorganisational and ideological manifesto ofmodern political Zionism. The pamphletcontains the coordinates for transferring thediscriminated Jewish population of Europe toPalestine or to another “empty land”. And thisis also one of the first texts in which for the firsttime the solution to the “Jewish question” isarticulated as a project of colonisation and acivilising mission:‘Should the Powers declare themselves

willing to admit our sovereignty over a neutralpiece of land, then the Society will enter intonegotiations for the possession of this land.Here two territories come under consideration,Palestine and Argentine. In both countriesimportant experiments in colonisation havebeenmade, though on the mistaken principleof a gradual infiltration of Jews. An infiltrationis bound to end badly. It continues till theinevitable moment when the native population

feels itself threatened, and forces theGovernment to stop a further influx of Jews.Immigration is consequently futile unless wehave the sovereign right to continue suchimmigration.’Manifesting his preference for a “Palestinian

solution”, Herzl continues: ‘Palestine is ourever-memorable historic home. The very nameof Palestine would attract our people with aforce of marvelous potency. If His Majesty theSultan were to give us Palestine, we could inreturn undertake to regulate the wholefinances of Turkey. We should there form aportion of a rampart of Europe against Asia, anoutpost of civilisation as opposed to barbarism’.Like an Orientalist of his time, Herzl

theorises the necessity of a Jewish state in anon-empty land using a military vocabulary ofaggression: a rampart against Asia and anoutpost of civilisation. Those who inhabit theland of the Jewish state to come are described

as a barbarous population, the uncivilised tobe redeemed.Herzl’s settler-colonial vision –a military-like

immigration protected by European powersthat would have and has unavoidably resultedin depopulation, expulsion and ethniccleansing– was inspired by a kind ofOrientalism that is evenmore manifest andexplicit in his 1902 novel “Altneuland” (“TheOld New Land”): a novel in which the pioneerof political Zionism is evenmore explicitlyOrientalist than in “The Jewish State”. In whatis misleadingly considered his “utopian” novel–misleadingly because those were the years inwhich Zionism was precisely looking for a non-utopian solution– Herzl describes Palestineafter the first Jewish immigrations as a “newsociety”, by that meaning more civilised thanthe indigenous population. Palestinians aredepicted as the recalcitrant remnants of adespicable rural backwardness, and their

children as ‘grown up like dumb beasts’. Thenovel contains the classical array of Orientaliststereotypes about Arabs.Thus, we may ponder the meaning of visiting

Herzl’s tomb while stating the un-discussableright of Israel to remain the kind of Jewishstate that it is. Is the kind of idea of Jewishstate that Obama has in mind founded onHerzl’s premises? Does Obama recognisehimself in an outpost-rampart-state to beprotected as a colonial frontier againstbarbarism? If Israel has been created and hasdeveloped and reproduced itself in a colonialframework like the one imagined by Herzl– thecontinuation of an experiment in colonisation–is this the kind of Israel that Obama wants tosupport with millions of dollars? The politicalritual on Herzl’s grave seems to suggest thatthe answer to all these questions is yes.

(COUNTERPUNCH)

Obama’s political ritual at Herzl’s tomb

Feedback from the web

EHSAN KAZI

NICOLA PERUGINI

After this experience, political parties should be careful whenvoted into government to take legislation more seriously. Thereis a tendency of passing ordinances or bills in haste withoutmeaningful debate and mostly for personal or party based motives

Thus, we may ponder the meaning of visiting Herzl’s tomb while stating the un-discussable right of Israel toremain the kind of Jewish state that it is. Is the kind of idea of Jewish state that Obama has in mind foundedon Herzl’s premises? Is this the kind of Israel that Obama wants to support with millions of dollars?


‘I like to think I’m on friggingMars,man!... sometimes’ - quoting a friendof mine who’s chosen a life of salads,pechuli and, of course, nuts addedin; she’ s Palestinian. Though I think,despite not liking it, she probablyhangs out onMars in her reverie, as Idid this evening last week. I imaginemy friend would fly oX on her spaceodysseys with that pink streak of hairover her otherwise fairly wildsparingly washed hair. Mehndi andAmla abound on her bathroon shelf,for weekly use or some such.My futuristic adventures in the

city are likewise lived more in myhead than in the obvious discomfortthat such a scape would provide tothe ones in the thick of it. Someonesplashed a big gob of sewage on aman clad in his best shalwar qamizas he dodged the held-up traWc inthe bowels of one neighbourhood ofLahore I was driving through. Hecursed the (motor)bike rider, awarrior in this great post-civilisation war. The energy of thisyoungster transmitted throughsynapses of an accustomed braincircuit of mine: out of work, nolicense, bike is not his, oX on aheroic errand of the young -something to calm his nerves and toan orgasmic fulfillment. The opensewer ran through the middle of theneighbourhood with banks whoseedges were broken oX from passageof vehicles too large for when theneighbourhood was originallyconceived. My car is a bit large tooand if I have to take these smallroads lined with bakers after salonsafter meat shops and cheap second-hand clothing stores that I seek outto collect for my own prop wardrobe.I better buy a smaller vehicle, even a(motor)bike.I stopped at the edge of a bridge

across the sewer to ask directions tothe second circle. The man outside amechanic’s shop was standing withhis friends. In his mother’s eyes thisman was a mere lad - neuronalcircuit in brain now identifying himas a happy young well-built collegestudent, someone who’s together asmost fresh things are, or as thefuturama will portray, a protagonistsof charming self-possession. Hisdirection-giving was so full ofwarmth, that a blind motoristdriving through this future-scapewould suddenly know he’s in a citynone other than Lahore.A puddle of leaked sewage

aerosolizes a lot of dust. The alluvialearth here on this land is not in thehabit of settling down. And so itgoes... on the brick layered roads ofthe inner bowels of town among thepuddles and the traWc jams and thesputtering Rickshas.There was no need to be nice. How

do people manage their goodhumour and friendly directiongiving. My postmodern Palestineanhas taken down nutrition tips thatshe’s gathered over the years ofstudying the herbs and talking withnurturing like-minded women.Whyis he happy? In this stench-laden airand in a neighbourhood thatabounds in old traditions of fare andforage. His mother, and his would-be

wife and his aunts with theirchildren and family life and faith:those are powerful resources thatdraws one to believe oneself and tobegin one’s forgotten traditionalrituals, though such habits ofnutrition are sure to make one ratherunwilling to make a protest aboutany form of injustice. Mytranquilising traditions are sure tomake me rather groggy, and so Ileave them alone for the most part.How then do I justify my well-

bred moaning and groaning that Icarry on every day? Do yousometimes see or meet someoneand suddenly have a desire to bethem? I did when I stopped to askdirections of this happy individual.Isn’t happiness after all, the goal ofany civic life? Besides, of course, aneternal life resembling posters onthe wall in Raiwind.I wonder if he has a vivid concept

of that. I can’t probe his neuronalcircuits and I’m just too tired ofchecking into other people’s “hunkydory”-ness. As much as I don’t like tobelieve (Sartre was it?) that hell isother people, I do get tired.The neuronal circuits of this

gentleman’s happiness were buzzingwith some sparks here and therewhenmy eyes met his askance,expressing my lost way. As hesuggested, I went over the sewer andmade a U-turn across it (the processtook what seemed like an hour and Idid surprise myself at navigatingacross Corollas and Ricksha’s andpedestrians and tongasintertwined in what seemed to bean impossible entanglement) -God oversees all this and Hemakes it happen -- ask anyone!I was finally able to get through to

the main street and on to the bigbrand new bridge, along the rails ofthe newly put inMetro route as thetriphop song came on. Inside mynice car, thanks to technology, I havemusic to help cut me oX from reality.Well, isn’t that the purpose of sciencefiction? There’s usually an invisiblefascist who, having created theatmosphere of this crumbling super-order, has disappeared from thescene with human decadence takingover in the warlike struggle forsubsistence through which spaceships like mine swoosh by played tothe electronica soundtrack.And yet again, I see an old grandma

in white shalwar qamiz oblivious ofher dangling string and the artificiallywind-blown grey hair is standing onthe side of super highway wonderingin her semi-state of senility, is thisPakistan? Is this friggin’Mars,man!?... For surely this can’t be theearthy heavens she imaginedwas herfinal eternal destiny. Amma ji wasdisoriented formuchmore than amicrosecond. I continuedmy driveeast down into the underpass linedwith gargantuan Islamic art with itsstar corners reminiscent of the big redstar or of the Swastika.I am just so inclined to quote my

friend again, “We’re on friggin’ Mars,man!” I watered down the “f” wordshe used but I’m sure if you let yourneurons of imagination fire, youprobably know how it goes!

THE AUTHOR IS A FICTION WRITER

Why did the peace movement of the middleof the last decade not grow larger? Whydid it shrink away? Why is it strugglingnow? As has been documented, a hugefactor in the shrinking away was partisandelusion. You put a different politicalparty's name on the wars and they becomegood wars.But that also means that what you had

was a peace movement that believed in thepossibility of good wars. In fact, much of itbelieved that Iraq was a bad war andAfghanistan a good war. Many people evenwent out of their way to display their"reasonableness" by declaring Afghanistana good war without actually examining thewar on Afghanistan.Many, of course, opposed the war on

Afghanistan until the invasion of Iraq, andthen switched to talking almost exclusivelyabout Iraq. Afghanistan was labeled thegood war once Iraq had happened, just asWorld War II was labeled the good waronce Vietnam had happened. Our beliefsregarding contrasts between Iraq andAfghanistan are mostly false. The invasionof Afghanistan was no more legal or moralor honest or U.N.-authorised than theinvasion of Iraq. The occupation ofAfghanistan is no less of a vicious one-sided slaughter of helpless people whowished us no ill than the occupation of Iraqwas. But we aren't in the habit of talkingabout wars as one-sided slaughters ofinnocent men, women, and children.When we chose to oppose the war on Iraq

without opposing all wars, we were obliged

to find a reason why. We were obliged tooppose the war:-because Iraq had no weapons (as if a

government's possessing weapons weregrounds for its people being bombed - anotion that could cost Iran dearly),-or because Iraq had nothing to do with

9-11 (as if a government's association with agroup affiliated with a party having oncemet with a wing of an organisationconnected to a group involved in 9-11 weregrounds for being bombed - a notion nowcosting the lives of drone strike victims bythe thousands, not to mention sustainingthe war on Afghanistan),-or because the war in Iraq wasn't being won

(a notion that helped escalate that war andlater the occupation of Afghanistan as well),-or because the war on Iraq was a

Republican Party war (as of course it wasnot; just check who controlled the U.S.Senate at the time - remember the Senate,that body that long prevented PresidentObama from doing any of the wonderfulthings he'd like to have done in his secret, ifnot imaginary, heart of hearts? And look atwhat happens to opposition to Republicanwars when a Democrat is put on the throne.)Most of our country is saturated with

militarism. But if a peace-in-certain-circumstances movement does manage toturn out a crowd for a march or two, whatremains behind when the marches areover? Certainly not an understanding of

what's wrong with militarism. Not even anunderstanding of what the war was thatwas marched against.A majority of Americans believes the war

on Iraq benefitted Iraq but hurt the UnitedStates. A majority wanted that war ended,year after year, for several years, manymotivated by selfishness - by a desire tocease bestowing such philanthropy on theundeserving and ungrateful people of Iraq.A majority believes President George W.Bush lied the nation into the war, but notthat all wars are begun with similar lies.And almost no one in the United States

understands what was done to Iraq, thatmore Iraqis and a higher percentage of Iraqiswere killed than were Americans in our civilwar, or British or French or Japanese orAmericans in World War II, or that threetimes that many Iraqis were made refugees,that towns and neighborhoods andpopulations were wiped out, infrastructuredestroyed and never yet rebuilt, cancer andbirth defects at record levels, civil rightsworse than under Saddam Hussein'sdictatorship, a nation devastated as totally asalmost any other in history.We opposed this without understanding a

fraction of it, without educating othersabout it, and without displaying disrespectfor the U.S. military. Is that anaccomplishment to be truly proud of? Howcan counter-recruitment efforts possiblysucceed in limiting the military's supply of

cannon fodder if the peace movementdoesn't disrespect the military? I think thesimplemindedness here is not in the publicwe're so arrogantly trying to manipulategently, but in ourselves.Here's a secret about people in this

country: they don't support mass murder.Here's another: they're not stupid. So,when you force them to be aware that theirgovernment is committing mass murderand glorifying it, they get upset, angry, andoften energised to make a change. Andwhen you talk to them honestly, they knowyou're being honest even if they don't agreewith you at first. And when you respectfullydisagree, they are able to notice whetheryour position makes any sense. So, if youoppose wars because you oppose killingpeople, you have to explain to everyone youcan that you oppose wars because they killpeople. You can't say ‘I oppose thisparticular war because Paul Bremmer didsomething dumb’, because everyone willfantasise about a future war that doesn'tinclude the dumb thing.On the train home from a recent peace

conference, I spoke to a young woman whotold me she was studying dentistry andwould be in the Air Force. Couldn't she bea dentist without the military, I asked? No,she answered, not without $200,000 indebt. Yes, I replied, but without the AirForce, we could have free colleges and nodebts. She replied: if we didn't have the Air

Force, North Korea would kill us.Now, if you have a little education you

probably realise that North Korea couldn'tattack the United States without beingcompletely obliterated, and that any nation onearth would scream angry threats if wepretended to drop nuclear bombs on it afterhaving destroyed all of its cities, killed millionsof its people, and threatened and antagonisedit for over half a century through control of themilitary belonging to its former other half.But if you'd just learned that the war on

Iraq was a dumb war that cost too much, thatnothing is more heroic than militarism, thateven the peace movement should be led bysoldiers, and that waving flags and valuing aparticular 5% of humanity to a special degreeare admirable values, where would you be?What would you know about militarism,where it exists, or how it functions?There will always, always, always be

another North Korea that's supposedlyabout to kill us. We don't need rapid-response fact corrections. We need citizenswith some understanding of history, withknowledge of the Other 95%, with thecapacity to resist terrorism-by-television,and capable of independent thought. To getthere, we need a peace movement thatmoves us, at whatever pace it can, towardpeace - toward the popular demand for theabsolute abolition of all war.

(OPEDNEWS.COM)

With just thirty-five days to go for theeventful elections of 2013, the ElectionCommission of Pakistan has opened upsomany avenues that everyone is a littleconcerned about their timely closure inthis short period of time. Thecontroversial and somewhat hilariousprocess of verification of candidatesunder the criteria of Article 62 and 63is underway and everybody hasforgotten about compliancewith theorders of the SupremeCourt ofPakistan and the structure andenforcement of Code of Conduct.The judgment in C.P 87 of 2011

(Workers Party Case) was announcedon 8 June 2012. The judgment aims tochange the expensive nature of electioncampaigning and to provide for free,fair, just and honest elections inaccordancewith the law and theConstitution on a level playing field forall. This is absolutely fundamental. Thejudgment seeks to ensure that theelection process no longer remains theexclusive prerogative of thewealthy andpowerfulmainstreampolitical parties,and the ECPwas directed to ensurethat this was reflected in its rules andthe code of conduct. At least three ofthe smaller parties who benefitted fromthe principles laid down in thejudgment havewritten to the ECP sinceJune 2012 to implement the judgmentbut there is no significant progress inthis regard.The petitionerWorkers Party and

other parties wrote to the ECP forimplementation of the judgment butthe new code of conduct for Elections2013 ignores the above principles andonly focuses on regulating law andorder in general or repeating certainprovisions of the ROPAwithoutproviding details about an action plan.Themost crucial aspect of thejudgmentmissing from the Code ofConduct is a review of permissiblecampaign activities which, by their very

nature, are expensive and exclusionaryand are not absolutely essential fordissemination of ideas.The judgment requires the ECP to

‘review all election activities, includingJalsas, Jaloos, use of loudspeakers, etc.for their eXects on the standards of“fairness, justness and honesty” thatelections are expected tomeet’. It isapparent from the code of conduct thatit has not beenmade on the basis of thestated principle. For example, not asingle activity has been disallowed dueto its being exclusionary and high cost.Given the expense ceilings prescribed

under S. 49 of theROPA, severalactivities such as car rallies, banners,stickers should have been totallydisallowed. They aremerely a habit andare part of a political culture ofextravaganza. The code of conduct alsoneeds to explain the concept of electionexpense ceilings and state theconsequences of violating them. Itshould state that expense from anysource cannot exceed the prescribedceiling and that exceeding that expense,whether through donation or gift or inany other way, would be a “corruptpractice” asmentioned in S. 78 ofROPA. It should explain, for example,that when a candidate sets up a campand runs it, hewill have to explain howmuch it cost him.The SupremeCourt has held (para 48

and 49 readwith para 81 (c)) that dailymaintenance andmonitoring ofelection expenses ismandatory and anadditional declaration should be filedby the contesting candidates. In thisregard, stating a few requirements isnot enough and the declaration formgiven in para 81 (c) of the judgment hasto bemade part of FormXVIII to befiled under Rule 30 of theRepresentation of Peoples Rules 1977.In its reply to the implementation

application, the ECP states that thecurrent expense ceilings are “notrealistic”. This is an unacceptablestatement. Thismeans the ECP isaccepting that permissible expenses inelection campaign should be beyond 1.5

millionRupees. ECP is saying this onlybecause it knows that in this politicalculture, candidates spendmuchmore.The ECP should condemn and notcondone this culture because it onlybenefits wealthier candidates.Additionally, the ECP has proposed

raising the security deposits ofcontesting candidates in theROPAamendment bill. This clearly shows thatit has not appreciated the judgmentwhich requires that elections bemadeaccessible to the commonman. Evenmainstreampolitical parties haveobjected to this proposal.On provision of transportation, the

SupremeCourt in para 81 (e) of thejudgment, has categorically stated that‘…in no case, shall it allow thecandidates to hire/use private transporton election day’. This is a blanket banbut the Code of Conduct (in para 1(18))violates this express ban by allowingcandidates private transport for theirpersonal use. Unless private transport iscompletely banned, it will not bepossible for the ECP tomonitorwhether candidates are transportingvoters or not. However, there is nowayto stop the voters fromusing theirpersonal vehicle. It is for this reasonthat the SupremeCourt has alsodirected the ECP to ensure that nopolling station ismore than twokilometers away from a voter’sresidence (i.e. walking distance) and toconsider providing public transport tothe old and disabled.DeputyDirector of ECP-KP

mentioned in a press brief that insection 46 of the Election Commissionnotification, ‘The district returningoWcer and returning oWcer shall beresponsible to ensure implementationof the code of conduct in their capacityas first classmagistrate through thedistrict/local administration, districtpolice or other law enforcing agenciesin the area of their jurisdiction andviolation thereof by any candidate orpolitical party shall be tantamount tomalpractices as per law and rules andshall entail legal action including

disqualification of the candidate’. TheECP contends that the judgmentwasfully implemented in the by-electionsand that it also appointedmonitors asmentioned above.Is it the ECP’s contention that the by-

electionswere heldwithout anyviolations, or are they reporting that500 cameras will be able to recordevidence and prosecute oXenders in theabsence of clear legal edifice? If the twomonitors, who are public servants, get anumber of complaints againstviolations of the CoC then howwilldistrict returning oWcer and returningoWcers deal with these violationsduring the campaign period? If theoXenders are not punished during theelections, will it be possible to prosecutethemonce they have taken the oath asmembers of the national and provincialassembly?Had it been the case, theongoing verification of fake degreeswould not have taken so long.The Code of Conduct, wherever it

prohibits/restricts a certainpractice/activity should clearlymentionpenalties and consequences. Themonitoring committees have beenannounced but further rules andprocedures should also be carefullyimplemented and this informationshould also bemade public as the ECPis rightly displaying the nominationpapers and details provided by thecandidates on its website. ECP shouldspecify themonitoring and reportingrole of the Police and local departmentstomonitor the rallies and point towhere expenses are crossing the limitsimposed by the law. The candidatesshould submit the expenses onprescribed performa and the returningoWcers should do necessary verificationby the investigators.By implementing the CoC, the ECP

shouldmake it possible for the poor, themiddle class, and smaller parties todream about representing their fellowcountrymen in the highestrepresentative forumof the country.

THEWRITER IS AGOVERNANCE ANDSECURITY EXPERT BASED IN ISLAMABAD

Making elections egalitarian and lawful

A peacemovement that moves toward peace

AKBAR NASIR KHAN

The occupation of Afghanistan is no less of a vicious one-sided slaughter of helpless people who wished us noill than the occupation of Iraq was. But we aren't in the habit of talking about wars as one-sided slaughtersof innocent men, women, and children

DAVID SWANSON

By enforcingwrit of the law, in particular SC’s ruling on a ceiling on expenditure,contesting forpublic o+cemaybemadeaccessible to candidates fromworking classes

Hundred-year leapMy futuristic adventures in the city arelikewise lived more in my head than inthe obvious discomfort that such a scapewould provide to the ones in the thick of itKEEKAR KANAIR


China to allow cruise toursto disputed Paracel IslandsBBEEIIJJIINNGG:: China is gearing up toopen the disputed Paracel Islands onSouth China Sea for cruise tours fromMay, 2013. The Paracel Islands are apart of China's brand newestablishment, Sansha City, which iscontrolled by the government of theHainan Province. A governmentagency announced Monday that thecity would be starting cruise shiptours to Paracel for travelers. Touristswould stay on the cruise ships as theislands have only one hotel and noaccess to fresh water. Apparently, a47,000 ton ship has been built toaccommodate 2000 passengers.Until the sanitation andinfrastructure of the islands areimproved, the tourists would have tostay on board the ships. –AGENCIES

Hundreds of Palestiniansprotest UN aid cutsGGAAZZAA:: Hundreds of Palestinianrefugees demonstrated Mondayagainst UN humanitarian agency'sdecision to cut cash aid to 21,000Gaza families, witnesses said. Thedemonstrators gathered before themain headquarters of the UnitedNations Relief and Works Agency(UNRWA) in Gaza City, protestingthe decision made last week tosuspend cash aid for the Palestinianfamilies classified as the poorest inGaza. On Thursday, UNRWA closedits nutrition centers in the refugeecamps after protesters against theaid cuts broke into the UNRWA'smain compound in Gaza City. TheUN humanitarian organizationhalted the cash aid due to a 68-million-US dollar shortage in itsbudget. Monday's protest went onfor over an hour and endedpeacefully. Meanwhile, the UNRWAannounced that it decided to replacethe cash aid for poor families with aprogram of temporary employmentopportunities to 10,000 families.Yousef Rizqa, an aide to GazaPrime Minister Ismail Haneya,urged UNRWA on Thursday toreconsider its decision and resumeits services "as quickly as possible.""Halting the relief operations wasunjustifiable," Rizqa noted. TheUNRWA provides education, healthcare and food to Palestinianrefugees in the Gaza Strip, the WestBank and neighboring Arabcountries. –AGENCIES

20 injured inBangladesh’s latest strikeDDHHAAKKAA:: At least 20 people werehurt on Monday in southwesternBangladesh as a hardline Islamicgroup enforced a general strike toback its demands for an anti-blasphemy law. Police and SomoyTV station said the violence tookplace in Chittagong city whenactivists from Hifazat-e-Islamclashed with ruling Awami Leaguesupporters. Police officialAbdullahel Baki said the Hifazat-e-Islam protesters threw stones atpolice and the ruling partysupporters. The TV stationreported that one ruling partymember was hit by a bullet, but itwas not immediately clear whofired it. The Hifazat-e-Islamprotesters also blocked a rail line ineastern Brahmanbaria district todisrupt train services. Thegovernment said it had no plans toenact an anti-blasphemy law ormeet other demands from theprotesters. –AGENCIES

GLENN GREENWALD

Aheinous act of wantonslaughter, committed on 5October 2011, dominatedChinese news for months.Two Chinese cargo ships

were found adrift on the Mekong River, amajor trade route for China, near theThai-Burmese border, with 13 Chinesecrew members brutally killed, summarilystabbed or shot with their hands boundbehind their backs and their mutilatedbodies dumped in the water. The Chinesegovernment suspended passenger andcargo traSc on the river, while theChinese public was furious at thegovernment's failure to protect againstviolence on the Mekong.The suspected mastermind of the

massacre was quickly named by theChinese: Naw Kham, the Burmeseleader of the largest drug traSckinggang in the so-called Golden Triangle,where the borders of Myanmar, Laosand Thailand converge. A majormanhunt for Naw Kham ensued underthe direction of Liu Yuejin, head ofChina's antinarcotics bureau in itsMinistry of Public Security. But it provedexceedingly diScult to find him becausehe was hiding in the vast mountainous

jungles of Laos, which he knew well andwhich had a network of loyalists toprotect him that included, according tothe experts in the region, operativeswithin the Burmese and Thai armiesand the Laotian security forces.According to the Chinese media ‘the

overseas manhunt was more diScultthan that of Osama bin Laden inPakistan, in that the only preliminaryclue [about Naw Kham] was a suspectportrait taken 20 years ago.’ On at leastthree occasions when the Chinese wereconvinced they had located him, theywere unable to secure the cooperation ofgovernment and local police oScialsquickly enough or overcome theprotection of local villagers, whoengaged in firefights with police forcestrying to apprehend him. That enabledNaw Kham to disappear across theborder into the jungle of Myanmar.As a result of these obstacles, the

Global Times reported back in February,China seriously considered using adrone strike in Myanmar to kill him.That option was rejected because, thereport said, the Chinese were intent oncapturing him alive and trying him incourt. This morning, the New YorkTimes provides more details on thisdecision-making process:

‘The Chinese were so intent oncatching up with Mr. Naw Kham thatsecurity forces considered using a droneto kill him. The drone idea waseventually abandoned even as Mr. NawKham outfoxed his pursuers inMyanmar's mountainous jungles’, saidMr. Liu, a precise man with aphotograph of himself at a Mao heritagesite on his oSce wall.‘The Chinese news media reported

that Mr. Liu's superiors had ordered thatMr. Naw Kham be captured alive. Mr.Liu, whose antinarcotics bureau runs afleet of unarmed drones for surveillancein China's border areas, insisted that theidea was shelved because of legalrestraints. ‘China using unmannedaircraft would have met with problems’,he said. 'My initial reaction was that thiswas not realistic because this relates tointernational and sovereignty issues.’What kind of weak, soft, overly

legalistic government worries abouttrivial concerns like international lawand "sovereignty issues" when it comesto drone-killing heinous murderers forwhom capture is diScult? Why not justshoot Hellfire missiles wherever youthink he might be hiding in weakercountries and kill him and anyone whohappens to be near him? Or if you are

able to find him, at least just riddle hisskull with bullets, dump his corpse intothe ocean, and then chant nationalisticslogans in the street and at your politicalconventions. Who would ever want togive a trial to such a heinous and savageforeign killer of your citizens, particularlyif it means risking the lives of yoursoldiers to apprehend him?What China did instead was conduct

what the NYT this morning calls a"methodical and unyielding" lawenforcement investigation over thecourse of six months. Using informantsand following up on leads, they learnedof Naw Kham's plans to escape to Laos.In April of last year, the Laotian police,acting in concert with the Chinese,apprehended him as he attempted toflee. He was quickly flown back to Chinaand put on trial, which was nationallytelevised. In September, he pleadedguilty to the killings and was sentencedto death; after he withdrew his plea, hisfinal appeal was rejected in December;and he was executed by lethal injectionlast month.In contrast to the strong and just US -

which not only boldly drone-killswhomever and wherever it wants withoutregard to irritating trivialities likesovereignty but even tried (unsuccessfully)

to pressure the Afghan government toexecute its accused "drug lords" with notrials - the weak and soft Chinese areactually celebrating. As the New YorkTimes put it in February: 'We didn't useChina's military, and we didn't harm asingle foreign citizen,' Mr. Liu braggedafter the arrest in April 2012. Note theword "brag": the Times has to infusesomething negative into the success of theChinese in avoiding killing foreigncivilians and relying on law enforcementprocesses rather than military strikes toapprehend an elusive killer.Indeed, in reporting on this episode, the

New York Times twice tried to depict it asproof of the growing Chinese menace. InFebruary, it said that the mere possibilitythat China would use a drone strike‘highlights China's increasing advances inunmanned aerial warfare, a technologydominated by the United States and usedwidely by the Obama administration forthe targeted killing of terrorists’ (by"terrorists", the Times means: peopleaccused of being terrorists by the USgovernment with no due process).So even when China refuses to use

weapons the US routinely uses, by citingprecepts of international law, respect forthe sovereignty of neighboring countriesand at least the pretense of due process,

this shows that China is a growing threatto US interests in the region. At somepoint, either China or Russia or someoneelse is going to start drone-killing peoplein other countries, and the only thingcertain to happen is that US political andmedia circles will erupt withcondemnation without the slightestsense of irony or shame (provided thatit's done by a government that is not aUS client). The fact that China's restraintis depicted in US media circles asevidence of the growing threat it poseshighlights the mindset that drives this.There are, of course, ample reasons to

treat Chinese claims with great suspicion.One expert quoted in the Timesspeculated that China's restraint may havebeen due to its lack of confidence in itsdrone technology (that soundsunconvincing: if they wanted to just killhim and didn't trust their drones, theycould have used a fighter jet). Either way,he noted that if they don't already have fulldrone-killing capability they will shortly.When that happens, he said, ‘they surelywill have America's armed drone practiceas a convenient cover for legitimating theirown practice’. But at least for now,America stands alone as the only countryto embrace this model.

(The Guardian)

Beijing considers but rejects drone-killing

JERUSALEM: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R, front), President Shimon Peres (1st R, front), chairman of Yad VashemAvner Shalev (1st L, front), US Secretary of State John Kerry (C, front) and his wife Teresa stand still during a two-minute siren as a part of theannual ceremony for the Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem. Israel began marking HolocaustRemembrance Day since sundown on April 7 to commemorate the six million Jews killed by the Nazi regime during World War II. –WIRE SERVICE

GGAAOO,, MMaallii:: A French force of1,000 soldiers has begun a sweepof a river valley thought to be alogistics base for armed Islamistsnear the Malian city of Gao, anAFP journalist accompanying themission said.Operation Gustav, one of

France’s largest actions since itsintervention against insurgentsin January, will involve dozens oftanks, helicopters, drones andaircraft, said General BernardBarrera, commander of theFrench land forces in Mali.Gao, the largest city in

northeastern Mali, was astronghold of the Movement forOneness and Jihad in West Africa(MUJAO), one of the Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militias whichoccupied the north until theFrench-led Operation Servaldislodged them in January.The city, 1,200 kilometres (750

miles) from the capital Bamako,suffered the first suicidebombings in Mali’s history inFebruary and has been the sceneof violent clashes between theFrench-Malian forces andjihadists involving seven deathsover the last two weeks.No Islamist fighters were

encountered on the first day ofOperation Gustav, launched atdawn on Sunday, but troopsneutralised around 340 artilleryshells and high-calibre rocketsfound stashed under acacia treesin ravines. “We surrounded thevalley north of Gao, which webelieve serves as a logistics basefor jihadist groups, and we beganto search methodically,” said

Barrera, who is based in Gao butjoined the troops late on Sundayafternoon.All access points to the valley,

north of Gao, were shut off andits ridges secured at 6:00 am(local and GMT) on Sunday. At8:00 am France’s 3rdMechanised Brigade began theexcavation of a thick forestwhere military intelligencesuspects a jihadist base may behidden. French soldiers willspend the coming days combingthe 20-kilometre (12-mile)valley with the help of Maliansoldiers and police officers whowill first go into the nomadcamps and mud houses whichline the dry river basin.“This is the fourth wadi we have

gone into in the Gao region.There will no doubt be other suchoperations but perhaps not to thesame extent,” Barrera said.Ethnic Tuareg rebels seized the

country’s vast arid north in thechaos following a coup inBamako on March 2012 beforelosing control to well-armedIslamists.A French-led intervention

quickly drove insurgents frommost of their northernstrongholds, but significantpockets of resistance remain inGao, as well as in the fableddesert city of Timbuktu and theIfoghas mountains.France is to start withdrawing

its 4,000 troops at the end ofApril, and plans to leave a“support force” of 1,000 soldiersafter elections promised forJuly. –AGENCIES

France launchesmajor o�ensiveon Mali Islamists

AAMMSSTTEERRDDAAMM:: Aftergetting an earful fromChancellor Angela Merkelon the importance ofdemocratic issues, RussianPresident Vladimir Putinarrived in Amsterdam onMonday to face an eyeful ofprotests from gay rightsactivists. Rainbow flags wereflying at half-staT aroundthe Dutch city and rightsgroups planned a majorprotest against Russian gayrights policies.In January, Russian

lawmakers tentativelyapproved a bill that makesgay public events and thedissemination ofinformation about thelesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender community tominors punishable by finesof up to $16,000. It stillrequires final approval byparliament and would haveto be signed by Putin tobecome law.Putin's visit aims to

showcase growingeconomic ties between thetwo countries. With $83billion in bilateral trade lastyear, the Netherlandsoutpaced Germany tobecome Russia's No. 1trading partner in Europeand its second biggestpartner in the world afterChina. –AGENCIES

TTOOKKYYOO:: It's easy to write oT North Korea'sthreats to strike the United States with anuclear-tipped missile as bluster: it hasnever demonstrated the capability to deploya missile that could reach the Pacific islandof Guam, let alone the mainland USBut what about Japan? Though it

remains a highly unlikely scenario,Japanese oScialshave long feared that ifNorth Korea ever decides to play its nuclearcard it has not only the means but severalpotential motives for launching an attackon Tokyo or major US military installationson Japan's main island. And while aconventional missile attack is far morelikely, Tokyo is taking North Korea's nuclearrhetoric seriously.On Monday, amid reports North Korea is

preparing a missile launch or anothernuclear test, Japanese oScials said theyhave stepped up measures to ensure thenation's safety. Japanese media reportedover the weekend that the defense ministerhas put destroyers with missile interceptionsystems on alert to shoot down any missileor missile debris that appears to be headedfor Japanese territory."We are doing all we can to protect the

safety of our nation," said chief Cabinetspokesman Yoshihide Suga, though he andMinistry of Defense oScials refused toconfirm the reports about the naval alert,saying they do not want to "show their cards"to North Korea. North Korea, meanwhile,issued a new threat against Japan. "We onceagain warn Japan against blindly toeing theUS policy," said an editorial Monday in theRodong Sinmun, the oScial newspaper ofits ruling party. "It will have to pay a dearprice for its imprudent behavior."Following North Korea's third nuclear test

in February, Japanese experts haveincreasingly voiced concerns that NorthKorea may already be able to hit — or at leasttarget — US bases and major populationcenters with nuclear warheads loaded ontoits medium-range Rodong missiles. "Thethreat level has jumped" following thenuclear test, said Narushige Michishita, aformer Ministry of Defense oScial anddirector of the Security and InternationalStudies Program at Tokyo's NationalGraduate Institute for Policy Studies. UnlikeNorth Korea's still-under-constructionintercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM,program, its arsenal of about 300 deployedRodong missiles has been flight tested andis thought to have a range of about 1,300kilometers (800 miles).That is good enough to reach Tokyo and

key US military bases — including YokotaAir Base, which is the headquarters of theUS 5th Air Force; Yokosuka Naval Base,where the USS George Washington aircraftcarrier and its battle group are home-based; and Misawa Air Base, a keylaunching point for US F-16 fighters.Michishita, in an analysis published late

last year, said a Rodong missile launchedfrom North Korea would reach Japanwithin five to 10 minutes and, if aimed atthe center of Tokyo, would have a 50-percent probability of falling somewherewithin the perimeter of Tokyo's mainsubway system. He said Japan would be aparticularly tempting target because it isclose enough to feasibly reach with aconventionally or nuclear-armed missile,and the persistent animosity and distrustdating back to Japan's colonization of theKorean Peninsula in 1910 provides anideological motive. –AGENCIES

Japan still nervousabout N Korea nukes

Gay rightsgroups awaitPutin inAmsterdam

DDAAMMAASSCCUUSS:: Fifteen people werekilled and 40 others wounded as asuicide explosive-packed car went oTMonday in a street in centralDamascus, close to the Saba' a BahratSquare, the state-TV said.The explosive-packed car went oT

between al-Shahbander Street andthe Saba'a Bahrat Square, where thecountry's Central Bank is located, theTV said. Meanwhile, the pro-government Sham FM radio said theblast site is close to a school, causingmany casualties, inducing children.

The news came as the Syrian armywas boasting advancement inrebellious areas outlining Damascus.It was the latest in a series of carbombs and suicide bombings to hitthe Syrian capital in recent months.The two-year civil war, which the UNsays has killed more than 70,000people, has become increasinglychaotic as rebels press closer toAssad's seat of power in Damascusafter seizing large swaths of territoryin the northern and eastern parts ofthe country. TV images showed thick

black smoke billowing in a wide streetwith several cars on fire. At least sixbodies were seen lying on thepavement. Paramedics carried ayoung woman lying on a stretcher,her face bloodied, into an ambulance.Shaken teenage students holding

their backpacks were seen walkingaway. The TV said the blast occurrednear the Bukhari School.Among the buildings damaged was

the state-run Syrian InvestmentAgency. Several cars in the building'sparking lot were set ablaze in the

explosion. Witnesses said a suicideattacker tried to storm the buildingwith his vehicle but was stopped byguards. He then detonated hisexplosives outside the building."I was in the square when I heard a

strong explosion that threw me on theground," said civil servant HusseinKhalil, 32. "I ran and saw whathappened," he told The AssociatedPress at the scene of the explosion.Electrician Mohammed Ali

Kheir, 21, said he was nearby andfelt the pressure of the blast. "I

immediately ran here and helpedparamedics evacuate four woundedpeople," he told AP. "Is this thefreedom that Qatar and SaudiArabia want," asked the man,referring to the Gulf Arab countriesthat have backed Syrian rebelsfighting to remove Assad frompower. In the footage by Syrian TV,one woman shouted sarcastically:"Thank you, Hamad, is this whatyou want?" She was referring to theemir of Qatar, a major rebelsupporter. –AGENCIES

15 dead, 40 hurt as car bomb rocks Damascus

UN ready to probechemical weapon claimsTTHHEE HHAAGGUUEE:: UN experts are poised to move into Syria within 24hours to investigate reported chemical weapons attacks in thecountry's civil war, but President Bashar Assad's government still hasnot given them the green light to enter the country, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday. Ban told reporters in The Haguethat an advance team is already waiting at a final staging post onCyprus, while the UN negotiates "technical and legal" issues withDamascus. All reports of chemical attacks "should be examinedwithout delay, without conditions and without exceptions," Ban said.His comments appeared aimed at increasing pressure on Assad'sregime and ensuring that UN inspectors are given access to all sites ofreported chemical weapons attacks and not just those Damascuswants them to see. Ban said it is "a matter of principle" to investigateall allegations and not just a case in which Syria alleges that rebelsused poison gas. –AGENCIES

The Chinese cite concerns for international law and due process for their decision not to use drones to kill an elusive foreign drug-traScking gang leader cum terrorist hiding inthe Myanmar jungle. The fact that China's restraint is depicted in US media circles as evidence of the growing threat it poses, highlights the mindset that drives this

3 candidates beingconsidered for new FBrchairmanIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: Three new names areunder consideration for theappointment of Chairman FederalBureau of Revenue (FBR), sourcessaid. The decision has been taken toappoint new Chairman FBR aftercancellation of the appointment of AliArshad Hakeem by the IslamabadHigh Court (IHC). According tooRcial sources, the three new namescomprising Shahid Rahim Sheikh ofCustom Group, Ansar Javed of IncomeTax group and Abdul Samad ofIncome Tax group. It is expected thatsoon the name for the Chairmanshipof FBR would be finalised soon,sources added. Earlier, the IHC JusticeShaukat Aziz Siddiqui in its verdict onMonday cancelled the appointment ofAli Arshad Hakeem as Chairman FBRas for this appointment legalformalities were not met. –ONLINE

eu regulators to approve$15.8 billion liberty,Virgin dealBBRRUUSSSSEELLSS//LLOONNDDOONN:: JohnMalone's Liberty Global will getunconditional EU clearance for its$15.8 billion bid for Virgin Media, twopeople familiar with the matter saidon Monday, in a move which pits theU.S. billionaire against rival RupertMurdoch. Liberty Global, Europe'sNo. 1 cable operator, unveiled thetakeover oSer for Britain's second-biggest pay-TV provider in February.The move underscores the growingrivalry between cable groups andtraditional telecoms operators. "TheEuropean Commission does not haveany competition concerns about thedeal," one of the sources said. TheEuropean Union competitionauthority is set to announce itsdecision by April 15. AntoineColombani, Commission spokesmanfor competition policy, and VirginMedia declined to comment. Aspokesman for Liberty Global was notavailable for comment. Malone,Liberty Global's controllingshareholder, clashed with Murdoch,owner of British satellite groupBSkyB, a decade ago when they foughtfor control of U.S. satellite TVbroadcaster DirecTV Group. –AGENCIES

aig files to dismiss part ofgreenberg suit over bailoutNNEEWW YYOORRKK:: Insurer AmericanInternational Group Inc (AIG.N) hasasked a court to block Maurice"Hank" Greenberg's eSorts to sue thegovernment on AIG's behalf, saying itsformer CEO has not proven he shouldhave the right to do so. Earlier thisyear, AIG drew sharp criticism frommembers of Congress and an outragedpublic when the firm considered thepossibility of joining Greenberg'slawsuit, which challenges the terms ofthe insurer's $182.3 billion bailout bythe federal government in 2008. AIGsaid Greenberg had forced its handin even deliberating the prospect, butthat ultimately it did not want to sueanyway amid a public backlash.Absent AIG's participation,Greenberg is pursuing a derivativeclaim, seeking to sue the U.S.government on AIG's behalf over theterms of the $182.3 billion rescue.Greenberg and his company StarrInternational, which owned 12percent of AIG before the rescue, arealso suing the government directly.But the insurer, in a filing datedFriday, said Starr had not met theburdens necessary to be allowed topursue claims on the company'sbehalf. –AGENCIES


gold (oz)

rs. 1,599.52 rs. 98.15

Dollar interbank cement (Bag)

457.00 6,900.00

cotton (Maund) urea/Bag

1,704

coal spot

$87.90/Ton 11.42%

10-y PiB Furnace oil

76,188/MT

currency Buying sellingUS Dollar 99.00 99.25Euro 126.95 127.94British Pound 149.31 149.27UAE Dirham 26.55 26.80Saudi Riyal 26.05 26.30Kuwaiti Dinar 340.90 347.46Canadian Dollar 94.87 96.57

STAFF REPORT

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Developed countriesswitched the power generationsystem over alternative energyresources including wind energy,however despite the facts aboutcorruption in power sector organs,50MW Wind power project (FWEL-II) achieved financial closing and ispoised to proceed towards execution.50MW Foundation Wind Energy-II(Pvt.) Ltd. (FWEL-II) completed the

phase of financial closing in timefacilitated by a power sector organAlternative Energy DevelopmentBoard (AEDB).The documents were signed here onMonday by Arif Alaudin on behalf ofAEDB and Brig (Retd.) Dr.GulfamAlam on behalf of the FWEL-II.According to AEDB oRcial, theFWEL-II Wind Power projected75:25 debt equity financing structure,while equity is shared by FaujiFoundation, Fauji Fertilizer Bin

Qasim, Tapal Group and IslamicInfrastructure Fund; whereas, thedebt component is being financed as67% by foreign banks (AsianDevelopment Bank and IslamicDevelopment Bank) and 33% by localbanks (National Bank of Pakistan,Allied Bank of Pakistan and MeezanBank Ltd.).Arif Alaudin, CEO AEDB claimedthat the project would serve as amodel for other projects, as the paceof development of another 400-600

MW would get accelerated. Thesewind power projects that are expectedto achieve Financial Close during thecurrent year.He was of the view that FWEL-IIopened vista for development in theGharo, district Thatta, Sindh. The windprojects so far developed / beingdeveloped are all located in the Jhimpirarea, and hence the achievement of theFWEL-II is being considered a leapforward in fast development in windsector in the entire Gharo-Kati BandarWind Corridor.He further added that two wind

power projects-- FFCEL (49.5MW)and Zorlu Energy (56.4MW) havealready been completed. FFCEL hasbeen inaugurated and the ZorluEnergy is ready for the formal launch.Brig (Retd.) Dr. Gulfam Alam ofFWEL said that Fauji Foundation as amatter of obligation is pursuingpower generation projects, especiallythose in wind sector. In this pursuit,AEDB as an implementation organ ofthe federal government alwaysfacilitated investors in pursuing AREprojects in the country.He also informed that that another

50MW project of the Foundation(FWEL-II) is expected to be achievedby the end of this month.Ashraf Hasan Rana of BridgeFactor, a known financial advisorycompany, specializing in developmentof ARE in Pakistan said that theFoundation Wind Energy-II has wonvarious distinction escalade for thisproject such as the first fully ShariaCompliant project in Pakistan withinvestment from IslamicDevelopment Bank (IDB), Asiandevelopment Bank (ADB) and theNational bank of Pakistan (NBP).

WILLISTON: A man walks past a Lufkin oil drilling pump in McKenzie County outside of Williston, North Dakota in this file photo taken March 12, 2013. GeneralElectric Co said it will buy oilfield services provider Lufkin Industries Inc for about $2.98 billion to boost its presence in the energy business. —AGENCIES

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: The Securities and ExchangeCommission of Pakistan (SECP) hasinitiated an inquiry into the affairs ofregistered companies that were accusedfor defrauding the general public byoffering them investment opportunities inillegal schemes.The SECP has taken the action onvarious complaints received against thesecompanies for illegal deposit taking in thename of Modarabas. The articles ofassociation of these corporate entities werenot allowed them to deal in the modarbaproducts. These registered companies areM/s Spadix Group of Companies (Pvt) Ltd,M/s Pak Tea Company (Pvt) Ltd and M/s

Spadix Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd ofSpadix Group.The SECP has recently received a letterfrom the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP),wherein it was reported that associatedcompanies of M/s Spadix Group wereinvolved in illegal deposit from generalpublic in the name of Modarbat. The names which NBP mentioned areSpadix Pharmaceutical Company,Goodman Pharmaceutical Company,Sanitory Works (Fayyazi GujranwalaIndustries (Pvt) Ltd), Cable Works(Fayyazi Gujranwala Industries (Pvt) Ltd),AL-Hassan Autos (Pvt) Ltd and MarbleExport. –ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: The Planning Commissionof Pakistan (PCP) has so far released Rs143.4 billion under its Public SectorDevelopment Programme (PSDP) againstthe total allocations of Rs 233 billion for thefiscal year 2012-13. Out of total, Rs 75.4billion have been released for 347infrastructure development projects whileRs 63.3 billion for 712 social sector projectswere released up to April 5, according to thelatest data of the Planning Commission.Similarly, Rs 1.9 billion have been releasedfor 77 other projects and Rs 2.8 billion forEarthquake Reconstruction andRehabilitation Authority (ERRA).According to data, these releases have beenmade against Rs 233 billion PSDP

allocations.The total size of the PSDP for the year2012-13 is Rs 360 billion, including Rs100 billion foreign aid, which is managedby Economic ASairs Division and Rs 27billion special programmes, release ofwhich are made by Cabinet Division andFinance Division.According to break up details, total cost of347 infrastructure projects has beenestimated at Rs 2320.3 billion, out of whichRs 211.1 billion have been earmarked in the2012-13 budget that include Rs 85.6 billionas foreign aid.Likewise, the total cost of social sectorprojects is Rs 554.4 billion, of which Rs 135.8billion have been allocated in the current

PSDP with foreign aid of Rs 8.4 billion.The cost of other projects has beenestimated at Rs 41.8 billion out of which Rs3 billion have been earmarked in the PSDP2012-13 while Rs 10 billion have beenearmarked for ERRA in the currentdevelopment programme.The Planning Commission of Pakistan hasbeen following a proper mechanism for therelease of funds and accordingly funds arereleased as per given mechanism.The commission releases 20 per cent offunds in first quarter (July-September), 20per cent in second quarter (October-December), 25 per cent in third quarter(January-March) and 35 per cent in fourthquarter (April-June). –AGENCIES

Fed faces risk of fourth summer slumpJOSHUA ZUMBRUN

During the past three years, the Fed planned to cutaccommodation early in the year only to boost itafter economic growth lagged behind its forecasts.

Determined not to repeat the error, the Fed will probablypush on with $85 billion in monthly bond purchasesthrough the summer, said Drew Matus, a former FederalReserve Bank of New York economist.Last week’s Labor Department report showing theeconomy generated just 88,000 jobs in March, the fewestin nine months, confirmed the concerns of William C.Dudley, president of the New York Fed, that the job marketwas weaker than it appeared. Photographer: ScottEells/Bloomberg “The fact they’ve been fooled multipletimes by slumps in the U.S. economy means they’re goingto be a little gun-shy on the exit strategy,” said Matus,deputy chief U.S. economist at UBS Securities LLC inStamford, Connecticut. Last week’s Labor Departmentreport showing the economy generated just 88,000 jobs inMarch, the fewest in nine months, confirmed the concernsof William C. Dudley, president of the New York Fed, thatthe job market was weaker than it appeared. The April 5report followed six months of payroll growth averaging197,000. “The recent improvement in payroll employmentgrowth, which gets much of the attention, is out-sizedrelative to the growth rate of economic activity thatsupports it,” Dudley, vice chairman of the policy settingFederal Open Market Committee, said in a March 25speech in New York. “We have seen this movie before. Whenthis happened in 2011 and 2012, employment growthsubsequently slowed.” The March jobs report will probablybolster the argument of FOMC voting members Dudley,Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Boston’s EricRosengren that the central bank should keep adding torecord stimulus through the end of the year. “I’m going tohave a lot more confidence if I begin to see indications thatgrowth is well above trend and it’s going to be sustainable,”Evans said to reporters at the Chicago Fed on March 27.

–BLOOMBERG EDITORIAL

Govt releases Rs 143.4b under PSDP

50-MW FFECL will minimise power shortfall: AEDB

saudi arabia offers400,000 tonnes ofcracked fuel oil for May

MONITORING DESK

RRIIYYAADDHH:: Saudi Arabia, the world’s largestoil exporter, is oSering up to 400,000 tonnesof cracked fuel oil for sale from its jointventure refinery with Royal Dutch Shell inJubail in May, traders said on Monday.The residual fuel tender, which wasissued by the state oil firm’s trading arm,Aramco Trading, closes on Wednesday withvalidity expiring on Thursday, traders said.The cargoes are being oSered from the305,000 barrel per day (bpd) SaudiAramco Shell Refinery Company(SASREF) in Jubail, traders said.The cargo size for each parcel of 180-centistoke being oSered is between75,000-80,0000 tonnes, traders said.The Saudi tender was issued just afterbuying interest emerged last week intenders issued by Pakistan, Vietnam andSouth Korea. Asia’s fuel oil marginsimproved at the end of last week, with thefront-month May crack shrinking 79 centsto a discount of $7.98 a barrel to Dubaicrude, the narrowest since March 11,according to Reuters calculations.

yen tumbles to multi-year low as BOJbegins buying bondsNNEEWW YYOORRKK: The yen slumped to a nearfour-year low against the dollar and a three-year trough against the euro on Mondayafter the Bank of Japan kicked oS itsaggressive monetary easing program in anattempt to beat persistent deflation. The Japanese currency looked poised toextend its weakness, pushing the dollarabove the significant 100 yen level asearly as this week, analysts said. Thatwould mark the weakest since April 2009for the yen."Barring any sudden spike in riskaversion the pair is likely to roll throughthat level as momentum remains relentlessfor the time being," said Boris Schlossberg,managing director of FX Strategy at BKAsset Management in New York. The BOJconducted its first bond-buying operationson Monday. –AGENCIES

� Two wind power projects, FFCEL and Zorlu Energy already completed

SECP initiates inquiryagainst money schemes

NNEEWW YYOORRKK:: Stocks slipped on Monday asinvestors faced the prospect of a lacklustercorporate earnings season, which couldchallenge the market's recent record high, andan economy that could be hitting a slow patch.The early pullback extended Friday's declinethat had pushed the S&P 500 into its worstweekly percentage loss for the year. Defensiveshares led Monday's downside move,including the S&P telecommunications sectorindex .SPLRCL, oS 0.7 percent.Financial stocks also fell, extending lastweek's slide. Goldman Sachs (GS.N) shareslost 1.1 percent to $142.09. Wells Fargo & Co(WFC.N) shares dropped 0.9 percent to$36.80. Earnings forecasts have been scaledback, heading into first-quarter reports. S&P500 companies' earnings are expected tohave risen just 1.6 percent from a year ago,according to Thomson Reuters data, downfrom a forecast in January calling for a gainof 4.3 percent. Stocks have rallied stronglythis year with major indexes hitting recordhighs, helped in part by the Federal Reserve'sstimulus program. The S&P 500 is up nearly9 percent for the year so far, while the Dowhas gained just under 11 percent. The S&P

500 "had its worst week of the year. Still, itwould be premature to conclude that theparty is over," said Jerry Webman, chiefeconomist at OppenheimerFunds."The index remains reasonably valued by arange of metrics. Constituents' earnings andsales multiples are still lower than they were ateither of the last two market peaks, and cashon companies' balance sheets is higher." Aworse-than-expected jobs report on Fridayadded to fears that the pace of economicgrowth could be softening after generallyupbeat data at the start of the year. But loosemonetary policy from central banks aroundthe world still makes equities attractive toinvestors and pullbacks could be used asbuying opportunities, analysts said. The Bankof Japan started its bond purchases onMonday after it announced last week it willinject about $1.4t into the economy in lessthan two years. Fed Chairman Ben Bernankewill give a speech later on Monday aftermarkets are closed. Investors have beenwatching for any insight into the Fed'sthinking on how long the central bank willkeep its asset purchase program in place as ittries to boost the economic recovery. –AGENCIES

Wall Street edges lower onearnings, economy caution

analysis


Vidya opposes remake of Mother IndiaMUMBAI: Remaking Mehboob Khan's Oscar-nominated Mother India is an unachievable feat,says Vidya Balan and if someone dared attempt this, she wouldn't be a part of this. As a tributeto 100 years of Indian cinema, Vidya has donned Nargis' look from the 1957 cult filmMotherIndia and Meena. But the actress, who entered filmdom with the Parineeta remake, has nointention of working in a Mother India remake. ’I don't think anybody would even dare toremake 'Mother India' and if someone does then I will salute him, but I will not do it. It isunachievable.’ Vidya 35, told reporters at the unveiling of the cover page of the magazine.Mother India is known for Nargis Dutt's power-packed performance as a righteous mother,who shoots down her son, played by Sunil Dutt, whom she married after the movie, for being onthe wrong side of the law. One of the most expensive projects of its time, the film is said to be aremake of Khan's 1940 movie "Aurat" and it was India's first submission for the Oscras for theBest Foreign Language Film in 1958. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Aashiqui 2 better than original: Mahesh BhattMUMBAI: FilmmakerMahesh Bhatt, who is looking forward to the release ofAashiqui 2, says it is a very diOerent film from Aashiqui but the emotion of loveremains the same. Bhatt directed the 1990 hit romantic film Aashiqui. The film,starring Rahul Roy and Anu Agarwal, was a commercial success particularlybecause of its music and songs. While Aashiqui 2 is directed byMohit Suri, itstars Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles. ‘Aashiqui 2 isvery much diOerent from Aashiqui. That film was set in the 90s, this is in 2013.So as the generation has changed, the narrative of the film has also changed,’Bhatt told reporters here at the film's music launch. The film releases on April26. ‘All I can say is it is thousand times superior better. It was diNcult andchallenging in its own way. -SHOWBIZ DESK

CMYK

LAS VEGAS: Country music's hottest star Taylor Swift hits the red carpet at the 2013 Academy ofCountry Music Awards.

SHOWBIZ DESK

Newlyweds Saif Ali Khan andKareena Kapoor are hardlygetting anytime to spend

together. The couple has been busy withtheir professional commitments eversince they got married on October 21.And the duo are again back on the setsshooting for their respective movies andin diOerent cities. Saif, who will soon beseen playing a zombie hunter in Go GoaGone, was spotted shooting for BulletRaja in Lucknow. Saif was sporting atilak, rudraksh maala with a gun in hishand. Saif romances Sonakshi Sinha inthe movie directed by TigmanshuDhulia. Saif along with the entire crewwill shoot till the end of April inLucknow.On the other hand, his super busy wife

Kareena is also back in Bhopal tocomplete the second schedule of PrakashJha's Satyagraha. Earlier, Bebo had alsospent her first Holi post wedding away

from hubby Saif in Goa. She wasshooting for Punit Malhotra's Gori TerePyaarMein. Kareena was recentlyspotted at the Bhopal airport along with

Big B. Bebo is playing the role of ajournalist in the movie, which also hasAjay Devgn, Manoj Bajpai, ArjunRampal, Amrita Arora in the lead.

Busy couple—Saif shoots forBullet Raja, wife Kareena back on Satygraha

MUMBAI: Director David Dhawan's comeback movieChashme Baddoor has kicked oO to a good start at thebox oNce. The movie has youngsters Ali Zafar,Siddharth, Divyendu Sharma Siddharth andmarks theBollywood debut of southern actress Taapsee. Themovie, which is the oNcial remake of the 1983 film ofthe same name directed by Sai Paranjpaee, earned Rs19 crore in its opening weekend. Trade analyst TaranAdarsh tweeted the figures. "#ChashmeBaddoorcollected approx Rs 19.20 cr nett in its openingweekend. The movie managed to collect Rs 5 crore onthe opening day and since then has seen an upswing inthe collection. Besides ali Zafar, Divyendu, Tapsee andSidharth, the new Chashme Baddoor also has RishiKapoor and Lillette Dubey. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Chashme Baddoorcollects Rs 190m inopening weekend

SHOWBIZ DESK

LAHORE: Pakistani rockstar MustafaZahid is in demand in Bollywood thesedays. While his latest hit ‘hum Jee lengay’frommurder 2 is still in the charts a newsmash hit from Aashiqui 2 ‘Bhula dena’ isbecoming rage on Internet already. Thecombo ofMustafa Zahid and directorMohit Suri created magic in Awarapan andnow the duo are back with Aashiqui 2 soone has to believe in the breathtakingmusic. Even thoughMustafa has onlydubbed one song of the album but still thesong itself is a rage all over Internet withina week of release.Talking to press on a show in

Birmingham,Zahid stated that the song is a

true story of his dear friendMohit Suri whowhen oOered him the song telling him howit is related to his late father.’ I hadpromisedMohit that people will walk outof cinema with tears in their eyes since itsthe climax song of the film ‘ He furtheradded that the song hold a place in hisheart which no other song do. ‘I wasdubbing it for a friend already and while Iwas dubbing I got the shocking news of ourmanagers mother passing away, I wasshattered I was in sheer dismay and restjust happened’ Mustafa Zahid concludedtalking to press pointing towards heavenssaying ‘this ones for you uncle and aunty’Aashiqui 2 is a sequel with a new storythough of Mahesh Bhatts magical Ashiqui .It releases on 26th April.

Mustafa Zahid riding highonBollywood success

MUMBAI: Bollywood couple Soha AliKhan and Kunal Khemu is likely to tiethe knot soon. As soon as Soha`sbrother Saif Ali Khanmarried KareenaKapoor last year, there were rumoursabout her and Kunal`s marriage. ‘As ofnow we have not made any actual plansfor marriage. But yes, if everything goeswell thenmarriage will be soon,’ Kunalsaid. Both the actors have been datingsince quite some time and have beenopen about their relation. ‘We are ingood and comfortable position today inour relationship. We are focusing on ourcareers,’ he said. Soha, recently in aninterview had said she will be moving inwith Kunal. Reportedly, the couple hasbought a place together in Khar and willbe staying there together. -SHOWBIZ DESK

SHOWBIZ DESK

LONDON:Hollywood superstar TomCruise has revealed that afifth 'Mission: Impossible'film is in the works. Cruiseconfirmed the planned sequelduring an appearance on TheGrahamNorton show,reported Digital Spy. Hereplied when asked about theseries: "I amworking on thestory." However, he declinedto give anymore details.Cruise had said in Octoberthat he would be keen tomake another 'Mission:Impossible' film. ‘I startedMission: Impossible hoping I couldmake

many of them. It's a character that I cangrowwith. At that time it was themostexpensive film in the history of Paramount

Pictures, and the first film Iwas producing. ‘It's beenpretty exciting. Seeing anaudience respond, to havethat experience is reallywonderful. I'll make a bunchof those. I'll make asmany aspeople want to see becausethey're very challenging, andsomuch fun tomake," he hadsaid. The actor also said thathe still felt good about doingaction roles, despite turning50 last year. The last 'Mission:Impossible (Ghost Protocol)

released in 2011.

LONDON: Thrice-divorced actor CharlieSheen has revealed thatDenise Richards is hispick for the 'No. 1 former-wife.' The 47-year-oldactor took over to Twitteron Thursday night tomake the confession.‘@charliesheen: tune intonight and check out myfavorite ex-wife on AngerManagement, She rocks..Come on guys its DeniseRichards!" he tweeted.This isn't the first timewhen Sheen has publiclypaid Richards a compliment, as in a June 2012 issue ofRolling Stone, he admitted to still having the hots for hisformer wife. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Sheen reveals Richardsis favourite ex-wife

SHOWBIZ DESK

LOS VEGAS: Singers Miranda Lambertand Luke Bryan led the winners at theAcademy of CountryMusic awards, whileleading nominees Taylor Swift and HunterHayes came away empty-handed in a nighthonoring top achievers in country music.Swift lost out on all five categories she wasnominated in including Female Vocalist ofthe Year and the fan-voted Entertainer ofthe Year, a surprise for the country musicfavorite who won the award for the last twoyears. Newcomer Hayes, who wasnominated in six categories, also wenthome empty-handed. The night's topaward Entertainer of the Year went to theshow's co-host Bryan, a surprise to thecharismatic host who said he had only juststarted headlining shows. Lambert pickedup four awards in three categories,including Female Vocalist of the Year,beating Swift, Carrie Underwood, KaceyMusgraves andMartinaMcBride. Lambertalso won Song of the Year for "Over You,"written with husband Blake Shelton, whowas co-hosting the ceremony, and thankedher peers for recognizing her song-writingtalents. Jason Aldean bested Bryan,Shelton and one of the night's topnominees Eric Church for theMale

Vocalist of the Year award, while Churchpicked up Album of the Year for his 2011chart-topping record "Chief." The Academyof CountryMusic is an organization ofmusic industry professionals who aim topromote and preserve the tradition ofcountry music, and they vote for the topcountry music achievers for their annualawards ceremony.

Mission Impossible 5 is inthe making: Tom Cruise

Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu to marry soon

Lambert, Bryan leadAcademyofCountryMusic awardwinners�Eric Church picks up Album of the Year award

Luke bryan reacts to winning the award.


CMYK

CMYK

South African cricketer inIndian court over drugsMMUUMMBBAAII:South AfricancricketerWayne Parnell,who faces drugcharges over alate-night partylast yearfollowing anIndian PremierLeague (IPL)game,surrendered toa Mumbai court on Monday, reportssaid. Parnell, who is in India as part ofthe Pune Warriors squad for theongoing 2013 IPL season, was latergranted bail on a bond of 10,000 rupees($185), the Press Trust of India newsagency said. Parnell and Indiancricketer and Pune teammate RahulSharma were among nearly 100 peopledetained for medical testing at an upmarket hotel in Mumbai last Maywhich was raided by police who founddrugs on the premises. Parnell, who leftIndia after the medical examination,has denied any wrongdoing. The localJuhu police station oRcer in charge ofthe case was unavailable for comment.Left-arm paceman Parnell, 23, hasplayed three Tests, 27 one-dayers and 17T20 games for South Africa. He has yetto play in the IPL this year. –AGENCIES

Volvo Ocean Race unveilslongest-ever sailing route AALLIICCAANNTTEE: The next edition of theVolvo Ocean Race in 2014-15 will bethe longest ever, after organisersannounced on Monday a route takingin 10 cities in nine countries andlasting almost nine months. The 12thedition of the round-the-world yachtrace will begin in Alicante, Spain onOct. 4, 2014 and visit Recife (Brazil),Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China),Auckland (New Zealand, Itajai(Brazil), Newport, Rhode Island(United States), Lisbon (Portugal),Lorient (France) and Gothenburg(Sweden), finishing on June 27, 2015.The full race distance will be 39,895nautical miles (45,910 miles or 73,885km). The previous longest edition,won by French skipper FranckCammas in 2012, was 39,270 nauticalmiles. This new route means twovisits to Brazil. –AGENCIES

Miura takes WBC superfeatherweight titleTTOOKKYYOO:Japan's TakashiMiura said hislate fatherhelped him winthe new WorldBoxing Council(WBC) superfeatherweightchampionMonday, aftera technicalknockout inthe ninth round against GamalielDiaz. The 28-year-old challengerfloored the Mexican title-holderwith a straight left one minute and21 seconds into the ninth to finishthe contest, having already knockedhis opponent to the canvas severaltimes during the bout. "I have nowords but I'm happy. I wanted toshow this belt to my father, but hepassed away a month ago. I think hehelped me. I made it," said Miura,who was fighting for the world titlebelt for a second time. Miura took his record to 25 wins,including 19 KOs, against twodefeats and two draws. Diaz hadbeen making his first defence of thetitle he wrested from Takahiro Aohof Japan in October last year. Hisrecord now stands at 37 wins,including 17 KOs, against 10 defeatsand two draws. –AGENCIES

IAN CHAPPELL

Recently I stated that theAustralian production line hasslowed to a crawl, which begs

the question: are there alternatives todeveloping young batsmen for aninternational career? I was surprisedlast August when I attended the Under-19 World Cup to find that among themajor nations, in all bar one case, thefast bowlers were way ahead of thebatsmen in development. Theexception was India. They had batsmenwith uncomplicated footwork who alsopossessed the shots to take charge of anattack, with Unmukt Chand being thestandout. My mind went back to when I first

saw Ricky Ponting as a 17-year-old atthe cricket academy. After five minutesit was obvious that here was a youngbatsman who looked every inch aninternational player. Apart from Chand,I didn't see one batsman at the U-19World Cup who displayed similar traits. Ponting recently questioned theamount of short-form cricket nowplayed by batsmen in theirdevelopment stages. In an interestingobservation about his junior days, heindicated he had to be removed by thebowler, not by a set of rules. "I wasbatting until someone got me out, and ifthat took them a week then that's howlong it took them," he said. In trying to devise a better method toproduce batsmen for the modern game,is it worth delving into the past toimprove the future? Along with theexample of Ponting's upbringing,there's further compelling evidencefrom the background of both GarrySobers and Javed Miandad - twochampion batsmen with totallydiSerent styles, who played a lot of theiryouth cricket on the street. When askedwhy he batted without a thigh pad,

Sobers said he grew up using a picketoS a fence, facing bowlers delivering arock that was rounded into shape withtape, while playing on a rutted road. Heexplained it was in his best interests to

hit the unpredictably deviating "ball",because if he missed, it was going tohurt. Then there's the development ofSachin Tendulkar. He played inhundreds of matches on the Mumbai

maidans, often moving from one gameto another on the same day. Contrastthis with the structured net sessions orlong stints facing a bowling machinethat a youth cricketer currently

endures. Having benefitted as a youngsterfrom good coaching, I was appalledwhen I read former Australialegspinner Bill O'Reilly's sentimentson the breed. "If you see a coach

coming," O'Reilly wrote, "run andhide behind a tree." However, Ieventually came to the conclusion thatif you don't receive good coachingwhen you're young then you're betteroS with none at all. Like O'Reilly,many of Australia's champions camefrom the bush and learned bypractising their art in unusual ways forhours on end. Don Bradman, StanMcCabe and Doug Walters were threebatsmen in this category. Theconclusion to be drawn? They workedthings out for themselves andeventually knew their own gameinside out. This accords with the 2013 TED talkon child learning delivered by SugataMitra. The eminent professorsuggested it's best to pose a question tokids and let them unearth the solutionfor themselves. This is what Bradman,Sobers, Tendulkar and Miandad weredoing in diSerent ways. They alsobenefited from playing against men ata young age, which is one sure way tohasten the development process. There are now more coaches in thegame but there's less batting artistry.

The modern methods are often devisedto produce more power and betterhitters, with a leaning to theagricultural rather than any pretence ofartistry. Often, this is a case ofmistaking change for improvement. In his coaching book Sobers laments:"One of the tragedies of cricketcoaching is that the greatness of thegame's best players has been reveredbut never followed, praised but neverpreached." He has a point. The playerswith the best records succeed moreoften under all conditions than thosewith inferior statistics. Tendulkar and Michael Hussey aregood modern examples. They bothdeveloped a solid batting foundationcomplemented by a wide range ofstrokes and then adapted their game tothe diSerent forms. This is a betterproposition than taking a hitter'sapproach to batting and then hoping ittranslates into success in the long formof the game.

(Former Australia captain IanChappell is now a cricket commentatorfor Channel 9, and a columnist)

Coaching kills the batting star

There are now more coaches in thegame but there's less batting artistry.The modern methods are oftendevised to produce more power andbetter hitters, with a leaning to theagricultural rather than any pretenceof artistry. Often, this is a case ofmistaking change for improvement

LLOOSSAAIILL:: Spain's Jorge Lorenzo began hisMotoGP title defence in style with anemphatic win in the season-opener atQatar's Losail International Circuit onSunday. The Yamaha ace charged to the24th win of his MotoGP career,finishing 5.990 seconds ahead ofteammate and seven-time MotoGPchampion Valentino Rossi. MotoGProokie Marc Marquez of Honda took asuperb third on his debut in the topdivision, staged under floodlights.Pole-sitter Lorenzo held the lead rightfrom when the start and held on till thechequered flag while the rest of the fieldbehind him traded places. "I knew itwas going to complicated. I'm happythat Valentino came back in secondplace, it's good for Yamaha," Lorenzotold BBC television. Rossi, who had hadan ordinary weekend going intoSunday's race, came into his own in thefinal stages of the race, going past

Honda riders Dani Pedrosa andMarquez in quick succession. Theveteran Italian was pleased with hisshowing after two frustrating years withDucati. He said: "That was great fun, Ithink second is best for me today asJorge was perfect. "I made a mistake atthe start with Pedrosa. "I wanted thispodium, this was my target since lastNovember. The bike was fantastic, I hada great battle with Marc."Marquez showed glimpses of theexceptional talent that many have cometo praise in winter testing and the run-up to the season-opener at crucial timesduring the race. After falling behind at the start, hegradually moved up places before goingpast Briton Cal Crutchlow and thendramatically overtaking Pedrosa withsix laps to go. After his closing tusslewith Rossi Marquez was thrilled at hisperformance. "I was racing my hero – itwas a great battle with Valentino. Formy first MotoGP that wasn't too bad!"

Crutchlow finished fifth behindPedrosa.Alvaro Bautista, Ducati riders AndreaDovizioso and Nicky Hayden, AndreaIannone and Ben Spies completed thetop ten. The pre-season this year hadbeen abuzz with anticipation thanks toRossi's return to Yamaha after adisappointing two-year stint in Ducatiand also the emergence of Marquez as astrong contender. Marquez had impressed many eversince he topped the time-charts in thefirst testing sessions in Austin, Texas,earlier this year. The 20-year-old Spaniard hadproduced a few scorching laps early inthe weekend in Qatar to top the practicesessions but had been unable to produceconsistent runs. With this win in Qatar, Yamaha leadthe team championship with 45 pointswhile Honda is second with 29 points.The next race will be run at the Circuitof the Americas on April 21. –AGENCIES

Lorenzo starts MotoGP titledefence with Qatar triumph

Motorcycling

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo of Spain celebratesafter winning the final of the MotoGP race on the last day of theQatar Grand Prix. —AGENCIES

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LLAAHHOORREE:: The Pakistan OlympicAssociation (POA), the NationalOlympic Committee (NOC)Pakistan, has condemned instrongest possible terms theunauthorized and illegal elections ofthe Sindh Olympic Association(SOA) reportedly held on April 7,2013 in Karachi under the aegis ofwhat itself is an unlawful body – theso-called interim POA created byvested interests backed by somefederal government functionaries.“It may be noted that the IslamabadHigh Court has also issued a stayorder, restraining the operation ofthe so-called Interim Committee

while the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) has alreadybranded it as an illegal body,” said aspokesman for the POA on Monday. The elections of the SOA havealready been held under itsconstitution with its term runningfrom 2012 to 2015, with its oRcebearers being: Syed WaseemHashmi, Acting President andChairman (in place of Late Dr SyedMohammad Ali Shah), Mr. AhmedAli Rajput, Secretary General andSyed Saeed Jamil, Treasurer.“The POA recognizes only theabove oRce-bearers and considersthe elections held by the so-calledInterim Committee of POA asfraudulent because neither does this

body have any jurisdiction nor anylocus standi,” said the POAspokesman. “And only the POA hasthe authority to supervise theelections of the provincial associationsfor they are the legal constituents ofthe POA – an independent andautonomous body that is recognizedby the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)and the IOC,” he added.Another aspect of the boguselections held with mala fide intentwas the people gathered from variousprovincial associations who were noteven bona fide members of the SOA.“The POA’s loud and clearinstructions to all sporting entities inSindh are: anyone having any dealingwhatsoever with the bogus SOA will

face suspension, just as the AthleticsFederation of Pakistan (AFP),Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF)and the Islamabad OlympicAssociation (IOA) have previouslybeen suspended by the POA underintimation to the internationalsporting federations.”It is pertinent to mention here thatthe so-called Interim Committee ofPOA headed by Mr. Asif Bajwa filed acivil suit in the court of Mr.Muhammad Adnan Jamali CivilJudge 1st Class Islamabad against LtGen (r) Syed Arif Hasan and othersposing itself as the legitimate body.The court not only rejected its plea,but also fined the litigant forconcealing facts.

NOC Pakistan flays illegal electionsof Sindh Olympic Association

Park wins secondmajor with KraftNabisco triumphRRAANNCCHHOO MMIIRRAAGGEE: South Korea's InbeePark won the Kraft NabiscoChampionship by four strokes on Sundayafter shooting a final round 69 to secureher second major title. Overnight leaderPark birdied her first two holes and wasnever threatened at California's MissionHills Country Club where she finished thetournament with a 15-under total of 273,well clear of second-placed compatriotRyu So-Yeon.American Lizette Salas started theround three strokes behind 2008 USOpen champion Park but double-bogeyed the first hole and tumbled to aseven-over 79. "Well, that made my daymuch easier, that's for sure," Park toldreporters of the opening hole. "I holed along one on the first hole, and a birdiestart is always a good thing so that gaveme a lot of confidence." Ryu surged upthe leaderboard with a 65 to finishoutright second on 11 under par, whileNorway's Suzann Pettersen and SwedeCaroline Hedwall tied for third twostrokes further back.Seven-times major winner KarrieWebb was six-under to tie for fifth at thetournament where she earned her lastmajor triumph in 2006. Park's win is hersecond of the season and moves her toNo. 2 in the world, behind Stacy Lewis."I've seen Inbee do this before," saidLewis, who finished in a disappointingtie for 32nd at one-under. "When sherolls it, you just can't beat her. She's thebest putter on tour." –AGENCIES

Inbee Park of South Korea poses with her trophyafter winning. —AGENCIES

Golf

PPAARRIISS: Argentina are into the Davis Cup WorldGroup semi-final after their world number 71Carlos Berlocq beat 13th-ranked Frenchman GillesSimon to hand the South Americans a 3-2 win onSunday. A distraught Simon, who saved five matchpoints before finally succumbing, said it was thelowest point of his tennis career. "By a long waythat was the most diRcult defeat to accept of myentire career," he said. "What disappointment, itwas a very important match for everyone. I had towin it, but didn't. "I did the best I could. "All Iwanted to do was win – for me, for the others, forJo (Tsonga) who didn't deserve to lose afterwinning two matches."Argentina will face defending champions CzechRepublic after they eliminated Kazakhstan earlierin the day. Serbia and semi-final newcomerCanada also won their quarterfinals on Sunday.Berlocq said he didn't want to let down his family,friends and teammates who were pulling for anArgentina victory at the Parque Roca in BuenosAires. "When you are in your own country, witheveryone around, your family, your friends, whohave confidence in you, their confidence iscontagious. "All the team believed victory waspossible. It was a battle, fortunately we won it."France had levelled the quarterfinal tie earlierafter Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dismantled Juan Monaco6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in one hour, 42 minutes to force adeciding rubber. Against the odds, that went to Berlocq, whofought back to prevail 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 againstSimon who was called in late to replace RichardGasquet. David Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballoshad also come from behind to win Saturday'sdoubles, which gave the hosts the upper handgoing into the final day. World No. 1 and Australian

Open champion Novak Djokovic's victory overSam Querrey of the United States on Sundayadvanced Serbia into the semi-finals. Djokovic,who had to battle through an ankle injury hesuSered in the opening set, earned a 7-5, 6-7 (4/7),6-1, 6-0 win to give the Serbians aninsurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five tie.It is the second win for Serbia in four years overthe 32-time titles USA. In their only otherprevious Davis Cup encounter Serbia defeated theAmericans in Belgrade in 2010. "I am sorry forteam USA but it was a thrilling weekend for all ofus," Djokovic said. Djokovic had to play throughthe pain of a bad right ankle, which he sprained inthe third game of the opening set. "I took someanti-inflammatory, and they kicked in at the endof the second set," he said. Djokovic said he

probably wouldn't have finished the match if itweren’t Davis Cup. "If I wasn't playing for Serbiaand didn't have my team watching me, I don'tknow if I would have continued," he said.The 25-year-old Djokovic clinched the victoryover world number 20 Querrey with a backhandwinner; ending the two hour, 35 minute match.Serbia will now meet Canada after Milos Raonicsent the Canucks to their first-ever semi-final bybeating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. The 22-year-old Raonic overpowered Seppi withhis booming serve before Seppi stepped up andwon the third set in Vancouver, British Columbia.But Raonic rebounded to win the fourth, finishingthe match with 35 aces to complete the historic winfor Canada, who will travel to Serbia for the semi-finals in September. –AGENCIES

Argentina, Serbia reach Davis Cup semifinals

Argentina's tennis team celebrates after defeating France by 3-2 in their 2013 Davis Cup quarterfinal. —AGENCIES

munawar backsmengal’s demandsQQUUEETTTTAA:: Amir of Jamaat IslamiMunawar Hassan and CentralPresident of Balochistan NationalParty Sardar Akhtar Mengal met hereMonday todiscuss politicalatmosphere in the wake of generalelections. After the meeting,Munawar Hassan told reporters thathe welcomed Sardar Akhtar Mengal'sdecision of taking part in the generalelections and coming into themainstream national politics.Munawar said his party supportsMengal’s demand for conduciveenvironment for the elections inBalochistan. He said the missingpersons should be traced out and sentback to their homes and no oneshould be allowed to take advantageof this situation in the polls. AkhtarMengal said some elements want totake advantage of missing personsand are getting sympathies from theirfamilies making promises to bringthem back which would have a badimpact on the elections. –AGENCIES

TTP vows todisrupt pollsPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Describing democracyas a system of ‘kafirs’ (non-believers),Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chiefHakimullah Mehsud Monday vowedto wage jihad to implement Islamiclaw in Pakistan and warned peopleagainst taking part in the electionprocess. In a video message issued,Mehsud said he does not favourdemocracy and the Taliban want theenforcement of Shariah in Pakistan.“kafirs want to divide Muslims in thename of democracy.” –AGENCIES

musharraf summonedin Benazir case alsoRRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: Anti TerrorismCourt (ATC) has summoned PervezMusharraf in Benazir Bhuttoassassination case and adjourned thehearing till April 13. ATC JudgeChaudhry Habib ur Rehman heardBenazir Bhutto murder case Monday.FIA on the other hand haschallenged fresh hearing of this casein Lahore High Court, Rawalpindibench. In the application filed by FIAprosecutor, Chaudhry Zulfiqar it wassaid trial of Pervez Musharraf beconducted separately. Over 30evidence have been recorded in thecase, therefore, the hearing of thecase afresh will aNect them,application said further. –ONLINE

Taftan railwaytrack blown upQQUUEETTTTAA:: Some unidentified terroristblew up Taftan railway track inBalochistan on Monday. Someunknown miscreants planted a timebomb on the Quetta-Taftan Railwaytrack in Dalbandin area. Two feet ofrailway track was destroyed when thebomb exploded. Upon receivinginformation, the Levies and Railwayadministration reached the spot.However, the train that was headingto Taftan from Quetta remained safefrom mishap. However, the track wasrepaired soon and rail serviceresumed. –ONLINE

Rockets land closeto Peshawar airportPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: At least four rockets,fired from an unknown location,landed on Canal Road close to therunways of Peshawar airport onMonday, a private TV channel reported.One of the four rockets landed into acanal close to the house of popularPakistani cricketer Umar Gul, however,no causality was reported. Local policesaid one of the other projectiles fell intoa house, another inside a graveyard,while the fourth landed in the openfields. –AGENCIES

TUESDAYAPRIL 09, 2013THE SPOKESMAN - RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD

Cmyk

Interior minister triggers first controversy

Published by Ahmad Waleed from Yasmeen Majeed Printing Press 69 Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi.

No end to power woes despite claimsZEESHAN JAVAID

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The people will haveto choose between protests againstpower outages and the electionfestivity, although Caretaker FederalMinister for Water and PowerMusadik Malik regrets theloadshedding with both thetemperature and shortfallincreasing with each passing day.Reports collected from variousregions of the country revealed that

unscheduled power outages haveincreased to 22 hours in rural and16 hours in urban areas of allprovinces, while Water and PowerDevelopment Authority's (WAPDA)shortfall figure of 3400 megawattsis in direct conflict with thegovernment's own National PowerControl Company (NPCC) figure of4950 megawatts.Reports reveal unscheduled poweroutages of 16 and 14 hours in ruraland urban areas of Lahore region,

Multan 18 and 14 in rural andurban, Faisalabad 18 and 13respectively, while most parts ofrural Sindh and Balochistansuffered 22 hours of blackouts.There has been a series of protestsagainst this in various parts of thecountry. The caretaker federalminister for water and power —during his first briefing by theministry after taking oath —directed WAPDA and its alliedoffices including power distribution

companies to end unscheduledelectricity load shedding and draft aplan accordingly.However most top bureaucratsfrom the power sector not onlybrushed aside the directions but alsoallowed a free hand to powerdistribution companies in decision-making with regard to public respite.Sources in the power sector informedThe Spokesman that arrearscollection from private and publiccustomers increased after the merger

of power distribution companies intotheir mother organization WAPDA,while power generation is decreasingday by day, inversely proportionate tothe increasing temperature ofimpending summer.Ministry of Water and Powerclaimed that the power generationdropped on Sunday when sabotagedamaged a gas pipeline feeding theUch Power Plant (550MW) andHabibullah Coastal (125 MW),while 1300 MW were out of

generation because of disruption inoil supply to AES Lalpir (350 MW),Pak-Gen (350 MW) and some unitsof HUBCO and KAPCO.Minister Musadik said there was asudden shortfall of 1500 MW due todamage to the gas pipeline anddecrease in oil supplies to the powerplants. However the situation hasimproved and 1500 MW has beenadded to the system. He said heregretted the inconvenience facedby the people.

QUETTA: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawar Hassan talking to the media after a meeting with President Balochistan National PartySardar Akhtar Jan Mengal at latter’s house. –ONLINE

SHANEL KHALIQ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: European Unionmonitors will not observe upcomingpolls in Pakistan’s most restiveregions including the Taliban-infested northwest tribal zonebecause of security fears, oMcialssaid Monday.“None of the EU’s 110 observerswill be posted in the tribal areas orBalochistan, which is plagued byseparatist and sectarian violence, tokeep watch on the May 11 generalelection,” Chief Observer of themission, a German Member of theEuropean Parliament, Mr. MichaelGahler said while addressing amedia briefing.The EU judged it too dangerousto send any of its observers,drawn from the bloc’s 26 memberstates plus Norway, Switzerlandand Canada, but election missionchief Michael Gahler said theywould still be able to get a goodsample nationally. “For us tojudge a process we need a samplebut we do not need to be presentin each and every constituency oreven region.”The EU mission is here to supportgenuine elections in the country byoNering a neutral and public

assessment of the diNerent aspectsof the process and to makerecommendations for the future.“We will have observers in diNerentparts of the country looking at whatis happening on ground, we areproud to be part of these historicelections”, he added. The mission, which has cost 5.2million Euros will deploy fifty twolong term observers to diNerentparts of the country, with respect tothe prevailing security conditions. EU observers will monitor 193out of the 272 constituencies,Gahler said. “We are in constantcontact with local observationgroups. Of course in our report weonly take information that we haveassessed with our own eyes andears but that doesn’t exclude thatwe take note of what others whoare on the ground report.”The mission has reached Pakistanon the invitation of Ministry ofForeign ANairs of Pakistan to comeobserve the elections from anunbiased perspective. This is thethird Pakistani election to bemonitored by the EU.Security concerns also preventedthe EU mission from sending staN tothe tribal areas during the previousgeneral elections in 2008.

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

LLOONNDDOONN:: Baroness Thatcher, Britain'sgreatest post-war prime minister, has diedat the age of 87 after suNering a stroke, herfamily has announced. Known as the Iron Lady, MargaretThatcher governed Britain from 1979 to1990. Her son, Sir Mark, and daughterCarol confirmed that she died this morning.Lord Bell, her spokesman, said: "It is withgreat sadness that Mark and CarolThatcher announced that their motherBaroness Thatcher died peacefullyfollowing a stroke this morning.A furtherstatement will be made later." Lady Thatcher died at the Ritz hotel atabout 11am after suffering a stroke. Herchildren were not at her bedside as theywere abroad. Her doctor and carer werethere when she died. BuckinghamPalace said the Queen was saddened bythe news. Prime Minister David Cameron said:"We've lost a great prime minister, a greatleader, a great Briton. She didn't just leadour country, she saved our country, and Ibelieve she'll go down as the greatest Britishpeacetime prime minister." Flags have been lowered to half mast atDowning Street. She will go down inhistory not only as Britain's first femaleprime minister, but as the woman whotransformed Britain's economy in additionto being a formidable rival on theinternational stage. Lady Thatcher was theonly British prime minister to leave behinda set of ideas about the role of the statewhich other leaders and nations strove tocopy and apply. Many features of themodern globalised economy - monetarism,

privatisation, deregulation, smallgovernment, lower taxes and free trade -were all promoted as a result of policies sheemployed to reverse Britain’s economicdecline. Above all, in America and inEastern Europe she was regarded,alongside her friend Ronald Reagan, as oneof the two great architects of the West’svictory in the Cold War. Of modern Britishprime ministers, only Lady Thatcher’sgirlhood hero, Winston Churchill, acquireda higher international reputation. Lady Thatcher had become increasinglyfrail in recent years following a series ofsmall strokes in 2001 and 2002. Her daughter Carol also revealed in 2008that she had been diagnosed withdementia, which had increasingly aNectedher memory for the last decade. Ill-health had prevented her attending an85th birthday party in Downing Streetarranged by David Cameron in October2010. It also prevented her attending theRoyal wedding of Prince William and KateMiddleton on April 29, 2011 atWestminster Abbey. Lady Thatcherpublished two volumes of memoirs.

Iron Lady MargaretThatcher dies

No EUobservers forrestive areas� Mission to skip Balochistan, tribal areas

OUR STAFF REPORTER

QQUUEETTTTAA:: Two policeoMcials including a DeputySuperintendent of Police(DSP) were killed whengunmen on motorcyclesopened fire at the policevehicle here Monday.DSP Ameer Muhammadand his guard receivedmultiple bullets wounds andwere shifted to BolanMedical Complex Hospitalin serious condition formedical treatment. Bothsuccumbed to injuries in thehospital. Police said that theincident was an act oftargeted killing.In another incident, fourpersons were injured in ablast at NADRA oMce inKharan on Monday.Miscreants attacked theNADRA building in Kharanwith explosives and fled fromthe site. As a result ofexplosion, four persons wereinjured who have been shiftedto hospital for treatment,police told. It is pertinent tomention that it is the secondattack of the similar nature onany government building inthe past one week. Earlier,District ElectionCommission’s oMce was alsoattacked in which one personwas injured. Police retaliatedand opened fire after whichthe militants escaped fromthe scene.

DSP amongtwo killed inQuetta shooting

IHC sends FBR chief packingIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Mondaycancelled the appointment of Chairman of Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) Ali Arshad Hakeem and also restrained himperforming duties. Hakeem was appointed as FBR chairman onJuly 10, 2012 and later he was appointed as Revenue Divisionsecretary on July 30, 2012. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddique washearing the case filed against Hakeem by Mohammad AshfaqAhmed member Inland Revenue Service (IRS), through hiscounsel Barrister Zafarullah Khan. The petitioner has challengedboth the appointments terming them as illegal, unlawful andviolation of the Constitution and apex court’s judgements.According to the petition, Hakeem was not qualified for theposition of FBR chairman and the establishment division did notadopt proper procedures for his appointment. The petition allegedthat the appointment of incumbent chairman FBR was not inaccordance with the intent and purport of the section 3 of theFederal Bureau of Revenue Act, 2007, which explains necessaryrequirements for the said post for efficient working. It claimedthat Hakeem lacks experience, educational qualifications —requisite for the due performance of the functions of the saidoffice. The petition said the establishment division did not adhereto the mandatory advertisement procedure and shortened theprocedure on extraneous consideration. The petitioner stated thatonly in exceptional circumstances procedures can be overlookedbut in this particular case no reason was given to justify the directappointment. The petition revealed that the summary for theappointment of chairman FBR, sent to the prime minister forapproval, contained only a single name of Hakeem, whereasnormally three names were suggested with comparativequalifications. –STAFF REPORTER

� Minister says 1500MW added to the grid � 22 hours of power outages in rural areas

HAMMAD RAZA

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Federal InteriorMinister Major (Retd) HabiburRehman’s statement favouringNawaz Sharif as the mostlikeable candidate may havecreated the first controversy forthe caretaker set-up.By all accounts, it was the wrongstatement at the wrong time andby the wrong person. Habib’sstatment that he thought NawazSharif was the best candidate putthe entire credibility of thecaretaker set-up at stake. The PPPand PTI were quick to respondsaying that he should resign.

Major Habib was already underlimelight for issuing sensationalstatements about threats to thenational leaders. It was generallybeing seen that instead of calmingthe nerves, he was raising alarmsabout instability. He may havecrossed a certain line by issuing astatement in favour of NawazSharif. The PTI and PPP seemedfair in demanding his resignation.How could a supposedly neutralInterior Minister give his opinion infavour of a party, asked PTIspokesman Shafqat mahmood. Theissue became bigger because thelaw and order happens to be thebiggest issue in this election. “Now,

that the Interior Minister has givenhis opinion about a particular party,if something goes wrong people willthink that he was biased towardsthe PML (N), “ said seniorjournalist Mohammad Malick.Journalist Rauf Klasra went a stepahead by saying that he being atypical bureaucrat was trying toplease Nawaz Sharif to ensure a jobin the next government assumingthat “it will be formed by NawazSharif. He is simply incapable ofthis job and must resign.”Whatever, the statement hasput the caretaker government ina fix. So far, the government hasstayed out of controversy. But this

may have generated its firststorm. Major Habib is not knownfor any outstanding achievement.He was selected by the caretakerPrime Minister but he showedsigns of sensationalism by givingprovocative statements about thestae of affairs. His statementabout the threat to the lives ofmajor leaders had already createdlots of tremors. Now, the lateststatement may have put thecaretaker government in a spotwhere they have to take aposition. “The gentleman hastaken a position which thegovernment can’t afford,” saidMalick. Perhaps rightly.

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

LLOONNDDOONN:: WikiLeaks has published morethan 1.7m US records covering diplomatic orintelligence reports on every country in theworld. The data, which has not been leaked,comprises diplomatic records from thebeginning of 1973 to the end of 1976,covering a variety of diplomatic traMcincluding cables, intelligence reports andcongressional correspondence.Julian Assange said WikiLeaks had beenworking for the past year to analyse andassess a vast amount of data held at the USnational archives before releasing it in asearchable form.

WikiLeaks openspublic library of USdiplomacy

Documents

The spokesman