WEdNESdAy April 03, 2013 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1434 I Rawalpindi/Islamabad I Vol, V, No. 349 I www.thespokesman.pk Pages 12 I Price 10/-

TTOODDAAYY’’SS WWEEAATTHHEERR

Showers andthunderstorms

HIGH: 28 LOW: 13

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IMRAN KHAN ANDTHE NEW US POLICY– ATHAR MIAN

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PARTY MANIFESTOS:ARE THEY SERIOUS?–MOHAMMAD JAMIL

CMyk

WHO IS GOING TOLEAD THE PPP IN THEELECTION CAMPAIGN?

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SNEAK PEEKBoard says love-sickkiller Mehek is adult

A four-member medicalboard, after her medicalexamination, on Tuesdaydeclared that the age ofZahra Mehek is over 20years. According to the

board, Zahra Mehek, accused formurdering Shahzadi Bibi, aged 11, andSawera Hakim, aged over 18, was taken toPoly Clinic Hospital for her medicalcheck-up to verify her age.

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Faria comes to fore in PTI‘swinger’ for women seats

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has changed itspreferred list of reservedseats for women in PunjabAssembly. The move hasbeen termed a party

strategy, according to sources. The saidpreferred list for women seats has beenchanged twice, now; while the finalized list,as provided to ECP had all the namesaltered, upside down, which stands nochance of any further alteration asaccording to ECP rules.

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Musharraf to be a fringeplayer in polls: US experts

Pakistan’s formermilitary dictator PervezMusharraf, back homefrom his self-imposedexile, would remain afringe player in the

country’s general elections in May andshould care more about his security, topAmerican experts said today.

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It is difficult to keepaudience engaged: Ali Zafar

Chashme Buddoor is allset to release this weekand the film has grabbedeyeballs. However, AliZafar feels that it isdiRcult to keep audience

engaged in today's world. On being askedabout Chashme Buddoor as a remake, Alisaid, "There are more angles in theremake. The film is done according totoday's world so that audience need toaccept it with time."

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Saeed Ajmal says hedoesn't require surgery

In a major relief forPakistan oSspinner SaeedAjmal, he will not requiresurgery to treat hisabdomen problem as itcan be treated with

medication. Ajmal, 35, was told byspecialists last week that he might require tohave surgery to treat the abdomen problemwhich was related to hernia. “I had acomplete examination including all tests inLahore at the weekend and doctors now saythe condition can be treated throughmedication and at the moment I don’trequire a surgery,” Ajmal said.

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PESHAWAR: A view of the destroyed building of Muhammadi Grid Station in Badhbher area. –ONLINE

SSWWAABBII//DDII KKHHAANN//QQUUEETTTTAA:: Atleast three lawmakers were jailedon Tuesday while arrest warrantswere issued against many othersas lower courts cracked down onformer members of national andprovincial assemblies forpossessing fake degrees andholding dual nationality.Of the three lawmakers, who

have been sentenced, formerKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblymember Javed Khan Tarakai ischarged of dual nationality, whileformer federal minister HumayunAziz Kurd and Khalifa AbdulQayyum, another ex-MPA fromKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, have beenfound possessing bogus degrees.Tarakai was awarded one year

term and fined Rs 5,000 in thedual nationality case by a localcourt in Swabi. Tarakai, whobelongs to an entrepreneur family,was facing the dual nationalitycase, which was under trial for thelast few months. District andSessions Judge Tariq Yousufzaihanded down the verdict, afterwhich he was immediatelyarrested by police and shifted tothe judicial lockup.Tarakai, who has both Pakistani

and Canadian nationality, is uncleof Shahram Khan Tarakai, thechairman of Awami JamhooriIttehad Pakistan. He contestedelections 2008 from PK-32,Swabi-II, defeating the AwamiNational Party candidate andformer MPA Ameer Rehman.

And in Dera Ismail Khan, theadditional district and sessionjudge sentenced former MPAKhalifa Abdul Qayyum to threeyears in prison and penalty of Rs5,000, while he also annulled thebail granted to the lawmaker.Khalifa had won the election in2008 as an independentcandidate. Followingannouncement of the judgment,he was taken into custody fromthe courtroom and sent to jail.On the other hand, Humayun

Aziz Kurd, former MNA fromNA-267, was sentenced to oneyear in prison and fined Rs 5,000by the district and session judge inSibbi. Later he was sent to thelocal jail. Mir Badshah Qaisrani,a former legislator from Punjabprovince, was indicted by a courtin Dera Ghazi Khan for having afake degree. In Balochistan, courtsissued arrest warrants for SyedNasir Shah and Maulvi Rozuddin,former MNAs.Meanwhile, the ECP declared

the degree of ex-parliamentarianMaulvi Agha Muhammad Khanas invalid after in-camera hearingof the fake degree case andforwarded the matter to therespective session court. Agha waselected as member of NationalAssembly on the ticket of JUI-F in2008 and his name was alsoincluded in the party list likely tocontest upcoming elections fromBalochistan.And in Islamabad,the Election Commission has

declared degrees of 52 former andtwo present parliamentarians asfake and uploaded the list onoRcial website after scrutiny.According to media reports, the

list of fake degree holders consistsof 14 former MNAs, 35 MPAs,three former and two sittingsenators, including three formerfederal ministers.Seminaries issued 14 fake

degrees while nine each wereissued by Punjab and Sindhuniversities respectively andPeshawar University issued three.List includes names of Sardar

Umar Gorgage, AkhunzadaChattan, Hayatullah Khan Tareen,Ghulam Dastageer Rajar, DewaanAshiq Hussain Bukhari, MazharHayat, Malik Amir Yar Warn,Javed Hussain Shah, Nasir AliShah and Maulvi Haji Rozdeen.Similarly, 35 members of

provincial assemblies were alsoholding fake degrees according tothe list of ECP, former KPminister Syed Aqil Shah,Shumaila Rana, Kishore Kumar,Bashir Ahmed Khan Leghari andWasim Afzal Gondal alsobreached Article 62 and 63 bypresenting fake degrees.Five senators (3 former, 2

present) of Balochistan alsoenlisted by ECP among fakedegree holders, three senatorshave completed their tenurewhile Mir Israrullah Zehri andNawabzada Akbar are stillsenators. –STAFF REPORTER/AGENCIES

UUNNIITTEEDD NNAATTIIOONNSS:: The 193-nationU.N. General Assemblyoverwhelmingly approved onTuesday the first-ever treaty on globalarms trade that seeks to regulate the$70 billion international business inconventional arms ranging from lightweapons to battle tanks andwarships. There were 154 votes infavor, 3 against and 23 abstentions.Iran, Syria and North Korea last

week prevented a treaty-draftingconference at U.N. headquarters

from reaching the requiredconsensus to adopt the treaty. Thatleft delegations that support it nochoice but to turn to a GeneralAssembly vote to adopt it.The Iranian, Syrian and North

Korean delegations cast the sole votesagainst the treaty on Tuesday. Iran,which is under a U.N. arms embargoover its nuclear program, is eager toensure its arms imports and exportsare not curtailed, diplomats said.Syria's government is embroiled in a

two-year civil war and relies onRussian and Iranian weapons, theyadded. North Korea is also under aU.N. arms embargo due to its nuclearweapons and missile programs. Thetreaty will be open for signature June3 and will enter into force 90 daysafter the 50th signatory ratifies it.Major arms producers China and

Russia joined Cuba, Venezuela,Bolivia, Nicaragua and othercountries in abstaining. A number ofcountries, led by India, which also

abstained, complained the treatyfavors exporting over importingstates. The United States, the world'sNo. 1 arms exporter, voted in favor ofthe treaty despite opposition from theNational Rifle Association, a powerfulU.S. pro-gun lobbying group. TheNRA opposes the treaty and hasvowed to fight to prevent itsratification by the U.S. Senate when itreaches Washington. The NRA saysthe treaty would undermine domesticgun-ownership rights, a view the U.S.

government rejects. The AmericanBar Association, an attorneys' lobbygroup, has said that the treaty wouldnot impact the right to bear arms.Syrian U.N. Ambassador BasharJa'afari repeated that his governmentopposes the arms trade treaty becauseit does not ban the sale of weapons tonon-state actors and "terrorists" likethose allegedly active in Syria. Thecivil war there has claimed at least70,000 lives, according to U.N.estimates. –AGENCIES

UN approves first-ever global arms trade treaty

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: PresidentAsif Ali Zardari on Tuesdayadministered oath of oRce tothe 14-member interimcabinet. Caretaker Prime Minister

Mir Hazar Khoso inductedhis cabinet about a weekafter he took over the post ofchief executive to oversee theMay 11 general elections. The cabinet comprises

Malek Habib‚ Ahmer BilalSoofi‚ Dr Musaddaq Malek‚Arif Nizami‚ Sohail WajahatH. Seddiqi‚ Shahzada AhsanAshraf‚ Maqbool H.H.Rahmatoola‚ Abdul MalekKasi‚ Asad Ullah Mandokhel‚Mir Hassan Dhomki‚ DrSania Nishtar‚ Feroz JamalShah Kakakhel‚ Dr YounisSoomro and ShahzadaJamal. Of them, six representPunjab province‚ home to 60per cent of the country’s 180million population, whileSindh and Balochistanprovinces are represented bytwo each. The last tworepresent the KhyberPakhtunkhwa province.

Picture on Page 12

14-memberinterim cabinetinducted

Lawmakers face the law

2 ex-MPAs jailedfor fake degrees� Former federal minister Kurd sentenced in dual nationality case� 52 former MPs, 2 sitting senators have bogus documents: ECP

PPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Eight people were killed andeight sustained injuries in the wee hours ofTuesday when militants attacked theSheikh Muhammadi grid station on theoutskirt of Peshawar.According to police, several armed

militants attacked the grid station withrockets and destroyed machinery andtowers. Police said the dead included fiveWapda employees, including an SDO, andthree community police personnel whowere on guard duty on the outskirts ofPeshawar.The militants fired at least 15 rockets at

the grid station from the SheikhMuhammdi village. They entered thebuilding, held the staS and police guardshostage and planted several remote-controlled bombs inside the grid station.The attack destroyed the grid station,

resulting in disruption of power supply toseveral parts of the city and areas in thetribal belt.Due to the powerful explosion, fire

erupted inside the grid station engulfingthe machinery and transformers. Thecontrol room of the grid was destroyed. Theattackers managed to escape under thecover of darkness.They killed two people on the spot and

took nine people with them while sixbodies of the kidnapped including twopolicemen and three WAPDA oRcialswere found about half a mile away fromthe grid station. Four WAPDA oRcialsidentified as Fahim, Shoaub, Faiz ul Bariand Zeeshan are still missing. Thedeceased have been identified as MirajGul, Zahir Shah, Rafiq, Shar Mohammad,Yaseen and Mohammad Khalid.

The terrorists took six vehicles and fourtransformers with them after the attack.Police cordoned oS the area after theincident while no arrest has beenreported so far.Parts of Peshawar still lack electricity

because the station was damaged in theattack. —ONLINEA police oRcial said six vehicles of

Wapda, control room and oRcial recordswere also damaged in the attack, while anoRcial of the bomb disposal squad said 14bombs of five kilograms each had beenplanted to blow up the oRces and the gridstation. “Thirteen bombs exploded whileone was defused by the bomb disposalunit,” he said.He said there were also signs of rocket

attacks inside the grid station and thatthe machinery was blown up with therocket fire. He added that bodies ofWapda employees had been recoveredfrom the spot while three bodies ofcommunity police personnel had alsobeen recovered.According to a local, the policemen and

the WAPDA oRcials were brutally torturedby the militants.“We saw that some of the people were

first thrashed with axes and then theirbodies were badly broken into pieces, afterwhich they were shot to death many times.”Four Wapda oRcials are still stated to

be missing and the search is on for them.Another cope said the police hadinformation that at least seven bodieshad been found in the fields after lastnight’s attack. He added that the policewas searching for five other missingpersonnel. –AGENCIES

8 killed in Peshawargrid station attack

EC orders reshuffle of bureaucracyIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Election Commission has directed the federal and provincialgovernments to change all the federal and provincial secretaries and also heads ofall the autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies. A notification issued here onTuesday stated that if the governments consider that a federal or provincialsecretary needs not be transferred or reshuQed‚ it may refrain from doing so underintimation to the Commission. It also directed the caretaker setups to assesswhether the Chairpersons or Chief Executives of all autonomous‚ semi-autonomousand state owned bodies‚ IG Police‚ CCPOs‚ City Commissioners‚ DCOs‚ DPOs‚SHOs‚ patwaris and EDOs are independent individuals and transfer those who donot meet the criteria. Political parties had expressed their reservations to thecommission regarding favourable appointments made by the past government.Meanwhile, on the second of scrutiny by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),over 7000 nomination papers’ scrutiny was completed and sent to the ReturningORcers. ECP has received a total of 13,048 nomination papers across the country,for both national and provincial assemblies. –STAFF REPORTER

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Expressingcommitment to extend allpossible support and facilitationfor peace, reconciliation andstability in Afghanistan, Pakistanhas rejected continued verbalattacks from Afghan governmentterming it harmful for therelations between twoneighbouring countries. Breifing the media,

spokesperson for the Pakistaniforeign office categoricallydenied allegations leveled byAfghan Deputy Foreign Ministerabout rocket and artillery attacksagainst different areas of KunarProvince. "It has also not beenfound correct as no rocket orartillery shells have been fired byPakistan Army in the recentdays," said the spokesperson.Responding to a query

regarding recent statement byAfghan Deputy Foreign Minister,the Spokesperson said thatPakistan has an old post calledGursal well inside Pakistani

territory bordering NangarharProvince of Afghanistan, which isunder routine renovation.Under the recently signed

Tripartite Border SOP, bothsides are supposed to informany new construction closer toborder areas. Despite being a renovation

work Pakistan as a gesture ofgoodwill shared this informationwith the Afghan side. The samewas also shared with the Afghanvisiting delegation to MohmandAgency on 24 January 2013.The renovation of the post is

primarily meant to interdictterrorists and criminals as wellas better management of theborder area between Afghanistanand Pakistan. Afghan Deputy Foreign

Minister Jawed Ludin’s recentconcerns about construction andphysical reinforcement along theAfghan border are therefore notin keeping with the spirit of theunderstanding on good bordermanagement and the recentlysigned Tripartite Border SOP.

Alleged attacks

Pakistan rejectsAfghan concerns

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

ABDUR RAZZAQ

PPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Students belonging to FederallyAdministrated Tribal Areas studying at theUniversity of Agriculture Peshawar urged thevarsity administration to exempt them fromsubmitting admission fee and refund thedeposited one. The government had given exemption to thestudents of militancy-stricken areas and Fata forthe year of 2009-10. About 2200 students fromSwat and other areas had been availed the facilityso far. Almost 2674 tribal students, enrolled atUAP. Talking to The Spokesman, a student of theBachelor of Computer Science, Abdul QayumShinwari said that militancy in the volatileKhyber Agency had badly eMected education andother infrastructure.He said the militants had targeted educationalinstitutions and raised a number of state-runschools to the ground by planting explosives inthese building. He said the mass destruction ofthe schools had not only been deprived studentsfrom education but also dropped the literacy ratein the agency. He said the tribesmen suMeredhuge losses in their businesses due to the on-

going a decade long militancy in the tribalregion. He said most of the students dropped outfrom schools as their parents can not aMord thehefty admission fees due to their limited sourceof income. “If the educational institutions give exemption

to the Fata students in tuition fee (studentsreside at IDPs camps) so they would be able totake admission in the educational institutions ofthe province. Most of the tribal students couldnot keep continue their studies as they have nomoney to pay the heavy fee,” he added.OLcial data of Provincial DisasterManagement Authority revealed that almost12083 families from Khyber Agency and 359from Bajaur Agency were still stationed atJalozai IDPs camp.Hamid Afridi, another student of the UAP, saidthe displaced families from the Khyber Agencywere forced to miserable lives at Jalozai IDPscamp, adding they did not even possess a singlepenny to buy food items for their families. “Howcould they pay such hefty fee to educate theirchildren?” he asked. Waqas Khan, a resident ofBuner district, said they were facing hardshipsto continue their studies due to financial

constraints. He appealed to the UAP authoritiesto refund him his tuition fee. He added thatstudents from Bajaur, Buner, Dir, Swat andMalakand were still waiting for fee remission. “The administration told us to get writtenstatement from Political Agent Khyber Agencyto refund their admission fee. We completed allthe required documental procedure but theadministration did not consider their cases todate” Haseeb Afridi, a student of AgricultureUniversity, said.While talking to The Spokesman, UAPDirector Finance Zarshad Ali said that accordingto the directives of the Higher EducationCommission, the university administrationrefunded tuition fee to the students belonging toSwat while the list of students from Buner hadbeen sent to the HEC. To a quarry, he said thatthe administration did not receive any directivesfrom the provincial government regarding feeconcession for the students belonging to FATA,adding that if the KP governments ask theadministration to provide lists of IDPs fromFATA we would forward it to the governmentand would take necessary steps according togovernment orders.

Tribal students seek fee concession

CMYK

CMYK

Tauqir Sadiq's residenceraided, property sealedIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The residence of formerOil and Gas Regulatory Authority chiefTauqir Sadiq was raided and hisproperty was sealed by governmentoLcials on Tuesday. The former Ograchief is suspected of embezzling a totalof Rs83 billion. According to a privateTV channel the residence is now in thecustody of the court along with threeother properties. Notices were placedon the properties that were sealed. TheSupreme Court of Pakistan failed invarious attempts to get Sadiq, the primesuspect in a corruption case back toPakistan. Sadiq was provided deadlinesto appear in court and a team was alsodispatched to Dubai to bring him backto Pakistan, however nothing hasmaterialized. Sadiq was accused ofembezzling a total of Rs83 billionduring his tenure as Ogra chief. He hadtaken refuge in the United ArabEmirates after his senior appointmentat the regulatory body was declaredillegal by the apex court. �ONLINE

Operation against politicalhoardings kicks offRRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: On the directives ofDCO, the Town Administration of thedistrict has launched operation againsthoardings, stickers and postersdisplayed illegally by electoralcandidates. The display of hoardingsbigger than the fixed size is against thecode of conduct made by the ElectionCommission. The electoral candidateshave been directed that they should notdisplay such posters and hoardings, orotherwise, the reports against themwill be sent to the ElectionCommission. �ONLINE

Spring festival in NawazSharif Park starts on 7thIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Parks and HorticultureAgency is arranging Spring Festivalfrom April 7 to April 21 in Nawaz SharifPublic Park, Shamsabad Rawalpindi.The festival will comprise Flower Show,Bird Show, Food stalls, cultural showand exhibition of handicrafts. All thepreparations in this regard have beencompleted. During the festival, thetraining workshop will also be held inwhich artists from Fatima JinnahUniversity and National College of Artswill participate. Renowned artists fromTaxila will train them. �ONLINE

21 gamblers arrested from Shesha centresRRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: Police raided atdiMerent places of gambling andSheesha center and arrested 21criminals on Tuesday. Gujar Khanpolice got secret information that fewpersons are busy in playing cards atLori Terminal on which the local Policeraided immediately and apprehended 5gamblers Saleem, Nasir, Ilyas, GhulamShabir and Muhammad Taj red handedwhile also recovered gambling moneyof Rs 15,570 and diMerent equipmentof gambling from them. �ONLINE

ECP posts Musharrafnomination detailsIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The ElectionCommission of Pakistan hasuploaded the nomination papers offormer president Pervez Musharrafon its official website. According tosources, total assets of the ex-president are over Rs 645 million.The nomination papers submittedfrom NA 48 has embedded the cases

of Anti TerroristCourt, Rawalpindi,as well as Quetta,while park road,Chak Shehzad,Islamabad, was also mentioned. �ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: World’s renownednews site “Global Post” on Tuesdaydeclared Imran Khan, chief ofPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as thirdmost influential leader across theglobe for the year 2012 for havinganti-drone strikes stance in Pakistan.According to the report, chief ofPTI stood third in the popularity listamong the nine top leaders whoinfluenced the world the mostduring 2012 for having pacifistattitude. The report declared thatImran Khan opposed the ongoingdrone strikes in tribal areas toothand nail every movement.

It is pertinent to mention herethat Imran Khan was pulled oM

from his Toronto-New York flight inCanada and was questioned by

American customs and borderprotection for about an hour for his

stance against drones but Khansaid, “My stance is known. Droneattacks must be stopped.”Casualties toll in tribal areaswhich caused by drone strikes wasbetween 474 to 884 civilian deathssince 2004, including killings of 176children, the report added. Thenews site revealed that ChristineLaggard stood first, Barack Obamastood second, Imran Khan third,Hillary Clinton fourth, Kim Jong Unfifth, Aung San Suo Kyi sixth,Mohamed Morse seventh, HugoChavez eighth and Bashar al-Asadninth of the list. �ONLINE

Imran joins popularity list with Obama, Hillary

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Policemen searching a car at a security check-post as the security has been beefed up in the federal capital. �ONLINE

HOMER BALOCH

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: A four-member medical board,after her medical examination as per the ordersof session court, on Tuesday declared that theage of Zahra Mehek is over 20 years.According to the board, Zahra Mehek,accused for murdering Shahzadi Bibi, aged 11,and Sawera Hakim, aged over 18, was taken toPoly Clinic Hospital for her medical check-upto verify her age as per the request of thelawyers of Shahzadi Bibi. The medical board consisted of four doctors,namely Dr. Ahsan, chairman of the board andmedical specialist, surgeon doctor Javed,dentist Dr Tajammul, and Dr. Tanveer, who ismedico-legal surgeon. The board afterexamining the accused declared that Mehek isover 20 years of age and should not beconsidered as an adolescent.

Dr. Tanveer told The Spokesman that, “Themedical board examined the age of the accusedby following diMerent methods and all of theresults proved that the accused is not less than20 years old. The verification process took onehour while the final report has been submittedto the police immediately”. On Monday, the lawyers of Zahra Mehekduring her hearing in court had requested thesession judge Kausar Zaidi to grant relaxationto her client by declaring her a juvenile asaccording to her academic documents she is 17years old, while law council of Shahzadi Bibiand Sawera Hakim on the other handrequested that age of the accused should beverified medically, for which, Justice KausarZaidi adjourned the court till 4th April aftergiving orders to conduct a medical examinationof the accused to verify her age.Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi, member of

legal counsel of Sawera Hakim and ShahzadiBibi, when contacted told The Spokesman, “It iscommon in our society that the parents showtheir children younger than their real age intheir educational documents just to gain somebenefits in future and same happened withZahra Mehek’s case. Her lawyers, in referenceto her educational certificates, claimed that shewas a juvenile. On the other hand, advocate ZulfiqarAhmed Bhutta, the counsel for Zahra Mehek,when contacted, showed dissatisfaction overthe medical report. “Her parents havementioned her real age in her educationaldocuments. However, I think the medicalreport is not authentic as the father of one ofthe diseased girls is a highly influential policeofficial and he might have used his influenceon the medical report,” advocate ZulfiqarAhmed Bhutta said.

FAUZEE KHAN MOHMAND

GGHHAALLAANNAAII:: “It is our main objectivethat more tribesmen cost their vote inthe first party-base election inMohmand Agency.” This was said byPolitical Agent and Returning OLcerof Mohmand Agency, Dr Amber AliKhan while addressing the nominatedcandidates from NA 36 (Tribal Area-1)at Ghalanai here on Tuesday.He said, “It is for the first time we areestablishing polling stations at everytehsil so that these peoples cost theirvotes in his particular areas.” PAMohmand urged the candidates that ifthere is any areas whose left of thepolling station so contacts with theoLcials of the election commission.He said that in the 2008 generalelection there was no polling station inthe populated area of Dawezai. “Butnow we have set up four pollingstations in the area.” Assistant ElectionCommissioner Haroon Shinwari saidthat a total of 107 polling stations willbe established in the area. He said thatfor this time the Biazai polling stationswill established in the Bahi Daag area.Haroon said that through somesecurity reason these polling stationsshifted from Baizai border area to theBahai Daag tehsil.

PPP calls oM rallyIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Outgoing ruling partyon Tuesday called oM a major publicrally designed to kickstart its re-election campaign in favour of smallerevents, media reports said. The PPPsaid last week it would start itscampaign with a public rally in GarhiKhuda Bakhsh on the anniversary ofZulfikar Ali Bhutto. But on Tuesday, aparty spokesman in the nearby town ofNaudero said the gathering would takeplace in a hall and would be closed toall but state media. PPP politicians would also holdseparate events in other districts, he said. �ONLINE

Polling stationsin everyMohmandAgency tehsil

Board says love-sick killer Mehek is adult

OUR STAFF REPORTER

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The Islamabad High Courton Tuesday constituted a one-mancommission to examine the matterpertaining to the land allegedly encroachedby Marriot Hotel for car parking, inconnivance with the CDA.Juistice Shaukat Aziz Siddique heard thecase filed by Hashwani Group through theircounsel Naeem Bokhari in which theycontended that despite getting license to usea piece of land as parking lot, CDA has nowbeen asking the management of hotel tovacate the land which has created a lot ofhardships for them. He requested the courtto restrain the civic body from taking actionagainst the Marriot hotel and also to allowthem for using a piece of land for parkingpurposes. However, the court formed a onecommission comprising former IHC BarPresident Ashraf Gujjar to probe into thematter and submit report before the courtwithin one week.

The CDA management wanted to auctionthe prized commercial plot in sector F-5/1,being used by marriot hotel, in order togenerate funds for the authority. But afterthe CDA tried to vacate the plot fromMarriot hotel its management got stay orderfrom the IHC against CDA on March 22.CDA sources said that the five-star hotelhas developed a parking lot in the right ofway of 6th Avenue over an area measuring10,289.44 square yards, which is in excess ofthe commercial plot it has occupied. Thehotel management has built a rear gate anda paved path on the plot in violation ofbuilding by-laws. DMA extended the licencelast year which is valid till September,despite orders to the contrary. “The openarea licence for the plot is a clear violation ofCDA’s Land Disposal Regulation 2005. Theplot has not been auctioned because of theencroachment, causing financial loss to thecivic agency,” the oLcial added. The plot’svalue estimated by the Planning Wing of theauthority is around Rs4.6 billion.

Commission formed onMarriot land occupation

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD::PML(Q) has ignoredthe common workersof the party anddistributed ticketsamong close relativesof leaders and blue-eyed persons. Thesources said that PML-Q had received some700 applications fromthe willing persons tocontest elections fromwhich the party had

earned the funds of Rs 350 million.Sources said that PML-Q distributed all theparty tickets for reserved seats for women on the

basis of nepotism. Those who got tickets forreserve seats for women included TanzeelaCheema, the foster daughter of ChaudharyShujaat Hussain, the spouse of GeneralSecretary Mushahid Hussain Syed, Bushra Syed,wife of Raja Basharat, Pari Gull Agha, daughterof SM Zafar and sister-in-law of ChaudhryPervaiz Elahi.When Online contacted the secretaryinformation of PML-Q Kamil Ali Agha, he toldthis scribe that the party tickets were distributedto the workers as not even a single ticket wasissued outside the party.He said that the information about takingmoney by the leadership for the tickets is baselessbecause PML-Q is a democratic party and totallybelieves in democracy. �ONLINE

PML-Q gives tickets to wives,daughters of its leaders

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Gawalas (milkmen) havedropped inflation bomb on the citizens oftwin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad byjacking up prices of milk and curdunilaterally with the advent of summerseason. The gawalas have raised price ofmilk by Rs 10 per kilogram fixing the newprice at Rs 80 per kilogram as against theold price of Rs 70.Likewise, they have fixed new price ofcurd at Rs 90 per kilogram as against theprevious price of Rs 80 per kilogram withthe increase of Rs 10 per kilogram. Thegawalas have held responsible motorwaypolice and export policy of formergovernment in respect of cattle. Earlier, they were allowed to bring truck

loaded with 70maunds chaMvia motorwaybut motor waypolice hasreduced thequantity of chaMfrom 70 maundsto 50 maundsand this waythey have toincur extra truckfare to bringchaM. “We areforced to shift the extra transportationcharges on account of chaM to citizens,”they said. �ONLINE

Milkmen drop inflation bombas prices of milk, curd jack up

The PPP is confronted by a seriouspolitical crisis. President Asif Zardari isconstrained by the courts for taking an

active role in political activities. Former PrimeMinisters Yousaf RazaGilani andRaja PervaizAshraf stand disqualified and involved inserious cases respectively. AsMakhdoomAminFahim is ordered to be arrested, the onlyperson left is the new kid on the bloc—BilawalBhutto.The story of his estrangementwith his father

may have been untrue and Bilawal Bhutt mayhave returned but he remains constrainedwithregards to leading the electoral campaign. Andit’s not just about his security. He remains anovice whowill not be able to get the party outof a crisis largely caused by the partyperformance in the last five years.The PPP crisis of leadershipmay have further

deepened by the issuance of arrest warrantsagainst its party President, Makhdoom AminFahim. Makhdoom saw it coming after hereturned over Rs 400 million that he allegedlygotaskickbacks in theNICLscam.Hewas savedlargely because of the favourable investigativeagencies under the PPP government. With thecaretakers in place,Makhdoom feels the heat.Raja Pervaiz Ashraf also gets involved in yet

another case over inflating tenders fordevelopment in his constituency. He alreadyfaces serious chances of being arrested in casesof rental power project and OGRAappointments.A judicial sword dangles over his head and

the party cannot aSord to have its face arrestedfrom a major rally or in the middle of thecampaign.With the first PPP echelon restricted by the

legal, political and security issues, the party isleft with little choice. The PPP kept its majorspeakers such as Aitezaz Ahsan and RazaRabbani out of the mainstream. It is short ofpeople even in its second tier. Even the bestPPP faces such as Khursheed Shah, QamarZaman Kaira and Ahmad Mukhtar have notbeen groomed for leading the party in anelection campaign. All of these political leadersmay not have that national appeal, besides

being busy in their local elections. This leavesthe PPP is a critical situation.The party can use Master Bilawal but the

move is fraught with political risks. Manyfeel that it would be unfair to destroy hiscareer by launching him to resurrect a veryunpopular government. In any case, itremains to be seen how he will be receivedin the crowds. His launching over BenazirBhutto’s death anniversary did not produce a

lightening effect. Constrained by language,charisma and experience, he was, at best,heard by the crowds. But he did not createthe frenzy that Benazir stirred at his agewhen the burden of leading the party wasentrusted to her.The joke around town is that perhaps Asif

Zardari should bring in Naheed Khan to leadthe party or ask his foster brother OwaisMuzaSar Tappi to do the job.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

Venom Inc. This should not beheld against me in a court oflaw as I solemnly declare that

these are absolute lies, dirty whispersand wild speculation that I have heardwhile crawling in the dark powercorridors of the creepy Capital. Youwill believe them at your own riskShh...If you have venom to spill pleasedon’t hesitate to share with us on ourblog at www.thespokesman.pk

POWER ALLEYS|CMYK

NNaaddeeeemmFF..PPaarraacchhaa @@ NNaaddeeeemmff PPaarraacchhaa 44mmTwo motorbikes just broke a signal. '"Ah", I thought, "there go62 and 63. Honda Sadiq and Vespa Amin."UUmmaarr CChheeeemmaa @@UUmmaarrCChheeeemmaa11 55mmOMG. Really? MT"@usmanmanzoor: Congrats Arif Nizami

sb on caretaker assignment. Plz spare time to file tax return as u have NTN since2012."JJuunnaaiidd JJaattooii @@JJaattooiiJJuunnaaiidd 77mmSo if i can recite some suras&kalmas, it means that i amSadiq&Ameen??????#Elections2013AAaammeerr SSaarrffrraazz @@AAaammeerrSSaarrffrraazz 2200hhThere are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid thatothers might pick them up.- Oscar Wilde #PoliticalLotasJJuunnaaiidd QQaaiisseerr @@JJuunnaaiiddQQaaiisseerr 11hhEx-dictator Pervez Musharraf, guilty of high treason roaming freely, conductingpressers, while Chief Qazi is busy ensuring 62/63. CowardBBaakkhhttaawwaarr BBhhuuttttoo ZZ @@BBaakkhhttaawwaarrBBZZ 2200mmThis is new Pakistan, where TTP etc exist. Will take more than 5yrs 2change.Don't want new Pakistan, I want old Pakistan! #ZAB's Pakistan.AAssaadd MMuunniirr @@aassaaddmmuunniirr3388 4400mmEC staS should be made to run 3 KM,at 5.30 in the morning, till scrutiny, so thatthey are angry,and disqualify more politicians.MMaattiiuullllaahh JJaann @@MMaattiiuullllaahhjjaann991199 2200mmChief Justice's letter to Returning ORcers for implementation of 62/63. Poorcivil judges have 2 bosses, CJP & ECP. Is CJP interfering?RRaazzaa RRuummii @@RRaazzaarruummii 66mmDua e Qanoot is a personal communication with God during act of worship.Not a public statement of electoral eligibility. Theocracy-istan!JJaavveedd II.. SShheeiikkhh @@ssjjiikkrraamm 1100mmVery alarming scenario for Pakistan where most of Pakistanis are turningemotionally derailed and half mad.AAssmmaa JJaahhaannggiirr @@AAssmmaa__JJaahhaannggiirr 44mmWait anxiously for a Parliament of saints!HHaammiidd MMiirr @@HHaammiiddMMiirrGGEEOO 22mm@Asma_Jahangir next parliament will not have saints but at least will be abetter than the previous oneRReehhmmaann MMaalliikk @@SSeennRReehhmmaannMMaalliikk 1100hhNext election is being set betweenthe pro Talban and anti Talban parties.Thiscreation of division in coming election is pre poll riggings.FFaarrooooqq TTaarriiqq @@FFaarrooooqqttaarriiqq33 4466ss@Asma_Jahangir I am appearing for my scrutiny of nomination papers for PP86, 4th April, will not reply on question regarding my religionHHaammmmaadd AAnnwwaarr @@mmaanniihhaammmmaadd 5533ssIf Article 62/63 applied on judiciary in its real sense, most of judges would gohome. Judges should be tested for their real ages. CJ any1?AAllii SSaallmmaann AAllvvii @@aalliissaallmmaannaallvvii 55mm.@SaleemKhanSafi says that politicians are being punished for not removingarticle 62/63, included by a dictator, from the Constitution.NNaahheeeedd KKhhaann @@NNaahheeeeddNNSSaaffddaarr 11mm"It doesn't matter what evidence you or anyone comes up with. They are goingto murder me for murder I didn't commit."#April4th#Bhutto

Who is going to lead the PPPin the election campaign?

The independence of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been lauded by a large section of the country. The intense scrutiny that candidates are beingsubjected to seems a refreshing break from the past. However, it increasingly feels that ECP may be stretching the limits. The recent episodes of Returning O7cers (RO)asking candidates to recite the Kalima, Surah Yaseen, Dua-e-Qanoot and various questions pertaining to the o8ering of Namaz, have made this exercise seem a bit like afarce. Analysts have pointed out that such questions regarding religion are not the domain of ROs, since faith is a matter between God and man and ECP does not havethe authority to judge whether a person is faithful enough. Even so, it is argued, these are not measures of determining whether a person is capable of good governance orthat he is Sadiq or Amin. Some political analysts have also questioned putting up the assets of candidates on the website for all and sundry to see. They are of the viewthat since the locals know about the candidates from their constituency, it might not be needed. Also, they say, once a candidate gets to the National Assembly, only thenshould everyone be able to see the assets since it is at that time that the candidate is representing the whole nation. Until that time, the information should only be withthe ROs so that anyone from the area who wants to examine the candidates can do so if he please, as it is the people of that constituency that need that information.

Famous Actor Majid Jahangir flashing victory signs after scrutiny of his nominationpapers for the upcoming elections. ONLINE PHOTO

MIRZA KHURRAM SHAHZAD

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Cash strappedPakistan Television (PTV) has nomoney to pay market Competitivepackages and medical facilities to itsregular employees but it has enoughfunds to arrange farewell music galasand lavish dinners for outgoingministers and Members of theNational Assembly (MNAs), justbecause they may be able to awardmuch lucrative contracts to YousafBaig Mirza (YBM) in future.The state TV, which is struggling to

pay salaries and other facilities to itsemployees and relying on a forcedpublic fee of 35 rupees per monthimposed on electricity users, lastmonth organised a farewell gala dinnercombined with a superb musicalconcert costing around RS. 25 millionto the national exchequer.PTV, which by no means is

authorised to give farewell to theministers and MNAs organised thisevent on the desire of some top cabinetmembers and government oRcials.The sources in PTV said that some

key ministers asked MD PTV toorganise this show and invite theirfavourite artists and guests.Obeying their instructions, YBM

quickly ordered the event and arranged

the musicians and singers for theprogram.He also made available half of the

funds from PTV accounts while half ofthe expenditures were paid by thegovernment.The artists who were hired to

perform at the event included ShafqatAmaanat Ali Khan and Misha Shafi.The sources said that PTV paid 0.950

million rupees to Shafqat Amaanat Aliwhile Misha Shafi was paid 0.750million rupees for her superb

performance in the show.An oRcial, who works in the

programs department of PTV, said thatbesides the excellent singing program,the menu of the dinner was alsospecially caterred and all lavish mealswere available at the table.The PTV management, however

denied that any show took place."No such event was organised," said

Sohail Bukhari, the spokesman forPTV."I can say it at authority that neither

any music show nor any dinner tookplace to bid farewell to the outgoinggovernment and the NationalAssembly," he said.Asked MD PTV might had organised

it privately and there might not be anyoRcial record for this show, he said itcan't happen."It is impossible that something

happens in PTV and I am unaware ofthat," Bukhari said adding that thenews may be a conspiracy to put thestate TV in trouble."People are spreading these rumours

because they want the caretakergovernment to take an action againstPTV management, otherwise there isno truth behind such stories," he said.The sources, however stood by their

information and said the bills for thisparticular event can be furnished ifrequired.PTV is facing very tough financial

crisis because of some wrong decisionsby the top management to start newchannels including an Englishlanguage news channel and a sportschannel.The department is also facing trouble

because the overload of dozens ofemployees hired on political groundsand that too on very high packageswhich has no match with the marketrates.

Cash strapped PTV spends millionson government farewell

Dasti hopes forjustice in ‘fake’degree caseMMUUZZAAFFFFAARRGGAARRHH:: Former PPP MNAfrom MuzaNargarh Jamshed Dastiappeared before a local court onTuesday and recorded his statement infake degree trial. He hoped that hewould get justice from the court.Speaking to journalists after thehearing, he said that he submittedevidence to verify the authenticity of hisdegree. He added that final argumentswould be held on Wednesday. Thehearing was adjourned till Wednesday.Dasti, who is apparently very popular inMuzaNargarh, has filed nominationpapers to contest elections againstformer foreign minister Hina RabbaniKhar. �ONLINE

Wapda workers protest against Peshawar attackLLAAHHOORREE:: Wapda employees stagedcountrywide protests against attackon the power grid station in Peshawar.At least seven people were killedwhen several armed militantsattacked the Sheikh Muhammad gridstation with rockets and destroyedmachinery and towers on Tuesdaymorning. In Lahore, Wapda PaighamUnion set up a protest camp outsideWapda House to condemn theincident. The protestors have vowedto continue protest until action isbeing taken against the miscreantsinvolved in the attack. Wapda workersdemand strict security at sensitiveinstallations. �ONLINE

Weapons, narcotics seized in Jamrud clean-up operationKKHHYYBBEERR AAGGEENNCCYY:: A cache of armsand narcotics was recovered by thepolitical administration of Jamrud ina search operation conducted onTuesday in Shahkas area of Jamrud,a sub-division of Khyber Agency,official sources said. The sourcessaid that heavy contingents ofKhasadar Force on the direction ofAssistant Political Agent, Jamrudlaunched clean-up operation againstanti-social activities in the area andrecovered 26 AK-47, two pistols and24 kilogrammes of hashish. Threesuspected persons were alsodetained and put behind the bars forinterrogation, the sources said. APAJamrud Jahangir Azam Wazirflanked by political tehsildarAsmatullah while displaying seizedcommodities to the media personssaid, “The operation has beeninitiated with intention to wipe outall anti-social elements from thearea, adding that no one will bepermitted to disturb the peacefulenvironment of Jamrud.” �ONLINE

KKAARRAACCHHII:: People returning after filling their cans with water from a leaked supply line in Korangi. �ONLINE

LLAAHHOORREE:: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf haschanged its preferred list of reserved seats forwomen in Punjab Assembly. The move hasbeen termed a party strategy, according tosources. According to PTI, the said preferred list forwomen seats has been changed twice, now;while the finalized list, as provided to ElectionCommission of Pakistan had all the namesaltered, upside down, which stands no chanceof any further alteration as according to ECPrules and regulations.Shewna Bashir headed the initial preferredlist, while she has been downsized to 13thposition since, replaced by Saadia Sohail, fromher previous of number 2 to number 1. Amongothers, Rizwana Iqtidar has gone to 42nd from

her initial of number 6 position, Nighat Sultanafrom her 7th position in initial list to 45, BegumNaseem Majeed 2 ranks up from previous of 8thto 6th, while Faria Aftab has taken a quantum

leap from 54th position to 8th.Meanwhile, names of Nasreen Tariq,Nausheen Hameed, Naheed Naeem and HinaKashif have altogether been omitted. �ONLINE

Faria comes to fore in PTI‘swinger’ for women seats

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

LLAAHHOORREE:: Dengue virus situation in Punjab isunder complete control till now and noconfirmed patient of dengue has been reportedfrom anywhere in the province, neither newdengue hotspots have been discovered.However, activities and steps by variousdepartments are continuing eNectivelyaccording to the Dengue Action Plan 2013.This was informed here in a ProvincialResponse Committee meeting under thechairmanship of Chief Secretary Punjab NasirMehmood Khosa.Besides Additional Chief Secretary KhizarHayat Gondal, Secretary Health, SecretaryInformation, Secretary Environment,

Secretary Higher Education, SecretarySchool Education, Secretary LocalGovernment, Secretary Agriculture, ViceChancellor King Edward Medical UniversityProfessor Faisal Masood, Director GeneralPublic Relations Punjab Amjad HussainBhatti, Additional Director General HealthVector Born Diseases, In-Charge of DengueResearch Cell Professor Wasim Akram,senior officers of Punjab InformationTechnology Board, EDO Health Lahore andofficers of district government were alsoattended the meeting.The meeting was informed that inspection ofgraveyards, warehouses, tyre shops,

construction sites and basements arecontinuing with full vigor to detect denguelarvae. Furthermore, zero periods is beingconducted regularly in schools and colleges toprovide information and awareness to thestudents on dengue menace.A compulsory question on dengueinformation would also be included inexamination of students. Schools have beendirected to ensure that children wear fullsleeve shirts. Addressing the meeting ChiefSecretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa said thatdengue have been controlled previous year dueto strong cooperation and collaboration ofgeneral public.

Dengue virus is a social issue as well as adisease as this particular mosquito is foundinside houses where this exists upto 80 percent, therefore, cooperation and activeparticipation of the people is highly entail oferadication of dengue virus.Chief Secretary further directed that avigorous awareness campaign against denguedisease should be continued so that the peopleare provided complete information regardingsteps taken by the government and to adoptedpreventive measures against dengue disease.He directed concerned departments tocontinue their activities under Dengue ActionPlan 2013. �ONLINE

No confirmed dengue patient in Punjab

QQUUEETTTTAA:: TheBalochistan HighCourt has issued thearrest warrants offormer federal ministerSardar YarMuhammad KhanRind by cancelling hisinterim bail in thekidnapping for ransomcase. On Tuesday Divisional Bench of BHCcomprised Justice Jamal Khan Mandokheland Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mangal heldthe hearing. Police had registered the caseof kidnapping for ransom against chief ofRind tribe and ex-SAFRON minister duringMusharraf regime, but he got interim bailform the court. �ONLINE

BHC ordersRind’s arrest in ransom case

LLAAHHOORREE:: A total of 89 candidates of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have filed their nominationpapers to contest the election for PA and NA seats from the provincial capital.According to a party spokesman, 39 candidates, including Imran Khan, Abdul Aleem Khan,Ibrarul Haq and Dr Yasmeen Rashid, have submitted their nomination forms to contest theelection for National Assembly seats of Lahore.On the other hand, 50 candidates have filed papers for provincial assembly seats. However,till the filing of this report no candidate was finalised by the PTI parliamentary board. �ONLINE

89 want to contest from Lahore

KKAARRAACCHHII:: The Rangers personnellaunched a targeted operation at 4amTuesday after a tip oN about the presenceof miscreants and members of bannedoutfits in Katti Pahari area. The 600Rangers, including female troops and anti-terrorist squad, participated in theoperation while sniNer dogs were also usedin the raids. All entry and exit points of the areawere closed and 36 heavy and lightweapons were recovered during door-to-door search while 12 suspected personswere also arrested from the area.Meanwhile, the Rangers also launchedtargeted operation against the outlaws inKorangi Dhai area where severalsuspected persons were arrested andmore than 12 weapons were seized fromthem. �ONLINE

12 more held,arms recovered indawn operation

NNAAWWAABBSSHHAAHH:: Objection was raisedon the nomination papers of PakistanPeople’s Party’s Azra Fazal Pechuho,who filed her papers for NA-213.According to details, the returningofficer has directed Azra Fazal to file areply by April 5. Ali Gul Kerio ofPeoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto)submitted an objection plea, accusingAzra Fazal of violating the ECP codeof conduct after the announcement ofelection schedule. He added that Azraalong with Deputy CommissionerRasheed Zardari distributed CNGrickshaws in a bid to rig the election.Azra also attended an electoralprocession organized by EDO Worksand Services Pir Muhammad Siyaalthat is the violation of code of the ECPcode of conduct, Ali Gul added. Thereturning officer had called Azra Fazalin the court and informed her aboutthe objections submitted against her.He also instructed her to file a replyon the same by April 5. �ONLINE

Azra nomination draws objection over rickshaws

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The parliamentary board ofPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Tuesday finalizedthe party’s tickets for the upcoming generalelections from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Accordingto the notification issued by the PTI centralsecretariat, the party’s chairman Imran Khan,who also chaired the meeting to announce theparty tickets for candidates hailing from KPwould contest the polls for NA-1, Peshawar-I.According to the list of candidates for NationalAssembly, Khalid Masood would contest fromNA-2 Peshawar, Sajid Nawaz from NA-3Peshawar, Asad Gulzar Khan from NA-4Peshawar, Pervaiz Khan Khattak from NA-5Nowshehra-I, Azizullah Jan from NA-6Nowshehra-II, Fazal Muhammad Khan fromNA-7 Charsadda-1, Anwar Taj from NA-8Charsadda-II, Nasir Khan from NA-9 Mardan-1,Ali Muhammad Khan NA-10 Mardan-II,Mujahid Ali NA-11 Mardan-III, Anwar Haq Dadfrom NA-12 Swabi-I, Asad Qaisar from NA-13Swabi-II, Shaheryar Afridi from NA-14 Kohat,Shamsur Rehman Khattak from NA-15 Karak,Khayal Zaman from NA-16 Hangu, MuhammadAzhar Khan Jadoon from NA-17 Abbottabad-I,Raja Amir Zaman from NA-19 Haripur,Muhammad Azam Khan Swati from NA-20Mansehra-I, Nawabzada Sallahuddin Saeedfrom NA-21 Mansehra-II, Niaz MuhammadKhan from NA-22 Battagram, Mustafa Kundifrom NA-24 Dera Ismail Khan, Dawar KhanKundi from NA-25 Dera Ismail Khan Tank,Mutiullah Khan from NA-26 Bannu, Col. (retd)Amirullah Marwat from NA-27 Lakki Marwat,Mian Moinuddin from NA-28 Bunair, SherAfgan Khan from NA-29 Swat-I, Jamal Nasirfrom NA-30 Swat-II, Abdul Latif from NA-32Chitral, Muhammad Nawaz Khan from NA-33Upper Dir, Muhammad Bashir Khan from NA-34 Lower Dir, and Junaid Akbar Khan wouldcontest from NA-35 Malakand.Whereas according to the list of candidates for

KPK provincial assembly, Shaukat Yusufzai willcontest the election from PK-2 Peshawar-II,Ashraf Ali Khan from PK-3 Peshawar-III, ArifYousuf from PK-4 Peshawar-IV, Yaseen Khalilfrom PK-5 Peshawar-V, Faheem Ahmad fromPK-6 Peshawar-VI Mahmood Jan from PK-7Peshawar-VII, Jahanzeb Khan from PK-8(Peshawar-VIII), Arbab Jahandad Khan fromPK-9 Peshawar-IX, Shah Farman from PK-10Peshawar-X, Syed Muhammad Ishtiaq from PK-11 Peshawar-XI, Khaliq-ur-Rehman from PK-12Nowshehra-I, Pervaiz Khattak PK-13Nowshehra-II, Jamshaid-ud-Din from PK-14Nowshehra-III, Muhammad Idrees from PK-15Nowshehra-IV, Qurban Ali Khan from PK-16Nowshehra-V, Abid Jan from PK-17 Charsaddah-I, Tariq Adam Khan from PK-18 Charsaddah-II,Muhammad Babar Khan from PK-19Charsaddah-III, Nadeem Alam from PK-20Charsaddah-IV, Muhammad Ilyas from PK-21Charsaddah-V, Muhammad Arif from PK-22Charsaddah-VI, Syed Umar Farooq from PK-23Mardan-I, Muhammad Zahid PK-24 Mardan-II,Obaidullah from PK-25 Mardan-III, Iftikhar Alifrom PK-26 Mardan-IV, Adil Nawaz from PK-27Mardan-V, Muhammad Khattab Badshah fromPK-28 Mardan-VI, Tufail Anjum from PK-29Mardan-VII, Muhammad Atif from PK-30Mardan–VIII, Yousuf Ali from PK-31 Swabi-I,Zahoor Ahmad from PK-32 Swabi-II, Zubair AliEngineer from PK-33 Swabi-III, Fazal-e-Elahifrom PK-34 Swabi-IV, Asad Qaisar from PK-35Swabi-V, Rangez Ahmad from PK-36 Swabi-VI,Aurangzaib Khan from PK-37 Kohat-I, ZiaullahKhan Bangash from PK-38 Kohat-II, ImtiazShahid Qureshi from PK-39 Kohat-III, GulSahib Khan from PK-40 Karak-I, MuhammadSaleem from PK-41 Karak-II, Asif Zubair Sheikhfrom PK-44 Abbottabad-I, Abdul Rehman KhanAbbasi from PK-45 Abbottabad-II, AkhtarNawaz Khan from PK-49 Haripur-I, YousufAyub Khan from PK-50 Haripur-II, Faisal

Zaman Khan from PK-52 Haripur-IV, SyedMunir Hassan Shah from PK-54 Mansehra-III,Sajid Mumtaz from PK-55 Mansehra-IV, HaqNawaz Khan from PK-56 Mansehra-V, ZulfiqarAli from PK-57 Mansehra-VI, Amarullah fromPK-58 Mansehra-VII, Javed Khan from PK-59Battagram-I, Muhammad Naeem Khan Shaheenfrom PK-60 Battagram-II, Kifayatullah from PK-61 Kohistan-I, Fayyaz Khan from PK-62Kohistan-II, Afreen Khan from PK-63 Kohistan-III, Ali Ameen Khan from PK-64 Dera IsmailKhan-I, Muhammad Amir Qayyum Barki fromPK-65 Dera Ismail Khan-II, Hamayuddin fromPK-66 Dera Ismail Khan-III, Umar Amin Khanfrom PK-67 Dera Ismail Khan-IV, MuhammadDaud from PK-69 Tank, Asif Rehman PK-70Bannu-I, Taimur Farid Khan from PK-71 Bannu-II, Syed Munir Agha from PK-72 Bannu-III,Murad Ali Shah from PK-73 Bannu-IV, SaleemNawaz Khan from PK-74 Lakki Marwat-I,Engineer Muhammad Arif Khan from PK-76Lakki Marwat-III, Muhammad Iqbal from PK-77 Bunair-I, Syed Fakhar Jahan from PK-78Bunair-II, Sher Khan from PK-79 Bunair-III,Fazal-e-Hakim from PK-80 Swat-I, AzizullahKhan from PK-81 Swat-II, Amjad Ali from PK-82 Swat-III, Azmat Ali Khan from PK-83Swat-IV, Mahmood Khan PK-84 Swat-V, NisarAhmad from PK-85 Swat-VI, Muhammad Zaibfrom PK-86 Swat-VII, Shaukat Ali Yusufzaifrom PK-87 Shangla-I, Sultan Muhammadfrom PK-89 Chitral-I, Rehmat Ghazi Khanfrom PK-90 Chitral-II, Muhammad Nabi fromPK-91 Upper Dir-I, Nawab Ali from PK-92Upper Dir-II, Sajjad Fayyaz Khan from PK-93Upper Dir-III, Muhammad Inam PK-94Lower Dir-I, Obaidullah Sajid from PK-95Lower Dir-II, Malik Fakhar-uz-Zaman Khanfrom PK-97 Lower Dir-IV, Yasir Khan fromPK-98 Malakand-I, Shakeel Ahmad from PK-99 Malakand-II have been awarded partytickets. �ONLINE

Imran to contest on Peshawar seat as Tehreek-e-Insaf awards tickets

KKAARRAACCHHII:: Muttahida Qaumi Movementchief Altaf Hussain says MQM’s ElectoralManifesto is `realistic’ which containsscientific and practicable solutions forprogress and stability of democracy. Altafurged intellectuals, columnists andjournalists to oNer their comments after athorough study of the MQM Manifesto.This he said during his telephonicconversation with the members of MQMCoordination Committee and diNerentdepartments at the party’s centralsecretariat in Azizabad. Hussain on thisoccasion also appealed to the country’syouth, students and people to study andanalyze the manifesto. �ONLINE

MQM manifesto is ‘scientific’ and‘practicable’: Altaf

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03, 2013

SHANEL KHALIQ

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: “Representation onreserved seats for women should beextended to the Federally AdministeredTribal Areas as well, if FATA is towitness development.”This recommendation was expressed

by Mr Quraish Khattak, ElectionAnalyst Democracy ReportingInternational while addressing thelaunch ceremony of his organization’slatest report titled “ElectoralConditions in Federally Administered

Tribal Areas of Pakistan, yesterday.Other major recommendations of thereport include integrating the regioninto Pakistan’s mainstream andincorporating measures to increase theregistration of female voters.Further elaborating on the situation

he said that in the last elections of2008, FATA showed the lowest voterturnout amounting to only 31 per cent.However since then there has also beena 22 per cent increase in the voterregistration. He also said that thereshould be some law devised to allow for

observing the election process. The report analyzes challenges faced

by the residents of the area such asobstacles in acquiring a CNIC andhence getting registered as voters. Thesituation is further aggravated forwomen who represent only a third ofthe 1.7 million registered voters.Dr Ijaz Khan, a professor at the

Department of International Relationsat the University of Peshawar, speakingon the occasion said that democracy is agradual process and in the case of FATAparticularly challenges regarding

security are paramount. “Theprevalence of a system of Jirga has noroom for incorporating elected people”,he added. Hassan Khan, a journalistwith considerable experience in theregion criticized the FCR, for conceptssuch as “collective responsibility” thatmake the entire community responsiblefor the acts of an individual. Naheed Rehman Afridi, the vice-

president of Awami National Partyfrom Khyber Agency, said that theirparty’s foremost demand is theincorporation of mobile polling

stations and registration teams. Shesaid that due to cultural norms, womencannot travel long distances easily asthey have to be accompanied by a malemember of their family. Otherpanelists including Iqbal Khattak andHidayat Wazir who represented themedia and the development sectorcalled for the authorities to provideample security so that developmentprocesses can take place.OOnnlliinnee aaddddss:: Democracy ReportingInternational (DRI) on Tuesdaylaunched a report that called for

additional security for voters, candidatesand polling staK and special measuresfor women voters to ensure credible,participatory elections in FATA.The DRI report reveals a continuing

failure to bring FATA’s electoralconditions in line with constitutionaland international commitments anddetails the many challenges to holdinggenuine elections that persist in theregion. Barriers to voter registrationpresent significant problems forwomen, who represent just over a thirdof FATA’s 1.7 million registered voters.

FATA should also get women reserved seats: experts�Say democracy is a gradual process �Security a huge challenge in tribal areas �ANP leader suggests mobile polling stations

WWAASSHHIINNGGTTOONN:: Pakistan’s formermilitary dictator Pervez Musharraf, backhome from his self-imposed exile, wouldremain a fringe player in the country’sgeneral elections in May and should caremore about his security, top Americanexperts said today.“In Pakistan he is widely seen as washed

up, potentially in a hazardous position,because cases have been lodged againsthim and because he has a lot of verydangerous enemies in Pakistan right now,”Daniel Markey, an expert on India,Pakistan and South Asia at the Council onForeign Relations, told reporters during aconference call.He was responding to questions on

Musharraf ’s return to Pakistan last monthto participate in the forthcoming elections.“There is a real question about his safetyand security, and I join Dan (Markey) inhoping that very careful attention is beingpaid to that,” said Ryan Crocker, former USAmbassador to Pakistan. Nevertheless,Musharraf might win a couple of seats,Crocker added.Markey said Musharraf “undoubtedly”

gets more respect in the US than he gets inPakistan these days. “He is rememberedhere as few other Pakistani leaders are. Infact I would hazard to guess that if mostAmericans were asked to name a Pakistanileader, he might be still the top one whocomes to mind,” he said.“I frankly was still a little bit surprised that

he did in fact return to Pakistan. I read thatthe Saudis were assisting that return – quitepossible, although have no proof of it. I hopethat somebody is assuring his security, forhis sake -- I think it would be disruptive --otherwise, for Pakistan’s sake,” he said.“He doesn’t have a real political vehicle

yet to ride on as a party, and it wouldtake him a matter of years to do that, to

build anything, and there’s no sign thathe has the sense politically, as far as Ican tell, to really make that a reality. SoI’m not quite sure who’s advising him,but I wouldn’t expect him to be a majorplayer any time soon in Pakistanipolitics,” Markey said. —ONLINE

Musharraf to bea fringe player inpolls: US experts

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Former presidentGeneral (r) Pervez Musharraf said fairand transparent elections are notpossible without involving the army.Talking to media after arriving at hisresidence in Chak Shehzad here, hevoiced the resolve to continue politicalactivities in the country despitethreats on his life. He said he wants toraise a third political force in thecountry by activating his party.Musharraf said he will himselfsupervise nomination process of partycandidates. He demanded to holdelections under supervision of thearmy. Musharraf said he will appearbefore the courts where cases havebeen registered against him. Theformer president denied any deal,adding he did not impose martial lawin the country. On this occasion, hepresented a formula to holdtransparent elections. The AllPakistan Muslim League (APML)President expressed satisfaction overthe security given to him by thegovernment, saying, “I am beingaKorded complete security.” —ONLINE

WWAASSHHIINNGGTTOONN:: PML-Q chiefChaudhry Shujaat Hussain has saidPolitical chaos will escalate as soonas the elections draw closer.“Political chaos will further

intensify in the country withdrawing the election closer”, hesaid this in his exclusive talks withVoice of America.“We don’t believe in false pledges.

As far as five years performance ofthe government is concerned, all thepeople will be eyeing on it at everycost”, he held. To a question he saidvote will be cast not on ideological,political or collective basis but it willbe cast on individual basis. “You willsee people will take somersaults inthe next month in such a way thatyou cannot imagine. They can go toany extent to win the polls”, heremarked. PML-Q chief was of theview “there can come a surprise buteven then a hotchpotch will becooked up. It seems to me that thematter of majority and minority willstand splintered.He further stated independent

candidates would also come to foreand they will shape into a party.Regarding question on electoral

alliance, he said his party has madeseat to seat adjustment with PPP.However adjustment with trustedcandidate of some other party atlocal level cannot be ruled out if nocandidate is fielded in anyconstituency, he added. Replying toa question on electoral alliance withformer president Pervez Musharrafhe said “this is out of question”.About foreign affairs he said

normalization of relations withneighboring countries should betop priority. Regarding talks withTaliban he said it should bedetermined first we have to enterinto dialogue to which Taliban.“All have personal interests. It isnot known where the real Talibanare,” he added. —ONLINE

Shujaat fearspolitical chaos

KKAARRAACCHHII:: The Sindhcaretaker government hasconstituted five committeesfor ensuring transparentand free general elections.The committees will

include representatives ofPolice, Rangers, intelligenceagencies and armed forces.According to a notification,

Provincial Election

Coordination Committee,Provincial Security andPeace-keeping Committee,Divisional ElectionCoordination Committee,District Election Committeeand District ElectionCoordination Committeehave been established.The Additional Chief

Secretary Interior will be the

Chairman of ProvincialElection CoordinationCommittee. The Committeeon Security andPeacekeeping will compriseIG Sindh, federal securityand intelligence agencies,representatives of theElection Commission, andthose of armed forces andRangers.

Divisional ElectionCoordination Committee willcomprise DivisionalCommissioner as its Chief,Regional ElectionCommissioner, DIG Police,Deputy Commissioner, andrepresentatives of SpecialBranch, in addition topersonnel of security andintelligence agencies.

District ElectionCommittees have also beenestablished in which DeputyCommissioner, respectiveSSP, and District ElectionCommissioner will be themembers.Deputy Commissioner will

be the head of the respectiveDistrict Election CoordinationCommittees. —ONLINE

Sindh govt forms bodies for free elections

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Pakistan People’s Party is tokick oK its election campaign on Thursday.According to the party sources former

Prime Ministers Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani andRaja Pervez Ashraf will launch the campaignfrom Southern Punjab and Upper Punjabrespectively. Mian Manzoor Wattoo is tostart the party campaign from CentralPunjab. He has also been assigned to lookafter the campaign in the Central Punjab.Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will

kick start the camping from Garhi KhudaBakhsh on Thursday and would also addressthe public rallies and meetings at diKerentplaces of the country .Meanwhile PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto

Zardari on Tuesday directed party leaders toignore media speculations and improve theirperformance ahead of the general elections.He expressed these views while presiding

over a consultative meeting at Bilawal Housein Karachi. The young PPP chairman wasconfident that his party would emerge aswinner in the next general elections. Taking notice of workers’ protests, he

directed the party to submit a report onthe issue. In addition, distribution ofparty tickets and issues pertaining toelection campaign came under discussionin the meeting. —ONLINE

BBAAJJAAUURR AAGGEENNCCYY:: Nomination papersof a female candidate, Badam Zarihailing from Pakistan’s FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas (FATA) havebeen accepted for participation in theupcoming general elections.Thirty-eight year old Badam Zari from

Bajaur Agency has become the first womanfrom the tribal areas to submit a nominationform and be cleared to contest for a nationalassembly seat, NA-44. Earlier, the tribaltraditions disallowed women to exercisetheir right to franchise. While speaking to a

private TV channel, Badam Zari said shewas contesting as an independent candidatein an eKort to serve women from her area.“I want women to prosper in all fields and

stand side by side with men.” Zari added thatshe would actively campaign and keepherself informed with problems being facedby the residents of her area despite the lawand order situation in the agency.She praised the residents of Bajaur

Agency and said they hold women in highregard. “In my opinion the residents of thearea will support me.” —ONLINE

Nomination papers ofBajaur’s Badam Zari accepted

KKOOHHAATT:: As food inflation is getting out of control for the majority of Pakistanis, the vegetable and food production isexperiencing a decline for the last few years. —ONLINE

‘Peaceful electionsnot possiblewithout army’

MMIIRRAANNSSHHAAHH:: At least five suspectedmilitants were killed as security forceslaunched an oKensive operation against theterrorist outfit. The operation was launchedin Baron area of South Waziristan Agency onTuesday morning, a security oJcial said. Dozens of militant hideouts and

compounds were destroyed during operationby gunship helicopters. At least five militantswere killed and several others were injuredin the oKensive. South Waziristan politicaladministration had earlier asked residents tovacate the area for a military operation.Pakistan army is engaged in a war againstTaliban militants in the region while USdrones also target suspected militants in thesame tribal agency. —ONLINE

RRAAWWAALLPPIINNDDII:: Awami Muslim League(AML) head Sheikh Rashid has claimedthat leaders of the main political partieshave filed nomination papers asindependent candidates. He looked veryrelaxed after appearing before areturning office as part of scrutiny of hisnomination papers.Speaking to reporters, he said all major

parties were worried that their candidatesmay join other parties. “Due to this fear, theyare delaying the awarding of tickets,” heopined. He further claimed that some keypolitical figures would go into the electionsindependently without seeking ticket fromany major party.The former railway minister said that main

leaders would not contest elections againsteach other. The AML leader said he was incontact with religious parties to seek theirsupport for his candidates in Punjab.He said AML and PTI hadmade seat

adjustments on two Rawalpindi seats -NA 55 and 56. —ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: The increasein salaries and perks ofMPAs passed by formerSindh government in its lastdays has been challenged inthe Supreme Court.The applicant made

caretaker chief minister,chief secretary, secretary lawand justice and SindhAssembly secretaryrespondents in the case. Hetook plea in his applicationduring the last few days ofSindh government,provincial assembly hadpassed the resolutionregarding increase of pay ,allowances and otherfacilitates for the outgoingassembly members.According to resolution

passed by former Sindhassembly The salary ofMPAs was enhanced by 60percent while they wouldenjoy lifetime amenitieslike private secretary, cook,driver, travellingallowance and medical. Inaddition to this they wouldalso avail state protocoland stay at governmenthouses on governmentexpenses for whole life.The applicant argued

that these perks andfacilities to MPAs were inviolation of law. —ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: TheSupreme Court (SC) hasadjourned hearing ofreview petition filed by RoyMujtaba Kharal, formerMNA of PPP with referenceto dual nationality case tillApril 8.A three-member bench of

SC led by Chief Justice ofPakistan (CJP) IftikharMuhammad Chaudhrytook up the case for hearingon Tuesday. ApplicantMehmood Akhtar Naqviwho has challenged dualnationality of MujtabaKharal told the court thatcertificate presented byMujtaba Kharal onrelinquishing the Canadiancitizenship is forged.The court remarked, “We

have already asked ministryof foreign aKairs inconnection with verificationof his nationality and thereply is still awaited.” —ONLINE

KKAARRAACCHHII:: Anti Terrorism Court (ATC),Karachi, has allowed accused ShahrukhJatoi and his cohorts the facility of B-Classjail in Shahzeb murder case.On Tuesday the lawyer of the accused

Shaukat Zubaidi submitted anapplication in the court for granting “B”class facility to the accused in jail, whichwas accepted by the court. The lawyertold the court that as he appeared beforethe court after his sickness, so he wantssome time to know the development ofthe case during his absence.He informed the court that his client has

moved the High Court also for transferringthe case to subordinate court from ATC asthe track record of the accused is notcriminal so the case does not fall under thejurisdiction of Anti Terrorism Court.He told the court that the main accused

Shahrukh Jatoi is getting his education inAustralia so the case may be transferred toanother court. —ONLINE

KKAARRAACCHHII:: Sindh High Court hasadjourned the hearing of the appeal movedby MQM against delimitation in Karachi tilltoday (Wednesday).The two-member bench under the

supervision of Justice Maqbool Baqirresumed the hearing. MQM’s counselBarrister Faroogh Nasim said in hisarguments that the electoral process wasstarted in the country on 17th of March,whereas the notification regardingdelimitation was issued on March 25,which is illegal.He asked the court to declare the

delimitation in Karachi null and void. —ONLINE

Five militantskilled in SouthWaziristan

PPP to kickoK campaigntomorrow

Karachidelimitation casehearing put oK

Main leaders willavoid each other,says Rashid

BBAANNNNUU:: A policeman in civil clothes standing alert behind a makeshift bunker near a 220KV grid station.The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police has sacrificed hundreds of personnel in the war on terror. —ONLINE

Reviewpetition to beheard on 8th

LLAAHHOORREE:: PML-Q leaderand former Deputy PrimeMinister Chaudhry PervezElahi has urged the mediato educate the people tovote for the parties on thebasis of their previousperformance.Addressing a news

conference in Lahore onTuesday afternoon‚ he saidthat PML-Q has made seatadjustments with thePPPP in someconstituencies but both theparties will run electioncampaign separately.Chaudhry Pervez Elahi

says PML-Q has made seatadjustments with thePPPP in someconstituencies but both theparties will run electioncampaign separately.In reply to a question‚

Chaudhry Pervez Elahisaid that electioneeringwill gain momentum after18th of April. —ONLINE

Media musteducatepeople: Elahi

Court grantsB-Class toShahrukh Jatoi

SC movedagainstSindh MPAspay-hike

Dual nationality With elections drawing closer.....

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

THE SPOKESMANChief Editor: Huma Ali

Executive Editor: Atif MateenResident Editor: Saeed Minhas

Consulting Editors: Jalees Hazir Samina Choonara

Party manifestos: are they serious?

There is a consensus amongpoliticians, intellectuals and analyststhat the general elections held in 1970were fought by political parties on thebasis of ideology. The PPP and AwamiLeaguemanifestos had promisedsocial justice and provincial autonomywhich routed other political andreligious parties that stood for thestatus quo.But today, at the end of the ColdWar

era, almost all political parties havesimilar-soundingmanifestos, vowingto ensure social justice and the welfareof the people without delineating anyplans on how they will go aboutachieving this. Curiously, land reformsare never on theminds or the politicalroadmaps of any leader. Not even theMQM, which draws its sustenancefrom themiddle class and takes arhetorical position against the landedclasses, has ever made land reforms acondition for joining themanygovernments it has been a part of.Recently, some of themain political

parties, or at least those with asignificant presence in the assemblies,made their manifestos public. Asexpected, there was not muchdiTerence between themanifestos ofthe PPP, the PML-N and theMQM.Besides, there is no particulardiTerence between the new and theolder versions of their ownmanifestos.Before commenting on the reformsthese parties have promised, it must besaid that these parties need to beginthe democratisation process fromwithin by holding genuine intra-partyelections and not just token selectionsto fulfill the requirement of theElection Commission. Theymust giveoverriding consideration to themeritof candidates, letting go of the age oldpractice of nepotism and cronyism,and once in power, they shouldimplement the promises made in theirmanifestoes. It is no secret thatmajoritarian parties like the PPP, thePML-N and PML-Q are run likefamily enterprises, a practice thatneeds to change visibly if people are toput their trust in them.To keep the grip on unlimited

powers within their own parties, thelast parliament deleted sub-clause 4 ofArticle 17 of the Constitution whichmade it obligatory for the parties to

hold intra-party elections to elect itsoSce-bearers and party leaders. Thesecond attempt was the amendment toArticle 63-A regarding thedisqualification of amember on thegrounds of defection. Thisstrengthened the party head who wasenabled, after the passage of the 18thAmendment, to send a reference forthe disqualification of a candidate,which was earlier the prerogative ofthe parliamentary leader of the party.Through this amendment, thedictatorship of the party leaders hasbeen reinforced. The self-styledcustodians of democracy are in factautocrats who wish to pass on theparty to their family heirs, and dictateand guard party policies from open

discussion bymembers. This is thereason that nomainstream party has asecond tier of leaders and when thehead of the party goes into exile theparty disintegrates.Pakistan Peoples’ Party recently

announced its electionmanifesto withthe pledge of enhancing basic wages,creating a new province in SouthPunjab, and empowering the poor.Themanifesto pledges to increaseminimumwage to 18,000 Rupees permonth by 2018 and enhance themonthly grant under Benazir IncomeSupport Program (BISP) from 1000 to2000 Rupees. Amother and childcareprogrammewill be launched to ensurehealthcare for the poor throughvouchers and cash transfers. Themanifesto promises universal primaryenrolment by 2018 and 10,000 highereducation and technical vocationscholarships for FATA andBalochistan. Labour representativeswill get 4 seats in national assemblyand 2 seats in each provincial

assembly through legislation.Speaking at a seminar organised by

the Pakistan National Forum, formerFinanceMinister and chairman of thePML-Nmanifesto committee SartajAziz said: ‘PakistanMuslim League-Nawazmanifesto is a roadmap for thesovereignty and self reliance of thecountry and the prosperity of thenation, which will be fulfilled throughthe revival of the economy’. He saidthat emphasis has been laid on energy,load shedding and education in PML-N’s manifesto; the target of doublingthe growth rate of GDP from 3 percentin the past five years to over 6 percentin the next five years has been fixed,besides accelerating the rate ofindustrial growth from 3 to 8 percent

per annum. On energy, he said if votedto power, the government willgenerate 10,000MW additionalelectricity including 5000MWnewcoal-fired power plants under the IPPmode. The manifesto promised toincrease the budget for educationfrom 2 percent to 4 percent of theGDP by 2018.TheMuttahida QaumiMovement

(MQM) called its manifesto “people-centric” stressing reforms ineducation, health, economy,governance, corruption, terrorism, lawand order, poverty alleviation,unemployment, industries and laboursectors. It said that the empowermentof people was a key for the country’sprosperity, adding that theMQMwould take eTective measures towardsempowering themasses and bringingthe feudal class and landlords underthe tax net by imposing agriculturaltax. Dr. Sattar said theMQMwouldhold local bodies’ elections fordevolution of powers, adding that

reforms will also be introduced in thepresent dual system of educationunder which Urdumedium publicsector educational institutions will bebrought at par with the private sectorEnglishmedium institutions.Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is poised to

release its manifesto any time. Theparty had boycotted elections in 2008,but released a comprehensivemanifesto “Agenda for resurgence”before the elections in 2002, preparedby working groups of experts fromvarious disciplines. Themanifestodelineated theminute details ofinstitutional reforms vis-a-visconstitutional, judicial, localgovernment, police, administration,accountability andmedia. It had achapter on human development thatenvisaged education for all, healthypeople healthy nation, populationwelfare, housing, youth andempowerment of women. A separatechapter was allocated for economicrevival which dealt in detail withmajor economic policy issues, debtmanagement strategy, tax reforms,and agricultural reforms. In the lastchapter on foreign policy, the partypromised not to bend to the dictates ofalien powers.All parties express their

determination to give a fair deal to thesmall farmer but fail to provide anydetails on land reforms and limits tothe landholding. PML-N stands forcorporate farming, while the PPPfavours co-operative farming. The PPPhas once again added the slogan ofroti, kapra aurmakan, but under thehead of land reforms it said that ‘themaximum number of rural householdsown aminimum specified area ofland’. None of them have approachedthe Supreme Court to challenge theverdict of the Federal Court Tribunalto annul the verdict against landreforms. This just shows that theirpromises are hollow and there is nosincere commitment to changing theliving conditions of themajority ofpeople of Pakistan, especially sincemainstream parties mostly comprisepeople from the landed classes. Noneof the parties has so far detailed howthey will bring an upswing to theflailing economy, although all of thempromise to do so.

THE WRITER IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST

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

Fax: 051 260 7498www.thespokesman.pkce@thespokesman.pk

All parties express their determination togive a fair deal to the small farmer but failto provide any details on land reformsand limits to the landholding. PML-Nstands for corporate farming, while thePPP favours co-operative farming

Political assassinationsThe world is plagued with the fever ofpolitical assassinations by the state andprivate actors. These callousmurderers are ruthless executioners.They are motivated by theopportunists who use them toeliminate their opponents.

Every politician wants to do well tograb power. They are blinded with the“Razzle Dazzle” of money and power.They want money and power; theabsolute power that corruptsabsolutely. The nation suTers at theirhands, and progress is stilted. Theyplay games and score political points.They issue statements on issues to stirthe pot. They are not sincere to thecause.Many great leaders have been

assassinated or removed in encountersand planned target killing. Later,someone kills the “murderer” and thereal culprits behind the scene escapepunishment. Further, the policeinvestigations fall short of rightconclusions. They wipe out the criticalevidence to weaken the case.John FKennedy the President of

United States was assassinated in hiscar from the bullets of a Cuban assassinwhowas latermurdered in the court byJack Ruby. A commission was set upunder JusticeWarren, and investigated

formonths and a lengthy trial failed toreveal the real killers. A new theory ofconspiracy was invented.AbrahamLincoln’s murderer went

unpunished in the same fashion andthe case was never solved. The samefate awaited the inquisition of RobertKennedy's murder andMartin LutherKing Jr’s assassination. These twoleaders lost their lives for the rights andfreedom of their fellow citizens.Pakistan's first PrimeMinister

Liaquat Ali Khan’smurdermystery wasnever solved. Recently slain leaderAkbar Bugti, Benazir Bhutto, ImranFarooq, and other cases also remainunsolved. The best eTorts of the policehave produced no results.We are stillspeculating over the assassins and theirmotives. Even theUNO report failed toprovide any satisfactory answers in theBenazir case. The report becamecontroversial andwas shelved by thegovernment. No attempt has beenmade to unravel the strangecircumstances and claims

Nawab Akbar Bugti was a Balochleader of great stature and reverence.Hewasmurdered in amysteriousrocket attack on his abode - the cave.The cave’s walls caved in and he wasthus killed. The Ex-PresidentMusharraf has been implicated in thismurder as the prime suspect. His redwarrant has been issued by the court.But so far the police has failed to arrestand bring him back. All theseassassination were the result of politicalanimosity.The nation needs to know the real

facts of these cases, and the fate of theaccused persons, and their involvementin such heinous crimes.

JAVAID BASHIR

LAHORE

Paradoxical societyStrange world, weird life, eccentricpeople and their thoughts; results in aparadoxical society. People believethemselves to bemostly lawful,

generous and great but they forgetthat these three words are used rathertoo easily.These types of people are

paradoxical. While discussing otherpeople they blab whatever comes totheir tongue but when the same storyapplies to them, they becomeinnocent and the world around themchanges.These are least the lawful because

they make new laws of survival andthey rarely care about others. They arenot great because they discuss people.Actually they possess small minds.They are unaware of the fact that smallminds discuss people whereas greatones discuss ideas. They are prejudicedthough are unaware. They just giveprejudiced opinions as if what theyspeak is true…The society we all are living in

seems to be nice but the truth is bitterand the society is full of paradox. It ismost commonly seen when a girlgrows old enough to leave the parents’

house. I mean when proposals startknocking at the door. When a girllistens that she has to send herphotographs to and fro, foracceptance. At this point a girl thinkshow disbelieving it is that those whotold her all the years back not toexhibit her to anyone through pictures,are doing the same now. But no one isthere to satisfy her, with loads ofqueries swimming in the mind.At last, she quenches the thirst of

tears by writing on a piece of paper.Questions the mother earth for thetraditions it made. Cries for justice insolitude and wishes to get answersfrom the paradoxical people of theparadoxical society with paradoxtaking birth in them, relentlessly.

FATIMA HASAN ZAIDI

RAWALPINDI

Please email your letters toletters@thespokesman.pk or postthem to our address in Islamabad.

The Supreme Court on Monday gave a final chance to 189legislators to get their educational degrees verified or facedisqualification. Hearing a case regarding the former legislatorswho are yet to submit their certificates to the ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP) for verification by the HigherEducation Commission (HEC), despite the ECP’s repeatedreminders over the last two and a half years, the court gave thedeadline of 5 April for compliance. The court directed the ECP toask the returning oScers to withhold the assessment ofnomination papers submitted by these legislators till theircertificates are verified by the HEC and observed that the ECPhad the authority to reject the nomination papers of those whofailed to meet the deadline. The vigilance shown by the SupremeCourt against formers legislators who had filed fake degrees tocontest the 2008 elections bodes well for the future of democracy.Though the condition of being a graduate introduced by the

government under General Musharaf for those wishing to contestelections to the national and provincial assemblies was removed bythe last government, the issue of parliamentarians with fakedegrees is still of great importance. Legislators who had submittedfake degrees to contest the last elections had not only committedthe crime of forgery for which they should be punished, they hadalso violated the public trust and forfeited their right to representthem. The same applies to legislators who had not declared theirdual nationalities at the time of contesting the 2008 electionsillegally. It is important to ensure that individuals indulging in suchfraudulent practices are kept out of the assemblies, making roomfor law-abiding candidates who would obviously perform betterthan these liars, restoring respect to the parliament which has beenbadly damaged due to the presence of such individuals and theirdubious commitment to their constituents.During the hearing of the case, the HEC informed the court that

the ECP had failed to take action against 54 former legislatorswhose degrees had been found to be false. It is a cause of greatconcern that the ECP had issued a press release on 27 February inwhich it had given a clean chit to 27 fake degree holders. This isinexcusable. Why should the ECP that is entrusted with the task ofclearing the candidates for elections, favour the fake degreeholders? Earlier as well, the ECP has been found dragging its feeton orders of the Supreme Court for making the elections fair andreforming the electoral process. The commission shouldunderstand its responsibility and brush up its act. Hiding behindexcuses of established conventions and not wishing to rock the boattoo much is deplorable. The only way to strengthen the democraticprocess is to abide by the law and weed out individuals andpractices that compromise the eScacy of the democratic system.The Supreme Court has ordered that action be taken against all

legislators with fake degrees. The very next day, two formerlegislators were sentenced for submitting fake degrees and onefor withholding information regarding his dual nationality. Welook forward to the punishment of the remaining fraudsters inthe coming days.

Filtering out the fake

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president RajnathSingh’s decision to accord a prominent role toGujarat ChiefMinisterNarendraModi ispresumably based on the belief that the diverseIndian electorate would forgive him for thecommunalmayhemof 2002, as it often has theCongress for the riots under its rule. This can bepresumed from the commentsMr. Singhmadeat a function inDelhi in early February. In arecriminatory tone, he had then asked, “Ouropposition parties allege that BJP is the partywhich creates enmity betweenHindus andMuslims. Did riots not take place duringCongress rule?”Not just the votaries and apologists of the BJP

but even ideologically neutral individuals oftenecho the sentimentsMr. Singh expressed. FromJabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) in 1961 toBharatpur (Rajasthan) in 2012, the Congress haspalpably failed to control communal hotheadsfrom running amok periodically. Yet the partyhasn’t been tagged communal, and still garners asubstantial chunk of theminority as well assecular votes.What explains the dichotomy inthe public response to the riots under the BJPrule as compared to those under the Congressgovernments?For one, the phenomenon of communal riot is

an elemental aspect of the Sangh Parivar’sideology, an extrememanifestation of its politicswhich is predicated on articulating and

redressing the grievances ofHindus, real orimagined, the provenance of which lies either inthemedieval past or in post-Independencepublic policies the saTron brigade perceives asunjustifiably favouring theminorities.This worldview pits theHindus against the

minorities, particularly theMuslims, until suchtime the inexhaustible list of grievances isaddressed. The politics emanating from thisworldview consequently spawns an ambience oftension among communities, reduced orheightened depending on the exigencies ofcircumstances but never allowed to dissipate.In other words, the inter-community tension,signifying the abnormal in politics, has nopossibility of closure in the immediate future.It is designed to become our daily state ofexistence.The tension is stoked at pan-India, State and

district levels. TheRamJanmabhoomimovement sought tomeld theHindus, with alltheir class, caste, linguistic and regional divides,into amonolith, through a demand askingMuslims to voluntarily relinquish their custodyof the BabriMasjid. Of similar nature are thedemands for relocatingmosques abutting theKrishna and Shiv temples inMathura andVaranasi. These symbols of pan-IndiaHindumobilisation are augmented through the

manufacturing of disputes over places ofworship of local significance. Into this categoryfall the protracted disputes over theBhagyalakshmi temple at the base of theCharminar inHyderabad, the Baba Budangiri-GuruDattatreya shrine inKarnataka, and theBhojshala complex inDhar,Madhya Pradesh.In addition, there are hundreds of places of

worship and graveyards inmofussil townswhoseownerships are contended betweenHindus andMuslims. No doubt, some of these disputes dateback decades but, over the years,myriad groupscomprising the Sangh Parivar have taken overthe leadership of these ‘little battles of liberation’.For variety, Christian priests are attacked andchurches vandalised on the charges of convertingHindus to Christianity.In this culture of inter-community tension,

alternatively fanned and allowed to simmer, theriot is the logical culmination of an insidiousprocess. It is akin to a person experiencing anervous breakdown after suTering acutementalagony formonths. Indeed, communal tension inperpetuity is less traumatic only in degrees to anoutbreak of a riot.The sheer salience of tension-riot in the

politics of BJP is precisely why a localised inter-community conflict under its rule acquires aresonance countrywide. It is perceived as

illustrative of the fate awaiting theminorities inan India inwhich the BJP exercisesuntrammeled power. The 2002 riot of Gujaratwas horrifying not only because of its barbaritybut also because it was viewed to have beenideologically driven and, therefore, bound to bereplicated elsewhere.By contrast, the riots under the Congress rule,

even the ones its activists spearhead, areinstrumental rather than ideological. Barring theanti-Sikh pogromof 1984, the riots under theCongress rarely spill beyond a parliamentaryconstituency or two. Themotive behind suchmayhem is usually a local Congressmanwantingtowin an election from a constituency; a riot orcommunal tension rarely becomes a tool forpoliticalmobilisation countrywide, again, the1984 riots being the exception. Though cynical,the breakdown in inter-community relationshipis almost always followed by attempts to restorethe earlier social harmony.No doubt, the Congress was justifiably

implicated in the 1984 riots. It symbolicallyatoned for its guilt by appointingManmohanSingh as PrimeMinister, and he, onAugust 12,2005, apologised not only to the Sikhcommunity in Parliament, but also to the entirenation “becausewhat took place in 1984 is thenegation of the concept of nationhood in our

Constitution”.More significantly, the Congress is forgiven

because the riots under it are often (not always,though) the handiwork of organisations owingallegiance or belonging to the Sangh Parivar. It’sa conclusion several commissions of inquiryappointed to probe riots have reached. There arejust toomany to be quoted. But samplewhat theJosephVithayathil Commission on theTellicherry riots of 1971 said. It traced theorigin of communal tension in the town to theRSS’s decision to establish its units there. Inan incident the rioters accosted oneMuhammad and oTered him the followingchoice, “If you want to save your life youshould go round the house three timesrepeating the words, ‘Rama, Rama’.” Thecommission noted, “Muhammad did that. Butyou cannot expect the 70 millionMuslims ofIndia to do that as a condition for maintainingcommunal harmony in the country”.More than 40 years after Tellicherry, tension-

riot remains the Sangh Parivar’s definingstrategy of achieving its ideological goal ofturning IndiaHindu. This is whywe rememberthe riots under the BJP and not those under theCongress, which too has been responsible for thespilling of blood and untoldmisery.

(THEHINDU)

Gujarat 2002 and politics of the saffron brigade

MOHAMMAD JAMIL

AJAZ ASHRAF

Almost all major political parties have similar-sounding manifestos, vowingto ensure social justice and the welfare of the people without delineating anyplans on how they will go about achieving this

Riots in India under BJP rule are the culmination of the Sangh Parivar’s ideological impulse to keepcommunal tensions alive while for Congress they are tactical instruments

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

Such were the marvels of theglobe that nothing could matchits ambiance or the romance itdiffused in the air. Life was toughfor the Elizabethan Londonersbut ah, there was respite too.Away from the dreary,disheartening and jammed life,the youth of Pakistan back in the‘90s was also looking for a similarbreather as the old Londonersenjoyed and that they found it inImran Khan’s dream.Here under the nascent canopy

of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf )they found something to hold onto, like a script or an idea. So theyread through the lines that tookthem into this world of coloursand exotic settings. It was a one-act play that enclosed a numberof scenes and each episode endingwith a cliff-hanger. However,there was a drawback to thisfancy; a spoiler even before theclimax. The script blatantlydeclared the conclusion of thestory in the beginning. What anaive mistake, or so they said!Nevertheless, the romantics, the

fantasists and the poets hung onto the wishful thinking of theidealist who had put pen to paperand inscribed a journey thatwould come about in the nearfuture. Along with these out-of-work daydreamers, there was anarmy of angry protesters thataccompanied the idea from theother side of the fence. Theseseasoned politicians, analysts andjournalists would clench their fistsand gritted their teeth at the meremention of this deceiver whovisualised himself as a chief, ahero…a leader. In their view it washis thoughtlessness and arrogancebehind his blind faith in himself.To date, some of these fellows arefixed to the same notion.Whilst the opposition stood

united against Imran, they lostthe measure of his strength. Hewas now described and depictedas a lost soul, a loner and afailure. Little did they know thatImran was slowly but surelysetting up foundations as strongas his will; on which he wouldone day build his playhouse; heldup by the massive pillars of faith,struggle and honesty.Hence, the colourful crowd that

surrounded the celebratedpersona of Mr Khan multiplied.The scenes he wrote read thestories of a land where people

lived joyfully; were fed well;clothed gracefully; lived withdignity and honour. Awonderland where justice wouldrule and prosperity herself wouldknock at every door. Where meritwould be the sole judge and lifewould have a meaning. Eachsetting was gorgeously decoratedand elaborated with tales oftriumphs and treasures.The loud denial of Imran Khan’s

growing popularity only helpedPTI to plan, organise andstructure themselves as aninstitution. Yet, there were manymiles to go before Imran’s tigerscould sleep. Thankfully, wit,passion and need kept an irongrasp around this eager lot sincethe very start. Yes, the dreamswere sky high, yet the groundrealities were mercilessly set onthe table through highs and lows.The tigers getting trained tobecome battle hardened to roartheir presence. Perseverancebecame the core party philosophy.Imran Khan has done manyfavours to his countrymen but thequality that most inspires hisyoung followers is histruthfulness. So whenever hespoke, they listened for certainty,accuracy and conviction. Hiswords now endorsed the issuesthat plagued the streets ofPakistan. Imran Khan nowmattered more than ever. Hebecame a statesman.Recently, PTI presented its

policies, brick by brick, on variousissues, which has put this partyunder the spotlight. Detailedpolicy papers on diverse issuessuch as energy, education,economics, environment, localbodies, youth, women, disabled,industries, etc. has added suchfervour to Imran’s long account.Each step has taken his youngperformers closer to the crowdedopposition. Like the groundlingsat Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre,this crowd is going to miss noattempt to grab at the performers’ankles. Khan with hisoverwhelming performance hasalready set the stage on fire!Shakespeare’s stories with happy

ending were known as comediesand those ending in dismay astragedies. Imran’s story waswritten keeping the end in mind; acomedy that would bring years ofjoy. Using the benefit of hindsight,today it seems that it was theperfect launch of his vision, for theresolve to get more from lifecreated dreamers. Dreamers, whoinspired many others to dreammore, learn more, do more andbecome more…

THE WRITER IS A FREELANCER

The rewriting of history by the power elite waspainfully evident as the nationmarked the 10thanniversary of the start of the IraqWar. Someclaimed they had opposed the war when theyhad not. Others among “Bush’s useful idiots”argued that they hadmerely acted in good faithon the information available; if they had knownthen what they know now, they assured us, theywould have acted diTerently. This, of course, isfalse. The war boosters, especially the “liberalhawks”—who includedHillary Clinton, ChuckSchumer, Al Franken and John Kerry, alongwith academics, writers and journalists didwhat they always have done: engage in acts ofself-preservation. To oppose the war wouldhave been a career killer. And they knew it.These apologists, however, acted not only as

cheerleaders for war; inmost cases theyridiculed and attempted to discredit anyonewho questioned the call to invade Iraq.Nicholas Kristof, in The New York Times,attacked the filmmakerMichaelMoore as aconspiracy theorist and wrote that anti-warvoices were only polarising what he termed ‘thepolitical cesspool’. The late ChristopherHitchens said that those who opposed theattack on Iraq ‘do not think that SaddamHussein is a bad guy at all’. He called the typicalanti-war protester a ‘blithering ex-flower childor ranting neo-Stalinist’. The halfheartedmeaculpas bymany of these courtiers a decade lateralways fail to mention themost pernicious andfundamental role they played in the buildup tothe war - shutting down public debate.Those of us who spoke out against thewar,

facedwith the onslaught of right-wing “patriots”and their liberal apologists, became pariahs. Inmy case it did notmatter that I was anArabicspeaker. It did notmatter that I had spent sevenyears in theMiddle East, includingmonths in

Iraq, as a foreign correspondent. It did notmatter that I knew the instrument of war. Thecritique that I and other opponents of wardelivered, nomatter howwell grounded in factand experience, turned us into objects of scornby a liberal elite that cravenly wanted todemonstrate its own “patriotism” and “realism”about national security. The liberal class fueled arabid, irrational hatred of all war critics.Many ofus received death threats and lost our jobs, forme one at TheNewYork Times. These liberalwarmongers, 10 years later, remain both cluelessabout theirmoral bankruptcy and cloyinglysanctimonious. They have the blood of hundredsof thousands of innocents on their hands.The power elite, especially the liberal elite,

has always been willing to sacrifice integrityand truth for power, personal advancement,foundation grants, awards, tenuredprofessorships, columns, book contracts,television appearances, generous lecture feesand social status. They knowwhat they need tosay. They knowwhich ideology they have toserve. They knowwhat lies must be told - thebiggest being that they takemoral stances onissues that aren’t safe and anodyne. They havebeen at this game a long time. And they will,should their careers require it, happily sell usout again.Leslie Gelb, in themagazine Foreign ATairs,

spelled it out after the invasion of Iraq.‘My initial support for the war was

symptomatic of unfortunate tendencies withinthe foreign policy community, namely thedisposition and incentives to support wars toretain political and professional credibility,’ he

wrote. ‘We “experts” have a lot to fix aboutourselves, even as we “perfect” themedia.Wemust redouble our commitment toindependent thought, and embrace, rather thancast aside, opinions and facts that blow thecommon - often wrong - wisdom apart. Ourdemocracy requires nothing less.’Themoral cowardice of the power elite is

especially evident when it comes to the plight ofthe Palestinians. The liberal class, in fact, isused tomarginalise and discredit those, such asNoamChomsky andNorman Finkelstein, whohave the honesty, integrity and courage todenounce Israeli war crimes. And the liberalclass is compensated for its dirty role insquelching debate.‘Nothing inmy view is more reprehensible

than those habits of mind in the intellectualthat induce avoidance, that characteristicturning away from a diScult and principledposition, which you know to be the right one,but which you decide not to take,’ wrote the lateEdward Said. ‘You do not want to appear toopolitical; you are afraid of seemingcontroversial; you want to keep a reputation forbeing balanced, objective, moderate; your hopeis to be asked back, to consult, to be on a boardor prestigious committee, and so to remainwithin the responsible mainstream; somedayyou hope to get an honorary degree, a big prize,perhaps even an ambassadorship.’‘For an intellectual these habits of mind are

corrupting par excellence,’ Said went on. ‘Ifanything can denature, neutralise, and finallykill a passionate intellectual life it is theinternalisation of such habits. Personally I have

encountered them in one of the toughest of allcontemporary issues, Palestine, where fear ofspeaking out about one of the greatestinjustices inmodern history has hobbled,blinkered, muzzledmany who know the truthand are in a position to serve it. For despite theabuse and vilification that any outspokensupporter of Palestinian rights and self-determination earns for him or herself, thetruth deserves to be spoken, represented by anunafraid and compassionate intellectual.’Julien Benda argued in his 1927 book “The

Treason of Intellectuals” - “La Trahison desClercs” - that it is only when we are not inpursuit of practical aims ormaterial advantagesthat we can serve as a conscience and acorrective. Those who transfer their allegianceto the practical aims of power andmaterialadvantage emasculate themselves intellectuallyandmorally. Benda wrote that intellectualswere once supposed to be indiTerent to popularpassions. They ‘set an example of attachment tothe purely disinterested activity of themind andcreated a belief in the supreme value of thisform of existence.’ They looked ‘as moralistsupon the conflict of human egotisms.’ They‘preached, in the name of humanity or justice,the adoption of an abstract principle superior toand directly opposed to these passions.’ Theseintellectuals were not, Benda conceded, veryoften able to prevent the powerful from ‘fillingall history with the noise of their hatred andtheir slaughters.’ But they did, at least, ‘preventthe laymen from setting up their actions as areligion, they did prevent them from thinkingthemselves great men as they carried out these

activities.’ In short, Benda asserted, ‘humanitydid evil for two thousand years, but honouredgood. This contradiction was an honour to thehuman species, and formed the rift wherebycivilisation slipped into the world.’ But oncethe intellectuals began to ‘play the game ofpolitical passions,’ those who had ‘acted as acheck on the realism of the people began toact as its stimulators.’ And this is why MichaelMoore is correct when he blames The NewYork Times and the liberal establishment,even more than George W. Bush and DickCheney, for the Iraq War.‘The desire to tell the truth,’ wrote Paul Baran,

the brilliantMarxist economist and author of‘The Political Economy of Growth,’ is ‘only onecondition for being an intellectual. The other iscourage, readiness to carry on rational inquiryto wherever it may lead… to withstand…comfortable and lucrative conformity.’Those who doggedly challenge the orthodoxy

of belief, who question the reigning politicalpassions, who refuse to sacrifice their integrityto serve the cult of power, are pushed to themargins. They are denounced by the verypeople who, years later, will often claim thesemoral battles as their own. It is only theoutcasts and the rebels who keep truth andintellectual inquiry alive. They alone name thecrimes of the state. They alone give a voice tothe victims of oppression. They alone ask thediScult questions. Most important, they exposethe powerful, along with their liberal apologists,for what they are.

(COMMONDREAMS.ORG)

After the self-imposed, unmitigateddisasters of the last couple of years andthe pir-babu-sepoy Pakistani statecollapsing under its own arduousweight, there are some new signs thatthe sahibs inWashingtonmay besmiling again.Whether this works outfor the people or provides temporaryrelief to the beggar brigade will remaina question given the complex politicsfaced by theUS after its recent NorthKorea experiences.The elections in Pakistan are

unexciting except popular aspirationsfor ImranKhan, whose 23MarchLahore show has not only energised hisweakened campaign post-Waziristan,but has advanced him to a knight frompawn onWashington’s Af-Pakchessboard. Khan only needwin 15-20national seats tomake him themainpower broker in Pakistan, with possiblythe Punjab government in a coalition.Given his long term positioning as thebridge between the people, Taliban andtheWest and an honest anti-corruption leader with a globalcelebrity profile, he now is an attractiveprospect withWashingtonwhich isbusily trying to extricate itself from theAf-Pak quagmire in the face of growingTaliban influence, now joined bystrategic Iranian support for anAmerican exit.Under Obama, the Bush-Musharraf

non-NATO ally partnership, howevermeaningless (howmanyUSpresidential visits did Pakistan getduring a dozen such tours toneighbours?), was simply downgradedto a temporary contractual relationshipwith the aim of direct negotiation withthe Taliban, preferably with a Karzairegime partnership. Unlike underGeneral Zia during the Afghan Jihad,

underMusharraf the Pakistanimilitarygave up sovereign claims by handingover control ofmilitary bases, logisticsand supply routes on its own soil, withtheUS building its own spy networkand establishing direct channels withvarious insurgent factions. Pakistan’snuclear programmewas alsocompromised by public admissions ofproliferation by its top scientists, withthe eTect of virtual US control overnuclear policy- it is no longer an issuebetweenWashington and Islamabad,andwasn’t championed by the GHQ inRawalpindi even after the Abbotabadand Salala debacles.The net eTect has workedwell for the

US, exposing the complete dependenceof our flailing elite onUS aid andinfluence to keep them in power. Butthe rise of a post-revolutionary Iran,endorsed by the Arab Springrevolutions andUS failure in Iraq, therag-tag Taliban’s valiant struggle withpopular Afghan support, and now theemergence of China as amilitary superpower (besides becoming the #2 globaleconomy after theUS) has necessitateda complete re-alignment of US foreignpolicy.TheUS, now a declining empire, is

contemplating another nominal ColdWar, this time against a frenemy,China, in Asia instead of againstRussia, the ex-enemy, in Europe. It hasdecided, not surprisingly, toconsolidate its dominion so as to focuson long term competition. Nowonderthen that theUS, given its ongoingbudget crisis, has canceled its newmissile defense extensions onRussianborders in Europe in favour of re-building a dormant naval presence inthe Pacific and a new anti-nuclearmissile shield against North Korea(and by extension, China.)The post Arab Spring thinking in the

WhiteHouse is clear now, with theconfirmation of DefSecHagel and

SecState Kerry. America needs newfriends in theMiddle East, both in ShiaIran with whom it keeps trying tonegotiate; andwith the Sunni Ikhwan-ul-Muslamoon (MuslimBrotherhood)whose vast social uplift and politicalnetworks across Arab lands despitesevere repression byUS-planteddictatorships have landed it a popularlyelected government in pivotal Egypt,and by extension, dominant influencein the region.In the short term then, a Taliban cut-

and-run deal is central to US policy,and also aTects its bargaining powerwith Iran. Given the new urgency fromthe unexpected North Korea nuclearstance, the US seems prepared to ditchthe unpopular and corrupt Karzairegime as partners if push comes toshove, just as they have given up ontheir Pakistani peers. The 2014withdrawal announcement wasalready preponed to 2013 last year,andmajor diplomatic shuRing, withPakistanmerely on the sidelines fordiscussions away from themainevents, is in full swing.In this political vacuumwith

ineTectual, corrupt and unpopularregimes including distrustedmilitarieson both sides of the Durand Line, arising politician like ImranKhan, witha clean record and ethnic Pushtunbackground as well as generalpopularity, suddenly is drawingUSattention. He is an intriguing figure, aglobal cricket celebrity andphilanthropist, a political neophytehaving spent the last 15 years ontelevision talking of a political storm,joining and then reneging the lastmilitary government, and finally,blossoming his campaign just last year,promising to end corruption in 90 daysand ending Pakistan’s violence andwestern dependence while buildingbridges to all.Khan could be a trusted negotiator,

themissing bridge he has claimed tobe, after all. He bringsmuch absentcredibility and a face-saving for theUS,as the only likable westernised figure.Khan could bring all importantfactions to the table- Pushtun Taliban(both theMullahOmar variety as wellas theHaqqani border group andPakistani Taliban- TTP), other-Afghans (Hazara and Tajik NorthernAlliance), the new faction headed bythemost knownmujaheddin leader,GulbeddinHikmatyar (who lived inTehran after failing to take Kabul in1994); and potentially negotiate withIran too as a Pakistani leader.For Pakistan, he could bring much

needed stability via co-operation fromvarious lashkars against whom theoppressive elite state is helpless.Certainly he could initiate a farreaching peace agreement byinstituting much demanded sharialaws approved by an ulema (Islamicscholars) council, and also gaininternational stature bringing intrade and investments. Right now, thebabu-sepoy state of Pakistan isteetering on financial bankruptcy anda total breakdown of authority owingto multi-ethnic and religious violence.Popular aspirations of more localautonomy and accountability havecreated a tinderbox in Balochistanand Khyber Pakhtunkwa, andKarachi is aflame again.All of above is a tall order, but Imran

Khan stands out as Pakistan’s new andbest hope for a reconciliation withitself. It is a fragile hope, but ourpassive and fearful masses are loathe tosolving their own problems in theirlingeringmulti-generationalmindsetof subservience to the colonials. ImranKhan is their white knight inmanydecades.

THE AUTHOR IS A SILICON VALLEY

ENTREPRENEUR WITH ANMS ANDMBAFROMCOLUMBIA

Imran Khan and the new US policy

The treason of intellectuals

Imran Khan has done many favours tohis countrymen but the quality that mostinspires his young followers is histruthfulness. So whenever he spoke, theylistened for certainty, accuracy andconviction. His words now endorsed theissues that plagued the streets of Pakistan

HAFSA SIDDIQUE

ATHAR MIAN

The power elite, especially the liberal elite, has always been willing to sacrifice integrity and truth for power,personal advancement, foundation grants, awards, tenured professorships, columns, book contracts, televisionappearances, generous lecture fees and social status

CHRIS HEDGES

In this political vacuum a rising politician like Imran Khan, with a cleanrecord and general popularity, suddenly is drawing US attention

The stage is set

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03, 2013

Belarus ready fordialogue with EU: FMMMIINNSSKK:: Belarusian Foreign MinisterVladimir Makei says his country isready for dialogue with the EuropeanUnion (EU) on the travel ban list, butwithout pressure and sanctions. "Weare neighbors with the EuropeanUnion. Neighbors are destined to livein peace, friendship and accord,"Makei said in an interview with RIANovosti news agency, which waspublished on Monday. Makei said theEU travel ban list is totally absurd, "Itis clear that we will make littleheadway unless this problem isremoved from the agenda of ourrelations." Makei stressed that this listincludes not only oQcials who arebelieved to be responsible for theactions of the government, but alsojournalists and representatives ofelection commissions of all levels andeven judges. –AGENCIES

WHO plays downChina bird flu fearsGGEENNEEVVAA:: The World HealthOrganisation on Tuesday played downfears over a strain of bird flu which haskilled two people in China, but said itwas crucial to find out how the virusinfected humans. “It’s the first time thatH7N9 was found in humans,” the UNhealth agency’s spokeswoman FadelaChaib told reporters, referring to thedeadly strain of avian influenza. “It is ofconcern to WHO and we will befollowing this with the healthauthorities in China to know more. Butfor the time being, it’s only three casesand it has shown, for the time being, nohuman-to-human transmission,” sheadded. China’s National Health andFamily Planning Commission said overthe weekend that two men, aged 87and 27, died in Shanghai in earlyMarch after being infected with H7N9avian influenza. –AGENCIES

Serbia, Kosovo talksreach 'decisive stage'BBRRUUSSSSEELLSS:: The leaders of Serbia andKosovo are negotiating Tuesday on oneof the most important issues dividingthem, as Serbia strains to meetconditions for eventual membership inthe European Union. Talks betweenthe prime ministers of the twocountries have reached a "decisivestage" as the two focus on the thornyissue of the status of Serb-dominatednorthern Kosovo, an EU oQcial said.The oQcial spoke on condition ofanonymity in order to discuss closed-door talks. The talks — the eighthface-to-face session between SerbianPrime Minister Ivica Dacic andKosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci— are being held under the mediationof EU foreign policy chief CatherineAshton. "Today is a historical day," saidThaci as he entered Ashton's oQcebuilding Tuesday morning to begin thetalks. "It is a decisive moment forKosovo and for the region." Kosovo, aformer Serbian province, declaredindependence in 2008. While manycountries have recognized it as anindependent country, Serbia has not.The ethnic Serbs living in northernKosovo — up to 50,000 people — haverejected the authority of thegovernment in Pristina, the Kosovocapital. They have created so-calledparallel institutions, includinghospitals and schools, all financed andsupported from the Serbian capital,Belgrade. –AGENCIES

RAMZY BAROUD

AT the precise moment USPresident BarackObama’s Air Force Onetouched down at BenGurion Airport on March

20, persisting illusions quickly began toshatter. And as he walked on the redcarpet, showered with accolades andwarm embraces of top Israeligovernment and military oQcials, anew/old reality began to sink in:Obama was no diRerent than hispredecessors. He never had been.On the day of Obama’s arrival, Israeli

rights group B’Tselem, released adisturbing video. It was of Israelisoldiers carrying out a ‘mass arrest’ ofnearly 30 Palestinian children on theirway to school in the Palestinian city ofal-Khalil (Hebron). The children pleadand cried to no avail. Their terrifiedshrieks echoed throughout thePalestinian neighborhood as they triedto summon the help of passersby.“‘Amo’ – Uncle,” one begged, “for Godsake don’t let them take me.”Nonetheless, several military vehicleswere filled with crying children andtheir school bags. But what made therelease of the video truly apt is the factthat it was released on the daypresident Obama was meeting Israelichildren at a welcoming ceremony at

the home of Israeli President ShimonPeres.“Their dreams are much the same as

children everywhere,” he said, referringto Israeli children, of course. “Inanother sense though their lives reflectthe diQcult reality that Israelis faceevery single day. They want to be safe,they want to be free from rockets thathit their homes or their schools.”Many Palestinians immediately

pointed out the moral discrepancies inmost of Obama’s statementsthroughout his stay in Israel. Still, hisvisit was ‘historic’ declared numerousheadlines in the US and Israeli media.However, aside from the fact that it

was his first trip to Israel as a president,it was barely momentous. Hisunconditional support for Israel hasbeen tedious and redundant,predictable even. Those who havefollowed his unswerving pro-Israellegacy – including his visit to Israel as apresidential candidate in 2008, histalks before the Israeli lobby groupAIPAC and many other examples –could barely discern a shift, exceptperhaps, in the total disinterest inpolitical sensibility and balance.He truly delivered in Israel. This was

to the total satisfaction of the IsraeliPrime Minister and his pro-settlergovernment which was assembledshortly before Obama’s arrival. Obama

spoke as if he were entirely oblivious tothe political shift to the extreme rightunderway in Israel. Indeed, the newIsraeli government is more right-wingthan ever before. The extremist JewishHome party has three importantministries, including Jerusalem andHousing and the ultra-nationalists ofYisraeli Beiteinu have been awardedthe tourism ministry. It means that thenext few years will be a settlementconstruction bonanza, ‘ethnic cleaning’and greater Apartheid.“It’s good to be back in The Land

(Israel),” Obama said in Hebrew, at theTel Aviv airport. “The United States isproud to stand with you as yourstrongest ally and your greatestfriend.”Aside from the 3.1 billiondollars in financial support, Obama hasrerouted hundreds of millions of USfunds to bankroll Israel’s air defensesystem, the Iron Dome, whoseeQciency is questionable at best.Obama’s past transgressions, as far as

Israel is concerned, is that he dared askthe right-wing government ofNetanyahu to temporarily freezesettlement construction as a pre-condition to restart the stalled – if notdead – peace process. But that matterslittle, since Israel’s illegal settlementscontinued to thrive during Obama’sfirst term in oQce.Expectedly, Netanyahu was

gloating. He has managed toassemble a government that willcater mostly to extremist Jewishsettlers in the West Bank and alsomasterfully managed to humble theUS president, or at least quash hisambitions that the US is capable ofoperating independently in theMiddle East, without Israeli consentor interests in mind.Now that Jewish colonies are

flourishing – with occupied EastJerusalem area EI being another majorexploit – Netanyahu is once moreaspiring for a war against Iran, one thatwould not be possible without USfunding, support and likely directinvolvement. “Thank you for standingby Israel at this time of historic changein the Middle East,” Netanyahu saidwhile standing near the mostly US-funded Iron Dome. “Thank you forunequivocally aQrming Israel’ssovereign right to defend itself, by itselfagainst any threat.”Obama did in fact spare a few,

although, spurious thoughts forPalestinians. “Put yourself in theirshoes — look at the world through theireyes,” he said to an Israeli audience. “Itis not fair that a Palestinian childcannot grow up in a state of her own,and lives with the presence of a foreignarmy that controls the movements ofher parents every single day.”

One would even applaud theseeming moral fortitude if it werenot for the pesky matter that the UShad voted against a Palestinian stateat the United Nations last Novemberand tried to intimidate those whodid. Many Palestinian childrenwould still be alive today if the USgovernment had conditioned itsmassive support of Israel by endingthe occupation and ceasing thebrutality against Palestinians.In a joint press conference in

Ramallah, alongside PalestinianAuthority President Mahmoud Abbas,Obama even demanded Palestiniansdrop their condition (proposed byObama himself) of a settlement freezein order to return to the so-called peacetalks. “That’s not to say settlementsaren’t important, that’s to say if weresolve the (main) problems, thensettlements will be resolved,” he said.“If to begin the conversation we have toget everything right from the outset …then we’re never going to get to thebroader issue,” Obama added. Thebroader issue, according to the USpresident is “how do you structure astate of Palestine,” which again, Obamavoted against last year, andpassionately so.Aside from resounding rhetoric

about peace, Obama is finally towingthe Israeli line exactly as Netanyahu

and the lobby would expect of him, orof any other US president. He has littleto oRer Palestinians, or Arab nations,but much to expect from them. Arabstates must seek normalized relationswith Israel, and Palestinians must“recognize that Israel will be a Jewishstate, and that Israelis have the right toinsist upon their security,” he lecturedin Jerusalem on the second day of histrip, reported CNN online. The obviousdanger here lies in the fact that Israeloftentimes conflates ‘security’ and its‘right to defend itself ’ by mass arrestingchildren on their way to school inHebron, or by inflicting or supportingwars against other nations – Lebanon,Iraq and now Iran.Obama will eventually get back to his

Oval OQce desk, ready to resume workas usual. This will include the signingof many papers concerning additionalfunds, loans, military technologytransfers and much more for Israel.Palestinians meanwhile will carry onwith their long fight for freedom,without his noted oratory skills.Meanwhile, the families of the 30

children kidnapped by the Israeli armyin Hebron will have many days aheadof them in Israeli military court. Butthat, of course, is a diRerent matter, ofno concern to Obama and his manyquotable peace antics.

(counterpunch)

Obama’s peace antics in Israel

WEST BANK: Palestinians take part in a protest after a Palestinian prisoner died of cancer while receiving treatment at an Israeli hospital.Maysara Abu Hamdia, 64, who was su.ering from throat cancer, spent his last few days at the intensive care unit of Soroka MedicalCentre in southern Israel. –WIRE SERVICE

DDAAMMAASSCCUUSS:: Fighting betweenSyria's rebels and loyalist troopsraged in two Damascusneighbourhoods on Tuesdaywhile shelling of a village near thecapital left four members of afamily dead, a watchdog said."Fierce battles broke out in the

Barzeh district of northernDamascus. Shelling in the areawounded five people and causedmaterial damage," said the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights,which relies on a broad networkof activists, doctors and lawyersfor its reporting. "Clashes alsoraged in the outskirts of Jobar (ineastern Damascus), next toAbbasiyeen square," themonitoring group added,referring to one of the capital'smain squares. Violence hasescalated in Damascus in recentweeks as the army battles to pushback insurgents seeking topenetrate the capital fromenclaves in the outskirts.Shelling on Al-Hajar Al-Aswad

in southern Damascus killed atleast three men and woundedmore than 20 civilians, theObservatory said.In Mqailyabeh in Damascus

province, large swathes of whichare under insurgent control, army

shelling killed a three-year-oldboy, his five-year-old sister, theirmother and grandmother, thegroup added.Tuesday's violence comes a day

after at least 150 people werekilled, among them 69 civilians,44 rebels and 37 loyalist troops,the Observatory said. The monthof March was the deadliest inSyria's two-year conflict, withmore than 6,000 people killed, thewatchdog said. The UN says morethan 70,000 people have beenkilled since March 2011, when aprotest movement broke outagainst President Bashar al-Assad.The peaceful movement

spiralled into an insurgency afterthe army unleashed a brutalcrackdown on dissent. At leastfour people, including two kids,were killed Tuesday when armedgroups fired a mortar shell thatlanded at a town near the Syriancapital Damascus, the state-runTV reported. The shell slammedthe victims' house at Mukailabiehtown in the countryside ofDamascus, the report said.However, activists' groups wavedoff the state media's account,saying the victims were killedduring an overnight shelling onthe town. –AGENCIES

Battles break outin 2 Damascusneighbourhoods

DDHHAAKKAA:: Some 40 peoplewere injured Tuesdaymorning when sixcompartments and thelocomotive of a passengertrain veered oR the tracks ineastern Bangladesh asmiscreants removed severalfish-plates hours of beforethe opposition sponsoredhartal began.Nazrul Islam,

superintendent of RailwayPolice, told Xinhua therailway communicationsbetween Dhaka and premierseaport city Chittagong,some 242 km southeast ofcapital Dhaka, also came toa halt due to the derailmentthat occurred early morning."Some 40 passengers wereinjured in the accident butnone critically," he said. Hesaid a salvage train hasstarted rescue operation ofthe compartments whichderailed from the track neara station in Comilla, some96 km east of capitalDhaka, halting the capitalDhaka-southeasternChittagong seaport cityrailway services. –AGENCIES

GGAAZZAA:: Khaled Meshaal’s reelection asleader of Hamas, which controls theGaza Strip, provides a chance for theIslamist group to improve ties with theinternational community, analysts say.The veteran leader was chosen Monday

to serve another four-year term despiteindications he might be forced aside bythe movement’s powerful and moreradical leadership in Gaza.Based in exile, the pragmatic

politician’s more moderate line onIsrael and inter-Palestinianreconciliation has given him wide-ranging support in the Arab world andsome sympathy in the West.“Meshaal’s differences with Hamas’s

more radical leadership, and flexibilityon issues like reconciliation and peace,presents him to the world as a rationalleader whom it is possible to deal with,”said Walid al-Mudallal, a politicsprofessor at Gaza’s Islamic University.He excels in... relations with the Arab

world,” and his reelection “will give a bigenough chance to improve Hamas’s tieswith the West and to market it as amovement that isn’t hostile,” he said.Meshaal’s comments last year that he

was willing to “give a chance” to talks

with Israel may make him morepalatable to the internationalcommunity, but it sat uncomfortablywithin a movement whose charter callsfor the destruction of the Jewish state.Late last year, Meshaal said he would

not seek another term as Hamas chief,but the ongoing upheaval in theMiddle East changes in the regionforced a rethink.“Arab and regional changes were the

fundamental reason for Meshaalchanging his mind about candidacy, andfor his victory,” said Mukhaimer AbuSaada, a politics professor at Al-AzharUniversity in Gaza.“No one has his political experience,” he

added, saying his candidacy wassupported by Hamas leaders across theterritories as well as externally.Hamas has a long and bitter history of

rivalry with the Fatah movement ofpresident Mahmud Abbas which governsthe West Bank, is viewed as a terroristorganisation by Israel, and has strainedties with Cairo which suspects Gazaninvolvement in a deadly attack on troopsin Sinai last year. But with Meshaal at thehelm, things could well change, AbuSaada said. –AGENCIES

Meshaal reelectionmay better Hamasties with West

Train derails inB’desh hartalviolence, some40 injured

PPYYOONNGGYYAANNGG:: The DemocraticPeople's Republic of Korea (DPRK) saidTuesday it has decided to restartoperations at the Nyongbyon nuclearcomplex. A spokesman for the GeneralDepartment of Atomic Energy told theoQcial KCNA news agency that thecountry will "readjust" and "restart" allnuclear facilities at the complex,including a uranium enrichment plantand a 5MW graphite moderated reactorthat had been "mothballed and disabledunder an agreement reached at the six-party talks in October, 2007. "The spokesman said the decision

was made at a plenary meeting of theCentral Committee of the rulingWorkers' Party of Korea on March 31to cure the country's electricity

shortage and boost up nuclear armedforces. Such a move came days afterthe DPRK claimed that it had entereda "state of war" with South Korea.South Korean President Park

Geun-hye on Monday instructedthe military to strongly respond topossible provocation by the DPRKwithout any politicalconsiderations.Tensions have been running high

on the Korean Peninsula since theDPRK conducted its third nucleartest on Feb. 12 as a countermeasureagainst the joint military drills of theUnited States and South Korea.The DPRK has also threatened to

launch a preemptive nuclear strike forself-defense and unilaterally nullified

the 1953 armistice that suspended theKorean War.The US Navy was moving a sea-

based radar platform closer to theKorean Peninsula in order to monitormilitary moves of the DPRK,including possible new missilelaunches, CNN quoted a PentagonoQcial as saying on Monday. The reactor began operations in

1986 but was shut down as part ofinternational nuclear disarmamenttalks in 2007 that have sincestalled. North Korea said work torestart the facilities would begin"without delay." Experts estimate itcould take anywhere from threemonths to a year to reactivate thereactor. –AGENCIES

DPRK restarts operations at N-complex

Fire at Islamic schoolkills 13 boys in MyanmarYYAANNGGOONN:: A fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13boys at an Islamic school in Myanmar on Tuesday, the fire servicesaid, although some Muslims voiced concern since it followed awave of anti-Muslim violence in the Buddhist-majority country.The boys suRocated after the fire broke out in a dormitory of theschool in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the formercapital of Yangon at about 2:40 a.m. (2010 GMT on Monday).Yangon Region Fire Service said it was setting up a team toinvestigate the fire with the police, the electricity company andrepresentatives of Muslim groups. "The fire, caused by theoverheating of the transformer placed under the staircase, spread,trapping the boys sleeping in the attic. As a result, 13 twelve-year-old boys died of suRocation after inhaling smoke," a fire serviceoQcer said, reading from a statement. –AGENCIES

Aside from resounding rhetoric about peace, Obama is finally towing the Israeli line exactly as Netanyahu and the lobby wouldexpect of him, or of any other US president. He has little to oRer Palestinians, or Arab nations, but much to expect from them

UN chief urges talks in North Korea crisisAANNDDOORRRRAA:: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said onTuesday that a crisis over North Korea had gone too far and urged dialogueand negotiation to resolve the situation. "Nuclear threats are not a game.Aggressive rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions,and fuel fear and instability," Ban said at a news conference in Andorra,where he was on an oQcial visit. Earlier on Tuesday, North Korea's leaderappeared to tamp down hostile rhetoric that had threatened impending warwith the United States and South Korea. The US has bolstered its forces inthe region after a series of threats by Pyongyang to attack US bases in thePacific and to invade South Korea. "Things must calm down, as thissituation, made worse by the lack of communication, could lead down apath that nobody should want to follow," Ban said, oRering to help theparties to begin talks. "I am convinced that nobody intends to attack (NorthKorea) because of disagreements about its political system or foreign policy.However, I am afraid that others will respond firmly to any direct militaryprovocation," he said. –AGENCIES

� Mortar attack kills at least 4 near Syrian capital

bofa settles for $165mwith credit union regulatorWWAASSHHIINNGGTTOONN: Bank of AmericaCorp (BAC.N) agreed to pay $165million to settle charges by the U.S.credit union regulator involving salesof mortgage-backed securities tocorporate credit unions that havesince failed, the regulator said onTuesday. The bank and certainsubsidiaries entered into thesettlement, the National Credit UnionAdministration said. The agency didnot release settlement papers anddeclined to provide additional detailsabout the deal. The regulatorpreviously indicated it objected to aproposed $8.5 billion settlementbetween Bank of America andinvestors in the toxic securities. OnFriday it withdrew its notice of intentto object to that settlement, which isawaiting approval in New York statecourt, but did not provide a reason forthe change. Separately, the regulatorhas filed 10 lawsuits against banks -including units of JPMorgan Chase &Co (JPM.N), Barclays (BARC.L),Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), GoldmanSachs (GS.N) and Royal Bank ofScotland (RBS.L) - over mortgage-backed securities they allegedly soldto corporate credit unions that latercollapsed due to losses on thesecurities. The regulator has settledsimilar claims against Citigroup(C.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE)and HSBC (HSBA.L) for around$170 million. Bank of America didnot admit fault as part of thesettlement, the credit union regulatorsaid. –AGENCIES

cyprus finance ministerquits after bailoutNNIICCOOSSIIAA:: Cyprus's finance ministerresigned on Tuesday after concludinga 10 billion euro bailout deal withinternational lenders in which thecountry slashed its dominant bankingsector and hit depositors with losses.Michael Sarris, a lead player in talkswith International Monetary Fundand European Union lenders, said hehad completed his task but also thathe was likely to come under scrutinyin an investigation into the crisis.Tuesday's deal, which still needsratification from national EUparliaments and euro zone financeministers, will see Cyprus receiving a10 billion euro loan, carrying aninterest rate of approximately 2.5percent. It is repayable over a 12 yearperiod after a grace period of adecade. "This is a very importantdevelopment which ends a very longperiod of uncertainty," said ChristosStylianides, Cyprus's governmentspokesman. Sarris said he expectedthe first disbursement of aid in May.Compared with a previous draft dealwith lenders brokered in November,Tuesday's agreement gave authoritiesadditional room to reach a primarysurplus by 2018, longer than an initial2016, Stylianides said. –AGENCIES

‘legislation needed forcompliance of horticulture’IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: Chief Executive OOcerHarvest Trading, Ahmad Jawad saidcountry produces above 14 milliontonne of fruit and vegetables annually,of which almost one-third is wastedbefore it reaches consumers, ashorticulture exports have not seen anyquantitative improvement. Speakingin Seminar, he said we stand atbottom level in the world ofhorticulture market among totalworth of $180 billion. The high post-harvest losses lower the net income ofproducers and traders, and alsoreduce the quantity of produceavailable in local markets as well as forexports. Country needs Sanitary andPhytosanitary measures food safetylegislation to ensure compliance ofhorticulture products for better accessto global markets. Till date we are stilllagging behind in modern techniqueswhen it comes to enhancing the valueof exports. The in-competitiveness ofPakistani products in the neighboringmarkets is apparently because of thelack of government support and bestagricultural practices, availability ofresearch & development (R&D)facilities, presence of better quality,lower cost and value added productsof India for the last over 35 years.Jawad mentioned the example; in2010 twenty-seven exportconsignments from Pakistan wererejected by the EU countries due tothe pesticide residue in the fruits andvegetables. –ONLINE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013

Inside laiki -countdown tocatastropheLAURA NOONAN

On the evening of the last Wednesday in March,the directors of Laiki bank, the second largest inCyprus, gathered in their sixth floor board room

for the last time. With the portraits of chairmen paststaring down at them, they all resigned, something thathad become inevitable earlier in the week when eachdirector received a letter from the Central Bank of Cyprustelling them a special administrator had been appointedto run their bank and the board was suspended.After less than an hour, the board broke up for the lasttime, its members accepting that their 112-year-oldinstitution was no more. "It was like a funeral," onedirector said. The death of Laiki, also known as CyprusPopular Bank, was brutal. Board members said they hadfought to the bitter end, imploring political leaders notto accept the bank's closure as part of a 10 billion euro($13 billion) bailout deal last week to save the countryfrom bankruptcy. The bank the directors were fightingto save lost 1.8 billion euros before tax in the first ninemonths of 2012 and another 4.1 billion euros the yearbefore, as a gamble on Greek bonds ended badly, andbad lending decisions took their toll. "Laiki Bank was avery good bank for many, many years," said AfxentisAfxentiou, a former governor of Cyprus' central bank."Unfortunately, they were the victim of too many things.First, the haircut on the Greek sovereign debt whichcaused a loss of about 2.5 billion euros, secondly itsexposure to Greece in loans given to Greece, and thirdlythe world economy crisis which hit the company." Agovernment-ordered inquiry into Cyprus' banking andeconomic crisis prompted the country's finance ministerMichael Sarris, a former Laiki chairman, to resign onTuesday. Reuters spoke to five of Laiki's 11 recently-departed directors; all requested anonymity as theywanted to be able to speak more freely about sensitiveissues Laiki's first major blow came in 2011 whenEurope agreed to an unprecedented restructuring ofGreece's sovereign bonds. Laiki was holding 3.1 billioneuros of the bonds and ultimately suPered losses of 2.3billion euros. After merging with Greek bank Marfin in2007 and coming under Greek management, Laiki in2009 built up a large position in Greek bonds, whichoPered attractive interest rates. The eventual losses werea devastating hit for a bank which began 2011 with totalequity of just 3.6 billion euros, but it was almost a yearlater before Laiki was rescued after flunking theEuropean Banking Authority's 2011 stress tests andfailing to attract private capital. In June 2012, Laiki got a1.8 billion euro bailout from the state, giving the Cyprusgovernment an 84 percent shareholding. Seven newdirectors were appointed by the finance minister, andthe board was charged with drawing up a business planthat would convince the European Union the bank couldbe viable again. The new directors knew of the bank'sGreek bond tragedy, and had also seen accounts ofquestionable lending practices. A Greek parliamentaryenquiry had called attention to "serious conflicts ofinterest" in Laiki's Greek operation. It had loaned moneyto a community of Greek monks involved in land deals,and to others who used the money to support a sharesale by Marfin Investment Group, a company linked toLaiki through a shared chairman, Andreas Vgenopoulos,until November 2011. Vgenopoulos denied anywrongdoing. The board were taken aback by size of theproblem at Laiki. "I found what I did not expect to find,"said one board source, describing how the bank wasalready relying on the Cyprus central bank for more than9 billion euros of emergency funding that had to berenewed fortnightly. The priority was to appoint advisersto help create a plan for Laiki to cut costs, sell assets,recapitalize and "ring fence" its Greek operations so anyshocks in its 11.8 billion euros Greek loan book wouldn'thurt the Cypriot parent. At the end of June, theyappointed KPMG, which drew up a plan that called forselling assets, cutting costs and putting bad loans into anasset management company. Laiki was also preparedforce losses on people who had bought "senior" bonds, atraditionally safe investment that has so far avoidedtaking any hits in the banking crisis. Imposing losses ondepositors, the strategy controversially included inCyprus' bailout plan, was not considered. "No-one wouldhave the view that we could impact depositors," said onedirector. At the end of August, the plan was submittedto the authorities. Around the same time, the bank'schief executive Christos Stylianides, a long-time LaikistaPer who had mainly worked in the UK and Cyprusbefore taking the top job in December 2011, went onsick leave. As a stand-in, the board chose Takis Phidias,then head of Laiki's life insurance arm. About 500 staPwere laid oP in Greece, another 120 in Cyprus, salarieswere cut, mobile phone use was restricted, and thebank renegotiated its rents. Asset sales began, as didtalks on selling Laiki's 50 percent stake in Russia'sRossiysky Promyishlenny Bank.

–COURTESY REUTERS

analysIs

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 98.70 98.95Euro 125.00 125.25British Pound 147.10 147.33UAE Dirham 26.55 26.80Saudi Riyal 26.05 26.30Kuwaiti Dinar 340.90 347.46Canadian Dollar 95.38 97.08

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: The FederalBoard of Revenue (FBR) hasextended the vehiclesamnesty scheme forsmuggled and non custompaid vehicle to April 06 and anotification has been issuedin this regard.Official sources told thatfollowing the success ofregularization of non-dutypaid smuggled vehicles, FBRhas requested the care takerprime Minister to furtherextend the last date ofamnesty scheme to April 06that has been accepted by theprime minister and dateextended.Official informed that underthis amnesty scheme morethan 10,000 vehicles wereregularized till March 31 andfollowing this situation

further extension in the lastdate was requested. He saidunder this schemes FBR gotRs 3 billion.It is pertinent to mentionhere that under this new morethan 100,000 vehicles willcome into the formal regime.One of the main benefits ofthe amnesty scheme would be

that non-duty paid vehiclescould not be used inillegal/criminal activities asthe same would be legalizedthrough a lucrative incentivefor documentation. In this way, documentationof such vehicles would ensuresafety at national level.Another major benefit of

documentation of smuggledvehicles is that the ownerswould have to pay the tokentax on regular basis, whichcomes to around Rs 1-2billion per annum. Thescheme would also beapplicable on the vehicles,having age beyond the periodof 5 years. –ONLINE

NNEEWW YYOORRKK:: Stocks rose onTuesday, pushing the S&P 500within striking distance of its all-time intraday high, as healthcarestocks surged after a governmentdecision raised prospects of higherprofits. The group gained after theU.S. government dropped plans tocut payments for private MedicareAdvantage insurers and insteadsaid it would raise them 3.3percent.Humana, which derives abouttwo-thirds of its revenue fromMedicare Advantage business, rose7 percent to $80.11. UnitedHealthGroup rose 6.2 percent to $62.67,and Cigna Corp was up 4.1 percentto $65.49. "Given how lean thesecompanies are, this news is prettysignificant and could mean a 10 to15 percent increase in earnings,"said Phil Orlando, chief equitymarket strategist at FederatedInvestors in New York.

Despite the gains, stocks in thehealthcare sector are still seen ascheaper than the overall market.Humana, which has a market capof about $11.9 billion, has aforward price-to-earnings ratio of9.4, below the S&P 500 P/Eaverage ratio of about 16.5.UnitedHealth has a P/E ratio of10.6 and Cigna has a P/E ratio of9.7. The broad market's risecountered Monday's sell-off. Mostinvestors expect moves to belimited this week before Friday'sU.S. monthly payrolls report.In an effort to bring down theunemployment rate, the FederalReserve has maintained anaccommodative monetary policy,which has also benefited stocks."Good numbers are good and badnumbers are good because it keepsthe Fed at the side of the market,"said Burt White, managingdirector and chief investment

officer at LPL Financial in Boston."The market continues to movehigher, driven by the premise ofstimulus." The March payrollssurvey could give clues on loweringunemployment, one of the primaryheadwinds for the economy. About200,000 jobs were created lastmonth, according to a Reuters poll,down from 236,000 last month.The S&P index last week set anall-time closing high but has thusfar been unable to reach itsintraday record of 1,576.09, animportant level that analysts saycould draw in more investors.Intraday sessions have beenvolatile, with stocks droppingsharply on Monday beforerebounding.The Dow Jones industrialaverage was up 94.70 points, or0.65 percent, at 14,667.55. TheStandard & Poor's 500 Index wasup 10.03 points, or 0.64 percent, at

1,572.20. The Nasdaq CompositeIndex was up 24.48 points, or 0.76percent, at 3,263.65."We've not had two consecutiveup or down days in 10 sessions, andthat is a good sign of a trendreversal," White said. Investorsmostly shrugged off Tuesday's data.February factory orders rose 3percent, slightly aboveexpectations.The Institute for SupplyManagement-New York's Marchindex of regional business activitycame in at 573.3, slightly higherthan last month's 572.7. A weakreading on U.S. manufacturingsparked Monday's decline,although other recent indicatorspointed to a strengtheningeconomy and helped Dow and S&Pto record highs last week.Telecommunication shares wereamong the most active. VerizonCommunications and AT&T have

been working together on abreakup bid for British mobileoperator Vodafone, according tothe Financial Times' Alphavilleblog. Verizon rose 1 percent to$49.72 while AT&T was up 0.4percent at $37.39. Both stocks areDow components. U.S. shares ofVodafone gained 5.3 percent to$29.84.The S&P is up 10 percent so farthis year, and while investors viewmarket momentum as positive,many are also calling for a pullbackgiven the size and swiftness ofrecent gains. Goldman Sachsremoved Apple Inc from itsConviction Buy list, though itaffirmed its "buy" rating on thestock. "We believe Apple may findit difficult to hit consensusexpectations in the March andJune quarters," the bank wrote toclients. Apple rose 1 percent to$433.03. –AGENCIES

Wall Street up on health insurers, S&P near intraday record

NICOSIA: Depositors wait to enter a branch of Laiki Bank. —AGENCIES

Industrial need-basedresearch vital to meetS&T development goals

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: Federal Secretary for S&TAkhlaq Ahmad Tarar said research andDevelopment (R&D) sector mustapproach the industry to know theirresearch needs for need-based researchto set certain goals regarding science andtechnology (S&T) development in thecountry.Addressing as Chief Guest at theinaugural session of the 3-day PakistanCongress of Zoology (International),Akhlaq Tarar said the R&D organizationsshould take initiatives to establish linkagewith industry to get their input forindustry-based research. He said Korea is a success example ofmaking S&T projects. PSF ChairmanProf. Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro addressingthe Congress said quality scienceeducation was key to solution of allproblems including energy crisis,economic and environment problems aswell as terrorism. He urged the forum to focus onimproving primary education standardsto bring a scientific change in the societythrough inquiry-based scienceeducation. He called upon theresearchers to understand how the worldis changing. –ONLINE

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD: The Competition Commissionof Pakistan has imposed a penalty in the sumof Rs 8.64 billion on part of Engro fertilizerlimited (EFL and Fauji fertilizer company(FFC) for abuse of their dominant positionthrough unreasonable price increase.Chairperson, Competitive Commission ofPakistan (CCP) Rahat Konain Hasanannounced this during a press conferencehere on Tuesday. She said both companiesabused their power and by virtue of theirpower increased urea prices by 86 per centin last years. Due to unjustified hike in the urea pricesby these two companies, CCP has imposedmaximum penalty on both ureamanufacturer companies. Rs 5.5 billionpenalty has been imposed against FFC andRs 3.1 billion has been imposed on Engrofertilizer limited, Konain informed.She said that despite enjoying subsidy fromthe government both companies increasedprices of urea that directly impacted food itemsand increased inflation in the country.Significant increase in urea prices increasedfood prices by 40-45%, she added.Giving further details about subsidies of these

due companies, Rahat Konain said that duringlast three years Rs 77 billion subsidy was givento these companies and Rs 11 billion subsidywas given to FFC and Rs4.5 billion subsidy wasgiven to EFL. Rahat Konain said that CCP hastaken notice at its own and during hearing overthe issue both companies stated that due to gascurtailment companies increased the prices.She said that mechanism needs to be evolvedby the Government of Pakistan so that thesubsidy (if any) should be directed at the farmerwho is the ultimate beneficiary of subsidy as perthe objective of fertilizer policy 2001 to ensureavailability of Urea at an aPordable price.She said that in the absence of competitivemarket both companies enjoyed theirposition and there was no competition Aftertax deduction profits of FFC in 2010 was103 per cent to 104 per cent and EFL was at47-53 per cent. Answering to a questionChairperson CCP said that urea imported tomeet the shortage in the country and no onecan be allowed to earn profit over it. Shesaid that CCP has advised Security andExchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)to conduct forensic cost audit of bothcompanies. –ONLINE

Unreasonable price increase

CCP imposes Rs 8.64bpenalty on FFC, EFL

Inflation rose to 6.6 per cent in MarchIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Pakistan’s year- on- year inflation in March rose to 6.6 percent, Pakistan Bureau ofStatistics revealed on Monday. According to statistical data of PBS, Consumer price Indexincreased by 0.4 percent in March 2013 as compared to a decrease of 0.3 percent in the previousmonth. Statistics further stated that Sensitive price index (SPI) inflation on year on year basisincreased by 8.7 percent in March 13 as compared to 1.5 percent in March last year. SPI on month-on-month basis increased by 0.8 percent in March as compared to an increased of 0.1 percent amonth earlier. Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation increased to 7.9 percent during March ascompared to 4.5 percent in Mach previous year. WPI inflation on month on month basis increasedby 0. 3 percent in March as compared to an increase of 0.3 percent a month earlier. –ONLINE

FBR extends last date ofvehicle amnesty scheme

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03, 2013

It is difficult to keep audience engaged: Ali ZafarMUMBAI: Chashme Buddoor is all set to release this week and the film has grabbedeyeballs. However, Ali Zafar feels that it is diPcult to keep audience engaged intoday's world. On being asked about Chashme Buddoor as a remake, Ali said, "Thereare more angles in the remake. Rishi Kapoor is playing an important role. The film isdone according to today's world so that audience need to accept it with time. Thebasic plot and the soul have been intact." "Every time has its own demand and speed.It's a fast youth time and audience has lost on patience. It's diPcult to keep audienceengaged," added Ali. "The film has dialogues which are done considering the familyaudience and David Dhawan has treated it very nice," concluded the actor.Thisremake was filmed in Goa, and produced by Viacom 18Motion Pictures.The film hasbeen re-written by the original director, Sai Paranjpye. Regarding the film Ali Zafarsays, "It's a diQerent film from Sai's young, a little over-the-top, adapted to moderntimes and coloured by David's sensibilities". -SHOWBIZ DESK

Kareena to endorse Malabar Gold and DiamondsMUMBAI: Malabar Gold & Diamonds has signed Kareena Kapoor as their BrandAmbassador. With her pedigree and ethereal beauty, Kareena Kapoor brings with her theessence of brand Malabar Gold & Diamonds- as a jeweler who is accepted and recognizedfor the variety and design of their jewelry. "Kareena Kapoor is an epitome of beauty andstyle and we are extremely delighted to have her as our Brand Ambassador. Shesymbolizes contemporary India and represents the emerging youth of this country. Herpresence in our communication will enhance our brand equity and will help us to moveseamlessly into the northern Indian market which is our focus for the coming years," saidMr M.P. Ahammed, Chairman of Malabar Group at the signing ceremony. "It is mypleasure to be the face of such a prestigious brand that has become synonymous withstyle, design, beauty and trust. -SHOWBIZ DESK

CMYK

KABUL: The 37-year-old actress and UNHCRGoodwill ambassador has extended her generosityto a small village outside Kabul, Afghanistan,where she has opened an all-girls elementaryschool, she told E! News. The doors of the schoolare already open, there are 200 to 300 studentsenrolled and the location was targeted not onlybecause there is a high-refugee population, but it'salso a place where the education of boys is valuedhigher than that of girls.Jolie who has six children, including three

daughters, with fiancé Brad Pitt is tapping aninteresting source to fund the institution: it's blingfor books! The "Maleficent" star will be expandingher Style of Jolie jewelry collection, which shecreates with her long-time jeweler Robert Procop(he crafted her engagement ring, among otherpieces in her personal collection), to retail stores.All of the profits that's 100 percent will go to herfoundation The Education Partnership forChildren of Conflict, which will pay for the school.Or make those schools. The Academy Award-winning actress is hoping that the business modelis such a success that she will be able to buildadditional schools for children in need around theglobe. "Beyond enjoying the artistic satisfaction ofdesigning these jewels, we are inspired byknowing our work is also serving the mutual goalof providing for children in need," Jolie said. TheStyle of Jolie collection will be available startingthis Wednesday through the Kansas City-basedjewelry store Tivol. -SHOWBIZ DESK

Angelina opens girls school in Afghanistan JLO furious atSRK’s statementLOS ANGELES: Jennifer Lopez is allegedly furiouswith the way her refusal to perform at the openingceremony of the 6th Indian Premiere League has beenmade to look by Shahrukh Khan’s production anddistribution company, Red Chillies Entertainment.According to Indianmedia sources, the “Jenny Fromthe Block” star feels the company deliberatelyexaggerated her demands to make her look bad,because her requests were not far out of line from thoseof many Bollywood stars.Reportedly, fervent e-mails passed between J Lo’s

representatives and Red Chillies’ spokespersons as wewrite. Her alleged e-mail accuses SRK’s side of leakingthe story and tarnishing her image because she’sconfident nobody other than his organizers and hersknew about the deal. Indian media now reports theHollywood actor-singer did not demand a private jet,although demands for accommodation of herentourage, including stylists, butler, chef and securityare neither false nor outrageous. On the other hand,Red Chillies Entertainment remain positive andfocused, reportedly saying they considered manyoptions before settling for Pitbull, and were sorry tolose J Lo over scheduling conflicts. Unfortunately, the“Chak De India!” star Shahrukh Khan is not allowed toattend the match on 7thMay between theMumbaiIndians and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the IPLteam he co-owns with fellow actress Juhi Chawla andher husband JayMehta. He has been banned by theMumbai Cricket Association for five years, based on histiQ with security oPcials of the cricket body last yearfollowing KKR’s win. -SHOWBIZ DESK

SHOWBIZ DESK

JAPAN: Ranbir Kapoor and IleanaD'Cruz are pairing up for the firsttime in Barfi but share an intensechemistry. Priyanka Chopra is seen ina diQerent avatar. Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer Barfi! mayhave failed to woo the jury at theAcademy Awards or the NationalAwards but the film has managed tobag the Grand Jury Award for BestFilm at this year’s OkinawaInternational Film Festival, Japan.The film was up against criticallyacclaimed international films fromlast year, including Beasts of theSouthernWild (USA) that hadreceived four Academy Awardnominations and even won threeawards at Cannes 2012.Talking about winning the award, a

happy Anurag Basu (director) says,“This is not just an honour for me ormy film, it’s an honour for the entire

country. This award proves thatBarfi! is a universal film. I am doublyhappy because it won over Oscar-

nominated films. A few peoplethought Barfi!’s selection for theOscars was a wrong decision.”

Barfi wins Japanese awardover Oscar-nominated films

FASHIONOLOGY BY PAKISTANI DESIGNERS

Anum MukhriA designer is an amalgamation ofan artist and a scientist with amind that is never at rest, it isalways distracted by design innature or elsewhere evendreaming up ideas in our sleep.

Najia Malik

Fashion trends

come an

d go but

oneshould

followthose that

suit you and

make youfeel

comfortable

about yourself.

Anum MukhriA designer is an

amalgamation of an artist and ascientist with a mind that is never atrest, it is always distracted by design innature or elsewhere even dreaming up

ideas in our sleep.

Afsheen Mehboob

Fashion isreincarnation. Itis

basically therivalmakingof

history atthesame time. I love

myown special blends that I

have beenusingfora longtime

now, I likehavingmyown

signature fragrance.

Aisha AlamPrice matter asmuch as styleor trends inprêt wear Thewhole concept isready to wear is tomake clothingaccessible and howcan it be accessible if itis not aQordable.

Agha NoorI promote womanwhoconfidently enjoy being aplus size, since size in oursociety is troublesomematter. People believethat being skinny iseverything but forme sizereally does notmatter.

John Mayer confirmssplit from Katy PerryLOS ANGELES: Singer-songwriter JohnMayer hasconfirmed his split from pop star Katy Perry but refused todisclose the reason for their break-up. Mayer and Perryparted ways last week after dating for about a year,reported Aceshowbiz. The 35-year-old spoke about thebreak-up on Ellen Degeneres show.When the host askedMayer about the split with Perry, he answered with a oneword answer, "Correct". "Listen, it was a very privaterelationship going in. It was a private relationship during,and it's a private relationship, still. I've beenmuch happiersince then. I'm on the same journey as everyone else.Coupling is a tricky thing," Mayer added. -SHOWBIZ DESK

LAHORE: Hadiqa Kiani with Juggan Kazim at launching her ownclothing line called ‘HK Fabric World’ that features chic andsumptuous collection of lawn and chi*on cloth.

LONDON:Martin Scorsese has spoken of the importanceof teaching children whymovies are a culturally importantphenomenon. Martin Scorsese has urged young people tounderstand that not all movies are "to be consumed likefast food and then forgotten". The legendary filmmakergave the annual JeQerson humanities lecture at the John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts inWashingtonlast night. He is the first director to give the talk, whichwas established in 1972 and sees someone who has beenhighly involved in thehumanities lecture on theirchosen topic. Martin's speechwas called Persistence ofVision: Reading theLanguage of Cinema and heused it to talk about theimportance of pictures."We're face-to-face withimages all the time in a waythat we never have beenbefore. Young people need tounderstand that not allimages are out there to beconsumed like, you know,fast food and then forgotten,"he said. "We need to educatethem to understand the diQerence betweenmoving imagesthat engage their humanity and their intelligence, andmoving images that are just selling them something."Martin is behindmovies such as Taxi Driver and

Goodfellas and received the best director Oscar for TheDeparted. He suggested "visual literacy" should be madepart of the school syllabus and claimedmovies are a vitalpart of history because they "tell us who we are,ultimately". The director used film clips to show what hethinks is vital in movies, citing light, movement, time andinference as what marks out a hit. He also used portions offilms which weren't widely appreciated upon their releasebut went on to enter the canon to show how vital it is to"preserve everything". -SHOWBIZ DESK

Films aren't fast food,says Martin Scorsese

�Plans to sell her jewellery line to raise fund

The impact of agreat star long goneHONG KONG: Leslie Cheung, more commonly knownas ‘Gor Gor’ by his fans, played the cruelest April’s fooljoke in 2003. From the Mandarin Oriental Hotel incentral Hong Kong, he leapt to his death after leaving abrief suicide note. Itmight be a relief forthe idol suQeringfrom depression, butthis irreversible truthhas left a void inmany hearts.Cheung, who was 46when he died,marked an goldenera of Hong Kongcinema with hisversatile roles inclassics such as1987 s ‘A ChineseGhost Story’, ‘He’s aWoman, She’s aMan’, cult splendor‘Happy Together’ byWong Kar-wai, Hollywood director John Woo’s mostacclaimed ‘A Better Tomorrow’, and the award-winning‘Farewell My Concubine’, which swept internationalawards including the Cannes. Each year, hundreds offans gathered at the hotel where he committed suicide toattend a candlelight vigil. -SHOWBIZ DESK

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03, 2013

CMYK

CMYK

LLOONNDDOONN:: After a collective blow-outin the Champions League, Englandhas a three-pronged attack onEurope's second tier competition withChelsea, Tottenham Hotspur andNewcastle United all vying for EuropaLeague success. The three PremierLeague sides were all kept apart in thedraw for the last eight and head intoThursday's quarterfinal first legslooking to earn back some of thecountry's European lustre.European champions Chelsea host

Russian outfit Rubin Kazan, Londonrivals Tottenham welcome Swiss sideBasel and Newcastle travel to Benfica.Fenerbahce's clash with Lazio is theonly quarterfinal not to feature aPremier League club. For Chelsea,

Thursday's match against Rubin isthe start of a gruelling fixture pile-upthat involves playing five matches in13 days as they look to do battle inthree competitions.Defeat to Southampton in the

Premier League on Saturday left themlooking vulnerable in a three-way fightwith Tottenham and Arsenal for thefinal two Champions Leaguequalification spots. But victory overManchester United in an FA Cupquarter-final replay 48 hours later setthem up nicely for an end-of-seasonpush for silverware. "My priority is thetop four and trying to win the nextgame, in the Europa League,"Chelsea's persistently under-fireinterim manager Rafa Benitez said

after Monday's hard-fought 1-0 win."We're in the semi-finals of the FACup, quarterfinals of the EuropaLeague. It's a great season at themoment. It could be even better."Chelsea favourites: Chelsea startas overwhelming favourites but Rubinare no pushovers having knocked outholders Atletico Madrid and their LaLiga rivals Levante in two previousrounds to reach a European quarter-final for the first time. The club fromthe Volga region, the last remainingRussian side in the competition,warmed up for the Chelsea clash with a2-0 home win over Lokomotiv Moscowon Saturday, moving them into fourthplace in the league table.Tottenham, who like Chelsea are

almost certainly prioritising their fightfor a top-four finish in the PremierLeague, host Basel, the Swisschampions for the last three seasons.The Swiss have lost only two leaguematches since Murat Yakin, a formerSwitzerland defender, took over ascoach at the end of October and areunbeaten domestically this year. Theyare the only reigning domesticchampions still in the Europa League.They last reached the quarterfinals of

a European competition in 2005/06when Middlesbrough knocked themout of the then UEFA Cup. "We areextremely excited about this draw," saidYakin. "Tottenham Hotspur are a greatteam from a wonderful city. We havenothing to lose against them. We have

earned the opportunity to play againstteams like these. It's already a hugeaccomplishment to be in the last eightof the Europa League."For Newcastle, the Europa League is

a distraction from their domesticbattle to avoid relegation with the clubthree points above the drop zonefollowing a crushing 4-0 defeat toManchester City on Saturday.Manager Alan Pardew, who washanded a remarkable eight-yearcontract at the start of the season, haspromised fans that his side will put inan improved display in Lisbon. "It'sone of the great European adventures,trust me," Pardew said. "Theirstadium is going to be rocking onThursday night - and after our result

they will be looking forward to uscoming. "But we will certainly bebetter than we were on Saturday."Fenerbahce host Lazio with the

Turkish side looking to improve on adismal record against Italian teams,having lost 10 of 13 clashes to date.Lazio are fifth in Serie A after their 2-1 win over Catania on Saturday butstill have an outside chance offinishing third and a place in theChampions League next season.Coach Vladimir Petkovic, who speakseight languages, said of Fenerbahce:"They are very good, especially athome. Turkish sides don't usuallyshine when they play away, however."We have great respect for them butthey are not unbeatable." –AGENCIES

English clubs eye redemption in Europa League

CCAAPPEE TTOOWWNN::Former SouthAfricanswimming greatKaren Muir, theyoungest-everworld recordholder in anysport, has diedof breast cancer

aged 60, South African mediareported on Tuesday. Muir waselected to the InternationalSwimming Hall of Fame in 1980having set 15 world records in thebackstroke at 100-metres, 200-metres, 110 yards and 220 yards.Her first was in the 110-yards eventat the 1965 ASA National JuniorChampionships in Blackpool,England aged 12 years, 10 monthsand 25 days, making her theyoungest world record holder in anysport. Muir also won 22 SouthAfrican Championships and threeUS National Championships, butnever competed at the OlympicGames because of the sports boycottimposed on her country. Muir wenton to qualify as a doctor andimmigrated to Canada where shepractised until her death. –AGENCIES

Former tennis umpirefined for Noah doping slur

PPAARRIISS:: Formerinternationaltennis umpireMilan Sterba wason Tuesdayordered to paydamages toYannick Noahfor falselyclaiming in a

newspaper interview that theFrench former player tookperformance-enhancing drugs. Acourt in Paris told Sterba, who wasnot present at the hearing, to pay5,000 euros ($6,400) in damagesand interest to Noah and alsoimposed a suspended 800-euro fine.Sterba’s claims were made in aMarch 2011 interview on the SwissInternet site 20 Minutes and relatedto Noah’s victory at the 1983 FrenchOpen. At a previous hearing onFebruary 19, Noah’s lawyer WilliamBourdon said the comments were‘undeniably defamatory’ against thepopular singles and Davis Cupplayer, who was once rankednumber three in the world. –AGENCIES

Serena set to defendCharleston clay crown

CCHHAARRLLEESSTTOONN::World No. 1SerenaWilliams, freshfrom winning arecord sixthMiami Masterstitle, will seekher third trophyof the season at

the WTA Family Circle Cupclaycourt event. Defendingchampion and top seed Williams,who like the other top-eight seedsreceived a first-round bye, will playher first match on Tuesday againstItaly's Camila Giorgi, whoeliminated Mandy Minella 6-4, 6-4on Monday. Williams, a 15-timeGrand Slam singles champion, wonat Charleston in 2008. The 31-year-old American won this year atBrisbane as well as Miami, whereshe downed World No. 2 MariaSharapova of Russia in the final.Danish second seed CarolineWozniacki has won four clay titlesin her career, including atCharleston in 2011. Wozniacki willopen against Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa, who outlasted Italy'sFrancesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(8/6) in the opening round.ustralia's third-seededSamantha Stosur, the 2010Charleston champion, is alsoin the mix, playing her first eventsince pulling out of IndianWells with a calf injury. –AGENCIES

World’s youngestswimming record-holderMuir dies at 60

KKOOLLKKAATTAA:: The sixth season of the IndianPremier League (IPL) will begin with defendingchampions Kolkata Knight Riders hosting adepleted Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday, thussetting into motion a run of 76 matches across 12venues as the Indian sporting landscape switchesto coloured clothing, cheerleaders and lots ofsixes. Not much can be gauged from the firstmatch of IPL 6 considering the unpredictabilityof the format and the duration of thetournament, but Delhi, who have been hit byinjuries - the latest is that Virender Sehwag mayalso miss the match - and will be hoping to go onebetter than 2012 and make the final, would loveto get oQ the mark with victory. KKR are champions having enjoyed a strong run

in IPL 5 which culminated in a memorable five-wicket win with two deliveries to spare againstChennai Super Kings. The hero on that night wasManvinder Bisla, the domestic journeymanwicketkeeper-batsman who shone on that starrynight of May 27. It is on such domestic players likeBisla that KKR will again rely on, especially withthe cap on overseas players. That means Bisla, left-arm spinner Iqbal

Abdulla, medium pacers L Balaji and RajatBhatia, Yusuf Pathan (who had a torrid IPL 5),Shami Ahmed, Laxmi Shukla, Debabrata Das

and Manoj Tiwary will have to be consistent.Success in the IPL is so often about how the localplayers support the international stars, and howmuch KKR extract from the aforementionednames will ease the workload of Jacques Kallis,Brendon McCullum (who won't play againstDelhi owing to a hamstring pull), Sunil Narineand Brett Lee. Lee will be boosted by the arrivalof fellow Australian James Pattinson, and it willalso be fascinating to see how and when KKRpair up Narine with Sri Lankan oQspinnerSachithra Senanayake on whom $650,000 wasspent at the February auction. Having reached the pinnacle, the onus will be on

KKR to repeat their success. They are now bonafide champions, and with that tag comes theburden of expectations - more so because of thepassionate fans in Kolkata and the name ShahRukh Khan. KKR's opponents will be out to spoiltheir party, starting with Delhi who will carryaspirations of winning the title this season. It won't be easy, because Delhi have been dealt

three major blows. Kevin Pietersen, Jesse Ryderand Varun Aaron have all been ruled out withinjury which leaves the team reliant on a handfulof experienced players. Should Sehwag be ruledout of Wednesday's opener, Delhi would be leftreliant on David Warner and skipper Mahela

Jayawardene. With the ball, the team's big assetsare South African quick Morne Morkel and theIndian pair of Umesh Yadav and Irfan Pathan. Theacquisitions of Johan Botha and Jeevan Mendishave bolstered a weak spin attack. On a tacky Eden Gardens surface, the role that

spin plays is expected to be big. KKR could thenhand Senanayake an IPL debut in the seasonopener, pitting him and Narine and Abdullaagainst a top-heavy Delhi batting order. But thatwould mean dropping an overseas batsman,which would leave a long tail. Delhi may not yetfield two overseas spinners in Botha and Mendis,instead relying on Shahbaz Nadeem to partnerone of the two new signings. Head-to-head, KKRand DD have come up against each other eighttimes across five seasons – there was one washoutin 2008 – with KKR owning a 4:3 advantage. Probable XIs: Kolkata Knight Riders: 1Manvinder Bisla (wk), 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt),3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Yusuf Pathan,6 Laxmi Shukla, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Iqbal Abdulla, 9Brett Lee, 10 L Balaji, 11 Sunil Narine Delhi Daredevils: 1 Mahela Jayawardene(capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Naman Ojha (wk), 4Unmukt Chand, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Venugopal Rao,7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10Morne Morkel, 11 Shahbaz Nadeem. –AGENCIES

Kolkata Knight Riders takeon Delhi Daredevils in opener

6th Indian Premier League commences today

DDOOHHAA:: Diaky Ibrahim Amuah (L) of UAE's Al-Jazira fights for the ball with Qatar's El-Jaish Karim Ziani during their AFC ChampionsLeague match at the Al-Rayyan Stadium on Tuesday. –AGENCIES

JJAAKKAARRTTAA:: Indonesia has postponed the IslamicSolidarity Games due to be held in June untilOctober after construction workers closed the mainstadium in protest at not being paid in full, organiserssaid Tuesday. Some 5,000 athletes from membercountries of the Organisation of the IslamicConference had been due to take part in the thirdedition of the games from June 6 to 17 in the city ofPekanbaru on Sumatra Island.But organising committee secretary Timbul

Thomas Lubis told AFP the games would now beheld sometime in October as sub-contractors hired tobuild the main stadium were angry as they owed, 400billion rupiah ($41.2 million). “They refuse to openthe stadium for the games until they are paid in full,”he said, adding that funds had been prepared so sub-contractors should receive their payment soon. It isthe latest embarrassment for Indonesia in its eQorts tohost big sporting events after two people were killedin a stampede at a Jakarta stadium in the SoutheastAsian Games football final in November, 2011.Lubis said the Islamic Solidarity Games had also

been beset by other problems, such as a failure to startthe tender process for some contracts related to thegames early enough, meaning they would not becomplete in time. “We feel it’s better to delay the gamesbecause of lack of preparation. We are trying our bestto get everything settled by then,” he added. The 2009edition of the games, which include football,badminton, and archery, was also postponed and latercancelled over a dispute between Arab countries andIran over the name of a waterway. –AGENCIES

Indonesia postponesgames after workersshut stadium

Islamic Solidarity Games

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LLAAHHOORREE:: In a major relief forPakistan oQspinner Saeed Ajmal, hewill not require surgery to treat hisabdomen problem as it can betreated with medication. Ajmal, 35,was told by specialists last week thathe might require to have surgery totreat the abdomen problem whichwas related to hernia. “I had acomplete examination including alltests in Lahore at the weekend anddoctors now say the condition can betreated through medication and atthe moment I don’t require asurgery,” Ajmal said. Ajmal, who made a late start in

international cricket, has remainedPakistan's top bowler in the last fewyears having taken 133 wickets in 26Tests, 125 in 79 ODIs and 71 wickets in51 T20 internationals. “Honestlyspeaking I was a bit apprehensive andnervous after being told I could requirea surgery. But I am very relieved nowthat my stomach problem will betreated through medication,” he said.“I want to be 100 percent fit beforewe go to the Champions Trophy inEngland and for other assignments

as well,” he added. Ajmal, spurred on by the good

news, made his only appearance forhis regional team Faisalabad Wolvesin the National Super Eights T20Cup final against Sialkot Stallionsand bowled a decent spell. “It isharder to bowl in domestic cricketnow because once you have earneda name in international cricket,batsmen are always keen to do welloQ you so that they can come intothe spotlight. It requires hardworkto manage things in domesticcricket,” Ajmal said. The oQspinnerhad kept away from the tournamentbecause of the fears he mightrequire surgery.

Saeed Ajmal says hedoesn’t require surgery

OUR STAFF REPORTER

LLAAHHOORREE:: Stung by the Pakistan’sinconsistent performances in South Africa,the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hasordered preparation of pitches similar to theones in England so that the team can preparewell for the Champions trophy. A PCB oPcialsaid Tuesday PCB chief Zaka Ashraf afterdiscussion with the national selectors andteam management decided that specialpitches be prepared for the national camp.“Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq initiallysuggested having a month-long trainingcamp before the team leaves for Ireland andEngland for a ODI against Ireland andScotland and then the Champions Trophy.Ashraf agreed to this suggestion and has nowissued instructions that special pitches beprepared for the camp which should besimilar in nature to the ones found inEngland,” the oPcial added. He said the idea was to allow the players to

acclimatize to the sort of pitches they wouldfind in the Champions Trophy. “Havinglearnt from the experience of the SouthAfrican tour the board now wants the playershave a proper chance to prepare for theEngland tour,” he said. The oPcial alsoconfirmed that the board would now fast-track the process of appointing a battingcoach with the team. “The appointment willbe made now in a week or two so that he isavailable for the training camp.” He said theboard was ready to look at both foreign andlocal candidates.

MMOOSSCCOOWW:: Russian hammerthrower Olga Kuzenkova, the 2004Olympic champion, has beenhanded a two-year ban for doping,the country's athletics federationsaid on Tuesday. The federationsaid that the samples whichKuzenkova gave for testing at the2005 athletics worldchampionships in Helsinki,Finland, contained banned drugs,without elaborating. Kuzenkova'sban was backdated to March 27,2013 and all of her results fromAugust 12, 2005 until August 11,2007 were cancelled.The shot putter Svetlana

Krivelyova, who won the bronzemedal at 2004 Olympics, was alsobanned for two years from Tuesdayas samples she had given in Athensalso contained prohibitedsubstances. Again, the federationdid not specify the drugs. The anti-doping panel of the Russianathletics federation meanwhilesaid it had also banned 400mrunner Yelena Churakova for twoyears from February 28, 2013. Hersamples taken in the training camp

in Portugal in January containedtestosterone and methandienone.Russia has long been considered

a black spot in world anti-doping,with a string of athletes found guiltyof doping violations in recent years,but the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) has said it isconfident of a turnaround. Moscowwill host the World AthleticsChampionships this year while theWinter Olympics come to the BlackSea resort of Sochi next year, whichthe IOC hopes will prove a spur tomore rigorous testing. –AGENCIES

Olympic champion Kuzenkovabanned for doping

SSIINNGGAAPPOORREE:: Former Asian title-holdersPohang Steelers dealt SanfrecceHiroshima's AFC Champions League bid acrippling blow Tuesday when they beat theJapanese team 1-0 away to leave them onzero points after three games. Bae Chun-Suk's strike on 17 minutes condemned theJ-League champions to stay rooted at thefoot of Group G, needing a dramaticchange in fortunes in their last three poolgames if they are to reach next month'sknock-out round of 16.Elsewhere FC Seoul survived a late fight-

back to beat Japanese visitors VegaltaSendai 2-1 and extend their lead at the topof Group E, while China's Jiangsu Saintybeat Buriram United to bounce frombottom to second in the same pool.Sanfrecce badly needed a win to breathe lifeinto their campaign but they were rockedby the early goal from striker Bae after across from Go Moo-Yul, who had breachedthe Japanese side's defence from the left.Bae was denied a second by Hiroshimagoalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa's foot on 26minutes, before Park Hyung-Jin came closeto converting a chance at the other end.South Korea's Pohang, the 2009 Asian

champions, squandered several more goalattempts in the first half, while just beforethe break Hiroshima midfielder GakutoNotsuda headed Hironori Ishikawa's crossover the bar. On the hour-mark, NaokiIshihara was denied by the width of the postwhen he met Mihael Mikic's cross andheaded oQ the woodwork. Bae fired over

shortly afterwards and Pohang again cameclose at the death when Cho Chan-Hodribbled towards goal and fired oQ the rightpost. "We have no choice but to win the lastthree matches and keep believing it'spossible," said Hiroshima captain HisatoSato. "We need to throw everything at thelast three matches."In Seoul, the hosts were cruising after

first-half goals from Sergio Escudero andKim Jin-Kyu. But they had to endure ananxious finish after Sendai's Brazilianforward Wilson reduced the deficit with an87th-minute penalty. China's Jiangsu hadan easier evening in Nanjing after two goalsin consecutive minutes put Thai visitorsBuriram on the ropes just before half-time.The hosts were already in the ascendancywhen Le Bofei rifled in a rebound on 41minutes, and they floored Buriram just aminute later when Sun Ke rose unmarkedto head home Ji Xiang's cross from the left.Sun had a second-half eQort flagged oQ foroQside as Jiangsu leapfrogged Buriram andSendai to lie second in Group E, threepoints behind leaders FC Seoul.Tuesday's action continues with

Bunyodkor against Beijing Guoan, whichis the competition's first game betweenteams from Uzbekistan and China, andfour more fixtures in the Middle East. Thetop two from each of eight groups will gointo next month's round of 16 of thetrans-continental competition, whichthen takes a mid-year break and does notwrap up until November. –AGENCIES

Steelers send Japanesechampions crashing

AFC Champions LeaguePCB to makeEngland-likepitches for team

ICC Champions Trophy

NIcL scam case

SHc grants protectivebail to Amin FahimKKAARRAACCHHII:: Sindh High Court(SHC) on Tuesday granted ten-dayprotective bail to former FederalMinister for Commerce AminFahim. Granting bail, the courtordered Fahim to submit boundworth of Rs. 500,000. Amin Fahimwho is now on foreign trip, hadearlier filed petition in seekingprotective bail in NICL scam case.On Monday, a provincial anti-corruption court issuednon-bailable arrest warrantsagainst Fahim and seven others inthe case. The anti-corruption courtalso ordered police to arrest Fahimand present him before the courton April 12. Fahim, who recentlykicked off his election campaign byaddressing a public meeting inBhanote, would facedisqualification if convicted in thecase. –ONLINE

PTI’s QamarZaman joins PmL-NPPEESSHHAAWWAARR:: Former worldSquash champion Qamar Zamanhas announced to join PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)after quitting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). According to mediareports, the ex-world championsquash said that he had landed toPTI having the motive to changethe system, however, QamarZaman added that the party'sinternal circumstancesdisappointed him. People whoclung with power for so long aregathering around Imran Khan,said Qamar Zaman. He furthersaid, instead of teachingyoungsters, PTI is spreading theculture among the youth that isagainst our values. –ONLINE

PmL-N leaders exchangeharsh words over ticketLLAAHHOORREE:: Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) leadersKhawaja Saad Rafiq and Dr NabilaTariq Tuesday exchanged hostilewords over issue of reserved seatsin parliament. According to mediareports, Saad Rafiq and NabilaTariq had a brawl over differenceof opinion on reserved seat forwomen. Dr Nabila Tariq allegedthat Saad Rafiq got her nameremoved from the list of reservedseats for women. She said theincident took place when shearrived at party’s secretariat tosubmit application for reservedseat where she discussed thematter with Saad Rafiq. Sheclaimed that Saad used harshwords against her on theoccasion. However, Saad Rafiqueturned down the incident, sayingthat he could not even think ofbeing unkind with any woman,adding that it was a baselessallegation. –ONLINE

Nizami vows to workfor media freedomIISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Newly establishedInterim Cabinet Federal Minister ArifNizami on Tuesday vowed to work forfreedom of media and free andtransparent elections in the country.He said that Election Commission isfully functional in Pakistan. Talking toPakistan Television channel, he saidthat democracy is graduallystrengthening in the country. He saidthat maintaining law and ordershould be the priority of the InterimCabinet. He said that main objectiveof the interim set-up, is to hold free,fair and transparent elections acrossthe country. –MONITORING DESK

WEDNESDAYAPRIL 03, 2013THE SPOKESMAN - RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD

cmyk

SALMAN ABBAS

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Negligence of CapitalDevelopment Authority (CDA)towards keeping a strict check on theviolation of building by-laws and lackof fire prevention measures adopted bythe high-rise buildings in federalcapital has put the lives of hundreds ofthousands residents in danger.Neither fire exits nor any fire

extinguishers are installed in thebuildings whereas the poor maintenancein high rise residential apartments andeven in commercial buildings has alsobecome a headache for citizens thanks tothe lethargy of CDA ‘baboos’.According to a survey conducted by

The Spokesman, there are hundredsof high-rise buildings in the city,

including many luxury residentialapartments. The number of flats inthese apartments is around 300 withan average of five family members ineach, but most of these apartmentsand buildings lack fire preventionmeasures. “We have written a numberof letters to the CDA Chairman SyedTahir Shahbaz to look into the matterbut he has paid no heed towards ourcomplaint,” said Ahmad Abbas, aresident of Al-Mustafa Towers inSector F/10.“The unfortunate incident of

Margalla Towers collapse in theearthquake of 2005 is still fresh in ourmemories: we daily see the wreckedand ruined structure that reminds usconstantly of the irreparable loss ofover 90 lives and the irretrievable

damage caused to property. The sightof the destroyed building keepshaunting all the residents of Al-Mustafa Towers and we feel extremelyinsecure and vulnerable when weobserve the decaying and crumblingstatus of the Al-Mustafa towersbuilding,” said one of the letterswritten to the CDA chairman by theresidents of a high-rise apartmentbuilding, a copy of which was availablewith The Spokesman.But unfortunately, neither the

chairman nor the concerneddepartment of the authority seemserious about ensuring the fire safetymeasures and proper renovation ofhigh rise buildings. CDA oPcials triedto linger on the issue by making pretextof conducting survey in this regard.

Additional director of CDAEmergency and Disaster ManagementDirectorate, Zafar Iqbal, told TheSpokesman that it was not possible forthe authority to complete the survey ina short period because hundred ofbuildings existed in the city. “Oursurvey is underway and several teamshave been constituted for the purposewhich have been visiting all thebuildings of the city," said Zafar.However, CDA sources said that the

lack of fire safety measures by thebuilding owners are also a danger forthe infrastructure of the city, addingthat the issue is an old one but theowners of the buildings are violatingfire prevention measures deliberately.He said that the CDA was trying hard

for a long time for compliance of

"Building standards for fire preventionand life safety 2010" and it also boostedits eQorts after the incidents in twoprovincial capitals, but many of thebuildings in the city cannot meet thecriteria of said bill just because of theirold maps. The CDA building standardsunder “Building Standards for FirePrevention and Life Safety 2010” havebeen divided into three clauses; fireprevention, life safety and fireprotection. A CDA oPcial said that the

Directorate of Building ControlService, CDA notified the standardswhich were mandatory to comply withby the owners of buildings undercategory-II, III and IV. Category-IIincludes two-storey buildings,industries and all other non-residential

buildings except farmhouses whereascategory-III includes non-residentialbuildings up to five stories (includingground floor) and category-IV includesall high-rise buildings that are six-stories and above including groundfloor. In case of non-compliance, theAuthority can use its powers to vacateor seal any building or impose a fine ofup to Rs 500,000 on violators. Theexistence of such standards was feltduring the fire at Shaheed-i-MouldSecretariat in January 2002, fires inthe parliament building in 1989, 2002and 2007 and the bomb blast and fireat Marriott Hotel in September 2008and after the incidents of Lahore andKarachi, it became obligatory for theCDA to safeguard the federal capitalagainst any such incident.

‘Silent’ CDA puts thousands of lives at risk

PTA liftsban on calloperators

ZEESHAN JAVAID

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Despite the countryhas been facing so earlier prolongedpower load shedding up to 12 to 16hours, National Electric PowerRegulatory Authority (NEPRA)increased the consumer-end tariQup to Rs 1.34 per unit for residentialconsumers of Lahore and Rs 2.60per unit for Gujranwala regions,beside the another increase of Rs0.63 per unit under head of fueladjustment charges.The recent decision taken by

NEPRA against the petition filed byLahore Electric Supply Company(LESCO) and Gujranwala ElectricPower Company (GEPCO) allowedthem to increase the power tariQ forfiscal year 2012-13 to generate therevenue of accumulated amount Rs.299 billion during ongoing fiscalyear.The copy of decision available with

The Spokesman revealed residentialpower consumers of LESCOconsuming up to 50 units, tariQwould remain the same, however theconsumers for peak loadrequirement less than 5kwconsuming up to 100 units,company marginally decreased thetariQ from Rs. 11.43 to 11.09 per unitshowing cut in tariQ paisa 34, whileon consumption of electricity unitwithin the slab of 101-300, thecompany increased in slab rate up toRs 1.34 from Rs 12.66 to Rs 14 perunit, within electricity consumptionslab 301-700 units, new powerconsumer end tariQ for LESCOregion determined by NEPRA Rs 17per unit showing increase of Rs 1.34per unit as compare to tariQdetermined for last FY 2011-12,electricity consumption above 700units, company would charge Rs. 18per unit showing paisa 34 up fromexisting Rs 17.66 per unit.Similarly, the residential power

consumers of GEPCO consumingup to 50 units, tariQ increased Rs 1per unit, while the consumers for

peak load requirement less than 5kwconsuming up to 100 units,company increased the tariQ fromRs 9.50 to 12.10 per unit showingpower tariQ up Rs 2.60 per unit, onconsumption of electricity unitwithin the slab of 101-300, thecompany increased in slab rate up toRs. 1.45 from Rs 13.55 to Rs 15 perunit, within electricity consumptionslab 301-700 units, new powerconsumer end tariQ for GEPCOregion determined by NEPRA Rs 17per unit showing increase of Rs 1.50per unit as compare to tariQdetermined for last FY 2011-12,electricity consumption above 700units, company would charge Rs 19per unit showing paisa 2.50 up fromexisting Rs 16.50 per unit.NEPRA also allowed both most

power consuming powerdistribution companies to increasethe consumer end tariQ ofcommercial, industrial andagricultural tube well consumers.While under head of fuel

adjustment charges, NEPRAincreased Rs0.63 in the price of perunit of electricity on account of fuelprice adjustment over the request ofCentral Power Purchasing Agency(CPPA), sources said on Tuesday.During the hearing, Central Power

Purchase Agency informed thattotally 5.40 billion electricity unitswere generated at a fuel cost of Rs.43.38 billion during the month ofMarch. While 370.60 million unitsadditional loss surfaced under headline losses in comparison with theset target.Though NEPRA set Rs7.64/unit

as Reference Fuel Cost (RFC) for themonth of February yet actual fuelcost remained at Rs8.31/unit so theCPPA sought Rs0.67/unit hike inelectricity price. The NEPRA approved

Rs0.63/unit hike in electricity priceover the request of CPPA but thisraise would not impact theconsumers of KESC and those whouse 50units in a month.

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

Power costlierfor Gujranwalaand Lahore

RAWALPINDI: PPP activists burning tyres on the murder site of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during a demonstration againstthe alleged unjust distribution of party tickets in the upcoming elections.–ONLINE

AHMED AHMADANI

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: After six longyears, Pakistan has now liftedban over issuing new licensesto the long distanceinternational (LDI)operators, which managedincoming international callsto the country it is learnt onTuesday.This much-awaited

decision will open newbusiness avenues for thoseLDI operators who areinterested to invest inPakistan and would also helpin managing the traPc flowof international calls toPakistan in a legal way.Sources in Pakistan

TelecommunicationAuthority (PTA) disclosed tothis scribe that a ban imposedin 2006 on issuing newlicenses to LDI operators,which managed incominginternational calls to thecountry, had been vacated onMarch 31. Due to lifting ban,there would be a visiblereduction in illegal traPc infuture. They said only 13operators owned licenses andannually these few operatorsbrought 20b minuteincoming international callsto the country. The PTA had decided to

issue new licenses due tocontinuous increase in theincoming international calls.However, issuance of licenseswould be started after theappointment of chairmanand members of PTA.

IISSLLAAMMAABBAADD:: Supreme Court (SC) hasadjourned till April 11, hearing of intracourt appeal filed by NAB Chairman Fasihud Din Bokhari with reference tocontempt of court case.A 5-member larger bench of Supreme

Court (SC) led by Justice Anwar ZahirJamali Tuesday resumed the hearing ofintra court appeal filed by NAB chairmanFasih ud Din Bokhari.Latif Khosa counsel for chairman NAB

took the plea that his client was notresponsible if his letter had reached thehands of media. Aitzaz Ahsan hadadmitted before media on February, 17 thatChief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry had expressed his desire toinclude Raja Amir Abbasi in legal branchof NAB. NAB is answerable to thepresident with respect to its annualperformance, therefore, NAB chairmanhad written a letter to the president. “Letterwas secret. We don’t know how it reachedmedia. The media presents remarks andobservations of the court as the verdict ofthe court”. He further argued contempt ofcourt law does not exist at all and this lawhas ceased to exist from 2004.All areinitiating proceedings under 2003 laws.Legislation is needed on this count.Justice Ejaz Afzal remarked reply in this

respect has been given in Yousuf RazaGilani contempt of court case.Latif Khosa argued the bench which has

rendered decision cannot hear this case.

Chairman NAB wrote secret letter to thepresident of Pakistan on January, 27 on theperformance of NAB and the diPcultiesbeing faced by it. Justice Anwar Zahirremarked if the letter was secret then itshould have remained between the senioroPcers. How it found way to media?Latif Khosa said his client had not given

this letter to media, then, as to why he isbeing indicted. Justice Ejaz Afzal remarkedif no evidence comes against chairmanNAB then he will be acquitted. Latif Khosasaid Arsalan Iftikhar and Malik Riaz hadexpressed lack of trust on NAB, therefore,investigation was withdrawn from NAB. DrArsalan had written a letter to chairman NABon June, 21, 2012 that chairman NAB hadrelationship with Malik Riaz and his daughteris working as employee in Bahria Town sinceseveral years. The court adjourned thehearing of the case till April, 11.Meanwhile, Supreme Court has deferred

the indictment of Chairman NAB, FaseehBukhari in contempt of court case, on theground that he has to appear before thecourt in another case. A three-memberbench of the apex court headed by ChiefJustice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudharyheard the case on Tuesday. ProsecutorGeneral NAB, K K Agha told the apexcourt that Bukhari is busy in intra-courtappeal, and is waiting for the final verdict.He requested the court to delay thehearing. As a result, the Court adjournedhearing of the case till April 10. –ONLINE

NAB chairman contempt case

How secretletter found wayto media, asks SC

MONITORING DESK

QQUUEETTTTAA:: A disgruntled PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)woman worker attempted toimmolate herself after she wasdenied a party ticket to contest in thegeneral elections to be held in May,Geo News reported.Reportedly, PML-N leadership

had refused Sakina Mengal a ticketto run for one of the reserved seatsfor women, which frustrated her tothe extent that he doused herselfwith kerosene oil and tried to setherself on fire outside Quetta PressClub, however fellow workers didnot let her strike a match.Later police arrested Mengal for

attempted suicide.According to sources a resentful

Sakina Mengal was unhappy withthe PML-N top brass, which shesaid, awarded tickets to juniorparty members bypassing a seniorworker like her.

“I condemn this sheer injustice asit is not like Pakistan Muslim

League-Nawaz at all. It runs counterto the true spirit of the party. Ishould be awarded a party ticketwhen I deserve it”, said she talking tomedia afterwards.

� SC defers Faseeh Bukhari’s indictment till April 10

PML-N’s Sakinaattempts suicide afterparty ticket denied

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari administering oath to the caretaker ministers at President’s House. –ONLINE