E paper pdf (17 02 2015) (khi)

CMYK

7.8M NEW VOTERS READY FOR ENLISTMENT

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015 Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1436 Rs 17.00 Vol V No 228 16 Pages Karachi Edition

Ruling out reports of rifts within the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ranks, party’s patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday claimed in a tweet that the party is united

PAKISTAN ASKS INDIA TO RECIPROCATE PRISONERS’ RELEASE

STORY ON PAGE 02

STORIES ON PAGES 02 & 04

Sharifs are in it to win it!

PM SHARIF GRILLS SINDH POLICE FOR SLACKNESS, URGES APEX COMMITTEES TO PROMPTLY DELIVER AGAINST TERRORISM, SAYS LOSING NOT AN OPTION COAS CALLS FOR DEPOLITICISING POLICE IN KARACHI, MAKING RECRUITMENT PROCESS THROUGH APEX COMMITTEE STORY ON PAGE 03

Did Pakistan throw 41 Islamabad madrassas to be in the towel Sunday? shut during military parade As per Twitter record, Pakistani Aslam Khan Tanoli tweeted much earlier before the match that India would score 300 runs while Pakistan would be back in the dressing room at 220

Egypt strikes IS targets in Libya after beheadings video

PCB not to protest third umpire’s doubtful decision for Umar Akmal STORIES ON PAGE 02

CMYK

GUEST IN TOWN: Turkish PM arriving today STORIES ON PAGES 02, 03 & 05

02 NEWS

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

PPP is united, says Bilawal QUESTIONS LOYALTY OF SENIOR LEADERS INCLUDING AMIN FAHIM AND ZULFIQAR MIRZA

PPP CHAIRMAN SAYS THOSE MAKING CLAIMS OF RIFTS WITHIN PARTY ARE NOT FRIENDS OF PPP KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

ULING out reports of rifts within the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ranks, party’s patron-in-chief Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Monday claimed in a tweet that the party is united.

The announcement is seemingly a snub to some senior leaders of the party who left for London to share their grievances with the young Bhutto against the party’s top leadership, especially the cochairman Asif Ali Zardari.

“Anyone claiming otherwise and speaking against the leadership is no friend of the party,” Bilawal tweeted.

Bilawal’s statement on social media comes after the reported differences with his father, Zardari.

On Saturday, PPPP President Makhdoom Amin Fahim, former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza and PPP Karachi President Abdul Qadir Patel reportedly left for London to meet Bilawal Bhutto.

Party stalwart and former home

file photo

minister Sindh, Zulfiqar Mirza had also fanned the rumours circling in the local media about differences between the top leadership of the PPP. In an explosive interview to Geo News last week, Mirza had claimed the PPP was being run as ‘a one-man show’. “Asif Ali Zardari is running the Sindh provincial government like his personal business,” he said, while

PCB NOT TO PROTEST THIRD UMPIRE’S DOUBTFUL DECISION FOR UMAR AKMAL LAHORE: In surprising move, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to protest over Umar Akmal’s controversial dismissal by the third umpire to International Cricket Council (ICC).

According to the report, the PCB will not lodge any protest to International Cricket Council (ICC) over third umpire’s doubtful decision of declaring Umar Akmal out. It is pertinent to mention that on Sunday, third umpire Steve Davis had declared Umar Akmal out despite that snickometer did not show that ball having touched Umar’s bat. International commentators on TV also declared the third umpire’s decision doubtful and former Pakistani cricketers Ramiz Raja and Shoaib Akhtar had demanded the PCB to register strong protest to ICC. Moreover, Pakistan cricket lover were expecting that the PCB will register protest over controversial decision in crucial match which was stated to be final before the final. On the other hand, Pakistani cricket lovers were astonished that the PCB has declared the third umpire’s decision right. STAFF REPORT

speaking in a TV talk show.

Mirza had also claimed during the interview that some ‘cronies’ of Zardari wanted to keep Bilawal away from politics. “All this was against the principles of Benazir Bhutto and I believe Bilawal feels the same way,” he said.

The outspoken politician accused the PPP leadership of also personally benefiting from such policies.

The PPP chairman also used a Latin phrase on Twitter, “Et tu Brutus?” – an expression often used to question a good friend’s loyalty. There were also reports of differences between Amin Fahim and Zardari. Both the leaders had a series of meetings in Karachi and Larkana. Later, Amin Fahim’s son, Makhdoom Jameel ul Zaman was given full authority and an extra portfolio of relief and rehabilitation in the Sindh government and some of his people were also accommodated in various departments in Sindh. Their issues, however, have not yet been resolved.

“Although Fahim was a member of PPP parliamentary board which allotted Senate ticket to party members a few days ago, he was not present at the meeting because of his grievances with the party leadership,” sources said.

Despite repeated attempts, members from PPP could not be reached for a response. The party’s provincial spokesperson Waqar Mehdi denied reports of differences between PPP leaders and said he had no idea about a delegation leaving for London.

TURKISH PM ARRIVING TODAY ON MAIDEN VISIT ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is due in Islamabad on Tuesday (today) on a two-day official visit to Pakistan.

According to a statement released by the Foreign Office, this will be the first visit of Prime Minister Davutoglu to Pakistan since assuming office in August 2014.

The statement said that the programme for the Turkish premier’s visit envisages meeting between the two prime ministers, a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and a joint press stakeout.

“Prime Minister Davutolu would call on President Mamnoon Hussain, who would also host a dinner in honour of the visiting dignitary and the accompanying delegation,” the statement added. The Foreign Office said that a number of MoUs and agreements are expected to be signed on the occasion.

The statement said that Nawaz and Davutolu will co-chair the 4th

meeting of the Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) while the two Prime Ministers will also attend the PakistanTurkey Business Forum 2015.

“The HLSCC meeting would be preceded by the meetings of Joint Working Groups (JBGs) in 6 key areas including finance and banking, trade, energy, transport and communications; Education; and Culture and Tourism,” it said.

“Prior to HLSCC, the relevant

ministers would also have bilateral interactions and present outcomes of their deliberations at the HLSCC meeting,” it added.

The High Level Cooperation Council (HLCC) was established at the prime ministerial level in October 2009. It has had three sessions so far: in Ankara in December 2010; Islamabad in May 2012; and Ankara in September 2013.

At the 3rd session in 2013, the Council was renamed as “High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC)” to reflect the strategic nature of the relationship.

The Foreign Office said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy a special relationship marked by exceptional cordiality and deep mutual trust and understanding while the two countries have common perceptions on regional and international issues and work closely at regional and multilateral fora. “The leadership in both countries remains strongly committed to further deepening, broadening and strengthening the bilateral relationship in every field,” it said.

7.8M NEW VOTERS READY FOR ENLISTMENT ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to include names of new NIC-holders in the voters’ list ahead of the forthcoming local government (LG) polls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and general elections. The decision was taken at a meeting held at the ECP headquarters on Monday with Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza as the chair. ECP members Justice (r) Muhammad Roshan Essani, Justice (r) Riaz Kayani, Justice (r) Shazad Akbar Khan and Justice (r) Fazal-ur-Rehman, ECP acting Secretary Syed Sher Afgan, NADRA Chairman Usman Yousaf Mobin and other officials also attended the meeting. During the meeting, the matter regarding upgradation/synchronisation, and revision of electoral rolls, came under discussion.

Keeping in view the upcoming LG elections in KP, expected to be held in May, it was decided to initiate arrangements to include the names of new NIC-holders as voters, and exclude people who have become disqualified due to death, nationality surrender, or cancellation of NIC. The same exercise will also be carried out in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, after the completion of delimitation exercise in Punjab and Sindh, the ECP said. The meeting decided to include approximately 7.8 million new NIC-holders into the voter list that had been issued by NADRA after the general elections 2013, whereas approximately 0.5 million or more were disqualified as voters.

The ECP said that around 1.2 million voters would be included in the KP electoral rolls in order to help facilitate them with their participation in the forthcoming LG elections. STAFF REPORT

184 CANDIDATES SUBMIT NOMINATIONS FOR SENATE ELECTIONS: ECP ISLAMABAD: One hundred and eighty four candidates have submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming Senate elections, a statement by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Monday. According to the ECP, 23 candidates from Punjab, 28 candidates from Sindh, 39 candidates from Khyber Pakhtunkha and 42 from Balochistan submitted their nomination papers.

Furthermore, nine candidates submitted their nomination papers for one seat in the federal capital and 43 candidates for four seats in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on Feb 19 and 20 and elections for the Senate will take place on March 5. The legal requirements for candidates standing in the Senate elections would be scrutinised according to Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution which lay out the necessary qualifications for induction in Parliament. STAFF REPORT

PAK-INDIA CRICKET - 6TH LOSS OR 6TH FIX? AS PER OFFICIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT, PAKISTANI ASLAM KHAN TANOLI TWEETED AROUND 12:35AM SUNDAY THAT INDIA WOULD SCORE 300 RUNS WHILE PAKISTAN WOULD BE ALL OUT AT 220 ISLAMABAD DiSPATch NEwS DESk

Conspiracy theories always grip Pakistan-India cricket matches, and it is not surprising that claims that the match was fixed have surfaced once more. On Sunday, a man tweeted the results of the ICC Cricket World Cup match between the two archrivals much earlier than the match had ended.

During the much-awaited match between India and Pakistan played at the Adelaide Oval India beat Pakistan by 76 runs, and kept their record of never being beaten

by Pakistan during a world cup match.

The Indian side won the toss and went on to score 300 runs after opting to bat first. They played the full 50 overs and lost seven wickets. On the other hand, Pakistan was all out at 224 during the 47th over. The match ended late in the af-

ternoon as per Pakistan Standard Time.

However, surprisingly a person named Aslam Khan Tanoli, at around 12:35am, tweeted that India would score 300 runs while Pakistan would be all out at 220.

The person was so sure in his claim that he asked the viewers to copy his tweet and accept his challenge.

We know that the Pakistan vs. India Match concluded at around 4:30pm, then how was it possible for Tanoli to have so accurately predicted the outcome of the match five hours ahead of closing time?

This tweet is currently making rounds on Facebook and Twitter, along with claims that the match was fixed. Well it could be — who knows — but not because this person predicted the results of the game well ahead of the outcome.

It is pertinent to mention here that Twitter does not allow its users to change the timestamp of a tweet. Even when you

change the time zone or try to tweak the settings, changing the time is simply impossible. So technically speaking, Tanoi tweeted exactly at 12:35am. Of course Tanoli does not have a time machine either. All he has is a neat little trick. What is interesting is not the prediction but the fact that Tanoli tweeted hundreds of other tweets, with all sorts of probable scenarios along with this one. Eventually, when the match was over he deleted irrelevant or incorrect tweets and left the one that had matched the results.

This is not something new to the man.

During July of last year, something similar happened when an account accurately predicted the outcome of the FIFA World Cup even before the match had begun.

A twitter handle called “Reign of Football” had tweeted all possible scenarios ahead of the FIFA World Cup Finals, and then deleted all of the incorrect outcomes. Earlier a couple of weeks ago, the former Pakistan cricket team captain Aamir Sohail had hinted at purported fixing of India Pakistan world cup matches.

In reply to question raised by a reporter about Pakistan losing all their world cup matches against India, Sohail said that results of such matches are decided not in the ground but off the ground.

CMYK

THE INDIAN SIDE WON THE TOSS AND WENT ON TO SCORE 300 RUNS AFTER OPTING TO BAT FIRST. THEY PLAYED THE FULL 50 OVERS AND LOST SEVEN WICKETS. ON THE OTHER HAND, PAKISTAN WAS ALL OUT AT 224 DURING THE 47TH OVER

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

NEWS

03

losing anti-teRRoR waR not an oPtion: PM PM SHARIF GRILLS SINDH POLICE FOR SLACKNESS, URGES APEX COMMITTEES TO PROMPTLY DELIVER AGAINST TERRORISM, SAYS LOSING NOT AN OPTION KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

DDRESSING a meeting of the Apex Committee of Sindh in Karachi on Monday to review implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) for weeding out terrorism from the country, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that losing was not an option in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

“We have to win the war against terrorism at all costs to secure the country and future of coming generations. Failure is not an option, we have to win the war against terrorism,” the premier said.

He said that NAP had not been prepared by just a single party but had endorsement of all the political parties of the country, adding that two points, out of 20-point agenda, had been implemented immediately through the passage of 21st Constitutional and Army Act amendments for setting up special trial courts.

Sharif said that apex committees, formed in the provinces for NAP’s implementation, are regularly holding meetings for reviewing progress and taking decisions for implementation.

Sensitising the meeting about the sentiments of people who are looking forward for tangible results, country’s prime minister said that problems and impediments in NAP’s way of implementation had been clearly expressed in the meeting and hunt for solutions was underway.

The premier also termed the Baldia factory fire as a grave incident. “Justice should be served to the victims of Baldia Town incident,” he said, while asking the Sindh chief secretary for briefing.

Reviewing the progress of ongoing operation in Karachi, the premier also criticised the Sindh Police for not performing effectively in combating terrorism.

KARACHI CORPS COMMANDER COMPLAINS TO PM ABOUT SINDH GOVT’S INEFFICIENCY, SAYS GOVT CHANGED THREE HOME MINISTERS IN A MONTH

The meeting of the Sindh Apex Committee was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and also attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif, Karachi Corps Commander Lieutenant General Naveed Mukthar, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Governer Dr Ishrat ul Ibad, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali shah, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) DG Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar and other ministers.

COAS WANTS KARACHI CLEAN: Addressing the occasion, COAS Gen Sharif said that action should be taken against all criminals without any distinctions based on political, religious or sectarian lines.

Stressing the need to depoliticise the police force in Karachi, the army chief said that there should be no political interference in postings and transfers of police officers. He also proposed to make all recruitments in law enforcement agencies through apex committee.

“Karachi plays an important role in the country’s overall economy. Peace in Karachi means peace in the entire country, for which effective measures are needed to be taken. The consensus of all stakeholders is critical for the peace of Karachi.” The army chief said an atmosphere of peace was created because of the Rangers-led operation, and that political forces also needed to play their role for permanent peace in Karachi. He also urged improved coordination between intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

GEN SHARIF VISITS RANGERS: Moreover, during his Karachi stay, Gen Sharif visited the Rangers Headquarters where he was given a briefing by Sindh Rangers Director General Major General Bilal Akbar over the ongoing operation and the city’s prevailing security situation.

Commending the performance of

Rangers, police and intelligence agencies, Gen Sharif said that all possible resources should be provided to restore and maintain security and peace in the city, and that the army will go to any length to restore peace in Karachi, said ISPR DG. ARMY, AGENCIES UP CLOSE WITH PM: Earlier during the day, COAS Gen Sharif and PM Sharif separately arrived in Karachi to review the city’s security situation in the midst of a targeted operation to rid the city of criminal and terrorist elements as well as the implementation of the NAP in the aftermath of the attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School.

Upon his arrival at the Karachi Airport, the premier was greeted by Sindh governor and chief minister.

Prior to the provincial apex commit-

PROSECUTOR IN BALDIA FACTORY FIRE CASE STEPS DOWN OVER ‘NON-COOPERATION’ SOURCES SAY PROSECUTOR HAD SHAZIA HANJRA SAYS GOVT ALSO SOUGHT POLICE SECURITY BUT AUTHORITIES NOT COOPERATING WITH HER PLEAS WENT UNANSWERED HER, CAUSING DELAY IN THE CASE KARACHI

COAS CALLS FOR DEPOLITICISING POLICE IN KARACHI, MAKING RECRUITMENT PROCESS THROUGH APEX COMMITTEE, INDISCRIMINATE ACTION AGAINST ALL CRIMINALS FROM POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS OR SECTARIAN BACKGROUNDS

tee meeting, PM Sharif and COAS Gen Sharif also held a meeting at the Corps Headquarters Karachi.

The meeting was also attended by ISI DG Lt Gen Akhtar and Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Mukhtar who briefed the political and military leaders on the occasion. According to reports, Gen Mukhtar told the prime minister that inefficient management of the Sindh government was hurting efforts against terrorism and was casing difficulties in running the matters of war.

Gen Mukhtar said that the provincial government has changed three home secretaries– Mumtaz Shah, Niaz Abbasi and Abdul Rahim Somro– in one month alone, causing difficulties in handling the matters. The prime minister appreciated the ongoing intelligence-based operation

CIVIL SOCIETY PROTESTS AGAINST TERRORISM, IN ISLAMABAD, LAHORE AND KARACHI lAhoRe: Civil society took to the streets in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore against the growing menace of terrorism on Monday. Members of the civil society gathered at the Islamabad Press Club to record their protest against the rising terrorist attacks in the country, they raised slogans against terrorism. In Karachi, members of the civil society gathered in large numbers at the “Teen Talwar” (three swords) intersection and raised slogans against terrorism. In Lahore, the civil society organised a protest demonstration at Charing Cross roundabout on Mall road in Lahore. STAFF REPORT

41 Islamabad madrassas to be shut for military parade ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

STAFF REPORT

Special prosecutor Shazia Hanjra on Monday separated herself from the Baldia Town factory arson case and has sent a written notification in this regard to the Sindh government.

Hanjra was appointed as special public prosecutor for the Baldia Town factory fire case on behalf of the state. Hanjra said investigating authorities had not been cooperating with her and that Investigating Officer (IO) Sub-Inspector Jehanzeb had given a no-objection certificate to the factory owners’ bail application. She added that the IO had still not given her a copy of investigation documents.

The prosecutor expressed her concerns regarding the delay in the case and said that the Sindh High Court’s directives were not being followed by the government and that was due to the lack of cooperation by the investigation officer. Sources, meanwhile, said that Hanjra could not continue with the case due to security risks. It has been learnt that the special prosecutor was not provided with security while travelling to and from the premises of the court. Previously, Hanjra had written to the government on the matter, but there has been no progress on her plea.

She had notified the Law Department and the Sindh government regarding security risks asking to be provided with security at her home, office and during travel.

However, no police personnel were deployed for Hanjra’s security.

The process for appointing a new prosecutor in the case is underway, however, the government has not disclosed any names as yet. It is expected that in the next few hours the Sindh government along with the

Law Department may look at the list of prosecutors and select someone in Hanjra’s place.

The Baldia Town factory inferno case took a dramatic turn last week when a report by Rangers claimed that activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were behind the deadly fire that claimed the lives of at least 258 factory workers.

The report prepared by a joint investigation team (JIT) was submitted to the Sindh High Court by an additional attorney general, along with a statement of the deputy assistant judge advocate general of Rangers, Major Ashfaque Ahmed.

The statement said that the information had been disclosed by suspect Mohammad Rizwan Qureshi, an alleged worker of the MQM, on June 22, 2013 during joint investigation of the factory inferno.

in Karachi in support of Operation Zarbi-Azb and NAP, according to a tweet by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asim Bajwa.

PM MEETS ZARDARI: Prior to the apex committee meeting in which the prime minister had invited PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari by virtue of PPP’s government in Sindh, Sharif and former president met at the Governor’s House on Monday and discussed a host of issues, including the country’s political situation, implementation of the National Action Plan and ongoing anti-terror operations in Karachi, North Waziristan and Khyber tribal regions.

According to sources, the two discussed security issues in the province as well as exchanged views of mutual interest.

The Islamabad district administration has decided to close down at least 41 madrassas in the federal capital as part of security measures for the March 23 military parade.

The decision to close the madrassas was taken by the additional deputy commissioner and other security officials. Police stations within the jurisdiction of the 41 seminaries have been instructed to enforce the closure. They include 18 seminaries of Police Station I-9, 14 of Abpara Police Station, 6 of Shahzad Town and 3 from Secretariat Police Station. Sources said the seminaries will be shut from 18th till 24th March.

The government has recently taken action on the monitoring of funds for seminaries accused of promoting militancy and extremism.

Measures have been taken in the aftermath of the December 16th Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar in which over 140 people were killed, majority of them children. In January, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan met with representatives of madressas who agreed that religious seminaries found involved in abetting terrorist activities would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

It was agreed in the declaration that a committee comprising federal and provincial departments and the Ittehad-i-Tanzeemaat-i-Madaris would be formed to prepare a comprehensive registration form to ensure registration of all seminaries. Religious seminaries are now bound to submit audit

CMYK

FIR REGISTERED AGAINST ASWJ LEADER, PARTY WORKERS iSlAMABAD: An FIR [First Information Report] was filed against Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) on Monday for spreading religious hatred, violating the Amplifier Act and interfering in government functions.

Station House Officer (SHO) Nawaz Bhatti at the Secretariat Police Station registered the FIR which named party chief Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi along with other representatives of the ASWJ. The ASWJ had staged a protest outside the Supreme Court on Monday over the death of party leader Maulana Mazhar Siddiqui.

The FIR also mentions charges against the party members for carrying Siddiqui’s dead body from Nadra Chowk to the Supreme Court during which there was a scuffle with the police and party members snatched their batons outside the court. Six party workers have also been arrested. Maulana Mazhar Siddiqui, the spokesperson of the ASWJ’s Rawalpindi chapter was targeted on Sunday morning near Pirwadhai Morr within the precincts of the Rawalpindi’s Golra police station. STAFF REPORT

reports of their accounts and any foreign funding would only come through official channels in a mode to be worked out by the government.

04 NEWS

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

UNSC DEMANDS HOUTHIS WITHDrAW IN YEMEN, END vIOLENCE RESOLUTION FALLS SHORT OF INVOKING CHAPTER SEVEN OF UN CHARTER ALLOWING FOR MILITARY ENFORCEMENT, A MEASURE DEMANDED BY GCC UNITED NATIONS

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AGENCIES

HE United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Sunday voted to adopt a resolution that demands Houthi militia in Yemen withdraw from government institutions, calls for an end to foreign interference and threatens “further steps” if the violence does not stop.

The 15-member Council approved the resolution, drafted by Jordan and Britain, unanimously. UN- led peace talks have failed since a Houthi takeover ousted President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet last month.

But the resolution falls short of in-

voking Chapter Seven of the UN Charter allowing for military enforcement, a measure demanded by the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc comprising Gulf states.

Since seizing power in January, the Houthis have dissolved parliament and set up their own ruling body. They say they are carrying out a “revolution” against corrupt officials and economic ruin. The president and his ministers remain under rebel house arrest.

The UN has warned that Yemen is collapsing. Shia Houthi fighters have sidelined the central government after seizing the capital Sanaa in September and expanding across Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia.

Al Qaeda and other Sunni Muslim militants have since stepped up attacks.

IS chops off three women’s hands, flog men for using mobile phone in Mosul Islamic State has reportedly cut off three women’s hands as a punishment for unidentified reasons and flogged men in Mosul for using a mobile phone, The Independent reported on Monday. “(On Thursday) evening, the IS militants cut three women’s hands off for unknown charges,” a source told Iraqi News.

“They also whipped five people for using cellphones to contact their relatives while standing on the celebration stage in the Cultural Compound in central Mosul,” the source said. The militant group has also issued a ruling prohibiting the use of mobile phones, with a punishment resulting in 30 lashes. IS has allegedly banned the use of mobile phones due to worries of residents playing the role of informants to the US-led coalition which is bombing their positions. Further, the group has blocked mobile networks in Mosul blaming informers for providing information to the coalition forces of their whereabouts, according to the Associated Press. After the militant groups’ decision to stop the use of mobile phones with the terrifying threat, residents said businesses in the city had come to a halt, and Mosul had descended into “paralysis” and “chaos”. MONITORING DESK

SC suspends ET’s decision to disqualify PML-N minister islaMaBaD: The Supreme Court on Monday suspended an election tribunal’s decision to disqualify Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Minister for Prisons Chaudhry Abdul Waheed Arain.

An MPA from PP-196, Arain was disqualified by the tribunal on February 5 for possessing two national identity cards.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Rana Jabbar had filed a petition against Arain in the tribunal.

The petition had stated that Arain was using two national identity cards – one for official documents and parliamentary affairs and the other for paperwork regarding his property, banks accounts and business deals. STAFF REPORT

Yemen is home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the global network’s most active arms, which has carried out attacks abroad. The text, declares the council’s readiness to take “further steps” if the resolution is not implemented by parties in Yemen. In November, the council imposed sanctions on Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and two Houthi leaders. The text “deplores actions taken by the Houthis to dissolve parliament and take over Yemen’s government institutions, including acts of violence.”

It demanded the Houthis engage in good faith in UN- brokered negotiations on a political settlement, withdraw their forces from government institutions, release Yemen’s president, prime minister and other cabinet mem-

bers from house arrest and stop undermining the political transition and the security of Yemen.

The draft resolution “calls on all member states to refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability and instead to support the political transition.”

The text “demands that all parties in Yemen, cease all armed hostilities against the people and the legitimate authorities of Yemen and relinquish the arms seized from Yemen’s military and security institutions.” Tens of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in several cities on Saturday against the rule of the Houthi movement as clashes between Houthis and Sunnis in a southern mountainous region left 26 dead.

The draft text calls on all parties to ensure the security of diplomats and diplomatic premises. Saudi Arabia, the United States and other western countries have closed embassies due to fears of worsening violence.

Electricity price expected to be reduced by Rs 3.20 per unit ISLAMABAD/LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The price of electricity is expected to be reduced by Rs 3.20 per unit. The hearing of Central Power Purchasing Agency’s (CPPA) request will be held on Tuesday (today) by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). According to NEPRA officials, CPPA has submitted an application for reduction in electricity rates in view of monthly fuel adjustment charges. The application states that the electricity cost for production by coal was Rs 4.49 per unit, by diesel it was Rs 19.18, by furnace oil Rs 12.38, Rs 3.57 by gas and Rs 1.18 per unit by nuclear means.

According to details, the rate for electricity imported from Iran was Rs 10.20 per unit. According to the application, the overall expenses for electricity production is Rs 6.32 whereas reference price was fixed at Rs 9.53 per unit.

Furnace oil price rises rs 2,000: The price of furnace oil used in the production of electricity in Pakistan has increased by about Rs 2,000 per tonne to reach Rs 37,400 per tonne. A rise in global crude oil prices has affected the otherwise consistently falling price of furnace oil. According to experts, the constant falling price of furnace oil during October to December last year attributed to the reduction of cost of electricity production by Rs 3. The relief is being passed on to consumers gradually by the government.

CJP suffers heart attack, recovering at hospital PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Nasirul Mulk was admitted to Rehman Medical Institute (RMI) following a heart attack on Monday.

The chief justice was admitted to RMI where his angiography tests were conducted, and the test results were clear.

“He has been admitted; we’re not sure about the

time period he will stay here,” sources said.

Justice Mulk arrived at the Supreme of Court of Pakistan’s registry in the provincial capital to hear cases on Monday when he suffered chest pain and was rushed to the hospital.

Further, oath taking ceremony of Justice Maqbool Baqir, who has been elevated to the Supreme Court from the Sindh High Court, will be held on Tuesday.

Pakistan asks India to reciprocate prisoners’ release islaMaBaD: Monday repatriated 173 Indian prisoners and hoped India will reciprocate by releasing from its jails all Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences. “It is our hope that the government of India would release all Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on phone and informed him that he would soon send his top diplomat to Islamabad, raising hopes for the revival of stalled bilateral talks. India cancelled talks with Pakistan in August last year to protest over a meeting of the Pakistani high commissioner in New Delhi with Kashmiri separatist leaders. STAFF REPORT

COAS grants ailing boy’s wish to become soldier for a day KaracHi: A 17-year-old boy has been granted his wish to become a soldier in the Pakistan Army for a single day by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, a statement by the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Shoaib Aurangzeb, a boy who is suffering from Thalassemia, was made a soldier for a day after expressing his desire through a letter to Gen Sharif. The COAS met Shoaib and granted him his wish to become part of the Pakistan Army. He also inquired about his health and appreciated his spirits and resolve for the defence of the motherland.

Later Shoaib visited an army unit in Malir and spent his day with the troops.

Thalassemia is a disease caused by the weakening and destruction of red blood cells and can be the cause of significant complications, including pneumonia, iron overload, bone deformities and cardiovascular illness. STAFF REPORT

BDS defuses IED near Wah Cantt college WaH canTT: The security forces recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) from a garbage bin near Wah Cantt Federal Government College on Monday.

As per details, Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was instantly summoned to defuse the bomb. According to the Pakistan Ordinance Factory’s security officers, the bomb weighed approximately 2.5 kg, having half kilograms of explosive material. Intelligence agency declared the area clear after completing the search operation. ONLINE

POLIO TEAM FIRED UPON IN SWAT PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

A polio vaccination team on Monday came under attack in the country’s restive northwest when a person opened fire on the health workers, refusing to let his children be immunised against the crippling disease.

Bacha Zada opened fire on the health workers when they arrived at his home to vaccinate his children in Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said. An FIR has been

lodged against Zada and he has been arrested, said Rahimabad Police Station SHO Hanif Khan.

Khan said no loss of life was reported in the incident.

Deputy Commissioner Mehmood Aslam said fool-proof security arrangements have been made for polio teams in Swat, and added that the four-day anti-polio campaign would continue.

Pakistan is one of the only three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where the crippling disease remains endemic. Islamist hardliners con-

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sider anti-polio vaccines a Western conspiracy to sterilise Muslims. Scores of health workers in Pakistan have been killed in the last two years as a result.

In the province’s Nowshera district, the anti-polio campaign faced hurdle as more than 300 parents refused to immunise their children against the virus.

The district administration has warned of strict action against those refusing to immunise their children.

The first anti-polio campaign named ‘Unite for Health’ – a joint programme of the federal and provincial

governments — was launched in Khyber Pakthunkhwa and FATA. A target to vaccinate 5.37 million children has been set for Khyber Pakthunkhwa for which 16,823 teams have been formed, officials said. In FATA, about 695,000 children under the age of five would be administered anti-polio drops during the campaign.

According to EPI officials, four polio cases were reported from KP this year: one each from Peshawar, Lakki Marwat, Tank and Nowshera. In 2014, Pakistan reported 305 polio cases.

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

NEWS

Egypt strikEs is targEts in Libya aftEr bEhEadings vidEo POPE DENOUNCES SLAYING OF 21 EGYPTIAN COPTS BY IS TERRORISTS CAIRO/VATICAN CITY

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AGENCIES

GyPT’S military said in a statement on state television that it had carried out an airstrike against Islamic State (IS) targets in Libya at dawn on Monday, a day after the group released a video appearing to show the beheading of 21 Egyptians there.

The attack focused on Islamic State camps, training sites and weapons storage areas across Egypt’s border in Libya, where the militants have thrived amid chaos “your armed forces on Monday carried out focused air strikes in Libya against Daesh camps, places of gathering and training, and weapons depots,” the military said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS. State television showed footage of

Egyptian fighter jets it said were taking off to conduct the strikes.

The Islamic State militant group released a video on Sunday purporting to show the beheading of a group of Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped in Libya. Egypt’s Coptic Church confirmed that the 21 workers were dead. In the video, militants in black marched the captives, dressed in orange jump suits, to a beach the group said was near Tripoli.

They were forced down onto their knees, then beheaded.

The video appeared on the Twitter feed of a website that supports Islamic State, which has seized parts of Iraq and Syria and has also beheaded Western hostages. A caption on the five-minute video read: “The people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian church.”

Before the killings, one of the militants stood with a knife in his hand and said: “Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for.”

Sunday’s video prompted President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to call for seven-days of mourning and an urgent meeting of Egypt’s top military commanders, state television reported.

The Coptic Church said it was confident the Cairo government would seek justice. Al Azhar, the centre of Islamic learning in Egypt, said no religion would accept such “barbaric” acts.

The families of the kidnapped workers had urged Cairo to help secure their release. In the southerly Minya Governorate, relatives screamed and fainted upon hearing news of the deaths.

Sisi has repeatedly expressed concerns about militants based in Libya who are seeking to topple his government.

Those militants have made contact with Sinai Province, a group operating from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that has changed its name from Ansar Beyt al-Maqdis and pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

The group has killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

With Libya caught in a chaotic power struggle between two rival factions operating their own governments, Western officials fear militants are taking advantage of the turmoil to strengthen their presence. A number of militant groups have

05

An image grab taken from a video released by IS militant media arm Al-Hayat Media Centre on February 15 purportedly shows black-clad Islamic State (IS) group fighters leading handcuffed hostages, said to be Egyptian Coptic Christians, wearing orange jumpsuits before their alleged decapitation on a seashore in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

been active since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 left Libya without a strong central government. A few have declared ties to the radical Islamic State and claimed high-profile attacks over recent weeks in what appears to be an intensifying campaign.

POPE, UN CONDEMN SLAYING: Meanwhile, Pope Francis has denounced the slaying of Egyptian Copts, saying they were “assassinated just for being Christian”. Francis spoke off-the-cuff on Monday during an audience with a Scottish ecumenical delegation. He said: “They only said ‘Jesus help me ...’ The blood of our Christian brothers is testimony that cries out. Be they Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it doesn’t matter: They’re Christian!”

The UN Security Council also condemned the beheadings as “heinous and cowardly,” and urged member states to

“combat by all means” such threats to international peace.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also denounced the killings, which were shown on a video posted Sunday on the Internet.

“This crime once again demonstrates the brutality of ISIL, which is responsible for thousands of crimes and abuses against people from all faiths, ethnicities and nationalities, and without regard to any basic value of humanity,” the Security Council said in a statement.

It said the council’s members had “reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”

Danish Jews reject Netanyahu’s SRI LANKA’S NEW LEADER HOLDS TALKS call to move to Israel

WITH INDIAN PM MODI

COPENHAGEN AGENCIES

Danish Jews on Monday turned down an offer by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to emigrate to Israel following a deadly weekend attack on a synagogue in Copenhagen.

“We’re very grateful for Netanyahu’s concern but having said that, we are Danish — we’re Danish Jews but we’re Danish — and it won’t be terror that makes us go to Israel,” said a spokesperson for the Jewish Community in Denmark, Jeppe Juhl.

“So we understand his concern for our well-being, and we value his concern but we are Danish and we’re staying in Denmark. If we move to Israel it’s for other reasons,” he said.

‘We wouldn’t be the same without the Jewish community’ Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt advised Danish Jews not to emigrate Monday despite a call from her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for European Jews to move to Israel.

“The Jewish community has been in this country for centuries. They belong in Denmark, they are part of the Danish community and we wouldn’t be the same without the Jewish community in Denmark,” she told reporters the day after a 37-year-old Jewish man was shot dead when guarding Copenhagen’s main synagogue.

Netanyahu on Sunday urged European Jews to move to Israel after a Jewish man was killed outside Copenhagen’s main synagogue in one of two attacks in the city at the weekend.

“Israel is your home. We are preparing and calling for the absorption of mass immigration from Europe,” Netanyahu said in a statement, repeating a similar call after attacks by jihadists in Paris last month that killed 17 people including four Jews.

Around 8,000 Jews live in Denmark, most of them in Copenhagen and with smaller communities in the cities of Aarhus and Odense, according to the Jewish Community of Denmark.

During the Gaza conflict in August, Copenhagen’s Jewish school, Carolineskolen, had its windows

NEW DELHI AGENCIES

People put flowers to honour the shooting victims outside the main Synagogue of Copenhagen on February 16 after last week-end two fatal attacks.

GERMANY WANTS JEWS TO STAY, PROMISES SECURITY EFFORTS BERLIN: Germany said on Monday it wants Jews to stay and promised to ensure their security following a deadly attack on a Danish synagogue and calls from Israel for European Jews to emigrate. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany was “glad and also grateful” to have a Jewish community, when asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s renewed appeal following Sunday’s attack in Copenhagen. The German government and other officials will do everything possible to ensure the safety of Jewish institutions and citizens in Germany, Merkel told reporters after Sunday’s election in the northern city-state of Hamburg. “We’d like to go on living well together with the Jews who are in Germany today,” the chancellor added. A German foreign ministry spokeswoman had a similar message, saying “We want to do everything so that Jews stay here in Germany and so that they feel well and safe. “Netanyahu on Sunday urged European Jews to immigrate to Israel after a Jewish man was killed in the attack outside Copenhagen’s main synagogue, relaunching a call he made after attacks in Paris last month that left four Jews dead. French President Francois Hollande said on Monday that Jews were welcome in Europe and France, while his Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he “regretted “Netanyahu’s remarks. French authorities also reported on Sunday that 300 Jewish tombs had been defaced in the village of Montry in northeast France. At an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of death camp Auschwitz, Merkel said it was a “disgrace” that Jews in Germany faced insults, threats or violence. More than 100,000 Jews make their home in Germany, she noted. AGENCIES

smashed and anti-Jewish graffiti spray-painted on its walls.

The incident took place shortly after a rise in anti-Semitic crimes in

Denmark prompted politicians to organise a “kippah march” in Copenhagen in support of Jewish people’s right to display their religion openly.

CMYK

The leaders of India and Sri Lanka vowed to strengthen their relationship after a period of tensions Monday and declared their countries’ fortunes were intertwined as they held their first summit in New Delhi.

China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka over recent years has been a source of disquiet in India, which has long regarded the neighbouring island as within its natural sphere of influence.

But Maithripala Sirisena’s victory over Sri Lanka’s long-time ruler Mahinda Rajapakse in elections last month has been seized on by both sides as a chance for a reboot in relations, fuelled by the new president’s decision to make India his first port of call in office.

“It’s an honour that you have chosen India as your first foreign destination,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after hosting talks for Sirisena who is barely five weeks into his tenure.

“India is the closest neighbour and friend of Sri Lanka. Our goodwill and support will always be with you. I believe that our destinies are interlinked.

“We are at a moment of an unprecedented opportunity to take our bilateral relations to a new level.”

While there were no major announcements, the two leaders did strike deals to cooperate on nuclear energy and strengthen defence ties as well as announce plans for Modi to pay a reciprocal visit to Sri Lanka next month.

“We share very strong relations that span several thousand years,” said Sirisena.

“The courtesy extended to us on this visit has been very great…This is my first official visit to India and it has been very fruitful.

“I can clearly say that our bilateral relations have been further strengthened.”

India has long considered Sri Lanka to be within its strategic sphere of influence, sending troops to the island in 1987 to enforce a peace accord it brokered between Colombo and separatist Tamil rebels.

But under Rajapakse China ploughed huge sums into Sri Lankan infrastructure projects, becoming the country’s biggest foreign financier and enjoying significant political and even military influence.

India was reported to have been furious

at the brief appearance last year of two Chinese submarines in Sri Lankan waters.

China has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a “string of pearls” strategy to counter the rise of its Asian rival India and secure its own economic interests.

While neither man mentioned China by name, the announcements of memorandum of understandings (MOUs) on issues such as defence cooperation and energy will have been noted in Bejing.

Although there were few immediate details on the MOUs, diplomats had earlier said that the two men would reach an agreement on cooperation in the civilian use of nuclear technology This stems partly from Sri Lanka’s concerns that any disaster involving the Kundankulam nuclear plant in India’s Tamil Nadu state could have catastrophic consequences for the island too.

Under the proposed agreement, India would provide technical assistance in education, training and disaster management.

Modi said that he and Sirisena had “agreed to expand our defence and security cooperation” as well as on maritime security cooperation.

Analysts say the visit’s main significance is as a signal of intent from Sri Lanka.

“This visit is very significant because it could very well be a turning point,” KG Suresh, senior fellow at the Delhi-based Vivekananda International Foundation thinktank, told AFP. “Suspicions that earlier marked India-Sri Lanka relations could now give way to more confidence and strong ties between the two.” Sirisena is keen to attract greater Indian investment in Sri Lanka, which said last week it was seeking an international bailout of more than $4.0 billion.

06 KARACHI

WEATHER UPDATES

TUESDAY

340C 180C

WEDNESDAY

330C 200C

THURSDAY

320C 190C

FRIDAY

330C 180C

Tuesay, 17 February, 2015

Shikarpur hoSpital iSSue again echoeS in aSSembly KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Issues relating to medical negligence, absence of doctors, staff and unavailability of medicine and facilities at the Sindh government’s Civil Hospital Shikarpur once again echoed in the Sindh Assembly on Monday.

Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) MPA Imtiaz Shaikh during the question hour, on a supplementary question, asked the Sindh Health Minister Mahtab Dahar what steps his department had taken to improve the performance of the hospital since the hospital was still facing a shortage of doctors and special-

ists. He said that the previous negligent administration was still working in the hospital. However, the Sindh Health Minister did not respond to the question and instead asked the speaker to decide if it was a relevant question.

Speaker Agha Siraj observed that the health minister has already visited the Civil Hospital Shikarpur and Inshallah things would be improved there. On which, Imtiaz Shaikh said, “We pray so.”

It may be recalled that after the attack on a mosque in Shikarpur during Friday prayers on January 30, 2015, dozens of those injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital Shikarpur, but only five of them found relief there, and the others, most of

them critically injured and bleeding profusely, were turned away and sent to Hira Medical Centre in Sukkur, which is a private hospital located an hour’s drive away in Sukkur. Other hospitals included the Sukkur’s Civil Hospital, Chandka Medical College Hospital Larkana and a private hospital in Karachi.

This issue was also raised in the Sindh assembly soon after the sad incident. Earlier, on Feb 02, 2015 on the floor of Sindh assembly, Imtiaz Shaikh had expressed serious concern over the deaths of those seriously injured in the bomb blast due to a lack of doctors and facilities and called the hospital a killing field. He had pointed out that there had

been no facilities available for those injured; there was also a dearth of doctors, technicians, blood, oxygen and ambulances. People moved the bodies and those injured to the hospitals in motorcycle rickshaws and donkey carts.

The Leader of the Opposition Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar pointed out that this district’s headquarters hospital did not have surgical cotton available to dress the wounds of those injured, and many people died due to the negligence showed by healthcare providers, and suffered because of the non-existent medical facilities.

Local philanthropists founded Rai Bahadur Udhwadas Tara chand (RBUT)

Civil Hospital prior to the creation of Pakistan on February 2, 1935. It was considered amongst the best hospitals of the region. However, presently like other government-run hospitals in Sindh, this hospital is marred by ghost doctors, politically favoured employees, embezzlement of medicines and mismanagement. The citizens of Shikarpur have been crying for years to post doctors, surgeons and specialists to this historical hospital and upgrade it to a teaching hospital but in vain. They feel the crime of the citizens of Shikarpur is that they elected PML-F candidate Imtiaz Shaikh, who defeated a PPP heavyweight for the post.

services of nobel laureaTes dr abdus salam, malala eulogised KARACHI STAFF REPORT

A civil society gathering on Monday demanded of the government that the Punjab University should be renamed and called Dr Abdus Salam University and Peshawar University’s name should be changed to Malala Yousufzai University.

Civil society from Karachi, in collaboration with Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, paid a collective tribute and celebrated the great achievements made by the two Noble laureates Malala Yousufzai and Dr Abdus Salam at a function “Celebrating the Spirit of Malala at SZABIST Clifton Campus Karachi.” The speakers acknowledged the struggle, courage and determination that Malala has demonstrated against extremist elements.

A video message by Malala was also screened on the occasion. The main speakers included Women Action Forum’s Anis Haroon, Aurat Foundation’s Mahnaz Rehman and MNA Nafeesa Shah. Zakir Thaver is making a documentary on the life of Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam and he gave his impressions regarding the documentary. A trailer of the documentary was also presented on the occasion.

Choreographer Sheema Kirmani presented her tribute to Malala and Tara Mahmood presented poetry by Fiaz Ahmed Faiz on the occasion. In a resolution passed on the occasion, the participants paid rich tributes to both the Nobel laureates and said: “As we take pride in, and celebrate, Malala’s achievements, and acknowledge the laurels won for Pakistan by Malala and Dr. Abdus Salam, we condemn all forms of extremism, intolerance, and violations of religious and human rights.” The resolution also condemned the impunity that is fostered by the failure of the state to ensure the constitutional right to safety and security of life and property. “We condemn the persistent lawlessness which has emerged from the government’s failure to firmly and consistently deal with banned outfits that target minorities and remerge under different names.” The resolution stated that the anti-people movement must be dealt with firmly; justice demands that all forms of discrimination be purged from society.

“We condemn the government’s failure to uphold the rights of the people of Pakistan. The government and its legislators and executives must fulfil their professional responsibilities without any compromises. Our legislators must prioritise security for persons and property of all citizens, irrespective of class, colour, race, religion, sect, and ethnicity. The executives must ensure that all institutions, including the police, work efficiently and fairly, without politicisation. The judiciary is accountable for the working of the judicial system; these obligations of the state are non-negotiable.” They also stated that affirmative action must be taken to prioritise girls’ education.

KARACHI: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif inspecting seized weapons at Rangers Headquarters on Monday. INP

Full court reference in honour of Justice Maqbool Baqar KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The judges of the Sindh High Court along with the lawyer community on Monday bade farewell to outgoing chief justice Maqbool Baqar, who had been elevated to the Supreme Court.

CJ Baqar, who held office as chief justice for about one and a half year, presided over the full court reference held in his honour at the court’s premises. Speaking at the full court reference, CJ Baqar said that the situation in the lower judiciary was deplorable in many respects and it urgently required reforms. He that added some steps had been taken towards the judiciary’s reformation but it would take some time to fix the situation.

He said he was sure the problems facing the judicial system were not insurmountable, provided they are faced resolutely. He hopped that his colleague judges would be able to reform the judiciary, adding the lawyers’ associations must play their role in building the judicial institutions.

While taking a stroll down memory lane, he said that without the efforts

and struggle of the lawyers and his colleagues, who were deposed during emergency rule, he would not have been in office. He lauded the lawyers’ struggle for the restoration of the judiciary. SHC Chief Justice-designate Justice Faisal Arab said that the district judiciary required a lot of attention as there were many litigants who feel aggrieved at some decisions handed down to the lower judiciary level but

CMYK

they do not appeal the verdict simply because they can’t afford to bear any more litigation expenses.

He said steps should be taken at the earliest to fix the lower judiciary, adding that the problem faced by the judges of the district judiciary and those faced by lawyers certainly need to be addressed. He lauded the contribution of CJ Baqar towards betterment of the judicial institution.

Two resoluTions passed in House KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Monday passed two resolutions unanimously. The first resolution was tabled by PPPP’s Dr Sikandar Shoro and others. It said this assembly resolves and recommends that the federal government be approached to grant diplomatic passports to speaker/ deputy speaker and gratis/official passports to MPAs, their spouses and children below 18 years and officers of the assembly secretariat. The second resolution was tabled by PPPP’s Khairunisa Mughal. It said that the House opposes the recovery of gas levy by the federal government in the form of gas infrastructure development tax on gas consumers. The assembly passed both the resolutions unanimously. Meanwhile, an adjournment motion against the running of private schools illegally in the Sukkur region was rejected. Nusrat Bano Seher Abbassi of PML-F said that the assembly may be adjourned to discuss a definite and important matter of public concern i.e. that there are more than 100 private schools running in the Sukkur region without fulfilling any legal requirements. Some officials from the Directorate Private Schools Education’s recommendation committee are also involved in issuing registration certificates to their schools without the approval of the competent authority. STAFF REPORT

KARACHI 07

Tuesay, 17 February, 2015

KARACHI: Activists of civil society protest against terrorism at Teen Talwar on Monday. INP

mariTime securiTy assumes ever-greaTer significance cJcsc says challenges in dealing with evolving environment in the indo-pacific region have increased because of the dynamic socio-political conditions and economic potential of the region KARACHI STAFF REPORT

64 dengue deaTHs in sindH in lasT Two years KARACHI: Sixty four people have died as a result of contracting the dengue viral fever in Sindh in the last two years, Health Minister Mahtab Dahar told the Sindh Assembly on Monday. Replying to a question by Heer Soho he said that 5240 dengue cases were reported from Karachi alone, 710 from other parts of Sindh, while 20 cases originally belonged to other provinces but were reported in Sindh. He said in the year 2013, as many as 32 patients died of dengue viral fever in Sindh, while in 2014 the number of the dengue deaths in Sindh was 12. In the year 2013, 26 dengue patients died in Karachi, three in Hyderabad, and one each in Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Thatta. STAFF REPORT

proTesT by pml-f in assembly KARACHI: Members of Pakistan Muslim LeagueFunctional (PML-F) protested in Sindh against the “joining of Patharidars” in the ruling PPP during a recent function held in CM House Karachi. PML-F members protested when their MPA Muhammad Rashid Shah while talking on his call attention notice (CAN) said that some people belonging to criminal groups had joined the PPP recently at the CM House Karachi. He also showed the House and media pictures of such an event. The call attention notice by Rashdi requested the home minister to explain how many kidnapping cases were registered in district Khairpur between January 2014 and January 2015, besides the details of the persons kidnapped and recovered. He also asked how many persons were kidnapped and recovered, and how many culprits were arrested during the above mentioned period. Senior minister Nisar Khuhro presented figures about crime in district Khairpur and suggested that for a detailed answer the member should ask a starred question. STAFF REPORT

iba begins evaluaTing educaTion sTandard in sindH KARACHI

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PPI

HE Sindh Education Department has assigned handed over the task of evaluating the education standard in primary and secondary schools through Sindh to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur on Monday. In this connection, the Education Secretary has written letters to all Directors in the province to cooperate with the IBA authorities and they have verbally passed on these instructions through meetings to the Head Masters.

Primary education standard will be evaluated from classes one to five and secondary education for class eight students for which Standardized Achievement Test (SAT) is being held and students are given a paper and pencils to solve the questionnaire.

IBA conducted the evaluation test in Ratodero, Garhi Khuda Bux, and in Naundero on Monday. Students from five primary schools took part in the test held at Primary School-I and others at Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Naundero. The primary students in Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto (GKB) complained that they were subjected to severe harassment and were shown a lot of attitude by the invigilators from IBA, who were hired on a daily basis on the payment of a lucrative amount ranging from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500 per day.

Some harassment and punishment was also meted out to four primary students occurred in Garhi Khuda Bux on Saturday where IBA invigilators forcibly subjected them to sit up and down several times while holding their

ears. The students had come to appear for the SAT and their teacher was not allowed inside the premises. The students belong to the primary school of Daro Illahi Bux village, and were accompanied by their teacher Abdul Sattar Katpar. These students included Jamil Junejo, Rasheed Junejo, Zakir Junejo and Ghaffar Kurio. The matter was brought to the notice of the centre in charge and GKB Government Boys School Head Master Manzoor Ali Mangi, who talked to the IBA in charge immediately, but in vain. Having received no response Manzoor Mangi had no option but to boycott the test and then the IBA folks started supplicating him to return to SAT. Teacher Sattar Katpar confirmed that the punishment had happened to the young students to the media.

Sattar said that he took 26 students to GKB for the test but the IBA invigilators got annoyed suddenly and without any provocation because one of the students had to sharpen his pencil. Manzoor Mangi asked what the purpose was behind the SAT being conducted silently by IBA throughout the education department.

He said that primary students were not prepared for this kind of surprise test for which they have not been informed officially through a letter, as the primary students had not been trained earlier by their teachers. Mangi said that the government wanted to assess the standard of education in the province by adopting this kind of useless methods so that they could give schools to private parties, an act which was condemnable. He said that primary students should have been prepared ahead of SAT so that they would know how to attempt the exam. Mangi demanded that retired primary and secondary teachers be posted as invigilators or else the SAT will lose its efficacy.

Maritime security has assumed ever-greater significance in the face of changing global scenario and the activities of non-state actors, transnational threats and challenges, such as piracy and terrorism, illegal exploitation of natural resources, marine environment and pollution, unlawful trade and less than adequate preparedness to meet natural disasters are some of the key issues, which require thorough deliberations at such international forums, said Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Rashid Mehmood. Mehmood graced the concluding session of 6th International Maritime Conference as chief guest. Upon his arrival, the chief guest was received by the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah along with DG National Centre for Maritime Policy Research (NCMPR) Vice Admiral (r) Asaf Humayun. The conference was organised

by NCPMR in collaboration with the Pakistan Navy on the theme; “Maritime Economy, Environment, and Security cooperation: Bringing the West Pacific and the Indian Ocean Closer.” It concluded today after three days of threadbare discussions by experts on Maritime Security, Economy and Environment. Seventeen speakers from eight countries exchanged ideas on how to bring the maritime region of the Indian Ocean and West Pacific closer. Scholars from Pakistan and around the world while evaluating and expressing modalities, which created an ideal opportunity for dialogue.

While addressing the audience the chief guest said that the challenges in dealing with the evolving environment in the IndoPacific region have increased because of the dynamic socio-political conditions and economic potential of the region. In this scenario, the mitigation of maritime risks and vulnerabilities require coordinated efforts. The littoral states of the region therefore need to focus on collaborative maritime security with a spirit of cooperation rather than competition.

Particularly, the build up of military capability, deployment of navies, and exploitation of resources should not lead to increase in regional tensions. He further added that conferences like these and the forums like Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) as well as Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) provides a good platform to regional counties to sit together and deliberate on many contentious issues, thereby reducing tensions and bringing nations together.

Later, the chief guest gave away prizes to the students who won the essay and poster competitions held during the conference.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah and Director General NCMPR Vice Admiral (R) Asaf Humayun commended creativity and hard work of the students. NCMPR has the credit of hosting six International Maritime Conferences since its inception. It provides a seat of excellence for maritime policy research and a ‘think-tank’ for multidisciplinary studies and analysis of maritime affairs to address challenges in the maritime domain. A large number of speakers, delegates, intellects, maritime scholars and observers from across the globe attended the conference besides large number of naval personnel.

arms amendmenT bill geTs THe nod KARACHI STAFF REPORT

KARACHI: Shahbaz Islam, Acting General Manager Corporate Communications SSGC, receives 4th CSR Award from Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor Ziauddin University, that was conferred jointly by The Professionals Network and CSR Association of Pakistan. PR

KARACHI: Consul General of the Russian Federation Oleg N Avdeev hosted a reception to celebrate Diplomat’s Day at Consulate premises. Picture shows Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani, Minister for Women Development Rubina Qaimkhani, Abdul Sattar and Khurram Nainitalwala with the host. PR

CMYK

The Sindh Assembly on Monday passed the Bill No. 4/ 2015 i.e. The Sindh Arms (Amendment) Bill 2015 unanimously. The bill was present by Senior Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and was adopted by the House. The minister introduced Bill No. 5/2015 The Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2015, however, on was deferred to Friday on his request.

08 COMMENT

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

Political expediency and terrorism There can’t be a let up now

Muslim lives matter All lives matter

A

FTer a meeting Nawaz Sharif held with former President Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Governor and Chief Minister, the top military and civilian leadership met to review the progress of work on the NAP. The observations made by the Prime Minister and COAS at the Apex Committee moot indicated that they were not satisfied with the performance of the Sindh government vis-à-vis the implementation of the National Action Plan. Political considerations were presumably the main reason behind the delay in the probe into the Baldia Town garments factory fire. There was a reiteration of resolve by the civilian and military leadership not to allow politics to stand in the way of eliminating terrorism from the country.

One of the major causes behind the widespread lawlessness in Karachi is the politicisation of Sindh police. Parties in power in the province get their henchmen appointed, promoted and given key posts.

The issue was highlighted during the Supreme Court hearings on the law and order issue in Karachi in 2012.

The apex court had noted that officials were more loyal to their political patrons than to their own institution.

What the erstwhile prosecutor in the garments factory fire case told the media after tendering her resignation, supports the view that the police deliberately created hindrances in the investigation. As the investigation remained stalled for two years, the rangers had to appoint a JiT which has recently given its findings.

Unless the anti-terror campaign is conducted without political considerations, it would not be possible to win the war against the terrorists. Any individual or group, irrespective of his religious, sectarian or political orientation, known to be involved in acts of terrorism has to be brought to justice. This needs to be done not only in Sindh but in all the four provinces besides Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK. The groups involved in attacks against other countries must not be spared either as they can train their guns anytime on Pakistan as has happened in the past, the latest example being the TTP.

About the World Cup Shades of ’92?

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here’S much to learn, still, from the cricket World Cup victory of ’92. it’s not just that the team bounced back from a far from inspiring start to win the Cup, it’s rather how the boys were handled both off and on the field that materialised the victory; though chance did have a role to play. like now, the team was below par – Waqar was ruled out and imran suffered a shoulder injury. Yet the troops were marshalled in a manner that extracted the maximum from each player, and eager and inspired to win, the boys did not disappoint.

Now, though, despite the usual toggling of the batting order and shuffling of the bowling line-up, onground results just do not seem to change. Part of the problem clearly lies in the Board. it makes far more headlines regarding appointments, and politics behind them, than the game itself. There’s still no structure around some of the most crucial appointments, and the unusually large number of coaches and managers – and their just as large salaries – are not improving what matters. in the modern day, top-level cricket success is the result of a long process that identifies and nurtures talent from the club and league level. The best example comes from india, where the domestic skeleton has been strengthened over time, with impressive results. But such matters do not seem to concern the Board’s think tank. interestingly, veterans of ’92 speak of first concentrating on small and basic features before getting a handle on larger problems. Senior players always emphasised, for example, cutting down on ‘unforced errors’ like extras, mis-fielding, etc. Back then, the senior bunch was also more hands-on and more reliable than today. The imrans and Miandads did a far better job of rallying the younger lot than the Afridis of today because they were more dependable to deliver themselves. The Board is advised to shift its focus from the office to the game. Pakistan is already a shadow of its old self in the field. There is plenty of guidance and talent, there’s no reason for success to prove so elusive.

There’s a lot of cricket left in the Cup. hopefully, better sense and commitment will prevail.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963, 042-36375965

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condominium complex, the family never had any problems. But once his daughter moved in wearing a headscarf, that clearly identified her as Muslim, the trouble started, Abu-Salha said.’

“Daddy, i think he hates us for who we are,” Abu-Salha said his daughter Yusor Mohammad told him. “i don’t need any media or police or prosecutors or politicians or experts to tell me what to think and how to think and convince me whether or not this was a hate crime. The above information is all i need to come to my conclusion. These are the eyewitness statements of the compassionate, selfless and exemplary human Beings who looked into the eyes of a terrorist who eagerly and publicly espoused a radical atheist ideology.

These are the eyewitness testimonies of the human Beings who felt the unmistakable burn of the laser-like hatred, derision and disdain this disgusting man held in his heart for anyone who believes that a higher power created us all. “i trust their impressions a million times more than i would trust anyone else’s. Apparently Craig Stephen hicks had disputes and run-ins with other neighbours, but it’s quite revealing that in the time and the place he picked to strike with bullets, the neighbours he aimed and fired his prized weapon at were three Muslims — three of the kindest, most gentle and full of life human Beings one could ever have the good fortune to know and love. Their only ‘offense’ was that they were easily identifiable as the believers he so radically opposed in his incessant online rants against.

“This climate of hate and acute division — which produces the various incarnations of Demons such as Craig Stephen hicks in our World — is being fuelled… the only way to defeat them is with a revolution. Not a violent one, but a revolution of the heart — a transformation of humanity where All good people who want a peaceful future for everyone’s children say NO to the sociopathic policies we allow our so-called elite to pursue and NO to hate and say YeS to teaching their children empathy and not to hate ANYONe because of the colour of their skin or who they love or how they dress or where they are from or what higher power they believe in or don’t believe in. And we need to build a World for our children where money and political power and indifferent ruthlessness towards fellow human Beings are not the most influential aspects ruling over our systems of life, justice, health, education and opportunity.

We all need to be more like Yusor, Deah and razan and their Family. We all need to be more like Kayla Mueller and her Family. Then together we would make it out of the darkness of these dark times.”

Yahoo News states, “The killings are fuelling outrage among people who blame antiMuslim rhetoric for hate crimes. A Muslim

YasMeen aftab ali

hree Muslim students were shot dead in North Carolina a few days ago. Craig Stephen hicks has been charged on three accounts with first-degree murder. Those dead are Deah Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19. Although an idea has been put forth that the killings may have been due to a dispute over parking as suggested by Chapel hill Police in a report by The Guardian, to my lawyer mind it seems very strange that, if true, hicks would choose not to kill one person responsible allegedly in a dispute but all three of the family.

The second question this theory raises in my mind is why did he have a loaded weapon on his person in the first place? Third, why were the victims shot in the head which is as cold blooded as it gets? “To have him come in here and shoot three different innocent people in their heads — i don’t know what kind of person that is,” said Namee Barakat, the father of the male victim, Deah Shaddy Barakat.” (NYT, February 11, 20015) however, the police had not confirmed that the shots were in the head. The same report states the victims were shot inside the apartment. “One 911 caller, at 5:11pm Tuesday, said she had heard five to 10 shots and “kids screaming”. Another, calling a minute later, said she had heard about eight shots and multiple people screaming, then a pause, and then three more shots. The victims were shot inside an apartment, according to one of the calls, and family members said the police told them they had been shot in the head.”

Todd Shea, a musician and humanitarian, founded Comprehensive Disaster response Services (CDrS) to help the affected people of the northern region in 2005. This organisation and Shea’s personal efforts went a long way in helping the internally displaced persons. he wrote on his Facebook status on February 12, 2015, and i reproduce with his permission: “‘When his son-in-law lived alone in the

advocacy organisation pressed authorities to investigate possible religious bias. Many posted social media updates with the hashtags #MuslimlivesMatter.” (February 13, 2015) Norman Baker, Minister of State for Crime Prevention, has written a beautiful document titled “Challenge it, report it, Stop it”, a government’s hate crime action plan. The ‘ministerial foreword’ states, “Addressing anti-Muslim hatred remains a central theme and our dialogue with local communities is already underway through the roll out of a number of regional roadshows.” Well done, Minister! Acceptance of the malaise is the first step towards its remedy. (Norman Baker is a British politician who has been a Member of Parliament for lewes in east Sussex) “What is extremely important in a world bombarded with hate material spewed on a regular basis by media, both mainstream and nonmainstream, is an immediate assurance by the country head to address the concerns of the community wounded. Now this is the truly sad part. if Obama has not spoken because the investigation is not yet concluded, this stance is at variance with the stance taken at the Fergusan killings, way before any investigation were completed. An excerpt of his address is reproduced, “Ours is a nation of laws: of citizens who live under them and for the citizens who enforce them. So, to a community in Ferguson that is rightly hurting and looking for answers, let me call once again for us to seek some understanding rather than simply holler at each other. let’s seek to heal rather than to wound each other.

“As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment. The potential of a young man and the sorrows of parents, the frustrations of a community, the ideals that we hold as one united American family.” (WSJ, August 18, 2014) What Obama sought to do then was to reassure the affected community of the continued support of his government to apply justice and fairness. This is what was expected from the leader of a superpower that is the United States of America. Yet this expectation was met with silence — until he received flak from “the likes of Turkey’s recep Tayyip erdoğan for his ‘silence’ on the Chapel hill shootings”, reports a local newspaper on February 14th, 2014. Belated, the statement from the White house read, “No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship.” in the meanwhile, soon after the incident, the campus of UNC, a local plaza, was flooded with thousands to express solidarity with the family. remembrances were offered by those who knew those slain. One ended her speech with, “Muslim lives matter. All lives matter.” i borrow the title of my piece from the speech.

Yasmeen Aftab Ali is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9.

Democracy in Delhi And lessons to be learnt from it result represents a significant erosion of the BJP’s once unquestionable grasp on power. More telling was the failure of Congress to secure a single seat, starkly highlighting the fading clout of the Gandhi dynasty and the declining fortunes of a party with a 130-year-old legacy.

The AAP’s precipitous rise is indicative of the disillusionment with traditional party rhetoric which never seems to match reality.

The AAP’s focus on poverty alleviation allied with party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s calls to root out corruption from government has resonated deeply with the people. in addition, the resurfacing of the BJP’s hard-line elements has caused tension with the country’s Muslim and Christian communities.

According to Delhi police, at least nine churches have been attacked between 2012-2014. in contrast, the AAP takes a more embracing stance towards india’s aggrieved minorities, with Kejriwal’s condemnation of a recent attack on a Christian school in Delhi. in the wake of his party’s victory, former tax inspector Kejriwal asserted, “The people of Delhi have achieved something spectacular… With the help of people, we

Mashaal Gauhar

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hile elections in Pakistan routinely result in the same amazingly durable cast of the usual suspects, the vibrancy of india’s democracy was amply demonstrated with the resounding defeat of the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Delhi state elections. in an unprecedented election result, the AAP won a staggering 67 of 70 seats and over half the vote share while the BJP managed to gain just 32 per cent.

Though not a large state with a population of 15 million, the Delhi

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will make Delhi a city which both poor and rich will feel proud of.” his appointment as Chief Minister of Delhi signals a new chapter in indian political history where a party of protest against an iniquitous status quo has loudly made its presence felt.

Though Pakistan suffers from a similar sense of malaise with unceasing corruption, increasing wealth inequality, sectarian strife and a lack of basic infrastructure, the country’s political system has never been able to effect the same sort of seismic power shifts through its democratic process. Charismatic leadership by imran Khan has seen significant ground gained by the Tehreek-e-insaaf in the most adverse conditions where the levers of power have been zealously guarded by the traditional ruling parties and ‘establishment’. The headway gained by Tehreek-e-insaaf is a heartening signal of the emergence of viable alternatives for a country dominated by dual-party politics. Whether Pakistan’s treacherous political landscape allows for any meaningful pluralism still remains to be seen. indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent phone call to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wish-

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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ing Pakistan good luck in the World Cup does not betray the ongoing tension between the two nuclear neighbours. Polarisation over the seemingly intractable Kashmir dispute was evidenced when BJP student activists disrupted a seminar on Kashmiri self-determination at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on Friday 13th February. however, it is hoped that the upcoming visit of indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, to Pakistan will help to quell border violence.

These talks were scheduled to take place last year but were cancelled by the indian government. The escalation in firing from both sides along the border was addressed by US Secretary of State John Kerry last month who urged both countries to resume dialogue. in spite of the historic animosities between the two neighbours, Delhi’s recent election result represents a win for democracy and serves as an inspiration to Pakistan where real democracy centred on the welfare of citizens still remains an elusive goal.

Mashaal Gauhar is editor of Blue Chip Magazine and a columnist.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

WORLD VIEW 09

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

ISIS takeS on egypt Le Temps

delphine minoui

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UNEIM (not his real name) remembers every detail of the encounter: the frightening masks; the uniforms as dark as night; the Kalashnikov rifles slung over their shoulders.

The North Sinai trader was on the road from Arish to Sheikh Zowead two months ago when he suddenly found himself face-to-face with a group of armed men. “They had their black flag with God’s name on it,” he recalled.

“They ordered me to stop the car for a search. They finally let me go.”

Speaking softly in a Cairo café, Muneim admits it was a close call. “A few days later an employee of the local governor’s office was shot in the head on the same road,” he said. “The army won’t even go there.’

The governor’s official was the latest in growing list of victims of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, a terror group grappling for control of Egypt’s border with Israel. Three months ago the group announced its affiliation with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Two weeks ago Ansar Bait alMaqdis fighters launched an assault on police and army installations in Arish, the chief city of northern Sinai, killing 30, mostly soldiers, and injuring dozens. Approximately 30 soldiers were also killed in October, when the group launched a carefully planned attack on a military camp near Arish.

That raid, the deadliest in years, prompted Egyptian authorities to de-

clare they would form a buffer zone on the Gaza frontier, to “eliminate the terrorists” and block secret tunnels.

Since then, the Egyptian army has intensified air raids on the fighters, destroying hundreds of homes and displacing thousands of residents in the process. This is a particularly volatile zone where there is mobile phone reception and Internet only a few hours a day. A draconian curfew has just been extended for three months.

Yet these forceful moves have had just a limited impact on the militants.

Experts point to last week’s attack as evidence that Ansar Bait al-Maqdis is in fact becoming more sophisticated. Their operations are coordinated, “serialised,” and perfectly planned. They coincide, furthermore, with the return from Syria of Egyptians who had gone to fight the Asad regime, and with the expanding influence of ISIS, whose tentacles are extending beyond Syria and Iraq.

“Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has gained experience,” Sinai specialist Ismail alIskandarani said recently. “We have come a long way from the small, improvised attacks of four years ago.”

Blocking the secret tunnels should potentially limit Ansar Bait alMaqdis’s ability to obtain weaponry.

In the meantime, though, the group has exploited the state of anarchy in Libya to engage in cross-border arms trafficking on that end. Its fighters also seize guns and artillery pieces (mortars, grenade launchers, AK-47 rifles) during its attacks on the regular army.

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, which translates roughly as “Defenders of Jerusalem,” emerged in March 2011 in

A fresh innings: Talks with Pakistan welcome, they must be more result oriented this time Times of india Cricket and politics in India and Pakistan have always been intertwined. News that IndiaPakistan talks are back on the agenda contributed to the spirit in which the men in blue and green played their first World Cup match in Adelaide. Cricket always brings in diplomatic opportunities and PM Modi’s goodluck call to Nawaz Sharif ahead of the World Cup, along with calls to other South Asian leaders whose teams are in the tournament, are part of changing atmospherics.

Talks have been stalled since August last year when Pakistan’s high commissioner to Delhi met with Hurriyat leaders on the eve of a foreign secretary level meeting. Delhi’s decision to put its foot down signalled new red lines. Since then though, both sides seem to have agreed on a fresh innings of talks. The SAARC leaders’ retreat in Dhulikhel in November first provided an opportunity to Indian and Pakistani prime ministers for a quiet chat away from the headlines. Then, PM Modi’s phone call to Sharif immediately after the Peshawar school shooting opened up diplomatic space even as the only public sign of this was the NSA and foreign secretary going to sign the condolence book at Delhi’s Pakistan high commission.

The resumption of talks is significant because of the changed context in Delhi as well as a changing global outlook on Pakistan. The NDA government has signalled a new pitch, giving the green light for hard retaliation when border firing resumed from Pakistan. Finally, the decision to call off talks on the Hurriyat issue drove home the point that there was a new establishment in Delhi with a different outlook.

The message was clear: we want to talk but not at any cost and not with a gun to the head.

Combined with the changed American attitude on Pakistan – with influential US lawmakers seeking drastic changes in American policy to force compliance on counterterrorism – and the Pakistan army chief’s own crackdown on the Pakistan Taliban, the bigger context behind talks has changed. Back home, PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed too has welcomed the move at a time when his party’s possible alliance with BJP to form a new government in Indian-held Kashmir is looking more likely. The opening of fresh diplomatic space is also an opportunity for fresh creative thinking on how to restructure talks. The sooner they resume the better.

the disorderly period following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak. Its initial focus was Israel. Among its members were some bedouins who had suffered in the vicious search operations that followed the Taba resort bombings in Sinai in 2004. But after the Egyptian army sacked the Islamist President Mohammad Morsi in July 2013, the group shifted its focus onto Egyptian troops. Their communiqués, issued on jihadist websites, declare their actions to be reprisals for the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood. Some of their methods are reminiscent of ISIS. They have begun to terrorise the local population and want to conquer territory. The heads of two bedouins — killed for supposedly collaborating with the army — were found in northern Sinai in early January.

Three months earlier, the group posted a gruesome YouTube video depicting the beheading of three other men. In the footage, the victims were forced to admit they were Israeli spies.

The film showed a fourth man, allegedly an army informant, being sprayed with gunfire.

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis is invisible in Arish and Rafah, but notably present in the Sheikh Zowead area, which the army has largely abandoned. “On many of the roads they are the law now,” says Ahmad Abu Draa, a journalist in northern Sinai. “They

have their checkpoints. Their grey station wagons are easily identifiable. In some villages you even see them giving out propaganda leaflets with their logo. The leaflets say ‘The sons of Egypt destroyed your houses. What are you waiting for to react?’” Abu Draa is one of the very few reporters working in Sinai, which is now closed to the foreign press. He says creating a buffer zone on the frontier has made things far worse as it forced many residents to leave their homes within 48 hours. “They felt they were all being punished,” he says. The pictures on his smartphone recall the worst images of war: homes crushed like wafers, streets piled high with furniture and belongings, women weeping.

“The people of Sinai are caught in the crossfire,” says Abu Draa. “If they collaborate with the army the militants will kill them. If they keep quiet, their homes will be destroyed.”

Islam and the West at war new York Times RogeR Cohen

After a Danish movie director at a seminar on “Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression” and a Danish Jew guarding a synagogue were shot dead in Copenhagen, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the prime minister of Denmark, uttered a familiar trope:“We are not in the middle of a battle between Islam and the West. It’s not a battle between Muslims and non-Muslims. It’s a battle between values based on the freedom of the individual and a dark ideology.”

This statement — with its echoes of President Obama’s vague references to “violent extremists” uncoupled from the fundamentalist Islam to which said throat-cutting extremists pledge allegiance — scarcely stands up to scrutiny. It is empty talk.

Across a wide swath of territory, in Iraq, in Syria, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Yemen, the West has been or is at war, or near-war, with the Muslim world, in a failed bid to eradicate a metastasizing Islamist movement of murderous hatred toward Western civilisation.

To call this movement, whose most potent recent manifestation is the Islamic State, a “dark ideology” is like calling Nazism a reaction to German humiliation in World War I: true but wholly inadequate. There is little point in Western politicians rehearsing lines about there being no battle between Islam and the West, when in all the above-mentioned countries tens of millions of Muslims, with much carnage as evidence, believe the contrary.

The Danish filmmaker Finn Norgaard was killed a little over a decade after another movie director, Theo van Gogh, was slain in Amsterdam for making a film critical of Islam’s treatment of women. The Islamists’ war is against freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of blasphemy, sexual freedom — in short, core characteristics of democracies seen by the would-be rebuilders of the Caliphate as signs of Western debasement.

Do not provoke them with cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), some say, show respect for Islam, the peaceful faith of some 1.6 billion people. But what, pray, was the “provocation” of Dan Uzan, the Jewish security guard outside the Copenhagen synagogue?

Islam is a religion that has spawned multifaceted political movements whose goal is power.

Islam, as such, is fair game for commentators, caricaturists and cartoonists, whose inclination to mock the depredations of theocracy cannot be cowed by fear.

Over the more than 13 years since Al Qaeda

attacked America on 9/11, we have seen trains blown up in Madrid, the Tube and a bus bombed in London, Western journalists beheaded, the staff of Charlie Hebdo slaughtered, Jews killed in France and Belgium and now Denmark. This is not the work of a “dark ideology” but of jihadi terror.

On the right of Europe’s political spectrum, anger is rising against Islam, against marginalised Muslim communities, who in turn feel discriminated against and misrepresented, with cause.

Several thousand young European Muslims troop off to join ISIS. Europe’s Jews are on edge, with cause. Israel calls them home. In the United States, three Muslim students were killed this month by a gunman in a possible hate crime denounced by Obama as “brutal and outrageous.” A tide of retaliatory menace rises.

Who or what is to blame? There are two schools. For the first, it is the West that is to blame through its support for Israel (seen as the latest iteration of Western imperialism in the Levant); its wars (Iraq); its brutality, (Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib); its killing of civilians (drones); its oildriven hypocrisy (a jihadi-funding Saudi ally).

For the second, it is rather the abject failure of the Arab world, its blocked societies where dictators face off against political Islam, its repression, its feeble institutions, its sectarianism precluding the practice of participatory citizenship, its wild conspiracy theories, its inability to provide jobs or hope for its youth, that gives the Islamic State its appeal.

I find the second view more persuasive. The rise of the Islamic State, and Obama’s new war, are a direct result of the failure of the Arab Spring, which had seemed to offer a path out of the deadlocked, jihadi-spawning societies of the Arab world.

Only Arabs can find the answer to this crisis.

But history, I suspect, will not judge Obama kindly for having failed to foster the great liberation movement that rose up in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. Inaction is also a policy: Non-intervention produced Syria today.

I hear the words of Chokri Belaid, the brave Tunisian lawyer, shortly before he was gunned down by Islamist fanatics on Feb 6, 2013: “We can disagree in our diversity but within a civilian, peaceful and democratic framework. Disagree in our diversity, yes!”

To speak of a nonspecific “dark ideology,” to dismiss the reality of conflict between the West and Islam, is also to undermine the anti-Islamist struggle of brave Muslims like Belaid — and these Muslims are the only people, ultimately, who can defeat the black-flagged jihadi death merchants.

Literary festival breathes life into Lahore BBC Ahmed RAshid

Despite Pakistan’s many political and social problems, Lahore hosts one of South Asia’s leading literary festivals. How do you put on such an event in a country dogged by power cuts and militant violence?

When it comes to celebrating life and literature in Pakistan nobody does it better than the citizens of Lahore. Next week an array of fiction and nonfiction writers, musicians and artists will arrive for the fourth Lahore Literary Festival (LLF), which runs for three days from 20 February.

South Asia is awash with literary festivals. This year’s events in Kolkata (Calcutta) and Karachi have ended, but Lahore’s is described by its competitors and rivals as the new star on the block, second only to Jaipur. The Indian city has just hosted the largest free literary festival in South Asia, with 250,000 people visiting.

Lahore was the cultural, intellectual and political heart of Mughal and Sikh India, then the British Raj and it still plays a major role in setting agendas in modern Pakistan. The city reflects the architecture, culture and food of all these empires.

The rites of spring were traditionally celebrated by the Basant kite flying festival, but that was banned because of the deaths of several kite flyers. Now it is the literary festival that allows Lahoris and countless visitors to celebrate spring.

Hosting such a festival is not easy in a country better known for its wide-ranging political problems, terrorism, the chronic shortages of electricity and gas and most recently even petrol but these are challenges to be overcome. Some writers are under threat at home; others choose to live abroad although their subject matter remains Pakistan. Last year Lahore’s festival hosted more than 50,000 visitors - a clear sign that Lahoris are not deterred by such problems.

Foreign writers have had to be reassured that despite Pakistan’s violence, Lahore is not the epicentre of terrorism nor is it a city facing collapse. Rather, it is still thriving and safer than other cities in the country even though threats of attack are constantly being made. For that there is close co-operation with the city authorities and the police at all venues.

Nevertheless, some writers from abroad have heeded country alerts issued by their governments and stayed away - but others have filled the gap.

This year only a couple of writers have pulled out so far. The show, say the organisers, will go on!

The festival - held in the Alhambra centre - will pack in 75 sessions, with four to five events running at any one time. Evenings are set aside for Pakistani music - classical, folk, rock and pop.

Leading Indian historian Romila Tharpar will give the opening talk, introduced by Pakistan’s celebrated historian Ayesha Jalal. In its early decades Pakistan depended on foreigners to tell its political history. Now every year produces new and deeply researched histories by Pakistani scholars, who are showcased at Lahore.

Likewise, in the past two decades Pakistan has produced world class novelists writing in English such as Mohammed Hanif, Kamila Shamsie, Daniyal Muenuddin, Nadeem Aslam and others. When one of them has a new book out - this year it is Mohsin Hamid - it is a cause for multiple appearances and interviews at the festival. Already there is a second generation of even younger Pakistani novelists emerging, whose novels and short stories are very different from the first generation.

Nearly 30 writers and artists from a dozen different countries will also be present, along with a large Indian contingent.

The festival will run simultaneous fiction and poetry sessions in Urdu, while Urdu newspaper columnists - who have millions of readers - will dominate several debates. There will also be sessions in Punjabi and Seraiki, ensuring that regional languages are not left out.

Pakistanis tend to have abysmal reading habits and one result of the festival is improving those statistics by bringing writers on stage before their readers and encouraging the young to buy books.

The enthusiastic support from Lahore’s elders down to its students who volunteer in huge numbers to help out at the festival showcases how the festival brings people in the city of 12 million together.

Lahore is now not just about architectural marvels, but also about sharing the wisdom of books.

Ahmed Rashid is on the advisory and organising committees of the LLF.

10 BUSINESS CORPORATE CORNER

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

Iran urges PakIsTan To fulfIl IP gas ProjecT commITmenTs Majlis Energy Commission spokesman says if Pakistan does not begin project in its territory, Iran will use pipeline to transfer gas to Sistan-Baluchestan province and south-western regions

KARACHI: Gestetner Pakistan-Hascombe Business Solutions(Private) Limited signed an MoU with National Bank of Pakistan on Monday. Gestetner was represented by its CEO Nadeem Butt and CFO Basit Habib while Mudassir Khan, NBP Group Chief, represented the bank. STAFF PHOTO

k-electric wins 4th Int’l csr summit award

KARACHI: K-Electric has been awarded the 4th International Corporate Social Responsibility Summit Award at a ceremony organised by The Professionals Network in collaboration with CSR Association of Pakistan, United Nations Global Impact and Ethical Business Update at a local hotel in Karach. The objective of this award is to provide innovative platform for interaction and networking while bridging the gap between corporations and communities through CSR initiatives. Commenting on the occasion, KE’s spokesperson said, “We are overwhelmed to receive this award and also thankful to the jury for recognizing our outstanding contributions in the field of corporate social responsibility towards the community’s growth.

As a Company, we are always on the look-out to enhance and further develop the community we operate in.” PRESS RELEASE

aamir Ibrahim appointed as mobilink cco KARACHI: Mobilink Pakistan has appointed Aamir Ibrahim, one of the founding members of Mobilink from 1994, and more recently Senior Vice President Telenor Group in Thailand, as Mobilink’s Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy CEO. In this role Aamir will lead all commercial aspects of Mobilink’s various businesses. Aamir has over 20 years of blue chip experience across various countries and industries. He has previously served as Chief Marketing Officer Telenor Pakistan and Chief Strategy Officer Mobilink in addition to various leadership roles at Ford Motor Company in Europe and Middle East. Aamir has an MBA from IMD and an AMP diploma from Harvard Business School. PRESS RELEASE

soneri Bank announces 2014 results KARACHI: The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited met in Lahore under the Chairmanship of Mr. Alauddin Feerasta, on February 14, 2015 to review the performance of the Bank and approved the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2014. 2014 was a record year for Soneri Bank as the Bank reported annual profit after tax of Rs.1.58 billion versus Rs.1.04 billion in 2013. The Bank has outperformed the market in both advances and deposit growth andachievedstrong growth in all core areas of the Bank’s operations.

Deposits grew by 16.13% over 2013 and net advances recorded a growth of 9.16% over 2013.Bank also adequately meets the SBP Basel III requirements and is well positioned to meet its growth plans. The Board of Directors also declared a cash dividend of Re.1.00 per share, which will be subject to approval of shareholders in its forthcoming Annual General Meeting. Analyzing the reasons for successful performance in 2014, Bank sources explain that the increase in gross revenue was registered mainly on account of growth in main areas of activity; i.e. advances, deposits and trade, which allowed the bank to enhance its earnings from both investments and foreign exchange. PRESS RELEASE

TEHRAN

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ONLINE

HE implementation of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, which will conduit Iranian gas to Pakistan, has been delayed due to political pressures, said the spokesman of Iranian Majlis Energy Commission.

In an interview with ‘Iran Daily’, Hossein Amiri Khamkani Monday called on Pakistan to fulfil its commitments in this respect at the earliest if it is really in need of gas from Iran. He noted that Iran has laid the pipeline up to its joint border with Pakistan and has met its commitments. “In case Pakistan does not begin the project in its ter-

ritory, Iran will use the pipeline to transfer gas to Sistan-Baluchestan province and the country’s southwestern regions.”

This is while, a few days ago, Pakistani Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi vowed that the country will complete the pipeline by the end of 2016 and begin gas imports from Iran as of 2017. He further noted that negotiations are underway with Iran to extend the deadline of exporting the first gas consignments from 2014 to 2016 or 2017.

Khamkani said, “The pipeline should have been established a long time ago. Pakistani officials should know that by not fulfilling their commitments, they have delayed the implementation of the project.

DAR FOR FOCUS ON NON-BANKING FINANCE, INSURANCE SECTOR ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Addressing officers and officials during his visit to SECP Headquarters on Monday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has called upon SECP to focus on development of Non-Banking Finance Institutions, Insurance sector and DFIs as these three sectors could prove to be a major contributor to economic advancement in the country.

The minister said establishment of the SECP was his personal effort in his tenure as finance minister in the late 90s and he felt proud of this institution. He advised the commission to take steps for the development of Pakistan Mercantile Exchange which was set up a decade earlier but is still at infancy stage. He emphasised acceleration in development of non-banking financial sector and asked the commission to come up with proposals in this regard as a priority.

On this occasion, Dar also highlighted the importance of Real Estate Investment Trust (REITS), saying it

was an important medium of capital formation and channelizing the general public savings towards developing the real estate in Pakistan.

“I am pleased to know that the SECP has approved first rental REIT of one of the best and busiest shopping mall in Karachi and its public offering is expected in March 2015.”

Dar said it was significant that the commission was now fully functional after a long time and that efforts were made to select independent professionals with known integrity. The commission, he said, with ample human capital and technology was ready to meet the challenges of modern times.

“I have permitted nomination of six officers for training at US Securities Commission as a special case, this is a proof of my commitment to the commission,” the minister remarked. Dar advised the commission to take initiatives to educate investors and to make efforts for the development of mutual fund industry so that common people may invest in capital market through mutual funds.

Iran, however, did not fine Islamabad for the delay as stipulated in the agreement signed by the two countries.” Iran is currently compromising with Pakistan as it feels committed to meeting the energy needs of the people of Pakistan, he noted, adding however, this, by no means, implies that it is acceptable for Pakistan not to begin the project due to political pressures.

“The Pakistani side is required to do something in this respect to demonstrate its willingness to complete the plan.” He said Iran has always voiced readiness to help Pakistan meet its gas needs and has even prepared the ground in this respect. The construction of the pipeline can improve ties between the two countries and bring them closer,

Majlis spokesman added. “The pipeline will help resolve the country’s energy needs to a large extent.”

The IP pipeline aims to help Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages. The United States has long been threatening Islamabad with economic sanctions if it goes ahead with the plan. Under the original agreement sealed between Iran and Pakistan, the first Iranian gas delivery to Pakistan was to start by December 31, 2014. Iran has already built 900 kilometres of the pipeline on its own territory and is waiting for the construction of the 700-kilometer Pakistani sector of the pipeline.

Pakistan’s security woes keeping investors away RAWALPINDI: Exchanging views with Rawalpindi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Syed Asad Mashadi during his visit to chambers on Monday, Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Hiroshi Inomata has said that Japanese business community is reluctant to invest in Pakistan owing to deteriorating law and order situation.

“Japan is the world largest importer of textile but due to high rate of import duty in Pakistan Japan is not prioritising Pakistan for textile imports to Japan as neighbouring countries of Pakistan like Sri Lanka and India have low ratio of taxes. Japan is keen to enhance bilateral trade relations with Pakistan and will support every activity which will be initiated in this regard,” the Japanese dignitary said. RCCI Vice President Saboor Malik, former presidents Sohail Altaf, Shimail Daud, members executive committee and other members of the chamber were also there. The ambassador said that Japan will assist Pakistan in technical support and interaction between the business communities will be enhanced to boost the bilateral trade. He said that Japanese companies are already working in health, education and energy sector of Pakistan and mutual cooperation will be enhanced in future. INP

ISLAMABAD: Muree Brewery Chief Executive Isphanyar Bhandara in a group photo with participants of Annual Customers Day of the company. PR

FRUIT EXPORTS UP DESPITE LOW OUTPUT ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

The overall production of fruits has been falling for some years owing to a decline in the area under cultivation, lack of required investment in orchard management, and failure to contain much of post-harvest losses.

However, export of fruits, continue to rise thanks to market diversification, investment by some export houses in fruit processing and valueaddition, and growing use of web-based marketing.

Statistical records of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research reveal that the total production of fruits gradually slumped from 7.01m tonnes in FY09 to 6.52m tonnes in FY13.

And, this decline is not due to lower-than-usual production in just one province. All four provinces have reported a falling trend both in the area under cultivation as well as in fruit production. Nevertheless, fruit exports increased from $162m in FY09 to $393m in FY13—and to $438m in FY14.

The fruits whose output has declined include mango, banana, pomegranate, guava, date, apricot, peach, pear, plum, loquat, chiku, coconut, cherry, papaya, persimmon, melons and watermelons. Production of citrus fruits, too, remains static around 2m tonnes for the period under review. But growers say output of citrus fruits rose past 3m tonnes in FY14 due to better orchardcare and lesser post-harvest losses.

Many citrus fruit growers and processors have contained such losses at 15pc or less, down from 20-25pc a few years ago due to some investment made in fruit picking, storage,

transportation and grading. The bulk of this investment has been made by the private fruit processing and export companies or traditional investors who buy full crop of selected orchards in advance, either on behalf of exporters or on their own.

Officials of Pakistan Horticulture Development Board say the area under cultivation of fruits has shrunk in favour of major crops i.e. wheat, rice, cotton, maize and sugarcane because these crops yield higher incomes. The total area under cultivation of all fruits has contracted from about 856,000 hectares in FY09 to a little less than 820,000 hectares, official stats show.

A big decline in the area under cultivation has been recorded in case of banana, apple and apricot. The output of citrus fruits has remained static (or even seen a modest increase as claimed by orchard owners) because growers of citrus fruits, the biggest export revenue earner, have made investment for better orchard management.

Officials of provincial agriculture departments of Sindh and Punjab say the area under citrus fruits, apple and apricot has shrunk in favour of wheat maize. But the areas cleared off banana plantations, mostly in Sindh, have been used for growing rice, cotton or sugarcane.

Frequent increases in support prices of staple food crops between 2009-2013 has encouraged a number of fruit growers to switch over to these crops, growers say.

Fruit farmers say a key obstacle in the way of improving the per-tree production of various fruits is the lack of knowledge about specific diseases of fruits and the medicinal spray required to fight it. They say the Agriculture University of

Faisalabad, PHDB and PCSIR have done some research work on fruits diseases but neither government nor the private sector come forward to invest in manufacturing of the required diseasefighting pesticides. Most of the pesticides they use are imported and prove too costly for small and medium-sized orchard owners.

An equally important factor in fruit production is boosting the yield of fruits per tree and that requires development of high-yield varieties in the first place. Growers say they have planted new varieties of citrus fruits, including seedless kinnow, which have been evolved in the last few years. But growers, who use these varieties, are not offered constant technical help from horticulture department to ensure that the new varieties retain high productivity for a long time.

They also point out that for past few years no new high-yield varieties of mango and apple have been developed and some varieties of banana, dates and grapes, that have been evolved are not being produced on commercial scale.

Production of apple, grape, pear, peach and apricot has also suffered in the recent past in troubled areas of KP and Balochistan.

Limited availability of cold storage facilities in and around the clusters of fruit orchards also affects fruits production because it results in high post-harvest losses, estimated up to 40pc. According to PHDB study on the status of fruits’ production, over dependence on wooden crates and cardboard boxes for fruit packaging, too, discourages growers in those areas where these items are brought to fruit farms from far-away urban markets to pick and pack fresh fruits often not on time.

LEISURE 11

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

HaGaR tHE HoRRIblE

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

One or both of your parents play an important role in today's events -- even if they're far separated by space or time.

You may find that your ability to keep up is enhanced by their energy.

Your happiness is pretty well established today -even if circumstances seem pretty dire. Your inner life is chugging along pretty well, and that means things can get a lot better really soon.

You save money on a major purchase today -- but then you reconsider whether you even needed to buy anything. Sure, you feel cheap, but it's not so bad if you can have a big stash for later.

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Where did all this energy come from? It's like someone flipped a switch and turned on your internal engines. You can get plenty done and have a great time while you're at it.

Things should start to heat.

You feel a natural warmth that keeps you positive -- even if circumstances are dire. No matter what's going on around you, it's easy to find your center and work outward from there.

Friends help you through whatever is going on -- even if it's nothing more sinister than a boring day at work. Reach out to folks who know you well and see if they can spice up your day.

dIlbERt

GaRFIEld

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

You've got to keep your head down today -- someone is gunning for you! The good news is that they're sure to misfire badly unless you stand up and challenge them directly. Let them bury themselves.

You and your friends get into some topic pretty deeply -- and it could end up changing your life! Your energy is perfect for making sweeping changes that improve almost every aspect of your existence.

It's a good day for flexibility -- which could mean almost anything. Try not to worry too much about how things are going, as your energy is much better spent on adapting than fixing.

baldo

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You value new ideas over the same old, same old today -so make sure that you're reaching out to folks who are thinking big about the future!

It's a good time to rethink your plans.

Stick to the schedule today -- all those tempting distractions are sure to lead you down the wrong path. It may be kind of boring, but the kind of trouble you'd be inviting isn't the fun kind.

There's nothing facing you that can't be solved with a little creative energy! You should find that you've got what it takes to shake up almost any situation so that it favors you in the long run.

cRosswoRd

sUdokU

woRd sEaRcH

ACROSS

bRIdGE

How to play fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits.

The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

hATCh hEAR hEEdfUL hIGhER LAPSE MERCENARy MOUSE PARLOR PERfORMANCE PRESS QUICk ROACh SCORE SORRy TERROR TORCh

Today’s soluTions

tRIals and ERRoRs

cHEss white tO PLAY AND MAte iN twO MOVes 8

crossword solution

7 6 5 4 3 2

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

chess solution

A

1.Qg5 hxg5 2.Rh3# 1-0

1

sudoku solution

1 dig up (7) 8 Windflower (7) 9 Captain (7) 10 huge (7) 11 Topic (5) 13 fast (4-5) 15 Type of carpet (9) 18 distant in manner (5) 21 Sealyham, for example (7) 22 Long pillow (7) 23 Ice-cream flavour (7) 24 favourite remedy or scheme (7) DOwn 1 knock over (5) 2 Chosen few (5) 3 deserving censure or condemnation (13) 4 Running quickly (6) 5 Novel by Victor hugo (3,10) 6 Sitting room (6) 7 Guillotine (6) 12 deceptive trick (4) 14 Reflected sound (4) 15 On the go (6) 16 harbour for pleasure yachts and small boats (6) 17 Sikh headdress (6) 19 Exterior (5) 20 Roman meeting place (5)

ABANdON ARRAy BARE BREEzE BRING CAdET CELEBRATE CONCERN COURT CRAzE EAGER EIThER ExACT ExCLUSIVE GEOMETRIC GLAdE GROVE

12

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

ARTS

Dressmakers bring tOuch Of OlD afghanistan tO Pakistan

WITH ballgowns, Western-style bridal wear and cocktail dresses, Afghan tailors driven out of their homeland by the Taliban are carving a niche for themselves in Pakistan’s capital city.

Their stores stand between rows of animal carcasses and car workshops in Islamabad’s grubby Peshawar Mor neighbourhood — known more as a haven for refugees than a home for glamour.

In Pakistan, dresses are normally the preserve of a tiny liberal elite, with most women more likely to be seen in public wearing the traditional baggy shalwar kameez. Raza Sakhi, a portly 43-year-old of ethnic Tajik heritage who fled Afghanistan when it came under control of the hardline Taliban, said those trends are now slowly changing in Pakistan.

“I shifted to Pakistan in 1996. I have been here now 19 years. I sell bridal dresses and maxi dresses,” he says, sitting behind a row of mannequins. “Earlier, more of our customers were Afghan, Iranian, Egyptians and so on. Now Pakistani sisters are buying our dresses too, around 30 percent of our customers are Pakistani and we’re very proud of that.”

For Afghans who grew up under the

rule of King Zahir Shah, the attire he creates represents a way of life that is now a distant memory. “I became a dressmaker after leaving school, because I was always interested in this,” explained Shir Rahim Salimi. He added that his pieces followed the old ‘Afghan style’ — a mix of traditional and Westernstyles favoured in the 1960s and 1970s.

Pre-Taliban Afghanistan was starkly different to the deeply conservative, conflict-torn country of today — bright blouses and even mini-skirts were the order of the day among fashion-conscious citizens of Kabul.

The country saw a period of upheaval starting in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded and violent resistance by the mujahideen, religiously-indoctrinated fighters backed by the United States, began. After the Soviets left, Afghanistan was plunged into bitter civil war, with the Taliban finally emerging to take control in 1996 and impose a harsh interpretation of Islamic sharia law that forced women to remain at home and beheaded criminals in public.

- DRIvEN Out Sakhi said he kept a small shop in

Kabul’s posh Wazir Akbar Khan district until 1996, and tried to keep it going even under Taliban rule. “I was forced to keep a beard down to here,” he laughs, pointing towards his chest.

“We worked under the Taliban in Afghanistan for one year. They saw our catalogue one day and then arrested me for a day. Then they let me go and told me to stop making these designs.”

It was then that he decided to heed their warnings and moved to Islamabad.

Others like Morid Khawas, 55, have had a less straightforward route to the business. The former Dari literature lecturer took a series of manual labour jobs after leaving Afghanistan for Pakistan, before finally deciding to make dresses.

“I had no choice because there is no market for Dari lecturers here,” he said.

Many of his customers are Pakistani Christians, who make up roughly five percent of the population in the Punjab region, but he also rents out his pieces to artist and performers working in theatre and TV, he said. Dresses generally range from $50 to $1,000, with the lower end of the scale affordable for Pakistan’s middle class customers.

- uNCERtAIN futuRE There are an estimated three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan either officially or unofficially, most of whom left their country to escape conflict in the 1980s and 1990s.

They have little desire to return to Afghanistan, which despite last year’s election of President Ashraf Ghani to power, remains politically unstable and still faces an array of daunting problems, including a fierce and resilient Taliban insurgency, widespread corruption, poverty and growing unemployment among the country’s 30 million population.

Yet the dressmakers and their fellow refugees are viewed with deep suspicion inside Pakistan and are routinely accused by authorities of harbouring militants.

Those suspicions have sharpened in the aftermath of a deadly Taliban massacre at a school in Peshawar in December, leading to an exodus of more than 30,000 Afghans since the start of the year — most of their own volition. “If the government of Pakistan decides to throw out Afghans then obviously we’ll be forced to pack up and leave since we are also Afghan,” said Sakhi. AGENCIES

iMatter: App launched to help women tackle abusive behaviour MELBOURNE AGENCIES

Anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty has launched a phone app aimed at teaching young women how to recognise signs of unhealthy and abusive relationships, reported IANS. The iMatter app, which is available on Google Play and iTunes, was launched on Valentine’s Day with an aim to teach women (between the age of 16 to 25 years) about intimate partner violence and build resilience. According to Carmel O’Brien, director of clinical services at community services group Doncare where the app is hosted, iMatter can be used as a personal journal.

“It’s a bit like a virtual library

of images, video clips, quizzes, articles,” O’Brien said. According to ABC News, O’Brien said many girls thought controlling behaviour was actually protective. “(Girls told us) we hear about healthy relationships in all sorts of useful ways,” O’Brien said. “But nobody tells us about that fine line between abusive and controlling behaviour.”

Batty, who recently received the title ‘Australian of the Year’, hopes to use the app to promote greater understanding of the fact that domestic violence is not limited to physical abuse. “I think throughout our communities, at any age, we’re learning it’s not just about physical violence,” she told womensagenda.com.au.

“Violence is also psychological, which includes verbal. It’s

not just about wearing a black eye and physical harm, it’s far more complex than that.” The need for this kind of app was highlighted by a recent Australian study, which found 22 per cent of girls aged under 20 had been victims of harm from dating violence. The app also promotes self-esteem and confidence, as Batty believes low self-esteem can lead young women to enter and remain in damaging relationships. “If you’re approaching a relationship when you have no self esteem you’re most likely to enter into a toxic relationship,” Batty said. “It will not get better, it will wear you down and will reduce you to a very low point.”

She added: “If (the relationship) doesn’t feel right, get out of it. Get out.”

While Obama talks cyber security, his hotel’s computer system fails RANCHO MIRAGE: It may not have been a hacking, but a computer outage at the hotel where US President Barack Obama resided this week could not have come at a more inconvenient time. The president flew to San Francisco on Thursday to preach the benefits of better corporate cybersecurity practices. The entire two days he was in town, the computer system at his upscale hotel, The Fairmont, was down. “There’s certainly no evidence to say anything was hacked or compromised,” said Thomas Klein, the hotel’s general manager, noting the irony of Obama’s attendance at a cybersecurity summit during the same period. “It’ just a coincidence in timing.” Upon arriving at the hotel on Thursday night, members of the president’s entourage were told that the hotel’s operating system had stopped working. Rather than swiping credit cards at the front desk, they filled out paper forms instead. By Saturday morning, the problem still had not been fixed. At checkout, a hotel employee took guests’ email addresses in order to send them their receipts. Klein said he alerted the Secret Service about the issue. “They checked into it ... and they said no, they have no evidence of any hacking,” he said.

“It was a hardware issue that impacted the hotel operating system.” A Secret Service spokesman declined to comment. AGENCIES

Do you wanna build a snowman?: Japanese city makes 1,585 A small Japanese city has claimed a new snowman-building world record, an official said Monday, after a winter storm dumped tonnes of the white stuff.

More than 600 people raced to complete a whopping 1,585 snowmen — each at least three-feet (90 centimetres) tall — in an hour, smashing the previous Guinness World Record. “We’ve been preparing the event since last year,” said an official in Iiyama city, where 23 centimetres (nine inches) of snow fell in 24 hours. Young and old joined in the fun, using only their gloved hands, to better the previous record, achieved in the United States in 2011, by 306. “It was tough because the snow crumbled, but I had fun,” eight-year-old Ichika Oguchi said, according to Kyodo News.

“I am very happy that we were able to set a record.” As well as the minimum height requirement, Guinness stipulates that each snowman has to have facial features and ornamental arms.

AGENCIES

Satellites help predict outbreaks of disease SAN JOSE AGENCIES

Satellites can help scientists follow parasites and viruses, and in some cases predict months ahead of time an outbreak of dengue fever or malaria, researchers said last week.

“Some diseases are highly sensitive to their environment, especially parasitic diseases,” said Archie Clements, director of the school of population health at the Australian National University in Canberra. “With remote sensing you can identify places where disease flourishes,” Clements told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose, California.

“This information is useful for decision makers to help them ensure scarce resources are tar-

geted to where they are most needed,” he said, noting that tropical diseases affect millions of people each year particularly in less developed nations. Scientists use data transmitted by satellite on temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, vegetation type and land use, then analyse that information in a computer model. “The result is maps that are accessible to countries with limited capacity for managing disease data, tailored to their local needs,” Clements said.

According to Kenneth Linthicum, director of the US Department of Agriculture Centre for medical agriculture and veterinary entomology in Florida, this approach helps government scientists “use environmental data, particularly global climate data, on a global scale to predict certain

diseases before they occur.”

Satellite data can be particularly helpful in predicting the rise of mosquito-borne diseases, he told the conference. His team has worked on Rift Valley fever, a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that is found in Africa and

on the Arabian Peninsula.

The disease primarily affects livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats, killing the animals and wreaking economic havoc through food shortages and increasing prices on the people who rely on those animals for food and in-

His team has worked on Rift Valley fever, a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that is found in Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula.

CMYK

come. Each time there were heavy rains that led to homes getting flooded, conditions were right for the disease-bearing mosquitoes eggs to hatch, scientists learned.

“We are able to predict those outbreaks two to five months before they occur and the real key there is by allowing us to predict disease that far in advance we can actually help warn people and implement control and mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of the diseases on animals and people,” he said. The risk of coming epidemics are published on the USDA website as well as by the World Health Organisation and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

For dengue in Africa, scientists have discovered that high heat and drought often precede an

outbreak. “The key is understanding the ecology and the transmission dynamics of the disease,” said Linthicum. “You need to know what is going to happen before you go to the satellite data.”

The system doesn’t work quite as well with certain diseases, like malaria and chikungunya, with which a variety of environmental factors come into play.

While heat and dryness raise the risk of dengue in Africa, in Asia the same risk can be seen in times of heavy rain. “But I think in a near future we will be able to predict many more of these diseases,” said Linthicum. For Clements, the key challenge is getting important resources where they are needed before disaster strikes. He described resource mobilisation as a “critical problem.”

CMYK Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

Pakistanis hotter than Indians, Buzzfeed India editor says a

S Sunday’s Pakistan-india world cup match was drawing to a close, something other than Misbah-ul-Haq’s valiant effort to save face was causing a stir on Twitter. it all began when Rega Jha, Buzzfeed india’s 23-year-old editor, tweeted: “it's so sad that no matter who wins, Pakistanis will continue to be way hotter than us and we'll continue to be their ugly neighbours.”

Jha's tweet immediately went viral and indignant indian cricket fans trolled her incessantly. The majority of replies to her tweet were outraged denials of the above statement.

Fellow tweeters were merciless in their attack on Jha, and responses ranged from the unbelievably mean-spirited to the plain hilarious. and then there were a few people who kind of agreed with her sentiment. Jha's comment, though probably made in jest, struck a nerve with Pakistanis and indians as the relative hotness of either nation has long been a matter of

CHINESE SHORT FILM URGES PARENTS TO ACCEPT GAY CHILDREN

in a country where homosexuality remains a big taboo, a short film urging parents in china to accept their gay children has gone viral and notched up more than 100 million online views. coming Home tells the story of a young gay man who is shunned by his parents after coming out, before eventually being accepted by them years later. The movie, produced by PFlaG china, named after the american organization PFlaG (Parents, Families and Friends of lesbians and Gays), has received more than 106 million clicks on china's QQ video streaming site, which is owned by online giant Tencent. coming Home was launched to coincide with china's lunar New Year's holidays this week, when families traditionally gather all over the country in much the same way as they do in the U.S. at Thanksgiving.

COURTESY HOLLYWOODREPORTER

AMERICAN SNIPER, BIRDMAN, UNBROKEN AMONG WINNERS AT SOUND EDITORS AWARDS

heated debate. For every Deepika india spits out, Pakistan responds with a Mahira. The two countries are certainly neck and neck in the race for the hottest 'race' — if there can be such a contest when two populations are ethnically so much the same. Though Jha's tweet quickly incited us-vs-them passion, some were quick to point out that this was a clever ploy on her part to get attention and direct traffic Buzzfeed's way. as Newscrunch.in points out, "The internationally acclaimed media site Buzzfeed, which has been struggling to find traction in india, found some social media success on Sunday after its editor Rega Jha tweeted saying Pakistanis were hot and indians ugly." indeed, a few hours after her tweet, 'Rega Jha' was trending on Twitter in india. as commentary continued, a few twitterati called for a truce as the attacks on Jha were becoming increasingly personal and openly misogynistic. NEWS DESK

aishwarya Rai Bachchan. However, now it is being said that the role in question was just a cameo and Dharma wanted to sign Fawad for a full fledged role. on the other hand, it is a well known fact that Karan Johar is the mentor for alia and Sidharth and

RUPERT MURDOCH MOCKS 'FIFTY SHADES' AUDIENCE

hence he has decided to bring their chemistry back on screen after their act in their debut film ‘Student of The Year’. When contacted, apoorva Mehta, cEo of Dharma Productions, he refused to comment on the same.

COURTESY INDIAN EXPRESS

CINDY CRAWFORD'S UNRETOUCHED BIKINI PIC IS REAL AND GORGEOUS

an apparent unaltered photo of cindy crawford is circulating the internet (but not for reasons you might expect) and stirring discussion about beauty, how women are portrayed in the media and what “real” women look like. The un-airbrushed bikini shot defies expectations: it is real, it is honest, and it is gorgeous. The image of the 48-yearold supermodel in lingerie was apparently leaked from a cover shoot of Marie claire magazine -- but not an upcoming one, it's already run. The image of murky origins spread through social media (and how) on February 13 after British news anchor charlene White shared it on Twitter, attributing it to Marie claire magazine. "... it features 100% non-retouched photos. Take a bow Ms. c," White wrote in the tweet.

COURTESY HINDUSTAN TIMES

GSB hits a melodic chord for change Gao, Suno, Badlo, a musical campaign for equality, democracy and solidarity, releases song for women empowerment LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Motion Picture Sound Editors spread the wealth at its 62nd Golden Reel awards, giving one trophy each to the sound editing teams on american Sniper, Birdman, Get on Up and Unbroken in the live action feature categories. american Sniper, Birdman and Unbroken are nominated for the oscar in sound editing, along with The Hobbit: The Battle of Five armies and interstellar. on Sunday at the Westin Bonaventure, the sound editors behind american Sniper were honored with Golden Reel awards in the category for FX/Foley, Unbroken for dialogue/aDR, Birdman for music, and Get on Up for a musical feature.

13

is Rupert Murdoch feeling fit to be tied that Fox didn't distribute Fifty Shades of Grey? The media mogul tweeted a backhanded compliment over the weekend about the Universal film's gargantuan boxoffice gross, claiming that the intake has been buoyed by women of a certain age. "amazing b.o. take for 50 Shades," Murdoch wrote. "cinemas full of middle aged women's groups." The 21st century Fox chief couldn't resist taking one additional swipe at the Dakota JohnsonJamie Dornan starrer, adding: "But [by] anecdotal evidence, they [are] all disappointed!" COURTESY HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Fawad Khan in Karan Johar’s next?

While many rumours and speculations are on the rise about the upcoming films from Dharma Productions, the latest one is that Karan Johar has decided to sign his ‘students’ for his next. apparently, Karan Johar has plans to produce a film which will be helmed

by Shakun Batra and from what we hear, the untitled film will star alia Bhatt along with Sidharth Malhotra and Pakistani heartthrob Fawad afzal Khan. Karan Johar recently took to Twitter to announce the new project and maintained, “Rarely does a filmmaker write a super script in 2 months….@shakunbatra’s new family film just got greenlit and cast! Details coming up….”

Prior to this, there were also rumours that Fawad was constantly spotted around Dharma Productions because he was to sign Karan’s directorial ‘ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ opposite

ARTS

ocial stages Mishermayl and aaWaZ Voice and accountability Programme held hands to discharge the first track out of their six melody collection activity Gao Suno Badlo (GSB).

“Kaun Kehta Hai Mein Beyikhtiyar Hoon” was released on February 12th to honour the struggle put up by women’s rights activists in Pakistan. The day marks an important milestone in the history of women’s movement in Pakistan, when women protested at Mall Road lahore in 1983, and successfully challenged the

promulgation of the law of Evidence by the military dictator Ziaul Haq. Soon after its release, the song went viral on the social media and immediately recorded over 33k hits on its web link.

The GSB team for the song includes Executive Producer and composer ali aftab Saeed, Vocalist Zainab Fatima, lyricist aaliya Mirza, Song Producer Saad Sultan and Video Director Farhan adeel. according to the GSB team, the major objectives of this project is to initiate a musical campaign to bring positive change in people’s attitudes towards the issues of exclusion of women and

COURTESY HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

CMYK

religious minorities, stability of democracy and contradictions of education system The GSB campaign also aims at enhancing the understanding of these issues among common men and women and mobilise them to transform their attitudes and influence their surroundings.

“We think that the key questions that need to be addressed in current sociopolitical arena are that of exclusion, democracy and education. By exclusion we mean the exclusion of women, religious minorities and other marginalised segments of society in our daily life to the political decision making,” the

GSB team producers explain.

Through GSB musical campaign, a pool of professional lyricists, musicians and singers will come together to develop people’s engagement with ideas of social and political change.

“There is a total of six songs, and we have released the first today. it will soon be followed by a song in March promoting inter-faith harmony and would be based on the story of deceased minister Shahbaz Bhatti. Then we’ll release another video in May on the international labour Day highlighting the exploitation of labour,” said GSB’s ali aftab Saeed.

14 SPORTS

Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

JuAN MATA bELiEvES LioNEL MESSi iS ‘rEAchiNG hiS PEAk’ M SPORTS DESK

ANCHESTER United midfielder Juan Mata says Lionel Messi is playing some of the best football of his career and believes Barcelona will challenge for the treble.

After a somewhat indifferent start to the season in which they fell behind bitter rivals Real Madrid early on, Barcelona have begun to click in recent weeks and have closed

the gap to Carlo Ancelotti’s side to just one point.

Messi netted his 23rd league hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Levante on Sunday, pulling him level alongside Cristiano Ronaldo atop the alltime list in La Liga, and Spanish international Mata believes that the Argentine can now go on to inspire Barca as the Catalan club chase trophies on all three fronts.

“Real Madrid won a very important game after a complicated week. In those cases, a

victory is the best remedy and also helps to recover some energy with a view to the decisive weeks of the season,” Mata wrote on his official website.

“Barca enjoyed [themselves even] more though, once again displaying an extraordinary offensive power. Messi seems to be reaching his peak of the season right now.

“And if we add up the contribution from some other fantastic players, they are potential candidates to win every single competition.”

Cristiano Ronaldo is ‘addicted to goals and victories’: Toni Kroos Lionel Messi is my best friend: Neymar Brazilian forward Neymar admitted that the secret behind his and Lionel Messi’s magical on-field partnership is down to their friendship. Following Barcelona’s 5-0 win over La Liga rivals Levante, in which Messi scored another hat-trick – his 23rd in Spain’s top flight – Neymar claimed that his understanding with the Argentine has blossomed. Neymar opened the scoring in the rout against Levante, rounding off a typically freeflowing passing move with a somewhat fortuitous finish before his partner in crime stole the show with yet another treble, taking him level with Cristiano Ronaldo atop the all-time La Liga goalscoring chart. Luis Suarez rounded off the scoring with a superb scissor kick just minutes after coming off the bench. Following the victory, Neymar, who missed a penalty in midweek against Villarreal, spoke of his bond with Messi, stating that their friendship is key to the team’s success. SPORTS DESK

Alberto Contador to retire after 2016 season

Alberto Contador, winner of all three of cycling’s Grand Tours, has confirmed his intention to retire after the 2016 cycling season concludes.

The six-time Grand Tour winner told Spanish newspaper AS that next season would be his last, following lengthy speculation over his future with many of the sport’s insiders of the belief he would indeed call it quits in the near future.

“Physically I’m recuperating well and I’m excited about the team, but the years are going by,” the Tinkoff-Saxo rider said at a Fundación Alberto Contador event. “Next season I’ll be in the peloton, but that will be my last.” The Spaniard said he wants to go out “at the highest level”, riding “better than in 2009” - the year he won the Tour de France. “If I enter the Giro or the Tour it means nothing to me to come second, I’m solely looking to win,” he added.

“I’m a non-conformist and victory is the only thing that I’m focused on.” He added one minor caveat, saying that “if there were to be a mishap” or accident that stopped him competing in 2016 “then I would carry on for one more year and leave it at that.” SPORTS DESK

SPORTS DESK Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has defended Cristiano Ronaldo following criticism from fans, insisting the forward is “addicted to goals and victories”.

Ronaldo was the focus of much negativity from Real Madrid supporters after pictures emerged of the Portuguese celebrating his 30th birthday just hours after a humiliating 4-0 defeat to arch rivals Atletico Madrid.

The Real superstar, along with team-mates James Rodriguez, Pepe, Marcelo, Sami Khedira and Kevon

Rodlan, was condemned by fans of the reigning European champions and media for the celebrations.

But Kroos has leapt to the defence of his team-mate, dismissing the criticism aimed towards the three-time Ballon d’Or winner, claiming that Ronaldo is a model professional and should be allowed to celebrate a landmark birthday, regardless of the team’s result. “I can only say positive things about him. He has a very good character,” Kroos told Goal.com “There are certainly many people who would have slacked off after all of the success that Cristiano has enjoyed,

but he did not.

“He always wants to win. Cristiano is addicted to goals and victories.” The World Cup winner was also quick to dispel suggestions that there is a growing celebrity culture at Real Madrid. “Our coach, Carlo Ancelotti, would never accept that,” he added.

“You would win nothing like that.”

“To put it bluntly: with us, nobody takes themselves too seriously. There are no divas. We are a functioning family. “In the dressing room, there are great people with big hearts and open ears. Nobody here thinks that they can do it all on their own.”

Luis Suarez is a ‘pure striker’, says Luis Enrique Barcelona coach Luis Enrique hailed Luis Suarez as a “pure striker” after the Uruguayan scored a sublime overhead kick in the win over Levante.

The Barcelona forward, who endured an indifferent start to his career in Spain, came off the bench and scored an incredible overhead kick after six minutes during the 5-0 demolition of Levante.

The goal was the Uruguayan’s second in as many matches after netting in a 5-2 triumph over Athletic Bilbao last week.

Suarez has now scored four league goals in his last eight matches, improving upon what was a relatively poor goals-to-game ratio having failed to open his account for the Catalan prior to December.

The acrobatic finish earned the 28-yearold special praise from his manager, who is pleased to see the striker rewarded for his effort both on and off the pitch.

“Beautiful goal, it has been a great action, a great play changing the orientation of the game, nice pass from Adriano and a great bicycle kick with the left foot,” Luis Enrique said.

“A typical goal from a pure striker, that helps him a lot. There are many times when it is more difficult for players that are closer to goal to score in 90 minutes, but then they play just 20 and score.

“It helps him personally too, although he doesn’t need that because he contributes in many things in the attack, and good news he scored.” SPORTS DESK

SNGPL reaches Quarters of 7th All Pakistan Football Tournament LAHORE: SNGPL thrashed Ashraf Sugar Mill on Monday to reach the Quarter Final of 7th All Pakistan Football Tournament. SNGPL scored by 3 goals against 1 of Ashraf Sugar Mill.

Suleman, Ahmed Faheem and Zeeshan scored for SNGPL. PRESS RELEASE

DAREDEVILS BUY YUVRAJ FOR $2.67 MILLION SPORTS DESK For the second successive year, Yuvraj Singh attracted a record bid in the IPL auction, this time from Delhi Daredevils who purchased the allrounder for Rs 16 crore (approx. $2.67 million).

There were two other million-dollar purchases on the morning of the auction. Daredevils made another high-profile purchase, signing Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for Rs 7.5 crore (approx. $1.25 million), while India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik - who had attracted a bid of Rs 12.5 crore ($2.08 million) last year - was signed by Royal Challengers for Rs 10.5 crore (approx. $1.75 million).

South Africa Test captain Hashim Amla, along with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were unsold in the marquee round of the auction.

Daredevils had came into

the auction with the deepest pockets and the franchise was involved in a bidding contest for Yuvraj with the allrounder’s erstwhile franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore. Last year, Royal Challengers had paid Rs. 14 crore (approx. $2.33million) for Yuvraj but had released him before the auction.

Sunrisers Hyderabad had the largest purse in the auction after Daredevils and added a few highprofile names to their roster. They purchased Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara - the three England players who were sold in the first half of the auction. While Pietersen was sold for his base price of Rs 2 crore ($330,000), Morgan was bought for Rs 1.5 crore ($250,000), and Bopara had a bid of Rs 1 crore ($166,000). Sunrisers also purchased New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson for Rs 60 lakh ($100,000) and quick bowler

Trent Boult for Rs 3.8 crore ($633,000). New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne was bought

by Royal Challengers for Rs 70 lakh ($166,000).

Zaheer Khan, who hasn’t played since IPL 2014, was sold in the second round for Rs 4 crore ($660,000) to Daredevils, the fourth-costliest buy on the auction day. Irfan Pathan, who played for Sunrisers last season, did not attract a bid in the first round but was bought by Chen-

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nai Super Kings in the second round for his base price of Rs. 1.5 crore ($250,000). Praveen Kumar, who played for Mumbai Indians last season, was bought

by Sunrisers for Rs 2.2 crore ($366,000) but Baroda pacer Munaf Patel went unsold.

Among the uncapped players, Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer and Kishan Cariappa attracted the highest bids. Cariappa, a 20-year-old offspinner who is yet to play a single first-

class game, was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 2.4 crore ($400,000), while Shreyas Iyer was bought by Daredevils for Rs 2.6 crores ($433,000).

Australia pacer Sean Abbott was purchased by Royal Challengers for Rs 1 crore ($166,000) and the franchise also added West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy to their ranks, for Rs 2.8 crore ($466,000). Aaron Finch was the most expensive Australia player, purchased by Mumbai Indians for Rs 3.2 crore ($533,000).

Medium-pacer Gurinder Sandhu, who made his debut in the tri-series against India and England last month, was bought by Daredevils for Rs 1.7 crore ($283,000).

There will be two-week trading window starting next Monday, where those players who were already with their franchises before the auction can be exchanged.

SPORTS Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

ScoTLANd uP AGAiNST SoAriNG hoSTS SPORTS DESK

W

ITH an undulating landscape, pockets of striking gothic architecture, and biting polar gusts, Dunedin is sometimes known as the “Edinburgh of the south”. No better place then for Scotland to begin their World Cup campaign. Surging after two strong outings in the warm-up games, captain Preston Mommsen said his team was “realistic” about the strengths of the opposition they are facing, but they remain optimistic about springing the tournament’s first surprise.

It had been Scotland’s bowling that sealed the 179-run warm up victory against Ireland, with seamer Alasdair Evans and offspinner Majid Haq sharing seven scalps between them, but it is the top order around which this team rallies. Former captain Kyle Coetzer has moved into fine form with 96 in a tall chase against West Indies, while opening partner Calum Mcleod hit a smart hundred against a Sydney grade team, as part of Scotland’s build-up. The highly-rated Matt Machan, who had an encouraging season for Sussex, was the other key player to strike form. His 103 from 108 balls had led Scotland

to their 296 against Ireland.

New Zealand have made all the usual noises about guarding against complacency, and judging by the energy and focus in their pre-match training it is not difficult to believe them. There were no great chinks in their increasingly shiny armour, against Sri Lanka, and though it appears unlikely that Scotland can reveal a weakness, New Zealand continue to refine.

Ross Taylor was the only batsman to not have made a substantial contribution in the tournament opener, but an inexperienced Scotland attack may be to his liking. He has played outstanding innings in past major tournaments, so he perhaps knows how to peak at world events better than the other batsmen in his team.

have a batsman able to arrest slides and press the attack in equal measure. Even if Scotland can make early breakthroughs on Tuesday, New Zealand will be confident their middle-order anchor can lead them to a strong total.

The first Gaelic speaker to ever appear in a Test (when he was on-field as an England substitute), Calum MacLeod enjoyed a bumper 2014, when he hit four international hundreds for Scotland, and was instrumental in their seven-match winning streak in the World Cup qualifiers. MacLeod first signed for Warwickshire as a seamer, but had his action soon reported by the umpires. Only 26 still, Macleod quickly transformed himself into a dynamic batsman, and now opens for

FORm guiDE New Zealand WWWLW (last five matches, most recent first) West indies WLLWL

Scotland - he had been a No. 9 when his ODI career began. tEAMs NEws Brendon McCullum suggested changes would be made to the XI, allowing the more fragile players some recuperation time. He did not reveal who would sit out, but Daniel Vettori appears a prime candidate for a rest day, with tearaway Adam Milne also likely to be given a break.

New Zealand: (probable) 1 martin guptill, 2 Brendon mcCullum (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 grant Elliott, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk) , 7 Corey Anderson, 8 Nathan mcCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Adam milne, 11 mitchell mcClenaghan

Scotland’s top order is reasonably settled. They may have to choose between playing a left-arm seamer, or fielding an extra batsman - likely to be Rob Taylor or Richie Berrington.

IN tHE spOtLIGHt Initially among the more contentious New Zealand selections for the World Cup, Grant Elliott has justified his place in the side in emphatic fashion. His bowling provides some balance to the XI, but his real strength is his measure and experience at the batting crease. There has been a recent trend of teams losing several top order batsmen cheaply, thanks to the two new balls, but in Elliott New Zealand

Scotland (probable): 1 Kyle Coetzer, 2 Alex mcLeod, 3 Hamish gardiner, 4 matt machan, 5 Preston mommsen (capt), 6 Richie Berrington/ Rob Taylor, 7 mathew Cross (wk), 8 John Davey, 9 Alasdair Evans, 10 majid Haq, 11 iain Wardlaw

pItCH ANd CONdItIONs The flat Dunedin surface and the ground’s short boundaries allow for big scores. Expect another 300+ total if New Zealand are batting first, particularly if the sunshine that is forecast comes through. stAts ANd tRIvIA This is Scotland’s third World Cup campaign. They have lost all eight matches they’ve played across the 1999 and 2007 campaigns. New Zealand have not lost a game in the South Island of the country since the loss to Pakistan in Christchurch in January 2011.

Scotland lost by only one run in a one-day match against a New Zealand XI in October last year QUOtEs “Whether you beat Sri Lanka or Scotland, you still get the same amount of points in this World Cup. We’re not good enough to take any team for granted.” –Brendon McCullum “Grant Bradburn has got huge experience with playing in New Zealand and coached probably a lot of the guys in that New Zealand team. He’s given us some valuable insights in our preparation for the game tomorrow.” –Preston Mommsen on the advantages of having a New Zealand coach in Bradburn

‘I wouldn’t change Kane for anyone in the world at 3’ SPORTS DESK

it’s rehab 24x7 for me: Faulkner As Michael Clarke enters the home stretch of his plan to return to Australia’s World Cup XI against Bangladesh, allrounder James Faulkner has conceded he is still on the back straight, unsure of when he might turn for the finish line.

“I’m no chance,” Faulkner said in Brisbane when asked about his prospects of playing at the Gabba in five days’ time. A side strain incurred during the triangular series means Faulkner is a long way from bowling, and Australia’s abundance of options makes it unlikely he will be considered until he is able to.

“Everyone is a little bit unsure but hopefully the rehab I’ve done with the medical staff has kept me in good shape for what’s to come,” Faulkner said.

“I haven’t been given any fitness deadline, I’m not sure what their plan is with that. I’ll just do as I’m told with the medical staff and concentrate on that. It’s rehab 24x7 for me and will continue to be until I’m back.” Pressure for spots in Australia’s World Cup team is such that the stand-in captain George Bailey is set to make way for Clarke, while a first-ball duck for Shane Watson at the MCG on Saturday has plenty of critical eyes trained on his spot.

“I don’t think we’re actually fighting for the same sort of spot, we’re different players,” Faulkner said of Marsh. “Mitch has always been a batter and his overs have been handy. I know he’s working hard on his bowling and he got some rewards the other day.

“I think we can both definitely play in the same team and we have a few games so far, so there’s no reason we can’t continue. “The beauty about the Australian set-up is it’s such a strong squad, it’s going to be hard for spots.

That’s a great thing for Australian cricket and a great thing for the whole team, you’ve got to really be on your toes and when given a chance you’ve got to grab it with both hands.” SPORTS DESK

“I don’t want to put pressure on him” is Brendon McCullum’s constant refrain, when speaking of Kane Williamson. But, like many fans in the country, though McCullum attempts to suppress his excitement about Williamson’s potential, though he takes care to manage his expectations, he can’t help but predict great things for the batsman.

Six weeks ago, McCullum had said he “firmly believe Kane could go down as New Zealand’s greatest-ever batter”, echoing an already rising chorus of past players, including Martin Crowe, who have said the same. Now, following Williamson’s 57 on Saturday, which was his fourth fifty-plus ODI score on the trot, and the fifth in six matches, McCullum has again outlined his value to the team, and to New Zealand’s World Cup campaign.

“Geez, it’s scary to think how good Kane could be in the years to come,” he said. “I wouldn’t change him for anyone in the world at No. 3.

I guess a lot of our hope for success in this World Cup will rest on Kane and

also Ross Taylor. How they perform in this World Cup will allow us to score the runs which our bowling attack will require to be aggressive, and to be able to get the results we want.”

Williamson has been among the quickest improvers in the past year, raising his ODI average by more than 11, since the beginning of 2014. He currently averages 46.46 and strikes at 82.88 after 61 innings. By way of comparison, those numbers are marginally better than those of Virat Kohli at the same stage of his career. Kohli had been only 22 after 61 innings however, where Williamson is 24.

“I guess I’m more familiar with Kane’s game and his impact on our team than of Virat’s, which is one of the reasons why I say that I wouldn’t change him,” McCullum said. “Virat is an amazing player. His record is phenomenal already, and he’s still such a young guy.

“But what we’re seeing with Kane at the moment is a guy who is incredibly comfortable with his game, who keeps trying to develop and learn. He works very, very hard. He’s an incredible team man, as well, and

I think we’ve seen that with some of his innings - he’s looking to up the ante for the team cause rather than the chance for individual milestones.”

Williamson has also put himself in the IPL auction on Monday, but far from being a distraction during the World Cup campaign, McCullum said the IPL experience may make Williamson a better player. “If Kane is able to pick up an IPL contract today, the level headed guy that he is, he will see the learning opportunities in it. Hopefully if he does get picked up he goes to a good team where he’s able to continue to develop and learn, because he’s very open to learning.

He’s often speaking to some of the opposition players who are a similar ilk to what he is and he tries to glean any sort of advice or tips off them.”

McCullum also said he expects plenty of runs to be scored in this World Cup, as he prepares his team to face Scotland in New Zealand’s second match of the tournament.

The first five matches have each featured a score of 300 or more, and this new trend brings new strategies into play, McCullum said.

Mommsen putting faith in Scotland top order The dynamism of Scotland’s top order could make them a dangerous side at the World Cup, captain Preston Mommsen has said ahead of the team’s first match of the tournament. Scotland have had an encouraging approach to the World Cup, as they beat Ireland handily and fell short to the West Indies by only three runs, in two warmup matches. They also beat a Sydney grade side, as part of their build-up. The top order was instrumental to all three heartening outcomes.

“Matthew Machan a very dynamic, short, punchy sort of player, David Warner-style player, has the ability to take the game away from the opposition,” Mommsen said.

“Calum Macleod has had a brilliant past 12 months as well, and Kyle Coetzer is also looking good with his 96 against West Indies.

We’ll be looking to them to score heavily and feature in the top 10, top 20 run-scorers in this group stage. Hopefully that sets us up to get through to the next round.”

Scotland had missed out on qualification for the 2014 World T20, and had also lost the first match of the World Cup qualifiers to Hong Kong, last year. They then won seven consecutive matches, even earning the tournament title over UAE. Mommsen himself top-scored in that final, hitting 139 from 149 balls, and was second-highest runscorer in the tournament, with a tally of 520.

“I think the belief in the side probably changed 12 months ago when we qualified for this tournament,” Mommsen said. “We lost the first game and we knew our backs were against it. We had to win every game in that tournament to qualify, and pretty much for a lot of the guys, their careers were on the line. From that moment we really learnt how to deal with pressure and guys stood up when they needed to stand up.”

“But looking back at the last two warm-up games against Ireland and West Indies that’s also done a huge amount for this team.” Scotland face a stiff first challenge in the main-event, as they prepare to face hosts New Zealand in an ODI venue that has not been kind to visitors. Mommsen said Scotland would take significant confidence from their performance against a New Zealand XI in a one-dayer in Lincoln last year, when they had lost by only one run.

That New Zealand XI featured the likes of Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori, Mitchell McClenaghan and Luke Ronchi. SPORTS DESK

Bangladesh put in the effort before Afghanistan clash SPORTS DESK Even as Ireland were hunting down West Indies in Nelson, in a quiet corner of quiet Manuka Oval in quiet Canberra, Bangladesh were going through a threehour intense training session.

Bangladesh lost both their World Cup warm-up games, one of them to Ireland, and their first opponents in the tournament are Afghanistan, who beat them in the Asia Cup last March in the only previous ODI between the two sides.

Bangladesh have not played an international game for two-and-a-half months now, but going by this afternoon’s workout, they are putting in the effort in training. Barring Tamim Iqbal, who is feeling his way back from a knee injury and only faced throwdowns and some offbreaks, the other Bangladesh batsmen had long stints in the side nets just outside Manuka Oval against both pace and spin. The fast bowlers ran in hard in the heat and tested their team-mates’ techniques.

The injury-prone Mashrafe Mortaza

eased into his spell, bowling off a few paces at the start, and clutching his right shoulder on a few occasions as he loosened up. He was soon sprinting in from his usual run-up, although he was the slowest of the four Bangladesh pace bowlers. He also bowled the shortest spell among the four, choosing to have a short batting stint after that. Rubel Hos-

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sain seemed the quickest, sending Mahmudullah’s leg stump out of the ground with a sharp yorker. He also found some swing, while the two young ones, Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain hit the surface hard and generated rapid bounce.

The well-built Taskin, especially, was quite a sight when viewed from just behind the batsman as he pounded in.

‘I’M CHALLENGING YOU, COACH’: “[If] I’m out [again], I’m out.

I’ll go away. I’m serious. I’m challenging you, coach.” Tamim Iqbal had just been bowled by a yorker from the sidearm device operated by Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Tamim had stayed away from the nets at Manuka Oval while his team-mates sweated it out. He sauntered in quite late and sat down to have a long chat with Nasir Hossain. Finally, he prepared to face throwdowns from Hathurusingha. And he was bowled early on. The proud batsman’s ego had been hurt. Hathurusingha tried to gently talk Tamim out of such potentially distracting challenges but the batsman was adamant. And for the remainder of his stint, Tamim was not getting out.

The faster Hathurusingha slung them in, the faster they went. Cover drives, straight drives, on-drives, pulls, cuts.

“Good shots,” the coach acknowledged in the end and went on to advise the batsman about mindset and switching on and off during an innings.

SPORTS Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

Joyful Ireland deepen west IndIes turmoIl

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relAND put the world in the cup as the obliging West Indies sleepwalked to an embarrassing - does it embarrass them anymore, though? - defeat during which only Darren Sammy and lendl Simmons seemed awake in rescuing them from 87 for 5. The West Indies bowling was as flat as their top order as the adventurous Paul Stirling, smooth ed Joyce and nerveless Niall O’Brien coasted to the target of 305 efficiently and without any anxiety despite a late wobble that came too late. Fittingly the most compelling story played itself out in Nelson, whose population is 45000 and whose cricket ground, the Saxton Oval, holds a maximum of 6000.

There was immense joy as Ireland’s discipline and nous stood in a two-finger salute to the administrators’ plans to keep them and other smaller cricket teams out of the World Cup. There was grief too as West Indies showed for the most of the match a lack of application, fight and cricketing smarts. It was almost as if they had a long night out in Nelson but forgot to invite Sammy and Simmons. Only rarely do two men win matches against teams that maximise their resources as Ireland do.

It doesn’t matter that Sammy posted the highest score by a No. 7 in World Cups - 89 off 67, it doesn’t matter that the 218 their lower half added was the second-highest in ODI history, it doesn’t matter that Simmons accelerated from 26 off 44 to 102 off 84. What mattered was that this was a flat pitch with boundaries hard to defend, and that they didn’t have the bowling to defend. Stirling and Joyce showed them how to do it, letting at no point in the chase the asking rate go beyond 6.64. This was no upset; there were 25 balls to spare when the match finished. This was a clinical defeat of a team that could not look less interested even if it tried.

The Ireland attack is made up of quicks who

four hurt in brawl between India, pakistan cricket fans MELBOURNE: Four persons have been injured when a brawl broke out between cricket fans watching the tense India-Pakistan World Cup match on television at a Sydney club. Police said the fight at the Merrylands rSl club last night involved up to 40 people. Three people were taken to Westmead hospital and another was taken to Auburn hospital for treatment to non-life threatening injuries, ABC News said on Monday. Police are now reviewing security camera footage of the fight but no arrests have been made so far. The game between the fierce rivals was one of the most highly anticipated of the tournament, drawing an estimated global viewing audience of one billion, the report said. Merrylands rSl club CeO Bryn Miller said nearly 180 people gathered to watch the live televised match in one of the club’s rooms last night.

India won the match by 76 runs amid a frenzied atmosphere at the Adelaide Oval, extending its World Cup record over Pakistan to six wins from as many matches. He said the CCTV footage shows two people started the brawl by throwing a stool before running out of the club. aGENcIES

6TH MaTcH, POOL a neW Zealand vs scotland Feb 17, 2015 03:00 Pst unIveRsIty oval dunedIn

ajmal hints at conspiracy theory after India versus pakistan bowl in the mid-120s and spinners who don’t turn the ball. They rely on accuracy and tenacity and clever changes of pace. West Indies have some of the biggest hitters going around who make millions through Twenty20 freelance. This was a small ground. Ireland’s industrious scrappers could have come unstuck at any point of time, but by the time that happened West Indies had decisively dug themselves a hole too big through woeful shots and attitude.

Take a look at the replays from the umpire’s point of view during West Indies’ first innings.

None of their non-strikers backed up. They avoided singles with the faithfulness of committed men. And then take a look at the wickets. Only two fielders are allowed outside the circle in the first 10 overs. When one of them is at long-on, it takes some special skill and thinking to hit a catch down his throat. You’d venture a batsman with such skill and thinking won’t be averaging more than 20; Dwayne Smith averages 19 and scored 18 here. later in that over, Darren Bravo, possibly the worst runner going around in international cricket, took

ScOREbOaRD West IndIes dR smIth c mooney b KJ o’bRIen 18 36 ch Gayle c KJ o’bRIen b docKRell dm bRavo Run out (mcbRIne) 0 21 mn samuels lbW b docKRell d RamdIn lbW b docKRell 1 102 lmP sImmons c docKRell b soRensen dJG sammy c docKRell b mooney 89 ad Russell not out 27 0 Jo holdeR not out extRas (lb 1, W 9) 10 304 total (7 WIcKets; 50 oveRs; 207 mIns) dId not batKaJ Roach, Je tayloR Fall oF WIcKets 1-30 (smIth, 7.3 ov), 2-31 (bRavo, 7.6 ov), 3-78 (Gayle, 21.2 ov), 4-78 (samuels, 21.4 ov), 5-87 (RamdIn, 23.3 ov), 6-241 (sammy, 44.4 ov), 7-302 (sImmons, 49.5 ov) boWlInG JF mooney 7-1-59-1, mc soRensen 8-0-64-1, aR mcbRIne 10-1-26-0, KJ o’bRIen 9-0-71-1, Gh docKRell 10-0-50-3, PR stIRlInG 6-0-33-0 IReland Wts PoRteRFIeld c †RamdIn b Gayle 23 PR stIRlInG c †RamdIn b samuels 92 ec Joyce c bRavo b tayloR 84

Icc world cup 2015 today fIxture

nJ o’bRIen not out 79 a balbIRnIe c bRavo b tayloR 9 1 Gc WIlson c Gayle b tayloR KJ o’bRIen Run out (smIth/Roach) 0 6 JF mooney not out extRas (b 4, W 9) 13 307 total (6 WIcKets; 45.5 oveRs; 204 mIns) dId not batmc soRensen, Gh docKRell, aR mcbRIne Fall oF WIcKets 1-71 (PoRteRFIeld, 13.3 ov), 2-177 (stIRlInG, 27.5 ov), 3-273 (Joyce, 39.2 ov), 4-285 (balbIRnIe, 41.3 ov), 5-290 (WIlson, 43.5 ov), 6-291 (KJ o’bRIen, 44.1 ov) boWlInG Jo holdeR 9-1-44-0, KaJ Roach 6-0-52-0, Je tayloR 8.5-0-71-3, ad Russell 6-0-33-0, ch Gayle 8-0-41-1, dJG sammy 3-0-25-0, mn samuels 4-0-25-1, lmP sImmons 1-0-12-0 match detaIls toss - IReland, Who chose to FIeld PoInts - IReland 2, West IndIes 0 PlayeR oF the match - PR stIRlInG (IReland) umPIRes - RK IllInGWoRth (enGland) and bnJ oxenFoRd (austRalIa) tv umPIRe - cb GaFFaney match ReFeRee - bc bRoad (enGland) ReseRve umPIRe - Jd cloete (south aFRIca)

some time taking his eye patch off and registered the first diamond duck of this World Cup. Chris Gayle played his slowest innings against a non-Test-playing nation, 36 off 65, before holing out to deep midwicket. When Marlon Samuels was caught plumb later in the same over, he proceeded to display self-indulgence by wasting a review. Denesh ramdin went on to sweep without getting outside the line and missed. There would have been a lesson in there for Samuels had ramdin actually got outside the line and missed out on the review, but West Indies until then were too woeful for that.

There was redemption in the air for Ireland spinners. Andy McBrine, the offpsinner chosen ahead of Craig Young and Alex Cusack, known better for his 24-run over in their rout by Netherlands in the World Twenty20, turned the screws on. He began with a maiden to Gayle before running Bravo out. George Dockrell, the other spinner who was bowled for only three overs in Ireland’s defeat to West Indies in the last World Cup, then handcuffed the other big hitters and took the three wickets in the middle overs.

SAMMY, MOONEY FINED FOR INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE: West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy and Ireland bowler John Mooney have been fined 30 per cent of their match fees for breaching the ICC code of conduct during their World Cup match in Nelson. Chris Broad, the match referee, found both players guilty of violating level 1 Article 2.1.4 of the code, relating to “language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting”.

According to an ICC release, Sammy was heard using inappropriate language during the 34th over of the West Indies innings, while Mooney “swore several times when a fielder dropped a catch in the 45th over”.

Both players admitted their offences and accepted the fines imposed on them.

KARAchI: Pakistan off-spinner, Saeed Ajmal on Sunday alleged that ICC umpire, Steve Davis had victimised Pakistan after he ruled Umar Akmal caught behind on a referral decision during their high-octane World Cup opener against India in Adelaide.

“Steve Davis never upheld any appeal when I bowled and I had to always ask for a referral to get a wicket when he was the umpire,” Ajmal said on Dunya news channel. The channel played up the dismissal of Umar Akmal during the match as a supposed conspiracy against Pakistan. Ajmal and two other former Test players, Sarfaraz Nawaz and Imran Nazir also backed his arguments. “Steve Davis has always had issues with us and even when we didn’t want him for a match no one listened to us,” Ajmal said. The show’s presenter highlighted the fact that Davis had made negative comments about Pakistan after the militants attack on the Sri lankan team in lahore in 2009.

Ajmal and Nazir said Umar’s dismissal had a big bearing on the match. “When the snickometre didn’t show anything and there was no sound why was Umar given out on referral. Why was the field umpire’s original not out decision not upheld,” Ajmal questioned. To a question he said he couldn’t understand the mechanisms of the technology used for reviewing referrals.

He recalled that even in the 2011 World Cup semi-final at Mohali he had got Sachin Tendulkar out leg before and the decision was overturned on review. “even at that time I remember Gautam Gambhir telling Sachin not to take a referral as it was a big out yet when the referral was taken it showed the ball going outside the leg-side and this raises lot of questions about this technology. After all this technology is also managed by human beings,” Ajmal said. aGENcIES

dhoni not carried away by 6-0

Successful 300 chases in World cups Ireland 329 for 7 v England in 2011 Sri Lanka 313 for 7 v Zimbabwe in 1992 Ireland 307 for 4 v Netherlands in 2011 Ireland 307 for 6 v West Indies in 2015 England 301 for 9 v West Indies in 2007

DARREN SAMMY MAKES HIGHEST AT NUMBER 7 IN WORLD CUP SPORTS DESK Darren Sammy set the record of highest individual score while batting at number seven in the World Cup by making 89 off 67 balls with nine fours and four sixes against Ireland at Saxton Oval, Nelson on Monday.

Pakistan’s Shahid Mahboob who scored 77 against Sri lanka at leeds on June 16,1983 held the previous record. ** Ireland scored 307 runs for the loss of six wickets in 45.5 overs to win the match. It was sixth time when more then 300 runs were scored in the second innings to win the World Cup match.

Ireland did the same on three occasions. england holds the record of making the highest number of runs while batting second. They made 338 for eight in 50 overs to tie the match with India at Bangalore on February 27,2011. South Africa’s 294 in 48 overs against Australia at Basseterre on March 24,2007 is the highest score in the second innings to loss the match in World Cup. ** Darren Sammy and lendl Simmons added 154 runs for the sixth wicket. It was West Indies’ highest sixth wicket stand in World Cup and third best overall.

The biggest sixth-wicket stand in World Cups is 162, between Ire-

land’s Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack against england at Bangalore on March 2, 2011.Maurice Odumbe and Alpesh Vadher’s 161-run stand for Kenya against Sri lanka at Southampton on May 30, 1999 is the second highest stand for the sixth wicket in World Cup. Keith Arthurton and Carl Hooper’s unbroken 83-run stand against India at Wellington on March 10,1992 was the previous best for the sixth wicket for West Indies in World Cup. ** The 154-run stand between Darren Sammy and lendl Simmons is the highest such stand for West Indies in one dayers. Jeff Dujon and richie richardson also posted a 154-run stand for West Indies in similar circumstances against Pakistan at Sharjah on October 21,1991. It was ninth time in one day internationals thar batting pairs have posted 150-plus stands for the sixth wicket after being five down for 100 runs or less. ** lendl Simmons (102) became the first West Indian batsman to score a hundred while batting at number six in World Cup. The previous highest World Cup score by a West Indies No. 6 was Collis King’s 86 against england at lord’s in the final on June 23,1979. ** West Indies scored 198

runs during the last 20 overs of their innings. Since 2001, prior to which ball-by-ball data is unavailable, this is the second-most runs scored by West Indies in those overs and the most by any team against Ireland.

HIGHEST SEcOND INNINGS TOTaLS IN WORLD cUP TO WIN THE MaTcH: Score Team Opponent Venue Date 329-7 in 49.1 Ireland England bangalore 02-03-2011 313-7 in 49.2 Sri Lanka Zimbabwe New Plymouth 23-02-1992 307-4 in 47.4 Ireland Netherlands Kolkata 18-032011 307-6 in 45.5 Ireland West Indies Nelson 16-022015 ** England holds the record of making the highest number of runs while batting second. They made 338 for eight in 50 overs to tie the match with India at bangalore on February 27,2011.

HIGHEST ScORES WHILE baTTING aT NUMbER 7 IN WORLD cUP: Score batsman Opponent Venue Date 89 Darren Sammy (West Indies) Ireland Nelson 1602-2015 77 Shahid Mahboob (Pakistan) Sri Lanka Leeds 1606-1983 73* alpesh Vadher (Kenya) Sri Lanka Southampton 30-05-1999 73 Kevin curran (Zimbabwe) India Tunbridge Wells 18-06-1983 72* Kapil Dev (India) New Zealand bangalore 1410-1987 HIGHEST SIXTH WIcKET STaNDS IN WORLD cUP: Runs Partners Opponent Venue Date 162 Kevin O’brien/alex cusack (Ireland) England bangalore 02-03-2011 161 Maurice Odumbe/alpeshVadher (Kenya) Sri Lanka Southampton 30-05-1999 154 Darren Sammy/Lendl Simmons (WI) Ireland Nelson 16-02-2015 144 Imran Khan/Shahid Mahboob (Pakistan) Sri Lanka Leeds 16-06-1983 103 Kevin curran/Dave Houghton (Zim) australia Southampton 16-06-1983 103 Mohammad Yousuf/Moin Khan (Pakistan) Scotland chester-le-Street 20-05-1999

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi.

CMYK

It is a run that started nearly 23 years ago, in Sydney in March 1992, when India beat Pakistan in the first World Cup meeting between the two neighbours. There have been five more such encounters since, and India wrapped up their sixth straight World Cup win over Pakistan last night at Adelaide Oval. It is a perplexing blank across multiple eras for Pakistan, considering their strong overall record against India.

At the post-match press conference, a blank-faced Misbah-ul-Haq, who had made yet another fighting half-century in a losing cause against MS Dhoni’s men, was asked if he could explain the reason behind 0-6. “I don’t know. This is happening. You can’t do anything about that,” was all the disappointed Pakistan captain could offer. Dhoni said that it was obviously something for India to be proud of, but he refused to read too much into the trend, holding that it was bound to end at some edition of the World Cup some day, and that Pakistan were a “fantastic side.”

“The record is good, but it is something that I don’t want to get into because there will come a time when we will lose, irrespective of whether it happens this World Cup, next World Cup or four World Cups down the line,” Dhoni said. “It is not something that will stay until the world exists. No point in really thinking about it. “Yes, we are proud of the fact that we have done it, but if you just see the stats, India-Pakistan stats, we are way behind when it comes to that. They have really dominated. I feel definitely the World Cup is something that we can, to some extent, be proud of, but overall you have to see, they are a fantastic side. They don’t have the kind of players that they had, but still, if you see from a talent point, they’ve got good fast bowlers.” SPORTS DESK