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Musharraf accorded full Top Afghan peace negotiator shot dead protocol at Pakistan’s in Kabul: official embassy in Beijing PAGE | 03
Haqqani disassociates himself from Memo Commission
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rs 15.00 Vol ii No 317 22 pages islamabad-peshawar edition
Monday, 14 May, 2012 Jamadi-ul-sani 22, 1433
Successful tripartite talks hint at easing Pak-US impasse
PML-Q again threatens to quit govt over power crisis
ISAF Commander Gen Allen says he was ‘very encouraged’ by talks g
RAWALPINDI Agencies
ISLAMABAD
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PML-Q leader and Senior Federal Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday asked the PPP government to solve the power crisis, threatening that otherwise his party would part ways with the government. Speaking to party workers in Rawalpindi, Elahi also criticised the PML-N, saying that the party was raising the power crisis issue for their own gain. The PML-Q leader claimed that if the formula put forward by party president Shujaat Hussain was implemented than the power crisis would be solved. He said during the tenure of the PML-Q government there were four projects for power generation while during the tenure of the PML-N government in Punjab there had been none. Elahi said there was not just bad governance but “mad-governance” in Punjab, adding that the “loud-talking” chief minister was responsible for the electricity load shedding in the province. He said the rulers of Punjab should compare their performance with the development works done by his government during its tenure.
stAff RePoRt
S the ongoing bilateral talks between Islamabad and Washington over the reopening of NATO supplies show progress and signs of a breakthrough, senior military commanders from the ISAF, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Sunday resolved to work together and fully cooperate in the global war against terrorism. The 35th meeting of the ‘Tripartite Commission’ of the three countries was held at GHQ, in which Pakistan Army’s delegation was led by army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, while International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander General John Allen and Afghan National Army Chief of General Staff General Sher Muhammad Karimi headed the US and American delegations, respectively. According to the ISPR, the talks were focused on border control measures and mechanisms put in place to avoid untoward incidents on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border. Military commanders from the three sides also decided to keep an eye on the movement along the border while coordinating activities. This was the first meeting of the tripartite commission after the Pakistani parliament submitted its recommendations on the reopening of NATO supply lines and drone attacks on the future ties with the US States. In a significant development, the government also convened a crucial meeting of the Defense Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) on Tuesday, which is likely to finalize a decision on restoration of the stalled NATO supplies. The restoration of NATO supplies by Islamabad would also pave the way for Pakistan’s participation in the vital NATO Summit on future of Afghanistan to be held in Chicago on May 20-21. “The meeting on Saturday between the ISAF commander and General Kayani helped ease the prevailing tensions between Pakistan and the US and it is very likely that decision on NATO supplies would be made this week by Pakistan after the DCC meeting,” said a Pakistani official, seeking anonymity. He said the matter of NATO supplies also came under discussion in the tripartite commission meeting on Sunday, with all three sides expressing satisfaction over the ongoing talks on the important issue between the NATO team and Pakistani authorities in Islamabad. The NATO supplies were suspended by Islamabad after the US/NATO helicopters attacked the Pakistani border posts in November last year and killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. “Pakistan, Afghanistan and ISAF authorities also resolved to strengthen the anti-terrorism cooperation and once again engaged in full collaboration against the global menace at the tripartite commission meeting,” the official said. Gen Allen later said he had been “very encouraged” by the talks. “There was agreement these meetings are important to achieving continued progress toward... a peaceful Afghanistan so that Afghanistan can no longer be a safe haven for terrorists,” Allen said, an ISAF statement said.
NATO MOrTAr shells lANd iNside pAkisTAN | pAge 04
RAWALPinDi: Army chief general Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (c) stands for photographs along with Us Marines general John Allen (3L), the top Us commander in Afghanistan, and Afghan army chief general sher Muhammad Karimi (3R) and other delegates on sunday. AFP/ISPR
Two clerics shot dead in Karachi, Lakki Marwat g
At least nine more killed in Karachi in last 24 hours KARACHI stAff RePoRt
A noted cleric of a local madrassa and his two guards were gunned down in Karachi, while unidentified assailants shot dead a leading religious figure and provincial executive committee member of the JUI-F in Lakki Marwat early on Sunday morning. Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri and his two guards were gunned down by unidentified assailants in a drive-by shooting in Karachi’s Bahadurabad area, raising the death toll in the city to nine in 24 hours of violence, officials said. Police said the incident took place near Rangoonwala Hall in Dhuraji area within the remits of Bahadurabad police station. Officials said four men on two motorbikes intercepted a car carrying Sheikhupuri and his four guards, and opened indiscriminate fire at it from both sides.
“All of them sustained bullet injuries and were immediately shifted to Jinnah hospital where Maulana Aslam and two of his guards succumbed to their injuries, while another wounded man is being given medical treatment,” a police officer told reporters. In the other incident in Khyber Agency, Maulana Mohsin Shah, a leading religious figure and provincial executive committee member of the JUI-F was shot dead by unidentified men inside a madrassa he used to run in Pezu area of Lakki Marwat. JUI-F Provincial Information Secretary Abdul Jalil Jan said the assailants opened fire on Shah when he was preparing for early morning prayers. On the other hand in Karachi, at least six more people were shot dead in acts of violence in various parts of the city, officials said. According to police, two people were shot dead in Landhi area after abduction. Police said the ages of the victims are between 32 and 35 years. One of
the deceased was identified as Shah Faisal while the identity of the other was not yet known. In another incident of violence, an activist of a political party was shot dead and two others were wounded in Korangi Sector D. The dead were identified as Sultan. In Joharabad area, three people were injured in firing by some unidentified men. In Liaquatabad area, a man who was abducted three days ago was found dead. In yet another incident of violence, a man was shot dead at Rashid Minhas Road. According to police the deceased was 60 years old and his identity is not yet known. Meanwhile, Rangers launched a targeted operation in Mangupir area and arrested several suspects. Rangers launched the targeted operation in Mangupir area on the revelations by Tehrik-e-Taliban activists who were arrested two days ago from Baldia Town. The sources claimed that the arrested suspects also belong to Tehrik-e-Taliban.
US punishing Pakistan for indecisiveness over terms of re-engagement Ambassador Grossman found FM Khar inexperienced, difficult to work with g Americans were offering apology over Salala attack, but Hina Khar wanted it to come only after parliamentary resolution g
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD inP
The Americans have started punishing Pakistan after Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar indicated to them that the apology should be delayed despite advice to the contrary from Pakistan Ambassador Sherry Rahman, who indicated to Khar that the circumstances kept changing very fast in the region, therefore, the apology should be accepted. Highly placed sources in Washington and Islamabad said the American stance was now changing due to pressure from India and other NATO countries and all the home work and advice by Ambassador Sherry Rehman had been wasted due to the inexperience of the foreign minister, especially in the field of international diplomacy.
American sources said Ambassador Grossman also felt that FM Khar was inexperienced and not the right person for such a demanding job. He informed his government that Khar gave mixed signals and made it difficult to work with her, as there was no guarantee of Pakistan’s position when she was dealing with contentious issues. The sources said the Americans had planned a multi-level apology in response to Ambassador Sherry Rahman’s skillful and constant diplomacy and were shocked that the Foreign Office, with a transition at foreign secretary level, let this apology slip between the cracks. American officials say they waited many days for Islamabad’s response and it seemed the foreign minister overruled the apology, saying Pakistan wanted it only after the parliamentary resolutions. This was a grave
error from Islamabad, they say, because soon after, Washington started loosing interest in what Pakistan had to offer. It is also said that the inordinately long wait for the parliamentary resolutions cost Pakistan dearly. Even to get those finalized, Pakistani ambassador had to come down to Islamabad to get the parliamentary process moving with the president’s help, as others were insisting and talking there on holding out for imaginary opportunities. This immature politics at the highest levels in the Foreign Office has created a backlash in American quarters, where there is little tolerance for time delays and indecisions. Confusion was further created when the foreign minister reportedly followed the prime minister’s line in telling Grossman that the government was not asking for an apology but only the parliament
was asking for it. This itself made the Americans question the focus Islamabad put on the apology and they retracted even further when the April attacks in Kabul were blamed on the Haqqanis. Now the situation has changed completely, as the NATO supply lines remain blocked from Pakistan and America goes forward with sourcing alternate routes for its cargo to and from Afghanistan. Cameron Munter is leaving in frustration at Islamabad’s confusion and naiveté. He could not persuade Washington to accept Islamabad’s views in order to create any confidence with Foreign Minister Khar, who seemed more interested in catering to the galleries than dealing diplomatically with the super power. CONTiNued ON pAge 04
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02 News Today’s
Monday, 14 May, 2012
ISlAMAbAD
newS
Rs 1.4b irregularities found in cDA contracts
Afghans to take more military control in new transition: Karzai
Story on Page 07
Story on Page 06
cArToon
Quick Look
PTI will make corrupt politicians cough up looted money: Imran ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday vowed to bring back all the public’s money looted by corrupt politicians and stashed away in foreign accounts. Addressing a programme on the occasion of Mother’s Day, he said, “I promise that the PTI will bring back the money plundered by corrupt politicians.” He said the days of the political mafia were now over as they were heading towards final doom. Khan said the current setup would have to depart as it could not withstand the PTI’s “tsunami” anymore. He also announced that under a PTI government, women would get their due share in property. “The PTI will make sure that no one takes away women’s rights,” he said. The PTI chairman said his party would stand by the weak and provide justice to all. “The law of the country will help women, who would be provided with legal assistance by the government,” he said. Paying glowing tributes to the country’s mothers on Mother’s Day, he said the gathering was recognition of all mothers’ role in the society. inP
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Mother’s Day observed in Pakistan ISLAMABAD nni
People across the globe including Pakistan celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday to share their sentiments and express profound love for their mothers. Public and private organisations as well as educational institutions organised colourful programmes on the occasion. On the day, people across the world express gratitude for the hardships a mother bears in bringing up a child. Like every year, the day was marked with the same spirit and enthusiasm and public and private organisations as well as schools arrange colourful programmes in connection with Mother’s Day celebrations. The mother’s week celebrations started from Monday and private channels telecasted special transmission in this connection since then, while they present different plays and shows to highlight the importance of the day and recognise the amazing role of mothers. Several other countries celebrate Mother’s Day on different dates depending upon what they have decided about the specific day. People send their mothers cakes, cards, flowers, small fruit or gift baskets, sweets, candies and chocolates. In the recent years, the most dedicated gifts for the Mother’s Day have been flowers, perfumes, cakes and special sweets. In a message on the occasion‚ Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said mother had a vital status in the universe and the cradle of the mother was the first educational institution of a human being.
Seven injured in Peshawar bomb blast PESHAWAR stAff RePoRt
At least seven people were injured when a police checkpost was blown up on Peshawar Ring Road in Chamkani police precincts on Sunday. Sources said the explosive device was planted in a pressure cooker near the checkpost set up near Afridi Garhi, which was detonated with a remote control. Soon after the blast, a heavy contin-
gent of police rushed to the site and cordoned off the area, while rescue and Edhi volunteers began rescue operations. All those injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. An official of the Bomb Disposal Squad told reporters that around six to seven kilograms of explosives was used in the attack. The checkpost was completely destroyed but all four constables guarding the post escaped unhurt.
Talking to reporters, Inspector General of Police Akbar Khan Hoti said the Peshawar Police were once again the target of militants, but the brave police never faltered in their mission and would fight to the last breath. He directed police personnel to keep watch over miscreants and foil their evil designs. Hoti also appealed to the masses to cooperate with police and timely inform police regarding the presence of any suspects.
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Monday, 14 May, 2012
News 03
ForeIGn newS
ArTS & enTerTAInMenT
SPorTS
Mladic to stand trial on Bosnian war crimes
Adele prefers making music to stardom
nato routes: Malaysia beat Pakistan to become Jr Asia hockey champ Expect a complete resumption.
coMMenT the art of the possible:
Still not enough for the League, though.
Kuldip nayar says; BJP’s downfall: Babri Masjid and Gujrat carnage.
Muneeb farooq says; A zero-sum game: A continuance of loss.
sajjad shaukat says; Changing paths: Hillary’s enigmatic approach.
Story on Page 15
Story on Page 18
Islamabad: a woman carries her son as she walks on a street in the federal capital on mother’s day. Pakistan celebrated mother’s day on sunday to share their sentiments and express love for their mothers. AFP
Story on Page 18
Articles on Page 12-13
Pakistan failed to achieve major policy objectives: WB g
Mid-term report says fiscal situation deteriorated, current account improved slightly ISLAMABAD
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onLine
A K I S T A N has failed to achieve major policy objectives to reduce fiscal deficit at or below 3.5 percent of the GDP and improving tax-to-GDP ratio to 12.7 percent by 2012-13, a World Bank mid-term progress report said. The World Bank in its mid-term progress report said the fiscal deficit target had now been set at 5.5 percent for 2013-14, down from 6.6 percent of the GDP in 2010-11. The fiscal deficit was above six percent of the GDP during the last two years and above the target of 5.1 percent of the GDP in baseline fiscal year 2009-10. The fiscal situation has deteriorated, while the current account had improved, but fiscal space for priority public investment in key sectors remained constrained, it said.
Instead of gradually moving down to four percent, fiscal deficit had risen to 6.3 percent of GDP due to lower economic activity, less than expected revenue mobilization and continued untargeted subsidies particularly in the power sector and other loss making entities. The World Bank said the major policy objective to reduce fiscal deficit at or below 3.5 percent of the GDP and improving tax-to-GDP ratio to 12.7 percent by 2012-13 could not be achieved. Therefore, the lending programme would need to be extended from three to four years — from 2013 to 2014. The World Bank said improvements in governance had also not materialized. “A range of governance, corruption and business environment indicators suggest that these areas remain a challenge,” the report said. The targeted tax-to-GDP ratio had been missed. However, the bank noted that the broad based VAT was dropped
(and instead the government introduced the reformed general sales tax (RGST) bill to the parliament) due to a lack of political consensus. Only Sindh province had introduced RGST on services, the bank said. “No strategy for restructuring or privatization of public sector enterprises could be developed. But $800 million are expected in fiscal year 2012 budget as receipts from Etisalat, the buyer of Pakistan Telecom shares. Also, no closure on restructuring of any corporate entity is expected by end of 2014,” it said. The World Bank has revised its policy objective under the $5.5 billion fouryear Country Partnership Strategy, saying that macroeconomic, political and implementation risks had all increased in the recent years. It was not sure if the revised policy adjustments would turn into reality. It said the country partnership strategy period would be extended to
include fiscal year 2014 to better coordinate it both with the national political cycle and the international development assistance cycle, to allow time to move the agreed strategy forward following the adjustments. “The government took some effective counter-terrorism measures but violence still persists. In addition, political uncertainties and the risk of a surge in social tension resulting from a precarious economy remain significant. The devolution has posed institutional and capacity challenges at the provincial levels, dispersal of some retained functions at the federal level and the requisite expenditure rationalizing given the tight fiscal space,” the bank said. “As a result, the real GDP growth rate in 2010-11 was 2.4 percent and inflation remained in double digits for the fourth year in a row. Translated to per-capita terms, the GDP growth rate was close to nil.”
Musharraf accorded full protocol at Pakistan’s embassy in Beijing ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani embassy in Beijing accorded warm welcome and full protocol to former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan also hosted lunch in his honour. Reliable sources told Online that although Interior Minister Rehman Malik had announced to contact Interpol for Musharraf’s arrest in Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, but on the contrary he was given full official protocol during his visit to the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing. Several notable Pakistanis settled in China were also invited in the reception on the occasion. The sources said that during his speech, Musharraf harshly criticised President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, as well as Nawaz Sharif, chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He also asked the people to support his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), and assured them that after coming into power, he would pull the country out of crises. The former president, besides meetings with high-ranking Chinese officials, also delivered lectures on Pakistan -China relations and war against terrorism during his weeklong stay in China. onLine
Four Thar coal wells to produce gas next week
centre assures balochistan of full support for improving Gwadar Port GWADAR shAhzADA zULfiqAR
ISLAMABAD inP
Chairman of the Governing Board of Thar Coal Project, Dr Samar Mubarakmand, on Sunday said four more coal wells had been set on fire and as a result gas production from these would begin from next week. Talking to a private TV channel, he said a flame would be lit from gas as emission began from these wells towards the end of this month. Dr Samar said through underground gasification technology, electricity could be generated at Rs 3 to Rs 4 per unit while diesel could be produced at $40 per barrel. The average rate of power production through furnace oil came to Rs 20 per megawatt, he added. He said as much as 50,000MW of electricity a day could be generated through Thar Coal reserves. Mubarakmand said a number of foreign companies, including those of China, had expressed interest to invest in Thar Coal Project.
The federal government has assured the Balochistan government of full support for bringing improvement in Gwadar Port and completion of the related road network, advising the province to review its feasibility report for its future plan and make it economically viable. This was said on Sunday by Dr Nadeem ul Haq, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, who led a three-member team to Gwadar to review the future prospects for port operations with the consultation of the Balochistan government. Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, Senior Minister Maulana Abdul Wasey, ministers Mir Asim Gaillu, Zahoor Buledi, Mir Hamal Kalmati, Syed Ehsan Shah, Mir Asghar Rind and Chief Secretary Fatah Mohammad Babar Yaqub also attended the meeting. Haq advised the provincial government to study the feasibility report of Gwadar Port and look into the prospective for its future development by keeping in view the progress and prosperity of neighbouring countries’ port cities like Iran’s Chabahar and UAE’s Jabal-e-Ali. He said the provincial government should put its recommendations before the federal government for making the Gwadar Port operational in the near future. He said these recommendations would be reviewed by the joint meeting of chief minister and provincial ministers with the prime minister, to be held at Islamabad in the near future. Haq said the federal government was firm in its resolution to make the port fully operational, but was reviewing its economic as-
pects. He also asked the provincial government to study the port’s economic prospective so that it could be a viable project instead of making ambitious proposals as happened in the past. He regretted raising hopes in feasibility report on the basis of fake proposals. Haq said the federal government would also issue directions to the National Highway Authority (NHA) for an early completion of Gwadar-Turbat-Rato Dero Highway that would link the port city with Indus Highway. The deputy chairman asked officials of Gwadar Port Authority to explain why Singapore Port Authority, which was awarded a contract for port operation by the Musharraf government, was not working at the port. The meeting was informed that 80 percent of the construction on Gwadar-Rato Dero Highway had been completed with an expenditure of Rs 15 billion and the rest would be hopefully completed within a few months. Mohammad Musa, NHA representative, said due to security issues, the contractor and laborers were hesitant to re-start abandoned work. Chief Secretary Fatah Yaqoob told the meeting that he had met with all security agencies who assured the government of their full cooperation and support. Chief Minister Aslam Raisani said foolproof arrangements would be made for providing security to contractors and their laborers involved in the construction of highways. Raisani complained over the non-implementation of the Balochistan package, pointing out that the notification regarding the Balochistan chief minister being made the chairman of Gwadar Port Authority was still pending.
Shujaat to file reference against PMl-lM ISLAMABAD onLine
PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has decided to file a reference against PMLLikeminded’s collaboration with the PML-N. The Likeminded group had contacted PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Saturday wherein they had made a formal announcement of joining the ranks of the PML-N. The PML-Q leadership maintains that since general elections were around the corner, the reference would be futile in such circumstances. When contacted, PML-Q MPA Chaudhry Zaheeruddin said a reference against Likeminded group in the Punjab Assembly was already under review; so there was no need for any further references. PML-Q spokesman Kamil Ali Agha said since no leader of the PML-LM, excluding Kashmala Tariq, had made their position clear, it would be an exercise in futility to send a reference of illegibility against just Kashmala.
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Monday, 14 May, 2012
India, Pakistan to have hot line soon NEW DELHI/NEW YORK Agencies
M
ORE than a year after it was envisaged, India and Pakistan will get a hot line soon which will enable real-time information sharing between the two countries, authorities said on Sunday. “The hot line will be set up between the home secretaries of the two countries. The two top officials will be able to share real-time information on terror and terrorists using this hot line the sources said. However, the final date is yet to be fixed. “On our part, we are ready. We are waiting for Pakistan’s response. Once we get the consent, the hot line will be set up,” the sources said. The next home secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan are slated on May 24-25. Meanwhile, sharing the
stage at Mastercard’s global headquarters in New York, the envoys to the United Nations from India and Pakistan lauded efforts being made by their nations to normalize trade relations. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri termed the development a “game changer” while his Pakistan counterpart, Abdullah Hussain Haroon said the two countries should not “burn the energies in hate”. They spoke on the potential of such trade ties for the two countries and the South Asian region. Mastercard Worldwide’s India-born President and CEO Ajay Banga introduced the two ambassadors. Puri said effectively implementing the Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause would enable trade and commerce to take place openly and freely. If properly managed, it could really be a “game-changer”, he added. Puri said the current bi-
lateral trade level of 2.6 billion dollars is a “drop in the ocean”, adding that it “does not make any sense” that India’s trade with Pakistan is at such a low level when that with its other neighbors Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is much more. Pakistan is a “very important country, important neighbor”, with which trade can be increased in areas like petroleum products, cotton seeds, electricity and IT sector, Puri said. The political leadership in India and the Pakistani governments had now “resolved” to improve trade ties by discussing ways to increase people-to-people contact, the MFN, Foreign Direct Investment and opening more trade routes on the border, Puri said. He, however, cautioned the two countries have to be “careful” as “there are entities and forces which are not entirely on the same page when it comes to normalisation of trade relations”.
Likeminded’s Manika Gilani concludes 5-day UK visit withdraws resignation LONDON LAHORE Agencies
Pakistan Muslim League Likeminded Punjab President Ata Muhammad Manika withdrew his resignation from the post on Sunday. Manika had resigned from his post on Saturday over a dispute with the party leadership on making electoral alliance with the PML-
N. PML Likeminded General Secretary Humayun Akhtar met Manika to resolve the matter. Taking to reporters, Manika said the party did not consult him regarding electoral alliance. A party statement said Manika would continue to hold the office of party’s Punjab president. Praising his services Akhtar said leaders like him were an asset for the party.
eight mortar shells fired by nATo land inside Pakistan MIRANSHAH: Eight mortar shells fired from Afghanistan on Sunday reportedly landed in North Waziristan Agency. The mortar shells were fired by the NATO forces in Khost but landed in Ghulam Khan border area adjacent to North Waziristan. According to sources, Pakistani security forces retaliated. However, no casualty was reported. The incident took place at a time when a tripartite commission comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and ISAF high military commanders met over border security issues. inP
Agencies
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday left for Pakistan after concluding his five-day official visit to the United Kingdom. The prime minister was seen off by senior officials of the British government at the Heathrow Airport. High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hassan and his counterpart in Islamabad Adam Thomson were also present. Gilani during his stay in London held enhanced strategic dialogue with his British counterpart and attended the state opening of the British parliament by the Queen. He met the members of the British Cabinet and the foreign minister, besides interacting with Pakistani community in the UK.
Action against Haqqanis CONTiNued frOM pAge 22 And I remember the day when acid was thrown in the face of young girls going to school and to see that change is really quite wonderful. Forty percent of the students in school in Afghanistan today are girls. And I think that is just great,” she said. THReATS: Talking about al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, she said it was the top security threat to the US and the bomb maker thought to have created at least two non-metallic explosive devices must be killed to safeguard US national security. “I am hopeful that we will be able to, candidly, kill
this bomb maker and kill some of these other associates, because there is a dangerous process in play at the present time,” Feinstein said. The bombs, intended to be smuggled aboard an aircraft undetected and then detonated, bear the forensic signature of suspected al Qaeda bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, who is believed to be hiding in Yemen, officials have said. They said a bomb obtained in a recent intelligence operation appeared to be an upgraded version of the so-called “underwear bomb” that failed to bring down a passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas Day
2009. A bomber from the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen sent to blow up a US-bound airliner last month was actually a double agent who infiltrated the group and volunteered for the suicide mission, intelligence agency officials have confirmed. Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency, working with British intelligence and the CIA, placed the operative inside al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, with the goal of convincing his handlers to give him a new type of non-metallic bomb for the mission, officials said. Western intelligence agencies have identified
PeshAWAR: Police and rescue teams inspect the site of a bomb blast at chamkani police check post at Ring Road on sunday. INP
Decision on NATO supplies likely in DCC meeting ISLAMABAD onLine
The government and Defiance Committee of the cabinet are likely to decide in favor of the restoring NATO supply, as the case is being seriously discussed nowadays. “The focus of the discussion is not whether to restore NATO supply, but it is being assessed how it could be made financially bifacial as it costs Pakistan in terms of damaged infrastructure and other costs,” sources in the Finance Ministry said. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has already called a meeting of the DCC this week. The meeting will also include discussions on how to repair relations with the US, ahead of NATO summit in Chicago, diplomatic sources said. In the Tri-Partite commission meeting among the military leadership
of Pakistan, ISAF and Afghanistan, discussions on restoration of the supply to NATO in Afghanistan was also held. The sources said Pakistan could not afford damaged relations with the significant part of the world and wanted to have effective say in the future and peace of Afghanistan. “So now the decision on restoration of the supply is near.” However, the restoration would never mean that problems come to an end, as Pakistan has to work hard for protecting its national interest and sovereignty at the same time, a senior diplomat said on condition of anonymity. Nevertheless, another senior official said nothing could be said conclusively about restoration of the NATO supply. Pakistan had blocked the supply after ISAF/NATO airstrikes on Salala
US punishing Pakistan
post killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, causing a lull in PakistaniUS relations. Islamabad decided to hand over reviewing the ties with the US to parliament, which submitted its recommendations demanding Washington seek an unconditional apology over the Salala incident. After the DCC meeting, the cabinet would announce the decision after a meeting on discussion on the issue, sources said. Certain diplomats believe that the resolution of the issue before the NATO summit on Afghanistan in Chicago on May 21-22 would be desirable, as the NATO secretary general had made it clear that if the supply was not restored before the meeting, Pakistan would lose an important opportunity to participate in the discussion on the future of Afghanistan.
Islamabad’s unstable politics is also creating hurdles for any sincere effort and will not allow for solutions. On the other hand, former ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani is constantly giving impression to the American establishment that he was still being supported by President Zardari and his words and suggestions would be seriously considered by Islamabad.
Sources close to the president confirmed that Haqqani had no support from the Presidency at all. In a recent interview with CNN’s Farid Zakariya, Haqqani openly stated that the world should push Pakistan more. The repercussions of the delays and the wrong decisions have started coming out into the open. The NATO secretary general has stated a couple of days back that if the
NATO supplies were not allowed, Pakistan would not be invited to the Chicago conference, while a House of Representatives panel moved on Wednesday to cut $800 million that was requested by the Obama Administration for a special fund for training and equipping Pakistan’s military in counterinsurgency tactics. The move appears to be a reflection of weariness on the part of lawmakers toward the policy makers at the Foreign Office. The other day, Con-
AQAP as among the most dangerous and determined al Qaeda affiliates in the world, dedicated in part to attacks on the West. The double agent arranged instead to deliver the device to US and other intelligence authorities waiting outside Yemen, the officials said. The main charge was a high-grade military explosive that “undoubtedly would have brought down an aircraft”, the New York Times reported, citing a senior US official. Feinstein said a leak early last week on the operation to the Associated Press “is very serious”. “The leak did endanger sources and methods, and the leak I think has to be prosecuted.” “ ... It gives a tip off to
AQAP to be more careful about who they use as their couriers, as their bombers. ... Criminal charges will go to the Department of Justice.” Represenatative Peter King, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” the premature leak of the operation to the AP was criminal and damaging. “The FBI has to do a full and complete investigation because this really is criminal in the literal sense of the word to leak out this type of sensitive, classified information on really almost unparalleled penetration of the enemy,” King said. “This was more secret than any operation I’m fa-
miliar with, even more secret than (the assassination of Osama) bin Laden.” Yet “the Associated Press apparently had the entire story.” The leak put lives at risk and the operation had to be cut short, King said. “It sends a signal to countries willing to work with us that we can’t be trusted to keep a secret if in fact we are the ones who leaked it out.” “I think there was a bit of premature chest-thumping in this whole thing,” Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “No national security operation ever should be used for a headline under any circumstances,” suggesting someone with ties to
CONTiNued frOM pAge 1
gressman Dana Rohrabacher also introduced “Pakistan Terrorism Accountability Act of 2012” in Congress, proposing to deduct $50 million from the US aid to Islamabad every time an American was killed as a result of a terrorist act. The sources emphasized that if Pakistan needed a real progress in re-engagement talks with the US, it would have to make adjustments at the Foreign Office because indecisiveness was costing Pakistan heavily. the intelligence community had sought political gain from the operation. Feinstein was asked if current screening technology would necessarily identify this kind of bomb on an airline passenger. “For this particular material,” she said, “candidly, no.” “I think Americans have to understand that this particular kind of explosive, non-metallic, is not easily detectable.” Consequently the flying public is going to have to tolerate more invasive searches, she said. “The American public has not been terribly sympathetic” to this, she said, but “it’s very important that TSA (the Transportation Security Administration) keeps up its efforts.”
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PML-N takes to Sialkot streets against power outages SIALKOT
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HE Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Sunday organised a rally attended by thousands of people to protest against the power outages in the country. The rally started from the PML-N’s central office at Paris Road and ended at the congested Allama Iqbal Chowk after passing through all the main inter-city roads of Sialkot. PML-N leader and member of the National Assembly (MNA) Khawaja Muhammad Asif led the rally, which was attended by all the MNAs and MPAs be-
longing to the opposition party from Sialkot district. They reached the venue with their special convoys of buses and vans, carrying party workers to participate in the anti-government and antiload shedding rally. Reportedly, more than 12,000 people attended the rally. They chanted slogans such as “Go Zardari Go” and “Go Gilani Go”. The traffic remained blocked for about two hours on various inter-city roads, as protesters burnt tyres on several points. The protesters, wearing black armbands and carrying placards, also staged peaceful sit-in demonstration at Allama Iqbal Chowk Sialkot, and strongly condemned 20 hours of power
outages in Sialkot. Addressing the rally participants, MNA Khawaja Muhammad Asif condemned the government for failing to rein in the worst energy crisis, which had marred the industry in the export-oriented city. He said the prolonged power outages had badly affected the industrial production, due to which thousands of female industrial workers were becoming jobless. Most of the factories in Sialkot have already closed two out of total three production and working shifts. The remaining third shift has also been badly affected by the daily 20 to 22 hours of unscheduled power and gas load shedding in the city.
News 05
PML-N to rid Sindh of dacoits and terrorists: Nawaz THATTA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif said on Sunday that his party would rid Sindh of dacoits and terrorists after coming into power. In a telephonic address to a PML-N rally at Thatta, Nawaz said that “protests will continue as long as a convicted person holds the office of prime minister.” He underscored that policies of the present rulers had led to a surge in poverty, inflation and unemployment. The former two-time prime minister said that Sindh would prosper if the PML-N came into power. The PML-N chief said that “Daku Raj” (dacoits’ rule) would be rooted out in Sindh and the province would be cleansed of terrorists. inP
2 tribesmen killed, four injured in Tirah Valley clashes BARA inP
Two militants were killed and four were injured when two rival banned militant groups opened fire at each other in Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley on Sunday. Officials said two rival banned groups in Tirah got into a fierce gun battle, resulting in the killing of two militants and injuries to four others. The Lashkar-e-Islam led by Mangal Bagh and Ansar-ul-Islam are two major rival outfits in the area and both groups have been intermittently killing each other’s members on various occasions. A few days ago, two bodies of youths were recovered in Bara tehsil of Khyber who had been kidnapped earlier. A letter attached to the bodies warned locals that whoever extended help to the Lashkar-e-Islam would face the same fate. Meanwhile, the Lashkar-e-Islam also announced to avenge the killing and blamed Ansar-ul-Islam for the incident. On the other hand, tribesmen have become fed up with the prevailing uncertainty in the region and have migrated to other settled areas of Pakistan.
JSQM holds sit-in protest at babarlou SUKKUR nni
The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) staged a sit-in protest at Babarlou on Sunday against the “vague” post-mortem report of their deceased party chairman Bashir Ahmed Qureshi. The party workers along with their leader Niaz Kalani protested at the National Highway, suspending traffic to Punjab and Balochistan from Karachi. The protesters chanted slogans against the government and burnt tyres. Thousands of protesters attended the demonstration despite the intense heat of the day. The JSQM demanded fair investigation into its chairman’s demise.
KARAchi: Activists of Jafria students set on fire the flags of United states and israel during a protest outside Press club on the eve of nakba Day (Arabic: Yawm-an-nakbah, meaning ‘day of the catastrophe’). the nakba Day is commemorated on May 15 that marks israel’s independence day (Yom ha'atzmaut). for the Palestinians it is an annual day of commemoration of the displacement that followed the israeli Declaration of independence in 1948. INP
3 killed, 20 injured in Mansehra bus crash MANSEHRA inP
Three passengers were killed and 20 others injured when a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Gandhian area of Mansehra on Sunday. Police said the passenger bus was on way from Lahore to Batagram when it had an accident near Gandhian on Shahrah-e-Karakoram. The driver lost control of the bus while negotiating a sharp turn, forcing the bus into a ravine.
Resultantly, three passengers were killed and 20 were wounded. A large number of residents of the valley reached the scene and helped in rescue operation. The injured were shifted to King Abdullah Hospital in Mansehra, whereas those in critical condition were shifted to Ayub Medical Complex Hospital, Abbottabad. Sources said the bus had dropped off most passengers at an earlier stop, bringing the count on board to 24 passengers. Doctors said none of the injured was in a critical condition.
Batagaram influentials join ANP PESHAWAR stAff RePoRt
The Awami National Party (ANP) strengthened its position in Hazara division when influential relatives of late parliamentarian Ayub Khan of Alayee Batagram announced joining the party on Sunday. Akbar Namoos Khan and Zubair Khan, on behalf of the influential feudal and political family from Batagram, announced joining the ANP in a public meeting. Akbar is the son of late parliamentarian Ayub Khan and brother of MNA Prince Mohammad Nawaz Khan of Alayee while Zubair is the son of Fateh Mohammad Khan who was member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in 1985,
1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997. Prince Nawaz represents people of Batagram in the National Assembly. So far Prince Nawaz has not announced joining the ANP as he is ticket holder of the PML-Q but he is likely to endorse the family’s decision on expiry of his parliamentary term. Earlier, the ANP made its routes to Hazara division when another influential family headed by former provincial minister Haji Mohammad Yousaf Khan Tarand joined hands with its leader. Tarand is representing the electorate in provincial assembly. Similarly, two of the three Kohistan MPAs and two from Haripur are also occupying treasury seats as they announced joining the ANP soon after February 2008 gen-
eral elections. One of Kohistan MPA even elected on ANP ticket to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti also addressed the public meeting in which he announced Rs 460 million development package for Batagram district. He said without any discrimination, he believed in equal distribution of development funds and determined to restore peaceful atmosphere and ensure due progress and prosperity opportunity to people from all 24 districts of the province. Welcoming the influential family into the ANP, Hoti recalled that the ANP came to power in the province after a struggle of 64 years. Since independence, ANP become second coalition partner in
couple of democratic government but its leaders were not in position to enforce their party agenda. This time, the ANP after coming into power has not only declared a war on terror but even its leaders have secured the name for provincial, provincial rights and succeeded in implementation of its agenda regarding reforms. Hoti said in connection with efforts for return of peace, the ANP rendered sacrifices of its more than 450 workers including active leaders and parliamentarians. He said they were firm on their offers of dialogues. In this respect, he urged all militants to review their policies and come on table for resolving of the issues as gun’s and bullets complicate issues instead of resolving.
Haqqani disassociates himself from Memo commission WASHINGTON onLine
Former ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani has announced immediate disassociation from the Memo Commission. During an interview with a private TV channel on Sunday, he said he had announced his decision in view that the constitution did not cater to any such commission He blamed former ISI DG Shuja Pasha for being discriminatory regarding floating a wrong impression of a major investigation mission, which had proved that statements of Mansoor Ejaz were true. “Pasha himself confessed that he had conducted no (advance) investigations, and verdicts are certainly not based on mere assumptions,” he protested. He said he was also disassociating himself from the commission’s investigations, because the forensic investigations ordered by commission on the scheduled date of March 19 were delayed. “The Memo Commission secretary and my lawyers were present at the time, while the secretary commission departed for Pakistan, rather stealthily,” he complained “hence what’s the need for any forensic tests now”? he implored. He also highlighted the exposure of a fraudster like Mansoor Ejaz, who had failed to present any proofs of his claims.
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APcA demands to be accepted: federal finance secy ISLAMABAD stAff RePoRt
PeshAWAR: A man performs a stunt during the annual Urs celebrations of hazarat nosho Pak at Yakatoot on sunday. ONLINE
Afghans to take more military control in new transition: Karzai KABUL
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FGHAN President Hamid Karzai on Sunday announced a new transfer of security control from NATO that will see local forces take responsibility for 75 percent of Afghanistan’s population. Kapisa province, where French troops are based, will be among 11 provinces to come under Afghan control, a statement from the president’s office said. It is the third phase of the transition of military control in the war-torn country and another step towards the withdrawal of 130,000 US-led NATO troops by the end of 2014. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the move. “The completion of transition at the end of 2014 will mark the end of NATO’s
combat role, but not the end of our engagement,” he said in a statement. “NATO is committed to an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, and to providing the training which the Afghan forces will still need, beyond 2014.” The commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), US General John Allen, also voiced support for the latest stage of the five-phase transition process. “President Karzai’s announcement of the third group of areas to enter transition is a testament to the capacity and capability of the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF),” he said. “Afghanistan continues to move forward in securing the sovereign future of their country and the security of its borders, and this is another step in bringing the hope of greater prosperity to the Afghan people.” ISAF noted that the complete process of transition in an area can take
12-18 months. Government officials said the third phase would start immediately. The list of areas intended for the third tranche covers 122 districts, bringing the total number of districts to 260 in all 34 provinces. Every capital of every province is now in a designated area of transition, ISAF said. “In today’s national security council meeting it was decided 11 provinces will be transitioned in the handover, including Kapisa, Uruzgan and Parwan,” presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told a news conference. Australian forces currently have the lead in Uruzgan province. “Seventy-five percent of the population will come under local security control,” by the end of the phase, said Faizi. The first two tranches -- the first in July last year -- have already put 50 percent of the population under Afghan control.
A delegation of All Pakistan Clerks Association, led by its central president Ch Muhammad Afzal, held a meeting with Federal Finance Secretary Abdul Wajid Rana and his team members, including Joint Secretary Muhammad Hanif, Deputy Secretary Wajahat Zamir, Accounts Officer Syed Shahid Akhtar and Section Officer Arshad Javed, and discussed with them APCA’s charter of demands. APCA Central Secretary Syed Fida Asghar, Central Chairman Ch Ghulam Rasul Warraich, APCA Balochistan President Munir Ahmed Baloch, Sindh President Rasul Bakhsh Barohi and Central Additional General Secretary Muhammd Sultan Mujadadee were among those who attended the meeting. The federal secretary told the APCA delegation that all the genuine demands of the low-paid employees would be given due considerations. He added that a summary for the restoration of selection grade and time-scale promotions was being forwarded to the federal cabinet for approval. He also assured the delegation that recommendations in this regard had also been sought from the Establishment Division.
Targeted killings ended in Karachi, claims Malik KARACHI onLine
Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah held a telephonic conversation on Sunday and discussed the overall security situation in Karachi and Sindh. During the conversation, Malik claimed that there were no more targeted killings in the city after the arrest of serial killers. Malik directed Shah to ensure lives of the people of Lyari, where recently 25 people, including policemen, had been killed, and 69 others were injured during the weeklong operation launched by the police and Frontier Corps (FC). A considerable number of people managed to evacuate the area during the deadly operation.
Bangladesh tribals fear linguistic 'genocide' DALOIPARA AfP
Bangladesh can justly claim to be a nation born of language, but its status as a cradle of linguistic diversity is under threat from nationalist pride and economic growth. Of the more than 30 recognised languages spoken in Bangladesh, experts say 20 are now on the verge of extinction. Many like the Laleng language spoken by the 2,000-strong Patra tribe in the country's far northeast are inherently vulnerable, having no script and relying instead on a rich but fragile oral tradition of folk songs and story telling. The current head of the tribe, Laxman Lal Patra, smiles as he talks of a Laleng lullaby his mother used to sing when he was a child but then frowns as he tries to recall the actual words, eventually managing just a single verse. "Our fairy-tales, poems and songs are gone as we don't have a written script to preserve them. Even my daughter-in-law these days hums Bangla lullabies to my grandson," the 70-year-old said. Bangla, or Bengali, is the undisputed heavyweight in Bangladesh's linguistic arena, spoken by 95 percent of the population and the sole passport to a decent
education and career. National pride in the Bangla language runs deep and is cemented with the blood of the "language martyrs" -- students shot dead by police on February 21, 1952, when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan. The students were protesting the Pakistani government's Urdu-only policy and demanding that Bangla be recognised as an official language. The deaths triggered the start of a nationalist struggle that finally ended with the creation of Bangladesh after victory in the 1971 independence war with Pakistan. February 21 is feted as a heroic national holiday in Bangladesh and is designated by UNESCO as International Mother Language Day to highlight the ethno-linguistic rights of people around the world. But now Bangla's dominance in schools, the workplace and cultural life in general is threatening those rights in Bangladesh itself. "Most of us can still talk in Laleng. But we're learning Bangla fast, replacing even the most essential Laleng words," said Patra. "Young boys pick up Bangla expressions from schools and Bengali neighbours and never forget." An expanding economy, which has brought roads, electricity and television
sets to all but the remotest villages, has helped smother the life out of indigenous languages that were already struggling for survival. Dhaka University Linguistics professor Shourav Sikder, whose 2011 book "Indigenous Languages of Bangladesh" highlights the seriousness of the situation, reels off a long list of languages that are now dead or dying. "No one talks in Mahali, Malto, Razoar and Rajbangshi these days," he said, laying the blame squarely on the overriding state patronage and promotion of Bangla. According to Shikder, only two tribal languages can claim to be secure, largely thanks to the fact that they have written scripts. Mesbah Kamal, whose Research and Development Collective charity works with indigenous people, believes the loss of tribal languages verges on "cultural genocide" given the loss of identity that inevitably follows. "And if the indigenous people lose their language, it's not only their loss," Kamal said. "We are also losing diversity and plurality in our cultural life, and that will create intolerance. "Our students fought for the rights of their mother language, thanks to which we've got an independent Bangladesh.
A Patra tribal villager walks past a traditional home at Daliopara some 220kms from Dhaka. Many like the Laleng language spoken by the 2,000-strong Patra tribe in the country's far northeast are inherently vulnerable, having no script and relying instead on a rich but fragile oral tradition of folk songs and story telling. AFP Yet it's a shame that on the same land other languages are dying out fast," Kamal said. The government rejects accusations of neglect, with Cultural Affairs Secretary Suraiya Begum insisting that tribal groups "have scope to practice their language and culture" through a variety of state-run bodies. Begum particularly pointed to the International Mother Language Institute
set up in 2001 to preserve and study the ethnic languages spoken in Bangladesh and across the world. But critics say such institutions are mere window dressing, and totally ignore the ground realities of Bangla's steamroller dominance. "My beautiful language is dying," said Patra. "Our young people have turned their backs on it. To them jobs and education are everything."
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isLAMABAD: Pti chairman imran Khan addresses a women’s convention. STAFF PhOTO
cDA to submit report on construction of jail ISLAMABAD APP
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and officials of the district administration Islamabad would submit report to the chief commissioner on Monday regarding the construction of district jail within premises of Tarnol police station. The official source said that Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Tariq Mahmood Pirzada has directed the Project Director, CDA, Ayaz Khan to visit the site of under construction Tarnol Police Station along with the Superintendent, Jail, Adyala, Rawalpindi and work out the details of construction of District Jail within its premises. It has been asked to submit the project concept by Monday along with details of estimate to be incurred on the project. He said that it is very strange that Tarnol Police Station, situated at the outer cordon of Islamabad, would also be used as temporary District Jail for Islamabad. He said that necessary modifications in the building of Tarnol police station are to be made according to the essential requirements for jail. It has been directed that the new building should include essential requirements and detailed security apparatus befitting the requirements of a jail. Superintendent Jail Adyala, Rawalpindi has already informed the participants about the requirements of jail building including construction of 18 to 20 feet high boundary walls, construction of central tower, 04 tower check posts, barracks for the prisoners, laying electric barbed wires around the boundary walls, construction of mosque and health unit, construction of visitors room and other necessary security gadgets.
Rs 1.4b irregularities found in CDA contracts ISLAMABAD
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HE financial irregularities worth Rs 1.4 billion have been found in the contracts of four projects awarded by the Capital Development Authority in the recent past. The annual audit report 2011-12 on CDA’s financial accounts quoted the CDA rules that if the total cost of the project increases by margin of 15 percent or more, or scope of project changes, the permission of the executive committee of National Economic Council is required. The audit observed that the CDA awarded works above the permissible limit in four projects, including widening of the Kashmir Highway, Ladies Club, procurement of 16 water tankers and Citizen Club. The CDA’s Roads Directorate increased the work of under widening of Kashmir Highway project by Rs 828.420 million that was around 52.79 percent above the permissible limit. The project management office of the CDA enhanced scope of the work in Ladies Club Project costing Rs 159.523 million, 90.55 percent above the allowed limit. According to the report, the CDA had procured 16 water tankers worth Rs 48 million despite having no such provision in the contract. The CDA also awarded a contract for the construction of Citizens’ Club in Sector H8 costing Rs 383.967 million that has been found in excess of 42.82 percent of permissible limit. The auditors found
that the increase in the cost and scope of approved projects infringed upon the authority of appropriate project approving forum. “Thus, it was unauthorized and irregular,” the report commented. The report stated that irregular award of work beyond the permissible limit of 15 percent occurred due to non-adherence to the rules, existence of opportunity for violation of law, abuse of authority and material weakness in internal controls. The audit had pointed out the award of irregular work in August 2011 in what the CDA replied that the approval of revised PC-1 was in process. However, the audit found that the CDA’s reply was not tenable as the revised approval was required to be taken before incurrence of the expenditure. The matter was also discussed in the DAC meeting by the end of last year that directed the Cabinet Division to investigate the matter regarding the irregular award of work beyond provision of PC-1 without prior approval. However, the compliance to the DAC’s directives has not yet been conveyed to the audit authorities. IHC To HeAR oveR 275 CASeS DuRINg NexT week: Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Iqbal Hameedur Rehman has constituted six single and two division benches to hear more than 275 cases during next week, starting from Monday. Six single benches include the Chief Justice, Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan, Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi, Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi, Justice Shaukat Aziz Sidqui and Justice Muhammad Azim
Khan Afridi. First division benche comprises Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan and Justice Muhammad Azim Khan Afridi while the second bench includes Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui. DISABLeD-RIgHTS effoRTS oN foR 1% BuDgeT, 4049 joBS, RegISTRATIoN of DISABLeD peRSoNS: The Ministry of Human Rights has started implementation of parliamentary recommendations for allocation of one percent budget, recruitment of 4,049 quota posts and issuance of special cards to the disabled persons, marking 2.49 per cent of the population. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights had recently recommended the government an ambitious agenda containing around 20 steps for welfare of the special persons to bring them into mainstream. A senior official of the ministry told APP that the legislation is being made for rights of the disabled and a draft bill is awaiting nod of the cabinet. Since long, the respective governments could not make local legislation on the UN Convention for the rights of the disabled persons that had been ratified in 2007. According to the census, 2.49 percent of the population comprises disabled persons but majority of them have been deprived of their fundamental rights. The official said the Ministry is devising strategy to launch certification of disabled persons at Tehsil level instead of district headquarters to ensure registration of maximum people with disabilities.
Mother’s Day celebrated ISLAMABAD APP
People across the globe, including Pakistan celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday to share their sentiments and express profound love for their mothers. The day to honour motherhood is celebrated on second Sunday of May and it is a time to appreciate mothers and mother figures, expressing gratitude for the hardships they bear in bringing up a child. The day was marked with the old spirit and enthusiasm and public and private organisations as well as schools are arranging colourful programmes in connection with the Mother’s Day celebrations. Though Mother’s Day celebrations take place at different times in the world but what is remarkably same are the feelings with which people celebrate the day. Several other countries celebrate their Mother’s Day on different dates depending upon what they have decided about the specific day. Mother Day is being celebrated in Pakistan and sub- continent for the past few years with zeal and zest. The people can send and give Mothers day cakes, Mothers Day cards, Mum Mugs, Mothers day flowers, Mother Day Bears, Small Fruit or Gift basket, Special mother’s day cakes and sweets, mothers day gifts hampers, candies made for mother day, chocolates for mother day. In the recent years, the most dedicated gifts for Mother’s Day were Flowers, Perfumes, Cake and special sweets. Mothers are actually the guiding force and are responsible for developing the character and personality of a child. Mothers shape the lives of children and the Mothers Day is the opportunity to pay tribute to them for their contribution. The tradition of the day started with the ancient Greeks who celebrated their annual spring festival in honor of Rhea, the mother of many gods and goddesses in the Greek mythology. Ancient Romans too celebrated a spring festival by the name of Hilaria in honor of Cybele, a mother goddess, some 250 years before Christ was born.
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cITy DIrecTory eMerGency HelP PolIce eMerGency AMbUlAnce reScUe HIlAl-e-AHMer eDHI FoUnDATIon boMb DISPoSAl FIre brIGADe cenTre cIVIl DeFence
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isLAMABAD: chinese singer perform at a cultural show in honour of the visiting 100-member chinese youth delegation at the PncA. STAFF PhOTO
Great Urdu poet Hasrat AFIC capable of conducting all kinds Mohani remembered ISLAMABAD: A romantic poet of Urdu language, journalist, politician, parliamentarian and a fearless freedom fighter of the Indian subcontinent, Hasrat Mohani, was remembered on his death anniversary Sunday. Syed Fazl ul Hasan (Hasrat Mohani) was born in 1875 in Mohan near Unnao district of UP, India. He participated in the struggle for the Indian independence and was jailed for many years by British authorities. He was the first person in Indian history who demanded complete independence in 1921 as he presided over an annual session of All India Muslim League. He was also imprisoned for promoting anti-British ideas, especially for publishing an article against British policies in Egypt, in his magazine ‘Urdu-e-Mualla’. Afterwards he chose to live in India rather than move to Pakistan after the independence (1947) in order to represent the left-over Indian Muslims on various platforms. In recognition for his efforts, he was made a member of the constituent assembly which drafted the Indian constitution, but he never signed it since he saw hypocrisy towards Muslim minorities in it. Maulana died on 13 May, 1951. A few of his books are Kulliyat-e-Hasrat Mohani (collection of Hasrat Mohani’s poetry), Sharh-e-Kalam-e-Ghalib (explanation of Ghalib’s poetry), Nukaat-eSukhan (important aspects of poetry), Mushahidaat-e-Zindaan (observations in prison) etc. APP
of heart surgeries: Commandant RAWALPINDI
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OMMANDANT of Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) Major-General Dr Asif Ali Khan said that theinstitute has the capability to conduct all kind of heart surgeries ina most professional manner. Talking to APP, he said AFIC is fully equipped with modern technologies and latest machinery. “AFIC has all the facilities to deal with minor and major heart surgeries in the country so the patients have no need to go abroad for heart treatment,” he said. He said simple lifestyle, balanced diet and regular exercise are important factors to prevent cardiovascular diseases. He said the important risk factors that cause heart attacks are smoking, high cholesterol diet, sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar levels. “If we control the risk factors, we can control and reduce the risk of heart attack and its complications,” he added. He said AFIC was utilising all available resources to treat poor and needy patients also. He urged philanthropists to come forward and play their role in helping heart patients and provide them with treatment. 18,000 ToNS of gARBAge ReMoveD IN
RAwALpINDI: Solid Waste Management District Officer DrMazhar Azeem said that 18,000 tons of garbage has been lifted to keep the city neat and clean. The cleanliness campaign which was launched in 46 union councils of the city is going successful, he said and added that 44 union councils have been cleaned while the remaining UC 15 and UC 16 will be cleaned soon. More than 25 vehicles are engaged to lift garbage and waste from different areas. He said that total 8 plots were cleared and building material also lifted from Potohar and Rawal Town areas. The district officer said that every effort is being made to make Rawalpindi a model city. “This is duty of every one to play his role for the beautification and decoration of the city,” he added. The cleanliness campaign was launched on April 26. Earlier, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry NisarAli Khan directed the members of the Punjab Assembly, Ziaullah Shah, Malik Ghulam Raza, Raja Hanif advocate and Sheheryar Riaz as well as Municipal Services EDO Imtiaz Ahmad Malik and District Officer Special Planning Ali Imran to ensure their visits to various areas of the city to supervise the cleanliness drive. The PML-N MPAs appealed to the people not to throw garbage in the streets and extend cooperation to the sanitation staff in the cleanliness drive.
ExhIbITIoN of PoTTERY
DRUMMINg CIRCLE
DATe: MAy 10 - 21, 2012 VenUe: KHAAS ArT GAllery (Free)
DATe: MAy 08 - JUne 24, 2012 VenUe: nATIonAl ArT GAllery (Free)
DATe AnD TIMe: 05:00 PM, weeKly eVenT VenUe: THe cenTre For ArTS & cUlTUre
Please join us this Thursday, 10 May 2012 for Mohsin Shafi's first Solo Show at Khaas Art Gallery at 5:00 p.m onwards. Do spread the word and bring your friends to meet the artist in person and see his work.
exhibition of Pottery by SHeHereZADe AlAM on Tuesday 8 May, 2012 the exhibition will countinue till 24 June, 2012 closed Friday, Saturday & Public Holidays
our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoing event and is held every Friday from 5pm to 6pm we are having a great time, and want to share the good time with you! our drumming circle has children ...
DIRT UNDER MY NAILS
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Islamabad 09 consultation on ‘education for All’ tomorrow ISLAMABAD APP
RAWALPinDi:senior federal Minister chaudhry Pervaiz elahi addresses a divisional convention of PML-q at Dhamial. ONLINE
Process to bring IP rights registration under one roof begins ISLAMABAD APP
Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) Chairman Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi has said the process of bringing Intellectual Property (IP) Rights registration under one roof for efficient management, has been initiated in the country. He said besides this, other steps have also been taken to accelerate the IP registration formalities within stipulated period. Allout efforts would be made to upgrade the service delivery system according to the expectations of right owners, he added. He said analyzing the patterns of members countries of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), various successful models had been studied and with the consultation of IP experts, stakeholders the best prices would be adopted for strengthening National IP system in the country. Afridi said that trademark registration has been comparatively increased in Pakistan as the result of continuous awareness activities performed in different cities with the cooperation of media. He said in order to involve media persons in awareness related programmes, it has been decided to organise IP Media Orientation workshops and conferences. He said that in order to become self-reliant nation, public and private partnership is imperative for strengthening IP regime in the country.
IIUI rector to attend Int’l conference on Iqbal in Italy ISLAMABAD : Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik, Rector International Islamic University (IIU), has proceeded to Italy for participating in `International Conference on Iqbal’. During his visit, the rector will also participate in the activities of Iqbal Day presided over by the Bosnian President. The said programme will be organized by Iqbal Academy Lahore and Pakistan Embassy in Italy. Professor Malik is the author of 19 books on Iqbaliat and Urdu literature. He has taught in a number of foreign universities including Heidelberg, University Humbolt, Utrecht and Columbia University of the United States. He has also served in Quaide-Azam University Islamabad. APP
DCO for making parking plaza fully functional RAWALPINDI
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ISTRICT Coordination Officer (DCO) Rawalpindi Saqib Zafar has said that the parking plaza of Fawara Chowk should be made completely functional and Rawalpindi Development Auhtority (RDA) and Tehsil Municipal Adminitration (TMA), Rawal Town, should make efforts to solve the problems of the contractors of Suzuki vans and vans to minimise the traffic problem at Fawara Chowk. He said all the vans must be parked properly in the parking plaza so that the traffic load at Fawara Chowk could properly be controlled. He said this in a meeting held here in his office. RDA Director General RDA Ch Naseer Ahmed, ADCG/Administrator Rawal Town Saif Anwer Jappa, Deputy Director RDA Masood Ahmed, DO, I&S Rawal Town Touseef Ahmed and representatives of Suzuki van contractors attended the meeting. The DCO said implementation of agreement between RDA
and constrictors of Suzuki vans and wagons should be ensured to solve the problems. After the construction of parking plaza, improvement in traffic flow at Fawara Chowk was witnessed, he said adding traffic police should also assist the authorities concerned to control the traffic problems and public transport should not be allowed to stay outside the parking plaza. He said the instructions must be implemented in letter and spirit so that the citizens could be provided relief and they could be facilitated. CALL To CoMpLeTe CLeANLINeSS DRIve By ToMoRRow: IMTIAz MALIk : Executive District Officer (EDO) Imtiaz Ahmed Malik has said that the ongoing grand cleanliness campaign being carried out by Municipal Services Department would be completed till May 15 while four Union Councils, UC No 15, Mohalla Raja Sultan, Satellite Town, Block F, UC No 7, Fauji Colony, Pirwadhai, UC No 36 Mohanpura, and UC No 32, New Amarpura and Sarfraz Road were cleaned on Saturday. He said cleanliness work in UC No 32 and 36 was carried out again
as these UCs were not cleaned properly. EDO Imtiaz Ahmed Malik, District Officer Solid Waste Management, Dr Mazhar Azeem on Saturday visited Mohallah Raja Sultan, Holy Family, Fauji Colony and inspected the progress of the cleanliness work. They urged the citizens, particularly traders to help the sanitary staff so that the campaign could be made a complete success. Later, at a meeting held here in the EDO office, the Solid Waste Management DO said that so far 43 union councils have been cleaned while nearly 2,200 tonnes garbage has also been removed. As many as 26 kilometers water drainage lines have been cleared and solid waste, garbage and debris of demolished buildings was removed from eight plots. The owners of two plots have been issued final notices to construct boundary walls. The meeting was also informed that nine challans for throwing garbage in Nullah Lai have also been issued. The meeting was told that garbage collected during cleanliness campaign in various areas of the city has also been lifted.
Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) and Intermedia Pakistan will hold a consultation on ‘Education for All: the Role of Media’ today (Tuesday). The consultation aims at creating close coordination between development practitioners and journalists to facilitate improved reporting on education and advocate for the right to education for all. The media representatives will be updated on the situation of access to education in the country along with charting the pathways for creating effective linkages between activists and journalists. This workshop will lead to the creation of an action agenda to effectively take up education related issues at the relevant forums. PCE and inter-media are undertaking an initiative to enlist the support of the media to ensure the right to free and compulsory education enshrined in Pakistan’s Constitution. PCE undertakes policy advocacy on education related issues, such as policy, governance and financing. The coalition has been actively collaborating with various civil society stakeholders including education practitioners, academics, media representatives, organizations, networks, and policymakers to create a critical mass for facilitating a positive change and improving upon the overall education scenario. Intermedia Pakistan is an independent media development and communications development organisation. Intermedia Pakistan’s vision statement aims at ‘supporting freedom of expression, access to information and citizens making informed opinions and decisions as a means of promoting an informed, democratic and tolerant society.
47 lawbreakers arrested, stolen goods recovered RAWALPINDI APP
Rawalpindi police on Sunday arrested 47 lawbreakers, including one gambler, four drunkards and eight suspected dacoits and seized 1,420 grams of charas, 224 bottles of liquor, 10 pistols of 30 bore with 55 rounds and one stolen gate. According to a police spokesman, Pirwadhai police, acting on a tip-off, raided Khali Loharan and held a person namly Shafique for gambling. Sadiqabad police on an information raided a house in Model Colony and arrested eight suspected dacoits identified as Naseer, Riaz, Shehzad, Yousaf, Abdul Minan, Israr, Tahir and Shahid and recovered four pistols 30-bore with 18 rounds, two pistols 32 bore and two daggers.
International Day of Families tomorrow ISLAMABAD APP
The International Day of Families will be observed tomorrow (Tuesday) across the world including Pakistan with the theme “Ensuring work family balance” to celebrate the importance of families to people, societies and cultures around the world. This day showcase the significance of families. It intends at promoting impartiality, bringing forth a fuller sharing of household responsibilities and service opportunities. The programs embarked on to remember the day, put an efforts
in the direction of supporting families in the executions of their duties. It is apt to encourage the intrinsic potency of families, counting their immense ability of self-reliance, and exciting self-sustaining activities. International Day of Families brings out the significance of families as fundamental units of humanity and provides a chance for governments, organisations and individuals to encourage knowledge of the troubles, strengths and wants of families. Family comprises the essential unit of society. For this reason, the widest likely defense and help should be accorded to families with the intention
that they completely presuppose their responsibilities within the group of people to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on Social Progress and Developments and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women. A wide range of events are organized at local, national and international levels. These include: workshops, seminars and policy meeting for public officials; exhibitions and organized discussions to raise awareness of the annual theme; educational sessions for children and young people; and the launch of cam-
paigns for public policies to strengthen and support family units. The year 1994 was proclaimed as the International Year of Families by the United Nations. This was a response to changing social and economic structures, which have affected and still affect the structure and stability of family units in many regions of the globe. The International Day of Families, on May 15, is an occasion to reflect on the work started during 1994 and to celebrate the importance of families, people, societies and cultures around the world. It has been held every year since 1995.
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10 Islamabad
Monday, 14 May, 2012
Citizens demand action against beggars RAWALPINDI
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ROFESSIONAL beggars are having a roaring business as the police and administration seem reluctant to take any action against them. Nowadays, groups of beggars mostly women and children are seen begging in markets, shopping centers, roads and streets of the city. The shopping malls in the town are also amongst the choicest business locations of these beggars. It is said that no ordinary beggar could do business at such sought out locations, because they are covertly ‘auctioned’ by corrupt elements in police and other related departments for large sums of money called ‘Bhatta’ (extortion). The beggars are witness everywhere
particularly in Rawalpindi. Several groups of beggars have occupied main traffic signals mainly on Benazir Bhutto Road (Murre Road) where one can see a lot of children and women thronging at vehicles asking for alms. The beggars use new techniques to attract people as their sole purpose is to take money from them. Professional beggary is becoming a social menace as more and more beggars including physically fit, healthy and young men, women and children are turning towards this profession. Mosques and other religious places are also amongst the most profitable sources for the professional beggars. A large number of men, women and children beg regularly at roads and streets from dawn to dusk. Mostly these are very professional and expert beggars, beg ‘indirectly’. They have many
heart-wrenching stories to tell. They claim they are not professional beggars but forces to beg due to some tragedies. These tragedies include needing money due to serious illness of self, parents or children; workplace accidents, prolonged joblessness due to one reason or another, etc. They often manage to soften the hearts of their listeners with their tragic tales told in tear-filled emotional voice. Though, several drives were launched against professional beggars in the past, but the police and authorities concerned had failed to take a serious and visible action against the professional beggars in the town. Professional beggar is considered a blemish on the face of a civilized society. It is also an indication of weakness of administration and police to implement the anti-beggary laws. The citizens said that the governments
should give a serious attention to this issue and launch a massive drive against the professional beggars with the help of police, philanthropists and other social organizations. The real deserving poor people should be provided maximum institutionalized help during this drive, while the mafias running large groups of professional beggars should be taken to the task. In Rawalpindi, especially on busy places like Benazir Bhutto Road, Committee Chowk, Mareer Chowk and sixth road chowk commuters and drivers face irritation on red lights as a large number of beggars seek financial support claiming they are not professional. At Raja Bazaar, Saddar Bazaar, Tench Bhatta and other main shopping centers of the city beggars sometime turn nasty towards the customers. There is also a dire need of extensive
community efforts to ensure a successful and result oriented drive which otherwise would not produce the wanted results. AIou To HoLD woRkSHop of gIRLS poweR pRojeCT fRoM ToDAy: Allama Iqbal Open University’s Bureau for University Extension and Special Programmes will hold master trainers’ workshop of Girls Power Project (GPP) from today (Monday). The workshop for the master trainers will continue till May 24 (Thursday). According to Workshop Coordinator Rehana S Zaman, 27 master trainers from different parts of the country will participate in the workshop. The opening ceremony will be held at the Conference Room, Sir Syed Block of the university. Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi will preside over the opening session.
ASA new office bearers sworn in ISLAMABAD APP)
The new office bearers of Academic Staff Association (ASA) of International Islamic University took oath to their office for year 2012-13. Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations President Professor Kaleemullah Bareech administered the oath. Those who took oath included Dr Muhammad Sher Joiyya, president, Attaullah Watto, vice president, Dr Zafar Iqbal, general secretary, Zehra Sabin, vice president (female), Amir Usman, joint secretary, Shagufta Khanum, joint secretary (female), Faizur Rehman, finance secretary and Muhammad Amir, information secretary. Speaking on the occasion, the new president, Dr Muhammad Sher, expressed his concern over the irregularities and maladministration in the university. He said that after retirement of the rector of the university since 2010, adhocism prevailed in the university that triggered a number of irregularities, including adhoc appointments. The decision-making bodies such as the board of directors lacked representation from the teaching faculty and literally outsiders made the decisions that impacted the faculty, he added. The new general secretary, Dr Zafar Iqbal, said that in violation of the direction of the Supreme Court, contractual appointments were also made in the university. The Islamabad High Court has taken notices of all these contractual and illegal appointments and notices have been served on the administration. The court has declared one of such appointments as illegal. The newly elected body of the Association has called for action against all such illegal appointments and setting up of a high-level committee to scrutinise such illegal appointments. The association members also demanded promotion of those who are waiting for more than 25 years. They requested the faculty members to rise above all petty political interests and play their vibrant role to make the university a unique place in the country. Earlier, the outgoing president, Dr Muhammad Bashir, presented the progress report of the Association. The chief guest, Prof Kaleemullah, supported the demands presented by the newly elected body of the association. Two kILLeD, 16 HuRT IN MANSeHRA TRAffIC MISHAp: Apassenger bus on way from Lahore to Batgram fell into a ravine as a result of which two persons were killed and 16 wounded in Mansehra. The bus was on its way from Lahore to Batgram. Near Gandhian on Shahrahe-Karakoram, it lost its control while taking a turn and fell into the ravine, which resulted in the death of two persons. At least 16 people were also injured, a private news channel reported.
RAWALPinDi: electricity load shedding forces a washerman to use coal iron. ONLINE
FIA nabbed 6,835 human trafficker nabbed in 4 years ISLAMABAD AfP
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has nabbed 6,835 persons for human trafficking during the last four years. Giving year-wise details about the arrests, an official source on Sunday said 1642 smugglers or traffickers were arrested in 2008, 1775 in 2009, 1779 in 2010 and 1639 in 2011. In addition, the agency also nabbed 1,842 proclaimed offenders (POs) during the period with 376 in 2008, 441 in 2009, 522 in 2010 and 503 in 2011. The official said 507 court absconders (COs) were also arrested during the last four years with year-wise details of 77 in 2008, 54 in 2009, 200 in 2010 and 176 in 2011. The official said thanks to the steps taken by the Ministry of Interior and introducing different methods that Pakistan got upgraded from Tier-II Watch List to Tier-II in Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) published by the US State Department and main-
tained the same status during 2011 whereby 188 countries around the global were categorised. This report has direct impact on the US and UN financial aid. He said the Agency was giving priority to control the human trafficking in the country and in this regard it had successfully launched Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) at Islamabad and Peshawar airports. The other measures were installation of Edison System at major airports through Australian High Commission, creation of Immigration Intelligence Unit (IIU) in collaboration with UK, creation of Transnational Crime Unit (TCU) with collaboration of Australia. He said all these measures helped drastic reduction in the number of Deportees on Fake Documents (DFDs). The official said traffic handled at airports during the last four years was 34.5 million with 7.8 million in 2008, 8.2 million in 2009, 8.7 million in 2010 and 9.8 million in 2011. During the period, 2114 persons were Off-loaded On
Fake Documents (OFDs) with details including 572 in 2008, 669 in 2009, 504 in 2010 and 369 in 2011 while the number of Deportees on Fake Documents (DFDs-A Category) was 56 in 2008, 31 in 2009, 37 in 2010 and 15 in 2011. The number of Deportees on Fake Documents during the period in Category B was 52 in 2008, 43 in 2009, 42 in 2010 and 20 in 2011. Giving further details, the official said 15,213 persons were convicted with details including 4641 persons in 2008, 4396 in 2009, 3115 in 2010 and 2861 persons were convicted during 2011. He said Human Trafficking Information System (HUTIS) is very much beneficial since its establishment at main Anti Human Trafficking Circles (AHTCs) for entering detail of human traffickers. As per information provided by the HUTIS at FIA, Headquarters, 1793 human traffickers have been included with details. Further more, he said, Zonal Offices are also being asked to update the system and enter detail of all the agents/human traffickers.
398 absconders, 53 gamblers arrested this year ISLAMABAD APP
The capital police have arrested 398 absconders and 53 gamblers during the current year, a police spokesman said on Sunday. The police made utmost efforts to arrest absconders and succeeded in nabbing 135 proclaimed offenders and 263 court absconders. IGP Islamabad Bani Amin Khan has attributed the success against the criminals to the commitment and devotion of the police personnel. The inspector general of police had directed the police officials to ensure arrest of proclaimed offenders and other absconders and sought daily report about the special crackdowns against the outlaws. SSP Islamabad Muhammad Yousuf Malik also directed all heads of police stations of Islamabad to start their renewed efforts to arrest outlaws. Besides arresting 398 absconders, the police also raided at various gambling dens and apprehended 53 gamblers besides recovering stake money and other items. A total of 849 suspects were also arrested during search operations conducted in the various areas of the city.
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Monday, 14 May, 2012
Editor’s mail 11
A great decision The Planning Commission has declared the gasification of Thar coal project of nuclear scientist Dr Mubarak Samarkand as ‘unfeasible’ and has stopped its funding. This project was a non-starter from day one and coal experts were amazed at the manner in which this project was initiated and scarce resources made available to the scientist. It is alleged that the reason this project was given extensive publicity, with the scien-
Karachi crimes tist going from one forum to another trying to convince everyone that Pakistan’s energy shortages would be solved in no time, was actually to thwart all efforts to utilise Thar coal for Pakistan’s future. He would announce a new date for the success of his project religiously every month. Where’s the beef? One may ask. In one of my Letters to Editor, I had termed the project as a Quixotic misadventure where Rs 10 billion were ear-
marked by the government. A pragmatic decision has finally been taken by the Planning Commission to shelve this project. I would further advise the Sindh government to seriously ensure that mere signing of MOUs with foreign investors does not translate into reality. Pakistanis have been taken for a joyride by these socalled investors for a long time. I do not discount strenuous efforts made by the Sindh Board of Investment but many,
like me, are still taking the “progress” of the Thar coal project with a pinch of salt. It is time the media takes strong interest in the activities going on in the Thar coalfields and orient the viewers and readers with what is really going on there. Meanwhile, compliments to Planning Commission for saving the country from another financial and economic disaster. Kudos! MAJYD AZIZ Karachi
cell phone towers Research is now rapidly surfacing all over the world that the High Frequency Mirowave radiations emitted by cell phones and cell phone towers is damaging to human health, causes a very vast array of health problems like sleeplessness, fatigue , muscle and joint pains, anxiety, depression, headaches, High or low blood pressure, heart palpitations, behavioural problems and can possibly in the long run, significantly increase the incidence of various cancers such as leukemia and brain tumours. So, use your mobile phone very sparingly and make sure there is no mobile tower near your house. There is a new menace in this regard as well. Cancer Cluster; a large numbers of cancers occurring to the people living in close proximity to cell phone base towers, are now being reported from some parts of the world, especially from countries where teledensity is high. If your house or office is located very near a cell phone tower, please beware. You are at serious risk of developing various health problems. Use your mobile phone with great caution, very sparingly, preferably mainly for texting. Keep it away from your head. Most calls should be less than one minute duration. Long calls can possibly cause neuron damage in the brain. Keep the mobile phone at least 15 mm away from your head. Preferably use the speaker phone option. Do not have Wi-Fi in your house. Use fixed network cables. You can do your own research on various harmful aspects of these phones. SYEDA ZEhRA Karachi
no real leader Presently, it seems that the masses are totally disgusted with the increasing power shortages, worst form of governance and a very apathetic attitude of the rulers towards the masses. There seems to be no visible solution; only short term solution is provided that too only after the destructive activities in various cities (as was seen recently against loadshedding). The govt feels satisfied when the people seemingly cool down for a short period. But, unfortunately there is no planning and no determination to provide relief to the ruled. The concerned authorities not only lack good governance to solve the problems but also do not have the will to do it. They appear to just pass away another one year, having good time, making foreign trips and enjoying the perks, etc. We do not have any “real leader” in this country; mere rhetoric on the print and electronic media but for how long? Already people are fed up watching “fishmarket type debates” on various TV channels with zero output. The channel owners are perhaps happy that more than disgusting debates are being watched by the millions. RAShID MAQSOOD Lahore
Public buses and hygiene A few days ago, I was travelling in a public bus to my respective destination and I couldn’t help but notice its lack of hygiene. It was downright disgusting. As many citizens travel by these buses regularly, isn’t their health an important matter? To be sure, it is these people who are working hard and striving for the development of our country and in my opinion they deserve more. They deserve healthy environment to stay fit. The government should look into this matter and raise awareness about this issue. RIZWAN KAREEM Karachi
Learning from history One of my favourite sayings is: “The more you can look into the past, the further you will be able to see the future.” Knowledge and information is power. Thus the history of the world can help us predict the future. And from what I know of the history I can predict at least a couple of things. Any country that brings war to its borders suffers, even when they win the war, but if a country commits war on the borders and areas of other countries then their economies can benefit from the war. For example, the USA has been successfully campaigning wars around the world for decades and they have been prospering because the wars are not on their borders but on the borders of other nations. On the other hand, countries like Russia, India, Pakistan, Turkey and the EU are suffering for waging wars on their own territories. Such fighting hampers economic growth and trust for which their economies suffer for decades after a war ends. Considering these details I can predict that in the future the governments around the world will try to focus on more cooperation and avoid any wars with their neighbours, which would mean that the biggest threat to a country’s sovereignty would be a long range attacks via planes, UAVs, missiles and other long range weapons.
A convicted PM? It is so unfortunate seeing a convicted PM proud and taking honour on his conviction. It has been more than two weeks that Pakistan's PM was declared convicted by the apex court on charge of Contempt of court. Mr Gilani however seems relax and is enjoying being the world's only acting convicted prime minister hence making him Crime Minister. Rather than being ashamed he is on his UK tour. The opposition parties have decided not to accept Mr Gilani as PM and have called for protests and rallies against the Gilani govt. PML(N) is one such party who has hit the roads for supremacy of law and is gathering large support for it .There gathering in Lahore and Gujranwala is a clear proof that people now want change. One should try to understand that the rule of law is important for survival of democracy. Imran Khan’s politics is getting tougher day by day and has become hard to understand. Nawaz Sharif had asked Imran Khan to join hands against Gilani but Imran Khan turned down the offer demanding PML(N) to resign from assemblies before they could sit on the table. But the PML(N)'s resignations from parliament will only do good to PPP as they might conduct by-elections and then appoint an interim government of their own choice and pass constitutional amendments to safeguard their Crime
The menace of bribery
Countries, especially the ones vying for the ‘superpower’ status, should therefore invest in countering such long range attacks and should therefore equip and train their forces accordingly. They should create their own long range attacks to take the war to the borders of their aggressors. Also every country should avoid wars with their neighbouring countries and instead push for more economic cooperation among neighbours who can become their closest customers and major income source for their economies. It would also reduce global inflation as the goods will come in cheaper due to low freight charges. India and Pakistan should also use this strategy and stop the tit-for-tat war among themselves. Western countries have become rich because of this secret war between Pakistan and India. First, they woe Pakistan for weapons, then they go to India to sell more weapons to counter Pakistan’s increase in arms, then they come back to Pakistan and sell them more to counter the Indian increase in arms. This cycle is repeated a number of times to gain maximum profits from both countries. When will our two countries learn from our own history? ShAhRYAR KhAN BASEER Peshawar
Minister and President. PPP's failure to realise that Gilani will remain convicted until his appeal turns in his favour has exposed their leaders legal understanding. If it was for morals and principles Gilani himself should have resigned. MAJID TAMOOR Lahore
Karachi is burning Law enforcement agencies seem to have become mere spectators as people are becoming victims of relentless firing incidents in Karachi. Firing incidents have taken place at different areas of the city, especially Malir, Nazimabad, Gizri, Khadda Market, Lyari and Liaqatabad. Frightened shopkeepers have to close down their shops and other business activities, due to which the city is going through a great economical loss. Many people have been abducted and killed during the last few years. Recently, on Sunday May 13, five people including one political activist were target killed and there was violence in different areas of the city. The target killing is deeply entrenched in an ill-conceived policy of “strategic depth” which is ultimately turning into the “strategic death” of this unfortunate nation. Instead of finding faults with some foreign hand, we need to do some soul searching within the
Political wheeling and dealing may have helped cool down tempers to some extent but Karachi continues to simmer. Targeted killings have declined due to the exigencies of power but street crimes continue to rise. Many have been mugged at gunpoint or know of loved ones who have met with similar fates. Anyone who has had a gun pointed at his or her head will testify that there are few moments in life that are more terrifying. But still it goes on and the lawenforcement authorities are usually nowhere to be seen. Traffic jams, by now routine in many parts of Karachi, have become an easy hunting ground for armed criminals. Resistance in cases of such hold-ups is futile – either one hands over one’s valuables or risks being shot. As reported in newspapers, buses are boarded by criminals who rob, even kill passengers. Yet this is seen by some as an aspect of daily life that we have to accept. Do we deserve to live constantly in fear of the unknown with criminal mentalities? The answer is a resounding no. It is the responsibility of the state to protect the lives and properties of its citizens. The Supreme Court has set up a bench to monitor progress on action taken against political, religious and ethnic violence in the city. Perhaps, a similar notice should be taken of the street-crime graph and directions given to the police to curb its rise. True, poverty and deprivation have a conspicuous role in street crime and it is the government’s responsibility to take remedial measures to reverse the trend over the long term. However, in the meantime, the law-enforcement apparatus, which is well aware of the city’s layout and its sensitive spots, should be more visible, especially during rush hour, to give a sense of security to commuters. MAIMUNA RAZA Karachi
fabric of our society and also within our so called national security institutions. Karachi is burning! How long these target killings would haunt the Karachiites? Someone should answer it, and soon. NIMRAh AMJAD Karachi
reckless driving A lot of accidents are being caused in the DHA due to racing cars and rash driving among youths. This is an extremely serious issue as it has resulted in three fatalities, 19 injuries and 45 wrecked cars during the past six months in DHA Phase VIII alone. An unusually high rate of automobile accidents points to the fact that there has been a major oversight at the town planning stage of Phase VIII. Most accidents have occurred on a two-km stretch on the new portion of Khayaban-i-Shaheen from Khayaban-i-Ittehad up to Creek Vista. The DHA Cantonment Board should take action against it because it is putting innocent people’s lives in danger. Parents should not allow their children to drive carelessly. There should be traffic police officers to strictly control such activities. The situation can certainly be rectified as soon as possible without causing much hassle to anyone. S SARAh Karachi
Bribery is widely and shamelessly rampant in our country. There seems no period vacant from the evil in the history of the country. In the present era, the evil of bribery is more evidently present in the developing countries. However, bribery has appeared not from any void, but it takes its roots from the society concerned. Bribery is the result of redtapeism, meager salaries, lustful activities, materialistic inclinations, ever growing desires and finally lack contentment and lack of deep sense of religious injunctions. The solution lies in the sole implementation of Islamic laws in true spirit, besides simplifying the office procedures. All complaints regarding bribery should be brought to light and cases must be decided within seven days. If the concerned authorities take proper measures in this regard, this social evil will decrease definitely. IBAD AhMED Karachi
Victims of acid attacks Every year in Pakistan around 150 women become victims of acid attacks, horrific incidents where liquid acid is thrown on their face, leaving them permanently scared and disfigured. Many are left without access to proper medical care, while those that do have access often require up to 20 surgeries to properly treat the damage. In truth, the number of victims is likely much higher than those reported as many attacks are typically carried out by someone close to them, such as a disgruntled husband or suitor looking for revenge. Acid throwing is a form of violent assault. Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims (usually at their faces), burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. The consequences of these attacks include blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body. These attacks are most common in Pakistan and other nearby countries. Almost 80 percent of victims of these acid attacks are females and almost 70 percent are under 18 years of age. SALWA NOOR Karachi
Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk. Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.
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12 Comment nato routes expect a complete resumption
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hey blocked the routes and they can very well go and block them. This is set to be the government’s line on the Nato supply routes. Some tough love, now that the opposition isn’t ready to play ball. Oddly, however, this newer line of reasoning is exactly what some within the opposition were saying in the first place: you blocked them unilaterally, why did you have to pass over the decision to unblock to the parliament? First of all, any decision as generally unpopular as that would have required the backing of all the major political powers in the country. That would have been the only way to control (minimise) the backlash. Secondly, it is, after all, an inclusive approach to governance. The government’s probable decision to reopen the routes emerges from signs that the Americans are finding our delays rather troublesome and tiring. There is a feeling, stateside, that they have humoured us for more than they should. They have made all that explicitly clear by not inviting us for the moot in Chicago. An interesting pattern has emerged on that front. Topping the list of those outraged at being slighted vis a vis Chicago, is the camp that had made emphatic cases for not going to the Bonn conference. How these two views – a disengagement from the west and an indignation when we are not catered to – are held at the same time must be a mentally tiring exercise. The fact of the matter is that we are on thin ice here. Pakistan hasn’t made many actual friends over the course of its history and the reasons for this can be debated endlessly. True, we constantly point out the west’s ungratefulness regarding the sacrifices that we have given but we also have much to explain over the course of our history. Though the links of the deep state with militant networks are an open secret around here, more serious cases like the presence of Osama Bin Laden in the country, is indicative of the thin ice we are on. We scoff at the US Secretary of State’s assertions about Ayman Al Zawahiri being in the country just the way we did at similar claims involving Osama Bin Laden.
The art of the possible still not enough for the League, though
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here are twenty thousand leagues under the sea and these are only two. But still, a feud that took two decades for the two sides to bury the hatchet. Nawaz Sharif and the PML(J)’s Hamid Nasir Chatta are now friends. The N League and the PML (Like-Minded) also signed an agreement regarding an arrangement in the upcoming national polls. The N League is the biggest of the Leagues and, on its own, is the second largest political force in the country. But it still can’t cut it on its own in the next elections. This agreement with the Like-Minded group also won’t do the required trick. The PML(N) has seen better days. The surprise of the 2008 elections was the rather spectacular performance of the League. It caught everyone off guard. This led to an impression that, in the yin-yang of politics, the next government was the League’s. That might not be true and the Raiwind brothers know this. There are several reasons for this. Since the League runs the government in the province, an incumbency factor runs against them as well. It really doesn’t have its act together in other provinces so there is little or no capitalising on the incumbency factors of the respective governments there. Secondly, an often overlooked stellar performance is that of the PML(Q). Despite the Musharraf baggage, the party managed to emerge as the third largest parliamentary presence in the national assembly. This time round, they are to pack quite a punch. Many will leave their party, yes, but many will stay. If these candidates, proven by a Darwinian process to be heavyweights in their respective constituencies, eke out an alliance with the PPP, there could be trouble. Outside the province, the League is desperately trying to woo partners for it is too late in the day to try to go for organic growth. It has, however, managed to absorb the whole of the Sindh National Front, for whatever it is worth. In KP, it might finally strike a deal to get itself some seats from the Pushtun belt for the first time in over a decade but they will still be a smattering in the larger battle between the ANP-PPP alliance and the religious parties and newcomers like Imran Khan. Perhaps if the Sharifs hadn’t taken such an intransigent stance towards their former party members, the League would have been in a far better position now. Holding grudges in politics can hold you back.
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Arif Nizami Editor
Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
Monday, 14 May, 2012
BJP’s downfall Babri Masjid and gujrat carnage
Border crossings By Kuldip Nayar
T
he demolition of the Babri Masjid, which did the greatest harm to India’s secular ethos, has suddenly come to the fore after nearly 20 years. It indicates the intrinsic strength of the system which otherwise has been beaten because of indelible corrupt deals and the weak, faltering governance. It was such a deliberate defiance of law and morality that the destruction could not have been in oblivion for a long time. Top BJP leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, linked with the demolition, have been accused of conspiracy. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has done a meticulous job to charge them with plotting and executing the demolition. True, the CBI has doubtful credentials and its control in the hands of government makes it still more suspect. Yet its work in ferreting out the truth in certain cases cannot be minimised or rubbished. The Babri Masjid’s demolition was not a hush-hush job. It was shown live on television networks across the country with hoary details of vandalism instigated by the Hindu crowd; the ladders and ropes used to bring down the masjid’s domes and the joy of BJP leaders over the removal of the last brick are still etched in the memory of people. Uma Bharti jumped into the laps of Joshi, celebrating the destruction of the mosque which had become over the years a structure that stood as a testimony to the country’s pluralistic philosophy. The BJP leaders’ defence is not on the demolition of the masjid but on the timing of the CBI report. The agency may be playing politics at the instance of some ruling party members. Yet, how does this lessen the crime of those who demolished the mosque or those who enthusiastically watched the spectacle? Whether the conspiracy of Advani and seven of his party colleagues is proved in a law court or not—the Liberhan Commission said something like that in its report three years ago—is not what matters at present. The issue today is that who are the culprits? The biggest relief is that those whose hands are soiled have not got away with it. The real worry of the nation has been that the whole matter would be ef-
faced because of the Herculean efforts by the BJP and its ally, the Shiv Sena. Even if the conspiracy to pull down the mosque is not proved, the fact of demolition cannot be denied, nor the glee of the BJP leaders that the cameras have recorded. It is well known that before the masjid’s demolition, Advani undertook a rath yatra in northern India to prepare the ground and he, indeed, drove a wedge between the two communities, Hindus and Muslims. The killing of Muslims in the wake of demolition confirms the polarisation. In fact, the Muslims who after the partition were gradually joining the mainstream began standing back and wondering whether their entity was safe. The Babri Masjid’s destruction was a watershed in the relations between Hindus and Muslims and it made many Muslims hark back on the division and think that Pakistan was not such a mistake as several among them had considered. One top Muslims leader said after the demolition: I felt for the first time that I was a Muslim. The BJP may have built its vote bank in the Hindu community or may have refurbished the image of Hindutva. And the party’s success at the polls in UP shows that. But what the party demolished for a few seats was Muslims’ implicit trust in India’s secular polity. The common man realises, if not the BJP, the harm it caused to the country’s integrity. Were the guilty to be punished, the loss of faith can be restored to a large extent. But the CBI’s report may well be only a storm in a tea cup. The Manmohan Singh government has neither the will nor the strength to take on the BJP which may get away with the murder of India’s secularism. After all, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was behind the happenings in the state in 2002, may also be getting away with all that he did. The Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has exonerated him completely. What made the SIT give Modi a clean chit may come out one day as the complicity of Advani and other
BJP leaders has in the case of the Babri Masjid demolition. It would be too late by then, but what one can do when political considerations have scrambled the entire system. In the case of Modi, amicus curie Raju Ramachandran strongly disagreed with a key conclusion of the SIT that IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was not present at a late-night meeting of top Gujarat cops held at the chief minister’s residence in the wake of the February 27, 2002 Godhara carnage. It has been Bhatt’s claim— made in an affidavit before the apex court and in statements to the SIT and the amicus—that he was present at the meeting where Modi said Hindus must be allowed to carry out retaliatory violence against Muslims. Raju Ramachandran has suggested that there is sufficient material to “proceed further against the Gujarat chief minister.” Ramachandran too was appointed by the Supreme Court and there is no reason why the case against Modi be closed. Ramachandran concedes that “there is no proof that Modi’s diktat was implemented by ministers or police officers who participated in the meeting. But making the statement was in itself an offence.” It is true that Ramachandran did not investigate and relied on the documents prepared by the SIT. But this is the job which was entrusted to him by the Supreme Court. So how can it be argued that the amicus curie’s statement does not have any locus standi? They may take long because there will be day to day hearing in the lower court, but the details of Gujarat riots will be in the public domain. The BJP should realise that the two blemishes, one about the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the other about the carnage in Gujarat, will not go away until action against the culprits is taken. Quotas will not give confidence to Muslims but what they want to be assured of is that they will get justice. A pluralistic society can do this at least to prove its credentials. The writer is a senior Indian journalist.
foreign Press
no fly, why? Khaleej Times
W
here does security end and absurdity begin? It is very difficult to quantify one from the other. The offloading of a Middle Eastern family from a US flight on grounds that the 18-month-old baby was on the ‘no fly’ list is a sterling example of the system working only too well. Although the human factor is the cause of several errors of judgment, its being sidelined so totally as a component in the equation also induces the death of logic. When humans on duty become automatons and seek the sanctuary of rules and procedures with no capability to exercise common sense the situation only worsens dramatically and enters the realm of Alice’s nonsense. Was there nobody on duty who was empowered to make a sensible on-the-spot decision on the matter that an 18-monthold child could not, on its own, be on any ‘no fly’ list? It is the difference between treating a passenger travelling in grief and another travelling to a sunkissed island on vacation. Should not a service have the flexibility to give preference
to one over the other? Similarly, between the crew, the pilot, the staff of the airline, the security at the airport and the bumbling foolishness of the hi-tech systems, could there not have been a call taken that reflected the better side of human nature along with obvious logic and still maintained the parameters of security. That the mother was wearing a hijab has to have had a bearing and it is naïve to pretend that the stereotype in today’s world does not have to pay a price. The same unit, replaced by a WASP equivalent with a baby on a ‘no fly’ list would have been accorded a different protocol and given a benefit of doubt that was refused this couple. The unfortunate part is that the people who failed to exercise sensible discretion can be placed under any sort of inquiry but they will not be penalised because they will find enough protection under the law and the wide scope of the Homeland Security Act. How can you find them wrong under these laws when they acted according to the very same laws? That is why whenever such an incident occurs and people are offloaded because of a sixth sense or a hunch or what is a prejudice there is no consequence.
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Monday, 14 May, 2012
Comment 13
A zero-sum game
Changing paths
A continuance of loss
hillary’s enigmatic approach
By Muneeb Farooq
W
hile the politics and opportunism pounds, the country slips into disarray. The country’s Prime Minister gets convicted and refuses to step down on moral grounds. The leading opposition party starts campaigning against the incumbent and wants him to be out. To set the scores right, the PPP has started to hold the rallies, using government’s exchequer, to show solidarity with its convicted PM and the PML(N) too is using government’s machinery in Punjab to bash the incumbent and to woo the Honourable Supreme Court. Mian sb jumped the gun by calling for the resignation of the PM and the explanation which he and his confidants give is far from being reasonable. Mian sb fears that his voters would turn against him if he doesn’t take on the PM and to top it all off it’s the paranoia that Imran Khan would score the points before him. Firstly, I agree to the extent that the PM should have stepped down on moral grounds. But if he has decided to relegate the morals then no one has the right to deprive him of his legal right to file an appeal against the constitutional process of disqualification. Secondly, PML(N)’s voter did not leave the party for the principled positions taken by Mian Nawaz Sharif in the past four years, the one that exposed him to the criticism of being a friendly opposition. The PML(N) was hailed for its pro democracy stance it took so far. In my humble opinion, Mian Nawaz Sharif is being ill-advised over the issue of PM’s disqualification. Mian
Nawaz Sharif is a veteran politician and knows more than I that morality has very little or, at times, no role to play in power politics. I think Mian sb very conveniently forgot that embracing PML(Q)’s unification block had no legal and moral justification at all. Taking Musharaff’s old aide Ameer Muqam had no moral justification. Making Saba Sadiq, an MPA, defect from PML(Q) to PML(N) had no legal and moral justification. Signing a historic electoral alliance with PML(Like Minded), which has no legal status, had no legal or moral justification. All of this has no moral justification but it is politically justified. Mian Nawaz Sharif, being a national Leader, should realise that we are plagued with the issues of governance, energy, foreign policy, poverty, illiteracy and the rest of all. The energies should be spent on addressing these issues rather than on rallies and jalsas. Moreover, there is no need to side with the Superior Judiciary as it gives the impression that PML(N) cannot do politics without having a nexus with any of the institutions. Mian sb should be mindful of the fact that earlier it was GHQ and that it should not be the Supreme Court this time. Truth be told, it’s not only these political parties who are doing the damage but it’s people amongst us, who have somehow become the bastions of righteousness in this country. I am referring to the learned and prudent commentators who have developed their writing and analytical skills over decades but who have miserably failed to learn to extricate emotions from facts and facts from wishes. Immediately after the short order against the PM and when the detailed verdict was released by the Honourable Supreme Court, these commentators were writing their opinion pieces as if they had the best jurisprudential knowledge to understand the operative part of the short order and the detailed verdict. As the
order was announced, these pundits started saying in their orgasmic mono tones that the PM stood disqualified hence he could not retain the office. I am no apologist for the PM and neither do I defend him for his government’s dismal performance on many issues but what puts me at rage is as to how can we have a right to form or manipulate people’s opinion when we can’t narrate a simple and unambiguous fact. I was categorically told that your opinion on this matter is utterly wrong and ill founded. I sniggered in my heart every time because those who said this to me had never spent a day in a law school. I so wished that somehow God Almighty vindicates me on this principled position I had taken as a student of law and at the very formative stage of career as a TV journalist. I can say it with humility that I stand vindicated on this issue so far. In a reply to a petition filed for Mr Gilani’s disqualification at Islamabad High Court, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui observed that the Honourable Supreme Court has not disqualified Mr Gilani in the contempt of court case. It was further added that the matter has been referred by the Supreme Court to other constitutional forums. This observation has left many hawks disappointed who once screamed over the rooftops that the PM was disqualified. I humbly suggest that they shouldn’t turn their guns blazing without having the right information as to who to shoot at. I urge the commentators to filter wishes from the facts. I urge the political leaders not to confuse power politics with legal and constitutional propositions. I urge them not to bring morality into politics as it has some really tough prerequisites to fulfill. I urge everyone not to make it a zero-sum game for all. The writer hosts a prime time talk show. he can be contacted at muneebfarooqraja@gmail.com
By Sajjad Shaukat
D
uring her visit to India, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton allegedly said on May 7 this year that Pakistan had not taken enough action against Hafiz Saeed, the Chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who was blamed for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks. She accused that top Al-Qaeda commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri “is somewhere in Pakistan.” Ms Clinton pressed Pakistan “to do more to ensure its territory is not used as launching pad by terror groups.” Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar refuted the allegations that Al-Zawahiri was hiding in Pakistan, urging the US “to share information if any, instead of issuing speculative statements.” It is notable that in order to pamper India, last month, the United States offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the conviction of Hafiz Saeed. However, in this respect, Hillary Clinton shows controversial statements by ignoring the facts. Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit already revealed on April 7 this year that India had not given “any solid and significant evidence” against Hafiz Saeed, and “action can only be taken on the basis of solid evidence.” While fully cooperating with New Delhi, Pakistan’s interior ministery not only lodged FIR against some suspected persons, but also detained many individuals for investigation in connecion with the Mumbai catastrophe. But Pakistan’s Lahore High Court had released Hafiz Saeed on bail, saying that there was no evidence agianst him. Notably, on November 10, 2011, during the meeting of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Maldives, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the 26/11 terror-incident, was a “non-state actor…should be hanged, so should perpetrators of the Samjhauta Express blast.” Recently, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan visited India to get credible evidence so as to prosecute the accused of the 26/11, but it could not succeed in collecting any evidence due to non-cooperation of the Indian concerned officials. The true story of the Mumbai carnage proved last year, when a day after the Indian media exposed the name of a terrorist, Wazhul Qamar Khan, who was included in a list of 50 alleged terrorists, given to Pakistan in March 2011.While Wazhur Qamar “is living in the suburbs of Mumbai with his family” and “is regularly reporting to a court that gave him bail” as reported by The Times of India. On the other side, Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies were desperately looking for Wazhul Khan. Nevertheless, India has failed in supplying solid proof to Pakistan in relation to Mumbai tragedy except providing a self-fabricated story, created by Indian secret agency, RAW. In the past, Indian Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Singh Modi had revealed that the Mumbai terror attacks could not have been carried out without internal help, while the Mumbai police Chief Hassan Ghafoor had also admitted that two Indians who were arrested
by the Indian police had been involved in the Mumbai mayhem. Their comments were in sharp contrast to the claims of other Indian high officials and Ms Clinton who hold Pakistan solely responsible for the carnage. Ms Hillary’s paradoxical approach could also be judged from her various statements. In the recent years, some US top officials, including Hillary Clinton and US Admiral Mike Mullen, had allegedly insisted upon Pakistan to break its links with the Haqqani network, based in North Waziristan, which is waging a ‘proxy war’ in Afghanistan with the assistance of Pakistan’s Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI). Mullen also accused that the Haqqani network “acts as a veritable arm” of ISI, blaming for the bombing on the US embassy in Kabul on September 13, 2011. But during her visit to Islamabad in October, last year, Ms Clinton requested for Pakistan’s help to “encourage Taliban to enter negotiations in good faith” including the Haqqani militants. Replying to a question that the ISI was involved in attacks on the US embassy in Kabul, she categorically pointed out, “We have no evidence of that.” She also agreed with Pakistan’s stance, saying, “Now US is realising that launching new military operation in North Waziristan does not suit Pakistan’s situation.” Contrarily, on October 27, 2011, before Congress, Ms Clinton disclosed that she delivered a frank message to Islamabad that it was urgent to act against the extremist Haqqani network, which was behind anti-US attacks in Afghanistan. Last year, when heavily-armed insurgents from Afghanistan’s side entered Pakistan’s region intermittently, targeting the security check posts and other infrastructure, Hillary Clinton had also warned Karzai-led regime to take action against the safehavens of terrorists in Afghanistan. Besides, Hillary Clinton has been encouraging Qatar-based US talks with the Afghan Taliban while she is discouraging Pakistan’s peace dialogue with the militants. It is noteworthy that in 2009, when the heavyarmed Taliban entered Buner, Ms Clinton had stated that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists, endangering the security of the West. Surprisingly, when Pakistan’s armed forces ejected the Taliban insurgents out of Swat, Dir and Buner, she started admiring the Pakistan Army. Confused in her goals, sometimes US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praises Pakistan’s sacrifices regarding war on terror, while sometimes admits that stability cannot be achieved in Afghanistan without the help of Pakistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops in 2014. Still sometimes, she states that stability of Pakistan and the region directly impacts the security of America, and sometimes realises that the US wants to continue to work to put its relationship with Pakistan on a stronger footing, but at the same time she blames Islamabad in not eliminating safe havens of militants in Pakistan. These contradictory statements clearly indicate Ms Clinton’s enigmatic approach towards Pakistan. The writer is foreign affairs analyst and is author of the book “US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power”. he can be contacted at: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
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Monday, 14 May, 2012
‘The Avengers’ overshadow Johnny Depp's ‘Dark Shadows’
in limelight
ToKyo: Tim burton speaks during a news conference for his film ‘Dark Shadows’. REUTERS
loS AnGeleS: Jeremy renner watches the los Angeles lakers play the Denver nuggets. REUTERS
loS AnGeleS: Zacefron watches the los Angeles lakers play the Denver nuggets during Game 7 of their nbA western conference basketball playoff series. REUTERS
LOS ANGELES
‘T
Agencies
HE Avengers’ keeps making box-office history.The Marvel team-up movie will gross $103.2 million from Friday to Sunday, its studio estimated, becoming the first film to reach nine digits in its second weekend in the USA and pushing it past the $1 billion mark worldwide.Johnny Depp's ‘Dark Shadows’, meanwhile, could've used the help of a superhero—or three.The gothic vampire tale, made for a
reputed $150 million, was toothless in its debut, managing only about $29 million, per BoxOffice.com.If the estimate holds, the gross will mark a come-down not just from Depp's last collaboration with Tim Burton, the blockbuster ‘Alice in Wonderland’, but from the actor and director's last live-action horror tribute, ‘Sleepy Hollow’, which bowed with a far stronger $30 million more than a decade ago.The horrorcomedy, which finds Johnny Depp playing a vampire let loose on 1972 America pulled in roughly one-third of what ‘The Avengers’ earned. Burton's ‘Dark Shadows’ is based on a cult soap opera.
VAlleTTA: A model presents a creation by Mexican designer Gianfranco reni at the Malta Fashion Awards 2012. REUTERS
Sana to make bollywood debut NEWS DESK After Meera, Veena Malik and Ali Zafar stepping in Bollywood, Pakistani filmstar Sana Nawaz Khan has also signed her first Bollywood film ‘DilPardesiHogya’.Sana has flown to India for her Bollywood debut film ‘DilPardesiHogya’ in which she will be starring against famous Punjabi singer InderjitNikku in lead role with special appearance by Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt. ‘DilPardesiHogya’ is an Indian Punjabi movie directed by Thakur Tapasvi. The other cast of the film includes Shakti Kapoor, DaljitKaur, and RazaMurad.
Nargis Fakhri takes a break
MUMBAi: Post ‘rockstar’, nargis Fakhri has been working hard in these last few months. Apart from brand launches and fashion shows, she has also signed her second film, ‘Khiladi 786’, that she is preparing for. A source close to her says, "nargis has not only been tied up with her commercial work, but she's also been spending time training in Kathak, bollywood dance and Hindi diction. now she has given herself a breather by taking a short trip to Thailand. She and some friends have taken a week off and dashed away to chill out in bangkok. She has literally been working non-stop since returning from new york, and has had no time for herself. This break will give her time to unwind and rejuvenate." Interestingly, there's no mention of acting classes there as part of her 'busy' schedule. we're hoping that's part of her much-needed repacking, eh? Agencies
Karan Johar denies taking a dig at
Amitabh Bachchan
Katrina
pays farmers` debt
MUMBAi: After lambasting Katrina Kaif for her predictable and boring poses, Karan Johar made a volte face on Twitter saying he never mentioned anything about Kat. He wrote, “Absolutely crazy media report suggesting i have said something about katrina!!! I HAVe noT!!! It’s totally baseless and a lie!!! Katrina is not only a dear friend but also a supremely talented and hardworking megastar!!! And all this reportage is ridiculous!!!” Apparently, at a recent party KJo was overheard talking about Katrina`s posing skills. According to sources, Karan spoke about Katrina`s magazine cover looks and said that they are very monotonous. “whatever be the magazine or background, Katrina`s look is the same”, Karan was reportedly heard saying. but, now, KJo has denied all such alleged remarks clarifying any controversy cooking around Kat. well, besides the murmur in the town, even experts feel that Kat looks pretty comfortable settling for monotony. Kat, you got to change your moves gal…its high time! Agencies
MUMBAi: Superstar Amitabh bachchan came to the rescue of 90 farmers in Maharashtra`s wardha district as they were given cheques to repay their debt.cheques would be delivered at the homes of 24 other needy farmers.The farmers were selected from over 20 villages of the district by members of the rotary club of Gandhi city wardha and rotary club of Mumbai. The cheques total around rs.30 lakh, all of which was donated by bachchan. A total of 300 farmers were found to be in debt, out of which Amitabh bachchan paid the debts of 144. Agencies
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15 ToKyo: Johnny Depp arrives for a news conference for the film ‘Dark Shadows’. REUTERS
Adele prefers making music to stardom LONDON
A
Agencies
FTER bagging six Grammy awards this year, Adele's ‘21’ has now become the fifth biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by outselling even Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. Adele has revealed that she would rather just make music than crave for fame as a celebrity. The eight-time Grammy Award winning artist insisted that she’d be happy rather singing and that she has managed to stay out of public eye. “I don’t want to be a celebrity . . .I don’t want to be in people’s faces,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying on NBC special. The shy vocalist who prefers keeping a
cARson: Adam levine of Maroon 5 performs at the 2012 wango Tango concert. REUTERS
robert Pattinson turns 26 LoS ANgeLeS: If Robert Pattinson was in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, we sure couldn't tell.The’ Twilight’thesp, who celebrates his 26th birthday today, kind of ruled when it came to the young Hollywood scene during the last year, scooping up People's Choice Awards and heating up things off-screen with co-star Kristen Stewart to boot.And let's just say Pattinson didn't kick off the year leading up to his big 2-6 as one of Time Magazine's most influential people for nothing.Pattinsonis geared up for a post‘Twilight’ transformation, moving on from the hypnotizing heartthrob role that made him famous, to darker characters like a billionaire who nearly loses everything (along with his sanity) in one day in ‘Cosmopolis’ (set to be released this year). Agencies
low profile revealed that she had been lucky enough to escape recognition in her hometown of London.“I’ve managed to stay out of the public eye,’’ she revealed.“The other day I walked through Trafalgar Square on a Sunday afternoon, a tourist haven. I was a bit worried. I was in my pajamas as well because I had been working the day before, but nobody recognised me.A couple of people looked round, but . . . like, what would she be doing walking through Trafalgar Square in pajamas?” the singer stated.When asked whether she’d still like to be spoken about in ten years, she said she only wanted to sing.“I just want to make music. I mean, I still hope I have a little bit of clout in ten years. But all I’ve ever wanted to do was sing,” Adele added.
beyonce faces $100m lawsuit from video game developer LOS ANGELES Agencies
A Manhattan judge says a lawsuit by a video game developer against the singer Beyonce can go to trial. Justice Charles Ramos has give the company, Gate Five, the go-ahead to pursue a $100 million lawsuit. Gate Five claims the superstar backed out of a $20 million deal for a game called ‘Starpower: Beyonce’. The Grammy Award-winning singer's lawyers contend they were within their rights to opt out of the deal because Gate Five didn't have its financing in place. But Gate Five says Beyonce knew it was ready to sign a contract with its financier on Dec. 6, 2010, when she pulled out three days earlier. As a result, the game was scuttled and the company let go 70 employees. According to the New York Post, the judge said Beyonce should have given the company notice.
'Rowdy Rathore' is the perfect comeback:
Brad Pitt in talks to play Paddy Doherty in new movie LOS ANGELES Agencies
Brad Pitt is tipped to play Paddy Doherty in a movie based on the life of the bare-knuckle fighter. Doherty, who won 'Celebrity Big Brother' has just released his autobiography, 'Hard Knocks And Soft Spots', and talks are underway to turn it into a movie. Hollywood heart-throb Pitt, 48, who played prize-fighting gypsy Mickey O'Neil in the 2000 Guy Ritchie film 'Snatch', is said to be in talks to play the role. "It's a fascinating story and will translate really well into a film," the Daily Star quoted a source as saying. "Paddy knows that Brad Pitt is interested after playing a traveller in ‘Snatch’. Paddy would love Brad to play him in a Hollywood film. It could well catapult him into a global superstar," the source added. In the book the 53-year-old winner of the Channel 5 reality show writes: "I've cheated death many times." Doherty, who had an ear bitten off in a street fight with rival gypsies, goes into stomach-churning detail. "Blood would flow freely and bones would get broken," he wrote.
Shahid signs
Akshay Kumar
Bejoy nambiar's next film
MUMBAi: ‘rowdy rathore’ will be Akshay Kumar's comeback film into the realm of action and he feels that this might be the perfect opportunity."I think this the perfect comeback. what is better than the guy who wanted such a good action film, is not directing ‘rowdy rathore’. Prabhu has action and more action. His mind is full of action and he choreographs action," he said, referring to the film's director Prabhu Deva.both Akshay Kumar and his co-star Sonakshi Sinha said that they would love to ride auto- rickshaws on the streets of Mumbai.At a promotional event, the stars were made to travel in a vehicle next to an auto rickshaw race organised by the team. "I was asked to stand in the jeep. whatever has been told to me I will do. when I was sitting in the jeep I said many times that give me also the auto rickshaw to ride. Maybe the reason was that I don't even have a license to drive an auto. you have to follow the rules," Akshay Kumar said. Agencies
MUMBAi: After the success of ‘Shaitaan’, director bejoy nambiar is in no mood to relax, it seems. while still working on his second directorial venture ‘David’, he has already roped in Shahid Kapoor for his next untitled project. “yes, Shahid and I are working on something. we will start working on the film once I am done with 'David'," bejoy said. The director was reluctant to reveal the theme of his film and said: "I am nowhere close to the project right now. I am only focusing on 'David'. I can't reveal the genre of the film. nothing has been decided yet." ‘David’ features neil nitin Mukesh, Vikram, Vinay Virmani, Tabu, Monica Dogra and Isha Sharvani.when asked Shahid about the project, he confirmed it saying, "yes I am doing bejoy's film. The film will go on floors by the end of this year." Agencies
emma Stone gets addicted to the internet LoS ANgeLeS: Actress Emma Stone has revealed that she is a potential internet addict. "I get addicted to the internet. I have a Twitter account. I look at it a lot, but I don't tweet. I'd be terrified that I'd say something and never be able to live it down," she said. She also said she loves her hair colour and wants to be a redhead in every movie."I love being a redhead. My mom is a redhead. I just really prefer the red and that's the way I would stay if I could," showbizspy.com quoted Stone as saying."I'm actually a natural blonde. I'm blonde at the roots but red at heart," she said.The actress also revealed she is addicted to reading about herself in newspapers and magazines."I'm not one of these people that must disassociate themselves from it or has to cut it off. Other than I get addicted to it, so I have to do it in moderation," she said. Agencies
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16 Foreign News
Monday, 14 May, 2012
UN observer mission boosted as another 23 die in Syria DAMASCUS
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EGIME forces battled rebels and carried out raids across Syria Sunday in a surge of violence that killed 23 people, monitors and activists said, as a tenuous UNbacked truce entered its second month. The fresh wave of bloodletting came as the UN mission in Syria said it now has 189 military observers on the ground, nearly two-thirds of its planned strength of 300. The observers are tasked with shoring up the ceasefire brokered by UNArab League peace envoy Kofi Annan that was supposed to take effect on April 12 but which has been broken daily. “There are now 189 monitors on the
ground,” Hassan Siklawi, a representative of the UN mission in Syria, told AFP on Sunday. The deployment of extra monitors came as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 23 people killed on Sunday, including five soldiers who died in gunfights with armed rebels in the southern province of Daraa. Two civilians were killed in the crossfire, it added. In central Hama province, five people were killed by gunfire, including a woman, when regime forces raided the village of Al-Tamanaa Al-Ghab, the Britain-based watchdog said, adding that 18 people were wounded and several houses set on fire. A man and his son were killed and 10 other people wounded when they were shot by regime forces in the town of Qusayr in central Homs province, where armed
rebel groups have strongholds, the watchdog added. Also in Homs, a civilian was killed by sniper fire in the town of Rastan. Three civilians were killed by regime forces near Damascus, two in Idlib province and one in Aleppo province, while two army deserters were killed, one in Douma, the other in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, the watchdog said. And in neighbouring Lebanon, sectarian clashes in the northern city of Tripoli between factions supporting and opposed to the Syrian revolt left one person dead on Sunday, a security source said. The violence in Syria has escalated over the past week, despite the arrival of more ceasefire observers, with twin suicide bombings in Damascus on Thursday killing 55 people and wounding 372.
The attacks have raised fears that extremist elements are taking advantage of the deadlock in Syria to stoke the unrest. Al-Nusra Front, an Islamist group unknown before the Syrian revolt, released a video on Saturday claiming responsibility for the Damascus attacks as revenge for regime bombing of residential areas in several parts of the country. Claims by the group, including for past bombings, have been difficult to verify. The head of the dissident Free Syrian Army in remarks published on Sunday charged that Al-Qaeda has links with the powerful airforce intelligence of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. “If Al-Qaeda militants have indeed entered the country, it happened with the cooperation of that agency,” FSA chief, Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, told Kuwait’s
Al-Rai newspaper. Asaad denied claims by Damascus that jihadist and Salafi groups were active in Syria, and blamed the Syrian regime for Thursday’s devastating bomb blasts in the capital, calling for an international investigation. State media has accused the West and its regional allies of opening the door to Al-Qaeda through its backing of the opposition. A Turkish journalist held prisoner in Syria for two months said on Sunday that he and a Turkish cameraman feared they would die, and spent 55 days isolated in cramped cells where they slept on the floor. The two Turkish journalists, who were arrested by a pro-regime militia in March and handed over to Syrian intelligence, returned to Istanbul this weekend after being freed thanks to Iranian mediation.
netanyahu letter on peace a non-starter: Palestinians RAMALLAH ReUteRs
The formal response of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Palestinian grievances over frozen peace negotiations contains nothing that could revive the talks, Palestinian officials said on Sunday. Netanyahu’s reply on Saturday to a letter he received last month from Mahmoud Abbas rejected the Palestinian president’s demand to halt Jewish settlement building in occupied territories and repeated a call for an unconditional return to talks that collapsed in 2010, according to the officials. “The content of (Netanyahu’s) letter did not represent grounds for returning to negotiations,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization which reviewed the document, told Reuters. Israel did not release details of Netanyahu’s letter, which a senior aide carried to Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. But Israeli officials said last week they did not expect Netanyahu to agree to Abbas’s demand to stop settlement construction before reopening any talks. After the right-wing Israeli premier’s letter was delivered, his office issued a joint statement with the Palestinians saying both sides were “committed to achieving peace”. BRoAD CoALITIoN: Netanyahu stunned the political establishment on May 8 by hooking up with the main opposition group, the centrist Kadima party, to form one of the biggest coalitions in Israeli history. The head of Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, has long blamed Netanyahu for the failure of the peace talks and told reporters last week that entering new negotiations “was an iron condition for forming the unity government”. Yasser Abed Rabbo, who also belongs to the Palestinian Executive Committee, said the Israeli letter “did not include clear answers about the central issues which are undermining the resumption of the peace process”. Abed Rabbo cited the issues of settlements and Israel’s refusal to accept Palestinian demands for the creation of a Palestinian state, with minor territorial swaps, along the lines that existed before it captured the West Bank in a 1967 war.
AMRitsAR: An indian hindu devotee walks with a trident rod piercing in her tongue known as trishula during a procession to honour the hindu goddess Maha Mariamman on sunday. AFP
Libya extends voter registration by a week TRIPOLI AfP
Libya on Sunday extended the deadline for voter registration by a week in a bid to broaden participation in the first national poll since the fall of slain leader Moamer Kadhafi’s regime. “We have decided to extend the period of registration for voters by a week, until May 21,” said Nuri Abbar, head of the High National Electoral Commission, adding that the decision would not affect the timing of the vote. The ruling National Transitional Council has pledged to hold elections for a 200-seat constituent assembly by June 19. A total of 120 seats in the assembly are reserved for independent candidates, while the remaining 80 are open to
political parties. When elected, the assembly will appoint a new prime minister and cabinet. It will also appoint a committee of experts to write a draft constitution which will then be submitted to a national referendum. More than 1.5 million Libyans have registered to vote in the June elections for the General National Congress, Abbar told journalists in the capital. But grievances over the electoral process have emerged in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, where federalism backers urged a boycott of the vote. “This (boycott) call has had no impact on voter registration and the electoral process,” said Abbar. Meanwhile, activists in the capital issued a statement urging a series of amendments to the electoral process and threatened to boycott the poll if their demands are not met.
Mladic to stand trial on Bosnian war crimes THE HAGUE AfP
Ratko Mladic, wartime chief of the Bosnian Serb army, goes on trial Wednesday accused of carrying out a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and the massacre of Muslims at Srebrenica, Europe’s worst atrocity since Nazi rule. Mladic, now 70, has been indicted on 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Balkan country’s 1992-95 war which left 100,000 dead and 2.2 million homeless. Former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic is already on trial before The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Both men are believed to be the main players in
a joint criminal plan to rid multi-ethnic Bosnia of Croats and Muslims. Dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladic is accused over the tragedy at Srebrenica where almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were systematically murdered in July 1995. Prosecutors also hold him responsible for the 44-month siege of Sarajevo where his forces waged a “terror campaign” of sniping and shelling that left 10,000 civilians dead. It was in pursuit of a “Greater Serbia” that Mladic allegedly ordered his troops to “cleanse” Bosnian towns, driving out Croats, Muslims and other non-Serb residents. After the war, Mladic continued his military career but went into hiding in 2000 after then Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic’s government fell.
An indicted war criminal, he spent 16 years on the run until May 2011 when he was found and arrested at a relative’s house in Lazarevo, northeastern Serbia and flown to a prison in The Hague a few days later. Better known from media images as a blustery commander in military fatigues, last June a sickly and haggardlooking Mladic made his first court appearance, opening proceedings by saying: “I am general Ratko Mladic... I defended my country and my people.” Mladic proceeded by pleading not guilty to the charges against him. “He (Mladic) feels the same as he felt before, which is he has nothing to do with the crimes”, he is accused of, his lawyer Branko Lukic told AFP. “He’s confident he will not be found guilty in the end,” Lukic said.
Mladic has said little during the dozen or so hearings to prepare him for trial, apart from complaining about his health and asking presiding Dutch Judge Alphons Orie if he could wear his military uniform. “It is obvious he is a sick man and I am not sure that he will be able to follow the trial five days a week,” Lukic said. The ex-general suffered three strokes in 1996, 2008 and 2011 and was partly paralysed on his right side, his lawyer said. “He is still feeling better than when he was brought to the tribunal, but he has not fully recovered,” added Lukic. Meanwhile, the defence is seeking to have presiding judge Orie removed and the trial delayed, arguing that he cannot be impartial since he has already condemned several former subordinates of Mladic.
Merkel’s party braces for defeat in major German state BERLIN AfP
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party faced a drubbing in Germany’s most populous state Sunday as voters cast ballots in a snap election that could provide impetus to her main rivals in the countdown to 2013 national polls. A week after voters in Greece and France clearly plumped for anti-austerity policies, the citizens of North RhineWestphalia (NRW) could also punish conservative champions of belt-tightening. Some 13.2 million voters — more than a fifth of Germany’s electorate — were choosing a new regional parliament in the bellwether western state which hosts a major industrial base. Voter turnout in NRW was about 29 percent at midday, officials said. The region historically plays a big role in federal politics — in 2005, a lost vote in NRW prompted then chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to call a snap federal election which saw Merkel wrest power from him. Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is fighting to capture the powerhouse state from a coalition made up of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and ecologist Greens.
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Foreign News 17 37 dismembered bodies dumped on Mexico highway MEXICO CITY ReUteRs
Authorities found the dismembered bodies of 37 people stuffed into bags and dumped on a highway near the northern industrial city of Monterrey in what appeared to be part of a string of brutal drug gang killings, local media reported. The bodies were found in the early hours of Sunday on a highway, sparking a large deployment of local, state and military officials to the scene, daily Excelsior reported on its website. Other national newspapers also reported 37 dead. The report follows a string of atrocities, including 18 people who were found decapitated and dismembered near Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara, on Wednesday.
new york police frisk more people despite criticism NEW YORK
sYDneY: chandra Bahadur Dangi, the 72-year-old nepali crowned the ‘world's shortest man’ by guinness World Records is carried as he arrives at sydney international Airport for a week of promotional engagements on sunday. Dangi stands just 54.6 centimetres (21.5 inches) tall. AFP
Saudi and Bahrain expected to seek union: minister g
Saudi, bahraini leaders tout Gulf union plan g bahrain opposition: idea aims to avoid protesters’ demands DUBAI/RIYADH
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AUDI Arabia and Bahrain are expected to announce closer political union at a meeting of Gulf Arab leaders on Monday, a Bahraini minister said, in a move dismissed by the opposition as a ruse to avoid political reform. The decision is part of efforts to increase integration within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as the organisation’s six nations worry about Iran’s power in the region and the presence of al Qaeda after the Arab uprisings. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain might initially seek closer union, local media have said, as both share a concern about discontent among Shia Muslims against their ruling Sunni dynasties, and accuse Shia Iran of fomenting it - a charge it denies. Saudi security forces entered Bahrain in March 2011 before a crackdown on pro-democracy protests led mainly by majority Shia Muslims against the Sunni Al Khalifa monarchy, a U.S. ally. “I expect there will be an announcement of two or three countries. We can’t be sure but I have a strong expectation,” Samira Rajab, Bahrain’s minister of state for information af-
fairs, told Reuters on Sunday. Two of the countries mentioned were Saudi Arabia and Bahrain; Rajab did not name the third. “Sovereignty will remain with each of the countries and they would remain as U.N. members but they would unite in decisions regarding foreign relations, security, military and economy.” Despite appearances of unity, there are deep divisions within the GCC, which also includes Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, as its officials meet in Riyadh on Monday for day-long talks. Riyadh fears that Bahrain’s pro-democracy movement has the potential to spill over into Saudi Arabia’s Shia-populated Eastern Province region, home to major oilfields. DISpuTeD ISLANDS: Meanwhile Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a surprise visit to an island claimed by the UAE last month, raising latent fear among Gulf rulers of Iranian power since the 2003 invasion of Iraq brought Iran’s allies and fellow Shias to power. The United States, with its Fifth Fleet in Manama, sees the Al Khalifa family as key allies in stemming Iranian influence in the Gulf, though Washington has not said it believes that Iran is behind the unrest and has called for dialogue. Wash-
ington said last week it would resume arms sales to Manama, drawing fire from international rights groups. Bahrain’s leading opposition party Wefaq said the Saudi interventions aimed to stop democratic change. “The issues facing Bahrain are local, not regional. There is little the Saudis can do: they sent troops but failed because the crisis is still going on, and that’s because it requires a political solution,” said senior Wefaq official Jasim Husain. “Any agreement must get the people’s approval, not least in Saudi Arabia. I suspect this supposed union is just rhetoric.” Pro-democracy protesters burned tyres and clashed with police in Bahrain on Saturday to demand the release of opposition leaders and rights activists, one of whom has been on a three-month hunger strike. Bahrain said last week it would step up efforts to crush unauthorised protests, which it terms “rioting”, after 15 policemen were injured by improvised bombs. Opposition activists say the death toll in the unrest has risen from 35 when martial law ended last June to 81, as police make heavy use of teargas and birdshot pellet. The government says many of the deaths were caused by the protesters’ or bystanders’ pre-existing
poor health. ‘gReAT DReAM’: Bahrain’s hardline prime minister, seen as opposed to concessions to the Shia opposition, backed the idea of a union. “The great dream of the peoples of the region is to see the day when borders disappear with a union that creates one Gulf,” the official Bahrain News Agency quoted him as saying on Sunday. Justin Gengler, a researcher based in Qatar, said hardliners including the prime minister, army chief and royal court minister see a union as a way of stopping the empowerment of Shias and preserving the privileges of the ruling family. “Even a dramatic announcement tomorrow of some grandiose plan for GCC union must be taken with a grain of salt,” he said. A monetary union project has faltered, and other differences are also deep. Qatar and Oman maintain good ties with Iran. Saudi Arabia has objected to a bridge project between Bahrain and Qatar, and Bahrain has not been able to buy gas from Qatar. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are suspicious of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, while Brotherhood affiliates operate openly in Kuwait and Bahrain, and Qatar promotes the group via its Al Jazeera satellite television channel.
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New York police conducted more than 200,000 frisk searches in the first three months of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, even as critics say the practice often is racial profiling. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly have long defended the program as one that saves lives and has helped bring violent crime down to historic lows, making New York one of the safest big cities in America. But the New York Civil Liberties Union and other groups say that black and Latino New Yorkers are stopped with alarming frequency, even though in the great majority of cases they are found to have done nothing wrong.
40 die in chinese hailstorm BEIJING AfP
Forty people were killed when a brief but violent hailstorm and torrential rain swept through a mountainous region of northwest China, the local government said on Sunday. Eighteen others remained missing in Min county, a disaster-prone area of Gansu province, while 87 had been sent to hospital, the county government said in a statement on its website. Officials said 29,300 people had been evacuated after rain and hail battered the county for just 60 minutes late Thursday afternoon. It had “wreaked havoc” on all of the county’s 18 townships and had affected more than two-thirds of its 450,000 residents, the state-controlled Xinhua news agency reported. “Roads were blocked, houses collapsed, farmland was destroyed, and the power supply and telecommunications services were disrupted by the extreme weather,” the agency said.
New French face, same old euro crisis as Hollande sworn in PARIS AfP
Francois Hollande will be sworn in as leader of the proud French nation Tuesday only to face an immediate reminder of the extent to which its power is constrained by its ties to a debt-wracked Europe. The Elysee Palace ceremony and associated pomp — an open-topped ride in a classic Citroen DS up the Champs Elysees to the arch that celebrates France’s former triumphs — will be followed within hours by a flight to Berlin. There, in a cautious first encounter, France’s new Socialist leader will try to find common ground with Germany’s conservative leader Angela Merkel, de-
spite their widely differing views on how to deal with eurozone deficits. France is the world’s fifth great power, Europe’s second biggest economy and a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN Security Council. Its president wields enormous personal authority as de facto head of state and government. But, as Hollande’s right-wing predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy found to his frustration, since its entry into the euro Paris has had to remain in lockstep with its EU allies, in particular economic powerhouse Germany. Hollande won over 51.6 percent of French voters who expressed a preference on May 6, but the seventh president of the Fifth Republic’s promise to restart growth will depend largely on
his ability to work with allies abroad. First, however, the 57-year-old career politician wants to begin with a sombre celebration of his campaign themes: a return to “normality” after Sarkozy’s frenetic rule, the plight of youth and the cause of social justice. “His deepest wish is to be a normal president,” his former partner Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children and the Socialists’ defeated 2007 candidate, said Sunday. The swearing-in ceremony will be held in the elegant Elysee Palace, but will be a relatively simple affair, with no other heads of state invited and neither his children nor those of his partner Valerie Trierweiler present. After his trip to the Arc de Triomphe he will pay tribute to 19th-century educa-
tional reformer Jules Ferry — father of France’s free, secular education system — and to Marie Curie, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist. Then it will be down to business, a crash course in high-wire economic diplomacy for a man who has never served in government, more used to backroom Socialist Party infighting than international summitry. The first order of business will be to nominate a prime minister, probably the safe choice of the Socialists’ leader in parliament Jean-Marc Ayrault, although other names are circulating and Hollande has let little slip. Whoever gets the job will be faced with simultaneously building a cabinet of ministers and starting the party’s campaign to win a parliamentary
majority in June’s legislative election, while Hollande heads for Berlin. Hollande has ordered an audit of the government’s finances, but new EU forecasts suggest he will struggle to meet his goal of cutting the deficit to three percent of GDP by 2013 and balance the books by 2017. In France, his allies insist the shortfall is the fault of hidden weaknesses in Sarkozy’s record, but it weakens Hollande as he implores the chancellor to ease the EU’s austere fiscal straitjacket. Hollande wants to re-negotiate the fiscal pact agreed by his predecessor in order to give EU members more leeway to invest for growth, but Berlin insists recovery will be secure only when deficits are brought under control.
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Serena humbles Azarenka to win Madrid open title Page 21
Malaysia beat Pakistan to become Jr Asia hockey champ LAHORE stAff RePoRt
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ALAYSIA lifted the first title of Junior Asia Hockey Cup after defeating Pakistan in a thrilling final on Sunday. At the end of first half of the match Malaysia dominated Pakistan with two goals, but in the second half Pakistan managed to throw the ball into net one time. The title that came Malaysia hockey way after 20 years was all due to the man under the bar who stood there like a wall and did not let the Pakistan forwards pass the ball though him, until Mohammad Irfan found an open space in the 47th minute of the match. Although Malaysia is holding hockey events regularly but none of their hockey teams won any title in the past two decades. Malaysia became the Junior Asia Hockey champion created history after it led Pakistan 2-0 by the first half. Faizal Saari scored the opening goal in
Hameed still hopeful of comeback
the 2nd minute and was doubled by Mohammad Yusaf in the 17th minute. The win was a combination of the good work of the Malaysian forwards and their de-
fence which kept attacking Pakistan danger zone and on the other hand maintained solid guard at the back. Earlier, India beat South Korea 2-1
courtesy a golden goal to win a bronze medal in the seventh edition of the Junior Cup at MBM Stadium on Sunday. Tied 1-1 at the end of the final hooter, Indian skipper Akashdeep Singh scored the golden goal to give the Indian team the medal. India and South Korea both played a defensive game, but Korea took the lead thanks to You Seungji in the 47th minute through a penalty corner. In an attempt to level the score, India started pressing and made some good penetrations into the circle and seven minutes later Lokesh Thimmana scored the leveller. It was Lokesh again who showed a clean pair of heels to the defenders in taking the ball into the circle in the second session of extra time to set up his captain. Indian defence and midfield was compact with vice-Captain Amit Rohidas, Sukhmanjit Singh, Pardeep More and Harjeet Singh all putting in a good performance.
It’s performance that matters for Dogar LAHORE stAff RePoRt
Pakistan batsman Mohammad Ayub Dogar, who has been given a chance to prove his mettle at the international stage for the national team at the age of 32, has said he is in top form. Dogar has played 93 first-class matches and averages 44, but his performances over the last four years have been particularly impressive, scoring over 4000 runs in this period. Many have questioned Dogar's selection at the age of 32, and are of the opinion that a youngster should have been given a chance instead, but he believes he thoroughly deserves to be in the team. "If it was about age, they should have given me the chance four years ago! However, I did not have the maturity as a player back then, when I was 25 or 26 and it's the batsmen over the age of 30 who are performing in the modern game," Dogar said during an interview with PakPassion.net. "Cricket is a game very much played in the mind and there are some things you learn only through experience. It gives a player the opportunity to analyse mistakes, analyse his shots but this experience comes in the passage of time and doing the hard yards and you mature accordingly," he added. "I feel that I'm at my peak as a batsman. In fact I'm actually getting better which suggests I have a lot more to offer. I am very careful in managing my health and fitness. If you are fit, age doesn't matter," he said.
Sohail to lead Pakistan in Azlan Shah hockey tournament Jurgensen LAHORE
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Drag-flick specialist Sohail Abbas has been named as captain of the Pakistan hockey team that will play in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia later this month. Abbas will be assisted by Waqas Sharif who as been named as vice captain for the tournament. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Chief Selector Hanif Khan and Manager Khawaja Junaid announced the squad. Six players of the junior team who were in Malaysian to play the Junior Asia Cup were also selected in the team. Rizwan Junior, Kashif Sheikh Khalid, Bhutta and Abdul Haseem Khan are the junior team members who will for the Senior team in the Azlan Shah Cup. The 21st Azlan Shah Hockey Tour-
nament will get under way in Malaysian city of IPOH on May 26. Penalty corner specialist and world record holder Sohail Abbas has been handed the captaincy for the first time in his career. The team will leave for Kuala Lumpur on May 18 from Lahore. The seven-nation hockey tournament will be played on league basis. National hockey chief selector Hanif Khan supervised trials of players for the tournament at Naseer Banda Hockey Stadium, Islamabad. Other players selected for the tournament are: Imran Shah, Farid Ahmed, Rashied Mehmood, Mohammad Waqas,
Shabbir Ahmed Khan, Ali Shah, Kashif Shah and Khalid Yahya.
named interim b’desh coach DHAKA ReUteRs
Bowling coach Shane Jurgensen was appointed as interim head coach of B angladesh on Saturday as the country's cricket board (BCB) continues its search to replace Australian Stuart Law. The Bangladesh Cricket Board is facing a race against time to appoint a new coach after Zimbabwe turned their bilateral Twenty20 series against South Africa in June into a triseries with Bangladesh being the third team. Englishman Richard Pybus held talks with the BCB last week to replace Law, who stepped down last month. The BCB said it has prepared a shortlist for a new coach, with Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell and former New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch among the candidates.
Mohammad Zubair, Umer Bhutta, Imran Butt, Shafqat Rasool, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Mohammad Taufeeq,
LAHORE stAff RePoRt
Batsman Yasir Hameed last played for Pakistan in 2010 against England and his last ODI was against India in 2007, but is still hopeful about making a comeback to the national squad. Hameed is hoping for an International recall, especially after newly appointed team management said all players would be considered for selection on the basis of recent performances, regardless of their past records. The selection committee duly delivered on their promise, but Hameed's name, to his dismay, did not figure in any squad, but he hasn't lost all hope yet. "Whatever I am is due to my country Pakistan and it will be my honour to serve the nation as long as I can in my capacity as a cricketer. I may have made mistakes but that's all in the past," Hameed said during an interview with PakPassion.net. "I continue to train and develop my skills and will be playing in the Karachi Champions League tournament which is organized by Rashid Latif. I have not given up hope of an international recall and pray to the Almighty that I continue to work hard and improve and get noticed by the selectors not in one but all formats of the game," he added.
Former captains, players hail BCCI’s decision LAHORE stAff RePoRt
Former players, including Sialkot Stallions captain Shoaib Malik, have welcomed BCCI`s decision to allow Pakistan to participate in the Champions League T20 competition to be held in India in October this year. "It is a relief to hear that finally we will get a chance to compete with the best teams in the Champions League," Malik was quoted by Zeenews. The Malik-led Sialkot Stallions team has won the national T20 championship and super eights titles this season. The star-studded Sialkot side that includes Imran Nazir, Rana Naved, Shakeel Ansar has been the national T20 champions in Pakistan six times. The BCCI on Saturday announced that Pakistan would be allowed to send its national T20 team for the Champions League during its working committee meeting in Chennai. The governing board of the Champions League that includes the South African and Australian boards will have
to ratify the BCCI recommendation at its meeting later this month. Although the Sialkot team was due to take part in the first Champions League in 2008 and some of its players had already reached India for this purpose, things didn`t work out when in the same month in November that year the Mumbai terror attacks took place. The attacks led to India suspending its bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan and since than Pakistani players have neither been invited for the Indian Premier League nor for the Champions League. The domestic T20 champions from Test playing nations compete in the Champions League. Malik said that he had been praying and hoping for a break this year. "The ice has finally been broken and I am delighted that finally our team will get a chance to play in the tournament in India," the former Pakistan captain said. He said that Sialkot team would play like the Pakistan team in India. "It is a good opportunity for us to convince the Indian people about the great talent in Pakistan cricket," Malik said. Malik,
who is married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, said for him India was like a second home since it was his in-laws place. "I have been there regularly since my marriage and even before that and I know the Indian people love and support the Pakistani cricketers," he said. Malik admitted that there would be lot
of pressure on the Sialkot team playing after such a long time in India. "But our team is capable of handling the pressure and giving a good account of themselves." Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan said the decisions taken by the BCCI were very positive and a step in the right direction. "Hopefully in the next IPL our players will also be invited to be part of the T20 extravaganza," he said. Moin, who has toured India with the Pakistan team, said he knew that Pakistani players enjoyed playing in India. "The passion and knowledge for the sport is very high in India and our players are very popular there. I just hope that very soon the BCCI also resumes bilateral cricket ties," he said. Former Test batsman, Basit Ali said he had been insisting all along that without Pakistani players the IPL was losing out on some quality players. "It is good that the BCCI has decided to start off with the Champions League and now we can be hopeful the next step would be the IPL and then bilateral ties," he added.
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Sports 19
Amir loss become no contest WASHINGTON AfP
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OLDEN Boy Promotions has asked boxing commissioners in Washington to turn English fighter Amir Khan's loss to Lamont Peterson into a no-contest result, ESPN reported on Saturday. If the District of Columbia Boxing Commission overturns the controversial victory by hometown hero Peterson last December, Khan reclaims the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation world lightweight titles. The move comes after a Khan-Peterson rematch scheduled for next Saturday was called off in the wake of the American failing a drug test last March. Khan has called Peterson "a cheat" and demanded his titles be returned. A dismissal of Peterson's split-decision
chand Memorial club down Tauseef club LAHORE stAff RePoRt
Chand Memorial Club outplayed Tauseef Club by 83 runs in the 2nd phase match of LCCA super cricket league played at Model Town ground the other day. scoRes: chand Memorial 303/9 in 50 overs. Jahanzaib Abdullah 99, rana naveed 82, bilal Arif 45, M Tanveer 39. Sher baz Khan 3/65, Awais Manzoor 2/69, Israr baig 2/43, waqas Khan 1/56, Sheraz baig 1/61. Tauseef club 220 all out in 42.5 overs. M Ahmed 61, waqas Khan 30, ISrar baig 38, Ismaeel Mudassar 13, Junaid Mudassar 22, M Awais Manzoor 11, Mohsin Ali Agha 22(no). Ali raza 5/40, bilal Iqbal 4/29.
city beat Pioneer LAHORE stAff RePoRt
In the 13th Madree Millat Mohtarma Fatimah Jinnah Memorial T20 best of three Summer League Series round match at Iqbal Park Ground no 2, City Gymkhana beat Pioneer by 40 runs. Rab nawaz former international umpire and president Pioneer Cricket Club inaugurated the match. City gym made 195 -8 in 20 overs. Osama Bilal 60, Mohd Hussain 30, Kaashif Ali 20. Hasan Azam took 3-23, Ameen Khan 3-42, Hamza Ayub 2-32. Pioneer CC 155-9-20 overs. Nadeem Butt 55, Waleed Ch 35, Atiqur Rehman 20. Mohd Bilal 3-35, Khurram Mirza 3-35, Osama Bilal 3-28. Osama was named the man of the match.
triumph is by no means certain. Peterson had not tested positive for any banned substance before the victory and only did so under Olympic-style random testing
that he requested ahead of the rematch, three months after the original Khan fight. But upholding the validity of the victory would not necessarily keep the ti-
tles from being vacated or returned to Khan in the wake of the positive doping test. The big controversy of the December bout was referee Joe Cooper deducting two points from Khan for excessive pushing. Without those deductions, the fight scoring would have resulted in a draw and Khan would have kept his titles. A statement from Peterson's camp noted he had not failed a drug test "beyond this isolated and explainable occurrence. We still stand behind the fact that he did nothing wrong and he was more than ready to go through with the fight." Khan, however, said his family and camp worried for his safety should he climb into the ring with Peterson. "My parents and team said to me 'Look, at the end of the day Amir, it could be a risk to your life,'" Khan said. "It's not going to be fair to step into the ring with someone who is going to be on drugs and going to be cheating."
Chandila hat-trick keeps Rajasthan in race JAIPUR
LONDON ReUteRs
England have named uncapped wicketkeeper batsman Jonny Bairstow in the 13man squad to face West Indies in the first match of the three-test series starting at Lord's on Thursday. Bairstow, 22, has played six one-day internationals and an identical number of Twenty20 matches and replaces all-rounder Samit Patel from the squad that drew the away test series against Sri Lanka 1-1 in April. "Jonny Bairstow has put in a number of impressive performances both for England Lions and Yorkshire and has been working hard on the England Performance Programme over the last couple of years," national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement on Sunday. "He is an exciting young player who now has an opportunity to experience the test environment." SquAD: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.
Ton-up Powell leads windies revival against lions
cRicinfo
When Rahul Dravid of Rajasthan Royals was asked at the toss to name the changes to his line-up, he paused for a few seconds before giving up trying to recollect the second spinner. Ajit Chandila ensured that his captain and the rest of the world weren't going to forget his name. The little-known offspinner from Haryana responded with a hat-trick in only his second game, reducing Pune Warriors to a train wreck early in their chase of 171. Warriors extended their losing streak to eight - the worst in IPL history - while Royals stayed in the hunt for the playoffs. It proved a masterstroke by Dravid tossing the new ball to Chandila. Warriors didn't know what to expect from the tall spinner, only two first-class matches old. With a run-up of barely a few steps, and a languid action to boot, Chandila tossed it up at such an agonisingly slow pace that it took an eternity for the ball to land. Jesse Ryder opted to hammer him out of the attack but ended up mis-hitting it to Shane Watson pedaling back at mid-on. Sourav Ganguly tried to nudge the next delivery but the ball dribbled back towards the wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami who broke the stumps before Ganguly could ground his bat. Chandila struck with the first ball of his second over, drawing Robin Uthappa forward and beating him on the drive
england call up bairstow for first windies test
LONDON AfP
JAIPUr: rajasthan royals bowler Johan botha (2l) celebrates the wicket of Pune warriors batsman callum Ferguson with teammates during the IPl Twenty20 match. AFP before Goswami whipped off the bails. SCoReS: Rajasthan Royals 170 for 4 (Rahane 61, Watson 58) beat Pune Warriors 125 for 9 (Smith 37, Chandila 4-13) by 45 runs. DoMINANT CHeNNAI ToppLe TABLe-ToppeRS: Chennai Super Kings kept their playoff hopes alive with a ruthless performance that cut the table-leaders Delhi Daredevils to size. Super Kings shook Daredevils out of their comfort zone by letting them set a target, and they came a cropper on a lively pitch, plodding to 114. Virender Sehwag failed for the second time, and the absence of a strong toporder base exposed a weakness in the same line-up that carried them to the
top of the table. Super Kings coasted home courtesy an opening stand of 75, which helped them power back to No. 4. Daredevils never recovered when Ben Hilfenhaus sent Sehwag's off stump for a tumble in the opening over. Sehwag was lost at sea with one that straightened and the rest of the top order were undone by arrogance. David Warner, who gave the Indian bowlers in Deccan Chargers a hiding in Hyderabad, was now confronted with the quality of Hilfenhaus, who had him swatting tamely to mid-off. SCoReS: Chennai Super Kings 115 for 1 (Vijay 48*, Hussey 38) beat Delhi Daredevils 114 for 5 (Nagar 43*, Hilfenhaus 3-27) by nine wickets.
Kieran Powell scored the first hundred of the West Indies tour of England as they avoided an embarrassing defeat against the England Lions on Saturday ahead of next week's first Test at Lord's. West Indies were facing the possibility of being beaten with more than a day to spare in this fourday match at Northampton. At the start of Saturday's third day, they resumed on 28 for three in their second innings, still 166 adrift of the 341 first innings score posted by the Lions, England's 'A' side. But Powell (108) shared successive century stands with Darren Bravo (57) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (77) and by stumps the West Indies had advanced to 377 for eight -- a lead of 183. West Indies' batting is considered to be the most vulnerable aspect of their game and the way they folded to 147 all out, albeit in seam-friendly conditions, in the first innings did not augur well for Lord's. Nor did Friday's toporder collapse but Powell and Bravo, whose fifty was his second of the match, both cashed in after they each survived a difficult chance while still in the teens.
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Monday, 14 May, 2012
Pakistan U-22 team off to Palestine LAHORE stAff RePoRt
The Pakistan National U-22 football team has left for Palestine on Sunday to take part in Al Nakba International Football Tournament to be held there from May 13 to 24. Pakistan has sent their Under-22 team for the competitions in order to prepare it for the Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held in Saudi Arabia from June 23 to July 3. Pakistan have been placed in Group A with the hosts Palestine, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, according to the draws unveiled by the Palestine Football Association (PFA) for the AlNakba International Football tournament penciled in for May 13-24 at different venues in Palestine. Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Iraq/Kurdistan have been adjusted in Group B while Tunisia, Jordon and Mauritania have been bracketed in Group C. The event will be held under round robin system and a leading team from each group and the best third placed side from the three groups will make it to the semifinals to be held on May 21. The final will be played on May 23. This is the second time that the PFA is organizing the event with the assistance of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. the teAM: Kaleemullah (captain), Faisal Iqbal (Vice captain), Saddam Hussain (Vice captain) Saqib Hanif, Muzammil Hussain, Tanvir Mumtaz, Manzoor Ahmad, naveed Ahmad, Mohammad osman, Ahsanullah, Mohammad Aadil, Sheram babar, Mehmood Khan, Sher Muhammad, Junaid Qadir, bilawal-ur-rehman, Imran Ali Khan, Usama Haleem, Abdul Salam, Muhammad, Zakir lashari and Amir Siddiqui. the officiALs: Zavisha Milosavljevich (Head coach), Syed nasir Ismail (Assistant coach), Muhammad Aslam Khan (Goalkeeper coach), Dr. Kamran Mehdi (Physio) and Muhammad Saeed Khan (chief De Mission).
Krl opt for draw against Taiwan Power LAHORE PonTe VeDrA beAcH: Kevin na of the US reacts after finishing his round on the 18th green during the third round of the Players championship PGA golf tournament. REuTERS
Na snatches lead at the Players PONTE VEDRA BEACH ReUteRs
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EVIN Na drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole to snatch the outright lead from Matt Kuchar after the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday as Rickie Fowler made his move with a six-under par 66, the best round of the day. Na, frequently taking excessive practice strokes and often backing away from his shot, otherwise struck the ball sweetly in carding a bogey free 68 to reach 12-under for the tournament. The South Korean-born American met with rules official Mark Russell after his round to discuss his slow play but said there were no problems. "We were talking about the pace of play. We were on the clock quite a bit. Everything's okay," said Na who blamed his problems due to a lack of comfort
with his balance. "As ugly as it is and as painful as it is, believe me, it is really tough for me and I am trying," he said. Fellow American Kuchar had a mixed day, combining seven birdies with four bogeys, including one on the notoriously difficult 'island green' 17th, for a round of 69 to finish a shot behind Na. "I knew it was going to be a tricky day, there were going to be a lot of bogeys and dangers around every corner," said Kuchar, who tied for third at last month's Masters. "It was a great day in terms of not letting the bad holes bother me. I think that is one of my strong suits and today it came in really helpful." Kuchar and Na began the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion. Johnson shot a one-over 73 to slip back into equal fourth with Ben Curtis (70)at
seven-under. It was a sign of the difficulty of the course that Na and Kuchar were the only players to post three rounds in the 60s and Na was one of only three players, along with Curtis and Carl Pettersson, that were bogey free on Saturday. While Kuchar and Na jostled for the outright lead, most of the buzz around a sun-drenched TPC Sawgrass layout surrounded Fowler. The 23-year-old Californian, who claimed his first PGA Tour win at Quail Hollow last week, racked up seven birdies before spoiling his otherwise flawless round with a bogey at the last, missing a putt from less than four feet. He ended the day perfectly poised, two shots behind Fowler and one behind Kuchar. For most of the round, Fowler, who would become the tournament's youngest winner, was right on target, and even when he got in trouble, he re-
mained unflustered. On the fifth hole, he drove into a bunker, 200 yards from the pin, but blasted out of the sand to just four feet and made birdie. "I drove it well, put myself in position off the tee, which is the key here, no matter what, especially with the wind blowing today. I was able to play out of the short grass as much as possible," said Fowler. "Other than bogeying the last, I'd have to say it was a fairly perfect round." Tiger Woods made an even-par 72 and was two-under for the tournament, tied for 34th place. Phil Mickelson signed for a 69 to climb 16 places to be equal 14th. Spain's Sergio Garcia made a double bogey on the par-five second hole to tumble back to a tie for last place but receovered to finish with a four-under 68 leaving him level with Mickelson.
stAff RePoRt
Pakistan champions Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Football Club failed to score a single goal yet again in their Group A campaign but still qualify for the finals of the AFC President’s Cup after seeing out both of their matches goalless draw. In the last match of Group A played on Saturday night at the Punjab Stadium here, KRL managed a fighting goalless draw against defending champions Taiwan Power Company to sneak through the finals with two points from as many matches. In overall, KRL did not score and did not concede in the two matches they were involved as the group featured only three clubs with Bangladesh champions Dhanmundi opted to withdraw from the tournament. Mongolian debutant Erchim FC, despite earning a point in their debut match at the President’s Cup are out of the competitions. Taiwan Power Company and KRL qualified from Group A while Dordoi Dynamo of Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown FC are qualified from Group B. Tajikistan’s Istiklol and Palestine debutant Al Amma’ri Youth Club make up the six allotted berth for the September finals from Group C.
History-making Amar Cables beg National Senior Cup LAHORE stAff RePoRt
Amar Cables on Sunday created history by winning the 14th National Veteran Senior Cricket Cup on Sunday. It was Amar Cables fifth title on trot and their first National Veterans title. Amar Cables maintained its winning run on its debut in the National Veteran Senior Cricket Cup, all thanks for Amer Ilyas Butt, COO of Amar Cables. In the final they beat Omer Associate Karachi by 7 runs and won the trophy. Playing at the LCCA Ground Lahore, Amar Cables batting first made 208/9 after 30 overs. Dastgeer Butt 76, Ameer Akbar 49, Amer Ilyas Butt 13 & Shahid Mansoor 15 runs. Omer Associate Karachi bowling Jafar Qureshi 2/43, Irfan Ali 3/37, Ahmad Hayyat 2/32, Muhammad Yousaf 1/33 & Saifullah 1/37 wickets. In reply Omer Associate Karachi 201 all out after 30 overs. Jafar Qureshi 71 & Irfan Ali 45 runs. Amar Cables bowling Muhammad Arif 2/27, Rouf Wain
2/23, Tariq Hussain 1/27 & Dastgeer Butt 1/18 wickets. Ahsan Raza, Shozab Raza Umpire, Muhammad Kaleem reserve umpire, Qaisar Waheed TV umpire, Muhammad Anees match referee, Syed Najam-ul-syed & Qasim Shafiq was the scorer, Javeed Ashraf was the coordinator. At the end of the match, chief guest former chairman PCB Khalid Mehmood gae away the winner trophy and Rs 150,000 to Amar Cables' Captain Ameer Akbar, Runner Up Trophy & Rs. 75,000/Omer Associate Karachi's Captain Jafar Qureshi & Jointly man of the match award to Muhammad Arif & Dastgeer Butt. Chairman Pakistan Veteran Cricket Association Fawad Ejaz Khan, Chief Executive PVCA Nawab Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, CEO Amar Cables Amer Ilyas Butt, SPM Chief Aizad Hussain Syed, Rizwan Nisar, Kernel Rafi Naseem, Faheem Malik, Former Olympian Qamar Ibrahim & large number of Sports Organizer & players on the occasion.
lAHore: Former Pcb chairman Khalid Mehmood gives the winner’s trophy to Amar cables's captain Ameer Akbar. Fawab ejaz khan, Ashiq Husain Qureshi and Amer Ilyas butt are also present on the occasion.
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Serena humbles Azarenka to win Madrid Open title MADRID
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MADrID: Serena williams of the US celebrates winning a point against Victoria Azarenka during the Madrid open final. REuTERS
fired-up Serena Williams sent out a warning to the young pretenders of women's tennis when she powered to a crushing 6-1 6-3 victory over world number one Victoria Azarenka to win the Madrid Open on Sunday. The 30-year-old former number one, seeded ninth at the premier clay event in the Spanish capital, made the most of Azarenka's nervous start on the blue dirt of the Manolo Santana show court to race into a 4-0 lead. After breaking the Belarussian's serve for a third time to clinch the first set, Williams turned the screw with another break early in the second and clinched victory on her first match point when Azarenka completely missed an attempted return.
Federer topples Tipsarevic to reach Madrid final
MADrID: roger Federer of Switzerland throws his head band to fans after his victory over Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia at the end of their men's semi-final match at the Madrid open. REuTERS MADRID ReUteRs
Roger Federer moved a step closer to a recordequalling 20th Masters title when he thumped Janko Tipsarevic 6-2 6-3 at the Madrid Open on Saturday to set up a final showdown with Tomas Berdych. The Swiss maestro, whose 19 Masters titles put him one behind record holder Rafa Nadal, stroked 25 winners on the blue clay of the Manolo Santana show court as he chases a fourth title of the year that would lift him above Nadal to number two in the world. In breezy conditions, seventh seed Tipsarevic could not reproduce the form that helped him to a shock quarter-final win against top seed and Serbian compatriot Novak Djokovic and has now lost all five of his meetings with Federer. Federer came into the tournament following a month-long rest and the 30-year-old is looking in ominous form as the world's top players prepare for the French Open starting in Paris later this month. The 2009 Roland Garros and Madrid winner has won titles this year in Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells and has only lost three times since falling to Djokovic in the U.S. Open semi finals last September. "I didn't even know actually about the number two ranking," the 16-times grand slam singles champion, whose match was watched by Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, told a news conference. "I'm focused on what I am doing here this week, trying to play well and get on a bit of a roll and I have played better and better as the tournament went on," he added. Berdych reached a Masters final for only the third time when he edged out Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6 7-6 in a gripping claycourt slugfest earlier on
Saturday. The Czech sixth seed, who won the Paris Masters in 2005 and was runner-up in Miami two years ago, produced when it counted in the tiebreaks as the powerfully-built pair, who are both just under two metres tall, sent the ball fizzing back and forth. Del Potro, the 10th seed, looked to be struggling more than his opponent with the slippery surface and also clashed with the umpire over a couple of line calls, refusing to shake his hand at the end of the match. It was a desperately close contest, in which both players won a total of 79 points and broke each other's serve twice, but Berdych managed to club 41 winners to Del Potro's 30 and smashed down 15 aces to the Argentine's six. Berdych has lost 10 of his 14 meetings with Federer, but ended his dream of Olympic singles gold in Athens in 2004 and also knocked him out of Wimbledon in the quarterfinals two years ago. Federer won both their matches on clay, however, at the Hamburg Masters in 2005 and the 2006 French Open. "It's going to be a tough match, Berdych is playing well himself and it's quick conditions so he can be a big threat," Federer said. "I hope I can play a clean match on my serve and take it from there but he can really impose his game and that makes him a tough player to play against. "He got me in two very big matches in my career and I remember those losses vividly and I always think we match up pretty well against each other because of the shot making." Djokovic and Nadal have slammed organisers over the introduction of blue clay for this year's Madrid tournament, which they say creates a dangerously slick surface, and both have threatened not to return next year unless the traditional red dirt is reinstated.
It was the American's second title of the year after her success on the clay at Charleston last month and her 41st singles crown overall, putting her in joint 13th on the all-time list with Belgian Kim Clijsters. Azarenka, who flung her racket to the floor in frustration on the way to being broken in the second game of the second set, had beaten Williams just once in seven previous meetings and was bidding to improve on her runners-up finish in 2011. It was only her third defeat in a year in which the 22-year-old won her first grand slam singles title at the Australian Open, which lifted her to the top of the rankings, and has earned more than $4 million in prize money. Williams clubbed 26 winners to Azarenka's six and smashed down 14 aces, while her opponent did not manage a single one and offered up six double faults.
wAtCH It LIve GEO SUPER IPL-5: Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians 03:30PM Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings 07:30PM
Groth records fastest serve LONDON ReUteRs
Little known Australian player Sam Groth has fired down the fastest recorded serve in professional tennis, a 263kph rocket that Roger Federer described as "an incredible number". The ATP Tour said on Saturday that Groth, ranked 340 in the world, produced the serve in a second-round match against Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik in a Challenger event in South Korea. His effort beat the previous fastest-recorded serve of 251kph sent down by Croatian Ivo Karlovic in a Davis Cup tie against Germany in Zagreb in March, 2011. Federer, speaking at a news conference after clinching a place in the Madrid Open final on Saturday, said he expected the record to be broken again.
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Action against Haqqanis key to Afghan success: US senator WASHINGTON sPeciAL coRResPonDent/Agencies
heRAt: Afghan couples pose for a photograph during a mass wedding in herat province. twenty three Afghan couples married during the ceremony. AFP
Top Afghan peace negotiator shot dead in Kabul: official g
Taliban spokesman denies involvement g Pakistan offers condolences to Afghan government, people KABUL
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senior Afghan peace negotiator and close ally of President Hamid Karzai was shot dead on Sunday, dealing a major blow to Kabul’s efforts to broker peace with Taliban insurgents. Arsala Rahmani, a former minister in the Taliban regime, was a “key negotiator” in the High Peace Council (HPC) established by Karzai to hold talks with the insurgents. “Shortly after leaving home he was hit by a single bullet from a passing car” as he was driving to work in Kabul, Rahmani’s grandson Mohammad Waris told AFP. The Taliban, who have waged a decade-long insurgency aimed at toppling Karzai’s government, threatened earlier this month to target members of
the HPC as part of their “spring offensive”. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed, however, denied involvement in Sunday’s killing. The rebels are known to deny high-profile assassinations and attacks with many civilian casualties. Tributes to Rahmani and condemnation of his killing poured in from President Hamid Karzai, neighbouring Pakistan, the UN, the US embassy and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). “Enemies of the Afghan people once again proved that they fear peace in Afghanistan and resort to targeting those who seek dignity and prosperity for Afghanistan and are working to ensure peace and welfare in their country,” Karzai said. Pakistan offered condolences on the Rahmani’s death, and condemned his killing. “The Government of Pakistan
conveys its deepest condolences to the Government and people of Afghanistan on this tragic incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Mr Rehmani,” said a Foreign Office statement. “Our two countries face the common threat of terrorism, and Pakistan is committed to work closely with Afghanistan to eliminate this scourge,” it said. “Pakistan would continue to support all efforts that contribute to an Afghanled and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” the statement added. ISAF said: “Rahmani, a former Taliban member, chose to make a positive contribution to his nation by turning his back on an insurgent movement that continues to be wholly detrimental to the future of Afghanistan.” The HPC was established by Karzai in 2010 to negotiate peace with the Taliban and other insurgents waging war against
his administration and some 130,000 US-led NATO troops. Rahmani “had recently established contacts with senior Taliban leaders”, a senior security official told AFP, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. Rahmani, who was the Taliban’s higher education minister during their rule from 1996 to 2001, joined Karzai’s government after the fall of Taliban regime following US invasion. He was one of several former Taliban leaders who were removed from a UN sanctions list last July after lobbying by Karzai’s administration in a bid to help the peace process. Rahmani was known to have maintained ties with some Taliban leaders after joining Karzai’s government. Before joining the HPC, the former Taliban leader was a member of the senate, appointed by Karzai.
With the situation in Afghanistan continuing to be on the downslide, a leading American senator on Sunday said Pakistani action against the Haqqani militants was key to success in Islamabad’s insurgencywracked neighbour, where Taliban are expanding their activities. Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, conceded that the Taliban were expanding their activities in Afghanistan. She alleged that Islamabad was doing nothing to eliminate the Afghan Haqqani group’s sanctuary on its side of the border but expressed the hope for a ‘new solidarity’ between Pakistan and the United States against safe havens. Her remarks came as army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and top American commander in Afghanistan Gen John Allen discussed counterterrorism cooperation along the Afghan border at a tripartite meeting also involving the Afghan military commander. “Militarily, I think that the Taliban are not going to beat us. But what the Taliban have done is insinuate themselves in a shadowy presence, with shadow governors. They controlled over a third of the land in which people live. They expanded into the north, into the northeast,” Senator Feinstein said. Feinstein, who visited Afghanistan recently, told FOX News on Sunday that “while we were there in one province, they (Taliban) closed 14 schools in 17 districts and then they killed five education officials and wounded others. And now, there’s this latest assassination of someone who’s been a leader in the Peace Council”. “But the question comes, can they come back? They are taxing the poppy in the south to the tune of $125 million, which in 2011 – this is the United Nations figure – went to support their operations. They have a safe harbor in Pakistan and the Pakistanis are doing nothing to abate that safe harbor. So, it’s a big problem and I think that the key to Afghanistan is really action by Pakistan with respect to the Haqqani, with respect to the Taliban, and a new solidarity hopefully between our two countries to eliminate safe havens for terrorist,” Feinstein said. The Democratic senator from California said the top US commander in Afghanistan General Allen was doing a “great job”. “The first was, according to General Allen, 362,000 mark of trained Afghan military will be met. He said they are doing very well. They are in the lead in many missions and they are carrying it out with alacrity and with talent. So, that’s good. The second thing that I saw were school girls in their white scarves coming out of school, even one holding a small sister by the hand, laughing, holding hands, walking down the street.
NATO a step closer to getting out of Afghan war KABUL AfP
NATO took a step closer to getting out of the Afghan war on Sunday as the Kabul government announced local forces would take over control of security in a large new slice of the country. In the third phase of a five-tranche military transition process, 122 more districts throughout Afghanistan will come under local command, putting Afghan forces in control of security for 75 percent of the population. Kapisa province, where French troops are based, is one of three provinces designated for a complete handover. French president-elect Francois Hollande pledged during his election campaign to pull France’s 3,400 troops out this year. NATO has a total of 130,000 soldiers helping the government of President Hamid Karzai fight an insurgency by the Taliban militants, and they are due to withdraw by the end of 2014 when the transition process is complete. But the conflict is increasingly un-
popular in the US and other contributing nations, with opinion polls showing a desire to get out as soon as possible. While NATO is quick to praise the growing skills of the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces it is training to take over, officers acknowledge the war will not be won on the battlefield. The US and Karzai have made moves towards peace talks with the Taliban but in a setback to the process a senior member of Karzai’s High Peace Council was assassinated in a drive-by shooting in Kabul in broad daylight on Sunday. Arsala Rahmani, a former minister in the Taliban regime, was killed just hours before the transition announcement. A key negotiator in the council, he “had recently established contacts with senior Taliban leaders”, a senior security official told AFP. The insurgents had in March pulled out of preliminary talks with the US in Qatar, saying Washington had not fulfilled confidence-building pledges such as releasing five Taliban leaders from the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay.
And they have steadfastly rejected talks with Karzai’s administration, describing it as a puppet of the Americans. Government officials said the handover’s third phase would start immediately and could take as little as six months, although according to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force complete transition in an area can take 12-18 months. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the latest announcement. “The completion of transition at the end of 2014 will mark the end of NATO’s combat role, but not the end of our engagement,” he said in a statement. The commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General John Allen, also hailed the move, calling it “a testament to the capacity and capability of the Afghan National Security Force”. “Afghanistan continues to move forward in securing the sovereign future of their country and the security of its borders, and this is another step in bringing the hope of greater prosperity to the Afghan people,” said Allen.
Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.
Editor: Arif Nizami, Resident Editor: Rana Qaisar
CONTiNued ON pAge 04