e-paper pakistantoday 26th October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:12 AM Page 1

Friday, 26 october, 2012 dhu al-Haj 9, 1433

Rs 22.00 Vol iii no 121 19 pages Karachi edition

Army had ‘reasons’ to topple PPP govt LAhore sTaFF REPORT

Classified contents of an affidavit submitted by the top Military Intelligence (MI) officer in

Sindh at the time of the toppling of the Pakistan People’s Party government in 1990, state that the country’s powerful military establishment considered Benazir Bhutto a “security risk” for multiple reasons which led to the

ouster of her government.

According to the affidavit submitted by Brig (r) Hamid Saeed Akhtar in the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Bhutto had publicly criticised the army Continued on page 04

CNG price slashed by Rs 30 ISLAMABAD Tayyab Hussain

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Thursday ordered a reduction in the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by Rs 30.90 and issued a no-

tification in this regard following directions by the Supreme Court. For Region I (Potohar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan), the CNG price has been slashed by Rs 30.90 to Rs 61.64 per kilogramme, while for Region II (Sindh, Continued on page 04

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:12 AM Page 2

02 News NewS

Caretaker govt to be set up in December or January: shujaat

Today’s

iNFOtaiNmeNt

CaRtOON

Fresh lead emerges in aiDs vaccine hunt

Quick Look

Story on Page 14

Story on Page 05

Page 11

Fazlullah dossier shared with Afghanistan, ISAF, says Foreign Office g

Spokesman says Durand Line issue settled and closed ISLAMABAD

P

sTaFF REPORT

AKISTAN has shared a dossier with Afghanistan and ISAF on the issue of Swat Taliban leader Mullah Fazalullah’s alleged involvement in the attack on Malala Yousafzai and two other girls, Foreign Office Spokesman Moazzam Ahmed Khan said Thursday.

Khan made this statement during his weekly briefing in Islamabad at the Foreign Office.

Earlier, Pakistan had requested Afghanistan to hand over Fazlullah, claiming that he was involved in planning major attacks in Pakistan from across the border, including the attack on peace activist Malala Yousufzai.

According to Foreign Ministry sources, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar made this demand during her meeting with Afghanistan-Pakistan special envoy Marc Grossman, who arrived in Islamabad on Saturday for talks with political and military leaders on “issues of bilateral and mutual concern.”

Afghan authorities had said that Islamabad has not shared with them any intelligence regarding the presence of fugitive Pakistani Taliban, including the notorious Mullah Fazlullah, in eastern Afghanistan. Sources added that Fazlullah has been involved in planning 15 major attacks in Pakistan, from Afghanistan, including attacks on security check posts and villages which have claimed almost 200 lives.

Fazlullah, also nicknamed “Mullah Radio” is the leader of banned militant outfit Tehreek-eNafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM).

Known for his fiery radio broadcasts in Swat Valley, he is also sometimes referred to as chief of the Swat Taliban.

Earlier, it was reported that Fazlullah had sent a hit squad, comprising of two members, to kill 14year-old Malala for being a proponent of girls’ education in the valley and speaking against the Taliban. The FO spokesman also clarified that the issue of Durand Line between Pakistan and

Afghanistan is a settled issue as it is the internationally recognised border between the two countries.

“The Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan is the internally recognised border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and it is a closed and settled issue,” said Khan.

Khan’s comments follow the US State Department’s reaffirmation on Friday of the Durand Line as the internationally recognised boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan and rejection of the Afghan government’s protest over an earlier US statement on Pak-Afghan border.

The Durand Line was drawn up by the British in 1893 to delineate the boundary between what was then British India and the Kingdom of Afghanistan. After 1947, it became the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, although the Afghan government still refuses to recognise it.

Replying to a question, the foreign office spokesman expressing concern on statements from Afghanistan said that Pakistan is committed to fight terrorism and extremism and there should be no doubt in it. He said, “Pakistan does not need to clarify its position on war against terror and no need to give justification in this regard.”

Commenting on the statements coming from Afghanistan, the spokesman said, “Pakistan wants to promote its relations with all neighbouring countries including Afghanistan on the basis of mutual respect and trust.”

He said there is a need to adopt responsible attitude by Afghan leaders and instead of raising the issues through media, all the issues should be resolved through bilaterally and diplomatic channels and through negotiations and dialogue process.

On the question of drone attacks, the spokesman said Pakistan believes they are illegal, counter-productive and a violation of its sovereignty.

Commenting on the results of American Presidential elections, the spokesman said Pakistan will continue to work with who so ever will be elected next US President. Pakistan has good and broad-based relations with the US and is interested to move forward in these ties.

LAHORE: Family members of a missing person demand his release in a demonstration outside the press club on Thursday. inp

Zardari likely to quit PPP office in November MonItorIng DeSk Senior leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) reportedly advised President Asif Ali Zardari to quit his political office and in accordance with the advice, a final decision in this regard will be made by Zardari in the second week of November. Deliberations in this connection are underway at high level.

A private TV channel quoted its sources as saying on Thursday that keeping in view the Asghar Khan case verdict and an order by Lahore High Court (LHC) to President Zardari to quit the political office, senior party leaders have advised Zardari to jettison the office of PPP cochairman and the president had begun mulling over the advice. In case Zardari relinquished the office, his sister Faryal Talpur will be a strong candidate for the office.

ANP to oPPose KAlAbAgh dAm coNstructioN to ‘their lAst breAth’ MonItorIng DeSk The Awami National Party (ANP) announced on Thursday that it would oppose the construction of the controversial Kalabagh Dam to “their very last breath”, DawnNews reported.

ANP spokesperson Zahid Khan said that the dam was a conspiracy for national destruction and the Lahore High Court (LHC) should remain careful while

Friday, 26 October, 2012

making any decisions on the matter.

Khan said that the ANP would offer the same sacrifices again as it did in its fight against terrorism. The construction of the controversial hydroelectric dam, proposed to be built at Kalabagh in Punjab’s Mianwali district, is a thorny political issue likely to fuel further tension between Punjab and the provinces of Sindh and Khyber Pakhthunkhwa.

The Lahore High Court is currently

hearing petitions for the construction of Kalabagh dam, which is believed to be able end the country’s power crisis.

During court proceeding on Thursday, Chief Justice LHC Umar Ata Bundial remarked that as it is a question of national interest, the court would definitely order in favour of the dam’s construction.

Zahid Khan that the LHC chief justice had no idea about the extent of floods that plagued Pakistan almost every year. He

added that three provinces had opposed the plan to build the Kalabagh Dam. Therefore, the ANP would also strongly oppose its construction.

The ANP leader requested the LHC to exercise caution in deciding on the case so as to prevent causing a rift between the people of the provinces.

Earlier, Justice Banidal also said during today’s hearing that the reservations expressed by the federal, Sindh and KP

governments about the issue could be easily addressed through negotiations.

He added that it was imperative to construct the dam as it would alleviate the Pakistan’s worsening water and energy crisis. The LHC chief justice also said that his bench did not wish to make decisions that would interfere with the provincial autonomy of the other provinces. He then adjourned the hearing to Oct 30.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:12 AM Page 3

News 03 BuSiNeSS

aRtS & eNteRtaiNmeNt

SPORtS

who will steal the 2013 Eid show — salman Khan or shah Rukh? no misfortune for Lucky

eDitORiaL

we still average 53 as opening pair: Gambhir

Claiming innocence The general who knew nothing

COmmeNt aziz-ud-Din ahmad says; The three way fight: PML-N, PPP and PTI vying to rule the largest province

aima Khosa says; In defence of religion: Pushing boundaries, sensitively

Story on Page 18

Story on Page 13

Story on Page 15

articles on Page 14

Karachi unrest case: SC issues show-cause notice to Sindh chief secretary g

Bench says occupation of land, encroachments in Karachi main hurdles in the way of peace kArAChI

T

sTaFF REPORT

HE Supreme Court on Thursday issued show-cause notices for contempt of court to Sindh Chief Secretary Raja Mohammad Abbas, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Master Plan director, a senior member of the Board of Revenue and director survey for not conducting land survey in spite of an order of the Sindh High Court.

A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali and including Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case.

The senior member of the Board of Revenue was issued the notice after the official took a sick leave and the bench directed him to appear before it on the next hearing. The bench also directed Sindh Advo-

cate General Abdul Fateh Malik to submit a list of members of the Board of Revenue.

“Occupation of land and encroachment in the city are a hurdle in the way of peace,” Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali said.

Representative of KMC informed the court that Karachi division had five districts and 18 towns spread over an area of 3,005 square kilometres, while the residential area accounted for 1,400 square kilometres. Justice Gulzar said KMC had left no park or playground for the people and had sold out all such public places. “No action has been taken for conducting a survey regarding safety of land owned by the government, notwithstanding orders in this regard were issued back in 2005,” the court said.

Justice Jamali said the Board of Revenue had not made any progress during the last seven years.

He inquired revenue officials whether they had checked the record of properties.

The officials said all records were being comput-

erised and the department was scrutinising them in an efficient manner.

Details of payments made to the family members of martyred lawyers were also presented before the court. During the hearing, the Sindh Election Commission said as long as census was not conducted in Sindh, the province could not be divided into certain constituencies. However, census had not been held in Sindh and the federation did not release any relevant report until now.

The EC report stated that altering boundaries prior to conducting census would be unconstitutional as population census was a constitutional requirement for changing geographical limits of a constituency. Sindh Inspector General (IG) of Police Mushtaq Shah said 254 policemen who took part in the operations of 1992 and 1996 had been killed.

He further said there had been a decline in incidents of kidnapping for ransom. The hearing of the case was adjourned until October 31.

Nawaz denies receiving Rs 2.5m from Younas Habib Girl killed, three injured in Hangu bomb explosion PeShAWAr aPP

A girl was killed and another three were injured in a bomb explosion in Karimwal village in Hangu, police said on Thursday. The explosion occurred in the house of Sharif Khan on the night between Wednesday and Thursday. The roof of the house collapsed killing 18-year-old Ayesha and injuring three others.

The injured were taken to hospital. Police have started investigation.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif on Thursday categorically denied receiving Rs 2.5 million from intelligence agencies in order to develop the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) ahead of the 1990 elections. “Neither I met Younas Habib nor received money from him,” the twice-elected former premier said during a talk show televised by a private channel. During the hearing of the Asghar Khan case, the central character of the scandal, Younas Habib had named Nawaz as one of the beneficiaries of secret funds distributed among politicians to influence the 1990 elections. The PML-N chief said Younas Habib had a dubious character and criminal record, and that it would be unwise to believe his words. He said that Younas had blamed a number of politicians, but did not disclose the name of even a single PPP leader who had gained financial benefits. Nawaz said that in 1990, the factories owned by his family had paid Rs 920 million in taxes, and that it was a joke that they would receive Rs 2.5 million from agencies. “I have been Punjab finance minister once, and served twice each as chief minister and prime minister, but never received secret funds. Even I gave away my salary in charity,” he added. Nawaz said that National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had opposed an enquiry into the matter under the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) because of reservations, and the statement was not intended to show disrespect to the Supreme Court. “We had played a frontline role in the movement for the restoration of judiciary, then how come one can imagine that we would commit contempt of court,” he said. To a question, Nawaz said that he would consider filing a defamation lawsuit against Younas Habib for damaging his reputation. sTaFF REPORT

Angry Baloch leadership different from Taliban: Magsi PPP senator says govt should not restrict Balochistan issue to sloganeering g Says crime investigation departments should be set up to probe cases in fair manner g

ISLAMABAD anwER abbas

Expressing dissatisfaction over the government’s role in redressing the issues confronting the people of Balochistan, PPP Senator Saifullah Magsi on Thursday demanded open negotiations with the angry Baloch leadership, saying it was different from the Taliban.

In an exclusive interview with Pakistan Today, he said strong reaction on Malala Yousafzai’s incident reflected a decrease in Taliban’s popularity with the public. Magsi said he was concerned with the current law and order in Balochistan and was not satisfied with the role of the government regarding the issue.

“The government should take the issue more seriously and should not restrict it to slogans and staging walkouts from the Senate and the National Assembly,” he said.

Magsi said the Balochistan issue was currently the hottest issue in the country, as “the voice of Baloch is being raised in the National Assembly, and even the Supreme Court has passed a short order regarding it”, adding that the provincial government had failed resulting in serious consequences.

He told Pakistan Today that in its recent short order, the Supreme Court had mentioned that Balochistan was facing operational issues as intelligence agencies and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) were not following anyone’s directives and were introducing their own decisions. He said “sometimes they leave their own high command unaware”.

Magsi seconded the recommendations by the Supreme Court, adding that the missing persons should be handed over to the Crimes Investigation Department, normal FIRs should not be lodged for such cases, and the a department

should be set up to probe the cases in a justified and fair manner.

“If someone from the FC or the ISI is behind such enforced disappearances, that too without any government mandate, then they should be taken to task.” Magsi said such incidents would keep cropping up unless these measures were adopted.

He said the Baloch did not have reservations against the armed forces but were concerned about the FC “because the army does not have their presence on roads like the FC does”.

“If some special laws are required to resolve these political and administrative issues of Balochistan then I believe it is the responsibility of parliament to table such special laws, to build consensus and to implement them.”

Commenting over the growing extremism in the country, the PPP senator said as reflected by the Malala incident,

“the government is not dealing with ordinary or normal people here but brutal terrorists”, adding that such elements should be dealt with as terrorists and should be given a hard time.

To another query, Magsi said a few people propagated that extremists and Taliban were getting popular among the general public which he said was an incorrect. “Their popularity is just because of their appearances on TV channels”.

He asked if such elements were popular how had such a massive reaction emerged after the Malala incident? “It is not their popularity… however, I can say that they are smart and organised”.

“Our government and law enforcement agencies need to hit them where it hurts, otherwise it would lose their writ and ground, as it’s the basic principle of war. I think things are beyond negotiations now and we should seriously take action against them.”

To a question regarding the Balochistan issue, he said the government had to resolve the issues with consensus, following which a dialogue process should be established with those (the angry Baloch leadership) who are sitting abroad as they are also Pakistani, despite claiming otherwise.

Differentiating between Baloch separatists from the Taliban, Magsi said the Taliban did not recognise Pakistan as it is now. “They only recognise a Pakistan which is inline with their own theories and concepts, so they do not recognise the state. We still inked peace deals with them but they have remained fruitless,” he said, adding on the other hand the Baloch leadership was a political leadership so they should be brought to the table.

About sectarian killings in Balochistan, Magsi demanded the government bring the perpetrators to court.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 4

04 News Two British troops killed in friendly fire, two US soldiers killed

by Afghan soldier kABUL aFP

British troops killed two of their own soldiers in a ‘friendly fire’ incident in Afghanistan while two American soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan ally, Afghan and international military sources said Thursday.

Britain’s defence ministry did not confirm the deaths of the two British soldiers in Helmand province, one of them a female medic, were a result of “friendly fire”, saying the incident was still under investigation.

But US forces in Afghanistan confirmed that two American soldiers were killed by a man in an Afghan police uniform – the latest in a series of insider attacks that have seriously undermined trust between the allies.

Helmand police spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang said the British deaths were due to a mistaken belief by a British patrol that they were under fire from insurgents – while the shooting actually came from a second British patrol.

“There were two groups of British soldiers foot-patrolling an area called Malgir in Greshk district yesterday at around 5:00pm local time,” Farhang said.

“As one group proceeded to a village they saw a policeman in civilian clothes performing ablutions (before prayers). The British soldiers thought he was a Talib and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.

“The second group of British soldiers who were coming from a distance thought they were attacked by the Taliban and opened fire in the direction they had heard the gunfire, killing two of their colleagues,” Farhang said.

This version of events was confirmed by Mohammad Ismail Hotak, the head of the coordination centre of Afghan forces in Helmand province. Farhang said local officials with Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) had also “confirmed it was a mistake and friendly fire which killed the two British”. In Kabul, however, an Isaf spokesman told AFP: “We are tracking that reporting and at this point I’ll call it a rumour that’s out there.

“Unfortunately there is an ongoing assessment being done to look into the cause of that event and we do not have definitive operational reporting at this time to confirm that.

“Hopefully we will get some kind of resolution sometime today or tomorrow.”

Britain’s ministry of defence said: “There was an exchange of gunfire that resulted in the deaths of a Royal Marine… a female soldier from 3 Medical Regiment and an Afghan man who is believed to be a member of the Afghan Uniformed Police but who was not wearing uniform at the time.

“The UK patrol were not working with any Afghan partners at the time.”

The spokesman added: “At this stage we do not know what initiated the exchange of gunfire and an investigation is ongoing.

Further details will be provided as information becomes available but at this time the situation remains unclear.”

The Afghan conflict has seen an alarming surge in so-called “green on blue” insider attacks this year, with more than 50 soldiers from Nato’s US-led International Assistance Force (Isaf) killed by their colleagues in the Afghan army and police.

MaKKaH: The Kiswah or the covering of the Holy Kaaba is being replaced on Thursday. This is an annual feature held on the 9th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the day pilgrims leave for the plains of Mount arafat during Haj. AFp

Army had ‘reasons’ to topple PPP govt Continued FRom page 01

for “crossing the red line by enriching uranium to the levels which were not acceptable to big powers. She also gave an interview to BBC in which she mentioned her support to India in crushing the Khalistan movement. Sometime later, the PM also criticised the army for conducting annual exercise in the Sindh province without her consent”.

Brig Akhtar said that the ISPR had to clarify through a press release that under the law, the COAS was not obliged to seek anyone’s permission for conducting training exercises in any part of the country.

According to the affidavit, the military was also wary of placements of Al-Zulfiqar cadres in Railways, PIA, Customs, Karachi Port Trust, Immigration, Excise and Taxation and other sensitive departments. “These activists of AZO had been imparted proper training by India in sabotage, arson, bomb blasts, mass killings and other acts of terrorism. The authentic record of these terrorists was available with all the intelligence agencies. All these matters were reported to higher ups through normal command channels,” he said.

“The general perception of the common man was that the

ruling party had got the votes but lacked the vision to run the country. Something appeared to be in the offing. On 16th August 1990, President Ghulam Ishaque Khan dissolved the PPP government using power under Article 58 (2)b [Benazir’s government was toppled on August 6, 1990].

“In Sindh an interim government was formed under Jam Sadiq Ali as the Chief Minister. (A) On 12 September 1990, DG MI Major General Muhammad Asad Durrani visited Karachi and gave following orders to me. (B) Open six accounts in different banks and send me the title and number of each account. (C) Keep on monitoring these accounts. Some funds shall be deposited in these accounts from time to time. You will keep me updated regarding the balance in each account on weekly basis.”

Narrating the situation in Karachi at that time, Brig Akhtar said he assumed charge of the MI Sindh on July 23, 1990.

“At that time MQM had recently fallen apart from the ruling political party (PPP).

PPP workers had resorted to taking revenge from MQM for their political betrayal through the use of force. MQM reacted even more violently. PPP, MQM, PPI, JI and JSM ac-

tivists were relentlessly killing each other. The daily death toll was 100-110 besides countless left wounded and incapacitated. I immediately held meetings with Tariq Azeem, Dr Imran Farooq and Saleem Shahzad of MQM, Prof Ghafoor of JI, Dr Hameeda Khoro and Mumtaz Bhutto of JSF, Abdul Wahid Aresar of JSQM and Mukhtar Awan of PPI and gave them a strong message that if they did not stop the killing, arson and looting, the army may be forced to step in to restore peace.

“Initially the belligerent forces denied their involvement in the unlawful activities, however when irrefutable evidence of their crimes was produced, they took the advice more seriously. Following were the visible effects of intelligence intervention on security situation: (A) Within one week the killings reduced drastically from 100-110 to 20-30 per day, (B) Exchange of prisoners of the belligerent sides was arranged and the exchange took place in Karachi Corp Headquarters.

“All the above was achieved through negotiations and dialogue, not a single bullet was fired, nobody was kept in illegal confinement and no torture was committed to extract information. The importance of my primary task i.e

intelligence and counter intelligence far outweighed my involvement in the internal security matters but at that time internal security had assumed greater importance.

“Soon after, the provincial government launched a police operation against Muhajir populace residing in Pucca Qila, Hyderabad on a day when the PM, COAS and Karachi Corps Commander were on a tour abroad and army units were out on annual exercise. In this operation police killed dozens of men, women and children. The matter was reported to higher echelons. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan ordered the army to move in and stop this carnage. The Station Commander Hyderabad gathered about 300 soldiers from the personnel left behind for guard duties and reached the site. On his intervention, the police force withdrew.

“PM Benazir Bhutto on her return to Pakistan gave a press statement that the army had supplied POF made weapons to Muhajirs. Police had besieged Pucca Qila to recover these weapons. When police force was about to reach the cache in Pucca Qila, the army stepped in and took away the weapons in military vehicles. Everybody was shocked by this statement.”

Dr Afridi’s lawyer raises technical issue against tribal court’s verdict PeShAWAr sHaMiM sHaHiD

Dr Shakil Afridi’s lawyer on Thursday raised a technical objection in the sentencing of his client during a hearing before a Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) tribunal.

The FCR court, headed by Peshawar Commissioner Tariq Jamil, heard Dr Afridi’s petition against the Khyber Agency Political Administration’s decision of awarding 33-year prison term to the CIA-complicit surgeon who helped track former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Dr Afridi, who was not brought before the court, was represented by his lawyers Latif Afridi and Samiullah Afridi.

Latif told the Peshawar commissioner that under FCR, an assistant political agent (APA) could not sentence any accused for more than three years, while arguing that in the case of Dr Shakil Afridi, the APA had sentenced the medic for 33 years. He pleaded the court to declare the APA’s decision null and void.

The petitioner further said that Dr Afridi had been tried under Criminal Procedure Court (CrPC) 121-a/FCR- 11, adding that under these sections, a person could be tried when the president or governor lodge a formal complaint in writing with the political administration of any tribal agency on the grounds that the accused was indulged in acts contrary to the interests of the state. The petitioner said that the APA had mentioned nothing of this sort in his verdict.

However, Latif Afridi suspended further arguments when he was informed that the public prosecutor was unable to attend the proceedings. Later, the tribunal adjourned the hearing of the case until November 22.

CnG price slashed by Rs 30 Continued FRom page 01

Punjab and areas excluding Potohar), the new price of CNG now stands at Rs 54.16 with a decrease of Rs 30.38 per kilogramme.

However, All Pakistan CNG Association has rejected the price reduction and has written to the regulatory body in protest. APCNGA Central Chairman Ghiyas Paracha refused to accept the decision, however, chief of CNG Station Owners Association, Malik Khuda Bux, has accepted it. Paracha said the decision would force CNG businessmen out of work.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

In its interim order on Thursday, the Supreme Court declared the mechanism of linking CNG price with that of petrol illegal and ordered OGRA to revise prices by November 1. The SC also ruled that the profit rate and operating costs charged on CNG price was illegal.

The order said since CNG was produced locally and had no connection with the international market, operating costs and present profit on CNG prices was against the law. The court said CNG price would not be revised on a weekly basis and there would

be no linkage of CNG price with that of petrol.

A two-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry declared that both the profit of Rs 10 per kilogramme on the price CNG and the linkage of CNG price with that of petrol were illegal. During the proceedings, Petroleum and Natural Resources Secretary Waqar Masood told the court that the weekly pricing mechanism for petroleum products had been suspended until the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the

cabinet gave further directions. The chief justice said CNG stations earned a per kilogramme profit of Rs 11.91, adding that the price of CNG should not be linked with that of petrol and that the 50 percent profit margin on CNG was strangulating consumers.

OGRA Chairman Saeed Ahmed Khan submitted a report on the details of petrol and CNG pricing. After reviewing the report, the chief justice remarked that overcharging for CNG was tantamount to exploitation of consumers.

According to the OGRA report, the government’s pro-

curement cost of CNG in Region 1 was Rs 19 per kilogram, while it was Rs 17.57 in Region 2 and that the government decided on the price after including development surcharges. The report added that the government decided on the price after including development surcharges and that CNG station owners were making a profit of Rs 11 per kilogramme, while Rs 20 per kilogramme was the operating cost on CNG. Justice Jawwad S Khwaja remarked that the total profit on CNG sale exceeded 50 percent, adding that Rs 67 of Rs

92.53 per kilogram CNG price were really questionable. Pointing out the mismanagement in the CNG pricing, the chief justice said there were rumours that Rs 9 million was being charged as bribe to issue a CNG station licence. The chief justice inquired why the government was charging an exorbitant amount on the pretext of operating costs and said exploitation of consumers would not be allowed. He observed that CNG sale was one of the most profitable businesses in the country.

The CJ questioned the CNG pricing formula and asked under which formula Rs 20.83

operating cost was being allowed to CNG stations when they were already gaining Rs 11.19 per kg profit on CNG sales.

The bench declared the current CNG pricing mechanism against the law and ordered OGRA to announce revised prices by November 1.

Industry sources said CNG prices could not be changed without adopting the procedure laid down in the ordinance, which binds OGRA to affix prices after a public hearing with the participation of stakeholders to meet revenue requirements sought by gas utilities.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 5

News 05 In US, students and lawmakers pledge to back Malala’s education cause WAShIngton sPECiaL CORREsPOnDEnT

QuETTa: Cattle vendors have setup shop on the railway track for the upcoming Eidul azha. inp

Caretaker govt to be set up in December or January: Shujaat

26/11: Pakistani judicial team to visit India in November neW DeLhI

CHAKWAL: PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Thursday said the caretaker government would be formed in the last week of December or first week of January. Talking to reporters, he said general elections in the country would be held in March or April and the caretaker setup would start working from the last week of December or first week of January. The PML-Q president said seat adjustment between the PPP and the PML-Q for the upcoming general elections had been made.

Shujaat said the PML-Q would contest the general polls under its own elections symbol. “We have no reservations with the PPP over Manzoor Wattoo’s appointment as party president of Punjab,” he added. Shujaat said it had been proven in the Asghar Khan case that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had received money from the ISI. inP

T

OnLinE

he Pakistani judicial commission will visit India in November to probe the 26/11 attacks case.

Bringing the 26/11 Mumbai attacks perpetrators to justice has always topped the discussion each time Indian and Pakistani leaders have met.

After President Asif Ali Zardari said his government was committed to bringing the accused to justice, the ball has been sent back to India’s court. The judicial commission from Pakistan will now visit India in November and carry out cross-examination of witnesses before it submits its report to a court in the country, according to Rediff.com.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had recently said they had taken a positive view of the request by Pakistan to examine India’s 26/11 witnesses, but also added that they would need to seek clarification from the Bombay High Court whether examination of witnesses by an alien government agency was possible.

While India has not yet sought any clarification from the Bombay High Court, sources said the Pakistani judicial commission would be in India to crossexamine the witnesses, which included the investigating officer who arrested the lone surviving Lashkar-e-Tayyaba gunman Ajmal Kasab, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, and the two doctors who examined Kasab after he had been captured.

Ujwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 case, told Rediff.com that the matter was entirely up to the government.

“There has not been any move so far to seek a clarification before the Bombay High Court. Moreover, there is no bar as such on cross-examining the witnesses provided the government of India does not have a problem with it.

The prosecution in India would not have any objection if there is a cross-examination of this nature,” Nikam said.

Ejaz Naqvi, the advocate who defended another accused, Sabahuddin Ahmed, said the cross-examination would take place in November. The commission would be visiting India and would first seek formal permission

from the chief metropolitan magistrate in Mumbai before the testimonies could be recorded.

“The question of seeking clarifications before the Bombay High Court would not arise as there is no bar on such examinations provided both countries have agreed to the same. If India feels that it would help speed up the process against the accused in Pakistan by allowing such a cross-examination, it is in India’s best interest,” Naqvi said.

Justice Santosh Hegde, former judge of the Supreme Court, too pointed out that there was no bar on such cross-examination.

The commission would only examine the witnesses and report back to the court which was hearing the case in Pakistan, he noted.

Earlier, India had apprehensions about such an exercise as it felt Pakistan would reject the evidence that had been dished out by Indian investigators. Moreover, there was also a hue and cry in Pakistan regarding the same, with one of the defence counsels, Malik Rafique, saying the credibility of the Indian prosecution was suspicious, as the trial was one-sided.

Columns of candles lit Washington’s Georgetown university as international students joined in voicing their support for Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani, who is recovering from a Taliban attack for campaigning girls’ right to an education. Two weeks after the 14-year-old Ms Yousafzai was targeted by a Taliban assailant in Swat, the American people and leaders continue to express their sympathy and support for her cause. On the Capitol Hill, a group of women senators called the militant attack on Ms Yousafzai as an attack on all women of the world while Congresswoman Sheikla Jackson Lee, co-chair of Pakistan caucus has asked fellow lawmakers to back her call for honoring the teenaged symbol of hope for Pakistan with a Congressional medal award. Holding a vigil on the Copley Lawn of the Campus, Georgetown University students wished Malala a speedy and full recovery and said they have gathered to back her cause for girls’ right to an education. “What happened to Malala was terrible —— all women of the world must join in her cause, which is noble and great,” said a student, standing beside her picture, with education for all inscribed on it. A Pakistani student said Wednesday evening’s vigil was expression of support for Malala on part of all students of the world. The shooting of Malala Yousafzai also led to a global outcry as government and civil society leaders strongly condemned the attack. The 14year-old activist was on Taliban’s hit list following her campaign for girls’ right to an education. After getting life-saving initial treatment in Pakistan, she has been flown to the United Kingdom, where she is receiving advanced treatment in a Birmingham hospital and showing hopeful signs of recovery. Ms Yousafzai defied Taliban in 2009, when the militants were playing havoc with the lives of local people in Swat and wrote a blog on BBC website. The Taliban have burnt hundreds of girls’ schools in the area and warned Ms Yousafzai against advocating girls’ right to education. Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, meanwhile, wrote in a letter addressed to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf that the Taliban who attacked Ms Yousfzai must be brought to justice. “We believe an attack against Malala represents an attack against all women across the world and must not be tolerated,” the Senators wrote. “We hope that the Government of Pakistan will continue to work to confront extremism and heinous violence against its own children.

malala’s father vows she’ll return to Pakistan LonDon aGEnCiEs

The father of 15-year-old Pakistani activist girl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot and wounded by a Taliban gunman, vowed Thursday that she would return home after finishing medical treatment abroad despite new insurgent threats against her.

The comments by the father, Ziauddin Yousufzai, were recorded by state television. He’s expected to fly soon to Britain to see his daughter and it was the first time he has spoken publicly since the shooting.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have vowed to kill Malala, raising questions about whether it would be safe for her to return but her father dispelled reports the family might seek asylum abroad.

“I first laughed at it because all of our sacrifices, my personal (sacrifices), or this attack on my daughter, cannot have such a cheap purpose that we would go to some other country and live the rest of our life

there,” he said. The TTP said they targeted Malala because she promotes secular “Western thinking,” and have vowed to finish the job in the future.

Malala’s father spoke alongside Interior Minister Rehman Malik at the minister’s office. Malik promised that the government would protect Malala and her family when they returned. Malik said Malala had asked her father to bring some of her school books with him when he goes to Britain.

“Even while sitting there she is taking care of her schooling,” said Malik. Malala has started talking and has spoken to both of her parents by phone, the interior minister said. The 15-year-old is being treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in central England, which has a trauma center specializing in treating severe gunshot wounds, major head injuries and road accident victims. It is also home to the Royal Center for Defense Medicine, the primary receiving unit for military casualties returning from overseas.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 6

Friday, 26 October, 2012

Strict security arrangements on eid: iG KARACHI: Sindh Inspector General of Police Fayyaz Leghari on Thursday said the Sindh police will put in place an elaborated security plan during upcoming Eid-ul-Azha to effectively deal with any law and order situation. Talking to media persons outside the Supreme Court, Karachi Registery, Leghari said that around 20,000 police force will be deployed during Eid-ul-Azha across the city. Deployment will be made in sensitive areas and mosques for Eid prayers. He said that different political parties and groups have agreed upon a code of conduct for collection of hides of sacrificial animals. Leghari denied reports that animals have been shot in old city area for collection of extortion money. OnLinE

SSP Fayyaz released terrorist for money

HyDERabaD: Rangers and policemen patrolling streets as security has been beefed up for upcoming Eidul azha. OnLinE

Quick police response saves hundreds of lives Bomb disposal squad foils a bid of terrorism by defusing a bomb kArAChI

T

sTaFF REPORT

HE bomb disposal squad of Karachi police foiled a bid of terrorism by diffusing a bomb while the Karachi police conducted raids in different parts of the city and arrested alleged activists of banned outfit Tahreek Taliban Pakistan and extortionists.

According to details, Special Investigation Unit of the Karachi police conducted raid in Manghoper area of the city and arrested two persons -Murad Khan Mahsud and Ikram Ullah Mahsud.

SSP Farooq Awan told media person that police team conducted raids on an information and arrested the accused after an encounter. The accused revealed during the interrogation that they were

involved in the killing of two police officers and two constables. The SSP said both activists of TTP also collected bhatta from the businessmen by using code name of Shair Khan Mahsud. They also confessed of making attack on Manghoper police station.

On the other hand, BDS of Karachi police, on a tip off, foiled a bid of terrorism in the city. BDS got information about a suspicious activity near a residential building at Five Star Chowrangi in the area of North Karachi. A team of BDS reached the spot and made the bomb inactive. An officer of BDS told media that the bomb was local made and weighed 3 kg.

The anti-car lifting cell of Karachi police also conducted raids in Surjani Town and arrested five persons.

SSP Khurram Waris said during a press conference that the culprits

Mehboob Ali, Ghulam Sarwar, Muhammad Zeeshan, Muhammad Aslam and Wazir Ali belonged to a strong gang of motorcycle snatchers. Police arrested members of the gang and recovered 45 snatched motorcycles and heavy instruments that they used to use for changing the engine and chessis of the snatched motorcycles.

The snatchers also revealed that they used to wear uniform of some security company to shift the snatched motorcycles to their hideouts. The suspects confessed of snatching more than 400 motorcycles which had been sold out in different parts of the city.

In another incident, the police conducted action at Hub River Road where snatchers were busy in looting a passenger coach. After an encounter police arrested two suspects while two other fled from the scene. Two police constables

Gulzar and Iqbal got bullet injuries during the encounter and they were shifted to Civil Hospital.

On the other hand, targeted killing continued in the city and three persons including an activist were killed. According to details unknown persons opened fire on Laiq Ahmed at Five Star Chowrangi and killed him on the spot.

Laiq received five bullets in his chest.

The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Laiq was said to be an activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Another person Shoaib Baloch got bullet injuries when unknown persons targeted him near Chakiwara. He succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital.

Police found a body in gunny bag from garden area of the city. The body was shifted to civil hospital and could not be ascertained till filing of this report.

KARACHI: Crime Investigation Department (CID) SSP Fayyaz Khan, who was charged guilty of accepting bribe worth Rs20 million for releasing a terrorist, was transferred to Hyderabad. An inquiry had been initiated against Khan as some police personnel had repeatedly alleged that Khan accepted Bribes and the inquiry report revealed that the SSP was guilty of the charges. Per details, Fayyaz Khan had received bribe in Dubai and remitted the money to Karachi, where it was converted into US dollars and then sent to the US where Khan’s family resides. Khan had arrested a wanted member of a banned outfit and had transferred him to an unknown place against orders. The reports added that multiple bribery-related cases had been filed against Khan. OnLinE

Rangers arrest 12 ‘criminals’ KARACHI: Rangers on Thursday claimed to have arrested at least 13 suspects including a ‘target killer’ in its search operation as violence in the city claimed two more lives. According to Media Reports, the killings took place in Orangi town and near Tibet Center at MA Jinnah Road, police said. Rangers spokesman told that the law-enforcers conducted a ‘targeted’ operation in Karachi’s Landhi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Kharadar areas, arresting 13 suspects, including an alleged target-killer. Arms were recovered from most of the suspects, Rangers said. OnLinE

4th CFS&Q ConFerenCe 2012

Sindh govt likely to table CPB in assembly: PA speaker kArAChI sTaFF REPORT

Sindh government is likely to bring Consumer Protection (CP) bill in the provincial assembly for enforcement of consumer rights in the province. This was stated by Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro at the 4th Consumers Food Safety and Quality Conference 2012 which was organised by Consumers Association of Pakistan (CAP) as the chief guest. He said that the present government had established the Ministry of Food Safety to ensure the provision of quality food to the masses and to avoid adulteration in products. “I will try my best for approval of CPB in the provincial assembly and cooperation of the departments concerned would prove fruitful,” he added.

He said the draft of CPB had already been prepared along with collaboration with the departments concerned and the stakeholders. “The draft bill is lying under provincial law department which would be presented in Sindh Assembly

after approval of provincial cabinet shortly,” the speaker asserted.

“The countries around the world are paying special attention to food safety but the citizens of Pakistan are in trouble due to increasing adulteration in the food products, he said, adding that the government has instructed the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) for stamping of Hilal food on all meat products for promotion of export but the companies involved in the business are not cooperating with the provincial government.” “Due to the negligence of the meat producing companies, Pakistan has limited space in the world markets for its Hilal food products,” the speaker observed.

“If we do not care about proper certification of our products then we will be left behind in the world’s markets,” he noted. Sharing his personal experience he said, “I am a landlord too and I can say with full confidence that red pepper is supplied to the market in its pure form but it is beyond my thinking how manufacturers adulterated red bricks during

the processing of powder red pepper. He apprised the participants that people living in the villages are using that water for consumption which is consumed by animals too. “After provincial assembly legislation, it was made possible that the producers of mineral water mention ingredients present in water outside the bottle which helped the government to avoid adulteration in the drinking water,” he added.

Addressing on the occasion, S M Muneer, a leader of business community, said that the consumers were suffering in Sindh but the government had failed to arrest the people involved in adulteration due to lack of proper legislation. “The nations become ‘Asian Tigers’ after implementing on consumers rights but in Pakistan there is very little enforcement of consumer laws,” he observed. The government needs to take stern action against the people involved in adulteration, he stressed, adding that provision of clean drinking water and healthcare facilities should be top priorities of the government.

The government has

departments to ensure enforcement of consumer laws but there is need of people who run these departments effectively. “I assure full cooperation of traders’ community in this regard,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, CAP Chairman Kaukab Iqbal stressed the need for the establishment of ‘Food Council’ at government’s level in which all stakeholders work for provision of quality food to the citizens. He lauded the services of food technologists in the country and appealed the government to award Sitara-eImtiaz to the prominent food technologists. He said Karachi has 18 million population but there is only one Chief Food Inspector (CFI) and 17 Food Inspectors (FI). He said the number of FIs should be increased up to 100-150 to ensure provision of quality food to the consumers of the city.

“From the onset of 21st century, there is huge debate on food safety in Pakistan but there is no implementation of consumers law in the country, he said, adding that the government has suggested 25 years imprisonment for the

people involved in adulteration in 2003 through amendment in Pure Food Act but it was not implemented as yet.

Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) Director General (DG) Iftikhar Ahmed Soomro said that all private companies are cooperating with the council in regard of food safety because it is a very sensitive issue which should be resolved at warfooting basis. Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Senior Director Dr A D Sanjnani felicitated CAP for organizing the conference. He said that the country’s Pure Food Act is not applicable now and there is dire need of amendments in this act. He said that this act is copy of old Indian food act and there is a need of amendments in this act to bring it with modern lines.

In the end of the conference, CAP Chairman Punjab Arif Ansari thanked guest for sparing their valuable time to discuss the sensitive issue of food safety in Pakistan. He also thanked the participants of the conference for listening the speakers patiently.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 7

Karachi 07 towns receive property tax share before eid kArAChI nni

KMC Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed said KMC had paid the property tax share amounting to Rs 23.3 million to all 18 towns to enable them to make better arrangements for removal of offal and maintenance of cleanliness on Eid-ul-Azha.

He said this while chairing a meeting of Finance Department which was attended by Financial Advisor Munawwar Imam, Director Finance Farhan Durrani, Wasi Usmani, Muhammad Ashraf, Director Budget Nasir Mehmood and other officers. Administrator Karachi said payment of salaries to all the employees of KMC and KDA were made after receiving grant from Government of Sindh whereas the process of payment of salary to staff of Education Department would also be completed today (Thursday) with the start of supplementary bills payment. He said the Additional Director Muhammad Ehsan has been given the charge of Director Education who had submitted the salary bills immediately to finance department so that the salaries of the staff of education department could be transferred into their account.

PPP condemns reporter’s killing

suKKuR: successful PsT candidates pass people demonstrate in support of their demands at a roadside. OnLinE

kArAChI

Chinese delegation calls on Sindh speaker KARACHI: Sindh Speaker Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuro met with a Chinese delegation at his office and discussed trade, law and order and prevailing political situation of Sindh on Thursday.

The six-member chinese delegation was led by Chairman Foriegn Affairs Committee of Chinese people political consultative conference Zhao Qlzheng.

Matters of mutual interests between china and Pakistan also came under discussion. The Chinese delegation also shared their views on the legislation of Sindh Assembly during the last four years. Nisar Khuro said the democratic government would complete its constitutional tenure due to the political acumen and policy of reconciliation of President Asif Ali Zardari. He said that the general elections would be held on time. The speaker presented the traditional gifts of Ajrak and Sindhi topi to the Chinese envoy and the members of the delegation. aPP

misty morning and a sunny day: met KARACHI: Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasted a hazy morning followed by a dry sunny day in the metropolis for today. The minimum temperature forecasted by the MET for today was 20 degree centigrade and the maximum temperature forecasted was 35 degree centigrade. The MET forecasted a cold and dry conditions in Zhob, Quetta and Kalat divisions of Balochistan. Dry weather would prevail elsewhere in Balochistan and Sindh. aPP

1st eDi conference hosted by FaSt KARACHI: Graduates of FAST National University organized the 1st Annual Entrepreneurship Conference of Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) at the National Library in Islamabad. The conference was titled “Learn, Create and Lead” with the aim to fully gauge the economic impact of constituting a Global Entrepreneurship and development Index (GEDI) that addressed the contextual features of entrepreneurship and filled loopholes in the measurement of development. sTaFF REPORT

6,000 suffer from Thalassemia in Pakistan each year kArAChI nni

“THALASSEMIA is a major genetic and hereditary disorder of public health in Pakistan. Around 6,000 new patients are added every year to the existing population of the country. There are 10 million carriers of this disease who spread this disease to their next generation. Economic cost of treatment of thalassemia is enormous.”

These views were stated by Dr Tahir S Shamsi, Adjunct Faculty of Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) – Karachi University (KU), while delivering a lecture on “Management of Thalassemia without Blood Transfusion ? A Myth or a Reality?” held at Prof. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium of International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, KU, on Thursday.

The lecture was jointly organised

by Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research and Virtual Education Project Pakistan (VEPP) as a part of series of popular

lectures for public awareness on common diseases of Pakistan. Dr. Tahir S. Shamsi is Professor of Hematology, Consultant Hematologist and Transplant Physician, and also serves as Director of Stem Cell Program and Medical Director of National Institute of Blood Disease and Bone Marrow Transplantation. He said that our study showed that 40 per cent patients will not need blood transfusion and maintain a hemoglobin level between 7-9 gm/dl long-term.

“This enormous disease burden deserves special attention to develop and implement thalassemia prevention program in order to curtail the birth of new patients. Side by side, allowance should be made for those who suffer from this disease by providing comprehensive care, safe blood, iron chelating drugs and bone marrow transplant to deserving patients. Management of thalassemia has a major bearing on different aspects of healthcare delivery, economics and social well being of our nation. It’s gratifying to see a major development in the treatment of thalassemia in which 40

per cent patients do not require blood transfusion while a significant numbers have more than 50 per cent reduction in blood transfusion requirement was noted. This seems to be a major breakthrough and a ray of hope for thousands of parents who suffer from the misery, financial hardship, complications of the disease and treatment related iron overload in their affected children,” he said.

Most important discovery of these researchers is their ability to identify the 5 genetic mutations in which HU has been found to be preferentially beneficial, he said, adding comprehensive treatment of 60,000 registered patients cost 7.8 billion rupees per year. He said that lot of this cost is covered by NGOs, government and affected families. When 40-50 per cent of these patients can be managed without blood, at least 3.5 billion rupees could be saved. “It will also reduce the shortage of blood in the country and blood banks will be able to provide this blood in cases of trauma and to women who otherwise die because of massive blood loss during childbirth.”

aPP

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sindh General Secretary Taj Haider and MNA Qadir Patel condemned the murder of Ali Raza ; reporter of a Urdu daily.

In a joint statement issued by both the PPP leaders on the matter, they directed the law enforcing agencies to ensure immediate arrest of the culprits. They also expressed their disdain regarding the performance of some police officials posted in the capital.

The two political leaders dispatched condolence letters to the family members of Ali Raza and prayed that the Almighty grants eternal peace to the departed soul.

Ali Raza was shot dead near fish market, Khadda Market Area in Lyari on Monday.

Revenue collection up 19 percent in Sindh kArAChI nni

Revenue collection in Sindh registered an increase of 19 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year which ended on September 30. The volume of revenue collected in Sindh during the period under discussion stood at Rs 5.9 billion rupees compared to Rs 5.2 billion comparative period last fiscal. According to statistics, cotton fee received by Sindh registered a 250 per cent increase while property tax depicted an increase of 13 per cent.

Seminar on Global Dignity By Beacon House School KARACHI: Beacon house Primary III PECHS has organized a seminar on Global Dignity Day. In this informative program, the students of I to V level were participated. The event was structured to facilitate students to develop understanding of the concept of ‘dignity’ and to appreciate those leading a dignified life around them. Bilquees Edhi of Edhi Foundation and Turab Shah graced the occasion as chief guest. The program encompassed.

Students’ presentations of different items to highlight the importance of self respect and giving respect to others. The young performers of class I displayed a colourful show of the letters of ‘dignity’ and expressed their feelings with confidence. Short skits and heart touching poems by the students of classes II and III gave an opportunity to all to participate and feel part of the show.

Students of classes IV paid a tribute to the support staff by inviting them on stage, interviewing them and by giving them thanks letters. Students of class V had prepared power-point pretentions to put across their approach towards dignity and human rights. Overall the whole program was extremely well-coordinated and thought provoking. Bilquees Edhi and Turab Shah shared their experiences and success stories with the students. At the end, the support staff was given tokens of love.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 8

08 karachi weatheR uPDateS

35 °C high 0C 22 Low

SuNNy

SatuRDay

SuNDay

36°C i 21°C

36°C i 20°C

mONDay 36°C i 20°C

PRayeR timiNGS Fajr Sunrise 05:30 06:00

Zuhr 12:20

asr 16:00

maghrib 17: 25

isha 20:00

City DiReCtORy emeRGeNCy heLP ReSCue 1122 eDhi CONtROL 115, 32310066, 2310077 mOtORway POLiCe 130 POLiCe 15 GOVeRNOR’S hOuSe 136 ChieF miNiSteR’S hOuSe 99202051 FiRe BRiGaDe 16, 99215007-8 BOmB DiSPOSaL 15, 99212667 ReD CReSCeNt 35833973 KhiDmat-e-KhaLq FOuNDatiON 36333811

hOSPitaLS aBBaSi ShaheeD CiViL JiNNah NiCVD aGha KhaN taBBa

99260400-09 99215749, 99215960 99201300-39 99201271-6 34930051 36811841-50

BLOOD BaNK huSSaiNi FatimiD Pwa

32238405-8 32225284, 32258656 99215740, 32735214

COmPLaiNt KeSC Sui GaS PtCL KwSB CDGK

118 1199, 99231603 1218 1339 134

RaiLwayS eNquiRy City StatiON CaNtt StatiON

117, 99213565-6 99213538 99201118

aiRPORt FLiGht eNquiRy Pia ReSeRVatiON

114 111-786-786

COLLeGeS / uNiVeRSitieS KaRaChi uNiVeRSity NeD uNiVeRSity FuuaSt DuhS SmiC FaSt-Nu SZaBiSt iOBm iBa iVS

Friday, 26 October, 2012

99261300-06 99261261-8 99244141-9 99215754-7 99217501-3 111128128, 34100541-7 111922478 35090961-7 111422422 35861039-40

sPiRiT OF saCRiFiCE: a massive traffic jam in sohrab Goth owing to a multitude of vehicles transporting sacrificial animals. OnLinE

Cheese could hamper fertility Eating cheese may damage chances of becoming father kArAChI

Y

OnLinE

OUNG men who eat more than three slices of cheese a day may risk their chances of becoming fathers, a new study has revealed.

Even small amounts of full-fat dairy food have been shown to dramatically impair their fertility. Harvard academics have discovered that men who eat just three portions a day had poorer quality sperm compared to others. A portion included an ounce of cheese (28g), a teaspoon of cream, a scoop of ice cream or glass of full-fat milk.

The researchers believe that female hormones that occur naturally in milk may be interfering with men’s ability to reproduce.

Until recently, experts have been far more concerned with how women’s diets are affecting their chanced of having children.

But there is increasing evidence that men’s lifestyles – and crucially what they eat – may be just as important. Scientist from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, the US, compared the diets of 189 men aged 19 to 25. None were overweight - they were all very fit and did at least one and a half hour’s exercise a week.

They had each filled in a questionnaire answering how often they ate dairy products, fruit, meat and other types of food during a typical week. The researchers also looked at their sperm, including how fast it travelled and its shape. They found that the sperm of men who ate more than three portions of full-fat dairy food a day was 25 percent poorer quality than those who had less. Myriam Afeiche, who led the study, explained that the female hormone oestrogen in milk that had come from the cow may

be affecting men’s fertility. It may also be impaired by pesticides which find their way in to dairy products, she added. Meanwhile, an Australian study has found that folic acid supplements taken by expectant mothers can reduce the risk of their babies developing a brain tumour during childhood by almost half.

This is the result of a five-year study by the Australian Childhood Brain Tumour Consortium (Aus-CBT), led by Elizabeth Milne, professor at Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.

The study stands out as the largest and most comprehensive national research done so far on this topic, the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention reports.

“We were specifically targeting FA-intake following from a similar national study on childhood leukaemia and building on the local finding

“DeeMAK”

Date: OCt 18 tO 31, 2012

that taking FA can reduce its risk,” Milne says, according to a Aus-CBT statement.

Previous reports on the protective effects of multivitamin use on childhood brain tumour (CBT) development were not able to pinpoint the most active constituent in the mix. Aus-CBT has been the first to separate out multivitamin effects and investigate the link between the intake of FA alone, or combined with iron, vitamin A, B6, B12 or C and its connection with diagnosis of CBT in offspring. “Indeed it was FA that appeared to be responsible for a (negative diagnosis) association, but it does not harm if it is taken in combination with other micronutrients,” Milne says. Folate is required for reliable DNA synthesis and repair and Milne says: “There are lots of points where a folate deficiency can lead to malignant cell transformation and disease.”

SoLo Show

Date: SePt 26 - OCt 26, 2012

GhALIB MADe eASY

Date: thuRSDay, 7:00 Pm, weeKLy eVeNt

VeNue: KaRaChi SChOOL OF aRt GaLLeRy

VeNue: KuNJ aRt GaLLeRy

VeNue: the SeCOND FLOOR (t2F)

Sensitive works portraying the harsh reality of our derailing society. the slow weakening of our mind and soul… this heartrending truth through the eyes of these insightful three young artists – huma ali Shah, tabassum Naz and Falak Noor.

Opening Reception: thursday, October 18, timing: 5 - 8 pm Regular Gallery timings: 10 am – 5 pm, Sundays closed

Little, if anything, Deters the artist meerza ali from creating the way he does. even though he had suffered a serious illness only too recently, that he didn´t think that he´d survive. whose solo exhibition opens Kunj on September 26, 2012 at 5:30 pm. and the artist , who was born in Calcutta, migrated to Pakistan in 1948. whose father himself, was an artist. who had never taught meerza ali, thought. So the artist acquired the skills that he needed on his own. who has done especially well with calligraphy and his beautiful figurative work.

Join us at t2F every wednesday for interactive sessions on mirza Ghalib’s poetry, conducted by author and translator, musharraf ali Farooqi. Ghalib made easy by @micromaFthe poetry of mirza Ghalib (27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869) has been considered complex, abstract and difficult to comprehend. even for Ghalib’s contemporaries, his language and imagery presented a challenge.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 9

Foreign News 09

Syria braces for Assad answer on ceasefire DAMASCUS

S

aFP

YRIA braced to hear Thursday if Bashar al-Assad’s regime would agree to a ceasefire for a Muslim holiday, as rebels moved into a new area of Aleppo and fighting raged in other parts of the country.

UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said Assad is ready to observe a truce during the four-day holiday of Eid al-Adha that begins Friday, but the rebels and Washington have been

wary of any commitment from Damascus.

If agreed, a ceasefire would mark the first real breakthrough in halting — even temporarily — the 19-month conflict in Syria that rights groups say has left more than 34,000 people dead.

But there were no signs of a slowdown in the fighting on the eve of the holiday, with rebel forces taking over a strategically important Kurdish neighbourhood in Aleppo and seizing a military post in the country’s northeast.

Residents in Aleppo’s Ashrafiyeh district — a key area in the heights of the city on a route between its central and north-

ern parts — told AFP about 200 rebels had moved in to the area for the first time. One 28-year-old resident said the rebels, who arrived on vehicles mounted with heavy machineguns and bearing the markings of the Liwa al-Tawhid main rebel unit, made it clear they were settling in for Eid despite the promises of a ceasefire.

“Snipers have set up in the buildings and 50 armed men, dressed in black and wearing headbands with Islamic slogans, entered a school near me. I heard them tell the residents: ‘We are here to spend Eid with you’,” he told AFP.

“I am waiting for things to calm down before leaving,” he said.

Fighting elsewhere saw rebels take control of a military post in the northeastern province of Raqa, regime forces bombing the Damascus suburb of Harasta and battles in the capital’s southern areas of Tadamun and Qadam, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. On Wednesday, fighting in the country killed 199 people, including at least 89 civilians, it said. Brahimi’s assertion that the regime is ready for a ceasefire was backed up by Russia, though Syria’s foreign ministry said a final decision would only be

taken on Thursday. The main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), has said it will only agree to the temporary truce if regime troops cease fire first and that it doubts Damascus will stand by any commitment. But other rebels groups have refused to accept the proposal, with the radical Islamic Al-Nusra Front saying it will not lay down its weapons and denouncing the truce as a “trick”.

The United States has also voiced scepticism, with US envoy to the UN Susan Rice saying many would doubt the regime’s word “given Assad’s record of broken promises”.

20 dead in fresh Myanmar unrest YAngon aFP

GaZa CiTy: a Palestinian woman buys sweets in Gaza city, in preparation for Eid al-adha. Millions of Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-adha or ‘Feast of the sacrifice’, which marks the end of the annual hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca and celebrates abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son to God. AFp

amnesty warns eu countries against beating protesters LonDon

China military reshuffle ahead of power change BeIJIng

aFP

aFP

Anti-austerity demonstrators in Europe have suffered excessive police violence, Amnesty International said Thursday in a report urging European Union (EU) governments to protect the right to peaceful protest. The rights group said people rallying against government spending cuts, tax rises and job losses in countries hit by the eurozone crisis and elsewhere had sometimes been seriously injured by police or had had medical treatment witheld. “People demonstrating peacefully in EU countries have been beaten, kicked, shot at and wounded with rubber bullets and sprayed with tear gas,” Amnesty said.

“Yet excessive use of force by police goes uninvestigated and unpunished.”

The Amnesty report, entitled “Policing demonstrations in the European Union”, described several cases where police had severely beaten protesters in Greece, Spain and Romania.

China’s defence ministry announced Thursday further reshuffling of the top military bosses, reflecting bargaining among the country’s top leadership ahead of a power transfer next month.

The heads of four top army departments were changed, with the new appointees certain to gain a position on China’s highest military body, the Central Military Commission.

Zhang Youxia, 62, a general thought to have close ties with Xi Jinping, who is set to take over as leader of China’s ruling Communist party next month, became head of the Armaments Department, which oversees weapons procurement.

The appointment clears a path for the department’s previous head, Chang Wanquan, 63, considered to be a protege of outgoing Communist party leader Hu Jintao, to become a powerful vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The position of vice-chairman traditionally ensures a seat on China’s Politburo, a group of 25 people who oversee the ruling Communist party. The Politburo is set for a major reshuffle at the party’s

congress next month.

Steve Tsang, professor of contemporary Chinese studies at Britain’s University of Nottingham, said the appointments reflected a sidelining of more extreme commanders, as well as continued bargaining between Xi and Hu. For example, Zhang Yang, former head of a military area in southern China, was promoted to head the army’s General Political Department ahead of Liu Yuan, a general connected to disgraced politician Bo Xilai.

Fang Fenghui, formerly a military commander in Beijing, became the army’s chief of general staff, and Zhao Keshi, formerly commander of a military area in eastern China, is now the head of the army’s General Logistics Department.

The Defence Ministry’s announcement came two days after it named General Ma Xiaotian as the new head of China’s airforce and appointed a new military chief in the southwestern Chengdu military zone, which includes most of Tibet.

China has increased investment in its 2.3-million-strong army as part of a modernisation drive, previously saying that military spending would top $100 billion in 2012, up 11.2 percent from last year.

At least 20 people have been killed in a fresh wave of communal violence sweeping western Myanmar, a Rakhine state spokesman said Thursday, adding the death toll could ultimately more than double. “At least 20 people (both Buddhist and Muslim) have been killed in clashes since October 21. The death toll can reach about 50,” Myo Thant told AFP. He said 80 Buddhist Rakhines have been wounded, but there were as yet no equivalent figures for injured Muslims. A security official, requesting anonymity, confirmed the potential toll from the resurgence of unrest could hit 50, adding government forces were struggling to reach remote areas. Hundreds of homes have been burned in the outburst of unrest in Rakhine state, where Buddhist-Muslim clashes have killed more than 100 people since June and displaced tens of thousands, according to the authorities. The latest violence led the United Nations to express grave concern over reports of deaths and “thousands” of displaced in recent days. “The UN is alarmed by reports of displacements and destruction,” said UN chief in Yangon, Ashok Nigam, adding that the resurgence of deadly unrest in Rakhine State had “resulted in deaths and has forced thousands of people, including women and children, to flee their homes”.

Austrian ‘incest monster’ Fritzl divorces VIennA aFP

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian who fathered seven children with his own daughter in a homemade dungeon, has divorced his wife of 55 years because she has never visited him in prison, a press report said on Thursday. The divorce, which was legally approved a few weeks ago, means that Rosemarie Fritzl can no longer draw on her 77-year-old ex-husband’s pension, the Austrian weekly News reported.

Contacted by AFP, the divorce lawyer reportedly hired by Fritzl to file for the separation, Nikolaus Rast, declined to comment. News also said that Rosemarie has not replied to Fritzl’s many letters to her. Fritzl kept his and Rosemarie’s daughter Elisabeth prisoner in the basement of the family house in Amstetten, central Austria, for 24 years, raping her thousands of times and fathering seven children. One of the children died as a baby.

Three of the surviving children were brought to live with Fritzl and Rosemarie while the other three spent their entire lives in the dungeon, never seeing daylight. The ordeal ended only in April 2008 when the eldest child, a girl by then 19, fell severely ill and Elisabeth begged Fritzl to bring her to hospital. Doctors became suspicious and alerted the police. The case drew worldwide attention and Fritzl was found guilty in March 2009 of murdering the baby through negligence, as well as of rape, incest and sequestration, and sent to a secure mental institution for life.

GAzA CALM AS truCe DeAL tAKeS hoLD JerUSALeM aFP

Calm returned to Gaza on Thursday as a truce between Israel and Hamas took hold after a bloody 24 hours of violence that left four Palestinians dead and two Thai workers wounded in Israel.

With the Eid al-Adha festival due to start on Friday, Gazans were enjoying a quiet day of preparation without air strikes, and Israelis were making the most of the respite in rocket fire.

Following a quiet night in which there were no reports of Israeli raids or militant rocket fire on southern Israel, schools reopened in southern Israel and Palestinians went back to work.

During the morning, the military reported that one rocket had landed in an open area without causing injuries or damage, but had no knowledge of three rockets being fired shortly after dawn, as was claimed in a statement by the Gaza-based Mujahedeen Brigades. And the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza was reopened, as was the Hamas-run checkpoint leading to the border in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun, officials said.

Late on Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials told AFP that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire would go into effect at midnight (2200 GMT).

The agreement was aimed at ending an eruption of bloodshed, which saw Israeli air strikes kill four militants and armed groups firing more than 70

rockets and mortars across the border, seriously wounding two Thai workers.

Among those firing on Israel was the armed wing of Gaza’s ruling Islamist Hamas movement — the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades — which said three of the dead were its own militants. A fourth man was from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), which also claimed to have fired rockets at Israel.

The surge in violence began on Tuesday evening, shortly after a top-level state visit to Gaza by the Qatari emir to inaugurate a multi-million dollar project to rebuild the impoverished Palestinian enclave. During the evening, militants fired six rockets at Israel and in response Israeli aircraft killed two Hamas militants in raids on northern Gaza, prompt-

ing a further wave of rocket fire.

An early-morning Israeli raid near southern city of Rafah Wednesday killed a third militant — from the PRC — and another Hamas militant who was hurt in Tuesday night’s strikes died of his injuries later, medics said.

“Hamas will receive its punishment for what has happened here,” Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned that any continuation of rocket fire would prompt a “much more extensive” Israeli response.

Gaza’s Hamas government issued a statement “condemning the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip,” and warning of its consequences.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 10

10 Comment Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami

The three way fight PML-n, PPP and PTi vying to rule the largest province

Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Claiming innocence The general who knew nothing

By Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

en (retd) Aslam Beg is unhappy with the Supreme Court judgment. A man who refused to be disciplined by elected governments is now unwilling to accept the authority of the Supreme Court. Right from the beginning of the recent hearing, Beg has been taking funny positions. He made the plea that he had not taken oath under ’73 Constitution forgetting that very citizen has to abide by the constitution irrespective of whether he had taken oath under it or not. Later, in a statement submitted in the SC, he pretended to be ignorant about the distribution of funds among politicians in 1990. This has been contradicted by former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani and Brig (retd) Hamid Saeed, former head of the MI, Sindh chapter. The former stated in the court that the money was distributed on the orders given by Beg who was then COAS. Further that Beg had been onboard since the beginning of the distribution of money. The later told the media that Beg was in contact with him regarding the distribution of money among political parties. “Once, I brought something to the notice of my immediate boss, Gen Durrani, who told me to report to Gen Beg, and not bring such things to his (Durrani’s) notice,” Saeed claimed. It is rare for two senior ex-servicemen to accuse their boss over two decades after an event. That they did so indicates that there must have been truth in the allegation. It simply won’t do dismissing the verdict issued after lengthy hearings as based on ‘false testimonies and affidavits’.

Few would buy the excuse that in 1990 the ISI was under the president and not the COAS. Had the ISI been under any president not wearing uniform, it would have alerted Ch Fazal Elahi about the coup against ZAB. It would have also brought to the notice of Rafique Tarar the plans that were afoot to overthrow Nawaz Sharif. How come under GIK it suddenly became independent of a powerful and meddlesome COAS. Beg calls the verdict a conspiracy against him and the opposition.

The stand is taken apparently to win the sympathies of the opposition. Keeping in view that the opposition has all along supported the SC, it is simply inconceivable that the court would be conspiring against it As far as Beg is concerned, he is presently a nonentity and a harmless recluse. Why should anybody try to drag him unnecessarily to courts? Beg has only been overtaken by his own nemesis. The government needs to urgently comply with the apex court’s orders by taking necessary steps under the constitution and law against the former servicemen involved in the illegal and unconstitutional act. By delaying the matter the government would only be providing an opportunity to mischief-mongers.

ith an intention to turn the tables on the PML-N in Punjab, the PPP has launched a new team led

by Manzoor Wattoo and Tanvir Ashraf Kaira. Wattoo is a hardnosed politician who has during the last three decades traversed the entire political terrain in pursuit of power from PML-Junejo, to PML-Jinnah to PML-Q and finally to PPP. During his several sojourns he has also been a part of the much-maligned IJI and the PML-Q led alliance under Musharraf.

Long before Zardari entered politics, Wattoo was already practicing the art of reconciliation with all who were willing to help him acquire power. Kaira, on the other hand, is a dyed in the wool PPP activist, albeit a raw hand in politics. The task given to Wattoo is to bring into PPP the politically influential families in Punjab. He has announced that he would deliver Punjab to the PPP. The team has entered the arena with a bang with Wattoo ranting muck like professional wrestlers do in the arena. This might raise the morale of the PPP workers but would be of little help in winning over the voters. Will the PPP manage to steal a march on the PML-N through this team?

Wattoo is seen as a double-edged sword

by PML-Q. The Chaudhrys who eye the post of the provincial chief minister see in Manzoor Wattoo a wily competitor. They are equally uncomfortable with the promotion of Kaira as PPP’s provincial general secretary because his rise could diminish their influence in Gujrat.

Unlike 2008, this time the traditional rivals have to reckon with another competitor in Punjab, the PTI. This adds a new complexity to the fight for power in the most populous province of Pakistan.

The PPP fared badly in Punjab in the 2008 elections, getting 51 seats in the Na-

G

W

tional Assembly as compared to 66 by the PML-N. It failed to win even a single NA seat in 12 districts as compared to six in the case of the PML-N. The PML-Q bagged 26 seats. It would be simplistic to argue that the combined strength of the PPP and PML-Q, now allies, being larger than that of the PML-N, they can win the forthcoming elections hands down.

In politics perceptions about parties and leaders remain in a process of perpetual flux. That is why a government winning by a big margin can lose the next election. The PPP-led alliance and the PML-N have both been in power for a complete term. Both are going to be judged on the basis of their performance.

The PPP can rightly claim credit for restoring the 1973 constitution, taking crucial powers from the president and handing them over to the prime minister, increasing the share of the provinces in the divisible pool, enhancing the quantum of provincial autonomy and devising a system for free and transparent elections. On the flip side are the shortages of power and gas, the double digit inflation and the constant rise in the number of the unemployed. These factors have led to a significant rise in the poverty graph. Two weeks back, the Senate was informed by the federal minister for national food security and research that up to 58 percent of the country’s population suffered from food insecurity. Of the total affected population, he said, 29.6 percent suffered from hunger or severe hunger. Further that the situation had deteriorated during the last four years. The vast majority of the PPP voters are more likely to be swayed by the negative factors that pester them every day than improvements in the constitution and electoral system.

Being a handmaiden of Musharraf during 2002-2008 period, the PML-Q is rightly held responsible for policy decisions taken by the military ruler that widened the gulf between the richest and the poorest sections of population. That explains PLM-Q’s bad performance in 2008 elections. Not that the party’s record was altogether negative. It gave the urban centres of Punjab an efficient system of traffic control, a widely appreciated emergency service and the Food Street in Lahore frequented by commoners and the elite alike till it was wound up by an envious PML-N government. There is hardly anything worthwhile the party can claim credit for since its alliance with the PPP. What is more the party has fractured during the period, particularly in the Punjab, losing much

of the strength it possessed in 2008. There is thus no guarantee that by fighting the election jointly the two will be able to capture the majority vote.

The plight of the PML-N is no different.

The party claims its government has distributed thousands of computers to brilliant students and set up Danish Schools for the talented who could not pay heavy fees. Despite the denunciation of the schemes by the PML-N baiters as stunts to gain cheap popularity, these have benefitted tens of thousands. The performance of Lahore Metro Bus project is yet to be judged. So far the dislocation caused by the project, with several changes in plans causing delays in completion, have given rise to widespread complaints in the second largest city in the country while it is being pointed out that Rs 7.7 billion are being spent on a single city of the province.

Will the PML-N be able to cash in on these projects remains to be seen. As both the PPP and PML-N suffer from the incumbency factor, the comparison between the two is likely to be made not on the basis of who is more popular but who is less unpopular.

The voters this time are not being forced to choose between two parties. The PTI has emerged as yet another political force. The strongest point in PTI’s favour is that while the others have been in power and failed to come up to the voters’ expectations, the PTI is yet to be tried and tested. Those fed up with the PPP and PML-N look up to Imran Khan as the right man. The youth, particularly those from the urban middle class, have joined the party in droves. The PTI has thus thousands of youthful and enthusiastic activists to work for its candidates all over Punjab – an advantage not possessed by the PPP or PML-N. The PTI depends entirely on the charisma of Imran Khan. This constitutes both the strength and the weakness of the party. It has yet to build its election machinery and choose its candidates. Compared to last year’s crescendo of popularity, the party has faced several desertions while its Waziristan march was no match to its public gatherings in Lahore, Karachi and Quetta.

Imran Khan can be at both the competitors if he is able to build the election machinery and at the same time generate the last year’s momentum in Punjab. If he cannot do this, the contest would be between the old rivals.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.

in defence of religion Pushing boundaries, sensitively

By Aima khosa

E

very now and then, someone says or does something so preposterous that it even manages to nudge a generally apathetic person like myself into action. Before we step into the core arguments of this piece, it is important to mention my own inclination – lest people start calling me out as a Taliban apologist (which I am not), or a closet religious fanatic. My parents, with heavy hearts, will confirm that I am not that either.

I am a person who was born in an Islamic country. I was a Muslim by default.

It says so on my official documents, and whenever I speak to a person from, say France, they automatically assume that my religion is Islam. I do not mind that assumption. It does not hurt me in any way.

Once in a while, I choose to step out of that label, and explain that I am just a new age kid who grew up as a hard core Islamist, witnessed the War on Terror, went through several bombings in her own city, took many courses on religious philosophy in university, read a lot of Bertrand Russell, saw the atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion, always had “non-Muslim” best friends and hence grew up to be just quite disenchanted from religion itself. I learned to debate rationally with extremely religious friends. I have learned to keep my cool when people start quoting religion as a justification for things when it clearly is not. I did not stand for the

Friday, 26 October, 2012

banning of YouTube in Pakistan over the “Innocence of Muslims”. I genuinely believed that it served no purpose. But if it keeps mobs happy, I will just use a proxy to continue using it.

But then, the attack on Malala happened. I will be very brief in this entire piece for her, because this piece then delves into much bigger issues. Malala, you brave, brave girl, everyone back home is counting on your health and happiness and it gives me such joy to see that you are already back up on your feet.

When the attack on Malala happened, it shattered the small base of support TTP had in Pakistan. Yes, the apologists rose up, and gave the drone attack argument, but the majority had the stronger voice.

Malala united the whole world, even managed the tremendous feat of uniting Pakistan too.

Then editorials came up. People began questioning the underlying, deeprooted meaning of this attack on the 14year-old. Men like Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, in his article, Beyond Tokenisms, pointed out the deep patriarchal issues in this old society. Paragraph after paragraph built an argument on how an average Pakistani mind is deeply rooted in norms that have strengthened over time, twisted, and mutilated to a point where this gruesome attack came to be. As if I did not respect the man enough, he managed to impress me more when he wrote, “The issue is not Islam…it is an inherited social legacy that is multi-dimensional and from which

none of us are exempt”.

So it is heartening to know that men like him exist. Especially when on the other end of the spectrum there are people like my colleague Mr Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, who in his piece “Don’t blame the Taliban” managed to push some boundaries when he wrote that religion is the underlying cause of all the problems that exist in Pakistan and all over the world. He very carefully chose some selective parts of Islamic history and made them controversial to build his case. His arguments at times were so flawed that even a person like me raised an eyebrow in incredulity.

Do not get me wrong, some of his piece was well-written and carried solid arguments. But if one is quoting the tragedies that have occurred in the name of religion, name every instance of every tragedy, not just an Islamic one. The Crusades, the Holocaust are just two examples among countless others. My colleague then made the argument that all civilised societies have moved away from religion. I digress. The United States of America is the biggest Christian country in the world. Keeping the fact that it is at war with two Muslim nations aside, the US has always boasted of a strong Christian legacy. This is why people like Mitt Romney are able to make homophobic YouTube advertisement campaigns and have support from the God-fearing conservatives of the country. Or have we forgotten Anders Brevik, the man responsible for the mass murder of 69 people? Did he not claim to be an Islamophobe who supported

Zionism? Or was that an ‘isolated’ incident?

It was just as horrific and the world rose to that occasion just as it did for Malala.

It is not religion that is the problem, dear reader. For atrocities that exist in the name of religion exist everywhere whether it is Islam, Christianity, Judaism or whatnot. It is what you do with it. My friends, as religious as they are, will not pick up guns and kill another human being. Religion is not a bad thing. If it was, millions of men, women and children would not travel to different parts of the world for no reason to participate in pilgrimages, rich or poor. To bring in an old argument (and a very philosophical argument), religion gives people hope. There are good men and there are bad men. People misuse laws, their parents, their friends and some choose to misuse God and religion also.

Have we ever heard of anyone throwing their baby away with the bathwater because the bathwater turned dirty because of the baby? It is also a fact that people who misuse religion are a minority. So, when you talk about all the atrocities in the world committed in the name of Islam and bring in a 1,400-year-old case to support you cause, one could bring in just the smallest, the most basic one of them all (since my understanding of religion does not go that far): the conquest of Makkah, when an entire city was spared after years of torturing by the man who had now conquered them. That is the power of forgiveness and that came from a human being who believed in God. This is the simplest,

the most basic argument I have.

Religious extremism is also not the only problem in the world. What about racial hatred? Is that borne out of religious extremism too? What about gender discrimination? What about child labour?

Honour killings? Homophobia? Slavery?

These are all social issues and not all of them are borne out of religion. It comes out of a human being’s inability to understand certain things.

My colleague’s piece was, in all honesty, just as appalling as TTP’s statement: ill-informed, selective and opportunistic. I find it offensive, because it was childishly done. Push boundaries, I am all for that.

But men like Aasim Sajjad Akhtar do so intelligently. When one pushes boundaries, they must do it while acknowledging the sensitivities of the society around them.

Yes, a debate needs to be opened up, but a debate on the right questions. When you open up an age-old debate of the relevance of religion in a society, you open a vast topic, and you must be ready to handle the consequences of it. My colleague, with all due respect, is not. For every one argument of his, there are five to counter it, which makes me believe that perhaps we are not asking the right questions. Let us ask why female education is a problem for the Taliban. And then let us build schools and not write inflammatory editorials that would just give cause to have them burned down.

The writer is a staff member at Pakistan Today.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:13 AM Page 11

Comment 11

Editor’s mail 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.

Gender gap in education The literacy rate of females in Pakistan is 39.6 percent and that of males 67.9 percent which means that the gender gap in the education system is increasing by leaps and bounds. Girls in rural areas give more importance in learning home management skills which leaves them in a vulnerable condition.

The plight of women in Pakistan can be especially traumatic because they face tremendous social pressures as they are just believed to be a source of continuity of human beings but if deep analysis is made then we realize that educated females will not only help in the economy of the country but also educate their children towards positive things. It is very important to reduce the gender gap in the education system if we want our country to progress. And for that we as a nation should believe in the power of equality by avoiding discrimination against women.

The fight is not to determine the 'first among equals', but to enjoy a rostrum that is conducive to collaborative effort and a balance that is willed by nature.

IRUM KHALIL Lahore

Shia killings Our government, our security forces and our judiciary are silent on the killings of innocent people of Shia and Hazara community. When our Supreme Court can take suo motu action on the killings in Karachi and on the Balochistan situation, it should also take suo motu notice on the killings of innocent people belonging to the Shia and Hazara communities.

The Quaid in his maiden speech to the Constituent Assembly on Aug 11, 1947, said, “The first and foremost duty of a government is to maintain law and order and to protect the life and property of its citizens.” It is very sad that we have become an intolerant society. Religious intolerance has reached an alarming proportion. We are killing each other just because of differences in religious views.

People belonging to different faiths add diversity to our culture. We must respect other religions and faiths. This will help to build a tolerant society.

MAIMUNA RAZA Karachi

Russian president’s visit The postponement of Russian president’s visit to Pakistan is a bad news for all those who considered this visit as a major driver in finding a regional solution to the Afghan problem. This visit along with the trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Russia and Afghanistan was being seen as an important 'game changer event' in the context of the 'new great game' being played by various internal and external stake holders in Afghanistan.

For retaining ground troops in Afghanistan in a post 2014 scenario the US interest is focused on seeking and securing Soviet-era military bases in Afghanistan. US has also not disclosed or revealed the likely number of troops it is to leave behind after the troops withdrawal in 2014. The uncertain and unpredictable political situation in Afghanistan may necessitate the presence of a far greater number of foreign troops then what the US plans and the world perceive. Yet whatever be the number of troops the transit routes that

will ferry the supplies for these troops will be under the control of Russia or Pakistan. This means a lot to US and any efforts on part of Russia and Pakistan to coordinate their approach and push forward any alternative regional security plans will be viewed with suspicion by US which will consider its interests being challenged.

Russia is perceived to lead a regional strategy (an alternative strategy) which includes developing comprehensive partnerships with the neighboring states of Afghanistan as well as the Central Asian States in preparation of the post-2014 scenario in Afghanistan. Already Russia and Tajikistan have agreed on the terms of the continued presence of Russia's 201 Motorized Division for another 30-year period in Tajikistan. US is also hoping to secure basing facilities in Tajikistan. To do this US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is due to visit Dushanbe in the third week of October. A visit also

by Putin to Dushanbe in the month of October is an indicator of the importance

Free and fair elections The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Fakhuruddin G Ibrahim has resolved to ensure free and fair general elections scheduled to be held next year.

We have no doubt that CEC would try his best to fulfill his promise sincerely. Nonetheless, the past experience shows that the general elections particularly in Karachi are held on gun point by one certain group.

If the CEC wants to create an example about holding impartial elections, he should make Karachi a test case and ensure that free and fair general elections in real sense are held there along with the rest of the country. It is an undeniable fact that if impartial elections would be held throughout the country except at Karachi – the largest city, no one would recognize it as impartial as a whole.

As peaceful citizens of Karachi, let us hope this time people of the city would be allowed to cast their votes on the basis of their free will and whatsoever may be outside pressure, would not be allowed in Karachi in any case.

MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL Karachi

Cleansing the plate I once again reiterate that it is high time for politicians, dead and alive (for dead their legal heirs) and retired generals to call it a truce, go back to the nation and publicly make an apology for their past deeds.

The decisions of SC have unleashed their past. Too much dirty linen is being washed in public. I don’t see any escape for anyone or clarifications demanding probes and inquiries. Let us make a fresh start. Let there be an overall general amnesty for all and sundry and bury the past in deep nine-foot grave. Let us resolve not to mention past in public rallies or TV or anywhere. Let us make mudslinging an official offence, punishable under article 6 of the constitution.

the world powers are now associating to the neighboring countries of Afghanistan as the date of drawdown of foreign troops from Afghanistan nears.

Uzbekistan is the other valuable stake holder in the regional solution which has become an important logistics hub for International Security ForcesAfghanistan (ISAF). Seventy-five percent of all supplies for ISAF transported by ground now cross the Uzbek border. If in future there ever is a shutdown of a supply route from Pakistan the significance of Uzbekistan as a substitute to sustain any foreign troops being kept in the bases in Afghanistan cannot be overruled.

Mr Putin's visit to Pakistan was being seen as the indicator of the emerging geopolitical reality that Russia and Pakistan have finally realized that they have a commonality of interests in the post-2014 Afghanistan. Clearly, the postponement of Mr Putin's visit to Pakistan is a great setback for all those who wanted to see Russia leading the regional

Let us mend our ways and stop this cheating, fraud, misstatements, wrong declarations and character assassination as the only food for speeches. Let us get back to doing something constructive for the country. Let us adopt posterity as our way of lives. Let us evolve an accountability process. Let us remove this silly clause of immunity from our constitution (no one is above law). Let us stop building castles on the graves of dead ones by making them ‘shaheeds’ and martyrs. Let us save funds from wastage on their birthdays and death anniversaries. Concentrate on Pakistan and its people and their welfare. Let us clean the mess in all agencies and institutions, government or private or semi-government.

And lastly, let us do it all in one go and with one order without exceptions. Let all TV channels telecast without breaks. We don’t need long sermons in apology sessions. All we need to hear is a simple worded apology and allegiance to Pakistan. We need 24 hours for the apology session as the number of people is fairly large. But after 24 odd hours, we will emerge as a new Pakistan. Can’t we do it? If the stalwarts are innocent then this apology session is a matter of routine.

AMJAD H MIRZA Lahore

whose leaders are they?

Why is it so that you are following a traffic queue and waiting for your turn to pass through a security barrier and suddenly a vehicle bearing the nameplate of ‘MNA’ overpasses the whole line and goes away without being checked?

People elect their representatives so that the elected people (MPAs, MNAs) will become their voice; provide them relief; make their representation at national and international level; give them ownership; ensure their participation in the decision making process; facilitate them to the fullest. If these ministers do forget obligations and duties of their

solution of Afghan problem. This unfortunately has now been put to hold. It is hoped that the visit will eventually take place to show besides anything else that Russia and Pakistan are eager to put behind them their past indifference toward each other and are showing interest in jointly approaching the issues of terrorism and regional security.

It is also hoped that army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, will visit Russia as scheduled this month at the invitation of the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, General Nikolai Makarov. His visit will go a long way in communicating to the world that Russia and Pakistan are getting close to military-to-military cooperation. Eventually Russia and Pakistan have to reach out to each other because in this lies not only the mutual benefit that the two countries will draw but also the greater benefit of exploring peace and stability as joint stakeholders MUHAMMAD ALI EHSAN Karachi

positions, which they owe to masses, should at least act sensibly and carefully so that the common man’s emotions may not hurt. Things would have been much better if the rulers would exercise their authorities with conscience of social responsibility. People do feel compunction when they come to know about lip service of their elected representatives: only concerned about their vested interests.

Political parties are again struggling for canvassing but none of the political party has any tangible thing to be proud of – corruption, lawlessness, terrorism, ethnic and sectarian rifts, lack of basic amenities/utilities, consistent decline in the standard of living – you name any bad norm, that’s the way of living in Pakistan. Why people should use their political right to elect such insensitive and indifferent people who are doing nothing except breaking the trust of general public which is not getting food, clothe, education, justice, and any sort of basic/fundamental rights to live on peacefully?

SABA ASGHER ALI Islamabad

Professional ethics I read a news item that a US general will be facing court martial on charges that include forced sex, possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed and misusing a government travel charge card while serving in Afghanistan. The news has two points: first this shows how much the US Army is frustrated in Afghanistan as many US soldiers have committed suicides in Afghanistan (more than 1,200 US soldiers have killed themselves). The second point is that whatsoever the US Army does to other people, they maintain discipline in their own rank and file as the above mentioned army general will be facing court martial. In Pakistan it is still a surprise when an army officer faces court martial.

MUBASHIR MAHMOOD Karachi

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:15 AM Page 12

12 Victoria Beckham is the ‘least fun’

Models presenting creations by Dominican designers during the Fashion Week in Santo Domingo. AFP

S

inger Victoria Beckham has been voted as the least fun celebrity in the world. The 38year-old, is known for not smiling frequently which has led to the designer has been given the title in Jackpotjoy poll of 2,000 Brits. Other celebrity names in the contesting list were Jeremy Clarkson, Tom Cruise and Madonna. Comedian Alan Carr was named as the ‘most fun celeb’, followed by russell Brand and rihanna. Victoria’s take Singer-fashion designer Victoria Beckham says fashion stole her smile. She said she pouted in pictures because she does not want to be seen grinning. “i actually used to smile a lot in pictures. i think i only stopped smiling when i got into fashion. Fashion stole my smile! i’ve created this person. And i’m not saying that’s not me, but i wouldn’t say that’s the whole me... it’s an armour that goes up,” she had told glamour magazine in an interview. COuRTEsy HT

TOM CRUISe SUeS US MAGAZINE OVER DAUGHTER STORY Smiling keeps me skinny: Aniston

A

CTRESS Jennifer Aniston believes that smiling all the time keeps her happy and slim.

The 43-year-old, who is engaged to actor Justin Theroux, has learnt that dieting is no longer important to keep trim, and instead likes to spend time in the sun with a big grin on her face. “I stopped dieting when I figured out that you just have to eat regularly and properly within moderation,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Aniston as saying. “The fads are too much. I think it’s really about - honestly, this is going to sound silly - going in the sun for 20 minutes a day is really important, vitamin D, because we are now having a vitamin D deficiency because of all the SPF. And I think being happy and smiling and laughing a lot,” she added. COuRTEsy TOi

T

ROUBLED Hollywood actor Tom Cruise is suing the publishers of US magazine Life and Style for $50 million over a cover claiming he had abandoned his daughter Suri, his lawyer said Wednesday. The weekly’s July 30 issue splashed with the headline “Suri in tears, abandoned by her dad,” over a picture of the sobbing 6-yearold, living with her mother Katie Holmes since her shock divorce announcement weeks earlier.

Cruise’s lawyer Bert Fields called the magazine’s publishers “sleaze peddlers,” and said he filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday in the US District Court in Los Angeles, seeking damages of $50 million.”Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri. She’s a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has ‘abandoned’ her is a vicious lie,” Fields said in a statement. “To say

it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible,” he added.In the lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by celebrity news website TMZ, Cruise’s lawyers note that the story inside the magazine does not repeat the “abandonment” claims set out in the cover headline.

The story explains that, in the photo used on the cover, Suri was in tears after being unable to take a puppy home from a pet store, not due to being abandoned by her father.

But the full story “would not be seen by the vast majority of people who saw the cover,” typically on display at supermarket check-outs, it noted. Holmes announced on June 28 that she was filing for divorce to end her fiveyear marriage to Cruise, who was reportedly taken completely by surprise by the bombshell. The couple — who wed in November 2006 after a whirlwind romance and a proposal beneath the Eiffel

Tower in Paris — struck a divorce settlement less than two weeks later.

Under its terms, Suri lives in New York with her mother while Cruise gets extensive rights to visit and spend time with her.The actor’s lawyer denied that Cruise wanted to make money from the lawsuit, saying he just wants to clear his name. “Tom doesn’t go round suing people. He’s not a litigious guy. But when these sleaze peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he’s going to sue,” he said.

He added: “These serial defamers are foreign-owned companies with their global headquarters in Hamburg. They take money from unsuspecting Americans by selling their malicious garbage.

“Having to pay a libel judgment may slow them down. Tom will undoubtedly give the money to charity. He always has,” he added. aFP

Kareena talks about Penelope Cruz designs ‘cheating on’ Saif Ali Khan lingerie line Filming with the Queen was lovely: Craig

A

CTOR Daniel Craig says working with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was “lovely”. The 44-year-old, who worked alongside the monarch for a sketch shot for the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics, is pleased how good the stunt looked and admits it was “surreal” working with her. “I think she did good, I think she did fantastically. I am a big fan of Danny Boyle. He did an amazing job with the Opening Ceremony. I was proud to be a small part of it,” the sun.co.uk quoted Craig as saying. “It was quite surreal to be in the palace with the queen but Danny was being lovely, and so was she,” he added. COuRTEsy TOi

Friday, 26 October, 2012

A

K

AREENA Kapoor is one of those rare actresses who have never shied away from wearing her heart on her sleeve. She is truly, madly, deeply in love with her husband Saif Ali Khan and can’t stop gushing about him the moment you drop a question on what made her fall head over heels for the Nawab. In a recent interview to a popular lifestyle magazine, Kareena opened about her relationships ideals. She was asked if she would ever cheat on Saif. In reply to the question, Bebo said, “No, I don’t think so. There are temptations but if you’re happy and content with your man, then you’d never cheat.

The only time you’d look elsewhere or stray is when you’re unhappy.”

The heroine was also asked about

who she thinks is the hottest actor in the industry and guess what she could have said? Her answer was simple, “Saif, Saif, Saif.” nEws DEsK

CTRESS Penelope Cruz and her sister Monica have designed their own lingerie collection. The two have teamed up with British lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur to create the L`Agent diffusion line, which will feature 15 styles, including a selection of briefs and corsets.”It is so exciting for me and Monica to embark in this new adventure. We have always been huge fans of Agent Provocateur and both of us are very much looking forward to this long term collaboration,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Cruz as saying. The sisters have been heavily involved with all aspects of the collaboration and the partnership is expected to last a minimum of five years. The lingerie range will be launched in August next year. nEws DEsK

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 13

13 Humaima Malick wins South Asia Rising Star Film Award

P

AKISTANI film actress Humaima Malick has won the first-ever South Asian Rising Star Film Awards, in the Best Lead Actress category, for her role in the film Bol. The awards were part of 9th annual South Asian International Film Festival; the largest entertainment gala related to South Asian entertainment industry to be held in the United States, organised in collaboration with HBO. Humaima who was competing with Indian actresses Tanishtha Chatterjee, Parineeta Chopra, Rasika Dugal and Preeti Desai in the Best Lead Actress category was over whelmed with the achievement. She said, “I had no idea this role would earn so much recognition. It is an amazing honour to receive another award in a foreign land for a movie that is very close to my heart. I owe the entire team of BOL, Shoaib Mansoor and my family for this achievement.” Humaima has already received much acclaim and won accolades for her moving performance in Bol, at the Lux Style Award and in London Asian Film Festival. More recently, she has been nominated at the Asia Pacific Screen Award in Best Actress category, for which she would be competing with Indian actress Vidya Balan, for her work in The Dirty Picture. Humaima’s uncanny and often tear-jerking portrayal of Zainab touched the hearts of millions both in the national and international community. nEws DEsK

Megan threatens to sue US website over photoshopped ‘naked’ pics

Arjun Rampal angry over axed love scene

Megan Fox’s lawyers have issued a cease and desist letter to a US parody site, after five Xrated pictures were edited with the actress’ face and were posted online. The photos on website Celebrity Jihad, which appear to show the 26-year-old actress completely nude, are actually fake and is the work of a Photoshop guru, the Mirror reported.

According to TMZ.com, Fox’s lawyers are far from impressed with the images, claiming that they are 100 percent fake and must be taken down immediately. The doctored images on the website included a few lines of description, one said, “Megan Fox appears to pose naked in just a pair of high heel shoes.”

One picture of Fox while she was pregnant is accompanied with the headline, “Megan Fox Looking Fat In A Bikini.” nEws DEsK

H E actor, who usually avoids on-screen intimacy as a rule, was unhappy when the sequence was omitted. Arjun Rampal is angry and upset after seeing the first print of his new starrer Chakravyuh. Reason being his much talked about love-making sequence with Esha Gupta, shot over three long days, has been scrapped. Arjun and director Prakash Jha were heard having a heated argument over the scene that was edited out. A source revealed, “When Arjun saw the scene had gone missing, he was unhappy. When he asked Prakash about it, he was told it wasn’t required. This explanation further annoyed Arjun and he asked Prakash why the scene had been shot in the first place if it wasn’t required.”

According to the source, Arjun is upset about the omission of a sequence that took a lot of painstaking concentration on his part. Significantly, it went against his principle of avoiding onscreen intimacy as far as possible.

When contacted, Jha simply said,

T

Michelle Williams moves in with beau Jason Segel

M

“When I shot the love-making sequence with Arjun and Esha, I thought it would make for a tender interlude in a story that otherwise has no room for tenderness. But finally it didn’t fit into the narrative. So I edited it out.” This isn’t the first time Arjun has faced such a situation.

In Raajneeti, the actor had shot a graphic love-making sequence with Shruti Seth that was edited to a fraction of the original. However, Arjun took it in his stride at

the time. In Heroine as well, “What Madhur Bhandarkar narrated to Arjun and how his role finally shaped up were two completely different things. When Arjun saw the final cut, he was horrified.” Arjun said, “I’d rather not talk about Heroine. As for Chakravyuh, I’ve worked really hard on the part. I lost a lot of weight because of the tough action scenes and the gruelling hours. It was the toughest role of my career.” COuRTEsy TOi

Who will steal the 2013 Eid show — Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan?

Salman Khan, the indisputable king of Eid Box Office has created history by delivering 4 consecutive Eid releases- ‘Wanted’ (2009), ‘Dabangg’ (2010), ‘Bodyguard’ (2011) and ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ (2012). And the man seems to be on the verge of making it to the top of the BO next Eid as well.

Speculations are rife that his arch rival Shah Rukh Khan was planning to release his film ‘Chennai Express’ on Eid 2013, but when he learnt that Salman had plans to launch his remake of ‘Brindavanam’ on the same day, he withdrew his plans. But the release dates haven’t been finalized yet so it would be too early to comment on whose movie would make it to the silver screen on the festival. Both Salman and SRK have a huge fan following. So no matter who sets the silver screen on fire, their fans are bound to receive the best Eidi! nEws DEsK

ICHELLE Williams has moved into a new apartment with her daughter Matilda and boyfriend Jason Segel. The ‘My Week With Marilyn’ star, who went public with their romance last April, is said to have taken her relationship with the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ actor to next level as they recently began living together in a sprawling loft located in New York. ‘‘Michelle, Jason and Matilda seem very happy here, the building is beautiful,” a neighbour of the couple told a leading daily. ‘‘They’ve been here a few months now and they look right at home.’’ Until recently, the actress was still living in the 4.2 million-dollar Brooklyn apartment she shared with the late actor Heath Ledger, who is the father of her six-year-old daughter Matilda and died of an accidental drugs overdose in 2008. nEws DEsK

Pattinson’s waxwork unveiled at Madame Tussauds

F

ANS of Twilight hottie Robert Pattinson swamped Madame Tussauds in the city of Blackpool on Tuesday to get their photo taken with the institution’s latest famous wax figure. The 26-year-old actor’s lifesized “likeness” was guarded by four extra bouncers- hired by Managers at Madame Tussauds- to stop frenzied Twi-hards from damaging the waxwork - which took four months and a staggering 150,000 pounds to create, reports the Sun. Tussauds’ wizards of wax even dressed the figure in Rob’s trademark suit jacket, jeans and skinny tie. The wax R-Patz will mingle with the likes of the Queen, Will and Kate and The Beatles in Blackpool until November - when the figure will embark on a tour of other Madame Tussauds museums around the world. COuRTEsy TOi

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 14

Infotainment 14

Fresh lead emerges in AIDS vaccine hunt A

team of researchers has identified one way the human body can develop powerful antibodies to protect it against the AIDS virus, offering a new lead in the quest for a vaccine. Scientists just over three years ago identified two potent antibodies that could target most of the thousands of strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Since then, dozens more "broadly neutralizing antibodies," as they are called, have been identified.

But researchers haven't known how they develop—critical information they need to create a vaccine, which has been one of modern medicine's greatest challenges and has remained elusive more than 30 years after the epidemic erupted.

DeCADeS oF PRogReSS AnD SeTBACKS: Research in South Africa discovered a key change in the outer coating of the HIV virus that had enabled two HIV-infected women to develop broadly neutralizing antibodies. The HIV virus is famously elusive, evolving and changing constantly—even over the course of a week within a single patient.

But the piece of the virus on which the change occurred in the women is common across many HIV strains, and the antibodies one of them developed were able to kill up to 88% of HIV strains from around the world. Released by the immune system, antibodies stick to the surface of a virus and prevent it from entering a cell.

The researchers followed the two women for years, making it possible to figure out when and how the change in the virus occurred that allowed them to develop the antibodies, Dr. Fauci said.

The study represents "a key advance in the vaccine field," said Wayne Koff, chief scientific officer of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which helps develop and promote vaccines. "It builds on a lot of advances in the last three or four years" that have brought about a "renaissance" in the field, he said. About 34.2 million people were living with HIV in 2011, and 1.7 million died, accord-

Thai hotel brews up coffee from elephant dung

The Black Ivory blend, made from coffee beans digested and excreted by Thai elephants, is billed as producing a particularly smooth cup. But it is not cheap, with Anantara Hotels saying the "naturally refined" coffee costs a staggering $1,100 per kilogram -- making it one of the most expensive blends in the world. "Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the elephant break down coffee protein," the Thai-based hotel group, which is selling the pungent brew at around $50 for two cups, said in a statement sent to AFP Thursday.

Once the elephants have digested the coffee berries, the beans are picked out of their dung by mahouts -- their trainers -- and then sun-dried. The process is carried out at the hotel's elephant rescue centre in Thailand's north where 30 of the beasts live along with mahouts and their families. -aFP

ing to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Researchers tracked one of the women starting in April 2005, when she was 36 years old and enrolled in a consortium study on acute HIV infection. The woman, from Durban, South Africa, developed HIV infection in February 2006, despite having a stable partner, Dr. Abdool Karim said. Within three years of infection, her body was producing antibodies capable of neutralizing 88% of a large panel of HIV viruses against which it was tested. The second woman, enrolled in July 2007 in another HIV study, became infected with the HIV virus in June 2008. Her antibodies neutralized 46% of a panel of HIV viruses to which they were exposed two years after infection. Still, because the woman demonstrated the

same change in the virus, "we would expect within the next year she would have attained a similar response" as the first subject, Dr. Abdool Karim said. The virus change that prompted the women's immune systems to produce the antibodies is probably just one of several ways antibodies develop, scientists say. Other broadly neutralizing antibodies target other parts of the HIV virus.

A vaccine remains far off. One problem is that the subjects of the study developed their broadly neutralizing antibodies only after a change in the virus—not the form that initially infected them.

Still, clinical trials on initial vaccine candidates based on research on broadly neutralizing antibodies will begin within the next two or three years, Dr. Koff said. -nEws DEsK

Maya demand an end to doomsday myth

Guatemala's Mayan people accused the government and tour groups on Wednesday of perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the imminent end of the world for monetary gain.

"We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles," charged Felipe Gomez, leader of the Maya alliance Oxlaljuj Ajpop. Several films and documentaries have promoted the idea that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts that doomsday is less than two months away, on December 21, 2012. The Culture Ministry is hosting a massive event in Guatemala City -which as many as 90,000 people are expected to attend -- just in case the world actually does end, while tour groups are promoting doomsdaythemed getaways. Maya leader Gomez urged the Tourism Institute to rethink the doomsday celebration, which he criticized as a "show" that was disrespectful to Mayan culture. Experts say

that for the Maya, all that ends in 2012 is one of their calendar cycles, not the world. Gomez's group issued a statement saying that the new Maya time cycle simply "means there will be big changes on the personal, family and community level, so that there is harmony and balance between mankind and nature."

Oxlajuj Ajpop is holding events it considers sacred in five cities to mark the event and Gomez said the Culture Ministry would be wise to throw its support behind their real celebrations. More than half of Guatemala's population of nearly 15 million are from indigenous groups of Mayan descent. The Mayan calendar has 18 months of 20 days each plus a sacred month, "Wayeb," of five days. "B'aktun" is the larget unit in the time cycle system, and is about 400 years.

The broader era spans 13 B'aktun, or about 5,200 years.

The Mayan culture enjoyed a golden age between 250 AD and 900 AD. aFP

Android to beat Windows in 2016: report

G

OOGLE'S Android operating system will be used on more computing devices than Microsoft's Windows within four years, data from research firm Gartner showed on Wednesday, underlining the massive shift in the technology sector. At the end of 2016, there will be 2.3 billion computers, tablets and smartphones using Android software, compared with 2.28 billion Windows devices, Gartner data showed.

That compares to an expected 1.5 billion Windows devices by the end of this year, against 608 million using Android. Android, which reached the market only in 2008, has risen fast to be the dominant smartphone platform, controlling two-thirds of that market. It has taken the No. 2 spot in the fastgrowing tablet computer market. The proliferation of the free software gives Google its edge on the search market - its key profit generator. Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell by over 8 percent in the third quarter, the steepest decline since 2001, as more consumers flock to increasingly powerful tablets and smartphones for more basic computing.

Microsoft's Windows has dominated the personal computer industry for decades, but the company has struggled to keep up with shift to wireless, and in smartphones its market share is around 3 percent. nEws DEsK

SC sheriffs offering amnesty for explosives

S

HERIFFS in five South Carolina counties are offering people a chance to turn in explosives, no questions asked. Officials in Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, Oconee and Pickens counties have set aside this week as Explosives Amnesty Week. People in those areas can call their sheriff's office to have any explosives, ammunition, weapons, bomb materials or military ordnance removed from their property. Certified bomb technicians will respond to remove and destroy the hazardous materials. Dispatchers will request information about the materials to be collected, including the address where the materials are stored. Callers aren't required to give their names and no criminal charges related to hazardous materials reported or collected will be filed against people who participate.aGEnCiEs

Rare ‘headless’ ladybug discovered in Montana

S

LEEPY Hollow has its headless horseman and now Montana has a headless ladybug. The newly discovered insect tucks its head into its throat - making it not only a new species but an entirely new genus, or larger classification of plants and animals. Ross Winton captured the insect in 2009 in traps he set in a sand dune while an entomology graduate student at Montana State University.

Winton, now a wildlife technician in Idaho, at first thought he had parts of an ant but then discovered the bug can hide its head, much like a turtle ducking into its shell. Winton sent his discovery to scientists in Australia working on this group of insects and the headless ladybug was formally described in a recent issue of the peer-reviewed journal Systemic Entomology. However, the new species - Allenius iviei - was named after his former professor and Montana State University entomologist Michael Ivie. "It's a whole new kind of ladybug. -aGEnCiEs

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 16

Friday, 26 October, 2012

Sharapova dreams without sleep Page 18

Malik applies to be Pakistan batting coach LAhore

F

sTaFF REPORT

ORMER Pakistan captain Salim Malik, who overturned a life ban from cricket, applied for the job of national team batting coach on Thursday. In 2008, a court in Lahore lifted a life ban on Malik which was imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board for match-fixing. A PCB board of inquiry in 2000 implicated him in corrupting international matches.

"I do really feel that Pakistan needs a batting coach and I want to offer my services," Malik said in Lahore soon

women hockey training camp for ahF Cup

after applying for the job at the PCB headquarters. "Pakistan batsmen have been struggling both against spinners and fast bowlers and they need a good adviser."

The 49-year-old Malik wasn't concerned that he doesn't fulfill at least two of the job requirements.

He doesn't have at least five years of working experience in a similar role with elite cricketers, nor has he done a level three coaching accreditation or international equivalent.

"I don't think it should be a problem," Malik said. "You don't have to teach players of the national team from scratch, you just need to fine tune

FiCA seeks confirmation on revival of cricket in pakistan

LAhore

MUMBAI

sTaFF REPORT

biPin Dani

The training camp of female hockey players preparing for participation in the 3rd Women’s AHF Cup to be played in Singapore from December 6-16 will be established at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium Islamabad from October 31. “Altogether 31 players will be attending the camp which aims at preparing a strong team for the event “,said a spokesperson of women wing of Pakistan Hockey Federation. The camp trainees are: Rizwana Yasmeen, Maria Saeed, Fakhra Tabassum, Irum Bukhari, Sehrish Ghumman, Nadia Kazim, Iqra Javaid, Aqsa Mumtaz, Marina Anwar, Zakia Nawaz, Maria Sabir, Ambreen Arshad, Afsheen Noreen, Ishrat Abbas, Asma Ashraf, Amna Mir, Shahida G. Raza, Sana Hanfi, Sanam Yousaf, Nain Tara, Zaib-un-Nisa, Uzma Lal, Gul Pari, Hina Kanwal, Azra Nasir, Ayesha Bashir, Rabia Sarwar, Rabia Qadir, Shukria Rashid, Fakhra Nayab and Sumaira Sajid. Total 31.

The PHF has appointed Mrs. Tanzeela Aamir Cheema as Team Manager, Olympian M Usman as Head Coach and Muhammad Irfan as Coach of the Women Hockey Team.

The Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) has sought the confirmation of news which states that Bangladesh team will be touring Pakistan (three ODIs' and two Twenty20s) in December this year.

This was revealed by the FICA chief, Tim May. "I have requested confirmation from ICC as to the report’s accuracy. Until then it is not appropriate for us to comment", he said.

"Any opinion on whether it is safe to tour Pakistan should be decided by independent security consultants,” he further added.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will buy the bullet proof buses for the security of visiting teams in their country. However, it is not clear whether these buses would be "ready" by the time when any of the teams from Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, whom the PCB have been negotiating, will travel to Pakistan.

"It is a news to us. We wonder how the PCB could announce the tour without the consent of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the two petitioners, Kamal Hossain Miazi and Khandiker Dider-us-Salam, speaking exclusively, said from Dhaka. They ap-

PhF names 27 probables for camp LAhore

them." Malik caused another controversy after his ban was lifted four years ago when he claimed the PCB offered him a job as head coach at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. However, the PCB denied Malik's claims at the time.

He played 103 tests from 1982-99 and scored 5,768 runs. He also played 283 one-day internationals and made 7,170 runs.

As captain, he won seven of 12 tests. Only Waqar Younis, who won 10 of 17, has a better winning percentage for Pakistan.

PCB has set Nov. 5 as the deadline for applicants for batting coach.

pealed in the High Court in April when the tour was ultimately called off.

"Our petition is still pending in the court, though there is no restriction, but we will again discuss the issue with the concerned people and our lawyer and if we consider Pakistan is still unsafe, we shall freshly file the case in the court", they added.

"It is not that we oppose the tour.

We are also aware about the fact that the few international cricketers also played two Twenty20 charity matches in Karachi last week".

"We shall wait until the ICC clear-

ance for the tour", they maintained.

"The BCB has already submitted the detailed security plan in Court. It's a huge document. If the proposed tour is going to take place in December, then we will try to get the case fixed for final hearing before that", the Petitioners' lawyer, Hassan Azim said.

"Well, now it's time that the security plan of Pakistan be tested in our apex Court. If the Court gives a clearance after hearing all the parties, then it will indeed be a very big achievement for Pakistan", the lawyer concluded.

mendis out of limited-overs squad neWSDeSk Spinner Ajantha Mendis has been left out of the Sri Lanka squad for the Twenty20 and the first three ODIs against New Zealand due to a side strain he sustained early in the World Twenty20, ESPNcricinfo reported. Mahela Jayawardene, who led Sri Lanka to the World Twenty20 final earlier this month, and Lasith Malinga, who has been the team's spearhead in limited overs, have also been rested for the Twenty20 match next Tuesday.

Newly appointed Twenty20 captain Angelo Mathews has medium pace bowler Nuwan Kulasekara as his deputy in the Twenty20, Malinga's absence. Malinga was named vice-captain of the Twenty20 team for a year when Mathews was elevated to the captaincy. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been omitted from the Twenty20 side and offspinner Sachithra Senanayake comes in.

Three players from the squad that played Sri Lanka's previous ODI assignment, the home one-dayers against India in July-August, miss out: fast bowlers Nuwan Pradeep and Isuru Udana, and batsman Chamara Kapugedera. Akila Dananjaya, the rookie offspinner who claimed five wickets in three games at the World Twenty20, including a spell of 1 for 16 in the final, gets his maiden ODI call-up.

The only newcomer in the one-day squad is 19-year-old offspinner Tharindu Kaushal, who is yet to make his domestic debut in any format. Kaushal was the second-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka at the recent U-19 World Cup in Australia, taking 11 wickets at 15.45.

After Sri Lanka's World Twenty20 final loss the selectors had expressed a desire to build a specialised Twenty20 team distinct from the ODI side, with an emphasis on batting firepower. However, 11 of the 13 players in the Twenty20 squad were in the World Twenty20 squad, and the only batting addition - Upul Tharanga - has largely been treated as an ODI specialist in the past. Sri Lanka play New Zealand in a Twenty20 and ODI in Pallekele, before the teams move to Colombo and Hambantota where they play two ODIs at each venue.

The limited-overs leg of the tour will be followed by two Tests.

sTaFF REPORT

The Pakistan Hockey Federation on Thursday announced the names of twenty seven for attending a training camp for the build up of team to take part in the Champions Trophy being held in Melborune from December 1-9. The camp will commence from October 31 at Johad Town hockey ground ,said a spokesman of PHF here. Veteran full back of captain of Pak team which participated in London Olympics, Sohail Abbas and forward Rehan Butt have been axed.

Following will attend, Imran Shah, Imran Butt, Mohammad Irfan Senior, Syed Kashif Shah, Muhammad Imran Senior, Mohammad Rizwan Sr., Mohammad. Tousiq, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Mohammad. Waqas, Shafqat Rasool, Umar Bhutta, Abdul Haseem Khan, M. Rizwan Jr., Ali Shan, Muhammad Ateeq, Muhammad Nawaz, Waseem Ahmed, Muhammad Imran Jr., Ahmed Zubair, Usman Rafique, Ali Hassan Faraz, Mohammad. Talal Khalid, M Kashif Ali, Syed Sibtain Naqvi, Waqas Liaqat Butt and Mohammad. Salman Hussain.

The camp will be conducted by manager and chief coach, Akhtar Rasool Chaudhary ,coaches Abdul Hanif Khan/Coach, Ajmal Khan Lodhi,. Ahmed Alam. Faiz-ur-Rahman is the Physiotherapist and Nadeem Khan Lodhi is Video-Analyst.

We still average 53 as opening pair: Gambhir neWSDeSk Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag haven't put on a century stand in Tests in nearly two years raising questions over the pair's future but Gambhir has insisted they are still the best openers in India, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Gambhir and Sehwag have been among India's most durable Test opening pairs, and one of only five combinations to put on more than 4000 Test runs at the top of the order but their form has dwindled over the past couple of years.

"We still average 53 as an opening pair, which I think is one of the best when it comes to opening the batting in world cricket," Gambhir told PTI. "There are not many opening pairs who have played for such a long time and have an average of 53 per innings. And if 53 is not good enough, I don't know what is good enough.

"As an opening pair, you average 50 per inning and if you are giving 50 runs start in every innings, you can't do more

and if people talk about not contributing, I will suggest them to look at the stats."

While their overall figures are still pretty good, the pair are under scrutiny due to their performance on India's abysmal tour of Australia last season, when Gambhir and Sehwag's highest stand in eight innings was 26.

Gambhir also hasn't scored a Test century in nearly three years, though he insisted that shouldn't be the criterion by which a batsman should be judged.

"It's not about scoring a hundred every time, it's about contributing when you are opening the batting. It's not only me, a lot of other people have also not scored tons.

"People only discuss about scoring a hundred, I don't know why. I got 93 in South Africa, 85-odd in Australia...15 or seven more and people would not be discussing my hundred."

Gambhir and Sehwag are expected to be India's openers for the home Test series against England which starts in midNovember.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 17

Sports 16 PunjAB Youth FeStIvAL 2012

World record setting Provincial Level concludes

LAhore sTaFF REPORT

T

HE sixth Provincial Level of the Punjab Youth Festival 2012 concluded after creating several world records here on Thursday.

The Punjab Youth Festival will be remembered for a long time for creating 11 Guinness World Records including the mass participating record of national anthem singing, biggest mosaic and largest human flag. On the final day of this level widespread activity was witnessed at the Expo Centre, Hockey Mini Ground and Iqbal Park.

In the semifinal of school level badminton (male), Lahore beat Gujranwala 2-0. In the second semifinal, Sahiwal defeated Bahawalpur 2-0. Sahiwal beat Lahore in the final tournament to beat Lahore 21-10, 24-22. At college, Faisalabad beat Bahawalpur 2-0 in the first

Rawalpindi champion in festival baseball

LAhore sTaFF REPORT

Rawalpindi defeated Gujranwala to win the Punjab Youth Sports Festival baseball championship at the Iqbal Park Sports Complex here on Thursday. Gujranwala had taken the lead 3-1 at the end of the third innings, but from thereon Rawalpindi bounced back in the final to complete the victory. For Rawalpindi their batter Shoaib Sheikh was the main contributor. Secretary Pakistan Federation Baseball Syed Khawar Shah was the chief guest and he garlanded the winning team with gold medal and losers with silver medal. In all nine 9 divisions took part in the championship.

lege final, Lahore's Punjab college beat Punjab college Sargodha 2-1 while at University final, Government college university Faisalabad scored 4-2 to beat Punjab university Lahore.

In school hockey female, Faisalabad beat Gujranwala 2-0, in college femal final Lahore defeated Faisalabad 3-0, in University final Lahore moved past Bahawalpur 4-0 and in general public, Faisalabad overpowered Lahore 2-1.

In floodlights football Finals held at Punjab stadium, Lahore thrashed Gujranwala 1-0 at college level. At university level, Sargodha beat Lahore 3-2 while at General public final match, Bahawalpur beat DG Khan 3-2 at penalty kicks. In the Blind cricket final, Rawalpindi chased the score made by Gujranwala 103 to win the match.

In the special children athletics events, (male )100 M race of visually impaired , Shahzad Akram of Sahiwal won

semi final. Lahore defeated Sahiwal in the second semi final while Lahore continued with it’s victory in the Final match defeating Faisalabad 21-17, 21-14, 21-18. At university level, Faisalabad beat Rawalpindi 2-0. In semi final, Lahore defeated Sargodha 2-0. In final Lahore defeated Faisalabad 21-16, 21-18. At General public, Lahore beat Sahiwal 2-0 while in the second semi-final , Bahawalpur beat Rawalpindi 2-0. In the final competition, Bahawalpur beat Lahore 21-06, 21-12.

In volleyball male General public, Gujranwala achieved first position while Sahiwal was second. At school level, Sahiwal bagged first position and Faisalabad maintained second position. At college level, Faisalabad achieved first position and Gujranwala was second. At university level Lahore won first ,Faisalabad secured second position.

In hockey male matches, at school level final, Multan beat Lahore 4-2,at col-

the first prize, Mubashir Hussain of Rawalpindi won second while Zahid Mehmood of Lahore achieved third position. In 50 M female race of Visually impaired ,Munaza Ilyas of Gujranwala attained first position, Wajiha Shafaq of Rawalpindi got second while Huma of Lahore maintained third position. In 100 M (male) category Mentally Retarded , Lahore’s Adeel Ameer won first prize, Rawalpindi’s Qamar Hussain earned second while Gujranwala’s Mohammed Sultan gained third position. In 50 M (female) Mentally-Retarded, Lahore’s Sadia Khalid was first. In the Wheel chair 100 M (male) race of Physically disable, Multan’s Ahmad yar was first, M. Ishaq of Lahore gained second position whereas Gujranwala’s Irfan Arshad secured third position. In 100 m (male) Hearing Impaired, Sargodha’s Naeem was first, Lahore’s Umer Aslam maintained second and Faisalabad’s Rashid Ali was third. In

Cook ready for india challenge neWSDeSk In early days of England's 1992-93 tour of India, the pair of Mike Atherton and Phil Tufnell wandered around the streets of Kolkata, admiring and swallowing at once the beauty, chaos and stench of the City of Joy. The pair were bunking as room-mates on their first trip to India and Atherton recounts an interesting story in his autobiography Opening Up, ESPNcricinfo reported.

As they ambled along the streets, the duo ended up sitting "cross-legged" in front of a fortune teller, who had lured the Englishmen in with the offer that for a small fee he would have his caged parrot pick the Tarot cards which would reveal their immediate future.

Superstitious, both men acquiesced.

The pair's fate, the fortune teller warned, was "bleak" for the next couple of months, but would pick up from February 24 - the day before the England tour ended. Needless to say, England lost the series 3-0.

Security concerns will not allow England's newly installed Test captain, Alastair Cook, to find himself squatting in the promenade by the Gateway of India, a happy hunting ground for fortune tellers. Then again, Cook does not need a stranger to tell him what lays in store when he lands in India.

The reintegration process of Kevin Pietersen back into the England dressing room; how to conquer spin, England's Achilles heel for the many debacles over many decades; installing a suitable and long-term opener to replace Cook's predecessor, Andrew Strauss, with whom he had a prolific partnership; and, importantly, rediscovering the team's winning ways are the main hurdles for Cook and

England's team director, Andy Flower, on the India trip.

The rights and wrongs of the Pietersen issue have all the makings of a bestseller but if England want to stand up on Indian soil confidently, they need their best player of spin and they need to embrace him despite his faults. Some have argued that England won the 2009 Ashes largely without Pietersen but then playing India in India on turning tracks is a different proposition to Australia at home. Among current England batsmen, Pietersen has the best scoring rate against Indian spinners in India of 3.57.

Of the touring squad, only Cook and Pietersen have made centuries in India, with the pair both passing 1000 runs on the subcontinent since Cook's 2006 debut. On Thursday, before England departed to India via the UAE - where the squad train over the weekend - Cook said several times that Pietersen was "desperate and keen to pull his England shirt on", because with the three lions on his

chest Pietersen has shown the ability to bring down the opposition single-handedly. Pietersen, who is currently in South Africa with Delhi Daredevils, will join up with England after his involvement in the Champions League T20.

Cook acknowledged the bitterness of the past two months, when Pietersen was dropped immediately after his heroics at Headingley in the second Test against South Africa. Earlier this week Strauss himself said that it would not be an easy healing process. Cook recognised the difficulty but indicated strongly that he wanted to move forward.

"It has been a difficult two months for us as an England side but for me as a captain the best possible outcome has happened," Cook said. "We have got a world-class player back in our team. It has been a tough couple of months for Kevin but he seems very contrite. He is desperate to be back playing, doing what he does best - scoring runs for England. As a captain that is what all I want. I want him to come back into the side as he was to score match-winning runs like he did in Colombo, like he did at Headingley. I am sure he will be desperately keen to do that. As a captain I wanted our best players in the team because that is how we know we can get the best results."

Asked if it would be easy for the team management and his team-mates to give Pietersen respect and expect the same in return, Cook agreed that it would take time for the reconciliation but said the first positive steps had been taken. According to Cook the key was to develop the same team ethos that had seen England climb to top of the Test rankings last year with consistent performances.

the 100 m (female) Hearing Impaired category, Lahore’s Mamoona Saleh achieved first, Bahawalpur’s Misbah Anwar got second and Gujranwala’s Umme Habiba achieved third positions. In the 100 M (male) One Arm category, Faisalabad’s Asghar earned first, Sahiwal’s Saqib Naveed managed second while Lahore’s M. Shafique achieved third positions.

In the Horticulture Final competitions held at Expo Center, Permanent landscape winners were Mian Ikhlaq Ahmed earned first, Dr Khalid Latif achieved second and Mrs. Duraba Akbar attained third positions.

In Evergreen Foliage, Haroon Cheema succeeded with first position, A. H Zaidi was second while Dr Afzal got third positions. The special prizes were given to ,Haji Imdad ,Naseem Sindhu, Begum Wajid Ali,Mrs. Nighat Shah ,Mrs Tanveer Mehmood and Mrs Ambreen Irfan by Mryam Nawaz.

Colsaerts ‘has goose bumps’ thinking about medinah

ShAnghAI aFP

Big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts is still pinching himself after his Ryder Cup heroics. And he admitted at Lake Malaren on Thursday that there's hardly a moment goes by when he doesn't think about being part of the historic come-from-behind Team Europe victory at Medinah almost four weeks ago. Colsaerts, competing in the $7 million BMW Masters in Shanghai, said it had been a fantastic reunion this week with 10 of his teammates plus captain Jose Maria Olazabal. "It's good to see everyone again," said the world number 33, who shot a steady three-under par 69 to lie seven shots off the runaway leader Jamie Donaldson after the tournament's first day. "When that (Ryder Cup) week ends it's like the best school trip you've ever been on has just finished. Amazing being part of an unbelievable ride."

Sun tV wins hyderabad iPL team neW DeLhI

Amir & Co need to stop talking, win some fights keVIn MCrAe Amir Khan needs to stop talking and start winning. In each of his last two fights, British welterweight Amir Khan entered the ring as the heavy favorite.

He was supposed to walk through both Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, paving the way for potential superfights with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao. But a strange thing happened to

Khan. He got beat. Twice. Once by spectacular knockout. But you'd never know it with the way the Brit and his team have been talking lately. They seem to have not gotten the message that Khan is no longer considered an elite-level prospect, and in fact, many argue that his losses exposed him.

Don't forget, Garcia wasn't the first man to knock out Khan in spectacular fashion. Brendis Prescott also pulled off the feat in the first round of their 2008 fight. And

like the others, Khan was expected to handily beat him, too. So coming off his latest knockout loss, you'd be right to expect a little humility from Khan and his camp, which includes new trainer Virgil Hunter, who has done wonders for Andre Ward's career. It turns out, you'd be wrong.

Khan has spent the last several months calling out potential opponents, feeling he has the right to dictate terms. Before settling on relative unknown Carlos Molina,

who has little power and will have to come up in weight, Khan was dismissive of another undefeated fighter, former two-time world champion Joan Guzman.

I want someone who is a bit more credible than him. I've come from world title fights and he [Guzman] might be a little below that. You'd think he was Floyd Mayweather Jr. with the way he dismisses an undefeated former two-time, two-weight division champion.

aFP

Regional television network Sun TV on Thursday won an auction to buy the Indian Premier League team based in Hyderabad after the cash-strapped Deccan Chronicle group was forced to sell. Sun TV, owned by the Chennai-based Maran group, put in the highest bid of $15.9 million a year for the rights to the franchise in the lucrative Twenty20 league that was founded in 2008. "The IPL Governing Council met earlier today in Mumbai to open the bids for a new IPL franchise," the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 18

17 Sports two matches decided in amar Cables Veteran Cricket LAhore sTaFF REPORT

Amar cables beat Lahore Tigers by six wickets and Chaudhary Sports outplayed SPM Bucks by four wickets as two matches were decided here .

At Shah Faisal Cricket, Lahore Tigers batted first made 142/8 in 20 overs.

Muhammad Yaqoob 38, Zaheer Iqbal 33 & Saif-ur-rehman 32 runs were their main scorers . Amar Cables bowling Tariq Rasheed 2/25, Munir Shah 1/25, Jahangir Khan 1/32, Shafqat Butt 1/22 & Rouf Wain 1/24 wickets. Amar Cables answered with 143/4 in 19.3 overs.

Amer Ilyas Butt played well 58 runs & Dastgeer Butt 72 top scored to earn man of the match award. Lahore Tigers bowling Muhammad Anees 2/19 & Tahir Rasheed 1/28 wickets. Irfan Dilshad and Adnan Rasheed were the umpires and Waris Basher was the scorer.

SPM Bucks elected to bat reached 138/7 in 20 overs and received useful contributions from Javeed Butt 44 runs not out, Khalid Habib 19, Qadeer Shah 16, Tariq Mehmood 14 & Tariq Rehman 14 runs. Chaudhary Sports bowling Muhammad Sami 2/21, Muhammad Khan 2/22, Gulzar Ahmad 1/20 & Muhammad Saleem 1/20 runs. Chaudhary Sports made 39/6 in 19.1 overs.

Muhammad Shafiq 39, Shahid Ali 34, Naseer Ahmad 20 runs not out & Muhammad Saleem 16 runs not out dominated in battingt. SPM Bucks bowling Zahid Khan 3/21, Sohail Imran 2/22 & Khalid Habib 1/16 wickets. Waleed Yaqoob and Sagheer Ahmad stood as umpires and Qasim Shafiq was the scorer.

Final of autumn Polo Cup LAhore sTaFF REPORT

iStaNBuL: Germany’s angelique Kerber returns a ball to China’s Li Na during the wta Championships tennis tournament. AFp

‘Stifling’ Woods raises prospect of magic 59 kUALA LUMPUr aFP

The final of The Autumn Polo Cup will be played here Friday at Lahore polo club ground betweenEnvogue and JPL. Following are the teams of the final, Envogue, Syed Hasnain Shah/Abu Bakar, Babar Monnoo, Taimur Mawaz Khan, Abdul Haye Mehta.

JPL, Mir Huzaifa /Sufi Mohammad Haroon, Shah Changez Alam/ Chaudhary Fateh, Shah Qubilai Alam, Agha Musta Ali/ Chaudhary Hayat Mehmood.

In the subsidiary final, Rijas will meet Learning Alliance.

Tiger Woods said a magical 59 was possible this week after top American and Asian players shrugged off "stifling" conditions to make a roaring start to the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. America's Troy Matteson led the charge with a sizzling eight-under 63 at the par-71 Mines Resort and Golf Club, including four birdies in his last four holes, while three players were on 64 and another two scored 65.

Woods carded 66 in his first round, played in 34 degree Celsius (93 Fahren-

heit) and high humidity in the Malaysian capital, and despite consecutive bogeys on eight and nine. Of the 48-man field, only seven were over par. Afterwards, the 14-time Major winner said soft ground conditions encouraged aggressive shots into the green -- adding that the rare figure of 59, achieved only sporadically in golfing history, was a possibility.

"If the wind doesn't blow and we get decent pins, where they don't put them on spots where they're tough to get at, guys could do it. You could conceivably see it," Woods said on Thursday. "But it's all dependent on the pin locations and the fact

that it's going to rain here just about every day, and we're getting mud balls out there... But if everything works out in your favour, who knows?" In saunalike heat, the American reached for the towel and had to pull out of shots to wipe sweat from his face. Dripping with perspiration after his round, he said he was headed straight for a cold shower. "It was a little bit stifling out there... I would love to hop in an

ice tub right now. Unfortunately we've got to go back to the hotel, and hopefully get that shower as cold as it can get," Woods said. "Everyone has got to deal with it. It's hot, it's humid, and they've got to stay hydrated. The hardest part is actually eating because you're just not hungry. I'm just like everyone else here, we're going to lose a few LBs (pounds) this week." America's Jeff Overton, who was tied for second after a 64, said he learned the hard way about Malaysia's sweaty conditions.

McIlroy in mix as Donaldson breaks course record ShAnghAI aFP

Four of the world's top five golfers including number one Rory McIlroy are at Lake Malaren this week, but it was world number 51 Jamie Donaldson who outshone all the stars Thursday. The Welshman shot a course-record 10-under-par 62 to lead the BMW Masters by four shots after the first round. Donaldson won his first tour title at the Irish Open at Royal Portrush earlier this season after 10 years and 255 tournaments of trying. He would be wise not to look over his shoulder when he tees off in the final group on Friday.

If he does he will see a world-class chasing pack headed by Ryder Cup stars Peter Hanson and Francesco Molinari at six-under bearing down on him.

More ominously, US PGA champion McIlroy, who won on this course last year when the tournament was an invitational event, lurks just one shot further back after a birdie on 18 gave the Northern Irishman a 67. Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal, pleased to get his clubs back in his hands after guiding his team to an emotional victory at Medinah less than four weeks ago, also shot a sublime bogey-free

Friday, 26 October, 2012

ShaNGhai: thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark plays from the bunker on the 7th hole during the first round of the Bmw Shanghai masters golf tournament. AFp 67 to be five off the lead. And McIlroy said it was good to see his skipper's name alongside his. "Yeah, Ollie's name on the board there was nice to see," said McIlroy.

"A few weeks ago 12 individuals came together as part of the team and now we're

back playing and trying to beat one another." McIlroy said the benign, windless conditions made good scoring possible, but was still mightily impressed by Donaldson's round. "Jamie has shot 10-under, which is phenomenal scoring, and I was

just happy to stay somewhere within touching distance." He did that with "my best two shots of the day", a driver in the 18th followed by a nine-iron from 144 yards to within four feet for a birdie three.

"It was definitely a nice way to finish and puts me in a good position," said McIlroy. Far from out of the picture, with 54 holes still to play on the long and demanding Jack Nicklaus-designed 7,607-yard course, are world number five Justin Rose (four-under), number three Luke Donald and number four Lee Westwood (both on two-under).

But it was Donaldson who sparkled in Shanghai, and he rated the bogey-free 62 as one of the rounds of his life despite having twice shot 61 in previous tour events.

"Yeah it's up there with the best rounds I've ever shot. The golf course is harder than the other two I played, the other low scores. "The golf course is no pushover by any stretch of the imagination," said Donaldson, 37.

Donaldson's round contained 10 birdies, five each on front and back nines, and eight pars. And so flawless was his golf he never had to scramble to keep a bogey off his card. "I never struggled for par. I missed two greens all day: one I chipped in

and the other one I hit the flag," he said.

Also at four-under par alongside Rose are major winners Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Martin Kaymer of Germany.

PARK LeADS ReSuRgenT TSeng In TAIWAn: Troubled world number one Yani Tseng drew inspiration from thousands of cheering fans as she carded five-under-par 67 to lie two shots off the first-round lead at the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship Thursday.

The defending champion, moved to tears this week as she contemplated a seven-month title drought, scored six birdies against a lone bogey to trail South Korea's in-form Park In-Bee by two shots.

"Must be the bogey on number 10 make me a little mad out there," Tseng said.

"But after that I feel let's make birdie chance, let's make a few birdies, and I did on number 11, that was a great putt because I didn't putt well on the front nine.

Park, who has enjoyed 10 top-10 finishes out of 20 tournaments this year, enjoyed a bogey-free round of seven birdies at Sunrise Golf and Country Club in the northern county of Taoyuan. "I hit the ball great. I mean I hit a lot of short irons in, so I hit a lot of shots close and I was able to make a lot of birdies," she said.

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 19

Sports 18

Azarenka edges nearer top spot after cliffhanger IStAnBUL aFP

V

Bundesliga star remains in coma, moves hospitals BerLIn aFP

Bundesliga star Boris Vukcevic remains in a coma with severe head injuries but his condition has improved enough for him to be moved to a rehabilitation clinic, his club Hoffenheim have said. He has been in a coma since his car hit an oncoming truck on Sept 28 at Bammental, near Heidelberg, but he is showing steady signs of improvement and was moved from Heidelberg University Hospital. The Germany midfielder has already had two operations. "We remain very confident that Boris will make a recovery, but the situation is still very tense, so we want to deal with this respectfully and sensitively," said Andreas Mueller.

Vukcevic is a diabetic and he was hypoglycemic, suffering from low blood sugar level, at the time of the accident, a medical report has revealed. Local police are investigating the accident, which they say occurred when Vukcevic's car crossed into the lane of oncoming traffic and was hit by a truck travelling in the opposite direction.

ICTORIA Azarenka had to draw on all her reserves by saving two match points in a heroic three-hour six-minute tussle with Angelique Kerber in the WTA Championships. The top-seeded Belarussian beat the German revelation 6-7 (11/13), 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 in an encounter full of magnificent rallies and surprises. Her win leaves Azarenka needing just one more win to guarantee her finishing the year as world number one.

Azarenka saved both match points by following up sound serving with bold and courageous driving. That helped make up for the five set points that Kerber had enterprisingly denied the top seed in the first set tie-break. Had Azarenka lost either of them - from 4-5, 15-40 in the second set a pathway might have opened up for Maria Sharapova to sneak through to the summit instead. Azarenka would now have to lose both her remaining group matches for this to happen, even though Sharapova later made sure of a place in Saturday's semi-finals by beating Agnieszka Radwanska, the Wimbledon runner-up from Poland, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 in another three-hour encounter.

"I felt I had to go for it on both match points," Azarenka said. "I felt she would not miss, so I didn't want to wait for her to make a mistake - I was determined to make it happen. "I wanted to change the momentum and take destiny into my own hands. I had a clear mind of what I had to do. It takes time to go through (what's needed) and learn that.

"I feel really proud I was a part of this match. Honestly you feel like you don't want to leave the court, the atmosphere is so good!" Azarenka's three-set encounter also guaranteed that Serena Williams' second success of the tournament earned the American a semi-final place.

The Olympic, US Open and Wimbledon champion won 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 against Li Na, the former French Open champion from China, but only after a noisy, and surprisingly fraught performance.

watch it Live PTV SPORTS Sydney Sixers v Titans 08:30PM

Valencia to offer terry Spanish lifeline

LonDon aFP

Williams had to overcome the emotions which impelled her to smash a racket and earned her a code violation warning.

That happened during a weird fourth game in which one of the finest servers in the history of the game delivered two successive double faults to go a break down.

"I guess I was angry and I wasn't able to control myself," she said. "But sometimes I play better when I get angry." Hers was a triumph of will more than anything,

for she landed less than 50 percent of her first serves, dropped service games five times, and needed an hour and 50 minutes to get the win. "I lost serve today more often than all of Wimbledon," Williams said. "I was just thinking about it too much. I didn't serve well yesterday and I thought about it. I just need not to think. "But to win with a zero serve, compared with what I normally do, is something I can take from the match."

Former England captain John Terry could be on his way out of Chelsea and heading for Spanish club Valencia in the January transfer window, the Daily Mirror reported Thursday. Terry is serving a four-match Football Asociation ban for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand and Chelsea have slapped a fine on the player into the bargain. The Mirror reported that FIFA agent Francois Gallardo has claimed Terry has been offered the chance to relaunch his career in the Spanish top-flight.

Valencia are reportedly ready to offer the 31-year-old defender an 18-month contract, with an option for another year.

Gallardo told Radio Intereconomia: "Valencia are negotiating, and I am involved in person, with the signing in the winter transfer market.

"The offer is on his table. The player is out of contract in June and will not renew there for several reasons at Chelsea and he wants to come to Spain."

Gallardo added: "Terry has problems.

They are insulting him and he is not taking it anymore. He asked to leave, not us.

Sharapova dreams without sleep IStAnBUL aFP

Having come close to achieving dreams without sleep, Maria Sharapova is resting Friday in the knowledge that a perfect end to a fairytale year is within her grasp.

The game's greatest survivor overcame constant deficits in a three-hour match with Agnieszka Radwanska which finished in the early hours of Friday morning, carrying Sharapova exhausted to her bed and to a place in the semi-finals of the WTA Championships on Saturday. It means the tenacious Russian can still finish a character-defining season in which she completed a career Grand Slam by capturing the season-end title she last won in her breakthrough season eight years ago.

For a player who was warned she might never be the same after a shoulder operation four years ago, and who has had

to compensate for a reduction in the effectiveness of her service ever since, it is all a massive achievement. "It was such a physical match," said Sharapova after a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win which equalled the longest in number of games of any match in the 40-year history of the WTA Championships. "It just came down just to a few points in the end. It was an example of not playing my best tennis at all, fighting through it, hanging in there, and getting it done. "No matter if it's, you know, a hard shot or a lower slice that has no pace, she makes you work for it," Sharapova said of the world number four from Poland whose intelligent,

varied game dominated many periods of the match. "But I found a way to get through those points against her which is not always easy, especially on a slower court like this. I fought and I won, so I'm happy."

Sharapova covered so many acres of ground that at one point, when she managed to get Radwanska to do more of the running for a change, she appeared to give a celebratory yell of, "run, run, run!" And the struggle was so uphill that there were times when she seemed to be disagreeing with coach Thomas Hogstedt. "I was just aggravated because I was making errors and wasn't doing the right

things," Sharapova explained. "In the heat of the moment you've got to blame it on someone, right? It's never on yourself," she added. "But I'm not frustrated. I'm just wondering when I'm going to sleep.

Aren't we all?"

With Victoria Azarenka's earlier win over Angelique Kerber lasting a similar length of time and an identical number of record-equalling games, the day's schedule of only three matches lasted more than nine hours, ending at 2.10 am.

Radwanska, who can still qualify if she beats French Open finalist Sara Errani on Friday admitted that "for sure that match cost me a lot". It will have cost them both, but Sharapova can rest in the knowledge that she can afford to lose her last group match, against Samantha Stosur, the former French Open champion from Australia, who has replaced the unwell Petra Kvitova, the 2011 WTA champion from the Czech republic.

Real’s Khedira set to miss Dutch, Dortmund games BerLIn aFP

Real Madrid star Sami Khedira is set to miss the next two weeks and both his club's Champions League clash with Dortmund, then Germany's friendly with Holland, after picking up a new leg injury.

The 25-year-old defensive midfielder limped out of Real's 2-1 defeat at Dortmund on Wednesday in the Champions League clutching his left hamstring. It was his first game back after injuring himself in the World Cup qualifier win in Ireland on October 11. Having also missed Ger-

many's 4-all draw with Sweden in last week, Khedira is now set to sit out the next fortnight and will miss Real's return Champions League clash against Dortmund in Madrid on November 6 with his team second in Group D. He is also unlikely to be fit for Germany's international friendly against Holland in Amsterdam on November 14. Since joining Real after the 2010 World Cup, this is Khedira's eighth injury.

BRAzILIAn STAR In 'CoMe AnD geT Me' PLeA: Brazilian midfielder Willian is so desperate to leave Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine he has issued an open

"come and get me" plea to potential Premier League suitors, according to British press reports. The 24-year-old, who destroyed Chelsea in their Champions League tie on Tuesday, has already been a target for the London club as well as rivals Tottenham, managed by Andre Villas-Boas, with whom he claims to be in regular contact. According to the Sun, Willian said: "I've already made it clear to everyone. I want to go, I want to reach new goals.

"My mission here in Donetsk is accomplished but I have to remain playing at a high level because I need to show up at a big club to be called up for the na-

tional team. "If I were playing in a bigger league the same way as I've played here, I would have more chances for Brazil. To play in the World Cup in Brazil is my dream and it is only going to happen if I move." But the prohibitive 25 millionpound release clause in his contract is likely to be a stumbling block for all but the wealthiest clubs in Europe's elite leagues, and Willian indicated he would be particularly keen on a move to Chelsea or either of the Milan clubs. The Daily Telegraph claimed that he is so keen to end his stay in Ukraine he would even be prepared to accept a big pay-cut.

Friday, 26 October, 2012

KHI 26-10-2012_Layout 1 10/26/2012 4:16 AM Page 20

Friday, 26 October, 2012

19

UN to probe civilian deaths from drone strikes

T

neWS DeSk

HE United Nations is to set up a dedicated investigations unit in Geneva to examine the legality of drone attacks in cases where civilians are killed in so-called ‘targeted’ counter-terrorism operations.

The announcement was made by Ben Emmerson QC, a UN special rapporteur, in a speech to Harvard law school in which he condemned secret rendition and waterboarding as crimes under international law.

His forthright comments, directed at both US presidential candidates, will be seen as an explicit challenge to the prevail-

ing US ideology of the global war on terror.

Earlier this summer, Emmerson, who monitors counter-terrorism for the UN, called for effective investigations into drone attacks. Some US drone strikes in Pakistan – where those helping victims of earlier attacks or attending funerals were killed – may amount to war crimes, Emmerson warned.

In his Harvard speech, he revealed: “If the relevant states are not willing to establish effective independent monitoring mechanisms … then it may in the last resort be necessary for the UN to act.

“Together with my colleague Christof Heyns, [the UN special rapporteur on

countable for their actions and justice, Emmerson added.

“The time has come,” he said, “for the international community to agree minimum standard principles for investigating such allegations and holding those responsible to account.

The US stance of conducting counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida or other groups anywhere in the world because it is deemed to be an international conflict was indefensible, he maintained.

“The [global] war paradigm was always based on the flimsiest of reasoning, and was not supported even by close allies of the US. The first-term Obama ad-

extra-judicial killings], I will be launching an investigation unit within the special procedures of the [UN] Human Rights Council to inquire into individual drone attacks.” The unit will also look at “other forms of targeted killing conducted in counter-terrorism operations, in which it is alleged that civilian casualties have been inflicted, and to seek explanations from the states using this technology and the states on whose territory it is used. [It] will begin its work early next year and will be based in Geneva.”

Security officials who took part in waterboarding interrogations or secret rendition removals should be made ac-

ministration initially retreated from this approach, but over the past 18 months it has begun to rear its head once again, in briefings by administration officials seeking to provide a legal justification for the drone programme of targeted killing in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia … “[It is] alleged that since President Obama took office at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims and more than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners.

Christof Heyns … has described such attacks, if they prove to have happened, as war crimes. I would endorse that view.”

LHC suspends govt notification on international calls tax hike LAhore sTaFF REPORT

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday suspended a notification issued by the federal government for tax increase on incoming international calls. According to a private TV channel, Justice Ijazul Hasan heard the case at the LHC. During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel informed the court that the new tax imposed on incoming international calls had caused serious concern among overseas Pakistanis. The counsel moreover requested the court to restrain the government from implementing the tax. The bench remarked that the government continually came up with new taxes that were resulting increased difficulties for the people. The bench added that the courts would prevent the government’s injustices against the people.

The court then suspended the federal government’s notification to increase taxes on incoming international calls. Moreover, the court directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to file a reply in the matter in the first week of November.

LaHORE: People climb on an overloaded train as they head to their hometowns ahead of Eidul azha on Thursday. AFp

Grand mufti urges peace and tolerance in Haj sermon MAkkAh aGEnCiEs

Mufti-e-Azam Al-Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh on Thursday called upon the Muslim community to truly follow the teachings of Islam in order to promote peace and brotherhood.

In his Haj sermon at Masjid-eNimra in Maidan-e-Arafat‚ the mufti said Islam teaches patience and tolerance and abhors all types of violence in the society.

He said it is the prime responsibility of the Muslims not

to harm anyone on the basis of caste‚ creed and religion.

Islam is the only religion which has to stay and every Muslim should work to preach its teachings, he said.

We can implement Islam by following the Sunnah of Holy Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH), he added.

The grand mufti urged Muslims to ensure that

their children grow as good Muslims and play their due role in establishing a peaceful society.

He also asked the rulers to resolve the problems being faced by the people.

The chief imam said that Muslim countries would have to work for improving their economies to overcome socio-economic and political problems. He urged the Muslims to bring their wealth back in Muslim communities. Muslims will have to solve their

problems through their own means, he said.

During the sermon, Al-Sheikh urged the Muslims to set aside their differences, adding that there was no link between terrorism and Islam. The mufti also declared suicide haram (prohibited).

He said there was no place for violence and aggression in Islam.

He termed all discussions against Shariah as propaganda, adding that few elements were talking against Islam in the name of freedom of expression.

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

Editor: Arif Nizami

SHC bars govt from suspending mobile phone services kArAChI sTaFF REPORT

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday barred the government from suspending mobile phone services on Eid day. However, after hearing a petition requesting the court to bar the government from suspending mobile phone services, the high court also ordered that if necessary, the government could implement the measure with the approval of the president. Earlier on September 23, sources in the Interior Ministry had said that mobile phone services may be suspended in some parts of the country during Eidul Azha days because of risk of terrorist attacks. The sources said the ministry had received warnings from security agencies about possibility of incidents of terrorism during Eidul Azha festivities and terrorists might use mobile phones to detonate explosive devices and communicate with each other to organise attacks. Earlier on Eidul Fitr, cell phone services were shut down in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan and several other parts of the country.