e-paper pakistantoday 12th January, 2013

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obama recognises Pakistan’s ‘key’ role in afghan peace

don’t take india for granted: congress to Pakistan

US drone strikes in Pakistan on rise for 2013: report

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Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 196 19 pages lahore edition

Saturday, 12 January, 2013 Safar 29, 1434

MQM SayS ParticiPation in lonG March too danGeroUS in cUrrent SecUrity SitUation tahirUl Qadri SayS lonG March to Go ahead deSPite all oddS, handS over charter of deMandS to PMl-Q leaderShiP

KARACHI/LAHORE

F

STAFF REPORT

olloWInG Thursday’s “political drone strike” by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and promises of participating in Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march at all costs, the party on Friday dropped another shocker by excusing from participating in the march on the capital, citing security risks. Shocked but undeterred, Dr Qadri

said he would lead the march on Islamabad per schedule at all costs and there should be no illusion in this regard.

Addressing a press conference late at night with Pakistan Muslim league-Quaid President Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi, Qadri said he had forwarded his charter of demands to the PMl-Q leadership and the participants of the march would not budge from Islamabad until the demands are met. on Thursday night, President Asif Zardari had tasked Shujaat with contacting

Dr Qadri and try and make him withdraw his call of long march. Shujaat told reporters he was hopeful of a positive outcome of the prevailing quagmire.

Addressing a news conference in Karachi earlier in the day, MQM Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar said the party leadership had decided to separate itself from the long march, however, it would continue to support Dr Qadri’s ideology.

He said that the decision was taken in the backdrop of the deteriorating security situation in the country and it was

dangerous to put the lives of millions of people at stake. Sattar said the MQM had conveyed its decision, which had been endorsed by party chief Altaf Hussain, to Dr Qadri.

Altaf Hussain had earlier vowed to take active part in the long march, but the decision was apparently withdrawn after the deadly blasts in Quetta and Swat that killed close to 116 people. Sattar said terrorists were out to sabotage the long march and the march faced immense security threats.

“Besides, Dr Qadri will unveil the

ways in which the long march is being hampered,” Sattar added. Dr Qadri said earlier in the day that he would lead the march on Islamabad per schedule at all costs and there should be no illusion in this regard. Affirming his resolve to carry on with the march, he said the incumbent government had lost legal, moral, and constitutional authority to rule after Thursday’s carnage that killed 116 people. continued on page 04

Related pictuRe | page 04

Security of gains, not workers, forced MQM out QUETTA AGENCIES

Shia leaders on Friday publicly questioned Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani over security in the country after the previous day’s bombings aimed at the minority sect killed at least 102 people in Quetta. “I ask the army chief: What have you done with these extra three years you got (in office). What did you give us except more death,” Maulana Amin Shaheedi, a central leader of the Majlis-iWahdat-i-Muslimeen, told a news conference. Most of Thursday’s deaths were caused by twin attacks continued on page 04

ShiaS aSk Gen kayani

QUETTA: Hazara Shias refused to bury their dead until the Pakistan Army assured them security from the genocide being carried out by the Sunni terrorist outfit, the Lashkar-eJhangvi. The sit-in demonstration was continuing by the time the newspaper was sent to press at 2am.

ISLAMABAD TAyyAb HUSSAIN

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement took a U-turn on its claims of participating in Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march after cutting an underhand deal with President Asif Ali Zardari, who promised the party a lion’s share in the caretaker government in Sindh and federal government and holding of local government polls in Sindh at the earliest. In return Zardari asked MQM chief Altaf Hussain to withdraw his support for the marchers, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably. A source in the PPP-led government said an MQM delegation, led by MQM Rabita Committee Convener Dr Farooq Sattar, met President Asif Ai Zardari on Thursday night and put two demands for withdrawal of his party’s support to the long march. “Dr Farooq Sattar asked President Zardari to give a lion’s share in the caretaker setup, especially in Sindh, and to hold local government elections in Sindh immediately, so that the party could sell the bargain to its voters,” the source said.

He added that after the Supreme Court’s verdict for delimitation in Karachi, the MQM leadership was perturbed and hence wanted a big share in the caretaker setup to ensure its win in the next general election. continued on page 04

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02 News newS

Today’s

SC sends notice to FIA over Abdul Qadir Gilani’s plea

cartoon

infotainment brand-new island emerges off Germany

Quick look

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Kaira advises Tahirul Qadri to rethink long march ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira on Friday advised Minhajul Quran chief Tahirul Qadri to rethink his decision of long march‚ as had the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Talking to reporters in Islamabad on Friday‚ he welcomed MQM’s change of mind and its decision of not taking part in the long march. He hoped that Dr Qadri would listen to the MQM and the people. Asked what course the government would take if Qadri went ahead with the long march‚ he said everybody had the right to protest and assemble. He‚ however‚ made it clear that nobody would be allowed to disrupt public life. ONLINE

Court orders release of BoP scam accused Sheikh Afzal LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday ordered the release of Sheikh Afzal, accused in the Rs 8.4 billion Bank of Punjab (BoP) scam, after accepting his plea bargain request.

Earlier, Afzal’s counsel told the court that the national Accountability Bureau had accepted the plea bargain deal. He submitted that an amount of Rs 3.5 billion had been deposited as a down payment under the plea bargain deal while the remaining amount would be paid in five years. He requested the court to accept the agreement and order the release of the accused, which the court accepted. APP

India is opting for the other alternative: Hafiz Saeed on LoC violations ISLAMABAD

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AGENCIES

S tensions continue to simmer between India and Pakistan over the killings of two Indian soldiers along the line of Control (loC), Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed on Friday warned new Delhi of an escalation in violence in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Saeed, who is accused of masterminding 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in an interview to Reuters said, “We do not want any force to be used or any military operation for this. But the Indians are opting for the other alternative.”

Saeed also accused India of destabilising Pakistan. He also “challenged” the Indian government to prove that he was present near the line of Control a few days ago.

A day after Indian Home Minister Sushilku-

mar Shinde said that Saeed had visited Azad Kashmir a few days before two Indian soldiers were allegedly killed by Pakistani troops in Kashmir, Saeed said in a tweet: “I CHAllEnGE the Indian Government, its ministers & agencies to prove my presence near loC or remain exposed as liars in front of the world.”

Saeed also demanded that a Un probe be held into the ceasefire violations on the loC as well as into “the injustice, rapes, mass-graves and abductions in occupied #Kashmir”. The JuD chief alleged the exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani forces was due to India “trying to shift focus from its internal problems of #Rape, #Communal Riots and exploiting the sentiments against #Pakistan #loC”.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday had said Saeed had visited the border areas in Azad Kashmir a few days before the attack on Indian soldiers.

KP shoots down Centre’s FC platoons’ deployment request

NATO terminal attacked, one person dead QUETTA: A nATo supply terminal located at Hazar Ganji area was attacked with rockets, resulting in the death of one person. 11 nATo tankers were destroyed by the rockets.

Earlier, a blast was also heard on Saryab Road near the Quetta Development Authority (QDA) office. According to police, the blast was followed by intense firing. DIG operations said a police team had been sent to the area. The nature of the blast was unknown as yet. The blast came a day after a string of bombings on January 10 that left at least 116 people dead and over 150 wounded in one of the bloodiest days of violence Balochistan has seen in years. ONLINE

OGRA decides to move CNG stations out of cities ISLAMABAD: The oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (oGRA) has decided to shift all Compressed natural Gas (CnG) stations from densely populated areas of the country. Reports said the CnG stations would be shifted to outside of cities. Meanwhile, CnG station owners have expressed concerns over the decision, calling it an unjust act. ONLINE

PESHAWAR SHAMIM SHAHID

QUETTA: Hazara Shias mourn their loved ones at an imambargah on Alamdar Road on Friday, a day after three bombings, one targeting an FC checkpost and two targeting Hazara Shias, killed more than 116 people. online

Three journalists killed in Quetta blasts laid to rest QUETTA APP

Funeral prayers of three journalists, who fell victim to Thursday’s bomb blast in Quetta, were offered on Friday and they were laid to rest in graveyards of their native areas.

The three journalists who lost their life on duty included SAMAAA TV’s reporter Saifur Rehman, and cameraman Imran Sheikh, and Iqbal Hussain, an employee of news network International (nnI).

A powerful bomb blast took place at a snooker club on Alamdar Road in Quetta on Thursday night.

A second powerful blast occurred close by just as

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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media team and security and rescue personnel arrived at the site of the first bombing.

The two bombs lefts 81 people dead, including journalists, police officials, rescue workers and citizens. Imran Sheikh and Iqbal Hussain were reportedly killed on the spot, while Saifur Rehman expired at Combined Military Hospital. The funeral of Sheikh was offered at Railway Eidgah and he was laid to rest in a graveyard in Muslim Town. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. The body of Saifur Rehman was taken to Karachi for burial. He has left behind three sons and a widow. Hussain’s funeral was offered in nichari Imambargah and he was laid to rest in a graveyard in Marriabad area.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Friday rejected the federal government’s request for dispatching Frontier Constabulary (FC) platoons to Islamabad to counter the potential threat of a law and order situation during Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march on January 14.

According to details, the federal government reached out to the KP government through Interior Ministry to ask for FC platoons to be deployed in Islamabad during Tahirul Qadri’s long march to the capital. The request by the federal government was discussed in a high-level meeting of the KP government. However, the request was rejected on account of no date of return given by the federal government for the platoons. Furthermore, the KP government officials also reminded the federal government that they too were in short supply of law enforcement personnel. Moreover, the KP government said that the province was in a warlike situation and the FC personnel were guarding the boundaries between settled districts and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region where militants were believed to be holed up. A KP government official, on condition of anonymity, told Pakistan Today that the KP government had been requesting the return of the FC personnel which had been at the disposal of the federal government for the last five years. The FC personnel in Islamabad had been engaged in guarding diplomatic missions, offices and residences of the VVIPs, the official said. The official said that the federal government had shown reluctance in returning the platoon back to KP.

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News 03 artS & entertainment

lahore

SPortS

Miley Cyrus gets in bed with Harry Styles, clarifies

Caretalker govt not to be selected on Qadri;s says Wattoo

PCb names three uncapped players for South Africa series

editorial

Spate of terror: A nation hostage to terrorism.

comment Arif Nizami says; Tarnishing the Quaid: Threats bigger than Qadri.

Raoof Hasan says; The distortion parade: A venomous agenda that would spark bitter controversy.

Story on Page 15

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NAB’s sole objective is to efface corruption, says CJ ISLAMABAD

C

APP

HIEF Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Friday observed that the sole objective of the national Accountability Bureau (nAB) was to eliminate corruption from the society.

He was heading a three-member bench comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed as its other members, which resumed hearing in the quarterly progress reports related to implementation of its verdict on Rental Power Plants (RPPs) case.

The CJ asked nAB officials to work for strengthening national institutions.

He said the court decision was very explicit, but no tangible action was taken by nAB. The chief justice directed the officials to complete challans against

all the accused without any discrimination.

The bench in its order directed the nAB chairman to personally oversee the progress on the implementation of its verdict and initiate criminal proceedings against the accused, besides ensuring recovery of the amount.

During the course of proceedings earlier, nAB Additional Prosecutor General Fauzi Zafar apprised the bench that three officials had already been suspended for removing investigation officer Asghar Khan from the case.

Justice Azmat Saeed said all people who had been protecting the accused would have to face criminal proceedings as well.

Fauzi requested the bench to give him time for submission of a comprehensive report, as he was not feeling well.

The bench accepted the request and adjourned the hearing until January 15.

articles on Page 10

Drone attack? That was a suicide attack: Nisar ISLAMABAD ONLINE

national Assembly opposition leader Chaudhry nisar Khan on Friday said that the address of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain was a “suicide attack” which only served to destroy the MQM leader’s credibility. Talking to journalists at Parliament House, nisar that it was not the first time Altaf Hussain had made hypocritical statements and the statements only pointed to his dubious character.

“Altaf Hussain had initiated discussion about the religious sect of Quaid-e-Azam in the past and if we do not get familiar with Hussain’s bent of mind, the whole nation will have to bear the consequences of it,” he added. Answering a question, nisar said that he had finalised names for caretaker government.

“The caretaker prime minister would not be from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) or Pakistan Muslim league-nawaz (PMl-n) and will be acceptable to the entire nation,” he said.

PTi, Ji clash over election symbol to end with eCP decision ISLAMABAD: The clash between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on the issue of allotment of ‘the scale’ as the election symbol is going to end, as after hearing both parties’ final arguments on Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reserved the decision, which would be announced soon. Both right-wing parties had applied for the allotment of the weighing scale as their election symbol. During the hearing, PTI’s lawyer and senior leader Hamid Khan pleaded that his party should be granted the ‘scale’ as a permanent election symbol as it truly represented the party’s name and ideology. He said the PTI had used the scale

as an election symbol in the last elections held in Gilgit-Baltistan. JI’s lawyer Toufeeq Asif, on the other hand, pleaded that the scale had been already allotted to the JI in 1970 elections, therefore, he said the party had a right to obtain it again. JI senior leader liaquat Baloch was also present. He argued that in the 1970 elections, the JI was allotted scale as the symbol, but later on in 1984 this symbol was omitted from the ECP’s symbols list. The JI leader said that now once again eth ECP had included the symbol so it should be allotted to the JI. The ECP told both parties that the symbol would be allotted on merit and reserved its verdict. STAFF REPORT

Imran expresses concern over rampant acts of terrorism ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday strongly condemned the terrorist attacks that took place in Quetta and Swat on Thursday causing a loss of over 100 lives and leaving many injured.

This combined with terror attacks in other areas and targeted killings left over 130 people dead in a single day.

In a statement, the PTI chief said innocent people were being killed but the government had limited its role to issuing condemnation and condolence messages. “no strategy to combat terrorism and to find a durable solution to the problem is visible,” he said.

Khan said the situation had deteriorated to an extent that even personnel of law enforcement agencies and media were not safe. He strongly condemned lashkar-e-Jhangvi for its

Two labourers shot dead in Quetta QUETTA: Unidentified armed men shot dead two labourers in Quetta’s Sariab area on Friday. Police sources said the armed assailants riding a motorbike came to a shop in Killi Kamalo Sariab and opened indiscriminate fire at two labourers sitting inside the shop. “The two labourers received serious bullet wounds and succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital,” they said. The attackers managed to flee. The deceased were identified as Siraj and Abdul Mateen. Police have registered a case and investigations were underway. APP genocidal campaign against the Hazara community in Quetta. “This sectarian strife combined with random acts of terror is leading to a strong feeling of instability in the country,” Khan asserted.

He said the situation in the entire country, particularly in Balochistan,

had been chaotic for quite some time now. “Unfortunately the governments, both federal and provincial, have done nothing to take stock of the situation and devise a workable plan.

The result is that this province, which is full of natural resources, is slipping out of control,” he said.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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04 Don’t take India for granted: Congress to Pakistan nEW DELHI

I LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi meet with Tehreek Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri at his residence on Friday. online

Won’t let Afghanistan soil be used by terrorists: Karzai WASHIngTOn ONLINE

Visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday assured the US that with a strong security force, Afghanistan would not be threatened by terrorists from across its borders when the America-led international force withdraws from the country in 2014. on a three-day official visit to the country, Karzai, ahead of his talks with US Defence Secretary

Sikandar Jatoi handed over to police on physical remand KARACHI STAFF REPORT

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday handed Sikandar Jatoi, father of main accused Shahrukh Jatoi in Shahzeb Khan’s murder case, to police on physical remand till 16th.

Sikandar Jatoi was brought before the ATC in an armoured personnel carrier.

Jatoi’s counsel informed the court that his client was a diabetic and heart patient.

But the court rejected his plea and handed over Sikandar Jatoi to police on physical remand. Sikandar Jatoi appeared before the SC on Thursday after acquiring a one-day protective bail from the lHC, however, he was arrested from the court’s premises.

Two more witnesses identity accused: Two more witnesses identified Siraj Talpur, Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Mustafa lashari in front of the Judicial Magistrate South on Friday. The witnesses said Siraj Talpur and Shahruk Jatoi fired at the moving car of Shahzeb Khan and it turned turtle. Prior to this, two other witnesses in their statements said Siraj Talpur shot at Shahzeb, while Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Mustafa lashari raised instigated that Shahzeb was still alive and more shots should be fired.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

leon Panetta, hoped that the two countries would be able to work on the modalities of the bilateral security agreement (BSA), which is currently being negotiated between the two countries. “I can assure you, Mr Secretary (Panetta) that with the help that you’ll provide, Afghanistan will be able to provide security to its people and protect its borders so Afghanistan will never again be threatened by terrorists from across our borders,” Karzai told the Defence Secretary in his

opening remarks ahead of the meeting between the two leaders.

“I’m sure during this trip, Afghanistan and the US will work out the modality for bilateral security limit that will ensure the interests of the state of Afghanistan and also the interests of the United States,” Karzai said. The BSA would determine the troop structure and nature of US presence in Afghanistan post2014 after the withdrawal of the US-led international forces from the country.

“Wrong policies of the government caused corruption and terrorism,” Qadri said, making it clear that rulers who failed to halt terrorism were either ineligible or aides to terrorists.

The TMQ chief said no one in the country was safe, be it Muslims, Hindus, Christians or anyone else.

Qadri praised the judiciary for dismissing writ petitions against his march and declaring the march legal.

“The courts declared the long march lawful, democratic and according to the fundamental rights provided by the constitution of Pakistan. I would request

the local and foreign media to highlight the news of judiciary rejecting these writ petitions,” he added.

He took exception to the Punjab government’s measures to create hurdles in the way of his long march, saying the administration was directing the transporters to return advance money that they received to transport the participants of the march to Islamabad.

Qadri said the Punjab government was using various tactics in order to put stumbling blocks in the way of his rally.

“The media, the wretched of the earth and a majority of poor people will stand by me in the struggle of

restoration for peace and eradication of corruption from the country,” he said.

Without naming the Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Qadri said the government was disfiguring the facts in the name of politics by levelling bogus allegations on TMQ workers.

The TMQ chief said if any attack was carried out on the long march, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, PMl-n President nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Punjab law Minister Rana Sanaullah would be held responsible.

how Many More bodieS? continued fRom page 01

aimed at Hazara Shias in Quetta, where members of the sect have long accused the state of turning a blind eye to extremist militant death squads. The leaders were so outraged at the latest bloodshed that they called for the military to take control of the city to shield them and said they would not allow the 82 victims of twin bomb attacks to be buried until their demands were met.

The burials had been scheduled to take place after Friday prayers but the leaders said the bodies would remain in place until Shias receive promises of protection.

Shaheedi said scores of bodies were still lying on a road.

“They will not be buried until the

nDIA’S ruling Congress party on Friday talked tough by saying India wanted peace with Pakistan but the neighbouring country should not take it as a sign of weakness.

It also warned that if Pakistan did not stop violating the loC (line of Control), India would have to think of taking strong action.

“We don’t want to break the process of peace but at the same time, we need to send a strong message to Pakistan that we are quite strong and can face any challenge. They should not feel that we are weak in any respect,” Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit told reporters.

ceasefire violations are cause for serious concern: antony

Altaf cuts Qadri’s long march short continued fRom page 01

AGENCIES

army comes into Quetta,” he said.

According to reports pouring in from Quetta late on Friday, the protesting Shias continued with their sit-in despite rain and extreme cold weather. Violence against Shia Muslims is rising and some communities are living in a state of siege, a human rights group said on Friday. “last year was the bloodiest year for Shias in living memory,” said Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch.

“More than 400 were killed and if yesterday’s attack is any indication, it is just going to get worse.” The banned extremist group lashkar-eJangvi (leJ) claimed responsibility for the attack in a predominantly Shia neighbourhood where the residents are ethnic Hazaras, a majority of whom are Shias who

NEW DELHI: India on Friday said the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the loC in Jammu and Kashmir were a matter of “serious concern” and the provocative action of killing of two soldiers was a “turning point”. Defence Minister AK Antony said there were “enough troops” in Jammu and Kashmir and the government was taking all steps to protect the interest of the country. The Director Generals of Military operations (DGMos) of the two countries were in touch, he said, adding “let us see the result of that talk”. Antony said such ceasefire violations and firing were a matter of serious concern. “It is not an isolated incident, it’s increasing from the last one year. Ceasefire violations are also increasing.

It is a matter of concern to us and the tragic, provocative actions two days back, that was a turning point at the moment,” the defence minister said. online

“If Pakistan did not stop violating the loC, India will have to think of taking strong action. We are watching the situation whether the Pakistan government is maintaining the status quo of ceasefire on the line of Control. They should stop violating the ceasefire. A clear picture will emerge in the next three-four days,” he said.

The Congress also rubbished remarks made

by BJP leader and former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha that both United Progressive Alliance and national Democratic Alliance had committed a mistake in talking to Pakistan.

“It is possible they are feeling now that they might have erred in taking the bus to lahore.

We want friendly relations with Pakistan

and to strengthen the same,” said Dikshit referring to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous bus ride to Pakistan in 1999. on the Pakistan government stopping the bus service (Paigam-eAman) between the two countries, Dikshit said: “As far as stopping the bus service is concerned, I think the government of Pakistan is not clear within themselves for taking any decision”.

The Congress expressed hope that Pakistan would help control the situation.

“We do hope that the Pakistan government will take cognizance of our diplomatic and military protests for violating the ceasefire on the line of Control and they should try to solve the problem than to aggravate the same,” said Dikshit.

Security of gains, not workers, forced MQM out continued fRom page 01

“Actually, the MQM leadership is concerned due to the phenomenal increase in the Pashtun vote bank. So the support to Dr Qadri’s march was a pressure tactic. now after assurance from President Zardari, they are hopeful of making up their previous losses,” the source added.

The source said President Zardari gave categorical assurance on MQM’s share in the caretaker setup, but he gave no clear assurance on holding the local bodies’ elections as the Sindh Public local Government ordinance 2012 had already hurt badly the ruling party’s popularity in interior Sindh and the nationalist parties gained a lot.

MQM DIVIDED: A source

first migrated from Afghanistan in the nineteenth century. The leJ has stepped up attacks against Shias across the country but has zeroed in on members of the sect who live in resource-rich Balochistan province.

“The leJ operates under one front or the other, and its activists go around openly shouting, ‘infidel, infidel, Shia infidel’ and ‘death to Shias’ in the streets of Quetta and outside our mosques,” said Syed Dawwod Agha, a top official with the Balochistan Shia Conference.

“We have become a community of grave diggers. We are so used to QUETTA: Local residents look at clothes death now that we always have suicide bombings on Friday. online shrouds ready.”

Among the dead in Quetta was born to fight for human rights and Khudi Ali, a young activist who peace.” The roughly 500,000often wore a T-shirt with fake strong Hazara people in Quetta, bloodstains during protests against who speak a Persian dialect, have the rising violence against Shias. distinct features and are an easy Ali’s Twitter profile said: “I am target, said Dayan.

in the MQM said there were “deep divisions” within the Rabita Committee over the deal, as Zardari had a habit of dodging its coalition partners and not meeting his promises. “This decision might be right as my party would get a good deal with the PPP, but this U-turn has badly affected the morale of party workers,” he said. “We had already been facing criticism for the party’s jumping from one branch to another and then back within hours and days, but this march call had given us a lot of boost. However, this deal has badly hit the party workers’ morale, especially outside Sindh,” said the source.

Despite repeated attempts, MQM spokesman Wasay Jalil was not available for comments.

left in a pile at the site of twin “They live in a state of siege.

Stepping out of the ghetto means risking death,” said Dayan.

“Everyone has failed them – the security services, the government, the judiciary.”

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fia investigating PMl-n female MP over fake cnic FIA summons Shamsa Gohar for alleged involvement in procuring fake ID card for her father’s British nationality

n

Shamsa Gohar LAHORE

P

RANA HAIDER

AKISTAn Muslim league-nawaz (PMl-n) MPA Shamsa Gohar’s father, Muhammad Yousuf, who has been living illegally in the United Kingdom (UK) for the past 14 years received British nationality in 2004 allegedly on a fake Pakistani Identity Card arranged by his lawmaker daughter, Pakistan Today has learnt.

The matter has been taken up by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which has started an enquiry involving the PMl-n lawmaker and her brother Haider Yousuf.

According to FIA sources, Shamsa’s father had gone to UK on a PC (picture changed) passport which he destroyed on his arrival there and started living illegally. In 2004, the British government had summoned applications from illegal immigrants following which Yousuf applied for political asylum claiming he faced life threats in Pakistan which had forced him to flee to the UK. Meanwhile, his daughter in Pakistan through her contacts got a fake ID card made through nADRA and sent it to her father, which he used in his successful asylum application. Till today, Yousuf resides in Manchester as a British national where he runs a tailoring shop.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Shamsa Gohar’s former second husband, Sarfraz Gohar, alleged that Shamsa’s father had gone to UK on a fake

passport. He said in 2004, when Yousuf needed an ID card for his asylum application, Shamsa used her contacts to procure a fake one from nADRA which did not have her father’s thumbprint or signature. “They didn’t even go to collect the card from the nADRA office. She got it delivered to her home and sent it to her father in UK,” claimed Sarfraz, adding that Yousuf never came to Pakistan to get an original ID card.

He said he had filed an application with the FIA which was conducting enquiry under FIR no.

353/2012. He said he had also filed an application with the UK border agency which was also enquiring the matter. He said he was Shamsa’s second husband and had recently filed a divorce suit against her because she was allegedly having an affair with another PMl-n lawmaker.

Sarfraz said his marriage with Shamsa lasted for seven years and they had a 6-yearold daughter. He further said that she was first married to her cousin Abid Ali from whom she had filed for divorce and had registered an FIR no. 590/2005 against her brother-in-law Shahid Ali and husband Abid at the old Anarkali police station.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Shamsa Gohar said all applications against her and her father were baseless and contrary to the truth.

“An enquiry is underway. The truth will be established once it concludes,” she said. She said her father was a tax paying British national and a registered voter. “He has been living there for almost 14 years and did not go there on a PC passport.

My ex-husband is dispensing bogus allegations which are a pack of lies. He has come up with several other fake allegations in the past which were not proven in court,” she claimed. Shamsa said she had not committed any crime and had no involvement whatsoever in the matter.

FIA lahore Inspector Chaudhry Ejaz Ahmad told Pakistan Today that Shamsa Gohar came to the Agency’s office on January 8 but did not record a statement, seeking a new date for the hearing. He said her brother, Haider Yousuf, also came in on January 9 and accepted that his father had been living in the Manchester for the past 14 years but sought a later date for recording his statement.

LAHORE: A candlelight vigil was organised outside the press club on Friday to pay tribute to Swedish Christian missionary birgitta Almby, who was gunned down by unidentified assailants outside her home in Model Town in November. Almby’s funeral was held in Sweden on Friday while Christians of the city remembered her services to the community in special prayers. The police has so far been unable to trace Almby’s killers, who served poor Christians in Pakistan for over 38 years. STaff PhoTo

Police should respect the common man LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said police should respect the citizens and address their grievances and warned that he would not tolerate any hurdle in the provision of justice to the people. listening to complainants from various districts, he said police should serve the masses by providing them justice. “Justice should be upheld during the investigation of cases. Strong action would be taken against corrupt police officers while honest ones would be encouraged,” he said. law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, MnA Pervaiz Malik, home and prosecution secretaries, Punjab inspector general police, Punjab director general forensic science agency and other concerned authorities were present on the occasion. The chief minister said the government had provided billions of rupees for the maintenance of law and order and for the protection of life and property of the citizens and now it is the responsibility of the police to address the grievances of the people and be courteous to them at police stations. “Those involved in heinous crimes should be arrested immediately and all necessary measures should be taken for this purpose. Police should submit the FIRs of cases in the courts as soon as possible so that the culprits can be punished without any delay,” the chief minister said. He said that the most advanced forensic lab of South Asia had been established in the provincial metropolis at a cost of Rs 2.5 billion.

Shahbaz said police should check the oppressor and help the oppressed because cruelty and injustice tend to ruin societies. “Societies are created through provision of justice and destroyed through injustice,” he said. He added that only those societies progress where justice is upheld. The chief minister said his doors were open to every man who had been deprived justice and police should serve the people sincerely and perform their duties honestly for which ‘Allah Almighty will reward them’.

Shahbaz criticises Altaf on remarks regarding Jinnah LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday criticised MQM chief Altaf Hussain over his remarks regarding Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Speaking at the opening ceremony of Model Town underpass, Shahbaz said the stature of the founder of the nation could not be undermined by someone’s remarks. “only those who want to push the country towards darkness are against Punjab’s development projects. I also want to clarify that the Metro Bus Service scheme is costing only Rs 30 billion,” he said. NNI

brtS to be launched on 27th LAHORE: The Punjab government is all set to launch inauguration of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on January 27 as high ups have been issued strict directions to complete the work at a fast pace, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to details, the 27km long route will have 29 bus stops between Gajumatta and Shahdara. The route on the Ferozepur road will include Dulu Khurd, Yuhanabad, nishter Colony, Attari Sarroba, Kamahan, Chungi Amar Sidu, Ghazi Road, Walton Road, Iteffaq Hospital, naseerabad, Model Town, Kalma Chowk, Canal, Ichra, Shama, Qartaba, Janazgah, MAo College, Civil Secretariat, District Courts, Bhaati, Azadi Chowk, Timber Market and Shahdara. The project is being completed in a record time of 11 months. It has many features which are being introduced for the first time in the metropolis including e-escalators, articulated buses, modern bus stations, e-ticketing besides many others. The escalators are being rapidly installed, while the articulated buses have reached here from Turkey in time. The designated route will allow passage of a bus after every five minutes reducing the travel time from 2 hours to 55 minutes. The fare has also been set at an affordable price with specific sitting area for females and disabled persons. The route has a state-of-the-art bus station after every kilometer. The Punjab government further plans to introduce the modern transport facility in other cities of the province after its success in lahore. The chief minister in his address thanked the people for being patient during the completion of the project which is about to be launched soon for their convenience. STAFF REPORT

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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06 Lahore Falak Sher Farooqa appointed Accountability Court judge ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday, on the advice of the prime minister, approved the appointment of Muhammad Falak Sher Farooqa as lahore Accountability Court-II Judge. The post was vacant since September 16 due to the expiry of the deputation period of the incumbent Ahmed nawaz Ranjha. Muhammad Falak Sher Farooqa was appointed on deputation basis on his own pay scale until his retirement on August 31, or until further orders. APP

nawaz’s brother abbas Sharif passes away LAHORE

A

STAFF REPORT

BBAS Sharif, the youngest brother of Pakistan Muslim league-nawaz (PMln) President nawaz Sharif, passed away on Friday after being electrocuted at his home in Raiwind. He was 58. He was buried at the Jatti Umra graveyard on Friday evening.

According to details, Abbas went to the bathroom before Friday prayers but did not come out. His absence was noticed by his servants, who informed nawaz who was also present. They broke the door open to find Abbas lying on the floor unconscious.

He was taken to Sharif Medical City Hospital where he died while being provided first aid.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also reached the hospital soon after being informed.

A large number of PMl-n activists and leader started visiting Raiwind to express their condolences.

Abbas was the youngest among the siblings and was married to Sabiha Abbas. He was MnA in 1993, but after that he dissociated himself from active politics. He looked after the business of the Sharif family. He is survived by a

widow, two sons and two daughters.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, leaders of various political parties including JI chief Munawar Hassan, AnP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, PMl-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PTI chief Imran Khan, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad expressed grief over the death of Abbas and prayed for the departed soul. Qul of late Abbas Sharif will be held at Jatti Umra at 1pm on Sunday (tomorrow).

Shujat Hussain, Pervaiz Elahi,

Police put on high alert after Quetta blasts LAHORE APP

The city police on Friday enhanced the security of sensitive installations and important locations in the wake of blasts in Quetta. Capital City Police Chief, Additional IG Aslam Tareen said that he had directed DIG (operation) and all additional SSPs (operation), including SDPos and SHos, to remain on high alert to ensure foolproof security in their respective areas.

He further said that he had directed the police officers to take effective precautionary measures, especially at crowded public places, to prevent incidents of terrorism and subversion.

Tareen ordered the deployment of plain clothesmen wherever necessary. Police officers were also directed to utilise all the available resources and their best professional skills to maintain vigil against suspects and dubious elements. He also urged the people to cooperate with police in this regard, saying that in case they find any unclaimed baggage or see any shady character or activity they must immediately inform police emergency and Rescue 15.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

Manzoor Watto, Arif nizami, Jahanjir Badar, Tanveer Ashraf Qaria, Mustaq Awan, Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Iqbal, Khawaj Asif, Zulfiqar Khosa, Bilal Yasin, Main Amir Mahmood, Dost Muhammad Khosa, Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Salman Rafiq, Rana Maqbol, Yousaf Salluhudin, Punjab Chief Secretary nasir Mahmood Khosa, lahore DCo noorullah Mangel, lahore Commissioner Jawad Rafiq, Sohail Waraich, Rana Shamain, Punjab IG and lahore DIG Rai Tahir were among those who attended the funeral.

HRCP slams killing of Shias LAHORE INP

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Thursday slammed the killing of over 100 people, predominantly the Shia Hazara, in a string of bombings in Quetta, Mingora and Karachi, and demanded the government to take immediate steps to clamp down on the murdering mayhem.

In a statement issued on Friday, the commission said that in the first few days of 2013, HRCP found itself lamenting for the second time against large-scale sectarian bloodshed in the country.

The callous targeting of the members of the Hazara community in Quetta in two of the three bombings on Thursday caused the highest death toll in a sectarian attack in a day in Pakistan so far.

The statement said that the lack of any apparent distress at these brutal attacks and absence of urgency to nab the killers prompted human rights organisations in the country and abroad to accuse the state

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of looking the other way as more and more citizens of the Shia community were being ”mowed down in these appalling attacks”.

“If the government has any trepidation regarding its failure to put an end to sectarian killings, it has certainly done a good job hiding it,” the statement said.

“How can attackers, in a city like Quetta, manage to get through security checkposts and kill innocent Shias?” it said They said that the bloodshed in Mingora and Karachi on Thursday only demonstrate hastened descent into chaos as the general elections approach.

“The people expect much more from the police and the security forces than mere information on the nature of the explosions that claimed citizens’ lives.

A banned organisation has claimed responsibility for the Quetta bombings,” the statement said.

“The network and sanctuaries of banned outfits must be raided across Pakistan, including Punjab, and the killers should be apprehended and tried,” it said.

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Solid waste in Ravi leads to large scale birds’ migration

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city directory emergency helP reScue edhi control motorway Police Police governor’S houSe chief miniSter’S houSe fire brigade bomb diSPoSal mcl comPlaintS lahore waSte diSPoSal

1122 115 130 15 99200081-7 99203226 16 99212111 99211022-29 1139

hoSPitalS mid city 37573382-3 ServiceS 99203402-11 mayo 99211100-9 general 35810892-8 Sheikh zaid 35865731 Sir ganga ram 99200572 uch 35763573-5 ittefaq 35881981-85 cmh 366996168-72 Shoukat khanum 35945100 Jinnah 111-809-809 adil (defence) 36667275 children’S 99230901-3 defence national hoSPital 111-17-18-19

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1965 which have decreased with time and at present, not even a single bird can be seen on the dumping sites.

River Ravi is a perennial river and unfortunately is being used to accumulate the waste of the entire metropolitan from industries as well as local households.

A writ petition was submitted to the Green Bench of lahore High Court (A bench formed by Chief Justice in High Courts to hear all issues related to the environment) based on the issues of discharge of untreated municipal and industrial wastewater into Ravi.

As a response to this writ petition, lahore High Court made a commission for reviving the ecology of the river. The commission is working under the chairmanship of Dr Kauser A Malik (HEC-Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology, Director, Research, Innovation & Commercialization (oRIC) FC College lahore) and has members from the provincial government departments (WASA, EPD), representatives from non-government organisations (WWF-Pak-

istan) and technical experts, to find a solution for controlling pollution in Ravi and coming up with practical and feasible outcomes using indigenous technologies.

The commission has organised three meetings on the ecology of Ravi and formed a subcommittee which visited different sites of treatment plants (nARC at Islamabad and WSP at Faisalabad) and submitted a report with recommendations for the treatment of wastewater of lahore.

Ahmad Rafay Alam, the secretary of the commission said, “Birds are important for the eco system and play a vital role in maintaining a healthy environment. We are going to construct a biodegradable forest on the river, which will also serve as a park for visitors”. local residents say voices of birds could be heard in the area more than 15 years ago and the sky used to be full of birds. Today, they claim there is a lot of smell in the area and an increase in diseases. Solid waste of the city, they allege, is the root cause of all these problems.

Caretaker govt not to be selected on Qadri’s will, says Wattoo

Man writes extortion note to Governor Mahmud to avenge ‘fraud’

E

WALEED MALHI

nVIRonMEnT degradation has led to migration of scavenger birds from river Ravi, Pakistan Today has learnt. These birds, which were seen in large numbers at dumping sites on the river bank would eat the waste keeping the environment healthy.

Migratory birds are excellent indicators of the state of our environment. like many other species, their migration patterns match their needs of resting, breeding and feeding sites. By acting as natural controls, birds help regulate pests by reducing populations of potentially harmful insects such as caterpillars, weevils, cutworms, beetles and flies. The impact of the continuous decline of birds from the city will have a disastrous effect on the environment and the natural process.

These birds, however, have migrated and left the city. There were about 212 species in

Two die in cylinder blast MOnITORIng DESK At least two people died in a cylinder explosion on Friday. According to details, a gas cylinder exploded in a factory near Badami Bagh area. As a result of the explosion, one man lost his life on the spot while the other was seriously injured.

He was shifted to the hospital for treatment where he succumbed to his wounds and died.

The police reached the scene and gathered evidence. They started investigations under Explosives Act. The families of the deceased men claimed that the factory used expired cylinders which had caused the explosion.

LAHORE APP

Pakistan Peoples Party Punjab President and Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Minister Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo said that a caretaker setup would not be formed on the directions of Tahrik-e-Minhajul Quran Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri even if he launched several long marches. Talking to journalists after presiding over a meeting of PPP office-bearers of Gujranwala at the Governor’s House on Friday, he advised Tahirul Qadri not to undermine his ‘respect in the society’ for an activity in which he was not even a stakeholder.

“The next general elections will not be postponed even for a single day. Consensus would be developed among all political parties in the parliament for a unanimous caretaker setup and a single party will not be allowed to derail the democratic process,” he said.

Appreciating MQM’s decision of not supporting the long march, he said it was a wise decision on Altaf Hussain’s part. He said all political parties, judiciary, media and civil society wanted a sustainable democratic system.

“A unanimous, free, independent and strong election commission had been formed which would hold free and fair elections,” he said.

He reiterated that the caretaker setup would be constituted in March and all political parties, including the PPP, were doing their homework for the upcoming elections.

“The PPP will first finalise its candidates and then bring them into the field.

The PPP’s achievements include amendments to the constitution, Benazir Income Support Program, provincial autonomy and restoration of sacked employees,” he said. “The PPP is also working on an accountability bill and on the formation of the Southern Punjab province. The PPP has drawn a political roadmap for the nation so that no one can derail the democratic process,” he added.

LAHORE: The Civil lines Police on Friday arrested a school principal for writing an extortion note to Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmud.

Per details, Mateen Shah, principal of a school in Baghbanpura, had written a letter to Governor Mahmud in which he had demanded Rs 5 million on the 10th of every month and threatened to kill Mahmud in case of non-compliance.

Governor Mahmud shared the threat with Acting Punjab IG Khan Baig who immediately ordered the Additional IG Special Branch and CCPo Aslam Tareen to trace the perpetrators. After initial investigation, the police were able to track down Mateen, who said that he had written the letter to implicate his rivals as “they had defrauded him of Rs 0.25 million”.

Civil lines SHo Abid Rashid told Pakistan Today that in the letter, Mateen had claimed to be a member of a terrorist group while during interrogation he admitted that he wanted to take revenge from Tahir Aslam and Gohar Hassan who, he claimed, had sold him a piece of land on fake documents and were now refusing to refund the money. STAFF REPORT

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mon Jan 14 at 02:00 am venue: lahore univerSity of management ScienceS (lumS) Sports at lumS (SlumS) is organizing the 3rd consecutive university college and School competition in Pakistan. with record breaking Participation of more than 600 athletes in 2011 and 800 participants in 2012. lSf'13 is to be held from 14th-17th January 2013.

fri Jan 25 at 02:00 am venue : Pearl continental hotel the conference focuses on the impact of social, economic, political, technological and educational changes on the practice of journalism.

fri Jan 25 at 02:00 am venue : univerSity college lahore (ucl) Shahjiwana international debating championship is the annual debating championship of the university college lahore.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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08 News AzAz: a man carries a bag at a Syrian refugee camp on Friday. agenCieS

DAMASCUS

S

AGENCIES

YRIA has denounced international envoy lakhdar Brahimi as “flagrantly biased”, casting doubt on how long the UnArab league mediator can pursue his peace mission. The Syrian foreign ministry was responding to remarks by Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, a day after he ruled out a role for President Bashar al-Assad in a transitional government and effectively called for the Baath Party leader to quit. “In Syria ... what people are saying is that a family ruling for 40 years is a little bit too long,” Brahimi told the BBC, referring to Assad, who inherited his post from his father Hafez, who seized power in 1970 and ruled for 30 years.“President Assad could take the lead in responding to the aspiration of his people rather than resisting it,” Brahimi

Paris PKK murders termed ‘internal feud’ PARIS: Turkey’s prime minister has said the fatal shooting of three Kurdish female activists in Paris appears to have been the result of an internal feud.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said evidence so far pointed to the women being killed by someone known to them, as the building where the execution-style killings occurred was secured by a coded lock and could only be opened by insiders. But Erdogan said investigations needed to be completed before a definitive conclusion could be reached. “Those three people opened it. no doubt they wouldn’t open it to people they didn’t know,” Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from Senegal on Friday, according state-run Anatolian news agency. Those killed in Thursday’s attack include Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that started its rebellion against the Turkish government in 1984 and is seeking self-rule. The other two victims are 32-year-old Fidan Dogan and leyla Soylemez, described as a “young activist”. The attack overshadowed peace negotiations between Turkey and the guerrillas, said commentators. Erdogan also said the killings could also have been intended to sabotage efforts towards peace talks with the PKK. French investigators gave no immediate indication of who might be behind the murders but police continued their search for the culprits. The PKK has seen intermittent internal feuding during an armed campaign in the mountainous Turkish southeast that has killed some 40,000 people since 1984.

Turkish nationalist fighters have in the past also been accused of killing Kurdish activists, who want regional autonomy.AGENCIES

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

said, hinting that Assad should go. The foreign ministry in Damascus said it was very surprised at Brahimi’s comments, which showed “he is flagrantly biased for those who are conspiring against Syria and its people”. Syria’s Al Watan newspaper daily said Brahimi had removed his “mask of impartiality” to reveal his true face as a “a tool for the implementation of the policy of some Western countries”. Brahimi has had no more success than his predecessor Kofi Annan in his quest for a political solution to a 21-month-old conflict in which more than 60,000 people have been killed.

REGIONAL RIVALRIES: William Hague, UK foreign secretary, gave warning that violence in Syria might worsen, saying that the international community must “step up” its response if it does.

So far regional rivalries and divisions among big powers have blocked any concerted approach to the upheaval, one of the bloodiest to emerge from a series of revolts in the Arab world. Russian and US diplomats, who back opposing sides of the war, are due to meet Brahimi in Geneva on Friday. on Sunday Assad, making his first public speech in six months, offered no concessions and he said he would never talk to foes

he branded terrorists and Western puppets.

As peace efforts floundered, rebels battled for a strategic air base for a second day, pursuing a civil war that had briefly receded for some Damascus residents who set aside their differences to play in a rare snowfall that blanketed the city. For a few hours, people in the capital dropped their weapons for snowballs and traded hatred for giggles. There was no respite on other battlefronts, with heavy fighting around the Taftanaz base in northwestern Syria, which rebels are trying to capture to extend their grip on Idlib province and weaken Assad’s control of the skies. Rebels assaulted the airport’s main buildings and armoury using heavy guns, tanks and other weapons and appeared to have overrun half the area of the base, Rami Abdelrahman, director of the Syrian observatory for Human Rights activist group, said. Having tried to take the base for months, rebels have been bolstered by the recent arrival of Islamist fighters including the allegedly alQaeda-linked nusra Front, he said. opposition forces have seized chunks of territory in northern Syria in recent months, but remain vulnerable to attack by the military’s jets and helicopters.

42 killed, ‘dozens’ trapped in Chinese landslide

BEIjING: State-controlled channel CCTV said 16 homes in the Gaopo village in Zhenxiong county were engulfed by falling earth at around 8.20am on Friday morning. By Friday afternoon local time, rescue-workers had hauled 22 dead bodies from the ground, while 2 victims had been sent to hospital. “Dozens more” locals were still thought to be buried, China’s official news agency Xinhua claimed.

Photographs carried in China’s state-media showed rescue

workers in orange-overalls hunting for victims with the aid of an excavator. Xinhua said rescue workers were operating in nearfreezing conditions. An official from Zhenxiong’s propaganda office, who gave his name as Mr. Wu, told the Daily Telegraph: “All the leaders are at the scene giving instructions on the rescue work.

Right now the rescue work is the priority, trying to save more lives is the priority.” local reports said a 700-strong emergency team had been dispatched to the

disaster zone while Yunnan’s provincial governor, li Jiheng, had also travelled to the region.

The affected area is located around 550km northeast of Yunnan’s capital Kunming and not far from Yiliang county where 18 schoolchildren died last october when their school was buried in a landslide. That disaster was attributed to heavy rains and a series of strong earthquakes that had rattled through the region in September, claiming 81 lives. AGENCIES

Syria rebels capture key idlib airbase DAMAScUS: Syrian opposition fighters have overrun Taftanaz airbase, the largest in northern Syria, after several days of fierce combat, the Syrian observatory for Human Rights has said. Anti-government activists said fighters from Jabhat alnusra and other groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad seized control of buildings, ammunition and military equipment in the sprawling Taftanaz airbase in northern Idlib province on Friday. “The fighting at Taftanaz military airport ended at 11:00 am (09:00 GMT) and the base is entirely in rebel hands,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the UK-based rights group, on Friday.

“Many regime forces have been killed and most of the soldiers and officers fled at dawn,” he told the AFP news agency by phone. agenCieS

un urges swift deployment of troops to Mali GOMA: The Un Security Council has called for a swift deployment of foreign troops to Mali to rein in ultraconservative armed groups in charge of the country’s north.

The call on Friday comes as the fighters are vowing to capture more territory in the West African nation. Diplomats at the Un in new York said Dioncounda Traore, Mali’s interim president, had appealed to Paris and Un chief Ban Ki-moon for help. Citing a letter from the president, Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the Un, said: “It basically said: ‘Help - France’.” France is Mali’s former colonial ruler and the two countries maintain bilateral relations. Francois Hollande, the French president, told a meeting of diplomats in Paris on Thursday his country would respond urgently to Mali’s appeal, but would only act under the auspices of the Un. “They are trying to deliver a fatal blow to the very existence of this country,” Hollande said of the Islamist groups that control the north of Mali. “France, like its African partners and the whole of the international community, cannot accept this.” Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Paris, said French military officials would neither confirm nor deny reports that French troops had already arrived in Mali. “We did hear from a spokesman with ECoWAS, the bloc of West African nations, that the Un has endorsed to go in with a military force into Mali. agenCieS

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News 09 Rains, snowfall forecast in upper KP, Punjab, GB ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday predicted light rain and snowfall in mountainous regions of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) for the next 24 hours. More rains and snowfall in these areas have been forecast on Wednesday. However, the weather is expected to remain cold and dry in other areas of the country during next 48 hours. According to PMD, upper KP as well as Punjab besides the hilly areas of Murree and Galyat will receive scattered rain and snowfall during the next 24 hours.

Minimum temperature was recorded in Astore at 15C during the last 24 hours Weather is expected to remain cold and dry in different areas of the country while the plain areas of Punjab and Sukkur division is expected to remain foggy. INP

‘Osama got classified cables passed by Manning to WikiLeaks’ MULTAN: Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmud inaugurates a mosque at Qila Khona Qasim bagh on Friday. Abdul Qadir Gilani and Ali Musa Gilani are also seen in the picture. inP

SC sends notice to FIA over Abdul Qadir Gilani’s plea

PML-N leadership refuses to hold talks with PPP committee ISLAMABAD

gilani moves Sc over alleged harassment in haj corruption case investigation g

NEW YORK: Some classified cables allegedly leaked to the whistleblower website Wikileaks by US soldier Bradley Manning ended up in the hands of osama bin laden, prosecutors have claimed. US military prosecutor Captain Joe Morrow said during a pre-trial hearing that the terror mastermind had an al Qaeda lieutenant bring him some of the secret State Department and military reports allegedly leaked by Manning. The Wikileaks-bin laden connection was part of a collection of new evidence that prosecutors said they would bring to trial to show that Manning aided America’s enemies by passing the material to the anti-secrecy website. According to a report by the new York Times, prosecutors also said they would show logs of web chats between Manning and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. During one exchange, the two laughed about a Times article from 2010 that said the Pentagon considered Wikileaks a threat to national security, the paper said. According to new York Daily news, prosecutors did not offer specifics about the secret material that bin laden received. Manning’s trial, originally set to begin in March, was postponed until at least June 13 so that the judge could review the new evidence. The 25-year-old former intelligence agent faces 22 charges, including aiding the enemy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. ONLINE

ONLINE

ISLAMABAD APP

T

HE Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after MnA Abdul Qadir Gilani moved the SC over his alleged harassment in the investigation of Haj corruption case.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued the notice on the plea moved by Gilani’s counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada. During the proceedings, the counsel apprised the bench that his client was being harassed by the FIA on the pretext of investigation despite the fact that the allegations had not been proven.

He said the allegations were levelled by MnA Imran Shah, who could not prove anything and had tried to defame his client. He claimed that the FIA was reluctant to initiate criminal proceedings against Imran Shah and had withdrawn the FIR they had registered against him. Pirzada pleaded that a directive should be issued for the initiation of criminal proceedings against Shah for falsely implicating Gilani.

He also complained that the FIA had started investigations into the authenticity of his client’s academic degree. The chief justice told FIA investigation officer Hussain Asghar that the bench had asked for the authenticity of Zain Sukhaira’s degree and not of Gilani and made it clear that it was not the job of the FIA to probe into the degrees’ issue. The chief justice

said the court had assigned him the task of investigating the scam and he should avoid indulging in unnecessary and irrelevant matters. “You should be careful and concentrate upon your task,” the CJP advised him.

Asghar apprised the bench that they had investigated the import of a luxury vehicle on the basis of Customs record. The bench, while issuing a notice to the attorney general’s office for assistance over the issue, adjourned further proceedings until January 21.

The same bench also deferred proceedings until January 23 on a contempt issue against Interior Minister Rehman Malik after his counsel Dr Abdul Basit apprised the bench that he could not turn up due to pressing engagements in view of certain threats related to Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march.

The top leadership of the Pakistan Muslim league-nawaz (PMl-n) on Friday refused to hold talks without an agenda with the fourmember cabinet committee constituted by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Sources said Mian Raza Rabbani, one of the four members, had contacted PMl-n’s Ishaq Dar, the opposition leader in the Senate.

However, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif refused to hold dialogue without any agenda when Dar contacted the top leadership of his party regarding the talks.

He questioned what the federal government wanted from the Punjab government in connection with Tahirul Qadri’s long march.

The CM said the central government should contact the opposition leader in the national Assembly nisar Ali Khan if it wanted to hold discussion on the caretaker setup. The source said there were bleak chances of immediate dialogue between the PPP and PMl-n after the refusal from Shahbaz Sharif. The cabinet committee would have to announce its agenda before holding any dialogue, the sources added.

The ruling PPP formed a four-member committee comprising Khurshid Shah, Farooq naik, nazar Muhammad Gondal and Mian Raza Rabbani, tasking it with talking to political forces and the Punjab government over the current situation in connection with holding timely elections in a transparent manner.

US drone strikes in Pakistan on rise for 2013: report g

WASHIngTOn SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The CIA opened 2013 with a flurry of drone strikes in Pakistan, pounding Taliban targets along the country’s tribal belt at a time when the obama administration is preparing to disclose its plans for pulling most US forces out of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Current and former US intelligence officials attributed the increased tempo to a sense of urgency surrounding expecta-

washington Post says increase in drone strikes are final efforts before uS withdraws from afghanistan

tions that President obama will soon order a drawdown that could leave Afghanistan with less than 6,000 US troops after 2014.

The strikes are seen as a way to weaken adversaries of the Afghan government before the withdrawal and serve notice that the United States will still be able to launch attacks, Washington Post reported.

The rapid series of CIA strikes “may be a signal to groups that include not just al-Qaeda that the US will still present a threat” after most American forces have gone, said Seth Jones, a counterterrorism expert at the Rand Corp.

The CIA may see a diminishing window for using drones with such devastating effectiveness as the military begins sharp reductions in the 66,000 US troops in Afghanistan, current and former officials said. A former US intelligence official with extensive experience in Afghanistan said the CIA has begun discussing plans to pare back its network of bases across the country to five from 15 or more because of the difficulty of providing security for its outposts after most US forces have left. “As the military pulls back, the agency has to pull back,” the former US intelligence official said on the condition of anonymity, particularly from high-risk outposts along the country’s eastern border that have served as bases for running informant networks and gathering intelligence on al-Qaeda and Taliban strong-

holds in Pakistan.

Such a retrenchment could slow the process of identifying fresh targets for drone strikes, although the agency is expected to continue operating the remotely piloted planes from fortified bases, such as a landing strip in Jalalabad.

The CIA’s base plans are among a wide range of issues that the US government has been negotiating with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is visiting top officials in Washington this week. A CIA spokesman declined to say whether agency officials had met with Karzai.

The surge in drone activity comes as key leadership positions at the CIA and in obama’s national security cabinet are in flux.

Former CIA director David H. Petraeus, who had previously commanded

coalition forces in Afghanistan, had sought to place tighter restrictions on the agency’s drone campaign in Pakistan, leading to clashes with the head of the CIA’s counterterrorism center, former officials said.

The strikes so far this year have been scattered across north and South Waziristan, semi autonomous regions targeted in the vast majority of the more than 300 strikes carried out by the CIA in Pakistan since 2004. Pakistanis in the tribal region said they were baffled by the surge in activity. “This is beyond our understanding why the drone attacks are increased,” a tribal elder from Miran Shah, the main town in north Waziristan, said during a telephone interview. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing concern for his safety.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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10 Comment Tarnishing the Quaid Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami

Threats bigger than Qadri

Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Spate of terror

By Arif nizami

A nation hostage to terrorism

T

he large scale killings on Thursday in Quetta, Karachi and Swat indicate that the terrorists rather than the law enforcement agencies possess the initiative. The common man thus continues to pay a terrible price in life, limb and property. With 124 dead bodies already counted, and more among the seriously injured likely to be added to the tally in the next few days, January 11 will be remembered as one of the blackest days in the country’s history. Many more who have been disabled would have to live with the trauma for the rest of their lives. Eyewitnesses tell of 50 shops and nearby houses having been badly damaged in Quetta due to the explosions. The financial loss would be unbearable for quite a few victims of the bombings.

In Quetta, two perpetrators of the carnage have taken credit for their cowardly, shameful and gruesome acts. Banned United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for the attack on the FC check post, where 12 persons including two children died, and lashkar-e-Jhangvi for the two successive attacks in a predominantly Hazara neighbourhood where 81 lives were lost. In Karachi, the seven Pushtun labourers shot and killed in their beds have obviously been targeted by ethnic terrorists who resent the increasing presence of Pushtuns in the city.

In Swat, where elements affiliated with the TTP have again started to make their presence felt through targeted attacks, are presumably behind the latest terrorist act. A section of the extremists believes that the Tablighi Jamaat is luring people away from jihad; it is likely to be involved in the attack that killed 34 people.

Sins of omission and commission on the part of both the political and non-political establishment are responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the country. Had those in power concentrated on reducing the ethnic tension in Karachi, the metropolis long before now would have been a haven of peace instead of constantly being engulfed in mayhem and killing. Equally glaring is the political establishment’s failure to resolve the Balochistan crisis through talks. It left the matter in the hands of the agencies, which singularly lack the competence and the will for a peaceful resolution.

The two Waziristan agencies remain the epicentre of most of the terrorist activity in the country. one has heard too often that a conclusive military operation in the area was only a matter of time.

While the reports have alerted the extremists and made them desperate, the operation is nowhere in sight. There is a dire need to rise to the occasion. Continuing to delay what is urgently needed amounts to making the nation a hostage to terrorism.

Candid Corner

By Raoof Hasan

I

t was a bloody Thursday when all hell broke loose. Bomb and suicide attacks in Quetta and a powerful explosion in Mingora, the capital of the troubled Swat valley, claimed at least 115 lives.

The same day firing by Indian troops on the loC killed another Pakistani soldier. This is the fourth such incident in the last five days on the southern border of Azad Kashmir.

As if this was not enough to further demoralise a nation down on its knees, the MQM supremo Altaf Hussain chose the day to generate controversy around the only person revered across the board by everyone, the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The Muttahida chief, in his typical demagogic style while giving his two-hour plus telephonic khitab (address) to his ‘mesmerised’ followers, claimed that Jinnah had a British passport. In order to justify his British nationality and Canadian passport of his new-found ally Tahirul Qadri, he declared that the Quaid took oath of allegiance to the British king George VI. of course Jinnah had a British passport like everyone else before independence. But to equate it with those fleeing the country voluntarily and holding passports of the countries of their refuge is a travesty – a case of twisting facts to justify the unjustifiable.

Similarly, even to insinuate that he was a British stooge is also very unfortunate. on the contrary, Jinnah vociferously opposed the proposal of having a common governor general for both India and Pakistan, favoured by the last Viceroy of India lord Mountbatten.

Mountbatten, a personal friend of nehru, became the first governor general of independent India. Twisting this argument in their favour the MQM leader Farooq Sattar spuriously claimed that nehru agreed to the proposal of making

Mountbatten the governor general of India so as to avoid declaring allegiance to the British Empire. nehru nonetheless took oath from Mountbatten, a fact conveniently ignored by the MQM stalwart.

At the time of partition, both India and Pakistan were dominions until they had their own respective constitutions.

India became a republic in 1949 as soon as it had a constitution. Pakistan owing to shenanigans of its politicians became a republic much later in 1956.

But this did not mean that in the interregnum India and Pakistan were not independent states. The Quaid being a constitutionalist par excellence took the extra caution of getting the words of his oath as governor general altered. The words “allegiance to the British King” were replaced with “allegiance to the constitution of Pakistan”.

Jinnah abhorred Mountbatten for his dubious role in partition, and clear tilt in India’s favour. According to the memoirs penned by Gen Shahid Hamid, Military Secretary to Governor General Jinnah, the Quaid literally told Mountbatten to leave from the reception after his oath taking.

According to Hamid, “I was not far from the Quaid when he called his ADC and told him to tell Mountbatten to go home as he had had enough of him.” Even Jaswant Singh, a cardholder BJP stalwart in his recent political biography of Jinnah, ‘Jinnah: India-Partition- Independence’, has paid glowing tributes to the integrity and steadfastness of the Quaid-e-Azam.

While Don Quixote and his Sancho Panzas are busy demolishing elusive windmills of democracy – in the name of democracy – a lot is unravelling. Is it by design or by sheer coincidence that the militants have chosen to wreak havoc by stepping up their terrorist campaign against the Pakistani state and its people?

At the same time the person who epitomises the raison d’être of Pakistan is being dragged into unnecessary controversy for transient political gains. Indeed this is a sad day for the country.

In the meanwhile, the stakeholders – the government and the military – are virtually helpless spectators wringing their hands in despair. Coalition parties – the MQM and PMl-Q inclusive – we are told are supporting the government.

It is indeed a relief for the ruling coalition that the MQM although still supporting the long march has decided not to participate in it. The declared aim of Allama Qadri is to undo the present

democratic system. Hence if it had embarked on the march, the MQM would have been perceived as running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

As for the PMl-Q, the Choudharys of Gujrat are miffed in the manner in which Zardari has side-lined them. A trip to Minhajul Quran to meet Allama Qadri has probably helped them to bounce back.

The PMl-n on the other hand is naively assuming (or pretending) that the people are so keen to have the Sharifs back with a thumping majority that to them the general elections are a mere formality to install them in power in Islamabad. They assume that the Allama’s long march charade is just to rob them of that triumph. obviously, the real issues facing the country are the biggest casualties in the present hullabaloo. no matter how flawed Qadri’s objectives in embarking on a long march, heavens will not fall if the maverick cleric still goes ahead with it. With no political outfit supporting him the wind is already out of his sails.

The democratic system hopefully is not so fragile that it cannot take the heat of a long march with dubious aims declared by a person having no real credibility. We are told that the military is not backing Qadri. Hopefully that is the case.

In the meanwhile, the real issue confronting the country is the spectre of terrorism. Coalition partners as well as the opposition should sit together to formulate a line of action to deal with the menace.

The military has acknowledged the threat in its recently revised Green Book.

It considers terrorism as even a bigger threat than the one from India.

Despite the bonhomie being expressed by peaceniks on both sides of the divide, peace with India is still very fragile. Cancellation of leave of Indian military personnel shows that new Delhi is taking the ongoing military standoff more seriously than our political and military establishment.

Already isolated, Qadri should follow MQM’s lead and cancel his flawed long march. As for the political elite, they should be seen on the same page on terrorism and India.

President Zardari should instruct his prime minister to hold an APC on this existential threat. The civilians by showing a modicum of unity amongst their ranks can strengthen the hands of the military to walk the talk and effectively deal with the external and internal threats.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

The distortion parade A venomous agenda that would spark bitter controversy

A

ltaf Hussain’s attempt to malign the person of the Quaid as part of his ‘drone attack’ is simply reprehensible that will be condemned broadly by all without exception. The very thought of finding a parallel between the Quaid’s upright and principled life and his uncompromising character and integrity that was acknowledged even by his fiercest political adversaries and the MQM chief’s vile foray into distorting history to win applause from a servile and captive audience reflect a degenerative mindset that will stop at nothing in its bid to promote a destabilising agenda.

The Quaid’s passport that Altaf Hussain showed as proof of his vituperative assault has never been a secret. It is dated 1946 when there was no Pakistan. Would the MQM chief suggest a way the Quaid could have secured a ‘Pakistani’ passport before the country had come into existence? But, hidden behind the attack on the Quaid was the real agenda of the MQM: carving out a separate province in Sindh where he could rule, unchecked and unchallenged.

The condemnable high-pitch drama notwithstanding, the address has also raised some critical questions – for the federal government of which the MQM is a part-

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

ner, for Tahirul Qadri who has welcomed the MQM as part of his long march and for the people in general who are the ultimate custodians of the state of Pakistan. The federal government will have to decide whether it can continue to keep the MQM as a partner while allowing it to be part of the march against it, Tahirul Qadri will have to ascertain the damage that the MQM’s inclusion in the march will do to its legitimacy and the people of Pakistan will have to decide as to how long can they sustain the condemnable attempts to distort history and demonise the fair name of the Quaid.

I have written previously about the legitimacy of the long march having been gravely jeopardised because of the acceptance of the MQM and the Chaudhrys as its participants. After this vile outburst, the prospect has magnified manifold.

The nearness of the long march seems to have unnerved the federal government and those who are commissioned with the task of ‘controlling’ it. The original nonchalant approach with which the news had been greeted has started giving way to ‘threats’ and imposition of ‘conditions’ on the participants and the transport owners. Tahirul Qadri has also been asked to secure a ‘noobjection certificate’ to enter Islam-

abad. But, what I am amazed at is the abject lack of cohesion between the so-called ‘democratic’ parties of the country in devising a credible strategy to either stop the march, or combat its possible impact. The federal government which shoulders the principal responsibility in this regard has failed to come out with any initiative that would aim at forging unity among the democratic forces of the country to meet the brewing challenge. All we have seen since the December 23 announcement has been a spate of statements trying to mitigate the possible impact of the long march and why it may not even take off. In this charade, the government has been joined in by the likes of nawaz Sharif who, in all probability, would not like to credit anyone other than himself with the ability to take out a long march.

I also doubt the government’s sincerity in stopping the long march. In the first instance, so little effort seems to have gone into devising a plan to do so. next, less than three months away from the end of its term, I see no reason why it should not announce a firm date when the assemblies would be dissolved paving the way for the interim government to take over to hold the elections. This could have

been an effective weapon to take the initiative away from Tahirul Qadri.

Consequently, there may actually be some substance to the rumours that the entire drama of the long march is being ‘sponsored’ to elongate the ‘life’ of the incumbent PPP-led government through the imposition of an emergency. Far-fetched that it may appear, and given the multiple other shenanigans that the PPP government has been part of, the possibility cannot be totally written off.

At the same time, with the long march still days away, Islamabad has started looking like a caged city with important roads blocked with containers and other impediments.

Will these physical barriers be sufficient to guard against the burgeoning crowds that come laden with energy that springs from multiplying frustrations they have to bear every day of their life?

Failure of governance in every conceivable sense had created an immense vacuum and the coming of Tahirul Qadri and other such self-proclaimed saviours was only a matter of time. Confronted with the daunting prospect, there was a need for more thought to have gone into planning an effective strategy to deal with a situation that is likely to emerge in the wake of the march.

The government needed to have

followed a consultative path by taking other stakeholders on board and devising a plan with their input. Instead, we have witnessed an increasing divisiveness among the political outfits with some of them joining in the march and others coming up with their own solutions that range from the bravado to the bizarre. What seems to have escaped the attention is that, leave aside the prospect of 4 million people gathering in the parade ground in Islamabad on January 14, even if a hundred-thousand people do so, it would create a massive administrative nightmare for the government. What would it do if there were an attempt to take over the buildings surrounding the Dground? Will force be used? If yes, what can be the possible consequences and will the government have the necessary wherewithal in terms of legitimacy, planning, conviction and necessary support from other state institutions including the army to combat the threat? The MQM show in Karachi is possibly a preparation to reap the dividends consequent upon the mess that appears in the offing.

The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at raoofhasan@hotmail.com

KHI 12-01-2013_Layout 1 1/12/2013 7:17 AM Page 11

Comment 11

Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

children’s bad behaviour Children of today have become both aggressive and depressive with their life.

They don’t know how to face life problems and what behaviour is expected of them when dealing with their elder and younger ones. Their personality is formed by a number of factors, including their family, relatives, peers and teachers. The parents have only a little control over their children once they reach a certain age. It’s mostly their peers, the teachers and other sources of education i.e., media. The influence of parents is high during the early age, but as the child discovers new friends and ideas, he or she grows independent of the influence of parents. one cause of bad behaviour of a child is his family’s attitude. With broken families and the absence of a father at home, raising a teenager becomes a major problem for single mothers. A child’s first ten years of life is just like a whiteboard; whatever the parents write on it, it works like an ink of a permanent marker that can never be removed throughout his life. If this period of life is not handled properly, then the child suffers throughout his whole life.

The second major cause of a child’s bad behaviour arises during his second period of life: his school life. Children are highly affected by their peers. If a child gets a good friend, many bad aspects of his personality would not be there to begin with. A good friend can teach him how to face and solve critical situations. But the company of bad friends can destroy his whole life.

Teachers play a vital role in making a nation’s future. A teacher’s attention towards the children is very important.

Some children misbehave in the classroom as a way to get their parents’ attention. negative attention is better than no attention at all. Society, teachers and families should identify the root causes of student’s bad behaviour. Parents and teachers should especially keep an eye on their activities and company, develop strong interpersonal relationship and involve them in studies and other activities because they also have a duty to make a good decision for the children if they are can’t make one.

RASHIDA MUHAMMAD DIN Lahore

the issue of divorce in Pakistan Divorce is a major ethical and social issue of the world. It separates couples and ends marriages. Islam asks to avoid it as much as possible. Divorce rates are climbing through the roof these days. Research shows at least 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce in America. If the current ratios continue the world over, this trend can also hit Pakistan.

Divorce has many causes, just in the same way it has many effects.

Financial issues are one of the main reasons of divorce.

Financial problems, like unemployment or low income, can hurt marriages. Couples can become habitual of using financial resources beyond their reach or can fall a victim of excessive spending. These factors can cause disagreements between them.

Unemployment causes depression, panic, anxiety, blame, fear, and the worse of all, feeling of helplessness.

Blaming the unemployed

spouse for the issue can collapse a marriage. Unequal financial position is another financial issue. For example, if one spouse, such as the female, makes more money than the other spouse, fear and jealousy may creep in, leading to anger, disagreement and eventually divorce.

According to the research, not all marriages fail for the same reasons. Communication is also one of the problems between couples. This may happen even before the marriage. Couples may not communicate with each other because of various issues that each individual may be experiencing or if the expectations are not clear from the beginning of a relationship.

Sometimes it happens immediately after the marriage due to ego or hesitation.

Talking about your feelings in a marriage is important because then you can figure out exactly how to improve a relationship. Feelings left

unaddressed can fail a marriage. Also if a couple does not communicate pre-marital issues before marriage, they will realise during the marriage that things should have been settled up before.

These issues can get worse with time. But this type of understanding is usually not found in Pakistani society.

The third major reason for divorce is love and teenage marriages. People in love can make irrational decisions unsuitable to their conditions.

This type of marriage is not, mostly, socially acceptable in Pakistan.

We live in a society and we must follow the norms and traditions of a society. Divorce affects the couples, their children, their families and the society in general.

It should be avoided as much as possible by following the norms and traditions of the society we live in.

MUHAMMAD SHAHID RIAZ Lahore

my enemy’s enemy…

after 2013 elections

Apparently, the cat is coming out of the bag. last week’s unprovoked firing between Pakistani and Indian forces along the line of Control (loC) in Kashmir has already ignited the border which has been relatively peaceful for the last one decade. now come some real characters who vow to derail the fragile peace process between these two feuding countries.

After occupying the tribal areas of Pakistan, Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has now been eying on new areas to take its brutality to.

As per a news report, TTP’s chief Hakeemullah Mehsud has declared in a video message to send militants to Indian-held Kashmir who will not only fight the Indian forces but also enforce the Shahria (read Taliban’s interpretation of religion) in the valley.

This is a very serious development; both countries will be trapped by these militant forces who are working on an agenda which is generally not in line with the peace seeking masses of the subcontinent. Both Pakistan and India shall ensure that the TTP shouldn’t get the opportunity to highjack the movement in Indianheld Kashmir.

It’s the sole right of Kashmiris to decide their future, not of some foreign miscreants to enforce their hidden agenda at gun point. Both countries should realise that “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” will not work here as both are facing a common enemy.

MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabia

All the political parties with vested interest in status quo are opposing the long march of Dr Tahirul Qadri; only the MQM is supporting and joining the long march. MQM is the only political party which is fighting to eliminate the dominating role of feudals, capitalists, obscurantists and religious fundamentalists in Pakistani politics and wants a major role for the lower middle class in the country’s affairs. It is a known fact that Pakistan’s politics has been dominated by landed aristocracy which has been ignoring the ordinary Pakistani’s welfare. These politicians’ only interest has been to fill their pockets, keep the people deprived from education and keep them ignored from their basic rights. They have been making promises that they never honoured.

I am surprised at TV anchors who are protecting the corrupt and incompetent politicians and sham democracy, challenged by Dr Tahirul Qadri. These super anchors are not discussing the demands of Dr Qadri but his personal credentials to make people believe that he is crazy and is here to derail the democracy which, they claim, during the past five years has made the country an Asian Tiger and every Pakistani is now having a wonderful life.

The pertinent question is what the fate of the masses will be after the 2013 elections if the result of the elections proves more divisive and chaotic. Why can’t we break the monopoly of these tried politicians and have only those elected who are capable and have good reputation?

S T HUSSAIN Lahore

whiteLIES T by apollo

he newly minted Punjab governor, upon hearing endlessly that the gubernatorial mansion is haunted, sacrifices a goat on the premises every day. Yes, Every. Single. Day. That’s a whole lot of goats.

But one day, there was a mix-up and the ritual did not take place. on that day, the governor’s secretary slipped and injured himself. The governor slipped himself and another guest also had a fall.

Well, it is a most scientific observation, then, that the goat routine works, Goddammit!

Maybe if former Governor Khosa had done the same, he might have still been there.

F

**************

or all its talk about foreign nationals trying to influence Pakistani politics, the PMl-n is keenly listening to former Glasgow MP Chaudhry Sarwar regarding the ticket-awarding process for the upcoming elections.

ZAB also enlisted the services of another naturalised brown sahib for the ’77 elections, to disastrous ends. In any case, whatever works...

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

KHI 12-01-2013_Layout 1 1/12/2013 7:17 AM Page 12

12 "lincoln" is leading the way to the 2013 oscars. this morning, the biopic about the 16th president picked up 12 academy award nominations, including best director for Steven Spielberg and best actor for daniel day-lewis.

ang lee's "life of Pi" followed close behind with 11 nominations. "les Miserables" and "Silver linings Playbook" tied for third place, with eight nominations each. the academy also named its eldest and youngest best actress

BEST PIcTURE: "Beasts of the Southern Wild" "Silver linings Playbook" "Zero Dark Thirty" "lincoln" "les Miserables" "life of Pi" "Amour" "Django Unchained" "Argo" BEST SUPPORTING AcTOR: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained" Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master" Robert De niro, "Silver linings Playbook" Alan Arkin, "Argo" Tommy lee Jones, "lincoln" BEST SUPPORTING AcTRESS: Sally Field, "lincoln" Anne Hathaway, "les Miserables" Jacki Weaver, "Silver linings Playbook" Helen Hunt, "The Sessions" Amy Adams, "The Master" BEST DIREcTOR: David o. Russell, "Silver linings Playbook" Ang lee, "life of Pi" Steven Spielberg, "lincoln" Michael Haneke, "Amour" Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" BEST AcTOR: Daniel Day lewis, "lincoln" Denzel Washington, "Flight" Hugh Jackman, "les Miserables" Bradley Cooper, "Silver linings Playbook" Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master" BEST AcTRESS: naomi Watts, "The Impossible" Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty" Jennifer lawrence, "Silver linings Playbook" Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"

nominees ever. "beasts of the Southern wild" star Quvenzhané wallis, 9, is up for best actress along with "amour" lead emmanuelle riva, 85.

See who made the cut below, and weigh in on who you want to win with oscar.com's My Picks,

Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" BEST ORIGINAL ScREENPLAY: "Zero Dark Thirty" "Django Unchained" "Moonrise Kingdom" "Amour" "Flight" BEST ADAPTED ScREENPLAY: "lincoln" "Silver linings Playbook" "Argo" "life of Pi" "Beasts of the Southern Wild" BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: "Frankenweenie" "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" "Wreck-It Ralph" "Paranorman" "Brave"

an interactive and social oscar ballot that allows you to pick who you think will win in each category. you can compete with your facebook friends when the academy awards air on feb. 24.

"Anna Karenina" "les Miserables" "lincoln" "Mirror Mirror" "Snow White and the Huntsman" BEST DOcUMENTARY FEATURE: "Searching for Sugar Man" "How to Survive a Plague" "The Gatekeepers" "5 Broken Cameras" "The Invisible War" BEST DOcUMENTARY SHORT: "open Heart" "Inocente" "Redemption" "Kings Point" "Mondays at Racine" "Snow White and the Huntsman" BEST FILM EDITING: "lincoln" "Silver linings Playbook" "life of Pi" "Argo" "Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE: "Amour" "A Royal Affair" "Kon-Tiki" "no" "War Witch" BEST VISUAL EFFEcTS: "life of Pi" "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" "The Avengers" "Prometheus" "Snow White and the Huntsman" BEST cINEMATOGRAPHY: "Skyfall" "Anna Karenina" "Django Unchained" "life of Pi" "lincoln"

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: "Hitchcock" "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" "les Miserables" Best Music (original Score): "Anna Karenina" "Argo" "life of Pi" "lincoln" "Skyfall" BEST MUSIc (ORIGINAL SONG): "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice" "Everybody needs A Best Friend" from "Ted" "Pi's lullaby" from "life of Pi" "Skyfall" from "Skyfall"

BEST cOSTUME DESIGN:

"Suddenly" from "les Misérables" BEST PRODUcTION DESIGN: "Anna Karenina" "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" "les Misérables" "life of Pi" "lincoln" BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED: "Adam and Dog" "Fresh Guacamole" "Head over Heels" "Maggie Simpson in 'The longest Daycare'" "Paperman" BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE AcTION: "Asad" "Buzkashi Boys" "Curfew" "Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)" "Henry" BEST SOUND EDITING: "Argo" "Django Unchained" "life of Pi" "Skyfall" "Zero Dark Thirty" BEST SOUND MIxING: "Argo" "les Misérables" "life of Pi" "lincoln" "Skyfall"

Duchess of Cambridge delights in first official portrait kate tellS artiSt PaUl eMSley the PaintinG of her – no tiara, lookinG natUral – iS 'jUSt aMazinG' at UnveilinG at national Portrait Gallery

M

UCH larger than life and as glossily tumbling locked as a shampoo commercial, the first official portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge has been unveiled at the national Portrait Gallery. The duchess had slipped in before the gallery opened – mindful of the media scrum at the actual unveiling, which included television crews from Germany and Russia – with her husband. "It's just amazing, I thought it was brilliant," she said.

"Delightful," gallery director Sandy nairne said of meeting the couple. "A delightful experience," artist Paul Emsley said. There is

no tiara, gilt, red plush or ermine, just a sober background, a plain, dark blue-green blouse modestly fastened up to the neck, and a glint of one expensive earring. Emsley, Glasgow-born, South Africa-reared and winner of the 2007 BP portrait prize, said he had faced one difficulty with the portrait. He said Kate was just too beautiful to make a good subject. "I think any artist would agree that with an older face, with lines or wrinkles, or strong distinguishing features, it's easier to create a likeness. But with a genuinely beautiful face, it's harder to convey character." That character was, he felt, genuinely friendly, warm, putting him at ease

immediately and interested in the progress of the work, which was made from dozens of close-up photographs and a few sketches.

"She's so nice to be with," he said, "and it's genuine."The duchess sat for the painting at the artist's studio in Bradford on Avon and at Kensington Palace last May and June. Her one request was that she should look like a natural human being, not a woman on official duty.

The original plan for an unsmiling face evolved into a gentle enigmatic smile – but no teeth.

"There isn't a single open-mouthed portrait in the collection," nairne said, "and for very good reason." neWS DeSk

robert Pattinson, kristen Stewart nominated for worst actor, actress award

Transformed! unknown actor replaces Shia lebeouf

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and their new film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 have been nominated for top Golden Raspberry awards - the annual ceremony that honours the worst in the movies. leading the list of nominations are Pattinson and Stewart, who are up for the award of Worst Actor and Worst Actress, the Mirror reported. Stewart has also been nominated for the same award for another fantasy movie Snow White And The Huntsman. The real-life couple are also in the reckoning for the Worst Screen Couple. neWS DeSk

lITTlE-KnoWn Irish actor Jack Reynor will replace Shia leBeouf in Transformers 4.

The 20-year-old takes on the male lead role after the Hollywood star quit following the last Transformers film, Dark of the Moon. Director and producer Michael Bay confirmed the news on his website yesterday. He will star opposite Mark Wahlberg who has also signed up.

He wrote: "Jack Reynor, he is an Irish kid that came to America with 30 bucks in his pocket. Pretty ballsy. "Seriously who does that? Anyway I spotted him in a great little Irish movie What Richard Did. This kid is the real deal." Jack appeared in 2012's Dollhouse and What Richard Did is out in

Saturday, 12 January, 2012

UK cinemas on Friday.

Weeds star Hunter Parrish, luke Grimes, landon liboiron, and Australian actor Brenton Thwaites all tested for the role but lost out to Jack. Shia leBeouf left the Transformers franchise after Dark of the Moon. Mark Wahlberg has already been cast in the next

instalment of Transformers.

Jack will play a race car driver who is dating Wahlberg’s onscreen daughter. That role has yet to be cast. Michael also denied reports Transformers 4 would be a remake of the previous films. He said: "Transformers 4, is not a reboot. That word has been floating around on the net.

"This movie takes place exactly four years after the war in Chicago from Transformers 3."

He added: "The story makes a very natural transition, and reason as to why we have a whole new cast. "This Transformers will feel very different than the last three. We are embarking on a new trilogy." Transformers 4 is due out on June 27, 2014. neWS DeSk

Miley Cyrus gets in bed with harry Styles, clarifies Miley Cyrus tweeted a picture of her cuddling a cutout of one Direction singer Harry Styles on Tuesday. Miley, who is engaged to liam Hemsworth, posted the image in a bid to get the 18-year-old singer's attention on behalf of her younger sister, noah - a huge fan. neWS DeSk

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13 Gangster Squad stars Sean Penn in the role of real-life 1940s mob kingpin Mickey cohen. from johnny depp’s john dillinger to Steve buscemi’s nucky thompson on hbo’s boardwalk empire, see other real mobsters behind the characters.

Sean Penn/Mickey cohen

Sean Penn portrayed the mob boss of all mob bosses—los angeles-based Meyer harris “Mickey” cohen—in the latest pulp crime flick, Gangster Squad. cohen was no stranger to dealings with other notorious gangsters, at times joining forces with bugsy Siegel and al capone during his career, and eventually becoming the west coast strongarm extension for the east coast Syndicate during the 1940s and 1950s.

johnny dePP/john dillinGer

in the 2009 shoot-‘em-up crime drama Public enemies, johnny depp played notorious bank robber john dillinger as a mysterious, violent hustler with a colorful personality. a product of the Great depression, dillinger robbed a dozen banks and was killed at age 31 after a bloody shootout. after serving time in the indiana State Prison, dillinger was quoted as saying, “i will be the meanest bastard you ever saw when i get out of here.”

charleS bronSon/Machine GUn kelly

before charles bronson was in deathwish, he was generating fear as the titular notorious bank robber in Machine Gun kelly in 1958. a Prohibition-era thug, George celino barnes fittingly chose his nickname after his favorite weapon. with a slew of offenses, ranging from racketeering to kidnapping, he spent the rest of his years behind bars in alcatraz. his most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon and businessman charles f. Urschel in july 1933.

robert de niro/lefty roSenthal

deeply involved in las vegas organized crime, frank “lefty” rosenthal was the real-life mobster portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film casino, which starred robert de niro and joe Pesci. frank lawrence "lefty" rosenthal (june 12, 1929 – october 13, 2008) was a professional sports bettor, former las vegas casino executive, and organized crime associate.he died on october 13, 2008 at the age of 79.

johnny dePP/joSePh PiStone (donnie braSco)

Sportingakillermustachein1970seracrimedramadonnie brasco,johnnydeppplaysundercoveragentjosephPistone, whoinfiltratedandtookdownthebonannocrimefamilyin newyorkcitywhileoperatingunderthealiasdonniebrasco. whilePistoneisafictionalconstruct,thelongerthatbrasco stayedundercover,themorehefearedhewasbecoming amobsterhimself.inaninterviewin2005,thefbi legendsaidhestilltravelsindisguiseduetoa mobcontract onhishead.

ray liotta/henry hill

an unusual story of gangster-turned-fbi informant, henry hill of the lucchese crime family—immortalized by ray liotta in the 1990 movie Goodfellas—died in june 2012. his story was immortalized in nicholas Pileggi’s book wiseguy: life in a Mafia family. following his death, liotta said of hill, "although i played henry hill in the movie Goodfellas, i only met him a few short times so i can’t say i knew him but i do know he lived a complicated life."

Steve bUSceMi / nUcky johnSon

enoch lewis“nucky”johnson became a household name when Steve buscemi started playing him in the popular hbo drama, boardwalk empire. taking advantage of the public’s desire for liquor during the Prohibition-era 1920s, johnson ruled over atlantic city as a venal city treasurer and bootlegger. but how true to life is buscemi’s nucky?“i don’t feel compelled to accurately portray the real person,”said buscemi in an hbo Q&a, “but rather a corrupt political boss of that era.”

robert de niro/jiMMy the Gent

best known for raking in millions from the lufthansa heist in 1978, james “jimmy the Gent” burke, was associated with the lucchese crime family. his story was said to be the inspiration for jimmy conway, robert de niro’s character in Goodfellas. Gent, was an irish american gangster and lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the lufthansa heist in 1978.

robert de niro/al caPone

no stranger to intense mobster roles, robert de niro played fearsome crime syndicate boss al capone in director brian de Palma’s 1987 film, the Untouchables. the legendary Prohibition-era mobster—who has also been played by rod Steiger, jason robards, ben Gazzara, william forsythe, f. Murray abraham, and william devane, as well as currently by Stephen Graham on hbo’s boardwalk empire— his name now synonymous with the mafia.

jack nicholSon/whitey bUlGer

Martin Scorsese’s the departed swept the 2007 academy awards, winning an oscar for best Picture. the film—based on andrew lau and alan Mak’s 2002 hong kong film infernal affairs—stars leonardo dicaprio, Matt damon, and jack nicholson, who plays organized crime lord frank costello, said to be loosely based on james joseph “whitey” bulger. in a life-is-stranger-thanfiction story involving fbi informants, drug trafficking, and racketeering.

denzel waShinGton/frank lUcaS

a Manhattan heroin drug lord in the 1970s, frank lucas rose from humble limo driver to powerful kingpin, his story portrayed by denzel washington in the 2009 film american Gangster. lucas was released from prison in 1991. frank lucas (born September 9, 1930) is a former U.S. heroin dealer and organized crime boss who operated in harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

faye dUnaway and warren beatty/bonnie & clyde

with a hankering for stolen cars, bank robberies, and bloody shootouts, these criminal lovebirds were charismatically played bywarren beatty and faye dunaway in the 1967 film. despite their cinematic (and notorious) mad love, their larcenous hijinks ended in 1934, when they were shot to death by police in louisiana. bonnie elizabeth Parker and clyde chestnut barrow are believed to have killed at least nine police officers and committed several civilian murders.

Saturday, 12 January, 2012

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Infotainment 14

SYDnEY NEWS DESK

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HInA’S one-child policy has created a generation that is less trusting, more risk-averse and perhaps less likely to become entrepreneurs, according to new Australian research.

Published in the journal Science, the study of more than 400 Beijing residents born around the time the controversial population policy was introduced could have implications for China’s economy, researchers say.

“We found that individuals who grew up as single children as a result of China’s one-child policy are significantly less trusting, less trustworthy, more risk-averse, less competitive, more pessimistic, and less conscientious,” said University of Melbourne researcher nisvan Erkal.

China introduced the policy in 1979 to combat population growth and family planning officials in Beijing have defended it in the past, saying China’s population — currently 1.3 billion — would have hit 1.7 billion without it.

The new study, “little Emperors: Behavioural Impacts of China’s one-Child Policy”, based on research by Erkal, Monash University and Australian national University academics, found the group displayed distinct behaviour.

The scholars used a series of “economic games” — in which the 421 subjects born between 1975 and 1983 exchanged or invested small amounts of money, or made other economic decisions — to measure their levels of trust, risk-taking and competitiveness.

In one game, participants born under the one-Child Policy (oCP) were on average found to be less trusting than those born before, sharing

less of an endowment with another player (46.1 percent compared to 50.6 percent).

They also returned less than those not born under the policy (30.4 percent versus 35.4 percent). The researchers said both of these differences were statistically significant.

The study found the differences persisted, even after the impact of demography and family background were controlled.

“We found that being born before or after the one-child policy best explains our observations,” Erkal, an associate professor, said.

In addition to the experiments, researchers also conducted personality surveys that they said revealed those born under the oCP were also “substantially more pessimistic, less conscientious, and possibly more neurotic”.

“The oCP can be thought of as a natural experiment which enables us to separate out the effect of being an only child from the effect of family background,” they wrote.

Fellow researcher lisa Cameron from Monash said the effect could have economic implications. “our data shows that people born under the one-child policy were less likely to be in more risky occupations like self-employment,” she said.

“Thus there may be implications for China in terms of a decline in entrepreneurial ability.”

Cameron said researchers observed the negative effects of being an only child in China even if there was significant social contact with other children while growing up.

“We found that greater exposure to other children in childhood — for example, frequent interactions with cousins and/or attending childcare — was not a substitute for having siblings,” she said.

The one-child policy in fact permits some families to have several children. Parents in the countryside can have two children if their firstborn is a girl, while ethnic minority families are often exempt from birth restrictions.

Talk of phasing out the unpopular one-child policy has been mounting, with an influential think-tank with close links to the government recently proposing families be allowed to have two children by 2015. The China Development Research Foundation (CDRF) called for a relaxation of the policy in october, saying the country had paid “a huge political and social cost” for the measure, which has been blamed for creating a demographic time-bomb.

largest ever spiral galaxy spotted

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STRoBoFFInS using nASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GAlEX) telescope, which sees ultraviolet light, have realised that nGC6872 is the biggest known galaxy, much larger than previously thought. "Without GAlEX's ability to detect the ultraviolet light of the youngest, hottest stars, we would never have recognised the full extent of this intriguing system," Rafael Eufrasio, a research assistant at nASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said at the American Astronomical Society meeting yesterday. The boffins found the massive galaxy by accident: "I was not looking for the largest spiral – it just came as a gift," Eufrasio told BBC news." Measured tip-to-tip across its spiral arms, the galaxy spans more than 522,000 light years, making the star system five times the size of the Milky Way. large galaxies like nGC6827 and the Milky Way grow by merging and acquiring new stars from smaller systems, in the former's case, from a neighbouring small disc galaxy named IC4970. But in this case, instead of absorbing all the stars from IC4970, the gravitational interaction of the systems is spawning stars that may form a brand new galaxy. "The northeastern arm of nGC 6872 is the most disturbed and is rippling with star formation, but at its far end, visible only in the ultraviolet, is an object that appears to be a tidal dwarf galaxy similar to those seen in other interacting systems," said team member Duilia de Mello, a professor of astronomy at Catholic University. NEWS DESK

‘doomsday asteroid’ even bigger than thought

Boy kidnapped at 5 T turns up married at 24 brand-new island emerges off Germany

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HERE’S a new piece of Germany. over the course of just 10 years, a 34-acre island has developed 16 miles off the country’s coast, in the north Sea, the Telegraph reports. Some 50 different plant species already live on the island of norderoogsand; sea birds are moving in, too; and dunes now measure as much as 13 feet in height.

“For conservationists,” the island’s quick appearance “is anything but ordinary,” says a national park worker. Sandbanks often form in the area’s shallow waters, but they’re usually destroyed by winter storms, experts say. While islands around norderoogsand have offered protection from the weather, a major storm could prove its undoing, note scientists. NEWS DESK

dea agents got prostitute as secret service agent

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HE Drug Enforcement Administration’s alleged role in the Secret Service prostitution scandal has been confirmed. A pair of DEA agents set up a liaison between a Secret Service agent and a prostitute in Colombia in April 2012, a Justice Department probe that is just now coming to light finds. Another DEA agent wasn’t involved in that particular episode, but all three admitted paying for prostitutes and using “their DEA Blackberry devices to arrange such activities.”

The DEA agents also attempted to destroy evidence or lie to investigators, according to the report, via nBC news. But disciplinary action is up to the DEA itself; “legal proceedings” weren’t deemed necessary.

Sen. Susan Collins wrote this week to the DEA to ask why its “administrative actions” on the matter “are still pending”; an agency rep says the issue is “currently under review.” But a DEA official has said the Justice Department presented its investigation’s conclusions in September of last year. NEWS DESK

nineteen years ago, the paternal grandparents of a 5-year-old boy allegedly kidnapped him. now, Richard landers Jr. has resurfaced, age 24 and married, in Minnesota, the Chicago Tribune reports. He lives under a different name, however—one provided by his grandparents when they took him and managed to stump police. The grandparents, who now use aliases, live just a few miles away. “It’s happened so fast, and we haven’t talked to him yet,” says his stepfather. But “we’re going to as soon as we can.”

Prior to the abduction, the grandparents “were allegedly upset over pending court proceedings regarding the placement of their grandson,” police said. After they vanished in 1994, they were charged with interference with custody, but the charges were dropped when the case remained unsolved in 2008.

Then, in September 2012, landers’ stepfather gave police landers’ Social Security card; the

number led authorities to the 24-year-old, who seems “well-adjusted.” Will he meet his mother again? “That’s going to be up to him,” a police spokesman said. “We can’t force him and say, ‘now you’re going back with your mom.’ He’s 24 years old.” NEWS DESK

Paralyzed woman in Ireland loses right-to-die case

A 59-year-old woman in Ireland paralyzed with severe multiple sclerosis has lost her court fight against the nation’s ban on assisted suicide, reports the Irish Times. Marie

Fleming sought permission to end her life with the help of her partner of 18 years, but Dublin’s High Court rejected the request, reports Reuters.

“There are no words to express the difficulty we had in arriving at this decision,” wrote one judge. “Yet the fact remains that if this court were to unravel a thread of this law by even the most limited constitutional adjudication in her favour, it would—or at least might—open a Pandora’s box which would be impossible to close.”

The judge called Fleming “in many ways the most remarkable witness” he and his fellow judges had ever encountered, and the court ordered the state to pay her legal costs. Fleming’s lawyer read a statement on her behalf, saying she was “very disappointed and saddened” at the ruling. She can still appeal. NEWS DESK

HE asteroid Apophis, whose reported threat to our planet has attracted widespread attention, is even larger than scientists believed, according to new images. Europe’s Herschel Space observatory says the asteroid is some 1,066 feet feet wide, some 20% wider than previously thought. That “translates into a 75% increase in our estimates of the asteroid’s volume or mass,” says the study’s leader. Fortunately, we survived yesterday’s passage, and reports that there was a 2.7% chance it would hit Earth in 2029 have been debunked. But scientists are still investigating the asteroid, which will pass near us again in 2036, liveScience notes. At that point, there remains a one-in-200,000 chance of a collision, the BBC reports. “There is a small region of space—something we call a keyhole—and if it passes through that keyhole in 2029, it will come back and hit us on 13 April in 2036,” says a scientist. It would carry 100 times the energy of our biggest nuclear weapons, he adds. “While there is no cause for alarm, similarly there is no room for complacency,” writes Stuart Clark. NEWS DESK

why your fingers get pruney in bath: better grip

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HEn your fingers and toes get all wrinkly in the bathtub, it’s more than just a sign that’s it’s time to grab a towel.

British researchers say it’s a trait primates acquired to give them better grip in the water, perhaps as they were swinging from wet branches, reports Sciencenews and the Telegraph. one theory is that the pruney skin acts sort of the way rain treads do on car tires. Researchers tested the theory by having people perform tasks such as moving marbles from a water-filled container to a dry one. Those who soaked their fingers beforehand to get them nice and wrinkly were 12% faster. The researchers speculate that having pruney fingers constantly would be a disadvantage, so evolution provided a way for early humans to have them only when necessary. NEWS DESK

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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Pakistan players’ bPl stints in doubt

PCB names three uncapped players for South Africa series LAHORE

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LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said Pakistan players would play in the Bangladesh Premier league (BPl) but indicated that their presence could depend on the BCB agreeing to a tour of Pakistan.

The BPl is scheduled to begin on January 18 and several Pakistan players were sold at its auction last month.

Their participation, however, could hinge on the BCB's response to Ashraf's comments.

There has been a lot of talk of Bangladesh touring Pakistan but with security continuing to be a concern, there have been no concrete steps forward.

"Bangladesh almost toured Pakistan but at the last moment they pulled out over the security concern and I don't want to repeat this again," Cricinfo quoted Ashraf as saying.

"We can't send our players like this, as Bangladesh have an agreement to fulfill. If they decide to come Pakistan and play then we will consider supporting and favoring them [in this matter]."

The BPl also clashes with the Quaid-eAzam Trophy, Pakistan's premier firstclass event, and the PCB said it wouldn't be fair to disrupt the players' commitments to their teams.

The PCB and BCB have been discussing a short Bangladesh tour to Pakistan since 2011, but have faced hurdles.

A proposed tour in April 2012 was postponed because of an order from a Dhaka court, and another proposal for a tour in January this year was rejected by the BCB on security grounds.

Pakistan have not hosted international cricket since the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri lanka team bus and have played all their home matches at offshore venues such as England and the UAE.

retained their places in the squad after failing to play any match on the Sri lanka tour while left-handed opener nasir Jamshed, who has yet to play a test, also made the cut.

TEAM: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Ehsan Adil, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Haris Sohail, Faisal Iqbal, Taufiq Umar.

STAFF REPORT

HE Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday named three uncapped players and dropped wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal for next month's three-test series against South Africa. The newcomers are fast bowlers Mohammad Irfan and Ehsan Adil and batsman Harris Sohail in the 16-man squad. Sarfraz Ahmed has replaced Akmal behind the stumps.

The 2.16-meter (7-foot-1) Irfan impressed selectors with his left-arm fast bowling during the recent one-day series against India which Pakistan won 2-1. The 30-year-old Irfan, who is said to be seven foot one inch tall, impressed with his steepling bounce during Pakistan's recent tour to India where he featured in all three one-day matches and two Twenty20 internationals. But he has yet to play a test.

The test squad, led by Misbah-ul Haq, will open with a four-day side match at East london from January 25 before the first test in Johannesburg from February 1. The PCB said separate squads for two Twenty20 internationals and five one-day matches, which follow the tests, will be announced later. Surprisingly, none of the three Akmal brothers - Kamran, Umar and Adnan - are

ITINERARy

part of the test squad and no selector was available to say why. Adnan has been a regular in Pakistan's test squad as specialist wicketkeeper. Although he was injured during Pakistan's tour of Sri lanka last June he played in the ongoing first class season. He is replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed. nineteen-year-old paceman Ehsan Adil was also selected for the first time after impressing during the Junior World Cup in

Australia last year. Adil has taken 56 wickets in ten first-class matches this season. left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman also returns to the squad after being banned for a failed dope test during the county season in England last year. He will partner the wily offspinner Saeed Ajmal. The pace squad will be led by the experienced Umar Gul, Junaid Khan and Irfan. Uncapped lefthander Haris Sohail and Faisal Iqbal also

Misbah remains Test, oDi captain Pakistan cricketers LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to retain senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq as captain for the Test and one-day series in the forthcoming tour of South Africa. The 38-year-old has drawn flak for his below-par performances in one-day cricket including the recent tour of India. The PCB had removed him as captain of the Twenty20 squad last year for being a slow scorer.

But sources reported to have said that the national selectors were told by the Board that Misbah will continue as captain for both formats while Mohammad Hafeez has been retained as captain of the T20 squad.

Pakistan leaves on January 20 for South Africa to play three Tests, five one-dayers and two T20 matches.

"Board Chairman Zaka Ashraf is happy with the performance of Misbah and the way he led the team to the one-day series win in India recently," one source said. "The positive

report about Misbah is that despite his age, he is fit and brings about lot of confidence and discipline to the team with his presence and leadership qualities," the source said.

He said the Board had decided to continue with Misbah for the South African tour while Hafeez would be groomed to take over from him after the Champions Trophy in England this year. Misbah has said after returning from India that he had no intentions to quit oDI cricket as he enjoys the format and is fit for it.

"There is a concept in Pakistan that someone of my age shouldn't be playing cricket at the top level. I disagree, I made my debut late and I believe as long as someone is fit and ready to perform at the highest level there is nothing wrong with him carrying on," Misbah said. Sources close to the selectors said Asad Shafiq, after recovering from a injury, was certain to replace Umar Akmal in the middle order while Taufiq Umar would return as the opener for the Tests.

Hughes debut century powers Australia to win MELBOURnE AGENCIES

Phil Hughes became the first Australian to score a century on his one-day international debut as he powered the side to a 107-run win over Sri lanka on Friday.

Hughes hit 112 and stand-in captain George Bailey struck 89 before David Hussey smashed 60 not out off 34 balls to turn a good total into a commanding 305-5 on a flat MCG wicket. Dinesh Chandimal kept Sri lanka in contention with a belligerent 73 but four wickets from Clint McKay and some superb fielding, including three run-outs, restricted the tourists to 198 in reply. Australia, who won the test series 3-0, lead the five-match oDI series 1-0 with the second game on Sunday in Adelaide.

Sri lanka could be without Chandimal for that game after the wicketkeeper, one of the few success stories of a one-sided test series, had to have repeated on-field treatment to what looked like a hamstring problem.

His mobility steadily decreased after

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

jan 25-28: vs South Africa invitation XI at East london Feb 1-5: First Test at Johannesburg Feb 14-18: Second Test Cape Town Feb 22-26: Third Test Centurion March 1: Ist Twenty20 at Durban March 3: Second T20 at Centurion March 6: South Africa invitation XI side match at Kimberley March 10: Ist one-day international at Bloemfontein March 15: Second one-day international at Centurion March 17: Third one-day international at Johannesburg March 21: Fourth one-day international at Durban March 24: Fifth one-day international at Benoni.

SCOREbOARD AUSTRALIA A Finch c Chandimal b A Mendis 16 P Hughes c Chandimal b Malinga 114 U Khawaja run out (J Mendis/Chandimal) 3 G bailey c J Mendis b Mathews 89 D Hussey not out 60 G Maxwell c A Mendis b Kulasekara 5 b Haddin not out 10 Extras: (2b, 3lb, 5w) 10 Total: (five wickets; 50 overs) 305 Fall: 1-53, 2-72, 3-212, 4-241, 5-248.

Did not bat: M Johnson, M Starc, C McKay, X Doherty. bowling: N Kulasekara 10-0-53-1, L Malinga 10-1-61-1 (2w), A Mathews 8-0-46-1, A Mendis 10-0-62-1 (3w), T Dilshan 4-0-17-0, T Perera 4-0-28-0, J Mendis 4-0-33-0.

SRI LANKA U Tharanga c Haddin b Starc 1 T Dilshan run out (Khawaja) 51

M Jayawardene c Finch b McKay 5 D Chandimal c Haddin b McKay 73 A Mathews run out (Maxwell) 12 L Thirimanne run out (Maxwell/Haddin) 0 J Mendis c bailey b Johnson 20 T Perera c bailey b Johnson 4 N Kulasekara c bailey b McKay 18 L Malinga not out 1 A Mendis c Haddin b McKay 0 Extras: (2b, 2lb, 9w) 13 Total: (all out; 40 overs) 198 Fall: 1-8, 2-17, 3-111, 4-128, 5-128, 6-167, 7-169, 8-194, 9-198. bowling: M Starc 6-0-25-1 (2w), C McKay 8-0-33-4, M Johnson 9-1-43-2 (2w), X Doherty 8-0-41-0, G Maxwell 40-28-0, D Hussey 5-0-24-0.

Australia won by 107 runs Australia lead the five-match series 1-0

he had his thigh bandaged. Australia, though, can be happy with the way an inexperienced line-up coped without rested captain Michael Clarke and the omitted Mike Hussey. opener Aaron Finch and number three Usman Khawaja managed just 16 and three respectively after Australia won the toss but Hughes put on 140 for the third wicket alongside Bailey at the

rate of a run a ball. Khawaja later compensated for his failure - run out when he failed to ground the bat - with a direct hit from mid-off to run out the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan for 51.

Hughes, who averaged 46.60 in the test series that finished on Sunday, timed his strokes sweetly, deploying his favoured cut shot whenever possible and compiled 14 boundaries.

hope for pay raise after win in india

LAHORE: Busy celebrating the oDI series win against arch-foes India, Pakistani cricketers are hoping that the triumph would enhance their chances of getting a handsome pay raise this year. A source said that the national selectors met in lahore and handed over a preliminary list of candidates who should be considered for the new central contracts and retainers in 2013. "The selectors also held deliberations on the forthcoming tour to South Africa with the test squad expected to be announced first," the source said. He said Pakistani players, after reaching the semifinals of the World Twenty20 Championships in Sri lanka and beating India in India, were very hopeful that they would get a pay raise from the Board. "The players have already conveyed their feelings to the PCB chairman recently in India that the pay raise given to them in the last central contracts was not enough as it came after three years," the source said. He pointed out that when the last central contracts were given, some of the senior players had refused to sign them as they felt the raise of 25 per cent in the monthly retainers and 10 per cent increase in match fees was not enough but had to back down after a stern stance taken by the board. "But this time they are hopeful again since the chairman is also happy with their performances in India which is always a big tour for Pakistan," the source said. The source said the board would soon form a special committee to go through the list provided by the selectors and than determine new categories and the pay raise. last year the board gave out central contracts to the players in May after a long delay. STAFF REPORT

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Sports 16

hot putter puts thongchai clear in windy durban DURBAn AGENCIES

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee wielded a hot putter as he fired a seven-under-par 65 in blustery conditions to seize a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Volvo Golf Champions on Thursday. British open champion Ernie Els and fellow South African louis oosthuizen, the 2010 British open winner, carded 68s to lie joint second. Paul lawrie, Thomas Bjorn, Jeev Milkha Singh, Richie Ramsay, Jamie Donaldson, Scott Jamieson and Danny Willett shared fourth spot on 69. Former paratrooper Thongchai, who is 80th in the world rankings and won last year's Wales open, made light of the strong winds to post five birdies in an outward 31. Further birdies at the 10th and 15th holes followed and he cancelled out his only bogey of the day at the 17th with a fine up-and-down from the sand at the 18th for another birdie. "I made long putts from everywhere. I had 24 or 25 putts today and I haven't putted this well in a long time," Thongchai told a news conference. "It's very, very exciting to come here because I've never been to South Africa before."

The gusting winds and steady rain affected play for much of the afternoon but the 43year-old remained unaffected and called on the experience he gained from his victory in similar conditions in Wales last year. "We have no choice, everyone has to play in this and I enjoy it," said the fivetimes European Tour winner. "We play most of the time in Europe in conditions like this. I won in the same wind as this in Wales and it was also raining in that one."

india backtracked on passport rule: amritraj SIngAPORE AGENCIES

The Indian sports ministry backtracked on plans to ditch the questionable passport rule that has blocked Prakash Amritraj's return to Davis Cup action, the player's father and former tour player Vijay Amritraj told Reuters. America-born Prakash played 10 ties for India in the Davis Cup before he was barred in 2008 after the sports ministry introduced a rule saying that only Indian passport holders could represent the country at sports.

India does not permit dual citizenship.

With an ongoing row over the running of the Davis Cup team expected to see some players skip the home tie against South Korea next month, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) had hoped the government would end the passport rule so that Prakash could compete. Vijay Amritraj, a winner of 16 singles and 13 double titles and a former Davis Cup finalist, said the AITA had asked him to speak with the sport ministry to help with negotiations.

England make a winning start RAJKOT

SCOREbOARD

AGENCIES

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nDIA had never chased more than 325 to win a one-day international on home soil and, if the old India might have regarded England as ripe for the taking, this present side lacks the same formidable presence. They came close, but when Ishant Sharma was left to hit Jade Dernbach's last two balls for six to tie the match, they probably knew in their hearts that the game was up. England had lost their last 13 oDIs in India and had won only one match on their last three oDI tours of India. Two defeats in their warmup matches did not auger well, but they served up a victory for their new limitedovers coach, Ashley Giles, at the first time of asking and will now face the rest of the five-match series with greater belief.

The first international at the Saurashtra Stadium lavished favours upon the batsmen. The pitch was amenable and the outfield glassy but James Tredwell, with international-best figures of 4-44, saw England home. An understudy to Graeme Swann in England's oDI side, he has a chance to assert himself with Swann resting out of the series, although "assert himself" is probably the wrong phrase because he is a mild-mannered unassuming chap, very much the introvert to Swann's extrovert.

India needed to enter unchartered territory to beat England in the opening oDI in Rajkot. They had never scored more than 325 to win a one-day international on home soil and, even if they only needed one more run than their previous highest, they knew that history as well as recent batting form was against them. not that the task initially seemed to trouble them. They began confidently with Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam

Gambhir rarely having to extend themselves in amassing 96 in 16.4 overs in an untroubled first-wicket stand, but both got out to gentle chip shots against James Tredwell to reach the mid-point at 136. India needed another 190 runs at 7.60 per over.

Tredwell, an understudy to Graeme Swann in England's oDI side, has had only intermittent opportunities, but Swann had been rested from the series, leaving him with an opportunity to assert himself. This was only his 10th one-day international, and his first against India and neither Rahane nor Gambhir played his offspin with total conviction before he dismissed them in successive overs. There is little striking about Tredwell's mild-mannered, unas-

ENGLAND 75 AN Cook c Rahane b Raina IR bell run out (Rahane) 85 KP Pietersen c Kohli b Dinda 44 EJG Morgan c & b Dinda 41 C Kieswetter not out 24 44 SR Patel not out 12 Extras (w 10, nb 2) 325 Total (4 wickets; 50 overs; 207 mins) Did not bat JE Root, TT bresnan, JC Tredwell, ST Finn, JW Dernbach Fall of wickets 1-158 (bell, 27.4 ov), 2-172 (Cook, 31.1 ov), 3-248 (Morgan, 41.6 ov), 4-255 (Pietersen, 43.5 ov) bowling: b Kumar 7-0-52-0, I Sharma 10-2-86-0, Ab Dinda 80-53-2, R Ashwin 9-0-61-0, RA Jadeja 10-0-46-0, SK Raina 5-0-18-1, V Kohli 1-0-9-0 INDIA 47 AM Rahane c Dernbach b Tredwell 52 G Gambhir c bell b Tredwell 15 V Kohli c †Kieswetter b bresnan 61 yuvraj Singh c Dernbach b Tredwell SK Raina c & b Tredwell 50 MS Dhoni c Root b Dernbach 32

7 RA Jadeja b Dernbach 13 R Ashwin c †Kieswetter b Finn b Kumar not out 20 Ab Dinda b bresnan 3 7 I Sharma not out 9 Extras (lb 1, w 7, nb 1) Total (9 wickets; 50 overs; 222 mins) 316 Fall of wickets 1-96 (Rahane, 16.4 ov), 2-102 (Gambhir, 18.4 ov), 3-138 (Kohli, 25.4 ov), 4-198 (yuvraj Singh, 34.4 ov), 5-243 (Raina, 41.4 ov), 6-271 (Dhoni, 44.2 ov), 7-273 (Jadeja, 44.5 ov), 8-297 (Ashwin, 47.3 ov), 9-307 (Dinda, 48.5 ov) bowling: ST Finn 10-0-63-1, JW Dernbach 10-0-69-2, TT bresnan 8-0-67-2, JC Tredwell 10-0-44-4, JE Root 9-0-51-0, SR Patel 3-0-21-0 Toss England, who chose to bat Series England led the 5-match series 1-0 ODI debut JE Root (England) Player of the match JC Tredwell (England) Umpires SJ Davis (Australia) and S Ravi TV umpire VA Kulkarni Match referee AJ Pycroft (zimbabwe) Reserve umpire RM Deshpande

suming approach to the crease and he would have surprised himself if he had made one turn on such a benign surface, but he tossed one up to defeat Rahane's inside-out shot and had him caught at longoff. He then deceived Gambhir in the flight to have him caught at short mid wicket.

Gambhir, with a run-a-ball 52, had been the quicker scoring of the two openers, shamelessly reliant upon a succession of deliberate deflections between gully and slip as well as turns off his hip. With 66 on the board against ten overs of inconsistent pace bowling, India began confidently but Tredwell and the debutant, Joe Root, who bowled ahead of Samit Patel and slipped in a spell of part-time offspin without mishap, just as Suresh Raina had done for India earlier in the day, dragged England back into the game. India's highest successful run chase at home was their 325-5 to beat West Indies also in Gujarat, down the road in

Ahmedabad, in 2002. Yuvraj Singh was India's sole survivor and, at halfway, a lot was still required from himself and his colleagues if India were to outlast England to go one-up in the series. It was difficult to judge how many runs England needed to feel impregnable in the opening oDI in Rajkot. To reach 325 for 4 achieved parity, but no certainty, especially with memories of their warm-up defeat against Delhi still fresh. The India of old would have felt that this chase was in range. An India that has lost a series to Pakistan will look at it and wonder. As serenely as Ian Bell and Alastair Cook proceeded to give England a flattering start, in an opening stand of 158 in 27.4 overs, England's most destructive batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, were restricted to a brace of 40s and an uninhibited final fling by Samit Patel, who made 44 not out from 20 balls as 38 came from the last two overs, was a necessary flourish.

Pakistan asylum-seeker fawad gets oZ PM’s Xi call SYDnEY AGENCIES

Pakistani asylum-seeker Fawad Ahmed, who was granted a permanent Australia visa in november, was on Friday called up for the Prime Minister's XI match against the West Indies in Canberra.

The 33-year-old leg-spinner left his home in the border region near Afghanistan to come to Australia on a short-stay visa to play cricket in 2010 and has established his credentials at the Melbourne Renegades in the T20 Big Bash league.

He was selected for the one-day match on January 29 alongside Pakistan-born Usman Khawaja and Indianborn fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu. national Selection Panel chairman John Inverarity described the picks as reflecting the cultural diversity that ex-

ists in Australian cricket. "Fawad is playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the T20 Big Bash league and grade club Melbourne University, and we are encouraged by his ongoing development," Inverarity said. "We have also been very

pleased with the progress of Indianborn fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu, who has performed well for the Sydney Thunder following strong performances for Australia in last year's Under 19 World Cup." Ricky Ponting, who recently retired from international cricket, captains the team, with former Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin his deputy.

Ahmed has previously said he was targeted by Muslim extremists in Pakistan because of his involvement in cricket, even receiving death threats because of the perception that the sport promotes Western values.

PM's XI: Ricky Ponting (capt), Brad Haddin, Fawad Ahmed, Jono Dean, Alex Doolan, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Kane Richardson, Gurinder Sandhu, Ashton Turner, nick Winter (12th man).

Amla hits century to provide SA control PORT ELIZABETH AGENCIES

It was South Africa's day with three halfcenturies and a century, they batted well around Amla who's been lucky, but took advantage of the reprieve he got when on 48 on the first day of the second test against new Zealand at St. George's Park on Friday. new Zealand had their chances, a dropped catch, a review they should have taken, a couple of run-out attempts and edges that didn't carry. The honours could have been even, but it wasn't to be.

South Africa are in control.

Earlier at tea, Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith compiled half-centuries as South Africa moved to 191 for three at tea.

Amla reached the break unbeaten on 70 while Smith notched his 36th test half-century shortly after lunch before being dismissed eight balls later for 54 with seven fours.

Paceman Doug Bracewell, with figures of two for 44, was the pick of new Zealand's attack.

The elegant Amla brought up his 25th test fifty off 92 balls but he did enjoy a slice of luck when, on 48, he was dropped in the gully by Kane Williamson off the bowling of left-arm quick Trent Boult.

Amla and Smith combined for a second-wicket stand of 92 off 20.4 overs before Smith was caught down the legside by keeper BJ Watling off the bowling of left-arm seamer neil Wagner to leave South Africa on 121 for two.

The hosts lost their third wicket 16 runs later when Jacques Kallis (8) edged a Bracewell delivery through to Watling.

But any hopes new Zealand might have harboured of making further quick inroads into a powerful batting line-up were dashed when AB de Villiers (29 not out) and Amla combined for an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 54.

South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat on a slowish pitch which offered up just a touch of movement for the seam bowlers.

Smith and Alviro Peterson (21) put on a 29-run opening stand but the righthanded Peterson departed when he top-

SCOREbOARD SOUTH AFRICA INNINGS A. Petersen c Patel b bracewell 21 G. Smith c Watling b Wagner 54 H. Amla not out 70 HM Amla not out 106 JH Kallis c Watling b bracewell 8 Ab de Villiers c Williamson b Patel 51 F du Plessis not out 69 Extras (b 5, lb 6, w 2, nb 3) 16 Total (4 wickets; 90 overs) 325 To bat D Elgar, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RK Kleinveldt, M Morkel Fall of wickets 1-29 (Petersen, 9.6 ov), 2-121 (Smith, 30.4 ov), 3-137 (Kallis, 35.4 ov), 4-223 (de Villiers, 61.1 ov) bowling: TA boult 19-2-74-0, DAJ bracewell 21-2-70-2, N Wagner 22-2-88-1, JS Patel 19-1-60-1, C Munro 9-0-22-0 New zealand: MJ Guptill, bb McCullum*, KS Williamson, DG brownlie, DR Flynn, bJ Watling†, DAJ bracewell, C Munro, JS Patel, TA boult, N Wagner Toss South Africa, who chose to bat Test debut C Munro (New zealand) Player of the match tba Umpires HDPK Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and IJ Gould (England), TV umpire RJ Tucker (Australia), Match referee DC boon (Australia), Reserve umpire JD Cloete.

edged an attempted hook shot off the bowling of Bracewell and was caught by Jeetan Patel at fine leg before the hosts took lunch on 99 for one. new Zealand included debutant all-rounder Colin Munro in their line up.

newage, rising Sun in garrison Polo final LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The final of the lahore Garrison Polo Cup will be played between newage and PAF/Rising Sun at 2.30 pm on Sunday.

The subsidiary final will be played between Guards Group and Ravi Autos. A match for 3rd position will be played at 11.30 am on Sunday.

Another two pool matches of the lahore Garrison Polo Cup-2013 were played on Friday at Fortress Stadium lahore Cantt and win was newage and PAF-Rising Sun fate. In the first match newage defeated 11 Corps by 7/ 2 ½ goals. From newage Shah Shamyl Alam Scored 3 goal ,Adnan Jalil Azam Scored 2 Goal , Bilal Haye and Usman Haye Scored one goal each for newage. While 11 Corps team fail to scored any goal for 11 Corps. Two and half goal of only which are received of handicap. Umpires of this mach were lt Col Asif Zahoor and Khurshid Ahmed.

In the second match, PAF/ Rising Sun beat Master Paints by 6-2 goals. For Master Paints Shah Qubilal Alam and Saqib Khan Khakwani scored one goal each. Umpire of the match were Major omer Minhas and Khurshid Ahmed.

aslam academy quetta beat golden Star LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Aslam Academy Quetta beat Golden Star by 32 runs match in a friendly match here at the Ittifaq ground on Friday.

ScORES: Aslam Academy Quetta 189 for all in 34.3 overs. Captian Mohammad Aslam 79*, Jabar 20 and Shreefud Din 19. Mohammad Asif 3/25, Umair 3/30, Mohammad Farhan and Mohammad Rameez took two wickets each. Golden Star 157 for all in 30.2 overs. nadeem Khan 29, Zeshan Shabeer 23, Mohammad Asif 23 and Saeedul Hassan 22. International cricketer of Afganistan Bacha Khan took 4/34, Shareefud Din 3/29 and Aslam 2/32. Aslam of Aslam Academy was named the man of the match.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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17 Sports aguero's comeback still a week away, says mancini

LONDON: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will miss Sunday's match against Arsenal and faces another week on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, manager Roberto Mancini said on Friday. The 24-yearold Argentine, who is City's joint topscorer this season with 10 goals, picked up the injury in City's 3-0 win over Stoke City on new Year's Day and was forced to sit out their FA Cup victory over Watford last weekend.

"Sergio won't be available for at least another week," Mancini told reporters. "He should make the game against Fulham but we won't risk him against Arsenal. He should be ready by next weekend." AGENCIES

wenger optimistic over walcott’s arsenal future

azarenka’s run could face another Williams test MELBOURnE AGENCIES

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he was "optimistic" that England international Theo Walcott will commit his long-term future to the london club and sign a new deal.

Barely a week goes by without the Frenchman being asked whether progress has been made on persuading top scorer Walcott to stay at the Emirates Stadium. Walcott, who has hit eight Premier league goals this campaign, is out of contract at the end of the season. "Discussions progress smoothly but slowly. We are on a good road but in this situation, as long as nothing is signed, you are cautious," Wenger told a news conference on Friday. "But I am optimistic we will get to a happy conclusion. I was optimistic last week, but I am a bit more optimistic this week." AGENCIES

Victoria Azarenka had a fairytale year in 2012, opening with a red-hot 26match win streak and capturing four successive titles, including her first grand slam at the Australian open. She finished the year with six tournament victories, clinched the world number one ranking and won the bronze medal in singles and gold in mixed doubles at the london olympics.

To cap it off, Azarenka was awarded the order of the Motherland by Belarus President Alexander lukashenko. Although not as dominant as a resurgent Serena Williams, who claimed the Wimbledon and U.S. open titles, she had more wins against top-10 players than any other on the WTA tour.

Yet her dream run could have come to an abrupt halt less than 10 days before she opened the defence of her Melbourne title when a pedicure infected the big toe on her right foot. Rather than risk aggravating the injury, the 23-year-old withdrew from her Brisbane International

semi-final against Williams, just 30 minutes before they were due on court. Critics suggested the move may have been tacti-

cal. Why risk giving too much away against the world number three, who is the biggest threat to her defending the Australian open title? last year, however, the tall right-hander was injury-free before she embarked on her unbeaten run at the start of the year and she said when she withdrew from Brisbane that was her sole focus as she built into the year's first grand slam.

The decision appeared to have paid off, with the world number one and top seed declaring on Friday that she had recovered completely and was ready to go.

"It's much better," she told reporters at the official draw for the Australian open.

"I've been practising for the last couple of days and it feels good, so I'm really happy that its all gone and behind me.

"The preparation (has) been pretty good, I had a couple of matches before that (injury) happened but I'm pretty happy where I'm at." While Azarenka's demolition of Maria Sharapova in the Australian open final last year catapulted her into the grand slam winners' club, the Belarusian had been threatening for several years.

QuAiD-e-AzAM oPen golf

Matloob, Munir joint leaders of the day LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Friday was the first round of the professionals section competition in the 2nd Quaid-e-Azam open Golf Championship that got rolling at the par 72, lahore Gymkhana Golf Course, endorsed and supported by Shezan International and the first round belonged to Matloob Ahmed of Garrison Golf Club and Mohammad Munir of U-Fone.

During the first round, yesterday at the Gymkhana Course, Matloob Ahmed and Mohammad Munir were models of excellence, performing to perfection and looking awesome in every aspect of the game and it was through a very well-balanced all round effort that they came up with similar rounds of gross 66, six

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

under par and this is a score that champions dream of when they are competing. This did spread cheers all round the golf course and made the sponsors happy and left the organizers delighted.

M.S Janjua of Shezan patted the two champions over their praiseworthy performance and hoped they would keep up the pace over the next two rounds and continue with their excellence.

With a total of 87 professionals lining up for top slots in this prestigious championship, one finds quite a few other competitors looking pretty good and in particular two names that stand out are Ahmed Shahid Javed Khan of Royal Palm and M. Safdar Khan of Gujranwala Golf Club. Shahid too had a perfection oriented round of gross 69, three under par and looking good in

equal measure was M. Safdar with a similar score of gross 69.All in all it was a great day for golf as besides the top four, six other competitors had under par rounds and four had par rounds.

The competitors who achieved under par scores are Imdad Hussain (Garrison) 70, Shakeel Fayyaz (Islamabad) 70, Shahid Hanif (Gymkhana) 70, M. Tariq (Islamabad) 71, M. Asif (Defence Rayal) 71 and Talat Ijaz (Gymkhana) also 71. The competitors with par scores are Danyaal Jehangir, nisar Hussain, M. Siiduque and Haseeb-ur-Rehman.

As for the details of Matloob's round he had five consecutive birdies on holes 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 and two more on the 13th and 16th. He had regulation pars on ten holes and a solitary bogie on the 4th hole. His partner on the leader

board rolled in birdies on holes 2, 4, 7, 9 and 15 and powered an eagle on par 5, 16th by virtue of a perfect tee shot backed by an eight iron approach shot with a given putt. Matloob was all praise for the state of the greens which helped him in attaining a perfect score. one of competitors Aashir Hanif is placed very low on the leader board but he had the honour of scoring two consecutive eagles on the 14th and 15th holes.

In the amateur section, the leader after 18 holes is Fakhar Imam of Defence Raya Golf Club. His gross score in the first round was gross 73 and following him are Col (r) Asif Mehdi at 77 and Col (r) Muslim Chatta also at 77. Col (r) M. Shafi is at 78. The second round promises a great fight between the top contenders.

radwanska doles out double bagel to win Sydney

SYDNEY: Agnieszka Radwanska humbled Dominika Cibulkova 6-0 6-0 in a ruthless display of all-court tennis to win her second Australian open warm-up tournament in two weeks at the Sydney International on Friday. The Pole, seeded fourth for Melbourne Park and a winner in Auckland last week, secured her ninth straight victory from the start of the year in a little over an hour of one-sided tennis when the hapless Cibulkova double faulted. Radwanska tempered her celebrations out of respect for her opponent and said she felt sympathy for the Slovakian, who had beaten three top-10 players on her way to the final. AGENCIES

condolence LAHORE: President, lahore City Cricket Association, Khawaja nadim Ahmed has condoled the death of Abbas Sharif ,younger brother of former prime minister, Mohamamd nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif who died here on Friday. In a condolence message he along with other office bearers of lCCA expressed his heart felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family. He prayed to Allah Almighty Allah that the departed soul may rest in eternal peace and grant courage to bear this loss with fortitude. STAFF REPORT

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Sports 18

Murray focused on more GS success MELBOURnE

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Sydney: Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Sara errani and na Li pose for photographers ahead of the Australian Open.

i’m playing against animals, jokes els after colsaerts rocket DURBAN: Four-times major winner Ernie Els got his first close-up view of the world's longest professional hitter nicolas Colsaerts at the Volvo Golf Champions on Thursday and the 43-year-old was stunned by his Belgian playing partner's power.

"They should put a plaque down. I was coming from a different zip code and I've got to compete against these animals," joked Els after the first round in Durban. Colsaerts led the driving distances on the European and PGA tours in 2012 with a staggering average of 318.6 yards, ranking over three yards ahead of U.S. Masters champion Bubba Watson. AGENCIES

LOnDOn Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will miss Sunday's Premier league clash against north-west rivals liverpool after failing to recover from a knee injury, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday. Rooney injured a knee ligament in training and missed United's holiday fixtures against newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic as well as their FA Cup draw at West Ham United.

"Wayne Rooney is still out," Ferguson told reporters. "I am hoping he will start training today actually, in which case he won't be far away. I don't think it is an issue, but we need to guide him along. "In terms of the injury he had, it's quite straightforward so if he starts today, I assume he will be available for

2nd Test: South Africa v New Zealand 01:30PM

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Servis club down tauseef in exhibition match LAHORE STAFF REPORT

win another one. Murray picked up where he left off in 2012 by winning his first event of this year in Brisbane and will go into Melbourne as the second favourite for the title behind Djokovic. In the past 12 months, Murray has transformed himself from the nearly man of tennis into a national hero.

When he lost to Roger Federer in the final at Wimbledon last summer, his fourth defeat in grand slam finals, the knives were out.

Critics claimed that Murray had missed his window of opportunity, that as he entered the second half of his twenties, his powers would begin to wane.

But when he struggled to hold back the tears in an emotional runners-up speech at Wimbledon, the effect was to bring the public on his side, perhaps more than winning the title would have done.

And when the olympics came round at the same venue just a few weeks later, he produced inspired tennis to beat Djokovic in the semifinals and then wipe Federer off the court in the final. The foundations had been laid and he main-

tained his form and focus in new York to beat Djokovic and become the first British man to win a grand slam singles title for 76 years.

"I was motivated to get back into the gym and get even stronger," Murray said a week after his U.S. open victory. The Australian open represents the anniversary of his partnership with Ivan lendl as coach, a relationship many feel was the key to getting Murray over the line. Darren Cahill, a respected coach and television pundit with ESPn, says the former world number one has had a huge impact on Murray.

"They're 12 months down the road now, they have an olympic gold medal under their belt, a U.S. open under their belt and I see a little bit more swagger on the court," said Cahill, who has worked with Murray in the past.

"It doesn't mean anything when it comes to playing these top guys. (But) it means he's not focusing on that one major, he's focusing now on multiple. There's no question he's capable of winning multiple slams."

Servis club has won the opening exhibition match of 10th Muhammad Siddiq Memorial Cricket Tournament when they beat Tauseef Club by 35 runs played at Allama Iqbal institute ground the other day Mr. Waqqar-ulMunir Chairman Tournament Committee of East Zone Cricket Associaton was the Chief Guest. A large no of organizers were also present.Fine bowling by imran Ali was the main feature and declared man of the match.

SCORES: Servis club (180) all out. arshad nadeem 61, mudasser ali 33, azam Siddiq 37, Sattar khan 20. waqas khan 3/30, Shairrbaz khan 2/35, israr baig 1/29. tauseef club (145) all out. abrar baig 33, waqas khan 18, zeeshan butt 24, awais manzoor 18, ali raza 10. imran ali 5/33, adnan danish 2/22, Sattar khan 2/17, farhan asghar 1/37.

east zone meeting LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The East Zone cricket Association tournament committee meeting will be held on January 13 at 3 PM (Sunday) in the chairmanship of Chairman Tournament Committee Waqar-ul-Munir at his hose.

Specially in the meeting Hanif Muhammad Memorial Event will be discussed.

All members of the committee will advise to attend the meeting in time.

Djokovic starts australia defence against Mathieu MELBOURnE AGENCIES

World number one novak Djokovic's bid for a third successive Australian open title has been given a boost with a relatively smooth draw in the first grand slam of the season. The 25-yearold Serb kicks off his title defence with a first round tie against unseeded Frenchman PaulHenri Mathieu in the draw announced on Friday and faces no major hurdles until a potentially dangerous quarter-final against fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych.

In a top half of the draw free of 'Big Four' rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and the absent Rafa nadal, a possible semi-final clash with fourth seed David Ferrer, looms for five-times grand

United’s rooney out of liverpool clash AGENCIES

TEN SPORTS

STAR SPORTS

AGENCIES

CHIEVInG a lifetime goal can leave some players content but may also blight their ambition. For Andy Murray, however, nothing could be further from the truth. The Scot's victory at the U.S. open last September came on the back of his olympic triumph the previous month and was the fulfilment of a dream.

But with the new calm that success brings showing in his improved demeanour on court, the 25-year-old is more determined than ever to add more grand slam titles to his tally, starting at the Australian open, which begins in Melbourne on Monday.

"The U.S. open and the olympics made me extremely motivated," Murray told reporters this week. "It wasn't a case of 'oh, everything's done now'. "It's taken a long time to get there and to win those sorts of events. I know the feeling when you do win them now and it's worth all of the work that you put in.

"In the past, there were loads and loads of questions. I wasn't physically strong enough. I wasn't mentally strong enough. I didn't listen to my coaches. I was spoilt.

"Whatever it was, none of that really bothers me anymore. I'm just looking for ways to keep improving." The next chapter begins on Monday when Murray bids to become the first man in the open era to follow up his first grand slam title by winning the very next one.

It is a difficult task; Pete Sampras, who went on to win 14, took 11 grand slam events to win his second title, while novak Djokovic, the man Murray beat to win in new York, took 12 more slams to

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Wednesday's replay (against West Ham)." United winger nani and midfielder Anderson will both return to the squad for liverpool's visit to old Trafford. "nani is back in training and will be included in the squad for Sunday."Anderson has been back training for 10 days now so he will be in the squad for Sunday. All in all it is quite a positive situation. It's good to have them back." United lead the Premier league by seven points from local rivals Manchester City after 21 games, while liverpool are 14 points further adrift in eighth place.The fixture, however, remains as important as ever, according to Ferguson. "The derby game against liverpool never changes," he said. It's always an immensely important game - intense, emotional. We are going into the game in reasonable form."

slam winner Djokovic, who beat the tenacious Spaniard in the quarter-finals last year. "I think realistically, three can win," Australia's former

Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said at the draw, referring to Djokovic, second seed Federer and third-seeded Murray. "You've got to say novak, you'd expect him to be the favourite ... but Andy Murray is hitting his peak." Former world number one Federer faces a tough first week in his bid to add to his record 17 grand slam titles, however.

The four-time champion will also play an unseeded Frenchman in Benoit Paire in his opener, but is likely to face former top-10 player nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the second round before another potentially tricky clash with local hope Bernard Tomic in the third. Big-serving Milos Raonic of Canada, the 13th seed, is then an unpalatable prospect in the last 16, with athletic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a good chance to meet the Swiss in the quarter-finals.

i feel fine, terry says after comeback LOnDOn AGENCIES

Chelsea's former England captain John Terry said his knee felt "totally fine" after making his comeback for the club's under-21 team following two months on the sidelines. The 32-year-old central defender played for 45 minutes on Thursday night, featuring as an over-age player in a 2-0 victory over neighbours Fulham. "I have come through alright," Terry told Chelsea TV. "Initially I was going to play between 30 and 45 (minutes) so I managed to get through the first half and the knee feels totally fine which is the main thing. "lungs are a little bit... which is natural, but it is good to get in 45 under my belt.

It has been frustrating two months really. "I felt fine, totally fine. Passing, tackling, everything felt fine.

It's really positive to come through

a game and hopefully give myself a chance to be back involved with the first team."

Terry hurt his knee against liverpool on november 11, his first match back after serving a four-game ban for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. Terry has missed 16 games in all competitions and said he hoped to soon be back in contention for a firstteam recall. "Maybe it is too soon to get back starting. The lads have been playing well as well, so I know better than anybody I have to wait my time and be patient and try to get back in the squad first, than the team after that," he said. Chelsea, fourth in the Premier league - 14 points behind leaders Manchester United - travel to Stoke City on Saturday looking to bounce back from a midweek home defeat by Swansea in the Capital one (league) Cup, semi-final first-leg.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013

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19 Complete shutter down in Quetta to mourn killings

QUETTA: A large number of Hazara Shias on Friday participate in the funeral procession of Shias killed in Thursday’s twin bombings. inP

QUETTA STAFF REPORT

Sri lanka parliament votes to impeach chief justice COLOMBO AGENCIES

Sri lanka’s parliament on Friday voted to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake after a process criticised by international rights groups as an assault on judicial independence.

The assembly voted 155 to 49 to dismiss Bandaranayake whose most recent rulings had gone against the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse who is widely expected to ratify the sacking and name a replacement within days.

“The motion (to impeach) was carried with 155 voting for and 49 against,” Speaker Chamal Rajapakse said at the end of a twoday debate on a controversial parliamentary panel report which found Bandaranayake guilty of misconduct.

Bandaranayake, 54, the country’s first woman in the highest judicial office, has already challenged the parliamentary process.

Three leftist members of Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance coalition, who stayed away when the vote was taken, said they failed to “avert a constitutional crisis” with the first ever sacking of a top judge in Sri lanka.

“Right from the beginning, we attempted to intervene at several stages to avert a constitutional crisis, a confrontation between the legislature, executive and the judiciary,” Senior Minister D. E. W Gunasekera of the Communist Party said.

Gunasekera said the impeachment had been politicised and damaged the image of the country.

Ruling party supporters celebrated the parliamentary vote by bursting fire crackers around the tightly-guarded parliament building.

The government brought charges against Bandaranayake after she turned down a controversial bill that sought to grant greater financial and political power to Rajapakse’s youngest brother Basil, the economic development minister.

Although she was accused of 14 counts of financial, professional and personal misconduct, a parliamentary committee convicted her only of three.

Obama recognises Pakistan’s ‘key’ role in Afghan peace US president says curbing extremism in Pakistan-Afghanistan border region to require political, diplomatic cooperation between the neighbours g Says US, Afghanistan recommitted to political reconciliation between Afghan government and Taliban g

WASHIngTOn SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

R

ECoGnISInG the importance of Pakistan’s support for peace and stability in Afghanistan, US President Barack obama on Friday saw greater awareness in Islamabad on addressing extremism in the region.

Speaking after long deliberations at the White House with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the way forward in Afghanistan and the region, obama said curbing extremism in Pakistan-Afghanistan border region would require political and diplomatic cooperation between the two neighbours and not just military action. Addressing a joint press conference with Karzai, President obama said the US and Afghanistan recommitted themselves to political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban. “Today we agreed

that this process should be advanced by opening of a Taliban office to facilitate talks,” he said after the talks, which also covered the scope of the US-Afghanistan cooperation beyond 2014, when the USled Afghan war officially ends. obama said if some US forces stayed in Afghanistan beyond 2014, their mission and role would be to train the Afghan forces and carry out targeted actions against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The US president specifically noted that Afghan reconciliation would require constructive support from Islamabad and welcomed the recent steps towards that end. “Reconciliation also requires constructive support from across the region including Pakistan. We welcome recent steps that have been taken in that regard. We look for more tangible steps because a stable and secure Afghanistan is in the interests of not only of the Afghan people and the United States but entire region.” Asked by an Afghan journalist about the US future policy with re-

gards to alleged militant safe havens in the Tribal Areas, obama emphasised that “Afghanistan, the United States and Pakistan all have an interest in reducing the threat of extremism in some of the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan”. “That is going to require more than simply taking military actions. That is really going to require political and diplomatic work between Afghanistan and Pakistan.” obama added the US obviously would have an interest in facilitating cooperation between the two sovereign neighbouring countries.

“As President Karzai has indicated it is very hard to imagine stability and peace in the region if Pakistan and Afghanistan don’t come to some basic agreement and understanding about the threat of extremism to both countries and both governments in both capitals.” “I think we are starting to see a greater awareness on that on part of the Pakistani government,” obama said.

The provincial metropolis on Friday witnessed a complete shutter down on a call by political, traders and religious organisations in protest against Thursday’s bloodbath that left over 100 people. over 100 people were killed and dozens injured in three bombings in the city on Thursday.

Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran, Jamiat Ulema Islam (nazriati), Tahafuz-eAzadari Council, Tehreek nifaze Fiqah-e-Jaffria Balochistan, Hazara Democratic Party and other organisations had given the call of strike against the bombings.

All main and small business centres on Jinnah Road, Qandhari Bazaar, Masjid Road, Fatima Jinnah Road, liaqat Bazaar, Prince Road, Abdul Sattar Road, Alamdar Road, Toghi Road, Mission Road, Soraj Ganj Bazaar and Double Road remained closed throughout the day.

The provincial government and Hazara Democratic Party had announced to observe three-day mourning against the massive killings caused by the bomb blasts.

Heavy contingents of Frontier Corps Balochistan, police and Balochistan Constabulary were deployed across the city and armed contingents of Balochistan Constabulary and Frontier Corps continued patrolling the city the entire day.

Armed personnel of Frontier Corps had also taken positions in trenches set up by placing sand bags at several areas.

They put up blockades on several roads and kept searching motorcyclists throughout the day.

four major generals promoted RAWALPInDI STAFF REPORT

Four major generals of the Pakistan Army have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) said on Friday. It said Major General Maqsood Ahmad, Major General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Major Ganeral Syed Wajid Hussain and Major General najibullah Khan had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

indian HC gets dressing down over loC killings g

Pakistan contacts un observers, diplomats over india’s repeated loc violations ISLAMABAD ANWER AbbAS

Pakistan has officially contacted the United nations Military observers Group for India and Pakistan (UnMoGIP) over the continued ceasefire violations by India along the line of Control (loC), as the Foreign office called in Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal to lodge a formal protest over repeated, unacceptable and unprovoked attacks by India.

Addressing an emergency news conference at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said Islamabad had taken onboard the United nations Military observers Group for India and Pakistan over the continued ceasefire violations by India on the loC. “Pakistan has conveyed its concern to the Western diplomats and the Un Mili-

tary observers Group for India and Pakistan over repeated violation of line of Control by Indian army‚ urging them to play their role in defusing the tension,” he said. Earlier, Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal was summoned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a strong protest was lodged with him, Jilani said.

He said the Indian government had been conveyed a message through the high commissioner to conduct a thorough investigation into the repeated violations of the ceasefire along the line of Control

by Indian troops and to adopt necessary steps to ensure they did not recur.

The secretary said the ministry also gave a detailed briefing to ambassadors of 18 countries at the Foreign office, giving them detailed account of Indian aggression on the loC. “Pakistan reiterates its commitment to a peaceful resolution

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.

of all outstanding issues through a sustained and result-oriented dialogue with India,” the foreign secretary added.

Jilani said he also reminded the government of India of its commitment to fully implement the ceasefire along the loC and strongly urged it to abide and respect the ceasefire, which he said was an important confidence-building measure that had worked well since 2003.

“These attacks not only vitiate the atmosphere but also create unnecessary and avoidable distractions in our efforts towards the peace process,” he said to a query. To another question, Jilani said if India was carrying this aggression to divert the world’s attention away from the recent gang rape in new Delhi, it was indeed unfortunate. To a question on reservations over awarding India the MFn status, the foreign secretary said the Editor: Arif Nizami

media had presented his statement out of context, adding that the agriculture sector was having some issues, following which the ministries concerned were directed to take them onboard over the MFn title to India.

Jilani reiterated Pakistan’s offer to hold an independent inquiry into the recent incidents of ceasefire violations through the United nations.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has decided to suspend the “Paigham-e-Aman” bus service between Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Indian-held Kashmir.

“Pakistan has suspended the crossloC bus service between Chakan-DaBagh (J and K) and Rawalakote (AJK) for the time being,” Trade Facilitation officer (TFo), Poonch, Abdul Hamid Sheikh said.

Saturday, 12 January, 2013