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XI JINPING SAYS PAKISTAN’S FIGHT AGAINST TERROR A‘GAME CHANGER’ Tuesday, 21 April, 2015 Rajab 2, 1436
STORY ON PAGE 02
Rs 17.00 Vol V No 202 16 Pages Islamabad Edition
WHEN BROTHERS SHAKE HANDS... Pak, China sign MoUs, projects worth $46b, with more than $40b allocated for energy and infrastructure
PAK, CHINA TIGHTEN KNOT WITH 51 AGREEMENTS, 13 PROJECTS STORIES ON PAGE 03
Haqqani questions sale of ZIMBABWE SET FOR PAKISTAN US weapons to Pakistan CRICKETTOUR IN MAY
STORY ON PAGE 15
In opinion piece to WSJ, former envoy to US says Pakistan will likely use US weapons against Baloch insurgents, India STORY ON PAGE 02
02 NEWS
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
SC ADJouRNS QADRi’S pleA AgAiNSt DeAth SeNteNCe till MAy 14 TWO-MEMBER BENCH ASKS GOVT TO SUBMIT ITS APPEAL AGAINST REMOVAL OF ANTI-TERROR CHARGES FROM CASE AGAINST SALMAN TASEER’S ASSASSIN ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
two-member bench of the Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of an appeal by Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed assassin of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, against his death penalty, directing the government to submit their appeal as well. Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and
Justice Umar Ata Bandial adjourned the hearing till May 14. The two-member bench has summoned an application from the government regarding the Islamabad High Court’s decision to cancel Qadri’s death penalty under Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act. Previously the government had submitted an application in the apex court against the IHC’s decision to void the penalty under ATA’s Section 7, but had taken back the application to make amendments. The bench in
Rights groups join hands to protest cyber-crime bill KARACHI: Local and international rights groups have joined hands to speak out against the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 (PEC) which is currently being assessed by the National Assembly. Human Rights Watch, Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), Privacy International (PI), Bytes for All and BoloBhi are among the signatories to a document drawing attention to the inadequate protection of internet users in the new cyber-crime bill. Rights groups believe that the lack of scrutiny of the bill by individual stakeholders and the private sector prior to its being presented in the NA undermines the democratic process. In addition, rights groups are of the view that several provisions in the bill restrict freedom of expression and impinge upon internet users’ right to privacy. In an extensive legal analysis of the PEC draft, Privacy International and the Digital Rights Foundation have proposed that “information-sharing with foreign governments and entities should be regulated by specific laws and subject to independent oversight”. They have said that a clear legal regime which is compliant with international law should govern data copied by the state. These two rights groups believe mandatory retention of traffic data by service providers threatens users’ right to privacy and that service providers should not be required to keep investigation or real-time collection and recording of data secret. The power to obtain decrypted information also needs to be regulated, they said. STAFF REPORT
Monday’s hearing directed for the submission of that application in order to hear Qadri’s appeal and the government’s appeal in the same hearing. While the IHC cancelled Qadri’s penalty under the ATA, the court still upheld his second death penalty for murder under section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Qadri had appealed in the apex court against this penalty. Last week, Qadri’s counsel had filed an appeal in the apex court against his death sentence. Qadri’s
lawyer had maintained that the Islamabad High Court’s ruling of a death sentence for Qadri is not in accordance with the law and constitution of Pakistan as the murder was caused by ‘provocation’. Last month, the IHC rejected Qadri’s application against his death sentence under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) but accepted his application to void ATA’s Section 7, after which Qadri’s counsels decided to challenge the IHC’s ruling in the Supreme Court. Qadri’s petition had demanded that his death sentence should be quashed and the second asked for Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) to be declared void from the sentencing.
Sharif to visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday and is expected to discuss the developing situation in Yemen. Prime Minister Sharif will hold talks with Saudi King Salman during his visit. The prime minister’s visit comes in the backdrop of the parliament unanimously approving a resolution calling for maintaining neutrality during the conflict in Yemen. The unanimous resolution was passed on April 10 after a week-long debate during a joint parliamentary session, also vowed that Pakistan would
come to Saudi Arabia’s defence if the country’s sovereignty or territorial integrity is threatened. Saudi Arabia had asked Pakistan for military assistance, including ground troops, fighter jets and navy vessels to join the coalition forces in the Yemen operation. On April 15, a high level Pakistani delegation held talks with Saudi leaders including Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Abdulaziz. The delegation was headed by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and also included Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. Both sides discussed bilateral relations and the regional
situation with special reference to the Yemen crisis. The visit by the Pakistani delegation came hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and exchanged views on Yemen crisis. The US placed two top figures in Yemen´s Houthi rebellion – Houthi leader Abdul Malik alHouthi, and Ahmed Ali Saleh, the son of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh – on its sanctions blacklist while the United Nations Security Council has approved an arms embargo on the group. The UN Security Council vote came after Iran, which is accused of backing the rebels, proposed a ceasefire followed by foreign-mediated talks.
Xi says Pakistan’s fight against terror a ‘game changer’ ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Chinese President Xi Jinping has termed Pakistan’s offensive against militants in North Waziristan a “game-changer” in bringing peace to the region. The Chinese president, who arrived in Pakistan on
Monday, said Operation Zarbe-Azb’s ‘remarkable results’ would also contribute to Pakistan’s economic development. President Xi made the comments during his meeting with Services Chiefs of Pakistan’s armed forces on Monday evening, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations
(ISPR)statement. He also appreciated Pakistan’s strenuous efforts in counter-terrorism to promote peace, stability in the region, and vowed to stand by Pakistan in all its endeavours, and to continue to support it in fight against terrorism, and bringing stability.
SC dismisses petition on stay of executions of death-row inmates ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition calling for a stay on the execution of death row convicts. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar heard the case pertaining to the petition filed by Barrister Zafarullah in the apex court. The petitioner had requested the court to grant a stay on the execution of 8,000 death-row prisoners. According to the bench, the matter did not fall under Article 184 of the Constitution. On March 10, the Interior Ministry lifted its moratorium on the death penalty in all capital cases, after restarting executions for terrorism offences in the wake of the Peshawar school massacre. The ministry had directed provincial governments to proceed with hangings for prisoners who had exhausted all avenues of appeal and clemency. STAFF REPORT
NADRA submits evaluation report of 37 constituencies to JC ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) on Monday submitted an evaluation report of 37 electoral constituencies to the Judicial Commission (JC) probing alleged rigging in 2013 general elections. Reports said that the administration has presented the analytical report of 37 constituencies to the JC whereas the remaining ones would also get evaluated soon. Earlier on the request of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI), the Judicial Commission probing alleged electoral rigging had given NADRA three days to submit forensic reports of 37 constituencies where polling was held during the 2013 general elections. The commission has also given one week’s time to all political parties for submitting detailed evidence of rigging. The high-powered threemember commission had formally invited political parties to appear before it during its first public hearing on Thursday to submit proof of allegations of rigging in the 2013 polls. The commission headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Nasirul Mulk comprises Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan. Hamid Ali Khan has been appointed as the commission’s secretary while former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor general KK Agha was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the commission on the matter. OnlinE
HAQQANI QUESTIONS SALE OF US WEAPONS TO PAKISTAN IN OPINION PIECE TO WSJ, FORMER ENVOY TO US SAYS PAKISTAN WILL LIKELY USE US WEAPONS AGAINST BALOCH INSURGENTS, INDIA MONITORING DESK Husain Haqqani, who has been living under self-imposed exiled in the US since 2012, believes the US government is committing a mistake by selling weapons to Pakistan as they will be used to “fight or menace” India. In a scathing piece in the Wall Street Journal, the former ambassador to the US questioned the Obama administration’s recent decision to sell almost $1 billion in US-made attack helicopters, missiles to Pakistan. Interestingly, the headline of the article reads “Why are We Sending This At-
tack Helicopter to Pakistan?” Haqqani felt the weapons sale will fuel conflict in South Asia without fulfilling the objective of helping Pakistan fight terrorism. “Pakistan’s failure to tackle its jihadist challenge is not the result of a lack of arms but reflects an absence of will,” wrote Haqqani, arguing that the arms race with India remains to be the dominant force in Pakistan’s foreign and domestic policies. The former ambassador has been residing in the US since 2012 after being accused of sending a memo to US Defence Department that asked for help in
reining in the Pakistan military. “The US has fed Pakistan’s delusion of being India’s regional military equal. Seeking security against a much larger neighbour is a rational objective but seeking parity with it on a constant basis is not,” wrote Haqqani. He believed that US officials should convince Pakistan to give up its hopes of attempting to rival a country with a population six times as large and economy 10 times as big. “It’s a mystery why the president suddenly trusts Pakistan’s military—after mistrusting it at the time of the Navy Seal opera-
tion in May 2011 that found and killed Osama bin Laden living safely until then in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad,” Haqqani wrote, while wondering if the US government is just simply lazy in its approach with Pakistan. “Selling helicopters and missiles is easier than thinking of alternative strategies to compel an errant ally to change its behaviour.” The former ambassador believes the equipment to be provided by the US – 15 AH-1Z Viper helicopters and 1,000 Hellfire missiles – will be used against insurgents in Balochistan, bordering Iran, and along the disputed border in Kashmir rather than against militants in tribal areas. “If the Obama administration believes Pakistan’s military has
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PAKISTAN WEAPONS SALE WILL GO THROUGH, SAYS US WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday that its $1 billion sale of helicopters, missiles and other military equipment to Pakistan will go through, rejecting suggestion of any linkage of the deal with the case of 2008 Mumbai attacks suspect Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi. Acting Spokesperson Marie Harf said in early April, the State Department approved a possible foreign military sale to Pakistan for helicopters and other equipment worth about $ 952 million. She was responding to a question by an Indian journalist, who wanted to know if there was a link between the sale and Washington’s concern over the courtordered release of Lakhvi. “We, of course, have an ongoing counterterrorism relationship with Pakistan, and no new change to that,” Harf responded. SPEciAl cORRESPOndEnT
really changed its priorities, it should consider leasing helicopters to Pakistan and verify where
they are deployed before going through with outright sales,” the ambassador suggests.
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
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WheN bRotheRS ShAKe hANDS... PAK, CHINA SIGN MOUS, PROJECTS WORTH $46B, WITH MORE THAN $40B ALLOCATED FOR ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
RACED by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping and high-level officials from both sides, a historic ceremony was witnessed at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday where Pakistan and China pledged development works in a $46 billion handshake. The two neighbours signed 51 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) relating to diverse aspects of bilateral relations, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The sector-wise financial breakdown of the projects is as follows: energy projects ($33.79 billion), road ($5.9 billion), rail ($3.69 billion), mass transit in Lahore ($1.60 billion), Gwadar Port ($0.66 billion) and ChinaPakistan fibre optics ($0.04 billion). A few agreements were signed by dignitaries from both countries in front of media personnel, after which Sharif and Jinping shared their views on the historic gathering and bilateral relations. SHARIF MAKES A POINT: In his speech, PM Sharif welcomed the Chinese leader and referred to China as Pakistan’s “all-weather friend”. “There have been crit-
PM SHARIF SAYS CPEC WILL BENEFIT ALL FOUR PROVINCES, GIVE CHINA EASY ACCESS TO ASIA, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
ical changes in China and Pakistan but our ties have remained robust. Four generations of our leaders and people have sustained them with passion and wisdom,” he said. Talking about the CPEC, Sharif said, “This corridor will benefit all provinces and areas in Pakistan and transform our country into a regional hub and pivot for commerce and investment. It will also enable China to create a shorter and cheaper route for trade and investment in south, central and west Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This corridor will become a symbol for peace and prosperity.” “Together with Chinese President Xi we have taken momentous decisions that will raise Pakistan-China relations to new heights and have deep impacts for our common economic future and stability in the region,” the Pakistani premier said, adding that the two sides also discussed regional and international developments, agreeing to make coordinated efforts for peace and security in the region. CHINESE PRESIDENT SPEAKS: In his address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China is prepared and willing to help strengthen Pakistan’s capacity to fight terrorism while the building of CPEC has an important bearing on national strategies and livelihoods of the two countries.
The two sides believe that the layout and construction of the corridor should take into account the interest of various regions of Pakistan so that it benefits people, said Jinping. “Of all the cooperation documents that Prime Minister Sharif and I signed, or witnessed the signing of, more than 30 of them concern the corridor,” he added. “They include the facilities of the Gwadar Port, the second phase of the upgrading project for the Karakoram Highway, the motorway project between Karachi and Lahore, the rail transportation Orange Line Project of Lahore and other major transportation infrastructure projects and a series of energy projects,” the Chinese dignitary said. “These projects span across the provinces and areas of Pakistan and the two sides have also made it clear that they will include the central and western lines of the corridor in the long and midterm plans. I believe this will help the comprehensive balance and steady growth of the corridor building,” said the Chinese president, adding that his country continues to support Pakistan’s economic and social development. Moreover, Jinping said the two sides agreed strengthening communication and coordination on Afghanistan in order to jointly push ahead the Afghan reconcilia-
PRESIDENT JINPING SAYS WILL HELP PAKISTAN FIGHT TERRORISM FOR REGIONAL PEACE AS CPEC BENEFITS LIVELIHOODS OF BOTH PEOPLE
tion process and play a constructive role to achieve peace and stability in the region. He read an old saying in Chinese that said, “When brothers are united in their purpose, they become strong enough to pierce through metals.” He also reciprocated PM Sharif’s sentiments on Pakistan and China and said that China is willing to work in close cooperation with Pakistan to benefit masses of the two countries. DELEGATION-LEVEL TALKS: Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s maiden visit to Pakistan, both sides held delegation-level talks at the PM House where President Jinping admired PM Sharif’s efforts, saying that the far-reaching reforms initiated were crucial for Pakistan. He added that PM Sharif is “highly experienced” and that his struggle against terrorism is “extremely admirable”. Pakistani and Chinese delegations held formal talks at the PM Office in which all aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries were reviewed. PM Sharif led the Pakistani side in the talks while the Chinese side was led by President Jinping. PM Sharif formally welcomed Jinping on his first ever visit to Pakistan and hoped that the visit would further consolidate the already strong ties between the two countries. He said peo-
Pak, China tighten knot with 51 agreements, 13 projects ISLAMABAD AMER MAHMOOd
At a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s House, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday performed the ground-breaking of five major energy projects, signing 51 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for Pakistan-China Economic Corridor and all round cooperation. Both the leaders witnessed signing of the MoUs by the ministers and senior officials of the two countries. On this occasion, the two leaders also inaugurated several projects by unveiling the plaques. FOLLOwING ARE THE DETAILS OF THE AGREEMENTS: 1- Joint Statement between China and Pakistan on establishing the allweather strategic cooperative partnership. 2- Minutes of the 4th JCC of ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor. 3- Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement between China and Pakistan. 4- Exchange of notes of feasibility study of the demonstration project of the DTMB between China and Pakistan. 5- Exchange of notes on provision of anti-narcotics equipment between China and Pakistan. 6- Exchange of notes on provision of law enforcement equipment between China and Pakistan. 7- Exchange of Notes on Feasibility Study of Gwadar Hospital between China and Pakistan. 8- MoU on provision of Chinese governmental concessional loan for second phase up-gradation of Karakorum Highway (Havelian to Thakot) between Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. 9- MoU on provision of Chinese governmental concessional loan for KarachiLahore Motorway (Multan to Sukkur) between Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. 10- MoU on provision of Chinese governmental concessional loan for Gwadar Port East Bay Expressway Project between Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. 11- MoU on provision of Chinese governmental concessional loan for Gwadar International Airport between Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. 12- Protocol on Banking Services to Agreement on Trade in Services between Pakistan and China. 13- MoU on provision of Material for
Tackling Climate Change between National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China and Ministry of Finance (EAD) of Pakistan. 14- Framework Agreement on Cooperation on Major Communications Infrastructure Project between China and Pakistan. 15- MoU on cooperation between Chinese NDRC and Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms. 16- MoU on Pro Bono Projects in the Port of Gwadar Region between Ministry for Planning, Development and Reforms of Pakistan and the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. 17- MoU on establishment of ChinaPakistan Joint Cotton Bio-Tech Laboratory between the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan. 18- Framework Agreement between the Chinese National Railway Administration and Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways on Joint Feasibility Study for up-gradation of ML1 and Establishment of Havelain Dry Port of Pakistan Railways. 19- Protocol on the Establishment of China-Pakistan Joint Marine Research Center between State Oceanic Administration of China and Ministry of Science and Technology of Pakistan. 20- MoU on cooperation between the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Films and Television of China and Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage of Pakistan. 21- Triple Party Agreement between China Central Television and PTV and Pakistan Television Foundation on the rebroadcasting of CCTV-NEWS/CCTV -9 Documentary in Pakistan. 22- Protocol on establishment of sister cities relationship between Chengdu city Sichuan Province of PRC and Lahore. 23- Protocol on establishment of sister cities relationship between Zhuhai, Guangdong, China and Gwadar, Balochistan, Pakistan. 24- Protocol on establishment of sister cities relationship between Karamay, XianjianUgur, autonomous region China and Gwadar, Balochistan, Pakistan. 25- Framework Agreement between NEA and MoPNRon Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG Terminal and Pipeline Project. 26- Commercial contract on Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project. 27- Agreement on financing for Lahore Orange line Metro Train Project. 28- MoU on financing for KKH Upgradation Phase-2 (Havelian to Takot), KLM, Gwadar East Bay Expressway,
Gwadar International Airport projects. 29- Financing agreement relating to the 870 MW Hydro-Electric Suki Kinari Hydropower Project between EXIM Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited and SK Hydro (Private) Limited. 30- Financing cooperation agreement between the EXIM Bank of China and Port Qasim Electric Power Company (Private) Limited (on Port Qasim 2x660MW Coal-fired Power Plant). 31- Framework Facility Agreement for 720MW Karot Hydropower Project between China Development Bank Corporation, EXIM Bank of China and Karot Power Company (Private) Limited. 32- Term Sheet of the facility for Zonergy 9x100 MW solar project in Punjab between China Development Bank Corporation, EXIM Bank of China and Zonergy Company limited. 33- Drawdown agreement on Jhimpir Wind Power Project between UEP Wind Power (Private) Limited as borrower and China Development Bank Corporation as lender. 34- Terms and conditions in favour of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company for Thar Block II 3.8Mt/a mining project, Sindh, Pakistan, arranged by China Development Bank Corporation. 35- Terms and conditions in favour of Engro Powergen Thar (Private) Limited, Sindh, Pakistan for Thar Block II 2x330MW Coal Fired Power Project, arranged by China Development Bank Corporation. 36- Framework agreement of financing cooperation in implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor between China Development Corporation and HBL. 37- MoU with respect to cooperation between WAPDA and CTG. 38- MoU among PPIB, CTG, and Silk Road Fund on development of private hydro power projects. 39- Facility operating agreement for Dawood Wind Power Project between ICBC and PCC of China and HDPPL. 40- Framework agreement for promoting Chinese investments and industrial parks developments in Pakistan between ICBC and HBL on financial services corporation. 41- The financing term sheet agreement for Thar Block –I between ICBC, SSRL. 42- Energy strategic cooperation framework agreement between Punjab, Pakistan and China’s Huaneng Group. 43- Framework agreement on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Energy Project cooperation between Ministry of Water & Power and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE).
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44- Cooperation agreement between Sino-Sindh Resources (Pvt) Ltd and Shanghai Electric Group for Thar Coalfield Block I Coal-Power integrated project in Pakistan. 45- Cooperation agreement for Matiyari-Lahore and Matyari (Port Qasim)Faisalabad Transmission and Transformation Project between National Transmission Distribution Company (NTDC) and National Grid of China. 46- Agreement on Port Qasim coal fired power plant between Power China and GoP. 47- Facility agreement for the Sahiwal coal-fired power plant project between Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, Huaneng Shandong Electricity Limited and Shandong Ruyi Group. 48- Cooperation agreement on Hubco coal-fired power plant project between CPIH and Hubco Power Company. 49- Facilitation agreement on Salt Range coal-fired power project between CMEC and Punjab government. 50- MoU between NUML Pakistan and Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi China for Cooperation on Higher Education. 51- Agreement on collaboration on establishment of NUML International Center of education (NICE) between NUML Pakistan and Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, China. ON THIS OCCASION THE TwO LEADERS INAuGuRATED THE FOLLOwING PROjECTS By uNVEILING THE PLAquES: 1. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Lahore Branch. 2. Energization of 100 MW solar power plants at Quad-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur. 3. FM 98 Dosti Channel studio PBCCRI, Islamabad. 4. Demonstration project of DTMB Broadcasting in Pakistan. 5. China Cultural Centre, Pakistan. 6. China-Pakistan Joint Research Centre for Small Hydropower, Islamabad. 7. China-Pakistan cross-border optical fibre cable system project. 8. Metro rail transit system on the Orange Line in Lahore. GROuND BREAKING OF FOLLOwING POwER PROjECTS wAS ALSO jOINTLy DONE By PRIME MINISTER SHARIF AND CHINESE PRESIDENT XI jINPING VIA VIDEO LINK: 1- Karot 720 MW Hydropower Project. 2- Dawood 50 MW Wind-Power Project. 3- Sachal 50 MW Wind-Power Project. 4- Zonergy 900 MW Solar Project. 5- Jhimpir 100 MW Wind-Power Project.
ple of Pakistan were anxiously waiting for the visit of the Chinese president. The Chinese president expressed confidence that implementation of the economic corridor project would open a new chapter of cooperation between the two countries. He said he chose Pakistan as the first country for visiting abroad during the current year. He thanked Pakistan for providing assistance in evacuation of stranded Chinese nationals in Yemen. Later, the two sides signed agreements for installation of 14 power projects to generate 8,030 Megawatts (MWs) of electricity. Pakistani officials and a Chinese company signed agreement for building two 660 MW power generation projects in the country. Moreover, agreements for installation of 12 power projects of 7,330 MWs were signed through video link. These power projects included 720 MW Karot Hydropower Project, 200 MW Wind Power Project and 900MW Zonergy Solar Power Project in Bahawalpur, two coal-fired power plants of 660 MW in Thar, a coal-mining project at Thar BlockII and Thar coal power project of 1,200 MW, two 1,320 MW power projects in Muzaffargarh, 1,320 MW coal-based power plants in Sahiwal and 870 MW Suki Kenari hydropower project.
China to build airport close to Azad Kashmir: report China has revealed plans to construct an airport on the strategically located Pamir plateau of Xinjiang, close to its border with Azad Kashmir, Mail Online reported on Monday. The airport will be built 3,200 feet above sea level and will be the first of its kind on a high plateau in the city of Tashkurgan, providing access to the remote area, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of China. Tashkurgan is a small trading city located along the Karakoram Highway. Experts from the CAA visited three shortlisted locations in Tashkurgan last week to choose a site for the airport. China aims to swiftly transfer resources to the remote but strategic region by using the airport. The city has become more significant since the China’s $46 billion economic corridor, linking Kashgar in Xinjiang, through Tashkurgan and across into Azad Kashmir all the way to the Gwadar port. The economic corridor aims to connect Gwadar port with North-West China and plan to initiate road and rail links as well as pipelines, which will be a source of oil import for China. The plan, which involves laying down infrastructure in Azad Kashmir, such as railways, highways and energy projects, is said to have caused alarm in New Delhi. However, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao was reported saying on Friday: “The project does not concern the relevant dispute between India and Pakistan. So, I do not think the Indian side should be concerned about that.” China is also upgrading the 1,300-km Karakoram Highway. Andrew Small, author of “the China Pakistan Axis“, based on six years of research spoke in his book about the China-Pakistan friendship, saying it was more lasting and has better prospects than its temperamental friendship with America. MOniTORinG dESK
Zardari, Khan, others call on Xi ISLAMABAD: Several top political leaders called on Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday as he arrived in Pakistan on a twoday official visit. Pakistan People’s Paty Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr Farooq Sattar, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Fazlur Rehman, PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, JI leader Liaquat Baloch and ANP’s Afrasiab Khattak met the visiting Chinese President. Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch was also among those who met XI in Islamabad. STAFF REPORT
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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
china Three gorgeS conTribuTing in pakiSTan'S clean energy DevelopmenT ——“Three STep STraTegy” for inveSTmenT in pakiSTan’S clean energy
Total installed capacity of the four large-scale hydropower projects which are developed and owned by CTG on the Jinsha River will reach 46,460 MW.
49.5MW Three Gorges First Wind Farm in Jhimpir, Sindh Province of Pakistan.
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hina Three Gorges Corporation extends its warmest welcome to President Xi Jinping for his state visit to Pakistan. During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pakistan, China Three Gorges Corporation has signed Framework Facility agreement for 720MW Karot hydropower Project in Pakistan among Karot Power Company (Private) Limited as Borrower and Exportimport Bank of China, China Development Bank & Silk Road Fund CO., LTD. as Senior Lenders, MEMORanDUM OF UnDERSTanDinG among Private Power & infrastructure Board and China Three Gorges Corporation & Silk Road Fund, MEMORanDUM OF UnDERSTanDinG with respect to cooperation between WaPDa and CTG in the presence of two heads of state while Ground Breaking Ceremony of Karot hydropower Project was also witnessed by both heads of state. China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) is the world’s biggest hydropower company and clean energy group. in
order to devote itself to Pakistan-China traditional friendship and construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CTG has determined to position Pakistan as its most important destination of global clean energy investment business. “Three Step Strategy” for investment in Pakistan’s clean energy sector has been formulated. By 2023, eight green field projects including hydro, wind and solar with total installed capacity of 3,350MW will be put into operation. acquisition on five running hydropower projects with total installed capacity of 3,550MW including Gazi Brotha and neelum Jhelum will be studied during the same period. These two will bring a combined capacity of 6,900MW. By 2030, as agreed with WaPDa, it intends to jointly develop the mega hydropower projects along the Upper indus River with total capacity of 20,000MW. When the above goal is achieved, China Three Gorges will join hands with
GOP and China State Grid to develop the “Pakistan-China Power Corridor” under China-Pakistan Economy Corridor, to realize complementation of thermal power and hydropower between southern part and northern part of Pakistan, and to realize power interconnection within Pakistan and between Pakistan and China. China Three Gorges South asia investment Limited (CTGSaiL) is the investment arm of CTG in the South asian Region, aimed at the development of renewable power projects and production of the Clean Energy. as a newly incorporated Company, CTGSaiL has made its best efforts to expand its business in South asia during the past three years with the primary investment target being set in Pakistan due to the long-term good relation between China and Pakistan and the preferential Power Policy. CTGSaiL’s current multi-stage project pipeline in Pakistan comprises of solar, wind and hydro projects with a total capacity more than 2,000 MW.
CTGSaiL is now successfully implementing 50 MW Wind power project named Three Gorges First Wind Farm in Jhimpir, Sindh Province of Pakistan. CTGSaiL is also developing 720MW Karot hydropower Project located on the River Jhelum. apart from the above mentioned, CTGSaiL is also undertaking 1,100 MW Kohala hydropower Project located on River Jhelum in Muzaffarabad district of aJK. Some other advanced power projects include 100 MW Wind Eagle Project located adjacent to the TGF, 590 MW Mahl hydropower Project on the River Jhelum, 300 MW third phase Wind Power Project in Sindh and 50 MW Solar power Project in Punjab. it is noteworthy that the 720 MW Karot hPP, 1,100MW Kohala hPP and 100MW Wind Eagle Project has been declared as Early harvest Project (EhP) in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. CTGSaiL is making efforts to become a market leader in the renewable energy sector in Pakistan and beyond.
Largest hydropower project in the world-Three Gorges Project, total capacity is 22,500 MW.
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tuesday, 21 april, 2015
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BomBing of Un BUs kills at least six in somalia MOGADiSHU AGENCIES
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T least six UN workers were killed in Somalia on Monday when a huge bomb destroyed a bus in the northeastern town of Garowe, police said. The head of the United Nations in Somalia, Nick Kay, condemned the attack and said he was “shocked and appalled by (the) loss of life”. “We have confirmed the death of six UN staff, including a foreign national,” police official Abdullahi Mohamed told AFP. “The bomb is believed to have been attached to the minibus and was detonated near the UN office.” A UN representative in Somalia was un-
able immediately to confirm the death toll. Witnesses and security officials suggested the explosion could also have come from a roadside bomb that was detonated as the minibus, which is used to transport staff from a guesthouse to the UN compound, was passing. Garowe, in the northeastern region of Somalia, is capital of the semi-autonomous Puntland region. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Somalia’s al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab insurgents carry out regular attacks, targeting both government officials and foreign aid workers. “Investigations are still ongoing to establish how it happened but I can confirm you that the UN compound was not affected,” Mohamed added.
SAUDIS PLAN TO INVADE AND OCCUPY YEMEN, REBEL LEADER SAYS ADEN AGENCIES
The leader of Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi militia has accused Saudi Arabia of plotting to seize the country, in a fiery speech suggesting he was in no mood to compromise despite more than three weeks of Saudi-led bombing. Saudi Arabia’s goal is “the invasion of this country, its occupation and placing this country again under its feet and hegemony”, Abdel Malek al-Houthi said on Sunday. “It’s the right of our people to resist the aggression and face the aggressor by any means,” he added. “The great Yemeni people will never surrender and never be subjugated.” Houthi also rejected as “unfair” a UN Security Council resolution last Tuesday that imposed an arms embargo on his group and demanded that the rebels pull back from territory they have seized. Houthi vowed to put up tough resistance using “all means and options” available, without elaborating. “Those who believe that our people will give in because of their savage crimes are wrong,” said Houthi, urging his supporters to close ranks and be patient. The air campaign has mostly failed to reverse recent gains by Houthi guerrillas fighting alongside Yemeni army allies. However, in a blow to the Houthis, a Yemeni commander of a vast military district covering half the country’s border with Saudi Arabia pledged support on Sunday to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, local officials said. The announcement puts at least 15,000 troops in the desert and mountain border area on the same side as Saudi Arabia, which hosts the embattled Yemeni president in its capital Riyadh. “Brigadier General Abdulrahman al-Halily of the First Military District announced today his support for constitutional legitimacy as represented by President Hadi,” one official said. Most of Yemen’s military is loyal to powerful expresident Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces are fighting alongside the Shiite Muslim Houthi militia in battles stretching across Yemen’s south and east. But the latest defection brings to about 10 the number of divisions that have switched sides. It may point to a growing sense in the military that momentum favours Hadi. Beginning last week, most of the army divisions along Yemen’s eastern Arabian Sea coast evacuated their posts and handed security of their bases and Yemen’s Masila oil fields, the country’s largest, to armed Sunni tribes. Other powerful tribes followed suit on Saturday within the First Military District, announcing after a huge gathering that they supported Hadi and the Saudi-led military operation, in a move which likely encouraged the commander’s decision.
Officer under Saddam Hussein drew up ISIS master plan: report An ex-intelligence officer under the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was “the strategic head” behind the Islamic State group and drew up the blueprints for the jihadists’ capture of northern Syria, German weekly Der Spiegel has reported. Former colonel Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, who was better known as Haji Bakr and was killed by Syrian rebels in January 2014, “had been secretly pulling the strings at IS for years”, according to the magazine. The weekly said it had been given exclusive access to 31 documents by Bakr, including handwritten lists and charts, after lengthy negotiations
with a rebel group in Aleppo, northern Syria, which came in possession of the pages after IS fled the area. The trove “was nothing less than a blueprint for a takeover”, according to Spiegel, detailing the creation of a caliphate in northern Syria, complete with meticulous instructions for espionage activities, murder and kidnapping. The magazine said Bakr was “bitter and unemployed” after the American decision to dissolve the Iraqi army in 2003. Between 2006 and 2008 he was held in the US military’s Camp Bucca and Abu Ghraib prison. In the years that followed his influence
grew in jihadist circles, Spiegel reported, and in 2010 Bakr and a group of other former Iraqi intelligence officers placed cleric Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at the head of the Islamic State group. The move was reportedly designed to give the group a religious dimension. The weekly quotes an Iraqi journalist as saying career officer Bakr was himself “a nationalist, not an Islamist”. The IS group, notorious for horrific acts of violence including rape, torture and beheadings, declared a caliphate in June 2014 that straddles large parts of Iraq and Syria under its control. MONITORING DESK
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AIR STRIKE ON MISSILE BASE IN YEMEN CAPITAL CAUSES HUGE EXPLOSION SANAA An airstrike on a Scud missile base in the Yemeni capital Sanaa caused a huge explosion that blew out windows in homes, residents said. There was no immediate word of casualties from the blast, which hit the base on Faj Attan mountain beside Hadda district, where the presidential palace and many embassies are located. A thick pillar of smoke rose into the air. Resident Adel Mansour said it was the largest explosion in more than three weeks of bombing by a Saudi-led coalition. “For the first time since the start of the bombing the windows of my house smashed,” Mansour said. “My children are terrified and one of my relatives fainted because of the force of the blast.” Saudi Arabia has led an alliance of Sunni Arab countries in air strikes against the Iran-allied Shia Houthi rebel group and army units loyal to expresident Ali Abdullah Saleh. The campaign has repeatedly targeted the Faj Attan facility along with other military bases and airports in Sanaa and throughout the country. Earlier, clashes between rebels and pro-government forces and Saudi-led air strikes killed at least 85 people in Yemen, medics and military sources said on Sunday, after Riyadh pledged to fund a UN aid appeal. The United Nations has said hundreds of people have died and thousands of families have fled their homes since the coalition air war began on March 26 at the request of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Since Saturday, fighting has concentrated on four key southern cities, while Saudi-led warplanes also pounded Houthi rebel positions in the area. The UN agency for refugees says that up to 150,000 people have been displaced over the past three weeks, while more than 300,000 had already fled their homes because of unrest in past years. The Houthis swept into the capital in September from their highland stronghold and later advanced south on the major port of Aden, forcing Hadi to flee to Riyadh. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia fears the Houthis would shift Yemen into the orbit of its Shia rival Iran. Though a key ally of the Houthis, Iran denies arming the Shia rebels who have allied with army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president forced out in Yemen’s 2011 uprising. AGENCIES
DO we neeD Iqbal tODay? G SAbir Nature gives birth to great philosophers and poets when the need arises. Natural calamities, wars, epidemics, storms and earthquakes etc causing human sufferings have always given birth to creative minds. Plato was born in 420 B.C. when his country had almost been ruined as a result of Peloponnesian war. Iqbal was born in 1877 A.D. when the inhabitants of India were suffering from miseries and deaths while struggling for the independence of their country from British rule. The people of Muslim community of India were the worst hit. They were being crushed ruthlessly. At that time Iqbal’s poetry played miraculous role. It awakened the people from slumbering hopelessness, made them stood on their own feet. They were united and then fought courageously for independence with the result that they achieved a free homeland for them within a few years time. The forefathers of philosophy came from a war-torn country Greece. The pioneers of the art of philosophy died but their works still providing guidance to the mankind. The world cannot forget Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and other Greeks thinkers of that time and those who followed them. Iqbal also is one of them. He is among the group of philosophers of 19th and 20th centuries, who brought revival and revolution in the thought of mankind. There is no doubt that all of them are as important for us today as they were at the time when they lived among us. As for Iqbal, his own teacher Professor Reynold A Nicholson has written following words in the preface of his book, The Secrets of the Self, an English translation of Iqbal’s” Asrar-i Khudi”. About Iqbal’s poetical expression he writes: “….its (Iqbal’s poetry) logical brilliancy dissolves in the glow of feeling and imagination, and it wins the heart before taking possession of the mind”. Prof Nicholson also expressed his views on Iqbal’s impor-
tance of ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’ in these words, “He is a man of his age and a man in advance of his age; he is also a man in disagreement of his age.” Iqbal says for himself, “Mon Nawaa-i Shair-i Fardaastam” (I am the voice of the poet of tomorrow). Iqbal’s ‘tomorrow’ is our ‘today’ and also it will be our ‘tomorrow’. Indeed Iqbal is our need of the day. His teachings are the teachings of Qur’an of which most of us are ignorant. The teaching of Qur’an is never outdated. It is like a spring of fresh waters always flowing, always fresh, always transparent. The works of Iqbal cover religion, politics, ethics, philosophy, morality and economics, all of which are the basics for the society of mankind. In particular Iqbal is the call for revival of Muslim nation, which was almost on the brink of death in his time. Thanks God that today we feel a little life spark in the body of Muslim society. As for Pakistan Iqbal wanted a separate Muslim land in order to make it a Research University for Islam which could provide the guidance and lead Muslim world. For this purpose a country named Pakistan was created and now exists on the world map; but unfortunately it has not yet achieved its status as a University of Islam, which could present the true face of Islam before the world as dreamt by Iqbal. In order to achieve the end that Iqbal wanted the only way is that the constitution of Pakistan should be rewritten to bring revolutionary change in the life of the people of Pakistan, so that the people of Pakistan could make their country a model Muslim State. After making Pakistan and naming it as an Islamic State the most important task for its people is still ahead and that requires “Ijtihad” i.e., independent inquiry, as said by Iqbal. To Iqbal only this is the way to implement real democracy in a Muslim country. He has used the term of ‘spiritual democracy’ for such governance. By ‘spiritual democracy’ Iqbal means a state in which human freedom, human solidarity and human equality prevail.
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For this Iqbal provides a guideline in his “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”, which can help the people of Pakistan to make their country a genuinely Islamic state, in which people from all walks of life are equally free. In such a state’ according to Equable, every one irrespective of faith, sect, creed is tolerated, respected and accepted. As for Muslims residing in the West and having blood relations with the people of Pakistan, they have great responsibility to provide all possible assistance to our mother country in achieving their goal to make Pakistan a real and genuinely Islamic state. Equable says, “Waqt-i Fursat Hai Kahaan Kaam Abhi Baqi Hai”. (Do not relax, the task is not yet finished). To achieve the goal Iqbal tells us to acquire knowledge in all fields of life and complete the task, which was left unfinished by our ancestors. He warns us not to follow others blindly but instead learn the lesson from them as they had done earlier for themselves. They acquired knowledge from our forefathers and then marched onward with new ideas in all the fields of learning. The present glittering light of the West is the gift of Muslims of the past. Iqbal insists us to embrace modern knowledge and by entering into the main stream of advanced science and technology play our part towards welfare of the human society. Let us prove by our action that we are the custodian of the best code of life for mankind. Iqbal being a philosopher of the east is equally important for the west. He is a great preacher of humanity. Loving the ‘other’ is considered by him as an essential quality in a man. He comes from among the great philosophers of the world on humanism. His philosophy of existentialism and Understanding the ‘Self’ as well as his beautiful poetical expressions of love show exactly the place of man on earth. Speaking on the great qualities inculcated in man he says, ‘Teray Ilm-o Muhabbat Ki Naheen Hai Intaha Koi, Naheen Hai Tujh
Sey Barh Kar Saaz-i Fitrat Men Nawa Koi.’ (The bounds of your knowledge and love are none, Melody sweeter than you in the Divine orchestra is none). Bang-i Dara, p.274 In one of Iqbal’s couplet in his famous Persian book ‘Javidnama’, he tells us the meaning of humanity in these words: ‘Admeeyat Ehtram-i Admi, Ba-Khabar Shau Az Maqaam-i Admi’. (Humanity is to respect the human being, you must be aware of the place of man). The question, ‘do we need Iqbal today?’ The reply is a clear ‘yes’. It is a need of the time, because the honour of humanity is at stake. The preachers of human rights are abusing humanity. Masses of men are being trampled ruthlessly under the heavy feet of the powerful. There is dearth of love in the world these days. Iqbal is a messenger of love. His message of love is universal…the humanity needs him…we do need him without any doubt.
06 ISLAMABAD
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
WEATHER UPDATES TUESDAY
260C 130C
WEDNESDAY
260C 150C
THURSDAY
260C 150C
FRIDAY
240C 150C
ISLAMABAD: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife arrive at the Nur Khan Air Base on Monday. INp
GreetinG the niGhtinGale of BeijinG ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR
While the media focus remains over the Chinese President Xi Jinping during his two-day historic visit to Pakistan, the art-lovers in Pakistan welcomed China’s top-notch artiste accompanying President Xi. Peng Liyuan, the spouse of the Chinese President, is not only famous for her elegant and gracious personality but is also one of China’s best-known pop-folk icons – an ambassador of the modern China. Though the world only came to know about the star wife of the Chinese president most recently, Peng has been enjoying fame among the people in China for the past three decades. Well before she met Xi Jinping, Peng was one of the most famous singers in China. Forbes has listed Peng Liyuan as the 57th most influential woman leader across the globe; I would rather refer to the first lady of China as ‘Nightingale of Beijing’ for her melodious voice and her services for her country as an artiste. “It is a mission impossible to find someone more appropriate to represent the image of Chinese women than Peng Liyuan,” wrote the Southern People Weekly magazine in year 2005. “She has a face like a full moon, shining eyes and white teeth, and she is upright and straightforward, frank and friendly”. Peng Liyuan has been married to President Xi Jinping for over 25 years now. They have a daughter named Xi Mingze who was born in
1992. She is often known through the nickname Xiao Muzi. The couple reflects the true Chinese culture of harmony and brotherhood as Peng, despite having a rural but humble background, was proposed to by Xi Jinping, whose father served as vice premier of China. Xi and Peng were introduced by friends like many Chinese couples in the 1980s. Xi was reputedly academic during their relationship, inquiring about ethnic Chinese music. Since Xi was the son of famous Chinese revolutionary Xi Zhongxun, Peng’s family accepted the relationship due to his attitude. After parental consent, the couple married on September 1, 1987 in Xiamen, Fujian. Four days later, Peng Liyuan returned to Beijing to appear in the national art festival and then immediately left for the United States and Canada to perform. Since then they had to perform their respective duties, with Peng spending most of her time in Beijing and her husband in Fujian and later Zhejiang. In one of the most revered motivational speeches delivered by Chairman Mao Zedong, five years before the Red Army gained control of China; he clued his comrades on a weapon no less potent than guns, “We must also have a cultural army, which is absolutely indispensable for uniting our own ranks and defeating the enemy.” Chairman Mao himself had married a movie starlet, who later played an important role in the Cultural
Revolution in China. The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a social-political movement that took place in the People’s Republic of China from 1966 until 1976. Set into motion by Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Communist Party of China, its stated goal was to preserve the ‘true’ Communist ideology in the country by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, and to reimpose Maoists thought as the dominant ideology within the Party. The Revolution marked the return of Mao Zedong to a position of power after the Great Leap Forward. Being a comrade of President Xi, Peng Liyuan is also a true follower of the vision of Chairman Mao as she is working day and night along with President Xi Jinping, who seen as the greatest Chinese leader of China after Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping. Peng also wears the lapel pins of a major general since she is the Dean of the People’s Liberation Army Art Academy. For a greater part of their relationship, Peng has had a considerable reputation within China, comparable to that of her husband Xi Jinping. She gained popularity as a soprano singer from her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala, a widely viewed mainland Chinese television program that airs during the Chinese New Year. She has won many honours in singing competitions nationwide. Her most famous singles include People
from Our Village, Zhumulangma and In the Field of Hope. She was the first in China to obtain a Master’s degree in traditional ethnic music when the degree was established in the 1980s. Born on November 20, 196, Peng Liyuan is a native of Yuncheng County, Shandong province. She joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1980 when she was 18 and began as an ordinary soldier, but with her vocal talent later performed during frontline tours to boost troops’ morale during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts. Peng first performed nationally and came to fame during the earliest rendition of the CCTV New Year’s Gala in 1982, when she performed ‘On the Plains of Hope’. Right after the Tiananmen Square protests in June 1989, Peng Liyuan sang for Chinese troops. She also starred in a song-and-dance number in 2007 that has perky women in Tibetan garb sashaying behind her while she sings an ode to the army that took over Tibet in 1959. Peng is actively involved in politics herself, and is a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. She is also a WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS since 2011. On November 20, 2014, Massey University in New Zealand conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Madame Peng in recognition of her international contributions to performing arts and health and education.
Xi Jinping’s arrival causes transport grief ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Commuters had a lot of problems to tackle Monday morning after public transport was suspended in the city and several important arteries and thorough-
fares were blocked for traffic owing to the security of the Chinese President. Though Chinese President Xi Jinping had already arrived at the Chaklala airbase, main roads remained closed for traffic; as a result, no public transport was available for the public. People remained hostage to pri-
vate modes of transport. This resulted in people suffering, as they had to play exorbitant fares to get to their destinations. No public transport was allowed to commutes between the twin cities due to security reasons as traffic police and other security agencies had erected blockades at several
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places to secure the city for the motorcade of the visiting Chinese presidents. The public, especially those travelling in public transport, complained about being charged extra by taxi and cab drivers, who exploited the situation as much as they could to get the maximum amount of money out of people.
METRO BLUES WORK PACKAGE-V SUSPENDED ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Work on Package-V of the Metro Bus Project (MBS) from Shaeed-e-Millat Secretariat to Pakistan Secretariat has been suspended until April 22. The work has been suspended due to security reasons as Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the town on a two-day historic visit to clinch several agreements including the multibillion Pak-China Economic Corridor. Work has once again been suspended on an important section of the MBS and a new deadline of April 30 has now become a reality for the project’s inauguration. When contacted, Commissioner Rawalpindi Zahid Saeed confirmed that work on Package-V has been halted for security reasons; however, he claimed that no deadline has been given for the completion of work on the project. He said that NESPAK and contractors have been warned not to compromise on the quality of work and they will be responsible if the contractors carry out any shoddy work.
ZAKAT SCAM - 80% FUNDS VANISH ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Political motivations seem to be the cause of a scam worth 80 per cent of the funds meant for Zakat within the Pakistan Bait ul Mal (PBM) in the districts of Rawalpindi, Okara and Faisalabad. Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of PBM while overstepping his powers got cheques worth Rs 8 million issued to 6,500 people from Okara. Sources said DMD Chaudhry Aslam who is stated to be close relative of a political figure pressurised the district officer Okara to distribute cheques from the Zakat fund through his brother. Sources disclosed that a big chunk of the fund has been embezzled. Okara is Aslam’s native district. As per formula, the Zakat funds have to be distributed to all the districts of the country in proportion to the population, however, 80 per cent of the total funds of Rs 500 million have been disbursed among the districts Rawalpindi, Okara and Faisalabad. When contacted for his stance in this regard, the DMD PBM did not attend the telephonic calls made to him repeatedly and refused to make a comment.
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Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
DACOITS CAUGHT, OUTLAWS CORNERED - CAPITAL POLICE HAS BEEN BUSY ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Police have busted a gang of dacoits and arrested 15 other outlaws from various areas of the city besides recovering looted items, weapons, daggers and stolen property from their possession, a police representative said. On a tip off, the Station House Officer of Koral police station along with a police team, including Assistant Sub-Inspector Shakeel Ahmed and others, raided the hideout of dacoits in ‘Marwa Town’ and arrested five men. Waqas, Ajmal, Masood Khan, Aslam Khan and Ishtaiq were taken into custody and the police recovered three 30 bore pistols, along with ammunition, and one dagger, from their possession. The Station House Officer of Sihala police station along with a police team, including Assistant Sub-Inspector Aurangzeb and others, raided a gambling den at Rawat. Police team arrested 10 gamblers identified as Faisal, Qadeer, Luqman Yousaf, Daud, Kabeer, Khushnood, Shajar, Sajjad, Qaiser Azad, and Zaheer Jilani and recovered stake money from their possession. Bani Gala Police arrested an accused Mujhaid and recovered four wine bottles from him. Sabzi Mandi Police recovered one dagger from Awal Gul while Bhara Kahu police arrested two accused Siddique and Ehtesham involved in decanting gas in cylinders illegally. Margalla police recovered one dagger from the possession of Sufyan Hanif. Cases have been registered against these nabbed persons and further investigation is underway. APP
CDA HEADING FOR FINANCIAL MELTDOWN? ISLAMABAD: After the local government elections in Islamabad, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) will divest much of its holdings to the newly metropolitan corporation, and in turn, may plunge into a financial crunch, as many departments, including the revenue collecting department, will be transferred to the new setup. The financially crunched civic agency will find itself in further hot waters in the mid of this year after elections to the metropolitan corporation will be held and its most important revenue collection department - directorate of municipal administration - will be transferred to the newly established Islamabad metropolitan corporation. The CDA will also be stripped of the Enforcement Directorate, Building Control Section, health, water management, PMO, Planning and Design and several other departments, solid waste management, water treatment plants, sanitation, municipal services, fire brigade and several other departments will be transferred to the metropolitan corporation. The metropolitan corporation will also oversee development work, issuance of contracts and other uplift projects. Sources in the CDA said that it will be very difficult for the authority to bear salaries of its employees if it were deprived of revenue collection and other revenue earning departments. ONLINE
ISLAMABAD: Mosquito nets on display at a roadside on Monday as insect breeding season arrives. INP
Women empoWerment coming right up! iWcci expo concludes ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
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ITH the active participation of more than 75,000 visitors, the Islamabad Expo 2015 concluded late Sunday night with a pledge to continue the struggle to empower women. Various corporate, commercial, and non-government organisations, and those working for the betterment of women, as well as individual entrepreneurs, participated in the expo organised by Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI). The exhibition was an interactive platform for women that
highlighted the progressive image of society. The idea behind the expo was to develop the women’s interactive platform to integrate the efforts of all concerned quarters that were working for women development and empowerment. This interactive platform helped improve collaboration and bridged the gap amongst the government, non-government and corporate sectors. More than 150 stalls were allocated for the exhibitors to display garments, handicrafts, homes décor, NGO goods, food street, a fun area for kids and much more. Many artisans also participated in the expo and displayed their talent. A number of conferences, competitions
and activities were also arranged during the exhibition including talent hunt, cooking, beauty workshops and makeovers. At the occasion President IWCCI Zakia Hashmi, and former presidents Samina Fazil and Farida Rashid said that the objective is to empower women and that they wanted to ensure that women’s rights are respected and protected everywhere. “We are aware that the full empowerment of women is still a distant call, therefore, we remain strongly committed to maintain our steady level of efforts to attain the goal,” they said. They demanded of the government to establish an expo centre in Islamabad.
Accountability Court hears cases against Rehman Malik referred by SC ISLAMABAD ONLINE
An accountability court Monday heard a case against former interior minister Rehman Malik and Sajjad Haider, referred by Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan for fresh hearing. Rehman Malik appeared before the court along with his counsel Advocate Muhammad Azhar Chaudhary. Deputy Director National Accountability Court (NAB) Mohsin Ali presented a report about Assistant Director FIA Sajjad Haider, who is co-accused with former Senator Rehman Malik, in the corruption case. The NAB prosecutor told the judge that Sajjad Haider was
abroad and not returning to the country despite finishing his ex-Pakistan leave. He then asked for more time to present him before the court. Judge Sohail Nasir asked Rehman Malik to submit a request in the court if he cannot appear before the court. Rehman Malik the commented that although he was acquitted from the cases he was still given punishment absentia. He prayed to the court to ascertain whether 31/A was applicable in his case or not. It may be noted here that an accountability court in 2004 awarded three years punishment to Rehman Malik and Sajjad Haider in absentia in grafting two cars and taking jewellery and other valuables from the
house of a citizen called Hashim, during a raid. Rehman Malik approached the SCP through his lawyer Ali Zafar on February 27 who told the court that the court punished his client in absentia and it was not authorised to do so. “Court laid down decision without hearing us and sentence was announced when section 35-A of NAB Ordinance was not implemented. Court should set aside the punishment,” he prayed. A three member bench of SCP led by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar declared the previous decision of awarding a punishment for three years null and void and referred the case to the accountability court for a fresh probe.
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40 SUSPECTS ARRESTED DURING SEARCH OPERATION IN CAPITAL ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Islamabad Police have arrested 40 suspects during search operations in various areas of the city, a police representative said on Monday. He said IGP Islamabad Tahir Alam Khan directed all SDPOs and SHOs to enhance patrolling as well as checking in various areas of the city and conduct search operations in slum areas, Afghan habitats, under construction buildings, workshops, bus stands and inns. Following his directions, Sub-Divisional police officers performing in Islamabad headed the search operation in Shahzad Town, Golra and Khanna police stations. They succeeded to nab 40 suspects who are being investigated further. SSP Islamabad Mir Vais Niaz has said the purpose of this search operation and high vigilance is to ensure foolproof security in the city and he further directed all SHOs to continue it. He has also appealed the citizens to remain vigilant and inform police in case of any suspicious activity around them.
DTA LOOKS INTO NEW ROUTES RAWALPINDI ONLINE
The District Transport Authority (DTA) Rawalpindi has completed their homework for changing public transport routes on Murree road after the completion of the Metro Bus Project. DTA sources said that the wagons, which were earlier plying on route No 1 from GPO to Pak Secretariat would now start their route from Misrial road and reach Pak Secretariat via Kutchery, Rawal road and Faizabad. Public transport plying on route No 6 will now start from Liaqat Colony Chakri road and reach Pak Secretariat via Kutchery, Rawal road, Chandi chowk, Kurri road and the Islamabad high way. Coaster service will be introduced from Sadar to Taxila in collaboration with a private transport company. The new routes will be approved by DTA ahead of inauguration of Metro bus service.
08 COMMENT
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
Addressing Saudi Arab’s fears
Iqbal and Muslim homeland Reality check
Of a strong Iran
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QBAL is credited with conceiving a separate homeland for Muslims of India. what distinguishes him from those who made similar depositions earlier like Ch Rehmat Ali is that Iqbal propounded the concept at some length in his address at Allahabad session of the Muslim League. He was moreover a famous poet known all over North India and immensely popular among the Muslims. Like most poets, the starryeyed Iqbal did not care to go into the details of the plan leaving a number of questions unanswered. There was no clarification in Iqbal’s concept regarding the future of the Muslims living outside the North western provinces of India. The Muslim League leadership from UP itself remained silent on the issue till the end. The Lahore Resolution, passed three years after Iqbal’s death, called for the creation of ‘independent states’ for Muslims in north-western and eastern British India. The constituent units of these states were to be autonomous and sovereign. Muslim religious leadership was divided over the partition of India. The nationalist ulema opposed Pakistan. So did Jamaat-e-Islami. Those who thronged under Jinnah’s flag had different and often contradictory notion about Pakistan. History moved fast after the end of ww II and Jinnah had little time to devise answers to these questions. Failing to reach a compromise with Congress that secured the removal of the Indian Muslims reservations within the framework of a united India, Jinnah was left with no option but to demand the partition of the county before the departure of the British. For this he needed the support of all sections of opinion among the community. Any debate on concrete issues was avoided as it could prove to be divisive. Once the creation of Pakistan was in sight an enlightened and practical Jinnah discarded the Two-Nation theory which he believed was good for dividing a country but not for keeping it united. His address to the Constituent Assembly visualised a modern pluralistic democratic country. How Iqbal would have reacted to this remains a matter of conjecture.
Pakistan cricket Proud past, dubious future
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HIS is not just a bad patch that the cricket team is passing through. It is a breakdown years – many years – in the making. And it’s not as if the symptoms have not been staring us in the face for a long time. Go back to the Sethi-Ashraf musical chairs recently. each time one went, so did his team, and the minute he was reinstated his boys would be back with him. Little surprise, in hindsight, that what the Board was setup for – supporting and promoting the game – suffered all this while. And the prime minister’s solution was nothing short of breathtaking. To put the matter to rest once and for all, Nawaz Sharif could think of nothing better than putting Shahryar Khan at the top of the PCB. That, of course, tells us that either the prime minister was just not aware of Shahryar’s uneventful last term as chairman, or he just didn’t care. The result, however, is an unprecedented fall from grace in a sport that has brought pride and glory to the nation. Needless to say Pakistan cricket today is a far cry from the days of Hafeez Kardar and Fazal Mahmood, or Asif Iqbal and Majid Khan, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, waseem and waqar, and so on. Perhaps just that has been our undoing and for far too long we have relied on individual talent to hide the team’s, and management’s, many shortcomings while the rest of the world moved to a more scientific, more mechanised way of working. No better example than neighbouring India. The restructured their board, which in turn led to more result oriented training and investment, and the result is for all to see. The PCB, just like other cricket boards, is after all a giant corporate entity that ultimately delivers a service. And as such, it must operate like other big corporations do. But the approach here, particularly under the present dispensation, continues to revolve around favouritism and opportunism. Just like Squash and Hockey, Pakistan has now been removed from the top echelons of the cricket world. Hopefully some lessons, at least, will be learnt.
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Arif Nizami Editor
Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963, 042-36375965
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extent backed by increasingly assertive Russia, can be a nuisance when it has a foothold on the Gulf of eden through a pro-Iran government in Yemen. This situation may not be to Pakistan’s liking in the long run. Advantages of Gwadar may be nullified to some degree.” The conflict in Yemen has strong flavours of domestic struggle. A predominantly Sunni government failed in holding on to power as it crumbled like a stack of cards in the face of rebellions in its south and north. However, the differences were purely of domestic and tribal nature, yet it is already shaping up into a regional conflict. Saudi Arabia has taken a moral high ground for attacking Yemen stating this is to protect and restore the legitimate government of Yemen. Besides the GCC countries, Morocco, Jordan, egypt and Sudan are taking part in Operation Decisive Storm against Houthis in Yemen. Pakistan’s name was a part of the panel before the taking of a vote from the Parliament which unanimously said ‘no’. As a result, the stance of the Pakistani government (for the time being) is ‘no to war’. An unlikely ally emerging for Saudi Arabia is Israel. An Iran dominated Yemen or an independent government installed in Yemen can cut off Israel from accessing the Indian Ocean. This will severely decapitate Israel’s ability to launch its Dolphin class submarines in the Persian coast veering towards the Iranian coast. why is Yemen so important to Saudi Arabia? “For Saudi Arabia, what happens south of their border is a matter of grave national security. They cannot allow instability there to give Iran a solid foothold on the peninsula or AQAP free movement northwards,” says Martin Reardon in his piece in AlJazeera. Iran’s involvement to support the Houthis is dangerous and rings alarm bells for the Saudi government. That Iran is supplying the Houthis directly and indirectly with the weapons is no secret. The Guardian writes, “Secretary of state says he is aware supplies are arriving in Yemen from Iran and warns the US will not step away from its allies in the region.” (April 8, 2015) Although the Huothis are independent of Tehran, this opportunity has nonetheless been exploited by Tehran to its advantage. The other side of the coin: Mark Mazzatti and Helene Cooper state, “To wage war in Yemen, Saudi Ara-
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ew alliances and changing regional aims are creating insecurity with Saudi Arabia. Iran’s breakthrough nuclear deal with USA in the backdrop of Houthis’ rebellion has sent waves of anger and panic to the Arab royals who feel that the face of Middle east politics may change, and the status quo disturbed as a detriment to Saudi Arabia. Yemen has all the potential of developing into a regional conflict. Iran and Saudi Arabia spearhead the two dividing poles within the Middle eastern countries. One is headed by Saudi Arabia with its partners Bahrain and UAe. The other led by Iran with its partners Hezbollah and Syrian government. Defence Analyst Lieutenant General (retd) Ghulam Mustafa, (awarded with Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Sitara-e-eisaar, Tamgha-eBasalat), offers an interesting opinion on this polarisation and conflict of both to overcome the other, “with support from Russia, Iran has firmly established its influence in the ongoing Syrian crisis by preventing the regime change. Bashar al-Assad is regaining some of the lost ground. Apparently, the whole strategy of replacing Assad is being reconsidered. with sanctions lifted after June this year, Iran’s nuisance value in this region is likely to increase further, especially with Iraq likely remaining divided with majority Shia elements in the driving seat and expected success against Daesh. Iran would be firmly established as the leader of progressive elements on two sides of Saudi Arabia. If Yemen, too, were to be lost due to ascendency of pro-Iran elements, the ruling class in Saudi Arabia and UAe will be in trouble. Iran’s capacity for mischief, to an
gious foundation. Of course, Saudi Arabia needs assurance that the changing alliances with so many new nuances will not have a negative cascading effect on the House of Saud. It is a natural desire. Of course, it would like to know from the US that the ground breaking nuclear deal with Iran would not mean loss of an important ally. Of course, it would like to have assurance from countries they have sustained in many ways, that they will support Saudi Arabia if their hegemony is challenged at any level. These are legitimate interests of a nation in that position, one can say. This brings us to Pakistan’s tightrope. A unanimous resolution by Pakistan’s Parliament not to involve the country in a military engagement with Yemen on behalf of Saudi Arabia should have clinched the matter. Apparently not. One reason may be the haste in which the Sharif government jumped in to offer support in all manners possible before a reality check. Put under tremendous pressure by the benefactors, CM Punjab had to rush to Saudi Arabia to soothe ruffled feathers because of this resolution. Leading anchorperson P J Mir feels the trip was the outcome of “a fragile situation due to mismanagement both in the Parliament as well as the media, making this an exercise in damage control.” On heels has come UN Security Council’s decision to impose a global asset freeze and travel ban on both Ahmed Saleh and his father former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh and two others. Pakistan in the meanwhile “pledged to consider expanding cooperation with Saudi Arabia under the UN resolution,” according to a report by a local newspaper. The report suggests possible role for Pakistan Navy in enforcing the arms embargo on Houthis militia and forces loyal to the former Yemini President. The purpose of launching the vessels is said to intercept any arms shipped in to Yemen. At a certain level, one can understand Pakistan’s dilemma yet practically getting sucked into the conflict will diffuse the red line. Once the military gets involved, the vortex will suck us in, by any reasonable calculation. Yasmeen Aftab Ali is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9.
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Editor’s mail
China – Our strategic partner China has proved to be the most reliable strategic partner of Pakistan which has helped us in our defence capacity building, apart from assisting us in achieving economic self sustenance and co-operation in transfer of technology. It has always helped us in our times of need, respected our sovereignty and appreciated our limitations and weaknesses. we both share common goals and strategic interests which makes us natural allies. Our conventional defence capability is an outcome of our joint ventures. Inspite of few instances of genuine cause for concern when certain foreign funded remnants of Zia-ul-Haq’s misadventure in Afghanistan, used our territory for subversive activities against our friendly neighbour, it took up this irritant diplomatically without ever going public. China has helped us in fighting the war against terrorism. Unlike some of our friends in the Middle east who expect us to come to attention on their beck and call, irrespective of our involvement in our own war against terrorism, and openly resorting to rebuke against all diplomatic norms if we
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bia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing. Pilots from the United Arab emirates are flying Lockheed Martin’s F-16 to bomb both Yemen and Syria. Soon, the emirates are expected to complete a deal with General Atomics for a fleet of Predator drones to run spying missions in their neighbourhood. As the Middle east descends into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks, countries in the region that have stockpiled American military hardware are now actually using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defence contractors looking for foreign business in an era of shrinking Pentagon budgets — but also the prospect of a dangerous new arms race in a region where the map of alliances has been sharply redrawn.” (NYT, April 18, 2015) Yemen can be used as a card to settle Syria is a thought that must have crossed Arab minds. The fact is Yemen will not settle anytime soon. The fact is Syria will not settle anytime soon. The fact is both Saudi Arab and Iran will continue making an effort to increase their sphere of influence which promises to spill over and scald the region badly. The United States’ bend (as seen by Saudi Arabia) towards Iran has further deepened the insecurity of the House of Saud. Le Monde diplomatique writes, “The revelation that the US was conducting secret negotiations with Iran (talks hosted by Oman, a member of the GCC), and the announcement of the interim nuclear agreement, have revived Saudi Arabia’s fears of a USIranian accommodation at the expense of the Arab world. Prince Turki al-Faisal, former head of intelligence services, told me in 2010: “we are worried that the US and Iran could both forget our interests. we would be caught between a nuclear Iran and a nuclear Israel. Thank God for Ahmadinejad!” Such a reversal of allegiance would have been unlikely with the then Iranian leader (Quoted: Alain Gresh, “China and Saudi Arabia: just good friends.” Le Monde diplomatique, english edition, January 2011) However, Ahmadinejad was replaced by Hassan Rouhani in June 2013, and it is now seen as a possibility in Saudi Arabia. It’s not the content of a nuclear accord that worries Riyadh so much as the actual possibility of an accord and an end to Iran’s isolation.” Also of concern to the House of Saud in this changing scenario is that it feels challenged structurally as it bases its claim of rule on a reli-
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choose to give a priority to our own national security, China has always been more considerate and helpful than any of our other allies. The friendship between the people of China and Pakistan started from days of Mao Tse-tung and Chou en-lai and has grown stronger every year, irrespective of who is in power in both countries. China has always appreciated our role in days of Cold war when we served as a bridge between them and the rest of the world. MALIK TARIQ ALI Lahore
Violence will breed violence The Indian-held Kashmir is again witnessing violence across the valley but this time it’s not the militants versus the security forces driven ferocity. It’s the general public which is pouring out onto the streets of Srinagar and other Muslim majority towns. Regardless of recent polls wherein BJP was able to form a shaky government in Kashmir with PDP’s support, no one can declare that Kashmir is a dead issue. It’s very much there as the ideology to have separation from India in the form of
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complete freedom or a merger with Pakistan has not yet died down. If militancy has been brought under relative control, thanks to Pakistan’s crackdown on some jihadi groups, that doesn’t mean that Kashmiris have disassociated from the very dream of separation from India. One would expect that the Indian government will use this lull in militancy to win over the separation ideology. But remember violence always breeds further violence, and if it is against public street protests, then India can’t blame others for its own follies. India has aspirations to play a major role in the region, even eyes on the permanent membership of UNSC, but back home it’s unable to prove that Kashmiris are more prosperous and secure within the Indian Union. Arrogance, ignorance, violence, and hard-handed approach to deal with street protests will not help PM Modi to win hearts and minds of Kashmiris; only engagement, dialogue and ability to accommodate difference of opinions will pave way for enduring peace in the valley. Remember stubborn position will disengage even those who are ready to call off violence. MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabia
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WORLD VIEW 09
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
ReImAgInIng the tRIAngle IndIan express
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C RAJA MOHAN
HINESE President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan this week presents a paradox. He is likely to unveil massive plans for the expansion of economic and strategic partnership between the two countries during the visit, as well as highlight the emerging vulnerabilities of a relationship that has long been celebrated as “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the Indian Ocean and sweeter than honey”. Xi’s travel to Islamabad, coming three weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China, raises interesting questions about New Delhi’s changing approach towards Beijing. During his two-day trip to Pakistan, Xi is expected to launch infrastructure projects worth more than $40 billion. Many of these are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, considered one of the cornerstones of Xi’s ambitious “one belt, one road” initiative aimed at transforming China’s ties with its neighbouring regions. The “belt” refers to the overland industrial and transport corridors that will link China to the Eurasian landmass. The “road” is short form for the maritime Silk Road that will connect China’s industrial heartland in the Pacific to the resource-rich Indian Ocean. Beyond the economic, the leaders of the two countries could close a deal on the sale of eight submarines to the Pakistan navy. For its part, Islamabad is expected to hand over the Gwadar port on a 40-year lease to China. The port is likely to host Chinese facilities to service the ships and submarines of the PLA Navy operat-
ing in the Indian Ocean. But there is a downside to the story as well. It has not been easy to arrange Xi’s visit to Pakistan. When Xi came to India in September last year, he was to have travelled to Pakistan too. But the trip was cancelled amidst political turmoil in Islamabad at that time. After US President Barack Obama’s presence at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January, Pakistan was eager to have Xi grace its national day parade on March 23. Xi did not show up. It is reported that security considerations have weighed heavily on China’s mind in preparing for Xi’s visit to Pakistan and in its reluctance to formally announce the dates of the visit. That in turn leads to a range of new problems that have begun to cast a shadow on the all-weather partnership between China and Pakistan. At one end is the simple question of security for Chinese personnel working on a variety of development projects in Pakistan. Over the last few years, Beijing has mounted relentless pressure on improving the security of its citizens who have become targets for the militant groups in Pakistan. Islamabad has reportedly agreed to set up a special security force of nearly 12,000 people to protect Chinese workers and projects. Even more important for China is the problem that we in India call cross-border terrorism. The tribal areas in Pakistan’s western borderlands with Afghanistan have become a sanctuary for terror groups that mount attacks in Xinjiang, China’s restive Muslim-majority province that borders the subcontinent. Security officials in Xinjiang and Beijing are no longer confident that Pakistan can take care of China’s concerns on
terrorism. As the US withdraws from Afghanistan, Beijing worries that there could be more turbulence in Pakistan, which could worsen China’s internal security challenges. China is no longer viewing the Af-Pak region through the eyes of the Pakistan army. Beijing has begun to make its own assessments of the region and over the last year, it has signalled an interest in promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. It might be too early to affirm that China and Pakistan are at odds in Afghanistan, but small cracks are appearing in the once-solid regional partnership between the two. Might that open up an opportunity for India? Until now, Delhi had assumed that their shared hostility towards India meant that the alliance between Beijing and Rawalpindi was immutable. Although the China-Pakistan alliance has been an enduring feature of our geopolitical landscape for many decades, some change is inevitable as circumstances in the region evolve. For Delhi, the question is about judging the extent of the change and finding ways to transform India’s triangular relationship with Pakistan and China. If Delhi is bold, it can influence the evolution of that relationship in two ways. For all the grand talk about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, there are many constraints on a China-led industrial transformation of Pakistan. The experiences in Myanmar and Sri Lanka point to some of the problems associated with China’s Silk Road initiatives. Meanwhile, the potential for a sustainable economic partnership between India and China is much greater than that between Islamabad and Beijing. The problem so far has
A message from Iran new York tImes MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF
been Delhi’s reluctance. India is also in a much better position today to counter any new Chinese investments in its military alliance with Pakistan. As India deepens ties with other major powers and takes a more active role in Asia and the Pacific, Modi is in a position to credibly tell his Chinese interlocutors that the costs of Beijing’s alliance with Rawalpindi could soon exceed the benefits. Xi’s visit to Pakistan, then, must spur Modi to imagine a robust and self-confident strategy towards China that opens India to an expansive bilateral and regional economic partnership. Modi must also articulate India’s readiness to cooperate with China on regional security issues ranging from counter-terrorism to Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific. If India is the glue that binds the Sino-Pak alliance, as many argue, Delhi should have the capacity to weaken that bond through its own policies. Over the last decade, Delhi has managed to alter the triangular dynamic with Pakistan and America by expanding its partnership with Washington. There might be similar possibilities awaiting Modi in Beijing. The writer is a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and a contributing editor for ‘The Indian Express’.
Women, violence and conflict in Pakistan InternatIonal CrIsIs Group EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Eight years into its democratic transition, violence against women is still endemic in Pakistan, amid a climate of impunity and state inaction. Discriminatory legislation and a dysfunctional criminal justice system have put women at grave risk. Targeted by violent extremists with an overt agenda of gender repression, women’s security is especially threatened in the conflict zones in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). On 8 March, International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed that his government would take all necessary legislative and administrative steps to protect and empower women. If this pledge was in earnest, his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government should end institutionalised violence and discrimination against women, including by repealing unjust laws, countering extremist threats, particularly in KPK and FATA, and involving women and their specially relevant perspectives in design of state policies directly affecting their security, including strategies to deal with violent extremist groups. Women in the past were the principal victims of state policies to appease violent extremists. After democracy’s return, there has been some progress, particularly through progressive legislation, much of it authored by committed women’s rights activists in the federal and provincial legislatures, facilitated by their increased numbers in parliament. Yet, the best of laws will provide little protection so long as social attitudes toward women remain biased, police officers are not held accountable for failing to investigate gender-based crimes, the superior judiciary does not hold the subordinate judiciary accountable for failing to give justice to women survivors of violence, and discriminatory laws remain on the books. Laws, many remnants of General Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamisation in the 1970s and 1980s, continue to deny women their constitutional right to gender equality and fuel religious intolerance and violence against them. Their access to justice and security will remain elusive so long as legal and administrative barriers to political and economic empowerment remain, particularly the Hudood Ordinances (1979), FATA’s Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) (1901) and the Nizam-e-Adl (2009) in KPK’s Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA). The government has a constitutional obligation and international commitments, including under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to combat gender inequality and remove such barriers to women’s empowerment. Repealing discriminatory
legislation and enforcing laws that protect women, including by ensuring that they have access to a genderresponsive police and courts, are essential to ending the impunity that promotes violence against women. The extent to which rights violations go unpunished is particularly alarming in FATA and KPK, where women are subjected to state-sanctioned discrimination, militant violence, religious extremism and sexual violence. Militants target women’s rights activists, political leaders and development workers without consequences. The prevalence of informal justice mechanisms in many parts of Pakistan, particularly in Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, are also highly discriminatory toward women; and the government’s indiscriminate military operations, which have displaced millions, have further aggravated the challenges they face in the conflict zones. In KPK and FATA, and indeed countrywide, women’s enhanced meaningful presence in decisionmaking, including political participation as voters and in public office, will be central to sustainable reform. Pakistan should invest in their empowerment and reflect their priorities in all government policies, including counter-insurgency and peace-building efforts. All too often, women comprise a majority of both the intended victims of the insurgency and the unintended victims of the counter-insurgency response. National and provincial legislation to enhance protections for women is a step in the right direction, but much more is needed to safeguard them against violence and injustice and ultimately to consolidate Pakistan’s democratic transition. RECOMMENDATIONS: To curb violence against women and promote gender equity To the executives and legislatures of Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments: 1. Respecting international commitments and constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, the National Assembly should amend all laws that discriminate against women in the Penal Code and Evidence Act and repeal the Hudood Ordinances in their entirety; all provincial legislatures should pass and implement laws to protect and empower women, including by criminalising and taking effective measures to prevent domestic violence. 2. The National Assembly should approve the Anti-Rape Laws (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, the Anti-Honour Killings Laws (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act and the Torture, Custodial Death and Custodial Rape (Prevention and Punishment) Act, passed by the Senate in March 2015. 3. The national legislature should establish a quota of general (directly-elected) National Assembly seats, in addition to the existing reserved (unelected) seats, for women legislators, and the
parliament’s rules of procedures should be amended to ensure a certain number of parliamentary committees are headed by women. 4. The federal and provincial governments should prioritise the development of a gender-responsive security apparatus, including by increasing the numbers of policewomen, particularly in senior positions; building police capacity to investigate crimes against women; and strengthening the National Police Bureau (NPB) and its gender crimes cell’s liaison with provincial authorities. 5. The provincial governments should build the capacity of the Provincial Commissions on the Status of Women (PCSW) to monitor violations of women’s rights and to ensure that government policies and legislation produce gender equality and women’s empowerment. To the international community, particularly the UN and donor countries: 6. Continue and enhance support for developing gender-responsive policing and women’s rights bodies; also ensure that women’s needs, rights and priorities are meaningfully addressed in all aid programming. To the federal government and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provincial government: 7. Repeal the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) in FATA and the Nizam-e-Adl in PATA and extend the jurisdiction of superior courts to FATA so that citizens there can seek protection of the fundamental rights the constitution guarantees them. 8. Include women and protect their rights and interests in counter-insurgency and peace-building strategies. 9. Promote civilian-led and civilian-devised humanitarian assistance and take measures to ensure that displaced women receive timely and adequate assistance, including by facilitating national and international NGOs’ access to areas of displacement and investigating allegations of discriminatory assistance. 10. The federal and KPK governments should ensure that women can exercise their rights of franchise and to stand for public office; and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should investigate all cases of women having been barred from voting or contesting elections. To the international community, particularly the UN and donor countries: 11. Ensure that women’s needs are adequately assessed in relief and rehabilitation assistance to conflict-affected and internally displaced persons. 12. Encourage the federal government to repeal the FCR and Nizam-e-Adl and to support women’s rights in the conflict zones and participation in the development of counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism policies and peace-building efforts.
We made important progress in Switzerland earlier this month. With the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, we agreed on parameters to remove any doubt about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and to lift international sanctions against Iran. But to seal the anticipated nuclear deal, more political will is required. The Iranian people have shown their resolve by choosing to engage with dignity. It is time for the United States and its Western allies to make the choice between cooperation and confrontation, between negotiations and grandstanding, and between agreement and coercion. With courageous leadership and the audacity to make the right decisions, we can and should put this manufactured crisis to rest and move on to much more important work. The wider Persian Gulf region is in turmoil. It is not a question of governments rising and falling: the social, cultural and religious fabrics of entire countries are being torn to shreds. Endowed with a resilient population that has stood firm in the face of coercion while simultaneously showing the magnanimity to open new horizons of constructive engagement based on mutual respect, Iran has weathered the storms of instability caused by this mayhem. But we cannot be indifferent to the unfathomable destruction around us, because chaos does not recognise borders. Iran has been clear: The purview of our constructive engagement extends far beyond nuclear negotiations. Good relations with Iran’s neighbours are our top priority. Our rationale is that the nuclear issue has been a symptom, not a cause, of mistrust and conflict. Considering recent advances in symptom prevention, it is time for Iran and other stakeholders to begin to address the causes of tension in the wider Persian Gulf region. Iranian foreign policy is holistic in nature. This is not due to habit or preference, but because globalisation has rendered all alternatives obsolete. Nothing in international politics functions in a vacuum. Security cannot be pursued at the expense of the insecurity of others. No nation can achieve its interests without considering the interests of others. Nowhere are these dynamics more evident than in the wider Persian Gulf region. We need a sober assessment of the complex and intertwined realities here, and consistent policies to deal with them. The fight against terror is a case in point. One cannot confront Al Qaeda and its ideological siblings, such as the so-called Islamic State, which is neither Islamic nor a state, in Iraq, while effectively enabling their growth in Yemen and Syria. There are multiple arenas where the interests of Iran and other major stakeholders intersect. The establishment of a collective forum for dialogue in the Persian Gulf region, to facilitate engagement, is long overdue. If one were to begin serious discussion of the calamities the region faces, Yemen would be a good place to start. Iran has offered a reasonable and practical approach to address this painful and unnecessary crisis. Our plan calls for an immediate cease-fire, humanitarian assistance and facilitation of intra-Yemeni dialogue, leading to the formation of an inclusive, broad-based national unity government. On a broader level, regional dialogue should be based on generally recognised principles and shared objectives, notably respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states; inviolability of international boundaries; noninterference in internal affairs; peaceful settlement of disputes; impermissibility of threat or use of force; and promotion of peace, stability, progress and prosperity in the region. A regional dialogue could help promote understanding and interaction at the levels of government, the private sector and civil society, and lead to agreement on a broad spectrum of issues, including confidence- and securitybuilding measures; combating terrorism, extremism and sectarianism; ensuring freedom of navigation and the free flow of oil and other resources; and protection of the environment. A regional dialogue could eventually include more formal nonaggression and security cooperation arrangements. While this cooperation must be kept to relevant regional stakeholders, existing institutional frameworks for dialogue, and especially the United Nations, must be utilised. The secretary general could furnish the necessary international umbrella. A regional role for the United Nations, already envisaged in the Security Council resolution that helped end the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, would help alleviate concerns and anxieties, particularly of smaller countries; provide the international community with assurances and mechanisms for safeguarding its legitimate interests; and link any regional dialogue with issues that inherently go beyond the boundaries of the region. The world cannot afford to continue to avoid addressing the roots of the turmoil in the wider Persian Gulf region. This unique opportunity for engagement must not be squandered. Mohammad Javad Zarif is the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
10 BUSINESS
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
ANYTHING FOR CHINESE, EVERYTHING FOR DEVELOPMENT: PM ISLAMABAD APP
URING separate meetings with the top executives of three leading Chinese companies; Huaneng Group, ICBC Corporation and Zonergy Corporation, at the Prime Minister’s House, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Monday said that the government would extend all possible facilitation to the Chinese companies to enable them complete the planned projects within stipulated period. The prime minister said that Pakistan was facing acute shortage of energy and the government had made a commitment to its
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UK HC experiences ‘smoking hazards’ LONDON ONLINE
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Philip Barton, the UK’s top most diplomat to Pakistan, allegedly broke the UK government’s rules by attending a meeting at which British American Tobacco (BAT), the parent company of Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC), lobbied Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister of State for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar. Since the March 13 meeting, Barton has drawn harsh criticism from campaigners and medical experts in the UK for attending the meeting at which BAT tried to convince Dar and Tarar to drop the government’s plan to print larger pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs, according to The Financial Times. “It is morally incoherent to advance tobacco control at home but oppose measures in other countries intended to reduce the burden of this lethal habit,” Dr Nick Hopkinson, a lecturer at UK’s National Heart and Lung Institute told The Financial Times. The guidelines were announced by the Ministry of National Health Services and Regulation in early February and were supposed to take effect from March 31 but have been delayed until May 31, according to the Financial Times. Pictures taken at the meeting show Barton sitting next to BAT senior executive Donato Del Vecchio, while Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister of State for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar sat on the other side of the table. The British Foreign Office later insisted that Barton was not lobbying on behalf of BAT and that he attended the meeting to help push attempts to combat counterfeit packaging. “At no point did the HC lobby the government of Pakistan on the issue of health warnings,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office later told a British news agency.
people to meet this challenge during its tenure. He said emphasis was being laid on timely completion of these projects particularly those in the energy sector. The prime minister said increased linkages among the business communities of the two countries would further strengthen the bonds of bilateral ties. He said the visit of Chinese president starting from Monday, would usher in a new era of development in Pakistan and open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The prime minister was pleased to note that ICBC, the largest bank in the world, will look into the possibility of setting up economic zones in Pakistan and encourage Chinese businessmen to invest there.
They extended their best wishes to the prime minister and his government, saying under his leadership and with his commitment towards development, Pakistan would continue to prosper. The leaders of the delegations said the strong Pakistan-China friendship provides an excellent platform for boosting business relations between the two countries and said they are very happy to be part of building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khalid, Water and Power Secretary Younus Dagha also attended the meeting.
TAPI GAS PIPELINE PROJECT LIKELY TO START THIS YEAR ASHGABAT ONLINE
The project for construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is currently the most advanced among the other alternatives. The countries interested in the construction of TAPI pipeline believe that its construction can start in 2015, according to Trend news agency. The issue of construction of TAPI pipeline was discussed during the recent meeting of Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov with India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in Ashgabat. “TAPI is designed to make a significant contribution to the sustainable socio-economic development of Asian countries and in general, allow to strengthen the global energy security by becoming a genuine bridge of peace, friendship and long-term cooperation in the Eurasian continent,” said the message earlier released by the Turkmen government. Currently, all the countries involved in the project should choose the company which will become the leader of the consortium, able to seek financial resources, sign a long term contract and purchase a considerable share in the already established TAPI Ltd. TAPI Ltd operating company includes Turkmengaz State Concern, Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistan’s “Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited” and Indian “GAIL (India) Limited” with equal shares. The parties have already entered into transactions for the sale of gas, sources of raw materials of the pipeline have
been defined as well, including Galkynysh, the second largest gas field in the world. This ambitious project is promoted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which plays the role of its transaction advisor. The ADB has long confirmed its commitment to the project. The bank experts believe that the pipeline has enormous potential in the field of not only sub-regional cooperation but also economic development of the region. Indeed, this pipeline will connect the energy deficient South Asia with Central Asian countries rich in energy resources. It is believed that the project will provide a less expensive and clean energy, make a profit, which can be used to reduce poverty in the region and contribute to the regional stability through joint ownership of the project. The basic document for the promotion of TAPI project is the Ashgabat interstate agreement of the state parties on the commencement of the practical implementation of the TAPI project signed in late 2010. The design capacity of TAPI is 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The estimated length is 1,735 kilometres. It is expected that the pipeline will extend from the largest gas field in Turkmenistan, Galkhynysh, through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar to the Fazilka settlement on the Pakistani-Indian border. The estimated cost of the project varies between $6 billion and $10 billion. The issue of ensuring safety of the highway, a considerable part of which passes through unstable Afghanistan, remains an open question.
Dar thanks WB for supporting Dasu Hydropower Project WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar on Monday thanked World Bank (WB) Managing Director (MD) Sri Mulyani Indrawati for her support for Dasu Hydropower Project and CASA-1000 which were on track. In a meeting with Indrawati, the federal minister discussed the WB program portfolio in Pakistan. Dar said that CASA1000 project signing ceremony was scheduled for next week and the project will improve regional integration. He expressed hope that WB will continue to support Pakistan in its reforms for energy sector and economic growth. On the occasion, Indrawati congratulated the finance minister on successful 6th Review of International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and expressed hope that Pakistan will continue its economic policies and reform agenda. She said that it was heartening that Pakistan was able to meet all performance criteria for the 6th review which proved that economy was on right path. Indrawati stated that WB was examining two interventions to support Pakistan to continue reforms in energy sector and boost growth. She said that World Bank was glad to be Pakistan’s partner in development and wanted to resolve problems in energy sector. APP
Oil up on partial draw in US crude stocks, Saudi tensions NEW YORK AGENCIES
Oil prices rose on Monday after data showing a partial draw in stockpiles at the delivery point for US crude helped steady a market weighed earlier by near record highs in Saudi production. Tensions in the Middle East and a drop last week in the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States also put a floor beneath UK North Sea Brent and US crude futures, traders said. Brent LCOc1, the more widely-referenced benchmark, was up 10 cents at $63.55 a barrel by 11:53am EDT, after falling more than $1 earlier. US crude CLc1 rose 65 cents to $56.39,
after losing nearly $1 at the session low. “The market was bouncing around looking for news to latch on to, and the draw numbers for US crude certainly helped,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. Oil services firm Genscape reported a draw of more 900,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for US crude between Tuesday and Friday last week, market sources who saw the data said. For the week to Friday, Genscape reported a build of about 350,000 barrels, they said. Speculation has been rife that
the rapidly climbing US crude supplies would soon cause storage tanks in Cushing to top, leaving little or no room for more barrels. The draw reported by Genscape eased at least some of that anxiety, traders said. Saudi Arabia put its security forces on alert for a possible militant attack on a shopping mall or energy installation. Oil prices have risen around 17 per cent since April began, on speculation about falling US output as the domestic rig count fell.
CORPORATE CORNER
LAHORE: G Mobile China Chief Executive Jeff Zehong and G Mobile Pakistan CEO Abdul Rehman along with their team at the fourth anniversary celebrations of the brand at a local hotel. STAFF PHOTO
Masarrat Misbah launches Pakistan’s first Halal certified makeup KARACHI: Masarrat Misbah, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist and one of the pioneers of the hair and beauty industry of Pakistan with the Depilex Group which hosts Pakistan’s largest chain of salons, Depilex Beauty Clinic and Institute, announced the launch of her makeup line Masarrat Misbah Makeup- MM Makeup. MM Makeup is the first Halal Certified Makeup brand to launch in Pakistan, not using any haram animal substances or intoxicants in the entire product range. “MM Makeuphas become a reality after two years of research, primarily focused on a color range best adapted for the Asian skin tone, climate and complexion, with an emphasis on textures, colors, pigments and most importantly formulations,” explains Masarrat Misbah. When asked about why she chose to create her own line of makeup, she responded, “It’s time that the beauty of a Pakistani woman be acknowledged for what it truly is and for her to know that when she applies my makeup, it was made especially for her.” PRESS RELEASE
Gul Ahmed launches Lawn Volume Two Collection LAHORE: Leading Textile powerhouse Gul Ahmed brings their Spring Summer Lawn volume two to all their stores on18th April 2015 all across Pakistan. Gul Ahmed renowned for catering to the needs of its customers has stuck to the tradition of bringing the finest and the most luxurious collections year after year. This Spring Summer, the textile giant has brought forth volume two of its lawn collection; that is sure to take the country by storm. The collection is astounding, sensuous and elegant all at once, with silhouettes that are modern yet timeless. Incorporating a wide array of delightful designs, and striking hues the collection has something to offer to women of varying tastes, irrespective of their age. Keeping their promise, on producing only the best quality fabrics, with a spectacular series of varied designs, volume two of the collection is sure to strike the attention of everyone. PRESS RELEASE
Major Gainers COMPANY Indus Motor Co AL-Ghazi Trac.XD Atlas Battery MCB Bank LtdXD Lucky Cement
OPEN 1045.00 378.48 739.99 275.00 483.50
HIGH 1070.00 382.03 740.00 284.88 492.00
LOW 1045.00 375.00 739.99 272.50 483.00
CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVER 1070.00 30.13 19,400 382.03 18.19 33,200 740.00 17.81 550 284.88 13.56 498,200 487.80 11.19 812,400
8260.60 1570.10 970.00 622.00 565.00
8260.60 1558.00 948.10 610.10 532.31
8260.60 1558.40 948.10 620.50 536.49
-200.00 -81.60 -49.89 -21.17 -20.50
80 200 4,900 1,300 314,450
34.28 11.75 144.86 21.45 8.15
33.24 10.80 138.50 20.30 7.82
33.96 11.75 144.86 21.09 7.90
1.18 1.00 6.89 -0.03 -0.03
36,113,000 18,603,500 11,446,400 11,196,500 11,121,000
Major Losers Unilever Foods Colgate Palmolive Murree Brewery Sanofi-AventisXD Mari Petroleum
8260.60 1570.10 970.00 610.10 564.90
Volume Leaders Fauji Cement XD Byco Petroleum Engro Foods Ltd. TRG Pak Ltd K-Electric Ltd.
33.24 10.95 140.00 20.91 8.04
Interbank Rates USD GBP JPY EURO
PKR 101.5617 PKR 151.4996 PKR 0.8542 PKR 109.0265
Forex UK Pound Sterling Euro US Dollar Canadian Dollar Australian Dollar Japanese Yen Saudi Riyal U.A.E Dirham China Yuan
BUY
SELL
152.7 110 102.6 83.5 79.5 0.85 27.15 27.85 16.25
152.95 110.25 102.85 83.75 79.75 0.89 27.4 28.1 16.4
LEISURE 11
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
HaGaR tHE HoRRIblE
aries
taurus
gemini
Life seems complicated if people aren't being clear with you. Although you might not know what to make of someone's inconsistent story, you're able to remain detached from the distractions of an emotional drama. In fact, you can conquer nearly any challenge thrown at you today.
Your dogged tenacity is your not-so-secret weapon today as you remedy an uncomfortable situation that is creating its share of stress. Avoid the obvious shortcut; quick fixes won't last, making them a waste of your time. An extra dose of persistence empowers you to find a more solution to the problem.
You really don't want to take a stand if a powerful person opposes your efforts today, and just thinking about a confrontation can make you anxious. Thankfully, the process is easier if you initiate a constructive conversation with a positive attitude. You are at your best when your thoughts are in motion.
cancer
leo
virgo
You can nip a growing problem in the bud, even if someone is behaving badly now. But your plan will likely backfire if you attempt to suppress another person's expression of fear or anger. Shining the light of awareness is in the best interest of everyone involved.
You're curious about what everyone is up to at work today, yet your playful nature may be quite misleading. Behind your easygoing smile lies an agenda to get others on board with your line of thinking. Perhaps you have bitten off more than you can chew and hope to gather the support you need to get a job done.
You want to put your skills to good use today, but it may take a few tries before you settle down and find a strategy that really works. You might start one project, only to reassess your goals and shift your entire course of action. Uncover the common thread and then make that your top priority.
dIlbERt
GaRFIEld
libra
scorpio
sagittarius
Maintaining concentration can be tricky early today because it's easy to be distracted by emotionally draining interactions with coworkers. Although you're concerned that you might be missing something, you could be so uncharacteristically certain now that new facts won't change your mind.
You may be in a very positive state of mind today, especially if your plans seem to be unfolding on schedule. However, an uneasy feeling might still be gnawing away at the edges of your imagination. Thankfully, expanding your perspective allows you to alleviate your fears.
Conversations with a significant other could be so intense today that the emotional drama seems overwhelming. You're tempted to overcompensate by putting on a special show that won't be quickly forgotten. Luckily, the outcome will likely be quite rewarding as long as you keep eyes on your destination.
baldo
capricorn
aQuarius
pisces
You might go out of your way to share your feelings today, but your message isn't easy for people to swallow. Your current emotional intensity may be out of character, surprising others and triggering their insecurities. Don't waste energy getting angry with someone who won't match your serious attitude.
You may feel restless today, especially if someone you love is being so nice to you that it makes you uncomfortable. Other people's pleasantries might even seem like a sign of weakness to your independent way of thinking. But don't mistakenly harden your position now just to demonstrate your strength.
A coworker or partner who seems to have answers for your questions could motivate you to take action. Fortunately, competent peers can help you be more productive now, but their presence isn't a reason to acquiesce your power. Instead, look at the role you play in your own success.
cRosswoRd
sUdoKU
woRd sEaRcH
ACROSS
bRIdGE
How to play fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.
praise regent repair right rocket rows season secret seem servant sill speak stage stress stubble thrill tower truth voice
Today’s soluTions
JacK dEnIEs?
cHEss white tO PLAY AND MAte iN fOur MOVes 8
dOwn
crossword solution
5 currant biscuit — italian patriot (9) 8 supplication (4) 9 aussie boxer (8) 10 heart — clock (6) 11 Quantity having direction as well as magnitude — covert (anag) (6) 13 voice box (6) 15 fruit (that can be split?) (6) 16 opening handle (8) 18 expression of disapproval (4) 19 drooping (9)
above across beige boast breath brown command dimples encourage gentle grab hero lass league legislate lose louse muscle office
7 6 5 4 3 2
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
chess solution
A
1.Qa2+ bxa2 2.Rb2+ Ke3 3.Rc3+ Kd4 4.Rxf2 *
1
sudoku solution
1 nonsensical stuff (8) 2 argue over petty things (6) 3 talking road map? (6) thought (4) broad-snouted snapper? (9) 7 spaghetti dish (9) 12 make sense of (8) 14 coleridge's imagined place of great beauty (6) 15 talk foolishly (6) 17 stink (4)
12
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
ARTS
Warning on severe Morning sickness
Muslim women can wear veil in court: British judge Judges should allow Muslim women to appear in court wearing a full-face veil, Britain’s most senior judge has suggested, according to the Telegraph. Lord Neuberger, the President of the Supreme Court, said it was crucial that courts and judges “show, and be seen to show” respect towards different customs. He said this included having an understanding of the “different cultural and social habits” of those appearing as witnesses, defendants or jurors in cases. His comments, in a lecture about the need for courts to be less intimidating, come at a time of uncertainty over the place of the Muslim niqab, or full face-veil, in the legal system. In 2013 the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, said there was a need for clear guidance on the issue following controversy over the trial at London’s Blackfriars Crown Court of a Muslim woman accused of witness intimidation. COURTESY TElEgRaph
Man in abaya arrested for ‘molesting women’ in Makkah mosque A man who disguised himself as a woman by wearing a traditional black abaya was arrested for allegedly molesting women at a mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Gulf News reported. The man was arrested following a complaint that ‘a woman’ would enter the bathroom of Jaarana Mosque and behave in an odd manner. The complaint was made to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice — the religious police. The suspect – who is said to be in his 30s and is yet to be identified — allegedly sexually harassed other women during ablutions, preceding the prayers. Authorities began monitoring the mosque following the complaint, noticed a ‘woman’, behaving suspiciously, leave the building. Suspect was then seen heading towards a car with tinted windows, parked near the mosque and got into the back. Upon closer inspection, the suspect was seen taking off the abaya, prompting law enforcers to arrest him and seize the garment, it said. mOniTORing dESK
Pilot held ‘after knives seized’ An airline pilot due to fly more than 250 passengers from London to Hong Kong has been arrested at Heathrow for alleged possession of knives. The Cathay Pacific pilot, believed to be 61, was taken into custody around an hour before his Boeing 777 was due to take off on Saturday evening. He was later released from a local police station on bail, to return there next month. A Cathay Pacific flight from Heathrow was delayed after the pilot was arrested for alleged possession of knives. With no relief crew available, the passengers had to wait until yesterday to get away. The incident comes less than four weeks after the Germanwings French Alps plane disaster in which cockpit voice recorder evidence suggests the co-pilot deliberately crashed the Airbus A320 with the loss of 150 lives. agEnCiES
a
fering with HG. The report said: “While the experience of the Duchess of Cambridge has dramatically raised awareness of HG, the coverage inevitably did not reflect that many sufferers unfortunately struggle to obtain comparable treatment.” Kate had to pull out of a number of royal engagements last year as she suffered with the effects of the acute morning sickness, just as she did in the early part of her pregnancy with Prince George. The condition, although rarely fatal now, was the leading cause of death in early pregnancy before the development of intravenous fluids for rehydration in the 1930s. Six women in the UK died due to complications associated with HG between 2006 and 2012, the report said. Sufferers quoted in the report described vomiting blood and being too ill to get out of bed. A possible unwillingness on the part of doctors to prescribe medication may be due to the Thalidomide disaster when babies were born with deformities after mothers were given the drug to ease morning sickness, the report warns. It said: “I t is the case that the Thalidomide tragedy continues to cast a long shadow over doctors’ willingness to provide medication. Doctors’ fears are understandable. But the care of pregnant women cannot be dictated by events of the mid20th century in perpetuity. “In 2015, a number of
significant number of women who suffer from a type of severe morning sickness experienced by the Duchess of Cambridge are expected to either put up with it or have an abortion, a report has claimed. Around 10,000 women are thought to suffer with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a complication of pregnancy which can result in extreme nausea and vomiting, each year but many are not being offered the entire range of treatments, two charities warned. In their joint report entitled “I could not survive another day”, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Pregnancy Sickness Support said research had shown 10% of sufferers decide to terminate their pregnancy as a result. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a complication of pregnancy which can result in extreme nausea and vomiting. It said: “Our research suggests that a significant proportion of women who have ended wanted HG pregnancies were not offered the full range of treatment options, but expected either to put up with the sickness or undergo an abortion.” There is more awareness of the condition because of Kate’s well-publicised experience with HG during the early stages of both her pregnancies, said the charities, which surveyed 71 women who ended their pregnancies while suf-
E-cigarette use in middle, high school students has tripled in the past year
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products reveals that the use of electronic cigarettes tripled among middle and high school students between 2013 and 2014. The report's findings show that, for this first time since 2011 - when collection of data on electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use began - the use of e-cigarettes among this population has exceeded use of all other tobacco products - including conventional cigarettes. Dr Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says the findings are "worrisome." He notes there are a number of concerns surrounding the use of e-cigarettes among youth. "We're concerned that there are multiple aspects of e-cigarette use that are concerning that includes addiction to nicotine, effects on the developing brain,
and the significant likelihood that a proportion of those who are using e-cigarettes will go on to use combustible cigarettes," he adds. The report's findings were drawn from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey - a questionnaire completed by a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students in the US, which gathers information on current tobacco use. The survey collected such data between 2011 and 2014 from more than 22,000 students in grades 6-12 who attended public or private schools. 2 million middle and high school students currently using e-cigarettes: The survey revealed that between 2011 and 2014, current use of e-cigarettes - defined as using an e-cigarette at least once in the past 30 days - among middle and high school students increased significantly. COURTESY mEdiCalnEwSTOdaY
Indian woman commits suicide over husband’s ‘abnormal sexuality’ A 31-year-old doctor in India allegedly committed suicide, accusing her husband of torturing her after she discovered he was gay. “She had mentioned her husband’s sexual orientation in her note. She had written that since she found out about her husband’s bisexuality, he would torture and harass her for dowry,” police said. Dr Priya Vedi, a senior anaesthetist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), wrote a note on her Facebook account and also left a suicide note, claiming that her husband was gay would torture her. She was found dead with her wrist slit in a hotel room in Delhi, police said. A failed marriage, breach of trust and her husband’s concealment of his sexual orientation have been cited as reasons for her suicide, according to India Today. “Officials broke open the door and found her lying in a pool of blood on the bed,” a police official privy to the investigation said. “She had slit her writs with a sharp-edged weapon and was lying in unconscious condition. She was
rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her dead,” the offi-
cial added. Her husband, Kamal Vedi, 34, a dermatologist at the same
hospital, was arrested on Sunday on the basis of the suicide note. Police said Kamal had filed a missing complaint Saturday evening when he was unable to locate his wife. According to police, the couple tied the knot five years ago and were serving at the AIIMS staff quarters in south Delhi. Police received information regarding Priya’s death during a search operation of several hotels in Paharganj. “We are investigating the case from all angles and based on the suicide note, we have arrested Kamal from his residence at AIIMS quarters in the afternoon. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code,” police said. Vedi’s last message on Facebook read: “Dr Kamal Vedi, I never wanted anything from you but due to your abnormal sexuality, you thought that I need sex from you. But it’s wrong. I just wanted to be with you, accepting you and your sexual orientation because I loved you very much but you never knew importance of this. You are a criminal of my life. Dr Kamal’s family is innocent but you are a devil.” mOniTORing dESK
CMYK
treatment options are available that should be discussed with women experiencing a level of pregnancy sickness that is affecting her ability to go about her normal life.” It called for better awareness of the condition and its impact on women. “Women should feel neither guilty nor stigmatised for their decision. Continuing to raise the profile of HG will hopefully go some way helping people understand the severe impact this condition has on pregnant women’s lives,” it said. agEnCiES
axe falls on vet who killed a cat with bow and arrow WASHINGTON: A Texas veterinarian who apparently shot a domestic cat through the head with a bow and arrow before posing with the dead animal on Facebook was sacked Friday as police launched an investigation into the slaying. Kristen Lindsey triggered an avalanche of complaints and several online death threats after posting a picture of herself smiling with the assassinated ginger and white adult male late on Wednesday. “My first bow kill, lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through its head! Vet of the year award ... Gladly accepted,” read a caption accompanying the post, which was later deleted and Lindsey’s Facebook account was taken offline amid the outcry. Local media said the cat belonged to an elderly couple who had reported it missing. Lindsey’s employer, the Washington Animal Clinic, confirmed the vet had been sacked. “We are absolutely appalled, shocked, upset, and disgusted by the conduct,” the clinic said in a statement. “We have parted ways with Ms Lindsey. We do not allow such conduct and we condemn it in the strongest possible manner. agEnCiES
Night stalker rapist sentenced More than a dozen women have contacted police fearing they were targeted by a night stalker rapist who is due to be sentenced for attacks spanning nearly 30 years. Detective Sergeant Chris Burgess, from Norfolk Police, said since 56year-old Clive Howard admitted seven counts of rape, three of kidnap and one of attempted rape last month, 15 women had contacted the force. Officers have confirmed at least one of these was attacked by Howard, who will be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court this morning. Clive Howard, who preyed on women walking alone, is facing jail after admitting crimes spanning nearly 30 years. Det Sgt Burgess said: “He is a very dangerous man - he was a sexual predator and people will be safer with him behind bars. “He targeted women walking alone in the street at night and they were very vulnerable. “His crimes were horrific and it is difficult to appreciate the devastating impact it has had on his victims. agEnCiES
Katie Hopkins petition calling for her to be sacked as The Sun columnist almost at 200,000 target, just 3 days after launch Katie Hopkins inspired the wrath of thousands when she described migrants desperate to reach Britain following humanitarian disasters in their own countries as “feral humans” and suggested the government deploy “gunships” to stop them landing on shore. Her column for The Sun, in which she further labelled refugees “cockroaches”, became the subject of heated debate over whether the language she used – and the tabloid published – broke editorial guidelines. Not that the British public were about to wait for the results of an inquiry. An online petition quickly sprouted up on Change.org calling for her sacking from the paper. The motion received 8,000 signatures in its first 18 hours. But following an incident in the Mediterranean that threatened the lives of 700 migrants, and Hopkins’ first appearance as an LBC host to debate the issue of migrant boats, it has rocketed. At the time of writing, it is now just 37,000 away from reaching its target of 200,000, making it one of the fastest growing petitions of the year so far. It could even be set to overtake the Bring Back Clarkson campaign, which ironically called for the Top Gear host to be given back his job at the BBC, despite several breaches of editorial guidelines connected with inappropriate “racist” language and a violent assault on a show producer. COURTESY indEpEndEnT
CMYK Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
ARTS
TIM GOODMAN ON THE PATTERNS GETTING CLEARER AS THE END NEARS
N
EW people are entering the lives of the “Mad Men” characters, serving as sign posts about possible changes — or the lack thereof — ahead. This is a Spoiled Bastard deconstruction of Mad Men. It contains spoilers. That’s the point. Come back when you’ve watched the current episode. In “The Forecast,” Mad Men revealed a little bit more about how creator Matt Weiner is going to balance the remaining episodes he has left to tell all the stories that he needs to tell. Some of it may be in shorthand, some of it may remain enigmatically mysterious and, as it should, some if it will be unknowable. However, three episodes into this last half (seven episodes) of the seventh season, a pattern is emerging. Weiner is giving us hints about a character and then pulling back. For example, in a previous episode, when Peggy got set up by Mathis (with his brother-in-law Stevie), she had a great time, got drunk and looked to be heading to Paris with someone who wasn’t “just a fling.” That was Weiner circling back to the issues that have always been there with Peggy — what it’s like when a woman at that time proudly chose career over family. Mad Men doesn’t leave anything black or white, so even though it’s been thrilling to see Peggy successfully (and sometimes not) climb the corporate ladder, a decision she doesn’t regret, there still has to be some reflection on what that means in regard to her relationships and happiness. And that’s as it should be — even fiercely independent people are still people. To not see Peggy have some doubts, some what-ifs, wouldn’t ring
13
FAWAD BEATS TIGER SHROFF TO WIN ANOTHER BEST MALE DEBUT AWARD
Another feather in his cap: the heartthrobbing export Fawad Khan won the Best Male Debut Award at the IBNLive Movie Awards after beating the likes of Tiger Shroff, Inaamul Haq and Tahir Raj Bhasin, reported IBNLive. The royal Rajput from Khoobsurat was voted best contender for the award by his fans across the border. Fawad was able to bag the award after receiving 48.54 per cent of the total votes to be followed by Inaamul Haq of Filmistaan with 40.58 per cent. Tiger Shroff from Heropanti could only get 2.45 per cent of the votes and Mardaani’s villain Tahir Raj Bhasin received 7.23 per cent. news desk
‘GUNDAY’ BOYS ARE CO-HOSTS AT IIFA 2015
true. And so we may never see Stevie again. Or we might. But in “The Forecast” we got Peggy once again so desperate to be lauded for her work that she was annoyed with Ted having said she’d have to do her own personal evaluation – he didn’t see the need. She’s great, she’s invaluable, etc. But Peggy needs to
hear it. She’s always needed validation. Unfortunately for her, she got mixed into one of the best elements of this episode: Weiner using the cover of business talk to reveal bigger-picture existential elements that primarily shined a light on Don and his continued “Is that all there is?” phase but also deftly allowed Don,
in the first of two such discussions, to poke and prod at this ethereal notion of “what then?” and future happiness. It was brilliantly done in an episode that had plenty of other easier distractions – Glen and Betty! – and was the most thematically resonant set piece of the hour. Courtesy hollywood reporter
ANUSHKA, THE PRODUCER, PROMISES ‘RISKY’ FILMS
Bollywood’s funny ‘Gunday’ duo Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor are all geared up to host the IIFA 2015 ceremony, which will be the ‘sweet 16’ edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and awards in Malaysia. Arjun and Ranveer will be co-hosting an award show, as well as hosting an award show for the very first time! The last time the duo were seen on screen was at the infamous All India Bakchod (AIB) Knockout Roast. news desk
RUSSELL BRAND TO JOIN NICOLAS CAGE IN OSAMA BIN LADEN COMEDY
Nomination list and expected winners Riding high on the success of her production debut NH10, Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma has said she wants to experiment as a producer and promised to back films in future regarded as “risky”. “When I read the script it was like any other film I did. It excited me so much that I wanted to make sure that it happened. I think it is a wonderful process of transformation from an actress to a producer,” she said giving credit to director Navdeep Singh and writer Sudip Sharma for bringing up such a theme that she could not resist. “In future also we would like to back films that can be considered slightly risky since they don’t have song and dance,” the 26-year-old, who is in Beijing to attend the screening of the NH10 at the Beijing Film Festival, said. Anushka got a rousing reception when she attended the film’s premiere at the festival with a number of Indians turning up to catch a glimpse of their favourite star. Elaborating on her switch from typical Bollywood heroine to a neonoir film actor, Anushka said, “For me as an actor it is brilliant that I can do both song-dance films and also something like NH10. It is versatility which every actor aspires,” she said. About India-China film co-operation, Navdeep said it is a great opportunity and great market to work on beyond regular market. With the coproduction treaty in place, it would facilitate films outside the standard Bollywood format, he added. news desk
The 2015 edition of prestigious IIFA Awards will be held in the city of Kuala Lumpur from June 5-7. Well, the nomination list is out and the Bollywood stars are all ready to sizzle on the big stage. It will be Arjun Kapoorand Ranveer Singh hosting the award ceremony for the first time together. Last time the two were seen at AIB (All India Bakchod) Knockout Roast. Talking about the nominations, Haider and 2 States leads with names in several categories. Aamir Khan and SRK are nominated in best actor category while best actress category includes names like Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra. Let’s have a look at IIFA Awards 2015 nomination list and expected winners. Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) Shahid Kapoor – Haider (Expected Winner) Aamir Khan – PK Shah Rukh Khan – Happy New Year Arjun Kapoor – 2 States Hrithik Roshan – Bang Bang Randeep Hooda – Highway Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) Kangana Ranaut – Queen (Expected Winner) Alia Bhatt – 2 States Priyanka Chopra – Mary Kom Anushka Sharma – PK Deepika Padukone – Happy New Year Rani Mukherji – Mardaani Best Picture: PK – Vinod Chopra Films and Rajkumar Hirani Films Queen – Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap (Expected Winner) 2 States – Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar Haider – UTV Motion Pictures and Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures Highway – Sajid Nadiadwala and Imtiaz Ali Mary Kom – 18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani – PK Vikas Bahl – Queen (Expected Winner) Vishal Bhardwaj – Haider Abhishek Varman – 2 States
Imtiaz Ali – Highway Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) Ronit Roy – 2 States (Expected Winner) Ritesh Deshmukh – Ek Villain Kay Kay Menon – Haider Randeep Hooda – Kick Inaamulhaq – Filmistaan Naseeruddin Shah – Finding Fanny Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) Tabu – Haider (Expected Winner) Amrita Singh – 2 States Lisa Haydon – Queen Juhi Chawla – Gulaab Gang Huma Qureshi – Dedh Ishqiya Best Actor in a Comic Role Sharib Hashmi – Filmistaan Sanjay Dutt – PK Varun Dhawan – Main Tera Hero (Expected Winner) Govinda – Happy Ending Best Actor in a Negative Role Ritesh Deshmukh – Ek Villain (Expected Winner) Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Kick Kay Kay Menon – Haider Best Music Direction Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – 2 States (Expected Winner) Mithoon – Banjara Zaroorat & Hamdard, Ankit Tiwari – Galliyan, Adnan Dhool (Soch) – Awari Rabbi Ahmed-Awari – Ek Villain Vishal Bhardwaj – Haider Mithoon, Honey Singh, Pritam, Arko Mukherjee – Yaariyan Best Story Vikas Bahl, Chaitally Parmar, Parveez Shaikh – Queen Chetan Bhagat – 2 States (Expected Winner) Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani – PK Lyrics Manoj Muntashir – Galliyan – Ek Villain Rashmi Singh – Muskurane – Citylights Amitabh Bhattacharya – Mast Magan – 2 States (Expected Winner). news desk
CMYK
Russell Brand is returning to the big screen, joining Nicolas Cage in the comedy Army of One, according to the Guardian. The film, to be directed by Borat’s Larry Charles, is based on the story of Gary Faulkner, a handyman from Colorado who had a vision about capturing Osama bin Laden, then went to Pakistan to pursue it. The script is written by Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph, who wrote the Kevin Costner sports comedy Draft Day, and loosely based on a GQ article in 2010 by Chris Heath. Other cast members include Rainn Wilson, Denis O’Hare and Ken Marino. news desk
SIDDHARTH, ALIA SHOULD ‘COME OUT IN THE OPEN’
Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt are rumoured to be dating. The duo have been in the news of late for their alleged relationship. Recently, the two actors were spotted at a party hosted by a TV channel. While Alia entered the party alone, Sid is said to have showed up 15 minutes later. Not only that, while Alia bonded with her Student of the Year director Karan Johar, she made a quick exit and the latter decided to stay back. news desk
14 SPORTS
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
Club CriCketer in india dies after on-field Collision with team-mate ANKIT KESHRI RAN INTO TEAM-MATE AS BOTH WENT FOR HIGH CATCH, DIED OF A CARDIAC ARREST IN HOSPITAL THREE DAYS LATER
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SPORTS DESK
NKIT Keshri, a former captain of the Bengal Under-19 team, died on Monday morning in Kolkata three days after a freakish accident on the cricket field. Keshri had collided with his team-mate Sourabh Mondal on Friday while attempting a catch and had been rushed to the hospital after he stopped breathing briefly. Though his condition improved, he eventually died of a cardiac arrest. Keshri was 20. The incident occurred during a Cricket Association of Bengal’s Division 1 knockout match between East Bengal and Bhowanipore at the Jadavpur University Campus ground in Kolkata. Keshri, who was among the 30 India Under-19
probables for the World Cup in 2014, had actually come in as a substitute fielder. In the penultimate over (44th) of the Bhowanipore innings, Mondal, who was bowling, rushed to take a catch that was hit towards cover. Keshri was fielding at deep cover and charged in too. Neither of the two noticed the other and col-
lided. According to Shibsagar Singh, who was fielding at point, Mondal’s knee crashed into Keshri’s head and neck region. As Mondal went down, wincing in pain, Keshri was lying flat and not breathing. Blood was trickling down from his mouth, according to Shibsagar, a former India Under-19 player who has played first-class
cricket for Bengal. Keshri responded to Shibsagar’s resuscitation efforts. Pranab Nandy, the East Bengal coach, said there was no negligence as the ground doctor was immediately on the case and Keshri was transported on a CAB ambulance to the nearby Nightingale Hospital within 15 minutes. The BCCI has, however, asked the CAB to probe whether Keshri’s death was due to negligence or lack of medical facilities provided to the player after the collision. “It was a very unfortunate incident. CAB will look into matter if there was any negligence on anyone’s part,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said after the IPL governing council meeting in New Delhi on Monday. “We will discuss the issue at the Working Committee meeting on April 26 in Kolkata. We lost a youngster.” CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey said that doctors informed him on Sunday that although Keshri’s condition was stable, he had fever. They were
supposed to refer Keshri to consult specialist doctors on Monday but around midnight on Sunday he had a “massive” cardiac arrest. Keshri was put on the ventilator but succumbed early Monday morning. “It is extremely upsetting to see the demise of a promising opening batsman,” Deep Dasgupta, the former Bengal captain, said. “ He used to be quiet, an introvert, but he was sharp and intelligent as well. He would hardly speak. I remember congratulating him on his selection for the India Under-19 camp and the shy look on his face saying ‘thank you’.” Former Bengal cricketer Raju Mukherjee said,”An opening batsman with a solid defensive technique, he was included in the U-23 squad this year,” before adding that he was “very frail”.” It was, however, an accident,” Mukherjee said. “He was about to be relieved from the hospital as his condition had improved.”
Aston Villa deserved Cup win over sluggish Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers SPORTS DESK
bayern munich’s franck ribery a doubt for Porto match France winger Franck Ribery is highly unlikely to recover from an ankle injury in time to feature for Bayern Munich in the Champions League fixture against Porto, coach Pep Guardiola said on the eve of the match on Monday. Ribery has been out for more than a month and Guardiola said it was more likely the player would miss the second leg of the quarter-final in Munich as the Germans look to recover from a stunning 3-1 defeat in Portugal last week. “I do not think that Franck can play,” Guardiola told reporters. “I will speak with the our doctor but my feeling is that he can’t make it.” Guardiola’s hopes of turning the tie around have been hampered by a string of injury absences, including to key players Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Javi Martinez and Medhi Benatia. Bastian Schweinsteiger is also fighting to get fit in time for the game and Guardiola said the Germany captain would train with the team late on Monday for the first time. SPORTS DESK
karim benzema a doubt for atletico madrid clash Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema remains touch-and-go for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. AS reports the France international suffered a sprained knee in last week’s 0-0 and, having sat out Saturday’s win over Malaga, is still a doubt for the visit of Los Colchoneros. It had been said that Benzema would be able to return when Atletico go to Santiago Bernabeu but AS say a decision on his availability won’t be taken until the day of the game. The pain in Benzema’s knee is said to have subsided since he first suffered the injury but he is still struggling, the knee remains bandaged and he again missed training on Sunday, working instead in the gym. SPORTS DESK
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits his side were beaten by the better team as the Reds were denied a place in the FA Cup final by a resurgent Aston Villa. Villa came from behind to win 2-1 at Wembley as strikes from Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph cancelled out Philippe Coutinho’s opener. Liverpool entered the contest as strong favourites, leading their opponents by 25 points in the Barclays Premier League, but Villa deserved their victory after a dynamic and dominant display. “We’re obviously bitterly disappointed but more with the performance,” Rodgers said. “You can always lose a game but you need to play well and give yourself an opportunity. “We had some chances but I thought they were better than us today to be honest.” Rodgers continued: “Sometimes you can want to win too much. The focus comes away from what allows you to win. “The team in the last couple of years have shown great energy, attitude and commitment - I thought our energy was low today. “Villa had a good start to the game
and we were too passive. “We changed the system, got some joy and got in front but we didn’t keep the lead long enough. “In the second half we hoped to play better but we just didn’t create enough today.” The defeat means there will be no fairytale ending to Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool career. The FA Cup final, which comes on Gerrard’s 35th birthday, would have been the midfielder’s last game in a Reds shirt before he leaves for America and LA Galaxy in the summer. “Is it a shame? Absolutely,” Rodgers said.
“He did everything he possibly could to help the team. I thought he was excellent today. Collectively we didn’t perform well enough.” Liverpool have struggled to produce their best form in big matches this season, losing important league games to Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks, as well as failing to deliver in the Champions League earlier in the campaign. “We need to have the courage now to play better in the big games because we didn’t play well enough today,” Rodgers said.
aussie legend steve waugh tells england to forget kevin Pietersen Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has urged England to move on from Kevin Pietersen, believing the controversial batsman no longer merits a place in the side and brings too much baggage as well. South African-born Pietersen has not played for his adopted nation in over a year after being sacked following the fallout of the woeful Ashes whitewash defeat. The 34-year-old has repeatedly expressed a desire to return to the international set-up, though, and is turning out for Surrey this season in a bid to prove his commitment to England, with his first LV= County Championship innings since June 2013 ending after making just 19 off 28 balls against Glamorgan yesterday. While Pietersen’s Test record of 8,181 runs at 47.28 with 23 centuries makes him one of England’s greatest ever batsmen, Waugh does not think he deserves a place in the current XI. “England have got to make a clean break and look forward to the future,” said Waugh in quotes on the Daily Mirror. “Sometimes you have to have short-term pain to get the long-term gain. SPORTS DESK
kimi raikkonen deserves new deal
Ferrari wants to keep Kimi Raikkonen in Formula 1, but it does not want to offer him a new deal yet because it feels he performs best under pressure. The Finn took advantage of an alternative tyre strategy to finish second between the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the Bahrain Grand Prix. It was the 2007 world champion’s best result since rejoining Ferrari last season and came on the back of a difficult start to the season. “I am really happy for Kimi,” said Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene. “I can officially state that he’s back. “He showed what a race animal he is. Kimi is giving the best when he is a bit in trouble.” “I’m happy with the drivers we have,” he said. “This doesn’t mean I am going to sign tomorrow with Kimi. SPORTS DESK
WILLIAMSON BACKS SUNRISERS TO OVERCOME EARLY STUTTER SPORTS DESK Despite a stuttering start that has seen them lose three of their first four matches, Kane Williamson is convinced Sunrisers Hyderabad can qualify for the knockout stages of IPL 2015. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo from Visakhapatnam after their lastball defeat to Delhi Daredevils on Saturday, Williamson said that Sunrisers are not very “far from playing the style of cricket” they want to. “It’s very important to get the balance right, to play the style of cricket we want to play and I believe we’re not far away from that,” he said. “The last two games we’ve actually lost on the last ball. That’s the way it goes sometimes in T20 cricket and if we can get a little bit of momentum, I’m sure we can start getting a few wins on board.” Although he has played in India before with the New Zealand national team, and as
part of the Northern Districts squad at last year’s Champions League T20, Williamson says his first IPL has been a “very different experience.” Despite losing his place in the playing eleven after scores of 26* in 18 balls against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai and 9 in 5 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore, Williamson is enjoying the stint whole-heartedly. “It’s great to be involved alongside a lot of local Indian players who are extremely talented and also alongside some international cricketers who you have played so much against,” he said. “It is very different and naturally, playing in India is a great experience in front of such a passionate crowd.” Over the last year or so Williamson has flowered in international cricket across all formats. He was in fact named New Zealand’s Test, ODI and T20 player of the year recently.
The 24-year old says there is “no secret” to the success he has achieved other than the “desire to continue to improve.” “We play at the highest level that does challenge you so much and you learn a lot about yourself and your game and having that desire to continue to improve your game is very impor-
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tant,” he said. “You constantly have to adapt to changing conditions and against different opposition. I suppose you have to allow all these things to come into how you improve your game is an important part.” While his recent success has made many observers believe Williamson has the makings of
a future great, he says he doesn’t think about such tags at all. He is already New Zealand’s vicecaptain but insists the prospect of taking over as captain doesn’t consume his thought process. “Brendon’s doing a fantastic job and I’m very much enjoying learning from him at the moment,” he said. “If it’s to happen in the future it is fine but if it happens to be someone else, then that’s also fine. At the moment, I’m looking to play my part in the team and, like I said, do as much as I can for the team.” Williamson was an integral member of the New Zealand side that made the World Cup final recently before losing to Australia at Melbourne. He remembers the journey fondly saying the team had no regrets after playing the “style of cricket” they wanted to. The focus will also shortly turn to New Zealand’s tour of England, where the side will be keen to continue their success in whites.
Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
waqar says Pakistan needs to Change how it Plays CriCket DHAKA
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Khan, leg-spinner Yasir Shah and batsman Sohaib Maqsood – were earlier declared unfit and ruled out of the tour with injuries. Pakistan lost the three-game ODI series with a seven wicket defeat in the second match on Sunday after by it
lost the first game by 79 runs last week. The third ODI is scheduled to be played at the Shere-Bangla stadium on Wednesday, April 22. Pakistan also play a solitary Twenty20 game and two Tests on the month-long tour of Bangladesh.
Pakistan cricket greats slam team over Bangladesh defeat KARACHI AGENCIES
Pakistani greats on Monday slammed the team’s first ever series loss to Bangladesh, with former captain Javed Miandad terming it the “lowest point” in his country’s cricketing history.
record teams to compete in u-19 cricket
KARACHI: A record number of 96 teams will be seen in action when the Inter-district Under-19 Cricket Championships start from Wednesday (April 22) in 16 different regions of the country. According to the draws released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the two-day round matches of each region will be played simultaneously. The team finishing on top at the end of the league-round fixtures will be declared champions of their region, except in Fata where 10 teams are divided two pools of five with the group winners competing in the final. The regions competing are Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Quetta, Larkana, Islamabad, Peshawar, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Abbottabad, Fata, Dera Murad Jamali and Azad Jammu Kashmir. AGENCIES
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day after Pakistan lost their first ever ODI series against Bangladesh, coach Waqar Younis gave in to criticism from Pakistan cricket fans, accepting that the team was facing problems. “I accept what the critics are saying: Pakistan cricket is facing problems,” said the former Pakistan fast-bowler on Monday. “We need to change the way we play cricket. We have been playing defensive cricket for too long; it will take time to get out of this (mindset),” he said. Younis blamed a lack of fitness for the team’s disappointing performance on the Bangladesh tour. “Our biggest problem is fitness, over which no compromise can be made,” he said. But he added that there was no need to look back “if you want to move forward with young players”. Waqar’s statements follow news from the Pakistan camp of what appears to be yet another fitness-related setback. Sources told a news channel that fast-bowler Rahat Ali had suffered a hamstring injury and skipped the team’s training session on Monday. The Pakistan team has faced a string of injury setbacks in recent weeks. Four World Cup squad members – pacemen Ehsan Adil and Sohail
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Bangladesh thumped Pakistan by seven wickets in the second one-day international in Dhaka on Sunday, their fourth series win over a full-member nation after victories against Zimbabwe, the West Indies and New Zealand. “Losing to Bangladesh is the lowest point but if we do not take
big measures our cricket will decline further,” batting legend Miandad said. Miandad, who last year resigned from the post of director general of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) praised Bangladesh. “Bangladesh is not the same Bangladesh they used to be and I think they can now upset any team
because they are getting better and better with each day,” he said. “I did a little bit of coaching in Bangladesh and told them of some basics, like they were weak on short pitch deliveries, and praise to them that they adhered to the basics and now their game is improving day by day,” he added, referring to his 2002 coaching stint with the Tigers. Wicketkeeping great Wasim Bari deplored a lack of planning ahead of the series. “There is no strategy in the Pakistan team, no planning and that is why they were exposed,” Bari said. “Bangladesh have kept their World Cup momentum very well while we have gone down,” the former chairman of selectors added. Bangladesh ousted higher-ranked England to finish as losing quarter-finalists in the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand in February-March this year. Another former skipper Rashid Latif feared more such results in the future. “We have played around 90 players in the last five years and worse still we never allowed batsmen to settle on one position.” “We had 19 different opening pairs and there were a lot of changes in the bowling pairs as well and that’s why our team is not settled,” he added.
Following are the number of competing teams in each region: KARACHI (7): Zone-I, Zone-II, Zone-III, Zone-IV, Zone-IV, Zone-V, Zone-VI, Zone-VII. LAHORE (6): East Zone Whites, East Zone Blues, West Zone Whites, West Zone Blues, North Zone Whites, North Zone Blues. HYDERABAD (6): Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Badin, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad. FAISALABAD (5): Faisalabad, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Kasur, Jhang. RAWALPINDI (5): Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock, Chakwal, Mianwali. MULTAN (7): Multan, Sahiwal, Okara, Khanewal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Vehari, Lodhran. QUETTA (6): Quetta, Pishin, Killa Abdullah, Nushki, Kalat, Turbat. LARKANA (6): Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur, Dadu, Shikarpur, Jacobabad. ISLAMABAD (5): East Zone, Central Zone, West Zone, North Zone, Gilgit-Baltistan. PESHAWAR (5): Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Swat, Dir Lower. BAHAWALPUR (6): Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Layyah, Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh. SIALKOT (7): Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Narowal, Mandi Bahahuddin. ABBOTTABAD (7): Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Mardan, Swabi, Dir Upper, Buner. FATA (10): Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Bannu, South Waziristan, North Waziristan; Kohat, Khyber Agency, Mohmand Agency, Kurram Agency, Bajaur Agency. DERA MURAD JAMALI (3): Naseerabad, Sibi, Loralai. AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR (5): Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Poonch, Bagh.
india to tour Zimbabwe for short series in July The Indian cricket team will visit Zimbabwe for a short series after an equally brief sojourn to Bangladesh this summer. The two tours will immediately follow the on-going IPL 2015. The Indian team is scheduled to play three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in Zimbabwe. The series has not been officially announced by either board - the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) - but it is understood that it is part of the Future Tour Programme bilaterally signed by the two boards earlier this year. Even the official broadcasters of ZC are not aware of the exact dates of the matches as yet but it is learnt that the games will be played during the first half of July. The total time of stay for the team in Zimbabwe will be just about two weeks. The Indian team will fly to Zimbabwe after completing their assignment in Bangladesh where the team is slated to play one Test and three ODIs.The series will end by the third week of June. A week later, they will fly to Harare. RetuRn of West IndIes? The year’s other major assignments include three away Tests against Sri Lanka and four home Tests against South Africa. Sandwiching the two series is the Champions League Twenty20 which, if not cancelled, will be played in September. The final of the tournament is scheduled for September 24. The West Indies players, apparently, are willing to return to India to complete the series that they left midway because of a pay dispute with their board last year but the BCCI officials are not able to find a window for them. From October, India will be busy hosting South Africa who will be playing five ODIs, two T20Is besides four Tests. The bilateral exchange programme with South Africans so far involved only three Tests but from now on the countries will play four Tests, home and away. After the South Africa series, India are slated to play Pakistan in the UAE but there is nothing final about it. Needless to mention, the series will depend on a lot of factors. SPORTS DESK INDIA’S ITINERARY June: 1 Test, 3 ODIs in Bangladesh July: 3 ODIs, 2 T20’s in Zimbabwe August: 3 Tests in Sri Lanka September: CLT20 October-November: 4 Tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20Is vs SA in India December: 3 Tests, 5 ODIs vs Pakistan in UAE
ZIMBABWE CRICKET TEAM SET FOR PAKISTAN TOUR IN MAY KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan on Monday said that his Zimbabwean counterpart had assured him that Zimbabwe will tour Pakistan in mid-May. Both officials had met on the sidelines of the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings. “The president of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) told us that the team will come to Pakistan but before that, their security team will pay the country a visit,” said Shaharyar. “Their board will confirm their tour once their security team gives the go-ahead.” The chairman also discussed the possible venues for the tour.
“Ideally, we want to host matches both in Lahore and Karachi, but there are some problems regarding Karachi. We’re trying to get approval from the ICC to allow us to host the match in the Southend Cricket Club, which is a safe venue.” The PCB chief further revealed that while Najam Sethi’s appointment as the next ICC president is inevitable, the post would be given to an iconic cricketer once Sethi completes his tenure. Shaharyar further said that he has urged the ICC to work on recommendations of its taskforce, headed by Giles Clarke, for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the PCB’s Governing Board expressed its displeasure over the selection of
Saeed Ajmal after the bowler was seen struggling against Bangladesh as Pakistan lost the opening two matches of threematch ODI series to condemn the side to their first-ever series defeat against the minnows. Ajmal is nowhere near his best, and struggled to make any impact with the remodelled action, which has not gone down well with the top brass. It has been learnt that the selection committee, led by Haroon Rasheed, was keen to test Ajmal, while Shaharyar gave his approval for the bowler. The members felt that PCB’s top management and selectors should have thought about Pakistan first instead of facilitating an individual. “The governing board wants the selection committee to answer
as to why he was selected,” a governing board member said on con-
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diction of anonymity. “The selectors have made Ajmal look silly,
he never looked comfortable in the two ODIs with his new action. Did he perform anywhere in domestic cricket to show everyone that he has regained his magic with the ball?” There was also severe criticism of the selectors for picking injured players in the squad after it emerged that Ehsan Adil was carrying an injury, while Sohaib Maqsood played through the World Cup with wrist pain. “This will not be tolerated and everyone involved in the process would have to answer it,” added the official, saying that the topic was discussed in detail. “Why can’t our stakeholders single out unfit or injury-prone players before going on any tour? It looks embarrassing to name replacements on a regular basis.”
SPORTS Tuesday, 21 April, 2015
Misfiring Kings Xi face royals test
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ivE wins in five games, the latest being a hammering of the mighty Chennai Super Kings. Rajasthan Royals are unstoppable at the moment. Their favoured template - restrict the opposition to a reasonable total and chase it down with a solid top order - has been working superbly for them. The only time they have batted first this season, they have defended quite comfortably, against their next opponents: Kings Xi Punjab. Shane Watson’s availability has strengthened them further. While the likes of Watson and Steven Smith will always be assets, the performances of their indian players have also helped Royals achieve this run.
in addition to Ajinkya Rahane’s solidity, Pravin Tambe, Dhawal Kulkarni and Stuart Binny have been frugal with the ball while young Deepak Hooda has won a game with the bat. Kings Xi Punjab’s overseas as well as domestic players are yet to show consistency, which reflects in three losses from four matches. Apart from George Bailey’s batting and Sandeep Sharma’s bowling, the rest have not stood out. The bowling has been competitive, but it is the big names in that middle order that need to fire. Watch out for… When these sides met in Pune ten days ago, James Faulkner turned 75 for 5 into 162 for 7 with 46 off 33. He then took out Glenn Maxwell, Bailey and Mitchell Johnson in four overs
for only 26 runs. Faulkner has not really been needed with the bat after that but has been expensive with the ball overall. He has the knack of picking the big wicket, as he did when he bowled a rampaging Dwayne Smith against Super Kings. M vijay has been in superb touch for a while now, and that has showed in some of the shots he has played. Some of his cover drives have been effortless and gorgeous, but all he has to show are 91 runs from four innings. With the hit-or-miss nature of virender Sehwag’s batting at the other end, vijay will have to carry on from his starts. StatS and trivia Ajinkya Rahane is one hit away from reaching 200 fours in the iPL. Shane Watson is one short of 100 sixes
Sandeep Sharma’s economy-rate of 5.37 is the best so far this season. Stuart Binny is next with 5.71 Royals have won seven out of ten games in Ahmedabad QuoteS “it is great to be able to come and take over with the team in such a good place. Steven Smith does an incredible job as a leader. He is tactically incredibly good. He did a fantastic job in the first four games and i am very lucky to be able to have him in and around the squad.” Shane WatSon “Our batting has been a letdown so far in the tournament. The top batsmen are just not getting enough runs. That has been putting the team in a tight spot.” – Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar.
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.
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Gareth Bale set to miss Atletico Madrid clash Gareth Bale looks set to miss Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final second leg match against Atletico Madrid with a calf injury. The Welsh forward lasted just a few minutes before limping off during Real’s 3-1 home victory over Malaga on Saturday. Real said in a statement on Monday: “The tests done on Gareth Bale by Real Madrid’s medical staff have revealed a muscular lesion in his soleus muscle in his left leg. “His condition will be evaluated.” Los Blancos are also without Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, who suffered a knee ligament strain against Malaga and is expected to be unavailable for six weeks. However, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to have striker Karim Benzema fit for Wednesday’s match after the Frenchman missed Saturday’s encounter at the Bernabeu with a knee injury. Ten-time European winners Real were held to a goalless draw at Atletico in the quarter-final first leg last week. SPORTS DESK