E paper pdf (26 11 2015) isb by Pakistan Today

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thursday, 26 november, 2015 i safar 13, 1437 i rs 17.00 i vol vi no 147 i 16 Pages i islamabad edition

ToP PPP LeADeRs PuT oN ecL Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders Dr Asim hussain and sharjeel Memon have been put on the exit control List (ecL) on Wednesday, as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started preparing more cases against hussain, a close

aide of former president Asif Zardari, to get his physical remand from the accountability court, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to sources, the decision to put hussain and Memon’s names on ecL was taken on NAB’s request. Interior Minis-

ter chaudhr y Nisar Ali khan had recently announced a committee was formed to decide about the ecL list. over 9,000 names were removed from the ecL, which were in the list since 1985. Responding to the development, PPP leaders termed

the decision “hasty and without any proof ”. “Not a single case has been proved against both the leaders,” said sindh Information Minister Nisar khuhro. “I wonder how this decision was taken. This is an act of political victimisation.”

STORY ON PAGE 04 MoscoW AgeNcIes Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday said the downing of its fighter jet by Turkey appeared to be a “planned provocation” but said the countries would not go to war over the incident. “We have serious doubts about this being an unpremeditated act, it really looks like a planned provocation,” Foreign Minister sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow after speaking with Turkish counterpart Mevlut cavusoglu. “We do not plan to go to war with Turkey, our attitude toward the Turkish people has not changed,” Lavrov added, stressing that Moscow would however “seriously reevaluate” its ties with Ankara. “such attacks are absolutely unacceptable,” he said. Russian authorities reacted furiously to the downing of the Russian su24 warplane on the syrian border on Tuesday, with President vladimir Putin calling it a “stab in the back committed by accomplices of terrorists”. Meanwhile Turkey’s military said the fighter was shot down by two of its F-16s after it violated Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period. Turkish Ambassador to the united Nations halit cevik said in a letter to the security council that two Russian planes had flown a little more than a mile into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds. Ankara and Moscow are already on rival sides in the syrian civil war that has lasted over four years, with Turkey wanting to see the ouster of syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Russia remains one of his last remaining allies. Lavrov on Tuesday cancelled talks planned with his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul on Wednesday which had been scheduled prior to the plane’s downing. Both Putin and Lavrov have warned Russian citizens against travelling to Turkey in the aftermath of the incident, citing terrorist threats in the country.

Russia says won’t go to war with Turkey over jet downing Russian FM Lavrov says attack on fighter jet appeared to be ‘planned provocation, Moscow would ‘seriously reevaluate’ ties with Ankara

Obama offers conditional support to Russian actions in Syria

STORY ON PAGE 05

TuRkey gAve No WARNINg, sAys DoWNeD RussIAN PILoT

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

STORY ON PAGE 05

KP govt uP in arms for being ‘left out’ of CPeC

ANTI-MoNey LAuNDeRINg BILL sAILs ThRough NA

cusToMs couRT gRANTs AyyAN’s PAssPoRT ReTuRN PLeA

The khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has alleged that the federal government is planning to deprive the province of its due rights in china Pakistan economic corridor (cPec) despite its all announcements and commitments made earlier. chief Minister Pervez khattak has now decided to stage widespread protests against the federal government, vowing that ever y relevant forum would be knocked to protect the rights of the province. he added that all parliamentar y parties of kP Assembly would be taken on board for this unprecedented protest campaign and also warned that they will withdraw cooperation being extended for executing cPec project until reservations are not removed.

The National Assembly on Wednesday passed three government sponsored bills including Anti-Money Laundering Bill 2015 unanimously while the Pakistan Baitul Maal Amendment Bill 2015 was deferred. The opposition members neither opposed the bills nor moved any amendments and the bills were passed unanimously. The antimoney laundering bill is designed to pave the way for an effective policy against money laundering and funding of terrorists. Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the bill during the assembly’s session. Reports regarding illegal transference of funds and their usages will be compiled for the sole purpose of grounding terror networks and curbing growing insurgencies in the world.

STORY ON PAGE 03

STORY ON PAGE 10

STORY ON PAGE 02

Turkish President erdogan says his country does not wish to escalate tensions with Russia

B’Desh LeADeR hAsINA’s gAINs FRoM shock hANgINgs seeN shoRT-LIveD The execution of two Bangladeshi opposition leaders for war crimes appears to have cowed rivals of Prime Minister sheikh hasina, but critics said her success comes at the cost of free discourse and the calm is likely to be short-lived.

STORY ON PAGE 04

02 NEWS

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

MQM says PTI, JI colludIng wITh TerrorIsTs To wIn lB Polls

KARACHI: MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar addresses supporters during a protest against arrests made during a Rangers’ raid on a party’s sector office in Korangi on Wednesday. ONLINE

KARACHI

AAMIR MAJEED

HE Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has declared the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) the ‘political wings’ of the Islamic State (IS), al Qaeda in Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS) and Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP). MQM alleged that PTI and JI have created alliance with banned outfits working in the metropolis to steal its mandate in the December 05 local bod-

ies’ elections. It may be pertinent to mention that MQM will play the anti-terrorism card instead of the Mohajir card in the upcoming LG polls. As per details, MQM has distributed pamphlets in houses and outside mosques after Friday prayers and requested the city’s residents not to vote for PTI and JI, and save their generations from extremism. MQM claimed that all efforts by the Establishment to disconnect communication between the party leadership and its workers had proved fruitless. “The

ECC allows commercial ﬁnancing for hydropower projects ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday allowed Trading Corporation of Pakistan to sell balance lint cotton stock available with them on retail daily basis at minimum of the KCA spot rate for the day through commission agent(s) whose services may be hired by TCP through open tender. The ECC also approved the proposals of the Ministry of Water and Power to allow WAPDA to raise commercial financing of Rs 144 billion for the Dasu-I project, and Rs 100 billion for the Neelum Jehlum Hydropower Project, from local banks through conventional/ Islamic mode of financing under government guarantees. The ECC considered and approved a proposal of the Ministry of National Food Security & Research for the payment of Rs 1.4 million to the transportation company, M/s Mercedes Cargo Services because of supply of wheat to Afghanistan. The proposal had been submitted in wake of a court judgment in the matter. On a proposal from the Privatisation Commission, ECC approved grant of two months salaries to Pak Steel Mills employees. The Committee also accorded approval to the proposals of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources relating to setting up of subsidiaries for import of LNG and construction of second LNG Terminal. ECC also set up a committee to review the legal requirements in that regard. STAFF REPORT

party would defeat terrorists and their nominated candidates in local bodies’ election,” MQM claimed. “Those who called Karachiites ‘zinda laash’ and ‘bhokay nangay’ are engaged in preparing conspiracies to rule over the metropolitan city,” the pamphlet reads. Talking to Pakistan Today, MQM Coordination Committee member Ameen-ul Haque accepted that MQM distributed the pamphlets accusing PTI and JI of being associated with terror. “PTI Chief Imran Khan has demanded the government to allow Taliban to open their office in Pakistan,” he

recalled. Responding to a question, he said that terrorists in the city do not allow MQM, Awami National Party (ANP), and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to campaign in the city during the 2013 general election, but PTI and JI held rallies across the metropolis during the same time. “Taliban attacked MQM offices and carried out bomb blasts in MQM rallies during the 2013 general elections, but no attack on PTI and JI public gatherings was reported, which means PTI and JI are enjoying the support of the Taliban in the city,” Haque maintained. Responding to another question, he said he was worried about potential attacks on MQM public gatherings during the local bodies’ elections. JI Sindh chief Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqui, while talking to Pakistan Today, said that all political parties engaged in the democratic process have no links with banned outfits. He maintained that banned outfits declare elections ‘haraam’ and think that casting a vote is ‘kufar’. “How it is possible that outlaws support stakeholders of democracy for the promotion of haraam activities?” he questioned. “MQM has issued a handbill to misguide Karachiites,” Dr Huda said, adding, “PTI and JI have not issue any handbill against MQM, and we feel the residents of city may feel no hesitation to decide their future in light of the Karachi operation.”

Customs court grants Ayyan’s passport return plea RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

The special court of customs, excise and taxation on Wednesday approved model Ayyan Ali’s application to return her passport which was confiscated upon her arrest in March in a currency-smuggling case. The court had summoned a response from customs officials on the application earlier filed by Ayyan for the return of her passport. In a response, customs investigation officer Inspector Saleem expressed reservations regarding the return of Ayyan’s passport. The customs officer said three passports had been confiscated from Ayyan upon her arrest. ‘IMportAnt evIDence’: Ayyan’s passport is important documentary evidence in the currency smuggling case and it is possible that if her passport was returned, Ayyan would leave for a foreign country, the customs official told Judge Rana Aftab Ahmed. He added that the model’s departure from the country will affect the currency smuggling case being heard by the customs court. However, Ayyan’s counsel Khurram Latif Khosa told the court that

the passport is Ayyan’s “bread and butter” as she frequently travels abroad as part of her modelling contracts. The model serves as a cultural ambassador and serves Pakistan internationally, Khosa said. In an earlier hearing, Khosa had said that the authorities had impounded Ayyan Ali’s passport in order to prevent her from going abroad. “This is against the law and is a violation of fundamental human rights. Nobody’s passport can be confiscated based on allegations,” he had argued before the judge at the time. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court approved Ayyan’s application to

return her passport and directed the model to furnish two security bonds of Rs1,000,000 each and a personal surety bond. However, the court warned, if the model violates her promises and does not return to Pakistan, her property here will be seized. Ayyan was apprehended while travelling with half a million US dollars. The amount was seized by customs when she was checking in for a flight to Dubai at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on March 14 this year. A Special Customs court formally charged her with attempted currency smuggling last week, almost nine months after she was arrested.

SC directs govts to take concrete steps for checking environmental pollution ISLAMABAD APP

The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the federal and provincial governments to take concrete steps for controlling environmental pollution in the country. Expressing dissatisfaction over reports presented by the federal and provincial governments regarding steps taken by them for controlling the pollution, the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali sought report on practical measures adopted by them on next date of hearing. The reports were submitted by the Federation’s counsel and Additional Advocate Generals (AAGs) in compliance with the court’s earlier orders. After examining the reports, the Chief Justice termed the same unsatisfactory. The court, he remarked, had been seized with the public interest matter since 2003, but no tangible effort seemed to have been made by the authorities concerned. The Sindh AAG informed the court that the provincial government had issued notices to cement factories, water treatment plants, hospitals and other violators which were spreading pollution. The Chief Justice observed that even after passage of 13 years the governments were still talking of issuance of notices but practical efforts were zero. How many cases were instituted against those who were responsible for environmental pollution, he questioned. Justice Ejaz Afzal remarked that angels would not come to resolve such problems, the officials concerned should be taken to task for this omission. The AAG Punjab apprised the court that magistrates had been appointed in 36 districts who were taking stern action against polluters. Out of 2,228 complaints, he said, 561 had been addressed with millions of rupees fine imposed on the violators. The AAG Balochistan told the court that some 12,000 rickhaws in the province had been converted in to compressed natural gas (CNG) whereas slaughter houses, waste management plants and water treatment plants in Quetta had been shifted outside the city. The Director General Environment Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the bench that a plan had been devised to plant one billion trees in the province. The case was adjourned till first week of January 2016.

UKS LAUNCHES GMMP 2015 - PAKISTAN REPORT ON MEDIA, GENDER LAHORE PRESS RELEASE

Progress towards equality of women and men in the news media has virtually ground to a halt according to the findings of the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) released on November 23. The world’s largest research initiative into gender portrayal in news media shows that worldwide, women make up only 24 per cent of the people heard, read about or seen in newspaper, television and radio news, exactly the same level found in 2010. Women’s relative invisibility in traditional news media has crossed over into digital news deliv-

ery platforms with only 26 per cent women’s presence in news stories. There is a global glass ceiling for female news reporters with 37 per cent of stories reported by women, the same as a decade ago. Coordinated by Uks Research Centre, the GMMP 2015 Pakistan National Report reveals that unlike global trends, the presence of women in news to have upped from 27 per cent in 2010 to 36 per cent in 2015. The number of female reporters across media has also increased from 11 per cent in 2010 to 16 per cent. The major topics (classified by GMMP 2015) that made news on that day were Crime and Violence (30 per cent), Poli-

tics and Government (26 per cent) and Social and Legal Issues (23 per cent) respectively. Despite significant increase in figures, the qualitative analyses of the news stories suggest that portrayal of women as ‘victims’, trivialization and sexual objectification persist in the Pakistani media. With only 4 per cent of the news stories challenging gender equality issues, and none of the stories on Girlchild and women’s economic participation, the media continues to ignore the realities of being a Pakistani woman. The reporting trends on internet and twitter from the gender perspective however tell a similar story! The Global Media Monitoring Proj-

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ect (GMMP) is the world’s longest-running and most extensive research on gender in the news media coordinated by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). It gives a detailed picture of the numbers of women and men in the world’s news on a particular day. With members in over a 100 countries, the network includes gender and communication groups, women’s media associations, women’s grassroots groups and researchers in academia who participated in the previous GMMPs of 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. This time the members across the world monitored media content on March 25, 2015.

Uks with almost two decades of experience in monitoring media in Pakistan, was selected to coordinate GMMP 2015 the second time. As Farzana Ali, a journalist from Peshawar, shares, “I remember it was Uks who first guided me on the fair and balanced portrayal of women. Especially in Pakhtun Society, it was very difficult to convince male colleagues in newsrooms on presenting gender-just news stories …With the help of Uks’s guidelines… and Gendersensitive Code of Ethics for Media. For me, Uks is the best choice in Pakistan, for the continuation of research and advocacy initiatives on gender equality in media, like the GMMP!”

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

NEWS

KP uP In arMs for BeIng ‘lefT ouT’ of cPec PESHAWAR

STAFF REPORT

HE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has alleged that the federal government plans to deprive KP of its due rights in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) despite its all announcements and commitments that were made earlier. Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has decided to stage widespread protest against the federal government and said that every relevant forum would be knocked to protect the rights of the province. He added that all parliamentary parties of KP Assembly would be taken on board for this unprecedented protest campaign and also warned that they will withdraw cooperation being extended for executing CPEC project until reservations are not removed. He said that the

support withdrawal actions by KP government might also include stopping of the land acquisition process for the KP portion of the project. The decision was taken at a meeting held at CM Secretariat on Wednesday with Khattak in the chair. Among others the meeting was also attended by the Speaker KP Assembly, Asad Qaiser, Minister for Mineral Development, Aneesa Zeb Tahirkheli, the Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Hamad Awais Agha, Chairman of the Strategic Planning Unit of the CM Secretariat Sahibzada Muhammad Saeed, leader of KP Ulasi Tehrik Dr. Said Alam Mahsood and Tariq Afghan Advocate and other concerned officers. Dr. Said Alam Mahsood disclosed that federal government had allocated a share of 1.4% for KP and 80.4% to Punjab of the total budget allocation of Rs.359 billion for the years 2015-17.The

said KP share would be spent only on the hydro power project of Suki Kinari in district Mansehra. The six key components of CPEC had also been changed in favour of Pun-

General Raheel Sharif decorated with Brazil’s ‘Order of Merit’ BRASILIA APP

Pak-China relations based on mutual trust, understanding, says Pervaiz

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday was awarded Brazil’s coveted ‘Order of Merit’ award in a ceremony held in the South American country. General Raheel Sharif is also the first Asian to have received the award. The chief of army staff was given the award in recognition of his leadership in the fight against terrorism and other threats. General Raheel Sharif also met

the Brazilian minister of defence and offered security assistance from Pakistan for the upcoming 2016 Olympics games due to be held in the South American country. Also discussed on the occasion were matters related to the anti-narcotics effort in both countries. Earlier in the week, General Raheel Sharif on Monday met the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Brazil Gen José Carlos de Nardi, who hailed the Pakistan Army’s professionalism and operational achievements especially in ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif arrived in Brazil after a five-day visit to Washington during which he met US Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter and other senior officials. From Brazil, he will go to Ivory Coast to spend a day with Pakistani troops who were serving there as part of the UN peace keeping force. His meetings in the US focused on Pak-US relations, military to military ties, regional security and on the situation in Afghanistan, Lt Gen Bajwa said earlier.

ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Minister for Information Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid Wednesday said the Pak-China relationship was based on mutual trust, understanding and common aspirations for peace and progress. The minister stated this during a meeting with Chinese media delegation. Rashid said that unique friendship between the two countries has now transformed into a strong strategic partnership, robust economic cooperation and ever increasing personal contacts. The new dimension of Pak-China friendship under China Pakistan Economic Corridor is indeed a great achievement as both have launched a plan for energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan worth $46 billion, linking their economies and people in Asia and beyond, the minister added. The senator emphasized the need to further strengthen bilateral ties in areas mutually beneficial to each other, particularly in the fields of culture, information and communications. Rashid also stressed the need for evolving a mechanism for the exchange of dramas, news, films and documentaries, so that the people of both countries could better understand each other’s culture and values. He said that visits of media delegations are significant as they are helpful in portraying the true picture of a country, its potential and create better understanding of issues. The Chinese media delegation expressed their resolve to play a pivotal role in further strengthening an already established bond between the two countries. The delegation assured the minister that they will take upon themselves to portray the real image of Pakistan, and consider it as the perfect tourist destination for the Chinese. They also commended the efforts of Pakistan being a frontline state in combating terrorism and extremism. Secretary Information Saba Mohsin Raza and Director General, External Publicity Wing, Shafqat Jalil were also present.

Gwadar and Karakurram Highway. With reference to the monographic study of the roads and maps of the federal government the Metro Bus and underground fast track Railways Project had also been incorporated into CPEC which will link Rawalpindi with Karachi through Gujranwala, Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad, thus totally excluding KPK and Baluchistan. Khattak recalled that a national consensus was evolved when KP government had voiced against the usurpation of the province’s rights in respect of CPEC and it was assured publically by the federal government that all provinces will get equal share in CPEC projects and the western route will not only be included in the project but it would also be built on priority bases. However, Khattak said that final decision in this regard will be taken after consultation with the parliamentary parties.

jab and the Dera Ismail Khan–MianwaliBurhan link of the western route was also missing in the latest map of CPEC route which was kept a secret. It was also found that Mianwali was being linked with Islamabad through another planned road at a cost of Rs.10 billion under public sector development program. According to the Planning Commission of Pakistan documents and sources, Dr. Mahsood, explained that the total cost of CPEC was $ 145 billion which would be given as a loan to Pakistan while the promised 500 billion USD Chinese investments would not be made before2024 and only at the start and end of the corridor. It was also discovered that Rs.95 billion (51.35%) of the total Rs.185 billion budget earmarked for the current year for the motorway project of the corridor would be spent for the Eastern Route while the remaining 48.65% budget will be utilized for connecting Lahore with

Weapon cache found, terror bid foiled in Balochistan QUETTA STAFF REPORT

Security forces on Wednesday claimed to have foiled a major terror bid and seized a large quantity of arms and ammunition from Balochistan’s Chagai district. “The weapons were dumped to carry out subversive activities in the province,” said Khan Wasey, a spokesperson for the Frontier Corps (FC). He added that FC personnel conducted a raid in Killi Nafas area of Chagai district after receiving actionable intelligence. The weapons recovered today include 15 rockets, 14 sub-machine guns, two AK-47s, two rocket propelled grenades and other weapons and ammunition. “No arrests were made as the militants had left the area before the raid was conducted,” stated Wasey. He also said that the militants wanted to target civilians, security forces and vital national installations in various parts of Pakistan. “The weapons were smuggled into Chagai district from neighbouring Afghanistan,” claimed the FC spokesperson. Security forces also launched a search operation in the area after discovering the weapons cache. Balochistan has been experiencing incident violence and targeted killings since more than a decade. The largest province of the country by area, is home to a low-level insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists. Al Qaeda-linked militants also operate in the region.

LUMS SLAMMED FOR ‘TOTAL ERASURE OF FEMALE VOICE’ AT MAJOR CONFERENCE NEWS DESK No one would have expected one of Pakistan’s most prestigious institutions, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), to land into hot water for organising a conference titled Pakistan’s Contribution to the Muslim Intellectual Tradition. But that is exactly what has happened. The conference, which took place at the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Social Sciences and Humanities at LUMS on November 13, courted ire from various quarters for failing to invite even a single female scholar to speak at the event. Students, alumni and faculty of the university have taken severe exception to this grave oversight which ‘actively reinscribe and reinforce’ gender inequalities. One former student Fatima Tassadiq has even started an online petition to protest against the exclusion of women. So far, she has amassed over 200 supporters. “We are at a complete loss to understand how a two-day conference boasting six panels, each with multiple

speakers, along with chairs, and keynote speakers, was organised without the inclusion of a single woman,” Tassadiq writes in the petition titled Letter of Protest to LUMS MAG School of Humanities Social Sciences. LUMS has been contacted for comment but has not replied as of yet. What further irked Tassadiq and many other like-minded individuals was the fact that the university had even failed to invite a female researcher to chair some of the panels. “Given the diversity in the backgrounds of participants, it is difficult for us to understand how women were completely excluded from the programme. Are there no female scholars working in these fields? If the organisers of the conference did not receive high quality papers from female researchers responding to the conference’s call for papers, was it not possible to invite female scholars to at least chair some of the panels?” she argues. “Given that one of the panelists participated in the conference via a proxy who read the paper out, is it unreasonable for us to expect that the same could

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have been done for female scholars not based in Lahore?” Specifically addressing Sohail Naqvi, Ali Khan and Kamal Ahmed Munir, the letter adds, “We are deeply troubled by the total erasure of all female voice at a major conference in one of the leading institutes of the country, especially considering the relatively high number of female academics and students at LUMS.” Conceding that gender inequality is

prevalent within academia all over the world, Tassadiq’s allows that LUMS could not be expected to right this enormous wrong in one go. However, she maintains that such events actively compound the matter. “All male conferences in 2015 are not mere accidents, nor are they to be taken lightly. Far from passively reflecting pre-existing gender inequities, such events actively reinscribe and reinforce the exclusion of women.”

04 NEWS

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

Top ppp leaders puT on eCl NAB requests iNterior miNistry to put NAmes of dr Asim HussAiN ANd sHArjeel memoN oN ecl KARACHI

AAMIR MAJEED

AKISTAN People’s Party (PPP) leaders Dr Asim Hussain and Sharjeel Memon have been put on the Exit Control List (ECL) on Wednesday, as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started preparing more cases against Hussain, a close aide of former president Asif Zardari, to get his physical remand from the accountability court, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to sources, the decision to put Hussain and Memon’s names on ECL was taken on NAB’s request. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had recently announced a committee was formed

NAB prepAriNg more cAses to oBtAiN Asim HussAiN’s pHysicAl remANd from court

to decide about the ECL list. Over 9,000 names were removed from the ECL, which were in the list since 1985. Responding to the development, PPP leaders termed the decision “hasty and without any proof”. “Not a single case has been proved against both the leaders,” said Sindh Information Minister Nisar Khuhro. “I wonder how this decision was taken. This is an act of political victimisation.” Meanwhile, Memon, while speaking to media over phone from Dubai, said there was no case against him and he would return to Pakistan soon. “I was not feeling well after undergoing a surgery. Doctors have advised me against travelling,” Memon said. “I am currently recovering and will travel to Pakistan within

22 illegal immigrants freed after abduction near Pasni QUETTA: Around 22 bus passengers, travelling from Karachi to Gwadar, were abducted and looted in Pasni tehsil of Balochistan’s Gwadar district on Wednesday. The passengers were held hostage and released after Frontier Corps and intelligence agencies exerted pressure on the captors. Commissioner Makran Division Bashir Bangulzai said the passengers were trying to enter Iran illegally. He said the passengers ─ who were from various parts of Pakistan ─ were illegal immigrants travelling from Karachi to Gwadar via Pasni. When security agencies came to know the passengers had been abducted, they launched an operation against the captors, subsequently mounting pressure on them to release the passengers. Bangulzai confirmed the abductors freed the passengers after looting them. “An operation has also been launched to apprehend human smugglers,” Bangulzai said. Militants have kidnapped labourers and passengers in the area in the past. Pasni is considered to be one of the sensitive areas of Balochistan. STAFF REPORT

the next 10 days.” On the other hand, senior PPP leader Khursheed Shah told a private news channel that Memon had refused to come back to Pakistan. “Sharjeel will not return, and he may resign from the ministry,” the opposition leader said. Meanwhile, an FIR was registered against Dr Asim Hussain at North Nazimabad police station under Clause 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Hussain is likely to be produced before an ATC on Thursday (today), as the FIR against him comes following the completion of his 90-day preventive custody with paramilitary Rangers on Wednesday. It was said that he will be produced in an accountability court on November 24, from where NAB will get

his physical remand, after the end of the Rangers 90-day preventive detention. However, he could not be produced in the accountability court on November 25. Law enforcers apprehended Hussain in connection with his alleged involvement in corruption cases in August. A JIT, consisting of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Rangers, was formed to investigate Hussain in cases of corruption in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), collection of kickbacks from oil marketing companies and SSGC, and land grabbing. Well-placed sources privy to this development told this scribe that the JIT has failed to bring sufficient evidences that could help NAB get physical remand from an accountability

oﬃce of christian web tV gutted in mysterious fire KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Office of a Christian web television channel was destroyed in a mysterious fire in Karachi, officials said on Wednesday. According to Mehmodabad Station House Officer (S.H.O) Sarwar Commando, the blaze erupted in the two-room office of ‘Gawahi’ (web TV) in Akhter Colony area of the city on Monday night. The officer added that the web channel had its equipment worth over Rs1 million destroyed in the fire. The SHO said that the channel’s office was located in a residential building in Akhter Colony where the fire broke out on Monday night. Families residing on the ground and second floor of the building were rescued by firemen after hectic efforts. The two-room

office of the channel was located on first floor of the building. The SHO claimed that short-circuit triggered the blaze according to the initial report of the Fire Brigade officials. He also claimed that the channel’s management never reported any threat to their organisation prior to the fire. Residents of the area too denied seeing anyone entering the office

before the incident. The police received an application from the channel’s management on Tuesday and is carrying out an inquiry into the incident. The SHO maintained that the police decided to acquire CCTV footage from security cameras installed at a Church nearby to ascertain whether it was arson or accidental fire. Sarfraz William, the director of the television channel told a foreign media house that the fire was an act of sabotage. William claimed that some chemical was thrown to destroy computers and other instruments as wooden stuff in the office remained safe, which gave rise to the suspicion that it was arson. He claimed that they had received threats from suspected militants in the past to close their channel preaching Christianity.

Bangladesh leader Hasina’s gains from shock hangings seen short-lived DHAKA AGENCIES

The execution of two Bangladeshi opposition leaders for war crimes appears to have cowed rivals of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but critics said her success comes at the cost of free discourse and the calm is likely to be short-lived. Political analysts and opposition leaders warned that the executions sent a signal that violence is the only political tool that works. The shock felt by an opposition which has already suffered mass arrests may be replaced by further bloodshed. Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury were hanged on Sunday for crimes against humanity during the 1971 war to break away from Pakistan. Protests against the hangings were muted. A general strike was called on Monday by Mujahid’s Jamaat-eIslami party, but there were no processions in Dhaka to back the strike and the day was largely peaceful in a country when strikes

often turn violent. Chowdhury was a legislator in former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). “Hasina’s popularity has soared because of the overwhelming support of the people in favour of trials and execution of war criminals,” said H.T. Imam, Hasina’s political adviser. “The policy of the government is zero tolerance against terrorism or violence, be it Islamist or any other kind.” Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of rights group Citizens for Good Governance, said Hasina had been getting stronger because

she did not have any visible opposition. “The absence of democracy only creates room for extremism,” he said. Muslimmajority Bangladesh has seen a rise in Islamist violence in recent months, with two foreigners and four secular writers and a publisher killed this year. Just a few hours before the Supreme Court rejections of the opposition leaders’ appeals on Wednesday last week, an Italian priest and medic was shot and wounded in the latest attack on foreigners in Bangladesh. The militant Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the foreigners, but the government has blamed the rising violence on political opponents. Tensions are high in Dhaka. Foreigners avoid walking in the streets, even in the relatively more secure Gulshan diplomatic area. The crucial $25 billion garment export sector has been nervous. Last month, executives from global clothing giants H&M, Inditex and Gap cancelled trips to Dhaka after the killings of foreigners. Last week, some writers due to attend the Dhaka liter-

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ature festival skipped the event. Foreigners who came drove in and out of the venue, where security was beefed up. Some Bangladeshi’s feel that the executions of people convicted of war crimes provides some sense of justice, but they said the uncertainty of what fundamentalist groups might do in retaliation was scary. “The fears of public intellectuals, opposition political leaders and ordinary people will increase,” said Ataur Rahman, chairman of the Centre for Governance Studies in Dhaka. Islamists have denounced the trials as a politically motivated campaign. Abul Barkat, an economics professor at Dhaka University, said backlash from such groups had become more likely after the executions. Muhammad Osman Farruk, a BNP leader, called the increase in violence “ominous”. “This has further heightened the need for the government of the day to rise above all partisan and sectarian considerations and reach out to all sections of the people to forge national unity and reconciliation,” Farruk said.

court. “In the light of JIT report, NAB has decided to prepare more cases of corruption against him,” sources maintained. “If NAB fails to gather a record of corruption against him in coming days to get his physical remand from accountability court, then he will be released,” the sources added. Talking to Pakistan Today, Sindh NAB spokesperson Qudsiya Qadri said that Hussain was scheduled to appear before an accountability court for physical remand on November 24 (Tuesday), but it wasn’t possible, and he cannot be produced before a NAB court on November 25 (Wednesday) as well. When she was asked about the reason behind this delay, she said that she doesn’t know much in this regard. When she was asked about reports of more case against Dr Asim by NAB, she said that she will not comment on this issue. Talking to Pakistan Today, Sindh Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Secretary General Senator Taj Haider said that some forces are trying to implicate Dr Asim Hussain in baseless cases. “If the JIT fails to bring evidences against Dr Asim Hussain, then he should be released,” he added.

Indian commandos kill three militants in IHK army base gunbattle SRINAGAR: Indian army commandos killed three militants holed up in an officers’ mess and another person was shot dead during a six-hour gunbattle at an army base in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) on Wednesday, a senior army officer said. The gunmen cut a perimeter fence and penetrated the battalion headquarters in Tangdhar in northern Kashmir. “It seems to be a well planned attack,” said the army officer, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorised to speak on the record. Bodies of the three gunmen and of one unidentified individual, believed to have worked on the base, were recovered, the officer added. He said the attackers armed with AK-47s had taken up positions in the officers’ mess and blown up a kerosene tank, wounding one person. The gunmen entered the army camp at around 6am and the firing started about an hour later, the officer said. An officer speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to reporters earlier said an army soldier had been injured in the fighting. He said the militants had used grenades and gunfire to attack the camp. The Indian Express website reported that one Indian army officer and a civilian were killed in the operation. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by the UNmonitored de facto border of LoC but is claimed in full by both the countries. Since 1989 fighting between about a dozen rebel groups, seeking independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan, and Indian forces has left tens of thousands dead, most of them civilians. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the fighting and in a subsequent Indian military crackdown. AGENCIES

Three policemen injured in Quetta blast QUETTA: At least three policemen were injured in a bomb blast targeting a police vehicle in Qambrani Road area on Wednesday. Miscreants targeted a police mobile vehicle which was on routine patrol through a remote-controlled bomb, police sources said. The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was planted on roadside and detonated when the police vehicle passed by, they said. The blast shook the entire area and wounded at least three police personnel. The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital Quetta for treatment. The blast also smashed glasses of nearby shops and houses in the area. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.Qambrani road is considered to be one of the sensitive areas of Quetta. Militants in the past have targeted security forces and civilians in the area. STAFF REPORT

FOREIGN NEWS 05

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

Turkey gave no warning, says downed russian piloT Obama oﬀers conditional support to Russian actions in Syria

Russia bombards Syrian rebels near site of downed Russian jet YALADAGI AGENCIES

The surviving pilot of a Russian plane shot down by Turkey on the Syrian border has said no warning was given. Capt Konstantin Murakhtin told Russian television there was “no way” the jet could have violated Turkish airspace, as Turkey said it did. Russia said Capt Murakhtin was rescued in a 12-hour operation involving special forces. Turkey insists the pilots were warned 10 times before the plane was shot down. It is not clear what happened to the body of his co-pilot, who was killed by gunfire as he parachuted from the burning plane. Capt Murakhtin was speaking from the Hmeymim airbase, where Russia’s aircraft have been based in its Syrian campaign, and where he was taken after being rescued. Meanwhile, Russian forces launched a heavy bombardment

Missing Iran diplomat found dead in Saudi Arabia TEHRAN AGENCIES

The body of a senior Iranian diplomat missing since the Haj stampede in Saudi Arabia in September has been identified, Iranian media said on Wednesday, quashing speculation he was kidnapped. The corpse of Iran’s former ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, 49, was identified through DNA tests, the ISNA news agency reported citing reliable sources. Iranian media did not give details of how and when he died. “My brothers travelled to Saudi Arabia and after seeing his body announced they have identified him,” the former diplomat’s brother, Morteza, was quoted by the state television website as saying. Roknabadi’s body will be repatriated on Thursday, he added. He was attending this year’s Haj when the stampede broke out. More than 2,200 people, including 464 Iranians, were killed, according to tallies given by foreign officials, in what was the deadliest disaster in the pilgrimage’s history by far. Until last year, Roknabadi was Tehran’s envoy to Beirut, a highly sensitive post. The stampede created strong tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Many Iranian officials had said Roknabadi was still alive and asked Saudi Arabia to send him home. “Our intelligence indicates that he is still alive, and we ask Saudi Arabia to return him alive,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in November.

Afghan forces launch bid to rescue 18 captured by Taliban KABUL

against insurgent-held areas in Syria’s Latakia province on Wednesday, near where a Russian warplane had been shot down by Turkey the day before, rebels and a monitoring group said. At least 12 air strikes hit Latakia’s northern countryside as pro-government forces clashed with fighters from al Qaeda’s Nusra Front and Turkmen insurgents in the Jabal Akrad and Jabal Turkman

WASHINGTON: After a meeting with French President Francois Hollande at the White House on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama said he could work with Russia in Syria to combat the militant Islamic State (IS) group. But to get US support for its operations, Moscow needs to shift its focus to wiping out IS instead of helping the Syrian government stay in power, he added. President Obama also declared that the United States and France “stand united” in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. He acknowledged that after the attacks earlier this month, there were fears that this could be replicated in the US and vowed to keep his nation safe. “What happened in Paris is truly horrific. I understand that people are worried that something similar could happen here,” Obama said. “Even as we are vigilant we cannot and will not succumb to fear... We cannot give them the victory of changing

areas, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A Turkmen commander said missiles fired from Russian warships in the Mediterranean were also hitting the area, as well as heavy artillery shelling. Hassan Haj Ali, the head of Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, a rebel group operating in western Syria, also said there were fierce battles in the area, with Russian aircraft supporting pro-government forces.

Brussels schools, metro reopen under tight security

2015 set to be hottest on record, 2016 even hotter due to El Niño: UN GENEVA AGENCIES

BRUSSELS AGENCIES

Schools and much of the Brussels metro system reopened on Wednesday as the Belgian capital started to return to normal after four days of lockdown, but troops on the street were a reminder it remains on the highest alert. With police still hunting a local man who is a prime suspect in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, along with up to 10 others authorities fear could be planning further violence, the government only plans to review the alert status next week. The city’s schools were protected by 300 additional officers, some of whom were standing guard outside school gates as parents

dropped their children off. Around half the city’s metro stations were open, notably in the center, with some 200 soldiers assigned to protect them. Commercial and public life came almost to a halt over the weekend. Salah Abdeslam, 26, is on the run, suspected of being the eighth person Islamic State said took part in the attacks on Paris that killed 130 people. The Belgian government says he may be armed and dangerous and could be plotting further attacks. More than two dozen people have been detained in Brussels since Nov. 13, though all have been released except five. They have been charged with terrorist offences, including three who drove Abdeslam

in their cars after the attacks in Paris. Concerts and sporting events have been canceled but the weekend’s Davis Cup tennis final between Belgium and Britain is due to go ahead as planned in Ghent, west of the capital. In nearby Bruges, however, the mayor ordered that Thursday’s Europa League soccer match between Club Bruges and the Italian side Napoli should be held in an empty stadium because police were too tied up on other duties to provide crowd control. Concerns about how long the problems may last were also evident. A large New Year’s party at an exhibition center in Brussels has been canceled, the event’s organizers said.

AGENCIES

Afghan security forces have launched an operation on Wednesday to rescue 18 people who Taliban insurgents captured after their helicopter made an emergency landing in territory under militant control, the Ministry of Defence said. The MI-17 helicopter owned by a private foreign company made an emergency landing in the northern province of Faryab on Tuesday after it developed a technical problem, it said. “The insurgents then attacked and as a result two soldiers and one member of the crew were killed ... 18 people were captured,” the ministry said in a statement. “Security forces have started a clearance operation to free the captives.” The Taliban, fighting to expel foreign forces and bring down the United States (US)-backed government, have made gains over the past year outside their southern and eastern heartlands and into northern areas including Faryab. The ministry did not identify the captives or say if they were soldiers or civilians, or if any foreigners were among them.

how we go about our lives.” In France’s fight against terrorists, “we stand by our friends in good times and bad, no matter what,” Obama said. The IS posed a “serious threat to all of us,” he declared. “It cannot be tolerated. It must be destroyed. And we must do it together.” President Hollande arrived in Washington earlier on Tuesday as part of a world-wide tour to generate support for France’s war against extremists. He expects the United States to play a major role in this war. But Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane has created problems for both France and the United States. France wants the United States to support Russia’s military actions in Syria, but a conflict with Turkey would make it difficult for Washington to support Moscow. Turkey is a Nato member, like the US and France, and the agreement requires both to support Turkey against Russia. AGENCIES

This year is set to be the hottest on record and 2016 could be even hotter due to the current El Niño weather pattern, the UN weather agency said on Wednesday. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said global average surface temperatures in 2015 were likely to reach what it called the “symbolic and significant milestone” of 1° Celsius above the preindustrial era. “This is due to a combination of a strong El Niño and human-induced global warming,” the WMO said in a statement. Next week world leaders will gather in Paris to discuss plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions and prevent world temperatures rising beyond 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The El Nino weather pattern, marked by warming seasurface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, causes extremes such as scorching weather and flooding. Meteorologists expect El Nino to peak between October and January and to be one of the strongest on record. A preliminary estimate based on data from January to October showed that the global average surface temperature for 2015 was around 0.73 °C above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0°C, and approximately 1°C above the pre-industrial 1880-1899 period, the WMO said. “This is all bad news for the planet,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in a statement. The years 20112015 have also been the hottest five year period on record, with temperatures about 0.57 °C (1.01 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 reference period. Global ocean temperatures were unprecedented during the period, and several land areas — including the continental United States, Australia, Europe, South America and Russia — broke previous temperature records by large margins.

Russia says won’t go to war CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01 Russia’s top diplomat said Wednesday the country was not planning on hosting any Turkish officials nor contemplating making any official visits to Turkey. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also said his country does not wish to escalate tensions with Russia over the downing of the plane. Speaking at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation economy meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey favors “peace, dialogue and diplomacy.” Erdogan however defended his country’s move to shoot down the plane saying “no one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the vi-

olation of its rights.” Turkey changed its rules of engagement a few years ago after Syria shot down a Turkish plane. According to the new rules, Turkey said it would consider all “elements” approaching from Syria an enemy threat and would act accordingly. Russia backs Hollande’s call to close Syria-Turkey border: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday backed a proposal by French leader Francois Hollande to close off the Syria-Turkey border to prevent the flow of fighters crossing the frontier. “I think this is a good proposal and that tomorrow President Hollande will talk to us in greater detail about it. We would be ready to seriously consider the necessary measures for this,” Lavrov

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told journalists ahead of Hollande’s visit to Moscow Thursday. Second pilot of downed warplane rescued: Russian and Syrian special forces have freed the second pilot of a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey and he is now at a Russian air base in Syria, the Russian defence minister said on Wednesday. “The operation ended successfully. The second pilot has been brought to our base. He is alive and well,” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said. President Vladimir Putin later confirmed the second pilot was rescued and “he and the other participants including in the rescue operation will be awarded state honours.“ “The plane’s other pilot who died as he was fired at from the ground will posthumously be given Russia’s highest

award for valour, the Hero of Russia medal,” Putin said. Putin was speaking in televised comments on Wednesday after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian news agencies that the man was rescued in a 12-hour operation which ended in the early hours on Wednesday and is now “safe and sound” at Russia’s air base in the government-controlled area in Syria. Shoigu also said that Russia is sending its most hi-tech air defence system to its air base in Syria to help bolster its firepower over the war-torn country after the downing of its jet. “The S-400 anti-aircraft missile system will be deployed to the Hmeimim airbase,” Shoigu was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

06 ISLAMABAD

WEATHER UPDATES THURSDAY

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Punjab CM takes notice of minor’s torture by teacher RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday took notice of teacher torturing a six-year-old student. The incident took place in a local school when an implacable teacher brutally beat up a schoolgirl, Moneeba, with a stick that had a nail on it. She severely wounded the child’s hand. The teacher assaulted the student for not learning her lesson. CM Punjab strongly condemned the act and summoned a report from the Rawalpindi Commissioner as early as possible. He said that education with physical or mental torture is deplorable and needs to be addressed. Separately, in Jhang’s Chatta Baksha area, a strange punishment was witnessed in a school when nearly 200 children’s heads were shaved for not revising their lecture. The teacher also kept all the students outside the class as part of the punishment. The students staged a protest inside the school and urged the authorities to take stern action against the teacher. Meanwhile, the Executive District officer (EDo) Education Zahid Naseem showed ignorance towards the incident.

Missing University oﬃcial found dead MARDAN STAFF REPORT

The body of the Abdul Wali Khan University finance director, who was reported missing on Tuesday evening, was found in the Sheikh Maltoon area on Wednesday. According to police, they received information about the bullet-riddled body in Sheikh Maltoon Town. They reached the spot and took the body in their custody. The dead body later was identified to be that of Muhammad Tariq, finance director of Abdul Wali Khan University. The police started an investigation and launched a search operation in the area for the murderers.

Security arrangements reviewed for LG elections ISLAMABAD APP

Senior Superintendent of Police (operations) Sajid Kiani on Tuesday reviewed the security arrangements for the first ever local government elections in the Capital to ensure complete implementation of the code of ethics of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The meeting was attended by SP Industrial Area Yasir Afridi, returning officer, deputy returning officer, DSPs Industrial Area and Shamas Colony and other police officials. SSP (operations) Sajid Kiani gave directives to the police officers as how to ensure effective security on the occasion. He said there will be a complete ban on the display of weapons on the eve of the local government elections. He directed all police officials to conduct a security survey in their respective areas and submit a report about sensitive polling stations so that extra security may be deployed there. He directed to enhance patrolling during the canvassing campaign by the candidates to avoid any untoward incident.

Rs59m approved for construction of libraries in major parks RAWALPINDI ONLINE

Funds amounting to Rs 59 million have been approved for purchasing books and setting up libraries in major parks in the region. A source in the Rawalpindi Commissioner office said that the Punjab government has decided to set up libraries for the youth and children in parks besides providing recreational facilities. According to the source, initially Rs 29.690 million has been allocated for construction of libraries in Rawalpindi parks and Rs 25.500 million for district Attock parks. The source added that work on the project will start in the next month.

PESHAWAR: A worker prepares quilts at Shah Qabool Aulia as winter sets in. online

SpeakerS pay glowing tributeS to architectS of Sino-pak bond ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

oTABLES including the Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong paid glowing tributes to the founders and architects of Sino-Pak evergreen friendship that has brought incredible benefits to the people of the two countries. Speaking at the launching ceremony of a rare book ‘You and Us’ compiled by ex-Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Lu Shulin on Wednesday, recalled the paintaking efforts of elders including exdiplomats that have turned the friendship into most solid and unique one and has put it on strong footing. The book unfolds in-depth and historical perspective of the two countries’ relationship that rooted in the hearts of their people. The book contains stories written by veteran diplomats and celebrities who have long been engaged in friendship and exchanges between the two countries. The speakers termed the book as ‘Labour of love on the part of Chinese diplomat. It carries memories of those leaders and diplomats who played their leading role in developing

the friendship as an iron-brotherhood. They also referred to the China-Pakistan economic corridor, which they said, is also outcome of decades’ old struggle of their elders. A delegation of former Chinese ambassadors to Pakistan also attended the book-launching ceremony that was arranged by the Chinese embassy in collaboration with Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies. Those who also praised high Lu Shulin for compiling book included Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Institute’s Director Amir Rana, former foreign secretary Inamul Haq, ex-Chinese ambassador Zhou Gong and foreign affairs’ expert Dr. Riffat Hussain. Appreciating the book, Ahsan Iqbal said it is most fascinating one, which covers various aspects of friendship narrating personal experiences. He hoped CPEC would further cement their relationship for their mutual benefit. This mega project has translated their relationship in the community of shared destiny. Now, the two countries are moving towards geo-economic partnership to improve the living conditions of their people, he added. Ambassador Sun Weidong in his remarks said that stories contained in the book reflects the true feelings of the friendship and illu-

minates the future of their growing strategic partnership. He said he deeply sensed how the friendship between the two countries has been rooted in the hearts of the two peoples and flows in their veins, becoming a precious spiritual treasure of most people. The Sino-Pak friendship, he said has won universal praise and enjoys popular public support from both sides.

PTI govt wants potable water for all of KP PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has evolved a strategy under which potable water will be provided at affordable prices to people throughout the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, within the next ten years. In this respect, a high level meeting of Public Health Engineering Department was held at Civil Secretariat, Peshawar, on Wednesday. The meeting chaired by Shah Farman, Minister for Public Health Engineering KP discussed in detail ways and means to implement the strategy. It was the second consecutive meeting of its kind, which was also attended by Secretary Public Health Engineering,

XENs, Chief Engineers, and Superintending Engineers from all over the province. Shah Farman said that predominant source of drinking water in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was ground water, however, due to persistent withdrawal and dwindling re-charge process, the ground water is depleting rapidly at many places. It is high time to realise the situation and invest in future, he added. The minister maintained that the PTI government believed in investing in human development in order to restore human dignity. He opined that the provision of potable water strategy concentrated on extending water services to the rural population and as per available data 21 per cent of rural areas still lacked access to improved

source of water. While more than, 90 per cent of the urban population has access to potable water. The provincial cabinet, he added, has already approved the Drinking Water Policy 2015 in its meeting in August, under which potable water has been recognised as a basic human right and now it was the responsibility of the PHE department to ensure its implementation. He said that the department has already been directed to provide detail lists of potable water schemes by December 3. He said that he will personally inspect each and every drinking water facility throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ensure that these are fully functional in minimum possible time.

He said the book is gift of the year, which he hoped would enhance mutual understanding and cooperation at people-to-people level. Sun Weidong referred to CPEC and said he was looking a promising future of their relationship. He praised the role of youth who he said equally cherish it, showing immense zeal and warmness in its further development.

Muzaﬀarabad residents threaten protest against prolonged outages MUZAFFARABAD: People in Muzaffarabad have announced that they will stage protest demonstrations against long power outages that have spanned up to 18 hours in the recent weeks The residents of Upper and Lowe Plate, Chela Bandi, Sama Bandi and other areas said that the AJK Electric Department and WAPDA have resorted to prolonging power cuts, which have left them without electricity for several hours, badly affecting their routine life. They threatened to stage protest rallies if their share of electricity was not restored, as according to them, they have the first right on electricity being generated in the area before it was supplied to other areas of Pakistan. ONLINE

ISLAMABAD 07

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

CDA to operate feeder buses for Metro routes

RAWALPINDI: A fishmonger gestures to a customer at his stall. online

ISLAMABAD ONLINE

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) plans to operate feeder buses for the Metro routes to augment the overall traffic facilities in the Capital City within four months. According to press release issued by CDA, the authority is in the advanced stages of planning to run 22 buses covering major routes and areas of the Capital City to facilitate the residents. on the designated routes, a bus will operate after 30 minutes. The process for selection of the bus operators is likely to be commenced in December and it is expected that the feeder routes would be operational within four month time. The initial estimate for operation and maintenance of the feeder fuses is Rs 200 to Rs 250 million per annum. It is expected that the buses would not only facilitate the commuters embarking the Metro Bus Service but also the general public. The Authority has planned four routes for this purpose. The first route will commence from Bhara Khu upto Marghzar Zoo covering Dhokri, Aabpara, Federal Government Services Hospital (Policlinic) and F-6 Sector. The second route would run from Rawat to Faisal Mosque. Third route will commence from Tarnol upto Fatima Jinnah (F-9) Park / Ibn-e-Seena road metro station and would cover Sector G-13 and in between areas of G and F Series Sectors including Markaz G-9 (Karachi Company). The fourth route will operate up to I. J Principal road metro station commencing from Railway Carriage Factory.

PM directs to place CDA under administrative control of CADD

‘Media folk need better training, Safety’ ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has given directions to place Capital Development Authority (CDA) under the administrative control of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD). Presently, it is under the administrative control of Cabinet Division.

Speakers on Wednesday stressed for developing in-house training facilities for media persons and a mechanism for safety of journalists to enable them to provide accurate information to public. It was the prime responsibility of media house as well as the government to develop a mechanism for training media persons, their safety and pay them reasonable salaries to ensure better standard of reporting, they said while speaking at the 4th National Media Conference organised by Individualland Pakistan in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FnF) discussed some of the most vital contemporary issues that the Pakistani media is facing presently. The event was attended by senior journalists and members of civil society organization from across Pakistan. Speakers also said that senior journalists and editors need to educate their juniors about journalist’s ethics and norms. Senior journalist and Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami said that electronic media is showing what the public wants to see. “our public is more interested in celebrity divorces so channels have to comply,” he said. He said that there is a dire need of workable of code of conducts for journalists and effective training of journalists. Participants said that there is a need

Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami and senior journalist Rashad Rehman at the national media conference on Wednesday.

for an effective code of conduct for journalists with the consultation of stockholders. The government wants to implement a selective code of conduct, which is not acceptable to media houses and affects the quality of journalism, they said. There is a disconnect between media owners, editors, bureau chiefs and the working journalists. And it not only affects the quality of reporting but also the state of journalism in Pakistan, according to Muhammad Ziauddin, a senior journalist. He said that senior journalists need to train their juniors and media houses need

to play their due role to develop media ethics. Since the inception of Pakistan, no government has made any efforts to evolve media ethics. Individualland Executive Director, Gulmina Bilal Ahmad, said, “Media houses have to invest in their staff for training and give protection to them, instead of NGos. The responsibility lies with the owners but unfortunately they do not comply so NGos have to step in.” Digital Rights Foundation Executive Head, Nighat Dad, was of the view that “Social media is an effective tool for media groups and should be welcomed by every practitioner.”

She further highlighted that, “The implementation of Cyber Crime Bill by the state is limiting space for citizen journalists.” Individualland also awarded the Shaheed Irshad Mastoi Conflict Journalism Award to four journalists for balanced conflict sensitive reporting. The four journalists hailing from Baluchistan and KP were awarded shields and a cash award of Rs 50,000 each. Presidents of the Press Clubs of 18 districts of Pakistan are participating in the two-day media conference and they appreciated the establishment of the award.

ANF recovers heavy drugs in operations; 9 taken into custody RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

ANF in its drive against drug smuggling recovered eight kg of Heroin, 13.5 kg of Hashish and three kg of opium in eight different operations carried out across the country. The operations also resulted in the arrest of nine persons involved in drug trafficking and seizure of three vehicles being used for trafficking of drugs. According to details, ANF Rawalpindi Airport Team during routine surveillance at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, detained a passenger identified as Naseer Naveed hailing from Karachi, and recovered 400 Gram Heroin con-

cealed in his shoes. The accused intended to take off for Uganda via Doha by Qatar Airline Flight No. QR633. ANF Rawalpindi in another operation, held two drug traffickers identified as Muhammad Shahid and Muhammad Ehsan residents of Kohat at Mandi More Bus Stop, IJP Road, Islamabad along with recovery of 2 Kg Heroin and 2 Kg Hashish. Drugs were contained in their luggage. As per initial information, they came from KP to deliver drugs to some local peddlers residing at Rawalpindi and Islamabad. ANF Rawalpindi also recovered 1 Kg Heroin, 1 Kg Hashish and 3 Kg opium from personal possession of an accused identified as Khadim Hussain

resident of Khushab, who was held from Pirwadhai Bus Stand, Rawalpindi. According to preliminary information, the accused was on his way to Khushab for delivery of drugs. Drugs were contained in his luggage. ANF Rawalpindi yet in one more operation, recovered 1 Kg Heroin from Suzuki Cultus Car Registered No. LBA-5837 intercepted at Iqbal Shaheed Toll Plaza, GT Road Attock. A person named Sheraz Iqbal resident of Sawabi was also taken into custody during the operation. According to information, the accused was proceeding to Rawalpindi for delivery of drug to some local drug peddler. ANF Peshawar on pursuance of an information captured a Suzuki Mehran

Car Registered No. LHo-0025 near Malik Taj Market, Karkhana Jamrud Road Peshawar and recovered 3 Kg Heroin from the car. Heroin was concealed inside the front doors of the car. An accused on board was also held. ANF Peshawar in another operation stopped a Suzuki Van bearing registration no. ICE-7555-ICT near Main Motorway Toll Plaza, Peshawar. During search of the vehicle, 8.4 Kg Hashish was recovered from the improvised cavities of the vehicle. Two persons on board, namely Abdul Majeed resident of Qasoor and Muhammad Wahab Shafique resident of Lahore were also taken into custody, who were reportedly, on their way to Lahore for delivery of drug.

08 COMMENT

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

Crumbling credibility

PTI’s roller-coaster politics Is the party finally growing up?

Why there is no democratic civilian ascendancy

TI’s decision to form a parliamentary alliance with the PPP is a new turn in Imran Khan’s rollercoaster politics. Only months ago the party was tarring the PML-N and the PPP with the same brush. It would have been particularly humiliating for the PTI’s parliamentary group to approach the Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah who had been accused by Imran Khan of indulging in corruption. This would be the second comedown on the part of the PTI after its earlier decision to withdraw the resignations of its legislators and return to the Parliament and Punjab and Sindh Assemblies whose legitimacy it had challenged. The move comes along with a number of setbacks for the party, the latest being the rejection by the Election Tribunal of a petition by Party’s candidate in NA-118 Hamid Zaman challenging the victory of PMLN’s Riaz Malik on charges of rigging and manipulating the elections results. The move indicates the PTI has finally come to terms with the ground reality and is willing to work within the system for the rest of the National Assembly’s current life. One would welcome the realisation provided this is not a temporary shift. With the PML-N enjoying numerical superiority in National Assembly, no opposition group can play a meaningful role in the House on its own. What is more, it cannot force the government to rectify its course whenever found to have gone off the track. To be able to develop better working relations with other parties the PTI has to learn to speak parliamentary language. It needs to build bridges with those who disagree with it instead of finding motives behind their stand and maligning them. Again, instead of insisting on the fulfillment of its inflexible demands, it has to learn to negotiate and bargain. The PTI has a number of talented legislators in its fold who can provide vital inputs in the formulation of policies. Their talent should not be wasted in costly and fruitless sit-ins.

Economic breakdown Clear signs

HE Saudis helped prop up the rupee when it was needed and falling Brent helped get a handle on inflation at just the right time, but in the absence of a clear policy posture there was only one way the economy could go in the medium- to long-term – down. And that is pretty much what is happening. Almost half way through the present cycle, the government is clueless about jacking up revenue – something it had promised, repeatedly, during the campaign – to the point that the economy is beginning to tank just when IMF wants an aggressive non-traditional tax regime implemented immediately. The record-low interest rate for a record-long period hasn’t helped either. It’s not bad enough that the government is obsessed with borrowing a large chuck of the available cheap money. It is that the cost of doing business is still abnormally high, despite the expansionary monetary policy. According to the state bank, private sector credit offtake has, in fact, declined to alarming levels in the last eight to 10 months. The odd sector that showed signs of life, like transport, owed the activity to the upcoming CPEC boom. And with prices beginning to show signs of an imminent upward march, the interest rate will have to be revised upward sooner rather than later. So the private sector led growth is simply not going to materialise. That is not all. Recently exporters have also put the blame at the government’s door, citing ‘uneven playing field, regulatory measures, complex systems and procedures,’ and what not. But aren’t these just the problems that the government’s so called trade reforms were supposed to iron out? Now those reforms, just like revenue and electricity, seem to have been permanently placed under the dishonoured promises list. The government, meantime, continues with its mega projects frenzy, unaware of the economic breakdown just around the corner. At the risk of repetition: revenue is chronically low, so is growth, which is why deficit and unemployment will rise. The government should do something about it before it starts affecting its chances in the next election.

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Senate which Dawn reported as: “PPP’s Farhatullah Babar said that Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif had ordered troops to move to affected areas and carry out rescue work without waiting for the government’s directives. “It was a good move, but its implications should be looked into,” he said. The PPP Senator regretted that information about losses had come from the ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) instead of civilian department and it showed “incompetence” of the government.” While any efforts undertaken for the earthquake victims from any quarters of the state were both crucial and commendable, it is important to explore the political implications they also happened to contain. One of the clearest political implications of the army having given the first call for action in aiding the earthquake victims was the contrasting impression of the civilian government’s indifference resulting from its momentary inaction. Critical instances like these feed into the popular belief in the Pakistan Army’s unparalleled integrity and commitment to the people, inspiring tremendous trust in the military as an institution. This belief is frequently revealed in surveys and polls. The most recent of these was conducted by PILDAT, and while it revealed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to be the most popular political leader in Pakistan, it spelt the age-old result for the army which corresponds to its image among the people as the most trustworthy institution in the country. However, this division of trust and popularity is striking since it can be mapped onto the larger landscape of power and politics in Pakistan. The separation of popularity and trust is a key feature of the existing system in the country, where a civilian setup of a democratically and popularly elected government rules but often lacks the trust of the population. In case of natural disasters,

Hafsa KHawaja

th November marks a month since the recent natural disaster struck Pakistan. With a staggering magnitude of 7.5 the earthquake ripped through the northern areas with unparalleled ferocity leaving hundreds dead and thousands of lives shattered. According to the BBC, government officials have stated that ‘at least 10,000 homes were destroyed’. And it was the issue of the civilian institutions’ response to the devastation that the Senate recently picked up to criticise the government. The army’s influence in Pakistan is one that is entrenched and patent but despite this being rooted in a long history which has rendered the dominance indelible on the country’s political, social and economic domains, there still remain fronts on which the civilian government happens to give way to the military to spurt ahead, boost and bolster its existing power. One of these fronts is the response to natural disasters.Within a short span of the recent earthquake’s occurrence, General Raheel Shareef immediately ordered the mobilisation of army personnel and resources for relief efforts. This incidence did not escape the recent debate in the

Defeat at UNHRC What led to Pakistan’s exclusion? or was it lagging somewhere? May be not enough of lobbying was done before the elections to gather the sufficient support. Who among the member states decided to withdraw their support for Pakistan and left it in a lurch? All of these speculations need to be scrutinised in order to not only find the reasons but to learn from them to avoid the mistakes in the future. However, it is quite difficult to disentangle the knots and reveal what and who among these is the real culprit since the whole procedure of casting the votes is done through secret balloting. Nonetheless the repercussions are manifold. Pakistan is dealing not just with a diplomatic failure but a psychological shock as well. The humiliation has caused Pakistan to lose confidence in international community where Pakistan despite holding the seat for three terms is suddenly not seen eligible for the membership by the majority. It also points to the decline in the international prestige. Most of all Pakistan fears that its voice on the issues related to human rights violation in Kashmir done by India, might not be given due hearing at the international forum. This might weaken Pakistan’s case against India on the Kashmir issue. Looking at the possible reasons, one commonly being quoted is that the defeat is the result of Saudi Arabia’s estrangement in the backdrop of Pakistan’s neutral stance over the Yemen conflict. Although it might

s sadia Kazmi

HE defeat in the reelections of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is being viewed as a humiliating failure of Pakistan. However one should try to decipher as to what went wrong. Is it actually a diplomatic failure or is there something more to the whole episode? The fact that Pakistan had been successfully holding the membership for past three terms and was considering running for the council’s presidency, signifies that Pakistani representatives were riding high on the confidence quotient. Why, then, despite this confidence, Pakistan ended up losing the seat? Couldn’t it foresee the possibility of losing or was it just simply unimaginable for Pakistan? Was it being overconfident

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this distrust is most evident when it comes to peoples’ willingness to donate to funds for the victims; most are more willing to donate if the material and monetary donations are to be channeled through the army rather than the government. Although this lack of faith and trust in civilian governments greatly owes itself to the failures and corruptions of previous governments, it has also been sown through decades of dictatorship and their accompanying discourses which were used to justify and legitimate their existence by demonising civilian rule and institutions. Nonetheless, attention must be called to the fact that the pace and degree of response and action, especially in testing cases such as those of disasters, are battlegrounds where governments’ trust is lost and gained. It is imperative for the government to realise the indispensable importance of time in framing its response, performance and action in all areas of national affairs, let alone natural calamities. It is here that the army takes the lead due to government’s inertia and delay thereby inevitably succeeding in being posited as an institution more responsive, hence closer to the public and their problems. The government’s delayed response undermines its own credibility which is otherwise pivotal in challenging moments like these during which support can be pocketed by elements inimical to peace in Pakistan. It is no secret that crises of devastation, displacement and dislocation, compounded by the Pakistani governments’ conventionally slow and sluggish response, are often fertile grounds for non-state actors, militant and extremist groups to flourish in by activating their networks to function as relief groups within affected people while there remains a vacuum of proper government presence and assistance. Another aspect to note relates to the nature of responses. While the

sound logical but one also has to keep in mind that GCC states have always had a give and take relationship with Pakistan. Indeed they have been a major block supporting Pakistan on various regional and international issues but simultaneously Pakistan had been returning the favour by committing to their interests more than it possibly could. Pakistan sent thousands of soldiers to safeguard KSA in 1980s. Similarly KSA extended huge financial help for Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Hence a single incident of Yemen conflict cannot possibly damage the long history of trust and partnership between the two. In fact there is no concrete evidence that the relationship has fallen victim to the Yemen Conflict. However, if one buys the argument that there came a cool patch in the relationship as being dubbed by the Saudi media, then there is some lesson for Pakistan to learn from this. Pakistan needs to work towards mending the relations but not at the expense of its own national security interests. Pakistan should try to convince the Saudi counterparts about the genuine inability to spare forces as they are already engaged in FATA, as well as along the border of Afghanistan, and in war against terrorism. It is also said that Pakistan is being targeted for legalising the hangings of convicted criminals, which didn’t sit well with the proponents of human rights. In this context, again, two main points are needed to be kept in mind. One, executions are not prohibited under any law, they are only largely discouraged. Otherwise, membership of states like KSA should have been revoked long time ago for the record number of executions which

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PM announced a relief package for the affected people and ordered the establishment of several mechanisms to ensure its effective deliverance to the people, including a crisis cell for coordination between federal, civil, military and provincial agencies, these are still short-term measures. Cash compensations do not adequately, if at all, contribute to the long-term rehabilitation of affectees which is urgently required in the case of tragedies on the scale of the recent earthquake. In a country plagued by a deep institutional power imbalance, civilian governments cannot and must not falter and flounder in responding to issues, affairs and crises, creating voids, even if temporary, for other institutions and groups to fill in and fragment its credibility and authority that are both detrimental to the health of the state and dent its potential for a truly democratic future. Writing in his 1995 article ‘The Signals Soldiers Pick’, the late Eqbal Ahmad stated that the end of military intervention in politics hinged upon ‘the legitimacy of the civilian system of power [being] established over a period of time’. Undeniably, the legitimacy of the civilian system of power is inextricably tied to its credibility which must be firmly established, constantly guarded and advanced. If a civilian system of power has to be maintained, governments must invest it with the credibility it craves, through their governance and performance, which firmly confers upon it the empowering authority it often lacks. Perhaps the idea that credibility must be constructed and cemented rather than be chipped away is too simplistic a proposition for redressing the power imbalance in Pakistan. Yet it is remains essential to recognise that legitimacy, credibility and authority are intertwined with each other and central to the narrative, if not the reconfiguration itself, of the Pakistani state’s distorted institutional ties. In the sombre shade of this, any sign of government lethargy dashes hopes for democratic civilian ascendancy, or so a military press release would concur. Hafsa Khawaja writes on socio-political affairs at: http://hafsakhawaja.wordpress.com

are continuously on the rise and where punishments like flogging and stoning are considered legal and effective punitive measures. Secondly, despite having a long history of sufferings at the hands of terrorists, Pakistan lifted the moratorium on death penalty only early this year after the devastating attack on a school in Peshawar. Hence the international community needs to realise that Pakistan is not doing anything illegal or unjustified rather it should support Pakistan for taking concrete measures against terrorist elements. Therefore, this very fact cannot and should not by any means be used against Pakistan at forums like Human Rights Council. Also, GCC states only amount to a few countries in a huge pool of 193 member states of the council, out of which Pakistan could hardly get 105 votes. This shows that either Pakistan’s performance on the whole has been deemed unsatisfactory collectively by most of the nations or Pakistan did not do enough lobbying for the elections, an important area that should not have been neglected. Only KSA’s estrangement, if there is any, cannot be taken as a sole reason behind the defeat. Pakistan needs to work on the lobbying dimension too. No one can deny that Pakistan is hosting a large number of refugees, and Pakistan can reclaim its position by highlighting this point more effectively. S Sadia Kazmi is Senior Research Associate at the Strategic Vision Institute Islamabad and also pursuing PhD research work at the National Defence University, Islamabad.

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COMMENT 09

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

Editor’s mail

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

Female entrepreneurship in Pakistan

The changing geopolitical dynamics Pakistan, Russia and Central Asia ganisation (SCO). It has withdrawn its opposition to CASA-1000, a trans-regional project for transmission of electricity from Kyrgtzstan to Pakistan through Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The Russian President Vladimir Putin, during the 10th summit meeting of SCO in Petersburg, also announced to provide $500 million towards the cost of the venture. Observers attribute this change in Russian stance to her reinvented strategy to wean away Turkmenistan from the Trans-Caspian energy ventures. The other reason advanced by some is that Russia might be contemplating to develop a geo-political axis extending from Russia across Central and South Asia to the Middle East as a strategy to maliK muHammad asHraf counter US plan for Greater Middle East or Greater Central Asia. However, in my view, N view of the changed geo-political the other very pertinent factor undoubtedly realities in Central and South Asia, has been the new narrative of the present Pakistan is well poised to become a government in regards to the management catalyst to shared regional prosperity of its international relations with neighin addition to playing a pivotal role in bours and regional countries. Russia also promoting regional peace and security, a phe- supports TAPI, a gas line from Tajikistan to nomenon resulting from the new geographical India via Afghanistan and Pakistan. configuration of Central Asia after dismemIn November 2014 Pakistan and Russia berment of former Soviet Union, emergence signed a bilateral agreement for defence coof China as an economic powerhouse, Pak- operation aimed at strengthening military-toistan’s geographical location and the prag- military relations between the two countries. matic recalibration of our foreign policy based In June 2015 Moscow lifted an embargo on on regional connectivity. The dividends of this the delivery of military weapons and equipnew narrative are already visible. ment to Pakistan and in August 2015 the two China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, countries signed a landmark deal for sale of which is being billed as a game changer not MI-35 Hind E attack helicopters designed for only in the region but also at the global level, attack and military transport missions. Talks is a ranting testimony of the importance and are also underway between the two for the the role that Pakistan can play in bringing eco- delivery of Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets. Paknomic revolution in the region. Pakistan’s pol- istan and Russia have also signed an agreeicy of reaching out to the Central Asian states ment recently for the construction of a gas and revisiting its relations with Russia is well pipeline between Lahore and Karachi by on track with encouraging results which ulti- Russia involving a cost of $2 billion. mately would benefit the entire region through The Russian Minister for Drug Control up-gradation of economic cooperation and en- Services Viktor Ivanov who was here last hanced collaboration to tackle security chal- week to attend 4th session of Pakistan-Russia lenges confronting the region. Intergovernmental Commission on trade, In the emerging scenario in the region economic, scientific and technical cooperaand the chances of reincarnation of a bi-polar tion (IGC) has also made an offer for supply world becoming brighter with the expressed of LNG to Pakistan by Russia and also Russian resolve to re-assert itself at the stressed the need for developing direct shipglobal level, relations between Pakistan and ping and air links between the two countries Russia are extremely important. It is indeed as well as the establishment of banking chanvery encouraging to nels to multiply the binote that the decades lateral trade. During the old mistrust and acriIGC session both sides mony between the two agreed to establish five is giving way to working groups to warmth and bonhomie Pakistan and Russia have oversee the implemenwith both sides trying also signed an agreement tation of the projects to morph them into a agreed between the two recently for the strategic relationship countries. A welcome characterised by exdevelopment during the construction of a gas panded ties in the ecowas the settlepipeline between Lahore session nomic and political ment of 20-year long fields. Russia has supand Karachi by Russia dispute between the ported and helped Pakcountries under involving a cost of $2b two istan in becoming full which Islamabad will member of the Shangpay back to Russia hai Cooperation Oraround $92 million

while the remaining amount will be disbursed among the affected parties. It was also decided to kick start negotiations for Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. The visits to Pakistan by Prime Minister of Belarus and President of Tajikistan and Prime Minister’s visit to Uzbekistan during the current month are also of immense significance in regards to building cooperation and connectivity with these states. During the visit of President of Tajikistan both the countries besides enhancing economic cooperation also agreed on the construction of three highways to connect the countries through land route. The three highways are Gwadar-Peshawar-Kabul-Dunshanbe route, Khunjrab-Kalasu-Murghab route and Chitral-Eskahem-Dushanbe route. The Tajik President also assured Pakistan of its staunch support for the infrastructure projects under the CPEC and completion of CASA-1000. The foregoing developments are likely to have far-reaching impact on the economic profile of the region as well as the security situation, especially fight against terrorism as almost all the countries of Central Asia, and Russia and China have been affected by this scourge. They all want an end to the menace of terrorism by promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan, in which Pakistan decidedly will have to play a pivotal role, an irrefutable reality acknowledged universally. Pakistan’s success against terrorism within its own territory is also linked to peace and stability in Afghanistan and so is its quest for building regional linkages. It has already made earnest efforts in bringing the Taliban and Afghan government on the table, a process that was disrupted due to the revelation of Mullah Omar’s death. However, Pakistan remains steadfast in its resolve to continue its efforts even in the changed circumstances provided its concerns are appropriately addressed and supported by other stakeholders, particularly the US. The recent visits of Prime Minister and COAS to US seem to have created a better understanding of the Pakistani stance on Afghanistan and hopefully the former would take appropriate actions to address those apprehensions to enable Pakistan to facilitate the resumption of the disrupted dialogue. Pakistan’s security and economic interests, arguably, are tied to the overall security environment in the region and economic interdependence among the South Asian and Central Asian states. The government is indeed moving in the right direction in this regard and its efforts are showing positive results. Reconciliation in Afghanistan is imperative for the success of CPEC, connectivity with Central Asian states and the completion of trans-regional projects like TAPI and CASA-1000. Pakistan surely will be the biggest beneficiary of all these initiatives. Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic. He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com

Women constitute 50 percent of the population of Pakistan. Many of them are well educated. Others are pursuing higher education or are interested to do so. In many areas of Pakistan, ladies are not allowed to do jobs even after receiving higher education. As a result, most of them stay at homes either by choice or by force. In the given situation, there should be a way out to let them play a role in the development of the country while fulfilling their domestic duties at the same time. It is suggestible that women should be encouraged to make use of their education in the field of business and entrepreneurship. It is the century of economic development and no nation can achieve economic stability without active participation from the women. The idea of female entrepreneurs is yet a new concept in Pakistan but it is a proven fact that female entrepreneurs are working as a backbone for development of the economy of our nation from the past couple of years. The rapidly growing rate of the female entrepreneurs in Pakistan has drawn the attention of both the developing and academic sectors and has helped Pakistan build a positive image in the rest of the world. There are many inspirational female entrepreneurs who have been serving their country in this way while making us proud and nourishing their interests as well. They can opt for paper crafting, home based boutiques, fabric crafts, free lancing and blogging and other such fields of their interest. UMME AIMEN ABBASI Islamabad

Casting aspersions on patriotic Baloch How can men who have taken an oath to pledge loyalty to another country, encouraged their children to do the same, shifted all their black and white money to their newly adopted countries of residence, after having reaped benefits of holding important portfolios such as allotment of plots etc, dare sit in judgment on Baloch leaders like Late Nawab Akbar Bugti? The late head of Bugti tribe chose to live and die in Pakistan, refusing to seek foreign passports, which he could easily have acquired. This hypocrites assuming unto themselves the role of custodians and giving certificates of patriotism are given more than their due share of air time by electronic media of Pakistan. Can former civil servants and those who gainfully served in the Foreign Service of Pakistan and its uniformed and sensitive services tell us how many other sovereign nations in developed or developing world allow such betrayals? Men with split loyalties should think twice before casting aspersions on the loyalty of men like Akbar Bugti. The problem with such individuals is that they prefer to seek gainful employment, do business, become analysts and aspire for construction contracts within Pakistan, because here they can indulge in tax evasion and other irregularities which they cannot do in their newly adopted countries. As long as Pakistan’s economic policies and issues of national interest are in the hands of men with split loyalties, this country will continue to be insecure for those who consider it their motherland. MALIK TARIQ ALI Lahore

Pope and science The prestigious Science magazine of 2 October, 2015, has an article titled “Talking science and God with the Pope’s new astronomer”. It would surprise many that the Vatican maintains an observatory which employs a dozen astronomers to study asteroids, meteorites extra solar planets, stellar evolution and cosmology. It operates a 1.8 meter telescope in Arizona where the sky is clearer. The director of observatory has a PhD in planetary science. The Vatican supports astronomy become it is an important part of being human. The o1bservatory dates back to Pope Gregory-XIII’s reform of the calendar in the 16th century. It shows that science and religion were not opposed to one another. The Muslims in the past used to operate astronomical observatories but our men of religion have confined their activities to sight the moon on Eids only and are no larger concerned with scientific observations of cosmos while the Muslims were the first to work out the circumference of Earth in times gone by. The tragedy of Muslims lies in separation of religion and science from each other which is the main cause of our decline in the world. A wise saying is posted in the article that goes like: If one thinks that he knows everything in the world, he is not a good scientist and if one thinks that he knows all there is to know about God, his religious faith is at fault. DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

The perverted youth The stories about youth, mostly students living at hostels, keeping heroine are slowly emerging; some of these stories have made it to the news, some have been silenced while most of these activities are still being carried out escaping the outsider’s eyes. Without a doubt, this matter requires substantial consideration and concern. The harmful effects these drugs can inflict on our health are well recorded. Most of the youth indulges itself in such noxious activities to represent a certain lifestyle that personifies a carefree attitude towards life. Since there is no such inspection at off-campus hostels and apartments, these students who are in the springtime of their life, find these locations as a perfect place to hide and hover these drugs fearlessly. Drug consumption and trafficking for years has been very active in Pakistan and has managed to escape the wiretap but the news about educated students also becoming a part of it, is indeed new and alarming. Just like the addiction, it’s spread is persistent; serious surveillance measures have to be taken to stop the escalation of this problem. HASSNAIN QASIM Islamabad

10 BUSINESS

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

NA PAssEs ANTI-MONEy LAUNDERINg BILL UNANIMOUsLy INDUSTRIES EXEMPTED FROM POWER OUTAGES: ABID SHER ALI ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

HE National Assembly on Wednesday passed three government sponsored bills including Anti-Money Laundering Bill 2015 unanimously while the Pakistan Baitul Maal Amendment Bill 2015 was deferred. The opposition members neither opposed the bills nor moved any amendments and the bills were passed unanimously. The anti-money laundering bill is designed to pave the way for an effective policy against money laun-

dering and funding of terrorists. Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the bill during the assembly’s session. Reports regarding illegal transference of funds and their usages will be compiled for the sole purpose of grounding terror networks and curbing growing insurgencies in the world. Meanwhile on strong opposition by the JUI (F) and Jamaat-e-Islami members, the government retreated on the Hilal Food Authority Establishment bill, which will be taken up on Thursday. Members of the two religious parties also demanded that the Hilal Food Authority be authorized to stop the import of Haram food items. They also proposed that two members of the parliament, including an MNA and a Senator be made members of the Hilal Food Authority. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali told the national assembly that industrial sector

CORPORATE CORNER

had been exempted from power outages. Abid Sher Ali told the house during question hour that six hours of load shedding in urban areas and eight hours in rural areas was being carried out under a uniformed policy. However, he said load shedding for longer duration is being carried out in areas of high-loss feeders. To a question, he said the government had reduced electricity tariff by five and half rupees per unit during the last few months. Ali told the House that the government was implementing a five year plan

for up-gradation and improvement of electric transmission network. The minister said that consensus of provinces was required for implementation of timely closure of shops at 8PM, marriage halls at 10PM and restaurants at 11PM He pointed out that the measure would be very beneficial and would help reduce load shedding further. To a question Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif apprised the House that the government is working on micro level, medium level and macro level hydel power projects to overcome energy shortage in the country. Opposition members of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said that at least 1820 hours of outages were being carried out in several areas. To which Asif retaliated and asked the opposition to name those areas. He further said that feeders where huge line losses were reported were witnessing longer power cuts.

No more taxes, traders demands BUSINESS COMMUNITY WARNS AGAINST ANY FURTHER INCREASE IN TAXES ISLAMABAD INP

KARACHI: Bjarke Mikkelsen,Co-CEO Daraz Asia.and Omar Moeen Malik, Head of Strategy and Payments at Easypaisa addresses Easypaisa partners with Daraz.pk for the ‘biggest online sale of the year’ at Talenor Head office on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTO

PESHAWAR: The Bank of Khyber (BOK) Raast Islamic Banking Branch was formally inaugurated on Wednesday at Manki Sharif Distt. Nowsehra by District Nazim Nowshera Liaquat Khattak. Pr

Local business community in a meeting at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) cautioned the government on Wednesday to desist from any move to impose further taxes on existing taxpayers in order to improve revenue collection because such measures would bring additional woes to trade and industry which they said would make life of a common man more difficult besides creating harmful consequences for the economy. ICCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh, Senior Vice President Sheikh Pervez Ahmed and Vice President Sheikh Abdul Waheed said that government was reportedly planning to announce new tax measures to meet the tax targets set for the year 2015-16, however, they stressed that preference should be given to bringing untaxed sectors into the tax net instead of putting more burden on existing taxpayers. They said that if the government was sincere about improving tax revenue collection, it should focus on developing a fair taxation system as the current system was marred with many distortions and was not supportive to the growth of business activities. They said that heavy reliance on withholding taxes was not the right approach as these taxes were putting a lot of pressure, especially on small

ISLAMABAD: Representative of Chinese Xinhua news agency Chen Peng and Independent News Pakistan Chief Editor Asif Salahuddin signing an MoU for news exchange. Pr

Imran Afzal promoted to CEO of J. Walter UBL arranges Rs17b syndicated term facility for NTDCL for Neelum Thompson in Pakistan Jhelum Transmission Line Project KARACHI: J.

KARACHI: Wajahat Husain, President & CEO, United Bank Limited (UBL) and Engineer Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry, Managing Director of National Transmission & Despatch Company Limited (NTDCL) attended a ceremony marking a major milestone towards Facility Effectiveness of the Syndicated Term Finance Facility of PKR 17 billion for the construction of Transmission Line of 270 km for the Neelum – Jhelum Hydro Power Project. This financing arranged by UBL consists of its own participation of PKR 13 Bn and PKR 4 Bn from Bank AL Habib. The ceremony was held at the Head Office of UBL in Karachi. Senior executives of both UBL and NTDCL also attended the ceremony. PRESS RELEASE

Walter Thompson Asia Pacific appointed Imran Afzal CEO of J. Walter Thompson Pakistan, effective November 18. Afzal succeeds Mansoor Karim Sheikh, who has left to pursue other business opportunities after a long career with the agency, including eight years as CEO. Afzal, a J. Walter Thompson Company veteran, joined the agency in 2009 as Regional Director of the Lahore office, and in 2011 was tapped to set up Walter, the company’s second agency brand in Pakistan. Walter grew rapidly under his leadership, producing highly awarded and highly effective, work for its clients. In 2014, Walter brought home Pakistan’s first-ever Asia Pacific Effie for Pepsi. In April, Afzal became Managing Director of J. Walter Thompson’s Lahore agency. PRESS RELEASE

enterprises and were hindering development of the SME sector, which was an engine of growth for the economy. They said the prevailing tax system had also forced the industrial sector to pay disproportionately high taxes as compared to agriculture and services sectors while under a fair tax system, all sectors of the economy would have to pay tax according to their share. They said that FBR was collecting about 60 per cent of its tax revenue from indirect taxes that were regressive in nature as they reduced the disposable income of the common man and affected the growth of business activities as well. They emphasized that the government should focus on direct taxation, which was progressive in nature and would help in improving the overall tax revenue of the country. They said that the government should immediately end all exemptions given to various sectors of the economy as these exemptions were a major source of tax distortions and big hurdle in expanding the tax base. They identified multiple taxation, lack of adequate incentives to file tax returns and trust deficit between tax collectors and taxpayers as other major factors for low tax-toGDP ratio in the country. They called upon the government to address these issues on priority to improve tax revenue collection and put the economy on the path of sustainable economic growth.

Nawaz calls for increasing trade among Muslim countries ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that Pakistan is ready to extend every possible support for the collective benefit of the Muslim World. During a meeting with the secretary general of Muslim World League Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Alturki at PM House, the premier said that Muslim world can actively cooperate in the field of trade and commerce. Nawaz was of the view that the Muslim leadership shall come forward to explore such opportunities to increase trade among them and work together for collective benefit. He also appreciated the Muslim World League’s (MWL) efforts for the welfare of Islamic nations. Abdullah appreciated the prime minister’s vision and ideas for cooperation among Muslim countries. The Muslim World League is an international nongovernmental Islamic organisation based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It was formed following a meeting of 22 prominent Muslim religious figures, in accordance with a resolution adopted during the meeting of the General Islamic Conference. The then Crown Prince Faisal Bin Abdul-Aziz was seen as the founding figure of the organisation. Since its inception, the MWL, according to its claim, has been working on promoting the adherence to a clear teaching of Islam. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the leading contributor member of the Muslim countries funding the Muslim World League. STAFF REPORT

Oil prices down on diplomatic efforts to ease ME tensions SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell in Asia Wednesday as diplomats tried to ease geopolitical tensions sparked by Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border. Prices had surged Tuesday following the incident which analysts warned could further heighten tensions among key powers involved in the Syrian conflict and affect crude supplies from the oil-producing Middle East. The rally was cut short amid a flurry of diplomatic effort to appease a furious Russian President Vladimir Putin who called the shooting a “stab in the back” by “accomplices of terrorists”. UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon called for urgent measures to cool down the heat, saying a “credible and thorough review” of the incident would help clarify what happened and prevent a repeat. The Russian SU-24 attack plane was shot down earlier Tuesday by two Turkish F-16s after it received 10 warnings within a five-minute period, Turkey’s envoy to the United Nations, said, but Moscow insisted the aircraft was inside Syrian territory. At around 0215 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in January was down 11 cents to $42.76 and Brent crude for January was trading seven cents lower at $46.05. AGENCIES

There must be FTA between Pakistan and Korea: envoy KARACHI PPI

Ambassador of Korea Song Jong-Hwan expressed concern over decreasing trade volume between Pakistan and Korea since 2012 and opined that absence of free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries and lack of proper understanding of each other’s markets were the two main possible reasons of this decline. Exchanging views during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), he added that Korean-Pakistan trade after touching the two-way trade volume at 1.6 billion dollars in 2012 has decreased by 27 percent to 1.17 billion dollars in 2014 which was a matter of serious concern and needs urgent attention, considering Pakistan’s potential and Korea’s trade volume of one trillion dollars with the rest of the world. At the KCCI, the Korean ambassador was accompanied by Consul General of Korea Mr Kim Dong-gi, Minister-Counsellor Choi Suyoung, Economic Affairs Officer Na Minhong, Director KOTRA Mr Son Soo

Youn, CEO & President Kyung-In Synthetic Corporation Korea Mr Cho Sung-yong, Director PEXIMP (local agent of KISCO) Mr Muhammad Pervez and Managing Partner PEXIMP Mr Salim Vali Mohammad. KCCI President Younus Muhammad Bashir, Senior Vice President KCCI Zia Ahmed Khan, Former SVPs KCCI Shamim Ahmed Firpo and Muhammad Ibrahim Kasumbi along with KCCI managing committee members were present in the meeting. Referring to Korean prime minister’s visit to Pakistan in mid-April 2014 during which both sides agreed to explore possibilities of FTA between the two countries, he recalled that the federal minister for commerce also visited Korea in July 2015 and during the said visit an agreement for joint feasibility study on FTA was inked between the two research institutes of Korea and Pakistan with mandate to complete this study within a year. The Korean ambassador further underscored the need for business-tobusiness matchmaking and networking which were most essential to capture the real trade potential in two emerging markets.

BUSINESS 11

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

OgRA INCREAsEs UFg TO 7PC, PAssEs Rs 25B TAx ON TO gAs CONsUMERs ISLAMABAD

INP

HE Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has passed on a massive Rs 25 billion in tax on to the legitimate gas consumers by increasing the UFG (unaccounted for gas) volume in the gas tariff by 2.5 per cent to 7 per cent from the existing 4.5 per cent in its determinations about final revenue requirement of gas companies – Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd. (SNGPL) for financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The 2.5 per cent growth in the UFG will expose the end gas consumers to further financial burden of Rs 25 billion and to this effect the consumers will start receiving the inflated bills from January 2016. OGRA finalised the determinations on November 5-6, 2015 about the final revenue requirement (FRR) of SSGC and SNGPL for both financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14 with the decision allowing the gas companies to charge one per cent from the gas consumers for failure in collecting the gas bills in areas where law and order situation has deteriorated.

In addition, the Authority has also allowed the gas utilities to charge 1.5 per cent more from the gas consumers under the head, non-gas consumers. The non-gas consumers are those elements that are using the gas with no meters installed at their businesses or workplaces and the numbers are huge. The determinations do not mention that the UFG has been increased, but at the same time they reveal that the Authority has allowed the gas utilities to increase by one per cent the gas tariff under the head of non-recovery of gas bills because of law and order situation and 1.5 per cent in the tariff in the wake of the gas being stolen by non-gas consumers. When contacted, OGRA Chairman Saeed Ahmad Khan confirmed that the Authority had allowed the gas utilities to charge end consumers for the losses the companies were facing because of deteriorating law and order situation in some areas of Balochistan. Likewise Kark and Kohat in KP are areas where massive gas theft is being reported and are inaccessible because of ongoing military operations against terrorism. He admitted that the Authority had also permitted the gas companies to

charge the end gas consumers for the failure in recovery of bills because of nongas consumers. Khan, however, said he was unable at the time to tell how much losses in terms of percentage the gas companies would charge from the consumers. He insisted that UFG was still at 4.5 per cent and it had not been increased. When asked why OGRA had not placed the said determinations on official website, he said that Authority had sent it to the government for review and after that it would be placed on the official website. Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi responded saying he had not yet seen the determinations with regard to final revenue requirements of gas utilities for 2012-13 and 2013-14 sent by OGRA. However, the minister said that the issue pertaining to losses was now becoming irrelevant as the gas sale volume was being decreased, owing to which the losses volume in percentage had increased. However, the officials at OGRA believed that the regulator had skillfully increased the UFG without naming it by two and half per cent inflicting a loss of Rs 25 billion to the end gas consumers. “The

UFG for 2012-13 has increased from 4.5 per cent to 6.75 per cent and for 2013-14 it swelled to 7.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent.” In November 2014, the government sent a policy to OGRA asking the Authority to accommodate the loss making companies in such a way that the LHC verdict about UFG was not violated and the ongoing accountability case of former OGRA Chairman Tauqir Sadiq is also not affected. In line with the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, the regulator was asked to increase the tariff because of losses the companies were sustaining in the wake of gas theft. The directive accounted for gas theft due to four reasons including bulk retail gas consumption, non-gas consumers, law and order situation and low billing. The officials said that the said four reasons were already accommodated in the 4.5 per cent UFG that had already been allowed. The new increase in UFG by 2.5 per cent (1 per cent because of law and order situation and 1.5 per cent due to non-gas consumers) in the final revenue requirement of both gas companies is illegal as under the OGRA Ordinance, the Authority cannot increase the UFG in final revenue requirement.

However, it can increase the UFG benchmark in the estimated revenue requirement. The said decision will trigger another controversy which may, later on, emerge as a scam. Tauqir Sadiq is already facing the accountability court in a case that involved increasing the UFG to 7 per cent from 5 per cent. Meanwhile, share value of both companies which are virtually on the verge of economic collapse has started showing consistent improvement as if the said information of increasing UFG in the tariff had secretly been leaked to some stakeholders of the gas companies. The shares of SNGPL on November 23 traded at Rs 31.45 and of SSGC at Rs 42. OGRA had earlier set the UFG benchmark at 6 per cent in 2005-06 after hectic consultations with concerned foreign firms and local state owned gas companies with the decision that the said UFG would be reduced to 5 per cent in 2009-10. The UFG benchmark was first deviated from by former OGRA chairman Tauqir Sadiq in 2009-10. Now, it is being breached by OGRA in 2015 in deciding the final revenue requirements of the two gas companies for financial year 2012-13 and 2013-14.

other stakeholders and their joint efforts for scaling up of this financing system in the country. He encouraged participants to join in the efforts for the development of a system to provide physical commodity storage, marketing, and Warehouse Receipt Financing mechanisms in Pakistan. He assured that the State Bank would continue to play an active role in this regard. The event was also addressed by SBP Executive Director Syed Samar Hasnain, FAO Pakistan Deputy Representative Francisco Gamarro, Ware-

house Receipt Financing Voca Consultant UK Expert Krassimir Kiriakov, ACE Global Depository Services Pakistan CEO Fahadullah Khan and Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) Head of Research, Product Development and Risk Hasan Mahmood. Around 130 senior executives of banks, insurance companies, SECP, FAO, PMEX and other stakeholders attended the event which was followed by a two day Training of Trainers (ToT) session for around 50 participants from banks and other stakeholders.

‘Warehouse Receipt Financing can turnaround Pakistan’s agriculture sector’ SBP TO SUPPORT POST HARVEST AGRICULTURAL FINANCE KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

HE State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmad said on Wednesday that Warehouse Receipt Financing was one of the most important initiatives in terms of promoting post harvest agricultural finance in the country.

Addressing leadership workshop on “Warehouse Receipt Financing in Pakistan” organized jointly by SBP and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Karachi, the deputy governor highlighted that in Pakistan, post harvest losses were estimated to be around 25-35 per cent of crops and horticulture irrespective of the fact that a big part of our population remained malnourished. Ahmad said that Pakistan is one of the leading agricultural producing countries in the world. However, shortage of warehousing and storage facilities, lack of standardization, non existence of independent collateral verification, lower access to financing and non-availability of

transaction data has hampered the development of an efficient commodity trading market. This in turn has led to excessive produce wastages, high price volatility, and lower levels of farmers’ access to financing. He termed Warehouse Receipt Financing as an initiative which could turn around the country’s agricultural landscape. The deputy governor informed the participants that SBP had been collaborating with SECP for formulating a regulatory framework for establishing commodity Warehouse Receipt Financing mechanism. He appreciated the role of Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX), banks, insurance companies, FAO, and

PAT of banking sector touches Rs 148 billion for July-Sept 2015 KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The profit after tax (PAT) of the banking sector has touched Rs 148 billion in Jan-September 2015 compared to Rs 163 billion during same period last year. A quarterly performance review of the banking sector released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday said that the return on assets (ROA) before tax has increased to 2.6 percent in September 2015 from 2.2 percent in Sept 2014. However, the likely adjustment on account of provisions against infected portfolio by the year end may keep a check on further growth in profits. The review said that the September 2015 quarter observed a marginal rise of 2.1 percent in the asset base of the banking sector. Public sector demand for credit remained strong due to fiscal needs while private sector advances witnessed nominal seasonal decline of 0.4 percent. Well aligned with the domestic credit cycle, deposits also declined by 2.6 percent. Banks, therefore, relied more on borrowings which grew by 38 percent during the quarter, it added. On the soundness of banking sector, the report added that the asset quality remained stable as NPLs almost stayed unchanged at Rs 630 billion. However, the NPLs to Loans Ratio (infection ratio)

marginally increased from 12.4 percent in Jun 2014 to 12.5 percent in Sept 2015 on account of seasonal fall in advances. It said net NPLs to net Loans ratio, however, declined to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent in June 2015 due to rise in accumulated provisioning against infected loans. The solvency profile of the banking system further strengthened with capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rising to 18.2 percent (17.2 percent as of June 2015). Importantly, the banking system is cushioned with high level of capital that may be utilised in any exigency, the report said. Investments’ share in total asset continued to increase due to growing stock of government securities, the report said, adding with QoQ growth of 4.4 percent (YoY 41.2 percent), banks holding of government bonds surged to Rs 5.66 trillion as of end June 2015, representing more than 90 percent share in total investments. However, investment in MTBs as well as PIBs observed deceleration during the quarter as HBL’s privatisation proceeds enabled government to borrow less from commercial banks for its fiscal needs. Further, most of these investments were mostly placed in available for sale (AFS) category from the perspective of liquidity management. In addition, banks enhanced their

investments in other avenues (fully paid up capital, ordinary shares, TFCs, bonds etc) by around 5.3 percent (Rs 19 billion) primarily due to bullish behaviour in capital markets of Pakistan and better corporate results. However, equity investments remained within the exposure limits prescribed by the SBP. On the funding side, steady growth in deposits base continued to provide the needed resources for financing assets growth. With a healthy increase of 7.9 percent over the quarter (YoY 13.6 percent), banks’ deposits reached 9.97 trillion in June-2015. The decomposed data of customer deposits – representing 97 percent of overall deposits – shows that most of the growth came from non-remunerative current deposits (Rs 467 billion or 16.6 percent) followed by saving deposit (Rs 107 billion or 3.0 percent). Over the last few years, banks are putting relatively more efforts to mobilise current deposits seemingly for managing the deposits’ cost. Visibly, share of fixed deposits in overall deposits reduced to 22.5 percent in June 2015 from 29.2 percent as in June 2012. In contrast, share of current deposit (non-remunerative) picked up to 33 percent in June 2015 from 27.5 percent in June 2012. Currency-wise break-up shows that entire growth in deposits came from

local currency deposits, while rupee value of FCY deposit stayed almost unchanged due to stability in USD/PKR exchange rate, the SBP said. The asset quality observed some deterioration during June 2015 as NPLs increased by 1.6 percent (YoY 5.8 percent) to Rs 630 billion. Most of the increase came from agriculture loans due to seasonal factors. However, with more than proportional increase in gross loans (4.7 percent), NPLs to Loans ratio declined by 39 bps to reach 12.4 percent and net NPLs to Net Loans by 18 bps to 2.7 percent. With increase in provisions against infected loans, provision coverage further improved by 62 bps to 80.8 percent, while capital impairment (Net NPLs to Capital) ratio increased by 110 bps to reach 10.9 percent. The central banks in its report said: “Multiple factors will drive the asset structure of banking sector in the third quarter of calendar year 2015. The asset base of the banking sector is expected to remain subdued in line with seasonal slowdown in domestic credit in private sector driven by seasonal net retirements in textile and sugar sectors and recent dip in commodity prices.” The SBP further said that some improvement in energy supplies and reduction in policy rate by 250 bps during CY15 (till date) is expected to provide some boost to overall lending activity. Though government continues to make efforts towards fiscal consolidation and raise external resources, recent floods, security related expenditures, issues on the taxation front, and cap on government borrowing from SBP under IMF’s EFF programme may induce government to meet its financing need through commercial banks.

spanish envoy offers assistance in wind power sector RAWALPINDI: Spanish envoy HE Mr Carlos Morales said that his country was dedicated to increase trade relations with Pakistan and can provide assistance in energy sector in Pakistan, especially in wind power, as the country was facing immense energy crisis. He said Pakistan must take advantages of GSP plus status to capture European trade markets. The ambassador informed the members that tourism now turned into an industry and it covered 11 percent of its GDP so there was a need to explore this area and Pakistan could take a huge benefit from it. He further added that his embassy would be in touch with the chamber to increase the bilateral ties and bridge the gap between the business communities of the both countries. Last year the trade volume between Pakistan and Spain was 1 billion dollar and this year it surpassed the number. Spain had a fastest growing economy and it was among the 11th largest investor in the world, he added. He was exchanging these views with Rawalpindi Chamber President Mian Humayun Parvez during his visit to the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. Earlier, the ambassador was welcomed by the RCCI president. A brief presentation on RCCI current activities and upcoming events was shown to the ambassador. The Spanish envoy thanked the chamber president and members for inviting him and said that Spain always get an overwhelming response from the Pakistani business community and his country was eager to increase the trade volume in agro, engineering, textile, gem and jewelry, leather and marble sector. STAFF REPORT

12 WORLD VIEW

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

BAnglAdesh executions: Justice, revenge or politics? al Jazeera

Salil TripaThi

ATE last week, the Bangladeshi government imposed a ban on social media networks and electronic chat sites, a sure indicator that the government was expecting trouble. The Supreme Court had upheld the death sentences given to opposition politicians Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party, and over the weekend, both men were executed. The clampdown on communications was to prevent public disorder. Bangladesh's government sees these executions as the culmination of a long quest for justice. Its opponents see them as a manifestation of revenge. Human rights experts have expressed deep concerns over the way the trials have been conducted and appealed to stay the executions, but their appeals have been disregarded. The sordid drama combines three intertwined narratives of conflict. The first is over Bangladesh's identity: Is it a Bengali nation or a Muslim one? Second is the zero-sum rivalry between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League and her rival, Khaleda Zia of the BNP and its ally, the Jamaat. And third: Does a society reach closure through punishment or reconciliation? Bangladeshis from all sides of the political spectrum would like to reach closure over the divisive war of 1971, when the country gained independence from Pakistan. The war crimes tribunals are meant to end the culture of impunity. But the executions, and the way the tribunals have functioned, have reawakened old animosities and stirred old wounds. When it gained independence from the British in 1947, Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan. It had a Muslim majority, where most people spoke

Bengali. But Pakistan decided to make Urdu the national language. Politicians and economists in the former East Pakistan protested against West Pakistani intolerance of Bengali cultural aspirations and complained that the west was treating the east as a colony. In the 1970 elections, the Awami League won so many seats in the east that, by right, its leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman should have been invited to form the government for the whole of Pakistan. Instead, General Yahya Khan stalled the democratic process and declared martial law in March 1971, arresting Awami leaders. In the nine-month conflict that followed, Bangladeshis say some three million civilians died. Other estimates suggest lower figures, but even the lowest estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of deaths, making the war one of the bloodiest of the 20th century. Ten million refugees fled to India, which aided a guerrilla force known as Mukti Bahini. When Pakistan attacked India in December 1971, Bangladesh formally joined the war, and after two weeks, Pakistan surrendered. India took more than 90,000 prisoners of war. Bangladesh was determined to try Pakistani officers and men, along with Bangladeshi collaborators, for war crimes. After India had released Pakistani POWs, Bangladesh sought assurances from Pakistan that its government would prosecute those accused of war crimes. Wounds Festered: At home, it decided to charge the Bangladeshi collaborators. But Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975, and the governments that followed in Bangladesh

granted immunity to his assassins and allowed those accused of war crimes in 1971 to become part of the country's political establishment. Some of them became ministers in subsequent governments. In 1992, a few concerned citizens set up a people's tribunal, but the BNP government cracked down on them. Time passed; wounds festered. In 2008, Mujibur's daughter, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, made an election promise: If elected, she would establish tribunals to try the accused. She was swept to victory, and she made good on her promise. The two tribunals indicted more than a dozen men, almost all of them from the Jamaat-e-Islami party. Opposition parties initially thought the trials were a form of political theatre. But now, four men have been executed, one has died while his conviction was under appeal, and one has been given a long prison term. The demand for justice is real, and it is combined with passionate support for the death penalty. The tribunals now have their own momentum, and it is unlikely that other defendants will be shown leniency. That is partly because of the Manichaean nature of Bangladeshi politics. The Awami League hopes to draw on the spirit of 1971 of a secular democracy. The majority of Bangladeshis are Muslim, and from 1975 to 2008 - except for five years when the Awami League was in power - successive governments have attempted to make Bangladesh a more religious country.

Many Bangladeshis have become more devout. The society is in flux, and such turbulence can only accentuate the political divide. Religious extremism is on the rise - this year alone, four writers and a publisher have been murdered in separate incidents; their assailants have not yet been found. While the Jamaat's electoral strength is relatively insignificant - it has rarely polled more than six percent of the popular vote, and in a house of 300, it has not won more than 18 seats at any time - as an ally of the BNP, its leaders have been part of BNP-led governments. A recent constitutional amendment has led to the Jamaat's deregistration. That has only made some of its supporters more desperate. Besides, the BNP boycotted the 2014 elections, which meant the Awami League's large majority rests on the fact that more than half of the parliamentary seats were uncontested. The BNP and the Jamaat have often brought the country to a standstill by calling strikes, which sometimes turn violent. Returning the favour, the Awami League did the same when it was in opposition. The BNP's silence over Chowdhury's execution is curious and may indicate a strategic shift in its politics. Bangladeshi politics are at a crossroads. With the opposition in disarray and the ruling party's legitimacy being questioned, which way will its politics turn? The BNP appears to be keen to remind voters that it can be a responsible party. The Awami League needs to recognise the consequences of attempting to annihilate the opposition: What might emerge from that vacuum could undermine democracy. Bangladesh's long-suffering people deserve better. Salil Tripathi is the author of The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and its Unquiet Legacy. He lives in London.

Declining number of foreign students to Indian univs cause of worry Hindustan times India is facing a staggering crisis of education. There is no shortage of indicators pointing to glaring failures in the sector. It has, for instance, lately emerged that the number of foreign students coming to India for higher education from seven key countries — the United States, Germany, France, South Korea, Australia, China and Singapore — declined from 13,961 in 2013 to 3,737 in 2014, amounting to a 73% drop. The number of students from the neighbourhood, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, has also declined. Given the polarised discussion on policy issues we are likely to see arguments that attribute this to the

failings of the previous UPA government. That is certainly true — and a part of the reason may have to do with perceptions of insecurity, owing to the attacks on women that inhibit parents from sending their children to the subcontinent. But there is no escaping that the quality of India’s higher education is in decline, owing to woeful shortages of capable faculty, a patchy research ecosystem, and various deficits of governance. Not only is the credibility of our educational institutions taking a beating abroad, large segments of the Indian elite have already lost belief in their ability to secure their children’s prospects. Currently, some 132,888 Indian students study in the US, contributing $3.6 billion to the latter’s economy. India is now producing vastly more graduating high school stu-

dents than it has reasonable colleges and universities to accommodate them in, which is a situation that an emerging power should not find itself in. The first thing policymakers need to do is to acknowledge the gravity of the problem, rather than contest accepted metrics that point to it. That there is no single Indian institution in the top 200 of leading university rankings like Times Higher Education should worry those anticipating great strides for the nation. Urgent measures that improve governance of higher education are required. These must include restoring the autonomy of institutions, without which attracting academic talent is not possible. Hopefully, the new education policy, which is in the works, will accord due space to these concerns.

A hArvest of AntiMusliM hAtred WasHington Post At the front of the room, a representative of the Islamic Center of Fredericksburg, which seeks to build a larger facility than the one it has inhabited peaceably for 15 years, was talking the lingo of planning and permitting. The protesters who kept interrupting him spoke a different tongue: the language of hatred. “Nobody, nobody, nobody wants your evil cult in this county,” one man said as he jabbed his finger at Samer Shalaby, a Muslim trustee of the center. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that that doesn’t happen, because you are terrorists. Every one of you are terrorists. . . . Every Muslim is a terrorist.” An astonished Mr. Shalaby responded evenly, “How did you come up with that?” After a few more minutes in that vein, a nervous sheriff’s deputy, having appealed in vain for civil discourse, stopped the meeting and told everyone to go home. Bigotry has a long history in the United States, and it may come as only a mild surprise that it showed its snarling face in Fredericksburg last week, just four days after the Nov. 13 slaughter in Paris. But even mild surprise is unwarranted given the toxic rhetoric of presidential candidates and governors, mainly Republicans, who have vilified Muslims since that terrorist attack. When Donald Trump, Ben Carson and others suggest it is all right to discriminate against Muslims or Muslim refugees, the signal is widely received. On a small scale, the reception given the proposal to build a bigger mosque in Fredericksburg is an example. Many or most of the 150 or so people at the meeting seemed more tolerant and open-minded. But the loudmouths who vented their poisonous views dominated the proceeding, and no one had the appetite to take them on. To the community’s credit, the Islamic Center has since been deluged by gestures of support from well-wishers, as well as from some elected officials in an area that’s heavily Republican. Rep. Dave Brat (R), who represents the district in Congress, told us he was “appalled to learn about what happened to these long-time, peaceful Islamic residents . . . and I condemn the threats against them.” Yet Mr. Brat also supports a GOP-sponsored bill that would make it more difficult to admit Syrian refugees into this country. That bill, though it has little chance of becoming law, contributes to the mood of intolerance. Lured by affordable housing and available jobs, hundreds of Muslims in recent years have settled in the Fredericksburg area, about 50 miles south of the District. They are a peaceable community. The Islamic Center, a modest brick building with inadequate parking on a dirt lot, needs more space. Three years ago it purchased a 10acre parcel nearby, with an eye toward building a bigger mosque with more parking. The nation will now watch how local officials in Spotsylvania County, which adjoins Fredericksburg, handle the center’s request. The decision should be based on the merits of Mr. Shalaby’s arguments on parking and zoning, not on the bigotry and intolerance that national leaders are cynically bringing into the mainstream.

WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER THE DOWNING OF A RUSSIAN FIGHTER JET stratfor intelligence rePort Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet in Syria has raised the stakes in an already crowded and complicated conflict. The Nov. 24 incident will also likely undermine efforts to find a solution to the country's protracted civil war. Since Syrian air defenses intercepted a Turkish aircraft on June 22, 2012, resulting in its destruction and the deaths of its two pilots, the Turkish air force has maintained an assertive stance toward aircraft that violate Turkey's border with Syria. On Sept. 16, 2013, Turkish fighter jets shot down a Syrian Mi-17 helicopter that flew into Turkish airspace; about six months later, a Syrian MiG-23 that reportedly strayed into Turkey's airspace met a similar fate. The number and frequency of incidents in the air above the Turkey-Syria border have risen since Russia's Sept. 30 intervention into the Syrian conflict.

Turkey has lodged many complaints against both Russia and Syria, alleging numerous airspace violations (including one confirmed by Russia in which an Su30 accidentally crossed into Turkey) and the harassment of Turkish aircraft patrolling the border region. Over the past week, as Russian forces backed several loyalist offensives against rebels in the area, Russia's aerial activity near the Turkey-Syria border has been particularly high. The rebel groups, including the 1st Coastal Division, the 2nd Coastal Brigade and the Sham Brigade, contain a large number of Turkmen fighters and are closely linked to and supported by Turkey, further stoking Ankara's anger over Moscow's presence in Syria. One thing that remains unclear is the fate of the Russian pilots. Videos and photographs taken at the scene suggest that rebels on the ground shot and likely killed them as they descended with their parachutes. However, a number of Turk-

ish officials have said they believe the pilots are still alive. If this is true, Ankara could use its connections with the rebel groups to quickly transfer the pilots back into Russian custody, somewhat defusing the situation. But if they are dead, Russia will probably ramp up its operations against the rebels in the area, exacerbating tensions with Turkey. The destruction of a Russian searchand-rescue helicopter sent to find the downed jet's crew will only aggravate the situation more. Rebels brought down the helicopter with small arms fire, killing one Russian marine, and then destroyed it with a TOW anti-tank guided missile - a weapon built and supplied by the United States. Even though the rest of the crew survived the attack, Russia will not be pleased that another outside party's weapons are being used against it in the fight. Peace Moves Further out oF reach: The incident with the

fighter jet will no doubt raise the risk of clashes occurring in the airspace over Syria. The United States had made considerable progress in deconflicting Syrian airspace by signing a memorandum of understanding with Russia that laid out procedures to prevent problems from arising as each side carried out airstrikes. But with the Russians angry at the Turks, and the Turks operating in close concert with the Americans - especially in the planned anti-Islamic State operation over northern Aleppo - the United States and its coalition partners may find themselves drawn into the spat between Ankara and Moscow. Therefore, in spite of any prior agreements that have been reached, the United States and its partners will be far more wary of any Russian or loyalist aircraft they encounter in the conflict. So although this incident alone will not halt airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, coalition forces may modify the structure of the strikes

to include more protection against any potential action by Russian or Syrian government aircraft. The dispute will also undermine ongoing attempts to find a solution to the Syrian civil war, especially since Turkey is an important foreign patron of many of the rebel groups that were expected to have a seat at the negotiating table. With video circulating of Turkmen fighters from these units shooting at the Russian pilots, Moscow probably will no longer accept their participation in the talks. Since some of these groups also belong to the Free Syrian Army and are part of Syria's more moderate opposition, this will make it much more difficult to reach a roster of representatives that all sides can agree on before heading into negotiations. And as long as talks on a powersharing agreement in Syria remain elusive, the foreign sponsors of the Syrian civil war will be dealing with an increasingly complex battlefield.

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Thursday, 26 November, 2015

ARTS

Sedition cASe filed AgAinSt AAmir KhAn for 'Anti-nAtionAl' commentS

Music Brewing at neSCafÉ Basement as Season 4 jams kick oﬀ! EntErtainmEnt dEsk 0With the chilly winter fast approaching, the NESCAFÉ Basement jam room is all warmed up and set to start brewing with exceptional music talent that has been handpicked from all across Pakistan. With three successful seasons behind them and numerous fans worldwide, the expectations from the fourth season of NESCAFÉ Basement are sky high. At the NESCAFÉ Basement jam room as young aspiring musicians come together to create great music, they will get a chance to learn and inspire each other with their talent. One of the artists says, “I’m absolutely enthralled by the pool of talent we have this time around. After getting to listen to the immaculate skill of musicians like Hasan Farid and Zubair, I feel proud to be part of the team and really looking forward to this season.” These artists will be mentored by

Xulfi who has been an integral part of the show since the beginning and knows what it takes to encourage, teach and guide up-and-coming artists. Some popular artists are also expected to drop by the jam room to show support, give advice and help the talent discover their strengths. Speaking about what he is expecting from the jam phase, mentor Xulfi states, “I have been looking forward to the jams phase since the auditions started as we have recruited some very unique talent this year. I am excited to start jamming with the talent and looking forward to creating some outstanding tunes”. Nescafé Basement is a Pakistani music television series which features live studio-recorded music performances by underground artists. The show is produced by Nescafé. The Artists are recruited and mentored by Xulfi, who is also the music producer of the show.

nEWs dEsk

sedition case was filed against Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in Kanpur on Tuesday for his "intolerant" and "anti-national" statement from a day ago, reported Indian news agency ANI. The hearing for the case has been scheduled for Dec 1. Advocate Manoj Kumar Dixit, who filed the case against the actor, maintained that Khan's remarks amounted to sedition. The case has been filed under Indian Penal Code Section 124 A (sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds), 153 B (Imputations) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief). In response to the criticism he has received, Aamir Khan in a statement on Tuesday said he stands by his comments, adding that "neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country". He added: "We never did [have any intention of leaving], and nor would we like

to in the future. Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have

SHOAIB AKHTAR SPOTTED AT SALMAN KHAN'S PARTY

EntErtainmEnt dEsk Bollywood superstar Salman Khan celebrated his father Salim Khan’s 80th birthday Tuesday night by throwing a birthday bash at his residence with close family and friends in attendance including Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar. All the three Khan Brothers, Salman, Arbaaz and Sohail made sure the night was special for their father. They even had a cute message written on the cake: “To the best daddy in the whole wide world! Love you”. Ace bowler Shoaib Akhtar was spotted among notable Bollywood personalities including filmmakers Kabir Khan, David Dhawan and Sajid Nadiadwala. Salman’s sister Alvira Agnihotri and stepmother Helen were among other family members who

Ali Zafar rekindles patriotism among audience EntErtainmEnt dEsk

MUHAMMAD SARWAR I offer my deepest condolences 2 Maryam Mukhtar's family. She is Pakistan's hero. May her soul RIP.

HAMID MIR PIA acting cleverly they inform ur flight is on time 2 hours before flight then say flight delayed just 15 minutes before the actual time.

Pakistan's singing sensation Ali Zafar is once again out to win hearts and minds of millions of his fans across Punjab. Ali started a tour of Punjab on 10 Nov with a concert in Sialkot and has since performed in Gujranwala and Sargodha also. Through the tour, the international star wants to project that he does not only appeal to masses in major cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad only but anyone who loves music, loves Ali.In his latest concert in Sargodha at a private college, Ali rekindled the patriotic spirit among the audience. He started waving a huge national flag and sang his tune Aasman to pump up patriotism in the crowd, which was followed by

Ali's personal favourite national song, Dil Dil Pakistan. This threw the charged-up crowd in a further frenzy that joined their favourite singer in belting out the song and also waved small national flags. Through this surprise gesture Ali wanted to show to the world that Pakistanis are a proud, resilient and brave nation. Despite facing and tolerating atrocities at the hands of terrorists and extremists, the nation is still moving ahead towards prosperity with full vigour. Ali also told the people that the country had been embroiled in so much controversy and negativity lately so he wanted to portray a positive and lively image of Pakistan to the world that there's much more to Pakistan and Pakistanis than bad news.

SYED TALAT HUSSAIN Having served Gens Mush, Kiyani, and now Raheel, Gen Bajwa hs mastered the art of over-projecting the boss.

Irrfan Khan to play Manto next

JUSTIN TRUDEAU Our goal is to identify 25K and welcome 10,000 refugees by Dec 31 – and the remaining 15,000 by the end of February.

TALAT ASLAM Yes, Pak media. A dance at a mela in Muzzafargarh is a far, far greater threat to the country than the attacks on Ahmedis in Jhelum.

After Pakistani actor/director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat made waves with his exceptional portrayal of Manto in the recent biopic, Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has also expressed his desire to play the role

of the legendary Pakistani writer. Indian actress and filmmaker Nandita Das, who is returning to direction after six years with a film based on Saadat Hasan Manto, revealed that Irrfan has shown interest in playing the lead role of her upcoming film. She divulged that the internationally acclaimed actor is a Manto fan himself and has read a lot of his work. She believes Irrfan, as an actor, is a sensitive person and will be able to portray the character effortlessly. “Irrfan has shown serious interest in the film. The whole film rests on Manto. It is an amazing role for any actor,” Nandita was quoted as saying during the National Film Development Corporation’s Film Bazaar in Goa, reports Times of India. COURTESY TimES Of india.

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said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying." Just a day ago, Khan had said he was "alarmed and shaken" by the number of incidents related to extremism in India. Addressing an audience at the Ramnath Goenka journalism awards, the actor known for his unique and outstanding on-screen work said growing insecurity in India has alarmed him, adding that he and wife Kiran Rao do not feel the country was safe for their children. "My wife Kiran Rao even suggested we should probably leave India," Aamir told the audience. Aamir Khan claimed his sense of insecurity has increased in the past few months and laid stress upon those in power to strongly condemn such incidents. In response, Senior Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam on Tuesday slammed Aamir Khan's "alarm" over extremism in India, saying he should "go to Pakistan" if "he does not want to stay here". were also part of last night’s celebrations. Surprisingly, Salman’s beloved mother Sushila Charak and adopted sister Arpita Khan were not present at the family occasion. Former Bigg Boss contestants Kushal Tandon and Elli Avram were also spotted at the bash. Salman’s ex-girlfriend Sangeeta Bijlani took part in the celebrations as well and is reported to have made special arrangements for the big day. Overall, everyone seemed to be in a festive mood but this picture of the dynamic father-son duo is clearly the winner of the night. Earlier during the day, Arbaaz took to social media to wish the veteran screenwriter with an all-Khan selfie and a heartfelt message:”My dad turns 80 today. Wish him good health and happiness always.

Meera oﬀers 'newly built farmhouse' to aamir Khan EntErtainmEnt dEsk Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan may be facing severe backlash from Indians, but one Pakistani fan has offered her house to the star and his entire family in case he wishes to move to Pakistan. And that fan is none other than our very own Meera jee! The actress took to Twitter to show her love for Aamir and gifted her ‘newly built farmhouse’ in Lahore to the PK actor: She also said that he was like family to her: She’s not the only Pakistani who has shown support for the Bollywood actor though. Local filmmaker and Moor director Jami Mahmood also stressed that the actor must have good reason to voice such a concern. “What Aamir Khan is saying is about intolerance and if there is a backlash, then one has to think — maybe he is right. It is Aamir Khan who is saying this. He is one of your best. He is one of your best actors and activists. He is a hard core Indian and it is in his blood,” the director told IANS at the International Film Festival of India. “We have gone through this a lot of times in Pakistan as well and seeing this happen to Aamir Khan is not fair. He has given so much to the industry. I look up to him so much. It is sad,” he added. Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman admitted that he too faced a situation similar to the actor’s a few months after a fatwa was issued against him.

14 LEISURE

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

HaGaR tHE HoRRIblE

aries

taurus

gemini

Putting your calendar in order sounds like a sensible thing to do today, but it may be challenging to follow through with your original plans when so many people seem to want a piece of your day.

Although your relatives might not understand your unpredictable behavior now, they are willing to put up with it until they determine if your plan is worth supporting. However, your current impatience.

Everyone seems to be talking up a storm today, but no one has the time to really listen. You have important things to say, but aren't sure how to work your newly formed ideas into the flow. Don't give.

cancer

leo

virgo

You are lulled into a surreal mental space today, but the emotionally detached Aquarius Moon inspires you to use your intellect to interpret the mysterious symbols of your dreams. However, this logical.

You don't want to be distracted by anyone now because you're trying to figure out how to navigate the current time crunch. Ultimately, you can create additional stress by concentrating on the future before.

You want to be an integral part of the social activities today but you don't like leaving a project only partially completed. Thankfully, you can be quite methodical, enabling you to finish just in the.

dIlbERt

GaRFIEld

libra

scorpio

sagittarius

Living in your dreamworld was fine for a little escape, but it's time to reclaim your power now by telling others what you want. Nevertheless, it's not a good idea to let your personal preferences stand.

You won't be satisfied with social pleasantries today unless they connect you with your friends and relatives on a deeper emotional level. However, your manner of expressing your needs can sound overly.

You may believe you have a practical strategy to complete your chores before indulging in any holiday festivities today. However, your idealistic solution might fall apart once you start executing your.

baldo

capricorn

aQuarius

pisces

Social obligations are like the fly in your ointment today. You want to spend quality time with friends and family, but you resent the fact that they expect you to contribute to the day in specific ways.

You seem to be attracted to nearly anything that allows you to lose yourself into a crowd today. But you won't be able to run away from your problems since you just keep bumping into the same issues again.

Reality is giving you permission now to luxuriate in the rich symbolism of your imagination. Of course, you're no stranger to the act of invisibly slipping behind the veil of consciousness. However, putting.

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.

intend joints lens mare mouse number reaction single slumber smooch stripe supple tear tissue tower tuba veer worth

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soluTions

to tHE bIttER ENd

cHEss white tO PLAY AND MAte iN fOur MOVes 8

crossword solution

7 6 5 4 3 2

chess solution 1.Nf7+ Rxf7 [1...Kg8 2.Nxh6+ Kh8 3.Qg8+ Rxg8 4.Nf7#] 2.Qc8+ bxc8 3.Rxc8+ Rf8 4.Rxf8# *

sudoku solution

1 without delay (7-5) 9 edible organs from a butchered animal (5) 10 mild (7) 11 naked person (4) 12 not based on fact (8) 14 yolk (6) 15 piece of material used to enlarge a garment (6) 18 person or thing seen as comparable with another (8) 20 slight (4) 22 final layer of paint (7) 23 tadpole or caterpillar, say (5) 24 once in a while (5,2,5) DOwn 2 unbeliever (7) 3 large seaweeds with leathery fronds (4) 4 big cheese in business (6) 5 plausible but false (8) 6 that extra hour or so in bed? (3-2) 7 tyrannical (12) 8 blown-up fortress? (6,6) 13 sameness (8) 16 extravagant spending spree (7) 17 in a careful manner (4,2) 19 more than enough (5) 21 musical notation on a staff (4)

adore annual around bandit bare blood break broom churn click current daisy danger development doily final focus honesty honey

SPORTS 15

Thursday, 26 November, 2015

Curry challenges ‘special’ Warriors to aim even higher sports Desk The Golden State Warriors are looking to build on their record start to an NBA season and become one of the greatest franchises in the league’s history, according to star guard Stephen Curry. Golden State’s 111-77 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers was their 16th consecutive win since the start of the season, eclipsing the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and 93-94 Houston Rockets. After racking up 24 points at the Oracle Arena, Curry said the record was just reward for consistent improvements from the NBA champions and he challenged his team-mates to keep the franchise on its upward trajectory. “It’s a special accomplishment,” said the 27-yearold. “We were saying last week that anytime you can do something that hasn’t been done in the history of the NBA, with all the great teams that have suited up, and all the legendary players, it’s pretty special. “We’ve had 16 challenges in front of us and we have showed up in all of them. A streak like that in general is always a great accomplishment, but when you can start a season like this, with all the high expectations, and go unblemished so far, it’s a proud moment for everyone in the locker room.

Baylor QB Jarrett Stidham out for the season

ICC to pay seven Full MeMbers $10 MIllIon eaCh t sports Desk

HE ICC will pay seven fullmember boards $10 million over the next eight years, as part of the Test Cricket Fund announced during last year’s Big Three takeover of cricket’s governing body. Other than the BCCI, ECB and CA, the remaining full-member boards will each receive $1.25 million annually, beginning January 2016. The latest figures indicate that each member receiving the Test Match Fund stands to gain $10 million over eight years. This is less than the figure of $12.5 million over eight years announced by ECB president and ICC executive committee member Giles Clarke in February 2014 as each nation’s Test Cricket Fund package.

Baylor quarterback Jarrett Stidham has been ruled out for the season with a broken bone in his ankle, according to multiple reports. The true freshman limped off the field just before halftime of Baylor’s win over Oklahoma State on Saturday. He had also been dealing with back and hand issues. Baylor previously lost starting quarterback Seth Russell for the season to a neck injury in October. He suffered damage to the cervical vertebra after taking a hard hit in the fourth quarter of Baylor’s win over Iowa State on Oct. 24 and underwent surgery. With Stidham now out as well, Baylor will turn to third-string quarterback Chris Johnson. The sophomore threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 42 yards and a score as he filled in for Stidham in the second half against Oklahoma State. He has played in nine career games and is set to make his first career start.

recover losses from home tours such as the recent visit by West Indies, which is estimated to have cost SLC about $648,000. The Test Cricket Fund had been among the chief incentives offered to the smaller boards, as the BCCI, ECB and CA sought support for their takeover of the ICC in January and February last year. During that time, Clarke, then ECB’s chairman, had said in an interview with Sky Sports: “The ICC has

agreed to establish a Test Match Fund of $12.5 million per country over eight years - available to all except England, India and Australia - which will allow those countries which find Test cricket difficult to sustain economically the opportunity to continue to stage Test matches.” The ICC has not yet announced the funds’ terms of usage, or how it will hold boards accountable to the objective of encouraging Test cricket.

African team awarded World Tour licence sports Desk

sports Desk

The ICC plans to make its first Test Cricket Fund payment of $600,000 in early January, before disbursing another $650,000 to the ‘small seven’ member boards in July. Payments are expected to follow this biannual pattern until 2023. The ICC had originally announced that the Test Cricket Fund aimed to “encourage and support Test match cricket” outside the Big Three nations. As Boards have already entered bilateral touring agreements until 2023, there appears to be limited scope to enhance their Test schedules using the Test Cricket Fund payments. It appears more likely that the money will be used to underwrite loss-making tours. For example, Sri Lanka Cricket loses money on Test tours featuring all nations except the Big Three and Pakistan. The Test Cricket Fund would help them

Team Dimension Data have become the first African team to be awarded a licence to compete on cycling’s World Tour, the sports governing body said on Wednesday. The South African-based team, who were previously known as MTN-Qhubeka and had a wildcard entry to this year’s Tour de France, were named among seven granted first division licences by the UCI. The others are Cannondale Pro Cycling Team (USA), Etixx-Quick Step (Belgium), Team Katsuha (Russia), LampreMerida (Italy), Lotto Soudal (Belgium) and Tinkoff of Russia. There are now a total of 18 teams registered for the top tier of world cycling next year. Team Dimension Data also competed in the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) this year but it was in the Tour de France that they achieved unexpected success with a stage win, 13th overall for their Belgian rider Serge Pauwels and fifth in the team classification. They have since signed Mark Cavendish, Mark Renshaw,

Kanstantsin Siutsou and Bernhard Eisel and done three new sponsorship deals. “This is incredible, I am so happy for this team, our partners and all the staff and riders that have worked so hard over the years to keep building this team to push beyond the boundaries and believe that anything is possible,” said team principal Doug Ryder. “To get this news on our training camp in Cape Town as we are bonding

with our new team for the future is simply the best motivation to move forward into 2016.” The team were set up in 2007 to give African riders a team in which they could race in Europe, while simultaneously raising money for the African bicycle charity Qhubeka. They have raced as MTN-Qhubeka on the second-tier UCI Pro Continental tour since 2013, but looked to move up by signing more experienced riders.

Otago extend lead with big victory Agencies Half-centuries from Michael Bracewell and Brad Wilson set up Otago’s 19-run win against Wellington at the Basin Reserve, extending the team’s lead at the top of the Georgie Pie table to six points. Otago, after being inserted, lost their openers Anaru Kitchen and Neil Broom early, but Bracewell and Wilson counterattacked with a 96-run partnership. While Bracewell eventually fell for a 36-ball 53, Wilson stayed at the crease for five more overs, stroking 67 off 46 balls, with four fours and three sixes. The pair’s blitz ensured Otago compiled a total of 181 for 8. Wellington failed to get going in their chase, as Jacob Duffy (3 for 23) and Sam Wells (4 for 24) struck at regular intervals to bowl the hosts out for 162.

Bangladesh Under-19s set up final clash with India

Brilliant Barca, Bayern through to last 16 pAris Agencies

Holders Barcelona celebrated qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League with another stunning display on Tuesday, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both scoring twice in a 6-1 win against Roma. The Catalans and Bayern Munich both secured their places in the knockout draw and demonstrated once again why they are surely the best teams in Europe just now, with Bayern crushing Olympiakos 4-0 at the Allianz Arena. Barcelona discovered they had qualified from Group E before they had kicked a ball at the Camp Nou, the 1-1 draw between BATE Borisov and Bayer Leverkusen in Belarus ensuring their passage. Fresh from crushing eternal rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the weekend, they then produced a performance that the Italians could not live with to secure top spot in the section. Dani Alves set up Suarez to tap in the opener before Messi, in his

first start since returning from injury, made it two at the end of a superb move involving Neymar and Suarez. Suarez struck again just before the interval with a sweet volley and the rout continued in the second half as Neymar, Suarez and Messi all combined to give Gerard Pique

a tap-in. Neymar and Suarez then helped tee up Messi to get his second and Barca’s fifth on the hour and Adriano crashed in the sixth after Neymar’s penalty had been saved by Wojciech Szczesny. Roma’s misery was compounded when Edin Dzeko had a late penalty

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saved by Marc Andre ter Stegen, although Dzeko did pull one back with the last kick of the game. “When you see the players enjoy themselves in every phase of the game you have to be satisfied. They enjoy themselves on the training ground and when they are playing and that is great,” said Barca coach Luis Enrique. BATE opened the scoring in the second minute in Belarus through Mikhail Gordeichuk, but Admir Mehmedi equalised in the second half for Leverkusen. Roma still have their destiny in their own hands, though — a win at home to BATE next month will see them finish second. A draw between Bayern and Olympiakos in Germany would have taken both teams through but Pep Guardiola’s team showed no mercy for their visitors as they raced into a threegoal lead inside the first 20 minutes. Douglas Costa got the opener and Robert Lewandowski scored his 28th goal in 25 games this season before Thomas Mueller tapped in the third.

Agencies Spinners Saleh Ahmed and Saeed Sarkar claimed three wickets each to rout Afghanistan Under-19s for 99, which Bangladesh Under-19s chased down in less than 25 overs. The win, Bangladesh’s second of the tournament, sealed their passage to face India Under-19s in the final. Having opted to bat, Afghanistan had a decent start with the openers Hazratullah and Ishanullah putting on 34 in 5.4 overs. Once Ishanullah was undone by Mehedi Hasan Miraz, the collapse began, Afghanistan losing three wickets in a space of five balls. The freefall stretched to the middle and lower order as well with only two batsmen, apart from the openers managing double-digit scores. Pervez Malakzai and Tariq offered a semblance of resistance, making 12 and 27 but it wasn’t enough to push their side to three figures.

SPORTS Thursday, 26 November, 2015

Afridi eyes top rAnking AheAd of World t20 DUBAI

Agencies

ORMER champions Pakistan will face England in a threematch T20 series in Dubai from Thursday as they begin to settle their squads for next year’s World T20. Pakistan finished runners-up in the first edition of the World Twenty20 in 2007 before winning the crown two years later in England and are now ranked number two in the shortest and the most popular format of the game. They need to win the series, at least by a 2-1 margin, to maintain their standings a fact Afridi believes will spur on his team. “We want to settle down before the World T20,” said Afridi of the event to be held in India from March 11-April 3. “Besides that we are ranked number two so it’s an important series for us in many ways and we will do our best to win it.” Pakistan are likely to get two to three T20 matches if their series against India is held next month before they head to

New Zealand for another three matches. Before the sixth edition of the World Twenty20 they will also feature in the Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh in February. Pakistan are hampered by the absence of ace spinner Saeed Ajmal, who is struggling with a new bowling action which needed alteration after it was deemed illegal. Besides Ajmal, the highest wickettaker in all T20 cricket with 85, paceman Umar Gul (joint second highest with 83 wickets) was also not selected as he is recovering from injury. Opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez is also banned from bowling. But Afridi, who also has 83 wickets, hopes his young team will fight hard. England, who won the World Twenty20 in 2010, are ranked eighth in the shortest format but coach Trevor Bayliss believes their 3-1 one-day success over Pakistan last week will give the squad good confidence. “England players should have a lot of

confidence from the way they’ve played going into the three T20 matches, knowing they can play in these conditions against this quality of opposition,” said Bayliss whose team lost the Test series 20. Bayliss, from Australia, said the series will help his team prepare for the World T20. “It’s another step on the way to that World Twenty20 in March-April. We want to play this T20 series and win that as well as we possibly can, but it’s also a bit of a testing ground.” The remaining two matches will be held in Dubai (Friday) and Sharjah (Monday). Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Rafatullah Mohmand, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Bilal Asif, Imran Khan junior, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Aamer Yamin England:

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett

Wahab counting on Afridi to inspire Pakistan in England T20s

ISLAMABAD Agencies

Fast bowler Wahab Riaz is confident that Shahid Afridi’s return to the side

as Twenty20 captain can inspire Pakistan to gain limited-overs revenge over England. The tourists clinched an emphatic 3-1 one-day international series victory in Dubai last

gloves dispute in world title fight will be resolved

weekend, coming back from 1-0 down to win the next three fixtures in the four-match series. Riaz, who has been the leaderin-chief of the Pakistan pace attack all summer, feels Afridi’s specialist T20 presence in his first international since the 2-0 series win over Zimbabwe in September is what the team needs in the upcoming threematch contest, which begins in Dubai on Thursday. “Obviously Afridi is a great cricketer with the kind of ability he has in the bowling and batting department,” he said in an interview with Sport360 on Tuesday. “With a guy like Shahid Afridi leading the team in this format we have very high hopes that he will perform well.” Riaz freely admits that Pakistan

AMIR’S RETURN WILL CREATE PROBLEMS FOR PAKISTAN: INZAMAM SportS DeSk

SportS DeSk The dispute over the gloves to be used in Saturday’s world heavyweight title fight between Ukrainian holder Wladimir Klitschko and Britain’s Tyson Fury will be resolved before Friday’s rules meeting, officials said. Klitschko, unbeaten for 11 years and a hot favourite to retain his belts in Duesseldorf, has the right to choose the gloves for both fighters but Fury’s camp had protested that the ones sent to him were unsuitable, and hurt his thumb. Another pair have been promised but the Briton threatened to cancel the fight if they were not delivered on time. “On Friday the gloves that will fit will be here,” the German professional boxers’ association (BDB) chief Thomas Puetz told reporters on Wednesday. “But should there be an attempt at the rules meeting to demand different gloves it will not be accepted by the BDB.” Klitschko said the dispute was all part of Fury’s “mental war”, telling reporters: “There are rules and contracts that need to be adhered to”.

look back on the recent 50-over clashes with the regret of not performing better, but he believes his team can start to set the record straight this week, in what is another big test ahead of next year’s ICC World Twenty20 in India. “We could have done better in the one-day international series against England but unfortunately we didn’t play as well as our opponents. “We have this series now to perform better and secure a good series win. Hopefully we can go into it and hit form at the right time, we are determined to,” he said. As for his own form, the Lahoreborn seamer, who claimed only three wickets in the ODIs but eight in the Test matches, wants to keep it simple and continue to run in and bowl fast.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to keep tainted pacer Mohammad Amir away from the national team. Amir has made a significant impact in the first stage of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with his left-arm fast bowling, igniting a big debate on whether he should be fast tracked into the national team. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to allow either Amir or the two other players involved in the spot-fixing scandal back into the Pakistan team,” Inzamam said in an interview to NDTV. “I just feel that if Amir is selected again for the national team it will divert the focus of the other players away from cricket and there will be added pressure on them and Amir,” said Inzamam, who featured for Pakistan in 120 Tests and 398 one-day internationals. “I know from experience that if Amir is selected in the Pakistan team and when it goes to England, Australia or even India, the media will just focus on him and it will mean problems in the dressing room,” he said. Inzamam said that he had nothing personal against the bowler but the PCB had to settle on on a policy regarding tainted players independent of the ICC’s regulations on the matter. “The PCB needs to be clear in its stance on players who have been involved in corruption and tarnishing the image of the country. Because playing for the national team is the highest honor for any athlete,” he added. He also believed that Amir would also

face a lot of problems on his comeback. “I can imagine the questions that would be asked if Pakistan lose a close match or if he doesn’t perform at the right time. I can imagine the taunts from the crowd and all these things will only divert the attention of the team away from cricket,” Inzamam said. Amir has gone onto feature in the BPL after remarkable performances in domestic matches since his five-year ban for spot-fixing ended in September. His two other partners in crime Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif have still not been permitted by the PCB to play domestic cricket. Many former Pakistan stalwarts including Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif have opposed the return of the tainted trio to the national team while senior player Mohammad Hafeez last week claimed he didn’t accept a contract to play in the BPL as the franchise which approached him had already signed on Amir.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.

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Officials fOr first match: Umpires: Ahsan Raza (PAK and Shozab Raza (PAK) tv umPirE: Ahmed Shahab (PAK) match rEfErEE: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

tiger Woods could have ‘massive’ impact at ryder Cup, says europe captain

SportS DeSk Darren Clarke says the appointment of Woods as one of Davis Love III’s Ryder Cup assistants will give the United States team a boost. Europe captain Darren Clarke hopes Tiger Woods’ presence within the United States team at next year’s Ryder Cup will not provide too much of a boost to Davis Love III’s side. Woods was selected as one of Love’s assistants for the event at the Hazeltine National Golf Course, the 14-time major winner named alongside Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. The 39-year-old who is recovering from two back operations hopes to be a playing assistant for the event, but regardless of whether or not he competes, Clarke knows Woods’ mere presence will give the hosts a lift. “I think with Tiger, and knowing him as well as I do, he will be massive for the team and he will be involved as he’s shown us by accepting Davis’ invitation,” he said at the Australian Open. “He will also be trying desperately to be playing on the team. So certainly, Tiger’s a great addition to Davis’ side whether that be playing or behind the scenes as a vice captain.” Clarke has yet to name any of his own and says he will leave it as long as possible before making an announcement. “I haven’t announced any vice-captains yet. For one very good reason,” he said. “To do so at this stage would mean offending people. If I ask someone now it means I don’t think he is going to make the team. I don’t want to do that. Maybe around Augusta I’ll feel out a few people to see what they think. That’s always been our way of doing things.

froome can win back-toback tours, says evans SportS DeSk Cadel Evans has backed Chris Froome to become the first man since Miguel Indurain to claim back-to-back victories at the Tour de France. Froome won his second yellow jersey in July as he cruised to victory by one minute and 12 seconds from Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, the Team Sky rider leading from stage seven all the way to Paris. The 30-year-old struggled when trying to defend his 2013 victory the following year, Froome suffering early crashes and then being forced to abandon the race due to injury in stage five. He was back to his best in the latest edition of the Grand Tour event and Evans – who won the Tour in 2011 believes Froome is well set to challenge again in 2016. “For him I think it’s possible,” Evans told Fox Sports. “He’ll be the only rider in this era who’ll be able to go back-to-back, barring illness and injury.”