E-paper PakistanToday July, 2012

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No power outages in Ramadan, says Mukhtar

Pentagon freeing $1.1 billion withheld from Pakistan

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No new agreement with Pakistan on NATO supply: Hoagland

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Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 12 18 pages islamabad — peshawar edition

Saturday, 7 July, 2012 Shaban 16, 1433

18 ‘non-Baloch’ men murdered in cold blood in Kechh 13 Punjabis, 5 from KP among the dead g Deceased were being hauled by human traffickers to Iran g

QUETTA ShAhzAdA zulfIqAr

As many as 18 Pakistani illegal immigrants, majority of who were Punjabis, were gunned down and two others injured in a deadly attack in Kechh district, 1,200kms from Quetta on Friday.

The Baloch Liberation Tigers claimed responsibility for the attack that was carried out in the Kadan mountainous area near the Iranian border.

Reports said a group of illegal immigrants from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces were going to Iran through unconventional routes in four SUVs after dusk. Unidentified armed men on four motorcycles stopped the vehicles and pulled out all non-locals, lined them up and opened indiscriminate fire on them.

As a result, 18 of them were killed and two injured, while one was lucky to escape unhurt.

Among the dead, 13 were from Punjab, while the remaining five hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The two people injured and the one who remained unhurt are also from Punjab.

Kechh Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Aslam Tareen said there was unauthentic news about the incident involving illegal Pakistani immigrants being hauled to Iran by human smugglers in the mountainous area of Kadan, 110kms from Turbat.

He said unknown armed men opened in-

discriminate fire on the vehicles that resulted in the killing of 18 people.

Tareen said a team had been dispatched to the area to confirm the reports.

He said the district administration gathered the information through its tribal/local sources.

To a question, he said in the wake of a number of incidents of armed attacks on illegal Pakistani immigrants at main border entry points, the administration had increased security around the main border crossing.

Tareen said following enhanced security measures at main entry points, the smugglers had started hauling people who wanted to reach European countries for seeking work to Iran through ragged mountainous routes.

A spokesman of Baloch Liberation Tigers, Meeran Baloch, called several newspapers’ offices and claimed responsibility for the killing.

Balochistan has been a hotbed of both ethnic and sectarian violence for the last several years now. Baloch rebels, irked by the government’s alleged inattention towards the resource rich province, have found solace in frequently killing non-Baloch residents across the province, especially those from Punjab.

Just like sectarian cleansing of Shias, Punjabis have also been in the line of fire of Baloch renegades, who want independence for the province and want all non-Baloch settlers to return to their respective areas.

KArAChI: Activists of religious parties shout anti-government slogans during a protest on friday against the restoration of NATO supply routes. afP | story on Page 03

Govt tweaks strategy on constitutional amendments ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday had a late night meeting with his coalition partners to discuss the proposed amendments to the contempt of court and dual nationality laws as the opposition parties made their own strategy to oppose the amendment bills.

The meeting was co-chaired by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and attended by former prime minister

Yousaf Raza Gilani, Shujaat Hussain, Pervez Elahi, Haji Adeel, Afrasiab Khattak, Farooq Sattar, Nadeem Ahsan, Mir Israrullah Zehri, Abbas Khan Afridi and Munir Khan Orakzai.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Law Minister Farooq Naik and Spokesman to the President Farhatullah Babar were also present.

Later, the president’s spokesman told reporters that the law minister briefed the meeting on the legislative measures proposed to be placed before

the National Assembly and the Senate during the current session.

Naik told the meeting about the rationale and background of the proposed legislative measures which had already been approved by the cabinet.

He said a constitutional amendment bill, called the 21st Constitutional Amendment Bill, would be placed before the National Assembly to increase the family pension from 50 percent to 75 percent for the widows of Continued on page 04

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02 News

Saturday, 7 July, 2012

NEWS

today’s

The red spreads

iSlAMAbAd

CArtOON

Artisans get professional training

Quick Look

Story on Page 05

Story on Page 08

On Page 11

Committee for CEC appointment to meet on Monday ISLAMABAD: The parliamentary committee for the appointment of a new chief election commissioner (CEC) will meet on July 9 (Monday) to consider candidates for the post. The bipartisan parliamentary committee, headed by PPP’s Syed Khursheed Shah, is responsible for the final approval and would hold deliberations on the appointment of the next CEC. According to reports, the deadlock over the issue of CEC’s appointment was created when the PML-N rejected all three names proposed by former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and later refused to hold further consultations with him, saying the party would not hold talks with a convicted person. The PML-N later nominated acting CEC Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice (r) Fakharuddin G Ebrahim and Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid for the post. The government has proposed the names of Justice (r) Munir A Sheikh, Justice (r) Amirul Mulk Mengal and Justice (r) Zahid Qurban Alvi. The PML-N received a boost when a government’s coalition partner, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), supported its nominee Nasir Aslam Zahid. Under the 18th Amendment, the tenure of the CEC has been increased to five years from three and the procedure for his appointment has been changed. ONlINE

68 MPs have fake degrees, confirms Naek ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek has said that the graduation degrees of more than 60 members of parliament were found to be forged and that action was being initiated against them. In a written response in the National Assembly Friday, Naek said the government is initiating proceedings against 68 MPs for possessing fake degrees. He said that 22 members had given false statements at the time of submission of their documents.

An application has been given to DPOs to lodge FIRs against nine MPs while eight cases are pending before the Election Commission. He said that a total of 274 people — 190 from Punjab, 63 from Sindh, 12 from Balochistan and eight from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — benefited from the NRO. All these cases, he said, were reopened after the NRO was struck down by the Supreme Court, he added. INP

Price of petrol likely to be slashed again ISLAMABAD: The price of petrol is likely to go down by Rs 2 per litre from July 15, a private TV channel reported on Friday. According to the channel, the government had decided to slash the price of petrol in line with international prices. However, the prices of diesel and other POL products might go up by Rs 1 to 4. NNI

5 children die of polio in NWA, Khyber Agency PESHAWAR/WANA: Polio has claimed the lives of three children in North Waziristan and two in Khyber agency while several others have been affected.

According to reports from the tribal region, the disease of polio has spread in the area and dozens of children have been affected because militants have not allowed the immunisation teams to administer polio drops to children in the far flung areas.

Agency Surgeon Dr Mohammad Sadiq said that dozens of children have been brought to the hospital and admitted. The disease has also spread in the Ghundi area of Khyber Agency affecting several children. INP

gHQ awaits official order on nato supplies KARACHI ISmAIl dIlAwAr

The federal government has sparked an intense guessing game across the country by declaring the reopening of its land routes for NATO supplies without issuing a formal notification.

Amid endless rumours, the media is reporting round-the-clock that the recent post-sorry patch up between Washington and Islamabad had kick-started the transportation of war supplies to NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

However, none of the concerned quarters, be it officials at the coun-

try’s two seaports or the haulers or the intelligence agencies, are confirming the reports of supplies resumption.

Even the General Headquarters (GHQ), perceivably one of country’s most active and influential centres of power, claims to have received no order from the government.

“No, nothing has resumed. We have received no official order,” said a well-placed official at Port Qasim, country’s second largest seaport.

The official said the GHQ had also not received any instruction for the restoration of NATO supply.

Some containers reported to have been dispatched to Afghanistan from Port Qasim might belong to

Shaheen Freight Service and Qasim Freight Service and not the PQA, the official said.

Fearful though, the transporters are awaiting a formal government order to start the transportation of over 2,843 containers, 8,658 boxes, 3,326 vehicles, 27 plat racks and other cargo lying in various yards of the country’s two seaports, Karachi Port and Port Qasim.

Of the total, some 1,558 containers are stranded at Pakistan International Container Terminal and Karachi International Container Terminal of Karachi Port, while 1,285 others are stuck at Qasim International Container Terminal of Port Qasim.

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

NEWS

ArtS & ENtErtAiNMENt

News 03

SPOrtS

rihanna sues ex-accountants over loss of money

EditOriAl

Tendulkar, Kylie in wimbledon royal box

for our own good: No alternative to cooperation.

COMMENt Arif Nizami says; In the national interest: But, of course.

Aziz-ud-din Ahmad says; Friendship with benefits: Our enmity with India is impractical.

raoof hasan says; A new mask: Let hope take a back seat, let’s be sold to the devil again.

Story on Page 18

Story on Page 12

KARACHI: Government personnel offload smuggled Gandhara statues from a truck on Friday. Imran aLI

Story on Page 14

Articles on Page 14-15

Karachi police foil attempt to smuggle antiquities worth billions KARACHI

T

TArIq hAbIb

H E Karachi police and intelligence agencies on Friday foiled an attempt to smuggle antiquities worth billions of rupees and arrested two persons in connection with the attempt.

In a recent meeting, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee had unveiled that at least 40 antiques were stolen from National Museum Karachi in 1986.

Further, the NA body had said some 12 mummies of Buddha were also stolen from the same museum in 1995.

Some mummies were also

stolen from the Archeology Museum Taxila in 1995.

Eleven of those, however, were later recovered.

Around 138 antiques were stolen from Fort Museum Lahore in 1996, while 61 antiques of silver and copper were burgled from Taxila Museum in 1999, the committee had said.

On Friday, law enforcement officials acted on a tip-off and arrested a driver and a conductor of a trawler which was transporting a container.

The security personnel intercepted and searched a container in Awami Colony, Korangi and recovered valuable, including ancient idols, statues and various utensils.

The antiquities included 10 idols, a number of small statues and various utensils, hidden underneath cleaning items, bales of straw and other miscellaneous items such as furniture, slippers and water coolers.

Intelligence officials said most of the antiquities had been stolen from various museums across the country, including the Swat museum. Some of the items were believed to have been smuggled from Afghanistan. The antiquities cost billions of rupees, an official said.

The centuries-old antiques are said to be remnants of ancient Budhist civilization from across South Asia, including Afghanistan. Karachi police

no new agreement with Pakistan on nato supply: Hoagland ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

Pakistan to scan all NAtO containers KARACHI: All containers passing through Pakistan to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan are to be scanned to ensure they do not contain ammunition and weapons, customs officials said Friday. Islamabad reopened overland routes to NATO convoys earlier this week after closing them in protest at a US air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border post in November. A number of trucks have already crossed into Afghanistan, but the vast majority are still at the Arabian Sea port of Karachi, where they have stood idle for the past seven months. “We scanned the containers randomly in the past, but now every container will be duly scanned,” Karachi customs spokesman Qamar Thalho said.

He said any item “not mentioned in the agreements between Pakistan and Afghanistan and Pakistan and NATO” could be seized. An official speaking on condition of anonymity said the move was intended to stymie opposition parties and religious groups — who have criticised the resumption of supplies. “A strict scanning of the cargo is just one important measure not to give enough space to the opposition to exploit public sentiments,” the official said. AfP

Deputy Chief of Mission for the US embassy, Richard Hoagland on Friday said there was no new agreement with Pakistan regarding the reopening of the NATO supply route.

Talking to reporters, Hoagland said relations were resumed from the point where they had been left in November last year.

He said the reopening of the supply route would help eliminate the trust deficit in Pak-US relations.

“There are differences on the issue of Dr Shakil Afridi and the work of US diplomats but these issues were not part of the recent negotiations between the two countries,” Hoagland said.

Earlier‚ addressing a pre-departure orientation session for the winners of Fulbright Scholarship Programme‚ Hoagland said thousands of Pakistani students had acquired higher education in the American universities under the programme.

He said the US had a tradition of embracing international students‚ including those from Pakistan.

Executive Director of US Education Foundation in Pakistan‚ Rita Akhtar said over 180 Pakistani students had been awarded Fulbright scholarship in Masters

started investigation and raided various localities for the arrest of the member of the racket.

“The arrested men told the police that they were moving towards Rawalpindi while they picked the container from Bin Qasim Port,” an official said.

The NA standing committee on culture said 324 antiques were stolen from different museums of the country during the past 21 years and the police had only recovered 11 of them.

Several historical antiques have been smuggled abroad.

Of them, the United States returned 38 while authorities in the Culture Ministry are in talks with the French authorities for the return of 17 other.

Pakistan’s help critical in US’s efforts to stabilise Afghanistan: report NEW YORK APP

and PhD classes this year.

She said presently there were greater opportunities for Pakistan students to study in the United States.

A leading American newspaper on Friday welcomed the ending of a seven-month blockade on Afghanistan-bound NATO supply routes, as it underscored the importance of Pakistan’s help to the US in stabilising Afghanistan. “It (the reopening of the routes) took way too long, but the compromise agreement is the best news in months,” The New York Times said in an editorial, ‘Detente on Supply Routes’. “It gives both sides a chance to halt a further slide in their troubled, mutually dependent relationship”. “Both countries needed a deal and got something for it,” the Times said, referring to accord under which the US finally apologised for the American airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at Salala last November and Pakistan responded by reopening the supply routes. The editorial noted that the Obama administration’s refusal to offer an apology and its use of the longer ground and air routes through Russia cost Washington some $100 million more a month. “Pakistan has paid a price for the closure,” the Times said.

demos against resumed NAtO supply held across the country ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

Several religious parties and groups on Friday staged demonstrations across the county against the government’s decision to unblock supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Demonstrations were organized by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), a joint platform of various religious and political parties, in all main cities and towns across the country to express anger at the government’s decision.

In Quetta, demonstrators burnt

portraits of US President Barrack Obama and US and NATO flags.

A large number of people marched in Karachi and lashed out at the government for allowing its land routes for supplies to US and NATO forces.

Addressing the rally, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Hussain Mehanti said the government’s move to reopen NATO supplies was against the will of people.

Mehanti said the US had become a major threat to the security of the region, especially as it had turned a peaceful Afghanistan into a battlefield.

Jamaat-ud-Daawa and other groups also staged demonstrations in Karachi, in which the speakers vowed to mobilize public opinion against the government’s decision.

Demonstrations and rallies were also held in other parts of Sindh.

In Lahore, Jamaat-e-Isalmi, Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadith and several other parties took out processions and condemned the unblocking of NATO supply line.

JI leaders Munawar Hasan and Liaquat Baloch told a rally that the US even did not tender an apology and Sec-

retary of State Hillary Clinton only said “sorry” and the Pakistani rulers just accepted that.

They said the government ignored parliament’s resolution which had called for a halt to US drone strikes and imposition of tax on the NATO containers. But the government withdrew its demand for levying the tax on the NATO trucks.

A demonstration was also held in Islamabad, in which the speakers demanded the government withdraw its decision of reopening the NATO supply line.

Rallies were also held in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Mardan, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Dir. The speakers expressed serious concern over the government’s decision to allow arms supply to Afghan security forces, saying it would pave the way for Pakistan’s involvement in the Afghan war.

The DPC has also called for a long march on July 8 from Lahore to Islamabad against the resumption of NATO supplies.

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

Kabul faces pressure on graft at Tokyo aid meet KABUL AfP

A

HEAD of the exit of foreign combat troops, Afghanistan faces pressure to tackle pervasive corruption as it seeks billions in new aid at an international conference in Tokyo on Sunday.

Tens of billions of dollars have poured into Afghanistan since the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban in late 2001, but graft is rife from local police to high officials, and patience among donor countries is wearing thin.

Afghanistan wants to see around $4 billion a year in civilian assistance pledged in Tokyo for its aid-dependent economy, amid fears that donations could dry up when NATO pulls out in 2014. But a principle of “mutual accountability” will be stressed at the 70-nation

meeting, making continued payment of aid conditional on Kabul making progress, particularly on transparency.

After more than 30 years of war, the Afghan economy is weak and the country cannot survive without foreign aid. According to the World Bank, spending on defence and development by donors accounted for more than 95 percent of GDP in 2010-11. Without a functioning economy, Kabul covers only $2 billion of the $6 billion it spends each year not counting security costs, said a Western diplomat, with donor countries making up the difference. President Hamid Karzai, who will be in Tokyo along with officials including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations chief Ban Kimoon, has called for $4 billion a year in civilian aid for Afghanistan.

That would add to the $4.1 billion promised annually at a Chicago confer-

ence in May for security costs.

The Western diplomat said the Afghans were terrified that when NATO pulls out, the money will disappear with them.

Sources expect a deal worth up to $3.9 billion a year to be agreed in Tokyo, but after more than 10 years of sacrificing soldiers and tax dollars to the Afghan cause, leading donors are proving hard to persuade.

“We are not blind. We feel a considerable fatigue among the taxpayers,” said another diplomat.

European Union ambassador Vygaudas Usackas said the bloc was “committed to continue to prioritise the support to Afghanistan in the coming decade, enhancing our overall support post-2014”.

But the money will come with strings attached. A European diplomat said work was needed in five key areas: better management of public finances; improved tax collection; guarantees on rights, particu-

larly for women; legal reforms; and “credible” elections in 2014.

“Without tangible progress in these five areas, it will be difficult for donors to maintain their support to Afghanistan,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, who will jointly chair the Tokyo conference, said he was hoping it would result in pledges worth at least $3.0 billion a year. But in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper published Friday, he also warned of conditions for Karzai’s government. “(Kabul) must improve its governance capacity, including eradicating corruption,” he said, adding a mechanism to review progress in these areas every two years had to be developed. But there is resistance from the Afghans, who regard such conditions as attacks on their sovereignty.

“Many times, the international com-

munity wanted to tell us what to do or not and how to do it. But the Afghan government can only be fully responsible if it’s able to make its own decisions,” said a senior Afghan government official.

Aid organisations are also worried about what will happen to aid after 2014.

Since 2001, life expectancy has risen from 47 to 62 years for men and from 50 to 64 for women, according to Oxfam, which warned the good work of the last decade could be undone.

“Development gains made in Afghanistan over the last decade are in danger of being thrown away if levels of aid fall away in conjunction with the withdrawal of international troops in 2014,” the British aid group said.

Oxfam said the United States, Afghanistan’s biggest single donor, has already cut development aid by nearly half in 2011, from $4.1bn to $2.5bn.

Rights activists slam ban on Ahmediya website LAHORE AImA KhOSA

wAGAh: released Pakistani prisoners, including Pakistan Army serviceman muhammad Anwar (C), cross into Pakistan on friday after their release from India. afP

NATO confident Afghan forces can secure the country by 2015 ZAGREB AfP

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday that he believes Afghan forces are capable of securing their own country by the end of 2014 as the alliance’s mission changes from a combat to a support role.

“I’m confident that the Afghan security forces will be able to take full responsibility for security all over Afghanistan by the end of 2014 according to our plan,” Rasmussen told a press conference in Zagreb after meeting Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic. “From 2015 we will continue in a supportive mission with a training mission. So we are on the right track,” he added. A day earlier, speaking in Slovenia, Rasmussen called the transition in Afghanistan “a logistical challenge”. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is to hand over security to local forces by the end of 2014.

Awan’s contempt case hearing adjourned ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of contempt of court case against former federal law minister Senator Babar Awan until July 11. A two-member SC bench comprising Justice Ijaz Afzal and Justice Athar Saeed was hearing the case. During the hearing, Awan submitted an application and his medical certificate in the court. He told the bench that he was unwell and wanted to take complete bed rest. Granting his request for adjournment, the bench directed Awan to continue with his medical treatment and adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.

PM reshuffles eight top bureaucrats ISLAMABAD ONlINE

Prime Minster Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday made major changes in the federal bureaucracy, reshuffling at least eight federal secretaries and replacing Khushnood Lashari with Ayub Qazi as his new personal secretary.

Sources said that the newlyappointed personal secretary, Ayub Qazi is considered a close friend of Ashraf.

According to PM House’s spokesperson, senior officer of Information Group Chaudhry Rasheed Ahmed replaced Taimoor

Azmat Usman as the new secretary Information while Usman was posted as secretary Establishment.

Secretary Narcotics Javed Iqbal was posted as secretary Economic Affairs while federal finance secretary Dr Waqar Masood was appointed as secretary Petroleum and Minerals.

Additional Secretary Trade Kamran Qureshi was made new secretary of Kashmir and Baltistan Ministry while senior officer of FBR Israr Rauf replaced Imtiaz Inayat Elahi as secretary CAAD. Imtiaz Inayat Elahi was posted as the new federal secretary for National Regulation and Services.

Civil rights activists and members of the minority Ahmediya community on Friday slammed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for adding the group’s official website, alislam.org, to its ever swelling list of banned websites without prior warning or notice.

“Our community has been suffering under oppressive policies and laws for years, and this just comes as an unsurprising blow,” Saleem-Ud-Din, a spokesperson for the persecuted minority group said while talking to Pakistan Today. He said that the website only displayed an introduction to their faith and carried a profile of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the group’s founder.

When asked if PTA had issued prior warning or notice, Saleem-Ud-din said that they had been given no indication, and the website was banned without the administration of the website being informed as to reasons why. He rejected charges that the website contained any blasphemous content, saying it simply provided an introduction to their religion.

“In today’s day and age, it is impossible to shut down websites like ours. Today if one was banned; tomorrow five new ones will appear,” he said.

Munawar Shahid, a human rights activist, also stressed that the sole purpose of this website was to educate the Ahmediya community abroad and did not contain any hateful or blasphemous material.

Condemning the PTA action, Shahid said that Pakistan had ratified the UN Dec-

laration of Human Rights and this move was a violation of human rights, whereby the voice of the Ahmediya community has been suppressed.

Several civil society activists vehemently denounced this step by PTA, which has recently taken several steps to bottleneck freedom of expression and viewership on the internet.

“If you notice the trend over the last few years, you will find that there has been a decrease in tolerance by the very institutions that are supposed to protect the minorities,” said human rights activist and prominent lawyer, Hina Jillani. “Any action that curtails the freedom of speech and religion of any individual should be condemned,” she said.

She also expressed the need for an independent body, which commands respect and faith of the public and minorities, to review such cases and verify or invalidate such claims and complaints against websites, before PTA decides to take countermeasures against them.

The Constitution of Pakistan disbars the Ahmediya community from propagating their religion. According to news reports, the Muttahida Ulema Board (MUB) lodged a complaint against alislam.org saying that it violated that certain clause of the constitution. The website according to MUB carried blasphemous content as well.

Pakistan Today contacted the media coordinator for PTA in Lahore, Mustafa Pasha but he refused to comment on the policies of the authority. Repeated attempts were made to contact the PTA chairman but his phone went unanswered.

Govt tweaks strategy Continued fRom page 1 judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. He said the 22nd Constitutional Amendment sought to remove impediments in the way of Pakistanis holding dual nationalities from contesting election to parliament.

Babar said many countries of the world permitted the holding of dual nationalities/citizenships and the Pakistan Citizenship Act also permitted dual nationality.

Naik said it had been a longstanding demand of overseas Pakistanis that there should be no impediments in their way to run for the national parliament. “Through the proposed amendment in Article 63 (1)(c) the constitutional bar on the dual nationality holders to be members of parliament would be lifted,” he said.

He said the third legislative measure pertained to enacting a law relating to the contempt of court. He said the proposed contempt law was a blend of the powers of the court to punish for its contempt with the right of citizens in a democracy for fair comments and criticism.

He explained that the proposed law provided for punishment for contempt as well as full opportunity to the accused of a fair trial, including transparent procedures for right to appeal. He said the right for appeal was being streamlined in the bill.

The law minister said the fourth legislative measures was an ordinance that would be placed before the National Assembly to validate acts, orders and other instruments made and issued from April 26 to June 19 by former prime

minister Gilani.

Prime Minister Ashraf also briefed the meeting on the current energy situation and the measures taken to address the issue. He said the power situation was steadily improving and the government was keeping a strict watch on the progress in addressing the issue of energy shortages.

The president’s spokesman said the coalition partners reiterated their support to the government.

OPPOSItION: Meanwhile, the main opposition party decided to oppose the dual nationality bill.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan reiterated his party’s stance, saying that the PML-N would oppose the dual nationality and contempt of court amendments in parliament.

In a statement issued by his office on Friday, Nisar said the government

was trying to make parliament a rubberstamp due to its policies and would have to face protests by the opposition in the coming National Assembly sessions.

Nisar said the government had restored NATO supply routes violating parliamentary resolutions, which was not acceptable.

The opposition leader highlighted the issues of load shedding, price hike, unemployment and lawlessness, saying that the common man’s life had become a nightmare due to these problems.

The PML Likeminded also decided to oppose the bill with party leader, Kashmala Tariq saying that the amendment would endanger the solidarity of the country, adding that the people who wanted to amend the constitution were working for the promotion of foreign agenda in Pakistan.

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

More power protests GILGIT INP

Hundreds of enraged protestors blocked the main Karakoram Highway at Jagloot area to condemn the long hours of loadshedding and also demanded of the government to restore the supply of electricity. Protracted loadshedding has brought the residents of Jagloot to the end of their patience and they staged a demonstration against the government and blocked the main Karakoram Highway and no traffic was allowed to pass for many hours. The enraged protestors chanted slogans against the government and demanded of the electricity department to restore proper supply of electricity to the area where residents were being deprived of power for long hours. The blocking of Karakoram Highway left the passengers, who were traveling from Rawalpindi and other cities of the country to Gilgit, stranded for long hours. The protestors demanded of the provincial and federal governments to play an active role in the restoration of electricity to the area on emergency basis as power cuts have inflicted huge damages on the businesses of the locals.

IslAmAbAd: members of the National Assembly offer fateha for Fauzia Wahab during the assembly session on Friday.

MNAs pay tribute to Fauzia Wahab ISLAMABAD

Hold your fire

ONlINE

India, Pakistan not to indulge in unprovoked firing NEW DELHI

A

ONlINE

T a time when the relationship between India and Pakistan reached an all-time low in the wake of Abu Jundal’s chilling confession, the border forces of two nations have issued a joint statement promising not to indulge in unprovoked firing.

The statement came after a marathon four-day meeting of the Border Security Force and the Pakistan

Rangers here, reported PTI. Addressing a joint press conference, BSF Director General U K Bansal and Chief of Pakistan Rangers Major General Rizwan Akhtar said both the forces will work to ensure that such ceasefire violations do not take place along the border.

“We talked in detail (on the issue of cross border firing)...This should not happen. We will better the mechanism, we will ensure that those parameters that we have discussed here (during the meeting) will be told to every trooper on the border and we believe that we will

have better results,” Akhtar said after signing a joint record of discussions.

Seconding Akhtar’s view, BSF DG Bansal said steps should be taken to ensure that ceasefire violations should not take place. “We have existing methods of flag meetings and border talks. We will use these modalities and with the joint confidence, we both are in favour that such instances should be controlled immediately. With this mutual confidence the border commanders will deal with this issue,” Bansal said.

However, Akhtar refuted India’s

THE RED SPREADS ANP making inroads in Hazara, dera ismail Khan PESHAWAR ShAmIm ShAhId

Despite facing opposition on lingual and political grounds in the regions, the ruling Awami National Party has made inroads in Southern Dera Ismael Khan and the Northern Hazara regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

An influential politician from Dera Ismael Khan Syed Mureed Kazim – who be-

sides holding provincial ministerial portfolios a couple of times has also been the provincial president of Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) – has joined the ANP whereas two other influential politicians from Mansehra are expected to become part of the nationalist party

by July 11th. It would be pertinent to mention here that the ANP’s political influence and clout in both Hazara and Dera Ismael Khan had been non-existent for the past six

decades. But after emerging as a major political force in the February 2008 general elections, the ANP leadership focused its attentions on strengthening its position in these parts of the province. The sitting provincial religious and minority affairs minister, Haji Nimroz Khan, was the lone MP elected on ANP ticket from these areas. But now a number of sitting parliamentarians from both Hazara and Dera Ismael Khan

claim over smuggling of fake Indian currency notes and said Pakistan was not into such kind of activities.

“No it is not correct to say that fake currency is being pumped (from across the border)...Fake currency can be made anywhere in the world...It can be manufactured in India...The maximum consumption of fake Indian currency is in India only,” he claimed.

Both the forces also talked about taking a humanitarian and more lenient approach in case of people crossing the border unintentionally.

have become part of the party.

Soon after the 2008 general elections, Khalifa Abdul Qayoom from Dera Ismael Khan, Qazi Asad and late Akhtar Nawaz Khan from Haripur, Taj Mohammad Khan Tarand from Batagram and late Maulana Obaid Ullah from Kohistan had announced their support in favour of the ANP. Qazi Asad was the first one amongst this lot to formally announce joining ANP soon after the 2008 elections and now plays an important role in promoting ANP in his native Haripur district and other parts of Hazara Division.

With the passage of time, the links of these parliamentarians with the ANP have strengthened. After the death of Akhtar Nawaz Khan, his brother Gohar Nawaz Khan contested polls on an ANP ticket and retained the family seat from Haripur. Similarly, after the death of Maulana Obaid Ullah, his nephew Engineer Sajjad contested by-elections from Kohistan on an ANP ticket.

Syed Mureed Kazim was earlier part of a group that supported the PPP (S) but he announced joining ANP a couple of months back in a well-attended public meeting, which was addressed by Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti amongst others. A couple of days back, former MNA Nawabzada Salah-ud-Din Saeed and MPA Habib-ur-Rehman Tanoli held a meeting with ANP leadership and decided to join as well. Both these politicians are going to join the ANP in a public meeting at Tanawal Hazara on July 11 next. Nawabzada Salah-ud-Din made the record of being the youngest elected MNA when he won his seat back in 1985. Since then, he has retained the seat from Mansehra in 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997. He hails from a well-respected family

Paying glowing tribute to PPP leader Fauzia Wahab, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday underlined she was an ‘asset’ for the party. PM Raja Pervez Ashraf said on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday that her death was a colossal tragedy. “Pakistan has lost a very special person. A woman who stood up for what she wanted, who spoke out in spite of criticism, who spread smiles with her wit and played a major part in empowering Pakistani women,” he said. NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza said the demise of Fauzia Wahab was an irrecoverable loss. She was of the view that if all parties agreed, a committee could be constituted to investigate the reasons behind her death. On the occasion, PPP’s MNA Yasmeen Rehman told NA that Fauzia was an absolutely admirable woman.

Hamid Saeed Kazmi termed the loss irreparable, as she was a “kind hearted and outspoken person”.

of Amb and is chief of the Tanolis. Habib-urRehman Tanoli is also an accomplished politician who has been elected to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in 1988, 1993 and 2008. He was unable to contest 2002 general elections due to some technicalities; therefore, his daughter Ghazala Tanoli had occupied that seat on a PPP(Sherpao) ticket.

Though the political environment of Hazara has never been favourable for the ANP, but the hostility over there reached its peak when the province was renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in April 2010. Certain sections of society there resisted the move of the provincial government strongly but the ANP leadership in general and the chief minister in particular handled the situation very carefully.

Now, the ANP is considered an emerging political force in Hazara and many people over there view it in a positive light. The ANP leadership has discreetly tackled the issue of the creation of a Hazara province. The ANP leadership has termed it to be a political and constitutional matter that will be dealt as per due process. The ANP has also redrawn administrative divisions to reflect the ethnic makeup of the district to enable itself to deal with the matter. It declared Torghar (Kala Dhaka) as a district and they are also going to establish Tanawal district. The Tanawal tribe of Pashtuns is scattered in Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra district and this move will help settle them. Moreover, the provincial government has already assured the establishment of Abaseen Division that will comprise of districts like Kohistan, Batagram and Shangla.

These moves of the ANP have not only helped them tactfully deal with the Hazara province issue but have also strengthened the party.

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

dr Paul grieved over burning of blasphemy accused ISLAMABAD APP

Adviser to Prime Minister for National Harmony Dr Paul Bhatti has expressed profound grief and concern over the harrowing incident of burning of a man alive in Bahawalpur district after pulling him out of Chanighot police station. The man who was burnt alive was reported to be mentally unstable and was accused of blasphemy, says a news release issued here on Friday. Expressing shock, the adviser said that no one should be allowed to take the law into his hands no matter what the crime was. He expressed the hope that the authorities concerned would dispense justice according to the law in this case.

PCP probe body to redress masses’ complaints ISLAMABAD PrESS rElEASE

A meeting of inquiry committees of Press Council of Pakistan was held at its secretariat on Friday with Raja Shafqat Abbasi in the chair. Addressing the meeting, the PCP chairman said that the basic purpose of the formation of inquiry committees was to redress grievances of the general public against the print media, government or any organisation. Abbasi expressed the hope that members of the committees will review complaints in a transparent and independent manner to create a sense of responsible journalism and implement the code of conduct in the country. The committees processed a number of complaints and issued notices to the parties concerned. The committees also reviewed suo motu cases and approved the action initiated by the chairman. The meeting was attended by Ms Yasmeen Rehman MNA, Syed Fesiah Iqbal, Nasir Zaidi, Iqbal Jafri, Bachal Leghari, Ms Nasreen Aslam Azher and Ms Ayesha Ikram.

liquor recovered RAWALPINDI: City police launched a crackdown on the directives of City Police Officer (CPO) Azhar Hameed Khokar, Police recovered 1,000 bottle of liquor from a man who was carrying illegal business. According to police spokesman, Saddar Wah police held Yasir on the tip off a police that he was busy in selling bottle of liquor in the areas.

During the search, police recovered 1,000 bottle of liquor from him. APP

ISlAmAbAd: Jamaat-ud-dawa activists chant slogans outside masjid quba against restoration of the NATO supply. staff PHoto

rAMAdAN PACKAGe

4 sasta bazaars, 35 fair price shops to be set up ISLAMABAD

T

STAff rEPOrT

HE Islamabad Capital Territory Administration on Friday decided to establish sasta bazaars and 35 fair price shops in various areas of the federal capital during the month of Ramadan.

Deputy Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed reviewed the arrangements and preparations of related departments for providing food items at subsidized rates to consumers during the upcoming month of Ramadan.

The DC was informed that 4 sasta

bazaars would be set up at G-7, Koral, Rawat and Bharaku where commodities would be sold at the prices lower than those in other weekly bazaars. In addition, 4 mobile utility stores would also be established in these sasta bazaars.

He said 35 fair price shops were being established for the coming Ramadan where atta, ghee, sugar, basin and pulses would be sold to the people low rates. The food assistant director has been directed to ensure quality of food items at these fair shops and sasta bazaars.

Meanwhile, 14 price checking teams, comprising assistant commis-

sioners, magistrates and special magistrates, are being formed to conduct price checking during Ramadan.

FINALLy, tRANSPORt FARES REDuCED: The local administration, in view of decrease in the petroleum prices, has reduced public transport fares on various routes and issued a notification in this regard.

According to the revised reduced fares, CNG transport fares have been reduced by Rs 3 on the initial three stages and Rs 4 on the last three stages. Similarly, diesel transport fares were reduced by Rs 1 on the initial three stages and Rs 2 on the last three stages.

NPC summer camp from tomorrow ISLAMABAD APP

ISlAmAbAd: A bird sits under the shadow of a wall to get relief from the scorching hot weather. staff PHoto

The National Press Club (NPC) has organised a summer camp for the journalists’ children from July 9 here at Pakistan Sports Board. Minister of State for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Malik Azmat Khan will inaugurate the NPC summer Camp.

The camp will kick off with swimming event that will be attended by over 110 participants, says a press release issued here.

“The summer camp includes swimming, football, basketball and cricket which will be a big success as the journalist’s children have got the opportunity to enjoy healthy activities,” said NPC Secretary Shahryar Khan. He said that special shuttle service will also be provided for journalists’ children from the press club to Media Town.

MONSOON tO HELP REDuCE LOAD SHEDDINg: Expected monsoon rains will help reduce the power crisis as hydel generation would increase in the country.

Currently power shortfall is over 5,000MW in the country, which is likely to be reduced with the expected monsoon rains, increasing the hydel generation in the coming days, reported a private news channel on Friday.

An increase up to 1,400MW in overall power generation would reduce load shedding in the country which is expecting to receive monsoon rains in the next few days, which would help in generating 1,000MW powers through hydel generation and this addition would reduce load shedding during the month of Ramadan.

Five cops to perform Hajj on govt expenses ISLAMABAD STAff rEPOrT

As many as five lucky police personnel would perform Hajj this year on government expenses. These cops were selected through a balloting conducted by DIG Headquarters Ahmed Mukhram at the police line here on Friday.

According to a police spokesman, the balloting was conducted on the directives of Inspector General Police Bani Amin Khan.

Around 5,492 police personnel participated in the balloting, including constables and officers. The employees having 15 years service with the age limit of 55 years were includedm in the balloting. Those who will perform Hajj this year are: Inspector Muhammad Afzal, Sub Inspector Taseer Ahmed, Head Constable Shahid Mehmood, Head Constable Ghumkhar Hussain and UDC Manzoor Hussain. All the expenditures of these police personnel will be borne by the police department.

Kyrgyz/tajik team visits NUSt ISLAMABAD: A high-profile 10-member delegation, including deputy governor Tajikistan and deputy minister for education from Kyrgyz Republic along with officials from Asian Development Bank, visited the main campus of National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) here on Friday. On their arrival at the university, the delegates were accorded a warm welcome. Subsequently, they were briefed on the genesis of NUST, its constituent institutions, academic programmes and research capabilities, the industry and international linkages, achievements of faculty and students, and the future plans of the university. The delegation visited some of the teaching and research facilities, including School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, NUST Institute of Civil Engineering, Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences and Research Centre for Modulation and Simulation (Supercomputer Lab). Pr

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

Islamabad 07 ItP police imparted training on Hr violations ISLAMABAD PrESS rElEASE

A one-day session on human and child rights was organized by Plan International for the training of 500 ITP police as part of their training and capacity building for democracy and human rights. The aim of the event was to ensure that police realizes the importance of human and child rights and gains the trust of the citizens by being sensitive to the issues of rights’ violations faced by them. The session was held in the ITP headquarters and police lines headquarters, in collaboration with the Islamabad police. Master trainers delivered lectures on human and child rights and protection of the citizens’ rights. They also created awareness of the relevant issues through examples from real life. Another topic addressed during the session was gender sensitivity. The trainees showed keen interest in the training and actively participated in the interactive sessions. SSP Traffic Dr. Moeen Masood stressed the need to create awareness of the issue and threw light on the role of the police to build up a sense of protection amongst the citizens

57.17 percent pass SSC Part-I exam ISLAMABAD

F

APP

EDERAL Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) on Friday declared the result of Secondary School Certificate, Part-I Annual Examination 2012, with the pass percentage of 57.17. According to the details, 72960 regular and ex-private candidates appeared in the examination and 41711 candidates could pass it. A total of 60,796 regular candidates appeared in the exams and 39,202 students passed, giving a success rate of 64.48 percent. While 12,164 private and ex-candidates appeared in the exams and 2,509 passed it with the pass percentage of 20.63.

Among the regular candidates, 51,504 students, including 32,304 males and 19,200 female students, appeared in science group and 34,534 passed the exams with the pass percentage of 67.05.

However, in humanities group, 9,292 students, including 1,834 males and 7,458 female students appeared in the exams and 4668 students passed with the percentage of 50.24. Among the exprivate candidates, 8,136 students including 5,778 male and 2,358 female students appeared in the Science group and 1,798 students passed the exams with the pass percentage of 22.10. In the humanities group, 4,028 candidates, including 2,012 male and 2,016 female students appeared in the exams and 711

passed with the pass percentage of 17.65.

This year, 18 unfair means cases were reported and eight cases were decided by adopting a judicious procedure. The result is also available on the federal board website at weblink www.fbise.edu.pk and the candidates can get the results through sms unified code 5050 by sending sms in the following format: FB(space)[roll no].

IHC SEEKS REPORt ON PRINtINg OF HOLy vERSES: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday sought comments from the secretaries of information and religious affairs and others on a plea seeking direction to restrain commercial and disrespectful use of the newspapers and magazines containing the verses of the Holy Quran as well as the traditions of the holy prophet (PBUH).

A single bench of Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan resumed hearing of the petition filed

by Sheraz Ahmed Farooqi through his lawyer Riasat Ali Azad. During the course of hearing, counsel for the petitioner apprised the bench that most of the national newspapers having vast circulation were printing verses of the Holy Quran on their front pages, but these papers were being disposed of in a wrong and bad manner.

He contended that the outraging use and disrespectful disposal of newspapers and magazines containing the holy verses and holy texts was against the respect and sanctity of the holy verses and gross violation of Article 2, 2-A, 20 and 30 of the Constitution. Further hearing of the case was adjourned until the last week of July.

World Chappar hotels sell out unhygienic POPULATION DAY ON 11TH ISLAMABAD APP

The World Population Day will be observed on July 11 to reaffirm the human right to plan a family.

It encourages activities, events and information to help make this right a reality throughout the world. The World Population Day aims to increase people’s awareness of various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. The World Population Day theme 2012 is ‘Re-energizing Family Planning in Zimbabwe’.

About three billion people or almost half world’s population, are considered below 25.

The United Nations Population Finance’s member Rogelio Fernandez declares that this is the significant moment for politicians to endow in the opportunities of youth in upwarding countries. The day is celebrated worldwide by business groups, community organisations and individuals in many ways.

Activities include seminar discussions, educational information sessions and essay competitions. In 1968 world leaders proclaimed that individuals had a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and timing of their children. About 40 years later modern contraception remains out of reach for millions of women, men and young people. The day was instituted in 1989 as an outgrowth of the day of five billion, marked on July 11, 1987. The UN authorised the event as a vehicle to build an awareness of population issues and the impact they have on development and the environment. Since then, with the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) encouragement, governments, nongovernmental organizations, institutions and individuals organise various educational activities to celebrate the annual event.

food in unclean dishware ISLAMABAD APP

Chhappar hotels in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are posing a danger to the health of their customers by selling unhygienic food in dirty dishware.

Chhappar hotels can be seen every area at the capital, including Sector I-8, in front of Shifa International Hospital, Sector H-8, Zero Point, near Marriott Hotel, Faizabad, Sector I-9, Sector I-10, Sector G-7, Sector F-10, Sector G-11, Sector F-6, Sector G-10, Faizabad, Pirwadaye and Saddar.

Despite a difference in cost of food and service charges, the situation of cleanliness at all chhappar hotels is almost same. During a visit to the hotels, it was revealed that kitchens of the hotels were dirty and the water used at these hotels was not clean.

The standard of the hotels is deteriorating as authorities are not holding them accountable, said Mohsin Ali, a customer. He said crockery used to serve food to customers at the hotels was scratched and unwashed and the water was unfiltered. He complained

dear departed ISLAMABAD Ali Yahya Khan passed away on Friday. His Namaz-e-Janaza will be offered in the army graveyard at 11am today (Saturday).

BERIEVED: Ms Tabinda Ali, Hussain Ali Khan, Sajida and Faizle.

21,292 confirmed dengue cases reported in Punjab last year ISLAMABAD APP

A total of 21,292 confirmed cases of dengue, including 352 which proved fatal, were reported in Punjab last year, said an official in dengue epidemic control programme.

Talking to APP here Friday, an official said that in view of the situation with regard to dengue fever, the provincial authorities took numerous measures, including setting-up of task force, while a provincial steering committee was also constituted.

Currently, the district implementation committees, headed by district coordination officers (DCOs) are also operational in the province, he said.

The other step was setting up of Dengue Research and Development (R&D) Cell to carry out applied and operations research. Emphasis is placed on utilizing latest technology to combat dengue.

A system has been developed and put in place for online dengue case surveillance, while global positioning system (GPS) mapping of cases, vector and digital monitoring of dengue prevention and control activities are being carried out.

According to Dengue Epidemic and Control

that utensils used to cook food were not washed properly.

Rizwan Khan, another customer, said while the quality of food at chhappar hotels was deteriorating, prices were increasing. Doctor Abdur Rehman of the Shifa International said that at chhappar hotels, healthy people had to take their food in dishware used by patients of communicable diseases. He said, “We appeal to the government to upgrade chappar hotels and educate their management about cleanliness.” Muhammad Faisal, a customer, said the hotels did not have any proper seating arrangements. Ajmal Habib said chappar hotels’ management used same dirty plates, cups and glasses again without washing them to save water and time.

CPO tO HOLD OPEN KutCHERy tODAy: On the special instructions of the Punjab chief minister, City Police Officer (CPO) Azhar Hameed Khokar will hold an open Kutchery at Wah Cantonment police station.

The CPO will listen to people’s complaints and will order the directives on the occasion to provide justice to the grieved people.

Programme data, during the last year, a total of 386 confirmed cases with 7 deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, Abbotabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Mardan, Swat and Nowshera. A hefty amount was released for purchase of larvicides, insecticides, spray machines, foggers, and social mobilization activities, he said. According to the data in Sindh, a total of 1,547 suspected cases were reported of which 1,326 were from Karachi and 221 were from the rest of Sindh. Eighteen of these cases were fatal.

To address future dengue outbreak, a scheme at a cost of Rs 265.7 million has been approved.

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08 Islamabad

Saturday, 7 July, 2012

WEAtHEr UPdAtES

34 °C High

artisans get Professional training

26°C low

Partly Cloudy

SUNdAy

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tUESdAy

31°C i 26°C

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PrAyEr tiMiNgS Fajr Sunrise 03:20 05:02

zuhr 12:12

Asr 15:57

Maghrib 19:22

isha 21:04

City dirECtOry EMErgENCy HElP POliCE EMErgENCy AMbUlANCE rESCUE HilAl-E-AHMEr EdHi FOUNdAtiON bOMb diSPOSAl FirE brigAdE CENtrE CiVil dEFENCE

15 115 1122 9250488 2827844 9270698 16 9262830

HOSPitAlS MAHrOOF iNt PiMS POly CliNiC CdA SHiFA iNtErNAtiONAl Ali diStriCt HqS UltrASONiC CliNiC HOly FAMily

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blOOd bANK PiMS blOOd bANK POly CliNiC blOOd bANK

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COMPlAiNt WAPdA SUi gAS

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rAilWAyS City StAtiON (ENqUiry) rESErVAtiON rAilWAy POliCE

117 9273614 1333

AirPOrt FligHt ENqUiry PiA rESErVAtiON

114 111-786-786

ISLAMABAD APP

N

ATIONAL Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Lok Virsa, has started training of master artisans to create opportunities for skilled artisans and workers. The training is part of a series of workshops with five batches each of the 14-day workshops. The first batch focusses on the field of textiles. Master artisans involved in various kinds of textiles from all parts of the country, including Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, are participating in the workshop. Fazal-e-Wahab (Swati Lungi), Alam Khan (Swati Shawl), Shah Behram (Taghar Weaving), Rashida ( Hazara Jasti), Rashida (Hazara Phulkari from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Tehmina Perveen (Gota Kinari), Surayya Abdullah (Tie Dye), Noor Muhammad (Khaddar Weaving), Haseena Bibi (Khussa Making), Ameer Bakhsh (block printing), Bushra Habib (embroidery) Hafeez Nasir, Siani Khatoon, Amanullah (Khes Weaving), Ms Paree, Halima and Qasim (Daree Weaving), Abdul Hayee and Arbab Ali Soomro (Ajrak block printing from Sindh), Sultana (Hunza embroidery from Gilgit Baltistan) and Mukhtar Ahmed (Namda and Gabba Weaving from Azad Kashmir) are among the participants.

The first session started with the training package GALS (Gender Action Learning System) and group management. GALS system is especially devised for those men and women who intend to make their lives better, enhance love, happiness and social justice among their family members etc.

The instructors gave lectures to the artisans using visual materials, charts and artisans were also involved in various interesting activities. The idea behind these activities is to boost the confidence of the artisans so that they could plan about their lives in a better way and to step forward through gender justice. The series of master artisans training workshops have been arranged under the aegis of SUNGI Development Foundation, Lok Virsa, GIZ, DAACHI and Beacon House National University. The project is the brainchild of SUNGI Development Foundation which has not only conceived and conceptualized but also materialised this endeavour. Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage), a specialised body charged with the mandate of collecting, documenting, preserving and projecting the rich cultural heritage of Pakistan, has provided all its infrastructure, including venue, buildings, halls, shops etc. for the purpose.

GIZ, a German donor firm, is looking after all the financial aspects for the project while DAACHI has provided technical expertise, including instructors, designers etc. for the training.

labour force to grow by 3.5 percent in 2012-13 ISLAMABAD APP

The labour force is expected to grow by 3.5% during the ongoing fiscal year (2012-13) according to the projections of the government that have been made keeping in view the past average population growth and increase in the labour force participation rate.

The labour force growth indicates that approximately 2 million new jobs would be demanded during the fiscal year 2012-13. As prevailing employment elasticity is 0.5, approximately 7% GDP growth would be required to absorb the growing labour force and to maintain the unemployment level of 2011-12, official document revealed.

The federal government has initiated a number of programmes to increase the employment through an effective human resource development, according to the document.

These programmes include National Internship, President’s Rozgar Programme; credit for self-employment by National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), enhancement of residential facilities by construction of one million housing units, doubling of lady health workers to cover Katchi Abadis, raising of minimum wages from Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 and pension of workers, establishment of National Vocational Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and restoration of trade unions.

The government together with representa-

Tour To KHilASH, CHiTrAl, SHANdoor, GilGiT, eTC

tives of employers and workers and with the technical support of ILO is implementing a ‘Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP)’ in all the provinces.

The main objectives of the programmes are to promote decent employment in which international labour standards and workers’ fundamental rights go hand in hand with job creation. The programme also aims to place employment at the centre of economic and social policies at the global, regional and national level, improve the lives of millions of people who are either unemployed or whose remuneration from work is inadequate, and provide them with opportunities and their families to escape poverty through the creation of productive employment.

iT'S SuMMer AGAiN!

druMMiNG CirCle

dAtE: JUly 06 tO 14, 2012 VENUE: FAlCON AdVENtUrE ClUb

dAtE: JUNE 18 tO JUly 31, 2012 VENUE: CENtrE FOr ArtS ANd CUltUrE

dAtE ANd tiME: 05:00 PM, WEEKly EVENt VENUE: tHE CENtrE FOr ArtS & CUltUrE

Every month, FAC organizes several trips and expeditions to various locations in Pakistan.

For more updates like our Community page: www.facebook.com/falconadventureclub

it's the summer again & Kuch Khaas is back with all things awesome!

June 18th - July 31st.

For more details call 051-8357483

Our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoing event and is held every Friday from 5pm to 6pm We are having a great time, and want to share the good time with you! Our drumming circle has children ...

COllEgES / UNiVErSitiES iNtErNAtiONAl iSlAMiC UNiVErSity 9260765 bAHriA UNiVErSity 9260002 NUMl 9257677 qUAid-E-AzAM UNiVErSity 90642098 Arid AgriCUltUrE UNiVErSity 9290151 FJWU 9273235 riPHA iNtErNAtiONAl UNiVErSity 111510510 NCA rAWAlPiNdi 5770423 PUNJAb lAW COllEgE 4421347

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

Foreign News 09

russian parliament passes ‘foreign agent’ NgO bill MOSCOW AfP

Russia’s lower house of parliament gave initial backing Friday to a contentious bill forcing internationally-funded NGOs to carry a “foreign agent” tag, a move expected to stigmatise scores of groups.

Pushed through by the ruling United Russia party, the bill was supported by 323 State Duma deputies in the first of three required readings. Four voted against it and one abstained. Under the wide-ranging bill, all Russian NGOs that are funded from abroad and ruled to be involved in politics, or acting in the interests of foreign states and other international donors, will have to carry a “foreign agent” tag and submit to more rigorous checks by the authorities.

A breach of the law would be punishable by hefty fines or jail time.

Russian officials say the bill is aimed at preventing foreign states from influencing Russia’s domestic politics and emulates US legislation on foreign-funded NGOs. Critics say the bill is a part of a broad crackdown on the opposition that followed unprecedented winter protests against strongman Vladimir Putin as well as a throwback to Stalin’s time, when nearly everyone deemed to be in contact with foreign nationals was branded a spy and a foreign agent. Irina Yarovaya, one of the bill’s authors, said the measure would not hinder the work of NGOs involved in charity work as opposed to politics.

“Its purpose is the oppenness towards society, towards citizens,” she said in the Duma. But Ilya Ponomaryov, a lawmaker with populist A Just Russia, said in the Duma the measure would further polarise Russian society. “Today you are deepening a split in society,” he said in a fiery speech, a white ribbon, the symbol of the nascent protest movement, pinned to his lapel.

PARIs: France's President Francois Hollande shakes hands with Us secretary of state Hillary Clinton prior to a meeting at the Elysee Palace on Friday. AFP

World powers pile pressure on Assad as general defects

Police ‘attack’ as Sudan protesters gather at mosques KHARTOUM AfP

romanian president faces impeachment amid furore BUCHAREST AfP

Romanian President Traian Basescu faced an impeachment vote Friday in a spiralling political crisis that has brought warnings from the country’s EU partners that its democracy is under threat.

Basescu’s arch-rival Prime Minister Victor Ponta sought to allay the widespread fears, pledging to travel to Brussels next week to “give assurances” to the bloc that Romania joined in 2007. Lawmakers were set to vote in a session beginning at 1400 GMT on a motion to impeach the centre-right Basescu over allegations that he improperly assumed the powers of the prime minister when he announced drastic austerity cuts in 2010.

The ruling centre-left Liberal Social Union (USL) coalition accuses Basescu of violating the constitution, while critics fear the government wants to take over the judiciary. The Constitutional Court judged Friday that Basescu had indeed committed some breaches of his prerogatives but no violations of the constitution. The USL had given the court 24 hours to give an opinion on seven charges against him. The power struggle is one of Romania’s worst political crises since it emerged from a brutal dictatorship little more than 20 years ago.

PARIS

A

AfP

world meeting on Syria urged the UN Friday to use the threat of sanctions to force change in Syria as President Bashar al-Assad was rocked by the defection of one of his most senior generals.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also rounded on Russia and China, telling delegates from over 100 countries gathered in Paris that the two veto-wielding UN Security Council members were blocking progress towards peace.

The “Friends of Syria” meeting insisted that Assad would have to quit and sought a resolution under the UN charter’s Chapter 7, which provides for possible sanctions and military action.

But it stressed that the immediate action under Article 41 provided only for non-military intervention.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle backed the call for nonmilitary action for the time being, saying force should only be discussed “when the implementation of the sanctions has not really made the progress they should have”. French President Francois Hollande also pushed for the Security Council to get tough with Damascus, while the Syrian opposition called for humanitarian corridors and a no-fly zone.

A peace plan drawn up by former UN chief Kofi Annan, which insists on a cessation of violence by all sides, has made little headway and activists say an estimated 16,500 people have now died in the 16month uprising. A meeting last weekend of world powers in Geneva agreed to a transition plan that the Syria opposition, the West and Russia have interpreted differently, but Clinton insisted the plan amounted to a call for Assad to go.

“It is imperative to go back to the Security Council and demand implementation of Kofi Annan’s plan including the Geneva communique that Russia and China have already agreed to,” Clinton said.

“We should go back and ask for a resolution in the Security Council that imposes real and immediate consequences for non-compliance, including sanctions,” ranging from economic measures to military force, she added. The West insists Assad should not be part of any new unity government and the Syrian opposition rejected the Geneva talks as making concessions to Damascus under pressure from Russia.

Taking a tough tone, Clinton said she thought Russia and China did “not believe they are paying any price at all for standing up on behalf of the regime”.

“The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear,

that Russia and China will pay a price. They are holding up progress, blockading it. That is no longer tolerable,” Clinton said.

Russia reacted immediately with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov “categorically” rejecting “the formulation that Russia supports Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the situation that has developed in Syria”. Hollande said the uprising is now a threat to international security, echoing US calls for a tough UN resolution.

“To those who maintain also that Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as dislikeable as it is, can avoid chaos, I tell them that they will have both the most dislikeable regime and chaos.

And this chaos will threaten their interests,” Hollande said. Although Moscow did not attend the meeting, a diplomatic source insisted that “Russian political and security circles are changing their position”.

“They agree that the situation is deteriorating... even if they continue to defend Moscow’s policies,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The Paris meeting follows a gathering in Tunis and another in Istanbul, both of which called in vain for tougher action against Assad’s regime. China did not attend either of those two meetings where the United States, France, Britain, Germany as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar led a group of more than 60 members, including most EU states and many Arab League nations.

no corruption ‘explosion’ on my watch: Indian Pm NEW DELHI AfP

India’s prime minister has hit back at critics of his graft-tainted government, stressing his own “high standard” of personal integrity and lauding his administration as a beacon of transparency.

In an interview Friday in the Hindustan Times newspaper, Manmohan Singh also argued that the Indian economy was healthier than media “pessimism” suggested, and promised further measures on tax issues that have rattled foreign investors.

Singh rarely grants media interviews, but has ramped up his public statements since taking on the finance ministry portfolio last month, in what analysts see as an effort to secure his legacy.

Singh is not expected to continue as premier after elections in 2014 and his personal reputation has taken a beating during his second term, amid a series of high-profile corruption scandals and accusations of policy drift.

“Coming to the personal criticism, not only have I maintained a high standard of integrity in my conduct, I have endeavoured to raise the levels in the

system as well,” Singh said.

Citing legislation like the Right To Information Act and a Whistleblowers Bill, the premier said his administration had made important strides in improving official accountability that would benefit future generations.

“Never before in the history of India have so many steps been taken in such a short time to bring in transparency into the functioning government, make government accountable to the people for its actions and bring in measures to control corruption,” he said.

“Just as the pessimism over the

economy is more in the markets and less on the ground, even in the case of corruption, I do not think there has been any explosion in corruption under my watch,” he added.

Singh’s ruling coalition has been embroiled in a series of scandals.

The most high profile case involved former telecom minister A. Raja, who quit in November 2010 over the sale of second-generation (2G) telecoms licences at far below their commercial value to selected companies.

Raja was later arrested and is currently on trial.

Sudanese police on Friday “attacked” with tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators gathered at mosques for weekly anti-regime protests sparked by inflation, a rights group said.

“Still large numbers of police forces are surrounding the central mosques,” said an official of the Organisation for Defence of Rights and Freedoms, representing political, media, trade union and other activists promoting human rights. “It seems rubber bullets and tear gas were used,” he said, adding that information was still preliminary.

One of the mosques targeted was that of the opposition Umma party in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, said the official, asking not to be named. That mosque was a focus of demonstrators a week earlier, when hundreds who gathered were also confronted with tear gas and rubber bullets, witnesses said at the time. The official with the rights group said there had been arrests.

Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel told AFP that its crew was briefly detained and the cameraman roughed up while reporting at the Omdurman mosque.

Kazakhstan unveils giant mosque on leader’s birthday ASTANA AfP

Kazakhstan on Friday unveiled a new mosque in its capital Astana, the biggest in Central Asia, as part of festivities marking long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s 72nd birthday.

The gleaming white structure with Kazakh national ornaments will have a capacity to accommodate 5,000 worshippers. It took less than two years to build.

“This celebration is a celebration for all Kazakh people. I congratulate you on opening Kazakhstan’s biggest mosque,” Nazarbayev said. “We are a multinational country... We are a tolerant nation.”

The mosque, called “Khazret Sultan”, stands on some 11 hectares (27 acres) of land in central Astana. In January it was dramatically engulfed in flames after the wooden scaffolding in its tall cupola caught on fire, setting off an ominous plume of smoke above the city.

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10 Comment Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami

Saturday, 7 July, 2012

In the national interest but, of course

Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

For our own good No alternative to cooperation

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he outcome of the proposed meeting between Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers in September depends on the weight New Delhi gives to the evidence provided by Zabiuddin Ansari aka Abu Jundal, reportedly an LeT member extradited by Saudi Arabia. The man told his Indian interrogators that Pakistani intelligence agents were in a Karachi control room helping coordinate the 60-hour siege by 10 attackers. How far the statement is a result of the coercive methods of extracting evidence characteristic of security agencies in South Asia remains to be determined. The statement however contradicts the position taken consistently

by Pakistan that no state agency was involved in the affair. The statement by Abu Jundal has led home minister Chidambram maintain that the control room couldn’t have been set up “without some kind of state support.”

Differences over the issue turned out to be the major stumbling block during the talks between the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s foreign secretary rejected the role of any state agency in the Mumbai attack while he expressed willingness for joint investigations into the 26/11 carnage. The issue has assumed crucial importance in determining the future of the ties of the two countries. While a more discreet S M Krishna maintained that information extracted from Ansari would have to be corroborated with other sources, he too emphasised that once this is done, “we will have to make a value judgment whether Pakistan can be trusted or not.”

There is a dire need on the part of Pakistan to improve relations with India. Pakistan’s stability is tied up with the Afghan peace. A return of the Taliban to Kabul after the Nato pull out in 2014 would again unite the non Pakhtun nationalities against the religious militia. A new civil war will start. This will send millions of refugees in need of shelter through porous borders to Pakistan. The civil war can be avoided if both Pakistan and India discourage it. Pakistan faces the greatest challenge to its stability from the insurgency along the Durand Line while the bulk of its army is located along the Eastern border with India.

This can be relocated to the tribal areas only if there is an understanding between the two countries. India too has to realise that it needs Pakistan’s help against the rising phenomenon of extremism. As the Indian foreign secretary put it, bringing the guilty to justice in Mumbai terror attacks would be the biggest confidence building measure of all. While New Delhi should ensure that there is no unwarranted finger pointing, Pakistan should fully cooperate in locating and punishing the architects of the Mumbai attacks irrespective of their position.

By Arif Nizami

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fter a hiatus of almost seven months, the decision to reopen the NATO supply routes has been reached in the supreme national interest. Or so our freshly inducted prime minister tells us.

It has suddenly dawned upon our policy makers that it is not possible forever to be on the wrong end of the stick of the US as well as the entire European Community. According to the foreign office spokesman, “We have to take along the entire international community; we cannot afford opposition of 50 countries.”

Previously in the wake of the Salala incident in which Pakistan lost 24 of its soldiers, Pakistan suspended NATO supplies through its territory, withdrew the use of the Shamsi airbase for flying US drones over its territory and asked for an unqualified apology from Washington. At the time, we were told all of the above was “in our national interest.”

We were so adamant at the time that when the US was reportedly willing to send Senator John Kerry with an apology, we advised against the visit and instead asked the US to wait for the joint parliamentary session to debate the issue. At that time, it was considered in the national interest to have a joint resolution of the parliament as a template for future negotiations with the US. Later, Washington balked at offering an apology. In the past few months, the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon and the US Congress in unison have taken a hard line on Pakistan.

Not only money due to Islamabad under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) remained suspended, there were strident calls to teach Pakistan a lesson. Secretary for Defence Leon Panetta was in the forefront of the

campaign, accusing Pakistan of allowing the Haqqani network to operate from its territory against ISAF in Afghanistan. There were clear hints that the US could use boots on the ground to teach Pakistan a lesson.

Suddenly both sides invoking national interest have climbed down from their stated positions. Now we are told that the US needs Pakistani routes to send back its heavy equipment in the drawdown process till 2014. It was paying though its nose for a clogged northern route through Central Asia.

Perhaps Washington has belatedly realised that it is better to work with a weak and an economically dependent Pakistan for its supplies than to rely on Putin controlled Russia. With an increasingly weakened ISAF presence in Afghanistan, Washington also needs Islamabad’s strategic co-operation. Suddenly the wisdom has dawned upon the belligerently anti-Pakistan US lawmakers that closure with Islamabad was in America’s interest.

Islamabad - with few cards up its sleeve apart from its strategic location - nonetheless stuck to its guns, playing chicken with a superpower. To the surprise of many, the US blinked first and decided to offer some kind of an apology. Islamabad has also shown flexibility by not making good on its threat of charging the moon for allowing NATO trucks through its territory.

Although it has been promised $1.1 billion against what was due to it under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) as a sweetener, Islamabad would need much more to navigate itself out of its present dire economic straits. The deal for opening the Ground Lines Of Communications (GLOC) is only the tip of the iceberg.

Intractable and unresolved issues like Pakistan’s role in future talks with the Taliban, its alleged backing of the Haqqani network and the suspended or curtailed intelligence sharing remain.

Washington has also not agreed to suspend drone attacks over Pakistan’s tribal areas.

With the Pakistani military reluctant to launch a putsch in N Waziristan, realistically speaking the US will not hesitate from using its most potent and lethal weapon against the Haqqani network said to be holed up there.

In this sense, one is not sure that tactically speaking Islamabad really wants the drone campaign entirely suspended. After all, Washington is washing its dirty linen and getting the blame for it.

Getting the approval of the cabinet

rather than going back to the parliament for approval of the US-Pakistan deal is the correct approach. Going to the parliament in the first place was a mistake. It only curtailed Pakistan’s diplomatic manoeuvrability. Nor did it work as a pressure tactic.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington Ms Sherry Rehman has termed the resumption of NATO supplies as an historic turn in relations. We are also told that it all happened at a barbecue dinner hosted by the ambassador at her house when US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon surprisingly showed up. According to the Wall Street Journal, he played a key role in persuading Washington to say sorry.

Interestingly, former ambassadors Husain Haqqani and Cameron Munter both have been casualties of the downslide in US Pakistan relations in the past one year. Munter had been counselling some kind of apology and restraint in dealing with Pakistan.

When it was not forthcoming, he submitted his resignation in disgust.

Husain Haqqani was a casualty of Memogate.

Although Haqqani adamantly denies it, the Supreme Court has declared that he was the author of the memo. The alleged memo was written in the wake of the US raid on Osama bin Laden’s lair in Abbottabad last May. The political opposition has criticised the reopening of the supply routes, but it has not threatened to disrupt them. The leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali thinks that the decision is beyond the scope of the joint parliamentary resolution on the subject. Imran Khan, on the other hand, has declared that it demonstrates the irrelevance of the parliament.

It is the DPC (Defence of Pakistan Council), composed of disparate clerics, out of job politicians and a few retired generals that have threatened to disrupt NATO supplies. It has called for an All Parties Conference today and a Long March on Sunday. Without any encouragement from its backers, the outfit is unlikely to succeed in disrupting supplies.

The DPC has outlived its usefulness to keep the parliament and the civilian government under check. The real threat can come from the Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban are our existential enemy while the Afghan Taliban is our strategic ally. Again, in the name of the often invoked national interest.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

friendship with benefits Our enmity with India is impractical

By Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

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akistan’s Foreign Secretary has denied that any state actor was involved in the Mumbai attack while he has shown readiness for a joint probe. This is just one step ahead of the conventional state of denial that has characterised our spokesmen whenever presented with evidence regarding terrorists having used Pakistan’s territory to plan or launch attacks abroad. The offer has come after Zabiuddin Ansari who is in Indian custody started singing like a canary. It is in Pakistan’s vital interest to actively investigate the case to

prosecute those associated with the Mumbai attack in any capacity.

Developing good neighbourly relations with India is crucial for Islamabad.

Unless this is done, Pakistan will face instability, its economy will suffer and its defence expenditure will continue to skyrocket at the expense of education, health and social development.

The stability in Pakistan is tied up with peace in Afghanistan. To ensure this, there has to be cooperation, instead of rivalry, between Islamabad and New Delhi.

In case the two act at cross purposes there is little hope of any enduring settlement in Kabul. Once the Nato forces are out, it will not take the Taliban long to capture power. This will lead to a number of developments harmful for Pakistan.

The return of the Taliban will boost the morale of the TTP which will redouble attacks inside Pakistan, causing enormous civilian and military casualties.

This would also strengthen concerns in the US regarding the security of our nuclear arsenal and the unpredictable consequences that might follow.

Once the Taliban capture Kabul, another Northern Alliance comprising eth-

nic minorities will come into existence.

Keeping in view the economic decline in Europe and the financial crunch being faced by the US, there is little likelihood of the international community honouring its commitment to provide the $10 billion annually which Afghanistan needs to maintain the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and to sustain an economy which is mostly dependent on the foreign presence. The downsizing of the ANSF will contribute to lawlessness. Any civil war in Afghanistan will send millions of refugees to Pakistan bringing it economy under stress, causing economic and social problem in KP and further tilting the ethnic balance in Balochistan.

Former Foreign Secretary Najmuddin Sheikh, who knows the subject more than most, has estimated that Pakistan will have to host between two million to five million Afghan refugees. These would be in addition to the five million already living here. Joint attempts by Pakistan and India will discourage others from supporting rival factions in the civil war that could be disastrous for the region.

It is ironic that while heavy army casualties are taking place along the West-

ern border with Afghanistan, the bulk of the troops and military resources remain tied up on the Eastern border. The reason is the army’s continuous perception of India as the principal enemy of Pakistan. The TTP’s unending attacks inside heavily populated areas, on mosques, shrines and public gatherings have led to the killing of thousands of Pakistani civilians and rendered many more unable to lead a normal life. The militants have also attacked the GHQ and Mehran Base, killed several serving and retired high ranking military officers and are involved in the unending insurgency in several Fata agencies. While India might be involved here or there, the vast majority of attacks are owned by the Pakistani militant organisations or Al-Qaeda affiliates. There is a need to enter into talks with India to normalise the ties so that the troops needed on the Western border to suppress the insurgency can be released.

The defence budget is already becoming untenable. The official allocation of Rs 545 billion for 2012-2013 is considered highly misleading by defence experts. Independent estimates put the

actual budget at Rs 800-900 billion, almost double the allocated amount. This is because the estimated budget does not include internal security expenditures, military pensions, interest on military loans, arms purchases, etc.

India’s military budget is roughly four to five times higher than Pakistan’s total defence allocation in absolute terms, but India allocates a lower percentage of its government expenditure (15-17 % on average) than Pakistan (actually around 25-28 %). But India’s economy is also bigger and growing much faster than Pakistan’s. Pakistan cannot afford the existing levels of military expenditures on account of its much smaller economy.

Nations do not have permanent friends or enemies. They only have permanent interests. It is time to revise the policy of hostility towards India. Bringing those who planned or executed the Mumbai carnage can act as a major confidence building measure leading to the resolution of outstanding issues step by step.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

a new mask

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Candid Corner

whitelIES D

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by Ess Aich

let hope take a back seat, let’s be sold to the devil again his time around, London has been wet and wonderful. If you say that to a Londoner, you would unmistakably get a stare. But for us who are soaked to the bone in the scorching heat of the sun with no electricity for most of the day and night, it comes as an indescribable blessing. Back home, even normal working has been reduced to the mercy of electricity as it comes and goes of its own sweet accord.

This trip to London has also been made that much more memorable as I have already had an extended session with that incomparable ideologue, Professor Amin Mughal, and I look forward to another one later in the week. We started where we had left off a considerable time ago and he was quick at chastising me for my impatience at the slowness of change in the country. He reiterated that change would inevitably go through the historical cycle and it is well nigh impossible to determine its time-span. The query whether it would come at all could only draw a broad smile which can be interpreted either way depending upon your disposition at a given moment in time.

It could also be that change is so slow in coming because we have so few of the likes of Amin Mughal now. An ideologue cannot be manufactured or chiselled from a raw mountain of talent alone. It is a preordained phenomenon that, put together by nature’s hands, is chastened through bouts of painful struggle, tonnes of inexhaustible energy and unfailing determination in the face of monumental odds. The light that brightens it is inextinguishable. Even when its spread is restricted, it is seldom dark as the

By Raoof Hasan glow, somehow, finds a crevice to show through. Meeting him has always been a humbling experience, but meeting him this time around was more so because the dark around us is darker than ever before and the remnants of hope are fast receding. Should one capitulate to the darkness that pundits predict would soon envelope the entire spectrum? Left to Amin Mughal, these are times to sharpen your strategies and add further will and substance to your pursuits.

Through decades, Faiz has been an immortal inspiration for most of us. He inspires courage, invokes hope and fills you up with renewed dreams when you are on the verge. When one is lost for words and thoughts – a morbid state that most of us have now been reduced to – he is always there with a thought-provoking interjection to propel you to greater heights of aspiring. It is also so that when one is on the verge of losing hope, Faiz’s poetry comes with its incomparable serenading: Is it the scent of blood or the caress of the beloved’s lips?

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Behold, whence cometh the morning breeze Is spring in the air or the prison overflows again?

Listen, whither cometh the sound of music But, then, it is also impossible to constantly hide behind the edifice of poetry or the super-structures built by ideologues. For, in the end, we have to live in the present with its innumerable and unmistakable limitations and learn not only to cope with them, but also find a way around them to our avowed destination. That is what puts us head-on confronting the stark realities that mark the present times and make them so much more depressing in terms of dire paucity of intellect and capacities. There is a sea of mediocrity that is systematically perpetuating a culture of insensitivity and enslavement: so few of them control the fate of so many with traditional instruments of slavery rendered sharper by the day. They gloat over exploiting others’ hard work while there are millions who are constantly toiling only to bury themselves deeper in the tentacles of exploitation.

Wishing an end to all this is not going to hasten it. It will come only if we have the courage to fight this rank injustice and cruelty. In addition to ideologues that are in short supply any way, we also need an extra ounce of resolve and a composite vision and determination to initiate something meaningful.

The three inherent mindsets – the political, the military and the clergy – that have led the country to this sorry pass remain unbending in their failed approach. They are corrupt, obscurantist, antiquated and decrepit suffering from delusional bouts of infallible superiority. The new entrants – the political aspirants attacking the status quo, the independent judiciary and the belligerent media – have created an informed environment, but that is not sufficient to forge a change. There has to be a catalyst that lights the fire and, apparently, there is no one around who could do that. While the forces of the status quo, enriched and empowered by the billions that they have looted, are endeavouring to further strangulate the electorate through coercion and incentives alike, the proponents of change are limited by their incapacities in vision, personnel and resources. Intellectually corrupt faces today adorn every platform and the hope for change that had been so fondly created has begun to die an early death.

This is not because there aren’t enough people desiring change. In fact, there is an increasing number of people who are yearning for it, but the question is who would bring it and how? With old hands who have sold their souls a million times over to despots of all hues and colours? With a cosmetic change of apparel, will they also be able to hide their spots and forsake their inherent intellectual dishonesty that is perpetually on sale for temporal gains?

My guess – and that of millions of others who are equally disappointed at the turn of events – is an assertive no. We have been sold to the devil again. Let hope take a back seat and let mediocrity take over – wearing a new mask, may be!

The writer is a political analyst and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can be reached at raoofhasan@hotmail.com

isqualification of mere prime ministers at the federal capital might be high politics for some.

But the country’s swanky clubs are where the real politics is. Recently, a member was blackballed at the country’s most elite club in Karachi.

The gentleman in question happens to be a close relative of the head honcho of the ruling party. The gentleman was blackballed by another from the business community who had been roughed up when the party was in power last in ‘96.

So what if the party runs the government? It doesn’t run the clubs. And that is what affects the dashing rich the most.

lasshouse, meet stone.

Stone, glasshouse. Conventional wisdom dictates that if one wants to be a moralising gadfly for the rich and powerful, one has to have a squeaky clean reputation oneself.

A gentleman who has the local franchise of an international corruption watchdog, however, isn’t quite the choirboy he pretends to be.

Before investigating into his past, it would do the media a lot of good not to be impressed with international brand-names of think tanks and do a little research on who is running the show locally as well.

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

Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk.

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

Short-termism The following headlines have been seen in the papers: Zardari for expediting power projects. The president orders no loadshedding during Ramzan etc. Why this flurry of statements when the power crisis has been with us since long. Is this pre-election rhetoric to yet again fool the public?

The cabinet committee pins hope on rains for reducing loadshedding. When the rains swell, the rivers and bring on floods the cabinet committee will then pin their hope on the rains stopping. Pity the nation where the government is hostage to the vagaries of the weather and looks to the skies instead of taking practical measures. The government is mired in taking short term measures and has no time to think ahead beyond its nose.

ENGR KHURSHID ANWER Lahore

High-end smugglers A nation that cannot protect its history and culture has no past, present or future.

Smuggling of centuries old Lord Buddha’s statues, coins and other important items dug from Mohenjodaro, Harrappa, Taxila etc has become a regular business.

This multi-billion dollar illegal traffic thrives with the connivance of powerful civil bureaucracy, foreign service officers, FBR and our political elite (especially those with dual nationalities). Our diplomats posted abroad and having dual nationality often abuse the

Diplomatic Baggage facility to help smuggle these items. Visit any rich Pakistani expatriate, retired bureaucrat or khaki living abroad and you will see these stolen items displayed as ornaments in their houses. We are an unfortunate country which does not treasure its artefacts and casually treats such crimes, which in other nations amounts to conspiracy against the state. Have we forgotten what happened in mid 90s when a VVIP was involved in smuggling these artefacts through PIA destined for UK. The PIA official who aided this crime was later rewarded instead of being punished or sacked and appointed as MD of PIA. While our museums are becoming empty halls, the items that should be on display there are found in private houses of our corrupt elite living abroad.

ANEELA CHANDIO Sukkur

More than a green passport Some of our political parties have made the choice to allow individuals who have adopted another nationality to continue to dominate our politics and continue with plundering its assets, aid the flight of capital and then flee to evade accountability.

The PPP and MQM have clearly come out in support of this amendment, which compromises our sovereignty and allows foreign passport holders to hold key sensitive posts like president, PM, CM, ministers, governors, ministers etc, and have control of our nuclear assets and state exchequer. These people only possess NICOP giving them multiple entries into Pakistan with unlimited stay, although they have voluntarily surrendered Pakistani passport upon acquiring foreign passport. This constitutional amendment will give legitimacy to role of men who have sworn loyalty to other countries and hence have little stake in this one.

It is time other political parties like PML(N), PML(Q), PTI, JUI(F), JI come clear on this issue, so that the people know actual facts, since ANP alone has announced its opposition.

M TARIQ ALI Lahore

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

Go, Shawty, it’s your birthday! 50 Cent turns 37

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e all know how it goes: “Go, shawty. it’s your birthday. We gonna party like it’s your birthday…” Well, today actually is the one and only 50 Cent’s big day. The multitalented rapper, actor, entrepreneur and record producer turns 37, and we can only guess he’ll be having a great party, that is for sure. 50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson iii, gained his megastar status in 2003 with the release of his first rap album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which has since been certified eight times platinum by the Recording industry association of america. (Did we mention he was discovered by fellow rapper eminem?) since then, he has released The Massacre (2005), Curtis (2007), Before i self Destruct (2009) and street King immortal, set to be released in november of 2012. Fiddy has also appeared in a few movies, including the semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005), Home of the Brave (2006) and Righteous Kill (2008). and the Queens native founded the record label G-Unit Records, which has signed famous rappers like lloyd Banks and Young Buck. AGENCIES

Rihanna sues ex-accountants over loss of money N a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court that surfaced on Thursday, the 24-year-old singer and her tour company, Tourihanna, is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory damages and loss of earnings from accountancy firm Berdon LLP and former employees Michael Mitnick and Peter Gounis.

The suit, first filed late in Tuesday ahead of the July 4 U.S. holiday, claims the accounting firm caused “significant financial losses” between 2005 and 2010 by

I

Are Robert Pattinson and Kristin getting married?

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T’s been four years strong for our beloved Robert Pattinson and Kristen stewart, and ever since that beautiful Breaking Dawn wedding, Twi-hards everywhere have been dying for Rob to put a ring on it. and the latest Kristin stewart sighting might confirm just that, as Kris was reportedly spotted trying on engagement sparklers in West Hollywood. so, what’s the real deal behind the engagement speculation?! as with all things Robsten, the couple’s playing it coy.

Kristen was reportedly seen checking out engagement rings at a neil lane jewelry store in West Hollywood in early June. Claude Morady estate Jewelry in los angeles posted a link to the engagement story on their Facebook page along with the caption “We can neither confirm nor deny first hand knowledge of this rumor. When pressed for further clarification, the jewelry store told e! news, “We do not comment on clients or customers who come into our store and we protect their privacy.” Calls to Kristen’s rep have not yet been returned. AGENCIES

charging “exorbitant” commissions from Rihanna’s 2010 “Last Girl on Earth Tour.” It also accuses Berdon of mishandling Rihanna’s foreign and domestic taxes and failing to monitor unpaid song royalties.

“Between 2005 and 2010, Tourihanna suffered significant losses due to defendants’ financial mismanagement and other acts and omissions,” the lawsuit said.

Ron Storch, a partner at Berdon, said the company could not comment on pending litigation. Mitnick and Gounis have since left the firm and could not be reached for comment.

Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, has produced a string of worldwide hits including “Umbrella” and “We Found Love.” She is referred to in the suit as a financial novice who found fame at a young age and relied heavily on her accountants.

Her music management introduced her to Berdon in 2005 when she was a 16-year-old and “a minor with a booming music career and no knowledge or understanding of financial matters whatsoever.”

The lawsuit said the accountants concealed facts regarding her finances and, in a deal Rihanna’s lawyers called unusual, earned commissions based on a percentage of Rihanna’s gross receipts that were “exorbitant and expensive.”

In addition, the firm assumed control over the singer’s affairs beyond the industry standard and failed to maximize her personal net worth and long term wealth, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said several of the Barbados-born singer’s national and international tours between 2005 and 2010 suffered losses compared with her last tour, “Loud”, that was a financial success after she parted ways with Berdon.

The lawsuit said Rihanna lost millions of dollars during “The Last Girl On Earth” tour after the firm failed to reconcile costs versus revenues while still paying itself millions in fees.

It estimated that between 2007 and 2010, the accountants earned millions in commissions on tour gross receipts in an amount equaling 23 percent of total tour income, compared with 6 percent for Rihanna.

The firm did not do monthly planning reports and performed little record-keeping of Rihanna’s personal and business expenses, including those for Tourihanna. For example, during 2008 and 2009, the accountants kept only 2 percent to 4 percent of all receipts for expenses charged on the singer’s personal credit card, the suit said.

It also failed to uncover millions in unpaid royalties and problems with the way in which Universal Music Group (UMG) label Recordings was tracking song royalties. The suit did not mention Rihanna’s direct label, Def Jam, also owned by UMG. Accountants mishandled foreign and domestic taxes by withholding more funds than necessary, leading to “a significant losses of tax benefits” and failed to file taxes on time, causing late penalties. The singer further claims that, as a result, the IRS is now auditing her because Berdon mishandled tax returns between 2008 and 2010.

The suit includes claims of breach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. NEwS dESK

one-on-one with abhishe Q: Having Bol Bachchan as the title for your next film, are you trying to encash your last name?

Celina brings her babies home for the first time

C

elina Jaitly is in town with hotelier husband Peter Haag and her twins, Winston and Viraaj.

This is the three-month old babies’ (they’re fraternal twins) first visit to india. ays a source, “Though the two came to india last month, they couldn’t get the visas of their babies on time so last week they had to go to Dubai back again to bring back the babies. The couple also went to Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to visit Celina’s parents who are based there. They’re currently in Mumbai but Celina and Winston have caught a cold.”

Celina, who is in Mumbai after eight months for an ad shoot says, “it’s great to be back in town with my babies for the first time. and to think that i’m facing the camera three months after the delivery!” COurTESy TOI

A: I haven’t encashed my name till today so why will I start doing it now? Ajay Devgn mentioned that they literally had to groom you into their style of comedy. How was the experience? Ajay and Rohit taught me that there is a pitch behind every film and you have to match it. I cannot repeat my characters as it will not suit the script. My style of comedy was very different from what Bol Bachchan required me to do. The two literally made me unlearn what I already knew and adopt a different style of comedy which was very difficult for me.

Q: So how would you define your style of comedy?

A: My style of comedy is more deadpan and straight-faced whereas the comedy that I did in the film was very demanding as a lot of energy was required. We all had to keep our energy levels high all the time. It took me a week to adapt to the Bol Bachchan. The first one week of shooting was really tough for me. I came with a particular mindset for the film and Rohit wanted something exactly opposite to it. I thought this

will be the easiest film to do and it turned out to be the most difficult film of my career. It looks like a fun film and I thought it is a comedy film where I will enjoy but I was proved completely wrong. I have told Ajay if the film does well he has to send me on a holiday (Laughs)

Q: you have worked with both Ajay and Rohit together in Zameen before. So was it easier for you to work with them this time around?

A: I think the most important thing for an actor is to achieve a comfort zone. According to me, an actor has to have implicit faith and trust in his director. I knew Rohit since the time he was an assistant director and I was a production assistant. On the other hand, Ajay is like an elder brother to me so there is a huge amount of faith for him. I think that is what clicked. He is the most supportive co-star I have ever worked with and he is a huge bully too (Laughs).

Q: the only similar thread between Bol Bachchan and gol Maal (1979) is your character. Was it a wise decision on Ajay and Rohit’s part to buy the official rights of the film?

A: Yes absolutely. I applaud Ajay and Rohit on how they have dealt with it. I think it would have

been very convenient to make the film without giving the original film any credit which wouldn’t have been right.

Q: Director Rohit Shetty has enjoyed huge commercial success. What is the difference that you see in him since he directed you in his debut film Zameen (2003)

A: I think Rohit has become more confident now.

He is as hard working and humble as he was when we were making Zameen. He is one of the most successful directors that we have in our industry and his track record speaks for itself. He is like a machine who works for like 20 hours a day.

Q: For a while a lot of your films did not make any mark at the box-office neither were they critically acclaimed.

A: It is never nice to talk about flop films as it is never a pleasant experience but I think you have to deal with flops. Nobody wants to make an unsuccessful film.

Everybody works hard to make successful films. All you need to

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13 Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez ‘going through a rough patch’

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een pop star Justin Bieber and girlfriend selena Gomez have reportedly broken up multiple times in the last few months. The duo apparently decided to end their relationship last week but have since rekindled and are giving their relationship another try, TMZ reported quoting sources. Bieber and Gomez’s current situation is tenuous and that they are not a “solid” couple, according to sources. Gomez, 19 and Bieber, 18, have been dating for around a year and a half. Disney actor Gomez has maintained her squeaky clean image but the Baby hitmaker was involved in a fight with a photographer. People magazine quoted a source saying that Gomez “was crying about Justin and was upset” during ashley Tisdale’s birthday bash last week. The couple is yet to address break-up rumours. COurTESy hT

Katy Perry blames Russel Brand for divorce

s

inGeR Katy Perry has blamed Russell Brand for their marriage breakdown, saying his refusal to come visit her on tour caused their split. The 37-year-old filed for divorce from Perry December 2011 after 14-months for marriage. “if i could edit it any other way i would but that is exactly what it was. i always had plans to make this record (Teenage Dream) and usually with a record, you tour. “Touring is always important to me. it’s like a big ioU to my fans, because i know they are the reason i exist,” thesun.co.uk quoted Pery as saying. it had been speculated that the couple split Brand wanted kids but the 27-year-old wasn’t ready. she says she can’t even think about having children until her career slows down. COurTESy hT

k Bachchan do is just keep working.

Q: So have your recent debacles given you some learning? For example, to not work in multiple projects

simultaneously.

A: When I was promoting Players people asked me why I was doing so many films at a time. Times have changed. I think an actor has far more responsibilities towards a film than acting. I don’t want people to point fingers at various aspects of the film. I want complete responsibility by saying that I did everything that I could do.

Q: Has this modification in your approach towards films come after you became a producer with Paa?

A: No, my approach as a producer was shaped based on the kind of actor I was. I have been and brought up in this industry. I made Paa in a certain amount because I wanted my distributors and exhibitors to earn money which they did. The same holds true with Buddah Hoga Tera Baap. I make films that I believe in.

Q: Do u think industry has given you your due as an actor?

A: I think I have been given too much due as an actor. I think people have been too kind to me as they think that I am a much better actor than actually I am. I think I have a lot more to do and improve.

Q: Is there a certain kind of change in your life after you became a father?

A: The responsibilities have increased. I can do almost everything for her. She is just the focus of everybody’s attention right now. Her innocent presence makes everyone want to spend time with her. COurTESy STArduST

Tom Cruise’s lawyer lashes out at Katie Holmes

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oM Cruise’s lawyer accused the actor’s wife of “playing the media” after she was photographed taking their daughter suri out for an ice-cream. attorney Bert Fields suggested that the 50-year-old actor will wait for his missus to “wear everyone out” with publicity stunts before he gives his version of their breakup. 83-year-old Fields launched his attack as suri was seen for the first time in public since Holmes announced on Friday that she is divorcing Cruise and wants sole custody of the six-year-old. suri was seen gently stroking Holmes’ face inside a new York ice cream parlour, near an apartment where she and the 33-year-old actress are staying. “We are letting the other side play the media until they wear everyone out, and then we’ll have something to say,” the Daily express quoted Fields as saying. “it’s not Cruise’s style to do this publicly. He is really sad about what’s happening,” he said. The lawyer hinted that his client will file a counter-claim against Holmes. “Tactically we can’t say where Cruise will file a divorce case and if he’ll seek joint custody,” the lawyer added. Holmes filed papers in the Big apple last Thursday to end the couple’s five-year marriage citing “irreconcilable differences.” COurTESy TOI

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

Federer stuns djokovic, makes eighth Wimbledon final Page 17

Buoyant pakistan out to ruin Sri lanka’s party

PALLEKELE AfP

P

AKISTAN will look to deny Sri Lanka a longawaited series victory when they take on the hosts in the third and final Test in Pallekele from Sunday. Sri Lanka, who won the first Test in Galle and drew the second in Colombo, have their best chance of winning their first series in three years since defeating New Zealand 2-0 at home in 2009.

But Pakistan have been boosted by a gutsy display with both bat and ball in the rain-hit second Test on a placid

wicket at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) to aim for a series-levelling win. "If the weather had not intervened, we could have pushed for a result," said Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq. "But everyone is encouraged by the way we played the second Test. "Hopefully we can repeat that performance in the final Test and draw the series." The batting flourished with Mohammad Hafeez making 196 and Azhar Ali 157 in the first innings total of 551-6 declared after Sri Lanka surprisingly chose to field on winning the toss. Pakistan then dismissed the hosts for 391, grabbing the last five wickets for 21 runs, after centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan had lifted Sri Lanka to a

comfortable 236-1. Young left-arm seamer Junaid Khan claimed a five-wicket haul on a pitch that offered him no help and was deservedly named the man of the match in the batsmen-dominated Test. But there was no time to force a result after bad weather allowed just 71 of the stipulated 180 overs to be bowled on the second and third days.

Pakistan had enjoyed an impressive run before the current series, winning seven of their last nine Tests, including a brilliant 3-0 whitewash of top-ranked England earlier this year. But the tourists must first find a way to remove Sangakkara cheaply if they are to win the final Test. The accomplished left-hander made 199 not out in the first Test and 192 in the second, toying with the Pakistani attack that included prolific spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman. Sangakkara's disappointment at missing out on two double-centuries in successive matches may have faded by the news that he has regained the number one spot in the official rankings for Test batsmen. Sangakkara, who first shot to the top of the rankings in December 2007 and then again in November last year, had slipped to number two behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies in March. But Sri Lanka's batting has proved vulnerable in the current series with only Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan holding the innings together with centuries in both Tests. Middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera has managed just 21 runs in the two games, while opener Tharanga Paranavitana and skipper Mahela Jayawardene have struggled to stamp their authority.

Sri Lanka may also look for a new-ball partner for Nuwan Kulasekara after Nuwan Pradeep claimed just one wicket for 235 runs in the two Tests. The Pallekele International Stadium, built in 2009 on the outskirts of the hill town of Kandy, has hosted two drawn Tests so far, both of which were interrupted by bad weather. Light rain has been forecast for next week, but that should not prevent a keen contest between bat and ball.

Clt20 will revive australia striker abbott out of olympics indo-Pak cricket SYDNEY AfP

LAHORE STAff rEPOrT

Hailing the decision of the Champions League T20 Organising Committee, which includes Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), to invite Pakistan's Sialkot Stallions in the qualifying stage of the tournament, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Wednesday that this could be the first step towards the revival of bilateral ties with India.

Pakistan's domestic T20 champions got an official invitation from the organising committee of the Champions League, which includes the boards of India, South Africa and Australia, to be one of the six teams to play in the qualifying stage this year. “We see this as a very positive development and since India is one of the main stake holders in the Champions League obviously it is the first step towards the revival of bilateral ties with India,” the spokesman was quoted as saying. Sialkot Stallions will have to compete with five other teams in the qualifying stage to grab one of the two spots available to qualify for the main round of the competition. Due to strained relations after the Mumbai terror attacks in November, 2008 India has avoided inviting either Pakistan players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) or a team from Pakistan for the Champions League. But at the BCCI's working committee meeting two months back, it was decided to invite a team from Pakistan for the Champions League, which was initially to be held in India. The PCB official said that an official invitation had come from the organisers, the executive coordination committee of the PCB would discuss it on July 4. The cricket boards of India, Australia and South Africa jointly own and operate the Champions League, which is a tournament contested by the domestic T20 champions from Test playing nations. Sialkot Stallions a team led by Pakistan's former captain and all-rounder Shoaib Malik are the reigning national and super eights T20 champions. The Sialkot side includes some star players like Imran Nazir, Rana Navedul Hasan, Shakil Ansar, Abdul Rehman, Reza Hasan and Shahid Yousuf.

Star striker Des Abbott has withdrawn from the Australian men's team for this month's London Olympics field hockey tournament with a knee injury, Hockey Australia said on Friday.

Abbott will be replaced by Russell Ford, who coach Ric Charlesworth admitted had been unlucky to miss original selection after

also missing out on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "Des is a walk-up start, if his game is uncompromised, he is one of the world's most brilliant players, but the progressive knee injury has interfered in his game," Charlesworth said.

"This is the most difficult thing I've had to do in my time. We acknowledge what Des, at his best, can be but given the circumstances we felt Russell Ford was the better option." Charlesworth said Ford had

terrific ball skills, was an endurance athlete with speed and the ability to score goals.

The "Kookaburras" are strong favourites for the gold medal in London after a dominant period.

Under coach Charlesworth, Australia have won the 2010 World Cup, three of their last four Champions' Trophy victories and have been placed in the top four in every Olympics since 1980, including gold in 2004.

gayle, Afridi to play in Sri lanka’s new t20 league

COLOMBO AfP

Pakistan's Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle of the West Indies will star in Sri Lanka's inaugural Twenty20 league next month, the cricket board said on Friday.

The duo are among 56 foreign players listed to take part in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) to be held in Colombo and Pallekele from August 1031, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

The tournament, which aims to emulate the success of the highly popular Indian Premier League (IPL), does not have any players from India or England on the list released by the board. But the line-up includes a host of current, former and upcoming players from Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, the West Indies and South Africa. Australian Ryan Harris, South Africa's Richard Levi and Johan Botha, Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan and Shakib AlHasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh feature in the list.

The foreign players will play alongside leading Sri Lankan stars like skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga for seven provincial franchise teams. Unlike the televised players' auctions in the IPL, the cricketers contracted to the SLPL were divided among the seven teams by a draft system that was held behind closed doors in Colombo on Thursday. The cricket board has so far declined to name the owners of the seven franchises or the amount each player will receive for the 24-match tournament. Recent media reports suggested that all seven franchises were bought by little-known Indian companies after organisers received lukewarm response from local firms. It was unclear how many matches the 13 Pakistanis in the list will play since they are due to play a limited-overs series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates from August 28 to September 10.

Still enjoy playing ODIs: Tendulkar NEW DELHI AfP

Record-breaking Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Friday scotched speculation over his future in one-day cricket, saying he had no plans to retire as long as he was enjoying the game. The master batsman, 39, on Wednesday opted out of India's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka for a one-day series and a one-off Twenty20 match, leading to speculation over his one-day career. Tendulkar said he skipped the Sri Lanka tour to spend time with his family.

"It's not about what XYZ thinks, it's about what I feel and I feel as long as I am enjoying and I feel like being part of it, I'll continue (playing one-dayers)," Tendulkar told CNN-IBN news channel. "I think it (speculation over retirement) has been going on since 2006. It's been six years now. I am enjoying cricket and as long as I am passionate about cricket it makes sense being part of team sport." Tendulkar said he decided to stop playing Twenty20 internationals in 2007 because he felt he should not be part of the squad. He has figured in just one T20 international and was not part of India's 2007 World Cup-winning squad.

"I felt I should not be part of T20 squad because the team did well. When I get that feeling in one-day cricket maybe I would take that decision," said Tendulkar. "When I

feel like taking that decision (to quit one-day cricket) I will take that. I don't want the rest of the guys to take that decision for me." Tendulkar holds four world batting records --

maximum runs in Tests (15,470) and oneday internationals (18,426) and centuries in Tests (51) and one-dayers (49). He completed an unprecedented century of cen-

turies during the Asia Cup in Dhaka in March. The one-day series in Sri Lanka starts in Hambantota on July 21 while the Twenty20 match will be played on August 7.

Tendulkar, Kylie in Wimbledon royal Box LONDON: India cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue were in the Wimbledon Royal Box on Friday to watch the potentially epic semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Tendulkar, who this week opted to sit out India's one-day series in Sri Lanka, was with wife Anjali. Minogue was accompanied by Spanish model boyfriend Andres Velencoso. Also in the Royal Box were former Wimbledon champions Rod Laver, Goran Ivanisevic and Manuel Santana. AfP

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Saturday, 7 July, 2012

Sports 15

Kamran warned of conduct in dressing room LAHORE STAff rEPOrT

A

FTER being suspected of deliberately under-performing and having links with suspicious people, Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has now also been given a final warning about his conduct in the dressing room.

Reports quoting well-placed sources said that when Kamran appeared before the integrity committee of the board two days back, he was told in clear terms

that any attempts to create groupings in the team or indulge in politics will not be tolerated at all.

"Kamran got a final warning with reference to past complaints about his conduct that he encouraged groupings in the team," a source said.

Interestingly, as far as suspicions about his links with bookmakers were concerned, he was asked to furnish some documents which he did and the committee then held a detailed discussion with him on some past issues.

"The position now is that the board

Pakistan colts for australian tour, ICC U19 World Cup named LAHORE STAff rEPOrT

The Pakistan Cricket Board Friday named Pakistan team for the Australia tour and for ICC Under-19 World Cup being held in Australia next month. Pakistan team will be playing three one-day warm-up games against Australia U19 team before taking part in the U19 World Cup. Babar Azam, who led Pakistan to share the trophy with India in ACC U19 Asia Cup has been retained as the captain while Umar Waheed will be his deputy.

PAKISTAN SquAd: Sami Aslam, imam-ul-Haq, Umar Waheed (Vice Captain), Azizullah, Mir Hamza, Ehsan Adil, Salman Afridi (wicketkeeper), babar Azam (Captain), Muhammad Nawaz, Syed Faraz Ali, zafar gohar, Muhammad zia-ul-Haq, Shahid ilyas, Usman qadir and Syed Saad Ali. Haroon rasheed (Manager), Sabih Azhar (coach) dr. Sohail Saleem doctor/physiotherapist), yasir Malik (trainer), Usman Hashmi (Analyst) are officials of the team.

PCB WELCOMES FOREIgN SECREtARIES’ StAtEMENt: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has welcomed the statements of Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries on resumption of bilateral ties, which

were made in a joint press conference after the Secretary level meeting between the two.

The statements have come at a time when heads of both the Boards are in close contact with each other. During the recent visit of PCB Chairman Ch. Zaka Ashraf to India and at the sidelines of last month’s ICC and ACC meetings in Malaysia, Chairman PCB had several meetings with his counterpart BCCI President Mr. S. Srinivasan. Both have agreed to resume the bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries. As a first step Pakistan’s domestic champion outfit recently have received an invite to participate in the Qualifying Tournament of Champions League Twenty20 being played in South Africa.

While commenting on this development PCB spokesman said, “We welcome this statement that is highly constructive. Both boards are engaged at the highest level with the objective of resumption of cricketing relations between the two countries and this endorsement will further reinforce this already improved environment”.

Kiwis bear third defeat as gayle, russell shine

Murray ends britain’s 74-year final wait

KINgStON: Chris Gayle smashed a third successive half-century and seamer Andre Russell bagged four wickets as West Indies cruised to a nine-wicket win over New Zealand in Thursday's opening one-day international. Gayle, who made 53 ad 85 in the back-to-back Twenty20 matches against the injury-hit tourists in Florida last week, continued his rich vein of form with 63 at Sabina Park as West Indies coasted home with 52 balls to spare. Dwayne Smith was also undefeated on 65. Russell, the 24-year-old seamer, had pinned back New Zealand, taking three wickets with the new ball and then got a fourth with his final delivery to end with 4-45 off 10 overs. AfP

LONDON: Andy Murray ended Britain's 74-year wait for a male Wimbledon finalist on Friday as the world number four clinched a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 semi-final victory over French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Murray's triumph consigned a miserable run of 11 semi-final failures by British men to the history books and emulated the achievement of Bunny Austin, the last home challenger to reach the Wimbledon men's final back in 1938. The 25-year-old had lost at the semi-final stage for the last three years, joining Tim Henman, Roger Taylor and Mike Sangster on the list of British near-misses at the All England Club.

But decades of anguish faded from view in front of a jubiliant crowd as Murray booked final with Roger Federer in Sunday. AfP

PCB unlikely to try pink balls in night matches against Australia MUMBAI bIPIN dANI

The use of white balls is likely to continue for the forthcoming matches between Pakistan and Australia in August-September 2012. The cricket committees of the ICC and the MCC have been in favour of using pink balls for day-night matches and the Pakistan Cricket Board has already announced the schedule of the matches that will have late-evening start to avoid UAE daytime heat.

"It's a PCB series, you need to ask them," Peter Young, CA General Manager (Public Affairs) said from Melbourne.

"Of course, we will continue with the white balls. The playing conditions are being worked out," Intikhab Alam, PCB director said.

The ODIs are scheduled to begin at 6pm local time, and end at 1.45am the fol-

lowing morning. The Twenty20s that follow are set to begin at 8pm and end at 11.

"The series in question is a Pakistan series to which they have invited us. You should direct questions on issues such as potential public interest to them," Young further added.

"CA has liaised with the players and with their representative association as part of the planning for this series."

"We will also be travelling to the UAE with the players’ association to do the normal pre-tour inspection that we undertake before every Australian tour to any part of the world. That travel will be in the next fortnight," he further said.

"Now that the PCB has finalised dates, venues and playing times, CA will be moving to finalise arrangements for our UAE game against Afghanisatan which we will play immediately before the Pakistan games," Young signed off.

is still contemplating whether to officially announce that Kamran can be considered for national selection or whether to just tell the selectors to select him without any announcements," the source said.

Kamran was called before the committee again after the national selectors asked the board for clearance to consider Kamran for the forthcoming T20 World Cup after including his name in the list of 30 probables.

The source also said that after initially pushing for Kamran's clearance,

the selectors had also now taken a back seat and were waiting for the final word from the board.

"The board itself remains undecided because there is no fresh complaint against Kamran and the factual position is that he was cleared by the ICC to play in the 2011 World Cup," the source said.

He said the issue cropped up again as Kamran's name had been taken in the spot-fixing trial in London last year that involved Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. He was named in the spot-fixing trial that took place in

the UK last year, but was not summoned by the court, or the International Cricket Council. However, the PCB excluded him from the team.

Kamran was also accused of deliberately under-performing in the Sydney Test during Pakistan’s tour to Australia in 2010, reports said.

However, his chances of returning increased after the selection committee selected him in the preliminary squad.

His final inclusion is, however, still subject to clearance by the integrity committee.

‘dar HA’s Europe tour proves a success’ LAHORE STAff rEPOrT

Former Olympian Tauqeer Dar has said that Dar Hockey Acadmey Europe tour proved very beneficial and helpful for young hockey players in order to gaining international exposure as well as improving their skills and game.

Talking to the reporters, Dar Hockey Academy president Tauqeer Dar said: “It was Dar Hockey Academy team’s third

successive successful tour to Europe. The tour was made successful with the sincere efforts of Iftikhar Ali Malik, Anjum Nisar, Farooq Dar, Khurram, Farooq Khan, Fahad, Ayaz, Asif, Sameer and Abbas and I am thankful to all of them.”

“Wherever Dar Academy goes for international tour, it surprises the people of that region and they can’t left praise the team’s ability, skills and performance,” he added.

He said that the academy had the

honour to defeat Europe’s one of the best clubs. “When Dar Academy team defeated former Pakistan hockey team coach Michel van den Heuvel’s club, he came to team’s goalkeeper and asked his name and city which he belongs to and praised the club and its performance.”

“International Hockey Federation (FIH) also lauded the efforts of Dar Hockey Academy which is busy in serving the city’s young, talented and deserving children,” Dar concluded.

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16 Sports Hamza reiterates pledge of reviving sports culture in Punjab

Saturday, 7 July, 2012

WImblEdON: switzerland's Roger Federer serves during his men's singles semi-final match against serbia's Novak djokovic during the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. AfP

LAHORE STAff rEPOrT

Mian Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Chairman Sports Board Punjab, has reiterated his pledge of reviving sports culture in the province by providing proper sporting facilities at every available ground for people of all walks of life. Talking to journalists here at the Punjab Squash Complex, Hamza said that he feels his duty to make the grounds available for the public for sporting activities. “We got vacated more the 4000 grounds in the province from occupants and now its my pledge to provide the public with proper sports and exercise equipment at these grounds so that people of all walks of life return to the grounds for sports as it used to be the practice,” he said. “We organized one of the biggest Punjab Sports Festival earlier his year which had a mass participation and have now planned even a bigger event which will start later next month involving youth of the province. “The Punjab Youth Festival 2012 would surely set new precedent which would give the youth a line and direction to fulfil their dreams,” he added. “Preparations for holding the event is underway and we would make is big success,” he said. He further added that his government will make the province a hub of sports in the country. Hamza also asked the Punjab Squash Association to organize a squash competition with having Rs 50,000 cash award and also promised to put before the chief minister the association’s request of Rs 20 million grant.

lodhi gains handy two points lead

Lee uncertain about olympic form

KARACHI STAff rEPOrT

International Master Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi gained a handy two points lead over his closest rivals after winnning both his matches of the day in the 28th National Chess Championship at The Beach Luxury Hotel Here On Friday. Lodhi of Gujranwala secured eight points to strengthen his claim to retain the crown and win a record 13th title. In the afternoon eighth round, Lodhi defeated Mohammad Ayub of Punjab in 39 points.

Earlier in the seventh round match Lodhi outclassed Fide Master Umer Khan. In a 17 move match Ayub rated fourth in Punjab overwhelmed Haseeb Ahmed of Sindh. In the seventh round to raise his tally to six point besides Ayub National Masters, Anwar Qureshi, Waqar Ahmed, Madni, Asifur Rehman and Syed Ahmed Alvi were tied at second spot with six points each in the women’s competition defending champion Nida Mishraz and Zenobia Wasif both hailing from Sindh are joint leaders with three points each.

KUALA LUMPUR AfP

Malaysian badminton hero Lee Chong Wei Friday said he has not fully recovered from an ankle injury and is unsure of whether he will be in top form for London, his last chance to win Olympic gold.

The world number two, who has been receiving stem cell treatment on torn ankle ligaments sustained at the Thomas Cup in China in May, lost the top ranking to arch-rival Lin Dan of China last month after missing two tournaments.

He said the London Olympics, which start on July 27, will be his last and he hopes to regain the number one ranking by winning a gold medal - the first for him and his country.

Asked whether he is confident he will be back in top form in time, he said: "I'm not sure.... Now I cannot

say I have 100 percent recovered. I still have three weeks. I only concentrate on my game."

With three weeks to go, the 29year-old said he was about 80 percent fit. He will leave for England next week. Lee said he has been training six to seven hours a day and is still undergoing rehabilitation for his injury. "I'm quite happy with my recovery. I still want to prepare mentally because I have just come back from injury," he told reporters after a training session at a stadium in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

"I just try my best. I hope I can play well in the Olympics and come out with world number one... I know everybody hopes I can take a gold medal." Lee became world number one in 2008 after the Beijing Olympics, where he lost in the final to Lin -- who many consider to be the sport's best ever player. Lee said he

had decided to play for another two years after the London Olympics, competing in the Commonwealth

Games and the Asian Games before retiring. "I have played for a very long time... It's good enough," he said.

KUAlA lUMPUr: Malaysian badminton hero and world number two lee Chong Wei speaks to the media after a practice session. afP

American trio share US Women’s Open lead KOHLER AfP

KOHlEr: lizette Salas watches her tee shot on the tenth hole during the first round of the 2012 U.S. Women's Open. afP

KOHlEr: Cristie Kerr hits her tee shot on the par 4 14th hole during round one of the 2012 U.S. Women's Open at blackwolf run. afP

KOHlEr: brittany lincicome smiles as she walks off the ninth tee during the first round of the 2012 US Women's Open at blackwolf run. afP

Americans Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome and LPGA rookie Lizette Salas each fired a threeunder par 69 to share the lead after Thursday's first round of the US Women's Open. In sweltering heat with no relief from wind at Blackwolf Run, the US trio seized the top spot at the year's third major women's championship by handling the conditions, their rivals and the most difficult layout they face all year. Sharing fourth on 70 were 17-year-old US star Lexi Thompson, American Jennie Lee, Japan's Ai Miyazato and Spain's Beatriz Recari. Salas opened and closed her round strongly with a five-foot birdie at the 18th allowing her to join the top group, having earlier scored birdies at the par-5 seventh and par-4 15th. Her lone bogey came at the par-4 11th.

"We just figured any putt on the green is a birdie putt," Salas said. "Down the stretch

we had some good birdie opportunities and I took advantage of that last one." Kerr, ranked eighth in the world, began on the back nine and birdied the 11th, par-3 13th and par-5 16th then finished with 11 pars to claim her place at the top of the leaderboard.

Kerr's 14 LPGA titles include a victory at the 2007 US Women's Open while Salas has yet to claim a pro victory. Lincicome made bogeys at the first and fifth but each time answered with a birdie on the following hole. She added birdies at the par-5 seventh and 10th holes and another at the par-3 17th to share a share of the lead.

World No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan, trying to complete a women's golf career Grand Slam with a victory this week, opened with a 74 to stand five adrift. Tseng began with a birdie but stumbled with a double bogey 6 at the fourth.

She answered with a birdie on the next hole but triple-bogeyed the par-4 11th and sandwiched a bogey at the par-3 13th between birdies and parred the last four holes.

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Federer stuns djokovic, makes eighth final LONDON

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IX-TIME champion Roger Federer reached a record eighth Wimbledon final on Friday when he defeated world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. In the pair's 27th meeting but first on grass, Federer booked his place in his 24th Grand Slam final where he will face either Andy Murray or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Victory on Sunday will take the 30year-old level with Pete Sampras's record of seven Wimbledon wins, allow him to reclaim the world number one ranking and clinch a 17th career Grand Slam crown. Djokovic, who was bidding to reach a fifth successive Grand Slam final, had defeated Federer six times in their last seven meetings. But Federer, playing in a record 23rd successive major semifinal, was not to be denied as he buried the heartache of having been knocked out in the quarter-finals in the last two years.

He also took his record of semi-final victories to eight out of eight at the All England Club. With Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar and pop singer Kylie Minogue watching from the Royal Box, Federer provided the early entertainment by easing to the first set in just 24 minutes. The Swiss earned the break point he needed in the sixth game when Djokovic, who fell on the surface made slippy by the closed roof above, could only net a running backhand. A shout from the crowd then caused Djokovic to check his service motion and Federer pounced with a low return which the Serb could only dump into the net. Federer served up two successive aces in the ninth game to lay the foundation for wrapping up the opening set. Djokovic, who came back from two sets to love down to beat Federer in the semi-finals of the US Open last year,

hit back in the second set, breaking with a razor-sharp backhand down the line for a 2-0 lead. The match was level when the champion fired his fifth ace of the contest to take the second set.

A Djokovic double fault then gave Federer break point in the sixth game of the third which the Serb saved after a brutal, 23-shot rally. Another fierce exchange, this time 26 shots, gave Federer a second break point but Djokovic's iron defence kept him level at 3-3. However, Federer carved out two set points in the

10th game when Djokovic missed an easy overhead. The champion saved the first but Federer converted the second with a leaping smash into an open court.

Federer was suddenly and comfortably on top, capitalising on a loose Djokovic service game to break for a 20 lead in the fourth set. Djokovic was under siege and fought off three break points to hang on at 4-2 down. But Federer claimed victory in the ninth game on his first match point when Djokovic netted a service return.

federer deserves to be back on top, says djokovic LONDON: Novak Djokovic admitted on Friday that Roger Federer will thoroughly deserve to reclaim the world number one spot if he triumphs in Sunday's Wimbledon final. Federer will go back to the top of the rankings, a position he last held in May 2010, if he clinches a seventh Wimbledon title and 17th career Grand Slam title. Victory will also see Djokovic, beaten 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Friday's semi-final at the All England Club, relegated to the number two spot having led the pack since winning his maiden Wimbledon title 12 months ago. "Look, if he wins and becomes No. 1 it's going to be well deserved," said the Serb. "He's played fantastic this year. He's been so consistent. If he wins, he wins. There's nothing I can do about it. The best player will win this tournament. I'm out."

Djokovic, who said he had been feeling unwell for the last six days, added that it had been foolish for critics to write off 30-year-old Federer, whose 16th and most recent Grand Slam title had come at the 2010 Australian Open. Six-time champion Federer had also lost in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2010 and 2011, defeats which gave the doubters even more fuel for their attacks. AfP

Murray mania at fIfa gives green signal $7,000 a ticket LONDON AfP

to goal Line technology LAHORE

Andy Murray was Friday attempting to become the first British man in 74 years to reach the Wimbledon final, an event so rare that Centre Court tickets were being sold for up to £4,500 ($6,992).

The 25-year-old Scot, who has lost in his three previous semi-finals at the All England Club, tackles France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bidding to be the first Briton since Bunny Austin in 1938 to reach the championship match. The last British man to win Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936 and with history at stake, fans are splashing out to get a seat on Centre Court, where the roof is likely to be closed as heavy rain continued to fall on Friday morning. Online ticket market place Viagogo said that semi-final tickets were changing hands for an average of £3,500 ($5,438), with the highest sold for £4,500 ($6,992).

STAff rEPOrT

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke announced that goal-line technology has been approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), football's law-making body and its ready to go ahead with. According to reports received here, goal-line technology will be used in incidents where it is not possible for match officials to determine with the naked eye whether the ball has crossed the goal line. It would also include cases where the ball bounces down off the underside of the crossbar and is cleared away by a defender.

There are many decisions which are still considered as controversial. The latest event took place during the Euro Cup 2012 in which the Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai did not awarded a goal to Ukraine’s Marko Devic during a group stage match with England.

Later the official publicly admitted that it was a mistake Valcke said that two systems have been approved, the Hawk eye which is currently being used in tennis and cricket and relies on optical recognition with the help of cameras. The second one is the GoalRef which will use a magnetic field with a special ball to identify a goal. Even with the implementation of the technology the referee will have the power to change the decision if he thinks so.

WATCh IT LIve STAR SPORTS Wimbledon Tennis 04:00PM

from Athens to london stats corner S. PERvEZ QAISER

ThIrd OlymPIC GAmES IN 1904 vENuE: St Louis, United States DAtES: July 1 to November 23,1904 NuMBERS OF SPORtS: 17 (91 events) NuMBERS OF NAtIONS: 12 NuMBERS OF PARtICIPANt: 651 (645 men and 6 women) yOuNgESt gOLD MEDALISt: Samuel Berger (United States) aged 19 years 274 days in Boxing OLDESt gOLD MEDALISt: Galen Spencer (United States) aged 64 years and 2 days in Archery OLDESt MEDALISt: Samuel Duvall (United States) aged 68 years and 194 days in Archery

fINAl mEdAlS TAlly COuNtRy United States Germany Cuba Canada Hungary Great Britain Mixed Team Greece Switzerland Austria total

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Serena Williams reached a seventh Wimbledon final on Thursday, taking her aces total to 85, an intimidating statistic which also makes her the second most powerful server in the men's tournament.

The 30-year-old American buried Victoria Azarenka under a firestorm of 24 aces in her 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) semi-final win, a record for a women's match at Wimbledon, beating the 23 she hit in the third round against Zheng Jie. The four-time champion has now piled up 85 aces for the tournament, 51 more than closest rival Sabine Lisicki.

It's a total which even puts her second on the men's list where only Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber hit more aces with 98.

Williams has fired down one more than American men's 10th seed Mardy Fish who finished his campaign on 84. "Actually during the match I thought I didn't serve well. I thought, Gosh, I got to get more first serves in. I had absolutely no idea about the record," said Williams. "It really didn't feel like I hit 24 aces at all. I honestly felt like I hit maybe 10. Like I wasn't going for that much. I was just going to play well, to serve well, to do the best I could.

"I just got to watch the film. I thought my serve was off, and apparently clearly it wasn't, so...maybe I should be off a little more." When asked to summarise her serve, Williams was more definite, especially having hit the 120mph mark, the fastest serve of the competition along with Lisicki. "Mean," was her assessment of the weapon that is

widely expected to blow away third seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's championship match and allow her to claim a 14th major and fifth Wimbledon. Williams will start as the hot favourite having beaten world number three Radwanska, the first Pole in a major final in 73 years, in their two meetings without dropping a set.

That includes the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2008 where the American lost just four games. "I've been working so hard, I really wanted it," said Williams, the first 30-year-old to reach the All England Club final since Steffi Graf in 1999.

"She was playing well and I got a little tight in the second set. I was looking too far in the future. I was so close, but I can't do that. I was happy to get through that second set tie-break." Williams, who won the first

of her four Wimbledons 10 years ago, insisted that the destination of the 2012 crown is far from a foregone conclusion even though she is widely expected to overwhelm the slender Radwanska. The Pole made the final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over German eighth seed Angelique Kerber. "She's doing unbelievable. She's playing so great. Wow, she's going to get every ball back," said the American, whose serving prowess would not look out of place in the men's game.

Serena played two doubles matches on Wednesday with sister Venus, but showed no signs of fatigue against Azarenka, taking the first set courtesy of eight aces and 20 winners, while allowing her opponent just four points on serve. That was the first set dropped by the 22-year-old Belarusian at the tournament.

S 82 4 2 11 1 1 1 93

B 79 5 3 1 1 1 1 92

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The problems of distance and travel meant a few overseas entrants so that 85 per cent of the competitors were from host country and they won 84 per cent of medals.

A total of 651 athletes from only 12 nations competed in St. Louis in 1904.

Anton Heida (United States) gained the record six medals, five golds and one silver, in gymnastics.

One of the most remarkable athletes was the American gymnast George Eyser, who won six medals even though his left leg was made of wood.

Frank Kugler won four medals in freestyle wrestling, weightlifting and tug of war, making him the only competitor to win a medal in three different sports at the same Olympic Games.

quIz: Q: Who won the gold medal in men’s hockey at Atlanta in 1896 ?

A. Holland Q: How many world record were set in the 1996 Olympic Games at Atlanta ?

A. Twenty six Q: When did Cycling make its debut in Olympics ?

A. 1896 Q 4: Until which year did Australia and New Zealand enter as a composite team in the Olympics ?

A. 1920 Q 5: When was the Basketball included in the Olympics ?

A. 1936

Record ace blitz puts Serena in man’s world LONDON

g 78 4 4 4 2 1 1 1 1 96

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PPP mouthpieces directed to go ‘hard’ at judiciary ISLAMABAD TAyyAb huSSAIN

As the Supreme Court is all set to take up important cases against the Pakistan People’s Party leadership next week, President Asif Ali Zardari has directed his party’s major mouthpieces to go hard at the judiciary in their media outings and use strong language to build pressure on judges.

The strategy has been adopted to restrain the apex court from taking any strict action against Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf who has been summoned by the court in National Reconciliation Ordinance

(NRO) implementation case on Wednesday, July 12.

“During a meeting of the PPP media committee held at the Presidency on Thursday evening, the president directed a group of the party’s leaders who often appear on TV talk shows to go ‘hard’ at the judiciary and use ‘strong language’ against the superior judiciary, especially in the case of Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

They were also told to question the ‘biased and selective’ approach adopted against the PPP,” a source who attended the meeting informed Pakistan Today.

“The meeting also decided that besides using TV channels to malign the judiciary, anti-judiciary campaigning would also be made through social media networks including twitter, facebook and online media,” the source said.

He said during the meeting, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira briefed the president about the government’s preparations and assistance in promotion of the government’s view about the “selective accountability” of the PPP leadership by the judiciary.

Besides going hard against the judiciary on media, the government also plans to clip

Pentagon freeing $1.1b withheld from Pakistan Pentagon says resumed supply through Pakistan to save millions of dollars each month

WASHINGTON ONlINE

The Pentagon is preparing to release about $1.1 billion withheld from Pakistan’s military after the country agreed this week to reopen supply routes into Afghanistan.

The withheld dollars are part of the US Coalition Support Fund to reimburse Pakistan for its support of US counterinsurgency operations, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

Payments were suspended last year amid increased USPakistan tensions even before Pakistan closed the land routes into Afghanistan in November as a result of a US attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan, which demanded a US apology for the deaths, agreed to reopen the lines after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said “we are sorry” in a statement on June 3.

“Several trucks have gone through and this will continue,” Kirby told reporters today. “The traffic is starting to flow,” he said.

Kirby said officials estimated that use of the reopened routes would save $70 million to $100 million per month.

Asked if Defense Secretary Leon Panetta agreed with Clinton’s statement of “deepest regrets”, Kirby said Panetta “fully supports the approach that was taken”.

While the apology, supply line reopenings and funds transfer were important developments, “it would be a mistake to believe that US-Pak relations are now back on track”, Alan Kronstadt, a South Asia analyst for the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, said today.

“Disputes over drone strikes, intelligence sharing/cooperation, and the role of the Haqqani Network remain serious and unresolved,” Kronstadt said.

Using northern routes as an alternative means to ship supplies into Afghanistan was costing the US about $100 million a month, Panetta said last month.

Kirby said he did not expect the Pentagon to substantially modify a request to shift about $2.1 billion in Pentagon funding into army and air force accounts to pay for the actual and anticipated costs of using the costlier northern land and air routes to move supplies in and out of Afghanistan. Kirby said he didn’t have a breakdown of the costs.

the judiciary’s wings through a new contempt law. The proposed bill will provide immunity to federal and provincial government leaders from being charged with or convicted under contempt of court law.

Ironically, the government-proposed bill is similar to what the PML-N government had introduced in 1997-98 to save then prime minister Nawaz Sharif during his clash with then apex court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. Experts think that with the adoption of the proposed changes in the contempt law by the parliament, a new round of confrontation might start between the executive and the judiciary. Major op-

Doctors resume Emergency duties after LHC snub g

Say strike will continue in indoor and outdoor wards until Punjab govt accepts demands LAHORE STAff rEPOrT

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered striking doctors to join their duties in emergency wards of public hospitals immediately.

The court expressed displeasure over the strike being held by the Young Doctors Association and issued summons for its leadership.

While hearing a petition against the ongoing strike by YDA members across Punjab, the LHC ordered the protesting doctors to resume their services in the emergency wards by 9am today (Saturday). Lawyer Azhar Siddique had submitted an application in the Lahore High Court regarding the doctors’ strike and requested the court to order protesting doctors to

MIRANSHAH AfP

A US drone attack on a militant compound in North Waziristan killed 21 insurgents and injured several late on Friday, security officials said. The unmanned aircraft fired two missiles

lESCO wants raise in power tariff by rs 2.79 per unit LAHORE AGENCIES

There will be no power outages during the month of Ramadan, Water and Power Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said on Friday.

In a statement, Mukhtar claimed that electricity supply would improve from Friday, while, according to PEPCO sources, electricity generation currently stood at 14,010MW against the demand of 18,174MW. The sources said a decrease in the shortfall was due to the improvement in oil supply.

Mukhtar said, “We will achieve the level of demand by generating more electricity,” adding, “We will provide relief to the general public during Ramadan.”

He said President Asif Ali Zardari had issued directives to this effect.

He said measures were being taken to overcome the problem of load shedding. The minister said the government was taking all possible steps to provide relief to the common man and all available resources were being utilised to achieve the objectives. Mukhtar said the PPP government would continue to work for the welfare of the people.

Meanwhile, the Lahore Electric

resume their duties.

During the hearing, the petitioner informed the court that the doctors had received degrees from countries whose certifications had no value in Pakistan. The petitioner requested the court to issue directives for the verification of doctors’ degrees. At the beginning of the hearing, the court told YDA representatives that continuing the strike despite the Supreme Court’s directives was a violation of the apex court’s order. The LHC said the patients could not be left at the mercy of striking doctors.

Justice Aijazul Hassan said complete enquiry would be held into the matter of young doctors and people who were involved in the chaos would be brought to book.

The young doctors said the strike could not be called off in the present circumstances as police were illegally harassing them.

The judge ordered that YDA leaders should not be tortured by police.

Meanwhile, YDA representatives told reporters that they would only work in the emergency wards of the hospitals until the Punjab government accepted their demands for a service structure.

US drone kills 21 in North Waziristan

No power outages in Ramadan: Mukhtar g

position parties, the PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, have announced to stand by the judiciary and oppose any such law.

However, the government needs only a simple majority to amend the law, which it can do easily. Former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani was last month convicted in a contempt of court case for refusing to implement an order of the Supreme Court regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities against President Asif Ali Zardari.

After his ouster, his successor Raja Pervez Ashraf has been asked by the court to submit his reply on the same issue on July 12.

Supply Company (LESCO) has demanded NEPRA increase the rate of electricity by Rs 2.79 per unit. NEPRA would take a final decision in this regard on July 19.

According to NEPRA, there was a cut in the price of furnace oil by Rs 3,000 per tonne, bringing down production price to 32 paisas from 99 paisas. The Jamshoro Power Company has decreased its tariff to 86 paisas from 99 paisas and the Northern Power Company from 96 to 32 paisas. NEPRA was of the view that effects of bringing down the tariff would eventually trickle down to consumers.

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

Editor: Arif Nizami

on the compound in Datta Khel village, some 35 kilometres east of Miranshah, they said.

“The US drone fired two missiles. At least 21 militants have been killed and several injured,” a senior security official based in Peshawar told AFP. Two security officials in Miranshah confirmed the strike.