e-paper pakistantodday 16th march, 2012

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leon Panetta ‘People of india, Pakistan Pakistan into asian CuP final Misbah, akmal shine ‘confident’ on afghan- must work together us strategic treaty to build an asian century’ in emphatic win PAGE | 06

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rs15.00 vol ii no 258 22 Pages islamabad — Peshawar edition

Military agrees to resume cooperation with US after parliament’s nod ISLAMABAD ShAIQ huSSAIN

The top brass of the country’s armed forces on Thursday approved a plan to resume cooperation with the United States in counter-terrorism war under a set of “new terms of engagement” likely to be approved by the parliament’s joint session scheduled for March 19. The decision was made during a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) held at the Joint Staff Headquarters, an official statement said.

JSCS Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wynne presided over the meeting attended by the chiefs of the three armed forces, Defence secretary, the directors general of Joint Staff, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Strategic Plans Division, and other senior military officers. “The JCSC is the highest defence forum. It is held on quarterly basis to dilate upon the complete security matrix.

The forum during the current meeting reviewed the prevailing national and regional security environment and the challenges faced therein,” the statement said. “Situation on the borders was discussed threadbare and all the participants expressed satisfaction over the operational preparedness and the morale of the Armed Forces,” it added. A military official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the meeting discussed the plan to start full counter-terrorism cooperation with the US in case the “new terms of engagement” with Washington were approved by the parliament. The official said, “Under the new terms of engagement Pakistan will reopen NATO supply routes once again for US and its allies, but with some conditions such as taxes on oil tankers and containers.”

He said the drone attacks would also be reduced to minimum required number by the CIA and that too in accordance with intelligence information provided by Pakistani officials. “Moreover, the CIA operatives and American military trainers would be allowed to come here but that too in very small numbers and their activities would be fully known to Pakistani authorities,” the official said.

Friday, 16 March, 2012 rabi-ul-sani 22, 1433

WON’T WRITE THE LETTER!

Prison better than gallows BAHAWALPUR

P

AGeNCIeS

RIME Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has taken a novel stance against the Supreme Court on writing a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, saying that the action would be tantamount to treason under Article 6 of the constitution which could bring the death penalty.

“If I write a letter, it will be a violation of the constitution, which is treason, and which carries the death sentence,” Gilani said while addressing the fifth convocation of the Islamia University, Bahawalpur on Thursday. “If I don’t write, I will be convicted for contempt, the punishment for which is six months’ imprisonment,” he added.

Dramatising the situation, the PM asked the students in the auditorium what should he do in this situation. Some among the students replied that he should choose six months’ imprisonment.

Gilani said he would deliver the students’ advice to the authorities concerned.

Last week, the Supreme Court had ordered Gilani to ask Switzerland to reopen corruption cases by March 21. On Wednesday, the information minister claimed that only the parliament had the power to withdraw immunity for the president.

Meanwhile, the lawyer who represented the Government of Pakistan in corruption cases against Zardari said the Swiss government would withdraw immunity for Zardari if Pakistan revokes the protection enjoyed by its president.

“If the Pakistani government abolishes the presidential immunity, the Swiss authorities will follow suit,” Macaulay Franklin said while talking to a private TV channel. He said the Pakistani government could write to the Swiss authorities seeking details about Zardari’s assets, but the Swiss government alone could not act due to the presidential immunity. He said if the funds from alleged Swiss accounts were moved somewhere else to affect the proceedings of the case, it would be considered another crime under the money laundering act.

The prime minister said that national institutions had been strengthened due to the “politics of reconciliation”. He said the independence of judiciary and the supremacy of the parliament were the “fruits of democracy”. Gilani said attempts for stopping Senate elections were made through “conspiracies” such as the memo scandal and the NRO case, but proved futile. About resuming NATO supply routes to Afghanistan, he said the parliament would decide the matter. Gilani said the people of Punjab

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pM says writing a letter against the president would be tantamount to treason under article 6, and not writing would bring six months in jail

wanted a new province, not an administrative unit. He said those who were talking about Bahawalpur province were sabotaging the efforts for Saraiki province. After the ceremony, the

Swiss hostages escape Taliban

Suicide bomber kills Peshawar SP PESHAWAR STAff RePORT

Taliban break US contacts KABUL AfP

The Taliban broke off confidence-building talks with the Americans on Thursday and the Afghan president ordered US troops out of villages, demanding a transition of security from NATO control in 2013. “It was due to their alternating and everchanging position that the Islamic Emirate was compelled to suspend all dialogue with the Americans,” the Taliban said on their website. In Kabul, Panetta and Karzai gave radically different versions of talks between the two men, after the Americans insisted that recent events would not see US-led NATO combat troops withdraw earlier than scheduled in 2014. Karzai then told Panetta that US-led international forces should “be withdrawn from villages and relocated in their bases”, his office said. There was no immediate response from NATO or Panetta, who told reporters after his Karzai talks that he was “confident” both sides could work out a treaty allowing a US military presence in the country beyond 2014.

prime minister laid the foundation stone of Bahawalpur University College of Agriculture, and the Environmental Sciences block which would be completed at a cost of Rs 420 million.

RAWALPINDI: Swiss couple Daniela Widmer and Olivier David Och wave upon their arrival at the Qasim air base on Thursday. afp PESHAWAR STAff RePORT/AfP

A Swiss couple abducted by the Taliban from Zhob in Balochistan and held captive for over eight months were flown back to Islamabad on Thursday, after they were found from an area in the militant-infested North Waziristan Agency.

Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 28, were abducted at gunpoint on July 1, apparently on holiday. Security officials said they were found at a checkpost in North Waziristan, but the nature of their release was clouded in mystery and there were claims that they escaped. “They are safe and sound,” army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. “They told us that they escaped and then they reported to our checkpost. That’s what they told intelligence agencies currently debriefing them.” The Taliban claimed the abduction in July, demanding that they be

exchanged for Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist jailed in 2010 in New York for the attempted murder of US government agents in Afghanistan.

But the details surrounding the couple’s recovery were unclear. The Swiss embassy refused to comment when contacted by AFP and senior Taliban commanders could not be reached. Officials said the Taliban released the couple in Spilga village in North Waziristan, but they were not able to say whether any ransom had been paid or demands from the Taliban had been accepted.

However, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter told a news conference in Bern that the couple had escaped and that no ransom was paid.

Burkhalter praised Och, a policeman from Bern, and his partner Daniela, who he said showed “great courage” and were free. The foreign minister said “no ransom was paid” for the couple as

Switzerland does not pay to free hostages. In October, a video emerged of the couple — apparently in relatively good health — flanked by four masked gunmen pointing rifles at their heads.

Wali-ur Rehman, deputy head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, had claimed the kidnapping, telling AFP in July that they were in “a very safe place” and that they were “completely in good health”. According to visas stamped in their passports, the Swiss couple arrived in Pakistan from India on June 28. The pair entered Balochistan from Punjab province and may have been heading for Quetta, possibly en route to Iran, officials in Islamabad have said. Their blue Volkswagen van was found abandoned in Loralai district, around 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of Quetta.

Gen Majeed’s son-in-law recovered | PaGe 02

A senior police officer was killed and his two body guards were injured when a suicide bomber ambushed his vehicle at Ring Road Chowk on Bara Road.

Security officials said that Peshawar Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kalaam Khan was going to office from his residence in Hayatabad when he was targeted by the bomber. The injured cops are stated to be in stable condition. The slain SP belonged to Dir, and oversaw security affairs in the rural areas of Peshawar that border the restive tribal belt. A few days ago, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral procession, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. Later, Kalaam’s funeral prayers were held at Police Lines, Peshawar. In addition to high-ranking police officers, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Barrister Masud Kausar, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, KP Inspector General of Police Akbar Khan Hoti and Inspector General of Frontier Corps Major General Nadir Zeb Khan attended the funeral prayers. A helicopter then airlifted Kalaam’s body to his native village in the Maidan area of Lower Dir.

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02 News

friday, 16 March, 2012

iSLaMabad

Today’s

PRofiT

caRToon

‘unguided missiles’ in TV channels dangerous: firdous Industrial Relations Bill enacted to protect labour rights

Quick Look

Story on Page 21

Story on Page 10

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Gen Tariq Majeed’s son-in-law recovered LAHORE STAff RePORT

Law enforcement agencies on Thursday recovered the son-in-law of former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Lt General (r) Tariq Majeed. Amir Aftab Malik, who is the president of Barkat Market Traders’ Union in Lahore’s posh Garden Town area and runs a jewellery business, was kidnapped by suspected militants on August 25, 2010, from his Faisal Town residence.

A videotape was released by his kidnappers some three months later which showed a visibly-shaken Amir surrounded by masked men wielding automatic Kalashnikov rifles. Amir is seen giving out the conditions for his release: a ransom amount of Rs 130 million coupled with the release of 153 militants arrested by the military across the country. According to the video, he was in the custody of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Well-placed sources in intelligence agencies said that Amir was recovered after successful negotiations between militants and the officials of law enforcement. Sources said Amir was recovered from North Wazirastan Agency, and would reach home in the next 48 hours. His father Aftab Malik, while talking to reporters outside his residence in Garden Town, confirmed that his son had been recovered safely by security agencies, but that he had not reached home yet. He called his son’s recovery a result of his prayers. He said he had told Amir’s daughter about his recovery. “We have passed through a really hard time since Amir’s abduction,” Malik added.

To a question, he said he did not know if any ransom was given for Amir’s release, and also denied knowledge of his current whereabouts after his recovery. Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigations) Abdul Razzaq Cheema, while talking to Pakistan Today, said police had heard about Amir’s recovery. He said police would investigate Amir after seeking his consent once he returns to his house. He said information provided by Amir would help police in identifying kidnappers and militants.

Three missing mountaineers feared dead ISLAMABAD APP

Rescue mission for the three missing mountaineers was called off on Thursday after two Pakistan Army choppers found no trace of them over the plateau between 7000 metre and 7400 metre, climbed by them. After clearing of weather in the upper Baltoro glacier area of Skardu district, Army Aviation flew helicopter sortie to the Base Camp of 8,068 metre high Gasherbrum on Thursday.

The helicopters flew high and closer to Gasherbrum I attaining an altitude of 7,000 metres to survey any trace of the missing mountaineers Austrian Gerfried Goschl, Swiss Cedric Hahlen and Pakistani mountaineer Nisar Hussain Sadpara.

Railways increases fares LAHORE ONLINe

The Pakistan Railways (PR) announced a 15 to 20 percent increase in its fares, applicable from Thursday, triggering a countrywide protest over the decision. The hike came amid uproar over the decline in the number of railway engines and trains.

According to PR officials, the bailout package demanded by the railways was not approved by the federal government. “The railway has to increase the ticket prices to cover its expenses.

The government has approved the revised fares,” a statement said. According to a notification the fares for passenger trains have been increased by 15 percent while those of express trains have been raised by 20 percent.

PeShAWAR: Police inspect the destroyed vehicle of a senior police official after a suicide bombing on Thursday. STaff phoTo

Abbottabad commission findings contradict US version: BBC Single bullet-casing and bullet mark found from a room which was allegedly filled with more than half a dozen armed companions of bin Laden g

ISLAMABAD

A

INP

member of the judicial commission tasked with detailing the May 2, 2010, incidents in Abbottabad that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden, has completed recording his findings, the BBC reported on Thursday. The findings are based on statements from bin Laden’s family, his neighbours, and the government officials who entered the area after the raid, said the report.

Questioning the American position on the raid, the details contradict, and are different from the version of events described by the US. The findings will also be the first official version of the events from the Pakistani side.

A major question raised in the report is the finding that only a single bullet-casing and bullet-mark was found from the room which was allegedly filled with more than half a dozen armed companions of the former al Qaeda chief.

The bullet mark was found on a wall in bin Laden’s bedroom, the same room where he was killed. The mark is so high on the wall that it appears as if the man firing bullet was on his knees. The commission’s experts have concluded that this bullet caused bin Laden’s death, and possibly hit the wall after tearing through a part of his skull, adds the report.

Other than this, no other bullet-casing or bullet-marks were found from the compound.

However, the commission’s members found more than a dozen Klashnikov rifles some less than a yard away from the dead bodies, adds the report.

The report raises the question that why did bin Laden’s companions not fire a single bullet at the US Marines, because the American version of events states that not a single soldier was hit. Now if no soldier was hit, and not even a single shot had gone astray - which was proved by the absence of bullet casings and marks - then why did Osama’s companions not fire a single bullet, the commission findings inquire.

OBL’s wives fight in prison ISLAMABAD: Osama Bin Laden has been dead for 10 months but his wives are alive and fighting. His eldest and youngest wives, 61-year-old Khairiah Saber from Saudi Arabia and 29-year-old Yemeni Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, recently had to be separated during a fight in a prison, according to a report in the Daily Mail on Thursday. Amal thought her older rival leaked information about their terrorist husband’s whereabouts to American authorities, leading to his death, according to an unnamed source inside Pakistan’s spy agency who said prison guards were instructed to keep the two apart.

An article by the daily said Khairiah was overwhelmed with jealousy that the younger wife was sleeping with bin Laden, prompting her to rat him out to American authorities. NNI

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friday, 16 March, 2012

foReiGn newS

aRTS & enTeRTainMenT

SPoRTS

Most of Israel security cabinet backs Iran strike

Shahid dating Nargis: official

Cricketers asked to stay away from actresses

News 03 coMMenT Gen Kayani’s omission: How could you miss out the elephant in the room?

Paksitan and the uS: Some headway in thawing off the stalemate.

fahd husain says: The Pakistan scorecard: We face broadly put three problems.

hashim bin Rashid says: Putting limits on spies: Our agencies need to be controlled

Mayank Austen Soofi says: Dargah’s Billi…: And a cat named Sufi.

Story on Page 15

Story on Page 17

Thousands of bogus votes pointed out in balochistan ISLAMABAD

Story on Page 18

articles on Page 12-13

Cracks within PPP emerge over Hindu girl’s conversion

KAShIf ABBASI

Thousands of bogus votes have been pointed out in preliminary electoral rolls jointly prepared by NADRA and ECP for Balochistan and five teachers, who deliberately made double and fake entries, have also been traced.

“We have traced five teachers involved in malpractice while efforts are underway to trace other involved teachers,” a senior ECP official said. “The ECP has directed the authorities concerned to take strict disciplinary/criminal action against the culprits involved in the scam to ensure transparency and fairness of electoral rolls at any cost,” an ECP spokesman said. He said that the scam was unearthed following complaint of MNA Yaqub Nasir and Balochistan Assembly Deputy Speaker Mattiullah Agha. They had filed complaints in the ECP regarding abnormal increase in registered voters in Tehsil Dukki, Loralai on which the ECP ordered NADRA and the Balochistan provincial election commissioner to look into the matter.

The PEC conducted an inquiry through the Loralai district election commissioner (DEC) wherein it was confirmed that such abnormal increase was noticed in various blocks. NADRA conducted a detailed analysis of the complaints using biometrix database and revealed that thousands of Form “Alif” and Form-II were filled in by a few individuals to migrate voters across Pakistan to Tehsil Dukki, Loralai. According to NADRA, the same trend was also observed in Kachhi, Lasbela, Jaffarabad, Naseerabad and Khairpur where voter migration was carried out without the consent of voters.

MQM walks out from na over targeted killings ISLAMABAD STAff RePORT

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PPP Mna says no Muslim would vote for PPP if it opposed conversion to islam ISLAMABAD

S

STAff RePORT

ERIOUS differences between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) members have emerged in the National Assembly, as the ruling party’s women and minorities members condemned the kidnapping of Hindu girl Rinkal Kumari and her “forced conversion” to Islam.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, the members demanded the Sindh government to change its “partial attitude” towards the issue and demanded the speaker to rule in favour of the Hindu community. They also demanded the passage of a consensus resolution against the act.

PPP MNA from Sindh Pir Abdul Haq Mian Mithu, while opposing the stance of party members, said the Hindu girl was not pressurised and she came to him to embrace Islam with her own free will. He warned that if the PPP opposed those converting to Islam, no Muslim would vote for the party in the future. “If the party wants that no non-Muslim should become a Muslim, then a law should be passed in the parliament to impose ban on the conversion of nonMuslims,” he said. He also asked the party to delete the word “Islamic” from Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as its members were opposed to the conversions to Islam.

PPP members Nafisa Shah, Azra Fazal, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Mahesh Maliani, Ramesh Lal and Minister of State

for Inter-Faith Harmony Akram Masih Gil strongly opposed Pir Abdul Haq’s opinion, and said they demanded a ban on conversions for marriage purposes.

President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Azra Afzal said that no one could be allowed to force non-Muslims to embrace Islam. He said the country’s law and Shariah do not allow this.

She said the case of Rinkal Kumari was a sensitive one, and had brought bad name to the country at the international level. She said the minorities were not allowed to live

Man jailed for burning Quran says it was an accident MUZAFFARABAD AfP

A court on Tuesday jailed a 42-year-old Muslim man for life for burning a Quran, officials said.

Naseem Ahmed, a father of three, was arrested last June on charges of desecrating the holy Quran in Lasda village in Azad Kashmir, about 40 kilometres east of Muzaffarabad, and charged under the blasphemy laws.

“We heard up to 15 witnesses. His mother also testified against the accused and we have given him life imprisonment,” Judge Ameerullah Khan told AFP. Ahmed said he would appeal the sentence, professing his innocence and saying he had no idea

that a Quran was among a pile of books he set alight.

“My younger brother and sister didn’t care about their school books and used to leave them scattered around the house,” Ahmed told AFP, speaking by telephone from custody.

“One day I came home and got angry at seeing the books scattered. I collected them up and burnt them. My mother admonished me, telling me that among the books I burnt, was a copy of Holy Quran,” he said.

“The neighbour overheard and called the police. Members of a rival (Sunni) sect with whom I had been clashing in the past suddenly became active in this case that is why I have been convicted,” he said.

with freedom.

Ramesh Lal said the Sindh government had become a party in the issue, and after forcing the girl to change religion, she was being kept at Ghotki Darul Aman. He said no one was being allowed to meet the girl. He said police was supporting only one group.

MNA Nafisa Shah, daughter of Sindh chief minister, said that hundreds of Hindu girls had been forcibly converted to Islam, and that the administration should not become a party to such cases.

Staging a walkout from the National Assembly (NA) against rising incidents of extortion and target killings in Karachi, the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) coalition partner–the MQM– threatened on Thursday that it might boycott the forthcoming joint sitting of parliament if swift action was not taken by the government to improve the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.

Speaking on a point of order, MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi said that the MQM might not attend the upcoming joint session of parliament if prompt action was not taken to control extortion in Karachi. “We have already brought this issue in notice of the president, PM and CM,” he said. MQM parliamentarians kept on raising slogans such as ‘Bhatta Khori Bund Karo-Karachi Bachao’, before staging a walkout from the House.

Rizvi said that it had become almost impossible to run a business in the biggest city of the country due to plethora of issues, including power outages, interrupted water supply and rising incidents of extortion in different areas. He said the MQM was a coalition partner of the government but it could not afford neglecting its areas. Rizvi said that the business community was shifting to other countries due to such circumstances, as they were facing different kinds of threats from extortionists.

Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar Shah told the NA that the circular debt of petroleum sector which was Rs 70. 586 million in March 2008 had presently swelled to Rs 3.96 billion. The minister said that the government had imposed a ban on import of CNG kits while local manufacturing was also banned. Naveed said that in areas where a large number of CNG stations were working, gas pressure was low. He said that the ministry did not issue CNG licenses.

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04 News

friday, 16 March, 2012

Mansoor Ijaz claims links with 24 secret agencies

Memo commission challenges relevance of Zahid bukhari’s questions aimed at proving ijaz to be ‘an agent of intelligence agencies’ g asks Haqqani’s counsel to submit reply on exhibited documents g

ISLAMABAD TAhIR NIAZ

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HE memo commission Thursday repeatedly enquired about the relevance of the questions which Husain Haqqani’s lawyer Zahid Bukhari had put to the star witness in the memo scandal as the latter conducted a ‘test of Mansoor Ijaz’s knowledge’ to prove him ‘an agent of the intelligence agencies’.

Bukhari continued putting ‘irrelevant’ question to Mansoor Ijaz that included a question about his father’s occupation, time when he left Pakistan permanently, his connections with intelligence agencies of different countries, did he arrange a meeting between RAW chief and a Kashmiri leader, is he facing financial problems, how much money he had got from the same and in what capacity he had done all that, saying the commission had no power to decided the relevancy of the questions.

Since Ijaz had admitted that he had connections with

around 24 intelligence agencies of different countries, Bukhari asked him to name the agencies upon which chairman of the memo commission Justice Qazi Faez Isa observed, “It this a test of his (Ijaz) knowledge?”.

“If you want to be dramatic it’s your choice. But what is the relevance of the questions in the enquiry before hand?” he asked Bukhari on a number of occasions. After the proceedings of more than three hours, Justice Isa observed that the commission was unable to understand the scope of the questions. The ‘irrelevant’ questions continuously posed by Haqqani’s counsel compelled the chairman of the commission to say, “It is not a popularity show… we are not running democracy here”. Advocate Naseer Ahmad Bhutta observed “It is mockery of proceedings”.

Tempers rose high as Bukhari throwing the books on the table said “If I am not allowed, I will go back”. As Naseer Bhutta tried to interrupt, the chairman of the commission admonished him by saying “We cannot

allow counsels to interrupt the proceedings without permission of the commission”.

As Bukhari continued to object the prerogative of the commission on ascertaining the relevance of the questions, Justice Isa addressed Bukhari: “With your permission can we speak sir”. Ijaz’s replies to majority of the questions was also ‘simply ridiculous’.

On at least three occasions, Bukhari put a question to Ijaz but could not digest the reply.

At one point, when Bukhari objected to the contents of an article written by Mansoor Ijaz and published in Financial Times on May 3, 2011 in which the latter had stated: “Pakistan has almost certainly acted as a knowing babysitter, watching over the terror master so he (OBL) would do no further harm –as long as the babysitting fees were sufficient and recurring,” Ijaz said Haqqani had agreed to the contents of the said article, adding he had already submitted a Blackberry shot to the commission which proved the same. However,

Bukhari termed it ‘an irrelevant reply’.

Again as Bukhari insisted that Ijaz reveal the nature of his connections with intelligence agencies of different countries, Ijaz said, “Haqqani, on at least three to four occasions during telephonic conversations, had told me that he (Haqqani) knew everything in my CIA file”. He added “I therefore request the learned counsel to direct the question to Mr Haqqani”, who was sitting next to his counsel. Justice Isa observed, “If you put irrelevant questions, the reply would be also irrelevant”. Justice Isa told Bukhari that if he wanted to continue with the ‘irrelevant’ questions, Akram Shaikh, the counsel of Ijaz would also be given the same latitude to put questions to his client to which Bukhari agreed.

Akram Shaikh observed that the questions were meant to jeopardise the proceedings.

Bukhari, referring to an article written by Mansoor Ijaz put a question to Ijaz that had he arranged a meeting with RAW chief and

Kahsmiri leader Yaseen Malik, saying he wanted to establish that he (Ijaz) was an agent of agencies. Justice Musheer Alm directed Bukhari to come with relevant questions. In reply, Ijaz said he wanted to bring on record another article published in Gulf News written

by Foreign Desk Editor Nena Gopal adding he had arranged the meeting in good faith to bring peace in Kashmir. Justice Isa again objected to Bukhari’s selection of questions, saying “We are bewildered now… it is more than three hours now. You are maligning a character or person who is not before us”.

Bukhari referred to another memorandum mentioned in an article written

by Mansoor Ijaz and concluded that it was intended to dislodge Muslim government in Sudan adding the latter had also met with the Sudanese intelligence chief for the purpose. Ijaz admitted having met with the Sudanese intelligence head.

Bukhari said he wanted to establish that Ijaz had connections with intelligence

agencies of the world.

As Bukhari insisted that Mansoor Ijaz was not going to the US for the last over one and a half year to avoid execution of decrees against him, the commission directed the US national to bring his passport tomorrow (today) to show it to Haqqani’s counsel. Bukhari cited a number of ‘fraud’ and defaulting cases which were in process against the US national in his country adding he wanted to expose the credentials of the US national.

Bukhari referred a number of articles written by Mansoor Ijaz in different newspapers across the world in a bid to prove that he is an agent of difference intelligence agencies. He concluded from the articles that Ijaz was against Pakistan’s acquiring nuclear potential and he worked for different intelligence agencies in exchange of money. However, Ijaz challenged the assertions of Bukhari, saying he had never been against Pakistan acquiring nuclear programme for peaceful or defence purposes. He however, said, “The illegal sale of

Pakistan’s nuclear technology for personal benefits or rogue elements of the state was not acceptable to me”.

Ijaz told the commission that his father left Pakistan in 1960 but continued to visit.

He told the commission that he only received the document containing what happened at the early hours of May 2, 2011, however he had not claimed that the said document was authentic. Upon which Justice Isa observed that the ‘transcript’ submitted by Mansoor Ijaz was not a transcript rather it was a journalistic account of what happened on the May 2 night. Ijaz also declined to share with the commission the source of the ‘transcript’.

Earlier, Haqqani’s counsel was said the commission should wait for the forensic report of Ijaz’ Blackberry and then he would start cross-examination of the star witness. The commission directed the counsel of Haqqani to comply with the commission order and take a clear position on the allegations leveled by Mansoor Ijaz.

Iranians named by India for Israel attack NEW DELHI AfP

ISLAMABAD: A plane makes the first landing at the new Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Thursday. oNLINE

India to launch aircraft version of Brahmos by December NEW DELHI NNI

The aircraft version of the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world, the Brahmos, would be launched

by December, a top official of the Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture company said.

The aircraft modification of Sukhoi-30 to attach the missile is being done in Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), Nasik and after proper reduction of weight and electronic interface and other various integrations, the missile would be ready for launch by the year end, PTI reported quoting Dr A Shivathanu PIllai, CEO and

managing director of the company as talking to reporters. Asked about production capacity, Pillai said the company was geared to produce any number of missiles for use in the Indian Defence Department and after fulfilling domestic requirements, it would consider supplying to other countries.

The army had conducted a successful trial of the Supersonic Cruise Missile recently, he said. The 290 kilometres range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test-fired at the Pokharan range in Jaisalmer on March 4, to operationalise the second regiment of the weapon system in service.

On the advanced Hypersonic Missile, he said research was going on to design and develop the 7 ‘Mach’ speed missile. Research has already started on propulsion of scramjet engine and it will reach the final stage by another two years, Pillai said.

The company would enter into another agreement of 50.5: 49.5 ratio, for this version. On Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, which was given prominence by China, he said it depended on the requirements of the individual country, as was done by India by developing Agni missile’s four versions. The Agni-5, with 5,000 kilometres range, would be launched soon, Pillai said.

Two chained women recovered LAhore: The Ghaziabad Police on Thursday recovered two women, who were kept chained at their house, and arrested a man. The victims were identified as Shamim Akhtar and her 14year-old niece Ambar, residents of Tajpura, Ghaziabad.

Police received a tip-off that Azhar Javed had detained his wife Shamim and niece since a couple of months on which police raided his house and recovered the two women. Azhar, in police custody, told journalists that his wife was mentally ill and used to escape from his house, which forced him to chain her. Police said that the accused was changing his statements so they will go for a mental check up of both women. STAff RePORT

Three Iranians have been named by Indian police as suspects in an attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, the first time Iran has been firmly linked to the bombing, reports said Thursday.

The men entered the country on tourist visas and left after the assassination attempt in the centre of the Indian capital on February 13 that badly wounded a female embassy worker, The Times of India and The Indian Express reported. “They had entered the country during different times and did not leave together,” an unnamed security source told The Indian Express. “We have their travel details.”

The reports, based on anonymous police and intelligence agency sources, said police had asked a local court for warrants for the men and

their names would be given to the Iranian government.

Last week, a veteran Indian freelance journalist called Syed Mohammed Kazmi who worked part-time for Iran’s news agency IRNA became the first person arrested in connection with the attack.

He is accused of providing logistical support for the plotters and a bike used for reconnaissance of the embassy was allegedly found at his house in an upmarket area of the Indian capital.

In the attack, a hitman on a rented motorbike attached a magnetic bomb to the back of an Israeli embassy car carrying the 42year-old diplomat as she went to pick up her children from school.

The woman, also the wife of the defence attache at the embassy, was left in a critical condition with spinal injuries and has since been flown to Israel for further treatment.

SC reserves verdict on pSM corruption case ISLAMABAD INP

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) case while observing that a forensic report had found “massive corruption” in the entity.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez reserved its verdict on the suo motu case. A re-

port submitted earlier by the PSM’s counsel established that the national entity suffered a massive loss of Rs 26.5 million during 200809. During the proceedings, Ministry of Industries and Production Secretary Gul Muhammad Rind appeared and stated that the government was considering sending the issue to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for further investigation after getting the opinion of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Israel immediately accused Iran of being behind the bombing which came on the same day as another attempted attack on an Israeli embassy car in Georgia.

A day later, Thai police arrested two Iranian men in Bangkok who are suspected of planning a separate attack on Israeli diplomats. One of them had his legs blown off as he attempted to hurl an explosive device at police.

A third Iranian suspect was detained in Malaysia where authorities on Thursday applied for a court order to extradite him to Thailand to face trial.

Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, who says he is a car parts dealer who visited Thailand for a holiday, was arrested at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport and denies any involvement in the plot.

The Iranian government also denied any involvement in the conspiracies in the three countries.

islamabad police nab 22 HT activists ISLAMABAD INP

The Islamabad police on Thursday arrested 22 members of the banned Hizbut Tahrir during a raid on a house in Sector I-9/2.

The arrested suspects, including a senior leader, have been shifted to an undisclosed location for further investigation.

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News 05

‘People of india and Pakistan must work together to build an asian century’ ‘Imran should have presented his argument’

BY AGHA AKBAR Q: the India today conclave titled ‘the Asian century’ is a great idea and I’m sure that like the years past this 2012 edition too would be long remembered for the erudition of its keynote speakers, keenness of its participants and for good measure its splendid organization. For the sake of enlightening the pakistani audiences through pakistan today, will you please share the seminal idea behind this particular topic and what do you expect it to bring to the fore?

A: Each year India Today Conclave brings together the biggest thought leaders from across the globe for exchange of ideas. This year the theme is the Asian century. It is relevant because the world acknowledges that this century belongs to Asia. What we attempt through this event is to bring to the fore fresh ideas and innovative thinking that can be implemented to achieve the goal of the Asian century.

Q: how can the sub-continent quite substantively achieve its potential while peace between India and pakistan continues to remain elusive?

A: As South Asia’s power houses, peace between India and Pakistan is pivotal.

We have the power of human capital and markets that can make us a global leader. The important thing is to keep our differences aside and move forward on areas of cooperation.

Q: pakistan and India have a longstanding history of trust deficit, both on authoritative and public level. can this trust deficit ever be overcome? If yes, how?

A: Over the years the mistrust between the two has reduced but greater people to people contact is a way out to bridge the divide. It is here that events like the India Today Conclave can play an important role to bridge the trust deficit.

Q: Speaking of trust deficit, the everlasting blame game between the two countries’ chief intelligence agencies – rAw and the ISI – gives the impression of never going away. whenever a terrorist act takes place on either side of the border, the next door neighbour is at the top of the suspect list. how big a hurdle is this perception in building up trust that is a prerequisite for

Pakistan’s 26/11 panel arrives in Mumbai MUMBAI INP

A Pakistani judicial commission arrived in Mumbai on Thursday to record the statement of four key people in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, including a magistrate who recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving perpetrator.

The statements of the four witnesses will be used as evidence in the trial against Laskhkare-Taiba top commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects in the strikes going on in Pakistan. The eight-member commission that landed at the domestic airport by an Air India flight amid tight security, will record the statements today (Friday) and Saturday. Ahead of their arrival, the chief metropolitan magistrate of the Esplanade court in south Mumbai had issued summons to magistrate RV Sawant Waghule, who had recorded Kasab’s confession, and crime branch officer Ramesh Mahale, investigating officer in the case. Two doctors-medical officer (forensic department) of JJ Hospital Ganesh Nitukar and Shailesh Mohit of civic-run Nair hospital have also been issued summons asking them to appear in court to record their statements. They had conducted autopsies on the nine slain terrorists and victims of the assault which lasted nearly 72 hours. The commission consists of defence lawyers Khwaja Haris, Riyaz Akram Chaudhry, Fakhar Hayat, Raja Ehasanullah Khan and Isaam Bin Haris, special public prosecutors Chaudhry Muhammad Azhar and Chaudhry Ali and court official Azad Khan. Ujjwal Nikam, who was special public prosecutor in the terror trial, would accompany Indian officers to be questioned by the Pakistani panel.

Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group, on Imran’s nonparticiption in protest over Salman Rushdie’s presence: “We deeply regret that Imran Khan will not address the India Today Conclave because of Salman Rushdie’s participation. The India Today Conclave is a platform for free and frank exchange of ideas. We do not endorse the views of any of our speakers but we do stand for the freedom of expression in all that we do; it’s an essential principle of a free nation and free media. “The India TodayConclave now in its 11th year has established itself as an independent and credible forum for thinkers and leaders from around the world not all agreeable to everyone. We wish that Imran had used this opportunity to express his views at the Conclave with all the force and lucidity that he possesses. We can all agree to disagree but we must present our argument.”

AROON PuRIe peace?

A: No I beg to differ here. This may have been the case earlier but now even security agencies of both sides don’t indulge in blame game. Your interior minister Mr Rehman Malik told our news channel Headlines Today that Pakistan sacked two officials in Lahore who blamed India for a bomb attack without any evidence. This is a sign of growing maturity and greater understanding in our relationship.

Q: Being a frontline media figure and leading a most diverse group in India, are you satisfied that with its vibrancy on both sides of the border, media has done enough in pitching for peace?

A: A free and vibrant media is an essential pillar of any democracy and in the context of India and Pakistan I strongly believe that media is playing an important role in bridging the gap between our two countries. Most importantly, our respective media should be easily and freely available in both countries.

Q: the establishment in our two countries aside, how ready do you believe are the people of both countries to accept those on the other side of the border with a spirit of goodwill and accommodation? how deep set in your view is this “self and other” model in the minds of the peoples of the two countries?

A: I think there is no doubt in India in any quarter about Pakistan as an

independent sovereign nation. As neighbours we are destined to be with each other. What we need to do is to leverage our core strengths, allow greater trade, let people meet each other and interact. The people of our two countries are greatest assets. Let’s use our combined strength to build a win-win partnership.

Q: cricket diplomacy - does it actually work or is its real impact on the diplomatic procedure blown out of proportion?

A: Cricket is in the blood of India and Pakistan. I believe it is important that cricketing ties between the two countries should grow. It will bring greater trust and economic benefits to both the countries. Winning or losing a match is no longer an issue of national honour as it was in the past. People of both countries take it in their stride. I follow every India-Pakistan cricket match with great interest and I am looking forward to the one on March 18.

Q: the last time the people of two countries were brought together in large numbers was in 2004, on the famous resumption of cricketing ties when Sourav ganguly brought his team across. nearly 20,000 Indian spectators visited Lahore and other pakistani cities, and the bonhomie and goodwill was only seen to be believed. In that context, is it fair to assume that if the people of two nations are allowed to cross border

frequently and in far greater numbers, this would automatically put us on an irreversible path to lasting peace?

Instead of the stifling visa regime, should the two governments not be amenable to an open and relaxed one?

A: I am a firm believer that we need to let people of India and Pakistan interact more freely. I believe some measures to liberalise the visa regime are in the offing. We need to expedite them. It will lead to a greater understanding about each other which is very important for bilateral relationship.

Q: with cricket being such a passion on both sides of the border, is it right to put the cricketing relations in deep freeze at the slightest hint of unease at the governmental level?

A: I am of the opinion that we shouldn’t hold cricket ties hostage to our political differences. It can provide a good platform for confidence building and we must build on the goodwill from playing cricket with each other.

Q: And, the question most often asked everywhere in pakistan: what good can accrue from the Indian Board’s snubbing pakistan cricket and cricketers by refusing to engage them in the IpL and our national club from participation in the champions League?

A: I can’t comment on the Board of Cricket Control of India’s decision on that, but I would reiterate that cricketing ties shouldn’t be held hostage to political

pML-N leaders rubbish Mehran Bank accusations LAHORE YASIR hABIB

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders termed the accusations regarding the Mehran Bank scandal, as “an illogical ploy to harass the Sharifs”.

PML-N Information Secretary Mushahid Ullah Khan and Media Coordinator Muhammad Mehdi expressed their views on the Mehrangate scam at a reception.

They said the allegations were not rational and were a “pack of lies”.

They dismissed the accusations levelled by former Mehran Bank resident Younis Habib against PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, saying that it was not believable that Sharif would accept money in the presence of a large group of people.

Habib had also claimed that he had given Rs 3.5 million to Nawaz Sharif and Rs. 2.5 million to Shahbaz Sharif in addition to the millions of rupees he gave to other politicians.

“It does not seem logical that key players were awarded nominal amounts as compared to the junior politicians. The claims made by

Habib are contradictory,” they said.

They said the PPP will have to regret its decision to turn Habib against the Sharifs. They stated that the PML-N will be cleared of all the charges.

Asked about PML-N’s demand for snap polls, they stated that the PML-N had not retracted from its original stance. They added that the polls could not be held before the voter lists were completed. They also confirmed that the PML-N was very close to forging alliances with the PML-Q likeminded, JI and the Sunni Tehrik.

Six militants killed in Khyber KHYBER AGENCY ONLINe

Six militants were killed when jet fighters bombarded the Tirah valley of Khyber Agency, sources said on Thursday.

According to security sources, jet fighters targeted militant hideouts in the remote areas of the Tirah valley on Thursday.

Apart from the militants killed, several others were injured, while three hideouts were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, terrorists blew up a government school in a Landikotal village.

The early morning attack came after terrorists placed powerful explosives inside the primary school’s compound.

MILItAntS BLow up two govt SchooLS, tuBe weLL In LAkkI MArwAt: Unidentified militants destroyed a secondary school and two buildings were partially damaged in three simultaneous blasts on Thursday. Accord-

ing to police, militants blew up a government middle school located in Zairran area of Lakki Marwat with explosives. They also targeted a government primary school and a tube well in Doda area with locallymade bombs partially damaging the two buildings. No casualties were reported in the blasts. Police recovered and defused a bucket full of explosives from Mandakhel area.

Police beefed up security across the district after the blasts and started searching for militants.

differences that we may have, but I would have to stress that we can not brush aside issues like terrorism which continues to be a big concern for India.

Q: First things last – core issues.

Many analysts believe that without the resolution of the kashmir issue and the water dispute, no amount of diplomatic measures can succeed in effectively improving relations between India and pakistan. what is your take on this?

A: We have to discuss all issues and resolve them, Jammu and Kashmir, water issues, terrorism all these are issues which continue to retard our relationship. But these are complex issues. We can’t ignore them but it is important to explore areas where we can achieve some progress and then address the more difficult issues. It should be a step by step approach. Lets build the trust and address the issues where we can move forward.

Q: From your profile I gather that you were a toddler living in Lahore when the partition happened. Do you ever yearn to return, if not to live here but to visit as often as you’d like?

A: I was very young when my family migrated from Pakistan, but I believe I feel at home whenever I visit Pakistan. It is the hospitality, the warmth of people, the love and affection that you get when you visit the country that makes it special. I believe this is a unique trait which binds our two countries together and that is the reason why people of India and Pakistan must work together to build an Asian century.

Sc orders police to arrest Sanaullah’s ‘rapist’ friend LAHORE STAff RePORT

A Supreme Court Lahore Registry division bench on Thursday took serious notice of nonarrest of gang rape accused of Faisalabad, Asghar Ali, allegedly close aide of Punjab Law Minster Rana Sanaullah and police relaxation on the matter by declaring him a proclaimed absconder. The bench consisting of Justice Jawad Khawaja and Justice Athar Saeed directed the Faisalabad Police to arrest the accused within seven days ignoring the political status of the accused. The bench warned the police that on the next date of hearing no excuse whatsoever will be acceptable and police will have to face the music for negligence. The bench snubbed Faisalabad CPO Bilal Kamyana when he informed the bench that Asghar was an absconder and requested for time to arrest him. Justice Khawaja said, ‘What have you done so far? The court has ordered several times to arrest the accused but you come every time to seek more time”. “You should ask your bosses to transfer you from Faisalabad because you cannot even arrest a single accused,” the apex court observed. At this, the victim girl, who was present in the court, told judges that Asghar was seen earlier with Sanaullah, but now, she did not know where he is hiding. The CPO rejected the reply of Samina and requested the court to allow at least seven days for arresting Asghar.

Additional Prosecutor General Mazhar Noshairwan came to the rescue of the CPO but remained failed, as the court said that it would direct the IGP to arrest the accused.

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Judges want transfers after lawyers’ threats LAHORE STAff RePORT

Annoyed by the behaviour of lawyers, 24 additional judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday submitted applications for transfer. Additional Session Judges Shiraz Kiani, Nazir Ahmed, Khizar Hayat and others asked for their transfers from Lahore to other cities in an application to the Lahore additional sessions judge because lawyers’ behaviour was not acceptable. They said that lawyers had a great impact over decisions and demanded their immediate transfers to other cities. However, Lahore Bar Association President Chaudhry Zulfiqar said he was unaware of any such application. He said that if the judges had indeed forwarded such an application, it was not a praiseworthy action. He said the LBA comprises more than 25,000 lawyers and due to a few incidents the judges could not blame the whole community.

Malik did not take money from ib BAhAWALPuR: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Punjab Governor Latif Khosa pray after inaugurating the Agriculture university on Thursday. INp

Panetta ‘confident’ on Afghan-US strategic treaty KABUL

P

AfP

ENTAGON chief Leon Panetta said Thursday he was “confident” the United States and Afghanistan would work out a treaty allowing a US military presence in the country beyond a pullout in 2014.

Speaking to reporters after talks with President Hamid Karzai, Panetta said he was optimistic that both sides would reach an agreement on night raids — a major issue blocking the treaty — ahead of a NATO summit in Chicago in May. Karzai has objected to the controversial raids on the grounds that they violate the sanctity of Afghan families in their own homes and that they are responsible for many civilian deaths — a claim the US disputes.

The US military says the raids are vital in helping to reverse a Taliban in-

surgency by targeting insurgent leaders at home. US-led NATO combat troops are scheduled to hand responsibility for security to Afghan forces and withdraw

Shahbaz arrives in wazirabad today wAZIrABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will address a public meeting here today (Friday). In anticipation of the chief minister’s visit to the area, the PML-N groups in Wazirabad have been forced to set aside their differences in favour of preparing for the public meeting. In his address, the chief minister will announce the establishment of the Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology, which will cover six of Punjab’s districts. The CM will also announce the upgradation of the THQ Wazirabad into a model hospital comprising 120 beds as well as the establishment of a trauma centre. PML-N MNA Justice (r) Iftikhar Ahmed Cheema is holding corner meetings and mobilising the party’s workers ahead of the meeting. STAff RePORT

PTi rejects Muqam’s demand for joining party PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) on Thursday rejected demands of PML-Q Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Amir Muqam for joining the party.

In a statement issued from the PTI Media Cell, PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Asad Qaiser said that the party had rejected demands made by Muqam for joining the

from the country by the end of 2014.

But the strategic treaty being negotiated will cover Afghan-US relations after that with the United States report-

party. We welcome everyone in the PTI who was willing to join unconditionally but Muqaam had some demands which were rejected by the party leadership, he said. Asad said that those who demand party slots or tickets were not welcome into the party. INP

edly keen to maintain a foothold in a country to help prevent it from once again becoming a haven for Al-Qaeda.

Panetta’s visit had been billed as an opportunity to smooth over relations with Afghan leaders, which took a severe knock when a US soldier allegedly massacred 16 villagers on Sunday and copies of the Koran were burnt last month.

He reiterated that such incidents should not cause NATO to lose sight of it mission in Afghanistan.

Analysts fear the shootings would complicate talks on a possible US troop presence after 2014, as the government has so far refused to grant them legal immunity — the same issue that scuppered a US strategic pact with Iraq.

Panetta said he promised Karzai that the gunman would be brought to justice and that the Pentagon would look at what circumstances may have caused the incident — including the possible effect of combat stress on troops.

LAhore: Affectees of the Mirani Dam floods on Thursday announced to set up an indefinite camp at Charing Cross outside WAPDA House until the authority compensates them with damages due to the backflow from the dam in 2007. Addressing media at the press club, Sharif Shambazi said that WAPDA was yet to pay over Rs 4 billion in damages to over 10,000 families affected by the 2007 flood. He said the Commissioner Mekran had assessed the damages to be Rs 684,214,440 for houses destroyed from 264 feet above sea level and 271.4 feet above sea level and Rs 3,390,580,800 for destroyed fruit gardens. He said that despite numerous promises and the setting up of a commission to pay the damages, WAPDA and the government had yet to pay the damages. He said that the government’s delays had forced them to undertake the long journey from Turbat to Lahore to set up camp outside the WAPDA House which they would continue until they secure an agreement from the government for compensation. STAff RePORT

ONLINe

Interior Minister Rehman Malik did not take any amount from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Thursday. The statement of the spokesman came after Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif held a joint press conference with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Mushahid Ullah Khan, in which they blamed Malik for taking money from the IB. The spokesman said Malik has no authority to take money from the bureau, adding that the accusation was designed to divert attention from the Mehrangate scandal. “IB and ISI don’t come under the authority of the Interior Ministry,” he claimed. He stated that Malik had directed the Interior Ministry to sue Shahbaz Sharif and Mushahid Ullah for Rs 10 million and Rs 2 million, respectively.

UK changes immigration laws LONDON MAJID KhATTAK

Mirani dam affectees go on strike outside waPda House

ISLAMABAD

The British government on Thursday announced major changes in immigration rules for non-EU citizens.

Under the new rules Tier 1 Post Study Work (PSW) Visa will be closed from April 6.

Tier 1 PSW was a two-year visa meant to allow foreign students who have studied in the UK to stay in the UK following graduation to look for work without having an employer. The closer of this route will affect thousands of Asian students especially from Pakistan and India who would not be able to stay in the UK after completing their degrees from April 6.

Similarly, the government is introducing a new Tier 1 (graduate entrepreneur) route with up to only 1,000 places for students working on world-class innovative ideas, who want to stay and develop them but do not meet the requirements of the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route.

Presenting the new measures in parliament, Immigration Minister Damian Green announced that the government is introducing a new minimum pay requirement of £35,000 or the appropriate rate for the job, for Tier 2 general and sportsperson migrants

who wish to settle here from April 2016 with exemptions for those in PhD level and shortage occupation categories. Under the new rules for students, the time that can be spent studying at degree level on a Tier 4 Student Visa will be restricted to a general limit of 5 years. The government is also limiting the total amount of temporary leave that may be granted to a Tier 2 migrant to 6 years, Similarly a new ‘cooling-off period’ across all the Tier 2 routes will be enforced from April 6.

Tier 2 migrants will need to wait for 12 months from the expiry of their previous visa before they may apply for a further Tier 2 visa.

Under the new measures all overseas domestic workers (ODW) would be restricted to only work for the employer with whom they entered the UK, or whom they came to join and they will have no right under the ODW category to apply for permanent settlement in the UK. Similarly they would not be allowed to bring their dependents into the UK. The new visitor route will allow a small group of professionals, artists, entertainers and sportspersons who are invited to come to the UK to undertake short-term permitted fee paid engagements for up to 1 month.

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Pakistan gets 55 modern coaches from China

PaGe 07

district health cell reactivated against dengue fever ISLAMABAD STAff RePORT

ISLAMABAD: Mohajir Qaumi Movement (haqiqi) Chairman Afaq Ahmed speaks during his visit to the camp of missing persons’ relatives at D Chowk. STaff phoTo

aioU teachers urged to help govt eradicate illiteracy ISLAMABAD STAff RePORT

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi has advised the university’s teachers to utilise their energy and talent to fight illiteracy by following the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

The VC said this while addressing a seminar arranged by the Department of Hadith and Shariah, Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies. Justice Shehzada Sheikh of Federal Shariat Court was the chief guest. Character-building in line with the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah is of paramount important to prepare the youth to meet future challenges, the VC said, adding he was engaged in further strengthening the Islamic studies department to achieve the desired results.

Underlying the importance of truth and honesty, he said such fundamentals elements of Islamic teachings must be promoted to make the country strong and prosperous. He advised the university’s faculty members to work more devotedly, helping the government to achieve the set of the targets of eradicating illiteracy, poverty and unemployment from the country. Justice Shehzada Sheikh spoke about the Islamic values and norms that need to be strictly followed by the teachers and the students during their educational pursuits. The teachings of the Holy prophet (PBUH) are the best source to promote a health society, he added.

The teachers should be model for their students, he said, adding the Holy Prophet is known as ‘Al-Sadiq’ and ‘AlAmin’ and every rich or poor in Macca called him by these names. This paved the way for spreading the message of Islam world over in an effective manner.

Punjab University Dean Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies Prof Muhammad Saad Siddiqui and Prof DrAli Asghar Cheshti, Dr Khalil-ur-Rehman and Dr Moeen-ud-Din Hashmi of the AIOU also addressed the seminar.

‘Global Village’ festival holds people sway g

imperial international School and colleges arrange gala to know culture and tradition of various countries ISLAMABAD STAff RePORT

W

ITH an aim to promote intercontinental cultural diversity to bring people of various regions across the globe at a single platform, Imperial International School and Colleges organised a day-long cultural festival titled ‘Global Village’ on its premises. The objective of the colourful gala was to help people of various countries to know about other’s culture, art, living style, food, and other socio-economic conditions with the help of a string of activities including intellectual discourses on a range of subjects.

The annual festival was attended by the students of Imperial International School and Colleges, faculty members, art lovers, and large number of overseas students. According to organisers, the festival in which students of different countries showcased their traditional and cultural performances was

arranged to enhance knowledge and awareness to students about the world and people across the globe.

Cultural dance performances, musical and instrumental performances, and a wide range of food of different countries to relish the food with music was the striking feature of the evening.

A number of diplomats including Zubaid Ullo Zubaydov, Ambassador of Tajikistan, Afia, secretary to military attaché UAE, Mrs Hafsa, spouse of Nigerian Ambassador, Saddaqi, ambassador of Iran, Ali Dost, a diplomat from Iran and Heu San Mytmt, ambassador of Myanmar, were among the prominent to visit and enjoy the festival.

The annual day functions aim at promoting socio cultural relations and interaction between the young generations of international community and to help bring people close to each other for achieving the goal of understanding and betterment for the human beings.

The programme provided opportunity to the families of the students to share their experiences in different

fields and understand each other’s values, way of life and traditions.

A special performance by the Iranian cultural troupe mesmerised the audience with melodious music and performance. Variety of food at food court was a novel experience for the participants who enjoyed delicious food presentations of different countries under one roof. Cultural dances of different countries in colorful costumes were highly appreciated.

Talking to this scribe, the organisers said that Imperial International School and Colleges is functional since 1992 after its registration with Cambridge University and FBISE Islamabad. “We aim to nurture innocent minds in a receptive environment to build strong foundation based on our moral, religious and social values. Our school also educate students belonging to the embassies of Tajikistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan, UAE, Bosnia, Kenya, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Jordan and many more,” the official added.

The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has reactivated dengue fever surveillance cell in the district health office, Islamabad.

The cell is working under the supervision of Surveillance Co-ordinator Dr M Najeeb Durrani. The cell will monitor the admission of new cases in different hospitals of Islamabad. As part of preventive measures, the administration also planned to start first round of fumigation campaign and spray in high risk areas of the rural area of Islamabad very shortly. This activity would be supervised by the District Health Officer, Islamabad, Dr M Azhar Khan.

The cell has been activated on the special directives of Islamabad Chief Commissioner Tariq Mahmood Pirzada and Deputy Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed.

Earlier, the administration launched first round of drive in the rural areas against dengue and social mobilization.

Over 60,000 pamphlets were distributed in the community for creating awareness about preventive measures against dengue. The polyclinic in collaboration with ICT Administration and WHO is also organising the first capacity building workshop from March 19 to March 22 for all the important health care providers from Islamabad hospitals including CDA hospital, NESCOM, PIMS, Shifa International and medical officers from the health department of Islamabad. The workshop will cover all important areas for prevention and control of dengue fever in summer and to prepare the health care providers for the forthcoming season.

US embassy re-’Kindles’ partnership with Pakistani libraries ISLAMABAD: The American Embassy donated 12 Amazon Kindle e-readers to local librarians on Thursday.

Jointly sponsored by Amazon.com and the US Department of State, the new e-readers will engage young audiences by providing readily available content about American society and culture as well as English language materials.

With the addition of the e-readers, these local partners are among the first Pakistani institutions to make this new technology available to the general public. In a ceremony held in Islamabad, American Embassy official Megan Tetrick formally handed over the new e-readers to libraries from Islamabad and Rawalpindi currently supported by the US Embassy. “Our Lincoln Corners and Reading Rooms throughout Pakistan provide print and electronic research references, access to English language resources, and computers, as well as accurate information about US history, government, society, and values.

“The Lincoln Corners and reading rooms offer the resources Pakistani young people have told us they want and need and the Kindle e-readers are a response to this,” Tetrick said. STAff RePORT

NUML celebrates Jashan-e-Nouroz ISLAMABAD: Officials from central Asian countries’ embassies and their families celebrated Jashan-e-Nouroz on Thursday at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML). Dressed in their traditional dresses, a large number of diplomats from Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan celebrated the festival.

The Nouroz celebrations were inaugu-

rated by Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan Zubaydullo N Zubaydov.

Iranian Embassy Charge De Affairs Rawish, Iranian Cultral Counsellor Dr Sadiqi and Deputy Afghan Ambassador were also present on the occasion.

A cultural troupe, whose artists belonged to Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, mesmerized the audience with their soulful renditions of Iranian cultural songs.

Speaking at the occasion, Tajikistani

Ambassador Zubaydov said: “It was pleasant to see that a joint effort was made to celebrate the Nouroz and to share the cultural and traditional understanding with Pakistan. Such cultural exchanges not only help people from different countries get closer to each other but also help them to understand the global cultural environment” NUML Rector Maj Gen (R) Masood Hasan said: “NUML is a place where 26 international languages are taught and the

university always appreciates events that help our students to understand the culture and traditions of a particular language they are learning here.”

Russian Department head said the programme was dedicated to the New Day or the first day of spring. “Each country has its own customs but the one theme common in all of these is the joy expressed through dance and songs and of course through food,” he added. STAff RePORT

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Pakistan gets 55 modern coaches from China ISLAMABAD

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RaiLwayS ciTy STaTion (enQUiRy) ReSeRVaTion RaiLway PoLice

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APP

INISTER for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour Thursday said that 55 modern coaches from China have arrived in the country which would be attached with different trains after completing the required tests.

“Among 55 coaches, 12 are air-conditioned business class, one AC sleeper, 31 economy class, five power vans, four brake vans and two are dining cars,” he said.

Talking to APP, he said 147 more coaches would be prepared in Islamabad Carriage Factory by the Railway engineers at a cost of Rs 17 billion, which would help improve efficiency of Pakistan Railways.

He said the coaches are prepared on modern techniques and are equipped with almost every facility. “The coaches certainly will help to improve Railways’ operational efficiency.”

Elaborating, he said along with central cooling system, the coaches have eastern and western toilet facility. The coaches have also the system to indicate if they have any technical and mechanical fault.

In the business class coaches, he said the facility of clean drinking water has been provided, while extra 950-gallon water tankers have been installed. He said that all-out efforts are being made to make Pakistan Railways (PR) a profit earning organization.

The minister said that last year was very difficult period for Pakistan Railways but now things have started changing and during this year, the affairs of Pakistan Railways would notice positive changes.

To a question, he said, except India, all over the world Railways are in deficit adding Indian Railways was given $11billion by the government in May 2011. “We will have to invest in Railways to make it a vibrant organization,” he added.

To a question he said the Pakistan Railways has the capacity to repair around eight engines

every month, subject to availability of spareparts and funds.

Railways workshop have recently repaired around 20 locomotives, which would be used in freight service.

He said work on dualization of LodhranSahiwal track has been completed while dualization of Raiwind-Sahiwal section is underway.

The completion of this project would help reduce traveling time between Lahore and Karachi.

To a question he said according to an estimate, running about 15 to 20 goods trains can steer the Railways out of prevailing financial crunch if operated on regular basis. Work on replacement of obsolete signaling system on Lodhran-Shahdara Bagh section would be completed by 2013.

The PC-1 for the project of replacement of Old Obsolete Signaling Gear (OBSG) on Ladhran-Shahdara Bagh section was approved

by Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Feb 6, 2008 at a cost of Rs 10.720 billion including FEC Rs 7.899 billion.

The contract agreement was signed with the consortium of M/s Bombardier Sweden a n d

China Railways Signal and Communications Corporation (CRSC) on December 30, 2009. Islamic Development Bank has agreed to give US$ 140 million for the project. Under, computer based interlocking (CBI) with colour light signals and electric Point Machines would be provided at 31 Railway stations including the cities of Lodhran, Shujaabad, Multan, Khanewal, Mian Channu, Chichawatni, Sahiwal, Okara, Pattoki, Raiwind and Lahore.

Auto Bock System on 433 km length along with Railways track and Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system in 160 Diesel Electric Locomotives will be provided on Lodhran Shahdara Bagh section.

With the ATP system, train would stop automatically before red signal in case the train driver fails to apply brakes due to any reason, he added.

To a question he said Public private partnership is being introduced for good governance in Railways; as it would bring transparency in the ticketing system.

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INCEPTION OF AN ECHO

MONSTER TRUCk IN ISLMABAD

DRUMMINg CIRCLE

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

daTe: MaR 14, 2012 aT 04:00PM

VenUe: HUneRKada aRT GaLLeRy & coLLeGe of ViSUaL and PeRfoRMinG aRTS 217-b MaRGaLLa Road noRTH f-10/3, iSLaMabad.

Repercussions of social injustice, economic inequality and suppression of marginalized segments of society are subtly initiating a dialogue with the artists’ souls and with their surroundings. faiza Khan’s expressions on canvas question the intellectual suppression and injustices that confine a person. ata Turab’s poetry probes to the value of human life and emotions.

daTe: MaR 20 - aPR 21, 2012 VenUe: f-9 PaRK, iSLaMabad

daTe and TiMe: 05:00 PM, weeKLy eVenT VenUe: THe cenTRe foR aRTS & cULTURe

Monster truck in islamabad.

our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoing event and is held every friday from 5 to 6 p.m. we are having a great time, and want to share the good time with you! our drumming circle has children ...

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friday, 16 March, 2012

Islamabad 09 Rise in sea level not alarming for Karachi: Met dG ISLAMABAD APP

Metrological Department Director General Arif Mehmood on Thursday said that country’s costal areas including Karachi were not at high risk from sea level rise.

Talking to PTV, he dispelled the impression that this situation is alarming for Karachi instead of that he said several mega cities of other South Asian countries such as Dhaka in Bangladesh; and Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai in India are at high risk of sea-level rise.

He said due to changing world climate there are many areas around the world which are getting affected, particularly in the South Asia, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan come in that list. He said that salinity increase due to sea-level rise is becoming a major climate episode in some parts of the Bangladesh.

canadian Hc invites applications for awards ISLAMABAD: Senator Mushahid hussain Syed speaks during the seminar on nuclear security challenges organized by IPS. STaff phoTo

ISLAMABAD APP

Muslim Scientists day celebrated ISLAMABAD APP

National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), being a Pioneer Academy of Young Scientists in Pakistan, Thursday celebrated Muslim Scientists Day to pay homage to Muslim scientists for their prestigious services for science.

It is a contribution by Young Scientists to renowned Muslim Scientists in recognition of their efforts in all fields of science which cannot be overlooked.

Banners related to Muslim Scientists Day were displayed in different institutes. In addition brochures were also disturbed among young researchers to raise awareness about contribution of Muslim Scientists.

NAYS organized an Essay and Poster competition on the topic “The Legendary Muslim Scientist” in Collaboration with Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) on Muslim Scientists Day for the awareness of young students and researchers’ about the contributions of Muslim Scientists in the development of modern fields of science.

Around 64 students participated in Essay Competition and nine abstract were received for poster competition.

For essay competition, Laraib Ghaffar from UET Lahore was declared first, Fareeha Anwar from Armed forces institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi, second and Syed Hassan Sajid was declared third.

For Poster Competition, Taimoor Khan from Abdul Wali khan University, Mardan was declared first, Aneela Ayub from University of Gujrat, Gujrat second and Kaneez Fatima was declared third.

Position Holders for both competitions were awarded with Cash Prizes, Shields and Certificates.

deM concerned over prisoners’ plight in Kashmiri ISLAMABAD: Dukhtaran-e-Millat has said that political detainees in Indian Occupied Kashmiri are being denied medical facilities under a plan to let them die.

The DeM Press Secretary in a press statement, while expressing serious concern over the deplorable plight of profreedom detainees in jails, said that the incarcerated leaders including Dr Qasim Faktoo, Masarat Alam Butt and Raja Meraj-ud-Din Kalwal were deliberately deprived of any medical treatment in jails,KMS reported.

“These leaders are suffering from various diseases,” she said. APP

Sobia launches ‘Lawn Spring Collection 2012’ ISLAMABAD MAhTAB BAShIR

W

ITH the advent of the summer season, shopping malls and markets are displaying designer lawns as fashion designers race to display their latest summer collection for 2012.

Wearing these exclusive lawns is a trend that emerged recently, becoming a style statement for all the fashion conscious women.

Catering to the needs of these consumers Sobia Nazir, a fashion entrepreneur launched a new lawn brand ‘Sobia Nazir Spring Collection-2012’ at her Studio F-/7/1.

The launch was well-attended by celebrities, including renowned TV artists Laila Zuberi and models Cybil and Mehreen Syed. Sobia Nazir focuses on providing the customers the finest

fabrics.

Nazir has become a pioneer of the Islamabad fashion scene since she started her career over a decade ago.

Her label has continued to grow, securing her a sizeable clientele, both nationally and internationally.

Rezz PR and Events managed the launch.

Sobia fascinated attendees with her unique designing aesthetics and endeavors to bring something exclusive for this summer.

Her lawn collection features symmetric patterns with stylish prints and comes in multiple colours.

Amina Raza, a customer present at the event, said she always preferred designer lawns as they look exclusive and special. “Sobia Nazir’s lawns are trendy, their fabric is comfortable and they are made keeping in mind the harsh summer season. The colours and print patterns are also very different

Shy students choose science subjects: Study ISLAMABAD APP

A Dutch study found that shy and introverted students are more likely to choose science subjects at school while more sociable children tend to avoid them. Researchers at the University of Groningen analyzing data on nearly 4000 students found that their subject choices at age 15 were affected by personality, NewScientist.com reported.

Students choosing science subjects tended to be less extroverted than those who chose non-science subjects and scored more highly on conscientiousness and emotional stability, education researcher Hanke Korpershoek said.

“There is a feeling that science students have nerdy characteristics,” she says, “but we were surprised to see it in our results, and to see it as early as age 15.”

While she says she’s not recommending guiding students based on personality tests, she argues that teachers should focus not just on a subject’s content but on the type of job it might lead to.

Ihrc, Icrc ApproAcheD AgAInSt hr vIoLAtIonS In Ihk: A Kashmiri delegation led by the

All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has urged Islamic Human Rights Commission and International Committee of Red Cross to stress India to stop human rights violations by Indian troops and police personnel in Indian Held Kashmir.

According to KMS, the delegation held separate meetings with the Chairman of IHRC, Dr Masood Shah Jarai and ICRC Asia Director.

The Kashmiri leaders called upon the human rights bodies to play their role in investigation of unmarked graves and recovery of enforced disappeared persons in the territory. They asked the ICRC Asia Director to pay a visit to the occupied territory to know by himself the inhuman treatment being meted out to illegally detained pro-movement leaders and activists in different jails of Kashmir.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission Chairman and ICRC Asia Director in their meetings with Kashmiri representatives expressed concern over the human rights violations in Kashmir. They assured the delegation that they would keep continuing their efforts to resolve the issue.

from rest of the lawns available in market,” she added.

Sobia is a young, passionate designer, who tries her best to bring Pakistan to the forefront of the fashion industry.

She has exhibited her work at national and international levels. She has showcased her designs at the Milan Fashion week and Dubai Fashion week for three consecutive years. After Karachi, Sobia recently showcased her designs at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week held in Lahore.

The designer owns an outlet in Islamabad successfully and her designs have featured in leading fashion publications, including Harpers Bazaar, Libas, Asiana and Asian Woman.

In 2008, she achieved the ‘Best Pakistani designer of the year’ award at the Asian Style Awards.

In the same year, she also launched her debut line of exclusive lawn.

Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ross Hynes has invited applications for the inaugural of Canadian awards for Pakistani journalists in the public interest for print, radio and television (electronic) media.

Eminent Pakistani journalists, with the support of the Canadian High Commission, have designed and will judge the award. High standards of journalism on issues of public interest play a vital role in upholding democracy, says a press release here Thursday. Applications shall be reviewed on the basis of professionalism and impact with regard to how the reporting serves the public interest by advancing public policy discussion and strengthening government accountability to the public.

Nominations and applications shall contain highlights of reporting from 2011 (in either Urdu or English) as follows.

Print media: print copy of report(s) total up to 2000 words shall be accompanied by an electronic or scanned CD version of the same, if possible.

Television & Radio: highlighted clips totally up to 10 minutes shall be in CD format along with a printed transcript, if possible. Separate awards shall be given for print, television and radio. Applicants shall note if they are under 30 years of age, for which there will be a distinct category of awards. Completed nominations or applications, along with full contact details, may be received by April 13.

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NA takes notice of CDA chairman’s absence ISLAMABAD

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APP

HE National Assembly took strong notice on Thursday of the CDA chairman’s failure to appear at the briefing held for the minister about the non-release of funds for the repair of roads.

The assembly referred the matter to the Privilege Committee for taking action and reporting it to the Parliament.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said it was an alarming situation and that the House should take serious action on it.

He added that if the officials did not heed the calls of a senior minister then expectations could not be held from ordinary people.

The Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khursheed Shah had called attention to the CDA’s negligence in repairing the roads

and informed the House that Rs 1500 million had been allocated for the repairs, but the CDA had not released any funds till date.

He said the CDA Chairman was asked to brief them about the problem but he did not come for the meeting. The minister condemned the attitude of bureaucrats and said the majority of the federal secretaries who are supposed to attend such meetings, send their section officers.

He called for a strong resolution against the act, but the deputy speaker sent the matter to the Privilege Committee.

Laiq Mohammad Khan, informed the House on a point of order that 80 percent of the work on various projects in the earthquake-hit areas of the Hazara division had been completed but the remaining work has been stopped due to the paucity of funds.

He demanded that funds for the projects be released immediately so that the

projects could be completed.

Khursheed Shah while responding told the House said he would ask the finance secretary to immediately release the funds.

Haider Abbas Rizvi on a point of order condemned the rising incidents of extortion from the business community in Karachi and said half of Karachi’s industrialists have shifted their business to Malaysia, Vietnam and Bangladesh due to the law and order situation.

He said the matter was brought to the notice of the officials Sindh but no action was being taken.

Later the MQM MNAs staged a token walk-out from the House. chIeF juStIce oF SuDAn wItneSSeS nA proceeDIngS: Chief Justice Republic of Sudan Justice Galal Elden Mohammad Osman Goreshi accompanied by a delegation, which is visiting Pakistan on invitation of Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan

witnessed proceedings of the National Assembly for some time.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo welcomed to the delegation in the National Assembly.

AppLIcAtIonS InvIteD: Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has called for applications for participation in Heimtextil Fair going to held at Frankfurt, Germany from January 9-12, 2013.

“Heimtextil is the biggest international trade fair for home and contract textiles”, says a statement issued by the authority here today.

According to TDAP statement, this fair provides an excellent opportunity to the exhibitors of terry goods and towels, bathrobes, bed linen, bedroom textiles, bathroom textiles, table linen, kitchen linen, upholstery fabrics, decorative fabrics, curtains and home accessories to interact with the foreign buyers.

Deadline for receiving applications is

March 21, 2012, it said.

LIcenSeS cAnceLeD: Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali on Thursday told the National Assembly that Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has canceled licenses of 30 companies of bottled drinking water due to substandard quality. In response to a question during Question Hour, he said that PSQCA has the mandate to monitor the quality of Bottled Drinking Water and Natural Mineral Water. He said that the authority has also rejected five application for grant of licence for bottled drinking water.

To a supplementary question, the minister said that PSQCA testing centers were operating in various parts while a new center would be opened in KhyberPakhtunkhwa by end of the current month.

Soon a similar testing center would also be set up in Quetta, he said.

Plan being devised to conserve gas at cnG outlets ISLAMABAD APP

The All Pakistan Compressed Natural Gas Association (APCNGA) is devising a plan to conserve gas and reduce its wastage at filling stations operating across the country.

“A comprehensive and workable plan, which is being evolved in consultation with professionals to save gas and reduce its wastage through efficient usage, is likely to be introduced by March next year,” sources in the association told APP. They said the strategy would help ensure provision of uninterrupted gas supply to the CNG sector and end the load-shedding without creating any burden on the existing system or consumers.

Appreciating the government’s efforts to handle the existing gas shortage in the country efficiently, the sources urged the authorities concerned to maintain the CNG tariff at a reasonable level.

They brushed aside the impression that the CNG sector is involved in gas theft or that CNG outlets consume more natural gas than other sectors.

The sources said the industrial units and business enterprises that do not have alternate energy options, should be accorded priority for gas supply.

Uninterrupted gas supply must also be ensured for the sectors contributing higher revenues to the government and providing direct benefit to the public.

ncSw to launch its two years report on March 25 ISLAMABAD APP

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) will launch a two-year report (2010-2012) on March 25 about its activities for the welfare of women.

The commission will complete three years of its term on March 25, as a new commission will come on board soon, said a news release.

Prime Minister, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani announced its autonomous status on the International Women’s Day. The launch of the report and the media briefing will be attended by the members of the national commission.

3-DAy tent peggIng coMpetItIon FroM MArch 16: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will organise a three-day Tent Pegging Competition at the Fatima Jinnah (F-9) Park from March 16.

The competition will be inaugurated by CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal on March 16 while the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Islamabad Faisal Sakhi Butt will be the chief guest for the competition’s prize distribution on March 18.

The three-day competition will be attended by prominent Tent Pegging Clubs.

ISLAMABAD: Women from Rawalpindi protest against their relative who occupied their house after the death of their elder outside the national press club. STaff phoTo

‘Unguided missiles’ in tV channels dangerous: Firdous g

freedom of expression comes with greater responsibility: Prof fateh ISLAMABAD STAff RePORT

International Islamic University Islamabad Rector Professor Fateh Muhammad said Thursday that freedom of expression is a good thing but there have to be some limits. He was speaking at a seminar titled “Media Ethics in Disaster Reporting” organised by the Department of Media and Communication Studies. Information Minister Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan was the chief guest and IIUI President Professor Dr Mumtaz Ahmed presided over the event. Press Council of Pakistan’s Chairman Raja Shafqat was among the key note speakers.

Prof Malik said media should be able to differentiate between national interest and interest of the government. Government has to leave but a nation stays and it has to stay, he said. He said reporting should not be conducted in such a way that harms national institution.

Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said media was in need of trained

professionals. She said media organisations should concentrate on training of their staff. She said the government had been working on building a media university with the help of China. She said there were some “unguided missiles” in private TV channels which were dangerous for national interest, adding media institutions should also focus on training of students for disaster reporting.

She said IIUI was a distinct institution all over the country. She said the government would be happy to hold training for its students for disaster management at higher level so that media has trained man powers in the future. She said she was hopeful that media would start playing a positive part in nation building in near future. The government was not in favor of restriction on media in any way, she clarified.

She said media had every right to criticize any institution but it should not go to the extent of damaging institutions. She said some journalists had vested interests that clash with the national interests.

Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Ahmad Barkat from Aljazeera TV and others spoke on the occasion. ‘pAk-IrAn project onLy For energy DeMAnD’: Sui Southern Gas Company former general manager Brig (r) Agha Gul has said Pak-Iran gas pipeline project was aimed at meeting energy demand of Pakistan.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that Iran may provide finance to Pakistan for the project. He asked the US to understand Pakistan’s energy needs.

Senior leader of PPP Prof N D Khan said: “The US pressure on the issue of gas project with Iran is no surprise for Pakistan”.

He said the project is focused on Pakistan’s energy needs as the production of domestic natural gas is very low.

He said the government will provide funds for the construction of pipeline. He said gas is direly needed in the country and Pakistan would adopt specific way to get completed the project.

10 accused arrested ISLAMABAD STAff RePORT

The city police on Thursday claimed to have arrested 10 persons for their alleged involvement in dacoities, drug peddling and recovered a car, 24 wine bottles, 1.345 kilogram hashish and fake currency from their possession.

According to details, the Secretariat Police arrested a bootlegger Iftikhar Hussain for having 24 wine bottles. Tarnol police nabbed a drug pusher Israel and recovered 1.110 kilogram hashish from him. Sub-Inspector Ghulam Shabbir also arrested a car thief Haroon and recovered Suzuki Mehran car (LOD-5152) from him while ASI Najeeb Ullah from Nilore police nabbed Falak Sher for possessing a 30 bore pistol.

Kohsar police arrested an accused Naveed Aslam in possession of 30 bore pistol while Sub-Inspector Muhammad Usman annbed Hameed and Sajjad Hussain for having a 235 gram hashish.

Whereas Ramna police arrested an accused Imran and recovered looted items worth Rs 10,000 from his possession.

ASI Asif Khan, Muhammad Iqbal, Ali Muhammad from Golra police arrested three persons identified as Maqbool, Perveen, Bahadara Bibi and Zakir Hussain for having two pistols and fake currently worth Rs 39,000.

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Editor’s mail 11

financing the iP gas project The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which was appointed financial advisor to arrange the financing for the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project has decided to back off. This is a message for Pakistan that countries’ friendships are based on economic interest.

Every country looks after its own interests and China is not prepared to affects its economic interests with the USA for Pakistan’s interests.

Unfortunately, our policymakers and those at the helm of running the country are not able to make the country economically independent. Every country’s friendship with other country is

Politicians and agencies

purely based on economic interests. As US threatened to impose sanction on any banks that will provide funding for the IP gas project, the China Bank caved in.

Now what are other alternatives available to the government to implement this project, which is already delayed by 10 years and is vital to the Pakistan’s energy needs. The government should consider: 1. Transfer the project to private sector to such an organisation as Fuji Foundation, Nishat Group, Engro Corporation, Dawood Group and other industrial groups which own and operate multibillions dollar projects.

2. The government should form a public-private partnership company to own and build this project.

3. The government should revive barter trade agreement with Russia and award the contract on build, own, operate and transfer basis with a time limit of 20 years. There are number of Russian companies who have technical know-how to execute this project.

After all, it was the Soviet Union which helped Pakistan to establish Oil and Gas Development Corporation and established Pakistan Steel Mill, which was also opposed by the then US Administration.

4. The government should approach

the expatriate Pakistanis to buy the shares of this project and appoint a project head whom the Pakistanis trust for fund collection and spending honestly for the project.

If Imran Khan and Abdul Sittar Edhi can collect billions of rupees every year for their welfare and charity projects, why cannot the people be convinced to invest in the commercial projects which can pay good dividend to shareholders?

Unfortunately, the creditability of government is so low that even the friends of Pakistan are reluctant to help it.

S T HUSSAIN Lahore

Karachi: a criminals’ haven Karachi has been declared as the most dangerous city of Asia where criminal gangs reign supreme while violence has been used to enforce political hegemony.

Crime thrives only in a city when corrupt police and law enforcement officers and their political godfathers patronise those elements involved in such heinous crimes. Nobody can explain why criminals are never caught by video monitoring cameras. It is a failure of our intelligence and prosecuting agencies, which by their failures or connivance has put lives and property of taxpaying citizens at risk.

The sitting provincial government which has ruled this province for past four years, while criminals have thrived, cannot absolve themselves of their responsibilities. It is for the elected representatives of people of Karachi, especially the MQM and PPP to ask themselves have they delivered to those who elected them? I am afraid the answer is a big no.

It is in this city where hardened criminals gangs are armed to the teeth and from where over 60,000 containers that left Karachi Port Trust (KPT) loaded with prohibited weapons and contraband goods went missing. People are kidnapped on roads and streets of this city and hardly anybody has been ever caught or prosecuted. Citizens hesitate to come forward as witness, because they know that nobody would protect them from the goons, who are in the know of law enforcement and provincial government.

The tall claims of serving people of Karachi are mere rhetoric, just words with no action on the ground.

It is a city where land, drug and kidnapping mafia thrive and political parties a mere tools to fool people.

RAHAT SIDDIQI Karachi 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 may be edited for length and clarity.

It would be appreciated if letters were addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

There is no secret that politicians, agencies and bureaucracy are playing a shameful game with the country. Two million people laid down their lives to create Pakistan. Their sacrifices were for a great cause, not for an unfair rule over the country.

They wanted to make the country a role model in the world. Their aim was prosperity of the people of the country, where people live with honour and freedom.

If our politicians and agencies would have acted upon this manifesto, we would have been No 1 in the world.

These circles are responsible for destruction of the country.

It is a matter of concern that these circles are still paying dirty games with the country. The Mehrangate is an example of their malpractices and wrongdoings in the past. They plundered and looted national wealth for gaining personal benefits. The people of the country were not inferior but these circles made the people depressed and oppressed.

I salute to the people who rendered sacrifices for creating Pakistan but we are the people who have failed to protect our freedom. We should come out to save our country. If we fail to do something for our country, the history will never forgive us.

TARIQ HUSAIN KHAN Karachi

on a week pitch

A cry in the wilderness Final exams are approaching and the monster of loadshedding is also staring right in students faces and ready to sabotage their preparation for exams while our government seems busy in handling MNAs, MPA and Senators.

There is no money for Thar coal project, there is no money

for Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project to manage energy crisis.

It seems the money is only for the parliamentarians. So longing for ‘light’ is just a cry in the wilderness.

MOHAMMAD ADIL HASEEB MOGHAL Lahore

army, iSi bashing This is with reference to the continuously prevailing trend of army/ISI bashing in different sections of media for quite some time.

For a record, Pakistan army and the ISI have recently been linked with Mehran Bank money scandal, missing person’s case, the Memogate scandal and lately the killing of Domki women belonging to Bugti family.

Without any doubt, the prevalent situation presents a sorry state of affairs in the country. The edifice of armed forces is erected upon respect, honour and professional competence, which helps this state institution to protect the national esteem while maintaining its pride.

Among other state institutions,

armed forces of Pakistan are one such organisation that has always played a significant role in assisting peace and tranquility in the country. From fighting war on terror to quell with internal instability to relief operations in the country, there is no sphere where military has not been put to test.

The instability, corruption and wrong decisions that have always marred our political scenario and natural calamities with no worthwhile civil organisation to produce result up top the expectation of people has always compelled the masses to look towards the military to assist in normalising these critical situations.

In this backdrop, all we need is to stand united and display a responsible

and mature attitude towards issues of national interest. Dragging the Pakistan army and ISI into courts for infamous events merely to settle personal vendettas is likely to bring embarrassment to the perpetrators and the country at the international level.

The impact of injured image and bruised prestige of army and ISI will have its impact on entire nation also.

Besides, mud slinging on the army and ISI may result into deepening jealousies and contemptuous environment. It is call of the hour to rise above and put a halt to the internal smouldering before it becomes a volcanic surge.

SYED AAYAN HUSSAIN Islamabad

I have a problem with some hi-fi Mr XYZ and I strongly feel that I am on the right side. What shall I do to protect my rights?

I will wait for an opportunity to be in a position to confront him, to convince him, in my way, of what wrongs he has done to me or my group or my nation. I will not just walk away saying that ‘I can’t even think of participating in a programme wherein Mr. XYZ may also be present’.

But this is exactly what Imran Khan did when he refused to attend and address the India Today’s annual conclave in New Delhi; why, only because Salman Rushdie will also speak on the occasion.

It is worth noting that Imran Khan was not going to be an ordinary attendee sitting on the back of the hall, never to get a chance even to ask a question.

Imran was going to be one of the speakers, with ability to comprehend in good English, supposed to be knowledgeable and influential person.

But he refused to attend; perhaps this politically motivated decision might have been appraised by some people in Pakistan but we regret he missed the opportunity to express his views and arguments provided he thinks he has a valid point against Rushdie.

Remember Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist; he missed no chance to humiliate President Bush – only because he was not going to get another such chance and also he was dead sure that he was on the right side.Perhaps, Capitan is playing on a weak pitch.

MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabiaa

a political dacoity

By S Rahman

D

isclosures about Mehrangate scandal are horrible like the ones revealed by the one-time Mehran Bank chief, Younas Habib, that expose the dirty game played hand in glove by agencies’ superiors and some politicians whose combined aim was ensuring the ouster of Pakistan Peoples Party from national politics. Or, plainly speaking, to show the door to the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed’s government.

And to everybody’s surprise the politicians who stand exposed include some self-righteous and self-opinionated leaders like Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif who shout themselves hoarse day and night in painting others as corrupt and themselves as pious, neat and clean.

What negative impression is being formed in the minds of the

masses that constitute the electoral college for general elections?

What then can one expect the outcome of next general elections which don’t now appear to be a remote possibility? Observers from almost all walks of life who are not only confined to media alone and who have been watching the political scene since those days with an analytical approach, are even otherwise well aware of the stealthy moves undertaken by some agency top guys and power-hungry politicians to ‘create’ Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI).

IJI’s birth had nothing to do with our faith that was, however, exploited to ascend to the corridors of power although poisoning of public mind was an essential byproduct of this negative process launched by characters like General Aslam Beg and the spymasters under his command. But, by all human standards, the beneficiaries of this lucrative scheme just can’t be absolved of this sin that

they committed in league with their mentors and benefactors who had been filling their coffers. It is political corruption as viewed by legal experts and intelligentsia.

And it is going to impact negatively on the image of beneficiaries of Mehran bounties, even if the amounts involved did not cross the few-million-mark.

Those who are aware of the appreciation of Rupee over these so many years know it well that even a small figure of Rs 2.5 million that Younas Habib claims to have sent to Mian Shahbaz Sharif during those days through TT (Telegraphic Transfer), now amounts to more than 25 million. The question, however, is not that of the amount involved rather that of corrupt practices and of the corrupt mindset. Yet greater corruption is playing games and hatching conspiracies aimed at the overthrow of popularly elected governments. Isn’t it surprising to note that now those leaders stand ex-

posed who claim to be the torchbearers of piety, transparency and clean politics and who are always crying hoarse in painting their political rivals as corrupt (Mian Shahbaz Sharif uses the term ‘loot khasoot’ for his political opponents with amazing confidence as if he has solid proofs of their corrupt practices which he has not).

The most significant point in this context is not the revelations made

by Younas Habib but his solemn declaration that he is disclosing things out of conscientious realisation following his nemesis (physical handicap etc).

Information Minister, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, has very well described the situation and likened the self-opinionated CM Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif with someone who oversteps his limits to hit the popularly elected head of state (President Asif Ali Zardari) below the belt in sheer disregard for the latter’s stature that the Constitution has conferred on him (the

President).

And if one were to go by the latest press statements of Interior Minister Rahman Malik, then one is likely to believe that Mian brothers would be in trouble (though for the first time provided the national institutions take a transparent route in line with their commitment to ruthless justice for all) given the startling – and perhaps incriminating – material that the Minister claims to have in his agencies’ (FIA etc) possession in a variety of forms.

It was certainly in that backdrop that the Prime Minister, Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani, has stated in a confident tone while talking to media that PPP has remained on the defensive for years and years together, courtesy many anti-PPP conspiracies hatched by its rivals on a regular footing whereas the PML(N) was now facing the music of this type for the first time. Rahman Malik also uses almost the same words for PML(N)’s top lead-

ership and claims that these leaders would have to face a lot of trouble in terms of tarnished image as well as in terms of legal fights in courts once he (Rahman Malik and his team) were given an opportunity to make the disclosures. Obviously, Malik is alluding to political bribery that was made use of by the Mehran Bank-ISI-IJI nexus of those times to stage-manage the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto regime.

All this is disgusting despite the fact that it is a bygone story of the remote past. If the past has been so much chequered then it makes us believe that the very edifice of our establishment-sponsored politics has wreaked havoc on the common man’s right to elect representatives to run the public affairs. It is not only corruption but political dacoity as well that aims at usurping the masses’ fundamental adult suffrage right and depriving them of the levers of accountability.

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12 Comment Gen Kayani’s omission not looking at the elephant in the room

S

ingling out the media for bringing under critical focus the role of the army and the intelligence agencies is tantamount to barking up the wrong tree. No responsible citizen would ever find fault with the army if it sticks to its mission of defending the country, and the security agencies if they confine their activities to foiling the conspiracies hatched by the external enemies. The military leadership has to ask itself why the Parliament and judiciary are also expressing concern over what they consider as glaring wrongdoings by the army-controlled agencies. On Wednesday, the National Assembly issued a call for formulating a law to tame the agencies. Earlier, the Senate passed a unanimous resolution condemning “abductions” and “forced disappearances” While hearing a number of petitions the Supreme Court has criticised the agencies for transcending their mandate. There is a need under the circumstances on the part of the military leadership to take cognisance of the elephant in the room.

Sorry, but taking up the Mehran Bank issue is not fighting with history. The interference by the agencies in politics continues to be a live issue despite Gen Kayani’s commitment to remain apolitical. Since 2008 scores of applicants from Balochistan and elsewhere have approached the SC with complaints of their relatives having been picked up by the agencies and kept incognito in violation of law. Despite the intervention by the SC, there is no respite to forced disappearances. In Balochistan, dead bodies of those forcibly taken away continue to appear bearing signs of torture.

Media persons have accused agencies of threatening or kidnapping and torturing them. Fingers were raised towards the agencies when the dead body of a journalist was discovered from a canal. Despite an enquiry commission exonerating the agencies, international rights organisations continue to challenge the verdict.

None can accuse the highly decorated war hero Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan of trying to weaken his own institution. Like most Pakistanis, he also wants an end to the role of the agencies in politics. It has to be understood that exposure of blunders strengthens the institutions. Cover ups, on the other hand, generate vulnerabilities over time that can be fatal.

Pakistan and the US The way forward

T

he country’s top civilian and military leadership approved on Wednesday recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on new terms of engagement with the United States at a time when Washington is trying to explore various options for rebuilding relationship with Islamabad which had deteriorated since January 2011.

The meeting chaired by President Zardari and attended by Prime Minister Gilani, Foreign Minister Khar, the three services chiefs and DG ISI decided to take all political parties on board before presenting the parliamentary committee’s recommendation to the joint session of parliament on March 19, two days after the presidential address due on Saturday.

The committee is learnt to have prepared a series of recommendations on Pakistan-US relations and related issues mainly focusing on Nato supplies. News reports quoted sources indicating that the government has decided to restore the supplies, suspended after the attack on Salalah checkpost in November last year which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, but only after levying transportation charges on vehicles and goods. That the route carries nearly half the supplies of coalition forces in Afghanistan at one-tenth the cost of air supply explains why the US Administration is so deeply concerned about the issue.

This seems to be one of the issues that Secretary of State Clinton identified as “legitimate concerns and disagreements” in her address to the Global Chiefs of Missions conference in Washington on Wednesday. But while she focused on the need of staying engaged with Islamabad, Pakistan Ambassador Sherry Rehman tried to downplay media reports about the two countries having reached an agreement on redefining their troubled relationship.

Since Pakistan’s cooperation is vital to the United State as long as the latter remains engaged in Afghanistan, the American administration needs to understand that the new terms of engagement have to be based on the principle of sovereign equality. It is only then that the two countries can focus on their common goal of eradicating the menace of terrorism.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami 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

friday, 16 March, 2012

The pakistan scorecard It all really boils down to a brutally simple question: What really is Pakistan's problem?

By Fahd Husain

T

he answer is anything but simple. A convenient way to start the hunt for this brutally simple but frustratingly elusive question is to break down Pakistan's challenges into three broad categories: 1) internal social, 2) internal political, 3) external political.

These categories may seem right out of a political science textbook, but the academic-sounding titles really are nothing more than very basic divisions within the larger canvas of national issues. In essence then, what these divisions refer to are challenges wrapped around Pakistan's social and governance structures, its' politics as practiced on a day-to-day basis, and its' policies and actions as they affect the region and the world.

The answer to the question whether Pakistan is actually progressing as a country and a nation will need to take into account the cumulative summation of these categories. So here goes: The first one, internal social, revolves around the common Pakistani and the challenges he faces on a daily basis. He operates within a system where the state holds sway over almost every facet of his life.

For protection, he depends on a police which is more coercive than protective.

For justice, he banks on a lower judiciary which provides no guarantee that justice will be served in any hurry. For education, he looks to a system which serves less than half the children of schoolgoing age. For health, he is at the mercy of a dilapidated set of government hospitals and basic medical facilities which are

far less than required, and far more inefficient than generally claimed. If he is forced to go to government departments, he is likely to be pushed around from babu to babu, and certainly not in a polite manner. For employment, he needs sifarish. For admissions in educational institutions, he needs sifarish. For getting even his basic rights as a citizen, he needs sifarish. And then of course, there's the requirement of greasing palms whenever such palms need to get any work done.

Case in point: A school teacher gets his legs broken when he speaks against a feudal politician and the official system does nothing unless the media and the judiciary take action. Another case in point: a feudal politician slaps a polling booth official and official system remains paralysed till the media kicks into gear.

Yet another case in point: a large number of people go "missing" despite the law clearly stating that every person arrested by the law enforcement authorities must be produced before a court. In all these instances, the system which exists to ensure the rights of citizens, actually ends up working against them.

So when we ask if Pakistan is progressing, we have to consider if this internal social system is improving in any significant manner. The answer, I suspect, is quite clear.

The second category, internal political, may be faring a bit better. An elected government is about to finish its full term which is a promising development.

The parliament has performed reasonably well by passing the 18th and 20th Amendments which establish some fundamental governance principles. The NFC award too signifies a maturity generally not associated with Pakistani politicians. Legislation on women's issues too is a welcome step. But then there is the downside: atrocious governance, horrendous mismanagement and criminal neglect of the economy. Add to it a resounding failure to reform the governance structure and the picture that emerges is of a government which is blessed with legitimacy and cursed by incompetence and corruption.

The third category, external political, brings with it a heavy burden. The key

areas are America, Afghanistan and India (not necessarily in that order). The scorecard here is perhaps a mixed one. Ties with the US are hitting rock bottom, but inadvertently are also now finding a more realistic footing. The joint session of the parliament tomorrow is expected to approve the re-opening of the Nato route but the humpty dumpty of bilateral ties will not be put together again. As a result, there is a deliberate effort underway to strengthen regional ties, with a special focus on relations with Russia.

This is a long-term strategy but it is based on a reappraisal of our foreign policy.

On Afghanistan, the jury is still out.

Pakistan is still seen by the West as the villain. When President Obama was asked in an interview what kept him up at night, he answered "Pakistan". That may be his problem, but Afghanistan is ours. Are we still putting all our eggs in the Taliban basket? Are we still bent on playing the strategic depth game in our backyard? The answers lie buried deep somewhere within the bowels of the GHQ. On India, there is a glimmer of hope.

Things are on the mend, ever so slowly.

The MFN issue is a breakthrough of sorts, though we may not have done our homework as thoroughly as perhaps we should have. The establishment is also making the right noises – reluctantly – and appears open to a thaw. The LoC is also relatively quiet. So far, Pakistan seems to be playing its cards right.

A balanced picture therefore emerges from a reading of the three categories.

However, if these categories are weighted, the internal social tips the scales. It forms the foundation on which the other two will find their footing. A weak society cannot make a strong country. Unfortunately, of the three categories, the first one elicits the least attention.

The writer hosts a primetime talk show on ARY News. He has worked as Director News of Express News and Dunya News and Editor The News, Islamabad. He can be reached at fahd.husain1@gmail.com or on Twitter @fahdhusain

Regional Press

a reluctant withdrawal Daily Khabroona

A

merica and its allies in Afghanistan have though announced to withdraw from the region by the end of 2014 and have yielded to talks with the Taliban through their office in Qatar, there is a concern that Taliban might become more violent in the wake of the American’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Talking to the media persons, the US President candidly said that to bring peace to Afghanistan, they would continue cooperating with the Afghan people. It feels strange to listen to such statements: that on one hand the Americans welcome talks with the Taliban and on the other hand want to linger on the presence

of their troops in the region – bringing their double face to the fore. The need of the time makes it imperative for the Afghan people to get united and demand the withdrawal of foreign forces from their soil. If they do not do so, there would neither be any end to the interference and meddling in on part of alien forces into their country, nor would there be any peace at all.

The Americans know it that the ‘actions’ of their forces have earned the wrath of Afghans for them and the time is not far away that the former is faced with a defeat like that of Russia in the region. That is why it thinks it is time to get ready for withdrawal though it is reluctant and making excuses to lengthen their stay.

– Translated from the original Pashto by Abdur Rauf Khattak

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friday, 16 March, 2012

Comment 13

putting limits on spies Dargah’s Billi…

The ISI needs a lawyer

Comradely Musings

By Hashim bin Rashid

“I

kept the ISI out of it all,” former \ISI chief Asad Durrani pleaded to the Supreme Court of Pakistan before asking for the services of a lawyer. In this statement, the retired general is eluding to the fact that the ISI is in need of a lawyer and the questioner is not merely the Supreme Court, it is the people who inhabit Pakistan.

The Mehrangate scandal is not merely a matter to do with tailor-made notions of sovereignty; it is the matter of the agency directly subverting the democratic will exercised by the people in the first elections of the marred 1990s.

Rumours had remain abound as to who had been creating the democratic topsy-turvy that had alienated the public into silently greeting the Musharraf coup in 1999. Their culprit has been unearthed: the army and its agencies.

As the roll call of politicians who had been doled out money by the agencies was rolled out, we were greeted with barely any surprises: the mullahs, the Sharifs, the MQM. There was a bit of a nonchalant, “I told you so,” that represented the whispers that rotated around the atmosphere.

The truth of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) that observers critical to the deep state and machination had termed another instance of the Mullah-Military Alliance had been confirmed. The only surprise was that Rs 1.4 billion

was all it took to subvert the democratic rights of the people.

This was of course not the only case in the Supreme Court that involved the military establishment. On one side, it had been asked to produce persons it had abducted during the last decade. On the other side, it had been attempting to dislodge and discredit the serving civilian government through the Memogate plot.

Each of the cases has allowed a different insight into how the military establishment and its agencies manipulate the political and social contours of Pakistan. The excesses committed by the agencies came into public knowledge with the depressing sight of the seven from the “Adiala 11” shown them still alive.

As the men entered the Supreme Court on catheters with faces covered, a shrill went down the spine of those watching, including the judges that witnesses the march in.

“The intelligence agencies cannot be allowed to violate the law,” the CJP remarked in response. And so it should be.

But the same Supreme Court was giving credence to another military establishment ploy in the mould of Memogate. The more important question was to answer how an enquiry was set up on an independent trip by the then ISI Chief Shuja Pasha to meet American citizen Mansoor Ijaz, who has continued to make claim after claim to further discredit the enquiry itself.

The intelligence agencies have also had to answer the questions of the Abbottabad Commission and the Salim Shehzad Commission. The question of how Osama bin Laden was sheltered near the Military Academy Kakul still remains open and should continue to haunt the agencies.

The more important question of the Baloch

And a cat named Sufi missing persons and ‘killed-and-dumped’ Baloch bodies has begun to gather steam and fingers point in the same direction. To those who live in Balochistan, this is barely any attempt to disguise who is responsible for an abduction. The denials are only offered to the ‘rest of Pakistan’.

As it stands, it is the ISI and intelligence agencies themselves that have forced themselves to be put on the questioning box. And that the matter is being discussed is not a conspiracy as the current army chief suggested to newspaper editors at a recent dinner.

Suggestions that the matter of the Mehrangate was to dig up 20 years old history and was a case of ‘fighting history’ are means of dodging the issue. Suggestions that the debate on ‘national institutions’ demotivates soldiers fighting at minus 20 degree Celsius are moreover hypocritical.

Institutions who have disrespected their own institutional boundaries are themselves responsible for being taken to task. If there is anyone demotivating soldiers on the fighting fields, it is the excesses of agencies purportedly acting counter to national interest in the name of national interest.

The fact of the matter is that the role of security agencies must fall under public scrutiny. Security agencies are subservient to civilian governments.

Mehrangate shows the consequences when they decide to define national interest on their own.

And this is indeed the reason why an ex-ISI chief is standing before the Supreme Court, asking for a lawyer to represent him.

The writer is a member of the Workers Party Pakistan and is a researcher at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He blogs at voiceamidstsilence.blogspot.com

I

’m writing this column in the dargah of Hazrat Nizmauddin Auliya, Delhi’s 14th century saint. It is his Urs. For now I’m distracted by some other being.

He gazes down on the marble floor. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Eleven minutes. He is immobile. Pilgrims walk around him. A few pat him. One child playfully pulls his tail. One takes his photo with a mobile phone camera. But he remains stock-still. A statue.

He is Billi. His name means ‘cat’ in Hindi.

Most people call him Billi. But sometimes he is also called ‘Cat’ and ‘Catty’. His light-brown furry body is marked with black stripes. He has eight whiskers. The inside flaps of his ears have the pale red shade of raw meat.

“Billi has been here for four years,” Farid Nizami, a khadim (caretaker) of the shrine tells me. “There are about four cats who are permanent residents in the dargah but Billi is very different.”

Unlike the other cats, Billi is not shy of people. He never runs away from them; he never tries to look for a secluded spot. He is mostly seen sitting beside worshippers who are either praying or reading from the Quran.

In winter, Billi often jumps into people’s laps and snuggles inside their shawls.

In summer, Billi lies in the shade.

No extrovert, Billi barely looks at the crowd, and seldom seems to react to the noise and chaos so typical of pilgrim destinations.

He is like an ascetic; disdainful of the corporeal world.

When he is hungry, he sits beside anybody who happens to be eating. In Hazrat Nizmauddin dargah, like most other sufi shrines, pilgrims often eat, pray and sleep in the courtyard. Free food is served twice daily. Some pilgrims bring

By Mayank Austen Soofi their own home-cooked meals.

On noticing Billi, most people give a small portion of their roti or biryani to him. Some do it out of love, others out of duty.

Unlike dogs, cats are traditionally considered holy in Islam. They are permitted to roam freely in shrines and mosques. For instance, it is rare to spot dogs in the Muslim quarters of Shahjahanabad but cats lurk everywhere: in alleys, across drains, inside bakeries, on rooftops, around electric poles, alongside butcheries.

In the book 100 Cats Who Changed Civilisation: History’s Most Influential Felines, American author Sam Stall has a chapter titled Muezza: The Cat Who was Mohammed’s Favorite Cat. Explaining why cats are esteemed in Islam, Stall writes: Felines owe this exalted status to Muezza, the adored pet of the Prophet Mohammed. One

Delhi Calling

day, as his faithful pet slept on one of the sleeves of his robe, Mohammed was called away to his prayer. Rather than disturb the cat, he cut off his sleeve. When he returned, Muezza bowed to her master and received three strokes down her back in return. This blessing assured her a spot in the afterlife.

This blessing also gave a home to Billi in one of Delhi’s most exalted places.

The evening prayer has just ended. The qawwals have taken out their harmonium.

Suddenly springing to life, Billi is getting up from the marble platform, jumping down to the courtyard and making his way through the crowd.

He brushes past an embracing couple. He stops by a fakeer eating biryani from a polythene bag. He briefly sits beside a circle of boys who toss chicken bones at him. He is heading towards the Jamat Khana mosque, which was built in the dargah by one of the sons of Sultan Allaudin Khilji. Two children try patting him but he ignores them, and enters the mosque, where he keeps walking… in the direction of Mecca.

This Billi is indeed like a Sufi. But I know another cat who is actually called Sufi.

Thumri singer Vidya Rao lives with Sufi in a second-floor apartment, not far from Qutub Minar. Like most live-in companions, they have only a few things in common. While both share a dislike for milk, Rao love chocolates and Sufi doesn’t. Rao has read all the seven Harry Potter novels, Sufi hasn’t.

They first met one monsoon afternoon when Rao was returning from… well, Hazrat Nizamuddin’s shrine. Her daughter, Aditi, spotted a kitten lost in the road. They brought her home and named her Sufi. Why Sufi? “You see she was, so to speak, taken from one sufi dargah to the other”, Rao told me; her house is walking distance from Sheikh Bakhtyar Kaki’s shrine.

A tiny bell around Sufi’s neck helps Rao in tracking her movements. As a kitten, Sufi had broken her leg and so has a slight limp. When she feels claustrophobic, she is permitted to prowl in the apartment complex. Always concerned, Rao intently watches for her from the door till she returns.

If not doing riyaz, yoga, meditation, or reiki, you might as well catch Rao chatting with Sufi, who, by the way, is not the only kitten in her life.

There are cats painted on her cups, saucers, and also on her tablecloth. There’s even a cat-shaped blackboard stuck on her refrigerator.

While Rao prefers vegetarian food, Sufi is a fish lover. Her meals are never complete without rohu. She also has a weakness for chicken. “Sufi is lucky to have you,” I told Rao. “I’m lucky to have her,” she replied.

Tonight Rao will also be visiting the dargah.

Will she come with Sufi? Will Sufi meet Billi? Will they bond?

Mayank Austen Soofi lives in a library. He has one website and four blogs. The website address: thedelhiwalla.com. The blogs: Pakistan Paindabad, Ruined By Reading, Reading Arundhati Roy and Mayank Austen Soofi Photos

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friday, 16 March, 2012

Bonhams to preview

IN LIMELIGHT

Pakistani masterpieces at Dubai Art Fair

LAHORE NeWS DeSK

B

ONHAMS 1793 Ltd, one of the world’s leading auctioneers of Asian art, are proud to announce their latest auction of Pakistani art, the preview of which will be held in Dubai during the last week of March this year. The auction itself will be held in London on 7th June and will feature the works of over a dozen of Pakistan’s most renowned artists. Among the artists whose works will be on display are Jamil Naqsh, Gulgee, Chughtai and Sadequain. Bonhams is one of the world’s oldest auction houses, as well as the third largest and fastest growing auction house in the world, with a specialist focus on fine arts, jewellery and vintage cars. It is also the world’s leading auction house in Pakistani art and holds world records for sales of most

modern Pakistani artists, as well as the largest number of works by Pakistani artists compared to any other auction house. As a part of their worldwide expansion, Bonhams held their first sale of modern and contemporary Arab, Iranian, Indian and Pakistani art in Dubai on 3rd March 2008. It achieved total sales of over US$13million – almost three times the expected amount. Gulgee’s painting ‘Polo Player’ sold for over US$336,000, more than four times the reserve price of US$50,000. The upcoming exhibition is the first time that Bonhams is previewing at an auction in Dubai. Speaking about the auction, Mehreen Rizvi-Khursheed, who heads Bonhams’ Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Department, said, “Pakistani art has a rich history. There is a great deal of talent that remains untapped within this part of the world and Bonhams is proud and excited to be taking this heritage to the world.”

arjumand amin’s Mahnoush collection 2012 now in stores LAHORE PR

Premium lawn brand Mahnoush presents a new signature lawn collection for the summer, now stocked in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. First launched in 2010 and spearheaded by entrepreneur Arjumand Amin, Mahnoush is a niche brand, which has fast gained renown for its fabric quality and inspired design sensibility. Arjumand Amin held an exclusive Mahnoush garden preview on March 12 attended by Lahore’s socialites, designers and the media alike. With their

summer 2012 collection, Mahnoush introduces nine unique designs in two colour variations. This year’s palette includes vibrant summer colours as well as softer colour tones, thereby catering to a diversity of tastes.

Speaking about her collection, Arjumand Amin said: “At Mahnoush, we believe that summer prints should retain freshness and vitality to make them wearable and in sync with the season. With this collection, we have gone into much more detail than the previous two. We will be providing embroidery as part of

Johansson 'felt absolutely

violated' with nude photo leak

our lawn and as with the past two collections, our focus is in ensuring each one of our embroidered motifs is fully researched as are the designs themselves.”

Mahnoush’s seasonal designs are inspirations derived from its creator’s academic and aesthetic study of numerous books and museum sources. This deeply researched approach has resulted in several design ‘firsts’ within the industry, including the introduction of Chinese designs, the three dimensional ‘Trompe-l'œil’ necklace and the inclusion of a bird motif on the print itself.

LOS ANGeLeS: Scarlett Johansson has finally spoken out about her leaked nude pictures, and said that it left her feeling “violated”. She related it to the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the british press over the past year. The 27-yearold actress fell victim of a hacker last year, who broke into her personal email account and leaked naked photos she had taken of herself on the internet. “it was really terrible; i felt absolutely violated. i wasn't really aware of how vulnerable all of us are, but i think everybody is just discovering that now, especially with the recent phone-hacking scandals,” the daily Mail quoted her as telling Stylist magazine. it isn't just celebrities, it's all kinds of people who are not asking for the spotlight. being hacked made me feel more vulnerable than i ever had previously. i couldn't figure it out. for a while, i thought it must be someone that i knew who was posting these pictures of me and that was making me incredibly paranoid. i was looking around at all of my friends, who i have known for 20 years, wondering who the backstabber was. So to find out it wasn't a friend who hacked in was a relief, oddly,” she said. christopher chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, florida, was arrested and charged with hacking her account. He told a local florida news station that his hacking began simply as a "curiosity" but soon turned into an addiction for stealing celebrity secrets. AGeNCIeS

new yoRK: nicole Richie attends Macy's celebrates nbc's ‘fashion Star’. afp

MUMbai: Zeenat aman and Preeti Jhangiani (L) attend the launch of Vishwa Manav Jagran Manch (nGo). afp

MUMbai: director and producer aamir Khan celebrates his 47th birthday at his home. afp

MUMbai: azim, Salman Khan and faith pose during the music launch for the forthcoming film ‘Qasam Se Qasam Se’. afp Arjumand Amin with friends, client and family wearing Mahnoush

Saadia Mirza

LaHoRe: arjumand amin’s lawn collection, Mahnoush, was launched. pR

Ranveer injures back MuMBAI: Ranveer Singh, who headlines ‘Lootera’ directed

by Vikramaditya Motwani and co-produced by ekta Kapoor and Phantom films, has met with a serious back injury while shooting for the film.

The actor is in extreme pain and has been advised complete bed rest for at least two weeks. a source close to Ranveer said, “He was shooting on Saturday when he got injured. However, he did not pay much heed to it and continued shooting. it wasn't until Tuesday morning that the pain aggravated so much that it was unbearable and he could not shoot anymore. finally, he had to be driven to a doctor. an MRi scan has been performed.

The pain is in his lower back and he is under observation and has been asked to take complete bed rest.” according to the source, it is unclear when Ranveer would resume shooting. AGeNCIeS

MuMBAI: it isn’t too easy to hold on to little tiffs in the industry. More so, against one who happens to be your co-star in a film. and thus letting bygones be bygones, Saif ali Khan has decided to be friends again with his ‘cocktail’ heroine deepika Padukone. in fact, we spotted the two actors chatting, hugging and generally having a whale of a time while shooting for the film's climax. for those who missed the big ‘Race 2’ controversy, here's a quick recap - deepika dropped out of the film.

Producer Ramesh Taurani declared war. Meanwhile, her co-stars of the film including old buddy Saif (who she had worked with in ‘Love aaj Kal’) started ignoring her.

The actress finally gave in and decided to return to the project. Though Taurani may still not be entirely happy with dippy, her co-actor Saif has surely forgiven her. on wednesday morning, Saif and deepika shot for the climax scene for Homi adajania's ‘cocktail’.

Produced by illuminati films, ‘cocktail’ will hit the theatres on July 13. AGeNCIeS

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15 ‘The hunger Games’ is something new, say film's cast LONDON AGeNCIeS

London: (L-R) elizabeth banks, Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth attend the european premiere of ‘The Hunger Games’. afp

One of the most anticipated movie releases of the year, ‘The Hunger Games’ is expected to smash box office records around the world. With the books already selling millions of copies around the world many people have drawn comparisons between ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Twilight’ and ‘Harry Potter’. Hardcore ‘Hunger Games’ fans don't agree, like 17-year-old Jessica who waited 12 hours to meet the cast. She said: “They're just such brilliant books. They're so well written, so different. It's just something new.” Set in the future, The Hunger Games tells

the story of a world where teenagers take part in a violent TV battle. The rules are simple survive and you win. The movie is adapted from a trilogy of bestselling books. It tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take part in games after her younger sister was selected via a lottery. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays the lead heroine, says the popularity of her character is down to Katniss' innocence. “She's a hero that doesn't want to be a hero,” she said.

“She's a symbol for freedom and revolt. She's strong but vulnerable. This movie is not teeny boppers in love trying to figure out what they want from the world. It's about life and death.”

Russell Brand: MUMbai: Karan Johar poses with musicians amaan (L) and ayaan ali Khan (R) during the launch of amaan and ayaan ali Khan's new music album ‘Rang - colours of Sufism’. afp

Arjumand Amin with Natty wearing Mahnoush

saif and Deepika hug and makeup

‘Threw photographer’s phone to honour Steve Job’s memory’ LOS ANGELES AGeNCIeS

An arrest warrant for simple criminal damage to property was issued for Russell Brand by police in relation to an alleged incident with a paparazzo. According to a TMZ report, Brand purportedly snatched a paparazzo's cell phone from his car when the man began to film him and threw the phone through the window of a nearby building on Monday night.

US reports state Brand is wanted by New Orleans police after the 36-year-old apparently lost his temper when he saw a photographer taking photos of him on his iPhone.

Russell had been driving with his girlfriend Oriela Medellin when he saw the secret snaps being taken. He is said to have jumped out of his car, snatched the paparazzo's mobile phone from his hand and then threw it through a law firm's window, smashing it.

However, Brand has since made light of the incident, claiming the angry act was done as 'a tribute' to the late Apple boss Steve Jobs. Brand has yet to make an official statement regarding the incident but made reference to it in a comedic tone on Twitter, writing, “Since Steve Jobs died I cannot bear to see anyone use an iPhone irreverently, what I did was a tribute to his memory.”

Abhishek’s 1.50 crore gift for

daughter Aaradhya MuMBAI: no ordinary beti, this. ever since she arrived on november 16 last year, she has been hitting the headlines for reasons ranging from simply being born into bollywood's first family to widespread speculation around what would be her name. as it turns out, beti b has finally got a name-aaradhya, nearly four months after being born. Reportedly, the privileged baby's star parents abhishek and aishwarya registered the name just a couple of days ago. That aside, doting papa abhi has gone right ahead and booked an audi a8 for his baby girl. while he could have booked just about any series, he was keen on a since that is the alphabet with which his daughter's name begins. and, the cool wheels have cost him a cool Rs 1.50 crore. we are sure the car is just the beginning of greater things for little aaradhya. Looks like b-town is on a car gifting spree, be it a present from father to daughter or producer to actor.

Karan Johar, fresh from the success of his recent hit ‘agneepath’ has gifted a ferrari to Hrithik Roshan, who essayed the fiery dinanath chauhan in the film. Roshan loves fast cars and ferrari was the only one missing in his collection. AGeNCIeS

Brad, Angelina

to wed by autumn LOS ANGELES AGeNCIeS

H

OLLYWOOD stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reportedly plan to marry before autumn. The couple, who are rumoured to be expecting twin boys, want to marry in time for the arrival of the babies later this year. “Angie (Jolie) is expecting twins this fall, so it is making them feel a time crunch. They decided they'd both like to welcome their twin boys to the world as man and wife, which means the wedding

has to happen fairly soon,” reports femalefirst.co.uk. Angelina, 36, and Brad, 48, who already have six children, are said to have been through a rough time. But they came to the decision to wed after appearing together at last month's Oscars.

NEW YORK AfP

Dustin hoffman TV show

axed over horse deaths LOS ANGELES AfP

A hit US television series starring Dustin Hoffman has been cancelled after three horses died during filming, the channel which makes the show announced.

‘Luck,’ about thoroughbred racing and also starring Nick Nolte, launched in January and had already been picked up for a second season, with production mostly at a horse track east of Los Angeles. But a first horse died on the set in 2010 and another died last year. Then a third animal had to be put down on Tuesday after falling backwards and striking its head, despite new safety rules put in place. “Safety is always of paramount concern,” said Home Box Office, which aired the show. “We maintained the highest safety standards. However, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won't in the

No Rolling Stones tour yet despite 50th anniversary

future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision,” it said. Executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann added: “The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers. This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”

MuMBAI: Just last month, Shahid Kapoor celebrated his birthday in great style over a fourday weekend at Goa's sun-kissed Morjim beach. what's more, while most of his guests flew down for the big party much later, he left earlier, accompanied by a certain nargis fakhri. ever since, there has been widespread speculation as to whether they are the newest love birds in bollywood. Rumours apart, it is official-Shahid and nargis are indeed a couple; the latest to hit tinsel town. “nargis is Shahid's latest love. Since the past few days, the two are spending a lot of quality time with each other. So far, they have avoided being seen together. Perhaps they wanted to keep the whole thing under wraps for some more time,” revealed a source close to the twosome. Said the source: “nargis spent a lot of time with Shahid in Goa and their friendship grew after they returned to Mumbai. However, they started dating only recently.” How serious is their relationship, considering Shahid has been linked to a bevy of btown beauties including anushka Sharma and bipasha basu ever since his break up with Priyanka chopra last year? "well, he is quite serious about nargis and likes her company," the source said.

Meanwhile, nargis too has been earlier linked to the likes of Ranbir Kapoor and Shayan Munshi although according to the source, she is hardly in contact with either of them now. AGeNCIeS

The Rolling Stones are staying put this year, Rolling Stone reported Wednesday, leaving fans to look forward instead to a major documentary marking the rock band's 50th anniversary. “Basically, we're just not ready" for a fresh concert tour, guitarist Keith Richards told the pop culture magazine, adding that 2013 was the group's "more realistic" target for hitting the road. Quoting other, unidentified sources, Rolling Stone cited worries about Richards' health in the wake of a head injury he sustained in Fiji in 2006 as one reason for the band to stay close to home. On their website, the Stones announced the upcoming release of "a groundbreaking and eye-opening documentary," directed by Brett Morgen, covering the history of the band from its founding in London in 1962 to today.

Charlize Theron adopts baby boy LOS ANGELES AGeNCIeS

Actress Charlize Theron is now the “proud mom of a healthy baby boy named Jackson,” according to a statement by her publicist. No other details were released but one report said that the boy was adopted from South Africa where Theron was born and raised. This is the first child for the 36 year-old who has been single since her split from actor Stuart Townsend in 2010. Theron has often spoken about her desire for children but has also said that marriage was “never something that was important.” In her latest film, Theron played a Kardashian-watching, self-loathing 30-something in ‘Young Adult.’ Theron won an Oscar for her role as female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos in the film ‘Monster.’

shahid dating nargis: official

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New ‘massacre’ as Syria crisis enters 2nd year DAMASCUS

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WENTY-THREE mutilated corpses were found on Thursday near a Syrian protest city seized by regime forces, monitors said, as the regime’s bloody crackdown entered its second year to a rising world outcry.

Human rights monitors said the victims had been blindfolded and handcuffed before being shot dead and their bodies dumped outside the northwestern city of Idlib, in an apparent repeat of a similar “massacre” in the flashpoint city of Homs last weekend. As the Syrian regime and the opposition continued to trade blame for the earlier killings, both sides organised mass demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the eruption of anti-gov-

ernment protests in the city of Daraa, south of the capital, which was again the scene of deadly violence on Wednesday. “Twenty-three bodies with marks of extreme torture were found near Mazraat Wadi Khaled, west of the city of Idlib,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in a statement.

It also said at least five others were killed in raids by security forces across the province of Idlib on Thursday and that violent clashes broke out overnight as rebels attacked army posts in the eastern region of Deir Ezzor. On Wednesday, 37 people were killed in violence across Syria, 20 of them in Daraa, the Britainbased watchdog said. Human Rights Watch on Thursday demanded an end to the “scorched earth methods” being deployed by President Bashar al-Assad and that China and Russia stop blocking UN efforts to take tough action.

FRANCE AgAINST ARMINg SyRIAN OPP pArIS: France is opposed to calls for foreign powers to arm the opposition groups fighting Bashar alAssad’s regime in Syria, fearing a descent into civil war, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday. Last year, France helped arm the Libyan rebels who overthrew Moamer Kadhafi, but Paris fears the Syrian opposition is too divided to form a credible armed force and that the situation on the ground is too volatile. “The Syrian

people is deeply divided and if we give arms to a particular faction of the opposition we could trigger a civil war between Christians, Alawites, Sunnis and Shiites,” Juppe warned, in a radio interview. “It could become an even bigger catastrophe than we have now.” For the past year Assad’s forces have been brutally repressing a revolt against his rule, firing on civilian demonstrations and districts as well as battling

a small and disorganised armed uprising. Some Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, favour arming the rebels, but France and other Western powers still hope to secure a negotiated solution backed by a tough UN Security Council resolution condemning Assad. Permanent Council members China and Russia have so far blocked attempts to agree a motion calling on Assad to stand down, a stance which Juppe said was based on a

“bad medium term calculation” by Moscow.

“Russia criticises us for our intervention in Libya, accusing us of going beyond our mandate there, which I don’t think we did,” Juppe said. “Russia has interests in Syria. It sells lots of weapons or it has sold lots of weapons to the Syrian regime. Russia also fears an Islamic contagion on its own territory, that’s why it’s against what’s happening in Syria.” afp

Huge rallies across Syria in pro-Assad show DAMASCUS AfP

Huge crowds rallied in cities across Syria Thursday in a mass show of support for President Bashar al-Assad “to make the world hear our voice” on the first anniversary of a deadly anti-regime revolt.

State television showed tens of thousands of people waving Syrian flags and Assad’s portrait in squares in Damascus, the northern city of Aleppo, Latakia on the Mediterranean coast, Suweida to the south and Hasaka in the northeast. The cities have been relatively unscathed by the regime’s crackdown on a revolt which erupted on March 15, 2011 and has cost more than 8,500 lives, according to opposition activists. “After a whole year of pressure on Syria, we want to make the world hear our voice: Leave Syria in peace,” a woman on the street told the state broadcaster. According to the official news agency SANA, “millions of Syrians flocked (to the rallies) ... to tell the world that the Syrian people have chosen the path of national unity and stability, free from interference and foreign diktats.”

ANTAKYA: Syrian refugees wave their shoes as they stage a demonstration against the Syrian president at the Reyhanli refugee Camp on Thursday. afp

Azerbaijan vows to catch sex video blackmailers BAKU AfP

Azerbaijan’s presidency on Thursday vowed to catch those responsible for distributing a covertly filmed sexually explicit video in a bid to blackmail a journalist to stop her highprofile reporting. “The relevant law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan are currently investigating the matter and will do everything possible to identify the people and forces behind this dirty campaign,” the presidential administration said in a statement. “The Azerbaijani authorities consider interference in the private life of any journalist, regardless of their political position and views, to be unacceptable,” it said. The video posted on the Internet late Tuesday showed sex scenes purportedly involving Khadija Ismayilova of Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani Service, who has won awards for her work exposing official corruption in the oil-rich ex-Soviet state. Its release followed an anonymous letter received by Ismayilova last week threatening to humiliate her if she did not “behave”. The journalist, who has said she will not give in to threats, dismissed the presidency’s statement and blamed the authorities for the blackmail attempt.

Top hamas official visits Tehran TEHRAN AfP

Senior Gaza-based Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar pledged that the “principles and strategy of the Palestinian Islamic resistance will not change,” during a visit to Tehran on Thursday, Iranian media reported.

Zahar, who is holding meetings with Iranian officials during the trip, arrived in Tehran shortly after a fragile truce between Israel and Gaza-based militants was announced, ending four days of bloodshed.

During a meeting with the Hamas leader, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi voiced his country’s support for the Palestinians. He condemned Israeli air strikes during the recent outbreak of violence, calling them “savage attacks by the Zionist regime against the innocent Palestinian population,” the official IRNA news agency reported. “Support for the Palestinian population is part of our principles and religious beliefs, and we are certain that the Palestinian people will triumph,” he said.

Zahar thanked Iran for its “limitless support.” On Wednesday, Zahar met the head of Iran’s supreme national security council, Saeed Jalili, and the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali

Larijani, the official IRNA news agency reported. Jalili reportedly renewed Iran’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, and cautioned Zahar against “plots” seeking to divide the Palestinian resistance.

In recent months, divisions have opened between Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, who lives in exile, and members of the group’s Gaza leadership, including Zahar. Meshaal has presented an increasingly moderate position, saying in May 2011 he was ready to given negotiations with Israel “a chance,” and offering tacit support for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He has also publicly supported peaceful “popular resistance,” and engaged in a reconciliation deal with rival Palestinian group Fatah, even backing an agreement to have Palestinian president and Fatah chief Mahmud Abbas serve as the head of a temporary consensus government.

Those positions have put him at odds with much of the leadership in Gaza, which has warned that it expects to be consulted about key decisions, including on reconciliation with Fatah.

Despite Meshaal’s engagement, the reconciliation efforts have largely stalled, and Palestine Liberation Organisation official Yasser Abed Rabbo warned on Thursday that he felt Hamas

was uninterested in the process. “I no longer believe that Hamas wants reconciliation,” he told Voice of Palestine radio. “Their behaviour shows that they do not want elections and want to have a state in the Gaza Strip and to run it the way they like.”

Zahar’s visit follows one last week

by Hamas’s Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniya, who shared the podium with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on February 11 to commemorate the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Meshaal last visited the Islamic republic in October 2011. Israel and the United States consider Hamas to be an armed proxy of Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday branded Gaza an “advance post for Iran,” explicitly accusing Tehran of arming, financing and training militants in the Palestinian enclave.

But despite the ties, Hamas has said publicly it would stay out of tensions between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear activities. Ahmed Yussef, a counsellor to the Hamas foreign ministry, earlier this month told AFP that “Iran does not need Hamas to respond to Israel in the event of an attack, because it has enormous military capabilities at its disposal, which allow it to act without us.”

Indonesians re-enact porn scenes in police probe JAKARTA AfP

Three Indonesian men and a woman arrested for allegedly making a pornographic video were ordered to reenact steamy sex scenes as part of a police investigation, a detective said Thursday.

They were caught red-handed Sunday filming scenes on a Blackberry cell phone in a hotel room in West Java provincial district of Bogor during an anti-drug raid, district detective police chief Imron Ermawan told AFP. “We asked them to reenact every single move they made during the shoot, including the scenes on the bed,” he said. “They had their clothes on, they were not naked. They only showed us the acts they carried out at that time.

“This re-enactment is important as legal evidence to confirm that the crime did take place so the suspects would have no excuse to deny it in court.” The suspects could be jailed up to 12 years under the country’s controversial anti-pornography law, Ermawan said. Ratified in 2008, the law criminalises all works and “bodily movements”, including music and poetry, that could be deemed obscene and capable of violating public morality. It drew strong objections from minority groups and civil society organisations, who say the legislation tramples on freedom of expression.

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Police apologise for not stopping Norway massacre sooner OSLO AfP

Norwegian police apologised Thursday for failing to stop Anders Behring Breivik sooner on his shooting rampage last July that left 77 people dead, admitting lives were lost as a result.

“On behalf of the Norwegian police I want to apologise that we did not arrest Anders Behring Breivik sooner,” Norwegian national police commissioner Oeystein Maeland said in a statement that presented an evaluation report on the police response to the July 22 twin attacks. “It is hard, knowing that so many lives could have been spared if the perpetrator had been arrested sooner,” he added at a press conference. The day of the massacre Behring Breivik, who has claimed to be on a crusade against multi-culturalism and the “Muslim invasion” of Europe, set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people. He then went to Utoeya island northwest of Oslo, and, dressed as a police officer, spent more than an hour methodically shooting and killing another 69 people, mainly teenagers, attending a summer camp hosted by the ruling Labour Party’s youth wing. Police came in for criticism after the attacks, in particular over the relatively distant launch point for an intervention force deployed to the island, as well as the choice of a simple rubber dinghy, which was overloaded and broke down. According to the police timeline, the massacre lasted for 75 minutes before Behring Breivik was arrested. “Could we have arrived on Utoeya sooner?,” Maeland asked. “The answer is yes. If the police boat had not been overloaded and broken down,” he acknowledged. “We can establish in all certainty that the police did not have the capacity to handle all the aspects of such an event on a regular Friday in July,” he said. However, the report stressed that “police carried out their duties as promptly as possible under the circumstances.” Among some 54 areas where the police had problems, the report highlighted poor communications, lack of competence, limited staffing and organisation, as well as poor management of victims, emergency hotlines and planning. Now in custody at the high-security Ila prison near Oslo, Behring Breivik, 33, is scheduled to go on trial on April 16. He has been charged with “acts of terror” and could face life in prison or in a closed psychiatric ward. A psychiatric evaluation of the confessed killer concluded late last year said that he suffered from “paranoid schizophrenia”.

Foreign News 17

MoSt of ISrAel SecurIty cAbINet bAckS IrAN StrIke JERUSALEM

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majority of Israel’s security cabinet now supports an attack on Iran in a bid to end its nuclear programme, an Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday, citing political sources it did not identify.

Writing in the Maariv daily, influential columnist Ben Caspit said most of the 14-member security cabinet was now leaning in favour of a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move which he said was supported by both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

“According to the most recent assessments, at this point eight ministers tend to support Netanyahu and Barak’s position, while six object to it,” Caspit wrote.

“It should be noted that the security cabinet has yet to hold a decisive meeting on the issue and the assessments are based on secret talks being held between the prime minister and his ministers, one at a time.” Caspit noted that Netanyahu has convened neither his security cabinet, nor the more intimate Forum of Eight — a consultative body of his closest ministers — since returning from talks about Iran with US President Barack Obama.

“The longer the silence from Netanyahu and Barak’s direction continues, the more concerned the opponents of an attack on Iran become,” Caspit said. Ynet news website reported on Thursday that the members of Netanyahu’s inner circle had expressed

fILE phoTo

resentment about his lack of consultation with them in recent weeks. They said they had not been briefed on either Iran or on the recent violence in and around Gaza. “Some of the ministers feel that they are being used as a rubber stamp,” a cabinet member told Ynet. “We weren’t briefed on the situation

in Gaza even once. Netanyahu apparently feels confident enough to make all the decisions by himself, or with Barak, without including any of the other ministers.” Sources close to Netanyahu confirmed that neither the security cabinet nor the Forum of Eight had been convened recently, Ynet said, but

13 women and children killed in afghan bomb KANDAHAR AfP

A Taliban roadside bomb tore through a civilian vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing nine children and four women, police said.

The bombing in the troubled province’s Dihrawud district comes a day after a similar incident killed eight civilians in the neighbouring province of Helmand and while US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was holding talks in Kabul. The blast

RAMALLAh: Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Ofer Prison near Ramallah in the Occupied West Bank during a demonstration to support female prisoner hanaa alShalabi who was freed in a prisoner swap with Israel but was re-arrested on february 16 and has gone on hunger strike since. afp

hit a station wagon travelling on a dirt road in Uruzgan province, provincial police spokesman Farid Ail told AFP. “There are 13 people dead: nine children and four women,” he said. Two others were injured, he added. Ail blamed the incident on “Taliban, the enemies of our people who plant bombs on our public roads to kill our innocent children and women.”

The rebels, most active in southern and eastern parts of the war-scarred country, mainly use improvised explosive devices and

suicide bomb attacks. The crude devices are aimed at Afghan and NATO security forces but often miss their targets and hit civilians using the same roads. The number of civilians killed has risen steadily each year for the past five years, reaching a record of 3,021 in 2011, according to UN statistics. The Taliban were in power between 1996 and 2001 but were toppled in a US-led invasion for sheltering Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

added that Netanyahu “consults with the relevant people constantly.” In recent months speculation has been rising about the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear programme, which the Jewish state and much of the international community believe masks a weapons drive.

Bus crash ‘like a bomb’ in children’s sleepy hometown LOMMEL AfP

Classmates of children killed in a Swiss alpine tunnel huddled weeping in the schoolyard Thursday as the sleepy Belgian hometown of many of the victims faced the trauma of the horrific crash. “We could not sleep last night,” said an open letter written by teachers from the ‘t Stekske school that sent 22 students and two teachers on the fateful skiing trip. “There were so many things going through our heads.” Of the group on the coach that slammed into a concrete wall in the tunnel late Tuesday, just seven of the ‘t Stekske pupils survived. As the school-gates opened at 8 am, wet-eyed children and parents with tense strained faces arrived bearing flowers, toys, drawings, candles and words of comfort. “No more future, no more beautiful children’s dreams, just your unbearable and endless pain: we share it with you,” said a message left among flowers near the school entrance.

In the yard of the primary school whose name means “the little matchstick” in Dutch, small boys kicked a football around waiting for the bell to ring and watched the press massed on the street outside. But older ones huddled in small groups, many weeping heavily. For the primary school of 200 in northeast Belgium near the Dutch border the toll was particularly heavy, apparently because the children were at the front of the bus when it hit the tunnel wall. The crash killed 28 of the 52 people aboard, including four adults and two drivers. Seventeen of the dead were from ‘t Stekske, including its teachers. Two teachers and seven children from SintLambertus school in central Belgium also died. “Nothing will ever be the same again,” said Anouck Janssens, who lives by the school. “The news hit us like a bomb, it was horrible.” “Lommel is traumatised,” said 51-year-old Peter Flament of the town of 33,000 people. “This is a small town where nothing ever happens and everybody knows everybody else. So when something like this happens, it hurts.”

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Li ousted, azarenka rolls on at indian wells Page 21 PAkISTAN INTO ASIAN CUP FINAL

Misbah, Akmal shine in emphatic win DHAKA

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KIPPER Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal cracked halfcenturies under pressure as Pakistan virtually booked a place in the Asia Cup final with an emphatic six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Pakistan were struggling at 33-3 before Misbah (72 not out) and Akmal (77) added 152 for the fourth wicket to help their team achieve the modest 189-target set by Sri Lanka with more than 10 overs to spare in the daynight match in Dhaka.

Fast bowler Aizaz Cheema (4-43) and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (3-27) also played important roles in Pakistan's second successive victory by restricting Sri Lanka to a small total.

Sri Lanka, who lost to India in their opening match, needed a win to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive but were let down by their batsmen as only Kumar Sangakkara (71) and Upul Tharanga (57) could defy the Pakistani attack.

Pakistan lost three wickets had fallen in the opening 13 overs, with paceman Suranga Lakmal taking two and leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna, before Misbah and Akmal took charge.

The Pakistani captain hit one six and nine fours in his 93-ball knock while Akmal, who was dropped on 46, struck two sixes and seven boundaries from 72 balls. Sri Lanka, electing to bat, were earlier well-placed at 161-4 following a 96-run fifth-wicket stand between former skipper Sangakkara and Tharanga but they lost their last six wickets for just 27 runs.

Ajmal started the slide when he bowled Tharanga. He then removed Farveez Maharoof and last-man Lakmal. Cheema, who conceded 21 runs in his first two overs, came back strongly to dismiss openers Mahela Jayawardene (12) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (20) in quick succession before removing Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga.

The Pakistani bowlers were backed by their fielders, with Younis Khan taking a superb catch to his left in the slips to account for Dinesh Chandimal off Gul. Sri Lanka raced to 33 in the opening five overs before they were reduced to 65-4, with Cheema taking two wickets and Gul and Hammad Azam one apiece. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 21 runs and India beat Sri Lanka by 50 runs in their opening matches. Each side will play the other once in the roundrobin league, with the top two advancing to the final on March 22.

anderson, Panesar shine in tour opener

SCOReBOARD SRI LANKA: M. Jayawardene c hafeez b Cheema 12 T. Dilshan c Ajmal b Cheema 20 K. Sangakkara b Cheema 71 0 D. Chandimal c Younis b Gul 7 L. Thirimanne c Akmal b Azam 57 u. Tharanga b Ajmal 2 f. Maharoof c Misbah b Ajmal N. Kulasekara c Ahmed b Gul 4 S. Prasanna not out 5 L. Malinga b Cheema 1 0 S. Lakmal c Jamshed b Ajmal 9 exTRAS (lb5, w4) 188 TOTAL (for all out; 45.4 overs) fall of wickets: 1-33 (Jayawardene), 2-43 (Dilshan), 3-47 (Chandimal), 4-65 (Thirimanne), 5-161 (Tharanga), 6-165 (Maharoof), 7-172 (Kulasekara), 8-183 (Sangakkara), 9187 (Malinga), 10-188 (Lakmal).

BOWLING: Gul 8-1-20-2 (w2), Cheema 9-0-43-4 (w2), hafeez 10-0-40-0, Azam 4-0-21-1, Ajmal 8.4-1-27-3, Afridi 6-0-32-0.

PAKISTAN: Mohammad hafeez c Chandimal b Prasanna 11 18 Nasir Jamshed c Tharanga b Lakmal 2 Younis Khan c Maharoof b Lakmal Misbah-ul-haq not out 72 umar Akmal c Tharanga b Maharoof 77 4 hammad Azam not out 5 exTRAS (lb1, nb2, w2) TOTAL (for four wickets; 39.5 overs) 189 fall of wickets: 1-29 (Jamshed), 2-31 (hafeez), 3-33 (Younis), 4-185 (Akmal).

Bowling: Malinga 8-1-44-0, Kulasekara 7-2-22-0, Lakmal 8-1-37-2 (nb2), Prasanna 7.5-1-49-1, Maharoof 7-0-23-1 (w2), Dilshan 2-0-13-0.

Result: Pakistan win by six wickets Man of the match: Aizaz Cheema (PAK) Toss: Sri Lanka umpires: Steve Davis (AuS) and Paul Reiffel (AuS) TV umpire: Sharfuddoula Shahid (BAN) Match referee: David Boon (AuS)

World-weary aussies look to pile on Windies agony KINGSTOWN AfP

COLOMBO AfP

Fast bowler James Anderson and spinner Monty Panesar warmed up for England's two-Test series against Sri Lanka with rich hauls in the tour opener in Colombo on Thursday. Left-armer Panesar claimed 5-37 and Anderson took 4-19 as England bowled out the Sri Lanka Board XI for 169 on the first day of the three-day practice match at the Premadasa stadium. The tourists were six for no loss off seven balls before bad light ended play early. Skipper Andrew Strauss was on six and Alastair Cook had yet to score. Anderson picked up the first four wickets before Panesar cleaned up the tail as the home team, led

by Test wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, failed to settle in after electing to take first strike. Ashen Silva, a 21-year-old lefthanded opener, was the lone batsman to defy the tourists, making 66 with eight boundaries before he was seventh out at the stroke of tea.

Graeme Swann went wicketless in 18 overs of off-spin in which he conceded 47 runs. England received a scare before the start when pace bowler Stuart Broad, who was originally due to play, withdrew from the game after spraining his left ankle during training.

Broad, who was replaced by Steven Finn, is expected to be fit for the next three-day game from March 20. The first Test will be played in Galle from March 26 and the second at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo from April 3.

BRIef SCOReS: Sri Lanka board Xi 169 (ashen Silva 66, Sachithra Serasinghe 31, James anderson 4-19, Monty Panesar 5-37, Steven finn 1-33). england 6-0.

dHaKa: Pakistan’s batsman Hammad azam (c) celebrates the team victory with captain Misbah-ul-Haq (L) as the Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene (R) looks on. afp

Stand-in skipper Shane Watson believes Australia's recent successes over India and Sri Lanka will mask any world-weariness when they kick-off their Caribbean tour. Australia tackle the West Indies in the first of five one-dayers on Friday, with two Twenty20s and three Tests to follow on the seven-week tour -- a trip they set off on just 12 hours after their Tri-Nations win over Sri Lanka in Adelaide.

Watson, deputising for injured fulltime captain Michael Clarke, insists his squad can impress, with younger players desperate to make their mark. "It's a very exciting time in Australian cricket," Watson said. "To think even 12 months ago that things were being said that the depth in Australian cricket might not be that good, to actually see the guys who are coming through."

Watson is keen to see how the likes of Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson and Peter Forrest perform in the Caribbean

after making their mark on home wickets. "James Pattinson has been brilliant, Nathan Lyon ... to see these guys come in and perform straight away is a very exciting thing," Watson told www.cricinfo.com. "To actually know that we've got some great depth now and in the future with a few other guys still on their way back from injury and also some guys who will continue to improve in domestic cricket to put pressure on the more senior guys."

In contrast, West Indies have turned to their back catalogue in an effort to gain an edge, with 31-yearold fast bowler Tino Best recalled after more than two years on the sidelines.

Best last played international cricket in the 2009 Champions Trophy. "I'm fully focussed. I am fully aware of what is expected of me and what is required by the team. I have worked extremely hard to get back into the team and I will continue to work hard to stay in the team," Best said.

In his most recent first-class appear-

ance in February, Best took seven wickets for Barbados in their crushing win over Combined Campuses and Colleges and bagged six for 44 in a warm-up that followed. Another player in form is big-hitting Kieron Pollard, who smashed 151 off 120 balls in a recent squad warm-up.

"I have been playing a lot of Twenty20 cricket, but when you practise, you do not practise Twenty20," Pollard said. "When you practise, you work on your technique and there are a number of things I have been working on."

West Indies are again without former skipper Chris Gayle, who has not played for the West Indies since last year's World Cup and has been involved in a long-running dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board.

fIxTuReS MaRcH 16: 1ST odi, KinGSTown, ST VincenT MaRcH 18: 2nd odi, KinGSTown, ST VincenT MaRcH 20: 3Rd odi, KinGSTown, ST VincenT MaRcH 23: 4TH odi, GRoS iSLeT, ST LUcia MaRcH 25: 5TH odi, GRoS iSLeT, ST LUcia

cricket S africa president quits over bonus scandal JOHANNESBURG AfP

Acting Cricket SA (CSA) president AK Khan quit Wednesday in the aftermath of a $600,000 bonus scandal that has left chief executive Gerald Majola fighting for survival. Khan resigned at a CSA management committee meeting here along with audit and risk committee chairman John Blair three days before a board meeting which could decide the fate of Majola, who protested his innocence this week. "I think it is time for change and for new leadership ... I am going back to grass roots cricket," said Khan, who consistently backed the chief executive through the two-year crisis.

A government-initiated inquiry headed by retired judge Chris Nicholson last week recommended prosecutors open a case against Majola over a scandal linked to the hosting of the 2009 IPL. Majola and former chief financial officer Don McIntosh were the alleged main benefactors of secret bonuses paid to them and other CSA officials after South Africa staged the IPL and the ICC Champions Trophy the same year.

Cricketers asked to stay away from actresses LAHORE STAff RePORT

The Pakistan Cricket Board has warned all the Pakistani cricketers to stay away from the Bollywood actresses and models in aftermath of the latest fixing scandal hitting the sport.

Reports attributing from the PCB said that the PCB has advised its international cricketers to keep away from the glitz and glamour of Tinsel Town after Indian bookie revealed that it was a general practice for most of the bookmakers to lure cricketers into fixing and betting through Bollywood actresses and models.

Sources told this scribe that a PCB official gave the cricketers advice in an informal meeting. It is unknown to nobody that Pakistani cricketers have had relations with Indian top actresses and models in the past and even now where

some of the top former and current cricketers usually live in the headlines for having connections with the Bolly-

wood divas.

According to reports, the PCB officials know that some of the Pakistani cricketers still have relations with Indian actresses and models and they usually see each other in Dubai.

“PCB's new chief Zaka Ashraf doesn't want to see the names of local players getting highlighted in any controversial story, that's why PCB's top official advised players that, they must care about their relations with the Indian celebrities”, sources said adding, “Indian media is always in search of ways to discredit Pakistani players and they keep writing fake stories of relations and scandals of Pakistani cricketers with the Bollywood hot stuff”.

It is important to mention here that an Indian lobby is always in action to destroy image of Pakistan cricket and they can go to any limit in their ne-

farious designs and they can use the current fixing chapter in international cricket to defame Pakistani cricketers therefore the PCB authorities have advised cricketers to stay away from Tinsel Town divas.

Sources said, “It's not only about that Indian lobby but it's also a wellknown fact that the struggling Indian actresses and models are fully aware that if they establish contacts and relations with Pakistani cricketers or claim about such a thing Indian media will project them and they will become famous not only in India but also all over the world therefore it becomes more important for Pakistani cricketers to stay aloof from the glitz and glamour”.

The PCB always arranges lectures for cricketers about how they can save their skin against controversies, but our cricketers are mostly having fun during such lectures.

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friday, 16 March, 2012

district central win Judo-Karate-Jujitsu championship KARACHI STAff RePORT

District Central won the Japan Fest JudoKarate-Jujitsu Championship that marked the 60th Anniversary of diplomatic relations. This two-day event was organized

by Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association in collaboration with KMC (Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, The Arts Council of Pakistan & Sindh Judo & Jujitsu Association. The chief guest of the day were Mohammad Hussain Syed, Administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and Masaharu Sato, Counsel General of Japan.

ReSuLTS Karate 60 kg (men): A. Qasim (Central), Kashif (Malir) (KN), Zubair Furqan (West) 55 kg: Dilham Shah (Central), Abdullah (South), Shehzad (Este) 30 kg: Ali Rasheed (Central), M. Shaiq (South), Usman Uddin (West) 50 kg (women): Arifa Rasheed (Central), Javeria Ishrat (West), Ramin Amir (South) 35 kg: Hurmat Mansoor (Central), Ifrah Shariq (South), Muqaddas Mansoor (Este) Jujitsu: 55 kg (men): Hasnain (Central), Raja Zeeshan (Malir KN), M. Rafay (Este) 45 kg: Rauf (Central), Shayan Niazi (Malir KN), Huzaifa Ali (Este) 30 kg: Abdul Rafay (Central), Bahadur Khan (Malir KN), M. Ehtesham (Este) 40 kg (women): Israh Waseem (Este), Aliya Shariq (Central), Maheen Amir (South) Karate men: 55kg: Ghulam Raza, Shaikh Abdul Nasir, Safdar Ali 55 kg: Kaleem Haider, Bashir Ullah, Khalid Khan Judo Event: 1st- District Central, 2nd: District South, 3rd: District west Ju-Jitsu Event: 1st- District Central, 2nd: District Este, 3rd: District Malir.

Metsu sacked by Qatari club al Gharafa DOHA AfP

Well-travelled French coach Bruno Metsu was sacked by Qatari club Al Gharafa on Thursday, with Brazilian Paulo Silas appointed as his replacement. The Dohabased club released a statement confirming that Metsu, 58, had been dismissed in the wake of a 5-1 defeat by Al Rayyan last week. Metsu was coach of the Qatari national team before being appointed at the helm of Al Gharafa on a three-year deal in 2010. It was his second spell with Al Gharafa, having previously led them to the domestic title in 2005.

Metsu has also coached several clubs in his native France, before spells with Guinea and Senegal. Silas is a former Brazilian international midfielder who left another Qatari club, Al Arabi, earlier this year.

Sports 19

S Africa leave Kiwis reeling HAMILTON

SCOReBOARD

AfP

S

OUTH Africa's pace attack humiliated New Zealand's middle order in an extraordinary display Thursday that put the Proteas firmly in control on the first day of the second Test. Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn ran rampant as New Zealand lost eight wickets in the final session -including five in 20-ball spell when the shell-shocked home side did not score a single run -- to be all out for 185.

Philander finished with figures of four for 70 and Steyn took three for 49, as skipper Graeme Smith's decision to send New Zealand in to bat on a green-tinged wicket in Hamilton paid off spectacularly. It was just reward for the South African bowlers, who had toiled for little reward after early success in dislodging New Zealand's openers Rob Nicol (2) and Martin Guptill (22) before lunch. While New Zealand claimed consolation wickets as South Africa went to stumps at 27 for two, the Proteas succeeded in asserting their dominance after the first Test in Dunedin ended in a rain-affected draw.

NeW ZeALAND 1st innings 2 R. Nicol c Boucher b Philander M. Guptill b Steyn 22 B. McCullum c Rudolph b Steyn 61 R. Taylor c Smith b Philander 44 K. Williamson c Smith b Steyn 0 0 D. Vettori b Philander 21 K. van Wyk lbw Morkel 0 D. Bracewell c Boucher b Philander 27 M. Gillespie c Petersen b Tahir 3 B. Arnel lbw Tahir 0 C. Martin not out 5 exTRAS (lb3, nb2) 185 TOTAL (all out; 61.2 overs) fall of wickets: 1-11 (Nicol), 2-44 (Guptill), 3-133 (McCullum), 4-133 (Taylor), 5-133 (Williamson), 6-133 (Vettori), 7-133 (Bracewell), 8-176 (van Wyk), 9-184 (Gillespie), 10-185 (Arnel) BOWLING: Steyn 18-5-49-3, Philander 15-3-70-4, Kallis 9-49-0, Morkel 14-2-42-1, Tahir 5.2-1-12-2 SOuTh AfRICA 1st innings 13 G. Smith c van Wyk b Martin A. Petersen not out 8 4 D. Steyn c van Wyk b Martin h. Amla not out 2 0 exTRAS 27 TOTAL (2 wickets; 11 overs) fall of wickets: 1-14 (Smith) 2-18 (Steyne) BOWLING: Martin 5-2-18-2, Bracewell 4-1-7-0, Gillespie 1-0-10, Vettori 1-0-1-0 Toss: South Africa Series: The three-match series is level after a draw in the first Test, umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS), Richard Kettleborough (eNG), TV umpire: Aleem Dar (PAK), Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

HaMiLTon: Morne Morkel (L) of South africa bowls during day one of the second cricket test match between new Zealand and South africa at Seddon Park. afp

Mourinho another six matches eyes chelsea decided in women cricket reunion in final LAHORE

STAff RePORT

Another six matches were played in the fifth round of the 7th National Women Cricket Championship-2012 on Thursday.

ZTBL kept its unbeaten run while Pakistan Board too tasted win.

Pakistan Board defeated Rawalpindi by one wicket while ZTBL got the biggest win of the event when it thrashed Sialkot by 327 runs.

In other matches of the event, HEC won over Hyderabad eight wickets, Karachi Region won by 121 runs against Faisalabad, Lahore Region defeated Multan by 20 runs and Islamabad overcame Quetta won by 52 runs.

SCOReS POOL - A aT naTionaL GRoUnd, iSLaMabad: islamabad Region 219-6 in 50 overs: (diana baig 51*, 42 balls, 6x4s, 1x6, nazish akram 47, 81 balls, 5x4s, Uzma Kanwal 32, 87 balls, 3x4s, Rabail Khalid 26*, 53 balls, 2x4s, naheeda Khan 2-21, Rubeena Kosar 2-27) Quetta Region 167 in 39.5 overs: (naheeda Khan 76, 60 balls, 14x4s, Zubaida Sattar 19, 21 balls, 4x4, ayesha Sidiqa 16, 18 balls, 3x4s, areeb Qaseem 12, 24 balls, 2x4s, Rabail Khalid 3-26, diana baig 3-39, faiza Khalid 2-10) Player of the match: diana baig (islamabad Region) Result: islamabad Region won by 52 runs Toss: islamabad Region, Umpires: anayat Ullah

Qureshi & Samera aftab, Match Referee: allah ditto, official Scorer: Muhammad akbar aT MaRGHaZaR GRoUnd, iSLaMabad: Lahore Region 179-8 in 50 overs: (Komal feroz 53, 108 balls, 5x4s, Mahleq Mansoor 48, 117 balls, 5x4s, Sabahat Rasheed 16, 22 balls, 1x4, fakhira Kazmi 3-37, naz Ghulam Hussain 1-40, Sana Gulzar 1-33) Multan Region 159 in 47 overs: (Sana Gulzar 60, 6x4s, areeb Shamim 25, 48 balls, 4x4s, Madiha Rehman 11, 45 balls, 2x4s, iram Javed 3-34, namra imran 1-32) Player of the match: award Share by Sana Gulzar (Multan) & Komal feroz (Lahore) Result: Lahore Region won by 20 runs Toss: Lahore Region, Umpires: Sajid afridi & noorul Hakam, Match Referee: naveed nazir, official Scorer: abdul wahid.

POOL - B aT ModeL Town wHiTeS cRicKeT GRoUnd, LaHoRe: ZTbL faisalabad 387-4 in 50 overs: (Rabia Shah 104, 113 balls, 8x4s, Sana Mir 82, 157 balls, 13x4s, nain abdi 71, 77 balls, 5x4s, 1x6, Marina iqbal 61*, 35 balls, 8x4s, 1x6, nida dar 39, 19 balls, 4x4s, 1x6, Saba Sardar 2-68) Sialkot Region 60 in 25.1 overs: (iram butt 12, 16, 2x4s, Saima Jamil 12, 31, 1x4, asma Sikander 10, 28 balls, 1x4, bismah Maroof 3-1, Sadia yousaf 3-10, Kanita Jalil 2-24) Player of the match: Rabia Shah (ZTbL) Result: ZTbL won by 327 runs Toss: ZTbL. Umpires: Hanif Muhammad & Raja Shahid. Match Referee: Sohail Khan. official Scorer: Muhammad arif Sr. aT LaHoRe GyMKHana GRoUnd, LaHoRe: Pakistan board 135 in 41.2 overs: (Hafsa amjad 50, 88 balls,

8x4s, farwa babar 22, 23 balls, 2x4s, nadia begum 5-26, Shakeela bibi 2-23) Rawalpindi Region 134 in 38.2 overs:(nada nasir 32, 96 balls, 4x4s, naila nazar 26, 29 balls, 4x4s, Sania 4-20, farwa babar 3-25) Player of the match: Hafsa amjad (PKb) Result: Pakistan board won by 1 runs Toss: Pakistan board, Umpires: afia amin & Humaira farah, Match Referee: ashraf ali, official Scorer: waqar ahmed, POOL – C aT KRL GRoUnd, RawaLPindi: Karachi Region 2256 in 50 overs: (Kainat imtiaz 49, 81 balls, 6x4s, Sana Taj 39*, 50 balls, 6x4s, aimen anwar 35, 87 balls, ayesha Zafar 33, 42 balls, 5x4s, Uzma younas 3-32) faisalabad Region 104 in 37.3 overs:(Zainab Riaz 18, 54 balls, 2x4s, Rabia Shahid 18, 29 balls, 3x4s, aimen anwar 4-3, Shumaila Qureshi 2-27) Player of the match: aimen anwar (Karachi Region) Result: Karachi Region won by 121 runs Toss: Karachi Region, Umpires: asif farooq awan & nuzhat Sultana, Match Referee: Shahid butt, official Scorer: Muhammad atiq aT daiMond cRicKeT GRoUnd, iSLaMabad: Hyderabad Region 70 in 39 overs: (anzil ali 30, 60 balls, 4x4s, Khadija chishti 17, 35 balls, 3x4s, Mahwish Tariq 4-1) Hec 71-2 in 13 overs: (Sukhan faiz 21, 24 balls, 3x4s, Marryam butt 20*, 26 balls, 2x4s, Mahwish Tariq 14, 13 balls, 3x4s) Player of the match: Mahwish Tariq (Hec) Result: Hec won by eight wickets Toss: Hyderabad Region, Umpires: Shakeela Rafiq & Riffat Mustafa, Match Referee: Tanveer afzal, official Scorer: awais Khan Khalil.

MADRID AfP

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was hoping for a dream Champions League final against his former club Chelsea on Thursday after the Spanish giants cruised into the quarter-finals. Nine-time winners Real beat CSKA Moscow 4-1 in the second leg of their last 16 tie for a 5-2 aggregate win with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing two of the goals. No sooner had the night's business been settled, however, than Mourinho was already eyeing Chelsea, who won an extra-time thriller to defeat Napoli, as potential final opponents in May. "People can't understand how much I love Chelsea and I know if I get them in the quarter-finals or the semi-finals, they would be great opponents," said Mourinho, who has been widely-tipped to retake the reins at Stamford Bridge in the summer. "I'm happy Chelsea have got through, but I'd love to play them in the final." The Real coach was also happy to heap more praise on Ronaldo whose brace took his Real Madrid career total to 19 goals in 24 appearances in the Champions League. Compared to 16 goals during his 55 outings as a Manchester United player, the Portuguese star is flourishing at Real. "Ronaldo is unbelievable," said Mourinho.

Aquafina 6th Royal Golf Team from today LAHORE STAff RePORT

The country’s oldest golf tournament, the Amateur Team Trophy and Challenge Shield will tee off on Friday (March 16-18) here at the exotic course of Royal Palm Country Club under the sponsorship banner of Aquafina and Pepsi.

It would be the sixth Team Trophy to be staged at the Royal Palm whch would also be celebrating its centennial year of the course. This Pakistan Railways Golf Club was established in 1912 and was later taken over by Royal Palm in early 90s, completed his hundred years and the general manager of the club. Umer Mir also announced plans to hold a special function to celebrate the day.

Islamabad will be sending its two team to defend the Aquafina 6th Royal Golf Team Championship (endorsed by Pepsi) title last staged at the same venue in 2006, informed Lt Gen (r) Mohammed Tariq, Captain of the Royal Palm Golf Club.

Apart from Omer Mir, Col (r) Jameel Khalid, Director Golf and Khawaja Pervaiz Saeed, Director Media of the tournament were also present in the a press conference.

Lt Gen Tariq complimented Pepsi Cola for extending sponsorship support as

LaHoRe: captain golf Lt Gen (r) Mohammed Tariq address a press conference while director Media of Tournament Khawaja Pervaiz Saeed, General Manager Royal Palm omer Mir and director Golf col (r) Jameel Khalid look on. STaff phoTo without this, sports promotion would become extremely difficult. Col (r) Jameel said that a total of 147 golf players will be competing for honors in the individual category and in the team event teams from all over the country are vying for the prestigious team trophy. He also said that de-

fending champion team from Islamabad Golf Club is represented and the challenge is expected to come from Karachi Club Team, DHA Karachi Club Team, Peshawar Club Team, Lahore Gymkhana and a strong Royal Palm team. Other teams in line are Gujranwala Golf Club, Rawalpindi

Club and Garrison Golf Club. Talking of the playing arena, Col Jameel said that Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Golf Course is acknowledged as an arena of national standing. Admirably splendid in appearance, this Par 72, 18 holes golf course also has some other significant features which need to be highlighted.

Spelling out more details he said that this tournament has been an annual event of the golf calendar but was abandoned in 2000. Royal Palm Golf & Country Club re-introduced the event in 2006 based on its unique format where club teams get an opportunity to compete against each other in an effort to bring honours to their parent Club.

In this championship the events at stake are: Royal Palm Team Trophy to be contested over three days and 54 holes from March 16 to 18; Net Challenge Shield for individuals, to be contested over two days and 36 holes on March 16 and 17; Gross Cup for individuals, to be contested over three days and 54 holes from March 16 to 18; Ladies Cup to be contested over 18 holes on March 18.

Kh Pervaiz said that in the gross cup the previous winner, Taimur Hasan Amin is also competing and will be looking forward to duplicating his achievement. Com-

petition in this category will emerge from the players of ability like Abdul Zahoor & Ashiq Hussain of Multan Golf Club, Ghazanfar Mehmood, Khalid Mehmood, Idrees Nisar Tinkoo of Rawalpindi, Dr Aimal Zaman, Maj Khushal Khan Khattak (Peshawar Golf Club) Imran Ahmed, Mohsin Anwar (Gymkhana), Waseem Rana Zohaib Asif (DHA Karachi) and Sardar Murad, Shoaib Bokhari, Omer Salamat and M. Rehman of Royal Palm.

In the Challenge Shield, players with handicap of 12 and below are eligible. The shield will be contested on the first two days of the tournament.

Based on handicap scores, a wide range of players will be in contention for this title. The last years winner, Saleem Raza a handicapped golfer from Gujranwala Golf Club will be having an eye on back to back victories in the Challenge Shield event.

In the ladies competition, Miss Ghazala Yasmin of Garrison, Lahore will be defending her tile whereas others like Mrs Tahira Nazir (Rawalpindi) Mrs Asma Shami (Garrison), Tahmina Rashid (GYM), Mrs Samia Javed Ali, Nighat Akram, Maryama Khan (Gymkhana) and Ami Quin (Islamabad), are all set to snatch the title from her.

ISB 16-03-2012_Layout 1 3/16/2012 2:18 AM Page 20

20 Sports Lahore show supreme skills

friday, 16 March, 2012

London: britain’s catherine, duchess of cambridge smiles as she meets the british hockey team at the Riverside arena during a visit to the olympic Park. afp

LaHoRe: a tent-pegger in action on the opening day of all Pakistan army Tent-pegging championship at the Rangers Polo ground.

LAHORE STAff RePORT

A thrilling tent-pegging contest started here at the Pakistan Rangers Polo Ground on Thursday and Lahore Zone exhibited some supreme skills. A total of eight teams are competing in this annual Army Tentpegging Championship that was spread over the two days on intense competitions.

In the individual category, Lahore zone dominated the event from the word go. Inspector Saleemur Rehman of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) was declared the best tent-pegger while SR Abdul Hameed Bhatti also of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) was second. The team events will be decided on Friday at the same venue.

coaching clinic concludes today LAHORE STAff RePORT

The two-day Coaching Clinic for Judo players organized by the Punjab Judo Association began on Thursday here at the Training centre of the Association. In all 24 players from the different affiliated units of the association are taking part in this clinic in which training is being imparted by Mahmood Naveed, 4thDan Black Belt.

Training is being held in two sessions each day and topics of refereeing, judging, coaching and tournament are being covered, with both theoretical lectures as well as practical demonstrations. Special emphasis is being given on updating the senior players about the latest rules and regulations of tournament as defined by the International Judo Federation. This Clinic will conclude today (Friday) with a Closing Ceremony being held at 4 pm in which the participants will be awarded certificates.

Hockey camp from 18th LAHORE STAff RePORT

The training camp of national junior probables preparing for match series against Malaysian and Korean junior hockey teams was scheduled to be held at National Hockey Stadium Lahore on March 17 will now be established on March 18. The date of the initiation of the camp has been changed due to the preoccupied of the stadium for the Punjab Sports Festival. The players will now report to the Camp Commandant Rana Mujahid Ali on March 18.

phf sacks Michel, appoints akhtar Rasool as chief coach LAHORE STAff RePORT

The Pakistan Hockey Federation on Thursday appointed Chaudhry Akhtar Rasool as chief coach and manager of the London-bound Pakistan team.

The decision was taken in the 22nd PHF Executive Board meeting of the PHF held here at the National Hockey Stadium.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Asif Bajwa, secretary PHF said: “All the decisions taken by the house were unanimous and everyone was of the view that Akhtar is the better choice after the Dutch coach Michel van den was sacked by the house.

He said that Khawaja Muhammad Junaid will be the coach of theteam and will be assisted by Shahid Ali Khan and Ajmal Khan Lodhi.

He said that they would have the

overall responsibility of the team with the newly-appointed manager cum chief coach.

“The name of Akhtar was purposed by Olympian Hassan Sardar after the foreign Coach Michel van den was sacked for breach of con-

tract.” He further stated that his name was seconded by Olympian Abdul Hanif Khan and the house approved it unanimously.

The ex-Coach Michel van dan is being served with legal notice for the breach.

Bajwa said that the case of the players who participated in Indian Hockey League has been referred to the PHF Disciplinary Committee which will give their recommendations in the light of PHF Constitution and FIH Directive for the Executive Board that will give them clear chance to plead their case before the decision is reached In the last Executive Board, Qasim Zia, President PHF announced amount of Rs 1600000 for all the four Provinces, FATA, Islamabad and AJK the amount has been delivered to the respective secretaries, he added.

Sammy backs Windies youth and elder statesmen KINGSTOWN AfP

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy believes his team's mixture of raw youth and battle-scarred veterans can knock Australia out of their stride when the five-game, one-day series starts Friday.

The first three matches all take place at Arnos Vale, as international cricket returns to St Vincent for the first time since March, 2010.

"Johnson Charles is an exciting prospect and we also have Sunil Narine, who is a very good spinner, and also Andre Russell, the exciting

allrounder, who can do the job that is required," said 28-year-old Sammy.

"We have some players who are making a return to international cricket like Tino Best, who has been bowling very well, and Dwayne Bravo, who says he is very excited to be back in the maroon shirt.

"We are team which will be very competitive against the Australians.

We will look to play hard cricket and look for wins."

Sammy said he enjoys playing at Arnos Vale. Two years ago, he recorded career-best ODI figures of four for 26 against Zimbabwe while

back, in 2009, he took five for 70 against Bangladesh in a Test match.

"We have to believe we have it in us to win," he added.

"We will look to hit the ground running and start the series on a winning note. Arnos Vale has been a good venue for us. The last time we played here we won the matches and we enjoy the crowd support from the fans and the atmosphere at this venue is always superb. He added: "We are playing against the Australians, and everyone knows they are a good team ... a very competitive team. But we are focussing on us and what we have to do."

afghanistan, namibia make it three in three DUBAI AfP

Favourites Afghanistan and Namibia were the only two sides left with perfect three-win records at the World Twenty20 qualifying tournament on Thursday. Defending champions Afghanistan sank Denmark by 89 runs while Namibia overpowered the United States by 17 runs. In other matches of the day, Canada routed Hong Kong by eight wickets, Kenya beat Oman by 35 runs and Papua New Guinea defeated Nepal, also by 35 runs. Ireland defeated Italy by two wickets, Scotland beat Uganda by 34 runs and the Netherlands edged Bermuda by four runs. After three rounds of matches in the 16-team event, Afghanistan lead Group A with three wins from as many matches while the Netherlands, Canada and Nepal have two wins from three matches. In Group B, Namibia lead the pack, followed by a fourway tie for the second place between Italy, Uganda, Ireland and Scotland. Afghanistan opener Karim Sadiq turned in a fine allround performance (91 and four for 12) to steal the show in his side's 89 runs win over Denmark. Sadiq's 91 came off 60 balls and included nine fours and five sixes. "This was my best day in Twenty20 cricket. I love to entertain and so I love Twenty20 cricket. I am glad that I could contribute to the team's win. We are looking good and want to keep up the winning momentum," he said.

Namibia defeated the USA by 17 runs with opener Raymond van Schoor striking a fine 79 and former captain Craig Williams chipped in with 41 as Namibia posted 177 for four. In turn, the USA fought gallantly before finishing at 160 for seven. Man of the match van Schoor slapped 11 fours and after putting on 49 for the first wicket with Gerrie Snyman (29), he added 56 for the third wicket with Williams whose 41 came off 26 balls and included two fours and three sixes. In turn, the USA showed a lot of fight but ended up 17 runs short at 160 for eight with Aditya and Orlando scoring 53 and 38, respectively.

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friday, 16 March, 2012

Sports 21

Li ousted, Azarenka rolls on at Indian Wells INDIAN WELLS AfP

F

RENCH Open champion Li Na, playing in her first event since pulling out of the Paris Indoor Open, exited the WTA Indian Wells event Wednesday, losing to 6-4, 6-2 to Angelique Kerber.

China's Li, the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam title, suffered her first loss to Germany's Kerber in four career meetings. All three previous contests were in 2010. "A lot can change in two years," said Li, the eighth seed. "My serve didn't work. The three times I played her before I was getting points on my serve but today was different."

Kerber next faces world number one Victoria Azarenka, who dismantled Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-0, 6-2. Azarenka extended her season-long win streak to 21 matches as she raced into the semis. The 30-yearold Li, from Wuhan, started her year off by reaching the final in Sydney and made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open before pulling out of the Paris tournament last month with a back injury.

Li held serve just once in the final set as the 24-year-old Kerber won the final six games of their night match on centre court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Li said the turning point was the sixth game of the second set. Trailing 3-2, Li had a golden opportunity to break Kerber as the German fell behind 0-40 on her serve. But Kerber battled back and went on to win the game with a service winner to Li's backhand.

"After that game she had a lot of confidence on the court," said Li, who was seeking her 400th career match win.

"I was a little bit surprised. She has unbelievable defence. Sometimes I think I can win the point, but she just tried to get the ball back all the time.

All I can say is today was very tough for

AfP

Thailand's Chinnarat Phadungsil sank nine birdies on his way to a share of the halfway lead with Kim Hyung-Sung of South Korea at the Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Chinnarat broke the course record at the Angkor Golf Resort with his eightunder-par second round 64, just a day after it had been set by South Korean Baek Seuk-hyun.

Both Chinnarat and Kim were in sparkling form, with the 31-year-

old Korean shooting five straight birdies on the front nine and only missing the outright lead because of a bogey on the last.

The pair ended Thursday's second round level on 11-under-par 133, with Niall Turner a shot back in the $300,000 Asian Tour event after a flawless 67 in hot and humid conditions. The tall Irishman has not dropped a shot in 36 holes.

Three-time Asian Tour winner Chinnarat had a sensational day with his approach play, hitting 17 greens in regulation.

"My irons were very good. I didn't have long putts as I hit many

ESPN Sportcentre 07:30PM

Title fight off for unbeatens Rios, Gamboa NEW YORK AfP

indian weLLS: Li na of china returns a shot to angelique Kerber of Germany during their women's single quarterfinal match at the bnP Paribas open tennis tournament. afp me." Li, who missed a month with the back injury, won just nine of 22 points on her second serve. Kerber won 65 percent of her first serve points and saved seven of nine break points in the 83 minute match in front of a crowd of about 2,500. "I am happy I am in the semis now," Kerber said. "I just tried to move very good and hit the balls deep in the court and play aggressive."

Kerber has shown that she doesn't give up easily, surviving two match points in her opener against Sloane Stephens and three match points in her third-round victory over another American, Christina McHale. Kerber, who is seeded 18th, is part of a wave of young Germans who have emerged on the WTA Tour and are steadily climbing up the rankings.

Azarenka has stormed through the last few rounds of the women's draw.

Her toughest test was her opening

match when she just scraped by Germany's Mona Barthel in three sets 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6). If Azarenka can win her semi against Kerber she would have 22 straight match victories. You would have to go back to Martina Hingis in 1997 to find someone with a longer win streak to start the WTA season. Hingis had 37 consecutive wins.

"I am really impressed with the way I played," said Azarenka, who clinched the victory over Radwanska on her first match point when Radwanska hammered a forehand into the net. "I didn't expect to win that way."

The 22-year-old from Belarus is chasing her first Indian Wells title after already having captured the Australian Open this year and the world number one ranking along with it. If she makes it to the final she could face second seed Maria Sharapova who plays her quarter-final match on Thursday against fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko.

Chinnarat, Kim share Cambodia lead PHNOM PENH

WATCh IT LIve

shots close," said Chinnarat, according to an Asian Tour press release.

Recent putting practice seemed to have paid off for Chinnarat, as he needed just 27 putts to negotiate the greens.

"In the last two events in India, my putting wasn't good. I went back to Thailand and worked on it and I'm getting more confident with my putting. It's basic stuff like keeping my head and putter head still during the stroke. It's working," he said. Overnight leader Baek Seukhyun was among those tied in fourth place, four strokes behind,

after a 71. The 28year-old Turner struggled in the stifling heat but managed to fire five birdies to stay in touch with the leaders.

"There was no wind and it was just breathless out there. Humidity was off the charts and I was glad the winds picked up a bit on the back nine," he said.

Unbeaten former world champions Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa will not fight for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title on April 14 as planned. Telecasters HBO have dropped the bout from their schedule, according to their boxing website. It was scheduled for Las Vegas, Nevada. Gamboa, who won Olympic gold for Cuba in 2004 in Athens before defecting, is 21-0 with 16 knockouts, while Rios is 29-0 with one draw and 22 knockouts. Gamboa, who skipped news conferences last week aimed at promoting the bout, would have jumped two weight classes to fight for the crown after giving up his WBA and International Boxing Federation featherweight titles a year ago for missing a weigh-in before stopping Mexico's Jorge Solis. Rios vacated the WBA lightweight title by failing to make weight for a fight last November against Britain's John Murray, whom he stopped in the 11th round to keep the title unclaimed.

Police team’s bad behaviour mars challenge cup KARACHI STAff RePORT

KESC and KPT won their matches but some fist-fighting from Police team left deep scars on the KPT National Football Challenge Cup-2012 being held at Karachi on Thursday. The Police team beat up the officials and some of the rival team KRL players when one of their players was shown a red card for a wrong behaviou on the field. The situation got out of hand and the match was halted by the match commission to take further decision, obviously against the Police team. Meanwhile, KESC beat Pakistan Steel 2-0 at the Ground number 2 Peoples Football Stadium. KESC’s forward Eisa Khan and Muhammad Rasool were the scorers and hit the target in the 26 and 90 minute.

KPT beat GPA 4-1 at the PST Ground of KPT Stadium. KPT got their goals from Muhammad Waseem in the 25 minute, Jamal-ud-Din (49 minute), Muhammad Bin Younus (87 minute) and Zafar Majeed (87 minute) while the scorer from GSP was Tariq Badal 63 Minute. KRL and Police match was abandoned by Match Commissioner due to bad attitude of Police players.

NBP and National Youth A remained goalless at the KPT Football Stadium.

Three top seeds reach quarters at Indian Wells INDIAN WELLS AfP

Rafael Nadal raced into the Indian Wells quarter-finals with a dominating win, while Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer needed three sets each to beat unseeded opponents on Wednesday.

Tennis' big three progressed in the California desert with world No. 2 Nadal storming into the quarters by beating 21st seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-2 in just 76 minutes.

World number three Federer scrambled for the second-straight day to eliminate an up-and-comer he was facing for the first time, coming from behind to beat B r a z i l ' s Thomaz Bellucci 3-6, 63, 6-4.

Defending

champ and world No. 1 Djokovic lost a second set tie-breaker en route to a 6-0, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 win over Pablo Andujar.

"In the end I was lucky to get through some points," said Djokovic, who has won the last three Grand Slams.

"I am happy to go through to the next round." The 24-year-old Serb came into Wednesday's fourth round match with a 12-1 record on the year, having already captured the fifth Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open. In the quarter-finals, Djokovic will face Nicolas Almagro, who surprised seventh seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-0. Djokovic looked to be charging his way into the quarters after dominating

the first set 6-0 in just 28 minutes.

But he quickly found himself in the middle of a dogfight in the second as unseeded Andujar started to get his serve cracking, winning the set in a tie-breaker to level at one each. "I think I played one of my better sets in the last couple months in the first set," Djokovic said.

"He surprised me with his aggressive approach. He was taking the ball early.

"In the second set I started playing a little bit more defensive and that allowed him to come back into the match. "In the third set I regrouped. I managed to stay calm mentally and find my rhythm again." Djokovic fired four aces and saved eight of eight break-point chances in the two

hour, 16 minute match. Nadal next plays unseeded David Nalbandian of Argentina, who came from behind to stun sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Nadal, who finished with four aces, challenged a call to get to match point, after the line judge called a shot on the baseline in. He won the point thanks to a video review that showed the ball was out. That got Nadal to match point and he clinched the victory when Dolgopolov hit a forehand long. "Being in the quarters is fantastic," Nadal said. "He is very difficult to

play against. He can produce winners from every part of the court. He's a funny player, good for tennis.

"I started very strong and he had a few mistakes, more than the usual on the backhand, which helped me out a bit."

Federer is chasing his fourth Indian Wells title after winning three straight times from 2004-2006.

The 30-year-old Swiss, who already has two titles in 2012, was making a quick turnaround after rallying to win the night match Tuesday against Canadian Milos Raonic in three sets. "It is always great to come through in a three setter," said Federer, who has been battling a flu bug this week. "I struggled early on to make the transition from night to day matches. I am happy and relieved to be through and still alive in the tournament."

Federer next faces ninth seed Juan Martin del Potro who outlasted Denis Istomin 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 in a two hour, 45 minute night match.

American John Isner defeated Australia's Matthew Ebden 6-4, 7-5.

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friday, 16 March, 2012

Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.

Editor: Arif Nizami, Executive Editor: Sarmad Bashir, Resident Editor: Rana Qaisar

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