e-paper pakistantoday 20th august, 2012

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assange tells Obama to end Wikileaks ‘witchhunt’ PAGE |19

an artist’s bid to bridge the india-Pakistan gap

Plagiarism charges: Fareed Zakaria off the hook

PAGE |03

PAGE |02

Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 55 19 pages islamabad — peshawar edition

Monday, 20 august, 2012 Shawwal 1, 1433

Lahore, Multan, Karachi under terror threat g

Mobile phone services blocked in several cities to foil potential terror attacks ISLAMABAD AgEncIES

Cellular services in several parts of the country were suspended on Sunday evening as Interior Minister Rehman Malik said there was credible information that anti-state elements would attempt to carry out terrorism in some cities, especially Lahore, Multan and Karachi, during Eidul Fitr festivities.

During a high-level meeting, Interior Minister Malik and officials

from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority decided that cellular phone services would be suspended for a few hours in certain areas to tackle the potential threats.

Malik said mobile services may be suspended in risk-prone areas during Eid prayers and for up to 2.5 hours in the evening due to terror threats. He, however, clarified that mobile services would not be shut across the country. In this connection, cellular service

providers were informed by the Interior Ministry that they might be asked to shut down services in certain areas of the country between August 19 and August 20. According to a letter issued by the ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell to the CEOs of the companies, the authority aims to cut off communication capabilities of miscreants and terrorists to foil their plans.The companies have been alerted beforehand so that action can be taken promptly, the

letter stated. TV channels reported that cellular services in Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Quetta were suspended on Sunday evening and citizens experienced connection problems throughout the night. The government had earlier blocked cellular services in Quetta on Independence Day to thwart terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, strict security measures have been put in place to ensure that citizens enjoy the Eid festivities in a safe and secure environment.

Us drOnes kill six mOre in nWa FO slams attacks as breach of country’s sovereignty MIRANSHAH AgEncIES

JALOZAI: Internally displaced tribesmen hug after offering Eidul Fitr prayers at Pakistan’s largest refugee camp on Sunday. afp | Story on page 24

‘Controversial commission’ may jeopardize new provinces’ demand ISLAMABAD TAyyAb HuSSAIn

With the announcement of an “incomplete and controversial commission” for creation of Southern Punjab and revival of provincial status of Bahawalpur, political sloganeering over the creation of new provinces is all set be jeopardized, despite the fact that the mainstream political parties have been playing to the popular demand of carving out smaller provincial units for over two years.

Almost all major political parties of the country, including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, PML-Quaid, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and others have been using the media to raise a voice for creating smaller provincial units.

On the contrary, all these parties’

governments, either in the Center or provinces, have violated the constitution by not holding local government elections since coming into power in 2008. Though President Asif Ali Zardari had sent a letter to National Assembly speaker for forming a commission on new provinces on May 30, it took Dr Fehmida Mirza to lay it before the House a month and eleven days while the commission which had been mandated in its terms of reference to submit its recommendations over the subject in one month, was formed incomplete after the delay of two-and-a-half months.

The PML-N has already raised its concern over the commission, with Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan claiming his party had not been contacted for its nominations and the nominations were made in isolation by the speaker and there was no rejoinder from the

speaker’s chamber who was in the US for a minor surgery. The NA speaker constituted the commission in pursuance of the message received from the president and authorization by the National Assembly on July 11, 2012. Despite the long delay, the speaker could gather the names of only 12 members of the commission while two members of the Punjab Assembly are yet to be nominated, said a notification issued to this effect by the National Assembly Secretariat.

“Two members of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab would be included as and when their nominations are received from the Speaker Provincial Assembly, Punjab,” added the notification. Talking to Pakistan Today, Saud Majeed, the commission member from the PML-N, said the commission had been formed to jeopardize the demand of new provinces. He said the commission

was so much controversial that his name was added without his information while the party had also distanced itself from the nomination.

“Even from PPP, no member voicing for provincial status fro Bahawalpur has been added and rather those opposing the demand have been added,” he claimed. The idea of creation of new provinces was actually conceived and raised by former information minister Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani who had submitted such a bill on June 25, 2009, with the Senate Secretariat seeking amendment in the constitution for facilitating the process of creating new provinces with a simple majority of parliament. Durrani had asked parliamentary committee on constitutional amendments headed by Raza Rabbani to include his bill Continued on page 04

Despite Pakistan’s protests against such attacks, two US drone strikes on Sunday killed at least six militants in North Waziristan Agency, close to the Afghan border, security officials said. That made it three missile attacks in two days in Shawal district of North Waziristan, after six militants were also killed there on Saturday.

Pakistan Foreign Office termed the attacks inside Pakistani territory a sheer violation of international laws. The Foreign Office condemned the attacks, saying they were against the sovereignty of Pakistan. “Pakistan always upheld this stand that these missile attacks are against wellbeing of country and they must be halted,” the Foreign Office said. North Waziristan is considered a bastion of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked insurgents. “At least two militants were killed and two others wounded when a US drone fired two missiles at the site of this morning’s attack, where militants were removing the wreckage of their two destroyed vehicles,” a security official told AFP. Another security official confirmed the latest attack and casualties. A drone strike earlier on Sunday killed four militants, officials said. The latest strikes came amid reports of a thaw in Pakistan’s generally deteriorating ties with the US following a visit to Washington by Pakistan’s spymaster, Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam, earlier this month.

Islam’s talks with his CIA counterpart were said to have focused on drone strikes. Attacks by unmanned American aircraft are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but US officials are said to believe the attacks are too important to give up. The latest attacks were in the same region where a drone strike on June 4 killed 15 militants including senior al Qaeda figure Abu Yahya al-Libi. In protest at the drone attacks, a Taliban and Pakistani warlord, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, has banned vaccinations in North and South Waziristan, putting 240,000 children in the region at risk.

Continued on page 04

The offices of Pakistan Today will remain closed on august 20 and 21st on account of eidul Fitr therefore there will be no publication on august 21 and 22nd.

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02 News foreign newS

newS

Fazl wants moon sighting committee restructured

today’s

cArtoon

Anti-Japan protests erupt in china over island row

Quick Look

Story on Page 09

Story on Page 05

President takes notice of arrest of minor Christian girl

Page 11

QuETTA: People buy sweets on the eve of Eidul Fitr on Sunday. Inp

ISLAMABAD APP

President Asif Ali Zardari has taken serious note of the arrest of a minor Christian girl in Islamabad on the charges of blasphemy and called for a report from the Interior Ministry. According to reports, 11year-old Rimsha was arrested and sent to jail for allegedly desecrating pages of the Holy Quran. Some reports also said that the girl was burning used papers collected from the garbage for cooking when someone entered her house and accused the family of burning the pages of Holy Quran. This provoked people of the katchi abadi who gathered and beat the mother and sister of Rimsha and also threatened to burn some houses of the Christians. While the Christian population is reported to have fled the area the police arrested the mother and sister of Rimsha, sending the latter to Adiala jail.

President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that President Zardari has called for a report within 24 hours and directed the authorities to protect the life and property of the minority community.

Fareed Zakaria off the hook NEWS DESK Fareed Zakaria is off the hook at both Time magazine and CNN after he admitted plagiarizing a New Yorker column last Friday. Zakaria, Time’s editor-at-large, was suspended for a month over his most recent column, which shared suspicious similarities to a earlier piece in the New Yorker. He admitted to making a “terrible mistake.”

He was also suspended indefinitely by CNN, and the Washington Post announced that it will not run his column this month. Time announced Thursday that upon investigating Zakaria’s columns, it has determined that the transgression was “an unintentional error” and “an isolated incident.” A spokesperson for the magazine said: We have completed a thorough review of each of Fareed Zakaria’s columns for TIME, and we are entirely satisfied that the language in question in his recent column was an unintentional error and an isolated incident for which he has apologized. We look forward to having Fareed’s thoughtful and important voice back in the magazine with his next column in the issue that comes out on September 7.

Obama wishes Muslims happy Eid WASHINGTON AFP

President Barack Obama wished Muslims well on Saturday for the feast of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. In the United States, Saturday was considered the 30th and final day of the dawn-to-dusk month of fasting this year, and Sunday will mark the start of the feast.

“Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to Muslim communities in the United States and around the world as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “For Muslims, Ramadan has been a time of fasting, prayer and spiritual renewal. These past four weeks have also been a time to serve the less fortunate — a reminder of the obligations that people of all faiths have to each other.” Wishing Muslims across the United States and around the world “Eid mubarak” (happy holiday), Obama said the celebrations in America speak to “the truth that communities of faith — including Muslim Americans — enrich our national life, strengthen our democracy and uphold our freedoms, including the freedom of religion.”

Monday, 20 August, 2012

Minister-backed education officials defy Sindh CS’s orders KARACHI

O

AFTAb cHAnnA

FFICIALS of the Sindh Education Ministry, having complete backing of Sindh’s Senior Minister for Education and Literacy Pir Mazharul Haq, are disobeying the orders of the Sindh chief secretary and education secretary, and are continuing with their jobs despite suspension from their services, Pakistan Today has learnt.

After several complaints of mismanagement, particularly in appointing more than 160 officials in various city colleges by Regional Director (Colleges) Karachi region Prof Rani Ghani Shaikh with the support of Deputy Director (HR) Syed Ali Abbas Tipu, inquiries have been initiated against the said officials, however, they are not ready to leave their posts.

The regional director and deputy director (HR) without going through the recruitment policy prepared a merit list on September 27, 2011, five days after the advertisement.

While hundreds of applications were received for the said posts, not a single candidate was selected from outside their own merit list.

Interestingly in many cases, the seats were auctioned off at Rs 400,000 to Rs 500,000.

Interestingly, the Sindh Accountant General has clearly refused to release the salaries for officials appointed by the Pir Mazhar-backed Regional Director Colleges Prof Rani Ghani Shaikh and Deputy Director (HR) Colleges Syed Ali Abbas Tipu.

The regional directorate had run an advertisement on September 5, 2011 for the appointment of non-teaching staff in city’s colleges. The posts were for computer operators (BPS-12), junior clerks (BPS-7), lab assistant (BPS-7), naib qasid (BPS-1), lab attendant (BPS-2/3), watchman and sweapers (BPs-1).

After the appointments were made, the Sindh accountant general through a letter No Edu-II/1680 sought from the directorate of colleges, the cutting of the leading newspaper under which the post had been advertised, necessary permission of competent

authority for appointment to various posts, copy of the approval list which was dully signed by the chairman, members of the DPC, details of vacant posts against which the relevant appointments were made and the dispatch numbers of all previous lists.

As the AG Sindh office showed reluctance to release the salaries, the Regional Director Colleges forwarded a letter No RD(C)K/Admn-IIM/P.F/813/2012 dated May 28, 2012 requesting the accounts officials for the release of monthly salary.

Interestingly, the chief secretary forwarded a letter No SOIII(S&GAD)3-36/2012 to regional director (Colleges) with the clear orders of her removal, however, to no avail.

“In exercise of powers conferred under section 4 of the Removal from Services (Special Powers), Sindh Ordinance 2000, the services of Professor Rani Ghani Shaikh (BS20) Regional Director COlleges Karachi are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect. The headquarters of Prof Rani Ghani Shaikh during the period of suspension shall be at Education and Literacy Department”, according to a letter exclusively available with Pakistan Today.

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News 03 ArtS & entertAinMent

buSineSS

SPortS

Saif Ali Khan’s daughter to make a film with yRF?

Waiting for technical signals

David claims second Australian Open crown

editoriAl Two eids, yes: Get over it already

coMMent Arif Ansar says; The spreading strife: Is the state unwilling or unable?

Rabia Ahmed says; Vote-a-tote: The ECP might register the people, but who will get them to the booth?

Syed Hassan belal Zaidi says; The real enemy: An empty stomach leaves one open to exploitation. People become puppets in the hands of those with the message and the money.

Story on Page 12

Story on Page 18

Story on Page 15

Articles on Page 14 — 15

ProCureMent of Boeing 777 airCraft

TI alleges PIA agreed to violating PPRA rules ISLAMABAD

W

Alert driver stops train just short of a bomb QUETTA: The Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express on Sunday averted a catastrophe after its driver stopped the train just short of a bomb. Police said that after leaving Quetta, the train was on its way near Kolpur when the driver of the locomotive saw a suspected item attached to the railway track. “The driver immediately stopped the train and informed Pakistan Railways officials,” police said, adding that a team of bomb disposal squad reached the site. After examination, the team found out that the suspicious item was an improvised explosive device (IED) fitted with the railway track to target the train. A P P

TAyyAb HuSSAIn

ITH reference to the allegations of violation of Public Procurement Rules 2004 by Pakistan International Airlines in procurement of two Boeing 777 aircraft on lease, the Transparency International Pakistan has alleged that the management of PIA had agreed to its allegations submitted with the Supreme Court of Pakistan that PPRA Rule 10 of the Public Procurement Rules 2004 did not allow mentioning of brand names in tender specifications.

“The TI-Pakistan has not received a reply from PIA to its comments dated August 15, 2012, but has noted the press release of PIA published in newspapers on August 18, 2012. We are grateful to PIA as by issuing this clarification in the press, PIA has agreed with the TIP’s comments submitted in the Supreme Court that PPRA Rule 10 of the Public Procurement Rules 2004 does not allow mentioning of brands names in tender specifications,” TIP adviser Adil Gilani said in a letter sent to the chairman and CEO of the Pakistan International Airlines.

PPR Rule No 10 Specifications say, “Specifications shall allow the widest possible competition and shall not favor any single contractor or supplier nor put others at a disadvantage. Specifications shall be generic and shall not include references to brand names, model numbers, catalogue numbers or similar classifications.”

PIA’s clarification dated August 18 said, “The TIP earlier blamed PIA for specifying brand names for the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The same was very much in line with the PPRA Rules as the same type of aircraft is already being operated by PIA in its fleet. Induction of the same type of aircraft results in huge savings in terms of cabin and cockpit crew, maintenance engineers and spare parts commonality. Now again TIP is accusing PIA for not specifying Engine Brands and may acquire B777 aircraft with Pratt and Whitney instead of GE Engines. Such strange logic of TIP on specifying brand names is beyond understanding. PIA did not specify the brand name of the engines and would be acquiring aircraft with lowest cost to PIA.” The TIP adviser argued how could PIA claim that “Boeing 777-800” was not a brand name, and that

PPRA allowed PIA for only leasing of only “Boeing 777-800”, whereas PIA itself had now admitted in August 18 press report that stating that PIA did not name the engines (i.e. GE Engine) was not allowed under PPRA as it was a brand name.

“Kindly note that PIA does not have any discretion to circumvent PPRA Rules in same tender, by using two different criteria for use of brand names and not use of brand names,” Gilani said.

In its letter dated August 15, 2012, the TIP had pointed out that PIA was in fact circumventing PPRA Rules as it deemed fit for PIA manipulation. “Press release of August 18 also confirms that PIA’s reason that it had opted for Boeing aircraft because was presently operating Boeing 777-800, (another false statements as PIA dos not have any 777-800, but it has only Boeing 777-200, 777-200ER and 777-300 ER), and the PIA will have savings in terms of cabin and cockpit crew, maintenance engineers and spare parts commonality, and that any additional crew requirement will be easy to fulfill due to availability of trained instructors,” added the letter.

“But the matter of fact is that PIA has trained engineers and spare parts for General Electric GE 90

Engines, and not for Pratt & Whitney 400 engines.

In case of this procumbent, PIA therefore will have to spend extra funds to get their engineers trained on Pratt & Whitney 400 engines and also buy and keep enough additional spares for Pratt & Whitney 400 engines, as each Engine costs approximately US $ 25 million.”

“And this is a contradictory situation, as the PIA is going for lease of only Boeing Aircrafts, and not considering Airbus, as 12 Airbus A310-300 aircraft are reported to be in PIA fleet, which are equivalent to Boring 777-800,” he added.

Gilani reiterated that the TIP stood by its statement that PIA had made a wrong statement in the Supreme Court that mentioning of the B-737 aircraft was, therefore, covered under the relevant clauses of PPRA rules, and that use of any brand name was not allowed under Rule No 10, and the Supreme Court had to adjudicate the HR Case No 49143 – S/2011.

He also forwarded copies of his letter to the Public Accounts Committee chairman, the NAB chairman, the Supreme Court registrar, in Human Rights Case No 49143 – S/2011, the Ministry of Defense secretary, the PPRA MD and the PIA board members.

an artist’s bid to bridge the India-pakistan gap NEWS DESK A truck artist, Haider Ali is committed to bridge gap between people of India and Pakistan by exhibiting their shared culture, communal harmonies, human heroes , heritage buildings in a colorful pattern of paintings on trucks both in India and Pakistan.

Having roots in India, Haider Ali is all committed to promote Indo Pak friendship through his creative art of truck painting which, according to him, spreads message of peace and showcase cultures of different regions through the length and breath of Pakistan.

Haider Ali, 32, is in India to paint his first truck at Sarhad, a restaurant near Attari border. While talking to Times Of India on Sunday, he said many persons who had migrated to Pakistan from different cities and were in transport business would ask him to paint symbolic buildings of their region

or common heroes on their trucks. “Person from Agra would want Taj Mahal , another person from Delhi would want to see Jama Maszid on his truck and similarly someone from Peshawar region of Pakistan would like to get Kyber Gate painted on his truck” he said while adding that demand was endless as everyone wanted to decorate their trucks.

He said his father Mohammad Sardar hailed from Jalandhar and was a painter by profession. Most common themes of truck painting were the joint culture of Indo Pak villages like women sitting near well, drawing water from well, taking food for her husband to fields. “Both countries share similar culture and depiction of the same gives me immense pleasure as it helps bridging differences among people”.

Bolloywood crazy truck drivers and owners first choice was getting their trucks painted with photographs of

Ashiwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit , Mamta Kulkarni and many liked Lady Diana’s and folk singer Atta Ullaha Khan’s paintings. On an average a truck driver or owner shell out anything between Rs 3 to 5 lakhs for the painting a truck, flouresecne tape and other steel material costs extra.

He has painted a truck for 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival for Rs 15 lakh and have also painted a vintage Bedford truck during an exhibition held

by Luton Cultural Service Trust. He said it takes 2 to 25 members of team to paint a big truck- depending on the work. Aman Jaspal , owner of the restaurant said he had met Haider Ali during one of his trip to Pakistan and was impressed to see his truck painting art and decided to introduce him in India . Haider said many local truck and tractor owners had started approaching him for getting their vehicles painted in typical Pakistani style.

Monday, 20 August, 2012

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04 News Us drOnes kill six mOre in nWa Continued fRoM page 01

He has condemned the immunization campaign as a cover for espionage. In May, a Pakistani doctor was jailed for 33 years after helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden using a hepatitis vaccination programme as cover.

Washington considers Pakistan’s semiautonomous northwestern tribal belt the main hub of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan. The al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington.

Washington has long demanded that Pakistan take action against the Haqqanis, whom the United States accused of attacking the US embassy in Kabul last September and acting like a “veritable arm” of Pakistani intelligence.

Pakistan has in turn demanded that Afghan and US forces do more to stop Pakistani Taliban crossing the Afghan border to relaunch attacks on its forces. There has been a dramatic increase in US drone strikes in Pakistan since May, when a NATO summit in Chicago could not strike a deal to end a six-month blockade on convoys transporting supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan. On July 3 however, Islamabad agreed to end the blockade after the United States apologized for the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers in botched air strikes last November.

‘Controversial commission’ Continued fRoM page 01

as the 19th Amendment, but it was rejected by the committee due to the narrow-mindedness of the members. “I am quite concerned the way commission has been formed. This might jeopardise the entire concept of smaller units carving. This is something alarming. However, I hope better sense will prevail as the president looks focused and committed to the cause of new provinces,” he added. “My bill had sought making the procedure of formation/creation of new provinces simplified and reflective of wishes and wishes of the people of the country for faster development of the country. It is imperative to form new provinces of a manageable size. This will not only make the administration easy but the under-developed areas will be able to make rapid progress,” Senator Durrani said while talking to Pakistan Today. “The foremost need today is adaptability to the demands of the changing times and to introduce international administrative practices into our system. To better address to the needs of growing populations, nations around the world have formed new and smaller administrative units.

But we have failed to do so since 1947. We urgently need to follow the success story adopted by our neighbors decades back,” he added. He said developed countries made considerable efforts to promote good governance by forming smaller administrative units for better delivery system of justice, basic human rights and development. However, “the greed of ruling elites in Pakistan to centralize power has remained a constant factor for over more than half a century. To ensure good governance, we need to look through a much broader and selfless perspective and not just as a land of five metropolitan cities which eat away 70 percent of our resources and are growing by each day”, he added. Considering the huge population and weak institutions of the country, power needs to be decentralized.

From the US to Spain, decentralization has played a major role in democratic development and high quality of governance.

“But there is a tendency of our leadership to put more and more resources to the federal and provincial capitals rather than devolving them to the under developed cities and districts for the common good of the people,” he added. Asked to elaborate his viewpoint, Senator Durrani said even minor decisions were being made by every chief minister and for a population of 81.5 million in Punjab, there was one health secretary, one education minister, one finance minister, one housing secretary and so on, who can’t even look after affairs of central Punjab. “Resources need to be decentralized not only to provinces, but there is a dire need to make sure distribution of resources to all districts and tehsils on headcount basis. I have demanded smaller administrative units with a purely nationalistic approach which has no relation of any sort to linguistic or ethnic bias,” he added.

Monday, 20 August, 2012

JALOZAI: Internally displaced children play with toy guns during Eidul Fitr celebrations at Jalozai refugee camp on Sunday. afp

Iraq helping Iran skirt sanctions WASHINGTON

I

AFP

RAQ is helping its neighbor Iran skirt international sanctions by smuggling oil and letting Tehran secretly move large amounts of cash through bank auctions, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Last month, US President Barack Obama singled out the Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq, saying it had arranged transactions worth tens of millions of dollars with Iranian banks already under sanctions because of alleged links to Tehran’s nuclear program.

But the Times said the bank was only part of a network of financial institutions and oil-smuggling operations that have helped funnel cash to the Islamic republic as sanctions choke its economy. David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the United States is “actively pursuing efforts to prevent Iran from evading US or international financial sanctions, in Iraq or anywhere else.”

Iraqi government officials are turning

a blind eye to the large money transfers, smuggling and other trade with Iran and some are making a direct profit from the activities, the Times said, citing current and former US and Iraqi officials, as well as banking and oil experts.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki effectively controls Iraq’s central bank and is “right in the middle of this,” a former US intelligence official told the newspaper. It said that Iranian groups all but control at least four Iraqi commercial banks through Iraqi intermediaries, giving Tehran direct access to the international financial system from which it was supposed to have been shut out through the sanctions. Trade between Iran and Iraq has rapidly increased since the 2003 US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein, reaching an estimated $11 billion a year, according to the Times. Iraqi government spokesman Ali alDabbagh insisted that Iraq “is not intending to break any rules.” However, he added: “we also have good relations with Iran that we do not want to break.” The Times said that large-scale smuggling of oil and oil products is on the rise, with Baghdad doing little to stop the “highly organized” effort.

‘tumor’ of israel biggest problem for islamic world: iran TEHRAN: The “cancerous tumour” of Israel is the biggest problem confronting Muslim countries today, Iran’s supreme leader said on Sunday, repeating an epithet slammed just days earlier by UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US and EU officials. In a speech marking Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “the big powers have dominated the destiny of the Islamic countries for years and... installed the Zionist cancerous tumour in the heart of the Islamic world,” according to the official IRNA news agency. “Many of the Islamic world’s problems come from the existence of the sham Zionist regime,” he was quoted as saying. The “tumour” characterisation was a repeat of terms Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have long used to portray Israel as an illegitimate state in the Middle East that will inevitably disappear. In the most recent incidents, last Wednesday Khamenei called Israel a “bogus and fake Zionist outgrowth” and Ahmadinejad on Friday said: “The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour.” Those expressions were met with condemnation on Friday by the UN’s Ban, the United States, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and France’s foreign ministry. Ban, whom Iran has invited to attend a summit in Tehran at the end of the month, was “dismayed” by the “offensive and inflammatory statements,” according to his spokesman. Ashton’s office and a spokesman for the US National Security Council both slammed the remarks as “hateful”, while a French foreign ministry spokesman said they were “outrageous and totally unacceptable.” afp

World must brace for higher food prices: experts Continued fRoM page 19

US commodities analyst, AgResource Company president Dan Basse told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last week that the Australian harvest could play a role in easing the food shortage.

“We need every metric tonne of wheat and grain the Australian farmers can produce,” Basse said.

“Anything that the Australian farmer can do to assure or boost his production should be profitable in the year ahead.” JeanRene Buisson, head of France’s national association of food industries (ANIA) said: “All products based on cereals, including meat, will be affected by price increases, not necessarily by September, but definitely during 2013.”

In China, food prices are considered politically sensitive and account for up to a third of a

consumer’s average monthly budget, government statistics show.

China has reined in inflation as its economy slows however, while its grain output stood at 1.3 trillion tonnes in the first half of the year, up 2.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The Financial Times (FT) said concerns over the US harvest had prompted senior G20 and United Nations officials to consider an emergency meeting on food supply, with a conference call on the issue scheduled for August 27. The newspaper cited officials as saying the talks were not a sign of panic but rather reflected the need to establish a consensus to avoid a repeat of the riots and tensions sparked in 2007-08 by spiking food prices.

Major concerns include hoarding or export restrictions by food producing countries, along with panic buying by others. Also crucial is the balance between the use of grain as

a direct source of food and its role as animal feed or as a basis for motor fuels. FAO director general Jose Graziano da Silva of Brazil called in the FT for the United States to suspend biofuel production programmes to ease the pressure on food resources.

“An immediate, temporary suspension” of a mandate to reserve some crops for biofuels “would give some respite to the market and allow more of the (corn) crop to be channelled towards food and feed uses,” he wrote. A region where food is in chronic shortage is the Sahel region of Africa, where the number of malnourished children is estimated to have hit a new high of 1.5 million as cholera and locusts emerge as new threats, UNICEF has warned.

The relief agency World Vision Australia said 18 million people need food assistance in Niger, Mali, Chad, Mauritania and Senegal.

Muslims celebrate eidul fitr in gulf, africa, europe, uS MAKKAH OnLInE

Muslims in Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, Africa, Europe, the US and Far-East Asia celebrated Eidul Fitr on Sunday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Thousands of Muslims gathered at the Masjidul Haram and Masjid-e-Nabvi to offer their Eidul Fitr prayers.

Saudi King Shah Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman Abdul Aziz, Home Minister Prince Ahmad and Makkah Governor Prince Khalid

Al Faisal offered their prayers at Masjid-ulHaram.

Muslims in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Syria, Palestine, Libya, Jordan, Qatar, Yemen, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Philippine, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore celebrated Eid on Sunday. The festival was also marked in Nigeria, Libya, Somalia, Egypt and other African countries. Indian and Bangladeshi Muslims will celebrate Eidul Fitar today (Monday).

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News 05 Next elections should be conducted under armed forces’ supervision, says Musharraf DUBAI OnLInE

Former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf has asked the chief election commissioner to conduct the next general elections in the supervision of the armed forces. Addressing an Iftar dinner from Catholic Club to Dubai via video link, Musharraf was of the view that fair and transparent general elections would bring a change in the country, adding that he would announce the date of his return to Pakistan prior to the next general elections. Musharraf termed terrorism a curse and stressed that the menace should be shackled. “Sectarianism is destroying the country.” He said he had no knowledge of who was involved in the Karachi unrest.

Musharraf said he had resigned from the seat of the president nearly four years ago because there was no need of his remaining in power after the election of new assemblies and parliament.

ISLAMAbAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf gives gift and Eidi to a little girl at the children Ward of Federal government Services Hospital on Sunday. InP

Govt allocates Rs 38.7b for less developed areas ISLAMABAD OnLInE

The government has allocated an amount of Rs 38.7 billion in the financial year 2012-13 in a bid to accelerate development for lesser developed regions in the country.

According to the Planning Commission, Rs 5 billion have been provided for the People’s Works Program–I, as suggested by the Cabinet Division; Rs 0.19 billion have been set aside for other projects reflected in the Narcotics Control Division; and Rs 0.35 billion for Interior Division for development projects and special packages for militancy affected areas in Malakand, Swat. An amount of Rs 33.2 billion has been earmarked as block allocation for development activities in special areas for which administrations of the areas concerned are authorized to allocate funds to respective projects according to their own priorities. During the financial year 2012-13, highest priority has been given to ongoing schemes nearing completion.

These development activities include federal vertical programs being implemented in various sectors, such as power generation projects, health sector program, family planning, education projects, and development projects in FATA against poppy cultivation.

Fazl wants moon sighting committee restructured

DERA ISMAIL KHAN AgEncIES

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman has expressed concerns over the performance of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, and suggested amendment in its scope of workability. Talking to reporters after leading Eidul Fitr prayers in his native village Abdul Khel here on Sunday, Fazl said that the performance of the Reut-e-Hilal committee was “not up to the mark and it needed restructuring” to reduce confrontation on various issues, particularly on moon sighting among various sects of the four provinces. The JUI-F chief urged the parliamentarians to transact legislation over the issue to resolve the issue permanently. He said that there were differences within the Reut-e-Hilal committee, and questioned how a divided body could take the right decision.

eid feLiCitationS

President and PM urge people to work for peace ISLAMABAD

T

APP

HE prime minister and president in sending felicitation of Eid to the general public have exhorted people to remember the real spirit of Eid and they especially stressed the need for working towards making Pakistan a better place by struggling for societal harmony and fighting against the evils plaguing our society in their Eid messages.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has urged the nation to work towards making Pakistan a hub of peace by refraining from anti-social activities, particularly extremism and sectarianism.

The prime minister, in his message on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, said, “Eid-ul-Fitr is a day of peace, tranquility and harmony. Let us resolve to dedicate ourselves to spend our energies and resources for the welfare of humanity in accordance with Islamic teachings.”

PM Ashraf extended heartiest felicitations to the nation, the Muslim world and the overseas Pakistanis on Eid-ulFitr and said one should thank Allah Almighty for having the blessed opportunity to fast in Ramazan.

He said Eid-ul-Fitr is a reward bestowed by Allah Almighty on the Muslims for fasting during the holy month of Ramazan. He said Muslims fast to

win favor of Allah and express their gratitude and happiness on Eid-ul-Fitr on the successful fulfillment of this religious duty.

The prime minister said Eid-ul-Fitr is a manifestation of the sublime values of Islam, which fosters piety, selflessness, sacrifice, brotherhood and empathy among the Muslims. On this day, he said the Muslims reiterate their pledge to strengthen their relationship of brotherhood, love and tolerance by setting aside their internal differences.

He said Eid enjoins upon us to remember the less-privileged, destitute and poor segments of the society and share joys with them.

He said Eid-ul-Fitr is also an occasion for reiteration of the glorious lessons of Ramazan for the rest of the year. President Asif Ali Zardari has called for rejecting extremist trends and negative propaganda of misguided elements in the country by promoting the Islamic teachings of tolerance and affinity.

The president, in his message to the nation on Eid-ul-Fitr, said that a society developed on such lines would be helpful in resolving the issues of extremism and violence.

The president mentioned the recent incident of firing by miscreants on the passenger buses in Lulusar (GilgitBaltistan) and said such acts of sectarianism and violence are completely against the teachings of Islam.

Similarly, he said, the terrorist attack in Kamra, which was foiled by the courage and valour of the country’s armed forces, clearly violated the spirit of Islam.

President Zardari felicitated the nation on Eid and expressed gratitude to Allah Almighty for granting all an opportunity to celebrate this festive occasion.

He said Eid-ul-Fitr is a day that concludes the blessed month of Ramazan, marking it with a note of thankfulness.

“To express gratitude before Allah Almighty, we need to spend our lives in line with His true, glowing and balanced teachings. This is the righteous way that leads to the attainment of success in the life here and hereafter, and makes one’s self get closer to Allah Almighty,” he said. The President said the real happiness of Eid can be felt only by sharing it with poor relatives, neighbors and needy brothers and sisters on this occasion.

“This is only possible by shaping our lives in accordance with the golden principles of Islam and by shunning hatred, animosity, greed and malice.

Moreover, we need to promote in our ranks love and affinity, tolerance, generosity and endurance,” he said. He said by following these ethical standards, a society can be reformed which is truly in line with the aspirations of Islam. The president also prayed that may Allah Almighty bless everyone with real pleasure and bliss of Eid.

Former MPA Jamali escapes attempt on life NAWABSHAH InP

Former member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Rahim Bux Jamali on Sunday narrowly escaped an attempt on his life at a mosque.

According to details, unidentified armed men attacked Jamali as he entered the mosque of Nawabshah Housing Society. However, Jamali survived the attack with serious wounds and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Police said the attack seemed to be an outcome of personal enmity, as the former lawmaker was in a dispute over land ownership with the peasants of the area.

Jets bomb militant hideouts in Khyber, 6 killed BARA InP

At least six militants were killed and five others were injured in shelling by security forces on suspected hideouts of extremists here on Sunday.

According to details, the security forces targeted the suspected hideouts in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency with jet planes. One hideout was destroyed in the shelling, resulting in the death of six militants, and leaving five others injured. Sources said the militants killed in the offensive belonged to the banned Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP).

Human rights activists call for end to misuse of blasphemy law ISLAMABAD AgEncIES

Human rights activists, including Ansar Burney, have called for the release of 11year-old Rimsha Masih who has been charged with burning a Noorani Qaida in Islamabad.

“This case is a glaring example of how the blasphemy laws are misused,” said Pakistan People’s Party Central Coordinator Dr Nafisa Shah. She said the administration should have first investigated the matter before detaining the girl, who is suffering from Down Syndrome. Shah said that all political parties and religious leaders must come together to find a solution to this issue which is creating insecurity among the minorities. “It is important to build consensus

and recognize that there is a need to find ways to prevent such incidents where poor and disadvantaged communities are falsely charged,” she said.

The PPP Human Rights Cell proposed that in any such event, the law must allow leadership of religious communities and district administration to jointly inquire into the matter before registration of the complaint and arrest.

Separately, Ansar Burney, chairman of Ansar Burney Trust International, demanded Rimsha’s immediate release.

Burney said that scores of Pakistanis have been harassed and implicated in false cases instituted by misusing the country’s blasphemy laws. “Additionally, allegations of blasphemy have led to assassinations, extrajudicial killings and threats to life and property,” he added.

Dr Nafisa Shah

Ansar Burney

Monday, 20 August, 2012

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Monday, 20 August, 2012

Eat Pray Love Eid!

The joy of last-minute shopping, the haggling for getting the recipe right, the little leap of the heart when Dada Abu starts distributing eidi, all signify the hope we have in each other and the love we share ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

R

AMADAN in the hottest months of the year tested the mettle of the fasting faithful. What with the heat, unrelenting load shedding and inflation, people from all walks of life felt the message of Ramadan truly sink in. But as the holy month comes to a close and the most celebrated day of the year arrives, people dismiss all obstacles and flock towards markets and shopping malls, because come what may, Eid must be celebrated in style.

There were a lot of fervent shoppers bustling through stalls trying to get the best deals on the best items. Men tagging along their wives and children, laden with shopping bags, sweating and sighing are a sight to behold, but nothing could bring their spirits down a day before Eid! “I’m shopping for new clothes, shoes and a watch. My wife and kids all fasted and are with me right now. The kids are so excited and I’m buying them new clothes but it’s too expensive this year so maybe we might not be able to buy all that we need,” said Yasir Ahmed, a banker and father of three.

Shopping is more than just a necessity for the women, it’s a passion.

Rukhsana Latafat, a harried shopper laden with bags of all sizes said, “I’m trying to look for matching shoes with my blue dress for Eid.

There’s a great variety of colors and patterns for shoes here, but I just can’t find the right color.

Let me know if you come across any!”

“What girl doesn’t love shopping? It’s the best part of Eid- buying new clothes, shoes, bangles, dressing up etc,” said Arifa Atif, a student, “but Ramadan this year was very hard. It was very hot and electricity shortage was at its peak.

I don’t even cook and I felt awful for mothers and cooks who spend hours in the kitchen staying hungry so they can cook for those of us who sit in air conditioned rooms and complain.

Imagine Ramadan for people working on the streets, farms and guards, etc.”

Inflation was one of the biggest problems customers faced while shopping.

Bakhtawar Ali, an insurance agent, agreed, “Things have become really expensive we come all the way to find cheap deals in this bazar.

You’ll find a lot of variety here and it’s really easy to haggle with shopkeepers. The place is packed and you’ll find all sorts of people here.

Ramadan was the way it is every year, although the heat and load shedding did indeed add to the suffering.

Of course for mothers, family comes first and a lot of mothers with children in a tow were seen shopping for their kids.

Mahjabeen Latif, a housewife, said, “We’re enjoying the preparations for Eid a lot and so we've come to this bazar to shop for some Eid clothes. I have my two little kids with me and

I'm looking for a smart suit for my son and a pretty dress for my daughter. If their eyes catch a toy they particularly like, they insist so much that I have to buy that for them too. My husband doesn't appreciate it but what can I do? I can’t see their little hearts being broken when it’s almost Eid!” Indeed Eid is a time for families to get together and celebrate.

Ammad Rehman traveled all the way from Connecticut, USA, to spend Ramadan and Eid with his loved ones.

He had enjoyed Ramadan a lot, saying, “It was pretty good. Took a day or two to get into the routine because of the summers and I looked forward to meeting my family. Nothing is more relaxing and entertaining than spending time with your family on Eid.” Pre-Eid euphoria is manifest most in shopkeepers. This is the busiest time of the year for them, and with business booming, they have every reason to celebrate.

“Ramadan is usually the best time of the year for us since our businesses thrive in the run up to Eid, people come from all across the city to shop at our fabric store and it gives us a little extra as well to spend for our families so we can make it an extra special day on Eid!” said Ahmad Khan, owner of a fabrics store.

For some shopkeepers the going got a little tough, “I work here in the market; work gets hard during Ramadan even though the working

hours are shorter, but work we must! So we wait for the Eid celebrations to start and this year just like every other hopefully, we’ll celebrate it with the same enthusiasm and joy. Eid is happiest for the kids and we adults get caught up in the festive mood too,” said Raza Obaid a shopkeeper.

Markets all over the city are decked with twinkling lights and anticipation is in the air. It is as if something wonderful is about to happen, and indeed, Eid is a wonderful day as people all over the world bid adieu to the hard month of Ramadan and look forward to new Islamic year.

“The stalls are beautifully decorated and you can feel an air of festivity. In most market places there is extreme family oriented environment which makes you want to go out and celebrate Eid.” said Sanaa Khan, a research analyst.

Nisha Ali added , “This doesn’t look like the same place I drive through every single day!

With colorful bangles and fairy lights everywhere the place has transformed completely.

Families and youngsters can be seen having a great time.”

With Eid just a few hours away, one can only express hope that it is a joyous day for every person in the country, for happiness is for everyone.

We do not have Christmas and Thanksgiving, we do not celebrate Halloween and Easter. But we do have two wonderful Eids in a year, and the one fast approaching should only just be peaceful, happy and comfortable. Eid Mubarak!

75 percent of world’s population has access to cell phones: ADB ISLAMABAD OnLInE

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said in its latest report that with some 6 billion mobile subscriptions in use worldwide, around threequarter of the world's inhabitants now has ac-

cess to a mobile phone.

The Asian Development Bank report said that the world was home to 7 billion people, one third of which were using the internet and 45 per cent of the world's internet users were below the age of 25, whereas internet users in China represented almost 25 per cent of the world's

total users.

It said growth in mobile technology was driven by developing countries, which accounted for more than 80 per cent of the 660 million new subscriptions added in the previous year. The world's top broadband economies are from Europe and Asia and the Pacific. In the Re-

public of Korea, mobile-broadband penetration exceeds 90 per cent.

“Rapid advances in information and communications technology (ICT) have created tremendous opportunities for economic and social gains in the world's poorest areas,” the report added.

ISB 20-08-2012_Layout 1 8/19/2012 10:52 PM Page 7

Islamabad 07 islamabad depicts a deserted look ahead of eidul Fitr ISLAMABAD AgEncIES

I

SLAMABAD gave a totally deserted look on Sunday as an overwhelming majority of its residents left for their native towns after the announcement of three Eid holidays by the government. Most of the population of Islamabad consists of people belong-

ing to different parts of the country and come here in search of jobs, businesses and education. Twice a year they leave the city for their villages to celebrate Eid with their families.

The main markets, public places and major markets including the blue area were totally closed on Sunday as people working there went home for Eid. Contrary to the huge crowd of the

past few days at the bus stands and railway station, there were very few people seen waiting for public transport which had also suddenly disappeared from the roads.

The desertion of the capital city before Eid is not a new sight as it happens on both Eids every year. As a result, the people who are left behind and who mostly do petty jobs to earn

their buck have been finding it difficult to get eatables because all the eateries have been closed down.

The public transport plying between the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi was very limited as many people had hired most vehicles to leave for their native towns and the number of people coming to Islamabad for jobs was limited. Only those working for the

essential services were seen around Islamabad.

Meanwhile, security arrangements in the capital were placed at high alert.

Police pickets were added on all entry and exit points of the city, as well as on the main roads of the capital. Patrolling police mobiles have been the most visible vehicles on main city roads in the last few days.

new spell of monsoon rains from today ISLAMABAD AgEncIES

Met Office has predicted a new spell of monsoon rains in the country from today (Monday).

According to details provided by the Met Office, monsoon currents would enter the upper parts of the country on Sunday due to which a new spell of rains would start in parts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper parts of the country from Monday and would last till Wednesday.

The country witnessed a decrease in the monsoon rains during the past week as a result of which the mercury had started to rise.

Highest temperature during the past 24 hours was recorded in Dalbandin where the mercury soared up to 45 degree centigrade.

20 profiteers fined by district administration ISLAMABAD OnLInE

District administration has slapped a fine of Rs 7000 on 20 profiteers who were involved in the over-pricing of daily use commodities.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Aamir Ali Ahmad checked a total of 43 shops located in F-6’s Farooqia Market, Rawat Bazaar, Bhara Kahu, F-7’s Faisal Market and Lohi Bher areas, and fined 20 shopkeepers over failure to install price lists at their shops.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the action would be enforced till the last day of Ramazan, and weekly bazaars would be regularly checked after Eid.

Accident claims 4 lives, injures six RAWALPINDI OnLInE

A coach travelling from Rawalpindi to Bagh district of Azad Kashmir met an accident in Kotli Sattiyan near Mirzapur on Sunday.

The accident claimed the lives of four passengers while six others were injured in the incident.

The accident occurred when the coach driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into a shop.

ISLAMAbAD: A view of busiest road of a federal capital gives deserted look on the eve of Eidul Fitr. Inp

Security

intensified for eid ISLAMABAD OnLInE

I

SLAMABAD Police has organized a special security plan on the occasion of Eidul-Fitr. Security cameras have been installed in all big malls of the city and police help lines have

also been established at different locations of the city.

According to officials of Islamabad Police, the security plan had been constituted after the interior ministry asked the law-enforcing agencies to remain on high alert during Eid days. More than 2000 police personnel would be on duty

at various sensitive parts of the city.

Walk-through gates would also be installed at the entrance of mosques and other venues selected for Eid congregations.

The security of all important buildings and that of the Red Zone, Prime Minister House and Presidency would also be intensified.

administration’s intervention hampers tax collection at full potential ISLAMABAD OnLInE

An official source said on Sunday that the intervention of tax administration in the presence of complex compliance procedures is hampering the exploitation of full tax potential.

The official said that the Framework for Economic Growth (FEG) had described narrow tax base and high enforcement costs as the major problems in resource mobilization.

The reform process which was initiated under Tax Administration Reform Project (TARP) has yet to materialize into a higher tax-to-GDP ratio.

This reform includes the rais-

ing of tax revenue through improved compliance with tax laws and broadening of the tax base.

Improving effectiveness, responsiveness and efficiency of tax administration through institutional and procedural reforms is also a part of the overall agenda, while improving collection through transparent and high quality tax services and strengthening audit and enforcement procedures is also important in this regard.

However, the official said that even after several years of the reform effort, the tax policy remained complex, and favored an elected few while corruption and poor administration had weakened collection and allowed vested interests to prevail.

He added that tax administration reforms should be based on amending the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 and Sales Tax Act 1990 so to limit the discretionary power of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and to improve the administration, the auditing system and the tax refunds system.

The official stressed the need to simplify the tax system and tax administration by creating onewindow cells for tax registrations at the sub-national level to federal, provincial and local government. He added that reforming data warehouse in FBR with assistance from NADRA would help them to check multiple bank accounts of tax payers.

education board website goes numb RAWALPINDI OnLInE

The web site of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi is causing severe problems to students due to frequent jamming.

The problem has persisted from Friday onwards and has caused problems for students and parents who have been trying to submit their applications for registration in the supplementary matriculation exams.

Various excuses had been given by the officials of the board which include problems in uploading of data and frequent black-outs.

Search operations net 17 suspects ISLAMABAD OnLInE

The Bani-Gala police have netted17 suspects after massive search operations carried out in the city on Sunday.

The search operation was carried out in Jaykot, Kari, Sewra and other localities and included the checking of 55 homes and 300 people. 15 additional buildings were also scanned during the operation.

Those arrested had failed to provide any credible proof of their identities and were taken away by police personnel for further investigation.

Monday, 20 August, 2012

ISB 20-08-2012_Layout 1 8/19/2012 10:53 PM Page 8

08 Islamabad weAther uPdAteS

32 °c high 26°c low

Partly cloudy

tueSdAy wedneSdAy 31°c i 27°c

31°c i 26°c

thurSdAy

many Pakistanis take eid as a cue to start a never-ending eat-all-you-can party and once they are done, they choose to go to sleep. however, eid can be a lot more too! here are a few tips that will help you include your family and friends in the festivities and make it a joyful and healthy experience.

31°c i 26°c

PrAyer tiMingS fajr Sunrise 03:55 05:24

zuhr 12:13

Asr 15:56

Maghrib 19:00

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seT UP a Family giFT exchange city directory

cOOk ThOse delicacies eMergency helP

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Make something special which the family does not normally eat, it can be sweet, sour or in-between. The point is that Eid is special, and the food we eat on this day should be better and different from our usual meals.

Put each family member’s name in a Kufi and have each person pull one out. Whoever picks a person’s name has to buy or make that person a gift. One catch: babies have to get gifts from everyone. If you are not into the gift exchange idea and want everyone to get a present try this. Arts and crafts are the best tool for making these gifts. They are personal and cheap, and save useless trips to the shopping center. You can have the kids collect all of the odds and ends they find during the Eid house clean up in a box.

hoSPitAlS MAhroof int PiMS Poly clinic cdA ShifA internAtionAl Ali diStrict hqS ultrASonic clinic holy fAMily

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Teach children hOW TO sacriFice

VideO recOrd eid day eVenTs

What could be better than grandma and granddad telling the rest of the family how they used to spend their Eid? Huddle around them with tea and take a trip down their memory lane.

From the time everyone wakes up in the morning till everyone conks out happily at the end of Eid day, video record this Eid to make it memorable. It will probably make a hilarious piece of family history as well. Give the responsibility for recording to one of the responsible, technologically adept members of the family.

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What could be better than grandma and granddad telling the rest of the family how they used to spend their Eid? Huddle around them with tea and take a trip down their memory lane.

lOOk FOr ThOse WhO are alOne At the Eid prayer place, where a lot of hugging goes on, you will find some Muslims standing alone. Do hug them and greet them. If possible invite them to your home for a meal. Make sure you greet the guards, the watchmen and the gardeners of your locality.

AirPort flight enquiry PiA reServAtion

114 111-786-786

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 Monday, 20 August, 2012

gO FOr a Picnic!

Drive the family out into the countryside and try to get lost on some unfamiliar roads, challenging the kids to help remember the way home.

VisiT The less FOrTUnaTe There are many who do not get to spend Eid the way you can. Do not forget them.

Visit an old people’s home or an orphanage or even a hospital and share your Eid joys with them.

ISB 20-08-2012_Layout 1 8/19/2012 10:53 PM Page 9

Foreign News 09 Typhoon Kai-Tak kills nine in Vietnam HANOI AFP

At least nine people were killed, thousands of homes damaged and swathes of farmland flooded as Typhoon Kai-Tak swept across northern Vietnam, authorities said Sunday. The storm, which made landfall late Friday, brought strong winds and heavy rains that inundated several densely populated communities including part of the capital Hanoi. Five people were swept away by floodwaters while one woman died when a landslide buried her house while she was sleeping in Bac Giang province, according to the government’s central committee on flood and storm control. A taxi driver was killed by a toppled tree while two people were electrocuted by a falling electricity cable, it said. Nearly 12,000 houses were damaged and 23,000 hectares (56,800 acres) of cropland were flooded, according to the committee. In Hanoi, about 200 large trees were uprooted and part of the city remained under water early Sunday.

The Vietnamese army had put 20,000 soldiers backed by helicopters, rescue boats and canoes on standby for rescue operations, but only a small number of them were deployed.

nARATHIWAT: Thai Muslim women embrace after offering prayers at a mosque in Thailand’s southern province on Sunday, as they celebrate Eidul Fitr. AFP

Minister among ‘31 dead’ in Sudan plane crash KHARTOUM

A

AFP

Sudanese cabinet minister was among 31 people killed Sunday when an airplane crashed as it carried a delegation to wartorn South Kordofan state for Muslim Eid holiday celebrations, officials and state media said.

“All people on board were killed,” Abdelhafiz Abdelrahim, spokesman for the Sudan Aviation Authority, told AFP. Among the victims was Khartoum’s Minister of Guidance and Endowments,

Philippine minister feared dead in plane crash

Ghazi Al-Saddiq, the official SUNA news agency said, reporting that 26 people were aboard the aircraft.

Speaking on the official Radio Omdurman, Culture and Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said the plane “crashed into a hill” because of bad weather, killing the entire delegation.

Abdelrahim said the plane was landing in Talodi town at about 8:00 am (0500 GMT) when “an explosion was heard and the plane was destroyed.”

Although there have been no reports of major fighting around Talodi in recent weeks, the town has been a key battleground in the war which began in June

last year between the government and ethnic rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

The town, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the disputed border with South Sudan, sits on a partly-forested plain beneath craggy hills.

Heavy rains have been reported in South Kordofan recently.

The dead minister, Saddiq, took on the Guidance and Endowments portfolio, among whose duties is religious issues, during a July cabinet reshuffle which trimmed the number of ministries.

Prior to the reshuffle he had been

AFP

AFP

Helicopters and divers were searching Sunday for one of the most powerful Philippine politicians, feared dead after a light aircraft he was travelling in crashed into the sea. President Benigno Aquino took the lead in the search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, a day after his plane went down about a kilometre (0.6 mile) from the central island of Masbate.

Aquino flew to Masbate where military divers and helicopters were scouring the area for the minister, a close presidential aide, who is missing along with two pilots. Transport Secretary Mar Roxas, who accompanied Aquino, said special sonar equipment had been flown to Masbate to help in the search operation after some debris, including one wing of the missing plane, was recovered. “We remain hopeful that Secretary Robredo was just carried by the current... and that he will be found,” Roxas said, adding that Aquino is “very emotionally attached to Jesse and he is doing everything he can”.

The twin-engine Piper Seneca, carrying Robredo, his aide, and two pilots — one of them a Nepalese student pilot — went down after developing engine trouble.

minister of tourism and antiquities since December.

The rebels in South Kordofan fought alongside former insurgents now ruling in South Sudan, which became independent in July last year.

Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting the SPLM-N, a charge which analysts believe despite denials by Juba, which in turn accuses Khartoum of backing rebels south of the border.

Sudanese officials say resolution of the security issue is key to the implementation of an oil deal reached early this month with the Juba government during African Union-led talks.

BEIJING AFP

Protests against Japan broke out in more than a dozen Chinese cities including Beijing on Sunday, as authorities allowed thousands of people to vent their anger over an escalating territorial row. The demonstrations — which saw Japanese businesses, restaurants and cars targeted in some cities — erupted after Japanese nationalists landed on an island claimed by both countries. The latest anti-Japan protests are believed to be the most widespread in China since 2005, when several cities saw demonstrations over a slew of grievances including Japan’s wartime atrocities. In the southern city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, protesters waved Chinese flags and shouted slogans as they marched on major streets, with the numbers swelling to about 1,000, the official Xinhua news agency said. Protesters overturned a Japanese-made police car and damaged a Japanese restaurant, it said. Zhang Pei, one of the participants, said protesters were marching towards the train station on the border with Hong Kong.

Suicide bomber kills six in russian Caucasus MOSCOW

MANILA

Anti-Japan protests erupt in China over island row

Six policemen died in the volatile Russian Caucasus region of Ingushetia early Sunday in a suicide bombing at the funeral of their colleague, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

“In a private house where the funeral was taking place for a neighbourhood policeman, a suicide bomber triggered an explosive device on his body,” the committee, which investigates major killings, said in a statement. “As a result of the explosion, according to preliminary information, seven people died including the suicide bomber, and there are also wounded whose number is being clarified,” the statement said.

The RIA Novosti news agency cited the secretary of the

regional security council, Akhmed Kotiyev, as saying that 11 people were wounded in the attack. Ingushetia’s leader, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, called the bombing as Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan a “terrorist” attack.

“According to preliminary information it was carried out by a terrorist suicide bomber,” Yevkurov told Interfax, calling the attack “monstrous.”

A severed head found at the scene of the blast was believed to be that of the suicide bomber, Yevkurov said.

“We are working on finding out whose head is lying at the scene of the explosion, and we will establish the identity of the bandit,” he said. The funeral was for a fellow officer killed in a shooting on Saturday evening in the Malgobek district in the north of the region, Interfax reported.

Two children among seven dead in Eid violence in Syria BEIRUT AFP

Two children were among at least seven people killed in shelling by the Syrian army early on Sunday as violence showed no let-up on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, a human rights watchdog said.

“A boy and a girl were killed by regime forces’ shelling in the (rebel-held) town of Maaret al-Numan,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Troops also bombarded the besieged city of Rastan, in the central province of Homs, the Britain-based watchdog added. Children across the Muslim world were set to receive new clothes and gifts for Eid — but in Syria, there was no respite from the bloodshed which the

Observarory says has killed more than 23,000 people since March last year.

“This is how we celebrate Eid!” chanted a crowd of protesters who took to the streets of Kafr Zeita, in the central province of Hama, according to amateur video posted on YouTube by activists.

At the protest, children and adults held up Syrian independence flags and chanted slogans against President Bashar al-Assad.

Elsewhere, clashes raged in the Saif al-Dawla and Izaa districts of the northern city of Aleppo, a key battleground of the conflict since rebels seized large swathes from July 20.

At least 137 people were killed across Syria on Saturday — 63 civilians, 31 rebel fighters and 43 soldiers, the Observatory said.

assad appears in public for eid prayers DAMASCUS AFP

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad joined prayers at a Damascus mosque Sunday for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, as his forces reportedly pressed on with a deadly assault against rebels. State television aired footage of Assad with several top government and ruling Baath party officials, including Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi, who took office only this month after the defection of his predecessor. “Syria will triumph against the Western-American plot being supported by the Wahhabis and takfiris (Sunni Muslim religious hardliners),” declared the imam at the Al-Hamad mosque, Sheikh Mohammed Kheir Ghantus. “Our enemies among the Americans, the Zionists and their agents should be rejoicing to see us killing each other and sowing discord among us,” he said. Activists say over 23,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in March last year, while the UN puts the death toll at around 17,000.

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10 Comment the spreading strife

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Is the state unwilling or unable?

Arif Nizami Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

two eids, yes get over it already

T

here is something surreal and vaudevillian about this whole high drama that we go through every year. As surreal as the water car episode that we went through recently. Those otherwise pathologically concerned with Pakistan’s “image” abroad as a modern state should really be on an overdrive here.

What we have, every year, in the 21st century, is a national debate over the sighting of the moon. It would take several attempts at explaining this annual national discourse to an outsider for the latter to take it seriously. And this is not to be attributed to the condescending superiority complex of those using the Gregorian calendar towards those using lunar. No, religious injunctions in other faiths, even other Abrahamic faiths, can be far more eccentric than the mere use of the lunar calendar. What will be questioned would be the reluctance to actually use the lunar calendar to get out of the messy, inexact business of sighting the moon.

Adding a layer of complexity to the whole issue is the forging of new ties across sectarian divides and the burning of old ones. One prism of understanding the issue used to be in the pro-Saudi Arabian versus pro-local terms. How, then, would that explain the functionally anti-Saudi Arabian influence government of KP, celebrating Eid a day earlier and the Saudi Arabia-fixated Punjab government celebrating it a day later?

Also evident is the irony of the central Ruet-e-Hillal committee calling the other camp obscurantists while maintaining an intransigently literalist stance on sighting the moon. But Peshawar’s Mufti Popalzai also based his declaration, not on any calculation or throwing his lot with Eid in other countries, but, yes, on reports of sightings. With this, the debate mutates from the theological into a my-wordagainst-yours, spawning off arguments about light pollution in cities, the visibility of the moon and whether the faith is sullied by using telescopes to begin with.

Several years ago, Mufti Muneeb (who is now in his 14th year at the committee), in his protest against Mufti Popalzai, equated the matter with the then recent Swat crisis. He explained the necessity of an “operation” the way one was started in Swat to restore the “writ of state.” Heavy words, these. The loss of the state’s monopoly on violence to militant extremists is to be put in the same slot as the trivial issue of gazetted holidays?

To segue that into an appeal: it would do us all a lot of good to drop the hyperbole. The heavens won’t fall if we have two Eids. And national unity wouldn’t have been cemented even if we did. There are other, bigger monsters to slay for that.

This paper would like to wish all its readers a happy Eid.

By Rabia Ahmed

PoliTact

By Arif Ansar

E

thnic and sectarian strife is spreading in Pakistan. Hindus are migrating to India; Shias are being targeted with impunity; Pashtuns are suffering immeasurably and disproportionally in the fight against extremists, while the saga of missing persons and target killing continues in Balochistan. By any stretch of imagination, the nations is going through a much more critical stage than is commonly perceived. If there were any doubts, Gen Kayani in a recent speech himself raised the prospect of civil war if the militancy is not tackled.

However, such ethnic tensions are not limited to Pakistan only; the situation of Assam and Myanmar are also troubling developments. If the situation worsens, we may see a migration towards Pakistan. In a recently concluded extraordinary summit of the Organization Islamic Conference, Turkish President Abduallah Gul pointed to the rising inter-sectarian tensions in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria that can cause a disaster. He commented, “[The Islamic world] shouldn’t be allowed to go through what Europe experienced in the Middle Ages, or it will see a great catastrophe.”

Nonetheless, in the case of Pakistan, a dangerous perception is emerging; as minorities are increasingly meeting a deadly fate, the government appears unwilling or unable to do much.

Fearing a backlash, Pakistan has so far resisted acting against TTP and other extremists in Waziristan that usually claim responsibility for the heinous acts of terror.

No doubt the extremists, and whoever aids and abets, are working on a treacherous scenario. This scheme aims at gradually eroding the ideology of Pakistan and to make a convincing human rights and international security case, proving the country cannot protect its citizens and its strategic assets, and in essence is a failed state.

Countering these perceptions, first of all, requires putting in to context the exis-

tential threats faced by the country. The chance of reasonably addressing the predicament is dependent upon how well the multidimensional crises are understood. Moreover, there is a need to ponder over the different narratives and the motives that lie behind them.

For example, the media and the policy makers in Pakistan usually flip-flop between blaming the local, regional, and international actors, for the economic and security challenges faced by the country.

This confuses the heck out of the pubic.

Consider this, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has charged Lashkare-Jhangvi (LeJ), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), and international actors for the security crisis in Balochistan. Speaking in Pakistan’s Senate recently, he commented that Taliban and these organizations are cooperating in implementing plans of international forces to destabilize and disintegrate the country.

Rehman Malik also blamed Afghanistan for supporting Maulvi Faqeer Muhammad and Qazi Fazlullah and for providing shelter to Brahamdagh Bugti.

On the other hand, in July Afghan Parliamentarians from Badakhshan province accused US and UK for attempting to create a new country in the region. The new state supposedly will include areas from Pakistan’s Gilgit and Chitral, parts from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, and areas from Tajikistan and China.

Now consider this, in July, the head of Pakistan’s parliamentary committee on Kashmir accused Israel of sending armed personnel disguised as tourists to Indian Kashmir. Maulana Fazlur Rehman also alleged that the US and Israeli military are backing up Indian forces there.

Meanwhile, after Republican US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s recent interest in the Balochistan situation, an influential lawmaker from the Democrat Party, Bred Sherman, made inflammatory statements regarding the Sindh province.

He asked the US State Department to reach out to Sindhis as they are under attack from the government forces in Pakistan.

Irrespective of who is responsible, it’s the government’s job to prevent the attacks and protect the people. Additionally, to earn public backing, a coherent communication strategy is needed that put these reports into perspective and presents a consistent message for local and international stakeholders.

Clearly, there are regional and international underpinnings to what is occurring in Pakistan. To think that conducting a military operation in Waziristan will resolve the nation’s worries will be naive.

The preoccupation of the western world with military solutions is pushing many a

nations towards instability. One can make a convincing case that there is a thrust towards a new configuration and alignment of power. However, Pakistan cannot sit by ideally as dangerous perceptions spread, and it obviously has to do something.

First of all, the country will have to take note of the emerging trends and envision where it is positioned against them.

For example, the nation-state concept is in trouble in many parts of the world, and it’s not clear yet what will replace it. Moreover, the nation-state in the strictest sense of the word does not apply to Pakistan, and to many other states, as they may have in Europe.

Pakistan is a country of at least four major nations and many other religious and ethnic minorities. To think that the country can magically pull it together against the strong centrifugal forces acting upon it is a futile exercise. In the present international atmosphere, the traditional Islamic card as a unifier also has limited utility, especially when the Muslim world itself is polarized between Sunni-Shia blocs and the extremists versus liberals.

More importantly, what is happening to the democratic experiment and governance models in Turkey, Iran and Egypt needs to be looked at closely for lessons.

Secondly, the farfetched manifestation of the shift in the balance of power in Iraq has now almost engulfed the entire Middle East. A similar alteration in Afghanistan and South Asia are likely to have not much different impact. Far from reducing western influence, as claimed by many think tanks, it may actually increase its sway.

The new groups that came to power in Libya and Yemen, and may in Syria, are likely to remain dependent on their foreign backers.

Anticipating this, Pakistan has to proactively initiate changes and upend the traditional status quo apparatus that has prevented the masses to benefit. The creation and empowerment of new provinces is a positive move in this regard. The most dangerous elements to worry about are the non-state actors and disgruntled nationalist groups that have already taken up arms against the state. In case there is a South Asian Spring, these groups will likely play a central role in the hands of international actors, as they are in Syria and have in Libya. Application of soft power, more than purely kinetic tactics, is likely to produce greater results.

Pakistan needs to be seen as doing something before the dangerous international perceptions turn in to perspectives.

The writer is the chief analyst for PoliTact (www.PoliTact.com and http:twitter.com/politact) and can be reached at aansar@politact.com

Vote-a-tote The EcP might register the people, but who will get them to the booth?

T

aking a cue from Naeem Sadiq’s informative column on the subject, this is about the elections, now around the corner.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has an impressive website, where Jinnah, addressing Pakistan’s civil servants, says, “Prime ministers come and go… ..but you stay on, and there is a great responsibility on your shoulders.” Ironic, how the first half of this statement applies to his country today. As for the second half...

The Election Commission’s website is useful. Just SMS your CNIC to 8300, and almost before your finger leaves the send button you have a response telling you if you’re registered, and from where.

However, if you’ve moved or died, you need to fill out a form to let them know. This means that in this illiterate country, in spite of its affinity for cell phones, we’re in trouble right away.

People avoid forms like the plague, which you’ll understand if

Monday, 20 August, 2012

you’re ever tackled the process.

Maybe this is why, as Naeem Sadiq pointed out, millions without CNICs are not on the electoral roll, while millions who’ve died since 2008 still live, and as many more have moved. The Chief Election Commissioner said that the Commission’s work ‘is not easy; it is complicated, challenging and demanding’. Given the way the country functions generally, he is very right.

Only at our local bakery, one person gets my biscuits together, another the bread. A third fishes out the milk while a fourth produces the eggs. There is obviously little coordination because when I check later, something is often missing. The manager wonders why I complain, given that I have been served by four whole persons every time. Really, I’d be happy with half a man or his grandmother, so long as I get what I paid for.

The ECP has mobilized a huge force which has been busy collecting data door to door, compiling it

into lists, as is done. It needs organization, however, which is not a national strong point, and a degree of adaptation to make the process work according to local conditions.

Let’s take my lady, the one who reigns supreme in the kitchen, and that’s not me, praise the Lord.

At sixty, Ashi has adult, educated children, but Ashi herself cannot tell the time, nor can she use the phone. So she will not be accessing the voter lists via the telephone, and must check them physically. Someone will have to accompany her, because like so many Pakistanis, she cannot read; maybe her sister, the one who gets an income from the Benazir Income Support Program, and knows who she wants to vote in, if her monthly check is to continue.

The ECP website says that voters can check their particulars by visiting their respective District Election Commissioner’s office, where the final electoral roll is available, and that the addresses and contact information of the

DEC’s offices across the four provinces can be found on the Election Commissions website. Uh oh.

Some voters may have checked the draft version of the electoral roll that was on display for 21 days at Display Centers across the country. Locations of these centers was widely publicized via newsprint and the electronic media and the public was invited to verify their information and file claims for addition, deletions or correction of details. And here it comes: Form A is for additions, Form B for deletions, and Form C for corrections.

It’s all on the website.

When Ashi watches television it is only the weepiest, soppiest ‘droma’ dripping with dreadful daughters-in-law and martyred mothers-in-law. She pounds the episode of the day into the dough, and stirs it into the chicken, muttering imprecations against the bahu all the while. Her children could check for her, only they find it hilarious that ‘Amma’ should vote.

If all turns out well, and it

comes time to vote, Ashi’s employers are happy to give her the day off to cast her vote. Presuming she is registered there…her village is only a couple of hours away, but queues are LONG. Unfortunately, a proximity to home is not the case for many people, who may work here, but may be registered somewhere up north.

Few employers are likely to give a couple of weeks off so that their employees can go vote for some berk who comes into office and sits there twiddling his thumbs. But I digress.

Most of this country is an Ashi, in some form or the other.

Nevertheless, let’s hope all those forms and all those people going door to door collecting our particulars can deliver one honest vote per one live person…for some berk out there who sits there twiddling his thumbs.

What do you suppose?

The writer is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com/

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Comment 11

the real enemy An empty stomach leaves one open to exploitation. People become puppets in the hands of those with the message and the money.

I

n order to survive in Pakistan, one must possess a very unique sense of what is right and wrong. It is generally considered kosher to execute criminals such as rapists and kidnappers through extra-judicial means, but butchers such as Malik Ishaq must be allowed to walk free. It is quite acceptable for blasphemers to be mobbed and strung up the flagpole, but one must never lynch thieves, robbers and protection racketeers, because they may hail from one of the two major ruling parties of our country. Minorities must be protected, but it is quite alright to let innocent Muslims suffer the wrath of violent and intolerant bigots.

You may not agree with most of what has been said above. But the reality is that you or someone you know has endorsed this point of view at some point or the other. And it is only natural. In a society where the rule of law is shaky, at best; and the only ones with a guarantee of coming back home alive are those who can afford to pay for burly guards armed to the teeth, cynicism will thrive.

Following last week’s column, I have been called many nasty things. By arguing that widespread economic uplift is more important than pointlessly screaming oneself hoarse over ‘inaction on violence against minorities’ and other related evils, it appears I have aligned myself with murderers and terrorists. I must, in fact, be

By Syed Hassan Belal Zaidi a closet Lashkar-supporter.

Why else would anyone argue with those who are up in arms about the injustices perpetrated against their Shia brethren?

Actually, they’re my Shia brothers too.

The largest minority group in Pakistan, the Shias are lucky in that the state does not discriminate against them as it does against Ahmedis. As a proportion of the population, they outnumber all other minority groups in the country. Yet, despite such impressive numbers and economic affluence, Shias continue to be targeted. Why is that? Why are good people with money dying at the hands of AK-47-toting masked gunmen who claim to be members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban or a related group? Aren’t terrorists and intolerant extremists more concerned with the flocks of lesser, more pagan gods?

The problem with looking at violence as a manifestation of intolerance in society is that it offers us mere snapshots from a veritable motion pic-

Mighty Obvious

ture. You could analyze numbers, geographical patterns, population demographics and even certain qualitative variables and still know as much about the problem as that little boy on the street selling flowers.

For example, between 2001 and 2011, out of a total of 82 attacks against places of worship or religious gatherings, nearly half have been perpetrated against mosques and shrines of mainstream Sunni (Barelvi and Deobandi) Islam. If this figure were to be taken at face value, it would greatly outnumber the instances of attacks on Shia or Ahmedi places of worship. But that would not lead you to conclude that Muslims, and not minorities, are under threat in Pakistan. Indeed, one must look at these phenomena in terms of the proportion of a particular minority group in the overall population. Therefore, if six churches were attacked in the same 10-year period as 40 mosques and shrines, one must also consider that Muslims outnumber Christians by about 10:1.

But it’s not just the violence that is worrying. What is even more frightening is the mainstream endorsement of values such as “It is acceptable to kill blasphemers” or “Ahmedis are liable for summary execution because of their beliefs”. It was bad enough that they were outlawed from calling themselves Muslims, now they have no right to exist either. At least not in the minds of a large number of Pakistanis.

You see, not everyone in the country is a card-carrying member of an extremist group. But when members of such a group show up in your community, dressed in starched white shalwaar kameez and preaching a message of hate against those who are different, it is easy to be swayed if you have an inclination towards the message itself. You may have been slighted by a Shia shopkeeper; your lover may have run off with an Ahmedi and your annoying landlord may be a Christian. But you’ve never really put your negative feelings towards them into action. Until now.

The catalyst here is the extremist few, who incite others to violence. And because things are bad, really bad in the country right now, violence seems like a good escape for many. It serves as an outlet and it seen as a release. “If you chase the unbelievers out, good fortune will descend upon you” is the message that is gobbled up readily by the hapless, veritable sheep.

There are only three ways to prevent such gross injustices: the presence of a better, more vigilant and proactive law enforcement apparatus; the repeal and reform of intolerant laws; and the socio-economic uplift of everyone at large. Face it, an empty stomach and a family of mouths to feed leaves one open to exploitation and susceptible to indoctrination. People become pawns, puppets in the hands of those with the message and the money. They are the real enemy, not the everyman brandishing a pitchfork. The everyman can be made to see the truth: their handlers cannot. The everyman is as much a victim as a dead Shia or Ahmedi.

Follow @mightyobvious on Twitter for more incoherence in 140 characters or less

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

Fax: +92-42-36298302.

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

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

favoritism at the SbP? This is with reference to the advertisement by the State Bank of Pakistan, which appeared in national newspaper on 19th August, 2012 for the recruitment of Economic Analysts on scale OG-3. According to the best of my knowledge, in 2008 a similar advertisement was published to recruit Economic Analysts on scale OG-2. Thousands of candidates applied for those positions and after written examination followed by a panel interview, 17 candidates were selected across Pakistan. Some of those candidates were medal holders from the best institutions of the country. These analysts, selected on merit, were imparted 6 months comprehensive training at NIBAF, foreign trainings at IMF (USA and Singapore) and they now have an experience of 4 years.

However, after interviewing all existing economic analysts hired in 2007 and 2008

by SBP, the Chief Economic Advisor (Policy Development) found none of these analysts, who were hired after a proper procedure, suitable enough to handle the sectors of energy, automobiles and pricing/inflation. This is because the Chief Economic Advisor, who himself was appointed on ad hoc basis by the former governor, hired two analysts in 2010 and 2011 on a contractual basis without following the standard recruitment procedure which entails advertisement, examination and interviews. It seems that in order to regularize those two contractual analysts and to accommodate a third favorite candidate, the aforementioned advertisement has been published.

The pertinent question is: was the money spent on training and development of the hired-on-merit analysts a waste of public resources or did the Chief Economic Advisor just want to bestow his contractual favorites with not only a permanent position at the SBP but also a higher grade (OG-3)? Why is a single person with authority misusing his position by indulging in favoritism and nepotism at the cost of merit? Why is the Governor of State Bank not looking into this matter and allowing such alleged malpractices? For how long can a country afford to run its

national institutions through the misuse of personal discretion?

S T HUSSAIN Lahore

on the kamra incident The attack on Minhas Airbase at Kamra strangely coincided with the death anniversary of two most controversial generals of Pakistan, Gen Zia-ul-Haq and Gen Akhtar Abdur Rehman, who left behind a legacy of bloodshed, corruption and religious fanaticism. Pakistan was pushed into a quagmire of never-ending violence, sectarian strife, ethnic divisiveness, religious bigotry and it became a sanctuary for the world’s most wanted set of terrorists initially trained by CIA, but now having turned against their former mentors like a Frankenstein.

This is the fourth attack on a major military installation. Perhaps it is time for our men in uniform to make amends for past mistakes and learn some lessons. The primary objective of a national military is to train and focus all their energies to defend the geographical boundaries of a nation.

This essential task of securing the nation is bound to be compromised if our uniformed forces were to indulge in other commercial ventures such as housing, construction firms, marriage halls, road transportation such as NLC etc. Security of defense installations is a specialized field, which requires inputs from dedicated intelligence agencies and intensive training to keep themselves abreast with advances in science and technology that terrorists can exploit to inflict damage to our national security.

Security must assume the primary priority and therefore public access to these establishments must be restricted in totality, which can only be done if all residential and commercial construction located within at least 8 to 10 Km must be dislocated and there should be no exceptions to this rule.

Enough damage has been done and the army must concentrate on its job rather than expanding its milbus complex.

SHAHZAD KHALIL Sialkot

Mortgaging our dams?

The national press has reported a plan B for raising funds for Bhasha dam. It envisages mortgaging the generators of existing mega-dams for $3 billion but that will not be enough as the job requires 12 billion US$. From where will the rest of the money come? Perhaps, by mortgaging the entire irrigation system of Pakistan. No wonder Pakistan is in such an economic quagmire right now because its planners have such brilliant ideas.

DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

Monday, 20 August, 2012

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how Brad Pitt tamed angelina Jolie

aamir khan to go to mecca with his mother

RAD Pitt, who will finally be marrying the rebellious soul Angelina Jolie after being together for seven years, is said to have tamed the wildcat by ‘letting her be herself’.

The couple, who are raising six kids together, announced their engagement in April when Pitt slid an 180,000 pounds diamond ring on her finger.

“Brad’s done what nobody else could,” the Daily Express quoted a friend as saying. “He’s taken Hollywood’s wildest wildcat and domesticated her. She still has her claws but Brad knows how to calm the tiger within,” the friend said.

A wild-child, who grew into a maneater with self-destructive tastes in knives, drugs and kinky sex, the mother-of-six seemed to be the ultimate untameable spirit.

The actress went through two failed marriages and a shattered relationship with her Oscar-winning father, Jon Voight. The pattern was sort of further evidence that she would not be caged. After

B

T

He first thing aamir Khan will do after wrapping up his shooting schedule in the US is take his mother Zeenat Hussain for Hajj. aamir is extremely close to his mother and has become even more protective of her after the death of his father tahir Hussain in february 2010. He even got his mother to shift from Pune to Mumbai, in an apartment in the same building as his. and the actor actually spends more time in his mum’s house than he does in his own. He recently asked her if he could get her a gift and she expressed her desire to go on a pilgrimage. Since women can only go to Hajj accompanied either by their husband, brother or son, aamir has promised his mother that he will make the trip to Mecca with her. extremely sentimental about the promise he has made to his mum, Khan refrained from comment. nEWS DESK

saira is lara’s priority

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aRa Dutta Bhupathi has managed to snap back into shape after the birth of her daughter Saira, about seven months ago. and she’s back on the sets in director Bejoy Nambiar’s trilingual ‘David’. “it’s just great to be back. i missed work, but what i am picking now is very limited. i am in a position to pick and choose work depending on how many hours it keeps me away from Saira,” she says.

Lara adds that her priorities have changed post motherhood, so much so that she will think twice before signing on the dotted line. “it’s not easy, it’s harder on me than it is on her now. Saira has become my greatest barometer for the choices that i make in my life. i am not going to get out of my house and leave her behind unless it’s really worth it.” and she hasn’t bid goodbye to item numbers as yet. “i love dancing and singing. i am sure i will do more of that, but it has to be worth it,” she says. nEWS DESK

saif ali khan’s daughter to make a film with yrF?

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aif ali Khan and amrita Singh’s 16-year-old daughter Sara, who was inundated with movie offers post her magazine shoot, is reportedly starting her career in Bollywood with YRf’s next. according to buzz, the film would be a love story, reports Mumbai Mirror. an insider told the tabloid: “Sara has got many offers but amrita wants the best for her daughter.

Of late, youngsters launched by YRf have got a favourable response from the industry. amrita’s talks with them have reached the advanced stage.” “it is heard Sara’s debut film is a love story. Just as amrita had debuted in 1983 with Betaab, a romance that marked the debut of Sunny Deol too,” the source added. When contacted by the tabloid, amrita didn’t deny but refused to comment on the development. Sara ali Khan appeared on the cover of Hello magazine with mom amrita Singh early this year. the teenager has been flooded with movie offers since then. amrita had told a daily at that time: “after seeing the magazine cover page, Sara has got many offers. five eminent filmmakers have approached us and said that they wanted Sara to play the leading lady in their films.” at that time, amrita was not keen on Bollywood offers for Sara. “She is just 16. Sara is good at academics. cOuRTESy HT

Monday, 20 August, 2012

stealing Jennifer Aniston’s husband of four years, Jolie was one of the most reviled women in America. Yet thanks to the ‘Inglorious Basterd’ star, today Jolie is the closest thing Hollywood has to Mother Teresa. But although she retains that frisson of danger and sexual bravado, the 48-year-old has transformed her into a sophisticated, poised woman of many facets.

“Brad was very clever,” the friend said.

“He didn’t try taming Angelina by making her into something she wasn’t. Others had failed attempting that, or even worse, by trying to match her wildness. Brad let her be herself and then by giving her stability, children and a strong career, built a world around her in which she tamed herself.

“On her left arm Angelina has a Tennessee Williams quote tattooed in tiny script, ‘A prayer for the wild at heart kept in cages.’ She’s still wild at heart but she can’t be caged. It was that realisation that allowed Brad to win her over,” the pal said.

Although the star’s past lovers gave her what they thought she craved: danger, unpredictability, spontaneity, it was Pitt who gave her what she secretly desired: unconditional romance and trust.

“I always wanted a great love affair.

Something that feels big and full, really honest and enough. No moment should feel slight, false or a little off.

movie review: ek Tha Tiger

For me it had to be everything,” the actress had confessed in the past.

What many would call to be a dream partner, the actor has also supported Joile’s career truly and honestly.

“Brad’s supported her career wholeheartedly and Angelina’s success has helped her feel secure in the relationship,” another insider said.

Pitt taught her the gift of giving to people whom she calls the “stateless, homeless people facing slaughter.”

“Brad’s greatest coup was making Angelina feel needed, allowing her to relax in a relationship rather than create the false drama she’d generated in previous rocky romances,” the insider said.

The self-destructive actress has had many rocky romances in the past and can even boast of a longterm lesbian fling with actress Jenny Shimizu, but she admits that it was Pitt, who showed her how blessed she is. “When I met suffering people it put my life into perspective. It slammed me into a bigger picture of the world,” she said. “Brad knows me completely, exactly as I am, every part of me. He loves me. The kids love me. They know all my flaws and oddities and they accept them. And so I can feel complete,” she added. nEWS DESK

Katie Holmes

sPlUrges

On herselF

K

E

K Tha Tiger is Salman Khan’s best film since Dabangg.

But because his last two films were Ready and Bodyguard, the bar is not exactly high. Still, Ek Tha Tiger has more of a story as well as greater coherence and emotion than both those films put together.

Director and co-writer Kabir Khan takes the largerthan-life Salman Khan persona and wraps it in an engaging story that services it. Of course it’s played out like a comic book but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief there’s fun to be had.

Salman is Tiger, a superheroic RAW agent who sprints, shoots and crunches bones without a glimmer of worry or sweat. He’s also smarter than the ISI baddies he’s up against, all of which is established in a kick-ass opening sequence that has nothing to do with the film.

But he is only half a James Bond; unlike 007, Tiger has no women. In fact, he hasn’t taken leave in 12 years. But then, a mission involving anti-missile technology takes him to Dublin, where he meets Zoya, played by Katrina Kaif.

Tiger’s steely resolve is no match for her beguiling smile. The intrigue goes for a toss and we move into-full blown romance.

I don’t want to reveal the plot but the love story doesn’t halt the action. The globetrotting continues from Dublin to Istanbul to Havana.

Tiger continues in his superhuman mode, at one point even stopping a tram with his brute strength. But what’s enjoyable is that Katrina also kicks butt. It’s such a pleasure to see a Hindi film heroine not playing a damsel in distress. The action, choreographed by Markos Rounthwaite and Conrad E

Palmisano, is spectacular.

There are chases on terraces, runaway trams and lots of smashed cars. It does tend to go on and on. In places I got really exhausted.

But the screenplay by Kabir and Neelesh Misra requires Salman to emote and play a character. Thankfully, he makes an effort. Of course, he is always in invincible hulk mode — yes, there is a brief shot of him taking his shirt off — but there is also sweetness and a touch of vulnerability, especially when he first meets Zoya. He seems almost perplexed as he falls in love. Katrina doesn’t have enough to work with but she works hard to give Zoya some weight. Their romance seems effortless.

In places, Ek Tha Tiger becomes downright silly. So the modus operandi might be to think of it as a fairy tale with spies and guns. And enjoy the ride. cOuRTESy HT

atie Holmes is said to be on a shopping spree, buying herself as lot of clingy cocktail dresses and lingerie worth thousands. the 33-yearold actress, who is currently in the process of getting her life and career back on track after her divorce with tom Cruise, is said to be giving herself an expensive makeover in preparation for her new life with daughter Suri in the Big apple. the ‘Batman Begins’ star is also said to be moving her belongings out of the estranged couple’s 28.5million-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills. Moving vans were spotted outside of the duos’ former shared residence on thursday. “She splurged on around $14,200 worth of sexy lingerie and undergarments alone,” the Daily Mail quoted a source as telling the National enquirer. “She also bought 15 pairs of pricey Christian Louboutin shoes and went on a tear at Barneys New York department store, buying a closet’s worth of clingy cocktail dresses and power suits to wear to auditions and meetings... and hired a personal trainer for $9,500 a month. “Her attitude is: ‘Look out New York, Katie’s back in the game,” the source added. nEWS DESK

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13 krisTen ready TO Face The camera again

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cTreSS Kristen Stewart will make her first official appearance since her cheating scandal at the Toronto International Film Festival in canada next month. The 22year-old has been keeping a low profile since confessing to cheating on her Twilight co-star and boyfriend robert Pattinson with married director rupert Sanders last month. However she will have to face the camera once again in September as she begins promoting her latest film, On the road. Stewart, who portrays Marylou in the big screen adapatation of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel, has been confirmed to attend the annual Toronto event alongside other casts including Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams and Garrett Hedlund, reports people.com. On the road will premiere at the 10-day festival, which begins September 6. Kristen Stewart, who has already lost the man she loves, faces more humiliation as it has been confirmed that she won’t feature in the sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman. Universal Studio is said to have devised a spin-off film where the narrative will focus on the huntsman, played by nice family man, chris Hemsworth. According to the Hollywood reporter, the news comes just weeks after pictures of the young actress getting intimate with film’s married director rupert Sanders emerged. nEWS DESK

Winona ryder to star in homefront

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LaCK Swan star Winona Ryder is in negotiations to join Jason Statham and James franco in action film Home front. the movie has been scripted by action star Sylvester Stallone, who is also producing with Kevin King templeton and Rene Besson, the Hollywood Reporter said. Based on a book by Chuck Logan, the story revolves around an ex-Dea agent (Statham) who moves to a small town in the hope of a quiet life but runs afoul of a villainous meth kingpin named Gator (franco). Ryder will play a former biker chick partnered with franco. the actress just completed work on thriller the iceman. nEWS DESK

nicki minaj cancels Uk shows because of strained vocal chords

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celebrities react to Pussy riot arrest USSY Riot’s fellow artists aren’t taking the Russian band’s two-year prison sentence lightly. While performing in Moscow last week, Madonna applauded the courage of the all-girl punk trio, who at the time were on trial for staging a protest show at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in March.

The Material Girl also appealed for their freedom.

But just as Pussy Riot’s fitting new song, “Putin Lights Up the Fires,” was dropping today, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina were being found guilty of hooliganism.

“FYI. We will never being playing a show in Russia as long as they imprison innocent musicians for speaking their minds peacefully,” Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney tweeted today upon hearing that the band had been convicted. “I can’t believe sentencing #pussyriot to2 yrs in jail.as someone who lived in Moscow and has filmed& seen inside the jails my heart goes out,” tweeted Mischa Barton.

“These girls got sentenced to 2 years in prison for this. I assume we are in agreement that it’s not ok. #pussyriot,” wrote Adrien Grenier.

“Two years in a Russian jail? Geez.

That’ll give em some song writing material,” chimed in former House star Jesse Spencer. “What a massive disappointment for Russia: imprisoning pussyriot?? Shame on you,” Kate Walsh wrote.

“The #PussyRiot sentence places Russia’s corruption & repression on a spot-lit global stage. Congratulations Maria, Katya & Nadia: you won,”

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tweeted Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos.

“Thanks for the support on my Newsnight appearance. Keep the women of #PussyRiot in your hearts & (punk) prayers,” tweeted the Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic after appearing on BBC Newsnight to talk about the verdicts. “There are not enough expletives to describe the injustice done to #PussyRiot today. My support is with them. Let’s figure out what we can do,” wrote singer-songwriter Annie Erin Clark, aka St Vincent. “#PussyRiot sentenced to two years imprisonment. I don’t think it’s the last we’ll hear of this story,” observed Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon. “The sentence handed to #PussyRiot reminds us how precious freedom of expression is. Russia’s judi-

cial system sucks & thats Putin it mildly,” tweeted DJ Qualls. Bill Maher, not surprisingly, used the opportunity to mine both sexual and political humor from the current event.

“Solidarity shout-out to #PussyRiot! I signed a petition in support! Then I found out it was a band,” he tweeted, along with, “I see #MittRomney and #PaulRyan have taken to calling themselves America’s Comeback Team. Cuz #PussyRiot was taken.” “Shameful, unjust verdict for #pussyriot,” noted Portlandia’s Carrie Brownstein. “Yet it’s a reminder to be fearless, unabashed participants. Sending solidarity. #freepussyriot.”

“To counteract bad press RE: #PussyRiot Putin has released a picture of himself shirtless on a Yak, loading a shotgun,” offered Veep star Timothy C. Simons.

“Free Pussy Riot feeling it #freepussyriot,” Mia Farrow added. Before the verdicts, Paul McCartney issued an open letter to the trio, encouraging them to stay strong.

“I and many others like me who believe in free speech will do everything in our power to support you and the idea of artistic freedom,” wrote the Beatles legend.

Björk wrote on her website (also before the verdicts came down): “as a musician and a mother I would like to express I fiercely don’t agree with them being put to jail because of their peaceful protest performance. They are currently standing trial and facing seven years in prison for this. In my opinion the Russian authorities should let them go home to their families and children.” nEWS DESK

aPPeR Nicki Minaj “regretfully cancelled” shows at the V festival in england this weekend. the singer’s rep tells tHR the reason for the no-show is “strained vocal cords.” the potential american idol judge apparently pushed herself too far when she performed on the today Show (and elsewhere) this week. Her rep spelled it out: “Despite doctor’s orders, she performed on a bruised vocal chord in New York City on august 14. as a result, the chord has gotten worse.” Nicki will sure need those vocal chords if she lands the gig as an american idol judge, that’s for sure! Get well, Nicki! nEWS DESK

Twitter war breaks out over robert Pattinson

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OBeRt Pattinson’s loyal fans have come to his defense in a twitter war with veteran actor D.B. Sweeney, after the 50-year-old dared to tweet that Kristen Stewart was right to two-time Pattinson. the war broke out when Sweeney tweeted: “Just saw Pattinson on #DailyShow trying to figure out what took k-stew so long to look around with this douche astride her. #holytwit.” and it didn’t take long for the fleet that is troop R.Pattz to respond. One twi-hard tweeted: “Don’t talk sh—t about the greatness which is Rob when your credentials can’t even match his.” While another came to Rob’s aid bashing D.B. flat out with: “i hate you. Do not mess with Rob.” More like, do not mess with Rob’s fans! However, D.B. wasn’t quick to wave the white flag, later tweeting: “Hey #twilight genuises—try decaf! a little too worked up over a skinny vampire.” another fan brought Kristen’s mom Jules Stewart, who wrote and directed D.B.’s latest movie K-11, into the mix, tweeting: “i’m sure your director @RealJulesStew appreciates your opinion about her daughter. iRONY. Look it up.” and as if that wasn’t enough, D.B. kept adding fuel to the fire, responding to all: “Nice language twi-hards. nEWS DESK

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Infotainment 14 4 insane acts of writing

fer’s macaroni and cheese at 350 degrees.”

“6:50-7:30 p.m.: I ate the Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese and Cornelia ate the other one. Grace decided she didn’t want one.”

There are 37 million words of this.

3. Finnegans Wake: a completely unreadable masterpiece James Joyce was one of the most influential writers of the early 20th century. His most famous work, Ulysses, was a version of Homer’s Odyssey, except that it took place in then-modern Dublin (even though most copies were seized and destroyed by American and English customs officers due to “obscenity”). For his last hurrah, Joyce tried to write the most difficult-to-read novel in history, because apparently he was afraid his existing works hadn’t fulfilled the quotient most artists seem to adhere to. By most accounts, he succeeded with a work called Finnegans Wake.

To give some background, the book took 17 years to write. Almost every sentence is painstakingly crafted to be a pun or double meaning. It’s so impossible to understand that you need guides to read it, while you’re reading it. He used different languages (including some that he invented), combined words together and purposefully made sure there were multiple layers of meaning in everything.

Impossibly, it somehow has characters and a plot.

UN FACT: All writers are crazy, to some degree. There is a reason for it — actually making it through a novel almost requires it. If you love to read, then you’re continually benefiting from other people’s craziness. But in all of the history of the written word, probably no one has topped the sheer insanity of the following people:

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1. Writing a coded novel mocking the Nazis (while in a Nazi prison) Hans Fallada is the all-time poster boy for writers who just didn’t care about the consequences. By the age of 50, he was a full-blown criminal lunatic, drifting in and out of prisons and insane asylums.

He was a morphine addict, a womanizer and an alcoholic, all while being one of the most celebrated German authors of the 1930s and ‘40s. And true to his nature, while other artists were fleeing Germany at the outbreak of the war, Fallada stayed behind, despite openly despising the Nazis. How could he resist the urge to mess with one of the most murderous regimes in history?

So, in 1944, Fallada was put in a Nazi prison/asylum for the criminally insane for the attempted murder of his ex-wife (classic Hans).

To obtain writing materials and to survive an incarceration that was generally seen as a death sentence, Fallada told Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels that he wanted to write an antiSemitic novel. However, Fallada had no intention of doing any such thing.

What he actually wrote, under the guards’ watchful eyes and in constant fear of discovery, were three encrypted books in a single notebook so densely coded that they weren’t deciphered until long after his death.

One of these books was the much acclaimed The Drinker, a dark semi-autobiographical novel depicting addiction, crime and homosexuality in a way not quite in line with Nazi literary policy.

Another book was a collection of children’s stories. Both books were written in tiny, condensed, almost indecipherable handwriting, but he kept the children’s stories visible, to give the guards something simple and nonthreatening to see should they question what he was up to. But in between the lines of the short stories, upside down and backward from the end to the begin-

ning, he wrote a frank, extremely anti-Nazi memoir of his life under National Socialist rule, entitled In Meinem Fremden Land.

When he ran out of space, he turned the notebook around again and wrote even more miniature lines between the existing ones, resulting in 72 crisscrossing lines of writing per page. Had the Nazis found out about the contents of the notebook, Fallada would have been murdered. But his book of “children’s stories” fooled everyone.

Fallada managed to smuggle the manuscript out during a home visit, arranged under the false premise of picking up materials for the anti-Semitic project (because for some reason the Nazi prison in which he was incarcerated had anti-Semitic materials in short supply). In December 1944, as the Nazi regime began to crumble, Fallada was released from prison. Goebbels never received the anti-Semitic novel he had been promised, and Hans Fallada died three years later of a morphine overdose, having written three books (two of which were staunchly anti-Nazi) under guard of the Nazis themselves.

2. A diary the size of 500 novels Robert Shields, a former minister and English teacher, holds the record for having kept the longest modern diary ever, at a mind-boggling 37.5 million words. To put that in perspective, the average novel is about 75,000 words long. So this was the size of about 500 of those.

How did somebody stretch a personal diary into something long enough to fill an entire bookcase?

Well, for 25 years, from 1972 to 1997, he wrote down what he experienced every five minutes. He would spend four hours a day doing this, sometimes just checking and recording his vital signs.

There are also a disquieting number of entries that focus on the force and consistency of his bowel movements. He kept writing right up until he had a stroke and eventually died, and his journals were donated to Washington State University, presumably because his surviving family assumed every single page was haunted. Some gems include: “7 a.m.: I cleaned out the tub and scraped my feet with my fingernails to remove layers of dead skin.”

“7:05 a.m.: Passed a large, firm stool, and a pint of urine. Used five sheets of paper.”

“6:30-6:35 p.m.: I put in the oven two Stouf-

4. A novel typed entirely with one eyelid Imagine you had to write a novel, but for some reason you couldn’t type or write. Like, say, your fingers didn’t work. OK, so you’d just hire somebody to type it, and tell them what to type, right?

It’d take way longer, but it’s definitely doable. OK, now say you’ve lost your voice. Now what? You could use some kind of sign language to communicate with your typist, we guess. OK, now say that you can’t speak, and your entire body is paralyzed except for one single eyelid. Now what?

Those were the circumstances under which Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote his autobiography The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Bauby, a former fashion-world powerhouse and editor for Elle magazine, woke up after a refreshing strokeinduced 20-day coma completely paralyzed except for his eyes, sort of like Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot, except with a much more useless body part. In order to save him from getting an infection, his right eyelid was sewn shut soon afterward, leaving him with just his left eye as his only means of communication. This proved to be a near insurmountable challenge, because as you may already be aware, eyes cannot speak and can only hold pencils with great difficulty.

Yet, working with a speech therapist, Bauby managed to develop a method of communication based around blinking his one working eyelid.

Once he had the basics down, he decided it was time to write a book about his experiences.

So, how did this work? Well, letters would be read aloud to him, and Bauby would blink that stalwart left eye of his when the letter he wanted to use was spoken. Then they’d write that letter down. The process would start all over again until a word was completed. Once they got good at it, he could usually get a word out in about two minutes. The final book, about 140 pages long, took Bauby an estimated 200,000 blinks to complete.

Even weirder, the book was good. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was a critically acclaimed hit (which saved the publisher the incredible awkwardness of having to reject a book a dude wrote with one eyelid). Sadly, the author died mere days after its publication of complications from pneumonia.

But his book became an international bestseller and was adapted into a movie 10 years later that received multiple Academy Award nominations. nEWS DESK

A 63-year-old engineer is Japan’s ‘last ninja’ A 63-year-old former engineer may not fit the typical image of a dark-clad assassin with deadly weapons who can disappear into a cloud of smoke. But Jinichi Kawakami is reputedly Japan’s last ninja. As the 21st head of the Ban clan, a line of ninjas that can trace its history back some 500 years, Kawakami is considered by some to be the last living guardian of Japan’s secret spies. “I think I’m called (the last ninja) as there is probably no other person who learned all the skills that were directly” handed down from ninja masters over the last five centuries, he said. “Ninjas proper no longer exist,” he said as he demonstrated the tools and techniques used in espionage and sabotage by men fighting for their samurai lords in the feudal Japan of yesteryear.

Nowadays they are confined to fiction or used to promote Iga, some 350 kilometres (220 miles) southwest of Tokyo, a mountain-shrouded city near the ancient imperial capital of Kyoto that was once home to many ninjas. Kawakami, a former engineer who began teaching ninjutsu — the art of the ninja — ten years ago, said the true history of ninjas was a mystery. “There are some drawings of their tools but we don’t always find all the details,” which may have been left deliberately vague, Kawakami said. “Many of their traditions were passed on by word of mouth,

so we don’t know what was altered in the process.”

And those skills that have arrived in the 21st century in their entirety are sometimes difficult to verify.

“We can’t try out murder or poisons. Even if we can follow the instructions to make a poison, we can’t try it out,” he said. Kawakami says much of the ninja’s art lies in catching people unawares, rather than in brute force. “Humans can’t be on the alert all the time. There is always a moment when they are off guard and you catch it,” he said. It is all about exploiting weaknesses that allows the ninja to outfox much bigger or more numerous opponents; distracting attention to allow a quick getaway. It is possible to hide — in a manner of speaking — behind the smallest of things, Kawakami said. “If you throw a toothpick, people will look that way, giving you the chance to flee. “We also have a saying that it is possible to escape death by perching on your enemy’s eyelashes; it means you are so close that he cannot see you.” Kawakami recently began a research job at the state-run Mie University, where he is studying the history of ninjas. But, he is resigned to the fact that he is the last of his kind. There will be no 22nd head of the Ban clan because Kawakami has decided not to take on any more apprentices. “Ninjas just don’t fit in the modern day,” he said. AFP

yosemite hiker dies after contracting rare disease

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popular lodging area in Yosemite National Park could be linked to a rare rodent-borne disease that has killed a California tourist who stayed there this summer, officials said.

A man who stayed at Curry Village in June died after contracting hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

A woman who also stayed in a canvas tent cabin about 100 feet from him on overlapping days has become seriously ill, park officials said.

The virus was found in the faeces of deer mice in the family friendly lodging area of cabins, according to tests by the Centres for Disease Control and state health officials.

“There’s no way to tell for sure, but state health officials feel they may have contracted it here in Curry Village,” park spokesman Scott Gediman said. The man, who was from Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay area, would be the first person to die from the disease contracted in the park, though two others were stricken in a more remote area in 2000 and 2010, officials said.

Hantavirus develops from breathing in dust contaminated with rodent droppings, urine or saliva. Early symptoms include fever and muscle aches, chills, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and coughing. nEWS DESK

swimmer launches fourth bid to cross Florida straits

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ETERAN US endurance swimmer Diana Nyad set off Saturday on her fourth attempt to swim the treacherous waters from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Nyad, who turns 63 on Wednesday, hit the water at 3:42 pm (19H42 GMT). The departure was pushed up a day over fears of poor weather. Wearing a blue and black bathing suit and a blue swim cap, the swimmer briefly thanked her assistants, the journalists watching and others. “Thanks for coming,” she said, adding the single word “courage,” before she jumped in for the 165-kilometer (103-mile) trek that she projects will take some 60 hours. Nyad admitted earlier to feeling nervous. “I think it’s healthy. When you have a respect for something, you have some fear,” the swimmer told reporters at the Marina Hemingway, the Havana yacht club where she started the swim. “There is some fear, but there’s also courage, and these three days, I need the courage to be stronger than the fear,” she said, adding that she couldn’t sleep all night in anticipation. AFP

long lost ship found

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N old whaling ship that carried Captain Robert Scott to the Antarctic and on a doomed expedition to the South Pole a century ago has been found off the coast of Greenland, the BBC reports. A salvage company testing echo-sounding equipment discovered the SS Terra Nova, which sank after hitting an iceberg while carrying supplies during World War II. The Schmidt Ocean Institute explains it discovered the SS Terra Nova while doing a shakedown cruise for its new flagship vessel, the R/V Falkor. nEWS DESK

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Monday, 20 August, 2012

federer, djokovic to meet in cincinnati final Page 17

MOHAMMAD AKRAM next Pakistan bowling coach?

LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

ORMER Pakistan bowler Mohammad Akram has turned out to be one of the main contenders for the job of bowling coach and his chances to gain the position are fifty percent.

Reports attributing from the cricket headquarters in Lahore suggested that Akram tops the list of aspirants as the national team’s bowling coach and his appointment rests with the final approval from PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf.

However, some reports stated his appointment as bowling coach with certainty. But a PCB official said that he is in the shortlisted personnel but the list is yet to be presented before the chair-

Pietersen set for england talks

South Africa, Australia advance to semis LAHORE

AFP

Dropped star batsman Kevin Pietersen is facing showdown talks with England skipper Andrew Strauss next week as he tries to rescue his international career.

The two men are to meet after the conclusion of the third Test against South Africa at Lord's to discuss whether Pietersen has a future in the squad after he was discarded for sending text messages to members of the South African team during the second Test at Headingley, Britain's Press Association reported.

The looming talks came amid further reports that some of South Africanborn Pietersen's texts were offensive to Strauss and allegedly offered advice to the touists on how to dismiss him.

Pietersen apologised for the texts without specifying their content but former England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin told the BBC that if the allegations are proven, Pietersen will likely not play for England again.

"I think the Kevin Pietersen thing is pretty sad and pretty serious for cricket, the ECB are capable of dealing with the matter as they see fit," Lord MacLaurin said.

"Nobody is bigger than the game and history is littered with sports stars who believe they are bigger than the game and business people too.

"If the reports in the papers are true.....I think Mr Pietersen will never play for England again."

matches for Pakistan between September 1995 and March 2001, was regarded as one of Pakistan``s fastest bowlers at his peak. The 37-year-old took 36 wickets in those 32 international matches, including a Test best of 5 for 138.

Akram also played for several high profile county teams in England.

Akram, who has recently been coaching in the UK, was backed for the role by former wicketkeeper Rashid Latif and fast bowler Azhar Mahmood, both of whom felt that he was the right man for the job, given his experience of Pakistan cricket, his experience of English county cricket and his ability to interact with the current group of international players and upcoming cricketers in Pakistan, the source said.

Akram is expected to commence the role as early as next month.

iCC u-19 WorLd CuP

STAFF REPORT

LONDON

saying. "Akram will not just work with the current group of international bowlers, he will also be expected to work with the upcoming bowlers at the National Cricket Academy, as well as at grass roots levels with a particular emphasis on grooming and preparing the next generation of fast bowlers for Pakistan," the s o u r c e added.

Akram w h o played 3 2

man. "After much debate and discussions, the PCB has chosen Mohammad Akram as the Pakistan bowling coach. They chose Akram as he has a good rapport with the current group of Pakistani cricketers, they know him, and he has experience of Pakistan domestic cricket, and also a lot of experience in county cricket," Pak Passion quoted a P C B source, a s

South Africa Under-19s booked their place in the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup with a comfortable 103-run win over England in Townsville.

They lost the toss and were asked to bat by England captain Adam Ball, and were dealt an early blow when Jamie Overton had the prolific Quinton de Kock caught behind for just seven.

However, Chad Bowes and Gihahn Cloete began the recovery with a stand of 65 for the second-wicket, while Theunis de Bruyn and Murray Coetzee both hit half-centuries and added a further 96 for the fourth-wicket.

Reece Topley took three late wickets to continue his impressive tournament and South Africa were bowled out for 244 from the final ball of their innings.

Daniel Bell-Drummond again departed early in the England reply, but Alex Davies and Ben Foakes both hit 54 and put on exactly 100 for the secondwicket. Unfortunately, Foakes’ dismissal to Prenelan Subrayen triggered a dra-

matic collapse and they were all out for just 141. The off-spinner ended with four for 24, while Lizaad Williams added the wicket of Aneesh Kapil to his earlier dismissal of Bell-Drummond and ended with two for 23. Australia’s all-round excellence proved too much for Bangladesh in the second quarter-final in Townsville.

Soumya Sarkar hit 73 at the top of the

Bangladesh batting order, but only three other batsmen made double figures and they were all out for just 171 with seven overs of their innings unused, as Travis Head (three for 30), Joel Paris (two for 38) and Ashton Turner (two for 22) all starred. In reply, Australia slipped to 11

for three and 33 for four courtesy of a brace apiece from opening bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Abu Jayed. However, captain Will Bosisto ended with 71 off 134 balls and his side got home by five wickets in the 46th over.

Bosisto said afterwards, “I think I played my role in the middle order and got us over the line, but we made it hard for ourselves losing a few early wickets, so that is something we will be working on for our next match. We just managed to nudge the runs around as [well as] we could and eventually we got on top of them.”

Papua New Guinea captain Christopher Kent hit an unbeaten 105 to help his side to a promising 239 for five from their 50 overs against Afghanistan in Brisbane.

Nigel Boge added a cameo of 55 from 56 balls at number seven, but they were outdone by the consistency of the Afghan batsmen. While only three of the Papua New Guinea batsmen reached double figures, seven of the Afghanistan ones did and they overcame some alarms to win by four wickets with an over to spare.

david claims second Australian open crown

CANBERRA AFP

Malaysia's Nicol David won her second Australian Open crown when she beat England's Laura Massaro in straight games Sunday, saying it was "heartbreaking" that squash was not in the Olympics. The 28-year-old world number one saved six game points in a crucial opening game before overwhelming Massaro 17-15, 11-2, 11-6 in an enthralling women's final.

Playing in front of legendary champion Heather McKay, the defending champion showed why she is considered the greatest player of the past decade, absorbing everything the Englishwoman threw at her before taking control.

Massaro played almost perfect squash in the first game, slowing the pace and keeping David pinned to the back of the court, but her inability to convert the game points cost her dearly.

David came out firing in the second and although Massaro battled hard, the result was never in any doubt once the Malaysian had taken a two-love lead.

"It was hard to get Laura off my back. I had to really get stuck in there, it was mentally and physically tough," David said. "I just knew I wasn't letting that first game go, it was close. I'm just so glad to win it three-love." David said it was a shame that a physically demanding sport such as squash was excluded from the Olympics. "I was in London for the Olympics and it was just heartbreaking to watch all the other sports knowing squash isn't part of it," she said.

"Squash players are some of the best athletes in the world. It's a sport truly for all-rounders. You need every skill and we really belong in the Olympics."

Men's champion Ramy Ashour, who beat fellow Egyptian Omar Mosaad 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 to claim his second consecutive title, also used his win to push for the inclusion of squash in the Olympics.

tendulkar, Mp, plots India's revival

NEW DELHI AFP

Sachin Tendulkar takes guard in a Test match for the first time as a member of parliament when India begin a new home season this week, aiming to rebuild their damaged reputation.

A two-match series against lowly New Zealand, starting in Hyderabad on

Thursday, is an appetiser for the main course -- four Tests each against England and Australia, who both thumped India 4-0 over the past year.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men will seek to avenge those drubbings in England and Australia. India were dethroned as the top-ranked Test side and have now slipped to fifth. "We need to return to winning ways and we have the team to do it," outgoing chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth told AFP. "I have great hope for the future."

Tendulkar, 39, the world's leading batsman with an unprecedented 100 international centuries, was in April nominated to the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for his contribution to the nation.

The record-breaking batsman, who made his Test debut in 1989, insisted the honour would not distract him from contributing to the team's resurgence.

"It is an honour to be nominated to parliament. I have not fought an election," Tendulkar said in a recent interview. "But I am an active cricketer and I will be focused on the game."

Tendulkar is the last of a core group

of Indian batting pillars still playing, following the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, which have left a gaping hole in the middle order. Dravid quit in March after a brilliant 16-year career during which he scored 13,288 runs and 36 centuries in 164 Tests.

Laxman, who also played for 16 years, decided to hang up his boots on Saturday, just days before he was due to play the first Test against New Zealand before his home fans in Hyderabad.

With two senior players having gone, media focus is centred around whether Tendulkar will bid farewell before the season ends next March.

Tendulkar has not played five-day cricket since the fourth Test against Australia in Adelaide in January, and even opted out of the recent limitedovers series in Sri Lanka.

The leading run-getter in both Test and one-day cricket would not hazard a guess on how the upcoming home season would pan out for India, saying he preferred taking it one game at a time.

"We can't get that far ahead and start thinking of being number one again," Tendulkar told the ESPN-Star

network.

"We are going to be focused only on New Zealand and nothing else. And then England and Australia. We can't jump to the month of March -- that way you lose your focus.

"To be focused on the present is the most important factor, and that is what not only me, but the entire team would want -- to achieve those results which will make us smile." The home season gives a chance for young talent such as the batting trio of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, and bowlers Umesh Yadav and Piyush Chawla, to blossom at the highest level.

Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar urged the selectors to use the 10 home Tests to build a side that will challenge South Africa in India's away series in November next year.

"It's only on that tour that India can reclaim their lost aura as a Test team," Manjrekar wrote on Cricinfo. "Nothing they do at home before that will help improve their image.

"It is overseas that India lost their self-esteem as a Test team, and it's only there that they will find it back."

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Sports 16

South Africa 216-4 against england LONDON AFP

South Africa were 216 for four in their second innings, a lead of 210 runs, when bad light and rain led to an early lunch on the fourth day of the third Test against England at Lord's on Sunday.

Hashim Amla was 94 not out and AB de Villiers 24 not out.

South Africa lead the three-match series 1-0 and only need to avoid defeat at Lord's to replace England as the world's top-ranked Test side.

ScOREbOARD AT LuncH SOuTH AFRIcA 1st Innings 309 (JP Duminy 61, V Philander 61; S Finn 4-75, J Anderson 3-76) EngLAnD 1st Innings 315 (J bairstow 95, I bell 58; M Morkel 4-80, D Steyn 4-94) SOuTH AFRIcA 2nd Innings (overnight: 145-3) 24 A. Petersen lbw b broad g. Smith lbw b Swann 23 94 H. Amla not out 31 J. Kallis lbw b Finn 9 D. Steyn c Taylor b broad 24 Ab de Villiers not out 11 EXTRAS (b4, lb5, nb2) TOTAL (4 wkts, 76.4 overs, 331 mins) 216 Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Smith), 2-50 (Petersen), 3-131 (Kallis), 4-164 (Steyn) To bat: J Rudolph, JP Duminy, V Philander, M Morkel, Imran Tahir bowling: Anderson 16-2-49-0 (1nb); broad 14-1-55-2 (1nb); Swann 28.4-6-62-1 Finn 16-2-37-1; Trott 2-0-4-0; England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair cook, Jonathan Trott, Ian bell, James Taylor, Jonathan bairstow, Matt Prior (wkt), Stuart broad, graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn Match position: South Africa lead England by 210 runs with six second innings wickets standing.

Toss: South Africa umpires: Simon Taufel (AuS) and Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) TV umpire: Rod Tucker (AuS) Match referee: Jeff crowe (nZL)

olinga, 16, becomes La Liga's youngest scorer MADRID

S

AFP

IXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Fabrice Olinga made history on Saturday when he became the youngest ever player to score in La Liga, grabbing the only goal as Malaga clinched a 1-0 victory at promoted Celta Vigo. The Cameroon-born forward came on as a 58th-minute substitute to make his league debut and got the 84th-minute winner as the new season got under way.

At only 16 years and 98 days, Olinga is 191 days younger than current Athletic Bilbao player Iker Muniain who had held the previous record for youngest scorer. Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini denied that the teenager's debut was a message to the club's owners who have been criticised for selling some of their best players over the summer. "The debut was no intentional message, young players like him and Portillo and Juanmi have to get experience and in no way does it prove we are lacking resources in the squad," said Pellegrini.

Celta, back in La Liga after five seasons away, were the better side for much of the game with ex-Chelsea player Quique de Lucas looking partic-

Afc extends bin hammam suspension KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian Football Confederation said Sunday it had extended the provisional suspension of scandal-tainted former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam by 20 days. It comes with the Qatari currently serving a three-month ban from football imposed by the ethics committee of governing body FIFA on July 26 pending the outcome of a probe into AFC finances.

Bin Hammam, who has been provisionally replaced after nine years as AFC president, was earlier last month suspended for 30 days by the AFC following an external audit into the accounts during his time in charge. AFP

Samir off to uSA to join university vigo: Malaga cf's forward fabrice olinga (c) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against celta. afp ularly dangerous. The veteran de Lucas had the best chance of the first half hooking a Roberto Lagos cross just over the crossbar. After the interval he went close on three ocassions in quick succession. Willy Caballero, excellent all evening in goal for Malaga, blocked two shots in two minutes before the striker unluckily struck the left hand post after being played through by the industrious Iago Aspas.

Malaga played at half pace all

evening, with one eye perhaps on the club's first ever Champions League match at home to Panathinaikos on Wednesday that will be key to qualification to the group stages of the competition.

Francisco Alarcon 'Isco' was their best player and he saw a thunderous drive hit the crossbar on 77 minutes before the teenage Olinga should have finished the rebound from close range, clumsily hitting his shot wide.

LAHORE: Pakistan future hope Davis Cupper Samir Iftikhar left for USA from London to join University of New Mexico to start his second year where a hectic tennis season awaits for him at NCAA Division 1 Intervarsity Tennis. The University of New Mexico in light of his excellent performance with unbeaten run at NCAA conference matches and extraordinary academic achievement of 3.67 /4 GPR last season (A+ Grades) has substantially raised his scholarship and will now need US $6000 a year for which his father former Davis Cup Player has appealed to CM for financial help. Samir in a special Interview told the correspondent. STAFF REPORT

True ambassadors of the country

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

There are millions of British Pakistani expatriates who are settled in the United Kingdom but a few have remained attached with their motherland in several ways. Demographics of British Pakistanis have changed considerably since they first arrived in the

UK. About 10,000 in 1951 to roughly 1.2 million today and now their second generation has grown in to inspiring youths with British nationalities such as World lightweight champion Amir Khan and his cricketer cousin Sajid Mahmood, Adil Rashid and Ajmal Shahzad and football Adnan Ahmed who has also represented Pakistan football team.

And now 19-year-old Samir Iftikhar and 15-year-old Alliena Swan are both British nationals of Pakistan origin but are believed to be Pakistan’s future hopes with having ‘world class talent’. Samir is Pakistan’s Davis Cupper while Alliena is a swimmer and are offspring of former Davis Cupper Tayyab Iftikhar and Nadia Swan whose children were born and raised in the UK but are representing Pakistan.

It can be said that they sacrificed the perks, facilities, opportunities provided by Sports Federations of developed countries for their talented players and have them opted to play for Pakistan. These youngsters are like ambassadors of the country.

Tennis and patriotism runs in the family of Samir from his father's side. Samir, the

prodigy is grandson of Indo-Pak Great Tennis Legend Khawja Iftikhar, who is the only player in the history of Pakistan to represent India, in Davis Cup in 1939 and opted to migrate and represented Pakistan in their Davis Cup debut in 1948 against Switzerland lost 3/2. Kh Iftikhar went on to serve Pakistan till 1963. Apart from his father Tayyab Iftikhar, his first cousin Aisam-ul-Haq is also Pakistan’s pride.

Samir moved to the UK with his mother Lindsay due to split up of his parents at age of 5. He started tennis at the age of 10 and with no formal coaching showed remarkable promise by winning local tournaments in the UK. His father spotted his talent and convinced him to play for Pakistan and in 2008, where the young patriotic kid left his O levels Exams in UK and braved the april heat to play trails for selection of Junior Davis Cup Team and earned the right to represent Pakistan.

Tayyb with limited financial resources has invested whatever he has for Samir’s international exposure at World Ranking Circuit and the youngster did not let him down.

He became the second player after Aisam to

win 4 ITF Junior World Ranking Titles since 1998. The youngster apart from his performance on the national circuit representing Wapda got academic scholarship for tennis and education at University of New Mexico in August 2011 where he is continuing to play tennis. On the other hand 15 year-old Lianna Swan also comes from a sporting family who is living in Dubai. Her father plays tennis, her mother Nadia Swan is a physical fitness trainer who has always played sport and followed physical training and nutritional paths.

Lianna made her swimming debut in 2011 to play the nationals and her mother traveled with her where Bahrain-born Lianna put up an amazing performance by setting 10 new records in all the ten events she competed in 15-16 years of age category.

She has been picked up by Army and has represented Pakistan twice in international event in Beijing last November and Dubai.

Army coach Zameerul Hasan appreciated Lianna’s talent and said: “She is Pakistan’s future. The girl has an amazing potential and I believe that she will become a great swimmer at International level.”

Youth like Samir and Allena are assets of country who needed to be nurtured and supported but thus far apart from little support there have been no one to show interest in their grooming. Such players require attention to achieve their goals and bring laurels to for the country. In fact the players like these are the true ambassadors of the country.

Monday, 20 August, 2012

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17 Sports wiggins confirms riding in tour of britain

LONDON AFP

Tour de France and Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins has confirmed he is competing in the Tour of Britain starting September 9. The 32-year-old Wiggins, who became the first Briton to win the Tour and then landed the Olympic time trial crown, is skipping the Tour of Denmark next week but will be back in the saddle for the start of the eight-stage Tour of Britain at Ipswich.

"It'll be nice. I'll try to stay fit between now and then so I don't embarrass myself! It'll be good," Wiggins said Sunday as he launched the inaugural 'Ride with Brad' mass participation public cycling event in Barnoldswick, Lancashire.

castroviejo in red as Movistar win team time trial PAMPLONA

hyderAbAd: new zealand cricketers warm up during a training session on the eve of first test match against india at the rajiv gandhi international cricket stadium. afp

Federer, Djokovic to meet in Cincinnati final

AFP

CINCINNATI

Spaniard Jonathan Castroviejo pulled on the leader's red jersey in the Tour of Spain on Saturday after his Movistar team won the opening 16.5km team time-trial. The Spanish outfit of defending Vuelta champion Juan Jose Cobo and outsider Alejandro Valverde clocked a winning time of 18min 51sec, to finish ahead of Dutch team Rabobank and Belgium's Omega Pharma, who both timed 19min 01sec. "For me it's obviously a personal satisfaction," said 25-year-old Castroviejo, making his Grand Tour debut and who was the first Movistar rider to cross the line.

"Nothing was planned, everyone gave what he could in this complicated final and it turned out that I crossed the line in front." Defending champion Cobo said he was pleased with the outcome after a problem with a wisdom tooth had hampered his prepartions just over a week before the race.

"It went better than I expected. With this wisdom tooth problem I haven't started in the best possible shape. But I hope that little by little I'll find my form," said the Spaniard.

W

AFP

ORLD No. 1 Roger Federer and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic booked a showdown in Sunday's final at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters with straight-set semi-final triumphs on Saturday. Top seed Federer beat his friend and Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, while Djokovic, who quit last year's final against Andy Murray with a shoulder problem, advanced by defeating Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 6-2.

"It will come down to a few points against Novak," Federer said. "I'll have to play my game and not worry about what he might be doing, especially on break points. "I missed break points in the Olympic final (against Murray) and I can't do that against him. Novak plays aggresive. He doesn't just push the ball.

Novak is amazing on hard court. "This is a final to look forward to." It's the first time the world's two top-rated players, neither of whom has dropped a set all

week, have met in a Cincinnati final.

It comes in the last tuneup match for Federer and reigning US Open champion Djokivic ahead of the start of this year's US Open on August 27.

Federer's run to the final means he will stay atop the ATP rankings through the end of the US Open. Federer has claimed an ATP-best five titles this season and seeks a sixth career Cincinnati crown. He and Djokovic last met in a Wimbledon semi-final, which the Swiss won on the way to capturing the grasscourt Grand Slam title. Previously, Serbia's Djokovic had swept three straight from the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

Federer leads their series 15-12.

Federer needed seven set points to lift an opener lasting almost an hour against Wawrinka, his friend and practice partner who has recently been lent the services of one of Federer's coaches.

But friendship aside, the top seed was ruthless at the end as he shut down Wawrinka as the challenger ended on a double-fault on match point, Federer improving to 55-7 on the season with his 11th win in 12 matches with Wawrinka.

Li beats Venus to reach second final in a row CINCINNATI AFP

China's Li Na, seeking her first WTA title since winning the 2011 French Open, defeated Venus Williams 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters. Ninth seed Li, who reached the Montreal final last week, will play Sunday's final against fifth seed Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon winner, by 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Left-hander Kerber, who ousted Serena Williams in the quarter-finals, seeks her third title of the year but took her only victory in five career meetings with Li in March at the Indian Wells quarter-finals. Kerber, who has lost only one three-set match this year, played steadily in the face of more than 50 unforced errors from Kvitova.

"I tried to focus until the last point and

Monday, 20 August, 2012

fight for everything," Kerber said. "Petra playewd better than me in the second set.

But I tried to play the ball deep.

"I moved very well and went for my shots when I could. I did it and it's amazing to be in the final. I have nothing to lose against Li. I will go out and enjoy the final."

Li captured the first set and broke Williams' first service game of the second

set for a 2-0 edge when the American, nagged by back pain, called for the trainer, receiving a back rub and returning to the court.

The treatment made all the difference to former World No. 1 Williams, who won the next five games on her way to forcing a third set that Li dominated, improving to 3-0 all-time against Williams with her

33rd victory of the season. "I'm sorry for Venus. She had a back problem and she really couldn't serve. But after she had treatment she really fought hard in the second set," Li said.

"When she was stretched out on the court I thought maybe the match might be finished. But there are no easy matches on this tour and it went all the way."

Williams produced two of her eight double-faults on break points to lose games.

Li, beaten by Kvitova last weekend for the Montreal title, has lost three finals in all this year. But Li, 30, is playing her first event with new coach Carlos Rodriguez, a former mentor to seven-time grand slam winner Justine Henin who currently coaches at an academy in Beijing.

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Sports 18 Japan’s Miyazato keeps LPGA lead watch it Live

TEN SPORTS

SPORTS CENTRE 07:30PM

garcia grabs uS PgA lead in ryder cup bid

NORTH PLAINS AFP

GREENSBORO

APAN'S Mika Miyazato, seeking her first LPGA title, fired a four-under par 68 on Saturday to seize a twostroke lead after the second round of the LPGA Safeway Classic.

Miyazato, who began on the back nine, birdied the par-3 11th and third holes and added birdies at the sixth and par-5 eighth holes to finish 36 holes on 11under 133, two clear of South Korean So Yeon Ryu, who also shot a 68.

"I had so much frustration on the putting on the front nine, but I made three birdies on the back nine," Miyazato said.

Ryu and Miyazato, both 22, were playing partners in the first two rounds and will be again for Sunday's final round of the 54-hole event at Pumpkin Ridge, where Miyazato will try to take a solid season to the next level by winning.

"I have so much good experience the last four or five events, but I don't know how much closer I am to winning a tournament," Miyazato said. "I tried to focus on my golf game one shot at a time."

Ryu likes her chances even as she will be trying to deny her the long-sought crown. "I think she's ready to make a win, but I think the problem is that golf is a mental game, so I think the final round gave a lot of pressure for her, but I think she can make it pretty soon," Ryu said.

"But I want to make another win this

AFP

J

north PlAinS: Sydnee Michaels watches her second shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the Safeway classic at Pumpkin ridge golf club. afp week. So I want to make a great competition with her." Ryu was coming off a victory last week at the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, her first since capturing the 2011 US Women's Open.

"It's really hard to keep focusing on my golf after my winning, but last week's tournament is finished so I'm just thinking about this week and that's why I played well," she said. "I shot 5-under on the front nine, but the back nine I made one bogey and I missed a lot of birdie putts. I have to practice some of my utility

shots and practice some putts. I'm ready to sink some putts tomorrow." American Cristie Kerr and South Korean Inbee Park shared third on 136, both expressing confidence in their chances on Sunday.

"Whoever has won this tournament has gone low on Sunday so that's what you have to do," Kerr said. "You have to go low, get off to a really hot start and try to bring it home." Kerr seeks her first victory since the 2010 State Farm Classic. "It has been a while since I won and I'm really hungry for it," she said.

fourth-tier rangers shatter world crowd record GLASGOW: Rangers manager Ally McCoist paid tribute to the troubled club's fans after 49,118 packed into Ibrox to watch Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of East Stirling, a world record attendance for fourth tier football. "It was quite unbelievable really," said McCoist. "I looked out of the office at 1:30 today and Edmiston Drive was chock a block. "It was fantastic.

It's a statement and it's really encouraging. "When you're getting support like that from the fans, you can only go one way and we must go forward." The Glasgow club, demoted to the Scottish Third Division following their liquidatation, marked their first home game in the bottom tier in spectacular fashion. Rangers smashed the previous record crowd at that level -- set in 1961 when 37,774 watched Crystal Palace's English Fourth Division clash against south London rivals Millwall.AFP

Sergio Garcia, seeking a European Ryder Cup spot, fired a four-under par 66 on Saturday to seize a one-stroke lead after the third round of the US PGA Wyndham Championship. Garcia, trying for his first US title since the 2008 Players Championship, stood on 14-under 196 after 54 holes, one shot in front of South African Tim Clark and American Bud Cauley.

"We've played good enough to put ourselves in a decent position to have a shot," Garcia said. "We'll go out there and see if we can play better than we did today and close it out."

The 32-year-old Spaniard birdied the par3 third and par-5 fifth, then jumped into contention with back-to-back birdies at the par-3 12th and par-4 13th. He took a bogey at the 14th but answered with a birdie at the par-5 15th.

Garcia would need a high finish to put himself back into an automatic qualifying spot for the Ryder Cup team, otherwise he would have to catch the eye of European captain Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain for a captain's pick. Garcia could also boost his chances in the upcoming US PGA playoffs with a victory, but the Ryder Cup was foremost in his thoughts.

"I am thinking more about the Ryder Cup than I am about the playoffs," said Garcia. "Hopefully, I'll be able to play well tomorrow and even if I don't win, it fixes everything up." Clark fired a 67, opening with a birdie and adding another at the third, then sandwiching birdies at the 11th and 13th around a bogey at the 12th.

Cauley had back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes, took his lone bogey at the 13th and put himself in the hunt with birdies at 15, 16 and 17.

American Jason Dufner fired a sizzling bogey-free 63 to jump into a share of fourth place on 198 alongside compatriot Harris English and Sweden's Carl Pettersson, who both fired 68s.

gcu boxing trials called again

SouSSe: tunisian supporters of etoile du Sahel clash with police during the African champions league football match between etoile du Sahel and esperance de tunis at the olympic Stadium. afp

LAHORE: The Vice Chancellor of Government College University has nullified the boxing trials of the new entrants for admission on the complaints of the parents. The parents of the fresh entrants complained to the VC of the rude behaviour of the non-technical sports official of the GCU and requested him to appoint a sportsman in his place and hold fresh trials on merit to recruit proper boxers instead of safarashi students. STAFF REPORT

English Premier League Preview: Here we go!

MuHAMMAD buTT There is dramatic and then there is Kun Aguero’s injury time winner on the final day which brought the curtain down on one of the most enthralling Premier League seasons in recent memory. Sir Alex almost choked on his chewing gum as the ‘noisy neighbours’ secured their first Premier League title and established their credentials as one of the big boys. The nail biting finish left football fans around the world craving for more and while the Euro’s and Olympics kept us engaged, nothing can quite match the weekly grind of league football.

And with the season about to start, City remain favourites to retain their Premiership crown; they have arguably the most balanced squad ( defensive cover aside) and having broken their duck will be looking to kick on from last season. That being said, the blue half of Manchester is notorious for messing it up in grand style and now with the spotlight firmly fixed on them, it remains to be seen whether they

can handle the pressure of being the numero uno of English football. As they say, getting to the top is one thing, staying there a completely different proposition.

United will be eager to regain their throne and the arrival of Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie has certainly bolstered their attacking options but further strengthening is required unless United want to rely on the midas touch of Sir Alex who has been carrying the team for a couple of years now. One can argue if United really needed to spend a sizeable amount on a player they could have perhaps done without and spent it on a central midfielder instead of relying on the nearly 60 year old Paul Scholes. The chasing pack also includes Chelsea and Arsenal who have underlined their aspirations by making some quality signings. Chelsea, on the back of their Champions League triumph have managed to attract exciting young players like Eden Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin. Patience as always will be in short supply though as sugar-daddy Abrahmovic will want instant return on his investments. Di Matteo, who already

pinches himself everyday to check if he’s living a dream will be constantly looking over his shoulder and that, is never a good thing, Couple that with lack of quality/ numbers in both defence and in the forward line and RDM could have a problem on his hands. Arsenal, like Chelsea, will be fielding one of the most exciting attacking line ups this season with Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla all joining the ranks. The departure of Robin Van Persie is a blow but Arsenal, provided they click, have enough attacking talent to compensate for his loss.

Wenger would do well to spend the cash received from RVP’s sale on defensive recruitments which would make them serious title contenders.

Rounding up the European hopefuls are Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle all of whom face contrasting challenges ahead of the new season. Spurs and Liverpool start life under new managers with each bringing a distinct footballing philosophy to their respective clubs. With cash seemingly in short supply at both clubs, their seasons could depend on how quickly the existing players adopt the ethos of their respective

manager. Continuity should not be a problem at Tyneside as they look to continue the good work of last season but the nuisance i.e. Europa League could take its toll on the team and adversely affect their league position. Newcastle, very much the surprise package last season will also have to deal with huge expectations not least from their own fanatical fans and this could put further pressure on a team that has historically flattered to deceive more often than not.

Swansea and Norwich, who did remarkably well in their debut season, will have to deal with Second Season Syndrome and that too without their original managers at the helm. Rodgers and Lambert, left for pastures anew in the summer and while the men who have replaced them (Michel Laudrup at Swansea and Chris Hughton at Norwich) are both capable, replicating the success of last season could be difficult.

Speaking of teams that could struggle, the relegation battle can often be more entertaining than the fight for the title and with the financial stakes getting higher by

the season, expect each point to be contested till the very end. The three promoted teams (Reading, West Ham and Southampton this season) are always favourites to go down although that nearly never transpires. The likes of Wigan and QPR are likely to be mired in the aforementioned dogfight and it will be interesting to see if Roberto Martinez has used up all his luck or whether he’ll be repeating Ari Gold’s line of. “Call me Helen Keller because I’m a f….. (to be censored) miracle worker” come the end of the season.

This promises to be one of the most exciting seasons in the Premier League not just because of the level of competition and the intricate subplots that enhance the drama of watching the Premier League but also because of the raft of stars that have joined the shores. The Premier League, despite its popularity has failed to lure or retain some of the bigger stars of the game but with all the aforementioned players joining in and then some more, we’re all set for a blockbuster of a season. Let the talking stop and football begin.

Monday, 20 August, 2012

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Monday, 20 August, 2012

Pakistan rejects Indian blame for exodus of migrant workers NEW DELHI

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AFP

AKISTAN has rejected Indian charges that any person from the country posted threatening messages on the Internet that triggered a mass exodus from Bangalore and Mumbai by migrants fleeing to their homes in the northeast.

“Our agencies have discovered that bulk of these messages have been uploaded on various websites in Pakistan,” Home Secretary RK Singh told reporters

on Saturday. “This is a first of its kind and we believe that it is highly reprehensible.”

The exodus was sparked by threats sent via mobile phones and the Internet that people from northeastern Assam state would be attacked by Muslims after the end of the holy month of Ramadan in reprisal for recent ethnic violence.

Local media reports estimated that over 35,000 people have fled the cities of Bangalore and Mumbai in recent days.

Extra trains were arranged to accommodate panicked students and workers.

Three weeks of clashes in remote Assam between members of the Bodo

tribal community and Muslims have claimed at least 80 lives and displaced more than 400,000 people.

Singh said India would register a formal protest with Pakistan.

“We will raise this issue with Pakistan... I am certain that they will deny out of hand but our technical people are definite,” he said.

India has banned bulk text messages temporarily to try to halt the spread of threats and incendiary rumours. Police in southern city of Bangalore have also arrested three people for spreading images and video clips across India.

The images of atrocities allegedly on Muslims sparked tension and people hailing from the northeast were attacked in western and southern cities.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said those who were fanning the rumours should be punished, saying “communal harmony” was at stake.

Responding to Indian allegations Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan said New Delhi needed to prove that people from Pakistan were responsible for fanning the exodus, and that the Indian authorities should act responsibly on issues of a sensitive nature.

LOnDOn: Police officers stand guard as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange addresses the media and his supporters from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy on Sunday. afp

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two brothers of kamra suicide bomber, retired PAf official arrested MONITORING DESK A suicide bomber, who exploded himself during the attack on Kamra Airbase, has been identified as Faisal Shahzad, resident of Taxila, leading to the arrest of his two brothers in connection with the attack. A private news television reported on Sunday that the police had arrested 16 people, including two brothers of Shahzad and a retired Pakistan Air Force (PAF) official, during raids in various parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the identification of the suicide bomber. “Investigation agencies have found key evidences and information from the cell phones which were recovered from the bomber,” sources said.

EIDuL FITR TODAy ISLAMABAD nnI

Eidul Fitr will be observed across the country with religious zeal and fervor today (Monday). Major Eid congregations will be held at open places‚ mosques and Eidgahs in all major cities and towns. The ulema in their sermons will highlight the significance and philosophy of Eidul Fitr. Special prayers will be offered for the progress and prosperity of the country and welfare of the Muslim Ummah. Prayers will also be offered for early liberation of occupied Muslim territories, including Kashmir and Palestine. In the federal capital, the main eid congregation will be held at the Faisal Mosque where parliamentarians‚ envoys of Muslim countries and top government officials will offer Eid prayers along with hundreds of people. Security has been beefed up in various parts of the country, including the federal capital, to avoid any untoward incident on the auspicious occasion. Meanwhile‚ Eid was celebrated in most of parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday. Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti offered Eid prayers at the mosque of the Chief Minister’s House. The Ruet-e-Hilal committee of Dera Ismail Khan also changed its decision after being pressed by administration and announced to celebrate Eid on Sunday.

World must brace for higher food prices: experts PARIS AFP

With drought parching farms in the United States and near the Black Sea, weak monsoon rains in India and insidious hunger in Africa’s Sahel region, the world could be headed towards another food crisis.

Asia should keep a catastrophe at bay with a strong rice harvest while the G20 group of industrialized and emerging economies tries to parry the main threat, soaring food prices. “We have had quite a few climate events this year that will lead to very poor harvests, notably in the United States with corn or in Russia with soja,” warned Philippe Pinta of the French farmers federation FNSEA. “That will create price pressures similar to what we saw in 20072008,” he added in reference to the last global food alert, when wheat and rice prices nearly doubled. In India, “all eyes will be on food inflation - whether the impact of a weak monsoon feeds into food prices,” Samiran Chakraborty, regional head of research at Standard Chartered Bank was quoted by Dow Jones Newswires as saying. Monsoon rains were 15.2 percent below average in mid-August, according to latest data from India weather bureau, and Asian rice prices are forecast to rise by as much as 10 percent in the coming months as supplies tighten. India and Thailand are two of Asia’s leading rice exporters.

Indian Food Minister Kuruppasserry Varkey Thomas told parliament this month

that prevailing conditions “could affect the crop prospects and may have an impact on prices of essential commodities.” Despite that warning however, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization expects rice output to slightly surpass “excellent results” recorded last year, though the FAO cut its global forecast for production of unmilled rice to about 725 million tons from its previous figure of 732 million.

The world is feeling the onset of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has a natural warming effect, is active in the western Pacific and expected to last until winter in the northern hemisphere, according to Japanese meteorologists. The US farm belt has been ravaged by the most stifling drought since the 1950s, and the country’s contiguous 48 states have just sweltered through the hottest July on record. Corn production is probably at the lowest level in six years, the US Department of Agriculture said, and curtailed production will likely send corn and soybean prices to record highs, it added. “Cereal prices have shot up, with an increase in (corn) prices of almost 40 percent since June 1,” strategists at the CMCIC brokerage noted. Commerzbank commodity experts said high temperatures and drought around the Black Sea “have resulted in wheat crop shortfalls on a scale that cannot yet be predicted with any accuracy.”

Continued on page 04

assange tells obama to end WikiLeaks ‘witchhunt’ LONDON AFP

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged President Barack Obama to end the US “witchhunt” against his whistleblowing website, in a speech Sunday from the balcony of Ecuador’s London embassy.

“I ask President Obama to do the right thing, the United States must renounce its witchhunt against WikiLeaks,” said Assange, making his first public statement since being granted political asylum by Ecuador on Thursday.

Assange praised the “courage” shown by the Latin American nation’s President Rafael Correa in giving him asylum, a move which has angered Britain which has said it will continue to seek his extradition to Sweden. “I thank President Correa for the courage he has shown in considering and in granting me political asylum,” Assange told journalists and several dozen of his supporters gathered outside the embassy in an upmarket part of London. The 41-year-old Australian walked into the embassy two months ago after exhausting all legal avenues in Britain in his bid to avoid being sent to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sex crimes. Assange claims the accusations against him — made by

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

two female WikiLeaks volunteers — are politically motivated and insists that he will eventually be extradited to the United States.

WikiLeaks enraged Washington by releasing video of a US attack in Iraq, as well as tens of thousands of classified US documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange made the speech from the balcony to avoid leaving the embassy premises and being arrested by the police officers ringing the building.

Britain has said it could invoke a littleused piece of legislation introduced in 1987 which it says allows it to revoke the diplomatic immunity of an embassy on British soil and go in to arrest Assange.

The warning was seen as a threat by Ecuador which condemned it. However, Britain now says it would prefer a negotiated solution. Thanking his supporters, Assange claimed that he had heard police trying to enter the building after he was given asylum. “Inside this embassy after dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up into the building through its internal fire escape,” he told them.

“But I knew there would be witnesses, and that is because of you.”

With a new spiky haircut and wearing a blue shirt and maroon tie, Assange claimed Britain had “thrown away” the Vienna ConEditor: Arif Nizami

ventions in warning Ecuador that it could enter the building to extract him. Despite Ecuador providing a haven for Assange, British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said Britain had no choice but to seek his extradition. Ahead of Assange’s appearance Sunday, his high-profile Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon said the former hacker was in “fighting spirit”. Reading from a statement outside the embassy, Garzon said: “I have spoken to Julian Assange and I can tell you that he is in fighting spirit.” Garzon said Assange had instructed his lawyers “to carry out a legal action in order to protect the right of WikiLeaks, Julian himself and all those currently being investigated.”

WikiLeaks on Sunday urged Sweden to guarantee it would not extradite him to the United States. “It would be a good basis to negotiate a way to end this matter if the Swedish authorities would declare without any reservation that Julian would never be extradited from Sweden to the USA,” WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told AFP. Assange is said to be living in a small room within the embassy, which is situated in Knightsbridge near to the Harrods department store. His mother on Sunday expressed confidence that her son would eventually make it to Ecuador to continue his whistleblowing work.