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end of an era: Bollywood’s Resumption of Govt to seek fresh first superstar Rajesh cricketing ties with mandate from india formidable CBm people in 2013 polls khanna passes away PAGE | 02
Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 24 19 pages
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Karachi edition
thursday, 19 July, 2012 Sha’ban 29, 1433
Court reopens graft references against Sharifs RAWALPINDI ONLINE
It’s time we discuss caretaker setup, Nawaz tells government pML-N president says caretaker government should be formed in consultation with all stakeholders LAHORE
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AGENcIEs
AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday demanded the government hold negotiations over the caretaker setup for the next general elections. Talking to media after a meeting of district presidents and general secretaries of
PML-N from all over Punjab, Nawaz said the upcoming time was extremely important for the country, adding the caretaker setup should be constituted in consultation with all stakeholders. Emanating confidence, the two-time premier Nawaz said the coming time would unfold who would give tough time to whom. “If you give us the tough time, we will reciprocate,” he added, hailing the appointment of Justice (r) Fakhruddin G
Ebrahim as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Nawaz said he wished institutions to be buttressed so that nobody could dare undertake the riggings during the next elections. The PML-N head said that strong political parties were the true guarantee to the stability of a democratic system, and a vibrant and dynamic Muslim League would ensure a robust democracy and a stable Pakistan. He said that PML-N had performed
many unprecedented feats, including strengthening of institutions in Pakistan, independence of judiciary, predominance of constitution and putting the national economy on the road to rapid progress. He also pointed out that in the previous elections efforts were made to unjustly keep the PML-N leadership away from the elections. They were allowed to participate in the process only on the last day of submission of nomination papers.
Tribes close door to polio vaccine in North Waziristan
HANGU: Paramedics treat an injured bombing victim at a hospital on Wednesday. afp
MIRANSHAH AFP
BomB kills 14 shias of The same family Dead include three women, two 11-year-old boys and a three-year-old girl g Taliban claim responsibility for brutal attack g
An accountability court in Rawalpindi has reopened references against the Sharif brothers on the recommendations of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for their involvement in corruption cases. The court has also summoned record from the NAB over three alleged corruption references against the Sharifs. Judge of Rawalpindi Accountability Court, Chaudhary Abdul Haq has issued notices to the parties concerned and has asked them to appear before the court on July 28. The petition to open corruption references against the Sharif brothers was filed by NAB Chairman Fasih Bukhari. The applicant has asked to reopen delayed references against the Sharif brothers in cases of Hudaibyah Paper Mills, Ittefaq Foundry (both Wilful Loan Default cases) and Raiwind Farmhouse (Assets Beyond Known Sources of Income case). These references were filed during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s reign but were not taken up by the accountability court for one reason or another. In the past, former deputy prosecutor general, Zulfiqar Bhutta, had also requested the court to hear these references but the hearing was not held. Proceedings in the cases were adjourned sine die by the accountability court in 2001 when the brothers were in exile. After their return to the country, NAB filed an application in 2007 reopening the cases. The application was accepted but in 2010 the cases were adjourned sine die by the accountability court which directed that the trial could be commenced if an application signed by NAB’s chairman was submitted before the court. The incumbent NAB chairman constituted a special committee to revisit all cases pending against politicians.
PESHAWAR/PARACHINAR AGENcIEs
A bomb tore through a vehicle in Sepoy village of Orakzai Agency on Wednesday, killing 14 Shias of the same family, including three children. A faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the victims were targeted because of their faith. Senior administration official Zakir Hussain said, “It was a remote-controlled bomb planted on the road. The bomb exploded near a pick-up van carrying passengers.” Eight people were killed on the spot and six died in a state-run hospital in Kohat, Hussain told AFP, adding that the dead included three women, two 11-year-old boys and a three-year-old girl. Continued on page 04
Tribesmen endorsed a Taliban ban on polio vaccinations on Wednesday, closing the door to the prospect of any child being vaccinated in North Waziristan as part of a nationwide campaign. Officials had pinned their last hopes of inoculating children in the northwestern district on talks with tribesmen, which were successively delayed until Wednesday, the last day of the nationwide campaign. “Polio vaccination will be banned until drone attacks are stopped,” tribal elder Qadir Khan told a gathering of more than 200 elders and Islamic scholars in Miranshah. “Drones martyr so many children, while polio afflicts one or two out of hundreds of thousands,” said tribal elder Maamoor Khan. North Waziristan administrator Siraj Ahmed Khan said he had sought to convince the tribesmen to accept the vaccinations for the disease, which leaves children crippled for life.“Polio is rampant in tribal areas and government desires to prevent its spread,” Khan told the meeting.
The polio battle exemplifies the government’s limited writ over the tribal belt, which Washington has called the most dangerous region on Earth as a stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda. Pakistani warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose followers are fighting Western troops in Afghanistan, and the Pakistani Taliban banned vaccinations in North and South Waziristan, risking the health of 240,000 children. They demanded an end to US drone strikes and condemned the campaign as a cover for espionage. A Pakistani doctor was jailed in May after helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden using a hepatitis vaccination programme. Officials said a further 110,000 children in Khyber Agency also risked going without the vaccine, because of fighting between government troops and warlord Mangal Bagh. The prime minister’s office told AFP that the campaign would be extended until Thursday and Friday in the rest of Pakistan, but said there had been “no change” on the situation in Waziristan.
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thursday, 19 July, 2012
WoRld vieW
NeWS
Today’s
slap the terrorist label on the Haqqanis
CARtooN
china gave nuclear weapons to saudi Arabia :cIA contractor
Quick Look
Story on Page 16
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Zardari calls resumption of cricketing ties with India formidable CBM
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pCNS fails to finalise recommendation on missing persons Rabbani says committee will take up recommendations by political parties in next meeting on 24th g
ISLAMABAD AGENcIEs
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has written a letter to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh praising New Delhi’s recent move to resume cricketing ties with Islamabad. In the letter, the president expressed hope that cricket matches between India and Pakistan would prove to be a formidable confidence-building measure and a way forward towards encouraging bilateral people-topeople contacts. Zardari stated that the move would add to positive atmosphere that had been witnessed by the two countries after resumption of the dialogue.“I am glad to learn that the cricket boards of Pakistan and India have agreed to resume cricket matches after a gap of five years,” the president stated. stAFF REPORt
ECP ready for elections at any time: Shakirullah Jan MULTAN: Acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Shakirullah Jan has declared that the government is ready to hold general elections at any time as the Election Commission of Pakistan is fully prepared. Talking to reporters at the Multan Airport on Wednesday, Jan declared that the ECP enjoyed financial autonomy. “It is the government’s responsibility to provide whatever amount the ECP requires,” he said, adding that according to the rules, the ECP was enforcing the Rs 1.5 million electoral expenses’ limit on each candidate. “If any associate of any candidate spends in excess of Rs 1.5 million, this would also be accounted for in the restricted Rs 1.5 million limit, and would also entail legal action,” he said. To another question, Jan said voters of far-flung areas would be provided transportation, while those residing nearby would have to make their own arrangements. He said it was not in the jurisdiction of the ECP to punish those using elections for other illegal advantages. AGENcIEs
President approves 4 PHC judges ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday approved extensions in tenure of four additional judges of Peshawar High Court (PHC). He made this decision on the advice of the prime minister. The judges whose tenure has been extended are Justice Khalid Mehmood, Justice Nisar Hussain Khan; Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth and Justice Qaiser Rashid. The last three judges have been given an extension for one year. The president also approved the appointment of four additional judges of PHC. They are Irshad Qaiser, Shah Jehan Khan Akhundzada, Rooh ul Amin Khan, Assadullah Khan Chamkani. AGENcIEs
The Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on Wednesday once again failed to finalise the recommendations on missing persons. The in-camera meeting, presided over by PCNS Chairman Raza Rabbani, took place in the Parliament House and was attended by Mushahid Hussain, Fazlur Rehman, Mehtab Abbasi and other members of the committee. The committee had to give a final shape to the recommendations for legislation regarding the missing persons’ case but due to the hectic schedule of the committee members it could not be finalised. In its recommendations to the government, the committee will propose drafting of a fresh legal framework to halt the disappearance of persons while suggesting legal action against the disappearance of persons. Later talking to reporters, Rabbani said the committee had received recommendations on the issue from political parties and would take them up in its next meeting scheduled on July 24-25. He said the PCNS would definitely be taking help from these recommendations in the drafting of the final report on the subject. Rabbani said the Foreign Office spokesman and the foreign minister had been summoned to give a formal briefing on the thorny issue of NATO supply and Afghan situation in depth. He said the committee would also review the progress on implementation of Aghaz-e-Haqooqe-eBalochistan package in the next meeting.
Navy does the police’s job! Nabs 10-member gang of robbers that targeted many house in Naval Complex and Air Complex ISLAMABAD KAsHIF ABBAsI
It took the intelligences sleuths of the armed forces three months to bust a gang of thieves was targeting the houses of army officials inside the Pakistan Naval Complex, Air Complex and Khan Research Laboratory Housing Society, Pakistan Today has learnt. Sources said that the Naval Intelligence busted a 10-member strong gang of burglars who had been operating in Air Complex and Naval Complex for the last four months. The gang of thieves several times managed to sneak into Naval Complex, Air Complex and KRL Housing society and targeted dozens of houses there. They said that before operating in Islamabad, the gang targeted many houses in Defence Housing Society, Lahore, from where they took some official cards and iden-
tity cards and used them while entering the said complexes. The sources said that they targeted 18 houses in Air Complex and two in Naval Complex. They said that members of the gangs were wanted by Rawalpindi and Islamabad police in 35 cases of house burglary. When the incidents of burglary increased in the highly secured area, the intelligence agencies of Air Force and Navy came into action. And finally, Naval Intelligence managed to bust the gang and recovered looted items, including jewellery and other valuables worth millions of rupees. The Naval Intelligence handed over the gang members to police. “Yes, some days ago, we busted a gang of thieves who committed burglaries in Naval Complex and Air Complex,” said a senior officer of Pakistan Navy who wished not to be named. The officer said that an internal inquiry was also underway to trace link of the burglars with the staff.
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thursday, 19 July, 2012
ARtS & eNteRtAiNMeNt
buSiNeSS
SPoRtS
Who wants to be India’s Next top Model?
Bokhari craves a bite of turkish delight
Pakistan’s pursuit of India tour pays off
News 03 editoRiAl Polio setbacks Sisyphean task
CoMMeNt Kamran Rehmat says; Dandy does it!: Hina Khar is one today — as foreign minister
Dr James J Zogby says; Creeping Islamophobia: A new kind of McCarthyism
Imran Husain says; The doomsaying media: Trapped in a 24-hour breaking news cycle
Story on Page 18
Story on Page 13
Story on Page 15
Articles on Page 14-15
Govt to seek fresh mandate from people in 2013 polls: PM g
Ashraf says Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiris MuzAffARABAD
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SWAT: Tourists have erected tents along the Indus River in Kalam as all hotels in the area are completely booked. ONLINE
PTI a test-tube baby of ex-ISI chief: Nisar ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudary Nisar Ali Khan has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was a “test tube party”, a brainchild of former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha. Criticising PTI Chairman Imran Khan in a press statement issued on Wednesday, Nisar said Imran was a leader without vision. “His policies are incoherent,” he added. Responding to Imran’s accusation that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had struck a behind-the-scenes deal for the caretaker setup before elections, Nisar clarified that his party was not involved in any backdoor deals with the ruling party. “PML-N is not making any secret deal with the government regarding formation of caretaker government”, he added. Nisar criticised Imran Khan saying that the latter hurled stones on others while sitting in a house made of glass. He said Imran Khan was on the top of the list of people taking political U-turns. INP
AGENcIEs
H E government will seek fresh mandate from the people in the 2013 elections on the basis of its performance in this tenure, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Wednesday. Addressing a public meeting at Athmuqam in Azad Kashmir, Ashraf said, “We are moving towards general elections and no one should have any doubt or fear that election will not be fair and impartial because we believe in public’s verdict and will recognise their decision.” He said the PPP believed in serving the people and those talking of a revolution had no programme or manifesto. Ashraf said successive dictators had attempted to eliminate the PPP but failed as the party enjoyed the support of the masses. “There is only one way to come into power and that was the power of vote,” he said. The prime minister said some people were talking about the appointment of the election commissioner and were saying that there would be rigging in the elections. However, he contended that the issue was addressed with the consensus of the opposition and an impartial personality was selected for the post. Ashraf said the PPP and its allies were working towards
Sherry holds Sufi concert to show Pakistan’s ‘softer side’
holding transparent and impartial elections, adding that President Asif Ali Zardari was implementing the vision of Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto to make a concrete democracy‚ parliament and to have fair and transparent elections. KASHMIRIS: The prime minister assured the Kashmiris that Pakistan would continue to extend diplomatic, political and moral support to the people of Kashmir until the resolution of the core issue in accordance with the UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. On relations with the neighbouring countries, Ashraf said it was the government’s policy to continue to improve relations with
its immediate neighbours such as Afghanistan, Iran, China, India and Sri Lanka. On ties with India, he said Pakistan was pursuing a policy of cordial relations with India and initiatives in this regard were also appreciated by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz during his recent meeting with him in Jeddah who had described improvement of relations between the two countries as a good omen which would be beneficial to the people of both India and Pakistan. About Afghanistan, he said, “It is our utmost desire that the Afghan problem is addressed in accordance with the wishes of the Afghans and we are ready to help them in this way.”
PPP to again nominate Rehman Malik for Senate
WASHINGTON APP
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman on Tuesday night held a concert to entertain and engage her counterparts in Washington. She said that the event was held to counter the negative stereotypes attached to Pakistan and to show the United States that Pakistan has many things to offer to the world. She said Pakistan has emerged as the regional hub of Sufi music and has the largest number of pop fusion groups. The Open Embassy Evening was attended by senior American officials from the State Department, White House and various members of think tanks. Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio, and a longtime advocate of end to unilateral actions like drones, attended the dinner, and was seen in close conversations with the Zeb and Haniya, the two cousins, who hail from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, treated the appreciative gathering to some of their popular numbers including Bibi Jan and several others in Urdu, Pashtu and Persian languages.
KARACHI: Only a few days after his resignation from the Senate, the government is once again planning to nominate Rehman Malik for the Upper House seat. The final decision was to be taken in a late-night meeting of the PPP on Wednesday. Malik is expected to submit his nomination papers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on June 19 or June 20. Malik’s resignation announcement on July 10 followed the earlier suspension of his Upper House membership by the Supreme Court after he failed to provide necessary documents proving he had given up his British citizenship. According to Malik, he had winded up his business in the UK in 2008 and withdrawn his British nationality on the directives of former premier Benazir Bhutto and her husband President Asif Ali Zardari. AGENcIEs
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We can’t deliver justice: Karzai KABuL AFP
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FGHAN President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday admitted his Western-backed administration was unable to deliver justice to the people, despite decadelong international efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation. Led by the United States, the international community has pumped billions of dollars into Afghanistan since the Taliban’s Islamist regime was toppled in a 2001 invasion, and NATO has 130,000 troops defending Karzai’s government. “No doubt there has been lots of progress in governance, in delivering service to the people. The government, the parliament and the courts have better capabilities compared to 10 years ago,” Karzai said in a speech as he inaugurated an association of Afghan women judges. “But are we in the place that the people desire, are we in the place to heal the pains and suffering of the Afghanistan people in a way that the people desire? No.
2 killed, 4 injured in blast near Rangers vehicle KARACHI: At least two people were killed and several others, including Rangers officials, were injured in a blast near a Rangers vehicle in Karachi on Wednesday, police and rescue sources said. According to the sources, the blast occurred near People’s Chowrangi area of Karachi, killing at least two people and injuring three Rangers officials and a child. “The injured have been shifted to a local hospital in Karachi,” they said, adding that police and law enforcement agencies had cordoned off the area. A rickshaw, and a motorbike were also damaged in the blast. ONLINE
“The reason that the people of Afghanistan in the villages and across the countryside, (even) in the cities, still seek justice through the traditional method is because the government neither has the ability to provide that justice nor can it be addressed on time. “And sometimes — I hope it’s only sometimes, not most of the times — instead of getting justice, they are getting injustice.” Because of corruption in the courts many Afghans prefer traditional justice systems, often local community
councils, to settle their disputes. In parts of the country where Taliban insurgents are most active, the villagers turn to the Taliban’s harsh interpretation of Islamic sharia law. The public execution of a young woman for adultery last month, captured on a video which showed a crowd of cheering men watch as she was shot dead, drew international condemnation. Karzai’s admission came as the US-based Human Rights Watch issued its own condemnation of Afghanistan’s justice system, saying UN studies have shown “prosecutors and judges to be among the most corrupt officials in Afghanistan”. “Afghanistan’s justice system in both military and civilian trials remains weak and compromised, in spite of over 10 years of donor assistance,” the rights group said. Its comments came in a statement urging France to call on Karzai to commute the death sentence handed down this week to an Afghan soldier for killing four French troops in January.
British Pm arrives in afghanistan KANDAHAR AFP
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Afghan officials said. Cameron flew into the southern city of Lashkar Gar, capital of Helmand province, where British forces are based. “He met with provincial officials including the police chief and acting governor,” provincial police spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang told AFP. They discussed the transition of security responsibilities as Britain, and its NATO allies, prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, he said. Cameron is expected to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul during his visit. Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, making it the second-largest contributor to the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force after the United States. London has previously announced plans for most of its troops to be withdrawn by the end of 2014, with 500 coming home by the end of 2012 and the rest gradually withdrawn over 2013 and 2014. The Sun newspaper reported this week that ministers including finance minister George Osborne want a faster withdrawal, believing that completing the pull-out it by the end of 2013 could save the government £3 billion ($4.7 billion). Military chiefs reportedly oppose the move, saying it would risk hard-won gains. Cameron’s spokesman said on Tuesday that no decisions had been taken on the timing yet but that the drawdown would be “steady and measured” and discussed in coming months. The timing will also be discussed with Britain’s ISAF allies, the spokesman said.
BaraCk OBama NameS Continued fRom page 19
People close to him said he was frustrated that the CIA and Pentagon took the lead on Pakistan policy, with Munter’s job effectively to contain the fallout. After a half-year standoff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month said sorry to Pakistan for the deaths of 24 troops in an air raid near the Afghanistan border, leading Islamabad to reopen key supply routes. Just two weeks after Munter’s announcement, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, also said he would leave his post early. The State Department said he decided to
leave the stressful job for health reasons. Olson, the nominee to be ambassador to Pakistan, is a 30-year veteran of the State Department who served as the envoy to the United Arab Emirates from 2008 to 2011. Until last month, Olson served in the US embassy in Kabul as the coordinator for development and economic affairs, a key priority for Washington as the United States prepares to withdraw its forces. Pakistan has repeatedly voiced fear that the United States will lose interest in the region with the end of the war, first launched after AlQaeda carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on
the United States. US officials believe that Pakistan has maintained close ties with violent Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, most notably the Haqqani network, so as to preserve influence after the US withdrawal and balance arch-rival India. The United States has insisted that it will maintain an interest in Afghanistan and earlier this month designated the wartorn country a major nonNATO ally, providing the framework for future cooperation. Cunningham served as US ambassador to Israel before taking his post in Kabul. He has also served as consul general in Hong Kong and as deputy US representative at the United Nations.
BOURGAs: smoke rises over Bourgas airport on Wednesday. three people were killed and more than 20 wounded in an apparent bomb attack on a bus packed with Israeli passengers at the Bulgarian airport. afp
Defence analyst launches a book about the story of pakistani prisoner of war in India g
ISLAMABAD stAFF REPORt
Leading columnist and defence analyst Ikram Sehgal on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment of Justice (r) Fakharuddin G Ebrahim as chief election commissioner, saying he had regards for the retired judge but had some concerns over his age. Speaking at the launching ceremony of his book, Escape from Oblivion, The Story of a Pakistani Prisoner of War in India, Sehgal said he had regards for the newly-appointed CE but had questions about how would he check the rigging in the corrupt system as the last elections were also rigged. Talking about the Pakistan Army, he said, “the Pakistan Army is a blessed army… but in some cases undeserving generals were made chiefs,” he said.
Sehgal concerned about new CeC’s age Sehgal, a Pakistan army officer, was taken a prisoner of War in India after being handed over to the Indian army following the 1971 rebellion in the then East Pakistan. Sehgal escaped on the hundredth day of his captivity, becoming the first ever Pakistani army officer to successfully escape from an Indian POW camp. Compiled from the original notes jotted down by the author during the period of his debriefing on return to Pakistan, the book provides an insider’s account of conditions under Indian custody. It is a gripping tale of an individual’s courage, of disparate friendships made in adverse circumstances, and of the will to survive. In his concluding remarks, Sehgal said, “Such men who fight against all the odds of war are to be eulogised for what they believe in, even if their views and aspira-
tions thereof are contrary to each other.” The speakers present at the launch included Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan, Brig Muhammad Taj, PML-N leader Sartaj Aziz, and Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan. The speakers were of the view that Sehgal’s efforts in escaping from Indian custody were a tribute to his loyalty to his country and to the courage of his convic-
US hits top Syrian ministers with sanctions WASHINGTON AFP
With President Bashar alAssad’s regime reeling from a bomb attack that killed three top commanders, the United States turned the screw government further Wednesday with sanctions against dozens of ministers. The Treasury Department announced measures against 29 members of the regime, including the ministers of finance, economy, justice and information, as well as the governor of the central bank. Sen-
ior Treasury Department official David Cohen described the move as part of an “unwavering commitment” to press Assad’s regime to “end the carnage and relinquish power.” While the US had already frozen the assets of around 100 members of the regime and barred US firms from doing business with them, the move represents a significant ramping up of the pressure on the regime’s inner circle. To date those not directly involved in the violence had largely been spared sanctions, in the hope of isolating Assad
through defections or even an internal revolt. Among the other ministers included in Wednesday’s actions were those responsible for agriculture, housing, health, education, environment, culture and oil. Many of the ministers were appointed on June 23 when Assad announced a new cabinet in the wake of controversial parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the opposition. Five companies were also hit with sanctions linked to Syria’s weapons proliferation.
security forces kill 6 militants in chitral CHITRAL ONLINE
At least six militants were killed in clashes with security forces on Wednesday in Chitral. According to initial reports, the militants were from Afghanistan and had attacked the Gambhir and Arandu security
checkposts in Chitral. Six of them were killed when security forces retaliated. The bodies of the militants are still lying in the area. Earlier in April, the general officer commanding in Swat had claimed that the army had successfully repulsed various terrorist attacks on the Pak-Afghan border areas in the Chitral district.
tions. “Ikram has made three careers for himself. That of a brave army officer, a successful business man and an influential writer, who has excellent command on defence and security issues,” said Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan. Air Marshal Asghar Khan said the Pakistan Army should have no role in the elections, adding that every election since 1975 had been rigged.
BomB kills 14 shias Continued fRom page 01
All the victims were part of the same family. “It was a militant attack, the aim was to create panic in the area by killing ordinary people,” Hussain said. Security forces and members of a peace committee rushed to the spot to cordon off the area and took the bodies and the injured to Kohat District Hospital. Doctor Mohammad Naeem confirmed the toll and said an 11-year-old boy with serious injuries was transferred to Peshawar for specialist care. A spokesman of the Darra Adam Khel faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. “We targeted them because they were Shias, and they are enemies of Islam,” spokesman Mohammed Afridi told Reuters by telephone. “This appears to be part of a series of attacks by militants against one particular sect,” said Khushal Khan, a senior government official in Orakzai. The security forces have launched an investigation into the blast and have started searching for the perpetrators.
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EC registers 84.3m eligible voters including 1.58m new voters ISLAMABAD
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AGENcIEs
H E preparation of computerised electoral rolls is almost complete; 84.3 million eligible voters have been registered including 1.58 million new registrants. Acting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan briefed a European Union Parliament Mission led by Jean Lambert on Wednesday at the Election Commission’s Secretariat. The delegation is visiting Pakistan to discuss ways to reinforce a mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship between ECP and EU. The CEC told the delegation that he wishes to strengthen democracy in Pakistan through implementation of electoral laws and Supreme Court’s directions in letter and spirit. He informed the partisipants that he has closely coordinated with NADRA, visiting and observing the finalization of electoral rolls as well as individual complaints; representatives of political parties are also
being redressed immediately. The CEC stated that it is a constitutional obligation of ECP to conduct honest, just and fair elections; however, providing and maintaining law and order is the sole responsibility of the executive and local administration. He said that ECP attaches high priority to friendly relations with the international community and warmly welcomed election observers to monitor the by-elections to be held in NA-151 Multan, today (Thursday). He said that the ECP has always welcomed positive criticism from observers and their suggestions are given a lot of importance, as they assist ECP in streamlining future plans and making sure that discrepancies are never left unaddressed. Lambert appreciated steps taken by the ECP to strengthen electoral norms in Pakistan and assured all possible support in implementing electoral reforms and strengthening democracy in the country. She also expressed her satisfaction in the discussions and resolved to develop EU linkages with democratic institutions in Pakistan.
FaFeN to monitor multan by-polls despite eCP restriction ISLAMABAD: Despite the refusal of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue accreditation cards to observers, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) plans to mobilise its observers to monitor the by-election in NA-151 Multan-IV scheduled to be held on July 19, 2012, says an FAFEN statement. According to the statement released on Wednesday, trained FAFEN observers will monitor electoral processes outside the polling stations. Additionally, the observers will monitor voting and counting processes if allowed by the Presiding Officers. Citizens have the right to monitor the performance of institutions that are being run and maintained with public exchequer. FAFEN decided to continue with its observation plan after the refusal of ECP to grant its observers accreditation to observe the elections. This is the first time since FAFEN’s inception six years ago that the ECP has refused the network from election observation. The ECP issued accreditation cards to approximately 20,000 FAFEN observers for monitoring voting and counting processes in the 2008 General Elections and subsequent by-elections. The ECP decision has come after FAFEN raised serious issues with the electoral rolls being finalised for use in the coming general elections. FAFEN urged the ECP to follow the Supreme Court directions that voter lists should be finalised after door-to-door verification. According to FAFEN, the Preliminary Electoral Rolls 2012 had more than 11 percent voters who were not verified on addresses listed on these rolls. Alarmingly, there are around 20 million people who are 18 years of age and above and not registered as voters. FAFEN says that the refusal of the ECP to allow observation of voting and counting processes in the by-election is a serious blow to electoral transparency, something that the ECP, media and civil society organisations have all struggled for. The decision also appears to be an effort contrary to the desire of the incoming Chief Election Commissioner, who has sought support of civil society and media for the conduct of free and fair elections in the country. stAFF REPORt
By-elections in the NA-151 constituency, for the seat vacated by ex -prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani after his disqualification would be held today (Thursday). Ten candidates are contesting these elections, with nine being independent candidates and Gilani’s son contesting on a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ticket. Abdul Qadir Gillani faces tough competition from Shaukat Hayat Boson, who is the younger brother of former federal minister and leader Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sikandar Hayat Boson. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) did not announce a candidate but its leaders are said to be supporting Boson. During his campaign, Boson reiterated PML-N and PTI’s stance against PPP. Former PM Gilani, supporting his elder son addressed a campaign saying that his disqualification had disgraced the mandate of the people, adding that, “We again came to the court of the masses; who would cast their vote in favour of his son.” “If all institution remained in their domain, there would b no confrontation among institutions,” said the former PM.
ISLAMABAD APP
BANNU: People throw stones at a damaged electricity pole during a protest against load shedding in the area on Wednesday. ONLINE
AGENcIEs
Anti -Terrorism Court (ATC) once again issued arrest warrants for seven highprofile accused, including ex-president Pervez Musharraf in the Bugti murder case. On Wednesday, the presiding judge Muhammad Nawaz Khan Barakzai resumed proceedings of the case. During the hearing the investigating officer told the court that former Governor Awais Ghani and ex-interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao had been released against surety bonds of Rs 0.5 million each. He also told the court that they had dispatched arrest warrants for Musharraf and ex-prime minister Shaukat Aziz, but had received no replies from them. “A letter was also written to the National Assembly to apprehend Aftab Sherpao, who said that he is ready to appear before the court provided he is given security,” he said. To which the court expressed anger and directed investigators to present them in court on the next date of hearing after the cancellation of surety bonds. The court then issued fresh warrants for Musharraf, Shaukat, Aziz Awais Ahmed Ghani, Sherpao, exprovincial home minister Shoaib Nosherwani and former DCO Dera Bugti, Abdul Samad Lasi and ordered all the accused to be present in court on the next date of the hearing on August 15.
MuLTAN AGENcIEs
SC seeks record of uzma Ayub’s brother’s murder case
AtC issues fresh arrest warrants in bugti murder case
SIBI
by-elections in NA-151 Multan today
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to produce relevant police record on July 20 over a murder case of Alamzeb Khattak, the brother of Uzma Ayub, alleged gang rape victim of Karak district. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain took up an appeal of Zafranullah, brother of Uzma Ayub, against bails granted to four accused by the Peshawar High Court. During the course of the proceedings, Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi, represented the petitioner and sought time to submit relevant police report over the incident. The bench was apprised that the case was being heard in the trial court and the accused had been charged framed. Uzma Ayub appeared and blamed accused ASI Hakim Khan of murdering his brother in court’s premises on December 9 last year with help of his accomplices. Expressing concerns over her life, she said that those accused of rape by her were out to eliminate her.
SLap ThE TErrOrIST LabEL ON ThE haQQaNIS g
uS Congress passes bill against the network WASHINGTON INP
The US Congress is stepping up the pressure on the Obama administration to slap the terrorist label on the Haqqani network, a militant group responsible for plotting and launching attacks from Pakistan against US-led forces in Afghanistan. By voice vote Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would require the secretary of state to report to Congress whether the Haqqani network meets the criteria to be designated a foreign terrorist organisation and if it not, then to explain why. The report is due within 30 days of the president signing the measure. The Obama administration has sanctioned top-level individuals of the Haqqani network, but it is still reviewing whether to label the entire organization a terrorist one. That delay has frustrated
members of Congress. Rep Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, added an amendment to the bill stating that it was the understanding of Congress that the Haqqani network meets the definition of a terrorist organisation and it should be designated as one. “The Obama administration has been considering formally designating the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organisation under US law but has yet to act,” said Rep. Tim Griffin, during a brief House debate. Last week, the State Department defended its course of action. “We’ve been very aggressive about sanctioning their top individuals, and we’ve seen that as the most effective way to go about this. But the review is ongoing, and is actively ongoing,” department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters. The measure now heads to the Senate, which approved a similar bill sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr last December.
JALALUDDIN HAQQANI
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The TrOUBleSOme yeT COveTed POrTFOliO
mQm gets the thumbs-down in sindh home ministry hunt KARACHI
I
AFtAB cHANNA
N continuation of its policy of ‘reconciliation’ and appeasement of its allies, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was once again going to give a ‘lollypop’ to its ally, the Muttehida Qaumi Movement (MQM), by giving it the Sindh home ministry to try to control the worst law and order situation in the capital of the province. However, the decision of handing over the home ministry was changed after strong resistance within the PPP, Pakistan Today has learnt from wellplaced sources. A majority of MPAs and the senior leadership was against the move and this resistance compelled President Asif Zardari to go back on his word to their coalition partners. The MQM had always given clear signals that it was interested in this
portfolio. It constantly clamoured about the poor law and order situation of the city when outspoken PPP leader Dr Zulfikar Mirza was the home minister and also expressed dissatisfaction with the working of Manzoor Wassan. This left an obvious impression that the party was indirectly asking for this vital ministry. Dr Zulfiqar Mirza remained the home minister for a considerable time until he was removed from the post as relations with the MQM deteriorated. He was replaced by Manzoor Wassan.
In April, Wassan went abroad purportedly on medical grounds. But it is widely believed that he was sent on a forced leave by the PPP leadership as he had failed to properly run the affairs of the home department. Since then, the portfolio has been with the chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah. The PPP leaders that were being tipped for the job earlier were Agha Siraj Durrani and Nadir Magsi.Sources told Pakistan Today that the MQM had conveyed its demand to the PPP’s leadership to replace H o m e Minister Manzoor
Wassan with an MQM nominee ‘to better control the law and order situation and nab extortionists in Karachi.’ The sources also said that the party had gone as far as threatening to detach itself from the coalition if it was not given the ministry. But after the PPP succeeded in wooing the party on the eleventh hour, the MQM members showed no signs of coming through on their threat. These sources also told Pakistan Today that a majority of PPP MPAs had expressed their grievances with regards to the proposed decision of allotting the ministry to the MQM in a meeting with President Zardari and had said that the decision would harm the ruling party in upcoming general elections. This is what eventually dissuaded the president from taking the decision. Now, the portfolio will remain with the CM till the elections and the MQM - if it insists - would be accommodated in some other way, the sources added.
Rehman discusses security with Qaim
KARACHI APP
PM’s Advisor for Interior Rehman Malik Wednesday called on Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah at the CM House. Matters of mutual interest, political situation and law and order situation of the province came under discussion. The Sindh CM said that provincial government had made effective measures to maintain the law and order in the province particularly the actions being taken against criminals and extortionists. He informed Malik that majority of ministers and MPAs wre complaining against non-registration of votes by NADRA and transfer of votes from one constituency to the other. The Sindh CM also discussed other matters of mutual interests with Rehman Malik.
Job security over call of duty? g
Police avoids registering FiRs to look good in the book g institutions like CPlC a must: Advisor to Sindh Home Minister KARACHI tARIQ HABIB
Even though the ratio of street crimes is rapidly increasing, the Karachi police, particularly the Station House Officers (SHOs), are reluctant to register cases just to make sure their job is secured. Besides, despite this mighty increase in crime in the city, the victims of street crimes also do not seem to take interest in registration of their complaints due to the behaviour of police, Pakistan Today has learnt. The Karachi police has consistently failed to facilitate the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) even though crime rate is increasing. As per police law of performance, an SHO is bound to submit his police station’s daily report (Roznamcha) to the concerned police headquarters. Their posting at a police station is attached to how their Roznamcha shows their performance. If the Roznamcha contains a large number of
complaints, the SHO is transferred or suspend. According to sources, the major impediment in the registration of FIRs in the city is the so-called thana culture which is still prevalent in most of the police stations and no police chiefs have been able to eradicate it yet. The police has failed to develop a citizen-friendly image over the years. Even the Police Order 2002, which was aimed at reforming the police department, has failed to bring about positive changes in the attitudes of police officers. At a time when the e-policing project is in its implementation phase, staffers at some police stations in the city still use the excuse of non-availability of stationery for not registering the FIRs. Under such circumstances, people generally avoid going to police stations to lodge FIRs, even if they fall victim to mobile phone snatching or similar street crimes. A visit to several prominent police stations of the city suggested that FIRs were still not being lodged until the SHOs gave green signal. In some instances, even the
SHO asked his superior officers, the SP of his town, before deciding whether or not to register a case. “There is a need launch institutions like Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) to help the public in redressing their grievances against the police and have a better public oversight of the police. In this regard, the Sindh home department is planning to establish such bodies so that the growing crimes could be controlled and people could be facilitated to register their complaints,” said Advisor to the Sindh Home Minister Sindh Sharf-Ud-Din Memon while talking to Pakistan Today. He said that he was going to plan how to facilitate the people of the city as they were facing difficulties in police related matters. Memon said that he was assisting the home minister in various projects, like maintain the law and order situation, improving the image of the police, implementation of the police reforms, community policing and e-policing project etc.
He said that in capacity of the CPLC chief, he had mostly dealt with the kidnapping for ransom cases and had handled over
650 cases. Memon had been associated with the CPLC for 19 years, including seven years as its chief.
Venomous violence continues to claw the city violence continues 10 more die KARACHI: At least ten people had been killed while several others injured in fresh spate of target killings and violence in different localities of the provincial metropolis, authorities claimed on Wednesday. According to police sources, unidentified armed assailants gunned down one person identified as Arsalan, 28, in Khokhrapar, Malir area and fled the scene. The deceased was an activist of a political party. Likewise, miscreants escaped from the site after killing a Custom employee Akber Ali at Sharifabad. Police recovered a tortured and bullet riddled dead body of 25 year old Waseem, resident of Reviewer Road from the area of Mango Pir. The body was shifted to hospital. Unknown armed men gunned down one Ehtesham ul Haq, 32, in Surjani Town. Police said that the incident could be an outcome of personal enmity. Apart from this, a dead body was recovered from MC Ground near Civil Hospital. The corpse of a youth had also been found from a stream in the jurisdiction of Memon Goth police station but it couldn’t be identified. Yawer Mehdi, 50, lost his life in an incident of firing at Nazimabad Round Market. Tension prevailed in New Karachi sector 5G after the funeral prayers of slain Jamat-i-Islami member Abdul Rasheed. Heavy contingent of police and rangers was deployed in the tension hit area. Meanwhile, six persons were reported injured in various firing incidents in different areas of Karachi. The citizens foiled a bid to kidnap a minor girl and captured the kidnapper. stAFF REPORt
violence claims Street crimes on rise 109 lives in 17 days in industrial areas KARACHI: First 17 days of July witnessed the death toll rising to 109 in Karachi as violence in the metropolis did not see any decline despite tall claims from the concerned authorities. According to a report, number of casualties in the last 17 days was 109 while the total toll had exceeded 1000 in the year 2012 so far. Fifty two policemen were gunned down in the past six months while traders and businessmen were also targeted by the extortionists and target killers. Eighteen traders/businessmen were kidnapped for ransom or to obtain extortion money. Chairman Karachi Traders Ittehad Atiq Mir in an interview with a private TV channel said that extortion mafia had once again become active and hundreds of traders were receiving daily messages through written notes, calls or SMS from extortionists demanding millions of rupees. He said the money extortion led by the mafia ran into millions of rupees. INP
KARACHI: Patron in-chief, President, Vice President and Chairman Legal and Finance Advisory Committee along with Managing Committee of Bin Qasim Association of Trade and Industry (BQATI) expressed their concern over deteriorating law and order situation of Bin Qasim Industrial Zone. Looting and snatching incidents have become routine matter at Manzil Pumps and under the Quaidabad Bridge during traffic jams. President BQATI briefed that the law and order situation of the area is deteriorating continuously. Organized gangs are operating in the area and are involved in kidnapping for ransom, car snatching, looting and killings which is a source of great concern for the business community and has negative effect on the trade and industry and such incident on key points during traffic gridlock has created a lot of panic among the foreign engineers and technical staff working at Bin Qasim Industrial Zone. These events have reemphasised on the need to implement strict security measures to minimize the risk of criminal activities in the area and to improve traffic situation during sensitive hours. stAFF REPORt
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Karachi 07 Snatching and robberies on the rise during traffic jams KARACHI: Patron in-chief, President, Vice President and Chairman Legal & Finance Advisory Committee along with Managing Committee of Bin Qasim Association of Trade & Industry (BQATI) expressed their concerns over deteriorating law and order situation of Bin Qasim Industrial Zone as looting and snatching incidents had become a routine matter at Manzil Pumps and under the Quaidabad bridge during traffic jams. President BQATI said that the law and order situation of the area was deteriorating continuously, with robberies and snatching on the rise. “Organized gangs are operating in the area. These gangs are involved in kidnapping, ransom, car snatching, looting and killings, which is a source of great concern and anxiety for business community as the situation affects trade and industry badly,” he said. Looting and snatching incidents on key point during traffic gridlock had created lot of panic, especially among foreign engineers and technical staff working in Bin Qasim Industrial Zone. These events had reemphasized the need to implement strict and additional security measures to minimize the risk of criminal activities in the area and improve traffic situation during sensitive hours. INP
Students from Karachi excel in AKu-eb exams
HYDERABAD: Youngsters enjoying themselves in chenal Mori canal amidst hot and humid weather in the city. INp
Qaim ensures security to foreign teams engaged in polio drive
In the name of law and order g
Sindh lawyers Movement launched
KARACHI
KARACHI
APP
BAKHAt ALI
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah Wednesday assured the World Health Organization (WHO) delegation that full security would be provided to WHO teams engaged in Polio vaccination campaign in the Sindh province. A 4-member delegation of World Health Organization led by Gido, country representative of WHO called on Sindh Chief Minister at the CM House Member National Task Force for Polio Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Principal Secretary (acting) to CM Muhammad Siddique Memon and others were present. The Sindh CM after welcoming the WHO delegation, informed them of his government’s policy and system for eradication of polio from Sindh province. He also expressed his deep sorrow on the incident of firing at WHO vehicle the other day near Sohrab Goth. He assured the WHO team that the target fixed for administering polio drops and eradication of Polio from Sindh province would be achieved.
I
N wake of ongoing tussle between the judiciary and government in Pakistan, the Sindh Lawyers movement has been launched in support of the judiciary and to resolve the issues and problems as well as to struggle for the streamlining of the judicial and legal system of Pakistan and province of Sindh A meeting was held in Karachi on Wednesday, where former Advocate General Sindh Masood A Noorani was elected as chairman and Supreme Court Advocate Abdul Wahab Baloch as a General Secretary of the Movement. Talking to Pakistan Today General Secretary of movement Abdul Whab Baloch said it was the need of the hour to form an effective body of lawyers in order address the problems, issues and grievances of the community attached to legal profession as well as to struggle for reformation the judicial and legal system of country and province and bring it at par to the international standard. Baloch said that the body would ensure that the fundamental rights of the people of the Sindh province and their historical, cultural, economical, natural and other basic rights are not being
violated by any person or authority including the government. The movement would whenever necessary, engage in public litigation on behalf of the people of the province of Sindh to defend their aforementioned rights. Baloch further said that movement would ensure that the courts are allowed to work with full independence and are not pressurize or coerced to deviate from dispensing justice at all levels, however it was further resolved that the movement would strive to ensure that all courts from top to bottom act strictly with in the boundaries of “Code of Conduct of Judge “as framed by the Supreme court of Pakistan its self. Chairman of Movement Maoosd A Noorani said that the issue of provincial autonomy, which has been put on back banner and forgotten conveniently will deliberately be retaken. The movement was of the view that that provincial autonomy out lined in the Constitution of Pakistan required re-visiting so as to bring it in accordance to spirit of Lahore resolution 1940, he added further. Advocate Supreme Court M.B Khatiyan, Advocate Muharram G. Baloch, Ghulam Mustfa Lakho, Muhammad Asif Qureshi, Syed Ahmed Ali Shah were elected as members of managing committee of Sindh Lawyers Movment.
KARACHI: Candidates from Karachi this year out numbered those from rest of the country in both SSC and HSSC examinations, an official of the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB) stated on Wednesday. A `Passing the Torch students award ceremony' was organized at the AKU-EB office. This award ceremony is a continuation of an annual tradition celebrated by AKU-EB to recognise its top three Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) performers. As part of the tradition, 2011 position holders presented awards to this year's position holders symbolising the continuation of the journey of knowledge and achievements from one year to the next. This year candidates from Karachi out performed those from the rest of the country in both SSC and HSSC exams, the only exception being the third HSSC position which was secured by Adil Shah of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Gahkuch, Gilgit-Baltistan with 90.18 per cent. Anum Zehra Raza of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Karimabad, Karachi, with 91 per cent marks was awarded the first position in HSSC while Hafsa Javed of Habib Public High School (Girls), Karachi with 90.82 per cent marks secured second position. In the SSC examinations Syed Wahaj Ahmed of Shahwilayat Public School, Karachi with 90.27 per cent marks secured first position, Sadaf Batool Rizvi of Al-Murtaza School, Karachi stood second with 90.18 per cent marks, while two students, Sheharyar Farooq of Sultan Mohammad Shah Aga Khan School and Zahra Hussaini of Habib Girls School, both from Karachi, were awarded a joint third position with 90.09 per cent marks. Parents of the top performers and their school principals also attended the ceremony. APP
NePRA approves KeSC tariff hike of Rs 1.64 per unit KARACHI: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Wednesday approved an increase of Rs 1.64 per unit price of electricity for consumers in Karachi. A hearing headed by NEPRA’s acting Chief Ghiasuddin was held to address two petitions filed by the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), and later on approved an increase of Rs 1.64 per unit price of electricity for consumers in Karachi. As per details, during the hearing officials of KESC said that an additional fuel cost of Rs 1.44 billion was incurred for the production of 1.3 billion units of electricity during the month of April 2012 whereas an additional fuel expense was incurred during the month of May 2012 for the generation of 1.49 billion units of electricity. Nepra approved the price hike under fuel adjustment charges. Consumers using 50 or less than 50 units of electricity per month would be exempted from the price hike. ONLINE
Newly born baby girl Sindh police finalises traffic policy during Ramadan kidnapped from hospital KARACHI APP
Sindh police has decided to utilize the services of police `Quomi Razakar' (PQR), City Wardens and scouts in addition to the traffic police personnel for ensuring effective traffic arrangements during the month of Ramzan. The decision was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of IGP Sindh Fayyaz Ahmad Laghari at the Central Police Office (CPO), a police spokesman said on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Additional IGP Karachi Iqbal Mehmood, Additional IGP Traffic Syed Zakir Hussain, DIGP Headquarters, CPO, DIGs of South, East, West Zones, DIGP Traffic Khuaaram Gulzar and AIGP Operations Sindh Naeem Shaikh. Fayyaz Laghari directed DIGP Traffic to ensure coordination with the relevant authorities to have at disposal the services of City Wardens and Scouts for specific traffic duties during Ramzan. IGP Sindh also directed to coordinate with the city administra-
tion ensuring removal of encroachments from the roads/footpaths for smooth flow of traffic ahead of Ramadan. diGP traffic informed the meeting that traffic contingency plan had been prepared and issued under which the city had been divided into four sectors: 1. Merewether tower to Quaidabad. 2. eidgh chowk to Sohrab Goth. 3. Guru Mandir to Nagan chowrangi. 4. Habib bank chowrangi, Site to Moach goth. The step had been taken to ensure clear passage to motorists and
given proper diversion to the vehicular traffic especially during Namaz and Taraveeh timings, he said. He further informed that the city administration had given its assurance to provide more than 500 City Wardens to traffic police for performing duties during the holy month. IGP Sindh also took serious notice over the killings in Karachi, reported kidnappings, extortion incidents and bank docoities and asked the additional IGP Karachi to
submit a report envisaging the police measures so far adopted besides making comprehensive steps to control such heinous crimes against the common man. He also directed for ensuring strict departmental action against the SHOs who failed to produce results. He further directed to improve the functioning of Madadgar 15 Centers and to establish more such centers in the city. He said that trained staff be deployed at the centers to ensure timely police action in case of any complaint. Fayyaz Laghari asked further for devising a mechanism into investigation of registered cases. He said that dedicated officers be deputed at district/police stations level to undertake investigation of registered cases for their logical completion. "All Zonal DIGs should monitor the progress of investigation of cases on regular basses and take action against slack and irresponsible police officers" he added.
KARACHI: A three days old baby girl was kidnapped from a private hospital of the city, authorities said on Wednesday. According to police sources, Muhammad Khalid’s new born baby girl was kidnapped from Korangi’s medical center. Parents of the kidnapped girl said that a woman, wearing lab coat, came and said that she was taking the baby girl for some medical check up but she never came back. Family members staged a protest against the hospital administration. They said that they were being threatened not to continue with the protests. Awami Colony police registered the case and started investigation. INP
Youth Affairs dept organises ileAd Networking Session KARACHI: An iLEAD networking session was organized on Wednesday under the auspices of the Sindh Youth Affairs Department. As per details, the event was held under the leadership of Faisal Ali Subzwari, Sindh Minister for Youth Affairs. A statement issued in this respect said that Inspiring Leadership, Empowerment and Development in Youth (iLEAD) arranged the Networking Session recently at the Institute for Advancing Careers and Talents (iACT), Malir. iLEAD is a partnership project of Youth Affairs Department, Government of Sindh, and Habib University Foundation with technical support extended by the British Council. APP
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PRAYeR tiMiNGS Fajr Sunrise 04:28 05:53
zuhr 12:39
Asr 16:03
Maghrib 19:23
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HYDERABAD: Workers sort vermicelli out to dry. Vermicelli is used to prepare a traditional sweet dish prepared during the holy month of Ramadan. INp
The land of opportunities Land allotted for 500MW Wind Power Project in Thatta
S
KARACHI APP
INDH Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Wednesday allotted land to NBT Power Pakistan (Pvt) limited for 500 MWs Wind Power Project in district Thatta, an official statement said. Addressing the provisional land allotment ceremony, the Sindh CM said it would be the biggest Wind Power Project of Asia and Sindh would eventually emerge as the biggest power house of Pakistan. While welcoming the guests from NBT, a Norway-based company and their partner Malakoff, a Malaysian company, he assured them the Sindh government’s full support under the new Land Allotment Policy. Syed Qaim Ali Shah said his government would guarantee the provision of security in the area in coordination with the management of companies. Speaking at the occasion, Chairman Sindh Board of Investment (BOI) Muhammad Zubair Motiwala explained the features of the project. He said that NBT had committed for the completion of the project in the shortest possible time. “Looking at the volume of the project and the profile of the company, we expect that physical civil work on ground will start in 12 months,” he added. He also said that only the area under footprints would be leased to the investors while rest of the land was to remain in possession of the government. He told the audience that under the old policy for 500 MWs, 12500 acres of land were required. “Under the new policy we have provisionally allotted only 908 acres of land in strips, which is as per the best international practices,” he said.
This was also informed that at present land had been allotted to 30 local as well as international investors to install power generating capacity of more than 1800MWs and at least 800 MWs would be added to the national grid by June 2013. Addressing the occasion, Secretary Investment Ms Naheed Shah Durrani told the audience that NBT had very recently emerged as a major player in the renewable energy sector. She added that Malakoff, the leading IPPs on Multiple fuel technology with generation capacity of 5020 MWs in Malaysia alone and thousands of
kamla
dAte: JulY 12 to 15tH, 2012
MWs in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Algeria, was the major implementation partner in the 500 MWs Wind Power Project with NTB. She said that looking at the experience and background in the energy sector the government of Sindh had also under taken discussion with Malakoff to consider installation of 1000 MWs Thar Coal Field Power Plant in Sindh preferably in Thar area. The ceremony was attended by Minister Information Sharjeel Enam Memon, the chief secretary Sindh, secretary information, senior member BOR, member land utilization and others.
eXhiBiTiON By hamra aBBaS
dAte: JuNe 19 to JulY 19, 2012
GhaliB made eaSy
dAte: tHuRSdAY, 7:00 PM, WeeKlY eveNt
veNue: ARtS CouNCil oF PAKiStAN
veNue: CANvAS GAlleRY
veNue: tHe SeCoNd FlooR (t2F)
the NRt presents Kamla directed by Meesam Nazar and written by vijay tendulkar. An intriguing look at the morals in Journalism and the sale and purchase of women. based on a true story. date: 12-15 July 2012, 8pm ticket price: Rs. 600/-ticket Price for students: Rs.300/(please show your school/college/university id card)
internationally acclaimed artist Hamra Abbas, recipient of the Abraaj capital art prize and the Sharjah biennale jury prize, exhibits her culturally loaded, iconographic works at Canvas Gallery on tuesday June 19th 2012, from 5 pm - 8 pm. Hamra received her bFA and MA from the National College of Arts, lahore and a Meisterschueler from universitaet der Kuenste, berlin. She lives and works between lahore, Pakistan and boston, uSA. the show remains open daily until July 19th 2012, from 11 am - 8 pm (excluding sundays)
Join us at t2F every Wednesday for interactive sessions on Mirza Ghalib’s poetry, conducted by author and translator, Musharraf Ali Farooqi. Ghalib Made easy by @MicroMAFthe poetry of Mirza Ghalib (27 december 1797 – 15 February 1869) has been considered complex, abstract and difficult to comprehend. even for Ghalib’s contemporaries, his language and imagery presented a challenge.
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Foreign News 09
bomb kills Syria’s defence minister, Assad’s brother-in-law DAMASCuS
A
AFP
suicide bomber on Wednesday struck at the heart of Syria’s security apparatus, killing the country’s defence minister and President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law, state television said. The attack, which for the first time in a 16month anti-regime uprising targeted members of Assad’s inner core, came hours ahead of a UN Security Council debate on Syrian sanctions, when a showdown between Western powers and Russia and China is expected. Officials said the bomber struck as ministers and security officials were meeting at the heavily guarded National Security headquarters in Damascus. Defence minister General Daoud Rajha and Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat were killed and interior minister Mohammed alShaar and General Hisham Ikhtiyar, head of National Security, were wounded, the channel and security officials said. Syria’s rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. The FSA command “announces the good news of the outstanding operation this morning that targeted the National Security headquarters and the killing” of the officials “responsible for barbaric massacres,” it said in a statement. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called Shawkat’s death “a severe blow to the Syrian regime since he played the main role in operations by regular forces to crush the revolution.” State television reported that Assad had
appointed Fahd al-Freij as new defence minister, while Syria’s army vowed to “continue fighting terrorism.” “The terrorist act increases the armed forces’ determination to clean the country of terrorist groups,” it said in a statement. Rajha, a Christian, was defence minister, deputy army chief and deputy head of the Council of Ministers. Assad himself is overall commander of the military. Shawkat was deputy defence minister and a former military intelligence chief. The National Security branch headed by General Ikhtiyar is a linchpin of Syria’s security apparatus. The brazen attack on regime insiders came as battles raged across Damascus and after the FSA — comprising defected soldiers and civilians who have taken up arms against Assad’s forces — warned the government to “expect surprises.” Columns of black smoke rose over the capital, with the Local Coordination Committees, which organises anti-regime protests on the ground, reporting that Qaboon and Barzeh neighbourhoods were bombarded by loyalist forces. It also said there was less traffic than normal in the city where fighting has raged since Sunday, with the rebels announcing a full-scale offensive dubbed “the Damascus volcano and earthquakes of Syria.” Regime forces and the FSA clashed in the Al-Midan and Zahira districts of Damascus as well as at Assali south of the city, the LCC said. Rebel forces on Tuesday said the battle to “liberate” Damascus had begun, as heavy fighting raged with the regime using helicopter gunships in the capital for the first time.
Iran says US can’t clear Gulf of mines TEHRAN AFP
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday scoffed at US claims it could clear Gulf waters of mines in case of conflict after Washington announced plans for a multinational anti-mine operation. “The Americans boast a lot about many things, but they are facing problems in practice,” General Mahmoud Fahimi, deputy chief of the Guards’ naval forces, told the Fars news agency. “We have no doubt that the United States cannot do anything in the area of minesweeping.” The United States and about 20 other nations are to hold a major anti-mine operation near the Gulf on September 16-27,
KAtHMANDU: Nepalese human rights activists chant slogans from the back of a police vehicle after being arrested during a sit-in protest in front of Nepal’s prime minister’s residence on Wednesday. afp
the Pentagon said on Tuesday, after Iran threatened it could block oil shipments through the waterway. Pentagon spokesman George Little said the operation was “a defensive exercise aimed at preserving freedom of navigation in international waterways in the Middle East.” Washington has warned Tehran not to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which the Islamic republic has threatened to do if international sanctions against its controversial nuclear programme begin to bite. It has deployed the USS Ponce to serve as logistical backup in the anti-mine effort, and doubled to eight the number of minesweepers in the Gulf and sent in four MH-53 Sea Stallion anti-mine choppers as well as underwater drones.
sOWEtO: south African schoolchildren sing happy birthday to former south African president Nelson Mandela as he turned 94 on Wednesday. afp
Bangladesh to probe bank terror funding charges DHAKA: Bangladesh’s central bank said Wednesday it had launched a probe into allegations that two local Islamic banks helped fund terrorist groups amid lax controls at banking giant HSBC. The US Senate in a report found that HSBC allowed affiliates in countries such as Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh to move billions of dollars in suspect funds into the United States without adequate controls. HSBC apologised Tuesday for failing to enforce anti-laundering rules and one of its senior executive resigned as US lawmakers accused the global bank of giving Iran, terrorists and drug dealers access to the US financial system. The report said HSBC Bank USA “provided US dollars and banking services to some banks in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh despite links to terrorist financing”. Lenders named by the US Senate report as suspected of having helped fund illegal activities included Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank and Bangladesh’s Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd and the Social Islami Bank Ltd. “We are now investigating the allegations in line with the US Senate report,” said central bank deputy governor S.K. Shur Chowdhury. AFP
russia rejects UN Syria resolution amid ‘decisive battle’ MOSCOW AFP
Russia Wednesday rejected a Westernbacked UN resolution on Syria, saying adopting it would mean siding with a revolutionary movement after the opposition declared a decisive battle for control of Damascus. “Now the Damascus Volcano, the battle for the capital and a decisive battle have been declared in Syria. Adopting the resolution would mean outright support of a revolutionary movement,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in reference to the armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. “And if we are talking about a revolution then the United Nations has nothing to do with it,” Lavrov said on the sidelines of a Kremlin meeting between Russian President Vladimir
Russia’s upper house backs ‘foreign agent’ bill on NGos
Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The UN Security Council is due later Wednesday to vote on a Westernbacked resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter providing for sanctions against Damascus should it fail to withdraw military equipment from cities in 10 days. The United States says it would only seek economic measures but Russia fears the West could later use other clauses under Chapter 7 that include the use of force should Assad fail to comply. “We cannot accept Chapter 7 and the section about sanctions,” Lavrov told reporters. Referring to the West he added: “Instead of trying to calm the opposition, some partners are pushing towards a further escalation.”
vatican vows to fight money laundering after critical report
MOSCOW
VATICAN CITY
AFP
AFP
Russia’s upper house on Wednesday approved a controversial bill that brands NGOs that receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents”, a law activists fear the Kremlin will use to target critics. The Federation Council, seen as a rubberstamping body, overwhelmingly backed the bill with 141 votes for, one opposing and one abstaining on its last session before the summer break. The broadly worded bill says that non-governmental organisations have to register as foreign agents if they take part in “political activities in Russia, including in the interests of their foreign sources.” Those who fail to register face fines of up to 300,000 rubles ($9,000) and could have its members jailed for up to two years. The bill defines political activities as those aimed at “influencing decisions by state organs, aimed at changing government policies... and also in forming public opinion with those aims.” “He who pays the piper calls the tune,” said Senator Konstantin Tsybko during the debate. The bill covers NGOs that receive money or property from foreign countries, whether from government agencies, organisations or private citizens. Critics have argued that the term “foreign agent” implies spying for a foreign government and would harm the image of many human rights and environmental groups working in Russia.
The Vatican on Wednesday promised to redouble efforts against money laundering as it fights off a dark history after a Council of Europe report hailed recent progress but urged tighter controls. “The report released today is not an end, but a milestone in our continuing efforts,” the Holy See’s Under Secretary of State Ettore Balestrero, who headed the Vatican’s delegation to the Council of Europe, told reporters. “We obviously wish to strengthen the overall system,” he said. Balestrero said the report’s recommendations would be addressed “expeditiously and giving proof of effectiveness” and the Vatican will have to put together a progress report on compliance by July next year. The Vatican in the study released by Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body in Strasbourg, scored unsatisfactory ratings in seven out of 16 “key recommendations” and satisfactory ratings in nine. The report noted that the foundations for a more transparent financial system in the tiny Vatican state “are now formally in place,” adding: “The Holy See has come a long way in a very short period of time.” “But further important issues still need addressing in order to demonstrate that a fully effective regime has been instituted in practice,” it added.
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10 Comment Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
thursday, 19 July, 2012
Dandy does it! Hina Khar is one year old today — as foreign minister
Arif Nizami Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
Polio setbacks sisyphean task
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ot a good day for the fight against polio. Not only could a planned jirga in North Waziristan, one that was supposed to lay the groundwork for the anti-polio campaign, not be held, but a foreign WHO doctor and his driver were also attacked in Karachi, in an area peopled by the immigrant tribesmen of the same NWA. In the overall struggle against the avoidable disease, the country has been set back by many, many decades due to the insidious role of its religious orthodoxy. Out of these, a note specifically on the Taliban and their affiliates in the tribal areas. Nowhere has their case been weaker than on this particular issue. With the virus taking one victim after the other, village after village, town after town, the reactionary propaganda machine still cranks unabated. The Taliban’s apologists, never the last word on thought-out-till-the-end arguments, at least have the flimsy semblance of structured argument when they tie the militia’s actions with the American involvement in Afghanistan. Here, even that is missing. Yet, one will see no condemnation of this behaviour by the aforementioned quarters. Yes, things were made bad by the Dr Shakil Afridi case. The whole episode reinforced the manufactured notions that these vaccination campaigns have some sort of sinister agenda behind them. Surely, a better ruse could have been used to gather intelligence prior to the Osama takeout - one that did not compromise the already-constrained freedom with which our public health apparatus operates. Be that as it may, drives like getting the local jirgas getting on board with the idea, be it through reasoning or maybe even incentivisation, might work. The lives of health workers or, for that matter, census officials or election staff, are going to be at risk, no matter what. But if local community leaders are engaged, those risks could be mitigated. Let’s keep on trying to talk to them.
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hirty-five-shy Hina Rabbani Khar is one year old today — as a foreign minister. She was appointed as the face of Pakistan’s diplomacy this day last year, becoming the country’s and currently the world’s youngest in the process. The Birkin bag, oversized shades, Jimmy Choo stilettos and pearl necklaces were unlikely to endear her to ‘wiser’ heads back home even as the world went gaga. Well, never mind the accessories. Male chauvinists had lesser time to acknowledge that the achievement given her gender — she is the first woman to hold the portfolio in Pakistan’s nearly 65-year history — was worth acknowledging. Snide remarks about the ‘inexperience’ of the upend Lahore University of Management Sciences graduate continued to make the rounds. Strictly speaking, these were more likely calls coming from the sour grape branch. Hina was first directly elected an MP in 2002 and By Kamran Rehmat served as former prime minister Shaukat Aziz’s deputy finance minister. She carried a favourable impression in dealing with tough-nut world donor agencies and Islamabad’s trade partners. She also became the only Pakistani woman ever to present a federal budget three years ago — an unnerving prospect at the best of times in a male-dominated, often raucous, parliament. While criticism surrounding her “defection” in politics may have its takers — she left former military ruler Pervez Musharraf-backed Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid for the current ruling Pakistan People’s Party in 2008 — the fact is that she was denied a party ticket by the former and, therefore, felt entitled to make a career decision many in their respective spheres would have made. Right from the time she was elevated to the top
MUsINGs
diplomat’s job after a few months as junior minister, Hina has had her share of detractors. This is fathomable: after all, her elevation meant the automatic elimination of wily silver-haired men who coveted the post. Even before she laid a foot in the Indonesian beach resort of Bali, four days after her appointment for her debut assignment — the Asean Regional Forum of Foreign Ministers, which included a meeting with formidable US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines — she was written off as little more than a dandy with a mountain to climb. Such unflattering references reached a crescendo once she headed for the dreaded old Delhi encounter: a meeting with a counterpart 46 years her senior. The likes of Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, a former foreign minister from the PPP who has since defected to Imran Khan’s PTI, criticised the decision and dismissed any hopes Islamabad had of making its case, thanks to Hina’s ‘inexperience’. From Pakistan’s standpoint, the security establishment-induced script was a given — what mattered was if Hina would be able to carry it and meet the least common denominator: generating the required momentum to continue the composite dialogue into the future. It is fair to suggest the young foreign minister was able to achieve that and more. The “more”, admittedly, is owed to the aura she exuded with virtually effortless ease. Small wonder, Hina was welcomed with warmth across the Indian political divide — a scenario diametrically removed from the cold shoulder her much “experienced” predecessor, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, received. Any friend of peace between the two South Asian rivals could not have asked for better atmospherics. It certainly helped that the Indian media went to town about the minister with journalists in Delhi virtually, falling o v e r e a c h other to best de-
scribe the newest sensation on the world’s diplomatic arena. Amid such pervasive gaga, Rajiv Dogra, former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, urged Delhi not to be taken in by the “beauty regime” but also read the brains behind Islamabad’s diplomatic coup. In an opinion piece, he warned: “Her age and her delicate frame are no handicap. She is backed by one of the most formidable realpolitik combination in the world today. She is the army’s chosen one; selected to do their precise bidding. And holding her hand in India is the caustic quip-a-minute foreign secretary Salman Bashir and the perpetually scowling Pakistani high commissioner Shahid Malik (sic).” But there was no escaping the youth factor, which Hina employed to make her case. “I bring you the message of a mindset change in Pakistan that wants friendship with India,” she said. News reports later revealed that her counterpart, S M Krishna, too, indulged the youth card at the delegation-level talks. “Half of India, which is your age, looks towards you not just for your good looks but also dynamism and the fresh approach that you have brought to the table,” a source quoted Krishna as telling his opposite number. The same source also added that Krishna tackled difficult issues like Kashmir in his prepared speech but graciously let Hina speak about issues closer to heart — such as what the youth in the two countries felt about ties binding their nations. The real test of character came in the months following the ill-directed US blitz on a Salala checkpost that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. To her credit, she gave a solid account of herself during the testy seven-month period where Pakistan and the world’s pre-eminent hyper power were locked in a battle of attrition that threatened to upset the region’s equilibrium. It was perhaps, fitting that the US chose Secretary Clinton to say “sorry” to Pakistan through Hina early this month. The writer is a senior journalist based in Islamabad and can be reached at kaamyabi@gmail.com
Creeping Islamophobia A new kind of Mccarthyism
Washington Watch By Dr James J zogby
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few weeks back, the sensationseeking representative Michele Bachmann did her best imitation of the late Senator Joseph McCarthy. She and four of her Congressional colleagues released letters they had collectively sent to the Inspectors General of the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security, and the Office of the Directorate of National Intelligence calling on them to investigate whether "influence operations conducted by individuals and organisations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood" have “had an impact on the federal government's national security policies.” Warning of "determined efforts by the Muslim Brotherhood to penetrate
and subvert the American government as part of its civilisational jihad" the representatives wanted the Inspectors General to identify the Muslims who were influencing US policy. In making these charges, Bachmann and her cohorts were relying on the work of a Washington-based group the Center for Security Policy - a notorious player in the anti-Muslim industry that has been working for several years to smear Muslim American groups. The head of the Centre served as one of Bachmann's advisers during her illfated run for the presidency and the only source cited in the Congressional letters was the Centre’s "training programme" “The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within.” The evidence the Congressmen present to back up their ominous warnings is, at best, slight—in some cases, creating a "straw man" out of a single reed of straw. For example, Representative Gohmert points accusingly to the fact that "this administration continues to bow down before groups associated with the goal of 'destroying Western civilisation from within'" - by which he means that the Administration apologised to Muslims in the Qur'an-burning incident in Afghanistan. This, he suggests, must be due to the administration's "continued meetings" with Muslim groups, which has blinded them to the threat these Muslims pose to our "ability to
protect ourselves.” In other instances the evidence reads more like a "six degrees of separation game.” Using this trick, Bachmann and the Centre point accusing fingers at some Muslims who serve in the administration. Among those who were singled out by name is Huma Abedin, Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. In the case of Abedin, the game goes from absurd, to downright bizarre. Her father and mother are Muslim and her father taught at a Muslim university in Saudi Arabia, and so they must be...(fill in the blank). In one article inspired by the Centre’s work that appeared in the Washington Times, a right-wing newspaper, questions are asked as to whether Abedin "had been groomed to access movers and shakers to advance the cause of Islam in America.” The article goes on to question whether Abedin's marriage to a Jewish Member of Congress was but a clever ruse designed to further this "Islamist agenda." The evidence? Since Abedin is a Muslim why else would her family have approved of her marrying a non-Muslim? And, after all, she works for Clinton and Obama, who share, the article says, the "socialist agenda, which includes domination of the US by a Muslim-ruled world!” What is so intriguing about conspiracy-minded loonies is how their rhetorical charges and the gravity of the threat
they see continues to grow each time they speak. Not to disappoint, Bachmann's paranoia gives evidence of this trait. In a recent interview in which she discussed her effort, she explained, “it appears that there has been deep penetration in the halls of our United States government by the Muslim Brotherhood...it appears that there are individuals associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have very sensitive positions in our Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security...I am calling [for an investigation] to see who these people are and what access they have to our information.” As outrageous as all this behaviour may be, the letters and the charges generated very little media attention, but that doesn't mean that they can be dismissed, for two main reasons: the five, though all a bit loony, hold positions of influence on key Congressional committees; and despite the fact that the source of the "evidence" cited in the Congressional letters is the pernicious Muslimbashing Center for Security Policy, "witch hunts" if let unchecked can ruin lives and damage reputations. Let's look first at the five Members of Congress who signed the letters: Representatives Bachmann, Tom Rooney, and Lynn Westmoreland all sit on the Select Committee on Intelligence, while Representatives Trent Franks and Louis Gohmert are members of the Judiciary
Committee. With the exception of Bachmann, all hold leadership positions, either within their respective committees or in the House Republican caucus. As an example of the potential this group might have to influence policy, this week the powerful Chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Mike Rogers speaking on a radio programme hosted by the head of the Centre called Bachman's campaign to "root out" Muslims "very important" noting that she is "taking the lead" on this issue. As was the case during the McCarthy era, "witch-hunts" have victims and not only in jobs lost and careers ruined. Equally troubling is the distress that campaigns of this sort can bring to those not named, but who live in fear that their religion or their ethnicity will be the reason that they will be held in suspicion, denied a position, or held back from advancement. And as I know from bitter personal experience, it can result in entire communities being shunned by officials who fear being attacked for associating with a group that has been smeared as "dangerous.” Because there is a scarcity of courageous leaders in Washington, all too often the "witch hunts" will fester, taking a terrible toll before being challenged and defeated. The writer is President of the ArabAmerican Institute.
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thursday, 19 July, 2012
The doomsaying media trapped in a 24-hour breaking news cycle
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was at dinner with successful and important friends. They were gathered, I believe, to generate humour desperately needed to combat the gloom thrust upon us by the relentless trivial pursuits overwhelming us. A renowned media mogul just back from a sojourn in the US asked the question, “Do you know who they are saying will destroy Pakistan?” The obvious answers were quickly voiced. He came back and said, “No; it’s the media!” Let’s go from there. Looking at it from “their” point of view, I am in partial agreement. Superpowers are ferociously protected by their press; the country itself I mean. Most times blindly without giving a chance to any other point of view. Politicians and internal policies, however, are fair game. Here sadly our media is poisoning the very meat that is served up to us. Forget politicians or policies, the core of the country is being attacked. Every single thing is wrong with it. In between the lines and not subtly, it’s being portrayed as unsustainable. Having spent considerable time in Bangladesh recently, a country that is fiercely nationalistic, I recall many instances when, while watching a Pakistani origin TV channel that I had to leave the room because it became embarrassing. It didn’t matter if they had a go at anyone, but bringing our country to ridicule is unforgivable. I raised this matter with a director of that channel on a plane from Dhaka. He mumbled and hawed. Media here just does not see it. News, in terms of substance is By Imran Husain no longer provided. Entertainment rules the roost. And willing bit players abound and are eager to give anything from voice quips to personal appearances. It would seem they have no other occupation or are bored to death. The star roles in most instances are the anchors’. They have all the answers and the opinions. The panel and content is designed to provide entertainment value. The advertising industry thrives along with their chosen channels. So while it is perhaps a financial ‘win-win’, it is destroying the country’s image. There will probably never be a more significant time than today for this country to come together. The foreign media is unrelenting in denouncing Pakistan as a terrorist state, an unreliable ‘friend’ and so on and so forth. This is seriously biased one-sided commentary by the Western media, in specific, intended to create strife and put Pakistan in the doghouse. Cries for stopping aid, abandoning the friendship are gaining ground. Are we as an independent media in any way trying to combat
Random thoughts
this? If we are, I don’t see it. The opinions supporting the country in its vast battle are few and far between. Rightist, even extremist elements get more than their fair share of coverage. Is this what we are all about? We certainly are encouraging people to believe this. Every day bombs burst around us, the innocent are butchered by our very own and yet not a single press report raises a voice against the perpetrators. Sure they report it because somehow they have got entangled in producing bloodthirsty ‘breaking news’. Politicians shout hoarse about drone attacks and arrange blockades and marches. Has anyone bothered to visit those families struck by tragedies, their innocent bread-earners killed? When the news dies, they too die. I would say that both the media and the politicians are just making numbers. No one gives a fig about repercussions. To mislead and frighten the public and create rhetoric that is demeaning is the order of the day. Clearly there are no options available; intellectual discourse and mode of delivery are absent. So bring the government and, unfortunately, the country into the crosshairs. You can pick up the weapon but you also need to know how to fire. Can’t see that happening either. It’s just stray bullets bloodying the environment! Two sovereign governments reached an agreement that serves both well but the media creates hype about the nature of the “apology”. Understand that negotiations are serious business. When after months of painful debate finally an erudite point man is found and reality allows a solution, there being limited options one must go for the best one. The press needs to rise in congratulation, not steep to dig the dirt. I’ve been debating why Pakistanis appear to despise democracy. The record shows that unconstitutional governments have been accepted while democratic governments have not been allowed to freely prosper. When I posed this question, the unanimous response was “Delivery”. Perhaps you can add corruption, but at what cost? Granted Ayub’s was a positive decade, there was growth and stability. Yahya broke the country. Zia destroyed every institution, including posting the infamous 8th amendment that continues to dominate the constitution. Musharraf started well, eventually succumbing to power and destroying the economy. Agreed public uprising ousted two and one was a victim of the defeat. Zia, on the other hand, was a pure “Act of God”. He was heading nowhere; he was going to take Pakistan down, even more than he did. I guess I would be stretching it if I also called for wisdom and sagacity. That is perhaps the most important requirement. Freedom of press, undoubtedly started by the phase of democracy preceding Musharraf and reinforced during his time, is a cherished gift. An independent judiciary is the same. Democratic governments are the source and ultimate protectors of the constitution. Unless they operate in unison and within their agreed structure Pakistan will continue to feed on poisoned meat. The writer can be contacted at imranmhusain@me.com.
Comment 11
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.
Hate-mongers on both sides Within hours of the announcement that Pakistani cricket team will tour India for three ODIs (one day international) and two T-20 matches in the coming December, Hindu right wing hardliner party Shiva Sena strongly opposed this proposed cricket matches series. They threatened to disrupt the Pak-India matches by force. A few weeks back when the Pakistan government announced the pardoning of an Indian spy, Sarabjit Singh, who had already spent 21 years behind bars, a number of religious parties got active same evening to protest against the possible release of Sarabjit. Apparently, the Pakistani government came under pressure from the Pakistani right wing hardliners and within hours it was announced that the prisoner to be released is not Sarajbit but another Indian national, Surjeet Singh. There are hate-mongers on both sides of the border who will try to advance their agenda on any pretext – cricket match, release of prisoners, establishment of trade relations, enhancing of educational and cultural interaction. When they fail to deter the people-to-people contact, they stir up trouble through other means (such as Kargil, Samjhoota express, Mumbai attacks) to drum up the war beats. The other day Barack Obama has put it quite bluntly that both India and Pakistan need to settle their differences on their own; Americans are not ready to mediate in-between. Hardliners in both countries, who are in fact two sides of the same coin, need to realise that it’s not the time to compete on war fronts. It is the economy, standard of living and provision of education, health care and other basic amenities at the grassroot level which determines who is who, not the stockpiles of weapons. Dismembering of Soviet Union is a living proof that weapons alone can’t do any good when people are queuing for hours in front of bread shops. Perhaps, one day these hardliners may learn this historical lesson. But it seems they want to learn it hard way. MASOOD KHAN Saudi Arabia
Whose policy is it anyway? The recent downgrading of Pakistan’s sovereign debts and bonds to junk level Caa1, is a slap on the economic team and politicised cor-
rupt bureaucracy that dominates our policy making corridors and their equally incompetent political masters. This is what happens when policy making is abdicated to dual nationals as they have no stakes in the country since they and their families have long abandoned this country considering it unsuitable to live in. Everybody in this country talks about the economic revival of Turkey led by educated and highly qualified politicians with integrity, who understand that the world they live in requires specialists in the field of economics, technology, sciences and arts, not just henchmen surrounded by cronies and sycophants. In USA, a semi-literate Reagan was considered to be one of the most successful heads of state, because he understood his limitations and chose the best qualified team of devoted Americans to decide policy matters. Pakistani politics, unfortunately, is dominated by nouveau rich men eager to act like feudal lords, having no democratic tolerance for dissent, or the capacity to accept their need to rely on expert advice on matters in which they are neither qualified, nor experienced. While education is not a necessary requirement in politics, the capacity of an individual to assess his limitations and capabilities is. National economies are not like family businesses run by MBAs or accountants looking for short term gains irrespective of the disastrous long term impacts they may leave. There is no dearth of qualified Pakistanis with total commitment, but it is the lack of political will of the ruling establishment to utilise the best talent available in the country, to make Pakistan a self sustaining economy, that has brought us to this state where Moody has downgraded us to a level below even Namibia, Nepal or Ghana. ANEELA CHANDIO Sukkur
the worst form of violence Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” In the resource-rich Sindh province, this violence has raged against millions of people for generations. Disease is spreading. School attendance is dropping. Vaccination programs are sporadic. Food security is uneven. And upper and lower Sindh regions are the only region in the country that has grown steadily poorer since 1985. Moreover, other forms of indignity against human lives, such as retrogressive customs and tribal conflicts, have imposed even more misery on some of the most vulnerable sections of society, particularly women and children. A comprehensive poverty alleviation strategy must be devised to extricate the people of Sindh from this poverty trap. The sooner, the better it is. The Sindh Bank and other such organisations may be directed to take pragmatic steps to alleviate poverty from the province instead of wasting billions of rupees on televised publicity. HASHIM ABRO Islamabad
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Gwyneth Paltrow to get her own suit in upcoming iron man movie
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CTOR Gwyneth Paltrow will reportedly have her own armor in the upcoming Iron Man movie, which stars Robert Downey Jr in the titular role. The 39-year-old, who stars as Pepper Potts, the love interest of Downey, in the film, reprises her role in the third film in the series. Film’s producer Kevin Feige hinted at a possibility of seeing Paltrow’s character as Rescue in the armored hero film franchise, reported Aceshowbiz. In Marvel comics, there is a story that follows Potts in her own armor. “Everyone at this table thinks it would be the coolest thing in the world to see Pepper get in the suit at some point,” Feige said. Jon Favreau, who helmed the first two Iron Man movies, said that there have been talks to bring Rescue into the big screen someday. “We almost did it a few times; we talked about it a lot. I think we all share your enthusiasm for that, and we all want to see Gwyneth kick a little ass,” he said. NEWs DEsK
Erum Ahmed and Nina
Mehreen Syed, Erum Ahmed, Aleena and Resham
Kamal launched their first-ever Lifestyle store in Lahore and it was attended by some big names in Pakistan. PHOtOGRAPHs BY FAIsAL FAROOQUI
indian big-wigs pay tribute to Rajesh khanna
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RIME Minister Manmohan Singh paid tribute to the legendary actor. He offered his condolences saying, “I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family and countless fans and admirers of Shri Rajesh Khanna.” Congress President Sonia Gandhi too expressed her deep sorrow & grief on the demise of Rajesh Khanna, expressed her heartfelt condolences. Cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recalled the magical combination of Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar saying, “Aradhana, I guess, achieved super stardom for both Kishore Kumar & Rajesh Khanna...magical combination of Indian cinema...sigh.” Cricketer Yuvraj Singh added, “Sad to hear about Mr Rajesh Khanna I hope his soul rests in peace!” Veteran actor Shabana Azmi said, “He was the SUPERSTAR like no other. Did 10 films with him. Met him last at Apsara awards. Pale shadow of himself but smile as winsome RIP Rajesh Khanna.” cOURtEsY tOI
Pranks being played from sajid khan’s hacked email
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ILMMAKER Sajid Khan is upset that his e-mail account has been hacked. And, he is even more upset that the hackers are harassing girls by sending out casting-couch mails from his ID. “It was around two months ago that my Yahoo e-mail id got hacked, but I took it lightly. Later, things got out of hand when this hacker started sending vulgar and lewd messages to girls saying, ‘Send me your nude pictures if you want to be in my film’. Some of the girls who got this message from my ID were the supporting female actors who had worked with me in Housefull. It shook them up, so I had to clarify to everyone that it wasn’t me sending the message,” says the 40-year-old. Khan has registered a case with Mumbai’s cyber crime cell, but there have been no breakthroughs so far. “I lodged a police complaint in the cyber crime cell back in June. cOURtEsY Ht
Mehreen Syed, Resham and Rachel
it is difficult to find a decent guy: Priyanka L IFE has treated her well for the last few months. That explains that glow in her face as she admits, “Don-2 and Agneepath both did good BO business. Now, hopefully my music career will also take off in another few months when I get ready to launch my international album. Up next are, Barfi! and Krrissh - 2,” she says. Does she see herself as a lucky mascot for her co-stars Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan (her earlier screen outings with both in the past have also been commercial successes)? She says with a shrug, “I think I am lucky for my self. A costar does not work with me because I am lucky, but because I am good,” she smiles. Don-2 and Agneepath both were hits and yet people talked about how Priyanka had miniscule roles in the films.
Priyanka says, “If the producer gives me even five scenes, I will do justice to them. I had eight scenes in Kaminey which is lesser than my screen time in Agneepath. Yet people liked the film and loved my chemistry with Shahid (Kapoor). Big budget films belong to the heroes. Don-2 is a SRK film, Agneepath or Krrish are Hrithik films. But the upside is I also get to do films like Fashion, Saat Khoon Maaf or Kaminey. If I do only meaningful cinema then people will ask me why I am not doing big budget films. It’s a great time to be part of the industry now, as I get to do a mix of both kinds of cinema.” There are on-off rumours linking Priyanka with Shahid. What’s the current update on their relationship status? “Shahid’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met in my life. We hardly have a moment where we get bored of each other.” How does she define ‘nice’? “A nice guy is someone who puts other people before him and respects everyone. He has to be thoughtful, sensitive and intelligent. How many people do that? It is difficult to find genuine guys today who are kind-hearted and believe in giving. Very few guys are ‘nice’ that way,” she says. cOURtEsY tOI
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13 an end of an era: Rajesh khanna passes away R
Erum Ahmed and Resham
AJESH Khanna is no more after being critically ill from last few months. He breathed his last in the presence of his ex-wife Dimple Kapadia, daughters Rinkie and Twinkle, son-in-law Akshay Kumar, grand children and close relatives. From the dizzying heights of fame to quiet shadows behind the arclights, Rajesh Khanna’s life had a theatrical sweep, almost like one of his films. In an era long before this age of instant connect of mobile phones and internet, Rajesh Khanna was the man who sparked a frenzy never seen before and never since, not even by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan. His very name spelt magic in the 1970s. He sparked hysteria, particularly amongst his legions of women fans, who would line the road for a glimpse, chant his name, cover his car with lipstick marks and even write him letters in blood. They got married to his photograph, cut their finger, let the blood flow and applied ‘sindoor’. TRULy, “O MeRe DI Ke CHAIN”! Kaka, as he was popularly known, was one of the highest paid actors of his time, his record of consecutive solo super hits still unbroken. Who can forget the years between 1970-1979 when he starred in mega hits like “Safar”, “Kati Patang”, “Sachaa Jhutha”, “Aan Milo Sajna”, “Anand”, “Amar Prem” and “Mere Jeevan Saathi”. Ever the urbane, suave romantic who wooed like few others. Glory and fame galore came his way with the two 1969 films “Aradhana” and “Do Raaste” - where he teamed up with two of his best co-stars, Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz, respectively. Both the films were super hits. Hindi film’s first superstar was born. Between “Aradhana” in 1969 and “Prem Kahani” in 1975, Rajesh enjoyed god-like status. It was all about charisma - a certain something that went beyond the art of acting. He had that unique way of delivering a dialogue, of crinkling his eyes and that interesting head tilt that were all his own - and designed to get fans swooning. Describing the charm of Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh once said: “I got famous purely because I was working with Rajesh Khanna in
shatrughan sinha has bypass surgery
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‘Anand’. People asked me questions like, ‘How is he to look at? What does he do?’” The mega story had a small beginning in Amritsar. Born Jatin Arora on Dec 29, 1942, he was adopted and raised by foster parents. He went from being Jatin to Rajesh, thanks to his uncle who changed his name, when he decided to join films. In 1965, the journey to filmdom started after he won the All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare. He made his debut with “Aakhri Khat” in 1966. It was a fairly easy road to superstardom after that. He became the heartthrob of the nation, singing timeless melodies like “Mere Sapnon Ki Rani...” in “Aradhana”, “Zindagi Ek Safar” in “Andaaz” or “Yeh Shaam Mastani” in “Kati Patang”. Singer Kishore Kumar and composer R.D. Burman were amongst his closest friends. In his four-decade career, he appeared in about 160 films, of which 106 had him as the solo lead hero and 22 were two hero projects. Rajesh proved his mettle in offbeat films too. He teamed up with Hrishikesh Mukherjee for the critically acclaimed “Bawarchi” and “Namak Haram”. The quintessential romantic also did the intense “Avishkar”, directed by Basu Bhattacharya. But then age caught up and the star began fading away. He moved to television and played the main lead in two serials “Ittefaque” and “Apne Paraye” during 2001-02 and also featured in
“Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi” between 2008-09. The decline to B-grade films was inevitable. There was also the sorry “Wafa” with Laila Khan, who was found murdered this July. He dabbled in politics, being Congress MP from the New Delhi constituency from 1991-1996. Like the Hollywood legends of yore, the personal life also had a larger than life dimension. He fell in love with Dimple Kapadia, who was only 16 and whose first film “Bobby” was yet to release. She was 15 years younger to him but the pull was strong and they got married after a whwhirwind romance in 1973. It was the stuff of tabloid headlines. They had two daughters Twinkle and Rinke. The marriage lasted only 11 years. It was a lonely life for Rajesh after that. He disappeared from the headlines and appeared to be a shadow of his former self in his rare public appearances. But the family came together in his last days. His estranged wife was the one who took care of him during his illness. Son-in-law Akshay Kumar was also a great comfort. Rajesh reappeared in an ad a few months before his death, and once again became the talk of town - he was clearly unwell but the zest in his voice was intact as he intoned “Babumoshai” from his much loved film “Anand”. Like Anand from the film, the man is gone. But the memories will live on. cOURtEsY tOI
Who wants to be India’s Next Top Model? America’s Next Top Model is finally readying to make its India debut. The desi version of the popular modelling-based reality TV competition will be called India’s Next Top Model. If industry insiders are to be believed, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone are the front-runners for the job held by supermodel-producer Tyra Banks in the American show. Big CBS Love, the channel with female-centric programming, will probably air the show by the end of this year. Network representative Tarun Katiyal confirms the news, saying, “It’s the right time to bring the show to India because the fashion and modelling industry here is huge. After going to so many countries in the world, India was the next obvious destination. If you check out the modelling auditions for the fashion weeks, you’ll know what I mean.” He insists that the show will not follow the lines of existing TV competitions like Channel V’s Get Gorgeous and The Hunt For The Kingfisher Calendar Girl. “We’ve not had one big show like America’s Next Top Model in India so far. There are some that spot modelling talent, but this one will be the game changer. Hopefully, we’ll find a face that can become India’s answer to ‘the supermodel’ concept
of the west.” Ask if Tyra will be seen on the Indian version as well, and Katiyal says, “We’ve opened conversations with a lot of celebrities, but it’s too early for me to confirm any names.” Eighteen months ago, it was reported that actor Bipasha Basu was approached by the TV wing of Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment production house, Idiot Box, to anchor a modelling-based show called Female Model Hunt. Basu had confirmed that she was in talks for the show, but it went no further. Where is the desi supermodel? The term supermodel, used to describe icons like Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, refers to those internationally famous, highly-paid rampwalkers who dominate ad campaigns, fashion shows and editorial spreads. As of now, Lakshmi Menon is the only well-known face from India. But does India’s Next Top Model stand a chance to discover a desi superstar? Fashion industry veteran Anil Chopra doesn’t think so. “Bollywood filmmakers and modelling agencies scour fashion weeks for faces that they can lure away from the ramp. So many women who had the potential to become India’s first supermodel have all moved into Bollywood.” Designer Rohit Bal believes that the gene pool is limited. “In the last seven years, I haven’t seen a single striking face that has the potential to make it big. The basic quality of the talent is so poor that even the best we have is not actually good. I was appalled to see what our new Miss Indias look like,” he says. NEWs DEsK
ETERAN actor and BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha underwent bypass surgery at a city hospital on Monday and will continue to stay there for a few days. The 66-year-old actor-turned-politician had been admitted to Kokilaben hospital in suburban Andheri on July 2 after he complained of breathlessness due to some paint work at his residence. “He was admitted to hospital for severe breathlessness. During investigations blockages were discovered in the coronary arteries. Based on medical advice he underwent bypass surgery,” Kokilaben hospital COO Dr Ram Narain told PTI. The surgery was conducted Monday morning by cardiac surgeon Dr Anvay Mulay. “He is fine now and on the road to a speedy recovery. He has thanked all his well wishers for their unconditional love and support,” Dr Narain said. Following the surgery, Narain said Sinha will remain in hospital for a week. Sinha made his Bollywood debut in 1969 with ‘Sajan’ and has acted in over 200 Hindi films, besides being a part of some Bengali and Punjabi movies. NEWs DEsK
katie holmes tries to change suri’s wardrobe
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OLLOWING divorce with actor Tom Cruise, actor Katie Holmes is trying to change their daughter Suri Cruise’s taste for expensive clothes. The sixyear-old’s wardrobe is estimated to be $3 million and her 33-year-old mother wants Suri to start living in a more conservative and normal manner. “Katie has been returning unsolicited gifts and loans from designers for Suri since she arrived in New York - which is to be her home base now, far away from Tom. She’s issued instructions to remove Suri from all freebie lists. She’s also put the word out in LA to stop any mini-me diva products being sent her way,” Reveal magazine quoted a source as saying. Holmes has been given the primary custody of Suri after the divorce, making New York as her primary base to live. NEWs DEsK
Nephew blames stallone for son’s death
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YLVESTER Stallone’s nephew has accused the action star for neglecting his 36-year-old son, Sage, who was found dead at his home from an apparent overdose. Stallone’s nephew Edd Filiti made the claims on his Facebook page but they have been removed since then, the Daily Mail reported. The 18-year-old slammed Stallone and his current wife Jennifer Flavin for cutting Sage out of their life. “What did he do wrong, say happy birthday? Neither you (Flavin) or he could return a phone call, which is all he wanted, his father. I know you don’t care what happened, but you’ll care when you’re squirming under the burning magnifying glass of public opinion. You people make me sick,” Filiti posted on his Facebook page. Edd, who is the son of Stallone’s halfsister Toni Ann, also went on to make a withering attack to 43-year-old former model, who married the Rocky favourite in 1997. “Jennifer Flavin, you won. You tore this family apart and got your trophy, Congrats! ‘Like you told my family, ‘I’m Sly’s family now, he doesn’t (need) you anymore. Lets see how much he needs you after this,” Filiti added. Sage’s mother Sasha Czack, split with Stallone in 1985 after 11 years of marriage. NEWs DEsK
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thursday, 19 July, 2012
Infotainment 14
Classic novels to be republished with ‘explosive sex scenes’
A gorgeous, functional, cellular-powered gizmo-watch made by erstwhile hardware god Sony could have been huge. Huge! Instead, it's a gadget cold sore, and a major, aggravating letdown. What the hell happened?
USING IT
LIKE
You'll be startled when you put on the Sony SmartWatch—This isn't nearly as stupid looking or feeling as I imagined it'd be. You expect to hate yourself as soon as you wear it, but somehow, you don't—ten points for you, Sony. This owes largely to how much the "watch"— a roughly inch and a half OLED screen, a third of an inch thick—feels like a watch without scare quotes. Once you charge it, you snap it into a provided band, then press its single button—and there's the time! The time of your life, maybe. But then you look at it for more than a few seconds or so, maybe try touching it, and a thing you have strapped to your arm suddenly starts to make you unhappy. Unhappy and perplexed. A thing actually on your body confuses your brain, and it's not a tattoo of a Mobius strip or something. The SmartWatch requires a constant Bluetooth connection with an Android phone to do anything smart at all—otherwise it'll just blink errors at you, slackjawed, and show you the time. Similarly, you'll need the Android mothership to load any app you might want onto the thing—simply, it's nonfunctional without a phone in your bag or pocket, and because of the dinosaur Bluetooth connection, sluggish even when its phone mom is around. As the SmartWatch has no buttons other than one for power, it leans entirely on its touch face. Sony calls it "multi-touch," but the most complexity you'll be able to finger this thing with is an awkward two-points-at-thesame-time jab. Otherwise you swipe through apps, which can sometimes show extra info if you swipe up. Sometimes you can't. Sometimes swiping goes nowhere. Sometimes you have to tap, sometimes pinching seems to work. It's inconsistent throughout, and there you are, on the sidewalk, probably about to walk into an uncovered manhole, flicking and scraping your wristwatch. How did it come to this?
Against all odds, you might feel cool wearing the Sony SmartWatch. Is $150 too much to spend to feel cool? The facade is pure Sony classicism—a silver bezel, deep black screen, and that emblematic Sony logo. In this context, the logo is the geek couture version of Gucci or Chanel. The watch is unadorned and inconspicuous, but anyone who catches you using it or comes within close gawking distance will demand an explanation. What is that thing? It has a screen? That's so cool. And at times, fleeting times, it is. The pulse of vibration that alerts you to a new email is useful—buzz, tap, scroll, read, tap, walk. The panoply of less useful pulses that let you know when tweets arrive, without any strict pattern, don't have much utility, but give you a sensory awareness of your internet life that's oddly satisfying. Feel the tweets flow through you. It's gimmicky, sure, but it adds to a hazy illusion that you're wearing the internet under that silver face. It's all cool and flashy for no good reason, an item of pure superfluity in an age where that's OK—this is truly a gadget in both the most pejorative and delightful senses, both at once.
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publisher of adult fiction is giving literary classics such as Jane Eyre and Pride And Prejudice an erotic makeover. The company said that it was "100% convinced" that there was a market for the racy versions of the 19th century novels by authors Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen and that the spicing up of the much-loved books will introduce the classics to "a new generation of readers". Other titles to be published under the Clandestine Classics collection include Austen's Northanger Abbey and Arthur Conan Doyle's stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. Some original fans of Jane Eyre might be unhappy to discover that the female protagonist has "explosive sex with Mr Rochester" in the publisher's erotic edition. NEWs DEsK
WHY IT MATTERS It's a smart watch! It's a tiny OLED computer that runs on your wrist! If the prospect of something like this doesn't make you randy, what are you doing here, buddy? Unlike Google Glass, this is a sip of a sci fi future that could also socially acceptable—a watch won't get you punched in the stomach at a bar or make everyone at a dinner party squirm in their seats. It could be a delightful new way to do smartphone things without a smartphone. It could even look cool. Isn't this the kind of thing we're all supposed to secretly (or not so secretly) lust after? The fancy touchscreen wristwatch status symbol is all our Dick Tracy, Star Trek, James Bond, Metal Gear Solid wonder, commodified. Right?
DISLIKE The Sony SmartWatch works horribly. It could be said that it doesn't work well—in fact, let's go further: the Sony SmartWatch often doesn't work at all. The touchscreen is catatonic, the OLED display is dark, muddy, and laughably low-res. Nobody is really sure what a retina display is, but we can all say with absolute certainty that this is the opposite of it. The SmartWatch is too thick, in part because it accommodates a large, lazy clip instead of a more svelte latching mechanism. Why the giant clip? Nobody is going to clip this to their belt, or collar, or sombrero rim—this is horrible design. It's thick, but who can think about bulk when it's so miserable to use? Consider this: to do anything smart with your SmartWatch, you have to: 8 Pair your Android phone with the watch via Bluetooth. Keep it paired. 8 Install a proprietary Sony app that manages settings for the watch. 8 Download every single individual feature for the watch—calendar, email, Facebook, Twitter, weather, it goes on and on—as a separate app. Each needs to be downloaded and installed separately. 8 Wonder why these crude basics aren't pre-loaded on the SmartWatch. 8 Wonder why the SmartWatch has no settings options of its own, but rather has to be managed with a phone—the whole phone you're trying to use less of because you just dropped $150 on a SmartWatch. What's smart about that? Even if the watch delivered anything worthwhile and life-bettering, the system to get you there is so devoid of thought and convoluted that nothing could be worth that schlep.
os: sCReeN: sToRaGe: CoNNeCTiviTy: WeiGhT: BaTTeRy: PRiCe:
android 1.3 oleD, 128 x 128 None Bluetooth 3.0 15.5 g main unit, 26 g watchband Undisclosed, lasts a few days with normal usage $150
SHOULD I BUY IT?
evidence of Nazi plot to kill Churchill through explosive chocolate unearthed
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1943 scheme by Nazi Germany to assassinate Winston Churchill through an explosive bar of chocolate has been uncovered nearly 70 years later in a secret letter from a wartime spymaster. As discovered in a letter from former MI5 spy Lord Victor Rothschild to the artist Laurence Fish, it was believed that Nazis devised bombs dressed up as chocolate, with a delay mechanism which would cause the bomb to explode as it was opened. Fish was asked by Lord Rothschild to draw his impression of what such a package may look like based on its few known features. "When you break off a piece of chocolate at one end in the normal way, instead of it falling away, a piece of canvas is revealed stuck into the middle of the piece which has been broken off and a ticking into the middle of the remainder of the slab," Rothschild explained. NEWs DEsK
No. Absolutely not. No one should own this, no matter their lifestyle preferences or moral views. I promise you—you won't like it. The Sony SmartWatch is pathetic, frustrating, and empty. There's no way to justify spending $150 on this—this ripoff of a thing. COURTESY GIZMODO
We live in a base-10 world. The decimal system governs everything from the binary functions of computers to the amount of change you get when you buy a Mashed Potato Slurpee. So why isn't the standard Earth day just 10 hours long? Credit the Egyptians for that one. As human civilization moved from transient hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural communities, people realized the need to tally their objects and property. (If you go out to pasture with five goats in the morning, then come back with three in the evening—and can't tell the difference—you're doing it wrong). The concept of written language was just catching on at that point, so people learned to count the same way kids do today—using their 10 fingers. Egyptian hieroglyphs from
as early as 3000 BC show the use of a base-10 decimal system. So why did they set their clocks to base-12? Many believe that the base-12 system arose from a counting system the Egyptians inherited from the earlier Sumerian culture, counting not by the whole finger but by each individual knuckle. That is, if you open your left hand and use the tip of your thumb to touch each of the three knuckles in your four fingers, you'll total 12. To measure time using this method, the Egyptians divided the day into 12hour halves—or, more accurately, a ten hour day, two hours of morning and evening twilight, and 12 hours of darkness. The Egyptians based the hours themselves on the movement of the heavens. They tracked a series of 36 small constellations, known as "decans,"
which rise consecutively over the horizon approximately once every 40 minutes. The rising of each decan marked the start of a new hour. The start of a new decade—the Egyptian 10-day period—began with the appearance of a new decan in the Eastern sky just before dawn. By the 9th Dynasty (about 2100 BC), Egyptians had augmented their solar calendar with the regular appearances of these stars to create a unified annual calendar. Its 36 decades constituted the 360-day Egyptian year. The new system proved precise enough to accurately predict the annual flooding of the Nile with the rising of the star Sirius, even though the actual length of individual hours varied according to the season. "Tables were produced to help people to determine time at night by observing the decans.
Amazingly, such tables have been found inside the lids of coffins, presumably so that the dead could also tell the time," Dr. Nick Lomb, the Sydney Observatory's consultant curator of astronomy, told ABC News. While the new calendar made telling time dead simple, it's hourly flexibility made such a system useless to the Greeks—they needed a day with fixed-length increments. Hipparchus, considered by many to be the greatest astronomer in antiquity, is credited with synthesizing the Egyptian star clock into the standardized equinoctial clock we use today, wherein each period of light and dark on the Equinoxes is divided into 12 equal-length segments. Now, if only someone could explain why we still bother with Daylight Savings. COUrTESy GIzMODO
schoolgirls being denied life-saving treatment on religious grounds
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CHOOLGIRLS are being denied a potentially life-saving cervical cancer jab at their schools on the grounds of religion. Some schools in England have opted out of the HPV vaccination programme because their pupils "follow strict Christian principles" and "do not practise sex outside marriage". The jab guards against two strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) virus - 16 and 18 - which cause 70% of cases of cervical cancer. It is offered routinely to girls aged 12 to 13. But an investigation by GP magazine found that 24 schools in 83 of England's 152 primary care trust (PCT) areas were opting out of the vaccination programme, many of them on religious grounds. The magazine found the majority of the schools opting out did not tell their local GPs, where the girls could be offered the vaccine. Just two of the 15 PCTs where schools are denying the vaccination course told GPs of their decision. Only five of the 15 PCTs said they informed pupils or guardians how to obtain the vaccine elsewhere, the GP magazine figures show. NEWs DEsK
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Milestone win for blake in Atlanta Page 18
Pakistan’s pursuit of India tour pays off KARACHI AFP
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HEN Zaka Ashraf took over as Pakistan cricket chief in October last year his highest-priority tasks were to resume suspended home international matches and revive ties with arch-rivals India. With security fears still running high, there is still no prospect of foreign teams touring Pakistan soon, but on Monday cricket fans rejoiced as India invited their neighbours for a limited overs tour in December-January. The series, if approved by both governments, will end a five-year hiatus in series between two of the sport's greatest rivals and see the subcontinent come to a standstill for three one-dayers and two Twenty20 matches. Terror attacks on India's commercial capital Mumbai in November 2008 brought cricket ties with Pakistan to a juddering halt, as New Delhi blamed militants from across the border for the three-day assault that left 166 dead. Any resumption of cricket tours was seen as politically impossible in India until diplomatic relations improved and Pakistan showed willingness to tackle terror groups targeting the country. But after more than two years without substantial progress, a thaw began during last year's World Cup, when India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch their sides contest the semi-final in the Indian city of Mohali. Another key step came in April, when Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari asked Singh to restore links during a meeting in the Indian capital. While the politicians and civil servants have played a crucial role, there have been on-and-off contacts between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for more than nine months. The two nuclear powers have gone to war with each other three times since their independence from Britain in 1947, and another conflict was nar-
rowly averted in 1987 when Pakistan's then-military ruler General Zia-ul Haq visited India for a cricket series. Ashraf has been dogged in his determination to see the rivalry played out on the pitch again. "There is definitely a sense of achievement but the credit goes to
President Asif Zardari for initiating the revival and to the millions of fans who want India and Pakistan to play each other," Ashraf told AFP. BCCI president Narayanaswami Srinivasan initially snubbed the new PCB chief when Ashraf requested a meeting in Decem-
Cancer survivor Yuvraj named in india squad
ber last year, but India relented after Zardari's trip in April. "After President Zardari's visit there was an evident change," said Ashraf. "First I was invited to attend the Indian Premier League final in May and then our domestic team Sialkot Stallions was included in the Champions League." The Champions League is a Twenty20 event owned by India, Australia and South Africa and involving teams from top cricketing nations. Ashraf and his colleagues suffered another temporary setback at an ICC meeting in Malaysia last month when BCCI officials gave them the cold shoulder, but the PCB chairman said he never lost hope. BCCI spokesman Rajiv Shukla told AFP he had no doubt the series would get government approval and go ahead. "The Pakistan board has been insisting for a series for a long time," he said. "But we did not want to play it at a neutral venue." With the India trip decided, Ashraf must now turn to his second task, reviving international matches in Pakistan which have been suspended since a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009. "We have an understanding with Bangladesh and we are confident that they will tour us in the near future," said Ashraf.
Pakistan says money no issue in india series KARACHI: Pakistan cricket chiefs on Wednesday dismissed reports they had sought a share of revenues from their planned tour of India later this year -- the arch-rivals' first series in five years. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP the first priority was to revive cricket with India and money had not been a consideration. India announced on Monday they will host Pakistan for a short series of three one-day internationals and two Twenty20s in December-January, ending a five-year deadlock sparked by the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. "Pakistan's first priority was to revive ties with India and PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf was focused on that. We wanted to take a start and for that we were negotiating since October last year," said Sarwar. Tour revenues normally go to the host nation, but reports in Indian media suggested Pakistan wanted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to
split the money. Television rights alone for an India-Pakistan series are estimated to be worth $25 million but the figure could be much higher given India's vast TV audiences. "Such reports about the proposal of revenue sharing for India-Pakistan series have no relevance and do not express the views of the PCB. The revenue sharing thing never came under discussion," Sarwar said. In talks about reviving the matches last year, the then-PCB chairman Ijaz Butt demanded a 50-50 share of revenue, which India refused. The BCCI said Tuesday they were hopeful of getting the necessary clearance for the series from New Delhi. Although India and Pakistan have met in events like the World Cup and Asia Cup, their last bilateral series was in 2007, when the Pakistani team visited India. Cricketing ties between the arch-rivals were suspended after the Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistan-based militant group. AFP
NEW DELHI AFP
India on Wednesday picked Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering from cancer, in a 30man preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 to be played in Sri Lanka later this year. The 30-year-old, regarded as one of the most flamboyant batsmen in world cricket, completed chemotherapy in the United States in April after being diagnosed with a rare germ-cell tumour between his lungs early last year. Yuvraj, who has not played competitive cricket since the two home Tests against the West Indies in November, only recently began light training at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. It is not certain that Yuvraj will be selected in the final 15man squad that must be finalised by midAugust for the September 18-October 7 tournament. The left-hander will need to play club cricket in the intervening period if he is to remain a serious contender for the tournament. Yuvraj, speaking in an International Cricket Council television show last month, declined to give a time frame on being match-fit. INDIA's PRELIMINARY sQUAD: Mahendra Singh dhoni, virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan ojha, umesh Yadav, Ashok dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj tiwary, Rahul Sharma, vinay Kumar, zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin uthappa, irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman ojha, dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, lakshmipathy balaji.
England, South African begin quest for No 1 spot england’s Onions in injury scare
LONDON: Graham Onions's chances of playing in the first Test against South Africa receded further on Wednesday when he was unable to train on the eve of the match at the Oval because of a hamstring strain. The Durham seamer, included in England's 13man squad as an extra pace bowler, was not involved in Wednesday morning's net practice. He has not yet been ruled out of contention to play when the first of a three-Test series starts here on Thursday, but the injury has not done his prospects any good. AFP
LONDON AFP
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NGLAND will defend their ranking as the top Test team in the world when they come up against a strong South African side in the first of three Test matches at the Oval on Thursday. The prematch build-up has concentrated on two outstanding fast bowling attacks -- but, as England fast bowler James Anderson and South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis pointed out on Tuesday, the bowlers will have to get past some outstanding batsmen. "It's the two best teams in the world," said Anderson. "Both bowling attacks have been successful over the past 12 to 18 months but if you look at both batting line-ups they're potentially as strong as well. It's going to be a clash of two really good teams." Meawhile Kallis added: "It's going to be an interesting battle to see who comes out on top. Both sides have got good batters as well. It's going to be a fantastic series." South Africa edged England 2-1 in 2008, the last time the two teams met in England, but England have been unbeaten at home since then, rising to number one in the world rankings under captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower. However, South Africa have not lost an away series since they were beaten in Sri Lanka in 2006. They are ranked third but will take the top place from England if they win the series. Anderson, Stuart
Broad and Tim Bresnan have become a formidable fast bowling force for England. But South Africa have some heavy artillery as well in Dale Steyn, the world's top-ranked bowler, the tall Morne Morkel and the accurate Vernon Philander, who has taken 51 wickets at an average of 14.15 since making his debut against Australia last November. England may have an advantage in spin bowling, where off-spinner Graeme Swann has a superior record to South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who has yet to make a major impact at Test level. South Africa will go into the se-
ries with minimal preparation. They had a three-day camp in Switzerland, during which they climbed mountains and got out of their normal 'comfort zones', followed by a two-day match against Somerset and a three-day match against Kent. Both matches were affected by rain and the tourists were unable to dominate against two relatively weak teams. But Kallis is convinced the preparation has been ideal and that South Africa are ready to hit form from the start of the series. South Africa have never won in 10 matches at the Oval and have lost all three Tests at the venue since re-
turning to international cricket in 1991. PROBABLE tEAMs AND OFFIcIALs FOR tHE FIRst tEst BEtWEEN ENGLAND AND sOUtH AFRIcA stARtING At tHE OVAL HERE ON tHURsDAY: ENGLAND (FROM): Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan trott, Kevin Pietersen, ian bell, Ravi bopara, Matt Prior (wkt), tim bresnan, Stuart broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham onions sOUtH AFRIcA (LIKELY): Graeme Smith (capt), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ab de villiers (wkt), Jacques Rudolph, JP duminy, vernon Philander, dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, imran tahir. umpires: Steve davis (AuS) and Asad Rauf (PAK) tv umpire: Kumar dharmasena (SRi) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (Nzl)
Pietersen out of england T20 squad LONDON: Kevin Pietersen's dream of helping England defend their World Twenty20 title appeared to have been dashed when he was left out Wednesday of an initial 30-man squad for this year's edition in Sri Lanka. Pietersen, England's man of the tournament when they won the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean two years ago -- their first major limited overs title -- recently retired from all white ball internationals. The South Africa-born batsman wanted to continue to play Twenty20 matches while opting out of 50 overs per side oneday international fixtures. But England said the terms of his central contract meant he had to be available for both of those formats and that the only alternative was to quit all limited overs international cricket, which he duly did. Team officials were concerned that if they granted Pietersen his wish England, now on a 10-match winning streak in ODIs, would see several other leading players also quit one-dayers. Pietersen,
who remains one of the first-choice picks for the Test side, suggested last week he would return to one-day internationals if something could be done about making sure he wasn't burnt out by England's packed schedule. But the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) held firm to their stance that players cannot "pick and choose" which limited overs matches they play in. England's most recent Twenty20, a seven-wicket win over the West Indies at Trent Bridge last month, saw Alex Hales make 99 in the opener's spot recently vacated by Pietersen. Hales was duly included in a 30-man squad where his Nottinghamshire colleague Stuart Broad remains captain. Seam bowler Broad, a talented lower order batsman, was one of seven survivors from the team that beat Australia in the 2010 final in Barbados along with batsmen Michael Lumb, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, all-rounders Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan and off-spinner Graeme Swann. AFP
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Are Amir, Freddie about to split? g
Khan says: “i want someone who is with me all the way through” LONDON
Pakistan, india veterans too await clearance for series MuMBAI
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MIR Khan has switched trainers before, more than once actually, and he may be about to do so again. In what would be a massive turn of events in his pro career if it actually happened, Khan has hinted he may part ways with ace trainer Freddie Roach: the man who rebuilt him after his shocking KO loss to Breidis Prescott. Khan, still licking his wounds after that sizzler of an upset loss to new star Danny Garcia (who everyone, from Ajose Olusegun to Zab Judah, wants to fight next), spoke with The Daily Mirror and what he said sure sounded like he has plans for a major change. “I want someone who is with me all the way through, like my conditioner Ruben Tabares is,” Khan said. “It’s hard when you’re with Manny [Pacquiao] and have to be the number two. Every fight is a big fight for me, I’m fighting top-10 guys and so I need the best guys with me all the way through. Now is the best time to sort these things out and my team will talk things over with Freddie. “There are a few things I have to change to benefit me. Maybe we have to see if I’m doing the right training and have the right sparring.” Khan has also spoken of the fatigue that can be picked up when he travels from the U.K to L.A, to The Philippines, and the 25-year-old is quite clear when he says it’s “hard being number two.” Does Amir feel Freddie, as great a trainer as he is, gives too much time to Pacquiao? Maybe. Khan has no ill feel-
ings towards Roach, but maybe he is in need of a change, and a base camp set at home in the U.K? Aside from the controversial points loss to admitted drugs cheat Lamont Peterson, Khan has lost just one fight under the guidance of Roach, but there have been whispers of cracks forming between Khan and The team at Wild Card for some time now. Still, who would Khan sign on as his new trainer if he did leave Freddie? There
are a number of gifted and talented trainers in the U.K, and maybe Khan is already eyeing one of them up. Of course, after the talk Khan has planned between he and Roach, all differences could be patched up. Despite the crushing loss he suffered this past Saturday night, Khan remains a special talent. Whether it’s with Roach or another trainer, I think we will see “King” Khan wearing another championship belt before too long.
Summer Sports Camp at royal palm concludes LAHORE stAFF REPORt
The Summer Sports Camp 2012 for juniors ranging between the ages 6 to 17 was held over four weeks at the Royal Palm sports arenas, and after the initial training, it culminated yesterday with the youngsters put to a severe test through competitions, that gave the top performers a taste of competition and victory. The games included were soccer, tennis, golf, swimming, squash, martial arts and snooker. As expected, soccer attracted the maximum little ones to its fold and served by the excellent coach, Intizar Mehdi, they learnt all the fundamental manouvers like onfield endurance, footwork and passing and subsequently during the Wing Chair Soccer Tournament, their acquired skills were put to a test and noticeable was the talent of Syed Faraz Mansoor, Ibrahim Dawood, Ismail and Najeeb in the under 10 years category, and Arif Lodhi, Abbas Zafar, Shahzaib Hussain, Ahmad Yar Ehtisham and Mujtaba Amjad in under 15 years category. Ahmed Nazir, Hassan Zafar and Asfandyar Ehtesham were too good in the 17 years group. Quite a few others, who do not get a mention here, were superb in patches but the young ones who do get
lAHoRe: the prize winners and participants of the Royal Palm Summer Sports Camp with dawar Rashid, President Wing Chair. mentioned here were consistently outstanding. There was also a huge turnout in Squash and Swimming and whereas the squash enthusiasts were educated in the art of gripping the racket, they were
also taught forehand style shots, backhand style returns, court running, game plan and temperament building. In the swimming section coaches covered all the fundamentals like standing position,
floating technique, arm action, breathing pattern and leg action. Top performers in squash were Zaki Amjad and Rahim in under 12 years category, Haider Aziz and Shehryar Ehtesham in under 16 years age bracket and Asad Kamal and B. Ali in 17 years category. Those swimmers who stood out are Zain Nawaz and Zaid Zakriya(under 6 years), Ayaan Salim and Armaghan Dawar(under 8 years), Qasim Mudassar(under 10 years), Ahmadyar Ehtesham(under 12 years) and Umer Zaman(under 14 years). Golf brought forth its own pool of little champions and in the nine years category Sameer Ehtisham and Ibrahim Khawaja managed to make a mark with their good shotmaking, while in category of 12 years Ahmedyar and Yousaf deserve applause for their good performance. From amongst the 17 years and under age group players,Hamza Khan and Osama Sheikh appeared as ones with good control over their swing and rhythm. From amongst the girls, Aiman Zaman was declared the most valuable sports talent of the summer camp. At the conclusion of the camp, awards were given to the kids in a grand ceremony attended by a large number of parents. Dawar Rashid, President Wing Chair gave away the prizes to the winners.
With the BCCI clearance coming and the Indian government green signal likely on cards for the resumption of the bilateral series between Pakistan and India, the veteran players of both the nations are now hoping for some "good news" for themselves. Fawad Ijaz Khan, chairman Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) is believed to have been in touch with former India opener, Chetan Chauhan President Veterans Cricket Association of India (VCAI). Confirming it from Karachi, he said: "I had discussed with Chauhan a month ago to either bring India's veterans to play in Pakistan or invite our seniors to play in India. Chauhan’s response was very positive but he could not have done so without the consent of the Indian cricket board. “I have tried to contact Chauhan on Tuesday but he is believed to be in USA and would not return before August 10. I may as well leave for USA for my official work and meet him over there," Fawad said. "We have an approval from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to resume the ties," he added. Meanwhile, Intikhab Alam, PCB's Game Development Director has written in the NOC that “we the PCB have no objection on tour of Indian senior team and we assure you for our utmost support to you in holding of this series."
zardari writes to indian PM: i am glad on cricket ties resumption LAHORE stAFF REPORt
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari reported to have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, welcoming the revival of cricketing ties between the two countries. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited Pakistan to play three one-dayers and two Twenty20 matches in December-January, the first bilateral contests between the arch-rivals in five years. The cricket board is awaiting the government's clearance for the series. Mr Zardari wrote in his letter that he is 'glad' that cricket matches will resume between India and Pakistan, saying, "Matches will be strong confidence building measure and add to a positive atmosphere." "Matches will encourage people-to-people contact," he added. The rivals have not played a series since Pakistan's tour of India in 2007, after cricket ties were snapped following the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai.
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17 Sports World title controversy behind me: Semenya
thursday, 19 July, 2012
HAUTE-GARONNE: Fans cheer on the leading men riding in a breakaway in the sixteenth stage of the 2012 Tour de France cycling race. aFP
LONDON AFP
South African 800m runner Caster Semenya said on Wednesday her controversial victory in the 2009 outdoor world championships was behind her and she was solely focussed on adding Olympic gold. The 21-year-old - who is coached by 2000 Sydney Olympics 800m champion Mutola from Mozambique - had to undergo drug tests followed by gender tests following that magnificent victory in Berlin. The situation spiralled out of control with Caster complaining of "unwarranted and invasive scrutiny of the most intimate and private details of my being". She was barred from the track for almost a year before being cleared to run again and her comeback was hampered by a lower back injury and a growing belief that coach Michael Seme had taken her as far as he could. However, she told several British national newspapers on Wednesday that nightmare was all in the past and she wanted to go on and win the gold - something if she does achieve she will dedicate to the increasingly frail South African political icon Nelson Mandela, who celebrates his 94th birthday on Wednesday. "That is in the past," she said. "You need to concentrate on the future. I don't have to entertain those things now. I can concentrate on my running, that's all. "With each year I experience I become a more relaxed athlete. I also know what is important to listen to and what to ignore.
Condolence LAHORE stAFF REPORt
Cricket Organiser and Chairman of East Zone Cricket Association Tournament Committee Waqqar-ul-Munir and Syed Tauqeer Ali Shah president West Zone cricket Association, Tauseef Club, Wahdat Eaglets, Service Club, Rising Stars, Mughalpura Whites, Model Town Club, Akhter Abdul Rehman Club, Mehboob Park Gymkhana, Aamir Memorial, Prince Club, Ghari Shaho Gym and many other clubs of the city have expressed their deep shock and grief over the sad demise on the death of MR Ch Zaheer Ahmed secretary North Zone Cricket Association and president of Shalimar Gym cricket club.In a condolence messeges they conveyed their sorrow on the death of Ch Zaheer Ahmed secretary North Zone cricket association.
final Tour summit last hope for challengers LuCHON AFP
A first Tour de France visit to the summit of Peyragudes in the Pyrenees could signal the last chance of glory for several yellow jersey challengers on Thursday. At only 143.5 km, stage 17 is comparatively short but what it lacks in distance it will make up for in intensity, according to organisers. "It's short, but it's brutal," said course designer and top race official Jean-Francois Pescheux. "We wanted to create something similar to the AlbertvilleLa Toussuire stage in the Alps. The key difference is that we are now only three days away from the finish in Paris." The peloton will tackle a total of five climbs, giving the likes of Cadel Evans and Vincenzo Nibali a chance to make up their deficits to race leader Bradley Wiggins. If they fail, the pair face the daunting prospect of having to over-
come their deficits to Wiggins in the 19th and penultimate stage Saturday, a 53.5 km time trial which most expect Wiggins to win. Wiggins began stage 16 in the Pyrenees with a lead of 2min 05sec on Sky teammate Chris Froome, with Liquigas leader Nibali third at 2:23 and defending champion Evans (BMC) fourth at 3:19. However if Wiggins' Sky team maintain the sustained efforts of pace-setting that have hindered the most experienced climbers in the peloton, the Englishman is likely to take yet another step towards yellow jersey triumph. On the 11th stage in the Alps to La Toussuire Evans bravely attacked Sky in a bid to close some of his then deficit of 1:53. But, 60 km from home, the Australian was brought to heel as Sky hammered out the tempo. By the end of the stage Evans lost another 1:26 to Wiggins, and with it virtually all chance of winning the Tour.
PAu: overall leader's yellow jersey, british bradley Wiggins, best sprinter's green jersey, Slovakia's Peter Sagan, and best climber's polka dot jersey, Sweden's Fredrik Kessiakoff, wait behind a poster celebrating the 94th birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela, prior to the beginning of the sixteenth stage of the tour de France cycle race. afp
Britain puts 2,000 more troops on standby LONDON AFP
Britain has drawn up contingency plans to deploy another 2,000 troops for the London Olympics after a private security firm said it could not provide enough guards, a minister said on Wednesday. Sports minister Hugh Robertson said that the government would en-
sure security giant G4S would foot the bill for any further use of service personnel to guard the Games, which start on July 27. The government announced last week that it was deploying another 3,500 troops after G4S said it could not fulfil its contract to supply 10,500 private security guards for Olympic venues. "Contingency plans are being drawn up for 2,000 more soldiers," Robertson told a press conference in central London.
loNdoN: Security guards from the private firm G4S walk through the london 2012 olympic Park. afp
"We are clear we are not going to spend a penny more of taxpayers' money on security. we are working now to activate the penalty clauses" in the contract with G4S. "Not a penny of the remaining contingency fund will be used to make up for the mistakes of the last few days or to plug the gap left by G4S's mistakes," he added, referring to the government's ÂŁ476-million ($744-million, 606-million-euro) contingency fund in the overall ÂŁ9.3 billion Olympics budget. Robertson refused however to call for the resignation of G4S's embattled boss Nick Buckles, saying that "what is crucial now is that he and his organisation deliver a safe Olympics." "What happens to Mr Buckles is a matter for others in a post-Games environment," the minister added. The announcement that a further 2,000 troops have been placed on standby comes a day after Buckles said during a grilling by lawmakers that he could not now guarantee the number of guards that G4S could provide. Buckles said on Tuesday that G4S currently had 4,200 people working and that the "minimum we can deliver" by the start of the Games was 7,000. But when asked whether he could guarantee they would all turn up he said "I can't, no". Britain currently has 17,000 military personnel lined up for security at the Games -- almost double the number of troops that it has in Afghanistan. Reports said a decision would be taken on Thursday on whether to put 2,000 service personnel "on notice to move", meaning they would act as a reserve force throughout the Olympics and would not be available for other tasks.
Uk set for sunshine in time for Games LONDON: Sunny weather is set to return to Britain in time for the start of the London Olympics after weeks of unseasonable summer downpours, forecasters predicted on Wednesday. The Met Office, Britain's national weather service, said some much anticipated sunshine would return on Sunday and that southern England would enjoy dry weather next week, in time for London's opening ceremony on July 27. "Confidence is steadily increasing for the return to normal conditions to continue through the final week of July," the forecaster said. "This weather pattern, for the UK as a whole, is much closer to the climatological norm than the cool and wet scenario experienced so far this month." Forecasters have blamed the downpours on the jet stream, a strong-flowing ribbon of wind that crosses the Atlantic, settling unusually far south, but they predict that it will move northwards again soon. But the Met Office warned that the weather will remain "changeable" in the weeks ahead. "The south is most likely to see the best of any dry, bright, and at times warm weather, particularly at first," it said. "Some rain is likely at times but overall, conditions are unlikely to be as bad as we've seen so far this summer. AFP
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Sports 18 Milestone win for Athens Blake in Atlanta From to London thursday, 19 July, 2012
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MERICAN James Blake upset sixth-seeded compatriot Ryan Harrison 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 Tuesday to notch his 350th career ATP victory in the first round of the Atlanta Open hardcourt tournament. Blake, 32, who had failed to take advantage of his first six opportunities to reach the milestone this season, seemed to be heading for another disappointment as the 20year-old Harrison dominated the opening set. But Blake, now ranked 110th in the world, found his rhythm and sealed the victory against his 43rd-ranked opponent with a late break of serve in the third set. Blake next faces Australian Matthew Ebden, who ended a three-match skid with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Ukrainian Sergei Bubka. Eighth-seeded Go Soeda of Japan shrugged off a lengthy rain delay to defeat Belgian Xavier Malisse 4-6, 7-5, 64. The match had been level at 2-2 in the opening set when rain stopped play for more than two hours. Soeda, who reached his first career ATP semi-final at Chennai this season, rose to a career-high ranking of 54th in the world this week. He next faces Russian Igor Kunitsyn. Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans defeated American Rajeev Ram 6-1, 6-3 to line up a second-round clash with top-seeded American John Isner. Isner, who on Sunday claimed the title at Newport for the second straight year, is using Atlanta as preparation for the London Olympics, which will hold the tennis competition at Wimbledon. Qualifier Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, playing his first ATP main draw of the season, also won his match against Dmitry Tursunov 6-3, 6-2.
15tH OLYMPIc GAMEs IN 1964 VENUE: tokyo, Japan DAtEs: 10th october to 24th october 1964 NUMBERs OF sPORts: 19 (163 events) NUMBERs OF NAtIONs: 93 NUMBERs OF PARtIcIPANt: 5151 (4473 men and 678 women) YOUNGEst GOLD MEDALIst: Pokey Watson (united States) aged 14 years 96 days in Swimming OLDEst GOLD MEDALIst: William Northam (Australia) aged 59 years 23 days in Yachting
FINAL MEDALs tALLY:
estonia star Kanepi pulls out of olympics player sees European win at Open TALLINN
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Estonian tennis star Kaia Kanepi has been forced to pull out of the Baltic nation's Olympic team due to a heel injury that also sidelined her from Wimbledon. "An ultrasound examination showed on Tuesday that Kaia's heels have not recovered as fast as hoped and she has to withdraw from the London Olympic Games," said a statement on the world number 16's website. "Her doctor Madis Rahu said that increasing practice intensity now would eventually lead to an even longer injury break," it said. Kanepi, 27, was one of the biggest names in Estonia's 34-member Olympic delegation and the country's lone London-bound tennis player. She also represented her nation of 1.3 million at the 2004 Athens Olympics and in 2008 in Beijing, reaching the third round of the latter. "It's very sad that I cannot participate in the Olympics. I do not know if I will ever get another chance to participate in the Olympic Games. At the moment all I want is my legs to be ok and that I could play tennis without feeling any pain," Kanepi said on her website. She said her future tournament schedule is not yet clear, with a decision expected after she has more medical tests over the coming weeks.
Golf legend Gary Player belueves that US golfers will be denied a clean sweep of the four majors at the British Open played over the Royal Lytham and St Annes links this week. The 76-year-old South African, who won his third and final Open Championship at Lytham in 1974, points to the wet and windy weather conditions that are set to make the course a stern test for the entire 157-strong field. That he sees working in favour of those golfers who are most
AtlANtA: James blake celebrates his win over Ryan Harrison during the bb&t Atlanta open. afp
always consistent and you don’t become world No.1 for nothing." Americans have won the last three majors through Keegan Bradley at last year's PGA Championship, Bubba Watson at The Masters and Webb Simpson at the US Open, ending a long winless streak. And another US win at Lytham would make it the first time since 2004 that Americans have held all four major titles at the same time. Despite his inkling for a European win, Player has said that he would not rule out Tiger Woods ending a four-
used to it. "If I look at what the weather man is saying, this Championship, in my opinion, is favouring a European player," Player said. "Anyone can win. So to try and predict winners is very difficult. However, I would love to see Lee Westwood win. "He’s been working hard and came so close to winning that I think it might be his turn. "A golf course like this is made for him, because it’s very narrow and he is a straight driver. Luke Donald is another who is
year-long drought by lifting his 15th major. "He is a force to be reckoned with again. He has a good mind, is very focused and is playing smarter golf than he did before," Player said of Woods. "Tiger will be right there at Lytham, I am sure, but the other big debating point, of course, now that he is back to something like his old self, is: can he match Jack Nicklaus’ total of 18 major Championships? "I always felt that Tiger, who has already won 14, would do it, but the lost two years have hurt him. "That’s eight major Championships that have slipped by. I think if he is going to do it, he has to win one major Championship this year. "That means The Open or the US PGA in August. When he’s playing well, he’s much better than anybody else. I would be surprised if he doesn’t do it."
Meditation part of preparation for Lahiri’s Open debut
lYtHAM: this picture shows golfer Anirban lahiri of india meditating in preparation for the british open. afp
LyTHAM: India’s Anirban Lahiri will count upon his meditation to help him make a successful debut at the British Open when play begins on Thursday. The 25-year-old from Bangalore, a two-time Asian Tour winner in his homeland, is excited at testing the world-class field at Royal Lytham and St Annes but knows he must keep calm to make the most of his opportunity. "I will stick to my meditation and stay in the moment, not get carried away, and focus on what I need to do," Lahiri said. "It will play a critical role. Times
of great highs and low, the mind gets muddled and unclear. I have to rely on meditation as it will only do me good." Lahiri has been meditating for the past few years, saying his longest session was three hours, while he spends about 20 minutes each day when he is at a tournament. The key benefit is simply staying in the moment, Lahiri said. "The benefit that I have derived from my meditation is that I'm able to stay in the present," Lahiri said. "That is what everyone talks about, hit one shot at a time and we all wonder how to do
it. "Meditation has taught me to block out the scoreboard, what the group in front is doing or how far back or ahead I am. All those things get sidetracked and the focus comes back to what I need to do. That’s what meditation helps me to do. "It is like a process, like an exercise. You can be in that state during the round depending on how strong your practices are. If you can put yourself in that state, you can go through 18 holes in your own world without being affected by what is around you. That is what really helps." AFP
cOUNtRY united States Soviet union Japan Germany italy Hungary Poland Australia Czechoslovakia Great britain bulgaria Finland New zealand Romania Holland turkey Sweden denmark Yugoslavia belgium France Canada Switzerland bahamas ethiopia india South Korea trinidad & tobago tunisia Argentina Cuba Pakistan Philippines iran brazil Ghana ireland Kenya Mexico Nigeria uruguay tOtAL
G 36 30 16 10 10 10 7 6 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 163
s 26 31 5 22 10 7 6 2 6 12 5 4 4 3 2 1 1 8 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 167
B 28 35 8 18 7 5 10 10 3 2 2 2 2 6 4 1 4 3 2 1 6 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 174
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Japan's capital tokyo was the host for the 1964 Games, the first by an Asian country. the olympic flame for these Games was brought into the stadium by a young runner Yoshinori Sakai, who had been born near Hiroshima on the day the atom bomb was dropped there in 1945. the olympic flag for the 1964 Games was raised to the top of flagpole, which measured 15.21m, the distance reached in the triple jump by Mikio oda in 1928 when he won Japan’s first gold medal. the first Fair Play prize awarded by the international olympic Committee, but given by the Japanese National olympic Committee, was presented to two Swedes, lars Gunnar Kall and Stig lennart Kall, who gave up their chances of winning the regatta to come to the aid of two other competitors whose boat had sunk. deszo Gyarmati (Hungary) won the gold with the Hungarian team in Water Polo and thus achieved the unique feat of winning medals at five successive olympic Games. larisa latynina (Soviet union) added six new medals to her fantastic olympic records. in three olympics, she won nine gold, five silver and four bronze medals, making a total of eighteen, the maximum won by any athlete in the olympics. American dob Schollander became the first swimmer to win four golds in a single Games. ** Australia’s swimmer dawn Fraser won her third consecutive 100m freestyle title in the 1964 Games - a unique achievement in swimming. She took her total haul to eight medals, a record for a female swimmer. Soviet gymnast larissa latynina between 1956 and 1964 won the maximum 18 medals, including nine golds during her career - the maximum won by any athlete in the olympics. Polish wrestler imre Polyak finally won a gold medal in theses Games after gaining three silvers in the previous three Games since 1952. Judo was included in the 1964 Games at the request of the hosts, Japan, who were considered the best at this sport. but dutchman Anton Geesink caused a major upset when he won the open class event. bill bradley, who led the united States basketball team to its sixth consecutive victory in these Games, later became a member of the uS Senate. these Games also saw the first olympic wedding, as two bulgarian athletes, long jumper diana Yorgova and gymnast Nikolai Prodanov, exchanged vows at a ceremony in the olympic village.
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Courts strike balance, do not go against anyone: CJP g
Justice Khilji says defiance of court orders becoming habit of officials g SC orders govt to suspend Gb IGp hussain asghar ISLAMABAD stAFF REPORt
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EDNESDAY proved to be a busy day for the Supreme Court of Pakistan which seems to have put in all of its energies in an onslaught on the alleged corruption and misgovernance in the government. In one of the cases it heard yesterday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that the courts had to strike a balance during proceedings while stressing that they did not go against anyone, while in a separate case, regarding the transfer of Hussain Asghar, IGP Gilgit-Baltistan, the chief justice ordered the Attorney General to issue suspension notice to the IGP if he did not appear before the court on Thursday (today) in Hajj corruption case. Heading a three-judge bench over the contempt case of Deputy Director FIA Lahore, Waqar Haider, he reminded the counsel that they should do away with the concept that the influential were beyond the approach of law. He observed that when there was rule of law, everyone had
to abide by it. During the course of proceedings, Tariq Ahsan, counsel for Waqar Haider, pleaded that his client’s plea for clemency should be accepted as it was based upon his bonafide stance. Tariq Ahsan said that his client regretted and wanted clemency. The chief justice told him that his client had disobeyed the court’s direction in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) case and it was his attitude which had landed him into trouble. “We have tolerated such an attitude so much and now will not endure it anymore,” he added. Waqar Haider apprised the bench that court’s orders regarding Zeeshan Afzal, an accused in land grabbing case, was implemented as he had been arrested. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja remarked that for full 27 days no efforts were made by him. The chief justice observed that his clemency plea was not accepted. Dil Muhammad Alizai, Deputy Attorney General for Pakistan, appeared before the bench and said that the officer had flouted the court’s orders and was liable to be dealt in accordance with the laws. However, on the request of his coun-
sel for production of evidence in his defence, the hearing was adjourned till July 30. On June 13, the court had indicted Waqar Haider in contempt of court charges, after declaring that he had created hurdles in way of justice by not allowing Zafar Ahmed Qureshi, former FIA investigation officer perform his duties. HAj CORRUpTION CASe: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Attorney General to issue suspension notice to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gilgit-Baltistan, Hussain Asghar, if he did not appear before the court on Thursday (today) in Haj corruption case. The threemember bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, was hearing the proceedings on the case of transfer of former Director FIA, Hussain Asghar, who was probing Haj corruption case. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said that it has become habit of the government officials to defy and disregard the court judgment. During hearing, Hussain Asghar who was heading the FIA team investigating the scam when he was ap-
pointed IGP GB failed to appear before the court. The chief justice instructed the deputy attorney general to issue a suspension notification if Asghar failed to appear in court by today otherwise the court would take action in this regard. Deputy Attorney General informed the court that an inquiry committee has been constituted over the matter of transfer of Hussain Asghar. The chief justice remarked that there would be no compromise on the prestige of the court. FIA’s legal director told the court that disciplinary action would be taken against Hussain Asghar. In response, the chief justice directed the authorities to ensure Hussain Asghar’s presence during the next hearing. Otherwise, his suspension orders should be issued. Hussain Asghar had performed his duty as investigating officer in the Haj corruption case and currently he is serving as Inspector General of Gilgit-Baltistan. The CJ also inquired as to why Asghar had not been suspended already and summoned the attorney general. The chief justice said that the court was giving its last notice to the bureaucracy in the matter of Asghar.
CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in his remarks said that if the government expressed its willingness to bring back Asghar Hussain, then he could come back in five minutes. “Don’t make it a court of civil judge, how is it possible that an employee refuses to listen to the government?”, the CJ remarked. Justice Jawad S Khawaja remarked that how was this possible that a government official disobeyed the judgment of the court. He added that what type of that official was who was not following the orders of his boss and despite that he was enjoying facilities. The court summoned the attorney general to reply the court in Hussain Asghar case. The AG also endorsed the reply of the deputy attorney general and informed the court that the government had constituted an inquiry committee which was headed by Imtiaz Inayat Elahi on the issue of transfer of Hussain Asghar case. The SC expressed its dissatisfaction over the reply of the AG and Deputy Attorney General and gave them time of one day to ask the Prime Minister that why Hussain Asghar is not assuming his duties.
barack Obama names new pakistan, afghan envoys WASHINGTON AFP
LAsHKAR GAH: British Prime Minister David cameron meets British soldiers based at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on Wednesday. afp
Bomb destroys 22 NaTO supply trucks MAzAR-I-SHARIf AGENcIEs
Taliban insurgents stormed an Afghan army checkpoint Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, killing nine soldiers, and destroyed 22 trucks carrying supplies for NATO forces in a previously secure northern region, authorities said. The predawn checkpoint attack took place in restive Helmand province, while the bombing of the trucks occurred around the same time in northern Samangan province, an area that serves as a key route for the NATO coalition and U.S. troops. Afghan authorities were investigating whether the checkpoint attack in Helmand’s remote and arid Washer district was organized with the help of an Afghan soldier whose whereabouts since the raid were unknown, said Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for Helmand’s governor. “Police reinforcements were sent, and they killed seven Taliban in gun battles,” Ahmadi said. “We suspect the missing soldier was involved in a plot in the killings of the nine army soldiers, but have to investigate this point,” he said. Ahmadi did not have further details about the attack, the deadliest single strike against the Afghan army in months. In Samangan, the Afghanowned supply trucks, including 18 fuel tankers, were parked when they were struck by a bomb apparently planted by the Taliban. One person was reported wounded in the blast. Samangan was the scene of a suicide bombing Saturday that killed at least 19 people at a wedding ceremony in a hotel.
Top leadership discusses pak-US ties, pM’s visit to afghanistan ISLAMABAD stAFF REPORt
The civilian and military leadership of the country on Wednesday discussed in detail the US request for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make the ground line of communications (GLOCs) for NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan permanent, Pakistan-US strategic dialogue and the prime minister’s Afghanistan visit. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf co-chaired the meeting that was held at the Presidency on Wednesday, a day before prime minister’s visit to Kabul. A source told Pakistan Today that it was decided that during his meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai today (Thursday), the prime minister would take up the issue of successive attacks by Afghan militants from across the border into Pakistani areas. He said a strong protest would also be lodged on the killing of innocent Pakistani civilians and armed forces’ personnel in these attacks. The source said the meeting also chalked out a strategy about the Pakistan-US relationship in the backdrop of normalisation process started after Islamabad reopened the NATO supply route, adding that the visit to be conducted by the ISI DG to the US also came under discussion.
iSi dG to take firm stand on drones during talks: official
President Barack Obama on Tuesday named veteran diplomats to be the US ambassadors to Pakistan and Afghanistan, tasking them with shaping highly sensitive relationships after US troops pull out. Two month after the incumbents resigned, Obama named Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, to serve in Pakistan and James Cunningham, the number two at the US embassy in Kabul, to be the ambassador. The two men will need confirmation by the Senate. They would serve as the United States prepares to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan in 2014, a transition that also profoundly impacts rocky relations with Pakistan. “I am grateful that
ISLAMABAD: The director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will next week visit the United States to resume talks on intelligence cooperation and drone strikes, the thorniest aspect of Pakistani-US relations, an official said Wednesday. The United States is understood to be keen for a return of US military personnel to assist Pakistani officers in the northwest, where Washington says Taliban havens are exacerbating the war in eighbouring Afghanistan. “It is not true,” said the official, when asked if Pakistan may allow such a return. Islamabad’s desire is an end to US attacks against the Taliban and AlQaeda, and the means for Islamabad to carry out the attacks instead. But on that, the battle lines have been drawn and there is little indication of concessions, given the level of distrust between Islamabad and Washington. “The general has been authorised to take a firm stand on the drones’ issue during his talks,” the official told AFP. “The visit has the full backing of the political and military leadership,” he said. “We need this precision strike capability to avoid collateral damage and its political fall out. The idea is that the US develops the target and tells us, and we destroy it ourselves,” the official added. afp
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these talented and dedicated men and women have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people,” Obama said in a statement announcing several new postings. “I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years,” said Obama, who is seeking a second four-year term in November 6
elections. The outgoing US ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, resigned in May after a turbulent tenure in which US forces secretly killed Osama bin Laden near Pakistan’s main military academy, humiliating the powerful army. Munter had been an advocate within the Obama administration for reconciliation with Pakistan. Continued on page 04